cahya/wikipedia-simple-en huggingface dataset:
Continental circuits

The UCI ProTour is the series of races for the top cycling teams.  The Continental circuits are for teams that are not so good.

Some teams, such as Team Milram, have one team on the ProTour, a team of younger riders on the continental circuit as well as being linked with U23 teams.  In this way teams can spot talented riders.

There are five circuits, one each for
Africa
America
Australasia
Europe
Oceania

Usually organisers of a ProTour event can invite one or two teams from the continental circuit to compete.  Also a ProTour team might decide to compete in a continental circuit race

Cycle races
Zac Efron

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (18 October 1987) is an American actor and singer. He is most famous for his role in the High School Musical series. Other movies including 17 Again and Charlie St. Cloud.

Personal life

His mother, Starla Baskett, is a former secretary and his father, David is engineer. He is the older of two sons. He has a little brother, Dylan. He was dating Vanessa Hudgens.

Filmography
Melinda's World (2003) - Stuart Wasser
Miracle Run (2004) - Steven Morgan
The Derby Stallion (2005) - Patrick McCardle
High School Musical (2006) - Troy Bolton
Hairspray (2007) - Link Larkin
High School Musical 2 (2007) - Troy Bolton
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) - Troy Bolton
17 Again (2009) - Mike O'Donnell (teen)
Me and Orson Welles (2010) - Richard Samuels
Charlie St. Cloud (2010) - Charlie St. Cloud
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012) - Ted Wiggins
That Awkward Moment (2014) - Jason
Neighbours (2014) - Teddy SandersNeighbours 2: Soroity Rising (2016) - Teddy Sanders
Baywatch (2017) - Matt Brody
Scoob! (2020) - Fred Jones

Awards and nominations

References 

1987 births
Living people
High School Musical people
American movie actors
American television actors
Models from California
Actors from Los Angeles County, California
Singers from Los Angeles County, California
People from San Luis Obispo, California
Fiddle

The word fiddle refers to a violin when used in folk music. Many people also use it simply as a fun word for "violin". Someone who plays the fiddle is a "fiddler". The bow is sometimes called a "fiddling stick". Fiddle playing, or fiddling, is a style of folk music.

The word fiddle is also used for instruments of several hundred years ago which developed into the violin. These instruments varied a lot from one country to another and one time to another. They were of different shapes and sizes, and even had many different names. Often they were held against the chest instead of being tucked under the chin. In the Middle Ages a small, narrow violin called a kit was often used by dancing masters. It was small enough to be put in a pocket. In south eastern Europe there was even a fiddle with a belly (the front of the instrument) made of skin. Fiddle strings were usually made of gut.

Many fiddles have bridges which are flatter on top than those of classical violins. The flatter bridges makes it easier to play chords and to bow quickly from one string to another. The strings are tuned in a variety of ways. A player might even change the tuning for playing different pieces of music. Tunings other than the regular G-D-A-E tuning, such as G-D-G-D or A-E-A-E, are common. One, two or three of the strings may have been used for a drone (continuous note) while playing the tune on the top string(s).

Many fiddlers have not received classical training but have learned by listening to other fiddlers and copying them. The music they play is dance music. Classical violin playing developed out of country fiddle playing. Most fiddlers use bows which are the same as violin bows, but in some countries such as Hungary they use shorter, heavier bows with horse hair that is tied around the frog (the heel of the bow). With this type of bow the player tightens the hair by squeezing it while playing.

Fiddles were played by people from all areas of society: from noble people to simple peasants. Many of them were minstrels who entertained important people. Some of them may have been able to read music, but many would have learned by copying other players and memorizing the music. At important feasts the minstrels may have played music while walking up to the high table when the food was brought in. They played to accompany dancers and singers, and even acrobats. We can see from old paintings that they sometimes played with other instruments such as trumpets, drums or percussion. We do not know the music they played because it was never written down, but some tunes we still hear today may have come from those old tunes, since some people still learn tunes by ear, from people who learned them by ear, and so on. Some American "old-time" tunes, and some Breton tunes may have come to us in this way, for example.

Related pages
 violin
 rebec
 Hardanger fiddle

String instruments
Folk instruments
Hardanger fiddle

A Hardanger fiddle or hardingfele in Norwegian, is a traditional string instrument used mainly in the south west of  Norway.  It is similar to the violin, but it has eight or nine strings and the wood is thinner. Four of the strings are strung and played like a violin, while the other strings are sympathetic strings (they vibrate when the others are played).  

The Hardingfele is used for dancing.  The player stamps his foot loudly while playing.  It was the Norwegian tradition for a  bridal procession to be led to the church by a Hardanger fiddler.

The instrument has a lot of decoration, with a carved animal (usually the Lion of Norway) or a carved woman's head as part of the scroll at the top of the pegbox, mother of pearl in the tailpiece and fingerboard, and black ink decorations called 'rosing' on the body of the instrument.  Sometimes pieces of bone are used to decorate the pegs and the edges of the instrument.

The earliest known instrument is dated 1651 although we do not know whether this date is correct.  By 1850 it had developed into the Hardanger fiddle known today. 

The Hardanger fiddle can be tuned in lot of different ways, depending on the music to be played.  The Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg liked Norwegian folk music.  When he wrote the famous tune “Morning” for the music for Peer Gynt he was thinking of the notes that would be played on the Hardanger fiddle.

In the 20th century the Hardanger fiddle has become very popular in Norway through competitions.  The players have to play in the style of the area they come from.

Other websites 

 The Norwegian Collection of Folk Music  The Fiddle Volumes: Hardingfeleslåtter (University of Oslo, Department of Musicology)

String instruments
Folk instruments
Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin (born François-Auguste-René Rodin; 12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917) was a French sculptor. Rodin was born in Paris. He made solid objects from stone or clay. His most famous works are 'The Thinker' and 'The Kiss'.

Although Rodin is generally considered the start of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. His training was old-school. He took a craftsman-like approach to his work, but he was rejected three times to Paris's foremost school of art.

Rodin had a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with the sculpture tradition, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic.

Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory. He modelled the human body with realism, with individual character and physicality. Rodin refused to change his style. Gradually there came increasing favour from the government and the artistic community.

His statue of writer Honoré de Balzac for the Société des Gens des Lettres was heavily criticised. Rather than try to convince skeptics of its merit, Rodin repaid the Société his commission and moved the figure to his own garden. After this experience, Rodin did not complete another public commission. Only in 1939 was Monument to Balzac cast in bronze. It is now thought to be a masterpiece.

Rodin's reputation grew, and he became the top French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Rich private clients sought Rodin's work after his 1900 World's Fair exhibit. For example, a Japanese patron, Matsukata Kojiro, paid for some of Rodin's best castings, including "The Gates of Hell."

Rodin kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives.

His sculpture suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917.

Gallery

Other websites 
 Musée Rodin, Paris
 Rodin Museum, Philadelphia
 Views of the Musée Rodin 
 Rodin-Web.org: Academic site on Rodin
 Biography resources dedicated to Auguste Rodin

References 

1840 births
1917 deaths
Artists from Paris
French sculptors
Joe Cole

Joseph John "Joe" Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English professional football player. Cole plays as a midfielder for 
Coventry City. At his peak he played for
Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League and for the England national team.

Cole was born in Paddington. He was adopted. He was raised in Somers Town, London.

Joe Cole trained at West Ham United at the start of his career. He moved to Chelsea in 2003 for a prize of £6,600,00 and scored 10 goals for Chelsea in the 2004/05 season.

Club career statistics

|-
|1998/99||rowspan="5"|West Ham United||rowspan="5"|Premier League||8||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||8||0
|-
|1999/00||22||1||1||0||4||1||5||0||32||2
|-
|2000/01||30||5||4||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||36||5
|-
|2001/02||30||0||3||1||0||0||colspan="2"|-||33||1
|-
|2002/03||36||4||2||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||40||5
|-
|2003/04||rowspan="7"|Chelsea||rowspan="7"|Premier League||35||1||3||0||3||2||9||0||50||3
|-
|2004/05||28||8||3||0||6||0||9||1||46||9
|-
|2005/06||34||8||6||2||1||0||5||1||46||11
|-
|2006/07||10||0||2||0||2||1||7||1||21||2
|-
|2007/08||33||7||3||0||5||1||13||2||54||10
|-
|2008/09||14||2||2||0||0||0||4||1||20||3
|-
|2009/10||||||||||||||||||||
280||36||29||4||25||5||52||6||386||51
280||36||29||4||25||5||52||6||386||51
|}

International career statistics

|-
|2001||1||0
|-
|2002||7||0
|-
|2003||5||2
|-
|2004||6||0
|-
|2005||10||2
|-
|2006||9||2
|-
|2007||9||1
|-
|2008||6||3
|-
!Total||53||10
|}

References

1981 births
Living people
2002 FIFA World Cup players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
Aston Villa F.C. players
British adoptees
Chelsea F.C. players
English footballers
Liverpool F.C. players
People from the London Borough of Camden
People from Paddington
Sportspeople from London
West Ham United F.C. players
Premier League players
Rebec

The rebec is a bowed string musical instrument that was played many hundreds of years ago. It was either held under the chin, like a violin, or held against the arm. The name “rebec” was spelt in a variety of ways.

Origins 
The rebec dates back to the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. The instrument is European, but probably developed from the Afghan instrument called the “rebab”. Instruments like the rebec were being played in the 10th century.

Tuning 
The rebec can have any number of strings from one to five, although three is the most common number. The strings are often tuned in fifths. The instrument played high notes like the violin, but in later years bigger rebecs were made that played lower notes.

Use of the rebec 
The rebec was mostly used for dance music. Dancing masters often used a kind of pocket-sized rebec called a “kit”.

The rebec was also used in folk music, especially in eastern Europe, Spain and North Africa.

In medieval and Renaissance times the rebec in Europe was played by minstrels. They dressed in special livery and played at important feasts and in processions. They were also played by cowherds. King Henry VIII has several rebec players at his court.

Today many Middle Ages re-enactors like to play rebec since it is an authentic Medieval instrument.

String instruments
early musical instruments
Resonator

A resonator is something that resonates.  This may make a particular frequency of a sound or other vibration become bigger.

Electromagnetics

In electromagnetics a cavity resonator is a resonator composed of a space that is usually surrounded by a dielectric or metal which allows standing wave patterns at particular frequencies, eigenmodes, correlated to their size, shape, and material.

Music
Most musical instruments have resonators.  They are the parts which makes the sound louder.  A vibraphone, for example, has long tubes underneath the keys.  It also has a special effect: a mechanism which, when it is turned on, opens and shuts the resonators very quickly so that a trembling sound is heard.

The body of a violin is a resonator: without the body the sound of the string vibrating would hardly be heard, just as the sound of an elastic band stretched between two fingers can hardly be heard.

Musical instrument construction
Physics
Elastic modulus

An elastic modulus, or modulus of elasticity, is the mathematical description of an object or substance's tendency to be deformed elastically (i.e. non-permanently) when a force is applied to it.  

The elastic modulus of an object is defined as the slope of its stress-strain curve in the elastic deformation region:

where λ is the elastic modulus; stress is the force that causes the deformation divided by the area to which the force is applied; and strain is the ratio of the change caused by the stress to the original state of the object. 
 
If one specifies how stress and strain are to be measured, that allows for many types of elastic moduli to be defined.

Related pages
 Elasticity (physics)
 Tensile strength

Materials science
Mechanics
Lira da braccio

The lira da braccio was a European string instrument that was played with a bow.  It was used during the Renaissance. Italian poet-musicians in court in the 15th and 16th centuries often played it to accompany the poems they were reading.  The lira da braccio was very similar to the medieval fiddle.  Changes continued to be made to the way the lira da braccio was made until the end of the 16th century.  In paintings it is often seen being played by the gods Orpheus and Apollo. Sometimes it was used in groups of instruments.

The instrument was a similar shape to a violin, but with a wider fingerboard and flatter bridge. It usually had seven strings, five of them tuned like a violin with a low D added to the bottom, and two other strings for drones.  It is likely that the player often played the tune on the top strings and chords on the lower strings.

The lira da braccio was very popular at court.  Later, in the 16th century, the madrigal became very popular and also the violin, so the lira da braccio was used less.  It continued to be used in plays, especially when it was associated with Apollo.  By the middle of the 17th century people no longer played it.

References

Other websites

String instruments
Early musical instruments
Atlas (missile)

Atlas was a missile built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics.

It was originally designed as an ICBM in the late 1950s. It launched the Mercury project space capsules and became the foundation for a family of successful space launch vehicles now built by United Launch Alliance. The Atlas rocket family is today used as a launch platform for commercial and military satellites, and other spacecraft.

History 

The Atlas, first tested in 1957, was the United States' first successful ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile).

Atlas, named for the Atlas of Greek mythology, got its start in 1946 with the award of a United States Army Air Force research contract to Convair for the study of a 1,500 to 5,000 mi. (2,400 to 8,000 km) range nuclear armed missile.

The missile was originally given the military designation "XB-65", thus making it a bomber; from 1955 it was redesignated "SM-65" and, from 1962, it became "CGM-16". This letter "C" stood for "coffin" or "Container", because the rocket was stored in a semi-hardened container; it was prepared for launch by being raised and fueled in the open. The Atlas-F (HGM-16) was stored vertically underground, but launched after being lifted to the surface.

Current Atlas Family 

Atlas II
Atlas III
Atlas V

References 

 Gunston, Bill (1979). Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles. London: Salamander Books. 
 Walker, Chuck, & Powell, Joel (2005). Atlas The Ultimate Weapon Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Appogee Books.

Other websites 

Video of an early Atlas launch in 1960
 bio Karel J. Bossart 
 Karel Jan Bossart, Ir.
 Atlas launch vehicle profile
 1958 Video of "Atlas in Orbit" Newsreel 
 Atlas D from Encyclopedia Astronautica
 Atlas ICBM History site 
 Atlas ICBM Launch on 5/23/1960  Video
 Atlas ICBM Information/History

Engineering
Rockets
Flag of Dominican Republic

The Dominican Constitution says that the flag of the Dominican Republic has a white cross in the centre; the arms of the cross get to the sides of the flag and divides the flag into four rectangles —the left rectangles are blue (top) and red (bottom), and the right ones are red (top) and blue (bottom). The width of the white cross is half the height of one of the rectangles.

The National Flag, like the state and war flags of other Latin American countries, has a small coat of arms in the centre of the white cross but there is not a coat of arms in the ensign (the flag used by commercial ships).

The Dominican flag was created the first day of Independence (27 February 1844); it was created from the Haitian flag but with a white cross; that is, two blue rectangles on the top and two red rectangles on the bottom. The colors are from the French flag. That was the First National Flag.

The first Dominican Constitution of 6 November 1844 did not say anything about the distribution of the rectangles but from the start the flag was represented with alternation of the colors (that is, blue and red on top and red and blue on bottom); this is the Second National Flag. Only the Constitution of 1908 is specific about the color distribution.

References 

Flag
Dominican Republic, Flag of
Southampton

Southampton is a city in the United Kingdom. The city is in Hampshire. It is about in the middle of the south coast of England. Southampton is the largest city on the south coast.

It is an important port. It is the nearest city to the New Forest. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed from there as was common with most ocean liners at the time. It contains several memorials and museum exhibitions related with the doomed ship.

Places in Southampton

Bargate 
Southampton has lots of landmarks, of which one is the Bargate. This is the old main gate of the city wall of Southampton, and nowadays is used as the beginning of the guided tour of Southampton, Walk the Walls. In medieval Southampton, a bell was rung at dusk every day to tell people that the gates would shortly be locked.

Today, the Bargate Shopping Centre is nearby.

The Mayflower 
Named after The Mayflower, which set sail from Southampton to the "New World" (via Plymouth), the Mayflower is the theatre in Southampton. It was built in 1928.

Docks 
Southampton is home to many cruise ships and ocean liners, including the Queen Victoria and the Queen Mary 2.

There is also a regular ferry service to Hythe (a small village on the other side of Southampton Water), which leaves every half hour.

Sport 
Southampton has a football team Southampton F.C., which is nicknamed "The Saints". In 2001, the team moved stadiums, from "The Dell", to St. Mary's Football Stadium. The club was founded in 1885, and has been playing ever since.

Twinned Cities 
Southampton is twinned with:
 Le Havre, France (since 1973)
 Rems-Murr-Kreis, Germany (since 1991)

Southampton is also sister cities with
 Hampton, Virginia
 Qingdao, China (since 1998)

References 

Unitary authorities
 
Ports and harbours of the United Kingdom
Lhasa Apso

The Lhasa Apso is a small breed of dog. It originated in Lhasa, Tibet, which it is named after. Male Lhasas generally weigh about 14 to 18 pounds, and female Lhasas weigh 12 to 14 pounds. Lhasas have developed a thick coat of fur because they were bred in Tibet, which can get very cold. Their coat comes in many different colors, and they usually have dark brown eyes and a black nose. Lhasas generally live long lives, some surviving into their twenties. Lhasa Apsos do tend to develop arthritis in their legs, which is due to the fact they are excitable, energetic dogs.

 Behavior problems are minimal, but the Lhasa Apso can be a little headstrong and stubborn, which may make it slightly difficult to train. The coat can also require a lot of effort to maintain.

Other websites 
 Lhasa World Forum 

Dog breeds
States and territories of Australia



States and territories of Australia

States

Territories

Mainland

From 1926 to 1931, Central Australia existed as a separate territory between the 20th and 26th parallels of latitude, before being becoming a part of the Northern Territory again.

Overseas territories

  Ashmore and Cartier Islands
  Australian Antarctic Territory
  Norfolk Island
  Christmas Island
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  Coral Sea Islands Territory
  Heard and McDonald Islands

Former 
 Territory of North Australia (1927-31)
 Territory of Central Australia (1927-31)
 Territory of Papua (1902-49)
 Territory of New Guinea (1920-49)
 Territory of Papua and New Guinea (1949-72)

Background and overview 
The states started as separate British colonies before Federation (in 1901). Their powers are protected by the Australian constitution. The territories are under the control of the Commonwealth government. The Australian Parliament has powers to create laws in the territories that it does not have in the states.

Most of the territories are directly administered by the Commonwealth government. Three of the territories (the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island) administer themselves. In the territories that govern themselves, the Australian Parliament has the power to govern, and can override laws made by the territorial governments. It has done this at times, but it is rare that it happens. The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are usually treated as states.

Each state has a governor. This governor is chosen by the Queen, but she chooses the person on the advice of the state Premier. The Administrators of the Northern Territory and of Norfolk Island are chosen by the Governor-General. The Australian Capital Territory is governed by the Governor-General.

The head of government of each state is called the Premier. This person is chosen by the state's Governor. Normally the Governor will select as Premier whoever leads the lower house of the state Parliament. However, the Governor can chose someone else as Premier. The head of government of the self-governing mainland territories is called the Chief Minister. The Northern Territory's Chief Minister, is normally whoever controls the Legislative Assembly, is appointed by the Administrator.n.

Statistics

Other websites 
 Maps of Australia 
 CityMayors article

 
Australia
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show is an alternative name for two separate American television animated shows: Rocky and His Friends (1959–1961) and The Bullwinkle Show (1961–1964).

Cast
Bill Scott as Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Fearless Leader, Mister Peabody, Gidney, Mr. Big and various others
 June Foray as Rocky, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, various witches, princesses and hags in Fractured Fairy Tales and every other female character on the show
 Paul Frees as Boris J. Badenov, Captain Peter "Wrongway" Peachfuzz, Cloyd, Inspector Fenwick, narrator for Dudley Do-Right and various historical figures in Peabody's Improbable History
 Walter Tetley as Sherman
 Daws Butler as Aesop Jr. and various characters in Fractured Fairy Tales and Aesop and Son
 Charles Ruggles as Aesop
 Hans Conried as Snidely Whiplash
 William Conrad as narrator for Rocky and Bullwinkle and narrator for Dudley Do-Right (shared)
 Edward Everett Horton as narrator for Fractured Fairy Tales
 Hal Smith as various other characters
 Julie Bennett as various other characters
 Jean Vander Pyl as various other characters

Other websites

Animated television series
Comedy television series
1950s television series
1960s television series
1959 television series debuts
1964 television series endings
Jimmy Finlayson

James Henderson "Jimmy" Finlayson (August 27, 1887 – October 9, 1953) was a Scottish-American actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Finlayson was bald, with a fake moustache, and had many trademark comic mannerisms and is famous for his squinting, outrageous "double-take, "fade away" head reaction, and characteristic expression D'oh!.

Other websites 
 
 James Finlayson Biography
 Yes Yes Nanette Public domain short comedy for free download 

1887 births
1953 deaths
Scottish movie actors
Comedians from Los Angeles
American silent movie actors
Actors from Los Angeles
Body mass index

The body mass index (or BMI) is a measure which shows whether people have the right weight for their height. The World Health Organisation (WHO), governments and health workers use it. It is also sometimes called the Quetelet index.

History 
The BMI was invented by Adolphe Quetelet between 1830 and 1850. 

A scientist named Ancel Keys first used the term body mass index in 1972.  He wrote that governments should measure the BMI of adults to find out whether they are too fat or too thin.

Calculation 
To find somebody's BMI:
 measure their weight (body mass) in kilograms or pounds
 measure their height in meters or inches
 divide their weight by the square of their height
 if using pounds and inches, multiply the answer by 703
This is the formula:

For example, a man whose weight is  and height is  has a BMI of:

A man whose weight is  and height is  has a BMI of:

Overweight or not 
Health organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), use the BMI to help decide whether people are too fat or too thin.  The WHO uses these numbers for adults:

Some people disagree with these numbers.  Some experts think the Overweight range for people with Asian body types should be 23–27.49, not 25–29.99.  Some experts think the lowest Normal BMI should be 20 for men, and 18 for women.
The old BMI definition of overweight was 27. This changed in 1998.

Uses 
BMI is useful for governments who want to know about the health of their people.  For example, in the United States in 2007, 74% of adults had a BMI above 25 (Overweight or Obese) and 27% of adults had a BMI above 30 (Obese).  Many of these people will become ill because they are too fat.  This information helps the United States government decide what to do about the health of its people.

BMI is less useful for finding out whether one person is too fat or too thin.  BMI does not say how much weight is fat, how much is muscle and how much is bone.  For example, many athletes have a high BMI.  They are not fat.  Their BMI is high because they have lots of heavy muscle.  Other people have lots of fat and not much muscle.  They are too fat but their BMI is normal.

Even so, BMI is popular.  It is easy to use and easy to understand, and it gives useful information for people with "normal" bodies.

Variations 
The Ponderal Index is similar to the body mass index, but the height is cubed, not squared.  The formula is:

Some experts suggest that the exponent should be between 2.3 and 2.7.  The best formula might be:

References

Other websites

 U.S. National Center for Health Statistics:
BMI Growth Charts for children and young adults
BMI calculator for people ages 2–19 
BMI calculator for people ages 20 and older

Fitness
Middle age

For the time in history, see Middle Ages.

Middle age is the period of life between youth and before old age. There is no fixed age, but most people think it begins when someone is about 45 years old, until the person is 64 years old.

In most countries, people that think that by middle age, people should be mature, perhaps with a good, steady job and a family. Due to promotion, middle age is sometimes a time when adults have greater wealth and influence than earlier in their careers, although they may have less disposable income due to having children. However, it is also common for some adults to suffer from mid-life crisis, when they are unsure about their life and sometimes become depressed because of it. Women and men often have different experiences of middle age partly depending on whether they choose to work or care for their family full-time.

Health 
Middle-aged people begin to look older, with more wrinkles in their skin, and start to have grey hair. They become less fit and usually gain more weight. 

Middle-aged females find it harder to become pregnant. If they do have a baby, there is a higher chance that it will have a genetic disease (Down syndrome, for example). Females usually have their menopause in middle age, when they stop bleeding every month. When that happens, they cannot have children anymore.

Society
Tribute

A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution) is when one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical situations, of submission or loyalty.

This is trade between the parties under a contractual relationship formed upon pressure, and based upon the possibility of threats if improved relationships did not happen.

Imperial China 
In Imperial China, the term "tribute" is used to describe a kind of regulated trade in goods and services between China (the only great power in East Asia) and other trading partners.

Despite the term "tribute" state, China did not get involved in the domestic affairs and diplomacy of its trading partners, such as Joseon, Japan, Siam, Cochinchina and the Ryūkyū Kingdom.
 1403: The Ming Dynasty emperor of China gave a patent and a gold seal to  Taejong of Joseon.  This confirmed his legal status as the ruler of the Korean peninsula.
 1784: The earliest imperial device in Japan was lost.  It was found in the late 18th century.  A Han Dynasty emperor of China gave the gold object to the emperor of Japan in the first century (57 AD).  This is a relic of the Chinese tribute system.

Musical tribute
In music, a tribute is when a singer, musician or band plays the music of another musical group. These artists may make an entire album called a "tribute album" that is nothing but songs that were first played by other musicians. A "tribute band" is a band that only plays songs that were made famous by one other band. They will often dress like that band and try to look like them as they perform. For example, a Kiss tribute band will only play songs by the band Kiss. They will also dress like the band and use the same makeup designs as members of the bands.

Related pages
 Diplomacy

Notes

References
 
 
 
 
 

Taxation
Musical terminology
Brandy (singer)

Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), professionally known as Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress. 

Brandy became famous as a teenager in the early 90s with the debut Brandy which received a platinum certification in the US. In 1997 she became the first African American in history to play the role of Cinderella in the movie with the same title. Her second album Never Say Never followed which sold over 16 million copies worldwide. A couple of highly successful singles was released from the record, including "The Boy Is Mine", a duet with Monica, which spent 13 weeks at number one on the US singles chart. In 1999 Brandy starred in the horror movie I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Brandy earned the title "Princess of R&B" due to her success in the 1990s.  She starred in the sitcom Moesha as the title character.

Her third album Full Moon was released in 2002. The album went platinum a month after it's release. The follow-up titled Afrodisiac was released in 2004. Thereafter Brandy's career suffered from several setbacks, most notably the 2006 car accident where another driver was killed. The singer's sixth album is expected for release in 2012. 

To date Brandy has sold over 30 million records worldwide which makes her one of the best-selling female artists in music history. In 2010 she was ranked amongst the 50 most successful teenagers in American history.

Brandy was a contestant in the late 2010 season of Dancing with the Stars.

Discography

Albums
 1994: Brandy
 1998: Never Say Never
 2002: Full Moon
 2004: Afrodisiac
 2008: Human
 2012: Two Eleven
 2020: B7

Additional releases
 1999: U Don't Know Me...Like U Used To  (EP) 
 2000: The Videos  (Video DVD) 
 2005: The Best of Brandy  (Compilation album) 
 2011: A Family Business  (Album together with Ray J and Willie Norwood)

References

1979 births
Living people
Actors from Mississippi
African American actors
African-American singers
American movie actors
American R&B musicians
American singer-songwriters
American television actors
Brandy Norwood
Dancing with the Stars participants
Grammy Award winners
Singers from Mississippi
Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens or the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in the United Kingdom.

Kew’s historic landscapes and buildings are a collection of gardens and parks and glasshouses.

Kew has the world's largest collection of plant specimens, and is one of the most important centres of research in botany.

Kew Gardens are open to visitors who pay to enter.

History
Early work on the gardens started in the 17th century when King Henry VII built Richmond Lodge in the area.

The land was a private royal garden until the Victorian era. In 1840, the Royal Botanic Garden was established.

The great expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century brought an expanded interest in exotic plants, so the gardens expanded.

In the 20th century, the gardens continued to grow larger and even more important in plant science.

The gardens were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

The Temperate glass house was fixed over 5 years. It opened again in 2018.

Gallery

Related pages 
List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom
List of botanical gardens

References

Other websites

 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew website 
 Millennium Seed Bank Project
 Images and some highlights of Kew
 BBC, Marianne North collection of plant paintings
       

Buildings and structures in London
World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom
Botanical gardens in the United Kingdom
Yo Gabba Gabba!

Yo Gabba Gabba! is an American television show is an Nick Jr. from August 20, 2007 until February 2, 2009. It is shown on Nick Jr., on the Nickelodeon network. The program is about a colourful D.J. named DJ Lance Rock, and 5 toy monsters, who live in Gabbaland. In every program a band plays music. Most of the bands are famous indie rock acts, like for instance Arcade Fire and Enon.

The series was first shown on August 20, 2007 on Nick Jr. and began being shown February 23, 2008 on Noggin. A second series was shown in 2008.

Main Characters 
DJ Lance Rock, DJ and Creator of Gabbaland who can make the characters come to life by saying "Yo Gabba Gabba".
Super Mr. Superhero, A superhero who helped protect a monster, showing that superhero’s can only defeat if they know they are evil.

Monsters 
Muno, A Tall, Red Cyclops who is very friendly and a Little Clumsy. His closest relationships are with DJ Lance, Foofa, and Brobee.
Foofa, A beautiful flower monster who is quiet and loves Unicorns. Her closest relationships are with DJ Lance, Muno, and Toodee.
Brobee, An Adorable, little green monster who is the youngest of the Gabbas at 3/4 years old. He is the Gabba Drummer. His closest relationships are with DJ Lance, Foofa, and Plex.
Toodee, A Two-Tooth Cat who loves to have fun and Ice-Skate. Her closest relationships are with DJ Lance, Foofa, and Brobee.
Plex, A magical robot who happily serves the Gabbas, but also has fun to pay off.  He is the oldest and is the only Gabba Monster with no land. His closest relationships are with DJ Lance, Toodie, and Brobee.

Celebrity Appearances 
Lance Robertson, DJ Lance Rock (look above for more information)
Biz Markie, A Beatboxer and Rapper who frequently appears for Biz's Beat of the Day.
Mark Mothersbaugh, An artist in Yo Gabba Gabba who draws in every episode and his drawings come to life.
Jack Black, A new friend of the Gabbas who is scared at first but then has a strong friendship with the Gabbas later.
Jack McBrayer, A comedian who appears in the occasional Knock Knock Joke of the day.
Erykah Badu, A very frequent singer and dancer in the show.
Mos Def, Super Mr. Superhero (look above for more information)
Fred Armisen, A rarely shown treasure hunter and crafter.
Paul Scheer, A joker who made a brief cameo and Gabba Land and in New Friends was (along with Jack McBrayer) a member in Knock Knock Joke of the day.
Carmen Osbahr, A puppeteer who plays as Muno's Sister.
Drew Massey, Played as Brobee Cake in the episode Birthday.
Rob Paulsen, Played as Muno in season 4 and was a guest on Dancey Dance Time.
Cam Clarke, Was in the episode Restaurant, but wasn't seen.

References

2007 American television series debuts
2015 American television series endings
2000s American television series
2000s children's television series
2010s American television series
2010s children's television series
American children's television series
Nickelodeon television series
English-language television programs
Post (album)

Post is an album by Icelandic rock singer Björk. She sent it out on June of 1995. It includes techno and dance songs.

Post was one of the most popular albums of Björk. It was ranked #26 in Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005".

Björk albums
1995 albums
Landscape

A landscape means an area of land as one can see it. This includes landforms, flora, fauna and human elements, for instance human activity or the built environment.

According to its meaning, lighting and weather conditions are part of landscape as well. Objects inside the building can sometimes be considered part of landscape as well. The most beautiful landscape in the world is the Yorkshire Dales. Yorkshire Dales has many extrodinary mountains that youcan actually walk on.

Geology 
The landscape is determined mainly by the underlying geology. This can be seen clearly in the East African Great Rift Valley. There almost everything in the landscape is caused by or connected with the pulling apart of Africa which is happening there. Even in Great Britain, a geologically quiet place, the whole landscape can be understood by understanding its geological past.One geological place is the rain forest

Etymology
The word was borrowed as a painters' term from Dutch during the 16th century, when Dutch artists began to become masters of the landscape genre. The Dutch word landschap had earlier meant simply “region, tract of land” but now meant “a picture depicting scenery on land”.

References 

Geography
Geology
Ecology
Dell

Dell is a private company that makes laptop and desktop computers and computer accessories. It was formed in 1984. It is named after Michael Dell, the CEO and creator of the company. Dell makes computers for businesses and home users, and they also make computer monitors and Printers. They used to make portable music players, called the Dell DJ, and PDAs too.

Their company is in Round Rock, Texas. In 2006, they employed over 78,000 people. Some of their computers have a Linux operating system. Most computers for consumer usage will come with Microsoft Windows.

History 
Michael Delle — Founder of the Company.

Founded by Michael Delle, in 1984 in the city of Austin (Texas) as PC Limited, since 1988 — Dell Computer, after 2003 — Dell, Inc.

In 1987, Dell entered the European market, in 1994 they went to the market of the Asia-Pacific region. In 2005, Fortune called Dell "the company causing the greatest admiration in the United States" (in the world ranking Dell was third place). The growth rates of profit and sales volumes of the late 1990's to the early 2000's significantly exceeded industry indicators.

In 2013, Michael Dell at the expense of its own funds and funds provided by the investment company Silver Lake Partners, for $25 billion bought a controlling stake in the company from the exchange, 75% of the company passed under the control of Dell.

Mergers and acquisitions 
Dell acquired Perot Systems, Ross Perot's IT infrastructure services company, for approximately $3.9 billion.

On October 12, 2015, the American corporation Dell signed an agreement to acquire EMC for $67 billion, which is the largest deal in the history of the IT industry.

On September 7, 2016, the acquisition of EMC was completed, the acquired EMC became part of the updated Dell Technologies Corporation as a subsidiary with the name "Dell EMC", moreover, it is planned to transfer Dell units involved in the sale of corporate servers to this business unit, data storage systems and some others related to the corporate market.

Other websites 
 Dell website

1984 establishments in the United States
1980s establishments in Texas
American computer hardware manufacturers
Companies based in Texas
Svartahrid

Svartahrid is a black metal band from Norway. The band was formed in Skien, Telemark in 1994.

Members 
Istar - guitarist and singer
Forn - drummer
NidGrim - bassist

Studioalbums 
 Forthcoming Storm (1999)
 As The Sunrise Flickers (2000)
 Sadness And Wrath (2007)
 Malicious Pride (2008)

Other websites 
Svartahrid at Encyclopaedia Metallum

Black metal bands
Norwegian heavy metal bands
Marcel Marceau

Marcel Mangel (22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) better known by his stage name Marcel Marceau, was a French mime. He was one of the most popular mimes in the world. He was said to be "single-handedly responsible for reviving the art of mime after World War II."

Marceau created many personalities. The most famous of these is probably Bip the clown. He received several awards for his works.
The French Legion of Honour, in the rank of an Officer, 1986
Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres
The French Order of Merit

References

Other websites 
The World of Mime Theatre Library: Marcel Marceau
Compagnie Bodecker&Neander : Alexander Neander and Wolfram v. Bodecker are assistants and members of the Compagnie MARCEL MARCEAU.
Salon - Brilliant Careers 

1923 births
2007 deaths
French actors
French entertainers
French Jews
Jewish actors
Legion of Honour
Mimes
People from Strasbourg
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny is an Academy Award-winning animated rabbit who starred in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series created by Warner Bros. He made the phrase "What's up, Doc?" popular as early as 1940.  Other things he says are "I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque", "Of course you realize, this means war", and "Ain't I a stinker?". He is often seen as a very studious character, with a carrot in his mouth. His counterpart is commonly Daffy Duck, with whom he is usually arguing.  In other shorts, he comes up against Wile E. Coyote, Elmer Fudd, or Yosemite Sam.  Bugs speaks with a Brooklyn accent (and usually a mouthful of carrots), causing him to drop his "Rs".  Bugs is somewhat based on the comedian Groucho Marx.  Bugs is one of a dozen cartoon characters to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; he was the second after Mickey Mouse. He is also a struggling rapist confirmed after they copyrighted MeatCanyons video. It is now Canon after the copyright strike.

Further reading

 
 
 Chuck Amuck : The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist by Chuck Jones, published by Farrar Straus & Giroux,

Other websites

 Warner Bros. Studios
 Bugs' Toonopedia profile

Looney Tunes characters
Fictional hares and rabbits
Fictional characters introduced in the 1930s
Tune Squad players
Space Jam characters
Kaz II mystery

The Kaz II is a 12 metre catamaran that was found drifting 160 km (80 nautical miles) off the northern coast of Australia on April 18, 2007. What happened to the crew of the boat is still unknown. The circumstances in which they disappeared are mysterious and have been compared to that of the 1800s ship Mary Celeste.

References 

Ships
2000s in Australia
2007
The Simpsons shorts

The Simpsons shorts is a series of one-minute television shorts that ran on the variety show The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons. The shorts were created by cartoonist Matt Groening.

Season 1: 1987

Season 2: 1987-1988

Season 3: 1988-1989

Related pages
 The Simpsons
 The Tracey Ullman Show

References 

The Simpsons
James L. Brooks

James L. Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is a three-time Academy Award, nineteen-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning American producer, writer, and movie director.

He is best known for creating American television programs such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Simpsons, Rhoda and Taxi. His best-known movie is Terms of Endearment, for which he received three Academy Awards in 1984.

References

Other websites
 
 Gracie Films Website

1940 births
Living people
American movie directors
American screenwriters
Emmy Award winners
Writers from New York City
Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a way of connecting to a computer network using radio waves instead of wires.  It was invented to connect computers that are near each other, and nowadays is much used for Internet connections.  

The Wi-Fi Alliance says Wi-Fi is any "wireless local area network" (WLAN) that follows the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 specification. A Wi-Fi device can work with any Wi-Fi network anywhere in the world.  

The word Wi-Fi is a play on words with hi-fi, and was invented to replace the name "IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum".

As of 2013, most wireless networks use one of two radio frequency bands. These are not the only two bands, but are the most used. One of the bands is at around 2.4 GHz, and the other is at 5 GHz. Both of these have benefits and drawbacks: The 2.4 GHz band is widely used, and devices are usually cheaper. Microwave ovens, DECT telephones and other wireless devices also use the 2.4 GHz band, and sometimes cause interference which slows transmissions. The 5 GHz band has more frequencies and usually less interference, but there are more rules for using it.  In some places, the 5 GHz band may not be used outdoors. Because fewer devices use the 5 GHz band, devices that do are often more expensive.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that Wi-Fi is not dangerous.

Related pages
Hotspot (computers)

References

Other websites 
 Wi-Fi Alliance
 Free WiFi - A list of free wifi around the world

Computer networking
Digital Object Identifier

A Digital Object Identifier (or DOI) is a permanent way to identify an online document.  This identification is not related to its current location.

A typical use of a DOI is to give a scientific paper or article a unique number that can be used by anyone find the location of the paper. It may also make it possible to find an electronic copy, for example, on the Internet. The DOI system has a DOI resolution system which is used to locate where the document is. When the document is moved, the DOI resolution system is updated with the new location of the document.

For example, doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2008.03.001 links to "Web 2.0 authorship: Issues of Referencing and citation for academic integrity" by Kathleen Gray et al.  The work was published in The Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 11, Issue 2, 2008.

References

Other websites 
 Welcome to the DOI System
 Factsheet: DOI System and Internet Identifier Specifications

Documents
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives is a website which lists bands from various forms of heavy metal music.

Other websites 
Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives

Entertainment websites
Heavy metal