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Paul Fierlinger

Paul Fierlinger (born March 15, 1936, as Pavel Fierlinger) is a creator of animated films and shorts, especially animated documentaries. He is also a part-time lecturer at University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Early life
Paul Fierlinger was born on March 15, 1936, in Ashiya, Japan]. His father, Jan Fierlinger, was a Czechoslovak diplomat, and his uncle [[Zdeněk Fierlinger was a prominent figure in the Czechoslovak communist regime from 1948 until 1968. He spent the WWII years in the United States. He studied at a boarding school in Poděbrady, where his schoolmates were Miloš Forman, Ivan Passer and Václav Havel. There, at age 12 Fierlinger created his first animated film by shooting drawings from his flipbook with a 16 mm Bolex camera. His experiences of youth and the difficulties of adapting to life in America and then returning to Czechoslovakia are documented in his biopic animated film Drawn From Memory.

European career
In 1955, he graduated from the School of Applied Arts in Bechyně. After two years of military service, he freelanced in Prague as a book illustrator and gag cartoonist for cultural periodicals under the pen name Fala. Fierlinger established himself in 1958 as Czechoslovakia's first independent producer of animated films, providing 16 mm films from his home studio in Prague for Czechoslovak Television and the 16 mm division of Kratký Film. Fierlinger was one of the first animators in all of the communist countries across the Eastern Bloc to get away with privately producing animated films, which he sold to many state-run film and television studios across Czechoslovakia. Thus, he created approximately 200 films, ranging from 10-second station breaks to 10-minute theatrical releases and TV children’s shorts.

In 1967, Fierlinger moved from communist Czechoslovakia to the Netherlands for freedom, where he pitched for a number of station breaks for Dutch television in Hilversum. He then went to Paris, France to work for a short stint as a spot animator for Radio Television France and ended up in Munich, West Germany for half a year, having been offered the job of key animator on a feature film at Linda Films, The Conference of the Animals. In West Germany, prior to his departure to the United States, he married Helena Strakovà, a Czechoslovak compatriot and photographer.

AR&T
In the United States Fierlinger formed AR&T|AR&T Associates Inc., his own animation house, in 1971. It produced animated segments for ABC’s Harry Reasoner specials and PBS’ Sesame Street, including the popular Teeny Little Super Guy series; a network ID for TVPaint; Nickelodeon; and more. Since 1971, AR&T produced over 700 films, of which several hundred were television commercials. Many of these films received considerable recognition, including an Academy Award nomination for It’s So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House. Other awards include some from the Ottawa International Animation Festival for And Then I’ll Stop, a 1989 film on drug and alcohol abuse. At that time, Paul and Helena were divorced.

1990s and beyond
Fierlinger became a steady provider of many TV commercials and sales films for US Healthcare (now Aetna), winning a variety of international awards. At this time he met and married Sandra Schuette, a fine-arts painter and printmaker at the Boston Museum of Art School and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Together they developed a small series of interstitials for Nickelodeon called Amby & Dexter: The Way of Silent; a Sesame Street series called Alice Kadeezenberry; and a twenty-minute film of children’s songs for the Children’s Book of the Month Club called Playtime.

During this time, Fierlinger received a commission from PBS’ American Playhouse to create a one-hour-long autobiography, called Drawn From Memory.

In 1997, Fierlinger received a PEW Fellowship in the Arts award for the body of his work.

In the late 1990s, ITVS, an agency of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, commissioned Fierlinger to create a half-hour PBS special called Still Life With Animated Dogs. This film, about dogs and other things of a divine nature, premiered on national feed March 29, 2001. The film went on to win First Prize at the 2002 International Festival of Animation in Zagreb, and the Peabody Award in April, 2001.

At the end of 1999, production on Still Life had to be interrupted for several months so that the Fierlingers could develop and begin the production of an animation series for Oxygen Network, Drawn from Life: two-minute films that feature the voices and simple stories of real-life women. That series won the Grand Prix of 2000 at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The Fierlingers' own production of My Dog Tulip, based on the book of the same title by British author J. R. Ackerley, featured the voice talents of Christopher Plummer, the late Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini.

Paul and Sandra Fierlinger currently live and work out of their Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, home and studio.

Selected filmography

 * Rainbowland (1978)
 * It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House (1979)
 * Drawn from Memory (1995)
 * Still Life with Animated Dogs (2000)
 * My Dog Tulip (2009)
 * Me... Jane (2014, animator, director and painter)

title: Paul Fierlinger


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Friedrich Ludwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen

Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (Friedrich Ludwig Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen) (31 January 1746 – 15 February 1818) was a Prussian general.

Early life
Frederick Louis was the eldest son of Henry August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1715-1796) and his wife, Wilhelmine Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Öhringen (1717-1794). His grandfather, Christian Kraft, was a younger son of Henry Frederick, Count of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Biography
He began his military career as a boy, serving against the Prussians in the last years of the Seven Years' War. Entering the Prussian army after the peace, he was, as a result of his princely rank, at once made a major; and in 1775 he was elevated to lieutenant-colonel. In 1778 Frederick Louis took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession and at about the same time was made a colonel. Shortly before the death of King Frederick the Great, he was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed Chief of a Regiment. For some years the prince did garrison duty at Breslau, until in 1791 he was made governor of Berlin. In 1794 he commanded a corps in the Prussian army on the Rhine and distinguished himself greatly in many engagements, particularly in the Battle of Kaiserslautern on 20 September.

Frederick Louis was at this time the most popular soldier in the Prussian army. Blücher wrote of him that he was a leader of whom the Prussian army might well be proud. He succeeded his father in the principality, and acquired additional lands by his marriage with a daughter of Count von Hoym. In 1806 Frederick Louis, now a general of infantry, was appointed to command the left wing of the Prussian forces opposing Napoleon, having under him Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia; but, feeling that his career had been that of a prince and not that of a professional soldier, he allowed his quartermaster-general, the incompetent Oberst (Colonel) Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach to influence him unduly. Disputes soon broke out between Hohenlohe and the commander-in-chief the Duke of Brunswick, the armies marched hither and thither without effective results, and finally Frederick Louis's army was almost destroyed by Napoleon at the Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806.

The prince displayed his usual personal bravery in the battle, and managed to rally a portion of his corps near Erfurt, whence he retreated into Prussia. But the pursuers followed him up closely and Marshal Joachim Murat intercepted his corps at Prenzlau. On the morning of 28 October, a fortnight after Jena and three weeks after the beginning of hostilities, Hohenlohe refused two French demands that he surrender. However, the initial fighting went against the Prussians in the Battle of Prenzlau. Massenbach, who had gone to negotiate with the French, suddenly turned up with the news that the French completely surrounded them, which was untrue. Influenced by his chief of staff and assured by Murat "on his honour" that 100,000 French had encircled his forces, Hohenlohe capitulated with 10,000 men (in fact, Murat had no more than 12,000 near Prenzlau, including only 3,000 infantry).

Frederick Louis's former popularity and influence in the army had now the worst possible effect, for the commandants of garrisons everywhere lost heart and followed his example. The capitulation of Pasewalk occurred on 29 October, the capitulation of Stettin on the night of 29–30 October, and Küstrin surrendered on 1 November. Before the month of November was over, the Siege of Magdeburg ended in a capitulation. West of the Elbe River, the Sieges of Hameln, Nienburg, and Plassenburg also ended badly for Prussia.

After two years spent as a prisoner-of-war in France, Frederick Louis retired to Sławięcice Palace (Schloss Slawentzitz) and its estates, living in self-imposed obscurity until his death. He had, in August 1806, just before the outbreak of the War of the Fourth Coalition, resigned the principality to his eldest son, not being willing to become a mediatized ruler under Württemberg suzerainty.

Marriage and issue
On 8 April 1782 in Gleina, he married Countess Marie Amalie Christiane Charlotte Luise Anna von Hoym (1763-1840), daughter Count Julius Gebhard von Hoym (d. 1769) and his wife, Christiane Charlotte von Dieskau, later Princess von der Osten-Sacken (1733-1811). They had:

 * Prince August of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen; he married Louise of House of Württemberg (1789-1851) and had issue
 * Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1787-1858), she married Prince Georg Ludwig Moritz of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg (1786-1836), no issue
 * Princess Emilie of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1788-1859), she married Count Albrech August Ludwig of Erbach-Fürstenau (1787-1851) and had issue
 * Prince Wilhelm Ludwig Eduard of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1789-1790)
 * Princess Auguste of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1793-1821), she married Charles, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld and had issue
 * Prince Ludwig Karl of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1794-1794)
 * Prince Adolf of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, married Princess Luise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1799-1881) and had issue
 * Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1798-1829)

Death
Frederick Louis died in Slawentzitz in Upper Silesia in 1818. He was succeeded by his sons August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen and Prince Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen.

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


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Tosia Altman

Tosia Altman (טוסיה אלטמן; 24 August 1919 – 26 May 1943) was a courier and smuggler for Hashomer Hatzair and the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB) during the German occupation of Poland and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Born into a well-off family of Zionist leanings, she joined Hashomer Hatzair and became part of the central leadership before the war. After the invasion of Poland, she fled with the leadership of the youth movements to Vilnius. Volunteering as a courier, she passed herself off as a Polish gentile and risked her life to visit ghettos, first to organize underground education and later to warn them of the impending mass extermination of Jews.

After the formation of the ŻOB in the Warsaw Ghetto, Altman was appointed a liaison to the Home Army. She smuggled weapons and explosives into the ghetto and established a chapter of the ŻOB in the Kraków Ghetto. During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, she acted as a courier between bunkers. Seeking shelter at the command bunker at 18 Miła Street, she was one of six to escape when the Germans discovered it. Despite suffering wounds to the leg and head, Altman escaped from the ghetto via the sewers. She was captured two weeks later when the factory she was sheltering in caught fire. Severely burned, she was handed over to the Gestapo and died two days later.

Early life
Altman was born on 24 August 1919 to Anka and Gustaw Altman in Lipno, Poland, near the city of Włocławek. Her father, a watchmaker, owned a jewelry shop in Włocławek and the family was relatively well-off. Although her father had been raised in a Hasidic household, Altman's parents had a liberal interpretation of the Jewish faith and encouraged Altman to study Polish and Hebrew. Influenced by her father's General Zionist convictions, Altman studied at a Hebrew-language gymnasium and joined the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement at the age of eleven. Elected as a representative of the local branch of Hashomer Hatzair, she attended the Fourth World Convention in 1935. Inspired to immigrate to Israel, she joined a training kibbutz in Częstochowa in 1938, but Hashomer Hatzair soon appointed her to the central leadership of youth education in Warsaw.

Courier
Upon the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in September 1939, the Zionist youth movements urged their members to flee eastward to avoid the Germans. With Adam Rand, a friend from Hashomer Hatzair, Altman walked to Rovno. When the Soviet Union invaded, Altman and the youth movement leadership evacuated to Vilna, under Polish and then Lithuanian control until June 1940. Altman joined the headquarters of Hashomer Hatzair in Vilna, and helped to organize several unsuccessful attempts to send members of the youth movements illegally to Palestine.

The youth movements were concerned about their friends and relatives trapped under Nazi occupation. Because most of the leaders had fled, the remaining members of youth movements could not organize effectively. It was therefore decided to send some of the leadership back into the General Government region of occupied Poland. Altman was considered to be an inspiring leader and good at organizing. Her blonde hair and fluent Polish meant that she could easily pass as a gentile. Most youth movement couriers were women, because Jewish men could be distinguished by their circumcision.

After two failed attempts to cross the Soviet and German borders, in December 1939 she visited her family in Włocławek and returned to Warsaw, the first youth movement leader to do so. Altman traveled frequently to Galicia and Częstochowa despite restrictions on Jews traveling by train, where she attempted to organize clandestine education and even training kibbutzim. She sent postcards to youth movement leaders in Vienna, Vilna, and Switzerland, describing the suffering of the Jews under the Nazi regime. After the walling-off of the Warsaw Ghetto, her own family trapped inside, Altman continued to travel under false papers despite the fact that to be caught outside the ghetto was a capital offense. She sent food packages into the Warsaw Ghetto for her family and friends.

On 24 December 1941, Altman and Haika Grossman managed to return to the Vilna Ghetto, where they met with Abba Kovner and the leadership of the United Partisan Organization. Altman described the horrible conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto, but still urged the Zionist leaders to evacuate there since the Vilna Ghetto was being systematically depopulated in a series of massacres at Ponary. Kovner disagreed, as he believed that there was a systematic plan to exterminate all Jews under Nazi control. The youth movements decided to promulgate the word about mass killings and encourage the ghettoized Polish Jews to resist with force. On her trip back to Warsaw, Altman visited several eastern Polish ghettos, including Grodno, to pass along this message.

Smuggling arms
Upon her return to Warsaw, Altman found that the Jews were unwilling to accept that they were about to be exterminated, even after reports arrived of a death camp at Chełmno. In early 1942, she collaborated with other leftist groups to establish a self-defense organization, but their efforts came to nothing because they were unable to secure any arms. In July, during the Grossaktion Warsaw and after the establishment of the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB), Altman, due to her Aryan appearance and Polish language skills, was appointed a liaison with the Home Army and Armia Ludowa. Although these Polish resistance organizations refused to offer any substantial help, Altman helped smuggle some grenades and explosives. Living on the Aryan side of the city, she also helped Jews escape from the ghetto and find places to hide. In a letter to Adam Rand, then in Vienna, in April 1942, she wrote, "Jews are dying before my eyes and I am powerless to help. Did you ever try to shatter a wall with your head?"

In September, the Grossaktion finally ceased, leaving less than 70,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, one-fifth the original population. The leadership of Hashomer Hatzair was damaged by Gestapo arrests and an explosives cache of another smuggler was detected. Altman was joined by Arie Wilner, another Hashomer Hatzair activist, in an attempt to convince the Polish resistance groups to arm them. She also continued her visits to other ghettos, this time organizing armed resistance. She was instrumental in setting up a chapter of the ŻOB in the Kraków Ghetto. In October, the Home Army recognized the ŻOB and began to provide weapons, starting in December.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and death
In January 1943, during the next wave of deportations, the Warsaw Jews put up scattered armed resistance. The ŻOB infiltrated the Jews rounded up for deportation and launched a surprise attack on the Germans. Most were killed, but the leader, Mordechai Anielewicz, managed to escape. During the action, Altman returned to the ghetto with another female smuggler, Tema Schneiderman, to fight with the ŻOB. Both were apprehended and taken to the Umschlagplatz for deportation to Treblinka, but Altman was released by a Jewish ghetto policeman acting for Hashomer Hatzair. The resistance was partly successful: the Germans only deported 5,000 Jews, rather than the 8,000 that they had wanted to. After the January skirmish, the Home Army began to support the ŻOB in earnest, and the remaining Jews trained and built bunkers in preparation for the final liquidation. Altman and Wilner were also able to buy a few weapons on the black market. Wilner was arrested in March, but he did not betray the resistance even under torture. Afraid that the Germans had tracked her down, Altman returned to the ghetto, replaced by Yitzhak Zuckerman as liaison to the Polish resistance.

On 18 April, German forces surrounded the ghetto in preparation for its liquidation. Altman, whose function was still to relay messages, reported the initial success of the resistance to Zuckerman via telephone. On 21 April, as the Germans began to burn the ghetto, Anielewicz took refuge in a bunker at 18 Mila Street; Altman became the courier between the command bunker and another bunker where the wounded were held. She also rescued some fighters from the fires. At this time, the fighters decided to try to escape via the sewer system. When the Germans discovered the Mila Street bunker on 8 May, they filled it with gas to force the inhabitants to leave. Anielewicz and many other resistance fighters committed suicide. Altman, although wounded, was one of six who managed to escape and was found by Zivia Lubetkin and Marek Edelman, who smuggled her out to the Aryan side.

Altman hid with other Jewish fighters in a celluloid factory. On 24 May, an accidental fire broke out. Severely burned, Altman was forced into the open where she was captured by police who turned her over to the Gestapo. She died of her injuries two days later.

Legacy
Altman was posthumously awarded the Silver Cross of the Military Order of Virtuti Militari by the decision of the President of the Polish People's Republic on April 1, 1948, for her merits in the underground struggle during the occupation.

She was portrayed by American actress Leelee Sobieski in the 2001 television film Uprising.

title: Tosia Altman


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Beijing West railway station

Beijingxi (Beijing West) railway station, colloquially referred to as West Station , is located in western Beijing's Fengtai District. Opened in early 1996 after three years of construction, it was the largest railway station in Asia with an area of 510000 m2, before being surpassed by Shanghai Hongqiao railway station in platform capacity. The station serves in average 150,000–180,000 passengers per day with a maximum of 400,000 people per day. It was expanded during the 2000s decade, during which several platforms were added. It also has a fairly large number of car-parking spaces.

Overview
The construction concept of Beijing West railway station began as early as 1959. It was planned and researched three times in history, but the first two were put on hold for political and economic reasons. For the third time, in 1989, the preparatory work, adjustment planning, and re-reporting were resumed and finally approved by the state. Beijing West railway station project was jointly funded by the Beijing Municipal Government and the Ministry of Railways. It was a key project in China's eighth five-year plan with a total investment of 6.5 billion yuan.

After the completion of the Beijing West railway station, the passenger pressure at the Beijing railway station was greatly alleviated. Beijing West station is the passenger train departure station of Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway, the two main railway lines in China: Beijing–Guangzhou railway (connected via the Beijing-Guangzhou railway west long link) and the Beijing–Kowloon railway, and a high-speed railway line. Most passenger trains in China's Central South, South China, Southwest, and Northwest China depart from Beijing West Railway Station. As of May 2011, Beijing West railway station had received more than 110 trains per day, of which about 100 departed. The Beijing underground cross-city railway, which passes through the urban area of Beijing and connects to Beijing railway station, was opened to traffic on 20 March 2015.

Beijing railway station is one of the transportation hubs in Beijing. There are bus hubs in North Square and South Square. A large number of buses depart from there; a taxi rank is also built underground; and the subway station reserved for construction has been completed by the end of 2011, a transfer station between Line 7 and Line 9.

Beijing West railway station's architectural style, building quality, design and planning have been criticised and controversial since its opening, but despite this, the station is still one of Beijing's most eye-catching buildings. At the end of 2007, the "Beijing New Landmarks Selection" event sponsored by the Beijing News announced the top ten new landmarks in Beijing after the public vote in January 2008. Beijing West railway station unexpectedly took 51,335 votes, second only to the National Stadium, becoming the new landmark in Beijing with the second most votes.

Background
As early as the 1950s, the concept of building the second passenger-railway station for Beijing and the underground diameter line had been formed. In the autumn of 1959, when the Beijing railway station, one of the “Ten Great Buildings” erected in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the National Day of the People's Republic of China, was just completed, the then Premier of the State Council, Zhou Enlai, during the process of reviewing the planning of Beijing's railway, affirmed the suggestion of a west passenger station in Beijing. In the general layout of the Beijing Railway Hub revised in September 1960, the idea at the time was to use Beijing West Railway Station and Beijing Railway Station as the main passenger terminal of the hub, and may connect the two major stations through the center of Beijing through four parallel underground tunnels. The site of the West Railway Station is directly opposite the Gongzhufen (Tomb of the Princess). The Beijing Municipal Government has correspondingly reserved land for the lotus pond that was still in the suburbs in the urban master plan. Therefore, for a long period of time thereafter, the lotus pond area has been a warehouse area dominated by simple bungalows. No permanent building has been constructed. However, due to the reduction in the scale of construction during the three-year difficult period, the planning has not made much progress. The subsequent start of the Cultural Revolution led to the suspension of the overall urban planning work in Beijing and the cancellation of the planning agency.

The first plan (1975–76)
In January 1975, the first session of the 4th National People's Congress was convened. Deng Xiaoping was elected Vice Premier of the State Council and began to preside over the daily work of the Central Committee and the State Council; Wan Li was then appointed as the Minister of Railways, responsible for rectifying the chaotic railway transportation system at that time; In March, the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Strengthening Railway Work" was issued as a mobilization order for the comprehensive rectification of the railway, and it soon achieved results, and then proposed to build the Beijing West railway station again. At that time, the railway department and planning department were still very vague about the location and construction plan of Beijing West railway station. There was no detailed design before, and whether the planned underground diameter line was retained or not, and the technical plan was not finalized, resulting in the design of Beijing West railway station. It is difficult to decide whether to choose through or end. As agreed by the Ministry of Railways and the Beijing Municipal Government, it was decided to jointly establish a planning working group to be responsible for researching and selecting the site and construction plan of the West Railway Station. The Third Design Institute of the Ministry of Railways (now China Railway Design Group Co., Ltd.) and Beijing Architectural Design Institute (Now Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd.) were responsible for specific technical work.

After some investigation, comparison and discussion, the planning working group came up with the preliminary plan for Beijing West railway station in November 1975 and determined that the Beijing West station was a pass-through station. The station's site is located at the southwest corner of Lianhua Bridge. The road runs northwest–southeast, adopts a triangular square, and the station faces the center of the overpass. However, the political situation changed again soon after, affected by the "Counterattack the Right-Deviationist Reversal-of-Verdicts Trend" in 1976, and the site plan was shelved without approval.

The second plan (1981–85)
Into the 1980s, with the gradual implementation of the reform and opening up policy, the pressure of China's railway transportation infrastructure has increased greatly, and transportation capacity is tight. By 1981, Beijing's railway passenger traffic had increased sharply, and 108 pairs of passenger trains were running every day in the central station, with an average daily passenger volume of 352,000; Beijing Station, as the largest railway passenger station in Beijing at that time, was already overloaded in operation, the annual passenger flow of Beijing Station in 1981 was 27.72 million, equivalent to 78,000 passengers per day. On 3 October 1981, the then Mayor of Beijing Jiao Ruoyu and Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Duan Junyi reported on Beijing's railway transport situation to Vice Premier Wan Li and talked about the design and planning of the Beijing West Railway Station. This was the third such occurrence in the history of Beijing Municipal Government. It is proposed to construct the Beijing West station as soon as possible. In early December 1981, the Beijing Railway Bureau issued a letter to the Ministry of Railways and the Beijing Municipal Government to apply for the construction of the Beijing West Railway Station, and the preliminary design was officially launched. Subsequently, the planning team headed by former Minister of Railways Lu Zhengcao, together with personnel from the Ministry of Railways, Beijing Railway Administration, and the Third Design Institute of the Ministry of Railways, conducted on-site inspections to select the site for the station. The team members once climbed the Xiaotu Mountain on the north bank of the lotus pond to get an overview of the local area. Due to the dry season at that time and the excessive extraction of groundwater in the lotus pond area over the years, more than 20 hectares of ponds were dried up, overgrown with weeds, and deserted; the design team believed that this area did not occupy arable land and there would be less demolition, which was in line with the plan and saved money. It instructed the Third Design Institute of the Ministry of Railways on the spot to arrange the West Station at this location, and the design drawings needed to be submitted within three months. After the meeting, the group forwarded the site selection opinions to the Beijing Municipal Government for comments.

The third plan (1989–1993)
By the end of the 1980s, the problem of tight passenger capacity in the central Beijing railway hub became more and more serious. It was more difficult to cope with demand by relying solely on one main passenger station and two auxiliary passenger station (Beijing North and Beijing South) with insufficient equipment and capacity. Those three stations have not been expanded on a large scale for more than 30 years, and the passenger volume of the Beijing area has increased four-fold from 1970 to 1988. The construction of the Beijing West railway station has become an urgent need. In February 1989, the Beijing Municipal Government again formally proposed the construction of the Beijing West station. In March of the same year, the Beijing Municipal Government led the establishment of the "Beijing West Railway Station Preliminary Working Group", which convened a number of design institutes with certain strengths across the country to conduct an architectural design competition. At the same time, with the approval of the State Council, the pre-relocation works for the construction of the Beijing West station were launched during 1989. Involving the Xibianmen Goods Yard of Guang'anmen railway station and many factories and residential areas at Beijing West, the process had been large, difficult, and costly. At that time, the state's total investment in the project was 2.3 billion yuan, with the demolition alone costing more than one billion yuan.

In March 1990, the working group compiled and reported the "Beijing West Railway Station Plan and Tasks", and the Yangfangdian Road plan that reached a consensus as early as 1983 was officially "thawed". Since August 1990, the architectural plans of 7 design units have been selected. After several rounds of demonstration and selection of various design plans, the implementation design plan had been determined. On 30 September 1990, the Beijing Municipal Government, the Ministry of Railways, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications submitted to the State Planning Commission the document "On the basis of the revised plan for the Beijing West Railway Station", and proposed an investment of 2 billion yuan. Construction started in 1991 and opened in 1993. Used, the finishing work was completed in 1994. In March 1991, the State Council formally approved the design specification of the Beijing West station.

Renovation and Expansion
The designed capacity of Beijing West Railway Station is 60 to 70 pairs of trains per day, but the actual number of trains sent during the Spring Festival peak period is as high as 90 to 100 pairs. This overload operation has caused great pressure on the already imperfect station facilities. In 2001, the Beijing Municipal Government took advantage of Beijing's bid for the Olympic Games to launch the "Beijing First Impression" project aimed at the Capital Airport and its surrounding areas, as well as major railway stations in Beijing and its surrounding environment. Public facilities and places have been comprehensively renovated and renovated, but the capacity of the West Railway Station to receive and dispatch trains is still tight. In the second half of 2003, the Ministry of Railways and the Beijing Railway Bureau started the second phase project of Beijing West Railway Station, adding three platforms 7, 8 and 9 on the basis of the original 6 platforms. After the completion of the project, Beijing West Railway Station can send trains daily. Boosted to 137 pairs. At the same time, a large-scale transformation of the station platform has been carried out, including improving lighting facilities, transforming awnings, and raising the platform. On October 2 of the same year, the entry-exit joint inspection hall of Beijing West Railway Station was opened for passengers of the Beijing-Kowloon through train (Z97 times), so the Beijing-Kowloon through train no longer stopped at Changping Station. The renovated Beijing West Railway Station canopy is the first large-span steel structure canopy in China.

In 2005, in order to cooperate with the closure of Beijing South Railway Station, the Beijing West Railway Station expanded the No. 9 platform and newly built the No. 10 platform to divert part of the passenger flow of Beijing South Railway Station. In addition, in the expansion project, the canopies of platforms 1 to 7 were rebuilt at the same time, and the canopies of platforms 8 to 10 were newly built, using large-span, arc-shaped, steel truss-structured canopies without platform columns.

In February 2009, more than 13 million passengers got on and off at the Beijing West Railway Station during the 2009 Spring Festival, setting a record high since the station was established.

According to the "Medium and Long-Term Railway Network Planning (2008 Adjustment)", the incoming routes of the Beijing hub have been adjusted accordingly. The Beijing Railway Hub has formed a layout of seven passenger stations including Beijing Railway Station, Beijing South Railway Station, Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing North Railway Station, Tongzhou Railway Station, Xinghuo Railway Station and Fengtai Railway Station. Due to the delay of the reconstruction and expansion plan of Fengtai Station, Beijing-Shijiazhuang Passenger Dedicated Line will be introduced to Beijing West Station in the near future, and Fengtai Station will be introduced after the new station of Fengtai Station is completed. For this reason, Beijing West Railway Station needs to carry out the largest reconstruction since its construction. The “Approval for the Preliminary Design of the Station Building Reconstruction Project” document, Beijing West Railway Station will be transformed in four aspects: the elevated waiting room, the passenger service system project, the VIP waiting room in the South Station Building, and the related transformation of the hub transfer facilities. There is a patio in the elevated waiting room between the second and ninth platforms, adding an elevated waiting space of 6,600 square meters; adding paper magnetic card ticket making machines, automatic ticket machines and necessary network equipment; adding the second floor of the South Station Ticket Center Transformed into a VIP area; and opened up the south exit of the east and west outbound passages, so that passengers can directly access the South Square transportation hub. The renovation project of the elevated waiting room was originally planned to start in early April 2012. Affected by this, a total of 159 trains were adjusted for this purpose. However, the railway department considered that the expansion of the elevated waiting room would not only have a high budgetary cost, but would also affect the erection of the elevated waiting room. Due to the inconvenience caused by the platform of the column, the renovation project of the elevated waiting room was finally cancelled, and the existing waiting room resources were used to allocate the passenger flow of the Beijing-Shijiazhuang Passenger Dedicated Line.

The Beijing Underground Diameter Line, which was proposed as early as 1959 and connects Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station, started construction in December 2005, and was completed and opened to traffic on March 20, 2015. The underground Diameter Line enables both Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station to receive and dispatch passenger trains from the Beijing-Harbin Line and other directions. According to the railway development plan, the capacity of Beijing West Railway Station will continue to increase year by year. It is estimated that by 2020, the number of trains arriving and departing from Beijing West Railway Station will reach 137 pairs, including 79 pairs of high-speed trains.

China Railway
Beijing West railway station is a terminal for both "traditional" and high-speed trains. It is the Beijing terminal for most trains leaving the city for destinations in western and southwestern China, including Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu, Lhasa and Urumqi. Major "traditional" rail lines beginning at this station include the Beijing-Guangzhou railway (via Wuhan) and the Beijing–Kowloon railway (via Nanchang and Shenzhen).

Beijing West is the terminal both for the Beijing–Kowloon through train and (since the opening of the Qingzang railway in 2006) for the Beijing-Lhasa trains.

Beijing West is the northern terminal of the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway as of December 2012. High-speed trains leave the station for Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as various destinations on the connecting lines, such as Taiyuan and Xi'an. There are, however, plans to construct a new major railway terminal (the new Fengtai railway station) in the southwestern part of Beijing, and to eventually make it the terminal for the high-speed trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou line.

The Beijing underground cross-city railway connects Beijing West with Beijing railway station.

Beijing Subway

 * This station is served by Line 7 and Line 9. Passengers are able to change between Line 7 and Line 9 using the cross-platform interchange method. The Subway concourse is on the Arrivals level, with all platforms a level further below. This station was the terminus of Line 9 until it was extended north to National Library on December 30, 2012.

Beijing Bus
Bus route numbers in bold denotes terminus at the stop.
 * Beijing Bus stops:
 * Beijing West Station (北京西站): 9, 21, 40, 47, 50, 52, 54, 65, 67, 83, 89, 99, 205, 209, 212, 213, 301, 319, 320, 373, 374, 387, 414, 437, 616, 623, 661, 662, 663, 673, 694, 695, 741, 840, 843, 845, 901, 特2, 特6, 运通102
 * Beijing West Station South Square (北京西站南广场): 53, 72, 109, 122, 309, 349, 410, 616, 820, 890, 941, 982, 993,
 * Beijing Airport Bus: Route 7

China Railway
Regular rail services leave from Platforms 1–11; HSR leaves from Platforms 12–18. A dedicated exit is used for passengers arriving on Platform 18.

All passengers will leave Beijing West from the Level 2 Departures Hall, except for passengers to Hung Hom terminus in Hong Kong, who must enter from a dedicated entrance with immigration and customs clearance facilities located by North Entrance 1. These passengers will clear customs and immigration at Beijing West and will not leave the train until it arrives at the Kowloon / Hung Hom terminus in Hong Kong. A VIP lounge is available for Business Class passengers travelling HSR.

Ticket counters and machines are available beside the main entrances.

Beijing Subway
The station has dual-island platforms with a cross platform interchange between lines 7 and 9. On one side, originating line 7 trains interchange with southbound line 9 trains towards Guogongzhuang, whilst on the other, terminating line 7 trains interchange with northbound line 9 trains towards National Library.

title: Beijing West railway station


text:
Wirt C. Rowland

Wirt Clinton Rowland (December 1, 1878 – November 30, 1946) was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan.

Biography
Rowland was born December 1, 1878, in Clinton, Michigan, to Clinton Charles and Melissa Ruth Rowland. In 1901, he landed a job as an office boy for the Detroit firm of Rogers and MacFarlane, quickly moving on to the prestigious George D. Mason firm. In 1909, he joined the office of Albert Kahn Associates, who had also apprenticed under Mason. In 1910, with the encouragement of both Mason and Kahn, Rowland attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, for a year.

The combination of Rowland's natural design talent, Harvard education, and Detroit's healthy economy positioned him to make major contributions to the city's architecture. Rowland is a case study in design attribution. In 1911, in the office of Kahn, he and Ernest Wilby are said have been primarily responsible for the Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan. Through 1915, Rowland worked for the local firm of Malcomson & Higginbotham. He then returned to Kahn's office, contributing to the firm's classic projects, namely the Harland Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, the Detroit News Building, the First National Building (1922), and the General Motors Building (1922) renamed Cadillac Place.

Rowland's career peaked as Head Designer (1922–1930) of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls (SmithGroup). There, he designed a dozen major structures in downtown Detroit; among these are a number of the city's most accomplished and evocative buildings. To a large extent, Rowland helped define Detroit's architectural genre. Of the Guardian building Rowland said, ''We no longer live in a leisurely age,. . What we see we must see quickly in passing, and the impression must be immediate, strong, and complete. Color has this vital power.'' For the Guardian Building, he had assembled a multitude of artisans, mosaicists, sculptors, painters, and tile manufacturers including sculptor Corrado Parducci, muralist Ezra Winter, and tile from the Rookwood and Pewabic pottery companies. He thus recreated the architectural synthesis of a medieval cathedral. Hence, Rowland had reached a climax, when his Union Trust/Guardian Building became known as the Cathedral of Finance.

The Guardian Building opened in 1929. With the onset of the Great Depression, most of the employees of Smith Hinchman & Grylls were let go, including Rowland. In January 1931, he joined in a partnership with his long-time friend, Augustus (Gus) O'Dell. The firm secured a small number of important commissions, including the Victor Vaughan House dormitory at the University of Michigan, Maire Elementary School in Grosse Pointe, and the Mark Twain Branch Library in Detroit, supplemented with reconstruction necessitated by the widening of Woodward Avenue, and by insurance re-valuations of existing buildings.

Beginning in 1935, Rowland was hired by Edwin S. George to design a Gothic cathedral, later known as Kirk in the Hills. The church was to have been constructed on land owned by George adjoining his suburban home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, however, the funds available were insufficient to proceed with construction. In 1946, George realized that by incorporating his existing suburban home into the church to house administrative activities, the cost of construction would be greatly reduced. Rowland approved of this revision, but died before he could redraw the plans. The firm of George D. Mason & Co. was hired in 1947 to draw new plans for the church and oversee construction and the church was completed in 1958.

Rowland was a member of the Chandler Park Partnership, a group of nineteen architects and engineers that designed Parkside housing project (1935–1938) in Detroit. During World War II, Rowland was employed by the firm Giffels & Valet in their office at Naval Station Norfolk. Among the structures he designed during that period was the David Adams Memorial Chapel and Our Lady of Victory Chapel in the base chapel building.

Rowland Designed Structures

 * T. B. Rayl Company Building (1915) Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan; designed by Rowland for Baxter and O'Dell, featured an early use of colored terra-cotta.

Designs for George D. Mason, 1902 to 1909

 * Pontchartrain Hotel (1907), Detroit, Michigan

Designs for Malcomson & Higginbotham, 1912 to 1915

 * Northern High School (1915), Detroit, Michigan
 * Southeastern High School (1915), Detroit, Michigan
 * Isabell F. Thirkell Elementary School (1915), Virginia Park Historic District, Detroit, Michigan
 * Northeastern High School (1916), Detroit, Michigan
 * Anna M. Joyce School (1916), Detroit, Michigan
 * Nordstrum School (1916), Detroit, Michigan
 * Harms Elementary School (1917), Detroit, Michigan

Designs for Albert Kahn Associates, 1910, and 1915 to 1922

 * Hill Auditorium (with Ernest Wilby) (1913), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
 * Harlan Hatcher University of Michigan Library (with Ernest Wilby) (1915–1920), Ann Arbor, Michigan
 * Langley Field Hangars and Executive Buildings, including the current Air Combat Command Headquarters Building (1917), Point Comfort, Virginia
 * Rockwell Field (now part of Naval Air Station, North Island) Hangars, Guard House, and Officers Homes (1917), Coronado, California
 * General Motors Building (1919-1923), Detroit, Michigan, preliminary work and exterior design
 * First National Building (first unit-1922), Detroit, Michigan, preliminary work and exterior design

Designs for Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, 1922 to 1930

 * Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church (1926), Detroit, Michigan
 * Bankers Trust Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
 * Buhl Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
 * Second National Bank Building (1925), Saginaw, Michigan
 * George H. Phelps Advertising Building (1925), 2761 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Michigan
 * Grand Rapids Trust Building (1926), Grand Rapids, Michigan
 * Benjamin Nolan School (1926), 1150 E. Lantz St., Detroit, Michigan
 * Michigan Bell Building (1927), Detroit, Michigan, 12-story addition and commercial office updates to original 7-story, 1919 building
 * David Mackenzie High School (1927)(demolished), Detroit, Michigan
 * Ambassador Bridge (1927-1929) Cable Anchorage Piers, and Terminal Buildings (demolished)
 * Michigan Bell Detroit-Columbia Central Office Building, 52 Seldon St., Detroit, Michigan
 * Greater Penobscot Building (1928), Detroit, Michigan
 * Pontchartrain Club Building/Town Apartments (begun 1928, not completed; later converted to Town Apartments), Detroit, Michigan
 * Union Trust/Guardian Building (1929), Detroit, Michigan
 * Cunningham Drug Building (1929), 1134 Griswold St., and 25 State St., Detroit, Michigan
 * Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse (1930), 82 Oakman Blvd., Detroit, Michigan
 * Detroit Saturday Night Building (1929), 1959 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Michigan
 * Denby High School (1930), Detroit, Michigan
 * Pershing High School (1930), Detroit, Michigan
 * Union Industrial Bank Building/Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Building (1930), Flint, Michigan
 * Michigan Bell Saginaw Office Building (1930), 309 S. Washington Ave., Saginaw, Michigan

Designs for O'Dell and Rowland, 1931 to 1938

 * L. Black Co. store (1932), 1420 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan
 * Good Housekeeping Stran-Steel House (1933) for the 1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition at the Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Illinois
 * "Ideal Home" for Detroit Builders' Show of 1933, Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
 * Lewis A. Maire Elementary School (1936), Grosse Pointe, Michigan
 * Stevens Memorial Chapel - chancel section, including altar, reredos, and organ screen (1938), St. John's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan
 * Victor C. Vaughn House dormitory, University of Michigan (1938), Ann Arbor, Michigan

References and further reading

 * Ferry, W. Hawkins (1968). The Buildings of Detroit: A History. Wayne State University Press.

title: Wirt C. Rowland


text:
HAMC

HAMC may refer to:
 * Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, an aircraft manufacturer
 * Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation, or Club, a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club (MC)
 * High and Mighty Color, a Japanese rock band

title: HAMC


text:
Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach

Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach (16 April 1758 – 21 November 1827), Prussian soldier, was born at Schmalkalden, and educated at Heilbronn and Stuttgart, devoting himself chiefly to mathematics.

He became an officer of the Württemberg army in 1778, and left this for the service of Frederick the Great in 1782. The pay of his rank was small, and his appointment on the quartermaster-general's staff made it necessary to keep two horses, so that he had to write mathematical school-books in his spare time to eke out his resources. He was far however from neglecting the science and art of war, for thus early he had begun to make his name as a theorist as well as a mathematician. After serving as instructor in mathematics to the young prince Louis, he took part with credit in the expedition into the Netherlands, and was given the order Pour le mérite.

On returning to Prussia Massenbach became mathematical instructor at the school of military engineering, leaving this post in 1792 to take part as a general staff officer in the war against France. He was awarded a prebend (sic) at Minden for his services as a topographical engineer at the Battle of Valmy, and after serving through the campaigns of 1793 and 1794 he published a number of memoirs on the military history of these years.

However, Massenbach was chiefly occupied with framing schemes for the reorganization of the then neglected general staff of the Prussian army, and many of his proposals were accepted. Bronsart von Schellendorf, in his Duties of the General Staff, says of Massenbach's work in this connection, that the organization which he proposed and in the main carried out survived even the catastrophes of 1806-1807, and exists even now in its original outline. This must be accounted as high praise when it is remembered how much of the responsibility for these very disasters must be laid to Massenbach's account. The permanent gain to the service due to his exertions was far more than formal, for it is to him that the general staff owes its tradition of thorough and patient individual effort. But the actual doctrine taught by Massenbach, who was now a colonel, may be summarized as the doctrine of positions carried to a ludicrous excess; the claims put forward for the general staff, that it was to prepare cut-and-dried plans of operations in peace which were to be imposed on the troop leaders in war, were derided by the responsible generals; and the memoirs on proposed plans of campaign to suit certain political combinations were worked out in quite unnecessary detail. It was noteworthy that none of the proposed plans of campaign considered France as an enemy.

In 1805 came threats of the war with Napoleon which Massenbach had strongly opposed. He was made quartermaster-general (chief of staff) to Prince Hohenlohe, over whom he soon obtained a fatal ascendancy. War was averted for a moment by the result of the Battle of Austerlitz, but it broke out in earnest in October 1806. Massenbach's influence clouded all the Prussian operations.

The afternoon before the crushing Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena, Massenbach convinced Hohenlohe not to drive Louis Gabriel Suchet's division off the height to the west of Jena, which should have been an easy thing to do for the 38,000 available troops. Consequently, Napoleon was able to mass a large force on the key height the night before the 14 October battle. At the Battle of Prenzlau on 28 October, Massenbach was completely fooled by French claims that the Prussians were surrounded by overwhelming numbers. He bore a heavy responsibility for convincing Prince Hohenlohe to capitulate, when escape was still possible.

Even suggestions of disloyalty were not wanting; an attempt to try him by court-martial was only frustrated by Prince Hohenlohe's action in taking upon himself, as commander-in-chief, the whole responsibility for Massenbach's actions. Massenbach then retired to his estate in the Grand Duchy of Posen, and occupied himself in writing pamphlets, memoirs, and so forth. When his estates passed into the grand duchy of Warsaw, he chose to remain a Prussian subject, and on the outbreak of the war of liberation he asked in vain for a post on the Prussian staff. After the fall of Napoleon he took part in Württemberg politics, was expelled from Stuttgart and Heidelberg, and soon afterwards arrested at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, delivered over to the Prussian authorities and condemned to fourteen years fortress imprisonment for his alleged publication of state secrets in his memoirs. He was kept in prison till 1826, when Frederick William III, having recovered from an accident, pardoned those whom he considered to have wronged him most deeply. He died at his estate of Bialokoscz, Posen.

The obituary in Neuer Nekrolog der Deutschen, pt. ii. (Ilmenau, 1827) is founded on a memoir (Der Oberst C. v. Massenbach) which was published at the beginning of his imprisonment.


text:
Shadow Gallery

 * The Shadow Gallery is also the name of the home of the protagonist in the graphic novel V for Vendetta.

Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originally called Sorcerer. After changing their name to Shadow Gallery, taken from the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, and recording a short 8-track demo, the band was signed to Magna Carta Records in 1991. Shadow Gallery's eponymous debut was released the following year in Japan and Europe. In mid-2005, Shadow Gallery released their fifth studio album, Room V, on the European-American independent label Inside Out.

The band has been compared to contemporary progressive metal bands Dream Theater and Symphony X. The members of Shadow Gallery have also collaborated with other progressive metal bands. Dream Theater's James LaBrie contributed backing vocals to the song "I Believe", which appeared on Shadow Gallery's 1998 album, Tyranny, and in return Shadow Gallery members have contributed to LaBrie's side projects, including MullMuzzler.

Shadow Gallery songs, often in the context of a concept album or story, are frequently long with extended instrumental pieces in the middle. For diversity, their music is heavy at times and mellow at others, sometimes incorporating elements of neoclassical and symphonic metal.

On October 29, 2008, lead singer Mike Baker died of a heart attack at age 45.

Influences
Shadow Gallery combines musical influences from virtuoso guitarists, like as Jason Becker and Al Di Meola, as well as progressive rock bands such as Rush, Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. The band displays heavy metal influences from outfits Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche and Judas Priest. When interviewed on the subject, Gary Wehrkamp has also added that "The band likes everything from Tori Amos, to old Metallica, Alice Cooper, Gamma Ray, Type O Negative, and Nine Inch Nails."

1985–1991: As Sorcerer
Sorcerer originally consisted of Mike Baker, Carl Cadden-James, Ron Evans, and John Cooney. The ensemble began as a cover band, particularly interested in covering difficult to play songs by artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Rush. In 1985, guitarists Chris Ingles and Brendt Allman joined the band, with Ingles immediately switching to keyboard duties. At this time, Ron Evans departed in order to pursue other musical interests and goals.

1991–1998: Debut and Carved in Stone
After changing their name to Shadow Gallery and recording a short 8 track demo, Mike Varney eventually signed them to Magna Carta records on August 23, 1991 as the label's second contract (the first having been Magellan). The record label's objective had been "..to bring a fresh breath of progressive rock to an audience who was subdued by larger record companies quest for typical commercial music". Impressed with Shadow Gallery's initial demo, Varney suspected the band could help fulfill this objective.

Shadow Gallery's eponymous debut was released the following year in Japan and Europe. However, before the arduous commitments of a supporting tour and a new studio album, the band needed to secure a stable lineup. April 1993 saw the recruitment of guitarist/keyboardist Gary Wehrkamp, originally of the band The Boxtops. Another lineup addition followed in April 1994 with drummer Kevin Soffera. With this new solidified lineup, Shadow Gallery released its second studio recording on July 11, 1995, titled Carved in Stone. However, time constraints and other commitments precluded the band from touring in support of both albums.

1998–2001: Tyranny
Carved in Stone was followed up by their 1998 release, Tyranny with drummer Joe Nevolo replacing Kevin Soffera. The album is a deeply political concept album, with themes including the nature of war and the military-industrial complex. Tyranny is also notable for the contributions made by a number of guest musicians. Beyond James LaBrie's vocal contribution to "I Believe," D. C. Cooper (vocalist of Royal Hunt) contributed vocals to the track "New World Order," and violinist Paul Chou made a guest appearance on the tracks "Spoken Words" and "New World Order," with the former featuring a duet between Mike Baker and Laura Jaeger. Shadow Gallery would return the favor to LaBrie in 1998 when Allman, Cadden-James, Wehrkamp and local musician/songwriter Gary Sloyer appeared on and aided in LaBrie's musical side project, Mullmuzzler. Their debut record, Keep It to Yourself, was released by Magna Carta in the Summer of 1999."

2001–2005: Legacy
On April 10, 2001, the band released their fourth studio album, Legacy, which would prove to be their last under Magna Carta Records. While this album was released in between Tyranny and Room V, it had no relation to the ongoing narrative of the two albums, instead forming a collection of independent songs. The album was met with generally favorable reviews, for example Screaming in Digital wrote that:

"'Legacy is more progressive, artistic and technical than the band's previous work, although there are a couple nods to the possibility of mainstream radio airplay. It exhibits the well-balanced sound and highly polished production they're known for, with flawless instrumental work and vocals that, while not as emphasized as those of Geoff Tate or James LaBrie, are clear, emotional and perfectly suited to the music. It's not a sequel to Tyranny any more than Empire was a sequel to Operation: Mindcrime, but it's definitely some of the better music out there.'"

2005–2008: Room V
On May 30, 2005 (Europe) and June 7, 2005 (USA) Shadow Gallery released Room V, the band's fifth studio album and its first under new record label InsideOut and also the first album without Chris Ingles. It is a concept album, which continued the narrative set out in Tyranny. The album included Jaeger returning to perform a vocal duet on "Comfort Me."

Included as a limited edition, the band also released a second disc. In addition to a multimedia segment titled The Story of Room V (that can be accessed on a computer's CD-ROM) the album contained five extra tracks, including a Joe Nevolo drum solo ("Joe's Spotlight"), an unreleased demo (entitled "Memories"), an acoustic version of Room V's "Rain", and a long medley covering many Pink Floyd songs titled Floydian Memories. This track is particularly notable, as it features Mark Zonder performing drums on the "One in a Crowd" portion of the medley, as well as Arjen Lucassen performing guest vocals and the "Shine On" guitar solo.

2008–2009: Baker's death and Digital Ghosts
According to an email sent to the Shadow Gallery News email list on October 31, 2008, Baker died after suffering a heart attack on October 29, 2008 at the age of 45. Despite the death of Baker, Shadow Gallery continued, and their latest album, Digital Ghosts, was released on October 23, 2009 in Europe with new vocalist Brian Ashland. Wehrkamp stated on Shadow Gallery's MySpace page:

"Shadow Gallery will continue. We will finish this record and make it as potent as it can be. There are some questions to be answered, but we feel confident we will be provided with the answers. The band has read so many of the wonderful heart touching comments, and heard from so many people these past two weeks and we look forward to giving the Shadow Gallery fans our very best, to honor them, and Mike."

2014–present: Hiatus
On September 3, 2014, Shadow Gallery responded to a question on their Facebook page regarding a new album with: "There is movement, creation, there is collaboration, preparation- words spin into music freely given, voices for the stories told, passion to share with strokes so tender, so bold - a new dream born of old. Days pass but we do not count, we are forever past the age of doubt. We will rise. We will rise. You whisper time and who will follow you?...We are working on it."

On November 29, 2015, Wehrkamp's home and studio was destroyed by fire. Shadow Gallery subsequently posted links to their Facebook page asking fans to donate money to nonprofit organization Mady's Angels to aid Wehrkamp and his family. In addition, a benefit concert for the Wehrkamps was held at Sherman Theater on December 26. Although Wehrkamp and his family have made a recovery since, it is unclear how this will affect the band's progress on the new album. In June 2016, the band's Facebook page featured new material in the making via short Periscope videos.

Live performances
To the chagrin of long-time fans, the band waited until 2010 to perform live, despite having been together (as Shadow Gallery) since the early 1990s. When asked the question in one interview, Wehrkamp explained that "We have always been more a studio band than a performing band unfortunately, and while we rehearsed for a tour just before Tyranny was started, a few obstacles blocked our touring options, and we were locked back in the studio to make another record. I know there are many people who cannot understand why we haven't played in support of this record, and I can see why they feel that way, but honestly, it's very difficult."

In a more recent 2005 interview, he cited the band's various side projects as a reason, stating that "I truly think that it will maybe never happen as we all have full diaries, families, full time jobs and mortgages... I for instance give lessons and I play in 2 other bands... But we will seriously consider it this time, as it will be very difficult to get all the guys of the band together to go on tour. Besides it was never our intention in the first place to do live gigs as SG is most and for all a real studio band. Maybe, some day, never say never…."

On December 17, 2009 it was announced on the band's website they were going to make their first live appearance on the Triton Power Cruise (along with 9 other bands), which was set to sail April 30 - May 3, 2010 from Miami, Florida. However, in February the cruise was cancelled due to an extreme medical crisis within the promoter's family.

On April 17 of 2010, Shadow Gallery announced on their website they will be the headliner on Saturday, October 2, 2010 at ProgPower Europe in Baarlo, Netherlands. On July 20 a local show in Tannersville, PA on September 5, 2010 at Barley Creek Brewing Company was announced. This will become the band's debut show and the opening band will be New Jersey based progressive metal act Suspyre.

On the same day a statement appeared on the band's website saying they would embark on a two-week European tour starting with the ProgPower Europe show on October 2. The tour is called the "Shadow Gallery Live: 2010 Tour" and is sponsored by Greek concert promoter Warcry Entertainment Group. Support act during most of the shows will be the Greek modern rock band Maplerun. Although all band members have performed live onstage before in other bands this will be the first tour in 20 years of their career as Shadow Gallery.

In the weeks following the initial announcement more tour dates were confirmed and as of August 23, 2010 the final European tour schedule is listed as:
 * 10/02/2010 ProgPower Europe Festival – Baarlo, Netherlands
 * 10/03/2010 House of Progression - London, England
 * 10/04/2010 Nouveau Casino - Paris, France
 * 10/06/2010 Alcatraz – Milan, Italy
 * 10/08/2010 8Ball – Thessaloniki, Greece
 * 10/09/2010 Stage Club – Larissa, Greece
 * 10/10/2010 Kyttaro – Athens, Greece
 * 10/14/2010 MMC Club - Bratislava, Slovakia
 * 10/16/2010 Turock - Essen, Germany
 * 10/17/2010 Biebob - Vosselaar, Belgium

In an interview with the band conducted on August 22, 2010 guitarist Brendt Allman answered a question about the probability of touring again after the European dates as follows: "It's tough to say because there's a lot of different things going on in a lot of people's lives, but if we can do it once, we can probably do it twice."

The band has announced in 2013 that they will be playing live again. Their first announced headlining gigs are on May 5, 2013 at the U.S. progressive rock Rites of Spring festival (RoSfest) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and on Friday, September 6, 2013 at the U.S. progressive metal festival ProgPower USA in Atlanta, Georgia. The month following the band heads over to Europe to perform at ProgPower Europe in Baarlo, Netherlands on Friday, October 4. This will be Shadow Gallery's second headlining appearance at the Dutch progressive music festival and the band has stated they will play a special 2 hour set.

Current members

 * Brendt Allman – guitar, backing vocals (1985–present)
 * Carl Cadden-James – bass, backing and lead vocals, flute (1985–present)
 * Gary Wehrkamp – guitar, keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1992–present)
 * Joe Nevolo – drums (1997–present)
 * Brian Ashland – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (2009–present)

Former members

 * Chris Ingles – piano, keyboards (1985–2007)
 * Mike Baker – lead vocals (1985–2008; his death)
 * Kevin Soffera – drums (1994–1996)

Studio albums

 * 1992 – Shadow Gallery
 * 1995 – Carved in Stone
 * 1998 – Tyranny
 * 2001 – Legacy
 * 2005 – Room V
 * 2009 – Digital Ghosts

Compilation albums

 * 2007 – Prime Cuts

title: Shadow Gallery


text:
Mission fig

The Mission fig (also known as Black Mission or Franciscana) is a popular variety of the edible fig (Ficus carica). It was first introduced to the United States in 1768 when Franciscan missionaries planted it in San Diego. It was also planted in the subsequent missions that the Franciscans established up the California coast. Gustav Eisen writes, "The early padres and missionaries in the Pacific coast States cultivated no other variety of fig". It later became the main commercial variety planted throughout California. The Mission fig was later surpassed by the Sari Lop fig (also known as Calimyrna) as the most popular commercial fig variety grown in California.

The Mission fig is a high quality fig variety. It produces both a breba and main crop, and is considered an everbearing variety when planted in the right climate. The breba crop is large. The main crop is medium-sized. It is a dark skinned fig with a strawberry colored interior. The skin of the fruit often cracks when it is ripe. The tree is long lived and grows to be quite large. It is sensitive to frost. Mission fig trees are almost always infected with Fig mosaic virus, which can affect the color and shape of leaves, but usually does not affect fruit production. It is still considered one of the highest quality figs that can be grown in USDA zones 9 and up in the United States.

title: Mission fig


text:
Kongar-ool Ondar

Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar (Ондар Коңгар-оол Борис оглу, Ondar Konggar-ool Boris oglu,, Конгар-оол Борисович Ондар; 29 March 1962 – 25 July 2013) was a master Soviet and Russian Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Great Khural of Tuva.

Ondar was born near the Khemchik River in western Tuva, in the village of Iyme. In the Central Asian tradition of self-fulfilling child naming, Kongar-ool literally translates to "loud boy." In 1983 Ondar was drafted into the army, but was discharged due to a neck injury. After, he served several years in prison in Siberia. In 1992, after his release, Ondar won an international throat-singing contest, which brought invitations to perform in Europe and the United States and began his singing career.

Considered a living treasure by the Republic of Tuva, Ondar was granted a stipend and an apartment for the musical skills he possessed. Jovial and personable, Ondar is probably the best-known face of khöömei (хөөмей) throat singing to Westerners, appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman, the Oscar-nominated documentary Genghis Blues, and in interviews for CNN and other networks. Ondar was also a teacher and opened a Center for the Development of Tuvan Traditional Arts in Kyzyl.

Ondar is also known outside Tuva for inviting American blues musician Paul Pena to Tuva. Pena, who had learned throat singing before coming to Tuva, was the subject of the documentary Genghis Blues in which Ondar was also featured. In 1993, he performed at Frank Zappa's eclectic "garden party/soiree" gathering in his last days. He also appears on the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums Outbound, album/DVD Live at the Quick, and Jingle All the Way. He released one album on Warner Bros. Records, Back Tuva Future.

His first studio album, 1996's Echoes of Tuva, was released by the TuvaMuch Music label. He released another album sampling physicist Richard Feynman titled Tuva Talk.

He died after emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage in Kyzyl on July 25, 2013. He was 51 years old.

title: Kongar-ool Ondar


text:
House of Joseph (LDS Church)

The House of Joseph (sometimes referred to as the Tribe of Joseph) is a designation which members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) apply to the ancient "birthright" tribe of the house of Israel (Jacob) as it is described in the Old Testament, made up of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribes' namesakes — the two sons of Joseph of Egypt — are first mentioned in.

Members of the LDS Church believe themselves, in a general sense, to be members of the House of Israel, many of whom believe themselves also to be the literal bloodline descendants of Ephraim, Joseph of Egypt's youngest son, but inheritor, notwithstanding, of Israel's "firstborn" birthright blessings. These modern Josephites claim, however, that many in their ranks are also of the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's eldest son and a joint-recipient of the 'double portion' of Jacob's birthright blessing upon the heads of his grandsons.

Church members therefore consider themselves to be a 'covenant people', specially called or foreordained from 'eternity' (or before earth's creation, which they call 'premortality', or pre-existence). Latter-day Saint ecclesiastical leaders from Joseph Smith to the church's present-day prophet have taught the fundamental church doctrine of premortality (Deut 32:7–9; Acts 17:24, 26; Alma 13:3-4; Abr 3:22-26), wherein all humankind, antecedent to the Creation or before their earthly existence, dwelt as spirit children of God. Those of the house of Israel, and especially the house of Joseph, come to earth with what one of the church's latter-day apostles called "believing blood," meaning that "those born in that lineage have both the right and a special spiritual capacity to recognize, receive, and believe the truth [that applies principally to] the seed of Abraham to whom the promises were made" ... "My sheep hear my voice," the Master said, "and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27; latter-day Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, cited in Millet & McConkie, 2010). LDS Apostle Erastus Snow had, earlier in 1882, also testified of modern Israel's special birthright mission: "The Lord has sent those noble spirits [of Israel] into the world to perform a special work, and appointed their times ... Such were called and chosen and elected of God to perform a certain work at a certain time in the world’s history and in due time he fitted them for that work ... Their blood [by which, as God promised Abraham "all the nations of the earth" would be blessed - Gen 26:4; Abr 2:8-11] has permeated European society, and it coursed in the veins of the early colonists in America. And when the books shall be opened and the lineage of all men is known, it will be found that they have been first and foremost in everything noble among men in the various nations [including the ancient Christian martyrs] in breaking off the shackles of kingcraft and priestcraft and oppression of every kind, and the foremost among men in upholding and maintaining the principles of liberty and freedom upon this continent and establishing a representative government, and thus preparing the way for the coming forth of the fulness of the everlasting Gospel [for it was those 'founding fathers', "prodded by the hand of the Almighty, who provided the resting place, as it were, 'for the Ark of the covenant, where the temple of our God might be built,' where the gospel could be restored, and practiced in freedom"]. And it is the foremost of those spirits whom the Lord has prepared to receive the Gospel when it was presented to them ... [the elect of Israel] having been watched over from the days that God promised those blessings upon Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Ephraim. And these are they that will be found in the front ranks of all that is noble and good in their day and time ... and among those also who receive the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, and the keys of Priesthood in the last days, through whom God determined to gather up again unto himself a peculiar people, a holy nation, a pure seed that shall stand upon Mount Zion as saviors" (JD 23:185-187; 26:201). They profess to attend to sacred saving ordinances as they existed anciently in God's holy temple — "the place of the covenant" — with sacred responsibilities and obligations for God-given 'birthright' blessings that are contingent upon upright living.

Young people within the church are often referred to as 'youth of the noble birthright' — a designation inspired by lyrics from one of the faith's time-honored hymns.

Much of the story of the House of Joseph, according to Latter-day Saints, is reflected in ancient ancestral prophecies, including those made by the patriarch Jacob and his son, Joseph of Egypt (many of them now restored through revelation by the LDS faith's founding prophet). But that story is also relayed in messianic Jewish tradition and legend concerning one 'Messiah ben Joseph' that, for some Latter-day Saints, mirrors the earthly mission of Joseph Smith, the faith's founder, who in the LDS worldview stands preeminent among the heirs of Joseph's house.

The house of Joseph is mentioned in the Bible several times, notably in ; ; ; and. There is also an allusion to the house of Joseph in.

Patriarchal primogeniture
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph ... [upon] ''him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of the wild-ox: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh ... (Deut 33:16-17; see'' D&C 110:9)

''I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, as a shepherd doth his flock ...'' (Jer 31:9-10)

Joseph is a father to Ephraim and to all Israel in these last days ... (latter-day prophet Brigham Young, 9 Apr 1837)

According to LDS doctrine, the Twelve Tribes of Israel descended from the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob (who was later named Israel) and his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and two concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah. Jacob was the last of a line of ancient biblical patriarchs who held the full power of the 'blessings of the firstborn,' of bechor. But Jacob's firstborn by first wife Leah — Reuben — forfeited by transgression his spiritual inheritance, and it passed instead to the Patriarch's newly sanctioned 'firstborn' son by favored but second wife, Rachel. This son's name was Joseph — a name signifying 'fruitful'.

Leah's second and third sons — Simeon and Levi — likewise, because of murder, forfeited any birthright they may have had, and the 'covenant bloodline' blessing and inheritance of the royal scepter went to Leah's fourth, but Jacob's first righteous son, Judah.

In Genesis, Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, are taken to see their dying grandfather, who has 'adopted' them as his own. As with each of his own sons, Israel (Jacob) laid his hands upon the heads of his grandsons to bless them.

But when the aged patriarch laid his left hand upon the elder grandson Manasseh's head and his right hand on the younger Ephraim's head, Joseph, seeing that his father had made a mistake, switched his hands. But Israel refused and said:

"I know it, my son, I know it: he [Manasseh] also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh ... (Gen 48:19-20)."

Jacob went on to further elevate the status of the descendants of Joseph's sons to that of full tribes in their own right (Gen 41:50). To the mighty prince Joseph himself the patriarch declared:

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the Stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren ... (Gen 49:22-26 KJV)"

Thus, before he died, the old patriarch blessed his fourth son Judah with the kingly scepter and his eleventh (yet 'anointed') son Joseph — or rather Joseph's second and youngest son, Ephraim, to whom it passed — with the priestly 'firstborn' birthright (Gen 49:10, 22-26). This divided the blessings of God's children into two parts — with 'kingship' going to the House of Judah, and the firstborn 'priesthood' inheritance going to the House of Joseph — leading to an eventual breach between the children of Judah and those of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh. That critical breach — which widened again later with divisions between Levi and the sons of Aaron — would only be healed in a far-distant, future day, after Israel's 'scattering' (722-586 BC) and centuries-long apostate captivity among Gentile nations.

Josephite prophecy
''Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us ... Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it... to take deep root, and it filled the land ... The hills were covered with the shadow of it ... She sent out her boughs unto the sea... Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself ... Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself... Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved ...'' (Psalm 80:1-2, 8-11, 14-15, 17, 19)

In the latter days, according to LDS interpretation, the tribes of Israel were to be gathered again into one fold (the elect family of God) in the 'second' promised land of Joseph's 'double portioned' inheritance — which Latter-day Saints believe is the entire American continent of North and South America (with North America serving as the latter-day 'Zion') — which God has consecrated to house, at a future day, His holy city of the 'New Jerusalem'.

The Ephraimite tribe would eventually come to rule over all of Israel's tribes (Gen 37:510; 49:22-26). God's promises to the House of David (Judah) would also stand sure, in time, but they would be subsumed in a united mission with, and led by, Ephraim to convert the world, under the divine commission given to the house of Joseph — the salvation of God's children (2 Sam 7:16; Psalm 89:3-4; and 1 Chron 28:4-5). All of Israel's lost tribes, according to LDS theology, will gather to Ephraim at the end of days, for it is at the hands of Ephraim that they will receive the reward of their promises and blessings: "And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion [the New Jerusalem of the Americas], by the hands of the [royal birthright (priestly) Ephraimite] servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim. And they shall be filled with songs [temple psalms, hymns] of everlasting joy. Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows [his brethren]. And they also of the tribe of Judah [the Jews], after their pain [from the captivity, exile, and persecutions of millennia], shall be sanctified in holiness before the Lord [they will participate anew in His covenant ordinances], to dwell in his presence [in a third Jerusalem temple] day and night, forever and ever" (D&C 133:32-35; see also vv. 25-31).

New Jerusalem
The Book of Mormon prophet Ether taught that a remnant of the house of Joseph would build a holy city in the Americas. Afterwards, there would be a New Jerusalem that would come down from heaven where the remnant would live. When Jesus visited the Nephites in the Americas, he taught that they were a remnant of the house of Joseph. After they were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, they would be given the Americas as their inheritance. Repentant Gentiles will assist them in building the New Jerusalem. Early Latter Day Saints interpreted these scriptures to mean that there would be a sudden and dramatic conversion of the American Indians to Mormonism. They viewed themselves as repentant Gentiles that would assist the American Indians in building the New Jerusalem, They warned Americans who did not repent would be destroyed by the American Indians to make way for the New Jerusalem, based on a scripture in the Book of Mormon that warns the Gentiles to repent, "lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver."

After some failed missions to the American Indians, the concept of the New Jerusalem started being reinterpreted. Instead of being built by the Native Americans, it was taught that the New Jerusalem was to be built by white Latter Day Saints. Instead of seeing themselves as repentant Gentiles, Latter Day Saints began seeing themselves as also being a remnant of the house of Joseph, through Ephraim. Instead of building New Jerusalem together with the Native Americans, they began seeing it as two different places, with Zion being built upon the hills and the Lamanites in the wilderness. Bruce R. McConkie, an LDS apostle taught: "An occasional whiff of nonsense goes around the Church acclaiming that the Lamanites will build the temple in the New Jerusalem and that Ephraim and others will come to their assistance. This illusion is born of an inordinate love for Father Lehi's children and of a desire to see them all become now as Samuel the Lamanite once was. The Book of Mormon passages upon which it is thought to rest have reference not to the Lamanites but to the whole house of Israel. The temple in Jackson County will be built by Ephraim, meaning the Church as it is now constituted."

Samaritan brethren
Both the Samaritans and the Latter-day Saints claim Joseph as one of their ancient tribal patriarchs. In LDS interfaith relations with Jews, the Church sometimes calls its people 'Joseph', whilst calling the Jews 'Judah', emphasizing beliefs of close kinship and mutual sacred covenant. Even though Latter-day Saints do not believe themselves to be exclusively descended from these specific tribes, in their use of tribal names, they associate themselves most closely with these specific dominant tribes of 'Joseph'. No denomination of Judaism affirms these Samaritan or LDS beliefs, nor similar beliefs perhaps adhered to by other faiths.

Proposed House of Joseph

The Church teaches that the gathering of the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh in the Americas fulfills the prophecy of Jacob that "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall" (Gen 49:22), wherein the enclosed "wall" of the water-filled "well" is understood to be an ocean-barrier of safety that separates lands. The "fruitful bough" suggests prosperity and an abundant grapevine that spills over the wall's boundaries, to take root in Joseph's 'double portion' land of promise as an abundant "plant of righteousness" and "of renown," and as the "plant of a great people" (1 Enoch 93:10; Ezek 34:29; 4 Ezra 9:21). With much of the tribe of Joseph gathered, it is now, by divine mandate, an Ephraimite responsibility to gather, and to receive, the rest of Israel.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), is the largest and best known denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement (a form of Christian Restorationism). The Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and claims through inspired patriarchal blessings to its members throughout the world that many of these are descendants of Josephite Ephraim and Manasseh, with the tribe of Ephraim holding a responsibility of ecclesiastical leadership, but also of spearheading the Church's worldwide missionary program in what it considers to be 'the last days'. The LDS Church believes that scattered descendants of Ephraim from Europe, Scandinavia, and other parts of the world have been led by the guiding hand of God to settle in the Americas, along with the descendants of the Lamanites and others, and that the Americas are a "promised land" of liberty for those who have been led there.

All Church members, however — even if, through their 'patriarchal blessings', they are declared by a church patriarch to be of another Israelite tribe, or from a line of descent other than that of Ephraim, Manasseh, or Israel's other tribes — are yet, through faith and conversion, 'adopted' into the house of Israel and equally 'chosen'. As such, members of the church often refer to themselves collectively as 'modern Israel'. All are an integral part of the restored church and kingdom of God on earth — which, Latter-day Saints profess, is the same organization of the primitive church that existed anciently, as originally established by Christ and His apostles.

As descendants principally, therefore, of Joseph of Egypt, and particularly of Ephraim, they believe that theirs is a special latter-day commission from God to 'gather' into 'one fold' the remnants of the house of Israel from the nations of the earth, according to ancient prophecy (2 Ne 9:2; 3 Ne 21:1-11, 22). But this 'leadership' calling with respect to the 'gathering', as they believe, extends far beyond this fundamental Ephraimite mandate to reclaim the family of Israel, for they are to seek, as commanded by the Lord in modern revelation, the conversion of all who seek salvation in the celestial kingdom of God, who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, repent, and accept His 'true' gospel (D&C 1:30) that was, after a long 'night' of apostasy, restored through 'the Prophet of the Restoration,' Joseph Smith, Jr.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who believe themselves predominantly to be of the Ephraimite branch of the House of Joseph, assert that revelations given of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith (JST Gen 50), and as contained in the Book of Mormon (2 Ne 3), bear witness that the Patriarch Jacob's firstborn 'double portion' of both progeny and lands with which he blessed his son, Joseph of Egypt (and his 'double portion'-inheriting grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh), included the additional 'land' portion of the whole of the American continent — to which (c. 588 BC), from the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, a "fruitful branch" of Joseph's posterity (the 'Lehite Colony', composed of descendants of both Ephraim and Manasseh) traveled by sea. The Book of Mormon professes to be the abridged history of that Josephite branch — Ezekiel's "stick of Joseph" which, in its marvelous latter-day re-pairing, or re-union, with the "stick of Judah," now rests, or can rest, as 'one' in Israelite hands (see Ezek 37:16, 19).

Book of Mormon bloodlines
The Book of Mormon frequently identifies itself as a record of Joseph's children, with the ancient prophet Lehi (Hebrew לחי Léḥî / Lāḥî "jawbone") being an Israelite of the Josephite tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3) and the wives of his sons, as the Prophet Joseph Smith later explained, being of the Josephite tribe of Ephraim.

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi lived around 600 BC. He and his family were residents of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Judah under the reign of King Zedekiah. Lehi also held other property, perhaps outside the city of Jerusalem. Some have suggested that he was a merchant. Lehi had six sons: Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph; and at least two daughters, who were not named in the Book of Mormon. Lehi's sons are said to be characteristically Ephrathite, though it is uncertain what this means or why this would be. Some LDS church leaders have suggested that Lehi's wife Sariah may have descended from Ephraim, the son of Joseph. McConkie (1980) notes that Joseph Smith is reported to have said that within the Lost 116 pages Lehi's friend, Ishmael (not to be confused with Abraham's son Ishmael), who joined Lehi in escaping Jerusalem, was revealed to be a descendant of Ephraim. Lehi's sons marrying Ishmael's daughters would then explain why their descendants could have belonged to either the Tribe of Ephraim or the Tribe of Manasseh.

Shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem, Lehi and Ishmael and their families escaped, along with another man named Zoram. Lehi led them south down the Arabian Peninsula until they reached a fertile coastal region, which they named Bountiful. There, they built a ship, and sailed across the ocean to the Americas. Lehi's sons Nephi and Laman are said to have established themselves and to have founded Israelite nations: the Nephites and the Lamanites.

Lamanites
In The Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of one of three main ethnic groups described in the book. The other two peoples are the Jaredites and the Nephites. The Lamanites, together with the Nephites, are described as descending from the family of Lehi, a wealthy Jewish merchant, who traveled from the Middle East c. 588 BC to the Americas by boat. The Nephites descended from a younger son, Nephi, while the Lamanites descended from the elder brothers, Laman and Lemuel. Lehi carried with them family genealogical records as well as scriptural records recorded on "brass plates", which declared that his lineal descent was from the tribe of Manasseh. He later prophesied (2 Ne 3) that a latter-day Joseph, son of Joseph, descended from the house of Joseph, would do a great work that would be a blessing to Lehi's descendants. Latter-day Saints believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in Joseph Smith through the translation of the Book of Mormon, establishing the restored Church of Jesus Christ, and initiating the 'Gathering of Israel' among latter-day descendants of the tribes of Israel, particularly those from Ephraim and Manasseh.

The Book of Mormon describes many interactions between the Lamanites and the Nephites. War, trade, proselytizing all continued with varying degrees through different stages in their histories. The ethnic makeup of both peoples shifted as their story progressed. The Lamanites initially were given a darker skin color from God due to their rebellion. At one point in the book the Lamanites and Nephites unite for two centuries of peace (c. AD 30 to 230). But shortly after this period, factions reemerged, and their unity began to disintegrate with a reestablishment of economic class distinctions. The divisions were due to ideological differences rather than ethnic divides. Some time after AD 400, the Nephite culture and most if not all of its people were destroyed in a series of great wars between the Lamanites, Nephites, and the Gadianton Robbers — a renegade organization of murderous conspirators who, like the ancient Watchers, giants, and Cainites, employed a network of "secret combinations" and oath-bound pacts for personal and collective gain.

Theories about modern Lamanite descendants
Many Mormons consider Native Americans to be descendants of the Lamanites. Officially, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appears to at least partially accept this position. The introduction to the Latter Day Saint (LDS) edition of The Book of Mormon states, "[T]he Lamanites ... are among the ancestors of the American Indians." However, this position of the Lamanites being among the ancestors of the American Indians is controversial. Based on genetic and archeological data, mainstream scientists have concluded that Native Americans are descended from the prehistoric inhabitants of East Asia, although mixed genetics are not precluded by either science or LDS doctrine. Thus, some Mormon scholars view Lamanites as (1) one small tribe among many in the ancient Americas, the remainder of whom were not discussed in the Book of Mormon although they were implied, (2) a tribe that intermarried with indigenous Native American cultures, or (3) those Native Americans who share the Haplogroup X Gene.

An alternate belief would be that they are fictional characters intended to portray an allegory (a similar debate concerns the Old Testament Book of Job). The Book of Mormon prophesied of great pillage and destruction by those who would find the Lamanite descendants and dominate them before a final period of "carrying them upon their shoulders," implied as bringing them the "fulness of the gospel" and a pattern of free government. Links to various commentaries are listed on the official church website, although they do not represent official church positions.

title: House of Joseph (LDS Church)


text:
Awdl

In Welsh poetry, an awdl is a long poem in strict metre (i.e. cynghanedd). Originally, an awdl could be a relatively short poem unified by its use of a single end-rhyme (the word is related to odl, "rhyme"), using cynghanedd; such early awdlau are associated with the Cynfeirdd such as Aneirin and Taliesin as found in collections such as the Book of Taliesin, the Black Book of Carmarthen, the Hendregadredd Manuscript or The Red Book of Hergest. By the nineteenth century however it came to its modern definition as a long poem using at least two of the twenty-four recognised "official" strict forms (without the single end-rhyme).

Each year at the National Eisteddfod the bardic chair is awarded for the awdl judged worthiest; this competition is the most famous and prestigious in the Eisteddfod, and perceived to be the most difficult.

History
Awdlau in the early period are to be distinguished from Englynion, which are short, three or four-line stanzas. Since the recorded beginnings, awdlau were highly ornamental, and the forms permitted became stricter and stricter until the high Middle Ages. The 11th –13th centuries saw the royal court poets (Poets of the Princes) develop the art to a remarkable level of skill and accomplishment. After the extinction of Welsh royalty with the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, standardisation and codification of the rules of professional poetry led to recognition of 24 strict metres, each of which must use cynghanedd. By this period, the englyn metres as well as the cywydd metres were included within the 24, and the term awdl simpliciter became used for any long poem composed in metres chosen from the permitted range, with end-rhyme staying constant within individual sections of the poem. Among those known to have used the form in the early 17th century was Dafydd Llwyd Mathau in 1611.

Prestige
Such poems are judged to be among the finest work a poet can aim to produce. Prizes are given at eisteddfodau for the best awdl, the most lauded being that of chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, held each year in August. While 19th-century awdlau could run to thousands of lines, it is unusual to find such extensive pieces these days; the National Eisteddfod limits competitors to a few hundred lines.

Perhaps the best known early awdl is an apocalyptic elegy by Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch, marking the death in 1282 of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Well known 20th-century examples include Ymadawiad Arthur by T. Gwynn Jones, and Yr Arwr, by Hedd Wyn, which won the Eisteddfod chair in 1917 shortly after the death of its author in the First World War.

title: Awdl