Bausch + Lomb is a Canadian eye health products company based in Laval, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, intraocular lenses, other eye surgery products; the company was founded in Rochester, New York in 1853 by optician John Bausch and cabinet maker turned financial backer Henry Lomb. Until its sale in 2013, Bausch + Lomb was one of the oldest continually operating companies in the US. Bausch + Lomb was a public company listed on the NYSE until it was acquired by private equity firm Warburg Pincus in 2007. In May 2013, it was announced that Canadian-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals would acquire Bausch + Lomb from Warburg Pincus for $8.57 billion in cash. The deal, approved by shareholders, included $4.2 billion earmarked to pay down Bausch + Lomb debt and closed on August 5, 2013. Today, the company employs about 12,000 people in 36 countries. In 1853, John Bausch and Henry Lomb, both German immigrants, established a small but ambitious workshop producing monocles in Rochester, New York.
By 1861, their operation had expanded to manufacturing vulcanite rubber eyeglass frames and other precision vision products. During the American Civil War, the Union blockade caused the price of gold and European horn to rise dramatically; this resulted in a growing demand for the Lomb spectacles made from vulcanite. In 1876, Ernst Gundlach joined the company; that year, the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company won a distinction at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The company produced photographic lenses, spectacle lenses, microtomes and telescopes. From 1892 in cooperation with Zeiss in Germany, the company produced optical lenses. In this manner, at the end of the 19th century, the product range included eyeglasses and binoculars, as well as projectors, camera lenses and camera diaphragms. With the growth of the US army, under President Theodore Roosevelt and the buildup of the naval fleet, Bausch & Lomb received the commission, through the supplier Saegmuller, to manufacture high-precision lenses for optical measurement and founded a joint venture with Saegmuller.
At the same time as this new expansion, a research department with five members was started to develop new products and improve old ones. A new alliance with the Zeiss company in Germany ensured competitive advantages for the three participants, Bausch & Lomb and Zeiss, in terms of patent use and opening new markets. In 1902, William Bausch, the son of the founder, developed a process to create the desired lens shape directly by casting molten glass; the glass parts for the lenses had to be separated and polished in a complicated process, this brought significant savings in time and materials. The company produced the first optical-quality glass in America during the early to mid-1900s. By the year 1903 the company began manufacturing microscopes and camera shutters; the further development of the firm was affected by political events. Because of the World Wars and the consequent need for optical instruments such as field glasses, range finders, camera lenses, binocular telescopes, searchlight mirrors, torpedo tube sights, periscopes, the product range could be broadened.
Until World War I, optical glass and the instruments made from it were imported into most European and North American countries from Germany. The same was true of chemical products and laboratory equipment; the outbreak of the war, with Germany's new enemy status, created a scramble to enhance the domestic industries. In 1933, Bausch + Lomb started to honor outstanding high school science students with the Bausch+Lomb Honorary Science Award. In the 1930s, military products represented 70% of total production; the Ray-Ban brand of sunglasses was developed for pilots in 1936. At a time when the cinema was being superseded by television, Bausch & Lomb developed improved optics for the CinemaScope process, which popularized the film-based anamorphic format and led most cinemas to double the widths of their screens. After three years of development work, two years for the medical approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration and an investment of three million USD, Bausch + Lomb brought the first contact lenses made of Poly-HEMA on the market in 1971.
In contrast to the contact lenses available up to that time, made of glass and Lucite, the new lenses were softer, were marketed with the brand name "Soflens". In the 1970s, Bausch + Lomb became a major producer of spectrophotometers for the dye and chemical business such as the Spectronic 20. A massive restructuring of the company began in the mid-80s. What had been the core divisions, the production of lenses for various purposes, were sold off; the sunglasses division was continued as Ray-Ban and kept selling well due to effective product placement. By the planned acquisition of other firms, such as Polymer Technology Corporation and Dr. Mann Pharma, existing business areas such as contact lens production were strengthened and new ones were initiated. In 1997, as a result of a series of company acquisitions, the division for the production of surgical products was established; the Ray-Ban brand of was sold in 1999 to the Italian Luxottica Group. Since Bausch & Lomb has developed into a globally operating company, one of the largest producers of contact lenses.
Today, about 13,000 employees in 36 countries work for the firm. Total turnover for the year 2006 was estimated at US$2.29 billion. The company's competitors in the international eye care products market are Johnson & Johnson, Allergan and Ciba Vision, MSD-Chibret and
Urban Gothic is the debut studio album of Xander Harris, a synthesizer music project of American musician Justin Sweatt. Sweatt, having synthesizers when he first worked in psychedelic rock and noise music bands, was influenced to start a synthesizer music project by his friend Isobelle; the album's feel is inspired by the Brian Keene novel of the same name. The album was well-received by music journalists and landed on numerous publications' year-end lists, such as at number 50 on Fact's list of the 50 best releases of 2011. Justin Sweatt began his career working in psychedelic noise music acts; this was until his friend Isobelle, who enjoyed and was excited with his synthesizer work, encouraged him to go further with making music using synthesizers. This, as well as his stress and frustration in trying to make sounds out of electric guitars and noise, inspired him to create an album using the synthesizer, an instrument that had a "calming effect" on him. Thus, he formed the project named Xander Harris, naming it after the character from the television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
His reasoning for the name was, "I liked the way it sounded more than my own name plus I thought it was a great way to pay tribute to my total geek-dom." The entirety of Urban Gothic was produced in sessions of Logic Pro. The drums were recorded live with Roland drum machines instead of sequencers to give the songs a "loose vibe." The lead melodies on the album were performed by sounds programmed with the Moog Concertmate MG-1 and microKORG. Sounds programmed with the Roland XP-10, the Alesis QS-6 and Native Instruments plug-ins can be heard on the album. For making Urban Gothic, he was influenced by the works of Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, Wolfgang Riechmann, Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, Cabaret Voltaire, Claudio Simonetti, Wendy Carlos, as well as soundtracks for Italian post-apocalypse films and the album The Space Between by Chris Carter. During the creation of the record, Sweatt discovered the works of the author Brian Keene and was amazed by his novel Urban Gothic, he said that the book had a "quality to it that can be so brutal but kind of unnervingly poignant at the same time."
Sweatt re-recorded and re-edited the tracks, finished for the album and added samples of dialogue from news reports about serial killers for the songs to match the concepts and feel of the book. The samples were pitch-shifted with a Roland SP-303 digital sampler. Fact magazine's Kiran Sande wrote that Urban Gothic stands out from most 1970s/1980s horror film soundtrack throwback records in that it "isn’t trying to be basic, it is basic"; the record departs from similar LPs in that it sounds high quality. Frowny described Urban Gothic as a kitschy view of a teenager's fear of the gothic and horror images that they imagine; as Frowny analyzed: We see in their contemporary audi-recreation the recombination of the sonic aesthetics of the unimaginable exterior with visions of the visceral interior made manifest through the frame of the wound. Given that Keene’s novel is a splatter-update on the haunted house genre, this incisive revelation of the horrific lying beneath the banal seems fitting. Urban Gothic is a soundtrack to an imaginary film, as indicated by the song titles "Opening Credits" and "End Credits."
Frowny noted a parallel of the album's film soundtrack concept with the rise of actual modern 1980s-influenced horror films in terms of "abscene" of a justification for them to exist. He analyzes that 1980s horror throwback movies are "so terrifying that they cannot ever come into existence, but remain disembodied presences." There are "two-minute vignettes that might be perfect for, say, a street stalking scene" that "feel like they need developing into something richer and deeper, something employing the structural manipulation of elements characteristic of long-form dance music." This leads the record to showcase "the fantasy of the fantasy of" the violent nature of the films, as well as a utopian dynamic regarding the house setting of the album. The original 13-track set of Urban Gothic was released April 5, 2011; the "Ultimate Edition" of the LP was released on October 3, 2013, adding seven original tracks and a remix of the song "I Want More Than Just Blood" by High Heels. On May 7, 2013, Xander Harris self-released the extended play Basements on Bandcamp, consisting of B-sides produced during recording of Urban Gothic.
Bloody Disgusting critic Jonathan Barkan wrote that the record was a great listening experience when reading the novel it was inspired from at the same time, but listening to the album on its own would leave the listener feeling indifferent to and unimpressed with it due to the repetitive nature of the music: "Since this is meant to be background music while reading a book, it serves a great purpose in lulling the reader hypnotically, int
Mio Shirai is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current professional wrestling referee. She started her career in March 2007, working alongside her sister Io Shirai on the Japanese independent circuit for promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu and Pro Wrestling Wave. In June 2010, the Shirais came together with fellow freelancer Kana to form the Triple Tails stable as part of which they began working most notably for Smash. After Io left the stable the following year and Kana continued working together as the tag team Triple Tails. S. Shirai remained a freelancer until January 2014, when she signed a four-way contract with Ice Ribbon, Oz Academy, Pro Wrestling Wave and Union Pro Wrestling, she retired from professional wrestling due to neck injuries in September 2015 at the age of 27, after which she started working as a referee. Shirai made her professional wrestling debut on March 4, 2007, alongside her younger sister, with the two adopting the ring names Mio and Io Shirai, respectively.
While both of the sisters kept much of their private lives, including their real names, a secret, Io's real name was released by Japanese authorities in May 2012 as Masami Odate. Mio, on the other hand, has managed to keep her real name a secret. In their debut match, the Shirai sisters teamed with Toshie Uematsu to face the trio of Erika Ura, Nozomi Takesako and Yuri Urai. Starting their careers as freelancers, the Shirai sisters represented Team Makehen, a stable made up of wrestlers trained by Tomohiko Hashimoto, in several independent promotions during their first year in the business, including Ibuki, Pro Wrestling Wave, JWP Joshi Puroresu, Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling. On October 19, 2008, Mio and Io made their debuts for one of Japan's largest professional wrestling promotions, All Japan Pro Wrestling, wrestling in a match, where they defeated the team of Kyoko Kimura and Mikado. From January to March 2009, the Shirais made several appearances for another large promotion not known for female wrestling, Pro Wrestling Zero1.
On April 29, the Shirai sisters won their first championship by defeating Moeka Haruhi and Tomoka Nakagawa in a tournament final to become the first TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Champions. Despite its name, the championship was promoted by Pro Wrestling Wave. From July to November, the Shirais spent four months working for the Ice Ribbon promotion. On November 12, 2009, the Shirais entered Pro Wrestling Wave's Captain's Fall Six Person Tag Team Tournament, teaming with Gami, but the trio was defeated in their first round match by Ran Yu-Yu, Ryo Mizunami and Toshie Uematsu. However, the trio earned their way back into the tournament by defeating Misaki Ohata, Moeka Haruhi and Yumi Ohka in a consolation match that same day. On November 25, the Shirais and Gami first defeated Bullfight Sora and Kaoru in the semifinals and Ayumi Kurihara and Shuu Shibutani in the finals to win the tournament. On December 23, the Shirais lost the TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Championship to Misaki Ohata and Moeka Haruhi.
On June 9, 2010, Mio entered. After two draws and two losses, Shirai finished last in her block and did not advance in the tournament. On June 19, 2010, the Shirai sisters formed the Triple Tails stable with fellow freelancer Kana, defeating Ayumi Kurihara, Hikaru Shida and Yoshiko Tamura in their first match together at a NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling event; as a result, the Shirais received a shot Kurihara's and Tamura's NEO Tag Team Championship on July 4, but were defeated by the defending champions. Triple Tails returned to its winning ways on August 29, by defeating Asami Kawasaki, Hikaru Shida and Nagisa Nozaki in a six-woman tag team match. On October 18, 2010, working under the ring name Kitzune Nanoko, made her debut for AAA in Puebla, where she teamed with Alissa Flash to defeat Cynthia and Esther Moreno in a tag team match. In Mexico, both Shirais worked under cat-like masks they would only wear for their entrances in Japan. On October 31, Shirai was renamed Kaguya, while her debuting little sister was given the ring name Oyuki.
In their first match under the new names and Oyuki teamed with Yuriko in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by Cynthia Moreno, Gato Eveready and Mari Apache. During their stay in AAA, Kaguya and Oyuki became associates of the La Legión Extranjera stable. On November 7, Kaguya and Oyuki defeated Faby and Mari Apache in a tag team match and afterwards stole Faby's AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship and Mari's AAA Reina de Reinas Championship belts. On November 15, the Apaches and Cynthia Moreno defeated Kaguya and Sexy Star in a six-woman tag team match. A week Kaguya and Jennifer Blake defeated Moreno and the Apaches in another six-woman tag team match; this would turn out to be Kaguya's and Oyuki's final AAA appearance, which resulted in the storyline with the Apaches being dropped without a conclusion. Upon the Shirais' return to Japan, Triple Tails made its debut as a unit for Pro Wrestling Wave on December 19, defeating Cherry and Tomoka Nakagawa in the six-woman tag team main event.
On January 29, 2011, the Shirais made their debuts for Smash, when the Triple Tails stable attacked Yusuke Kodama and Makoto after their matches, with the trio being both times chased out of the ring by Tajiri. On February 13, Triple Tails produced its first own event, where the Shirai sisters wrestled male tag team Momo no Seishun Tag in a losing effort. On February 25, the Shirais made their Smash in-ring debuts at Smash.14, where they teamed with Kana to defeat Ken Oh
Julieta Mabel Monje Villa is a Bolivian politician and lawyer. She was named Minister of Environment and Water on January 23, 2010. Monje Villa is a lawyer and social movement activist who has lived in El Alto since 1977, she graduated in Law from Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. She has worked as a teacher in philosophy, she has worked with social movements in El Alto, such as organizations like Regional Workers Confederation, FEJUVE and the Women's president of the neighbourhood organization of Urbanización Anexo 16 de Julio, represented the neighbourhood in the FEJUVE of El Alto. Monje Villa has served as the vice president of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights of El Alto. Monje Villa was elected as the alternate member of the Legislative Assembly of La Paz Department in April 2010, being the alternate of Felix Loayza Rojas; until 2007, she headed her neighborhood council and represented it in the Federation of Neighborhood Councils of El Alto. She was elected as Vice President of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights—El Alto.
She is the second El Alto resident to serve in the cabinet of President Evo Morales, following Abel Mamani, the former president of FEJUVE who served in the same office in 2006 and 2007. Monje Villa replaced María Udaeta as the Minister for Environment and Water, in a cabinet reshuffle that followed the December 2010 protest against increased petrol prices. At her inauguration, Monje Villa stated that her foremost priority as Minister would be to combat climate change
George Bonga was a Black Indian fur trader, one of the first people of African descent born in the part of the Northwest Territory that became the State of Minnesota. He was the second son born to an African-American father, Pierre Bonga, an Ojibwe mother. George was schooled in Montreal, Canada, becoming fluent in French as well as Ojibwe and English, he became a fur trader and interpreter. He was noted in what is now Minnesota for being, as his brother Stephen claimed, "One of the first two black children born in the state." Stephen described them as "the first white children" born there, as the Ojibwe classified everyone, non-native as "white". In 1837 George Bonga tracked down a suspected murderer, an Ojibwe named Che-Ga Wa Skung, brought him back to Fort Snelling; the ensuing criminal trial was reputedly the first in what was part of Wisconsin Territory, the Ojibwe man was acquitted. George Bonga was described as weighing 200 + pounds. Reports said that he would carry 700 pounds of supplies at once.
He served as an interpreter, was believed to have acted as a guide for governor Lewis Cass. Well respected in the region and his wife opened a lodge on Leech Lake after the fur trade declined. George Bonga died in 1880. George Bonga's father, Pierre was the son of Jean and Marie-Jeannette Bonga, slaves, brought to the fort on Mackinac Island by their master, Captain Daniel Robertson, a British officer who commanded it from 1782 to his death in 1787; the couple were freed at his death and married. Bonga and his wife opened the first hotel on the island. Pierre Bonga worked as a fur trader with the Ojibwe near Duluth, his first son Stephen Bonga, born 1799 became a notable fur trader and translator in the region. The sons had a sister Marguerite, born in 1797-98; as Pierre Bonga was a successful trader, he sent George to Montreal for school. When the youth returned to the Great Lakes region, he spoke fluent English, French, as well as Ojibwe. Bonga became a fur trader with the American Fur Company.
In this role, Bonga drew the attention of Lewis Cass, who hired him as a guide and as a translator for the government's negotiations with the Ojibwe. Bonga's signature is on treaties in 1820 and 1867. Bonga had gained an education among both European and Ojibwe societies, crossed their borders. Comfortable in white and Ojibwe society, Bonga identified with both. Bonga called himself one of the first two "white men" in Northern Minnesota, he was speaking of his participation in'white' culture. He criticized white men. Bonga wrote letters on behalf of the Ojibwe, complaining to the state government about individual Indian agents in the region, his letters, which point out both his connections to the white government and the Ojibwe, illustrate the ways that Bonga traversed cultural boundaries. In 1837 an Ojibwe man, Che-ga-wa-skung, was accused of murdering Alfred Aitkin at Red Cedar Lake. Aitkin was the son of the fur trader William Alexander Aitken. Che-ga-wa-skung escaped from custody. Bonga trailed the man over five days and six nights during the winter catching him.
He brought the suspect back to Fort Snelling for trial. In one of the first United States criminal proceedings in what was part of Wisconsin Territory, Che-ga-wa-skung was tried and acquitted. Che-ga-wa-skung was acquitted because Alfred Aitkin was half-Ojibwe and therefore the court decided it had no jurisdiction over the case. Bonga was unpopular with some Ojibwe because of his role in the case, but he continued living with or near the people for the rest of his life. In 1842, he married an Ojibwe woman, they had four children together.1842 marked the effective end of the American Fur Company. With the beaver nearly extinct and European fashions changing, the fur trade, Bonga's livelihood had declined dramatically. In its place Bonga and his wife turned to lodge keeping. For many years, they welcomed travelers into their lodge on Leech Lake; some travelers reported on Bonga's telling stories of early Minnesota and singing for their enjoyment. Bonga died there. Bungo Township in Cass County is named after his family.
Spelling varied at this time. Playwright Carlyle Brown created a play based on Bonga's life titled "George Bonga: Black Voyageur" which opened in February 2016 at History Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota with James A. Williams starring as Bonga. Territorial era of Minnesota James Beckwourth Katz, William Loren. Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage. New York: Athaneum, 1986. McWatt, Arthur C. Crusaders for Justice: A Chronicle of Protest by Agitators and Activists in their Struggle for Human Rights in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1802-1985. Brooklyn Park: Papyrus Publishing Inc. 2009. White, Bruce M. "The Power of Whiteness: Or, the Life and Times of Joseph Rolette, Jr.", Minnesota History 56, no. 4: 178-197. African American Stories in Minnesota, Nora Murphy and Mary Murphy Gnatz, Minnesota Historical Society, 2000 William Durbin, "Who Was George Bonga?", Young Naturalists, Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota "George Bonga", Twin Cities Public Television link This article incorporates text from MNopedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
'night, Mother is a play by American playwright Marsha Norman. The play was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play; the play is about a daughter and her mother, Thelma. It begins with Jessie calmly telling her Mama that by morning she will be dead, as she plans to commit suicide that evening; the subsequent dialogue between Jessie and Mama reveals her reasons for her decision, her life with Mama, how she has planned her own death, culminating in a disturbing, yet unavoidable, climax. The play takes place over the course of a single evening in the living room/kitchen of an isolated house shared by Jessie and her elderly mother Thelma; this evening, Jessie has organized the house and made other detailed preparations for the future while explaining the changes to Thelma, who does not notice anything unusual. Jessie asks where her late father's pistol is stored. Only after Jessie retrieves the pistol does. Jessie explains. Thelma, horrified, at first assumes. Jessie calmly assures her that she is tired of living and has been for some time.
Thelma speculates that Jessie's unhappy marriage, her divorce, her criminal son, the loss of her father, her epilepsy, or the pity and distaste other people feel toward her illness, are at the root of her depression. The two reveal long-hidden truths to one another: Thelma admits that Jessie's seizures began in early childhood, but went untreated for decades with Jessie herself unaware of her symptoms, while Jessie confesses the true causes of her failed marriage. Throughout it all, Thelma bursts into hysterics in which she attempts to reason with Jessie. Jessie deflects her mother's reasoning by continuing to calmly explain the mundane responsibilities Thelma must assume once Jessie is dead, including what to do in the immediate aftermath of Jessie's suicide. Thelma rejects all of it, believing that Jessie will give up her plans if Thelma refuses to cooperate, but Jessie says she will kill herself regardless. By the end of the evening, Thelma concludes that she has never known her daughter and realizes that their long conversation has altered the nature of their relationship, but Jessie, stating that it is now time for her to go, says "'night, Mother," before locking herself in her room.
As Thelma begs and beats the door, the gunshot rings out. After a moment to collect herself, she begins to carry out the instructions Jessie left for her. Jessie Cates: A divorced woman who lives with her widowed mother, she is an epileptic. Nothing in life has worked out for this woman, including raising a son who turned out to be a disappointing loser, she has suffered with severe chronic depression. In the play, her long-standing despair has been temporarily relieved by a decision that has her uncharacteristically peaceful and talkative; the usual grayness and unsteady physical energy of this woman have given way to a new purpose, expressed in productivity and detached humor. Thelma "Mama" Cates: A widow, she is starting to feel her age and has allowed her depressed daughter to come and take care of all the details of her life, she sees life. She speaks and enjoys talking, she is a simple country woman who never wanted much and could find a way to be happy with whatever she had if it meant lying to herself and others.
She is energized by social situations. Norman wrote the play in 1981, it was developed at the Circle Repertory Company, it premiered at the American Repertory Theater with Robert Brustein in Cambridge, Massachusetts; this production transferred to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre with the same cast and was directed by Tom Moore. It opened on March 31, 1983, closed on February 26, 1984, after 380 performances, it received 4 Tony Award nominations: Best Play, Best Actress in a Best Director. The Broadway cast transferred to Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in 1984 for 54 performances. A US. National Tour was launched. Phyllis Somerville, Kathy Bates' understudy on Broadway, played Jessie for the tour. Mercedes McCambridge was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for her performance as Mama in the Washington D. C. production. The first London production opened in 1985 at the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Michael Attenborough. Pitoniak and Bates again starred in a 1986 production at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
The first Chicago production opened in 1986 at the Wisdom Bridge Theatre, starring Sarajane Avidon and Elizabeth Moore. A Broadway revival opened at the Royale Theatre on November 14, 2004, closed on January 9, 2005, after 65 performances and 26 previews, starring Brenda Blethyn and Edie Falco, directed by Michael Mayer. A Philadelphia area production opened on September 14, 2017 at the Centre Theater in Norristown, starring Allison Deratzian and Susan Blair, directed by David Deratzian. Sissy Spacek attended the Broadway production and liked the play so much she began work on a film version. Anne Bancroft was cast as Mama. Marsha Norman adapted her own play for the film's screenplay. Tom Moore, who directed the play on Broadway directed the film; the film added more characters. The film received mixed r