StickySpade: June 2004

Wyspianski, Stanislaw

Wyspianski's early education included classical literature and fine arts. In 1890 he received a grant enabling him

Paralysis

Also called �palsy� loss or impairment of voluntary muscular movement caused by structural abnormalities of nervous or muscular tissue or by metabolic disturbances in neuromuscular function. Paralysis can affect the legs and lower part of the body (paraplegia) or both arms and both legs (quadriplegia). Sometimes the muscles of the lower face, arm, and leg on only one side of the body

Sculpture

A form of aesthetic expression in which hard or plastic materials are worked (as by carving, molding, or welding) into three-dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to contexts that envelop the spectator. An enormous variety of media may be used, including clay, wax,

Haakon Iii Sverresson

During his short reign he tried to heal the breach between the crown and the church, so that exiled bishops returned to their sees. It was said that the sickness which caused his sudden death was the result of poison put into his drink at the instigation of his Swedish stepmother, Margaret.

Sarada Script

Writing system used for the Kashmiri language by the educated Hindu minority in Kashmir and the surrounding valleys. It is taught in the Hindu schools there but is not used in printing books. Originating in the 8th century AD, Sarada descended from the Gupta script of North India, from which Devanagari (q.v.) also developed. The earliest inscriptions in Sarada script, found

Zanuck, Darryl F.

Abandoned by his parents at age 13, Zanuck joined the U.S. Army and fought in Belgium during World War I. He worked as a steelworker, garment factory foreman, and a professional boxer while pursuing his career as a

Adams, John

(For additional writings by Adams, see The Meaning of the American Revolution; On the Importance of Property for the Suffrage; and Party Divisions in America.)

O'malley, Walter

O'Malley received his law degree from Fordham University in New York City in 1930 and became a director of the Dodgers in 1932 and legal adviser in 1943. He became an owner with two other

Lipscomb, Gene

Byname of �Eugene Allen Lipscomb� American gridiron football player and larger-than-life �character� whose exploits helped make professional football the most popular sport in the United States during the late 1950s. A 6-foot 6-inch (2-metre), 284-pound (129-kg) defensive tackle, Lipscomb joked that he gathered up all the opponent's players and �peeled them off� until

Dow Chemical Company

Dow Chemical Company was founded in 1897 by chemist Herbert H. Dow of Midland to supplement the Midland Chemical Company (1890) and Dow Process Company (1895). Created in part because Dow required

Black Duck

(Anas rubripes), highly prized game bird (family Anatidae) of eastern North America, inhabiting salt, brackish, and freshwater marshes, as well as lakes, rivers, and beaver ponds. These ducks winter from Nebraska to Texas and along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Florida; their preference for seafoods such as periwinkles and mussels enables them to winter so far

Cabriole

Ballet jump, formerly performed only by men, in which the dancer beats the calves of the legs together in the air, with a scissors-like movement. When the beat occurs, the legs are extended at either a 45� or 90� angle to the body at the front, side, or back. The dancer may land on one foot, then bring the second foot down to fifth position - cabriole ferm�e (�closed cabriole�) - or may complete

Wabash River

Largest southward-flowing tributary of the Ohio River, rising in Grand Lake, western Ohio. It flows generally westward across Indiana past the cities of Huntington, Wabash, Logansport, and Lafayette, then southward to Terre Haute. Just south of that city it forms a 200-mile (320-kilometre) boundary between Indiana and Illinois and then enters the Ohio in the southwestern corner

Osa

City and administrative centre of Osa rayon (sector), Perm oblast (province), Russia, on the left bank of the Kama River near its confluence with the Tulva River. The city is about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of the city of Perm. Originally a village of Khanty (Ostyak), a Ugric-speaking people, it became the Russian town of Nikolskaya Sloboda in 1557 and was renamed Osa in 1737. Yemelyan Pugachov

Zonda

The name zonda in Argentina also refers to a hot, humid wind that blows from the north over the plains and precedes a low-pressure centre.

Kwangtung

Chinese (Wade-Giles) �Kuang-tung, �(Pinyin) �Guangdong, � sheng (province) of South China. It is the southernmost of the mainland provinces and constitutes the region through which South China's trade is primarily channeled. Kwangtung has one of the longest coastlines of any province and has an area of 76,100 square miles (197,100 square kilometres). It is bounded by the Chuang Autonomous Region of Kwangsi to the west, by the provinces of

Pottery, Archaic period (c. 750 - c. 480 BC)

By c. 550 BC Athens had once again become the principal centre of pottery manufacture in Greece, having ousted its Corinthian rivals from the overseas markets. Its success is at least partially due to a sudden improvement in technique, for its potters had learned how to obtain the familiar orange-red surface of their vases by mixing a proportion of ruddle, or red ochre, with

Kokkola

Founded in 1620, Kokkola became the major seaport and trade centre of Ostrobothnia during the 18th century. In 1854 the British tried unsuccessfully to capture the city. Notable buildings include a 15th-century stone church of Kaarlela, the town hall (1845), and the Renlund

Takla Makan Desert

The Takla Makan is flanked by high mountain ranges: the Tien Shan in the north, the Kunlun Mountains in the south, and the Pamirs in the west. There is a gradual transition to the Lop Nor basin in the east, and, in the south and west, between the sandy desert and the mountains, lies a band of sloping desert lowland composed of pebble-detritus deposits.

Henry Viii

King of England (1509 - 47), who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. His six wives were, successively, Catherine of Aragon (the mother of the future queen Mary I), Anne Boleyn (the mother of the future queen Elizabeth I), Jane Seymour (the mother of Henry's successor, Edward VI), Anne of Cleves, Catherine

Zodiacal Light

Band of light in the night sky, thought to be sunlight reflected from meteoroids concentrated in the plane of the zodiac, or ecliptic. The light is seen in the west after twilight and in the east before dawn, being easily visible in the tropics where the ecliptic is approximately vertical. In mid-northern latitudes it is best seen in the evening in February and March

Belasco, David

As a child actor, Belasco appeared with Charles Kean in Richard III and later played in stock companies touring the mining camps. During

Aram, Eugene

In 1745, when Aram was schoolmaster at Knaresborough, a man named Daniel Clark, his intimate friend, after obtaining a considerable quantity of goods from tradesmen, disappeared.

Nur Al-din

Nur al-Din succeeded his father as the atabeg (ruler) of Halab in 1146, owing nominal allegiance to the 'Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Before his rule, a major reason for the success of the Crusaders was the disunity of the Muslim rulers of the region, who

Arfersiorfik Fjord

Fjord in western Greenland, extending east from Davis Strait to the inland icecap. It is 95 miles (152 km) long with a maximum width of 15 miles (24 km). Its arms receive several glaciers, including the Nordenski�lds. Niaqornaarsuk, a settlement on the northern shore near the fjord's mouth, was the starting point of an expedition in 1883 led by Adolf Erik Nordenski�ld.

Wright, Wilbur And Orville

American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight (1903) and built and flew the first fully practical airplane (1905).

Anderson, John Henry

Described on playbills as �Professor Anderson, the Wizard of the North,� he first performed in 1831. Seasons at Edinburgh (1837) and Glasgow (1838 - 39) followed. In London (1840) he made use of the most elaborate collection of magical apparatus

Quant, Mary

Quant attended Goldsmith's College of Art, London, and spent two years designing hats for the Danish milliner Erik. In partnership with her husband and

Intercostalis Muscle

In human physiology, any of a series of short muscles that extend between the ribs and serve to draw them together during inspiration and forced expiration or expulsive actions. A set of external and internal intercostalis muscles is found between each vertical pair of ribs on each side of the chest.

Elgin

On a hill to the west stood the 12th-century castle that in 1291 marked the northern limit of the English occupation of Scotland. The castle was destroyed after the Battle of Bannockburn (1314), which

Earring

A personal ornament worn pendent from the ear, usually suspended by means of a ring or hook passing through a pierced hole in the lobe of the ear or, in modern times, often by means of a screwed clip on the lobe. The impulse to decorate or to modify the appearance of the ear seems to be almost universal. In general, usage appears to call for wearing earrings in pairs, the two

Tapestry, Collection catalogs

Important illustrated catalogs of tapestry collections include: A.S. Cavallo, Tapestries of Europe and Colonial Peru in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2 vol. (1967); D. Du Bon, Tapestries from the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1964); H.C. Marillier, The Tapestries at Hampton Court Palace, London, 2nd ed. (1962), and with A.J. Wace, Marlborough Tapestries at Blenheim Palace (1968); N.Y. Biryukova, The Leningrad Hermitage Gothic and Renaissance Tapestries (1966); M. Crick Kuntziger, Musees royaux d'Art et d'Histoire: Catalogues des tapisseries (1956); A.m. Erkelens, Wandtapijten I. Late Goteik en vroege Renaissance, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (1962); and A.F. Kendrick, Catalogue of Tapestries at the Victoria and Albert Museum (1924). Tapestries of the second half of the 20th century are shown in numerous exhibition catalogs, such as Erika Sellman-B�sching, Tapisserien 1970 bis 1981 (1981); F. Vialet, Tapisseries contemporaines d'Aubusson (1981); Swiss Tapestries, Artists of Today (1981).

Interior Design, Design and presentation

After the completion of a program and the acceptance of the program by the clients, the actual design work can begin. Designers usually work on many alternative schemes. A single space such as a restaurant or a carefully designed store takes many days of preliminary design studies. As the size of the job increases, the interrelation of individual spaces increases

Lanciani, Rodolfo Amadeo

At 20 Lanciani assisted in the excavation of Emperor Trajan's harbour at Porto, and his description (1868) of that site remains

Luther, Martin, Luther's questioning of authority

Eck was able to go off to Rome with new prestige to give sharpness to the process of Luther's official condemnation. Luther had now to examine the further implications of his actions to date, in relation to the authority of the church, of councils, and of Scripture; his correspondence shows that he was reaching something like a crisis in his attitude to papal

Earth, Electrical conductivity

The electrical conductivity at the Earth's surface is extremely variable and is largely dominated by the presence of water. Laboratory measurements, for example, show that the conductivity of seawater is close to four siemens per metre (S/m; or a resistivity of 0.23 ohm-metre), whereas dry rock exhibits conductivities in the range 10-11 to 10-9 siemens per metre. When water is present

Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan literature

Tibetan was developed as a literary language from the 7th century onward as a result of earlier cultural contacts with neighbouring Buddhist countries - namely, the small states of the Takla Makan, especially Khotan (Ho-t'ien) and the kingdoms of ancient northwestern India (modern Gilgit, Kashmir, and Kullu) and Nepal. Scripts of Indian origin were in use in these countries,

United States, Madison as president and the War of 1812

In historical retrospect, the most important aspect of the peace settlement was an agreement to set up a boundary commission for the Canadian border, which could thenceforth be left unguarded. It was not the end of Anglo-American hostility, but the agreement marked the advent of an era of mutual trust. The conclusion of the War of 1812, which has sometimes been called the Second War of American Independence, marked a historical cycle. It resulted in a pacification of the old feelings of pain and resentment against Great Britain and her people - still for many Americans a kind of paternal relationship. And, by freeing them of anxieties on this front, it also freed Americans to look to the west.

Lanai

Island, Maui county, Hawaii, U.S., across the Auau channel from Maui Island. Formed by the extinct volcano Palawai (3,370 feet [1,027 m]), it has an area of 140 square miles (363 square km). In 1854 a group of Mormon elders formed a colony there that failed 10 years later. Lanai was used primarily for cattle grazing until 1922, when it was purchased by the Dole Corporation for use as a pineapple plantation. In 1961, Castle

Peter Nolasco, Saint

Peter dedicated himself to helping the poor.

Infection, Rabies

Rabies virus is associated with dogs, foxes, jackals, and wolves, among other smaller animals, and has an odd association with vampire bats. In the plains of South America, these bats feed on the blood of cattle, and the death of cattle from paralytic rabies is a serious economic problem there. The bats themselves become rabid and bite other bats, but the spread of rabies

Tabla

Pair of small drums fundamental (since the 18th century) to Hindustani music of northern India. The higher-pitched of the two drums, which is played with the right hand, is also referred to individually as the tabla or as the daya (dahina or dayan, meaning �right�). It is a single-headed drum usually of wood and having the profile of two truncated cones bulging at the centre,

Delhi, Education

The growth of modern education in Delhi has kept pace with the expansion of the city's population. Primary-level education is nearly universal, and a large proportion of students also attend secondary school. Education for women at all levels has advanced at a much faster pace than it has for men. Among the institutions of higher learning, the most important is the

Roberts, Isaac

In 1883 Roberts began experimenting with astronomical photography, taking pictures of stars, the Orion and Andromeda nebulae, and the Pleiades cluster. Although the photographs proved difficult to interpret, they were revealing.

Stakman, Elvin Charles

Stakman received his B.A. (1906), M.A. (1910), and Ph.D. (1913) from the University of Minnesota. In 1909 he became instructor in the newly established department of plant pathology, and in 1940 he became

Angus

Formerly �Forfarshire� council area and historic county in eastern Scotland, bounded on the east by the North Sea and on the south by the Firth of Tay. The council area lies entirely within the historic county of Angus, which also includes the city of Dundee and a small area south of Coupar Angus in the Perth and Kinross council area. The chief city of the county is Dundee, which constitutes a

Sangihe Islands

Indonesian �Kepulauan Sangihe�, also spelled �Sangi� islands, constituting Sangihe Talaud kabupaten (regency), off the northeastern tip of Celebes, Indonesia. The islands are administered from Manado, the capital of Sulawesi Utara provinsi (�province�). The island group comprises Sangihe, Siau, Tahulandang, Biaro, and a number of islets, with a total area of 408 square miles (1,056 square km). The capital of the regency is Tahuna (Taruna),

Aschoff, Karl Albert Ludwig

German pathologist who recognized the phagocytic (capable of engulfing bacteria and other substances) activity of certain cells found in diverse tissues and named them the reticuloendothelial system (1924). He also described (1904) the inflammatory nodule (called Aschoff's bodies, or nodules) in heart muscle

Computers And Information Systems, E-Commerce.

General

Title and rank of a senior army officer, usually one who commands units larger than a regiment or its equivalent or units consisting of more than one arm of the service. Frequently, however, a general is a staff officer who does not command troops but who plans their operations in the field. General, lieutenant general, and major general are the first, second, and third

Alexander I

Alexander probably acknowledged King Henry

Rawls, Betsy

Rawls began playing golf at 17, capping her amateur career by placing second in the 1950 U.S. Women's Open behind the all-time great Babe Zaharias. Turning professional in 1951, Rawls won that year's Open, repeating her victory in 1953, 1957, and 1960. Other major professional achievements

Laguna Beach

City, Orange county, southwestern California, U.S., on the Pacific Ocean. Originally called Lagonas (for the two lagoons at the head of Laguna Canyon), it was founded in 1887 as Lagona. Renamed Laguna Beach (1904), it developed as a coastal resort and art colony. Since 1932 the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters have been held at Irvine Bowl, a natural amphitheatre just east of the city.

Hugo, Victor (-marie)

Poet, novelist, and dramatist who was the most important of the French Romantic writers. Though regarded in France as one of that country's greatest poets, he is better known abroad for such novels as Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) and Les Mis�rables (1862).

Aedui

Celtic tribe of central Gaul (occupying most of what was later Burgundy), chiefly responsible for the diplomatic situation exploited by Julius Caesar when he began his conquests in that region in 58 BC. The Aedui had been supported by Rome since 121 BC, but they were heavily defeated in about 61 BC by the Sequani and lost their revenue from tolls on the Arar (Sa�ne) River. Appealing to

StickySpade

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Wyspianski, Stanislaw

Paralysis

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Sculpture

Haakon Iii Sverresson

Monday, June 28, 2004

Sarada Script

Zanuck, Darryl F.

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Adams, John

Saturday, June 26, 2004

O'malley, Walter

Lipscomb, Gene

Friday, June 25, 2004

Dow Chemical Company

Black Duck

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Cabriole

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Wabash River

Osa

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Zonda

Kwangtung

Monday, June 21, 2004

Pottery, Archaic period (c. 750 - c. 480 BC)

Kokkola

Sunday, June 20, 2004

Takla Makan Desert

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Henry Viii

Zodiacal Light

Friday, June 18, 2004

Belasco, David

Aram, Eugene

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Nur Al-din

Arfersiorfik Fjord

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Wright, Wilbur And Orville

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Anderson, John Henry

Monday, June 14, 2004

Quant, Mary

Intercostalis Muscle

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Elgin

Earring

Saturday, June 12, 2004

Tapestry, Collection catalogs

Interior Design, Design and presentation

Friday, June 11, 2004

Lanciani, Rodolfo Amadeo

Luther, Martin, Luther's questioning of authority

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Earth, Electrical conductivity

Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan literature

Wednesday, June 09, 2004