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Disintermediation

Disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in economics from a supply chain, or "cutting out the middlemen" in connection with a transaction or a series of transactions. Instead of going through traditional distribution channels, which had some type of intermediary (such as a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent), companies may now deal with customers directly, for example via the Internet.

Disintermediation may decrease the total cost of servicing customers and may allow the manufacturer to increase profit margins and/or reduce prices. Disintermediation initiated by consumers is often the result of high market transparency, in that buyers are aware of supply prices direct from the manufacturer. Buyers may choose to bypass the middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) to buy directly from the manufacturer, and pay less. Buyers can alternatively elect to purchase from wholesalers. Often, a business-to-consumer electronic commerce (B2C) company functions as the bridge between buyer and manufacturer.

However manufacturers will still incur distribution costs, such as the physical transport of goods, packaging in small units, advertising, and customer helplines, some or all of which would previously have been borne by the intermediary. To illustrate, a typical B2C supply chain is composed of four or five entities. These are the supplier, manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and buyer.

History
The term was originally applied to the banking industry in 1967; disintermediation occurred when consumers avoided the intermediation of banks by investing directly in securities (government and private bonds, insurance companies, hedge funds, mutual funds and stocks) rather than leaving their money in savings accounts. The original cause was a U.S. government regulation (Regulation Q) which limited the interest rate paid on interest bearing accounts that were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

It was later applied more generally to "cutting out the middleman" in commerce, though the financial meaning remained predominant. Only in the late 1990s did it become widely popularized.

Impact of Internet-related disintermediation upon various industries
It has been argued that the Internet modifies the supply chain due to market transparency. Disintermediation has acquired a new meaning with the advent of the virtual marketplace. The virtual marketplace sellers like Amazon are edging out the middlemen. Direct sellers and buyers connect with each other because of the platform created by the virtual marketplace vendor. There is quid pro quo for the vendor for the use of the platform, else it would make no business sense to create such a platform. If the buyer, having connected with the seller, circumvents the platform and talks to the seller and does her deal directly with the seller, then the platform owner is unlikely to get her revenue share. This may be considered a new form of disintermediation.

Discussion
In the non-Internet world, disintermediation has been an important strategy for many big box retailers like Walmart, which attempt to reduce prices by reducing the number of intermediaries between the supplier and the buyer. Disintermediation is also closely associated with the idea of just in time manufacturing, as the removal of the need for inventory removes one function of an intermediary. The existence of laws which discourage disintermediation has been cited as a reason for the poor economic performance of Japan and Germany in the 1990s.

However, Internet-related disintermediation occurred less frequently than many expected during the dot com boom. Retailers and wholesalers provide essential functions such as the extension of credit, aggregation of products from different suppliers, and processing of returns. In addition, shipping goods to and from the manufacturer can in many cases be far less efficient than shipping them to a store where the consumer can pick them up (if the consumer's trip to the store is ignored). In response to the threat of disintermediation, some retailers have attempted to integrate a virtual presence and a physical presence in a strategy known as bricks and clicks.

Reintermediation
Reintermediation can be defined as the reintroduction of an intermediary between end users (consumers) and a producer. This term applies especially to instances in which disintermediation has occurred first.

At the start of the Internet revolution, electronic commerce was seen as a tool of disintermediation for cutting operating costs. The concept was that by allowing consumers to purchase products directly from producers via the Internet, the product delivery chain would be drastically shortened, thereby "disintermediating" the standard supply model middlemen. However, what largely happened was that new intermediaries appeared in the digital landscape (e.g., Amazon.com and eBay).

Reintermediation occurred due to many new problems associated with the e-commerce disintermediation concept, largely centered on the issues associated with the direct-to-consumers model. The high cost of shipping many small orders, massive customer service issues, and confronting the wrath of disintermediated retailers and supply channel partners all presented real obstacles. Huge resources are required to accommodate presales and postsales issues of individual consumers. Before disintermediation, supply chain middlemen acted as salespeople for the producers. Without them, the producer itself would have to handle procuring those customers. Selling online has its own associated costs: developing quality websites, maintaining product information, and marketing expenses all add up. Finally, limiting a product's availability to Internet channels forces the producer to compete with the rest of the Internet for customers' attention, a space that is becoming increasingly crowded.

Examples
Notable examples of disintermediation include Dell and Apple, which sell many of their systems direct-to-consumer—thus bypassing traditional retail chains, having succeeded in creating brands well recognized by customers, profitable and with continuous growth.

In the automotive industry
Tesla avoids using dealers as middlemen by offering their own outlets, which have only a few vehicles for display and test driving; customers complete their full purchase online. This approach allowed Tesla to raise auto gross profit by about 34%. This strategy also allows Tesla to control more of its customers' experience and build online community. Following Tesla's success, two other automotive brands, Audi and General Motors, decided to start trials of direct sales in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

title: Disintermediation


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CSS Arkansas

CSS Arkansas  was the lead ship of her class of two casemate ironclads built for the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Completed in 1862, she saw combat in the Western Theater when she steamed through a United States Navy fleet at Vicksburg in July. Arkansas was set on fire and destroyed by her crew after her engines broke down several weeks later. Her remains lie under a levee above Baton Rouge, Louisiana at 30.48722°N, -91.20139°W.

Design and description
At the outset of the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America had a lack of warships. Seeking to offset the Union's advantage in numbers through technology, Stephen R. Mallory, the Confederate States Secretary of the Navy, decided to build ironclad warships. An experienced steamboat man from Memphis, Tennessee, named John T. Shirley visited Mallory in mid-August 1861 and offered to build a pair of such ships to defend the middle portion of the Mississippi River. Acutely aware of the lack of Confederate naval facilities in the region able to build ironclads, Mallory and Shirley signed a contract for two ships, Arkansas and her sister ship CSS Tennessee, at $76,920 each on August 24. Neither Shirley nor his master builder Primus Emerson owned a facility suitable for building a ship, and none were available for use in Memphis. The pair ultimately settled on a riverfront site below the bluff on which Fort Pickering sat on the southern edge of Memphis where Arkansas was laid down in October 1861.

Shirley consulted with naval architect John L. Porter and gun designer John M. Brooke during his trip and their views greatly influenced the design. Unlike virtually every other Confederate ironclad, the Arkansas-class ships were built with a traditional keeled-hull design with vertical sides to their casemates, probably to improve their seakeeping abilities in the Gulf of Mexico. The ships measured 165 ft between perpendiculars, had a beam of 35 ft, and a depth of hold of 12 ft. As designed they would have displaced about 1200 LT and had a draft of 11.5 ft. They were equipped with a pair of horizontal, direct-acting steam engines, each driving one propeller using steam provided by four coal-burning, high-pressure boilers, although two additional boilers were added to Arkansas while she was under construction. The ship had a maximum speed of 8 mph in still water, but mechanical problems reduced that speed considerably in service. The boiler combustion gases exhausted through a single funnel 7 ft in diameter made from thin iron plates. Although the amount of coal storage aboard the ships is unknown, Arkansas demonstrated a range in excess of 300 mi during her brief career.

The Arkansas-class ships were equipped with a pointed cast-iron ram that was bolted to their bows at or just below the waterline. They were designed to mount four guns, two on each broadside, but Arkansas was modified while under construction to accommodate 10 guns, three on each broadside and two each on the fore and aft faces of the casemate. Sources differ as to the exact numbers of each type, but the ship was armed with two 8 in 64-pounder Columbiads in the front face of the casemate and a pair of 6.4 in 32-pounder smoothbore guns converted to be rifled cannons in the aft face while the broadside armament consisted of two 9 in Dahlgren guns and four 32-pounders of which at least two had been rifled, according to naval historian Myron J. Smith. The side gun ports allowed the guns there to traverse somewhat, but the oval gun ports on the fore and aft faces of the casemate were very narrow which badly restricted those guns' ability to traverse and severely limited the ability of the gun crews to see their targets.

The vertical sides of the sisters' casemates were constructed from oak logs 2 ft thick while the fore and aft faces of the casemate sloped at a 35° angle from the horizontal and were built from 12 in oak squares to which were nailed oak planks 6 in inches thick. Behind the sides of the casemate was a layer of compressed cotton, possibly 20 in deep, backed by a wooden bulkhead between each gun port. Arkansas was intended to be armored with rolled iron plates, but the only delivery of such plates was diverted to the ironclad CSS Eastport which was much further along in construction. Instead Arkansas used railroad T-shaped-rails, possibly 4 in deep, alternating top and bottom to present a relatively smooth surface. The pilothouse protruded 1 or above the top of the casemate and was protected by two layers of 1 in bar iron. The visibility of the pilot was badly restricted by the narrow slits cut in the sides of the pilothouse. The casemate roof was minimally protected by 0.5 in of wrought iron boiler plate and the deck fore and aft of the casemate was unarmored. A shortage of rails meant that the stern face of the casemate was only protected by boiler plates. The broadside gun ports were protected by hinged iron shutters divided into upper and lower halves, but the fore and aft gun ports were fitted with iron collars into which the gun fit when firing. Captain William F. Lynch, commander of Confederate naval forces in the region, described Arkansas as inferior to the ironclad CSS Virginia and criticized the quality and construction of the ship's armor and smokestack.

Construction
Despite his initial support for the Memphis ironclads, Major General Leonidas Polk, the Confederate regional commander, generally refused to release any skilled workmen from his command to assist in their construction; shortly after the ships were laid down, Shirley petitioned Polk for 100 carpenters, but only received 8. Other petitions for manpower were ignored, greatly slowing progress on the ships, as Polk gave priority to his newly formed flotilla of ships on the Tennessee River, all of which except Eastport were unarmored. Material shortages also slowed construction and Shirley chose to focus his efforts on completing Arkansas.

Union ships captured the incomplete Eastport and the lumber and armor plates already delivered, but not yet installed, on February 7, 1862, after the surrender of Fort Henry gave the Federals command of the Tennessee the previous day and towed her way to be completed in a Union shipyard. The beginning of the siege of Island Number Ten north of Memphis in early March threatened the city and alerted Confederate commanders and officials to the lack of progress on the Arkansas-class ironclads. Prompted by the request of Secretary of War, Judah P. Benjamin, Major General P. G. T. Beauregard sent an officer to inspect the sisters and evaluate how much progress had been made in mid-March. He reported that Arkansas was well advanced, but that Tennessee would need six more weeks to before she could be launched. About this time Mallory sent Commander Charles H. McBlair to expedite the ships' construction and appointed him as captain of Arkansas.

The ironclad was apparently launched in early April, although other sources state later in the month. At this time, the exterior of her hull had been covered in iron down to 12 in below the waterline and the casemate had been built although gun ports had not yet been cut. The engines and boilers were aboard, but not yet installed, and the propellers and their shafts had been mounted. Only four guns were available, but McBlair had not yet decided where to mount them. The surrender of Island Number Ten on April 8 left only Fort Pillow between Memphis and the advancing Union forces. Three days later Mallory ordered McBlair to take the Arkansas for completion "if she is in danger at Memphis". McBlair hired the side-wheel steamer Capitol to tow the ironclad if necessary and quartered much of her crew aboard after her arrival on April 19.

On April 25, the same day that the Union captured New Orleans, McBlair commissioned Arkansas and prepared to transfer his ship to Yazoo City, Mississippi, for completion. One or two days later, the ironclad, as well as a barge containing additional materials, were towed by the Capitol to the mouth of the Yazoo River and thence up that river to Yazoo City. The ships left the city on May 7 for Greenwood, Mississippi, which was further upriver, after being warned by Mississippi governor John J. Pettus that Union ships were coming up the Mississippi River, possibly hunting for Arkansas. The two ships reached Greenwood on May 10, just as the annual spring rise of the river was beginning. Several levees broke and the consequent flooding put the uncompleted Arkansas almost 4 mi from shore. To further complicate things, the barge that had accompanied the ship from Memphis also sank during this time, and vital machinery and material had to be recovered from the river bottom using a diving bell. Progress on the ironclad advanced at a snail's pace during these difficulties.

On May 19, Beauregard inquired about Arkansas's status and, displeased by the lack of progress, telegraphed Mallory, requesting new leadership for the ironclad. Three days later Mallory appointed Lieutenant Isaac N. Brown captain of Arkansas, ordering him to complete her "without regard to the expenditure of men or money." Mallory ordered McBlair back to Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, on the 24th. Brown received his orders on 26 May and reached Greenwood three days later. He was disappointed to find the ship much less advanced than he had hoped and found only five carpenters at work and one blacksmith's forge in use. Dismayed by his predecessor's lack of energy and failure to discipline his workforce, Brown requested some workmen from local Confederate Army units and persuaded several local men to join the crew and slave owners to loan some of their slaves to work on the ship that same day. Brown had Arkansas towed back to Yazoo City lest she run aground as the flooding subsided and to utilize the greater resources and manpower available there. He jailed some of the troublemakers among the workmen to reestablish discipline and ordered McBlair off the ship at gunpoint, tired of the senior man's interference.

Brown's appeal for more workers at Yazoo City drew a larger response than he had anticipated, with men volunteering to work on the ship and slave owners volunteering both their field hands and skilled workmen. Brown took advantage of the additional labor by working his men around the clock, every day of the week. Blacksmithing tools were borrowed from local plantation owners and 14 forges were operated at the site to make iron fixtures and machinery parts. With the armor-drilling machinery lost when the barge sank, a makeshift crane was set up on Capitol to hold the newly fabricated drill which was powered by a leather belt driven by the steamboat's hoisting engine. Within five weeks, Arkansas had been mostly completed, although the iron plating on her stern and pilothouse was not yet finished. However, river levels were falling, and further construction was no longer practical. Boiler plate was added to the stern, which was viewed to be less likely to be exposed to enemy fire. Brown described the additional boiler plate as being "for appearance's sake".

The ironclad departed for Liverpool Landing, Mississippi, on either June 22 or 23, to rendezvous with Confederate forces defending the Yazoo River further downstream. A log raft had been constructed there across the Yazoo to serve as a barricade, and three Confederate gunboats were positioned to defend it. While she reached a top speed of eight miles per hour, the voyage revealed the ventilation for the engine room and casemate was grossly inadequate, especially since the boilers were uninsulated. The mechanical weakness of her engines was also demonstrated as they tended to hang up at top dead center, forcing the crew to use pry bars to manually move the pistons to another position to restart the engine. The engines were linked by a 'stopper' that was supposed to stop one engine if the other stopped for any reason, but this never worked and Arkansas would start to turn in a circle as the working engine overpowered the turning force provided by the rudder.

Action on the Yazoo
By this time, a Union Navy fleet commanded by Flag Officer Charles H. Davis, had captured Memphis and occupied the Mississippi River north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, threatening the city. Two unarmed Union ships approached Liverpool Landing on 26 June, causing Commander Robert Pinckney to order his gunboats burned. The Union ships returned to the Mississippi River and Arkansas arrived at the scene after they had left. Brown ordered his crew to try to put out the flames, but they were unsuccessful. Although nothing could be salvaged from the gunboats, quantities of supplies and material, including cannon, had been off-loaded earlier. Two days later Commodore David G. Farragut passed the defenses of Vicksburg to unite with Davis' ships north of the city.

Brown briefly returned to Yazoo City to test his engines, but otherwise remained at Liverpool Landing trying to fix the engines, finishing outfitting the ironclad, and integrating the crews of the destroyed gunboats into his own crew. As his ship became more combat worthy, Brown sent Lieutenant Charles Read to Vicksburg on July 8 to find out what the Confederate commander of the area, Major General Earl Van Dorn, wanted him to do and to scout out the Union fleet between him and the city. Van Dorn ordered him to sortie into the Mississippi to attack the Union ships north of the city and then to proceed south of Vicksburg and destroy the mortar boats there if the condition of his ship allowed him to do so. Around 11 July 60 Missouri artillerymen who had volunteered to serve aboard Arkansas en route to Vicksburg arrived and were given a crash course in operating heavy artillery.

A passage was cut through the raft barrier at Liverpool Landing on July 12, and Arkansas continued downriver to Satartia, Mississippi, accompanied by the tugboat CSS St. Mary. Brown spent all day there on the 13th, exercising his gun crews. Problems occurred on July 14, when the gunpowder in the forward magazine was discovered to have been dampened by steam escaping from her engines. Arkansas had to stop at the riverbank for her crew to allow the powder to dry in the sun. Brown reloaded the dry powder later that day and continued to Haynes Bluff, where he anchored about midnight, intending to surprised the Union ships in the Mississippi at dawn.

Farragut had been alerted by Confederate deserters that Arkansas was on the Yazoo, although the latest Union intelligence was that she was still incomplete and upriver from Liverpool Landing. Nonetheless, Farragut and Davis agreed to send a reconnaissance mission up the Yazoo to search for the ironclad, consisting of the timberclad gunboat USS Tyler, the ram USS Queen of the West, and the ironclad USS Carondelet (1861). Leaving St. Mary behind, Brown departed his anchorage about 03:00 and spotted the Union ships about three hours later a few miles from the mouth of the Yazoo. Brown ordered his pilots to steer for the Carondelet, intending to ram the Union ship, about 2 mi astern of Tyler and Queen of the West. He only authorized his forward guns to fire if they bore directly on a target as he did not want to be slowed down by the cannons' recoil. Tyler drew the first blood of the engagement when a Confederate soldier was decapitated by a projectile while leaning out of a gun port. The two unarmored ships reversed course to fall back on Carondelet, but Arkansas was able to close within a range of 150 – from Tyler. A shell from one of her Columbiads detonated inside Tyler's engine room, killing 9 men and wounding 16, but the gun recoiled off its mount and it took 10 minutes of hard labor to remount the gun. Although Queen of the West was not armed, she attempted to maneuver into a position from which she could ram the Confederate ship, but was dissuaded by a broadside from Arkansas, and turned downstream. Tyler followed shortly afterward, continuing to engage the ironclad with her single 30-pounder Parrott rifle stern chaser from a range of 200 –. As Carondelet and Arkansas closed the range, the former's shells bounced off the Confederate ship's armor while the latter's shells began to penetrate the Union ironclad's thinner frontal armor. Commander Henry A. Walke, Carondelet's captain, then ordered his ship to reverse course so that the Arkansas could not ram him, even though the maneuver exposed his unarmored stern with its pair of 32-pounder smoothbore stern chasers. Arkansas was able to close within 50 yd of the retreating Union ironclad, but could not get any closer. Within a half hour after the start of the battle, Carondelets armor had been pierced by at least eight 64-pounder shells, although one of Tylers shots had struck her pilothouse, wounding both pilots familiar with the Yazoo river. Around this time the sharpshooters aboard Tyler opened fire, shooting at Arkansas's smokestack, gun ports and Brown himself, who had been commanding his ship from the top of the casemate. One Minié ball grazed his head as he was about to descend into the casemate, but only temporarily knocked him unconscious. Arkansass fire had cut Carondelets steering ropes and she ran aground in a bend of the river. Brown ordered a broadside fired into the Union ship as Arkansas passed by at point-blank range, intent on reaching the Mississippi. By this time Arkansas's smokestack had been riddled with holes by Union fire and the weakened draft for the boilers had gradually reduced their efficiency and the ship's speed during the battle, so much so that she was only capable of about 3 mph with the current. Other damage to her steam piping and the connection between the funnel and the boilers raised the temperature in her fire room up to 130 F and 120 F in the casemate as a result.

The July 15 battle between the ironclads caused heavy damage to the Carondelet and inflicted 35 casualties. About 25 of the Arkansas crew had been killed or wounded during the battle.

To Vicksburg
In order to reach Vicksburg, Arkansas needed to force her way through the Union fleet. The crews of Farragut's and Davis' ships had thought that the sound of the guns firing up the Yazoo were from a land engagement and the Queen of the West's captain failed to alert the fleet upon his return. The Confederates had made some repairs to the boiler exhausts and Arkansas able to generate a moderate head of steam by burning oily material by the time she pursued Tyler into the Mississippi at 08:30. Only the ironclad USS Benton had her boilers lit as there was a shortage of coal at that time, but the continued gunfire between Arkansas and Tyler caused the Union ships prepare for action by attempting to raise steam and manning their guns. For his part Brown initially decided to close all his gun ports and to keep his ship close to the Federal vessels, in order to prevent Union rams from getting much momentum on any ramming attack. The gunboat USS Pinola (1861) opened the fight which prompted Brown to return fire, badly damaging the Union ship. Arkansas was continuously fired upon from all directions with all of her guns replying as they saw targets at a range of about 75 yd. Brown remained on the casemate roof as his ship approached Farragut's largest ships, the wooden sloops USS Richmond (1860) and USS Hartford (1858). Before the Arkansas could reach them, the ram USS Lancaster (1855) passed by the ironclad in an attempt to ram her, but was disabled by a shot through the steam drum. Her exact casualties are unknown, but the Union ship was hit many times by friendly fire as she maneuvered into position.

The clouds of smoke produced by all the shooting greatly reduced visibility and the Union ships were additionally handicapped by the presence of Union transports and hospital ships on the other side of the river that might be damaged if they missed Arkansas. Hartford had to wait until the ironclad moved further downstream before she could open fire and was only able to fire a single volley before her guns could no longer bear. One of her shots penetrated the Confederate ship's casemate and killed four men and wounded another. Another shot by the sloop USS Iroquois (1859) killed or wounded the entire 16-man crew of one of the Columbiads and started a small fire that was quickly extinguished. One shot by either the gunboat USS Wissahickon (1861) or her sister USS Winona (1861) penetrated the casemate near a Dahlgren gun, killing three men and wounding three others, travelled through the boiler exhaust to strike the far side of the casemate, killing or injuring 15 men at another gun. By this time the ironclad had little steam available and was mostly drifting with the current. Temperatures in the fire room required the crewmen to be rotated every fifteen minutes so they would not be overcome by heat exhaustion. Brown had thus far spent the entire battle either in the pilothouse or on the casemate's roof and he returned to the latter position to seek relief from the heat. Despite his exposed position, he was only slightly wounded during the battle.

The improved visibility atop the casemate allowed him to see that the only remaining ships that he had to pass were a few of Davis' ironclads, although only two were combat worthy at that time. Benton had steam up and was able to move slowly as Arkansas approached, slowly enough that Brown attempted to ram her. The Union ironclad was able to speed up enough to evade the Confederate ship, although she was lightly damaged when the Arkansas fired a broadside into Benton's stern as she passed by. The ironclad USS Cincinnati (1861) was the last ship barring the way to Vicksburg, but she barely had any speed up and was easily evaded. The two Union ironclads pursued the Arkansas until a brief gun duel with the city's defenses caused them to head back upstream. The mortar boats below the city were warned that the ironclad was passing through the Union fleet and they temporarily withdrew downstream, during which time the schooner USS Sidney C. Jones (1861) ran hard aground and was burned to prevent her capture. The Confederate ship had fired 97 shots during the day, only 24 of which had missed a Union ship.

Arkansas received an enthusiastic welcome at Vicksburg. A crowd formed at the wharf where the ship docked, and Van Dorn embraced Brown. However, several spectators observed the gory carnage within the ironclad and were unnerved. Thirty men had been killed or wounded on the vessel. Brown and his crew spent the rest of the day taking care of the dead and wounded, replenishing the ship's supply of coal and making temporary repairs. An unknown number of volunteers from the city's garrison were received to at least partially replace the day's losses. During this time, the ironclad was ineffectually fired upon by the mortar boats and Union artillery and infantry units across the river. Farragut decided to run his fleet past the Vicksburg batteries and destroy Arkansas that evening. He had originally planned for the movement to begin at 16:00, but a storm came up, delaying the advance until 21:00. By then, it was getting dark. The Arkansas was rust-colored and was docked against a red riverbank, which made her much less visible and significantly degraded the accuracy of the Union guns. The fire from Farragut's ships was generally ineffectual, although a shot from the sloop USS Oneida (1861) destroyed Arkansas's sickbay, damaged her machinery and killed three crewmen and wounded three others. While the effect of the ironclad's fire upon the Union ships is generally unknown, the shot that disabled the gunboat Winona's engines is attributed to the Arkansas. While Farragut's fleet made it downriver past Vicksburg, it had been unsuccessful in destroying its target and the Confederate guns were similarly ineffective. The Union fleet had suffered 92 casualties during the day's actions.

The next day, July 16, saw Union ships begin firing at Arkansas with mortars, necessitating the frequent moving of the ship to keep the Union ships from getting the ironclad's range. The Missourians had only joined the ship's crew for duration of the run to Vicksburg, and returned to their commands on July 16. This left Arkansas with a serious crew shortage. Brown had permission from Van Dorn to recruit men from Vicksburg's army garrison, but getting volunteers to serve on the ship was difficult due to the off putting effect of the damage from the ship's fight with the Union fleet.

Under the Vicksburg bluffs

Three days after the fight, Arkansas had been repaired to a more mobile position again, and began posing a threat to the Union fleets, which were forced to keep steam pressure up so they could move if need be. At one point, the vessel attempted to threaten the Union's mortar ships, but its engines failed before it entered range of the Union position; Arkansas returned to its starting position. The reduced crew still caused problems, as there were only enough men onboard to man three cannons at a time. After a conversation, Farragut and Davis decided to attack Arkansas at her position at Vicksburg. The attack fell on July 22, and was conducted by USS Essex (1856), Queen of the West, and USS Sumter (1863). Essex was the largest ironclad the Union had available, and Queen of the West was the strongest ram.

Arkansas was not prepared for a battle. The ship's engine was disabled, and the understrength crew was reduced even further with a number of men in hospitals at the time. Brown had only part of his officer corps and 28 crewmen present; only two cannons could be manned with the available crew. The Union vessels did not coordinate well. Essex tried to ram Arkansas, but the Confederate vessel maneuvered out of the way, while its opponent missed and temporarily ran aground. A close-range duel between the two ships followed, in which Essex suffered little damage, but a shot penetrated Arkansas, inflicting casualties. That single shot also damaged Arkansas's superstructure. Queen of the West rammed the Confederate vessel, but caused no major damage; it also ran aground. Once the two Union ships freed themselves, Essex continued downriver from Vicksburg, while Queen of the West returned to the north of the city. A parting shot from Arkansas hit Queen of the West in the stern during the retreat; the shot had skipped off the water several times before striking the ship.

After the attack against Arkansas, Farragut decided that remaining in position near Vicksburg was no longer tenable. The expected seasonal drop in river level threatened to strand his ships on the Mississippi, a third of his sailors were sick, and the Navy was unlikely to receive needed help from the Army. The threat caused by the presence of Arkansas did not help the matter. On July 23, orders from United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles permitted Farragut to abandon the position and leave for the Gulf of Mexico. The next day, Farragut's ships began the movement downriver, leaving Davis behind to continue bombarding the Confederates. However, Davis, on his own initiative, ordered a withdrawal to Helena, Arkansas, on July 28. His crews had been decimated by disease, and he risked not having enough men to continue to operate his ships if he did not withdraw.

Final fight at Baton Rouge

With the threat of the Union fleets no longer present, Brown was granted four days of leave at Grenada, Mississippi, for recovery from injuries. Before leaving, he ordered Lieutenant Henry K. Stevens that Arkansas should not be moved. Van Dorn was also informed that the ship's engine problems prevented her from being usable without repairs. Brown fell ill, while Van Dorn planned an attack on the Union-held city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Major General John C. Breckinridge was in charge of the Confederate army assault against Baton Rouge, but soon saw almost half of his force stricken by disease. To make up for the loss in manpower, Breckinridge asked for Arkansas to support his attack. Despite the ship still being in a poor state of repair, Van Dorn ordered her to take part in the attack. Stevens objected, citing Brown's orders that the ship should not be moved, and the question went to the Confederate States Department of the Navy, who decided not to intervene. After making final preparations, Stevens was forced to steam the ironclad towards Baton Rouge. Brown learned of the debate, and left his sickbed to prevent Arkansas from leaving Vicksburg, but learned that she had already left when he reached Jackson.

Complicating matters, the ship's regular engineer was too sick to make the journey, and an army volunteer who lacked experience with the type of engines used on the ship served as the engineer. Engine troubles occurred during the journey, causing the ship to spin. Essex was one of the Union ships at Baton Rouge, and her fire helped repulse Breckinridge's attack in the Battle of Baton Rouge. After reaching a point close enough to see Baton Rouge, Stevens and the ship's pilot decided upon a plan of attack: to ram and sink Essex and then move downstream in order to block the retreat of the smaller Union vessels present. During the movement, Arkansas suffered another engine failure, which caused her to run aground on some cypress stumps. It took several hours to repair the engines, and some iron that had been covering the deck was thrown overboard to lighten the ship. Arkansas was able to free herself, but the strain on the engines caused a crank pin to break. A forge was constructed to create a new pin, and an engineer on board the ship with blacksmithing experience created a new one. Fixing the engine took all night, and when the ship attempted to move downstream again on August 6, the other engine broke down, rendering her immobile. Essex approached, and Stevens ordered the scuttling of his ship. Burning, Arkansas floated downstream before blowing up and sinking around noon.

In 1981, the National Underwater and Marine Agency discovered the wreck of Arkansas under a levee below Free Negro Point, near Mile 233. The site is possibly the location of an old sand and gravel pumping site that reported finding skeletons and projectiles.

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

title: CSS Arkansas


text:
Tempeh

Tempeh or tempe (ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae, is used in the fermentation process and is also known as tempeh starter.

It is especially popular on the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but it is a whole-soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. Tempeh's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. It has a firm texture and an earthy flavor, which becomes more pronounced as it ages.

Etymology
The term tempe is thought to be derived from the Old Javanese, a whitish food made of fried batter made from sago or rice flour which resembles rempeyek. The historian Denys Lombard also suggests that it could be linked to a later term or tapai which means 'fermentation'.

In the western world, tempeh is the most common spelling. This is done to prevent readers from incorrectly pronouncing the word as "temp". The first known usage of this spelling is in an 1896 German article. Other spellings, such as témpé, were also used, but tempeh has become the standard spelling in English since the 1960s.

History
Tempeh originated in Indonesia, almost certainly in central or east Java with an estimated discovery between a few centuries ago to a thousand years or more.

The invention of tempeh cannot be separated from the origin of the fungus, which is the important part of the fermentation. This fungus consists of a mycelium that grows on teakwood and sea hibiscus leaves, which native Javanese people often used (and still do) as food wrappings. In fact, in traditional tempeh making, an (a mycelium-filled leaf) is used, instead of store-bought.

The type of soybean first used to make tempeh was the black soybean, which was a native plant. This later changed with the importation of white or yellow soybeans and the rise of the tofu industry on the island.

Debate over origins
Murdijati Gardjito, a food historian at Gadjah Mada University, argued that tempeh was made by native Javanese people and that its preparation predates the introduction of Chinese-style tofu products. Some ancient texts mention, old Javanese for 'native soybean tempeh'; was used to refer to the native soybean variety. White soybeans that are used to make most today used to be called  ('white soybeans'), and were only available in Java centuries later. Mary Astuti, a food historian at Gadjah Mada University specializing in tempeh, argued that the native variety of soybean had been grown before the Chinese arrived in the region.

Sri Tandjung noted that Javanese had been eating cooked (native black) soybeans since the 12th century. By the 16th or the 19th century, depending on which period of time the writer of Serat Centhini referred to, Javanese people had mastered the art of cooking with tempeh, when it was not only eaten as is, but converted into different types of dishes, showing a full understanding and mastery of the food product.

Gardjito noted that Javanese noble families rarely wrote about tempeh in ancient texts because it had never been a part of royal cuisine, but rather a staple food of the lower classes.

Indonesian historian, Ong Hok Ham, suggests that tempeh might have been produced as a byproduct of tahu, the Indonesian word for tofu. He argued that the two food products are made of the same ingredient and that genetically speaking, soybeans are from China, though the specific variety was never mentioned. Food journalist, Andreas Maryoto. supported this idea, saying that tempeh might have been accidentally produced as the by-product of the tofu industry in Java in the 17th century, as discarded soybeans caught the spores of a whitish fungus that was found to be edible.

However, tahu was (and is still) made of white soybeans (Glycine max, native to Japan and China), as opposed to the earliest version of that was made of native black soybeans (Glycine soja).

Tahu (tofu) made its way to Kediri in the 13th century and was consumed by the Mongolians who arrived in Java. Later, it was popular only among the rich (the complex production process and imported white soybeans led to its high price). Around the 17th or 19th century, tahu became available to everyone.

Tempeh later began to be made with white soybeans, leading to the decreased use of its native black variety. Black soybeans have been replaced by other commodity plants since. The original version of has been forgotten as tahu has become the common people's food, and dependence on imported white soybeans grows.

Production
Tempeh begins with whole soybeans, which are softened by soaking, dehulled, then partly cooked. Specialty tempeh may be made from other types of beans, wheat, or may include a mixture of beans and whole grains. Adding vinegar during soybeans soaking process had also been reported in tempeh industries and it had been found to influence the sensory nature of the final product.

The principal step in making tempeh is the fermentation of soybeans which undergo inoculation with Rhizopus spp. molds, a type of filamentous fungus most widely used for the production of tempeh. A fermentation starter containing the spores of fungus Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae is mixed in. The beans are spread into a thin layer and are allowed to ferment for 24 to 36 hours at a temperature around 30°C (86°F). The soybeans have to cool down to allow spore germination and abundant growth of mycelium. Later, the temperature of the beans will naturally rise and rapid mold growth happens for around 4 hours. As mold growth declines, the soybeans should be bound into a solid mass by the mycelium. In good tempeh, the beans are knitted together by a mat of white mycelium. Typically, tempeh is harvested after 48 hours of fermentation with its distinguishable whitish color, firm texture, and nutty flavor. Extended fermentation time results in an increase in pH and undesirable color darkening in the tempeh.

During the fermentation process, optimal time of fermentation, temperature, oxygen, humidity, and pH levels are required to encourage the growth of the Rhizopus mold, while discouraging the growth of undesired microorganisms. The pH level should be kept around 3-5 by adding a mild acidulant such as vinegar, lactic acid, or acetic acid, thereby favoring mold growth and restricting the growth of spoilage microorganisms. Oxygen is required for Rhizopus spp. growth, but should be maintained at low levels to prevent the production of undesired microorganisms. Under conditions of lower temperature, or higher ventilation, gray or black patches of spores may form on the surface—this is not harmful, and should not affect the flavor or quality of the tempeh. This sporulation is normal on fully mature tempeh. A mild ammonia smell may accompany good tempeh as it ferments, but it should not be overpowering.

Traditional tempeh is often produced in Indonesia using Hibiscus tiliaceus leaves. The undersides of the leaves are covered in downy hairs (known technically as trichomes) to which the mold Rhizopus oligosporus can be found adhering in the wild. Soybeans are pressed into the leaf, and stored. Fermentation occurs resulting in tempeh. In particular, the tempeh undergoes salt-free aerobic fermentation.

Tempeh made with traditional inoculation methods are also more likely to include molds of other species including Rhizopus arrhizus and Rhizopus delemar which may outcompete Rhizopus oligosporus as the dominant mold. This results in white woolly appearance and more pleasant aroma compared with tempeh made with commercial starter containing only Rhizopus oligosporus. Famously these variant tempeh are found in Malang and Purwokerto in the 1960s, because Malang is located in a cool plateau, and tempeh made with Rhizopus oligosporus resulted in less compact and more alcoholic-smelling tempeh, while Rhizopus arrhizus required lower optimum temperature which made it more ideal. However the widespread use of commercial starter resulted in most tempeh in Java only contains Rhizopus oligosporus, with few traditionally made tempeh outside Java still contains Rhizopus arrhizus and Rhizopus delemar.

Dry matter losses and yield
During the processing of soybeans to make tempeh there are inevitable losses of material due to the removal of the hulls and the leaching of soluble compounds during the soaking, washing and cooking stages. Hulls constitute about 8% of the dry beans and losses due to the leaching of soluble compounds equate to 12 - 17% of the dry beans. The oligosaccharides, stachyose, raffinose and sucrose, can constitute up to 50% of the soluble materials lost. During the fermentation there is some further loss of material due to respiration by the mold and the oxidation of compounds to carbon dioxide and water. Reported losses of dry matter during the fermentation range from 2.1 to 10%. Hence, the overall yield of tempeh is in the range of 72-78 g tempeh per 100 g soybeans on a dry matter basis. In practical terms, this means that 100 g dry soybeans (7-9% moisture content) will yield about 170 to 210 g fresh tempeh (61-64% moisture content).

Determining quality
Once tempeh is produced, it is divided into three categories based on its quality: good, unfinished, and inedible. Good tempeh includes beans that are bound into a firm, compact cake by a dense, uniform, white mycelium, which should permeate the entire cake; the beans should be barely visible. The odor of good tempeh should be pleasant, clean, subtly sweet or resemble the aroma of mushrooms. The entire tempeh should lift as a single, cohesive cake without crumbling when shaken gently. Unfinished tempeh has beans that are bound together loosely by a sparse white mycelium, hence it crumbles easily. Unfinished tempeh should be incubated longer unless it has been incubated more than eight hours past the recommended time. If it has been incubated for enough time and still remains unfinished, it should be discarded. Inedible tempeh has beans with foul odor, resembling strong ammonia or alcohol, indicating the development of undesirable bacteria due to excess moisture or overheating. Inedible tempeh cake is wet, slimy, and mushy with a collapsed structure. Its color is tan to brown and mold develops in sparse patches.

Packaging
Food grade wrapping paper and perforated polyethylene bags are the most suitable materials for packaging tempeh. They have demonstrated good retention of the quality of tempeh and extension of the shelf life of tempeh for three days compared to fresh tempeh. Appropriate packaging is important as it provides optimum oxygen supply and temperature for inoculation and fermentation to occur during processing. Tempeh is a perishable food and must be wrapped and placed into the refrigerator or freezer immediately after incubation or other processing steps such as blanching. In the refrigerator or freezer, stacking of tempeh should be minimized to prevent overheating and the undesirable, gradual continuation of fermentation, both of which shorten the storage life of tempeh. Even under cold temperature, tempeh continues to respire and undergo slow decomposition from microorganisms and its natural enzymes. Therefore, tempeh should be well cooled for at least two to five hours in a cooler before they undergo further packaging. Tempeh packaged in perforated polyethylene bags is usually repacked inside another labeled, non-perforated bag for distribution and sale, and for easier labeling. If the tempeh is only packaged in one perforated bag, the label must be directly attached to the perforated surface with the use of government food contact approved adhesive. They are then bulk packed in cartons and returned to the refrigerator or freezer to await shipment.

Nutrition
Tempeh is 60% water, 20% protein, 8% carbohydrates, and 11% fats (table). In a reference amount of 100 g, tempeh supplies 192 calories, and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of several B vitamins and dietary minerals, such as riboflavin (30% DV) and manganese (62% DV), respectively (table).

Effects of fermentation
The soy carbohydrates in tempeh become more digestible as a result of the fermentation process. In particular, the oligosaccharides associated with gas and indigestion are greatly reduced by the Rhizopus culture. In traditional tempeh-making shops, the starter culture often contains bacteria that produce vitamins such as B12 (though it is uncertain whether this B12 is always present and bioavailable).

In western countries, it is more common to use a pure culture containing only Rhizopus oligosporus, which makes little B12 and could be missing Citrobacter freundii and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which have been shown to produce significant levels of B12 analogs in tempeh when present.

Studies of fortifying tempeh with vitamin B12 through fermentation using microorganisms indicate that lactic acid bacteria and propionic acid bacteria produce vitamin B12.

Preparation
In the kitchen, tempeh is often simply prepared by cutting it into pieces, soaking in brine or a salty sauce, and then fried. In Java, tempeh is often traditionally prepared by cutting it into pieces, marinated in a mixture of ground garlic, coriander and turmeric, salt and water; then deep fried, and often served with sambal ulek chili paste. Cooked tempeh can be eaten alone, or used in chili, stir fries, soups, salads, sandwiches, and stews. Tempeh's complex flavor has been described as nutty, meaty, and mushroom-like. It freezes well, and is now commonly available in many western supermarkets, as well as in ethnic markets and health food stores. Tempeh can be steamed, marinated, thinly sliced, blackened, or crumbled into sauces and stews.

Tempeh performs well in a cheese grater, after which it may be used in place of ground beef (as in tacos). When thin-sliced and deep-fried in oil, tempeh obtains a crisp golden crust while maintaining a soft interior. Its sponge-like consistency makes it suitable for marinating. Dried tempeh (whether cooked or raw) is more portable and less perishable and may be used as a stew base. Sometimes when tempeh is diced and left, it will create white feathery fluff which bonds the cut—this is the Rhizopus mold still growing—this is normal and perfectly edible.

Types
The most common and widely known tempeh is made from fermented soybeans, called or, made from controlled fermentation of soybeans. However, traditionally other ingredients such as (tofu dregs/okara),  (coconut dregs) and peanuts may be used in a fashion similar to the tempeh-making process, although perhaps using different fungi or attracting other microbes like kara benguk or kara pedhang, which can be toxic if not prepared correctly. A related product to tempeh is oncom, which is made from peanut press cake or soy dregs and is prevalent in Sundanese culture in West Java. There are two types of oncom: a bright red-orange kind with Neurospora sitophila, and a black one with the same fungi as tempeh uses.

Tempeh can also be differentiated according to its degrees of maturity (i.e. the mycelium's growth/age). is a tempeh that is not fully fermented, that is, the mycelium has not fully covered the surface. The taste of the beans is more solid and profound. Sometimes tempeh is left to ferment further, creating more pungently varieties: (day-old tempeh), i.e. when the tempeh starts to age;  (a few-days old tempeh), i.e. when the tempeh becomes yellowish, a bit slimy, and the smell becomes more potent; and  (lit. 'rotten tempeh'), when the mycelium has acquired a blackened coloration and the product has a putrid smell.

Some types of tempeh are made of ingredients that would be otherwise wasted if not used. According to traditional Javanese customs, wasting food is deemed as a sign of disrespect to Nature and other beings, and encourages efforts to use every part of an ingredient.

The wrappings used in tempeh making can contribute to its flavor and aroma. Though some prefer the traditional banana, or teak leaf, readily available plastic sheet wrappings have been increasingly widely used.

Soft and fluffy tempeh made from soy pulp or tofu dregs. usually can be found in traditional markets of Java, at a price lower than that of common soybean tempeh. It is made into a variety of dishes; for example it can be battered and/or fried, used in, or. is known by different names across Java; for example as or  in Temanggung.

In Indonesia, ripe tempeh (two or more days old) is considered a delicacy. Names include ('stinky tempeh') in Java,  ('almost rotten') tempeh or  ('yesterday tempeh'). Having a slightly pungent aroma, small amounts are used as a flavoring agent in traditional Javanese sayur lodeh vegetable stew and sambal tumpang.

In Javanese, the term means 'leaf'. Traditionally tempeh is wrapped in organic banana leaf, (Hibiscus tiliaceus leaf) or  (teak leaf).

Pure soybean cake, tempeh made in plastic wrap without any fillings or additives such as grated raw papaya. This was meant to create a more "hygienic and pure" tempeh free from any impurities or unwanted microbes.

A specialty of Malang, the rough-textured is made from black soybeans mixed with other ingredients, such as peanut dregs, cassava fiber, and soybean meal. The process of making is quite similar to black oncom.

is a variety of tempeh from Central Java, notably Banyumas. It is prepared with coconut dregs. This type of tempeh served as a main source of protein in Java due to its inexpensiveness and has led to several cases of fatal food poisoning, as it occasionally gets contaminated with the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli, and the unwanted organism produces toxins (bongkrek acid and toxoflavin) from the coconut, besides killing off the Rhizopus fungus due to the antibiotic activity of acid.

Fatalities from contaminated were once common in the area where it was produced. During 1930s, Indonesian government went through an economic depression, and this condition caused some of the people to make tempe Bongkrek by themselves, instead of buying it directly from well-trained producers. As a result, the poisonings occurred frequently, reaching 10 to 12 a year. Dutch scientists, named W.K Mertens and A.G. van Veen from the Eijkman Institute of Jakarta, started to find the cause of the poisoning in the early 1930s. The first outbreak of the Bongkrek poisoning by tempe Bongkrek was recorded by Dutch researchers; however no further research to find the cause of the poisoning was conducted in 1895. They successfully identified the source of poisoning as a bacterium called Pseudomonas cocovenenans. This bacterium, which is also named Burkholderia cocovenenans, caused the synthesis of a poisonous substance called Bongkrek acid.  B. cocovenenans  is commonly found in plants and soil, which can be taken up by coconuts and corn, leading to the synthesis of Bongkrek acid during the fermentation of such foods. Since 1975, consumption of contaminated tempe Bongkrek has caused more than 3000 cases of Bongkrek acid poisoning. In Indonesia, the overall reported mortality rate has turned out to be 60%. Due to the severity of the situation, the production of tempe Bongkrek has been banned since 1988.; clandestine manufacture continues, however, due to the popular flavor. The problem of contamination is not encountered with bean and grain tempeh, which have a different composition of fatty acids that is not favorable for the growth of B. gladioli, but encourages growth of Rhizopus instead. When bean or grain tempeh has the proper color, texture and smell, it is a very strong indication the product is safe. Yellow is always highly toxic due to toxoflavin, but  with a normal coloration may still contain lethal amounts of  acid.

Oat tempeh
A form of tempeh based on barley and oats instead of soy was developed by scientists at the Swedish Department of Food Science in 2008. It can be produced in climatic regions where it is not possible to grow soybeans.

Cooking methods and recipes
The simplest way to cook tempeh is by frying. It is both deep-fried and stir-fried. However, there are several cooking methods and recipe variations. Among others are:

Perhaps the simplest and most popular way to prepare tempeh in Indonesia. The tempeh is sliced and seasoned in a mixture of ground garlic, coriander seeds and salt, and then deep fried in palm oil. The tempeh might be coated in batter prior to frying, or directly fried without any batter.

is a traditional Javanese dish originating in Central Java. is a Javanese cooking method of braising in spices and palm sugar and boiling the food in a closed place until the water runs out. The tempeh is first braised in a mixture of coconut water, palm sugar, and spices including coriander seeds, shallots, galangal, and bay leaves, and then briefly deep-fried. The result is a moist, sweet and spicy, dark-colored tempeh. Tofu may also be used, yielding.

This variation is often found in Purwokerto. The word originates in the Banyumas regional dialect, and means 'flash-fried'. The tempeh is first dipped in spiced flour before quickly frying in very hot oil, resulting in a product that is cooked on the outside, but raw or only partially so on the inside. It has a limp, soft texture compared to the more common, crisp, fully fried tempeh.

Also known as (lit: 'dry tempeh'), or  if mixed with plenty of hot and spicy sambal chili pepper sauce. It is a crispy, sweet and spicy, fried tempeh. The raw tempeh is cut into small sticks and thoroughly deep-fried until no longer moist, and then mixed with palm sugar, chili pepper or other spices, or with sweet soy sauce. Often it is mixed with separately fried peanuts and anchovies. This dry tempeh will keep for up to a month if cooked and stored properly.

or
This variation is almost identical to, but is more soft and moist. The sweet taste is due to generous addition of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).

or
Stir-fried tempeh with vegetables such as green bean, basil, or onion, with spices. Other recipes might add coconut milk for a milky-colored, and rather moist, stir-fried tempeh.

Fried tempeh mixed with sambal chili paste in a mortar and pestle. Usually served in addition to other dishes, such as ayam penyet (chicken) or iga penyet (ribs).

Tempeh skewered and grilled as satay.

(Javanese for 'poor man's satay') from Solo in Central Java is made from fluffy. Ground tempeh can also be made into a thick sauce, such as in, a chicken satay from Kebumen, Central Java where tempeh flavored with chili and spices replaces the more common peanut sauce.

Kripik snack crackers; a thinly sliced tempeh, battered and deep fried until crispy. It is popular across Java, but notably produced in Bandung, West Java and Malang, East Java.

Tempeh sandwich or tempeh burger
Fried, grilled or otherwise cooked tempeh patties, sandwiched between slices of bread or hamburger buns with salad, sauces or seasonings.

Preservation
Freshly made, raw tempeh remains edible for a few days at room temperature. It is neither acidic nor does it contain significant amounts of alcohol. It, however, does possess stronger resistance to lipid peroxidation than unfermented soybeans due to its antioxidant contents.

Cooked as, the deep-fried and seasoned bits of tempeh can last for a month or more and still be good to consume, if cooked correctly and stored properly in an air-tight jar. The deep-frying process removes the moisture, preventing further fermentation and deterioration, thus prolonging its shelf life.

Antimicrobial agents
Rhizopus cultures responsible for the fermentation of tempeh from soybean produce natural, heat-stable antimicrobial agents against spoilage and disease-causing microorganisms, extending the shelf life of the fermented product through microbial antagonism. The mold is capable of inhibiting the growth of other fungi such as Aspergiluus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus by interfering with the accumulation of aflatoxin (especially aflatoxin B1), the mycotoxin of greatest concern. R. oligosporus has also been reported to produce four to five antibacterial substances during fermentation process. It produces phenolic compounds against pathogenic bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori and an antibacterial protein has been identified with activities against Bacillus species (especially against Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus ), Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus cremoris.

Non-refrigerated fresh tempeh
Tempeh can be sold and consumed fresh within 48 hours once removed from its incubator. It is commonly transported to the market in its incubation container (e.g. polyethylene bag, banana leaf wrapper, etc.) and placed in the shade. In areas with warmer climates, tempeh can be kept at room temperature for one to three days before it becomes overripe. In locations with more temperate temperatures, it can keep for one to four days but will usually need to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage.

Refrigeration
Fresh refrigerated tempeh should be sealed in a labeled polyethylene bag and kept in temperatures below 40 F. It can be kept at this temperature for three to five days and sometimes, even as long as a week. Storage life could be extended to two or three weeks if the tempeh is blanched or steamed prior to refrigeration due to the inactivation of enzymes and destruction of bacteria.

Freezing
Freezing is the preferred way to preserve tempeh due to its capability for wide distribution. Tempeh can be frozen whole or in slices, depending on preference. During the freezing process, whole tempeh is placed in its perforated wrapper whereas sliced tempeh is packaged in a labelled polyethylene bag prior to being sealed in an outer bag and then frozen immediately. This method will keep for months with only a small loss of texture and flavor.

Blanching
Blanching tempeh by steaming or parboiling helps to extend the storage life by preventing bacterial growth, stopping mold growth and inactivating enzymes. Steaming appears to have a less negative effect than parboiling in terms of texture, flavor and nutritional value. Blanching is a great method for preserving tempeh prior to refrigeration, though not as beneficial for tempeh that is to be frozen.

Air tray drying
Tempeh can be dried via the air tray drying method. Cubes of tempeh placed on steel, mesh bottom trays are dried by the circulating hot air dryer. After the product is finished, they can be cut into 1 in squares at 200 F for 90 to 120 minutes in order to reduce moisture content to 2–4%. When placed in moisture proof Pliofilm bags, the tempeh has a shelf life of several months at room temperature. Although this is a convenient method that produces a shelf stable product without requirement of refrigeration, the process of hot air drying can cause a significant loss of nutritional content such as the soluble solids and nitrogen protein content.

Sun drying
This preservation method is most economical out of all methods. The tempeh can be blanched prior to dehydration to preserve flavor and prolong shelf life. Tempeh is exposed to internal solar dryer temperature of 180-200 F in this method. A disadvantage of this method is that sunlight can destroy some of the vitamin B12 of tempeh.

Freeze-drying
This method is the most expensive out of all dehydration methods but provides the advantage of long stable shelf life at room temperature and an excellent retention of soluble nutrients (nitrogen protein and other solids). The product undergoes quick freeze at 50 F and is then dried at a moderate temperature inside a strong vacuum. Due to the expensive nature of the equipment, the final product price is higher than tempeh preserved through other methods.

Spray-drying
As this method is traditionally used for small particles, it is used to produce tempeh powder for products such as soups, breads, tortillas, etc. However, this method can be expensive due to the bulky nature of the equipment.

Deep-frying
This method produces ready to eat tempeh products. A culinary oil with a high smoke point, such as rapeseed, soy, safflower, peanut, or coconut oil, is heated to 350 F in the deep fryer. The tempeh is deep-fried until golden brown and crisp, and then cooled quickly in a sterile environment to be sealed in Pliofilm bags and stored in a cool, dry place. The shelf life of this product lasts around a week but can be extended if the tempeh is sun dried or oven dried prior to deep frying.

title: Tempeh


text: Talk:Disintermediation

title: Talk:Disintermediation


text:
Isaac Brown (naval officer)

Isaac Newton Brown (May 27, 1817 – September 1, 1889) was a naval officer in both the United States Navy and the Confederate States Navy.

Isaac N. Brown was born in Caldwell County, Kentucky, but spent part of his later youth in western Tennessee. In March 1834, shortly after his father died, he joined the United States Navy as a midshipman. He received a commission as a lieutenant in 1846 and later participated in the Mexican–American War. He married, owned property on the Mississippi Delta, and had three sons. He remained in the Navy and made several trips around the world on various ships.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, he resigned his commission. In June, he accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the fledgling Confederate States Navy. Brown was assigned to the Mississippi River region by the Confederate Naval Department. In May 1862 he was ordered to Yazoo City, Mississippi, to take command of the unfinished ironclad CSS Arkansas and complete her construction in the worst of conditions. After successfully accomplishing this difficult task, Brown commanded her dramatic breaking of the Union blockade of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 15, 1862.

Brown was promoted to commander in August 1862 in recognition of his bold and audacious actions at Vicksburg. Commander Brown served as captain of the ironclad CSS Charleston, which operated in defense of Charleston, South Carolina, during 1863–1865.

At the end of the Civil War, Brown took up farming in Mississippi and later moved to Texas. He died at Corsicana, Texas, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans awarded their Confederate Medal of Honor, started in 1977, to Brown for his distinguished service.

title: Isaac Brown (naval officer)


text:
PRS

PRS or prs may refer to:

Science and technology

 * Peripheral Reflex System, an implementation of autonomous peripheral operations in microcontrollers
 * Personal response system, in audience response
 * Phenotypic response surfaces, in medicine
 * Pierre Robin syndrome, a congenital condition of facial abnormalities
 * Polygenic risk score, in genetics
 * Present tense, in linguistics
 * Procedural reasoning system, for developing intelligent agents
 * Products Requirement Specification, another term for the Product Requirements Document

Places

 * Prees railway station (National Rail station code), England
 * Pacific Ridge School, California, US

Organisations

 * PRS for Music (formerly the Performing Right Society), UK copyright collective
 * PRS Legislative Research, parliamentary service in New Delhi, India
 * PRS Guitars, the guitar brand of luthier Paul Reed Smith
 * Polish Register of Shipping, a classification society
 * Pilots Right Stuff, former German paraglider manufacturer

Political

 * Party for Social Renewal, Guinea-Bissau
 * Radical Socialist Republican Party, Spain
 * Republican-Socialist Party, France
 * Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Malaysia

Other uses

 * Precision Rifle Series, shooting sport
 * President of the Royal Society of London
 * Poverty Reduction Strategy, required by the IMF and World Bank
 * Dari (Persian dialect) of Afghanistan, ISO code
 * Phocaean red slip, Late Roman and Early Byzantine pottery

title: PRS


text:
User:Omegatron

I am an audio electronics engineer. I started editing Wikipedia in 2003, participating heavily and becoming an admin in 2005, then stopped editing in 2008 because people are frustrating, then started again a bit in 2017, but I'm not going to get as invested as I used to. See also my account on Wikimedia Commons, and lesser-used accounts on other wikis.

title: User:Omegatron


text:
Aimee Mann

Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects. Mann's work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.

Mann was born in Richmond, Virginia, and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1980s, after playing with the Young Snakes and Ministry, she co-founded the new wave band 'Til Tuesday and wrote their top-ten single "Voices Carry" (1985). 'Til Tuesday released three albums and disbanded in 1990 when Mann left to pursue a solo career.

Mann released her first solo album, Whatever, in 1993, followed by I'm with Stupid in 1995. Both earned positive reviews but low sales, and placed Mann in conflict with her record company, Geffen. She achieved wider recognition for her contributions to the soundtrack for the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia (1999). Her song "Save Me" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal. After Geffen refused to release her third album, Bachelor No. 2, Mann released it under her own label, SuperEgo Records, in 2000. It achieved acclaim and strong sales, establishing Mann as a career artist who could work outside the major label system.

Mann has released seven solo albums since. In 2014, she released an album with Ted Leo as the Both. Mann also paints and makes comics, and has appeared in film and television series including The Big Lebowski, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Steven Universe, The West Wing and Portlandia. Her awards include two Grammy Awards, including Best Folk Album for Mental Illness (2017). She was named one of the greatest living songwriters by NPR and Paste.

Early life
Mann was born at the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, on September 8, 1960. When she was three, her mother had an affair and became pregnant and her parents divorced. Mann was kidnapped by her mother and her new boyfriend and taken to Europe, where they traveled. Mann's father, a marketing executive, hired a private detective, who brought her back from England a year later to a new stepmother and two stepbrothers. Mann said her father seemed "like a stranger" when they were reunited. The kidnapping gave Mann post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety around travelling later in life. She did not see her mother again until she was 14. She forgave her decades later, saying her mother had been "trapped on every side".

Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, and attended Midlothian High School in Chesterfield County. She was withdrawn and would not talk, and her father and stepmother sent her to a psychiatrist. Her drama teacher recalled her as "kind of an insecure kid, very quiet, very introspective … When she did start talking, she was worth listening to."

Mann learned to play her brother's guitar when she was confined to bed with glandular fever at the age of 12. As a teenager, she enjoyed David Bowie and Iggy Pop and was inspired by punk and new wave music. She said: "[It] was so interesting, so inventive – literally do whatever you want. That Patti Smith was out there and people were accepting her? Oh my God, there's a way out."

In 1978, feeling she did not fit in the "normal world", Mann enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston to study bass guitar. She had wanted to learn the bass as a child, but her family ridiculed her, saying it was unladylike. After 18 months, she dropped out and joined the Boston punk band the Young Snakes on bass. She was unhappy in the band, saying the other members objected to her writing love songs or music they considered too melodic. She joined the band Ministry, which she said helped her learn to write songs efficiently. In the early 1980s, she worked at Newbury Comics in Massachusetts.

1980s: 'Til Tuesday
At Berklee, Mann and Michael Hausman formed a new wave band, 'Til Tuesday, with Mann providing bass and vocals. They signed to Epic Records and released Voices Carry, their debut album, in 1985. The single "Voices Carry" reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and won that year's MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. According to Mann, "Voices Carry" was one of the first songs she wrote. Stereogum described it as "an early indicator of Mann's penchant for character study, drawing outside the lines of boy-meets-girl love songs". The success made Mann an early female MTV star. The Washington Post described her as "a neo-punk pop princess, a new wave glamour girl, all doe eyes, gangly limbs and spiky bleached hair with that long, braided tail snaking out from underneath".

'Til Tuesday released Welcome Home, their second album, in 1986. Mann sang vocals with Geddy Lee on the 1987 single "Time Stand Still" by Rush, and appeared in the music video. 'Til Tuesday released their third and final album, Everything's Different Now, in 1988. It demonstrated a significant development in Mann's songwriting, and included a song co-written with Elvis Costello, "The Other End of the Telescope". Everything's Different Now was a commercial failure; Mann said it had been abandoned by Epic following a change of staff.

'Til Tuesday broke up in 1990 when Mann left to start her solo career. She said later that her musical interests had changed, and that she was more interested in "acoustic guitar music" than the new wave pop of 'Til Tuesday. Hausman, her former boyfriend, became her manager. Epic did not release Mann from her record contract for another three years, which prevented her from releasing new material. It was the first of several disputes Mann had with record labels, which Hausman said had a lasting effect on her attitude to the music industry.

1990–1995: Solo beginnings, Whatever and I'm with Stupid
Mann recorded her first solo albums with the producer Jon Brion, who had been a member of the 'Til Tuesday touring band. Mann found working with Brion exciting and felt her songwriting improved with him. Together, they developed a sound that the Stereogum writer Doug Bleggi called "LA alternative". Mann's debut solo album, Whatever, was released in 1993 on the independent label Imago. It earned positive reviews but did not meet sales expectations. In 1994, Mann moved to Los Angeles. She also toured as part of the British band Squeeze, playing her own songs and songs by Squeeze.

After Mann finished her second album, I'm with Stupid, Imago encountered financial problems and delayed its release. Imago eventually sold it to Geffen, which signed Mann in 1994 and released I'm with Stupid in 1995. According to Pitchfork, while Mann's solo albums demonstrated she was "a witty, self-possessed songwriter", she was still failing to meet commercial expectations, with sales in the low six figures. Mann began to be seen as a relic of the 1980s. Dick Wingate, the executive who signed 'Til Tuesday to Epic, described Mann as "the model of an artist who has been chewed up and spit out by the music business". He said disappointment and bad luck had made her distrustful of record labels.

1995–1999: Film work and Magnolia
Mann recorded a cover of the 1968 song "One" by Harry Nillson for the 1995 tribute album For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson. She wrote "Wise Up" for the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, but the director, Cameron Crowe, felt it did not fit. The song was included on the Jerry Maguire soundtrack. In 1997, Mann recorded a cover of "Nobody Does It Better", the theme song of the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, for the album Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project. Mann contributed her song "Amateur" to the film Sliding Doors  and made a cameo in the film The Big Lebowski as a German nihilist, both released in 1998.

Later in the decade, Mann became a regular act at Largo, a Los Angeles nightclub that hosted performances from alternative songwriters including Brion, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple and Rufus Wainwright. This shaped Mann's songwriting; Largo fit Mann so well that the owner jokingly nicknamed it "Aimee Mann's clubhouse".

Mann received wider recognition after she contributed songs to the 1999 film Magnolia, including "One", "Wise Up" and songs she was writing for her third album. Two songs, "Save Me" and "You Do", were written for the film. The film features dialogue taken from Mann's lyrics and a sequence in which the cast sing "Wise Up". The director, Paul Thomas Anderson, another Largo regular, said he "sat down to write an adaptation of Aimee Mann songs".

The Magnolia soundtrack was certified gold. "Save Me" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal and an Academy Award for Best Original Song; Mann performed it at the 72nd Academy Awards. In 2021, the Los Angeles Times described "Save Me" as Mann's masterpiece, which "solidified Mann's stature as an esteemed songwriter". Mann later said the song "really gave a blood transfusion to my career. But it wasn't like I went from playing to five people to 5,000 people. It was just a real influx of energy." The success of the Magnolia soundtrack caused Mann stress, as she felt pressure to capitalize on it and tour heavily.

1999–2001: Bachelor No. 2 and label independence
Mann took more control over the production of her third album, Bachelor No. 2. It includes Mann's second collaboration with Elvis Costello, "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist". Geffen refused to release the album, feeling it contained no hit singles. In response, Mann sold homemade EPs of her new music on tour in 1999, which she described as a "DIY fuck-you-record-company-I'm-selling-it-myself move". She accepted an offer from Geffen to leave her contract, deciding to be "in charge of her own destiny".

In 1999, Mann and Hausman formed their own label, SuperEgo Records. With Mann's husband, the songwriter Michael Penn, they also established United Musicians, a collective working outside the major label system. Using the money earned through royalties from Magnolia, Mann bought the Bachelor No. 2 masters from Geffen. She sold 25,000 copies of the album via mail order from her website, a large amount for an independent artist. After she secured a distribution deal, Bachelor No. 2 sold 270,000 copies, outperforming I'm with Stupid. Bachelor No. 2 became the 28th-best-reviewed album of the decade, according to the aggregation website Metacritic. The success established Mann as a career artist who could work outside of the major label system.

In 2000, Mann and Penn performed together on a small tour, Acoustic Vaudeville, with the comedian Patton Oswalt. In 2001, Mann sued Universal Music over the release of a greatest-hits compilation, The Ultimate Collection, which she had not authorized and considered "substandard and misleading". The Boston Globe characterized the lawsuit as one of several challenges to major labels by female musicians that year, including Courtney Love and the Dixie Chicks. That year, Mann was also a judge at the inaugural Annual Independent Music Awards, an award for promoting independent musicians. She judged the awards again in 2011.

2002—2004: Lost in Space and Live at St. Ann's Warehouse
Following the success of Magnolia and Bachelor No. 2, Mann had a mental breakdown and entered a period of depression. She also had intrusive thoughts resulting from an accident when the car of a drunk driver flipped her tour bus. In 2002, she entered the Sierra Tucson rehabilitation center with anxiety and depression, and PTSD triggered by her kidnapping as a child.

Mann referenced her health problems obliquely in her fourth album, Lost in Space, released in August 2002. Paste described it as "another marvelous collection of Mann's intimate portraits of lost love and broken people, all set to a wry pop soundtrack that often lilts at the precise moment that one would expect dour melancholy".

In 2004, Mann released Live at St. Ann's Warehouse, a live album and DVD recorded at a series of shows in Brooklyn, New York City. She also appeared in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, performing "This Is How It Goes" and "Pavlov's Bell", and on The West Wing, performing a cover of James Taylor's "Shed a Little Light". Mann sang on "That's Me Trying", cowritten and produced by Ben Folds, from William Shatner's 2004 album Has Been.

2005–2008: The Forgotten Arm and @#%&*! Smilers
In May 2005, Mann released The Forgotten Arm, a concept album set in the 1970s about two lovers who meet at the Virginia State Fair and go on the run. The album artwork won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

In October 2006, Mann released One More Drifter in the Snow, a Christmas album featuring covers and new songs. It was the first of several albums produced by Mann's bassist, Paul Bryan. Mann said she did not enjoy music that combines Christmas songs with modern genres, and instead drew inspiration from Christmas records by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

In 2007, Mann contributed two original songs, "The Great Beyond" and "At the Edge of the World", to the soundtrack to the film Arctic Tale. She also contributed vocals to "Unforgiven" on John Doe's album A Year in the Wilderness.

In June 2008, Mann released her seventh album, @#%&*! Smilers. It features minimal electric guitar and an emphasis on keyboards. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 32 and on the Top Independent Albums chart at number 2. @#%&*! Smilers received mostly positive reviews, with AllMusic writing that it "pops with color, something that gives it an immediacy that's rare for an artist known for songs that subtly worm their way into the subconscious ... Smilers grabs a listener, never making him or her work at learning the record, as there are both big pop hooks and a rich sonic sheen." The artwork, by Gary Taxali, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

2011—2012: Charmer
In May 2011, Mann performed for President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at a poetry seminar at the White House. She also appeared in a sketch for the Independent Film Channel series Portlandia. Mann played herself as a cleaner, explaining that she needs the second job to support herself.

In 2012, Mann released her eighth solo album, Charmer, comprising songs based on the theme that personal charm should not always be trusted. One song, "Crazytown", is about an alcoholic "manic pixie dream girl". Two singles were released: "Charmer", with a music video directed by Tom Scharpling, and "Labrador", which features the actor Jon Hamm and references to Mann's music videos with 'Til Tuesday. In the same year, Mann contributed vocals to Steve Vai's album The Story of Light on "No More Amsterdam" and recorded the song "Two Horses" for the soundtrack of the film Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. Mann sang backing vocals on the 2013 Heidecker & Wood album Some Things Never Stay the Same.

2013—2019: The Both and Mental Illness
In 2013, Mann appeared on the Ivan & Alyosha album All the Times We Had. In February, she and Ted Leo formed a duo, the Both, and performed shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They released an album on SuperEgo in April 2014; Spin described it as "the best thing either artist has ever done". On July 22, Mann filed a lawsuit against MediaNet, saying they were distributing 120 of her songs on an expired license agreement. She attempted to claim as much as $18 million in statutory damages. Mann settled out of court in 2015.

In February 2014, Mann appeared in an episode of the animated series Steven Universe as the voice of a female warrior, Opal''.  She reprised her role for Steven Universe: The Movie'' (2019), performing the song "Independent Together" with Leo. Mann contributed a version of Styx's "Come Sail Away" to the 2014 Community episode "Geothermal Escapism". In 2015, Mann and Leo appeared on the talk show Conan performing a song in support of the 2016 US presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee. Mann covered the 1973 Carpenters single "Yesterday Once More" for a 2016 episode of the HBO drama Vinyl. In October 2016, Mann released a new song, "Can't You Tell", as part of the 30 Days 30 Songs campaign protesting the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

In March 2017, Mann released her ninth solo album, Mental Illness, a collection of "spare" acoustic songs featuring collaborations with the songwriters Jonathan Coulton and John Roderick. It won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. Coulton joined Mann for some performances on the Mental Illness tour. That September, Mann contributed the song "Everybody Bleeds" to an episode of the Netflix series Big Mouth. In January 2018, Mann appeared in an episode of the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as a bar singer, performing the 1984 Cars song "Drive". She also appeared in the sitcom Corporate in the episode "The Pain of Being Alive". In 2019, Mann released an expanded 20th-anniversary reissue of Bachelor No. 2 for Record Store Day. She also hosted a podcast with Leo, The Art of Process, interviewing celebrities including Wyatt Cenac and Rebecca Sugar.

2020s: Queens of the Summer Hotel and art
In 2020, Mann wrote a song, "Big Deal", for the animated series Central Park, performed by Stanley Tucci. On November 5, 2021, Mann released her tenth album, Queens of the Summer Hotel. It features songs inspired by Girl, Interrupted, the 1993 memoir by Susanna Kaysen about her time in a psychiatric hospital. Mann had developed the songs for a musical based on the memoir with the producers Barbara Broccoli and Frederick Zollo, which was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January 2022, Mann began posting autobiographical comics on Instagram. She said that making comics was similar to songwriting: "Having a short amount of time to make a point or to tell a little story ... It's by necessity very truncated." She described making comics as a "weird, lonely, insular drive-yourself-crazy activity", unlike the communal activity of performing and recording music. In 2023, Mann mentioned plans to create a graphic memoir.

In April 2022, Mann displayed a series of her paintings, You Could Have Been a Roosevelt, at City Winery, Manhattan. The paintings are portraits of "the ten worst US presidents" and a selection of first ladies. Mann created them after promising her friend, the politician Antony Blinken, a painting for his White House office. She said that Blinken "declined to have a portrait of Millard Fillmore on his wall, and I can't say I blame him".

That year, Mann was dropped from a supporting slot on Steely Dan's tour. Donald Fagen, the co-founder of Steely Dan, denied rumors that he felt a female singer-songwriter would not suit their audience, and instead said that Mann was not a good musical fit. He apologized, saying he respected Mann and did not realize any commitment had been made. Mann accepted the apology and said it was plausible that Fagen did not know she had been announced for the tour. She covered the Steely Dan song "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" on tour that year.

On May 22, 2022, Mann led a lineup of women performers raising funds for the Magee Women's Institute at Novo, Los Angeles. In January 2023, she launched an Audible podcast, Straw into Gold, in which she interviewed artists about the connection between art and trauma.

Artistry
Pitchfork characterized Mann's music as "refined guitar pop filled with attuned details and characters more often associated with the best short stories". The journalist Jon Pareles described Mann as a "formalist of pop songwriting" whose "verses, choruses and bridges arrive in their proper places and melodies trace a measured, symmetrical rise and fall". The New York Times critic Ben Ratliff wrote of Mann's "urbane pop songs, melodically rich and full of well-worn sayings fitted into spiky couplets". Mann said songwriting was "an exercise in order... To attempt to describe something — to make connections, to put pieces together, to try to sum up complicated ideas in a three-and-a-half minute song — that's trying to put chaos in order for me."

Mann played the bass guitar with the Young Snakes, 'Til Tuesday and the Both. For her own shows, she generally plays acoustic guitar, finding it "more convenient". On her first solo albums, Mann and the producer Jon Brion created a sound the Stereogum writer Doug Bleggi called "LA alternative". The style is associated with turn-of-the-century alternative acts such as Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, Rufus Wainwright and Eels, all of whom worked with Brion in the 1990s. Several of Mann's later albums were produced by Paul Bryan.

In the 1990s, Mann came under pressure from her record company, Geffen, to write hit singles, which she found frustrating. When she attempted to write catchy and lyrically accessible songs, she became bored and could not finish them. She felt that record companies attempted to "remove everything that's interesting" from her songs, and concluded: "My music is not going to sell outside a certain audience, so why not leave it alone so you don't alienate the people who actually like it?" Mann said she was not interested in being a pop star, and said: "It takes a special skill to be a big star and I just don't have those skills, so there isn't much point in me pretending."

Writing for the New Yorker in 2000, Nick Hornby wrote that Mann was "a fine, occasionally brilliant singer-songwriter, nothing more, nothing less, and this plainness of purpose has cost her dearly over the last fifteen, mostly calamitous, years". He said she had not found wider success as she did not meet expectations for female singer-songwriters: "She is not one of the lads, like Sheryl Crow; she is outspoken rather than introspective, which means that she has little in common with the Carole King school; and she is much too grown-up and circumspect to want to bare her pain in the way that Tori Amos and Fiona Apple do."

In 2006, Paste named Mann the 54th-greatest living songwriter, and NPR named her among the ten greatest living songwriters. Robin Hilton of NPR wrote that she was "vastly underrated" and had "a real gift for piercing the heart of something, revealing instead of telling and wrapping it all up in inspired melodies".

Lyrics
Mann is noted for her sharp and literate lyrics. She explores dark subjects such as mental illness and suicide, and writes about underdog characters who are lost, lonely or exist outside of society. In Pitchfork, Chris Dahlen wrote of Mann's skill in writing about dark subjects without self-pity, and in using specific imagery to carry general meanings. Another Pitchfork writer, Eric Torres, attributed Mann's penchant for underdog characters to her struggles in the music industry.

Mann combines sad music and themes with humorous or sarcastic lyrics to create the sense of a narrator trying to hide their feelings. She felt this was sadder than simply stating the feelings directly. She said: "I'm sure I'm the only person who thinks any lines or any moments are funny, but that's usually because they're the most accurate and bleak ones." In the New York Times, Nate Chinen wrote that "the sugarcoated poison pill is a reliable device for Aimee Mann, a singer-songwriter given to ravaging implication and dispassionate affect". Paul Thomas Anderson wrote that Mann was "the great articulator of the biggest things we think about: 'How can anyone love me?' 'Why the hell would anyone love me?' and the old favorite 'Why would I love anyone when all it means is torture?'"

Many of the lyrics on Mann's 90s albums express her frustration with her record label. Hornby noted that some found Mann's "self-righteous sense of grievance" irritating, such as the author Greil Marcus, who wrote that she was "still whining after all these years". Hornby responded that pop music could express any mood and asked: "Who doesn't feel like whining sometimes?"

Mann said she admires precision in lyrics: "I like a rhyme that's perfect and interesting. Some songwriting is so vague. It makes me yell at the radio, 'Home and alone do not rhyme!' I've been sloppy in the past, but I'm getting better over time."

Influences
Mann said she was mainly influenced by "classic" 1970s chord progressions and melodies. Elton John was the artist who was most important to her at an early age: "His melody, the chords, his singing ... There was something in the DNA of his melodic structure that I picked up on later and was influenced by."

Mann said Steely Dan was "the one band that I 100% love, with no reservations", and cited Fiona Apple, Leonard Cohen, Stephen Sondheim and Jimmy Webb as artists she admires. The music of Elliott Smith affirmed to her that it was acceptable to write songs about personal or dark subjects. Mann said that American Songbook standards and ragtime had "resonance" for her. Older British bands such as the Kinks, the Zombies and Squeeze influenced her debut album, Whatever.

Personal life
According to the musician Al Jourgensen of the band Ministry, he and Mann had a brief "dysfunctional" romance in Boston in the 1970s or 1980s. Mann wrote "No More Crying" about their relationship. Mann dated the 'Til Tuesday drummer Michael Hausman; after they separated, they remained friends and Hausman became her manager. The actor and comedian Dave Foley said Mann wrote "Save Me" about him while they were in a relationship.

In 1993, while Mann was recording Whatever, she met the songwriter Michael Penn, the brother of the actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn. They married in 1997 and live in Los Angeles. Mann said about Penn: "He's really a top-rated songwriter for me, and thank God, because how sad is it if you were with another singer-songwriter and you're like, 'Yeah, whatever, it's not my kind of thing'?"

In 2008, Mann said she had attended Al-Anon, a support group for the families and friends of alcoholics, to deal with the exhaustion she felt from trying to help addicts she knew. In 2020, she developed a nervous system disorder that gave her tinnitus, migraines, nausea and dizziness and prevented her from listening to music for a year. She believed the disorder was triggered by a combination of childhood trauma and the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Studio albums

 * Whatever (1993)
 * I'm with Stupid (1995)
 * Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo (2000)
 * Lost in Space (2002)
 * The Forgotten Arm (2005)
 * One More Drifter in the Snow (2006)
 * @#%&*! Smilers (2008)
 * Charmer (2012)
 * Mental Illness (2017)
 * Queens of the Summer Hotel (2021)

Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards

 * rowspan=3|2001
 * Magnolia
 * Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
 * Nominated
 * rowspan=2|"Save Me"
 * Best Song Written for Visual Media
 * Nominated
 * Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
 * Nominated
 * 2006
 * The Forgotten Arm
 * Best Recording Package
 * Won
 * 2009
 * Fucking Smilers
 * Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
 * Nominated
 * 2018
 * Mental Illness
 * Best Folk Album
 * Won
 * Nominated
 * 2018
 * Mental Illness
 * Best Folk Album
 * Won
 * Won

Other awards {| class=wikitable !Year!!Awards!!Work!!Category!!Result
 * 1985
 * American Video Awards
 * "Voices Carry"
 * Best Female Performance
 * Won
 * rowspan=7|2000
 * Academy Awards
 * rowspan=7|"Save Me"
 * Best Original Song
 * Nominated
 * Golden Globe Awards
 * Best Original Song
 * Nominated
 * Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
 * rowspan=3|Best Original Song
 * Nominated
 * Online Film & Television Association
 * Nominated
 * Satellite Awards
 * Nominated
 * rowspan=2|MTV Video Music Awards
 * Best Video from a Film
 * Nominated
 * Best Editing
 * Won
 * 2006
 * PLUG Awards
 * The Forgotten Arm
 * Album Art/Packaging of the Year
 * Nominated
 * 2013
 * rowspan=2|A2IM Libera Awards
 * Charmer
 * Creative Packaging Award
 * Nominated
 * 2018
 * Mental Illness
 * Best American Roots & Folk Album
 * Won
 * rowspan=2|2022
 * rowspan=2|Denmark GAFFA Awards
 * Herself
 * Best Foreign Solo Act
 * Pending
 * rowspan=2|
 * Queens of the Summer Hotel
 * Best Foreign Album
 * Pending
 * Best American Roots & Folk Album
 * Won
 * rowspan=2|2022
 * rowspan=2|Denmark GAFFA Awards
 * Herself
 * Best Foreign Solo Act
 * Pending
 * rowspan=2|
 * Queens of the Summer Hotel
 * Best Foreign Album
 * Pending
 * Best Foreign Album
 * Pending

title: Aimee Mann