Nikolai died in Paris while on his way to Nice where he had wanted to improve his health. He always liked his food and on his deathbed he ate twelve oysters. Tchaikovsky wrote his "Piano Trio in A minor" in Rubinstein's memory.
Among his most popular works are his "Tarantella" in G minor and the "Fantasia on a Theme by Schumann", both for piano solo.
Okinawan language
The Okinawan language (沖縄口, "Uchināguchi") is a Ryukyuan language that is spoken in the Okinawa Islands of Japan.
Most linguists say that it branched off from Proto-Japonic, which is the ancestor of Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages. The Japanese government says Okinawan is a dialect of Japanese because of politics.
When a group of people called the Yayoi came into the Ryukyu Islands, they brought over a language called Proto-Japonic. This language over time turned into the modern Ryukyuan languages. Proto-Japonic was also spoken in mainland Japan, which turned into Japanese, meaning Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages are related/have the same origin.
Okinawan and other Ryukyuan languages were discriminated by Japan during the Meiji period, making the number of speakers go down. Before that, Okinawan was the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Okinawan belongs to the Ryukyuan languages. It is in the northern group with both Kunigami and Amami. Sometimes, Kunigami is listed as a dialect of Okinawan but that view is rare.
Most older Okinawans speak Okinawan while younger Okinawans speak Japanese. This is why UNESCO lists Okinawan and the other Ryukyuan languages as “endangered”, meaning it’s possible for the language to die out in the future.
There are many sound changes between Japanese (Standard) and Okinawan (Shuri-Naha variety):
Japanese “o” - Okinawan “u” (Okinawa = Uchinaa)
Japanese “k” - Okinawan “ch” (Okinawa = Uchinaa)
Japanese “mi” - Okinawan “nn” (minato = nnatu)
Similar sound changes are in other Ryukyuan languages. Kunigami also uses “u” instead of Japanese “o”.
Imbolc
Imbolc is a festival belonging to Brigid, the Celtic goddess who, in later times, became famous as a Christian saint. At first, her festival on February 1 was known as "Imbolc" or "Oimelc", two Gaelic names which refer to the lactation of the ewes. Lactation is the flow of milk that happens when the baby lambs are born in the spring, and Gaelic languages are those spoken in countries like Ireland and Scotland.
Imbolc was, and still is, a time to celebrate that winter would soon be over. Sometimes in Ireland, the first flowers are coming up at the time of this festival, even when there is still snow on the ground.
Later, the Roman Catholic Church replaced this festival with Candlemas Day on February 2, a day that now belongs to the Virgin Mary. On this day, people may have ceremonies or processions by candlelight - walking together in the dark, with the only light coming from candles they carry. The may also sing songs to Brigid, or say poems or prayers to her.
In both Pagan and Christian celebrations, Brigid is celebrated as a powerful female figure, who brings light, inspiration, and healing to the world.
Baseball (ball)
A baseball is a ball used in the sport of the same name, baseball. It is between 9 inches (22.9 cm) and 9¼ inches (23.5 cm) in circumference (around). The ball weighs 8 ounces. Different size balls may be used in children's leagues.
The balls can be made in many different, but similar ways. The center of most balls is cork, rubber, or a mixture of the two. It is sometimes layered. Yarn and twine and sometimes wool are wrapped around the center core. A leather cover is put on, in two pieces, and stitched together using 108 stitches of waxed red cotton thread. Official Major League balls sold by Rawlings are made to the exact MLB specifications (5 ounces, 108 stitches).
Pitcher (disambiguation)
Pitcher can mean several things.
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, mainly Scottish, forces of King Charles II on September 3, 1651 at Worcester, England. The 16,000 Royalist forces were defeated by the 28,000 strong "New Model Army" of Cromwell.
James Marsters
James Marsters (born August 20, 1962) is an American guitarist, singer, and actor. His is best known for playing the part of Spike on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".
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Emma Caulfield
Emma Caulfield (born Emma Chukker in San Diego, California on April 8, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as ex-demon Anya on the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (born October 11, 1985) is an American television and movie actress. She is best known for her role as Dawn Summers from the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Trachtenberg was born in New York City, New York. She is of Russian Jewish descent on her mother's side of the family.
Trachtenberg has been acting since 1988 at the age of four. She has acted in several television shows and many movies.
Summer Glau
Summer Glau (born July 24, 1981 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American dancer and actress. She is best known for playing as River Tam in the science fiction television series "Firefly" and movie "Serenity".
Glau has appeared in several other series and movies including:
In February 2007, it was announced that Glau would be playing a role of Cameron Phillips in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles", a spin-off of the Terminator series of movies. This character is a Terminator infiltration unit sent back to protect John Connor and Sarah Connor from Skynet.
Summer Glau has been in a relationship with Cooper Gross. She is currently married to Val Morrison and has two children.
Band (anthropology)
In anthropology, bands are the tiniest societies, consisting typically of 5-80 people, most or all of them close relatives by birth or by marriage. In effect, a band is an extended family or several related extended families. Today, autonomous bands are almost confined to the most remote parts of New Guinea and Amazonia, but there were many others that have only recently fallen under state control or been assimilated or exterminated. They include many or most African Pygmies, southern African San hunter-gatherers (so-called Bushmen), Aboriginal Australians, Eskimos (Inuit), and Native Americans of some resource-poor areas of the Americas such as Tierra del Fuego and the northern boreal forests; all these modern bands are or were nomadic hunter-gatherers rather than settled food producers. Until at least 40,000 years ago, probably all humans lived in bands, and most still did as recently as 11,000 years ago.
Bands have no permanent single base of residence, instead land is used jointly by the whole group, as opposed to being partitioned among subgroups or individuals. There is no regular economic specialization, except by age and sex: all able-bodied individuals forage for food. There are no formal institutions, such as laws, police, and treaties, to resolve conflicts within and between bands. Organization is often described as "egalitarian" in the sense that there is no formalized social stratification into upper and lower classes, no formalized or hereditary leadership, and no formalized monopolies of information and decision making. However, this definition of egalitarian should not be taken to mean that there is equality in prestige and the decision-making process among band members. Instead "leadership" should be thought of as informal and acquired through qualities such as personality, strength, intelligence, and fighting skills.