title: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)

paragraphs: The World Heavyweight Championship was one of the top wrestling championships in the WWE along with the WWE Championship. It was created on "RAW" to match "SmackDown's" WWE Championship in August 2002. Some of the past champions include Edge, Triple H, The Undertaker, Booker T, Batista, and Kurt Angle.

paragraphs: The World Heavyweight Championship was brought to Raw by then-General Manager Eric Bischoff after WWE Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to SmackDown. Bischoff awarded the championship to Triple H, but he had to defend it against his then-best friend, Ric Flair. Triple H was successful and has held the championship on five different occasions. Other holders of this prestigious championship include Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and more.

paragraphs: The final champion was Randy Orton. He beat then-champion John Cena on December 15, 2013 at . He was already WWE Champion when he won the championship and unified the World Heavyweight Championship with the WWE Championship to make the "WWE World Heavyweight Championship". The World Heavyweight Championship was retired the next day.


title: Islamic calendar

paragraphs: The Islamic calendar () is a calendar. It is used to determine islamic holidays in most of Islam. It is a lunar calendar. It has 12 months, and 354 or 355 days. This means that each year, the calendar is about 11 days shorter than a solar calendar, like the Gregorian. Islamic years are often called "hijra" years, because the first year of the calendar when the "hijra" occurred, that is when Prophet Muhammad went from Mecca to Medina.

paragraphs: The current Islamic Calendar year is 1442 H" (AH = Anno Hegiræ = Hijri year)".

paragraphs: Two Islamic countries (Iran and Afghanistan) use a different calendar, the Solar Hijri Calendar.

paragraphs: A lunar month (one new moon to the next) lasts a little over 29.5 days. For convenience, a month is the Islamic calendar is either 29 days or 30 days, one after the other. So a 29-day month is followed by a 30-day month (29+30 is the same as 29.5+29.5). In most years, that means that a year of 12 calendar months last 354 days. But that "a little over" is 44 minutes every month so, to keep the calendar in step with reality, an extra day is needed nearly every third year, so these years are 355 days long.


title: Town privileges

paragraphs: Town privileges were important things. They were special treaties or royal charters used in the Middle Ages. In such a charter, a sovereign, a monarch granted the town or city special rights. These usually included

paragraphs: Many of those charters were very similar. In the end, only few charters remained in use. Notable ones in the territory of modern-day Germany include the Lübeck law, the Magdeburg rights and the Kulm law.


title: Afternoon

paragraphs: Afternoon is the time period from noon to evening. It is generally agreed upon that afternoon starts at 12:00 pm, but there is no exact definition of when it ends.


title: Medieval music

paragraphs: Medieval music is music from the Middle Ages. The time we call the Middle Ages is a long period from about 400 AD to 1400 AD. We do not know a great deal about music of this time because it was such a long time ago and music was not often written down. Music was used for entertainment.

paragraphs: In Europe there were people who went around the countryside making a living by singing and playing musical instruments. They often went to big houses where rich people lived and entertained them with their faces. These travelling musicians were called minstrels in England, and troubadours or trouvères in many other countries, or Minnesinger in Germany.

paragraphs: The minstrels often sang long songs which told stories (a ballad). This was a way to tell people about what was happening in the world. Some of the stories were made up: they were about love or about mythology.

paragraphs: Richard the Lionheart was a keen musician. He wrote many songs in the style of the trouvères. On the way back from a Crusade he was captured by Leopold of Austria. The story goes that his attendant, Blondel, was looking for him everywhere. Then he heard Richard’s voice singing a tune which he knew and so he found him. The song that he was singing was called "Ja Nuns Hons Pris" ("I am no longer captive").

paragraphs: Minstrels very often went with their masters when they went on journeys to battles. They also sang at important ceremonies, for example when people were being knighted. Many of them played instruments such as the lute or fiddle.

paragraphs: Minstrels were poets and musicians, because they made up their own words and the tunes. Sometimes we know the words of these songs because they wrote them down, but they did not write the tunes down. Walther von der Vogelweide was a famous minnesinger in Germany.

paragraphs: One famous tune that was written down is the round "Sumer is icumen in". It was written down by a monk. Monks could often read and write.

paragraphs: Troubadours would go from town to town playing love songs.

paragraphs: There were two main types of dances in medieval times: line dances and circle dances. The farandole is a line dance. It was a bit like a modern conga with people following a leader in a line. The bransle was a round dance or circle dance. The word “bransle” comes from the French word “branler” (“to sway”). It is pronounced 'Brawl'.

paragraphs: Other dances were the basse dance and estampie.

paragraphs: Instruments could be divided into quiet ones which were used indoors, and loud ones which were used outside. The recorder was a very popular indoor instrument. There was also the psaltery and the harp (which looked like a small Welsh harp of today).

paragraphs: The bagpipes were loud instruments for outside. They were used for dancing. They were not as loud as modern Scottish bagpipes. They were more like Northumbrian pipes or the French musettes. There was also the hurdy-gurdy which was played by turning a handle. Pipe and tabor were used for Morris dancing.

paragraphs: Many medieval plucked string instruments were similar to the modern guitar, such as the lute and mandolin. The dulcimer and zither were had strings which were hit with sticks. These are still popular in East Europe today. There were also “fiddles” (vielle) and trombones (called sackbut).

paragraphs: It was believed that if you were entertained with music while you are eating it would help you digest your food and help keep your heart healthy. And people believed that you will not get fat even if you scoffed down a load of food. Also eating food while having people dancing for you was believed to have made you fit.

paragraphs: Church music was very important. The mass was the main form of church music. It used the five parts of the mass Ordinary (the Eucharist service): "Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus" and "Agnus Dei". The priests in the churches wanted church music to be serious. They did not want it to become popular. They thought that if people enjoyed it too much they would forget about worshipping God. Religious plays had become very popular. They told stories from the Bible. However, the church leaders banned them, so they were performed in the streets and squares of the towns.

paragraphs: Instruments were also banned in church. The church leaders thought that they belonged to the devil. Only singing was allowed. Gradually, however, the organ started to be allowed in church. It helped people to sing. Some organs were very tiny. They were called portative organs. The large organs that were fixed in place were called “positives”. Bells were also used in church. They looked like our sleigh bells.

paragraphs: Medieval music was based on plainsong. This was a melody which sounded quite free in rhythm. Composers started adding a second part to the melody as an accompaniment. This was called organum. Sometimes it just simply followed the main tune a fourth or fifth below. This was called “parallel organum”. In the 12th and 13th centuries the original plainsong started to be put at the bottom. It became known as the cantus firmus (the “firm tune”). Sometimes antiphony was used. The simplest form of antiphony is when a leader sings something and a group (the choir) sing something back.

paragraphs: The type of plainchant that evolved was called Gregorian chant. By the 13th century all other types of chant had been forgotten in Western Europe.

paragraphs: Carols became popular at this time. At first a carol was a dancing song, but often these popular songs became used for songs for particular seasons or festivals. In later periods these developed into Christmas carols as we know them.

paragraphs: People often went around in groups, particularly at Christmas, singing at the houses of rich people. This was called Wassailing. The word means “being of good cheer” (i.e. “happy”). "The Boar’s Head" is a well-known medieval carol.

paragraphs: Mummers were groups of people who performed religious plays. They were travelling entertainers. They normally wore masks so that people did not know who they were.

paragraphs: There are not many musical manuscripts which have survived from the Middle Ages. Most of them are religious music. They were often written using a system called neumes. The pitch (music) of the music is shown by the neumes, but the rhythms were not very clear. Gradually the system of writing music we know today was evolving. Philippe de Vitry was an important composer and music theorist. He developed ways of writing rhythms.

paragraphs: Most of the medieval music we know today belongs to the last part of the Middle Ages. There was a tradition known as the “Notre Dame school”. This music dates from around 1150 to 1250. It was the time that great cathedrals were being built in Gothic architecture. The cathedral of Notre Dame was a very famous example. The music of this time was called “Ars antique”. It used a system of rhythms called “rhythmic modes”. Gradually a new way of writing was used. This was called “Ars nova” (“New art”). The most famous composer of this time was Guillaume de Machaut. He developed a kind of composition called the isorhythmic motet. He wrote a lot of songs called chansons (the French word for “song”). Other types of song were called "rondeau", "ballade", and "virelai".

paragraphs: Composers who were born at the end of the Middle Ages such as John Dunstable, Guillaume Dufay, and Gilles Binchois are often thought to belong to the next period in music history: the Renaissance period.


title: Neolithic

paragraphs: The neolithic is the youngest part of the Stone Age. The word "neolithic" comes from two words in Greek meaning "new" and "lithic", meaning "stone". The neolithic period is the time when farming was invented and when people started caring for animals, such as cows, sheep and pigs. The neolithic starts at different times in different places, since not everyone started farming at the same time. After the neolithic period came the Bronze Age.


title: Crotchet

paragraphs: A crotchet or quarter note is a note played for one fourth of a whole note (or "semibreve"). Quarter notes are written as a filled-in oval (or round) note head and a straight, flagless stem (the line). The stem usually points up (like a d) if it is below the middle line of the stave or down (like a p) if it is on or above the middle line.

paragraphs: When beginners start to learn to play an instrument they are often taught that one crotchet lasts for one beat (one count). That is because they are learning pieces with simple time signatures. It is, however, important to remember that other note lengths (minims, dotted crotchets etc.) can also be treated as one beat, depending on the time signature.


title: Burzum

paragraphs: Burzum is a black metal/dark ambient one man band from Bergen, Norway. The band was formed in 1991 by "Varg Vikernes". He is best known for serving a prison sentence for the murder of Mayhem guitarist "Øystein Aarseth" and arson of churches.


title: John Collins

paragraphs: John Collins (born January 31, 1968 in Galashiels, Scotland) is a Scottish footballer. He is currently the manager of Charleroi. Collins played for Celtic in the early 1990s.


title: Mayhem (band)

paragraphs: Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band. It was founded in 1984 by guitarist Øystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous), bass guitarist Jørn Stubberud (aka Necrobutcher), and drummer Kjetil Manheim (aka Manheim). The band name is taken from the Venom song, "Mayhem with Mercy."

paragraphs: During the early years, the band used either session vocalists Messiah or Maniac for live/studio performances. During rehearsals, they played either without a singer, or either Necrobutcher or Euronymous would sing.

paragraphs: By late 1987, both Manheim and Maniac had left the band. Members of the band Vomit sang for the band for a short time. In 1988, singer Dead, and drummer Hellhammer joined the band.

paragraphs: Dead killed himself in 1991. He shot himself in the mouth with a shotgun after cutting his wrists with a knife. The shell he used, was not given to him by Varg Vikernes (Count Grishnackh). His body was found in his room. A suicide note was also found. It said "Excuse all the blood". Euronymous took pictures of the body and room. One of these pictures was used as the cover of their "Dawn of the Black Hearts" album. This started people saying many things about the band. It was said that Euronymous had cooked and eaten pieces of Dead's brain. It was also said that parts of Dead's skull had been used to make necklaces that both Euronymous and Hellhammer wore. It is not likely that his brains were eaten, but it is known that necklaces were made, and that pictures were taken.

paragraphs: With the media and police attention after Dead's suicide, Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud) left the band. Dead was replaced by Occultus (Stian Johansen). He was the ex-singer of Thyabhorrent. He sang and played bass in Mayhem for a few months, but soon left. Varg Vikernes (Burzum) joined as bassist.

paragraphs: On August 10th, 1993, Varg Vikernes murdered Euronymous in his apartment. Their relationship before the murder had gotten bad. It is thought that there were many reasons why Vikernes killed him. These include that it was over a girl, jealousy of Euronymous's position in the band, Euronymous owing him money and Euronymous not releasing Burzum's albums on time. Euronymous was found in his underwear with knife wound. Varg was rumoured to try and outdo the murder Faust of the band Emperor did. At his trial, Vikernes came into court with his long hair made into pigtails. He said he had nothing to do with Euronymous's death. He laughed throughout the trial. Vikernes was found guilty the murder. He was sent to prison for 21 years. This is the most time a person can be sent to prison in Norway. When police arrested Vikernes, he was found with over of dynamite and plans to destroy Nidarosdomen on a religious holiday. Nodarosdomen is a large Christian church in Trondheim. Varg Vikernes has a different story to the reasons for killing Euronymous. He created many articles to tell the reasons.

paragraphs: After the trial, Euronymous's parents asked Hellhammer to remove the parts of the bands music that Varg had recorded. He told them he would do this. Since he could not play the bass guitar, the changes were not made. The album remained the same, with Varg playing on it.

paragraphs: Their performances used heavy atmospheric effects. These included things such as pig heads put on wooden poles. Dead's clothes were buried days or weeks before the show. They were dug up before the performances and would be covered in decay, dirt and insects. Pieces of rotting meat were thrown into the audience and given to people to eat or rip on the spot. Dead ravens were placed in a bag so Dead could smell decay and death. Members would also cut themselves onstage.


title: Shrek (movie)

paragraphs: "This page is about the movie Shrek. For the character Shrek, see Shrek (character)"

paragraphs: Shrek is an animated movie based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book. The name "Shrek" likely comes from the Yiddish word "שרעק" (pronounced Shreck) or the German word "Schreck". Both words mean "fear" or "terror". It was directed by Andrew Adamson and animated by DreamWorks Animation. It was the first movie to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a category introduced in 2001 . It was released on DVD on November 2, 2001. There have also been three sequels (follow-ups) of "Shrek", called "Shrek 2" and "Shrek the Third" and "Shrek Forever After". There is also a Christmas special, a Halloween special and a spinoff movie all about a minor character in the sequels and specials. It was adapted into a Broadway musical.

paragraphs: "Shrek" (voiced by Mike Myers) is a green ogre who always loves living peacefully in the swamp. However, he finds many fairytale creatures disrupting his privacy. This is because of the order by Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow). Shrek goes along with Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) to ask Farquaad to give his privacy back. Farquaad wants to be King by marrying Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) to be Queen.

paragraphs: Farquaad orders Shrek and Donkey to travel for Fiona and bring her to Farquaad. After trying to get Fiona from the castle, Fiona is happy that she is rescued, but soon becomes sad that the knight is an ogre. Shrek forces Fiona to travel with him and Donkey, with Shrek and Fiona finding they have more in common with each other along the way, and falling in love. However, at night, Fiona refuses to camp with them, taking shelter in a nearby cave until morning. Shrek and Donkey stay awake and watch the stars while Shrek informs Donkey that he plans to build a 10-foot wall around his swamp when he returns. When Donkey keeps on asking Shrek why he is doing this, Shrek sadly tells him that everyone judges him before they know him; so he thinks he is better off alone, despite Donkey's saying that that he did not immediately judge him when they first met.

paragraphs: The next night, Donkey finds Fiona in a windmill. Donkey finds that Fiona has turned into an ogress. She tells Donkey that she was cursed as a child and turns into an ogress every night. This is why she was locked away in the castle. She also says that only a kiss from her true love will return her to her "love's true form". Shrek, about to confess his feelings for Fiona, overhears part of their conversation, and is heartbroken as he misinterprets her disgust at her transformation into an "ugly beast" as being disgusted with him. Fiona makes Donkey promise not to tell Shrek about the spell, vowing to do it herself, but when the next morning comes, Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to Fiona. The two return to the castle, while a hurt Shrek returns to the now-vacated swamp.

paragraphs: After finding out that despite is privacy that he misses Fiona very much, Donkey gets mad at Shrek, and Shrek tells Donkey that he overheard their conversation. They both travel to Duloc quickly, thanks to Dragon, who had escaped her confines and followed Donkey. They interrupt the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona, but not before the sun sets, which causes Fiona to turn into an ogress in front of everyone. While her transformation causes Shrek to fully understand what he overheard at the windmill, Farquaad, disgusted over the change, orders Shrek killed and Fiona imprisoned, but Shrek whistles for Dragon, who bursts in and eats Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona admit their love for each other and share a kiss; Fiona is bathed in light as her curse is broken, but is surprised to find that she has remained an ogress, as she "thought [she] was supposed to be[come] beautiful", to which Shrek replies that she is beautiful. The two of them get married in the swamp and depart on their honeymoon while the rest celebrate by singing "I'm a Believer".

paragraphs: Steven Spielberg bought the rights to the original book in 1991, when he apparently thought about making a traditionally animated film based on the book with Bill Murray as Shrek and Steve Martin as Donkey. After only a few years in development, producer John H. Williams got hold of the book from his children, and when he brought it to DreamWorks, it caught Jeffrey Katzenberg's attention and the studio decided to make it into a movie. After buying the rights to the film in 1995, Katzenberg quickly put the film in active development.

paragraphs: The Art Directors visited Hearst Castle, Stratford upon Avon and Dordogne for inspiration on Duloc's place. Art Director Douglas Rogers visited a magnolia plantation in Charleston, South Carolina for inspiration for Shrek's swamp.

paragraphs: The film was originally planned to be a motion-captured film. DreamWorks used live action background plates with miniature fairy tale settings that they had filmed, giving the film a very visual distinct look. After a year and a half of R & D, a test was finally shown. The result was a disaster, with Katzenburg stating "It looked terrible, it didn't work, it wasn't funny, and we didn't like it." Production was shut down for a while. DreamWorks later went to its production partners at PDI in Spring of 1997, when the movie "Antz" was still in production, to help "Shrek" get it's final computer-animated look.

paragraphs: “We did a lot of work on character and set-up, and then kept changing the set up while we were doing the animation,” Ramon Hui noted. “In "Antz" we had a facial system that gave us all the facial muscles under the skin. In Shrek we applied that to whole body. So if you pay attention to Shrek when he talks, you see that when he opens his jaw, he forms a double chin, because we have the fat and the muscles underneath. That kind of detail took us a long time to get right."

paragraphs: Saturday Night Live member Chris Farley was to be the voice for Shrek. He was able to voice around 80-90% of the script, although Chris' brother, Tom Farley, states that Farley had actually already recorded 95% of Shrek's dialogue for the movie, but died in 1997 before he finished voicing the character. Production was shut down again after Farley's death. Andrew Adamson stated "Chris Farley's death was before any animation had been done [although] we'd recorded an amount with him."

paragraphs: DreamWorks later asked Mike Myers to play Shrek, whom Myers wanted the writers to re-write the script to leave no traces of Farley's version of Shrek. After Myers had completed providing the voice for the character, when the film was well into production, he asked to re-record all of his lines in a Scottish accent similar to the one his mother had used when she told him bedtime stories. After hearing the alternative voice-over, Katzenberg agreed to redo scenes in the film, saying, "It was so good we took $4m worth of animation out and did it again."

paragraphs: The film was entered into the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, and was the first animated film since Disney's Peter Pan (1953) to receive that honour. "Shrek" open in more 3,587 movie theaters on its 2001 release, 11 of them showing them digitally, made possible by the THX Division of Lucasfilm. This was the first time that DreamWorks had shown one of its movies digitally. Produced on a $60 million budget, "Shrek" was commercially successful, becoming the highest-grossing animated movie ever to be released in Australia, passing the mark set by 1994's "The Lion King". In the United Kingdom, "Shrek" regained the top spot at the British box office after being beaten out the previous week by "", earning a $20.3 million since its opening in the UK. The film closed on December 6, 2001, after grossing $267,665,011 domestically along with $216,744,207 overseas for a worldwide total of $484,409,218. "Shrek" is the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2001 behind "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "" and "Monsters Inc."

paragraphs: "Shrek" received critically good reviews, praising "Shrek" as an animated film worthy of adult interest, with many adult-oriented jokes and themes but a simple enough plot and humor to appeal to children. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 89 percent of critics have given the film a positive review based on 176 reviews, with an average score of 7.7/10. The general opinion is: "While simultaneously embracing and subverting fairy tales, the irreverent Shrek also manages to tweak Disney's nose, provide a moral message to children, and offer viewers a funny, fast-paced ride."

paragraphs: Roger Ebert liked the film, giving it four stars out of a possible four and describing it as "jolly and wicked, filled with sly in-jokes and yet somehow possessing a heart." USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna praised Eddie Murphy's performance, stating it "gives the comic performance of his career, aided by sensational digital artistry, as he brays for the slightly neurotic motormouth." Richard Schickel also enjoyed Murphy's role, stating, "No one has ever made a funnier jackass of himself than Murphy."

paragraphs: William Steig, the author of the original book, and his wife Jeanne Steig also enjoyed the film, stating "We all went sort of expecting to hate it, thinking, 'What has Hollywood done to it?' But we loved it. We were afraid it would be too sickeningly cute and, instead, Bill just thought they did a wonderful, witty job of it."

paragraphs: "Shrek" won the first ever Academy Award For Best Animated Feature, beating "Monsters, Inc." and "". "Entertainment Weekly" put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Prince Charming? So last millennium. This decade, fairy-tale fans--and Princess Fiona--fell for a fat and flatulent Ogre. Now, that's progress."

paragraphs: "Shrek" was also nominated for 6 BAFTA Award, including the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Eddie Murphy became the first actor to ever receive a BAFTA nomination for a voice-over performance. The film was also nominated for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Film Music, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

paragraphs: "Shrek" was nominated for a dozen Annie Awards from ASIFA-Hollywood.

paragraphs: In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten top Ten"; the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after asking 1,500 people for their opinions. "Shrek" was acknowledged as the eighth best film in the animated genre, and the only non-Disney·Pixar film on the top ten. It is also third on Bravo's 100 funniest films. "Shrek" was also ranked second in a Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest Family Films", losing out on the top spot to "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". In 2005, "Shrek" came sixth in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Cartoons poll behind "The Simpsons", "Tom and Jerry", "South Park", "Toy Story" and "Family Guy". In November 2009, the character, Lord Farquaad, was listed #14 in IGN UK's "Top 15 Fantasy Villains".


title: Mom at Sixteen

paragraphs: Mom at Sixteen is a 2005 American made-for-TV movie. It is about a sixteen year old mother, Jacey Jeffries (Danielle Panabaker) in high school.

paragraphs: Jeffries is hiding the fact that she is the mother of Charley, the baby. Charley is the teen's mother's responsibility. When Jeffries goes to swimming practice and takes her migrane medicine, she faints because of the side affects of the medicine. While thinking she is being taken to the delivery room, she asks if her baby is okay while other students are around. Her classmates and teacher soon find out about Charley. Jeffries is teased by the other students. She decides give up the baby to the foster home at the end, and Charley finds a new home.


title: Danielle Panabaker

paragraphs: Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She is known for acting in many movies. These include "Sky High" and "Mom at Sixteen". She has also acted on the television series including "Shark". Panabaker is the older sister of child actress Kay. Both girls act in Disney Channel programs.


title: Renaissance music

paragraphs: Renaissance music is European music written from about the year 1400 to 1600. This section of time is called the Renaissance, a word which means “rebirth”. The Renaissance comes between the Middle Ages and the Baroque times.

paragraphs: Putting music into time sections does not mean that there were quick changes of type. Music changed slowly, and early Renaissance music was similar to Medieval music. Slowly music-writers started to try new ideas. A lot of medieval church music had become very hard with lots of rules about rhythms and clashes of notes to make dissonances. A lot of Renaissance composers wrote music which was smoother and more gentle. The music was still polyphonic with each voice having a share of melody. Music was starting to become less modal and more tonal. By the time the Baroque period started composers were using a system of major and minor keys like we do today.

paragraphs: Composers wrote many masses and motets. The 16th century also saw the birth of the madrigal: secular (not religious) songs which were often about love. The madrigal started in Italy and became very popular for a short while in England from the 1580s. There were lots of other secular songs such as the chanson, canzonetta and villanelle. Songs were often accompanied by a lute.

paragraphs: Music was an essential part of civic, religious, and courtly life in the Renaissance. The rich interchange of ideas in Europe, as well as political, economic, and religious events in the period 1400–1600 led to major changes in styles of composing, methods of disseminating music, new musical genres, and the development of musical instruments. The most important music of the early Renaissance was compose for use by the church—polyphonic (made up of several simultaneous melodies) masses and motets in Latin for important churches and court chapels. By the end of the sixteenth century, however, patronage was split among many areas: the Catholic Church, Protestant churches and courts, wealthy amateurs, and music printing—all were sources of income for composers.

paragraphs: An important development during the Renaissance was music notation. Many musicians wrote books about music theory. They are useful for us because they tell us how music sounded in those days and what people thought about it. Music started to be written on a music staff with five lines. There were still no barlines in early Renaissance music. Notes were written with white note heads, e.g. the minim (half note) was at one time the shortest note that could be written (the “minimum” length). Only later did crochets (quarter notes) and quavers (eighth notes) come in. This does not mean that music was slow in those days, it was just the way it was written.

paragraphs: Key signatures had not yet been invented. Sharps and flats were sometimes shown by accidentals (written in front of the notes). Very often, however, the performers were expected to know or even decide for themselves the sharps and flats (see musica ficta).

paragraphs: Another very important discovery at this time was music printing. Music printing started in Italy in the mid 16th century.

paragraphs: In the early 15th century there was a group of composers known now as the Burgundian School (from Burgundy). Guillaume Dufay was the most famous. Their music sounded a little bit like medieval music.

paragraphs: Towards the end of the 15th century a style of polyphonic sacred music had been developed that can be heard in the masses of Johannes Ockeghem and Jacob Obrecht. Ockeghem even composed one piece in which all the parts develop from one idea which was used as a canon.

paragraphs: In the 16th century composers started to write music with a clear beat and regular pulse. These included Josquin des Prez and others from the Franco-Flemish School. The was a Roman school, to which the famous Italian Giovanni da Palestrina belonged. His way of writing polyphony has been a model for that style for many centuries. Music students still have to study “Palestrina technique” (how to compose in Palestrina’s style). Although church music at this time is mainly polyphonic it also has homophonic passages where the voices sing the same words together. This helps to make important words really clear.

paragraphs: In Venice, from about 1534 until around 1600, a polychoral style developed. Choirs were separated, singing from different parts of the church, often from galleries. This grand music sounded beautiful in big churches such as the Basilica San Marco di Venezia. These composers are often called the “Venetian School”. Andrea Gabrieli and later his nephew Giovanni Gabrieli wrote this kind of music, and later Claudio Monteverdi who started in the Renaissance and lived into the Baroque period.

paragraphs: The change to the Baroque musical style happened around 1600. This was the time when opera was invented. This needed a new style of composing. The composer Monteverdi wrote in the Renaissance style until about 1600-1650, when he changed to the Baroque style.


title: Kay Panabaker

paragraphs: Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American actress from Orange, Texas. Some of her best known roles are Emily on "Life is Ruff" and Debbie on "Phil of the Future". Panabaker is the younger sister of actress Danielle. The two sisters starred together in the movie "Read it and Weep" for the Disney Channel. She has had recurring roles on the television series "" and "Angel".


title: Haley Hudson

paragraphs: Haley Hudson (born June 14, 1986) is an American actress. Her best known roles were in "Freaky Friday" and "Lizzie McGuire". Her image is a punky Gothic type person.


title: Enslaved (band)

paragraphs: Enslaved is a band from Haugesund, Norway; their music has been called black metal and viking metal. The band was formed in 1992.


title: Viking metal

paragraphs: Viking metal is a heavy metal music subgenre inspired by Norse mythology. Swedish metal band Bathory's fourth album, released in 1988 and called "Blood Fire Death", was the first Viking metal album.


title: Musica ficta

paragraphs: Musica ficta is a term used in medieval and Renaissance music. It means that when musicians play or sing music they put in accidentals (sharps and flats) which are not written in the music.

paragraphs: In those days (near the end of the 16th century) music used modes instead of the modern system of major and minor keys. Sometimes the music would not sound right unless a note was sharpened or flattened (raised or lowered a semitone). For example, to go down from the note B to an F would have sounded bad, so the F would need to be an F sharp. The composer who wrote the music down might not bother to put the sign for F sharp. He would expect the performer to know that it should be an F sharp and not an F. This is what is called musica ficta.

paragraphs: Gradually it became more and more necessary for composers to write exactly what notes they wanted. The modern system of keys was developing. They developed the system of key signatures and accidentals (sharps and flats which are not in the key signature, but written as and when they are needed). The practice of musica ficta gradually ended.


title: Universal Studios Japan

paragraphs: Universal Studios Japan is one of four Universal Studios theme parks. It is in Osaka, Japan. The park opened on March 31, 2001.


title: Gap year

paragraphs: A gap year is time taken between completing secondary school and going to a university or college or also between college and graduate school or a profession. It is generally a practice of young people from Australia, Poland, Scandinavia, United Kingdom and United States. The time between the two events is often, but not always, a year. It is often used to travel or to gain experience with an internship at the lowest cost possible.


title: Beam bridge

paragraphs: A beam bridge is a strong, horizontal structure that rests on two end supports, and carries traffic by acting as a beam.

paragraphs: Beam bridges are often used for heavy cars and trains to pass, and some are also built for people to walk on. Beam bridges used to be made from wood and were called "log bridges". Modern ones are mostly made of steel. Beam bridges are usually placed over highways, rivers or gaps in the earth so people or cars can cross over them. Beam bridges are simple but they cannot be as long as more complex and expensive kinds. Beam bridges can be connected to make one longer bridge.


title: Gene Simmons

paragraphs: Gene Simmons (born August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel) is an Israeli-American hard rock bass guitarist and singer for the hard rock band Kiss.

paragraphs: Born with the name of Chaim Witz in [Haifa, Israel, Gene emigrated at age 8 with his family to Queens, New York. His mother, Flora Klein, was born in Jand, Hungary. His father, Feri Witz, was also born in Hungary. He adopted the stage name of Gene Simmons in the late 1960s. He lives with his longtime partner Shannon Tweed and has two children, Nick and Sophie.

paragraphs: in 1972 Gene Simmons together with guitarist Paul Stanley are the band Kiss, Gene and Paul join the band the musicians Ace Frehley on guitar and Peter Criss on drums and vocals. One of the characteristics of the band were his outlandish makeup and costumes. In 1973 Kiss; Paul Stanley guitar and voice, Gene Simmons bass and voice, Ace Frehley in lead guitar released their first album Kiss", Gene composed the hit "Strutter" with Stanley, and "Deuce" two of the biggest hits of the band. Kiss recorded their second album Hotter Than Hell, released in October 22, 1974. In 1975 the band released the third album Dressed to Kill, with the theme Rock and Roll All Nite, the most successful of the band, written by Simmons and Stanley. Gene with Kiss, recorded with two of the best live albums "Alive!" (1975) and "Alive II" (1977). In 1976 and 1977 he edited two of the best albums of the band "Destroyer" released in March 15, 1976, and "Love Gun" released in June 30, 1977. Gene Simmons as the other members of Kiss released the solo album "Gene Simmons" released for sale in 1978. In 1979 he recorded with Kiss "Dynasty" a disc-themed disco. After the album Unmasked (1980), Peter Criss left the band, Gene and Paul chose Eric Carr replaced Criss, in the drummer. In 1982 he joined the band the guitarist Vinnie Vincent in substitution for Ace Frehley. With the newly formed launch the album "Creatures of the Night", Gene Simmons composed the theme "I Love It Loud" one of the most powerful of Kiss. In 1983 Kiss appears without makeup on the cover of the album Lick It Up, the band had changed their style of Hard Rock for the Heavy Metal style. For 1984 released the album Animalize, another powerful album of Heavy Metal. Mark St. John as lead guitarist, was incorporated in replacing Vinnie Vincent. Mark left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Bruce Kulick, who would maintain the lead guitar until 1997. In 1989 Gene recorded with Kiss one of their best album Hot in the Shade, with two of the best tracks from the band "Hide Your Heart" and Forever. In 1991 the premature death of Eric Carr forced to Gene and Paul to seek replacements, They chose a young drummer Eric Singer, who had worked with Alice Cooper. With Singer on drums the band released the album "Revenge" released in May 19, 1992, an album that recalled the band's early records. They also recorded the third live album Alive III (1993).

paragraphs: After inviting former members of Kiss Criss and Frehley to record the acoustic album. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley decided, to Frehley and Criss will incorporate the band. Kiss original training again with face painting, leave and turn around the United States and the world. With the original Kiss recorded "Psycho Circus" (1998) a studio album after 18 years.

paragraphs: Gene Simmons currently continue performing with Stanley at the head of Kiss. The current formation Kiss is Simmons in Bass and vocals, Paul Stanley in guitar and vocals, Tommy Thayer in lead guitar, and Eric Singer in drums.

paragraphs: Gene Simmons also turned to acting film credits include Runaway (1984), with Tom Selleck and directed by Michael Crichton., Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986), with Rutger Hauer., Red Surf (1990), with George Clooney., Wish You Were Dead (2002), with Christopher Lloyd. And appearances on television series as Miami Vice (1985), The Hitchhiker (1986), Millennium (1998), Third Watch (2004) and more. Simmons and his family starred in the reality show Gene Simmons: Family Jewels (2006-2010).

paragraphs: Stars of David: rock'n'roll's Jewish stories, by Scott R. Benarde

paragraphs: Songs Written by Gene Simmons: Rock and Roll All Nite, I Love It Loud, All Hell's Breakin' Loose, Little Caesar, Flaming Youth, Strutter


title: Fox News Channel

paragraphs: Fox News Channel is an American cable and satellite television news network. It was made by Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes. It is owned by Fox Broadcasting Company.

paragraphs: The channel plays up to 15 hours of live shows every day. 6 hours of these are opinion shows. The hosts of its opinion shows are Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto, Greta Van Susteren, and Geraldo Rivera. Fox News Network leans right-wing, but has some liberals (such as Greta van Susteren).

paragraphs: There was a documentary called "Outfoxed" that criticized the channel because they say it is biased towards conservatives and the US Republican Party in its reporting. Fox says its opinion shows are conservative but its regular news programs are not. President Barack Obama, through a spokesperson, accused Fox News of working for the Republican Party. Fox has also been accused of having a right-wing bias, racism, discrimination, race baiting and gender inequality. Roger Ailes has called Fox News "the balance" against the liberal networks news groups such as ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Cable News Network, and MSNBC.


title: Omsk

paragraphs: Omsk is a city in Russia in the Siberia region. As of the census in 2000, Omsk had been declared one of the cities in Russia with over 1 million people. Omsk is close to the border of Kazakhstan.


title: Question mark

paragraphs: The question mark is a punctuation mark that is used at the end of a sentence when asking a question.

paragraphs: The symbol is thought to come from the Latin quæstio, meaning "question", which was shortened to Qo. The uppercase Q was written above the lowercase o, and this mark was turned into the symbol that we use today.

paragraphs: Another guess about where question mark comes from says that it comes from the 9th century, when it was a point followed by the curved part written slanted.

paragraphs: Some writers put a space between the end of their sentence and the question mark. This is thought to come from a French practice and is called French spacing. In French a space is always put before question marks, exclamation marks, colons, and semicolons. In English, however, using this space is thought of as bad form. The "Oxford English Dictionary" does not encourage it. Some English books do have these spaces, but are often a very thin space, which are not full spaces but an attempt to make the words easier to read.

paragraphs: In computing, the question mark character is represented by ASCII code 63, and is located at Unicode code-point U+003F. The full-width (double-byte) equivalent, ？, is located at Unicode code point U+FF1F.


title: Kevin Federline

paragraphs: Kevin Earl Federline (born March 21, 1978) is an American entertainer, who dances, raps and models as his job. He is famous for being the former husband of pop singer Britney Spears. Federline has 4 kids, 2 with actress Shar Jackson and 2 with Spears.


title: Mercyful Fate

paragraphs: Mercyful Fate are a heavy metal band from Denmark. The band was formed in Copenhagen in 1980.


title: Electrical circuit

paragraphs: An electrical circuit is a path in which electrons from a voltage or current source flow.

paragraphs: The point where those electrons enter an electrical circuit is called the "source" of electrons. The point where the electrons leave an electrical circuit is called the "return" or "earth ground". The exit point is called the "return" because electrons always end up at the source when they complete the path of an electrical circuit.

paragraphs: The part of an electrical circuit that is between the electrons' starting point and the point where they return to the source is called an electrical circuit's "load". A load of an electrical circuit may be as simple as those that power home appliances like refrigerators, televisions, or lamps or more complicated, such as the load on the output of a hydroelectric power generating station.

paragraphs: Circuits use two forms of electrical power: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). AC often powers large appliances and motors and is generated by power stations. DC powers battery operated vehicles and other machines and electronics. Converters can change AC to DC and vice versa. High-voltage direct current transmission uses big converters.

paragraphs: Electronic circuits usually use direct current sources. The load of an electronic circuit may be as simple as a few resistors, capacitors, and a lamp, all connected together to create the flash in a camera. Or an electronic circuit can be complicated, connecting thousands of resistors, capacitors, and transistors. It may be an integrated circuit such as the microprocessor in a computer.

paragraphs: Resistors and other circuit elements can be connected in series or in parallel. Resistance in series circuits is the sum of the resistance.

paragraphs: A circuit or wiring diagram is a visual display of an electrical circuit. Electrical and electronic circuits can be complicated. Making a drawing of the connections to all the component parts in the circuit's load makes it easier to understand how circuit components are connected. Drawings for electronic circuits are called "circuit diagrams". Drawings for electrical circuits are called "wiring diagrams". Like other diagrams, these diagrams are usually drawn by draftsmen, and then printed. Diagrams may also be created digitally using specialised software.

paragraphs: A schematic is a diagram of an electrical circuit. Schematics are graphical representations of the essential connections in a circuit, but they are not lifelike depictions of a circuit. Schematics use symbols to represent components in the circuit. Conventions are used in a schematic to represent the way electricity flows. The common convention we use is from the positive to the negative terminal. The realistic way electricity flows is from the negative to the positive terminal.

paragraphs: Circuit diagrams use special symbols. The symbols on the drawings show how components like resistors, capacitors, insulators, motors, outlet boxes, lights, switches, and other electrical and electronic components are connected together. The diagrams are a big help when workers try to find out why a circuit does not work correctly.

paragraphs: The current flowing in an electrical or electronic circuit can suddenly increase when a component part fails. This can cause serious damage to other components in the circuit, or create a fire hazard. To protect against this, a fuse or a device called a "circuit breaker" can be wired into a circuit. The circuit breaker will open, or "break", the circuit when the current in that circuit becomes too high, or the fuse will "blow". This gives protection.

paragraphs: The standard return for electrical and electronic circuits is the earth ground. When an electrical or electronic device fails, it may open the return circuit to the earth ground. The user of the device could become a part of the device's electrical circuit by providing a return path for the electrons through the user's body instead of the circuit's earth ground. When our body becomes part of an electrical circuit, the user can be seriously shocked, or even killed by electrocution.

paragraphs: To prevent the danger of electrical shock and the possibility of electrocution, ground fault interrupts devices detect open circuits to earth ground in attached electrical or electronic devices. When an open circuit to earth ground is detected, the G.F.I. device immediately opens the voltage source to the device. G.F.I. devices are similar to circuit breakers but are designed to protect humans rather than circuit components.

paragraphs: Short circuits are circuits that get back to the power source unused or with the same power as put out. Using these usually blow a fuse but sometimes they don't. Doing this with a battery can cause electrical fires.


title: Quiz

paragraphs: A quiz is a type of game (as individuals or in teams) try to answer questions correctly. Quizzes are also used in education and similar fields to improve the growth of someone's knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.

paragraphs: Quizzes are usually scored in points. Many quizzes are designed for people to determine the winner of a group of participants - usually the participant with the highest score.


title: John Hancock

paragraphs: John Hancock (January 12, 1737 – October 8, 1793) was an early American patriot, a leader in the American Revolutionary War, and an American statesman. He was the first man to sign America's Declaration of Independence. In modern America, "John Hancock" is a synonym for signature.

paragraphs: Hancock's ancestors arrived in the English colonies in 1652. In 1737, Hancock was born in Braintree (now Quincy, Massachusetts). When John Hancock Jr. his father died, he was adopted by his uncle, a merchant in Boston, Massachusetts. At his uncle's death in 1754, Hancock inherited the business. He became a leading merchant in Boston and one of the richest in the colonies.

paragraphs: In 1768, British officials seized his ship, the "Liberty". It carried a shipment of wine. The officials said he was smuggling. Boston patriots rioted and he was acquitted. This incident was one of the events that led to the American Revolutionary War.

paragraphs: Hancock had several important jobs in Colonial America and the early United States of America. He was president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774 and 1775. He used his money to support American independence. The British thought him a very dangerous man.

paragraphs: Hancock was president of the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. He wanted to lead the Continental Army. George Washington got the job instead. With 5,000 troops, he tried to free Rhode Island from the British. He was not successful.

paragraphs: Hancock led the convention that adopted the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. He was first Governor of the state Massachusetts. He served nine terms. Hancock suffered from gout in his later life. He died in 1793.


title: Huldrych Zwingli

paragraphs: Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli or Ulricus Zuinglius (January 1, 1484 – October 11, 1531) was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, and founder of the Swiss Reformed churches. Separately from Martin Luther, Zwingli arrived with similar final beliefs. He did this by studying the Bible from the point of view of a humanist scholar. Zwingli's father was named Ulrich Zwingli also and his mother was named Margaret Meili. Zwingli had 2 sisters and 7 brothers.

paragraphs: Zwingli was born in Toggenburg, Wildhaus, St. Gallen, Switzerland, to an important family of the middle class.

paragraphs: Zwingli's Reformation was supported by the judge and people of Zürich. It led to major changes in the lives of the people and state matters in Zürich.

paragraphs: Zwingli was killed at Kappel am Albis, in a battle against the Roman Catholic Cantons of Switzerland.


title: 20th-century classical music

paragraphs: 20th-century classical music is classical music written during the last century. During earlier periods of music history composers from different countries wrote in styles which were often quite similar. For example, composers in the Classical music period (about 1740-1820) had fairly similar ideas about what forms to use (e.g. sonata form), what instruments should be used in orchestras or how to write good tunes.

paragraphs: Classical music from the 20th century is extremely varied. There are lots of different “schools” (meaning: ways of thinking) as lots of composers had their own ideas about how to compose in ways that were different from what had been done before. A lot of these genres (types of music) had names ending in “ism”: there was serialism, Expressionism, Neoclassicism, Impressionism as well as jazz, world music (music from non-European cultures) and folksong and, later on electronic music and then Minimalism and even post-modernism.

paragraphs: The names of periods in history were usually given to them many years afterwards. For example, the term Middle Ages was not used until long after the Middle Ages had finished. It is difficult to know what to call the period we live in now. In music people often talk about “Modern Music” meaning any music written after 1900. We also talk about “Contemporary Music” meaning more or less the same thing (“contemporary” means “things that are happening in our time”, i.e. “living composers”). Now that the 21st century has started some musicians are starting to talk about “20th century music” (1900-2000) and a period called “Contemporary Music” (1975-today).

paragraphs: This article will discuss classical music written from 1900 to the year 1999.

paragraphs: Many European composers at the beginning of the 20th century felt that the system of tonality (music in major and minor keys) had been used for so long that it was time to do create a new approach and try something different. Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky were two of the most important composers at that time, and they had very different ideas about how to compose music.

paragraphs: Schoenberg's music became very atonal (not in any key). Eventually he developed what he called twelve tone music. This was atonal music which was organized by putting the notes of a musical idea in a particular order which could be changed in many ways during the piece. This way of organizing music is called “serialism” (a “series” is a “row of things”). Many composers were influenced by Schoenberg, especially Alban Berg and Anton von Webern.

paragraphs: Stravinsky came from Russia. He was inspired by Russian culture. He wrote some music for a ballet called Rite of Spring. This music was very new. It had very irregular rhythms which the dancers found very difficult to dance to at first. It also used polytonality (being in more than one key at once). Later on Stravinsky was inspired by music from the 18th century. He used it, but made changes to it, adding dissonant notes and strange chords. This is called neoclassicism (“neo” means “new”). Stravinsky's music seemed to many people to be the opposite of serialism, but in his last years Stravinsky started to use serialism as well.

paragraphs: In France a movement called Impressionism was popular with painters. Composers were very interested in these paintings. Claude Debussy wrote music which is often called “Impressionistic”. The ideas of clear tonality (being clear about which key the music is in) are often deliberately blurred. He uses interesting chords just for the sound that they make. He used the whole tone scale and pentatonic scale and was inspired by Javanese music. Maurice Ravel’s music is sometimes similar, although he developed his own style. Later French composers include Olivier Messiaen who used a system of new scales which he called Modes of limited transposition. He was also interested in music from around the world, and he also used bird song in his music.

paragraphs: While all this was happening there were some composers who continued to write in a style which was basically Romantic. Edward Elgar ‘s music is often described as “Edwardian” (from the period of King Edward VII). Other British composers of the time were also inspired by English folkmusic, i.e. Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth, Roger Quilter and Gerald Finzi. Frederick Delius wrote Romantic music which was also quite Impressionistic. The Russian Sergei Rachmaninoff and the German Richard Strauss continued to write in a Romantic style until their deaths in the 1940s. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and the Dane Carl Nielsen wrote great symphonies which were still in a tonal style, and in Italy Puccini was writing operas in a Romantic style, often called “verismo” (“like real life”).

paragraphs: In Russia, which became the Soviet Union after the 1917 Revolution, composers were not allowed to be experimental. It was difficult for them because they had to please the politicians who told them that their music should reflect “Socialist realism” (meaning the workers’ struggle against capitalism). The great tradition of writing symphonies continued with Sergei Prokofiev (who spent some time in exile) and Shostakovich (who remained in the Soviet Union).

paragraphs: The Hungarian composer Béla Bartók developed a modern style influenced by folk music from his country and other East European countries. His music is often quite neoclassical, for example the famous "Concerto for Orchestra".

paragraphs: In the mid-20th century a group of composers known as the “Darmstadt School” (because they often met in Darmstadt) continued to write music which was based on serialism. This included Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Many of them, including both Boulez and Stockhausen, also experimented with electronic music. The term Avant Garde is often used to describe their music. It means that it expands the limits, or pushes ahead into new ground (literally the “front guard”, a military analogy). Other American composers were experimental, e.g. Charles Ives and John Cage who is famous for using a “prepared piano” (a piano which makes strange sounds because strange objects are put inside it).

paragraphs: In America jazz was a big influence on classical composers. George Gershwin’s music is halfway between jazz and classical. Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein used jazz elements in their music. In Europe many composer used ideas from jazz, e.g. Maurice Ravel and Kurt Weill.

paragraphs: Around the 1960s some composers thought that a lot of music was getting too complicated. Music of the avant garde school such as Edgard Varèse, Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt was becoming too difficult for people to understand. People found it too mathematical and intellectual. They wanted music with feeling and emotion. A group of composers developed a style called Minimalism which uses music based around a simple idea which repeats itself again and again but gradually changes. Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, John Cage and to some extent John Adams all used minimalist techniques. It was a reaction against music that had become too complicated.

paragraphs: While all these different schools of thought were coming and going there were still some composers who managed to keep to a more traditional path and find new ways to use tonality in their music. The greatest figure in British music was Benjamin Britten who was an eclectic composer (i.e. he took ideas from many different people). Two other great composers were Michael Tippett and William Walton, who each developed their own style. In America there were composers such as Samuel Barber, Roy Harris and Alan Hovhaness. In Germany Paul Hindemith was one of the most important composers. Like Kurt Weill, he often wrote music which had a political purpose, but Weill's music is more jazz-inspired.

paragraphs: Some contemporary composers (alive today) write music which is deeply religious. These include John Tavener and Arvo Pärt. John Rutter and Bob Chilcott, who write music for choirs which sounds fresh and attractive to new audiences. Other composers have found various ways of creating their own style, e.g. the Scottish composers James MacMillan and Judith Weir and the Master of the Queen's Music: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. In Russia Sofia Gubaidulina and Galina Ustvolskaya are important voices in the search for new music.


title: Cuxhaven

paragraphs: Cuxhaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. About 55,000 people live there. It is on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven is the capital of the Cuxhaven district. It is a popular vacation spot on the North Sea.

paragraphs: In 1896, when the town was an exclave of Hamburg, the railway line from Bremerhaven Hauptbahnhof was built.


title: Haifa Wehbe

paragraphs: Haifa Wehbe (, born March 10, 1972) is a female Lebanese singer, actress, model, and jewelry designer who is known in the Arab world. Wehbe was born in a rural town in South Lebanon and currently lives in Beirut. She started her music career with her debut album "Huwa az-Zaman" (, "It is Time").

paragraphs: Before she became a singer, she was a model. She won title "Miss South Lebanon" when she was sixteen. In 1995, she was the runner-up for Miss Lebanon before the public found out she had a daughter named Zeinab.

paragraphs: Her second 2005 album was "Baddi 'Ayš" (, "I Want to Live"). Her second songs was "Ana Haifa" ("I am Haifa").

paragraphs: She also appeared in Pepsi ad with French footballer Thierry Henry.


title: Dynamics (music)

paragraphs: In music, the dynamics in the piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases.

paragraphs: In written music the dynamics are shown by letters which stand for Italian words for the dynamic levels. They are listed in the table below. Notice that “piano” is pronounced the Italian way (“pi-AH-no”), to tell it apart from the

paragraphs: Use more than two ps or fs to show that the music is very, very soft, or very, very loud. Tchaikovsky sometimes used five ps or fs, though only up to three are normally found in sheet music.

paragraphs: Dynamic levels are not something that can be measured exactly. Exactly how loud mp should be depends on several things: what is happening in the music, the instrument, the size of the room in which the music is being played etc. The important thing is that dynamic levels should be correct in relation to one another.

paragraphs: Some composers are very precise about writing the dynamics they want. Others leave a lot to the performer to decide. Historically, composers several centuries ago, such as Bach, only wrote occasional dynamic marks. Even Mozart only wrote a few, mostly p and f. By the 19th century composers were writing dynamics in much more detail in their music.

paragraphs: Sometimes accents are shown by marks similar to dynamic marks. "Sforzando" means a strong, sudden accent and is abbreviated as sf, sfz or fz. The notation sfzp (or sfp) means a "sforzando" followed immediately by "piano"

paragraphs: The terms "crescendo", and "diminuendo" (or sometimes "decrescendo"), mean a gradual getting louder or softer. They can also be shown by signs known as "hairpins". A hairpin opening out is a "crescendo", one which closes is a "diminuendo".

paragraphs: For a quick change in dynamics, molto cresc. and molto dim. are often used ("molto" means "a lot"). For slow changes poco a poco cresc. and poco a poco dim. are used ("poco a poco" means "little by little", i.e. very gradually.)


title: Francesco Botticini

paragraphs: Francesco di Giovanni Botticini (ca. 1446 – July 22, 1498) was an Italian painter. He lived in the early part of the Renaissance period. He was born in Florence about 1446 and is best known for his painting called "Assumption of the Virgin".

paragraphs: He died in 1497 or 1498. After he had been an assistant to the painter Neri di Bicci he started his own workshop. The shop was famous for its decorative works, a few of which can be seen in the cloistered church of Empoli. Botticini was influenced by Filippino Lippi and Botticelli who were two very famous Florentine painters.


title: Grana Padano cheese

paragraphs: Grana Padano is a kind of hard cheese. It is a kind of parmesan cheese. The name comes from the noun "grana" (‘grain’), which refers to the distinctively grainy texture of the cheese, and the adjective "Padano", which refers to the river Po.

paragraphs: Grana Padano was created by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle. They used ripened cheese as a way of preserving extra milk. By the year 1477, it was regarded as one of the most famous cheeses of Italy. Today, this product is made in the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto, and in the province of Trento.

paragraphs: Like Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano is a semi-fat hard cheese which is cooked and ripened slowly (for up to 18 months). It is produced by curdling the milk of grass-fed cows. The cows are milked twice a day, the milk is left to stand, and then partially creamed. It is produced all year round and the quality can vary seasonally as well as by year.

paragraphs: A wheel of Grana Padano is cylindrical, with slightly convex or almost straight sides and flat faces. It measures 35 to 45 cm in diameter, and 15 to 18 cm in height. It weighs 24 to 40 kg. The rind, which is thin, is white or straw yellow.

paragraphs: Grana Padano cheese has been produced since the 12th century, and production and quality are now overseen by the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano.


title: North American Free Trade Agreement

paragraphs: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trade agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The agreement was signed by U.S. President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and Mexican President Carlos Salinas on December 17, 1992 in San Antonio, Texas, and took effect on January 1, 1994. It removed taxes on products traded between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It also protects copyrights, patents, and trademarks between those three countries. It was updated with the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, which helped set more environment regulations and helped reduce pollution. It was also updated with the North American Agreement for Labor Cooperation, which helped people fight for better work conditions.

paragraphs: On September 30, 2018, it was announced that the United States, Mexico, and Canada had come to an agreement to replace NAFTA with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

paragraphs: Since it took away taxes between products traded between the US, Canada, and Mexico. Mexico has been buying more products from the US. It saved U.S. companies on the cost of selling products to Mexico, and it saved Mexican companies on the cost of buying things from U.S. companies.

paragraphs: A benefit of the bill is that labels on products exchanged between the three countries come in French, English, and Spanish. That way, Mexicans and Americans who speak Spanish can read the Spanish label, Americans and Canadians can read the English label, and Canadians who speak French can read the French label.

paragraphs: NAFTA also encourages more immigration from Mexico to the US. Since small businesses can no longer be protected by tariffs, many small business owners in Mexico cannot compete with the prices of subsidized products from the US and therefore many of them have gone under, or they lost more money than they could make. As a result, many Mexicans have gone to the US looking for work. The human rights organization EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de la Liberación Nacional), a revolutionary Mexican grass roots movement, is a strong opponent of NAFTA and points out how its provisions only make the economic situation worse for the poorest in Mexico and better for multi-national corporations.

paragraphs: With the increased ease by which Mexico can import food products from the United States, the role of Mexican farmers is overwhelmed by the output of American farming. This is a notable con of NAFTA. According to Thomas Net Industry Market Trends, over 1 million Mexican farmers have lost their jobs as a result of the agreement.

paragraphs: The American economy lost about 683,000 jobs thanks to NAFTA -- more than 60% of which were in the manufacturing sector. Almost 35,000 Ohioans found themselves unemployed, or without jobs, thanks to a free trade agreement that’s been a disaster for our nation’s industrial base. - Sharrod Brown

paragraphs: It was possible that NAFTA would encourage Mexican citizens to stay in their country since their manufacturing work could still reach the American market easily. But since the creation of NAFTA, illegal immigration between Mexico and the United States has only gotten worse. Over the 10-year period between 1990 and 2000, the number of illegal immigrants per year doubled, or increased two times, despite the creation of NAFTA in 1994, according to Thomas Net Industry Market Trends. NAFTA not being more effective in preventing the immigration crisis is a disadvantage to the agreement.


title: Language revival

paragraphs: Language revival is when people try to make a language that is not spoken, or is spoken very little, spoken more often again. Language death is what happens when a language is not used by the people who spoke it before. Language revival wants to save a language that is dead or endangered. The Hebrew language was once a language that was not used, but because the language was revived, people now speak and use it again. Many people today are now trying to revive their languages.


title: John Travolta

paragraphs: John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor, dancer and singer.

paragraphs: The youngest of six children, he was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995), was a semi-professional American football player of Italian descent. His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke, January 1912 – December 1978), was an Irish-American actress and singer. He was raised Roman Catholic, but changed to Scientology in 1975.

paragraphs: Travolta was engaged with Diana Hyland who died of breast cancer in 1977, they met while filming "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble". He married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (1992–2009). Their daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000. On May 18, 2010, Travolta and Preston said she was pregnant with the couple's third child. Later they said it would be a boy. Their son, Benjamin, was born on November 23, 2010 in Florida.

paragraphs: He starred in the movies "Grease" with Olivia Newton-John, "Pulp Fiction" with Samuel L. Jackson and "Hairspray".

paragraphs: His wife, Preston died of breast cancer in July 2020.


Ukrainian


title: Objectivity (science)

paragraphs: Objectivity in science means that scientific measurement can be tested independent from the individual scientist (the subject) who proposes them.

paragraphs: To be properly considered objective, the results of measurement must be communicated from person-to-person, and then "demonstrated" for third parties, as an advance in understanding of the objective world. Such demonstrable knowledge would ordinarily confer demonstrable powers of prediction or technological construction.

paragraphs: To avoid the variety in subjective (equivocal) interpretation of quantifying terms such as "green", "hot", "large", "considerable", and "negligible", scientists strive, where possible, to eliminate human senses by use of standartized measuring tools (meter stick, stopwatch, thermometer, etc.) and mechanical/electronic measuring instruments (spectrometer, voltmeter, timer, oscilloscope, gravimeter, etc.) for performing the actual measuring process, eliminating much of the perceptive variability of individual observers. The results of measurements are expressed on a numerical scale of standard units - so that everybody else understands them the same way. Where data must need be used, the ideal is to use "hard", "objective" criteria for assigning the classifications (see definition), such that different classifiers would produce the same assignments.


title: Roundhay Garden Scene

paragraphs: Roundhay Garden Scene is a short movie made on October 14, 1888 in the garden of "Oakwood Grange", Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was made by a French man named Louis Le Prince. It was silent. The movie had Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Whitley, Joseph Whitley, and Harriet Hartley walking in the garden of Oakwood Grange. It is believed to be the oldest surviving movie by many people. It is 1.66 seconds long. The digitalized version lasts 2.11 seconds.


title: Herpetology

paragraphs: Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with reptiles and amphibians. It is about cold-blooded animals like salamanders, frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, turtles, tuataras and crocodilians.

paragraphs: "Herp" is a vernacular term for reptiles and amphibians. It is derived from the old term "herpetile". Linnaeus grouped reptiles and amphibians together in the same class, and that is where the term comes from. The term has persisted, particularly in the names of herpetology, the scientific study of reptiles and amphibians, and herpetoculture, the captive care and breeding of reptiles and amphibians. There are over 6700 species of amphibians and over 9000 species of reptiles.

paragraphs: Batrachology is the study of amphibians. Batrachology can also mean that a person enjoys amphibians and are among their favorite pets.


title: Alpha Kappa Alpha

paragraphs: Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first sorority founded by African-American women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University. The sorority has more than 300,000 women in over one thousand chapters. They are in the United States, the Caribbean, Germany, Korea and Japan.


Objectivity


title: Fraud

paragraphs: Fraud (or defrauding or scamming) is a crime in which someone tricks somebody else to get unfair or unlawful gain. Frauds are almost always about money, either directly or indirectly.

paragraphs: A "fraudster" or a "fraud" is the person who commits the fraud. 'Fraudulence " is the adjective, as in "He tried to pass a fraudulent cheque". To "defraud" someone is to commit a fraud against them.

paragraphs: Fraud is a criminal wrong: a fraudster may be prosecuted and imprisoned. It is also a civil wrong: a fraud victim may sue the fraudster to get compensation.

paragraphs: All societies have laws against fraud, but the details differ in each jusisdiction. In England an Act of Parliament defines three kinds of fraud.

paragraphs: Lesser cases are heard in a Magistrates' Court; more serious offences are tried in the High Court (jury proceedings).


title: Pump

paragraphs: A pump is a machine which moves a liquid from one place to another, often upwards.

paragraphs: Pumps need some kind of power, often kinetic energy, to make them work. Sometimes the power comes from a person. Sometimes the power comes from a motor.

paragraphs: There are many different kinds of pumps. Some types of pumps are:


title: Ioan P. Culianu

paragraphs: Ioan Petru Culianu (January 5, 1950–May 21, 1991) was a Romanian historian of religion, culture, ideas, philosopher, political essayist, poet, mystic and short story writer.

paragraphs: He was 41 when he was shot in the head in the men's room in his University, Divine School where he was teaching on May 21 1991. At times he preached against communism and its system of brainwashing youth. It is alleged that he was killed on the orders of outgoing Romanian Communist Party leaders.


title: Single (music)

paragraphs: In popular music marketing, a single is a record release with only one or two songs. The first song (usually the one given the most promotion, and heard more often in the media) is called an A-side, while any other song on the single is called a B-side.

paragraphs: The pairing of recordings on a single comes from the days of and vinyl records, when discs had two playable sides. Modern compact disc singles may contain more than one version of either the A- or B-side, or sometimes an additional recording by the same performer. B-sides may be selections from an album, or songs not otherwise issued for sale.

paragraphs: Many times the chance to get a new song issued as an A-side creates competition between members of bands, or teams of songwriters. John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles tried to write better songs than each other, to get more A-sides than the other. George Harrison, also a Beatle, rarely had his songs chosen for singles, but had a hit with "Something" for the band.

paragraphs: In the days of vinyl singles, for both A- and B-sides were paid equally. Many listeners never played B-sides more than once, and radio focused on A-sides. Many people who made recordings knew this, and used it to earn extra money from sales, or to promote other music they made. Phil Spector sometimes used short by his studio band as B-sides to singles he produced.

paragraphs: Michael Nesmith of the Monkees wanted his songs to appear on Monkees singles. He would settle for B-sides, if he could not get an A-side. Don Kirshner, who oversaw the band's early music, wanted the B-sides to come from other songwriters who worked for him. Nesmith and Kirshner disagreed, and it caused tension for the Monkees and their company.

paragraphs: Records that include more than two or three songs are usually called EPs (for "extended play"), and may include four or more distinct songs, but not as many as on an album.


title: Captain America

paragraphs: Captain America is a fictional superhero from the Marvel Comics and the deuteragonist in the Marvel Universe. He made his first appearance in the comic book "Captain America Comics #1" in 1941"." He wears a suit that has a white star on his chest with 2 stripes (still white) on each side next to the star. His suit is blue. He also has an indestructible shield with a bullseye and a star on the front of it. He is also known as his alter ego Steve Rogers. Captain America had a sidekick (friend), Bucky who later became the Winter Soldier, is a very good fighter, both hand-to-hand and using his guns to take care of his enemies easily. Captain America has an nemesis called Red Skull. He later fights with a team called the Avengers to protect the world.

paragraphs: He appeared in Marvel's "The Avengers" movie series (2012 - present), and "" (2011), "" (2014) and "" (2016), Avengers: Endgame(2019) played by Chris Evans.

paragraphs: Captain America has superhuman strength, superhuman stamina, and can live without eating, sleeping and resting.


title: Objectivity (journalism)

paragraphs: Objectivity is a significant principle of journalistic professionalism. It involves presenting information that can be relied upon.

paragraphs: Objectivity may have several meanings in the eye of the public. "Fairness" involves making sure that multiple sides of an issue are presented. "Disinterestedness" means that the presenters are neutral in a story in which the people involved try to influence them. "Factuality" bases story content on facts that can be checked by an independent agent. "Nonpartisanship" means not taking sides, especially on political matters. Depending on the topic of a story, any or all of these factors may be relevant in the journalist's remaining objective.

paragraphs: The editorial board of media outlets such as the press or broadcast news chooses what information to present, so the editors' selection may be biased toward one position or belief system.

paragraphs: In many countries, "advocacy journalism," which supports a particular position, is considered as a legitimate sort of professional journalism. These stories may be either news or analysis. They may or may not be objective.

paragraphs: Few journalists would make a claim to total neutrality or impartiality. However, most try to keep distance from their own personal biases in their news work. In "Discovering the News" (1978), sociologist Michael Schudson argues that "the belief in objectivity is a faith in 'facts,' a distrust in 'values,' and a commitment to their segregation." In the United States, an objective story is typically considered to be one that steers a middle path between two poles of political rhetoric.

paragraphs: Journalism without any bias, as if one just came to Earth from another planet and had no opinions about our behavior or ways is rarely practiced, although some argue it would lead to radical changes in reporting. (See, for example, Noam Chomsky, The Journalist from Mars.)


title: Genesis Nomad

paragraphs: The Genesis Nomad is a portable video game console released by the Sega Corporation. It has a colour screen and can play most games designed for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

paragraphs: It cannot be used with the Sega CD and Sega 32X unless special modifications are made. But such special modifications may not be safe.

paragraphs: Fewer than one million Genesis Nomads were sold.


title: Erlasee Solar Park

paragraphs: The Erlasee Solar Park is in one of the sunniest regions of Germany. On the former wine-producing Erlasee estate near Arnstein in Bavaria, in southern Germany, SOLON has constructed what is currently the largest tracking photovoltaic solar power station in the world with an output of 12 MW. Just under 1,500 "SOLON-Movers" modules convert sunlight into environmentally friendly power, generating as much as the average consumption of the nearby town of Arnstein.

paragraphs: The solar power plant cost £35 million and covers 77 hectares of land.


title: Khula

paragraphs: Khula is the right of a woman to ask her husband for a divorce and to offer him a compensation in case he does so. Following the Sharia the husband has no right to ask for a compensation of a higher value than that what he gave his wife when they married.

paragraphs: After divorce the former husband is responsible for education, food and residence of children. The children live with the mother for 7 years. After 7 years children have the right to live with father or mother, as they decide.


title: Hashemi Rafsanjani

paragraphs: Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (Persian: اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی "Akbar Hāshemī Rafanjānī"), Hashemi Bahramani (هاشمی بهرمانی) (August 25, 1934 – January 8, 2017) was an influential Iranian politician. He has been the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran from 1989 until his death in 2017.

paragraphs: Forbes magazine listed Rafsanjani in their list of richest people in the world and has written that as the real power behind the Iranian government, he "has more or less run the Islamic Republic for the past 24 years." His wealth has earned him the infamous nickname of "Akbar Shah" in Iran.

paragraphs: He served as President of Iran from 1989 to 1997, losing on the second ballot to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2005 election on his attempt for a third term in office. After this, he has tried to use his position in the Expediency Council to denounce President Ahmadinejad's administration. He said he would do some privatizations and change foreign policy. However, President Ahmadinejad has noted Rafsanjani's failure to make a difference between privatization and self takeover of government-owned companies. Ahmadinejad has also commmented on the foreign policies of Rafsanjani's administration which lead to sanctions against Iran in 1995 and 1996.

paragraphs: Currently, one of his sons has been accused of receiving a bribe. Analysts expect that his son will not be put on trial, however.

paragraphs: Rafsanjani died on January 8, 2017 in Tehran from a heart attack, aged 82.


title: Evander Holyfield

paragraphs: Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American boxer. He held both the world heavyweight championship and the world cruiserweight championship. He also won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

paragraphs: Holyfield was born in Atmore, Alabama. He became a professional boxer in 1984 and won the cruiserweight championship from Dwight Muhammad Qawi in 1986. He moved to the heavyweight division in 1988 and won the world championship from James "Buster" Douglas in 1990. He defended the title three times, including fights against former champions Larry Holmes and George Foreman. He lost the title to Riddick Bowe in 1992 but won it back the next year. In 1994 he lost to Michael Moorer and briefly retired. He soon fought again, however, and surprised many by knocking out Mike Tyson in 1996. He had a draw against Lennox Lewis in 1998 and then lost a rematch to him in 1999.

paragraphs: In 2005, Holyfield was a contestant on season 1 of "Dancing with the Stars". He was a housemate in the January 2014 series of Celebrity Big Brother (UK).


title: Porthmadog F.C.

paragraphs: Porthmadog Football Club is a football team, playing in the League of Wales. The club was started in 1884.


title: Sharia

paragraphs: Sharia, Sharia law or Islamic law is a set of religious principles which form part of the Islamic culture. The Arabic word "sharīʿah" () refers to the revealed law of God and originally meant "way" or "path".

paragraphs: Classical sharia deals with many aspects of public and private life, including religious rituals, family life, business, crimes, and warfare. In former times, sharia was interpreted by independent jurists, who based their legal opinions on Qur'an, Hadith and centuries of debate, interpretation and precedent. Some parts of sharia can be described as "law" in the usual sense of that word, while other parts are better understood as rules for living life in accordance with God's will.

paragraphs: Modern countries in the Muslim world all have their own laws. In most of them only a small part of the legal system is based on classical sharia. Muslims disagree on how sharia should be applied in the modern world.

paragraphs: People of different religions who speak Arabic use the word "sharīʿah" to describe a religious tradition that comes from teachings of prophets. Christians and Jews in the Middle East have used it to describe their own religion. For many Muslims the word "sharia" means simply "justice". They will say that any law agrees with sharia as long as it helps to build a more fair and prosperous society.

paragraphs: Most Muslims think that sharia should be interpreted by experts in Islamic law. In Arabic, the word "sharīʿah" refers to God's revelation, which does not change. In contrast, the rules of behavior created by scholars as they try to understand God's revelation are called "fiqh". These rules can change and Islamic scholars have often disagreed about them.

paragraphs: Scholars disagree about the origins of the word "sharia". Some say that "sharia" comes from the old Arabic word meaning "pathway to be followed". This would make it similar to "halakha" (the way to go), the Hebrew word for Jewish law. Other scholars think that the word "sharia" originally meant "path to the water hole". They say that knowing the way to a water hole could save a man's life in the dry deserts where many Arabs lived in ancient times, and that is why this word came to refer to God's guidance to man.

paragraphs: Islamic scholars who lived during the first centuries of Islam developed different methods for interpreting sharia. Most of them came to agree that sharia rules should be derived from the following main sources:

paragraphs: The process of deriving sharia rules from the Qur'an and hadith is called "ijtihad". Sharia rules classify actions into one of the following categories:

paragraphs: Sharia in Islam is viewed as the revealed law of God, which cannot be altered. On the other hand, its interpretation, called "fiqh", is the work of legal scholars, who have frequently differed in their legal opinions. Some parts of sharia are similar to what people in the West call "law", while other parts are better understood as rules for living life in accordance with God's will.

paragraphs: There are several schools of legal thought in Islam, of which the most important are the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools of Sunni Islam and the Ja'fari school of Shia Islam.

paragraphs: The divisions of sharia are called "branches" ("furu") in Arabic. The main branches are "ibadat" (rituals or acts of worship) and "mu'amalat" (human interactions or social relations). These branches are divided into many smaller branches, some of which are listed bellow:

paragraphs: There are two festivals that are considered Sunnah.

paragraphs: There are some special rituals used during these festivals:

paragraphs: Islamic law lists only some specific foods and drinks that are not allowed.

paragraphs: While Islamic law prohibits already-dead meat, this does not apply to fish and locusts. Also, hadith literature prohibits beasts having sharp canine teeth, birds having claws and talons in their feet, tamed donkeys, and any piece cut from a living animal.

paragraphs: There are some specific rules regarding the killing of animals in Islam.

paragraphs: Sharia recognises three categories of crime:

paragraphs: Although there is some disagreement about which crimes are "hudud" crimes, they usually include theft, highway robbery, zina (sex with forbidden partners), falsely accusing someone of "zina", and drinking alcohol. The prescribed punishments for these crimes range from 80 lashes to death. However, classical jurists developed very strict rules which restrict when these punishments could be applied, so that in many cases it became almost impossible to convict anyone under these rules. For example, there must be four adult male Muslim witnesses to a hudud crime or a confession repeated four times, before someone can be punished. If a criminal could not be convicted of a "hudud" crime, they could still receive a "tazir" punishment.

paragraphs: Murder, bodily injury and property damage - intentional or unintentional - is considered a civil dispute under sharia law. The victim, victim's heir(s) or guardian is given the option to either forgive the offender, demand Qisas (equal retaliation) or accept a compensation (Diyya). Under sharia law, the Diyya compensation received by the victim or victim's family is in cash.

paragraphs: Apostasy is punished by death unless the apostate agreed to return to Islam.

paragraphs: During the Islamic Golden Age, sharia was interpreted by experts in Islamic law ("muftis"), most of whom were independent religious scholars. Anyone could ask them a question about law, and they were expected to give an answer for free. Their legal opinions were called "fatwas".

paragraphs: When there was a legal dispute about family or financial matters, it would be handled in a court headed by a "qadi" (judge). These judges also had a legal education, and they were appointed to their post by the ruler. In simple cases, qadis would pronounce a verdict based on their own knowledge of sharia. In more difficult cases, they would express the details of the case in general terms and ask a mufti for his legal opinion.

paragraphs: Criminal cases were usually handled in "maẓālim" courts. These courts were controlled by the ruler's council. "Mazalim" courts were supposed to follow "the spirit of sharia". Qadis and muftis were present in those courts to make sure the verdicts did not go against it. However, these courts did not necessarily follow the letter of the law, and they had fewer legal restrictions than qadi's courts. "Mazalim" courts also handled complaints against government officials. Their purpose of "mazalim" courts was to "right wrongs" which could not be addressed through procedures of qadi's courts. Less serious crimes were often handled by local police and market inspectors according to local customs, which were only loosely related to sharia.

paragraphs: Non-Muslim communities living under Islamic rule were allowed to follow their own laws. The government kept out of their internal legal affairs, except when there was a dispute between people of different religions. Such cases were handled by a qadi. When that happened, sharia rules gave Muslims some legal advantages over non-Muslims. However, non-Muslims often won cases against Muslims and even against high government officials, because people thought that sharia was a reflection of divine justice which should defend the weak against the powerful.

paragraphs: In the modern era, most parts of the Muslim world came under influence or control of European powers. This led to major changes in the legal systems of these lands. In some cases, this was because Muslim governments wanted to make their states more powerful and they took European states as models of what a modern state should look like. In other cases, it was because Europeans who colonized these lands forced them to abandon parts of Islamic law and follow European laws instead.

paragraphs: In modern times, criminal laws in the Muslim world were widely replaced by codes which were inspired by European laws. Court procedures and legal education were also made similar to European practice. The constitutions of most Muslim-majority states mention sharia in one way or another. However, the classical rules of sharia were preserved mostly in family laws. In earlier times, sharia was interpreted by independent scholars who often disagreed with each other, and all their opinions were never written down in one place. In the modern era, it was the government who controlled the laws. Different states created their own legal codes, where the laws were clearly stated. The governments wanted to make family laws fit better in the modern world, but they still wanted people to view them as laws based on sharia. In order to do this, the scholars who wrote down these laws decided to pick and choose rules from the different legal opinions available in the classical books of law. When some of the laws they picked disagreed with the current norms of society, the government tried to solve this problem by creating additional court procedures. For example, when family laws in some states seemed to treat women unfairly to the population, the government created procedures that made it more difficult for men to take advantage of these laws in an unfair manner.

paragraphs: In the last quarter of the 20th century, many Muslims around the world became disappointed in their governments. These governments had adopted Western ways in their legal systems and other matters, but many people regarded their actions as oppressive, corrupt, and ineffective. More and more Muslims started to think that things would improve if their government returned to Islamic traditions. They began calling for return of sharia, and conservative members of the public wanted the government to deal with crime using all the traditional methods, including "hudud" punishments. In a few countries, the government put some elements of classical criminal law into the legal code. However, in some of these countries (for example, Iran and Sudan) the supreme court has rarely approved the harsher "hudud" punishments, while in the other countries which adopted "hudud" laws (for example, Pakistan and Nigeria), the supreme court never approves them.

paragraphs: In some countries, progressive Muslim reformers have been able to change how the state interprets sharia family laws to make them more fair to women.

paragraphs: Saudi Arabia is an exceptional case in the legal history of the Muslim world. It has always continued to use sharia in different areas of law, and it never codified its laws. Its judges have always tried to follow traditional sharia rules for dealing with crimes, and they often impose harsh punishments that inspire international protests. However, these punishments are not necessarily prescribed by sharia. Judges in Saudi Arabia follow the classical principle which says that "hudud" punishments should be avoided if at all possible, and the punishments which they apply are usually "tazir" punishments which are left to their own choice. Saudi Arabia is often criticized for its public executions, and their frequency has increased in recent decades. Executions became more frequent because the government and courts decided to crack down on violent crime which became more frequent during the 1970s, as also happened in the U.S. and China.


title: Wadowice

paragraphs: Wadowice () is a town in Poland in Lesser Poland Voivodeship in the mountainous range known as Zakopane region, southeast of Krakow - (former Polish capital).

paragraphs: Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) was born there on May 18 1920. He also attended elementary and high school there, graduating with honors in 1938.

paragraphs: The town is twinned with 4 others, all in Italy.