Animal Crackers is a 1930 American pre-Code Marx Brothers comedy film directed by Victor Heerman. The film stars the Four Marx Brothers, Chico and Zeppo, with Lillian Roth and Margaret Dumont, it was based on their broadway musical of the same name, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding. A critical and commercial success on its initial release, it was filmed at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens, it was adapted from a successful 1928 Broadway musical of the same title by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind starring the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont; the part of Hives the butler was played by Robert Greig who appeared with the Marx Brothers in Horse Feathers. A newspaper headline explains that society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse is holding a lavish party at her home on Long Island; the party will host renowned explorer Captain Geoffrey T. Spaulding as the guest of honor returned from Africa.

As a special treat for the guests and Capt. Spaulding, revered art collector Roscoe W. Chandler will unveil his acquired painting, After The Hunt by a famous fictional artist named Beaugard. Hives instructs his six footmen on preparations for the party. Chandler proceeds to set it up to be displayed. Capt. Spaulding's secretary, Horatio Jameson announces the Captain's arrival. Capt. Spaulding announces that he can not stay and must leave immediately. Mrs. Rittenhouse begs him to stay and the guests declare their admiration for the Captain and he decides to stay. Soon after, Signor Emanuel Ravelli arrives with his colleague the Professor, hired to provide music for the weekend event. After an elaborate introduction, The Professor scares the guests away with a pistol he grabs from Capt. Spaulding's supplies; the Professor soon takes off chasing after an attractive blonde party-goer. Mrs. Rittenhouse's daughter Arabella is attending the party with her fiancé John Parker, a struggling painter. John feels discouraged because he hasn't been able to make a living with his art in order to support himself and Arabella.

Arabella suggests John do a portrait for Chandler, suggesting he would receive an impressive commission. John laughs at the idea. After examining the Beaugard, Arabella devises a scheme to win Chandler's interest in John's work: They'll replace the Beaugard with an perfect copy of it John painted in art school, since they can find no obvious differences. After the painting is unveiled at the party, they will surprise everyone and convince Chandler to hire John. Arabella asks Ravelli to switch the paintings. Meanwhile, another weekend party guest, Grace Carpenter thinks up the same idea with her friend Mrs. Whitehead, as a means of humiliating Mrs. Rittenhouse, they grab Grace's poorly made copy that she painted in art school and ask Hives to replace the Beaugard, unaware that they are removing John's copy. Ravelli scolds him. Soon, Mrs. Rittenhouse and Mrs. Whitehead arrive and after the Professor is finished brutally assaulting Mrs. Rittenhouse, the four proceed to play an absurd variation of Bridge.

Ravelli and the Professor run into Chandler and recognize him as Abie the fish peddler from Czechoslovakia. Chandler tries to bribe the two in order to keep them quiet, but they end up taking his money and garters as well as, Chandler's birthmark, transferred to the Professor's arm. After a series of strange interludes while speaking with Mrs. Rittenhouse and Mrs. Whitehead, Capt. Spaulding has a debate on art and the economy with Chandler after his encounter with Ravelli and the Professor; that night a thunderstorm has put out the lights and Ravelli and the Professor attempt to replace the Beaugard. In the middle of the job, Capt. Spaulding and Mrs. Rittenhouse wander in; the Captain finds the Professor's lost fish in the sofa. Ravelli and the Professor succeed in replacing the painting. During the party, Mrs. Rittenhouse invites Capt. Spaulding to speak about his travels in Africa, he proceeds to tell a ridiculous and absurd account of his travels before Mrs. Rittenhouse cuts him off. Signor Ravelli is invited to play some selection on the piano.

After several quips and interruptions, Chandler invites the guests into the parlor so he can unveil the Beaugard. Once revealed, Chandler notices the poor quality and realizes someone has stolen his painting and replaced it with a cheap imitation. John feels discouraged; the lights go out again, when restored, the imitation Beaugard is missing as well. The guests, now in an uproar and attempt to find the stolen painting, led by Capt. Spaulding. John and Arabella discuss their love for each other; the next day, a police squad arrives to secure the search for the missing painting. Realizing that they may have gone too far, Mrs. Whitehead and Grace ask Hives for the Beaugard he took back, but he can't find it anywhere. Mrs. Whitehead deduces. After confronting him she gets Grace's copy back. John finds Grace's copy of the Beaugard and reveals to Arabella that someone else must have had the same idea to switch paintings. Realizing that Chandler never actuall

The map tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Tobago, Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, rural gardens degraded former forests and aquaculture ponds, it was known as Hyla geographica. The name comes from the reticulated map-like patterns on its eyelids; the black tadpoles congregate in dense clusters in other calm waters. Azevedo-Ramos, C. La Marca, E. Coloma, L. A. Ron, S. & Hardy, J. 2004. Hypsiboas geographicus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 July 2007

The swarmandal or Indian harp is a zither, originating from the Indian subcontinent, similar to the qanun, today most used as an accompanying instrument for vocal Indian classical music. The name combines mandal, representing its ability to produce many notes. Swarmandals measure from twenty-four to thirty inches in length and twelve to fifteen inches in width; the singer may choose to employ any number of strings from 21 to 36. The strings are hooked in a nail lodged in the right edge of the swarmandal and on the left are wound around rectangular pegs which can be tightened with a special key. Wooden pegs were used instead of metal ones in the medieval period. A sharp 1⁄2-inch ridge on both sides of the swarmandal stands a little apart from the nails on which the strings are tightened; this ridge functions as a bridge on both sides. The swarmandal is similar to the zither in many respects; some of the vocalists who have used this instrument extensively are Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Salamat Ali Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Rashid Khan and Ajoy Chakrabarty.

Other vocalists such as Amir Khan have played around with it but preferred the simpler, less intrusive tanpura for accompaniment. The Beatles' 1967 single "Strawberry Fields Forever" features a swarmandal, played by George Harrison, as does "Within You Without You", from the band's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Autoharp Drone Zither

Eddie Nestor is a British actor, stand up comedian and radio presenter, best known for his starring roles in The Real McCoy and Desmond's, as well as playing a small role in Trainspotting. Nestor has a radio programme in which he has a running joke with his claim to be about to turn thirty years old, he hosted, alongside Robbie Gee, the Imperial College Indian Society's annual "East Meets West" charity show in 2007 and 2008. The show, in both years, was one of the most successful and popular charity shows in the United Kingdom, drawing more than 1,750 people to the prestigious London Palladium in 2008. Nestor is a former star on Casualty, he presents BBC London 94.9 FM's show Drivetime from 5 pm to 8 pm on weekday evenings, replacing Henry Bonsu, who left to pursue other broadcasting opportunities. Nestor presented a show on BBC London on Friday evenings, from 10 pm to 2 am, that he called The Rum Shop. In 2016, he appeared as Freddie Hamilton in the television series by BBC, Death in Paradise, episode 5.5.

Although raised in Hackney, Nestor is a supporter of Manchester United, presents a podcast by Manchester United, The Manchester United Red Cast, with Robert Meakin. He was voted "The Speech Broadcaster of the Year" at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2007. In February 2007, Nestor was diagnosed as having Hodgkin's Lymphoma, kept a blog of his treatment and reactions, he is in remission. In December 2017, Nestor was appointed an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List for 2018 for his charity work and services to radio; as of 2020, Nestor presents the Drive Time show for BBC Radio London. Eddie Nestor on IMDb Profile at BBC London 94.9

Simon Hellholm is a Swedish ice hockey player. He is playing with Linköpings HC of the Swedish Hockey League. Born in Linköping, Hellholm played junior hockey, with local team Linköpings HC. In 2011–12, he debuted at the under-16 level as a 15-year-old, playing fifteenth games in the J16 Elit; the following season he dressed for fourteen U-18 games, recording four goals and three assists. He competed with a regional all-star team from Östergötland in the annual TV-pucken, an under-15 national tournament, notched seven goals and four assists over eight games. In 2013–14, Hellholm played eight games with Linköpings HC's J20 SuperElit team. After two impressive seasons in the J20 SuperElit. Hellholm logged his first minutes in Sweden's top-flight SHL. Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

USS Alaskan was a United States Navy cargo ship and troop transport in commission from 1918 to 1919. Alaska was built in 1902 at San Francisco, California, by the Union Iron Works as the commercial cargo ship SS Alaskan for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, which employed her on the New York City-to-San Francisco-to-Honolulu, trade. Alaskan and her sister ship SS Arizonan — which served in the U. S. Navy as USS Arizonan — represented, according to a contemporary account, the "most advanced practice in the construction of ocean-going freighters and... a most important addition to the American merchant marine." Intended for carrying freight, Alaskan was designed as a strong ship with a large stowage capacity. The U. S. Navy inspected Alaskan in the 3rd Naval District on 23 May 1917, found her desirable for World War I Navy service, assigned her the Naval Registry Identification Number 4542, but did not take control of her for several more months. On 12 March 1918, the United States Shipping Board turned the ship over to the United States Department of War as a cargo ship to be manned and operated by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service for the United States Army on a bareboat charter basis.

The Navy took control of her that same day and commissioned her on 23 March 1918 at Morse Dry Dock, New York, as USS Alaskan with Lieutenant Commander Walter P. Hillman, USNRF, in command. Alaskan departed Brooklyn for Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the afternoon of 24 March 1918. Anchoring in Hampton Roads in the predawn darkness of 26 March 1918, she moved shortly thereafter to the Norfolk and Western Piers, docking there at 12:28 hours. Over the ensuing days, she underwent repairs. Yard work completed and her complement brought up to full allowance, Alaskan shifted to Pier 5, U. S. Army Piers, Newport News, Virginia, on 13 April 1918 to take on cargo. On 16 April 1918, she proceeded to sea and joined a France-bound convoy on 17 April 1918, she reached Brest, France, on the afternoon of 2 May 1918 weighed anchor early on the morning of 3 May 1918 to proceed in a coastal convoy to St. Nazaire, France. On 3 May 1918, during the voyage, one of the ships in the convoy, the American merchant ship SS Pearl F. attempted to cut between columns, veering across Alaskan's bow.

The accident resulted in Alaskan's stem being badly twisted to starboard, plates attached to her stem either broke off or cracked, but she was still able to complete the voyage, anchoring at St. Nazaire that evening. However, due to crowded harbor conditions, she did not begin discharging cargo until 6 May 1918. On 13 May 1918, lookouts aboard Alaskan spotted a fire breaking out on board U. S. Navy animal transport USS Mexican, lying directly ahead of Alaskan in St. Nazaire harbor. Alaskan called away her fire and rescue party, which aided Mexican's men in controlling the blaze before it did serious damage. Alaskan remained in French waters into June 1918, first at St. Nazaire, completing the discharge of her cargo, before proceeding down the coast, passing the Île d'Yeu on 7 June 1918 in a coastal convoy bound for the Gironde River, which she reached that day. Getting underway on 10 June 1918 for the return voyage to the United States, the ship brought her first voyage for NOTS to a close when she reached New York Harbor late on 23 June 1918.

Alsakan underwent voyage repairs at Morse Drydock, before moving to Bush Terminal Pier No. 6 to take on cargo began her second wartime voyage in naval service on 28 July 1918, again crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a convoy. Carrying the vice commodore of the convoy, Lieutenant Commander Isaiah F. Shurtleff, USNRF, Alaskan arrived at St. Nazaire on 12 August 1918, anchoring late on 13 August 1918. Among the cargo she discharged was oil for the tanks at the United States Naval Aviation Station, Le Croisic, France. With a return cargo that included ordnance material, Alaskan got underway for the United States on the afternoon of 28 August 1918 and reached Hampton Roads on the afternoon of 13 September 1918. For her third U. S. Navy voyage during the war, Alaskan cleared Hampton Roads on 29 September 1918 and joined a France-bound convoy on 30 September 1918, this time routed via Gibraltar. Arriving at Gibraltar on 16 October 1918, Alaskan lingered there until 20 October 1918, when she began the last passage of her voyage.

Two days out, at 11:37 hours on 22 October 1918, she sank a fishing boat. Another boat "of similar character" fished the sunken boat's men out of the sea. Reaching Marseille, France, a little before midnight on 23 October 1918, Alaskan discharged lumber and trailers, on 26 October 1918 and over ensuing days, she was still lying in port on 11 November 1918 when the news reached her of the signing of the armistice with Germany, an event duly celebrated by the ship's sounding her whistle and hoisting Allied flags. Alaskan reached Newport News, via Gibraltar, on the afternoon of 29 November 1918, bringing to a close her third and final round-trip voyage under the aegis of NOTS. With World War I over, the return of American troops to the United States from Europe became a priority. Alaskan was selected for conversion to a troop transport. On 10 December 1918, she departed Newport News for New York City, she was assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force on 12 December 1918. On 19 December 1918, her guns were removed by a U.

S. Navy derrick lighter off New Jersey. Over the following weeks, she underwent a metamorphosis from cargo ship to troopship at Brooklyn by the W. A. Fletcher Shipyard under the direction of U. S. Army authorities, with the addition of troop accommodations for up to 2,260 men. Now a troop transport, Alaskan cleared New York Harbor on 24 February 1919 bound fo