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Asterix in Corsica

Asterix in Corsica (Astérix en Corse) is the twentieth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (artwork). It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 687–708 in 1973. It is the best-selling title in the history of the series, owing to its sales in the French market, but is one of the least-selling titles in the English language.

Plot summary
Unlike most editions of the series, the map that is shown before the story begins does not present Gaul and a close-up of the village with the four surrounding Roman camps. Instead the reader is shown a map of Corsica and a multitude of camps around the coastline.

The story begins with a banquet celebrating the anniversary of Vercingetorix's victory at the Battle of Gergovia. As part of the celebrations, the indomitable Gauls always attack the local Roman camps; as a result, the Roman soldiers always go on "special manoeuvres" en masse to avoid the punch-up.

On this particular year various people who have helped the Gauls against the Romans in previous books have been invited along with their wives (this may be because this was the last story published in Pilote magazine, or because this was the 20th album). They include:
 * Petitsuix from Helvetia (Asterix in Switzerland),
 * Huevos Y Bacon and son Pepe from Hispania (Asterix in Spain),
 * Instantmix, the Gaulish restaurateur from Rome (Asterix the Gladiator),
 * Anticlimax from Britain alongside Dipsomaniax the tavern-keeper, McAnix the Scotsman, O'veroptimistix the Irishman, and Chief Mykingdomforanos (Asterix in Britain),
 * Drinklikafix of Massalia, Jellibabix of Lugdunum, Seniorservix from Gesocribatum (Asterix and the Banquet),
 * Winesanspirix and his wife from Gergovia (Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield).

The Roman camp of Totorum, too, has visitors: three Roman soldiers escorting the Corsican leader Boneywasawarriorwayayix, exiled by Praetor Perfidius. He is left to spend the night in the Centurion's tent, to its owner's dismay. While the other camps are deserted, the Romans of Totorum have no option but to stay and be decimated by the Gauls and their friends, who discover Boneywasawarriorwayayix awakening from a long siesta (afternoon nap).

The proud Boneywasawarriorwayayix attends the Gaulish banquet and leaves the next day for Corsica with Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix accompanying him. At Massalia, he hires a ship crewed by none other than the pirates. When the passengers go aboard it is too dark for the captain and the Gauls to recognise each other. But when, in the middle of the night, the pirates attempt to rob the Corsican and his three companions, they recognize the sleeping Gauls and the entire crew vacates the ship in a rowing boat.

The following morning, the passengers awake to find the ship is deserted. Boneywasawarriorwayayix then invites the Gauls to share a pungent Corsican cheese. Unaccustomed to the strong smell, they feel unwell, but then the Corsican realises that they are off the coast of his native island, abandons the cheese and excitedly swims ashore.

The arrival of the three men and dog is noticed by a Roman patrol. The Romans later investigate the ship but find nothing suspicious. As they leave, the pirates arrive to reclaim their vessel, only for a burning torch to ignite the Corsican cheese's fumes, blowing up the ship.

A keen young Roman called Courtingdisastus captures the pirate captain and takes him to Praetor Perfidius in the Roman city of Aleria. From him, the Romans learn that Boneywasawarriorwayayix, a known revolutionary leader, has returned from exile. Perfidius appoints Courtingdisastus to lead a party assigned to recapture Boneywasawarriorwayayix. But in fact, Perfidius has few illusions that the mission will be successful and starts making his own plans to flee Corsica, leaving his men in the lurch and sailing away with all the loot he has purloined from the Corsicans.

Courtingdisastus and his men go to Boneywasawarriorwayayix's village, but are faced by his second-in-command Carferrix, who intimidates them into fleeing. Meanwhile, the Corsican leader and the Gauls travel through the maquis to a rendezvous where several clan chieftains gather to plan their attack on Aleria to recover the wealth the Praetor has extracted from them.

The attack begins before Perfidius can make his escape. Boneywasawarriorwayayix then makes a proud and defiant speech stating that Corsica will never be ruled by an Emperor unless he is a Corsican himself.

After the victory over the Romans, a vendetta between the clans of Boneywasawarriorwayayix and Olabellamargaritix, fought over various but complicated age-old issues, is settled by the diplomatic Asterix (though, when the Gauls leave, there are strong hints that other Corsican chieftains will resume the feud with Olabellamargaritix even if Boneywasawarriorwayayix has called his off).

The Gauls return home with fond memories of their trip.

Commentary

 * Throughout the album the stereotypical laziness of the Corsicans is satirized, often in combination with their well known siesta.
 * The importance to Corsicans of honor and respect is satirized several times, as are their vendettas and fights. The knives they use are authentic vendetta knives.
 * In the original French version Boneywasawarriorwayayix is called Ocatarinetabellachitchix. Asterix at one point pronounces his name incorrectly as "O Marinella..." Both are songs by Corsican singer Tino Rossi: "Tchi-Tchi" and "Marinella". Further in the comic strip the secret password the Gauls need to give in order to get on the ship that will bring them to Corsica is also a reference to Rossi. "Vieni vieni" (in the French version) is also a song by Rossi.
 * Ballot boxes being stuffed before the election starts is a reference to Corsican election fraud scandals.
 * Wild pigs, chestnuts (used in many dishes and drinks on the island), old people sitting on benches commenting on things happening in their environment, and the notorious smell of Corsican cheese are referenced. This cheese is the infamous casgiu merzu which can be identified by the maggots springing away from the cheese as Boneywasawarriorwayayix attempts to slice it.
 * The famous bushes (maquis) where in past centuries many highwaymen and Corsican nationalists hid are referenced. It is also notorious as a place where tourists easily get lost.
 * The Corsican emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is referenced in:
 * The English name for Ocatarinetabellachitchix: "Boneywasawarriorwayayix", which is a reference to the sea chanty "Boney was a warrior" about Napoleon. (When Asterix mistakes his name in the English version he addresses him as "Wellingtonwasa...", a reference to Napoleon's British enemy Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.)
 * Boneywasawarriorwayayix discovers Corsica is nearby by tasting the smell. Napoleon once said he could recognize his island with his eyes closed, just by smelling its scent. Even during his exile in Elba he could still remember the scent.
 * Asterix's remark that the Corsicans have "une grande armée" ("a large army") is a reference to the nickname for Napoleon's army.
 * Boneywasawarriorwayayix's remark that "le sommeil d'Osterlix" is very famous in their country (Osterlix is a Corsican clan leader in the album. "Le sommeil" means "the sleep". The sentence is a pun on "Le soleil d' Austerlitz" ("The sun of Austerlitz", named after Napoleon's famous victory in the Battle of Austerlitz)
 * And finally in Boneywasawarriorwayayix's speech towards Perfidius where he strikes the famous Napoleon pose and says "that Corsicans will only accept an emperor if he's Corsican".
 * Boneywasawarriorwayayix is a caricature of the Corsican journalist Paul Gianolli.
 * Roman Centurion Hippopotamus, of the camp where Boneywasawarriorwayayix is held, is based on Goscinny and Uderzo's friend Pierre Tchernia who also appeared in other stories.
 * The stereotypes of Corsicans seen in the album (pride, vendetta, feuds, old men sitting and commenting, grim glares) are thought to apply also to the Cretans; Greek publishers Mamouthcomix released a special translation of the album in Cretan Greek. In the original Serbian edition of the episode, Corsicans speak in typical dialect of Montenegro, for similar reasons.
 * For the first time in the series, children of the major characters are presented, with Fulliautomatix' son starting a row about fish with Unhygenix' son while in the company of several other unnamed children.

In other languages

 * Afrikaans: Asterix in Korsika
 * Arabic: أستريكس فى جزيرة كورسيكا
 * Catalan: Astèrix a Còrsega
 * Corsican: Asterix in Corsica
 * Croatian: Asterix na Korzici
 * Czech: Asterix na Korsice
 * Cretan Greek: Ο Αστερικάκης στην Κορσική
 * Danish: ''Asterix på Korsika
 * Dutch: Asterix op Corsica
 * German: Asterix auf Korsika
 * Greek: Ο Αστερίξ στην Κορσική
 * French: Astérix en Corse
 * Finnish: Asterix Korsikassa
 * Italian: Asterix in Corsica
 * Norwegian: Asterix på Korsika
 * Polish: Asteriks na Korsyce
 * Portuguese: Astérix na Córsega
 * Serbian: Aстерикс на Корзици/Asteriks na Korzici
 * Slovenian: Asterix na Korziki
 * Spanish: Astérix en Córcega
 * Swedish: Asterix på Korsika
 * Turkish: Asteriks Korsika'da

Reception
On Goodreads, it has a score of 4.13 out of 5.

authors: Я сошла с ума

title: Asterix in Corsica


text:
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title: User talk:Jfarrar


text:
Asterix and the Soothsayer

Asterix and the Soothsayer (Le Devin, "The Diviner") is the nineteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 652-673 in 1972.

Plot summary
Frightened by a thunderstorm, the Gauls — with the exception of Getafix, who is at his annual druid meeting — are huddled in the chief's hut, when they are visited by a soothsayer, called Prolix, who predicts that "when the storm is over, the weather will improve" and additionally predicts a fight (caused by the villagers' habitual argument over the over-ripeness of fish sold by fishmonger Unhygienix). Asterix alone correctly identifies the soothsayer as a charlatan.

Upon Prolix's departure, the chief's wife Impedimenta preserves him in hiding near the village, where she and the other villagers question him at will; forbidding only Asterix and Obelix. Later, Obelix eludes Impedimenta and, upon encountering Prolix, chases him up a tree. Prolix diverts him by claiming to see a vision of a beautiful woman who loves warriors matching Obelix's description. Obelix returns to the village and almost instantly falls for Mrs. Geriatrix. Prolix meanwhile is arrested by an optio, who brings Prolix before the centurion (Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus) of the Roman camp Compendium, who decides to use the imposter's persuasive skills against the Gauls. Upon Impedimenta's discovery of Asterix near Prolix's camp, consternation spreads among the villagers on grounds of a threatened sacrilege. At the Romans' behest, Prolix returns, claiming dramatically that soon the air in the village will become polluted by a divine curse. Terrified, most of the villagers flee to a nearby island for the curse to exhaust itself, while Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix stay behind.

The Romans soon arrive to claim the village, while Asterix and Obelix hide in the undergrowth. Getafix returns from his conference, and upon hearing of the situation, turns Prolix's ruse against him by creating and spreading a foul-smelling mixture of gasses. These expel the Romans, Prolix, and Cacofonix the Bard, who returns to the other Gauls on the island to confirm Prolix's prophecy. Prolix himself is perplexed by this confirmation, while the Centurion sends word to Caesar that "all of Gaul is now conquered"; and hoping to become dictator himself, he has the soothsayer tell him exaggerated stories of the luxuries emperors enjoy. Getafix, Asterix and Obelix join the other villagers on the island, where Getafix reveals he created the "foul air" that expelled the Romans; but Impedimenta and the other women remain convinced Prolix was genuine, on grounds of his having flattered them in earlier predictions. Asterix therefore determines to take the soothsayer by surprise and thus prove him fallible.

To this end, the Gaulish men and women attack the Roman camp together; and when Centurion Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus demands to know why Prolix did not warn him of this, the latter admits his ignorance. Convinced of the soothsayer's fraudulence, Impedimenta beats him and Arteriosclerosus. Returning to the village, the Gauls meet Bulbus Crocus, an envoy of Julius Caesar's, come to confirm Arteriosclerosus's claim that the village is conquered, and expel him. In the Roman camp, Crocus demotes Arteriosclerosus from a Centurion to a common soldier, who is then commanded by the Optio (who he used to be in charge of) to clean the camp alone. Prolix is expelled from the camp, swears to give up soothsaying, and is driven away by a thunderstorm. The Gaulish village is soon at peace, with the exception of Cacofonix, who still daydreams of himself as a famous singer.

Commentary

 * With a more adult-theme which started with Asterix and the Roman Agent, the story revolves around the superstitions of the people at the time (Gauls and Romans alike) and of today, and parodies the general gullibility of humanity.
 * The story includes (page 9) an illustration of the Roman and Gaulish pantheon of gods. In that illustration, Uderzo includes a drawing of his own country home, and a soothsayer's fantastical prediction of the future is illustrated by a photograph of La Défense, the modern district of skyscrapers outside Paris.
 * The scene at the bottom of page 10, where the characters observe the disembowelment of a fish, is a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
 * Unhygienix, though depicted bare-footed in the series, can be seen on the cover wearing the brown footwear that the other male villagers wear. These are also seen in page 5, during the beginning of the storm scene, but is shown barefooted in the remainder of the book.
 * On page 9, an Augur tells Caesar that "as long as Brutus is near you...you will have nothing to fear", in the authors' reference to Caesar's murder by his hands.

Film adaptation
In 1989, the book was adapted into the inaccurately-named Asterix and the Big Fight, which encompassed only a few plot elements from the book it was actually named after.

Part of the plot was also used in the first live-action Asterix film, Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar.

In other languages

 * Arabic: أستريكس والعراف
 * Basque: Aztia
 * Catalan: L'endeví
 * Croatian: Žrec (pagan priest)
 * Czech: Věštec
 * Dutch: De ziener
 * Finnish: Asterix ja ennustaja
 * German: Der Seher
 * Greek: Ο μάντης
 * Icelandic: Ástríkur og falsspámaðurinn
 * Irish: Asterix agus an Fear Feasa
 * Italian: Asterix e l'Indovino
 * Norwegian: Spåmannen
 * Portuguese: O Adivinho
 * Polish: Wróżbita
 * Serbian: Vrač pogađač (The Guessing Wizard)
 * Spanish: El Adivino

Reception
On Goodreads, it has a score of 4.1 out of 5.

authors: Я сошла с ума

title: Asterix and the Soothsayer


text:
Wikipedia:Computer help desk/20050506 Triddle/code

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while(<>) { while(m/(\[\[.+?\]\])/g) { print "*$1\n"; } }


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Geographical distribution of Russian speakers

This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of derussification aimed at reversing former trends of Russification, while Belarus under Alexander Lukashenko and the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin reintroduced Russification policies in the 1990s and 2000s, respectively.

After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, derussification occurred in the newly-independent Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Kars Oblast, the last of which became part of Turkey.

The new Soviet Union initially implemented a policy of Korenizatsiya, which was aimed partly at the reversal of the Tsarist Russification of the non-Russian areas of the country. Vladimir Lenin and then Joseph Stalin mostly reversed the implementation of Korenizatsiya by the 1930s, not so much by changing the letter of the law, but by reducing its practical effects and by introducing de facto Russification. The Soviet system heavily promoted Russian as the "language of interethnic communication" and "language of world communism".

Eventually, in 1990, Russian became legally the official all-Union language of the Soviet Union, with constituent republics having the right to declare their own regional languages.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, about 25 million Russians (about a sixth of the former Soviet Russians) found themselves outside Russia and were about 10% of the population of the post-Soviet states other than Russia. Millions of them later became refugees from various interethnic conflicts.

Armenia
In Armenia, Russian has no official status but is recognized as a minority language under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 15,000 native speakers of Russian in the country, and 1 million active speakers. 30% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 2% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work. Russian is spoken by 1.4% of the population according to a 2009 estimate from the World Factbook.

In 2010, in a significant pullback to derussification, Armenia voted to re-introduce Russian-medium schools.

Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, Russian has no official status but is a lingua franca of the country. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 250,000 native speakers of Russian in the country, and 2 million active speakers. 26% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 5% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work.

Research in 2005–2006 concluded that government officials did not consider Russian to be a threat to the strengthening role of the Azerbaijani language in independent Azerbaijan. Rather, Russian continued to have value given the proximity of Russia and strong economic and political ties. However, it was seen as self-evident that to be successful, citizens needed to be proficient in Azerbaijani. The Russian language is co-official in the breakaway Armenian-populated Republic of Artsakh.

China
In the 1920s, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party sent influential figures to study abroad in the Soviet Union, including Deng Xiaoping and Chiang Ching-kuo, who both were classmates and fluent in Russian. Now, Russian is only spoken by the small Russian communities in the northeastern Heilongjiang province and the northwestern Xinjiang province.

Israel
Russian is also spoken in Israel by at least 1,000,000 ethnic Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, according to the 1999 census. The Israeli press and websites regularly publish material in Russian, and there are Russian newspapers, television stations, schools, and social media outlets based in the country.

Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, Russian is not a state language, but according to Article 7 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, its usage enjoys equal status to that of the Kazakh language in state and local administration. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 4,200,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 10 million active speakers. 63% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 46% used it as the main language with family, friends or at work. According to a 2001 estimate from the World Factbook, 95% of the population can speak Russian. Large Russian-speaking communities still exist in northern Kazakhstan, and ethnic Russians comprise 25.6% of Kazakhstan's population. The 2009 census reported that 10,309,500 people, or 84.8% of the population aged 15 and above, could read and write well in Russian and understand the spoken language.

Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, Russian is an official language per Article 5 of the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 600,000 native speakers of Russian in the country, and 1.5 million active speakers. 38% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 22% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work.

The 2009 census states that 482,200 people speak Russian as a native language, including 419,000 ethnic Russians, and 63,200 from other ethnic groups, for a total of 8.99% of the population. Additionally, 1,854,700 residents of Kyrgyzstan aged 15 and above fluently speak Russian as a second language, 49.6% of the population in that age group.

Russian remains the dominant language of business and upper levels of government. Parliament sessions are only rarely conducted in Kyrgyz and mostly take place in Russian. In 2011, President Roza Otunbaeva controversially reopened the debate about Kyrgyz getting a more dominant position in the country.

Tajikistan
In Tajikistan, Russian is the language of interethnic communication under the Constitution of Tajikistan. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 90,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 1 million active speakers. 28% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 7% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work. The World Factbook notes that Russian is widely used in government and business.

After independence, Tajik was declared the sole state language, and until 2009, Russian was designated the "language for interethnic communication". The 2009 law stated that all official papers and education in the country should be conducted only in the Tajik language. However, the law also stated that all minority ethnic groups in the country have the right to choose the language in which they want their children to be educated.

Turkmenistan
Russian lost its status as the official lingua franca of Turkmenistan in 1996. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 150,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 100,000 active speakers. Russian is spoken by 12% of the population, according to an undated estimate from the World Factbook.

Russian television channels have mostly been shut down in Turkmenistan, and many Russian-language schools were closed down.

Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, Russian has no official status but is a lingua franca and a de-facto language throughout the country. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 1,200,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 5 million active speakers. Russian is spoken by 14.2% of the population, according to an undated estimate from the World Factbook. Throughout the country, there are still signs with Uzbek and Russian.

After the independence of Uzbekistan in 1991, Uzbek culture underwent the three trends of derussification, the creation of an Uzbek national identity, and westernization. The state has primarily promoted those trends through the educational system, which is particularly effective because nearly half the Uzbek population is of school age or younger.

Since the Uzbek language became official and privileged in hiring and firing, there has been a brain drain of ethnic Russians in Uzbekistan. The displacement of the Russian-speaking population from the industrial sphere, science and education has weakened those spheres. As a result of emigration, participation in Russian cultural centers like the State Academy Bolshoi Theatre in Uzbekistan has seriously declined.

In the capital, Tashkent, statues of the leaders of the Russian Revolution were taken down and replaced with local heroes like Timur, and urban street names in the Russian style were Uzbekified. In 1995, Uzbekistan ordered the Uzbek alphabet changed from a Russian-based Cyrillic script to a modified Latin alphabet, and in 1997, Uzbek became the sole language of state administration.

Rest of Asia
In 2005, Russian was the most widely taught foreign language in Mongolia, and is compulsory in Year 7 onward as a second foreign language in 2006.

Russian is also spoken as a second language by a small number of people in Afghanistan.

Australia
Australian cities Melbourne and Sydney have Russian-speaking populations, most of which live in the southeast of Melbourne, particularly the suburbs of Carnegie and Caulfield. Two-thirds of them are actually Russian-speaking descendants of Germans, Greeks, Jews, Azerbaijanis, Armenians or Ukrainians, who either were repatriated after the Soviet Union collapsed or are just looking for temporary employment.

Belarus
In Belarus, Russian is co-official alongside Belarusian per the Constitution of Belarus. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 3,243,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 8 million active speakers; 77% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 67% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work.

Initially, when Belarus became independent in 1991 and the Belarusian language became the only state language, some derussification started. However, after Alexander Lukashenko became president, a referendum held in 1995, which was considered fraudulent by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, included a question about the status of Russian. It was made a state language, along with Belarusian.

In most spheres, the Russian language is by far the dominant one. In fact, almost all government information and websites are in Russian only.

Bulgaria
Bulgaria has the largest proportion of Russian-speakers among European countries that were not part of the Soviet Union. According to a 2012 Eurobarometer survey, 19% of the population understands Russian well enough to follow the news, television, or radio. Native Russian speakers are 0.24%.

Estonia
In Estonia, Russian is officially considered a foreign language. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 470,000 native speakers of Russian in the country, and 500,000 active speakers, 35% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 25% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work. Russian is spoken by 29.6% of the population, according to a 2011 estimate from the World Factbook.

Ethnic Russians are 25.5% of the country's current population and 58.6% of the native Estonian population is also able to speak Russian. In all, 67.8% of Estonia's population could speak Russian. The command of Russian, however, is rapidly decreasing among younger Estonians and is primarily being replaced by the command of English. For example, 53% of ethnic Estonians between 15 and 19 claimed to speak some Russian in 2000, but among the 10- to 14-year-old group, command of Russian had fallen to 19%, about one third the percentage of those who claim to command English in the same age group.

In 2007, Amnesty International harshly criticized what it termed Estonia's "harassment" of Russian-speakers. In 2010, the language inspectorate stepped up inspections at workplaces to ensure that state employees spoke Estonian at an acceptable level. That included inspections of teachers at Russian-medium schools. Amnesty International continues to criticize Estonian policies: "Non-Estonian speakers, mainly from the Russian-speaking minority, were denied employment due to official language requirements for various professions in the private sector and almost all professions in the public sector. Most did not have access to affordable language training that would enable them to qualify for employment."

The percentage of Russian speakers in Estonia is still declining, but not as fast as in the most of ex-Soviet countries. After overcoming the consequences of 2007 economic crisis, the tendency of emigration of Russian speakers has almost stopped, unlike in Latvia or in Lithuania.

Finland
Russian is spoken by about 1.4% of the population of Finland, according to a 2014 estimate from the World Factbook. Making Russian language one of the most-spoken immigrant language in Finland.

Until 2022 the popularity of Russian language was growing because of an increase in trade with and tourism from the Russia and other Russian-speaking countries and regions. However after the year of 2022, various statistics show a notable decline in the popularity of Russian language in Finnish society. There was steadily-increasing demand for the knowledge of Russian in the workplace, which was also reflected in its growing presence in the Finnish education system, including higher education. In Eastern Finland, most prominently in its border towns, Russian has already begun to rival Swedish as the second most important foreign language due to high tourism rate from Russia throughout the past decades.

Georgia
In Georgia, Russian has no official status but is recognized as a minority language under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 130,000 native speakers of Russian in the country, and 1.7 million active speakers. 27% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 1% used it as the main language with family, friends or at work. Russian is the language of 9% of the population according to the World Factbook. Ethnologue cites Russian as the country's de facto working language.

Georgianization has been pursued with most official and private signs only in the Georgian language, with English being the favored foreign language. Exceptions are older signs remaining from Soviet times, which are generally bilingual Georgian and Russian. Private signs and advertising in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, which has a majority Armenian population, are generally in Russian only or Georgian and Russian. In the Kvemo Kartlii borderline region, which has a majority ethnic Azerbaijani population, signs and advertising are often in Russian only, in Georgian and Azerbaijani, or Georgian and Russian. Derussification has not been pursued in the areas outside Georgian government control: Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Russian language is co-official in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia, and South Ossetia.

Germany
Germany has the highest Russian-speaking population outside the former Soviet Union, with approximately 3 million people. They are split into three groups, from largest to smallest: Russian-speaking ethnic Germans (Aussiedler), ethnic Russians, and Jews.

Latvia

The 1922 Constitution of Latvia, restored in 1990, enacted Latvian as the sole official language.

Despite large Russian-speaking minorities in Latvia (26.9% ethnic Russians, 2011), the Russian language has no official status. According to Russian sources, 55% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 26% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work.

A constitutional referendum, held in February 2012, proposed amendments to the constitution of Latvia to make Russian the second state language of Latvia, but 821,722 (75%) of the voters voted against and 273,347 (25%) for. There has been criticism that about 290,000 of the 557,119 (2011) ethnic Russians in Latvia are non-citizens and do not have the right to vote. Since 2019, instruction in Russian is gradually discontinued in private colleges and universities, as well general instruction in public high schools except for subjects related to culture and history of the Russian minority, such as Russian language and literature classes.

Lithuania
In the 1992 Constitution of Lithuania, Lithuanian was declared as the sole state language.

In Lithuania, Russian has no official or any other legal status, but the use of the language has some presence in certain areas. A large part of the population (63% as of 2011), especially the older generations, can speak Russian as a foreign language. Only 3% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work, though. English has replaced Russian as lingua franca in Lithuania and around 80% of young people speak English as the first foreign language. Russian is still available to take in some schools in Lithuania, but is not mandatory like during the Soviet period. They have options to take German, French, etc. In contrast to the other two Baltic states, Lithuania has a relatively small Russian-speaking minority (5.0% as of 2008).

Unlike Latvia or Estonia, Lithuania has never implemented the practice of regarding some former Soviet citizens as non-citizens.

Moldova
In Moldova, Russian has a status similar to the other recognized minority languages; it was also considered to be the language of interethnic communication under a Soviet-era law.

According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 450,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 1.9 million active speakers. 50% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 19% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work. According to the 2014 census, Russian is the native language of 9.68% of Moldovans, and the language of first use for 14.49% of the population.

Russian has a co-official status alongside Romanian in the autonomies of Gagauzia and Transnistria.

Romania
According to the 2011 Romanian census, there are 23,487 Russian-speaking Lipovans practicizing the Lipovan Orthodox Old-Rite Church. They are concentrated in Dobruja, mainly in the Tulcea County but also in the Constanța County. Outside Dobruja, the Lipovans of Romania live mostly in the Suceava County and in the cities of Iași, Brăila and Bucharest.

Russia
According to the census of 2010 in Russia, Russian skills were indicated by 138 million people (99.4% population), and according to the 2002 census, the number was 142.6 million people (99.2% population). Among urban residents, 101 million people (99.8%) had Russian language skills, and in rural areas, the number was 37 million people (98.7%). The number of native Russian-speakers in 2010 was 118.6 million (85.7%), a bit higher than the number of ethnic Russians (111 million, or 80.9%).

Russian is the official language of Russia but shares the official status at regional level with other languages in the numerous ethnic autonomies within Russia, such as Chuvashia, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Yakutia, and 94% of school students in Russia receive their education primarily in Russian.

In Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia, derussification is understood not so much directly as the disappearance of Russian language and culture but rather by the exodus of Russian-speaking people themselves, which intensified after the First and the Second Chechen Wars and Islamization; by 2010, it had reached a critical point. The displacement of the Russian-speaking population from industry, science and education has weakened those spheres.

In the Republic of Karelia, it was announced in 2007 that the Karelian language would be used at national events, but Russian is still the only official language (Karelian is one of several "national" languages), and virtually all business and education is conducted in Russian. In 2010, less than 8% of the republic's population was ethnic Karelian. Russification is reported to be continuing in Mari El.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, Russian is seen as a minority language under the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine. According to estimates from Demoskop Weekly, in 2004 there were 14,400,000 native speakers of Russian in the country and 29 million active speakers; 65% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 38% used it as the main language with family or friends or at work.

In 1990, Russian became legally the official all-Union language of the Soviet Union, with constituent republics having rights to declare their own official languages. In 1989, the Ukrainian SSR government adopted Ukrainian as its official language, which was affirmed after the fall of the Soviet Union as the only official state language of the newly-independent Ukraine. The educational system was transformed over the first decade of independence from a system that was overwhelmingly Russian to one in which over 75% of tuition was in Ukrainian. The government has also mandated a progressively increased role for Ukrainian in the media and commerce.

In 2012 poll by RATING, 50% of respondents consider Ukrainian their native language, 29% - Russian, 20% consider both Ukrainian and Russian their mother tongue, another 1% considers a different language their native language. ). However, the transition lacked most of the controversies that surrounded the derussification in several of the other former Soviet Republics.

In some cases, the abrupt changing of the language of instruction in institutions of secondary and higher education led to charges of assimilation, which were raised mostly by Russian-speakers. In various elections, the adoption of Russian as an official language was an election promise by one of the main candidates (Leonid Kuchma in 1994, Viktor Yanukovych in 2004, and the Party of Regions in 2012). After the introduction of the 2012 legislation on languages in Ukraine, Russian was declared a "regional language" in several southern and eastern parts of Ukraine. On 28 February 2018, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled that legislation to be unconstitutional.

A poll conducted in March 2022 by RATING found that 83% of Ukrainians believe that Ukrainian should be the only state language of Ukraine. This opinion dominates in all macro-regions, age and language groups. On the other hand, before the war, almost a quarter of Ukrainians were in favour of granting Russian the status of the state language, while today only 7% support it. In peacetime, Russian was traditionally supported by residents of the south and east. But even in these regions, only a third of them were in favour, and after Russia's full-scale invasion, their number dropped by almost half.

According to the survey carried out by RATING on 16-20 August 2023, almost 60% of the polled usually speak Ukrainian at home, about 30% – Ukrainian and Russian, only 9% – Russian. Since March 2022, the use of Russian in everyday life has been noticeably decreasing. For 82 per cent of respondents, Ukrainian is their mother tongue, and for 16 per cent, Russian is their mother tongue. IDPs and refugees living abroad are more likely to use both languages for communication or speak Russian. Nevertheless, more than 70 per cent of IDPs and refugees consider Ukrainian to be their native language.

Rest of Europe
In the 20th century, Russian was a mandatory language taught in the schools of the members of the old Warsaw Pact and in other communist countries that used to be Soviet satellites, including Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Albania, the former East Germany and Cuba. However, younger generations are usually not fluent in it because Russian is no longer mandatory in schools. According to the Eurobarometer 2005 survey, fluency in Russian remains fairly high, however, at (20–40%) in some countries, particularly those whose people speak a Slavic language and so have an edge in learning Russian (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria).

Significant Russian-speaking groups also exist in other parts of Europe and have been fed by several waves of immigrants since the beginning of the 20th century, each with its own flavor of language. The United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Norway, and Austria have significant Russian-speaking communities.

According to the 2011 census of Ireland, there were 21,639 people using Russian at home. However, only 13% were Russian nationals. 20% held Irish citizenship, while 27% and 14% were Latvian and Lithuanian citizens respectively.

There were 20,984 Russian-speakers in Cyprus according to the 2011 census of 2011 and accounted for 2.5% of the population.

Russian is spoken by 1.6% of the people of Hungary according to a 2011 estimate from the World Factbook.

Americas
The language was first introduced in North America when Russian explorers voyaged into Alaska and claimed it for Russia in the 1700s. Although most Russian colonists left after the United States bought the land in 1867, a handful stayed and have preserved the Russian language in the region although only a few elderly speakers of their unique dialect are left. In Nikolaevsk, Russian is more spoken than English. Sizable Russian-speaking communities also exist in North America, especially in large urban centers of the US and Canada, such as New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle, Spokane, Toronto, Calgary, Baltimore, Miami, Chicago, Denver and Cleveland. In a number of locations, they issue their own newspapers, and live in ethnic enclaves (especially the generation of immigrants who started arriving in the early 1960s). Only about 25% of them are ethnic Russians, however. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the overwhelming majority of Russophones in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in New York City were Russian-speaking Jews. Afterward, the influx from the countries of the former Soviet Union changed the statistics somewhat, with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians immigrating along with some more Russian Jews and Central Asians. According to the United States Census, in 2007 Russian was the primary language spoken in the homes of over 850,000 individuals living in the United States.

Russian was the most popular language in Cuba in the second half of the 20th century. Besides being taught at universities and schools, there were also educational programs on the radio and TV. It is now making a come-back in the country.


text:
Asterix and the Laurel Wreath

Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (Les Lauriers de César, "Caesar's Laurels") is the eighteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in the magazine Pilote, issues 621–642, in 1971 and translated into English in 1974.

Plot summary
The story begins in Rome where Asterix and Obelix are talking, but flashes back to Lutetia, where Asterix, Obelix, Chief Vitalstatistix, and the chief's wife Impedimenta visit Impedimenta's brother, Homeopathix, a rich businessman who immediately shows off his wealth. At dinner, Vitalstatistix quickly becomes drunk and boasts that, as a Chief, he can obtain for Homeopathix something money cannot possibly buy, a stew seasoned with Julius Caesar's laurel wreath, whereupon the equally drunk Obelix volunteers himself and Asterix to fetch the wreath.

In Rome, Asterix and Obelix see a man coming out of Caesar's palace. Upon discovering that he is a kitchen slave there, they offer themselves to the slave trader Typhus, who supplies Caesar's palace. When Typhus' other slaves provoke the Gauls into a fight, the wealthy patrician, Osseus Humerus, is amused and offers to buy them; Asterix mistakes him for Caesar's major-domo and completes the sale. The Gauls are placed under the supervision of Goldendelicius, Humerus' chief slave. Goldendelicius expresses dislike of the two Gauls because they come from Typhus (a mark of distinction among slaves) and fears that they might usurp his office.

Realizing their mistake, Asterix and Obelix attempt to get Humerus to return them to Typhus. First, they cook a volatile stew, which accidentally cures Humerus' heavy-drinking son Metatarsus of his constant hangovers. Next they disturb the sleeping family by making noise, which only inspires the family to throw an impromptu party. The next day, a tired Humerus sends the Gauls to Caesar's palace to justify his absence to a secretary there. Goldendelicius seizes the opportunity to tell the palace's guards that the Gauls intend to kill Caesar. As a result, Asterix and Obelix are thrown into the palace prison upon arrival, but they escape during the night and unsuccessfully search the palace for the laurel wreath. At daybreak, they return to their cell (to the confusion of the palace guards) and decide to find Caesar and seize the wreath from him.

The next morning, a lawyer comes to defend Asterix and Obelix in a show trial for the "attempt" on Caesar's life. The lawyer takes for granted that they will be found guilty and thrown to the lions in the Circus Maximus. Asterix is encouraged when the lawyer says Caesar might attend the execution. During the trial, the prosecutor announces the same initial speech intended by the defense lawyer, prompting the latter to call for a suspension in proceedings. Anxious to be sentenced to the Circus, Asterix himself speaks for the prosecution, outlining all the "wrongdoings" committed by himself and Obelix. The whole audience, including Typhus and the Humerus family, is moved by this plea, and the Gauls are sentenced to death in the Circus. In the cells, they enjoy luxurious food funded by Typhus and Humerus. But, as they are about to enter the arena, Asterix and Obelix learn that Caesar is not present, having gone off to fight pirates. Therefore, the Gauls refuse to go into the arena until he returns, which results in the big cats in the arena eating each other, a mass riot of the audience, and everyone (including Asterix and Obelix and the last remaining lion) being evicted from the circus.

That night, Asterix and Obelix sleep at a doorway, where they are woken by brigands. They defeat the brigands, after which their chief, Habeascorpus, offers Asterix and Obelix shelter in return for their help in robberies. Asterix accepts, but attempts to warn the victim they are assigned, who turns out to be a drunken Metatarsus. Refusing to attack an innocent, Asterix and Obelix vanquish the bandits again. From Metatarsus, the two Gauls learn that Goldendelicius has been appointed as Caesar's personal slave, and that Caesar himself is due to hold a triumph for his victory over the pirates. Asterix and Obelix corner Goldendelicius in a tavern and coerce him into exchanging Caesar's laurel wreath for one of parsley. The next day, during the triumph, Goldendelicius nervously holds the parsley wreath over Caesar's head. Caesar does not acknowledge the switch, but secretly "feels like a piece of fish", which baffles him.

Upon Asterix and Obelix's return, Homeopathix arrives in his brother-in-law's village in order to eat the stew containing Caesar's laurel wreath, and Vitalstatistix states that a wealthy man like him would never eat such a meal in his own house. Homeopathix "agrees" by pointing out that it is overcooked and of poor quality, which provokes Vitalstatistix to strike him senseless. The album ends with the note that, with Asterix's cure for drunkenness now available to the Romans, they initiate a series of ever-increasing parties that result in the collapse of the empire.

Named characters

 * Asterix
 * Obelix
 * Vitalstatistix
 * Impedimenta – Vitalstatistix' wife
 * Homeopathix – Impedimenta's brother
 * Tapioca – Homeopathix' wife
 * Kumakros – One of Caesar's slaves
 * Typhus – Owner of The House Of Typhus
 * Osseus Humerus
 * Fibula – Osseus Humerus' wife
 * Tibia – Osseus Humerus' daughter
 * Metatarsus – Osseus Humerus' son
 * Goldendelicius – Osseus Humerus' slave, now Caesar's slave
 * Titus Nisiprius – lawyer
 * Habeascorpus – Chief of a group of thieves
 * Julius Caesar

In other languages

 * Arabic: أستريكس و إكليـل الغار (Asteriks we-iklil el-ghar)
 * Catalan: Els llorers del Cèsar
 * Croatian: Cezarove lovorike
 * Czech: Asterix a Vavřínový věnec
 * Danish: Cæsars laurbær
 * Dutch: De lauwerkrans van Caesar
 * Finnish: Asterix ja Caesarin laakeriseppele (also translated into Helsinki slang under the title Kessen rehukotsa, roughly meaning "Caesie's weed hat")
 * Galician: Os loureiros do César
 * Gaelic: Asterix agus Crùn Cheusair
 * German: Die Lorbeeren des Cäsar
 * Greek: Οι δάφνες του Καίσαρα
 * Hungarian: Caesar babérkoszorúja
 * Irish: Asterix agus Coróin Labhrais Chaesair
 * Italian: Asterix e gli allori di Cesare
 * Latin: Laurea Caesaris
 * Norwegian: Cæsars laurbær
 * Polish: Laury Cezara
 * Portuguese: Os louros de César
 * Serbian: Cezarove lovorike
 * Spanish: Los laureles del César
 * Swedish: Caesar Lagerkrans
 * Turkish: Asteriks ve Sezar'ın Tacı
 * Welsh: Asterix a choron Cesar

Reception
On Goodreads, the album has a score of 4.11 out of 5.

authors: Я сошла с ума

title: Asterix and the Laurel Wreath


text:
User talk:Tpiriyapan

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Where to ask a question or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome!
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You have uploaded two photos of the new Bangkok airport, which is nice. However I somehow doubt that manager.co.th releases their photos as GFDL, so you better clarify why you think these photos are usable with wikipedia's free license, and are not a copyright violation. andy 16:09, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

File permission problem with File:Suvarnabhumi.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Suvarnabhumi.jpg. I noticed that while you provided a valid copyright licensing tag, there is no proof that the creator of the file agreed to license it under the given license.

If you created this media entirely yourself but have previously published it elsewhere (especially online), please either
 * make a note permitting reuse under the CC-BY-SA or another acceptable free license (see this list) at the site of the original publication; or
 * Send an email from an address associated with the original publication to , stating your ownership of the material and your intention to publish it under a free license. You can find a sample permission letter here. If you take this step, add OTRS pending to the file description page to prevent premature deletion.

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If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have provided evidence that their copyright owners have agreed to license their works under the tags you supplied, too. You can find a list of files you have created in [ your upload log]. Files lacking evidence of permission may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. You may wish to read the Wikipedia's image use policy. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 19:28, 14 April 2012 (UTC)

File permission problem with File:Inside1.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Inside1.jpg. I noticed that while you provided a valid copyright licensing tag, there is no proof that the creator of the file agreed to license it under the given license.

If you created this media entirely yourself but have previously published it elsewhere (especially online), please either
 * make a note permitting reuse under the CC-BY-SA or another acceptable free license (see this list) at the site of the original publication; or
 * Send an email from an address associated with the original publication to , stating your ownership of the material and your intention to publish it under a free license. You can find a sample permission letter here. If you take this step, add OTRS pending to the file description page to prevent premature deletion.

If you did not create it entirely yourself, please ask the person who created the file to take one of the two steps listed above, or if the owner of the file has already given their permission to you via email, please forward that email to .

If you believe the media meets the criteria at Non-free content, use a tag such as or one of the other tags listed at File copyright tags, and add a rationale justifying the file's use on the article or articles where it is included. See File copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.

If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have provided evidence that their copyright owners have agreed to license their works under the tags you supplied, too. You can find a list of files you have created in [ your upload log]. Files lacking evidence of permission may be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. You may wish to read the Wikipedia's image use policy. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 19:28, 14 April 2012 (UTC)

title: User talk:Tpiriyapan


text:
Rome: Total Realism

Rome: Total Realism (or RTR) is a series of complete modification packs for the computer game Rome: Total War, intended to rectify historical inaccuracies in the original game. RTR has been featured in several major gaming sites and magazines, such as PC Gamer (US), PC Gamer UK, and GameSpot. Recent versions of RTR include Rome: Total Realism VII : Grand Campaign, which uses the newer Barbarian Invasion (expansion to Rome: Total War) engine. In 2021, the RTR team joined forces with the old Roma Surrectum team in order to develop a new project called RTR: Imperium Surrectum for the remaster of the original game that has recently been brought on the market by Feral Interactive.

Description
Although the original game Rome: Total War was extremely successful and has been used to animate several historical TV programs (including the tactical simulation Time Commanders), numerous gamers expressed disappointment with the historical inaccuracy of the game. These inaccuracies were acknowledged by the game's creators, Creative Assembly, who admitted the inclusion of numerous anachronisms and inaccuracies in order to improve gameplay experience. The mod developers thus sought to include new playable factions; improvements to units and battle experience on the tactical map; more realistic recruitment limits and improvements to the main campaign map.

The first versions of RTR were originally created by the Total War Center user GaiusJulius. The final product of this original RTR team was called the RTR6 Gold Edition. Afterwards, the RTR community continued to develop this modification into what eventually became the RTR Platinum Edition.

From 2008, the old RTR Team was joined by many new members, who together have released several more mods in a series called RTR VII. The first, Rome Total Realism VII: The Iberian Conflict (TiC), focuses on the struggles of Hamilcar Barca to conquer the Iberian Peninsula, setting Carthage against Celtiberia. The second release, Rome Total Realism VII: Fate of Empires (FoE), expands upon TiC to include the rest of the Western Mediterranean, including Italy, North Africa, Sicily and Southern Gaul. It starts in 280 BC, when Pyrrhus of Epirus invades Italy to try to bring about the end of Rome. What happens after that is for the player to decide. The final expansion, Rome: Total Realism VII: Grand Campaign (simply styled RTR VII) expands on FoE to include the rest of Gaul, Greece, the Balkan areas, and part of Asia Minor. It aims to max out the capabilities of the RTW Engine. The last RTR VII series patch (RTR VII Gold) was released in 2012.

A remaster of the original game Rome: Total War was released on 29 April 2021, developed by Feral Interactive. Soon after the remaster was announced, the RTR team has joined forces with the team behind another popular modification series for the original game, Roma Surrectum. Together, they have recently released the first version of a new modification for the remastered version of the mod, titled RTR: Imperium Surrectum (or RIS). Through a fruitful cooperation with Feral's developers, it has proven possible to move beyond hard-coded limitations of the original game engine. Development is expected to continue over the next years on this new platform.

title: Rome: Total Realism


text:
Sangwon County

Sangwŏn County is a county of North Hwanghae, formerly one of the four suburban counties located in east P'yŏngyang, North Korea. Prior to 1952, Sangwŏn was merely a township of Chunghwa County. In 1952 it was separated as a separate county, and in 1963 it was added as a county of Pyongyang. It is north of North Hwanghae's Hwangju, Yŏntan, and Suan counties, south of the Nam River and Kangdong county west of Yŏnsan county, and east of Chunghwa County. In 2010, it was administratively reassigned from P'yŏngyang to North Hwanghae; foreign media attributed the change as an attempt to relieve shortages in P'yŏngyang's food distribution system.

Transportation
Sangwon county has a trolleybus system with a single track of bidirectional overhead wire and a length of just over 4 kilometers, running from Myongdang-rodongjagu to Sangwon Cement Complex, ending a few kilometers to the east in another residential zone. The depot is located on the eastern terminus and features a covered building. Apart from a period in 2017, the line appears to be in constant operation.

Administrative divisions
The county is divided into one town (ŭp), one worker's district (rodongjagu) and 20 'ri' (villages).

title: Sangwon County


text:
The Mansions of the Gods

The Mansions of the Gods is the seventeenth graphic novel of the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo and released in 1971. Originally released as a serial for the magazine  Pilote, it was later made into a graphic novel, with an English translation released in 1973. The story focuses on Asterix and the Gauls attempting to thwart the latest Roman plan against them, when Caesar decrees that the forest surrounding them be converted into a new Roman colony for the wealthy.

Plot summary
With the intent to force the village of indomitable Gauls to accept Roman civilization, Julius Caesar plans to destroy the surrounding forest to make way for a Roman patrician colony, called the 'Mansions of the Gods'. The project is led by the architect Squaronthehypotenus, who orders an army of slaves of various nationalities to pull down the trees in the forest. With the help of Getafix's magic, Asterix and Obelix plant acorns that grow into mature oak trees instantly; whereupon an increasingly erratic Squaronthehypotenus threatens "to work the slaves to death".

Taking this literally, Asterix gives the slaves magic potion with which to rebel; but the slaves, upon rebellion, do not stop work and leave, as Asterix intended, but insist on better working conditions, regular pay, and freedom after completing the first block of the Mansions of the Gods. Upon hearing that the slaves are better paid than they, the Roman legionaries go on strike for similar and better conditions for themselves. Since the freedom of the slaves depends on constructing at least one building, the Gauls allow the work to proceed. After their release, a group of the former slaves (among them the - almost - luckless pirates from previous adventures) "float a company" with their wages.

Finally, the first completed building of the Mansions of the Gods is inhabited by Roman families: the first of these consisting of a middle class husband and wife selected by lottery. These Romans then go shopping in the village which, before long, turns into a tourist trap selling "antique" weapons and fish to the Romans, embroiled in price wars and (in the case of some of the wives) assuming Roman dress. To counteract this, Asterix asks Squaronthehypotenus for an apartment, but is told they are full; whereafter the initial winners of the first apartment are continually harassed by Obelix acting like a rabid monster, with Asterix holding him back. The next day, the couple returns to Rome, and Asterix arranges for Cacofonix the bard to move into the vacated apartment. As a result of the bard's discordant nocturnal practice, the rest of the Roman inhabitants return to Rome as well.

Squaronthehypotenus tries to keep the Mansions in business by bringing the local Roman soldiers as tenants and expels Cacofonix from the building; whereupon the Gauls take this as an insult, and destroy the Roman colony. The legionnaires gratefully return to their camp and Squaronthehypotenus announces his plan to go to Egypt to build pyramids in the desert with "nice quiet tenants". That evening, the Gauls hold their usual celebratory banquet (in which this time Cacofonix takes part) and the ruins of the mansion are covered by Getafix's instantaneous trees.

In the end, Asterix takes the druid aside and asks: "O druid Getafix, do you think we can always stop the course of events as we have just done?" - "Of course not, Asterix. But we still have time. Plenty of time.”

Adaptations
In November 2014, an adaptation of The Mansions of the Gods was released as a 3D computer-animated feature film, titled Asterix: The Land of the Gods. Produced in France by M6 Studio and Mikros Image, the adaptation maintained much of the plot elements from the graphic novel, but made a number of changes:

 * In the novel, the family in the lottery is hounded by Obelix and later leave. In the adaptation, they find themselves homeless twice, and befriend Asterix and Obelix, helping them deal with the Roman army.
 * The Gauls are offered rent-free apartments as part of Caesar's plan, and thus adopt Roman lifestyles when they move in; they fail to move out the Roman civilians.
 * The slaves mostly remain as a workforce constructing the colony, and later become Roman soldiers.

In other languages
• Catalan: La residència dels déus

• Croatian: Grad bogova

• Czech: Sídliště bohů

• Danish: Byplanlæggeren

• Dutch: De Romeinse lusthof

• Finnish: Jumaltenrannan nousu ja tuho (The Rise and Fall of Gods' Shore)

• German: Die Trabantenstadt (The satellite town)

• Greek: Η κατοικία των θεών

• Hebrew: אחוזת האלים

• Indonesian: Negeri Dewa-dewa

• Irish: Asterix i gCoill na Cinsealachta

• Italian: Asterix e il Regno degli Dei

• Norwegian: Byplanleggeren (The town planner)

• Polish: Osiedle bogów

• Portuguese: O domínio dos deuses

• Romanian: Domeniul Zeiilor

• Spanish: La residencia de los dioses

• Swedish: Gudarnas hemvist

• Serbian: Grad bogova

• Turkish: Tanrılar Sitesi

• Welsh: Rhandir y duwiau

Reception
On Goodreads, it has a score of 4.17 out of 5.

authors: Я сошла с ума

title: The Mansions of the Gods


text: User talk:130.111.98.131

title: User talk:130.111.98.131


text:
Bowmanville High School

Bowmanville High School (also known as BHS) is a public secondary school located in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, within the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. The school includes Grades 9 – 12, and offers a French Immersion program. The principal at Bowmanville High School is David Boone. The current location was established in 1971, and opened to students in September 1972.

History
The original Bowmanville High School was built and opened in 1890. It was located closer to downtown Bowmanville on Queen Street, at the end of Division Street south. In 1929, the high school was expanded upon with a new section. Another section was added in 1954. In 1972, the high school moved to its current location on Liberty Street, leaving the original building empty. In 1974, a fire destroyed much of the school, including the roof and original 1890 section, leaving only the 1920s and 1950s additions standing.

Bowmanville Senior Public School
The former High school building was renovated and re-opened as BSPS in 1975 as an intermediate school for students in Grades 7 and 8. It was open for 32 years until its closure in 2007. In the years after the closure, the school was left boarded-up and abandoned. The building became notorious for vandalism, break-ins and arson, with four fires in 2014 alone. Demolition began in 2015 and by 2016 the property had been cleared out. A seniors retirement residence now resides on the property.

Academics
BHS offers Advanced Placement (AP) and pre-AP courses in Math and English. Students can begin their enrichment program in Grade 9 to receive a more challenging program and, in Grade 12, AP students will have the opportunity to write AP exams.

Feeder schools
The following elementary schools feed directly into Bowmanville High School.
 * Central Public School
 * Charles Bowman Public School
 * Duke of Cambridge Public School (French Immersion)
 * Harold Longworth Public School
 * John M. James Public School
 * Vincent Massey Public School

title: Bowmanville High School


text:
Asterix in Switzerland

Asterix in Switzerland (Astérix chez les Helvètes, "Asterix in the land of the Helvetii") is the sixteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in Pilote magazine issues 557–578 in 1970 and translated into English in 1973.

Plot summary
Condatum's Roman governor Varius Flavus has been embezzling a majority of the local taxes in order to finance a debauched lifestyle of never-ending parties, sending only a pittance to Rome, until Quaestor Vexatius Sinusitus is sent to investigate. Flavus, upon finding the Quaestor will not be easy to corrupt, serves him poisoned food and provides inept doctors making absurd guesses at his ailment.

Realizing his life is in danger, Sinusitus sends for the druid Getafix, who instantly identifies the malady as attempted murder by poison. Getafix agrees to brew an antidote for Sinusitus but lacks an essential ingredient: a flower called the "silver star" (edelweiss), and sends Asterix and Obelix to Helvetia (Switzerland) to find it. He also insists that Sinusitus remain in the Gaulish village as a hostage – ostensibly to guarantee Asterix and Obelix's return, but secretly to protect Sinusitus from Flavus.

Asterix and Obelix reach Helvetia but soon run into difficulties set by the Romans, as Varius Flavus has warned his colleague in Helvetia, the equally-corrupt Curius Odus, of their arrival. Thus the Gauls find themselves continually chased and delayed by the Romans, but are assisted by the hotel manager Petitsuix, bank manager Zurix, and some Helvetian veterans who hold a celebration at Lake Geneva. During the celebration, Obelix is rendered senseless by plum wine, and the veterans are attacked by the Roman army; whereupon Asterix and some of the Helvetians, tying themselves to Obelix and each other, obtain the "silver star" from the mountainside, while the remaining Helvetians repel the Romans.

Later Varius Flavus comes to the village, expecting Sinusitus to be near death, either from the poison or execution by the Gauls after Asterix and Obelix have failed to return. Instead, the now-healthy Sinusitus marches out of Getafix's house, and empowered by the druid's magic potion, punches Flavus into the sky, announcing that he will now expose the corruption and sentence Flavus and Odus to their fate in the Circus in Rome. Vitalsatistix declares Sinusitis to have been the village's guest rather than its hostage, and the story ends with the usual banquet for the villagers, and Sinusitus is invited to it, making it the first banquet featuring a Roman as a guest.

Commentary

 * Following the protests of May 1968, Goscinny started introducing more "adult" themes such as the opening "orgy" scene which parodies Federico Fellini's debauched Roman film, Fellini Satyricon. The painted faces, feeling of ennui, mechanical gorging of elaborate food, and sado-masochistic punishments are balanced (in Helvetia) by the fastidiousness of the Swiss servants who keep cleaning up messes, washing whips, etc.
 * The idea to send Asterix and Obelix to Switzerland was proposed by future French president Georges Pompidou. A handwritten note from Pompidou, when he was prime minister, urging the authors to write about Asterix among the Helvetians, was displayed in an Asterix exhibition at the National Library of France in 2013.
 * This album features a rare dark overtone in that the plot involves a victim of attempted murder. The added element of potential death offers a startling but refreshing moment of drama in the otherwise whimsical series. Other stories that share a dramatic turn include Asterix and Son (where the village is destroyed) and Asterix and the Magic Carpet.
 * The comic contains several puns on typical Swiss features, such as the confidentiality and high level of security of Swiss banks, fondue, Swiss clocks (especially cuckoo clocks), the Helvetians' insistence on neutrality, yodeling, punctuality, alphorns (as an alternative form of carnyx), and – in one notable scene – the Swiss Federal Assembly.
 * The comic suggests that modern mountain climbing was introduced when Asterix has the idea of him, Obelix and their Helvetian aides securing themselves with ropes, and sledding when Asterix accidentally rides Obelix down the mountainside.
 * One scene with Asterix shooting a bow while a boy with an apple on his head fixes a target is a nod to the Swiss folk hero William Tell.
 * In one panel, avalanches in the Alps are satirized when the Roman legionaire hanging on to Obelix cautions, "Stop shouting, you could easily start something off."

Changes in adaptation

 * Bibendum (the Michelin logo) makes a brief guest appearance as the chariot wheel dealer in the original English translation; whereas the original French version used the Gaulish-warrior-like mascot of the French service station company Antar. The 2004 English re-print from Orion Books uses the French illustrations, thus rendering Obelix's joke about Bibendum's weight in the next panel nonsensical. ("Call me fat! Did you see his spare tire?") (Different images of the wheel dealer.)

In other languages

 * Catalan: Astèrix al país dels helvecis
 * Croatian: Asteriks kod Helvećana
 * Czech: Asterix v Helvetii
 * Danish: Asterix i Alperne
 * Dutch: Asterix en de Helvetiërs
 * Finnish: Asterix ja alppikukka (Asterix and the Edelweiss, or, more literally, "Asterix and the Flower of the Alps")
 * Galician: Astérix na Helvecia
 * German: Asterix bei den Schweizern
 * Greek: Ο Αστερίξ στους Ελβετούς
 * Icelandic: Ástríkur í Heilvitalandi
 * Italian: Asterix e gli Elvezi
 * Latin: Asterix apud Helvetios
 * Norwegian: Asterix i Alpene (Asterix in the Alps)
 * Polish: Asteriks u Helwetów
 * Portuguese: Astérix entre os Helvécios
 * Serbian: Asteriks u Helveciji
 * Spanish: Astérix en Helvecia
 * Swedish: Asterix i Alperna
 * Turkish: Asteriks İsviçre'de

Reception
On Goodreads, it has a score of 4.22 out of 5.

title: Asterix in Switzerland


text:
Dongzhi (solar term)

The traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. Dōngzhì, Tōji, Dongji, Tunji (in Okinawan), or Đông chí (in Vietnamese) is the 22nd solar term, and marks the winter solstice. The term begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 270° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 285°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 21 December (22 December East Asia time) and ends around 5 January.

In common usage, Dongzhi more often refers to the particular day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 270°.

Along with equinoxes, solstices mark the middle of Traditional Chinese calendar seasons. Thus, in "冬至", the Chinese character "至" means "extreme", which implies "solstices", and therefore the term for the winter solstice directly signifies the summit of winter, as "midwinter" is used in English.

China

In China, Dongzhi was originally celebrated as an end-of-harvest festival. Today, it is observed with a family reunion over the long night. In southern China, pink and white tangyuan are eaten in sweet broth to symbolise family unity and prosperity, whereas in northern China, the traditional Dongzhi food is jiaozi.

Korea
In Korea, the winter solstice is also called the "Small Seol," and there is a custom of celebrating the day. People make porridge with red beans known as patjuk (팥죽) and round rice cakes (새알심 saealsim) with sticky rice. In the past, red bean porridge soup was sprayed on walls or doors because it was said to ward off bad ghosts. In addition, there was a custom in the early days of the Goryeo and Joseon Period in which people in financial difficulty settled all their debts and enjoyed the day.

Japan
In Japan, the name of the solar term is Tōji. On this day, it is customary to drink grapefruit hot water and eat pumpkin in certain places. White flowers begin to bloom around the winter solstice.

Pentads
Each solar term is divided into three pentads which are typically named after seasonal natural events. The pentads during Dongzhi are:

 * 蚯蚓結, 'Earthworms form knots', referring to the hibernation of earthworms.
 * 麋角解, 'Deer shed their antlers'
 * 水泉動, 'Spring water moves'

title: Dongzhi (solar term)


text:
Hippios

Hippios (or Hippius) may refer to:

 * Poseidon, rendered as a horse
 * Kolonos Hippios, a deme of Attica
 * Hippios (mythology), the son of Eurynomus
 * Hippios (running race), a foot race in the Nemean Games of Ancient Greece

title: Hippios


text:
Asterix and the Roman Agent

Asterix and the Roman Agent (La Zizanie, "Discord") is the fifteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It first appeared as a serial in Pilote magazine issues 531–552 in 1970 and was translated into English in 1972.

Plot summary
The resistance of the Gaulish village against the Romans causes friction between dictator Julius Caesar and the Roman Senate, whose power had been reduced by Julius Caesar. With their Magic Potion which gives them superhuman strength and is known only to their druid Getafix, they easily stand up against Rome and her laws.

At a meeting with his associates, it is suggested to Caesar that causing internal conflict between the Gauls will lead to their breakdown. He is then told by another Official about Tortuous Convolvulus, a natural troublemaker whose mere presence causes arguments, quarrels and fights. This had him sentenced to the lions in the circus, but his ability had the lions eat each other and he is still in prison. Impressed by his abilities, Caesar sends him to the Gauls. On the way, Convolvulus has the whole ship arguing, from the captain to the galley slaves; and when the pirates attack the ship, Convolvulus represents one of them as having been bribed earlier by himself, and thus provokes them to sink their own ship. The pirate chief realises their mistake, and comments that they don't even need the Gauls to make fools of themselves.

In the Gaulish village, things are being organised for Chief Vitalstatistix's birthday, whom all enjoy except Impedimenta, who complains against the acquisition of useless presents including a mounting collection of swords, shields, stuffed fish, and menhirs. Arriving in Gaul, Convolvulus moves into the nearby Roman camp of Aquarium and gets a description of the village inhabitants. He then gives a valuable vase to Asterix whom he describes as the "most important man in the village", to the annoyance of Chief Vitalstatistix. The other villagers take this announcement seriously until Impedimenta fights with the village's other women over their husbands' relative importances, and then privately dismisses her husband as a failure. Further rumors lead to the belief by many in the village that Asterix, who is close to Getafix the druid, has revealed the secret of the druid's Magic Potion to the Romans. Suspicion and paranoia increase, until the banquet to celebrate the Chief's birthday is held in sullen silence.

Leading this distrust are Fulliautomatix the blacksmith, Geriatrix the elder, and their wives. When Fullautomatix and Unhygienix spy on the Romans, they see a mock 'potion' being given to Roman soldiers. when their presence is noted, Convolvulus has a small legionary pretend to knock out his huge comrade Magnumopus, causing the two Gauls to flee back to the village. As a result, the Roman troops of Aquarium believe that they have the Magic Potion and insist on drinking the substitute. The real turning point in this ruse occurs when some of the deceived villagers voice their suspicions that Asterix and Getafix gave the secret of the Magic Potion to the Romans (which the latter took offensively as his ancient secrets are to be passed down only to other Druids), thus giving Asterix and Getafix an excuse to announce a self-imposed exile, with Obelix accompanying them, wherein their purpose is to expose Convolvulus and teach the other Gauls a lesson in trust. Asterix and Getafix then confront Convolvulus and announce that they and Obelix shall leave the region (thus leaving the other Gauls defenseless). Taking them at their word, Convolvulus persuades the Roman commander, Centurion Platypus, to attack the village. The Gauls meanwhile take the Romans' fake potion back to the village, where it is proven useless and the ruse proven false. Convolvulus sees this and informs Platypus, who calls for an immediate attack, but Getafix makes some genuine Magic Potion. Platypus summons reinforcements after Asterix and Obelix repel his garrison.

After drinking the real Magic Potion, the Gaulish villagers defeat all four of the Roman garrisons that surround them. After winning the fight, Asterix, Getafix and Vitalstatistix thank Convolvulus for having "kept his word" and give him the vase he gave Asterix earlier. This tricks the Roman commander into believing that Convolvulus deliberately engineered their defeat. Convolvulus is sent back to Rome for punishment, but there is a strong hint that his peculiar talent will help him escape his sentence since he is already causing arguments on the ship taking him back.

In the village, Vitalstatistix apologizes to Asterix, and it is agreed to hold another birthday for Vitalstatistix himself. To test the villagers' conviction & make sure the previous incident won't ever happen again, Asterix arranges that Obelix carry him on a shield, after the fashion customary to Vitalstatistix, and thus causes another quarrel among the villagers over which of the men is the most heroic. When questioned by Vitalstatistix, Asterix claims to have merely been "test[ing]" the shield intended as the chief's birthday present. With all reconciled, the story ends with the traditional banquet, which doubles for a better celebration of Vitalstatistix's birthday.

In other languages

 * Brazilian Portuguese: A Cizânia
 * Catalan: La zitzània
 * Croatian: Zavadi pa vladaj (Divide and rule)
 * Czech: Nesvár
 * Danish: Lus i Skindpelsen
 * Dutch: De intrigant
 * Finnish: Asterix ja riidankylväjä (Asterix and the Sower of Arguments)
 * German: Streit um Asterix (The Asterix Controversy)
 * Greek: Η διχόνοια
 * Hebrew: הסכסכן מרומא
 * Hindi: Estriks aur Roman ghuspaithiyaa
 * Indonesian: Sang Penghasut
 * Irish: Asterix agus an Cealgaire
 * Italian: Asterix e la zizzania
 * Latin: Tumultus de Asterige
 * Norwegian: Brann i rosenes leir
 * Polish: Niezgoda
 * Pontic Greek: Το Ζιζάνιον
 * Portuguese: A Zaragata
 * Spanish: La cizaña
 * Serbian: Завади па владај/Zavadi pa vladaj (Divide and Rule)
 * Swedish: Asterix och tvedräkten
 * Turkish: Asteriks Fitneci

Reception
On Goodreads, Asterix and the Roman Agent has a score of 4.15 out of 5. It was described by the screenwriter Russell T Davies as "the finest book ever made".

authors: Я сошла с ума

title: Asterix and the Roman Agent


text:
Asterix in Spain

Asterix in Spain (Astérix en Hispanie, 'Asterix in Hispania') is the fourteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in Pilote magazine, issues 498–519, in 1969, and translated into English in 1971.

Plot summary
Upon learning that a village of Iberian resistance fighters have refused Roman rule, Julius Caesar and his Romans kidnap Chief Huevos Y Bacon (literally meaning “eggs and bacon”)'s son Pepe and send him to Gaul as a hostage, where Asterix and Obelix defeat Pepe's escort and shelter him in their village. When Pepe's mischief (and his enjoyment of the bard Cacofonix's music and singing) frustrates the Gauls, Asterix and Obelix are assigned to take him home. Accordingly, Asterix, Obelix, Pepe and Dogmatix travel to Iberia, where Spurius Brontosaurus (the leader of Pepe's Roman escort), having seen them surreptitiously, accompanies them in disguise.

When Brontosaurus sees Asterix and Obelix overcome some bandits, he plans to steal the magic potion that increases Asterix's strength; but is caught red-handed by Asterix and in the subsequent chase both are arrested by Roman legionaries. In the circus of Hispalis, they enact the story's 'myth' of bullfighting, wherein Asterix, having seized a red cloak belonging to a high-ranked Roman spectator, is repeatedly charged by an aurochs, which he ultimately tricks into knocking itself senseless. With his victory, Asterix is released and Spurius Brontosaurus, discharged from the army, gladly decides to make his living as a bullfighter.

Obelix has meanwhile brought Pepe back to his village, which is besieged by the Romans. In his eagerness to be re-united with Asterix, Obelix scatters the Roman lines and the commanding officer determines to maintain a stalemate similar to that surrounding Asterix and Obelix's village. The protagonists then say a tearful goodbye to Pepe and the Iberians and return to Gaul for their victory banquet, where Obelix gives a demonstration of Spanish dancing and singing, to the annoyance of blacksmith Fulliautomatix (the latter muttering "A fish, a fish, my kingdom for a fish!") and the delight of Cacofonix.

Commentary

 * The taking of children as hostages was not unknown in ancient times and offered means of maintaining a truce. Hostages were mostly well treated by their takers (even in this story, Caesar insists that Pepe be treated with the respect due to a chieftain's son). An example is the young Roman Aëtius, given as a hostage to Alaric I the Visigoth. Aëtius thus gained first-hand knowledge of the barbarians' methods of battle. This was to prove invaluable when, in later life, he opposed Attila the Hun.
 * Pepe in the beginning confronts Caesar armed with a sling and says "You shall not pass". This is a reference to the ¡No pasarán! speech delivered in Madrid by Dolores Ibárruri Gómez during the Spanish Civil War.
 * Various scenes depict stereotypical behaviour associated with Spaniards: their pride, their choleric tempers; and the cliché of roads in disrepair (page 34). On page 38 the generally slow aid for car problems is spoofed too.
 * The line "I think he has their ears because he fought so well" on page 1 may be either a reference to the corrida, where a bullfighter receives the ear and tail of a bull for an impressive fight, or to Napoleon's habit of pulling on a favourite soldier's ear as a reward.
 * The scenes where various Gauls and Goths (Germans) travel in house-shaped chariots, are a parody on the vacations in Spain in motor homes.
 * "Two locals" in Hispania represent Don Quixote and Sancho Panza; this is made clear by their visual appearance and by Quixote's sudden "charge" at the mention of windmills.
 * When the frightened Roman Brontosaurus tries to act Spanish, his knees shake against each other, and Pepe says "his knees make a nice accompaniment"; this is a reference to castanets which make a similar sound when used while singing.
 * The travelers witness nocturnal processions of druids, a very clear reference to the religious processions associated with later Spanish people; one such procession places the druids in capirotes recalling those of a Spanish priesthood.
 * The conductor in the arena, featured on page 44, is a caricature of French conductor Gérard Calvi. He composed music for three Asterix films: Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and Cleopatra and The Twelve Tasks of Asterix.
 * The final scenes are a fictional depiction of the origin of bull fighting, a tradition in Spain. However, the comic features an Aurochs instead of a bull, an extinct cattle species.
 * The line "A fish, a fish, my kingdom for a fish" on the last page, is a reference to William Shakespeare's play Richard III, wherein Richard demands a horse in the same words. The line is also referenced with Asterix in Britain's Chief Mykingdomforanos (a dialect form of "My kingdom for a horse").
 * Although the Iberian peninsula had long been controlled by Rome, this album mentions the Battle of Munda, which took place in 45 BC (also mentioned), and thus about a year prior to Caesar's assassination; yet Caesar appears in nearly 20 following albums over a much greater time period.
 * This was the first book in the series to feature Unhygienix the fishmonger and his wife Bacteria. It is also the first to feature a fight between the villagers, started by Unhygenix's fish.
 * Pepe's skill with the sling may be a historical nod to the ancient slingers of the Balearic Islands, famous for their skill with this weapon. The Carthaginian general Hannibal, and later the Romans, made extensive use of their skill in their armies.

In other languages

 * Basque: Asterix Hispanian
 * Catalan: Astèrix a Hispània
 * Croatian: Asteriks u Hispaniji
 * Czech: Asterix v Hispánii
 * Dutch: Asterix in Hispania
 * Finnish: Asterix Hispaniassa
 * Galician: Astérix en Hispania
 * German: Asterix in Spanien
 * Greek: Ο Αστερίξ στην Ισπανία
 * Icelandic: Ástríkur á Spáni
 * Indonesian: Asterix di Spanyol
 * Italian: Asterix in Iberia
 * Norwegian: Asterix i Spania
 * Polish: Asterix w Hiszpanii
 * Portuguese: Astérix na Hispânia
 * Russian: Астерикс в Испании
 * Serbian: Asteriks u Hispaniji
 * Slovene: Asterix v Hispánii
 * Spanish: Astérix en Hispania
 * Swedish: Asterix i Spanien
 * Turkish: Asteriks İspanya'da

Reception
On Goodreads, Asterix in Spain has a score of 4.09 out of 5.

authors: Я сошла с ума

title: Asterix in Spain


text:
Gujeolpan

Gujeolpan refers to either an elaborate Korean dish consisting of nine different foods assorted on a wooden plate with nine divided sections in an octagon shape or the plate itself. The name is composed of three hanja words: gu (구, "nine" ), jeol (절, "section"), and pan (판, "plate") in Korean. Foods are separated by color and ingredients, and comprise various namul (seasoned leaf vegetables), meats, mushrooms, and seafood items. In the center of the tray is a stack of small jeon (Korean style pancakes) made with wheat flour, which are called miljeonbyeong (밀전병). In addition to its use as a food platter used to serve many dishes of food at once, gujeolpan is also considered a decorative item. It is said to be a well-being food that looks beautiful, tastes good, and is nutritionally balanced.

History and aesthetic appeal
The history of gujeolpan dates back as early as the 14th century, and has become closely associated with the Joseon royalty. The octagonal dish itself can be made of wood or plastic and is divided into eight side sections and one center section, to resemble a flower. It also can include elaborate carvings, gem encrustations and detailed drawings. Original royal gujeolpan dish platters can be observed in museums as featured artifacts in royal table setting reconstructions. Gujeolpan is considered to be one of the most beautiful and colorful centerpiece Korean dishes. The nine sections are carefully divided and arranged with an appropriate amount of assorted meats and vegetables to make it colorful and aesthetically appealing. It has even been said that author Pearl S. Buck was so amazed by the beauty and colorful appearance of gujeolpan that she could not stop praising it, and as a result, refused to eat it as she did not want to "destroy such a beautiful thing by eating it."

Consumption
What was once available to Korean nobility can now be enjoyed by anyone in many places in Korea that specialize in preparing ancient Korean cuisine (though in some establishments it can be quite expensive). It is also sometimes prepared for wedding banquets. Each of the outer sections has different varieties of meat and vegetables, such as carrots, mushrooms, beef, bean sprouts, leeks, radishes, etc. while the center section is usually reserved for miljeonbyeong, which are small circular, paper-thin wheat flatcakes similar, though smaller and softer than tortillas. These are used to wrap the various meats and vegetables from each of the eight sections. Gujeolpan consumers pick and choose from the various eight sections, put the food on a sheet of miljeongbyeong, wrap it and eat it whole.

title: Gujeolpan


text:
Fort Loudoun Lake

Fort Loudoun Lake is a reservoir in east Tennessee on the upper Tennessee River, extending about 50 mi along the river upstream from Fort Loudoun Dam, at Lenoir City, to Knoxville.

Fort Loudoun Reservoir takes its name from the 18th-century British fort built on a nearby site during the French and Indian War. The fort was named for John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun, commander of British forces in North America at the time.

Fort Loudoun is a popular recreation destination, known for bass fishing, boating, and birdwatching. The tailwater area immediately below the dam is an excellent site for viewing a variety of waterbirds, including herons, cormorants, gulls, osprey, and bald eagles.

The reservoir is connected by a short canal to Tellico Reservoir on the nearby Little Tennessee River. Water is diverted through the canal to Fort Loudoun for power production. The canal also offers commercial barges access to Tellico without the need for a lock. Barges passing through the Fort Loudoun lock carry about half a million tons of cargo a year.

In popular culture
The reservoir is mentioned in the Knoxville-based V-Roys song "Over the Mountain".

title: Fort Loudoun Lake


text: Category:Nordic dances

title: Category:Nordic dances


text:
Halifax railway station (England)

Halifax railway station serves the town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Calder Valley line and is 17 mi west from Leeds.

Platform 2 is used by eastbound services towards Bradford and Leeds, while platform 1 accommodates westbound trains towards Brighouse, Huddersfield, Sowerby Bridge, Blackpool North and Manchester Victoria. The two routes divide about a mile south of the station at Dryclough Junction.

To the east, the line also divided with the current line passing into Beacon Hill tunnel and a disused line via Halifax North Bridge to Ovenden, then going on to a junction at Holmfield with the Halifax High level line which had stations in Pellon and at St Paul's, Queens Road; and via to Bradford and Keighley, for destinations in the North-West.

Description

The station has a car park, bicycle parking and a pick up point, like many other stations. There is also a staffed ticket booth with option of paying for a ticket using a ticket machine. A lift to the platform is available for wheelchair users, but there are currently no lower counters for easier access to buy tickets.

Entry to the station is via a cobbled road bridge from opposite the bottom of Horton Street.

History
The original station was built at Shaw Syke, approximately 220 yd west of the current location and opened on 1 July 1844 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway as the terminus of a branch off their main line from Manchester to Normanton. With the opening of the line between Halifax and Bradford on 7 August 1850, a new station was opened on the current site; this had temporary wooden buildings. The station at Shaw Syke was then extended and used as a goods depot The permanent buildings at the current site were designed by Thomas Butterworth and opened on 23 June 1855. This Grade II listed building housed the nursery associated with the Eureka! Children's Museum until its closure on 18 December 2020.

A new line was constructed by the Great Northern Railway in the mid-1870s from the main station over a long viaduct to a station at North Bridge, then across and indeed partly in tunnel beneath the hilly terrain north of the town to an unusual triangular station at Queensbury, where the line divided into track for Keighley (and Skipton, Carlisle and Morecambe) to the north-west and Bradford in the east.

Halifax station was redesigned during 1884–85 and completely rebuilt with six through platforms in 1885–86. Part of the new station opened on 25 October 1885 and the remainder on 30 May 1886. The new station had separate accommodation for LYR and GNR trains; the latter being on the west side.

To distinguish it from Halifax St. Paul's and Halifax North Bridge stations, the main station was known from June 1890 as Halifax Old Station. On 30 September 1951, the name was changed again to Halifax Town and, on 12 June 1961, it reverted to Halifax.

The Halifax High Level Railway was a related branch line opened in 1890, leading from Holmfield near Ovenden, on the line to Queensbury, through a half-mile tunnel through the ridge and across the Wheatley Valley on a ten arch viaduct past Samuel Webster's brewery, to Pellon, where there were sizeable goods facilities and then to St Paul's railway station in Queens Road. This branch line gradually fell into disuse, losing its regular passenger service as early as 1917. The last goods train ran in 1960 and the line was then dismantled, leaving the viaduct standing as a reminder of the former freight link.

The Queensbury branch as a whole was closed in stages from 1955 onwards, although many of its engineering features remain. The route has lately been adopted and to an extent brought back into public use and attention by Sustrans as a walking and cycle route. The principal structure on the line, Queensbury Tunnel, was, at its opening, the longest on the GNR system at 2501 yd. It is currently derelict, partially flooded and impassable, although a campaign is underway to save it for inclusion in the Sustrans route, though funding was refused in 2020.

A campaign, run by the local newspaper the Halifax Evening Courier, was started to get the station refurbished. The paper said that it wanted a station fit "for the 21st century" and that its current state was "disgraceful". Due to the amount of support generated, Network Rail and Northern agreed to do so.

Work began in May 2009 on a £2.5 million refurbishment scheme that has seen the station footbridge and canopies repaired, new glazing and lighting installed and repainting of the structures. The second phase of the refurbishment, covering the platform and the concourse, was completed in November 2010.

In October 2014, plans were submitted to bring platform 3 back into use to create three platforms together with signalling improvements. Network Rail subsequently announced plans to upgrade the eastern portion of the Calder Valley line in 2017, which will see the surviving signal box here closed. Control of the upgraded track layout and new signalling was passed to the York Rail Operating Centre in October 2018.

Services
Eastbound: Monday to Saturdays there are now five departures per hour to Bradford, of which four continue to Leeds (the ex-Huddersfield service terminates at Bradford). Two of the latter continue beyond Leeds - one to York and the other to Hull (the latter starts here and was introduced at the winter 2019 timetable change). Fewer trains run in the evening.

Westbound: Monday to Saturday daytimes there is a half-hourly service to Manchester Victoria (hourly evenings), one train an hour to Blackpool North and one per hour to Huddersfield via Brighouse. One of the two Manchester trains is limited stop (calling only at Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Rochdale), whilst the other calls at all intermediate stations to Todmorden, then fast to Rochdale & Manchester. The latter now runs through to Chester via Warrington Bank Quay. One service per hour from the Leeds direction terminates here.

On Sundays there is a hourly service to each of Blackpool North and Huddersfield and two per hour to Manchester (with hourly extensions to Chester).

New Northern Rail franchisee Arriva Rail North planned to introduce additional services to Leeds & Manchester in 2019, many of which would run through to either Liverpool Lime Street or Chester. Through services to Manchester Airport were promised once the Ordsall Chord was completed, but capacity issues in the Castlefield Junction area have seen these postponed for the foreseeable future. The Chester service began running at the May 2019 timetable change. Further alterations at the December 2019 change will see the Huddersfield service start/terminate at Bradford, but a new service to Hull via Selby introduced to maintain the frequency for through trains to Leeds and restore through service to stations east of there.

London services
The station now sees regular services to London King's Cross via Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract and Doncaster. In January 2009, Grand Central had their application for train paths to run a Bradford Interchange to London service accepted by the Office of Rail Regulation. Three trains per day initially operated once full approval for the service was granted - these use Class 180 units and started running from 23 May 2010. A fourth service to and from London commenced in December 2013

title: Halifax railway station (England)


text: Template:Municipalities of Lithuania

title: Template:Municipalities of Lithuania


text: User:MartinSojka

title: User:MartinSojka