Sunday, February 27, 2005

Locofoco Party

In U.S. history, radical wing of the Democratic Party, organized in New York City in 1835. Made up primarily of workingmen and reformers, the Locofocos were opposed to state banks, monopolies, paper money, tariffs, and generally any financial policies that seemed to them antidemocratic and conducive to special privilege. The Locofocos received their name (which was later

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Arianism

A Christian heresy first proposed early in the 4th century by the Alexandrian presbyter Arius. It affirmed that Christ is not truly divine but a created being. Arius' basic premise was the uniqueness of God, who is alone self-existent and immutable; the Son, who is not self-existent, cannot be God. Because the Godhead is unique, it cannot be shared or communicated, so the Son

Friday, February 25, 2005

Adcock, Fleur

Adcock received her early education in England and later earned degrees at Wellington Girls' College and Victoria University of Wellington. She served as lecturer and librarian at a number of New Zealand

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Weldon, Fay

Weldon grew up in New Zealand, attended St. Andrew's University in Scotland (M.A., 1952?), and became an advertising copywriter in London. In the mid-1960s she began writing plays. Her first novel, The Fat Woman's

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Pecos River

River in the southwestern United States, rising in Mora County, north-central New Mexico, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and flowing about 926 miles (1,490 km) through eastern New Mexico and western Texas. It drains about 38,300 square miles (99,200 square km) before emptying into the Rio Grande at the Amistad National Recreation Area. After leaving the mountains, the Pecos flows over desertlike

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Literature, Other Literature in English.

Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa continued to provide critically acclaimed and commercially successful literary works in English in 2001. Australian Peter Carey became only the second two-time winner of Great Britain's Booker Prize. His fictional treatment of 19th-century Australian folk hero and outlaw

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Arena

Central area of an amphitheatre (q.v.).

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Arena

Central area of an amphitheatre (q.v.).

Friday, February 18, 2005

Nutrition, Competition for sites of absorption by the cell

Since absorption of nutrients frequently occurs by way of active transport within cell membranes, an excess of one nutrient (A) may inhibit absorption of a second nutrient (B), if they share the same absorption pathway. In such cases, the apparent requirement for nutrient B increases; B, however, can sometimes be supplied in an alternate form that is able to enter the cell

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Alexander Aetolus

Greek poet of Pleuron, in Aetolia. He was appointed by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Macedonian king of Egypt, to arrange and catalog the tragedies in the library at Alexandria. Nothing remains of his own tragic writing except the title of one play, Astragalistae (�The Dice Players�). A few fragments of his shorter writings are extant, including a brief appreciation of Euripides.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Arguin Island

Island off the coast of Mauritania; it lies about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Cape Blanc, in a sheltered Atlantic inlet (Arguin Bay). The island (4 by 2.5 miles [6 by 4 km]) was incorporated into the newly independent Mauritania in 1960. Aridity and poor anchorage have prevented the establishment of permanent settlements on it, but the coastal reefs, known as the Arguin Banks, are major fishing

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Paraguay, Climate

The climate is subtropical in most of eastern Paraguay, which mainly lies south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and tropical in most of the Chaco Boreal extending to its north. Masses of humid air blanket the country in the summers, and the winters are subject to cold southern winds. Summer temperatures between October and March generally range from 77� F to 104� F (25� C to 40� C). Winter temperatures

Monday, February 14, 2005

Meliaceae

The mahogany family of flowering plants, of the order Sapindales, comprising 51 genera and about 575 species of trees and (rarely) shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical regions. Most members of the family have large compound leaves, with the leaflets arranged in the form of a feather, and branched flower clusters. The fruit is fleshy and coloured or a leathery capsule.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Kyaikkami

Formerly �Amherst, � resort town, southeastern Myanmar (Burma). It is situated on a peninsula about 30 miles (48 km) south of the town of Moulmein. Originally a settlement of the Mon peoples, modern Kyaikkami was founded by the British during the annexation of Tenasserim and Arakan states after the First Burmese War (1824 - 26) and was named for William Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, then governor-general

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Sentimental Comedy

A dramatic genre of the 18th century, denoting plays in which middle-class protagonists triumphantly overcome a series of moral trials. Such comedy aimed at producing tears rather than laughter. Sentimental comedies reflected contemporary philosophical conceptions of humans as inherently good but capable of being led astray through bad example. By an appeal

Friday, February 11, 2005

Anthony Of Egypt, Saint

Athanasius, The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus (1980), was written by a contemporary; this translation includes useful prefatory material.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Ligurian Language

Language spoken by the Ligurians in northwestern Italy (and perhaps also in southern France and northeastern Spain) in pre-Roman and early Roman times. It is apparently an Indo-European language. Some scholars have maintained that Ligurian is closely related to the Italic and Celtic languages, holding an intermediate linguistic position between them. The language

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Intaglio

Intaglio printing is

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Cypress

Any of about 20 species of ornamental and timber evergreen conifers constituting the genus Cupressus of the family Cupressaceae, distributed throughout warm-temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Many resinous, aromatic evergreen trees called cypress belong to other genera of the same family, especially

Monday, February 07, 2005

Mordvin Language

Member of the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language family, spoken in Mordvinia and neighbouring areas. The third largest Uralic language in number of speakers, ranking after Hungarian and Finnish, it has two major dialects: Erzya, spoken in the eastern portion of Mordvinia and the surrounding territory; and Moksha, spoken in the west. Although both dialects are

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Masculine Rhyme

In verse, a monosyllabic rhyme or a rhyme that occurs only in stressed final syllables (such as claims, flames or rare, despair). Compare feminine rhyme. Emily Dickinson used the masculine rhyme to great effect in the last stanza of �After great pain, a formal feeling comes - �: This is the Hour of Lead - Remembered, if outlived,As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow - First - Chill

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Handke, Peter

Handke, the son of a bank clerk, studied law at Graz University from 1961 to 1965 and contributed pieces to the avant-garde literary magazine manuskripte. He came to public notice as an anticonventional playwright

Friday, February 04, 2005

Dairy Product, Additions and treatment

The addition of salt to butter contributes to its flavour and also acts as a preservative. Added in concentrations of approximately 2 percent, all the salt goes into solution in the water phase. Since the water content of butter is less than 16 percent of the total volume, each water droplet can contain more than 10 percent salt. Such a concentration in the water phase limits

Thursday, February 03, 2005

South America, Iberians

Until the end of the era of Iberian domination, only the Spanish and Portuguese were admitted to their South American colonies. The rigid exclusion of all other foreigners had but few exceptions, though a small number of non-Iberian Europeans settled as a result of illegal or tolerated immigration. Most of the Spaniards came from Castile and the southern regions.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Alipur Duar

City, northeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just north of the Kalyani River. Connected by road with Jalpaiguri, the city is an important market centre for rice, tobacco, and jute; an annual agricultural produce and stock fair is held there. Rice milling is an important industry. Alipur Duar was declared a municipality in 1951. Pop. (1991) 65,421.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Coracle

Irish �curragh� primitive, light, bowl-shaped boat with a frame of woven grasses, reeds, or saplings covered with hides. Those still used, in Wales and on the coasts of Ireland, usually have a canvas and tar covering. American Indians used the similar bullboat, covered with buffalo hides, on the Missouri River, and the corita, often sealed with bitumen, on the Colorado.