Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as commedia in musica, commedia per musica, dramma bernesco, dramma comico, divertimento giocoso. Associated with developments in Naples in the first half of the 18th century, whence its popularity spread to Rome and northern Italy, buffa was at first characterized by everyday settings, local dialects, simple vocal writing, the main requirement being clear diction and facility with patter; the New Grove Dictionary of Opera considers La Cilla and Luigi and Federico Ricci's Crispino e la comare to be the first and last appearances of the genre, although the term is still applied to newer work. High points in this history are the 80 or so libretti by Carlindo Grolo, Loran Glodici, Sogol Cardoni and various other approximate anagrams of Carlo Goldoni, the three Mozart/Da Ponte collaborations, the comedies of Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti. Similar foreign genres such as opéra comique or Singspiel differed as well in having spoken dialogue in place of recitativo secco, although one of the most influential examples, Pergolesi's La serva padrona, sparked the querelle des bouffons in Paris as an adaptation without sung recitatives.

Opéra bouffon is the French term for the Italian genre of opera buffa performed in 18th-century France, either in the original language or in French translation. It was applied to original French opéras comiques having Italianate or near-farcical plots; the term was later used by Jacques Offenbach for five of his operettas, is sometimes confused with the French opéra comique and opéra bouffe. Comic characters had been a part of opera until the early 18th century, when opera buffa began to emerge as a separate genre, an early precursor having been the operatic comedy, Il Trespolo tutore, by Alessandro Stradella, in 1679. Opera buffa was a parallel development to opera seria, arose in reaction to the so-called first reform of Zeno and Metastasio, it was, in part, intended as a genre. Whereas opera seria was an entertainment, both made for and depicted kings and nobility, opera buffa was made for and depicted common people with more common problems. High-flown language was avoided in favor of dialogue that the lower class would relate to in the local dialect, the stock characters were derived from those of the Italian commedia dell'arte.

In the early 18th century, comic operas appeared as short, one-act interludes known as intermezzi that were performed in between acts of opera seria. There existed, self-contained operatic comedies. La serva padrona by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, is the one intermezzo still performed with any regularity today, provides an excellent example of the style. Lo frate'nnamorato and Il Flaminio, by Pergolesi as well, are examples of the three-act commedia per musica. Apart from Pergolesi, the first major composers of opera buffa were Alessandro Scarlatti, Nicola Logroscino and Baldassare Galuppi, all of them based in Naples or Venice; the importance of opera buffa diminished during the Romantic Period. Here, the forms were freer and less extended than in the serious genre and the set numbers were linked by recitativo secco, the exception being Donizetti's Don Pasquale in 1843. With Rossini, a standard distribution of four characters is reached: a prima donna soubrette; the type of comedy could vary, the range was great: from Rossini's The Barber of Seville in 1816, purely comedic, to Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in 1786 which added drama and pathos.

Another example of Romantic opera buffa would be Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore of 1832. While opera seria deals with gods and ancient heroes and only contained comic scenes, opera buffa involves the predominant use of comic scenes and plot lines in a contemporary setting; the traditional model for opera seria had three acts, dealt with serious subjects in mythical settings, as stated above, used high voices for principal characters even for monarchs. In contrast, the model that held for opera buffa was having two acts, presenting comic scenes and situations as earlier stated and using the lower male voices to the exclusion of the castrati; this led to the creation of the characteristic "basso buffo", a specialist in patter, the center of most of the comic action. Eisen, Cliff, et al. "Mozart" in Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online sections 7–10. Fisher, Burton D, The Barber of Seville. Grand Rapids: Opera Journeys, 2005. Grout, Donald, A Short History of Opera. New York, Columbia University Press, 1965.

Hunter, The Culture of opera buffa in Mozart's Vienna: A Poetics of Entertainment. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1999. (reviewed in: Stevens, Jane R. "Shifting Focus to Mozart's

The 23rd Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 23rd Michigan Infantry was mustered into Federal service at East Saginaw, Michigan, on September 13, 1862; the regiment was mustered out of service on June 28, 1865. The regiment suffered 3 officers and 70 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 4 officers and 257 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 334 fatalities. Colonel David Jerome, a future Governor of Michigan Colonel Oliver L. Spaulding List of Michigan Civil War Units Michigan in the American Civil War The Civil War Archive

"The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" is an article, written in 1991 by U. S. investigative journalist Richard Behar, critical of Scientology. It was first published by Time magazine on May 6, 1991, as an eight-page cover story, was published in Reader's Digest in October 1991. Behar had published an article on Scientology in Forbes magazine, he stated that he was investigated by attorneys and private investigators affiliated with the Church of Scientology while researching the Time article, that investigators contacted his friends and family as well. Behar's article covers topics including L. Ron Hubbard and the development of Scientology, its controversies over the years and history of litigation, conflict with psychiatry and the U. S. Internal Revenue Service, the suicide of Noah Lottick, its status as a religion, its business dealings. After the article's publication, the Church of Scientology mounted a public relations campaign to address issues in the piece, it took out advertisements in USA Today for twelve weeks, Church leader David Miscavige was interviewed by Ted Koppel on Nightline about what he considered to be an objective bias by the article's author.

Miscavige alleged that the article was driven by the company Eli Lilly, because of Scientology's efforts against the drug Prozac. The Church of Scientology brought a libel suit against Time Warner and Behar, sued Reader's Digest in multiple countries in Europe in an attempt to stop the article's publication there; the suit against Time Warner was dismissed in 1996, the Church of Scientology's petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States was denied in 2001. Behar received awards in honor of his work on the article, including the Gerald Loeb Award, the Worth Bingham Prize, the Conscience-in-Media Award; the article has had ramifications in the current treatment of Scientology in the media, with some publications theorizing that journalists are wary of the litigation that Time Warner went through. The article has been cited by Anderson Cooper on CNN, in a story on Panorama's 2007 program "Scientology and Me" on the BBC, has been used as a reference for background on the history of Scientology, in books from both the cult and new religious movement perspectives.

Before penning "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", Behar had written a 1986 article in Forbes magazine, "The Prophet and Profits of Scientology", which reported on the Church of Scientology's business dealings and L. Ron Hubbard's financial success. Behar wrote that during research for "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", he and a Time contributing editor were themselves investigated by ten attorneys and six private investigators affiliated with the Church of Scientology. According to Behar, investigators contacted his friends and previous coworkers to ask them if he had a history of tax or drug problems, obtained a copy of his personal credit report, obtained illegally from a national credit bureau. Behar conducted 150 interviews in the course of his research for the article. Behar wrote that the motive of these operatives was to "threaten and discredit him", he learned that the Church of Scientology had assigned its head private investigator to direct the Church's investigation into Behar.

Anderson Cooper 360° reported that Behar had been contacted by Church of Scientology attorneys numerous times while doing research on the article. The parents of Noah Lottick, a Scientologist who had committed suicide, cooperated with Time and Reader's Digest; the full title of the article is "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power: Ruined lives. Lost fortunes. Federal crimes. Scientology poses as a religion but is a ruthless global scam — and aiming for the mainstream"; the article reported on the founding of the Church of Scientology by L. Ron Hubbard and controversies involving the Church and its affiliated business operations, as well as the suicide of a Scientologist; the article related the May 1990, suicide of Dr. Edward Lottick's son Noah Antrim Lottick. Lottick was a Russian studies student; the Church of Scientology and Lottick's family have differing positions on the effect Scientology coursework had on him. While none of the parties assigned blame, they expressed misgivings about his death.

His father had thought that Scientology was similar to Dale Carnegie's self-improvement techniques. Mike Rinder, the head of the Church of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs and a Church spokesman, stated "I think Ed Lottick should look in the mirror... I think Ed Lottick made his son's life intolerable"; the article outlined a brief history of Scientology, discussing Hubbard's initial background as a science fiction writer, cited a California judge who had deemed Hubbard a "pathological liar". The Church of Scientology's litigation history was described, in addition to its conflicts with the Internal Revenue Service, with countries regarding whether or not to accept it as a religion, its position against psychiatry. Behar wrote of the high costs involved in participation in the Church of Scientology, what he referred to as "front groups and financial scams", harassment of critics, he estimated that the Church of Scientology paid US$20 million annually to over one hundred attorneys. Behar maintained that though the Church of Scientology portrays itself as a religion, it was a "hugely profitable global racket" which intimidated members and critics in a Mafia-like manner.

Cynthia Kisser director of the Cult Awareness Network, was quoted: "Scientology is quite the most ruthless, the m

Harmanjot Singh is a German cricketer. He was named in Germany's squad for the 2017 ICC World Cricket League Division Five tournament in South Africa, he played in Germany's opening fixture, against Ghana, on 3 September 2017. In May 2019, he was named in Germany's Twenty20 International squad for their three-match series against Belgium; the matches were the first T20Is to be played by the German cricket team. He made his T20I debut for Germany against Belgium on 11 May 2019; the same month, he was named in Germany's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier tournament in Guernsey. Harmanjot Singh at ESPNcricinfo

Fra Angelico was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent". He earned his reputation for with the series of frescoes he made for his own friary, San Marco, in Florence, he was known to contemporaries as Fra Giovanni Angelico. In modern Italian he is called Beato Angelico. In 1982, Pope John Paul II proclaimed his beatification in recognition of the holiness of his life, thereby making the title of "Blessed" official. Fiesole is sometimes misinterpreted as being part of his formal name, but it was the name of the town where he took his vows as a Dominican friar, was used by contemporaries to separate him from others who were known as Fra Giovanni, he is listed in the Roman Martyrology as Beatus Ioannes Faesulanus, cognomento Angelicus—"Blessed Giovanni of Fiesole, surnamed'the Angelic' ". Vasari wrote of Fra Angelico that "it is impossible to bestow too much praise on this holy father, so humble and modest in all that he did and said and whose pictures were painted with such facility and piety."

Fra Angelico was born Guido di Pietro at Rupecanina in the Tuscan area of Mugello near Fiesole towards the end of the 14th century. Nothing is known of his parents, he was baptized Guidolino. The earliest recorded document concerning Fra Angelico dates from October 17, 1417 when he joined a religious confraternity or guild at the Carmine Church, still under the name of Guido di Pietro; this record reveals that he was a painter, a fact, subsequently confirmed by two records of payment to Guido di Pietro in January and February 1418 for work done in the church of Santo Stefano del Ponte. The first record of Angelico as a friar dates from 1423, when he is first referred to as Fra Giovanni, following the custom of those entering one of the older religious orders of taking a new name, he was a member of the local community at Fiesole, not far from Florence, of the Dominican Order. Fra, a contraction of frater, is a conventional title for a mendicant friar. According to Vasari, Fra Angelico received training as an illuminator working with his older brother Benedetto, a Dominican and an illuminator.

The former Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, now a state museum, holds several manuscripts that are thought to be or by his hand. The painter Lorenzo Monaco may have contributed to his art training, the influence of the Sienese school is discernible in his work, he trained with master Varricho in Milan He had several important charges in the convents he lived in, but this did not limit his art, which soon became famous. According to Vasari, the first paintings of this artist were an altarpiece and a painted screen for the Charterhouse of Florence. From 1408 to 1418, Fra Angelico was at the Dominican friary of Cortona, where he painted frescoes, now destroyed, in the Dominican Church and may have been assistant to Gherardo Starnina or a follower of his. Between 1418 and 1436 he was at the convent of Fiesole, where he executed a number of frescoes for the church and the Altarpiece, deteriorated but has since been restored. A predella of the Altarpiece remains intact and is conserved in the National Gallery, is a great example of Fra Angelico's ability.

It shows Christ in Glory surrounded by more than 250 figures, including beatified Dominicans. In 1436, Fra Angelico was one of a number of the friars from Fiesole who moved to the newly built convent or friary of San Marco in Florence; this was an important move which put him in the centre of artistic activity of the region and brought about the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici, one of the wealthiest and most powerful members of the city's governing authority and founder of the dynasty that would dominate Florentine politics for much of the Renaissance. Cosimo had a cell reserved for himself at the friary in order, it was, according to Vasari, at Cosimo's urging that Fra Angelico set about the task of decorating the convent, including the magnificent fresco of the Chapter House, the often-reproduced Annunciation at the top of the stairs leading to the cells, the Maesta with Saints and the many other devotional frescoes, of smaller format but remarkable luminous quality, depicting aspects of the Life of Christ that adorn the walls of each cell.

In 1439 Fra Angelico completed one of the San Marco Altarpiece at Florence. The result was unusual for its time. Images of the enthroned Madonna and Child surrounded by saints were common, but they depicted a setting, heaven-like, in which saints and angels hovered about as divine presences rather than people, but in this instance, the saints stand squarely within the space, grouped in a natural way as if they were able to converse about the shared experience of witnessing the Virgin in glory. Paintings such as this, known as Sacred Conversations, were to become the major commissions of Giovanni Bellini and Raphael. In 1445 Pope Eugene IV summoned him to Rome to paint the frescoes of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament at St Peter's demolished by Pope Paul III. Vasari claims that at this time Fra Angelico was offered the Archbishopric of Florence by Pope Nicholas

The Core Knowledge Foundation is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation founded in 1986 by E. D. Hirsch, Jr; the Foundation is dedicated to encouraging increased factual content in primary school education. The Foundation staff serves as the support system for Core Knowledge schools and parents; the Foundation conducts research on curricula. The Foundation has developed a number of publications, including general information packets about Core Knowledge, the Sequences and other supplementary materials for use in conjunction with the Sequence; the Core Knowledge Foundation offers a variety of staff development workshops to facilitate the process of implementing the Core Knowledge program in schools and hosts an annual national conference, which focuses on the sharing of ideas between educators at every level and making connections across the Core Knowledge network. The Core Knowledge Curriculum continues through eighth grade. A group that decides what is important for students to learn is able to consider them culturally literate and forms the curriculum around those ideas.

The three goals of implementation of the Core Knowledge Curriculum are to teach all of the topics included in the Core Knowledge Sequence, to teach the topics at the grade levels assigned by the Sequence, to teach the topics to all students whenever possible. Implementation of the Core Knowledge Curriculum and the process required necessitates cooperation between teachers and parents. Implementation occurs over a two- to three-year period, with schools phasing in topics subject-by-subject or adding additional grade levels each year. There are three levels of Core Knowledge schools based on the level of implementation and excellence achieved by the school—Friends of Core Knowledge, Official Core Knowledge Schools, Official Core Knowledge Visitation Sites. Friends of Core Knowledge are schools implementing Core Knowledge at any level, beginning on the first day of implementation. Official Core Knowledge Schools implement 80% or more of the Core Knowledge Sequence and have an eventual goal of 100% implementation.

They submit curriculum plans, alignment with state standards, sample lessons for review by the Foundation. Official Core Knowledge Visitation Sites are schools visited by representatives of the Foundation deemed to be model schools for Core Knowledge implementation; the Core Knowledge Foundation reports that there were 1,260 schools in the US using all or part of the Core Knowledge Sequence. As of April 2006, Core Knowledge schools were 44% public, 35% charter, 15% private, 6% parochial. Additionally, they were 39% urban, 39% suburban, 22% rural; the Core Knowledge system of education has been accused of not encouraging students to think compose meaningful questions, or develop reasoning skills. It is argued; the Core Knowledge model focuses on clear facts with wrong answers. This type of information is easy to teach and test, but does not prepare students to be able to think “outside the box” in the way of the real world, a messy place without concrete answers; this method keeps the teacher in the active, “expert” role, the student remains passive.

A passive role does not encourage creative thought. Research has shown that the Core Knowledge Curriculum does not depress creativity, may have a positive impact in increasing students' creativity in some areas; the curriculum has received criticism because one group has decided what is “best” for all students which could end up leaving minorities at a disadvantage. However, Core Knowledge resources and educational materials are effective in reducing educational inequalities, research has shown that the fact that Core Knowledge "schools with higher percentages of non-Caucasian students scored well above the national average sets these schools apart from their non-Core Knowledge counterparts". There is an argument that by using this method of teaching, the main focus of education becomes creating students that can reproduce the culture of the day. Oliva, P. F.. Developing the curriculum. New York: Pearson Allyn and Bacon. Core Knowledge Foundation Core Knowledge UK