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Performing arts of Bangladesh

Performing arts in Bangladesh has a rich tradition. From ancient times, Jatra, Baulsong, Gombhira etc. presented through singing, dancing and play-acting. Jari dance, sari dance, lathi (stick) dance, khemta dance and ghatu dance are part of jari songs, sari songs, stick plays, khemta songs and ghatu songs respectively. Meyeli git, Saheli git and Hudma git reflect the hopes and desires of women. Holi git, Gazi git, Magan git and wedding songs are presented on appropriate occasions with the necessary rituals. Some songs are presented by professional singers known as gayen, bayati and gidal while others are sung by farm labourers and other workers at home and outside for relaxation and pleasure.

In the 1990s performance art was introduced as a medium to Bangladesh.

title: Performing arts of Bangladesh


text:
Sonangol Group

Group Sonangol (Grupo Sonangol) is a parastatal that formerly oversaw petroleum and natural gas production in Angola. The group consisted of Sonangol E.P. (Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola, E.P.) and its many subsidiaries. The subsidiaries generally had Sonangol E.P. as a primary client, along with other corporate, commercial, and individual clients. Angola is estimated to have over 5 Goilbbl of offshore and coastal petroleum reserves, and new discoveries are outpacing consumption by a 5-to-1 ratio.

In February 2019, the government transferred the industry regulation functions of Sonangol to a new government agency, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANPG). The ANPG also gained from Sonangol the right to award fossil fuel exploration, development, and production contracts.

History
On the eve of Portuguese Angola's independence from Portugal following the Carnation Revolution and the election of a democratic government in Portugal in 1976, the company ANGOL (ANGOL Sociedade de Lubrificantes e Combustíveis Sarl), founded in 1953 as a subsidiary of Portuguese company SACOR) was nationalized and split in two, forming Sonangol U.E.E. and Direcção Nacional de Petróleos. Directive 52/76 instituted Sonangol as a state-owned company with a mandate to manage the country's substantial petroleum and natural gas. Using the extant remains of Texaco, Total, Shell and Mobil's oil works, Sonangol obtained the assistance of Algerian Sonatrach and of Italian Eni.

Oil giant Marathon Oil announced in September 2013 that it had agreed a deal in principle to sell a 10% stake in its offshore Angolan oilfield to Sonangol.

In December 2013, Sonangol acquired the exploration rights to five onshore oil blocks in Angola, which could be tendered for development at a later date.

In June 2016, president José Eduardo dos Santos removed the entire board of Sonangol, and installed Isabel dos Santos as chairwoman of the company, to "ensure transparency and apply global corporate-governance standards". This led to many accusations of corruption and nepotism. However, in November 15, 2017, the new president of Angola João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço dismissed Isabel dos Santos and named Carlos Saturnino Guerra Sousa e Oliveira as the Sonangol chairman. An internal audit later revealed that after she had been dismissed, dos Santos transferred US$38 million of the company's funds to a suspicious Dubai based company.

In February 2019, a new government agency, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANPG) took over regulation and promotion of the Angolan petroleum industry from Sonangol. ANPG was given the power to supervise Sonangol, and became the new National Concessionaire. In this regard, ANPG now controls who wins licenses to explore for petroleum, and awards contracts for production.

Sonangol sold in Puma Energy, an energy trading firm, to Trafigura in April 2021 for $600 million. Sonagol also purchased Puma's assets in Angola for $600 million. The assets included the Puamngol chain of gasoline stations, and several airport and marine terminals.

In 2021, the company's revenues had increased by 38%, placing turnovers at US$8.5bn for the year compared to the US$6.1bn from the previous year. Sonangol employs 13,000 employees.

Missing oil billions
In December 2011, Human Rights Watch said that the Government of Angola should explain the whereabouts of US$32 billion missing from government funds linked to Sonangol. A December 2011 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the government funds were spent or transferred from 2007 through 2010 without being properly documented in the budget. The IMF was assured that most of $32 billion was being used for legitimate government reasons and considered to be "found".

Organization
Today (as of 2006), Sonangol has over 30 subsidiaries and maintains overseas facilities in the following cities:
 * Brazzaville, Congo
 * Hong Kong
 * Houston, US
 * Sonangol USA Co. (SonUSA) has its head office in the Energy Corridor area in Houston.
 * London, UK
 * Sonangol Limited has its head office in the Merevale House in Kensington, RBKC, London.
 * Singapore.

As the company grew it had a need to obtain services, such as telecommunications services, retail network support, trucking, shipping, data management, scientific, engineering, seismic, and others. The company created subsidiaries to meet these needs. Sonangol and its many subsidiaries have continued to expand into other lines of business. Among the more important subsidiaries are Sonair and MSTelcom.

Sonangol is one of the major shareholders of the Portuguese energy company Galp Energia through its indirect participation in the capital of Amorim Energia, which holds one third of GALP's shares and on which board sits the son-in-law of the Angolan President.

Sonangol is an important sponsor of the arts, sports and humanities in Angola and in Africa. On December 12, Reuters reported that Sonangol won the rights to develop the Iraq's Najmah oilfield in a bid held that day. The company's plateau production target for the field in the volatile province of Nineveh is 110000 oilbbl/d (bpd), and the remuneration fee is $6 per barrel. Sonangol had proposed a per-barrel fee of $8.50, but then accepted the Oil Ministry's lower amount.

In 2018, Sonangol announced that they will reactivate their Iraqi oil exploration fields in Najma and Qayara after years of closure due to constant armed conflicts. The two oil fields in Iraq are estimated to still have a reserve of 1 billion barrels of oil.

Subsidiaries

 * ESSA (Angola) Training
 * Kwanda Logistical Support logistical support, Kwanda field
 * MSTelcom telecommunications
 * Sodimo real estate management
 * SonAir oil and gas industry air transport service
 * Sonangol P&P Oil exploration
 * Sonagas Natural Gas Exploration
 * Sonadiets corporate infrastructure
 * Sonamer oil recovery; deep drilling
 * Sonamet petroleum platform manufacturing; metal structure fabrication
 * Sonangol Distribuidora downstream petroleum products including gasoline/petrol
 * Sonangol Shipping maritime crude oil transport
 * Sonangol USA, located in Houston, Texas
 * Sonaship maritime petroleum product transport
 * Sonasurf offshore oil work logistics
 * Sonatide offshore oil work logistics
 * Sonawest seismic data service
 * Sonils Logistical Support logistical support http://www.sonils.co.ao/
 * Sonangol Starfish Brasil P&P Oil exploration
 * "Petromar’s" shares are divided 70% (Saipem) 30% (Sonangol) https://www.petromar.co.ao/about/

Technologies
Sonangol USA, Sonangol London, and Sonangol Asia are the main trading and operations offices for the crude and product cargoes sold on behalf of Sonangol E.P. Sonangol Starfish has been located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, since 22 March 2010.

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

title: Sonangol Group


text: Category:Operas by Mikhail Glinka

title: Category:Operas by Mikhail Glinka


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Beau Jocque

Beau Jocque (born Andrus Espre; November 1, 1953 – September 10, 1999) was a Louisiana French Creole zydeco musician and songwriter active in the 1990s.

Beau Jocque is known for his gruff vocals, his fusion of many musical styles into zydeco, and above all, for the powerful energy of his rhythm and sound. Backed by the Hi-Rollers, he became one of the top dance-hall acts of his musical decade. He wrote, recorded and performed many songs in both Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole languages, as well as in English, primarily on the Rounder Records label.

Early life
Beau Jocque was born Andrus Espre in Duralde, Louisiana to Sandrus and Vernice (née Allen) Espre. His father (nicknamed "Tee Toe") was a well-respected accordion player who performed at many local dances, but who quit playing music when Andrus' older brother was born. Andrus played guitar in a high school band but his influences were not zydeco musicians but rather acts such as War, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Santana.

He enlisted in the Air Force after high school, and eventually made it to the rank of sergeant, had a top security clearance and was stationed in London and Germany. He once escorted Henry Kissinger around Europe. Espre had his first near-death experience while in the Air Force, when an explosion left him in the hospital with amnesia. He spent nine years in the military, then came home to work as an electrician and welder. He was a long time resident of Kinder, Louisiana. He was also known to write poetry, and preach about respecting nature.

Career
Working in an oil refinery after leaving the Air Force, Espre experienced a work-related accident on September 4, 1987, which left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. During his recuperation, as part of his therapy he began playing his father's button accordion. After a year of practice and gaining proficiency on the accordion, Espre and his wife Michelle (AKA Shelly) began to study the styles of the successful groups on the zydeco circuit. "We checked out C. J. Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco, Boozoo Chavis, John Delafose and I'd watch the crowd. When they got real excited, I'd try to feel what was happening at that point. Was it the rhythm guitar? The drums? The accordion style? I realized that when you get the whole thing just right, it's going to move the crowd."

Espre grew up speaking Louisiana Creole French and spoke it fluently. As he was physically a large man at 6 ft tall and 270 lb, he took the stage name "Beau Jocque," which was a childhood nickname in Louisiana Creole meaning "Big Guy." In 1991, he put a band together, including his wife Shelly on rubboard. They initially talked themselves into a few gigs in small clubs or for trail ride parties, and word spread quickly about a new zydeco artist. He especially appealed to a younger crowd by incorporating rock guitar solos, blues-rock beats, and rap lines into his songs, along with his bass vocals and growling lyrics. His initial recording got airplay on local radio stations and the larger zydeco clubs began to take notice. Within a short amount of time, Beau Jocque was playing clubs four to five nights a week and just a few years after his accident, Espre was one of the biggest draws on the Louisiana zydeco circuit. In June 1995 one newspaper stated that "There has simply never been a zydeco phenomenon like Beau Jocque and the Hi-Rollers" who have "thoroughly modernized zydeco". His major zydeco influence was Boozoo Chavis who also played the button accordion, with hypnotic riffs and two-step stomps that were favorites with south Louisiana dancers.

In 1995 Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers were the headliners on the Rounder Records "Louisiana Red Hot Music Tour". In June 1999 they were a featured band at the first annual New Jersey Arts and Music Festival.

Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers won the Big Easy Music Awards three times as Best Zydeco Artist.

Recordings
Beau Jocque's first recording was a 1992 vanity release titled My Name is Beau Jocque (Lanor Records 1031), which was re-issued in 1994 by Paula Records. Espre sent cassettes of this release to area radio stations and also sold them at his gigs. He had to re-order more copies because they sold very quickly.

Scott Billington, a producer for Rounder Records who was familiar with the Louisiana zydeco scene, picked up on the buzz surrounding Beau Jocque and signed him to his label. Beau Jocque Boogie was released in 1993, and it contained the song that became his first hit and signature song, "Give Him Cornbread". The song, written by Espre, includes elements of Willis Prudhomme's zydeco arrangement of "Shortnin' Bread" and FM's hip hop song "Gimme What You Got (For a Porkchop)". Audiences demanded that the band play that song multiple times at dances, and as the song gained popularity, fans would throw pieces of cornbread onto the stage. Beau Jocque Boogie became the highest-selling zydeco album ever.

Beau Jocque recorded five studio albums for Rounder, with a sixth live album titled Give Him Cornbread, Live released on the label posthumously in 2000. The label also issued two posthumous compilation albums. All were financial successes for both the label and the artist. His contract with Rounder was not exclusive, so Beau Jocque also recorded two albums for New Orleans-based Mardi Gras Records as well as a mini-CD on his own label.

Rivalry with Boozoo Chavis
Beau Jocque's rapid rise to the top of the zydeco circuit created some tension with the older musicians, who felt he hadn't paid his dues. Zydeco pioneer Boozoo Chavis even recorded a song called "Boozoo's Payback" that included the lyrics "He plays my music and he does me wrong, but he can't sing my song", directed at Beau Jocque.

But the rivalry was also good for business. The Mid-City Lanes Rock n' Bowl in New Orleans staged annual mock battles billed as "Boo vs. Beau" during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which each year drew more than 1,000 patrons and set attendance records at the venue. One year, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones paid the $5 admission charge to experience the showdown. One such "battle of the bands" was the centerpiece of a 1994 documentary film The Kingdom of Zydeco by director Robert Mugge.

It was a friendly rivalry. The two musicians often traded insults in public but they were supportive of each other in private. Beau Jocque often played Chavis' songs during his performances, and even performed at a benefit concert to raise money to pay the costs of surgery for Chavis' wife. In the 1994 film, both musicians admitted that the battle of the bands was a promotional gimmick.

The final "Boo vs. Beau" battle in New Orleans was held on May 2, 1999 at the Rock n' Bowl.

Personal life
Espre and his wife Michelle ("Shelly") had two sons, Andrus Adrian and Justin Travis.

In 1995, Espre suffered a heart attack in Austin, Texas while touring with Marcia Ball and Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. Radio stations in Louisiana had reported the 1995 heart attack was fatal, and he surprised his fans (including the town's mayor) by shortly thereafter appearing in the local supermarket in Kinder.

Death
On September 9, 1999, Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers performed a two-set show at the Rock n' Bowl in New Orleans, and afterwards drove the approximately 200 miles on Interstate 10 back to Kinder. The next morning, Beau Jocque was found collapsed in the shower by his wife, dead of an apparent heart attack at the height of his career. He is buried in Saint Matilda Cemetery, Eunice, Louisiana.

Espre's death was preceded only two weeks earlier by the death of his father, Sandrus.

Hi-Rollers personnel
Members of the Hi-Rollers include:
 * Chuck Bush (bass)
 * Steve Charlot (drums)
 * Russell "Sly" Dorion (guitar)
 * Ray Johnson (guitar)
 * Mike Lockett (keyboard)
 * Wilfred Pierre (rubboard)

Filmography

 * Louisiana Blues (directed by Jean-Pierre Bruneau, 1993); Beau Jocque appears as himself in a film history of Cajun and Zydeco music.
 * The Kingdom of Zydeco (directed by Robert Mugge, 1994); Beau Jocque and Boozoo Chavis appear in this documentary which features their friendly rivalry while both were seeking to earn the title "King of Zydeco" following the deaths of Clifton Chenier and Rockin' Dopsie.
 * By the River of Babylon: An Elegy for South Louisiana (TV documentary directed by Don Howard and Jim Shelton, 2015); includes music performances by Beau Jocque and Clifton Chenier.

Other media appearances

 * Late Night with Conan O'Brien: June 26, 1995, episode 2.188
 * Late Show with David Letterman: May 15, 1998; Beau Jocque & The Zydeco Hi-Rollers appeared on a special New Orleans episode

Awards

 * 1994: Big Easy Music Awards, Best Zydeco Artist
 * 1994: Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers were voted Hottest Band at the inaugural Zydeco People's Choice Awards. Additionally, band member Classie Ballou was named as Best Bass Guitarist at the same awards ceremony.
 * 1995: Big Easy Music Awards, Best Zydeco Artist
 * 1995: Beau Jocque's composition "Yesterday" (from his Pick Up On This! album) won the Best Song of the Year award at the Second Annual Zydeco People's Choice Awards. Hi-Rollers bandmate Ray Johnson also received the award for Best Lead Guitar Player.
 * 2000: Big Easy Music Awards, Best Zydeco Artist

title: Beau Jocque


text:
Category:Operas by Sergei Prokofiev

Operas by Sergei Prokofiev

title: Category:Operas by Sergei Prokofiev


text: Category:Operas by Alexander Borodin

title: Category:Operas by Alexander Borodin


text:
Goemon's Great Adventure

Goemon's Great Adventure, (がんばれゴエモン～でろでろ オバケてんこり～) known as Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon in Europe, is a video game developed and released by Konami for the Nintendo 64 on December 23, 1998. It is the fourth game in the Ganbare Goemon series released in North America and Europe, following Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, released two years earlier. Featuring platform gameplay in 2.5D, it returns the series to a side-scrolling format.

The quirky story highlights Goemon's quest to stop the evil Bismaru, who has stolen Wise Man's resurrection machine. Goemon and his friends must journey through five worlds to battle the revived Dochuki, prince of the underworld, and destroy the captured device. Each world is designed with Japanese styles and themes, and Goemon's Great Adventure continues the series' tradition of offbeat, surreal humor.

The game was received well, with more than 160,000 copies sold worldwide. Reminiscent of older, 16-bit games, the side-scrolling system was lauded by reviewers, who also praised the two-player cooperative mode. The game's vibrant graphics and musical score earned high marks as well. Reviewers have considered it one of the best side-scrollers for the Nintendo 64.

Gameplay
Goemon's Great Adventure is a side scrolling platform game in which players navigate stages. Gameplay in Great Adventure more closely resembles that of the Ganbare Goemon series' Super Famicom entries, and abandons the free-roaming style of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. Although movement is restricted along a two-dimensional plane, the stages are rendered in three dimensions and frequently wind along the z coordinate—earning the game a 2.5D status similar to Yoshi's Story, Klonoa: Door To Phantomile, and the Super Smash Bros. series. The game begins on a world map upon which several circles are placed indicating stages. Players must complete certain stages to open up paths to others, and each world map generally features one town and one dungeon. Completing a dungeon allows travel to a new world map, but the player must collect several entry passes to gain access to these structures. Passes are rewarded for completing stages and performing tasks for non-player characters in cities. Though the game is linear like its 16-bit predecessors, certain non-linear elements exist—such as a secret village and multiple paths through a world map.

Goemon's Great Adventure takes place in a fantastical version of Edo period Japan, featuring forests, mountains, dwellings, and underworlds designed with Japanese themes and a touch of science fiction. Individual stages are populated by monsters, obstacles, items (such as Ryō currency or dumplings), and occasionally bosses, who are stronger than most enemies. Players can run, jump, attack with weapons, and use various special abilities to reach the end of levels and gain entry passes. Four characters with three uniforms are available for play, including Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae. Characters can be changed in cities or in stages through portals to an interdimensional teahouse. Two players can play the game simultaneously, though they must both be visible on screen—one player cannot advance if the other runs in a different direction. In each stage, a bar at the bottom of the screen displays information concerning character health, weapon equipped, lives remaining, and time of day. If a character is touched or attacked by a monster, a health bar is reduced from a total of three. If all bars disappear, the player loses a life and must restart the stage. The game ends if all lives are lost, at which point it reverts to the beginning or the last point at which the player saved his or her progress with a Controller pak. Defeated monsters sometimes leave behind dumplings and Maneki Neko—the former replenishes health, and the latter upgrades weapons up to two levels above starting strength.

Goemon's Great Adventure features a system of day and night. Every two to three minutes, a meter in the information bar will slowly turn to evening or morning; the sky in a stage's background will similarly emulate the hues of a sunset or a sunrise. At night, more powerful and swift enemies challenge players. However, they produce two Ryō coins rather than one when killed. Different non-playable characters can be found at night in towns as well. Within these cities, players can purchase armor (represented by three blue bars), sleep in inns and eat in restaurants to recover strength, and perform miniature quests for entry passes. For example, the character Sasuke must help a man in Spook Village set off fireworks for a festival. Scripted events relating to the game's storyline also take place in dwellings, and occur elsewhere before characters assault dungeons or after these special stages have been completed. The successful infiltration of a dungeon often leads to a battle between three giant mecha robots. These conflicts pitch the player, controlling the robots Impact and Lady Impact, against a villain and his or her robot of choice. From the perspective of a cockpit behind Impact's eyes, players can punch, kick, grab, or fire nasal and beam weaponry at an enemy robot. Measures of health, enemy health, and ammunition are displayed in the cockpit. If the player's robot runs out of health, the game restarts at the beginning of the battle. To avoid this scenario, players can throw a baton to the other friendly robot; if it hits its mark, player perspective changes to the new robot who has his or her own health count. In two-player mode, one player waits while the other fights, and comes into play if the baton is passed. The penultimate conflict in the game is an Impact battle, and after winning a final fight in the normal side-scrolling mode the player can witness the ending of the game.

Characters
The protagonist of Goemon's Great Adventure is Goemon, a ninja with blue, bushy hair who wields a kiseru. Goemon can jump higher than his friends, throw money, and use a chain pipe. His friends are Ebisumaru, Yae, and Sasuke. Ebisumaru is a fat man with a blue bandana and a love of food. Idolizing James Dean as the ultimate ninja, he can attack enemies with a decorative paddle, a magic megaphone that causes his shouts to turn to stone, and stomach gas. Yae is a green-haired female ninja, or kunoichi, wielding a Katana. She has the ability to morph into a mermaid in order to swim underwater and use a bazooka. Finally, Sasuke is a fast mechanical ninja who has upgradable projectile attacks such as shuriken and bombs. The villains of Goemon's Great Adventure are Bismaru and Dochuki. Bismaru, a cross-dressing nun (who first appeared in Ganbare Goemon 3), steals Wise Man's resurrection machine to revive Dochuki, an ancient prince of the underworld. While Bismaru fights with his giant robot, Dochuki confronts the party in person.

Neutral characters include the Wise Man, Omitsu, Edo's Lord, Princess Yuki, and a young cat girl named Suzaku, who assists Goemon and his friends with information. For battles with large foes, characters pilot the giant robots Impact and Miss Impact, created by the Wise Man to resemble Goemon and Omitsu. Finally, in every town, starting at Ryo, there is a fortune teller called Plasma. He gives the player hints as to the location of every entry pass in the area.

Story
Goemon and his friends must stop Ebisumaru's descendant Bismaru, who plans to use one of the Old Wise Man's inventions in order to unleash another disaster. Specifically, the Old Wise Man (who has appeared in every game in the series) has created a "ghost return machine" that can bring the dead back to life. Bismaru is attempting to create an army of undead creatures for her master, Dochuki, the master of the underworld. Enemies like ghosts, skeletons, and creatures from Japanese folklore have been unleashed and must be stopped.

Goemon and Ebisumaru then, will travel around five different worlds, starting from Edo. In the local town, "Lost'n Town", Sasuke will join them. Later they will reach the Edo Castle, where they will try to save Omitsu, the King and his daughter from the robot Impact, himself. As they realize Impact was hypnotized by Bismaru, the princess of Edo reveals that Bismaru was attempting to reach some island.

Eventually, Goemon and allies reach Tortoise Island and find their final partner, Yae, who provides Sasuke with a "diving device". The team follows Bismaru to the second castle, which contains several underwater levels. After defeating Bismaru's robot, Bismaru turns to disappear again.

A new neutral character appears, a mysterious female ghost named Susaku, who tells Goemon where Bismaru escaped: Mafu Island, an island full of undead, creepy ghost creatures in middle of the lava. In the local town, Goemon meets the Wise Man again, who reveals Bismaru's plan of returning the evil king Dochuki to the human world again. The gang must head to the third castle just to realize that it's too late, and Dochuki is already alive.

Goemon and his friends manage to get to the Underworld, where undead and ghost creatures reside, and destroy Wise Man's Machine in the Underworld Castle. Unable to stop Bismaru again, Susaku appears to give Goemon directions. This time, the scenario takes places in a Floating Island in the sky. Susaku also gives Goemon a container to catch Dochuki's soul.

The final castle, "Dream Castle", is a combination of the four previous castles, where the gang will find Susaku kidnapped by Dochuki, threatening to kill her if they don't give him the container. Goemon does so, having no option, and Dochuki breaks it with his hands.

Impact and Dochuki's evil ghost-robot get into a fight. Eventually, Impact wins, and what appears to be the final encounter is a fight between Dochuki and Goemon. After being defeated, Dochuki shows his real form, a giant wolf which spits poisonous gas.

Dochuki is beaten and tries to escapes, as there is no container to catch him, but Ebisumaru "farts" and kills Dochuki's spirit, as Ebisumaru's gas mixed with the spirit.

After the game is completed, Wise Man calls Goemon's gang to thank and tell them that he invented a new and more powerful machine to resurrect the dead, again. Suddenly, a baby appears from nowhere, and Ebisumaru claims that it's from him. Bismaru appears and tries to kidnap the new ghost return machine again, but the baby accidentally presses the machine's self-destruct button.

As in previous Ganbare Goemon games, the plot is wacky and lighthearted. Nintendo wrote that Goemon seems "at ease roaming a medieval Japan bustling with robots, DJs, space ships and extra-hold mousse".

Promotion
Konami heavily promoted the Ganbare Goemon series for the Christmas season of 1998, as three games were due to be released—Goemon's Great Adventure and the PlayStation release Ganbare Goemon: Kuru Nara Koi! Ayashige Ikka no Kuroi Kage would premiere on December 23, 1998, and Ganbare Goemon: Tengu-tou no Gyakushuu! for the Game Boy Color would enter the market on January 14, 1999. Great Adventure and its PlayStation counterpart were both shown to fans at the 1998 Tokyo Game Show, where children flocked to play them. News of an English translation and North American release was first provided by a Konami employee in September 1998, and the finished game appeared at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo, though without the theme song sequence. It was originally slated to be named Mystical Ninja: Goemon 2 in North America; this title was kept in some form for the PAL release, entitled Mystical Ninja 2: Starring Goemon. To generate interest and incentive for the North American release, Konami included $20 rebates for Goemon's Great Adventure or Castlevania 64 in copies of Hybrid Heaven.

Audio
Goemon's Great Adventure continues its predecessor's musical style by integrating modern synthesizers and traditional Japanese instruments. The game features two musical numbers: "SMILE AGAIN", a rock theme song, and "DOUBLE IMPACT", an updated version of "I Am Impact" from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. Two performers from that game returned for its sequel; Ichirou Mizuki voiced "I Am Impact"'s music with Sakura Tange and Hironobu Kageyama sang Great Adventure's theme song. These performances were inexplicably cut from the North American and European releases of the game, leaving the title screen silent and eliminating the Impact battle preparation sequence. Japanese voice acting in the opening and ending scenes was left in. A team of five composers created the game's main soundtrack, each personally writing several demos and arranging finished pieces. The music of nearly all stages changes in response to the day and night system of gameplay. In normal stages, at night a stage's unique theme slows down and segues into a night theme particular to all levels in a world map. As morning approaches, the evening song fades as the stage's normal theme resumes. In settlements, night themes maintain the arrangement of the day theme, albeit with softer tones and instruments. Music also changes within dungeons, usually becoming faster-paced as players advance. One composer regretted that the space limitations of a compact disc would preclude the appearance of night themes on an official release, and stated that timing the musical changes for the system was a difficult process. Yet another spoke on the style of Ganbare Goemon music:

"And thanks to this project, I've come down with the Goemon syndrome—the disease most dreaded by composers wherein all the songs one writes are Japanese-style."

- Nobuyuki Akena

A few songs from earlier titles appear, including Bismaru's theme and the ending music introduced in Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake. A composer who grew up as a fan of Konami's game integrated rhythms reminiscent of beatmania's catalogue in a few songs. A 68-track soundtrack was released by Konami on January 22, 1999.

Critical reception
Goemon's Great Adventure sold over 160,000 copies worldwide and received favorable reviews, earning an 8 out of 10 at IGN, an A at 1UP.com, a 3.5 out of 5 at GamePro, and a metascore of 80% at GameRankings. Critics enjoyed the "simple, yet enjoyable platform gameplay", specifically citing Castlevania overtones and fresh, varied level design as strong points. The 2.5D system received much fanfare; GamePro stated that it made the game "more exciting than any old 2D scrollers." Nintendo noted that the game looks "more realistic than any 16-bit platformer, but...plays just like one". The presence of a cooperative mode for two players was considered a huge improvement over the game's predecessor, and brought back memories of "classic Nintendo and Konami sidescrollers." David Canter of The San Diego Union-Tribune said the "ability to control four diverse characters gives the game a nice touch of variety". The camera issues found in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon were solved by the switch to the side-scrolling genre. Peer Schneider of IGN celebrated the game's non-linear puzzle elements and quests, which made the game require more than a day to complete. GamePro noted that these quests still took place in completed stages, lending little added appeal. While Nintendo Power applauded the precise play control, GamePro argued that it could have been slackened somewhat. Canter countered, "control is responsive. A good thing, too, as Goemon's Great Adventure quickly becomes challenging... The only problem with control occurs when playing as the mermaid...maneuvering a beached whale might be easier." Great Adventure's graphics impressed critics. Schneider wrote that they seemed "right out of a Kurosawa movie, complete with both Buddhist and Shinto architecture, temples, shrines, tombstones, cogs, mills, giant frogs, statues and more". Nintendo lauded the special effects, including "artfully composed cinema sequences...backdrops of glimmering water...and...translucent spirits". Canter agreed that while they "don't set a new standard, but there are some nice visual touches". GamePro and IGN agreed that enemy design was generally less impressive, excepting the boss characters and Impact robots. David Canter disagreed, citing "castle bosses, such as the screen-filling skeleton" as "especially eye-pleasing".

Several reviewers reiterated concerns over the previous game that the overt Japanese setting and humor might alienate North American fans. One reviewer suggested the game for fans "capable of overlooking some of the games' more inscrutable cultural references." Nintendo Power wrote that "the story is a weird mix of sci-fi, Japanese culture and superheroes, but it seems perfectly suited to the game...full of action and variety." Levi Buchanan, one of the magazine's reviewers, asserted that the game "radiates personality", while GamePro centered its opinion of the game as very quirky. IGN echoed these sentiments, stating that the plot seemed "completely nuts...[yet] somehow fits together to make a highly entertaining and original game." The soundtrack—"always a Konami hallmark" —was received well, with critics identifying "that peculiar mix of synthesizer music and old-fashioned shamisen, koto and drum music". Nintendo specifically praised "subtle transitions from day to night and back again." Schneider also singled out the Underworld dungeon's theme for praise, remarking that it suited the Castlevania style of the stage well. The sound effects of the game mirrored ones used in 16-bit Ganbare Goemon games, although increased in sampling rate and variety.

IGN's Schneider remarked that Goemon's Great Adventure would have benefitted from more role-playing game elements as exemplified in Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame. He also regretted that the miniature games (Gradius, among others) found in earlier games were absent. Jason Leung of Nintendo Power wrote, "finally, a sidescroller done right for the N64". David Canter concluded,

"All in all, this title is a solid, challenging 2-D action/platform game for a system that is woefully short on the genre... Challenging game play, above average visuals and a humorous Far Eastern-flavored story line and laugh-out-loud funny character conversations (and the strangest game continue screen to date), make this game the best 2-D platform game for Nintendo."

IGN summarized, "two-player co-op, 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, and excellent music make this a much better game than the first N64 Mystical Ninja installment." GamePro's conclusion was less favorable, stating that "Goemon's Great Adventure is a bit of a let down...a good attempt at an old-school 2D platformer, but...falls short in many ways." Nintendo's online review concluded that "Great Adventure is an excellent example of how fun good ol' platformers can be."

Next Generation reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Goemon's Great Adventure emerges as a much better game than its predecessor - and, like the Crash Bandicoot series, shows that not every game needs to be in full 3D to be fun."

Sequels
As of 2012, Goemon's Great Adventure is the last Ganbare Goemon game to date that has been translated to English and released overseas. The next and final Goemon game for the Nintendo 64 is Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku, released exclusively in Japan on December 25, 1999. In Mononoke Sugoroku, players must collect Ofuda cards while navigating a board game. Konami followed with Bouken Jidai Katsugeki Goemon, a game for the PlayStation 2 released on December 21, 2000, and other PlayStation games in 2001. The now-defunct company Working Designs attempted to bring Bouken Jidai Katsugeki to English audiences as Mystical Ninja Goemon beginning in May, 2002. Motivated to promote a series "that's never quite received the recognition it deserves here [in the United States]", Working Designs demonstrated the game in its booth at E3 a month later. Mystical Ninja Goemon remained on the studio's release list until its closing in 2005; it is rumored that Sony canceled the game's release due to subpar graphics. While Goemon ceased to appear on home consoles in 2001, Konami continued to release handheld games, and experimented with the series formula by revising Goemon's appearance, using futuristic settings, and employing a more serious tone. The medieval, quirky, Japanese themes were revived on June 23, 2005 with Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki for the Nintendo DS.

title: Goemon's Great Adventure


text:
Takeo Kikuchi

Takeo Kikuchi (菊池 武夫) is a Japanese industrial and fashion designer. He designs such things as spectacle frames and chronographs in addition to clothing.

In 2004, he bowed out from designing his own self-named brand, entrusting creative direction to Taishi Nobukuni, a graduate of London's St. Martin's College. The rejuvenated label has regained some of its former glory with a funky mix of 1970s vintage looks and contemporary street styling a huge commercial and critical success.

title: Takeo Kikuchi


text:
Darrell Dexter

Darrell Elvin Dexter (born 1957) is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who served as the 27th premier of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, he served as party leader from 2001 to 2013. He became Premier in 2009 after his party defeated the governing Progressive Conservative Party, leading the first NDP government in Atlantic Canada and the second east of Manitoba. His government was defeated in the 2013 election, becoming the first Nova Scotia government in 131 years to be denied a second mandate; Dexter himself was defeated in his constituency by 21 votes. Dexter now serves as a lobbyist for the cannabis industry.

Early life
Darrell Dexter was born on September 10, 1957, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Elvin, a steel metal worker, and Florence Dexter (née Pace), and grew up in the rural community of Milton in Queens County. He was the first member of his family to go to university.

Dexter volunteered for Alexa McDonough in her 1979 federal election campaign. Dexter holds degrees in education and law from Dalhousie University, and a degree in journalism from the University of King's College. He used his journalism degree for a period as a reporter for The Daily News in the early 1980s. Dexter also served in the Canadian Forces holding the rank of Sub-Lieutenant and was a Combat Information Officer on board HMCS Yukon and HMCS Qu'Appelle while deployed with Maritime Forces Pacific.

Dexter was a practicing lawyer before he entered public life. He was first elected as a Dartmouth City Councilor, serving from 1994 to 1996.

A former Chair and member Board of the Dartmouth Downtown Development Corporation, Dexter was also once a member of the Dartmouth General Hospital Commission, Chair of the Dartmouth Common Committee, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Victorian Order of Nurses (Dartmouth Branch), and a member of the Community Planning Association.

In September 2015, Dexter joined Global Public Affairs as Vice Chair.

Dexter is married to Kelly Wilson and together they have one son.

Member of the Legislative Assembly
Dexter was elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature as MLA for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour in 1998 and served as critic for Economic Development and Health. He was re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009.

Provincial leadership
Dexter became the 8th leader of the Nova Scotia NDP in June 2001 when he took over as interim leader after Helen MacDonald stepped down. He ran for the leadership against John MacDonell in 2002 and won with 63% of the vote.

2003 election campaign
In Dexter's first provincial campaign in 2003, the NDP campaign trailed in third place in many polls and was in danger of losing seats. The NDP looked to consolidate its strong support in the Metro Halifax area, and make gains in the conservative rural mainland and Cape Breton.

Dexter campaigned to form Crown Corporation for car insurance to lower premiums by 50%, paying for health coverage in nursing homes, reducing waiting lists for surgeries and diagnostic tests, removing the provincial portion of the HST on home heating oil, increase classroom resources for public schools, freezing tuition fees for Nova Scotia universities for a year while introducing a student debt relief plan, and maintaining balanced budgets.

On election night, Dexter and the NDP did make small gains in the popular vote and won four more seats, including two in Dartmouth, one in Cape Breton and one in Pictou County, and the PC government of John Hamm was reduced to a minority.

2006 election campaign
The MacDonald Government called an election for June 13, 2006, and Dexter was once again the NDP's candidate for Premier. At the outset, most pollsters had the NDP at the same level of support it had in 2003, roughly 30% and behind the Tories in second place. Dexter campaigned on a platform to improve services for seniors, lowering the cost of heating oil for homes, a 10% cut in post-secondary education tuition, subsidized child care and public auto insurance.

Dexter performance in the leaders' debate was improved in the eyes of many pundits. The NDP was returned once again as the official opposition, but did make major gains on election night. The party gained five seats for a total of 20, the best performance in its history. Dexter also was comfortably re-elected in his own seat of Cole Harbour with 59.5% of the vote. The NDP increased its share of the popular vote to 34.5%, a rise of 4 percentage points. The NDP also won seats in the South Shore region, where it had not performed well in previous elections, specifically in Shelburne and Queens.

Opposition Leader
Dexter was Opposition Leader to both premier John Hamm and Rodney MacDonald of the PCs. He credited his ability to work with Hamm to get things done as the reason for the NDP increase in seats in the 2006 election.

Within a few months of the 2006 election, the NDP took a lead in opinion polls, which it held consistently until the 2009 election.

2009 election campaign
The NDP and Liberals voted against a money bill on May 4, 2009, defeating the MacDonald government and hence forcing an election one year before it was due. By this time, the NDP had been leading in opinion polls for most of the last three years and was on target to win a minority government. The NDP looked to hold its support in the Metro Halifax area, and make gains on the South Shore and rural mainland Nova Scotia.

Dexter campaigned on a document called Better Deal 2009 which came with 50 promises to be completed over 4 years, and focused on 7 key commitments of creating new jobs, helping to keep emergency rooms open, taking the HST off of home electricity, fixing rural roads, helping seniors, giving young people a reason to stay in the province, and more renewable energy.

On June 9, 2009, Dexter was elected the first NDP premier of Nova Scotia with a majority government. They held their support in Halifax and Cape Breton, and expanded their base on the South Shore, Pictou and suburban Halifax. The NDP won in the Annapolis Valley and Central Nova Scotia for the first time, winning the seats of Kings North, Kings South, Truro-Bible Hill, Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley and Cumberland North.

First year
Dexter's party won the general election held on June 9, 2009 and became the first NDP government in Nova Scotia, and the first in Atlantic Canada. He was sworn in as Premier of Nova Scotia on June 19, 2009.

The Dexter government struggled for the first year of its mandate to control spending on public programs while increasing revenue. It paid off when Dexter's minister of finance Graham Steele posted the provincial budget on April 4, 2011, showing a $447 million surplus – one of the largest in Nova Scotia's history and only the 7th time the debt was paid down since 1950. Major factors in recording this surplus were a one-time adjustment from the federal government of almost $200 million as well as an increase to the HST by two percentage points. However, Dexter's government also made several unpopular decisions, including removing the freeze on tuition fee hikes for Nova Scotia universities as well as budget cuts and freezes in public education and health care spending.

The first year in office, Dexter and his NDP government sat in the legislature for more days than the previous government's last four sessions combined; the Conservatives sat 15 days in the Fall of 2007, 21 days in the Spring of 2008, 16 days in the Fall of 2008 and 3 days in the Spring of 2009 when an election was called. Dexter's NDP government sat for 35 days in the Fall of 2009 and 32 days in the Spring of 2010.

Legislative highlights in the first year included the province beginning to help cover the travel cost for out-of-province medical care, increasing funding to women's shelters for the first time in a decade, creating a Graduate Retention Rebate for graduates who stay in Nova Scotia, banning uranium mining and the use of cosmetic pesticides, banning political donations by unions and businesses, and launching a new renewable energy strategy with a target of 40% renewable energy by 2020.

In December 2009, at an international summit in Copenhagen, Dexter was awarded a Climate Leadership in Canada award for putting a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cap on electricity in Nova Scotia.

In Dexter's first year as Premier two significant stories caused controversy for the NDP government and Nova Scotia's MLAs. On February 3, 2010, Nova Scotia auditor general Jacques Lapointe released a report stating that many Nova Scotia politicians had filed expense claims that were "excessive or inappropriate" because of inadequate spending controls that invite errors and misuse. Lapointe's report found that politicians had used taxpayers' money to buy items including televisions, cameras and other electronic equipment, custom-made furniture, model boats, and espresso makers. Lapointe's report questioned the appropriateness of the spending habits of all three main political parties. Dexter himself expensed $7,650 for a pair of laptops and a digital camera, while taxpayers picked up his annual $3,500 professional fee to the Nova Scotia Barrister's Society. Dexter later rejected a call for a public inquiry into the MLA spending scandal, saying that due to the Auditor General's report, excessive and inappropriate spending by MLAs would be curtailed. Dexter promised reforms to the expense system, and the first bill he introduced in the spring of 2010 was An Act to Establish a Management Commission for the Effective Administration of the House of Assembly, saying "I promised Nova Scotians that their demands for an open and transparent system for MLA expenses would be met."

Three former and one incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly, Liberals Dave Wilson, Russell MacKinnon, Progressive Conservative Richard Hurlburt, and former NDP turned Independent MLA Trevor Zinck were criminally charged for their involvement.

The second controversy occurred on February 25, 2010, when Elections Nova Scotia fined the governing NDP $10,000, the maximum fine under the governing act, for accepting an illegal campaign donation from a trade union, referring the case to police. The agency said the NDP took more than $5,000 from a single donor and failed to return $45,000 from eight unions and one union affiliate, though it "knew or should have known" the money was all from the Mainland Building and Construction Trades Council. After the release of the report, Dexter stated that he had believed the money had been returned. Party secretary Ed Wark resigned, citing a "serious error in judgment".

Second year
The Dexter government used the second year of its mandate to continue to get spending under control while increasing revenue. Dexter also lobbied the federal government on helping with "nation-building" projects including the Lower Churchill Falls renewable energy project from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia and awarding a national ship building contract to the Halifax shipyard.

Dexter's NDP government continued to sit in the legislature for double the days of the previous government. Significant legislation in the second year included creating the province's first debt-cap for university students, a tax reduction for small business, an Auditor General Act giving that office more power and access to information, an indefinite moratorium on oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank, and Canada's first "Lemon Law" which requires used car dealers to give buyers more information.

Two decisions saw significant opposition during Dexter's second year as Premier. The first was his government's replacing an early learning program called Reading Recovery with Succeeding in Reading. Critics were concerned changing programs would hurt children's literacy, while advocates argued that the old program was too expensive and the new program would help more children in more grades.

Business advocates were concerned that a bill that was barely debated by the opposition in the legislature in the bill's first stages would give power to labour unions, and they held up passage of the bill by several weeks. The bill combined the activities of six boards into one unified Labour Board and created a Labour Management Review Committee that consisted of managers and employees from unionized workplaces. Critics wanted non-unionized business people to have a say in how workplaces become unionized and worried about a preamble that supported including collective bargaining as part of the Freedom to Assemble, while advocates argued that the committee was required by law to consult with businesses and that the preamble had been in the Canada Labour Code since 1972. The government amended the bill to guarantee non-unionized businesses are consulted on potential labour changes affecting matters including union drives.

The 2011 budget was tabled on April 5. Although the final figures for 2010 showed a surprising surplus, Dexter's Finance Minister Graham Steele estimated a deficit for 2011 of $389 million, and promised to continue with their 4-year plan to get Nova Scotia out of unsustainable spending through both economic growth and trimming department budgets. The NDP pledged to reduce debt servicing costs, expand their ban March Madness spending in departments, keep unbudgeted spending low and continue to review department programs. The budget also pledged to open Canada's first Collaborative Emergency Centres as a way of keeping emergency health services in rural Nova Scotia, reduce the price of prescription drugs for people on Medicare, provide tax relief by increasing the Basic Personal Amount, and give more money to people living on income assistance. Critics suggested the projected deficit was higher than it should be as a way of the government providing good news when the deficit turns out to be lower and called for more cuts and faster cuts, while Dexter's government said unpredictable conditions in the worldwide economy required caution and stated the opposition would need to explain where extra cuts would come from.

Third year
The third year of Dexter's mandate brought significant news for the province. The Halifax Shipyard was awarded the federal shipbuilding contract, and the NDP announced an agreement with Newfoundland on the Lower Churchill project to bring hydroelectricity to Nova Scotia. Dexter's government also opened Canada's first Collaborative Emergency Centres to start to address emergency room closures in rural Nova Scotia.

Significant legislation in the third year included re-creating Nova Scotia's independent Arts Council, capping cellphone contract cancellation fees, scheduling a reduction in the HST by one point in 2014 and another point in 2015, and reducing the small business tax for the third year in a row.

Two decisions drew substantial opposition during Dexter's third year as Premier. Both the Conservatives and Liberals tried to block a labour-friendly bill on First Contract Arbitration. The bill meant that if employees voted democratically to form a union but could not reach an agreement with their employer on a first-contract, then an arbitrator would create one to avoid a strike. Critics said the legislation showed the NDP was on the side of workers instead of business, while advocates pointed out that similar legislation exists across Canada regardless of which party is in power, reduced the number of work stoppages, and did not lead to job losses in other provinces.

The second controversy involved his government's work to try to save the forestry and pulp and paper industries in the province. While both opposition parties eventually voted for the legislation to help the paper mill in Queens County, some criticized the move to protect jobs as too costly while others applauded the moves to save the economies of the towns of Liverpool and Port Hawkesbury. In the end, the government support was not enough and the Bowater plant in Liverpool closed.

The 2012 budget was tabled on April 12. Dexter made a surprise announcement the day before Finance Minister Graham Steele's budget, announcing that the HST would be reduced by 1 point in 2014 and a second point in 2015.

The budget continued with the NDP's four-year plan to stop Nova Scotia's unsustainable spending through both economic stimulus and holding the line on department budgets. The budget also pledged to open more Collaborative Emergency Centres, help the poor and disabled, provide more needs-based grants to university students, and invest heavily in rural road and highway repair. The budget projected a deficit of $211.2 million, slightly better than the $215.8 million deficit anticipated in the province's fiscal plan, and projected a surplus in the next year.

As Dexter's third year as Premier came to an end, two long-time colleagues announced they would not re-offer when the next election is called. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Estabrooks and Finance Minister Graham Steele stepped down from Cabinet and were replaced by Antigonish MLA Maurice Smith and Nova Scotia's first ever female Finance Minister Maureen MacDonald.

Fourth year
The fourth year of Dexter's government included the introduction of a balanced budget, and significant debate over the Maritime Link project with the province of Newfoundland.

Significant legislation in the fourth year included stronger protection for animals, cyber-safety laws, the Betty Bauman law, and reducing the small business tax for the fourth year in a row.

One topic saw substantial debate throughout the year was the question of whether to move forward with the Maritime Link project, which would bring in hydroelectricity from Newfoundland at a fixed rate over 35 years. Opponents suggested Nova Scotia should move slower on renewable energy, or import energy from Hydro-Québec instead. Proponents of the deal said it was a made-in-Atlantic-Canada solution, would put Nova Scotia into an "energy loop" and allow the province to meet both its green-house gas emissions requirements and renewable energy targets.

The 2012 budget was tabled on April 4, and presented a small surplus of $16.4 million, ending the NDP's four-year plan to get "back to balance". The budget also invested in more Collaborative Emergency Centres, insulin pump funding for children, expanded dental care coverage for children, expanded newborn screening, and tax breaks for low income seniors.

The Dexter government was heavily defeated in the 2013 provincial election which saw the NDP collapse to only 7 seats, reducing it to third party status in the legislature behind Stephen McNeil's Liberals and the PCs. This was mainly due to a near-wipeout in Halifax, the party's power base for almost two decades; the NDP went from holding 14 of the capital's 20 seats to just two. Dexter ran in Cole Harbour-Portland Valley, essentially a reconfigured version of his old seat, and lost to Liberal candidate Tony Ince by only 21 votes. He was the first sitting premier of Nova Scotia to be unseated in his own riding since Ernest Howard Armstrong in 1925. Eight other members of his cabinet were defeated. Dexter served as premier until his successor Stephen McNeil was sworn in as the 28th Premier of Nova Scotia on October 22, 2013, and later announced on November 16, 2013 that he would resign as NDP leader, effective November 23, 2013.

After politics
As of 2017, Dexter was vice-chair at Global Public Affairs, the country's largest privately-held government relations firm. Among other issues, the firm lobbied on behalf of the cannabis industry in Canada while it was being legalized. Dexter was also appointed Honorary Distinguished Fellow at Dalhousie University's MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, where he teaches on public policy. In 2014, he led two international election observer missions to Tunisia.

title: Darrell Dexter


text:
User:Salvatore Ingala

Hi! Please refer to my userpage on it:wiki!

-

My contributions here

 * 1) Wilson quotient

title: User:Salvatore Ingala


text: Category:Operas by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov


text:
Aquitani

The Aquitani were a tribe that lived in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Garonne, in present-day southwestern France in the 1st century BCE. The Romans dubbed this region Gallia Aquitania. Classical authors such as Julius Caesar and Strabo clearly distinguish the Aquitani from the other peoples of Gaul, and note their similarity to others in the Iberian Peninsula.

Their old language, the Aquitanian language, was a precursor of the Basque language and the substrate for the Gascon language (one of the Romance languages) spoken in Gascony. Between the 1st century and the 13th century, the Aquitani gradually adopted the Gascon language while part of the Roman Empire, then the Duchy of Gascony and the Duchy of Aquitaine.

History
At the time of the Roman conquest, Julius Caesar, who defeated them in his campaign in Gaul, describes them as making up a distinct part of Gaul:

"All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani"

Despite apparent cultural and linguistic connections to (Vascones), the region of Aquitania extended only to the Pyrenees according to Caesar:

"Aquitania extends from the river Garonne to the Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of the ocean which is near Hispania: it looks between the setting of the sun, and the north star."

Relation to Basque people and language
Late Romano-Aquitanian funerary slabs and altars contain what seem to be the names of deities or people similar to certain names in modern Basque, which has led many philologists and linguists to conclude that Aquitanian was closely related to an older form of Basque. Julius Caesar draws a clear line between the Aquitani, living in present-day south-western France and speaking Aquitanian, and their neighboring Celts living to the north. The fact that the region was known as the Vasconia in the Early Middle Ages, a name that evolved into the better known form of Gascony, along with other toponymic evidence, seems to corroborate that assumption.

Tribes

Although the region where the original Aquitanians lived came to be named Novempopulania (nine peoples) in the late years of the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages (up to the 6th century), the number of tribes varied (about 20 for Strabo, but comparing with the information of other classical authors such as Pliny, Ptolemy and Julius Caesar, the total number were 32 or 33):

Aquitani tribes

 * Apiates or Aspiates in the Aspe Valley (Gave d'Aspe Valley)
 * Aturenses in the banks of the Adour (Aturus) river
 * Arenosii or Airenosini in Aran valley, (high Garonne valley), part of Aquitania and not of Hispania in the Roman Empire
 * Ausci in the east around Auch (Elimberris, metropolis of Aquitania)
 * Benearni or Benearnenses/Venarni in and around low Béarn, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
 * Bercorates/Bercorcates
 * Bigerriones or Begerri in the west of the French département of High Pyrenees (medieval county of Bigorre)
 * Boiates/Boates Boii Boiates/Boviates in the coastal region of Pays de Buch and Pays de Born, in the Northwest of Landes
 * Camponi (may have been the same tribe as the Oscidates Campestres)
 * Cocosates or Sexsignani in the west of Landes département
 * Consoranni in the tributary streams of the high Garonne river in the former province of Couserans, today's west half of the Ariège department and extreme south of Haute-Garonne
 * Convenae, a “groupement” in the southeast (high Garonne valley) in and around Lugdunum Convenarum
 * Datii, in the Ossau Valley, high Béarn
 * Elusates in the northeast around Eauze (former Elusa)
 * Gates between the Elusates and the Ausci
 * Iluronenses in and around Iluro (Oloron-Sainte-Marie)
 * Lactorates or Lectorates in and around Lectoure
 * Monesii, Osii, or Onesii in the high Garonne river valley (Louchon), only mentioned in Strabo's Geographica
 * Onobrisates in Nébouzan in the high Garonne river valley and its tributaries, possibly the same tribe as the Onesii, Osii, or Monesii.
 * Oscidates in several valleys and slopes of the west Pyrenees, high Béarn, south of the Iluronenses
 * Oscidates Campestres
 * Oscidates Montani
 * Ptianii in Orthez
 * Sassumini/Lassumini/Lassunni
 * Sibyllates or Suburates probably around Soule/Xüberoa and also Saubusse; the same of Cæsar’s Sibuzates/Sibusates?
 * Sotiates in the north around Sos-en-Albret (south of Lot-et-Garonne department)
 * Succasses
 * Tarbelli or Tarbelii/Quattuorsignani in the coastal side of Landes, with Dax (Aquis Tarbellicis)
 * Tarusates in the Midou, Douze and Midouze valley, east of Cocosates and Tarbelli
 * Tarusci in the high Ariège river valley in the former province of Foix, today's east half of the Ariège department
 * Umbranici
 * Vellates in high Bidassoa river valley
 * Venami/Venarni in and around Beneharnum (modern-day Lescar)
 * Vasates/Volcates in the north around Bazas (south of Gironde department)

Aquitani related peoples or tribes
In the southern slopes of western Pyrenees Mountains, not in Aquitania but in northern Hispania Tarraconensis:

 * Iacetani in high Aragon River valley, in and around Jaca, in the southern slopes of western Pyrenees Mountains in today's northwestern Aragon, Spain
 * Vascones in the southern slopes of western Pyrenees Mountains in today's Navarra, Spain

title: Aquitani


text:
Hank Scott

Henry Baird Scott (December 21, 1898 – September 21, 1972) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1953 to 1958, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Scott was born in Winnipeg, the son of Thomas A. Scott and Lydia Baird. He owned a bakery business, and was a city councillor in Winnipeg before entering provincial politics.

Scott first sought election to the Manitoba legislature in the 1949 provincial election, in the four-member constituency of Winnipeg South. During this period, Manitoba's provincial elections were determined by a single transferable ballot. Although he finished third on the first ballot, he fell behind in subsequent transfers and narrowly missed election, losing to Liberal-Progressive Paul Bardal by 200 votes on the final ballot. He was more fortunate in the 1953 election, defeating independent candidate Lewis Stubbs by over 500 votes to win the fourth position.

Scott left the Progressive Conservative Party prior to the 1958 provincial election, in which Winnipeg's multi-member ridings were replaced by single-seat constituencies. He ran for re-election in St. Matthews as an independent Conservative, but finished a poor fourth with only 260 votes. The winner was Progressive Conservative William G. Martin, who received 2,848 votes.

Scott appears to have been a difficult member of the Progressive Conservative caucus before leaving the party. When discussing Scott in private conversation, Conservative leader Dufferin Roblin is said to have asked CCF leader Lloyd Stinson, "Got anyone you'd like to trade?".

After leaving politics, he served on the municipal and public utility board and then the Manitoba Censor Board until 1970. Scott moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1971, dying there the following year.

title: Hank Scott


text:
Kalinga War

The Kalinga War (ended c. 261 BCE) was fought in ancient India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great and Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. It is presumed that the battle was fought on Dhauli hills in Dhauli which is situated on the banks of Daya River. The Kalinga War was one of the largest and deadliest battles in Indian history.

This is the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to the throne, and marked the close of the empire-building and military conquests of ancient India that began with the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The war cost nearly 250,000 lives.

Background
According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.

The reasons for invading Kalinga were to bring peace and for power. Kalinga was a prosperous region consisting of peaceful and artistically skilled people. The northern part of Kalinga was known as the Utkala (Uttar: North, Kal: Kalinga), they were the first from the region to use a navy and traveled offshore to Southeast Asia for trade. For that reason, Kalinga was able to develop several ports and a skilled navy. The culture of Kalinga was a blend of tribal religions and Brahmanism co-existing peacefully.

Kalinga was under the rule of the Nanda Empire who ruled over the region from their capital in Magadha until their fall in 321 BCE. Ashoka's grandfather Bindusara had possibly attempted to conquer Kalinga but had been repulsed. Ashoka set himself to the task of conquering and annexing Kalinga to the vast Maurya Empire as soon as he securely established himself as the Emperor. Some scholars argue that Kalinga was a strategic threat to the Mauryas. It could interrupt communications between Mauryan capital Pataliputra and possessions in the central Indian peninsula. Kalinga also controlled the coastline for trade in the Bay of Bengal.

Course of the war
"No war in the history of India is as important either for its intensity or for its results as the Kalinga war of Ashoka. No wars in the annals of human history have changed the heart of the victor from one of wanton cruelty to that of exemplary piety as this one. From its fathomless womb, the history of the world may find out only a few wars to its credit which may be equal to this war and not a single one that would be greater than this. The political history of mankind is really a history of wars and no war has ended with so successful a mission of peace for the entire war-torn humanity as the war of Kalinga."

- Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra

The war was completed in the eighth year of Ashoka's reign, according to his own Edicts of Ashoka, probably in 261 BCE. After a bloody battle for the throne following the death of his father, Ashoka was successful in conquering Kalinga – but the consequences of the savagery changed Ashoka's views on war and led him to pledge to never again wage a war of conquest.

According to Megasthenes, the Greek historian at the court of Chandragupta Maurya, the ruler of Kalinga had a powerful army comprising infantry, cavalry and elephants.

Aftermath
Ashoka had seen the bloodshed and felt that he was the cause of the destruction. The whole area of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed. Some of Ashoka's later edicts state that about 150,000 people died on the Kalinga side and an almost equal number of Ashoka's army, though legends among the Odia people – descendants of Kalinga's natives – claim that these figures were highly exaggerated by Ashoka. As per the legends, Kalinga armies caused twice the amount of destruction they suffered. However, prominent historians have rejected this claim and the edicts of Ashoka are believed to be the primary evidence. Thousands of men and women were deported from Kalinga and forced to work on clearing wastelands for future settlement.

"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi (Ashoka) conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dharma, a love for the Dharma and for instruction in Dharma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas."

- Ashoka

Ashoka's response to the Kalinga War is recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka. The Kalinga War prompted Ashoka, already a non-engaged Buddhist, to devote the rest of his life to ahimsa (non-violence) and to dharma-vijaya (victory through dharma). Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military expansion of the empire and began an era of more than 40 years of relative peace, harmony, and prosperity.

In popular culture

 * The 2001 Indian Hindi-language film Aśoka, is based on Kalinga war

 * The book "Ashok and the nine unknown" by author Anshul Dupare is based on the aftermath of Kalinga war.

title: Kalinga War


text:
List of settlements in Lesbos

This is a list of settlements in the island of Lesbos in Greece:

 * Afalonas
 * Agia Marina
 * Agia Paraskevi
 * Agiasos
 * Agra
 * Akrasi
 * Alyfanta
 * Ampeliko
 * Anemotia
 * Antissa
 * Argennos
 * Arisvi
 * Asomatos
 * Chidira
 * Dafia
 * Eresos
 * Filia
 * Ippeio
 * Kalloni
 * Kapi
 * Kato Tritos
 * Kerameia
 * Kerami
 * Kleio
 * Komi
 * Lafionas
 * Lampou Myloi
 * Lepetymnos
 * Lisvori
 * Loutra
 * Loutropoli Thermis
 * Mantamados
 * Megalochori
 * Mesagros
 * Mesotopos
 * Mistegna
 * Mithymna
 * Moria
 * Mychos
 * Mytilene
 * Napi
 * Nees Kydonies
 * Neochori
 * Palaiochori
 * Palaiokipos
 * Pamfila
 * Panagiouda
 * Pappados
 * Parakoila
 * Pelopi
 * Perama
 * Petra
 * Pigi, Lesbos
 * Plagia
 * Plakados
 * Plomari
 * Polichnitos
 * Pterounta
 * Pyrgoi Thermis
 * Sigri
 * Skalochori
 * Skopelos
 * Skoutaros
 * Stavros
 * Stypsi
 * Sykaminia
 * Sykounta
 * Taxiarches
 * Trygonas
 * Vasilika
 * Vatoussa
 * Vrisa
 * Ypsilometopo

title: List of settlements in Lesbos