ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American Democratic politician and football captain. He was the first college American football captain to come out as gay. He is also the first openly gay person elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2022 election. Life. Sims's parents were both colonels in the U.S. Army. He has a twin brother, an older brother, and a younger sister. He went to high school in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Sims has a bachelor of science degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He also has a juris doctor degree from the Michigan State University College of Law. At Bloomsburg, Sims was the captain of the 2000 National Championship Division II football team. He was a first-string defensive tackle. He became the only openly gay college football captain in NCAA history. Sims was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 182nd District. Sims was the first openly gay person elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In June 2013, the Defense of Marriage Act was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Sims was not allowed to make a speech supporting the decision in the Pennsylvania House. House Speaker Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican, said that allowing him to speak would be a violation of God's law. In May 2019, Sims posted an eight minute video of himself confronting a woman who was protesting outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Philadelphia by praying with a rosary. On May 15, 2019 he was served a summons for federal case 5:19-cv-00834 at his office on Chestnut Street. On July 15, 2019 at 3:00 PM the Default judgement entered on June 18, 2019 was used as collateral for trying to help Hahnemann Hospital stay open case # 19-11466 Delaware Bankruptcy Court. On February 15, 2021 Sims announced on Twitter that he was running for lieutenant governor in the 2022 election. He lost the Democratic nomination in May 2022 to Austin Davis.
Sid Bernstein (August 12, 1918 – August 21, 2013) was an American music producer and promoter. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums. Bernstein was born in New York City, New York on August 12, 1918. He was married to Geraldine Gale until his death in 2013. They had six children. Bernstein died on August 21, 2013 from natural causes in his home in Manhattan, New York, aged 95.
Lee Thompson Young (February 1, 1984 – August 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Jett Jackson in "The Famous Jett Jackson" and as Chris Comer in the movie "Friday Night Lights". His last starring role was portraying Boston police detective Barry Frost in "Rizzoli &amp; Isles". Young was born in Columbia, South Carolina on February 1, 1984. He studied at the University of Southern California. Thompson committed suicide by shooting himself in his Los Angeles, California apartment on August 19, 2013. He was 29 years old.
Nickelodeon is an Italian television channel. It launched on 1 November 2004 on Sky Italia. From 1997 until 2000, Rai Sat 2 broadcast Nickelodeon cartoons for three hours a day. History. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. At first, it shared its frequency with Comedy Central. Nickelodeon broadcast during the day and Commedy Central broadcast at night. On 31 July 2009 a +1 timeshift version was launched. The same day Nick Jr. was launched. It replaced RaiSat YOYO. RaiSat YOYO became free and is now named Rai Yoyo. On 9 September 2013, Nickelodean and the +1 version of the network changed to a widescreen wikt:aspect:aspect ratio.
A gyrocompass is a type of compass that does not use magnetism to point north. Normal compasses do not work around magnets, or big pieces of ferrous metal. Gyrocompasses do. This makes them very useful. A gyrocompass is a non-magnetic compass based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth It automatically finds geographical direction.  Although one part of a gyrocompass is a gyroscope, these are not the same devices. A crucial ingredient is needed to turn a gyroscope into a gyrocompass, so it would automatically position to true north. This is some mechanism that applies torque whenever the compass's axis is not pointing north. Successful methods have two significant advantages over magnetic compasses:
The Division of McMillan was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It covered the western part of the Gippsland region. It included Drouin, Erica, Foster, Inverloch, Korumburra, Leongatha, Mirboo North, Moe, Neerim South, Newborough, Nyora, Pakenham, Trafalgar, Walhalla, Warragul, Wonthaggi, Yallourn North and Yarragon. It was the southernmost electoral division in continental Australia. It was replaced by the Division of Monash in 2019. The Division was set up in 1949, and named after Angus McMillan, one of the first Europeans to explore the Gippsland region.  In 1972 Country Party candidate Arthur Hewson won the seat with a primary vote of 16.6%. This is the lowest primary vote for a winning candidate in any federal election.
The Division of Melbourne Ports was an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was set up for the first election in 1901. At the time it was named Melbourne Ports as it covered both Port Melbourne and Williamstown. Later it included the suburbs of Albert Park, Balaclava, Caulfield, Caulfield East, Caulfield North, part of Elsternwick, Elwood, Middle Park, Port Melbourne, Ripponlea, St Kilda, St Kilda East, St Kilda West, Southbank, South Melbourne and parts of South Yarra and Docklands. It was abolished in 2019, and renamed as Macnamara. Members. Samuel Mauger was later elected to the Division of Maribyrnong. Jack Holloway became Minister for Social Services and Minister for Health in 1941. From 1943–1949 he was Minister for Labour and National Service. Frank Crean was Treasurer and Minister for Trade in the Whitlam Government. In 1975 he was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. Clyde Holding had been the Leader of the Opposition in the Victorian Parliament. He held several positions in the Hawke Government including Aboriginal Affairs, Employment Services and Youth Affairs, Transport and Communications Support, Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs.
The Seebensee is a lake in Austria. It is at above the Ehrwalder Alm in Mieminger. It is in the east of Middle Tajakopf. The Seebensee has a drain on the Seebenbachfall and Geißbach in the Loisach. From Seebensee, people can climb up to Coburger Hütte. The location is known for its cows and its unofficial mascot Ben the Seebensee Cow.
Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The forests have four layers. The uppermost layer is the forest canopy of tall, mature trees from 33 to 66 m (100 to 200 feet) high.  Below the canopy is the three-layered understory, about 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 feet) shorter than the canopy. The top layer of the understory has smaller mature trees, saplings. There are also suppressed juvenile canopy layer trees waiting for an opening in the canopy. Below the sub-canopy is the shrub layer of low-growing woody plants. Most of the time, the lowest growing (and most diverse) layer is the ground cover or herbaceous layer.
Ancient woodland is the name used in the United Kingdom for woodland which has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales (or 1750 in Scotland). Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally. The American name for these forests is "old growth forest". For many species of animal and plant, ancient woodland sites provide the only habitat. For many others, conditions on these sites are much more suitable than those on other sites. Ancient woodland in the UK, like rainforest in the tropics, is home to rare and threatened species, more than any other UK habitat. For these reasons ancient woodland is often described as an irreplaceable resource, or 'critical natural capital'. Ancient woodland is formally defined on maps by Natural England and equivalent bodies. Many ancient woodlands have legal protection, but an ancient woodland is not automatically protected.
A bluebell wood is a woodland that in springtime has a carpet of flowering bluebells ("Hyacinthoides non-scripta") underneath a newly forming leaf canopy. The thicker the summer canopy, the more the ground-cover is suppressed. This encourages a dense carpet of bluebells, whose leaves mature and die down by early summer. Bluebell woods may be found in all parts of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as elsewhere in Europe. Bluebells are a common indicator species for ancient woodlands, so bluebell woods are likely to date back to at least 1600. Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the romantic poets, was very keen on bluebells, as his poem "May Magnificat" shows. &lt;poem&gt;And azuring-over greybell makes Wood banks and brakes wash wet like lakes&lt;/poem&gt; In his journal entry for 9 May 1871 Hopkins says: In the little wood opposite the light they stood in blackish spreads or sheddings like spots on a snake. The heads are then like thongs and solemn in grain and grape-colour. But in the clough through the light they come in falls of sky-colour washing the brows and slacks of the ground with vein-blue, thickening at the double, vertical themselves and the young grass and brake-fern combed vertical, but the brake struck the upright of all this with winged transomes. It was a lovely sight. - The bluebells in your hand baffle you with their inscape, made to every sense. If you draw your fingers through them they are lodged and struggle with a shock of wet heads; the long stalks rub and click and flatten to a fan on one another like your fingers themselves would when you passed the palms hard across one another, making a brittle rub and jostle like the noise of a hurdle strained by leaning against; then there is the faint honey smell and in the mouth the sweet gum when you bite them.
The Ardennes (also known as Ardennes Forest) is a mountain range in eastern Belgium (eastern Wallonia), northern Luxembourg (the Oesling) and bordering France (Ardennes (department)). It consist of hills of an altitude up to nearly 700 meters. It has many forests and few people. The Ardennes are primarily made of slate, and borders in the east at the German Eifel. Important river is the Meuse.
Auguste Jean Baptiste Chevalier was a French botanist, and explorer of tropical Africa, especially of French Africa and Côte d'Ivoire. Biography. Chevalier was born on 23 June 1873 in Domfront, a town in Orne, Lower Normandy, France. His family had a small farm in Normandy and he studied first in Domfront and then in Caen. He finished high school in 1891 and began to study at Caen University and, in 1893, Élie Antoine Octave Lignier, botanist at the university, put him in charge of making the catalog of the university herbarium. After his military service in 1894, he got his degree in natural sciences in 1896 and he began to work with the botanist Charles Eugene Bertrand at the University of Lille. In 1897, he got a scholarship, allowing him to enter the botanical laboratory of Philippe Van Tieghem at the National Museum of Natural History. From 1899 to 1900, he was part of a scientific travel to Sudan. Chevalier got a doctorate in 1901 and then made many scientific travels, mainly to Africa but also to tropical Asia and to South America. He became an assistant in the Colonial Agriculture Laboratory of the "École pratique des hautes études" (an establishment of research and higher education); in 1907 he became the deputy director of the institution and then in 1912 was made director of it. In 1921, he began publishing the journal "Revue de Botanique Appliquée", in French, where he wrote many articles. In 1929 he was made professor of crop production at the National Museum of Natural History of France; he remained here until his retirement in 146. He became a member of the French Academy of Sciences in 1937. After his death in 1956, the Domfront municipality gave his name to the high school of the city in 1959. Publications. Partial list of articles and books of Auguste Chevalier:
"Oh! Susanna" is a song by Stephen Foster. It was Foster's first hit song. The song debuted in the Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 1847 and was published by W. C. Peters of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848. It became the unofficial anthem of the California Gold Rush in 1849. Foster had little appreciation of the worth of his songs. His brother Morrison wrote: "While in Cincinnati [Stephen] wrote "Oh, Susanna", a song which soon became famous ... There was then in Cincinnati in the music business, W. C. Peters, whom Stephen had known in Pittsburgh, and who had taught music in our family ... [Stephen] made a present of "Old Uncle Ned" and "Oh, Susanna" to Mr. Peters. The latter made ten thousand dollars out of them, and established a music publishing house which became the largest in the West. The fame of these two songs went around the world, and thousands sang and played them who never heard the name of the author or whence they came."
The State Forests of The Pilliga, also called the Pilliga Scrub, covers an area of 3000 km2 in north-central New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest area of semi-arid woodland in the state. The forest is near the towns of Baradine and Narrabri and the villages of Pilliga and Gwabegar. History. Author Eric Rolls wrote a book about the Pilliga called "A Million Wild Acres." He argued that the forest used to be an open woodland forest and that European influence has let the cypress pines take over. However, many scientific authors now disagree, using historical records from as early as the 1870s which say that the types of plants in the forest have not changed as much as Rolls suggests. However most of his history of the region is an important document for understanding the area. Environment. Geology. The geology of the area is mainly Pilliga sandstone. This is a coarse red to yellow Jurassic sandstone containing about 75% quartz, 15% plagioclase and 10% iron oxide.In the south are sandstone outcrops with basalt-capped ridges. In the north there are plains of alluvium from flooding creeks. There are small, shallow, usually dry lakes, called gilgais, in some areas. In the west there are dry sandy creeks, called "sand monkeys". In the east is a heavily eroded sandstone mountain range, which can be seen as sandstone outcrops such as those around Gin's Leap between Baan Baa and Boggabri. Flora and fauna. The forest contains at least 900 plant species. Some areas of the forest, particularly in the western Pilliga, are dominated by cypress-pine ("Callitris" spp.). However there are a variety of other plant communities in the forest, some of which do not include "Callitris". These include smaller she-oaks, while eucalypts are the taller trees throughout the forest. Animals found in the Pilliga Nature Reserve include at least 36 native and nine introduced mammals, 50 reptiles and at least 15
"Beautiful Dreamer" is a song by Stephen Foster written about 1862. It was first published (posthumously) in 1864 by William A. Pond &amp; Co. It has been promoted as Foster's last song, but that distinction cannot be confirmed. It is similar in some respects to his first published song, "Open They Lattice, Love". Both have a triple rhythm and share imagery of the sea and marine life.  The arpeggiated accompaniment recalls bel canto opera. The dreamer in this song is either asleep or dead. The song does not distinguish. It is a song though about dissolution of melting, of dissolving, of vanishing into mists, and, finally into death. The song is not held in the highest esteem by some musicologists and has been described by one as "saccharine" and "[smacking] somewhat of the idiom of Irving Berlin." Lyrics. &lt;poem&gt; 1. Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee; Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day, Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away! Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song, List while I woo thee with soft melody; Gone are the cares of life's busy throng, Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me! Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me! 2. Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea, Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelei; Over the streamlet vapors are borne, Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn. Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart, E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea; Then will all clouds of sorrow depart, Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me! Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me! &lt;/poem&gt;
Box-Ironbark forest is a forest or woodland ecosystem found in central Victoria in south-eastern Australia. It is named after the Box and Ironbark trees which grow in the forest. These tree species produce a lot of nectar and pollen throughout the year. This is important for the conservation of many species of birds and other animals. History. Box-Ironbark forest lies mainly within the Goldfields region of Victoria. During the main years of the gold rush (1851-1870) it underwent intensive digging and clearing in the goldfields. Large areas of forest were cut down for use in the gold mines and for firewood in surrounding areas. After the gold rush, the forests were still heavily cut for firewood and cleared for farming. Description. Box-Ironbark forest is found on rocky, often auriferous (gold-bearing), soils, in flat and undulating landscapes at altitudes of 150–600 m above sea level. The average annual rainfall of is 500–800 mm. About 40% of the original forest ecosystem in Victoria is public land, with about 20% protected in conservation reserves. About 55% has been permanently cleared for agriculture, mining and urban development. Remaining forest is in small scattered areas. Vegetation. Box-Ironbark forest has a canopy of box, ironbark and gum-barked eucalypts, growing to 25 m in height. Below them is an understorey of wattles, small-leaved and prostrate shrubs, herbs and grasses. The main trees are White Box, Red Box, Red Ironbark, Mugga Ironbark, Yellow Gum and Red Stringybark. In some areas they may grow with, or be replaced by, Yellow Box, Long-leaf Box or Silver Bundy. The mix of plants in the groundcover includes the largest concentrations of orchids of any Victorian ecosystem. Small herbs and shrubs found in Box-Ironbark forests include "Cheiranthera cyanaea", "Philotheca verrucosa", "Xerochrysum viscosum", "Pultenaea largiflorens", "Acacia will
Ironbark is a common name of a number of species within the genus "Eucalyptus" that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Many eucalypts shed their bark very year, but on an Ironbark the dead bark stays on the trees, forming the furrows. It becomes rough after drying out and becomes full of kino, a dark red tree sap exuded by the tree. The bark is resistant to fire and heat and protects the living tissue within the trunk and branches from fire. In cases of extreme fire, where leaves and shoots are removed, the bark protects the epicormic buds which allow the tree to reshoot.
Belanglo State Forest is a planted forest in the Australian state of New South Wales covering an area of about 3,500 hectares. It is south of Berrima in the Southern Highlands, five kilometres west of the Hume Highway between Sydney and Canberra. The forest is owned by the New South Wales Government and has some of the earliest pine plantings in the state. The public has free access to the forest; it is popular with recreational trail bike riders. History. Backpacker Murders. In 1992 and 1993, seven skeletons were found in the forest. These became known as "The Backpacker Murders" and was thought to be the work of a serial killer. Eventually, Ivan Milat was convicted of the murders in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Other murders. On the 29 August 2010 trail bike riders discovered another human skeleton in the forest. At first this was thought to be another victim of Ivan Milat, but later forensic evidence suggests that the remains were left there at a later date. On 22 November 2010, three teenagers (including one related to Ivan Milat) were arrested over the murder of David Auchterlonie, in the Belanglo State Forest. He had been murdered by friends on his birthday, and left in a shallow grave.  One of the teenagers reported the murder to the police.
The Wombat State Forest, also called the Bullarook Forest, is west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between Woodend and Daylesford, at the Great Dividing Range. The forest covers an area of about . The Bullarook Wombat State Forest was set up in 1871. The forest is managed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment. The management plan covers firewood and other products; protection of water supplies, conservation of biodiversity, and conservation of landscape. Other areas of importance include cultural heritage, research, education, tourism, recreation, mineral exploration, mining, and grazing. History. The Dja Dja Wurrung peoples lived the area that is now state forest land. Before European settlement, the forest covered a larger area than it does today. The forest was logged heavily during the gold rush era of the mid-1800s. The wood was used for tunnel supports, sleepers for tramways, lining of mining shafts, firewood for mine boilers, piles for piers and docks, electric poles, and heavy construction timbers. In 1860 the 1860 Land Act (Section 80) was created, which placed some restrictions on logging trees. In 1871, the Wombat State Forest was set up. By 1884, there were 36 saw mills in the Wombat and Bullarook Forests. The wood was sent to Melbourne, Sandhurst, and Ballarat. There was little replanting and the young trees were burned. Eventually the forest was ruined, and timber harvesting was stopped. After the gold rush, the forest slowly began to regrow. By the 1960s selected logging was begun to try to improve the quality of the forest. In the 1970s and 80s, the area was called the "Midlands Forest Management Area". This included the planting of pine trees for commercial logging. In 2001, the local community published its own findings about the forest's sustainable management. This was one of the first examples of community involvement in a state-run management plan. In 2010, community worried that logging could begin in the forest because the State Government gave out logging licenses in western Victoria.
Kaiju is a Japanese word meaning "strange creature". In English, it has come to mean "monster" or "giant monster", referring to creatures of a large size seen in movies from Asia. Many kaiju movies are made in Japan. It is a type of tokusatsu entertainment. Kaiju movies usually show a monster attacking a major Japanese city or battling other monsters. The most famous kaiju character is Godzilla. Other well-known kaiju include King Kong, Gamera, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan. Terms that are related to kaiju include kaijū eiga, movies with several large monsters or a single monster, kaijin, movies with a human-like monster, and daikaiju, movies with very large monsters. other films like "Yongary, Monster from the deep", "Goliathon", "Pulgasari", "Yonggary", Thunder of Gigantic Serpent, etc. Kaiju is recognised a lot in the blockbuster film Pacific Rim.
Liz Smith MBE (11 December 1921 – 24 December 2016) was an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Annie Brandon in "I Didn't Know You Cared", Bette and Aunt Belle in "2point4 children", as Norma Speakman in the BBC comedy "The Royle Family", and as her role as Letitia Cropley in "The Vicar of Dibley" (1994–96). Smith was born Betty Gleadle in the Crosby area of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire on 11 December 1921. She was married to Jack Thomas from 1945 until they divorced in 1959. They had two children. She died on Christmas Eve 2016 in Worthing, West Sussex, aged 95.