In 1986, Griffith suffered from Guillain–Barré syndrome and could not walk for 7 months. Griffith received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005. Griffith died on July 3, 2012 of a heart attack in Manteo, North Carolina, aged 86.
Honeyeater
A honeyeater is one of a large family of small to medium-sized birds which feed on nectar. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea, but are also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea. Bali, on the other side of the Wallace Line, has a single species.
Honeyeaters and the Australian chats (Epthianura) make up the family Meliphagidae. In total there are 182 species in 42 genera. About half of them live in Australia, and many of the others are from New Guinea. Although honeyeaters look and behave much like other nectar-feeding birds around the world (such as the sunbirds and flowerpeckers), they are not related.
There is an important partnership between honeyeaters and Australian flowering plants. A great many Australian plants are fertilised by honeyeaters, particularly the Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, and Epacridaceae. It is known that the honeyeaters are important in New Zealand as well, and scientists believe they are just as important in other areas.
Unlike the hummingbirds of America, honeyeaters do not usually hover (beat their wings fast to stay in the same air space). However, smaller members of the family do hover hummingbird-style to collect nectar from time to time. Usually honeyeaters move quickly from perch to perch in the outer leaves, stretching up or sideways or hanging upside. Many honeyeaters have a highly developed brush-tipped tongue, covered with bristles which soak up liquids readily. The tongue is flicked rapidly and repeatedly into a flower, the upper mandible then squeezes liquid out when the bill is closed.
As well as nectar, all or nearly all honeyeaters take insects and other small creatures, usually by catching them in the air, sometimes by picking them off plants. A few of the larger species, such as the white-eared honeyeater, and the strong-billed honeyeater of Tasmania, search under bark for insects. Many species also eat fruit, and a small number eat large amounts of fruit, particularly in tropical rainforests and in semi-arid scrubland. The painted honeyeater is a mistletoe specialist. Most, however, live on a diet of nectar and insects. In general, the honeyeaters with long, fine bills eat more nectar, the shorter-billed species less so, but even specialised nectar eaters like the spinebills take extra insects to add protein to their diet when they are breeding.
The movements of honeyeaters are poorly understood. Many follow the flowering of favourite food plants. Arid zone species appear to travel further and less predictably than those of the more fertile areas. It seems probable that no single explanation will emerge: the general rule for honeyeater movements is that there is no general rule.
S.F.W.
S.F.W. is a 1994 American thriller film based on Andrew Wellman's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Stephen Dorff and Amber Benson.
Damage (1992 movie)
Damage is a 1992 British-French erotic drama movie. It was directed by Louis Malle. It is based on the novel "Damage" by Josephine Hart. It stars Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche. "Damage" was originally rated NC-17, though it was edited to have an R rating. It is about a middle-aged, married politician who has an affair with his son's girlfriend.
Miranda Richardson was nominated for an Academy Award and won a BAFTA in the category of Best Supporting Actress.
Human microbiome
The human microbiome (or human microbiota) is the collection of microorganisms which live on us. They live on the skin, in the saliva and mouth, in the eyes, and in the gut and the rest of the gastrointestinal tract. They include bacteria, archaea, fungi and single-celled eukaryotes ('protozoa'). Everyone carries around far more of these microbes than the number of human cells in the body. The human body has about 100 trillion cells, and carries about ten times as many microorganisms "in the intestines alone".
The microbiome is "the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms that literally share our body space". The term was originally coined by Joshua Lederberg. He thought the microorganisms living in the human body in health and disease were important. Many scientific articles distinguish "microbiome" and "microbiota" to describe either the collective genomes of the microorganisms that live in an environmental niche or the microorganisms themselves, respectively. However, by the original definitions these terms are largely synonymous.
Some of these organisms are useful for humans. However, most have no known effect. They are just symbionts: they live with us. Those which are expected to be present are members of the "normal flora". Under normal circumstances they do not cause disease, but may even help our health. Studies in 2009 asked whether our health is damaged if we reduce this biota. This is certainly the case with gut flora.
Although "flora" refers to plants rather than bacteria, the term 'gut flora' is widely used and familiar to biologists. 'Biota' refers to the total collection of organisms in an ecosystem. The term 'microbiota' is best for bacteria and other microorganisms, but no doubt 'flora' will often be used.
The microbes being discussed are generally non-pathogenic (do not cause disease unless they grow abnormally); they exist in harmony and symbiotically with their hosts.
Researchers have learned that much of the population of microbes found in the human body are not bacteria but a very old class of single-celled organisms called archaea. They include methanogens which produce methane and may cause flatulence.
Salafi
A Salafi is a Muslim who thinks Islam should be practiced the way the first few generations of Muslims did. The term is also used to talk about certain teachings of Sunni Islam that are based on "conservative" ideals. Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) was an Islamic scholar who thought that the values of Islam were compatible with a modern lifestyle. He is often labeled as a Salafi. Another scholar, Ibn Taimiya (1263-1328) is often seen as the father of modern radicalised Islamism. He said that the teachings of Islam were not compatible with certain modern interpretations, such as Sufism. Fundamentalist Islamic people, especially in the West, are often identified as Salafi.
Extinct (disambiguation)
Extinct may refer to:
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 action crime thriller movie from Hong Kong. John Woo is the thriller's director. The movie stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. "Hard Boiled" received mixed to positive reviews from the critics.
Woo liked Clint Eastwood's and Steve McQueen's characters from their films "Dirty Harry" and "Bullitt". He wanted to make his own Hong Kong-style "Dirty Harry" police detective film.
"Hard Boiled" took 123 days to shoot.
"Hard Boiled" was released on April 16, 1992 in Hong Kong. The film grossed HK$19,711,048, which was not as strong as Woo's previous action films "A Better Tomorrow" or "The Killer". At the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards, David Wu and John Woo won the award for "Best Film Editing". Tony Leung was nominated for "Best Supporting Male Actor", but lost the award to Liu Kai-Chi in "Cageman". The North American premiere of "Hard Boiled" was in September 1992 at the Toronto International Film Festival. At the premiere the audience response was very positive with people stomping their feet and yelling at the screen. This reception surprised producer Terence Chang who did not expect such a positive reaction. "Hard Boiled" received wide release in the United Kingdom on October 8, 1993.
2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga