title: Order-independent transparency

abstract: Order-independent transparency (OIT) is a class of techniques in rasterisational computer graphics for rendering transparency in a 3D scene, which do not require rendering geometry in sorted order for alpha compositing.

text:
# Order-independent transparency

**Order-independent transparency** (OIT) is a class of techniques in rasterisational computer graphics for rendering transparency in a 3D scene, which do not require rendering geometry in sorted order for alpha compositing.

## Description

Commonly, 3D geometry with transparency is rendered by blending (using alpha compositing) all surfaces into a single buffer (think of this as a canvas). Each surface occludes existing color and adds some of its own color depending on its *alpha* value, a ratio of light *transmittance*. The order in which surfaces are blended affects the total occlusion or *visibility* of each surface. For a correct result, surfaces must be blended from farthest to nearest or nearest to farthest, depending on the alpha compositing operation, *over* or *under*. Ordering may be achieved by rendering the geometry in sorted order, for example sorting triangles by depth, but can take a significant amount of time, not always produce a solution (in the case of intersecting or circularly overlapping geometry) and the implementation is complex. Instead, order-independent transparency sorts geometry per-pixel, after rasterisation. For exact results this requires storing all fragments before sorting and compositing.

## History

The A-buffer is a computer graphics technique introduced in 1984 which stores per-pixel lists of fragment data (including micro-polygon information) in a software rasteriser, REYES, originally designed for anti-aliasing but also supporting transparency.

More recently, depth peeling in 2001 described a hardware accelerated OIT technique. With limitations in graphics hardware the scene's geometry had to be rendered many times. A number of techniques have followed, to improve on the performance of depth peeling, still with the many-pass rendering limitation. For example, Dual Depth Peeling (2008).

In 2009, two significant features were introduced in GPU hardware/drivers/Graphics APIs that allowed capturing and storing fragment data in a single rendering pass of the scene, something not previously possible. These are, the ability to write to arbitrary GPU memory from shaders and atomic operations. With these features a new class of OIT techniques became possible that do not require many rendering passes of the scene's geometry.

* The first was storing the fragment data in a 3D array, where fragments are stored along the *z* dimension for each pixel *x/y*. In practice, most of the 3D array is unused or overflows, as a scene's depth complexity is typically uneven. To avoid overflow the 3D array requires large amounts of memory, which in many cases is impractical.
* Two approaches to reducing this memory overhead exist.
    1. Packing the 3D array with a prefix sum scan, or *linearizing*, removed the unused memory issue but requires an additional depth complexity computation rendering pass of the geometry. The *"Sparsity-aware"* S-Buffer, Dynamic Fragment Buffer, *"deque"* D-Buffer, Linearized Layered Fragment Buffer all pack fragment data with a prefix sum scan and are demonstrated with OIT.
    2. Storing fragments in per-pixel linked lists provides tight packing of this data and in late 2011, driver improvements reduced the atomic operation contention overhead making the technique very competitive.

## Exact OIT

Exact, as opposed to approximate, OIT accurately computes the final color, for which all fragments must be sorted. For high depth complexity scenes, sorting becomes the bottleneck.

One issue with the sorting stage is local memory limited *occupancy*, in this case a SIMT attribute relating to the throughput and operation latency hiding of GPUs. *Backwards memory allocation* (BMA) groups pixels by their depth complexity and sorts them in batches to improve the occupancy and hence performance of low depth complexity pixels in the context of a potentially high depth complexity scene. Up to a 3× overall OIT performance increase is reported.

Sorting is typically performed in a local array, however performance can be improved further by making use of the GPU's memory hierarchy and sorting in registers, similarly to an external merge sort, especially in conjunction with BMA.

## Approximate OIT

Approximate OIT techniques relax the constraint of exact rendering to provide faster results. Higher performance can be gained from not having to store all fragments or only partially sorting the geometry. A number of techniques also compress, or *reduce*, the fragment data. These include:

* Stochastic Transparency: draw in a higher resolution in full opacity but discard some fragments. Downsampling will then yield transparency.
* Adaptive Transparency, a two-pass technique where the first constructs a visibility function which compresses on the fly (this compression avoids having to fully sort the fragments) and the second uses this data to composite unordered fragments. Intel's *pixel synchronization* avoids the need to store all fragments, removing the unbounded memory requirement of many other OIT techniques.
* Weighted Blended Order-Independent Transparency replaced the **over** operator with a commutative approximation. Feeding depth information into the weight produces visually-acceptable occlusion.

## OIT in Hardware

* The Sega Dreamcast games console included hardware support for automatic OIT.


title: Nederland's Patriciaat

abstract: Nederland's Patriciaat, informally known as Het Blauwe Boekje, is a book series published annually since 1910, containing the genealogies of important Dutch patrician non-noble families. It is published by the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie (CBG) in The Hague. The Publication Commission of the CBG determines which families are included. The publication was modelled after the Genealogisches Handbuch bürgerlicher Familien. To be eligible for entry, families must have played an active and important role in Dutch society, fulfilling high positions in the government, in prestigious commissions and in other prominent public posts for over six generations or 150 years. The longer a family has been listed in the Blue Book, the higher its esteem. The earliest entries are often families seen as co-equal to the high nobility, because they are the younger branches of the same family or have continuously married members of the Dutch nobility over a long period of time. There are "regentenfamilies", whose forefathers were active in the administration of town councils, counties or the country itself during the Dutch Republic. Some of these families declined ennoblement because they did not keep a title in such high regard. At the end of the 19th century, they still proudly called themselves "patriciërs". Other families belong to the patriciate because they are held in the same regard and respect as the nobility but for certain reasons never were ennobled. Even within the same important families there can be branches with and without noble titles.

text:
# Nederland's Patriciaat

***Nederland's Patriciaat***, informally known as *Het Blauwe Boekje* (the blue book), is a book series published annually since 1910, containing the genealogies of important Dutch patrician non-noble families. It is published by the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie (CBG) in The Hague. The Publication Commission of the CBG determines which families are included. The publication was modelled after the *Genealogisches Handbuch bürgerlicher Familien*.

To be eligible for entry, families must have played an active and important role in Dutch society, fulfilling high positions in the government, in prestigious commissions and in other prominent public posts for over six generations or 150 years.

The longer a family has been listed in the Blue Book, the higher its esteem. The earliest entries are often families seen as co-equal to the high nobility (barons and counts), because they are the younger branches of the same family or have continuously married members of the Dutch nobility over a long period of time.

There are "regentenfamilies", whose forefathers were active in the administration of town councils, counties or the country itself during the Dutch Republic. Some of these families declined ennoblement because they did not keep a title in such high regard. At the end of the 19th century, they still proudly called themselves "patriciërs". Other families belong to the patriciate because they are held in the same regard and respect as the nobility but for certain reasons never were ennobled. Even within the same important families there can be branches with and without noble titles.


title: Geers Cotterell

abstract: Sir Geers Henry Cotterell, 3rd Baronet was a Whig politician.

text:
# Geers Cotterell

**Sir Geers Henry Cotterell, 3rd Baronet** (22 August 1834 – 17 March 1900) was a Whig politician.

## Early life

Cotterell was the second son of Sir John Henry Cotterell (who had died before his birth and was heir apparent to Sir John Cotterell, 1st Baronet) and Hon. Pyne Jesse Trevor, daughter of Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre and Pyne Crosbie. After his father's death, his mother married Granville Harcourt Vernon, MP, son of Most Rev. Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt and Lady Anne Leveson-Gower, in 1845.

He was educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, and succeeded to the Baronetage of Garnons on 17 February 1847, upon the death of his brother John Henry Cotterell.

## Career

Cotterell was elected Whig MP for Herefordshire at the 1857 general election and held the seat until 1859, when he stood down.

Outside of politics, Cotterell was High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1863, as well as a Deputy Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace for the same county.

## Personal life

He married in 1865 Honorable Katherine Margaret Airey, daughter of Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey, and Harriet Mary Evard Talbot. The Hon. Lady Cotterell died in 1896. They had at least three children:

Cotterell died in Hertford Street, Mayfair, on 17 March 1900 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, John.

## InfoBox

| Sir Geers CotterellBt DL JP | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Member of Parliament
for Herefordshire | |
| **In office**
4 April 1857  2 May 1859Serving with James King King
Montagu Graham
Thomas William Booker-Blakemore | |
| Preceded by | James King King, Charles Bateman-Hanbury, Thomas William Booker-Blakemore |
| Succeeded by | James King King
Humphrey Francis St John-Mildmay
Montagu Graham |
|  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Geers Henry Cotterell
(1834-08-22)22 August 1834 |
| Died | 17 March 1900(1900-03-17) (aged 65)
Hertford Street, Mayfair |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | Katherine Margaret Airey  (m. 1865; died 1896) |
| Children | 3, including John Richard Geers Cotterell |
| Parent(s) | John Henry Cotterell
Pyne Jesse Trevor |
| Education | Harrow School |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
|  | |


title: Wajahat Ather Mirza

abstract: Wajahat Ather Mirza is an Indian politician who is serving as a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly representing Indian National Congress since 10 July 2018 when he was elected unopposed with 10 others to the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

text:
# Wajahat Ather Mirza

**Wajahat Ather Mirza** is an Indian politician who is serving as a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly representing Indian National Congress since 10 July 2018 when he was elected unopposed with 10 others to the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

## InfoBox

| Wajahat Mirza | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|  | |
| Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council | |
| **Incumbent** | |
| **Assumed office**
27 July 2018 | |
| Governor |  |
| Chairman | Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar |
| Constituency | *elected by members of legislative assembly* |
| President of Maharashtra state Waqf Board (Minister of State) | |
| **In office**
26 Nov 2021  27 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Mahemud Mahebub Shaikh |
| Succeeded by | Sameer Gulamnabi Kazi |
| President of Indian National Congress Yavatmal district | |
|  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1975-09-21) September 21, 1975 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
|  | |


title: George A. Porterfield

abstract: George Alexander Porterfield was a junior officer of United States forces in the Mexican–American War, colonel, in the Confederate States Army during the first year of the American Civil War and longtime banker in Charles Town, West Virginia, after the war. He was in command of Confederate forces at Philippi in northwestern Virginia, later West Virginia, when they were surprised and routed, though with only a few soldiers wounded or captured, by Union Army forces on June 3, 1861, near the beginning of the Civil War. After serving in staff and temporary field positions for 11 more months, Porterfield resigned from the Confederate Army because he lost his position in a regimental election. In 1871 he helped found a bank at Charles Town, West Virginia, which he served for many years. At his death, he was the third-last surviving veteran officer of the Mexican–American War.

text:
# George A. Porterfield

**George Alexander Porterfield** (November 24, 1822 – February 27, 1919) was a junior officer of United States forces in the Mexican–American War, colonel, in the Confederate States Army during the first year of the American Civil War and longtime banker in Charles Town, West Virginia, after the war. He was in command of Confederate forces at Philippi in northwestern Virginia, later West Virginia, when they were surprised and routed, though with only a few soldiers wounded or captured, by Union Army forces on June 3, 1861, near the beginning of the Civil War. After serving in staff and temporary field positions for 11 more months, Porterfield resigned from the Confederate Army because he lost his position in a regimental election. In 1871 he helped found a bank at Charles Town, West Virginia, which he served for many years. At his death, he was the third-last surviving veteran officer of the Mexican–American War.

## Early life

George Alexander Porterfield was born in Berkeley County, Virginia, on November 24, 1822. He was the son of George and Mary (Tabb) Porterfield and the grandson of William and Rachel (Vance) Porterfield. His grandfather was a captain in the American Revolutionary War, a justice of Berkeley County in 1785 and high sheriff of the county in 1803. His father was a veteran of the War of 1812.

Porterfield was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the class of 1844. At Richmond, Virginia, in May 1846, he helped organize the first company of Virginia volunteers for service in the Mexican–American War. He was elected first lieutenant. Soon after arriving in Mexico, he was appointed adjutant of the 1st Virginia Regiment, then acting assistant adjutant general of his brigade and later assistant adjutant general of the division at Buena Vista, Mexico.

He became an editor of the *Martinsburg Gazette* and a teacher after the war. After a few years in a government job with the United States Coast Survey in Washington, D.C., he returned to Jefferson County as a farmer in 1855. He was living with his family on his farm when the Civil War began.

On July 9, 1849, George Porterfield married Emily Cornelia Terrill. She was the daughter of Elizabeth (Pitzer) Terrill and Colonel William Henry Terrill (1800–1877), a lawyer and prosecuting attorney in Bath County, Virginia, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Allegheny County, 1829–1831, and provost marshal for Bath County during the Civil War. She was the sister of Confederate General James Barbour Terrill, Phillip M. Terrill, a lieutenant in Company B of the 12th Virginia Infantry Regiment and Union General William Rufus Terrill. All three brothers were killed in action. A fourth brother, George Parker Terrill, who was an 1849 graduate of VMI and 1853 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania medical school, survived the war. George Parker Terrill started his Confederate service as Colonel of the 157th Virginia militia. Later in the war, Doctor Terrill served as a recruiter and post surgeon.

George and Emily Porterfield had four sons and three daughters. Their son John followed George in the banking business.

## American Civil War service

### In command in northwestern Virginia

After the Virginia Secession Convention effectively took the state out of the Union by passing an ordinance of secession on April 17, 1861, the Convention authorized Governor of Virginia John Letcher to form an army and a navy to protect the State pending a popular vote to ratify the State's secession on May 23, 1861. Letcher appointed recently resigned U.S. Army Colonel Robert E. Lee as major general to command the Virginia forces, which closely cooperated with the Confederacy until Virginia officially seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy.

George Porterfield initially was appointed colonel and inspector general of militia at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. On May 4, 1861, General Lee ordered Porterfield to organize forces at Grafton in northwest Virginia, now West Virginia. Porterfield was expected to hold and protect both the main line and the Parkersburg branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at that location. Porterfield arrived in Grafton on May 14, 1861. He found that the townspeople, being mostly Irish railroad workers, mainly supported the Union and that the pro-Union Grafton Guards militia company occupied the town. He found no secessionist officers and men at Grafton and, setting up at the more friendly location of Fetterman, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Grafton, he soon discovered that the few volunteer companies in the area were armed poorly, if at all. In Fetterman he found Capt. William P. Thompson and his company, the Marion Guards, equipped with 175 muskets which had been purchased by Thompson. Porterfield was able to intercept Federal telegraph messages with local support, and reported to Lee that companies were being organized in Clarksburg, Pruntytown, Philippi, Weston, and Fairmont, but that only two were armed, and one had only "old flint-lock muskets, in bad order, and no amumnition...". The companies raised under Porterfield were later organized into the 25th Virginia Infantry, the 31st Virginia Infantry, and the 9th Battalion of Virginia Infantry. He advised authorities in Richmond that they would need to send a large force to hold the area for the state, but the leaders in Richmond, including General Lee, were unwilling to send soldiers from the eastern part of the state to the western counties at that time for reasons that included not irritating Union sympathizers in the area. On May 19 General Lee advised Colonel Porterfield that several companies from Staunton, Virginia, would be sent to Beverly, Virginia, for his command.

Since the Grafton Guards had departed for Wheeling to be mustered into the Union Army, Porterfield occupied Grafton on May 25, but did not keep his force there long. Porterfield then decided that he could not capture or even raid Wheeling, Virginia, for supplies as desired by Governor Letcher and that his position at Grafton was threatened. In order to prevent the advance of Union forces, Porterfield decided to burn two bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Farmington and Mannington, West Virginia. He ordered Colonel William J. Willey to carry out this mission on May 25. Since Porterfield continued to have only a few poorly-equipped companies numbering about 550 men under his command, had not yet received requested arms and ammunition, and was given information on May 27, 1861, that Union regiments under the overall departmental command of Major General George B. McClellan were headed toward Grafton, he decided that his position at Grafton was untenable. Porterfield learned that Union forces from both Wheeling under the immediate command of Colonel Benjamin Franklin Kelley and from Parkersburg under the immediate command of Colonel James B. Steedman were headed toward Grafton to protect the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for the Union. On May 28, Porterfield withdrew his force to Philippi, strongly secessionist in sentiment, in Barbour County about 30 miles (48 km) to the south of Grafton. Also on May 28, McClellan placed the entire Union force in western Virginia, about 3,000 men, under the command of Brigadier General Thomas A. Morris. On May 30, Colonel Kelley occupied Grafton. He had spent two days working with his force to restore the two bridges that had been burned. Since the bridges were mainly iron structures, only wooden sills and ties needed to be replaced. Porterfield picked up two companies of additional men in his move to Philippi but had to send two more companies home for lack of arms and ammunition. A Confederate court of inquiry concluded on July 4, 1861, that Porterfield had 600 effective infantry and 175 cavalry available at Philippi.

### Battle of Philippi

On June 2, 1861, General Morris sent two columns of soldiers, one under the command of Colonel Kelley and one under the command of Colonel Ebenezer Dumont to attack the Confederates at Philippi. At about dawn on June 3, 1861, the larger Union force surprised the Confederates under Porterfield's command who were mostly still asleep in their tents in their camp just outside Philippi. The Confederates had few poorly positioned pickets on duty on the rainy night of June 2–3 and the Union force was able to approach close to the camp until being discovered because of the premature firing of firearms. After the attack began, some Confederates fired a few return shots but soon the entire Confederate force began to flee in disorder without putting up a serious fight, and leaving most of their supplies. Only a few men were wounded during the brief fight, including Union Colonel Kelley, but at least a small number of Confederates were captured. This rout led to the Battle of Philippi being called the "Philippi Races." Porterfield and those of his men who were not dispersed or captured reorganized down the road and retreated to Beverly, Virginia, about 30 miles (48 km) to the south.

### Aftermath of Philippi

Porterfield was blamed for the disastrous display of the Confederate force at Philippi and he asked for a court of inquiry, which concluded on July 4, 1861, that pickets were on duty before the attack, that much of Porterfield's command left the field in good order and that Porterfield was preparing to evacuate Philippi as soon as the day of the attack because he realized that he was in danger of attack by the larger Union force. General Lee decided that Colonel Porterfield deserved censure, though no more serious punishment, for unpreparedness. Porterfield was replaced in command of the Confederate forces in western Virginia by Brigadier General Robert S. Garnett on June 13, 1861, ten days after the battle. Porterfield was left in command of troops at Beverly. Garnett's force of about 5,000 men suffered an even greater defeat at the Battle of Rich Mountain on July 11, 1861, and Garnett himself became the first general to be killed in action in the Civil War two days later in a rearguard action at the Battle of Corrick's Ford.

### Subsequent assignments and resignation

Porterfield joined the staff of Confederate Brigadier General William W. Loring and became his chief of ordnance on August 9, 1861. He briefly commanded a brigade under Brigadier General (later Major General) Edward "Allegheny" Johnson from April 21 to May 1, 1862. In the reorganization of the 25th Virginia Regiment on May 1, 1862, with the addition of several companies of the 9th Battalion Virginia Infantry, Porterfield was not re-elected to his command. Feeling unfairly treated and gaining no satisfaction from an appeal, nor any consideration for promotion to brigadier general as recommended by General Johnson, Porterfield soon resigned. He was found by Union forces under General Nathaniel P. Banks in June or July 1862 and arrested. Soon after Porterfield was taken prisoner, however, Banks ordered Porterfield to be paroled. He was never formally exchanged and took no further part in the war.

## Post-war; death

In 1871, George Porterfield became one of the founders of the Bank of Charles Town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, which he served for many years as cashier.

Porterfield was a member of the Aztec Club of Mexican–American War veterans. As one of the longest-lived members of the Aztec Club, and one of the last three surviving members, he served as vice president, 1914–1915 and President, 1915–1916.

George A. Porterfield died on February 27, 1919, at Martinsburg, West Virginia, and was buried at Greenhill Cemetery in Martinsburg.

## InfoBox

| George A. Porterfield | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Born | (1822-11-24)November 24, 1822
Berkeley County, Virginia |
| Died | February 27, 1919(1919-02-27) (aged 96)
Martinsburg, West Virginia |
| Buried | Greenhill Cemetery
Martinsburg, West Virginia |
| Allegiance | United States of America
Confederate States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army
Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1847–1848 (USA)
1861–1862 (CSA) |
| Rank | First Lieutenant (USA)
Colonel (CSA) |
| Unit | 1st Virginia Regiment (USA) |
| Commands | 25th Virginia Infantry (CSA) |
| Battles/wars | Mexican–American War
American Civil War |
| Relations | James B. Terrill (brother-in-law)
William R. Terrill (brother-in-law) |
| Other work | Banker |


title: Pittosporum wingii

abstract: Pittosporum wingii, sometimes known as the mountain pittosporum or hairy pittosporum, is a shrub or small tree growing in tropical Queensland in Australia. It may reach 9 metres tall, growing in rainforest or moist eucalyptus areas. It grows in a variety of different sites, including forest understory from 150 metres to 1100 metres above sea level

text:
# Pittosporum wingii

***Pittosporum wingii***, sometimes known as the **mountain pittosporum** or **hairy pittosporum**, is a shrub or small tree growing in tropical Queensland in Australia. It may reach 9 metres tall, growing in rainforest or moist eucalyptus areas. It grows in a variety of different sites, including forest understory from 150 metres to 1100 metres above sea level

## InfoBox

| Mountain pittosporum | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney | |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| *Clade*: | Tracheophytes |
| *Clade*: | Angiosperms |
| *Clade*: | Eudicots |
| *Clade*: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Pittosporaceae |
| Genus: | *Pittosporum* |
| Species: | ***P. wingii*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Pittosporum wingii***<br>F.Muell. | |
|
| Synonyms | |
| *Pittosporum rubiginosum subsp. wingii* (F.Muell.) R.C.Cooper | |


title: Vera Gebuhr

abstract: Vera Margrethe Gebuhr was a Danish film, television and stage actress. Gebuhr was most noted for her portrayal of the snobbish neurotic head saleswoman Miss Jørgensen in the popular television series Matador. She trained at the Royal Danish Theatre school from 1937 to 1939 and debuted at the Folketeatret, working there until 1964. She played her first lead film role as the scheming maid in the 1943 melodrama Møllen. Gebuhr appeared in 65 films between 1937 and 2005, as well as made numerous appearances on Danish television series. Gebuhr married twice: to journalist Pallet Fønss and civil engineer Thomas Purl. In 1999, she received the Preben Neergaard honorary award. She died in her home at the age of 98 on 22 December 2014.

text:
# Vera Gebuhr

**Vera Margrethe Gebuhr** (15 May 1916 – 22 December 2014) was a Danish film, television and stage actress. Gebuhr was most noted for her portrayal of the snobbish neurotic head saleswoman Miss Jørgensen in the popular television series *Matador*. She trained at the Royal Danish Theatre school from 1937 to 1939 and debuted at the Folketeatret, working there until 1964. She played her first lead film role as the scheming maid in the 1943 melodrama *Møllen*. Gebuhr appeared in 65 films between 1937 and 2005, as well as made numerous appearances on Danish television series.

Gebuhr married twice: to journalist Pallet Fønss and civil engineer Thomas Purl. In 1999, she received the Preben Neergaard honorary award. She died in her home at the age of 98 on 22 December 2014.

## Filmography

## InfoBox

| Vera Gebuhr | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | (1916-05-15)15 May 1916
Odense, Denmark |
| Died | 22 December 2014(2014-12-22) (aged 98)
Gentofte, Denmark |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1937–2005 |


title: Yumurí y sus Hermanos

abstract: Yumurí y sus Hermanos is a Cuban band led by Moisés Valle (Yumurí) since September 1992. The band consists of Moisés and three of his four brothers. In 1993 they won prizes for the best new band of the year en the Cuban TV show "Mi Salsa". The arrangements are done by Orlando Valle, former member of Irakere. In 1994 the band toured Japan. In 1997, Yumurí played in the show Cuba Tropical in Japan, Venezuela, Panama, the United States, Mexico, Switzerland, and France.

text:
# Yumurí y sus Hermanos

**Yumurí y sus Hermanos** is a Cuban band led by Moisés Valle (Yumurí) since September 1992.

The band consists of Moisés and three of his four brothers. In 1993 they won prizes for the best new band of the year en the Cuban TV show "Mi Salsa". The arrangements are done by Orlando Valle, former member of Irakere. In 1994 the band toured Japan. In 1997, Yumurí played in the show *Cuba Tropical* in Japan, Venezuela, Panama, the United States, Mexico, Switzerland, and France.

## Discography

* *Cocodrilo de Agua Salá* Magic Music / Spain. 1993.
* *Provocación* Victor Entertainment / Japan. 1996.
* *Olvídame si puedes* Bis Music / Cuba. 1999.
* *Bilongo* 2002.
* *Salsa y Candela* 2004.
* *Casa De La Musica* Bis Music / Cuba. CD/DVD 2005.


title: Oreshene, Lovech Province

text:
# Oreshene, Lovech Province

The village of Oreshene is located in the Pre-Balkan region, 8 km from Yablanitsa and 6 km from Zlatna Panega. It is in close proximity to the Danube plain and is a starting point for tourism. It is convenient to visit because the Hemus highway reaches Yablanitsa and is only 88 km from Sofia. Many residents of the capital focus on the village in view of the proximity, convenient travel and beautiful nature. Altitude is not high. Deciduous forests, bushes, wooded areas are found. In the vicinity of the village, at a short distance, there are many fountains, places of local importance and two micro-dams.

## History

The village was founded at the beginning of the 19th century by settlers from the village of Manaselska Reka. According to the legend told by the resident of Oreshene, Nayden Tsanov Vulev, the village of Manaselska Reka was attacked by Kurdzhalians and the survivors fled to the impregnable walnut forest, which is located on the site of today's Oreshene. That is where the name of the village comes from, because of the thick walnut forests. Where the village square, the fountain with water collector and the town hall are now, there was a large spring around which the first houses were built.

Over time, the walnut forests were cut down and mulberry trees were planted, and in the 19th and 20th centuries, one of the main livelihoods became gardening.

Above the village in the area of Bogoi, in the upper part next to the gypsy hamlet, there was another large spring with lakes and a mill. Now it has dried up and only a semi-marsh remains in its place. According to legend, the area was named after the boyar Bogoi, who refused to submit to the Turks and died in a battle with them.

In 1941, an enterprise for the production of wheels and bicycles under the "Balkan" brand was organized in the village of Oreshene. This marked the beginning of bicycle production in Bulgaria. In the period 41-46, more than 25,000 copies of three models were produced, a large part of them used in the Bulgarian post office and the army. After 1946, production was nationalized and moved to the town of Lovech. Bicycle production was resumed in 1957 and continued until 1988. The Balkan brand has been preserved and was very popular in Bulgaria.

By 1893, only 6 pomaks remained in the village.\[2\]

## InfoBox

| Oreshene Орешене | |
| --- | --- |
| Village | |
| Oreshene | |
| Coordinates: 43°06′00″N 24°05′00″E / 43.1000°N 24.0833°E / 43.1000; 24.0833 | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Province | Lovech Province |
| Municipality | Yablanitsa |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |


title: Nattestid ser porten vid

abstract: Nattestid ser porten vid, appears on the album cover as Nattestid..., is the first full-length album released by Norwegian black metal band Taake. It was released by Wounded Love Records in 1999. The album was written entirely by Hoest, but he brought in a session musician, Tundra, to perform bass and drums. It was recorded throughout 1997 and 1998 at Grieghallen. Nattestid is the first part in a trilogy of albums. All the writing on the CD and lyrics in the booklet are written in runes. The album's lyrics are sung in Norwegian.

text:
# Nattestid ser porten vid

***Nattestid ser porten vid*** (English: *Nighttime Sees the Gate Wide*), appears on the album cover as ***Nattestid...***, is the first full-length album released by Norwegian black metal band Taake. It was released by Wounded Love Records in 1999. The album was written entirely by Hoest, but he brought in a session musician, Tundra, to perform bass and drums. It was recorded throughout 1997 and 1998 at Grieghallen. *Nattestid* is the first part in a trilogy of albums. All the writing on the CD and lyrics in the booklet are written in runes. The album's lyrics are sung in Norwegian.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Hoest.

| No. | Title | Length |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | "Nattestid ser porten vid I" | 5:55 |
| 2. | "Nattestid ser porten vid II" | 5:34 |
| 3. | "Nattestid ser porten vid III" | 4:31 |
| 4. | "Nattestid ser porten vid IV (instrumental)" | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Nattestid ser porten vid V" | 4:10 |
| 6. | "Nattestid ser porten vid VI" | 7:33 |
| 7. | "Nattestid ser porten vid VII" | 9:37 |

## Personnel

### Taake

* Hoest – vocals, guitars, arrangements
* Frostein Tundra Arctander – bass, drums, choirs, arrangements

### Additional personnel

## InfoBox

| Nattestid ser porten vid | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Studio album by Taake | |
| Released | 7 January 1999 |
| Recorded | 1997–1998, Grieghallen Studios |
| Genre | Black metal |
| Length | 42:17 |
| Label | Wounded Love Records |
| Producer | Pytten |
| Taake chronology | |
| ***Nattestid ser porten vid***
(1999) *Over Bjoergvin graater himmerik*
(2002) | |


title: Polka in the United States

abstract: Polka is a music and dance style that originated in Bohemia in the 1830s and came to American society with immigrants from Europe. A fast style in ⁲4 time, and often associated with the pre–World War II era, polka remains a dynamic niche music in America.

text:
# Polka in the United States

Polka is a music and dance style that originated in Bohemia in the 1830s and came to American society with immigrants from Europe. A fast style in **2**
**4** time, and often associated with the pre–World War II era, polka remains a dynamic niche music in America.

## Description

Several polka genres exist in the United States, each with its own unique characteristics and performers. Though these polka genres vary, all are unified in the expression of ethnicity by performers and participants. Polka enthusiasts gather to enjoy their love of the music and dance and to honor their heritage at polka festivals. Modern media enables these fans to stay connected and share their passion. Though it passed its heyday in the 1950s the polka remains an active music form with distinct genres, leading performers, and active organizations. Where it is popular, the polka is a manifestation of the culture of those who participate in it. It is the state dance of Wisconsin.

## Polka genres

Although author Charles Keil admits that "there are as many styles of polka as there are polka localities", he and his wife in their 2005 Ethnomusicology Forum article divided American polka music into three major genres:

1. Slavic, with its subgenres, Czech-American, Polish-American, and Slovenian-American
2. Germanic, with its subgenres, German-American
3. Southwestern, with its subgenres, Mexican-American and Papago-Pima

The two Slavic genres are found primarily in eastern and midwestern America, the Germanic genres in midwestern and western America, and the Southwestern genres in southwestern America. The different genres are united by the characteristic **2**
**4** time signature that exists in all polkas as well as by instruments and lyrics that are similar throughout all styles. Polka bands across all genres typically include an accordion or concertina, wind instruments, and drums. The lyrics sung by these bands are united by their discussion of joy, religion, and ethnic culture. Differences stem from variations in instrumentation, tempo, and the popularity of the genre in various places.

### Traditional polka subgenres

#### Czech-American

Czech-American style polka is similar to German-American style in many ways. Its performers call their bands "old-time," use the same brass-heavy instrumentation, and are popular in the same "polka belt." Czech-American bands tend to be even more traditional than German-American bands, playing numerous authentic Czech pieces (polkas, waltzes, and schottisches). Another unique aspect of many Czech bands is their family structure. Some Czech bands perpetuate a family structure through several generations. An example is the Masopust Polka Band, which was started by the Masopust family in the late nineteenth century and still plays today. Important Czech performers include the Harold Schultz Orchestra, the Greiner Brothers Orchestra, the Capital City Czech Choraliers of Nebraska, the Czechlanders Orchestra of Nebraska, Ernie Kucera, and Al Grebnik.

#### Polish-American

The Polish-American style of polka is perhaps the most popular today. Polish Polka bands not only play polkas, but also play obereks, waltzes, and sometimes tangos. In fact, the "Polish polka" as we know it was never danced in Poland. Rather, different forms of polka existed in Polish folk dancing. This popularity is due in part to the fact that performers in this genre have worked to appeal to a larger audience by adding covers of modern music alongside normal polkas in their albums and performances. For example, the polka band Toledo Polka Motion includes a cover of the Beatles' "I'm a Loser" along with traditional pieces such as "Pod Krakowem" on one of their albums. Polka star Jimmy Sturr has even included recordings with stars such as Willie Nelson to get the country music audience interested in polka. The hotspots for Polish-American polka are mostly in cities near the Great Lakes (especially Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee) and some East Coast cities.

Polish-American polka can be subdivided into Chicago-style and Eastern-style. The typical Chicago-style polka band includes one or two trumpets, an accordion, a concertina, drums, a bass, and sometimes a clarinet, saxophone, or fiddle. This style is connected to the '50s rock-and-roll era and is sometimes referred to as "push" style because of the intense "bellow-shaking" of the accordion. A secondary style of Chicago-style polka music is referred to as "honky" style; this consists of a trumpet, clarinet (doubling on saxophone), concertina or accordion, upright bass (or bass guitar), & drums. It is performed in a dixieland style, and sung primarily in the Polish language. Most polka artists add a piano on recordings for embellishment. The modern giants of Chicago-style are Lenny Gomulka and the late Eddie Blazonczyk. Both were highly influenced by the style of Li'l Wally Jagiello, a polka performer of an earlier generation. Another influential early pioneer of Chicago-style polkas was Marion Lush who has been called the "Golden Voice" of polkas due to his distinctive vocal stylings. (Lush died in 1993.) Blazonczyk was the leader of a band called the Versatones, who released over 50 albums. (Blazonczyk died in 2012.) Gomulka was a member of the Versatones until 1980 when he formed his own band, the Chicago Push. Some other popular modern Chicago-style polka bands include Crusade, the Polka Family, the Dynatones, and Toledo Polka Motion. An important venue for live performances of polka music was Club 505 at 13505 S Brainard Ave in the Hegewisch neighborhood on the Southeast side of Chicago. A live broadcast from Club 505 from 1959 can be heard on YouTube.

Eastern-style polka is similar to Chicago style but is played at a faster tempo, usually includes a bigger section of horns and reeds, and is connected to big-band era music rather than rock-and-roll. The most popular Eastern-style performer (and probably the most popular polka artist in America today) is Jimmy Sturr, winner of 15 Grammy Awards in the polka category. Other important Eastern-style performers include Frank Wojnarowski, Bernie Witkowski, Walt Solek, Larry Chesky, Ray Henry, and the Connecticut Twins.

#### Slovenian-American

The Slovenian style or Cleveland style is generally played at a smoother tempo and features different instrumentation. Whereas the Polish style utilizes trumpets and concertinas, the main melody instruments in the Slovenian band are the accordion and tenor saxophone. A diatonic accordion or "button box" is sometimes used instead of the piano accordion or chromatic accordion and offers a different sound. The Slovenian style also adds a banjo or guitar to bolster the rhythm section (most commonly banjo for polkas and guitar for waltzes). The epicenter of the Slovenian-American style of polka is undoubtedly Cleveland and northeast Ohio, but it is also popular in Pennsylvania and in many other cities in the Great Lakes region. The most influential figure in Slovenian-American polka is Frankie Yankovic, who helped "Americanize" the Slovenian polka and worked for years to popularize it, appearing throughout the country and even performing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He was crowned America's Polka King in Milwaukee in 1948. Other important Slovenian-style pioneers include Johnny Pecon, Lou Trebar, Johnny Vadnal (along with brothers Tony, Frankie, and Richie), Kenny Bass, Louis Bashel and Eddie Habat. The torchbearers of Slovenian-American or "Cleveland-Style" polka today include Jeff Pecon (Johnny's son), Joey Tomsick, Don Wojtila, Eddie Rodick, Eddie Klancnik, LynnMarie Hrovat and Alex Meixner. Like their Polish counterparts, these bands have also expanded their repertoire over the years to include a variety of styles of music including polkas, waltzes, American standards, Latin dances (cha chas, tangos, etc.), line dances, and rock 'n roll.

#### German-American

German-American bands sometimes resist being termed "polka bands" because they perform not only polkas but also waltzes, schottisches, laendlers, and various other ethnic forms of music. They prefer the term "old-time," but it is not be confused with traditional American old-time music. Some of the modern day German-American bands have even been known to incorporate country & western and/or rock & roll into their repertoire. Their style is also sometimes known as "Dutchmen," a name derived from a band named The Six Fat Dutchmen (here 'Dutchmen' does not refer to Dutch people, but to German people, coming from the German word *Deutsch*). This is a contrast to Polish-American and Slovenian-American bands, which generally do not object to the term "polka band". German-American bands are also comparatively more traditional than the Slavic genres, with less modern American influence in their albums. Because of this, their recordings are much rarer and harder to come by than recordings of Slavic-style performers. The German-American sound is often described with the term "oom-pa-pa" and is characterized by an emphasis on brass (especially the tuba), accompanied by drums and reed instruments (including the accordion or concertina, although for the most part the Chemnitzer concertina is usually favored over the accordion in German-American bands). German-American style bands perform primarily in the Upper Midwest and in the so-called "polka belt" of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. One important German-American performer is Lawrence Welk, who began his career as a band leader in South Dakota with an ethnic German-style ensemble called Welk's Novelty Orchestra. He later added more popular music to his band's repertoire, which enabled him to spread the polka throughout America by way of his famous television show. Other important modern German-American bands include the Hoolerie Dutchmen, the Jolly Swiss Boys, Happy Hans, and the Jerry Schneider Band.

#### Mexican-American

Mexican-American polkas are peformed by ensembles called *conjuntos*, and are the predecessor of the *norteño* genre. The conjunto sound originated from the Czech and German influence on Mexican-Americans in Texas and northern Mexico. Conjunto bands play some polkas, but their most popular musical form is the *ranchera,* a form similar to polka. The instrumentation involves a combination of accordion, bajo sexto (a Mexican twelve-string guitar), bass, and drums. Important modern performers in the genre include Los Hermanos Bernal, Santiago Jimenez, Flaco Jimenez, Esteban Jordan, Valerio Longoria, and Tony De La Rosa among many others.

#### Papago-Pima

Papago-Pima style is more commonly referred to as "chicken scratch" and is associated with the Native American Tohono O'odham tribe (who were once the Papago). This tribe was influenced by the music of the Germans who settled in southern Arizona, the most popular area for this genre. Papago-Pima performers use a saxophone, accordion, guitar, electric bass, and drums in their performances, and commonly perform music that follows the form of the schottische (a dance with similar cultural origins as polka). The most important modern performers in this genre are Southern Scratch, the Joaquin Brothers, Papago Raiders, the Molinas, and T.O. Brave.

### Other styles

While Keil's six genres cover the majority of traditional polka performers, other bands mix them and combine them with influnces from other types of music. Brave Combo is one important modern group that plays a combination of these three genres, as well as mixing them with rock, Latin music, and other types of folk music. Started in 1979 by Carl Finch, the band has been awarded two Grammy Awards for Best Polka Album (for their 1999 album *Polkasonic* and their 2004 album *Let's Kiss: 25th Anniversary Album*) and has been nominated for five others. Other polka bands that transcend traditional style divisions and play polka music in modern way are the Alex Meixner Band, the Chardon Polka Band, and Captain Tom & The Hooligans.

The Dreadnoughts and Russkaja are two bands that are notable for fusing polka with punk rock, creating the "polka-punk" subgenre (sometimes considered a type of folk-punk). Despite the perceived differences between the two genres, the Dreadnoughts write that the two compliment each other perfectly because polka "is the only genre that can cut through the fog of isolation and the ever-increasing social anxiety brought on by the slow takeover of our lives" by tech and media companies. They write that polka music has a strong cross-generational connectivity, and is able to "counteract the relentless negativity and irony that saturates popular culture." The Dreadnoughts used to perform as a traditional polka band called 'Polka Time!' in Vancouver before the covid-19 pandemic, and continute to perform punk rock polkas at all of their shows (even having released an album titled *Polka's Not Dead* in 2010).

## Polka organizations

From tiny ethnic dance halls to larger-scale national organizations, there is a huge network of people working to keep the polka alive. One web site lists a total of 49 formal polka clubs nationwide, and there are many other smaller organizations . The largest organizations today include the International Polka Association (IPA), the United States Polka Association, the Polka Lovers Klub of America (Po.L.K. of A.), the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame, the Penn-Ohio Polka Pals, and the Wisconsin Polka Boosters. Modern communication has also allowed polka fans to organize through national newsletters such as the Polish-American Journal, and the Post Eagle. Radio stations have been organized to perpetuate the popularity of the polka (although nowadays, most polka shows have been limited to airing on independent and time-brokered AM stations, small-market college FM stations, and a handful of Internet-only polka stations). One survey conducted in 1989 counted a total of 354 stations that played polka music in 32 states (although by September 2012, that number had dropped to 221 stations in 27 states). In 1985 the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences began awarding a Grammy Award for Best Polka Album, a category which ran until 2009.

### The International Polka Association

The longest-standing polka organization is the Chicago-based International Polka Association (IPA). Beginning as an "International Polka Convention" in the mid-1960s, the IPA was officially established in 1968 with Leon Kozicki as the "organization builder" and John Hyzny as the "entrepreneur". According to its charter, its goals are "to promote, maintain, and advance public interest in polka entertainment". Today, the IPA still carries out yearly conventions every summer to allow polka fans to gather and to present the annual Polka Music Awards. The IPA established its Polka Music Hall of Fame in 1968 to honor worthy performers. In 1982, a museum was established, now located above Polonia Banquets, a century-old dance hall at 4608 S. Archer Ave. in the Brighton Park neighborhood, and open by appointment.

## Polka festivals

Throughout the United States, polka fans gather to participate in polka festivals. Many of these festivals are arranged by organizations such as the IPA and the United States Polka Association. Others, such as Polish-style performer Eddie Blazoncyzk's "Polka Fireworks" festival in Pittsburgh, are run by polka musicians or polka fans.

These festivals usually last several days and involve performances, dancing, jam sessions, beer, ethnic and local foods, athletic events, parades, and polka masses. Though many festival attendees belong to an older generation, there are also a substantial number of young participants. Polka music and polka festivals are often described as "happy" and "joyful" by their organizers and participants. In their book *Polka Happiness*, Charles and Angeliki Keil describe the aspects of these "polka parties" that allow them to bring joy to people of all ages. A wide variety of people are accepted and people are encouraged to dance with many different partners. The musicians dance as well as perform, and the live bands perform a variety of more modern music as well as traditional polkas and waltzes.

The Nebraska Czechs of Wilber (P.O. Box 652 Wilber, Nebraska 68465) have sponsored the annual Wilber Czech Days Festival since 1962. The Czech Festival, always held the first full weekend in August, includes music, dancing, museum, costumes, refreshments, a pageant and large parades on Saturday and Sunday of the festival. The Nebraska Czechs of Wilber organization was formed in 1962 to perpetuate the Czech heritage and culture, develop tourism and to boost the economy of Wilber. On July 17, 1963, Wilber was proclaimed ‘Czech Capital of Nebraska.’ On July 10, 1987, Wilber was proclaimed, ‘Czech Capital of the U.S.’

Other polka festivals include the United States Polka Association Convention, The Annual Minnesota State Polka Festival, Milwaukee Polish Fest, International Polka Association Convention, Pulaski Polka Days, New Glarus Polkafest, Wisconsin Dells Polish Fest, Frankenmuth Summer Music Fest, Oregon's Alpenfest Swiss-Bavarian festival, Polkamotion by the Ocean, Houghton Lake Polka Festival, SloveneFest, the Slovenian Sausage Festival, the Super Button Box Bash, Dyngus Day Cleveland, and the Thanksgiving Polka Weekend hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame.

## Polka masses

Beginning in the early 1970s, the phenomenon of 'polka masses' began appearing. Polka masses are usually held by members of the Roman Catholic Church who consider the polka an important part of their ethnic heritages. The first polka mass was created by Father George Balasko in 1972 and the idea was spread by Father Frank Perkovich throughout the '70s and '80s. Both were polka musicians. In composing a polka mass, a musician either alters the lyrics of polka pieces to become more appropriate for a spiritual setting or creates an entirely new piece of polka-style music to sing with the usual sacred text. Robert Walser argues that the exuberant polka music motivates participants to "worship more vigorously." He also asserts that the polka mass "brings the community into the church" because it involves music and lyrics that the congregations are more familiar with.

## Polka music as an expression of culture

Polka music is obviously associated with various ethnic groups throughout America. This is evident in the division of the polka genres into specific ethnic styles. Dr. Ann Hetzel Gunkel describes the polka as a means of protecting ethnic heritage from the invasion of "American mass culture." She even argues that polka music can be perceived as a "radical alternative" to "mainstream culture". A good example of this is the polka mass. It allows entire communities to choose an alternate approach to worship that helps them preserve their ethnic origins. Another example of a resistance to mass culture is the status of polka stars. Popular polka performers are not viewed as sex symbols or idolized in the same way that pop stars of today are idolized. Instead, the performers work to establish a feeling of community by interacting and dancing with their audience. This expression of ethnicity is especially important as America continues to homogenize through media and the culture of capitalism. Sheltered communities that were once saturated with traditional culture are forced to join mainstream 'American culture'. Keeping the polka alive allows these communities to establish a tangible aspect of their culture that can be maintained amidst the changes American society faces.

The Dreadnoughts, a modern advocate for polka music, write that polka music is important and vital for modern audiences because it "can cut through the fog of isolation and the ever-increasing social anxiety" of the modern age, and that polka music "is the only genre cheerful enough to reach all generations and to counteract the relentless negativity and irony that saturates popular culture."

Charles Keil describes the paradox that "polka is a modern urban style that enables traditional cultures to persist". Polka enthusiasts have to mediate between the desire to preserve their culture and the desire to keep the polka alive through future generations. This involves establishing a balance between traditionalism and modernism, and one example of this conflict is the language polka music is performed in. Performers have to face the decision of performing and recording music in their original languages to appease those who prefer a more traditional approach, and performing and recording in English to attract a wider, younger audience. English has become more and more popular, but many performers still perform songs with German, Polish, or Czech lyrics. Another example of performer response to this conflict is the practice of performing and recording covers of popular non-polka music, along with traditional polka music. The problem of attracting a broader audience while still preserving cultural heritage is an ongoing challenge in the polka world. The demographic for polka music in the USA currently consists primarily of married men and women between the ages of 60–85 with a median age of 74.


title: Plantar digital veins

abstract: The plantar digital veins arise from plexuses on the plantar surfaces of the digits, and, after sending intercapitular veins to join the dorsal digital veins, unite to form four metatarsal veins.

text:
# Plantar digital veins

The **plantar digital veins** arise from plexuses on the plantar surfaces of the digits, and, after sending intercapitular veins to join the dorsal digital veins, unite to form four metatarsal veins.

*This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 671 of the 20th edition of* Gray's Anatomy *(1918)*

## InfoBox

| Plantar digital veins | |
| --- | --- |
| Details | |
| Drains to | plantar metatarsal veins |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | *venae digitales plantares* |
| TA98 | A12.3.11.018 |
| TA2 | 5084 |
| FMA | 70919 |
| Anatomical terminology | |


title: Melt Yourself Down

abstract:
Melt Yourself Down are a London-based band who incorporate elements of West African musical styles (afrobeat), punk, jazz and funk.
Founded in January 2012, the band is led by saxophonist Pete Wareham, former leader of now defunct jazz/punk band Acoustic Ladyland and saxophonist in British jazz band Polar Bear. The original line-up included saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, drummer Tom Skinner, vocalist Kushal Gaya, bassist Ruth Goller and percussionist Satin Singh. They were signed to The Leaf Label and released their debut album on 17 June 2013, followed by Live At The New Empowering Church on 19 April 2014. Their second studio album, Last Evenings On Earth, was released on 29 April 2016. They signed to Decca Records in 2019 and released their third studio album 100% Yes on 27 March 2020.

text:
# Melt Yourself Down

**Melt Yourself Down** are a London-based band who incorporate elements of West African musical styles (afrobeat), punk, jazz and funk. Founded in January 2012, the band is led by saxophonist Pete Wareham, former leader of now defunct jazz/punk band Acoustic Ladyland and saxophonist in British jazz band Polar Bear. The original line-up included saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, The Heliocentrics), drummer Tom Skinner (Sons of Kemet, Mulatu Astatke, Hello Skinny), vocalist Kushal Gaya (Zun Zun Egui), bassist Ruth Goller (Acoustic Ladyland) and percussionist Satin Singh (Fela!, Transglobal Underground).

They were signed to The Leaf Label and released their debut album on 17 June 2013, followed by *Live At The New Empowering Church* on 19 April 2014. Their second studio album, *Last Evenings On Earth*, was released on 29 April 2016.

They signed to Decca Records in 2019 and released their third studio album *100% Yes* on 27 March 2020.

## Career

### Early history

After the break up of Acoustic Ladyland, bandleader Pete Wareham began exploring Egyptian, Nubian and other North African music. In an interview with M Magazine, Wareham explains that he included some of this music in a DJ set he was performing, and seeing the positive reaction from the crowd, decided to write and perform music in this style. He assembled the band from musicians he had worked with in various projects and collaborations, initially intending it to be an instrumental line-up. Vocalist Kushal Gaya was added to the group shortly after the initial rehearsals.

The name of the band comes from an album by James Chance, released in Japan in 1986 on Selfish Records. Wareham has stated that he contacted Chance with a request to use the name and received "his blessing" for the project. Melt Yourself Down subsequently performed with James Chance at shows in New York and London in 2014. Wareham and Chance had previously collaborated when Chance performed on a track from Acoustic Ladyland's third album, Skinny Grin.

### *Melt Yourself Down* (2013)

In June 2013, the band released their self-titled album *Melt Yourself Down*, featuring the singles "We Are Enough", "Release!" and "Fix My Life". The album was produced and mixed by London-based songwriter, electronic musician, and artist Leafcutter John, who performs alongside Wareham in Polar Bear.

The album's "intense brew of jazz, punk, and African elements" has been described as *"the sound of Cairo '57, Cologne '72, New York '78 and London 2013"* in a review by The Daily Telegraph amongst an array of other positive reviews.

A second edition of this album was released in January 2016, as part of a series of re-releases made by The Leaf Label as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations through the Pledge Music service.

### *Live at the New Empowering Church* (2014)

As part of Record Store Day 2014, Melt Yourself Down released the album *Live at the New Empowering Church*, with only 900 copies of the vinyl LP available worldwide. The album was recorded at a sold out show in Hackney, London, on 29 November 2013 and features seven tracks from the band's debut album. Melt Yourself Down saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and bassist Ruth Goller are replaced by Wayne Francis (United Vibrations) and Leon Brichard (Ibibio Sound Machine) respectively.

### *Dot to Dot* (2015)

On 18 November 2015, Melt Yourself Down released "Dot to Dot", the first single from album *Last Evenings On Earth*. A music video followed on 26 November, shot by the Diamond Bros in New York alongside photographer Vincent Laforet and Andre Constantini. The video release coincided with shows in London and Leeds as part of Leaf 20, the 20th anniversary celebrations of The Leaf Label. The track was released on 12" vinyl in January 2016, along with a remix by Italian producer DJ Khalab. The remix premiered on The Ransome Note.

### *Last Evenings On Earth* (2016)

Melt Yourself Down's second studio album was released on The Leaf Label on 29 April 2016. The track "The God Of You" was released on 26 February as a second single, premiered on The Quietus. In an announcement by Clash, the album was described as a "blast of musical exploration" with "an apocalyptic tone". Drowned In Sound wrote that "the compositions are more complex, the music tighter and everything has an immediacy that was missing before...Last Evenings on Earth is as vast and sprawling as their self-titled debut, yet at the same time it’s concise and refined". In August 2016, *Last Evenings On Earth* was nominated for Best ‘Difficult’ Second Album in the AIM awards.

### *Another Weapon* (2016)

On 12 July 2016, Melt Yourself Down announced the release of new single "Another Weapon". This "live favourite" was recorded and produced by Dan Carey (whose credits include Kae Tempest and Kylie Minogue), and was released on his Speedy Wunderground label on limited edition 7" vinyl. A stream of the track premiered on Line Of Best Fit, who described its "spidery basslines... '80s post-punk vocals and pumping percussion" as reminiscent of "Orange Juice meets New Orleans".

### *100% Yes* (2020)

In 2019 Melt Yourself Down signed to Decca Records and on 17 July 2019, announced the release of new single "Boot & Spleen", the first from their upcoming third studio album *100% Yes*. They capped this off with a concert that evening at The Lexington in London.

Following the release of further singles "It Is What It Is", "Every Single Day", and "Crocodile", the band released "100% Yes" on 27 March 2020, which was planned to be followed by a national tour which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

## Discography

### Studio albums

### Live albums

### Singles

* "We Are Enough" (2012)
* "Fix My Life" / "We Are Enough" (2013)
* "Release!" (2013)
* "Camel" (2013)
* "Dot To Dot" (2015)
* "The God Of You" (2016)
* "Another Weapon" (2016)
* "Boot and Spleen" (2019)
* "Every Single Day" (2020)
* "Crocodile" (2020)
* "Pray For Me I Don't Fit In" (2021)

## Musical style and influences

Melt Yourself Down takes its musical interests from a diverse range of countries and cultures and has built a unique style, drawing from Egyptian and Nubian music, punk rock, jazz, psychedelic rock, electronica, funk and more. Wareham has described the style as "Nubian inspired party-punk music". In a later interview he added "The need to dance is still there but now I’m feeling inspired by the idea of the city as a prism through which all kinds of global influences pass...Translation, immigration, overcoming obstacles - and most of all, human unity."

## InfoBox

| Melt Yourself Down | |
| --- | --- |
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Jazz, Afrobeat, Funk, Avant-Garde, Punk |
| Years active | 2012present |
| Labels | The Leaf Label, Decca Records |
|  | |
| Members | Pete Wareham
George Crowley
Ruth Goller
Kushal Gaya
Adam Betts
Zands Duggan |
|  | |
| Past members | Shabaka Hutchings
Tom Skinner |
|  | |
| Website | www.meltyourselfdown.com |


title: George McLean (golfer)

abstract: George Louis McLean was an American professional golfer that competed from the 1910s to the 1930s. McLean was born in Yonkers, New York. Like most golfers of his era, he worked primarily as a club pro while occasionally competing in PGA Tour events. He served at several clubs in New York state: Dunwoodie Golf Course in Yonkers, Great Neck Golf Club in Great Neck, Grassy Sprain Golf Club in Bronxville, and Seneca Falls Country Club in Seneca Falls. McLean's best finishes at the PGA Championship were ties for third place (semi-finalist) in 1919, 1920, and 1923 while making six overall appearances. His best finish at the U.S. Open was a tie for fifth in 1919 while making eight cuts overall. McLean died in an auto accident in 1951.

text:
# George McLean (golfer)

**George Louis McLean** (September 1, 1893 – March 26, 1951) was an American professional golfer that competed from the 1910s to the 1930s.

McLean was born in Yonkers, New York. Like most golfers of his era, he worked primarily as a club pro while occasionally competing in PGA Tour events. He served at several clubs in New York state: Dunwoodie Golf Course in Yonkers, Great Neck Golf Club in Great Neck, Grassy Sprain Golf Club in Bronxville, and Seneca Falls Country Club in Seneca Falls.

McLean's best finishes at the PGA Championship were ties for third place (semi-finalist) in 1919, 1920, and 1923 while making six overall appearances. His best finish at the U.S. Open was a tie for fifth in 1919 while making eight cuts overall.

McLean died in an auto accident in 1951.

## PGA Tour wins (2)

## InfoBox

| George McLean | |
| --- | --- |
| George McLean, from a 1921 publication | |
| Personal information | |
| **Full name** | George Louis McLean |
| **Born** | (1893-09-01)September 1, 1893
Yonkers, New York |
| **Died** | March 26, 1951(1951-03-26) (aged 57)
Waterloo, New York |
| **Height** | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| **Sporting nationality** | United States |
| Career | |
| **Status** | Professional |
| **Former tour(s)** | PGA Tour |
| **Professional wins** | 2 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| Best results in major championships
 | |
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T3: 1919, 1920, 1923 |
| U.S. Open | T5: 1919 |
| The Open Championship | T26: 1921 |


title: Platylepas hexastylos

abstract: Platylepas hexastylos is a species of barnacle in the family Platylepadidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean where it lives as a symbiont of such large marine creatures as the dugong, the green sea turtle, the olive ridley sea turtle, or the loggerhead sea turtle.

text:
# Platylepas hexastylos

***Platylepas hexastylos*** is a species of barnacle in the family Platylepadidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean where it lives as a symbiont of such large marine creatures as the dugong (*Dugong dugon*), the green sea turtle (*Chelonia mydas*), the olive ridley sea turtle (*Lepidochelys olivacea*), or the loggerhead sea turtle (*Caretta caretta*).

## Ecology

Some species of barnacle settle on either a solid substrate or on a living host, but others are obligate commensals, and this latter group includes *P. hexastylos*. In a study of stranded turtles on the coast of southern Brazil, *P. hexastylos* and *Chelonibia testudinaria* were the barnacles most often encountered. Some turtles had as many as three species of barnacle, and *P. hexastylos* was often associated with the bay barnacle (*Balanus improvisus*). In general the barnacles were encrusted on the marginal scutes or the rear of the turtle, but *P. hexastylos* encrusted securely on soft tissues causing deep wounds. Up to eight *P. hexastylos* were found on individual turtles.

## InfoBox

| *Platylepas hexastylos* | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Thecostraca |
| Subclass: | Cirripedia |
| Order: | Balanomorpha |
| Family: | Coronulidae |
| Genus: | *Platylepas* |
| Species: | ***P. hexastylos*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Platylepas hexastylos***<br>(Fabricius, 1798) | |
|


title: Venugopal Dhoot

abstract: Venugopal Dhoot is an Indian businessman. According to Forbes magazine, his wealth in 2015 was $1.19 billion, the 61st richest person in India. He is the founder, chairman and managing director of Videocon. He was arrested by the CBI on 26 Dec 2022 in the ICICI Bank Fraud case.

text:
# Venugopal Dhoot

**Venugopal Dhoot** (born in Mumbai, India) is an Indian businessman. According to *Forbes* magazine, his wealth in 2015 was $1.19 billion, the 61st richest person in India. He is the founder, chairman and managing director of Videocon. He was arrested by the CBI on 26 Dec 2022 in the ICICI Bank Fraud case.

## Controversies

In April 2018, authorities issued a lookout circular (LOC) for Dhoot, Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar. The LOC was issued due to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigations into irregularities concerning a 3,250 crore (US$390 million) loan made from ICICI Bank to Videocon Group and the use of shell companies and a quid pro quo arrangement in the case of a 64 crore (US$7.7 million) loan by Dhoot of Videocon to NuPower Renewables, a company which is owned by Deepak Kochhar.

In January 2023 he was granted interim bail by the Bombay High Court on the grounds that his arrest was not in compliance with the law.

## InfoBox

| Venugopal Dhoot | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | (1951-09-30) 30 September 1951 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | College of Engineering, Pune |
| Occupation | Founder & Chairman Videocon |
| Children | Anirudh Dhoot, Surbhi Dhoot. |


title: Nameh-e Banuvan

abstract: Nameh-e Banuvan was a women's magazine published between 1920 and 1921. It was one of the publications that were started following Reza Shah's establishment his rule in Iran. Its founder was Shahnaz Azad who was also the publisher. The magazine was based in Tehran. The magazine was published biweekly and stated its aim as to encourage the emancipation of the Iranian women. It also attempted to remind male audience that women were their primary teachers.

text:
# Nameh-e Banuvan

***Nameh-e Banuvan*** (Persian: *Women's Letters*) was a women's magazine published between 1920 and 1921. It was one of the publications that were started following Reza Shah's establishment his rule in Iran. Its founder was Shahnaz Azad who was also the publisher. The magazine was based in Tehran. The magazine was published biweekly and stated its aim as to encourage the emancipation of the Iranian women. It also attempted to remind male audience that women were their primary teachers.

## InfoBox

*Nameh-e Banuvan*
| Categories | Women's magazine |
| --- | --- |
| Frequency | Biweekly |
| Publisher | Shahnaz Azad |
| Founder | Shahnaz Azad |
| First issue | 1920 |
| Final issue | 1921 |
| Country | Qajar Iran |
| Based in | Tehran |
| Language | Persian |


title: Ortrun Enderlein

abstract: Ortrun Zöphel-Enderlein is a former East German (GDR) luger, and one of the most successful lugers in the 1960s. Enderlein started her working career at the SC Traktor Oberwiesenthal, and was first introduced to luge in her home village of Raschau in the Ore Mountains. In the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, she became the first female luger to win gold at the Olympics. and won the World Cup in 1965 in Davos and 1967 in Hammarstrand. The athletic achievements of the lugers Thomas Köhler and Enderlein were celebrated and politicised in the GDR during the Cold War when the GDR was not recognised by West Germany, and athletic events in either part of Germany with athletes from both countries were not permitted because of the Hallstein Doctrine. The controversial disqualification of Enderlein and two other GDR sportswomen at the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, involving the alleged heating of runners before the race start, was believed by GDR officials to be a staged incident against the first official GDR luge team. After her sports career, Enderlein worked as a sales engineer and later presidium member of the Luge and Bobsleigh Association of the GDR and member of the National Olympic Committee of the GDR.

text:
# Ortrun Enderlein

**Ortrun Zöphel-Enderlein** (born 1 December 1943) is a former East German (GDR) luger, and one of the most successful lugers in the 1960s. Enderlein started her working career at the SC Traktor Oberwiesenthal, and was first introduced to luge in her home village of Raschau in the Ore Mountains. In the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, she became the first female luger to win gold at the Olympics. and won the World Cup in 1965 in Davos and 1967 in Hammarstrand. The athletic achievements of the lugers Thomas Köhler and Enderlein were celebrated and politicised in the GDR during the Cold War when the GDR was not recognised by West Germany, and athletic events in either part of Germany with athletes from both countries were not permitted because of the Hallstein Doctrine.

The controversial disqualification of Enderlein and two other GDR sportswomen at the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, involving the alleged heating of runners before the race start, was believed by GDR officials to be a staged incident against the first official GDR luge team. After her sports career, Enderlein worked as a sales engineer and later presidium member of the Luge and Bobsleigh Association of the GDR and member of the National Olympic Committee of the GDR.

## Personal life and career

Ortrun Enderlein was born to forester Willy Enderlein and Hertha, née Müller. Her father came from Hammerunterwiesenthal, part of Oberwiesenthal, and worked mainly in Reichstein, Oberwiesenthal, Mittweida and Trünzig. After World War II, the family relocated to Raschau in the Ore Mountains. Her older brother is motorcyclist Klaus Enderlein.

Enderlein trained as a mechanic in the Volkseigener Betrieb (VEB) Meßgerätewerk Beierfeld, where she was also active. During her sports career she completed a distance learning course in mechanical engineering with a focus on manufacturing engineering. She later worked as a sales engineer in the VEB Meßgerätewerk Beierfeld. She is married to Bernd Zöphel, the former manager of KUKA Werkzeugbau Schwarzenberg GmbH.

## Sports career

### Beginning

Enderlein began her sporting career in as a handball player for the eight division BSG Rotation Raschau, sometimes playing as goalkeeper in 1964. She was introduced to luge in 1961 in a section coached by Gotthold Meinhold. The section for luge at SC Traktor Oberwiesenthal was founded in 1962 and included Thomas Köhler, Michael Köhler, Klaus-Michael Bonsack and Ilse Geisler. Enderlein said that her fast breakthrough as a top driver was the result of the team, her coach and her training as a mechanic.

### Domestic and international competition

Enderlein competed in five races in the winter of 1961 to 1962 and finished fifth at the German Junior Championships. She debuted at the FIL World Luge Championships 1963 in Imst, but achieved only 24th place after a fall, while her teammate Ilse Geisler won. A few days later, Enderlein finished second behind Geisler, at the international event for the "Ehrenpreis der Stadt Innsbruck" on the newly created Bob-Rodel Igls run in Innsbruck-Igls. Her first major win in a national competition was at the GDR Championships in Oberbärenburg in February 1963; Helga Meusinger, who had previously won at the European Junior Championships in 1961 and 1962 finished second, while Ilse Geisler did not reach the top three because of two falls.

Enderlein debuted and won at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck with the best time in all four heats, each on 30, 31 January and 4 February, with a 0.75 second advantage over Ilse Geisler and Austrian Helene Thurner. She set a new record of 50.87 seconds. During the closing ceremony on 9 February 1964, she was awarded the honour of being flag carrier for the United Team of Germany. Enderlein defended her title at the GDR Championships in Friedrichroda on 21 to 22 February 1964 against Ilse Geisler, and defeated Geisler at the Mitropa Cup. In June 1964, together with Thomas Köhler, who was also victorious at the Olympics, Enderlein was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver in celebration of the Week of Youth and Sports. The GDR politicised its athletic achievements in its fight for recognition as an independent country and for the right to field its own teams at future Olympic Games. Following that, Enderlein was part of the delegation to the Women's Congress in Berlin from 25 to 27 June 1964.

Enderlein luged at the FIL World Luge Championships 1965 on 6 and 7 February in Davos and won her first World Championship title with an advantage of over one second after four heats, ahead of Petra Tierlich, Ilse Geisler and Barbara Winter. A week later at the 1965 GDR Championships in Oberhof she won with a one-second advantage ahead of Petra Tierlich and Ilse Geisler, despite disqualification in the second heat  only two of the three heats were counted. Because of her consistent achievements, Enderlein was ranked third in the vote for East German Sportswoman of the Year, behind Hannelore Suppe and Gabriele Seyfert. The 1966 Luge Championships on the Spießbergbahn in Friedrichroda was cancelled due to föhn winds and the associated thaw; there were also no national championships that year. Enderlein inaugurated a new open-air public bath in Raschau on 22 June 1966.

Enderlein defended her title at the FIL World Luge Championships 1967 in Hammarstrand, achieving the best time in all four heats on 18 and 19 February and achieved a position 1.39 seconds ahead of Petra Tierlich and Helene Thurner. She also set a new luge record of 50.93 seconds. Because of the Hallstein Doctrine, the East German lugers were not permitted to compete at the FIL European Luge Championships 1967 at Königssee. As this was the only European Luge Championships which took place between 1963 and 1969, Enderlein never participated in any. At the GDR Championships in Oberhof that year she finished second behind Anna-Maria Müller.

### Controversy

Enderlein, who at that time was named the "world's most perfect female luger", won at the January 1968 Alpine Cup Race in Imst as the fastest in the three heats. She was a favourite to win at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. After the final third heat on a run in Villard-de-Lans on 11 and 13 February 1968, she was 0.02 seconds ahead of her teammate Anna-Maria Müller, but was disqualified because when Lucjan Świderski, supervisor and vice president of the International Luge Association, tested the runners of the GDR sleighs with snow, the snow allegedly "hissed and vapourised". He concluded that the runners had been illegitimately heated. The second-placed Anna-Maria Müller and the fourth-placed Angela Knösel were also disqualified. Italian Erika Lechner was awarded first place. East German Horst Hörnlein was disqualified for the same reason at the 1967 World Championships, although it was caused by the heating in the tent where he prepared his sleigh for the start, and the runners had not fully cooled.

The allegation of illegitimate heating caused an Olympic scandal, which was especially significant because of the Cold War. While the West German media alleged race fixing, the GDR sports officials under Manfred Ewald blamed the West German Luge Association for staging the incident against the GDR lugers. In the aftermath, the eliminated GDR lugers signed a notarised affidavit in which Enderlein pledged her innocence. According to Stasi documents which came to light in 2006, Świderski had allegedly been bribed by the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria to make the allegation. The question of whether the GDR lugers really cheated remains unresolved, although even the contemporary mainstream media in Germany maintain that the GDR team did not cheat in Grenoble. The president of the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course, Josef Fendt, refused a revaluation of the incident during his term.

### Retirement

After the Olympic Games in Grenoble, Enderlein took first place in three out of five runs at the GDR Championships in Friedrichroda on 24 and 25 February 1968, ahead of Angela Knösel and Anna-Maria Müller. She was again awarded the Silver Patriotic Order of Merit in August 1968 for her athletic achievements and her "special merits for the increase of the international reputation of the GDR". Enderlein's performance suffered because of a shoulder injury. She finished sixth at the FIL World Luge Championships 1969 at Königssee, although she won the last heat, Petra Tierlich was first. A week before, Enderlein had won the 1969 Luge Alpine Cup in Imst, ahead of Lechner and Knösel. At the 1969 GDR Championships in Friedrichsroda, she finished outside the top three and fully retired from luge. Enderlein was named a "Verdienter Meister des Sports" (Deserved Master of Sport) and was awarded the Artur Becker Medal.

Enderlein was a member of the East German National Olympic Committee from 1970 to 1990, and was awarded the "Ehrenpreis" (Honorary Award) in March 1969 and the "Goldene Ehrennadel" (Golden Honorary Needle) in November 1985. She was also a presidium member of the Luge and Bobsleigh Association of the GDR, and a member of the National Front.

Further reading * Volker Kluge: *Das große Lexikon der DDR-Sportler.* Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-348-9, pp. 85, 87–88. (in German)
* *Enderlein, Ortrun verh. Zöphel.* In: Günter Weigel: *Kleine Chronik großer Sportler – Erzgebirger auf die wir stolz sind.* Rockstroh, Aue, 2004, p. 72. (in German)
* Klaus Ullrich: *Gold aus Innsbruck – Skizzen über zwei Olympiasieger und ihren Weg: Ortrun Enderlein, Thomas Köhler.* Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Olympischen Gedankens in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Berlin, 1964. (in German)

## InfoBox

Ortrun Enderlein
| <br>Ortrun Enderlein at the German Luge Championships, in Oberhof, 14 February 1965 | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Medal record | | |
| Women's luge | | |
| Representing   Germany | | |
| Olympic Games | | |
|  | 1964 Innsbruck | Singles |
| Representing   East Germany | | |
| Olympic Games | | |
| **Disqualified** | 1968 Grenoble | Singles |
| World Championships | | |
|  | 1965 Davos | Singles |
|  | 1967 Hammarstrand | Singles |


title: Needle Threading A Button

abstract: Needle Threading A Button is a public sculpture in the Garment District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, located on 191 W 39th St. It is owned buy the Garment District Alliance. It is the district's first permanent art installation, being made out of stainless steel and aluminum.

text:
# Needle Threading A Button

***Needle Threading A Button*** is a public sculpture in the Garment District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, located on 191 W 39th St. It is owned buy the Garment District Alliance. It is the district's first permanent art installation, being made out of stainless steel and aluminum.

## History

The kiosk, which previously accompanied the sculpture and was a resource for information, was created in the 1970s by James Biber, on the Seventh Avenue Plaza of 1411 Broadway. It was renovated in 1996, adding the button and needle sculpture, with the purpose of attracting attention to the kiosk. In 2021, the Garment District Alliance realized that a physical kiosk was no longer necessary due to the prevalence of cell phones, and covered it up, making it a pincushion, later fully replacing the kiosk in 2022. Thus, the small building was removed, allowing people to be able to walk underneath the sculpture, also improving mobility. In addition to the removal of the kiosk, a new sculpture with a yellow button was created, and it officially opened on February 16, 2023, in a celebration with custom Big Button cookies.

## InfoBox

| Needle Threading A Button | |
| --- | --- |
| The sculpture (behind the kiosk) in 2008, prior to its redesignThe sculpture in 2024, after its 2023 restyling | |
| Needle Threading A ButtonNeedle Threading A ButtonNeedle Threading A Button | |
| Artist | Local Projects and UAP Company |
| Completion date | February 16, 2023 (2023-02-16) |
| Medium | Stainless steel (needle and thread)<br>Alumninum (button) |
| Movement | Pop art |
| Subject | Sewing needle and button |
| Dimensions | * 28 ft (8.5 m) tall overall * 32 ft (9.8 m) (needle length) * 15 ft (4.6 m) (button diameter) |
| Location | Manhattan, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°45′15″N 73°59′17″W / 40.7542°N 73.9880°W / 40.7542; -73.9880 |
| Owner | Garment District Alliance |


abstract: A semantic decomposition is an algorithm that breaks down the meanings of phrases or concepts into less complex concepts. The result of a semantic decomposition is a representation of meaning. This representation can be used for tasks, such as those related to artificial intelligence or machine learning. Semantic decomposition is common in natural language processing applications. The basic idea of a semantic decomposition is taken from the learning skills of adult humans, where words are explained using other words. It is based on Meaning-text theory. Meaning-text theory is used as a theoretical linguistic framework to describe the meaning of concepts with other concepts.

text:
# Semantic decomposition (natural language processing)

A **semantic decomposition** is an algorithm that breaks down the meanings of phrases or concepts into less complex concepts. The result of a semantic decomposition is a representation of meaning. This representation can be used for tasks, such as those related to artificial intelligence or machine learning. Semantic decomposition is common in natural language processing applications.

The basic idea of a semantic decomposition is taken from the learning skills of adult humans, where words are explained using other words. It is based on Meaning-text theory. Meaning-text theory is used as a theoretical linguistic framework to describe the meaning of concepts with other concepts.

## Background

Given that an AI does not inherently have language, it is unable to think about the meanings behind the words of a language. An artificial notion of meaning needs to be created for a strong AI to emerge.

Creating an artificial representation of meaning requires the analysis of what meaning is. Many terms are associated with meaning, including semantics, pragmatics, knowledge and understanding or word sense. Each term describes a particular aspect of meaning, and contributes to a multitude of theories explaining what meaning is. These theories need to be analyzed further to develop an artificial notion of meaning best fit for our current state of knowledge.

## Graph representations

Representing meaning as a graph is one of the two ways that both an AI cognition and a linguistic researcher think about meaning (connectionist view). Logicians utilize a formal representation of meaning to build upon the idea of symbolic representation, whereas description logics describe languages and the meaning of symbols. This contention between 'neat' and 'scruffy' techniques has been discussed since the 1970s.

Research has so far identified semantic measures and with that word-sense disambiguation (WSD) - the differentiation of meaning of words - as the main problem of language understanding. As an AI-complete environment, WSD is a core problem of natural language understanding. AI approaches that use knowledge-given reasoning creates a notion of meaning combining the state of the art knowledge of natural meaning with the symbolic and connectionist formalization of meaning for AI. The abstract approach is shown in Figure. First, a connectionist knowledge representation is created as a semantic network consisting of concepts and their relations to serve as the basis for the representation of meaning.

This graph is built out of different knowledge sources like WordNet, Wiktionary, and BabelNET. The graph is created by lexical decomposition that recursively breaks each concept semantically down into a set of semantic primes. The primes are taken from the theory of Natural Semantic Metalanguage, which has been analyzed for usefulness in formal languages. Upon this graph marker passing is used to create the dynamic part of meaning representing thoughts. The marker passing algorithm, where symbolic information is passed along relations form one concept to another, uses node and edge interpretation to guide its markers. The node and edge interpretation model is the symbolic influence of certain concepts.

Future work uses the created representation of meaning to build heuristics and evaluate them through capability matching and agent planning, chatbots or other applications of natural language understanding.


title: Walker Creek (Apache County, Arizona)

abstract: Walker Creek is a stream in Apache County, Arizona. Its mouth is at an elevation of 4,688 feet at its confluence with Chinle Creek. Its source is located at 36°41′28″N 109°15′04″W, the confluence of Alcove Canyon and Tah Chin Lini Canyon in the Carrizo Mountains, from which it flows west and northwest to Chinle Creek at 36°57′42″N 109°41′35″W. Hogansaani Spring, a tributary, is located on the south side of Walker Creek, at an elevation of 5,102 feet (1,555 m), midway downstream Walker Creek to its confluence with Chinle Creek.

text:
# Walker Creek (Apache County, Arizona)

**Walker Creek** is a stream in Apache County, Arizona. Its mouth is at an elevation of 4,688 feet (1,429 meters) at its confluence with Chinle Creek. Its source is located at 36°41′28″N 109°15′04″W / 36.69111°N 109.25111°W / 36.69111; -109.25111, the confluence of Alcove Canyon and Tah Chin Lini Canyon in the Carrizo Mountains, from which it flows west and northwest to Chinle Creek at 36°57′42″N 109°41′35″W / 36.96167°N 109.69306°W / 36.96167; -109.69306. Hogansaani Spring, a tributary, is located on the south side of Walker Creek, at an elevation of 5,102 feet (1,555 m), midway downstream Walker Creek to its confluence with Chinle Creek.

## History

Walker Creek was named in 1915 by Herbert E. Gregory for Captain Walker's Expedition of 1859. Part of its length was followed by the Armijo Route of the Old Spanish Trail.


title: George McLear

abstract: George McLear was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

text:
# George McLear

**George McLear** (21 August 1891 – 26 March 1950) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

## InfoBox

| George McLear | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Personal information | | | |
| Full name | George McLear | | |
| Date of birth | (1891-08-21)21 August 1891 | | |
| Place of birth | Dromana, Victoria | | |
| Date of death | 26 March 1950(1950-03-26) (aged 58) | | |
| Place of death | Bundoora, Victoria | | |
| Playing career1 | | | |
| Years | **Club** | **Games (Goals)** |
| 1914 | Richmond | 3 (0) |
| 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1914. | | | |
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | | | |


title: Mart McQuaid

abstract: Mortimer Martin McQuaid, was a professional baseball second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball for the 1891 St. Louis Browns and 1898 Washington Senators.

text:
# Mart McQuaid

**Mortimer Martin McQuaid**  (June 28, 1861 – March 5, 1928), was a professional baseball second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball for the 1891 St. Louis Browns and 1898 Washington Senators.

## InfoBox

| Mart McQuaid | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| **Second baseman/Outfielder** | |
| **Born:** (1861-06-28)June 28, 1861
Chicago | |
| **Died:** March 5, 1928(1928-03-05) (aged 66)
Chicago | |
| **Batted:** Unknown**Threw:** Unknown | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 15, 1891, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 25, 1898, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .267 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 1 |
|  | |
| Teams | |
|  | |


title: Yvonne Thomas

abstract: Yvonne Thomas was an American abstract artist.

text:
# Yvonne Thomas

**Yvonne Thomas** (1913 Nice – August 7, 2009 Aspen, Colorado) was an American abstract artist.

## Education

She enrolled at the Art Students League in 1938, where she studied with Vaclav Vytlacil and Dmitri Romanovsky. She attended the Ozenfant School of Fine Art and studied with the French Cubist, Amandé Ozenfant. In 1948, Thomas attended the Subject of the Artists School. There she interacted with William Baziotes, David Hare, Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Richard Pousette-Dart, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still.

In 1950, Thomas studied with Hofmann at his school in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She was a member of the exclusive Artist's Club, which was only for male artists when it began in 1949.

## Exhibitions

In 1951, Thomas took part in the *Ninth Street Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture*. Thomas was one of the few women artists to be included in all five Ninth Street shows.

Thomas' first solo exhibition occurred in 1954 at Hendler Gallery, Philadelphia. Sam Feinstein noted that Thomas seemed, "not at all concerned with the opposition of horizontals and verticals,” but instead created works consisting of “soft, curvilinear brushings harmonized into a pictorial lyricism.”

In 1955, Thomas was one of eleven artists represented in a show at the Riverside Museum, New York. She exhibited alongside Franz Kline, Milton Avery, Kenzo Okada, and Leon Polk Smith. In Howard Devree's review of the exhibition, he gave recognition to Thomas', "personal color harmonies."

In 1956, Thomas had her first solo show at Tanager Gallery. *Art News* commented that the works exhibited demonstrated “deliberately selected forms.”

In 1960, Thomas had her second New York show, which was held at the Esther Stuttman Gallery in New York. When Thomas had another solo exhibition in 1961, held at Galerie Agnes Lefort in Montreal. In 1962 through 1964, Thomas was featured in one-artist shows in New York; Aspen, Colorado; and East Hampton, New York. By the time her work was featured at the Rose Fried Gallery in May 1965, she had developed the more geometric and structural approach of the art in the current exhibition.

Thomas continued to paint and actively exhibit her art until the end of her life.

In 2016, she was one of the artists included in *Women of Abstract Expressionism* exhibition catalogue, a traveling exhibition organized by the Denver Art Museum. The accompanying catalogue, consisting of essays by several scholars, celebrated “the special contributions of women to Abstract Expressionism,” providing an “essential corrective” to what has been the “unequal accounting of women’s contributions” to the movement.

In 2023 her work was included in the exhibition *Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970* at the Whitechapel Gallery in London.

Her work is in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Fonds national d’Art Contemporain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and the Riverside Museum, New York City. Her papers are held at the Archives of American Art.

## Personal History

She married Leonard Thomas Jr. whose mother was the poet Blanche Oelrichs and half-sister Diana Barrymore; they had two daughters.

## Selected Collections

## InfoBox

| Yvonne Thomas | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Born | 1913 (1913)
Nice, France |
| Died | August 7, 2009(2009-08-07) (aged 95–96)
Aspen, Colorado |
| Nationality | French, American |
| Education | Cooper Union, 1940; Art Students League, 1940; Ozenfant School of Art, 1942; Subject of the Artist School, 1948-1949 |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Abstract Expressionism |