Friday, August 31, 2007

Transfiguration of Christ Gospel accounts
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Feast of the Transfiguration commemorates this event. It is one of the twelve Great Feasts in the liturgical year of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is observed by it on August 6. Traditionally, fruit is brought to church to be blessed on this day. The Transfiguration falls during the Dormition Lent, but fish, wine and oil are allowed to be consumed on this day in recognition of the feast.
The Roman Catholic Church also observes the feast on August 6, as do the churches of the Anglican Communion.
Some Protestant churches observe Transfiguration Sunday on the last Sunday after the Epiphany (January 6), which places it somewhere in January.

Raphael's Transfiguration

Tabor Light

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ek$i Sözlük
Ek$i Sözlük (IPA: ekʃɪ sözlyk), also referred as Ekşi Sözlük (Turkish: Sour Dictionary) or Sourtimes, is a collaborative hypertext dictionary based on the concept of Web sites built up on user contribution.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007


The Catholic Church in Ireland is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. There are an estimated 4.5 million baptised Catholics in Ireland out of a total population of just under 6 million.
The Church is organised into four provinces, not however, corresponding with the provincial divisions. It is ruled by four archbishops and twenty-three bishops. But the number of dioceses is more than twenty-seven, there have been amalgamations and absorptions. Cashel, for instance, has been joined with Emly, Waterford with Lismore, Ardagh with Clonmacnoise, the bishop of Galway being also Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora. The number of parishes is 1,087, a few of these are governed by administrators, the remainder by parish priests, while the total number of the secular clergy—parish priests, administrators, curates, chaplains, and professors in colleges—amounts to around 3,000. A full list of dioceses can be found here: List of the Roman Catholic dioceses of Ireland.
There are also many religious orders which include: Augustinians, Capuchins, Carmelites, Fathers of the Holy Ghost, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Marists, Order of Charity, Oblates, Passionists, Redemptorists, and Vincentians. The total number of the regular clergy is about 700. They are engaged either in teaching or in giving missions, but not charged with the government of parishes.
In addition there are two societies of priests founded in Ireland, namely St Patrick's Missionary Society with its headquarters in County Wicklow and the Missionary Society of St. Columban who are based in County Meath.

History, legal status and politics
Brentwood · Norwich · Northampton · Nottingham · Westminster
Birmingham · Clifton · Shrewsbury
Lancaster · Leeds · Liverpool · Middlesbrough · Newcastle-upon-Tyne · Salford · Sheffield
Arundel · Plymouth · Portsmouth · Southwark
Cardiff · Swansea · Wrexham
Bishopric of the Forces · Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians
Aberdeen · Ayr · Dumfries · Dundee · Edinburgh · Oban
Glasgow · Motherwell · Paisley
Armagh · Belfast · Cavan · Derry · Letterkenny · Longford · Monaghan · Mullingar · Newry
Cobh · Cork · Ennis · Killarney · Limerick · Skibbereen · Thurles · Waterford
Carlow · Dublin · Enniscorthy · Kilkenny
Ballaghaderreen · Ballina · Galway · Loughrea · Sligo · Tuam
Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
Roman Catholicism by country
Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland

Monday, August 27, 2007

John Burkett
John David Burkett (born November 28, 1964 in New Brighton, Pennsylvania) is a retired major league pitcher. He went 166-136 with a 4.31 ERA in 15-year Major League career with the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. His best season came in 1993 when he went 22-7 with a 3.65 ERA for the Giants. Burkett was a National League All-Star in 1993 and 2001, and he retired following the 2003 season after going 12-9 with the Red Sox at age 38. He was known as "Sheets" in the Red Sox clubhouse because of his betting and organizing pools for games in the National Football League. According to teammate Johnny Damon, "We never bet on baseball."
John is also a part-time professional bowler, and has 12 perfect games to his credit.

San Francisco Giants (1987, 1990-1994)
Florida Marlins (1995-1996)
Texas Rangers (1996-1999)
Atlanta Braves (2000-2001)
Boston Red Sox (2002-2003)
All-Star (NL): 1993, 2001
Led the N.L. in wins with 22 in 1993

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968 and best known for their popular song "All Right Now".
Lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become lead singer of the rock band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff, a much revered blues-rock guitarist, died from a drug-induced heart failure at the age of 25 in 1976.
The band was famed for its sensational live shows and nonstop touring. However, early studio albums sold slowly - until the release of Fire and Water which featured the massive hit "All Right Now". This song helped secure them a place at the huge Isle of Wight Festival 1970 where they played to 600,000 people.
For a short period, scenes reminiscent of Beatlemania broke out. But, as surviving band members ruefully admit, personal problems got in the way: they broke up on the brink of something big, perhaps never realising their true potential. Paul Rodgers has since joined a reformed Queen.

History

Members

Tons of Sobs (1968)
Free (1969)
Fire and Water (1970)
Highway (1970)
Free Live! (1971) (live)
Free at Last (1972)
Heartbreaker (1973) Post-career compilations

"All Right Now" -- Rod Stewart
"All Right Now" -- The Runaways
"Fire and Water" -- Great White
"Fire and Water" -- Wilson Pickett
"Heartbreaker" -- Goatsnake
"I'm a Mover" -- Iron Maiden
"Mr. Big" -- Mr. Big
"Mr. Big" -- Gov't Mule
"My Brother Jake -- Thunder
"Oh I Wept" -- The Steepwater Band
"Soon I Will Be Gone" -- Marti Jones
"Sunny Day" -- Epic Soundtracks
"The Stealer" -- Bob Seger
"The Stealer" -- The Faces
"The Hunter" -- Gov't Mule
"Walk In My Shadows" -- Joe Bonamassa
"Wishing Well" -- Blackfoot
"Wishing Well" -- Axel Rudi Pell
"Wishing Well" -- Maggie Bell
"Wishing Well" -- Gary Moore
"Wishing Well" -- Joe Lynn Turner
"Wishing Well" -- Savatage
"Wishing Well" -- The Mission
"Wishing Well" -- Terrorvision
"Wishing Well" -- Styx
"The Hunter" -- Danzig
"Little Bit of Love" -- Def Leppard

Saturday, August 25, 2007


For Steve Garvey the football player, see here.
Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, and current Southern California businessman.

Los Angeles Dodgers (1969-1982)
San Diego Padres (1983-1987)
10-time All-Star (1974-81, 1984-85)
Twice National League Championship Series MVP (1978, 1984)
National League Most Valuable Player (1974)
Won Roberto Clemente Award (1981)
Won Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (1984)
4-time Gold Glove Award (1974-77)
Twice All-Star Game MVP (1974, 1978)
6-time led league in games played (1977-78, 1980-82, 1985)
Twice led league in hits (1978, 1980)
Led league in sacrifice flies (1984)
6-times collected 200 or more hits (1974-76, 1978-80)
7-times hit 30 or more doubles (1974-76, 1978-79, 1982, 1985)
5-times drove in 100 or more runs (1974, 1977-80)
7-times hit .300 or more (1973-76, 1978-80)
6-times had 300 or more total bases (1974-75, 1977-80)
Shares Padres single season record for Games Played (162 in 1985)
2,332 Games (86th All-Time)
8,835 At Bats (70th All-Time)
2,599 Hits (70th All-Time)
3,941 Total Bases (78th All-Time)
440 Doubles (91st All-Time)
1,308 RBI (89th All-Time)
1,844 Singles (70th All-Time)
90 Sacrifice Flies (50th All-Time)
113 Intentional Walks (81st All-Time) Playing career
Since 1988, he has been running Garvey Communications, mainly involved in television production, including infomercials. He is also the host of "Baseball's Greatest Games." In addition he is hired out to do motivational speaking, mainly for corporations.

Personal
During his playing career, Garvey was widely admired for his gentlemanly qualities on and off the field. Shortly after his retirement, however, his image was tarnished when he publicly admitted fathering two children - out of wedlock -by two women. [1] More recently, Garvey has been accused of failing to pay a number of personal and professional debts, including child support. [2]

Steve GarveySteve Garvey Facts

Top 500 home run hitters of all time
List of major league players with 2,000 hits
List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
MLB consecutive games played streaks
List of Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Starting Lineups
Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster

Friday, August 24, 2007

Communist Party of the Russian FederationCommunist Party of the Russian Federation
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Russia
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Russian: Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации = КПРФ; translit.: Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiskoy FederatsiiKPRF) is a Russian political party. It is sometimes seen as a successor to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the Bolshevik Party. The party has emphasised its uniquely Russian character and it has consistently invoked Russian patriotism and nationalism in addition to the official Marxism-Leninism of the CPSU. The party claims membership of 184,000 (2006).

Constitution
President: Vladimir Putin

  • Presidential Administration
    Security Council
    Government

    • Prime Minister: Mikhail Fradkov
      Cabinet
      Federal Assembly

      • Federation Council
        State Duma
        Judiciary (Russian Constitution)

        • Constitutional Court
          Supreme Court
          Supreme Court of Arbitration
          Public Chamber
          State Council
          Law system
          Political parties Elections in Russia

          • President: 2000 - 2004 - 2008
            Parliamentary: 2003 - 2007
            Central Election Commission
            Subdivisions
            Federal subjects
            Human rights
            Foreign relations Elections
            In parliament, after an initial slow start with just 11% in the first 1993 parliamentary elections, it grew to a massive 35% in the 1995 parliamentary elections, making it by far the biggest Russian party, but then gradually declined, first to 24% in the 1999 elections and then 13% in the 2003 parliamentary elections, resulting in 51 out of 450 seats. The next elections will be on 2 December 2007.
            In all presidential elections since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Communist candidate came second. In the 1991 elections, candidate Nikolai Ryzhkov won 17% of the votes, and was beaten by Boris Yeltsin. In the 1996 elections, candidate Gennady Zyuganov rose to 32% of the votes, just short of Yeltsin's 35%. In the 2000 elections, Zyuganov was the communist candidate, and dropped slightly to 29%, but Vladimir Putin won a landslide victory with 53%. In the last presidential elections, 14 March 2004, Putin's support rose to 71% and the Communist Party's candidate, Nikolay Kharitonov, won only 14%. Taking into consideration the fact that Kharitonov (a leading member of the Agrarian Party of Russia) was considered to be a "token" candidate, this was a better result than expected, showing that the CPRF still has a substantial base of support. The next elections are scheduled to be held on 9 March 2008.
            In February 2005 the CPRF managed to beat the ruling Pro-Kremlin party, United Russia, in elections to the regional legislature of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, obtaining 27% of the popular vote.
            In the last Moscow Duma election, 4 December 2005, the Party won 16,75 % and 4 seats. This was the best ever result for the CPRF in Moscow. In some observers opinion, the absence of the Rodina party contributed to the Communists' success.
            On March 11, 2007, elections took place for 14 regional and local legislatures. The CPRF performed very well and increased its votes in most of the territories; it came second in Oryol Oblast (23,78%), Omsk Oblast (22,58%), Pskov Oblast (19,21%) and Samara Oblast (18,87%), Moscow Oblast (18,8%), Murmansk Oblast (17,51%) and Tomsk Oblast (13,37%), . These results testify that the CPRF is the most significant opposition party in Russia.
            On May 21, 2007, the CPRF obtained an important success in the Volgograd's mayoral election. Communist candidate Roman Grebennikov was elected as mayor with 32,47% of the vote. Grebennikov is the youngest mayor of a regional capital.

            Party leaders
            The CPRF is led by Gennady Zyuganov. Early external collaborators included Eurasianist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin who helped to draft early party documents and pushed the party in the direction of nationalism. During the presidential elections of 1996, the CPRF was supported by prominent intellectual Aleksandr Zinovyev (a former Soviet dissident who became a supporter of Communism at the time of Perestroika). Another prominent supporter of the CPRF is the physicist Zhores Alferov, who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000.
            A new leftist umbrella movement was formed on the initiative of the CPRF on August 7, 1996. It was called People's Patriotic Union of Russia (NPSR) and consisted of more than 30 leftist and "patriotic" organizations. Gennady Zyuganov was its chairman. He was supported by the party as a candidate for Russia's presidency during the 1996 Presidential elections and 2000 Presidential elections.
            Zyuganov called the 2003 elections a 'revolting spectacle' and accuses the Kremlin of setting up a Potemkin party, the Rodina party, to steal its votes.
            A minority faction criticised the decision to candidate "millionaires" (such as Sergei Sobko, general director and owner of the TEKHOS company) in the CPRF's lists, which was seen as a contradiction to the Marxist-Leninist and anti-oligarchic policies of the Party.
            In July 2004 a breakaway faction elected Vladimir Tikhonov as its leader. The faction later formed the All-Russia Communist Party of the Future. The operation wasn't successful and recently Tikhonov's party has suspended active operations, seeking rapprochement with Zyuganov's side.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Phases of the Holocaust
Raul Hilberg, a well-known historian of the Holocaust, identified four distinct Phases of the Holocaust.

Economic discrimination and separation
After the Jews were segregated by definition from the rest of the people, and their economic ties with the rest of the society were mostly cut or restricted, the Jews were physically separated from the rest of the society. Either by forcing them to move to special houses or to ghettos, Jews had to live in often desperate conditions.
By concentrating the Jews into ghettos, concentration camps or forced-labor camps, the Jews were completely cut off from the rest of society, completely under the control of the Nazis. The Nazis controlled the amount of food that entered the ghetto and used the population for slave labor.
Isolated from society, without money, and under the control of the Nazis, the Jews were now defenseless.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007


California English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the U.S. state of California. The most populous of the United States, California is home to a highly diverse populace, which is reflected in the historical and continuing development of California English. As is the case of English spoken in any particular state, not all features are used by all speakers in the state, and not all features are restricted in use only to the state. However, there are some linguistic features which can be identified as either originally or predominantly Californian, or both.

California English History
As a variety of American English, California English is similar to most other forms of American speech in being a rhotic accent, which is historically a significant marker in differentiating different English varieties. The following chart represents the relative positions of the stressed monophthongs of the accent, based on nine speakers from southern California.. Phonology
The popular image of a typical California speaker often conjures up images of the so-called Valley Girls popularized by the 1982 hit song by Frank Zappa and Moon Unit Zappa or "surfer-dude" speech made famous by movies such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High. While many phrases found in these extreme versions of California English of the 1980s may now be considered passé, certain words such as awesome and dude have remained popular in California and have spread to a national, even international, level. The use of the word like for numerous grammatical functions or as conversational "filler" has also remained popular in California English and is now found in many other varieties of English.
A word that is used by many Northern California teenagers and younger adults is "hella" (from "hell of a lot of", alternatively, "hecka") to mean "many," "much," or "very".). A person who was hapa was either part European/Islander or part Asian/Islander. Today it refers to a person of mixed racial heritage—especially, but not limited to, half-Asian/half-European-Americans in common California usage) and FOB ("fresh off the boat", often a newly arrived Asian immigrant). Not surprisingly, the popularity of cultural food items such as Vietnamese phở and Taiwanese boba in many areas has led to the general adoption of such words amongst many speakers.

Lexical characteristics
Since the 1950s and 1960s, California culture (and thus its variety of English) has been significantly affected by "car culture" — that is, dependence on private automobile transportation and the effects thereof.
One difference between California and most of the rest of the U.S. has been the way residents refer to highways, or freeways. The term freeway itself is not used in many areas outside California; for instance, in New England, the term highway is universally used. Where most Americans may refer to "I-80" for the east-west Interstate Highway leading from San Francisco to the suburbs of New York, or "I-15" for the north-south artery linking San Diego through Salt Lake City to the Canadian border, Californians are less likely to use the "I" or "interstate" designation in naming highways or freeways.
Northern Californians will typically say "80", "101 (one oh one)" to refer to freeways. Some long-time San Francisco Bay Area residents and many traffic report broadcasts still refer to such highways by name and not number designation: "the Bayshore", for 101, or "the Nimitz" for I-880, which was named for Admiral Chester Nimitz, a prominent World War II hero with strong local ties). California State Route 1 is simply referred to as "One" (ie "take One down the coast").
In Southern California, freeways are called either by name or by route number, but with the addition of the article "the", such as "the 405" or "the 605" (as contrasted with typical Northern California usage, which omits the article). A typical example would be "Take the 101 west, get off at Sepulveda, and make a left to get to Ventura", meaning drive west along Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway), exit at the Sepulveda Blvd offramp, make a left turn and continue until you reach Ventura Blvd. Similarly, California State Route 1, is called "PCH" (for Pacific Coast Highway) in Southern California, occasionally pronounced as "peach" but much more often as "PCH".
The sequential numbering of freeway exits, common in most parts of the United States, has only recently been applied in California and initially appearing only in more populous areas. Thus, virtually all Californians refer to exits by name rather than number (e.g., "take the Grand Avenue exit" rather than "take exit 21.")
In a related vein, when referring to the Bay Area Rapid Transit, or "BART" high-speed subway system located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Northern Californians will typically refer to "BART" (e.g., "I'm taking BART this afternoon," whereas Southern Californians will refer to the Los Angeles Metro subway system as "the Metro."

Northern California
Southern California Freeway nomenclature

Place names
Another common Northern California expression is the way in which residents refer to San Francisco as "Frisco", its initials SF, or simply "The City", if they live in nearby suburbs (such as San Mateo) or smaller cities, like Oakland or Danville, even as far south as San Jose. Similarly, the city of South San Francisco is sometimes referred to as "South City", especially in the pages of the San Francisco Examiner. The terms "San Fran" and especially "Frisco" are almost never used by residents, except in jest, much as "The Big Apple" is not typically used by native New Yorkers. However, although well-known newspaper columnist Herb Caen once castigated the use of the term "Frisco", he later recanted, and the use of that term continues. . Still, the term "Frisco" continues to be viewed by many northern Californians as being vaguely derogatory. When used, it is typically employed with a sense of knowing irony.
Northern California and Southern California are sometime abbreviated as "NorCal" and "SoCal", respectively. Some Southern Californians refer to Northern California as "NoCal," to emphasize perceived feelings of Southern California's superiority. In exchange, "SoCal" is often used derisively in some areas of Northern California, ("Oh, he's from SoCal, no wonder he's such an airhead.") especially in conversations about water usage or Los Angeles (sometimes referred to as "La La Land").
The metro region often referred to as the Bay Area includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties.
Furthermore, the San Francisco Bay Area is occasionally referred to as "the Bay" in mainstream culture as well as hip hop culture. The San Francisco Bay Area is sub-divided into regions such as:
Although the region is known to the U.S. Census Bureau as the San Jose Metro Area, residents continue to use the historic and "San Francisco Bay Area."
Northern Californians refer to Sacramento, the state capital, as "Sac", "Sactown", "Sacra" (by the Chicano community), and various other nicknames.
Residents of the San Fernando Valley (the section of Los Angeles to the north of the Santa Monica mountains), often use the phrase "over the hill" to refer to Los Angeles, where the San Fernando Valley itself is generally called "the Valley". Similarly, Bay Area and Sacramento residents refer to going "up the hill" in to the neighboring mountains to Lake Tahoe or Reno, Nevada and "over the hill" for crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the Sacramento area, "the Valley" refers to the Central Valley. Additionally, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area will sometimes refer to the area of the Santa Clara Valley and surrounding cities as "the Valley" and sometimes as, the more famous term, "Silicon Valley".

The "North Bay" (Marin County, the southern half of Napa County and the southern half of Sonoma County with the northern border of the North Bay ending just north of Santa Rosa). The northern portions of Sonoma and Napa counties are typically considered to be Wine Country, a separate region. Some cities in central areas of these counties are considered to be members of both communities.
The "South Bay" (Santa Clara CountySan Jose, Milpitas, and surrounding cities, sometimes extending as far south as Gilroy)
The "East Bay" (Alameda and Contra Costa counties—Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Fremont, Hayward, Martinez, Pittsburg, etc.)
"The Peninsula" (San Francisco and San Mateo counties, including San Mateo, Redwood City, Menlo Park, etc.). Northern California
In Southern California, the "South Bay" refers to the area between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Los Angeles Harbor. This area is usually downwind from the southern part of Santa Monica Bay.
A common complaint from residents of Southern California's Orange County is the reference to the area as "the OC" instead of just as "OC" proper. Attributed to the Fox television show The O.C., the inclusion of "the" in the county's title is mainly perceived to by those from outside of the area rather than natives. Still, the influence of the show on local youth culture also seems to have made the phrasing more acceptable among residents of the area.

See also

Tuesday, August 21, 2007


For the Canadian television series, see Honky Tonk (television series).
A honky tonk is a type of bar with musical entertainment common in the Southwestern and Southern United States, also called honkatonks, honkey-tonks, tonks or tunks. The term has also been attached to various styles of 20th-century American music. As of 2007, honky tonk seems to be the most recognized and mainstream subgenre of country music.

Derivation

Honky tonk Honky tonks
Although the derivation of the term is unknown, honky tonk originally referred to bawdy variety shows in the West (Oklahoma and Indian Territories and Texas) and to the theaters housing them. In fact, the earliest mention of them in print refers to them as variety theaters. Their recollections contain lurid accounts of the women and violence accompanying the shows. However, in contemporary accounts these were nearly always called hurdy gurdy shows, although they mention the associated prostitution, lawlessness, and violence.
As late as 1913, Col. Edwin Emerson, a former Rough Rider commander, hosted a honky-tonk party in New York ("COL. EMERSON'S NOVEL PARTY; Rough Rider Veteran Gives 'Old Forty-niners' Honky-Tonk Fandango'." New York Times, New York, N.Y., February 23, 1913. pg. C7). The Rough Riders were recruited from the ranches of Texas and New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Indian Territories, so the term was still in popular use during the Spanish American War.

Origins of the honky tonk establishment
The distinction between honky tonks, saloons, and dancehalls was often blurred, especially in cowtowns, mining districts, military forts, and oilfields of the West. Eventually, as variety theaters and dancehalls disappeared, honky tonk became associated mainly with lower class bars catering to men. Synonymous with beer joint and like terms, honky tonks usually serve beer or hard liquor and may have had a bandstand and dance floor. Many may have furnished only a juke box. In the Southeastern US, honky tonk gradually replaced the term juke joint for bars primarily oriented toward blues and jazz. As Western swing slowly became accepted in Nashville, Southeastern bars playing Western swing and Western swing influenced country music, were also called honky tonks.

Bars
This article contains a trivia section. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items into the main text and removing inappropriate items.
Honky tonks were rough establishments, mostly in the Deep South and Southwest, that served alcoholic beverages to working class clientele. Honky tonks sometimes also offered dancing to piano players or small bands, and sometimes were also centers of prostitution. In some rougher tonks the prostitutes and their customers would have sex standing up clothed on the dance floor while the music played. Honky tonk bars were also prone to bar brawls due to the nature of most of its customers who were usually bikers and truckers passing by. Such establishments flourished in less reputable neighborhoods, often outside of the law. As Chris Smith and Charles McCarron noted in their 1916 hit song "Down in Honky Tonk Town", "It's underneath the ground, where all the fun is found."

Honky tonk music

Honky tonk See also

American Dialect Society. Honkatonk (1900, from wild geese?). American Dialect Society, December 27, 2005. (Retrieved July 16, 2006.)
Hunter, J. Marvin (editor). Trail Drivers of Texas: Interesting Sketches of Early Cowboys. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993 (Reprint of 1925 edition). ISBN 0-292-73076-4
Pierce, Bob; Larry Ashley. Pierce Piano Atlas. Pierce Piano Atlas; 10th edition (June 1996). ISBN 0-911138-02-1

Sunday, August 19, 2007


This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Assembly
Acts: Acts Members: 1998 - 2003 - 2007Northern Ireland Office Elections: 1998 - 2003 - 2007 Presiding Officer
Northern Ireland Executive
First Minister: Ian Paisley Deputy First Minister: Martin McGuinness Departments and agencies
Local Government Courts of Northern Ireland
United Kingdom Parliament
Committees: Affairs - Grand Members: Commons - Lords Elections: 2005
United Kingdom Government
Northern Ireland Office Secretary of StateDirect Rule
British-Irish Council Electoral Commission North/South Ministerial Council
Belfast Agreement (1998) St Andrews Agreement (2006)
Elections in Northern Ireland
ConstituenciesPolitical parties
The Northern Ireland Office (or NIO) is a department of HM Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, currently Shaun Woodward supported by Paul Goggins MP. The NIO, based at Stormont, has responsibility for the areas which have not been devolved to the the direction and control of the Northern Ireland Assembly. These include law and order, political affairs, policing and criminal justice.
If devolution is suspended then the rule of Northern Ireland through the NIO in lieu of the Northern Ireland Executive is referred to as direct rule.

Executive agencies

Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Executive
Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, funded by the Northern Ireland Office

Saturday, August 18, 2007


Greenwich is a in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 61,101. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies that have left Manhattan. Of the $1.2 trillion invested in hedge funds worldwide, $120 billion (10 percent) is managed in Greenwich

Government
For more information, see History of Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Town of Greenwich, settled in 1640 and incorporated in 1665.
During the American Revolution, General Israel Putnam made a daring escape from the British on February 26, 1779. Although British forces pillaged the town, Putnam was able to warn Stamford.
In 1983, the Mianus River Bridge, which carries traffic on Interstate 95 over an estuary, collapsed, resulting in the death of three people.
Originally, Greenwich Point (locally termed "Tod's Point"), was open only to town residents and their guests. However, a lawyer sued, saying his rights to freedom of assembly were threatened because he was not allowed to go there. The lower courts disagreed, but the Supreme Court of Connecticut agreed, and Greenwich was forced to amend its beach access policy to all four beaches.

History

Antares Investment Partners — headquarters. 333 Ludlow St.
Arch Capital Group, Ltd. — headquarters
Blyth, Inc. (BTH) — headquarters, 1 East Weaver St.; the nation's largest candlemaker, the company designs and markets home fragrance products, seasonal decorations, home décor and household convenience items internationally; 5,500 employees companywide, 45 in Connecticut; $1.6 billion in annual revenues (2005); CEO Robert B. Goergen
First Reserve Corp. — headquarters, a private equity firm with $12.5 billion under management that buys energy-related companies, founded by CEO William Macaulay.
Nestle Waters North America, division of the "world's biggest water bottler" (headquartered in Switzerland; Nestle Waters world division headquartered in Paris) accounting for 48 percent of its water sales and 10 percent of its revenue; with "Poland Spring, Deer Park, Perrier, S. Pellegrino and other brands it has 43 percent of the U.S. single-serve market. (All figures as of August 2006.)
Unilever Home & Pesonal Care - USA division — headquarters
United Rentals Inc. (URI) — headquarters, 5 Greenwich Office Park; the largest equipment rental company in the world, with more than 750 rental locations in 48 states, Canada and Mexico; 13,400 employees companywide, 400 in Connecticut; $3.6 billion in annual revenues (2005); CEO Wayland R. Hicks
Urstadt Biddle Properties, Inc. — headquarters, 1 East Weaver St.
UST Inc. (UST) — headquarters, 100 W. Putnam Ave.; makes and markets smokeless tobacco products, including Copenhagen, Skoal and Red Seal brands, and markets wine and sparkling wine; 5,111 employees companywide, including 300 in Connecticut; $1.8 billion in annual revenues (2005); CEO Vincent A. Gierer Jr.
Cambridge Solutions, Ltd.[7]; headquarters, 340 Pemberwick Road; is a strategic global outsourcing firm, one of the largest BPO compaines worldwide; 4,300 employees companywide; CEO Christopher A. Sinclair
W.R. Berkeley Corp. (BER) — headquarters, 475 Steamboat Road; a holding company for subsidiaries that sell property-casualty insurance; 4,961 employees companywide, 319 in Connecticut; $5 billion in annual revenues; CEO William R. Berkley Large or distinctive companies
The town has four beaches on the Long Island Sound which are Greenwich Point, Byram Beach, Island Beach (Little Captain's Island), and Great Captain Island.
A single-visit beach pass for non-residents to Greenwich Point (locally termed "Tod's Point" after the previous private owners), which is on a peninsula and so includes picnic areas, a beach and small marina, is $10 per person and $20 per car. Tickets must be purchased at the town hall or the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center.
There is also a community sailing center and rental area located in the park. Bicycling and rollerblading are popular sports on the trails and paths in the summer.
The town owns the Griffith E. Harris golf course. The 18-link course is named after "Griff" Harris, first selectman from 1952 to 1958. There are also five country clubs in town with golf courses. The Dorothy Hamill Rink is also in town.

Recreation
Calf Island, a 29-acre island about 3,000 feet from the Byram shore in Greenwich, is open for visitors although as of the summer of 2006 it was getting relatively few of them.

Islands

Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. Begun in 1958 as the Greenwich Philharmonia, it became fully professional by 1967. The orchestra's 90 members perform at the Dickerman Hollister Auditorium at Greenwich High School. It also performs a pops concert in the summer. Emanuel Ax, Barry Douglas, Pamela Frank, John O'Conor, Peter Serkin, and Dawn Upshaw. David Gilbert has been music director and conductor since 1975 and is also the director of the Bergen (NJ) Philharmonic and the Senior Concert Orchestra of New York. He lives in Nutley, N.J.
Greenwich Choral Society, founded in 1925, has performed locally and elsewhere, including in New York City (at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, St. Thomas Church, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine), and Europe. It has also performed several times with the Greenwich Symphony, New Haven Symphony, New Haven Chorale, and Stamford Symphony, as well as at the Ives Festival in Danbury. The chorus previewed Dave Brubeck's La Fiesta de la Posada, and has commissioned works by James Furman, Stephen Paulus, Rob Mathes, and Michael Schelle. In 2000 the chorus premiered a work by Adolphus Hailstork, Songs of Innocence, commissioned especially for the 75th anniversary season. The current music director and conductor is Paul F. Mueller. Notable past conductors include Lowell Beveridge, Jack Ossewaarde, Vernon de Tar, Louie L. White and Richard Vogt.
The Bruce Museum is a town-owned institution with sections devoted to art and natural history.
Greenwich Arts Council
Alliance Française of Greenwich Arts and culture
See also: Education in Greenwich, Connecticut

Education
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 174.2 km² (67.2 mi²). 123.9 km² (47.8 mi²) of it is land and 50.3 km² (19.4 mi²) of it (28.88%) is water. In terms of area, Greenwich is twice the size of Manhattan. The town is bordered to the west and north by Westchester County, New York, to the east by the city of Stamford, and to the south by Long Island Sound.
Greenwich is divided into several small sections:
Each, with the esception of Byram, has its own ZIP Code and Metro North train station.
A curious aspect of Greenwich's position in the southwestern "tail" of Connecticut is that by traveling north, south, east or west from any point in town, one will eventually reach the State of New York. Westchester and Putnam Counties lie to the north and west. Nassau County is directly south across Long Island Sound, and a long boat ride due east will land you on the northeast branch of Suffolk County, Long Island.
Round Hill, with an elevation of more than 550 feet, was a lookout point for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The Manhattan skyline is visible from the top of the hill.

Old Greenwich
Riverside
Cos Cob
Greenwich
Byram (formerly East Port Chester) Geography

Greenwich Time - daily newspaper based in Greenwich; published by Southern Connecticut Newspapers Inc. out of Stamford, a subsidiary of the Tribune Company, which also owns The Advocate of Stamford and The Hartford Courant. Some sections are identical to the same sections in The Advocate, including the arts and business sections.
Greenwich Citizen - the older weekly in town, tabloid-sized and a part of the Brooks Community Newspapers chain, now owned by Media News Group Inc., which also owns the daily Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Greenwich Post - weekly broadsheet, part of the Hersam Acorn chain of local weeklies.
Greenwich Magazine, owned by Moffly Publications, which publishes other local magazines, including New Canaan-Darien Magazine and Westport Magazine.
WGCH-AM 1490 radio station; 1,000 watts Greenwich, Connecticut Media based in town
The town is served by the Metro-North Railroad (the four stations, from west to east, are Greenwich, Cos Cob, Riverside and Old Greenwich) and is approximately a 40 minute train ride to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan on the express train and a 50 minute ride on the local.
Interstate 95 (one of the busiest highways in the world) goes through the southern end of town, and there are four exits from I-95 in Greenwich, exits 2 through 5. The Boston Post Road (also known as East or West Putnam Avenue or simply Route 1) also goes through town, as does the Merritt Parkway, although the Merritt Parkway is a considerable distance from the downtown area. Greenwich is also accessible by Metro-North Railroad. Amtrak stops in the adjacent town of Stamford.
Two bridges in Greenwich were among 12 in the state listed in "critical" condition by state safety inspectors as of August 2007. The Riversville Road bridge, built in the 1950s, now has a weight limit of 3 tons, but as of August 5, 2007, the bridge had not been inspected in over two years (in March 2005), according to state records obtained by The Hartford Courant, although a state official said the bridge was inspected in August 2005 and would be inspected again in August 2007. In the March 2005 inspection, the bridge's above-ground structure was deemed to be in critical condition, with other components in poor condition. The Bailiwick Road bridge in town was closed in April 2007 and remained closed as of August 2007 due to storm damage. The ratings for the two bridges were worse than the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.

Transportation
As of the census² of 2000, there were 61,101 people, 23,230 households, and 16,237 families residing in the town. The population density was 493.2/km² (1,277.6/mi²). There were 24,511 housing units at an average density of 197.9/km² (512.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.02% White, 1.66% African American, 0.09% Native American, 5.18% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.46% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 6.29% of the population.
There were 23,230 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

Demographics
The median income for a household in the town is $99,086, and the median income for a family is $122,719. Males have a median income of $95,085 versus $47,806 for females. The per capita income for the town is $74,346. About 2.5% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Both the Official AENGLC Wealth Value and the CPR AENGLC Wealth Value show Greenwich as having the highest wealth value in Connecticut at over $430,000 per person. However, the claim of "wealthiest town" is misleading. Three other nearby towns have higher per capita income and four have higher median household incomes than Greenwich. Per capita income is higher in New Canaan ($82,049), Darien ($77,519) and Weston ($74,817) than in Greenwich, with Westport ($73,664) almost on par according to the 2007 AENGLC.
In addition, according to the CERC town profiles at CT.Gov., the median incomes of these towns in 2005 were: $164,076 for Weston, $160,178 for Darien, $158,091 for New Canaan, $135,542 for Westport and $112,041 for Greenwich, respectively. According to CERC Greenwich also has a higher poverty rate and more subsidized housing than these other towns. However it should be noted that Weston, New Canaan, and Darien have significantly smaller populations than Westport and Greenwich. Towns with larger populations have more people in various income brackets that skew the median income. On the above ranking, the town Weston (which has the smallest population) has the highest median income and the town with the lowest, Greenwich, has the highest population.
The AENGLC takes into account residential and commercial real estate in comparing each town's respective total tax base in order to allocate State aide to poor towns. In Connecticut, public education is funded by local property taxes. Therefore, the AENGLC is used to evaluate a town government's ability to fund public education via property taxes, not the actual wealth of town residents. Since the town of Greenwich has much more commercial real estate that the other affluent local towns, this skews the AENGLC of Greenwich away from the value of residential or personal real estate as compared to the nearby towns.
Greenwich was the highest income place with a population of 60,000 or more in 2000. However, using the list of the 100 richest places in the United States with at least 1,000 households yields a different result. This is the most common list used for referring to the richest communities in the country, as it eliminates any places with insignificant populations. On this list Greenwich ranks 56th after New Canaan at 32nd, Darien at 44th, and Weston at 55th. See Highest income places in the United States.
The town's 2006 Grand List (tax rolls) includes more than $1 billion in assessed values for automobiles, which raised $5.5 million in revenue for the town. Overall, there were 2,337 cars worth more than $50,000 on the list, and there were 3,769 BMWs, 3,474 Mercedes-Benzes, 931 Porsches, 94 Ferraris, 90 Bentleys, 65 Aston Martins, 40 Maseratis, 39 Rolls-Royces, four registered Maybachs (a brand that can retail for up to $385,000), and one Lamborghini. Greenwich has the only authorized Aston Martin dealership in the state.

Wealth
These four Greenwich art collectors were listed in the 2006 Art News magazine list of 200 top collectors:
Reba and Dave Williams, who joined the list in 2005 and whose primary residence is listed as New York City, like "American prints." Wealthiest art collectors in town
For further information see: People of Greenwich, Connecticut
Due to its affluence and convenient location near New York City, Greenwich has long been associated with or has been home or birthplace to well-known people in various fields. Actor/director Ron Howard, Jack Nicholson, Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate and Adam Sandler also lives in town, as did George C. Scott, and Mel Gibson also has a home in town. Athletes including Steve Young, Frank Gifford, Allan Houston, and Bobby Bonilla live in town, and the late authors Truman Capote, Taylor Caldwell, Anya Seton, Lawrence Riley and Howard Fast were residents. The Barney Family, heirs to the Smith Barney fortune, resides in Greenwich.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is a resident, and Boss Tweed used to be, as was former President George H.W. Bush. The former and current CEO of PepsiCo, are residents. Edward S. Lampert, billionaire hedge fund manager and chairman of Sears Holdings Corp., resides in Greenwich.
Donald J. Trump has a home in town, as does a New York real-estate rival, Leona Helmsley. The late Louis Rukeyser lived in town, and Rita Cosby, a television host on MSNBC grew up here, as did actresses Glenn Close and Bijou Phillips. Matt Lauer, an anchor on The Today Show on NBC went to high school in town.
Regis Philbin resides here, as do Diana Ross, Tommy Hilfiger, and Kathie Lee Gifford. Pro wrestling promoter Vincent Kennedy McMahon and his family live in town. Wrestler Paul Levesque along with his wife Stephanie McMahon live here. Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi had a residence in Greenwich, up until 2001, when she moved to the D.C. area, due to the expenses of her home and the incapability of living there after the death of Princess Leila Pahlavi. Ivan Lendl is also a resident of Greenwich.