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Ali Bey al-Kabir

Ali Bey al-Kabir (علي بك الكبير, Georgian: ალი ბეი ალ-ქაბირი; 1728 – 8 May 1773) was a Mamluk leader in Egypt. Nicknamed Jinn Ali ("Ali the Devil") and Bulut Kapan ("Cloud-Catcher"), Ali Bey rose to prominence in 1768 when he rebelled against his Ottoman rulers, making the Egypt Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire independent for a short time. His rule ended following the insubordination of his most trusted general, Abu al-Dahab, which led to Ali Bey's downfall and death.

Origins
Ali Bey was born in Principality of Abkhazia and was of ethnic Georgian origin. The Encyclopedia of Islam adds that according to Ali Bey's contemporary biographer, Sauveur Lusignan, he was "supposedly" the son of a certain David, a Greek Orthodox priest. However, according to Alexander Mikaberidze, Ali Bey's father was a priest in the Georgian Orthodox Church. He was kidnapped and brought to Cairo, the capital of Ottoman Egypt, in 1741, when he was around 13, and was sold into slavery. He was purchased by two Jewish customs agents who gave him to Ibrahim Ketkhuda in 1743. Ibrahim Ketkhuda was also of Georgian origin.

Early career
Although the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1518–1519, the new rulers incorporated the remnant mamluk (manumitted slave soldier) troops and officials into the governance systems of the newly-formed province of Egypt. The Ottoman sultan, wary of concentrating the full extent of Egypt's large military and economic resources into the hands of its governor, set up a complex system of government in the province to balance his power. While the governor, always chosen from the Ottoman imperial personnel, remained the sultan's chief executive in Egypt and held the high rank of pasha, the defterdar, or treasurer, who was typically a mamluk, was given extensive power over the economy, and held the next highest rank of sanjakbey, often abbreviated to 'bey'. The province had seven Ottoman army units, called ojaqs, the most powerful of which was the janissaries. The remnant mamluks maintained a parallel military structure in the province that was initially loyal to the Ottoman rulers, who allowed them to continue importing and training new recruits, critical to the continuation of the mamluk tradition. By the early 18th century, the ojaqs had become considerably weakened and dominated by the mamluk beys. The powerful offices of the defterdar, the qa'imiqam, who wielded executive authority during the absence of the governor, the amir al-hajj, who commanded the annual Muslim pilgrim caravan to Mecca, and the chief of the janissaries, were all held by mamluk beys.

In 1711 a civil war broke between the two dominant mamluk factions of the country, the Faqariya and the Qasimiya, the former backed by the janissaries and the latter by the other Ottoman ojaqs and a newly-emergent mamluk faction, the Qazdughliya. The Faqariya were trounced during the war, but the victorious Qasimiya splintered into a spent force of warring factions by the 1730s, enabling the rise of the Qazdughliya to power. Despite the internal bloodletting among the mamluks, the civil war had signaled the triumph of the mamluk beys over the Ottoman ojaqs as the dominant military power in Egypt. For the remainder of the 18th century, the mamluk beys controlled Egypt's politics, but their incessant factionalism and internal strife allowed the Ottomans to maintain an important influence in provincial affairs. A testament to the newfound power and prestige of the mamluks in Egypt was the inauguration of a new title, shaykh al-balad (chief of the country), bestowed by the sultan on the preeminent mamluk bey.

Ali's master, Ibrahim Ketkhuda, had led the Qazdughli faction to victory over the Qasimiya in 1730 and in 1739, drove out the head of the Faqariya, Uthman Bey. By 1748, Ibrahim Ketkhuda and his partner in power, Ridwan Ketkhuda, head of the smaller Julfiyya mamluk faction, stabilized the country under their joint leadership. Moving up the ranks in Ibrahim Ketkhuda's mamluk household, Ali reached the rank of kashif in 1749. Kashifs were a rank below the beys, whom they expected to succeed in time, and were chosen among the favorite mamluks of their patron. In the early 18th century, there were thirty-six administrative offices open to kashifs, who numbered between sixty and seventy at that time. Their jurisdiction typically included a group of villages in a rural province and they were essentially the most powerful administrators in those parts of the countryside that were not controlled by the Bedouin (nomadic) tribes.

In 1753 or 1754, Ali was the amir al-hajj, the second most important office in the mamluk beylicate of the 18th century. In the course of leading the caravan, he made daring attacks against the Bedouin tribes who dwelt in the desert regions through which the caravan route passed. He earned his popular Turkish nickname, Balut Kapan, meaning 'he who catches clouds', an allusion to the Bedouin, who were as elusive as clouds. His less common, Arabic nickname, Jinn Ali ('Ali the demon'), was similarly a reference to his ferocity against the Bedouin. Upon his return from the Hajj, Ali attained the rank of bey. Ibrahim Ketkhuda died in November 1754, after which he was succeeded as head of the Qazdughli faction by Abd al-Rahman Ketkhuda, while Ridwan succeeded him as shaykh al-balad. Ridwan was ousted in May 1755, and by October, Uthman Bey al-Jirjawi became shaykh al-balad and Abd al-Rahman largely retired from politics. Ali became a bey during al-Jirjawi's reign.

Al-Jirjawi was ousted by Husayn Bey al-Sabunji, who became shaykh al-balad and exiled Ali Bey to the village of Nusat in Lower Egypt as part of a purge of potential rivals. In November, al-Sabunji was overthrown in a plot led by Husayn Bey Kashkash, a prominent bey of Ibrahim Ketkhuda's household, who recalled Ali Bey from his exile. Another 'Ali Bey', known as 'al-Ghazzawi', who had also been a mamluk of Ibrahim Ketkhuda, was recalled from his exile as well and was chosen in the council of preeminent beys as the new shaykh al-balad. While al-Ghazzawi was leading the Hajj caravan in 1760, he attempted to assassinate Abd al-Rahman, who remained influential in his retirement. The plot was detected, after which Abd al-Rahman allied with Ali Bey, who wielded significant influence with the janissaries, to strengthen his position against al-Ghazzawi. In a council of the leading beys held in al-Ghazzawi's absence, Abd al-Rahman proposed that Ali Bey replace the acting shaykh al-balad, Khalil Bey al-Daftardar, to which the council agreed. Upon hearing the election of Ali Bey and a subsequent order to execute the conspirators who attempted to assassinate Abd al-Rahman, Ghazzawi took up exile in Gaza on his way back from the Hajj.

First term
Although Ali Bey was officially shaykh al-balad, Abd al-Rahman, who lived in relative seclusion from daily politics, wielded actual power. Abd al-Rahman was neither a bey nor a mamluk, but a son of a mamluk, who were not favored in the mamluk system for advancement, and used Ali Bey as his political puppet. The limitation of his power by Abd al-Rahman, as well as by the Ottoman governor and the other mamluk beys, did not reconcile with Ali Bey's ambitions for total power. He resolved to eliminate his rivals, promote mamluks of his own household and engineer their appointments to powerful positions, and expand his sources of income. He began his thrust for power in 1763, when he exiled several officers of the janissaries from Alexandria and arrested for ransom four priests in Alexandria. The following year, he may have engineered the poisoning death of Egypt's incoming governor before he could assume office. In 1765 he exiled Abd al-Rahman to the Hejaz (western Arabia). In the meantime he was rapidly acquiring and promoting his mamluks, such that he had 3,000 mamluks and made eight of them beys by 1766.

Exile in Gaza
Ali Bey's intensifying moves against the ojaqs and fellow mamluk emirs and the empowerment of his own mamluks and tyrannical rule all brought about a check on his power by the Ottoman imperial government. It appointed a new governor, Hamza Pasha, with secret instructions to bring down Ali Bey. The governor invited Ali Bey's main mamluk rival, Husayn Bey Kishkish, back to Egypt from exile. Ali Bey made an abortive attempt to kill Husayn Bey by poisoning, but the plot was detected and prompted Husayn Bey and Hamza Pasha to retaliate by besieging Ali Bey in his palace. He was forced to step down as shaykh al-balad. Although he agreed to exile in Medina, he took refuge in Gaza, on Egypt's border. In Gaza, Ali Bey established contact with the Acre-based strongman of northern Palestine, Zahir al-Umar, and gained the latter's support.

Return to power
The tyrannical rule of Khalil Bey and Husayn Bey led to Hamza Pasha facilitating Ali Bey's return to Egypt to use him as a check on the ruling beys' power. On 6 September 1766, Ali Bey and his top mamluks appeared at the Cairo houses of the leading beys and demanded their restoration to the mamluk decision-making council. The council's members did not readmit them, but allowed them to stay in Egypt, with Ali Bey banished to Nusat, where he was to live off its revenues, and the others in his party sent to Upper Egypt, where the powerful Hawwara tribe was already hosting several mamluk exiles from the Qasimiya faction under Salih Bey. In February 1767, illicit communications between Ali Bey and his sympathizers in Cairo were detected, leading to the killings or exile of the sympathizers by the ruling beys and an order to exile Ali Bey to Jeddah. Around the same time, however, Hamza Pasha moved against the mamluks, per orders from Constantinople. Although several beys were slain and Husayn Bey was wounded, the mamluks prevailed against the governor, whom they deposed.

The imperial government soon after sent a new governor, Rakım Mehmed Pasha, with orders to rein in the beys and prop up Ali Bey. Despite the threat he posed to them, Ali Bey was allowed by his mamluk rivals in power to join his mamluks in exile at Asyut in Upper Egypt. There, the leader of the Hawwara, Sheikh Humam, brokered an alliance between Ali Bey and Salih Bey. The two now rebelled against Husayn Bey and Khalil Bey by blocking traffic along the Nile River, preventing food supplies to Cairo from Upper Egypt, and stopping tax payments from the Upper Egyptian districts. After abortive expeditions from the ruling mamluks against Ali Bey and Salih Bey, the latter two launched their offensive, appearing before Cairo in autumn 1767. Rakım Mehmed Pasha, intent on toppling the beys, ordered the ojaqs back to their barracks, thus depriving Husayn Bey and Khalil Bey of crucial military support. Without any actual fighting, Ali Bey and Salih Bey entered Cairo in October, while Khalil Bey and Husayn Bey left for Gaza. Rakım Mehmed Pasha recognized Ali Bey as shaykh al-balad and restored his subordinate beys to their former offices.

Elimination of rivals and advancement of allies
Soon after, Ali Bey launched a campaign to eliminate his rivals. On 30 November 1767 he assassinated two top-ranking mamluks, Ali Bey Jinn and Hasan Bey, and followed it up by expelling from Egypt four other beys and their retinues. On 1 March 1768, he exiled some thirty officers, including eighteen high-ranking mamluks of his ally Salih Bey's household. In May, Husayn Bey and Khalil Bey launched a campaign against Ali Bey from Gaza, sweeping through the Nile Delta, before establishing base in Tanta. Ali Bey obtained a firman from Rakım Mehmed Pasha officially declaring them as rebels, enabling him to use imperial funds against them, though he still imposed heavy exactions on the local and foreign merchants toward the same purpose. Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab and Salih Bey, confronted the rebels, who surrendered after running out of ammunition. Husayn Bey was beheaded, while Khalil Bey took refuge in the Sayyid Tantawi Mosque until Ali Bey permitted him to enter exile in Alexandria. There, in July 1768, he was strangled. For the remainder of the year, Ali Bey continued eliminating or substantially weakening rivals among the mamluks and in the ranks of the ojaqs, especially the janissaries, who remained the only influential government military force in the province. By September, the French consul reported "never has the Janissary ojaq been reduced to the point it is today". That month, Ali Bey had Salih Bey assassinated, and soon after broke up his household, exiling his mamluks to Tanta, Damietta, Jeddah, and Upper Egypt.

With every move against his rivals, Ali Bey consolidated his hold over the military and bureaucracy in Egypt. All of the officers he eliminated were replaced by his own mamluks. He allowed the beys from his household to build up households of their own, while he acquired substantial numbers of new mamluks and commissioned mercenaries to supplement his forces. After Salih Bey's assassination, Ali Bey promoted three more of his mamluks as beys, appointed Isma'il Bey as defterdar, Ayyub Bey as governor of the major district of Girga, and another of his mamluk beys, Hasan Bey Ridwan, as amir al-hajj and amir misr (commander of Cairo). In September, he had assumed the office of qa'immiqam, thereby attaining the executive powers of the governor during his absence. Crecelius notes by "combining the leadership of the mamluk regime with the executive functions of the Ottoman government Ali Bey had gained complete mastery of the Ottoman administration and reduced the governor to impotence". Rakım Mehmed Pasha attempted to depose Ali Bey in November by enlisting Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab. The latter revealed the plot to Ali Bey, who then denounced and ousted the governor.

Ali Bey stopped the annual tribute to the Sublime Porte and in an unprecedented usurpation of the Ottoman Sultan's privileges had his name struck on local coins in 1769 (alongside the sultan's emblem), effectively declaring Egypt's independence from Ottoman rule. In 1770 he gained control of the Hijaz and a year later temporarily occupied Syria, thereby reconstituting the Mamluk state that had disappeared in 1517. However, a few days after a major victory over Governor Uthman Pasha al-Kurji by the allied forces of Zahir al-Umar and Ali Bey's forces on 6 June 1771, Abu al-Dhahab, the commander of his troops in Syria, refused to continue the fight after an Ottoman agent stirred up mistrust between him and Ali Bey, and hastily returned to Egypt. As a result, Ali Bey lost power in 1772. The following year, he was killed in Cairo.

However, the date of 1772 is highly disputed; other sources and historians give varying dates for the end of Ali Bey's power in Egypt. Uzunçarşılı claims that he held power until 1773 (when Kara Halil Pasha became governor), but Sicill-i Osmani disagrees, saying that he fell out of power in 1769 and naming three interceding governors by name between the end of Ali Bey's reign in 1769 and Kara Halil Pasha's appointment in 1773; these are Köprülü Hafız Ahmed Pasha (1769), Kelleci Osman Pasha (1769–1771), and Vekil Osman Pasha (1772–1773). First-person source Al-Jabarti declares that Ali Bey gave up power in 1769 when a new governor from the Ottoman capital of Istanbul was assigned by the sultan (although he doesn't name him). It is likely that Uzunçarşılı read Al-Jabarti's chronicle, but failed to note the narrative about the new governor coming from Istanbul in 1769, since after that, Al-Jabarti does not name any other pasha by name or sequence until 1773 with Kara Halil Pasha.

Economic policies
According to historians Cleveland and Bunton, "During his time in power, he successfully expanded Egypt's trade with Britain and France. He also hired European advisers to the military and bought European weapons". However, according to Bidwell, "...he did not make use of native Egyptians or call in foreigners for technical advice. He made no effort to build a modern army..."

Literature

 * Sauveur Lusignan: A history of the Revolution of Ali Bey against the Ottoman Porte. London 1783

title: Ali Bey al-Kabir


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Irish theatre

The history of Irish theatre begins in the Middle Ages and was for a long time confined to the courts of the Gaelic and "Old English" – descendants of 12th-century Norman invaders – inhabitants of Ireland. The first theatre building in Ireland was the Werburgh Street Theatre, founded in 1637, followed by the Smock Alley Theatre in 1662.

From the 17th century, theatrical productions in Ireland tended to serve the political purposes of the English colonial administration, but as more theatres opened and the popular audience grew, a more diverse range of entertainments were staged. Many Dublin-based theatres developed links with their London equivalents and performers and productions from the British capital frequently found their way to the Irish stage. However, almost all Irish playwrights from William Congreve to George Bernard Shaw found it necessary to leave their native island to establish themselves.

At the beginning of the 20th century, theatres and theatre companies dedicated to the staging of Irish plays and the development of indigenous writers, directors and performers began to emerge. This allowed many of the most significant Irish dramatists to learn their trade and establish their reputations in Ireland rather than in Great Britain or the United States.

Historic theatre buildings
Few historic theatre buildings survive in Ireland, and only a small minority predate the 20th century. The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin dates to 1871, and despite multiple alterations it retains several Victorian era features and remains Ireland's longest-established, continuously producing public theatre. The Theatre Royal, Waterford dates to 1876, but retains some structural material from the 1785 theatre building which preceded it, and is considered Ireland's oldest continually operating theatre. The Smock Alley Theatre was converted, in 2012, from an early 19th century church building which incorporated fabric from the 18th century theatre which preceded it, and is built on the foundations of the first Theatre Royal from 1662. It is thus often referred to as Ireland's "oldest new theatre" or "newest old theatre". The Lord Amiens Theatre was built as a private theatre wing of Aldborough House in 1795, and used as such until 1830. Despite alterations to the interior, structurally the building remains exactly as it was designed and first constructed, and it is thus considered the oldest purpose-built theatre building in Ireland.

Small beginnings
Although there would appear to have been performances of plays on religious themes in Ireland from as early as the 14th century, the first well-documented instance of a theatrical production in Ireland is a 1601 staging of Gorboduc presented by Lord Mountjoy Lord Deputy of Ireland in the Great Hall in Dublin Castle. The play had been written by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton for the 1561/2 Christmas festivities at the Inner Temple in London and appears to have been selected because it was a story of a divided kingdom descending into anarchy that was applicable to the situation in Ireland at the time of the performance. Mountjoy started a fashion, and private performances became quite commonplace in great houses all over Ireland over the following thirty years.

The Werburgh Street Theatre in Dublin is generally identified as the "first custom-built theatre in the city," "the only pre-Restoration playhouse outside London," and the "first Irish playhouse."

Court in Kilkenny
In 1642, as a result of the English Civil War, Dublin Royalists were forced to flee the city. Many of them went to Kilkenny to join a confederacy of Old English and Irish that formed in that city. Kilkenny had a tradition of dramatic performance going back to 1366, and the Dublin company, much attenuated, set up in their new home. At least one new play was published in Kilkenny; A Tragedy of Cola's Fury, OR, Lirenda's Misery, a blatantly political work with the Lirenda of the title being an anagram of Ireland.

With the restoration of the monarchy in 1661, John Ogilby was commissioned to design the triumphal arches and write masques for the new king's entrance into London. Ogilby was reinstated as Master of the Revels and returned to Dublin to open a new theatre in Smock Alley. Although starting well, this new theatre was essentially under the control of the administration in Dublin Castle and staged mainly pro-Stuart works and Shakespearean classics. As a result, Irish playwrights and actors of real talent were drawn to London.

The Restoration
An early example of this trend is William Congreve, one of the most important writers for the late 18th London stage. Although born in Yorkshire, Congreve grew up in Ireland and studied with Jonathan Swift in Kilkenny and at Trinity College Dublin. After graduating, Congreve moved to London to study law at the Temple and pursue a literary career. His first play, The Old Bachelor (1693) was sponsored by John Dryden, and he went on to write at least four more plays. The last of these, The Way of the World (1700) is the one Congreve work regularly revived on the modern stage. However, at the time of its creation, it was a relative failure and he wrote no further works for the theatre.

With the accession to the throne of William of Orange, the whole ethos of Dublin Castle, including its attitude to the theatre, changed. A theatre at Smock Alley stayed in existence until the 1780s and new theatres, such as the Theatre Royal, Queens' Theatre, and The Gaiety Theatre opened during the 19th century. However, the one constant for the next 200 years was that the main action in the history of Irish theatre happened outside Ireland itself, mainly in London.

18th century
The 18th century saw the emergence of two major Irish dramatists, Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who were two of the most successful playwrights on the London stage in the 18th century. Goldsmith (1728–1774) was born in Roscommon and grew up in extremely rural surroundings. He entered Trinity College in 1745 and graduated in 1749. He returned to the family home, and in 1751, began to travel, finally settling in London in 1756, where he published poetry, prose and two plays, The Good-Natur'd Man 1768 and She Stoops to Conquer 1773. This latter was a huge success and is still regularly revived.

Sheridan (1751–1816) was born in Dublin into a family with a strong literary and theatrical tradition. His mother was a writer and his father was manager of Smock Alley Theatre. The family moved to England in the 1750s, and Sheridan attended Harrow Public School. His first play, The Rivals 1775, was performed at Covent Garden and was an instant success. He went on to become the most significant London playwright of the late 18th century with plays like The School for Scandal and The Critic. He was owner of the Drury Lane Theatre, which he bought from David Garrick. The theatre burned down in 1809, and Sheridan lived out the rest of his life in reduced circumstances. He is buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.

19th century
After Sheridan, the next Irish dramatist of historical importance was Dion Boucicault (1820–1890). Boucicault was born in Dublin but went to England to complete his education. At school, he began writing dramatic sketches and soon took up acting under the stage name of Lee Morton. His first play was Legend of Devil's Dyke 1838 in which he acted himself in Brighton. His first London production was London Assurance 1841. This was a great success and he seemed set to become the major writer of comedies of his day. However, his next few plays were not as successful and Boucicault found himself in debt. He recovered some of his reputation with The Corsican Brothers (1852), a well constructed melodrama.

In 1853, he moved to New York, where he soon became a hit with plays like The Poor of New York (1857), Dot (1859, based on Charles Dickens's The Cricket on the Hearth) and The Octoroon (1859). These plays tackled issues such as urban poverty and slavery. Boucicault was also involved in getting the 1856 law on copyright passed through Congress. His last New York play was The Colleen Bawn (1860). In that year, Boucicault returned to London to stage The Colleen Bawn and the play ran for 247 performances at The Adelphi Theatre. He wrote several more successful plays, including The Shaughran (1875) and Robert Emmet (1884). These later plays helped perpetuate the stereotype of the drunken, hotheaded, garrulous Irishman that had been common on the British stage since the time of Shakespeare. Other Irish dramatists of the period include John Banim and Gerald Griffin, whose novel The Collegians  formed the basis for The Colleen Bawn.

Boucicault is widely regarded as the wittiest Irish dramatist between Sheridan and Oscar Wilde (1854–1900). Wilde was born in Dublin into a literary family and studied at Trinity College, where he had a brilliant career. In 1874 he won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford. Here he began his career as a writer, winning the Newdigate Prize for his poem Ravenna. His studies were cut short during his second year at Oxford when his father died leaving large debts.

During a short but glittering literary career, Wilde wrote poetry, short stories, criticism and a novel, but his plays probably represent his most enduring legacy. Wilde's first stage success came with Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), which resulted in his becoming the most talked about dramatist in London. He followed this up with A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895) and his most famous play The Importance of Being Earnest that same year. With these plays, Wilde came to dominate late-Victorian era British theatre. His plays are noted for the lightness of their wit, but he also contrived to address some serious issues around sexual and class roles and identity, as he wrote himself 'treating the serious things lightly and the light things seriously'. Events in Wilde's personal life were to overtake his literary success and he died in Paris in 1900. He remains one of the great figures in the history of Irish theatre and his plays are frequently performed all over the English-speaking world.

Wilde's contemporary George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) was a very different kind of writer. Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876 intending to become a novelist. Here he became active in socialist politics and became a member of the Fabian Society. He was also a very public vegetarian. His writing for the stage was influenced by Henrik Ibsen. His early political plays were not popular, but he made a breakthrough with John Bull's Other Island (1904). Shaw was extremely prolific, and his collected writings filled 36 volumes. Many of his plays are now forgotten, but a number, including Major Barbara, Saint Joan (usually considered his masterpiece) and Pygmalion  are still regularly performed. Pygmalion  was the basis for the movie My Fair Lady, a fact which benefitted the National Gallery of Ireland as Shaw had left the royalties of the play to the gallery. A statue of the playwright now stands outside the gallery entrance. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.

The Abbey and after

A sea change in the history of the Irish theatre came with the establishment in Dublin in 1899 of the Irish Literary Theatre by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Moore and Edward Martyn. This was followed by the Irish National Theatre Society, later to become the Abbey Theatre. The history of this theatre is well documented, and its importance can be seen from the list of writers whose plays were first performed here in the early days of the 20th century. These included W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, John Millington Synge, George Moore, and Seán O'Casey. Equally importantly, through the introduction by Yeats, via Ezra Pound, of elements of the Noh theatre of Japan, a tendency to mythologise quotidian situations, and a particularly strong focus on writings in dialects of Hiberno-English, the Abbey was to create a style that held a strong fascination for future Irish dramatists. Indeed, it could almost be said that the Abbey created the basic elements of a national theatrical style.

This period also saw a rise in the writing of plays in Irish, especially after the formation, in 1928, of An Taidhbhearc, a theatre dedicated to the Irish language. The Gate Theatre, also founded in 1928 under the direction of Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir, introduced Irish audiences to many of the classics of the European stage.

Mid-20th century
The twentieth century saw a number of Irish playwrights come to prominence. Samuel Beckett is probably the most significant of these. Beckett had a long career as a novelist and poet before his first play, Waiting for Godot (1953) made him famous. This play, along with his second, Endgame, is one of the great works of absurdist theatre. Beckett was awarded for the Nobel Prize in 1969.

The Lyric Theatre, founded in 1944 by Austin Clarke was based in the Abbey until 1951 and produced many of Clarke's own verse plays. From the mid-1950s, the Unitarian Church at St Stephen's Green, Dublin was home to Amharclann an Damer/The Damer Theatre. The Damer produced both professional and amateur Irish language theatre. The world premier of Brendan Behan's An Giall (The Hostage) took place here in 1958. The theatre closed in 1981. Behan went on to be an extremely popular dramatist, particularly through his work with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal in Stratford, East London.

Other important Irish dramatists of this period include: Denis Johnston, Thomas Kilroy, Tom Murphy, Hugh Leonard, Frank McGuinness, and John B. Keane.

Recent developments
In general, the Abbey was the dominant influence in theatre in Ireland across the 20th century. Beckett's example has been almost entirely ignored, although his plays are regularly performed on the Irish stage. Behan, in his use of song and direct address to the audience, was influenced by Bertolt Brecht and Denis Johnston used modernist techniques including found texts and collage, but their works had little impact on the dramatists who came after them. In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of companies emerged to challenge the Abbey's dominance and introduce different styles and approaches. These included Focus Theatre, The Passion Machine, The Children's T Company, the Project Theatre Company, Red Kettle, Druid Theatre, TEAM and Field Day. These companies nurtured a number of writers, actors, and directors who went on to be successful in London, Broadway and Hollywood or in other literary fields. These include Enda Walsh, Joe O Byrne, Peter Sheridan, Brian Friel, Stephen Rea, Garry Hynes, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson, Marina Carr, Jimmy Murphy, Billy Roche and Gabriel Byrne. In 1974 Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, was founded in Tralee, County Kerry, by Pat Ahern.

In the 1990s and 2000s a new wave of theatre companies arrived. These include: Barabbas, Barnstorm Theatre Company, Bedrock, Blue Raincoat, B*spoke, The Corn Exchange, Corcadorca, Fishamble, KATS Theatre Group, Loose Canon, Ouroborous and Pan Pan. A number of these companies had a significant portion or, in some cases, all of their Arts Council funding cut at the beginning of 2010 and it remains to be seen if they will continue to operate.

Theatre in the Irish language
Irish-language theatre has enjoyed periods of remarkable productivity since its beginnings in the era of the Gaelic Revival, despite a frequent lack of trained actors and directors, a small and scattered audience and difficulty in finding permanent theatre spaces.

The earliest plays were often based on folk themes or had as their aim the strengthening of nationalism. It was not until the late nineteen twenties that a real sophistication began to be achieved, and even then the work depended largely on the work of gifted amateurs working through dramatic societies and the few available theatres. They were handicapped by the lack of a longstanding dramatic tradition such as existed in English, and it has been argued that, with outstanding exceptions, there was little influence at the time from the European classics.

From 1942 the Abbey Theatre began occasional productions in Irish; in time this led to a concentration on pantomime at the expense of longer and more serious work. New theatre companies emerged to redress this, and An Phéacóg Nua (The New Peacock Theatre), a small theatre specialising in Irish-language drama, was created as an extension of the Abbey. The task of presenting innovative theatre in Irish was taken up by An Damer, a theatre in the heart of Dublin. It continued the tradition of staging both original work and translations. There were professional directors working there, and the playwrights included Eoghan Ó Tuairisc, Seán Ó Tuama, Brendan Behan and Máiréad Ní Ghráda. It served as a training ground for actors like Niall Tóibín who achieved distinction elesewhere. It lost its state subsidy in 1981 and closed, and the new theatre companies that arose to replace it lacked a permanent home.

The Taibhdhearc, a Galway theatre founded in 1928, was explicitly devoted to Irish-language productions. Prominent among those involved were the writer and actor Micheál MacLiammóir and his companion Hilton Edwards, who were also involved with the Gate Theatre in Dublin. The Taibhdhearc has over the years mounted critically praised productions, but there was always tension between proponents of original and translated drama. There was a constant need for new scripts and for sufficient funding to establish the Taibhdhearc as a national theatre. The number of full-length plays in Irish being presented there is presently at a minimum.

Irish-language theatre still depends upon a mixture of amateur and professional talent. Current companies include Aisteoirí Bulfin, Fíbín (with an emphasis on physicality and the visual, including masks and puppetry) and the Belfast group Aisling Ghéar, with an interest in experimentation. Dublin, traditionally a theatrical centre, still lacks a permanent theatre devoted solely to Irish-language productions, though the Peacock Theatre continues to present plays in Irish. In the words of Irish theatre historian Philip O’Leary, "theatre in Irish has been a living if often invisible art form, with its companies, venues, prizes and, of course, critics". In spite of its problems, it shows continuing vitality.

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

title: Irish theatre


text:
Arcanum

Arcanum may refer to:

Music

 * Arcanum (album), a 1996 album by Acoustic Alchemy
 * The Arcanum (album), a 2000 album by Suidakra
 * Arcanum, a piece of music by Ezequiel Viñao
 * Arcanum, song off the album Dog Whistle by Show Me the Body
 * Arckanum, a black metal band

Other uses

 * Arcanum, Ohio, a village in the United States
 * Arcanum (encyclical), a 1880 Catholic encyclical letter
 * Arcanum (comics), an American comic book published by Image Comics
 * Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, a 2001 computer role-playing game
 * The Arcanum (role-playing game), a 1981 pen-and-paper role-playing game
 * The Arcanum (novel), a 2005 novel by Thomas Wheeler
 * The Arcanum (non fiction), a 1998 non-fiction book on the history of porcelain
 * Arcanum, a Conex Research-proposed space probe in the exploration of Neptune
 * The Grand Arcanum, the secret of the philosopher's stone in alchemy

title: Arcanum


text:
Talk:Purple frog

Untitled
Definitely on the ball! Wetman 13:27, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Map
Can the map show a more restricted region ? Shyamal 03:37, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Done. Shyamal 07:39, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Contradiction
I think the introduction is out-of-date. There it claims that the frog forms its own family, but later on it is claimed that this was changed. Either the intro or the later bit needs to change. LW izard @ 20:12, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Fixed i hope. Shyamal 04:55, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Another purple frog from Suriname
In a news report, Purple frog among 24 new species found in Suriname, dated 4 June, 2007, a purple fluorescent frog has been discovered. I don't know if there is any taxonomy available for this species yet. Perhaps some mention should go into the current article nevertheless? __meco 22:26, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Does not look like a Sooglossidae or close relative. Except for the colour similarity, probably not relevant. Shyamal 03:21, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, the one from Suriname is actually a Bufonid (Adelotus), so there is no relation whatsoever. --liquidGhoul 05:22, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Link to scholarly article
Not sure what info is in here, but may be helpful Range distribution for sure. pschemp | talk 03:09, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh and another: ] pschemp | talk 03:10, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I updated the map. Unfortunately there was still a coordinate in the journal which had the longitude marked with minutes of 64 ! Found yet another ref here and User:Kalyanvarma has offered some nice pictures from here. Shyamal 16:05, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Wrong Picture
The picture is of the Sooglossidae which lives only in the Seychelles Islands not the purple frog. It is a distant relative but either way the picture is wrong. There's one on BBC new that clearly shows its purple

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3200214.stm

No longer monotypic
There are now two species of purple frog/Nasikabatrachus with the 2017 discovery of Nasikabatrachus bhupathi. Most of the content here primarily refers to Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis and not the Nasikabatrachus genus.

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what do they eat and how?
i have skimmed over this entire thing but there appears to be no explanation of their diet, how does a creature with such a small mouth eat, and how?@ 204.145.232.66 (talk) 20:05, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Purple frog


text:
Talk:Brylcreem

It's refered to in the past--Sicamous 19:22, 6 December 2006 (UTC)--Sicamous 19:22, 6 December 2006 (UTC) tense, but the combe.com site seems to imply it is still made. If it is no longer being produced, can someone find the date of it's demise, or otherwise confirm its continued existance? Wondering simply, -- Infrogmation 13:34, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC)

It is still available for purchase. . . note links added 3 April 2005. AnDrew McKenzie 23:04, 2005 Apr 3 (UTC)

I've done a major re-edit to remove stuff like "Brylcreem is a perfect choice for achieving today's hair styling options" that looks as if it came straight out of the Brylcreem marketing department. On one specific factual point: "Brylcreem was the first mass-marketed men's hair care product". Nope. See Macassar Oil. RayGirvan 10:44, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Addendum: re Flintstone citation. Agreed. Plenty of websites repeat the claim, but I can't find any objective evidence for it. Furthest back I can track it is to an unsubstantiated statement in this article. Trussst no-one.RayGirvan 11:43, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)

-- Why must an intrinsically clean article contain profanity?

---

What evidence exists that Carr Grant's hair was styled with Brylcreem in that picture? It could've been style with anything from vaseline to pomade to wild root.

Carey Grant was a vorasious Brylcreem user, the picture is from a collection called Brylkeen --Sicamous 19:22, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Notable people who have used Brylcreem
Shouldn't we have a section on notable users of Brylcreem, because I can think of loads George Formby, John Cleese (When he had hair) and so on and so forth-GeorgeFormby1

Another Jingle
I recall the following additional jingle, probably from the 1970's: Bryl-creem, a little dab'll do ya, for men who use their heads about their hair. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.79.191.211 (talk) 04:31, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Brylcreem, a little dab'l do ya,
 * Brylcreem, you'll look so debonair,
 * Brylcreen, the gals will all pursue ya,
 * Simply rub a little in your hair.

 * Another version. Wanderer57 (talk) 13:03, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Adding photo?
I'm thinking of adding a photo of a tube of Brylcreem. Would this be a problem or would fair use be in play? Surv1v4l1st (Talk 19:19, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * OK, I went ahead and added one. Surv1v4l1st (Talk 17:24, 4 October 2009 (UTC)
 * And it is gone. Any reason why adding a pic of the ubiquitous tube is an issue? -- Surv1v4l1st ╠Talk║Contribs╣ 21:03, 30 May 2022 (UTC)

I Came Back
I recall a TV campaign (1968) to win men away from the Hippie, long-dry-tresses look, to deprecate the unfashionable 'greasy kid-stuff' taunt, and persuade boys to once again use Brylcreem. The slogan was 'I came back' and there were various brief 'testimonials' from rather square-looking guys of the short-back-and-sides he-man type, saying one after the other 'I came back'. This sequence ended with a pretty young woman of the non-Hippie variety, the full skirt and Hush-Puppies type of clean-living lass, running her fingers through the last fellow's hair and saying 'And I'm GLAD he did.' Message: smear on our shiny gunk and the girls will flock.

There is a link to it here

Bluedawe 02:04, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Indonesia
I use brylcreem daily. In the past year it had out of stock for weeks on end. On my most recent pot, there was a little piece of tape. When i removed it, i found the words made in Indonesia underneath. So I'm guessing they relocated their factory again. Previously it had been moved from England to Indonesia. No official news about it though. PizzaMan (talk) 09:06, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Brylcreem


text:
User talk:Donald~enwiki

Hey there! Welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like this place--I sure do--and want to stay. If you need help on how to title new articles check out Naming conventions, and for help on formatting the pages visit the manual of style. If you need help look at Help and The FAQ, plus if you can't find your answer there, check The Village pump or The Reference Desk! Happy wiki-ing! Alexandros

Was it you who added a request to my diskussion opage in the German Wikpedia? Otherwise ignore an delete the statement... Allthough I normally only answer on my own talk page (to avoid disrupted diskussions) I tell you that I have answerded there.--Hun2 de Correct me! 15:14, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

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Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Donald. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Donald~enwiki that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name. If you think you might own all of the accounts with this name and this message is in error, please visit Special:MergeAccount to check and attach all of your accounts to prevent them from being renamed.

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Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 12:15, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Donald~enwiki


text:
Miturgidae

Miturgidae is a family of araneomorph spiders that includes nearly 170 species in 29 genera worldwide. First described by Eugène Simon in 1886, it has been substantially revised, and includes the previous family Zoridae as a synonym, and excludes the family Xenoctenidae. Several genera have also been removed, such as the large genus Cheiracanthium, which was transferred to the Cheiracanthiidae.

Genera
, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:

 * Argoctenus L. Koch, 1878 — New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea
 * Diaprograpta Simon, 1909 — Australia
 * Elassoctenus Simon, 1909 — Australia
 * Eupograpta Raven, 2009 — Australia
 * Hestimodema Simon, 1909 — Australia
 * Israzorides Levy, 2003 — Israel
 * Mituliodon Raven & Stumkat, 2003 — Timor-Leste, Australia
 * Miturga Thorell, 1870 — Australia
 * Mitzoruga Raven, 2009 — Australia
 * Nuliodon Raven, 2009 — Australia
 * Odomasta Simon, 1909 — Australia
 * Pacificana Hogg, 1904 — New Zealand
 * Palicanus Thorell, 1897 — Asia, Seychelles
 * Parapostenus Lessert, 1923 — South Africa, Lesotho
 * Prochora Simon, 1886 — Italy, Asia
 * Pseudoceto Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Brazil
 * Simonus Ritsema, 1881 — Australia
 * Syrisca Simon, 1886 — South America, Africa
 * Syspira Simon, 1895 — United States, Mexico
 * Systaria Simon, 1897 — Asia, Oceania
 * Tamin Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001 — Indonesia
 * Teminius Keyserling, 1887 — North America, South America
 * Thasyraea L. Koch, 1878 — Australia
 * Tuxoctenus Raven, 2008 — Australia
 * Voraptus Simon, 1898 — Africa, Indonesia
 * Xantharia Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001 — Indonesia
 * Zealoctenus Forster & Wilton, 1973 — New Zealand
 * Zora C. L. Koch, 1847 — Asia, Europe, North America
 * Zoroides Berland, 1924 — New Caledonia

title: Miturgidae


text:
Talk:BBC UKTV

Untitled
Should this be UKTV or UK.TV. I added a link to the BBC page some time ago as UKTV (Australia). Mintguy 13:45, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC)
 * I believe so, they refer to it as UKTV on their website.  I would suggest renaming to UKTV (Australia and New Zealand). --DeadlyAssassin (talk) 06:53, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Query
Is the following really true? In Australia, UK.TV is required by law to broadcast a quota of local content, so in addition to British programming, it has repeated Australian soap operas Sons and Daughters and Prisoner Reason I ask is that I can't think of any Australian shows on UK-TV these days. And certainly on free-to-air repeats do not count towards the required quota of local programming, so why would repeats count for Foxtel if they had the same requirement. Those show were def. on UKTV but maybe not for the reason claimed by this article. Asa01 19:47, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

 * It's almost true. UKTV doesn't have to screen a quota of Oz programs, but it does have to *fund* them. They partially funded "Changi" for instance. These programs they put money into, of course, will probably screen on the channel. (http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65640:STANDARD:991144607:pc=PC_91809) matturn 11:44, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

 * The Australian UK.TV website also contains this info. ant_ie 18:29, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:BBC UKTV


text:
Daniil Shafran

Daniil Borisovich Shafran (Даниил Борисович Шафран, January 13, 1923 – February 7, 1997) was a Soviet Russian cellist.

Early years
Daniil Shafran was born in Petrograd (later Leningrad, then Saint Petersburg) in 1923 to a Jewish family. Even from before his birth he was surrounded by music. His mother and father were music students when he was born. His father, Boris Shafran, went on to be principal cellist of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and his mother, Frida Moiseyevna, was a pianist. He recounted how, as his mother went into labour, his father was practicing passages from Haydn's D major Concerto in preparation for a recital, and was reluctant to go to the hospital until he had mastered a difficult technical passage.

Shafran was initially taught by his father, whom he had long begged for lessons. When aged eight and a half, "my father met me brandishing a small cello. 'I bought you a cello', he cried. 'Sit down and we'll start studying. His father was a serious musician and strict teacher and after year and a half under his tutelage, Shafran had absorbed many of the values that he held throughout his life: diligent and regular practice and the importance of striving for the highest goals. A key principle established was to overcome technical obstacles by learning to play far beyond the demands of the work, and Shafran learned to be "mercilessly strict with myself when practicing".

When he was ten years old (other sources say eight ), his father took him to Alexander Shtrimer (1888–1961), then professor at the Leningrad Conservatory, for lessons. Initially this was at the Conservatory Special Music School for Children, where Shtrimer also taught, and then at the Conservatory itself where Shafran was one of ten talented children chosen to attend. Shafran remained with Shtrimer for more than ten years (into his early twenties). Though his father took a more active interest in his progress than might be "correct in terms of pedagogical ethics", he took no other teacher, commenting that "my own experiences and my association with my musician colleagues were all a 'second teacher' to me". Shafran's first public performance was at the age of 10, at one of the Conservatory concerts, where he played two technically demanding works by David Popper: 'Spinning Song' and 'Elfentanz'. His orchestral debut was a year later, when 11, when he played Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the visiting British conductor, Albert Coates.

At the age of 14, Shafran entered the 1937 USSR All-Union Competition for Violinists and Cellists, for young musicians from all Soviet states. Although strictly he was below the qualifying age limit, he was allowed to enter as an unofficial contestant and carried off the first prize. His age, "filigree virtuosity and poetic appearance had caused something of a sensation" and Shafran achieved national prominence. Shafran was also awarded a magnificent Antonio Amati cello as part of the prize. Musical activity in Leningrad was heavily impacted by the Second World War. Among many other activities in Russia, the All-Union competition was suspended for 7 years. Only in 1945 was it held again, when the war in Russia was over, and this time the winner was the young Mstislav Rostropovich. By 1949, "Shafran’s supremacy as the country's leading young cellist was now being challenged by Rostropovich, four years his junior." Shafran and Rostropovich both entered the 1949 competition at the Festival of Democratic Youth, Budapest, and they tied for the first prize. David Oistrakh, a jury member at the competition, wrote "both cellists are complete masters of cello sound. Their light virtuosity and elegant technique should be the envy of many violinists".

The following year Shafran and Rostropovich again met in competition, at the Wihan contest in Prague – an event to commemorate the centenary of the Bohemian Cellist Hanus Wihan (1850–1920), himself a pupil of Karl Davydov. Shafran performed the Rococo Variations in the final round, (which by his own admission, he had not played successfully), and yet, again, Shafran and Rostropovich were the joint prize-winners. When Shafran graduated from the Conservatory in 1950, he was now 27 years old, and Rostropovich 23. For almost a decade, they stood out as the two outstanding young Russian cellists. "Both had already achieved an extraordinary level of artistry, yet they were temperamentally very different. Shafran's attention to detail made him pre-eminent in miniature forms: his poetic sensibility and the remarkable palette of tone colours he had at his disposal suit him to romantic and impressionistic repertoire". But in large forms, the musician's achievements were no less great.

Concert career
Shafran pursued a career as soloist and recorded very widely. His repertoire included the major concertos, music for cello and piano, and the solo cello repertoire. His astonishing technique in the higher register enabled him to perform a wide range of violin works at original pitch. He also sought to enrich the cello repertoire, and made and performed transcriptions of works for other instruments. However, he rarely toured outside the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc, and virtually all his recordings were for the Melodiya label, so his international reputation was very limited.

In 1950, Shafran moved to Moscow, separating him from his family and his teacher on whom he had depended for so long - an event which caused him an artistic crisis. His early career was, in his own observation "rather hard. I made blunders, but this is only natural". Like so many prodigies, Shafran needed to develop into a mature artist, and his first wife and recital partner, Nina Musinian, greatly helped him in this respect, encouraging him to break with his past, and find the space to experiment.

His early concerts and recordings show his stature. His first recording, at age 14, was of the Rococo Variations. In 1946 he performed in Rumania with George Enescu at the piano. In 1954 he recorded Kabalevsky's First cello Concerto, under the baton of the composer. Kabalevsky was sufficiently impressed that he dedicated his Second Cello Concerto to Shafran, who gave the premiere and made the first recording in 1965. In 1956 he made a "legendary recording" of the Shostakovich Cello Sonata, with the composer at the piano. He observed that "No matter what I asked or suggested ... Shostakovich listened to every word ... and agreed to any new details ... even those that went against his original notation in the score", highlighting not only Shostakovich's character, but Shafran's confidence in his own musical vision. In 1962 he performed the Khachaturian Cello Concerto under the direction of the composer.

Shafran made a number of concert tours and recordings together with his first wife, pianist Nina Musinian. Later on, he formed a long-lasting partnership with the pianist Anton Ginsburg.

Shafran's American debut was in 1960 in Carnegie Hall, at which concert he met Osip Shtrimer, the brother of his teacher. His British premiere was not till 1964, with concerts in Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. He visited Japan several times, and toured Australia. By the time the Berlin Wall fell, Shafran's concert career was nearing its end.

Interpretation and technique
Shafran had a poetic and sincere way of performing music. His vibrato, phrasing and virtuosity all added to his distinctively passionate performances. Characteristic of his style was his inimitable rich tone (unusual on a baroque instrument), his unlimited musical freedom, and his impeccable technical proficiency.

Shafran saw himself as a product of a Leningrad (rather than a Moscow) tradition that “attached great importance to technical matters, [but] gave more attention to interpretation, revealing the stylistic diversity of works, and developing the artistic propensities of the pupil”. Structured and disciplined practice was the foundation of his playing. “A small minority of string players can get by without constant practice, but I admit that I am not one”, he noted. Each day would start with a slow cantilena piece for about 15 minutes, “to refresh the reflexes” for tonal beauty. From his father, he learned to play a piece through at twice the written speed, to ensure that all technical challenges were met. “I must work and persevere without pause. And if there comes a time when I feel some element of my instrumental control is slipping, I immediately start exercises to rectify the situation. For the left hand… I execute great leaps over the fingerboard with all fingers, striving for exactness of intonation and purity of sound.” To develop tone control, he would take a piece of moderate difficulty, like Rachmaninoff's 'Vocalise', and play it high on the C-string instead of the A-string.

While having great technical mastery, Shafran saw technique as a means rather than an end. Although he followed David Oistrakh's advice “to include a virtuoso piece in your daily dozen: the audience likes them as a reward” and he highly recommend practicing the “old bravura works for those who aspire to attain the heights of cello technique”, for himself he felt that above all his music should be sincere, and he aimed to focus on “major music” with the depth for great expression. “I do detest and avoid music which is patently inferior or 'cheap'. When I encounter a work that does not immediately enthuse me, I always seek to discover something that may be hidden in its pages. If the work seems to lack profundity or expressiveness, I strive to compensate for this by instilling it with my own enthusiasm and imagination, and seek out the work's dramaturgic accents based on the general character of the music.

Shafran was mercilessly strict with himself, and his partners: “from first note to last, I cannot permit my partner's playing to sabotage my intentions”, but he was not dogmatic: “everything is permissible if it sounds beautiful, if it is justified artistically”.

He felt fingering should not be rigid or dogmatic, but must be subordinated to bringing out the content and expressiveness of a work. Noting that a player has a choice of many fingering combinations, he said the “selection must be geared to our own personal hand structure, stretch, finger length, flexibility, etc., and the instrument, too, must be taken into account”. He frequently employed what he called “revolutionary” fingerings, possible only because “every finger was well-trained and obedient”.

He developed a number of unusual technical features. He used the thumb and fourth finger extensively, throughout the compass of the cello, and his large hand combined with the diminutive Amati cello that he always played allowed him to make very large stretches and play octaves between thumb and 3rd finger, and also 1st and 4th fingers. His range of vibrato was unusually wide, grading from fine and violin-like through to a distinctive wide, pulsating and operatic throb. He achieved a very light staccato and spiccato, and he made his beautiful silvery sound using the bow at the tip far more than most cellists and liked the hair to be on the loose side. His bowing appeared rather like a violinist, very light and without effort, yet at the same time very intense.

In performance, his style was individual. He rehearsed in full concert dress, perched at the front of an unusually high chair, positioned on a little raised platform, and played with his eyes closed. His ritual preparation for concerts included early morning practice, eating, relaxation and mental preparation.

The cellist Steven Isserlis summed up that “as a cellist and musician, Shafran was unlike anyone else. At a time in which, thanks to various media, musical styles are converging, Shafran's voice remained apart. His vibrato, his phrasing, his rhythm all belonged to a unique whole; his astounding virtuosity conveyed a musical personality that retained the passion, the simplicity and the poetry of a great Russian folk singer. He was incapable of playing one note insincerely; his music spoke from the soul”.

The pianist Sviatoslav Richter stated: "a brief association with the cellist Daniil Shafran gave me little pleasure. He was a great cellist, with a distinctive tone, but whenever he played, you always had the impression that he was thinking only of the moment when he would have an interesting high note that he could hold on to and produce an attractive sound. He also suffered from nerves. I stopped performing with him in 1951 and he then joined up with Grigory Ginzburg... As a musician, if not a cellist, Rostropovitch was incomparably more interesting, an artist of far greater stature. He dwarfed him completely."

Shafran's Amati cello
Unusually for a major cellist, Shafran played the same instrument throughout his life. He formed an unbreakable bond with the Antonio Amati cello that he won at the age of 14, and always played on it.

The cello is described as dating from 1630. The exact dates of Antonio Amati (son of Andrea Amati, and the elder of the two Brothers Amati) are not known for certain, being variously reported between 1540 and 1607 and 1555 to 1640. Sources such as Cozio report that the entire span of Antonio Amati's working life was 1588–1628. It is by all accounts a magnificent instrument, though somewhat smaller than full size. It has been questioned whether "any Amati, no matter how fine, is sufficiently powerful for a solo cellist at the summit of his career. Baroque instruments of that period would not normally have the power of a later master." However, Shafran's recordings give no hint that the Amati has any lack of power. On the other hand, any Amati surviving into the present time has been rebuilt in the neck to allow for a higher bridge, and these alterations would give the instrument more carrying power and a brighter, more piercing sound than it had in the original baroque setup. The use of metal strings at high tension would also add to the brighter sound.

Shafran, who was known for his sometimes remarkably individual fingerings, denied that they would only work for his hand and on a cello of this size: "Any cellist with a normal stretch can use my fingerings on a standard sized cello, though they would, of course, be more difficult for a cellist with a small finger stretch".

Daniil Shafran died in Moscow on February 7, 1997, aged 74. In September 1997, his widow, Svetlana Shafran, donated the Amati cello to the Glinka Museum.

title: Daniil Shafran


text:
Pauline Cushman

Pauline Cushman (born Harriet Wood; June 10, 1833 – December 2, 1893) was an American actress and a spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War. She is considered one of the most successful Civil War spies.

Early life
Harriet Wood, who later adopted the stage name of Pauline Cushman, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 10, 1833, the daughter of a Spanish merchant and a Frenchwoman (daughter of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's soldiers). Harriet and her brother William were raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her parents moved there to establish a trading post with indigenous peoples. In 1862, she made her stage debut in Louisville, Kentucky, a Union-occupied city. Later, she would travel to New York where she would take the stage name Pauline Cushman. Over the course of her life, Cushman was married to Jere Fryer, Charles C. Dickinson, and August Fichtner. She had three children: Charles, Ida, and an adopted daughter, Emma.

Career as a spy

After a Northern performance, Cushman was paid by two local pro-Confederate men to toast Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the performance. The theatre company forced her to quit, but she had other ideas. She had decided to ingratiate herself with the rebels by making the toast, while offering her services to the Union as a spy.

By fraternizing with rebel military commanders, she managed to conceal battle plans and drawings in her shoes, but was caught twice in 1864 and brought before Confederate General Braxton Bragg, tried by a military court, and sentenced to death by hanging. Though she was already ill, she acted worse off than she was. The Confederates had to postpone her execution. Cushman was spared hanging by the invasion of the area by Union troops. She was also wounded twice.

Some reports state that she returned to the South in her role as a spy, dressed in male uniform. She was awarded the rank of brevet major by General James A. Garfield, and made an honorary major by President Abraham Lincoln for her service to the Federal cause, and became known as "Miss Major Pauline Cushman." By the end of the war in 1865, she was touring the country giving lectures on her exploits as a spy.

Later life
Because her undercover activities on behalf of the government were secret, there is a lack of corroborative information about her life at this time. After the war, however, she began a tour celebrating her experiences as a Union spy, working at one point with P. T. Barnum. In 1865, a friend, Ferdinand Sarmiento, wrote an exaggerated biography titled The Life of Pauline Cushman: The celebrated Union Spy and Scout, detailing her early history, her entry into the secret service, notes, and memoranda.

She lost her child to sickness by 1868, and married again in 1872 in San Francisco, but was widowed within a year. Sources state that in 1879 she met Jere Fryer, and moved to Casa Grande, Arizona Territory, where they married and operated a hotel and livery stable. Jere Fryer became the sheriff of Pinal County. Their adopted daughter, Emma, died on April 17, 1888, at 6 years old of a seizure. As a result, the Fryers separated in 1890.

By 1892, she was living in poverty in El Paso, Texas. She had applied for back pension based on her first husband's military service which she received in the amount of $12 per month beginning in June 1893. Her last few years were spent in a boarding house in San Francisco, working as a seamstress and charwoman. Disabled from the effects of rheumatism and arthritis, she developed an addiction to pain medication, and on the night of 2 December 1893 she took a suicidal overdose of morphine. She was found the next morning by her landlady.

Death and legacy

She died as Pauline Fryer at the age of sixty. The time of her Civil War fame was recalled at her funeral, which was arranged by members of the Grand Army of the Republic; Cushman was buried with full military honors. "Major" Cushman's remains now rest in Officer's Circle at the Presidio's National Cemetery. Her simple gravestone recognizes her contribution to the Union's victory. It is marked, "Pauline C. Fryer, Union Spy."

In 1961, the television series Rawhide aired an episode, "The Blue Spy" with Pauline Cushman as the central character, portrayed by veteran actress Phyllis Thaxter.

A road at Fort Ritchie, Maryland a now decommissioned Army Post, was named in her honor.

Books

Articles

 * Herringshaw, Thomas William. 1909. "Cushman, Pauline". Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-Five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States; Illustrated with Three Thousand Vignette Portraits.

title: Pauline Cushman


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Knit cap

A knit cap is a piece of knitted headwear designed to provide warmth in cold weather. It usually has a simple tapered shape, although more elaborate variants exist. Historically made of wool, it is now often made of synthetic fibers.

Found all over the world where the climate demands warm clothing, knit caps are known by a variety of local names. In American English, this type of hat is known as a beanie or a watch cap, while in Canadian English, a knit cap is known as a toque, touque, or tuque (pronounced ).

Construction

Most knit caps are tapered at the top. The stretch of the knitting itself hugs the head, keeping the cap secure. They are sometimes topped with a pom-pom or loose tassels. Knit caps may have a folded brim, or none, and may be worn tightly fitting the head or loose on top. A South American tradition from the Andes Mountains is for the cap to have ear flaps, with strings for tying under the chin. A special type of cap called a balaclava folds down over the head with openings for just the face or for the eyes or mouth only.

Some modern variants are constructed as a parallel sided tube, with a draw-string closure at one end. This version can be worn as a neck-warmer with the draw-string loose and open, or as a hat with the draw-string pulled tight and closed.

Other names and history
Dating from the 15th century, the earliest type of knitted wool cap was produced in the Welsh town of Monmouth.

The earliest surviving example of a "Monmouth cap" is held by Monmouth Museum and was knitted from coarse 2 ply wool. The cap was made by casting on at the lower edge and knitting in the round towards the top. The crown consists of a classic rounded top, with the last remaining stitches cast off. The yarn tail was wrapped around just below the castoff stitches to gather them, leaving the little lump commonly, but inexactly, referred to as a button. The doubled brim was formed by picking up stitches inside the body of the cap, and worked down to the original cast on. The cast on loops were picked up, and a 3 needle bind-off worked to finish and join the inner brim to the outer cap, ending with a little loop.

Each hat was made weatherproof by felting, a process which reduced its size. The distance from the centre to the hem in this example varies between 5 and 6 inches (150 mm). Thousands of Monmouth caps were made, but their relatively low cost, and the ease with which the knitting could unravel, means that few remain.

Historically, the wool knit cap was an extremely common form of headgear for seamen, fishers, hunters and others spending their working day outdoors from the 18th century and forward, and is still commonly used for this purpose in the northern regions of North America, Europe, Asia, and other cold regions of the world.

Being found all over the world where climate demands a warm hat, the knit cap can be found under a multitude of local names. In parts of the English-speaking world, this type of knitted hat is traditionally called a beanie. However, in parts of Canada and the US, the word 'beanie' can additionally be used to denote a different design of brimless cap, which is floppy and made up of joined panels of felt, twill, or other tightly woven cloth rather than being knitted.

A knitted cap with ear flaps is often called a toboggan, or sherpa. The term toboggan is also sometimes used for knitted caps in Southern American English.

Members of the United States military commonly refer to a knitted cap as a watch cap, as it is the headgear worn while "standing watch" on a ship or guard post. In Western Pennsylvania English (Pittsburghese), it is known as a tossle cap. It may also simply be called a winter hat.

Other names for knitted caps include woolly hat (British English) or wool hat (American English); bobble hat, sock hat, knit hat, poof ball hat, bonnet, sock cap, stocking cap, skullcap, ski hat, sugan, or chook.

Balaclava
The pull-down knit cap that goes from the crown over the ears and around the neck, with a hole for the face, was known in the army of the British Empire as an Uhlan cap or Templar cap. During the Crimean War, handmade pull-down caps were sent to the British troops to help protect them from the bitterly cold weather before or after the Battle of Balaclava. The cap became popularly known a Balaclava helmet or just balaclava among the soldiers.

Scandinavian tophue

In Scandinavia, caps resembling a typical knit cap with a pom-pom have been in use since the Viking Age and possibly earlier. The terms tophue (Danish), topplue (Norwegian), toppluva (Swedish) mean 'top cap', and refer to the pom-pom.

The Viking-age Rällinge statuette, possibly a depiction of the god Freyr, wears what might be a pointed cap with pom-pom.

Early caps were probably sewn or made with nålebinding, but were knitted from the 17th century onwards, when knitting became known in Scandinavia. Inspired by the phrygian cap of the French Revolution, it became largely ubiquitous during the 18th and 19th century. It is still found in many of the Scandinavian folk costumes for men.

Canadian toque, tuque or touque
In Canadian English, a knit cap is more commonly known as a toque (pronounced ; also spelled tuque or touque). It is traditionally made of wool and worn in the winter, though in recent years knit toques have resurfaced as an extremely popular daily fashion item. They are used all year round, not only outdoors for weather but as an indoor fashion accessory.

Toque is also commonly used across New England, especially among the working class. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it is called a chook or chuke.

The term tuque is French Canadian. It is widely known in Québecois culture as can be seen through its usage in La guerre des tuques.

The Canadian-English term was assimilated from the Canadian-French word tuque, and first appeared in this context around 1870. The fashion is said to have originated with the coureurs de bois, French and Métis fur traders, who kept their woollen nightcaps on for warmth during cold winter days. This spelling is attributed to a number of different sources, one being from Middle Breton, the language spoken by Breton immigrants at the founding of New France. In Old Breton, it was spelled toc; in Modern Breton, it is spelled tok, meaning simply 'hat'.

The French Canadian term likely has its origins with the long hats that were worn by the Voyageurs as they traversed westward on the rivers of North America. The term was picked up by the Blackfeet and entered Chinook Jargon, spreading to the Pacific and the Klondike. Another source suggests that it is a Francization of the Spanish tocar, to touch, as the long "end of the sock cap" of the Voyageurs hung down and touched their shoulders; yet another source suggests that the word is borrowed from "the old Languedoc dialect word tuc" meaning "summit" or "the head of a mountain".

The Canadian English spelling of toque, on the other hand, is borrowed from the original usage (see Toque). Toques include conical or plumed hats from previous centuries, the tall white hats worn by chefs, and modern snug hats. This spelling (toque) also appears in the 1941 Dictionary of Mississippi Valley French as a "style of hair-dressing among the Indians". This was a tall, conical hairstyle not unlike the shape of the Voyageur cap described above.

Dictionaries are divided on the matter of spelling, with the Gage Canadian preferring toque and the Nelson Canadian listing tuque (the Nelson Gage of a few years later would settle on toque). The first Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles lists separate entries and definitions for both toque and tuque which cross-reference each other. An illustrative line drawing is presented with the latter. Perhaps most importantly, the Canadian Oxford chose toque, and as the Canadian Press Stylebook bows to the Canadian Oxford as the final word in spelling, most Canadian publications have followed suit.

Though the requirement of the toque to have a pom-pom or no can be a hard line for some Canadians, most of the country agrees: one of these three spellings must be “correct,” no matter what the hat's shape may be. As the Canadian Encyclopedia claims, “We all know a tuque when we see one, [we just] can’t agree on how to spell the word."

The toque is similar to the Phrygian cap, and, as such, a red tuque during the 1837 Patriotes Rebellion became a symbol of French-Canadian nationalism. The symbol was revived briefly by the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) in the 1960s. Despite this, the toque is also considered a symbol of Canadian identity, due to its ubiquity among English and French Canadians alike. It is also notable for having been the headwear of SCTV's Bob and Doug McKenzie.

The word is also occasionally spelled touque, though this is not considered a standard spelling by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. In 2013, CBC Edmonton launched a poll to ask viewers how they spelled the word. The options given were toque, tuque or touque. Nearly 6,500 people voted, with Edmontonians remaining divided on the issue. Though touque was voted most popular in that instance, there is almost no formal usage to support its popularity. In some sections of Canada, a tuque with a brim on it, commonly worn by snowboarders, is nicknamed a bruque (a brimmed tuque).

British bobble hat

In England, a knit cap may be known as a bobble hat, whether or not it has a yarn "bobble" or pom-pom on top.

Bobble hats were traditionally considered utilitarian cold-weather wear. In the early 21st century they were considered popular only with geeks and nerds. A surprise rise in popularity, driven initially by the Geek-Chic trend, saw them become a fashionable and with a real fur bobble, luxury designer item.

In the late 20th century, in the United Kingdom, they (like the anorak) were associated with utilitarian un-fashionability or with older football supporters, as they had been popular in club colours during the 1960s and 1970s. Along with the pin-on rosette and the football scarf, the bobble hat was seen as traditional or old-fashioned British working-class football regalia.

In popular culture

Knitted caps are common in cold climates, and are worn worldwide in various forms. They have become the common headgear for stereotypical dockworkers and sailors in movies and television. Bill Murray wore this type of hat in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, possibly as a parody of the red tuque (or Phrygian cap) worn by French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

Michael Nesmith of The Monkees also wore a knitted cap in his television series, as did Jay in the films of the View Askewniverse, Robert Clothier's character "Relic" in the long-running Canadian TV series The Beachcombers, and Hanna-Barbera's character Loopy de Loop wore a knit cap as well. Michael Parks wore one as James "Jim" Bronson in the popular series Then Came Bronson. Robert Conrad also had worn one in his role of coureur des bois in the epic TV series Centennial. Bruce Weitz's character Mick Belker wore this hat throughout almost every episode of Hill Street Blues.

Everest from the series PAW Patrol wears a teal knit cap with white trimmings that she is rarely seen without.

Characters in the animated series South Park, including Eric Cartman and Stan Marsh, usually wear knitted caps. Jayne Cobb from the TV series Firefly wore an orange sherpa knitted and sent to him by his mother in the episode "The Message". The character Compo on the British TV show Last of the Summer Wine is almost always seen wearing a knitted cap.

Edd from Ed, Edd n Eddy wears a black, loose knit cap almost every time he's on screen, which covers something on his head that he's embarrassed about.

The guitarist for the Irish band U2, The Edge, is also known for wearing a knitted cap while performing, or during interviews. Tom Delonge, guitarist and vocalist of the pop punk band Blink-182 is also known to wear a knitted cap during live performances. Rob Caggiano, music producer and former guitarist for thrash metal band Anthrax, is often seen wearing a black one. Lee Hartney from The Smith Street Band is regularly seen in a black knit cap, even during an Australian summer. Canadian Daniel Powter also wore a blue knitted cap during the music video for "Bad Day". Knitted caps are also worn commonly by hip hop artists. Masao Inaba from Revelations: Persona wears one.

Santa Claus is often shown with a knitted cap or a sewn cap following the typical Scandinavian-style knitted cap with a pom-pom, a trait he has inherited from the Germanic/Scandinavian tradition. The Scandinavian tomte is likewise usually depicted with a red knitted cap, such a cap is also used as a national symbol (sometimes negatively) in Norway.

Famous instances of tuques (the Canadian knitted cap) in pop culture include:

 * the SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, whose signature outfits included a tuque.
 * Bonhomme Carnaval, the mascot of the Quebec Winter Carnival wears the traditional red tuque and Ceinture fléchée of the province's original French settlers.
 * Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier, who wore a toque over his helmet during the 6th annual National Hockey League Winter Classic on January 1, 2014.
 * The 1984 Québécois film La guerre des tuques (The War of the Tuques), which is about an enormous snowball fight.
 * Jacques Plante, the Hall of Fame goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team throughout the 1950s, was one of the more notable wearers of the tuque.
 * José Théodore, another Canadiens goaltender, wore a tuque on top of his goalie mask during the 2003 Heritage Classic game (which was played at temperatures below -15 °C).
 * La Tuque, a town in Quebec named after a nearby hill that resembles a tuque.

title: Knit cap


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Kurt Alder

Kurt Alder (10 July 1902 – 20 June 1958) was a German chemist and Nobel laureate.

Biography
Alder was born in the industrial area of Königshütte, Silesia (modern day Chorzów, Upper Silesia, Poland), where he received his early schooling. Alder left the area when Königshütte became part of Poland in 1922. He studied chemistry at the University of Berlin from 1922, and later at the University of Kiel where his PhD was awarded in 1926 for work supervised by Otto Paul Hermann Diels.

In 1930 Alder was appointed reader for chemistry at Kiel, and promoted to lecturer in 1934. In 1936 he left Kiel to join I G Farben Industrie at Leverkusen, where he worked on synthetic rubber. Then in 1940 he was appointed Professor of Experimental Chemistry and Chemical Technology at the University of Cologne and Director of the Institute of Chemistry there. Throughout this time and despite the many obstacles to original research in Europe at the time, he continued a systematic program of investigations of his particular interests in the synthesis of organic compounds. In all he published more than 151 papers in this field.

In 1945 he worked closely with the inventor of EDTA, Ferdinand Münz. In 1949 they published a paper together on diene synthesis and additions

Alder received several honorary degrees and other awards, such as the 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry which he shared with his teacher Diels for their work on what is now known as the Diels–Alder reaction. The lunar crater Alder is named in his honour. The insecticide aldrin, created through a Diels–Alder reaction, is also named after the scientist.

Alder died in June 1958, aged 55. The cause of his death is unknown, however his body was found in his apartment in Cologne, Germany after two weeks. His niece, who found the body, stated that the odor of rotting flesh was so bad that she could smell it from the street outside. Gertrud Alder reported that her husband was incredibly distressed when she last saw him and often muttered the phrase "Les Jardins du Souvenir" (The Memory Garden) whilst writing out his research notes.

title: Kurt Alder