Development.

Amniotic fluid is present from the formation of the gestational sac. Amniotic fluid is in the amniotic sac. It is generated from maternal plasma, and passes through the fetal membranes by osmotic and hydrostatic forces. When fetal kidneys begin to function in about week 16, fetal urine also contributes to the fluid. In earlier times, it was believed that the amniotic fluid was composed entirely of fetal urine.  The fluid is absorbed through the fetal tissue and skin. After the 19th-20th week of pregnancy, keratinization of an embryo's skin occurs; when this completes at around the 25th week, the fluid is primarily absorbed by the fetal gut.

Contents.

At first, amniotic fluid is mainly water with electrolytes, but by about the 12-14th week the liquid also contains proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and phospholipids, and urea, all of which aid in the growth of the fetus.

Volume.

The volume of amniotic fluid increases with the growth of fetus. From the 10th to the 20th week it increases from 25ml to 400ml approximately. Approximately in the 10th-11th week the breathing and swallowing of the fetus slightly decrease the amount of fluid, but neither urination nor swallowing contributes significantly to fluid quantity changes, until the 25th week, when keratinization of skin is complete. Then the relationship between fluid and fetal growth stops. It reaches a plateau of 800ml by the 28-week gestational age. The amount of fluid declines to roughly 400 ml at 42 weeks. There is about 500 cc to1L of amniotic fluid at birth.

Rupture of membranes.

The forewaters are released when the amnion ruptures. This is commonly known as the time when a woman's "water breaks". When this occurs during labour at term, it is known as "spontaneous rupture of membranes". If the rupture precedes labour at term, however, it is referred to as "pre-labour rupture of membranes". Spontaneous rupture of membranes before term is referred to as “premature rupture of membranes”. The majority of the hindwaters remain inside the womb until the baby is born. Artificial rupture of membrane (ARM), a manual rupture of the amniotic sac, can also be performed to release the fluid if the amnion has not spontaneously ruptured.

Function.

Swallowed amniotic fluid (in later stages of development) creates urine and contributes to the formation of meconium. Amniotic fluid protects the developing baby by cushioning against blows to the mother's abdomen, allowing for easier fetal movement and promoting muscular/skeletal development. Amniotic fluid swallowed by the fetus helps in the formation of the gastrointestinal tract. It also prevents the fetus from mechanical jerks and shocks. The fetus, which develops within a fluid-filled amniotic sac, relies on the placenta for respiratory gas exchange rather than the lungs. While not involved in fetal oxygenation, nevertheless have an important role in lung growth and in development of respiratory muscles and neural regulation. FBM are regulated differently in many respects than postnatal respiration, which results from the unique intrauterine environment...At birth, the transition to continuous postnatal respiration involves a fall in temperature, gaseous distention of the lungs, activation of the Hering-Breuer reflexes, and functional connectivity of afferent O2 chemoreceptor activity with respiratory motoneurons and arousal centers.

Clinical significance.

Collection.

Amniotic fluid is removed from the mother by an amniocentesis procedure, where a long needle is inserted through the abdomen into the amniotic sac, using ultrasound guidance such that the fetus is not harmed. Amniocentesis is a low risk procedure, with risk of pregnancy loss between 1 in 700 - 1 in 1500 procedures. Amniocentesis can be performed to obtain diagnostic genetic information, evaluate for intrauterine infection, or rarely, to assess for fetal lung maturity if early delivery is required. If warranted, fluid is collected between 16–42 weeks of fetal development. The amount of fluid removed depends on the indication for the procedure and the testing that will be performed on the fluid.

Analysis.

Analysis of amniotic fluid can reveal many aspects of the baby's genetic health as well as the age and viability of the fetus. This is because the fluid contains metabolic wastes and compounds used in assessing fetal age and lung maturity, but amniotic fluid also contains fetal cells, which can be examined for genetic defects.  Amniotic fluid normally has a pH of 7.0 to 7.5. Because pH in the upper vagina is normally acidic (pH 3.8-4.5), a vaginal pH test showing a pH of more than 4.5 strengthens a suspicion of rupture of membranes in case of clear vaginal discharge in pregnancy. Other tests for detecting amniotic fluid mainly include nitrazine paper test and fern test. One main test that is performed on amniotic fluid is the L/S ratio test (lecithin/sphingomyelin). This test is used to determine fetal lung maturity. Both lecithin and sphingomyelin are lung surfactants that are present in increasing amounts in the maturing fetus, though past week 33, sphingomyelin levels remain relatively constant. Measuring a ratio of L/S of 2:1 or greater indicates that the fetus can be safely delivered, with functioning lungs.

Complications related to amniotic fluid.

Too little amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios) can be a cause or an indicator of problems for the mother and baby. The majority of pregnancies proceed normally and the baby is born healthy, but this isn't always the case. Babies with too little amniotic fluid can develop contractures of the limbs, clubbing of the feet and hands, and also develop a life-threatening condition called hypoplastic lungs. If a baby is born with hypoplastic lungs, which are small underdeveloped lungs, this condition is potentially fatal and the baby can die shortly after birth due to inadequate oxygenation. Potter sequence refers to a constellation of findings related to insufficient amniotic fluid and includes shortened and malformed limbs with clubbed feet and the underdeveloped lungs that can lead to perinatal death.  On every prenatal visit, the obstetrician/gynaecologist or midwife should measure the patient's fundal height with a tape measure. It is important that the fundal height be measured and properly recorded to track proper fetal growth and the increasing development of amniotic fluid. The obstetrician/gynaecologist or midwife should also routinely ultrasound the patient—this procedure will also give an indication of proper fetal growth and amniotic fluid development. Oligohydramnios can be caused by infection, kidney dysfunction or malformation (since much of the late amniotic fluid volume is urine), procedures such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS), and preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). Oligohydramnios can sometimes be treated with bed rest, oral and intravenous hydration, antibiotics, steroids, and amnioinfusion. It is also important to keep the baby warm and moist.  The opposite of oligohydramnios is polyhydramnios, an excess volume of amniotic fluid in the amniotic sac.  A rare but very often fatal condition (fatal for both mother and child) connected with amniotic fluid is amniotic fluid embolism.

Medical applications.

It is being used in some surgeries of the outside of the eye. It is also being studied for some orthopaedic conditions.

Stem cell research.

Recent studies show that amniotic fluid contains a considerable quantity of stem cells. These amniotic stem cells are pluripotent and able to differentiate into various tissues, which may be useful for future human application. Some researchers have found that amniotic fluid is also a plentiful source of non-embryonic stem cells. These cells have demonstrated the ability to differentiate into a number of different cell-types, including brain, liver and bone.  It is possible to conserve the stem cells extracted from amniotic fluid in private stem cells banks.

The amniotic fluid is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a gravid amniote. This fluid serves as a cushion for the growing fetus, but also serves to facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and biochemical products between mother and fetus.

Plodová voda (lat. "liquor amnii") je tekutina, která se vytváří v průběhu těhotenství jako ochrana vyvíjejícího se plodu v plodových obalech v těle matky – budoucí rodičky.


History.

Early years (1986–1991).

Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz formed the Lemonheads as teenagers at the Commonwealth School in Boston. The band was originally called the Whelps, until inspiration came from a brand of candy, which Dando noted was "sweet on the inside and sour on the outside." The band recorded and self-released the 7" EP "Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners." The band's first show was played on August 19, 1986.  After high school, Dando enrolled at Skidmore College but could not maintain his grades and dropped out to pursue a musical career. Having signed to local label Taang! Records, the Lemonheads released the albums "Hate Your Friends" (1987), "Creator" (1988), and "Lick (1989)" with Deily and Dando sharing lead vocals and songwriting duties. The band enjoyed a good deal of college radio airplay and were popular in the burgeoning indie rock scene, up until Deily left the band in 1989. Dando then recruited David Ryan on drums, signed to major label Atlantic Records, and produced the album "Lovey" in August 1990. Straddling punk rock, country music and heavy metal, "Lovey" was released a year before the commercial explosion of grunge, and failed to chart or produce any songs with serious airplay.

Breakthrough and height of fame (1992–1997).

Dando cut his losses and flew to Australia to write some songs with friends Nic Dalton and Tom Morgan. These songs formed the basis for "It's a Shame about Ray", the Lemonheads' breakthrough album. A cover of "Mrs. Robinson" (recorded to promote the video release of "The Graduate") was released as a single and got them the most exposure they had had so far. This cover was also used in the film "Wayne's World 2" and in Martin Scorsese's 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street". When the "Ray" album was reissued, the track was tacked on to the end. The band enjoyed some success on college radio, and mainstream exposure. During 1992–1993, Dando's face graced many magazine covers, and he was included in "People"'s 50 Most Beautiful People list.  The band officially renamed themselves from "Lemonheads" to "The Lemonheads" prior to the release of the "Come on Feel the Lemonheads" LP. A breakthrough single still eluded the band as they released "Come on Feel the Lemonheads" in October 1993. This was a successful album with tracks such as "Big Gay Heart" and "It's About Time." The band enjoyed modest mainstream success, this time with the single "Into Your Arms" (their highest charting UK hit to date). Writer Robyn St. Clare made the first recording of this song in 1990 as part of Love Positions with Nic Dalton.  Dando befriended Oasis and appeared at the band's live shows. The cracks were beginning to show, and after one particularly disjointed interview with Dando almost unable to speak, having lost his voice after smoking crack cocaine, he admitted to having a drug problem.  In 1996, Dando re-formed The Lemonheads, featuring John Strohm and Murph (ex-Dinosaur Jr), as well as bassist Bill Gibson of the Australian band The Eastern Dark, a long-time associate of previous bassist Nic Dalton. This band produced another Lemonheads album, "Car Button Cloth". While featuring jangly guitar songs such as "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You," this set also showed off the darker side of Dando's writing.  The band contributed to "Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks", a 1996 tribute album for "Schoolhouse Rock!" creator Thomas G. Yohe, which contained remakes of many popular "Schoolhouse Rock!" songs – The Lemonheads offered their take on "My Hero Zero." Previously, the band had contributed to a Kiss tribute album, recording Kiss' 1977 song "Plaster Caster" for "" (1994).  The band toured successfully in 1997 and played a final gig at the UK's Reading Festival. Following a cameo line in the BBC's all-star cover version of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" (which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart), Dando continued to play live solo shows.

Hiatus (1998–2004).

Atlantic released "The Best Of The Lemonheads" in August 1998. Through 1998 and 2004 Evan Dando undertook some solo tours performing the band's songs but an official reunion was never confirmed. During this time, Dando released a live album "Live at the Brattle Theatre" in 2001, and a solo album in 2003, titled "Baby I'm Bored". He also co-wrote the song "The Last High" with Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols for the album "Welcome to the Monkey House" by The Dandy Warhols.

Return (2005–present).

After a nine-year hiatus, the band reformed in the summer of 2005 with a recording lineup bolstered by Bill Stevenson and Karl Alvarez, members of Descendents. Recently, the live lineup has fluctuated, with Stevenson and George Berz (Dinosaur Jr) both sitting in on drums during 2005, while Josh Lattanzi—chiefly known for his work with Ben Kweller—has frequently taken on bass duties for live shows.  On September 14 and 15, 2005, Dando, Stevenson and Lattanzi performed two shows at Shepherds Bush Empire in London as part of the ATP Don't Look Back series, where they played "It's a Shame About Ray" in its entirety.  In April 2006, The Lemonheads were signed to Vagrant Records. The album, simply titled "The Lemonheads", was released on September 26, 2006 in the United States and one day earlier in the UK; the album featured special guests Garth Hudson and J Mascis on select tracks. To promote the album Dando toured the UK, Europe and US in late 2006 with a band consisting of Vess Ruhtenberg (bass) and Devon Ashley (drums) of The Pieces. In the US, they toured with Vietnam and Hymns (band) as support. The same line-up toured again in 2007 and 2008. The recording line-up of Dando, Alvarez and Stevenson played live for the first time together on a 20-date US tour in late 2007.  While The Lemonheads reformed, co-founder Deily received a degree from Harvard University. He currently works as an Associate Creative Director in the advertising industry. His power pop/punk band, Varsity Drag, completed a 25-city European tour during January and February 2007, performing their own material alongside several Deily compositions from the first four Lemonheads releases. Varsity Drag continues to perform periodically in the Boston Area.  A deluxe reissue of Lemonheads' 1992 album "It's a Shame About Ray" was released in March 2008 (US) and April 2008 (UK) on Rhino Records, which features demos, B-sides and a DVD issue of the previously VHS-only "Two Weeks In Australia", featuring footage from the band's Australian tour in the wake of their breakthrough album's release. To promote the reissue, the line-up of Dando, Ruhtenberg and Ashley performed the album in full at a number gigs between March and May 2008. Later in 2008 the band toured again in Europe with Vess Ruhtenberg and P. David Hazel (drums) of Beta Male.  On April 23, 2008, at the inaugural "NME" US Awards ceremony at the El Rey in Los Angeles, Dando received the classic album award for "It's A Shame About Ray", and also performed "My Drug Buddy" and the album's title track acoustically. According to reports, soon after receiving the award, Dando deposited it into a garbage can, telling a minder "I don't want this".  On June 23, 2009, The Lemonheads released "Varshons" – a collection of eleven covers, including tracks by Gram Parsons, Wire, GG Allin, and Christina Aguilera. The album also featured actress Liv Tyler performing a duet on Leonard Cohen's "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye". Despite several websites reporting a release date of September 13, 2008, the album was not released on this date. Later, in a blog post on the band's MySpace page, Dando hinted at a March 2009 release. On March 27, 2009, it was announced that Varshons would be released on June 23 on The End Records.  In an August 2007 interview, drummer Bill Stevenson stated that he was going to produce the Lemonhead's ninth album of original material. As of August 2010, however, announcements of a new album have not yet been released.  In September 2010 the Lemonheads announced an Australian tour playing all thirteen songs from the 1992 album "It's a Shame about Ray", plus a selection of songs from other albums.  On February 7, 2012, The Lemonheads will release Hotel Sessions on Hall of Records/Breath of Saltwater – an intimate recording documenting a Sunday night that Evan Dando spent recording new songs with just an acoustic guitar (and some revealing commentary) in a hotel room in Bondi Beach, Australia. The 14 songs include some that never made it to an official Lemonheads album, but Dando says, “the "Into Your Arms" I did here is better than the one on the album (I like it anyway).”  As of March 2012, The Lemonheads are wrapping up a 9-week U.S. tour playing all thirteen songs from the 1992 album "It's a Shame about Ray", plus a selection of songs from other albums. Lead singer Evan Dando recruited drummer Chuck Treece and former Taking Back Sunday lead guitarist Fred Mascherino to play bass.  April 23, 2012, The Lemonheads played a gig at Waterfront, Norwich, UK.  August 21, 2012, it was announced that Juliana Hatfield would rejoin The Lemonheads for a late year tour supporting The Psychedelic Furs.  On September 17, 2012 Ryan Adams tweeted that he would be playing drums on a new 'punker sounding' Lemonheads album as well as producing it. He also announced that Evan Dando would be joined on the record by Juliana Hatfield and, for the first time since 1989's Lick, co-founder and original co-songwriter Ben Deily.  The Lemonheads played a seven-date tour in Ireland and the UK in October 2015.  On August 14, 2017, Atlantic Records divested the Lemonheads' back catalogue to Fire Records, which released several of the band's albums in the UK.

Personnel.

During the earliest years, the band consisted of Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando and Deily shared singing and songwriting duties; when recording or performing live each would sing and play guitar on their own compositions while the other would play drums. When the arrangement became unworkable, they hired additional drummers including Doug Trachten and John Strohm. On most of the first three albums (released by independent label TAANG!), songs from various recording sessions and live tracks are mixed, so instrumentation varies considerably from track-to-track depending on who was in the band when the tracks were recorded. CD versions of these albums were also released with bonus tracks from even later line-ups of the band.  When Deily quit the band in 1989, Dando replaced him with guitarist Corey Loog Brennan and drummer Mark Natola. Natola would be replaced by drummer David Ryan prior to the band's first major label album, "Lovey". Following the recording of "Lovey", founding bass player Jesse Peretz left the band to pursue a career in photography and filmmaking, and Brennan left to concentrate on his career as a college professor.  On their breakout album, "It's a Shame About Ray", Juliana Hatfield had joined on bass guitar and backing vocals. She would remain the backing vocalist for the follow-up album "Come on Feel the Lemonheads", but would be replaced on bass guitar by Nic Dalton. John Strohm, who had previously played drums with the band during their early years, toured with the band as a second guitarist in support of these albums.  Starting with 1996's "Car Button Cloth" and continuing through the present, the band membership has been fluid, with the name The Lemonheads generally being used by whomever Evan Dando had recruited to record and/or play with at the time. Their last official release was 2019's collection of cover songs "Varshons 2", which followed on from their prior release, 2009's "Varshons". Several announcements of albums of new material or tours involving any number of musicians have been announced over the years since then, most recently a 2012 project involving Ben Deily, Juliana Hatfield, and Ryan Adams, but as yet no major recordings or substantial tours have materialized.  Below is an approximate timeline of membership in The Lemonheads. Other than Evan Dando, the band has rarely had a stable line-up. The timeline below shows only members which were primary recording or touring members. It does not include guest musicians, or ephemeral line-ups which only appeared on stage under The Lemonheads moniker for one-off shows or brief appearances. Dates of membership are approximate based on known shows and recordings.  Evan Dando  Ben Deily  Jesse Peretz  Doug Trachten  John Strohm  Mark Natola  Corey "Loog" Brennan  Juliana Hatfield  David Ryan  Nic Dalton  Patrick "Murph" Murphy  Bill Gibson  Bill Stevenson  Karl Alvarez  Devon Ashley  Vess Ruhtenberg

Discography.

Studio albums

The Lemonheads is an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an independent/"college rock" band in the late 1980s, the Lemonheads' popularity with a mass audience grew in 1992 with the major label album "It's a Shame about Ray", which was produced, engineered, and mixed by The Robb Brothers (Bruce Robb, Dee, and Joe). This was followed by a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", which eventually became one of the band's most successful singles. The Lemonheads were active until 1997 before going on hiatus, but reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released "The Lemonheads" the following year. The band released its latest album, " Varshons 2", in February 2019.

The Lemonheads je americká alternativní rocková hudební skupina, která vznikla v roce 1986 v Bostonu v Massachusetts. Kapelu vytvořili Evan Dando, Ben Deily a Jesse Peretz, z původních členů hraje po celou dobu v kapele pouze Evan Dando. Od jejího založení se ve skupině vystřídalo mnoho hudebníků. Byli jimi John Strohm a Juliana Hatfieldová ze skupiny Blake Babies, Corey Loog Brennan, Nic Dalton, který vystupoval také ve skupinách Godstar, Sneeze a The Plunderers, bubeník skupiny Dinosaur Jr Patrick „Murph“ Murphy, Bill Gibson z Eastern Dark, Karl Alvarez a Bill Stevenson ze skupiny Descendents a další. Nynějšími členy jsou kromě Danda Vess Ruhtenberg, Devon Ashley a Mark Cutsinger.


Plot.

Ted (Chester Morris), Jerry (Norma Shearer), Paul (Conrad Nagel), and Dorothy (Helen Johnson) are part of the New York in-crowd. Jerry's decision to marry Ted crushes Paul. He gets drunk, and is involved in an accident that leaves Dorothy's face disfigured. Out of pity, Paul marries Dorothy. Ted and Jerry have been married for three years when she discovers that he had a brief affair with another woman—and when she confronts him on their third anniversary, he tells her it did not "mean a thing". Upset, and with Ted away on a business trip, Jerry spends the night with his best friend, Don. Upon Ted's return, she tells him that she "balanced [their] accounts", withholding Don's name.  Ted is hypocritically outraged, and they argue, which ends with Ted leaving her and the couple filing for a divorce. While Jerry turns to partying to forget her sorrows, Ted becomes an alcoholic. Paul and Jerry run into each other, and she discovers that he still loves her and is willing to leave Dorothy to be with her. Only after she meets Dorothy is Jerry forced to evaluate her decision.

Production.

MGM production head Irving Thalberg bought the rights to "Ex-Wife" in the summer of 1929. Thalberg's original choice for the role of Jerry was Joan Crawford.  Norma Shearer, Thalberg's wife, was originally never in the running for the lead role in "The Divorcee" because it was believed that she did not have enough sex appeal. Only after Shearer arranged a special photo session with independent portrait photographer George Hurrell, and Thalberg saw the result, he did relent and give her the role.

Release.

"The Divorcee" was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on March 8, 2008 (along with "A Free Soul", also starring Norma Shearer), as one of five pre-Code films in the "TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2" DVD box set. Other movies with the same title were released in 1917, 1919, and 1969.

Reception.

Norma Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Also starring in the film are Robert Montgomery, Conrad Nagel, Helen Johnson, and Florence Eldridge.

The Divorcee is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan, and Zelda Sears, based on the 1929 novel "Ex-Wife" by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, and won Best Actress for its star Norma Shearer.

Rozvedená (angl. "The Divorcee") je dramatický snímek režiséra Roberta Z. Leonarda z roku 1930 s Normou Shearer v hlavní roli. Film byl natočen na základě novely "Ex-Wife" od Katheriny Ursuly Parrott z roku 1929. Film byl nominován na čtyři Oscary. Vyhrál jednoho a to v kategorii nejlepší ženský herecký výkon pro Normu Shearer.


Geography and political subdivisions.

Leitrim is the 26th largest of the 32 counties by area and the smallest by population on the island. It is the smallest of Connacht's five counties in both size and population. Leitrim is bordered by the counties of Donegal to the north, Fermanagh to the north-east, Cavan to the east, Longford to the south, Roscommon to the south-west and Sligo to the west. Fermanagh is in Northern Ireland while all the other neighbouring counties are within the Republic of Ireland.

Baronies.

There are five historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units". They are Carrigallen, Drumahaire, Leitrim, Mohill and Rosclogher.

Largest Towns in County Leitrim.

As of the 2016 census:

Geography.

Leitrim has a hilly and mountainous landscape in its north-west and is relatively flat in the south-east, each separated from the other by Lough Allen in the middle of the county. Leitrim has the shortest length of coastline of any Irish county that touches the sea. At Tullaghan, the coastline is only long. The Shannon is linked to the Erne via the Shannon–Erne Waterway. Notable lakes include:

History.

In ancient times Leitrim formed the western half of the Kingdom of Breifne. This region was long influenced by the O'Rourke family of Dromahair, whose heraldic lion occupies the official county shield to this day. Close ties initially existed with the O'Reilly clan in the eastern half of the kingdom, however a split occurred in the 13th century and the kingdom was divided into East Breifne, now County Cavan, and West Breifne, now County Leitrim. The Normans invaded south Leitrim in the 13th century but were defeated at the Battle of Áth an Chip in 1270.  Much of the county was confiscated from its owners in 1620 and given to Villiers and Hamilton. Their initial objective was to plant the county with English settlers. However, this proved unsuccessful. English Deputy Sir John Perrot had ordered the legal establishment of "Leitrim County" a half-century prior, in 1565. Perrott also demarcated the current county borders around 1583.  Long ago Ireland was covered in woodland, and five great forests are traditionally said to have stood in Leitrim, with a 19th-century county survey stating- "a hundred years ago almost the whole country was one continued, undivided forest, so that from Drumshanbo to Drumkeeran, a distance of nine or ten miles, one could travel the whole way from tree to tree by branches". Many of these great forests were denuded for the making of charcoal for iron works around Sliabh an Iarainn. Working of the county's rich deposits of iron ore began in the 15th century and continued until the mid 18th century. Coal mining became prominent in the 19th century to the east of Lough Allen at Sliabh an Iarainn and also to the west in Arigna, on the Roscommon border. The last coal mine closed in July 1990 and there is now a visitor centre. Sandstone was also quarried in the Glenfarne region.  Writing in 1791, the geographer Beaufort suggested the county housing population encompassed 10,026 homes with "upwards of 50,000 inhabitants", the primary agriculture being cattle production, and the growth of flax sustaining the linen industry. Leitrim was first hit by the recession caused by the mechanisation of linen weaving in the 1830s and its 155,000 residents (as of the 1841 census) were ravaged by the Great Famine and the population dropped to 112,000 by 1851. The population subsequently continued to decrease due to emigration. After many years, the wounds of such rapid population decline have finally started to heal. Agriculture improved over the last century. Leitrim now has the fastest growing population in Connacht.  The "Book of Fenagh" is the most famous medieval manuscript originating here. In the 19th century the poet John McDonald (of Dromod) lived in the county, and William Butler Yeats spent the turn of the twentieth century fascinated with Lough Allen and much of Leitrim. Glencar Waterfall, from Manorhamilton, inspired Yeats and is mentioned in his poem The Stolen Child.

Local government and politics.

Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the administrative county. The county is divided into three Local Electoral Areas for the purpose of elections: Ballinamore (6 councillors), Carrick-on-Shannon (6 councillors), and Manorhamilton (6 councillors).  For elections to Dáil Éireann, Leitrim is in the Sligo–Leitrim constituency. This constituency existed from 1948 to 2007, but from 2007 until Sligo–Leitrim was re-created in 2016, County Leitrim was divided between two constituencies: Roscommon–South Leitrim and Sligo–North Leitrim. This proved controversial, and at the 2007 general election there was no TD elected whose domicile was in the county.

County Leitrim ( ; ) is a county in the Republic of Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county, which had a population of 32,044 according to the 2016 census. The county encompasses the historic Gaelic territory of West Breffny ("Bréifne") corresponding to the northern part of the county, and Muintir Eolais or Conmaicne Réin, corresponding to the southern part.

Hrabství Leitrim (, ) je irské hrabství, nacházející se na severozápadě země v bývalé provincii Connacht. Sousedí s hrabstvím Donegal a severoirským Fermanaghem na severu, s hrabstvím Cavan na východě, s hrabstvím Longford na jihu a hrabstvími Roscommon a Sligo na západě. Severozápadní pobřeží omývá Donegalský záliv, součást Atlantského oceánu.


Background and early life.

Joan Beaufort was a daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, a legitimated son of John of Gaunt by his mistress (and later wife) Katherine Swynford. Joan's mother was Margaret Holland, the granddaughter of Joan of Kent (wife of Edward the Black Prince) from her marriage to Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent. Joan was also a half-niece of King Henry IV of England, first cousin once removed of Richard II, and great grand-daughter of Edward III. Her uncle, Henry Beaufort, was a cardinal and Chancellor of England.  King James I of Scotland met Joan during his time as a prisoner in England, and knew her from at least 1420. She is said to have been the inspiration for King James' famous long poem, "The Kingis Quair", written during his captivity, after he saw her from his window in the garden. The marriage was at least partially political, as their marriage was part of the agreement for his release from captivity. From an English perspective an alliance with the Beauforts was meant to establish his country's alliance with the English, rather than the French. Negotiations resulted in Joan's dowry of 10,000 merks being subtracted from James's substantial ransom.

Queen of Scotland.

On 12 February 1424, Joan Beaufort and King James were wed at St Mary Overie Church in Southwark. They were feasted at Winchester Palace that year by her uncle Cardinal Henry Beaufort. She accompanied her husband on his return from captivity in England to Scotland, and was crowned alongside her husband at Scone Abbey. As queen, she often pleaded with the king for those who might be executed.  The royal couple had eight children, including the future James II, and Margaret of Scotland, future spouse of Louis XI of France.

Regency.

James I was assassinated in Perth on 21 February 1437. Joan had also been a target of assassination along with her husband, but managed to survive her injuries. She successfully directed her husband's supporters to attack his assassin Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, but was forced to give up power three months later. The prospect of being ruled by an English woman was unpopular in Scotland. The Earl of Douglas was thus appointed to power, though Joan remained in charge of her son.  Near the end of July 1439, she married James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne after obtaining a papal dispensation for both consanguinity and affinity. James was an ally of the latest Earl of Douglas, and plotted with him to overthrow Alexander Livingston, governor of Stirling Castle, during the minority of James II. Livingston arrested Joan in August 1439 and forced her to relinquish custody of the young king. In 1445, the conflict between the Douglas/Livingston faction and the queen's supporters resumed, and she was under siege at Dunbar Castle by the Earl of Douglas when she died on 15 July 1445. She was buried in the Carthusian Priory at Perth.

Joan Beaufort (died 15 July 1445) was the Queen of Scotland from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I of Scotland. During part of the minority of her son James II (from 1437 to 1439), she served as the regent of Scotland.

Johana Beaufortová (1404 – 15. července 1445 hrad Dunbar) byla skotská královna v letech 1424 až 1437. Během dětství svého syna Jakuba II. byla regentkou Skotska (v letech 1437–1439).


Discovery.

"Unescoceratops" is known only from the holotype specimen TMP 95.12.6, a partial left dentary. The fossil was collected in 1995 in the Black Coulee locality (formerly Deadhorse Coulee), near the Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, from the Dinosaur Park Formation, dating to the late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.5-75 million years ago. The specimen was regarded as too incomplete to identify, and was shelved for several years. It was believed to be a "Leptoceratops" specimen at the time. A cladistic analysis done by Michael Ryan (of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History) and David Evans (of the Royal Ontario Museum) found it to be among the most advanced leptoceratopsid genera.

Description.

"Unescoceratops" is thought to have been between one and two meters long and less than 91 kilograms. Its teeth were the roundest of all leptoceratopsids.  Mallon et al. (2013) examined herbivore coexistence on the island continent of Laramidia, during the Late Cretaceous. It was concluded that small ornithischians like "Unescoceratops" were generally restricted to feeding on vegetation at, or below the height of 1 meter.

Etymology.

The genus "Unescoceratops" was first described by Michael J. Ryan, David C. Evans, Philip J. Currie, Caleb M. Brown and Don Brinkman in 2012 (though it had been published earlier by Ryan and Currie in 1995 with no name) and the type species is "Unescoceratops koppelhusae". The name means "UNESCO's ceratopsian" ("ceratopsian" means "one with a horned face"). The name is meant to honor UNESCO's efforts to increase understanding of natural history sites around the world. ""Dinosaurprovincialparkaceratops" was too long," explained Ryan.

Unescoceratops is a genus of leptoceratopsid ceratopsian dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, southern Canada. It contains a single species, Unescoceratops koppelhusae.

Unescoceratops („rohatá tvář z UNESCO“) byl rod menšího ptakopánvého býložravce z čeledi Leptoceratopsidae, představující zvláštní vývojovou linii rohatých dinosaurů. Holotyp nese označení "TMP 95.12.6" a představuje částečně dochovanou levou čelistní kost. Zkamenělina byla objevena na území rezervace Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park v kanadské Albertě, geologické stáří činí 76,5-75 milionů let (souvrství Dinosaur Provincial Park, stupeň kampán). Zvláštní morfologie dochovaných zubů přiměla vědce stanovit nový rod a druh dinosaura. "Unescoceratops" patřil mezi vývojově nejvyspělejší leptoceratopidy. Byl formálně popsán počátkem roku 2012, kdy vyšla i příslušná vědecká publikace.


Plot.

In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover an old, frozen aircraft. In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt and his men steal a mysterious relic called the Tesseract, which possesses untold powers, from the town of Tønsberg in German-occupied Norway.  In New York City, Steve Rogers is rejected for World War II military recruitment because of various health and physical problems. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his friend, Sgt. James "Bucky" Barnes, Rogers again attempts to enlist. Overhearing Rogers' conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Col. Chester Phillips, and British agent Peggy Carter. Phillips is unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered permanent side-effects.  Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola harness the energies of the Tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola's inventions, mounting an offensive that will change the world. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and dispatches assassin Heinz Kruger to kill him. Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with a special serum and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, an undercover Kruger kills Erskine and flees with a vial of the serum. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by committing suicide with a cyanide capsule. With Erskine dead and his super-soldier formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation in a colorful costume as "Captain America" to promote war bonds while scientists study him and attempt to reverse-engineer the formula. In 1943, while on tour in Italy performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes' unit was MIA in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers has Carter and engineer Howard Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates the fortress of Schmidt's Nazi division Hydra, freeing Barnes and the other prisoners. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who removes a mask to reveal a red, skull-like visage that earned him the sobriquet "the Red Skull". Schmidt escapes and Rogers returns to base with the freed soldiers.  Rogers recruits Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth, and Jacques Dernier to attack other known Hydra bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, most notably a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, nearly indestructible metal. Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations. In 1945, the team assaults a train carrying Zola. Rogers and Jones succeed in capturing Zola, but Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death. Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, which opens a wormhole into space, sucking him into it. The Tesseract burns through the plane and is lost in the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers crashes it in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft, presuming him dead.  Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Hearing a radio broadcast of a baseball game that he attended in 1941, Rogers deduces that something is wrong. He flees outside and finds himself in present-day Times Square, where S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury informs him that he has been "asleep" for nearly 70 years. In a post-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers and proposes a mission with worldwide ramifications.

Cast.

Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, the director of the super-spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. Kenneth Choi appears as Jim Morita, a Japanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides from "Saving Private Ryan". About his preparation for the role, Choi said, "[I] did a lot of WWII research especially in regards to the 'Nisei' soldiers, or Japanese-American soldiers. I wanted to get as much true, real-life information for a guy like Jim Morita fighting in WWII. I felt that if I had built a factual basis for him, I could then let go and permit the character to exist in the Marvel Universe, which allows for a lot of imaginative circumstances." Bruno Ricci stars as Jacques Dernier, a French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French series "The Hawk". JJ Feild appears as James Montgomery Falsworth, a British member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Feild called his part in the film "a very physical job. I play one of the Captain's sidekicks so I've been running around shooting things and blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year." Additionally, Toby Jones was cast as Arnim Zola, a biochemist for the Nazi party, Richard Armitage portrays Heinz Kruger, the Red Skull's top assassin, Lex Shrapnel portrays Gilmore Hodge, a candidate for the super soldier program, Michael Brandon portrays Brandt, a United States Senator who recognizes the PR potential of Captain America. Jeff Goldblum had originally been approached to play the part; he later played Grandmaster in "". Natalie Dormer portrays Lorraine, a private who attempts to seduce Rogers, and Jenna Coleman appears as Connie, Bucky's date at the World Expo. Laura Haddock, who would go on to portray Meredith Quill in "Guardians of the Galaxy", has a brief appearance as an autograph seeker. Writer and director of "Guardians of the Galaxy" James Gunn jokingly claimed that this was Peter Quill's grandmother. Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a general.

Production.

Development.

In April 1997, Marvel was in negotiations with Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn to produce "Captain America", and Larry Wilson and Leslie Bohem were set to write a script. In May 2000, Marvel teamed with Artisan Entertainment to help finance the film. However, a lawsuit arose between Marvel Comics and Joe Simon over the ownership of "Captain America" copyrights, disrupting the development process of the film. The lawsuit was eventually settled in September 2003. In 2005, Marvel received a $525 million investment from Merrill Lynch, allowing them to independently produce ten films, including "Captain America". Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film. Originally, the film would stand alone; producer Kevin Feige said "about half" the movie would be set during World War II before moving into the modern day. Producer Avi Arad said, "The biggest opportunity with Captain America is as a man 'out of time', coming back today, looking at our world through the eyes of someone who thought the perfect world was small-town United States. Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited the "Back to the Future" trilogy as an influence, and claimed he had "someone in mind to be the star, and definitely someone in mind to be the director". In February 2006, Arad hoped to have a summer 2008 theatrical release date. Jon Favreau approached Arad to direct the film as a comedy, but he chose to make "Iron Man" instead. In April 2006, David Self was hired to write the script. He explained that Captain America was his favorite superhero as a child because "my dad told me I could one day be Captain America". Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film.  "Captain America" was put on hold during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. However, in January 2008, Marvel Entertainment reached an interim comprehensive agreement with the Writers Guild of America that would put writers immediately back to work on various projects that were under the company's development. On May 5, 2008 (after the success of "Iron Man"), Marvel announced the film "The First Avenger: Captain America" (the working title) for release on May 6, 2011 (before being pushed back to July 22). Louis Leterrier, director of "The Incredible Hulk", viewed some of the concept art being created for the film and was impressed enough to offer his services, but Marvel turned him down. Johnston finally signed on in November 2008, and he hired Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely to rewrite. Feige cited Johnston's directorial work on "October Sky" and "The Rocketeer" and his special effects work on the original "Star Wars" trilogy to explain why he was an appropriate choice. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was an influence on the film, because they hoped the film would not feel like a period piece.  When asked whether anti-US sentiments would affect the film's box office, Feige said, "Marvel is perceived pretty well around the world right now, and I think putting another uber-Marvel hero into the worldwide box office would be a good thing.... We have to deal with much the same way that Captain America, when thawed from the Arctic ice, entered a world that he didn't recognize," similar to the way Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reintroduced the character in the 1960s. Likewise, Arad noted, "Captain America stands for freedom for all democracies, for hope all around the world. He was created to stop tyranny and the idea of stopping tyranny is important today as it was then. So I think that we will have some interesting challenges but at the end of the day if the movie is terrific and the movie talks to the world, it's not about one place, it's about the world and I think [on] that basis it will be very successful." Later, after the election of US President Barack Obama, Feige commented, "The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includes Hollywood. Discussions in all our development meetings include the zeitgeist and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted".

Pre-production.

In December 2009, director Joe Johnston indicated that he planned to start filming in April 2010. In a separate interview that month, he described the film's pre-production: "Rick Heinrichs is production-designing and we're set up down in Manhattan Beach, California.... We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?' It's that phase of the production where money doesn't matter: 'Let's put all the greatest stuff up on the wall and [then later] see what we can afford. The film, he said, will begin "in 1942, 1943" during World War II. "The stuff in the '60s and '70s [comic books] we're sort of avoiding. We're going back to the '40s, and then forward to what they're doing with Captain America now." In February 2010, Johnston stated that the Invaders will appear in "the entire second half" of the film, leading fans to speculate this was the World War II-era Marvel superhero team of that name, and in November Johnston refuted speculation that the Sub-Mariner, an Invaders team-member in the comics, would be included. Johnston later explained that "the Invaders" had been discussed simply as a possible name for the squad of commandos Captain America leads in the film. Christopher Markus, one of the screenwriters, said the unnamed group was "called the Howling Commandos in the script, but no one says that out loud."  The design as a whole tried to create technology that could be built in the 1940s, though with the added Cube technology in Hydra's case. Abandoned Nazi projects or actual vehicles from the period were used as inspiration. Daniel Simon, who was previously responsible for many vehicle designs in "", was appointed Lead Vehicle Designer. Director Johnston cited Simon's book "Cosmic Motors" as a reason to trust his influence, saying "he's sort of the guy I wanted to be when I was designing stuff for "Star Wars"". The Red Skull's car, for instance, was based on two Mercedes-Benz vehicles from the 1930s, the 540K and the G4.  "Variety" reported in March 2010 that Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull; Marvel Studios confirmed the latter in May. Ryan Phillippe and John Krasinski were also considered for the role of Captain America. In April 2010, Sebastian Stan, who had been mentioned in media accounts as a possibility for the title role, was cast as Bucky Barnes. Stan is contracted for multiple films. Also in April, Marvel announced that Hayley Atwell had been cast as Peggy Carter, and that the film's name had been changed from "The First Avenger: Captain America" to "Captain America: The First Avenger". The next day it was reported that Joss Whedon would be rewriting the script as part of his negotiation to write and direct "The Avengers". Whedon said in August, "I just got to make some character connections. The structure of the thing was really tight and I loved it, but there were a couple of opportunities to find his voice a little bit —and some of the other characters' — and make the connections so that you understood exactly why he wanted to be who he wanted to be. And progressing through the script to flesh it out a little bit". Samuel L. Jackson revealed in an interview that he would reprise his role as Nick Fury in the film.  In May, Toby Jones entered final negotiations to play Arnim Zola. "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau said a younger Howard Stark would appear in the film, played by Dominic Cooper. Atwell revealed that Tommy Lee Jones would have a role in the film. By June, Neal McDonough was in talks to play Dum Dum Dugan. Four days later, he confirmed he was taking the part. The same day, Stanley Tucci joined the cast as Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who created the super-soldier serum. In November 2013, McDonough revealed that he is signed to appear in multiple projects for Marvel, not limited to films.

Filming.

Principal photography began on June 28, 2010, with the working title "FrostBite". On the same day, Marvel confirmed that Tommy Lee Jones had been cast to play US Army Colonel Chester Phillips. The next day Marvel confirmed that Dominic Cooper would portray the younger version of Howard Stark, the character played by John Slattery in "Iron Man 2". It was announced that the film would shoot in London in late July and was expected to include scenes featuring key London landmarks. War scenes were filmed in September at the former Royal Navy Propellant Factory in the Welsh village of Caerwent. Filming was scheduled to take place that month in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, where parts of the 2004 film "Alfie" and the 2009 "Sherlock Holmes" had been shot, followed by the Stanley Dock area of Liverpool, both doubling for the period's Lower East Side of Manhattan. Further scenes were scheduled to be shot in Liverpool's Albert Dock. Johnston included a scene of a technology fair that includes in passing a display case containing the 1940s android superhero known as the original Human Torch, another character, like Captain America, in comics published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics.  In July 2010, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said that both this film and "Thor" would be released in 3-D. Johnston did a one-day test shooting with a 3-D rig, rather than shooting in 2-D and converting, and found it "a nightmare" due to bulky gear, calibration issues and restricted filmmaking options. Nevertheless, he said he believes 3-D is "a new challenge and it's exciting". Feige insisted that the conversion would not compromise the film's image quality, as the decision to release the film in 3-D was made early in development, and that "an unprecedented amount of time" would be devoted to the conversion process, to render all the film's visual effects in true 3-D.

Post-production.

In November 2010, Stanley Tucci stated that he had completed filming his scenes and that the rest of the production would wrap in about three weeks. In February 2011, it was announced that Alan Silvestri had been chosen to compose the film score. In March 2011, it was reported that "Captain America: The First Avenger" would be undergoing reshoots in the United Kingdom and in Los Angeles in April 2011. A scene was also filmed in New York City's Times Square on April 23, 2011.  The film features nearly 1,600 visual effects shots, which were split between thirteen different companies. To achieve the appearance of the skinny, pre-serum Steve Rogers, director Joe Johnston stated that he used two major techniques: Captain America's shield, which serves as both a defensive tool and a weapon, came in four types: metal, fiberglass, rubber, and computer graphics (CG). Prop master Barry Gibbs specified that "We had the 'hero shield,' which was made of aluminum, for our beauty shots [and] close-up work. We then created a lighter shield that was aluminum-faced with a fiberglass back, for use on a daily basis.... And then we had a stunt shield made of polyurethane, which is sort of a synthetic rubber... and we made an ultrasoft one we put on [Evans'] back, so that if there were an accident, it wouldn't hurt him." Visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend said Evans "would practice swinging the practical shield so he knew the arc and the speed at which he should move. We would take the shield from him and shoot the scene with him miming it. Then we would add in a CG shield".  Hugo Weaving, who portrayed the Red Skull, wore a latex mask conceived by prosthetic makeup designer David White. The visual effects team had to manipulate his face considerably, as the mask was bulky and they wanted to make it look like tight skin wrapped around a very bony structure. They thinned out Weaving's cheeks and lower lip, hollowed out his eyes, and removed his eyelashes and nose to make him appear more like the Red Skull character.  Closing credits were created by visual effects firm Rok!t by means of 3-D and stereoscopic processing that used iconic American war propaganda, such as James Montgomery Flagg's Uncle Sam recruitment poster from World War I and J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" poster from World War II.

Music.

The soundtrack album for "Captain America: The First Avenger" includes the original score by Alan Silvestri, as well as an original song, "Star Spangled Man", with music composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel. The soundtrack was recorded at Air Studios in London and released by Walt Disney Records on July 19, 2011.

Marketing.

At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, some footage that had been shot in the previous week was shown at the San Diego Convention Center. The first television advertisement aired during Super Bowl XLV on the Fox network in the United States. Paramount paid $3 million to run the 30-second advertisement. The first full trailer was released in March 2011. In May 2011, the USO girls from the film performed aboard the at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum as a part of the 2011 Fleet Week celebration in New York City. In June 2011, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins teamed with Marvel to search for real-life super-soldiers. The contest sought nominations for veterans or active U.S. servicepersons making a difference where they live or serve. In July 2011, Paramount Pictures promoted the film during an Independence Day celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox. Promotional partners include Harley-Davidson, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.  In February 2011, Marvel Comics launched the eight-issue digital comic "Captain America: First Vengeance", on the same day as the first trailer aired. Written by Fred Van Lente and featuring a rotation of artists, the story is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each of the eight issues focuses on a specific character from the movie, heroes and villains alike, and what brought them to the point where the movie begins.  Sega announced a video game tie-in titled "", that was released in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS. Marvel released the mobile game, "Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty", in July 2011. A toy line was released as well.

Release.

Theatrical.

The world premiere of "Captain America: The First Avenger" was held on July 19, 2011, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The film was screened at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 21, 2011. It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2011. "Captain America: The First Avenger" is part of of the MCU.  Paramount opted against altering the American-centric title when distributing to foreign territories, instead offering international markets a choice between the official title and the alternative "The First Avenger". Many international distributors chose to retain the original title, believing the franchise name to be more identifiable than the alternative, and that the latter would risk losing ticket sales. Three countries chose the alternative title: Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine. An "insider" speaking to "The New York Times" explained that the name change in these countries stemmed from cultural and political concerns, though Marvel and Paramount both declined to state an official reason. In July 2011, it was thought that the film would not be released in China because of a policy limiting the number of foreign films screened there each year, but it eventually opened there in the second weekend of September.  Days before the film's release, a teaser trailer for "The Avengers" that served as a post-credits scene of "Captain America: The First Avenger" was briefly leaked online. "Entertainment Weekly" speculated it came from a preview screening and described the footage as "shaky, fuzzy, flickering and obviously filmed on a cell phone". "Captain America: The First Avenger" was formatted and screened in IMAX for the first time on August 31, 2018, as part of Marvel Studios' 10 year anniversary IMAX festival.

Home media.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" was released by Paramount Home Media Distribution on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on October 25, 2011. The three-disc set includes the film on Blu-ray in high-definition 3D and in high definition 2D, as well as on standard definition DVD with a digital copy. The two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes a high-definition presentation of the film and a standard-definition presentation with a digital copy. Both sets include over an hour of bonus material, including the short film "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer", a sneak peek of "The Avengers", six behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes with commentary by director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson and editor Jeff Ford. In its first week of release, "Captain America: The First Avenger" topped the Blu-ray and DVD sales charts, selling 1.54 million Blu-ray units and 726,000 DVD units and making a combined total of $52.6 million.  The film was also collected in a 10-disc box set titled "" which includes all of the Phase One films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on April 2, 2013. "Captain America: The First Avenger" was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 26, 2019.

Reception.

Box office.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" earned $176.7 million in North America and $193.9 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $370.6 million.  "Captain America: The First Avenger" opened on July 22, 2011, in the United States and earned $4 million in midnight showings, outgrossing other 2011 original superhero films like "Thor" and "Green Lantern" as well as the prequel "", which all made between $3.25 million and $3.5 million in Friday midnights. On Friday, the film opened at the number one spot at the American and Canadian box office with $25.7 million. It then went on to make $65.1 million in what was the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011, behind "Thor" ($65.7 million). At the time of its release, "Captain America: The First Avenger" became the third highest-grossing motion picture set during the World War II era, after "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pearl Harbor".

Critical response.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with an average score of 6.93/10, based on 267 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances, "Captain America" is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score, rated the film 66 out of 100 based on 43 reviews from critics indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.  Roger Moore of the "Orlando Sentinel" gave "Captain America: The First Avenger" a positive review, saying, "Johnston has delivered a light, clever and deftly balanced adventure picture with real lump in the throat nostalgia, with Nazis – who make the best villains, and with loving references to "Star Wars" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" remarked, "I enjoyed the movie. I appreciated the 1940s period settings and costumes, which were a break with the usual generic cityscapes. I admired the way that director Joe Johnston propelled the narrative. I got a sense of a broad story, rather than the impression of a series of sensational set pieces. If Marvel is wise, it will take this and "Iron Man" as its templates". A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" declared it "pretty good fun".  Karina Longworth of "The Village Voice" gave the film a negative review, calling it "[A] hokey, hacky, two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging, complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-D". Peter Debruge of "Variety" said, ""Captain America: The First Avenger" plays like a by-the-numbers prequel for Marvel Studios' forthcoming "The Avengers" movie". Kirk Honeycutt of "The Hollywood Reporter" had mixed feelings about the film, writing, "As the last Marvel prequel that includes two Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies before next summer's "The Avengers", this one feels perhaps a little too simplistic and routine".

Sequels.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier".

A sequel, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo, was released on April 4, 2014. Evans, Stan, Atwell, Toby Jones, and Jackson reprise their roles as Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Peggy Carter, Arnim Zola and Nick Fury, respectively. They are joined by Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, and Robert Redford as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sam Wilson / Falcon, Maria Hill, Brock Rumlow, Sharon Carter, and Alexander Pierce, respectively.

"Captain America: Civil War".

"Captain America: Civil War" was released on May 6, 2016, and again is directed by the Russo brothers. Evans, Johansson, Stan, Mackie, Grillo and VanCamp reprise their roles from "The Winter Soldier", and they are joined by Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Paul Bettany as Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross all reprising roles from previous MCU films. Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland and Daniel Brühl also star as T'Challa / Black Panther, Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Helmut Zemo, respectively.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the fifth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci. During World War II, Steve Rogers, a sickly man, is transformed into the super-soldier Captain America and must stop the Red Skull from using the Tesseract as an energy-source for world domination.

Captain America: První Avenger (v anglickém originále Captain America: The First Avenger) je americký akční film z roku 2011, který natočil režisér Joe Johnston podle komiksů o Captainu Amerikovi. V titulní roli neduživého mladíka Steva Rogerse, jenž se za druhé světové války stane díky vědeckému experimentu supervojákem, Kapitánem Amerikou, se představil Chris Evans, který si tuto postavu zopakoval i v navazujících filmech "" (2014) a "" (2016). Jedná se o pátý celovečerní snímek filmové série Marvel Cinematic Universe.


Plot.

Glee club director Will Schuester is informed that the school budget will not cover a handicap-accessible bus to transport the glee club to sectionals, which means that Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) will have to travel separately from the rest of the club. Will encourages the other club members to support Artie, not only by holding a bake sale to raise funds for a handicap bus, but also by spending time in wheelchairs to experience what life is like for him. Meanwhile, Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) is struggling to cover the medical expenses of her pregnancy, and threatens to break up with Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) if he cannot pay her ultrasound bill. Puck (Mark Salling) fights with Finn, whom he feels is not doing enough to support Quinn. By including cannabis in the cupcakes, Puck ensures the bake sale is a success and offers Quinn the money raised. She apologizes for previously calling him a loser, but refuses to accept the money, and is relieved when Finn is able to find a job.  Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) compete for a solo on "Defying Gravity". The part, normally performed by a female, is initially offered to Rachel, but when Kurt's father Burt (Mike O'Malley) complains to Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) that his son is being discriminated against, Kurt is allowed to audition along with Rachel. Burt receives an anonymous abusive phone call about his son's sexual orientation, and Kurt deliberately sabotages his own audition to spare his father further harassment.  Artie reveals the origin of his disability to Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), explaining that he was paralyzed in a car accident at the age of eight. He likens his wheelchair use to Tina's speech impediment. The two go on a date and kiss, but part on bad terms when Tina confesses that she has been faking her speech impediment since the sixth grade, in order to deflect attention from herself, but now feels she no longer needs to, having been given confidence by the glee club.  Having previously removed Quinn from the cheerleading squad due to her pregnancy, coach Sue Sylvester is forced to hold open auditions to find a replacement. She accepts Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter), a sophomore with Down syndrome. Will is suspicious of her motives, increasingly so when Sue donates money to the school to fund three new handicap ramps for students with disabilities. Sue is later seen visiting her older sister, Jean (Robin Trocki), who also has Down syndrome, and lives in a residential home for people with disabilities. In the end, the glee club performs "Proud Mary", staging the entire routine in wheelchairs in support of Artie.

Production.

Kevin McHale deemed "Wheels" the "most serious" episode of "Glee" so far. He enjoyed Artie's character development in the episode, explaining that when he was cast in the role, he did not know Artie's background and thus made up his own backstory for him. He believed that Artie became paralysed later in life, rather than being born that way, which was proven correct in "Wheels". Of the burgeoning romance between Artie and Tina, McHale opined: "I think Tina and Artie will be together. I think they will be a couple for a long time." He explained that from the beginning of the show's production, creator Ryan Murphy expressed the belief that Artie and Tina should be together, and so he and Jenna Ushkowitz deliberately sat close to one another during filming, assuming that it would eventually happen. McHale was shocked by Artie's reaction to Tina's faked stutter, and was initially unsure "why he was being so dramatic". He concluded however: "I really think Artie fell for Tina because they were set apart by their disabilities. They're already kind of outcasts being in glee, but within that group they shared a connection. So he based their whole relationship on that and when it went away, Artie didn't know what to do." McHale and Ushkowitz hope that their characters will ultimately become a couple, as they are best friends in real life. Murphy called "Wheels" "the turning point for the show". He elaborated: "Certainly, after this, it remains a comedy, and it's fun. But writing this made me feel the responsibility of showing the truth of the pain that outcasts go through. It's not all razzle-dazzle show business. It's tough, and it's painful, and it was for me growing up, and it is for most people." Murphy commented that the episode caused him to realize that, as well as highlighting the "fun and glamour" of glee clubs, it is also occasionally "really great [...] to show the underbelly of what people who are different feel."  Recurring characters who appear in the episode are Kurt's father Burt Hummel (O'Malley), glee club members Brittany (Heather Morris), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.) and Matt Rutherford (Dijon Talton), school reporter Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman), Principal Figgins (Theba) and former glee club director Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky). "Wheels" guest stars Cheryl Francis Harrington and Jeff Lewis as a nurse and manager at a local residential facility, and also introduces two characters with Down syndrome, Robin Trocki as Sue's sister Jean Sylvester, and Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson, a sophomore at William McKinley High School. Potter is a member of the Down's Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, and was contacted about auditioning through the association's in-house talent agency, Hearts and Hands. Fourteen actresses auditioned for the role, which Potter deemed "a great experience" to perform.

Music and choreography.

The episode features cover versions of Nouvelle Vague rendition of "Dancing with Myself", "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked" and the Ike & Tina Turner rendition of "Proud Mary". "Glee" cast versions of the songs, including both Michele and Colfer's solo performances of "Defying Gravity", were all released as singles available for digital download. While "Proud Mary" and "Dancing With Myself" did not chart, "Defying Gravity" reached number 58 in Australia, 38 in Canada and 31 in America. A duet version of "Defying Gravity" appeared on the soundtrack album "".  Murphy selected "Defying Gravity" for the episode after Colfer relayed a story from his own high school days, whereby his drama teacher refused to let him sing the song because of his sex. Murphy explained: "I found a way to write it into the show because that's in a nutshell what this show is about: someone being told that they can't do something because of what the perception of them is as opposed to what their real ability is." Colfer stated that the opportunity to finally sing the song "really meant the world" to him, and that: "It's absolutely terrifying to watch yourself do something you've dreamed about for such a long time. I know I'm definitely not the best singer, but I think the message, the story behind the song about defying limits and borders placed by others, hopefully all that gets across with the performance. Although I do some very 'Kurtsy' things in the song, it's probably one of the most honest and close-to-heart scenes I've ever filmed or performed for that matter."  "Dancing With Myself" is McHale's first solo performance on the show. Murphy commented that the performance is Artie's chance to "break away from being misunderstood by everyone" and express himself, explaining that although Artie is usually "a very secure guy" who does not care about others' opinions of him, "Wheels" sees his friends take his disability for granted: "So this performance is all about him saying, 'Look, this is who I am, and this is who I want to be. McHale has stated that performing as Artie has made him more aware of the challenges that people with disabilities face: "It's a completely different side of life. More than ever, I realize how grateful I am to be able to get up between each take and walk around. I'm glad that I can represent that kind of life on television so millions of people see it every week. And the whole point of it is to show that Artie can still do everything everyone else can that matters."  "Glee" choreographer Zach Woodlee described "Proud Mary" as the "scariest" number produced to date, citing concerns with choreographing an entire routine in wheelchairs and problems building the correct staging. Woodlee explained the stage ramps were initially built too steeply, preventing the actors from ascending them in wheelchairs, and that the actors experienced problems learning to distribute their weight correctly, flipping the wheelchairs over backwards: "It was like roller derby. All of the actors would fall backwards and hit their heads—particularly Lea Michele. You lose your balance really quick when you try to go up a ramp in a wheelchair. Amber Riley caught an edge going down a ramp and fell off completely. There were pile-ups; there were crashes. Basically, everything that could go wrong, did." Murphy specified to Woodlee that cast members should not be able to leave their wheelchairs during the number, as: "Artie doesn't get to get up ever, so I didn't want anyone to get up." Woodlee agreed: "If it looked too fun and easy, it wouldn't read right. Ryan really wanted people to understand what Artie deals with."

Reception.

"Wheels" was watched by 7.35 million US viewers, and attained a 3.3/8 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. It was the twenty-second most watched show in Canada for the week of broadcast, attaining 1.69 million viewers. In the UK, the episode was watched by 1.877 million viewers (1.463 million on E4, and 414,000 on E4+1), becoming the most-watched show on E4 and E4 +1 for the week, and the most-watched show on cable for the week.  Director Paris Barclay was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series for his work on "Wheels", competing against "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy, who was nominated for his work on "Glee" pilot episode. The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards again saw Barclay nominated for the "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" award for "Wheels" against Murphy for "Pilot". O'Malley was also nominated for the "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" award for his role in the episode as Burt Hummel. Production mixer Phillip W. Palmer and re-recording mixers Joseph H. Earle Jr. and Doug Andham were nominated for the "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series" award at the 2009 Cinema Audio Society Awards for their work on "Wheels". The episode was honored at the 2010 Television Academy Honors for exemplifying "Television with a Conscience". The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences called it a "dynamic" episode, which "paint[s] a portrait of how we treat others—and how we can do it better."

Critical reaction.

The episode attracted criticism from a committee of performers with disabilities, who felt that casting an able-bodied actor to play a disabled student was inappropriate. "" star Robert David Hall commented: "I think there's a fear of litigation, that a person with disabilities might slow a production down, fear that viewers might be uncomfortable." "Glee" executive producer Brad Falchuk responded that while he understood the concern and frustration of disability advocates, McHale had the singing and acting ability and charisma required for the role and: "it's hard to say no to someone that talented". McHale has stated that he is pleased to represent a character in a wheelchair, and that: "I think what's great about it is just because he's in a wheelchair, he can still do what everyone else does." Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online refuted criticism of the episode, opining that: Wheels' is all about empowering people with disabilities and sends out an uplifting message to the disabled community." Gerrick Kennedy of the "Los Angeles Times" expressed a similar sentiment, stating: "Here we have an episode bluntly addressing the complexities of disability and doing so with so much respect and dignity, and there are complaints about Artie not being wheelchair-bound in real life? Cooooome on, guys."  Tim Stack for "Entertainment Weekly" called "Wheels" a "great, great episode", stating that it made him cry several times. MTV's Aly Semigran also commented that the episode brought her to tears, suggesting that Lynch's performance was Emmy-worthy and deeming "Wheels" "a truly standout hour of TV". Raymund Flandez of "The Wall Street Journal" reviewed the episode positively, calling Artie's rendition of "Dancing With Myself" "catchy" and "upbeat" and praising Rachel's "Defying Gravity" audition, which he wrote: "leaves us wanting for more." Kennedy described the episode as "sheer perfection", and James Poniewozik of "Time" made the pun: ""Glee" always been a pleasure, but if it raises its storytelling ambitions this way, it can really defy gravity."  Alan Sepinwall of "The Star-Ledger" wrote that while he generally finds "Glee" to be "a show with a serious identity crisis", he did not dislike "Wheels" as much as previous episodes. Sepinwall wrote that while "Glee" can be "broad and in-your-face and self-congratulatory", this episode was "much more human-scaled [and] much more interesting." Maureen Ryan of the "Chicago Tribune" similarly commented that while other episodes of "Glee" lack "coherence and narrative drive", "Wheels" did not have this problem, describing it as "a case study of what "Glee" does right" and deeming Artie and Kurt's storylines "provocative and thoughtfully handled."  Mike Hale of "The New York Times" felt that the episode was problematic. He thought that having Kurt sabotage his own audition sent out a "mixed message", and believed that actress Lauren Potter was "used as a prop in the continuing humanization of Sue Sylvester." Hale wrote that the storyline felt "smarmy and artificial", though praised Lynch for making the scene with Sue's sister "warm and real". "Entertainment Weekly" Dan Snierson felt that the revelation about Sue's sister was "a little manipulative", though wrote that he "didn't care in that glorious moment." He hoped that "Glee" writers would not humanize Sue too often, however, fearing that she would lose her "dictatorial swagger". Eric Goldman for IGN rated the episode 7.5/10, commenting: "I really hope that episode was about getting a lot of 'issue' storylines out of the way all at once, because that was a lot of overkill." He felt that, although the episode contained "the usual strong humor, warm character moments and catchy musical performances", overall it felt "very afterschool special".

"Wheels" is the ninth episode of the American television series "Glee". Written by series co-creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Paris Barclay, the episode premiered on the Fox network on November 11, 2009. "Wheels" sees the glee club hold a bake sale to raise money for a handicap accessible bus, so that club member Artie (Kevin McHale) can travel with them to sectionals and Will (Matthew Morrison) challenges the students to experience life from a different point of view. Quinn (Dianna Agron) struggles with the medical expenses incurred by her pregnancy, and Puck (Mark Salling) renews his offer to support her. Sue (Jane Lynch) accepts a student with Down syndrome onto the cheerleading squad, and Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Lea Michele) compete for a solo performance.

Na vozíku (v originále Wheels) je devátá epizoda amerického televizního seriálu "Glee". Epizodu napsal Ryan Murphy, autor Glee a režíroval ji Paris Barclay. Epizoda se poprvé vysílala na televizním kanálu Fox 11. listopadu 2009. V této epizodě se členové sboru snaží vybrat peníze pro bezbariérový vstup do školního autobusu, aby člen sboru Artie (Kevin McHale), který je na vozíčku s nimi mohl cestovat na okresní kolo soutěže. Quinn (Dianna Agron) bojuje s vysokými léčebnými výlohami, které jsou spojené s jejím těhotenstvím a Puck (Mark Salling) se jí znovu zeptá, jestli nechce podpořit. Sue (Jane Lynch) přijme do družstva roztleskávaček dívku s Downovým syndromem a Kurt (Chris Colfer) a Rachel (Lea Michele) soutěží o to, který z nich bude zpívat sólo.


History.

Some dry stone wall constructions in north-west Europe have been dated back to the Neolithic Age. Some Cornish hedges are believed by the Guild of Cornish Hedgers to date from 5000 BC, although there appears to be little dating evidence. In County Mayo, Ireland, an entire field system made from dry stone walls, since covered in peat, have been carbon-dated to 3800 BC. The cyclopean walls of the acropolis of Mycenae, Greece, have been dated to 1350 BC and those of Tiryns slightly earlier. In Belize, the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun illustrate use of dry stone construction in architecture of the 8th and 9th centuries AD.  Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, Africa, is a large city "acropolis" complex, constructed from the 11th to the 15th centuries AD.

Location and terminology.

Terminology varies regionally. When used as field boundaries, dry stone structures often are known as dykes, particularly in Scotland. Dry stone walls are characteristic of upland areas of Britain and Ireland where rock outcrops naturally or large stones exist in quantity in the soil. They are especially abundant in the West of Ireland, particularly Connemara. They may also be found throughout the Mediterranean, including retaining walls used for terracing. Such constructions are common where large stones are plentiful (for example, in The Burren) or conditions are too harsh for hedges capable of retaining livestock to be grown as reliable field boundaries. Many thousands of miles of such walls exist, most of them centuries old.  In the United States they are common in areas with rocky soils, such as New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and are a notable characteristic of the bluegrass region of central Kentucky as well as Virginia, where they are usually referred to as "rock fences" or "stone fences", and the Napa Valley in north central California. The technique of construction was brought to America primarily by English and Scots-Irish immigrants. The technique was also taken to Australia (principally western Victoria and some parts of Tasmania and New South Wales) and New Zealand (especially Otago).  Similar walls also are found in the Swiss–Italian border region, where they are often used to enclose the open space under large natural boulders or outcrops.  The higher-lying rock-rich fields and pastures in Bohemia's south-western border range of Šumava (e.g. around the mountain river of Vydra) are often lined by dry stone walls built of field-stones removed from the arable or cultural land. They serve both as cattle/sheep fences and the lot's borders. Sometimes also the dry stone terracing is apparent, often combined with parts of stone masonry (house foundations and shed walls) that are held together by a clay and pine needle "composite" mortar.  The dry stone walling tradition of Croatia was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2018, alongside those of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. In Croatia, dry stone walls () were built for a variety of reasons: to clear the earth of stone for crops; to delineate land ownership; or for shelter against the bora wind. Some walls date back to the Liburnian era. Notable examples include the island of Baljenac, which has of dry stone walls despite being only in area, and the vineyards of Primošten.  In Peru in the 15th century AD, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building dry stone walls to create terraces. They also employed this mode of construction for freestanding walls. Their ashlar type construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones. The structures have persisted in the high earthquake region because of the flexibility of the walls, and because in their double wall architecture, the two portions of the walls incline into each other.

Construction.

A wall's style and method of construction will vary, depending on the type of stone available, its intended use and local tradition. Most older walls are constructed from stones and boulders cleared from the fields during preparation for agriculture ("field stones") but many also from stone quarried nearby. For modern walls, quarried stone is almost always used. The type of wall built will depend on the nature of the stones available.  One type of wall is called a "double" wall and is constructed by placing two rows of stones along the boundary to be walled. The foundation stones are ideally set into the ground so as to rest firmly on the subsoil. The rows are composed of large flattish stones, diminishing in size as the wall rises. Smaller stones may be used as chocks in areas where the natural stone shape is more rounded. The walls are built up to the desired height layer-by-layer ("course by course") and, at intervals, large tie-stones or "through stones" are placed which span both faces of the wall and sometimes project. These have the effect of bonding what would otherwise be two thin walls leaning against each other, greatly increasing the strength of the wall. Diminishing the width of the wall as it gets higher, as traditionally done in Britain, also strengthens the wall considerably. The voids between the facing stones are carefully packed with smaller stones ("filling", "hearting").  The final layer on the top of the wall also consists of large stones, called "capstones", "coping stones" or "copes". As with the tie stones, the capstones span the entire width of the wall and prevent it breaking apart. In some areas, such as South Wales, there is a tradition of placing the coping stones on a final layer of flat stones slightly wider than the top of the wall proper ("coverbands").  In addition to gates a wall may contain smaller purposely built gaps for the passage or control of wildlife and livestock such as sheep. The smaller holes usually no more than 8 inches in height are called 'Bolt Holes' or 'Smoots'. Larger ones may be between eighteen and 24 inches in height, these are called a 'Cripple Hole'. Boulder walls are a type of single wall in which the wall consists primarily of large boulders, around which smaller stones are placed. Single walls work best with large, flatter stones. Ideally, the largest stones are being placed at the bottom and the whole wall tapers toward the top. Sometimes a row of capstones completes the top of a wall, with the long rectangular side of each capstone perpendicular to the wall alignment.  Galloway dykes consist of a base of double-wall construction or larger boulders with single-wall construction above. They appear to be rickety, with many holes, which deters livestock (and people) from attempting to cross them. These dykes are principally found in locations with exceptionally high winds, where a solid wall might be at risk of being unsettled by the buffeting. The porous nature of the wall significantly reduces wind force but takes greater skill to construct. They are also found in grazing areas where they are used to maximize the utility of the available stones (where ploughing was not turning up ever more stones).  Another variation is the Cornish hedge or Welsh "clawdd", which is a stone-clad earth bank topped by turf, scrub, or trees and characterised by a strict inward-curved batter (the slope of the "hedge"). As with many other varieties of wall, the height is the same as the width of the base, and the top is half the base width.  Different regions have made minor modifications to the general method of construction—sometimes because of limitations of building material available, but also to create a look that is distinctive for that area. Whichever method is used to build a dry stone wall, considerable skill is required. Correcting any mistakes invariably means disassembling down to the level of the error. Selection of the correct stone for every position in the wall makes an enormous difference to the lifetime of the finished product, and a skilled waller will take time making the selection.  As with many older crafts, skilled wallers, today, are few in number. With the advent of modern wire fencing, fields can be fenced with much less time and expense using wire than using stone walls; however, the initial expense of building dykes is offset by their sturdiness and consequent long, low-maintenance lifetimes. As a result of the increasing appreciation of the landscape and heritage value of dry stone walls, wallers remain in demand, as do the walls themselves. A nationally recognised certification scheme is operated in the UK by the Dry Stone Walling Association, with four grades from Initial to Master Craftsman.  Notable examples include:

Other uses.

While the dry stone technique is most commonly used for the construction of double-wall stone walls and single-wall retaining terracing, dry stone sculptures, buildings, fortifications, bridges, and other structures also exist.  Traditional turf-roofed Highland blackhouses were constructed using the double-wall dry stone method. When buildings are constructed using this method, the middle of the wall is generally filled with earth or sand in order to eliminate draughts. During the Iron Age, and perhaps earlier, the technique also was used to build fortifications such as the walls of Eketorp Castle (Öland, Sweden), Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire, Reeth, Dunlough Castle in southwest Ireland and the rampart of the Long Scar Dyke. Many of the dry-stone walls that exist today in Scotland can be dated to the 14th century or earlier when they were built to divide fields and retain livestock. Some extremely well built examples are found on the lands of Muchalls Castle.  Dry stone walls can be built against embankments or even vertical terraces. If they are subjected to lateral earth pressure, they are retaining walls of the type gravity wall. The weight of the stones resists the pressure from the retained soil, including any surcharges, and the friction between the stones causes most of them to act as if being a monolithic gravity wall of the same weight. Dry stone retaining walls were once built in great numbers for agricultural terracing and also to carry paths, roads and railways. Although dry stone is seldom used for these purposes today, a great many are still in use and maintained. New ones are often built in gardens and nature conservation areas. Dry stone retaining structures continue to be a subject of research.  Since at least the Middle Ages some bridges capable of carrying horse or carriage traffic have been constructed using drystone techniques. An example of a well-preserved bridge of this type is a double arched limestone bridge in Alby, Sweden, on the island of Öland.  In northeastern Somalia, on the coastal plain 20 km to Aluula's east are found ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style. The structure is formed by a rectangular dry stone wall that is low in height; the space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones. Relatively large standing stones are also positioned on the edifice's corners. Near the platform are graves, which are outlined in stones. 24 m by 17 m in dimension, the structure is the largest of a string of ancient platform and enclosed platform monuments exclusive to far northeastern Somalia. Burial sites near Burao in the northwestern part of the country likewise feature a number of old stelae.  In Great Britain, Ireland and Switzerland, it is possible to find small dry stone structures built as signs, marking mountain paths or boundaries of owned land. In many countries, cairns, as they are called in Scotland, are used as road and mountain top markers.

Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction method, which is characterized by the presence of a load-bearing façade of carefully selected interlocking stones.

Suchá zídka je prvek zahradní architektury, který je používán v zahradách, sadech a parcích. Suché zídky jsou tvořeny stavebním materiálem, nejčastěji kameny, zeminou a výsadbou, obvykle bez použití jiného pojiva (malty). V některých případech je při stavbě malta jako pojivo použita nebo doporučena. Suchá zídka není gabion, není pouhá kamenná zeď, je spíše zahradní úpravou podřízenou pravidlům sadovnické tvorby, výsadbou a použitím kamene je velmi blízká skalce. Suché zídky lze budovat tam, kde je nutné zachytit tlak zeminy násypu, jako nenáročné opěrné zdi, které jsou součástí kompozice, nebo i tam, kde je třeba v zemních zářezech udržet terén (zárubní zeď). Suché zídky lze použít v dobře promyšlené kompozici i jako součást zvýšeného záhonu.