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Shark fin soup

Shark fin soup is a soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients. It is commonly served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets, or as a luxury item.

It has been condemned by the Humane Society International, which states that approximately 72 million sharks are killed each year for their fins. Currently, international concerns over the sustainability and welfare of sharks have impacted consumption and availability of the soup worldwide. Recently, health concerns about the high concentration of BMAA in shark fins have arisen.

Shark fin soup substitutes have lately appeared on the market which do not require any shark fins, thus avoiding the environmental damage caused by the shark finning practice.

Preparation
Traditional shark fin soup or stew is made with fins obtained from a variety of shark species. Raw fins are processed by first removing the skin and denticles before trimming them into shapes and bleaching to a more desirable coloration.

Sharks' fins are sold dried, cooked, wet, and frozen. Ready-to-eat shark fin soup is also readily available in Asian markets.

Dried fins come in cooked and skinned (shredded) and raw and unskinned (whole), the latter requiring more preparation. Both need to be softened before they can be used to prepare soup.

Taste
The taste of the soup comes from the broth, as the fins themselves are almost tasteless. Rather than for taste, the fins are used for their "snappy, gelatinous" texture, which has been described as "chewy, sinewy, stringy". Krista Mahr of Time called it "somewhere between chewy and crunchy".

Health impact
Shark fins are believed in Chinese culture to have properties of boosting sexual potency, enhancing skin quality, increasing qi or energy, preventing heart disease, and lowering cholesterol. In traditional Chinese medicine, shark fins are believed to help in areas of rejuvenation, appetite enhancement, and blood nourishment and to be beneficial to vital energy, kidneys, lungs, bones, and many other parts of the body.

There are claims that shark fins prevent cancer; however, there is no scientific evidence, and one study found shark cartilage generally to be of no value in cancer treatment. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence that shark fins can be used to treat any medical condition. Sharks biomagnify toxins, so eating shark meat may raise the risk of dementia and mercury poisoning.

WildAid, a wildlife non-governmental organization, warned that eating too much shark fin can cause sterility in men. It is known that larger fish such as shark, tuna, and swordfish contain high levels of mercury and methylmercury salts. For nursing mothers, young children, and pregnant women or those who wish to be, the United States Food and Drug Administration has advised avoiding consumption of fish high in mercury.

High concentrations of BMAA are present in shark fins. Because BMAA is a neurotoxin, consumption of shark fin soup and cartilage pills may pose a risk for degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and ALS, as well as Parkinson's disease.

Counterfeit shark fins often also contain toxins.

Early use
Shark fin soup was reported in Ming dynasty writings and by the Qing dynasty was considered a "traditional part of formal banquets"; in Chinese cuisine, it was considered to be one of the eight treasured foods from the sea. It was popular with Chinese emperors because it was rare, and tasty only after a complicated and elaborate preparation. By the time of the Qing dynasty, shark fin soup was in high demand. Its manual of cuisine, the Suiyuan shidan, indicates that the shark fin was eaten as soup, stew, and even as a stir-fry, but in all cases the fin had to be boiled for two days.

The popularity of shark fin soup rose in the late-18th and early-19th centuries as standards of living began to improve.

Demand peaks, c. 2000
In the late-20th century, shark fin soup was a popular delicacy in China, and was eaten in Chinese restaurants around the world. The increasing wealth of the middle class raised demand. The shark fin trade more than doubled between 1985 and 2001.

Based on information gathered from the Hong Kong trade in fins, the market was estimated in 2004 to be growing by five percent each year. Consumption of shark fin soup had risen dramatically with the affluence of the middle class, as Chinese communities around the world enjoyed increasing income levels. The high price of the soup meant it was often used as a way to impress guests, or for celebrations such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals. It was used to communicate wealth, power, and prestige, as it was believed to show respect, honor, and appreciation to guests as well as to intimidate them as the serving of such a dish often implies that the host is willing to use cruelty and brutality to achieve their goals, with 58% of those questioned in the WWF survey indicating they ate the soup at a celebration or gathering.

In Hong Kong restaurants, where the market had been strong, demand from Hong Kong natives had reportedly dropped in 2006. This was more than balanced by an increase in demand from the Chinese mainland, where economic growth put the expensive delicacy within the reach of an expanding middle class.

A survey carried out in China in 2006 by WildAid and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association found that 35% of participants said they had consumed shark fin soup in the last year, while 83% of participants in an online survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature said that they had consumed shark fin soup at some time.

Changes in demand, 2005–present

The movement against shark fin soup began in 2006, when WildAid enlisted Chinese basketball star Yao Ming as spokesperson for a public relations campaign against the dish. The campaign was taken up by a coalition of Chinese businessmen, celebrities, and students. Businessman-turned-environmentalist Jim Zhang helped to raise concern within China's government, which pledged in 2012 to ban shark fin soup from official banquets within three years.

In January 2013, China Daily reported that officials in Zhejiang province found that many shark fin soup restaurants were selling artificial shark fins, and that one-third of the samples that the officials had obtained contained dangerous amounts of cadmium and methylmercury. Within two months of the China Daily report, China ordered officials throughout the country to stop serving dishes made from protected wildlife at official banquets, and the Hong Kong government issued a similar order in September.

Consumption of shark fin soup in China has decreased. China's Ministry of Commerce indicated that consumption of shark fin soup during the 2013 spring break holiday had decreased by 50–70% from 2012, and Hong Kong industry groups reported that shark fin imports were down by 20–30% from 2012. Also, anecdotal evidence points to a worldwide drop in shark fin prices and a move away from shark fishing in parts of Africa. Shark fin soup has often been replaced by dishes featuring sea cucumbers.

A 2016 poll from City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Shark Foundation had 75% of local respondents saying they were "neutral" towards the soup at banquets, while 90% of respondents said they would eat the dish if served to them, with the most popular justifications being to “avoid food waste” or to “show respect for their host”.

A 2018 WildAid report mentioned Thailand as an emerging market for shark fin soup, citing a 2017 survey where 57% of urban Thai respondents consumed the dish, most commonly at weddings, restaurants, and business meetings.

Ethical and environmental concerns

Shark fins used in the soup are the cartilaginous dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins. These are regularly harvested by a process known as shark finning, which takes only the fins and discards the carcass, alive or dead. Overfishing poses a major threat to the world's shark populations.

Some groups, such as Fins Attached, Shark Savers, IUCN, Shark Angels, Shark Whisperer and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, discourage consumption of the soup due to concerns with the world's shark population and how sharks are inhumanely finned alive and returned to the ocean, unable to swim, hunt or survive. The prevalence of shark finning and the sustainability of shark species are both debated. As of 2011, major hotel operators such as Marriott International, The Peninsula Hotels and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts stopped serving shark fin soup in favor of offering sustainable seafood. The largest supermarket chains in Singapore – Cold Storage and NTUC FairPrice – have stopped selling shark fins, citing sustainability concerns. Hong Kong Disneyland dropped the soup from its menu after it could not find a sustainable source.

Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry banned shark fin soup from official functions in a commitment to the Malaysian Nature Society to conserve the shark species.

In the United States, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have banned the sale and possession of shark fins, effectively eliminating the availability of the soup. Illinois, which had been a large importer of shark fins, was the fifth U.S. state, and the first non-Pacific state, to implement a ban on shark fin trade. In 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act, closing loopholes used to obtain shark fins. In October 2011, California governor Jerry Brown, citing the cruelty of finning and potential threats to the environment and commercial fishing, signed Assembly Bill 376, banning the possession and sale of detached shark fins. Two Chinese American groups challenged the law in federal court, arguing among other things that it was discriminatory against the Chinese-American community. The federal courts rejected these claims.

In Canada, the Vancouver city council decided to work towards creating a ban to preserve shark species. Toronto joined other regional municipalities in adopting a shark fin ban on 13 October 2011. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice overturned the Toronto bylaw, as it was outside the powers of the city. Calgary banned shark fin soup on 16 July 2012, but in May 2013 shelved the bylaw indefinitely.

On 2 July 2012, the State Council of the People's Republic of China declared that shark fin soup can no longer be served at official banquets. This ban may take up to three years to take effect because of the social significance of the dish in Chinese culture.

The marine conservation organization Bite-Back has campaigned against the sale of shark fin soup in Britain. On the back of its campaigning, the London-based Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Hakkasan agreed to stop selling the soup. High-profile names such as Gordon Ramsay, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Charles Clover, author of The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat, have lent their support to the charity's 'Hacked Off' campaign. In 2019, environmental NGO WildAid partnered with Plan B Media on a public awareness campaign to discourage sharkfin soup consumption in Taiwan.

Imitation shark fin soup
Imitation shark fin soup is a noodle soup often sold in small bowls by street vendors in Hong Kong, where it is a common street snack. It is a more ethical and affordable substitute for shark fin soup.

A popular, low-cost imitation shark fin soup (碗仔翅) made using vermicelli is widely available in Asia. They can also be made from cellophane noodles. Seafood companies in Asia later developed edible gelatinous products to imitate shark fins' qualities, commonly referred as "imitation shark fins".

Imitation shark fins

Substitutes for shark include imitation shark fin, konjac gel, various forms of noodles, and others. "Mock shark's fin" soup appeared in Hong Kong during the 1970s. From the 1990s onward, it became popular in restaurants throughout China. The shark fin is replaced with an imitation and edible mushrooms, kelps, seaweeds, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and beaten eggs are added, as in the traditional soup.

Imitation shark fin (素翅), typically from Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, is known as sùchì in Chinese Mandarin and sou ci in Chinese Cantonese, literally means "vegetarian fin". A Taiwanese manufacturer's recipe for it contains water, gelatin, alginic acid, sugar, casein, and triolein to reproduce the chewy, gelatinous texture of shark fins. However, some of these imitations absorb the broth more quickly than the real shark fin. Konjac gel (known as moyu tofu in Chinese Mandarin, mo wu dau fu in Chinese Cantonese, and konnyaku in Japanese) can also be used as a substitute for shark fin once it is julienned into thin strands using a chef's knife, produce slicer, or food processor. While cellophane noodles are also often used as an alternative to shark fins, some cooks find them too soft and unable to withstand simmering long enough for flavors to be absorbed, consequently the imitation shark fin or julienned konjac gel are more desirable. Other substitutes include Cucurbita ficifolia (shark fin melon, shark fin soup squash), chicken breast, jinhua ham, vermicelli, soy, sea cucumber, bird's nest, pig's skin and gelatin.

In 2015, a seafood company from San Francisco was working on a variation of imitation shark fin using algae-derived ingredients and recombinant proteins.

Alternatives to shark fin are inexpensive and easier to prepare. Imitation shark fin, konjac gel, and other alternatives can be purchased in preserved form from Asian supermarkets and convenience stores.

History
Imitation shark fin soup originated from Temple Street in Hong Kong during the 1950s and 1960s. Few people at that time could afford genuine shark fin soup, but street vendors collected the broken parts of shark fins discarded by Chinese restaurants and cooked them with mushrooms, egg, and pork, as well as soy sauce and other ingredients. The mixture, which was cooked into a soup, was served in a small bowl. Although this soup was inexpensive and lacked the authentic flavor, since it was cheap, tasty and contained many ingredients, it was popular among the poor and became one of the famous street snacks of Hong Kong.

Apart from the street vendor version, imitation shark fin soup may also be found in fast-food stores and expensive Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, and also on mainland China. Since April 2016, Cup Noodles released various instant imitation shark fin ramen soups.

Controversy
False descriptions of goods and services are prohibited by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance in Hong Kong. Thus, imitation shark fin soup may have to change its Cantonese name since "wun tsai chi" (碗仔翅 literally: "fin in little bowl") may mislead customers into thinking there is real shark fin in it. However, many argue against this new policy; some claim that the name is tied to the Hong Kong people's collective memories and culture, representing the history of old Hong Kong. It would also be inconvenient for tourists seeking the dish. Opponents of the name change suggest the government should consider whether customers are misled before carrying out the policy.

title: Shark fin soup


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Vetranio

Vetranio (died c. 356 AD) was briefly a imperial usurper and emperor in the Roman Empire in 350, during which time he controlled Illyricum between the rival emperors Magnus Magnentius and Constantius II, eventually capitulating to the latter.

Early life
Vetranio was born in the Roman province of Moesia to low-born parents, sometime in the late 3rd century. His early professions are unknown, but it is evident that at some point he joined the military and must have greatly distinguished himself to rise through the ranks to the army's highest office, magister militum, by emperor Constans, despite being uneducated and unconnected.

He had held this command for a long period of time, and by 350 was considered an officer of both popularity and experience. In early 350, the commander of the famed Ioviani and Herculiani units, Magnus Magnentius, rose in rebellion and had Constans assassinated and himself crowned as emperor. He quickly asserted control of the western territories, but stopped at the border of Vetranio's province, Illyricum. Three months later, Vetranio is declared emperor by his soldiers. The exact nature of these and ensuing events, and the question of why Vetranio was declared emperor has puzzled recent historians.

Early historians, such as Edward Gibbon and Otto Seeck, following the account of ancient historian Philostorgius, proposed the idea that after the murder of Constans, Constantina, his sister and the daughter of Constantine the Great, asked the aged Vetranio to assume the purple, which he did on 1 March. She most likely thought Vetranio could protect her family and herself against the usurper, and merely hoped to secure his fidelity, though Edward Gibbon credits her notoriously unscrupulous ambition for the scheme, suggesting interested motives on her part. As a member of the imperial family and potentially an Augusta herself, Constantina could have potentially acted as the auctor of imperial authority and legitimately given Vetranio the imperial position. In any case, Constantius II was then embroiled in a dangerous struggle with Shapur II, the king of the Sasanian Empire. Constantina may have doubted her brother's abilities.

Recently, this story has been revised by taking a more comprehensive look at a broader range of source material. John Drinkwater points out that because Magnentius extended his territorial control only as far as northern Italy and ceased expanding well before Vetranio was declared emperor, Vetranio’s rebellion was not done out of an immediate pressure to keep Magnentius out of Illyricum to secure it for Constantina or Constantius, and was therefore as much a rebellion against Constantius as it was against Magnentius. Drinkwater still argues that ultimately Vetranio remained loyal to the Constantinian dynasty, and this idea is shared by Alan Dearn, who looked at the numismatic (coin) evidence, and Andrastos Omissi. However, these loyalist theories are ultimately unable to adequately explain why Vetranio needed to be usurp imperial authority at all. Although he was not actually a magister militum under Constantius, having been promoted by Constans, it still would have been a much safer course of action for himself, and everyone else involved in the undertaking, if he simply remained a magister militum and declared his loyalty for Constantius. Such was the choice made in 361 by Lucillianus, the magister militum in Sirmium, potentially the exact same city in which Vetranio was raised to the purple. Facing down the approaching armies of the usurper Julian, Lucillianus remained a loyal general of Constantius. No counter-rebellion was necessary. Thus there is no good explanation for why Vetranio usurped imperial power in 350, other than his own ambition.

Emperor
Vetranio accepted the purple, and coins were minted in his name, showing the title of Augustus (full emperor), rather than Caesar, and the coins indicated that he expected to rule for five years, and hoped for ten. Understandings for the sequence of events, and the real motivations behind them, again hinge on whether one believes Vetranio was a Constantinian loyalist or a self-interested usurper. It is clear that Vetranio liaised with Constantius and received some sort of approval and support from him - according to Philostorgius, Constantius sent Vetranio a diadem, and Julian reports that Constantius supported him with money and troops - but then Vetranio also developed a relationship with Magnentius. The older understanding of this development is that Vetranio feared an attack from Magnentius, but as described above, Magnentius intentionally stopped short of Illyricum and made no additional threats to the area, so Vetranio can hardly have felt in danger.

Both Vetranio and Magnentius put images of Constantius on their coins and not each other, indicating that they hoped to gain his respect more than the other's. Eventually, Constantius left from the eastern frontier with a large army, and met with ambassadors from both rebel emperors at Heraclea in Thrace. They offered him the senior title in the Empire, and Magnentius proposed to wed his daughter to Constantius, himself to marry Constantia the emperor's sister. But they required that the emperor ratify their claims to the western provinces. Constantius, supposedly inspired by his father Constantine in a nocturnal vision, indignantly declined the offer.

The first rebel Constantius needed to deal with was Vetranio. He had occupied the Succi Pass, an important and defensible thoroughfare on the Via Militaris, close to Serdica. This was the main road on which Constantius must proceed westwards. It is not exactly clear what occurred at the Succi Pass - those who believe Vetranio was loyal to Constantius argue that Vetranio had already organised his eventual surrender to Constantius, but some primary sources indicate that Vetranio was betrayed by his Praetorian Prefect, Vulcacius Rufinus, who was the envoy who met Constantius at Heraclea, as well as by the officer Gomoarius, who was perhaps in charge of Vetranio's defences at Succi.

If this was not his own secret plan, Vetranio must have now realised his position was untenable. He had lost his best defensive position, most likely a large portion of his army along with its senior officers, and was facing a much larger and more experienced eastern field army. Vetranio's and Constantius' forces met at Serdica under a truce, and then they proceeded to Naissus together. If it had not been negotiated already, there can be no doubt that on this march the emperor and rebel reconciled, while Constantius' agents distributed bribes amongst the armies to ensure their loyalty to Constantius. Then, at Naissus, on 25 December 350, in a contrived scene the two emperors mounted a tribunal to address the assembled legions; Constantius succeeded, by means of a strong speech, in which he invoked the glories of the house of Constantine I, to have the Illyrian legions acclaim him sole emperor. Most likely in a pre-planned show, Vetranio threw himself on the ground and begged Constantius' clemency. The emperor gently raised the aged general by the hand, honoring him with the name of father, and gave him instant pardon.

Later life and death
Later he was dismissed in peace. Though dismissed from his command, he was allowed to live the remainder of his years as a private citizen on a state pension in Prusa ad Olympum, Bithynia. He lived a further six years, dying in simple happiness. He is said to have recommended to Constantius as his friend, during his happy retirement in Brusa, that peace could only be obtained in a private station.

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

title: Vetranio


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Coordinate vector

In linear algebra, a coordinate vector is a representation of a vector as an ordered list of numbers (a tuple) that describes the vector in terms of a particular ordered basis. An easy example may be a position such as (5, 2, 1) in a 3-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system with the basis as the axes of this system. Coordinates are always specified relative to an ordered basis. Bases and their associated coordinate representations let one realize vector spaces and linear transformations concretely as column vectors, row vectors, and matrices; hence, they are useful in calculations.

The idea of a coordinate vector can also be used for infinite-dimensional vector spaces, as addressed below.

Definition
Let V be a vector space of dimension n over a field F and let
 * $$ B = \{ b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_n \} $$

be an ordered basis for V. Then for every $$ v \in V $$ there is a unique linear combination of the basis vectors that equals $$ v $$:
 * $$ v = \alpha _1 b_1 + \alpha _2 b_2 + \cdots + \alpha _n b_n .$$

The coordinate vector of $$ v $$ relative to B is the sequence of coordinates
 * $$ [v]_B = (\alpha _1, \alpha _2, \ldots, \alpha _n) .$$

This is also called the representation of $$ v $$ with respect to B, or the B representation of $$ v $$. The $$ \alpha _1, \alpha _2, \ldots, \alpha _n$$ are called the coordinates of $$ v $$. The order of the basis becomes important here, since it determines the order in which the coefficients are listed in the coordinate vector.

Coordinate vectors of finite-dimensional vector spaces can be represented by matrices as column or row vectors. In the above notation, one can write
 * $$ [v]_B = \begin{bmatrix} \alpha_1 \\ \vdots \\ \alpha_n \end{bmatrix}$$

and
 * $$[v]_B^T = \begin{bmatrix} \alpha_1 & \alpha_2 & \cdots & \alpha_n \end{bmatrix}$$

where $$[v]_B^T$$ is the transpose of the matrix $$[v]_B$$.

The standard representation
We can mechanize the above transformation by defining a function $$\phi_B$$, called the standard representation of V with respect to B, that takes every vector to its coordinate representation: $$\phi_B(v)=[v]_B$$. Then $$\phi_B$$ is a linear transformation from V to Fn. In fact, it is an isomorphism, and its inverse $$\phi_B^{-1}:F^n\to V$$ is simply
 * $$\phi_B^{-1}(\alpha_1,\ldots,\alpha_n)=\alpha_1 b_1+\cdots+\alpha_n b_n.$$

Alternatively, we could have defined $$\phi_B^{-1}$$ to be the above function from the beginning, realized that $$\phi_B^{-1}$$ is an isomorphism, and defined $$\phi_B$$ to be its inverse.

Example 1
Let $$P_3$$ be the space of all the algebraic polynomials of degree at most 3 (i.e. the highest exponent of x can be 3). This space is linear and spanned by the following polynomials:
 * $$B_P = \left\{ 1,  x,  x^2,  x^3 \right\}$$

matching

1 := \begin{bmatrix} 1 \\ 0 \\ 0 \\ 0 \end{bmatrix} ; \quad x := \begin{bmatrix} 0 \\ 1 \\ 0 \\ 0 \end{bmatrix} ; \quad x^2 := \begin{bmatrix} 0 \\ 0 \\ 1 \\ 0 \end{bmatrix} ; \quad x^3 := \begin{bmatrix} 0 \\ 0 \\ 0 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix} $$

then the coordinate vector corresponding to the polynomial
 * $$p \left( x \right) = a_0 + a_1 x + a_2 x^2 + a_3 x^3$$

is
 * $$\begin{bmatrix} a_0 \\ a_1 \\ a_2 \\ a_3 \end{bmatrix}.$$

According to that representation, the differentiation operator d/dx which we shall mark D will be represented by the following matrix:
 * $$Dp(x) = P'(x) ; \quad [D] =

\begin{bmatrix} 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\   0 & 0 & 2 & 0 \\    0 & 0 & 0 & 3 \\    0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\  \end{bmatrix} $$

Using that method it is easy to explore the properties of the operator, such as: invertibility, Hermitian or anti-Hermitian or neither, spectrum and eigenvalues, and more.

Example 2
The Pauli matrices, which represent the spin operator when transforming the spin eigenstates into vector coordinates.

Basis transformation matrix
Let B and C be two different bases of a vector space V, and let us mark with $$\lbrack M \rbrack_C^B$$ the matrix which has columns consisting of the C representation of basis vectors b1, b2, …, bn:
 * $$\lbrack M\rbrack_C^B = \begin{bmatrix} \lbrack b_1\rbrack_C & \cdots & \lbrack b_n\rbrack_C \end{bmatrix} $$

This matrix is referred to as the basis transformation matrix from B to C. It can be regarded as an automorphism over $$F^n$$. Any vector v represented in B can be transformed to a representation in C as follows:
 * $$\lbrack v\rbrack_C = \lbrack M\rbrack_C^B \lbrack v\rbrack_B. $$

Under the transformation of basis, notice that the superscript on the transformation matrix, M, and the subscript on the coordinate vector, v, are the same, and seemingly cancel, leaving the remaining subscript. While this may serve as a memory aid, it is important to note that no such cancellation, or similar mathematical operation, is taking place.

Corollary
The matrix M is an invertible matrix and M−1 is the basis transformation matrix from C to B. In other words,
 * $$\begin{align}

\operatorname{Id} &= \lbrack M\rbrack_C^B \lbrack M\rbrack_B^C = \lbrack M\rbrack_C^C \\[3pt] &= \lbrack M\rbrack_B^C \lbrack M\rbrack_C^B = \lbrack M\rbrack_B^B \end{align}$$

Infinite-dimensional vector spaces
Suppose V is an infinite-dimensional vector space over a field F. If the dimension is κ, then there is some basis of κ elements for V. After an order is chosen, the basis can be considered an ordered basis. The elements of V are finite linear combinations of elements in the basis, which give rise to unique coordinate representations exactly as described before. The only change is that the indexing set for the coordinates is not finite. Since a given vector v is a finite linear combination of basis elements, the only nonzero entries of the coordinate vector for v will be the nonzero coefficients of the linear combination representing v. Thus the coordinate vector for v is zero except in finitely many entries.

The linear transformations between (possibly) infinite-dimensional vector spaces can be modeled, analogously to the finite-dimensional case, with infinite matrices. The special case of the transformations from V into V is described in the full linear ring article.

title: Coordinate vector


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Magdalenian

The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: Magdalénien) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is named after the type site of La Madeleine, a rock shelter located in the Vézère valley, commune of Tursac, in France's Dordogne department.

Édouard Lartet and Henry Christy originally termed the period L'âge du renne (the Age of the Reindeer). They conducted the first systematic excavations of the type site, publishing in 1875. The Magdalenian epoch is associated with reindeer hunters, although Magdalenian sites contain extensive evidence for the hunting of red deer, horses, and other large mammals present in Europe toward the end of the last glacial period. The culture was geographically widespread, and later Magdalenian sites stretched from Portugal in the west to Poland in the east, and as far north as France, the Channel Islands, England, and Wales. It is the third epoch of Gabriel de Mortillet's cave chronology system, corresponding roughly to the Late Pleistocene. Besides La Madeleine, the chief stations of the epoch are Les Eyzies, Laugerie-Basse, and Gorges d'Enfer in the Dordogne; Grotte du Placard in Charente and others in south-west France.

Magdalenian peoples produced a wide variety of art, including figurines and cave paintings. Evidence has been found suggesting that Magdalenian peoples regularly engaged in (probably ritualistic) cannibalism along with producing skull cups.

Magdalenian peoples were largely replaced and in some areas absorbed by Epigravettian producing groups of Villabruna/Western Hunter Gatherer ancestry at the end of the Pleistocene.

Period biology

The Magdalenian epoch is represented by numerous sites, whose contents show progress in arts and culture. It was characterized by a cold and dry climate, humans in association with the reindeer, and the extinction of the mammoth. The use of bone and ivory as implements, begun in the preceding Solutrean epoch, increased, making the period essentially a bone period. Bone instruments are quite varied: spear-points, harpoon-heads, borers, hooks and needles.

The fauna of the Magdalenian epoch seems to have included tigers and other tropical species along with reindeer, arctic foxes, arctic hares, and other polar creatures. Magdalenian humans appear to have been of short stature, dolichocephalic, with a low retreating forehead and prominent brow ridges.

Chronology
The culture spans from approximately 17,000 to 12,000 BP, toward the end of the most recent ice age. Magdalenian tool culture is characterised by regular blade industries struck from carinated cores.

The Magdalenian epoch is divided into six phases generally agreed to have chronological significance (Magdalenian I through VI, I being the earliest and VI being the latest). The earliest phases are recognised by the varying proportion of blades and specific varieties of scrapers, the middle phases marked by the emergence of a microlithic component (particularly the distinctive denticulated microliths), and the later phases by the presence of uniserial (phase5) and biserial 'harpoons' (phase6) made of bone, antler and ivory.

Debate continues about the nature of the earliest Magdalenian assemblages, and it remains questionable whether the Badegoulian culture is the earliest phase of Magdalenian culture. Similarly, finds from the forest of Beauregard near Paris have been suggested as belonging to the earliest Magdalenian. The earliest Magdalenian sites are in France. The Epigravettian is a similar culture appearing at the same time. Its known range extends from southeast France to the western shores of the Volga River, Russia, with many sites in Italy.

The later phases of Magdalenian culture are contemporaneous with the human re-settlement of north-western Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum during the Late Glacial Maximum. As hunter gatherers, Magdalenians did not re-settle permanently in northwest Europe, instead following herds and seasons.

By the end of the Magdalenian epoch, lithic technology shows a pronounced trend toward increased microlithisation. The bone harpoons and points have the most distinctive chronological markers within the typological sequence. As well as flint tools, Magdalenians are known for their elaborate worked bone, antler and ivory that served both functional and aesthetic purposes, including perforated batons.

The sea shells and fossils found in Magdalenian sites may be sourced to relatively precise areas and have been used to support hypotheses of Magdalenian hunter-gatherer seasonal ranges, and perhaps trade routes.

In northern Spain and south-west France this tool culture was superseded by the Azilian culture. In northern Europe it was followed by variants of the Tjongerian techno-complex. It has been suggested that key Late-glacial sites in south-western Britain may be attributed to Magdalenian culture, including Kent's Cavern.

Art
Bones, reindeer antlers and animal teeth display pictures carved or etched on them of seals, fish, reindeer, mammoths and other creatures.

The best of Magdalenian artworks are a mammoth engraved on a fragment of its own ivory; a dagger of reindeer antler, with a handle in form of a reindeer; a cave-bear cut on a flat piece of schist; a seal on a bear's tooth; a fish drawn on a reindeer antler; and a complete picture, also on reindeer antler, showing horses, an aurochs, trees, and a snake biting a man's leg. The man is naked, which, together with the snake, suggests a warm climate in spite of the presence of the reindeer.

In the Tuc d'Audoubert cave, an 18-inch clay statue of two bison sculpted in relief was discovered in the deepest room, now known as the Room of the Bisons.

Examples of Magdalenian portable art include batons, figurines, and intricately engraved projectile points, as well as items of personal adornment including sea shells, perforated carnivore teeth (presumably necklaces), and fossils.

Cave sites such as Lascaux contain the best known examples of Magdalenian cave art. The site of Altamira in Spain, with its extensive and varied forms of Magdalenian mobiliary art has been suggested to be an agglomeration site where groups of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers congregated.

Treatment of the dead
Some skulls were cleaned of soft tissues, then had the facial regions removed, with the remaining brain case retouched, possibly to make the broken edges more regular. This manipulation suggests the shaping of skulls to produce skull cups. Finds of defleshed (as evidenced by cut marks) and cracked bones with human chewing marks at Gough's Cave, England suggests that the Magdalenian peoples there engaged in cannibalism. Cannibalism has been suggested at a dozen other Magadelian sites across the culture's geographic range, representing 25% of all Magdalenian sites, far more than any other European Paleolithic culture. It has been suggested that Magdalenian peoples practiced a form of funerary endocannibalism, where upon the death of a member of the community, they were ritually dismembered and consumed by other members of the group, with their skulls being used to create skull cups. At other Magdalenian sites primary burial with no evidence of cannibalism is observed, with a handful of sites showing alternating evidence of cannibalism and primary burial at different occupation layers. At sites with primary burial, genetic analysis of these individuals indicate that they are more closely related to the people of the Epigravettian culture/Villabruna cluster than to the Magdalenians that practiced cannibalism (who belong to the GoyetQ2 cluster).

Genetics
The genes of seven Magdalenians, the El Miron Cluster in Iberia, have shown close relationship to a population who had lived in Northern Europe some 20,000 years previously. The analyses suggested that 70-80% of the ancestry of these individuals was from the population represented by Goyet Q116-1, associated with the Aurignacian culture of about 35,000 BP, from the Goyet Caves in modern Belgium. The later 15,000 year old GoyetQ2 individual from Goyet Caves often used as a proxy for Magdalenian ancestry. Analysis of genomes of GoyetQ2-related Magdalenians suggest that like earlier Cro-Magnon groups, they probably had a relatively dark skin tone compared to modern Europeans.

The three samples of Y-DNA included two samples of haplogroup I and one sample of HIJK. All samples of mtDNA belonged to U, including five samples of U8b and one sample of U5b.

In a genetic study published in Nature in March 2023, the authors found that the ancestors of Western Hunter Gatherers, who dominated Western Europe during the Mesolithic, were populations associated with the Epigravettian culture (who are genetically described as the "Villabruna cluster"), which largely replaced Madgalenian populations associated with GoyetQ2-related ancestry about 14,000 years ago (the ancestors of the GoyetQ2 cluster were largely descended from the earlier Gravettian, Solutrean and Aurignacian cultures). At some late Madgalenian sites, Magdalenian-type tools are found in association with remains of largely Villabruna ancestry, demonstrating that tool morphology does not necessarily strictly correspond with ancestry. In France and Spain, significant GoyetQ2-related ancestry persisted into the Mesolithic and Neolithic, with some Neolithic individuals in France largely of Early European Farmer descent showing significant GoyetQ2 ancestry.

title: Magdalenian


text:
Grid.org

grid.org was a website and online community established in 2001 for cluster computing and grid computing software users. For six years it operated several different volunteer computing projects that allowed members to donate their spare computer cycles to worthwhile causes. In 2007, it became a community for open source cluster and grid computing software. After around 2010 it redirected to other sites.

Volunteer computing projects
From its establishment in April 2001 until April 27, 2007, grid.org was the website and organization that ran distributed computing projects such as the United Devices Cancer Research Project, led by Jikku Venkat, Ph.D and was sponsored philanthropically by United Devices (UD) and members participated in volunteer computing by running the UD Agent software (version 3.0).

Cancer Research Project
The United Devices Cancer Research Project, which began in 2001, was seeking possible drugs for the treatment of cancer using distributed computing. There were around 150,000 users in the United States and 170,000 in Europe along with hundreds of thousands more in other parts of the world.

The project was an alliance of several companies and organisations:
 * United Devices Inc.
 * National Foundation for Cancer Research
 * University of Oxford Department of Chemistry
 * Donors of molecular research

United Devices released the cancer research screensaver under the principle of using spare computing power. The program, which could be set to run continually, used "virtual screening" to find possible interactions between molecules and target proteins, i.e. a drug. These molecules (ligands) are sent to the host computer's UD Agent. When these molecules dock successfully with a target protein this interaction is scored for further investigation.

The research consisted of two phases:

 * Phase 1 tested over 3 billion drug-like molecules against 12 proteins which were known to be suitable targets for anti-cancer drugs. It used the "THINK" software for the simulation of the molecular interactions.
 * Phase 2, using the "LigandFit" software developed by Accelrys to model interactions, sought to refine the Phase 1 data to produce a more manageable list of drug candidates for testing that would require experimental collaborators, including some from industry.

Human Proteome Folding Project, phase 1
The IBM-sponsored Human Proteome Folding Project ("HPF"), phase 1, was announced on November 16, 2004 and was completed July 3, 2006. The project operated simultaneously on both grid.org and the IBM's World Community Grid.

It made use of the "Rosetta" software to predict the structure of human proteins in order to help predict the function of proteins. This information may someday be used to help cure a variety of diseases and genetic defects.

According to an announcement on the grid.org forums, after the HPF1 project was completed it was left to continue running on grid.org until August 9, 2006. During that time, members whose computers were configured to run this project got new work and spent computing resources calculating a result, but the result was returned to grid.org for points only—it was not used for scientific research.

The status of the Human Proteome Folding Project caused some discussion on the grid.org forums. Most members wanted to see all available computing power directed toward the still-active cancer project, but UD representative Robby Brewer asserted that "some [users] like the screensaver". As noted above, in the end the redundant HPF1 work on grid.org was halted.

Smallpox Project
The Smallpox Research Grid was a part of United Devices "Patriot Grid" initiative to fight biological terrorism. This project helped analyze potential drug candidates for a medical therapy in the fight against smallpox virus. It made use of the "LigandFit" software (that had already been used by phase 2 of the Cancer Research project), but with a specialized set of target molecules that targeted the smallpox virus.

The partners of the project included University of Oxford, the University of Western Ontario, Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center, Essex University, Evotec OAI, Accelrys, and IBM.

The World Community Grid largely began because of the success of this project.

Anthrax Project
The Anthrax Research Project was a part of the United Devices "Patriot Grid" initiative to fight biological terrorism. It made use of the "LigandFit" software (that had already been used by phase 2 of the Cancer Research project), but with a specialized set of target molecules that targeted the advanced stages of anthrax bacterial infection.

The project was operated from January 22, 2002 until February 14, 2002 and ended after a total of 3.57 billion molecules had finished screening. The results of the research project were transmitted to biological scientists in order to finish the screening of the computational simulations.

The partners of the project included Oxford University.

HMMER Project
The HMMER Genetic Research project made use of the Hidden Markov model to search for patterns in genetic DNA sequences.

Webload Project
The Web Performance Testing project was operated as a commercial opportunity with select web hosting providers in order to help them test the scalability of their server infrastructures under periods of high-demand.

Open source grid community
In November 2007, grid.org was repositioned by Univa as a community to allow users to interact and discuss open source cluster and grid related topics. It allowed users to download, get support for, contribute to, and report issues about the open source Globus Toolkit based products offered by Univa. Over 100,000 unique visitors were reported in 2008. Around mid 2010 it redirected to Unicluster.org (a Univa product) and by 2012 it redirected to Univa's main site.

title: Grid.org


text:
Haifa bint Faisal Al Saud

Haifa bint Faisal Al Saud (هيفاء بنت فيصل آل سعود; born 1950) is a member of the House of Saud.

Early life
Haifa bint Faisal was born in July 1950. She is the daughter of King Faisal and Queen Iffat who was born to a Circassian family. She is the full sister of Mohammed bin Faisal, Saud bin Faisal, Luluwah bint Faisal, Sara bint Faisal and Turki bin Faisal.

Philanthrophy
Princess Haifa is the founder of the Albaydha Housing Project, the national pilot for developmental housing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She is also the founder and chairwoman of the Zahra Breast Cancer Association in the Kingdom.

Princess Haifa is also a board member of Effat University. and the National Museum of Saudi Arabia.

9/11 Commission Report
The 9/11 Commission Report states in footnote 122: "We have found no evidence that Saudi Princess Haifa al Faisal provided any funds to the conspiracy, either directly or indirectly.". (The quote itself comes either from David D. Aufhauser of the U.S. Treasury Department, or Adam B. Drucker, of the FBI.)

After the September 11 attacks, Princess Haifa was investigated for a sequence of payments allegedly made to a Saudi national by the name of Omar al-Bayoumi. Investigation has confirmed that some of the payments were in fact forwarded to al-Bayoumi's wife, Manal Bajadr; the significance of these payments (and the extent to which they may have assisted the hijackers) is unclear. In April 1998, Osama Basnan, a Saudi national living in California, wrote to Haifa requesting money for his wife's needed thyroid surgery. Haifa sent Basnan $15,000, although his wife, Majeda Dweikat, was not actually treated for another two years.

At some later point (accounts vary as to when; dates between November 1999 and March 2000 were given, and a Saudi government official put the onset at 4 December 1999), Haifa began sending monthly cashier's checks to Dweikat of either $2,000 or $3,500, transporting them through Riggs Bank. Dweikat signed some of these checks over to her friend Manal Bajadr, wife of Omar al-Bayoumi. The payments continued through May, 2002 and eventually totaled as much as $73,000. (This sort of charitable donation known as Zakat from members of the House of Saud to Saudi nationals living abroad is not particularly unusual.)

According to the Saudi daily, Al Riyadh, Haifa became "so terrified" that she asked that all checks drawn against her bank account with the Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C. since 1994 be examined. Some of these investigations led to the Riggs Bank scandals of 2003 and 2004. In 2002, in regard to the accusations against Prince Turki, her brother, stated "Any allegations about money from my sister reaching the hijackers is allegation and half-truths and totally untrue."

Personal life
Haifa is the spouse of Bandar bin Sultan. They have eight children, four daughters and four sons, including Reema, Khalid and Faisal.

Haifa told that when she saw Bandar first, she had a feeling she would marry him. After four years, in 1972 they married. She said that their marriage was not a pre-arranged one. Her mother, Iffat, was a friend of Bandar's grandmother, Hassa. She further said that her mother also liked Bandar.

title: Haifa bint Faisal Al Saud


text:
Sekondi-Takoradi

Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city as well as an industrial and commercial center with a population of 104,847 people, according to the 2021 census.

Leading industries in the city are timber, cocoa processing, plywood, shipbuilding, its harbour and railway repair, and recently, sweet crude oil and crude oil. The fundamental job in Sekondi-Takoradi is fishing. Sekondi-Takoradi lies on the main railway lines to Kumasi.

Etymology
Sekondi is a name derived from the word 'second' after the settlement was chosen as the second location for a shallow water harbour. Takoradi is a combination of the Portuguese word 'taccarada' and an Ahanta word 'ntakor'.

History
Sekondi, the older and larger of the two towns, was the site of Fort Orange, Fort Witsen, and Fort Sekondi, all built in the 17th century. The town prospered from a railroad built in 1903 to transport mineral and timber resources from the hinterland. In 1928, Ghana's first deepwater seaport was built in Takoradi.

During World War II, RAF Takoradi was an important staging point for British aircraft destined for Egypt. Spitfire fighter planes were shipped in crates from England to Takoradi where they were assembled then flown via Nigeria and Sudan to Libya. 26 Squadron SAAF was also based in Takoradi during the conflict, flying anti-submarine and convoy protection patrols over the Atlantic. A number of South African airmen are buried in the Takoradi European Public cemetery.

Both cities merged in 1946. On 20 November 1969, the city became the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sekondi–Takoradi.

Culture
Sekondi-Takoradi has a rich cultural heritage, and the city is home to several landmarks and tourist attractions. Fort Sekondi and the local railway museum are some notable structures originated from the colonial era. The city also have notable nightlife, with several pubs, restaurants and clubs popping out all across the city. Many annual festivals are celebrated in the city, including the Ankos Festival and the Kundum Festival.

Economy
The city is an important commercial center in Ghana with an industrialized economy. Its location on the coast makes it an essential hub for fishing and trading activities. The Albert Bosomtwi-Sam Fishing Harbour, located in Sekondi, is one of the largest fishing port in the region. It historically have been a center for the timber and cocoa industries as these resources were transported into the city for export. The Takoradi Harbour is also an important sector in the city's economy. The discovery of oil in the region in 2010 have resulted in Sekondi-Takoradi to be known as the Oil City.

Demographics
Close to all of Sekondi-Takoradi's population is Christian from which 35% are Pentecostal/Charismatic, 26% are Protestant, and 14% are Catholic with the remaining 12% comprising numerous minor denominations. 9% of the population are Muslim, 3.5% identify as non-religious and 0.2% practice traditional African religions. The major ethnic group found in the city are the Ahanta people.

Transportation
Sekondi is well-connected to other parts of Ghana and neighboring countries through a network of roads and railways. The city's port is a vital transportation hub, with several shipping lines providing regular services to other West African countries and Europe. The Takoradi Airport (TDI), located about 5 km from Sekondi, provides air transportation to other parts of Ghana and international destinations. There are public transport connections from Takoradi to major cities such as Accra; Kumasi; Mim; Cape Coast; Sunyani; Tamale; Tema; Ho; Wa; Bolgatanga; Elubo; Aflao; and Techiman.

Climate
Sekondi-Takoradi has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw), where it experiences a wet and dry season and the temperature being hot year-round. The average annual high is 28 C while the average annual low is 22.2 C. The hottest time of year is from January to May, around the time the wet season begins.

The city receives a total amount of 126 mm of rainfall throughout the year, with a distinct wet and dry season. The dry season is short, spanning from December to March while the wet season is between May and June. June, the wettest month, receives on average 346 mm.

Education
The city has several secondary schools, colleges, and special schools. This is a list of senior high schools, colleges, and universities in the city: Takoradi Technical Institute houses a fab lab, equipped by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is the first of its kind in Africa. The Western Regional Library was established in Sekondi in 1955.
 * Senior High Schools
 * St. John's School
 * Ghana Senior High Technical School
 * Baidoo Bonsoe Senior High Technical School
 * St. Mary's Boys' Senior High School
 * Methodist senior high school
 * Ahantaman Senior High School
 * Fijai Secondary School
 * Adiembra Secondary School
 * Bompeh Senior High Technical School
 * Archbishop Porter Girls Secondary School
 * Colleges/Universities
 * Takoradi Technical University
 * Nurses and Midwifery Training College
 * Holy Child Teachers Training College
 * Sekondi College

Sports
Sekondi-Takoradi is home to two stadiums, Essipong Stadium and Gyandu Park. Notable sports teams based in the city are FC Takoradi, Sekondi Hasaacas, and Sekondi Wise Fighters.

Sister cities

 * 🇮🇹 Palermo, Italy (2021)
 * 🇺🇸 Boston, United States (2001)
 * 🇺🇸 Oakland, United States (1975)

Notable people

 * Ben Bentil (born 1995), basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

title: Sekondi-Takoradi


text:
Talk:Shark fin soup

Wikipedia Ambassador Program assignment
This article is the subject of an educational assignment at Mount Allison University supported by Canada Education Program and the Wikipedia Ambassador Program during the 2012 Q4 term. Further details are available on the course page.

Above message substituted from on 14:56, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Nutritional Value
Can anyone provide the nutritional value of shark fin? Just the shark fin, not shark fin soup. Kalandra 18:58, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Table 21 of this article contains information on the chemical composition of dried shark fins. --71.175.23.226 20:18, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

http://www.nutrientfacts.com/foodpages/nutritionfacts/nutritionfacts_shark_fin_soup.htm provides information on nutritional values of Shark Fin Soup. They appear to be lower than normal vegetable soups: http://www.nutrientfacts.com/searchfood.exe?var=5&word=Vegetarian+Vegetable+Soup&x=33&y=8 I'll go ahead and insert it to the article. Richardofoakshire (talk) 19:17, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Cleared controversial information after checking data, verified refs. Richardofoakshire (talk) 19:43, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Imitation shark fin soup (factual accuracy problem)
I question the factual accuracy of the statement

 * "There is an imitation version that is usually sold in cans that may be labelled as shark fin soup;" (emphasis added)

It contradicts my personal knowledge about how imitation shark fin soup is usually sold. I've witnessed the soup being sold by street vendors (years ago) and in restaurants (more recently). I've never seen it sold as canned soup in any of the Chinese communities I've been to. I believe it is almost certainly false to describe it as "usually sold in cans".

Imitation shark fin soup is known as 碗仔翅 in Chinese. A Chinese Wikipedia page exists on the subject. --71.175.23.226 20:05, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I also question the accuracy of this section. In addition to the previous poster's remarks, the line about flavoring imitation sharks fin with chicken broth, ham and mushrooms is silly because those are the same ase ingredients to flavor real sharks fin soup. If you are making an imitation obviously you would use the same ingredients as the original wherever possible! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.174.149.253 (talk) 10:09, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

Chinese Traditional Medicine
(I'm all in favor of preserving sharks from going extinct) Isnt there some info. of its use in Chinese traditional medicine for shark fin? (Of course all the reason why sharks should be protected until the stocks replenish.) -Bill

April 23, 2007 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.98.127.45 (talk) 19:18, 23 April 2007 (UTC).

 * Most of Chinese "traditional" medicine is a crock. Rhino horn isn't going to cure anything, and neither is shark cartilage. --Haizum   μολὼν λαβέ 18:38, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

 * those are hardly the prime representatives of Chinese traditional medicine. infamous ones more like it. therefore i would urge you not to use "most of". Chensiyuan 08:09, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Actually being Chinese myself I can affirm that those dishes aren't considered Chinese "traditional" medicine. It's not even considered medicine, barely considered a health supplement.  As for Chinese "traditional" medicine itself, many (boarderline most) western medical professionals in the US and other industrialized nations have made almost a complete 180 on their position of eastern medicines.  They're rapidly finding many herbs once thought to be completely useless as far as medicinal purposes go, will actually treat illnesses rather than suppressing symptoms as many "western" medicines do.  I would urge you do a little more research on the subject before calling it a "crock".

-University Med Student —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.185.96.207 (talk) 05:32, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

This article reads like an Animal Rights soapbox
This article has an almost comical lack of balance. Three medium-length paragraphs on the soup itself; ten paragraphs, some quite long, on the 'controversy' - and even the three relevant paragraphs aren't without mention of the same. It strains credulity to believe that the history and culture surrounding this unique food item are somehow subordinate, a mere side note, to 21st century hand-wringing environmental activism. This ridiculous situation is insulting to the reader and to the cuisine which produced this unusual dish.

I would highly suggest that the 'controversy' section be shortened to a brief summary, with the bulk of it being moved / merged into another, more appropriate article - one on sharks or Animal Rights controversies, for example. As it stands, it's little better than pushy special-interest propaganda.

Drlegendre (talk) 13:37, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Statistics are taken from WWF, an animal right group. If that's not biased, I don't know what is.  129.173.209.219 (talk) 12:26, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

--210.188.139.188 (talk) 05:22, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

 * I have to agree without arguing about anyone's right to object to the practice of finning. I was struck by this section in the "Nutritional Value and Health Issues" section:

 * Shark fins, in common with other costly east Asian delicacies such as Bird's nest soup and sea cucumber, have very little flavor of their own.[9] Their appeal lies more in their texture and their ability to absorb flavors from other soup ingredients and also for the simple fact of their expense and supposed "rarity", as with many luxury goods.[18]

 * This has nothing to do with neither nutritional value nor health issues related to shark fin soup. Its only purpose appears to put readers off of the soup while challenging the intelligence of the soup's eaters.  The sentence could be re-written as "Shark fins are tasteless and you only want to eat them because they are expensive and rare."

 * The content of this article still has coatrack content that either already exists or should be merged into shark finning and Shark. Unless a reliable source directly talks about shark fin soup, the content does not belong in this article.  Piecemealing sources to push a point of view not already in a source would be original research.   Notice how an article like steak is not weighed down with information about mad cow disease, Beef hormone controversy, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or Veganism. —Bagumba (talk) 01:38, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Decline in Shark population
Due to popularity of Shark fin in Chinese world, Sharks are increasingly in danger of becoming extinct. We need to add this information to the article. --Korsentry 05:48, 16 March 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by KoreanSentry (talk • contribs)

The articles twice makes false claims of the IUCN only having 3 sharks listed as needing proctection and many are increasing in population, this is a lie and the source is more than a little unreliable a quick check on the IUCN redlist shows this. Surely this is bias and should be checked out. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mattshark (talk • contribs) 16:13, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

I tried to address this by adding a quote from a CITES document that balances this, unfortunately another editor has decided to remove it yet leave the out of date and misleading link to a press article.

I think a published CITES report trumps a press article, but I'd be happy for both to be removed. Nick mitchener (talk) 01:03, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Shark fin VS Shark fin soup
This article is more about the dried product Shark fin, then the soup which contains it as an ingredient. Shouldn't this article be split? 20:22, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

 * Sure, let's build Shark fin or add it to Shark with Shark. And while we're at it, work on Shark Fin with and expansion and rename. There is also Shark finning to consider. --Travis Thurston+ 00:21, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

 * Wow...this looks like work...Sjschen (talk) 16:39, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

shark waters
What does the bit about the eco-documentary "shark waters" add to the article? sounds like advertising. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.104.247.10 (talk) 02:43, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Shark meat
This article is perhaps quite biased.

''Over 100 million sharks are killed every year, a portion of which due to the demand for shark fin soup.[33] Major declines in shark populations have been recorded in recent years—some species have been depleted by over 90% over the past 20–30 years with a population decline of 70% not being unusual.[34] Only a small amount of the shark is actually kept. This is done in a process called finning where the fins of the shark is cut from living sharks.[35] After the fins have been cut off, the remainder of the fish which is often still-living, is thrown back into the sea.[35] When returned to the ocean, the finless shark is unable to swim and sinks to the ocean bottom and dies a slow death.[36]''

In reality, while I admit that catching sharks for their fins is a "brutal practice" and can be unnecessary, there are indeed many supermarkets selling shark meat now. Why does the article not mention this? Estheroliver (talk) 21:37, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

Cancer fighting abilities
The section about cancer fighting abilities seems contradictory. First there is a statement that shark fins have cancer fighting abilities, followed by a statement (with a citation) that they do not. I marked the statement that they do have cancer fighting abilities as dubious, but if someone can provide a credible citation then the article should be changed to say that some people believe that it does, while others believe that it does not. --Meznaric (talk) 22:13, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

insufficient info in reference to Radio Times
The reference is not clear if it is referring to the magazine or the radio program. Once that is established. Relevant information using citation templates or the equivalent is needed relative to the type of source being used. It looks like the magazine is being referenced, but would a TV/radio listing guide would have such details (I'm not familiar with the UK) about a program?

The above opinion cited from the "Radio Times" in question is not attributed to a specific person, which is needed for neutrality. On a more minor point, if it can be sourced and attributed, it probably should not be in the lead. Bagumba (talk) 21:00, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
 * So if its attributed it doesn't belong and if its not attributed it doesn't belong, ah well, thats Maoism for ya. Sayerslle (talk) 22:37, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Not sure how Maoism is related. BTW, my comment was specific to inclusion in the lead not the entire article, but any opinion is subject to consensus. Can you also provide the title and author of the article (assuming it is from a magazine which was not directly answered) Can you also provide what are Butchers credentials—e.g. film critic, food critic, etc. For convenience, is there is a web resource? Thanks Bagumba (talk) 00:44, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't think it would be from a radio program if a page number is listed! (I have never seen 'p.' used to refer to anything other than 'page'). BTW I doubt the radio times is a suitable source anyway. It is written in a tabloid style and full of opinions and program reviews.1812ahill (talk) 15:37, 5 October 2011 (UTC)
 * if you search www.the arts desk.com Gordon Ramsay:Shark Bait/Dispatches - there are details of the programme that was broadcast on channel four in january about ' the dark secrets of the shark-fin industry' - yes David Butcher is a TV critic, for the Radio Times, which yes, is a magazine, une revue, weekly, been going for ages, widely read in Britain, and David Butcher, is a TV critic  who writes for it , regularly,  Sayerslle (talk) 02:54, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Quoting a TV critic on an ecological issue that uses "sickening"? Lets do better on notability and neutrality. 70.137.137.88 (talk) 00:58, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
 * he is probably an intelligent enough guy to get such a job, watch a TV programme about the shark-fin industry and comment on it - 'an ecological issue' - so just experts like you presumably can be trusted.. notability, neutrality -- yeah, physician, heal thyself. Sayerslle (talk) 01:44, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Nobody seems to have access to this source that contains questionable use of ellipses that you are evasive about putting into the article (and not burying in a footnote) who has the opinion whether it is the TV critic or the celebrity chef. And will you finally provide an article name and page number or is this actually one of those 2 sentence "reviews" to lure people into watching?166.205.137.142 (talk) 02:24, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
 * 'lure people into watching..?' What are you on about. say good night to the folks, gracie.Sayerslle (talk) 15:57, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

IWMC
This appears to be an advocacy site; it should be used cautiously if at all. Allens (talk) 15:37, 10 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Moreover, anything not directly related to the soup should be placed in the shark finning article. This is not a WP:COATRACK for shark finning or the environment.—Bagumba (talk) 17:42, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

Why not do that Bagumba then, rather than just remove the citation I gave to a CITES report but leave the out of date and incorrect press report? Nick mitchener (talk) 01:07, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
 * You are invited to be bold and fix them yourself as well.—Bagumba (talk) 01:31, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Hi Bagumba, I decided to be bold and deleted the bit about only 3 of the 400 species being threatened. There is still a link to the article where he talks about finning but although I believe that information to be out of date as well I don't have a link to a verified article that disputes that. Mr Choo's bias is clear, and CITES themselves are generally very slow to react to anything marine. Personally I would prefer to soo this article cleaned up completely but at least I have removed the most misleading bit. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nick mitchener (talk • contribs) 01:50, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Coatrack in lead
The lead of a cultural food item should not be dominated by coatrack items. The sourced specifics should be moved to the body of article or possibly other articles where they can be summarized here.—Bagumba (talk) 19:56, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

I'm quite happy for all sourced details of shark populations at risk to be removed, but instead of that my quote from a CITES document has been removed but a link to a misleading and out of date article has been allowed to remain.

Rather than this being a soapbox for animal rights it is a propoganda tool for those in favour of finning. Nick mitchener (talk) 00:56, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry, that was not my intent. Was looking to stop the adding of coats first.  Cleaning the existing ones is more complex (e.g. refactoring useful sources to other articles, neutrally summarizing the high level points here, etc) and is on the to-do list.  In the meantime, there is the coatrack tag to inform readers/editors.—Bagumba (talk) 01:19, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

 * Can you elaborate on "misleading and out of date article"? Feel free to be bold and fix it here and/or the other article. Cheers.—Bagumba (talk) 01:23, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Undue weight on shark finning
The above text was recently restored despite concerns tagged in the article and in edit summaries that details on shark finning are coat rack items for an article on the soup. This discussion serves to discuss any misunderstandings. While finning should be mentioned as it discussed in reliable sources in relation to the soup, it should be a brief summary about the relationship between finning and the soup. It does not warrant a direct quotes on the debate over finning, nor are details on the debate needed when there is a separate article on the subject.—Bagumba (talk) 17:59, 19 January 2012 (UTC)

As I mentioned earlier, if the Controversy section is required here (does it?), a single line like "refer to shark finning article" will avoid further contentious edit in this section. Josha68 (talk) 19:07, 19 January 2012 (UTC)

Above was the section before the edits in questions were added. What needs to be modified to make it more neutral. I believe a few sentences are warranted—not just a link—for those that dont want to go to another article.—Bagumba (talk) 19:31, 19 January 2012 (UTC)

I think that we should keep it general, and not delve into the point of view of one side or the other, which has an article dedicated to where this certain controversy lies, namely the act of shark finning. And have the subsections "Types of shark used", "Trade", and this info here placed under the section "Market". --Cold Season (talk) 21:06, 19 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I like the suggestion of moving the "controversy" into the "Market" section. I personally think the contents of "Types of shark used" and "Trade" belong in an article on the shark fin trade, and have tagged and started a disucssion to merge them into Shark finning.—Bagumba (talk) 21:17, 19 January 2012 (UTC)
 * "Types of shark used" and "Trade" were merged to shark finning. I've attempted to preserve important points and address the remaining concerns with this edit.—Bagumba (talk) 01:07, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

Edit to Ban's section
After some research I have edited the Bans section. Before it was said that the ban in china would take three years to be in effect. However form my sources the Bans are in place but are expected to take three years to be implicated because of the cultural impact the dish has. I also included more references to North american cities and states as to what they are doing. --Ab0304 (talk) 20:42, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

China losing appetite for shark fin delicacy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO0BKe4p4yw --Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 09:00, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Confusion Place of origin
For the place of origin Japan is named. Nearly the entire article including the history deals with China. If the dish has its origins in Japan, this needs to be mentioned in the article. Otherwise it seems more likely that it originated in China.--83.171.173.45 (talk) 00:03, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Eccentric edits
has made a huge number of rapid fire edits which contain at times acceptable copyediting and at other times problematic and eccentric POV. For example, all material sourced from the China Daily has been removed on the grounds that it is "Communist propaganda". Also all material has been removed that documents the highly salient fact that Chinese cuisine prizes texture as much as taste, and that shark fins have texture but little taste. Other problematic edits include this, this, this, this and many others. I have reverted the mess and advised the IP that they should seek consensus here on this talk page if they want to continue. --Epipelagic (talk) 10:16, 24 June 2015 (UTC)
 * In addition, the edit summaries left by the IP are often inappropriate. DrChrissy (talk) 12:02, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
 * @User:Epipelagic Do you think we might be able to get an admin to take the article back where it was when the banned IP started the troublesome edits? Is this what "rollback" is? DrChrissy (talk) 21:16, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Oops... I didn't notice the IP's version was the current version. I reverted, but you could have equally reverted. I don't think rollback does anything you can't do manually... it can just make things a bit easier. I prefer Twinkle. --Epipelagic (talk) 22:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
 * I tried to revert the latest IP change earlier but it would not let me because a bot had come in and saved something after the IP. I've just realised that I could go back to the last version before the IP stepped in and make a manual save of that version.  Do you think I need an admin's permission to make such a large change or could we just go on consensus between you and I (and any others that might want to have a say)? DrChrissy (talk) 22:37, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
 * OOOhps - I did not see you have already reverted. I think we are ok now. DrChrissy (talk) 22:40, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

"Leaves the shark to die"
It's true that finning the sharks, be they finned and then processed for meat or tossed away, leaves the shark to die, but the requirement that this must be explicitly stated eludes me. When you fish for anything in the seas and oceans you pull it out of the water and it either suffocates to death (almost all catches) or gets hacked-up alive (large fish). This is the same for sharks. Yes it cruel and wasteful, and yes it environmentally unsound, but why is my edit objectionable? -- Sjschen (talk) 18:10, 31 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Fish are normally harvested commercially for use as food, and at some point this necessarily involves the death of the fish. But in this case the sharks are not being harvested for food. Only their fins are of interest. The sharks themselves are discarded back to the ocean as a convenient way get rid of them. So there is no doubt, it should be clearly stated that the sharks are left to die. --Epipelagic (talk) 20:38, 31 July 2015 (UTC)
 * I agree with Epipelagic. DrChrissy (talk) 20:47, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

If this is the only objection, then I will revert it back to my original edit and include the "leave it to die" indication. Note though there are many fishing operations that harvest the fins exclusively, sharks are also commonly harvested for food often in making surimi. I will alo note and reference this in the amending edit. -- Sjschen (talk) 15:44, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
 * No it's not the only objection. The source you use is not a reliable source. But more seriously, you are confusing the issue by introducing bycatch, which is an irrelevancy. This article is not about bycatch, it is about shark fins. The point is that killing sharks for their fins is contributing to the global decline in sharks. The other point is that is wasteful, because the finless body of the shark is often discarded back into the ocean and left to die. Bycatch is not the only other factor in shark declines. There are also factors like illegal fishing, unregulated shark fisheries, overfishing of shark prey items, knock-on effects of climate change (like acidification), and anthropogenic ocean pollution. --Epipelagic (talk) 22:55, 10 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, many sharks are finned and dumped overboard (many are kept too) and this is cruel and wasteful, and yes this should be stated more explicitly in the section perhaps, but you're saying my sources are not reliable? Note the only citation on finning in the section is from WildAid, which is the the mother organization of SharkSavers, where my source is from. Both are well respected animal advocacy/protection organizations. The cited pdf also heavily cites papers from referred journals and the UN FAO. How do you see that as being unreliable? Continuing, no one is arguing here that killing sharks for their fins isn't contributing to their decline. It is. As you stated, there are a multitude of reasons why sharks are in decline, but if we are talking about shark finning, then we HAVE to talk about by-catch. Between a third to a half of sharks killed for fins are sourced from by-catch. It is also recorded that 60% of by-catch sharks are finned rather than released, and this number is likely on the low end. Introducing by-catch into this section here is definitely not due to confusion on my part. Look, I don't want believe you are being disingenuous with your critiques, but between your claim that my source is unreliable and that by-catch is irrelevant, I'm not sure how I'm suppose in interpret your intent. -- Sjschen (talk) 03:21, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Do you have a RS to verify these data? DrChrissy (talk) 13:35, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Of course, but I'm still looking forwards to hearing Epipelagic's definition of "reliable". -- Sjschen (talk) 13:09, 13 August 2015 (UTC)
 * So why don't you share your sources so that other editors can assess their reliability according to WP:RS criteria? DrChrissy (talk) 13:26, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

 * I indicated the source is not the serious issue. The real issue is that you are sidetracking into other cause of shark declines, such as bycatch, and in the process you are losing the focus on what the article is about (shark fins). You seem to want to continue talking about these irrelevancies. We do not HAVE to talk about bycatch at all. It's not that bycatch itself is irrelevant. It's just that it's irrelevant in the context of this particular article. Bringing it up gets in the way of the real issue, which is the impact that slicing fins from sharks is having on shark populations. The source you gave about bycatch is not peer reviewed and comes from an organisation with a biased or opinionated position. Why choose such a source when, as you acknowledged yourself, there are more appropriate sources? A better place for an extended account of declines in shark populations would be threatened sharks or shark finning. --Epipelagic (talk) 19:27, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

IP edits
An IP has made a large number of mostly problematic edits. While some acceptable copy editing has been included, many edits are questionable or more than questionable. Accordingly I have reverted the changes and invite the IP to discuss their concerns here and try to reach a consensus about the changes they would like to see. --Epipelagic (talk) 01:17, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Article revision
I moved this thread here from my Talk page. DrChrissy (talk) 21:10, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Hello, what program do you use to scan? You are aware that "major cause of shark population population decline worldwide" is not advocacy, funding, or POV-advancement for PETA?

SundayRequiem (talk) 20:58, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

 * I do not use a program to scan - it was a visual scan. I think your second sentence was intended to suggest that "major cause of shark population population decline worldwide" is advocacy, etc. for PETA.  I can not find a link between the cited article and PETA. Is there one? DrChrissy (talk) 21:13, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

I reviewed the revisions before making the change and "major cause of shark population decline worldwide" is not stated in the reference given. On the contrary, it says that marine extinctions are caused by human activity; to suggest that the consumption of shark fin soup by Chinese communities worldwide leads to shark population decline is a statement someone from PETA would argue for. I think that may have been the reason why Sjschen removed it.

http://wildaid.org/sites/default/files/resources/EndOfTheLine2007US.pdf

SundayRequiem (talk) 21:27, 8 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Editors paraphrase, they do not quote. First, the edit does not indicate this is due to "Chinese communities worldwide".  So, let's let that one go.  Second, perhaps the editor was paraphrasing "The collapse of the soupfin shark fishery in the US Pacific is typical. The fishery expanded spectacularly in with the discovery that liver oil was rich in vitamin A. Catches peaked at 4,000 metric tons (mt) in 1940, crashed in 1942 and by 1944 were down to only 300 mt. More than 50 years on, and despite the lack of fishing, the population has still not recovered to its former level."  To me, that seems like an appropriate paraphrase. Third, while it might sound like something that PETA would say, this is not the attribution in the article. DrChrissy (talk) 23:16, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Fake citations
Stop putting statements with a citation that does not support the statement! 2600:1001:B008:CA7A:79F1:1228:2BBD:E22E (talk) 20:50, 23 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Could you kindly state which ones? You have to be clear on specifying which citations are not valid. I will do research to see if the article contents are in citations given. SundayRequiem (talk) 03:37, 13 October 2015 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I propose that Imitation shark fin soup be merged into shark fin soup. I think that the content in the Imitation Shark Fin Soup article can easily be explained in the context of shark fin soup, and the shark fin soup article is of a reasonable size that the merging of imitation shark fin soup will not cause any problems as far as article size or undue weight is concerned. NeoBatfreak (talk) 19:57, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Support. The "imitation" article is short and could easily be incorporated into this page. – Jonesey95 (talk) 05:13, 18 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Support merger. There's a bit of redundancy between the two and I feel the information would be presented better as a single article. The merger should only add 300–400 words to this article.  If the merge is carried out, please ping me for additional copyedit. – Reidgreg (talk) 12:38, 18 June 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:Shark fin soup


text:
One Nite Alone... Live!

One Nite Alone... Live! is a live album box set by Prince and The New Power Generation, containing live recordings from the intimate One Nite Alone... Tour performances. The album was released in 2002 but many of the tracks were new arrangements of songs dating from more than 20 years earlier. It was the first album since the Love Symbol Album in 1992 to be credited to Prince and The New Power Generation. Among the album's highlights are "Sometimes It Snows in April" and "Adore" at the piano, an extended "Joy in Repetition", and an energetic "When U Were Mine".

Overview
Prince's backing musicians included Sheila E., Maceo Parker, Eric Leeds, Candy Dulfer, Greg Boyer, Renato Neto, John Blackwell, and Rhonda Smith. The entire album was recorded live from the audio console by Prince's concert sound engineer Scottie Baldwin. Baldwin's essay on the recording process is included in the liner notes.

One Nite Alone... Live! is the first audio document of Prince's concerts and includes tracks from nine different shows from eight venues on the One Nite Alone... Tour. The track list is fairly representative of a typical night's show on the tour, although it misses the cover versions performed regularly on the tour (such as "A Case of You", "Love Rollercoaster", "La-La Means I Love You" and "Sing a Simple Song"), leaving only Prince compositions. The first two CDs contain the main act, the third CD the aftershow.

The album artwork was the first full work by Sam Jennings for Prince.

On May 29, 2020 the album was reissued as Up All Nite with Prince: The One Nite Alone Collection, a 4CD + DVD box set including the original three CDs, the studio album One Nite Alone... and the DVD Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas.

Disc 1: Main Act, Part 1

 * 1) "Rainbow Children" (Washington D.C., March 31, 2002) – 11:46
 * 2) "Muse 2 the Pharaoh" (Indianapolis, March 11, 2002) – 4:49
 * 3) "Xenophobia" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 12:40
 * 4) "Extraordinary" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 5:02
 * 5) "Mellow" (Indianapolis, March 11, 2002) – 4:30
 * 6) "1+1+1 Is 3" (Lakeland, April 6, 2002) – 6:05
 * 7) "The Other Side of the Pillow" (Indianapolis, March 11, 2002) – 4:46
 * 8) "Strange Relationship" (Indianapolis, March 11, 2002) – 4:13
 * 9) "When U Were Mine" (Los Angeles, April 20, 2002) – 3:47
 * 10) "Avalanche" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 6:04

Disc 2: Main Act, Part 2

 * 1) "Family Name" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 7:17
 * 2) "Take Me with U" (Oakland, April 24, 2002) – 2:54
 * 3) "Raspberry Beret" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 3:26
 * 4) "Everlasting Now" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 7:41
 * 5) "One Nite Alone..." (Seattle, April 29, 2002) – 1:12
 * 6) "Adore" (Houston, April 14, 2002) – 5:33
 * 7) "I Wanna B Ur Lover" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 1:22
 * 8) "Do Me, Baby" (Houston, April 14, 2002) – 1:56
 * 9) "Condition of the Heart (Interlude)" (Houston, April 14, 2002) – 0:39
 * 10) "Diamonds and Pearls" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 0:41
 * 11) "The Beautiful Ones" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 2:10
 * 12) "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 3:48
 * 13) "Free" (Seattle, April 29, 2002) – 1:06
 * 14) "Starfish and Coffee" (Seattle, April 29, 2002) – 1:07
 * 15) "Sometimes It Snows in April" (Seattle, April 29, 2002) – 2:41
 * 16) "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" (Portland, April 30, 2002) – 5:07
 * 17) "Anna Stesia" (Los Angeles, April 19, 2002) – 13:12

Disc 3: The Aftershow: It Ain't Over!

 * 1) "Joy in Repetition" – 10:56
 * 2) "We Do This" – 4:42
 * 3) Medley: "Just Friends (Sunny)"/"If You Want Me to Stay" – 4:26
 * 4) "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton" – 6:15
 * 5) "Alphabet Street" – 2:55
 * 6) "Peach [Xtended Jam]" – 11:19
 * 7) "Dorothy Parker" – 6:17
 * 8) "Girls & Boys" – 6:59
 * 9) "Everlasting Now (Vamp)" – 1:49

title: One Nite Alone... Live!


text:
Entrée

An entrée (, US also ; ), in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world, is a dish served before the main course of a meal. Outside North America and parts of English-speaking Canada, it is generally synonymous with the terms hors d'oeuvre, appetizer, or starter. It may be the first dish served, or it may follow a soup or other small dish or dishes.

In the United States and parts of English-speaking Canada, the term entrée instead refers to the main dish or the only dish of a meal.

Early use of the term
The word entrée as a culinary term first appears in print around 1536 in the Petit traicté auquel verrez la maniere de faire cuisine, more widely known from a later edition titled Livre fort excellent de cuisine, in a collection of menus at the end of the book. There, the first stage of each meal is called the entree de table (entrance to the table); the second stage consists of potaiges (foods boiled or simmered "in pots"); the third consists of one or more services de rost (meat or fowl "roasted" in dry heat); and the last is the issue de table (departure from the table). These four stages of the meal appear consistently in this order in all the books that derive from the Petit traicté.

The terms entree de table and issue de table are organizing words, "describing the structure of a meal rather than the food itself". The terms potaiges and rost indicate cooking methods but not ingredients. The menus, though, give some idea of both the ingredients and the cooking methods that were characteristic of each stage of the meal.

Sausages, offal, and raw watery fruits (oranges, plums, peaches, apricots, and grapes) were apparently considered uniquely appropriate for starting the meal, as those foods appear only in the entree de table. Other dishes considered appropriate for the entree stage also appear in later stages of the meal, such as venison cooked in various ways (in the entree, potaiges, and rost services) and savory pies and sauced meats (in the entree and rost services). The distribution of dishes is very similar to that of the menus in the Ménagier de Paris, written 150 years before the Petit traicté.

The entrée in the "Classical Order" of table service
The stages of the meal underwent several significant changes between the mid-16th and mid-17th century. Notably, the potage became the first stage of the service and the entrée became the second stage. By 1650, the term "entrée" had lost its literal meaning and had come to refer to the stage of the meal after the potage and before the roast, entremets, and dessert.

The term "entrée" also came to refer to the dishes served at the entrée stage. While cookbooks and dictionaries of the 17th and 18th centuries rarely discuss the type of dishes appropriate to each stage of the meal with any specificity, entrées and the dishes of the other stages of the meal can be distinguished from each other by certain characteristics, such as their ingredients, cooking methods, and serving temperatures. The distinct characteristics of the entrée were at first loosely observed, or perhaps more accurately, the "rules" were in a formative stage for several decades. By the early 18th century, though, certain ingredients and cooking methods were increasingly confined to the entrée stage of the meal.

In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, entrées on meat days included butchers' meats (but not ham), suckling pig, fowl, furred and feathered game, and offal. Eggs were never served as entrées on meat days; they were served only as entremets. Vegetables often made up part of the sauce or garnish, but entrées on meat days were always meat dishes; separate dishes of vegetables were served only as entremets.

On lean days, fish replaced meat and fowl in every stage of the meal other than dessert. Entrées included a wide range of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, turtles, and frogs. Entrées were rarely composed only of vegetables, except during Lent, when vegetable entrées ("entrées en racines", encompassing all vegetables, not just "roots") were sometimes served. Eggs were commonly served as entrées on lean days out of Lent; in Lent, eggs were never served at any meal.

Moist cooking methods were characteristic of the entrée stage of the meal, typical preparations being sautés, ragoûts, and fricassées. Meat or fowl (but not fish) might be roasted, but it was first wrapped in paper, or stuffed with a forcemeat, or barded with herbs or anchovies, or finished in a sauce, or prepared in some other way to keep the dish from browning and crisping like a true roast. Savory pies and pastries were baked in dry heat, but the enclosed meat cooked in its own steam and juices. Meat fritters and, on lean days, fish fritters were also served as entrées.

All entrées were served hot, which was a salient feature of entrées until the 19th century.

Large entrées
Large joints of meat (usually beef or veal) and large whole fowl (turkey and geese) were the grandes or grosses entrées of the meal. When roasted, whole joints and fowl were called "spit-roasted entrées" (entrées de broche), always served with a sauce to distinguish them from true roasts.

Le Bouilli
When boiled, a joint of beef was "le bouilli", the first of the entrées consumed in the meal.

Relevés
In the late 18th century, the practice arose of removing the empty soup tureens and replacing them with entrées de broche or other grosses entrées. The replacement dishes were commonly called "relevés", or in English, "removes". They were the last of the entrées consumed at the meal, although they were brought to the table immediately after the potages.

Small entrées
The most numerous of the entrées at any meal were the "ordinary entrées" (entrées ordinaires), consumed after the bouilli and before other grosses entrées. In composition, they were distinguished from the grosses entrées by the small size of their ingredients, not the size of the dish itself. Small fowl could be served whole, but large fowl and large joints of meat were cut into pieces or fillets. Despite the designation "ordinary", these entrées were much more elaborate and refined than grosses entrées.

Hors d'œuvre
In the late 17th century, "hors d'œuvre" were served in both the entrée and entremets stages of the meal as little "extra" dishes. In the late 18th century, hors d'œuvre were confined to the entrée stage of the meal and were thought of as a sort of small entrée, always served hot and always consumed as the last of the entrées.

Changes in the 19th century
In the 19th century, hors d'œuvre became a distinct stage of the meal. They were no longer considered to be entrées, and, in a marked change from earlier practice, they were consumed immediately after the potage and before the other entrées. Over the course of the century, cold hors d'œuvre became increasingly common.

Relevés also became a distinct stage of the meal, often consumed before the other entrées rather than after them. Relevés came to include not just spit-roasted joints, but all large joints and bulky cuts of butcher’s meats and whole fish cooked in any way. Entrées, in the new sense of the term, included less bulky foods, like sliced meats and fillets of fish; fowl cooked in any way other than roasting; foie gras; and meat pies and other pastries of poultry and game.

Due at least in part to the collapse of the church’s authority in France, rules governing meat and lean days were followed irregularly. In particular, fish was commonly served on meat days, and whole fish became a classic relevé. Some styles of service even included a "fish course".

After the 1820s, the bouilli was no longer routinely served at fine dinners, having been replaced by a wider variety of relevés. Also, in a marked change from earlier practices, cold entrées became increasingly common.

Over the course of the 19th century, entrées and relevés were sometimes considered to be the principal part of the meal.

Changes in the 20th century
Distinctions between the various types of entrées (grosses, grandes, de broche, relevé) had largely fallen out of use by the end of the 19th century, and menus of the first half of the 20th century routinely include entrées but not relevés.

In France, the entrée slowly came to be associated primarily with its position in the meal rather than the composition of its dishes. Despite the objections of various food authorities who insisted on retaining the classical meaning of the word, the term entrée came to refer to the first course of the meal, a small dish that precedes the main course (plat principal) in a three-course meal. The "new" use of the term, now common almost worldwide, is a return to the literal meaning of the word and a partial return to the medieval arrangement of the meal.

In the United States and parts of English-speaking Canada, though, the older understanding of the entrée as a substantial meat course persisted, and the word came to refer to the principal dish of the meal. In the 21st century, though, the use of the word entrée in North American menus began to decline, being replaced by terms like "main course" or other terms appropriate to the culinary tradition of the given restaurant.

title: Entrée


text:
Nepotianus

Nepotianus (died 30 June 350 AD), sometimes known in English as Nepotian, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty who reigned as a short-lived usurper of the Roman Empire. He ruled the city of Rome for twenty-eight days, before being killed by his rival usurper Magnentius' general Marcellinus.

Background
Nepotianus was the son of Eutropia, half-sister of Emperor Constantine I, and of Virius Nepotianus. On his mother's side, he was the grandson of Emperor Constantius Chlorus and Flavia Maximiana Theodora.

Events
After the revolt of Magnentius, Nepotianus proclaimed himself emperor and entered Rome with a band of gladiators on 3 June 350. After attempting to resist Nepotianus with an undisciplined force of Roman citizens, the defeated praefectus urbi Titianus (or Anicius, or Anicetus), a supporter of Magnentius, fled the city.

Magnentius quickly dealt with this revolt by sending his trusted magister officiorum Marcellinus to Rome. According to Eutropius, Nepotianus was killed in the resulting struggle (on 30 June), his head put on a lance and borne around the city. In the following days, his mother Eutropia was also killed alongside the supporters of Nepotianus.

title: Nepotianus