In the Māori language, Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and of the season of its first rising in late May or early June. This is a marker of the beginning of the new year. Different people celebrate Matariki at different times. Matariki is a shortened version of Ngā mata o te ariki o Tāwhirimātea, or'the eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea', but it is sometimes incorrectly translated as'little eyes'. Similar words do occur in most Polynesian languages, deriving from Proto-Polynesian *mataliki, meaning'minute, small'; the star cluster was important for navigation and timing the seasons. The first rising of the Pleiades and of Rigel occurs just prior to sunrise in late May or early June; the actual time for the celebration of Matariki varies, some iwi celebrate it others wait until the rising of the next full moon, or the dawn of the next new moon—and others use the rising of Puanga/Rigel in a similar way. In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year.

Offerings of the produce of the land were made including Rongo, god of cultivated food. This time of the year was a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest. In addition, certain birds and fish were easy to harvest at this time; the name Matariki is used for the central star in the cluster, with the surrounding stars named Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipunā-ā-rangi and Ururangi. In 2001, the Māori Language Commission began a move to "reclaim Matariki, or Aotearoa Pacific New Year, as an important focus for Māori language regeneration". Since it has become common practice for various institutions to celebrate Matariki in a range of ways and over the period of a week or month anywhere from early June to late August. With the wider recognition, there have been proposals to make Matariki an official holiday in New Zealand—in particular former Māori Party MP Rahui Katene's private member's bill Te Ra o Matariki Bill/Matariki Day Bill, drawn from the ballot in June 2009.

The Bill would have fixed the date of a public holiday using the new moon in June. Mayor of Waitakere City Bob Harvey supported the call to make Matariki a public holiday to replace Queen's Birthday, along with the Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand, which found none of New Zealand's local authorities held celebrations for Queen's Birthday, but many held celebrations for Matariki. However, the Bill itself did not propose abolishing Queen's Birthday, was voted down at its first reading; as part of the National–Māori Party agreement subsequent to the New Zealand general election, 2011, both parties agreed to support a "cultural heritage bill to recognise Matariki/Puanga, to honour the peace-making heritage established at Parihaka." Matariki, a 2010 New Zealand drama film set in Otara, South Auckland Makahiki, an ancient Hawaiian New Year festival Matariki at the Māori Language Commission Matariki Online Learning Resources from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Story: Matariki – Māori New Year at in Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand Matariki – Māori New Year in Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand Matariki: Awaiting their Ascent in Tangatawhenua.com Matariki Festival The First Lunar Month at NZ Astronomy

Joseph Ernst von Bandel was a German architect and painter. He is best known for his 38 years of work on the monumental Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold, honoring Arminius' victory over Roman troops in 9 AD. Ernst Bandel was born on 17 May 1800 at Ansbach, his father, Georg Karl Friedrich Bandel was a Prussian civil servant. His childhood was dominated by political events. After Ansbach became Bavarian in 1806, Ernst's father worked for the new government and became the president of the local appellate court. In 1813, he became a noble. At fourteen, Ernst von Bandel began to take drawing lessons at the Academy of Fine Arts, with the engraver Albert Christoph Reindel. Two years he went to Munich to apply for a position with the Royal Bavarian Forestry Office. While there, he became his student, his father's death in 1818 and the resulting financial stress forced him to give up his interest in art, but through his father's connections with the royal family, he was able to arrange a generous grant from King Maximilian I.

The following year, he was given a job as a draftsman at the Hofbauamt. In 1820, he refused a job offer as an assistant to the architect Leo von Klenze, as he was not amenable to Bandel's preference for the Gothic style; that year, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts, first as a painter but soon switched to sculpting. There, he studied under Wilhelm von Kobell and others. In 1819/20, he first worked on drafts for a statue of Arminius. In 1822/23, Bandel was at Nuremberg, working on completing the figures on the Gothic Schöner Brunnen While there, he met Karoline von Kohlhagen, whom he married in 1827, they were to have a total of seven children. With a final stipendium from the king, he was able to study and work in Italy from 1825 to 1827. While in Rome he met Bertel Thorvaldsen and several members of the Nazarene movement, but was unimpressed by them, his closest associates were Heinrich Max Imhof. He worked as a sculptor in Rome. After his return to Germany, he made the figurine on the gable of the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, following a design by his teacher Johann Nepomuk Haller.

He found employment with Christian Daniel Rauch at the Glyptothek, where he remained until 1834. In 1832, he and Hans Ferdinand Massmann founded the local Gymnastics Society. Maximilian's successor, Ludwig I, asked Leo von Klenze to design the Walhalla memorial near Regensburg between 1830 and 1842. Bandel made the statue of Franz von Sickingen. However, he felt the Neoclassical design to be alien to Germany and thus inappropriate for a national memorial. Bandel had personal problems with some of his colleagues and the king. Bandel found himself receiving little support or understanding from the new king, so he moved to Berlin in 1834, following his former employer, working on a huge equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, he soon began making his own proposals for a grand national monument, but got little encouragement and less interest, so he moved, this time to Hanover where, with the intercession of architect Ernst Ebeling, King William IV entrusted him with the design of the residential palace.

Bandel contributed to the interior design of the Schlosskirche. He worked on the new auditorium at Georg August University in Göttingen, creating the pediment reliefs and a statue of William IV in front of the building. From 1837 to 1846, he lived in Detmold, working on the Hermannsdenkmal, a lifelong dream of Bandel's, it commemorates a victory over three Roman Legions by the Cheruscian prince, Arminius, in 9 AD. In 1838, Bandel again travelled to Italy, meeting Ludwig I en route, who offered financial support to the Hermannsdenkmal, but requested some changes. At Carrara, Bandel worked on a statue of Thusnelda, wife of Arminius sold to the Prince of Lippe. Another trip to Italy followed in 1843/44. After a great deal of initial support for the project, public interest began to wane and donations decreased dramatically. Bandel had to use up his entire personal fortune in an effort to complete the monument. In 1846, he had a falling out with the Hermannsverein over financial issues, he returned to Hanover and embittered, but began re-soliciting donations.

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the government and the public found their enthusiasm for the project restored. Bandel now made the copper plates for the statue at a Hanover workshop. In 1869, Wilhelm I visited him there. From 1871, Bandel worked in 1872 moved to the construction site with his wife. In 1873, the Hanover workshop was closed; the statue was inaugurated on 16 August 1875 by Kaiser William I. After the creation of the German Empire, the Reichstag and the Kaiser had provided the necessary sum for completion. Bandel took part in the ceremony, by now had become a celebrity, showered with honors including honorary citizenship of Detmold and Ansbach. William I awarded him a lifelong stipend of 4,000 thaler per year. However, Bandel had been weakened by the years of work by kidney disease, he opened a studio in 1876 went on another trip to Italy. He died on the return trip at his half-brother's estate at Neudegg near Donauwörth on 25 September 1876, he is buried at the Stadtfriedhof Engesohde at Hanover.

Brigitt

The Phantom is the twelfth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label. The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 3 stars stating "The Phantom finds Pearson writing an ambitious set of post-bop that expands the boundaries of the music with Latin percussion and complex harmonies derived from the avant-garde... The results aren't always successful, but they are intriguing and worth investigating". All compositions by Duke Pearson except as indicated"The Phantom" - 10:21 "Blues for Alvina" - 3:09 "Bunda Amerela" - 5:46 "Los Ojos Alegres" - 6:17 "Say You're Mine" - 5:40 "The Moana Surf" - 7:23 Duke Pearson - piano Jerry Dodgion - flute, alto flute Bobby Hutcherson - vibes Sam Brown, Al Gafa - guitar Bob Cranshaw - bass Mickey Roker - drums Victor Pantoja - congas Carlos'Patato' Valdés - conga, güiro

The A226 road travels in a west–east direction in southeast London and north Kent, from Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley, through Dartford, Gravesend to Strood. It is about 15.7 miles in length. Before road numbering began in the United Kingdom, the road was part of the major route between London and Dover, the road taken by all traffic heading for mainland Europe; when the Ministry of Transport published its first list of road numbers, the building of the A2 had begun. The road begins with an end-on junction with the A207 to the east of the town of Crayford. in the London Borough of Bexley in Both roads are marked on street maps as being part of the Roman road Watling Street. After 1 mile the road becomes West Hill where the descent into the valley of the River Darent and the town of Dartford begins. At the foot of the hill the clockwise ringroad is encountered: the original road continued through what is now the pedestrianised High Street. Roads making up the Ring Road are: Highfield Road.

Beyond the Ring Road is East Hill, still part of Watling Street. At its top the road becomes The Brent: a junction here takes traffic south-east on the A296 road to connect with the Dartford Crossing; the Brent crosses a bridge over the A282 road here. This is the only part of the M25 which not a motorway, where it crosses the River Thames by tunnel and bridge. From here the road follows a somewhat undulating course as it passes through areas of chalk which have been excavated for the cement industry, many of which factories having been closed down; the villages of Stone and Swanscombe all lie along this stretch of the road. Due to the construction of Ebbsfleet International Station in 2006/2007, the route was altered; the road now heads right under the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and left, past the International station and Sawyer's Lake. This new route is used by Fastrack Buses Route B; the A226 passes Northfleet Urban Country Park before following a dismantled railway route to Northfleet. It rejoins the London Road, near the Northfleet suburb of Rosherville.

The former route is now the B2175. Gravesend is reached; as with Dartford, Gravesend has a ring road: this takes traffic around the town centre via Bath Street, West Street, Harmer Street, Milton Road, Parrock Street, Windmill Street, Stone Street, Rathmore Road and Pelham Road. The A226 continues along Milton Road and east to the Lion Roundabout, it by-passes south of the village of Chalk via the 1930s "Arterial road". This section of the A226 follows the 1711 turnpike road between Gravesend and Rochester; the next village, lying to the north of the road, is Higham. The final section of the road crosses the B2018 and drops down to the Medway valley until the junction with the A2 at Strood

Keith Daniel Rodden is an American stock car racing crew chief. He works for Hendrick Motorsports in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, for whom he served as crew chief of the No. 5 car. A native of Denver, North Carolina, a graduate of North Carolina State University, Rodden has worked as an engineer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Andy Petree Racing, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Richard Petty Motorsports, Red Bull Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. In November 2013, Rodden was announced as the new crew chief for Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 1 Chevrolet, starting with the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. A year Rodden was announced as the crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports's No. 5 Chevrolet starting in 2015. Working with Kasey Kahne, the two won the 2017 Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400, though Rodden was replaced by Darian Grubb in the year. Keith Rodden crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference

The Olympic Bell was commissioned and cast for the 2012 London Olympic Games, is the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the world. The bell is cast in bronze bell metal and is 2 metres high with a diameter of 3.34 metres, weighs 22 long tons 18 cwt 3 qr 13 lb. The bell is now displayed in the Olympic Park. In September 2011 the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, a few miles from the Olympic Stadium, was commissioned to make the bell; the Foundry completed its design, profile and tuning. However, it was no longer able to cast such a large bell, so subcontracted casting to Royal Eijsbouts of the Netherlands. There was some controversy over using a non-British firm, as Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough had tendered to cast the bell; the hammer mechanism and hanging framework were made by other firms and twenty companies in three countries were involved with its production. The bell was installed and tested in the stadium at midnight on 1 June 2012, it was needed to fit through the athletes' tunnel. The bell is the second heaviest in Europe, after St Petersglocke in Cologne Cathedral and the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world.

Its main note is a B note, so it has the lowest tone in the world. It is 30 centimetres wider than the next-largest bell in Britain,'Great Paul' at St Paul’s Cathedral cast by Taylor’s in 1881; the bell is inscribed with "London 2012" and a line from Caliban's speech in The Tempest: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises", which featured in the Olympics opening ceremony spoken by Kenneth Branagh. The other side bears the Foundry's coat of arms. Bradley Wiggins, who had won the Tour de France five days earlier, opened the ceremony by'ringing' the bell; this was symbolic as the hammer was moved mechanically: one journalist noted "He may be a superhuman athlete but Bradley Wiggins isn’t capable of setting the Olympic Bell’s monumental half-ton clapper in motion by hand!" The bell was rung in the ceremony, including just before Paul McCartney's performance of "Hey Jude". Sir Paul blamed his faltering start on the unexpected loud sound of the bell, as he had forgotten it was going to be rung; the bell featured in music within the ceremony, such as in "And I Will Kiss".

The bell was recorded in the rain during rehearsals. The bell hung in the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony, it was moved to make way for the Olympic cauldron, stored in the Olympic Park. The Olympic Park re-opened in July 2013, in May 2016 the bell was returned and reinstalled on a supporting structure just outside the Olympic Stadium. After 200 years it is due to return to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry for retuning. In December 2016 the foundry announced that it was closing down, the closure will be completed in May 2017; the bell has fallen silent and is not rung due to concerns that it will disturb nearby residents, thus becoming the largest ornamental bell in the world as well. Olympic Bell for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics Behind-the-scenes at the Foundry Part 1 Breaking Out of the Mould - The Olympic Bell Part 2 The London 2012 Olympic Bell Arrives Home Part 3