Sport in Scotland

Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The temperate, oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like association football and golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.

Scotland has its own sporting competitions and governing bodies, such as the Camanachd Association, the Scottish Rugby Union, Scottish Rugby League. The country has independent representation at many international sporting events, for example the Rugby League World Cup, as well as the Commonwealth Games (although not the Olympic Games).

Scots, and Scottish emigrants, have made several key contributions to the history of sport, with important innovations and developments in:
golf, curling, football, rugby union (the invention of rugby sevens, first international, and first league system), Highland games (which have contributed to the evolution of modern athletics events), shinty (the predecessor of both ice hockey and bandy), cycling (Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the pedal bicycle), and water polo (first set of rules, games and internationals).

Highland games, the largest and most widespread multi-sport festivals of the 19th century, are claimed to have influenced Baron Pierre de Coubertin and Dr William Milligan Sloane (a scholar of French History and close friend of Baron de Courbertin) of Princeton when he was planning the revival of the Olympic Games. De Coubertin and Milligan, who was researching his book on Napoleon at the time, saw a display of Highland games at the Paris Exhibition of 1889.

Football codes
Ever since the 19th century, the two main football codes in Scotland are association football (which is more commonly referred to as just "football" or "fitba") and rugby union, though the former being significantly dominant since World War II. Some others are also played. For Gaelic Football, please see under Gaelic Athletic Association, further down.

Traditional football
There is a long tradition of football games stretching back centuries. While these games were referred to as "football" (and numerous variants), many of them were very different from modern football, and involved carrying the ball. One of these games was outlawed in 1424. The history of football in Scotland includes various traditional ball games, for example the Ba game; some of these early games probably involved the kicking of a ball. Uncertainty about the specific nature of these games is because prior to 1863, the term "football" implied almost any ball game that was played on ones feet and not played on horseback. Some of these local games were probably played as far back as the Middle Ages, although the earliest contemporary accounts (as opposed to decrees simply banning "football") come in the eighteenth century. Many of these accounts refer to the violence of traditional Scottish football and as a result many games were abolished or modified. Several burghs retain an annual Ba game, with the Kirkwall Ba Game in Orkney being probably the most famous form of traditional football in Scotland. Elsewhere in Scotland, the greatest evidence for a tradition of football games comes from southern Scotland, in particular the Scottish Borders.

Association football

The world's first official international association football match was held in 1872 and was the idea of C. W. Alcock of the Football Association which was seeking to promote Association Football in Scotland. The match took place at the West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in the Partick area of Glasgow. The match was between Scotland and England and resulted in a 0–0 draw. Following this, the newly developed football became the most popular sport in Scotland. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy, first contested in 1873 (although the FA Cup is an older competition, its original trophy is no longer in existence). Queen's Park F.C., in Glasgow, is probably the oldest association football club in the world outside England.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA), the second-oldest national football association in the world, is the main governing body for Scottish association football, and a founding member of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the Laws of the Game. As a result of this key role in the development of the sport Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives being appointed for set periods by FIFA. The SFA also has responsibility for the Scotland national football team.

The national stadium is Hampden Park in Glasgow. Supporters of the national team are nicknamed the Tartan Army, or the "Sporran Legion". As of September 2009, Scotland are ranked as the 30th best national football team in the FIFA World Rankings. They have improved steadily after Walter Smith took over as manager, beating 2006 World Cup finalists France in a European Championship qualifier. The national team last attended the World Cup in France in 1998, but finished last in their group stage after defeats to runners-up Brazil and Morocco. They won a single point after a one-all draw with Norway.

Elite club association football in Scotland is split between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League.

Scotland's association football clubs have had a relatively high degree of success internationally . In terms of European competitions, Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen have all won European competitions. Rangers, were the first British team to reach a European Final, the 1961 European Cup Winners Cup. However, Celtic are the only team to have won the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League), Europe's premier competition. Celtic won this cup in 1967 becoming the first British team to do so. Their victory is an important one in football history with the competition being won with a team comprising no players born more than thirty miles (48 km) from the home of the club, Celtic Park.

The most successful teams over the years have been the Old Firm: Rangers and Celtic. With Rangers having won more major trophies than any other team in professional football. Glasgow is therefore home to three major football stadia. With Celtic Park (60,411 seats), Ibrox Stadium (50,817 seats) and Hampden Park (51,866 seats).

Rugby union

Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. Murrayfield Stadium, in Edinburgh, is the home of the Scotland national rugby union team.  Scotland are placed 5th in the World Rugby Rankings. They annually take part in the Six Nations and participate in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. Scottish players are also eligible for selection for the British and Irish Lions, a composite team that tours the Southern hemisphere every 4 years.

The roots of Scottish rugby go back a long way. Many ball games played in Scotland, and referred to as "football" were frequently as similar to rugby as they were to soccer.

The Scottish Football Union (SFU) was founded in 1873 and was a founding member of the International Rugby Board in 1886 with Ireland and Wales. (England joined in 1890). In 1924 the SFU changed its name to become the Scottish Rugby Union.

The world's oldest continual rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of The Edinburgh Academy. The Edinburgh Academy was also involved in the first ever international rugby union game when a side representing England met the Scottish national side on the cricket field of the Academy at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh on 27 March 1871, which Scotland won. The national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and has appeared at every Rugby World Cup. Scotland has two professional sides that compete in the Pro14 and the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments – Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors. Two other professional sides also formerly existed: Caledonia Reds and the Border Reivers but these sides were disbanded due to funding problems in the SRU. The Scottish League Championship exists for amateur and semi-pro clubs. The national side regularly fill Murrayfield for Six Nations fixtures.

Rugby union is most popular in the Borders region, where it is played widely, and this is probably the only area of Scotland where rugby is the most popular sport, although it has a strong presence in Aberdeen, Cupar, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Ayrshire and Perthshire.

Rugby sevens

Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union, which was initially conceived by Ned Haig, a butcher from Melrose, Scottish Borders as a fundraising event for his local club, Melrose RFC, in 1883. The first ever sevens match was played at the Greenyards, where it was well received. The first ever officially sanctioned international tournament occurred at Murrayfield as part of the "Scottish Rugby Union's celebration of rugby" centenary celebrations in 1973. Due to the success of the format, the ongoing Hong Kong Sevens was launched three years later, and numerous other international competitions followed. In 1993, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, in which the Melrose Cup is contested, was launched, which is named after its town of origin. In the meantime, the Melrose Sevens continue to be popular  and there is a healthy Borders Sevens Circuit. The annual IRB Sevens World Series, featuring international sides from around the world, used to feature the Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield, but that tournament has since been replaced by the Paris Sevens.

Rugby league

Rugby league is administered by Scotland Rugby League. The main international team has been playing since 1909 although their first proper international wasn't until 1996 when they beat Ireland in Dublin 6–26. In the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, Scotland finished last in their group, although only narrowly lost to Ireland, Samoa and New Zealand. The latter two matches were played in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.
A major boost to rugby league in Scotland came when the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final was brought to Murrayfield, Edinburgh. On both occasions over 60,000 watched the final. This was coupled with a fantastic 42–20 win over France in July 2001, possibly one of Scotland's best wins in their short history.

Scotland finished top of Group C in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup progressing ahead of Tonga and Italy but losing to New Zealand 40–4. In the 2016 Rugby League Four Nations Scotland came away with a historic draw 18–18 with New Zealand in Workington, Cumbria although finishing last in the tournament.

The top tier of the domestic game in Scotland is the semi-professional Scottish National League currently features teams including the Aberdeen Warriors, Easterhouse Panthers, Edinburgh Eagles and the Strathmore Silverbacks.

American Football
It is played on an amateur basis throughout Scotland. There are 14 under 18 teams ranging from Inverness Blitz in the North, Inverclyde Hawks in the West through to Edinburgh in the East.

7 teams currently play in the BAFA Community Leagues with Glasgow Tigers, Clyde Valley Blackhawks, Dundee Hurricanes, Highland Wildcats, Edinburgh Wolves and West Coast Trojans playing in Division 2, and the East Kilbride Pirates playing in Division 1.

A professional team the Scottish Claymores played in NFL Europe between 1995 and 2004 based in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Lawrence Tynes, Joe Andruzzi and Dante Hall all played for the team and went on to have success in the NFL.

Australian Rules Football

Australian Rules Football is a minor sport in Scotland.

There are currently three teams in SARFL, most established in the early 2000s. It has seen growth around the major cities and now has a national team.

Futsal, indoor football and five-a-side
Futsal is a Brazilian form of football, similar to, but not the same as indoor football, which is more closely related to standard football.

Five-a-side (not to be confused with fives) is popular in Scotland, with many casual leagues.

Stick and bat games
For hurling and camogie, please see under Gaelic Athletic Association.

Cricket

Cricket has a much lower profile in Scotland than it has south of the border in England. Scotland is not one of the twelve leading cricketing nations which play Test matches, but the Scottish national team is now allowed to play full One Day Internationals, and takes part in the Cricket World Cup, in which Scotland reached the final tournament in 2007. Scotland has a well established recreational cricket structure. Scotland has co-hosted the 1999 Cricket World Cup along with England, Ireland and Netherlands.

The governing body for Scottish cricket is Cricket Scotland, which administers women's cricket and junior cricket as well as the men's game.

Cricket has an image as an "English" sport in Scotland, with many top players competing for the England national side, such as Jon Croft, and indeed, the national side competes in the English counties system.

Freuchie Cricket Club in Fife famously won the Village Championship in the 1985.

It is widely played in Scottish private schools, and has some presence in the major cities.
Moreover scotland defeated England for the first time on 2018.
They also participated in the 2015 icc world cup.

Golf

Scotland is the "Home of Golf", and is well known for its many links courses, including the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie, Muirfield and Royal Troon. The first record of golf being played was at Leith Links in 1457.

Scotland is at the forefront of international golf, with some of the world's premier courses being located there. The most famous courses, such as St Andrews tend to be on the east coast's dunelands, which are known in Lowland Scots as "links" – this word has passed over into golf terminology as meaning a course. There are also major courses at Gleneagles, Ayrshire, East Lothian and Loch Lomond.

While there is considerable disagreement as to where in Scotland golf was invented – St Andrews, Leith or Bruntsfield – or even if it was invented within Scotland – both the Netherlands and China have staked claims – the modern game was codified in Scotland. Much of golf terminology has its roots in Lowland Scots, e.g. caddy, links, tee etc.

Shinty

Shinty or camanachd is the traditional game of the Scottish Highlands, although historically it has a wider range.
It is still played widely across the area today, with clubs also based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Fife and Perth, and in most universities. Its governing body is the Camanachd Association (in Scottish Gaelic, Comunn na Camanachd) who are based in Inverness.

The sport's premier prize is the Scottish Cup, more popularly known as the Camanachd Cup. Shinty also has the honour of having provided, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's most successful sporting team, Kingussie Camanachd. Shinty was formerly played through the Winter but has recently become a primarily Summer game. It has common roots with the Irish sport of Hurling.

Baseball
Baseball has existed in Edinburgh since the 1930s when it was played at US air bases at Kirknewton and East Fortune. In 2007 the Scottish National League was formed after previously being associated with British Baseball Federation. The league consisted of the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, Edinburgh Eagles, Strathclyde Falcons and the Glasgow Baseball Association. In 2011 the league was still going strong with the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, Edinburgh Cannons, Edinburgh Giants, and the Glasgow Baseball Association. There have been 8 Scottish baseball players to play in the Major leagues. Baseball is a minority sport in Scotland and is only played at an amateur level.

Croquet
The Scottish Croquet Association, formed in 1974, has responsibility for croquet in Scotland.

Notable Scottish croquet players include Compton Mackenzie.

Elephant polo
Elephant polo is not played in Scotland, but gained notoriety within Scotland when The Duke of Argyll's team representing Scotland won the 2001, 2004 and 2005 Elephant Polo World Championships.

Field hockey
Field hockey is mainly played in the Lowlands, where it displaced shinty.

Ice Hockey
Scotland has a very long successful history of ice hockey, and it is the third most attended team sport in the country after association football and rugby union. Scotland are host to the oldest ice hockey team in Britain which are the Fife Flyers. At the moment there are four Scottish teams competing in the UK-wide Elite Ice Hockey League. Edinburgh Capitals have been in the Elite Ice Hockey League since it was formed and in 2010 they were joined by the Dundee Stars and the newly formed Braehead Clan and in 2011 the Fife Flyers were admitted as both their previous league and the Newcastle Vipers went bust creating an opening. Scotland has produced 3 of the top British Players of all time in Colin Shields, Tony Hand and Stephen Murphy.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse has a minor presence, tending to be played by girls at private schools, although there have been some male university teams as well.

Field lacrosse is the main sport, but box lacrosse is also played. It is always at amateur level. However, lacrosse in Scotland goes back to 1890 at St Leonards School, Fife, where women's lacrosse had been introduced by Louisa Lumsden. Lumsden brought the game to Scotland after watching a men's lacrosse game between the Canghuwaya Indians and the Montreal Lacrosse Club. One of Lumsden's students, Rosabelle Sinclair, established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States was at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland.

Scotland fields three national teams – men's, women's and an indoor side

Rock-It-Ball

Rock-It-Ball has a minor presence, tending to be played in the Central Belt but is spreading throughout Scotland. The Scottish team won the World Cup in 2007 and 2011.

Scotland is also leading the way in the individual version of the sport known as V2. The current World Champion is Scott MacMichael who plays his Rock-It-Ball with the Falkirk Cannons. He also is the only player to have won medals in the 2007 and 2011 team World Cup Victories.
At Youth level Scotland has the top female player in World V2 in Meghan Plummer, who also plays her Rock-It-Ball with the Falkirk Cannons.

It is a relatively new sport, having been created in the 21st century.

Basket codes

Basketball

Basketball itself was originally invented by James Naismith, a Canadian of recent Scottish family origins, when he was in the USA.

basketballscotland is the governing body of basketball in Scotland.

Until the late 50s, Scotland was one of Europe's main teams as it twice qualified for the EuroBasket. Since then, the team declined. Scotland had some success at the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries where it has five bronze medals most recently in 2014.

Netball

Netball is played mostly by girls from the age of ten to fifteen, and is popular in private schools.

Cue sports
Cue sports are very popular in Scotland.

Pool
Pool tables are commonly to be found in Scottish pubs and social clubs.

Snooker

Scotland has produced many great snooker players over the years. Many of which have gone on to win the World Championship. Walter Donaldson was the first Scotsman to be crowned World Champion, winning in 1947 and again in 1950.

In the modern snooker era the most successful Scottish snooker player is Stephen Hendry. He has won the World Snooker Championship a record 7 times, winning it 5 years in a row from 1992 onwards and holds the record as being the youngest ever winner, beating Englishman Jimmy White 18 frames to 12 in 1990 aged just 21 years.

Between 1990 and 2012 Scottish players reached the final on 16 occasions, with Scots winning 12 Championships in that time.  As well as Hendry's record 7 wins, John Higgins and Graeme Dott have also won the title.

In 1996, the Scotland Team of Stephen Hendry, John Higgens and Alan McManus won the Snooker World Cup.

Racquet sports

Badminton
BadmintonScotland is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Scotland.

There are two major tournaments – the Scottish National Badminton Championships and the Scottish Open.

Racquets

There are several former racquets courts in Scotland: Eglinton Castle, Fyvie Castle, Kinloch Castle (Rùm). However, the game is not much played any more.

Squash
Squash is played in most major urban centres.

A notable player of squash, is Peter Nicol. After initially representing Scotland in international squash, Nicol switched his representation to England in 2001, claiming that he felt he was not receiving sufficient support from Scottish Squash, the national governing body.

Tennis

Scotland competes as Great Britain in tennis, however its contribution to the pool of British players traditionally has been very poor in the modern era with almost all notable players being English. However, this has taken an about turn in recent years with emergence of Andy Murray, and doubles players Colin Fleming and Jamie Murray. Andy Murray is by some distance the best player currently representing Britain as the UK number 1 and is also the world number 1. On 7 July 2013 he became the first British player to win the men's singles at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, 77 years before. Brother Jamie and won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title along with Serbian Jelena Janković in 2007, the first time any British player had won a major title at Wimbledon in 20 years. Colin Fleming along with his English partner Ross Hutchins is currently ranked 9th in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings.  There are no official ATP tournaments in Scotland however, with all major events in Britain being contested in England.

Royal Tennis

While this is an extremely minor game in Scotland there is an outstanding example of a Royal Tennis court at Falkland Palace. It is traditionally known as "caitch" or "cache" in Scotland, and is an ancestor of the better known form of tennis.

Martial arts
A wide range of martial arts are practised in Scotland, but are usually administered at UK level.

Fencing
Scotland has produced Olympic fencers, many Commonwealth medallists and some very successful Paralympian and Commonwealth wheelchair fencers.  There are nearly 50 Olympic-rules fencing clubs active, with 37 of them currently affiliated to Scottish Fencing, the Home Country Governing Body. The most commonly used weapon in Scottish fencing is the foil.  Many of these clubs are classically focussed.

Scotland is at the forefront of the growth and development of the historic fencing movement with 16 historic fencing classes active, and many affiliated to the British Federation for Historical Swordplay.  Many of these clubs are also classically focused.

Judo
Scots have been very prominent on the podium at the Judo events at the Commonwealth Games.

Karate
The main body for Karate in Scotland is the Scottish Karate Board Ltd

Track and field events
See also under Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Athletics
Scottish Athletics is the governing body for athletics in Scotland. It replaced the Scottish Athletics Federation in April 2001.

Marathon
There are four marathons in Scotland: Edinburgh Marathon, Loch Ness Marathon, Lochaber Marathon and the Moray Marathon

Angling
Scotland has long been popular with anglers, both coarse and fly fishers. Many of its major rivers such as the Spey and Tay have famous fishing beats. The Malloch Trophy is Scotland's premier award for salmon fishing. The award is given for the largest salmon caught – and safely returned to the water – on the fly in Scotland each year.

Bowls
Lawn bowls is played in many parts of Scotland. Ten pin bowling arcades can be seen in a few places too.  Much to the chagrin of bowling fans, bumpers are traditionally used in ten pin bowling.

Boxing

Notable Scottish boxers include world champions Benny Lynch, Walter McGowan and Ken Buchanan; Lord David Douglas-Hamilton (who went on to become a Conservative politician)

Canoeing
A number of Scottish rivers are popular with canoeists, including the River Spey.

Climbing and mountaineering

Climbing is popular in some parts of Scotland. Notable climbers include Harold Raeburn.

Cycling
Cycling is a popular amateur sport, with 99 clubs throughout the country, from the Shetland Wheelers to the Stewartry Wheelers. At the elite level, Scots have been more successful at track cycling rather than road racing, although Scotland has a long history of time-trialing on the road. The lack of road races within the country, with not a single UCI-ranked event, is largely to do with the refusal of Scottish local authorities to close public roads to allow road races to take place safely. Scotland has three velodromes, one at Meadowbank Stadium, in Edinburgh, another at Caird Park in Dundee and a third, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, which was built in Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The governing body is the Scottish Cyclists' Union.

In recent years mountain biking has become very popular, with Scottish geography being ideal for training and racing. A World Cup event is regularly held in Fort William.

Scotland has produced several world-class cyclists.  Robert Millar finished in 4th place at the 1984 Tour de France winning the King of the Mountains jersey; He also achieved 2nd place finished at the 1985 and 1986 Vuelta a España as well as runner up in the 1987 Giro d'Italia.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Chris Hoy became the most successful British Olympian in over 100 years when he cycled to 3 golds in the velodrome in sprint events (Sprint, team sprint and keirin). His achievements earned him the honour of carrying the nation's flag in the closing ceremony and a knighthood in 2008.

Graeme Obree and David Millar (no relation) have also reached the very peak of their respective events.

Curling

Scotland is the home of curling which, although not as popular today as in Canada, remains more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe. The Scottish men's team are the world's second most successful curling nation having won a total of 32 World Championship medals including 5 golds, with the most recent coming in 2009.  The Scotland Women's Team have won the World Championships on two occasions in 2002 and 2013.

Although elite-level curlers have been assisted significantly by funding from the National Lottery, facilities at the grassroots level have not benefited from this, with the number of ice rinks offering curling in Scotland declining from 31 in 1993 to 22 in 2018.

Darts
Darts is popular in Scotland, with many pubs having their own teams. Former world champions from Scotland include Jocky Wilson, Les Wallace and Gary Anderson.

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has had a long history in Scotland, thanks to Scotland's substantial Irish population. The base of the GAA in Scotland is at Cambuslang, and GAA sports tend to be most popular in Greater Glasgow, although there is also a presence in various Scottish universities.

Scotland GAA is the GAA board that is responsible for Gaelic Games in Scotland. Scotland is treated as a "County" by the GAA.

Gaelic Football
Gaelic football is also played in Scotland, and the games are shown in some of the country's "Irish pubs". University teams have had great success, especially those of Heriot-Watt and Napier.

The "Gaelic" part of the name refers to Ireland, rather than Scotland.

Hurling
Hurling is a close relative of the indigenous Scottish sport of shinty, and there is an annual international between Scotland's shinty players and Ireland's hurlers, using composite rules. The traditional forms of hurling played in Antrim and Donegal, where many of Scotland's Irish immigrants originate from, were closest to Scottish shinty, and were at one point almost indistinguishable.

The Ireland hurling plays an annual international against a Scottish shinty side under composite rules.

Camogie is also played to a low level.

Handball

Horseracing

Scotland has several professional racecourses, but the sport received a massive blow in the 1990s when Lanark shut down.

The main meeting held is the Scottish Grand National, held in Ayr each April.

Orienteering

Pétanque
The French sport of Pétanque is administered and promoted in Scotland by the Scottish Petanque Association There are 11 affiliated clubs in Scotland and many other groups which play on a casual basis.

Rowing

Strathclyde Country Park is the home to the Scottish Rowing Centre, including an Olympic standard 2 km rowing course that has hosted rowing events at the Commonwealth Games and World Rowing Championships.

Dame Katherine Grainger with five Olympic medals is Great Britain's most decorated female Olympian.

Sailing
There are various events including the West Highland Yachting Week.

Offshore Power Boat Racing
Scotland hosts the UK's premier offshore power boat race the P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea

Skiing

The Scottish Highlands are one of the few parts of the United Kingdom to have a number of ski resorts.

Aviemore is a centre for the sport in the Cairngorms. There are also other resorts such as Aonach Mòr, and slopes at Glencoe Ski area and Glenshee Ski Centre. The Midlothian Snowsports Centre near Edinburgh, known locally as "Hillend", is the largest dry ski slope in Europe.

Speedway
Scotland currently has two Motorcycle Speedway teams racing in the UK Premier League, Glasgow Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs.

Swimming
The governing body is the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association. Most major urban centres and medium-sized towns have a swimming pool. Sea swimming does take place, but the low water temperature around Scotland tends to mean it is not particularly popular any more.

Sub aqua

Surfing

Water polo
Water polo is considered to be invented in Scotland with the original rules being written by William Wilson for the Bon Accord Club in Aberdeen in 1877.    It was based on a game played in the rivers Dee and Don in Aberdeen.    The first game in a pool took place in Glasgow and the Scottish rules were those most adopted during the early years of the sport.    Additionally, Scotland provided a number of Olympians to the GB squads that were successful in the early Olympics.

Scotland had a proud tradition of amateur water polo with many strong clubs across the country.   However, it took a downturn after the early 1990s at which point it was successfully competing in home countries and 8 nations tournaments.    As the rest of the world moved to deep water facilities, increased their training regime and professionalised their coaching structures, Scotland's water polo remained static and fell far behind.   The national squad stopped competing in internationals in 2003 with the exception of the women's squad competing at the Commonwealth tournament in Perth in 2006.   However, the sport has turned around since 2008 with fast growth of members, clubs and competitions.    The national squads are once again competing internationally in the annual Celtic Nations tournament with recent wins in Women's 2010 & 2012 and Men's 2011.   Scotland is expected to host the Commonwealth tournament in Aberdeen in April 2014.

Blood sports
All forms of animal fighting e.g. cock fighting, dog fighting, badger baiting etc. are banned, and have been for a long time. Fox hunting and hare coursing have been banned much more recently, and the former has never had a major presence in Scotland.

Folk sports

Aside from the Highland Games, a few localities have preserved traditional sports from before the standardisation of games. These include the ba games of Jedburgh and Kirkwall, and various forms of folk shinty, known as 'knottie' or 'hummie', which use improvised materials.

Multisport events

Highland games

The Highland Games are a distinctive feature of the national sporting culture. There are numerous annual games hosted in the Highlands including Braemar and Dunoon. They are also popular in various parts of the world, where large numbers of Scottish emigrants have settled.

Events at the Highland Games often test physical strength, such as the weight over the bar and sheaf toss, and novelty events of recent origin such as haggis hurling.

Commonwealth Games

Island Games

Scotland sends three teams to the Island Games tournament: one for the Orkney Islands, Shetland, and Outer Hebrides.

The 2005 Island Games were hosted by Shetland.

Olympic Games
Scottish athletes have competed at every Olympic Games, since the inaugural modern Games, as part of the Great Britain and Ireland team (prior to Irish independence) and then the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. A Scot, Launceston Elliot, won Great Britain and Ireland's very first Olympic gold medal, in 1896 in Athens. Some of the most notable Scots athletes are Eric Liddell, (whose story is featured in the film Chariots of Fire), Alan Wells, the Olympic 100m winner in 1980, and Chris Hoy, winner of six cycling gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

Scotland have only ever won one Olympic medal as Scotland, when the men's field hockey team won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Games. This was also the only occasion when either England (gold) or Wales (bronze) have won a medal in their own right; and was Ireland's only medal (silver) prior to independence. The curling gold medal in Chamonix in 1924 was won by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club team, the Scottish national team, and the women's curling gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 was won by the top Scottish team at the time, skipped by Rhona Martin. There is a long-running Campaign for a Scottish Olympic Team

In 2009, two sports of Scottish origin, golf and rugby sevens were accepted into the Olympics. Curling has been an event at the Winter Olympics for many years.

For a list of Scottish Olympic medal winners, see Scottish Olympic medallists.

Motorsport
Scotland has a notable track record of success in the world of motor sport, being one of only five countries in the world to have produced World Champions on two, three and four wheels.

Several Scottish competitors have had illustrious careers at the top level and success has come in many different championships including Formula One, The World Rally Championship, Le Mans 24 hours, IndyCar Series, the British Touring Car Championship, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the British Superbike Championship and the Sidecar World Championship.

Formula One

Scotland has had several Formula One drivers over the years since the championship commenced in 1950. A full list of these drivers can be found at :Category:Scottish Formula One drivers. Scotland's early successes in Formula One began with Innes Ireland, the Dumfries man winning Lotus’ first Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen in 1961. However, perhaps the best known Scottish drivers are Jim Clark, who won 2 World Championships before his untimely death, Jackie Stewart who managed to gain 3 World Championships and David Coulthard who raced from 1994 to 2008 with McLaren F1, Williams F1 and Red Bull F1. Coulthard has been Scotland's most successful driver in recent memory finishing runner up in the World Drivers Championships in 2001. Other recent successes include Bathgate's Paul di Resta who drove for Force India between 2010 and 2013 and Oban's Susie Wolff who in 2014 became the first woman to take part in a Formula One race weekend in 22 years, at the British Grand Prix, at Silverstone. No round of F1 has however been held in Scotland making the country one of the most successful countries without hosting a race, however a 50 lap 100-mile (160 km) motor race run to Formula One regulations called the Scottish Grand Prix was held in 1951 and there has been public discussion about the possibility of reviving the event in some form.

IndyCar

IndyCar refers to the top-level American single-seater racing championship and it just so happens that Scotland is home to one of the most successful drivers in the history of US single-seater racing – Dario Franchitti. Dario won the IndyCar Series championship four times and claimed the Indy 500 three times.

On 6 October 2013, he was involved in a serious crash at the Grand Prix of Houston, when his car flew into catch-fencing after contact with another car. Franchitti suffered two fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle and a concussion in the accident. A month later, on 14 November 2013, Franchitti announced his immediate retirement from motor racing on medical advice. He retired with 31 victories from 265 starts in American open-wheel racing, a tally which put him in a tie for ninth place on the all-time wins list.

The only other Scot to have had considerable success in US single seater racing, was the extremely versatile Jim Clark, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965.

Rallying

Away from the track, Scotland has always enjoyed a distinguished pedigree in stage rallying.

The McRae name is perhaps one of Scotland's most famous exports, with Colin McRae winning the World Rally Championship in 1995.  His ‘flat-out’ driving style earned him millions of fans around the world and he enjoyed cult status during his 15-year career at the top of the sport. Colin was the son of 5-time British Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae, and brother of Alister McRae who also enjoyed success in the world of international rallying.

Scotland's most recent world crown was won in 2001, when Perthshire born co-driver Robert Reid won the World Rally Championship with Richard Burns.

Louise Aitken-Walker also made significant inroads into the male-dominated sport and is Britain's most successful female rally driver of all time, claiming the ladies world rally championship in 1990.

Endurance Racing

One of the most enduring stories from the world of Scottish motorsport is that of the legendary Ecurie Ecosse racing team. From a humble back-street mews garage in Merchiston, Edinburgh the team stunned the motor racing world by beating household names such as Porsche and Ferrari. In 1956, David Murray's team won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race with a privately entered D-type Jaguar, driven by Scotsmen Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson.

In more recent years, Scotland has continued to enjoy success in the world of endurance and sports car racing. Dumfrieshire's Allan McNish competed in F1 in 2002 for Toyota, but is best known for becoming one of the all-time greats in the gruelling world of sportscar racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times and finishing on the podium on no fewer than six further occasions. In 2013, he also won the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). Peter Dumbreck has also competed in the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, and is better known for his infamous accident in the 1999 event where his Mercedes-Benz CLR car suffered aerodynamic problems and took off, somersaulting through the air. In 2012, Bathgate's Marino Franchitti was confirmed as the first driver of Nissan's innovative DeltaWing as an unclassified entrant at Le Mans and in 2014 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring. Another star Scottish endurance driver is Ryan Dalziel who in 2012 won the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as taking a class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the 12 Hours of Sebring.

BTCC
In the British Touring Car Championship Scotland has had a double champion in John Cleland. A number of drivers have raced successfully in recent years including Anthony Reid, David Leslie and Gordon Shedden, who won the championship in 2012. One round of the championship is annually held at Knockhill in Scotland.

Motorcycle Sport

In motor cycling, the legends continue. Jock Taylor took the Sidecar World Championship in 1980 and Jimmy Guthrie and Bob McIntyre both set the standard for Scottish motorcycle competitors on either side of the war.

In the 1980s and 1990s, it was Niall Mackenzie and Steve Hislop who led the way. Mackenzie competed in the 500cc Grand Prix championship (now MotoGP) for nine years from 1986 to 1994, only twice finishing outside the top ten. He went on to win the British Superbike Championship no less than three times.

Borders man Steve Hislop won the British Superbike Championship in 1995 although was better known for his success in the Isle of Man TT races, winning no less than eleven TTs.

In recent years Stuart Easton continues the charge for Scotland in the British Superbikes, while John McPhee promotes the Scots abroad, running in the highly competitive Spanish Moto3 class.

The Scottish off-road motorcycling scene has produced numerous British Enduro and Motocross champions, most recently Richard Hay in the British Enduro Veteran Class. Euan McConnell contested the World Enduro Championship from 2001 to 2007.  In 2009 and 2010 teams from Scotland competed to medal results in the International Six Days Enduro and in each of the same years Scottish riders successfully finished the gruelling Dakar Rally as the first Scots to do so. Scotland can even claim a World Champion in motorcycle stunt riding with Kevin Carmichael taking the title in 2002.

Scottish Motorsport Venues

There are various motor sport venues throughout Scotland, the biggest of which is Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife .

For Motorcycle sport in Scotland, the Governing Body is the SACU.

Sports media

Scotland has a distinct set of media products, especially when it comes to sports coverage. The main Scottish daily newspapers, the Daily Record, The Herald and The Scotsman, have extensive coverage of Scottish and international sport; and coverage of Scottish sport is one of the key tools used by Scottish editions of English newspapers, most successfully employed by The Scottish Sun. However, the vast majority of sports coverage in Scotland is of association football.

There is also a variety of magazine titles. Titles include The Celtic View, Rangers News, bunkered, Scottish Club Golfer and Rally Action.

The main sports television shows on the largest two channels are Scotsport on STV and ITV1 Border Scotland (which is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest running sports television programme) and Sportscene on BBC Scotland. BBC Radio Scotland's main sports show is Sportsound, and it has other sports output, for example the comedy show Off the Ball. All the main independent radio stations report on local sport, and often cover football matches live (although not the SPL, to which the BBC hold exclusive radio rights).

BBC Alba's Spòrs shows one full, delayed SPL match.

In 2011, QuipuTV – a multimedia production company and digital broadcaster specialising in livestreaming – launched with the aim of providing a digital platform for minority sports in Scotland. They produce live programming for Cricket Scotland, Scottish Hockey Union, Scottish Swimming, and Netball Scotland.


Chinków

Chinków  is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Solec-Zdrój, within Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately  south-west of Solec-Zdrój,  south-east of Busko-Zdrój, and  south of the regional capital Kielce.


The Express-Times

The Express-Times is a daily newspaper based in Easton, Pennsylvania, with an emphasis on local news in the Lehigh Valley.

The paper has won awards in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Ownership
Thomson Newspapers bought The Express of Easton in 1983. The paper took on its current name when the Globe-Times of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania merged with The Express.

MediaNews Group bought The Express-Times from Thomson in 1994. Current owner Advance Publications bought MediaNews' New Jersey and Pennsylvania newspapers in 2000.

Express-Times content can be found online at lehighvalleylive.com.

Management

 Lily Kirov, Sales Director
 Jim Deegan, Editor and Vice President of News

Distribution
The Express-Times publishes zoned editions (Lehigh Valley and New Jersey) and delivers to Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania, Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.

History
First printed 1855 as The Easton Daily Express, the name changed to The Easton Express in 1917 and was abbreviated to The Express in 1973. In 1991, The Express merged with The Globe-Times of Bethlehem to become The Express-Times.

Sections
The Express-Times has four editorial sections:
Front: Local, national and world news
Valley: Local news and obituaries from the Lehigh Valley
Sports: Local and national sports
Today: Local and national arts & entertainment
Editorials, classifieds, comics, horoscopes and puzzles also appear each day.

Inserts
The following are inserted into The Express-Times during the week.
Friday:  Exposed, an entertainment tabloid
Saturday: Real Estate, a real estate guide
Sunday: Sunday Morning, a features section, news from The Wall Street Journal and full color comics.

Other publications
The Express-Times also publishes a weekly, The US, based in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.


New Fans

"New Fans" is the tenth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords.  This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 19, 2007.

Plot synopsis
A performance at a local "World Music Jam" results in the Conchords gaining two new fans, but Mel is suspicious of the newcomers and their motives.  Murray encourages the band to adopt a more "rock star" attitude.

Plot
At a band meeting at a local restaurant, Murray and the band discuss ways to improve their 'rock' image.  Murray announces that Mel has won the fan competition — the prize is to cook the guys dinner at her place.

After the meeting they head off to a gig which turns out to be a 'World Music Jam'.  When it is their turn on stage they begin to perform "Rock The Party", but the show MC is unimpressed and stops them early.

Their performance has interested two girls at the bar though, Summer and Rain. They introduce themselves and flirt with the boys, much to Mel's displeasure. Murray encourages the guys to be seen drinking beer to improve their image despite the fact that Bret and Jemaine both dislike it.

Bret and Jemaine stop by Dave's place to borrow some "cool and sexy" clothes from him. Jemaine requests clothes that project a "casual Prince" image. Dave complains about his room-mates whom he vehemently denies are his parents.

At the consulate, Murray shows them how he answers the band's emails for them and demonstrates the webcams that he has had installed in their apartment without their knowledge. Murray is pleased that the girls from the gig have joined the fan club. He reminds them about the dinner with Mel but the guys have a double date with the two new fans. Murray insists that they go and implores them not to upset their old fans "like Zed Zed Top did".

Bret and Jemaine take Summer and Rain to dinner at Mel's place. Mel is hostile towards the new women and is defensive when asked about her husband, who Bret discovers has been banished to the basement. Mel tells Bret that she thinks the new fans are only interested in sex, which leads them to cut the dinner short and leave with Summer and Rain.

At Summer's place the girls offer the boys acid tabs which they are reluctant about, but they end up agreeing to take a sixteenth of a tab each. Afterwards, Summer suggests to Jemaine and Bret — separately — that they have a threesome, so each tries to send the other band mate home. They soon discover that Summer meant her and the two guys. That idea doesn't appeal to the guys much, so they attempt to sneak out but Summer catches them.

When they tell Murray about the new fans giving them drugs and wanting to have a threesome, he is impressed. He thinks it is very "rock and roll." Unfortunately it turns out that Summer and Rain have now dropped out of the fan club. So has an upset Mel, leaving them fanless.

During the end credits, Bret and Jemaine are talking in bed about the threesome the night before. Murray rings them to tell them to get some sleep. He has been watching on the webcam — and so, it seems, has Mel.

Notes
 We learn that Dave's full name is Devjeet and he lives with his parents.
 The host of the "World Music Jam" is played by singer Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates.
 In Mel's bathroom, she has a picture of Bret and Jemaine's head on the same naked body (polycephaly). Bret later hallucinates this same image during his "Prince of Parties" LSD trip.
 Director Taika Waititi and writer Duncan Sarkies have worked together before. Sarkies was the writer of the 1999 New Zealand film Scarfies, in which Waititi starred.

Songs
The following songs are featured in this episode:

"Ladies of the World"

"Ladies of the World" (a.k.a. "Something Special for the Ladies") is an ode to all the women of the world and a plea to make love, not war. Bret and Jemaine begin singing this song after they notice that there are a lot of hot women at the world music gig. Part of the song in which Bret and Jemaine rap is similar to MC Miker G. and Deejay Sven's "Holiday Rap".

"The Prince of Parties"

After taking some acid, the hallucinating boys sing "The Prince of Parties", a song with appropriately trippy lyrics and a video featuring Bret, Jemaine, Mel, Summer and Rain dancing around a forest glade tempted by a satyr played by Murray.  The song is reminiscent of the later work of the Beatles (including a reference to Sitar guru Ravi Shankar), as is the imagery shown while the song is playing, which appears to be inspired by the video for Rain. Also the psychedelic music made by Donovan in the late 1960s, complete with trippy wordplay, and fey vocals is clearly an inspiration on the song.

Other songs

The band begins to play "Rock the Party" at the world music gig, but are cut short by the MC.


Pajama Party (TV series)

Pajama Party is an American talk show broadcast in 2000 and hosted by Katie Puckrik.  The series was an American remake of the British television series Pyjama Party also created by Puckrik which she hosted in 1996.

Format
A pajama party themed variety and talk show geared toward women.


Charlie Trigg

Charles George Trigg (5 January 1881 – 26 December 1945) was a British flat jockey of the early 20th century, winning The Oaks in 1910.

Early life

Trigg was born the illegitimate son of Ellen Trigg in Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, and baptised at the parish church on 13 February 1881.  He went to school at Walmore Hill, Westbury-on-Severn.  In a 1936 interview with the Gloucester Journal he recalled his frequent travels to Gloucester with his beloved grandmother to sell eggs and other produce from the family farm.  After his grandmother bought a Russian pony, he could often be found riding it to deliver goods to her customers.

He was apprenticed to Sir John Thursby after seeing an advertisement for the position by chance, in an old copy of the Sportsman.  After attending an interview at Sir John’s home in Park Lane, he worked as a stable lad at Thursby’s estate at Boveridge House, Cranborne, Dorset, before beginning his career as a jockey in 1902.

Racing career
Trigg won several renowned races during his career, including the Chester Cup in 1903 on Vendale, the Cesarewitch in 1906 on Mintagon, the Goodwood Cup in 1909 on Carrousel, and the Lincolnshire Handicap in 1911 on Mercutio.  His only Classic success, however, was on Rosedrop, owned by Sir Arthur Bass, in The Oaks in 1910.

When Newbury Racecourse was opened on 26 September 1905, Charlie Trigg won the very first race at the circuit on Copper King and was presented with a gold-mounted whip to the value of £10.

In 1910 Trigg rode 95 winners, and in 1911 he rode 111, although he never headed the list for the unofficial title of Champion Jockey.  Following the 1912 season he signed a contract with Baron Alfonso Rothschild to race in Austria for three years.

Trigg later recounted how a conversation over dinner following a chance encounter with an Englishman he knew in the Diplomatic Service, at his hotel in Vienna, led him to flee Austria shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, travelling by train via Prague and Frankfurt, and arriving in Brussels to learn that the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany.  Having finally arrived in the UK on Monday evening, 3 August 1914, Trigg made a winning ride on the Tuesday afternoon at Brighton, on a horse owned by Charles Hibbert, for whom he had ridden before his Austrian contract.  Jockeys from the UK and the British Empire were reported to have been interned in Austria in the early part of the war.

During his career, which was curtailed by the reduction in racing brought about by the First World War, he rode a total of 843 winners.  Trigg made rides in the UK and occasionally in Ireland during the War, and retired from racing in 1918.

A music hall song, Jean Loves All the Jockeys, written in 1913 by Fred Godfrey and Billy Williams, and sung by Williams, namechecks Charlie Trigg among a dozen or so renowned jockeys of the day.

Career records
Trigg’s 843 career race wins in the UK were achieved between 1902 and 1918.

1902: 47 wins from 238 races

1903: 85 wins from 378 races

1904: 61 wins from 642 races

1905: 46 wins from 523 races

1906: 63 wins from 555 races

1907: 53 wins from 539 races

1908: 77 wins from 670 races

1909: 78 wins from 700 races

1910: 95 wins from 702 races

1911: 111 wins from 733 races

1912: 60 wins from 618 races

1913: under contract to race in Austria: rode 43 winners in Austria; known to have made rides in the UK before and after the Austrian season

1914: under contract to race in Austria: known to have made rides in the UK after fleeing on the eve of the First World War

1915: 20 wins from 175 races

1916: 9 wins from 137 races

1917: not listed among the leading jockeys

1918: not listed among the leading jockeys

Personal life

On 30 March 1907 Trigg married Winifred Rhoda Maynard Davis, originally from Portishead in Somerset, at St Andrew’s Church, Westminster.

In 1919 Trigg divorced his wife on account of her relationship with a young army officer originally from Lancashire, Captain Percy Walker Kippax, whom she later married.  The divorce caused headlines, with the court hearing evidence from the Triggs’ housekeeper at their Dulwich home to support the allegations against Mrs Trigg.  Trigg and his wife had one daughter, Phyllis; he was awarded custody of her following the divorce, and she later married a clergyman who served in parishes at Sneyd Green, Staffordshire and Fremington, Devon.

Later life and death

After his divorce, Trigg lost his wealth, returned to Gloucestershire and is reported to have died a pauper at Gloucester General Hospital in December 1945.  His funeral was held at Minsterworth Church, and the service was officiated by his son-in-law, Rev Peter Pearson.


Marquinhos (footballer, born October 1989)

Marcos Antônio da Silva Gonçalves (born 17 October 1989 in Prado, Bahia), mostly known as Marquinhos, is a Brazilian footballer as a winger.

In 2008, he was discovered in Vitória's youth squads and made his debut in the Campeonato Baiano. Later, on the Campeonato Brasileiro, he was considered to be one of the best young players of the season; playing almost every game in the first team despite being only 18 years of age.

Career

Career statistics
(Correct )

according to combined sources on footballzz.co.uk, Flamengo official website and Flaestatística.

Honours
Vitória
Bahia State Championship: 2008, 2013

Flamengo
Taça Guanabara: 2011
Taça Rio: 2011
Rio de Janeiro State League: 2011

Cruzeiro
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2014


Museum of Young Art

The Museum Of Young Art (MOYA) founded 2005 in Vienna, Austria, was the first museum worldwide exclusively devoted to 21st-century young art. The MOYA was privately owned, founded & owned by the Swiss and German art historian and art manager Dr. Kolja Kramer. It presented artworks produced after the year 2000 only and it focussed especially on the early work of artists. Artists also did not necessarily have to be fully established. A risk with regard to long term art historical relevance was taken for the sake of art historical speculation. The MOYA also functioned as a springboard for many young artists. In 2015 the MOYA-Museum of Young Art in Vienna was closed. The transfer of the MOYA-Museum of Young Art outside Austria is planned at present. Further Information: www.moya-museum.org.

Location
The first location of the MOYA was right at the famous Vienna Ring Road, next to Vienna's Burgtheater and the Rathaus, Vienna, in Löwelstrasse 20, 1010 Vienna. In 2010 it moved to a larger city palace nearby, to Palais Schönborn-Batthyány at the Freyung, built by the important baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, in the heart of Vienna, Renngasse 4, 1010 Vienna.

Represented countries
In the MOYA, mainly contemporary young European art was presented even though there was a concentration on regional art from Vienna and Austria and its neighbouring countries. The MOYA functioned as a gate the east with its many exhibitions and artists from Eastern Europe. The annual show `Young Art Global´ regularly put the regional context in a broader spatialtemporal perspective with international artists from all over the world. The MOYA was closely related to the diplomatic circle in Vienna and collaborated with cultural institutes and international art institutions in the countries. In 2014 the MOYA received the Flame of Peace, an award given by members of the Habsburg family for contributions to world peace.

The following countries were represented in the MOYA by artists in cooperation with ministries, embassies and cultural institutes and institutions of the following countries: Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.

Artists
Represented artists in the MOYA include:

Andrejs Ameļkovičs, Santiago Ayerbe, Mervat Alameer, Bernhard Ammerer, Renatta Avila, Aris Bagdas, Zsófi Barabás, Marius Bercea, Anca Benera, Adam Bota, Bernhard Buhmann, Gilbert Calleja, Nuno André Coelho, Orla Conolly, Suzana Dan, Naomi Devil, Juliana Do, Markus Dressler, Karin Frank, Maria Friberg, Agnes Gazdag, Helmuth Gräff, Die 4 Grazien, Urban Grünfelder, László Györffy, Heiri Häfliger, Klaus Henckelmann, Anna Hilti, Michael Horsky, Liu Cheng Hua, Ina Hsu, Patrícia Jagicza, Wu Chan Jian, Grzegorz Klaman, Bas van Koolwijk, Kristian Kozul, Mela Kaltenegger, Ganna Kryvolap, Toni Mestrovic, Youn-Hee Moon, Robert Muntean, Jacek Niegoda, Michael Ornauer, Ceren Oykut, Andrea Papageorgiu, Eva Petric, József Pinczés, José Pozo, Marcus Proschek, Chen Qi, Emmanuel Fretes Roy, Alexandru Radvan, Bianca Regl, Reyes, Dorota Sadovska, Laura Samaraweerowá, Josephine Scianna, Susanna Schwarz, Skero, Dominika Skutnik, Marek Sobcyk, Nórá Soós, Stylianos Schicho, András Szabó, Peter Szarka, Michal Szlaga, Géza Szöllösi, Lefteris Tapas, Sorin Tara, Iv Toshain, Tomaz Tomazin, Iacopo Toppazzini, Mirela Traistaru, Christina Tsialis, Iuliana Vilsan, Agnés Verebics, Kati Verebics, Mart Viljus, Klaus Wanker, Adalbert Wazek, Letitia Werth, Sula Zimmerberger,  and many others.


Michiel Daniel Overbeek

Michiel Daniel Overbeek (15 September 1920 in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa – 19 July 2001 in Johannesburg), also known as Danie Overbeek, was a South African amateur astronomer and one of the most prolific variable star observers.

Life
He studied in a Mining and Metallurgy program at the University of the Witwatersrand. During the Second World War he served in the South African Air Force and was awarded the Africa Star and mentioned in Dispatches. After the war he worked for South African Airways and South African Railways.

In 1945 he married Jean Mary Preddy, with whom he had four children. She died in 1985.

Astronomy
Daniel Overbeek's serious interest in astronomy dates back to 1951, when he started observing occultations and variable stars. In 1958 he earned a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and astronomy from the University of South Africa.
In his life he contributed 287,240 observations to the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) International Database, becoming the most prolific AAVSO contributor. In 1998 he became the first amateur astronomer who detected supernova related gamma ray burst effects. He also monitored Earth's magnetic field and seismic activity with a magnetometer and a seismograph he had built, and observed sudden ionospheric disturbance.

Acknowledgement
In 1956 Daniel Overbeek became the chairman of the Transvaal Centre of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA). He was elected the president of the ASSA twice: in 1961 and 1999.

In 1984 he was awarded the Gill Medal, the highest ASSA honour. The American Association of Variable Star Observers awarded him with the Merit Award in 1986 and the Director's Award in 1994. He was also a multiple AAVSO Observer awardee: in 1994 for making 100,000 variable star observations, in 1997 for 200,000 and in 1999 for 250,000 observations. In 1995 he received the Christos Papadopoulos Trophy of the Transvaal Centre of the ASSA. He also won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1996. The Mars-crosser asteroid 5038 Overbeek was named in his honour in 2000.


Elelea multipunctata

Elelea multipunctata is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Heller in 1923. It is known from Borneo.


Operational conversion unit

An operational conversion unit (OCU) is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel. Operational conversion units teach pilots how to fly an aircraft and which tactics best exploit the performance of their aircraft and its weapons. The Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force, among others, practise this method of training.  The United States Navy calls its units in this role fleet replacement squadrons.

An example of an OCU is No. 29 Squadron RAF, which was the second RAF squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The Royal Australian Air Force has a number of OCUs. These include No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit, No. 6 Squadron and No. 292 Squadron. These units are responsible for converting aircrews to the F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18F Super Hornet and AP-3C Orion aircraft, respectively.

No. 42 Squadron RNZAF Is the only OCU in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It flies the RNZAF's 4 Beechcraft Super King Air B200 in a Twin Engine conversion role. Until 2001 the RNZAF had No. 2 Squadron RNZAF. It flew the TA-4K Skyhawk in a Fighter Conversion Role but was mothballed along with the rest of the RNZAF's Air Combat Wing in 2001.

Royal Air Force OCUs have their origins in the post-war period. Before the Second World War, operational training was carried out in the squadron itself. With the coming of war, this method of training was no longer possible and some squadrons were reassigned to training duties. These were later renamed as operational training units (OTU) and in practice were larger than operational squadrons.


Khady Black

Khadyjah Fofanah (born 21 June 1980 in Koidu Town, Sierra Leone) better known by her stage name Khady Black is a Sierra Leonean rastafarian and Roots reggae musician. She is Sierra Leone's first international female reggae artist. Khady Black sings mainly in English, Krio and in her native Mandinka language.

Because of her style of singing, many refer to Black as a social activist whose songs address key issues affecting Sierra Leone's youth and in particular women. Her lyrics, which poke fun of real life situations like calling for education of youths in her "Mr. Government" song and teasing black women who get caught up in wearing skin-lightening creams in "Cosmetic Girls" is a testament of Khady Black's satirical genius. Like other Rastafarian, Khady Black is a huge fan of Jamaican international Reggae star Bob Marley. Khady Black is getting ready to release her new and nationally anticipated album called Flying With Jah Love, with her new record label Black Records.

In June 2005, Khady Black released her debut album Mr. Government at the National Stadium in Freetown in front of thousands of fans. The album was a huge success in Sierra Leone and internationally. In November 2005, Khady Black won the TBS Music Award held in Freetown, Sierra Leone for Best Reggae Album – Mr. Government.

Khady Black performed together with dozens of international musical artists from Africa and the Caribbean to mark the 200th Anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade held on 27 August 2007 at the Queen's Gardens in Hull, England. The event celebrated African and Caribbean culture and featured several international artists from Africa and the caribbean.

In November 2005, Khady Black and her label the Supreme Inc went on tour in the United States with fellow Sierra Leonean musician Emmerson and his Borbor Bele fame crew. On the tour in US, she performed in New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia and in Langley Park, Maryland. She also went on tour in September 2005 in England and performed at the VIP Charity Navo's nightclub in London and at the Brixton Recreation Centre also in London. In July 2005 she had a Special performances at Le Palais and Vibrations Nightclub in Conakry, Guinea. In August 2005 she performed at Jokor and Calabash in Banjul, the Gambia.

Biography
Khadyjah Fofanah, better known as Khady Black, was born on 21 June 1980 in Koidu Town, Kono District in Eastern Sierra Leone to muslim parents Haja Fanta Saccoh and Alhaji Mustapha Fofanah. Both of his parents are members of the Mandingo ethnic group. As the last daughter in a family of fourteen, Khady had always been the darling of the family. She is a graduate of the Koidu Girls Secondary School in Koidu Town.

Tour
In July 2005 Khady Black had a Special performances at Le Palais and Vibrations Nightclub in Conakry, Guinea. In August 2005 she performed at Jokor and Calabash in Banjul, the Gambia. In September 2005 in England Khady performed the VIP Charity Navo's nightclub in London and at the Brixton Recreation Centre also in London.  In November 2005 Khady and her label the Supreme Inc went on tour in the United States with Emmerson and his Borbor Bele fame crew. On the tour in US, she performed in New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia and in Hyattsville, Maryland. On May 11, 2006, Khady performed at the National Stadium in Freetown, in celebration of the 25th death anniversary of Bob Marley.

NGO Ujima Ambassador for Africa Development
Today, Khady Black feels her biography will not be complete without making mention of Ujima, an NGO that took a bold step by appointing her as the first Sierra Leonean artist ever to be named "Goodwill Ambassador."

Donation to charities
In a very short period of time, she settled in as a perfect Goodwill Ambassador, donating one million Leones to her fan club to promote micro-economics on behalf of the NGO that she had vowed to support. She again became the first female Sierra Leonean artist to visit the sad victims of her country's 10-year rebel war to offer words of comfort and donate thousands of used clothing to the wives of amputees in their amputee camps.

Khady Black resume as an artist and performer
2002 – Mandingo song recorded for PRSP a nation building effort
2003 – Produced a single to help promote the fight against HIV & AIDS effort towards nation building
February 2005 – A National performance at the Free HIV & AIDS Awareness Concert at the National Stadium Brookfields Freetown.
April 2005 – Discovered by Supreme Inc at the "Peak Men show" at the National Stadium, Brookfields, Freetown, Sierra Leone
June 2005 – Album Release party Mr. Government at the British Council followed by another one at The National Stadium, Brookfields, Sierra Leone.
July 2005 – Special performances at Le Palais and Vibrations Nightclub in Conakry, Guinea
August 2005 – Special performances at Jokor and Calabash in Banjul, the Gambia
September 2005 – VIP Charity performance at Navo's nightclub, London, England
September 2005 – Live Charity performance at the Brixton Recreation Centre, Brixton, London, England
October–November 2005 – Supreme Inc USA tour with Emmerson and V of Borbor Bele fame
19 November 2005 – Khady Black wins a TBS Music Award in Sierra Leone for "Best Reggae Album – Mr. Government.
16 December 2005 – LIVE Band performance at the Celtel Premier Music Awards. Again presented with an award for Best Reggae Artist.
January 2006 Guest and Star appearance at the NGO – Ujima for Africa Development's official launching at Silver Wings Entertainment Complex, in Freetown Sierra Leone.
11 May 2006 – Special guest appearance & performance at the Bob Marley Reggae Jam Splash; a LIVE band performance with other leading reggae artists.
17 July 2006 – Appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for an NGO; the first time ever for a Sierra Leonean artist.
August 2006 – Goodwill tour for Ujima for Africa Development
September 2006 – Special appearance at a fundraising dinner for VP Solomon Berewa – London UK


Robert Endean

Robert Endean (1925–1997) was an Australian marine scientist and academic at the University of Queensland.

Early life
Robert Endean was born in December 1925 in Abermain, NSW and was raised in Abernethy. He attended Cessnock High School and won a scholarship to study at the University of Sydney taking a B.Sc. with Honours in Zoology in 1948 and a University Gold Medal. He took his M.Sc from the same in 1949, supervised by marine biologist, Professor William Dakin. He took his PhD at the University of Queensland in 1958.

Career
Endean worked as a Secretary, and later chair and president of the Great Barrier Reef Committee from 1954–75. It was during this time that the Heron Island Research Station passed to the control of the University of Queensland. Endean took up work as an Assistant Lecturer in 1950, rising to the position of Reader in 1964 at the University of Queensland.

Endean's primary research was the study of the toxicology of marine organisms. particularly the crown-of-thorns starfish, acanthaster planci. He became an advocate for the environmental protection of the Reef, principally from the crown of thorns starfish, and his publications and outreach work into the impacts of the starfish on coral ecology, led to the formation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) in 1975.

Endean accompanied Hans Hass on his first expedition to the Great Barrier Reef. In 1967, Endean accompanied the Belgian Scientific Expedition that conducted studies of the Great Barrier Reef.

In the 1960s, Endean worked with Roche Laboratories to establish a research base at the Heron Island Research Station, and study a number of active compounds found in marine organisms for medical research. He published 160 scientific papers and books during his career. His report prepared for the Queensland government into the outbreak of the crown of thorns starfish outbreak was dismissed in 1970. A later report to the Commonwealth government was also tabled, for which Endean continued to provide research submissions.

Endean was a member of the World Health Organisation's Expert Advisory Committee on Food Additives. He was Deputy Chair of the Heron Island board which oversaw the Research Station. He was a spokesperson on reef ecology, and had advised the community widely on toxins and marine pharmacology and biology. Endean retired from the University of Queensland in 1990, after 40 years of association with the Zoology Department.

Legacy
Endean died on 6 October 1997 on Heron Island, shortly before he was due to give an address at the Australian Coral Reef Society. He was survived by his partner Dr Ann Cameron with whom he worked and daughter Dr Coralie Endean.

A reef was named for him – the Bob Endean Reef off Mission Beach, Queensland.


L0 Series

The  is a high-speed maglev train that the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) is developing and testing. JR Central plans to use the L0 series on the Chūō Shinkansen railway line between Tokyo and Osaka, which is under construction.

The L0 series uses the Japanese-designed SCMaglev system. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Sharyo, a subsidiary of JR Central, are building fourteen pre-production vehicles.

A seven-car train set a land speed record for rail vehicles of  on 21 April 2015. The trains are planned to run at a maximum speed of , offering journey times of 40 minutes between Tokyo (Shinagawa Station) and , and 1 hour 7 minutes between Tokyo and Osaka.

Specifications
The end cars of L0 series trainsets are  long and carry 24 passengers. The nose extends  for better aerodynamics and reduced noise in tunnels. Intermediate cars are  long and carry 68 passengers each. Each row is four seats wide, one less than JR Central shinkansen trains. The cars are more box-shaped than earlier models to allow for more interior space. Cars are painted white and blue. During normal operation, the train is expected to operate at a maximum speed of .

The train does not require a driver, but does have a camera at the front of both end cars in order to allow for remote operation, in case the automated systems fail. The camera is more apparent on the revised end cars, planned to be introduced from 2020. It is moved to a higher position, and increased in size.

Planned Operations

Chuo Shinkansen
Construction on the Chuo Shinkansen line on which the train is intended to run began in December 2014. The first section to Nagoya is expected to be completed in 2027. That section will be approximately 85% tunnels with an estimated cost of 5.5 trillion yen (US$46.5B). The relatively high cost is in large part due to the many tunnels.

The complete line to Osaka is estimated to cost 9 trillion yen ($74.7 billion), and was expected to be completed by 2045, after an eight-year pause in construction to recuperate costs. However, after receiving a 3 trillion yen (US$28B) loan from the Japanese government, JR Central moved the project forward. It now expects to be able to open the full line as early as 2037, with construction beginning immediately after completion of the Tokyo-Nagoya section.

Northeast Maglev
A route from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, eventually extending all the way to New York City has received political support in the United States. JR Central chairman Yoshiyuki Kasai spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama about the L0 series during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 28 April 2015 visit.

In August 2017, development partner Mitsubishi announced that talks had "stalled" because of "a lack of clarity on the Trump administration's stance on high-speed rail".

In March 2019, Northeast Maglev project director David Henley stated in an interview that they expect to have a Record of Decision for the D.C.-Baltimore section by August 2020, and begin construction later that same year, or in early 2021. According to Henley, this would allow operations to begin in 2027–28, allowing for a construction period of 7 years.

History

L0 series
The first L0 series vehicle was delivered to the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line and unveiled to the press in November 2012. The first five vehicles were linked up and placed on the guideway in June 2013.

The first five-car train began test-running at the  Yamanashi Maglev Test Line in June 2013, following completion of extension and upgrade work at the facility, earlier than the originally scheduled September date. The maximum speed of test runs was gradually increased, reaching 500 km/h by the end of July 2013.

The five-car train was lengthened to seven cars in September 2013, and test-running as a 12-car formation commenced on 25 June 2014. The train was reverted to a 7-car formation later in 2014, and used for public preview rides starting in November.

A series of endurance and speed tests was carried out on the  test rail in April 2015 to examine the reliability and durability of the L0 after repeated high speed usage. Several speed and distance records were set in the process.

After April 2015, the train returned to being used for public preview rides.

Improved L0 Series
The L0 series are planned to be replaced with a revised model from May 2020 (named the "Improved L0 series"). This will be the first L0 series to receive power from the guideway, through induction. Currently, on-board power is provided by a small gas generator in each end car. The new end cars also feature a relocated and enlarged camera, and are more aerodynamic thanks to the removal of the exhaust vent necessary for the generator. Only one end car will be replaced by 2020, however, as well as one intermediate car. This means that the train will consist of a combination of revised and original cars for a period of time.

This model is expected to form the basis for the full production sets.

Variants
L0 Series: 1 x 12-car set owned by JR Central, introduced from 2011 and planned to be converted to the Improved L0 series from June 2020.

Improved L0 Series:  1 x 12-car set planned to be upgraded from L0 series from June 2020, two replacement cars under construction as of 2019.

Records

Speed records
 16 April 2015: Fastest manned train in the world ()
 21 April 2015: Fastest manned train in the world ()

On 16 April 2015, a manned seven-car L0 series trainset reached a speed of , breaking the previous world record of  set by a Japanese MLX01 maglev trainset in December 2003. The speed of 590 km/h was sustained for a period of 19 seconds. This speed record was broken again on 21 April 2015, when a manned seven-car set recorded a top speed of . The train hit its top speed at 10:48 am, about 4 minutes into the run. With 49 JR Central employees on board, the train sustained the speed for 10.8 seconds, travelling  during that time.

Distance records
 10 April 2015: Longest distance travelled in one day (), breaking the previous record () set in 2003.
 14 April 2015: Longest distance travelled in one day ().


Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones (Quebec)

The Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones (SAA) is an agency of the government of Quebec. Its stated mission as of 2010 is to be the "primary agency responsible for ensuring communication and contact between Native peoples and the Government of Québec."

The secretariat is guided by a set of fifteen principles approved by the National Assembly of Quebec and the Executive Council of Quebec in 1983. The first three principles read as follows:

"Québec recognizes that the aboriginal peoples of Québec constitute distinct nations, entitled to their own culture, language, traditions and customs, as well as having the right to determine, by themselves, the development of their own identity."
"It also recognizes the right of aboriginal nations, within the framework of Québec legislation, to own and to control the lands that are attributed to them."
"These rights are to be exercised by them as part of the Québec community and hence could not imply rights of sovereignty that could affect the territorial integrity of Québec."

The secretariat is overseen by the minister responsible for Native Affairs. The current minister is Geoffrey Kelley.


Salix shiraii

Salix shiraii is a species of willow native to mountains of central Honshū (Japan). It is a deciduous shrub.

shiraii


6 (film)

6 (also known as 6 Melugu Varthigal or 6 Candles) is a 2013 Tamil crime thriller film written and directed by V. Z. Durai. It stars Shaam and Poonam Kaur in the lead roles. This film sees the lead character sport six different looks and going around six different states to solve a mystery. The film was released on 20 September 2013 with positive reviews and become a sleeper hit. The movie is loosely based on the 2007 South Korean movie Voice of a Murderer.

Synopsis
Ram is a young software engineer who lives with his wife, Lizzy, and their son, Gautham in Chennai. They lead a normal life up until one day when Ram and Lizzy lose Gautham at a crowded beach. The police are not very helpful as Gautham is not the child of anyone with influence. However, after much pestering, the local inspector has one of his men take Ram and Lizzy to the slums in north Chennai to meet a petty criminal, Nayanar, who knows about all the crimes done by the dwellers in his area. Initially, he pretends to not know anything. However, after Lizzy begs at his feet, he finally reveals that Gautham might have been taken to Nagari in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to be sold to a local pimp, Krishna Rao. Ram then leaves for the pimp's brothel with two friends but finds that Rao only deals with grown women and not little children.

Back in Chennai, Ram goes to meet Nayanar again, who accidentally let slip that Gautham might have been taken to another town in Andhra Pradesh although he is unsure of it. Coincidentally, the taxi driver, Rangan, who drove Ram and Lizzy to the slums earlier meets Ram and tells him he has driven a businessman from that town back to his home after meeting Nayanaar a few years ago. The driver reluctantly agrees to take Ram there. Back in Andhra Pradesh, Ram and Rangan meet the businessman, Nallama Reddy who claims to lead an honest living by selling rice. However, Ram realizes Reddy is lying as the temple board states he is a quarry dealer. Ram holds Reddy's grandson at gunpoint and forces Reddy to reveal where Gautham is. Reddy then tells Ram his son might have been taken to a butchery at a nearby town.

At the butchery, the local gangsters already know that Ram is coming for them. Ram is prepared to face their attack. While struggling with the gang, its leader tells Ram that he already killed Gautham and sold the other children he abducted to a child trafficker in Bhopal named Nikhil Motwani after Reddy told them Ram is coming. Once the gangsters are defeated, Ram searches for Gautham's body but instead finds the corpse of another boy. Realizing that the gangsters killed the wrong boy, Ram is confident that Gautham is being taken to Bhopal and leaves immediately.

At Bhopal, Ram and Rangan manage to arrange a meeting with Motwani by posing as businessmen, but the human trafficker recognizes Ram from the news. He tells Ram that Gautham is being held by his henchman, Diwakar, and they can only release the boy if they are paid 1 crore. With no other choice, Ram calls up Lizzy to prepare the money and is taken to Diwaker's hideout. Unable to control himself after seeing a young school girl almost being raped, Ram saves her by fighting off Diwakar's men and taking her to the Times of India's headquarters. When Ram and Rangan return to the hideout, they find it empty. As they explore the place, they discover that Gautham and many other abducted children have been kept prisoned there all along. Ram becomes hysterical when he finds Gautham's shirt on the floor along with his scribblings on the wall.

Once they are back on the road, Ram phones Diwakar and begs him to return Gautham but is instead taunted at. Meanwhile, Lizzy calls Rangan to tell him that she had borrowed money from friends and has banked it into Diwakar's account. When she finds out it is no longer of any use, she is devastated and faints. As Ram and Rangan prepare to leave, they are shot at by an assassin hired by Motwani. Ram survives but Rangan is fatally shot. Before dying, Rangan reveals to Ram that he was the driver hired to drive Gautham's abductors around Chennai in search of victims. He then pleads to Ram to not give up and continue searching for his son.

Now left alone, Ram remembers his final conversation with Diwakar, who told him Gautham might be sold in Lucknow or Calcutta. He goes to Calcutta first and searches for Gautham at every place where child labourers and minor sex workers are being kept. As he comes to accept the fact that Gautham is not in the city, he phones Lizzy who he has not spoken to in months. She asks him to come home as there is nothing they can do to find their son now. Ram refuses to give up and heads for Lucknow. In Lucknow, Ram is found sleeping at the roadside by a kind Muslim, Bhai, who takes him in and helps him find Gautham. Through one of his contacts, Bhai learns about a local crime boss who houses dozens of child labourers. Once there, the crime boss claims he does not deal in child trafficking and instead asks Ram to look for Diwakar in Bhopal. We are then shown in flashbacks how Ram managed to track down Diwakar, who let slip his new hiding spot during their last conversation, and killed him in a fit of anger before taking back his money. Shocked, the crime boss finally shows Ram his child labourers. Ram is too overwhelmed by the number of abducted children when each of them beg him to take them away from this place.

As Ram and Bhai prepare to leave, Ram notices that he dropped Gautham's shirt and they go back to get it back. Ram then sees one of the boys, who is blind, holding the shirt. As Ram observes the boy's face closely, he realizes it is Gautham, who he did not recognize earlier as his son has changed beyond recognition. The father and son embrace, as Bhai thanks the Lord for his blessing.

Cast

Shaam as Ram
Poonam Kaur as Lizzy
Master Vivethan as Gautham
Anil Murali as Diwakar
Nagineedu as Nallama Reddy
P.S. Sridhar as Nayanaar
Narayan as Saravanan
Sandra Amy as Shylaja
Archana
Munnar Ramesh as Rangan
 Ravi Venkatraman as Inspector
Chandra
P. S. Selvam

Production
The venture was first reported in September 2011, when a poster of a candle shaped like the number 6 was unveiled, with the media incorrectly initially reporting the title as 6 Candles. An accompany press note mentioned that V. Z. Durai had written and directed the film, while Jeyamohan would pen the dialogues. R. Madhi, Srikanth Deva and Anthony were signed on as cinematographer, music composer and editor respectively. A special medical team headed by Dr. Selvam and comprising a physio, dietitian, yoga expert, meditation guide and a physical trainer wa also set up to monitor the lead actor Shaam's health during the shoot as the role required him to go through physical changes. Early reports suggested that Priyamani would play a role, but she was replaced by Poonam Kaur.

To attain a look with big eyebags, Shaam spent more than a dozen sleepless nights, which resulted in a big swelling below his eyes, so much so that the actor could not even be recognised. Although his effort gained notice, several contemporary actors criticized him for taking such a risk. For another look, Shaam reduced his weight from 89 kg to 72 kg and grew long hair and beard.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack is composed by Srikanth Deva collaborating with V. Z. Durai for second time after Nepali. V. Z. Durai made his debut as a lyricist and wrote all the 6 songs. The audio was launched on 5 December 2012, the function was attended by Sneha, Ameer, Namitha, Abbas, Bharath, Vimala Raman, Shaam, Poonam Kaur, Kannada actor Sudeep and many others. Behindwoods wrote:"Barring one song, the album has Srikanth Deva stepping out of his comfort zone and showing his capabilities at something different".

 Boyfriend Girlfriend – Sathyan
 Aagaayam Bhoomikellam – Sathyan, Soundarya
 Unnai Naan Velvatha – Roopa, Nancy Vincent
 Bigulu Bigulu – Soundarya Bala Nandakumar, V. Z. Durai
 Thedukindrathe – Haricharan

Release
The satellite rights were secured by Zee Thamizh. The film was given a "U" certificate by the Indian Censor Board. After many postponements, this film was released on 20 September 2013.

Critical reception
The film received positive reviews. The Times of India gave 3 stars out of 5 and wrote: "Despite the flaws, the plot keeps tugging along, managing to keep us always involved about the fate of the missing lad." They also wrote "Shaam's physical transformation for this role is astounding, but his range, when it comes to expressing emotions as a performer seems to be somewhat limited". Sify called the film "tedious" and wrote "The only silver lining is Shaam's performance, as father struggling to come to terms between his love for his son and situations life throws up". Baradwaj Rangan wrote "it should make for riveting drama, a welcome change from the endless comedies we are subjected to. But a number of factors conspire to derail the narrative, beginning with the cast". Behindwoods have 2.75 stars out of 5 and wrote "A movie with good research by the director, V.Z.Dhorai and earnest hard work by actor Shaam, which could have been tightened as a better product" Though the film was well appreciated the film had a loss in box office but it recovers the loss by the satellite rights gave to Zee Tamil.


Muang Sam Sip District

Muang Sam Sip (, ) is a district (amphoe) in the northwestern part of Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeastern Thailand.

History
In 1909 the government merged Kasem Sima and Utarupala Nikhom Districts together and named the new district Utara Ubon. Four years later, the district name was changed back to Kasem Sima. The district office was moved to Ban Muang Sam Sip in 1917, so the district name was changed to fit with the new location. The government built a new the district office there in 1924. The present district office was rebuilt in 1993 in the same area.

Geography
Neighboring districts are (from the east clockwise) Lao Suea Kok, Mueang Ubon Ratchathani, Khueang Nai of Ubon Ratchathani Province and Hua Taphan, Lue Amnat and Phana of Amnat Charoen Province.

The important water resources are the Se Bok and Se Bai Rivers.

Administration
The district is divided into 14 sub-districts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 158 villages (mubans). Muang Sam Sip is a township (thesaban tambon) which covers parts of tambon Muang Sam Sip. There are an additional 14 tambon administrative organizations (TAO).


Pingcha

Pingcha () is a rural town in Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Hunan, China. As of the 2017 census it had a population of 11,000 and an area of . The town is bordered to the north by Outuan Township, to the east by Xinchang Town, to the south by Deshun Township, and to the west by Gaotun Subdistrict of Liping County.

History
After the establishment of the Communist State in 1950, the Pingcha Township () was set up. At that time, it was under the jurisdiction of Jinping County, Guizhou Province. In 1955 it came under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province. In 1958 it was renamed "Pingcha People's Commune". In 1994 it was upgraded to a town.

Administrative division
As of 2017, the town is divided into ten villages: Pingcha (), Xinshan (), Mianhua (), Malukou (), Xiaocha (), Shaba (), Guantuan (), Tielu (), Dixiang (), Jiangbian (), and one community: Pingcha Community ().

Geography
The highest point in the town is Mount Yuhua (), which, at  above sea level.

Economy
The town's economy is based on nearby mineral resources and agricultural resources. Mineral resources include gold, manganese, antimony and mineral water.

Festival
Lusheng Festival () on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar is a festival in this town.

Transportation
The Provincial Highway S222 passes across the town northeast to southwest.


Mecistogaster modesta

Mecistogaster modesta is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Central America.

Subspecies
These two subspecies belong to the species Mecistogaster modesta:
 Mecistogaster modesta iphigenia Selys, 1886
 Mecistogaster modesta modesta Selys, 1860


Epiphany Eyewear

Epiphany Eyewear are smartglasses developed by Vergence Labs. The glasses record video stored within the glasses' hardware for live-stream upload to a computer or social media. The glasses use smartphone technology. The head mounted display is a mobile computer and a high-definition camera. The glasses take photographic images, record or stream video to a smartphone or computer tablet.

The style of the eyewear frames is similar to the basic designer-like frames made famous and worn by Buddy Holly. The multifunction plastic titanium framed glasses are controlled by pressing tactile buttons on the sidebar of the frame to activate the camera or determine the darkness of the sun glass lens. If a prescription eye glass lens is needed, a prescription lens with a Nominal Base Curve of 2 diopters can be installed by an optometrist.

Hardware
The eyewear are point of view shot (POV) video glasses with a computer inside the frames with multi-core processing, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. The computer inside powers a high-definition camera to either take photographs or record motion picture video with sound. The eyewear software and apps allow integration with mobile devices to live-stream recordings and sound to social networks and YouGen.tv. The YouGen.tv website is an app platform provided and developed by Vergence Labs for Epiphany Eyewear users.

The built-in physical computer memory can store 8 GB, 16 GB or up to 32 GB of data. The power is supplied by a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Operations are powered by a tiny USB connection from the eyewear frames to a power source.

Vergence Labs acquisition

Snap Inc. acquired Vergence Labs, Inc. and its subsidiary Epiphany Eyewear. Vergence Labs, Inc., the stockholders and Vergence Labs’ CEO Erick Miller as the stockholders’ agent, approved the stock purchase agreement and Vergence Labs, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Snapchat in early 2014.

Epiphany Eyewear were developed by Vergence Labs Co-Founder & CEO Erick Miller; Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer Jon Rodriguez, a former Facebook Engineer Peter Brook,Product Designer David Meisenholder who designed the GL-20 Polaroid video glasses for Lady Gaga, and a former Lenovo Global Product Marketing Manager Cory Grenier.


John Butler Smith

John Butler Smith (April 12, 1838 – August 10, 1914) was an American manufacturer and Republican politician from Hillsborough, New Hampshire who served as governor for two years and owned Contoocook Mills Company.

Biography
Smith was born in Saxtons River, Vermont on April 12, 1838.  He attended the public schools of Hillsborough, New Hampshire and the Francestown Academy.  He worked in stores and shoe making factories before embarking on a successful business career, and eventually became owner of the Contoocook Mills Company and several stores, and his interests grew to include commercial real estate and banking.

A Republican, Smith was an Alternate to the 1884 Republican National Convention and one of New Hampshire's 1884 presidential electors.

From 1887 to 1889 he served as a member of the Governor's Council, and in 1890 he was elected Chairman of the Republican State Committee.

In 1892 Smith won election as governor, and he served from  January 5, 1893 to January 3, 1895. Governor Smith actively proposed programs for preserving state forests and improving roads and highways.

After completing his term, he resumed management of his business interests and served as a member of the Republican State Committee.  He died in Hillsborough on August 10, 1914 and was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Hillsborough.

Smith donated liberally to the Congregational Church and several charities, and the Smith Memorial Congregational Church in Hillsborough is named for him.  The Gov. John Butler Smith House in Hillsborough was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

External links
Smith at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources

John Butler Smith at National Governors Association
John Butler Smith Mansion at Fuller Public Library


David Production

is a Japanese animation studio subsidiary of Fuji TV.

Establishment

The company was founded by former Gonzo president and producer Kōji Kajita and fellow producer Taito Okiura in September 2007 upon having left Gonzo. The company's first work was as an animation subcontractor, but in 2009 David Production undertook their first full animation production as a primary contractor with Ristorante Paradiso.

Fuji TV acquired the studio on August 1, 2014.

The company's name derives from the Biblical story of David and Goliath, a story chosen to represent "[the creation of] good animation with great storytelling and characters" despite being smaller than other well-known studios. The name is also an acronym for "Design Audio & Visual Illusion Dynamics" which signifies the studio's impactful animations.

Productions

Television series

OVAs/ONAs

Films


Mark Chamberlain (educator)

Mark M. Chamberlain (1931–2014) was an American educator and the fourth president of Glassboro State College (now known as Rowan University) from 1969 to 1984.

Life
Chamberlain was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Pittsburgh's South Hills High School in 1949, he received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and subsequently attended the University of Illinois where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in inorganic chemistry.

Chamberlain taught chemistry at Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio for 13 years, also serving as assistant chair of the chemistry department and vice provost for student services. He was appointed as the fourth president of Glassboro State College in 1968 after being selected by the students and faculty of the college. Previous presidents at Glassboro had been appointed by the sitting New Jersey governor. During his tenure as president, Glassboro transitioned from a small teachers college in Southern New Jersey to a multipurpose institution, creating three new academic divisions and expanding the school's enrollment from 3,500 to 8,800 students by 1984.  After leaving the college presidency, Chamberlain taught as a chemistry professor until his retirement in 2000.

Chamberlain died on March 29, 2014, at age 82.

Rowan University's student center, completed in 1974, was renamed named in honour of Chamberlain in 2006.