EqualPocket: April 2004

Ferroaugite

Iron-rich variety of the mineral augite (q.v.).

Dardanus

According to tradition, having slain his brother Iasius, or Iasion, Dardanus fled from Arcadia across the sea to Samothrace. When that island was visited by a flood, he crossed over to

Atbasar

City, north-central Kazakstan, on the Zhabay River. Founded as a Cossack settlement in 1846, it became known for its annual fair. Atbasar is now a railway junction and a centre for processing local grain and livestock. Pop. (1991 est.) 40,000.

Surin

Town, east-central Thailand. The town is located on the railway between Nakhon Ratchasima and Ubon Ratchathani and is a trade and production centre for rice, lacquerware, and silk. It has an agricultural college and attracts tourists with its annual Elephant Round-Up. The town lies about 35 miles (56 km) north of the border with Cambodia, and many of its residents speak the

Binchy, Maeve

Educated at University College, Dublin (B.A., 1960), Binchy taught school in Dublin from 1961 to 1968, when she began her career as a reporter for the daily

Biblical Literature, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The third pseudepigraphon that shows important affinities with the Dead Sea sect is the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the last speeches of the 12 sons of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. In its extant form, containing Christian passages, the book was written in Greek. Fragments of two original Semitic sources of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls: the Aramaic

Biblical Literature, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The third pseudepigraphon that shows important affinities with the Dead Sea sect is the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the last speeches of the 12 sons of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. In its extant form, containing Christian passages, the book was written in Greek. Fragments of two original Semitic sources of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls: the Aramaic

Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake lies 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Lake Placid. It originated in 1819 as a lumber community and became an early rendezvous for mountain guides. The name, from the

Hop-hornbeam

Any of about seven species of ornamental trees constituting the genus Ostrya of the birch family (Betulaceae), native to Eurasia and North America. A hop-hornbeam has shaggy, scaling bark and thin, translucent, green leaves with hairy leafstalks. The hoplike, green fruits are composed of many bladderlike scales, each bearing a small, flat nut. The European

Hyrcania

Old Persian �Varkana� (�Wolf's Land�), ancient region located southeast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital was Zadracarta (Astrabad, modern Gorgan), and it formed part of the Median, Achaemenian, Seleucid, and Parthian empires, either as an independent province or joined with Parthia. In the list of Persian satrapies given by the Greek historian Herodotus, the Paricanians may have been the

Yang Chu

Pinyin �Yang Zhu � one of the early Taoist philosophers. Yang has been infamous in Chinese history for what was thought to be his extreme hedonism. This characterization of Yang was fostered by the great Confucian philosopher Mencius (c. 371 - 289 BC), the second Sage (after Confucius) of China, who condemned Yang Chu for upholding the principle of �each for himself.� According to Mencius,

Schemochrome

Any one of many colourless, submicroscopic structures in organisms that serve as a source of colour by the manner in which they reflect light. Among those physical structures in organisms that fractionate light into its component colours are ridges, striations, facets, successive layers, and multiple fine, randomly dispersed light-scattering bodies.

Iran, Nadir Shah (1736 - 47)

Nadr later dethroned Tahmasp II in favour of the latter's son, the more pliant 'Abbas III. His successful military exploits, however, which included victories over rebels in the Caucasus, made it feasible for this stern warrior himself to be proclaimed monarch - as Nadir Shah - in 1736. He attempted to mollify Persian-Ottoman hostility by establishing in Iran a less aggressive form

Kertanagara

Kertanagara was the son of princely families - King Vishnuvardhana of Janggala and a princess of Kadiri - so that by birth he was a reuniter of the two halves of the Javanese kingdom. Even his name, Kertanagara, meaning �order in the realm,� might refer to reunion, which was the achievement of a great king according to the Javanese dualistic cosmology. Probably for this reason,

Computers, Howard Aiken's digital calculators

While Bush was working on analog computing at MIT, across town Harvard professor Howard Aiken was working with digital devices for calculation. He had begun to realize in hardware something like Babbage's Analytical Engine, which he had read about. Starting in 1937, he laid out detailed plans for a series of four calculating machines of increasing sophistication, based

Toccata

In the late 16th century in Venice such composers as Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Merulo wrote organ toccatas (many with such titles as Fantasia and Intonazione), often

Cambrian Period, Boundaries and subdivisions

The lower boundary of the Cambrian System is defined at a formal global stratotype section and point (GSSP), which was ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in 1992. The stratotype section is located at Fortune Head on the Burin Peninsula of southeastern Newfoundland in Canada. It contains a thick and continuous marine succession of mostly

Venetan

Group of dialects of Italian spoken in northeastern Italy. It includes the dialects spoken in Venice (Venetian), Verona (Veronese), Treviso (Trevisan), and Padua (Paduan).

National Art Gallery

In Wellington, N.Z., national collection of paintings by New Zealand and European artists and portraits of prominent New Zealand figures. The gallery grew out of the city's first public art gallery, opened in 1907 by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. The basis for the original collection was a group of paintings purchased in England in 1906 - 07 and another group purchased at the

Pyx

In Christianity, vessel containing the consecrated bread used in the service of Holy Communion. Although pyxes were made in various shapes, such as that of a dove, the most common form was that of a small, cylindrical box fitted with a cover, which is generally conical. An English pyx dating from the first half of the 14th century, known as the Godsfield Pyx, is of gilt bronze

U2

Irish postpunk band that by the end of the 1980s had established itself not only as one of the world's most popular bands but also as one of the most innovative. The members are Bono (byname of Paul Hewson; b. May 10, 1960, Dublin, Ireland), the Edge (byname of David Evans; b. August 8, 1961, Barking, Essex [now in Greater London], England), Adam Clayton (b. March 13, 1960, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England), and Larry Mullen,

John Hyrcanus Ii

When his father, Alexander Jannaeus, died in 76, Hyrcanus was appointed high

Man O' War

Byname �Big Red� (foaled 1917), probably the most famous American racehorse (Thoroughbred), overwhelmingly voted, in an Associated Press poll taken in 1950, the greatest horse of the first half of the 20th century. In a brief career of only two seasons (1919 - 20), he won 20 of 21 races, finishing second to a horse named Upset on Aug. 13, 1919, at Saratoga, N.Y. He established five track records for speed over various distances and

Tyndall, John

Tyndall was born into a poor Protestant Irish family. After a thorough basic education he worked as a surveyor in Ireland and England (1839 - 47). When his ambitions turned from engineering to science, Tyndall

C�diz, Bay Of

Spanish �Bah�a De C�diz, � small inlet of the Gulf of C�diz on the North Atlantic Ocean. It is 7 miles (11 km) long and up to 5 miles (8 km) wide, indenting the coast of C�diz province, southwestern Spain. It receives the Guadalete River and is partially protected by the narrow Isle of Le�n, on which the major port of C�diz is located. Other ports along the bay include San Fernando (south), Puerto Real (east), El Puerto

Pierre Shale

Division of Upper Cretaceous rocks in the United States (the Cretaceous Period lasted from 144 to 66.4 million years ago). Named for exposures studied near old Fort Pierre, S.D., the Pierre Shale occurs in South Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Nebraska. The Pierre consists of about 600 m (2,000 feet) of dark gray shale, some sandstone, and many layers of bentonite (altered

Sicilian Octave

An Italian stanza or poem having eight lines of 11 syllables (hendecasyllables) rhyming abababab. The form may have originated in Tuscany about the 13th century, though little is known about its origins. The Sicilian octave was in use until the 16th century, when the madrigal overtook it in popularity.

Carlisle Commission

Also called �Peace Commission Of� 1778, during U.S. War of Independence, group of British negotiators sent in 1778, to effect a reconciliation with the 13 insurgent colonies by a belated offer of self-rule within the empire. Shocked by the British defeat at Saratoga (concluded Oct. 17, 1777) and fearful of French recognition of American independence, Prime Minister Lord North induced Parliament to repeal (February 1778) such

Beke, Charles Tilstone

After beginning a business career (1820), Beke turned to the study of law. His interest in ancient and biblical history led him to publish Origines

Tabari, At-

Franz Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography, 2nd ed. (1968); O. Loth, �Tabari's Korankommentar,� Zeitschrift der deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 35:588 - 628 (1881). A French translation of the abridged Persian version was made by H. Zotenberg, entitled Chronique de Tabari (reprinted 1958). E. Marin translated a portion of the History into English, entitled The Reign of al-Mu'tasim (1951). The Commentary has been edited by M.M. and A.M. Shakir (1954 - ) under the title Tafsir al-Tabari. M.J. de Goeje, et al. edited the History, known as the Annals, 15 volumes with index and glossary (1879 - 1901, reprinted 1964). A new translation of the History is in progress. The first three volumes are The 'Abbasid Revolution, trans. and ed. by John Alden Williams (1985); The Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad, trans. and ed. by Franz Rosenthal (1985); and The Crisis of the 'Abbasid Caliphate, trans. and ed. by George Saliba (1985).

EqualPocket

Friday, April 30, 2004

Ferroaugite

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Dardanus

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Atbasar

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Surin

Monday, April 26, 2004

Binchy, Maeve

Sunday, April 25, 2004

Biblical Literature, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Saturday, April 24, 2004

Biblical Literature, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Friday, April 23, 2004

Saranac Lake

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Hop-hornbeam

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Hyrcania

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Yang Chu

Monday, April 19, 2004

Schemochrome

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Iran, Nadir Shah (1736 - 47)

Saturday, April 17, 2004

Kertanagara

Friday, April 16, 2004

Computers, Howard Aiken's digital calculators

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Toccata

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Cambrian Period, Boundaries and subdivisions

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Venetan

Monday, April 12, 2004

National Art Gallery

Sunday, April 11, 2004

Pyx

Saturday, April 10, 2004

U2

Friday, April 09, 2004

John Hyrcanus Ii

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Man O' War

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Tyndall, John

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

C�diz, Bay Of

Monday, April 05, 2004

Pierre Shale

Sunday, April 04, 2004

Sicilian Octave

Saturday, April 03, 2004

Carlisle Commission

Friday, April 02, 2004

Beke, Charles Tilstone

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Tabari, At-

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