SharpBranch: February 2004

Sunday, February 29, 2004

Leaf Cactus

Common names are leaf cactus - for the mostly flattened, nonspiny stems that function as leaves - or orchid cactus - for the spectacular large flowers

Saturday, February 28, 2004

Rye Whiskey

Whiskey that is distilled from a mash in which rye grain predominates. See whiskey.

Friday, February 27, 2004

Builth Wells

Welsh �Llanfair ym Muallt� market town, Powys county, historic county of Brecknockshire (Sir Frycheiniog), Wales, in the upper Wye valley. The Normans made the surrounding district of Buellt a marcher lordship (i.e., part of the political buffer zone between Wales and England) and constructed a fine motte-and-bailey castle at Builth. But the town and castle suffered severely from Welsh attacks, notably

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Parallel

Imaginary line extending around the Earth parallel to the equator; it is used to indicate latitude. The 38th parallel, for example, has a latitude of 38� N or 38� S. See latitude and longitude.

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Tobogganing

The runnerless toboggan was originally an American Indian sled made of poles tied together with thongs. The modern version is usually built of thin, straight-grained

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Biblical Literature, Historical criticism

Historical criticism places the documents in their historical setting and promotes their interpretation in the light of their contemporary environment. This is necessary for their understanding, whether they are historical in character or belong to another literary genre. If they are historical in character it is important to establish how faithfully they

Monday, February 23, 2004

France, History Of, Charles VII

Charles VI's son, Charles VII (ruled 1422 - 61), for his part, did not fail to claim his inheritance, though he had no proper coronation. Residing at Bourges, which his adversaries pretended was the extent of his realm, he in fact retained the fidelity of the greater part of France, including Berry, Poitou, Lyonnais, Auvergne, and Languedoc. For a time the Valois cause suffered from the

Sunday, February 22, 2004

Rickey, Branch

Rickey started his professional playing career while studying at Ohio Wesleyan University, spent two seasons (1906 - 07) in the American

Saturday, February 21, 2004

Bufotenine

Structurally, bufotenine is an indole hallucinogen that is capable of blocking

Friday, February 20, 2004

'abbas I

'Abbas, distrustful of Europeans and European-educated Egyptians, reacted to the reforms of Muhammad 'Ali by closing down or neglecting the public and military

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Breckinridge, John C(abell)

His formal expulsion from the Senate in December was a meaningless gesture because he had already been commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army in November. After the Battle of Shiloh (April 6 - 7, 1862), in which he commanded the reserve, he was promoted to the rank of major general and thereafter took part in many campaigns, including Vicksburg (June 1863), the Wilderness (May 1864), and Shenandoah Valley (1864 - 65). In the final months of the war, Breckinridge served as Confederate secretary of war, and at the end of the hostilities he fled to England. After a self-imposed exile of three years, he returned to resume his law practice in Lexington, where he died seven years later.

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Oberth, Hermann (julius)

The son of a prosperous physician, Oberth studied medicine in Munich, but his education was interrupted by service in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. After being wounded in the war, he found time to pursue

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Belarus, Flag Of

The Slavic peoples of what is now Belarus were in the past ruled by Prussia, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. Consequently no distinctive national symbols were developed until the 20th century, when for the first time Belarus became independent. With the breakup of the Russian Empire near the end of World War I, a Belarusian state existed briefly. Its first flag was plain

Monday, February 16, 2004

Guhyasamaja-tantra

The Guhyasamaja

Sunday, February 15, 2004

Protist

The protists include all unicellular organisms not included with the prokaryotes. Protists also embrace a number of forms of syncytial (coenocytic) or multicellular composition, generally manifest as filaments, colonies, coenobia (a type of colony with a fixed number of interconnected cells embedded in a common matrix before release from the parental colony),

Saturday, February 14, 2004

Nord-tr�ndelag

Fylke (county), central Norway. It extends from the Norwegian Sea (west) to the Swedish border (east), with the southern boundary running in a general northwest-southeast direction south of Trondheims Fjord. The fylke has an area of 8,673 square miles (22,463 square km); the county seat is at Steinkjer (q.v.). The major road and rail links between Trondheim and northern Norway pass through

Friday, February 13, 2004

Land Mine

Stationary explosive charge used against military troops or vehicles. See mine.

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Robert Ii

On the death (1326) of his father, Walter the Steward, in 1326, Robert became seventh hereditary steward of Scotland at age 10. From 1318 he

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Hardoi

The surrounding area is a level plain bordered (south) by the Ganges River and drained by its tributaries.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Dmitry, False

After Fyodor I (reigned 1584 - 98), the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, died and his brother-in-law Boris Godunov succeeded him, the first False Dmitry appeared and

Monday, February 09, 2004

Hejaz Railway

Its main line was constructed in 1900 - 08, ostensibly to facilitate pilgrimages to the Muslims' holy places in Arabia but in fact also to strengthen Ottoman control over the most distant provinces of the empire. The main line, built by a multiracial

Sunday, February 08, 2004

Itapicuru River

River, Maranh�o estado (�state�), northeastern Brazil. The river rises in several headstreams in the Itapicuru mountain range. It arches northeastward to Caxias and thence northwestward, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through S�o Jos� Bay, southeast of S�o Lu�s Island. The river's total length is approximately 750 miles (1,200 km), of which about 400 miles (640 km) are navigable.

Saturday, February 07, 2004

Graves, Robert James

Graves received his degree from the University of Dublin in 1818. After studying in London and on the European continent, he returned

Friday, February 06, 2004

Itinerarium

The only surviving map is the Peutinger Table, a 13th-century copy of a Roman world map. The 4th-century �Antonine Itinerary,� one of the few

Thursday, February 05, 2004

Greece, History Of, The Metaxas regime and World War II

Public disillusionment with the endless intrigues of the political world, which had been growing apace in the preceding years, was exacerbated when the news leaked that the main political blocs were secretly negotiating with the communists. When the nonpolitical figure appointed by the king to head a caretaker government charged with overseeing the elections

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