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The present paper focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of ammonites from sections along the Russian Pacific coast during the mid-and Late Cretaceous. Changes in ammonite diversity (i.e., disappearance [extinction or emigration], appearance [origination or immigration], and total number of species present) constitute the basis for the identification of the main bio-events. The regional diversity curve reflects all global mass extinctions, faunal turnovers, and radiations. In the case of the Pacific coastal regions, such bio-events (which are comparatively easily recognised and have been described in detail), rather than first or last appearance datums of index species, should be used for global correlation. This is because of the high degree of endemism and provinciality of Cretaceous macrofaunas from the Pacific region in general and of ammonites in particular.
Cretaceous marine strata are widely distributed along the Russian Pacific coast (Fig. 1), reaching a total thickness of circa 10 km and yielding comparatively diverse macrofaunal assemblages. The emphasis in the present paper is on bio-events and a few notes on palaeoecological and palaeogeographical aspects of ammonite evolution are added for the upper Albian to uppermost Maastrichtian interval, the average thickness of which varies between 4000 and 7000 m (Vereschagin et al. 1965; Poyarkova 1987; Yazykova 2004; Zonova 2004).
A major obstacle encountered in correlations with the type areas (most of them in western Europe) of the various mid-and Late Cretaceous stages is the high degree of faunal endemicity, which characterises Pacific Cretaceous faunas in general and Late Cretaceous ones in particular (Yazykova 2004; Jagt-Yazykova 2011). This explains why most of the recently proposed criteria for the recognition of stage boundaries in the type localities cannot be applied in the study area. However, it has been demonstrated that general trends of ammonite evolution in the boreal Pacific are the same as elsewhere (Yazykova 1996, 2002, 2004; Jagt-Yazykova 2011). From bio-event to bio-event, and/or from zone to zone, overall changes in ammonite morphotypes and ecosystems are comparable to those observed in other regions, and this can be assumed to be so because the organic world is largely dependent of the global rules, which govern local environments. I support the general view that unrelated taxa with similar life habits and occurrences tend to be of a comparable morphotype, while species with a wide range of intraspecific variation, either throughout ontogeny or in the adult stage, have shell features, which reflect diverse modes of life or environments inhabited. Recently, Paul and Lamolda (2009) have argued that bioevents based on first or last appearance datums (FADs, LADs) occasionally may not be recognisable in all sections, not even within the same area, particularly when these events are based on a single taxon. In addition, whenever recognisable, they may turn out to be diachronous. Thus, morphotypes, rather than taxonomic designation, should be used for correlations because relationships between shell shapes and environments appear to be species independent (Batt 1989, 1993). Certainly, all results presented here are based on the study of adult individuals; larvae or juvenile forms were nektoplanktonic and lived elsewhere in the photic and neritic shallow zones (50–250 m; see Westermann 1989, 1996). Changes in ammonite diversity, viz. disappearance (extinction or emigration), appearance (origination or immigration) and total number of species (see Fig. 2), constitute the basis for the identification of the main bio-events.
All published data on ammonite taxa from the Albian to Maastrichtian of areas along the Russian Pacific coast (Sakhalin, Shikotan Island, Chukofka and Kamchatka peninsulas, the Koryak Upland, Sikhote Alin and Primorye; see Fig. 1), have recently been critically re-evaluated (Jagt-Yazykova 2011). In total, 200 species, inclusive of specifically indeterminate taxa, denoted with “sp.”, “cf.”, “aff.”, have been accepted for this area, distributed over ninety genera, twenty-two families and twenty-seven subfamilies (Jagt-Yazykova 2011). A revised biostratigraphical framework, based on ammonites, inoceramid bivalves and radiolarians, has also been proposed previously for Far East Russia (mainly Sakhalin, Shikotan, and Sikhote Alin; Yazykova 2004; Jagt-Yazykova 2011), using data supplied by Russian and Japanese colleagues. In addition, the interrelationship between ammonite evolution and environmental changes in palaeobasins along the Russian Pacific coast, local bio-events, links with lithofacies types, hypothetical phylogenetic links, plus selected examples of homoeomorphy have lately been discussed in detail (Jagt-Yazykova 2011). The present paper focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of ammonites from sections along the Russian Pacific coast during the mid-and Late Cretaceous.
Abbreviations.—OAE, Oxygen Anoxic Event.
The late Albian migration bio-event.—Strata of late Albian age are comparatively widely distributed in all regions of the Russian Pacific, i.e., Sakhalin Island, the Sikhote Alin Mountains and in the Amur River valley, as well as in the northeasterly areas such as the Chukotka Peninsula, the Koryak Upland, and Penzhyna Gulf coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Fig. 1), the average thickness being between 700 and 1000 m. The general diversity amongst Russian Pacific Cretaceous ammonites is highest during the late Albian (Fig. 2), the greatest taxonomic diversity being noted amongst desmoceratids and kossmaticeratids (compare Jagt-Yazykova 2011: fig. 7). In consideration of palaeobiogeographical aspects and the taxonomically mixed composition of macrofaunal assemblages recorded, this might be interpreted as a migration bio-event, possibly correlative with similar levels elsewhere, e.g., northern California (Amédro and Robaszynski 2005), where successions yielded both Tethyan ammonites (for example, Oxytropidoceras and Lyelliceras) and Boreal taxa such as Gastroplites and Pseudopulchellia. Those authors discussed possible ammonite-based correlations between Albian sequences of northern California and the European and Arctic provinces and concluded that the stratigraphic distribution of non-endemic Albian ammonites in northern California and Europe was controlled largely by global eustatic events. In addition, they showed some possible ways of migration for endemic forms.
Macrofaunal complexes from the Russian Pacific area are characterised by similar patterns. The comparatively shallow Lower Cretaceous basins of central-northeast Russia were inhabited by numerous representatives of different bivalve groups (mainly Aucellidae, Inoceramidae, and Pectinidae) and some brachiopods (Vereschagin et al. 1965). In contrast to the numerous bivalves, ammonites are rather uncommon but represented by taxa originating from different palaeobiogeographic realms. The southern end of the vast Russian Pacific area (Amur River valley and Sikhote Alin Mountains) was also inhabited by numerous non-inoceramid bivalves and the first genuine Inoceramus (see Krymholz 1938; Zonova 1982; Sey et al. 2004), which were commoner than ammonites. Recently, a European cirripede, Pycnolepas aff. rigida (Sowerby, 1836), has been recorded from Primorye (Jagt et al. 2007). The Albian ammonite assemblage also has a mixed taxonomic composition, in showing both Tethyan and Boreal genera and endemic species. For example, finds of the European (Boreal) Anahoplites sp. and Sonneratia sp. can only be explained by immigration of these taxa via the Arctic. The former is confined to Sakhalin (Zhuravlev 1969), while the latter has been noted in Sakhalin, Primorye, and northeast Russia (Vereschagin et al. 1965). Members of the genus Sonneratia have also been described from Arctic Canada (Jeletzky 1964), as well as from California and Oregon (Anderson 1938; Jones et al. 1965), but comprise exclusively endemic species, which supports the notion of larvae and/or juveniles being taken across the Arctic by favourable currents which ultimately led to the establishment of a convergent lineage of this European genus. Representatives of Anuhoplites and Sonnerutiu from the Russian Pacific may either belong to some new endemic species or are conspecific with those described from Arctic Canada, California, or Oregon. Similar patterns are represented by desmoceratids. Out of the ten desmoceratid taxa recorded from here only a single, truly cosmopolitan taxon is known from Albian levels, namely Puzosiu cf. lata (Seitz, 1931) found in Sikhote Alin (Yazykova 2001). All remaining taxa are true endemics.
The mixed character of ammonite assemblages is a feature that characterises the late Albian time slice in the Pacific realm in general. Some typically Boreal taxa such as Arcthoplites (Suburcthoplites), Phyllopachyceras, Parusilesites, Marshallites, and Eogunnurites from the Koryak-Kamchatka palaeobasin migrated to the south using favourable currents and later were widely distributed in Sakhalin and Japan (Matsumoto 1991). Some isolated representatives of Marshallites probably migrated during the Turonian—Coniacian even to the African-Indian province and later possibly continued southeasterly, towards New Zealand (compare Kennedy and Klinger 1985).
Amongst others, an interesting case is the appearance of the cosmopolitan Eogaudryceras (Eotetragonites) duvalianus (d'Orbigny, 1840) and a single lytoceratoid, Protetragonites cf. aeolus aeolus d'Orbigny, 1850. Both can be considered to have been good swimmers, because the occurrence in the Pacific of these European taxa cannot be explained otherwise. The former is known also from the Aptian—lower Albian of the northern Caucasus (Dagestan) (Kasansky 1914; Druschic and Mikhailova 1963). Protetrugonites ueolus aeliformis Fallot, 1885, recorded from the Aptian of Spain (López Garrido and Orozco 1970), is similar to P. aeolus aeolus and P. ex gr. ueolus was recorded from the lower Albian of the western Carpathians in Slovakia (Potfaj et al. 2008). Thus, during the Cretaceous the territory of Far East Russia belonged to a marginal shelf continental sea, and during the Albian maximum flooding occurred as a result of global transgression. The deepest basin is likely to be found in Sakhalin. Here, probably poorly oxygenated, yet not completely anoxic, conditions prevailed, while northeasterly regions were characterised by warm, well-oxygenated waters. The Sikhote Alin palaeobasin appears to have been comparatively shallow and well-oxygenated. This could explain the mixed character of taxonomic composition and the absence or very low numbers of juvenile forms, because most forms probably appeared here after long-distance transport with favourable currents via the Arctic and/or via Tethys, that is, successful dispersal, but without subsequent speciation.
In conclusion, the late Albian migration event recorded in the sections of Russian Pacific coast could be linked to the middle—late Albian bio-event (Fig. 4) that has been recorded from North America, Europe, India, and North Africa, and which is characterised by short-term extinctions among ammonite genera and species, especially in northern temperate faunas (e.g., Gastroplites, Pseudopulchellia) and warm-temperate subtropical taxa (e.g., Oxytropidoceras and Lyelliceras) connected with OAE1b and OAE1c (Barnes et al. 1995). Thus, those ammonites which disappeared in the regions mentioned could have migrated into more marginal areas such as California, northeast Russia, Sakhalin, and Sikhote Alin during the late Albian.
Albian—Cenomanian faunal turnover bio-event.—The late Albian anoxic-event OAE1d has been recorded in many sections of the Pacific realm (Hirano and Takagi 1995; Hasegawa 1997; Hirano and Fukuju 1997; and others). This was followed by global regression, as a result of global tectonic reconstruction and environmental changes. In turn, this again triggered changes in biodiversity at the Lower-Upper Cretaceous boundary. Some families and subfamilies disappeared altogether (i.e., Cleoniceratidae, Silesitoidinae, Beudanticeratinae, Sonneratiinae; see Wright et al. 1996). Almost all Albian ammonite taxa known from northwest Pacific provinces became extinct, except for a few species, which survived these crises but did not persist longer than the early Cenomanian. These survival taxa are best seen as failed crisis progenitor species (Kauffman and Erwin 1995; Harries and Little 1999), which did not appear until the latest Albian, and already were better adapted to changing environmental conditions. In short, changes which took place during the latest Albian to the earliest Cenomanian are best considered to illustrate a global faunal turnover bio-event.
The most drastic changes occurred in Sikhote Alin and Amur River basin. During the early Cenomanian, this basin became shallower and gradually disappeared as a result of plate tectonic movements and high volcanic activity which started in the mid-Albian (Kirillova et al. 2000). This explains why ammonite assemblages of early Cenomanian age here comprise only few survival forms, such as Puzosia and Desmocerus (Pseudouhligella) and the heteromorph Mariella. This was a small, shallow-water basin which existed only until the end of the Cenomanian, when it disappeared altogether.
However, the new early Cenomanian transgression allowed the entry of immigrant species into the Pacific region, such as Phylloceras (Neophyllocerus) seresitense Pervinquière, 1907; Anuguudrycerus buddhu (Forbes, 1846); Purupuzosiu (Austiniceras) austeni (Sharpe, 1855); Mantellicerus sp.; and Acunthocerus sp. These taxa probably originated from the Tethys and migrated into Sakhalin and northeast Russia. In those areas diverse micro-and macrofaunal complexes existed, in which endemics predominated. The Cenomanian shelf sea of southern Sakhalin was inhabited by representatives of sixteen genera, some of which appeared here for the first time. Cenomanian deposits of northeast Russia have yielded ammonite associations comprising thirteen genera. In taxonomic composition these are similar to those in Sakhalin, and involve mostly new taxa.
Two remarkable global bio-events can be recognised in the early Cenomanian: the taxonomic bloom of the Kossmaticeratidae (seven new genera appearing) and the entry of the family Acanthoceratidae (Wright et al. 1996). In Far East Russia, the former family was represented by ten species of two genera, Murshullites and Mikasaites, while the latter comprised four genera/subgenera, Mantelliceras, Calycoceras (Calycoceras), C. (Newboldiceras), and Acunthocerus. However, in view of the fact that all of these acanthoceratids are represented only by few examples, they probably were poorly adapted to the Pacific setting, which was likely cooler than the Tethyan realm. Only few of these taxa have been found along the Russian Pacific coast and some are known from Japan (Jimbô 1894; Matsumoto 1943; Shigeta 2001; Matsumoto and Toshimitsu 2005). Meanwhile, the Cenomanian of Western Interior of North America, as well as the European, Mediterranean, and African-Indian provinces is characterised by high diversity levels of the family Acanthoceratidae (e.g., Wright and Kennedy 1990; Kennedy 1994; Kennedy et al. 1996; Arkadiev et al. 2000).
In summary, all but two Albian taxa disappeared at the Albian—Cenomanian boundary interval in the Russian Pacific. A short-term, global turnover in marine biota following OAE1d (Barnes et al. 1995) is characteristic of this level in many regions of the world (Fig. 3), inclusive of the Pacific as outlined above. The disappearance of Albian forms and the first occurrence of new species and even genera, as well as of new morphotypes amongst ammonites and inoceramids, is also typical of this boundary in the Pacific Realm.
Mid-Cenomanian Turrilites bio-event.—Representatives of Turrilites costutus and T. ucutus are known from middle and upper middle Cenomanian deposits (Fig. 2) of Sakhalin Island and the Penzhyna Gulf coast, respectively, as well as from the Koryak Upland (Vereschagin et al. 1965; Terekhova and Mikhajlova 1977) and Japan (Hayakawa and Nishino 1999; Shigeta 2001; Matsumoto and Takahashi 2001). These two levels could possibly be correlated (Fig. 3) with the so-called mid-Cenomanian Regressive Trough (Turrilites costutus event) and the mid-Cenomanian eustatic low (T. ucutus records), respectively (Hancock 2003). This eustatic lowstand has been recorded from northwest Europe, western Kazakhstan, Texas, Colorado, and South Dakota. Monnet and Bucher (2007) proposed the last occurrence of T. ucutus as a marker for the middle-late Cenomanian boundary since that species was abundant and widely distributed. This marker is useful in Sakhalin as well as in northeasterly regions of Russia.
Cenomanian-Turonian mass extinction event.—The Cenomanian—Turonian boundary mass extinction is reflected in drop of diversity curves for all biotic groups, both at the generic and specific level. Some ammonite families and subfamilies disappeared altogether, for example, the Turrilitidae, Acanthoceratinae, and Lyelliceratidae (Wright et al. 1996). The late Cenomanian OAE2 event (Barnes et al. 1995; Hirano and Takagi 1995; Hasegawa 1997) was possibly the main trigger to the extirpation of many Cenomanian faunal elements near globally. In the Russian Pacific not a single Cenomanian taxon survived this crisis. Global correlation is based on OAE2 and the appearance of the ammonite genera Fugesiu and Jimboiceras, as well as the inoceramid Mytiloides, and the appearance of new ammonite morphotypes in general. The global mid-Cenomanian-Turonian transgression has also been recorded in the entire Far East Russia and is reflected in relatively deepwater sedimentation. Anoxic conditions connected with strong active volcanism are reflected in the presence of mudstone interbedded with black, grey and green tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone as well as bentonitic clay. This “coloured” interval is barren of fossils (probably as a result of dysoxic conditions, as well as volcanic fallout) and generally reaches a thickness of some 40–50 m in Sakhalin (see also Yazykova et al. 2004) as well as in northeast Russia (EAJ-Y unpublished data).
The early Turonian survival interval is characterised by the gradual appearance of new ammonite genera. Later, following a radiation event recorded in the mid-Turonian, the general diversity of ammonites reached a maximum during the late Turonian. Moreover, because of a highstand, some taxonomic unification appeared in the Pacific and, apart from a few taxa, ammonite compositions in northeast Russia and Sakhalin are almost identical and still predominantly endemic to the western Pacific.
The mid-Turonian Scaphites facies bio-event.—A wide distribution of heteromorph ammonites (e.g., the Scaphites facies) during the late early—middle Turonian has been recorded from numerous regions in the world, occurring at the same level (Tanabe 1979; Kaplan et al. 1987; Hirano et al. 2000). In Far East Russia, numerous representatives of the family Scaphitidae co-occur with endemic species of the genera Scalurites and Hyphuntocerus (Vereschagin et al. 1965; Mirolubov in Poyarkova 1987; Zonova and Yazykova 1998; Yazykova et al. 2004). The Scuphites facies is one of the best correlative levels across the globe. However, all scaphitids are represented in Far East Russia by exclusively endemic species of two genera, Yezoites and Scaphites, similar to California (Matsumoto 1959). It seems that the appearance of heteromorph genus Sculurites would be a good marker for the early-middle Turonian boundary, coupled with Scuphites facies in spite of the endemic character of this assemblage.
The middle-late Turonian boundary bio-event.—The regression which began at the middle-late Turonian boundary in Russian Pacific basins is marked by the appearance of coarsely ornamented ammonites and heteromorphs (Vereschagin et al. 1965; Mirolubov in Poyarkova 1987; Zonova and Yazykova 1998; Yazykova et al. 2004), indicative of relatively shallow waters (Tanabe 1979; Westermann 1996). Heteromorphs are numerous (the new western north Pacific endemic genus Nipponites), alongside gaudryceratids, tetragonitids, phylloceratids, and acanthoceratids (R. [Romaniceras], R. [Yubariceras], Kumerunocerus, and Pseudaspidoceras). Desmoceratids such as Puzosia (Mesopuzosia and Pachydesmoceras), the cosmopolitan vascoceratid genus Fagesiu and Tragodesmoceroides subcostatus predominated the entire sublittoral basin of the West Sakhalin Mountains, which was warm (15.8–17.5°C according to Zakharov et al. 1999), and about 150–200 m deep. This interpretation is supported also by single representatives of hexacorals and thin carbonate layers (Poyarkova 1987), which is absolutely atypical for this area. New ammonite taxa gradually appeared in the late Turonian: heteromorphs (Nostoceras [Eubostrychoceras] and Hyphantoceras), as well as Damesites and Hourcquia, and rare Subprionocyclus. There were diversity and abundance peaks in the late Turonian (Fig. 2) illustrating favourable conditions in these areas.
The Turonian-Coniacian faunal turnover bio-event.—The Turonian—Coniacian boundary faunal turnover bioevent in Far East Russia was marked by the entry of new ammonite and inoceramid morphotypes with a slight reduction in taxonomic diversity (Zonova and Yazykova 1998). This was a comparatively stable period, interrupted only by local sea level changes and a minimum of volcanic activity.
However, some sections display a huge thickness of Turonian strata, in excess of 1000 m, but in northeast Russia, the basin was shallower than in Sakhalin as evidenced by prevalent deposition of sandstone there. The base of the Coniacian has been defined by the last appearance of Jimboiceras planulatiforme (Jimbô, 1894) with thin ribs and an evolute shell shape, and the entry of J. mihoense Matsumoto, 1954 with coarse ribs, as well as by the first occurrence of Anagaudrycerus politissimum (Kossmat, 1895) and Gaudryceras denseplicatum Jimbô, 1894. Jimboiceras mihoense, A. politissimum, and G. denseplicatum demonstrate the appearance of new morphotypes as a result of adaptation within their phylogenetic lineages to new ecological conditions, demanding thicker shells and coarse ornament characteristic of higher-energy environments. The appearance of small-sized inoceramids (Inoceramus uwajimensis Yehara, 1924; see Zonova and Yazykova 1998) supports this interpretation because later representatives of the Inoceramus uwujimensis group reach larger sizes and co-occur with numerous Inocerumus mihoensis Matsumoto, 1957 and Jimboiceras mihoensis. The ammonite Forresteria (F.) alluaudi (Boule, Lemoine, and Thevenin, 1907) was found at the same level which marks the onset of a new transgression, which is supported by other immigrant species in the latest Coniacian, namely Peronicerus sp. and Binneyites (?) sp. Thus, the appearance of coarser ornament and the abundance of heteromorphs (Yezoites, Scalarites, and P. (Pseudoxybeloceras)), as well as the first pachydiscid here, Menuites (Anapachydiscus), might be indicative of a relatively shallow-water basin with high energy, which would correspond to a lowstand period.
Approximately at the early-late Coniacian boundary, another radiation of new species of the heteromorph ammonite genera Scaphites, Scalarites, and Nipponites is noted, and, in total, the taxonomic diversity increased (Fig. 2). Probably this bio-event could be put forward to characterise the early—late Coniacian boundary, after it has been properly documented from other regions.
The Coniacian—Santonian faunal turnover bio-event.—Zakharov et al. (2005) assumed the occurrence of short-lived, subfreezing conditions periodically in the Northern Hemisphere during the late Coniacian—early Santonian, most probably in polar winter months. Moreover, basins in the Russian Pacific region became deeper and, perhaps, as a result of deepening and/or cooling, all of the Coniacian taxa above noted disappeared, although new supplements appeared comparatively rapidly. Zakharov et al. (2005) noted that the cold periods were probably never sufficiently long enough to form permanent sea ice, because of the absence of a continent in the North Pole region and a significant ameliorating effect of oceanic heat-transport towards the pole, mainly via the Strait of Turgai and the Western Interior of North America. That also could be the explanation of the appearance at this time of the widespread ammonites Polyptychoceras quadrinodosum Jimbô, 1894, Desmophyllites diphylloides (Forbes, 1846) and Phyllopachyceras forbesiunum (d'Orbigny, 1850), which co-occurred with local indexes for this boundary such as Texunites (Plesiotexanites) kawasakii Kawada, 1929 and Inoceramus amakusensis (Yazykova 1996, 2002; Yazykova and Zonova 2002). In spite of the fact that the placement of the Coniacian-Santonian boundary is still very problematic in the Russian Far East, we can recognise the principal elements of general ammonite evolution, namely the disappearance of typical Coniacian ammonites, such as Peroniceras sp., Jimboiceras mihoense, Forresteria (F.) alluaudi and of inoceramids of the Inocerumus mihoensis/I. uwajimensis group (Zonova and Yazykova 1998), as well as the common occurrence of new taxa, representing new morphotypes, plus the abundance of new heteromorph (sub)genera such as Glyptoxoceras, Didymoceras, Pseudoxybeloceras, Polyptychoceras, Neocrioceras, Subptychoceras, Eubostrychoceras, and Baculites (Poyarkova 1987; Alabushev and Wiedmann 1997; Yazykova 2004). Generally, the Santonian interval is typified by a continuous increase of taxonomic diversity amongst ammonites (Fig. 2). New migration routes which appeared during the latest Coniacian transgression were gradually widening during the Santonian and the percentage of cosmopolitan species during this time is much higher (see Yazykova 2002). This boundary is characterised also by new taxa amongst two of the most conservative families, namely the Phylloceratidae and Tetragonitidae, and by the recovery of the Kossmaticeratidae along the Russian Pacific coast (Fig. 3), where after a long period of absence two new species appeared. The tetragonitid Pseudophyllites could be an immigrant from the European Boreal province into the northern Pacific, via the Arctic, because P. indra (Forbes, 1846) first appeared in Europe and subsequently spread to the Tethys and Pacific. This species was, probably, very well adapted to a range of environments and typically occurs worldwide in abundance.
The Coniacian—Santonian boundary was very important also for the development of the Diplomoceratidae (Fig. 3). Six new species appeared in the earliest Santonian, which marked the onset of the future bloom which this family experienced during the Campanian in Far East Russian regions as well as in many other regions of the world (Wright et al. 1996).
The late Santonian heteromorph facies bio-event.—Near the early-late Santonian boundary, macrofaunal taxonomic diversity increased again, linked to a global sea level rise and an increase in temperature. New taxa, representing new morphotypes, appeared. Heteromorphs present a special case. They are represented by eight species, in six genera/subgenera such as Hyphantoceras, Neocrioceras, Diplomocerus, Pseudoxybeloceras, P. (Polyptychocerus), and P. (Subptychocerus). This bio-event could be proposed for the early-late Santonian boundary, awaiting detailed documentation elsewhere. The following examples appear to support the distinctiveness of this event: representatives of Hyphuntoceras appeared at the same level in Japan (Matsumoto 1977), southeast France (Thomel 1988), Westfalen, Germany (Kennedy and Kaplan 2000), Zululand and Pondoland (Kennedy et al. 1995) and members of Necriocerus are known from this level in Japan and British Columbia (Haggart and Higgs 1989; Shigeta 2001). This list will undoubtedly be longer after detailed study of this interval in different regions across the world. Interestingly, at the same level new representatives of the family Pachydiscidae make their appearance in the Pacific region. For that basin, this particular moment marks the start in the development and wide distribution of this family (Fig. 3).
The Santonian—Campanian faunal turnover bio-event.—In Far East Russia, the Santonian—Campanian boundary is characterised by an abrupt regressive pulse which interrupted deep-water sedimentation and triggered notable environmental changes, causing a regional biotic event which is evident in different regions across the world. Zakharov et al. (1998) recorded some increase in temperature during the early late Santonian which could have had an impact on the disappearance of many Santonian taxa (Fig. 4). However, the total number of ammonite taxa increased and reached its maximum in the early Campanian (Fig. 2). Thus, this is another example of rapid recovery amongst ammonites (Yazykova et al. 2002).
In general, the early Campanian in the Russian Pacific region was characterised by a high diversity of diplomoceratids, pachydiscids, gaudryceratids, and tetragonitids (Fig. 3). The two last-named families are not only diverse but also greatly abundant. This was a fairly warm-water basin with normal salinity. Meanwhile, nearly seventy taxa of foraminifera, most of them benthic and stenobiontic, indicate a well-oxygenated basin, which also hosted new species of gastropod, inoceramid and non-inoceramid bivalves (Poyarkova 1987; Yazykova et al. 2002). Thus, during the early Campanian this basin was very conducive to the development of numerous marine biotic groups.
The end of the early Campanian was characterised by a relative fall in ammonite diversity, reflected in the disappearance of some heteromorphs and the last representatives of Menuites, and also a rise in inoceramid diversity, i.e., the appearance of the first radially ribbed Pennatoceramus providing evidence of higher energy in the basin, coupled with a rise in the abundance of foraminifera and a decrease in radiolarian abundance (Yazykova et al. 2002).
The late Campanian radiation bio-event.—The faunal impoverishment at the end of early Campanian was followed by a radiation at the start of the late Campanian (Figs. 2–4), which is well traceable from northeast Russia, through Sakhalin and Japan, and into Europe, for example, in southern Poland (EAJ-Y unpublished data). In the Russian Far East this level is marked by the onset of shallow-water facies with abundant ammonites, new morphotypes of inoceramids and new taxa of gastropods and non-inoceramid bivalves. Vishnevskaya (2009) noted remarkable taxonomic changes in early and late Campanian radiolarian associations, which may reflect environmental changes within the palaeobasins of Sakhalin, the Koryak Upland and Kamchatka; the highest diversity is found amongst benthic groups and some associated planktonic forms. Representatives of several macrofauna groups form coquina-like beds. In southern Poland, in sections in the Miechów area, the early—late Campanian interval is marked by a regressive hardground surface and the early Campanian is characterised by an abundance of fossils (Jagt et al. 2004). The biotic event(s) at the early—late Campanian level in different regions of the world may constitute a good correlative marker level, but is (are) in need of further study. Similar features can be seen at this level in British Columbia (Canada) and Alaska (Ward 1978; Haggart et al. 2009). On the other hand, the late Campanian time slice was a period of general reduction in taxonomic diversity amongst heteromorphs in Russian Pacific regions (Fig. 3).
The latest Campanian regression and temperature drop (Fig. 4) caused the gradual disappearance of all taxa amongst inoceramids and ammonites typical of this interval, with the exception of a few rare occurrences at the base of the Maastrichtian. Kirillova (2003) noted the onset of tectonic activity near the end of the late Campanian which resulted in an overall uplift of the whole region with the new regression-transgression pulse. Moreover, some cooling effect at this time, which has been documented in the North Atlantic (Linnert and Mutterlose 2009) and also in the Pacific (Zakharov et al. 1999, 2005), led to changes in oceanic circulation and caused climatic oscillations. A reduction of diversity and a slow recovery in the early Maastrichtian have also been recorded for benthic foraminiferal assemblages (Kalishevich et al. 1981; Turenko in Poyarkova 1987); this bio-event could be correlated with the late Campanian benthic extinction regional event (Fig. 4) described by Kauffmann and Hart (1995).
The Campanian—Maastrichtian faunal turnover.—The Russian Pacific coast is characterised by a relatively wide-spread distribution of Maastrichtian sedimentary rocks. They have been studied not only in Sakhalin and northeast Russia, but also in Shikotan Island, the smallest island of the southern Kuril Ridge. The disappearance of most Campanian ammonites and inoceramids, noted above, and the first occurrence of Pachydiscus (P.) subcompressus Matsumoto, 1959 and P. (Neodesmocerus) japonicus (Matsumoto, 1947), both widely distributed Pacific species (Yazykova 2004) are the criteria for placement of this boundary. This is supported by data on inoceramids and radiolarians (Palechek et al. 2008), this level being matched by a similar horizon in Japan (Toshimitsu et al. 1995). In total, twenty-two new taxa appeared in the early Maastrichtian, mainly pachydiscids and gaudryceratids (Fig. 3). General ammonite diversity is lower even than during the late Campanian but still comparatively high (Fig. 2).
The mid-Maastrichtian reduction bio-event.—Around 50% of ammonite taxa became extinct at this time, and this holds true for almost all inoceramids as well. The last representatives of the Tetragonitidae and Kossmaticeratidae, and, probably, also the Baculitidae have been found in the latest early Maastrichtian. A slight increase in temperature was recorded by Zakharov et al. (1999). This bio-event can be correlated (Fig. 4) with the 68 Ma extinction bio-event of Kauffmann and Hart (1995).
The late Maastrichtian radiation bio-event.—The global late Maastrichtian transgression triggered maximum diversity in the families Pachydiscidae, Phylloceratidae, and Gaudryceratidae (Fig. 3 here; Hirano et al. 2000; Yazykova 2004), and during the same time, the northern Pacific ammonites again witnessed a “surge” of new taxa. In contrast, inoceramids did not recover after the decimation noted above. Some Russian Pacific ammonite species are immigrants from the European and Mediterranean realms, e.g., Pseudophyllites indra (Forbes, 1846) and Zelundites vuruna (Forbes, 1846). The subgenus Hypophylloceras (Neophylloceras) is represented by the new H. (N.) hetonaiense Matsumoto, 1942 and H. (N.) victriense Shigeta and Maeda, 2005, alongside the long-lived H. (N.) ramosum (Meek, 1857). The gaudryceratids comprised nine endemic species: Anaguudrycerus matsumotoi Morozumi, 1985; A. seymouriense Macellari, 1986; Gaudryceras venustum Matsumoto, 1984; G. denmanense (Whiteaves, 1901); G. tombetsense Matsumoto, 1984; G. cf. tombetsense Matsumoto, 1984; G. hamanakense Matsumoto and Yoshida, 1979; G. makarovense Shigeta and Maeda, 2005; and Zelandites juponicus Matsumoto, 1938. The last kossmaticeratid, Brahmaites (Subbrahmaites) sachalinensis Yabe and Shimizu, 1924, probably was a demersal taxon. The family Pachydiscidae is highly diverse, with four new species of P. (Pachydiscus) and two new species of a new subgenus, P. (Neodesmoceras), plus new species of Patagiosites and Pseudomenuites. Heteromorphs are represented by species of Diplomocerus, Neancyloceras, Nostocerus (Didymoceras), and Glyptoxocerus.
The Cretaceous—Paleogene mass extinction event.—The Cretaceous—Paleogene boundary in the Russian Pacific region was characterised by a global regression and strong volcanic activity with drastic environmental changes; these are here reflected in the total extinction of ammonites and inoceramid bivalves, and by some remarkable changes in other groups of organisms (Kalishevich et al. 1981; Turenko in Poyarkova 1987; Zonova et al. 1993; Yazikova 1994; Yazykova 2004; Jagt-Yazykova 2011).
In Sakhalin the youngest ammonites were found almost 2 m below the Maastrichtian—Paleogene boundary along the River Krasnoyarka (Naiba River Valley). These are numerous representatives of small-sized Zelandites (Zonova et al. 1993; Yazikova 1994) and one poorly preserved Gaudrycerus. Wiedmann and Kullmann (1996: 807) suggested that, “just eight genera are recorded 15 meters (∼150 000 years) below the boundary” at the “two most complete boundary sections, Zumaya and Hendaye”, that is, Neophyllocerus, Gaudryceras, Saghalinites, Pseudophyllites, Vertebrites, Anapachydiscus, Pachydiscus, and Diplomocerus. To these records I here add the Naiba section in Sakhalin, because, with the exception of Vertebrites and Anapachydiscus, all genera listed above have also been recorded here from the latest Maastrichtian. In addition, numerous individuals of Zelundites juponicus Matsumoto, 1938 and a single specimen of Gaudrycerus hamanakense (Matsumoto and Yoshida, 1979) have been collected by myself about 2 m (∼20 000 years) below the Cretaceous—-Paleogene boundary.
Ammonite evolution dynamics during the mid-and Late Cretaceous along the Russian Pacific coast reflected periods of crisis and bloom (radiation and recovery) as well as other bio-events. The majority of these probably have a global character and could possibly be used for correlation. In the Far East Russian sections the following bio-events have been recorded: the late Albian migration bio-event; Albian—Cenomanian faunal turnover bio-event; mid-Cenomanian Turrilites event; Cenomanian—Turonian boundary extinction bioevent; mid-Turonian Scaphites facies bio-event; mid—late Turonian boundary bio-event; Turonian—Coniacian faunal turnover bio-event; Coniacian—Santonian faunal turnover bio-event; late Santonian heteromorph facies bio-event; Santonian—Campanian faunal turnover bio-event; late Campanian radiation bio-event; Campanian—Maastrichtian faunal turnover bio-event; mid-Maastrichtian reduction bio-event and late Maastrichtian radiation event; Cretaceous—Paleogene mass extinction bio-event (Figs. 2, 4).
Moreover, studies of ammonite evolution and phylogeny in the Russian Pacific region show that recovery after environmental stress usually was rapid enough within this faunal group and a subsequent radiation event invariably followed. It seems that ammonites were characterised by rapid evolutionary rates and a wide range of morphologies which reflect a marked degree of environmental adaptation. This group existed for over 300 million years and likely would not be driven to extinction merely by cooling, anoxia or volcanic eruptive phases. Such kind of “drawbacks” were successfully dealt with. Stress suffered across the Cretaceous—-Paleogene boundary had to be really strong and relatively sudden, and probably comprised all detrimental factors taken together, including high concentrations of toxic gases in the atmosphere and dissolved in ocean water. Such an event could only have been triggered by an impact or even multiple impacts, followed by hypercanes and giant tsunamis, widespread wildfires, plus intensified tectonic and volcanic activity, probably across the globe.
The present paper constitutes a small portion of my PhD thesis, which was successfully defended at the Free University Amsterdam in May 2010. One of the committee members was Professor William J. Kennedy (formerly at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, UK; now retired). I have taken his extremely detailed comments into consideration and, once again, wish to acknowledge his help. I also would like to thank the journal reviewers, Seiichi Toshimitsu (Geological Survey of Japan, Tokyo, Japan), James W. Haggart (Geological Survey of Canada, Vancouver, Canada), and Christina Ifrim (Institut für Geowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany), for useful comments. My warm thanks are also going to John W.M. Jagt (Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, the Netherlands), for linguistic correction and permanent support. Lastly, I wish to thank my aunt, and first teacher of palaeontology, Tatjana D. Zonova (VNIGRI, Sankt Peterburg, Russia), who has co-authored numerous papers and who has permanently supported me in my research endeavours.


text:
Description of Spermy's Journey
Be careful along the way, you may run into some obstacles (spermicide and white blood cells) that can slow you down or decrease some of your stamina.
The game takes a skilled master to maneuver their way through the tubes to reach the egg.
* 36 levels to choose from with increasing difficulty.
* 5 Different sperm characters
* Obstacles (spermicide and white blood cells)
* Power Ups - Increase Speed, Increase Stamina, Invincibility
* Collect Coins along the way
* Leaderboards and Achievements
This is the latest reproduction sperm game out there and it is going to be fun!

domain: game


text:
Good Morning, Sketchers! It's time for another fabulous sketch from Sketch Saturday and this week it's Cathy's DT week and she has a fantastic sponsor for you today.
This week's prize is a $12 gift certificate to use at A Day for Daisies. What a fabulous prize this is!
Cathy created Sketch #295 for us to use this week:
And here's my take on it, using Sleeping Flower from A Day for Daisies. This is such a sweet little fairy!
Stamps: Sleeping Flower from A Day For Daisies, Express Yourself from Stampin' Up
Papers: Perfect Plum, Gumball Green both from Stampin' Up, Copic X-Press It Blending Card, Promises Patterned Papers from Lili of the Valley
Inks: Perfect Plum from Stampin' Up, Copic Markers
Accessories: Ornate Frame Stamping, Embossing and Die Cutting Set from Couture Creations, Gems from stash
Skin - E000, E00, E01
Hair - E40, E42, E43
Flower - BV00, BV02, BV04
Wings - V91, V93, V95
Dress - YG61, YG63
Stem - YG17, YG67
Dots - BG10, BG11, BG13
And that's all from me for this post folks! Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to pop on over to the Sketch Saturday Challenge blog and check out all the other gorgeous cards from the DT and join in the fun too!

domain: artistic


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TV Judge Joe Brown Is Heading To Jail
Former syndicated TV Judge Joe Brown reportedly surrendered to Memphis law enforcement officials this afternoon and began serving a five-day term behind bars for contempt of court.
In March, 2014, while representing a client in court, Judge Brown challenged the authority of a juvenile court judge, who ordered him arrested for contempt. He was released on his own recognizance later that day, and the case has been pending since then while Brown appealed the sanction all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which ultimately declined to hear the appeal earlier this month.
The judge will serve his sentence at the Shelby County Corrections Center, the Fox News Memphis affiliate explained. Brown is apparently being held in what amounts to solitary confinement to protect him from other inmates, the station added.
Brown was appearing before Magistrate Harold Horne when things went sideways in the incident last year that led to the contempt charge.
In alluding the famous final scene of the movie …And Justice for All, TMZ reported that “Joe was acting as a lawyer in March 2014 — representing someone in a child support case. When he showed up in court and the clerk informed him they had no record of the case, he lost it, screaming Al Pacino style.”
Some observers at the time claimed that the courtroom episode was cooked up as a publicity stunt for Brown’s political campaign to become the Memphis-based Shelby County District Attorney.
The star of Judge Joe Brown, a Democrat, went on to lose the election to incumbent prosecutor Amy Weirich, a Republican, in a landslide, however.
CBS canceled Judge Joe Brown’s self-named television show in 2013 after 17 seasons, apparently owing to a salary dispute in contract negotiations along with declining ratings. Originally from Los Angeles, Brown was a sitting criminal court judge in Memphis when he was discovered by the producers behind Judge Judy.
Ex-Judge Brown, 68, issued the following statement today according to WMC Action 5 News in Memphis.
“I will not apologize for vigorously defending my client and demanding that the court follow the law. What I saw was a miscarriage of justice and I did what needed to be done. I will serve the time and I will continue stand up and speak out for justice as I have done throughout my 40-year legal career. When our courts don’t follow the rule of law, justice is in jeopardy for everyone. Thank you to all of my supporters. Your prayers and well wishes are appreciated.”
In August, 2013, Judge Joe Brown — or someone who closely resembled him and who appeared to have consumed a few adult beverages — was filmed in a Hollywood hotel lobby providing freewheeling commentary on a variety of subjects.
[Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images Entertainment]

domain: law


text:
Garikai Fadzi and Moses Matenga
HARARE – Zanu PF Presidential candidate Emerson Mnangagwa is facing a fresh headache after some of the members who lost in the party primary elections defied his order and opted to stand as independent candidates ahead of the July 30 harmonised elections.
Mnangagwa has already expressed fear that some elements within the establishment were keen on destabilising the party and plotting to impeach him if they win. He has however warned the plotters that they will not win in their quest.
It emerged that in Manicaland, Zanu PF losing candidates filed their papers as independents when the Nomination Court sat today. This is in spite of a previous warning from the party’s leaders that members who stand as independent candidates automatically get expelled from the party.
In Manicaland, Batsirai Pemhanayi, outgoing Zanu PF MP for the area filed his papers an independent candidate for Mutare North and will face party provincial chairperson Mike Madiro. Both will face Agrippa Masiyakurima, better known as Bopela who filed his papers under the National Patriotic Front
In Nyanga, losing candidate, Talent Kadzima, daughter of the Gender Commission deputy chairperson Paul Kadzima, also filed to stand as an independent candidate.
On the eve of the nomination court, Zanu PF Matabeleland South Provincial Co-Coordinating Committee (PCC) drafted its own list of candidates for the 2018 harmonised elections after unanimously rejecting a document from the national commissariat citing irregularities.
Meanwhile, there was drama at the presidential nomination sitting with a number of pretenders either failing to garner the necessary signatures or lacking the $1000 required to file papers.
First, to hit the brick wall was Peter Gava of the United Democratic Front who did not get the required signatures. “In Manicaland, l came short of two signatures, in Mashonaland Central l came short of one, Mashonaland East, l came short of one, in Mashonaland West, l came short of five in Masvingo l missed five and finally in Matabeleland South l came short of five,” he said.
Henry Mutasa, the president of the Kambizi Party failed to raise the required $1000 for nomination.
“l have 12 signatures from each province. I also have colored passport-sized photographs have an original national identity card plus two photocopies. Everything is there. What is missing is the money,” said Kambizi.
Musician and stone sculptor, Brian Taurayi Mteki of the “Nora” fame registered as an independent candidate. He says he will not be on the campaign trail. “It’s done. I am now going home until election day,” he said.
National Constitutional Assembly leader, who is also MDC-T Thokozani Khupe faction lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku successfully, filed his papers for the Presidency.
A record 23 candidates, yesterday, successfully filed nomination papers to contest as presidential candidates in the July 30 harmonised elections.
Four women, Joice Mujuru of the People’s Rainbow Party, Thokozani Khupe of MDC-T, Violet Mariyacha United Democracy Movement and Melbah Dzepasi of #1980 Freedom Movement Zimbabwe are this year’s female presidential candidates.
Perennial presidential aspirant Egypt Dzinemunhenzva, who in April, claimed he had raised the $1000, filed as member of parliament for Wedza.

domain: politics


Joined: Apr 5, 2023
Jack grew up in the Washington, DC area and attended Butler University, graduating with a Sports Media and Digital Media Production degree. Jack kicked off his writing career in 2020 as a sports reporter for Butler’s student-run newspaper, covering a wide variety of sports. In his younger years, he raced indoor karts in a competitive league and developed a love for speed. Jack has been a NASCAR fan since he was very young and is a wealth of information on the drivers, teams, tracks and races. Jack joined the Beyond the Flags team in 2023 and covers all things NASCAR & Indycar.


text:
|About this Recording
8.570202 - Violin Recital: Sohn, Livia - HUBAY, J. / RAFF, J. / PAGANINI, N. / LALO, E. / STRAVINSKY, I. (Opera Fantasies for Violin, Vol. 1)
Opera Fantasies for Violin
The nineteenth century brought astonishing developments in instrumental skill, marking, with Paganini and his innovations in violin technique, the true age of the virtuoso. Earlier periods had seen great performers, but it was now combined with changes in technique that made feasible feats of dexterity that would have previously been impossible.
A continuing element in virtuoso performance was the operatic fantasy, the presentation of themes taken from current operas, in new guises. Contemporary composers have continued this practice, making effective additions to this repertoire.
Born in Pest in 1858, the violinist, composer and teacher Jenő Hubay had his first violin lessons from his father, before studying with Joachim in Berlin. He returned to Hungary, but was advised by Liszt to try his luck in Paris, where he was well received and became a close friend of Vieuxtemps, whom he subsequently succeeded at the Brussels Conservatoire. His later career took him back to Budapest, where he taught a number of violinists who won later distinction, including Joseph Szigeti. He continued travelling as a virtuoso, played chamber music in a quartet with the cellist David Popper, and later became director of the Budapest Music Academy. Hubay also distinguished himself as a composer, an aspect of his career now largely neglected. His compositions included operas, two symphonies, concertos for viola and for violin, and varied chamber music. His Fantaisie brillante on Bizet's Carmen, Op. 3, No. 3, was written in 1877. Demanding considerable technical proficiency, it opens with the theme of Carmen's fate, and includes Micaela's Act III aria, Carmen's Habanera and the Toreador's song and march, all variously embellished.
Musical reputations are fragile. Joachim Raff is now remembered principally as the composer of a Cavatina, a salon piece, and as an assistant to Liszt in Weimar, little more than a footnote in the history of the symphonic poem. In his own time he enjoyed a very considerable renown, justified, it seemed, by a prolific talent and by his distinction as a teacher. Raff was born in Lachen, near Zurich, in 1822. His early musical ambitions were helped by Mendelssohn and then by Liszt, whose assistant he became at Weimar, working on the orchestration of Liszt's earlier symphonic poems, in the creation of which he claimed a larger share than was perhaps justified. In 1856, tired of a subordinate position in Weimar as one of the group of acolytes that attended on Liszt and unhappy in his relationship with Liszt's blue-stocking mistress, the Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, Raff left for Wiesbaden, in 1877 moving to Frankfurt, where he was appointed director of the Hoch Conservatory. He remained in Frankfurt until his death in 1882. His Three Duos on themes from operas by Richard Wagner, Op. 63, were written in 1853. The third of these takes themes from Lohengrin, which he would have seen at its first staging under Liszt in Weimar in 1850. The theme that dominates the third Duo is that of the famous Wedding March.
The arrangement of Parasha's Aria from Stravinsky's Mavra is by the Polish-born Samuel Dushkin, who had moved to America with his family at the age of twelve. With the help of a benefactor he studied the violin in Paris, and then in New York with Leopold Auer and Fritz Kreisler. He started his concert career in Europe in 1918, making his American début in 1924. He made a number of transcriptions for the violin and collaborated with Stravinsky on matters of violin technique in the latter's Violin Concerto and Duo Concertante, and, most notably, on a series of arrangements, joining him in concert tours. Stravinsky's Mavra, based on a narrative poem by Pushkin, was first staged in 1922 in Paris. The plot deals with the subterfuge by which Parasha smuggles her lover into the house in the guise of a cook, Mavra. The Chanson russe is an imitation folk-song, based on a transcription by Pushkin and variously arranged by Stravinsky and others.
Paganini's popular reputation rested always on his phenomenal technique as a violinist, coupled with a showman's ability to dominate an audience and to stupefy those who heard him by astonishing feats of virtuosity. His playing served as an inspiration to other performers in the nineteenth century, suggesting to Chopin, in Warsaw, the piano Etudes, and to Liszt the material of the Paganini studies that he wrote in 1838. The very appearance of Paganini impressed people. His gaunt, aquiline features, his suggestion of hunched shoulders and his sombre clothing gave rise to legends of association with the Devil, the alleged source of his power. These stories were denied by Paganini himself, who, with characteristic understanding of the value of public relations in a more credulous age, told of an angelic visitation to his mother, in a dream, foretelling his birth and genius. His sensational international career started in 1828, when he was able to dazzle audiences throughout Europe. He may well have met Rossini in Milan in 1813, and certainly was in his company in Bologna in 1819, the date of the Introduction and Variations on 'Di tanti palpiti' from Rossini's opera 'Tancredi', Op. 13. The opera Tancredi, based on a tragedy by Voltaire, was first staged in Venice in 1813. The cavatina 'Di tanti palpiti' finds the hero Tancredi returning secretly from exile, at the invitation of his beloved Amenaide. It won immediate popularity. Paganini's variations, for which he himself, as elsewhere, used a violin tuned a semitone higher, start with an introduction, leading to the statement of the theme. The first variation opens with a display of thirds, leading to later triple-stopping. The second variation, an Adagio, makes much play with chords in harmonics. This leads to a rapider final section, bringing a brilliant display of Paganini's technique of left-hand pizzicato.
The French composer Edouard Lalo's opera Le roi d'Ys (The King of Ys) had its first performance in Paris in 1888. The plot is based on a Breton legend in which the king's daughter, Margared, disappointed in love, plans, in revenge, to open the sluice gates and inundate the city of Ys. Her final repentance saves the city. In the third act Mylio, beloved of Margared, but now about to marry her sister, Rozenn, sings an Aubade, Vainement, ma bien-aimée (In vain, my beloved), to which Rozenn lovingly responds. The Hungarian-born violinist Joseph Szigeti, a pupil of Hubay and at first a child virtuoso, in 1940 settled in the United States, continuing his successful international career after the war. His simple transcription of Lalo's Aubade seemingly owes its inspiration to the singing of Nellie Melba, with whom Szigeti, in the early days of his career, collaborated in concert tours.
Osvaldo Golijov was born in 1960 in La Plata, Argentina. He moved to Israel in 1983 to attend the Jerusalem Rubin Academy, and in 1986 to the United States for doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Golijov has received numerous commissions from major ensembles and institutions in America and Europe. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and several other awards, and collaborates closely with leading musicians and orchestras in the United States. His opera Ainadamar was staged by the director Peter Sellars at the Santa Fe Opera and Lincoln Center. Ainadamar tells the story of the great Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca and the actress Margarita Xirgu, who collaborated with Lorca on several of his most famous plays. Lorca was executed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 at a place the Moors called Ainadamar, or Fountain of Tears, in Granada. He was 38 years old.
'Desde mi ventana' (From my window) is the first solo aria that Lorca sings in the opera. In it Margarita is having a flashback to when Lorca is singing to the statue of the Spanish heroine Mariana Pineda, whom he saw as a child in Granada. Pineda was discovered with a revolutionary flag during a search of her house, and was arrested and accused of conspiracy. After refusing to reveal the names of the revolutionary leaders in exchange for leniency, she was publicly executed in 1831. In this arrangement, the first violin takes the melancholy line of Lorca, sung by a mezzo-soprano in the opera. Another voice, taken here by the second violin, that of his beloved friend and creative soulmate Margarita, joins him from afar and brings his haunting song and her nostalgic line together as they sing and sigh as one voice to the end. Ainadamar was commissioned by the Boston Symphony and received its world première at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music on 10 August 2003. The 2006 recording of the opera by Deutsche Grammophon won two Grammy awards, as Best Opera Recording and Best Contemporary Composition. Arranged by the composer and Stephen Prutsman, this is the first transcription from this opera.
Livia Sohn / Osvaldo Golijov
In the late 1920s and early 1930s a cultural epidemic swept Germany and other susceptible parts of the world. It was called "Threepenny fever". The immediate catalyst was the tumultuous, epoch-defining première production of Kurt Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) that took place in Berlin in August 1928. Other symptoms included the remarkable variety of spin-offs spawned by the show, from popular jazz-band arrangements to sheet music for the amateur pianist that were issued as supplements to daily newspapers. The composer himself raised the fever to a new level by arranging songs from his own opera as an instrumental suite for wind ensemble; he called it Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. Conceived in the spirit of the eighteenth-century wind serenade known as Harmoniemusik (Weill's Eine kleine Nachtmusik original German title also alludes to a specific piece, namely Mozart's), the "Little Threepenny Music" was first performed under the direction of Otto Klemperer at the Berlin State Opera Ball in January 1929.
The Seven Pieces for Violin, arranged by violin virtuoso Stefan Frenkel, followed in the wake of Weill's suite. Born in 1902, two years after Weill, Frenkel was a child prodigy and made his public début in his native Warsaw with a performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto when he was sixteen. After studies with Adolf Busch and Carl Flesch in Berlin, he was appointed concertmaster of the Dresden Philharmonic at the age of 22. His solo career included numerous works by contemporary composers, among them Weill's Violin Concerto. Because of the Nazis' anti-Semitic policies, however, he left Germany and, like Weill, eventually emigrated to the United States, where he became concertmaster at the New York Metropolitan Opera and later taught at Princeton University.
These technically very demanding arrangements of songs from The Threepenny Opera for violin provide the performer with a dazzling showpiece in the nineteenth-century virtuoso tradition of Paganini and Liszt. Frenkel himself gave the first public performance in 1930. He also prepared a separate "simplified edition", which omits all the pyrotechnics and was intended to meet the needs of the many amateur violinists gripped by "Threepenny Fever". The first of the seven pieces, here included in the virtuoso version, follows the example of Weill's own suite by combining two songs: Das Lied von der Unzulänglichkeit menschlichen Strebens (The Song of Human Insufficiency) and the perennially popular Ballad of Mack the Knife. The pairing no doubt suggested itself to the composer because the melodies have in common the same initial three notes, albeit in a different sequence.
© Stephen Hinton
Stephen Prutsman's Fantasy Extract on Themes from Der Rosenkavalier, here recorded for the first time, may be described as a condensed depiction of the opera itself. It offers a potpourri of motifs which are freely sewn together, together with a hidden salute to Strauss's Violin Sonata, and reflects in miniature the opening of each of the three gigantic acts, providing a loose framework from which themes are heard. Numerous recognisable melodies abound such as the opening overture, the Silver Rose theme in Act II, familiar and not so familiar waltzes, and the trio 'Hab' mir's gelobt' from Act III.
Apart from excerpts from Carmen, the Act I duet 'Au fond du temple saint'for Nadir and Zurga from Les pêcheurs de perles is Bizet's most famous vocal work. In the duet, Zurga and Nadir are old friends now reunited, remembering Leila, a woman they both loved, how that competitive love threatened to destroy their friendship and how they each forsook their love in order to remain best friends until death. The close harmony and similarly passionate melodic lines reflect the shared emotion of the two men. Leila, of course, reappears soon after, and their friendship is eventually destroyed by the broken promise to forswear her. This transcription remains close to the original vocal lines, concentrating on capturing the lyrical spirit, only adding a few flourishes to some entrances. The range and timbral relationship of the tenor and baritone voices are perfectly translated for violin and viola.
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domain: library


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[ Post a Response | GraniteCityGossip ]
Re: New tax
Posted by Wally Bunker on March 14, 2017, 6:51 pm, in reply to "Re: New tax"
A good Chicago Democrat would tax people that dont have tattoos because its unfair that the people with tattoos spent money for them and are poor because of it. Somebody has to pick up the slack.
Those that would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Crime is a reflection of culture, NOT gun ownership.

domain: sociology


text:
Dead God Land Zombie Games MOD APK Mega Menu Money Max Lv
Dead Island Mod APK is an intense survival game that emphasizes crafting, scavenging, and constant combat to improve your quality of life and find a hope of escape. The game has a huge amount of game content to entertain you and hundreds of innovative locations to keep you excited to explore and manage resources efficiently. The post-apocalyptic zombie survival element will be taken to the next level in this game due to continuous expansion in content and gameplay to provide entertainment. The highlight is the complex and intensive crafting system, with countless variations and components to keep the players interested.
This also includes an expansion of the equipment and crafting system, with many new items appearing regularly to offer the best gaming experience in the zombie survival genre. In addition, the graphic element plays an important role in the design of the setting, environment and landscape, giving an eerie atmosphere and making everyone’s adventures more real. If you are interested in a zombie survival genre with lots of interesting things to explore or enjoy, the game promises to satisfy you and bring huge welcome surprises.
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1. Tap the downloaded Dead God Land Zombie Games MOD APK Mega Menu Money Max Lv 0.0.0163 APK file.
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3. Follow the steps on the screen.
So, in this update, you will see the following:
1. A new series of quests.
2. New settings menu. Now you can change the name of the player in the game and adjust the camera's field of view.
3. In the quests where you need to bring something, we made a visualization of the necessary items in the form of pictures. This should make the quest easier to complete.
4. We also fixed a number of bugs.

domain: entertainment


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Across the NFL this month, players with Alabama football roots have been spreading Christmas cheer with charitable events and projects. The coronavirus pandemic has prevented the communal gatherings that have marked some of programs of the past, but it hasn’t prevented the players from state high schools and colleges from undertaking a variety of outreach initiatives to help those in need during the holidays.
Out of the many programs, Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills might have made the biggest splash of the season. Working with the Browns and the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, the rookie from Alabama held Jedrick’s Winter Blast on Tuesday.
During the event, Wills presented Lois Brown with a new car. She worked in guest services for the NFL team, but her job became a casualty of the pandemic. She has retrained for work in health-services in the Urban League’s workforce development program.
Wills also provided Christmas gifts for the Butler family, recent victims of a house fire, including $10,000 to cover their rent for 2021.
Five other families also will have a merrier Christmas because of Wills’ contributions.
On his Instagram account, Wills wrote: “I want to thank God and @clevelandbrowns for allowing me to have the opportunity to host a life-changing charity event. I can’t wait to continue giving back to the community and more! I wish everyone a merry Christmas.”
Wills joined the Browns as the 10th player picked in the NFL Draft on April 23. He has started every game this season at left offensive tackle and has played 896 of Cleveland’s 918 offensive snaps this season.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

domain: news


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domain: hobby


Bowing to pressure from the likes of CNN’s Brian Stelter, NBC Nightly News pivoted on Tuesday to condemn the President’s behavior toward Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) as “racist” and, along with ABC’s World News Tonight, shame Republicans for not being as anti-Trump as Democrats.
Late Monday afternoon to the delight of their minions at outlets like CNN and MSNBC, Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) hosted a press conference that simultaneously warned against taking the President’s bait in focusing on his Sunday tweets criticizing them while also doubling down on their anti-Semitic, far-left agenda. Not surprisingly, two of the three questions expressed concern on their behalf.
Ahead of a U.S. appeals court in New Orleans hearing arguments in a Republican-led lawsuit against ObamaCare on Tuesday, the media scared viewers by warning that if the Affordable Care Act was deemed unconstitutional it “could wipe out coverage for millions of Americans.” Reporters therefore predicted that if ObamaCare was struck down it would cause the GOP to “lose big politically” in the 2020 election.
On Good Morning America Tuesday, the ABC news team behaved as if they were Democrats’ collective lawyer, trying to defend and justify the reasons why Democrats won’t funder border detention facilities. After fretting over the poor conditions at these detention centers, congressional correspondent Mary Bruce and anchor George Stephanopoulos went out of their way to defend Democrats and blame President Trump for the lack of funding.
President Trump reportedly called off last weekend’s planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids as part of a strategy to ratchet up the pressure on congressional Democrats to change the country’s asylum laws. But Monday’s evening newscasts of ABC and NBC gave the credit to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) because she claimed she told the President he was “scaring the children of America” with the raids.
With almost a year and a half to go until the 2020 general election, Tuesday’s editions of ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS Evening News showed that the media didn’t learn anything from 2016. Nearly two weeks ahead of the first Democratic Party debate, both broadcast networks boasted about former Vice President Joe Biden’s 13-point national lead against President Trump.
There were apparently still a few Democrats that refused to promote the barbaric act of abortion. During their Monday evening newscasts, ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News seemed irritated that Democrats in the state of Louisiana were set to enact their own heartbeat law, effectively keeping up momentum for the pro-life legislation sweeping the country.
On Monday, all three network morning shows ran with the narrative that President Trump and other Republicans were fearing a “voter backlash” ahead of the 2020 election in the wake of “extreme” pro-life legislation being enacted by states across the country. At no point in any of the coverage did the NBC, ABC, or CBS journalists suggest that Democrats might look too extreme in their support for abortion.
After his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, congressional Democrats and the liberal media were in sync as they accused Attorney General William Barr of lying to Congress. During Thursday’s evening newscasts, ABC and CBS seemed excited by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) standing before the press and calling Barr a criminal.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was in western Pennsylvania on Monday visiting union workers for his campaign’s first rally. The liberal media that had stopped running President Trump’s campaign rallies live did the opposite for Uncle Joe. During Monday’s World News Tonight, ABC News hyped the event and bragged about how Biden was “getting under the President's skin.”
With the Thursday release of the Special Counsel report reiterating that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and at least partially explaining why there was no charge on obstruction, the next concern for ABC and CBS was the status of Democratic efforts to impeach the President.
Hours before Attorney General William Barr was set hold a press conference at the Justice Department ahead of the public release of the Mueller report, all three network morning shows hyped Democratic talking points preemptively trashing the presser and accusing Barr of just doing President Trump’s “partisan bidding.”


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- Admissions & Aid
- Life at The Boro
- About Us
- Information For...
Edinboro University promotes an inclusive environment that supports the academic, cultural, and personal growth of all members of the University community. Edinboro University values the richness of diversity and believes that the intentional recruitment, retention, and accommodation of individuals who differ and are similar broadens and deepens the educational experience and the scholarly environment. By respecting pluralistic perceptions, and continuously assessing and monitoring the campuses and community environments, the Edinboro University community will foster open communication as students, faculty, staff and community learn to interact effectively with one another, creating and sustaining a supportive and respectful climate. Edinboro University is committed to ensuring compliance with all Title IX, the Clery Act, and CampusSaVE requirements in order to provide safe and equitable educational opportunities for all students. Edinboro University is an equal opportunity educational institution and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, veteran status, sex, sexual orientation and disability in its activities, programs, or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, ADEA and the ADA.
For information regarding civil rights or grievance procedures and for inquiries concerning the application of Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, ADEA, the ADA and its implementing regulation, please contact:
Andrew Matt, JD
Title IX Coordinator and Investigator
213 Reeder Hall
Additionally, inquiries concerning Title IX and its implementing regulation can be made to
The U.S. Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights, Region III, The Wanamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East - Suite 505
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania is committed to ensuring compliance with all federal
laws in order to provide safe and equitable educational opportunities, work environment
and campus activities for all of our students, staff, faculty and guests.
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion serves as a catalyst in creating a climate that promotes civility, respect and sensitivity in the Edinboro community.
Edinboro University offers a variety of programs and services that support diversity, student success and leadership opportunities. We invite you to participate in diverse extracurricular, co-curricular and curricular programs that promote multicultural education and provide venues for social action, service and collaborative endeavors.
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion seeks to identify and eliminate barriers to an equitable and diverse environment. Our goal is for all students, faculty and staff to develop understanding and foster awareness of different cultures, languages and peoples.
At Edinboro, inclusion is about recognizing, accepting and celebrating differences
within our campus and surrounding communities. The CDI believes that by providing
a space for students to explore their multiple identities and learn about the backgrounds
and experiences of others, we can all create a culture of inclusion and equity here
on campus and beyond. We are here to help you celebrate your unique contributions
to this wonderfully complex society, while recognizing equal value in the contributions
of others. Perhaps most importantly, we challenge you to think critically and become
leaders in resolving the world's toughest issues related to diversity.
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion
Frank G. Pogue Student Center
405 Scotland Road
Edinboro, PA 16444
Dr. Terrence Mitchell
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Frank G. Pogue Student Center, Suite 213


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The annual benefit known as Dance for Life not only raises money for AIDS, but brings the dance community together in an annual ritual celebrating life and art.
Now 12 years old, it has also acquired a handful of regular features, a familiarity breeding contentment. Besides the participation of major dance troupes, the event, held Saturday at the Skyline Stage at Navy Pier, always boasts an original work by Randy Duncan, one of the city's most beloved choreographers.
Duncan's pieces, starring an always-awesome pickup ensemble, are among the more exhilarating premieres on the yearly dance calendar. So it was again Saturday with "Sweet in the Morning," a fast-moving, passionate blast set to Bobby McFerrin's music.
In darker days, when AIDS headlines spelled more and more doom, Duncan used the occasion for unabashed paeans, set to the likes of pop gospel. Here there are hints that AIDS is slowly being conquered. "Sweet" radiates with the speedy spins and eye-catching solos at which Duncan's a master. But it also gleams with a subtle eroticism; it's a tribal work as much playful as tragic.
Other regular features continue to blossom, notably WGN radio's Dean Richards, the program's amiable host, who enacted a campy red-carpet entrance and a choice cameo as the human prop in Sherry Zunker's "The Man That Got Away," a gorgeous, leggy solo performed by Mari Jo Irbe.
That River North Chicago Dance Company offering, one of three set to old standards, is perfect example of the romance that seemed an accidental theme.
The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago's "Italian Suite" is a lush love-fest, a valentine delivered fetchingly by seductive Deborah Dawn.
Melissa Thodos & Dancers romped through her lovely "Transcend," a three-part ode turning on the manipulation of long, flowing white scarves, a soothing serenade of swirls and grace notes set to melodic vocals.
"Cor Perdut," Nacho Duato's piece performed by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, is one of the most layered, scintillating duets to come our way in a while.
"Cor Perdut" pulsates with detail and sharp acrobatics, provided beautifully by Shannon Alvis and Jamy Meek. And yet Duato's skillful stylistics disguise its speed and enwrap the duet in passion and solemnity: You'd swear it's an adagio.
Not to be neglected is Harrison McEldowney's annual mock ballet, ever funny and this year distinguished by a gangly gavotte performed by dancers pretending to be soused.


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I had occasion to reflect on personality and the influences of our personalities in our writing this past week. Particularly, I was thinking about how we see ourselves and how that differs from how others see us, and how our personalities are reflected in our everyday activities. In the case of writers, it is patently impossible to write without infusing the words with aspects of our personality in one form or another.
Personality is defined as those unique qualities that make up who we are. In my case, some of those qualities are my passion, my dedication, my
I have exciting news for you, our readers, today. For today, Paradise Publishers launches our newest venture: social publishing on Foboko.com. Foboko takes an innovative approach to writing and publishing with its super helpful, step-by-step wizard that takes you by the hand and shows you where and how to get started, and guides you through the whole book writing process up to and including publication.
With so many revolutionary changes in the eBook industry lately, we believe that our Foboko.com will fit right into this new era in indie publishing. We tip our hats to the pioneers such
As an editor at Free-eBooks.net, one of the things I do is to make sure that our eBooks meet certain standards. I have come across a few customer complaints and reviews that criticised the way the eBook looked in a particular format. And as we work to continually improve our services to our community, I wanted to research this thoroughly so that we can be confident that we offer the best quality to our readers as possible.
Publishing houses normally have a style guide that has explicit instructions on how to format a book for publication. One of
Today, I had the unexpected opportunity to speak to two indie authors about using social media to build buzz for their latest titles. I realized this morning that I had this conversation before and here I was having it again. It is no surprise that a lot of independent authors want to know how they can use social media to market their eBook[s].
Independent authors need to feel empowered and be knowledgeable when it comes to social media and how to use it. Self-publishing demands that you wear a lot of hats; one of those hats is marketing
“If you have a story that seems worth telling, and you think you can tell it worthily, then the thing for you to do is to tell it.”
~ Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of detective novels and a screenplay writer. He created one of the most well-known fictional detectives of the 30’s, Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.
Hammett gave himself permission to write. He believed in himself, his creativity and his story enough to tell it. The questions is, do you believe in yourself, your creativity and your story? If you do,

domain: literature


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Sunroom furniture ideas decorating sunrooms using a design that exquisite and easy building 1Sunroom
Sunroom Furniture Ideas Decorating Sunrooms
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Proud Factory Records knock-off. That's why they named themselves after a New Order song. 2 Swedes and a New Yorker; met in Berlin, "exiled" in Paris. Go figure.
"Drugs in My Body" has been kicking around since 2006, but their album Play Music just came out this year. This song and another good one you can descargar free from RCRD LBL.


U.S. antitrust regulators have ended their investigation into Bass Pro Shops' $4 billion deal to buy Cabela's, Cabela's said Wednesday.
Nebraska-based chain said the Federal Trade Commission signed off on
the deal earlier this week, but banking regulators still haven't
approved one part of the transaction.. . . more


The business development mission is now in Hong Kong, and will further continue to Shanghai and Beijing, a statement from Brammo reveals.
The US saw in China an ideal market for the expansion of its green technologies, as China's central government has made clean energy and energy efficiency strategic priorities. In the 11th Five-Year Plan the government has set targets to reduce energy intensity per unit of GDP by 20% as well as reduce emissions for major pollutants such as sulfur dioxides and carbon dioxide, by 10%.
The first product from Brammo to be brought to the Chinese market is the Enertia bike, which is currently in trial use with the Hong Kong Police and the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.
The first electric motorcycle launched by Brammo, the Enertia bike, is a 100% fully-electric motorcycle built in Ashland, Oregon, and it is currently on sale in the US at $7995. The bike has a top speed of over 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), a range of 42 miles (68 kilometers) and a charging time of about 4 hours.
The electric machine will be distributed in China by JCAM Advanced Mobility Company, a Hong Kong-based electric vehicle distribution company co-founded by megastar Jackie Chan.


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It is Springtime. The water spider in the river looks toward the five silhouettes on the river bank. From time to time, these silhouettes flow into each other; a leg vanishing into a knee, an arm into a back. Four children are walking in a straight line behind their mother. She lets her shoulders hang and wears a large straw hat which is fraying at the edges. The wind blows their jackets about.
“Come along, kids,” she says without turning, “we need to get everything back together.” The second-eldest daughter runs first in line behind her, running her fingers through her ponytail, a detail likely missed by the spiders. “I don’t want to anymore. I want to go home.” She sighs heavier than the river crashing against the bank.
Her younger sister’s skirt is covered in brown specks of mud. She doesn’t notice; she is distracted by the image of her mother’s hat against the dark purple evening sky, ignoring the mud slinking between her bare toes. Who wears sandals on a trip like this anyway? Taller than the rest, she stares over the Ponytail, holding her brother’s hand firmly.
The oldest daughter lags behind the line. Her left leg is longer than her right, causing her to walk with a limp. The doctor said that within a few years her right leg will have caught up with her left, but she didn’t appreciate the funny tone in his voice, and which wasn’t helped by the Hat laughing along. She got up and limped out of the doctor’s office so as not to have to bear seeing the stammering thanks of the Hat. “I’m just relieved,” she heard the Hat confide in him.
The onlooking spider keeps almost losing sight of the group, because the Hat is making swift progress. She wants to reach the lock at the end of the dyke before the sun sets, where the washed-up planks of wood have built up. Three planks should be enough to shore up against for a fair night’s rest. They will all begin rebuilding their hut the following morning.
The Hat climbs down the dyke and begins picking up the planks floating in the water. The sisters help each other and the Little One down. The slope is steep. It shimmers. “Watch your back, mother,” the Tall One remarks, concerned.
“I’m tired. I want to go to sleep.” The Ponytail lays on top of the dyke, and speaks as if blaming her family for her uncertain night’s rest, while she really only has the river to blame. “I don’t want to be here.”
The Limp rolls her eyes and takes the planks from her mother. The Tall One fishes for cutlery and a woollen scarf from the water and presses them in the Small One’s hands. “Don’t say that, sister. You don’t mean it. This is where we live.”
“I wish it wasn’t.”
“You would miss it.”
“I hate the river”.
The spider blushes at her words and wants to apologise to the river on behalf of the Ponytail. Were it not that her hatred for the river was so deep and sincere, those apologies would sound empty. Moreover, it would be ill-advised for a spider to interfere in human affairs. The Limp lifts the planks onto her shoulders and begins the journey back. The rest have quickly caught up to her, but decide not to disturb her, since they all get to carry much lighter things.
It is Springtime. The Tall one jolts awake with the crying of the Small one and jumps out of bed. She wades through the water toward her and lifts her onto her back. “Hold on tight.” Their mother’s straw hat floats beside them. She looks up and sees the Limp standing at the edge of the broken-open dyke, beckoning them to come back. She follows her lead, while the wind blasts her wet skin.
“Did you get my hat?” The Hat sits hatless in the grass beside the Limp. She chews gently on a blade of grass hanging from the corner of her mouth. The Ponytail sits five metres away, snapping little twigs in half. Here atop the dyke the family has a view of the gaping hole that the river has torn through the dyke this year. The river is bubbling with freshly discharged violence. A plank sinks beneath the surface.
“What awful luck,” says the Tall one hesitantly. The Hat scratches her head. “Chin up, dear. This is where we live.”
“Is there nothing we can do? The Little One has taken it so badly.”
“Rebuild,” answers the Limp abrasively. “That’s all we can do.”
“But don’t you wish things were different?”
The Ponytail stands up and cries, “I want to move!” She kicks the broken twigs into the air and the woodchips whirl down slowly, while the wind breaks her voice into pieces. The Hat is angry.
It is Springtime. Four figures carefully watch their footing, while the fifth is being carried. They walk upstream to get to know the river that has plagued them all these years. Their hut floats once again in pieces in the water. The Tall one wants to find out why the dyke is breaking more and more in the same place, through their place. The Hat grumbles to the Ponytail to hurry up, even though she is right behind her. The Tall one is glad that they are all together as a family under her watchful eye, and reaches for her mother’s hand. She only briefly squeezes her daughter’s fingers, then promptly lets go. With her teeth the Tall One bits the edge of her fingernail. The Ponytail looks at her, disgusted.
“What do you think it could be?”
The Tall One looks back at her. “I don’t know. I think that in the Spring, once everything has melted, the river suddenly has a lot more water to carry.”
“Everything here is a waste of time,” responds the Ponytail. “I want to leave.”
The Tall One bites a second nail, while she watches the Hat grab the Ponytail by her arm and hiss in her ear to stop being so rude, or else there’ll be trouble.
An alder leaf flies over. It sees the thunderstorm approaching, which will very shortly soak the family through to the bone. The leaf is not afraid of that wetness, and flies happily on into the darkness, somersaulting happily at the prospect. Charred by the first bolt of lightning, it disintegrates.
“Look for a tree, children. We need to take shelter.”
“A tree? Is that really a good idea?”
“In an open field you shouldn’t…”
“This isn’t an open field. Do what I say. Come, under that alder there.”
The other alder leaves are clearly less cheerful in life. They fear adventure, having seen it end in a flash for their brother. They grip tightly to their branches, trembling. The Hat holds the Small One close to her body to keep her warm. The whole family is soaked. The Hat’s long, loose hair sticks to her forehead. The Limp helps the Tall One and the Ponytail press against the bark of the tree, while the rain falls and turns the riverbank into a swamp. Channels of water appear in the mud, merging into each other and draining away into the river below.
The Ponytail curses this godforsaken river that has made her entire life so difficult. Watch her flow. Watch her grow. A brown-green snake slinking through the landscape, she swallows everything in her path. Widening her jaw, she eats calves without flinching, licking her mouth afterwards and growing an extra head. Why does she always blast through the same point in the dyke? The Tall One thinks of this as a question, but to the Ponytail, this is a simple fact. This is just what happens. Beware: Risk of being swallowed whole. Get out of here. But her family never wants to hear it.
It is Springtime. The Small One has drowned.
The Hat is now no longer made of reeds, but of black felt, to better match her black silk blouse. The Tall One had found the clothes in the second-hand shop in town. Reluctantly, the Hat had brought them this morning, her daughters having nodded approvingly. The Limp sits playing with a frog. The farmer’s wife, who would be driving the Hat and the Ponytail to the town hall, drives her van into the yard of the hut.
The Hat drums her fingers on the reception desk. Fifteen minutes ago, the receptionist had disappeared to get the municipal official in charge of the dyke. The Hat’s mouth is dry. Behind the desk sits is a large fuchsia, which bends past her toward the clock. Its leaves are dull. Every afternoon, the receptionist pours her cold coffee into its dry soil.
Behind her, the Ponytail sits slumped in a soft armchair in the waiting room, taking the leaflets that most interest her from the shelves. She unfolds them and refolds them into lilies. On her lap lies a bouquet: “The South-Western Ait. What will change for you?”, “Community Interest”, “The Mayor also does his own shopping”. The chair creaks. Her brother and sisters had stayed at home.
“Thank you for waiting, Madam.”
“Would you like some coffee?”
“No.” She goes to sit at a long table opposite the reception. On the table sits a plastic bunch of flowers, cardboard cups and an empty tin can. The municipal official looks over her shoulder every few minutes.
“So, tell me. What are you here for?”
“The dyke keeps breaking through.”
“Ah, yes. We are aware of the problem. We’re working on it, but at the moment…”
“How so?” The Hat loses her usually unlimited patience.
“We are busy working on the budget, which…”
“It’s the same case every year.”
“Shall we take a look together at the development plan for the next five years?”
“Madam, I want to help you, but you need to tell me what I can do to help out.”
“I told you, the dyke has broken through.”
“Unfortunately, the municipality can’t do everything at the same time. Currently…”
The Ponytail watches from a distance. She clasps her fingers around the back of the chair, clenching her fists until they turn white, breathing in. She stands up and slides into the place next to the municipal official. She shakes her hand without breaking eye contact. “Good morning, I’m her daughter. May I join in the discussion?”
“Of course.” The official brushes a loose lock of hear behind her ear.
“I understand that the municipality has no more money for dyke maintenance, but I wondered if there was a fund for the families who suffer from the breach each year. I want to emphasise that it destroys our house every year. The reconstruction is expensive.”
The municipal official smiles with relief that she is in the company of someone who speaks her language. Her shoulders relax. “I understand.”
“Are there funds on which we can make a claim?”
“Why should there be funds?”
“This happens every year.”
“You are the only ones affected.”
“Why, then, do you keep returning to the same vulnerable place?”
The Ponytail stays silent. The Hat swallows. “That is where we live.”
“We cannot help you, madam, if you deliberately put yourselves in danger.”
The official rubs the table surface, showing off her painted nails. “There are still some nice houses in the area. We are quite willing to accommodate you during the move. At the moment, however, we are working on the project. ‘The Green’…”
With a shrill squeak, the Hat pushes her chair back and grabs her daughter by the arm. “Come, child.”
It is Springtime. The blossoming apple tree happily hangs its shady branches over the family laying on the grass between its roots. The Tall one is talking about the cows in the meadow by the sluice; apparently, they’ve just had calves. The Limp cannot sit still. She drags the soggy planks from the river, lifts them onto her back, letting them clatter to the ground beneath the apple tree. In the middle of her story, the Tall One chokes on a blossom and the Hat laughs at her. With careful strokes, she braids the Ponytail’s hair. “Come sit down for a while, child. I’ll do yours, too.”
In the distance, the wooden planks bob in the swell of the river, which the spider has been surfing upon for a while. It happily greets its favourite silhouettes on the dyke, and dives from the plank to go on the hunt. While it catches its prey underwater, it always drags the captured insect onto land. A spider only eats on dry land.


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March 31, 2023 | 9:00amAttend
Join TACFS/TX Center TBRI Practitioners and special guests speakers on the last Friday of every month for connection and conversation around Trauma Informed Care with considerations for special populations. Over the course of 9 months, TX Center staff will facilitate rich conversations with guest speakers and continue creating space for peer learning. Staff will pull from various models of Trauma Informed Care and highlight specifics around special populations. Participants can attend the entire 9-month series or just drop in any time! The training series is great for anyone new to Trauma Informed Care and for those looking to learn about Trauma Informed Practices with Special Populations.
Last month the Best Practices Collaborative hosted a Kinship Symposium for providers interested in learning more about licensing relative caregivers. This month, for The Friday Connection, we are continuing that trend and will be hearing from Kacey Bush, (BAIR), Kylee Craggett, (Buckner), and Kimberley Blanchard, (ACH ) about what trauma informed practice can look like for relative caregivers.

domain: psychology


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This day we had sort of 'fall out' of myrtles (usually uncommon here) with them possibly outnumbering the Audubon's. I really don't think one can consistently differentiate these taxa by song and, if I were not looking at this bird sing, I certainly would not have been certain which it was.
Ed Pandolfino, XC639639. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/639639.
|Location||Sailor Bar, Sacramento County, California|
|Sampling rate||48000 (Hz)|
|Bitrate of mp3||256000 (bps)|
|Number of notes||Not specified|

domain: biology