Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Kieslowski, Krzysztof

Kieslowski graduated from the State Theatrical and Film College in L�dz, Poland, in 1968 and began his film career making documentaries, including one he had made for Polish television

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Sorbon, Robert De

Born into a poor rural family, Sorbon was educated in Reims and in Paris, where his piety and diligence drew the patronage of the comte d'Artois and King Louis IX. In 1251 he became canon

Monday, March 29, 2004

Saramago, Jos�

The son of rural labourers, Saramago grew up in great poverty in Lisbon. After holding a series jobs as mechanic and metalworker, Saragamo began working in a Lisbon publishing firm and eventually became a journalist and translator. He joined the Portuguese

Sunday, March 28, 2004

Abelard, Peter

French �Pierre Ab�lard, or Abailard, �Latin �Petrus Abaelardus, or Abeilardus� French theologian and philosopher best known for his solution of the problem of universals and for his original use of dialectics. He is also known for his poetry and for his celebrated love affair with H�lo�se.

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Encratite

Tatian converted to Christianity while studying in Rome

Friday, March 26, 2004

Farabi, Al-

Very little is known of al-Farabi's life. He was of Turkic origin and is thought to have been brought to Baghdad as a child by his father, who was probably in the Turkish bodyguard of the Caliph

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Ibn Abi Ar-rijal, Ahmad (ibn Salih)

After completing his education, Ibn Abi ar-Rijal joined the religious-bureaucratic establishment and reached the important rank of secretary and court orator under the rule of Isma'il al-Mutawakkil,

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Davenport, Edward Loomis

In spite of family opposition, Davenport went on the stage, making his debut in 1836 under the stage name Mr. E. Dee, playing Parson

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Main Range

Also called �Central Range�, or �Buffalo Range� mountain range in West Malaysia, the most prominent mountain group on the Malay Peninsula. Composed of granite with some patches of altered stratified rocks, the range extends southward for 300 miles (480 km) from the Thai border, with elevations rarely less than 3,000 feet (900 m) and some peaks exceeding 7,000 feet (2,100 m; high point Mount Korbu [Kerbau], or Buffalo Mountain, 7,162 feet [2,183 m]). The heavily forested

Monday, March 22, 2004

Belgian Literature, The 20th century

Walloon literature explored new paths during the course of the 20th century. Scholars undertook dialect studies, and standardization of spelling and grammar extended the literary possibilities of the dialect, as did attempts by �mile Lempereur and some other writers to renew the sources of inspiration. Alongside several veteran authors, such as the talented

Sunday, March 21, 2004

Stein, Johann Andreas

The son of an organ builder, Stein apprenticed with the famous instrument maker Johann Andreas Silbermann in 1748 - 49. For a time he evidently lived in Paris, but he was most active in Augsburg,

Saturday, March 20, 2004

Baldachin

Early

Friday, March 19, 2004

Tyrian Purple

Naturally occurring dye highly valued in antiquity. It is closely related to indigo (q.v.).

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Peters, Carl

After visiting London to study British principles of colonization, Peters founded the Society for German Colonization in 1884 and later that year, in the Usambara Mountains area

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

China, The Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms

The period of political disunity between the T'ang and the Sung lasted little more than half a century, from 907 to 960. During this brief era, when China was truly a multistate system, five short-lived regimes succeeded one another in control of the old Imperial heartland in northern China, hence the name Wu-tai (Five Dynasties). During these same years, 10 relatively stable regimes

Monday, March 15, 2004

Syzran

City, Samara oblast (province), western Russia. It lies along the Volga River at the latter's confluence with the Syzran River. Founded in 1683 as a stronghold at the eastern end of the Syzran defensive line, the city is a significant river port and an important centre of the western Volga-Urals oil field. Oil refining, manufacture of chemicals, glassmaking, timber working, and

Sunday, March 14, 2004

Laie

Town, Honolulu county, on Laie Bay, northeastern Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. The land was acquired by Mormon missionaries in 1864 and settled by a colony of Hawaiian Mormons. The impressive white Laie Temple, where the highest rites of the Mormon church can be performed, was built (1919) on the site of an ancient Hawaiian �city of refuge� (a sanctuary for the pursued). The Polynesian Cultural

Saturday, March 13, 2004

Rings

Also called �still rings � gymnastics apparatus consisting of two small circles that are suspended by straps from an overhead support and grasped by the gymnast while performing various exercises. They were invented in the early 19th century by the German Friedrich Jahn, known as the father of gymnastics. Competition on the rings requires the most strength of any gymnastics event, although

Friday, March 12, 2004

Gyoda

City, Saitama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, lying on the alluvial plain between the Tone and the Ara rivers. The site was settled in ancient times, and Oshi Castle was constructed there in 1490. During the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1867) the manufacture of tabi (socks) was introduced into Gyoda. This industry grew steadily until the end of World War II, when it was gradually replaced by clothing

Thursday, March 11, 2004

Conservative Party

Byname �Tories� in the United Kingdom, a political party whose guiding principles include the promotion of private property and enterprise, the maintenance of a strong military, and the preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. Since World War I the Conservative Party and its principal opponent, the Labour Party, have dominated British political life.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Judaism, Creativity

As has been noted, this �creed,� or �confession of faith,� underscores in the first benediction the relation of God to the world as that of Creator to creation. �Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates all things.� It adds the assertion that his activity is not in the past but is ongoing and continuous,

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Aelfheah, Saint

Of noble birth, Aelfheah entered the Benedictine abbey of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, and later became a hermit at Bath, Somerset, where followers elected him abbot. Aelfheah was a friend of Archbishop St. Dunstan of Canterbury,

Monday, March 08, 2004

Lille

Lille (often written L'�le [�the island�] until the 18th century) began as a village between arms of the De�le River. Count Baldwin IV of Flanders fortified it in the 11th century. The medieval

Sunday, March 07, 2004

Botswana, Flag Of

The Tswana people of southern Africa were divided by political boundaries drawn by European settlers in the late 19th century. Some lived to the south of the new border in (British) Cape Colony and thus came under its jurisdiction, while those to the north formed a separate entity under British control, the Bechuanaland Protectorate. In 1910 the Union of South Africa was

Saturday, March 06, 2004

Chaser

A literary work or portion of a literary work that is of a light or mollifying nature in comparison with that which precedes or accompanies it. The metaphor may stem from the practice of following the consumption of strong alcoholic drink with consumption of a less-potent beverage or, occasionally, with food.

Friday, March 05, 2004

Epidermis

In botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate transpiration, increase water absorption, and secrete substances.

Thursday, March 04, 2004

Anambra

Anambra is bounded by the states of Kogi on the north, Enugu on the east, Abia on the southeast, Imo and Rivers on the south, and Delta and Edo on the

Wednesday, March 03, 2004

Eritrea, Drainage

The Eritrean highlands are drained by four major rivers and numerous streams. Two of the rivers, the Gash and the Tekeze, flow westward into The Sudan. The Tekeze River (also known as the Satit) is a major tributary of the Atbara River, which eventually joins the Nile. The Gash River reaches the Atbara only during flood season. As it crosses the western lowlands, the Tekeze

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Nervous System Disease, Vestibulocochlear nerve

When both divisions of the vestibulocochlear nerve are affected by disease, symptoms may include ringing in the ear (tinnitus), a sensation of spinning (vertigo), and other symptoms such as deafness. Deafness, if not caused by middle-ear disease, suggests damage to the cochlear portion of the nerve. Compression of the nerve at the cerebellopontine angle by a tumour, an

Monday, March 01, 2004

Rimsky-korsakov, Nikolay

In full �Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov� Russian composer, teacher, and editor who was at his best in descriptive orchestrations suggesting a mood or a place.