ChiefSpade

Ear, Human

2005-04-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hearing is the process by which the ear transforms sound vibrations in the external environment into nerve impulses that are conveyed to the brain, where they are interpreted as sounds. Sounds are produced when vibrating objects, such as the plucked string of a guitar, produce pressure pulses of vibrating air molecules, better known as sound waves. The ear can distinguish

Zamboanga City

2005-04-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

City and port, western Mindanao, Philippines. It is a busy port strategically located on the southwestern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula, on Basilan Strait and sheltered by Basilan Island. The immediate coastal lowlands are narrow, with low, rugged hills located a short distance inland. Zamboanga's Spanish-style architecture, fine beaches, and mountainous backdrop

France, History Of, The new regime

2005-04-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

By sweeping away the old web of privileges, the August 4th decree permitted the Assembly to construct a new regime. Since it would take months to draft a constitution, the Assembly on August 27 promulgated its basic principles in a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. A rallying point for the future, the declaration also stood as the death certificate of

Gu

2005-03-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

The bronze gu was produced during

Tafilalt

2005-03-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tafilet, or Tafilalet, largest Saharan oasis of Morocco, in the southeastern part of the country. The oasis comprises the fortified villages of Erfoud, Arab Sebbah du Ziz, Rissani, Seffalat, Aoufous, and Jorf, together with palm groves stretching 30 miles (50 km) along the Wadi Ziz. Its old capital was the Berber stronghold of Sijilmassa, founded in AD 757 on the Saharan caravan route from the Niger River

Water Cock

2005-03-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

(Gallicrex cinerea), marsh bird of the rail family, Rallidae (order Gruiformes). It occurs from India to Japan and throughout Southeast Asia to the Philippines. The male is blue-black with red legs, a strongly conical red bill, and a protruding red frontal shield. The female is mottled and barred yellowish brown. The water cock is troublesome in rice fields, where it likes

Ateste

2005-03-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Ateste

Gabelentz, Hans Conon Von Der

2005-03-23T06:11:00.000-08:00

After completing his university studies, Gabelentz did research on the Chinese

Half-timber Work

2005-03-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

Method of building in which external and internal walls are constructed of timber frames and the spaces between the structural members are filled with such materials as brick, plaster, or wattle and daub. Traditionally, a half-timbered building was made of squared oak timbers joined by mortises, tenons, and wooden pegs; the building's cagelike structural skeleton

Clactonian Industry

2005-03-21T02:21:00.000-08:00

Clactonian tools are similar

Aethra

2005-03-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

Later she guarded Helen after she had been stolen from Sparta by Theseus; in retribution

Murieta, Joaquín

2005-03-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

A Joaquín Murieta was recorded as baptized in Sonora, Mex., in 1830; while still a teenager, he married and migrated with his wife to California (1848). In the Gold Rush he tried prospecting,

Fleming, Victor

2005-03-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

Fleming started in the industry as a stunt car driver in 1910, later doing camera work for D.W. Griffith. Serving in the photographic section during World War I, he acted as

Aerospace Industry, General aviation aircraft

2005-03-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

By far the world's largest market for general aviation aircraft is the United States, with about 190,000 such aircraft (more than 70 percent single-piston-engine types) in active use in the late 1990s. Annually, these aircraft accounted for more than 27 million flight hours (nearly two times the flight hours of U.S. airlines) and 145 million passengers. Private airplanes used typically for

Side-necked Turtle

2005-03-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

Pelomedusid turtles are aquatic reptiles found

Asceticism

2005-03-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

The origins of asceticism lie in man's attempts to achieve various ultimate goals or ideals: development of the “whole” person, human creativity, ideas, the “self,” or skills demanding technical proficiency. Athletic askesis (“training”), involving the ideal of bodily fitness and excellence, was developed to ensure the highest possible degree of physical fitness in an athlete.

Architecture And Civil Engineering, Exhibitions.

2005-03-14T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City staged the largest exhibit ever held of the work of the Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Originating in Glasgow, Scot., the exhibit later traveled to Chicago and Los Angeles. It focused on 250 items, including furniture, watercolours, posters, and other objects by the noted architect, one of the founders of the

Igbo

2005-03-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

Also called Ibo people living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria who speak Igbo, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Igbo may be grouped into the following main cultural divisions: northern (Onitsha), southern (Owerri), western (Ika), eastern (Cross River), and northeastern (Abakaliki). Before European colonization, the Igbo were not united as a single

Durandus Of Saint-pourçain

2005-03-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Durandus entered the Dominican order and studied at Paris, where he obtained his doctorate in 1313. Shortly afterward Pope Clement V summoned him to Avignon as a lecturer in theology. He became successively bishop of

Peregrinus Of Maricourt, Peter

2005-03-11T04:56:00.000-08:00

Almost nothing is known about Peregrinus' life, except that he wrote his famous treatise while serving as an engineer in the army of Charles I of Anjou that was besieging Lucera (in Italy) in August 1269 in a “crusade” sanctioned by the pope. Peregrinus' abilities

Nat

2005-03-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

In Burmese folk religion, any of a group of spirits that are the objects of an extensive, probably pre-Buddhist cult; in Thailand a similar spirit is called phi. Most important of the nats are a group collectively called the “thirty-seven,” made up of spirits of human beings who have died violent deaths. They are capable of protecting the believer when kept properly propitiated

Oeser, Adam Friedrich

2005-03-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

Trained in the art of modeling by a sculptor, Raphael

Interior Design, Modes of composition

2005-03-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

It must be emphasized that there are many different moods, or modes of composition, that are possible in interior design. The recognition of this fact makes it difficult to apply valid critical criteria to these modes, since many of them are intensely personal. What may appear to be picturesque to one person might be ugly or cluttered to another. Each person brings

Tonga, Relief

2005-03-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

The summit of volcanic undersea mountains forms the two roughly parallel chains of the Tongan islands. Most of the islands of the western chain are classified as high islands because they have been raised well above sea level by repeated volcanic activity. Four of them are still active volcanoes. Some of the islands composed of lava formed by shield volcanoes, such

Wallace, Lewis

2005-03-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

The son of an Indiana governor, Wallace left school at 16 and became a copyist in the county clerk's office, reading in his leisure time. He began his study of law in his father's office but left to recruit volunteers

K'uei Hsing

2005-02-26T23:18:00.000-08:00

K'uei Hsing, whose name before deification was Chung K'uei, is said to have passed his own examination with remarkable success but was denied the usual honours when the emperor beheld his ugly features. Brokenhearted, K'uei attempted

Algeria, Resources

2005-02-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

Deposits of natural gas were first discovered at Hassi R'Mel in 1956, and since

Dungarpur

2005-02-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Dungarpur district, Rajasthan state, northwestern India. An agricultural market centre, it is linked by road with Udaipur, as well as with Vadodara, Ahmadabad, and Indore via Godhra (Gujarat). Dungarpur, former capital of the Dungarpur princely state, was founded in the 14th century and was named after Dungaria, an independent chieftain

Downpatrick

2005-02-20T04:27:00.000-08:00

Irish Dún Pádraig town and seat, Down district (established 1973), formerly in County Down, Northern Ireland. Downpatrick is located where the River Quoilé broadens into its estuary in Strangford Lough (inlet of the sea). The town takes its name from dún (fortress) and from its association with St. Patrick. It is the Dun-da-leth-glas (Fortress of the Two Broken Fetters) of Irish chroniclers. Formerly

Amygdule

2005-02-17T05:28:00.000-08:00

Secondary deposit of minerals found in a rounded, elongated, or almond-shaped cavity in igneous rock. The cavities (vesicles) were created by the expansion of gas bubbles or steam within lava. Some amygdules consist partially of lava, which indicates their formation during solidification of the rock. Since gas bubbles tend to rise through the lava, amygdules are most

Confession

2005-02-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

A confession admits the entire criminal charge, whereas an admission covers

Well Logging

2005-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

When electrical instruments are employed, the technique involves the recording of variations in the natural electrical properties of subsurface formations. Changes in the porosity, fluid content, or lithology (rock character) of the formation are indicated

Japanese Law

2005-02-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

The law as it has developed in Japan as a consequence of a meld of two cultural and legal traditions, one indigenous Japanese, the other Western. Before Japan's isolation from the West was ended in the mid-19th century, Japanese law developed independently of Western influences. Conciliation was emphasized in response to social pressures exerted through an expanded

Venetian Needle Lace

2005-02-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

French Point De Venise, Venetian lace made with a needle from the 16th to the 19th century. Early examples were deep, acute-angled points, each worked separately and linked together by a narrow band, or “footing,” stitched with buttonholing. These points were used in ruffs and collars in the 16th and 17th centuries and, from their presence in portraits by Anthony Van Dyck, are known as “vandykes.” Geometrical

Antelope

2005-02-08T02:19:00.000-08:00

Antelopes are even-toed, hoofed mammals that

Arao

2005-02-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

City, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, facing Ariake Bay. It was a poor village until the opening of the Miike coal mine and the arrival of a major railway in the early 20th century. A military munitions factory was established in 1940. After World War II, however, the mine and the factory closed. Arao is now a residential suburb of Omuta to the north. Pop. (1985) 62,570.

Ostwald, Wilhelm

2005-02-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

Ostwald took his doctorate from the University of Dorpat (now Tartu State

False Bay

2005-02-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Valsbaai, bay on the south side of Cape Peninsula, South Africa, 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Cape Town. Cape Hangklip (east) and Cape Point (west) are about 20 mi apart. Its name refers to the fact that early sailors confused the bay with Table Bay to the north. It is well sheltered, though experiencing southeasterly winds in summer; and its waters are approximately 10° F (5.5° C) warmer than those of Table

Peter Martyr, Saint

2005-01-30T04:00:00.000-08:00

Peter's parents were members of the Cathari, and there was some family opposition to Peter's

Carnivore, Form and function

2005-01-29T04:30:00.000-08:00

The teeth of the omnivorous bears are unspecialized. The first three premolars are usually either missing or extremely small. The carnassials are poorly developed, and the molars have broad, flat crowns. Except for variability as to the presence of premolars, the ursid dental formula is that of the Carnivora generally. The sloth bear lacks one pair of upper incisors.

Armenian Rite

2005-01-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

The system of liturgical practices and discipline observed by both the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church and the Armenian Catholics. The Armenians, who regard themselves as the “first Christian nation,” were converted to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminator about AD 300. The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Illuminator, used by both Apostolic and Catholic Armenians,

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Diversity of media

2005-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

In the broadest sense, allegorical procedures are linguistic. Allegory is a manipulation of the language of symbols. Verbally, this mode underwent a major shift in medium along with the shift from oral to written literature: allegories that had initially been delivered in oral form (Christ's parables, for example) were written down by scribes and then transcribed

Lipchitz, Jacques

2005-01-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

As a youth Lipchitz studied engineering in Vilnius, Lithuania. When he moved to Paris in 1909, however, he was wonder struck by French avant-garde art, especially

Wyoming, University Of

2005-01-20T01:29:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Laramie, Wyoming, U.S. It is a land-grant university, comprising colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, and Law as well as the Graduate School. The state's only university, it offers programs leading to bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in about 120 major

Iamb

2005-01-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

Metrical foot consisting of one short syllable (as in classical verse) or one unstressed syllable (as in English verse) followed by one long or stressed syllable, as in the word {breve}be|cause¢ . Considered by the ancient Greeks to approximate the natural rhythm of speech, iambic metres were used extensively for dramatic dialogue, invective, satire, and fables. Also suited

Tyndall, John

2005-01-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Tyndall was born into a poor Protestant Irish family. After a thorough basic education he worked as a surveyor in Ireland and England (1839–47). When his ambitions turned from engineering to science, Tyndall

Murat River

2005-01-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Murad River, Turkish Murat Nehri, river, the major headstream of the Euphrates. In antiquity it was called Arsanias. The river rises north of Lake Van near Mount Ararat, in eastern Turkey, and flows westward for 449 miles (722 km) through a mountainous region to unite with the Karasu Çayi and form the Upper Euphrates near Malatya. Turkey's largest dam, the Keban, west of Elâzig, completed in 1974, is designed to provide electric

Henry I

2005-01-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

The son of Otto the Illustrious, the Liudolfing duke of Saxony, Henry became duke at his

Valais

2005-01-10T03:54:00.000-08:00

German Wallis, canton, southern Switzerland. It borders Italy to the south and France to the west and is bounded by the cantons of Vaud and Bern on the north and Uri and Ticino on the east. Its area includes the valley of the upper Rhône River, from its source at the Rhône Glacier to its mouth on Lake Geneva; the valley runs from east to west and then, in a right angle at Martigny, from southeast

Leadville

2005-01-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1878) of Lake county, central Colorado, U.S., located 103 miles (166 km) west of Denver and 38 miles (61 km) south of Vail. It is situated in the upper Arkansas River valley in an area of national forests, at an elevation of some 10,200 feet (3,105 metres). It is the centre of one of the nation's most celebrated mining districts, which has yielded gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, and molybdenum. Gold was

Basil

2005-01-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

Albanian in origin, Basil acceded to the throne of Moldavia in the spring of 1634. He intrigued throughout his reign to acquire the Walachian throne as well, and in 1637 and 1639 led unsuccessful expeditions against the ruling prince

Feng Yün-shan

2005-01-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Feng Yunshan Chinese missionary and social reformer, one of the original leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, an uprising that occupied most of South China between 1850 and 1864, brought death to an estimated 20,000,000 people, and radically altered governmental structure. Feng was a neighbour and schoolmate of Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, the religious

Mind, Philosophy Of

2005-01-02T03:40:00.000-08:00

One attribute that sharply distinguishes man from the rest of nature is his highly developed capacity for thought, feeling, and deliberate action. Here and there in other animals, rudiments,

Sea Snake

2004-12-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

Any of more than 50 species of venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophiidae. In adaptation to marine life, sea snakes have oarlike tails and flattened bodies. Their nostrils have valvelike closings and are usually on top of the snout. Several sea snakes have bodies much thicker than their heads and necks affording them greater stability

Lowell, Robert, Jr.

2004-12-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

Lowell grew up in Boston. James Russell Lowell was his great-granduncle, and Amy, Percival, and A. Lawrence Lowell were distant cousins. Although he turned away from his Puritan heritage—largely because he was repelled by what he felt was the high

Rhiannon

2004-12-26T14:32:00.000-08:00

In Celtic religion, the Welsh manifestation of the Gaulish horse goddess Epona and the Irish goddess Macha. She is best-known from The Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales, in which she makes her first appearance on a pale, mysterious steed and meets King Pwyll, whom she marries. Later she was unjustly accused of killing her infant son, and in punishment she

Jablonec Nad Nisou

2004-12-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

German Gablonz An Der Neisse, city, Severoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies about 1,600 feet (500 m) above sea level in the upper valley of the Nis (Neisse) River, in the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše). It was populated mainly by Germans between World Wars I and II, when it was known as Gablonz an der Neisse. The cradle of the famed Bohemian glass industry, it makes all types of glass products from high-quality wares

Marsh Cress

2004-12-20T06:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Yellow Cress, any of the 70 plant species of the genus Rorippa of the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Most members of the genus are found in the Northern Hemisphere. The genus has at times been included with the genera Nasturtium and Radicula. Iceland watercress, or marsh yellow cress (R. islandica, sometimes Nasturtium palustre), grows, like others of the genus, in marshy ground. It bears

Military Affairs, Middle East.

2004-12-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

The situation in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous Areas devolved into a war in all but name. Palestinian militants used small arms, mortars, and suicide bombers, mostly against civilian targets. The Israeli military used weapons ranging from F-16 fighter jets and missile-equipped attack helicopters to tank-fired flechette rounds, which contained thousands

Confederation, Articles Of

2004-12-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

Its functions include making multilateral

Shuang-ya-shan

2004-12-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Shuangyashan, city, Heilungkiang sheng (province), China. Shuang-ya-shan, also known as Chien-shan, is a new city that has grown up since 1949; its importance is based entirely on coal production. The Shuang-ya-shan coalfield, on the northern slopes of the Wan-ta Mountains, covers an area of 115 square miles (300 square km) and has estimated reserves of 160,000,000 tons of high-quality coal. Almost the entire population

Fetter, Frank Albert

2004-12-09T22:33:00.000-08:00

After an interruption of university studies because of illness in his family, Fetter graduated from Indiana University in 1891 and from Cornell University in 1892. He subsequently studied in France and Germany, receiving his Ph.D. (on population)

Texas, Annexation and statehood

2004-12-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

As early as 1836, Texans had voted for annexation by the United States, but the proposition was rejected by the Jackson and Van Buren administrations. Great Britain favoured continued independence for Texas in order to block further westward expansion of the United States, but this attitude only helped to swing Americans toward annexation. Annexation was approved

Scalare

2004-12-06T01:29:00.000-08:00

Any of several popular aquarium fishes of the angelfish (q.v.) group.

Rurik Dynasty

2004-12-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

Rurik's successor Oleg (d. 912) conquered Kiev (c. 882) and established control of the trade route extending from

Chrismation

2004-12-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

(from Greek chriein, “to anoint”), in Eastern Christianity, sacrament that, together with baptism, introduces new members into the church. It is the Eastern equivalent of confirmation in the West. A priest anoints the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the newly baptized with chrism (myron), a mixture of olive oil and balsam blessed by a bishop, and

Middle Rhine Highlands

2004-11-29T21:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Rhenish Slate Mountains , German Rheinisches Schiefergebirge mountainous highlands lying mainly in northwestern Germany but also extending westward as the Ardennes through southeastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg, with an overlap into eastern France beyond the Meuse River. The Highlands form a greatly varied plateau with areas of rugged relief, as in the Eifel and the Rothaargebirge in the region of Sauerland, though

Resolution

2004-11-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, any process by which a mixture called a racemate (q.v.) is separated into its two constituent enantiomorphs. (Enantiomorphs are pairs of substances that have dissymmetric arrangements of atoms and structures that are nonsuperposable mirror images of one another.) Two important methods of resolution were employed by Louis Pasteur. The first of these,

Annelid, Distinguishing taxonomic features

2004-11-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

Classification of free-living and sedentary polychaetes relies almost exclusively on external characters, such as the shape of the head, and on the number and nature of structures, such as appendages (including anal ones), parapodia, and setae, and on tube construction. Oligochaete classification relies largely on internal structures, especially the arrangement

Mairet, Jean

2004-11-23T03:56:00.000-08:00

Classical French dramatist, the forerunner and rival of Pierre Corneille. Mairet's characters, his verse, and his situations were freely borrowed by his contemporaries. Before Corneille, he brought to the stage the famous Cornelian figures Sophonisbe and Pulchérie, and he anticipated Jean Racine in two important names, Roxane and

Yablochkov, Pavel Nikolayevich

2004-11-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

In 1871 Yablochkov was appointed director of the telegraph lines between Moscow

Devrient, Emil

2004-11-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

Nephew of the great Romantic actor Ludwig Devrient, he made his debut in Brunswick in 1821. By way of Bremen, Leipzig, and Hamburg, he reached Dresden in 1831, where he remained associated with the court theatre there until his retirement in 1868. Devrient's greatest successes

Qanat

2004-11-18T23:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled kanat (Arabic), Persian karez , Berber Arabic foggara ancient type of water-supply system developed and still used in arid regions of the world. A qanat taps underground mountain water sources trapped in and beneath the upper reaches of alluvial fans and channels the water downhill through a series of tunnels, often several kilometres long, to the places where it is needed for irrigation and domestic use. The development

Price System

2004-11-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

A means of organizing economic activity. It does this primarily by coordinating the decisions of consumers, producers, and owners of productive resources. Millions of economic agents who have no direct communication with each other are led by the price system to supply each other's wants. In a modern economy the price system enables a consumer to buy a product he

Memphis

2004-11-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Manf, Minf, or Manfish,

Cheduba Island

2004-11-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Manaung Island, island in the Bay of Bengal, southwestern Myanmar (Burma). It lies about 30 miles (50 km) west of Taungup on the Arakan Coast and is separated from Ramree Island to the north by the Cheduba Strait. It is 20 miles (32 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide and has an area of 202 square miles (523 square km). Cheduba was a stopping place on the historic coastal trade route from Bengal (India) by which Indian civilization

'alenu

2004-11-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “it is our duty”), the opening word of an extremely old Jewish prayer, which has been recited at the end of the three periods of daily prayer since the European Middle Ages. The first section of the 'alenu is a prayer of thanks for having set Israel apart for the service of God; the second section, omitted by those who follow the Sephardic (Spanish) rite, expresses a hope

Amorite Language

2004-11-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

One of the most ancient of the archaic Semitic languages, distributed in an area that is now northern Syria. Amorite is known almost exclusively from glosses and names, and the only known grammar is the grammar of names. Despite the unknown linguistic characteristics, Amorite is dated from the known chronology of proper names of the period in the last century of the

Abel

2004-11-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

In the Old Testament, second son of Adam and Eve, who was slain by his older brother, Cain (Genesis 4:1–16). According to Genesis, Abel, a shepherd, offered the Lord the firstborn of his flock. The Lord respected Abel's sacrifice but did not respect that offered by Cain. In a jealous rage, Cain murdered Abel. Cain then became a fugitive because his brother's innocent blood put a curse

Stingray

2004-11-01T03:07:00.000-08:00

The dasyatid

Biblical Literature, Esdras

2004-10-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

The “Greek Ezra,” sometimes named I (or II or III) Esdras, enjoyed considerable popularity in the early church but lost its prestige in the Middle Ages in the Latin Church. At the reforming Council of Trent (1545–63), the Roman Catholic Church no longer recognized it as canonical and relegated it in the Latin Bible to the end, as an appendix to the New Testament. One of the reasons for

Szechwan Basin

2004-10-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ssu-ch'uan P'en-ti, Pinyin Sichuan Pendii, also called Red Basin, basin comprising the greater part of eastern Szechwan Province (sheng), southwest China. It is surrounded by high mountains, including the Tsinghai–Tibet Plateau on the south, the Yunnan–Kweichow Plateau on the south, Wu Shan (mountains) on the east, and the Ta-pa Shan on the north, which protect the interior from temperature extremes. The basin covers 88,600 sq mi (229,500 sq km) of red-brick

Philosophy

2004-10-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

The subject of philosophy is treated in a number of articles.

Vaughan, Frankie

2004-10-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

British theatre and cabaret singer who was one of the most popular romantic crooners of the 1950s through the '90s; darkly handsome and elegantly dressed, “Mr. Moonlight” (as he was known from his signature tune, “Give Me the Moonlight”) also appeared on television in Britain, the U.S., and across Europe and in motion pictures, notably in a musical number with Marilyn Monroe in Let's

Paradox

2004-10-20T01:16:00.000-07:00

Apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny. The purpose of a paradox is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought. The statement “Less is more” is an example. Francis Bacon's saying, “The most corrected copies are commonly the least correct,” is an earlier literary example. In George Orwell's anti-utopian

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

2004-10-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

The illegitimate son of a famous hostess, Mme de Tencin, and one of her lovers, the chevalier Destouches-Canon, d'Alembert was abandoned on the steps of the Parisian church of Saint-Jean-le-Rond, from which he derived his Christian names. Although Mme de Tencin never recognized her son, Destouches eventually sought out the child and entrusted him to a glazier's wife, whom

Arnold, Matthew

2004-10-17T04:46:00.000-07:00

The work that gives Arnold his high place in the history of literature and the history of ideas was all accomplished in the time he could spare from his official duties. His first volume of verse was The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems. By A. (1849); this was followed (in 1852) by another under the same initial: Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. In 1853 appeared the first volume of poems

Bouaké

2004-10-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

City, central Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It lies on the road and railroad from Abidjan (the national capital) to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta). Bouaké was established as a French military post in 1899; it became an autonomous municipality in 1969. The city is the nation's second largest community and the commercial and transportation hub of the interior. Cotton,

Gai Saber

2004-10-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

Old Provençal: “gay knowledge” or “gay science” the art of composing love poetry; especially the art of the Provençal troubadours as set forth in a 14th-century work called the Leys d'amors. The Old Provençal phrase gai saber is associated with the Consistòri del Gai Saber, originally the Sobregaya compannia dels VII Trobadors de Tolosa (“Very Gay Company of the Seven Troubadours of Toulouse”), a group of seven citizens

Amphibian, Critical appraisal

2004-10-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

The Lissamphibia is a well-corroborated monophyletic group containing all the living orders of amphibians. However, the placement of the Lissamphibia within an overall classification of the Amphibia remains questionable. Within the Lissamphibia the superorder Gymnophiona contains the order Apoda (caecilians) and their sister group, an extinct unnamed taxon

Szechwan, Relief

2004-10-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Szechwan is bordered on all sides by lofty highlands. To the north, the Tsinling Mountains extend from east to west and attain an elevation between 11,000 and 13,000 feet (3,300 and 4,000 metres) above sea level. The limestone Ta-pa Mountains rise to approximately 9,000 feet on the northeast, while the Ta-lou Mountains, a lower and less continuous range, with an average elevation of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, border the

Ikenobo

2004-10-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Oldest school of floral art in Japan; the term Ikenobo later came to be used loosely to describe any classical Japanese flower arrangement. The Ikenobo (literally, “priest's residence by a pond”) school was founded in the early 7th century by Ono no Imoko, a former Japanese envoy to China. After becoming a Buddhist priest, Ono no Imoko took up residence at Rokkaku-do, a small temple

Peter, Hugh

2004-09-30T02:48:00.000-07:00

Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church in 1623. He went to London in 1626 and was appointed preacher at St. Sepulchre's, but his unorthodox views led to the suspension of his preaching license in 1627. He

Robbins, Tom

2004-09-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Robbins was educated at Washington and Lee University, Richmond Professional Institute, and the University of Washington. He served in the U.S. Air Force, hitchhiked across the United States, and worked as a journalist and art critic. His first

New Church

2004-09-27T04:03:00.000-07:00

Also called Swedenborgians, church organized in the General Conference of the New Church, the General Convention of the New Jerusalem in the U.S.A., and the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Its members are followers of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, the 18th-century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. Swedenborg did not himself found a church, but he believed that his writings

Kaahumanu

2004-09-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

Kaahumanu was of distinguished parentage, her mother having been married to the late king of Maui. Early in life she was betrothed to Kamehameha I, whom her father had served as counselor. They married and had a stormy but enduring relationship. She supported

Berg

2004-09-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

In the 11th century the counts of Berg came into possession of Westphalian lands east of Cologne. From 1161 these were divided between the senior branch of Berg and the junior branch of Altena (later Mark), which acquired the countship

Togo, Transportation

2004-09-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

The government-owned national railway consists of four lines, all of which emanate from Lomé. One line connects Kpalimé with the capital; other lines run to Ané

Cohasset

2004-09-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Town (township), Norfolk county, eastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies along Massachusetts Bay, about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Boston. Captain John Smith supposedly landed there in 1614, and the site, settled about 1647, was a part of Hingham until its incorporation in 1770. The name is a contraction of the Algonquian word Quonohassit (Conohasset), probably meaning “rocky promontory” or “high

Hull, Cordell

2004-09-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

As a young Tennessee attorney, Hull early identified with