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Pyramid of Djoser

The pyramid of Djoser (or Djeser and Zoser), sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. It is the first pyramid to be built. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.

The pyramid went through several revisions and redevelopments of the original plan. The pyramid originally stood 62.5 m tall, with a base of 109 x and was clad in polished white limestone. The step pyramid (or proto-pyramid) was considered to be the earliest large-scale cut stone construction made by man as of 1997, although the nearby enclosure wall "Gisr el-Mudir" is suggested by some Egyptologists to predate the complex, and the South American pyramids at Caral are contemporary.

In March 2020, the pyramid was reopened for visitors after a 14-year restoration.

Djoser
Djoser was the first or second king of the 3rd Dynasty (c. 2670–2650 BC) of the Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2686). He is believed to have ruled for 19 years or, if the 19 years were biennial taxation years, 38 years. He reigned long enough to allow the grandiose plan for his pyramid to be realized in his lifetime.

Djoser is best known for his innovative tomb, which dominates the Saqqara landscape. In this tomb he is referred to by his Horus name Netjerikhet; Djoser is a name given by New Kingdom visitors more than a thousand years later. Djoser's step pyramid is astounding in its departure from previous architecture. It sets several important precedents, perhaps the most important of which is its status as the first monumental structure made of stone.

The social implications of such a large and carefully sculpted stone structure are staggering. The process of building such a structure would be far more labor-intensive than previous monuments of mud-brick. This suggests that the state, and therefore the royal government, had a new level of control of resources, both material and human. Also, from this point on, kings of the Old Kingdom are buried in the North, rather than at Abydos.

Although the plan of Djoser's pyramid complex is different from later complexes, many elements persist and the step pyramid sets the stage for later pyramids of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Dynasties, including the great pyramids of Giza. Though the Dynastic Egyptians themselves did not credit him as such, most Egyptologists credit Djoser's vizier Imhotep with the design and construction of the complex. This is based on the presence of his statue in the funerary complex of Djoser, his title of "overseer of sculptors and painters", and a comment made by the 3rd century BC historian Manetho claiming Imhotep was the "inventor of building in stone".

Precedents
Djoser's Pyramid draws ideas from several precedents. The most relevant precedent is found at Saqqara mastaba 3038 (c. 2900 BC). The substructure lay in a 4 m deep rectangular pit, and had mudbrick walls rising to 6 m. Three sides were extended and built out to create eight shallow steps rising at an angle of 49°. This would have been an elongated step pyramid if the remaining side had not been left uncovered. In another parallel to Djoser's complex, to complete this mastaba complex a niched enclosure wall was erected.

Layout
Djoser's mortuary complex comprises the great trench, enclosure wall, colonnaded entrance, "T" temple, Sed festival complex, north and south pavilions, south tomb and court, western mounds, mortuary temple, and the crowning feature of it all, the step pyramid with its substructure. The complex was a landmark achievement for Egyptian architecture. It was the advent of the pyramidal form of the royal tomb and the first instance of the mass use of limestone in construction, replacing mudbrick which had been the staple building material prior. This shift to limestone – a hard, dense material compared to mudbrick – presented novel challenges to the architects, though they kept to earlier tradition, copying architectonic elements and carving them into the stone. For example, the Egyptians hand-carved 1,680 9 m-tall niches out of the limestone enclosure wall. In earlier projects, this element was built with wooden planks, ropes, and poles hung with reed mats. In a modern context, the same element would be built by laying out the blocks to form the recesses.

Step pyramid
The crowning feature of the complex is the Step Pyramid which rises from the Saqqara plateau in six steps to a height between 60 m and 62.5 m. This element was revised repeatedly in construction, going through a series of developmental phases that culminated in its step pyramidal form. These phases are traditionally labelled, following Jean-Philippe Lauer's excavations: M1, M2, M3, P1, P1', and P2.

In the early stages (M1 to M3) the structure had the form of a mastaba before alterations (P1 to P2) were made to create its step pyramidal form. In the first stage (M1), the mastaba had a square plan 63 m in length that rose to a height of 8.4 m. This was built from a core of limestone blocks arranged in horizontal beds and bound with yellow or red clay. A 2.6 m thick casing of fine white Tura limestone was applied to the core arranged in the same horizontal manner. The outer blocks were inclined to ~82° and the top of the mastaba likely had a slightly convex shape. A second casing of fine white limestone was applied to this which increased the mastaba's base length to 71.5 m square (M2). The casing was 4.2 m thick at the base and 3.4 m thick at the peak, which was 0.65 m lower than the initial mastaba height. The outer blocks of this second coat also had a steeper incline at ~76°. The mastaba was then extended 8.4 m east to cover a series of eleven shafts 33 m deep that ended in passages that led west to the burial chambers of members of Djoser's family. This extension was built from locally sourced limestone rubble and cased by 1.5 m thick limestone coating that formed an extension of M2. The mastaba had a new, rectangular ground plan 71.5 m by 79.5 m. At this stage the mastaba still peaked at 8.4 m in height, too short to be seen from outside the 10.5 m high enclosure wall.

Egyptologists are split on the motivations behind the conception of the pyramidal form that the mastaba was converted into. Lauer believed that the alteration was made to have the tomb visible from Memphis. The fact of the mastaba's square plan led Rainer Stadelmann, however, to suggest that it was never the intended final form and that it was planned to be a pyramid from the outset. The conversion (P1) encased the mastaba (M3) extending its length by 5.76 m on each axis giving it a base length of 85.5 m by 77 m. The alteration from mastaba to pyramid came with a shift in construction. The builders used larger and better quality, roughly dressed limestone blocks – but instead of horizontal beds, they built successive inclined accretion layers 2-3 m thick. These leaned on each other from opposite ends providing greater stability preventing a collapse. The whole was then cased in fine white limestone with a layer of packing in between. This phase of the pyramid had four steps that rose to a height of 42 m. The decision was then made to expand the pyramid north and west from four to six steps (P1') which was then finished with a final layer of limestone casing (P2) that gave the pyramid its final form. On completion the step pyramid had a base length of 109 m by 121 m that rose to a height of 60-62.5 m and occupied a volume of 330,400 m3.

Much of the rock for the pyramid was likely quarried from the construction of the great trench. It is widely accepted that ramps would have been used to raise heavy stone to construct the pyramid, and many plausible models have been suggested. For transport, apparatuses like rollers were used in which the heavy stone could be placed and then rolled.

Pyramid substructure
Under the step pyramid is a labyrinth of tunneled chambers and galleries that total nearly 6 km in length and connect to a central shaft 7 m square and 28 m deep. These spaces provide room for the king's burial, the burial of family members, and the storage of goods and offerings. The entrance to the 28 m shaft was built on the north side of the pyramid, a trend that would remain throughout the Old Kingdom. The sides of the underground passages are limestone inlaid with blue faience tile to replicate reed matting. These "palace façade" walls are further decorated by panels decorated in low relief that show the king participating in the Heb-sed. Together these chambers constitute the funerary apartment that mimicked the palace and would serve as the living place of the royal ka. On the east side of the pyramid, eleven shafts 32 m deep were constructed and annexed to horizontal tunnels for royal family members. These were incorporated into the pre-existing substructure as it expanded eastward. In the storerooms along here over 40,000 stone vessels were found, many of which predate Djoser. These would have served Djoser's visceral needs in the afterlife. An extensive network of underground galleries was located to the north, west and south of the central burial chamber and crude horizontal magazines were carved into these.

Burial chamber
The burial chamber was a vault constructed of four courses of well-dressed granite. It had one opening, which was sealed with a 3.5 ton block after the burial. No body was recovered as the tomb had been extensively robbed. Lauer believes that a burial chamber of alabaster existed before the one of granite. He found interesting evidence of limestone blocks with five pointed stars in low relief that were likely on the ceiling, indicating the first occurrence of what would become a tradition. The king sought to associate himself with the eternal North Stars that never set so as to ensure his rebirth and eternity.

Pyramid complex
Djoser's Step Pyramid complex included several structures pivotal to its function in both life and the afterlife. A pyramid was not simply a grave in ancient Egypt. Its purpose was to facilitate a successful afterlife for the king so that he could be eternally reborn. The symbolism of the step pyramid form, which did not survive beyond the 3rd Dynasty, is unknown, but it has been suggested that it may be a monumental symbol of the crown, especially the royal mortuary cult, since seven small step pyramids (that were not tombs) were built in the provinces. Another well accepted theory is that it facilitated the king's ascension to join the eternal North Star.

The main modern excavator of the Step Pyramid was Jean-Philippe Lauer, a French architect who reconstructed key portions of the complex. The complex covers 15 ha and is about 2.5 times as large as the Old Kingdom town of Hierakonpolis. Several features of the complex differ from those of later Old Kingdom pyramids. The pyramid temple is situated at the north side of the pyramid, whereas in later pyramids it is on the east side. Also, the Djoser complex is built on a north–south axis, whereas later complexes utilize an east–west axis. Furthermore, the Djoser complex has one niched enclosure wall, whereas later pyramids have two enclosure walls with the outside one being smooth and the inside one sometimes niched.

Great trench
Before the enclosure wall, Djoser's pyramid complex is surrounded by a trench dug into the underlying rock. At 750 m long and 40 m wide, the trench is the largest structure of this kind in the Memphis necropolis. It is rectangular in shape, oriented on the north–south axis. The trench resembles a 𓉔 (hieroglyph h) which represents the floorplan of a house. It is decorated with niches which are suggested by Nabil Swelim to have hosted the spirits of members of the king's court, there to serve the king in his afterlife. In parts, the trench doubles into two with distinct entries. These make accessing the enclosure wall more difficult, indicating its function as a safe-guard. Miroslav Verner suspects that a single entrance was built at the south-east corner granting access to the area.

Enclosure wall
The complex is enclosed by a wall 10.5 m high that stretched for over 1.6 km. This wall was built from a thick core of masonry that was encased with Tura limestone, wholly on the outside but partially on the inside. The external façade of the wall had a bastion at a regular interval of 4.1 m adorned with 1,680 hand-carved niches 9 m tall. Fourteen of these bastions were larger than the rest. These hosted false double-doors, while a fifteenth situated in the south-east corner of the east façade held the real entrance. The entrance was flanked by two towers leading to a passage past which lay the colonnaded entrance.

The enclosure wall design recalls the appearance of First Dynasty tombs, such as those found directly north of the complex and at Abydos. Alan Spencer compares the design to the panelled construction of the palace façade, which imitates bound bundles of reeds. Jean-Philippe Lauer suggests that the wall was modelled after the "White Walls" of Memphis, though Verner notes that the presence of so many doors renders this unlikely. Hermann Kees thought the fifteen doors were related to the sed festival and indicated its duration as being half a lunar month. The remaining doors are known as false doors, and were meant for the king's use in the afterlife. They functioned as portals through which the king's ka could pass between life and the afterlife.

Entrance colonnade
The entrance colonnade led from the enclosure wall to the south court of the complex. It comprises two distinct passageways oriented approximately east–west. The first is a narrow 1.05 m wide by 6 m long corridor cut into the enclosure walls bastion. The ceiling blocks here were carved into the shape of tree trunks. This is followed by a wider corridor flanked by 40 limestone columns, arranged in pairs, that fronted projecting walls, which formed alcoves. The columns were each nearly 6 m tall and were fashioned to resemble bundled reeds that had between seventeen and nineteen ribs. They supported a limestone ceiling whose blocks carved again into the form of palm tree trunks. There are 24 alcoves which are suggested to have held statues of the king or perhaps, because of their number, a double statue of the king and a nome deity. Such statues are present in the monuments of the Fourth Dynasty, but no trace of them has been uncovered at Djoser's complex. The end walls of the alcoves had slits cut into them near the ceiling thus allow light to filter in. Near the beginning of the colonnade, at its eastern end, is a corridor which leads to the heb-sed court. Between the twelfth and thirteenth alcove is a "transverse vestibule" with a passage flanked by eight 5 m tall columns and cross-walls leading to a sanctuary. Lauer believes this chamber contained a statue of Djoser on a pedestal that bore his name and Imhotep's titles. The torso and base of this statue were found in the entrance colonnade. The west wall of the entrance colonnade has the form of an open door which leads into the south court.

South court
The south court is a large court between the south tomb and the pyramid. Within the court are curved stones thought to be territorial markers associated with the Heb-sed festival, an important ritual completed by Egyptian kings (typically after 30 years on the throne) to renew their powers. These would have allowed Djoser to claim control over all of Egypt, while its presence in the funerary complex would allow Djoser to continue to benefit from the ritual in the afterlife. At the southern end of the court was a platform approached by steps. It has been suggested that this was a platform for the double throne. This fits into the theory proposed by Barry Kemp, and generally accepted by many, that suggests the whole step pyramid complex symbolizes the royal palace enclosure and allows the king to eternally perform the rituals associated with kingship. At the very south of the South Court lay the South Tomb.

South tomb

The south tomb has been likened to the satellite pyramids of later dynasties, and has been proposed to house the ka in the afterlife. Another proposal is that it may have held the canopic jar with the king's organs, but this does not follow later trends where the canopic jar is found in the same place as the body. These proposals stem from the fact that the granite burial vault is much too small to have facilitated an actual burial.

The substructure of the south tomb is entered through a tunnel-like corridor with a staircase that descends about 30 m before opening up into the pink granite burial chamber. The staircase then continues east and leads to a gallery that imitates the blue chambers below the step pyramid.

Current evidence suggests that the south tomb was finished before the pyramid. The symbolic king's inner palace, decorated in blue faience, is much more complete than that of the pyramid. Three chambers of this substructure are decorated in blue faience to imitate reed-mat facades, just like the pyramid. One room is decorated with three finely niche reliefs of the king, one depicting him running the Heb-sed. Importantly, Egyptian builders chose to employ their most skilled artisans and depict their finest art in the darkest, most inaccessible place in the complex. This highlights the fact that this impressive craftsmanship was not meant for the benefit of the living but was meant to ensure the king had all the tools necessary for a successful afterlife.

North temple and serdab court
The northern (funerary/mortuary) temple was on the north side of the pyramid and faced the north stars, which the king wished to join in eternity. This structure provided a place in which the daily rituals and offerings to the dead could be performed, and was the cult center for the king. To the east of the temple is the serdab, which is a small enclosed structure that housed the ka statue. The king's ka inhabited the ka statue, in order to benefit from daily ceremonies like the opening of the mouth, a ceremony that allowed him to breathe and eat, and the burning of incense. He witnessed these ceremonies through two small eye holes cut in the north wall of the serdab. This temple appeared on the north side of the pyramid throughout the Third Dynasty, as the king wished to go north to become one of the eternal stars in the North Sky that never set. In the Fourth Dynasty, when there was a religious shift to an emphasis on rebirth and eternity achieved through the sun, the temple was moved to the east side of the pyramid, where the sun rises, so that through association the king may be reborn every day.

Heb-sed court

The Heb-sed court is rectangular and parallel to the South Courtyard. It was meant to provide a space in which the king could perform the Heb-sed ritual in the afterlife. Flanking the east and west sides of the court are the remains of two groups of chapels, many of which are dummy buildings, of three different architectural styles. At the north and south ends there are three chapels with flat roofs and no columns. The remaining chapels on the west side are decorated with fluted columns and capitals flanked by leaves. Each of the chapels has a sanctuary accessed by a roofless passage with walls that depict false doors and latches. Some of these buildings have niches for statues. Egyptologists believe that these buildings were related to the important double coronation of the king during the Heb-sed.

title: Pyramid of Djoser


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Twinkie

A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc., itself currently owned by The J.M. Smucker Company and having been formerly owned by private equity firms Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company as the second incarnation of Hostess Brands. During bankruptcy proceedings, Twinkie production was suspended on November 15, 2012, and resumed after an absence of a few months from American store shelves, becoming available again nationwide on July 15, 2013.

Grupo Bimbo's Vachon Inc., which owns the Canadian rights to the product and made them during their absence from the U.S. market, produces Twinkies in Canada at a bakery in Montreal. They are made in Emporia, Kansas, in the U.S. Twinkies are also available in Mexican stores as "Submarinos" made by Marinela, and as "Tuinky" made by Wonder; both Marinela and Wonder are also subsidiaries of Mexican bread company Grupo Bimbo. In Egypt, Twinkies are produced under the company Edita. Twinkies are also available in the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Hostess brand name where they are sold in Sainsburys, Tesco, ASDA, and B&M stores. Twinkies are produced and distributed by multiple commercial bakeries in China, where Hostess does not own the brand.

History
Twinkies were invented on April 6, 1930, by Canadian-born baker James "Jimmy" Alexander Dewar for the Continental Baking Company in Schiller Park, Illinois,. Realizing that several machines used for making cream-filled strawberry shortcakes sat idle when strawberries were out of season, Dewar conceived a snack cake filled with banana cream, which he dubbed the Twinkie. He said he came up with the name when he saw a billboard in St. Louis for "Twinkle Toe Shoes". However, the Online Etymology Dictionary claims the name was inspired by the fanciful word "".

During World War II, bananas were rationed, and the company was forced to switch to vanilla cream. This change proved popular, and banana-cream Twinkies were not widely re-introduced. The original flavor was occasionally found in limited time only promotions; the company used vanilla cream for most Twinkies. In 1988, Fruit and Cream Twinkies were introduced with a strawberry filling swirled into the cream. The product was soon dropped. Vanilla's dominance over banana flavoring was challenged in 2005, following a month-long promotion of the movie King Kong. Hostess saw its Twinkie sales rise 20 percent during the promotion, and in 2007 restored the banana-cream Twinkie to its snack lineup although they are now made with 2% banana purée.

In November 2012, as Hostess announced its plan to shut down its operations, Time ranked the Twinkie #1 in its list of 10 "iconic" junk foods, saying that "they've been a staple in our popular culture and, above all, in our hearts. Often criticized for its lack of any nutritional value whatsoever, the Twinkie has managed to persevere as a cultural and gastronomical icon."

Hostess bankruptcy
On January 11, 2012, parent company Hostess filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Twinkie sales for the year,, were 36 million packages, down almost 20% from a year earlier. Hostess said customers had migrated to healthier foods. On November 16, 2012, Hostess officially announced that it "will be winding down operations and has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities." Bakery operations were suspended at all plants.

On November 19, 2012, Hostess and the Bakers Union agreed to mediation, delaying the shutdown for two days. On November 21, 2012, U.S. bankruptcy judge Robert Drain approved Hostess' request to shut down, ending Twinkie production in the United States.

Return of Twinkies to U.S. market
On March 18, 2013, it was reported that Twinkies would return to store shelves in May of that year. Twinkies, along with other Hostess Brands, were purchased out of bankruptcy by Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co for $410 million. Twinkies returned to U.S. shelves on July 15, 2013. Apollo subsequently sold Hostess for $2.3 billion.

Before Hostess Brands filed for bankruptcy, Twinkies were reduced in size. They now contain 135 kcal and have a mass of 38.5 grams, while the original Twinkies contained 150 kcal and had a mass of 42.5 grams. The new Twinkies also have a longer shelf life of 45 days, which was also a change made before bankruptcy, compared to the 26 days of the original Twinkies.

Twinkies Cereal, made by Post, was introduced in December 2020.

In 2017, Chocolate Cake Twinkies came on the market.

Deep-fried Twinkie
Deep frying a Twinkie involves freezing the cake, dipping it into batter, and deep-frying it. A story in The New York Times about the deep fried Twinkie with one of its claimed inventors — Christopher Sell, originally from Rugby, England — described this way: "Something magical occurs when the pastry hits the hot oil. The creamy white vegetable shortening filling liquefies, impregnating the sponge cake with its luscious vanilla flavor.... The cake itself softens and warms, nearly melting, contrasting with the crisp, deep-fried crust in a buttery and suave way. The pièce de résistance, however, is a ruby-hued berry sauce, adding a tart sophistication to all that airy sugary goodness."

In 2002, Brooklyn restaurateur Clint Mullen introduced the fried Twinkie at several state and county fairs to great popular acclaim, and the notion spread to other establishments that specialize in fried foods. Fried Twinkies are sold throughout the U.S. in fairs as well as ball games, and in various restaurants. Starting in August 2016, Walmart began selling prepackaged, frozen versions of the deep-fried Twinkie at stores nationwide in the US.

Television and film
In 1984, the Twinkie became known worldwide in countries that did not sell the confection, due to a reference in the hit film Ghostbusters. In the film, the character Egon Spengler describes a speculated level of psychokinetic energy and uses a regular-sized Twinkie to represent the normal level of such energy in New York City. He then says that based on a recent sample, the Twinkie representing New York would be over 35 ft long and weigh approximately 600 lb, to which the character Winston Zeddemore replies, "That's a big Twinkie."

The 1999 Family Guy episode "Da Boom" involves the Griffin family moving to Natick, Massachusetts, in search of a Twinkie factory following the Y2K apocalypse. The factory is shown to have survived completely intact, allowing the Griffins to use it as a food source and rebuild society.

In the 2009 film Zombieland, Twinkies are the favorite snack of the character Tallahassee, who develops an obsession with finding one in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse.

Song lyrics
"Habits (Stay High)", a 2013 song by Swedish singer Tove Lo, mentions Twinkies in the line "I get home, I got the munchies / Binge on all my Twinkies / Throw up in the tub / Then I go to sleep." In an interview, the singer confessed she had thought that "twinkie" was a synonym for "cookie" and that Hostess had sent her a sample of the product after the success of the song.

Twinkie defense
"Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catch-all term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression. His change in diet from healthful food to Twinkies and other sugary foods was said to be a symptom of depression. Contrary to common belief, White's attorneys did not argue that the Twinkies were the cause of White's actions, but that their consumption was symptomatic of his underlying depression.

Shelf life
A common urban legend claims that Twinkies have a theoretically infinite shelf life, and can last unspoiled for a relatively long time of ten, fifty, or one hundred years due to the chemicals used in their production. More radically, it is even claimed Twinkies could survive a nuclear war.

The TV show The Simpsons depicted this claim in its 5th-season episode Homer and Apu. A customer at the Kwik-E-Mart screws up a Twinkie and throws it on the floor in anger. Apu shouts after him, saying he cannot hurt a Twinkie. It then pops back into shape and Apu puts it back on the stand.

The 2012 Super Bowl Chevy Silverado Apocalypse commercial also gives a nod to the Twinkie's reputed durability.

In reality, Twinkies are on the shelf for a short time; a company executive told The New York Times in 2000 that the "Twinkie is on the shelf no more than 7 to 10 days."

The maximum shelf life was reported to have been 26 days, until the addition of stronger preservatives made beginning in 2012 increased it to 45 days. A box of Twinkies from shortly before Hostess's bankruptcy in 2012 was opened eight years later; one had completely molded over with cladosporium, another had a small amount of mold, and the creme filling in a third Twinkie had turned brown with the taste of "old sock".

Twinkie diet
In 2010, Kansas State University professor Mark Haub went on a "convenience store" diet consisting mainly of a snack of Twinkies, Oreos, or Doritos every 3 hours in an attempt to demonstrate to his students "...that in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most, not the nutritional value of the food." He lost 27 lb over a two-month period, returning his body mass index (BMI) to within normal range.

In addition to Twinkies, Haub ate Little Debbie snack cakes, cereals, cookies, brownies, Doritos, Oreos and other kinds of high calorie, low-nutrition foods that are usually found at convenience stores. However, despite calling it the "Twinkie diet", Haub also consumed 1 protein shake per day and one serving of canned green beans or 4 celery stalks, along with the Twinkies, Oreos, and Doritos. Besides the protein shake and multivitamin, Haub also ate nutritionally dense whole milk, carrots, and vitamin fortified cereal. This contradicts representations by other media outlets stating that Haub "only" ate junk food. He ate the vegetables at the dinner table in order to set a good example for his children.

It is claimed legendary bodybuilder Sergio Oliva would sometimes indulge in eating a box of Twinkies (with a 2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew) after his notoriously strenuous workouts.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Twinkie


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Djoser

Djoser (also read as Djeser and Zoser) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros (from Manetho) and Sesorthos (from Eusebius). He was the son of King Khasekhemwy and Queen Nimaathap, but whether he was also the direct successor to their throne is unclear. Most Ramesside king lists identify a king named Nebka as preceding him, but there are difficulties in connecting that name with contemporary Horus names, so some Egyptologists question the received throne sequence. Djoser is known for his step pyramid, which is the earliest colossal stone building in ancient Egypt.

Identity
The painted limestone statue of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue. Today, at the site in Saqqara where it was found, a plaster copy of it stands in place of the original. The statue was discovered during the Antiquities Service Excavations of 1924–1925.

In contemporary inscriptions, he is called by his Horus name Netjerikhet, meaning "divine of body". Later sources, which include a New Kingdom reference to his construction, help confirm that Netjerikhet and Djoser are the same person.

While Manetho names Necherophes and the Turin King List names Nebka as the first ruler of the Third Dynasty, many Egyptologists now believe Djoser was first king of this dynasty, pointing out that the order in which some predecessors of Khufu are mentioned in the Westcar Papyrus suggests Nebka should be placed between Djoser and Huni, not before Djoser. More significantly, the English Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson has demonstrated that burial seals found at the entrance to Khasekhemwy's tomb in Abydos name only Djoser, rather than Nebka. This supports the view that it was Djoser who buried and, hence, directly succeeded Khasekhemwy, rather than Nebka.

Family
Djoser is linked to Khasekhemwy, the last king of the Second Dynasty of Egypt, through his wife Queen Nimaethap (Nimaat-hap) via seals found in Khasekhemwy's tomb and at Beit Khallaf. The seal at Abydos names Nimaat-hap as the "mother of the king's children, Nimaat-hap". On mastaba K1 at Beit Khallaf, the same person is mentioned as the "mother of the dual king". Dating of other seals at the Beit Khallaf site place them to the reign of Djoser. This evidence suggests that Khasekhemwy is either the direct father of Djoser or that Nimaat-hap had him through a previous husband. German Egyptologist Gunter Dreyer found Djoser's sealings at Khasekhemwy's tomb, further suggesting that Djoser was the direct successor of Khasekhemwy and that he finished the construction of the tomb.

Her cult seems to have still been active in the later reign of Sneferu.

Hetephernebti is identified as one of Djoser's queens "on a series of boundary stela from the Step Pyramid enclosure (now in various museums) and a fragment of relief from a building at Hermopolis" currently in the Egyptian museum of Turin.

Inetkawes was their only daughter known by name. There was also a third royal female attested during Djoser's reign, but her name is destroyed. The relationship between Djoser and his successor, Sekhemkhet, is not known, and the date of his death is uncertain.

Third Dynasty
The lands of Upper and Lower Egypt were united into a single kingdom sometime around 2686 BC. The period following the unification of the crowns was one of prosperity, marked by the start of the Third Dynasty and the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The exact identity of the founder of the dynasty is a matter of debate, due to the fragmentary nature of the records from the period. Djoser is one of the principal candidates for the founder of the Third Dynasty. Other candidates are Nebka and Sanakht. Complicating matters further is the possibility that Nebka and Sanakht are referring to the same person.

Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson believes that the weight of archeological evidence favours Djoser (Netjerikhet) as Khasekhemwy's successor and therefore founder of the Third Dynasty. A seal from Khasekhemwy's tomb at Abydos, in combination with a seal from mastaba K1 at Beit Khallaf dated to Djoser's reign, links the two pharaohs together as father and son respectively. The seal at Abydos names a 'Nimaat-hap' as the mother of Khasekhemwy's children, while the other seal at Beit Khallaf names the same person as the 'mother of the dual-king'. Further archaeological evidence linking the reigns of the two pharaohs together are found at Shunet et-Zebib, which suggest that Djoser oversaw the burial of his predecessor. Ritual stone vessels found at the sites of the tombs – Khasekhemwy's tomb at Abydos and Djoser's tomb at Saqqara – of the two pharaohs also appear to have come from the same collection, as samples from both sites contain identical imagery of the god Min. This archeological evidence is supplemented by at least one historical source, the Saqqara king list, which names Djoser as the immediate successor of Beby – a misreading of Khasekhemwy.

Length of reign
Manetho states Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty-nine years, while the Turin King List states it was only nineteen years. Because of his many substantial building projects, particularly at Saqqara, some scholars argue Djoser must have enjoyed a reign of nearly three decades. Manetho's figure appears to be more accurate, according to Wilkinson's analysis and reconstruction of the Royal Annals. Wilkinson reconstructs the Annals as giving Djoser "28 complete or partial years", noting that the cattle counts recorded on Palermo stone register V, and Cairo Fragment 1, register V, for the beginning and ending of Djoser's reign, would most likely indicate his regnal years 1–5 and 19–28. Unfortunately, next to all entries are illegible today. The Year of coronation is preserved, followed by the year events receiving the twin-pillars and stretching the cords for the fortress Qau-Netjerw ("hills of the gods").

Period of reign
Various sources provide various dates for Djoser's reign. Professor of Ancient Near East history Marc van de Mieroop dates Djoser's reign to somewhere between 2686 BC to 2648 BC. Authors Joann Fletcher and Michael Rice date his reign from 2667 BC to 2648 BC giving a regnal period of 18 partial or complete years. Rice further states that Nebkha was Djoser's brother and predecessor. Writer Farid Atiya provides a similar regnal period to Fletcher and Rice, offset by a single year – 2668 BC to 2649 BC. This dating is supported by authors Rosalie and Charles Baker in Ancient Egypt: People of the Pyramids. Egyptologist Abeer el-Shahawy in association with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo places Djoser's reign to the period of 2687 BC to 2668 BC for a similar 18 partial or complete years. Author Margaret Bunson places Djoser as the second ruler of the Third Dynasty, and places his reign to the period of 2630 BC to 2611 BC for 19 partial or complete year reign. In her chronology, Djoser is preceded by Nebka as the "Founder of the Third Dynasty", reigning for the period 2649 BC to 2630 BC. She, like Rice, makes Nebka a brother of Djoser.

Military expeditions
Djoser dispatched several military expeditions to the Sinai Peninsula, during which the local inhabitants were subdued. He also sent expeditions there to mine for valuable minerals such as turquoise and copper. This is known from inscriptions found in the desert there, sometimes displaying the banner of Set alongside the symbols of Horus, as had been more common under Khasekhemwy. The Sinai was also strategically important as a buffer between the Nile valley and Asia.

Construction projects
His most famous monument was his step pyramid, which entailed the construction of several mastaba tombs one over another. These forms would eventually lead to the standard pyramid tomb in the later Old Kingdom. Manetho, many centuries later, alludes to architectural advances of this reign, mentioning that "Tosorthros" discovered how to build with hewn stone, in addition to being remembered as the physician Aesculapius, and for introducing some reforms in the writing system. Modern scholars think that Manetho originally ascribed (or meant to ascribe) these feats to Imuthes, who was later deified as Aesculapius by the Greeks and Romans, and who corresponds to Imhotep, the famous minister of Djoser who engineered the Step Pyramid's construction.

Some fragmentary reliefs found at Heliopolis and Gebelein mention Djoser's name, and suggest he commissioned construction projects in those cities. Also, he may have fixed the southern boundary of his kingdom at the First Cataract. An inscription known as the Famine Stela and claiming to date to the reign of Djoser, but probably created during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, relates how Djoser rebuilt the temple of Khnum on the island of Elephantine at the First Cataract, thus ending a seven-year famine in Egypt. Some consider this ancient inscription as a legend at the time it was inscribed. Nonetheless, it does show that more than two millennia after his reign, Egyptians still remembered Djoser.

Although he seems to have started an unfinished tomb at Abydos (Upper Egypt), Djoser was eventually buried in his famous pyramid at Saqqara in Lower Egypt. Since Khasekhemwy, a pharaoh from the 2nd dynasty, was the last pharaoh to be buried at Abydos, some Egyptologists infer that the shift to a more northerly capital was completed during Djoser's time.

Djoser and Imhotep
One of the most famous contemporaries of king Djoser was his vizier (tjaty), "head of the royal shipyard" and "overseer of all stone works", Imhotep. Imhotep oversaw stone building projects such as the tombs of King Djoser and King Sekhemkhet. It is possible that Imhotep was mentioned in the also famous Westcar Papyrus, in a story called "Khufu and the magicians". But because the papyrus is badly damaged at the beginning, Imhotep's name is lost today. A papyrus from the ancient Egyptian temple of Tebtunis, dating to the 2nd century AD, preserves a long story in the demotic script about Djoser and Imhotep. In Djoser's time, Imhotep was of such importance and fame that he was honoured by being mentioned on statues of King Djoser in his necropolis at Saqqara.

Medieval tradition
Egyptian historian Al-Nuwayri (1279–1333) described Djoser as "a king who was a wise ruler of Egypt" and claimed that the Copts had a feast in honour of him called the "vine festival". Al-Nuwayri also visited the South tomb of the pyramid complex of Djoser in Saqqara, identifying it as the tomb of "Zosara" and describing a vault decorated with lapis lazuli, as well as a large court with a large granite door inscribed with 30 lines of hieroglyphs.

Egyptologist Okasha El-Daly noted that "Demotic romances of ancient Egyptian rulers such as Zoser, Inaros and Nectanebo also became popular in the medieval Arabic sources, which show them as heroes, with their names and deeds well recognised by the writers".

Tomb
Djoser was buried in his famous step pyramid at Saqqara. This pyramid was originally built as a nearly square mastaba, but then five further mastabas were literally piled one upon another, each smaller than the previous one, until the monument became Egypt's first step pyramid. Supervisor of the building constructions was the high lector priest Imhotep.

The pyramid
The step pyramid is made of limestone. It is massive and contains only one tight corridor leading to the close midst of the monument, ending in a rough chamber where the entrance to the tomb shaft was hidden. This inner construction was later filled with rubble, for it was of no use anymore. The pyramid was once 62 metres high and had a base measurement of c. 125 × 109 metres. It was tightly covered in finely polished, white limestone.

Subterranean structure
Under the step pyramid, a large maze of long corridors and chambers was dug. The burial chamber lies in the midst of the subterranean complex; a 28 meter deep shaft that leads directly from the surface down to the burial chamber. The shaft entrance was sealed by a plug stone with a weight of 3.5 tons. The subterranean burial maze contains four magazine galleries, each pointing straight to one cardinal direction. The eastern gallery contained three limestone reliefs depicting king Djoser during the celebration of the Heb-Sed (rejuvenation feast). The walls around and between these reliefs were decorated with bluish faience tiles. They were thought to imitate reed mats, as an allusion to the mythological underworld waters. The other galleries remained unfinished.

At the eastern side of the pyramid, very close to the blue chambers, eleven tomb shafts lead straight down for 30–32 metres, and then deviate in a right angle to the west. Shafts I–V were used for the burials of royal family members; shafts VI–XI were used as symbolic tombs for the grave goods of royal ancestors from dynasties I–II. More than 40,000 vessels, bowls and vases made of various kinds of stone were found in these galleries. Royal names such as of kings Den, Semerkhet, Nynetjer and Sekhemib were incised on the pots. It is now thought that Djoser once restored the original tombs of the ancestors, and then sealed the grave goods in the galleries in an attempt to save them.

Serdab statue of Djoser
The statue of Djoser is walled into the serdab. The main purpose of the statue was to allow the king to manifest himself and be able to see the rituals performed in and out the serdab. This painted statue is plastered and made out of limestone. Each characteristic of the statue represents something, the striated tripartite wig he is wearing assimilates him to the living world as a dead king. The striped head cloth that covers the wig was used to cover all of his hair. This was a ritual that began to be used by kings in the fourth dynasty. The body is wrapped under a long robe, his hands are placed in a specific way. His right arm is horizontally displayed on his chest while his left arm is resting on his thigh. The placement of his arms are a resemblance to Khasekhem seat. One of the oldest representations of the Nine bows, and the first representation of the nine bows fully developed, is on the seated statue of Pharaoh Djoser. His feet rest upon part of the nine bows, which may have referred to Nubians during his reign because of their use of bows and arrows.

Funerary complex
The funerary complex is the first architectural project to be built entirely out of stone. This complex had fourteen entrances but only one was functional. It is made up of the Great South Court, and the Heb-sed north court with Djoser's step pyramid in the center. The complex is enclosed by a 10.5 meters high stone wall, referred to as the enclosure wall. Along with the main courts there is a Roofed Colonnade Entrance located within the south court and a Serdab chamber that holds the seated statue of the king Djoser.

title: Djoser


text:
Gerund

In linguistics, a gerund ( abbreviated ger) is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, it is one that functions as a noun. The name is derived from Late Latin gerundium, meaning "which is to be carried out". In English, the gerund has the properties of both verb and noun, such as being modifiable by an adverb and being able to take a direct object. The term "-ing form" is often used in English to refer to the gerund specifically. Traditional grammar makes a distinction within -ing forms between present participles and gerunds, a distinction that is not observed in such modern grammars as A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language and The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

Traditional use
The Latin gerund, in a restricted set of syntactic contexts, denotes the sense of the verb in isolation after certain prepositions, and in certain uses of the genitive, dative, and ablative cases. It is very rarely combined with a dependent sentence element such as an object. To express such concepts, the construction with the adjectival gerundive is preferred. By contrast, the term gerund has been used in the grammatical description of other languages to label verbal nouns used in a wide range of syntactic contexts and with a full range of clause elements.

Thus, English grammar uses gerund to mean an -ing form used in non-finite clauses such as playing on computers. This is not a normal use for a Latin gerund. Moreover, the clause may function within a sentence as subject or object, which is impossible for a Latin gerund. The contrast with the Latin gerund is also clear when the clause consists of a single word. Latin never uses the gerund in this way, since the infinitive is available.
 * Playing on computers is fun. (-ing clause as subject)
 * I like playing on computers (-ing clause as object)
 * Computing is fun. ("gerund" as subject)
 * I like computing ("gerund" as object)

Traditional English grammar distinguishes non-finite clauses used as above from adverbial use, adjective-like modification of nouns, and use in finite progressive (continuous) forms In these uses playing is traditionally labelled a participle.
 * Playing on computers, they whiled the day away.
 * The boys playing on computers are my nephews.
 * They are always playing on computers.

Traditional grammar also distinguishes -ing forms with exclusively noun properties as in The objection to the term gerund in English grammar is that -ing forms are frequently used in ways that do not conform to the clear-cut three-way distinction made by traditional grammar into gerunds, participles and nouns.

Form
The Latin gerund is a form of the verb. It is composed of: For example, Related gerundive forms are composed in a similar way with adjectival inflexional endings.
 * the infectum stem (the stem used to form present and imperfect tense forms)
 * a vowel appropriate to the verb class or conjugation of the verb
 * the suffix -nd-
 * a nominal inflectional ending

Function
The four inflections are used for a limited range of grammatical functions These functions could be fulfilled by other abstract nouns derived from verbs such as vēnātiō 'hunting'. Gerunds are distinct in two ways.
 * Every Latin verb can regularly form a gerund
 * A gerund may function syntactically as the head of a verb phrase: for instance, the gerund of a transitive verb may take a direct object in the accusative case, e.g., ad discernendum vocis verbi figuras 'for discerning figures of speech', hominem investigando opera dabo 'I will devote effort to investigating the man'.
 * However, this was a rare construction. Writers generally preferred the gerundive construction, in which the gerundive adjective was inflected to agree with the noun acting as its object: e.g., res evertendae reipublicae 'matters concerning the overthrow of the state' (literally 'of the state being overthrown').

When people first wrote grammars of languages such as English, and based them on works of Latin grammar, they adopted the term gerund to label non-finite verb forms with these two properties.

Gerunds in various languages
Meanings of the term gerund as used in relation to various languages are listed below.

Latin and Romance
Latin has the non-finite gerundium, formed with -andum, -endum and noun inflexions. It is syntactically equivalent to a noun, except in the nominative and accusative cases, which use the infinitive. In particular the ablative case forms (-ando, -endo) were used adverbially. Latin grammars written in English use the form gerund. See the section above for further detail.

Several Romance languages have inherited the form, but without case inflections. They use it primarily in an adverbial function, comparably to the Latin ablative use. The same form may be used in an adjectival function and to express progressive aspect meaning. These languages do not use the term present participle. Grammars of these languages written in English may use the form gerund.
 * Italian gerundio: stem form + -ando or -endo
 * Spanish gerundio: stem form + -ando or -iendo
 * Portuguese gerúndio: stem form + -ando, -endo or -indo
 * Romanian gerunziu: stem form + -ând(u) or -ind(u)
 * Catalan and French have inherited not the gerund form but the Latin present participle form in -nt.
 * Catalan gerundi: stem form + -ant or -ent
 * French stem form + -ant. French grammar maintains a distinction between:
 * participe présent when the form is used adjectivally, and may be inflected for gender and number.
 * gérondif when the form is used adverbially, without inflection, generally after the preposition en. In Modern French, the gérondif cannot be used to express progressive meaning.
 * Grammars of French written in English may use the forms gerundive and present participle.

Germanic
In the earliest stages of the West Germanic languages, the infinitive was inflected after a preposition. These dative and, more rarely, genitive case forms are sometimes called gerundium or gerund or West Germanic gerund.
 * Old English to berenne (to bear) dative of beran
 * Old High German zi beranne dative of beran
 * Old Saxon berannia dative of beran
 * Old Frisian beranne
 * The modern continental successor languages German and Dutch have preserved a few vestiges of these forms, which are sometimes termed gerundium.
 * Frisian preserves the original distinction, e.g., West Frisian freegje ("ask") – te freegjen
 * English has no vestige of the West Germanic gerund. Traditional grammar uses the term gerund for the -ing form of a verb when it is used as a noun (for example, the verb reading in the sentence "I enjoy reading."). See the sections below for further detail.
 * In Dutch, it translates either the term "gerundium" or the description "zelfstandig gebruikte, verbogen onbepaalde wijs van het werkwoord". The infinitive form of the verb is used as gerund, e.g., Zwemmen is gezond.
 * Since Afrikaans has by and large lost explicit morphological marking of the infinitive form of the verb, verb stems are used as gerunds, e.g., Swem is gesond.

Slavic
In descriptions of Slavic languages, the term gerund refers to verbal forms that are also frequently referred to as verbal adverb, adverbial participle, or (in some Slavic languages) deepričastie. These forms describe circumstances, actions concurrent (present gerund) or immediately preceding (past gerund) those in the predicate. Morphologically they are uninflected (except in Czech), and syntactically they have an adverbial function, and thus generally bear resemblance to Romance gerunds such as those found in Italian, rather than to noun-like gerunds in English or Latin. Additionally, some linguists use the term to refer to verbal nouns, historically formed with the *-ьje suffix, such as Serbo-Croatian glȅdānje (from glȅdati) or Polish chodzenie (from chodzić).
 * In Bulgarian, it translates the term деепричастие (deepriʧastije). It refers to the verb noun formed by adding the suffix -йки (-jki) to the verb form, like ходи (hodi, he/she/it walks) – ходейки (hodejki, while walking)
 * In Macedonian, it refers to the verb noun formed by adding the suffix -јќи (-jḱi) to the verb form, like in јаде (jade, he eats) — јадејќи (jadejḱi, while eating).
 * In Russian, it translates the term деепричастие (dejepričastije) an adverbial participle formed with the suffixes -я (-ja) Present; -в (-v) or -вши (-vši) Past.
 * In Serbo-Croatian, it was used to refer to what are now classified as participles / verbal adverbs: present (-ći) and past (-vši, sometimes -v). Modern grammars rarely use the term.

Other

 * In Arabic, it refers to the verb's action noun, known as the masdar form (Arabic: المصدر). This form ends in a tanwin and is generally the equivalent of the -ing ending in English.
 * In Hebrew, it refers either to the verb's action noun, or to the part of the infinitive following the infinitival prefix (also called the infinitival construct).
 * In Hungarian, it practically refers to the verbal noun, formed by appending a suffix. Common suffixes are -ás (adás, giving), -és (kérés, asking).
 * In Japanese, there are three main grammatical structures with gerund-like functions: first, turning verbs into nouns is achieved, depending on the type of verb and other factors, by using either the conjunctive form (-masu form) or the nominalization particles no and koto. Lastly, the continuous and progressive aspect of a verb can be realized by employing the perfective form (-te form) plus the auxiliary verb iru.
 * In Korean, it refers to the word '것' ('thing') modified by the adjective form of the verb.
 * In Maldivian (Dhivehi), the gerund is the root form of the verb, for example, ނެށުން neshun, meaning "dancing".
 * In Persian, it refers to the verb's action noun, known as the ism-masdar form (Persian: اسم مصدر).
 * In Turkish, it refers to a large number of verb endings subject to vowel harmony and sometimes used in conjunction with postpositions. Called zarf-fiil, bağ-fiil, ulaç or gerundium and defined as "a verb used as an adverb in a sentence", the Turkish gerund may also constitute part of an (adverbial) clause.

In other languages, it may refer to almost any non-finite verb form; however, it most often refers to an action noun, by analogy with its use as applied to Latin.

Gerunds in English
In traditional grammars of English, the term gerund labels an important use of the form of the verb ending in -ing (for details of its formation and spelling, see English verbs). Other important uses are termed participle (used adjectivally or adverbially), and as a pure verbal noun.

An -ing form is termed gerund when it behaves as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object); but the resulting clause as a whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) functions as a noun within the larger sentence.

For example, consider the sentence "Eating this cake is easy." Here, the gerund is the verb eating, which takes an object this cake. The entire clause eating this cake is then used as a noun, which in this case serves as the subject of the larger sentence.

An item such as eating this cake in the foregoing example is an example of a non-finite verb phrase; however, because phrases of this type do not require a subject, it is also a complete clause. (Traditionally, such an item would be referred to as a phrase, but in modern linguistics it has become common to call it a clause.) A gerund clause such as this is one of the types of non-finite clause. The structure may be represented as follows:

Formation
Non-finite verb forms ending in -ing, whether termed gerund or participle may be marked like finite forms as Continuous or Non-continuous, Perfect or Non-perfect, Active or Passive. Thus, traditional grammars have represented the gerund as having four forms – two for the active voice and two for the passive: The same forms are available when the term participle is used.

Examples of use
The following sentences illustrate some uses of gerund clauses, showing how such a clause serves as a noun within the larger sentence. In some cases, the clause consists of just the gerund (although in many such cases the word could equally be analyzed as a pure verbal noun).
 * Swimming is fun. (gerund as subject of the sentence)
 * I like swimming. (gerund as direct object)
 * I never gave swimming all that much effort. (gerund as indirect object)
 * Swimming in the pool is one way to relax. (gerund phrase as subject)
 * Do you fancy swimming in the pool? (gerund phrase as direct object)
 * After swimming in the pool, he ate his lunch. (gerund phrase as the complement of a preposition)

Using gerunds of the appropriate auxiliary verbs, one can form gerund clauses that express perfect aspect and passive voice:
 * Being deceived can make someone feel angry. (passive)
 * Having read the book once before makes me more prepared. (perfect)
 * He is ashamed of having been gambling all night. (perfect progressive aspect)

For more detail on when it is appropriate to use a gerund, see Verb patterns classified as gerund use below, and also.

Distinction from other uses of the -ing form
In traditional grammars, gerunds are distinguished from other uses of a verb's -ing form: the present participle (which is a non-finite verb form like the gerund, but is adjectival or adverbial in function), and the pure verbal noun or deverbal noun.

The distinction between gerund and present participles is not recognised in modern reference grammars, since many uses are ambiguous.

Roles of "gerund" clauses in a sentence
Non finite -ing clauses may have the following roles in a sentence:

In traditional grammars, the term gerund is not used for roles F, G, and H.

Thus

For more details and examples, see -ing: uses.

"Gerund" clauses with a specified subject
In traditional grammars, a grammatical subject has been defined in such a way that it occurs only in finite clauses, where it is liable to "agree" with the "number" of the finite verb form. Nevertheless, non-finite clauses imply a "doer" of the verb, even if that doer is indefinite "someone or something". For example,
 * We enjoy singing. (ambiguous: somebody sings, possibly ourselves)
 * Licking the cream was a special treat (somebody licked the cream)
 * Being awarded the prize is a great honour (someone is or may be awarded the prize)

Often the "doer" is clearly signalled
 * We enjoyed singing yesterday (we ourselves sang)
 * The cat responded by licking the cream (the cat licked the cream)
 * His heart is set on being awarded the prize (he hopes he himself will be awarded the prize)
 * Meg likes eating apricots (Meg herself eats apricots)

However, the "doer" may not be indefinite or already expressed in the sentence. Rather it must be overtly specified, typically in a position immediately before the non-finite verb The "doer" expression is not the grammatical subject of a finite clause, so objective them is used rather than subjective they.
 * We enjoyed them singing.
 * The cat licking the cream was not generally appreciated.
 * We were delighted at Paul being awarded the prize.

Traditional grammarians may object to the term subject for these "doers". And prescriptive grammarians go further, objecting to the use of forms more appropriate to the subjects (or objects) of finite clauses. The argument is that this results in two noun expressions with no grammatical connection. They prefer to express the "doer" by a possessive form, such as used with ordinary nouns: Nonetheless, the possessive construction with -ing clauses is very rare in present-day English. Works of fiction show a moderate frequency, but the construction is highly infrequent in other types of text.
 * We enjoyed their singing. (cf. their voices, their attempt to sing)
 * The cat's licking the cream was not generally appreciated. (cf. the cat's purr, the cat's escape)
 * We were delighted at Paul's being awarded the prize. (cf. Paul's nomination, Paul's acceptance)

Prescriptivists do not object when the non-finite clause modifies a noun phrase The sense of the cat as notional subject of licking is disregarded. Rather they see the cat as exclusively the object of I saw The modifying phrase licking the cream is therefore described as a participle use.
 * I saw the cat licking the cream.

Henry Fowler claims that the use of a non-possessive noun to precede a gerund arose as a result of confusion with the above usage with a participle, and should thus be called fused participle or geriple.

It has been argued that if the prescriptive rule is followed, the difference between the two forms may be used to make a slight distinction in meaning:
 * The teacher's shouting startled the student. (shouting is a gerund, the shouting startled the student)
 * The teacher shouting startled the student. (shouting can be interpreted as a participle, qualifying the teacher; the teacher startled the student by shouting)
 * I don't like Jim's drinking wine. (I don't like the drinking)
 * I don't like Jim drinking wine. (I don't like Jim when he is drinking wine)

However, Quirk et al. show that the range of senses of -ing forms with possessive and non-possessive subjects is far more diverse and nuanced: These sentence exemplify a spectrum of senses from more noun-like to more verb-like. At the extremes of the spectrum they place

 * at the noun end (where possessive Brown's unmistakably expresses ownership) :

 * and at the verb end (where Brown's would clearly be impossible):

In some cases, particularly with a non-personal subject, the use of the possessive before a gerund may be considered redundant even in quite a formal register. For example, "There is no chance of the snow falling" (rather than the prescriptively correct "There is no chance of the snow's falling").

Verb patterns classified as "gerund" use
The term gerund describes certain uses of -ing clauses as 'complementation' of individual English verbs, that is to say the choice of class that are allowable after that word.

The principal choices of clauses are

 * The term gerund is applied to clauses similar to [4a] and [4b].
 * In [6a] and [6b] coming is related to the participle use as an adverbial.
 * in [5a] and [5b] the verbs kept and coming refer to the same event. Coming is related to the progressive aspect use in She is coming.
 * Verbs such as start and stop, although similar to verbs like keep, are generally classified with verbs like remember. Therefore, She started coming is termed a gerund use.
 * The proposed test of passivisation to distinguish gerund use after remember from participle use after keep fails with sentences like [5b].
 * The proposed test of possible possessive subject successfully distinguishes [4b] (traditional gerund) from [5b] (traditionally participle).
 * The variant * We kept Jane's coming is not grammatically acceptable.
 * The variant I remember Jane's coming is acceptable — indeed required by prescriptive grammarians

Verbs followed by "gerund" pattern
Historically, the -ing suffix was attached to a limited number of verbs to form abstract nouns, which were used as the object of verbs such as like. The use was extended in various ways: the suffix became attachable to all verbs; the nouns acquired verb-like characteristics; the range of verbs allowed to introduce the form spread by analogy first to other verbs expressing emotion, then by analogy to other semantic groups of verbs associated with abstract noun objects; finally the use spread from verbs taking one-word objects to other semantically related groups verbs.

The present-day result of these developments is that the verbs followed by -ing forms tend to fall into semantic classes. The following groups have been derived from analysis of the most common verbs in the COBUILD data bank:

Pattern 4a: I remember seeing her come

 * 'LIKE' AND 'DISLIKE' GROUP
 * adore, appreciate, (cannot|) bear, (not) begrudge, detest, dislike, (cannot) endure, enjoy, hate, like, loathe, love, (not) mind, mind, prefer, relish, resent, (cannot) stand, (cannot) stomach, (not) tolerate, take to

 * dread, (not) face. fancy, favour, fear, look forward to

 * 'CONSIDER' GROUP
 * anticipate, consider, contemplate, debate, envisage, fantasise, imagine, intend, visualise

 * 'REMEMBER' GROUP
 * forget, miss, recall, recollect, regret, remember, (cannot) remember

 * 'RECOMMEND' GROUP
 * acknowledge, admit, advise, advocate, debate, deny, describe, forbid, mention, prohibit, propose, recommend, report, suggest, urge

 * 'INVOLVE' GROUP
 * allow, entail, involve, justify, mean, necessitate, permit, preclude, prevent, save

 * 'POSTPONE' GROUP
 * defer, delay, postpone, put off

 * 'NEED' GROUP
 * deserve, need, require, want

 * 'RISK' GROUP
 * chance, risk

 * OTHERS WITH -ING OBJECT
 * discourage, encourage, endure, mime, practise, get away with, go into. go towards, go without, play at

Pattern 5a: She kept coming
In addition, the COBUILD team identifies four groups of verbs followed by -ing forms that are hard to class as objects. In the verb + -ing object construction the action or state expressed by the verb can be separated from the action or state expressed by the -ing form. In the following groups, the senses are inseparable, jointly expressing a single complex action or state. Some grammarians do not recognise all these patterns as gerund use.
 * 'START' AND 'STOP' GROUP
 * begin, cease, come, commence, continue, finish, get, go, (not) go, keep, quit, resume, start, stop, burst out, carry on, fall about, fall to, give over, give up, go about, go around/round, go on, keep on, leave off, take to

 * 'AVOID' GROUP
 * avoid, (not) bother, escape, evade, forbear, omit, (cannot) resist, shun, hold off

 * 'TRY' GROUP
 * chance, risk, try

 * 'GO RIDING' GROUP
 * come, go

Pattern 4b: I remember her coming
Verbs with this pattern do not normally allow the 'subject' of the -ing clause to be used in an equivalent passive construction such as *She is remembered coming.

The COBUILD Guide analyses her coming as the single object of I remember.

Many of the verbs that allow pattern 4a (without object) also allow this pattern.

 * 'LIKE' GROUP (verbs from the above 'LIKE' AND 'DISLIKE', 'DREAD AND LOOK FORWARD TO', 'CONSIDER' and 'REMEMBER' groups)
 * anticipate, envisage, appreciate, (cannot) bear, (not) begrudge, contemplate, dislike, dread, envisage, fear, forget, hate, (will not) have, imagine, like, (not) mind, picture, recall, recollect, remember, (not) remember, resent, see, stand, tolerate, visualise, want, put up with

 * 'REPORT' GROUP (subset of the above 'RECOMMEND' GROUP)
 * describe, mention, report

 * 'ENTAIL' GROUP (subset of the above 'INVOLVE' GROUP)
 * entail, involve, justify, mean, necessitate

 * 'STOP' GROUP (subset of the above 'START' AND 'STOP' GROUP)
 * avoid, preclude, prevent, prohibit, resist, save, stop

 * 'RISK' GROUP (identical with above)
 * chance, risk

Pattern 5b: We kept her coming
In contrast to Pattern 4b, these verbs allow the 'subject' of the -ing clauses to be used in an equivalent passive construction such as She was kept coming.

The COBUILD guide analyses her coming as a string of two objects of We kept:– (1)her and (2)coming.

 * 'SEE' GROUP
 * catch, feel, find, hear, notice, observe, photograph (usually passive), picture (usually passive), see, show, watch

 * 'BRING' GROUP
 * bring, have, keep, leave, send, set

Pattern 6a: She ended up coming
These verbs refer to starting, spending or ending time.

The following -ing form is an adverbial, traditionally classed as a participle rather than a gerund.

 * die, end up, finish up, hang around, start off, wind up

Pattern 6b: She wasted time coming
These verbs also relate to time (and, by extension, money). The object generally expresses this concept.

However, the object of busy or occupy must be a reflexive pronoun, e.g., She busied herself coming.

The following -ing form is an adverbial, generally classed as a participle rather than a gerund.

 * begin, busy, end, finish, kill, occupy, pass, spend, start, take, waste

Verbs followed by either "gerund" or to-infinitive pattern
Like the -ing suffix, the to-infinitive spread historically from a narrow original use, a prepositional phrase referring to future time. Like the -ing form it spread to all English verbs and to form non-finite clauses. Like the -ing form, it spread by analogy to use with words of similar meaning.

A number of verbs now belong in more than one class in their choice of 'complementation'.

Patterns 4a and 3a: I remember seeing her come and She remembered to come

 * Verbs in both 'START' AND 'STOP' (-ing) GROUP and 'BEGIN' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * begin, cease, come, commence, continue, get, start,
 * Also go on — with different meanings
 * She went on singing — 'She continued singing'
 * She went on to sing — 'Afterwards, she sang'
 * She went on at me to sing — 'She nagged me to sing' (i.e. that I should sing)
 * Superficially, stop appears to be used in the 3a (to-infinitive) pattern
 * She stopped to sing — 'She stopped in order to sing'
 * However, the phrase to sing is quite separate and separable
 * She stopped for a moment to sing
 * She stopped what she was doing to sing
 * And the phrase may be used in all manner of sentences
 * She travelled to Paris to sing
 * She abandoned her husband and her children to sing

 * Verbs in both 'DREAD' AND LOOK FORWARD TO' (-ing) GROUP and 'HOPE' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * dread, fear

 * Verb in both 'CONSIDER' (-ing) GROUP and 'HOPE' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * intend

 * Verb in both 'REMEMBER' (-ing) GROUP and 'MANAGE' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * remember — with different meanings
 * I remembered going —'I remembered that I had previously gone'
 * I remembered to go —'I remembered that I had to go, so I did go'

 * Verbs in both 'NEED' (-ing) GROUP and 'NEED' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * deserve, need

Patterns 4a, 4b, 3a and 3b: I remember coming, She remembered to come, I remember her coming and I reminded her to come

 * Verbs in both 'LIKE AND DISLIKE' (-ing) and WITH OBJECT (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * hate, like, love, prefer
 * Unlike other Pattern 3b verbs, the object is indivisible
 * He hates his wife to stand out in a crowd does not mean He hates his wife
 * With would there is often a difference of meaning
 * I like living in Ambridge — 'I live in Ambridge, and I like it'
 * I would like to live in Ambridge — 'I don't live in Ambridge, but I have a desire to live there in the future'
 * I would like living in Ambridge — 'I don't live in Ambridge, but if I ever did live there, I would enjoy it'
 * There is an apparent similarity between
 * I like boxing — 'I box and I enjoy it'
 * I like boxing — 'I watch other people boxing and I enjoy it'
 * However, only the former meaning is possible with an extended non-finite clause
 * I like boxing with an experienced opponent — 'I like it when I box with an experienced opponent'

Patterns 4a and 3b: I remember coming and I reminded her to come

 * Verbs in both 'RECOMMEND' (-ing) and 'TELL' or 'NAG' AND 'COAX'(to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * advise, forbid, recommend, urge
 * These verbs do not admit -ing Pattern 4b with a word serving as object of the RECOMMEND verb. However they can be used with a possessive 'subject' of the -ing form.
 * I advised leaving — 'I advised somebody (unidentified) that we (or the person or people we have in mind) should leave'
 * I advised him to leave — 'I advised him that he should leave' but not *I advised him leaving
 * I advised his leaving — 'I advised somebody (unidentified) that he should leave

 * Verbs in both 'CONSIDER' (-ing) and 'BELIEVE' or 'EXPECT' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * consider, intend

Patterns 4b and 3b: I remember her coming and I reminded her to come

 * Verbs in both the 'SEE ' (-ing) and 'OBSERVE' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * hear, see, observe
 * The to-infinitive pattern occurs in passive clauses, e.g., She was seen to come.
 * Corresponding active clauses use the bare infinitive pattern, e.g., We saw her come.

 * Verbs in both the 'SEE ' (-ing) and 'BELIEVE' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * feel, find, show (usually passive)

 * Verb in both the 'ENTAIL' subgroup (-ing) and the 'EXPECT' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * mean — with different meanings
 * That means her going tomorrow — 'In that case she'll go tomorrow'
 * We mean her to go tomorrow — 'We intend that she'll go tomorrow'
 * She's meant to be here tomorrow — 'It is intended that she'll be here tomorrow'
 * She's meant to be here now — 'It was intended that she should be here now, but she isn't'

Patterns 5a and 3a: She kept coming and She remembered to come

 * Verb in both the 'TRY' (-ing) and 'TRY' (to-infinitive) GROUPS
 * try — with different meanings
 * She tried leaving — 'She left in order to see what might happen (or how she might feel)'
 * She tried to leave — 'She attempted to leave'

Patterns 4b and 2: I remember her coming and I saw her come

 * Verb in both the 'SEE ' (-ing) and 'SEE' (bare infinitive) GROUPS
 * feel. hear, notice, see,watch
 * These patterns are sometimes used to express different meanings
 * I saw him leaving — 'I saw him as he was leaving'
 * I saw him leave — 'I saw him as he left'

Borrowings of English -ing forms in other languages
English verb forms ending in -ing are sometimes borrowed into other languages. In some cases, they become pseudo-anglicisms, taking on new meanings or uses not found in English. For instance, camping means "campsite" in many languages, while parking often means a car park. Both these words are treated as nouns, with none of the features of the gerund in English. For more details and examples, see -ing words in other languages.

title: Gerund


text:
Natron

Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities. Natron deposits are sometimes found in saline lake beds which arose in arid environments. Throughout history natron has had many practical applications that continue today in the wide range of modern uses of its constituent mineral components.

In modern mineralogy the term natron has come to mean only the sodium carbonate decahydrate (hydrated soda ash) that makes up most of the historical salt.

Etymology
The English and German word natron is a French cognate derived from the Spanish natrón through Latin natrium and Greek nitron (νίτρον). This derives from the Ancient Egyptian word nṯrj. Natron refers to Wadi El Natrun or Natron Valley in Egypt, from which natron was mined by the ancient Egyptians for use in burial rites. The modern chemical symbol for sodium, Na, is an abbreviation of that element's Neo-Latin name natrium, which was derived from natron. The name of the chemical element Nitrogen is also a cognate to natron, it derives from Greek nitron and -gen (a producer of something, in this case Nitric acid, which was produced from niter). Niter was also an obsolete name for natron because in earlier times, both minerals used to be confused with each other.

Importance in antiquity

Historical natron was harvested directly as a salt mixture from dry lake beds in ancient Egypt, and has been used for thousands of years as a cleaning product for both the home and body. Blended with oil, it was an early form of soap. It softens water while removing oil and grease. Undiluted, natron was a cleanser for the teeth and an early mouthwash. The mineral was mixed into early antiseptics for wounds and minor cuts. Natron can be used to dry and preserve fish and meat. It was also an ancient household insecticide, and was used for making leather as well as a bleach for clothing.

The mineral was used during mummification ceremonies in ancient Egypt because it absorbs water and behaves as a drying agent. Moreover, when exposed to moisture, the carbonate in natron increases pH (raises alkalinity), which creates a hostile environment for bacteria. In some cultures, natron was thought to enhance spiritual safety for both the living and the dead. Natron was added to castor oil to make a smokeless fuel, which allowed Egyptian artisans to paint elaborate artworks inside ancient tombs without staining them with soot.

The Pyramid Texts describe how natron pellets were used as funerary offerings in the rites for the deceased pharaoh, "N". The ceremony required two kinds of natron, one sourced from northern (Lower) and one from southern (Upper) Egypt.

Natron is an ingredient for making a distinct color called Egyptian blue, and also as the flux in Egyptian faience. It was used along with sand and lime in ceramic and glass-making by the Romans and others at least until AD 640. The mineral was also employed as a flux to solder precious metals together.

Decline in use
Most of natron's uses both in the home and by industry were gradually replaced with closely related sodium compounds and minerals. Natron's detergent properties are now commercially supplied by soda ash (pure sodium carbonate), the mixture's chief compound ingredient, along with other chemicals. Soda ash also replaced natron in glass-making. Some of its ancient household roles are also now filled by ordinary baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, natron's other key ingredient.

Chemistry of hydrated sodium carbonate
Natron is also the mineralogical name for the compound sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2CO3·10H2O), which is the main component in historical natron. Sodium carbonate decahydrate has a specific gravity of 1.42 to 1.47 and a Mohs hardness of 1. It crystallizes in the monoclinic-domatic crystal system, typically forming efflorescences and encrustations.

The term hydrated sodium carbonate is commonly used to encompass the monohydrate (Na2CO3·H2O), the decahydrate and the heptahydrate (Na2CO3·7H2O), but is often used in industry to refer to the decahydrate only. Both the hepta- and the decahydrate effloresce (lose water) in dry air and are partially transformed into the monohydrate thermonatrite Na2CO3·H2O.

As a source of soda ash
Sodium carbonate decahydrate is stable at room temperature but recrystallizes at only 32 °C to sodium carbonate heptahydrate, Na2CO3·7H2O, then above 37 - 38 C to sodium carbonate monohydrate, Na2CO3·H2O. This recrystallization from decahydrate to monohydrate releases much crystal water in a mostly clear, colorless salt solution with little solid thermonatrite. The mineral natron is often found in association with thermonatrite, nahcolite, trona, halite, mirabilite, gaylussite, gypsum, and calcite. Most industrially produced sodium carbonate is soda ash (sodium carbonate anhydrate Na2CO3) which is obtained by calcination (dry heating at temperatures of 150 to 200 °C) of sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate monohydrate, or trona.

Geological occurrence
Geologically, the mineral natron as well as the historical natron are formed as transpiro-evaporite minerals, i.e. crystallizing during the drying up of salt lakes rich in sodium carbonate. The sodium carbonate is usually formed by absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by a highly alkaline, sodium-rich lake brine, according to the following reaction scheme:

Pure deposits of sodium carbonate decahydrate are rare, due to the limited temperature stability of this compound and due to the fact that the absorption of carbon dioxide usually produces mixtures of bicarbonate and carbonate in solution. From such mixtures, the mineral natron (and also the historical one) will be formed only if the brine temperature during evaporation is maximally about 20 °C – or the alkalinity of the lake is so high, that little bicarbonate is present in solution (see reaction scheme above) – in which case the maximum temperature is increased to about 30 °C. In most cases the mineral natron will form together with some amount of nahcolite (sodium bicarbonate), resulting in salt mixtures like the historical natron. Otherwise, the minerals trona or thermonatrite and nahcolite are commonly formed. As the evaporation of a salt lake will occur over geological time spans, during which also part or all of the salt beds might redissolve and recrystallize, deposits of sodium carbonate can be composed of layers of all these minerals.

The following list may include geographical sources of either natron or other hydrated sodium carbonate minerals:

 * Africa
 * Chad
 * shores of Lake Chad
 * Trou au Natron
 * Era Kohor crater on Emi Koussi
 * Egypt
 * Wadi El Natrun (Natron Valley)
 * Ethiopia
 * Showa Province
 * Niger
 * Bilma
 * Tanzania
 * Lake Natron
 * Europe
 * Hungary
 * Bács-Kiskun County, (Great Hungarian Plain)
 * Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County (Great Hungarian Plain)
 * Italy
 * Campania
 * Province of Naples
 * Somma-Vesuvius Complex
 * Kola Peninsula, northern Russia
 * Khibiny Massif
 * Lovozero Massif
 * Alluaiv Mountain
 * Kedykverpakhk Mountain
 * Umbozero Mine
 * England, UK
 * St Just District
 * Botallack – Pendeen Area
 * North America
 * Canada
 * Quebec
 * Rouville County
 * Mont-Saint-Hilaire
 * Interior British Columbia
 * United States
 * California
 * Inyo County
 * Nevada
 * Churchill County (Soda Lake District)
 * Humboldt County
 * Mineral County
 * Oregon
 * Lake County
 * Pennsylvania
 * Karns
 * Natrona
 * Washington
 * Okanogan County
 * Wyoming
 * Natrona County

title: Natron


text:
Nancy A. Collins

Nancy A. Collins (born September 10, 1959) is an American horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) series, Jason vs. Leatherface, Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin' and her own one-shot issue Dhampire: Stillborn.

Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she moved about the South for several years, living in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, before settling in Macon, Georgia in 2019.

Writing
Collins has written numerous novels since 1989, most of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey. She is best known for Sonja Blue, a young woman with demonic powers who after being taught by an older male mentor, hunts and kills vampires. Her first appearance was in 1989. A. Asbjørn Jøn notes possible intertextual links between the Whistler character in the 1998 movie Blade and a character named Whistler in the Sonja Blue novel, A Dozen Black Roses (1996), as they possess "striking similarities in role, dramatic focus, visual appearance, and sharing the name". Margaret L. Carter, in her article on 20th century vampire fiction, listed Sunglasses After Dark as one of the 13 most influential vampire novels published after 1970, particularly in the way Collins depicted vampires as parasitic beings with no identity of their own who 'borrow' the memories of their hosts.

Chapbooks

 * The Tortuga Hill Gang's Last Ride: The True Story (1991)
 * Cold Turkey (1992)
 * Voodoo Chile (2002)
 * The Thing From Lover's Lane (2003)

Non-fiction

 * The Big Book of Losers (1996)
 * Drawn Swords' - "Foreword" (2017)
 * From Bayou To Abyss: Examining John Constantine, Hellblazer - "What Do You Do With An Undead Sailor?" (2020)
 * REH Changed My Life - "REH: Opener of the Way" (2021)

Comic books

 * Swamp Thing (vol. 2) (DC/Vertigo, 1991–1993)
 * Jason vs. Leatherface (Topps Comics, 1995)
 * Sunglasses After Dark (Verotik Publications, 1995–1997)
 * Machina Jones (Marvel Comics, 1995)
 * Dhampire: Stillborn (Vertigo, 1996; DC Comics, 1997) ISBN 978-1-56389-256-1
 * Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin' (Dark Horse, 1996)
 * Vampirella (Dynamite, 2014–2016)
 * Sunglasses After Dark: Full Blooded Edition (IDW, 2015)
 * Army of Darkness: Furious Road (Dynamite Entertainment, 2016)
 * Swamp Thing by Nancy A. Collins Omnibus (DC Comics/DC Black Label, 2020)

Awards

 * Bram Stoker Award First Novel winner (1990): Sunglasses After Dark
 * Bram Stoker Best Novellette nominee (1997): The Thing From Lover's Lane
 * Bram Stoker Best Collection nominee (2003): Knuckles and Tales
 * International Horror Guild Best Collection nominee (2003): Knuckles and Tales

Other
She is the founder of the International Horror Guild.

title: Nancy A. Collins