Production.

For the first time in the band’s history, guitar player Andrew Craighan was the sole composer of a My Dying Bride record, which was considered “strange” to the guitarist. Many song ideas for "The Angel and the Dark River" were completed during the recording of the album at Academy Studios. Craighan cites "The Cry of Mankind" as an example: "we had the vocals, we had that guitar line [Calvin Robertshaw's repetitive arpeggio background guitar], we had the drums and the bass. The other guitar line, the heavier guitar line, was non-existent."

Musical style.

"The Angel and the Dark River" was arguably the release that saw the band travel furthest from their death metal origins. Aaron Stainthorpe dispensed with his death grunt entirely, and Martin Powell's violin and keyboard playing now seemed to be the basis around which the rest of the arrangement was built. Apart from the final track of the original release ("Your Shameful Heaven"), the tempo was unremittingly slow.

Themes.

This water-charged inspiration comes from their home, the north of England. Andrew Craighan said that they "subscribe very much to the ideas of the mist and the fog and the castles. All of that typical English stuff. Constantly fucking raining. And it's just always bleak here. It's always cold. It's always miserable. We actually kind of enjoy that in a sick way, so to write about it and to sing about it is nothing new."

Touring and Promotion.

My Dying Bride were invited by Steve Harris to be the opening band of Iron Maiden's European tour. Harris himself made the invitation, phoning Andrew Craighan to tell him that he thought "The Angel and the Dark River" was "a killer album". Peaceville later on reissued the record in a limited double-CD edition, featuring an alternate cover scheme and an extra disc with their 1995 "Dynamo Open Air" live performance. About the concert, MDB guitarist Andrew Craighan revealed:

Reception.

In October 2011, "The Angel and the Dark River" was awarded IMPALA's gold record for sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe.

The Angel and the Dark River is the third album by the British doom/death metal band My Dying Bride. The 1996 re-release contains one bonus track "The Sexuality of Bereavement" and a bonus CD titled Live at the Dynamo. The Live CD was recorded during their appearance at the Dynamo Festival in 1995.


Political goals and realities.

The main purpose of its activity was to prevent Soviet domination over Poland and to fight communism. Although, the pursuit of those goals was supposed to be largely peaceful, the fact of Soviet domination over Poland and the increasingly hostile and provocative behavior of local communists frequently resulted in WiN having its hand forced and in military confrontation. Although the WiN forces were well-armed and highly disciplined, they could not hope to fight a prolonged guerrilla war against the Soviet Red Army and NKVD units – a fact clearly understood by the leadership. Thus, to the extent possible WiN attempted instead to concentrate not on military action but rather on providing assistance (false documents, money) for former soldiers of Armia Krajowa, NSZ and other Polish resistance organizations believed not to be allied with the Soviets.

Initial activities.

It was WiN that first carried the news of the falsification of the 1946 Polish people's referendum in an announcement to the United Nations Security Council. Members of the organization were persecuted by both the Soviets and the local communists. NKVD soldiers and Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego agents carried out a bloody war with its 30,000 men in Mazowsze and Lubelskie region. WiN's soldiers liberated many Soviet jails in Poland, and killed collaborators and communist agents. However, the organization was penetrated by Urząd Bezpieczeństwa agents, and its security compromised as early as late 1945.  In 1946 new WiN leadership decided to subordinate the organization's structures to the Polish Supreme Commander in the West. Simultaneously, it limited its support for the PSL party (which, at that point, had also been infiltrated by Soviet agents). Thereafter, the organization was run by former members of the Polish Home Army.  WiN was initially divided into three different geographical operational theatres: Western run out of Poznań, Central, run out of Warsaw as well as Southern, run out of Cracow. By 1946 this was reduced to Central and Southern. In January 1947 WiN called on the PSL to boycott the Soviet sponsored elections and to await intervention by Western Allies.

Talks with the Ukrainian Underground.

Despite protestations of the DSZ leadership, recognizing their common origins and similar goals of ridding both Poland and Ukraine of Soviet, WiN engaged in talks with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). By spring 1947 in the Lublin region and Podlasie WiN signed an armistice with UPA. Occasionally, WiN and UPA cooperated in destroying communist establishments (for example in a joint May 1946 attack on secret police headquarters in Hrubieszów). Similar agreements were reached in May 1945 in Ruda Różaniecka, as well as April 1945 in Siedliska.

Final days.

In April 1947, many WiN members came out of hiding to take advantage of an apparent amnesty issued by the communist authorities. Instead, many were killed. Members of the organization were accused of plotting the overthrow of the People's Republic along with the Polish leaders in the West such as General Władysław Anders and the CIA. The show trials for most of the leadership took place in 1947. The Communist repression apparatus under Jakub Berman and Stanislaw Radkiewicz exterminated most of the leadership and by 1953 the organization had been destroyed. Nonetheless, individual units continued to fight for Polish independence until 1963.  Information published later indicated that one of the reasons for the failure of the WIN mission to Poland by the Gehlen Organization was that inside information had been provided to the Soviet Intelligence services by "moles" within the Organization. The "Org" was an intelligence agency established in June 1946 by U.S. occupation authorities in West Germany and controlled by the CIA.

Freedom and Independence (, or WiN) was a Polish underground anti-communist organisation founded on September 2, 1945 and active until 1952.


History.

For more than two thousand years fountains have provided drinking water and decorated the piazzas of Rome. During the Roman Empire, in 98 AD, according to Sextus Julius Frontinus, the Roman consul who was named "curator aquarum" or guardian of the water of the city, Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins, not counting the water supplied to the Imperial household, baths and owners of private villas. Each of the major fountains was connected to two different aqueducts, in case one was shut down for service.  After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the aqueducts were wrecked or fell into disrepair, and the fountains stopped working. In the 14th century, Pope Nicholas V (1397–1455), a scholar who commissioned hundreds of translations of ancient Greek classics into Latin, decided to embellish the city and make it a worthy capital of the Christian world. In 1453 he began to rebuild the Acqua Vergine, the ruined Roman aqueduct which had brought clean drinking water to the city from eight miles (13 km) away. He also decided to revive the Roman custom of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with a "mostra", a grand commemorative fountain. He commissioned the architect Leon Battista Alberti to build a wall fountain where the Trevi Fountain is now located. Alberti restored, modified, and expanded the aqueduct that supplied both the Trevi Fountain as well as the famous baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona.  One of the first new fountains to be built in Rome during the Renaissance was the Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere (1499), which was placed on the site of an earlier Roman fountain. Its design, based on an earlier Roman model, with a circular vasque on a pedestal pouring water into a basin below, became the model for many other fountains in Rome, and eventually for fountains in other cities, from Paris to London.  During the 17th and 18th century the Roman popes reconstructed other ruined Roman aqueducts and built new display fountains to mark their termini, launching the golden age of the Roman fountain. The fountains of Rome, like the paintings of Rubens, were expressions of the new style of Baroque art. They were crowded with allegorical figures, and filled with emotion and movement. In these fountains, sculpture became the principal element, and the water was used simply to animate and decorate the sculptures. They, like baroque gardens, were "a visual representation of confidence and power."  The most famous Roman fountains of this period include:  The fountains of Rome all operated purely by gravity- the source of water had to be higher than the fountain itself, and the difference in elevation and distance between the source and the fountain determined how high the fountain could shoot water. The fountain in St. Peter's Square was fed by the Paola aqueduct, restored in 1612, whose source was above sea level, which meant it could shoot water twenty feet up from the fountain. The Triton fountain benefited from its location in a valley, and the fact that it was fed by the Aqua Felice aqueduct, restored in 1587, which arrived in Rome at an elevation of above sea level (fasi), a difference of in elevation between the source and the fountain, which meant that the water from this fountain jetted sixteen feet straight up into the air from the conch shell of the Triton.  The fountains of Piazza Navona, on the other hand, took their water from the Acqua Vergine, which had only a drop from the source to the fountains, which meant the water could only fall or trickle downwards, not jet very high upwards. For the Trevi Fountain, the architect Nicola Salvi compensated for this problem by sinking the fountain down into the ground, and by carefully designing the cascade so that the water churned and tumbled, to add movement and drama.  Today all of the fountains have been rebuilt, and the Roman water system uses both gravity and mechanical pumps. Water is recycled and water from different aqueducts is sometimes mixed before it reaches the fountains and performs for the spectators.  This (incomplete) list contains important fountains in the city:

Monumental fountains.

These fountains were built at the termini of the restored aqueducts of Rome, to supply water to the population and to glorify the Popes who built them.

Decorative fountains.

These fountains were linked to the restored aqueducts, decorated the piazzi, or squares, of Rome, and provided drinking water to the population around the squares.

This is a list of the notable fountains in Rome, Italy. Rome has fifty monumental fountains and hundreds of smaller fountains, over 2000 fountains in all, more than any other city in the world.


Functions.

In plants, the primary functions of Mo are related to the valence changes that it undergoes a component of enzymes that catalyze diverse redox reactions. This is because the element can exist in a variety of oxidation states; oxidation states IV, V, and VI are important in biological systems. A large number of Mo-deficiency disorders are associated with the disruption of the normal activity of several enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism.  These enzymes include:

Symptoms.

Molybdenum deficiency symptoms in most plants are associated with a build-up of nitrate in the affected plant part. This is a result of poor nitrate reductase activity. Symptoms include:  In legumes, inhibition of N fixation may lead to pale, yellowing, nitrogen-deficient plants. The size and number of root nodules are often reduced.

Soil conditions.

Molybdenum deficiency is common in many different types of soil; some soils have low total Mo concentrations, and others have low plant-available Mo due to strong Mo sorption. Symptoms are most common where both conditions apply, such as in acid sandy soils. Molybdenum may be strongly sorbed in ironstone soils. Liming of soils frequently relieves Mo deficiency by decreasing Mo sorption.

Molybdenum requirements.

Molybdenum is an essential micronutrient which means it is essential for plant growth and development, but is required in very small quantities. Although Mo requirements vary among crops, Mo leaf concentrations (on a dry matter basis) in the range are adequate for most crops.

Treatment.

Raising the soil pH by liming frequently relieves Mo deficiency. However, there are many situations where a soil-, seed- or foliar application of a Mo fertilizer is far more cost-effective than the use of lime to increase Mo availability. Compounds used as fertilizers include (in order of decreasing solubility): sodium molybdate, ammonium molybdate, molybdic acid, molybdenum trioxide, and molybdenum sulfide. Typical soil and foliar application rates are ; recommended rates for seed treatment range from.

Molybdenum (Mo) deficiency occurs when plant growth is limited because the plant cannot take up sufficient quantities of this essential micronutrient from its growing medium. For crops growing in soil, this may be a result of low concentrations of Mo in the soil as a whole (i.e. the parent material of the soil is low in Mo), or because the soil Mo is held in forms that are not available to plants – sorption of Mo is strongest in acid soils.


Composition and style.

According to Ultimate Guitar, "How Do You Do!" is an uptempo pop rock song written in common time with a tempo of 121 beats per minute. It utilises a common trait found in Roxette compositions of the verse using a different key signature than the chorus. The verse is composed in C, and consists of three repetitions of a basic C–F–G–F sequence, followed by one shortened sequence of C–F–G. The pre-chorus makes use of a power chord structure, and consists of a sequence of Am–G–F–C–Em, which is then amended to Am–G–F–G. Following a brief pause, Marie Fredriksson takes over lead vocals for the song's chorus, which moves up from the verses by two keys to E♭. The chorus is composed almost entirely of sharp notes, and follows a sequence of D♯–A♯–D♯–G♯–A♯–Cm–G♯–A♯–Cm–G♯–A♯. The bridge consists of four short repetitions of Cm–A♯, played as power chords. The last chorus and outro are in F, following the transposed sequence F-C-F-B♭-C-Dm-B♭-C-Dm-B♭-C. American musician Tiny Tim is referenced in the song's lyrics.

Critical reception.

AllMusic editor Bryan Buss wrote that "How Do You Do!" is a "perfectly presented pop ditty, bright and sunny as summer" in his review of "Tourism". Larry Flick from "Billboard" described the song as a "peppy, guitar-anchored pop/rocker." He noted that "bopping pogo beats and Per Gessle's highly attitudinal lead vocal are strongest points in luring radio programmers."

Personnel.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06".  Musicians

Covers.

Russian metal cover project Even Blurry Videos released their version of the song on YouTube in July 2019.

Cascada cover (2005).

In 2005, a cover of the song by German dance act Cascada was released as the third single from their debut album "Everytime We Touch". This version charted in the top fifty of the Ö3 Austria Top 40, but failed to chart elsewhere.

Formats and track listings.

CD maxi  Digital download

"How Do You Do!" is a pop rock song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album "Tourism" on 3 July 1992. The music video was broadcast in the halftime of the UEFA Euro 1992 Final. The track was a commercial success upon release, topping the national singles charts in Norway and Spain. It also peaked at number two in several countries, including Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. It was held off the top spot in many of these territories by Dr. Alban's "It's My Life". The single was backed by several remixes created by Swedish production duo BomKrash, which consisted of Jacob Hellner and Carl-Michael Herlöfsson.


Biography.

Benda was born on 27 November 1845 as a German-speaking Bohemian in the town of Jablonec nad Nisou (now in the Czech Republic). Most sources indicate he was born in 1845 and died in 1878 but several sources say he was born in 1841 and died in 1876.  He was the last of a notable family of Jizera glass engravers in the region, going back several centuries. His father, Edward Benda (1819-1901), was a member of the Rifle Brigade Jablonec (Schützenkorps). Benda attended the local school and was then taught the glass family trade. In 1866, he was sent with the Imperial Army to participate in the Austro-Prussian War. After returning, he began extensive research in local historical studies. Benda became a prominent figure in public and social life in Jablonec, a member of several associations and served on the council. He was particularly involved in the Industrial and Educational Support Association ("Industrieller Bildungs und Unterstützungsverein") and saw the importance of education in promoting economic development. From 1872, he was responsible for the federal library and in 1875 he became president of the Pindter Heinrich Association, until his death. Well connected politically, Benda was a noted liberal activist in the region and also served on the board of directors of the Duchcov-Podmokly Railway along with Herbert Gutman, Dr. Moriz Aron, and Richard Lederer.  He is best known as the author of the "Geschichte der Stadt Gablonz und ihrer Umgebung" which was published in 1876-77, shortly before his death. The book was the first complete history of the town, and took the perspective of the Jablonec craftsman, with attention to the social and economic life of the town, history and business development and civil society. In his work, Benda reported that in 1865 there were only 69 people in Jablonec, in comparison to 1876 when there were 145 in the whole district. The third section of the book is devoted to the Hussite Wars of the Prussian-Austrians; Benda, like his father, was interested in the military and weaponry. The fourth section is dedicated to local administration and the court and district affairs; and the fifth section, on industry, covers the important local industries including linen, cloth, manufacture of paper boxes, oil paintings and glass. The book also covers the ethnographic history of the city including its superstitions, tales and legends.  In the autumn of 1878 Benda contracted typhoid and died, on 12 November 1878, at almost 33 years of age. Today, Benda's book on the history of Jablonec is permanently on public display in the reading room of the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec.

Adolf Benda (27 November 1845 – 12 November 1878) was a Bohemian regional historian, council administrator and glass and jewelry craftsman. A glass engraver by trade, he was also a prominent figure in public and social life in Jablonec. He served on the board of directors of the council and the. Benda is best known as the author of the "Geschichte der Stadt Gablonz und ihrer Umgebung" ("History of the Town of Jablonec nad Nisou"), which was published in 1876-77.


Geography.

The Warner Range is not part of the Sierra Nevada range or the Cascade Range, but part of the Great Basin Ranges. It is in the semi-arid, sparsely-populated northeastern corner of California and the south-central portion of Oregon. The range is a classic example of horst and graben (fault-block) topography with pluvial (ephemeral) lakes occupying the graben basins.  The eastern escarpment of the range overlooks the Surprise Valley in California and Warner Valley in Oregon, enclosed basins that contain Upper Alkali Lake, Middle Alkali Lake, and Lower Alkali Lake along the California–Nevada border, and the Warner Lakes (Crump and Hart lakes) in Oregon. The western side of the range overlooks a ranching and farming region drained by the forks of the Pit River, a tributary of the Sacramento River. Goose Lake is a long closed-basin lake located in the Goose Lake Valley along the west side of the range, straddling the California–Oregon border. Goose Lake drained into the Pit River only twice in recorded history: in 1868 and 1881. The lake dried up in 1926 and from 1929 to 1934.

History.

The Fandango Pass in the Warner Mountains was on the Lassen-Applegate Trail used by emigrants from 1846 to 1850 as an alternate route to the Willamette Valley in Oregon and the gold fields of California. After reaching Goose Lake, the emigrant trains often split, with some continuing to the Willamette Valley and others continuing to the gold fields.  A gold-mining rush occurred in the Warner Mountains in 1912. A number of mines were developed briefly in what was known as the High Grade Mining District just adjacent to the Oregon border in Modoc County, California.  Great quantities of lumber were removed from the Warner Mountains beginning as early as 1920. Ponderosa pine logs were used to supply active sawmills and box factories at Lakeview, Oregon; Alturas, California; and Willow Ranch, California. The sawmill and box factory at Willow Ranch near the Oregon–California border was a company town with a population over 1,000 during the 1930s and 1940s. The operation closed in 1958.

Namesake.

The range was named after explorer Captain William H. Warner, of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, who was killed in the range by Native Americans on September 26, 1849, while exploring a route for potential railroad crossings of the Sierra Nevada. His remains were never found and his name appeared on maps of the range in 1866.  Camp Warner was established in the northern portion of the Warner Range in Oregon in 1867 by General George Crook to "pacify" the Indians. The post was abandoned in 1874. Crook Peak, elevation in the Warner Range near Camp Warner, is named after Crook.

The Warner Mountains are an -long mountain range running north–south through northeastern California and extending into southern Oregon in the United States. The range lies within the northwestern corner of the Basin and Range Province, extending from the northeastern corner of Lassen County, California, through eastern Modoc County, California (east of Alturas), and northward into Lake County, Oregon (east of Lakeview).


Design and development.

Aero Vodochody presented the L-39NG project at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2014. As of April 2015, Draken International is offering the L-39NG upgrade program in a partnership with Aero Vodochody and Williams International and is responsible for the L-39NG upgrade for the American market. Other aircraft will be modernised by Aero in the Czech Republic.  The L-39NG aircraft is being developed and marketed in two stages. The L-39NG upgrade program (Stage 1) contains an installation of FJ44-4M engine and optionally the Stage 2 avionics to existing L-39 Albatros. The first stage was completed in September 2015 with a maiden flight of the L-39NG technology demonstrator (L-39CW) on the 14th of that month. On 20 November 2017 Aero Vodochody announced they have completed the development of the L-39CW and on 14 March 2018 they announced that the L-39CW, equipped with both the new engine and the new avionics, received type certificate.  The second phase (Stage 2) represents newly built L-39NG aircraft with the possible use of components from the previous upgrade to Stage 1, once the original airframe reaches the end of its life. Flight testing of this L-39NG variant is scheduled for the end of 2018. In June 2017, Aero Vodochody unveiled its plan to build four pre-production examples of L-39NG for testing and demonstration. In July 2017, Aero Vodochody began producing parts for the assembly of four aircraft, three of which are to be prototypes and one pre-serial production aircraft.  The first L-39NG prototype was rolled out in Odolena Voda on 12 October 2018, and conducted its maiden flight on 22 December 2018.

Operational history.

Testing.

Prototype of the re-engined L-39 with FJ44-4M engine (L-39CW) first flew from Vodochody airport on 14 September 2015.

Orders.

The first customer for the L-39NG Stage 1 was announced at the Paris Air Show in June 2015. LOM Praha, a state-owned enterprise, will use the L-39NG at its Flight Training Center at Pardubice Airport in the Czech Republic. Aero Vodochody has also signed an agreement with Draken International for up to six of the L-39s of Draken's display team to receive the L-39NG upgrade. Breitling Jet Team is another L-39NG upgrade customer.  On 4 April 2018, a new agreement has been signed with Senegal for 4 L-39NG for light attack and training duties. At 2018 Farnborough Airshow Portuguese company Skytech placed an order for 12 L-39NG and option for another six, while US company RSW Aviation placed an order for 12 L-39NG and 6 L-39CW.  In October 2018, the Czech Defence Minister Lubomír Metnar announced that it would procure up to 6 L-39NG aircraft to replace its current L-39 aircraft. In December 2019,, a Czech Ministry of Defence-owned company for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, agreed to buy 4 aircraft with an option for an additional 2.  Technology demonstrator of the L-39NG based on the L-39C airframe with the Williams International FJ44-4M turbofan. Re-engined L-39 Albatros to be powered by Williams International FJ44-4M turbofan. Optionally includes an installation of the L-39NG Stage 2 avionics. This version has the original "dry" wing with wingtip fuel tanks. Newly built L-39NG jet trainer aircraft with Genesys Aerosystems avionics suite and glass cockpit, new airframe with five hardpoints, and FJ44-4M engine. This version has a brand new "wet" wing with internal fuel tanks.

The Aero L-39NG ("Next Generation") is a Czech turbofan-powered military trainer and light combat aircraft currently under development by Aero Vodochody. It is a successor of the Cold War era Aero L-39 Albatros. The aircraft is being developed in two versions (stages). While the L-39NG Stage 1 is an upgrade of original L-39 airframes with a new engine and avionics, the Stage 2 are newly-built aircraft with several design improvements such as a wet wing without the type's distinctive wingtip fuel tanks. Serial production should begin in 2019.


Early life.

Williams was born in Llantwit Major in South Wales. At the age of four she moved with her family to Aberystwyth, where she was educated bilingually in English and Welsh, though her parents were not Welsh speakers.  She began to learn the harp at the age of seven, and began to perform her own music whilst studying English Literature at the University of Cambridge. Her early recordings were sent to BBC Radio Wales's Adam Walton, and acclaim led to an early "BBC Introducing" appearance at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival.

Music career.

Williams's first EP, "In Luna", was released on limited edition 10" vinyl in 2011. It was engineered and produced by David Wrench at the Bryn Derwen Recording Studio in Snowdonia and featured Pete Richardson from Y Niwl on drums and Pete Walton on double bass.  The EP drew critical acclaim and gained radio airplay from Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq, leading to an appearance at the 2012 Green Man Festival. She also performed at the festival in 2014 and 2015.  Her first album, "Week of Pines" (2013) was once again produced by David Wrench and featured Dafydd Hughes, Iwan Hughes and Aled Hughes from Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog.  Music from the album gained significant radio airplay from Adam Walton and Bethan Elfyn on BBC Radio Wales, Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1, Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6 Music and Simon Raymonde on Amazing Radio. Additional live sessions were recorded on 6 Music with Lauren Laverne with interviews on BBC Radio Cymru.  The album was further promoted by live appearances at Festival N°6, "BBC Introducing" on BBC Radio 2 in Hyde Park, Latitude Festival and WOMEX. In 2014 she appeared in session for Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2 and a collaboration with Newport-based Ballet Cymru at the Riverfront Arts Centre, in which a live performance of tracks from the album was interpreted by the company's dancers.  Williams made a guest appearance on "Divine Youth", from Manic Street Preachers 2014 album "Futurology". She was also involved in the Ghazalaw project with Gwyneth Glyn and Tauseef Akhtar. She features on several tracks on British folk artist Jinnwoo's 2016 debut record "Strangers Bring Me No Light".  Williams's second album "Fossil Scale" was released in October 2016.

Broadcasting.

Williams provided cover for Bethan Elfyn on her BBC Radio Wales show and has also presented shows on C2.

Awards.

"Week of Pines" was awarded the 2013 Welsh Music Prize. Williams was nominated for the Horizon Music Prize in the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Her second album, "Fossil Scale", was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize in 2017; the winning album, The Gentle Good's "Ruins/Adfeilion", features Williams on harp and backing vocals.

Personal life.

Williams is married to musician Iwan Hughes (Huws) from Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog. They share their time between Cardiff and Caernarfon. They have a son, born in 2017.

Georgia Ruth Williams (born 5 January 1988) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and harpist. She sings in both English and Welsh.


Design.

Due to their short length, V6 engines are often used as the larger engine option for vehicles which are otherwise produced with inline-four engines, especially in transverse engine vehicles. A downside for luxury cars is that V6 engines produce more vibrations than straight-six engines. Some sports cars use flat-six engines instead of V6 engines, due to their lower centre of gravity (which improves the handling).  The displacement of modern V6 engines is typically between, though larger and smaller examples have been produced, such as the V6 engines used in the 1991-1998 Mazda MX3, and the 1999-2005 Rover 45.

Balance and smoothness.

All V6 engines— regardless of the V-angle between the cylinder banks— are subject to a primary imbalance caused by each bank consisting of an inline-three engine, due to the odd number of cylinders in each bank. Straight-six engines and flat-six engines do not experience this imbalance. To reduce the vibrations caused by this imbalance, some V6 engines use counterweights on the crankshaft and/or a counter-rotating balance shaft.  Six-cylinder designs have less pulsation in the power delivery than four-cylinder engines, due to the overlap in the power strokes of the six-cylinder engine. In a four-cylinder engine, only one piston is on a power stroke at any given time. Each piston comes to a complete stop and reverses direction before the next one starts its power stroke, which results in a gap between power strokes and annoying harshness, especially at lower engine speeds (RPM). In a six-cylinder engine with an even firing interval, the next piston starts its power stroke 60° before the previous one finishes, which results in smoother delivery of power to the flywheel.  Comparing engines on a dynamometer, a V6 engine shows instantaneous torque peaks of 150% above mean torque and valleys of 125% below mean torque, with a small amount of negative torque (engine torque reversals) between power strokes. In the case of a four-cylinder engine, the peaks are nearly 300% above mean torque and valleys of 200% below mean torque, with 100% negative torque being delivered between strokes. However, a V6 with an uneven firing interval shows large torque variations of 200% above and 175% below mean torque.

Cylinder bank angles.

10 to 15 degrees.

From 1991-present, Volkswagen has produced narrow angle "VR6" engines with V-angles of 10.5 and 15 degrees. These engines use a single cylinder head shared by both banks of cylinders, in a design similar to the 1922-1976 Lancia V4 engine. The VR6 engines were used in transverse engine front-wheel drive cars which were originally designed for inline-four engines. Due to the minimal extra length and width of the VR6 engine, it could be fitted to the engine compartments relatively easily, in order to provide a displacement increase of 50 percent.  Since there is no room in the V between the cylinder banks for an intake system, all the intakes are on one side of the engine, and all the exhausts are on the other side. It uses a firing order of 1-5-3-6-2-4 (which is the firing order used by most straight-six engines), rather than the common V6 firing order of 1-2-3-4-5-6 or 1-6-5-4-3-2.

60 degrees.

A V-angle of 60 degrees is the optimal configuration for V6 engines regarding engine balance. When individual crank pins are used for each cylinder (i.e. using a six-throw crankshaft), an even firing interval of 120 degrees can be used. This firing interval is a multiple of the 60 degree V-angle, therefore the combustion forces can be balanced through use of the appropriate firing order.  The inline-three engine that forms each cylinder bank, however, produces unbalanced rotating and reciprocal forces. These forces remain unbalanced in all V6 engines, often leading to the use of a balance shaft to reduce the vibration.  The 1950 Lancia V6 engine was pioneering in its use of a six-throw crankshaft in order to reduce vibration. More recent designs often use a three-throw crankshaft with 'flying arms' between the crankpins. The flying arms allow an even firing interval of 120 degrees to be achieved, and also used as balancing masses for the crankshaft. Combined with a pair of heavy counterweights on the crankshaft ends, flying arms can eliminate the primary imbalance and reduce the vibration from the secondary imbalance to acceptable levels. The engine mounts can be designed to absorb these remaining vibrations.  A 60 degree V-angle results in a narrower engine overall than V6 engines with larger V-angles. This angle often results in the overall engine size being a cube shape, making the engine easier to fit either longitudinally or transversely in the engine compartment.

90 degrees.

Many manufacturers, particularly American ones, built V6 engines with a V-angle of 90 degrees based on their existing 90-degree V8 engines. Such configurations were easy to design by removing two cylinders and replacing the V8 engine's four-throw crankshaft with a three-throw crankshaft. This reduced design costs, allowed the new V6 to share components with the V8 engine, and sometimes allowed manufacturers to build the V6 and V8 engines on the same production line.  The downsides of a 90 degree design are a wider engine which is more vibration-prone than a 60 degree V6. The initial 90 degree V6 engines (such as the Buick Fireball V6 engine) had three shared crankpins arranged at 120 degrees from each other, due to their origins from the V8 engines. This resulted in an uneven firing order, with half of the cylinders using a firing interval of 90 degrees and other half using an interval of 150 degrees. The uneven firing intervals resulted in rough-running engines with unpleasant harmonic vibrations at certain engine speeds.  Several modern 90 degree V6 engines reduce the vibrations using split crankpins offset by 30 degrees between piston pairs, which creates an even firing interval of 120 degrees for all cylinders. For example, the 1977 Buick 231 "even-fire" V6 engine was an upgraded version of the Buick Fireball engine with a split-pin crankshaft to reduce vibration by achieving an even firing order. Such a'split' crankpin is weaker than a straight one, but modern metallurgical techniques can produce a crankshaft that is adequately strong.  A balance shaft and/or crankshaft counterweights can be used to reduce vibrations in 90 degree V6 engines.

120 degrees.

At first glance, 120 degrees might seem to be the optimal V-angle for a V6 engine, since pairs of pistons in alternate banks can share crank pins in a three-throw crankshaft and the combustion forces are balanced by the firing interval being equal to the angle between the cylinder banks. A 120 degree configuration, unlike the 60 degree or 90 degree configurations, would not require crankshafts with flying arms, split crankpins, or seven main bearings to be even-firing. However, the primary imbalance caused by odd number of cylinders in each bank still remains in a 120 degree V6 engine. This differs from the perfect balance achieved by a 90 degree V8 engine with a commonly used crossplane crankshaft, because the inline-four engine in each bank of the V8 engine does not have this primary imbalance.  A 120 degree design also results in a large width for the engine, being only slightly narrower than a flat-six engine (which does not have the balance problems of the V6 engine). Therefore the flat-six engine has been used in various automobiles, whereas use of the 120 degree V6 engine has been limited to a few truck and racing car engines.

Other angles.

Other angle V6 engines are possible but can suffer from severe vibration problems unless very carefully designed. Notable V-angles include:

Use in automobiles.

In 1906, a few years after V4 engines and V8 engines had come into existence, the first known V6 engine was built. This V6 engine was a single prototype automotive engine built by Marmon Motor Car Company in the United States. The engine did not reach production. Similarly, a single prototype engine was produced by Buick in 1918.  The first V6 engine to reach production was built from 1908 to 1913 by the Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik in Germany. These V6 engines were used as the generator for gasoline-electric railway engines.  The Lancia V6 engine was the first series production V6 automobile engine, when it was introduced in the 1950 Lancia Aurelia. Lancia had been producing V4 engines for approximately 30 years, and one of the key goals was to reduce the vibrations compared with the V4 engine. The V6 engine used a 60 degree V-angle and six crankpins, resulting in an evenly-spaced firing order to reduce vibrations.  Other manufacturers took note and soon other V6 engines were designed. In 1959, the GMC V6 engine was introduced in the form of a 60-degree petrol engine used in pickup trucks and carryalls. The Buick V6 engine was introduced in 1962 and was based on Buick's contemporary V8 engine. It therefore used a 90-degree V-angle and uneven firing order, resulting in high vibrations.  Ford introduced its European road car engines in 1965 with the German division's Cologne V6, and the Ford Essex V6 engine, introduced by Ford's United Kingdom division in 1966; both engines used a 60-degree V-angle. The 1967 Dino 206 GT was Ferrari's first V6 road car, which had a 65-degree V-angle.  The 1979-2005 Alfa Romeo V6 engine was introduced in the Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 luxury sedan and later used in many other Alfa Romeo models. This engine used a 60 degree V-angle, an all-aluminium construction and two calves per cylinder. A turbocharged version was introduced in 1991 and a four valve per cylinder version was introduced in 1997. Also in 1970, the Citroën SM grand tourer was introduced, powered by a 90-degree V6 built by Maserati. The General Motors 90° V6 engine was introduced in 1978 and produced for 36 years.  The first mass-produced Japanese V6 engine was the Nissan VG engine, a 60-degree design which was produced from 1983-2004. The Honda C engine was introduced in 1985, followed by the Mitsubishi 6G7 engine in 1986, the Toyota VZ engine in 1988 and the Mazda K engine in 1991.  German luxury car manufacturers were relatively slow to adopt V6 engines, with the first being the 90-degree SOHC engine introduced in the 1990 Audi 100 (C4).  By the mid-1990s, the V6 layout was the most common configuration for six-cylinder automotive engines, with V6 engines having replaced most of the straight-six engines.

Motor racing.

The Lancia Aurelia (the first series production car with a V6 engine) was also successful in motor racing. Four of the "Aurelia B20 Coupes" were entered in the 1951 Mille Miglia with the best placed cars finishing second and fourth. A tuned version of the Lancia V6 engine producing was used in the Lancia D24. The D24 competed in sports car racing and won the 1953 Carrera Panamericana with Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel.  The initial version of the Ferrari Dino engine was a racing engine used in Formula Two racing in the 1957 season. It had a V-angle of 65 degrees and dual overhead camshafts. The Dino V6 underwent several evolutions, including a version used in the 1958 Ferrari 246 Formula One racing car. A few years later, the 1961-1964 Ferrari 156 Formula One car used a new V6 engine with a V-angle of 120 degrees and a displacement of. This engine was shorter and lighter than the Ferrari Dino engine, and the simplicity and low center of gravity of the engine was an advantage in racing. It won a large number of races between and. However, Ferrari's founder had a personal dislike of the 120 degree layout, preferring a 65 degree layout, and after that time it was replaced by other engines. The Dino engine was also used in the Lancia Stratos, which was a highly successful rally car that won the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976.  A notable racing use of the Alfa Romeo V6 engine was the Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI, designed for the 1993 DTM season and equipped with a engine making a peak power of at 11,900 rpm.  The "Renault-Gordini CH1" was a 90 degree V6 engine with an iron block. It was introduced in the 1973 "Alpine -Renault A440" sportscar racing car. This engine won the European 2 L prototype championship in 1974 and several European Formula Two Championships. A turbocharged version was used in the Renault Alpine A442, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978.  A turbocharged version of the "Renault-Gordini CH1" engine was introduced in the 1977 Renault RS01 Formula One car. Renault struggled with reliability issues in 1977 and 1978, however the 1979 season saw some good results at a few races. In 1981, the Ferrari 126C Formula One car used a turbocharged V6 engine. Ferrari won the Formula One constructors' championship with turbocharged V6 engines in 1982 and 1983. Initial versions used a 120 degree V-angle, before switching to a 90 degree V-angle for the 1987 Ferrari F1/87 racing car. Other successful turbocharged V6 Formula One cars in the era of 1982-1988 were the McLaren MP4/2, McLaren MP4/3, McLaren MP4/4, Williams FW10, Williams FW11, Lotus 95T, Lotus 98T, Lotus 99T and Lotus 100T.  The Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo and Nissan NPT-90 competed in the IMSA sports car prototype category from 1985-1994 and used a turbocharged V6 engine loosely based on the Nissan VG30ET production car engine. The Nissan 300ZX used a similar engine to compete in the 1996-1997 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (now known as the 'Super GT' championship).  Downsizing to V6 engines in open-wheeler racing became more common since the early 2010s:

Use in marine vessels.

V6 engines are popular powerplants in medium to large outboard motors.

Use in motorcycles.

The Laverda V6 was a racing motorcycle which was unveiled at the 1977 Milan show. It entered the 1978 Bol d'Or 24 hour endurance race, however it retired with mechanical issues after approximately 8 hours.  Horex has produced road motorcycles with VR6 engines since 2012.

A V6 engine is a six-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.


Origin.

The origin of the Lajkonik is uncertain, but there are some common stories associated with its popularity. Some think that it originated in pre-Christian times when it was believed that in the spring the horse brought good luck and high crop yields.  Other stories are associated from the 13th century, when the city was attacked during the Mongol invasion of Poland. One, likely counterfactual story, says that the people of Kraków successfully repelled the Tatar invasion. Because they killed one of the leaders, a Tatar Khan, the victorious defenders dressed up in the Khan’s clothing and triumphantly rode into the city.  Another version recalls that the Tatars arrived at the city gates at night in 1287, but chose not to attack the city until morning and instead camped along the Vistula. Some locals transporting wood on the river saw them and decided to play a joke on the city. They entered the city gates and dressed up like Tatars on horses trying to scare people into thinking the gates were breached. To the relief of the people of the city their true identity was soon discovered and the incident's popularity led the mayor to declare this to be an annual celebration.

History.

"On Ash Wednesday, 10 March 1241, Tatars ravaged Sandomierz and crossed the Vistula to Kraków. The dukes of Sandomierz and Opole joined battle briefly before retreating. At Legnica the Silesian duke Henry II the Pious, intercepted the invaders only to perish with his knights... The Tatars returned to ravage southern Poland again in 1259 and 1287 and the threat they posed dominated central and east European political and religious life for the next 200 years or so... In regional folklore the Tatar assumed the position of bogeyman, as the Kraków Corpus Christi "Lajkonik" procession colorfully reminds one"

Festival.

Whatever the origin, the city continues the tradition with a festival that has taken place every June for the past 700 years. The Lajkonik is a man dressed up as a warrior from the East. He rides a prancing white hobbyhorse through the city streets from the Premonstratensian (Norbertine) Convent in Zwierzyniec to the Main Market Square. People in traditional folklore dress accompany him while others are adorned in oriental garments and hold horsetail insignia in their hands. The procession winds its way through the historic streets of the city, followed by musicians, children, and revelers. On his way, the Lajkonik touches spectators with his golden mace and collects money for the traditional ransom. Being touched by the Lajkonik's mace is believed to bring good luck. At the Market Square, the mayor of the city awaits the Lajkonik with a pile of ransom money and a chalice with which they make a toast to the wellbeing of Kraków and its inhabitants. Music and dancing continues in front of the Old Tower Hall at the Main Square.

Everyday.

Some Polish folk groups use the figure of the Lajkonik in their performances. The costume of the Lajkonik is worn also by street disguisers as a tourist attraction. However, the true Lajkonik is only the one at the festival on the first Thursday after Corpus Christi.  There are numerous souvenirs and folk art items depicting the Lajkonik.  The Lajkonik is so popular that the name has become a trade name for numerous products sold in Poland and abroad, including hotels (), snacks ().  Lajkonik is also the name of a brand of Polish snack manufacturers based in Skawina.

Lajkonik Polish dancing groups.

There are numerous folk dance groups in Poland named after Lajkonik. In the United States, two groups based in Tucson and Chicago have also adopted the folk figure's name. There is one dance Ensemble in Western Sydney, [Australia] called Lajkonik.

The Lajkonik is one of the unofficial symbols of the city of Kraków, Poland. It is represented as a bearded man resembling a Tatar in a characteristic pointed hat, dressed in Mongol attire, with a wooden horse around his waist (hobby horse). It is the subject of the Lajkonik Festival () that takes place each year on the first Thursday after the religious holiday of Corpus Christi.


Background.

Bayezid born in 1525 in Constantinople (Istanbul) during the reign of his father, Suleiman the Magnificent. His mother was Hurrem, an Orthodox priest's daughter, who was the sultan's concubine in that time. At the time of his birth, Bayezid had three elder full-brothers, Mehmed (born 1521), Abdullah (born 1522), and Selim (born 1524). He also had one elder half-brother Mustafa (born 1515) and later one younger full-brother, Cihangir (born 1531). In 1533 or 1534, breaking a two-century-old tradition, his father freed and legally wed his mother.  As a court rule, şehzades were appointed to govern a province in order to gain administrative experience. Bayezid became the governor of Kütahya. However, during his father's 12th campaign to Nakhchivan (part of modern Azerbaijan) in 1553, he was assigned to rule in Edirne (the Ottoman capital of Rumelia, which was the European territories of the Ottoman Empire) in the absence of his father. During the campaign, Şehzade Mustafa, Suleiman’s eldest son and the popular heir to the throne, was executed upon the sultan’s order. The news of the execution caused unrest in all parts of the empire and an impostor claiming to be the executed Mustafa rebelled against Suleiman in Rumelia. Although the rebellion was subdued by a vizier, Suleiman suspected that his son Bayezid was deliberately slow to react.

Competition for the Throne.

Suleiman had five sons who lived to reach adulthood. His second son, Mehmed, had died of smallpox in 1543. After the execution of Mustafa (Suleiman's eldest who had been the most potential heir to the throne) and the death of Cihangir (the youngest brother who suffered from extremely poor health) in 1553, only two princes were left to be the potential claimant to throne: Bayezid and Selim (the future Selim II). Bayezid was the governor of Kütahya and Selim was the governor of Manisa, two cities at almost equal distance from Istanbul, the capital.  Suleiman was in his 60s, and the competition between the two brothers over the throne was evident. Suleiman scolded his sons and decided to change their places of duty. Bayezid was assigned to rule Amasya and Selim to Konya, both provinces being further from Constantinople but still equidistant. Selim was quick to obey and promptly moved to Konya, but to the dismay of his father, Bayezid obeyed only after much hesitation. Angered, Suleiman accused Bayezid of being a rebel and supported his elder son Selim against Bayezid. Selim, in collaboration with Sokollu Mehmet Pasha (the future grand vizier) and with additional help from his father's army, defeated his brother in a civil war at Konya in May 1559.

Refuge in the Safavid Empire.

Bayezid returned to Amasya and escaped to the Safavid Empire with his sons and a small army. According to journalist and historian researcher Murat Bardakçı, Sokullu Mehmet Pasha sent an army after Bayezid, which was defeated by Bayezid's forces. In the autumn of 1559, he reached the Safavid town of Yerevan, where he was received with great respect by its governor. Some time later, he reached Tabriz, where he was welcomed by Shah Tahmasp I. Although Tahmasp I initially wholeheartedly and lavishly welcomed Bayezid, including giving magnificent parties in his honour, he later jailed him on the request of Sultan Suleiman. Both Suleiman and Selim sent envoys to Persia to persuade the shah to execute Bayezid. For the coming one and half year in fact, embassies would continue to travel between Istanbul and Qazvin. On 16 July, what would be the last of the Ottoman embassies would arrive, whose formal task, like the previous embassies, was to try return Bayezid to Istanbul. As stated by Prof. Colin P. Mitchell, this included Khusrau Pasha (the governor of Van), Sinan Pasha, Ali Aqa Chavush Bashi, and a retinue of two hundred officials. In the letter that was given with the embassy, Suleiman also declared his readiness to reconfirm the Treaty of Amasya (1555) and to begin a new era of Ottoman–Safavid relations. Suleiman, throughout the embassies, also gave Tahmasp numerous gifts. He also agreed with Tahmasp's demand to pay him for handing Bayezid over (400,000 gold coins were given). Finally, on 25 September 1561, Bayezid and his four sons were handed over by Tahmasp and executed in the environs of the Safavid capital Qazvin by the Ottoman executioner, Ali Aqa Chavush Bashi, through the way of garrotting.

Family.

Bayezid had nine children. All of them were issue of different mothers, except Şehzade Osman and Şehzade Mahmud who were full brothers. Şehzade Orhan was his eldest child.  Bayezid had five sons:  Bayezid had four daughters:

In popular culture.

In the 2011–2014 TV series "Muhteşem Yüzyıl" he is portrayed by Aras Bulut İynemli.

Şehzade Bayezid (Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده بايزيد; 1525 – 25 September 1561) was an Ottoman prince as the son of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his legal wife Hurrem Sultan. After the execution of Şehzade Mustafa (who had been the heir apparent to the Ottoman throne) in 1553, Bayezid became the popular heir among the army. Throughout the 1550s, when Suleiman was already in his 60s, a protracted competition for the throne between Bayezid and his brother Selim became evident. Bayezid had fallen into disfavor with his father – who was angered by Bayezid's disobedience stemming from around the same years – as opposed to Selim (who would eventually succeed as Selim II). After being defeated in a battle near Konya in 1559 by Selim and Sokullu Mehmet Pasha (with the help of the Sultan's army), he fled to the neighbouring Safavid Empire, where he was lavishly received by Tahmasp I. However, in 1561, on the continuous insistence of the Sultan throughout his son's exile, and after several large payments, Tahmasp allowed Bayezid to be executed by agents of his own father.


History.

SolarWinds was officially founded in 1999 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and (as of 2009) had maintained profitability since its founding. The company was co-founded by Donald Yonce (a former executive at Walmart) and his brother David Yonce. SolarWinds released its first products, Trace Route and Ping Sweep, earlier in March 1998 and released its first web-based network performance monitoring application in November 2001. According to Michael Bennett, who became the chief executive officer in 2006, the name SolarWinds was chosen by an early employee and that the company has nothing to do with solar or wind power. In 2006, the company moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, where about 300 of the company's total 450 employees were based as of 2011.  During 2007, SolarWinds raised funding from Austin Ventures, Bain Capital, and Insight Venture Partners. SolarWinds completed an initial public offering of $112.5 million in May 2009, closing at higher prices after its initial day of trading. The IPO from SolarWinds was followed by another from OpenTable (an online restaurant-reservation service), which was perceived to break a "dry spell" (caused by the Great Recession) in which very few companies went public. Both Bain Capital and Insight Venture Partners backed the IPO and used the opportunity to sell some of their shares during the offering.  Analysts and company executives forecasted continued expansion post-IPO, including several acquisitions. In 2010, Bennett retired from his position as CEO and was replaced by the company's former chief financial officer Kevin Thompson. In May 2013, SolarWinds announced plans to invest in an operations hub in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was named by "Forbes" as "Best Small Company in America, citing high-functioning products for low costs and impressive company growth." By 2013, SolarWinds was employing about 900 people.  In October 2015, the company disclosed that it was in talks with a then-unnamed party interested in acquiring the company and making SolarWinds a privately held company again. An acquisition by the private equity technology investment firms Silver Lake Partners and Thoma Bravo, LLC. was announced in late 2015, and by January 2016, SolarWinds was taken into private ownership in a $4.5 billion deal. As of the sale, the company employed 1,770 people worldwide of which 510 were based in Austin and reported revenues of about half a billion dollars a year.  In November 2017, SolarWinds released AppOptics which integrates much of the SolarWinds acquired software portfolio, including Librato and TraceView, into a single software-as-a-service package. AppOptics included compatibility with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.  In September 2018, SolarWinds filed for an IPO again, after three years of being owned by private equity firms. SolarWinds completed their IPO on October 19, 2018.  SolarWinds reportedly updated its Network Performance Monitor product in December 2018 with enhancements for Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).

Acquisitions.

According to "The Wall Street Journal", SolarWinds offers freely downloadable software to potential clients and then markets more advanced software to them by offering trial versions. Following the funding in 2007, SolarWinds acquired several companies including Neon Software and ipMonitor Corp. and opened a European sales office in Ireland.  During and after its IPO in 2009, SolarWinds acquired a number of other companies and products, including the acquisition of the New Zealand-based software maker Kiwi Enterprises, which was announced in January 2009.  SolarWinds acquired several companies in 2011 and was ranked No. 10 on "Forbes Magazine"'s list of fastest-growing tech companies. In January 2011, it acquired Hyper9 Inc, an Austin-based virtualization management company with undisclosed terms. In July, SolarWinds completed the acquisition of the Idaho-based network security company TriGeo for $35 million. TriGeo's offices in Post Falls were added to the list of SolarWinds location which already included satellite offices in Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Tulsa, as well as operations in Australia, the Czech Republic, India, Ireland, and Singapore.  In early 2012, only about a month after acquiring Dameware, SolarWinds acquired the patch management software provider EminentWare. In December, SolarWinds acquired RhinoSoft, adding the company's product FTP Voyager to SolarWinds suite of tools and services.  In May 2013, SolarWinds acquired N-able Technologies (2013), a cloud-based information technology services provider. The deal was reportedly valued $120 million in cash. In October, it acquired the Boulder, Colorado-based database performance management company Confio Software. With the $103 million agreement, SolarWinds gained a sales office in London and Confio's main product, Ignite. Between 2014 and 2015, the company acquired the Swedish web-monitoring company Pingdom, the San Francisco-based metrics and monitoring company Librato (for $40 million), and the log management service Papertrail (for $41 million).  During 2015, SolarWinds announced its acquisition of Librato (a monitoring company), and Capzure Technology (an MSP Manager software to N-able which SolarWinds had previously acquired).  In June 2016, SolarWinds acquired LogicNow, a rival remote monitoring software company. A new subsidiary SolarWinds MSP was formed by merging LogicNow and N-able Technologies. The company announced that the subsidiary will be led by LogicNow's former CEO Walter Scott with a new title of executive vice president.  Between 2017 and 2019, SolarWinds acquired five companies:

SolarWinds Inc. is an American company that develops software for businesses to help manage their networks, systems, and information technology infrastructure. SolarWinds is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with sales and product development offices in a number of locations in the United States and several other countries around the world. The company was publicly traded from May 2009 until the end of 2015, and again from October 2018. It has also acquired a number of companies, some of which it still operates under their original brand names including Pingdom, Papertrail, and Loggly.


Early life.

Growing up in Tel Aviv, Adam began playing the violin when he was five years old before picking up the guitar when he was nine. Following a stint with the electric bass at 16 he discovered the instrument that would come to be most associated with him when he began studying the Double Bass.

Career.

Adam began his musical career performing in jazz clubs and cafes and playing with several local musicians and ensembles. He got his early break in 2008 when his upright bass version of the theme tune for the TV show "Seinfeld" as well as his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" gained viral success. This caught the attention of American label CandyRat Records who released the singles "Openland" and "Flamenco" in 2012.  That same year Adam's playing was featured on the Amnesty International 'Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan' album playing on songwriter Oren Lavie's version of the track "4Th Time Around".  2013 was a key year for Adam with solo shows in Europe and the United States including appearances at the International Society Of Bassists convention in Rochester, NY, in Belgium, and Musica In Borgo in Termoli, Italy, where he also featured as a guest artist during Sarah Jane Morris' set. In addition he supported the likes of Richard Bona, Mike Stern and Victor Wooten. He also appeared on a cover of the Pearl Jam track 'Jeremy' by the metal band Orphaned Land. A few months later Adam began his ongoing collaboration with internationally renowned singer Achinoam Nini ("Noa"), appearing on her 2014 album "Love Medicine" as well as joining her on tours in North America and Europe that included a show with George Dalaras and Dulce Pontes at the Acropolis in Athens.  In 2014 Adam joined renowned classical musicians Igudesman & Joo (Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo) for their League Of X-traordinary Musicians Showpiece, performing a New Year's Eve show at the Vienna Konzerthaus alongside a talented multinational ensemble. That same year he also formed the new Adam Ben Ezra Trio which toured Europe including performances at Catania Jazz Festival in Italy. In 2015 Adam crowd-funded his debut album "Can’t Stop Running" through a PledgeMusic campaign. The cover art for the album, photographed by Ezra Gozo Mansur, was also selected as one of the best photos of 2015 by Communication Arts magazine.  In the summer of 2015 Adam appeared at the Pilsen Festival and Pacovský Poledník Festival as well as a sold-out show at the Jazz Dock Club in Prague as part of his tour in the Czech Republic. Later that year he again joined forces with Igudesman & Joo at the 'Lucerne Festival' in Switzerland, and also performed solo concerts at The Romanian National Opera, in Timișoara, Romania and at the Double Bass Passion Festival in Belgrade, Serbia.

Youtube.

In addition to his live music playing Adam has made a name for himself through his YouTube channel. To date his videos have gained more than 7 million views and his original video for "Can't Stop Running" has generated more than 1 million views. He is well known for his takes on TV theme songs such as 'Dexter' and 'Mad Men'.

Influences.

Adam has cited Bach, Sting, Debussy, Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez and Jaco Pastorius, Flamenco and Arabic music as his musical inspiration. Adam is considered a pioneer in a new style of playing on the upright bass, in which he plays and drums on his instrument at the same time in order to obtain a rich groove sound.

Instruments.

As well as playing the double bass, he is known for incorporating various instruments in his live performances and recordings, including the piano, bass guitar, guitar, clarinet, oud, flute and cajon, and for his use of a loop and effect pedals.

Adam Ben Ezra (; born December 18, 1982 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli self-taught multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator, known for his Double Bass performances


Early life.

Rabbi Shimon Sofer was born 13 Tevet 5581 (December 18, (1820) in the city of Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia), where his father, Rabbi Moses Schreiber (1762-1839), was serving as chief rabbi. His mother, Sarah-Sorele Schreiber (1790–1832), was the daughter of Rabbi Akiva Eger, the rabbi of Poznań, and the sister of Rabbi Abraham Moses Kalischer (1788–1812), the rabbi of Piła. She had ten other children beside him, and he lost her when he was eleven years old. He was named Shimon after his ancestor, the author of "Yalkut Shimoni".  Shimon was recognized as a child prodigy at a very early age. His father would seat him on his lap whilst delivering his weekly "Chumash shiur" at the Pressburg Yeshiva, where he expounded on Rashi and Ramban commentaries.  At the age of 9, he was fluent in the works of the Shlah HaKadosh and the Baal HaAkeida. He displayed great interest in Jewish Poetry, a talent which is noticeable in his later Torah works. His favorite "piyyut" was Ya Ribon of Rabbi Israel ben Moses Najara, a Shabbat song which his father would not sing.  His father would affectionately call him "Shimon Chassida" (the pious), and at the age of 13, at his Bar Mitzva, ordained him with the Ashkenazi title “Chaver”.  Shimon matured quickly and at the age of 17 he married Miriam Sternberg, a daughter of philanthropist Rabbi Dov Ber Sternberg (Reb Ber Sighet) of Carei (also known as Nagykároly).  After his marriage, he moved back to Pressburg, and upon instruction from his father, started learning Kaballa with Pressburg Dayan Rabbi Natan Binyamin Lieber (1805–1880) (Yiddish: נטע וואלף סג"ל) author of "Sheeris Natan Binyamin".  Shimon was a mere 19 years old when his father died. His brother Avraham Shmuel Binyamin, 6 years his elder, was appointed as Chief Rabbi of Pressburg.  Avraham Shmuel Binyamin and Shimon continued to edit and publish their father's Torah commentary and Halakhic rulings, a project placed upon them by their father during his lifetime. During this time they completed the first volume of "Chassam Sofer" Responsa on "Yoreh De'ah" (שו"ת חת"ס חיו"ד).

Rabbinical Positions.

Circa 1841 (5602), he moved to Nagykaroly, to be with his father-in-law.  Circa 1843 (5603) he became rabbi of Mattersdorf, a position his father filled some 40 years earlier. There he founded a yeshiva and became involved in communal and national matters. He remained steadfast in his father's way of refusing to accept any reform or change to traditional orthodox Judaism.  Circa 1849 (5610) he was offered a Chief Rabbinical position in Yarmat, which for an unknown reason, he turned down.  Circa 1851 (5612), the Jewish community in Nikolsberg invited Sofer to accept the Chief Rabbinical position of their city. Rabbi Shimon again turned down this offer reasoning that he could not possibly stand in the position of previous "Torah giants" (such as the Mahara”l, Tosfos Yom Tov, Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke Horowitz and Rabbi Mordechai Benet who had served there as Chief Rabbi).  Circa 1855 (5616), the Jewish Community of Pápa offered him to serve as Chief Rabbi of their city, an offer he refused. He reasoned that this community had removed their "bima" from the center of their Synagogue and moved the Chazzan's position to the face the congregation from a high stage. This, in his opinion was an unacceptable change to tradition and against halakha. Although the community promised to relocate the "bima" and "amud" in accordance to tradition, Rabbi Shimon still refused. In a letter written to his brother-in-law and sister Rabbi Shlomo & Gitel Spitzer, he explained that he and his wife planned on moving to Jerusalem in the Land of Israel and a five-year contract with this community would restrict him on this plan.  Circa 1857 (5618), the Jewish Community of Krakow offered Sofer the position of Chief Rabbi, an offer that Sofer took seriously but deliberated for some time.  Circa 1859 (5620) Rabbi Sofer accepted this position and moved to Krakow. Amongst those who convinced him to accept this post was Rabbi Chaim Halberstam, Rebbe of Sanz. His position of Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf was filled by his nephew Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld (1835–1883) author of "Chassan Sofer".

In Krakow.

Krakow was the home to a thriving Orthodox Jewish Community. Jewish presence there has been recorded as early as the 12th century. Since the 16th century many "Torah giants" served there as Chief Rabbi, such as the Rem”a, Ba”ch, Tosfos Yom Tov and the Maginei Shlomo.  During Rabbi Sofer's rabbinate, Jews in Krakow numbered between 15,000-20,000 adults over the age of 15. In one of his letters written in 1879, Sofer states that there were over 80 "minyanim" in Krakow alone.  At this time, the Haskalah movement had made an impression on the general Jewish Population of the Austria-Hungarian empire with many Jews assimilating or rejecting the traditional orthodox approach to Judaism.  The Jews enjoyed freedom and rights under the rule of the Emperor Franz Joseph I who sympathized with them. Franz Joseph had even made a visit to Jerusalem in 1869 where he was welcomed warmly by the Orthodox Jewish community and leaders. He had donated the dome on the Tiferes Yisrael Synagogue in Jerusalem.  The Hasidim and the Austrian-Hungarian rabbis of the Sofer Dynasty made a joint effort to strengthen traditional Orthodox Judaism and opposed the Reform both socially and politically.  A major challenge for the traditional Orthodox Jews was opposing the "Shomer Israel Society", a strong and influential reform group. Shomer Israel supported assimilation of Jews with the general population and sought legislation forcing Yeshiva’s to study philosophy and secular studies, something which the Orthodox staunchly opposed. In 1880, Rabbi Shimon Sofer founded a Hebrew-Yiddish weekly newspaper named מחזיקי הדת ("Machzikei Hadas" or "Maḥaziḳe ha-Dat"; "Zeitung fur das Wahre Orthodoxische Judentum"), published in Lemberg, to counter the Izraelit tabloid issued by Shomer Israel.  In 1878 (5638), Rabbi Sofer and the Rebbe of Belz, Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach, founded a political party naming it Machzikei Hadas. This party was supported by all the traditional orthodox communities of Galicia. Galician Jewry numbered some 800,000 persons at this time. The organization received recognition from the Austrian Kultusministerium (Ministry of Culture). It could be considered the first attempt of the Orthodox Jews in Europe to unite for political action in order to foster its beliefs in the sphere of Jewish social life.  In 1878, Machzikei Hadas aligned itself with the Polish Club Polenklub and presented Rabbi Sofer as its candidate for the electorate of the Galician districts of Kolomyia, Sniatyn and Buchach which had large Jewish electorates. In 1879, Sofer was elected and earned a seat at the "Reichsrat" (Austrian Parliament). Though Sofer was a talented orator and pretty fluent in the German language, the official language at the "Reichsrat" was Polish. It has been recorded that probably due to this Sofer did not speak at any assembly rather used his political influence off stage.  Joseph Margoshes (1866–1955), a writer for the New York Yiddish daily "Morgen Journal", describes Sofer in his memoir "A World Apart":  Although presiding over the Machzikei Hadas brought Sofer and the Orthodox Community honor and satisfaction, he endured much disrespect and personal insults from the Shomer Israel Society and newspapers such as the "Izraelit" and "HaIvri" whose editorials carried personal insults to him and his colleagues.

Rabbi Sofer and Franz Joseph I.

In 1880 (כ"ה אלול תר"ם), The Emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Franz Joseph I made a 3-day visit to Krakow. Amongst the general population who greeted the Emperor at the train station, was the Orthodox Jewish community headed by Rabbi Shimon Sofer and his son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer.  In a letter written the next morning (יום ה' ה' דסליחות תר"ם) to his son and daughter-in-law, Rabbi Shlomo and Hinda Sofer, he writes with great awe of his encounter with the emperor:  The Jewish delegation awaited the emperor in a line under "chuppa" canopies with the leaders holding Torah scrolls adored with gold and silver accessories. His Excellency Franz Joseph sat in a carriage together with Prince Albrecht. Upon passing the Jewish delegation, he acknowledged the Torah scrolls by rising and bowing down at their sight. The Emperor continued to his lodging prepared by Potocki (probably; Alfred Józef Potocki). Rabbi Sofer and twelve delegates of the Jewish community formally welcomed the Emperor at the lodging. Rabbi Sofer requested the emperor's permission to don his hat in order to bless the Emperor, which was granted cordially. Rabbi Sofer made the traditional blessing (שנתן מכבודו) to which the Emperor answered "Amen". Sofer described the welcoming as "splendid", writing that he was invited to the "ball" that evening but was not planning on attending.  The "Machzikei HaDas" newspaper of 19 September 1880 carried a front page report heralding the Emperor's visit to Krakow and Lvov, comparing him to an “Angel sent by God”. Articles bestowed Franz Joseph with titles such as “our father, our king, the almighty, righteous and merciful”. The report describes the joy and happiness of the Jewish community and the respect they and Rabbi Sofer received from the Emperor, an unprecedented event in Diaspora Jewish history.  On 10 May 1881, Rabbi Sofer sent a parchment scroll to the Emperor Franz Joseph on the occasion of the wedding of his son Rudolf. The scroll, containing blessings and good wishes, was decorated with pure gold. It was written on behalf of the Orthodox Jewish community in Galicia and signed by Rabbi Sofer (signed; Simon Schreiber). It was received with gratitude.  One line of the Lamentation Eulogy which was authored after Rabbi Shimon's death by his son Rabbi Yisrael David Simcha (Bunim) Sofer and printed in "Machzikei Hadas" newspaper reads: שמח מלכו עמו ובאות נתכבד (Happy was the King with him, and with an award was dignified). In a footnote he explains this passage:

Death of his brother Avraham Shmuel Binyamin.

Rabbi Shimon was not informed of the death of his brother Avraham Shmuel Binyamin on December 31, 1871 and did not take part in his burial. Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, who took part and recorded a memoir of the burial, mentions that the Krakow community withheld three telegrams sent by the Pressburg community and family from reaching him. Hildersheimer writes that the Krakow community feared that the Pressburg community would appoint him as their Chief Rabbi.  In a condolence letter written to his brother's family two weeks after the passing, Rabbi Shimon apologizes for not responding to the telegrams sent. He wrote that his family and community withheld the news from him and that the death of his brother came to his knowledge by chance. He discovered the news upon seeing his son-in-law reading the laws of "Avelut".

Death of Rabbi Shimon.

On Purim 1883 (5643), Rabbi Sofer celebrated with his congregation as usual, festivities continued into the late hours of the night.  On the eve of 17 Adar II, 1883 (5643), he started to feel unwell. The next morning doctors examined him and prescribed medicine. He prayed with Tallit and Tefillin until 10:00am. Therefater he sent for his son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer, and said to him, These were his last words before he died.  His son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer succeeded him as Chief Rabbi of Krakow.

Shimon Sofer (1820–1883) () was a prominent Austrian Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the 19th century. He was Chief Rabbi of Kraków, Poland after serving as Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf. He was the second son of Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chassam Sofer) of Pressburg.


History.

The Portuguese nobility can be traced back to the reign of Alfonso VI of Leon, whose reign saw the sons of Leonese nobility established as gentry in the north of Portugal, between the Minho River and the Douro River. This was the region of the sun and the most powerful men of the kingdom. They united nobility of birth to the authority and prestige of public office.  They were followed in the hierarchy, in descending order, by "infancies", "cavaleiros" (knights) and "escudeiros" (squires). A title of Spanish origin, "filho de alguém", applied to senior functionaries and gave rise to the word "fidalgo", who, in the 14th century, became widespread and went on to name all of noble lineage, thereby designating the highest class of the nobility, without distinction of rank.

Renaissance.

By the time of the reign of Manuel I of Portugal (1495–1521), during the Portuguese Renaissance, for example, when they were appointed captains of the fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral, who arrived in Brazil on April 22, 1500, the Portuguese nobility already had registers dating back to the 12th century. The noble members of Cabral's fleet followed this feature, since most descended from families of Castile and León, who had settled in Portugal, who had already rendered several generations of service. The few exceptions – such as Bartolomeu Dias, who received his rank and arms which he transmitted to his descendants – show the importance attributed at this period to the discoveries made.  It was also the reign of King Manuel I that rules were established that define the use of the degrees of nobility (hereditary titles), and the use of heraldic arms, preventing abuses in the adoption of both and establishing the rights of the nobility. The nobles were subject to the king and were arranged in two orders, each with three degrees: All nobles were considered vassals of the King of Portugal. To rise in status, a noble was expected to demonstrate loyalty and service to the king.  The battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578 was an unmitigated disaster for Portugal. King Sebastian of Portugal died on the battlefield along with most of the Portuguese nobility, leading to the end of the Aviz dynasty.  Though the 15th and 16th centuries were rich in acts of bravery and heroic deeds, the deeds related to the Age of Discoveries were not represented symbolically for new arms in Portuguese blazon. Few were granted, and not all heraldic grants were recorded. This did not occur with those involved in combat, especially during the occupation of northern Africa, which feature many coats of arms with their own attributes, such as "Moorish head." The heraldry of the Discoveries is restricted to inherited symbols from the family, or canting arms, such as Nuno Leitao da Cunha, with nine wedges "(cunhas)", or the goats of Cabral, without suggesting or representing the challenges found in the sea and its conquest. The arms of Nicolau Coelho, which contain a base undy silver and blue, which can symbolize the conquered sea, is a rare exception.

Modern era.

In the first half of the 18th century, the Royal Equestrian Academy (today known as the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art) was founded by King João V of Portugal as a riding school exclusively accessible to the Portuguese Royal Family and the nobility. Good horsemanship was and still is considered a hallmark of the Portuguese nobility, equestrianism continuing to this day to be the traditional sport of the class.  Following the Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the nobility was officially disbanded and ennoblement was prohibited under the Portuguese Constitution. Notwithstanding, although the status of nobility has not been recognised in law since 1910, legitimate titles of nobility (those granted by a reigning monarch before the 5th October 1910) have been given legal recognition and protection, including under article 26 of the Portuguese Constitution, in conjunction with articles 70 and 72 of the Civil Code, as established by decision of Portugal's Supreme Court of Justice in 2014.  Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, created the Portuguese Council of Nobility during the Republic to study the former monarchy's laws and grants of nobility, and to update the genealogies of ennobled families, maintaining records on the transmission of hereditary titles in accordance therewith. The predominant activity of the Council was the identification of living heirs to historical titles and coats of arms.  After Dom Duarte Nuno's death, his son Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, declared the Council of Nobility disbanded, following criticism in relation to a handful of questionable decisions. Subsequently, the "Instituto da Nobreza Portuguesa" was established by representatives of Portugal's titled nobility, with the acquiescence and support of the Duke fo Braganza – its honorary president – as a self-regulating private body which continues the work and maintains the records of the original Council of Nobility.

Hierarchy of the Nobility.

The ranks of the titled nobility, although similar to those in other European countries, have their idiosyncrasies in Portugal. They are as follows:  The holders of all titles of Count, Marquis and Duke were automatically imbued with "Grandeza" of the kingdom of Portugal. The rank of "Grandeza" was automatic also for Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals and the Patriarch of Lisbon, as well as for Peers of the Realm during the constitutional monarchy when the House of Peers was established in the Portuguese "Cortes". In addition, in rare circumstances, viscountcies were given the attribute of "Honras de Grandeza", placing them on a rank equivalent to countships. This is the case with the viscountcies of Asseca and Balsemão, for example.  In extraordinary circumstances, certain titleholders were granted the hereditary title of "Parente d'El Rei". As well as denoting a historic blood relationship with the Crown, it was a sign of exceptional merit and raised the titleholder's status above that of all other titled nobility, with the exception of royal dukes. Examples include the dukes of Cadaval, marquesses of Lavradio and Valença, and counts of Óbidos.  All nobles titles were effectively hereditary but most required new concessions for their respective heirs. In rare occasions, these were given to members of the same family that were not the immediate heir. Titles were granted:  In Portugal and Brazil, the honorific "Dom" () is often used for men who belong to the House of Braganza. Otherwise, in Portugal, it is used by members of families of some of its titled nobility. Unless ennobling letters patent specifically authorised its use, "Dom" was not attributed to members of Portugal's untitled nobility: Since hereditary titles in Portugal descended according to primogeniture, the right to the style of "Dom" was the only apparent distinction between cadets of titled families and members of untitled noble families.  Fidalgos constituted the lowest rank of nobility of blood.

Royally-held noble titles.

In addition to their royal titles, members of Portugal's royal family have held a number of noble titles, either through acquisition prior to the family's accession to the throne or by grant of the monarch. Following the proclamation of the republic in 1910, these titles have been used by various members of the royal family, notably by the Duke of Braganza's younger brothers and by his three children. The following are titles that have been held at various times by Portuguese royalty:

The Portuguese nobility was a social class enshrined in the laws of the Kingdom of Portugal with specific privileges, prerogatives, obligations and regulations. The nobility ranked immediately after royalty and was itself subdivided into a number of subcategories which included the titled nobility and nobility of blood at the top and civic nobility at the bottom, encompassing a small, but not insignificant proportion of Portugal's citizenry.


History.

It was the only channel in France for 28 years, and has often changed its name since the creation of Radio-PTT Vision on 26 April 1935, making it one of the oldest television stations in the world, and one of the very few prewar television stations to remain in existence to the present day. It became Radiodiffusion nationale Télévision (RN Télévision) in 1937, Fernsehsender Paris (Paris Television) during German occupation in 1943, RDF Télévision française in 1944, RTF Télévision in 1949, la Première chaîne de la RTF in 1963 following the creation of the second channel, la Première chaîne de l'ORTF in 1964 and finally Télévision Française 1 (TF1) in 1975.

Radio-PTT Vision (1935–1937).

Radio-PTT Vision began operations on 26 April 1935 as the first television station in France, using a 30-line mechanical television system based on the Nipkow disk. It was operated by the French PTT agency with a transmitter located atop the Eiffel Tower, and was on air three days a week from 11 am to 11:30 am and 8 pm to 8:30 pm and on Sundays from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. On 4 January 1937 the broadcasting hours were changed such that television programmes were aired from 5 pm until 10 pm Wednesdays to Fridays, and from 4 pm to 8:30 pm or 9 pm Saturdays to Tuesdays.

Radiodiffusion nationale Télévision (1937–1939).

Following successful trials of a "high-definition" 455-line electronic television system designed by Thomson-Houston which improved on the 405-line system originally designed by EMI-Marconi, Radio-PTT Vision renamed itself as Radiodiffusion nationale Télévision (RN Télévision) in July 1937. However, broadcasts using the Nipkow disk system continued alongside the new electronic system until 10 April 1938. In July 1938, a decree of the French PTT agency fixed the French terrestrial television standard as transmitting on 455 lines VHF (46 MHz, positive modulation, 25 frames per second), to be adopted throughout France within three years. The adoption of the electronic standard marked the end of mechanical television in France, and the advent of electronic television to obtain much better image quality. RN Télévision abruptly stopped broadcasts on 3 September 1939 following the entry of France into the Second World War.

Fernsehsender Paris (1943–1944).

Television broadcasts resumed in occupied France on 7 May 1943 as Fernsehsender Paris, under the control of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. It was on air in German and French four days a week from 10 am to noon, three days a week from 3 pm to 8 pm and every evening from 8:30 pm to 10 pm. Fernsehsender Paris stopped broadcasts on 12 August 1944, one week before the liberation of Paris.

RDF Télévision française (1944–1949).

Television broadcasts in France resumed on 1 October 1944 under the name "Télévision française", and following the creation of "Radiodiffusion française" on 23 March 1945 the television service was renamed as RDF Télévision française. Following the return of the Eiffel Tower to the French after being in American administration following the liberation of Paris, on 1 October 1945 the official resumption of television broadcasts took place with one hour of programming each day. On 20 November 1948, the Secretary of State for Information, François Mitterrand decreed the adoption of the 819-line high-definition VHF standard, which was in use from 1949 until 1983.

RTF Télévision (1949–1964).

"Radiodiffusion française" was renamed as "Radiodiffusion-télévision française" (RTF) on 9 February 1949, and thus began the growth of television as an accepted mass medium in France. On 29 May 1949 the first news programme aired on RTF TV, and on 30 July 1949 a television licence fee was introduced. Residents living outside Paris could view RTF TV for the first time in February 1952 when Télé Lille (now known as France 3 Nord-Pas-de-Calais), a regional broadcaster operating since 10 April 1950 was co-opted into the RTF TV network and became RTF's first relay outside Paris.

Première chaîne de l'ORTF (1964–1975).

Following the creation of "RTF Télévision 2" (now France 2) in 1963, the first channel was renamed as "Première chaîne de la RTF" (First Channel of the RTF), which was renamed as "Première chaîne de l'ORTF" (First Channel of the ORTF) when the ORTF was created on 25 July 1964. This period marked the introduction of commercial advertising on "Première chaîne de l'ORTF" which began on 1 October 1968. On 8 January 1969, the ORTF created a subsidiary company called "Régie française de publicité" (RFP) to handle all advertising on the ORTF channels.

TF1 (since 1975).

TF1 (which originally stood for "Télévision Française 1" (French Television 1)), was created on 1 January 1975 when law 74-696 7 August 1974 (which split the ORTF into 7 organisations) came into effect, and the rebranding from "Première chaîne de l'ORTF" to TF1 came into effect on 6 January 1975. A new multicoloured logo for TF1 created by Catherine Chaillet came out that same year along with cel-animated idents, and from 1976 until 1985 analogue computer-generated idents produced using the Scanimate system were used on TF1, created by the American company Robert Abel and Associates with background music composed by Vladimir Cosma. The 1975 TF1 logo was later modified in 1984 and again in 1987. Colour television were first introduced to TF1 on 1 September 1975 when FR3 (now France•3) agreed to supply some of its colour programming to TF1, and the conversion to colour on TF1 was completed in late-1977. Since TF1's privatisation in 1987, the abbreviation is no longer expanded, so as to avoid confusion with the government-owned television broadcaster France Télévisions. The channel was also broadcast in Italy alongside La Chaîne Info on digital terrestrial television from 2004 to December 2006 on "Dfree" multiplex. TF1's current logo was unveiled on 2 February 1990, replacing the old logo.

Programmes.

International.

Dubbed and sometimes also subtitled; shown under their original titles except where indicated:

Sports.

Motorsport.

In 2005, TF1 launched TF1Vision, a video on demand service.

Criticism.

Some commentators accuse TF1 of being an excessively populist, commercialised channel. There is a clear emphasis on "light" entertainment programmes over more serious content, and the channel's success is sometimes seen as being founded on the "ménagères de moins de 50 ans" (housewives under 50) audience segment. Certainly, a large proportion of the schedule consists of gameshows, sensational documentaries and dubbed versions of TV series. The channel's news service is perceived as consisting of more celebrity news and human-interest stories than its public-sector competitors.  On 16 April 2009, the employee responsible for the "Web innovation" department was fired for criticizing the HADOPI law in a private email (on 19 February) sent to a Member of Parliament. The management of TF1 was notified about the e-mail by the Ministry for Culture and Communication, whom Ministry Christine Albanel is also one the authors of the HADOPI law.  In 2004 Patrick Le Lay, CEO of TF1 made the following statement about the channel's aims: There are many ways to speak about TV, but in a business perspective, let's be realistic: at the basis, TF1's job is helping Coca-Cola, for example, to sell its product. What we sell to Coca-Cola is available human brain time. Nothing is more difficult than obtaining this availability. This is where permanent change is located. We must always look out for popular programs, follow trends, surf on tendencies, in a context in which information is speeding up, getting manifold and trivialized.  Critics of TF1 also contend that its news coverage is slanted towards supporting right-wing politicians – they were in particular accused of supporting Édouard Balladur in the 1995 presidential elections, and of overstating crime during the 2002 electoral campaign to tilt the balance in favour of former French president Jacques Chirac, who campaigned on a law and order platform.  Key figures within TF1 are close friends to some of the most powerful politicians in France, and the relationship between Bouygues and the public-sector contracting system often raises suspicions. Nicolas Sarkozy (president between 2007 and 2012) is a frequent guest of the channel, and is seen as being given an easier ride than on other networks. Immigration and violence are arguably conflated in the channel's news programmes. In addition, it is occasionally alleged that news reports from TF1 tend to ignore issues yielding a bad light on their parent group (Bouygues), while stressing the problems of competitors (such as Vinci SA).  Such criticism is heavy in the satirical show "Les Guignols de l'info", broadcast on rival network Canal+. However, TF1 now competes in this category with M6, which was initially a generalist channel focusing on musical programmes, but now has programming more resembling TF1 (notably, reality shows that TF1 started running just after M6 introduced them).

TF1 ("té ef un", ; meaning "Télévision française une") is a French free-to-air television channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. Flagship series broadcast on the channel include "", "" and "House M.D."


Career.

1980–1999: Early life and The Melody Makers.

The Melody Makers was formed at the request of their father, Bob Marley, but only after his death did the band come into their own. Their vision, however, was similar to their father's desire to bring people together through music. The band is composed of four of Bob Marley's ten children, vocalist/guitarist Ziggy, vocalist/guitarist/drummer Stephen, vocalist Cedella, and vocalist Sharon. Her young brother Ziggy was the group's leader, with Stephen often sharing in the songwriting and lead vocals.  The group released over ten albums which includes their Grammy-winning albums "Conscious Party", "One Bright Day", and "Fallen Is Babylon". They have scored a number one hit "Tumblin' Down" along with other successful singles "Tomorrow People", "Everyone Wants to Be", "Look Who's Dancin'", and "Power to Move Ya".  In 1989, she made an appearance in the movie "The Mighty Quinn" as "Jody". Her song "I'm Hurting Inside", which features Sheryl Lee Ralph and Cedella Marley, appears on the soundtrack.

2002–present: Disbandment of the Melody Makers and recent work.

In 2002, the group disbanded after their worldwide tour. Sharon now balances her prowess on stage with the Caribbean business of Ghetto Youth United, the Melody Makers support group, and as the curator of the Bob Marley Museum. She is managing director of Total Care Learning Centre (TCLC) on Lady Musgrave Road in Kingston, Jamaica.

Personal life.

Sharon has four children named Donisha, Ingermar, Matthew, and Peter-Shane. She practices yoga and meditates for 15 minutes a day. She also has a husband.

Sharon Marley Prendergast (born 23 November 1964) is a Jamaican singer, dancer, and curator. She is the biological daughter of Rita Marley and was adopted by Bob Marley when the two married. She was in the group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers along with her young sister and brothers. With the group, she has won three Grammy awards.


Club career.

Roma.

Born in Rome, Curci is a product of the A.S. Roma youth academy. At only 19, he became the club's first choice goalkeeper for the second half of the 2004–05 season after injuries to fellow goalkeepers Ivan Pelizzoli and Carlo Zotti. He was replaced in the 2005–06 season by new Brazilian keeper Doni. Curci signed a new four-year contract on 16 July 2007.

Siena.

On 25 June 2008, Siena confirmed they signed Curci in a co-ownership deal from Roma for €1.75 million and signed the remaining 50% rights of Daniele Galloppa for another €1.75M. In exchange, Roma signed keeper Artur for €750,000 and defender Simone Loria for €2.8M.  Curci impressed in all his matches, notably his last two Serie A matches, helping Siena overcome Roma 1–0, and preventing Genoa from scoring more than they did. Curci then impressed in the "Tuscan Derby" against Fiorentina, performing 3 incredible reaction saves to help Siena win 1–0.

Sampdoria.

On 1 July 2010, Sampdoria bought Siena's half for €2.25 million. Roma retained their half. Curci played for Sampdoria in a match for qualification to the Champions League, against Werder Bremen, but his team lost. Curci was a key player for Sampdoria during the 2010–11 season and he made some crucial saves for the club. He was an ever-present and the club's undisputed first choice goalkeeper.

Roma return.

On 24 June 2011, Roma bought back Curci and Stefano Guberti from Sampdoria for a nominal fee of €1,000 on two-year (Guberti) and three-year deals (Curci) respectively. On 22 April 2012, Curci made a substitute appearance in a Serie A match against Juventus after Roma's starting goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg received a red card.

Bologna.

On 16 July 2012, Curci was signed by Bologna in a temporary deal with an option to purchase for €1 million. On 8 July 2013, the loan was extended for another season, with an option to purchase for €1.2 million. Curci also extended his contract with Roma to last until 30 June 2015.

Roma return.

On 2 September 2014, Curci was included in Roma's squad for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League as one of the four club trained players required under UEFA rules.

Mainz 05.

On 15 August 2015, Curci was signed by Bundesliga side Mainz on a two-year contract as a free agent. In January 2017, Curci had an unsuccessful trial with Bristol Rovers.  He left the club on 30 January 2017, after failing to make a single league appearance.

AFC Eskilstuna.

On 18 January 2018, Curci signed a two-year deal with Swedish Superettan side AFC Eskilstuna. He kept 18 clean sheets in 27 league appearances, a new club record, as Eskilstuna won a promotion to Allsvenskan through qualifiers.  Curci terminated his contract with AFC by mutual consent on 21 January 2019, with the club citing "personal reasons" for his departure. However, according to Curci himself, he sought to leave Eskilstuna due to differences with the club's management.

Hammarby IF.

On 24 January 2019, Curci signed a six-month contract with fellow Swedish club Hammarby IF, replacing the injured starting goalkeeper Johan Wiland, with an extension option of a further one-and-a-half year. Curci confirmed his departure from the club on 8 July 2019 as his contract had expired.

International career.

Curci has represented Italy multiple times at youth level. He received his first call-up to the Azzurri squad for a friendly against Hungary.  He has not been called up since November 2008.

Honours.

Club.

Roma

Gianluca Curci (; born 12 July 1985) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper, most recently for Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan.