title: Curator

text: Community members involved in community curation are likely not trained as museum professionals, but have vested interests in the outcomes of curatorial projects. Community curation is a response to the 19th century "information transmission" model of learning, in which museums are sources of expert knowledge and visitors are the recipients of that expertise. Community curation seeks not to abandon expertise, but to broaden definitions of expertise to "include broader domains of experience" that visitors bring to museums.


title: Curator

text: Community curation practices are varied. Organizations have conducted community outreach at the beginning of exhibition projects, and convenes community advisory committees at various stages in the curatorial process. or have accepted exhibit proposals from community members and trained them in curatorial skills to co-create exhibits. Such efforts to allow communities to participate in curation can require "more not less expertise from museum staff".


title: Curator

text: The term "literary curator" has been used to describe persons who work in the field of poetry, such as former 92nd Street Y director Karl Kirchwey.


title: Curator

text: More recently, advances in new technologies have led to a further widening of the role of curator. This has been a focus in major art institutions internationally and has become an object of academic study and research.


title: Curator

text: In the same way that a museum curator may acquire objects of relevance or an art curator may select or interpret a work of art, the injection of technology and impact of social media into every aspect of society has seen the emergence of technology curators.


title: Curator

text: Technology curators are people who are able to disentangle the science and logic of a particular technology and apply it to real-world situations and society, whether it is for social change, commercial advantage, or other purposes. The first U.K. "Wired" Conference had a test lab, where an independent curator selected technology that showcased radical technology advancements and their impact on society, such as the ability to design and "print" physical objects using 3D printers (such as a fully working violin) or the ability to model and represent accurate interactive medical and molecular models in stereoscopic 3D.


title: Curator

text: As US museums have become increasingly more digitized, curators find themselves constructing narratives in both the material and digital worlds. Historian Elaine Gurian has called for museums in which "visitors could comfortably search for answers to their own questions regardless of the importance placed on such questions by others". This would change the role of curator from teacher to "facilitator and assistor". In this sense, the role of curator in the United States is precarious, as digital and interactive exhibits often allow members of the public to become their own curators, and to choose their own information. Citizens are then able to educate themselves on the specific subject they are interested in, rather than spending time listening to information they have no desire to learn.


title: Curator

text: In Scotland, the term "curator" is also used to mean the guardian of a child, known as curator "ad litem".


title: Curator

text: In Australia and New Zealand, the term also applies to a person who prepares a sports ground for use (especially a cricket ground). This job is equivalent to that of groundsman in some other cricketing nations.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei is a fictional character in the American television series "Game of Thrones" and the fantasy novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by American author George R. R. Martin, which inspired the television adaptation. Missandei is a former slave who comes into the service of Daenerys Targaryen during the latter's conquest of Essos. She serves as one of Daenerys's most trusted counselors during her rule in Meereen.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei is portrayed by Nathalie Emmanuel in the HBO television adaptation, where her role is greatly expanded from that in the books.


title: Missandei

text: As children, Missandei and her three brothers are captured by raiders from the Basilisk Isles and sold into slavery in Astapor. Missandei's talent for learning languages easily is noticed by the masters of Astapor, who train her as a scribe. Missandei's brothers Marselen and Mossador are made into Unsullied (the third brother is also made into an Unsullied but dies during his training). Missandei is an interpreter who becomes a close confidante and trusted advisor to Daenerys Targaryen. She is from the island of Naath, off the coast of Sothoryos. She is also a polyglot who speaks nineteen languages.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei first appears in the book series at the age of 10 in 2000's "A Storm of Swords." In the television series, she was first introduced in the third season, already an adult in the role of a slave interpreter. She was noted as being one of the few characters of color, along with her love interest, Grey Worm. She eventually dies near the end of the television series, while Grey Worm and Daenerys look on.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei is working as an interpreter for Astapori slaver Kraznys mo Nakloz when Daenerys Targaryen comes to inspect his army of Unsullied. After Daenerys strikes a bargain with the Good Masters of Astapor concerning payment for the Unsullied, Kraznys gives Missandei to Daenerys as an interpreter to give them commands. To Missandei's surprise, Daenerys frees her; having nowhere else to go, Missandei accepts Daenerys' offer to stay as her interpreter and handmaiden. Missandei subsequently accompanies Daenerys as she liberates the neighbouring cities of Yunkai and Meereen.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei becomes Daenerys' herald, announcing her entry when she meets with the people of Meereen. After Mossador is killed by the Sons of the Harpy, Daenerys offers to let Missandei return to Naath; Missandei refuses, noting that she would be an easy target for slavers.


title: Missandei

text: Following the reopening of the fighting pits and Daenerys' flight from Meereen with her dragon Drogon, Daenerys' new husband Hizdhar zo Loraq removes Missandei from her position as herald. With Daenerys' other servants Irri and Jhiqui joining the Dothraki in their search for Daenerys in the Dothraki Sea, Missandei is left as the only occupant in the Great Pyramid's royal apartments. When Barristan Selmy seizes control of Meereen, he has Missandei tend to the mortally wounded Quentyn Martell.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei was played by the British actress Nathalie Emmanuel in the television adaption. Her performance was nominated for multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as an Empire Award. Her portrayal of Missandei had many loyal fans, who would later react negatively to the character's death in Season 8. Emmanuel has discussed the importance of her character to fans, noting in particular the importance of portraying a strong woman of color in a successful television show. She has also discussed Missandei's romance with Grey Worm, calling it "endearing" and remarking on the pleasure of working with co-star Jacob Anderson.


title: Missandei

text: The story of Missandei in the third season of Game of Thrones closely tracks her story in "A Storm of Swords". However, when Daenerys agrees to purchase Kraznys's Unsullied soldiers, she demands Missandei's services as part of the exchange; in the book, Kraznys gave her to Daenerys of his own accord.


title: Missandei

text: In season 4, Missandei befriends Grey Worm, the commander of the Unsullied, and gives him lessons in the Common Tongue. While bathing in a stream she witnesses Grey Worm watching her; although she covers herself, she later admits to Grey Worm that she is glad he saw her. She expresses sorrow that Grey Worm was castrated during his training, though Grey Worm notes that if he had not become an Unsullied soldier he never would have met her.


title: Missandei

text: In season 5, Grey Worm is gravely wounded in a skirmish with the Sons of the Harpy, and Missandei stands vigil by his side. When Grey Worm wakes he reveals to her that, in battle, he felt fear for the first time, fear that he would never see Missandei again; Missandei is clearly moved by his sentiment. When the Sons of the Harpy launch an attack at the reopening of the fighting pits, one of the Sons nearly kills Missandei before he is killed by Tyrion Lannister. Daenerys subsequently flies away on Drogon, and Daario Naharis decrees that Tyrion, Missandei, and Grey Worm should govern Meereen in her absence.


title: Missandei

text: To keep the peace with the slavers, Tyrion grants them seven years to transition from slavery. Although Missandei helps defend Tyrion's decision to the outraged Meereenese freedman, in private she warns Tyrion that the masters will betray him. She is eventually vindicated, when the slavers send a fleet to lay siege to Meereen. She accompanies Daenerys to a parley with the slavers' representatives. When Daenerys leaves on Drogon to destroy the fleet, Missandei tells the masters that Daenerys has ordered one of their deaths as punishment for their treachery, though when two of them offer up the third Grey Worm kills those two instead. Missandei later accompanies Daenerys and her forces as they sail to Westeros.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei is present throughout Daenerys's reclamation of her ancestral stronghold of Dragonstone. She presides over Jon Snow and Davos Seaworth's arrival at the island. Davos is quite taken with Missandei and inquires about her background, but she remains mysterious. Later, as the Unsullied prepare to leave for the seizure of Casterly Rock, Missandei goes to Grey Worm to talk about their feelings and the pair consummate their relationship. Missandei eventually reveals her entire backstory to Jon and Davos in an attempt to impress Daenerys' character upon them.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei travels with Daenerys' court to Winterfell. Feeling unwelcome amongst the Northerns, she and Grey Worm plan to sail to Naath after Daenerys wins the Iron Throne. During the Long Night, Missandei shelters in the crypts, and survives the Night King's reanimation of the dead Starks in the crypts. After the defeat of the White Walkers, she accompanies Daenerys' forces to Dragonstone, but they are ambushed by Euron Greyjoy's fleet and Missandei is taken prisoner and brought to Cersei Lannister in King's Landing. Tyrion, Daenerys, and Grey Worm journey to King's Landing and Tyrion begs Cersei to surrender, but Cersei has Gregor Clegane behead Missandei.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei's death at the end of "The Last of the Starks" was criticized as a plot device to push Daenerys's descent into madness. Just before being beheaded by Gregor Clegane at Cersei's direction, Missandei shouts "Dracarys!" at Daenerys, who is standing just outside of the city of King's Landing backed by her army and her last fire-breathing dragon, Drogon. "Dracarys" is the command used to incite fire from a dragon in the series. Although many viewers considered Daenerys's transition into a mad conqueror to be poorly executed by the show's creators, she would go on in the next episode to use Drogon to destroy the city of King's Landing and kill all of its inhabitants. Missandei's death was viewed by some as an easy shortcut to Daenerys's improbable flip and the subsequent destruction of King's Landing.


title: Missandei

text: Missandei's death has been described as an example of fridging. Although fridging typically describes a woman who is killed off in order to further a plot that revolves around a man, it also applies when a minority character is killed to serve the plot of a white character. Missandei's death was additionally controversial because she was one of few characters of color to appear in the series, and one of only two to make it to the episode in which she died. After her death, Grey Worm was the only character of color for the remainder of the series.


title: High frequency

text: High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to ten decameters (ten to one hundred meters). Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted medium frequency (MF), while the next band of higher frequencies is known as the very high frequency (VHF) band. The HF band is a major part of the shortwave band of frequencies, so communication at these frequencies is often called shortwave radio. Because radio waves in this band can be reflected back to Earth by the ionosphere layer in the atmosphere – a method known as "skip" or "skywave" propagation – these frequencies are suitable for long-distance communication across intercontinental distances and for mountainous terrains which prevent line-of-sight communications. The band is used by international shortwave broadcasting stations (3.95–25.82 MHz), aviation communication, government time stations, weather stations, amateur radio and citizens band services, among other uses.


title: High frequency

text: The dominant means of long-distance communication in this band is skywave ("skip") propagation, in which radio waves directed at an angle into the sky refract back to Earth from layers of ionized atoms in the ionosphere. By this method HF radio waves can travel beyond the horizon, around the curve of the Earth, and can be received at intercontinental distances. However, suitability of this portion of the spectrum for such communication varies greatly with a complex combination of factors:


title: High frequency

text: At any point in time, for a given "skip" communication path between two points, the frequencies at which communication is possible are specified by these parameters


title: High frequency

text: The maximum usable frequency regularly drops below 10 MHz in darkness during the winter months, while in summer during daylight it can easily surpass 30 MHz. It depends on the angle of incidence of the waves; it is lowest when the waves are directed straight upwards, and is higher with less acute angles. This means that at longer distances, where the waves graze the ionosphere at a very blunt angle, the MUF may be much higher. The lowest usable frequency depends on the absorption in the lower layer of the ionosphere (the D-layer). This absorption is stronger at low frequencies and is also stronger with increased solar activity (for example in daylight); total absorption often occurs at frequencies below 5 MHz during the daytime. The result of these two factors is that the usable spectrum shifts towards the lower frequencies and into the Medium Frequency (MF) range during winter nights, while on a day in full summer the higher frequencies tend to be more usable, often into the lower VHF range.


title: High frequency

text: When all factors are at their optimum, worldwide communication is possible on HF. At many other times it is possible to make contact across and between continents or oceans. At worst, when a band is "dead", no communication beyond the limited groundwave paths is possible no matter what powers, antennas or other technologies are brought to bear. When a transcontinental or worldwide path is open on a particular frequency, , SSB and Morse code communication is possible using surprisingly low transmission powers, often of the order of milliwatts, provided suitable antennas are in use at both ends and that there is little or no man-made or natural interference. On such an open band, interference originating over a wide area affects many potential users. These issues are significant to military, safety and amateur radio users of the HF bands.


title: High frequency

text: The high frequency band is very popular with amateur radio operators, who can take advantage of direct, long-distance (often inter-continental) communications and the "thrill factor" resulting from making contacts in variable conditions. International shortwave broadcasting utilizes this set of frequencies, as well as a seemingly declining number of "utility" users (marine, aviation, military, and diplomatic interests), who have, in recent years, been swayed over to less volatile means of communication (for example, via satellites), but may maintain HF stations after switch-over for back-up purposes.


title: High frequency

text: However, the development of Automatic Link Establishment technology based on MIL-STD-188-141 for automated connectivity and frequency selection, along with the high costs of satellite usage, have led to a renaissance in HF usage in government networks. The development of higher speed modems such as those conforming to MIL-STD-188-110C which support data rates up to 120 kilobit/s has also increased the usability of HF for data communications and video transmission. Other standards development such as STANAG 5066 provides for error free data communications through the use of ARQ protocols.


title: High frequency

text: Some modes of communication, such as continuous wave Morse code transmissions (especially by amateur radio operators) and single sideband voice transmissions are more common in the HF range than on other frequencies, because of their bandwidth-conserving nature, but broadband modes, such as TV transmissions, are generally prohibited by HF's relatively small chunk of electromagnetic spectrum space.


title: High frequency

text: Noise, especially man-made interference from electronic devices, tends to have a great effect on the HF bands. In recent years, concerns have risen among certain users of the HF spectrum over "broadband over power lines" (BPL) Internet access, which has an almost destructive effect on HF communications. This is due to the frequencies on which BPL operates (typically corresponding with the HF band) and the tendency for the BPL signal to leak from power lines. Some BPL providers have installed notch filters to block out certain portions of the spectrum (namely the amateur radio bands), but a great amount of controversy over the deployment of this access method remains. Other electronic devices including plasma televisions can also have a detrimental effect on the HF spectrum.


title: High frequency

text: In aviation, HF communication systems are required for all trans-oceanic flights. These systems incorporate frequencies down to 2 MHz to include the 2182 kHz international distress and calling channel.


title: High frequency

text: The upper section of HF (26.5-30 MHz) shares many characteristics with the lower part of VHF. The parts of this section not allocated to amateur radio are used for local communications. These include CB radios around 27 MHz, studio-to-transmitter (STL) radio links, radio control devices for models and radio paging transmitters.


title: High frequency

text: Some radio frequency identification (RFID) tags utilize HF. These tags are commonly known as HFID's or HighFID's (High-Frequency Identification).


title: High frequency

text: The most common antennas in this band are wire antennas such as wire dipoles or rhombic antennas; in the upper frequencies, multielement dipole antennas such as the Yagi, quad, and log-periodic antennas. Powerful shortwave broadcasting stations often use large wire curtain arrays.


title: High frequency

text: Antennas for transmitting skywaves are typically made from horizontal dipoles or bottom-fed loops, both of which emit horizontally polarized waves. The preference for horizontally polarized transmission is because (approximately) only half of the signal power transmitted by an antenna travels directly into the sky; about half travels downward towards the ground and must "bounce" into the sky. For frequencies in the upper HF band, the ground is a better reflector of horizontally polarized waves, and better absorber of power from vertically polarized waves. The effect diminishes for longer wavelengths.


title: High frequency

text: For receiving, random wire antennas are often used. Alternatively, the same directional antennas used for transmitting are helpful for receiving, since most noise comes from all directions, but the desired signal comes from only one direction. Long-distance (skywave) receiving antennas can generally be oriented either vertically or horizontally since refraction through the ionosphere usually scrambles signal polarization, and signals are received directly from the sky to the antenna.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: William Avery "Devil Bill" Rockefeller Sr. (November 13, 1810 – May 11, 1906) was an American businessman, lumberman, herbalist, salesman, and con-artist who went by the alias of Dr. William Levingston. He worked as a lumberman and then a traveling salesman who identified himself as a "botanic physician" and sold elixirs. He was known to buy and sell horses, and was also known at one point to have bought a barge-load of salt in Syracuse. Land speculation was another type of his business, and the selling of elixirs served to keep him with cash and aided in his scouting of land deals. He loaned money to farmers at twelve percent, but tried to lend to farmers who could not pay so as to foreclose and take the farms. Two of his sons were Standard Oil co-founders John Davison Rockefeller Sr. and William Avery Rockefeller Jr.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: William Avery Rockefeller was born in Ancram, New York. He was the eldest son of businessman/farmer Godfrey Lewis Rockefeller (September 24, 1783 in Albany, New York – September 28, 1857 in Richford, New York) and Lucy Avery (February 11, 1786 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts – April 6, 1867). Godfrey and Lucy had married on September 20, 1806, in Amwell, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Bill had two elder sisters—Melinda and Olympia—as well as seven younger siblings; Norman, Sally, Jacob, Mary, Miles, Mary Miranda, and Egbert.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: The Rockefellers trace their patrilineal line to Goddard Rockefeller (born Gotthard Rockenfeller) (1590) of Fahr, today part of Neuwied, Germany. The first Rockefeller to emigrate to America (1723) was Johann Peter Rockenfeller (1710 in Segendorf, Neuwied – 1787 in Amwell Township, New Jersey), who changed his name to Rockefeller. Godfrey Lewis Rockefeller was a son of distant cousins William Rockefeller (1750–1793) and Christina Rockefeller (1754–1800). Lucy Avery was born to Miles Avery and Melinda Pixley, New England Yankees of mostly English descent, being a descendant of James Avery.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Rockefeller married his first wife, Eliza Davison (September 12, 1813 – March 28, 1889), a daughter of farmer John Davison and Cynthia Selover, on February 18, 1837 in Niles, Cayuga Co., New York. John highly opposed the union. Since Cynthia had died when Eliza was twelve, Eliza had been raised by her elder sister, Mary Ann Davison, and father John.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Rockefeller met Eliza on one of his business trips in Upstate New York. It is said that Rockefeller pulled out a slate and chalk to communicate when he arrived at the Davison residence, as he often pretended to be deaf and dumb on his selling trips. Eliza is to have supposedly remarked, "If that man were not deaf and dumb, I'd marry him."


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Bill once bragged, "I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make 'em sharp." Although Bill abandoned the family while Lucy, John, and William Jr. were teenagers, he remained legally married to Eliza until her death. In 1856, having assumed the name Dr. William Levingston, he married Margaret Allen (1834–1910) in Norwich, Ontario, Canada. Bill and Margaret had no children together. Before leaving his first wife, he also had two daughters with his mistress and housekeeper Nancy Brown:


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Before marrying Eliza, Bill had been in love with Nancy. However, he ended up marrying Eliza since her father was to give her $500 when she married, and Nancy was poor.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: When John D. Rockefeller started his own produce commission business with Maurice B. Clark in 1859, Clark initiated the idea of the partnership and offered $2,000 towards the goal. John D. Rockefeller had only $800 saved up at the time and so borrowed $1,000 from his father, "Big Bill" Rockefeller, at 10 percent interest.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Bill visited with his grandchildren at the Forest Hill estate in Cleveland and at Pocantico Hills in Tarrytown. He taught his grandchildren how to shoot and played fiddle in the evenings for them. Prior to Bill's visits, John D. would invite some of Bill's Upstate New York relatives and friends.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: On July 26, 1849, in the city of Auburn, New York, William was indicted for a rape which had occurred at gunpoint. His victim had worked in the Rockefeller household; her name was Ann Vanderbeak. In the 1905 book "Memoirs of an American Citizen", Robert Herrick says an improper relationship had been rumoured to exist.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: The court document reads, "That William A. Rockefeller late of the Town of Moravia in the County of Cayuga, on the first day of May in the year of the Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty eight, with force and arms at the Town of Moravia in said County, in and upon one Ann Vanderbeak in the Peace of God with the People of the State of New York then and there being, violently did make an assault on her, the said Ann Venderbeak, then and there make violently and against her will feloniously did ravish and carnally know […]". William Cooper, the Rockefeller family Doctor, was also indicted for assault and battery with the intention of raping Ann Vanderbeak.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Because of the allegations, William sold the Moravia home and moved to Owego, New York, possibly to avoid trial, under the pretence of providing better opportunities for the boys. Four days later, Eliza's father sued Bill in the Supreme Court of Cayuga for failure to pay a $1,175 debt. His plea states that Bill had asked him for help with his bail for the rape charges, but that Eliza's father had not seen Bill since. Eliza also informed authorities that her husband had "absconded and cannot now be found within the state." William assumed the title Doctor Bill Levingston and worked as a travelling snake oil specialist. Although nothing became of the charges, William left the family penniless.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: After hearing rumours that John D. Rockefeller—then the richest man in the world at the height of his fame—had a shameful family secret, the press went into a frenzy. Joseph Pulitzer offered a reward of $8,000 for information about "Doc Rockefeller," who was known to be alive and living under a false name, but whose whereabouts were a family secret. Despite slender clues picked up from interviews with family members and an 18-month search, the journalists failed to track him down before he died. The full story was not exposed until two years later.


title: William Rockefeller Sr.

text: Rockefeller had spent some time in Park River, North Dakota under the Levingston alias. He died on May 11, 1906, in Freeport, Illinois, at the age of 95. He was buried there in Oakland Cemetery. John D. Rockefeller never publicly acknowledged the truth about his father's life as a bigamist, and the cost for Bill's grave marker was paid by the second wife's estate.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois system, UIC is also the largest university in the Chicago metropolitan area, having more than 33,000 students enrolled in 16 colleges. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity."


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The roots of UIC can be traced to the establishment of the Chicago College of Pharmacy in 1859, which was joined in the 1800s by additional medical related schools. It began an undergraduate program toward the end of World War II, and developed its West side campus in the 1960s. In 1982, it consolidated the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and the University of Illinois at the Medical Center into the present university. Today, the university has become a global leader for a number of subjects, such as nursing, pharmacy, communication, education, law, and public administration.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC competes in NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. The Credit Union 1 Arena (formerly UIC Pavilion) is the Flames' venue for home basketball games.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The University of Illinois Chicago traces its origins to several private health colleges founded during the late 19th century, including the Chicago College of Pharmacy, which opened in 1859, the College of Physicians and Surgeons (1882), and the Columbian College of Dentistry (1893).


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 in Champaign-Urbana, as the state's land-grant university. In exchange for agreeing to the Champaign-Urbana location, Chicago-area legislators were promised that a "polytechnical" branch would open in Chicago. The Chicago-based health colleges affiliated with the university in 1896–97, becoming fully incorporated into the University of Illinois in 1913, as the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. Medical education and research expanded in the succeeding decades, leading to the development of several other health science colleges, which were brought together as the Chicago Professional Colleges. In 1935, the first act of newly elected state representative Richard J. Daley was to introduce a resolution calling for the establishment of an undergraduate Chicago campus of the University of Illinois.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: As World War II was drawing to a close, Congress passed the G.I. Bill in 1944, which sought to reward veterans for their military service. Among other benefits, it provided educational funding, making college degrees far more attainable to a much-wider selection of the American public. In 1945, Richard J. Daley, who was then a state senator, introduced four bills calling for a university in Chicago. In 1946, realizing that they would be "besieged with applications," University of Illinois officials opened what was to be a temporary branch campus called the Chicago Undergraduate Division (CUD) on Navy Pier. The campus was not a junior college, but rather had a curriculum based on Urbana's courses, and students who successfully completed the first two years' requirements could go on to Urbana and finish their degree.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Classes at the CUD campus began in October 1946, and approximately 4,000 students enrolled each semester. Nicknamed "Harvard on the rocks," three-quarters of its students were veterans on the G.I. Bill, many of whom were immigrants and most of whom worked other part-time jobs to support themselves. It also accommodated first-generation college students from working families who commuted from home. (Navy Pier makes an appearance in Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"; its protagonist taught freshman English there.)


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Due to high demand for a public university education in Chicago, the university made plans to create a permanent degree-granting campus in Chicago. Students at CUD needed to transfer after two years to a more expensive private college in Chicago or go to the main campus in Champaign—Urbana, where there were fewer job opportunities.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Daley succeeded in getting the state senate in 1951 to pass a bill calling for a Chicago campus. Daley then became mayor of Chicago in 1955 and pressed the University of Illinois to upgrade the Chicago Undergraduate Center to a full-fledged four-year institution. After a long and controversial site decision process, in 1961, Mayor Daley offered the Harrison and Halsted Streets site for the new campus. In December 1961, the final decision to establish a four-year university in Chicago was made. In that same year, the Chicago Professional Colleges became the University of Illinois at the Medical Center (UIMC).


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Florence Scala led the fight against Mayor Richard J. Daley's plan to demolish her Italian-American neighborhood to construct the campus. In 1963, the trustees of Hull House accepted an offer of $875,000 for the settlement building. Jessie Binford and Scala took the case to the Supreme Court. Scala led marches and staged a sit-in at City Hall to protest the construction. Lawsuits filed by her and others dogged Daley’s construction plans for almost two years. The struggle officially ended in 1963, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal brought by neighborhood activists and the settlement was closed on March 28, 1963. During the construction of the 100-acre (0.40 km2) UIC campus, 200 businesses and 800 homes were bulldozed in Little Italy, with 5,000 residents displaced.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In 1963, construction began on the university's new Chicago campus at Harrison and Halsted Streets near Greektown, Chicago. In February 1965, the new Chicago campus opened and was named the University of Illinois at Congress Circle (UICC) referencing the nearby Circle Interchange of I-290 and I-90/I-94). Shortly before opening, the Congress Expressway was renamed the Eisenhower Expressway and the campus was renamed to University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC). UICC was designed in the brutalist style by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, a Chicago-based architectural firm responsible for many of today's tallest skyscrapers. Unlike the CUD campus, Circle was a degree-granting institution. Within five years of the campus' opening, in addition to undergraduate degrees, virtually every department offered graduate degrees.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In September 1982, the University of Illinois system consolidated UICC and UIMC to form the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). In 2000, UIC began developing the south campus. The expansion of UIC south of Roosevelt Road increased on-campus living space and research facilities. In 2019, the John Marshall Law School (founded in 1899) became affiliated with the university.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: One in ten Chicagoans with a college degree is a UIC alumnus. Approximately one in eight Illinois physicians is a graduate of the UIC College of Medicine (the nation's largest medical school). One in three Illinois pharmacists is a graduate of the College of Pharmacy. Half of all the dentists in Illinois are graduates of UIC's College of Dentistry.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The University of Illinois Chicago offers 86 bachelor's degrees, 111 master's degrees, and 66 doctoral degrees through its 16 colleges, in addition to the university's specialized Honors College (for undergraduates) and the omnibus Graduate College (for graduate students).


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC offers eleven inter-college programs, some of which are organized as centers: Cancer Center, Center for Structural Biology, Neuroscience program, Council for Teacher Education, Graduate Education in Medical Sciences, Guaranteed Professional Programs Admissions program, Moving Image Arts program, National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Office of International Affairs, Study Abroad Office, and the Office of Special Scholarship Programs.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The university is governed by the chancellor who is supported by seven vice chancellors, one CEO for administrative functions, and fifteen college deans. There is a library dean and three regional deans for colleges of medicine.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The Undergraduate Division was regarded as an offsite department of the main campus in Urbana-Champaign. As such, it was first headed by a dean (1946-1957), then an executive dean (1957-1960), then a vice president in charge (1960-1966) who reported to U of I's president. When the Chicago Circle campus, UIC's direct ancestor, opened in 1967, its chief executive was given the title of chancellor. At the same time, day-to-day leadership of the Urbana-Champaign campus was transferred to a chancellor as well, and both reported on an equal basis to the president.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The student body at UIC consists of more than 30,000 total students, of which nearly 21,000 are undergraduate students. Demographic statistics for the student body were:


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The chancellor operates six diversity-related committees on Asian Americans, Blacks, Latinos, LGBT issues, persons with disabilities, and women. The University of Illinois Chicago is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) and is among the most ethnically diverse universities in the United States.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In the 2022 U.S. News & World Report's ranking of colleges and universities, the University of Illinois Chicago ranked as the 46th best national university and the 52nd best national public university. In the 2018 Washington Monthly ranking of national universities, UIC ranked as the 26th best national university in the U.S. In 2014–15, Academic Ranking of World Universities placed UIC in the 150–200 bracket in the world and 68–85 in the U.S. In 2016–17, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed UIC 63rd in the U.S. and 200th in the world. In 2014, Times Higher Education 100 Under 50 University Rankings (a comparison of universities less than 50 years old) placed UIC in the 3rd position in the U.S. and 13th in the world. The 2014/15 QS Worldwide University rankings placed UIC in the 186th position. Forbes ranked the University of Illinois Chicago 361st out of 650 universities in "America's Top Colleges 2014".


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." According to the National Science Foundation, UIC spent $361 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 69th in the nation.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In the 2012 rankings by the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai, UIC tied for 51st–75th in the subject area of social sciences, 76th–100th in the subject area of medicine, and 101st–150th in the subject areas of life/agricultural sciences and natural sciences and mathematics.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In "U.S. News & World Report's" 2015 rankings, published in 2014, the University of Illinois Chicago Liautaud Graduate School of Business was ranked 92nd for among best business schools for its full-time MBA program.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Many programs ranked in the top 50 overall graduate program rankings by U.S. News & World Report in 2013 (released in 2012) including: Clinical Psychology (42) Criminology (19), Education (38), English (41), Fine Arts (45), History (36), Mathematics (36), Nursing (11), Occupational Therapy (4), Pharmacy (14), Physical Therapy (16), Public Affairs (37), Public Health (16), Social Work (24), and Sociology (41). The June 2007 issue of the Communications of Association for Computing Machinery published a ranking of graduate computer science programs based on recent scholarly publications. That list ranked UIC 34th, tied with Caltech, among the top 50 U.S. graduate programs.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine's survey of more than 700 American schools ranked UIC's entrepreneurship program 9th (undergraduate) and 12th (graduate). In 2008 "U.S. News & World Report" ranked UIC's undergraduate business program 58th and the undergraduate engineering program 57th in the United States. "U.S. News & World Report" also ranked UIC's part-time MBA 24th out of over 300 programs nationally and the graduate finance program 19th; undergraduate program rankings were accounting (28th) and finance (17th in 2010). In 2010 Princeton Review ranked UIC in the top 50 undergraduate game design programs of 700 universities in the US and Canada. Criteria included the quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities and infrastructure. The Princeton Review also looked at data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC merged with the John Marshall Law School in 2019 and formally became the UIC John Marshall Law School. It is the first public law school in the city of Chicago and an addition long overdue for the university striving to broaden the availability of a public law school in the city. John Marshall students officially became UIC students and are entitled to the accessibility to the same resources as all UIC Students.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In May 2021, the UI Trustees voted to officially rename UIC John Marshall Law School as UIC School of Law in July 2021, citing John Marshall's “role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence, and racist views”.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC is Chicago's largest university with more than 33,000 students, 12,000 employees, 16 colleges and the state's major public medical center.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The East Campus was designed in the brutalist style by Walter Netsch. The plan included second-story walkways that connected all of the buildings. Some of the later buildings in Netsch's design were not rectilinear (the Behavioral Sciences Building) and even irregularly shaped (Science and Engineering South, and the never-completed Art & Architecture building). These demonstrated his idea of "field theory": designs which used squares and rotations of squares superimposed on one another. While the buildings are largely intact, the walkways were taken down in phases during the early 1990s to make the campus more welcoming. Considerable effort has been expended to modify the original Netsch campus plan to create the feel of a traditional college campus. For example, the area in front of the main administration building, University Hall, has been the site of several renovations in the last decade; and, Credit Union 1 Arena (formerly the UIC Pavilion, a sports arena) was added in 1982.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The East Campus is located on the Near West Side, just south of Greektown and a 15-minute walk from downtown Chicago. The juxtaposition of campus and commercial density was a direct result of large-scale urban renewal led by Mayor Richard J. Daley.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The West Campus, also on the Near West Side, is much older and includes some buildings built in the collegiate gothic style. The colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Applied Health Sciences and Public Health, as well as the Library of the Health Sciences are all located on the West Campus. The West Campus is in the heart of the Illinois Medical District where the University of Illinois Medical Center is located.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line, part of the Chicago 'L', runs through the median of the Eisenhower Expressway along the north side of the campus. Three Blue Line stations are close to the university: UIC-Halsted, Racine, and Illinois Medical District. The Pink Line serves UIC's west campus on Polk Street and runs directly to Ogilvie Transportation Center.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC offers nine residence halls for its students. The East Campus contains four residence halls, the South Campus contains three, and the West Campus contains three. Until the South Campus expansion, UIC students were still predominantly commuters. However, the administration has worked to change the campus to one where most students are residential. Nearly 6,000 students live within one-and-a-half miles of campus. 3,800 students, including over half of all freshmen, live in UIC's nine residence halls. There are also thousands of apartments within walking distance to classes.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: On the East Campus, Commons West and Commons South are traditional halls with double rooms opening into a common hallway; each floor shares a common bathroom. Courtyard and Commons North are cluster-style buildings with rooms grouped to share a small private bathroom. These four buildings are connected to the Student Center East which houses a cafeteria, the campus bookstore, a convenience store, bowling/billiards, a barber shop, and the Inner Circle (an assortment of fast food restaurants).


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: West Campus housing is composed of the Single Student Residence (SSR, apartments for graduate students) and Polk Street Residence (cluster style rooms). South Campus is home to Marie Robinson Hall and Thomas Beckham Hall, both apartment style buildings. In the fall of 2007, James Stukel Towers opened containing suite style rooms with a bathroom and living room. In keeping with UIC culture, students often refer to residence halls by abbreviations instead of their full names (e.g. "TBH" instead of "Thomas Beckham Hall").


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The main purpose of the SSR is to house graduate students, undergraduate students of the ages 24 and older, and professional students. The third and fourth floors house undergraduate students of the ages of 21 through 23. The nursing house is located on the 16th floor. The fifth floor of the SSR has a pilot program for students with families. The program can house up to 15 families. Residents of the family program are zoned to Chicago Public Schools. Families living in the SSR are assigned to Washington Irving Elementary School and Crane High School.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The brand new Academic and Residential Complex, ARC, was opened in response to the ongoing enrollment increase at the university. The building consists of large lecture halls, smaller discussion section classrooms, meeting rooms, and student housing. The building also has a small gym for student occupants and a Starbucks.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The UIC Student Recreation Facility (SRF) is a recreational complex for UIC students. Opened in spring 2006, the SRF features a three-story climbing wall, multipurpose courts for games, and a pool with adjoining lazy river. There is also a recreational facility on the west side of the campus. The Sport and Fitness Center, SFC, comprises a fitness floor, Olympic pool, steam room, multipurpose courts, and racquetball courts. UIC Campus Recreation also oversees the Outdoor Field Complex, OFC, on the south side of campus. This outdoor complex comprises two large multipurpose fields. Campus Recreation hosts a variety of programs that promotes the wellness and well-being of students throughout the academic year. Such events includes RecFest, Destress fest, and many more.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana-Champaign. UIC is a major part of the Illinois Medical District (IMD). While IMD's billing itself "the nation's largest urban medical district" may be up for debate, the district is a major economic force contributing $3.3 billion to the local economy and supporting 50,000 jobs. In popular culture, UIC College of Medicine was the Medical School affiliated with Cook County Hospital in the television series E.R.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: After the major $550 million South Campus expansion, the university began renovating existing facilities on campus. This focus is in part due to a constrained state budget: state funds for new buildings are scarce. Since renovation is less costly, this approach is being used to update facilities.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The first such renovations were to three original "pillbox" buildings: Grant Hall, Lincoln Hall, and Douglas Hall. The renovated buildings use solar and geothermal power which required digging fifty wells 500 feet into the ground east of University Hall. The energy savings of 20–25% led to Lincoln Hall and Douglas Hall being certified US LEED Gold. Grant Hall did not apply for LEED certification even though it was the prototype for many of the features found on Lincoln and Douglas Halls.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Other campus renovations include the roof of the Behavioral Sciences Building and the terrace of the Education, Performing Arts, and Social Work building. A brand new building housing the College of Engineering was opened in 2019 to accommodate the increased enrollment in the college. It features the only high bay structural laboratory in the city of Chicago.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: To accommodate the rising enrollment in the computer science department, a new building is being constructed called the Computer Design Research and Learning Center (CDRLC); it is slated to be completed in the summer of 2023, with a budget of $117.8 million.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Current sustainability initiatives include lighting upgrades, building envelope improvements, metering upgrades, and landscape waste composting. Recent work on Grant, Lincoln, and Douglas Halls included upgrading them to use geothermal heat pumps, which efficiently heat and cool the building. The university has approved a Climate Action Plan.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The Illinois–Chicago (UIC) athletic teams are called the Flames. The university is a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Flames previously competed in the D-I Horizon League from 1994–95 to 2021–22; in the D-I Mid-Continent Conference (Mid-Con, now currently known as the Summit League since the 2007–08 school year) from 1982–83 to 1993–94; as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 1981–82 school year; and in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1949–50 to about 1980–81.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC's team name is the Flames, a reference to the Great Chicago Fire which started a few blocks east of campus. The mascot is Sparky D. Dragon.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In September 2006, the men's soccer team earned its highest ranking in school history when the SoccerTimes.com College Coaches Poll pegged the Flames at No. 6 in the country. In November 2006, UIC defeated Western Illinois 3–0 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling in the second round to Notre Dame 1–0. UIC finished the 2006 season as the nation's best defensive squad after allowing a mere eight goals in over 1993 minutes of play during 21 matches for a goals-against average (GAA) of 0.36. The GAA was tops in the nation in 2006 and it also ranked fifth all-time in NCAA history. UIC posted 13 shutouts and never allowed more than a single goal in a match. UIC also allowed just two goals after intermission the entire season. Along with the GAA mark, UIC posted the nation's best save percentage with a 0.908 rate.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In 2007, UIC soccer's successful season culminated in an Elite-Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament by way of wins over No. 12 St. Louis, Northwestern, and No. 8 Creighton. In a bid for a Final-Four appearance, UIC fell to Massachusetts 2–1. At season's end, UIC had a record of 13–6–6 and was named a top 10 team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC's baseball team recorded 30 or more victories in a nine-year stretch from 2001 to 2010, won seven straight Horizon League Championships, and advanced to an NCAA regional four times (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). UIC baseball has recorded regional wins against No. 1 Long Beach State in 2007 and No. 2 Dallas Baptist University in 2008.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: In 1978 and 1979 the UIC men's gymnastics team won the school's only NCAA team titles at the Division II Championships. Following the 1979 season the men's gymnastics program entered Division I competition and finished the season ranked 10th, Nationally. After the successful 1980 season the remainder of the UIC athletic teams ascended to Division I status. The 1996 men's gymnastics team finished the season in 9th place, the school's highest final ranking. UIC Men's Gymnastics individual Division I All America honorees include: Paul Fina (Rings), Mike Costa (Pommel Horse, twice), Barry McDonald (Parallel Bars), Shannon Welker (Floor Exercise), Neil Faustino (Vault), and Andrew Stover (Horizontal Bar).


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: The university is located near the neighborhoods of Taylor Street, Greektown and Pilsen, with restaurants, and bars nearby. Downtown Chicago is a 10-minute walk or a short CTA ride away.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC has a wide variety of amenities in its Student Centers. There are two on campus, one on the east side and one on the west side. Student Center East, SCE, is the hub to all student life on the east side of campus. The three story building comprises the following amenities and services:


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC Student Center West, SCW, also consists of various amenities to the students on the west side of campus, while smaller their services include:


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: UIC has 200 student organizations, sports clubs, volunteer groups, Greek fraternities and sororities, and other associations, which include:


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Spark in the Park is an annual music festival that is held on Harrison field, off Halsted and Harrison, except in 2014 and 2015, when it was held in the UIC Pavilion due to construction on the Eisehower Expressway Interstate 290. It is held during the second week of classes in the fall. The first year it was held was in 2010 where Kid Cudi was the headliner, followed by Lupe Fiasco in 2011, Childish Gambino in 2012, Kendrick Lamar in 2013, and J. Cole in 2014. In 2015 Twenty One Pilots were the headliners and also featured Wale. In 2016, rapper Young Thug was the opening act followed by a performance by both Daya and Travis Scott. In 2017, Nick Jonas performed along with DRAM. In 2018 rapper Rich The Kid headlined the show, and in 2019 21 Savage performed at the event.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Greek letter social organizations at the University of Illinois Chicago create smaller communities within the larger University environment for the purposes of facilitating growth in the areas of scholarship, personal and leadership development, campus involvement and community service. The creeds and rituals that guide the individual organizations are based on values and ethics that foster the highest ideals and behavior.


title: University of Illinois Chicago

text: Fraternal organizations have been a core component of the campus community since the 1970s. Currently there are 27 social fraternities and sororities, including both general and culturally based organizations.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the "daityas" from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" ("hiranya" "gold" "kashipu" "soft cushion"), and is often interpreted as depicting one who is fond of wealth and sensual comforts. In the Puranas, however, it is also stated the name was derived from a golden throne called 'Hiranyakashipu' the asura sat in or nearby during the "Atiratra" (Soma) sacrifice.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Hiranyakashipu's younger brother, Hiranyaksha was slain by Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu. Angered by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain magical powers by performing a penance for Lord Brahma. He is subsequently killed by the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. His tale depicts the futility of desiring power over others and the strength of God's protection over his fully surrendered devotees (in the case of his son Prahlada).


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Hiranyakashipu, according to legend, earned a boon from Lord Brahma that made him virtually indestructible.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: The story of Hiranyakashipu is in three parts. The first has to do with the curse of the Four Kumaras on the gatekeepers of Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya, which causes them to be born as the daityas Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. The second part deals with Hiranyakashipu's penance to propitiate Brahma and gain a boon from him. The final part deals with his efforts to kill his son Prahlada (a devotee of Vishnu) and his subsequent death at the hands of Narasimha.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: According to a story from Bhagavata Purana, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha are Vishnu's gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya, born on earth as the result of a curse from the Four Kumaras. In "Satya Yuga", Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha - together called the "Hiranya"s - were born to Diti (daughter of Daksha Prajapathi) and the sage Kashyapa. It is said that asuras were born to them as a result of their union at the time of dusk, which was said to be an inauspicious time for such a deed.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: After Hiranyakashipu's younger brother Hiranyaksha's death at the hands of the Varaha avatar of Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu comes to hate Vishnu. He decides to kill him by gaining mystical powers, which he believes Brahma, the chief among the devas, will award to him if he undergoes many years of great austerity and penance, just as Brahma awarded powers to other Rakshasas.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: This initially seemed to work as planned, with Brahma becoming pleased by Hiranyakashipu's austerities. Brahma appears before Hiranyakashipu and offers him a boon of his choice. But when Hiranyakashipu asks for immortality, Brahma refuses. Hiranyakashipu then makes the following request:


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: O my lord, O best of the givers of benediction, if you will kindly grant me the benediction I desire, please let me not meet death from any of the living entities created by you.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Grant me that I not meet the death from any entity, living or nonliving. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets. Since no one can kill you in the battlefield, you have no competitor. Therefore, grant me the benediction that I too may have no rival. Give me sole lordship over all the living entities and presiding deities, and give me all the glories obtained by that position. Furthermore, give me all the mystic powers attained by long austerities and the practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: In other Puranas, many variations of the boon are given. The Shiva Purana mentions that Hiranyakashipu asked Brahma that he would be invulnerable to dry or wet weapons, thunderbolts, mountains, trees, missiles or any form of weapon. The Vayu Purana mentions that Hiranyakashipu asked to be so powerful, only Vishnu would slay him. Other variations include not being slain by any living being, not at daytime or nighttime and not above or below.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: In section 14, the Anusasana Parva of the Mahabharata, the Sage Upamanyu briefly mentioned to Krishna that Hiranyakashipu also performed another penance to please Lord Shiva. Shiva granted Hiranyakashipu the boon that he would have unrivalled combat prowess, exceeding skill in the use of bow and other weapons as well as the powers of all the gods, including Indra, Yama, Kubera, Sūrya, Agni, Vayu, Soma and Varuna.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: In consequence of these two boons, Hiranyakashipu become so mighty that he was able to shake the very Himalayas down to their roots. Ravana once tried to lift Hiranyakashipu's earrings but he was unable to do so because they were very heavy.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: While Hiranyakashipu was performing the penance to be granted this boon, Indra and the other devas attacked his home, seizing the opportunity in his absence. At this point, the divine sage Narada intervened to protect Hiranyakashipu's wife Kayadhu, whom he described as 'sinless'. Narada took Kayadhu into his care, and while she was under his guidance, her unborn child (Hiranyakashipu's son) Prahlada became influenced by the transcendental instructions of the sage, even in the womb. Later, growing as a child, Prahlada began to reap the harvest of Narada's prenatal training and gradually became recognised as a devout follower of Vishnu, much to his father's anguish.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Hiranyakashipu eventually became so angry and upset at his son's devotion to Vishnu (whom he saw as his mortal enemy) that he decided that he must kill him, but each time he attempted to kill the boy, Prahlada was protected by Vishnu's mystical power. When asked, Prahlada refuses to acknowledge his father as the supreme lord of the universe, and claimed that Vishnu was all-pervading and omnipresent. To which Hiranyakashipu points to a nearby pillar and asks if 'his Vishnu' is in it:


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Prahlada then answered, ""He is in the pillar, just as he is in the slightest dust"". Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashed the pillar with his mace. A tumultuous sound was heard, and Vishnu in the form of Narasimha appeared from the broken pillar and moved to attack Hiranyakashipu in defence of Prahlada.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Narasimha had appeared in the perfect of circumstances that would allow him to slay the wicked king. Hiranyakashipu could not be killed by human, deva or animal, but Narasimha was none of these, as he was an incarnate that was part human, and part animal. He attacked Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor outdoors), and placed the asura on his thighs (neither earth nor in the air). Using his claws (neither living nor non-living thing), he disembowelled and killed the asura.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: Even after Hiranyakashipu's death, none of the gods and the demigods present were able to placate Narasimha's fury. So, all the gods and goddesses called His consort, the goddess Lakshmi, but she was also unable to do so. Then, at the request of Brahma, Prahlada was presented before Narasimha, who was finally calmed by the prayers of his devotee.


title: Hiranyakashipu

text: One of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill his son Prahlad was to have him sit on a burning pyre with his aunt Holika. Holika had a special boon that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Prahlad chanted Vishnu's name and in the battle of good against evil, Holika was burnt down but nothing happened to Prahlad. The survival of Prahlad is celebrated in Hinduism as the festival of Holi.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers. Worldbuilding often involves the creation of geography, a backstory, flora, fauna, inhabitants, technology and often if writing speculative fiction, different races. This may include social customs as well as invented languages for the world.


title: Worldbuilding

text: The world could encompass different planets spanning vast distances of space or be limited in scope to a single small village. World building exists in novels, tabletop role-playing games, and visual media such as films, video games and comics. Prior to 1900 most worldbuilding was conducted by novelists, who could leave imagination of the fictional setting in part to the reader. Some authors of fiction set multiple works in the same world. This is known as a fictional universe. For example, science fiction writer Jack Vance set a number of his novels in the Gaean Reach, a fictional region of space. A fictional universe with works by multiple authors is known as a shared world. One example of such is the Star Wars Expanded Universe.


title: Worldbuilding

text: The term "world-building" was first used in the "Edinburgh Review" in December 1820 and appeared in A.S. Eddington's "Space Time and Gravitation: An Outline of the General Relativity Theory" (1920) to describe the thinking out of hypothetical worlds with different physical laws. The term has been used in science fiction and fantasy criticism since appearing in R.A. Lupoff's "Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure" (1965).


title: Worldbuilding

text: The creation of literary fictional worlds was first examined by fantasy authors such as George MacDonald, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, Dorothy L. Sayers, and C. S. Lewis. Tolkien addressed the issue in his essay "On Fairy Stories", where he stated that the "Secondary World" or "Sub-Creation" (the constructed world) is substantially different from the art of play-writing: "Very little about trees as trees can be got into a play." Constructed worlds may sometimes shift away from storytelling, narrative, characters and figures, and may explore "trees as trees" or aspects of the world in-and-of-themselves. Tolkien sought to make his constructed world seem real by paying careful attention to framing his world with narrators and versions of stories, like a real mythology.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Later analysis of fantasy worlds in the 1960s contextualized them in the medium or the narrative of the works, offering an analysis of the stories in the world, but not the world itself. Media franchises are similar to constructed worlds but do not necessarily rely on them; for example a media franchise such as "Star Wars" has a constructed world, while The Beatles, as a franchise, does not. In the 2000s, worldbuilding in film has increased in popularity. When before, writers sought to create a character that could sustain multiple stories, now they create a world that can sustain multiple characters and stories.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Worldbuilding can be designed from the top down or the bottom up, or by a combination of these approaches. The official worldbuilding guidelines for "Dungeons and Dragons" refer to these terms as "outside-in" and "inside-out", respectively. In the top-down approach, the designer first creates a general overview of the world, determining broad characteristics such as the world's inhabitants, technology level, major geographic features, climate, and history. From there, they develop the rest of the world in increasing detail. This approach might involve creation of the world's basics, followed by levels such as continents, civilizations, nations, cities, and towns. A world constructed from the top down tends to be well-integrated, with individual components fitting together appropriately. It can, however, require considerable work before enough detail is completed for the setting to be useful, such as in the setting of a story.


title: Worldbuilding

text: With the bottom-up approach, the designer focuses on a small part of the world needed for their purposes. This location is given considerable detail, such as local geography, culture, social structure, government, politics, commerce, and history. Prominent local individuals may be described, including their relationships to each other. The surrounding areas are then described in a lower level of detail, with description growing more general with increasing distance from the initial location. The designer can subsequently enhance the description of other areas in the world. For example, an author may create fictional currencies and refer to fictional books to add detail to their world. Terry Pratchett says "You had to start wondering how the fresh water got in and the sewage got out... World building from the bottom up, to use a happy phrase, is more fruitful than world building from top-down."


title: Worldbuilding

text: This approach provides for almost immediate applicability of the setting, with details pertinent to a certain story or situation. The approach can yield a world plagued with inconsistencies, however. By combining the top-down and bottom-up approaches, a designer can enjoy the benefits of both. This is very hard to accomplish, however, because the need to start from both sides creates twice as much work, which may delay the desired product.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Despite requiring considerable work to develop enough detail for a setting to be useful, not every aspect of a setting can be explored, and instead an approach called inferred worldbuilding is often used. Inferred worldbuilding is when the author provides enough detail about the various parts of a setting that readers can extrapolate on what is written to come to their own conclusions regarding specific details that weren't provided. This is especially useful for roleplaying game settings, as individual games may require certain details to be created on a case-by-case basis for the RPG's story to function.


title: Worldbuilding

text: From a game-design perspective, the goal of worldbuilding is to create the context for a story. Consistency is an important element, since the world provides a foundation for the action of a story. However, J. R. R. Tolkien described the goal of worldbuilding as creating immersion, or "enchantment" as he put it, and descriptions of the world can be wholly disconnected from the story and narrative. Writers must also make the world building make sense for the story on hands-on matters concerning plot devices such as what equipment, nourishment, and modes of transportation characters use.


title: Worldbuilding

text: An uninhabited world can be useful for certain purposes, especially in science fiction, but the majority of constructed worlds have one or more sentient species. These species can have constructed cultures and constructed languages. Designers in hard science fiction may design flora and fauna towards the end of the worldbuilding process, thus creating lifeforms with environmental adaptations to scientifically novel situations.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Perhaps the most basic consideration of worldbuilding is to what degree a fictional world will be based on real-world physics compared to magic. While magic is a more common element of fantasy settings, science fiction worlds can contain magic or technological equivalents of it. For example, the Biotics in the science fiction video game series "Mass Effect" have abilities, described scientifically in-game, which mirror those of mages in fantasy games. In the science fiction novel "Midnight at the Well of Souls", magic exists, but is explained scientifically.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Some fictional worlds modify the real-world laws of physics; faster-than-light travel is a common factor in much science fiction. Worldbuilding may combine physics and magic, such as in the "Dark Tower" series and the "Star Wars" franchise. One subgenre of science fiction, mundane science fiction, calls for writers to depict only scientifically plausible technology; as such, fictional faster-than-light travel is not depicted in these works.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Constructed worlds often have cosmologies, both in the scientific and metaphysical senses of the word. Design of science fiction worlds, especially those with spacefaring societies, usually entails creation of a star system and planets. If the designer wishes to apply real-life principles of astronomy, they may develop detailed astronomical measures for the orbit of the world, and to define the physical characteristics of the other bodies in the same system; this establishes chronological parameters, such as the length of a day and the durations of seasons. Some systems are intentionally bizarre. For Larry Niven's novels "The Integral Trees" and "The Smoke Ring", Niven designed a "freefall" environment, a gas torus ring of habitable pressure, temperature, and composition, around a neutron star.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Fantasy worlds can also involve unique cosmologies. In "Dungeons and Dragons", the physical world is referred to as the Prime Material Plane, but other planes of existence devoted to moral or elemental concepts are available for play, such as the Spelljammer setting, which provides an entirely novel fantasy astrophysical system. Some fantasy worlds feature religions. The "Elder Scrolls" series, for example, contains a variety of religions practiced by its world's various races. The world of the 2000 video game "Summoner" has a well-developed cosmology, including a creation myth.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Construction of a fictional map is often one of the first tasks of worldbuilding. Maps can lay out a world's basic terrain features and significant civilizations present. A clear, concise map that displays the locations of key points in the story can be a helpful tool for developers and audiences alike. Finished creative products, such as books, may contain published versions of development maps; many editions of "The Lord of the Rings", for example, include maps of Middle-earth. Cartography of fictional worlds is sometimes called "geofiction".


title: Worldbuilding

text: The physical geography of a fictional world is important in designing weather patterns and biomes such as deserts, wetlands, mountains, and forests. These physical features also affect the growth and interaction of the various societies, such as the establishment of trade routes and locations of important cities. Desire for control of natural resources in a fictional world may lead to war among its people. Geography can also define ecosystems for each biome. Often, Earth-like ecology is assumed, but designers can vary drastically from this trend. For example, Isaac Asimov's short story "The Talking Stone" features a life form based on silicon, rather than carbon.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Some software programs can create random terrain using fractal algorithms. Sophisticated programs can apply geologic effects such as tectonic plate movement and erosion; the resulting world can be rendered in great detail, providing a degree of realism to the result.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Constructed cultures, or concultures, are a typical element of worldbuilding. Worldbuilders sometimes employ past human civilizations as a model for fictional societies. The 1990 video game "", for example, takes place in a world full of tribes based on civilizations in early Mesoamerica and Africa. This method can make a fictional world more accessible for an audience. "Simon Provencher" has stated as a 'Golden Rule' of worldbuilding that "... unless specified otherwise, everything inside your world is assumed to behave exactly as it would in the real world." Another example is Steven S. Long, a representative of the "Champions" role-playing game, who stated that "Everything that happened in the real world has also unfolded in the exact same way in the Champions Universe." This means any past wars, elections, and technological advancements in our world occurred the same way in the Champions Universe unless explained otherwise.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Creating a cohesive alien culture can be a distinct challenge. Some designers have also looked to human civilizations for inspiration in doing so, such as "Star Trek"s Romulans, whose society resembles that of ancient Rome. The fictional world's history can explain past and present relationships between different societies, which can introduce a story's action. A past war, for example, functions as a key plot point in the "Shannara" and "Belgariad" series.


title: Worldbuilding

text: Examples of constructed worlds include Terry Pratchett's Discworld, the pseudo-Earth Hyborian Age in the Conan series, the planet Arrakis in the "Dune" series, the continent of Tamriel in the Elder Scrolls series of games, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea universe and Hainish worlds, the Subcontinent of Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind", and Arda, the location of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, in "The Lord of the Rings".


title: Worldbuilding

text: Constructed worlds are not always limited to one type of story. Lawrence Watt-Evans and Steven Brust created Ethshar and Dragaera, respectively, for role-playing games before using them as settings for novels. M. A. R. Barker originally designed Tékumel well before the advent of role-playing games, but many gamers, including Barker himself, have used it as a setting for such games.


title: Worldbuilding

text: A shared universe is a fictional universe that can be used by different authors. Examples of shared universes include the "Star Wars" expanded universe, the Arrowverse and campaign settings developed specifically for role-playing games. One of the oldest of these is Oerth, developed for the Dungeons and Dragons Greyhawk setting. Forgotten Realms is another such D&D setting, originally a homebrew campaign world by Ed Greenwood.


title: Diamond jubilee

text: A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniversaries, although the human lifespan makes this usage more common for institutions.


title: Diamond jubilee

text: George III of the United Kingdom died a few months before his diamond jubilee was due in 1820. The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria celebrated her 60-year reign on 22 June 1897. The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the Queen, was celebrated across the Commonwealth of Nations throughout 2012. Her next level of jubilee was her platinum jubilee in February 2022.


title: Diamond jubilee

text: In East Asia, the diamond jubilee coincides with the traditional 60-year sexagenary cycle, which is held in special importance despite not generally being called a "diamond jubilee." Monarchs such as the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors of China and Emperor Hirohito of Japan held celebrations for their 60th year of reign, as did King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on 10 June 2006.


title: Diamond jubilee

text: National governments also mark their 60th anniversary as diamond jubilees, as did the Republic of Korea in 2005 and the People's Republic of China in 2009. In South Asia, the term is also used for certain 100-day anniversaries. In the Indian and Pakistani film industries, a "diamond jubilee" film is a title that has been featured in cinemas for 100 days, and beyond.


title: Diamond jubilee

text: The longest reigning monarch in history, Sobhuza II of Swaziland, celebrated his (60 year) diamond jubilee in 1981, dating from when he gained direct rule. There does not appear to have been any (75 year) diamond jubilee celebration.


title: Diamond jubilee

text: In 1984, the phrase "Diamond Jubilee" was used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its logo for the sixtieth anniversary of the studio.


title: Soccsksargen

text: Soccsksargen (officially stylized in all caps; ), formerly known as Central Mindanao, is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region XII. Located in south-central Mindanao, its name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one highly urbanized city (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos). The regional center is in Koronadal, located in the province of South Cotabato, and the center of commerce and industry is General Santos, which is the most populous city in the region.


title: Soccsksargen

text: The region is bounded on the north by Northern Mindanao, on the east by the Davao Region, and on the southwest by the Celebes Sea. The region also shares a maritime border with Gorontalo and North Sulawesi provinces of Indonesia. The province of Maguindanao is situated between Cotabato City, North Cotabato province, and Sultan Kudarat.


title: Soccsksargen

text: The region has extensive coastlines, valleys and mountain ranges. Known for its river system, the region is the drainage basin of Mindanao, particularly at the Cotabato Basin, a large depression surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides. Within the basin runs the Rio Grande de Mindanao, the longest river in Mindanao and the second longest in the Philippines. The river empties into the Illana Bay of the larger Moro Gulf at the west of Cotabato City.


title: Soccsksargen

text: At the south of the basin lie the Tiruray Highlands, a moderately high mountain range blocking the basin from the southern coastline. Southeast of the mountains lie the Sarangani Bay.


title: Soccsksargen

text: Soccsksargen comprises 4 provinces, 1 "highly urbanized" city, 3 "component" cities, 45 municipalities and 1,195 barangays.


title: Soccsksargen

text: The oldest civilization in the region is located in Maitum, Sarangani, where the Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery were found. The jars have been declared as National Cultural Treasures, and are subject to the high protections ensured by Philippine and international laws.


title: Soccsksargen

text: The region used to be named "Central Mindanao". Prior to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) it comprised the following provinces:


title: Soccsksargen

text: With the creation of ARMM, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao (excluding Cotabato City) were removed from the region, leaving Lanao del Norte, Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, and Iligan, Marawi and Cotabato City as constituent provinces and cities. Lanao del Norte and Iligan were later transferred to Northern Mindanao, while Marawi became part of the ARMM.


title: Soccsksargen

text: In September 2001, "Executive Order No. 36" was signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo transferring South Cotabato, Sarangani, General Santos (also known as the "SocSarGen" District), from Southern Mindanao to Region XII, and renaming the region, from "Central Mindanao", to "Soccsksargen".


title: Soccsksargen

text: By virtue of Executive Order No. 304 signed by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Koronadal was named as the regional political and socio-economic center of Soccsksargen on March 30, 2004. Regional departments, bureaus and offices were ordered to move from Cotabato City, the former regional center of the region.


title: Soccsksargen

text: Traditionally resisting efforts for inclusion to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao despite serving as the government center of the ARMM, the January 21, 2019 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region creation plebiscite resulted in the surprise ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in Cotabato City. This means the city may now formally serve as the capital of the region and the offices of the former ARMM will be retained for use by the Bangsamoro Regional Government and now formally no longer constitutes part of the Soccsksargen Region.


title: Soccsksargen

text: In addition to Cotabato City, 63 barangays in Cotabato province opted to join Bangsamoro, thus exiting the region as well.


title: Soccsksargen

text: The region contributes to the national GDP with 2.6% with 5% growth compared to 2016. 18.3% of Mindanao Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP).


title: Soccsksargen

text: The culture of native Maguindanaon and other native groups, both Muslim and non-Muslim, revolves around "kulintang" music, a specific type of gong music, found in the Soccsksargen.


title: Vasishtha

text: Vasishtha (, IAST: "") is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the "Rigveda". Vashishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigvedic verse 10.167.4, other Rigvedic mandalas and in many Vedic texts. His ideas have been influential and he was called the first sage of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy by Adi Shankara.


title: Vasishtha

text: The "Yoga Vasishtha", "Vasishtha Samhita", as well as some versions of the "Agni Purana" and "Vishnu Purana" are attributed to him. He is the subject of many stories, such as him being in possession of the divine cow Kamadhenu and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their owners. He is famous in Hindu stories for his legendary conflicts with sage Vishvamitra. In the Ramayana, he was the family priest of the Raghu dynasty and teacher of Rama and his brothers.


title: Vasishtha

text: Vasishtha is also spelled as ' and is Sanskrit for "most excellent", "best" or "richest". According to Monier-Williams, it is sometimes alternatively spelt as Vashishta or Vashisht (', ).


title: Vasishtha

text: Historically, Vasishtha was a Rigvedic poet and the purohita of Sudās Paijavana, chief of the Bharata tribe. In Rigvedic hymn 7.33.9, Vashishtha is described as a scholar who moved across the Saraswati river to establish his school. At some point, he replaced Viśvāmitra Gāthina as the purohita of Sudās. In later Hindu texts, Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha have a long-standing feud, and scholars have stated they historically had a feud regarding the position of the Bharata purohita. However, this view has been criticized due to lack of internal evidence and the projection of later views onto the Rigveda. Under Sudās and Vasiṣṭha, the Tṛtsu-Bharatas won the Battle of the Ten Kings. Sudās decisively won against a Puru-led alliance by the strategic breaching of a (natural) dyke on the Ravi river thereby drowning most of the opponents; the victory is attributed to the benevolence and strategizing of Indra, the patron-God of Bharatas, whose blessings were secured by Vasistha's poetics.


title: Vasishtha

text: He was married to Arundhati, and therefore he was also called "Arundhati Natha", meaning the husband of Arundhati. Later, this region is believed in the Indian tradition to be the abode of sage Vyasa along with Pandavas, the five brothers of Mahabharata. He is typically described in ancient and medieval Hindu texts as a sage with long flowing hairs that are neatly tied into a bun that is coiled with a tuft to the right, a beard, a handlebar moustache and a tilak on his forehead.


title: Vasishtha

text: In Buddhist Pali canonical texts such as "Digha Nikaya", Tevijja Sutta describes a discussion between the Buddha and Vedic scholars of his time. The Buddha names ten rishis, calls them "early sages" and makers of ancient verses that have been collected and chanted in his era, and among those ten rishi is Vasettha (the Pali spelling of Vashishtha in Sanskrit).


title: Vasishtha

text: Vashishtha is the author of the seventh book of the "Rigveda", one of its "family books" and among the oldest layer of hymns in the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. The hymns composed by Vashishtha are dedicated to Agni, Indra and other gods, but according to RN Dandekar, in a book edited by Anay Kumar Gupta, these hymns are particularly significant for four Indravarunau hymns. These have an embedded message of transcending "all thoughts of bigotry", suggesting a realistic approach of mutual "coordination and harmony" between two rival religious ideas by abandoning disputed ideas from each and finding the complementary spiritual core in both. These hymns declare two gods, Indra and Varuna, as equally great. In another hymn, particularly the Rigvedic verse 7.83.9, Vashishtha teaches that the Vedic gods Indra and Varuna are complementary and equally important because one vanquishes the evil by the defeat of enemies in battles, while other sustains the good during peace through socio-ethical laws. The seventh mandala of the "Rigveda" by Vashishtha is a metaphorical treatise. Vashishtha reappears as a character in Hindu texts, through its history, that explore conciliation between conflicting or opposing ideologies.


title: Vasishtha

text: According to Ellison Findly – a professor of Religion, Vashishtha hymns in the "Rigveda" are among the most intriguing in many ways and influential. Vashishtha emphasizes means to be as important as ends during one's life, encouraging truthfulness, devotion, optimism, family life, sharing one's prosperity with other members of society, among other cultural values.


title: Vasishtha

text: Vashishtha is a revered sage in the Hindu traditions, and like other revered sages, numerous treatises composed in ancient and medieval era are reverentially named after him. Some treatises named after him or attributed to him include:


title: Vasishtha

text: According to Mandala 7 of the Rigveda, the gods Mitra-Varuna and the apsara Urvashi are mentioned as his parents. In the story, Mitra and Varuna are performing a yajna (fire-sacrifice), when they see Urvasi and become sexually aroused. They ejaculate their semen into a pitcher, from which Vasishtha is born after a few days.


title: Vasishtha

text: Vasishtha's birth story is retold in many later Hindu scriptures. The "Puranas" state that he has three births. In the first, he is a Manasputra (mind-born son) created by the god Brahma. After the destruction of the Daksha Yajna, Vasishtha is killed, but is recreated by Brahma. Vashishtha became the royal guru of Nimi, a king. However, Nimi forgot to invite Vashishtha in a yajna and in rage, Vashishtha cursed Nimi to die soon. Nimi responded by offering him with the same curse. Frightened, Vashishtha ran towards his father, Brahma. Brahma suggested him to emerge in Varuna and Mitra. When Urvashi was seen by Varuna and Mitra, Vashishtha remerged from them.


title: Vasishtha

text: According to Agarwal, one story states that Vashishtha wanted to commit suicide by falling into river Saraswati. But the river prevented this sacrilege by splitting into hundreds of shallow channels. This story, states Agarwal, may have very ancient roots, where "the early man observed the braiding process of the Satluj" and because such a story could not have invented without the residents observing an ancient river (in Rajasthan) drying up and its tributaries such as Sutlej reflowing to merge into Indus river.


title: Vasishtha

text: Vashishtha is known for his feud with Vishwamitra. The king Vishwamitra coveted Vashistha's divine cow Nandini (Kamadhenu) that could fulfil material desires. Vashishtha destroyed Vishwamitra's army and sons. Vishwamitra acquired weapons from Lord Shiva and incinerated Vashishtha's hermitage and sons, but Vashistha baffled all of Vishwamitra's weapons. There is also an instance mentioned in the Mandala 7, of the Rigveda about the Dasharadnya Battle. This battle was fought as King Sudas of Bharata tribe appointed Vashishtha instead of Vishwamitra as his main priest. However later, Vishwamitra betook severe penances for thousands of years and became a Brahmarshi. He eventually reconciled with Vashishtha.


title: Vasishtha

text: Vashishtha is best known as the priest and preceptor, teacher of the Ikshvaku kings clan. He was also the preceptor of Manu, the progenitor of Kshatriyas and Ikshvaku's father. Other characters like Nahusha, Rantideva, lord Rama and Bhishma were his disciples. When the Bharata king Samvarta lost his kingdom to the Panchalas, he became the disciple of Vashistha. Under Vashistha's guidance, Samvarta regained his kingdom and became the ruler of the earth.


title: Vasishtha

text: A copper casting of a human head styled in the manner described for Vashishtha was discovered in 1958 in Delhi. This piece has been dated to around 3700 BCE, plus minus 800 years, in three western universities (ETH Zurich, Stanford and UC) using among other methods carbon-14 dating tests, spectrographic analysis, X-ray dispersal analysis and metallography. This piece is called "Vashishtha head", because the features, hairstyle, tilak and other features of the casting resembles the description for Vashishtha in Hindu texts.


title: Vasishtha

text: The significance of "Vashishtha head" is unclear because it was not found at an archaeological site, but in open Delhi market where it was scheduled to be remelted. Further, the head had an inscription of "Narayana" suggesting that the item was produced in a much later millennium. The item, states Edwin Bryant, likely was re-cast and produced from an ancient pre-2800 BCE copper item that left significant traces of matter with the observed C-14 dating.


title: Vasishtha

text: There is an Ashram dedicated to Vashishtha in Guwahati, India. This Ashram is situated close to Assam-Meghalaya border to the south of Guwahati city and is a major tourist attraction of Guwahati. Vashishtha's Temple is situated in Vashisht village, Himachal Pradesh. Vashishtha Cave, a cave on the banks of Ganges at Shivpuri, 18 km from Rishikesh is also locally believed to be his winter abode and houses a Shiva temple, also nearby is Arundhati Cave.


title: Vasishtha

text: Guru Vashishtha is also the primary deity at Arattupuzha Temple known as Arattupuzha Sree Dharmasastha in Arattupuzha village in Thrissur district of Kerala. The famous Arattupuzha Pooram is a yearly celebration where Sri Rama comes from the Thriprayar Temple to pay obeisance to his Guru at Arattupuzha temple.


title: Dog fighting

text: Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, generally to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged in barns or outdoor pits; in urban areas, fights are often staged in garages, basements, warehouses, alleyways, abandoned buildings, neighborhood playgrounds, or in the streets. Dog fights usually last until one dog is declared a winner, which occurs when one dog fails to scratch, dies, or jumps out of the pit. Sometimes dog fights end without declaring a winner; for instance, the dog's owner may call the fight.


title: Dog fighting

text: Dog fighting generates revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling. Most countries have banned dog fighting, but it is still legal in some countries, such as Honduras, Japan, and Albania. The sport is also popular in Russia.


title: Dog fighting

text: Blood sports in general can be traced back to the Roman Empire. In 13 BC, for instance, the ancient Roman circus slew 600 African beasts. Dog fighting, more specifically, can also be traced to ancient Roman times. In AD 43, for example, dogs fought alongside the Romans and the British in the Roman Conquest of Britain. In this war, the Romans used a breed that originated from Greece called the Molossus; the Britons used broad-mouthed Mastiffs, which were thought to descend from the Molossus bloodline and which also originated from Greece. Though the British were outnumbered and ultimately lost this war, the Romans were so impressed with the English Mastiffs that they began to import these dogs for use in the Colosseum, as well as for use in times of war. While spectators watched, the imported English Mastiffs were pitted against animals such as elephants, lions, bears and bulls, and also against gladiators.


title: Dog fighting

text: Later, the Romans bred and exported fighting dogs to Spain, France and other parts of Europe until eventually these dogs made their way back to England. Though bull-baiting and bear-baiting were popular throughout the Middle Ages up to the 19th century in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, the British pitted dogs against bulls and bears. In 12th century England during the feudal era, the landed aristocracy, who held direct military control in decentralized feudal systems and thus owned the animals necessary for waging war, introduced bull baiting and bear baiting to the rest of the British population. In later years, bull-baiting and bear-baiting became a popular source of entertainment for the British royalty. For instance, Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1558–1603, was an avid follower of bull- and bear-baiting; she bred Mastiffs for baiting and would entertain foreign guests with a fight whenever they visited England. In addition to breeding Mastiffs and entertaining foreign guests with a fight, Queen Elizabeth, and later her successor, King James I, built a number of bear gardens in London. The garden buildings were round and roofless, and housed not only bears, but also bulls and other wild animals that could be used in a fight. Today, a person can visit the Bear Garden museum near the Shakespeare Global Complex in Bankside, Southwark.


title: Dog fighting

text: With the popularity of bull- and bear-baiting, bears needed for such fights soon became scarce. With the scarcity of the bear population, the price of bears rose and, because of this, bull-baiting became more common in England over time. Bulls who survived the fights were slaughtered afterwards for their meat, as it was believed that the fight caused bull meat to become more tender. In fact, if a bull was offered for sale in the market without having been baited the previous day, butchers were liable to face substantial fines. Animal fights were temporarily suspended in England when Oliver Cromwell seized power, but were reinstated again after the Restoration. Dog fighting, bull-baiting, and bear-baiting were officially outlawed in England by the Humane Act of 1835. The official ban on all fights, however, actually served to promote dog fighting in England. Since a small amount of space was required for the pit where a dog fight took place, as compared to the ring needed for bull- or bear-baiting, authorities had a difficult time enforcing the ban on dog fighting.