The foot is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. Since the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959, one foot is defined as 0.3048 meter exactly. In customary and imperial units, the foot comprises three feet compose a yard; the "foot" was a part of many local systems of units, including the Greek, Chinese and English systems. It varied in length from country to country, from city to city, sometimes from trade to trade, its length was between 250 mm and 335 mm and was but not always, subdivided into 12 inches or 16 digits. The United States is the only industrialized nation that uses the international foot and the survey foot in preference to the meter in its commercial and standards activities; the foot is recognized in the United Kingdom. The foot is recognized as an alternative expression of length in Canada defined as a unit derived from the meter although both the U. K. and Canada have metricated their units of measurement. The measurement of altitude in international aviation is one of the few areas where the foot is used outside the English-speaking world.

The length of the international foot corresponds to a human foot with shoe size of 13, 14, 15.5 or 47. The human body has been used to provide the basis for units of length; the foot of a white male is about 15.3% of his height, giving a person of 160 centimetres a foot of 245 millimetres and one of 180 centimetres a foot of 275 millimetres. Archaeologists believe that the Egyptians, Ancient Indians and Mesopotamians preferred the cubit while the Romans and the Greeks preferred the foot. Under the Harappan linear measures, Indus cities during the Bronze Age used a foot of 13.2 inches and a cubit of 20.8 inches. The Egyptian equivalent of the foot—a measure of four palms or 16 digits—was known as the djeser and has been reconstructed as about 30 cm; the Greek foot had a length of ​1⁄600 of a stadion, one stadion being about 181.2 m, therefore a foot being at the time about 302 mm. Its exact size varied from city to city and could range between 270 mm and 350 mm, but lengths used for temple construction appear to have been about 295 mm to 325 mm, the former being close to the size of the Roman foot.

The standard Roman foot was about 295.7 mm, but in the provinces, the pes Drusianus was used, with a length of about 334 mm. Both the Greeks and the Romans subdivided the foot into 16 digits, but in years, the Romans subdivided the foot into 12 unciae. After the fall of the Roman Empire, some Roman traditions were continued but others fell into disuse. In AD 790 Charlemagne attempted to reform the units of measure in his domains, his units of length were based on the toise and in particular the toise de l'Écritoire, the distance between the fingertips of the outstretched arms of a man. The toise has 6 pieds each of 326.6 mm. He was unsuccessful in introducing a standard unit of length throughout his realm: an analysis of the measurements of Charlieu Abbey shows that during the 9th century the Roman foot of 296.1 mm was used. At the same time, monastic buildings used the Carolingian foot of 340 mm; the procedure for verification of the foot as described in the 16th century posthumously published work by Jacob Koebel in his book Geometrei.

Von künstlichem Feldmessen und absehen is: Stand at the door of a church on a Sunday and bid 16 men to stop, tall ones and small ones, as they happen to pass out when the service is finished. The Neolithic long foot, first proposed by archeologists Mike Parker Pearson and Andrew Chamberlain, is based upon calculations from surveys of Phase 1 elements at Stonehenge, they found that the underlying diameters of the stone circles had been laid out using multiples of a base unit amounting to 30 long feet, which they calculated to be 1.056 of a modern foot. Furthermore, this unit is identifiable in the dimensions of some stone lintels at the site and in the diameter of the "southern circle" at nearby Durrington Walls. Evidence that this unit was in widespread use across southern Britain is available from the Folkton Drums from Yorkshire and a similar object, the Lavant drum, excavated at Lavant, again with a circumference divisible as a whole number into ten long feet; the measures of Iron Age Britain are uncertain and proposed reconstructions such as the Megalithic Yard are controversial.

Welsh legend credited Dyfnwal Moelmud with the establishment of their units, including a foot of 9 inches. The Belgic or North German foot of 335 mm was introduced to England either by the Belgic Celts during their invasions prior to the Romans or by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th and 6th century. Roman units were introduced following their invasion in AD 43; the Roman foot had been previous

Marta Dias is a São Toméan Portuguese singer of Jazz, World music and fado who has recorded several solo albums and has additionally recorded and toured extensively with guitarist António Chainho. She has appeared on several Hip hop releases, including the Ithaka song, Escape From The City Of Angels, which appeared in Columbia Pictures's feature film release, The Replacement Killers in 1998. Marta Dias was born in São Tomé the capital city of the West African island nation of São Tomé and Principe to a Portuguese mother and a São Toméan father, her grandmother was from India. Her father, Nuno Xavier Dias, is credited as the person who proclaimed the liberation of São Tomé from colonial rule; the family relocated to the Lisbon-area of Portugal. She sang for the first time as a teenager at the Teatro de Animação de Setúbal in Portugal, and while living in Germany, studied vocals in Cologne, with the Brazilian singer Marta Laurito. Marta Dias' first professional recordings were with the pioneering, Lisbon-based Hip hop tuga artist General D.

She was featured on his songs "Amigo Prekavido" and "Raiz Desenraizadao" for the album Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu, one of the first hip hop releases in Portugal. The recording with General D led to more acquaintances within the Lisbon music community, she soon recorded the song, "Bairro De Lata" with the jazzy hip hop band, Cool Hipnoise and recorded the songs "Goodcookies" and "Escape From The City Of Angeles} with Ithaka Darin Pappas, a Greek-American artist residing in Portugal, for his album Flowers And The Color Of Paint. In 1996, Marta recorded her first solo album, "Y. U.É" produced and composed by UK musician Jonathan Miller for the Portuguese label, União Lisboa. Californian songwriter, Ithaka provided lyrics for two of the tracks, "Learn To Fly" and "Look To The Blue"; the album earned Marta the "Best Female Vocalist" award at Channel SICTV's annual televised Premios Blitz, (the Portuguese "Grammy Award". António Chainho and Marta Dias performed together for the first time in November 1998, at a concert in honor of the celebrated guitarist's 30-year career.

Marta Dia sang "Barco Negro" and "Nemes Paredes I confess". It was the beginning of a fruitful musical association that would last a decade. Through the years that she continued to collaborate with other artists on both recordings and live performances. In 1997, she appeared on Ithaka's track "Ursula Of Ithaka" for the album, Stellafly. In 1998, she performed with singing star Kika Santos at the Expo'98 (; the song, "Amazing Grace" by African Voices. "Invisivel" by Fernando Cunha for his album Só Há Tempo P´ra Viver Agora. The song and "Nada Mudou" by Santos e Pecadores. In 1999 she participated on TV personality Herman José's Christmas album. In 1999, Marta Dias release her second solo effort entitled "Aqui", which included several cover versions by known Portuguese language artist such as; this album was nominated for the José Afonso Awards. Until the end of 2001, Marta Dias toured nationally with the songs from Aqui performing concerts in Spain and special a concert in São Paulo, Brazil with Ney Matogrosso, in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil.

In 2003, António Chaínho and Marta Dias, after years of touring internationally together since 1998 released the album "Ao Vivo no CCB", recorded January 28 and 29 of 2003. The record includes seven original tracks; the two have continued to live concerts until today. Marta Dias released the album "Quantas Tribos" in 2016; the album is a tribute to five of the greatest poets from São Príncipe. The album utilizes these classic poems as lyrical content, intertwining Marta's vocals over instrumental compositions provided by the classical guitarist, Oswaldo Santos. Vocalist Carmen Souza participates on the song in "Os Rios Da Tribo" and Angolan poet/vocalist appears Kalaf on the song, "Humanidade". In 2018, Marta Dias and Goan pianist Carlos Barreto Xavier collaborated on the album, "Bandida", consisting of twelve tracks, utilizing both traditional Portuguese music blending with more modern urbans sounds; the album features percussionist Ruca Rebordão and Yuri Daniel on electric bass. 1996 Marta Dias - "Y.

U.É" - Label: União Lisboa Label: União Lisboa 1999 Marta Dias - "Aqui" - Label: Farol Música 2003 António Chainho & Marta Dias "Ao Vivo No CCB" Label: Movieplay 2016 Marta Dias "Quantas Tribos" Label: Bigbit 2018 Marta Dias and Barreto Xavier "Bandida" 1996 Marta Dias "Gritar" - Label: União Lisboa 1996 Marta Dias "Mouraria" - Label: União Lisboa 2006 Marta Dias & António Chainho "Fado Tão Bom" - Label: Movieplay 2005 LJS & Marta Dias "Barca Bela" Album: Composto De Mudança Label: Som Livre 2006 Marta Dias & António Chainho "Fado Tão Bom" - Label: Movieplay 1995 "Amigo Prekavido" General D feat. Marta Dias - Album: Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu

George Birimisa was an American playwright and director who contributed to gay theater during the 1960s, the early years of the Off-Off-Broadway movement. His works feature sexually explicit charged depictions of working-class homosexual men closeted, in the years before the 1969 Stonewall riots prompted the gay rights movement. Contemporary Authors stated that "Birmisa's plays feature themes of human isolation, frustrated idealism, rage against needless suffering centered around homosexual characters." According to theatre critic and playwright Michael Smith, Birimisa's writing "links the pain of human isolation to economic and social roots." Birimisa remained an active playwright, author and teacher until the end of his life. Birimisa was born in Santa Cruz, one of five children born to Croatian Americans Charles and Anna Birimisa. While George was still a child, his father died as the result of injuries while under arrest after speaking in support of the Communist Party at a labor rally. Birimisa's mother remarried.

He spent most of his childhood in a Catholic orphanage in a series of foster homes. He left school after ninth grade. Birimisa married Nancy Linden in 1952, they divorced in 1961. After serving in the U. S. Naval Reserve during World War II, Birimisa supported himself with a series of jobs, including factory worker, disc jockey, health club manager, television network page and Howard Johnson's counterman. While working at Howard Johnson's on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, he once refused service to Walter Winchell when Winchell arrived after closing. In retaliation, the journalist ran a column calling the restaurant a hangout for "vag-lewd" types; this publicity turned. The incident convinced Birimisa, who had begun writing fictional accounts of his life, to start writing about his sexuality, he started writing plays at the age 41 while studying acting with Uta Hagen at the Herbert Berghof Studio. Birimisa's first play, was produced at Theatre Genesis in the East Village of Manhattan in February 1966.

The play portrayed a gay relationship. "For years," the playwright recalls, "even gay people would ask me,'When are you going to write your first real play?'" Degrees included autobiographical elements, which would become more explicit in his work. Birimisa wrote, "I don't agree that there are'shades of truth'. We all know the truth, deep inside ourselves; as artists, we have a responsibility to reveal who we are, not to work in shades of gray. This truth includes our sexual beings."Birimisa directed and acted in his best-known play, Daddy Violet, a semi-improvised indictment of the Vietnam War, in 1967. The play opened at the Troupe Theatre Club and at Caffe Cino, Joe Cino's coffeehouse, acknowledged as the birthplace of the Off-Off-Broadway movement; the play subsequently toured colleges in the United States and Canada and appeared at the 1968 International Theater Festival in Vancouver. Birimisa has since acknowledged that he wrote Daddy Violet as a parody of the improvisational theater, prominent at the time in an attempt to "out avant-garde everyone else."

Birimisa revised the script to refer to the war in Iraq for a revival at the Boston Conservatory in 2006. In 1969, Birimisa became the first gay playwright to receive a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation; this enabled him to attend rehearsals for the London production of his first two-act play, Mr. Jello, in April 1968. Mr. Jello is an arrangement of realistic vignettes that intersect to form a surrealistic social statement, with characters including a female impersonator, a gay married man, a hustler. Mr. Jello was produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in 1974. Georgie Porgie, first produced on November 20, 1968, is another play of vignettes, illustrating the destructive force of self-hatred in gay men; the Village Voice wrote: "Birimisa's dialogue is graceful and pointed, his characterization swift and penetrating, astonishingly, his most agonizing scenes are his most hilarious, as if he's able to reach greater heights of pain and laughter by having the two lean on each other...

Birimisa's considerable talent as fluid as it is raw, as passionate as it is brutal." The Best Plays of 1968–1969 listed Georgie Porgie as a highlight of the Off-Off-Broadway season. Contemporary Authors quotes a review in Variety calling Georgie Porgie "'an advance in its field, unlike many of its stage predecessors, Birimisa's play minces few images or words in describing the plight of its characters; the coarse language and nudity are used for psychological effect as the characters face melodramatic situations,' continued Variety,'while Birimisa permits the action to develop to logically and sometimes surprising conclusions.'" The play's male nudity and simulations of sex prevented the planned transfer to Off-Broadway, though a 1971 Off-Broadway revival of Georgie Porgie ran for 107 performances. The 1971 revival highlighted mainstream critics' continued resistance to gay plays after the Off-Broadway success of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band in 1968. One review stated, "Georgie Porgie at Greenwich Village's Fortune Theatre is a play written by a homosexual, about a homosexual, with a special interest for homosexuals.

This is not to say. Indeed, it's a well performed attempt to portray the totality of the homosexual experience... hildhood ridicul