text:
Talk:S-CRY-ed

Mad Sprict
Guys, episode 8 is not (and I repeat NOT) entitled "Mad Script". The second word is intentionally misspelled, and the kana in the episode title are altered to emphasize this (マッド・スプリクト). And in case I haven't ragged on everybody enough, it's "Mad Sprict". Period. Thanks. The Trashman 05:48, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Officially, this series is punctuated "s.CRY.ed"

but it has been written as Scryed too. ~ZeWrestler

Is Kanami's alter power really a spoiler? They reveal it the very first episode, after all. ~Not you.

Of course it's a spoiler, tell me you saw the very first episode and knew what was going on with her. Ape. ~NWI

 * You could say that, but it's not specifically said in that episode that it is an Alter power. --Tacubus 04:02, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Yeah, its not fully explained until at least ep 20.-- ZeWrestler  Talk 12:11, 8 August 2005 (UTC)

Clean-up?
67.167.251.190's edits are been pretty erratic, strangely positioned, and started to wander from "character info" to "episode guide." Some of the info is good, though. Revert and retro-fit the good bits, or just try to incorporate them somewhere? The article definitely needs to be cleaned up and fitted with info such as Japanese voice credits and whatnot. I'd also like to know what Sunrise itself considers the official Romanized spellings of Scheris and Martin's names. Ah, for the good ol' days when this show was only on DVD and there were no freakin' dubbies to worry about. Damn you, Cartoon Network!... ah well, at least it's not as tough a situation as Evangelion has... The Trashman 07:04, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

I cleaned up some noticable things, although without signing in --predatorfreak 07:06, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Elian?
OK, so is Elian the clone of Zigmar, or is he the clone of the son of Zigmar? If so, what happened to Zigmar's original son?
 * Elian is the clone of Zigmar. Also, in reference to Straight Cougar and Kazuma, I believe that in both the anime and the manga, the two are nothing more than mentor/student. Although in Fist, Cougar and Kazuma address each other as brothers, I think it more in terms of endearment. Earlier in the series, during a fight between Cougar and Kazuma, Cougar claims that the two were "nothing more than two strangers that crossed paths" (Not literally quoted). -Sketch-The-Fox 00:30, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Straight Cougar
There seems to be a minor edit war over Cougar's fate at the end of the series. On the one hand, I don't think we should include details pertaining to this episode only, since they aren't included in the other character's descriptions. On the other hand, it's ambiguous what happens (or it was to me- I never even considered the possibility he had died until I read it here). I've edited it to somewhere in between for now; any ideas? --Ntg 04:51, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

I dont think he died, I doubt they would let him survive what happened to him already, just to pass away quietly in a lawn chair. Jack Cain 08:51, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

It's strongly implied that Straight Cougar dies. Martin Jigmar and Cougar had both been put through Refinement, and Jigmar died after using his full-power Alter. Cougar is seen using his full-power Alter in his fight against Mujo, and I would assume this causes his subsequent death. --Sketch-The-Fox 03:20, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

My point is: It seems like if we even include whether he lived or died, for consistency, we would have to add it to the other character descriptions as well. I personally think we should keep spoilers to a minimum, even with the warning. What do you think? --Ntg 04:56, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Zigmarl aged noticeably and died within hours of using his full power. The effect was immediate and there was no question as to the effects - He immediately became extremely weak, substantially and visibly aged, and then died. When Cougar was shown he had not aged. He was still in full control of himself. The website hosting it is down, but Google Images still has it cached: http://images.google.com/images?q=Straight+Cougar+episode+26&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images That is a picture of Cougar as he sat in the deck chair. Note that he has not substantially or visibly aged. Likewise, he showed no signs of weakness as he was able to easily sit up, laugh, and converse with the children about Alter power. Maybe he aged as he sat back in the chair, and I blinked and missed it, but from what I saw, he showed none of the signs that Zigmarl did before his death. How do you explain that Zigmarl died nearly immediately after using full power, but Cougar managed to survive long enough to save everyone, run away by his lonesome, and then find a deckchair and a drink somewhere sunny? It seems like a huge stretch to me. I'm also curious about the effects of the refinement. He was also naturally more powerful than Cougar - He had to be or Cougar would have been leading HOLY. Perhaps Cougar's power was sufficiently less than Zigmarl's to avoid the effects it had on Zigmarl? How to explain... Think of it like balloons. Zigmarl and Cougar had the same size balloons. Zigmarl blew into his as hard as he could, and the balloon popped. But Cougar couldn't take as deep a breath, so when he blew into his as hard as he could it just inflated but didn't pop? Note I'm not denying Cougar died. The sudden slow talking and movement, the way his arm went limp and he sighed - That all said slow, peaceful death. I'm just pointing out that he didn't die like Zigmarl, so we can't be sure they died because of the same thing. I assumed Zigmarl's rapid aging was due to his use of Alter Alias and had nothing to do with being refined, while his weakness and subsequent death were because of going full power after a refinement. Drago 07:25, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

...I was under the impression that Cougar was just finally able to relax - maybe he fell asleep, but I doubt he died. MasterXiam 09:33, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

I pretty sure he died. I doubt his arm would limp like it did unless he died. Also, while he is talking to the three kids, there is a view of the back of his boot. It was torn and his entire lower leg was bandaged, implying he was in pain. Finally, the last words Cougar says sounds like advice of a dying man all the while slowing losing his energy. He's dead, sorry. : (    --Nickmaster 20:37, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

It's sad, but Straight Cougar died. It is a stereotypical situation in most anime - and to be fair, in most forms of entertainment - to have a character impart some last wisdom for the reader, listener, or viewer immediately before their death. Cougar's 'last words' and his actions were the typical words and actions of a dying man. As the previous poster has said, 'He's dead, sorry.' Assuming he's not is wishful thinking. Drago 07:58, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

His fate is left deliberately amibiguos, like the end of Kazuma's and Ryuho's fight. It was made that way so that the individual viewer could decide what his fate was, and not piss off half the fan base. It's a common trick, don't edit it to whichever ending you like best.

Request for Expansion
Hey I would love to second this request, great series (the first time I've actually spent time watching anime!) Although the entry on Wikipedia is quite confusing and is in dire need of clean up (someone with more wikiskills than me!) Thanks to all those that contribute!

Cleanup: Characters
The character section looks like it needs some cleanup, so I created a Template for classifying the characters.

Any objections? - Razer64 22:40, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

 * HOLY_Members_of_Scryed should probably be moved to s-CRY-ed. Kazuma and Ryuhou probably do not need to have their own pages redirecting to HOLY_Members_of_Scryed, as Kazuma seems to be a widely used name and I'm guessing there are other real people with the name Ryuhou as well.  I realize this is a worldwide encyclopedia and I don't know too much about other cultures, but I have very strong doubts that this show warrents two pages and numerous redicts to those pages.
 * -Wirewad 07:43, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

 * I disagree. The reason I created the template and seperate articles for the characters in the first place was because the characters section in the Scryed page required (and still does require) some major cleanup.  The intent is to create categorisation similar to what has been done for the Fullmetal Alchemist article - only basic info on the main page, with indepth information on seperate pages.  The current pages themselves are still nowhere near what they need to be - but they're better than what was before.  As for monopolising the Kazuma and Ryuhou articles with redirects, that's an issue that will be resolved should one ever arise.  Currently in Western culture, there are no other prominent figures with the names of Kazuma or Ryuho, though should this ever be a problem, it can easily be solved by creating a disambiguation page. - Razer64 02:22, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I've looked at other pages as you suggested and I've come to the conclusion that your idea is a good one. I just wish someone would clean up this page as it is a great show. If I had time, I'd do it, but I'm not going to have time for another couple months. And honestly, The only characters I know anything about are the main ones and that's only from the TV Series that played on adult-swim. I appreciate you clearing this up for me. :)
 * Wirewad 23:07, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Kazuma
Hello. Has anyone noticed how fat Kazuma's information looks compared to all the other characters? I'm thinking that he should get his own page. Any and all feedback on the issue would be greatly appreciated. Ace Class Shadow 08:07, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Someone has created an article, Kazuma_Torisuna. It greatly needs cleanup. For now, I will turn it into a redirect to Inner_Characters_of_Scryed. I know nothing about this topic, and will not likely be back to these articles again. Feel free to remove the redirect and write a decent article on Kazuma. --Xyzzyplugh 05:27, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

Alters
May I suggest that a separate page for each character's alter. I thought I should get some opinions on it before I (or anyone else) starts the idea. This will also help in the character balance problem (see above) at the Scryed main page.

 * I can understand the appeal of this idea, But very few of the alter powers would be good candidates for this. Plus, I find alter powers to be too closely connected with their users. In the end, These Abilities are little more than fighting techniques.

 * Ace Class Shadow 17:41, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

What is the third form of Ryuhou's alter?--Salvax 22:54, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Zetsuei Touryudan, as mentioned in the article. -.- ACS (Wikipedian) 20:00, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

Sorry--guess I can't read well...--Salvax 01:15, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Maybe; Maybe not. Don't sweat it. Sorry if I gave you an insulting "Duh!" answer. ACS (Wikipedian) 04:57, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Torizuna/Treasoner
It's a common misconception that Kazuma has a surname in the manga (Torizuna). In fact he doesn't as Kazuma is called "トリズナのカズマ" (Torizuna no Kazuma) in the japanese version of the manga, which translates as "Kazuma, The Treasoner". Tokyopop mistranslated this as Kazuma "The Treasoner" Torizuna, giving him a surname that didn't really exist in the first place.

Kazu-kun 20:24, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Kazuma's age
At the beginning of the series Kanami's 8 years old and Kazuma's 16 years old. One may find this info on the official japanese site

Kazu-kun 22:38, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Actually, checking the link to the official site at the bottom of the page, nobody's age is listed there. Edward321 05:47, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Yeah. In fact they were taken from Bandai official english site, but it seems down now. Anyway, since it's down, I think it's really important to have their known ages on the article so that info don't get lost. Kazu-kun 19:14, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Currently, it's unsourced information, the English site isn't even linked from the article. (If it was, the information could be conformed using the Internet Archive.) Edward321 15:38, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Are Kazuma and Cougar brothers?
As the wiki article states: "although they often refer to each other as brothers, there is no concrete information to show that they are actually related" Also in episode 26, while Kazuma and Ryuhou are fighting, Cougar himself says that Kazuma is LIKE his brother. This could be taken as proof that they are not related.

Kazu-kun 06:49, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Which came first?
was it the manga or the anime? i'm guessing the manga came first but for some reason i'm not sure. the only articles i can find on scryed are about the anime with very little information about the manga.

The manga is the adaptation based off the original anime series. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.242.93.81 (talk) 01:44, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Changes To The Trivia
I'd like to mention that, aside from the information in the Trivia section seeming out of place (it should be moved under the explaination about Alters), Kazuma and Ryuhou DO NOT age like Zigmarl. Their "wrinkles" are simply scars indicating their Alter use. I just wanted to make that clear.

-The Helldragon

The Opening
The opening has three versions, not two, which correspond to the three verses of the song. The third episode has it. IIRC it was a mix of Kazuma and Ryuhou, or maybe HOLD or something. --Kajitani-Eizan 05:23, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, technically there is about 4 openings. The fourth one that I am referring to is the opening to the last episode, when it plays the ending song for all of the other episodes. Halo3master5000 06:46, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Arial Fight Seqences Referencing other Anime?
In the later episodes, in fight scenes between Kazuma and Ryuhou (once their alters have reached their full potential) they'll briefly jump to a view of the fight from far away and all you see are two steaks of light swirling and clashing in midair. Is this a reference to some earlier anime series? This same effect is used in Episode 6 of FLCL, which predates s-CRY-ed by about year. -SeaFox 01:54, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

 * Multiple anime often utilizes the same or similar elements. I wouldn't call anything that vague a reference. Ace Class Shadow; My talk. 07:00, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

s-cry-ed official site in english
This was the official english scryed site, which is down now. It was launched on 06/02/2003, and was announced on the Bandai site.

Sadly it was flash based, so the cached copy on Internet Archive doesn't work. Several information was obtained from this site when it was still working, including main characters' ages. The site was official, thus there's no question the information is official too, and would be a waste to cut it off just because the site doesn't work anymore. Right now this article is the only place where people can find this information, so I think it's imperative for it to remain here. Kazu-kun 21:25, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Kanami's Age
Is there any souce that states Kanami's age? She doesn't look like 8 at all. David13579 00:32, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

 * Anime characters almost never look their exact age. The Norse 21:25, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

 * The source was the official english site, which is down now. This is explaned better in the post above.Kazu-kun 11:27, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

CAPS
I notice several words in ALL CAPS. Either these are acronyms, in which case they should be explained, or they aren't, in which case they should be set in Title Case. Thanks, Shinobu 20:36, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Similarly, according to the consensus here, this article should be moved to S-cry-ed. I'll go ahead and do that after a couple days if no one objects this reasoning... - Onmyounomichi (talk) 23:57, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * It should just be moved to "Scryed" if anything. I'm pretty sure the capitalization is just there for stylistic effect or the way the kanji is pronounced (suKURAIdo). Also no one refers to it as "S-cry-ed", it's either just "Scryed" or the official "s-CRY-ed". - The Norse (talk) 00:20, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

A joke?
In the definition of s-CRY-ed under the section S-CRY-ed it says, "Finally, Akira uses it twice." This is a joke, right? It's been a while since I saw this series, so I wanted to make sure. --Eruhildo (talk) 22:10, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

 * It's referring to a different Akira (Mijō), from the manga. She uses it twice, while fighting Mary Jane; once on herself (volume 5, page 21) and once on Hannish (page 37). —TangentCube, Dialogues 22:37, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Oh, ok. I've never read the manga and I didn't see a character by that name in the article, so I thought it was talking about Akira. Is there a way to make that a little clearer? --Eruhildo (talk) 23:13, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Other than a name and a link to the character article? —TangentCube, Dialogues 23:18, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Sorry, I hadn't checked the article since you made the change. It's much better now. --Eruhildo (talk) 01:36, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, I changed the article after posting that; I was wondering if that was enough. —TangentCube, Dialogues 02:56, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Zigmarl/Jigmar/Sigmar
This needs some unification across the various SCRYED articles. -- TRTX T / C 03:04, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:S-CRY-ed


text:
Well-formed element

In web page design, and generally for all markup languages such as SGML, HTML, and XML, a well-formed element is one that is either a) opened and subsequently closed, or b) an empty element, which in that case must be terminated; and in either case which is properly nested so that it does not overlap with other elements.

For example, in HTML:  is a well-formed element, while  is not, since the bold element  is not closed.

In XHTML, and XML, empty elements (elements that inherently have no content) are terminated by putting a slash at the end of the "opening" (only) tag, e.g., , , etc. In HTML 4.01 and earlier, no slash is added to terminate the element. HTML5 does not require one, but it is often added for compatibility with XHTML and XML processing.

In a well-formed document,
 * all elements are well-formed, and
 * a single element, known as the root element, contains all of the other elements in the document.

For example, the code below is not well-formed HTML, because the  and   elements overlap:

In XML, the phrase well-formed document is often used to describe a text that follows all the syntactic rules as well-formedness rules in the XML specification: strictly speaking the phrase is tautological, since a text that does not follow these rules is not an XML document. The rules for well-formed XML documents go beyond the general requirements for the markup languages mentioned above. The additional rules include, for example, a rule to quote attribute values, case-sensitiveness of tag names, rules about the characters that can appear in names and elsewhere, the syntax of comments, processing instructions, entity references, and CDATA sections, and many other similar details. Sometimes the adjective well-formed is used to contrast with valid: a valid XML document is one that is not only well-formed, but also conforms to the grammar defined in its own DTD (Document Type Definition).

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

title: Well-formed element


text:
Expertization

Expertization is the process of authentication of an object, usually of a sort that is collected, by an individual authority or a committee of authorities. The expert, or expert committee, examines the collectible and issues a certificate typically including:

 * A statement of:
 * Whether or not the item is authentic
 * Identification of any damage to the item
 * Identification of any repairs to the item
 * Identification of any forgery or faked parts of the item
 * A photo of the item

Some experts apply a mark or signature to the item attesting its genuineness.

Expertization is particularly common with valuable philatelic items, some of which are so often forged that they may be unsaleable without it.

title: Expertization


text:
User talk:Jcavaleri

Jorma

title: User talk:Jcavaleri


text:
Craig McCaw

Craig McCaw (born August 11, 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T Mobility) and Clearwire Corporation (now part of T-Mobile via the Sprint acquisition).

Early life and cable TV beginnings
McCaw is the second of four sons of Marion and J. Elroy McCaw. As a child, the family lived in the posh gated Highlands community north of Seattle, and McCaw attended Seattle's private Lakeside School, where he was later given a Lakeside Distinguished Alumni Award. McCaw's father was a broadcasting magnate and owner of Gotham Broadcasting Corporation. Gotham owned the New York City radio station WINS, which became one of the first stations to play rock and roll, with Alan Freed being one of the earliest famous disc jockeys on the station. McCaw's father was in the business of buying and selling TV and radio stations, which brought in wealth but also incurred significant debts. Elroy entered the cable television business in the 1960s, and his four sons worked as linemen and door-to-door salesmen.

When Elroy McCaw died in 1969 at age 57, the only company not sold to repay the debt was the small cable company in Centralia, Washington, with an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 subscribers, that was in trust. While at Stanford, Craig joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (DKE), and in his senior year, he took the helm of the cable company and set out to rebuild his family name. He used the cash flows from his growing cable company to purchase other remote cable companies, resulting in a profitable conglomerate. By the 1980s, McCaw Cablevision was the 20th largest cable carrier in the US.

Cellular telephone industry
When the FCC held a lottery for cellular licenses in the early 1980s, many ordinary Americans became wealthy by winning the right to establish cellular systems in cities across America. In addition to entering the lottery himself, McCaw approached many other lottery winners and bought their cellular rights, which were already considered to be undervalued. Using the same tactic he'd used in cable TV, McCaw financed an aggressive cellular expansion by borrowing against and selling shares in the cable operation.

After acquiring MCI's cellular wing in 1986, the McCaw brothers sold the cable company to Cooke Cablevision (now part of Comcast). The combined cellular operation was a significant player in the field. In 1990, McCaw was the highest paid CEO in the US.

In 1994, the McCaw brothers sold McCaw Cellular to AT&T Corporation for $11.5 billion. The company was renamed AT&T Wireless. AT&T Wireless was sold to Cingular in 2004 to become the nation's largest wireless carrier.

Following the sale of McCaw Cellular, McCaw took interest in Nextel, a then-floundering wireless carrier. By April 1995 McCaw gained effective control of the company contributing, along with his brothers, $1.1 billion over time. Within four years Nextel grew significantly to become a challenging wireless competitor, servicing 3.6 million customers throughout the U.S. and ten of the largest international markets. In 1999 McCaw formed Nextel Partners, Inc. which was later acquired by Sprint Nextel, Inc., for $6.5 billion in 2006, following a $36 billion merger between Nextel and the Sprint Corporation in 2005.

Later ventures
Later that same year, McCaw founded NEXTLINK Communications, planning to enter the broadband and internet service provider market. In 2000, the company merged with Concentric Network and was renamed XO Communications. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002.

In 1994, McCaw and Bill Gates teamed up to form Teledesic, with an ambitious plan to form a broadband satellite communications system with nearly 300 low Earth orbit satellites. In 2002, Teledesic halted satellite production; and in 2003, it sold its spectrum licenses.

In 2000, McCaw invested in New ICO, a refloating after bankruptcy of ICO Global Communications, a mobile-satellite service (MSS) constellation company. The company did not complete its planned satellite constellation.

In August 2004, McCaw founded Clearwire Corporation, a provider of wireless broadband Internet service. The company's U.S. broadband network is deployed in markets ranging from major metropolitan areas to small, rural communities.

At the end of 2007, Clearwire offered service in 46 markets in the U.S. as well as four markets in Europe.

McCaw, who served as Chairman of Clearwire until December 31, 2010, once said to an interviewer, "Filling a need that others aren't addressing has always been a focus of the companies that I have been involved with."

In November 2008, Clearwire completed a landmark transaction with Sprint combining their next-generation wireless broadband businesses into a new wireless communications company, which retained the name Clearwire. With the closing, Sprint contributed all of its 2.5 GHz spectrum and its WiMAX-related assets, including its XOHM business, to Clearwire. In addition, Clearwire received a $3.2 billion cash investment from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks.

The new company traded on the NASDAQ as CLWR. As part of the announcement, then Clearwire Chairman Craig McCaw said, "The power of the mobile Internet, which offers speed and mobility, home and away, on any device or screen, will fundamentally transform the communications landscape in our country. We believe that the new Clearwire will operate one of the fastest and most capable broadband wireless networks ever conceived, giving us the opportunity to return the U.S. to a leadership position in the global wireless industry."

In January 2009, Clearwire launched its first 4G mobile WiMAX network in Portland, Oregon, making it only the second city after Baltimore to offer a high-speed network at true broadband speeds. By the end of 2010, the company had expanded its 4G network to 71 markets in the U.S. covering more than 110 million people.

Political activities
McCaw is a major Republican donor, and has been described as a 'bundler' for the 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He has supported Jon Huntsman, John McCain, and George W. Bush. In 2012, McCaw donated $500,000 to American Crossroads.

Personal life
McCaw was a founding donor and underwriter of the Free Willy Foundation (along with Warner Brothers Studios) from 1993 to 2002, with an original $2 million donation. The foundation was formed to release the orca Keiko, star of the 1993 film Free Willy, back into the wild. It was later known as the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation.

McCaw was previously married to Wendy McCaw, a California newspaper publisher. They divorced in 1997. McCaw was married to Susan Rasinski McCaw, an investment banker and former United States Ambassador to Austria. They have three children together, Chase McCaw, Julia McCaw, and Reid McCaw.

In 1999, McCaw bought a house in Hunts Point, Washington from Kenny G.

McCaw is currently on the Board of Overseers for the Hoover Institution and serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, and the Friends of Nelson Mandela Foundation. He is president of the Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation, which supports a variety of educational, environmental, and international economic development projects. McCaw has also served on the boards of Conservation International, the Grameen Technology Center, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, and the Academy of Achievement.

McCaw is a significant car collector, and once amassed a collection of 400 cars with his brother, Bruce. In 2012 McCaw paid $35 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, setting a new record for the most expensive car ever sold. The 250 GTO was originally built for Stirling Moss, who never raced the car. It was driven at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans by Innes Ireland and Masten Gregory.

, Craig McCaw is no longer on the Forbes 400 List of Wealthiest Americans.

Awards and honors

 * 1989 – Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
 * 2000 – Wireless Hall of Fame Honoree
 * 2007 – Silicon Valley Forum’s Visionary Honoree

title: Craig McCaw


text:
Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito

Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito (ヤミと帽子と本の旅人), also known as Yamibō/Yamibou for short, is a Japanese adult visual novel published in December 2002 by Root. A 13-episode anime series produced by Studio Deen aired between October and December 2003. Although the characters and their relationships remain basically the same in the game and anime, the storyline is different.

Game
The game begins with a girl who is taken to a strange, magical realm by a dragon. She apparently was taken to the library where all past, present, and future realities are kept within the books. The player is a young man who has come from one of these books as well, but has forgotten his way back home. The player is commissioned to find the missing girl by the denizens of the library, and starts his search by entering different books.

Anime
The story follows the travels of Hazuki Azuma, a tall, brooding high-school girl, as she searches for her adopted older sister and love interest, Hatsumi, in many different "book worlds". After the disappearance of her sister, a talking parakeet nicknamed Ken-chan introduces Hazuki to Lilith, the caretaker of the Great Library. Each book in the library contains a different world, and the guardian of the library takes on the title Yami.

Characters

 * Hazuki Azuma (東 葉月)
 * Hazuki is a very tall, quiet and serious girl, with long dark blue hair and sharp blue eyes. She uses the relatively masculine first person pronoun "boku". She appears to be very popular among girls, with admirers developing crushes on her on many occasions both in school and in several book worlds. Hazuki is cold and unfriendly, but not particularly rude (e.g. throwing away the gift that a female admirer gave her as soon as the girl went out of sight). She is deeply in love and is fiercely protective of Hatsumi, is shown to have been masturbated to the thought of Hatsumi's body and fended off boys trying to approach the girl.
 * Hazuki is a very tall, quiet and serious girl, with long dark blue hair and sharp blue eyes. She uses the relatively masculine first person pronoun "boku". She appears to be very popular among girls, with admirers developing crushes on her on many occasions both in school and in several book worlds. Hazuki is cold and unfriendly, but not particularly rude (e.g. throwing away the gift that a female admirer gave her as soon as the girl went out of sight). She is deeply in love and is fiercely protective of Hatsumi, is shown to have been masturbated to the thought of Hatsumi's body and fended off boys trying to approach the girl.

 * Hatsumi Azuma (東 初美)
 * Hatsumi is Hazuki's adopted older sister and love interest. Hatsumi appears to be mute (though it is proven otherwise on several occasions) and communicates mostly through gestures and facial expressions. Despite being older, Hatsumi is much shorter than Hazuki. Although it seems that Hazuki's love is one-sided, episode seven shows that Hatsumi does have feelings for Hazuki and was trying to express herself as best as she could with the knowledge that she cannot stay beyond her sixteenth birthday (suggestions of this were shown along the way by her sending Hazuki anonymous love letters—later expressed in full and in words toward the end of the anime). In the first episode, Hatsumi disappears in a burst of green light ("sōma") at midnight on her sixteenth birthday, as Hazuki tries to steal a kiss in her sleep. The events that follow lead Hazuki to a mysterious library in another dimension, in which all the worlds are kept in books. Hazuki learns from the Library guardian, Lilith, that Hatsumi is only one of the forms of the previous guardian (Eve), and that Eve stays in different books for fun until she turns sixteen.
 * Hatsumi is Hazuki's adopted older sister and love interest. Hatsumi appears to be mute (though it is proven otherwise on several occasions) and communicates mostly through gestures and facial expressions. Despite being older, Hatsumi is much shorter than Hazuki. Although it seems that Hazuki's love is one-sided, episode seven shows that Hatsumi does have feelings for Hazuki and was trying to express herself as best as she could with the knowledge that she cannot stay beyond her sixteenth birthday (suggestions of this were shown along the way by her sending Hazuki anonymous love letters—later expressed in full and in words toward the end of the anime). In the first episode, Hatsumi disappears in a burst of green light ("sōma") at midnight on her sixteenth birthday, as Hazuki tries to steal a kiss in her sleep. The events that follow lead Hazuki to a mysterious library in another dimension, in which all the worlds are kept in books. Hazuki learns from the Library guardian, Lilith, that Hatsumi is only one of the forms of the previous guardian (Eve), and that Eve stays in different books for fun until she turns sixteen.

 * Lilith (リリス)
 * Lilith is the guardian of the library. She is the third Yami, after Adam, the creator of all the worlds, and Eve. In the anime, Lilith is attracted to Hazuki and flirts relentlessly, though she is always turned down. Lilith appears to dislike Eve and have interest only in her own ends, but her kind and vulnerable sides are sometimes shown, especially when she encounters children in trouble; adults do not seem to move her to compassion as much. Her more childish mannerisms are fairly constant, but Lilith sometimes shows considerable wisdom and knowledge. She claims that Eve left the duty of being Yami and went off to play in the book worlds, and so she wants to find Eve and return her to the library.
 * Lilith is the guardian of the library. She is the third Yami, after Adam, the creator of all the worlds, and Eve. In the anime, Lilith is attracted to Hazuki and flirts relentlessly, though she is always turned down. Lilith appears to dislike Eve and have interest only in her own ends, but her kind and vulnerable sides are sometimes shown, especially when she encounters children in trouble; adults do not seem to move her to compassion as much. Her more childish mannerisms are fairly constant, but Lilith sometimes shows considerable wisdom and knowledge. She claims that Eve left the duty of being Yami and went off to play in the book worlds, and so she wants to find Eve and return her to the library.

 * Ken (ケン)
 * Ken is a yellow cockatiel who can talk. In the anime, he accompanies Lilith in her travels, while in the game he accompanies the nameless main character. He speaks in very heavy Kansai-ben. Ken is loud, obnoxious, lecherous and perverted, as well as overly confident and a bit too slow to stay out of trouble. He usually ends up punched, squashed, beaten or otherwise violated, either as a result of tasks given to him by Lilith, or because of his big mouth and perverted tendencies. In the game, his true form is a kendappa and he is working for Arya. He serves as a comic relief in the series.
 * Ken is a yellow cockatiel who can talk. In the anime, he accompanies Lilith in her travels, while in the game he accompanies the nameless main character. He speaks in very heavy Kansai-ben. Ken is loud, obnoxious, lecherous and perverted, as well as overly confident and a bit too slow to stay out of trouble. He usually ends up punched, squashed, beaten or otherwise violated, either as a result of tasks given to him by Lilith, or because of his big mouth and perverted tendencies. In the game, his true form is a kendappa and he is working for Arya. He serves as a comic relief in the series.

 * Arya (アーヤ)
 * Arya is a mysterious silver-haired boy who appears in every episode of the anime and during certain times in the game. In the anime he claims to be cleaning up after Hazuki and Lilith. Also, he offers to perform repairs on Tamamonomae's Space Hall. He is always cosplaying as some type of character or animal. At the end of the anime series, he is shown closing a book that seems to contain the world of the Book Keepers. He is the main narrator of the story, and his short exits and introductions are often the only transition between stories.
 * Arya is a mysterious silver-haired boy who appears in every episode of the anime and during certain times in the game. In the anime he claims to be cleaning up after Hazuki and Lilith. Also, he offers to perform repairs on Tamamonomae's Space Hall. He is always cosplaying as some type of character or animal. At the end of the anime series, he is shown closing a book that seems to contain the world of the Book Keepers. He is the main narrator of the story, and his short exits and introductions are often the only transition between stories.

 * Kogechibi (コゲチビ)
 * Kogechibi lives in the library, and looks like a four-inch (102 mm) tall Eve, though with different colored eyes. "Koge" refers to the one-eyed cloak that covers all of her but the eyes. In the game, when the main character is occupying "Koge", the girl is referred to as "O-chibi-chan" ("o" being an honorific and "chan" an endearment). Kogechibi's vocabulary is composed of unintellible sounds akin to baby talk. In the anime, she has a disturbing love of fireworks and can say a few words if they have something to do with explosives. She plays a small part in the plot, but is mostly comic relief in the anime. In the game, it is revealed that the guardians "fragment" when they overexert themselves, and that the fragments take on a life of their own. Kogechibi is a fragment of Eve.
 * Kogechibi lives in the library, and looks like a four-inch (102 mm) tall Eve, though with different colored eyes. "Koge" refers to the one-eyed cloak that covers all of her but the eyes. In the game, when the main character is occupying "Koge", the girl is referred to as "O-chibi-chan" ("o" being an honorific and "chan" an endearment). Kogechibi's vocabulary is composed of unintellible sounds akin to baby talk. In the anime, she has a disturbing love of fireworks and can say a few words if they have something to do with explosives. She plays a small part in the plot, but is mostly comic relief in the anime. In the game, it is revealed that the guardians "fragment" when they overexert themselves, and that the fragments take on a life of their own. Kogechibi is a fragment of Eve.

 * Gargantua (ガルガンチュア)
 * Gargantua appears in episode two of the anime as a madman, with three bumbling demonic henchmen and a servant named Seiren (derived from the Hellenic Siren). His main goal is to find Eve who is present as the mute, magic-using Jill, assistant caretaker of the orphanage. Gargantua is fiercely attached to her, and accidentally stabs her fatally with a knife when he jealously tries to dislodge a fellow orphan, Ritsuko, from Jill's arms. Jill's body disappears in an explosion of souma, drenching the two children in her life force. In the game, Gargantua and the main character both hold and try to acquire more fragments of Eve. For a while, Gargantua takes over Joe Harry and the command of the "hunters" (smaller, one-eyed hat-looking creatures). At the end of the anime, thanks to Eve and Tamamonomae, Gargantua has a change of heart and returns to the realm Lilith gave him for the sacrifice of princess Mariel, taking Ritsuko with him.
 * Gargantua appears in episode two of the anime as a madman, with three bumbling demonic henchmen and a servant named Seiren (derived from the Hellenic Siren). His main goal is to find Eve who is present as the mute, magic-using Jill, assistant caretaker of the orphanage. Gargantua is fiercely attached to her, and accidentally stabs her fatally with a knife when he jealously tries to dislodge a fellow orphan, Ritsuko, from Jill's arms. Jill's body disappears in an explosion of souma, drenching the two children in her life force. In the game, Gargantua and the main character both hold and try to acquire more fragments of Eve. For a while, Gargantua takes over Joe Harry and the command of the "hunters" (smaller, one-eyed hat-looking creatures). At the end of the anime, thanks to Eve and Tamamonomae, Gargantua has a change of heart and returns to the realm Lilith gave him for the sacrifice of princess Mariel, taking Ritsuko with him.

 * Ritsuko (リツコ)
 * Ritsuko is an immortal magic user and appears no older than 25, despite being over a century old. Ritsuko travels the countryside performing healing miracles. She has never forgotten Jill or Gargantua, and carries small portraits of them in her locket. When she comes to the castle to heal Princess Mariel, she is taken in as the court alchemist. While escorting the princess around the village, Ritsuko meets Gargantua, who is also immortal because of Jill's souma and has learned dark magic. He kidnaps Princess Mariel and tries to sacrifice her to Lilith, in order to be shown where Eve is. Ritsuko stops him only too late and is framed for the kidnapping and thrown into a dungeon. Ritsuko is a user of sexual magic in the game, and one of the bodies occupied by the player is under her spell. She has a clone who was made by future herself, which is also seen travelling through the books with two children. At the end of the anime, thanks to some interference by Eve and Tamamonomae, Gargantua returns for Ritsuko, freeing her from her cell and taking her back with him to his own realm.
 * Ritsuko is an immortal magic user and appears no older than 25, despite being over a century old. Ritsuko travels the countryside performing healing miracles. She has never forgotten Jill or Gargantua, and carries small portraits of them in her locket. When she comes to the castle to heal Princess Mariel, she is taken in as the court alchemist. While escorting the princess around the village, Ritsuko meets Gargantua, who is also immortal because of Jill's souma and has learned dark magic. He kidnaps Princess Mariel and tries to sacrifice her to Lilith, in order to be shown where Eve is. Ritsuko stops him only too late and is framed for the kidnapping and thrown into a dungeon. Ritsuko is a user of sexual magic in the game, and one of the bodies occupied by the player is under her spell. She has a clone who was made by future herself, which is also seen travelling through the books with two children. At the end of the anime, thanks to some interference by Eve and Tamamonomae, Gargantua returns for Ritsuko, freeing her from her cell and taking her back with him to his own realm.

 * Milka (ミルカ)
 * Milka appears in episode six under the care of Seiren. She is a girl with a cruel past who is trapped in her five-year-old body. Milka lives on an island, and has no one to befriend but Seiren and her white tiger, Rascaless. Her initial caretaker was an older woman who used to whip the child as a punishment for such trivial offences. Eventually, the old woman is killed by Rascaless when Milka is not watching. Initially afraid of Hazuki and Lilith, she warms up to them and has Seiren take them to the villa at the center of the island. In the game, Milka is sent to live on the island by her older brother, for whom she has romantic feelings, because of her poor health. Seiren sings on the cliffs everyday to keep all of Milka's brother's soldiers under her spell, and Milka on the island. After Seiren and Lilith's reconciliation, Milka goes back to her brother with Rascaless.
 * Milka appears in episode six under the care of Seiren. She is a girl with a cruel past who is trapped in her five-year-old body. Milka lives on an island, and has no one to befriend but Seiren and her white tiger, Rascaless. Her initial caretaker was an older woman who used to whip the child as a punishment for such trivial offences. Eventually, the old woman is killed by Rascaless when Milka is not watching. Initially afraid of Hazuki and Lilith, she warms up to them and has Seiren take them to the villa at the center of the island. In the game, Milka is sent to live on the island by her older brother, for whom she has romantic feelings, because of her poor health. Seiren sings on the cliffs everyday to keep all of Milka's brother's soldiers under her spell, and Milka on the island. After Seiren and Lilith's reconciliation, Milka goes back to her brother with Rascaless.

 * Fujihime (藤姫)
 * Fujihime appears in a book-world that corresponds to the samurai era of Japan. Fujihime looks like Hatsumi, but has purple eyes instead of red. Fujihime is not another form of Eve. She is the spirit of a Japanese wisteria (called Fuji) who is gifted power from Eve. She can talk, and possesses the comb with which Hatsumi was using, in modern-day Japan.
 * Fujihime appears in a book-world that corresponds to the samurai era of Japan. Fujihime looks like Hatsumi, but has purple eyes instead of red. Fujihime is not another form of Eve. She is the spirit of a Japanese wisteria (called Fuji) who is gifted power from Eve. She can talk, and possesses the comb with which Hatsumi was using, in modern-day Japan.

 * Meirin (メイリン)
 * Meirin is a cheerful, wily kitsune girl with two tails who is trying to "raise her rank" by getting close to the princess. The player of the game meets Meirin after he enters a body, the previous owner of which she unintentionally kills. To make up for it, she takes him to Fujihime.
 * Meirin is a cheerful, wily kitsune girl with two tails who is trying to "raise her rank" by getting close to the princess. The player of the game meets Meirin after he enters a body, the previous owner of which she unintentionally kills. To make up for it, she takes him to Fujihime.

 * Lala (ララ)
 * Lala is the monolithic AI controlling the spaceship upon which Hazuki and the others find themselves in episode ten. The ship is an "emigration spaceship" taking the former inhabitants of Earth on a search for a new home planet. None of the passengers appear over ten years old, yet they have been drifting for over two hundred years. Hazuki and Lilith discover that all the adults died in a plague nine years ago. Eve appeared in this world as Lular over a hundred years ago, and had vanished on her sixteenth birthday while fixing a malfunctioning part. This futuristic world and its characters do not appear in the game.
 * Lala is the monolithic AI controlling the spaceship upon which Hazuki and the others find themselves in episode ten. The ship is an "emigration spaceship" taking the former inhabitants of Earth on a search for a new home planet. None of the passengers appear over ten years old, yet they have been drifting for over two hundred years. Hazuki and Lilith discover that all the adults died in a plague nine years ago. Eve appeared in this world as Lular over a hundred years ago, and had vanished on her sixteenth birthday while fixing a malfunctioning part. This futuristic world and its characters do not appear in the game.

 * Tamamonomae (玉藻の前)
 * Tamaonomae appears to be Meirin's future form as a kitsune woman with nine tails, though she exists in a different world. The world is not book world, it is named Sen-Kai, which is greater than the library. In the anime, she and Meirin may simply be alternative versions of one another; she described Meirin as her "other self", which in context may mean that Meirin is her creation or an independent creature which fissioned off from Tamamonomae. But in another (but same company's) game, she is a really Meirin's future form. Despite her sexual and alcoholic tendencies, is not an unsympathetic character; she has considerable insight into people and does some fairly altruistic things for some of the other characters; she restores Mariel to human form, helps Gargantua to acknowledge the truth, returns the Hat to Eve and finally seems to have taken Gargantua's henchmen in as permanent guests.
 * Tamaonomae appears to be Meirin's future form as a kitsune woman with nine tails, though she exists in a different world. The world is not book world, it is named Sen-Kai, which is greater than the library. In the anime, she and Meirin may simply be alternative versions of one another; she described Meirin as her "other self", which in context may mean that Meirin is her creation or an independent creature which fissioned off from Tamamonomae. But in another (but same company's) game, she is a really Meirin's future form. Despite her sexual and alcoholic tendencies, is not an unsympathetic character; she has considerable insight into people and does some fairly altruistic things for some of the other characters; she restores Mariel to human form, helps Gargantua to acknowledge the truth, returns the Hat to Eve and finally seems to have taken Gargantua's henchmen in as permanent guests.

 * Seiren (セイレン)
 * Seiren is a beautiful, blue-haired woman who initially appears as Gargantua's ally in the anime. He describes her as a devil, but apparently trusts her, using her aid in his search for Eve. Seiren holds a grudge against Lilith, claiming that she was abandoned by her. She is most upset when they meet again on Milka's island and Lilith does not even remember her.
 * Seiren is a beautiful, blue-haired woman who initially appears as Gargantua's ally in the anime. He describes her as a devil, but apparently trusts her, using her aid in his search for Eve. Seiren holds a grudge against Lilith, claiming that she was abandoned by her. She is most upset when they meet again on Milka's island and Lilith does not even remember her.

 * Yōko Sumeragi (皇 蓉子)
 * A woman who appears in a book-world that corresponds to the Russo-Japan War era. She is an intelligence agent and an expert martial artist noted for sending three colleagues into hospital during training. Yōko arrives on a train somewhere corresponding to contemporary Russian Siberia, cross-dressing as a male diplomat and attempting to link up with fellow agent Kohtaro Nanbu, codenamed "Adam", for a film containing radio codes.
 * A woman who appears in a book-world that corresponds to the Russo-Japan War era. She is an intelligence agent and an expert martial artist noted for sending three colleagues into hospital during training. Yōko arrives on a train somewhere corresponding to contemporary Russian Siberia, cross-dressing as a male diplomat and attempting to link up with fellow agent Kohtaro Nanbu, codenamed "Adam", for a film containing radio codes.

 * Princess Mariel (マリエル)
 * A princess in Ritsuko and Gargantua's world. One day, when she is placed under Ritsuko's care, she meets Gargantua and eventually develops a crush on him. She is later kidnapped and sacrificed to Lilith by Gargantua, committing suicide by poison, but is reincarnated and employed as a maid by Tamamonomae.
 * A princess in Ritsuko and Gargantua's world. One day, when she is placed under Ritsuko's care, she meets Gargantua and eventually develops a crush on him. She is later kidnapped and sacrificed to Lilith by Gargantua, committing suicide by poison, but is reincarnated and employed as a maid by Tamamonomae.

Manga
There is a one-book manga adaptation, Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito ~Romance, illustrated by Aya Sakurai. It is a compressed version of the game's events, following the storyline that leads to a romantic relationship between the nameless main character and Lilith.

Anime
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation was produced by Avex mode and Studio Deen and directed by Yūji Yamaguchi, with Tomomi Mochizuki handling series scripts, Asako Nishida designing the characters, Tomochi Kosaka designing the props and Akifumi Tada composing the music. As a UHF anime, it aired in Japan between October 2 and December 25, 2003, on MBS-affiliated networks for 13 episodes. The anime's opening theme is "Hitomi no Naka no Meikyū" by Aiko Kayō and the ending theme is "Eien no Inori o Sasagete" by Sanae Kobayashi. The anime was licensed for release in North America by Anime Works. It will be broadcast on Toku beginning on July 19, 2016.

Although there was frequent mention in the anime's pre-broadcast publicity that "all the characters will appear", copyright-infringing characters, such as Erosuke and the train conductor, as well as some male and non-human characters, did not make an appearance.

Video game
A spin-off game exists known as Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito Typing Travellers (ヤミと帽子と本の旅人 タイピングトラベラー) was released in 2004, it intended to teach typing skills. It was based on the anime and even uses screencaps from it.

Reception
Theron Martin of Anime News Network called the series a "true oddity" for not being picked up for an English sub by Media Blasters until 2013, but was not released until 2016. He also called the series odd because it does not "resemble anything else out there" as it has its origins in an adult visual novel and noted that the storytelling approach is not linear, with the mechanics for the world-shifting in the series being "an interdimensional library". He said that while the storytelling is strong, some characters appear but are never explored, humor is weak, and criticized the animation style. Even so, he said that the character designs are strong, adding that the series has fan service, the yuri element is not very pervasive, and says that the series has a diverse set of music. He concluded that while watching the series is one that "requires some patience", viewers will "be rewarded" through their time watching the series, making it worth their while.

title: Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito


text:
List of rulers of Oman

The Sultan of the Sultanate of Oman (سلطان سلطنة عمان) is the monarchical head of state and head of government of Oman. It is the most powerful position in the country. The sultans of Oman are members of the Busaid dynasty, which has been the ruling family of Oman since the mid-18th century.

Haitham bin Tariq is the current sultan, reigning since 11 January 2020.

Succession
On 12 January 2021, the current Sultan, Haitham bin Tariq officially changed the Basic Law of the State, stipulating the creation of the post for the Crown Prince of Oman and appointed his first son, Theyazin bin Haitham as the apparent successor, making him the first Crown Prince of the Sultanate.

2021 changes
On 11 January 2021, the new Sultan, Haitham bin Tariq changed the Basic law of the state and charted out the procedures for succession in the future.

As per the new rules, the power shall be transferred from the Sultan to his eldest son. In case the eldest son of the sultan is no more, the power will be transferred to the eldest son of the Heir Apparent.

If the Heir Apparent has no sons, then the power should be transferred to the eldest of his brothers. In Case the heir apparent has no brothers, then the powers shall transfer to the son of the eldest of his brothers and so on as per the sequence of the ages of the brothers.

In case there exists no brothers or sons of brothers to the Heir Apparent, then the rule shall transfer to the uncles (only from the fathers' side) and their sons as per the order set by the paragraph (2) of the Basic Law of the State. It is also stated the Heir apparent must be a Muslim and legitimate son of Omani Muslim parents.

Article (3) of the Law states that if the transfer of power is made to a person aged under 21, then the power of the Sultan shall be undertaken by a trusteeship council appointed by a Royal Will and in case of non-appointment of such a council before his death, the Royal Family Council will appoint a trusteeship council comprising one of the brothers of the Sultan and two sons of his uncles.

The system of the trusteeship council shall be issued by a Royal Decree. Article (7) states that a Royal Order shall be issued on the appointment of the Heir Apparent to assume power and the prerogatives and duties to be assigned to him.

The Heir Apparent shall be sworn in before the Sultan before exercising his prerogatives and duties.

Article (8) says that in case it is not temporarily possible for the Sultan to exercise his powers, then the Heir Apparent shall assume such powers.

title: List of rulers of Oman


text:
Mycobacteriaceae

Mycobacteriaceae is a family of bacteria in the phylum Actinomycetota. Its name is derived from the Mycobacterium genus, which includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) and leprosy (M. leprae) in humans. The Greek prefix myco- means 'fungus', alluding to this genus' mold-like colony surfaces.

Phylogeny
The phylogeny is based on whole-genome analysis.

title: Mycobacteriaceae


text:
Louis Cyr

Louis Cyr  (born Cyprien-Noé Cyr; October 10, 1863 – November 10, 1912) was a French Canadian strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His recorded feats, including lifting 500 lb (1/4 ton) with one finger and backlifting 4,337 lb (2 tons), show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness chairman Ben Weider as stated in 2000, the strongest man ever.

Early years
Cyr was born in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, Canada East. Coming from a French-Canadian family, he began developing his extraordinary strength at an early age. From the age of twelve Cyr worked in a lumber camp during the winters and on the family's farm the rest of the year. Discovering his exceptional strength at a very young age, he impressed his fellow workers with his feats of strength. After learning of the tale, Cyr attempted to mimic the practice of legendary strongman Milo of Croton, who as a child carried a calf on his shoulders, continuing to carry it as it grew into a full-grown bull and he into a grown man. Cyr's calf, however, bolted one day, kicking him in his back, after which he instead began carrying a sack of grain 1/4 mi every day, adding 2 lb each day. According to one of his biographers, his mother decided "He should let his hair grow, like Samson in the Bible". She curled it regularly.

Louis started his strong man career at the age of 17, after some publicity came about due to an incident when the young Louis was reported to have lifted a farmer's heavily laden wagon out of the mire in which it had become stuck. He was matched in a contest against Michaud of Quebec, who was recognized as Canada's strongest man of the time. Cyr beat him in tests of lifting of heavy stones by hoisting a granite boulder weighing 480 lb.

In 1878, the Cyr family immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts in the United States. In Lowell, Cyr changed his name from Cyprien-Noé to Louis, as it was easier to pronounce in English. Again, his great strength brought him fame. At 17 years old, he weighed 230 lb. He entered his first strongman contest in Boston at age 22, lifting a horse off the ground; the fully grown male horse was placed on a platform with 2 iron bars attached enabling Cyr to obtain a better grip. The horse weighed at least 3/4 ST.

Rise to fame
In 1882, while working as a logger, Louis married Melina Comtois. The following year he and his wife returned to Lowell, hoping to capitalize on his fame there. A tour of the Maritimes was organized, and while it may have benefited the organizer, Cyr gained no profit financially. He then began touring Quebec with his family in a show they called "The Troupe Cyr".

Soon proving his immense strength, he was urged by friends to enter the exciting, albeit highly precarious world of professional strong men, lifting mainly crude solid or shot-filled weights.

From 1883 to 1885, Cyr served as a police officer in Montreal, Quebec. Following this, he went on tour with a troupe that included a wrestler, a boxer, and a weightlifter. He entered a strongman competition in March 1886, at Quebec City, against the reigning Canadian strongman, David Michaud. Cyr lifted a 218 lb barbell with one hand (to Michaud's 158 lb) and a weight of 2,371 lb on his back, to his opponent's 2,071 lb to win the title of strongest man in the country.

With little reward at this early foray into professional weightlifting, Louis was forced to seek other employment. Cyr became a police officer after breaking up a knife fight and carrying both participants to the police station.

Prudent with his earnings, Louis left the police force and purchased a tavern/restaurant in St. Cunégonde, where he also featured a gymnasium that became a mecca for strength athletes and fighters. Cyr was well acquainted with John L. Sullivan, being one of the few to defy Sullivan's commands to drink when he drank. Sullivan was known as The Boston Strong Boy and was very powerful, but not in Cyr's class. Cyr, happy in his own environment, beat all comers when challenged to perform.

Cyr's exploits had been well publicized in the 'Pink Un' or Police Gazette published by Richard K. Fox, the proprietor and promoter of other strength athletes, e.g. Travis, Eugen Sandow, etc. Fox offered a side bet of $5,000 to anyone who could beat Cyr at any of his strength feats. Promoted by Fox, Louis went on tour circa 1885–1891 beating, amongst others: Sebastian Miller, Bienkowski, or Cyclops, August Johnson, and Richard Pennell, plus continually challenging, without success, Eugen Sandow, with a genuine diamond studded belt to be awarded to the winner, should such an event ever take place. It never did. Sandow avoided any such challenges throughout his esteemed career after early mistakes, like the time he was beaten by McCann.

There was no doubt that Cyr was an unusual man regarding size and measurements, the latter often causing debate. Although Dr. Dudley A. Sargent, famous Harvard University physical director recorded measuring Cyr in 1895 when Cyr was 32 years old and weighed 291 lb. Sargent listed Cyr's height as 5'8.5". Other measurements, most on the conservative side as compared to other biographers, were neck – 20 in, biceps – 20 in, forearms – 16.3 in, wrists – 8.2 in, chest (normal) – 55.2 in, chest expanded – 60 in, waist - 47.4 in, hips – 48.1 in, thighs – 28.5 in, knees – 17", and calves - 19.3 in, far short of the quoted 28", but perhaps a possible 23" later when of higher body weight. Ankle 10.3 in and Shoulder width with calipers ... across the deltoids 25.6 in. The above details were just one set of figures relating to Cyr's size, others being recorded by Willoughby when for example Cyr was 47 years old (in 1910) gave him calf 23", neck 22 3/4", biceps 21 1/2". chest normal 59 1/2" and thighs 33" with other parts to match the increase in weight, being at the time a heavier 365 lbs. Ben Weider, who was privileged to access family archives, was even more generous giving arm size 24 in, forearms 19 in, and calves, the disputed 28 in, following a similar line to Jowett.

Reputation as a Strongman
While several of Cyr's feats of strength may have been exaggerated over the years, some were documented and remain impressive. These included:
 * lifting a platform on his back holding 18 men for a total of 4336 lb
 * lifting a 534 lb weight with one finger
 * pushing a freight car up an incline
 * At 19 years old, he lifted a rock from ground up to his shoulder, officially weighted at 514 pounds
 * He beat Eugen Sandow's bent press record (and therefore the heaviest weight lifted with one hand) by 2 lb to a total of 273 lb.

Backlift
Perhaps his greatest feat occurred in 1895, when he was reported to have lifted 4,337 lb on his back in Boston by putting 18 men on a platform and lifting them. One of his most memorable displays of strength occurred in Montreal on 12 October 1891. Louis resisted the pull of four draught horses (two in each hand) as grooms stood cracking their whips to get the horses to pull harder, a feat he again demonstrated in Ottawa with Queen Victoria's team of draught horses during her royal visit. While in Ottawa he volunteered with the police when they took deputies to round up a local gang of miscreants; they turned him away claiming he would be too slow due to his bulk. He challenged the regular officers to a foot race, beating the majority, and they took him on.

He patrolled as a police officer between 1883 and 1885 in Sainte-Cunégonde, known now as Petite-Bourgogne (Little Burgundy) in Montreal. Both the Parc Louis-Cyr and the Place des Hommes-Forts ("Strongmen's Square") are named after him. Statues of him are located at Place des Hommes-Forts and the Musée de la Civilisation in Quebec City. The high school in his hometown of Napierville is also named after him.

Through no fault of his own, many of Cyr's lifts, like his measurements, have been exaggerated or misquoted. In particular, his celebrated back lift done in Boston, of 18 men on a platform, is usually generously estimated at 4,300 lb, which allowing for a very heavy platform of at most 500 lb, meant that each man on average would have weighed approximately 211 lb.

Cyr Dumbbell
Cyr was also credited with side pressing 273 lb with one arm (the right), a lift witnessed by Britain's great champion Tom Pevier, who described it more like a 'Jerk Press.' The dumbbell, a huge thick-handled one, was lifted to the shoulders with two hands, before the single-handed overhead move. Cyr's dumbbells were often so unwieldy that many respectable strongmen were unable to lift them off the floor, let alone lift them overhead.

One particular dumbbell of Cyr's weighed, when empty, 202 lb. It was the same bell that had defeated a drove of former strength athletes, and it was exchanged by its owner, 280 lb. police chief Joseph Moquin of Quebec (who could and did bent press the weight) for a modern set of York weights. Thus, it came into the possession of the late Bob Hoffman and Mike Dietz. According to Strength & Health magazine, Hoffman, after several attempts, was able to bent press it, as did the much lighter 150 lb. Sig Klein. John Grimek later also bent pressed it, half a dozen times or so one afternoon, when the weight was increased to 269.5 lb, by adding, as it happened, the lead type from Mark Berrys' classic tome Physical Training Simplified. Hence the reason the book was never reprinted.

Cyr was a big man in all ways, both heart and size, being a great trencherman, eating more than four normal men. Up to 6 lb of meat at one meal ... a genuine gourmand, increasing weight enormously in his later years. His lightest bodyweight was when he competed against August Johnson, then just 270 lb, although his normal contest condition was nearer 320 lb. Cyr's wife, Melina, by contrast, never weighed more than 100 lb.

In 1886 Cyr met and defeated Richard Pennell, then Pennell being 40, and Louis just 23. In 1888 on 1 October at Berthierville, Quebec, he lifted 3,536 lb/ 1,604 kg of pig iron for his first record in the back lift.

Horse resisting
On 1 December 1891 at Sohmer Park in Montreal, before some 10,000 people, Cyr resisted the pull of four draught horses, two on each side, despite grooms cracking their whips to encourage the horses to pull harder and strain their haunches.

In January 1892, Cyr embarked in England with partner Horace Barré, arousing much interest and curiosity at his London debut at the Royal Aquarium, with 5,000 people packing the theater to watch Cyr's act and witness his open challenge to the wide world of strongmen, many celebrities of which were in the audience, with a side wager of £1,000 (Equivalent to about £98,070 as of 2015). It was on this historical occasion, on 19 January 1892 that Cyr pressed the pre-mentioned 273.75 lb. dumbbell. Many years later Doc Aumont, son-in-law of Louis, loaned Cyr's famous dumbbell to the Weider's Your Physique office in Montreal for a month, during which time over 500 people tried and failed to lift the weight.

During his first London show, many other feats followed, all exceeding contemporary records, culminating in the famous Backlift. Placing a number of men upon a heavy platform resting across two trestles, Louis ducked beneath the platform, placed his back below the center, and raised both the contraption and the passengers clear off the trestles. Weight on this occasion was estimated at 3,635 lb. Traveling extensively throughout the UK he also visited Scotland, raising and carrying for a distance one of the famed Dinnie Stones. Cyr was very popular in Britain, being feted by celebrities and Royalty alike, including the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria.

After returning to the U.S.A. on 27 May, Cyr did his best back lift in Boston, with over 4,000 lb estimated, consisting of 18 'bulky' men.

Clean and jerk
During his most active period, circa 1896, on March 31 he did a clean and jerk (the clean is a misnomer) of 347 lb, then a World record, without science or skill, little if any dipping.

Reputable witness Oscar Mathes said the lift was closer to a straight-legged press. Cyr did a one-handed deadlift with a dumbbell weighing 525 lb, made harder by the fact that the bar was 1.5 inches thick. On 7 and 8 May 1896, he performed a crucifix with 97.25 lb in his right hand, and 88 lb in his left. Some authors often credit him with holding out with one arm.- 131.25 lb. He also dumbbell pressed 162 lb for 36 reps, did a one finger lift, first with 552 lb and the next day made it 553 lb. Lifted via one hand, style not specified, but most suspect using hand and thigh method, 987 lb. plus again, using hand and thigh, 1897.25 lb.

For years Louis pictured himself as a modern Biblical Samson with tresses to match. In the folds of his long hair he would tie three fifty-pound weights, one on each side, and one in the center, with the three weights dangling from his scalp, he would also spin around, swirling the weights around his head. By co-incidence on his visit to Britain, the top of the pops was a ditty entitled 'Get Your Hair Cut'...Louis must have taken the hint, as afterwards he always sported short hair.

More power of the arm and shoulder was demonstrated by his stunt of stacking four fifty pound weights one on top of the other on his half flexed arm, balancing them whilst walking across the room.

Wrestling a giant
Cyr learned boxing and wrestling for a match. While in Montréal, Que., 25 March 1901, Louis Cyr wrestled Édouard Beaupré, who was known as a giant man. Cyr's height was measured at 5 ft and he weighed 365 lb. Beaupré's height was measured at 8 ft and he weighed 365 lb. Cyr won.

Death
By 1904 Cyr's health began to fail due to excessive eating and inactivity. At the time, he weighed 400 lb. He slimmed down as best he could for his last contest of strength, with Hector De Carrie. Cyr retained his title and retired unvanquished.

Cyr died on November 10, 1912, in Montreal, of chronic nephritis and was interred at St-Jean-De-Matha. Great homage was paid by all of Canada, with immense crowds attending the funeral and floral tributes coming from all over the world.

He was portrayed by Antoine Bertrand in the 2013 biographical film Louis Cyr, l'homme le plus fort du monde.

World records
As shown in movie Louis Cyr
 * Crucifix: 97+3/4 lb left hand and 88 lb right hand
 * One-handed snatch: 188+1/2 lb
 * One-handed press: 313 lb
 * Back lift: 4337 lb
 * Two-handed lift: 1897 lb

title: Louis Cyr


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Little bunting

The little bunting (Emberiza pusilla) is a passerine bird belonging to the bunting family (Emberizidae).

Taxonomy
First described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776, the little bunting is a monotypic species, with no geographical variation across its extensive Palearctic range.

The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small".

Description
This is a small bunting, measuring only 12 - 14 cm in length. It has white underparts with dark streaking on the breast and sides. With its chestnut face and white malar stripe, it resembles a small female reed bunting, but has black crown stripes, a white eye-ring, and a fine dark border to the rear of its chestnut cheeks. The sexes are similar.

The call is a distinctive zik, and the song is a rolling siroo-sir-sir-siroo.

Ecology
The little bunting breeds across the taiga of the far north-east of Europe and northern Eurosiberia to the Russian Far East. It is migratory, wintering in the subtropics in northern India, southern China and the northern parts of south-east Asia. The birds remain in their winter quarters for quite long; specimens were taken in Yunnan in late March. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe. This species is adaptable; in the mountains of Bhutan for example, where small numbers winter, it is typically found in an agricultural habitat, mostly between 1000 and 2000 m ASL.

It breeds in open coniferous woodland, often with some birch or willow. Four to six eggs are laid in a tree nest. Its natural food consists of seeds, or when feeding young, insects. A common and widely-ranging species, it is not considered threatened on the IUCN Red List.

title: Little bunting


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Asian Art Museum

Asian Art Museum is the usual name for a number of museums, including:

 * The Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)
 * The Asiatic Museum, in St. Petersburg, Russia
 * The Seattle Asian Art Museum

It may also refer to:
 * The Musée Cernuschi, in Paris, France, officially the Asian Arts Museum of the City of Paris
 * The Guimet Museum, in Paris, France, officially the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts
 * The Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, Germany
 * The Museum of Asian Art of Corfu in Corfu, Greece
 * The National Museum of Asian Art, in Washington, D.C., comprises the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

title: Asian Art Museum


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Pacific cod

The Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Gadidae. It is a bottom-dwelling fish found in the northern Pacific Ocean, mainly on the continental shelf and upper slopes, to depths of about 900 m. It can grow to a length of a meter or so and is found in large schools. It is an important commercial food species and is also known as gray cod or grey cod, and grayfish or greyfish. Fishing for this species is regulated with quotas being allotted for hook and line fishing, pots, and bottom trawls. Fossils have been found in Canada near a Steller Sea lion fossil dating to the Pleistocene.

Description
It has three separate dorsal fins, and the catfish-like whiskers on its lower jaw. In appearance, it is similar to the Atlantic cod. A bottom dweller, it is found mainly along the continental shelf and upper slopes with a range around the rim of the North Pacific Ocean, from the Yellow Sea to the Bering Strait, along the Aleutian Islands, and south to about Los Angeles, down to depths of 900 m. It may grow up to 1 m in length and weigh up to 15 kg. It is found in huge schools.

Molecular genetic analyses strongly suggest that Pacific cod and Greenland cod (Gadus ogac) from Greenland–Arctic Ocean are the same species and that G. ogac should be a junior synonym of G. macrocephalus. Today, ITIS and the Catalogue of Life list Gadus ogac as synonym of G. macrocephalus.

Fisheries

In the Northeast Pacific catches of Pacific cod by the United States trawl fishery and joint-venture fisheries increased from less than 1,000 tonnes in 1979 to nearly 91,000 tonnes in 1984 and reached 430,196 tonnes in 1995. Today, catches are tightly regulated and the Pacific cod quota is split among fisheries that use hook and line gear, pots, and bottom trawls.

Conservation status
The Salish Sea population of Pacific cod is a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern, one of those species about which the U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).

title: Pacific cod


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Great Peace of Montreal

The Great Peace of Montreal (La Grande paix de Montréal) was a peace treaty between New France and 39 First Nations of North America that ended the Beaver Wars. It was signed on August 4, 1701, by Louis-Hector de Callière, governor of New France, and 1300 representatives of 39 Indigenous nations.

The French, allied to the Hurons and the Algonquins, provided 16 years of peaceful relations and trade before war started again. Present for the diplomatic event were the various peoples; part of the Iroquois confederacy, the Huron peoples, and the Algonquin peoples.

This has sometimes been called the Grand Settlement of 1701, not to be confused with the unrelated Act of Settlement 1701 in England. It has often been referred to as La Paix des Braves, meaning "The Peace of the Braves".

The Fur Wars
The foundation of Quebec City in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, one of the first governors of New France, marked the beginning of the gathering of resources of the Great Northern forests by traders from Metropolitan France. Control over the fur trade became a high-stakes game among the Native American tribes, as all of them wanted to be the European's chosen intermediary. The "Fur-Wars" saw the Hurons and Algonquins, supported by the French, pitted against the Iroquois of the powerful League of Five Nations, who were supported first by New Netherlands, and later by the English when they took New Amsterdam in the 1660s and 1670s, renaming it New York City.

In the first half of the 17th century, the Dutch-allied Iroquois made substantial territorial gains against the French-allied First Nations, often threatening French settlements at Montreal and Trois-Rivières. In an attempt to secure the colony, in 1665 the Carignan-Salières Regiment was sent to New France. Their campaign in 1666 devastated a number of Mohawk communities, who were forced to negotiate a peace. A period of prosperity followed for France's colony, but the Iroquois, now supported by the English, continued to expand their territory westward, fighting French allies in the Great Lakes region and again threatening the French fur trade. In the 1680s the French became actively involved in the conflict again, and they and their allied Indians made significant gains against the Iroquois, including incursions deep into the heartland of Iroquoia (present-day Upstate New York). After a devastating raid by the Iroquois against the settlement of Lachine in 1689, and the entry the same year of England into the Nine Years' War (known in the English colonies as King William's War), Governor Frontenac organized raiding expeditions against English communities all along the frontier with New France. French and English colonists, and their Indian allies, then engaged in a protracted border war that was formally ended when the Treaty of Ryswick was signed in 1697. The treaty, however, left unresolved the issue of Iroquois sovereignty (both France and England claimed them as part of their empire), and French allies in the upper Great Lakes continued to make war on the Iroquois.

Prelude to peace
The success of these attacks, which again reached deep into Iroquois territory, and the inability of the English to protect them from attacks originating to their north and west, forced the Iroquois to more seriously pursue peace. Their demographic decline, aided by conflicts and epidemics, put their very existence into doubt. At the same time, commerce became almost nonexistent because of a fall in the price of furs. The Indians preferred to trade with the merchants of New York because these merchants offered better prices than the French.

Preliminary negotiations took place in 1698 and 1699, but these were to some degree frustrated by the intervention of the English, who sought to keep the Iroquois from negotiating directly with the French. After another successful attack into Iroquoia in early 1700, these attempts at intervention failed. The first conference between the French and Iroquois was held on Iroquois territory at Onondaga in March 1700. In September of the same year, a preliminary peace treaty was signed in Montreal with the five Iroquois nations. Thirteen First Nations symbols are on the treaty. After this first entente, it was decided that a bigger one would be held in Montreal in the summer of 1701 and all Nations of the Great Lakes were invited. Selected French emissaries, clergies and soldiers, all well-perceived by the First Nations, were given this diplomatic task. The negotiations continued during the wait for the big conference; the neutrality of the Five Nations was discussed in Montreal in May 1701. The treaty of La Grande Paix de Montreal of July 21 to August 7 of 1701 was signed as a symbol of peace between the French and the First Nations. In the treaty, the Five Nations agreed to remain peaceful between the French and the British during times of war together. It was a huge example of peace between different nations and honouring an agreement.

Treaty ratification
The first delegations arrived in Montreal at the beginning of the summer of 1701, often after long, hard journeys. The ratification of the treaty was not agreed to immediately due to the discussions between the First Nations representatives and Governor Callière's dragging on, both sides being eager to negotiate as much as possible. The actual signing of the document took place on a big field prepared for the special occasion, just outside the city. The representatives of each Nation placed their clan's symbol, such as turtle, wolf or bear, at the bottom of the document. A great banquet followed the solemn occasion, with a peace pipe being shared by the chiefs, each of them praising peace in turn. This treaty, achieved through negotiations according to First Nations diplomatic custom, was meant to end ethnic conflicts. From then on, negotiation would trump direct conflict and the French would agree to act as arbiters during conflicts between signatory tribes. The Iroquois promised to be neutral in case of conflict between the French and English colonies.

Aftermath
The treaty was highly symbolic for the aboriginal nations as the Tree of Peace was now established among all the Great Lakes' nations. Commerce and exploratory expeditions quietly resumed in peace after the signing of the treaty. The French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac left Montreal to explore the Great Lakes region, founding Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit (now Detroit) in July. Jesuit priests resumed their spiritual mission-based work in the north. The Great Peace of Montreal is a unique diplomatic event in the history of both North and South America. The treaty is still considered valid by the Indigenous people of the American First Nations tribes involved.

The French in negotiating followed their traditional policy in North and South America, where their relationship with some of the natives was characterized by mutual respect and admiration and based on dialogue and negotiation. According to the 19th-century historian Francis Parkman: "Spanish civilization crushed the Indian; English civilization scorned and neglected him; French civilization embraced and cherished him."

Attendees and signatories

 * Haudenosaunee
 * Onondaga, Seneca, Oneida and Cayuga, represented by Seneca orators (Tekanoet, Aouenan, and Tonatakout) and by Ohonsiowanne (Onondaga), Toarenguenion (Oneida), Garonhiaron (Cayuga), and Soueouon (Oneida), who were signatories.
 * Mohawk, Teganiassorens
 * Sault St. Louis (Kahnawake) Mohawk, represented by L'Aigle (The Eagle)
 * Iroquois of La Montagne, represented by Tsahouanhos
 * Amikwa (Beaver People), represented by Mahingan, and spoken for by the Odawas in the debates
 * Cree, or at least one Cree band from the area northwest of Lake Superior
 * Meskwaki (the Foxes or Outagamis), represented by Noro & Miskouensa
 * Les Gens des terres (Inlanders), possibly a Cree-related group
 * Petun (Tionontati), represented by Kondiaronk, Houatsaranti and Quarante Sols (Huron of the St. Joseph)
 * Illinois Confederation, represented by Onanguice (Potawatomi) and possibly by Courtemanche
 * Kaskaskia
 * Peoria
 * Tamaroa
 * Maroa
 * Coiracoentantanons
 * Moingwena
 * Kickapoo (attendance is disputed by Kondiaronk)
 * Mascouten, represented by Kiskatapi
 * Menominee (Folles Avoines), represented by Paintage
 * Miami people, represented by Chichicatalo
 * Miamis of the St. Joseph River (Sakiwäsipi)
 * Piankeshaw
 * Wea (Ouiatenon),
 * Mississaugas, represented on August 4 by Onanguice (Potawatomi)
 * Nippissing, represented by Onaganioitak
 * Odawa
 * Sable Odawas (Akonapi), represented by Outouagan (Jean Le Blanc) and Kinonge (Le Brochet)
 * Kiskakons (Culs Coupez), represented by Hassaki (speaker) and Kileouiskingie (signatory)
 * Sinago Odawas, represented by Chingouessi (speaker) and Outaliboi (signatory)
 * Nassawaketons (Odawas of the Fork), represented by Elaouesse
 * Ojibwe (Saulteurs), represented by Ouabangue
 * Potawatomi, represented by Onanguice and Ouenemek
 * Sauk, represented by Coluby (and occasionally by Onanguice)
 * Timiskamings from Lake Timiskaming
 * Ho-Chunk (Otchagras, Winnebago, Puants)
 * Algonquins
 * Abenaki, represented by Haouatchouath and Meskouadoue, likely speaking for the entire Wabanaki Confederacy

See "Nindoodemag": The Significance of Algonquian Kinship Networks in the Eastern Great Lakes Region, 1600-1701 (pp. 23–52) by Heidi Bohaker for a discussion of the significance of these pictographical signatures.

Commemoration
A square in Old Montreal was renamed Place de la Grande-Paix-de-Montréal to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the peace. Several locations in Quebec are named for the Petun leader Kondiaronk, one of the architects of the peace, including the Kondiaronk Belvedere in Mount Royal Park overlooking downtown Montreal.

title: Great Peace of Montreal


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Rustic bunting

The rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific rustica is Latin for "rustic, simple".

It breeds across the northern Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in south-east Asia, Japan, Korea, and eastern China. It is a rare wanderer to western Europe.

It breeds in wet coniferous woodland. Four to six eggs are laid in a nest in a bush or on the ground. Its natural food consists of seeds, and when feeding young, insects.

This bird is similar in size to a reed bunting. It has white underparts with reddish flank, pink legs and a pink lower mandible. The summer male has a black head with a white throat and supercilium and a reddish breast band.

The female has a heavily streaked brown back and brown face with a whitish supercilium. She resembles a female reed bunting, but has the reddish flank streaks, a chestnut nape and a pink, not grey, lower mandible.

The call is a distinctive zit, and the song is a melancholic delee-deloo-delee.

title: Rustic bunting


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Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle (大坂城 or 大阪城) is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

Layout
The main keep of Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one square kilometre. It is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called burdock piling, each overlooking a moat. The keep is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from attackers.

The main keep is surrounded by a series of moats and defensive fortifications. The castle has two moats (an inner & outer). The inner castle moat lies within the castle grounds and consists of two types: a wet (northern-easterly) and dry (south-westerly). The outer moat meanwhile surrounds the entire castle premise, denotes the castle's outer limits, and consists of four individual water-filled sections, each representing a cardinal direction (North, East, South, West).

The castle grounds, which cover approximately 61,000 square metres (15 acres), contain the following thirteen structures that were denoted as "important cultural assets" by the Japanese government:
 * Ote-mon Gate
 * Sakura-mon Gate
 * Ichiban-yagura Turret
 * Inui-yagura Turret
 * Rokuban-yagura Turret
 * Sengan Turret
 * Tamon Turret
 * Kinmeisui Well
 * Kinzo Storehouse
 * Enshogura Gunpowder Magazine
 * Three sections of 'dobei' mud-and-plaster wall all located around the Otemon Gate; each has its own Important Cultural Property status

There are also some megaliths at the castle include the Octopus stone, but these have no cultural property status. The outer moat has two main sentry checkpoints: the Aoyamon Gate (in the north-east) and the Otemon Gate (in the opposing south-west).

Between the outer and inner moat are the following: Fushimi-yagura Turret Remains, Ensho-gura Gunpowder Storehouse, Osaka Geihinkan, Hoshoan Tea House, Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden, Sengan-yagura Turret, Tamon-yagura Turret, Remains of Taiko-yagura Turret, Osaka Shudokan Martial Arts Hall, Hokoku Shrine (Osaka), Ichiban-yagura Turret (The first turret), and Plum Grove.

There are two places to cross the inner moat, Gokuraku-bashi Bridge (located in the North) and Sakuramon Gate (main sentry point in the South).

Within the inner moat, the castle was divided into two major areas: the Hommaru (Inner Bailey) and the Yamazato-Maru Bailey. Located within the Hommaru is the Main Tower, the Kimmeisui Well, the Japanese Garden, the Takoishi (Octopus Stone), the Gimmeisui Well, the Miraiza Osakajo Complex, the Kinzo Treasure House, and the "Timecapsule Expo'70". While within the Yamazato-Maru Bailey consists of the Marked-Stones Square, and the Monument commemorating 'Hideyori and Yodo-dono committing suicide'.

As with almost all Japanese castles from the Azuchi-Momoyama period onward, the main keep (天守), the most prominent structure, was used as a storehouse in times of peace and as a fortified tower in times of war, and the feudal lord (大名)'s government offices and residences were located in a group of single-story buildings near the tenshu and the surrounding turrets (櫓).

History

In 1583 Toyotomi Hideyoshi commenced construction on the site of the Ikkō-ikki temple of Ishiyama Hongan-ji. The basic plan was modeled after Azuchi Castle, the headquarters of Oda Nobunaga. Hideyoshi wanted to build a castle that mirrored Nobunaga's but surpassed it in every way: the plan featured a five-story main tower, with three extra stories underground, and gold leaf on the sides of the tower to impress visitors. In 1585 the Inner donjon was completed. Hideyoshi continued to extend and expand the castle, making it more and more formidable to attackers. In 1597 construction was completed and Hideyoshi died the year after. Osaka Castle passed to his son, Toyotomi Hideyori.

In 1614 Tokugawa Ieyasu besieged the Toyotomi clan forces in Osaka castle during the winter, starting the Siege of Osaka. Although the Toyotomi forces were outnumbered approximately two to one, they managed to fight off Tokugawa's 200,000-man army and protect the castle's outer walls. Ieyasu had the castle's outer moat filled, negating one of the castle's main outer defenses. During the summer of 1615, Hideyori began to restore the outer moat. Ieyasu, in outrage, sent his armies to Osaka Castle again, and routed the Toyotomi men inside the outer walls on June 4. Later, Osaka Castle fell to the Tokugawa shogunate and the Toyotomi clan perished, as Toyotomi Hideyori and Yodo-dono committed seppuku and the castle buildings burned to the ground.

As the Toyotomi clan no longer existed, the Tokugawa shogunate expressed their desire to move their center of government into Osaka. However, this plan to relocate the shogunate government into Osaka were halted after the death of Ieyasu in 1616. For while, the shogunate's plan to move to Osaka had once been abandoned, but was reinstated by Tokugawa Hidetada, who had a strong desire to establish an unified imperial and military government. In 1619, Matsudaira Tadaaki, who was appointed as the lord of Osaka Castle before, was transferred to the Kōriyama Domain in Yamato Province, and the shogunate assume direct control of Osaka. Then the project in reconstructing the Osaka castle as a new base of the shogunate were entrusted to Tōdō Takatora and Kobori Enshu. In 1620, the old structures of Osaka Castle completely dismantled so the new fondation for the new castle could be built. He assigned the task of constructing new walls to individual samurai clans. The walls built in the 1620s still stand today and are made out of interlocked granite boulders without mortar. Many of the stones were brought from rock quarries near the Seto Inland Sea and bear inscribed crests of the various families who contributed them. The shogunate also built a new elevated main tower, five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside. Construction of the tenshu started in 1628 and was completed two years later, about the same time the rest of the reconstruction, and followed the general layout of the original Toyotomi structure. However, it was built in a different part of the Honmaru (main bailey), as the base of the Toyotomi keep had actually been buried by the new Tokugawa version of the castle. After a long period of construction, the new Osaka Castle was completed in 1628.

In 1660, lightning ignited the gunpowder warehouse and the resulting explosion set the castle on fire. In 1665, lightning struck and burnt down the tenshu.

Kajisuke Nakama was one of the hatamoto guards that protected Osaka Castle. On 15 May 1740, when he was 25-year-old, he stole 4,000 ryō of gold inside. However, the crime was soon discovered by the shogunate, so he was arrested and confessed. Although he was a samurai, he was dragged around the city and sentenced to crucifixion in September. Later, this incident became a legend and the contents changed, so it is said that he was a thief who wanted the gold that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had dropped in the Kinmeisui Well.

In 1843, after decades of neglect, the castle got much-needed repairs when the bakufu collected money from the people of the region to rebuild several of the turrets.

In 1868, Osaka Castle fell and was surrendered to anti-bakufu imperial loyalists. A number of the castle buildings were burned in the civil conflicts surrounding the Meiji Restoration. The Honmaru Palace was lost during the Boshin War. In its place the Kishū Palace (紀州御殿 Kishū Goten) was moved here from Wakayama Castle to serve as an imperial state guest house, named later Tenrinkaku.

Under the Meiji government, Osaka Castle became part of the Osaka Army Arsenal (Osaka Hohei Kosho) manufacturing guns, ammunition, and explosives for Japan's rapidly expanding Western-style military.

In 1931, the ferroconcrete tenshu was built.

During World War II, the arsenal became one of the largest military armories, employing 60,000 workers. American bombing raids targeting the arsenal damaged the reconstructed main keep and, on August 14, 1945, destroyed 90% of the arsenal and killed 382 people working there.

In 1995, Osaka's government approved yet another restoration project, with the intent of restoring the main keep to its Edo-era splendor. In 1997, restoration was completed. The keep is a concrete reproduction (including elevators) of the original and the interior is intended as a modern, functioning museum.

Located in the Nishinomaru was the former residence of the jōdai, who were officials. The residence was the second largest after the Honmaru Palace. North of it were a number of warehouses. The site is now a park. Next to it is the Osaka State Guest House and the Hōshō-an chashitsu.

Access
The castle is open to the public and is easily accessible from Osakajōkōen Station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the cherry blossom bloom (hanami), when the sprawling castle grounds are covered with food vendors and taiko drummers. The large indoor arena, Osaka-jō Hall, also is located within the grounds of the castle park.

In popular culture

 * In the 1955 Toho tokusatsu film Godzilla Raids Again, Godzilla's battle with Anguirus leads onto the castle grounds. The structure itself collapses when Godzilla pins Anguirus against it.
 * In the 1966 tokusatsu film, Gamera vs. Barugon, the titular monsters' first encounter is at the site of the castle.
 * The castle appears in The two-parter of the 1966 tokusatsu television series, Ultraman where the titular hero does battle with the monster Gomora on the castle grounds.
 * In 1975, British novelist James Clavell used the castle and its environs (c. 1600) as a major plot location for his most famous work of historical fiction, Shōgun.
 * In the 1980 adaptation, Himeji Castle's environs stand in for Osaka Castle.
 * For the 2024 adaptation, the castle is portrayed via CGI reconstruction with its period-accurate black lacquering, both in-story and as part of the title sequence. The interior chambers and halls were constructed physical sets.
 * The castle was featured in the finale of The Amazing Race 20, where it hosted a Pit Stop.
 * In the 2002 film Suicide Club, it is reported that 200 high school girls jumped off the Osaka Castle.

title: Osaka Castle