text:
Talk:.xxx

Initial comments
Shoudln't this be updated? .xxx is now in use. Saxsux 19:31, Jun 3, 2005 (UTC)

The article has been updated. As a matter of fact, the official .xxx domain is not in use yet, and won't be for several months at the soonest. Only New.net's hack is "in use" at this point. All of which is explained in the article, I might add. Tverbeek 20:08, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The Onion scooped us. It got rejected. savidan(talk) (e@) 18:17, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I always thought .xxx got rejected, and WON'T be used. Dan Leveille 22:43, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Click It has been rejected again, article needs to be re-wrote. Code E 13:50, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Done Stoneice02 14:03, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

==.sex== Is the .xxx TLD in any way related to the .sex scandal from a few years ago? --NEMT 01:44, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

¾ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.235.138.151 (talk) 22:41, 5 May 2008 (UTC) anup

4:08 AM 4/15/2012 Presently it appears that .xxx cost an enormous amount of money. On Godaddy it's $99.99 a year, while .com is $9.99. Discussion of impact should exist, but a quick google offered nothing. Obviously no small-time pornographer will pony up an extra $90.

May I suggest a screenshot of cnn.xxx which has a black background and the text "This domain has been reserved from registration. Copyright 2011 ICM Registry LLC"

Additionally, note that cryptome.xxx is an example of what is likely a "protest-type" use, likely to become more common as people believing filtering/censorship of access shouldn't be easy move their journalist-type sites to .xxx — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.88.15.52 (talk) 04:13, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

Approved, finally
According to the BBC today .xxx will finally happen: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/technology/10412765.stm Robirrelevant (talk) 11:29, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
 * It's been at that point before. It hasn't happened until it has happened. bd2412  T 16:22, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

 * As a board member of ICANN, I won't touch this article, but the actual resolution that the Board adopted is here. I think the New York Times describes it correctly as saying that the proposal has "moved forward". --Alvestrand (talk) 21:50, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

 * I have adjusted the copy appropriately. Those 'approval' stories certainly were premature! Wwwhatsup (talk) 08:13, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Irrelevant opinions
I think the whole idea of a separate .xxx domain is very risky. It would be easier for governments to ban the domain entirely. It's opening Pandora's box. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.239.145.211 (talk) 02:00, 30 June 2010 (UTC) The article should talk more about the risks involved with introducing a .xxx domain.

 * You don't specify what risks you are referring to. If you can find reliable sources documenting those that have been suggested by informed commentators then by all means they should go in the article. "It would be easier for governments to ban the domain entirely." Well, this is effectively the situation at present, given that .xxx does not exist at the time of writing and has not existed in the past. I'm not sure what you mean by "easier" and it's not clear that you fully understand that process of TLD approval or the implications of introducing .xxx. It need not, for example, increase the amount of pornographic content on the internet if that's what you're concerned about (that'll happen anyway!). The more pressing 'risks' are likely to be along the lines of ghettoising a part of the net, where we might end up with ISPs carrying everything but "xxx" sites or governments blocking the domain ("who legitimately wants access to that stuff?", they'll say), resulting in further breakdown of network neutrality and the landscape of the internet appearing differently depending on who provides your connection. This is what occurs to me when I consider the idea of this domain but, as I said, everything in Wikipedia needs to be documented elsewhere to meet the standard for inclusion. 82.32.186.24 (talk) 21:37, 21 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Sorry, 182... If by "ban" you're referring to governments blocking connections to the domain (rather than preventing it coming into being) then I misunderstood you and we're coming at this from the same perspective I think! The bit about including information on risks with reference to reliable sources still stands of course. 82.32.186.24 (talk) 21:41, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

considered essential
Having just read 2004's RFC 3675: .sex Considered Dangerous, I'm firmly of the opinion that the notable concerns raised there about the merits and feasibility of .sex, which has since morphed into .xxx, need to be outlined in this article. I say "notable" because RFCs are issued by people who know what they're talking about when it comes to the plumbing of the internet, and are not coming at this debate from a simplistic and irrelevant "is porn bad?" perspective as seen in some press coverage. I don't have the technical understanding to incorporate the RFC into the article in summary form without the possibility of misrepresenting it, but I'm sure there are many Wikipedia editors who could do the needful. Also, we need a redirect from .sex to this article, since the issues someone looking it up needs to hear about are the same: it is essentially the same proposal under a different name. 82.32.186.24 (talk) 12:35, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

 * It's sometimes s/who know/who are supposed to know/, but this informational RFC was written by an expert in the field. It says that using a TLD to tag content won't work as expected -- if you'd expect say all "museum" topics in .museum, and vice versa, or all German content in .at/.ch/.de, and vice versa.  The ICANN folks were certainly aware of this RFC, and have no unrealistic expectations for .xxx.  The folks trying to get this TLD might have "too optimistic" expectations for their business, but followed the ICANN rules incl. considerable fees.  You could say the rules were wrong to start with, but you'd have a hard time to justify this opinion solely based on this RFC. –89.204.153.230 (talk) 20:25, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

 * (Same unregistered user as above) BTW, if you expect that web pages on servers with a domain in the .mobi TLD are supposed to work on smartphones, and if that works for you (I can't judge it), then this would constitute a counter-example for . –89.204.137.163 (talk) 07:08, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Missing info the social conservative side of the debate over the .xxx domain
Shouldn't the article include the arguments over the creation of the domain including opposition from social conservatives and anti-porn feminist as well as from governments such as the Obama administration. Also missing is the the response from certain governments over it's creation such as Indian promising to block the .xxx domain country-wide. --Cab88 (talk) 07:01, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

 * I do believe the 'Background' section - essentially a synthesis of arguments pro and con - could be improved. There were arguments against not only from social conservatives, but also progressives fearing censorship implications. But it should be kept brief, and well reffed. If you want to start a 'Reactions' section with the Indian government response, I think that would be quite acceptable. Wwwhatsup (talk) 14:27, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Categorisation
I see this page is categorised only in the porn categories, not in any technology or Internet categories. I'm not very familiar with how categorisation works on Wikipedia, but surely an article about a gTLD should have some computing categories applied? TRiG (talk) 18:09, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

 * It's categorized as a Sponsored Top Level Domain, that should be sufficient. I've removed "proposed" as it's beyond that stage. Wwwhatsup (talk) 06:36, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Squatting?
Is it worth having a section on "preventive domain squatting", whereby addresses like "vatican.xxx" are purchased specifically to present them being misused? DS (talk) 13:51, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * If we have a good source treating this as a wider issue (rather than the single vatican thing I know of); why not! L.tak (talk) 14:02, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Initial comments
Shoudln't this be updated? .xxx is now in use. Saxsux 19:31, Jun 3, 2005 (UTC)

The article has been updated. As a matter of fact, the official .xxx domain is not in use yet, and won't be for several months at the soonest. Only New.net's hack is "in use" at this point. All of which is explained in the article, I might add. Tverbeek 20:08, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The Onion scooped us. It got rejected. savidan(talk) (e@) 18:17, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I always thought .xxx got rejected, and WON'T be used. Dan Leveille 22:43, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Click It has been rejected again, article needs to be re-wrote. Code E 13:50, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Done Stoneice02 14:03, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

==.sex== Is the .xxx TLD in any way related to the .sex scandal from a few years ago? --NEMT 01:44, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

¾ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.235.138.151 (talk) 22:41, 5 May 2008 (UTC) anup

4:08 AM 4/15/2012 Presently it appears that .xxx cost an enormous amount of money. On Godaddy it's $99.99 a year, while .com is $9.99. Discussion of impact should exist, but a quick google offered nothing. Obviously no small-time pornographer will pony up an extra $90.

May I suggest a screenshot of cnn.xxx which has a black background and the text "This domain has been reserved from registration. Copyright 2011 ICM Registry LLC"

Additionally, note that cryptome.xxx is an example of what is likely a "protest-type" use, likely to become more common as people believing filtering/censorship of access shouldn't be easy move their journalist-type sites to .xxx — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.88.15.52 (talk) 04:13, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

Approved, finally
According to the BBC today .xxx will finally happen: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/technology/10412765.stm Robirrelevant (talk) 11:29, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
 * It's been at that point before. It hasn't happened until it has happened. bd2412  T 16:22, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

 * As a board member of ICANN, I won't touch this article, but the actual resolution that the Board adopted is here. I think the New York Times describes it correctly as saying that the proposal has "moved forward". --Alvestrand (talk) 21:50, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

 * I have adjusted the copy appropriately. Those 'approval' stories certainly were premature! Wwwhatsup (talk) 08:13, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Irrelevant opinions
I think the whole idea of a separate .xxx domain is very risky. It would be easier for governments to ban the domain entirely. It's opening Pandora's box. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.239.145.211 (talk) 02:00, 30 June 2010 (UTC) The article should talk more about the risks involved with introducing a .xxx domain.

 * You don't specify what risks you are referring to. If you can find reliable sources documenting those that have been suggested by informed commentators then by all means they should go in the article. "It would be easier for governments to ban the domain entirely." Well, this is effectively the situation at present, given that .xxx does not exist at the time of writing and has not existed in the past. I'm not sure what you mean by "easier" and it's not clear that you fully understand that process of TLD approval or the implications of introducing .xxx. It need not, for example, increase the amount of pornographic content on the internet if that's what you're concerned about (that'll happen anyway!). The more pressing 'risks' are likely to be along the lines of ghettoising a part of the net, where we might end up with ISPs carrying everything but "xxx" sites or governments blocking the domain ("who legitimately wants access to that stuff?", they'll say), resulting in further breakdown of network neutrality and the landscape of the internet appearing differently depending on who provides your connection. This is what occurs to me when I consider the idea of this domain but, as I said, everything in Wikipedia needs to be documented elsewhere to meet the standard for inclusion. 82.32.186.24 (talk) 21:37, 21 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Sorry, 182... If by "ban" you're referring to governments blocking connections to the domain (rather than preventing it coming into being) then I misunderstood you and we're coming at this from the same perspective I think! The bit about including information on risks with reference to reliable sources still stands of course. 82.32.186.24 (talk) 21:41, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

considered essential
Having just read 2004's RFC 3675: .sex Considered Dangerous, I'm firmly of the opinion that the notable concerns raised there about the merits and feasibility of .sex, which has since morphed into .xxx, need to be outlined in this article. I say "notable" because RFCs are issued by people who know what they're talking about when it comes to the plumbing of the internet, and are not coming at this debate from a simplistic and irrelevant "is porn bad?" perspective as seen in some press coverage. I don't have the technical understanding to incorporate the RFC into the article in summary form without the possibility of misrepresenting it, but I'm sure there are many Wikipedia editors who could do the needful. Also, we need a redirect from .sex to this article, since the issues someone looking it up needs to hear about are the same: it is essentially the same proposal under a different name. 82.32.186.24 (talk) 12:35, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

 * It's sometimes s/who know/who are supposed to know/, but this informational RFC was written by an expert in the field. It says that using a TLD to tag content won't work as expected -- if you'd expect say all "museum" topics in .museum, and vice versa, or all German content in .at/.ch/.de, and vice versa.  The ICANN folks were certainly aware of this RFC, and have no unrealistic expectations for .xxx.  The folks trying to get this TLD might have "too optimistic" expectations for their business, but followed the ICANN rules incl. considerable fees.  You could say the rules were wrong to start with, but you'd have a hard time to justify this opinion solely based on this RFC. –89.204.153.230 (talk) 20:25, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

 * (Same unregistered user as above) BTW, if you expect that web pages on servers with a domain in the .mobi TLD are supposed to work on smartphones, and if that works for you (I can't judge it), then this would constitute a counter-example for . –89.204.137.163 (talk) 07:08, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Missing info the social conservative side of the debate over the .xxx domain
Shouldn't the article include the arguments over the creation of the domain including opposition from social conservatives and anti-porn feminist as well as from governments such as the Obama administration. Also missing is the the response from certain governments over it's creation such as Indian promising to block the .xxx domain country-wide. --Cab88 (talk) 07:01, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

 * I do believe the 'Background' section - essentially a synthesis of arguments pro and con - could be improved. There were arguments against not only from social conservatives, but also progressives fearing censorship implications. But it should be kept brief, and well reffed. If you want to start a 'Reactions' section with the Indian government response, I think that would be quite acceptable. Wwwhatsup (talk) 14:27, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Categorisation
I see this page is categorised only in the porn categories, not in any technology or Internet categories. I'm not very familiar with how categorisation works on Wikipedia, but surely an article about a gTLD should have some computing categories applied? TRiG (talk) 18:09, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

 * It's categorized as a Sponsored Top Level Domain, that should be sufficient. I've removed "proposed" as it's beyond that stage. Wwwhatsup (talk) 06:36, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Squatting?
Is it worth having a section on "preventive domain squatting", whereby addresses like "vatican.xxx" are purchased specifically to present them being misused? DS (talk) 13:51, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * If we have a good source treating this as a wider issue (rather than the single vatican thing I know of); why not! L.tak (talk) 14:02, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

".sex" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=.sex&redirect=no .sex] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. –CopperyMarrow15 (talk | edits) Feel free to ping me! 23:19, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:.xxx


text:
Les Bijoux (comics)

Les Bijoux (레비쥬, Re Bijyu) is a Korean manhwa, written by Jo Eun-ha and illustrated by Park Sang-sun. It was originally published in Korea by Daiwon C.I. and was then translated into an English edition and distributed in the United States by Tokyopop.

Story
Les Bijoux takes place in a fantasy world where the ruling class, the Habits, brutally oppress the commoners, the Spars. A strange child is born to a dwarf and a hunchback. The child has the ability to transform from male to female—when female, she is called Lazuli; when male, he is called Lapis. When a cruel Habit lord named Diamond murders Lapis Lazuli's family, s/he vows revenge and decides to overthrow the tyrannical overlords.

Main
Lapis Lazuli
 * The main character, a being who can switch gender, born to a Spar (slave) couple of a dwarf and a hunchback woman in Neige Mine. Given the complete name of "Lapis Lazuli," "Lapis" refers to the time when the protagonist is male and "Lazuli" when female. From the time s/he was born, Lapis has to deal with his/her unique physical traits, which includes dark, dusky skin. Though his/her family is poor, Lapis Lazuli nevertheless is blessed with two loving parents. Lapis first meets the Habit Diamond as a teenager, arousing the noble's ire when he kills one of Diamond's sled dogs in order to save a child. However, this is not their first meeting, as a much younger "Lazuli" had saved an equally younger Diamond years before. Over a misunderstanding, Lapis's parents are killed by Diamond. In revenge, Lapis hunts down Diamond and gouges out his eye, before fleeing Neige Mine. Eventually, Lapis learns of his destiny, which is to liberate the twelve mine states with the help of mystical guardians and human comrades. Lapis is a fundamentally just character, though he is reluctant at first to accept his responsibilities. Eventually, s/he comes to realize what must be done to truly free his people and at what cost. Even as hates Diamond for killing his parents and acknowledges that the Habit is one of the greatest dangers to his quest, Lapis comes to accept that his female half, Lazuli, loves Diamond, and by default, he loves Diamond as well.

Lapis's Guardians and Allies
Panther
 * Panther (Lazuli calls him Butterfly) is one of the twelve guardians, depicted as a lean, beautiful man with long black hair, a hieroglyph on his forehead, and an exotic wardrobe. Lapis first encounters Panther as, what else, a Panther while swimming in Soleil. He seems to have a somewhat familiar relationship with Carnelian but how far the familiarity goes is never explained. He later accompanies Lapis on his journey and acts as Lapis's primary companion and advisor. Panther takes his duties as a guardian very seriously, and soon comes to love Lapis deeply. Later it is revealed that he is one of the first humans, cursed with immortality for corruption. He has some degree of precognition, as he is able to predict (but unable to stop) Lazuli from being raped by Diamond, though this can be seen as another part of his curse. He is seriously wounded by one of Diamond's conjurations but he commits suicide on Tourmaline's blade to give Lapis his power, leading to an elaborate set of armor for Lapis and panther's head decorations on Tourmaline's.

Onyx
 * Another one of the twelve guardians, Onyx is an attractive and powerful young woman with dusky skin and light hair and also with a hieroglyph on her forehead. She is often dressed in rather skimpy clothing, suggestive of her home in a desert. The guardian of an ancient shrine, she has gone somewhat insane with centuries of isolation and thus, attempts to kill Lapis when he enters the shrine. Fortunately, Lapis's special abilities stop her just in time and stuns her. He tells her that he doesn't wish to harm her, though this has little effect on her temper. Later, however, she rescues him when he is lost in the desert in her animal form: a horse. In time, she comes to be a loyal ally and respects him highly. Like Panther, she is one of the first, cursed humans. It is revealed that she is in love with Panther, though he does not reciprocate her feelings, except in the form of a last, chaste kiss before he dies. She and her sister Equus are the only two of the original, cursed humans to survive.

Korbo
 * One of the twelve guardians as well, a young man with short black hair and a brand on his forehead and the ability to turn into a crow. His eyes are always closed while he smiles. He tells Lapis who murdered his parents, sending him on his murderous quest to find Diamond, after offering him a gem to swallow, which becomes Lapis's first guardian, Peridot. He later aids Chalcedony with the gift of a magical crystal ball. Later, he helps Lapis and his companions escape Sable mine and comes to act as a guide and dispenser of odd advice. Despite his perpetual smile, he is a trickster and something of a wild card, more well-known than the other guardians through the alias of "Black Wizard." When he does open his eyes, his expression instantly becomes serious. Once one of the first humans, along with Panther and Onyx, he was cursed for his corruption. He only smiles with his eyes closed because "he doesn't want the ugliness of the world to spoil his happiness." He allows himself killed by Lapis to release his power, which manifests as a pair of enormous feathered wings on Lapis's back.

Silica
 * A blind healer Lapis meets in Sable mine after being rescued in the desert. She is something of a leader for the Spars in the capital city, being practical and compassionate as well as possessing powers of healing and divination. When the habit Pyrope raises water taxes and conscripts all the young men in the city, she goes as the representative of the people to beg for mercy from the taxation and the conscription. Pyrope, noticing her beauty, makes a deal with her: no more water taxes and conscription of only half the young men in return for her permanent servitude in his palace. During that time, she comes to fall in love with Pyrope, though he infuriates her with his lewdness and violence. It comes to the point where she saves him after he takes a poisoned arrow for her, and he comes to realize that he cares deeply for her. The two finally consummate their love, though it is revealed that Silica, with her ability of foresight, knew that she was destined to love him, though she tried her very best not to fall in love with him. When Diamond infiltrates the city, she and Pyrope escape the palace, only to face a contingent of Diamond's guard, who take Silica hostage. Unable to risk her, Pyrope becomes seriously injured before killing all the guards. Seeing Pyrope slowly dying, Silica tries to heal him, only to realize that she lost her healing ability because she is pregnant with Pyrope's child. In the meantime, Lapis comes to rescue her, even as Diamond comes charging in. Pyrope stays behind to guard their escape and is killed by Diamond. At his death, Silica faints, lost in grief. It is not explicitly told what happens to her during the years Lapis travels through the mines but it is implied she is in contact with the growing group, though settled down somewhere for the sake of her and Pyrope's son. She does come back to help harden Lapis's resolve with a chilling prophecy given in a trance state. After the wars in the Twelve Mines, she remains as a healer, delivering Carnelian's and Lothesite's child. It is only at that child's christening she finally names her son, naming him Lapis. "Silica" is a possible reference to silicon.

Shary
 * One of Lapis's twelve guardians, a little girl with long curly hair. She originally was from Volcano Mine but came to Sable after her parents were killed by Habits. It is implied she has the gift of foresight as well and the ability to heal, which comes in handy after Lapis saves her from a Neige soldier during the invasion of Sable. She is later lured to Emerald's castle and becomes an object of fascination for Shell, who saves her from Emerald and hides her away. Shary is a possible corruption of "sari."

Tourmaline
 * A legendary, somewhat sentient blade allegedly created by the Creator of the world as he cried upon seeing humans corrupted. Lapis has to choose the right blade in a treasure trove of weaponry at a desert shrine guarded by onyx and after some effort found it.

Habits
Diamond
 * The first and main villain of the story. He loves Lazuli without being aware that she is also Lapis. The ruler of Neige mine, Diamond commands instant obedience from his subjects and his Jujus (Concubines). As for his personality, Diamond is exactly like his name. He's cold, hard, and unyielding in all directions, with the power and ambition to wear down anything. Brilliant and ambitious, he seeks to do what no other Habit has done before: take over all twelve mines. Despite his cold demeanor and ambition, he harbors a pain-filled, torturous past. The illegitimate son of the King of Neige, he became heir to the throne when his father makes him crown prince in order to please Diamond's mother, a favored concubine. The Queen, along with her three legitimate children, cannot stand for this and poisons the King and buries Diamond's mother alive in a violent coup. Diamond escapes and with a young Lazuli's help, evades the Queen's assassins and takes refuge at a monastery. The abbot, noting Diamond's beauty, rapes the boy, saying it is the price for safety. From then on, a traumatized and furious Diamond dreams of becoming so strong, "nothing will get in my way again!" An undetermined number of years later, Ivory of Glace encounters a much older Diamond in a forest and falls instantly in love with him, giving him the means necessary to first kill the abbot and take back his rightful kingdom. Ironically, Diamond chooses to execute his stepmother and half-brothers the same way they killed his mother: burying them alive. Diamond is a brilliant and cruel man, and though he loves Lazuli beyond measure, he is obsessed with her and is prone to fits of jealousy and possessiveness. He kills Lapis's parents in a fit of rage over a misunderstanding about Lazuli, leading Lapis to get revenge by gouging out one of his eyes, an indignity Diamond promises to revisit, not realizing that Lapis and Lazuli are the same person. In his obsession, Diamond is prone to violent turns in mood, often reflective of his horrifying past. For example, in Emerald's castle, he ends up raping Lazuli and later, when she refuses to be touched by him, he breaks down in front of her, showing his true, childlike personality. Diamond dies as Emerald Castle is destroyed. After his death, Carnelian remarks that Diamond had his purpose in creating a new a better world: his campaign of conquering all the mines destroyed the Habit class and uprooted the cruel and unjust system to allow for a new society where all were equal.

Carnelian
 * A red haired Habit, joins up with Lapis around the same time Panther does; the two are implied to have a previous acquaintance and possible friendship. Exiled from Soleil by his brother Chalcedony, Carnelian returns in time to encounter Lapis. He's a very quick thinker and a well-rounded fighter despite his flippant attitude and effeminate beauty. It is revealed that he once loved one of his brother's concubines but his brother killed her and used her death as an excuse to banish Carnelian from Soleil, lest he take over the throne. He cares for Lapis deeply, though the latter doesn't reciprocate those feelings. Diamond "kills" him while invading Soleil but Carnelian later returns, albeit with scars from the experience.

Chalcedony
 * Carnelian's older brother and the ruler of Soleil mine. Much less attractive than Carnelian, he is sycophantic and power-hungry, looking for the legendary sword Tourmaline while flattering and pandering to Diamond. After killing Carnelian's lover, he had banished Carnelian from the mine, afraid that the younger man would try to take over. He spies on his kingdom with a magical crystal ball given to him by Crow, capturing the guardian of the sword, Panther, and later determining that Lapis is the key to the blade. He tries to force Lapis to give up the blade, by holding Sadd and his family hostage and later killing them, one by one when Lapis refuses and later does not produce Tourmaline. Chalcedony then has his hand cut off by an enraged Lapis before being murdered by Diamond, who violently overthrows Soleil.

Ivory
 * Ivory is a cruel, arrogant Habit who loves Diamond and believes herself engaged to him, ever since she helped him reclaim Neige in a violent coup. Diamond treats her with general indifference and even mild hatred, especially demonstrated when she threatens to find and kill Lazuli. In that instance, he slams her into a wall by her throat, threatening to kill her if she even thinks of such a thing. She is very possessive of Diamond and fondly calls him by endearments like "snowflake" and "doll," to Diamond's distaste. When she realizes that Diamond loves no one but Lazuli, she forces Emerald to help her torture Lazuli in a magical ritual in which Emerald betrays her and Ivory ends up getting taken to Hades.

Emerald
 * A beautiful, ancient Habit who is 300 years old and is also a powerful sorceress. She is very cold, with the exception of her favorite juju Shell, and could be called a vampire because she drinks the blood of children she lures to her castle. It is implied that she has a powerful fear of aging due to some traumatic experience in her past. She has her own agenda and toys with Diamond's feelings for Lazuli and his ambition to rule the twelve Mines, as well as manipulating both Lapis and Ivory.

Pyrope
 * The ruler of the desert Mine of Sable, Pyrope is a young, attractive man with brilliant red hair and a notorious love of bloodshed, granting him the moniker of "Fire Demon." He is a womanizer and a Machiavellian tyrant, levying heavy fees on the scarce supplies of water in his desert kingdom and killing anyone who dares to disobey his orders. When the young, blind healer Silica begs him to reduce the water taxes and conscriptions, he takes her as his slave in return for reducing the taxes and taking only half the young men for his army. When Diamond attacks and lays the capital city under siege, he attacks back viciously, resulting in a war of attrition, during which he is poisoned by one of Diamond's assassins while protecting Silica. He comes to fall in love with her as he realizes she had healed him while he was poisoned. It is revealed that he is not cruel for the sake of being cruel, but rather, because his land is not a gentle one, strict control is required, especially as he ascended to his throne as a child in midst of tribal squabbling. His dream is to make his entire Mine a lush, green land and the water taxes were to pay for an aqueduct system. He is later killed by Diamond to allow Silica to escape with Lapis, wounding the other Habit in the process. Silica later gives birth to his son, who is named (five years after his birth) Lapis.

Minor characters
Cubic
 * Diamond's half brother who met Lapis Lazuli in Cite mine. He looks like Diamond with shorter hair and about 4-8 years younger. He is most likely not a prince since he appears to look like Diamond's mother and he may be her son by an unnamed husband or a lover. The only thing known for sure about his parents is that the dead Queen of Niege is not his mother as he didn't appear with her other sons in Volume 2 and he is much younger than they are.

Sadd
 * A friend that Lapis Lazuli stays with while in the Soleil mine. He's also the son of a well known cook and doesn't understand why Lapis hates his father's cooking. He doesn't know Lapis can be a girl. He is eventually killed by Chalcedony. His death releases Lapis's sealed power as well as giving him a reason to free all the Mines. He reappears as an illusion made by Emerald to disorient Lapis. Sadd is a type of gypsum.

Equus
 * A mannish woman clad in armor and with a strange brand upon her forehead, she is one of Diamond's magical servants. Her function is as Diamond's horse, as she is able to shift into one. She hates Lady Ivory to the point of having somewhat murderous intentions, though she is always stopped by Diamond. Her hatred may be partially based on the fact that she cares for Diamond deeply, though he would never reciprocate her affection. She also seems to dislike Lazuli as she lets her escape when she was in Sable with Diamond and she doesn't prevent her from running off again at Emerald Castle.

Lextus
 * A young man with a strange brand on his forehead perpetually dressed in a cloak of feathers, he acts as another of Diamond's magical servants. He has a variety of functions, from advisor to spy to military underling. During the siege on Sable Mine, he is able to identify the "devil's water" that bubbles nearby the city and Diamond has him organize troops. His animal form is an owl. He is a polite and wise young man in the few appearances he makes, even being polite to Lady Ivory.

Kenneth
 * Diamond's final magical servant, he is a young man with short hair and tapered ears, like the rest of the guardians. It is never shown what he acts as but he appears to have some role in Diamond's military command. His animal form is never shown in the series but is implied to be another bird of some sort. He has curious insight, particularly when he remarks about Lazuli seeming "more than a woman, somehow."

Shell
 * An effeminate boy who is the sole servant of Emerald, he is a combination of concubine and butler, also tending to the comatose forms of the children Emerald lures to her castle. He cares about his cruel mistress and is able to calm her during her periodic nightmares. For some reason, he is unable to kill Shary when ordered to drain her of her blood and instead pours his blood into Emerald's goblet before hiding Shary in one of the castle towers. Ivory, in order to punish Emerald, has Shell raped by several of her men after cutting off his long, curly hair. Though Shell ultimately helps Lazuli escape with Shary, he is unable to leave the castle because of his devotion to Emerald. He's killed by Diamond after Diamond sees him help Lazuli escape.

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

title: Les Bijoux (comics)


text:
Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. It is Williams' most recorded song. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerous recordings and has since achieved popularity in several different music genres.

In 2002, the 1952 Hank Williams recording of the song on MGM Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Composition
Williams began writing the song while listening to the Cajuns talk about food on the Hadacol Caravan bus. With a melody based on the Cajun song "Grand Texas", some sources, including AllMusic, claim that the song was co-written by Williams and Moon Mullican, with Williams credited as sole author and Mullican receiving ongoing royalties. Williams' biographer Colin Escott speculates that it is likely Mullican wrote at least some of the song and Hank's music publisher Fred Rose paid him surreptitiously so that he wouldn't have to split the publishing with Moon's label King Records. Williams' song resembles "Grand Texas" in melody only. "Grand Texas" is a song about a lost love, a woman who left the singer to go with another man to "Big Texas"; "Jambalaya", while maintaining a Cajun theme, is about life, parties and stereotypical food of Cajun cuisine. The narrator leaves to pole a pirogue down the shallow water of the bayou, to attend a party with his girlfriend Yvonne and her family. At the feast they have Cajun cuisine, notably Jambalaya, crawfish pie and filé gumbo, and drink liquor from fruit jars. Yvonne is his [ma] "chère amie", which is Cajun French for "my dear (female) friend" or more likely to mean "my girlfriend".

Recording and release
Williams recorded the song on June 13, 1952, his first recording session in six months, at Castle Studio in Nashville with backing provided by Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Chet Atkins (lead guitar), Chuck Wright (bass) and probably Ernie Newton (bass). The recording Williams made differs significantly from Mullican's, which was released in the same month as Williams' version but with a different order of verses and extra rhyming couplets.

Since the original melody of the song was from "Grand Texas", the song is a staple of Cajun culture. However, although Williams kept a Louisiana theme, the song is not a true cajun song, which helped the song gain widespread popularity:

"Ethnic music is usually unpalatable for a mass market unless it is diluted in some way (Harry Belafonte's calypsos, Paul Simon's Graceland... the list is endless). The broader audience related to "Jambalaya" in a way that it could never relate to a true cajun two-step led by an asthmatic accordion and sung in patois."

Released in July 1952, it reached number one on the U.S. country charts for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. Williams performed "Jambalaya" at the Louisiana Hayride as part of his "homecoming" in fall, 1952 (after being fired from the Grand Ole Opry). A live recording released as part of a series of Hayride performances includes outbursts of applause. Another unreleased version is included in the 2017 CD set, At the Louisiana Hayride Tonight.

After Williams released his version, Cajuns recorded the song again using Cajun instruments. However, they used Williams' lyrics translated into the Cajun French language. "Jambalaya" remains one of Hank Williams' most popular songs today. International, translated or derived versions exist at least in Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Polish, German, Spanish, Estonian and Swedish.

A demo version of Williams singing "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" with just his guitar, likely recorded in 1951, is also available. Williams composed a sequel to the song from the female perspective, "I'm Yvonne (Of the Bayou)", recorded by Goldie Hill. It was not as popular. As with "Jambalaya" there is speculation that Williams may have written this song with Mullican and their friend Jimmy Rule.

Other versions

 * It was recorded by Jo Stafford for Columbia Records on July 20, 1952, reaching number 3 on the Billboard pop charts (and making the song well known to people other than country music fans).
 * Brenda Lee performed the song in 1956 for Decca Records at the age of eleven. It was her first hit, coming two months after appearing on Ozark Jubilee.
 * Fats Domino released the song in late 1961 as a single, peaking at number 30 on the Billboard pop chart.
 * The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's version peaked at number 84 in 1972.
 * Shocking Blue, Dutch psychedelic rock band, cover this song for their fifth album "Inpot" released in 1972.
 * John Fogerty hit number 16 in 1973 under the name of the Blue Ridge Rangers, and reached number 5 in Canada.
 * The Carpenters featured the song, in an uptempo pop version with country flourishes, on their 1973 album Now & Then. Their version was released as a single outside the United States in 1974 and sold well in the UK (peaking at number 12 in the charts) and Japan.
 * In 2003, the Mexican Duranguense band K-Paz De La Sierra adapted the song into a Spanish rendition with original lyrics for their debut album Arrasando Con Fuego. The single reached 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks.
 * Jesse Colin Young included the song in his Song For Juli album released September 1973.

title: Jambalaya (On the Bayou)


text:
User:Computerappz

In the school of St. Joseph there are good students and bad students. All the cool nerds hang out at computer animations afterschool. One of these kids is named Earl. I credit his hard work for being a nerd. He likes a girl named moshzilla.

title: User:Computerappz


text:
Robert Mooney

Robert Henry Mooney (August 10, 1873 – January 30, 1953) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1922 to 1953.

Early life
Mooney was born on August 10, 1873, in Wingham, Ontario, the son of Alexander Mooney and Susan Orr. He was educated in Virden, Manitoba. Upon the conclusion of his education, he worked as a farmer. He also worked as an educator for three years, and was a councillor in the Rural Municipality of Pipestone from 1911 to 1922.

Term in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
He was first elected to the Manitoba assembly in the 1922 provincial election for the constituency of Virden. Running as a candidate of the United Farmers of Manitoba, he defeated Liberal incumbent George Clingan by 677 votes. The United Farmers of Manitoba won the election, and governed as the "Progressive Party"; Mooney was returned by acclamation under this label in the 1927 election.

The Progressives and Liberals merged prior to the 1932 provincial election. Again running as a candidate of the governing coalition, Mooney defeated Conservative candidate G.H. Heenan by 432 votes in this election. In the 1936 election, he defeated Conservative O.S. Ross by 205 votes.

Mooney was returned by acclamation in the 1941 and 1949 elections, and defeated a candidate of the CCF in 1945. He served as a government backbencher throughout his entire career in the legislature.

Late life and death
Mooney died on January 30, 1953. In its obituary notice, the Winnipeg Free Press described him as "one of the quietest men in the house".

title: Robert Mooney


text:
Equivalent annual cost

In finance, the equivalent annual cost (EAC) is the cost per year of owning and operating an asset over its entire lifespan. It is calculated by dividing the negative NPV of a project by the "present value of annuity factor":

 * $$\mathrm{EAC} = -\frac{\mathrm{NPV}}{A_{t,r}}$$, where $${A_{t,r}} = \frac{1 - \frac{1}{(1 + r)^t}}{r}$$

where r is the annual interest rate and

t is the number of years.

Alternatively, EAC can be obtained by multiplying the NPV of the project by the "loan repayment factor".

EAC is often used as a decision-making tool in capital budgeting when comparing investment projects of unequal lifespans. However, the projects being compared must have equal risk: otherwise, EAC must not be used.

The technique was first discussed in 1923 in engineering literature, and, as a consequence, EAC appears to be a favoured technique employed by engineers, while accountants tend to prefer net present value (NPV) analysis. Such preference has been described as being a matter of professional education, as opposed to an assessment of the actual merits of either method. In the latter group, however, the Society of Management Accountants of Canada endorses EAC, having discussed it as early as 1959 in a published monograph (which was a year before the first mention of NPV in accounting textbooks).

Application
EAC can be used in the following scenarios:

 * 1) Assessing alternative projects of unequal lives (where only the costs are relevant) in order to address any built-in bias favouring the longer-term investment.
 * 2) Determining the optimum economic life of an asset, through charting the change in EAC that may occur due to the fluctuation of operating costs and salvage values over time.
 * 3) Assessing whether leasing an asset would be more economical than purchasing it.
 * 4) Assessing whether increased maintenance costs will economically change the useful life of an asset.
 * 5) Calculating how much should be invested in an asset in order to achieve a desired result (i.e., purchasing a storage tank with a 20-year life, as opposed to one with a 5-year life, in order to achieve a similar EAC).
 * 6) Comparing to estimated annual cost savings, in order to determine whether it makes economic sense to invest.
 * 7) Estimating the cost savings required to justify the purchase of new equipment.
 * 8) Determining the cost of continuing with existing equipment.
 * 9) Where an asset undergoes a major overhaul, and the cost is not fully reflected in salvage values, to calculate the optimum life (i.e., lowest EAC) of holding on to the asset.

A practical example
A manager must decide on which machine to purchase, assuming an annual interest rate of 5%:

The conclusion is to invest in machine B since it has a lower EAC.

Canadian context with capital cost allowance
Such analysis can also be carried out on an after-tax basis, and extensive work has been undertaken in Canada for investment appraisal of assets subject to its capital cost allowance regime for computing depreciation for income tax purposes. It is subject to a three-part calculation:

 * 1) Determination of the after-tax NPV of the investment
 * 2) Calculation of the after-tax NPV of the operating cost stream
 * 3) Applying a sinking fund amortization factor to the after-tax amount of any salvage value.

In mathematical notation, for assets subject to the general half-year rule of CCA calculation, this is expressed as:

$$\mathrm{EAC} = \frac{I \left [ 1-\left (\frac{td}{i+d}\right )\left (\frac{1+\frac{1}{2}i}{1+i}\right ) \right ]}{A_{\overline{n|}i}} + \frac{\sum_{n=0}^{N} \frac{{R_n}\left (1-t\right )}{(1+i)^{n}}}{A_{\overline{n|}i}} - \frac{S \left [ 1-\left (\frac{td}{i+d}\right )\left (\frac{1+\frac{1}{2}i}{1+i}\right ) \right ]}{F_{\overline{n|}i}}$$

where:

 * $A$ = Capital recovery (amortization) factor
 * $F$ = Sinking fund amortization factor
 * $I$ = Investment
 * $S$ = Estimated salvage value
 * $${R_n}$$ = Operating expense stream
 * $d$ = CCA rate per year for tax purposes
 * $t$ = rate of taxation
 * $n$ = number of years
 * $i$ = cost of capital, rate of interest, or minimum rate of return (whichever is most relevant)

and where

$$A_{\overline{n}|i} = \frac{1 - \frac{1}{(1 + i)^n}}{i}$$ $$F_{\overline{n}|i} = \frac{(1+i)^n-1}{i}.$$

title: Equivalent annual cost


text:
Mankato MoonDogs

The Mankato MoonDogs are an amateur baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Their home games are played at ISG Field in Mankato, Minnesota. The MoonDogs have been active in the Mankato community with frequent player and mascot appearances at local events and through the MoonDogs Fit Program.

History
The team started play in 1999 as the Mankato Mashers and were renamed in 2002 when the franchise was acquired by Joe Schwei. The Moondogs were again sold in January 2013 to Mark Ogren. The current ownership group of Chad Superenant and Kyle Smith took over the club in 2018.

From 2008 to 2018 the MoonDogs made the playoffs eight of eleven season, making it to the NWL Summer Collegiate World Series on three occasions. In 2014 the MoonDogs were defeated by the Lakeshore Chinooks in a two-game series sweep.

Staff
The team's General Manager, Tyler Kuch, is a native of Mankato, Minnesota, Walker Regier, the team's Assistant General Manager is from Southern Minnesota, he previously interned for the Willmar Stingers, another Northwoods League team.

The MoonDogs also have summer internships available for students looking for possible careers in sports. The positions include Media Relations, Promotions/Community Relations, Marketing, Sales, and Camera / Video Operations.

Muttnik
Listed at 6'3" and 210 lbs, the MoonDogs mascot throws and bats right pawed. Muttnik can be seen mingling with the crowd during games or at various community events throughout the year.

title: Mankato MoonDogs


text:
Talk:Jared

Added Theory behind origin of Jared
I thought it wise to add this bit of info, as there has been some research into the Nephilim and Fallen Angels and such. The name Jared coincidentally came about during this time.

I also thought it would be a good idea to add a bit more to a "name page" then an expanded definition. Too many other websites do the same.

Danj3ris 18:13, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

 * In order to list theories of this nature you would need solid, reliable sources and cite them. 216.165.151.13 05:06, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

He comes from ORLANDO!!! HE IS AWESOME!!! WHATEVER!!!! -kkyyeellll —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ketty123 (talk • contribs) 01:53, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism
Whenever I stumble upon this page, it is vandalized. Maybe name pages need semi-protection in general, as typical targets of these kindergarten kids? 64.131.248.59 05:53, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

American name
One of the signators to the Declaration of Independence was named Jared. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.211.195.52 (talk) 23:23, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

 * It may actually be the U.S. Constitution, not the Declaration of Independence? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.211.195.25 (talk) 17:19, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

"is very common across the Western world"
The name is almost unknown in European context, 10 of 11 persons I found listed in German WP were North-Americans plus only one Brit.

I think it's a very common American name, and I'll change the passage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.97.10.191 (talk) 02:30, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Jared


text:
Voussoir

A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.

Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the centre stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. The springer is the lowest voussoir on each side, located where the curve of the arch springs from the vertical support or abutment of the wall or pier.

The keystone is often decorated or enlarged. An enlarged and sometimes slightly dropped keystone is often found in Mannerist arches of the 16th century, beginning with the works of Giulio Romano, who also began the fashion for using voussoirs above rectangular openings, rather than a lintel (Palazzo Stati Maccarani, Rome, circa 1522).

The word is a stonemason's term borrowed in Middle English from French verbs connoting a "turn" (OED). Each wedge-shaped voussoir turns aside the thrust of the mass above, transferring it from stone to stone to the springer's bottom face (impost), which is horizontal and passes the thrust on to the supports. Voussoir arches distribute weight efficiently, and take maximum advantage of the compressive strength of stone, as in an arch bridge. The outer boundary of a voussoir forms an extrados, internal - an intrados.

In Visigothic and Moorish architectural traditions, the voussoirs are often in alternating colours (ablaq), usually red and white. This is also found sometimes in Romanesque architecture.

title: Voussoir


text:
Mist, Oregon

Mist is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. Formerly called Riverside, the place was renamed in 1888 for the atmospheric conditions of the Nehalem Valley. The first land claims in the area had been made circa 1870. The original Riverside post office was closed in 1975.

Background
On July 6, 2001, the Mist store, which was built in 1874, caught fire and was destroyed. Until then, it was the oldest continuously operating business in Oregon, offering food and hardware and displaying historic newspaper clippings and antique logging equipment on the walls.

Mist is a crossroads community where Oregon Route 47 turns north to Clatskanie, and a pioneer trail (Burn Road) crossed the Nehalem River and went south to Vernonia. It is the eastern terminus of Oregon Route 202. The Nehalem River valley widens between Mist and Jewell and was favored by the Native American tribes of the area for hunting; it was later favored by early European American settlers for agriculture. Although the area is now sparsely settled, it is notable for having the largest operating sawmill in Columbia County and also geological conditions lending themselves to natural gas storage. Mist contains one of the very few, and therefore very valuable, natural gas storage areas in the Pacific Northwest. It operates unobtrusively on a hill near Mist. It is controlled by NW Natural (formerly Northwest Natural Gas) and is connected by several pipelines, including a 16 in and a 24 in pipeline along the Nehalem Highway.

Earlier in the 20th century, Mist had a logging camp next to a railroad used by the Kerry Timber and Logging Company. The remains of the camp were discovered in 2008 and 2009. Though still important in terms of logging, the population today is sparse, and there is no longer a railroad.

title: Mist, Oregon


text:
Spiritual Assembly

Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level, there are national Spiritual Assemblies (although "national" in some cases refers to a portion of a country or to a group of countries). Spiritual Assemblies form part of the elected branch of the Baháʼí administration.

Nature and purpose
Baháʼu'lláh, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi stated how Spiritual Assemblies should be elected by the Baháʼís, defined their nature and purposes, and described in considerable detail how they should function. Since these institutions are grounded in the Baháʼí authoritative texts, Baháʼís regard them as divine in nature, and contrast the wealth of scriptural guidance with the paucity of scriptural texts on which Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious institutions are based.

The Universal House of Justice has added that among the responsibilities of Local Spiritual Assemblies are to be “channels of divine guidance, planners of the teaching work, developers of human resources, builders of communities, and loving shepherds of the multitudes.” On a practical level, they organize local Baháʼí communities by maintaining a local Baháʼí Fund, owning the local Baháʼí center (if one exists), organizing Baháʼí events, counseling Baháʼís about personal difficulties, assisting with Baháʼí marriages and funerals, providing educational programs to adults and children, publicizing the Baháʼí Faith locally, fostering projects for the social and economic development of the region, and enrolling new members of the religion. Spiritual Assemblies appoint individuals, task forces, and committees to carry out many of their functions. National Spiritual Assemblies have a similar mandate at the national level: they coordinate publishing and distribution of Baháʼí literature, direct relations with national organizations and governmental agencies, oversee the work of local spiritual assemblies, and (in some countries) Regional Councils, set local Baháʼí jurisdictional boundaries, provide various educational services and programs, and set the overall tone and direction of the national community.

Local Spiritual Assemblies
The origin of the institution of the local Spiritual Assembly originates from Baháʼu'lláh's book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas:
 * The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Baha, and should it exceed this number it doth not matter. They should consider themselves as entering the Court of the presence of God, the Exalted, the Most High, and as beholding Him Who is the Unseen. It behoveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly.

The passage gives the institution a name, a minimum number (nine, for “the number of Baha” refers to the numerical value of the letters of that word, which is nine), and a general responsibility to take care of the welfare of others even as they would take care of their own. While the resulting institution is local, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Baháʼu'lláh also spoke about the responsibilities of the supreme or Universal House of Justice. In response to the passage, Mírzá Asadu'lláh Isfahání, a prominent Baháʼí teacher, organized an unofficial Baháʼí consultative body in Tehran, Iran, about 1878. The first official Baháʼí consultative body was organized under ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's direction by Hand of the Cause Hají Ákhúnd in Tehran in 1897; by 1899 it was an elected body. Because of the difficulties in Iran caused by persecution of the Baháʼí Faith, the Tehran body served to coordinate both local and national Baháʼí activities. It is not known what name the body was organized under. The development of a Baháʼí community in the United States in the 1890s necessitated the creation of local Baháʼí consultative bodies there. In 1899 the Baháʼís of Chicago elected a local council based on their awareness of the provisions of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (which was circulated in provisional English translation as a typescript as early as 1900). The New York Baháʼís elected a “Board of Counsel” in December 1900. In 1901 the Chicago body was reorganized and re-elected and took the name “House of Justice of Bahais of Chicago, Ills.” In response, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá revealed three tablets of encouragement and guidance to the body, including prayers to say at the beginning and end of their meetings, prayers that Baháʼís use around the world today for their Spiritual Assembly meetings.

In 1902 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá sent a very important tablet to the Chicago governing body where he said "let the designation of that body be 'Spiritual Assembly'—this for the reason that, were it to use the term 'House of Justice', the government might hereafter come to suppose that it was acting as a court of law, or concerning itself in political matters, or that, at some indeterminate future time, it would involve itself in the affairs of government.... This same designation hath been universally adopted throughout Iran." For this reason, Baháʼí local and national governing bodies are designated “Spiritual Assemblies” to this day.

The first decade of the twentieth century saw the proliferation of local Baháʼí governing bodies. Often unaware of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's guidance, they had a variety of titles in English and Persian, such as “Council Board, “Board of Consultation,” “House of Spirituality,” and "Executive Committee." Unaware ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had told the Chicago Baháʼís to elect their body every five years, they were usually elected annually or even semi-annually. The number of members varied from five to nineteen (except in New York City, where ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, in 1911, said they should elect twenty-seven members in order to be inclusive of and to foster unity between that city's diverse Baháʼí groups). They were male only until ʻAbdu'l-Bahá said, in 1911, that women should be elected to the local governing bodies existing in the United States; their exclusion from local bodies continued in Iran until the 1950s, because of Iranian cultural conventions. In the period of 1900 - 1911, consultative bodies are known to have existed in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Boston, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Spokane, Washington, northern Hudson County, New Jersey, the greater San Francisco area, California, in the United States; and in Bombay, British Raj India; Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt; Acre, Ottoman Syria; Baku, Tbilisi, Ashgabat and Samarqand in the Russian Empire; and Mashhad, Abadih, Qazvin, and Tabriz, Persia. Consultative bodies also existed for the Jewish and Zoroastrian Baháʼís in Tehran and for the women of a few Baháʼí communities.

Because efforts to organize local Baháʼí consultative bodies remained informal, few additional ones had formed by 1921 (notable exceptions being Cleveland, Ohio, and London), and some of the ones in the United States had lapsed. Upon assuming the Guardianship of the Baháʼí Faith, Shoghi Effendi read ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament and made establishment of local spiritual assemblies an early priority. His second general letter to the Baháʼís of the world, dated March 5, 1922, referred to the “vital necessity of having a local Spiritual Assembly in every locality where the number of adult declared believers exceeds nine.” The letter also quoted extensively from Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá about the purposes and duties of Spiritual Assemblies.

The result was a rapid proliferation of local Spiritual Assemblies; a 1928 list had the following: Australia, 6; Brazil, 1; Burma, 3; Canada, 2; China, 1; Egypt, 1; England, 4; France, 1; India, 4; Japan, 1; Korea, 1; Lebanon, 1; New Zealand, 1; Palestine, 1; Iran, 5; Russia, 1; South Africa, 1; Switzerland, 1; Syria, 1; Turkey, 1; and the United States, 47, for a total of 85 local Spiritual Assemblies worldwide.

The number has grown ever since; in 2001 there were 11,740 local Spiritual Assemblies worldwide.

National Spiritual Assemblies
National Spiritual Assemblies are first mentioned in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, but the fact that they would be established circulated for years before the contents of the Will became publicly available in early 1922. In 1909, wrote extensively about the role of the national House of Justice (as it would have been known then) in his The Universal Religion: Bahaism, Its Rise and Social Import. In that year, also, the Baháʼís of the United States and Canada elected a nine-member “Executive Committee” for the Bahai Temple Unity, a continental consultative body formed to build the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Subsequently, the Bahai Temple Unity, which held annual conventions, appointed committees to publish Baháʼí literature, coordinate the spread of the Baháʼí Faith across North America, and review Baháʼí publications for their accuracy. By the time of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's passing in November 1921, the Bahai Temple Unity functioned as a “national” Baháʼí coordinating body.

In the same March 5, 1922 letter to the Baháʼís of the world that called for the election of local Spiritual Assemblies, Shoghi Effendi called on them to “indirectly” elect National Spiritual Assemblies. He also enumerated committees that a National Spiritual Assembly should have in order to carry out its responsibilities. “Indirect” election referred to the process, mentioned in the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, of the Baháʼís electing one or more delegates from each locality, who would represent them at a national convention and would vote for the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly. The 1928 issue of The Baháʼí World listed nine National Spiritual Assemblies: Persia (Iran); the United States and Canada; Germany; Great Britain and Ireland; India and Burma; Egypt; Turkistan; Caucasus; and Iraq. Of these, the Iranian body was still the “Central Spiritual Assembly” in Tehran, elected by the Baháʼís of that community; it was not until 1934 that a national Baháʼí membership list could be drawn up that allowed the election of delegates and convening of a fully representative national convention. It is possible that the Turkistan and Caucasus bodies were preliminary as well. By 1953 the number of National Spiritual Assemblies worldwide had increased to 12; in 1963, 56; by 1968, 81, by 1988, 148; by 2001, 182.

An important part of the process was the establishment of “regional” National Spiritual Assemblies; thus in 1951 all of South America elected a single National Spiritual Assembly, but by 1963 nearly every nation on that continent had its own. National Spiritual Assemblies are still being formed as areas of the world achieve religious freedom. Some National Spiritual Assemblies have been formed in areas smaller than a nation: Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico have their own “national” bodies because they are geographically separated from the lower forty-eight states; Sicily has its own because Shoghi Effendi said major islands also like in the Caribbean should elect independent National Spiritual Assemblies.

Like local Spiritual Assemblies, all National Spiritual Assemblies have nine members and are elected annually, usually during the Ridván Festival (April 21-May 2). All Baháʼí elections occur in an atmosphere of prayer where nominations, campaigning, and all discussion of persons is forbidden.

The members of the National Spiritual Assemblies collectively serve as the electoral college for electing the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Baháʼí Faith, which was first formed in 1963.

title: Spiritual Assembly


text:
Wish You Were Here (1952 song)

"Wish You Were Here" is a popular song with music and lyrics by Harold Rome, the title tune from his 1952 show, Wish You Were Here. It was introduced in the show and on the RCA Victor cast album by Jack Cassidy.

The best-known version was recorded by Eddie Fisher becoming a #1 hit in 1952 on RCA Victor 47-4830 (45 rpm) and 20-4830 (78 rpm).

Other recordings

 * Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians (vocal by Kenny Martin) (1952). This charted briefly in the No. 26 position.
 * Judy Garland - Performed on The Bing Crosby Radio Hour on October 30, 1952.
 * Jane Froman (1952). This charted briefly in the No. 25 spot.
 * Jimmy Young (1953).
 * Kate Smith - for her album The Fabulous Kate (1958).
 * Peggy Lee – recorded it for her album Latin ala Lee! (1960)
 * Michael Feinstein - for his album Forever (1993).

title: Wish You Were Here (1952 song)


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Thunder Bay Border Cats

The Thunder Bay Border Cats are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The league's only Canadian team, their home games are played at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The Border Cats have been Northwoods League champions twice, defeating the Madison Mallards two games to one in both 2005 and 2008. They also were in the Northwoods League championship in 2006, but lost to the Rochester Honkers.

As of 2024, the Border Cats have sent 14 players to the major leagues. Matt Mangini was the first to make the jump, playing 11 games for the Seattle Mariners in 2011. Shortstop Jonathan Diaz followed two years later, playing four games with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. Diaz also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014, almost making the team out of spring training. Pitcher Blaine Hardy became a regular in the Detroit Tigers bullpen in 2014. Seth Frankoff pitched in one game for the Chicago Cubs, while A.J. Schugel spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Wes Parsons is currently with the Toronto Blue Jays in a relief role.

The Border Cats sat out the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons due to "the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic regarding the Canada-US border closure as well as outdoor gathering numbers". A travel team known as the Minnesota Mud Puppies, based in the Twin Cities region, played the Border Cats' originally scheduled 36 road games during the 2021 season. The Border Cats ultimately returned for the 2023 season.

2009 All-Star Game
The 2009 Northwoods League All-Star Game was held on July 21 in Thunder Bay. This was the first time the All-Star game played in Canada. The guest speaker for the event was Ferguson Jenkins, a Canadian member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The game was won 4-2 by the South Division squad, led by the MVP performance of Kurtis Muller, who went 3-for-5.

Notable active alumni & those reaching Majors
{{legend|#d0f0c0|Reached Majors}}

title: Thunder Bay Border Cats