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Wissembourg

Wissembourg (South Franconian: Weisseburch ; German: Weißenburg ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France.

Wissembourg was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. The name Wissembourg is a Gallicized version of Weißenburg (Weissenburg) in German meaning "white castle". The Latin place-name, sometimes used in ecclesiastical sources, is Sebusium.

The town was annexed by France after 1648 but then incorporated into Germany in 1871. It was returned to France in 1919, but reincorporated back into Germany in 1940. After 1944 it again became French.

Geography
Wissembourg is situated on the little river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately 60 km north of Strasbourg and 35 km west of Karlsruhe. The Wissembourg station offers rail connections to Strasbourg, Haguenau and Landau (Germany).

History
Weissenburg (later Wissembourg) Abbey, the Benedictine abbey around which the town has grown, was founded in the 7th century, perhaps under the patronage of Dagobert I. The abbey was supported by vast territories. Of the 11th-century buildings constructed under the direction of Abbot Samuel, only the Schartenturm and some moats remain. The town was fortified in the 13th century. The abbey church of Saint-Pierre et Paul erected in the same century under the direction of Abbot Edelin was secularized in the French Revolution and despoiled of its treasures; in 1803 it became the parish church, resulting in the largest parish church of Alsace, only exceeded in size by the cathedral of Strasbourg. At the abbey in the late 9th century the monk Otfried composed a gospel harmony, the first substantial work of verse in German.

In 1354 Emperor Charles IV made it one of the grouping of ten towns called the Décapole that survived annexation by France under Louis XIV in 1678 and was extinguished with the French Revolution. On 25 January 1677 a great fire destroyed many houses and the Hôtel de Ville; its replacement dates from 1741 to 1752. Many early structures were spared: the Maison du Sel (1448), under its Alsatian pitched roof, was the first hospital of the town. There are many 15th- and 16th-century timber-frame houses, and parts of the walls and gateways of the town. The Maison de Stanislas was the retreat of Stanisław Leszczyński, ex-king of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1719 to 1725, when the formal request arrived on 3 April 1725 asking for the hand of his daughter in marriage to Louis XV. The First Battle of Wissembourg took place near the town in 1793.

The "Lines of Wissembourg" (Lignes de Wissembourg; Weißenburger Linien), originally made by Villars in 1706, were famous. They were a line of works extending to Lauterbourg nine miles to the southeast. Like the fortifications of the town, only vestiges remain, although the city wall is still intact for stretches. Austrian General von Wurmser succeeded in briefly capturing the lines in October 1793, but was defeated two months later by General Pichegru of the French Army and forced to retreat, along with the Prussians, across the River Rhine.

Wissembourg formed the setting for the Romantic novel L'ami Fritz (1869) co-written by the team of Erckmann and Chatrian, which provided the material for Mascagni's opera L'amico Fritz.

Another Battle of Wissembourg took place on 4 August 1870. It was the first battle of the Franco-Prussian War. The Prussians were nominally commanded by the Crown Prince Frederick, but ably directed by his chief of staff, General Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal. The French defeat allowed the Prussian army to move into France. The Geisberg monument commemorates the battle; the town's cemetery holds large numbers of soldiers, including the stately tomb of French general Abel Douay who was killed in combat.

In 1975 the commune of Wissembourg absorbed the former commune of Altenstadt.

Notable people

 * Otfrid of Weissenburg (c. 800 – after 870 AD) was a monk at the abbey of Weissenburg.
 * Justus Ludwik Decjusz (Jost Ludwig Dietz, Iodocus Ludovicus Decius (1485–1545) notable Polish burgher and diplomat of German origin in 16th-century Kraków.
 * Martin Bucer (1491–1551) was a Protestant reformer based in Wissembourg/Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices.
 * Karl Harst (1492–1563), German diplomat and assistant of Erasmus
 * Stanisław Leszczyński, king of Poland from 1704 to 1709, exiled in Wissembourg and lived there from 1719 to 1725. The school in the city now bears his name.
 * Jacob Job Élie (1746-1825), French divisional general of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and among the leaders of the 1789 storming of the Bastille
 * , (1749–1820), pastor at Wissembourg then deputy to the National Convention on 10 ventôse year III (28 February 1795) to replace Philibert Simond.
 * Louis Moll (1809–1880), agronomist, born in Wissembourg.
 * (1824–1909), priest.
 * Auguste Dreyfus (1827–1897), businessman who made his fortune by financing the Peruvian trade in guano.
 * Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916), cavalry officer in the French Army, explorer, geographer, and Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria.
 * (1807–1869), printer and lithographer.
 * Julie Velten Favre (1833–1896), philosopher and educator.
 * Jean-Pierre Hubert (1941–2006), a science-fiction writer.
 * Jean-François Kornetzky (1982–), football goalkeeper.
 * Drew Heissler aka Pokey LaFarge (1983–), is an American roots musician and songwriter. His family emigrated from Wissembourg/Alsace.
 * Alix Bénézech (1991–), actress and director.

Sights

The town, set in a landscape of wheat fields, retains a former Benedictine monastery with its large-scale Gothic church, now the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul's church (Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul). Other medieval churches are the Lutheran St John's church (Église Saint-Jean), and the Romanesque St Ulrich's church (Église Saint-Ulrich) in Altenstadt. The 13th-century Dominican church now serves as the cultural center "La Nef". The Grenier aux Dîmes (tithe barn) belonging to the abbey is from the 18th century but an ancient foundation. Noteworthy houses are the medieval "Salt house" (Maison du sel), the Renaissance "House of l'Ami Fritz" and the Baroque town hall, a work by Joseph Massol.

title: Wissembourg


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Consensus decision-making

Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to consensus) is a group decision-making process in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the goal of achieving broad acceptance, defined by its terms as form of consensus. The focus on establishing agreement of at least the majority or the supermajority and avoiding unproductive opinion differentiates consensus from unanimity, which requires all participants to support a decision. Consensus decision-making in a democracy is consensus democracy.

Origin and meaning of term
The word consensus is Latin meaning "agreement, accord", derived from consentire meaning "feel together". A noun, consensus can represent a generally accepted opinion – "general agreement or concord; harmony", "a majority of opinion" – or the outcome of a consensus decision-making process. This article refers to the process and the outcome (e.g. "to decide by consensus" and "a consensus was reached").

History
Consensus decision-making, as a self-described practice, originates from several nonviolent, direct action groups that were active in the Civil rights, Peace and Women's movements, themselves part of the larger U.S. counterculture of the 1960s. The practice gained popularity in the 1970s through the anti-nuclear movement, and peaked in popularity in the early 1980s. Consensus spread abroad through the anti-globalization and climate movements, and has become normalized in anti-authoritarian spheres in conjunction with affinity groups and ideas of participatory democracy and prefigurative politics.

The Movement for a New Society (MNS) has been credited for popularizing consensus decision-making. Unhappy with the inactivity of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) against the Vietnam War, Lawrence Scott started A Quaker Action Group (AQAG) in 1966 to try and encourage activism within the Quakers. By 1971 AQAG members felt they needed not only to end the war, but transform civil society as a whole, and renamed AQAG to MNS. MNS members used consensus decision-making from the beginning as a non-religious adaptation of the Quaker decision-making they were used to. MNS trained the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance (1976) and Abalone Alliance (1977) to use consensus, and in 1977 published Resource Manual for a Living Revolution, which included a section on consensus.

An earlier account of consensus decision-making comes from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the main student organization of the civil rights movement, founded in 1960. Early SNCC member Mary King, later reflected: "we tried to make all decisions by consensus ... it meant discussing a matter and reformulating it until no objections remained". This way of working was brought to the SNCC at its formation by the Nashville student group, who had received nonviolence training from James Lawson and Myles Horton at the Highlander Folk School. However, as the SNCC faced growing internal and external pressure toward the mid-1960s, it developed into a more hierarchical structure, eventually abandoning consensus.

Women Strike for Peace (WSP) are also accounted as independently used consensus from their founding in 1961. Eleanor Garst (herself influenced by Quakers) introduced the practice as part of the loose and participatory structure of WSP.

As consensus grew in popularity, it became less clear who influenced who. Food Not Bombs, which started in 1980 in connection with an occupation of Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant organized by the Clamshell Alliance, adopted consensus for their organization. Consensus was used in the 1999 Seattle WTO protests, which inspired the S11 (World Economic Forum protest) in 2000 to do so too. Consensus was used at the first Camp for Climate Action (2006) and subsequent camps. Occupy Wall Street (2011) made use of consensus, popularizing the people's microphone and hand signals.

Objectives
Characteristics of consensus decision-making include:

 * Collaboration: Participants contribute to a shared proposal and shape it into a decision that meets the concerns of all group members as much as possible.
 * Cooperation: Participants in an effective consensus process should strive to reach the best possible decision for the group and all of its members, rather than competing for personal preferences.
 * Egalitarianism: All members of a consensus decision-making body should be afforded, as much as possible, equal input into the process. All members have the opportunity to present and amend proposals.
 * Inclusion: As many stakeholders as possible should be involved in a consensus decision-making process.
 * Participation: The consensus process should actively solicit the input and participation of all decision-makers.

Alternative to common decision-making practices
Consensus decision-making is an alternative to commonly practiced group decision-making processes. Robert's Rules of Order, for instance, is a guide book used by many organizations. This book on Parliamentary Procedure allows the structuring of debate and passage of proposals that can be approved through a form of majority vote. It does not emphasize the goal of full agreement. Critics of such a process believe that it can involve adversarial debate and the formation of competing factions. These dynamics may harm group member relationships and undermine the ability of a group to cooperatively implement a contentious decision. Consensus decision-making attempts to address the beliefs of such problems. Proponents claim that outcomes of the consensus process include:

 * Better decisions: Through including the input of all stakeholders the resulting proposals may better address all potential concerns.
 * Better implementation: A process that includes and respects all parties, and generates as much agreement as possible sets the stage for greater cooperation in implementing the resulting decisions.
 * Better group relationships: A cooperative, collaborative group atmosphere can foster greater group cohesion and interpersonal connection.

Decision rules
Consensus is not synonymous with unanimity – though that may be a rule agreed to in a specific decision-making process. The level of agreement necessary to finalize a decision is known as a decision rule.

Diversity of opinion is normal in most all situations, and will be represented proportionately in an appropriately functioning group.

"Even with goodwill and social awareness, citizens are likely to disagree in their political opinions and judgments. Differences of interest as well as of perception and values will lead the citizens to divergent views about how to direct and use the organized political power of the community, in order to promote and protect common interests. If political representatives reflect this diversity, then there will be as much disagreement in the legislature as there is in the population."

Blocking and other forms of dissent
To ensure the agreement or consent of all participants is valued, many groups choose unanimity or near-unanimity as their decision rule. Groups that require unanimity allow individual participants the option of blocking a group decision. This provision motivates a group to make sure that all group members consent to any new proposal before it is adopted. When there is potential for a block to a group decision, both the group and dissenters in the group are encouraged to collaborate until agreement can be reached. Simply vetoing a decision is not considered a responsible use of consensus blocking. Some common guidelines for the use of consensus blocking include:

 * Providing an option for those who do not support a proposal to "stand aside" rather than block.
 * Requiring a block from two or more people to put a proposal aside.
 * Requiring the blocking party to supply an alternative proposal or a process for generating one.
 * Limiting each person's option to block consensus to a handful of times in one's life.
 * Limiting the option of blocking to decisions that are substantial to the mission or operation of the group and not allowing blocking on routine decisions.
 * Limiting the allowable rationale for blocking to issues that are fundamental to the group's mission or potentially disastrous to the group.

Dissent options
A participant who does not support a proposal may have alternatives to simply blocking it. Some common options may include the ability to:
 * Declare reservations: Group members who are willing to let a motion pass but desire to register their concerns with the group may choose "declare reservations." If there are significant reservations about a motion, the decision-making body may choose to modify or re-word the proposal.
 * Stand aside: A "stand aside" may be registered by a group member who has a "serious personal disagreement" with a proposal, but is willing to let the motion pass. Although stand asides do not halt a motion, it is often regarded as a strong "nay vote" and the concerns of group members standing aside are usually addressed by modifications to the proposal. Stand asides may also be registered by users who feel they are incapable of adequately understanding or participating in the proposal.
 * Object: Any group member may "object" to a proposal. In groups with a unanimity decision rule, a single block is sufficient to stop a proposal. Other decision rules may require more than one objection for a proposal to be blocked or not pass (see previous section, ).

Process models
The basic model for achieving consensus as defined by any decision rule involves:
 * Collaboratively generating a proposal
 * Identifying unsatisfied concerns
 * Modifying the proposal to generate as much agreement as possible

All attempts at achieving consensus begin with a good faith attempt at generating full-agreement, regardless of decision rule threshold.

Spokescouncil
In the spokescouncil model, affinity groups make joint decisions by each designating a speaker and sitting behind that circle of spokespeople, akin to the spokes of a wheel. While speaking rights might be limited to each group's designee, the meeting may allot breakout time for the constituent groups to discuss an issue and return to the circle via their spokesperson. In the case of an activist spokescouncil preparing for the A16 Washington D.C. protests in 2000, affinity groups disputed their spokescouncil's imposition of nonviolence in their action guidelines. They received the reprieve of letting groups self-organize their protests, and as the city's protest was subsequently divided into pie slices, each blockaded by an affinity group's choice of protest. Many of the participants learned about the spokescouncil model on the fly by participating in it directly, and came to better understand their planned action by hearing others' concerns and voicing their own.

Modified Borda Count vote
In Designing an All-Inclusive Democracy (2007), Emerson proposes a consensus oriented approach based on the Modified Borda Count (MBC) voting method. The group first elects, say, three referees or consensors. The debate on the chosen problem is initiated by the facilitator calling for proposals. Every proposed option is accepted if the referees decide it is relevant and conforms with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The referees produce and display a list of these options. The debate proceeds, with queries, comments, criticisms and/or even new options. If the debate fails to come to a verbal consensus, the referees draw up a final list of options - usually between 4 and 6 - to represent the debate. When all agree, the chair calls for a preferential vote, as per the rules for a Modified Borda Count. The referees decide which option, or which composite of the two leading options, is the outcome. If its level of support surpasses a minimum consensus coefficient, it may be adopted.

Blocking

Groups that require unanimity commonly use a core set of procedures depicted in this flow chart.

Once an agenda for discussion has been set and, optionally, the ground rules for the meeting have been agreed upon, each item of the agenda is addressed in turn. Typically, each decision arising from an agenda item follows through a simple structure:
 * Discussion of the item: The item is discussed with the goal of identifying opinions and information on the topic at hand. The general direction of the group and potential proposals for action are often identified during the discussion.
 * Formation of a proposal: Based on the discussion a formal decision proposal on the issue is presented to the group.
 * Call for consensus: The facilitator of the decision-making body calls for consensus on the proposal. Each member of the group usually must actively state whether they agree or consent, stand aside, or object, often by using a hand gesture or raising a colored card, to avoid the group interpreting silence or inaction as agreement. The number of objections is counted to determine if this step's consent threshold is satisfied.  If it is, dissenters are asked to share their concerns with proceeding with the agreement, so that any potential harms can be addressed/minimized. This can happen even if the consent threshold is unanimity, especially if many voters stand aside.
 * Identification and addressing of concerns: If consensus is not achieved, each dissenter presents his or her concerns on the proposal, potentially starting another round of discussion to address or clarify the concern.
 * Modification of the proposal: The proposal is amended, re-phrased or ridered in an attempt to address the concerns of the decision-makers. The process then returns to the call for consensus and the cycle is repeated until a satisfactory decision passes the consent threshold for the group.

Quaker-based model
Quaker-based consensus is said to be effective because it puts in place a simple, time-tested structure that moves a group towards unity. The Quaker model is intended to allow hearing individual voices while providing a mechanism for dealing with disagreements.

The Quaker model has been adapted by Earlham College for application to secular settings, and can be effectively applied in any consensus decision-making process.

Its process includes:

 * Multiple concerns and information are shared until the sense of the group is clear.
 * Discussion involves active listening and sharing information.
 * Norms limit number of times one asks to speak to ensure that each speaker is fully heard.
 * Ideas and solutions belong to the group; no names are recorded.
 * Ideally, differences are resolved by discussion. The facilitator ("clerk" or "convenor" in the Quaker model) identifies areas of agreement and names disagreements to push discussion deeper.
 * The facilitator articulates the sense of the discussion, asks if there are other concerns, and proposes a "minute" of the decision.
 * The group as a whole is responsible for the decision and the decision belongs to the group.
 * The facilitator can discern if one who is not uniting with the decision is acting without concern for the group or in selfish interest.
 * Ideally, all dissenters' perspectives are synthesized into the final outcome for a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
 * Should some dissenter's perspective not harmonize with the others, that dissenter may "stand aside" to allow the group to proceed, or may opt to "block". "Standing aside" implies a certain form of silent consent. Some groups allow "blocking" by even a single individual to halt or postpone the entire process.

Key components of Quaker-based consensus include a belief in a common humanity and the ability to decide together. The goal is "unity, not unanimity." Ensuring that group members speak only once until others are heard encourages a diversity of thought. The facilitator is understood as serving the group rather than acting as person-in-charge. In the Quaker model, as with other consensus decision-making processes, articulating the emerging consensus allows members to be clear on the decision in front of them. As members' views are taken into account they are likely to support it.

Roles
The consensus decision-making process often has several roles designed to make the process run more effectively. Although the name and nature of these roles varies from group to group, the most common are the facilitator, consensor, a timekeeper, an empath and a secretary or notes taker. Not all decision-making bodies use all of these roles, although the facilitator position is almost always filled, and some groups use supplementary roles, such as a Devil's advocate or greeter. Some decision-making bodies rotate these roles through the group members in order to build the experience and skills of the participants, and prevent any perceived concentration of power.

The common roles in a consensus meeting are:
 * Facilitator: As the name implies, the role of the facilitator is to help make the process of reaching a consensus decision easier. Facilitators accept responsibility for moving through the agenda on time; ensuring the group adheres to the mutually agreed-upon mechanics of the consensus process; and, if necessary, suggesting alternate or additional discussion or decision-making techniques, such as go-arounds, break-out groups or role-playing. Some consensus groups use two co-facilitators. Shared facilitation is often adopted to diffuse the perceived power of the facilitator and create a system whereby a co-facilitator can pass off facilitation duties if he or she becomes more personally engaged in a debate.
 * Consensor: The team of consensors is responsible for accepting those relevant proposals; for displaying an initial list of these options; for drawing up a balanced list of options to represent the entire debate; to analyse the preferences cast in any subsequent ballot; and, if need be, to determine the composite decision from the two most popular options.
 * Timekeeper: The purpose of the timekeeper is to ensure the decision-making body keeps to the schedule set in the agenda. Effective timekeepers use a variety of techniques to ensure the meeting runs on time including: giving frequent time updates, ample warning of short time, and keeping individual speakers from taking an excessive amount of time.
 * Empath or vibe watch: The empath, or 'vibe watch' as the position is sometimes called, is charged with monitoring the 'emotional climate' of the meeting, taking note of the body language and other non-verbal cues of the participants. Defusing potential emotional conflicts, maintaining a climate free of intimidation and being aware of potentially destructive power dynamics, such as sexism or racism within the decision-making body, are the primary responsibilities of the empath.
 * Note taker: The role of the notes taker or secretary is to document the decisions, discussion and action points of the decision-making body.

Tools and methods

 * Some consensus decision-making bodies use a system of colored cards to indicate speaker priority. For instance, red cards to indicate feedback on a breach in rules or decorum, yellow cards for clarifying questions, and green cards for desire to speak.
 * Hand signals are another method for reading a room's positions nonverbally. They work well with groups of fewer than 250 people and especially with multi-lingual groups. The nature and meaning of individual gestures varies between groups, but a widely adopted core set of hand signals include: wiggling of the fingers on both hands, a gesture sometimes referred to as "twinkling", to indicate agreement; raising a fist or crossing both forearms with hands in fists to indicate a block or strong disagreement; and making a "T" shape with both hands, the "time out" gesture, to call attention to a point of process or order. One common set of hand signals is called the "Fist-to-Five" or "Fist-of-Five". In this method each member of the group can hold up a fist to indicate blocking consensus, one finger to suggest changes, two fingers to discuss minor issues, three fingers to indicate willingness to let issue pass without further discussion, four fingers to affirm the decision as a good idea, and five fingers to volunteer to take a lead in implementing the decision. A similar set of hand signals are used by the Occupy Wall Street protesters in their group negotiations.
 * First-past-the-post is used as a fall-back method when consensus cannot be reached within a given time frame. If the potential outcome of the fall-back method can be anticipated, then those who support that outcome have incentives to block consensus so that the fall-back method gets applied. Special fall-back methods have been developed that reduce this incentive.

Criticism of blocking
Critics of consensus blocking often observe that the option, while potentially effective for small groups of motivated or trained individuals with a sufficiently high degree of affinity, has a number of possible shortcomings, notably
 * Preservation of the status quo: In decision-making bodies that use formal consensus, the ability of individuals or small minorities to block agreement gives an enormous advantage to anyone who supports the existing state of affairs. This can mean that a specific state of affairs can continue to exist in an organization long after a majority of members would like it to change.
 * Susceptibility to widespread disagreement: Giving the right to block proposals to all group members may result in the group becoming hostage to an inflexible minority or individual. When a popular proposal is blocked the group actually experiences widespread disagreement, the opposite of the consensus process's goal. Furthermore, "opposing such obstructive behavior [can be] construed as an attack on freedom of speech and in turn [harden] resolve on the part of the individual to defend his or her position." As a result, consensus decision-making has the potential to reward the least accommodating group members while punishing the most accommodating.
 * Stagnation and group dysfunction: When groups cannot make the decisions necessary to function (because they cannot resolve blocks), they may lose effectiveness in accomplishing their mission.
 * Susceptibility to splitting and excluding members: When high levels of group member frustration result from blocked decisions or inordinately long meetings, members may leave the group, try to get to others to leave, or limit who has entry to the group.
 * Channeling decisions away from an inclusive group process: When group members view the status quo as unjustly difficult to change through a whole group process, they may begin to delegate decision-making to smaller committees or to an executive committee. In some cases members begin to act unilaterally because they are frustrated with a stagnated group process.

Groupthink
Consensus seeks to improve solidarity in the long run. Accordingly, it should not be confused with unanimity in the immediate situation, which is often a symptom of groupthink. Studies of effective consensus process usually indicate a shunning of unanimity or "illusion of unanimity" that does not hold up as a group comes under real-world pressure (when dissent reappears). Cory Doctorow, Ralph Nader and other proponents of deliberative democracy or judicial-like methods view explicit dissent as a symbol of strength.

In his book about Wikipedia, Joseph Reagle considers the merits and challenges of consensus in open and online communities. Randy Schutt, Starhawk and other practitioners of direct action focus on the hazards of apparent agreement followed by action in which group splits become dangerously obvious.

Unanimous, or apparently unanimous, decisions can have drawbacks. They may be symptoms of a systemic bias, a rigged process (where an agenda is not published in advance or changed when it becomes clear who is present to consent), fear of speaking one's mind, a lack of creativity (to suggest alternatives) or even a lack of courage (to go further along the same road to a more extreme solution that would not achieve unanimous consent).

Unanimity is achieved when the full group apparently consents to a decision. It has disadvantages insofar as further disagreement, improvements or better ideas then remain hidden, but effectively ends the debate moving it to an implementation phase. Some consider all unanimity a form of groupthink, and some experts propose "coding systems ... for detecting the illusion of unanimity symptom". In Consensus is not Unanimity, long-time progressive change activist Randy Schutt writes:

"Many people think of consensus as simply an extended voting method in which everyone must cast their votes the same way. Since unanimity of this kind rarely occurs in groups with more than one member, groups that try to use this kind of process usually end up being either extremely frustrated or coercive. Decisions are never made (leading to the demise of the group), they are made covertly, or some group or individual dominates the rest. Sometimes a majority dominates, sometimes a minority, sometimes an individual who employs "the Block." But no matter how it is done, this coercive process is not consensus."

Confusion between unanimity and consensus, in other words, usually causes consensus decision-making to fail, and the group then either reverts to majority or supermajority rule or disbands.

Most robust models of consensus exclude uniformly unanimous decisions and require at least documentation of minority concerns. Some state clearly that unanimity is not consensus but rather evidence of intimidation, lack of imagination, lack of courage, failure to include all voices, or deliberate exclusion of the contrary views.

Criticism of majority voting processes
Some proponents of consensus decision-making view procedures that use majority rule as undesirable for several reasons. Majority voting is regarded as competitive, rather than cooperative, framing decision-making in a win/lose dichotomy that ignores the possibility of compromise or other mutually beneficial solutions. Carlos Santiago Nino, on the other hand, has argued that majority rule leads to better deliberation practice than the alternatives, because it requires each member of the group to make arguments that appeal to at least half the participants.

Some advocates of consensus would assert that a majority decision reduces the commitment of each individual decision-maker to the decision. Members of a minority position may feel less commitment to a majority decision, and even majority voters who may have taken their positions along party or bloc lines may have a sense of reduced responsibility for the ultimate decision. The result of this reduced commitment, according to many consensus proponents, is potentially less willingness to defend or act upon the decision.

Majority voting cannot measure consensus. Indeed,—so many 'for' and so many 'against'—it measures the very opposite, the degree of dissent. The Modified Borda Count has been put forward as a voting method which better approximates consensus.

Additional critical perspectives
Some formal models based on graph theory attempt to explore the implications of suppressed dissent and subsequent sabotage of the group as it takes action.

High-stakes decision-making, such as judicial decisions of appeals courts, always require some such explicit documentation. Consent however is still observed that defies factional explanations. Nearly 40% of the decisions of the United States Supreme Court, for example, are unanimous, though often for widely varying reasons. "Consensus in Supreme Court voting, particularly the extreme consensus of unanimity, has often puzzled Court observers who adhere to ideological accounts of judicial decision making." Historical evidence is mixed on whether particular Justices' views were suppressed in favour of public unity.

Heitzig and Simmons (2012) suggest using random selection as a fall-back method to strategically incentivize consensus over blocking. However, this makes it very difficult to tell the difference between those who support the decision and those who merely tactically tolerate it for the incentive. Once they receive that incentive, they may undermine or refuse to implement the agreement in various and non-obvious ways. In general voting systems avoid allowing offering incentives (or "bribes") to change a heartfelt vote.

In the Abilene paradox, a group can unanimously agree on a course of action that no individual member of the group desires because no one individual is willing to go against the perceived will of the decision-making body.

Since consensus decision-making focuses on discussion and seeks the input of all participants, it can be a time-consuming process. This is a potential liability in situations where decisions must be made speedily, or where it is not possible to canvass opinions of all delegates in a reasonable time. Additionally, the time commitment required to engage in the consensus decision-making process can sometimes act as a barrier to participation for individuals unable or unwilling to make the commitment. However, once a decision has been reached it can be acted on more quickly than a decision handed down. American businessmen complained that in negotiations with a Japanese company, they had to discuss the idea with everyone even the janitor, yet once a decision was made the Americans found the Japanese were able to act much quicker because everyone was on board, while the Americans had to struggle with internal opposition.

Similar practices
Outside of Western culture, multiple other cultures have used consensus decision-making. One early example is the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy Grand Council, which used a 75% supermajority to finalize its decisions, potentially as early as 1142. In the Xulu and Xhosa (South African) process of indaba, community leaders gather to listen to the public and negotiate figurative thresholds towards an acceptable compromise. The technique was also used during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In Aceh and Nias cultures (Indonesian), family and regional disputes, from playground fights to estate inheritance, are handled through a musyawarah consensus-building process in which parties mediate to find peace and avoid future hostility and revenge. The resulting agreements are expected to be followed, and range from advice and warnings to compensation and exile.

The origins of formal consensus-making can be traced significantly further back, to the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, who adopted the technique as early as the 17th century. Anabaptists, including some Mennonites, have a history of using consensus decision-making and some believe Anabaptists practiced consensus as early as the Martyrs' Synod of 1527. Some Christians trace consensus decision-making back to the Bible. The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia references, in particular, Acts 15 as an example of consensus in the New Testament. The lack of legitimate consensus process in the unanimous conviction of Jesus by corrupt priests in an illegally held Sanhedrin court (which had rules preventing unanimous conviction in a hurried process) strongly influenced the views of pacifist Protestants, including the Anabaptists (Mennonites/Amish), Quakers and Shakers. In particular it influenced their distrust of expert-led courtrooms and to "be clear about process" and convene in a way that assures that "everyone must be heard".

The Modified Borda Count voting method has been advocated as more 'consensual' than majority voting, by, among others, by Ramón Llull in 1199, by Nicholas Cusanus in 1435, by Jean-Charles de Borda in 1784, by Hother Hage in 1860, by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in 1884, and by Peter Emerson in 1986.

Japanese business
Japanese companies normally use consensus decision-making, meaning that unanimous support on the board of directors is sought for any decision. A ringi-sho is a circulation document used to obtain agreement. It must first be signed by the lowest level manager, and then upwards, and may need to be revised and the process started over.

IETF rough consensus model
In the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), decisions are assumed to be taken by rough consensus. The IETF has studiously refrained from defining a mechanical method for verifying such consensus, apparently in the belief that any such codification leads to attempts to "game the system." Instead, a working group (WG) chair or BoF chair is supposed to articulate the "sense of the group."

One tradition in support of rough consensus is the tradition of humming rather than (countable) hand-raising; this allows a group to quickly discern the prevalence of dissent, without making it easy to slip into majority rule.

Much of the business of the IETF is carried out on mailing lists, where all parties can speak their views at all times.

Social constructivism model
In 2001, Robert Rocco Cottone published a consensus-based model of professional decision-making for counselors and psychologists. Based on social constructivist philosophy, the model operates as a consensus-building model, as the clinician addresses ethical conflicts through a process of negotiating to consensus. Conflicts are resolved by consensually agreed on arbitrators who are selected early in the negotiation process.

US Bureau of Land Management collaborative stakeholder engagement
The United States Bureau of Land Management's policy is to seek to use collaborative stakeholder engagement as standard operating practice for natural resources projects, plans, and decision-making except under unusual conditions such as when constrained by law, regulation, or other mandates or when conventional processes are important for establishing new, or reaffirming existing, precedent.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1569–1795 used consensus decision-making in the form of liberum veto ('free veto') in its Sejms (legislative assemblies). A type of unanimous consent, the liberum veto originally allowed any member of a Sejm to veto an individual law by shouting Sisto activitatem! (Latin: "I stop the activity!") or Nie pozwalam! (Polish: "I do not allow!"). Over time it developed into a much more extreme form, where any Sejm member could unilaterally and immediately force the end of the current session and nullify any previously passed legislation from that session. Due to excessive use and sabotage from neighboring powers bribing Sejm members, legislating became very difficult and weakened the Commonwealth. Soon after the Commonwealth banned liberum veto as part of its Constitution of 3 May 1791, it dissolved under pressure from neighboring powers.

Sociocracy
Sociocracy has many of the same aims as consensus and is in applied in a similar range of situations. It is slightly different in that broad support for a proposal is defined as the lack of disagreement (sometimes called 'reasoned objection') rather than affirmative agreement. To reflect this difference from the common understanding of the word consensus, in Sociocracy the process is called gaining 'consent' (not consensus).

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

title: Consensus decision-making


text:
Mark Jonathan Harris

Mark Jonathan Harris (born 1941) is an American documentary filmmaker probably best known for his films Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) and The Long Way Home (1997). He has directed three documentaries which have gone on to win Oscars, across three different decades.

Educated at Harvard, Harris co-produced the short The Redwoods for the Sierra Club with Trevor Greenwood; the short won the 1967 Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. The aforementioned Into The Arms and Long Way Home also landed Academy Awards.

Harris started out as a crime reporter for the Chicago City News Bureau, and reports that on his first story he went into a police station and had his car stolen from in front of it. The police called him a few weeks later to ask if he had found his car. Harris tried investigative journalism next but quit after realizing he did not like to embarrass people.

Harris believes that filmmakers can construct a cinema verite film beforehand by considering repeatable events—that is, by determining which events are likely to recur frequently, and being there to film those events when they do. He tested this theory on a film on the Peace Corps in Colombia, in a small village 50 miles outside Bogotá. The film was not especially positive about the Peace Corps experience; the Peace Corps decided not to use it for recruiting, but to use it for training people who have been in for about a year. Harris has also directed a film on migrant farmworkers and their dismal wages and living conditions;one of the "stars" of his documentary was Luis Valdez, who went on to direct the film La Bamba.

Harris' film The Long Way Home deals with the experience of Jewish refugees after World War II. Spike Lee condemned the second half of the film as propaganda for the state of Israel; nonetheless the film won an Oscar in 1997 for Best Documentary. Harris next directed a film less complimentary towards the state, which had been commissioned specifically for the 50th anniversary of Israel. Harris intended the film, A Dream No More, to reflect Israel, "warts and all"; he spent 15 months and nearly $1.5 million U.S. making the film, which went over deadline as he tried to determine final structure for the film. He turned in a final print and had the film flagged the next day; it was never shown. Harris considers this film the second of his "Jewish trilogy". Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, the third part of the trilogy, tells the stories of several people whose parents sent them on the kindertransport to escape the Germans, as well as one woman who was meant to go and did not because her father pulled her off the train. The film won the 2000 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. In 2003, Harris wrote Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives. He was nominated for outstanding writing for non-fiction writing for this documentary.

As a documentary filmmaker, Harris casts his films carefully, talking to people beforehand and deciding who has an interesting story and who tells it well on camera. He also refuses to start filming immediately, but prefers to talk with the subjects for about an hour beforehand.

He is currently the producer of a documentary called "With One Hand Tied", which is based on the book "Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II".

Harris is also the author of various children's books, a side career he stumbled into the mid-1980s: he returned to journalism because he could not find funding for a documentary he wanted to make. After writing an article about a young child, he was contacted by an agent who asked him to write children's literature and has since written several children's books.

Harris is currently a professor at the School of Cinematic Arts of the University of Southern California.

title: Mark Jonathan Harris


text:
Marble sculpture

Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface before refracting it in subsurface scattering. This gives an attractive soft appearance that is especially good for representing human skin, which can also be polished.

Of the many different types of marble the pure white ones are generally used for sculpture, with coloured ones preferred for many architectural and decorative uses. The degree of hardness is right to carve without too much difficulty, but still give a very durable result, if not exposed to acid rain or seawater.

Famous individual types and quarries include from classical times Parian marble from Paros, used for the Venus de Milo and many other Ancient Greek sculptures, and Pentelic marble, from near Athens, used for most of the Parthenon sculptures, and by the Romans. Carrara marble from northern Italy was used by the Romans, and very extensively up to recent decades, when the pure white statuario grade more or less ran out. This was used by Michelangelo and other Renaissance sculptors, and later exported, including to America.

Material origin and qualities

Marble is a metamorphic rock derived from limestone, composed mostly of calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3). The original source of the parent limestone is the seabed deposition of calcium carbonate in the form of microscopic animal skeletons or similar materials. Marble is formed when the limestone is transformed by heat and pressure after being overlain by other materials. The finest marbles for sculpture have no or few stains, though natural stains can be incorporated into the work itself.

Advantages
Among the commonly available stones, only marble has a slight translucency i.e. subsurface scattering that is comparable to that of human skin. It is this translucency that gives a marble sculpture a visual depth beyond its surface and this evokes a certain realism when used for figurative works. Some types of marble also have the advantage that, when first quarried, it is relatively soft and easy to work, refine, and polish. As the finished marble ages, it becomes harder and more durable. Preference to the cheaper and less translucent limestone is based largely on the fineness of marble's grain, which enables the sculptor to render minute detail in a manner not always possible with limestone. In contrast to limestone, marble is also extremely weather-resistant. As a result, surface changes due to the immediate environment are not always visible to the naked eye. This feature can pose challenges when dating ancient works.

Disadvantages
Marble sculptors must be careful when handling their materials, as the stone can absorb skin oils and develop yellow or brown stains. While more resistant than limestone it is subject to attack by weak acids, and so performs poorly in outdoor environments subject to acid rain. For severe environments, granite is a more lasting material but one which is far more difficult to work and much less suitable for refined works. Compared to metals such as bronze, furthermore, marble is inflexible and vulnerable to fracturing. This drawback means that sculptors must incorporate specific supporting features into the sculpture to prevent collapse. In Thomas Ridgeway Gould's The West Wind, for example, he poised the figure's short and slender ankles delicately upon the balls of her small feet. This would not be possible without the deliberate decision by Gould to distribute almost all of the marble's weight to her massive, flowing skirt. Unlike bronze sculpture, this statue is not hollow; her drapery is one solid block of marble.

Developing a sculpture
Sculptors usually begin by knocking off, or "pitching," large portions of unwanted stone. A suitable tool for this task is a point chisel, which is a long, hefty piece of steel with a point at one end and a broad striking surface at the other. A pitching tool may also be used at this early stage, which is a wedge-shaped chisel with a broad, flat edge. The pitching tool is useful for splitting the stone and removing large, unwanted chunks.

The sculptor may also use a mallet, which is similar to a hammer with a broad, barrel-shaped head. When the mallet connects to the tool, energy is transferred through the tool, shattering the stone. Most sculptors work rhythmically, turning the tool with each blow so that the stone is removed quickly and evenly. This is the "roughing out" stage of the sculpting process. While a mallet provides the force needed to fracture the marble, it must be used accurately. The smallest miscalculation can ruin the intended sculpture and even injure the sculptor.

Some artists prefer to carve directly onto the stone, without a model; the Renaissance artist Michelangelo, for example, claimed that his job was to free the human form trapped inside the block. Other artists sculpt a preliminary model out of clay or wax and then translate its features to stone through the use of calipers or a pointing machine.

Once the general shape of the statue has been determined, the sculptor uses other tools to refine the figure. A toothed chisel or claw chisel has multiple gouging surfaces which create parallel lines in the stone. These tools are generally used to add texture to the figure. An artist might mark out specific lines by using calipers to measure an area of stone to be addressed and marking the removal area with pencil, charcoal or chalk. The stone carver generally uses a shallower stroke at this point in the process.

Eventually, the sculptor has changed the stone from a rough block into the general shape of the finished statue. Tools called rasps and rifflers are then used to enhance the shape into its final form. A rasp is a flat, steel tool with a coarse surface. The sculptor uses broad, sweeping strokes to remove excess stone as small chips or dust. A riffler is a smaller variation of the rasp, which can be used to create details such as folds of clothing or locks of hair.

Polishing is the last step of the carving process. Sculptors use a variety of fine, abrasive materials such as sandpaper or emery paper to highlight patterns in the stone and to accentuate its natural sheen. Some sculptors may also use tin oxide to achieve a high-lustre polish. Regardless of the method, however, a glossy marble sculpture will appear more translucent than one that has not been polished.

Tools
The Italian terms for the basic carving tools of stone sculpture are given here, and where possible the English terms have been included.

In addition to those hand tools listed above, the marble sculptor uses a variety of hammers – both for the striking of edge tools (chisels and hand drills) and for striking the stone directly (Bocciarda a Martello in Italian, Boucharde in French, Bush Hammer in English). Following the work of the hammer and chisel, the sculptor will sometimes refine the form further through the use of rasps, files and abrasive rubbing stones and/or sandpaper to smooth the surface contours of the form.
 * La Mazza – The mallet. This is used to strike the chisel.
 * Gli Scalpelli – The chisels. These come in various types:
 * La Subbia – (the Point) a pointed chisel or punch
 * L'Unghietto – (Round or Rondel Chisel) Literally, "little fingernail"
 * La Gradina – (Toothed Chisel or Claw) a chisel with multiple teeth-
 * Lo Scalpello – a flat chisel
 * Lo Scapezzatore – (Pitcher or Pitching Tool) a hefty chisel with a broad blunt edge, for splitting.
 * Il Martello Pneumatico – Pneumatic hammer
 * Il Flessibile – an angle grinder, fitted with an electrolysis-applied diamond studded blade
 * Hand Drill

Tool technique

Hammer and point work is the technique used in working stone, in use at least since Roman times, as it is described in the legend of Pygmalion, and even earlier, the ancient Greek sculptors used it from c. 650 BC. It consists of holding the pointed chisel against the stone and swinging the hammer at it as hard as possible. When the hammer connects with the striking end of the chisel, its energy is transferred down the length and concentrates on a single point on the surface of the block, breaking the stone. This is continued in a line following the desired contour. It may sound simple but many months are required to attain competency. A good stone worker can maintain a rhythm of relatively longer blows (about one per second), swinging the hammer in a wider arc, lifting the chisel between blows to flick out any chips that remain in the way, and repositioning it for the next blow. This way, one can drive the point deeper into the stone and remove more material at a time. Some stoneworkers also spin the subbia in their fingers between hammer blows, thus applying with each blow a different part of the point to the stone. This helps prevent the point from breaking.

Automation and robotic carving techniques
Some contemporary sculptors use advanced robots and automation software to help them create carved works in marble. A 2021 New York Times article describes how robots like ABB2, a 13-foot zinc-alloy robotic arm located in Carrara, Italy, mill marble slabs to fit designs created by artists from the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere.

Artists often blend robotic carving with hand carving. The process begins with digital files artists create to guide their robotic carving systems. “The data drives computer-controlled, stone-carving machines that use diamond and carbide bits that slowly mill away a rough version of the sculpture,” described New York sculptor Barry X Ball in a 2020 interview. “Then, we take it from there.” Ball's sculpture Sleeping Hermaphrodite required 10,000 hours of hand-sculpting after the initial robot sculpting phase was completed.

While some artists and scholars criticize the use of robot technology in marble sculpture, others see it as a natural evolution of the classical tradition. In a 2021 article, art historian Marco Ciampolini stated that many of history's greatest artists, including Michelangelo, delegated work to apprentices, and that the only difference between that practice and the use of digital automation is the fact that modern-day helpers are robots, rather than humans.

title: Marble sculpture


text:
Talk:Marble

Old comments
Having verified the etymology with the OED, I removed these comments from the article:

 * If this can be verified, it should stay.
 * Partridge has "marmaros," large stone or boulder, influenced by "marmarein," to glimmer or shine. Does etymology belong here at all?

-- Heron

Catherine moved this unsigned comment to talk page:
 * This can and should stay provided more details are provided. For example, the folklore of which folk, exactly?  Rocks and minerals aren't really all that intrinsically interesting to most people (I *am* a geologist), folklore, history and cultural traditions are important.

isn't marble also used for countertops and tile? -jubjubbirdgal —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.181.96.43 (talk) 21:40, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Picture
How about a picture of the Venus de Milo? 128.6.176.51 21:22, 8 March 2006 (UTC) ian is cool

Copyedit
After the recent changes, this article is in very desperate need of a copyedit. I don't know enough about marble to do one, though. Anyone game? 71.141.248.13 05:20, 19 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Moved the section to Stones of India and fixed a bit. Vsmith 11:01, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Should there not be mention of the term "marble" for cheeses and cakes for instance? The disambiguation page makes no reference to these usages of the term either. 74.101.199.53 04:59, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Demand is a US Dept of Interior (Bureau of Mines) term for an apparent consumption in tons that excludes processing losses and sometimes includes changes in stocks.Bmhtayl 20:37, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Calcium oxide
It says in the article that marble can be reduced to calcium oxide. Since reduction has a specific meaning for chemists, and considering the process has a specific name (calcination), wouldn't it be more accurate to say the marble can be calcinated to form calcium oxide, also know as lime? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.233.74.122 (talk) 19:50, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Origin
Doesn't marble come from limestone, dolostone and older marble? Eh, but what does the unregistered user know? -unrgsrd

Thank you kind editors, I have tried to fix up this article and add my point to it, and did a very crude job. Much better

Origins
"Dolostone" should be replaced by "dolomite rock" according to the article "dolostone". Dr Thermo (talk) 19:24, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Types
In the distinctly humdrum list ("Brown marble" etc) there are no mentions of Giallo di Siena, Verde Antico, or French names used in furnishings (commode tops, chimneypieces, etc) that include Breche violette, bleu turquin, etc. The origin of the white marblke used is an aid in connoisseurship of Greek and Roman sculpture. Much is missing here.--Wetman (talk) 23:06, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

What about (Nero) Marquino/Marquina marble? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.221.225.224 (talk) 10:03, 28 March 2010 (UTC)

uhhh...no
I removed the statement: "Marble is also used in coolers and kitchen construction because it stays 5°C (9°F) cooler than the air that surrounds it at room temperature and pressure." because it is unscientific garbage. It had two references: one to a Yahoo Answers post by someone named "dunrobin46" and one to a comment by someone named "matilda" on a commercial site for a marble wine cooler. I removed those references. Marble feels cold for the same reason that metal and water feel cold. It is much better than air at transferring heat away from your skin. Go ahead and store your marble wine cooler at room temperature and expect it to cool your bottle. Your neighbor will store theirs someplace cold and will have chilled wine. You won't. Flying Jazz (talk) 22:30, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

Age of marble
IF marble comes from (metamorphosized) limestone... AND IF limestone comes from the calcium carbonate shells & hard-parts of (mostly marine) organisms... AND IF shells & skeletons only evolved, on Earth, 550 Mya, during the Cambrian Explosion... THEN does that mean, that the oldest marbles, are at most that age??? Marble = Post-Cambrian???66.235.26.150 (talk) 09:21, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

 * Not all limestone comes from the shells of living things, it can be precipitated directly from the water of lakes or seas under the right conditions, e.g. travertine, so precambrian limestones, and therefore marbles, are possible. Mikenorton (talk) 09:53, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

 * Also, in the precambrian stromatolites formed limestone going back at least to the Archaean, about 2.7 Ga (2700 million years ago) according to our article. Mikenorton (talk) 10:48, 2 October 2010 (UTC

 * Would the high CO2 content in the Precambrian hinder limestone and marble petrogenesis? --97.123.33.79 (talk) 00:27, 23 June 2016 (UTC)

Safe way to clean marble?
Can anyone add information on the adverse effects (if any) of using washing-up liquid and water to clean polished white-grey marble? Will the marble loose its lustre and polish, and become duller with a rough surface? Is there a safe method to clean and disinfect marble without damaging it? Wsmss (talk) 13:41, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Geology
As a rock in geology, I am surprised there is almost nothing in this article explaining it. We could start by adding material from this article written by someone with a Ph.D. I have no doubt there are plenty of other easily available high quality sources to write at least a paragraph on how the rock is formed. --David Tornheim (talk) 11:05, 3 June 2018 (UTC)

Photo Greek quarry
Since the word marble is Greek and the most famous ancient buildings were made with marble from Athens, could someone add a photo from the quarry of Penteli? Onoufrios d (talk) 20:26, 17 July 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 July 2018
In section "about"... This article is about the rock. For the toy, see Marble (toy). For other uses, see Marble (disambiguation). Add the reference to Marble KDE Edu (software part of GNU/Linux) Adramesc (talk) 14:17, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

 * ❌ That's what the disambiguation page is for - Marble (toy) is only mentioned, because it a very common alternative. Mikenorton (talk) 15:15, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

Macedonia
change ((Macedonia)) to ((Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia)) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:541:4500:1760:dd3f:3870:e6a5:1739 (talk) 14:34, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
 * ✅  General Ization Talk  14:40, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

Does "Murphy marble" exist?
Looking up "murphy marble" and "white murphy marble" on Google gets repeated hits on the Murphy marble belt, or the Murphy Marble Company in Chicago. The only ref I can find to white murphy marble is in the United States Geological Survey, but that is for North/South Carolina, not Georgia as the article currently indicates. I hope someone can find a reference for white marble from northern Georgia being called "Murphy marble"; if not I will come back around asking for the variety to be removed from the article. 2601:194:380:1320:E9F5:9BBE:5978:2D9D (talk) 16:35, 27 June 2019 (UTC)

 * The old Geolex in book form (Lexicon of Geologic Names in United States) mentions the occurrence of the Murphy Marble in Georgia here on page 2660. Mikenorton (talk) 08:38, 28 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I also found a map showing the extent of the Murphy Marble here - see figure 2 (which you can look at on Google Images here), which shows that the Murphy Marble extends a long way into Georgia. Mikenorton (talk) 09:34, 28 June 2019 (UTC)

"Wood Vein Marble" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Wood Vein Marble. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 22:18, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

"Cipolin" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Cipolin. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 22:59, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 January 2020
The information given in this section is not real. As trade statistics of the International Trade Center, Turkey is the biggest producer and exporter of marble. According to HS code 2515 which includes all kinds of marble, Turkey dominated the world market with %39 percentage of export. Which Italy following turkey with just %17 share.

I read this article because I am making a market search about marble and definitely I am shocked that I don't see any word about Turkey. China is a current importer on marble sector but in this article, you mention China as a producer which is also false.

Best Regards 88.239.2.143 (talk) 12:46, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

 * ❌. It's not clear what changes you want to make. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 16:12, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

 * You're right, it appears that Turkey is the world's largest exporter of marble - see here. The data in the article is 20 years out-of-date. The Comtrade table doesn't of course tell us about actual production. I would be very surprised if China wasn't a producer, but they are clearly no longer one of the largest exporters. I note that Italy is both the second largest exporter and the third largest importer of marble and we know nothing about Italy's consumption of marble, so these figures don't help at all with global production. I've added the top 3 exporters and importers using that source, but I've not found anything yet that gives global production figures. Mikenorton (talk) 16:59, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

"White marble" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect White marble. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 00:03, 13 February 2020 (UTC)

Merge from Ruin marble
I propose merging Ruin marble into Marble. This is a short stub article that is unlikely to be expanded.--beefyt (talk) 14:59, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Definitely do not add to "Marble." "Ruined Marble" is a subtopic of Liesegang Structures/Rings and should be added to that page with a reference to "Serra, M., A. Borghi, L. Mariano Gallo, R. Hovoric, and G. Vaggelli. 2010. Petrographic features, genesis and provenance of Pietra Paesina collections of the Regional Museum of Natural Sciences on Turin, Italy. Periodico di Mineralogia, Special Issue:95-111." (The most current research on the topic.)Adiabatic dispersion (talk) 23:32, 31 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Completely disagree. This is not a marble, but an unmetamorphosed sedimentary rock; the German version has more info., Uwe Kolitsch
 * Oppose it's not a marble. After 9 months & no support, I'm going to remove the tags. Johnbod (talk) 13:34, 17 June 2022 (UTC)

Marble
Can you add characteristics of a marble? 110.235.181.152 (talk) 14:27, 8 November 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: ERTH 4303 Resources of the Earth
— Assignment last updated by ChloejWard (talk) 03:40, 15 April 2023 (UTC)

To add
To add: mention of portasanta marble, a special variety of marble (and it also merits its own article). 173.88.246.138 (talk) 22:59, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

Production locations
This section is very unbalanced geographically with too little about production in Turkey, Greece and other locations with large industries and too much about production in the US and especially Palestine. Mikenorton (talk) 18:34, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

"Sustainability" section not meeting modern standards
Came across this article today and felt it was irresponsible to not say anything about this "Sustainability" section. It came across as essentially mining industry fluff with little backing. Only one meaningful source is listed, this one: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950061822004573?via%3Dihub

The academic paper in question appears legitimate, but the wiki section is deeply misleading. To a person simply reading by, it appears that large amounts of marble waste is currently being re-used in paints, and furthermore that this recycling must be significant enough to warrant mention in the 'Marble' wiki page.

From what I can tell from the abstract, the academic paper is focused on proving that marble waste could be used in paints. "The results indicate that the marble sludge waste can be successfully used as mineral filler in water-based paints, and that it requires only light pre-treatments consisting of deagglomeration and mechanical dispersion in a wet medium, thus confirming its environmental and economic benefits." It does not appear to go into any detail about the present use of dust in this purpose, or evaluate the environmental impact of doing so.

You can find marble-dust based paints online, but it seems very unlikely to me that this use makes up more than a tiny fraction of all marble waste generated. At the very least the "sustainability" section ought to try and quantify the amount/percentage of marble recycled if it is to exist at all. 2601:188:C800:6730:48F1:CAFA:E4FD:AE91 (talk) 23:52, 14 February 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Marble


text:
Towel

A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying or wiping a surface. Towels draw moisture through direct contact. Bathing towels and hand towels are usually made of cotton, linen, bamboo and synthetic microfibers.

In households, several types of towels are used, such as hand towels, bath towels, and kitchen towels.

Paper towels are provided in commercial or office bathrooms via a dispenser for users to dry their hands. They are also used for such duties such as wiping, cleaning, and drying.

History
According to Middle Ages archaeological studies, "... closely held personal items included the ever present knife and a towel." However, the invention of the towel is commonly associated with the city of Bursa, Turkey, in the 17th century. These Turkish towels began as a flat, woven piece of cotton or linen called a peshtamal, often hand-embroidered. Long enough to wrap around the body, peshtamal were originally fairly narrow, but are now wider and commonly measure 90 x. Pestamel were used in Turkish baths as they stayed light when wet and were very absorbent.

As the Ottoman Empire grew, so did the use of the towel. Weavers were asked to embroider more elaborate designs, aided by their knowledge of carpet-weaving. By the 18th century, towels began to feature loops sticking up from the pile of the material. These looped towels became known as havly; over time, this word has changed to havlu, the Turkish word for towel, and means 'with loops'.

Towels did not become affordable until the 19th century, with the cotton trade and industrialization. With mechanization, cotton terry-towelling became available by the yard as well as being stocked in shops as pre-made towels. Today, towels come in a variety of sizes, materials and designs.

Types

 * A bath towel is used for drying the body when it is wet, such as after bathing or showering. It is typically rectangular, with a typical size around 30 x, and is made of terrycloth.
 * A beach towel is usually somewhat larger than a bath towel, and often has a colorful pattern. Although often used for drying off after being in the water, its main purpose is to provide a surface on which to lay down.  They are also worn for privacy while changing clothes in a public area, and for wiping sand from the body or objects.
 * A bath sheet (or sheet towel) is larger than a bath towel. The classic bath sheet size is 80×160 cm. A large bath sheet that can wrap the entire body is 100×150 cm or 90×160 cm. They are used after bathing, in saunas, on beaches, and for massage.
 * A foot towel is a small, rectangular towel that, in the absence of a rug, carpet or bathroom mat, is placed on the bathroom floor to stand on after finishing a shower or bath.
 * A hand towel is significantly smaller than a bath towel (perhaps 12 x), and is used for drying the hands after washing them.
 * An oven towel or confectioner's mitten is a multipurpose household towel used for a kitchen or shop applications.
 * A paper towel is a piece of paper that can be used once as a towel and then be disposed of. A perforated roll of paper towels is usually mounted on a rod slightly longer than the width of the roll, or in an alternative type of hanger that has protrusions on ears, the protrusions fitting into the ends of the paper towel roll. Paper towels might also be packaged as facial tissues are (as individual folded sheets).
 * A disposable towel (or non-woven towel) is a towel intended for a single user, but not necessarily for a single use, as it can be reused but not washed. It is often made of non-woven fibers, and often is used in hospital, hotel, geriatric and salon or beauty settings, for their hygienic properties.
 * A show towel is a bath or hand towel with a trim (such as satin, lace or linen) stitched onto it, or embroidery done on it—mostly for visual appeal. These types of towels are used to add a decorative touch, most commonly in the United States. They are generally not to be used for drying, as regular washing ruins the added trim, and the towels usually shrink differently than the trim.
 * A sports towel is a synthetic or semi-synthetic towel originally developed for swimmers and divers, favored for its super-absorbent qualities. Sports towels can be wrung out when saturated, leaving the towel able to absorb water again, though not dry.  These qualities, along with their compact nature, have further popularized sports towels among general outdoor and athletic enthusiasts.  The absorbent material in sports towels may be composed of viscose, PVA or microfiber, with polyester woven in for durability.  Some manufacturers incorporate a silver ion or compound treatment into their towels to better inhibit microbial growth and associated odors.
 * A sweat towel or gym towel, often of similar size to a hand towel, is used during a workout to dry oneself from sweat or create a separation between gym machines and the skin. It may also be required in gyms in order to wipe down the machines after use.
 * The term kitchen towel refers to a dish towel in American English (called a tea towel in UK and Canadian English), and to a paper towel in British English.
 * A tea towel or tea cloth (UK and Canadian English), called dishtowel or dish towel in America, is an absorbent towel made from soft, lint-free linen. They are used in the kitchen to dry dishes, cutlery, etc. after they are washed. The towels are also used during tea time. They can be wrapped around the tea pot to keep the tea warm, prevent drips, and keep one's hand from being burned by the hot tea pot handle when serving the tea. They are commonly made of cotton rather than linen. They are also used for drying glassware, but sometimes a special glass cloth is used for that purpose. Tea towels originated in 18th-century England.
 * Microfiber towels have gained popularity due to their exceptional absorbency and fast-drying properties. Composed of fine synthetic fibers, these towels are highly efficient in soaking up moisture, making them ideal for travel, gym sessions, or outdoor activities. Microfiber towels are incredibly lightweight and compact, taking up minimal space in your bag. Their quick-drying nature also helps prevent unpleasant odors and microbial growth, ensuring you always have a fresh and clean towel on hand.
 * A tenugui is a variety of hand towel that originates from Japan. It is most often used in the same way as a tea towel or flannel (washcloth), but can also be used for decoration, as a headband, or for wrapping bottles and other items to be given as gifts.
 * A cloth towel dispenser or continuous cloth towel is a towel manipulated by a series of rollers, used as an alternative to paper towels and hand dryers in public washrooms. These may have a lower environmental impact than paper towels, though concerns over hygiene mean they are not used by some organisations and have greatly declined in popularity.
 * A bar towel is an absorbent, usually small, towel used in bars and often given away free as promotional items.
 * A fingertip towel or finger towel is a small towel that is folded and placed next to the sink or in the guest bedroom. Hosts often pin a note to these towels indicating that they are for guest use.
 * A golf towel is a small towel which usually comes with a loop or clip to attach to a golf bag for drying hands, golfballs, and clubs.
 * A baby towel is a smaller towel with an extra sewn-on hood at one corner to cover a baby's head.
 * A peshtemal (or pestemal) is a unique multipurpose towel from Anatolia.
 * A poncho towel is a wearable towel made for drying off and changing, often used poolside, at the beach or after swimming.
 * A fouta towel is a Tunisian hammam and beach towel, which is also used as a pareo.

In fiction
In Douglas Adam's book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, there is an in-world emphasis on towels and their importance to hitchhikers, because if a hitchhiker has a towel it can be inferred by a non-hitchhiker that they also have a toothbrush, soap, washcloth, raincoat, and related things, and would be happy to lend the hitchhiker any of those items if they have "lost" them.

title: Towel


text:
East Wind: West Wind

East Wind: West Wind is a novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1930, her first. It focuses on a Chinese woman, Kwei-lan, and the changes that she and her family undergo.

Plot summary
Kwei-lan is put into an arranged marriage, but her husband is not what she expects. They do not live in her parents' courts (which was expected in China then). He is a medical doctor and does not seem to take interest in her until after she asks him to unbind her feet. After they bond, they have a son together.

Kwei-lan has an older brother who has been living in United States for a few years. He has a friend write back to his family that he has married an American woman (his parents have already selected a Chinese woman for him to marry when he returns to China).

Kwei-lan's brother and his wife Mary go to China to see if they can convince his family to accept her. The family will not accept her, and tell him to give her money and send her back to America. Kwei-lan's brother has not fulfilled his duty in his parents' eyes, and soon his wife Mary is pregnant with their first child.

The climax is when Kwei-lan's mother dies, and the family tells Kwei-lan's brother that if he does not send Mary back to America and marry his betrothed, then he will be disinherited. He refuses, leaves his family's courts for good, and lives in an apartment near to Kwei-lan's house. The baby is born, and ties together his parents' hearts (and two cultures).

title: East Wind: West Wind


text:
User:Smyru

pl:Wikipedysta:Smyru es:Usuario:Smyru

Smyru was a wikipedian from Poland, mainly active in Polish site.

title: User:Smyru


text:
Beautiful Thing (play)

Beautiful Thing is a 1993 British play written by Jonathan Harvey. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 Films, with a revised screenplay also by Harvey.

Plot of the Screen Version
The story is set in Thamesmead, a working class area of South East London dominated by post-war council estates.

Jamie, a teen who is infatuated with his classmate, Ste, has to deal with his single mother Sandra, who is pre-occupied with ambitious plans to run her own pub and with an ever-changing string of lovers, the latest of whom is Tony, a neo-hippie. Sandra finds herself at odds with Leah, a sassy and rude neighbour who has been expelled from school, does several drugs, and constantly listens and sings along to her mother's Cass Elliot records. While Jamie's homosexuality remains concealed, his introvert nature and dislike of football are reason enough for his classmates to bully him at every opportunity.

Ste, who is living together with his drug-dealing brother and abusive, alcoholic father in the flat next door, is one night beaten by his father so badly that Sandra takes pity and lets him sleep over. In the absence of a third bed, Ste has to make do with sleeping 'top-to-toe' with Jamie. On the second night they share a bed: after a massage and a minor conversation, the boys soon change sleeping arrangements and Jamie kisses Ste for the first time.

The next morning, Ste panics and leaves before Jamie awakens, avoiding him for days. Jamie works up the nerve to steal a Gay Times from a newsagent, apparently starting to accept his sexuality and affection for Ste. Jamie finally spots Ste at a nearby party and confronts him; they prepare to leave together. The party ends badly, with Sandra taking vengeance on Leah for gossiping, who then threatens to 'spill the beans' about Ste and Jamie and confesses to having covered up for Ste in front of his father and brother. Ste reacts poorly, angrily rejecting Jamie and running away.

Slowly, Ste accepts Jamie's love and their relationship begins to develop as they visit a gay pub together. Sandra follows them and discovers their secret, and the story reaches its climax as a bad trip by Leah (on an unnamed drug) precipitates Sandra's breakup with Tony; the news of Sandra's new job comes out; and Sandra confronts Ste and Jamie. Sandra comes to accept her son's relationship.

The play ends with the two boys slow-dancing in the courtyard of their council flats to the Cass Elliot song "Dream a Little Dream of Me", while a guarding Sandra dances defiantly at their side with Leah as the local residents look on; some of them shocked, some of them enjoying the moment themselves.

Theatrical productions

 * 28 July 1993 (World premiere): Bush Theatre, London, directed by Hettie MacDonald. It featured Patricia Kerrigan, Mark Letheren, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Stanton and Philip Glenister.
 * 29 March 1994: West End at the Donmar Warehouse which ran until 23 April 1994, with Amelda Brown, Mark Letheren, Shaun Dingwall, Sophie Stanton and Hugh Bonneville
 * 26 September 1994: West End at the Duke of York's Theatre, with Amelda Brown, Zubin Varla, Richard Dormer, Diane Parish and Rhys Ifans.
 * February 1998 (Australian premiere): Directed by Michael Darragh and produced by Make Believe Productions in Sydney. An official Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival event, the critically acclaimed independent production starred Simon Corfield (Jamie), Natalie Murray (Leah), Fiona Harris (Sandra), Andrew Wallace (Ste) and Charles Kevin (Tony).
 * 16 May 1998 (American premiere): Produced by Famous Door Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois.
 * 10 August 1998: (Edinburgh Festival Fringe premiere): Southbridge Resource Centre, Edinburgh, directed by Dan Hyde. Produced by The Absolute Banana Theatre Company.
 * 14 February 1999 (New York City premiere): Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, New York.
 * 13 May 1999: Rotherham Arts Centre, directed by Darren Rhodes. Produced by Out of the Blue Theatre Company.
 * 5 August 2002: Southbridge Resource Centre, Edinburgh, directed by Dan Hyde. Produced by The About Turn Theatre Company.
 * 21 August to 26 August 2002: Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, directed by Dave Brinson. Produced by Grassy Knoll Theatre Company.
 * November 2002: Coliseum Theatre, Oldham, Greater Manchester
 * November 2005: Leicester Haymarket Theatre starring Jeremy Legat (Jamie), Spencer Charles Noll (Ste), Kate Wood (Sandra), Gracy Goldman (Leah) and Adam Blake (Tony).
 * January to March 2006: Sound Theatre in London starring Andrew Garfield, Gavin Brocker, Leo Bill, Sophie Stanton and Naomi Bentley.
 * July to September 2006: Sound Theatre in London starring Jonathan Bailey, Gavin Brocker, Steven Meo, Carli Norris and Michelle Terry.
 * September 2007: South London Theatre This was the first performance by actors of the same age (and younger) as the characters they portrayed. Directed by Elaine Heath, produced by Stuart Draper of Melmoth.  Starring David Clements as Jamie, Tom Bucher as Ste, Rita Goodhead as Leah, Fiona Cullen as Sandra and Chris Learmouth as Tony.
 * 31 October to 3 November 2007: Drama Studio, University of Sheffield by SuTCo.
 * 11 January 2008 (German premiere): Junges Theater Bonn. Notably this is a performance with actors being the same age as the characters they portray.
 * February 2008: Soulstice Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, directed by Mark E. Schuster. The cast features Zach Kunde as Jamie, Chris Darnieder as Ste, Jillian Smith as Sandra, Amanda Carson as Leah, and Doug Giffin as Tony.
 * 1 May 2008: Directed and acted by Fever theatre at Hemsworth Arts and Community College. The production features Kyle Crookes, (Jamie) Aaron Peace, (Tony) Joss Froggatt, (Ste) Stacey Young, (Leah) and Lauren Raynor (Sandra). The script has been cut to a thirty-minute runtime.
 * 26 June 2008: Produced by EM-LOU PRODUCTIONS at the Battersea Arts Centre, Directed by Peter Darney, featuring Harry Bradshaw as Jamie, Niall Phillips as Ste, Anna Stolli as Sandra, Finn Hanlon as Tony, Louise Tyler as Leah.
 * 15 July 2008: Produced by the Hillyer Theatre Company at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, directed by Jack Fayter, with Richard Loftus as Jamie, Joel Stubbs as Ste, Evelyne Beech as Sandra, Megan Travers as Leah and Steve Roberts as Tony.
 * 12 December 2008: Produced and directed by Michael Darragh at Zhijiang Dream Factory, Shanghai, China. Featuring Joakim Eriksson (Jamie), Sophie Lloyd (Leah), Christy Shapiro (Sandra), Derek Kwan (Ste) and JP Lopez (Tony).
 * 9 January to 1 March 2009 (Paris/French language premiere): Le Vingtième Théâtre, Paris. Directed by Kester Lovelace. A Drama Ties Production. Featuring Matila Malliarakis (Jaimie), Ivan Cori (Ste), Tadrina Hocking / Delphine Lacouque (Sandra), Simon Hubert (Tony) and Aude-Laurence Clermont (Leah). Translation : Pascal Crantelle.
 * May 2009 (Gent/Dutch language premiere) Directed by Fabio Van Hoorebeke. Featuring Pieter Van Nieuwenhuyze (Jonas), Bert Verbeke (Steve), Chadia Cambie (Sandra), Steve De Schepper (Tony) and Jolijn Antonissen (Leah).
 * 10 February to 20 February 2010 (Alberta premiere): Walterdale Playhouse, Edmonton. Directed by Justen Bennett. Featuring Doran Werner (Jamie), Maura Frunza (Leah), Amelia Duplessis (Sandra), Joel Taras (Ste), and Randy Brososky (Tony).
 * April 22–24, 2010: Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, directed by Matthew Wright, starring Linus Ignatius (Jamie), David Ohana (Ste), Hannah Finn (Sandra), Hallie Haas (Leah), and Andrew Gombas (Tony).
 * 19 May to 2 June 2010: Directed by Andrew Cuthbertson at Bath Spa University Theatre, Bath, The Egg Theatre, Bath, the Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre in Taunton, the Tower in Winchester and The Drill Hall in London. Featuring Adam James Green as Jamie, Pete Peasey as Ste, Grace K. Miller as Sandra, Daniel Harland as Tony, and Aimee Farey as Leah.
 * 16–24 July 2010: Tasmanian Premiere directed by Glenn Braithwaite, presented by the Old Nick Theatre Company at the Peacock Theatre in Hobart, Tasmania.
 * 9 November to 3 December 2011: Directed by Sarah Frankcom at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Featuring Matthew Tennyson as Jamie, Tommy Vine as Ste, Tara Hodge as Leah, Claire-Louise Cordwell as Sandra and Alex Price as Tony.
 * 9 February to 25 February 2012: Directed by Stephen M. Raeburn at the Browncoat Pub and Theatre, Wilmington. Featuring Kenny Rosander as Jamie, Ryan P. C. Trimble as Ste, Anna Gamel as Leah, Terrie Batson as Sandra, and Charles Auten as Tony. Regional premiere.
 * 28 January to 29 January 2013: Directed by Peter Hynds and produced by TS Theatre Productions in Swindon, UK; performed at The Arts Centre, Swindon. This production starred Dominic Baker (Jamie), Josh Foyster (Ste), Sarah Lewis (Sandra), Ella Thomas (Leah), and Howard Trigg (Tony).
 * 14 February to 2 March 2013: Directed by Brandon Martignago and produced by Burley Theatre in Sydney as an official Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival event. This 20th anniversary production starred Michael Brindley (Jamie), Stephanie King (Leah), Amanda Stephans Lee (Sandra), Luke Willing (Ste) and Andrew Hearle (Tony).
 * April to May 2013 Arts Theatre in London's West End.
 * 30 April to 30 May 2013: Directed by JP Quirk and produced by Jeannine Collins in Batavia, IL. USA. This 20th anniversary production starred Timothy Vogel (Jamie), [Kasia Karbarz (Leah), Erin Cauley (Sandra), Michael Sherry (Ste), Tony Pelligrino (Tony) and Jon Witt (Ronnie). Photos - Facebook
 * 24 July to 26 July 2015: Directed by Lawkin Law, translated by 我要真翻譯 and produced by Theatrideo in Hong Kong, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. This production starred Koch Fung Koon Ho 馮小西 (Jamie), Joe Chan 陳祖 (Ste), Angle Kwok Lai Man 郭麗敏 (Sandra), Clara Ho Wing Yee 何潁怡 (Leah), and Romeo Wong Chun Kit 王俊傑 (Tony). Photos - Facebook
 * 21 February 2017: Directed by Ryan Gooderham at Thurston Community College, Beyton. Starring Matthew Gibson (Jamie), Charlie Stannard (Ste), Aisling Brooks (Sandra), Imogen Turnbow (Leah) and Daniel McKeown (Tony).
 * 1 June to 29 June 2018: 25th anniversary production at Above The Stag Theatre.
 * 3 July to 7 July 2018: Open air, site-specific dance-theatre adaptation performed on the Thamesmead housing estate where the play is set and the 1996 Beautiful Thing (film) was shot. Co-Directed by Bradley Hemmings and Robby Graham and produced by Haitham Ridha as part of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival - Beautiful Thing, 3-7 July 2018, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival.
 * 11 October to 27 October 2018: In-house production by Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol. Directed by Mike Tweddle and starring Finn Hanlon as Tony, Amy-Leigh Hickman as Leah, Ted Reilly as Jamie, Phoebe Thomas as Sandra and Tristan Waterson as Ste.
 * 2 February to 6 March 2021: Presented by New Theatre, Newtown, Sydney as part of the 2021 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Directed by Mark Nagle and starring Caspar Hardaker, Julia Kennedy Scott, Will Manton, Bayley Prendergast, Hannah Zaslawski - https://newtheatre.org.au/beautiful-thing/
 * 6 May to 7 May 2022: Directed by Miguel Rosa and associate directed by Anoushka Medina, produced by Nueva Escena PR in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Starring Julián Gilormini as Jamie, Luis Obed Velázquez as Ste, Yamaris Latorre as Sandra, María Luisa "Mussa" Marín as Leah, and Hector Enrique Rodríguez as Tony.
 * 25 to 27 May 2023: Directed by Elinor Lower for Bristol School of Acting at Tobacco Factory Theatre Starring Dominic Delahaye as Jamie, Kieran Thomas as Ste, Olivia Zena Stronach as Sandra, Emily Clough as Leah and Harry Hudson as Tony. -https://tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/beautiful-thing-2/

title: Beautiful Thing (play)


text:
Tombstone (disambiguation)

A tombstone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave.

Tombstone may also refer to:

Places

 * Tombstone, Arizona, U.S.
 * Tombstone Municipal Airport
 * Tombstone (mountain), in Oregon, U.S.
 * Tombstone Mountain, in the Canadian Rockies
 * Tombstone Territorial Park, in Yukon, Canada
 * Tombstone Mountain (Yukon), in Tombstone Territorial Park
 * Tombstone Hill, Antarctica

Arts and entertainment

 * Tombstone (comics), a Marvel Comics character
 * Tombstone (film), a 1993 western
 * Tombstone Records, a record label
 * Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die, a 1942 Western film
 * Tombstone, a book by Yang Jisheng
 * Tombstone, a combat robot competing in BattleBots
 * "Tombstone" (song), a 2021 song by Rod Wave
 * "Tombstone", a 2016 song by Civil War from The Last Full Measure
 * "Tombstone", a 2019 song by Ocean Alley

Other uses

 * Tombstone (advertising), a particular type of text-only print advertisement
 * Tombstone (financial industry), a type of print notice to formally announce a particular transaction
 * Tombstone (data store), a deleted record in a replica of a distributed data store
 * Tombstone (manufacturing), a fixture onto which are placed parts to be manufactured
 * Tombstone (pizza), a brand of frozen pizza
 * Tombstone (programming), a mechanism to detect dangling pointers
 * Tombstone (typography), a symbol often used in mathematical proofs
 * Tombstone, or museum label, describing exhibited objects
 * Tombstone, another ringname of wrestler 911
 * TOMB STONE, S-300 surface-to-air missile system radar
 * Tombstoning
 * Tombstone (surfing), When surfer is held underwater and tries to climb up their leash the board is straight up and down
 * Tombstone (lazy deletions), a vacant slot that has been left behind by a lazy deletion in a data structure

title: Tombstone (disambiguation)