Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Asclepiad

A Greek lyric verse later used by Latin poets such as Catullus, Horace, and Seneca. The asclepiad consisted of an aeolic nucleus, a choriamb to which were added more choriambs and iambic or trochaic elements at the end of each line. A version with four choriambs is known as the greater asclepiad; a version with three choriambs, the lesser choriamb. The form was named for

Monday, November 29, 2004

Arguedas Mendieta, Antonio

Bolivian political leader (b. 1929?, Bolivia - d. Feb. 22, 2000, La Paz, Bol.), rose to become Bolivia's minister of the interior during the 1964 - 69 military dictatorship of Gen. Ren� Barrientos; recruited by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1965, he aided efforts to defeat a guerrilla group in eastern Bolivia led by Che Guevara. Following the capture and execution of Guevara in 1967, Arguedas became disenchanted

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Dee, John

Dee entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1542, where he earned a bachelor's degree (1545) and a master's degree (1548); he also was made a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, on its founding in 1546. Dee furthered his scientific studies on the Continent with a short visit

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Harmony, Rise of the intervals of the third and the sixth

Until the late 14th century the attitude toward consonance, especially among continental composers, adhered largely to the Pythagorean ideal, which accepted as consonances only intervals expressible in the simplest numerical ratios - fourths, fifths, and octaves. But in England the interval of the third (as from C to E) had been in common use for some time, although it

Friday, November 26, 2004

Interior Design, Preliminary phases

The first step is the interview with the client. This is often a series of conversations and must eventually lead to a mutual agreement. Clients usually have a good idea of their needs and preferences, yet an experienced designer frequently sees some needs not envisioned by the client, and often he must reeducate the client's attitude about preferences. Obviously,

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Locarno

German �Luggarus � town, Ticino canton, southern Switzerland. It is situated at the northern end of Lago Maggiore, near the mouth of the Maggia River, west of Bellinzona. The site was settled in prehistoric times, and the town was first mentioned in 789. A possession of the dukes of Milan from 1342, it was taken by the Swiss in 1513. It became part of the newly formed Ticino canton in 1803 and, with Lugano and Bellinzona,

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Earth Sciences, Gravity, isostasy, and the Earth's figure

Discoveries of regional anomalies in the Earth's gravity led to the realization that high mountain ranges have underlying deficiencies in mass about equal to the apparent surface loads represented by the mountains themselves. In the 18th century the French scientist Pierre Bouguer had observed that the deflections of the pendulum in Peru are much less than they

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Mahavamsa

The text - written in

Monday, November 22, 2004

Tzotzil

Mayan Indians of central Chiapas in southeastern Mexico. Linguistically and culturally the Tzotzil are most closely related to the neighbouring Tzeltal (q.v.). The habitat of the Tzotzil is highland, with mountains, volcanic outcroppings, and valley lowlands. The climate at high altitudes is cool to cold, and summers are very wet. The native Tzotzil live mainly in the

Sunday, November 21, 2004

India, Developments in the Deccan

Toward the last years of Akbar's reign, the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar in the Deccan had engaged the attention of the emperor considerably. The main objective of his intervention in Ahmadnagar was to gain Berar, which had been recently acquired by Ahmadnagar from Khandesh, and Balaghat, which had been a bone of contention between Ahmadnagar and Gujarat. By 1596 Berar was conquered

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Abu Nuwas

Abu Nuwas, of mixed Arab and Persian heritage, studied in Basra and al-Kufah, first under the poet Walibah ibn al-Hubab, later under Khalaf al-Ahmar. He also studied the Qur'an (Islamic sacred scripture), Hadith (traditions relating to the life and utterances of the Prophet), and grammar and is said to have spent a year with the

Friday, November 19, 2004

Balash

Also spelled �Valakhsh� Sasanian king (reigned 484 - 488), succeeding his brother Firuz I. Soon after he ascended the throne, Balash was threatened by the dominance of invading Hephthalites, a nomadic eastern tribe. Supported by Zarmihr, a feudal chief, Balash suppressed an uprising by his rebel brother Zareh. Later, however, he was abandoned by Zarmihr, and shortly afterward he was deposed and blinded.

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Fire!!

The idea for the experimental, apolitical Negro literary journal was conceived in Washington, D.C., by poet Langston Hughes and writer and graphic artist Richard Nugent. The two, along with an editorial board comprising Zora

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Bona Dea

(Latin: �Good Goddess�), in Roman religion, deity of fruitfulness, both in the earth and in women. She was identified with various goddesses who had similar functions. The dedication day of her temple on the Aventine was May 1. Her temple was cared for and attended by women only, and the same was the case at a second celebration, at the beginning of December, in the house of a sovereign

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Hero And Leander

The story is preserved in

Monday, November 15, 2004

Hero And Leander

The story is preserved in

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Scalping

Scalping

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Guenon

Any of about 20 species of widely distributed African monkeys of the genus Cercopithecus, family Cercopithecidae. Guenons are slim, graceful, quadrupedal monkeys with long arms and legs, short faces, and nonprehensile tails that are longer than the combined head and body length of about 30 - 65 cm (12 - 26 inches). Guenons are known for the beauty of their soft,

Friday, November 12, 2004

Cueva, Juan De La

Cueva differed from his contemporaries in having his plays published, thus transmitting to posterity intact examples of early, albeit mediocre, Spanish drama. Cueva's plays in the collection Primera parte

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Cueva, Juan De La

Cueva differed from his contemporaries in having his plays published, thus transmitting to posterity intact examples of early, albeit mediocre, Spanish drama. Cueva's plays in the collection Primera parte

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Florey, Howard Walter Florey, Baron

Florey studied medicine at Adelaide and Oxford universities until 1924. After

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Corbett National Park

National park in Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. Extending over an area of 201 sq mi (521 sq km) and established as Hailey National Park in 1935, it was first renamed Ramganga in 1954 and then Corbett in 1957, in memory of Jim Corbett, a well-known British sportsman and writer. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas about 36 mi (50 km) northwest of Ramnagar town, the park consists mainly of the broad

Monday, November 08, 2004

Huysmans, Joris-karl

The only son of a French mother and a Dutch father, Huysmans at 20 began a long career in the Ministry of the Interior, writing many of his novels on official time (and notepaper). His early work, influenced by contemporary

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Mcgwire, Mark

As a senior in high school, McGwire attracted more attention with his

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Kean, Edmund

Though no official record of his birth exists, it has been well established that he was the bastard son of Ann Carey, who described herself as an itinerant

Friday, November 05, 2004

Music, African, Aerophones

The archaic bull-roarer (a board attached by rope to a stick and whirled about in the air) survives in various localities, notably in southern Africa among the San and neighbouring peoples. Of the wind instruments proper, the three main divisions - flutes, reed pipes, and trumpets - are all well represented, though the second of these is more restricted in distribution

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Atlanta Campaign

In the American Civil War, an important series of battles in Georgia (May - September 1864) that eventually cut off a main Confederate supply centre and influenced the Federal presidential election of 1864. By the end of 1863, with Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, firmly under the control of the North, Atlanta, an important Confederate

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Adder

Any of several venomous snakes of the viper family, Viperidae, and the death adder, a viperlike member of the cobra snake family, Elapidae. The name adder may also be applied to certain other snakes, such as the hognose snake (q.v.), a harmless North American species. Among the adders of the viper family are included the common adder (Vipera berus), the puff adders (several species

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Antsirabe

Town, central Madagascar. It lies on the slopes of the nation's second highest peak, Tsiafajavona, in the Ankaratra Mountains. Thermal springs, associated with ancient volcanism, together with an elevation of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) encouraged the development of a health resort there in 1923. The terminus of a rail line from Antananarivo, the national capital (70 miles [110 km] northeast), Antsirabe

Monday, November 01, 2004

Naevius, Gnaeus

Second of a triad of early Latin epic poets and dramatists, between Livius Andronicus and Ennius. He was the originator of historical plays (fabulae praetextae) that were based on Roman historical or legendary figures and events. The titles of two praetextae are known, Romulus and Clastidium, the latter celebrating the