User:Parcly Taxel/sandbox
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22 May TFAs[edit]
Stanislaw Koniecpolski was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic), magnate, official (starost and castellan) and hetman - second highest military commander of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Koniecpolski lived a life that involved almost constant warfare and during his military career he won many victories. Before he reached the age of 20, he had fought in the Dimitriads and the Moldavian Magnate Wars, where he was taken captive by the forces of Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Cecora in 1620. When released in 1623 he soon defeated Ottoman vassals the Tatars in 1624. With inferior forces he fought Swedish forces of Gustav Adolphus to a stalemate in Prussia during the second phase of the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629). He defeated a major Turkish invasion at Kamieniec Podolski in Ukraine in 1634 and during his life led many other successful campaigns against the rebellious Cossacks and invading Tatars. He is considered to be one of the most skilled and famous military commanders in the history of Poland and Lithuania.
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James II became King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland on 6 February 1685. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland. Some of his subjects distrusted his religious policies and alleged despotism, leading a group of them to depose him in the Revolution of 1688 (the "Glorious Revolution"). He was replaced not by his Roman Catholic son, James Francis Edward, but by his Protestant daughter and son-in-law, Mary II and William III, who became joint rulers in 1689. The belief that James—not William III or Mary II—was the legitimate ruler became known as Jacobitism. James did not himself attempt to return to the Throne, instead living the rest of his life under the protection of King Louis XIV of France. His son James Francis Edward Stuart and his grandson Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) attempted to restore the Jacobite line after James's death, but failed. (More...)
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Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Paul is a chief architect of what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s. While remaining among the most pop-friendly of today's singer-songwriters with songs that have appeared in movies and on television, Paul has bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than many of his songwriting peers. To date, Paul has released more than ten albums and has been the recipient of 13 Boston Music Awards, considered by some to be a pinnacle of contemporary acoustic music success. He has published a book of original lyrics, poems, and drawings and released a DVD that includes a live performance, guitar instruction, and a road-trip documentary. As a touring musician, Paul plays close to 200 dates each year and his extensive club and coffeehouse touring, together with radio airplay, has brought him a solid national following. (more...)
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Edward Low was a notorious pirate during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. He was born around 1690 into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief and a scoundrel from a young age. Low moved to Boston, Massachusetts as a young man. Following the death of his wife during childbirth in late 1719, he became a pirate two years later, operating off the coasts of New England, the Azores, and in the Caribbean. He captained a number of ships, usually maintaining a small fleet of three or four. Low and his pirate crews captured at least a hundred ships during his short career, burning most of them. Although he was only active for three years, Low remains notorious as one of the most vicious pirates of the age, with a reputation for violently torturing his victims before killing them. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described Low as "savage and desperate", and a man of "amazing and grotesque brutality". The New York Times called him a torturer, whose methods would have "done credit to the ingenuity of the Spanish Inquisition in its darkest days". The circumstances of Low's death, which took place around 1724, have been the subject of much speculation. (more...)
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Lawrence Sullivan Ross (1838–1898) was the 19th Governor of Texas, a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and a president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. As a teenager, Ross attended Baylor University and Florence Wesleyan University. After graduation Ross became a Texas Ranger, and in 1860 led troops in the Battle of Pease River, where he rescued Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been captured by the Comanches as a child. When Texas joined the Confederacy, Ross joined the Confederate States Army. He participated in 135 battles and skirmishes and became one of the youngest Confederate generals. Following the Civil War, Ross briefly served as sheriff of McLennan County before resigning to participate in the 1875 Texas Constitutional Convention. With the exception of a two-year term as a state senator, Ross spent the next decade focused on his farm and ranch concerns. In 1887, he became the 19th governor of Texas. During his two terms, he oversaw the dedication of the new Texas State Capitol, resolved the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, and became the only Texas governor to call a special session to deal with a treasury surplus. Days after leaving office, Ross became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. After his death, the Texas legislature created Sul Ross State University in his honor. (more...)
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The BP Pedestrian Bridge is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by architect Frank Gehry, it opened along with the rest of Millennium Park on July 16, 2004. Gehry had been courted by the city to design the bridge and the neighboring Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and eventually agreed to do so after the Pritzker family funded the Pavilion. Named for energy firm BP, which donated $5 million toward its construction, it is the first Gehry-designed bridge to have been completed. BP Bridge is described as snakelike because of its curving form. Designed to bear a heavy load without structural problems caused by its own weight, it has won awards for its use of sheet metal. The pedestrian bridge serves as a noise barrier for traffic sounds from Columbus Drive. It is designed without handrails, using stainless steel parapets instead. The total length is 935 feet (285 m), with a five percent slope on its inclined surfaces that makes it barrier free and accessible to all. Although the bridge closes in winter because ice cannot be safely removed from its wooden walkway, it has received favorable reviews for its design and aesthetics. (more...)
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God Hates Us All is the ninth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on September 11, 2001, the album received mixed critical reviews, although it entered the Billboard 200 at number 28. Recorded in three months at The Warehouse Studio in Canada, God Hates Us All includes the Grammy Award-nominated "Disciple" and is the band's last album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph. Guitarist Kerry King wrote approximately 80% of the lyrics, adopting a different approach from earlier recordings by including prevalent themes such as religion, murder, revenge, and self-control. Limiting the lyrics to topics which everyone could relate to, King wished to explore more in depth, realistic subject matter. The band experimented musically by recording two songs with seven-string guitars, and a further two with drop B tunings. The album's release was delayed due to the graphic nature of its artwork for which slip covers were created to cover the original artwork, difficulties encountered during audio mixing, and the change of distributor by the band's record label during the release period. (more...)
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Ahalya is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi in Hindu mythology. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra, cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of the god Vishnu). Created by the god Brahma as the most beautiful woman, Ahalya was married to the much older Gautama. In the earliest full narrative, when Indra comes disguised as her husband, Ahalya sees through his disguise but nevertheless accepts his advances. Ahalya and her lover (or rapist) Indra are cursed by Gautama. Although early texts describe how Ahalya must atone by undergoing severe penance while remaining invisible to the world and how she is purified by offering Rama hospitality, in the popular retelling developed over time, Ahalya is cursed to become a stone and regains her human form after she is brushed by Rama's foot. Medieval story-tellers often focus on Ahalya's deliverance by Rama, which is seen as proof of the saving grace of God. Her story has been retold numerous times in the scriptures and lives on in modern-age poetry and short stories, as well as in dance and drama. Ahalya is extolled as the first of the panchakanya ("five virgins"), archetypes of female chastity whose names are believed to dispel sin when recited. While some praise her loyalty to her husband and her undaunted acceptance of the curse and gender norms, others condemn her adultery. (more...)
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Richard Wagner (1813–83) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor primarily known for his operas. His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs—musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas or plot elements. These innovations greatly influenced the development of classical music; his Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music. Wagner revolutionised opera through his synthesis of the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, first fully realised in his four-opera Ring cycle. He had his own opera house built at Bayreuth, containing many novel design features, where his most important stage works continue to be performed in an annual festival run by his descendants. Wagner's controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment in recent decades, especially where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effects of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century. (Full article...)
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Hurricane Ginger was the second-longest lasting Atlantic hurricane on record. The eighth tropical cyclone and fifth hurricane of the 1971 season, Ginger spent 27.25 days as a tropical cyclone and was classified as a hurricane for 20 of those days. The storm formed northeast of the Bahamas, and for its first nine days tracked generally eastward or northeastward while gradually strengthening to peak winds of 110 mph (175 km/h). On September 14, Ginger slowed and turned to a general westward track, passing near Bermuda on September 23. There, the hurricane produced gusty winds and high waves, but no damage. While over the western Atlantic Ocean, Ginger became the last target of Project Stormfury, which sought to weaken hurricanes by depositing silver iodide into tropical cyclone rainbands. Ginger ultimately struck North Carolina on September 30 as a minimal hurricane, lashing the coastline with gusty winds. Heavy rainfall flooded towns and caused damage estimated at $10 million. Further north, moderate precipitation and winds spread through the Mid-Atlantic states, although no significant damage was reported outside of North Carolina. (Full article...)
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Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, characterized by two pairs of continuously growing incisors, one pair in the upper and one in the lower jaw. About forty percent of all mammal species are rodents, and they are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica. They are the most diversified mammalian order, including mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including manmade environments. There are arboreal, burrowing, and semi-aquatic species. While the largest species, the capybara, can weigh as much as 66 kg (146 lb), many rodents weigh less than 100 g (3.5 oz) and have robust bodies, short limbs and long tails. They use their sharp incisors to gnaw food, defend themselves, and shape their habitat. Most eat seeds or other plant material. Many species live in societies with complex forms of communication. Rodents can be monogamous, polygynous, or promiscuous. The rodent fossil record dates back to the Paleocene on the supercontinent of Laurasia. (Full article...)
Frigatebirds are a family—Fregatidae—of seabirds found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five living species are classified in a single genus, Fregata. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked tails and long hooked bills. Their pointed wings can span up to 2.3 metres (7.5 ft), with the largest wing area to body weight ratio of any bird. Females have white bellies and males have a distinctive red gular pouch, which they inflate during the breeding season. Able to soar for days on wind currents, frigatebirds spend most of the day in flight hunting for food. They mainly eat fish and squid that have been chased to the surface by large predators such as tuna. Frigatebirds are kleptoparasites as they occasionally rob other seabirds for food, and are known to snatch seabird chicks from the nest. Three of the five species are widespread, while two are endangered and restrict their breeding habitat to one small island each. The oldest fossils date to the early Eocene, around 50 million years ago; classified in the genus Limnofregata, those birds had shorter less-hooked bills and longer legs, and lived in a freshwater environment. (Full article...)
A vampire is a being from folklore who subsists on the blood or life essence of the living. In European folklore, vampires were shroud-wearing undead beings who often visited loved ones and caused mischief in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. Before the early 19th century, they were described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire. The term vampire was popularised in the West in the early 18th century, after vampire legends from oral traditions of ethnic groups of the Balkans and Eastern Europe were recorded and published. The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori; the story was highly successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century. The modern basis of the vampire legend comes from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, considered the quintessential vampire novel. The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century. (Full article...)
Elizabeth David (1913–1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she helped revitalise home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes. Born to an upper-class family, she studied art in Paris and travelled to Greece, where she was nearly trapped by the German invasion in 1941. Returning to England in 1946, she was dismayed by the contrast between the bad food served in Britain and the simple foods she had enjoyed in France, Greece and Egypt. She wrote magazine articles about Mediterranean cooking, and in 1950 published A Book of Mediterranean Food. Her recipes called for ingredients such as aubergines, basil, figs, garlic, olive oil and saffron, which at the time were scarcely available in Britain. By the 1960s David was a major influence on domestic and professional British cooking. Between 1950 and 1984 she published eight books; after her death a further four were published. (Full article...)
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Cortinarius violaceus, the violet webcap, is a fungus found predominantly in conifer forests in North America and deciduous forests in Europe. The fruit bodies are dark purple mushrooms with caps up to 15 cm (6 in) across, sporting gills underneath. The stalk measures 6 to 12 centimetres (2+1⁄3 to 4+2⁄3 in) by 1 to 2 centimetres (3⁄8 to 3⁄4 in), sometimes with a thicker base. The dark flesh has a smell reminiscent of cedar wood. Though they are edible, the mushrooms' appearance is more distinctive than their taste. The species forms symbiotic (mycorrhizal) relationships with the roots of various plants. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and has undergone several name changes. Other populations once identified as C. violaceus or close to that species have now been described as new and separate species, such as C. palatinus, C. neotropicus, C. altissimus, C. kioloensis and C. hallowellensis. (Full article...)
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The 1962 Tour de France was the 49th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 4,274-kilometre (2,656 mi) race consisted of 22 stages, including two split stages, starting in Nancy on 24 June and finishing at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 15 July. For the first time since 1929, the Tour was contested by trade teams instead of national teams. Victory in the individual time trial of stage 20 put Jacques Anquetil (pictured) in the general classification leader's yellow jersey, which he held until the conclusion of the race to win his third Tour de France, defending his title. Jef Planckaert placed second, and Raymond Poulidor third. In the other race classifications, Rudi Altig won the points classification, and Federico Bahamontes won the mountains classification. Anquetil's team Saint-Raphaël–Helyett–Hutchinson won the team classification, and Eddy Pauwels won the award for most combative rider. Altig and Emile Daems won the most stages, with three each. (Full article...)