title: Sima Qian

text: The "jizhuanti" format refers to the organization of the work into "benji" (本紀) or 'basic annals' chapters containing the biographies of the sovereigns ('sons of heaven') organized by dynasty and "liezhuan" (列傳) or 'ordered biographies' chapters containing the biographies of influential non-nobles, sometimes for one prominent individual, but often for two or more people who, in Sima Qian's judgment, played similarly important roles in history. In addition to these namesake categories, there are chapters falling under the categories of "biao" (表) or 'tables', containing graphical chronologies of royalty and nobility, and "shu" (書) or 'treatises', consisting of essays giving a historical perspective on various topics like music, ritual, or economics. Most importantly, the "shijia" (世家) chapters, or 'house chronicles', document important events in the histories of the rulers of each of the quasi-independent states of the Zhou dynasty (originally serving as vassals to the Zhou kings), as well as the histories of contemporary aristocratic houses established during the Han dynasty.


title: Sima Qian

text: In all, the "Records" consist of 12 Basic Annals, 10 Tables, 8 Treatises, 30 House Chronicles, and 70 Ordered Biographies. The last of the Ordered Biographies is the postface. This final chapter details the background of how the "Shiji" was composed and compiled, and gives brief justifications for the inclusion of the major topics, events, and individuals in the work. As part of the background, the postface provides a short sketch of the history of the Sima clan, from legendary times to his father Sima Tan. It also details the dying words of Sima Tan, tearfully exhorting the author to compose the present work, and contains a biographical sketch of the author himself. The postface concludes with a self-referential description of the postface as the 70th and last of the Ordered Biographies chapters.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima was greatly influenced by Confucius's "Spring and Autumn Annals", which on the surface is a succinct chronology from the events of the reigns of the twelve dukes of Lu from 722 to 484 BC. Many Chinese scholars have and still do view how Confucius ordered his chronology as the ideal example of how history should be written, especially with regards to what he chose to include and to exclude; and his choice of words as indicating moral judgements Seen in this light, the "Spring and Autumn Annals" are a moral guide to the proper way of living. Sima took this view himself as he explained:


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima saw the "Shiji" as being in the same tradition as he explained in his introduction to chapter 61 of the "Shiji" where he wrote:


title: Sima Qian

text: Such a moralizing approach to history with the historian high-guiding the good and evil to provide lessons for the present could be dangerous for the historian as it could bring down the wrath of the state onto the historian as happened to Sima himself. As such, the historian had to tread carefully and often expressed his judgements in a circuitous way designed to fool the censor.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima himself in the conclusion to chapter 110 of the "Shiji" declared that he was writing in this tradition where he stated:


title: Sima Qian

text: Bearing this in mind, not everything that Sima wrote should be understood as conveying didactical moral lessons. But several historians have suggested that parts of the "Shiji", such as where Sima placed his section on Confucius's use of indirect criticism in the part of the book dealing with the Xiongnu "barbarians" might indicate his disapproval of the foreign policy of the Emperor Wu.


title: Sima Qian

text: In writing "Shiji", Sima initiated a new writing style by presenting history in a series of biographies. His work extends over 130 chapters—not in historical sequence, but divided into particular subjects, including annals, chronicles, and treatises—on music, ceremonies, calendars, religion, economics, and extended biographies. Sima's work influenced the writing style of other histories outside of China as well, such as the Goryeo (Korean) history the "Samguk sagi". Sima adopted a new method in sorting out the historical data and a new approach to writing historical records. At the beginning of the "Shiji", Sima declared himself a follower of Confucius's approach in the "Analects" to "hear much but leave to one side that which is doubtful, and speak with due caution concerning the remainder". Reflecting these rigorous analytic methods, Sima declared that he would not write about periods of history where there was insufficient documentation. As such, Sima wrote "the ages before the Ch'in dynasty are too far away and the material on them too scanty to permit a detailed account of them here". In the same way, Sima discounted accounts in the traditional records that were "ridiculous" such as the pretense that Prince Tan could via the use of magic make the clouds rain grain and horses grow horns. Sima constantly compared accounts found in the manuscripts with what he considered reliable sources like Confucian classics like the "Book of Odes", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Book of Music", "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn Annals". When Sima encountered a story that could not be cross-checked with the Confucian classics, he systemically compared the information with other documents. Sima mentioned at least 75 books he used for cross-checking. Furthermore, Sima often questioned people about historical events they had experienced. Sima mentioned after one of his trips across China that: "When I had occasion to pass through Feng and Beiyi I questioned the elderly people who were about the place, visited the old home of Xiao He, Cao Can, Fan Kuai and Xiahou Ying, and learned much about the early days. How different it was from the stories one hears!" Reflecting the traditional Chinese reverence for age, Sima stated that he preferred to interview the elderly as he believed that they were the most likely to supply him with correct and truthful information about what had happened in the past. During one of this trips, Sima mentioned that he was overcome with emotion when he saw the carriage of Confucius together with his clothes and various other personal items that had belonged to Confucius.


title: Sima Qian

text: Despite his very large debts to Confucian tradition, Sima was an innovator in four ways. To begin with, Sima's work was concerned with the history of the known world. Previous Chinese historians had focused on only one dynasty and/or region. Sima's history of 130 chapters began with the legendary Yellow Emperor and extended to his own time, and covered not only China, but also neighboring nations like Korea and Vietnam. In this regard, Sima was significant as the first Chinese historian to treat the peoples living to the north of the Great Wall like the Xiongnu as human beings who were implicitly the equals of the Middle Kingdom, instead of the traditional approach which had portrayed the Xiongnu as savages who had the appearance of humans, but the minds of animals. In his comments about the Xiongnu, Sima refrained from evoking claims about the innate moral superiority of the Han over the "northern barbarians" that were the standard rhetorical tropes of Chinese historians in this period. Likewise, Sima in his chapter about the Xiongnu condemns those advisors who pursue the "expediency of the moment", that is advise the Emperor to carry policies such as conquests of other nations that bring a brief moment of glory, but burden the state with the enormous financial and often human costs of holding on to the conquered land. Sima was engaging in an indirect criticism of the advisors of the Emperor Wu who were urging him to pursue a policy of aggression towards the Xiongnu and conquer all their land, a policy that Sima was apparently opposed to.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima also broke new ground by using more sources like interviewing witnesses, visiting places where historical occurrences had happened, and examining documents from different regions and/or times. Before Chinese historians had tended to use only reign histories as their sources. The "Shiji" was further very novel in Chinese historiography by examining historical events outside of the courts, providing a broader history than the traditional court-based histories had done. Lastly, Sima broke with the traditional chronological structure of Chinese history. Sima instead had divided the "Shiji" into five divisions: the basic annals which comprised the first 12 chapters, the chronological tables which comprised the next 10 chapters, treatises on particular subjects which make up 8 chapters, accounts of the ruling families which take up 30 chapters, and biographies of various eminent people which are the last 70 chapters. The annals follow the traditional Chinese pattern of court-based histories of the lives of various emperors and their families. The chronological tables are graphs recounting the political history of China. The treatises are essays on topics such as astronomy, music, religion, hydraulic engineering and economics. The last section dealing with biographies covers individuals judged by Sima to have made a major impact on the course of history, regardless of whether they were of noble or humble birth and whether they were born in the central states, the periphery, or barbarian lands. Unlike traditional Chinese historians, Sima went beyond the androcentric, nobility-focused histories by dealing with the lives of women and men such as poets, bureaucrats, merchants, comedians/jesters, assassins, and philosophers. The treatises section, the biographies sections and the annals section relating to the Qin dynasty (as a former dynasty, there was more freedom to write about the Qin than there was about the reigning Han dynasty) that make up 40% of the "Shiji" have aroused the most interest from historians and are the only parts of the "Shiji" that have been translated into English.


title: Sima Qian

text: When Sima placed his subjects was often his way of expressing obliquely moral judgements. Empress Lü and Xiang Yu were the effective rulers of China during reigns Hui of the Han and Yi of Chu, respectively, so Sima placed both their lives in the basic annals. Likewise, Confucius is included in the fourth section rather the fifth where he properly belonged as a way of showing his eminent virtue. The structure of the "Shiji" allowed Sima to tell the same stories in different ways, which allowed him to pass his moral judgements. For example, in the basic annals section, the Emperor Gaozu is portrayed as a good leader whereas in the section dealing with his rival Xiang Yu, the Emperor is portrayed unflatteringly. Likewise, the chapter on Xiang presents him in a favorable light whereas the chapter on Gaozu portrays him in more darker colors. At the end of most of the chapters, Sima usually wrote a commentary in which he judged how the individual lived up to traditional Chinese values like filial piety, humility, self-discipline, hard work and concern for the less fortunate. Sima analyzed the records and sorted out those that could serve the purpose of "Shiji". He intended to discover the patterns and principles of the development of human history. Sima also emphasized, for the first time in Chinese history, the role of individual men in affecting the historical development of China and his historical perception that a country cannot escape from the fate of growth and decay.


title: Sima Qian

text: Unlike the "Book of Han", which was written under the supervision of the imperial dynasty, "Shiji" was a privately written history since he refused to write "Shiji" as an official history covering only those of high rank. The work also covers people of the lower classes and is therefore considered a "veritable record" of the darker side of the dynasty. In Sima's time, literature and history were not seen as separate disciplines as they are now, and Sima wrote his "magnum opus" in a very literary style, making extensive use of irony, sarcasm, juxtaposition of events, characterization, direct speech and invented speeches, which led the American historian Jennifer Jay to describe parts of the "Shiji" as reading more like a historical novel than a work of history. For an example, Sima tells the story of a Chinese eunuch named Zhonghang Yue who became an advisor to the Xiongnu kings. Sima provides a long dialogue between Zhonghang and an envoy sent by the Emperor Wen of China during which the latter disparages the Xiongnu as "savages" whose customs are barbaric while Zhonghang defends the Xiongnu customs as either justified and/or as morally equal to Chinese customs, at times even morally superior as Zhonghang draws a contrast between the bloody succession struggles in China where family members would murder one another to be Emperor vs. the more orderly succession of the Xiongnu kings. The American historian Tamara Chin wrote that though Zhonghang did exist, the dialogue is merely a "literacy device" for Sima to make points that he could not otherwise make. The favorable picture of the traitor Zhonghang who went over to the Xiongnu who bests the Emperor's loyal envoy in an ethnographic argument about what is the morally superior nation appears to be Sima's way of attacking the entire Chinese court system where the Emperor preferred the lies told by his sycophantic advisors over the truth told by his honest advisors as inherently corrupt and depraved. The point is reinforced by the fact that Sima has Zhonghang speak the language of an idealized Confucian official whereas the Emperor's envoy's language is dismissed as "mere twittering and chatter". Elsewhere in the "Shiji" Sima portrayed the Xiongnu less favorably, so the debate was almost certainly more Sima's way of criticizing the Chinese court system and less genuine praise for the Xiongnu.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima has often been criticized for "historizing" myths and legends as he assigned dates to mythical and legendary figures from ancient Chinese history together with what appears to be suspiciously precise genealogies of leading families over the course of several millennia (including his own where he traces the descent of the Sima family from legendary emperors in the distant past). However, archaeological discoveries in recent decades have confirmed aspects of the "Shiji", and suggested that even if the sections of the "Shiji" dealing with the ancient past are not totally true, at least Sima wrote down what he believed to be true. In particular, archaeological finds have confirmed the basic accuracy of the "Shiji" including the reigns and locations of tombs of ancient rulers.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima's "Shiji" is respected as a model of biographical literature with high literary value and still stands as a textbook for the study of classical Chinese. Sima's works were influential to Chinese writing, serving as ideal models for various types of prose within the neo-classical ("renaissance" 复古) movement of the Tang-Song period. The great use of characterisation and plotting also influenced fiction writing, including the classical short stories of the middle and late medieval period (Tang-Ming) as well as the vernacular novel of the late imperial period. Sima had immense influence on historiography not only in China, but also in Japan and Korea. For centuries afterwards, the "Shiji" was regarded as the greatest history book written in Asia. Sima is little known in the English-speaking world as a full translation of the "Shiji" in English has not yet been completed.


title: Sima Qian

text: His influence was derived primarily from the following elements of his writing: his skillful depiction of historical characters using details of their speech, conversations, and actions; his innovative use of informal, humorous, and varied language; and the simplicity and conciseness of his style. Even the 20th-century literary critic Lu Xun regarded "Shiji" as "the historians' most perfect song, a "Li Sao" without the rhyme" (史家之絶唱，無韻之離騷) in his "Outline of Chinese Literary History" (漢文學史綱要).


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima's famous letter to his friend Ren An about his sufferings during the Li Ling Affair and his perseverance in writing "Shiji" is today regarded as a highly admired example of literary prose style, studied widely in China even today. The "Letter to Ren An" contains the quote, "Men have always had but one death. For some it is as weighty as Mount Tai; for others it is as insignificant as a goose down. The difference is what they use it for." (人固有一死，或重于泰山，或輕于鴻毛，用之所趨異也。) This quote has become one of the most well known in all of Chinese literature. In modern times, Chairman Mao paraphrased this quote in a speech in which he paid tribute to a fallen PLA soldier.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima Qian wrote eight rhapsodies ("fu"), which are listed in the bibliographic treatise of the "Book of Han". All but one, the "Rhapsody in Lament for Gentlemen who do not Meet their Time" (士不遇賦) have been lost, and even the surviving example is probably not complete.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima and his father both served as the "taishi" (太史) of the Former Han Dynasty, a position which includes aspects of being a historian, a court scribe, calendarist, and court astronomer/astrologer. At that time, the astrologer had an important role, responsible for interpreting and predicting the course of government according to the influence of the Sun, Moon, and stars, as well as other astronomical and geological phenomena such as solar eclipses and earthquakes, which depended on revising and upholding an accurate calendar.


title: Sima Qian

text: Before compiling "Shiji", Sima Qian was involved in the creation of the 104 BC "Taichu" Calendar 太初暦 (太初 became the new era name for Emperor Wu and means "supreme beginning"), a modification of the Qin calendar. This is the first Chinese calendar whose full method of calculation (暦法) has been preserved.


title: Sima Qian

text: Sima Qian is the son of court astrologer (太史令) Sima Tan, who is a descendant of Qin general Sima Cuo (司馬錯), the commander of Qin army in the state's conquest of Ba and Shu.


title: Sima Qian

text: Before his castration, Sima Qian was recorded to have two sons and a daughter. While little is recorded of his sons, his daughter later married Yang Chang (楊敞), and had sons Yang Zhong (楊忠) and Yang Yun (楊惲). It was Yang Yun who hid his grandfather's great work, and decided to release it during the reign of Emperor Xuan.


title: Sima Qian

text: According to local legend, Sima Qian had two sons, the older named Sima Lin (司馬臨) and younger named Sima Guan (司馬觀), who fled the capital to Xu Village (徐村) in what is now Shanxi province during the Li Ling affair, for fear of falling victim to familial extermination. They changed their surnames to Tong (同 = 丨+ 司) and Feng (馮 = 仌 + 馬), respectively, to hide their origins while continuing to secretly offer sacrifices to the Sima ancestors. To this day, people living in the village with surnames Feng and Tong are forbidden from intermarrying on the grounds that the relationship would be incestuous.


title: Sima Qian

text: According to the "Book of Han", Wang Mang sent an expedition to search for and ennoble a male-line descent of Sima Qian as 史通子 ("Viscount of Historical Mastery"), although it was not recorded who received this title of nobility. A Qing dynasty stele 重修太史廟記 ("Records of the Renovation of the Temple of the Grand Historian") erected in the nearby county seat Han City (韓城) claims that the title was given to the grandson of Sima Lin.


title: June Pointer

text: June Antoinette Pointer (November 30, 1953 – April 11, 2006) was an American singer, best known as the youngest of the founding members of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters.


title: June Pointer

text: Born the youngest of six children to minister parents Reverend Elton and Sarah Pointer, June shared a love of singing with her sisters. In 1969, she and sister Bonnie founded "The Pointers – A Pair". The duo sang at numerous clubs, then became a trio later that year when sister Anita quit her job as a secretary to join them. The group officially changed its name to The Pointer Sisters. The trio signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and released a few singles, none of which made a substantial impact on the music charts. In 1972, sister Ruth joined the group, making it a quartet. The sisters then signed with Blue Thumb Records, and their career began to take off.


title: June Pointer

text: Releasing their self-titled debut album in 1973, the Pointer Sisters found immediate fame with hits such as "Yes We Can Can" and "Wang Dang Doodle." Subsequent albums boasted top-charting songs such as "Fairytale," "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)" and "You Gotta Believe." June left the group in November 1975 due to health problems as she was advised to retire due to extreme mental and physical exhaustion; Bonnie Pointer exited from the group to forge a solo career in 1977.


title: June Pointer

text: Upon June's return, the remaining sisters found huge success, reaching the Top 10 in early 1979 with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire"; that began a string of hits which included "Happiness," "He's So Shy" (1980), "Slow Hand" (1981), "American Music," "Should I Do It" and "I'm So Excited." In 1983, the group released what would be their biggest album to date, "Break Out". It included the Top 10 hits "Automatic"; "Jump (For My Love)"; a re-release of "I'm So Excited", which became a bigger hit than when originally released in 1982; and "Neutron Dance." Subsequent albums spawned hits such as "Dare Me," "Freedom" and "Goldmine." (Pointer sang lead vocals on several of the group's top singles, including "Happiness," "He's So Shy", "Jump (For My Love)", "Baby Come And Get It" and "Dare Me.")


title: June Pointer

text: Eventually, June ventured into a solo career while staying with the Pointer Sisters; she released the "Baby Sister" album in 1983 (it scored a modest hit with "Ready for Some Action", #28 R&B) and a self-titled effort in 1989 (its charting single was "Tight On Time (Fit U In), #70 R&B)." June also performed the song "Little Boy Sweet" for the 1983 film "National Lampoon's Vacation". In 1987, she scored a top 5 pop single with Bruce Willis with a cover of the Staples Singers' "Respect Yourself." She also gained notoriety for posing for "Playboy" magazine in 1985. In September 1994, the Pointer Sisters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


title: June Pointer

text: June was married to William Oliver Whitmore II for thirteen years, from 1978 until 1991. She had no children. She was addicted to cocaine for much of her career, and she was ousted from the Pointer Sisters in 2004. Ruth's daughter filled in for June during stage performances as the Pointers Sisters reportedly waited for her to become drug-free. On April 22, 2004, June was charged with felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor possession of a smoking device. She was ordered to a rehabilitation facility.


title: June Pointer

text: On February 27, 2006, June suffered a stroke. While hospitalized, she was diagnosed with cancer, which had metastasized in her breast, colon, liver and bones. She died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2006, at the age of 52. A family statement said June died "in the arms of her sisters Ruth and Anita and her brothers Aaron and Fritz by her side."


title: June Pointer

text: June recorded a duet with Dionne Warwick, "Heartbreak of Love", for Dionne's 1987 album, "Reservations for Two". Their duet later appeared on the B-side of Warwick's 1989 single "Take Good Care of You and Me".


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe is an Indian shared universe consisting of Hindi supernatural horror films. The film series began in 2018 with the release of "Stree", directed by Amar Kaushik and starring Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor. The plot is the Bangalore legend of the 1980s known as Oh Stree Nale Ba (transl. Oh woman, come tomorrow), about a spirit who knocks on people's doors at night; it received positive reviews and grossed ₹180 crore worldwide, budget of between Rs 14 crore. Later, it spawned with two big successors: "Roohi" starring Janhvi Kapoor and Rao (2021), followed by "Bhediya" starring Kriti Sanon and Varun Dhawan (2022).


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: The franchise has been commercially successful, having grossed a combined ₹300 crore against a combined budget of ₹94 crore. The franchise has predominantly received positive reviews.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: The people of Chanderi live under constant fear of Stree, the spirit of a woman who attacks men at night during festivals. Vicky, along with his friends, decides to unravel the mystery.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: Bhawra and Kattanni kidnap Roohi on the orders of Guniya Bhai, who wants to marry her off to his client. However, things take a paranormal turn when they realise that Roohi is possessed by a demon.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: "Bhediya" revolves around the story of a werewolf, has its roots in popular folklore and is inspired by legendary tales of Arunachal Pradesh, where the movie was also shot.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: The first installment of the series, centers on the real-life incidents. The people of Chanderi live under constant fear of Stree, the spirit of a woman who attacks men at night during festivals. Vicky, along with his friends, decides to unravel the mystery. The film focused on the "Naale Baa" was an urban legend that went viral during the 1990s in Karnataka. The myth goes "a witch roams the streets in the night and knocks the door." "Naale Baa" has been found written on walls of small towns and villages (Rural Bangalore) for years now. Stree was released on 30 August 2018 in United Arab Emirates and 31 August 2018, in India to positive reviews. It earned ₹180 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹14 crore, becoming one of the most profitable horror films in Indian history.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: A spin-off film, focusing on the origins of the Mudiyapairi. And also second installment in this series. The plot focused on Bhawra and Kattanni kidnap Roohi on the orders of Guniya Bhai, who wants to marry her off to his client. However, things take a turn when they realise Roohi is possessed by a demon (mudiyapairi). The film is directed by Hardik Mehta and produced by Dinesh Vijan, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. Roohi was released on 11 March 2021, gained mixed to positive response from audience and month later film released on JioCinema on 8 April and released on Netflix the next day.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: Bhediya is another spin-off and also third installment in this series. The film starring Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon and Deepak Dobriyal. Film is set to release on 25 November 2022 Worldwide. The shooting for Bhediya is done in the regions of Arunachal Pradesh - Ziro (Lower Subansiri), Sagalee (Papum Pare) and parts of Pakke-Kessang district- over a span of two months, from March to April 2021. Over 70 percent of the artists in Bhediya are from Arunachal Pradesh.The shooting schedule in Arunachal Pradesh completed on 19 April 2021. The film was wrapped up on 10 July 2021. Abhishek Banerjee reprises his role of Jaana from the film "Stree" (2018) as Bhasker's cousin. Additionally Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Aparshakti Khurana appear in cameo appearences, all reprising their roles from Stree.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: The fourth film in this series, the film is directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, featuring Shraddha Kapoor, Tara Sutaria and Vicky Kaushal in lead roles and will be kickstarting shooting from around August–September 2022. Kapoor will be reprising her role from previous films in the franchise. The film will serve as a prequel to "Stree" (2018).


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: The fifth installment in this series, and also a sequel to Stree (2018 film). The film is directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan, featuring Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkumar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee in lead roles. Also, Tara Sutaria and Vicky Kaushal are expected to appear in the film reprising the roles from "Munjha" (2023).


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: This table lists the main characters who appear in the D.V horror Universe, in alphabetical order by the character's last name.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: Rajeev Masand of News18 also gave 4.5 out of 5: "Stree is especially entertaining, packed with laugh-aloud moments and a cast that’s on top of their game. It’s one of the most original films this year, and I recommend that you make the time for it."


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: Rachit Gupta of "The Times of India" offered 4 out of 5, noting the superlative writing and dialogues, but felt the film was a little too long and had some 'ambiguous ideas.'


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: Raja Sen of the "Hindustan Times" gave it a 4 out of 5 and had a more moderate tone, commending the actor's energy and collaborative efforts but noting a rushed-feeling plot: "The laughs are inconsistent, and the plotting feels sloppy and rushed. The ideas are fine, but the writing needed work."


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: "Roohi" received generally negative to average reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 10% based on reviews from 10 critics. "Times of India" gave it a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 and said, ""Roohi" is an entertaining blend of laughs and thrills". Umesh Punwani of "Koimoi" gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 and stated ""Roohi" has its moments, but they’re very few to label this as an entertaining product overall. The acting department shines, and the others remain to be in between from bad to moderately good". Monika Rawal Kukreja of "Hindustan Times" described "Roohi" as a "convoluted film". She praised Rao and Sharma's equation in the movie but criticised Kapoor by calling her performance average.


title: Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe

text: The franchise has been notable for its profit, with "Stree" and its follow-up having earned a combined profit of ₹293 crore, according to Hindustan Times.


The 2021–22 Australian region cyclone season, despite a very high number of tropical lows, was a slightly below-average season in terms of activity, with ten tropical cyclones, two of which intensified further into severe tropical cyclones. The season began from 1 November 2021 and ended on 30 April 2022, but a tropical cyclone could form at any time between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022 and would count towards the season total. During the season, tropical cyclones will be officially monitored by one of the three tropical cyclone warning centres (TCWCs) for the region which are operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, National Weather Service of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center and other national meteorological services including Météo-France and the Fiji Meteorological Service also monitored the basin during the season.


title: 2021–22 Australian region cyclone season

text: A tropical low developed to the north of the Western Region on 9 November, starting the season and the overall Southern Hemisphere season as well. After passing near the Cocos Islands with rainfall, it exiting the basin into the South-West Indian Ocean region on 14 November. Three days later, Tropical Low 02U formed near the Christmas Island and later became Tropical Cyclone "Paddy", the first named cyclone in this season. On 22 November, Tropical Low 03U formed and it exited the basin on 28 November. On 1 December, Tropical Cyclone Teratai was designated by TCWC Jakarta, but BoM downgraded to a tropical low later that day due to limited deep convection. Ex-Teratai was monitored for redevelopment for a few days, and on 7 December, the system was re-upgraded to tropical storm status. The system later dissipated on 11 December. On 9 December, BoM designated Tropical Low 07U and later became Tropical Cyclone Ruby, which peaked as a Category 1-equivalent tropical cyclone before entering the South Pacific basin. About two weeks later, Tropical Low 08U was monitored for development but made landfall before further strengthening could occur. The tropical low later entered the Coral Sea where Tropical Cyclone Seth peaked with winds of 70 mph. A couple days after Seth dissipated, Tropical Low 10U quickly organized and was named Tiffany. The tropical cyclone rapidly intensified to a Category 1-equivalent tropical cyclone before making landfall over Northern Queensland. Land interaction and wind shear significantly weakened the system. Tiffany later made a second landfall over Northern Territory without restrengthening much over the Gulf of Carpentaria. On 23 January, a tropical low was monitored for a couple days before entering the South-West Indian Ocean, which later became Cyclone Batsirai and caused devastation to Madagascar. On 29 January, BoM started to track Tropical Low 16U and exited the basin without affecting land. Meanwhile, Tropical Low 14U caused record flooding in the Kimberly Region. A week later, Tropical Low 17U formed and initially the system had deep convection and a well defined center, but easterly shear and dry air prevented strengthening and was last noted on 14 February. The same day that 17U was designated, Tropical Low 18U was briefly monitored before entering the South Pacific basin and became Severe Tropical Cyclone Dovi. On 13 February, Tropical Low 19U formed southeast of Christmas Island and exited the basin a few days later, which was later designated as Moderate Tropical Storm Fezile. On 23 February, Tropical Low 22U quickly developed deep convection and an inner core, and BoM upgraded the system to Tropical Cyclone Vernon. Afterward, the system underwent rapid intensification and peaked as a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone before interacting with Tropical Low 25U. While Vernon stayed out to sea and entered the South-West Indian Ocean, Tropical Low 21U developed in the Torres Strait, but high wind shear prevented further development. At the same time, Tropical Low 23U was monitored in the Timor Sea and later became Tropical Cyclone Anika before making landfall northeast of Kalumburu. Anika made a second landfall east of Pardoo, and briefly developed a better inner core inland due to the brown ocean effect. Tropical Low 26U was also monitored for development east of Christmas Island and attained tropical storm force winds, but high easterly wind shear caused the system to disintegrate. On 11 March, Tropical Low 27U formed south of Java and quickly developed an inner core before being named Billy and stayed out to sea as the system eventually succumbed to high wind shear. A few days later, Tropical Low 28U formed southwest of Sumba and was later named Charlotte. The tropical cyclone rapidly intensified quicker than expected and peaked as a Category 3-equivalent tropical cyclone while attempting to clear out a pinhole eye. However, the peak was relatively short-lived as the convection got sheared and Charlotte transitioned to an extratropical cyclone. On 30 March, a tropical low formed on Christmas Island and dissipated a couple days later. Another tropical low formed on 8 April, but did not impact any habitable areas. In mid-April, Tropical Low 33U formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria and dissipated a few days later. Tropical Low 34U also formed, but did not impact land. Around its peak, there was an eye-like feature, but northwesterly shear caused the system to become disorganized. During the off-season, tropical cyclone Karim entered the basin on 7 May and did not pose a threat to land. Another tropical low formed on 28 May, but remained disorganized due to wind shear and brought some rainfall to Western Australia.


text: During 18 November, the BoM reported that Tropical Low 02U had developed in a trough of low pressure, just to the west of Christmas Island. Over the next couple of days, the system remained slow-moving near the island before it started to move south-eastwards. On 21 November of 04:00 UTC, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) for "Invest 90S" which the agency was tracking very recently. By 03:00 UTC of 22 November, the BoM upgraded the tropical low to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale and named it "Paddy", becoming the first named cyclone in this season. The JTWC later did the same thing at 09:00 UTC.


text: At this time, it started to incline south-southeastwards with its pressure bottoming to . Three hours later, the BoM noted that Paddy continued to organize, with gale-force winds circling along its western and southern sides, according to scatterometer passes. The agency also nudged the system's intensity to , which would eventually be Paddy's eventual maximum 10-minute sustained winds. Sea surface temperatures around , low wind shear and favorable upper-level divergence were the factors behind Paddy's intensification. Convection started to decrease by 12:00 UTC; however, it managed to maintain its sustained wind speed as Paddy turned towards the south. Early on the next day, dry air started to affect the storm, leading to Paddy's further disorganization as the system turned west-southwestwards and southwestwards. As it moved west-northwestwards, it started to weaken and as it turned further westwards by 18:00 UTC of 23 November, the BoM issued its final warning as Paddy weakened into a tropical low. On the next day the JTWC issued a final warning. The BoM still tracked the system until 26 November.


text: Paddy remained far from major landmasses throughout its existence; however, it brought prolonged rainfall to Christmas Island. During a five-day period from 17 to 21 November, the island saw of rain.


text: On 29 November, BoM predicted a formation of a tropical low which they designated as "05U". On the next day, 05U formed which was located adjoining regions to the Christmas Island and the island of Java. At 23:30 UTC of the same day, the JTWC issued a TCFA for the system as the agencies found that the convection in associated with the system had increased. At 09:00 UTC, the JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical storm, as it briefly attained sufficient convection. Later, the BoM briefly upgraded it to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale at 12:00 UTC of 1 December, and named it "Teratai" which was given by TCWC Jakarta. But at 18:00 UTC, the BoM downgraded to a tropical low as deep convection had become limited, with the LLCC displaced towards the south. This was caused due to the lack of sufficient outflow caused by the northerly strait line flow which inhibited the system from further intensifying, despite favorable conditions. The JTWC followed the suite two hours later. During the next few days, the BoM monitored ex-Teratai for redevelopment as the system executed a clockwise loop. On 6 December the JTWC issued a TCFA, and the next day it re-upgraded the system to a tropical storm. However, by 09:00 UTC of 9 December, JTWC issued its final warning. The BoM continued to track the system until 11 December.


text: On 6 December 2021, the BoM predicted that a tropical low could form near the Solomon Sea. Two days later, the BoM designated it as "07U" when the system was expected to develop further. The JTWC later issued a TCFA. The system had fully organised into a tropical low, when the BoM had begun initiating advisories on 10 December. On the next day the JTWC upgrade to tropical storm. and it was latter upgraded to Category 1 Tropical Cyclone on the Australian scale named it "Ruby" on 12 December, according to BoM. At 18:00 UTC BoM upgrade to Category 2 system and JTWC following and upgrade to category 1-equivalent tropical cyclone, and the next day Ruby crossed into the South Pacific basin.


text: On 21 December 2021, the BoM started to monitor a possible tropical low near the Arafura Sea. The JTWC also classified the system as "Invest 97S" late on 22 December. On the next day, the BoM designated the disturbance as Tropical Low "08U". By 24 December, BoM began issuing advisories on the system, predicting a Category 1 intensity before landfall, while the JTWC issued a TCFA at 21:00 UTC on the same day. However, the TCFA was cancelled at 18:00 UTC on 25 December, since the system moved inland, and the BoM ceased issuing advisories as well. However, the tropical low kept moving eastward and entered the Coral Sea. At 02:30 UTC on 30 December, the JTWC issued a TCFA again on the system; however, at 02:30 UTC on 31 December, the TCFA was cancelled, due to the system developing subtropical characteristics. At 03:00 UTC on the same day, the BoM upgraded the low to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale and named it "Seth." At 15:00 UTC, the JTWC finally classified it as a tropical cyclone, designating the system with the identifier "04P." The cyclone reached its peak intensity at 18:00 UTC that day, while the BoM upgraded it to a Category 2 tropical cyclone, with sustained winds of 110 km/h (70 mph). At 00:00 UTC on 1 January, the BoM downgraded the system to a Category 1 tropical cyclone. At 06:00 UTC on the next day, the BoM classified the system as a subtropical cyclone, in their final advisory on the system. As a post-tropical cyclone, Seth killed 2 people; one in Queensland and the other in New South Wales.


text: On 4 January, the BoM started to monitor a possible tropical low near the Coral Sea. By 8 January, BoM began issuing advisories on the system. On the next day the BoM designated it as 10U. Within few hours since the BoM began issuing advisories, the low was named as Tropical Cyclone Tiffany as it was rapidly consolidating itself. It was followed by the rapid intensification for a span of 12 hours since it named from 06:00 UTC to 18:00 UTC of 9 January by windspeed increasing from 65 kmph to 120 kmph. With the same intensity on 00:00 UTC of 10 January, the storm made landfall over Northern Queensland. Due to land interaction, it rapidly weakened overland and became a weak tropical low. The low entered into the Gulf of Carpentaria with that intensity by the same night. Despite the considerable increase in wind shear, the low again re-intensified into a Category 1 tropical cyclone in Australian scale while meandering over the same area. The JTWC estimated secondary peak intensity of 100 kmph windspeed in one minute mean. On 00:00 UTC of 11 January, the storm made second landfall over the Northern Territory region and was followed by rapid weakening. The JTWC stopped issuing advisories by the same time.


text: Tiffany brought gusty winds and heavy rainfall exceeding to the Top End. A house near Katherine suffered around A$50,000 (US$36,000) in damage from fallen trees.


text: On 23 January, the BoM reported that a tropical low had formed in the northwestern portion of the basin. The system moved in a westward direction until it was last tracked on 25 January, when it had exited the basin and moved into the South-West Indian Ocean. At its peak intensity in the Australian region, the BoM estimated the system's minimum atmospheric pressure as 1003 hPa. The MFR began tracking the system, with the system intensifying into Moderate Tropical Storm Batsirai on 27 January.


text: In Western Australia, prolific rains affected the Kimberly Region with some areas recording accumulations not seen in over a century. Country Downs measured by 2 February, including in a 24-hour span. The latter constituted the second-highest daily rainfall on record in the state. Flooding occurred along the Fitzroy River, covering roads, washing out topsoil, knocking down fences, and toppling trees. More than 80,000 lightning strikes were observed around Broome. Rainfall in the city reached on 30 January, surpassing the total rainfall seeing during the entirety of 2021.


text: Tropical Low 18U formed on 5 February near New Caledonia and the next day 18U crossed into the South Pacific basin, with the system intensifying into Cyclone Dovi on 9 February.


text: On 20 February, the BoM predicted that a weak tropical low could develop near the Cocos Islands, and thus, designating it as "22U". Moving westwards, the system had fully developed into a tropical low three days later. Later, "22U" formed into Tropical Cyclone "Vernon" as it continued tracking west southwest and continued to intensify as it started to move out of the Western region and into the Indian Ocean basin.


text: A tropical low designated by the BoM of "23U" has formed in the Timor Sea. On 25 February, the low intensified and turned into tropical cyclone "Anika". "Anika" only intensified briefly to a Category 2 cyclone as it tracked towards the Northern Kimberley and made landfall.


text: The storm made landfall in Kimberley, causing trees to fall and more than 260 mm of precipitation was recorded according to the BoM. The system then weakened into a tropical low and continued to track over the coast, soon the ex-cyclone tracked west into the Kuri Bay and it re-inensified into a Category 1 cyclone as it started to made landfall again. It then started to re-weaken to a tropical low as it tracked eastward and quickly dissipated over the eastern Kimberley.


text: Tropical Cyclone Billy tracked over open waters of the Indian Ocean and had no impact on the Western Australian mainland or island territories.


text: A tropical low formed to the southeast of Christmas Island on 12 March and tracked steadily to the west-southwest. The low improved during 13 March and reached tropical cyclone intensity at 00:00 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) 14 March (UTC=Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) - 8 hours). Billy reached a peak at category 2 intensity that night well to the south of Cocos Island. The cyclone weakened rapidly on 16 March, although gales continued in southern quadrants through to 17 March as the system tracked to the south.


text: A tropical low formed over the northern Timor Sea on 16 March and tracked westwards. During 19 March the low started intensifying while moving southwest over open waters in between Indonesia and Western Australia. The system was named tropical cyclone Charlotte during Monday morning 21 March. The next 24 hours was quite significant where Charlotte rapidly intensified from a category 1 to a category 4 cyclone on 22 March. Charlotte maintained this intensity for at least 12 hours as it tracked south-westwards under the influence of a subtropical ridge.


text: The cyclone began weakening during 23 March due to drier air intrusion and increasing north-westerly wind shear. The system was downgraded to a tropical low at 18:00 UTC 24 March as it moved south over cooler waters off Western Australia.


text: There was no direct impact from Severe Tropical Cyclone Charlotte to the Australian mainland or island communities. Earlier in its life cycle, it caused heavy rain over the Timor-Leste but there were no reports of any damages.


text: Severe Tropical Cyclone Charlotte was the eighth tropical cyclone in the Australian region for the 2021/22 season.


text: On 16 April, The BoM tracked a tropical low near the Top End and the Gulf of Carpentaria. 33U slowly headed towards Cape York Peninsula. The BoM issued its final warning on the storm on 19 April.


text: A tropical low formed 420 kilometers from Christmas Island, according to the Bureau Of Meteorology technical bulletin, and was designated "34U". The cyclone intensified and the agency released unusual bulletins about the possibility of reaching Category 1, even though it did not pose a threat to any habitable areas. The system was upgraded to a tropical storm in post-analysis.


text: The BoM detected a tropical low near Cocos Island on 6 May, and it was designated as "36U". The JTWC reported in its first unofficial technical bulletin that the low pressure system was present in very warm waters (30 to 31 °C) and moved south-southwest a day after it formed. On 7 May at 14:00 UTC, Karim entered the Australian region and BoM initiated advisories on the system as a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. On the morning of 9 May, the storm reached Category 2 unexpectedly, as the agency's forecasts, until then, did not indicate a more explicit intensification. Interestingly, Cyclone Karim was the strongest cyclone to exist entirely out of season since Cyclone Rhonda in 1997.


text: A tropical low has formed out of season, according to the Bureau Of Meteorology. This disturbance was located near Christmas Island and was first detected on 28 May. The JTWC classified the disturbance as subtropical in an unofficial bulletin and called it "Invest 92S" the next day. On 30 May, the agency issued a short bulletin warning that the cyclone could directly hit the region of Pilbara in the west of the country.


text: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology first noted the formation of a possible low-pressure system to the southwest of the island of Sumatra by 4 November. This forecast was materialized when the BoM started to track a weak tropical low outside the Western Region on 9 November, while located at to the north-northeast of the Cocos Islands. It then entered the region by the next day while tracking slowly towards the island. Environmental conditions were analyzed to be unfavorable for further development and as such, the BoM only forecast a "very low" chance of the low becoming a tropical cyclone. The tropical low then passed to the south of the archipelago before turning westwards and exiting the basin into the South-West Indian Ocean region by 14 November.


text: On 22 November, a weak tropical low formed north of the Western Region, which was designated as "03U". By 24 November, the tropical low had entered the region and was located west-northwest of the Cocos Islands. It meandered near the Cocos Islands, before moving westwards and exited the basin on 28 November.


text: On 7 December, the BoM noted on a possibility of a weak tropical low developing over the northern part of the Arafura Sea. The BoM designated the system as "06U". By 13 December, the BoM stated that 06U was already forming. The system was last noted on 15 December.


text: On 26 December, a weak tropical low formed close to the Cocos Islands. It meandered over the same area and dissipated on 3 January.


text: On 6 January, the BoM first noted the possible formation of a weak tropical low. By 13 January, 11U formed while moving west-southwestward, it dissipated by the next day.


text: On 22 January, a weak tropical low formed north of the Timor Sea. It was moving east before it changed to west. The system was last noted on 25 January.


text: On 26 February, Tropical Low 25U (Tropical Depression 08) briefly moved into the western portion of the basin while undergoing a fujiwhara interaction with Severe Tropical Cyclone Vernon.


text: The Bureau of Meteorology reported that a tropical low formed on Christmas Island on 30 March. The cyclone lost its tropical characteristics on 1 April and was downgraded to a low pressure common on the high seas.


text: According to a bulletin released by the Bureau of Meteorology on the morning of 8 April, a new tropical low formed in Papua New Guinea. It lost its tropical characteristics on 9 April without affecting any habitable areas.


text: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (TCWC Melbourne) monitors all tropical cyclones that form within the Australian region, including any within the areas of responsibility of TCWC Jakarta or TCWC Port Moresby. Should a tropical low reach tropical cyclone strength within the BoM's area of responsibility, it will be assigned the next name from the following naming list. The names that was used for 2021–22 season is listed below:


text: TCWC Jakarta monitors Tropical Cyclones from the Equator to 11S and from 90E to 145E. Should a Tropical Depression reach Tropical Cyclone strength within TCWC Jakarta's Area of Responsibility then it will be assigned the next name from the following list. The name that was used for 2021–22 season is listed below:


text: Tropical cyclones that develop north of 11°S between 151°E and 160°E are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Tropical cyclone formation in this area is rare, with no cyclones being named in it since 2007. As names are assigned in a random order, the whole list is shown below:


text: If a tropical cyclone enters the Australian basin from the Southwest Indian region basin (east of 90°E), it will retain the name assigned to it by the Météo-France (MFR). The following storms were named in this manner:


text: Later in 2022, the Bureau of Meteorology retired the name "Seth", replacing it with "Stafford" due to the damage caused by it in Queensland.


title: American lobster

text: The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, northern lobster, Canadian Reds, or Maine lobster. It can reach a body length of , and a mass of over , making it not only the heaviest crustacean in the world, but also the heaviest of all living arthropod species. Its closest relative is the European lobster "Homarus gammarus", which can be distinguished by its coloration and the lack of spines on the underside of the rostrum. American lobsters are usually bluish green to brown with red spines, but several color variations have been observed.


title: American lobster

text: "Homarus americanus" is distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador in the north to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the south. South of New Jersey, the species is uncommon, and landings in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina usually make up less than 0.1% of all landings. A fossil claw assigned to "Homarus americanus" was found at Nantucket, dating from the Pleistocene. In 2013, an American lobster was caught at the Farallon Islands off the coast of California. It has been introduced to Norway and potentially Iceland.


title: American lobster

text: "Homarus americanus" commonly reaches long and weighs in weight, but has been known to weigh as much as , making this the heaviest crustacean in the world. Together with "Sagmariasus verreauxi", it is also the longest decapod crustacean in the world; an average adult is about long and weighs . The longest American lobsters have a body (excluding claws) long. According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest crustacean ever recorded was an American lobster caught off Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing .


title: American lobster

text: The closest relative of "H. americanus" is the European lobster, "Homarus gammarus". The two species are very similar, and can be crossed artificially, although hybrids are unlikely to occur in the wild since their ranges do not overlap. The two species can be distinguished by several characteristics:


title: American lobster

text: The antennae measure about long and split into Y-shaped structures with pointed tips. Each tip exhibits a dense zone of hair tufts staggered in a zigzag arrangement. These hairs are covered with multiple nerve cells that can detect odors. Larger, thicker hairs found along the edges control the flow of water, containing odor molecules, to the inner sensory hairs. The shorter antennules provide a further sense of smell. By having a pair of olfactory organs, a lobster can locate the direction a smell comes from, much the same way humans can hear the direction a sound comes from. In addition to sensing smells, the antennules can judge water speed to improve direction finding.


title: American lobster

text: Lobsters have two urinary bladders, located on either side of the head. Lobsters use scents to communicate what and where they are, and those scents are in the urine. They project long plumes of urine in front of them, and do so when they detect a rival or a potential mate in the area.


title: American lobster

text: The first pair of pereiopods (legs) is armed with a large, asymmetric pair of claws. The larger one is the "crusher", and has rounded nodules used for crushing prey; the other is the "cutter" or "gripper", which has sharp inner edges and is used for holding or tearing the prey. Whether the crusher claw is on the left side or right side of its body determines whether a lobster is left or right handed.


title: American lobster

text: The normal coloration of "Homarus americanus" is bluish green to brown with red spines due to a mixture of yellow, blue, and red pigments that occur naturally in the shell. On rare occasions these colors are distorted due to genetic mutations or conditions creating a spectacle for those who catch them. In 2012 it was reported that there has been an increase in these "rare" catches due to unclear reasons. Social media influence making reporting and sharing more accessible to a drop in predator populations have been suggested as possible reasons. The lobsters mentioned below thus usually receive media coverage due to their rarity and eye appeal.


title: American lobster

text: Mating only takes place shortly after the female has molted and her exoskeleton is still soft. The female releases a pheromone which causes the males to become less aggressive and to begin courtship, which involves a courtship dance with claws closed. Eventually, the male inserts spermatophores (sperm packets) into the female's seminal receptacle using his first pleopods; the female may store the sperm for up to 15 months.


title: American lobster

text: The female releases eggs through her oviducts, and they pass the seminal receptacle and are fertilized by the stored sperm. They are then attached to the female's pleopods (swimmerets) using an adhesive, where they are cared for until they are ready to hatch. The female cleans the eggs regularly and fans them with water to keep them oxygenated. The large telolecithal eggs may resemble the segments of a raspberry, and a female carrying eggs is said to be "in berry". Since this period lasts 10–11 months, berried females can be found at any time of year. In the waters off New England, the eggs are typically laid in July or August, and hatch the following May or June. The developing embryo passes through several molts within the egg, before hatching as a metanauplius larva. When the eggs hatch, the female releases them by waving her tail in the water, setting batches of larvae free.


title: American lobster

text: The metanauplius of "H. americanus" is long, transparent, with large eyes and a long spine projecting from its head. It quickly molts, and the next three stages are similar, but larger. These molts take 10–20 days, during which the planktonic larvae are vulnerable to predation; only 1 in 1,000 is thought to survive to the juvenile stage. To reach the fourth stage – the post-larva – the larva undergoes metamorphosis, and subsequently shows a much greater resemblance to the adult lobster, is around long, and swims with its pleopods. At this stage, the lobster's claws are still relatively small so they rely primarily on tail-flip escapes if threatened.


title: American lobster

text: After the next molt, the lobster sinks to the ocean floor and adopts a benthic lifestyle. It molts more and more infrequently, from an initial rate of ten times per year to once every few years. After one year it is around long, and after six years it may weigh . By the time it reaches the minimum landing size, an individual may have molted 25–27 times, and thereafter each molt may signal a 40%–50% increase in weight, and a 14% increase in carapace length. If threatened, adult lobsters will generally choose to fight unless they have lost their claws.


title: American lobster

text: The American lobster thrives in cold, shallow waters where there are many rocks and other places to hide from predators. It typically lives at a depth of , but can be found up to below the surface.


title: American lobster

text: The natural diet of "H. americanus" is relatively consistent across different habitats. It is dominated by mollusks (especially mussels), echinoderms and polychaetes, although a wide range of other prey items may be eaten, including other crustaceans, brittle stars and cnidarians. Lobsters in Maine have been shown to gain 35–55% of their calories from herring, which is used as bait for lobster traps. Only 6% of lobsters entering lobster traps to feed are caught.


title: American lobster

text: Gaffkaemia or red-tail is an extremely virulent infectious disease of lobsters caused by the bacterium "Aerococcus viridans". It only requires a few bacterial cells to cause death of otherwise healthy lobsters. The "red tail" common name refers to a dark orange discoloration of the ventral abdomen of affected lobsters. This is, in fact, the hemolymph or blood seen through the thin ventral arthrodial membranes. The red discoloration comes from astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment exported to the blood during times of stress. The same sign is also seen in other diseases of lobsters and appears to be a nonspecific stress response, possibly relating to the antioxidant and immunostimulatory properties of the astaxanthin molecule.


title: American lobster

text: Epizootic shell disease is a bacterial infection which causes black lesions on the lobsters' dorsal carapaces, reducing their saleability and sometimes killing the lobsters.


title: American lobster

text: Limp lobster disease caused by systemic infection by the bacterium "Vibrio fluvialis" (or similar species) causes lobsters to become lethargic and die.


title: American lobster

text: Paramoebiasis is an infectious disease of lobsters caused by infection with the sarcomastigophoran (amoeba) "Neoparamoeba pemaquidensis". This organism also causes amoebic gill disease in farmed Atlantic salmon, "Salmo salar". Infection occurs throughout the tissues, causing granuloma-like lesions, especially within the ventral nerve cord, the interstices of the hepatopancreas and the antennal gland. Paramoebiasis is strongly suspected to play a prominent role in the rapid die-off of American lobsters in Long Island Sound that occurred in the summer of 1999.


title: American lobster

text: Excretory calcinosis in American lobsters in Long Island Sound was described in 2002. The disease causes mineralized calculi to form in the antennal glands and gills. These cause a loss of surface area around the gills, and the lobster eventually asphyxiates. Several reasons have been proposed for the cause of a recent outbreak of the disease. The most generally attributed factor is an increased duration of warmer temperatures in the bottom of the Long Island Sound.


title: American lobster

text: Plastic pollution is harmful for American lobsters. Consumption of microplastic particles may be deadly to early-stage larvae. For later stage larvae, oxygen consumption rate decreases with high level of microplastic fibers.


title: American lobster

text: The American lobster was first described by Thomas Say in 1817, with a type locality of "Long-branch, part of the coast of New Jersey". The name Say chose – ""Astacus marinus"" – was invalid as a junior homonym of "Astacus marinus" Fabricius, 1775, which is in turn a junior synonym of "Homarus gammarus". The American lobster was given its current scientific name of "Homarus americanus" by Henri Milne-Edwards in his 1837 work "" (""Natural History of the Crustacea""). The common name preferred by the Food and Agriculture Organization is "American lobster", but the species is also known locally as the "northern lobster", "Maine lobster" or simply "lobster".


title: American lobster

text: American lobsters are a popular food. They are commonly boiled or steamed. Hard-shells (lobsters that are several months past their last molt) can survive out of water for up to four or five days if kept refrigerated. Soft-shells (lobsters that have only recently molted) do not survive more than a few hours out of water. Lobsters are usually cooked alive, which may be illegal in certain areas and which some people consider inhumane.


title: American lobster

text: One common way of serving lobster 'tail' (actually the abdomen) is with beef, known as surf and turf. Lobsters have a greenish or brownish organ called the tomalley, which, like the liver and pancreas in a human, filters out toxins from the body. Some diners consider it a delicacy, but others avoid it because they consider it a toxin source; dislike eating innards; or are put off by its texture and appearance, that of a grainy greenish paste.


title: American lobster

text: A set of nutcrackers and a long, thin tool for pulling meat from inaccessible areas are suggested as basics, although more experienced diners can eat the animal with their bare hands or a simple tool (a fork, knife or rock). Eating a lobster can get messy, and most restaurants offer a lobster bib. Meat is generally contained in the larger claws and tails, and stays warm quite a while after being served. There is some meat in the legs and in the arms that connect the large claws to the body. There is also some small amount of meat just below the carapace around the thorax and in the smaller legs.


title: American lobster

text: Most lobsters come from the northeastern coast of North America, with the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and the U.S. state of Maine being the largest producers. They are caught primarily using lobster traps, although lobsters are also harvested as bycatch by bottom trawlers, fishermen using gillnets, and by scuba divers in some areas. Maine prohibits scuba divers from catching lobsters; violations are punishable by fines of up to $1000. Maine also prohibits the landing of lobsters caught by bottom trawlers and other "mobile gear". Massachusetts offers scuba divers lobster licenses for a fee, and they are only available to state residents. Rhode Island also requires divers to acquire a permit.


title: American lobster

text: Lobster traps are rectangular cages made of vinyl-coated galvanized steel mesh or wood, with woven mesh entrances. These are baited and lowered to the sea floor. They allow a lobster to enter, but make it difficult for the larger specimens to turn around and exit. This allows the creatures to be captured alive. The traps, sometimes referred to as "pots", have a buoy floating on the surface, and lobstermen check their traps between one and seven days after setting them. The inefficiency of the trapping system has inadvertently prevented the lobster population from being overfished. Lobsters can easily escape the trap, and will defend the trap against other lobsters because it is a source of food. An estimated 10% of lobsters that encounter a trap enter, and of those that enter 6% will be caught.


title: American lobster

text: In the United States, the lobster industry is regulated. Every lobster fisher is required to use a lobster gauge to measure the distance from the lobster's eye socket to the end of its carapace: if the lobster is less than long, it is too young to be sold and must be released back to the sea. There is also a legal maximum size of in Maine, meant to ensure the survival of a healthy breeding stock of adult males, but in parts of some states, such as Massachusetts, there is none. Also, traps must contain an escape hole or "vent", which allows juvenile lobsters and bycatch species to escape. The law in Maine and other states dictates a second large escape hole or "ghost panel" must be installed. This hole is held shut through use of degradable clips made of ferrous metal. Should the trap become lost, the trap eventually opens, allowing the catch to escape.


title: American lobster

text: To protect known breeding females, lobsters caught carrying eggs are to be notched on a tail flipper (second from the right, if the lobster is right-side up and the tail is fully extended). Following this, the female cannot be kept or sold, and is commonly referred to as a "punch-tail" or as "v-notched". This notch remains for two molts of the lobster exoskeleton, providing harvest protection and continued breeding availability for up to five years.


title: American lobster

text: In Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for the governance of fisheries under the authority of the Fisheries Act. The governance structure also includes various other acts, regulations, orders and policies. American Lobster is fished in Canada by lobster licence holders hailing from ports located in provinces on Canada's east coast. Lobster is Canada's most valuable seafood export, worth over CAD$2 billion in 2016.


title: American lobster

text: American lobster tends to have a stable stock in colder northern waters, but gradually decreases in abundance moving southward. To manage lobster populations, more regulations and restrictions, geared towards achieving sustainable populations, are implemented gradually southward.


title: American lobster

text: Currently there is no published genome for the American lobster, although a transcriptome was published in 2016.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon KG PC (4 March 1526 – 23 July 1596), was an English nobleman and courtier. He was the patron of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, William Shakespeare's playing company. The son of Mary Boleyn, he was a cousin of Elizabeth I.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry Carey was the second child of William Carey and Mary Boleyn who was the sister of Anne Boleyn, the second wife and Queen of Henry VIII. Carey and his elder sister Catherine came under the wardship of their maternal aunt Anne Boleyn, who was engaged to Henry VIII at the time. The children still had active contact with their mother, who remained on good terms with her sister, until Mary's secret elopement with a soldier, William Stafford (later Lord of Chebsey) in 1535.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Anne Boleyn acted as her nephew's patron and provided him with an excellent education in a prestigious Cistercian monastery. He was also tutored at some point by French poet Nicholas Bourbon, whose life had been saved from the French Inquisition after Queen Anne's intervention.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry's royal aunt was beheaded in May 1536, when he was ten years old. His mother died seven years later in 1543 on her estate in Essex. On 21 May 1545 he married Anne Morgan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan, of Arkestone, Herefordshire, and Elizabeth Whitney.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Carey served twice as Member of Parliament, representing Buckingham during 1547–1550—entering when he was 21—and 1554–1555. He was knighted in November 1558 and created Baron by his first cousin Elizabeth I of England on 13 January 1559. His sister, Catherine, was one of Elizabeth's favourite ladies-in-waiting and the Queen was very generous to her Boleyn relatives. His Baronial estate consisted of the manors of Hunsdon and Eastwick, Hertfordshire and possessions in Kent. Hunsdon had previously belonged to Elizabeth's predecessor Mary I. He was also granted an annual pension of £400. On 31 October 1560 he was appointed master of the queen's hawks with a salary of £40 a year. On 20 April 1561, Henry also became a Knight of the Garter.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Elizabeth appointed Carey Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners in 1564, a position making him effectively her personal bodyguard for four years. He accompanied her to Cambridge University in 1564, for which he was awarded an MA. On 25 August 1568, Henry was appointed Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: The year 1569 was the beginning of the Rising of the North (November 1569 - February 1570), a major uprising instigated by Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland. The rebellion was expecting the support of the Roman Catholic Pope Pius V.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry was appointed Lieutenant General of the forces loyal to the Queen. His February victory over Sir Leonard Dacre was instrumental in crushing the rebellion. Nearly three thousand rebels ambushed Henry Carey's party of half that size, but Carey was nonetheless victorious in fending off the assault. A number of the rebels crossed the border to Scotland but were there targeted by the forces of the Scottish Regent. Henry could still appreciate the courage of Dacre's soldiers. In his letter to the Queen detailing the victory, he made mention of the rebel charge ""the bravest charge that ever I saw!"". He was rewarded with a personal note of thanks from Queen Elizabeth I that read in part . .


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: The victorious Henry was appointed Warden of the Eastern March and represented the Queen in signing a treaty with the Regent on 23 October 1571. On 31 July 1574 Henry became Keeper of Somerset House, the property of the Queen before ascending the throne. He was then named a Privy Counsellor in 1577. On 16 January 1581, Henry was appointed Captain-General of the forces responsible for the safety of English borders. He was appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household in July 1585 and would hold this position until his death. This did not prevent Elizabeth from appointing him Lord Chamberlain Lieutenant, Principal Captain and Governor of the army "for the defence and surety of our own Royal Person". The appointment occurred on 20 July 1588 in Tilbury.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry also served as Chief Justice in Eyre, south of the River Trent between 1589 and his death. He was Joined Commissioner of the Office Earl Marshal and High Steward of Ipswich and Doncaster. He served as Chief Justice of the Royal Forces between 20 December 1591 and his death. On 2 March 1592 Henry was appointed High Steward of Oxford for life.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Beginning in 1587, Carey began an affair with Emilia Lanier (1569-1645), who was the daughter of a Venetian-born court musician, and she may have been covertly Jewish. Carey, 45 years older than Lanier, was Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain at the time of their affair and a patron of the arts and theatre (he was the patron of Shakespeare's theatre company, known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men, but not until two years after their affair was over).


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Records indicate that Carey gave her a pension of £40 a year. Lanier apparently enjoyed her time as Carey's mistress. An entry from Forman's diary reads "[Lanier] hath bin married 4 years/ The old Lord Chamberlain kept her longue She was maintained in great pomp... she hath 40£ a yere & was welthy to him that married her in monie & Jewells". In 1592, when she was 23, Lanier became pregnant with Carey's child. Carey paid her off with a sum of money and then married her off to her first cousin once removed, Alfonso Lanier, a Queen's musician. Church records show the two were married in St. Botolph's church, Aldgate, on 18 October 1592. Lanier gave birth to Carey's son, Henry, in 1593 (presumably named after his father).


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry Carey died at Somerset House, Strand on 23 July 1596 and was buried on 12 August 1596 at Westminster Abbey. On his deathbed his cousin Elizabeth I offered to create him Earl of Wiltshire; however, he refused, saying:


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Henry Carey's mother, Mary Boleyn, was mistress to King Henry VIII from 1520. The exact dates when the affair started and ended are unknown, although it is believed to have ended by the time Henry Carey was born on 4 March 1526.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: Contemporary rumours stated that Henry was an illegitimate child of Henry VIII. Some 10 years after the child was born, John Hales, vicar of Isleworth, remarked that he had met a "young Master Carey," whom some monks believed to be the king's son. However, as Eric Ives has pointed out, the vicar was hostile towards the Boleyn family and may just have been causing trouble. The idea that Carey was Henry VIII's secret son has inspired modern historical fiction, such as the novel "The Other Boleyn Girl". Alison Weir in her biography of Mary Boleyn concluded that the preponderance of evidence points to Henry Carey's sister, Catherine Carey, as being the only offspring of Mary's relations with Henry VIII.


title: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon

text: In addition, Henry had several illegitimate children, including Valentine Carey, who became a clergyman, ultimately Bishop of Exeter.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political news stories and op-eds from various news publications in addition to commentary from its own contributors. The site is prominent during election seasons for its aggregation of polling data.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2008, the site's founders said their goal was to give readers "ideological diversity". According to a 2012 article in the "Chicago Sun-Times", competitors and people inside politics have praised the site's balance of stories, although a 2020 article in "The New York Times" noted that since the end of 2017, RealClearPolitics has had a rightward, pro-Donald Trump turn in its content. According to a 2020 Knight Foundation study, RealClearPolitics is generally read by a moderate audience, leaning slightly toward the right.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: The website was founded in 2000 by McIntyre, a former trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Bevan, a former advertising agency account executive. McIntyre explained "it really wasn't any more complicated than there should be a place online that pulled together all this quality information." They call what they do "intelligent aggregation". The site has grown in election-season spurts since it first went online. It has expanded from a two-man operation to a full-time staff of more than two dozen employees overseeing the company's mainstay, RealClearPolitics, as well as ten smaller sites.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: Both co-founders graduated from Princeton in 1991. When they launched the site, they would both start their day at 4 a.m., looking through articles from more than 50 sources. They post pieces on current events and topics, as well as news about opinion polls. The site reports on political races and projections, and features the average result of all current presidential polls and also offers a best-guess projection of Electoral College votes.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In a 2001 article for "Princeton Alumni Weekly", editor Rob MacKay noted that "The articles selected invariably demonstrate McIntyre and Bevan's political bent, about which they are unabashedly forthcoming." McIntyre said, "I'm not really a die-hard Republican because my interests are less on social issues, more on taxing and spending. ... But I definitely don't want the government telling me what to do with my property... Nevertheless, any political junkie—even a liberal—would enjoy our site because the topics we choose are current."


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In a 2003 interview with the conservative magazine "Human Events", McIntyre described the philosophy behind the website as based on "freedom" and "common-sense values"; Bevan said that the website's owners shared the common conservative belief that the mainstream media was biased "against conservatives, religious conservatives, [and] Christian conservatives".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In a 2004 article for "Time", Patrick Stack described the website's commentary section as "right-leaning".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In a 2008 interview with the "Chicago Tribune", McIntyre said, "We're trying to pull together the best political stories, op-eds, news analyses, editorials out there. The proliferation of content is enormous. Part of what we're trying to do is distill it in a clear, simple way for people who don't have hours to spend searching the Net." In 2008, the site's founders said their goal was to give readers "ideological diversity".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2008, "Politico" executive editor Jim VandeHei has called the site "an essential stop for anyone interested in politics".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2009, RealClearPolitics was described as a weblog "in the conservative pantheon" by Richard Davis.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: During the 2008 elections, "The Wall Street Journal" repeatedly referred to RealClearPolitics as "nonpartisan". "The New York Times" referred to its polling practice as a "nonpartisan tally".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2012, the "Chicago Sun-Times" noted that "competitors, political operatives and elected officials who regularly consult the site say they appreciate the balance of stories that Bevan, McIntyre and their staff choose." BuzzFeed's top editor called their polling average "the Dow Jones of campaign coverage".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: The 2012–2013 edition of academic text "Cengage Advantage Books: American Government and Politics Today, Brief Edition" describes the site as being run by conservatives, and containing "opinion pieces from multiple media sources".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2020, "The New York Times" noted that since 2017, when a large number of its straight news journalists were laid off, RealClearPolitics has had a rightward, pro-Trump turn with donations to its affiliated nonprofit increasing, with much of that from entities used by wealthy conservatives. Several journalists who talked to "The New York Times" in 2020 said they never felt any pressure from the site's founders to bias their stories. "The New York Times" also said that "Real Clear became one of the most prominent platforms for elevating unverified and reckless stories about the president's political opponents, through a mix of its own content and articles from across conservative media" and that for days after the election, "Real Clear Politics gave top billing to stories that reinforced the false narrative that the president could still somehow eke out a win." Some allies of Donald Trump falsely claimed that RealClearPolitics had rescinded its call of Pennsylvania for Biden; however, the website had not yet called a winner in the state.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: An October 2019 article in "The Daily Beast" reported that RealClear Media manages a Facebook page of "far-right memes and Islamophobic smears". Anand Ramanujan, chief technology officer for RealClear Media, responded that the company created the website that was affiliated with the Facebook page "as part of an effort to understand the flow of traffic from social media—particularly Facebook—to political websites."


title: RealClearPolitics

text: Real Clear Politics heavily promotes content by "The Federalist", a conservative website which draws funding from the same pool of donor money as Real Clear Politics.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2016, RealClearInvestigations was launched, backed by foundations associated with conservative causes, such as the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation and Sarah Scaife Foundation. In 2019, the site published an article by a conservative author, Paul Sperry, containing the supposed name of a U.S. intelligence officer who blew the whistle on the Trump–Ukraine scandal. The article's publication came as part of a month-long effort by Trump allies on media and social media to "unmask" the whistleblower, whose identity was kept confidential by the U.S. government, in accordance with whistleblower protection (anti-retaliation) laws. Most publications declined to reveal the whistleblower's identity; Tom Kuntz, editor of RealClearInvestigations, defended the site's decision to publish the article.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: Forbes Media LLC bought a 51% equity interest in the site in 2007. On May 19, 2015, RealClearInvestors and Crest Media announced that they had bought out Forbes's stake for an undisclosed amount.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: RealClearPolitics also owns RealClearMarkets, RealClearWorld, and RealClearSports. RealClearMarkets and RealClearSports were launched in November 2007. RealClearWorld, the international news and politics site, was launched in August 2008. RealClearScience and RealClearReligion launched in October 2010. RealClearHistory launched in 2012; in 2013, RealClearDefense was launched to cover military, intelligence, and veterans' issues.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In addition to linking to external content, RealClearPolitics also provides original commentary and reporting, with a staff that includes White House reporter Philip Wegmann, White House & national political correspondent Susan Crabtree, and associate editor and columnist A.B. Stoddard.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: Former employees include Caitlin Huey-Burns, Alexis Simendinger, James Arkin, Mike Memoli, Kyle Trygstad, Reid Wilson, and Rebecca (Berg) Buck.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: RealClearPolitics aggregates polls for presidential and congressional races into averages, known as the RealClearPolitics average, which are widely cited by media outlets. In 2008, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight said that RealClearPolitics was rigging its averages to favor Senator John McCain and other Republicans, although he later receded from this claim, indicating that his site and RCP had a friendly rivalry. McIntyre denied having a conservative bent, saying that the site was a business and had "no interest in screwing around with that for partisan purposes".


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2012, Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, said "They are a huge force. Their polling average is the Dow Jones of campaign coverage."


title: RealClearPolitics

text: In 2016, Republicans performed 1.7% better than the final RealClearPolitics average, and Republicans performed 3.3% better than the site's average in 2014. In the 2016 presidential election, the final RealClearPolitics average margin overestimated Democrat Hillary Clinton's popular vote performance by 1.3%. The final electoral college prediction map produced by RealClearPolitics predicted the average outcome to be that she would narrowly win the election with 272 electoral votes. However, she lost the election to Republican Donald Trump despite winning the popular vote. In 2018, the site underestimated the Democratic vote in the 2018 congressional elections by just over one percentage point.


title: RealClearPolitics

text: Right before Super Tuesday during the 2016 presidential primaries, Bevan called Super Tuesday for Donald Trump, telling "The New York Times", "It will be a Trump tsunami" and predicting a Trump victory in every state holding a primary that day except for Texas.


title: Thomas Tallis

text: Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one of England's greatest composers, and is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship.


title: Thomas Tallis

text: As no records about the birth, family origins or childhood of Thomas Tallis exist, almost nothing is known about his early life or origins. Historians have calculated that he was born in the early part of the 16th century, towards the end of the reign of Henry VII of England, and estimates for the year of his birth range from 1500 to 1520. His only known relative was a cousin called John Sayer. As the surnames "Sayer" and "Tallis" both have strong connections with Kent, Thomas Tallis is usually thought to have been born somewhere in the county.<!--


title: Berdiansk

text: Berdiansk or Berdyansk (, ; ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is the northern extension of the Black Sea. It serves as an administrative center of Berdiansk Raion (district), though it does not belong to the raion. The city is named after the Berda River forming the Berdianska Spit at the foot of which it is located. Berdiansk is home to a safari zoo, water park, museums, health resorts with mud baths and climatic treatments, and numerous water sport activities. Since 27 February 2022, it is under Russian military occupation.


title: Berdiansk

text: Its original name was "Kutur-Ogly". The city name changed to "Novo-Nogaisk" in 1830 ("New Nogaisk") (see Nogai). The present name was given to the city in 1841 by special decree of Nicholas I and named after the nearby Berda River.


title: Berdiansk

text: Between 1939 and 1958 the city was known as "Osypenko", so named after Hero of the Soviet Union Polina Osipenko. This name has now been given to the nearby village Osypenko, where Polina Osipenko was born.


title: Berdiansk

text: In the 19th century, the Russian Imperial government began to plan to build a seaport in the Northern Azov region. In 1824, Count Mikhail Vorontsov, Governor-General of the Caucasus Viceroyalty, sent an expedition to the Azov Sea. Its task was to find a place to build a new seaport to assist in the defense of Russia's southern borders. Initially, the place for a future port was implied in the village of Obetochnoe that belonged to Count Orlov-Denisov, near the town of Nogaisk founded in 1821.


title: Berdiansk

text: In the autumn of 1824, Captain N. Kritsky, the expedition supervisor reported on several prospective sites; the best being a place closed off from the sea by the Berdianska Spit. In an official report to Vorontsov, Kritsky wrote: "the quality of Berdiansk Spit surpasses that of Obytichna Spit; you can build a landing stage and port on it unless you concede to Sevastopol...".


title: Berdiansk

text: In 1820s, the place of the future Berdiansk was just a small settlement of fishers with a few huts In 1825, merchant Nikolay Kobozev built a private wooden quay which was opened with a ceremony on July 1, 1830. Only by 12 January 1835, a state-owned quay had been built.


title: Berdiansk

text: In 1833, Kobozev set up a wooden post to function as a navigation beacon; a modern stone lighthouse was built under the leadership of the Italian merchant Carlo Tomasini in 1838. It is a octahedral whitestone tower with an orange stripe in the middle. The beacon fires protected sailing ships and was first seen in 1840. Almost half a century later, in 1883, the oil lamps were replaced by electric lights. The old beacon was refurbished and upgraded with newer equipment. In 1836, the first foreign ship entered the port of Berdiansk.


title: Berdiansk

text: In 1841 the settlement at Berdiansk Bay received city status. Grigory Chernyaev (1787—1868) was appointed the city governor ("gradonachalnik") and the head of Berdiansk sea port. Chernyaev, an officer from landed gentry, took part in the Battle of Borodino. After the defeat of Napoleon he was appointed a comendant of Valenciennes. Mikhail Vorontsov knew him from France, when the former was the commander of the Russian expedition forces.


title: Berdiansk

text: The son of the Nogaisk merchant who owned fisheries at Berdiansk Bay, Nikolay Kobozev, was elected the first mayor of the city in 1841. During his term, the small township turned into a flourishing city with a large number of foreign companies' offices and active international trade. He built the first stone houses in the town and the famous Winter Theater, destroyed during World War II.


title: Berdiansk

text: In 1842, Berdiansk became the district center. On 31 January 1845, the first coat of arms of Berdiansk was created. At the top, on a green background, is a silver Nogai nomadic tent together with a black plow; this denotes the semi-nomadic life lived in the Nogais and farming work done by local residents. In the bottom part, on a blue background, sits a black anchor to symbolize the district's affinity with the sea. By this time the customs outpost was already opened. Some foreign marine grain purchasing representatives (negotiators) moved their offices to Berdiansk from Mariupol and Odesa.


title: Berdiansk

text: During the Soviet period Berdiansk was a powerful industrial centre. There were machine factories of all types, an oil refinery, a fiberglass factory, cable factory, ferroconcrete combine, factory of materials handling equipment, provisions factory, a bread-baking complex, milk plant, a meat-packing plant, a considerable quantity of construction and mounting organizations, commodity railway station and the sea trading port.


title: Berdiansk

text: Following the completion of the Crimea Bridge, and amidst hostile Ukrainian-Russian relations, the Ukrainian seaport authority stated in November 2018 that in Berdiansk year on year shipping had dropped 50%. They said that this was due to ships not getting permission from Russia to pass through the Kerch strait. Russia denied any disruption to Ukrainian shipping.


title: Berdiansk

text: On 27 February 2022, three days after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Berdiansk was captured by the Russian Army following the Battle of Berdiansk during the Southern Ukraine offensive of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many local people protested the occupation in the streets, singing the Ukrainian national anthem. The Russian navy Alligator-class landing ship "Saratov" was sunk in the port of Berdiansk by a Ukrainian attack on 24 March 2022.


title: Berdiansk

text: On 6 September 2022 Artem Bardin, the city's Russian-imposed commandant, was attacked and seriously injured near the administration building, and died later that day.


title: Berdiansk

text: The city developed and grew, though construction was random and haphazard. In the center, private residences for the nobility, merchants, priests were built, as well as office accommodation. Suburbs arose in the outskirts of Berdiansk, such as Sailor, German, Soldier (Liska), Dog beam Havrylivka, and Near and Far Majority.


title: Berdiansk

text: In April 1862 Tsar Alexander II with assistance from Mayor N. Kobozev confirmed the city district plan for Berdiansk. In the plan, the streets were straight and led to the sea. This layout has remained to the present day in the central part of the city. It was forbidden to build houses above the second floor. Fine buildings decorate Berdiansk: the Winter Theatre, City Hall, the hotel "Bristol" (now House of Culture factory "Pivdenhidromash"), male classical school (now the main building of the Pedagogical Institute), Ascension Cathedral, the Lutheran Church, and more.


title: Berdiansk

text: In Berdiansk the main employer was still the seaport, and on March 24, 1869, the breakwater was commissioned. This stone construction is long with two port lights on the ends – pointers to the harbor, located at a distance of from the shore. The increasing importance of the port was mentioned in 1867 in a commemorative book on the Taurian province: "Already there is no doubt, that for all the Azov coast the Berdiansk port will be the Odessa of the Black Sea coast".


title: Berdiansk

text: In 1876 as part of the defense of Sevastopol, rear admiral P. P. Schmidt was appointed Town Governor and Port Chief. Being a progressive man, he did much to promote the development of both port and city. Soon there were small industrial enterprises and banks opening in the city. John Greaves' factory manufacturing harvesters became well known across Europe. A farming machine factory was opened by Schröder and Matias. There was the rope-making factory of Venz and Yanzen, Selstrem's candle-wax works, Litsmen sausage factory, Fetter's brewery, Klavdin macaroni factory, and Ediger's printing house. The Italians constructed the city power station. By this time, two daily newspapers, three libraries and four bookshops were established. The city had running water and electric light illumination.


title: Berdiansk

text: In 1899 Berdiansk was linked up to the railway. At the beginning of the 20th century the city population numbered 26,500. There were about ten orthodox temples, two Jewish and one Karaite synagogue, boys and girls grammar schools, nautical classes, a city college and some credit institutions. In addition to an extensive export trade in mainly grain and flour, Berdiansk conducted large amounts of inland trade. It became a substantial distributive market for goods received over a wide area. By the beginnings of the 20th century, Berdiansk had become a merchant trading port with well developed industry, strongly influenced by its infrastructure. In 1915 a French consul, and the vice-consuls of the UK, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Norway, were in Berdiansk.


title: Berdiansk

text: Berdiansk is located in a steppe zone that defines its varieties of flora and fauna. The climate on the Azov coast is unique: the summers are hot and dry, the winters are mild and warm. The main natural feature is the end of the Berdianska spit. The spit flora is quite diverse. Here one can find more than 300 different kinds of plants. Some of them are documented in the Red Book (e.g. "Carex colchica", "Eryngium maritimum", "Glycyrrhiza glabra"). The vegetation is mostly made up of plants with powerful root systems.


title: Berdiansk

text: In spite of the fact that the spit is a populous territory, it exhibits a wide variety of fauna. Here it is possible to see hares, hedgehogs, martens, foxes, weasels and steppe cats. There also are: geese, sandpipers, swans, herons, ducks, magpies, seagulls, cormorants, warblers, lapwings, red-breasted geese and mute swans. Their numbers swell during the migration season. The islands of Big Dzendzik and Small Dzendzik, small islands in the Astapih's archipelago, contain most of the birds.


title: Berdiansk

text: Sea water temperatures off Berdiansk are higher than the Black Sea coast of the Crimea and the Caucasus. Already in May, the water warms up to , and in June it can reach . In the sea there are more than 70 fish species amongst them great sturgeon, Russian sturgeon, starred sturgeon, Azov turbot, haarder, mullets, kilka, anchovy, sea roach, shemaya and various species of gobies. There are predators too, pike perch and sterlet. The phytoplankton consists of diatomaceous, peridinium and cyanobacteria algae. At the bottom of the sea are large quantity of molluscs, such as cockles, sendesmiya, mussels and myas. They form an important food source for the fish. In coastal waters there are also dolphins.