title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Although many have said that Siqueiros' artistic ventures were frequently "interrupted" by political ones, Siqueiros himself believed the two were intricately intertwined. By 1921, when he wrote his manifesto in "Vida Americana", Siqueiros had already been exposed to Marxism and seen the life of the working and rural poor while traveling with the Constitutional Army. In "A New Direction for the New Generation of American Painters and Sculptors", he called for a "spiritual renewal" to simultaneously bring back the virtues of classical painting while infusing this style with "new values" that acknowledged the "modern machine" and the "contemporary aspects of daily life". The manifesto also claimed that a "constructive spirit" is essential to meaningful art, which rises above mere decoration or false, fantastical themes. Through this style, Siqueiros hoped to create a style that would bridge national and universal art. In his work, as well as his writing, Siqueiros sought a social realism that hailed the proletariat peoples of Mexico and the world, even as it attempted to avoid the widespread clichés of "Primitivism" and "Indianism".


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: In 1922, Siqueiros returned to Mexico City to work as a muralist for Álvaro Obregón's revolutionary government. The then Secretary of Public Education, José Vasconcelos, made a mission of educating the masses through public art, and hired scores of artists and writers to build a modern Mexican culture. Siqueiros, Rivera and Orozco worked together under Vasconcelos, who supported the muralist movement by commissioning murals for prominent buildings in Mexico City. Still, the artists working at the Preparatoria realized that many of their early works lacked the "public" nature envisioned in their ideology. In 1923 Siqueiros helped found the Syndicate of Revolutionary Mexican Painters, Sculptors and Engravers, which addressed the problem of public access to art through its paper, "El Machete". That year Siqueiros helped author a manifesto in the newspaper "for the proletariat of the world". It addressed the necessity of "collective" art, which would serve as "ideological propaganda" to educate the masses and overcome bourgeois, individualist art.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Soon after, Siqueiros painted his famous mural "Burial of a Worker" (1923) in the stairwell of the Colegio Chico. The fresco features a group of pre-Conquest style workers in a funeral procession that are carrying a giant coffin, decorated with a hammer and sickle. The mural was never finished and was vandalized by students at the school who did not agree with the work's overtly political subject matter. Eventually, the entire mural was whitewashed by the new Minister of Education who succeeded Vasconcelos. The Syndicate became ever more critical of the revolutionary government, due to the State's failure to deliver on promised reforms. As a result, its members faced new threats to cut funding for their art and the newspaper. A feud within the Syndicate—regarding a choice between publishing "El Machete" or losing financial support for mural projects—led to Siqueiros moving to the forefront of the organization, when Rivera left in protest over the decision to prioritize politics over art. Despite being dismissed from a post at the Department of Education in 1925, Siqueiros remained deeply involved in labor activities, in the Syndicate as well as the Mexican Communist Party, until he was jailed and eventually exiled in the early 1930s.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: After spending many years in Mexico and being heavily involved in radical political activities, Siqueiros went to Los Angeles, California in 1932 to continue his career as a muralist. Working in a collective unit that experimented with new painting techniques using modern devices such as airbrushes, sprayguns and projectors, Siqueiros and his team of collaborators painted two major murals. The first, entitled "Street Meeting", was commissioned for the Chouinard School of Art. It depicts a group of workers of mixed ethnicities listening to an angry labor agitator's speech during a break in the workday. The mural was washed over within a year of its unveilingdue to weather-related issues, and perhaps the Communist content of the work. Siqueiros' other significant Los Angeles mural, "" (full name: "", or "Tropical America: Oppressed and Destroyed by Imperialism"), was commissioned shortly after the unveiling of "Street Meeting", and was to be painted on the exterior wall of the Plaza Art Center that faced the busy Olvera Street. "Tropical America" depicts American imperialism in Latin America, a much more radical theme than was intended for the work. Although it received generally favorable criticism, some viewed it as Communist propaganda, which led to a partial covering in 1934 and a total whitewash in 1938. Eighty years later, the Getty Conservation Institute performed restoration work on the mural. As no color photographs of "Tropical America" are known to exist, conservators used scientific analysis and best practices to get at the artist's vision of the mural. It became accessible to the public on its 80th anniversary, October 9, 2012. The América Tropical Interpretive Center that opened nearby is dedicated to the life and legacy of David Alfaro Siqueiros.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: In the early 1930s, including his time spent in Lecumberri Prison, Siqueiros produced a series of politically themed lithographs, many of which were exhibited in the United States. His lithograph "Head" was shown at the 1930 exhibition "Mexican Artists and Artists of the Mexican School" at The Delphic Studios in New York City. In 1932, he led an exhibition and conference entitled "Rectifications on Mexican Muralism" at the gallery of the Spanish Casino in Taxco, Guerrero. Shortly after, he traveled to New York, where he participated in the Weyhe Gallery's "Mexican Graphic Art" exhibition. Also in 1932, Nelbert Chouinard invited Siqueiros to Los Angeles to conduct mural workshops. It was at this time that, with a team of students, he also completed "Tropical America" in 1932, at the Italian Hall at Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Painting fresco on an outside wall – visible to passersby as well as intentional viewers – forced Siqueiros to reconsider his methodology as a muralist. He wanted the image – an Indian peon being crucified by American oppression – to be accessible from multiple angles. Instead of just constructing "an enlarged easel painting", he realized that the mural "must conform to the normal transit of a spectator." Eventually, Siqueiros would develop a mural technique that involved tracing figures onto a wall with an electric projector, photographing early wall sketches to improve perspective, and new paints, spray guns, and other tools to accommodate the surface of modern buildings and the outdoor conditions. He was unceremoniously deported from the United States for political activity the same year.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Back in New York in 1936, he was the guest of honor at the "Contemporary Arts" exhibition at the St. Regis gallery. There he also ran a political art workshop in preparation for the 1936 General Strike for Peace and May Day parade. The young Jackson Pollock attended the workshop and helped build floats for the parade. In fact, Siquieros has been credited with teaching drip and pour techniques to Pollock that later resulted in his all-over paintings, made from 1947 to 1950, and which constitute Pollock's greatest achievement. In addition to floats, the Siqueiros Experimental Workshop produced a variety of posters and other ephemeral works for the CPUSA and other anti-fascist organizations in New York. These ephemeral works possessed the ability to reach the masses in a way different from mural painting because they were accessible to a wide audience outside of an institution or gallery. The Siqueiros Experimental Workshop only lasted for a little over a year until Siqueiros went to fight in the Spanish Civil War in April 1937, but their floats were featured in both the 1936 and 1937 May Day Parades in Manhattan's garment district.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Continuing to produce several works throughout the late 1930s – such as "Echo of a Scream" (1937) and "The Sob" (1939), both now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York . Although he went to Spain to support the Spanish Republic against the fascist forces of Francisco Franco with his art, he volunteered and served in frontline combat as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army of the Republic through 1938 before returning to Mexico City. After his return, in a stairwell of the "Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas", Siqueiros collaborated with Spanish refugee Josep Renau and the International Team of Plastic Artists to develop one of his most famous works, "Portrait of the Bourgeoisie", warning against the dual foes of capitalism and fascism. The original mural, painted in the stairwell of the electrical worker's union, incorporated cameras, photomontage, spray guns, airbrushes, stencils and the latest paints. It shows a giant generator using the opposition of fascist and capitalist democracies to generate imperialism and war. An armed, brave-faced revolutionary, of unnamable class or ethnicity, confronts the machine, and a blue sky on the ceiling flanked by electrical towers displays hope for the proletariat in technological and industrial advances.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: American-born poet and eventual fellow Spanish Civil War participant Edwin Rolfe was a great admirer of Siqueiros's "ability to function" as "artist and revolutionary". His 1934 poem "Room with Revolutionists" is based on a conversation between ″New Masses″ editor, poet, and Left journalist Joseph Freeman (1897–1965) and Siqueiros; in it, Siqueiros is described as "a revolutionist / a painter of great areas, editor / of fiery and terrifying words, leader / of the poor who plant, the poor who burrow / under the earth in field and mine. / His life's an always upward-delving battle in / an old torn sweater, the pockets always empty."


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Before the mural's completion in 1940, however, Siqueiros was forced into hiding and later exiled for his direct involvement in an attempt to assassinate Leon Trotsky, then in exile in Mexico City from the Soviet Union:


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: President Lázaro Cárdenas had given Leon Trotsky and his wife, Natalia Sedova, political asylum after fleeing Stalinist persecution. They were able to enter the country thanks to the request that Ana Brenner made to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to intervene on their behalf. Trotsky's arrival in Mexico as a political asylee infuriated the Spanish Republicans, allies of the Soviet Union, who complained to the Mexican fighters -among them Siqueiros- about their government's decision to accept Trotsky.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Siqueiros was located by the police in a property supposedly rented by Angelica and Luis Arenal (Siqueiros's wife and brother-in-law respectively) in the outskirts of the capital. Siqueiros fled to Guadalajara, hiding in the house of his old friend and from there he moved to the mountain town of Hostotipaquillo. Together with Angélia Arenal, he hid disguised as a peasant under the name of Macario Huízar. The Jalisco police apprehended Siqueiros and he was taken back Mexico City. He was formally processed and declared prisoner in the Lecumberri Preventive Prison. Siqueiros was charged for attempted homicide, criminal association, improper use of uniform, usurpation of functions, breaking and entering, firing a firearm and robbery.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Despite Siqueiros's participation in these events, he never stood trial and was given permission to leave the country to paint a mural in Chile, arranged by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. In a school library in the town of Chillán, he organized a team of artists to paint a mural which combined the heroic figures of Mexico and Chile in "Death to the Invader."


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Hoping to revisit the United States and contribute to the struggle against fascism, he was denied entry and went to Cuba where he painted three murals, "Allegory of Racial Equality and Fraternity in Cuba," "New Day of the Democracies" and "Two Mountains of America, Marti and Lincoln."


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: In 1948, Siqueiros was invited to teach a course on mural painting at an art academy in San Miguel Allende. Although he was barred from the United States, most of the students were American GIs who were being paid to study under him. Practicing his idea of learning art by working with a master artist on a mural project, he planned a mural in a colonial building recognizing the legacy of Miguel Allende, one of Mexico's leaders of the struggle for independence. The mural was never completed, due to legal procedures against the owner of the art academy. Based on this experience, he later wrote a book Como se pinta un mural.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Siqueiros participated in the first ever Mexican contingent at the XXV Venice Biennale exhibition with Orozco, Rivera and Tamayo in 1950, and he received the second prize for all exhibitors, which recognized the international status of Mexican art. Yet by the 1950s, Siqueiros returned to accepting commissions from what he considered a "progressive" Mexican state, rather than painting for galleries or private patrons. He constructed an outdoor mural entitled "The People to the University, the University to the People" at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City in 1952. It was a combination of mural painting, bas-relief sculpture and Italian mosaic. In 1957 he began work on government commission for Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City; "Del porfirismo a la Revolución" was his biggest mural yet. (The painting is known in English as "From the Dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz to the Revolution" or "The Revolution Against the Porfirian Dictatorship".)


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: In the lobby of the Hospital de la Raza in Mexico City, he created a revolutionary multi-angular mural using new materials and techniques, "For the Social Welfare of all Mexicans". After painting "Man the Master and Not the Slave of Technology" on a concave aluminum panel in the lobby of the Polytechnic Institute, he painted "The Apology for the Future Victory of Science over Cancer" on panels that wrap around the lobby of the cancer center.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Yet near the end of the decade, his outspoken communist views alienated him from the government. Under pressure from the government, the National Actors' Association, which had commissioned a mural on the theater in Mexico suspended his work on "The History of Theater in Mexico" at the Jorge Negrete Theater and sued him for breach of contract in 1958.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Siqueiros was eventually arrested in 1960 for openly criticizing the President of Mexico, Adolfo López Mateos, and leading protests against the arrests of striking workers and teachers, though the charges were commonly known to be false. Numerous protests ensued, even including an appeal advertisement by well-known artists and writers in "The New York Times" in 1961. Unjustly imprisoned, Siqueiros continued to paint, and his works continued to sell. During that stay, he would make numerous sketches for the project of decorating the Hotel Casino de la Selva, owned by Manuel Suarez y Suarez. After international pressure was put on the Mexican authorities, Siqueiros was finally pardoned and released in the spring of 1964. He immediately resumed working on his suspended murals in the Actors' Union and Chapultepec Castle.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: When the mural planned for the Hotel de la Selva in Cuernavaca was moved to Mexico City and expanded, he assembled a team of national and international artists to work on the panels in his workshop in Cuernavaca. This project, his last major mural, is the largest mural ever painted, an integrated structure combining architecture, in which the building was designed as a mural, with mural painting and polychromed sculpture. Known as the Polyforum Siqueiros, the exterior consists of 12 panels of sculpture and painting while the walls and ceiling of the interior are covered with "The March of Humanity on Earth and Toward the Cosmos". Completed in 1971 after years of extension and delay, the mural broke from some previous stylistic mandates, if only by its complex message. Known for making art that was easily read by the public, especially the lower classes, Siqueiros' message in "The March" is more difficult to decipher, though it seems to fuse two visions of human progress, one international and one based in Mexican heritage. The mural's placement at a ritzy hotel and commission by its millionaire owner also seems to challenge Siqueiros' anti-capitalist ideology.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: Siqueiros died in Cuernavaca, Morelos, on January 6, 1974 in the company of Angélica Arenal Bastar, who had been his partner since the Spanish civil war. His body was buried in the "Rotunda of Illustrious Persons" in Mexico City. A few days before his death, he donated his house in Polanco to the Mexican state; since 1969, it had been used for Public Art Rooms and a Museum of Mural Painting Composition.


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: As a muralist and an artist, Siqueiros believed art should be public, educational, and ideological. He painted mostly murals and other portraits of the revolution – its goals, its past, and the current oppression of the working classes. Because he was painting a story of human struggle to overcome authoritarian, capitalist rule, he painted the everyday people ideally involved in this struggle. Though his pieces sometimes include landscapes or figures of Mexican history and mythology, these elements often appear as mere accessories to the story of a revolutionary hero or heroes (several works depict the revolutionary "masses", such as the mural at Chapultepec).


title: David Alfaro Siqueiros

text: His interest in the human form developed at the Academy in Mexico City. His accentuation of the angles of the body, its muscles and joints, can be seen throughout his career in his portrayal of the strong revolutionary body. In addition, many works, especially in the 1930s, prominently feature hands, which could be interpreted as another heroic symbol of proletarian strength through work: his self-portrait in prison ("El Coronelazo", 1945, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City), "Our Present Image" (1947, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico), "New Democracy" (1944, Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City), and even his series on working class women, such as "The Sob".


title: Famous Monsters

text: Famous Monsters is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released on October 5, 1999. It is the second in the post-Danzig era of the band, and the last album to feature Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, Michale Graves, and Dr. Chud, who would all quit the band in 2000.


title: Famous Monsters

text: The album's title is an allusion to the horror/sci-fi magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland", from whom the Misfits borrow their classic logo font. The UK release also exclusively includes the song "1,000,000 Years BC", which was later re-released on "Cuts from the Crypt" in 2001.


title: Famous Monsters

text: The song "Scream!" was turned into a music video directed by George A. Romero. In addition, the band appeared in Romero's film "Bruiser". "Kong at the Gates" was the theme music for WCW alumnus Vampiro.


title: Famous Monsters

text: The song "Descending Angel" was re-recorded and released as a single in 2013, with Jerry Only on lead vocals.


title: Pain scale

text: A pain scale measures a patient's pain intensity or other features. Pain scales are a common communication tool in medical contexts, and are used in a variety of medical settings. Pain scales are a necessity to assist with better assessment of pain and patient screening. Pain measurements help determine the severity, type, and duration of the pain, and are used to make an accurate diagnosis, determine a treatment plan, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Accurately measuring pain is a necessity in medical settings, especially if the pain measurement is going to be used as a screening tool, either for potential diseases or medical problems, or as a type of triage to determine urgency of one patient over another. Pain scales are based on trust, cartoons (behavioral), or imaginary data, and are available for neonates, infants, children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and persons whose communication is impaired. Pain assessments are often regarded as "the 5th Vital Sign".


title: Pain scale

text: It is important to understand what features of pain scales are most useful, least useful, and which aid in understanding. In fact, a patient's self-reported pain is so critical in the pain assessment method that it has been described as the "most valid measure" of pain. The focus on patient report of pain is an essential aspect of any pain scale, but there are additional features that should be included in a pain scale. In addition to focusing on the patient's perspective, a pain scale should also be free of bias, accurate and reliable, able to differentiate between pain and other undesired emotions, absolute not relative, and able to act as a predictor or screening tool.


title: Pain scale

text: The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS-11) is an 11-point scale for patient self-reporting of pain. It is based solely on the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and can be used for adults and children 10 years old or older.


title: Pain scale

text: Pain interferes with a person's ability to perform ADLs. Pain also interferes with a person's ability to concentrate, and to think. A sufficiently strong pain can be disabling on a person's concentration and coherent thought, even though it is not strong enough to prevent that person's performance of ADLs. However, there is no system available for measuring concentration and thought.


title: Pain scale

text: The most common pain scale for quantification of endometriosis-related pain is the visual analogue scale (VAS). A review came to the conclusion that VAS and numerical rating scale (NRS) were the best adapted pain scales for pain measurement in endometriosis. For research purposes, and for more detailed pain measurement in clinical practice, the review suggested use of VAS or NRS for each type of typical pain related to endometriosis (dysmenorrhea, deep dyspareunia and non-menstrual chronic pelvic pain), combined with the clinical global impression (CGI) and a quality of life scale.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Atlantis of the Sands refers to a legendary lost city in the southern deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, thought to have been destroyed by a natural disaster or as a punishment by God. The search for it was popularised by the 1992 book "Atlantis of the Sands – The Search for the Lost City of Ubar" by Ranulph Fiennes. Apart from the English name, coined by T. E. Lawrence, the city is commonly also called Ubar, Wabar or Iram.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: In modern times, the mystery of the lost city of Atlantis has generated a number of books, films, articles, web pages, and two Disney features. On a smaller scale, Arabia has its own legend of a lost city, the so-called "Atlantis of the Sands", which has been the source of debate among historians, archaeologists and explorers, and a degree of controversy that continues to this day.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: In February 1992, "The New York Times" announced a major archaeological discovery in the following terms: "Guided by ancient maps and sharp-eyed surveys from space, archaeologists and explorers have discovered a lost city deep in the sands of Arabia, and they are virtually sure it is Ubar, the fabled entrepôt of the rich frankincense trade thousands of years ago." When news of this discovery spread quickly around the newspapers of the world, there seemed few people willing or able to challenge the dramatic findings, apart from the Saudi Arabian press.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: The discovery was the result of the work of a team of archaeologists led by Nicholas Clapp, which had visited and excavated the site of a Bedouin well at Shisr (18° 15' 47 N" 53° 39' 28" E) in Dhofar province, Oman. The conclusion they reached, based on site excavations and an inspection of satellite photographs, was that this was the site of Ubar, or Iram of the Pillars, a name found in the Quran which may be a lost city, a tribe or an area. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, another member of the expedition, declared that this was Omanum Emporium of Ptolemy's famous map of Arabia Felix.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: A contemporary notice at the entrance to an archaeological site at Shisr in the province of Dhofar, Oman, proclaims: "Welcome to Ubar, the Lost City of Bedouin Legend". However, scholars are divided over whether this really is the site of a legendary lost city of the sands.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: In 1930, the explorer Bertram Thomas had been approaching the southern edge of the Rub' al Khali ("The Empty Quarter"). It was Thomas' ambition to be the first European to cross the great sands but, as he began his camel journey, he was told by his Bedouin escorts of a lost city whose wicked people had attracted the wrath of God and had been destroyed. He found no trace of a lost city in the sands, but Thomas later related the story to T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), who regarded Ubar as the "Atlantis of the Sands". Thomas marked on a map the location of a track that was said to lead to the legendary lost city of Ubar and, although he intended to return to follow it, he was never able to.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: The story of a lost city in the sands became an explorer's fascination; a few wrote accounts of their travels that perpetuated the tale. T. E. Lawrence planned to search for the location of a lost city somewhere in the sands, telling a fellow traveller that he was convinced that the remains of an Arab civilization were to be found in the desert. He had been told that the Bedu had seen the ruins of the castles of King Ad in the region of Wabar. In his view the best way to explore the sands was by airship, but his plans never came to fruition.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: The English explorer Wilfred Thesiger visited the well at Shisr in the spring of 1946, "where the ruins of a crude stone fort on a rocky eminence marks the position of this famous well." He noted that some shards found there were possibly early Islamic. The well was the only permanent watering place in those parts and, being a necessary watering place for Bedouin raiders, had been the scene of many fierce encounters in the past,


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: In March 1948 a geological party from Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Ltd, an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company, carried out a camel-borne survey of Dhofar province. Like Thesiger, the party approached Shisr from the south, along the Wadi Ghudun. Their first sight of Ash Shisur was a white cliff in the distance. As they drew closer, they could see that the cliff was in fact the wall of a ruined fort built above a large quarry-like cave, the entrance of which was obscured by a sand dune.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: The fort had been built from the same white rock as the overhanging cliff, giving the impression of a single structure. One of the geologists noted: "There are no houses, tents or people here: only the tumble-down ruin of this pre-Islamic fort." The geologists, without the benefit of modern satellite analysis or archaeological equipment, were unimpressed by the ruin. Shisur, like Ma Shedid a few days before, was a 'difficult water' and their escorts spent the best part of their 3-day stay trying to extract water for their camels from the well.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: In 1953, oil man and philanthropist Wendell Phillips set out to discover Thomas' track but was unable to follow it because of the heavy sands which made further travel by motor transport impossible.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Some 35 years later, Clapp and his team reported uncovering what they described as a large octagonal fortress dating back some 2,000 years beneath the crumbling fort, and described a vast limestone table that lay beneath the main gate which had collapsed into a massive sinkhole around the well. This, some concluded, was the fabled city of Ubar, which was also known as Iram, or at least a city in the region of Ubar, once an important trading post on the incense route from Dhofar to the Mediterranean region.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Some pointed to religious texts to support the theory that the city was destroyed as a punishment by God. Iram, for example, was described in the Qur'an as follows: "Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad - [with] Iram - who had lofty pillars, The like of which were not produced in (all) the land?" (Surat al-Fajr: 6–8)


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Bertram Thomas' guide pointed to wide tracks between the dunes and said: "Look, Sahib, there is the way to Ubar. It was great in treasure, with date gardens and a fort of red silver. It now lies beneath the sands of the Ramlat Shu’ait." Thomas also wrote, "on my previous journeys I had heard from other Arabs of


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Most tales of the lost city locate it somewhere in the Rub' al Khali desert, also known as the Empty Quarter, a vast area of sand dunes covering most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, including most of Saudi Arabia and parts of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: St. John Philby (who preferred the name "Wabar" for the lost city) was an English adviser to Emir Aziz bin Saud in Riyadh. He first heard the story of Ubar from his Bedouin guide, who told him about a place of ruined castles where King Ad had stabled his horses and housed his women before being punished for his sinful ways by being destroyed by fire from heaven.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Anxious to seal his reputation as a great explorer, Philby went in search of the lost city of Wabar but, instead of finding ruins, discovered what he described as an extinct volcano half-buried in the sands or, possibly, the remnants of a meteorite impact. Modern research has confirmed an ancient impact event as the cause of the depression in the sands.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Geologist H. Stewart Edgell observed that for the "last six thousand years the Empty Quarter has been continuously a sand-dune desert, presenting a hostile environment where no city could have been built."


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Nicholas Clapp claimed that the discovery of the remains of towers at the Shisr excavation site supported the theory that this was the site of Ubar, the city of 'Ad with "lofty pillars" described in the Qur'an. Thomas dismissed the ruins at the well of Ash Shisur as a "rude" fort which he took to be only a few hundred years old.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Ranulph Fiennes, explorer and adventurer, was a member of Clapp's expedition and speculated that Ubar was identified on ancient maps as "Omanum Emporium". This was a place marked on a map of Arabia compiled by Claudius Ptolemy in about 150 AD.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: When the explorer Freya Stark consulted the works of Arab geographers, she found a wide range of opinions as to the location of Wabar: "Yaqut says: "In Yemen is the qaria of Wabar." El-Laith, quoted by Yaqut, puts it between the sands of Yabrin and Yemen. Ibn Ishaq… places it between "Sabub (unknown to Yaqut and Hamdani) and the Hadhramaut". Hamdani, a very reliable man, places it between Najran, Hadhramaut, Shihr and Mahra. Yaqut, presumably citing Hamdani, puts it between the boundaries of Shihr and Sanaʽa, and then, on the authority of Abu Mundhir between the sands of B.Sa'd (near Yabrin) and Shihr and Mahra. Abu Mundhir puts it between Hadhramaut and Najran."


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: "With such evidence," Stark concluded, "it seems quite possible for Mr. Thomas and Mr. Philby each to find Wabar in an opposite corner of Arabia."


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Nicholas Clapp's search for Ubar began after he read Thomas' book "Arabia Felix". Clapp had just returned from Oman, having helped to stock an oryx sanctuary on the Jiddat al Harassis, and was inspired by Thomas' references to the lost city of Ubar.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: He began his search for Ubar in the library of the University of California in Los Angeles, and found a 2nd-century AD map by the Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy which showed a place called "Omanum Emporium". He speculated that this might be the location of Ubar, situated on the incense route between Dhofar and the Mediterranean region. Aware that Mayan remains had been identified from aerial photographs, Clapp contacted NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and obtained satellite images of Dhofar. These helped to identify ancient camel tracks hidden beneath the shifting sands of the desert which in turn might identify places of convergence such as wells and ancient cities.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: After Clapp's team had visited a number of possible sites for Ubar, they found themselves drawn back to the crumbling ruin at Shisr. Although the fort had been written off as being no more than a few hundred years old by the earlier explorers, Clapp's team began to speculate that the fort had been rebuilt in the 1500s on the remains of a far more ancient site.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Under the direction of Juris Zarins, the team began excavation, and within weeks had unearthed the wall and towers of a fortress dating back more than 2,000 years. Clapp suggested that the evidence was "a convincing match" for the legendary lost city of Ubar. The city's destruction, he postulated, happened between A.D. 300 and 500 as the result of an earthquake which precipitated the collapse of the limestone table; but it was the decline of the incense trade, which led to the decline of the caravan routes through Shisr, that sealed Ubar's fate.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Zarins himself concluded that Shisr did not represent a city called Ubar. In a 1996 interview on the subject of Ubar, he said:


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: The Saudi Arabian press was generally sceptical about the discovery of Ubar in Oman, with Abdullah al Masri, Assistant Under-Secretary of Archaeological Affairs stating that similar sites had been found in Saudi Arabia over the past 15 years. In "Ashawq al Awsat" he explained: "The best of these sites was when, in 1975, we uncovered more than one city on the edge of the Empty Quarter, in particular the oasis on Jabreen. Also the name of Ubar is similar to that of Obar, an oasis in eastern Saudi Arabia. We must await further details but so far we have far more important discoveries at Jabreen or Najran." However, Professor Mohammed Bakalla of King Saud University wrote that he would not be surprised if Ad's nation cities were found underneath the Shisr excavation or in the close vicinity.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: More recent academic opinion is less than convinced about the accuracy of Clapp's findings. One reviewer noted that Clapp himself did not help matters by including a speculative chapter about the king of Ubar in his book, "The Road to Ubar", which in his view undermined his narrative authority: "its fictional drama pales next to the gripping real-life story of the Ubar expedition recounted in earlier portions of this volume."


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: The case for Shisr being Omanum Emporium has been questioned by recent research. Nigel Groom commented in an article "Oman and the Emirates in Ptolemy's Map" published in 2007, that Ptolemy's map of Arabia contained many wild distortions. The word "Emporium" in the original Greek meant a place for wholesale trade of commodities carried by sea, and was sometimes an inland city where taxes were collected and trade conducted. Thus the term could be applied to a town that was some distance from the coast. This, Groom suggests, may have been the case with Ptolemy's 'Omanum Emporium'. He suggested that the Hormanus River, the source of which is marked on Ptolemy's map as being north-east of Omanus Emporium, was in fact the Wadi Halfrain which rises some 20 kilometres north east of Izki in modern-day central Oman. Thus, Groom concludes, Omanum Emporium was likely to have been located at Izki, possibly Nizwa, or in their vicinity.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: H. Stewart Edgell contended that Ubar is essentially mythical and makes arguments against any significant historical role for Shisr beyond that of a small caravanserai. Edgell suggested that the building was small and used by a few families at most. He believed that all the "discovery" of Ubar showed was how easily scientists can succumb to wishful thinking.


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: In an article on the Shisr excavations Professor Barri Jones wrote: "The archaeological integrity of the site should not be allowed to be affected by possible disputes regarding its name." A 2001 report for UNESCO states: "The Oasis of Shisr and the entrepots of Khor Rori and Al-Balid are outstanding examples of medieval fortified settlements in the Persian Gulf region."


title: Atlantis of the Sands

text: Writing about 'Wabbar', Michael Macdonald expressed doubts about the "discovery" since the site was known for decades and Sir Ranulph was stationed there.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Spiking neural networks (SNNs) are artificial neural networks that more closely mimic natural neural networks. In addition to neuronal and synaptic state, SNNs incorporate the concept of time into their operating model. The idea is that neurons in the SNN do not transmit information at each propagation cycle (as it happens with typical multi-layer perceptron networks), but rather transmit information only when a membrane potential – an intrinsic quality of the neuron related to its membrane electrical charge – reaches a specific value, called the threshold. When the membrane potential reaches the threshold, the neuron fires, and generates a signal that travels to other neurons which, in turn, increase or decrease their potentials in response to this signal. A neuron model that fires at the moment of threshold crossing is also called a spiking neuron model.


title: Spiking neural network

text: The most prominent spiking neuron model is the leaky integrate-and-fire model. In the integrate-and-fire model, the momentary activation level (modeled as a differential equation) is normally considered to be the neuron's state, with incoming spikes pushing this value higher or lower, until the state eventually either decays or - if the firing threshold is reached - the neuron fires. After firing the state variable is reset to a lower value.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Various decoding methods exist for interpreting the outgoing "spike train" as a real-value number, relying on either the frequency of spikes (rate-code), the time-to-first-spike after stimulation, or the interval between spikes.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Many multi-layer artificial neural networks are fully connected, receiving input from every neuron in the previous layer and signalling every neuron in the subsequent layer. Although these networks have achieved breakthroughs in many fields, they are biologically inaccurate and do not mimic the operation mechanism of neurons in the brain of a living thing.


title: Spiking neural network

text: The biologically inspired Hodgkin–Huxley model of a spiking neuron was proposed in 1952. This model describes how action potentials are initiated and propagated. Communication between neurons, which requires the exchange of chemical neurotransmitters in the synaptic gap, is described in various models, such as the integrate-and-fire model, FitzHugh–Nagumo model (1961–1962), and Hindmarsh–Rose model (1984). The leaky integrate-and-fire model (or a derivative) is commonly used as it is easier to compute than the Hodgkin–Huxley model.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Brainchip Holdings Ltd announced on 21 October 2021 that it was taking orders for its Akida AI Processor Development Kits, making it the world's first commercially available neuromorphic processor operating on a spiking neural network.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Information in the brain is represented as action potentials (neuron spikes), which may be grouped into spike trains or even coordinated waves of brain activity. A fundamental question of neuroscience is to determine whether neurons communicate by a rate or temporal code. Temporal coding suggests that a single spiking neuron can replace hundreds of hidden units on a sigmoidal neural net"."


title: Spiking neural network

text: An SNN computes in the continuous rather than the discrete domain. The idea is that neurons may not test for activation in every iteration of propagation (as is the case in a typical multilayer perceptron network), but only when their membrane potentials reach a certain value. When a neuron is activated, it produces a signal that is passed to connected neurons, raising or lowering their membrane potential.


title: Spiking neural network

text: In a spiking neural network, a neuron's current state is defined as its membrane potential (possibly modeled as a differential equation). An input pulse causes the membrane potential to rise for a period of time and then gradually decline. Encoding schemes have been constructed to interpret these pulse sequences as a number, taking into account both pulse frequency and pulse interval. A neural network model based on pulse generation time can be established. Using the exact time of pulse occurrence, a neural network can employ more information and offer better computing properties.


title: Spiking neural network

text: The SNN approach produces a continuous output instead of the binary output of traditional ANNs. Pulse trains are not easily interpretable, hence the need for encoding schemes as above. However, a pulse train representation may be more suited for processing spatiotemporal data (or continual real-world sensory data classification). SNNs consider space by connecting neurons only to nearby neurons so that they process input blocks separately (similar to CNN using filters). They consider time by encoding information as pulse trains so as not to lose information in a binary encoding. This avoids the additional complexity of a recurrent neural network (RNN). It turns out that impulse neurons are more powerful computational units than traditional artificial neurons.


title: Spiking neural network

text: SNNs are theoretically more powerful than second-generation networks; however, SNN training issues and hardware requirements limit their use. Although unsupervised biologically inspired learning methods are available such as Hebbian learning and STDP, no effective supervised training method is suitable for SNNs that can provide better performance than second-generation networks. Spike-based activation of SNNs is not differentiable thus making it hard to develop gradient descent based training methods to perform error backpropagation, though a few recent algorithms such as NormAD and multilayer NormAD have demonstrated good training performance through suitable approximation of the gradient of spike based activation.


title: Spiking neural network

text: SNNs have much larger computational costs for simulating realistic neural models than traditional ANNs.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Pulse-coupled neural networks (PCNN) are often confused with SNNs. A PCNN can be seen as a kind of SNN.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Currently there are a few challenges when using SNNs that researchers are actively working on. The first challenge concerns the nondifferentiability of the spiking nonlinearity. The expressions for both the forward- and backward-learning methods contain the derivative of the neural activation function which is non-differentiable because neuron's output is either 1 when it spikes, and 0 otherwise. This all-or-nothing behavior of the binary spiking nonlinearity stops gradients from “flowing” and makes LIF neurons unsuitable for gradient-based optimization. The second challenge concerns the implementation of the optimization algorithm itself. Standard BP can be expensive in terms of computation, memory, and communication and may be poorly suited to the constraints dictated by the hardware that implements it (e.g., a computer, brain, or neuromorphic device). Regarding the first challenge there are several approached in order to overcome it. A few of them are:


title: Spiking neural network

text: SNNs can in principle apply to the same applications as traditional ANNs. In addition, SNNs can model the central nervous system of biological organisms, such as an insect seeking food without prior knowledge of the environment. Due to their relative realism, they can be used to study the operation of biological neural circuits. Starting with a hypothesis about the topology of a biological neuronal circuit and its function, recordings of this circuit can be compared to the output of the corresponding SNN, evaluating the plausibility of the hypothesis. However, there is a lack of effective training mechanisms for SNNs, which can be inhibitory for some applications, including computer vision tasks.


title: Spiking neural network

text: As of 2019 SNNs lag behind ANNs in terms of accuracy, but the gap is decreasing, and has vanished on some tasks.


title: Spiking neural network

text: When using SNNs for image based data we need to convert static images into binary spike trains coding. Types of encodings:


title: Spiking neural network

text: A diverse range of application software can simulate SNNs. This software can be classified according to its uses:


title: Spiking neural network

text: These simulate complex neural models with a high level of detail and accuracy. Large networks usually require lengthy processing. Candidates include:


title: Spiking neural network

text: Future neuromorphic architectures will comprise billions of such nanosynapses, which require a clear understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for plasticity. Experimental systems based on ferroelectric tunnel junctions have been used to show that STDP can be harnessed from heterogeneous polarization switching. Through combined scanning probe imaging, electrical transport and atomic-scale molecular dynamics, conductance variations can be modelled by nucleation-dominated reversal of domains. Simulations show that arrays of ferroelectric nanosynapses can autonomously learn to recognize patterns in a predictable way, opening the path towards unsupervised learning.


title: Spiking neural network

text: Classification capabilities of spiking networks trained according to unsupervised learning methods have been tested on the common benchmark datasets, such as, Iris, Wisconsin Breast Cancer or Statlog Landsat dataset. Various approaches to information encoding and network design have been used. For example, a 2-layer feedforward network for data clustering and classification. Based on the idea proposed in Hopfield (1995) the authors implemented models of local receptive fields combining the properties of radial basis functions (RBF) and spiking neurons to convert input signals (classified data) having a floating-point representation into a spiking representation.


title: Yanmar

text: When the company began in 1912, it manufactured gasoline-powered engines. In 1920 the company began production of a small kerosene engine. In 1933, it launched the world's first practical small diesel engine, the HB model.


title: Yanmar

text: Yanmar also started supplying engines to John Deere tractors and for some Thermo King Corporation coolers used in refrigerated trucks and trailers. Within the last 20 years, Yanmar has also established a growing presence in the domestic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market in Japan and elsewhere, with small helicopter UAVs primarily used in agricultural spraying and other forms of aerial application.


title: Yanmar

text: As described on the company website, "The name [Yanmar] is a combination of the Yanma Dragonfly (known by names such as Oniyanma and Ginyanma) and the "Yama" from the name of the company founder Magokichi Yamaoka."


title: Symbols of death

text: Symbols of death are the motifs, images and concepts associated with death throughout different cultures, religions and societies.


title: Symbols of death

text: Various images are used traditionally to symbolize death; these rank from blunt depictions of cadavers and their parts to more allusive suggestions that time is fleeting and all men are mortals.


title: Symbols of death

text: The human skull is an obvious and frequent symbol of death, found in many cultures and religious traditions. Human skeletons and sometimes non-human animal skeletons and skulls can also be used as blunt images of death; the traditional figures of the Grim Reaper – a black-hooded skeleton with a scythe – is one use of such symbolism. Within the Grim Reaper itself, the skeleton represents the decayed body whereas the robe symbolizes those worn by religious people conducting funeral services. The skull and crossbones motif (☠) has been used among Europeans as a symbol of both piracy and poison. The skull is also important as it remains the only "recognizable" aspect of a person once they have died.


title: Symbols of death

text: Decayed cadavers can also be used to depict death; in medieval Europe, they were often featured in artistic depictions of the "danse macabre", or in cadaver tombs which depicted the living and decomposed body of the person entombed. Coffins also serve as blunt reminders of mortality. Europeans were also seen to use coffins and cemeteries to symbolize the wealth and status of the person who has died, serving as a reminder to the living and the deceased as well.


title: Symbols of death

text: Less blunt symbols of death frequently allude to the passage of time and the fragility of life, and can be described as "memento mori"; that is, an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. Clocks, hourglasses, sundials, and other timepieces both call to mind that time is passing. Similarly, a candle both marks the passage of time, and bears witness that it will eventually burn itself out as well as a symbol of hope of salvation. These sorts of symbols were often incorporated into "vanitas" paintings, a variety of early still life.


title: Symbols of death

text: Certain animals such as crows, cats, owls, moths, vultures and bats are associated with death; some because they feed on carrion, others because they are nocturnal. Along with death, vultures can also represent transformation and renewal.


title: Symbols of death

text: Religious symbols of death and depictions of the afterlife will vary with the religion practiced by the people who use them.


title: Symbols of death

text: Tombs, tombstones, and other items of funeral architecture are obvious candidates for symbols of death. In ancient Egypt, the gods Osiris and Ptah were typically depicted as mummies; these gods governed the Egyptian afterlife. In Christianity, the Christian cross is frequently used on graves, and is meant to call to mind the crucifixion of Jesus. Some Christians also erect temporary crosses along public highways as memorials for those who died in accidents. In Buddhism, the symbol of a wheel represents the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth that happens in samsara. The symbol of a grave or tomb, especially one in a picturesque or unusual location, can be used to represent death, as in Nicolas Poussin's famous painting "Et in Arcadia ego".


title: Symbols of death

text: Images of life in the afterlife are also symbols of death. Here, again, the ancient Egyptians produced detailed pictorial representations of the life enjoyed by the dead. In Christian folk religion, the spirits of the dead are often depicted as winged angels or angel-like creatures, dwelling among the clouds; this imagery of the afterlife is frequently used in comic depictions of the life after death. In the Islamic view of the Afterlife, death is symbolised by a black and white ram which in turn will be slain to symbolise the "Death of Death".


title: Symbols of death

text: The Banshee also symbolizes the coming of death in Irish Mythology. This is typically represented by an older woman who is seen sobbing to symbolize the suffering of a person before their death.


title: Symbols of death

text: Black is the color of mourning in many European cultures. Black clothing is typically worn at funerals to show mourning for the death of the person. In East Asia, white is similarly associated with mourning; it represented the purity and perfection of the deceased person's spirit. During the Victorian era, purple and grey were considered to be mourning colors in addition to black. Furthermore, in Revelation 6 in The Bible, Death is one of the four horsemen; and he rides a pale horse.


title: Off (video game)

text: Off (stylized as OFF) is a French-language role-playing video game released in 2008 by the Belgian team Unproductive Fun Time, consisting of Martin Georis ("Mortis Ghost") and Alias Conrad Coldwood. It has garnered a sizable following for its story, characters and atmosphere, particularly after its officially sanctioned fan translation into English in 2011. It is about an enigmatic humanoid entity known as the Batter, who is described as being on a "sacred mission" to "purify" the world of "Off". The Batter travels through four bizarre Zones in the world, revealing more about the world as the game goes on.


title: Off (video game)

text: The gameplay of "Off" is similar to that of classic RPGs. The Batter advances by leveling up, acquiring new party members, and upgrading his statistics, such as attack and defense, as well as gaining special abilities termed "competences." Unlike similar games that function in a turn based system, OFF uses a system in which a character is able to attack once a cooldown has passed, meaning enemies and players are able to attack each other at the same time. This system serves to encourage players to make fast decisions in combat. The player can allow combat to take place automatically by selecting the "Auto" option during encounters, which will make the Batter and his Add-Ons act without player input. The battle system also features an unorthodox element system, where rather than "classic" elements often found in RPGs, such as fire or ice, "Off" uses bizarre elements more commonly thought of as materials: smoke, metal, plastic, meat, and sugar.


title: Off (video game)

text: There are four numbered Zones, labeled 0–3, along with a fifth zone, The Room, in which the final act of the game takes place. The Zones are only accessible once the player obtains their associated "Zodiac-Cards," which are acquired from the previous Zone's Guardian upon death, and the player traverses between them via a map termed the "nothingness."


title: Off (video game)

text: One notable feature of "Off" is its unusual number of puzzles, which include finding a multi-digit password and entering it into a giant keypad, locating missing book pages, or "repeating room" puzzles where players walk through multiple instances of the same room in the right order to escape.


title: Off (video game)

text: The player (who is referred to directly) assumes control of the Batter, a man in a baseball uniform on a "sacred mission" to "purify the world". After receiving guidance from a talking cat called the Judge, the Batter begins to make his way through four Zones, killing malevolent ghost-like creatures called "spectres" and the Guardian of each Zone in order to "purify" the Zone. After the purification of each Zone, scenes of a sick boy named Hugo are shown, implying a form of connection to the Zone. Along the way the Batter is met by Zacharie, a merchant who sells the Batter items and leaves cryptic hints.


title: Off (video game)

text: As the Batter progresses in his quest, it is ultimately revealed that the Zones are tied to the Guardians' life force and that killing the Guardians will annihilate all life in the Zones; this outcome is the Batter's true objective.


title: Off (video game)

text: The first Zone, Zone 1, is a series of towns ruled by a rude and demeaning humanoid creature named Dedan. The second, Zone 2, is a city overseen by the phoenix Japhet, who, desperate to get the attention of the Elsen residents, has possessed the body of the Judge's brother, Valerie. The third and final Zone, Zone 3, is a giant sugar factory, directed by an massively obese man named Enoch.


title: Off (video game)

text: The Batter eventually reaches an area called the Room. After a series of flashbacks which reveal some details about the Guardians and the nature of the Zone, the Batter faces the Queen, ruler of all the Zones. She admonishes him for the destruction he has caused and attacks him, but is defeated.


title: Off (video game)

text: After killing the Queen, the Batter finds and kills Hugo, the child who brought him and the Queen into existence, and commits infanticide by doing that. The Batter then comes across a switch that will allow him to finish his mission, but is confronted by the Judge. The Judge berates both the Batter and the player for deceiving him and destroying the Zones and asks the player to help him to defeat the Batter.


title: Off (video game)

text: In the Official Ending, the player sides with the Batter and kills the Judge, allowing the Batter to flip the switch. Doing so displays, "The switch is now OFF," as the world fades to black.


title: Off (video game)

text: In the Special Ending, the player sides with the Judge and defeats the Batter to stop his crusade. The Judge remarks that "Nothing remains now except for our regrets" but prefers this outcome to the Batter completing his mission. During the Special Ending's credits, the Judge is seen walking alone through the purified Zones.


title: Off (video game)

text: A third Secret Ending can be accessed if the player collects the Aries-Card and plays through either of the normal endings. This joke ending revolves around so-called "Space Apes" in a war against brain-like aliens. The Space Apes describe their plan to construct factories in the now-lifeless world of "Off" to produce robots capable of killing the aliens.


title: Off (video game)

text: "Off" has been praised for its story, characters, and atmosphere. Heidi Kemps of "PC Gamer" described it as "a memorable and haunting RPG, filled with tricky puzzles, bizarre symbolism, and challenging thematic elements." Adam Smith of "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" compared it to "Space Funeral".


title: Off (video game)

text: A large fanbase for the game developed on Tumblr; "Off" became the sixth most reblogged game of 2013, with the first five being AAA games. "Off" has been compared to the "Mother" series, though Georis has stated that the resemblance is coincidental.


title: Walther P22

text: The P22 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for .22 LR (5.6 mm) rimfire ammunition. Manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, it was introduced in 2002.


title: Walther P22

text: The P22 may be fired double action at about , and operates as a single action with slightly more than . The P22 operates by blowback where pressure generated by a firing cartridge is countered by a combination of the inertial weight of the slide assembly and the force of the recoil spring. The action will not open until the projectile has left the barrel and the pressures have dropped to safe levels. The gun will not cycle efficiently unless high velocity .22 (5.6 mm) rounds are used.


title: Mellow Yellow

text: "Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US, it reached No. 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967.


title: Mellow Yellow

text: The song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which was believed to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s, though this aspect of bananas has since been debunked. According to Donovan's notes, accompanying the album "Donovan's Greatest Hits", the rumour that one could get high from smoking dried banana skins was started by Country Joe McDonald in 1966, and Donovan heard the rumour three weeks before "Mellow Yellow" was released as a single.


title: Mellow Yellow

text: According to "The Rolling Stone Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll", he admitted later the song made reference to a vibrator; an "electrical banana" as mentioned in the lyrics. Donovan stated, "I was reading a newspaper and on the back there was an ad for a yellow dildo called the mellow yellow," he said. "Really, you know the 'electric banana' was right in there and gave it away. And that's what the song's about." This definition was re-affirmed in an interview with "NME" magazine: "it's about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene – which were ladies' vibrators."


title: Mellow Yellow

text: Paul McCartney can be heard as one of the background revellers on this track, but the "quite rightly" whispering lines in the chorus is not McCartney, but rather Donovan himself. Donovan had a small part in coming up with the lyrics for "Yellow Submarine", and McCartney played bass guitar (uncredited) on portions of Donovan's "Mellow Yellow" album.


title: Mellow Yellow

text: "Cash Box" called "Mellow Yellow" an "easy-going, sophisticated blues number which should be a giant."


title: Mellow Yellow

text: "Mellow Yellow" was covered in 1967 by soul singer Big Maybelle on her album "Got a Brand New Bag". It was also covered in 1968 by British R&B singer/keyboardist Georgie Fame on his album "The Third Face of Fame".


title: Mellow Yellow

text: In 1999, "Mellow Yellow" was sung by a group of young adults, among whom were then-unknowns Alex Greenwald, Rashida Jones and Jason Thompson, in Gap's "Everybody in Cords" commercial directed by Pedro Romhanyi. The music mix was done by the Dust Brothers. In 2015 the song was covered by Spanish singer Abraham Mateo for the soundtrack and promotion of the film "Minions". In Brazil Michel Teló covered the song, adapted to Portuguese, also for the movie.


title: Martin Fry

text: Martin David Fry (born 9 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer.


title: Martin Fry

text: Fry's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the pop band ABC, which released six singles that entered the top 20 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, including "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love", "All of My Heart", "That Was Then but This Is Now" and "When Smokey Sings". He is the only member who has been with ABC throughout its entire history and is currently its only official member.


title: Martin Fry

text: Martin David Fry was born on 9 March 1958 in Stretford, Lancashire (now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester) and grew up in nearby Bramhall, Stockport, alongside his younger brother Jamie, who later went on to join the indie rock band Earl Brutus. Fry was editing a fanzine titled "Modern Drugs" in 1978, and first met future ABC band members Mark White and Stephen Singleton while interviewing them for an article in the fanzine. White and Singleton, then fronting an electronic band called Vice Versa, invited Fry to join their band to play additional keyboards.


title: Martin Fry

text: With Fry in place as lead singer and lyricist, Vice Versa changed their name to ABC and changed their sound to a contemporary pop style that at that time led them to be categorised with bands like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and the Human League. Between 1982 and 1991, ABC recorded six studio albums ("The Lexicon of Love", "Beauty Stab", "How to Be a ... Zillionaire!", "Alphabet City", "Up" and "Abracadabra") and released a greatest hits compilation album, "Absolutely". During this time, the band went through numerous personnel changes, with Fry and Mark White being its only permanent members.


title: Martin Fry

text: Following the "Zillionaire" album, ABC temporarily fell from prominence while Fry was being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, an uncommon cancer.


title: Martin Fry

text: ABC disbanded in 1991, with White retiring from music to pursue an interest in Reiki therapy. Fry continued to work with EMI in the months thereafter but was axed from the label before his solo material could be released. Fry resurrected the ABC name in 1997 for the album "Skyscraping", a homage to several of his musical heroes, including David Bowie, Roxy Music and the Sex Pistols. The album was a collaboration with Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 and Honeyroot's Keith Lowndes.


title: Martin Fry

text: The band has toured extensively and performed live at events such as the 2001 Night of the Proms, where Fry was supported by a 72-piece orchestra and 50-piece choir. In 2008, Fry released a new ABC album titled "Traffic".


title: Martin Fry

text: In April 2009, Fry and original drummer David Palmer performed "The Lexicon of Love" album live at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The band was accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Anne Dudley of Art of Noise fame, who arranged and played keyboards on the original record, conducted the Royal Albert Hall performance.


title: Martin Fry

text: Fry and Palmer (as ABC) toured the U.S. as part of the 2009 'Regeneration Tour', which also featured Terri Nunn of Berlin, Wang Chung and the Cutting Crew.


title: Martin Fry

text: In April 2016, a single with a music video, "Viva Love" was released as a teaser for "The Lexicon of Love II" album. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 5, the band's highest chart position since 1982 and first top 10 entry since 1990.


title: Martin Fry

text: On 19 July 2012, Fry received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Sheffield for his contribution of more than 30 years to music. The following day, his daughter, Nancy received her degree from the Department of Sociological Studies from the same university.


title: Kraft process

text: The kraft process (also known as kraft pulping or sulfate process) is a process for conversion of wood into wood pulp, which consists of almost pure cellulose fibres, the main component of paper. The kraft process involves treatment of wood chips with a hot mixture of water, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and sodium sulfide (NaS), known as white liquor, that breaks the bonds that link lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. The technology entails several steps, both mechanical and chemical. It is the dominant method for producing paper. In some situations, the process has been controversial because kraft plants can release odorous products and in some situations produce substantial liquid wastes.


title: Kraft process

text: The process name is derived from German word "Kraft", meaning "strength" in this context, due to the strength of the kraft paper produced using this process.


title: Kraft process

text: A precursor of the Kraft process was used during the Napoleonic Wars in England. The kraft process (so called because of the superior strength of the resulting paper, from the German word "Kraft" for 'strength') was invented by Carl F. Dahl in 1879 in Danzig, Prussia, Germany. was issued in 1884, and a pulp mill using this technology began in Sweden in 1890. The invention of the recovery boiler by G. H. Tomlinson in the early 1930s was a milestone in the advancement of the kraft process. It enabled the recovery and reuse of the inorganic pulping chemicals such that a kraft mill is a nearly closed-cycle process with respect to inorganic chemicals, apart from those used in the bleaching process. For this reason, in the 1940s, the kraft process superseded the sulfite process as the dominant method for producing wood pulp.


title: Kraft process

text: Common wood chips used in pulp production are long and thick. The chips normally first enter the "presteaming" where they are wetted and preheated with steam. Cavities inside fresh wood chips are partly filled with liquid and partly with air. The steam treatment causes the air to expand and about 25% of the air to be expelled from the chips. The next step is to saturate the chips with black and white liquor. Air remaining in chips at the beginning of liquor impregnation is trapped within the chips. The impregnation can be done before or after the chips enter the digester and is normally done below . The cooking liquors consist of a mixture of white liquor, water in chips, condensed steam and weak black liquor. In the impregnation, cooking liquor penetrates into the capillary structure of the chips and low temperature chemical reactions with the wood begin. A good impregnation is important to get a homogeneous cook and low rejects. About 40–60% of all alkali consumption, in the continuous process, occurs in the impregnation zone.


title: Kraft process

text: The wood chips are then cooked in pressurized digesters. Some digesters operate in a batch manner and some in a continuous process. Digesters producing 1,000 tonnes or more of pulp per day are common, with the largest producing more than 3,500 tonnes per day. Typically, delignification requires around two hours at . Under digesting conditions, lignin and hemicellulose degrade to give fragments that are soluble in the strongly basic liquid. The solid pulp (about 50% by weight of the dry wood chips) is collected and washed. At this point the pulp is known as "brown stock" because of its color. The combined liquids, known as black liquor (because of its color), contain lignin fragments, carbohydrates from the breakdown of hemicellulose, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate and other inorganic salts.


title: Kraft process

text: One of the main chemical reactions that underpin the kraft process is the scission of ether bonds by the nucleophilic sulfide (S) or bisulfide (HS) ions.


title: Kraft process

text: The excess black liquor contains about 15% solids and is concentrated in a multiple effect evaporator. After the first step the black liquor has about 20–30% solids. At this concentration the rosin soap rises to the surface and is skimmed off. The collected soap is further processed to tall oil. Removal of the soap improves the evaporation operation of the later effects.


title: Kraft process

text: The weak black liquor is further evaporated to 65% or even 80% solids ("heavy black liquor") and burned in the recovery boiler to recover the inorganic chemicals for reuse in the pulping process. Higher solids in the concentrated black liquor increases the energy and chemical efficiency of the recovery cycle, but also gives higher viscosity and precipitation of solids (plugging and fouling of equipment). During combustion, sodium sulfate is reduced to sodium sulfide by the organic carbon in the mixture:


title: Kraft process

text: The molten salts ("smelt") from the recovery boiler are dissolved in a process water known as "weak wash". This process water, also known as "weak white liquor" is composed of all liquors used to wash lime mud and green liquor precipitates. The resulting solution of sodium carbonate and sodium sulfide is known as "green liquor". The green liquor's eponymous green colour arises from the presence of colloidal iron sulfide. This liquid is then mixed with calcium oxide, which becomes calcium hydroxide in solution, to regenerate the white liquor used in the pulping process through an equilibrium reaction (NaS is shown since it is part of the green liquor, but does not participate in the reaction):


title: Kraft process

text: Calcium carbonate precipitates from the white liquor and is recovered and heated in a lime kiln where it is converted to calcium oxide (lime).


title: Kraft process

text: The combination of reactions 1 through 4 form a closed cycle with respect to sodium, sulfur and calcium and is the main concept of the so-called recausticizing process where sodium carbonate is reacted to regenerate sodium hydroxide.


title: Kraft process

text: The recovery boiler also generates high pressure steam which is fed to turbogenerators, reducing the steam pressure for the mill use and generating electricity. A modern kraft pulp mill is more than self-sufficient in its electrical generation and normally will provide a net flow of energy which can be used by an associated paper mill or sold to neighboring industries or communities through to the local electrical grid. Additionally, bark and wood residues are often burned in a separate power boiler to generate steam.


title: Kraft process

text: Although recovery boilers using G.H. Tomlinson's invention have been in general use since the early 1930s, attempts have been made to find a more efficient process for the recovery of cooking chemicals. Weyerhaeuser has operated a Chemrec first generation black liquor entrained flow gasifier successfully at its New Bern plant in North Carolina, while a second generation plant is run in pilot scale at Smurfit Kappa's plant in Piteå, Sweden.


title: Kraft process

text: The finished cooked wood chips are blown to a collection tank called a blow tank that operates at atmospheric pressure. This releases a lot of steam and volatiles. The volatiles are condensed and collected; in the case of northern softwoods this consists mainly of raw turpentine.


title: Kraft process

text: Screening of the pulp after pulping is a process whereby the pulp is separated from large shives, knots, dirt and other debris. The "accept" is the pulp. The material separated from the pulp is called "reject".


title: Kraft process

text: The screening section consists of different types of sieves (screens) and centrifugal cleaning. The sieves are normally set up in a multistage cascade operation because considerable amounts of good fibres can go to the reject stream when trying to achieve maximum purity in the accept flow.


title: Kraft process

text: The fiber containing shives and knots are separated from the rest of the reject and reprocessed either in a refiner or is sent back to the digester. The content of knots is typically 0.5–3.0% of the digester output, while the shives content is about 0.1–1.0%.


title: Kraft process

text: The brownstock from the blowing goes to the washing stages where the used cooking liquors are separated from the cellulose fibers. Normally a pulp mill has 3-5 washing stages in series. Washing stages are also placed after oxygen delignification and between the bleaching stages as well. Pulp washers use countercurrent flow between the stages such that the pulp moves in the opposite direction to the flow of washing waters. Several processes are involved: thickening / dilution, displacement and diffusion. The dilution factor is the measure of the amount of water used in washing compared with the theoretical amount required to displace the liquor from the thickened pulp. Lower dilution factor reduces energy consumption, while higher dilution factor normally gives cleaner pulp. Thorough washing of the pulp reduces the chemical oxygen demand (COD).


title: Kraft process

text: In a modern mill, brownstock (cellulose fibers containing approximately 5% residual lignin) produced by the pulping is first washed to remove some of the dissolved organic material and then further delignified by a variety of bleaching stages.


title: Kraft process

text: In the case of a plant designed to produce pulp to make brown sack paper or linerboard for boxes and packaging, the pulp does not always need to be bleached to a high brightness. Bleaching decreases the mass of pulp produced by about 5%, decreases the strength of the fibers and adds to the cost of manufacture.


title: Kraft process

text: Pulp produced by the kraft process is stronger than that made by other pulping processes and maintains a high effective sulfur ratio (sulfidity), an important determiner of the strength of the paper. Acidic sulfite processes degrade cellulose more than the kraft process, which leads to weaker fibers. Kraft pulping removes most of the lignin present originally in the wood whereas mechanical pulping processes leave most of the lignin in the fibers. The hydrophobic nature of lignin interferes with the formation of the hydrogen bonds between cellulose (and hemicellulose) in the fibers needed for the strength of paper (strength refers to tensile strength and resistance to tearing).


title: Kraft process

text: Kraft pulp is darker than other wood pulps, but it can be bleached to make very white pulp. Fully bleached kraft pulp is used to make high-quality paper where strength, whiteness, and resistance to yellowing are important.


title: Kraft process

text: The kraft process can use a wider range of fiber sources than most other pulping processes. All types of wood, including very resinous types like southern pine, and non-wood species like bamboo and kenaf can be used in the kraft process.


title: Kraft process

text: The main byproducts of kraft pulping are crude sulfate turpentine and tall oil soap. The availability of these is strongly dependent on wood species, growth conditions, storage time of logs and chips, and the mill's process. Pines are the most extractive rich woods. The raw turpentine is volatile and is distilled off the digester, while the raw soap is separated from the spent black liquor by decantation of the soap layer formed on top of the liquor storage tanks. From pines the average yield of turpentine is 5–10 kg/t pulp and of crude tall oil is 30–50 kg/t pulp.


title: Kraft process

text: Various byproducts containing hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and other volatile sulfur compounds are the cause of the malodorous air emissions characteristic for pulp mills utilizing the kraft process. The sulfur dioxide emissions of kraft-pulp mills are much lower than those from sulfite mills. In the ambient air outside a typical modern kraft-pulp mill, the sulfur-dioxide odour is perceivable only during disturbance situations, for example when the mill is shut down for a maintenance break, or when an extended power outage occurs. Control of odours is achieved through the collection and burning of these odorous gases in the recovery boiler alongside the black liquor. In modern mills, where well-dried solids are burned in the recovery boiler, hardly any sulfur dioxide leaves the boiler. At high boiler temperatures, the sodium released from the black liquor droplets reacts with sulfur dioxide, thereby effectively scavenging it by forming odourless sodium sulfate crystals.


title: Kraft process

text: Pulp mills are almost always located near large bodies of water due to their substantial demand for water. Delignification of chemical pulps releases considerable amounts of organic material into the environment, particularly into rivers or lakes. The wastewater effluent can also be a major source of pollution, containing lignins from the trees, high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), along with alcohols, chlorates, heavy metals, and chelating agents. The process effluents can be treated in a biological effluent treatment plant, which can substantially reduce their toxicity.


title: Brad Kane

text: Bradley Caleb Kane (born September 29, 1973) is an American actor, singer, producer and screenwriter.


title: Brad Kane

text: Kane began to act with a small role in the movie "Six Weeks". At the age of eight, he obtained the role of one of the four chorus boys in the Broadway musical "Evita". He was in that production for four months before changing to the pre-Broadway workshop of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George", in which he acted alongside such stars as Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. When he was eleven, Kane participated in the "Very Special Arts" festival, a series of benefit concerts for disabled children's charities, which gave him an opportunity to sing for then First Lady Nancy Reagan in the White House and at the Kennedy Center.


title: Brad Kane

text: Kane has appeared in many commercials and programs such as "Law & Order", "One Life to Live", "Guiding Light", "Search for Tomorrow", and "Plaza Sésamo". He has also been a host on the Nickelodeon series "Rated K Update" and has been the assistant conductor of an interview program called "Girl Talk". In theatre, his credits include the role of the young Lucius in the Public Theater's production of "Titus Andronicus", and two roles in James Lapine's Lincoln Center production of "The Winter's Tale". He provided the singing voice of the character Aladdin, opposite Lea Salonga (Jasmine), in the 1992 film of the same name, as well as its sequels. In 1993, Kane teamed up again with Salonga to do a live version of "A Whole New World", the hit song from "Aladdin", at the 65th Academy Awards.


title: Brad Kane

text: In 1993, he played Arpad Laszlo in the Broadway revival of "She Loves Me". He also played Tucker Wells in the season three episode "The Prom" of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and provided Jonathan Levinson's singing voice in the episode "Superstar". On September 11, 2005, Kane was invited to a ceremony at Hong Kong Disneyland, the night before the theme park's opening. He performed the song "A Whole New World" from "Aladdin" with Cantopop star Joey Yung. As Caleb Kane, he released the song "This Close", which was played on the movie "Devil's Pond". Then in 2004, he released his website with a message board to promote his album "This Day in History" with the first single "Go Mad" released in March 2006. Caleb has two versions of the video of this single and also another promotional video for "In Your Own Way", a song that was played on the show "The Black Donnellys".


title: Brad Kane

text: His first album, "This Day in History", was released on July 1, 2008. In Fall 2008, he joined the FOX science-fiction series "Fringe" as a writer and co-producer. After the completion of the second season, he left the show. He co-wrote the episodes: "The Cure" (co-written by co-executive producer Felicia D. Henderson), "The No-Brainer" (co-written by co-executive producer David H. Goodman), and "Inner Child" (co-written with Julia Cho). On June 7, 2011, it was announced that he was involved with the aborted reboot of "Daredevil". Since 2014 Kane is a producer on "Black Sails".


title: Brad Kane

text: In 2018, Kane released a collection of ten songs on his Soundcloud site called NEGATIVE PICKUP. The project was abandoned by Kane, only releasing three songs. He has since retired from recording music professionally.


title: Brad Kane

text: Kane has been married to actress Sarah Thompson since July 28, 2007; together they have two daughters.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: Rosemary Shirley DeCamp (November 14, 1910 – February 20, 2001) was an American radio, film, and television actress.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: Rosemary Shirley DeCamp was born in Prescott, Yavapai, Arizona on November 14, 1910 to William Valentine DeCamp and Margaret Elizabeth Hinman.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp first came to fame in November 1937, when she took the role of Judy Price, the secretary/nurse of Dr. Christian in the long-running Dr. Christian radio series. She also played in "The Career of Alice Blair", a transcribed syndicated soap opera that ran in 1939–1940.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: She made her film debut in "Cheers for Miss Bishop" and appeared in many Warner Bros. films, including "Eyes in the Night", "Yankee Doodle Dandy" playing Nellie Cohan opposite James Cagney, "This Is The Army" playing the wife of George Murphy and the mother of Ronald Reagan, "Rhapsody in Blue", and "Nora Prentiss". She played the mother of the character played by Sabu Dastagir in "Jungle Book".


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: In 1951 and 1953, respectively, she starred in the nostalgic musical films "On Moonlight Bay" and its sequel, "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon", as Alice Winfield, Doris Day's mother, opposite Leon Ames.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp played Peg Riley in the first television version of "The Life of Riley" opposite Jackie Gleason in the 1949–1950 season, then reprised the role on radio with original star William Bendix for an episode of "Lux Radio Theater" in 1950. From 1955–1959, she was a regular on the popular NBC television comedy "The Bob Cummings Show", playing Margaret MacDonald.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: She appeared in the 1961 "Rawhide" episode, "Incident Near Gloomy River". In 1962, she played a dishonest Southern belle in the NBC sitcom "Ensign O'Toole" with Dean Jones. She appeared in the role of Gertrude Komack on ABC's medical drama "Breaking Point" in the episode entitled "A Little Anger is a Good Thing".


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp appeared twice in different roles on "Death Valley Days". In 1965, she played newspaper editor Caroline Romney of Durango, Colorado, in the episode "Mrs. Romney and the Outlaws". She portrayed Hannah Bailey, wife of James Briton "Brit" Bailey, in the 1969 episode "Here Stands Bailey". During the 1960s, she appeared in commercials for the laundry product 20 Mule Team Borax, which sponsored "Death Valley Days".


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp had a recurring role as Helen Marie, the mother of Marlo Thomas's character on the ABC sitcom "That Girl" from 1966–1970. She appeared in several 1968 episodes of the CBS sitcom "Petticoat Junction" as Kate Bradley's sister, Helen, filling in as a temporary replacement for the ailing Bea Benaderet as the mother figure to Bradley's three daughters.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp appeared in 2 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies as Mrs Priscilla Rolfe Smith-Standish, a famous expert on antiquities who befriended the Clampetts.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp made several appearances as the mother of Shirley Partridge in "The Partridge Family" from 1970–1973. She also played The Fairy Godmother in the 1980s TV show, "The Memoirs of a Fairy Godmother".


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp played Buck Rogers' mother in flashback scenes of the "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" episode "The Guardians" (1981).


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: On July 7, 1946, her Beverly Hills home was damaged when struck by a wing after the experimental XF-11 piloted by Howard Hughes (re-created in the 2004 movie, "The Aviator") crashed nearby. Although a piece of the wing and a part of the neighbor's roof landed in DeCamp's bedroom (where she and her husband were sleeping) they sustained no injuries.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp was married to Inglewood Municipal Judge John Ashton Shidler for 57 years from 1941 until his death in 1998. The Shidlers raised four daughters: Margaret, Martha, Valerie, and Nita. Outliving most of her contemporaries, DeCamp died of pneumonia in 2001, age 90. She was cremated and her ashes given to her daughter.


title: Rosemary DeCamp

text: DeCamp was the author of a children's book, "Here, Duke! The Adventures of an Irish Setter," which was published by the David McKay Company, in 1962. In 2009, she published "Rosemary De Camp: Tigers in My Lap," an autobiographical book of her life in film and television.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Cardiff Blues, London Welsh, Bath, Bristol and the Dragons.


title: Gavin Henson

text: He won 33 caps for Wales national team and one for the British & Irish Lions. He was part of a Wales team which won Grand Slams in the Six Nations Championship in 2005 and 2008. He played for the British & Irish Lions in their 2005 tour to New Zealand.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Since 2010, Henson has participated in several reality television series: "71 Degrees North", "Strictly Come Dancing", "The Bachelor" and "Celebrity Hunted". In 2021 he began playing rugby league for West Wales Raiders in League 1.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Henson's one and only appearance for Llanelli RFC was against the then Border Reivers at Greenyards in May 2000. The Rievers won the match 51–23. Henson played at 10 and scored 5 points (1 conversion & 1 penalty).


title: Gavin Henson

text: Born in Pencoed, Henson played rugby for his school, Brynteg Comprehensive, in Bridgend, Wales. Despite his Bridgend origins, he joined Swansea RFC at the age of 18. He was presented with the International Rugby Board's Young Player of the Year award in 2001. During this time, he had started paving the way to his international career by signing for the Wales A team. He made his international debut for Wales during June 2001 in a Test against Japan, coming off the bench.


title: Gavin Henson

text: In November of that year, he played for Wales A against Uruguay, scoring his first try in an international.


title: Gavin Henson

text: In 2003, regional rugby was launched in Wales, and Henson played for the Ospreys. He made his debut for the Ospreys as a substitute on 9 September 2003 in a match against Ulster, scoring two tries and kicking both a penalty and conversion to score 15 points. He was moved to fly-half for the subsequent match against the Newport-Gwent Dragons, scoring 14 points from kicks. Henson returned to the international field for Wales in 2003. He played twice, and was on the bench for two other Tests. He was capped against both the All Blacks and Romania.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Henson came to wider notice in 2004 with a series of performances in Wales' autumn internationals against New Zealand and South Africa. Henson became a firm part of the Welsh starting line-up, and after playing at fullback in the second Test against Argentina and the first against South Africa, he played in the centres for the remainder of the season.


title: Gavin Henson

text: He remained on the team for the 2005 Six Nations Championship. In Wales' opening fixture in February, at home to England, Henson gave an effective performance; making two tackles on Mathew Tait (earning Tait the nickname 'Henson's Handbag') and landing the match-winning points with a 48 m penalty kick and being named man of the match. Back in his club side, Henson was part of a team which took the Celtic League cup: in the deciding match against Edinburgh on 26 March 2005, he scored 24 of his side's 29 points.


title: Gavin Henson

text: In the northern hemisphere summer of the same year, Henson was named in the Lions squad for the tour of New Zealand. He was "devastated not to be playing" in the first Test. When he was selected for the second test, he was injured and could not play in the final test. A groin injury delayed his return to club rugby in the autumn of the year. Within months of his Ospreys return, Henson was cited for kicking and elbowing Leicester prop Alex Moreno in a game against Leicester on 19 December 2005.


title: Gavin Henson

text: He was found not guilty of the kicking offence, but guilty of the elbowing. He was initially suspended for ten weeks and two days: this period was reduced on appeal to seven weeks. Following this suspension and a single game at club level, he returned to international rugby against Ireland.


title: Gavin Henson

text: In October 2005, Henson's "My Grand Slam Year" was published. Comments about the Lions tour and remarks about other players ensured rapid publicity and Henson had to apologise to his teammates.


title: Gavin Henson

text: He was not selected in the Wales squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup by then coach Gareth Jenkins, after he failed to prove his fitness after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Henson was recalled to the Welsh Squad by caretaker coach Nigel Davies, to play against South Africa shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He then started for of all of Wales 2008 Six Nations Championship games, Wales then went on to win the Grand Slam for the second time in four seasons. Henson lost his first 6 Nations match in which he started on 21 March 2009 as Ireland beat Wales in Cardiff 17–15, to win the Grand Slam.


title: Gavin Henson

text: On 13 July 2009, British tabloid, "The Sun", announced that Henson planned to retire immediately from rugby. On 14 July 2009, Henson and the Ospreys issued a joint statement denying the player had any intention of quitting. Henson said, "I've certainly been having difficulties with the recurring injury but I have absolutely no intention of quitting the game".


title: Gavin Henson

text: In 2009, Mike Turner of the Crusaders RL (who at that time played in the Super League) stated that if Henson ever thought of switching to rugby league the club would be happy to talk to him. Since this time, Henson has made no official statement on the subject, shown any intent with regards to joining a Super League club or held any talks with the Crusaders, although he regularly attended their matches in 2009.


title: Gavin Henson

text: On 27 October 2010, Ospreys released a statement from Managing Director, Mike Cuddy, stating that Henson would be released from his contract with the province with immediate effect, and that he would be returning to rugby with the English club Saracens. Henson had not played professional Rugby for 18 months before this announcement following his period of unpaid leave from the Ospreys. Henson had been reported as having trained with Saracens two days prior to this announcement on 25 October 2010, leading to speculation that the return to professional rugby was imminent. Henson's agent, Matt Ginvert, stated that Henson will return to Rugby after completing his commitments with the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" programme, and Saracens chief executive Edward Griffiths said that he saw no reason why Henson would not compete for the club before Christmas 2010. Henson signed for Saracens in October 2010, making his debut at Wembley Stadium in the Boxing Day 2010 match against London Wasps; his first competitive game since March 2009. After playing four games for Saracens, starting only one, Henson was released from his contract on 2 February 2011.


title: Gavin Henson

text: The same day, French sports newspaper "L'Equipe" reported that Henson had met RC Toulonnais head coach Philippe Saint-André and club owner Mourad Boudjellal, for lunch in Toulon. The club, with their two first choice fly-halves out injured, had an available space in their squad under Top 14 regulations. Henson had commented while at Saracens that he was frustrated not to be playing in his preferred position. The following day, he signed a five-month contract with RC Toulonnais. In April 2011, he was suspended for two weeks following an incident on a night out after a match against Toulouse, involving an alleged fight with his teammates. After a hearing, RC Toulonnais President Boudjellal decided to reintegrate Henson back into the squad. However, on 24 May 2011, Henson was released by RC Toulonnais.


title: Gavin Henson

text: On 4 June 2011, Henson played his first match for Wales in 2 years, starting against the Barbarians, Henson put in a good performance, although he described his match as merely "showing glimpses of what he can do". The match was a loss to the Barbarians, with Isa Nacewa scoring a try in the 79th minute, taking the score from 28–26 to Wales to 28–31 to the Barbarians. After the Barbarian match, Henson was named in the 45-man preliminary 2011 Rugby World Cup squad by new Wales coach Warren Gatland. On 11 August 2011, Henson started for Wales in a warmup test against rivals England at Millennium Stadium, but left late in the first half after dislocating his wrist. The following day, it was announced that surgery on his wrist would keep him out for six to eight weeks, and that he would not be available for the pool stages of the World Cup.


title: Gavin Henson

text: In October 2011, it was announced by his agent and subsequently various media outlets, that Henson had signed for the Cardiff Blues. The club later confirmed the 8-month deal. On 2 April 2012, it was announced by Cardiff Blues that his contract had been terminated by the club after he was reported to be drinking and behaving inappropriately on a flight home from Scotland after a Blues match against Glasgow Warriors. The airline Flybe, which Henson was flying with, banned him from the airline for a six-month period.


title: Gavin Henson

text: On 9 July 2012, newly promoted London Welsh announced that they had signed Henson for the 2012/13 season. On 13 June 2013, it was announced that Henson was to leave London Welsh, who had been relegated that year, to join Bath for the next season. He said "I am thrilled to be joining Bath this summer, and I look forward to becoming part of what looks a very exciting squad. I still very much want to be playing at the highest level, and Bath is a big Club with big plans. I know what is expected of me and I can't wait to get started." On 10 July 2013, Henson was knocked out by Bath teammate Carl Fearns on a night out in the city.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Having improved his recent form with Bath, including influential appearances in the centre. Due to this improved form Henson, reportedly, rejected an approach by the Newport Gwent Dragons to sign an extension to his Bath contract.


title: Gavin Henson

text: Henson has been included in the Probables squad for the Wales trial match on 30 May 2014 in Swansea but was unable to take part due to Premier Rugby Limited's (the governing body of the English premiership) decision not to release non English players outside the IRB test window.


title: Gavin Henson

text: On 23 January 2015, it was announced Henson would be leaving Bath to join RFU Championship side Bristol, at the end of the Aviva Premiership season on a one-year deal.


title: Gavin Henson

text: However, on 11 February, he was released four months early from his Bath contract to take his place in the Bristol ranks, being replaced at Bath by incoming London Irish utility back Tom Homer.


title: Gavin Henson

text: On 14 March 2017, Henson returned to Wales to sign for the Dragons, back in the Pro14, on a two-year contract from the 2017–18 season.