cahya/wikipedia-simple-en huggingface dataset:
Kobayashi Issa

was a Japanese poet. He is known for his haiku poems and his journals. He is thought of as one of the four haiku masters in Japan. The others are Bashō, Buson and Shiki.

Other websites 
 Haiku of Kobayashi Issa A searchable online archive of 9000 haiku by David G. Lanoue. Originally housed at Xavier University of Louisiana, this archive was moved after Hurricane Katrina to its present, permanent location.
 一茶発句全集 (The complete haiku of Issa)
 一茶記念館 (Issa Memorial Museum) 

1763 births
1828 deaths

Japanese writers
Japanese poets
People from Nagano Prefecture
Masaoka Shiki

was the pen-name of a Japanese author, poet, literary critic, and journalist in Meiji period of Japan. His real name was Masaoka Tsunenori. As a child he was called Noboru.

Other websites 
 Selected Poems (haiku and tanka) of Masaoka Shiki, Translated by Janine Beichman at University of Virginia Library Japanese Text Initiative poem translations from 'Masaoka Shiki' by Janine Beichman
 Ehime University site on Masaoka Shiki with photos, poetry 
 fan site with bio and poems
 National Diet Library bio and photos

Japanese poets
Japanese journalists
1867 births
1902 deaths
People from Ehime Prefecture
Billy Collins

William J. "Billy" Collins (born March 22, 1941) is a poet who served two terms as the 11th Poet Laureate of the United States. He served from 2001 to 2003. In his home state, Collins has been recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004.

Quotations
 (from 1999): As I'm writing, I'm always reader conscious. I have one reader in mind, someone who is in the room with me, and who I'm talking to, and I want to make sure I don't talk too fast, or too glibly. Usually I try to create a hospitable tone at the beginning of a poem. Stepping from the title to the first lines is like stepping into a canoe. A lot of things can go wrong.
 (from 2004): Moving from the position of United States poet laureate to New York State poet laureate might seem like a demotion or a drop in rank to the military-minded. It might even appear that I am heading toward eventually being crowned laureate of my ZIP code. But in fact, it is very gratifying to be honored again as a representative of poetry, this time by my native state where I grew up — more or less — and continue to live.

Other websites 
 Watch a collection of 11 animated poems read aloud by Billy Collins 
 33 poems read aloud by Billy Collins, no charge (Creative Commons)
 Poems by Billy Collins at PoetryFoundation.org
 Griffin Poetry Prize biography (2004 judge and award emcee) 
 Billy Collins at poets.org
 Billy Collins at poetenladen.de (poetshop)

1941 births
Living people
Writers from New York City
Yu Suzuki

is a famous Japanese game designer.  He was born in 1958.  For most of his life, he has worked for Sega.  Some people say he is as famous as Shigeru Miyamoto.  Suzuki created games like Hang-On and Virtua Fighter and Shenmue.  He was person #6 who was added to the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Both of Suzuki's parents were school teachers.  When Suzuki was growing up, he wanted to be a dentist.  But he could not pass the test, so he decided to study computers instead.  In 1983 he started working at Sega.  In 1993 he wrote a famous game called Virtua Fighter.  It was so famous, that it was added to the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC, as an example of an important game.

Personal life
Suzuki said in an interview that he greatly enjoys creating games. However, he has doesn't care much about playing them. he would rather spend his free time watching movies and visiting theme parks.

Games developed

Canceled games

On top of games, Yu Suzuki lead the creation of a technical demo "Tower of Babel" prepared for the Dreamcast showcase at Tokyo New Otani Hotel on May 1st 1998.

Hardware developed
Sega Space Harrier (1985)
Sega Model 1 (1992)
Sega Model 2 (1993)
Sega Model 3 (1996)

Dreamcast (1998)
Sega NAOMI (1998)

References

Japanese video game designers
Sega people
1958 births
Living people
People from Iwate Prefecture
Isra and Mi'raj

The Isra and Mi'raj are two parts of a story that Muslims tell about Muhammad.  They say that in the year 621, while he was resting in the Kaaba in Mecca, an angel came to him, with an animal called a Buraq.  The Buraq carried Muhammad to a mosque that was far away, and then the Buraq took Muhammad up into heaven.  While in Heaven, Muhammad met Adam and Moses and Allah (God), and then came back down to Earth.

Every year, Muslims hold a festival for the Isra and Mi'raj.  They bring their children to the mosques, where the children can hear the story, and then pray with the grownups.  Afterwards there is a feast and everyone can eat.

History of Islam
Quran
Fustat

Fustat was the first Arab capital in Egypt.  It was founded in 641 AD, after the Arabs conquered Alexandria.  The Arabs did not want their capital to be so far away as Alexandria, which is why they made Fustat, which was far from the sea and closer to Arabia, and was on their side of the Nile river.

Fustat became a beautiful and powerful city for over 500 years, but then it was destroyed in 1168, when its vizier Shawar told his army to burn the city.  Shawar did not want the crusaders to capture the city, so he burned it instead.

Today there is not much left of Fustat, but some buildings can be seen in Old Cairo.

Cities in Egypt
641 establishments
Establishments in Egypt
7th-century establishments in Africa
Vizier

A vizier  is an Arabic word for a kind of government official.  A vizier would usually work for a Muslim monarch like a Caliph or a Sultan.

Notes

References
 Etymology OnLine
 Royal Ark, dynasties in historical context - see each muslim nation quoted in this article, often in the section 'Glossary'
 WorldStatesmen - click on each Islamic present state

Heads of state
Mughal Empire
Hank Williams Jr.

Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949) is an American musician and songwriter. He is the son of country music legend Hank Williams. His nickname is "Bocephus", given to him by his father. He has a half-sister, named Jett Williams.

From his boyhood, Hank Jr., performed his father's music publicly, because many people were still interested in it, and Hank Sr.'s career was cut short by alcohol and drug abuse. Young Williams wanted to perform music of his own, and to have his own musical career apart from his father's, but it was hard to "get out from his father's shadow", and be recognized for his own talents.

In time, Williams met musicians who liked him for his own ideas, and helped him to develop his own kind of music. He was able to become an original writer and performer, while still being proud to be Hank Sr.'s son. Some of his father's fans were sad that he wanted to do this, but others understood. He also gained new fans, performing his new music.

Some of Williams's songs are "Eleven Roses", "Family Tradition", "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound", "All My Rowdy Friends", and "A Country Boy Can Survive". Even though he had hit records and many fans, it took years for people in country music to accept him and his chosen style. Williams lost out on many awards he could have earned. Finally in the 1980s, he began to win awards as a country performer.

In the 1990s, Williams recorded a  with his father, by using an old recording, and the two appeared together in a music video through electronic editing.

In 2005, Williams donated $125,000 to relief efforts in Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina.

Singles
"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" (1964)
"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" (1984)
"The Party's On" (2016)

Studio albums

Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)
Connie Francis and Hank Williams Jr. Sing Great Country Favorites (1964)
Ballads of the Hills and Plains (1965)
Blues My Name (1965)
A Time to Sing (1967)
Songs My Father Left Me (1969)
Luke the Drifter Jr. Vol. 2 (1969)
Live at Cobo Hall (1969)
Sunday Morning (1969)
After You, Pride's Not Hard to Swallow (1973)
One Night Stands (1977)
Hank Williams Jr. and Friends (1975)
The New South (1977)
Family Tradition (1979)
Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound (1979)
Habits Old and New (1980)
Rowdy (1981)
The Pressure Is On (1981)
High Notes (1982)
Strong Stuff (1983)
Man of Steel (1983)
Major Moves (1984)
Five-O (1985)
Montana Cafe (1986)
Hank Live (1987)
Born to Boogie (1987)
Wild Streak (1988)
Lone Wolf (1990)
Pure Hank (1991)
Maverick (1992)
Out of Left Field (1993)
Hog Wild (1995)
A.K.A. Wham Bam Sam (1996)
Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts (1996)
Stormy (1999)
The Almeria Club Recordings (2002)
I'm One of You (2003)
127 Rose Avenue (2009)
Old School New Rules (2012)
 It's About Time (2016)

References 

1949 births
Living people
American songwriters
American guitarists
Country musicians
Singers from Louisiana
Musicians from Louisiana
Utagawa Kunisada

Utagawa Kunisada (; 1786 – 12 January 1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (, ), was a Japanese artist. He was a master of the ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.

Gallery

References

Other websites 
 The Utagawa Kunisada Project
 List of Kunisada pictures
 Kunisada

Japanese printmakers
1786 births
1865 deaths
People from Tokyo
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

, also called   or Yoshitoshi,  was a Japanese artist. He was a master of the ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.

His adopted son was Tsukoka Kōgyō (1869-1927), who was also an artist.

Gallery

References

Other websites

 Artencyclopedia.com, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Online

Japanese printmakers
1839 births
1892 deaths
Artists from Tokyo
Odawara Castle

is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was the fortress of various daimyo during the Muromachi period of Japanese history.

Odawara Castle was destroyed by the Meiji government. However, present Odawara Castle was rebuilt in 1960. It serves as a museum and is designated as an important historical monument. Odawara Castel premise is a park, and there are zoo and small amusement park in addition to historical site such as Castel tower. It was voted the 100 best historic parks in Japan in October, 2006.

References

Other websites
Odawara Castle

Castles in Japan
Ab urbe condita

Ab urbe condita is a way to measure time.

Origin 
The phrase is Latin. It literally means from when the city was founded. The city talked about is the city of Rome. This way of measuring time was not used in Classical antiquity. The first to have used it was the historian Orosius, about 400 AD.

History 
Marcus Terentius Varro found out that the city of Rome was founded 440 years after the fall of Troy. Romulus and Remus founded it. Varro thought that was in the spring of 753 BC. 

Marcus Porcius Cato Censorius thought that Rome was founded one year after the 7th Olympic Games. That would have been in 752 BC.

Other works 
Ab urbe condita is also the main work of Titus Livius, a Roman historian.

Time
Mesosphere

The mesosphere is a part of the atmosphere. It is between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. On Earth, the mesosphere starts at 50 kilometers above the planet to about 90 km above the planet. 

The mesosphere is the most poorly understood part of the atmosphere. The mesosphere lies above the highest point for flying a plane, but below the lowest point for flying a spaceship. It also has a layer of electrically charged particles called the ionosphere.

Other websites 
 Description with links to other atmospheric topics

Layers of Earth's atmosphere
Magnetosphere

A magnetosphere is a region around an astronomical object, such as a planet. It is the region where charged particles are  affected by the object's magnetic field. The magnetosphere of the Sun is called the heliosphere. Ions and electrons of the solar wind are deflected by the heliosphere. 

Since a magnetosphere is magnetic, it is invisible. However, the Earth's magnetosphere makes the Aurora Borealis. This is what causes the "Northern Lights" that shimmer in the night sky near the North Pole.

The border between magnetospheres is called a magnetopause.

References 

Astrophysics
Solar System
Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a royal title. It is usually held by the eldest son of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom.  The title is not automatic, but is given by the reigning monarch.

When a person becomes King or Queen, their eldest son immediately becomes Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. The current Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was born in 1948, and was known as Prince Charles of Edinburgh (his father is The Duke of Edinburgh). In 1952, his mother became Queen, and he became The Duke of Cornwall (in Scotland he was called The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay).  In 1969, the Queen made him Prince of Wales, and he is now called Prince of Wales, except in Scotland, where he is still The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay.

King George II created his son, Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales.  When Frederick died, the King made Frederick's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales.

Related pages
 Titles of European royal heirs

 
British monarchy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, and it has 32 academic departments, and gives much importance to scientific and technological research. MIT students, graduates, and faculty members are famous for being given many awards, including 76 Nobel Prizes. In 2013 QS ranked MIT as the best university in the world. It started in 1861. It is one of the most selective universities. It accepted 8.9% of people who applied for class of 2016. Nine months' tuition and fees for 2012–2013 is $42,050. MIT gives financial aid so that anyone who is good enough can pay. In 2011-2012 64% of undergraduates had some kind of financial aid. The student:faculty ratio is 8:1. 45% of undergraduates are women. The most popular major is engineering.

Other websites

 MIT, official web site
 MyMIT, admissions web site
 MIT Alumni Association

Publications
 MIT OpenCourseWare, Free online publication of nearly all MIT course materials
The Tech, student newspaper, the world's first newspaper on the web
Tech Talk, MIT's official newspaper
Technology Review, alumni magazine
MIT Press, university press & publisher

Maps
MIT Maps 
Early Maps of both the Boston and Cambridge Campuses  maintained by MIT's Institute Archives & Special Collections

References

Association of American Universities
Collegiate Water Polo Association
Cambridge, Massachusetts
 
1861 establishments in the United States
19th-century establishments in Massachusetts
The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report was an American television talk show starring Stephen Colbert.

It was aired on Comedy Central Monday to Thursday, starting October 17, 2005. The last episode aired on December 18, 2014. It was a spin-off of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Colbert acts as if he is very conservative, as a parody. His show makes fun of different conservative political commentary shows, especially Bill O'Reilly's show The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. The show also has many guests, usually one each night on the last part of his show. They are authors, actors, politicians, musicians and others. He also sometimes has other guests in other segments in his show, such as Congress members in his "Better Know a District" segment. The show is directed by Jim Hoskinson.

Colbert has also written three books with the writers of his show. The first book from 2007 is called I Am America (And So Can You!) as the character he plays on television.

The show is aired in Canada on The Comedy Network, The Comedy Channel in Australia, and Comedy Central in New Zealand.

The show won two Emmy Awards in 2013. It ended in December 2014.

Other websites 

Colbert Nation

2005 American television series debuts
2014 American television series endings
2000s American television series
2010s American television series
American comedy television series
American television talk shows
Emmy Award winning programs
Television spin-offs
English-language television programs
Taneda Santoka

was the pen name of a Japanese writer. He is known for writing haiku of free verse. His real name was Taneda Shouichi (種田正一).

Other websites 
 e-texts of Santoka's works at Aozora Bunko
 Weeds, Falling Rain  a selection of Zen Haikai by Santoka Taneda, translated by Okami
 Santoka - a biography and poems 
SANTOKA by Kametaro 
 Fire on the Mountain: The Selected Haiku of a Wandering Zen Monk Taneda Santoka  translated by Hisashi Miura and James Green
 SANTOKA and SAKE by endoy 

Japanese writers
1882 births
1940 deaths
Pen names
People from Yamaguchi Prefecture
Cid Corman

Cid (Sidney) Corman (June 29, 1924 – March 12, 2004) was an American poet well known for editing the magazine Origin.

Other websites 
Thirty-one poems 
Cid Corman on poetry over the radio, October 1952
CID CORMAN & ORIGIN PRESS
  A large collection of Cid Corman's manuscripts is held at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin 
Additional papers (1942-76) are held in the Special Collections library at Kent State University 
Additional papers (1962-1964) are held in the Special Collections library at Washington University, Saint Louis 
An essay on Corman 
New Origin Web site
About.com  Web page on Corman
obituary in The Guardian of London

1924 births
2004 deaths
Writers from Boston, Massachusetts
Lenard Moore

Lenard Duane Moore (born February 13, 1958) is an American writer. He was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He has written more than 20 forms of poetry, drama, essays and literary criticism. He has been writing and publishing haiku for 25 years.

Poetry
Lenard's poetry has been translated into several languages. He has written the following:
Poems of Love & Understanding (Carlton Press, 1982)
The Open Eye (NC Haiku Society Press, 1985)
Forever Home (St. Andrews College Press, 1992)
Desert Storm: A Brief History (Los Hombres Press, 1993)

Awards
1983, 1994, 2003 Haiku Museum of Tokyo Award
1987-1988 Japan Air Lines Haiku Contest Finalist out of 40,000 entries
1992 First Prize Winner in Traditional Style Haiku,Mainichi Daily News:Tokyo, JAPAN
1992 Third Prize Harold G. Henderson Award, Haiku Society of America
1996 Indies Arts Award
1997 Margaret Walker Creative Writing Award
1998 Tar Heel of the Week Award
1998-2000 Cave Canem Fellow
2000 Alumni Achievement Award
2001 The Heron's Nest Award, First Runner-up for poem "summer moon-"
2006 Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award for contributing to the fine arts of North Carolina

1958 births
Living people
American military people
Writers from North Carolina
Octavio Paz

Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat. He won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature.

On April 19, 1998, Paz died of cancer in Mexico City, Mexico.

Other websites 
 Pegasos biography 
 Nobel museum biography and list of works 
  Octavio Paz's complete poems and essays from Vuelta magazine and literary criticism on his work
  Octavio Paz: 'La verdad contra el compromiso'

1914 births
1998 deaths
Cancer deaths in Mexico
Magazine founders
Mexican businesspeople
Mexican Nobel Prize winners
Mexican writers
Raymond Roseliep

Raymond Roseliep (August 11, 1917 – December 6, 1983) was a poet. He wrote haiku. He was a Catholic priest. He has been described as "the John Donne of Western haiku".

Other websites 
Selected Roseliep haiku
An academic analysis of the poems of Roseliep

Writers from Iowa
1917 births
1983 deaths
American poets
Kenneth Rexroth

Kenneth Rexroth (December 22, 1905 – June 6, 1982) was an American writer. He was one of the first poets in the United States to write in traditional Japanese poetic forms such as haiku. Rexroth is known as one of the main figures in the San Fransisco Renaissance.

Other websites 

In Fall 2006, the literary journal Chicago Review  published a special issue on Rexroth that includes a large collection of his correspondence, an interview conducted by Bradford Morrow, and several essays and poems in his honor.
Introduction to Sacramental Acts: The Love Poems of Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth Archive, a collection of works by and about Rexroth
A biography of Kenneth Rexroth - focussing on his anarchist and working class politics
Kenneth Rexroth , from the Anarchist Encyclopedia
Communalism, Seabury 1972, e-text
 A Life of Kenneth Rexroth - R book reviews ; Fall, 1993; Donald Gutierrez; Literary Review
 On Rexroth's Poetry; 1999; Donald K. Gutierrez; Modern American Poetry; Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;

1905 births
1982 deaths
Writers from California
Writers from Indiana
Industrial Workers of the World
Sonia Sanchez

Sonia Sanchez is an African-American poet. She is known for being part of the Black Arts Movement. 

Sanchez was born Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama on September 9, 1934. She studied at Hunter College, and New York University. She founded the Black Studies program at San Francisco State University. She was poet-in-residence at Temple University. 

She has written over twelve books of poetry. She has also written plays and children's books.

Other websites 
Academy of American Poets
Sonia Sanchez Biography at Voices from the Gap
Approaches to Teaching Sonia Sanchez's Poetry
An Evening with Sonia Sanchez 
Painted Voices: Sonia Sanchez Biography 
Women of Color Women of Word 
Sonia Sanchez Biography at Speak Out 
 Sonia Sanchez Article at the Heath Anthology of American Literature

1934 births
Living people
Writers from Birmingham, Alabama
Gary Snyder

Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American writer. He is also an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  Since the 1970s, he has often been called the "laureate of Deep Ecology." Since the 1950s, he has published travel-journals and essays.

Other websites 

Lannan Foundation, Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder 2001 (see Wendell Berry entry for link)
1991 audio interview with Gary Snyder by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio 
Gary Snyder - Books, Selected Poems, Prose and Biography - in Russian 
Blue Neon Alley - Selected Poems, Quotes and Directory 
Shambala Sun article "The Wild Mind Of Gary Snyder" by Trevor Carolan
 Modern American Poetry Collection - Ball State University Archives and Special Collections Research Center - Other website 

Writers from San Francisco
1930 births
Living people
American environmentalists
Pulitzer Prize winners
Industrial Workers of the World
Genpei Akasegawa

was a pseudonym of Japanese conceptual artist  (born 27 March 1937, died 26 October 2014). He started the art group Hi-Red Center with Jiro Takamatsu and Natsuyuki Nakanishi in 1963. Akasegawa helped to start the "Roadside Observation" art group (路上観察学会 in Japanese) with Terunobu Fujimori in 1986. He also created the word Tomason to describe a kind of found art. Tomason are parts of buildings that seem useless, but are interesting.

He used another pen name  for novels. He won the Akutagawa Prize in 1981 for a short story called "Chichi ga kieta".

Works 
超芸術トマソン (Chōgeijutsu Tomason), Byakuya shobō, 1985.  Reissue: Chikuma bunko, 1987, .
仙人の桜、俗人の桜 : にっぽん解剖紀行 (Sennin no sakura, zokujin no sakura), JTB Nihon Kotsu Kosha Shuppan Jigyokyoku, 1993, .
東京ミキサー計画 (Tōkyō mikisā keikaku), PARCO, 1984.  Reissue: Chikuma bunko, 1994, .

References

Other websites 
Genpei Akasegawa 
Genpei Akasegawa

1937 births
2014 deaths
Deaths from sepsis
Japanese photographers
People from Kanagawa Prefecture
Aries

Aries is the astrological Zodiac sign that represents the constellation Aries. In the tropical zodiac, Aries is from March 21 to April 20 beginning at the vernal equinox. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is now from April 15 to May 15. The opposite sign to Aries is Libra. The corresponding month in the Babylonian calendar is Arax Nisânu, which is made for Anu.

The symbol 

This sign for Aries was made from many stars which made up the head of the Aries (constellation) . The head of Aries is called Aluathay or Salhay and it is made up of four stars.

Mythology 
In mythology Aries is related to Greek myth of the ram which carried Athamas's son Phrixus and daughter Helle to Colchis away from their evil stepmother Ino. This ram is also related to Theseus, from the Greek myth of the Minotaur.

Astrology 
In astrology Aries is ruled by the planet Mars.

The Indian equivalent of Aries is Mesha, the Chinese equivalent is the Dragon.

Traditional relationships with Aries 

 Birthstone= Diamond, Aquamarine
 Starstone= Amethyst
 Colours= Red, White, Pink
 Metal= Gold, Bronze

References

Astrological signs
Taurus (astrology)

Taurus is an astrological sign, which is with the constellation (a group of stars that make the shape of an animal or person) of the same name. Under the tropical zodiac, Taurus is occupied by the Sun from April 20 to May 20, and under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently from May 14 to June 19.

Mythology 
In mythology, Taurus is often with the Greek myth of the bull-form taken by Zeus in order to win Europa. Taurus is also associated with the Greco-Roman goddess Aphrodite/Venus and sometimes also the goddesses Hera/Juno, Ishtar, Isis, Freyja, and Frigg and the gods Pan, Dionysus/Bacchus, Xolotl, and Quetzalcoatl.

Traditional relationships with Taurus 

 Birthstone=Emerald
 Colors= Pink, Green, Pale Blue
 Gemstones= Diamond, Emerald
 Metal= Silver,Copper

Famous people born in Taurus 
 Trent Reznor - singer, producer, composer of Nine Inch Nails
 Fred Astair - stage dancer, actor, singer
 George Clooney - actor, film director
 Elizabeth II - royalty
 Ulysses S. Grant - eighteenth president of the United States of America
 Janet Jackson - singer, actress
 Joe Louis - boxer
 Jack Nicholson - actor
 Michelle Pfieffer - actress
 Sergei Prokofiev - composer
 Sugar Ray Robinson - boxer
 James Stewart - actor
 Orson Wells - film director, film producer, radio producer, screenwriter
 Stevie Wonder - musician
 Malcolm X - civil rights activist, philosopher
 Audrey Hepburn - actress
 David Beckham - athlete
 Jessica Alba - actress
 Penelope Cruz - actress
 Katharine Hepburn - actress
 Miranda Kerr - model
 Linda Evangelista - model
 Miranda Cosgrove - actress and singer
  mark zuckerberg-facebook

Other websites 

Astrological signs
Christy Turlington

Christy Nicole Turlington (born January 2, 1969) is an American supermodel. She grew up in Danville, California. Her father was British commercial pilot. Her mother was a Salvadoran flight attendant. 

Turlington is best known for representing Calvin Klein perfumes. She has done this since 1987. She has also worked on various campaigns for Maybelline and Giorgio Armani. She has appeared in several movies about the fashion industry.

1969 births
Living people
Models from California
Premier

Premier is sometimes used instead of Prime Minister.  But it is also the title of the leader of the government in some territories.

British Colonies 

When a colony is first allowed to elect its own government the head of the government is called the Chief Minister.  As the colony gets more able to rule itself it is given more powers and the title  of the Chief Minister is changed to Premier.  When the colony becomes independent the Premier becomes a Prime Minister, and British government ministers lose any authority to rule the new country.

Australia and Canada 

The leader of the federal governments in Australia and Canada is called the prime minister, but the leader of the governments in Australian States and Canadian Provinces is called the Premier. This is because the states and provinces are not independent.

Government of Australia
Government of Canada
Government of the United Kingdom
Government occupations
Hispanidad

Hispanidad (literally Hispanicness) is the community formed by all the people and nations that share Spanish language and culture. The 23 nations included are all Spanish-speaking except the Philippines, and can be classified in four geographic areas: Spain, Hispanoamerica,  Hispanoafrica and the Hispanopacific. Every October 12  Hispanic Day is celebrated. Hispanidad or Spanish linguistic and cultural diffusion began when the 12 October 1492 Christopher Columbus sighted America and initiated the European colonization in the name of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. The kingdom of Castile (Castilla) built a global empire, spreading their culture and language in the Americas and biologically and culturally mixing with the indigenous peoples, altering the composition of the hemisphere. The penetration and reach of Spain at this time also extended into other European nations.

The Hispanics in the world 

The Spanish is the mother tongue that spoken by more than 333 million people (in second place after Chinese). The total number of Spanish-speakers is more than 395 million people.

Europe
In Europe, Hispanics are mainly confined to Spain. There are more than 30 million of them.

America
Most Hispanics are in Hispanic America . There are more than 300 million. Countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela .

Africa
Hispanics in the African continent are mostly in overseas territories of Spain (Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and Plazas de Soberanía) and in the nation of Equatorial Guinea. In Morocco and Western Sahara some people maintain Hispanic characteristics. Altogether in Africa two million speak Spanish.

Asia-Pacific
The Philippines is the only Asian country that conserves some identifiably Hispanic influences in its culture and Spanish loanwords in the native languages.
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that maintain a similar degree of Hispanic influence as the Philippines are:
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where Chamorro, a language with a lot of Spanish loanwords is spoken.
Caroline Islands, which nowadays are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part, and Palau.
Easter Island, nowadays an overseas territory of Chile. Spanish is the official language of the island.

References
 "Pavilionul Hispanitate"

Spanish culture
Spanish language
Aviation

Aviation refers to flying using an aircraft, like an aeroplane. It also includes the activities and industries related to flight, such as air traffic control. The biggest of the many uses of aviation are in air travel and military combat.

History 

Humans first built devices to fly in the air a long time ago. In the sixth century, Yuan Huangtou from China created a kite. Some primitive types of parachutes and gliders were also created in North Africa.

The modern age of aviation started on November 21, 1783, when the Montgolfier brothers flew in their hot air balloon. Airships followed. On December 17, 1903, the  Wright brothers flew the first flight in an aeroplane which was heavier than air; their invention is known as the first aeroplane.

Military aircraft became somewhat important in World War I. In the 1930s airliners began carrying many passengers. Jet engines began flying in fighter aircraft in World War II and in airliners in the 1950s.

References
Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a kind of science fiction. The Cyberpunk genre began in the early 1980s. Bruce Bethke made this word for his 1980 short story "Cyberpunk" by putting together two words: "cybernetics" and "punk rock".
Soon, people used this word to describe William Gibson's book, Neuromancer.

Cyberpunk authors put their stories in different settings. The time is usually set in the near-future and the settings are often dystopian (characterized by misery). These are often societies with very advanced technology. Often, only a few huge corporations control the society. These corporations control the technology. Instead of being beneficial to all, technology is used by the few corporations for their own interests only.  Many cyberpunk novels are about individual computer users. One hero fights a computer/Internet controlled society.

Themes
Common themes in cyberpunk include advances in information technology and especially the Internet, artificial intelligence and prosthetics and post-democratic societal control where corporations have more influence than governments. Nihilism, post-modernism, and film noir techniques are common elements, and the protagonists may be disaffected or reluctant anti-heroes.

Earlier books that influenced Cyberpunk
Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (made into the movie: Blade Runner)

Important authors and books
 William Gibson - Neuromancer and Burning Chrome
 Bruce Sterling - Editor of Mirrorshades anthology
 Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash (1992)
 Pat Cadigan - Mindplayers
 Rudy Rucker - The Ware Series
 John Shirley - Heatseeker

In other media
 Blade Runner (1982) is an important example of the cyberpunk visual style.
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo is an example of cyberpunk in manga and anime.

References

Science fiction
Igbo language

Igbo is a language spoken in Nigeria. It is spoken by more than 18 million people. Igbo is a tonal language. The language is written in the Roman script.

References

Niger-Congo languages
Tonal languages
Wind shear

Wind shear is a difference in either wind speed or direction over a fairly short distance in the atmosphere. Wind shear can be divided into two different types: horizontal and vertical wind shear.

When wind shear is observed
Weather situations when the Wind shear is observed happen:
At weather fronts when the temperature difference across the front is 5 °C or more, and the front moves at 15 kt or faster. 
At low level jets when a significant low level vertical wind shear can develop near the lower portion of the low level jet.  
At mountains when winds blow over and create vertical shear on the lee side.
At inversions when on a clear and calm night a radiation inversion is formed near the ground.  
At downbursts when an outflow boundary moves away from a thunderstorm.
At sailing when wind shear affects sailboats by presenting a different wind speed and direction at different heights along the sailing mast.

Related pages
Aeroplane
Refraction

Notes

Other websites

National Science Digital Library - Wind shear 

Winds
Humanity

Humanity could mean:

 The human race
 Human nature, the fundamental nature and substance of humans, "one's humanity"
 Compassion, altruism, etc.
 Humanities, those academic disciplines which study the human condition using methods that are largely analytic, critical, or speculative
Thomas Midgley

Thomas Midgley (18 May 1889 – 2 November 1944), was an American inventor. His two most famous inventions are both now banned because they are dangerous for the world environment: the use of lead in petrol (gasoline)  and the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigerators.  Midgley was accidentally killed by something he was inventing.

Early life
Midgley was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.  His father was also an inventor.  He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Cornell University in 1911 with a degree in mechanical engineering. His name was Thomas Midgley Jr because his father's name was also Thomas Midgley.

Discovery of Leaded Gasoline/Petrol
Midgley began working at General Motors in 1916. In December 1921 Midgley discovered that the addition of Tetraethyllead to gasoline prevented "knocking" in internal combustion engines.

Discovery of Freon
In the 1930s Midgley  developed a non-poisonous substance called CFC (chlorinated fluorocarbon) for use in refrigerators, inhalers and aerosol spray cans.  He was given many high awards for his work and in 1944 he became president and chairman of the American Chemical Society.

His death
In 1940, at the age of 51, Midgley became ill with polio which left him disabled. It was to the point where it was hard to do every day tasks; like getting  out of bed.  He decided to invent a complicated  system of strings and pulleys to lift him from his bed. However, this plan backfired, and he got caught up in the ropes and died of strangulation.

After his death

Midgley died before the days when people realized that CFCs were destroying the ozone layer which prevents harmful rays from the sun reaching the earth.  They are now banned in refrigerators, but are still used in some countries.

In the United States it was not until 1973 that people started to produce gasoline without lead and, in 1996, the Clean Air Act banned the sale of leaded fuel for use in on-road vehicles.  However it was still legal in the U.S. for aircraft, racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines until 2008.  Leaded gasoline is still common in South America, Africa, and some parts of Asia and the Middle East.

American chemists
American inventors
Cornell University alumni
Scientists from Pennsylvania
Scientists from Columbus, Ohio
Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
Businesspeople from Columbus, Ohio
1889 births
1944 deaths
Hovhannes Shiraz

Hovhannes Shiraz (Armenian: Հովհաննես Շիրազ) (April 27, 1915 - April 14, 1984) was a notable Armenian poet.

He was born Hovhannes (Onig) Garabedyan in the city of Alexandropol, then part of the Russian Empire (now Gyumri, Armenia). His first work called Beginning of Spring was published in 1935. Novelist Atrpet gave the talented poet the epithet "Shiraz", because "this youth's poems have the fragrance of roses, fresh and covered with dew, like the roses of Shiraz." Shiraz being one of Iran's major cities, famous for its roses and poets. Most of Shiraz's publications were poetry.

He married famous Armenian poetess Silva Kaputikyan. His son with Kaputikyan, Ara Shiraz, is a sculptor. A street in Julfa of Isfahan is named after him. In 2005 Levon Mkrtchyan released a documentary film titled "Hovhannes Shiraz".  Hayk Studio 43min.

 http://torrent.arut.ru/viewtopic.php?t=618&sid=92577c011a38048391b856b96631b060
http://armshop.in.ua/product/hovhannes-shiraz/ 

1915 births
1984 deaths

Armenian poets
Polar low

A polar low is a small sized and short-lived atmospheric low pressure system that is found over the ocean areas pole ward of the main polar front in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The systems usually have a horizontal length scale of less than 1,000 km and live for less than a couple of days. They are part of the larger class of mesoscale weather systems. Polar lows can be difficult to detect using standard weather reports and are a problem to high-latitude operations, such as shipping and gas and oil platforms.

Polar lows have been also known as by using many other terms, such as comma cloud, mesocyclone, polar mesoscale vortex, Arctic hurricane, Arctic low, and cold air depression. Today the term is usually set aside for the more-energetic systems that have near-surface winds of at least gale force (17 m/s).

Other websites
 European Polar Lows Working Group 
 NSIDC 
 Polar Low Forecasting by MetEd

Further reading
Rasmussen,E.A. and Turner,J.(2003). Polar Lows: Mesoscale Weather Systems in the Polar Regions, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 612.

Meteorology
Pericles

Pericles or Perikles (ca. 495–429 BC, , meaning "surrounded by glory") was a prominent and influential statesman. He also was an orator, and general of Athens. He lived between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. He was descended, through his mother, from the Alcmaeonid family.

Pericles had great influence on Athenian society. Thucydides, a contemporary historian, described him as "the first citizen of Athens". Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. The period during which he led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 BC, is sometimes known as the "Age of Pericles,". This period though can include times as early as the Persian Wars, or as late as the next century.

In Pericles late 20’s he sponsored a major dramatic production for the festival of Dionysus, and he also entertained the whole city. Pericles also got married and had 2 sons. His wife's name is unknown. He associated with a courtesan named Aspasia. A decade later the people started to like him more and more. He got involved with the politics called Ephialtes. Pericles and Ephialtes took away the noble's powers. Ephialtes was later assassinated.
 
Pericles promoted the arts and literature. This was a chief reason Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural centre of the ancient Greek world. He started an ambitious project that built most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis (including the Parthenon). This project made the city more beautiful., It also showed its glory, and gave work to the people. Furthermore, Pericles fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics call him a populist.

Related pages 
 Pericles' Funeral Oration

References

Works about Pericles 
 Aristophanes, The Acharnians. See original text in Perseus program.
 . See original text in Perseus program.
 Aristotle, Politika (Politics). See original text in Perseus program.
 Cicero, De Oratore. See original text in Perseus program.
 Diodorus Siculus, Library, 12th Book. See original text in Perseus program.
 Herodotus, The Histories, VI. See original text in Perseus program.
 Plato, Alcibiades I. See original text in Perseus program, from 
 Plato, Gorgias. See original text in Perseus program, from 
 Plato, Menexenus. See original text in Perseus program, from 
 Plato, Phaedrus, See original text in Perseus program, from 
 Plutarch, Cimon. See original text in Perseus program.
  Plutarch, Pericles. See original text in Perseus program.
 Quintilian, Institutiones. See original text in The Latin Library.
, I-III. See original text in Perseus program.
 Xenophon (?), Constitution of Athens. See original text in  Perseus program

Gore Vidal, Creation (novel) for a fictional account of Pericles and a Persian view of the wars.

490s BC births
429 BC deaths
Ancient Greek military people
Ancient Greek politicians
Generals
Wind speed

Wind speed is the speed of the weather related air movement from one place to the next.

Wind speeds usually mean the movement of air in an outside environment, but the speed of movement of air inside is also important in many cases, including weather forecasting, aircraft and maritime operations, construction and civil engineering. High wind speeds can cause unpleasant side effects, and strong winds often have special names, including gales, hurricanes, and typhoons. The highest wind speed ever measured on earth, 253 miles per hour, was recorded on Barrow Island, Australia.

Measurement
The most simple method of measuring wind speed is to estimate the speed from the observed event against the Beaufort Scale. Obviously, this method is not the most accurate available, so each value on the scale represents a range of values, three on the scale, for example, covers the wind speeds between seven and ten knots.

Notes

Winds

es:Viento#Características físicas de los vientos
Thebes, Greece

Thebes is a city in Central Greece in Boeotia. Today, about 23,000 people live there. It lies on the border of Boeotia and Attica. Archaeologists have found a Mycenaean settlement. They have also found clay tablets written in Linear B script. Thebes was once a super-power in Greece until the rise of Macedonia. It became a dominant power after their victory over the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. 

 

Thebes sided with Persians the Persian wars. It’s refrnced in multiple myths and in the setting off Antigone and Oedipus
Minoan civilization

The Minoan civilization was a civilization on Crete called after Minos. It began in the Bronze Age between 3000 and 2700 BC. It lasted until about 1450 BC. The Minoan civilization is famous for its sea trading and well-planned cities. The Minoans had an agricultural system which relied mainly on olives and grapes. Their religion worshipped mostly goddesses. The Minoan civilization was later replaced by the Mycenaean culture.

Minoan Architecture 

Cretans built palaces during their architecture era. In a non-royal palace there were many small rooms with cooler places to sit, because Crete got very hot in the summer. Palaces were used for many things. They were used as government centers, storerooms, stores, and administrative offices. Most palaces were very big. The Cretans might have gotten the money to create these palaces from working for the Egyptians. The royal palace was very different. Everyone had toilets, baths, and running water. The ones for the king and queen were very fancy. Their palace was fancy also. The architecture era was ended by a great fire. This era went from 2000 B.C. to 1450 B.C.

Further reading

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/history/minoans.htm 
http://photo.pds.org:5005/student/article?id=ar028740
http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Minoan_civilization

Minoan culture
Alliance

An alliance is an agreement made between two or more parties to benefit them.

The word is used mainly in war. Two or more countries that make an alliance promise to help one other during war. Such countries are called allies. Those countries are said to be allied.

An example of an alliance with more than two countries is the Central Powers during World War I. That alliance was made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

War
Persia (disambiguation)

Persia is another name for Iran, a country in Western Asia.

The Persian Empire ( - ) is the name for a few empires, that ruled over modern-day Iran.

 Achaemenid Empire (550 BC – 330 BC), the first Persian Empire.
 Sassanid Empire (224 – 651 AD),  the second Persian Empire.
 Persia (1501-1935) under Safavid dynasty, Afsharid dynasty, Zand dynasty, Qajar dynasty and Pahlavi dynasty

Persia may also refer to:
Persia, Iowa, a city in the United States
Persian Gulf, an extension of the Indian Ocean between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula
Fars Province, a province in Iran, also known as Pārs

Related pages
 Persian (disambiguation)
Prince of Persia, a series of video games