The shakuhachi is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown bamboo-flute. It was introduced from China into Japan in the 7th century and reached its peak in the Edo period.. The oldest shakuhachi in Japan is stored in Shōsō-in, Nara; the shakuhachi introduced into Japan changed its form and scale many times after that, the present shakuhachi was completed in the Edo period in the 17th century. The shakuhachi is traditionally made of bamboo, it was used by the monks of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism in the practice of suizen. The instrument is tuned to the minor pentatonic scale; the name shakuhachi means "1.8 shaku", referring to its size. It is a compound of two words: shaku is an archaic unit of length equal to 30.3 centimeters and subdivided in ten subunits. Hachi means "eight", here tenths, of a shaku. Thus, "shaku-hachi" means "one shaku eight sun", the standard length of a shakuhachi. Other shakuhachi vary in length from about 1.3 shaku up to 3.6 shaku. Although the sizes differ, all are still referred to generically as "shakuhachi".
Shakuhachi are made from the root end of madake bamboo culm and are versatile instruments. Professional players can produce any pitch they wish from the instrument, play a wide repertoire of original Zen music, ensemble music with koto and shamisen, folk music and other modern pieces. Much of the shakuhachi's subtlety lies in its rich tone colouring, the ability for its variation. Different fingerings and amounts of meri/kari can produce notes of the same pitch, but with subtle or dramatic differences in the tone colouring. Holes can be covered and pitch varied subtly or by changing the blowing angle; the Honkyoku pieces rely on this aspect of the instrument to enhance their subtlety and depth. Unlike a recorder, where the player blows into a duct—a narrow airway over a block, called a "fipple"—and thus has limited pitch control, the shakuhachi player blows as one would blow across the top of an empty bottle and therefore has substantial pitch control; the five finger holes are tuned to a minor pentatonic scale with no half-tones, but using techniques called meri メリ and kari カリ, in which the blowing angle is adjusted to bend the pitch downward and upward combined with embouchure adjustments and fingering techniques the player can bend each pitch as much as a whole tone or more.
Pitches may be lowered by shading or covering finger holes. Since most pitches can be achieved via several different fingering or blowing techniques on the shakuhachi, the timbre of each possibility is taken into account when composing or playing thus different names are used to write notes of the same pitch which differ in timbre; the shakuhachi has a range of two full octaves and a partial third octave though experienced players can produce notes up to E7 on a 1.8 shakuhachi. The various octaves are produced using subtle variations of finger positions and embouchure. In traditional shakuhachi repertoire instead of tonguing for articulation like many western wind instruments, hitting holes with a fast movement is used and each note has its corresponding repeat fingerings e.g. for repeating C5 the 5th hole is used. A 1.8 shakuhachi produces D4 as its fundamental—the lowest note it produces with all five finger holes covered, a normal blowing angle. In contrast, a 2.4 shakuhachi has a fundamental of A3.
As the length increases, the spacing of the finger holes increases, stretching both fingers and technique. Longer flutes have offset finger holes, long flutes are always custom made to suit individual players; some honkyoku, in particular those of the Nezasaha school are intended to be played on these longer flutes. Due to the skill required, the time involved, the range of quality in materials to craft bamboo shakuhachi, one can expect to pay from US$1,000 to US$8,000 for a new or used flute; because each piece of bamboo is unique, shakuhachi cannot be mass-produced, craftsmen must spend much time finding the correct shape and length of bamboo, curing it for more or less of a decade in a controlled environment and start shaping the bore for a year using Ji 地 paste — many layers of a mixture including tonoko powder and seshime and finished with urushi lacquer — for each individual flute to achieve correct pitch and tonality over all notes. Specimens of high quality, with valuable inlays, or of historical significance can fetch US$20,000 or more.
Plastic or PVC shakuhachi have some advantages over their traditional bamboo counterparts: they are lightweight durable, nearly impervious to heat and cold, cost less than US$100. Shakuhachi made of wood are available costing less than bamboo but more than synthetic materials. Nearly all players, prefer bamboo, citing tonal qualities and tradition. Shakuhachi derived from Chinese bamboo-flute. Bamboo-flute first came to Japan from China during the 7th century. Shakuhachi looks like the Chinese instrument Xiao. During the medieval period, shakuhachi were most notable for their role in the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhist monks
The 1988 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1988. It was the 74th Rose Bowl Game; the Michigan State Spartans defeated the USC Trojans 20–17 in a bowl rematch, much closer than the 27-13 Spartan victory in the regular season. Michigan State Linebacker Percy Snow was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game; this was the last Rose Bowl game televised by NBC Sports. ABC Sports picked up rights to broadcast the game the following year; the teams opened the season against each other in East Lansing, Michigan in a nationally televised game on Labor Day night. Michigan State took advantage of three USC turnovers to defeat the Trojans, 27–13. Michigan State, led by former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach George Perles, had its best team in many years, beat traditional Big 10 powers Michigan and Ohio State, won the Big Ten by 1 1⁄2 games over Indiana and Iowa, who tied for second place; the Spartans followed up the USC win by a 31–8 loss at Notre Dame, a 31–3 home loss to Florida State.
The season got back on track with a 19–14 win at Iowa. A dramatic 17–11 win over in state rival Michigan occurred on October 10. On October 31, the Spartans defeated Ohio State, making this the first season since the 1966 National Championship when the Spartans defeated both Michigan and Ohio State; the Indiana Hoosiers had beaten Michigan and Ohio State, the meeting between Michigan State and Indiana on November 14 determined the Big Ten championship. Michigan State won 27 -- 3. Note that they are the only team in college history to not only beat Big 10 powers Ohio State and Michigan in the same season, but the USC Trojans twice. USC struggled early and was only 4–3 after seven games, but won its next three to set up a showdown with rival UCLA for the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth; the UCLA Bruins, with Troy Aikman at quarterback and Gaston Green at running back were favored, led 13–0 at halftime. It could have been worse, as on the last play of the first half, UCLA's Eric Turner intercepted a deflected pass at the UCLA goal line and had nothing but green grass ahead of him as he appeared primed to return it for a touchdown.
But USC QB Rodney Peete tackled him at the 10-yard line as time expired. USC had cut the lead to 13–10, midway through the 4th quarter, quarterback Rodney Peete threw to WR Erik Afholter in the back of the end zone. Afholter juggled the ball atop his shoulder pad. Leading 17–13, USC intercepted Aikman as he tried to lead UCLA back and ran out the clock; the game was a rematch of the season opener in East Lansing, that Michigan State won 27–13. The game was dominated by defense; the Spartans had their 1988 All-American running back Lorenzo White proved to be a cut-back slashing workhorse with 35 carries for 113 yards by the start of 4th quarter. After USC tied the game early in the fourth quarter at 17, Michigan State marched to a game-winning field goal by John Langeloh with four minutes to play; the key play of the drive was a third down play in which Michigan State quarterback Bobby McAllister was nearly sacked scrambled and at the last instant found receiver Andre Rison at the sideline for a first down that kept the drive alive.
USC had time to try to come back, Trojan quarterback Rodney Peete led USC on a drive to the Spartan 29-yard line with two minutes to play. But Peete fumbled the next snap, Michigan State recovered, the Spartans ran out the clock. Lorenzo White's performance in this game combined with his superb 4 year Career helped notch his recent January 2019 election to the College Football Hall of Fame
Boyzone were an Irish boy band. Their most famous line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch. Boyzone have had 21 singles in 22 singles in the Irish charts; the group have had six UK No.1 singles and nine No.1 singles in Ireland with 12 of their 24 singles in the UK being in the UK Top 2. Boyzone are one of the most successful bands in the United Kingdom. In total, Boyzone had 19 top 5 singles on the Irish Singles Chart, 18 top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, nine No. 1 Irish hit singles and six No. 1 UK hit singles and five No. 1 albums, with 25 million records sold by 2013 worldwide. They were put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh, known for managing Johnny Logan and Westlife. Before recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show; the group split in 1999. Boyzone made a comeback in 2007 with the intention of just touring; the band have sold 2 million records since their return. Gately died on 10 October 2009 of natural causes while on holiday in the Spanish island of Majorca with his civil partner, Andrew Cowles.
In 2012, the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest selling singles artists in British music chart history, with Boyzone placed at 29th and the second most successful boy band in Britain, behind Take That. To date, Boyzone have released seven compilation albums. According to the British Phonographic Industry, Boyzone has been certified for six million albums and over seven million singles in the UK. Boyzone went on tour in late 2018 to celebrate their 25th anniversary. An album to celebrate the anniversary will be released in 16 November 2018. On 28 April 2018, it was announced that the band would split for good after their anniversary celebrations, which ended in 2019. In 2023, the band will celebrate their 30th anniversary. In 1993, an advertisement appeared in many Irish newspapers calling for auditions to form a new Irish "boy band" group; the advertisements were sent out by theatrical manager Walsh, looking to make an "Irish Take That" following on from their success. The auditions were held in The Ormond Center, in Dublin, in November 1993.
More than 300 people replied to the advertisement. At the auditions the applicants were asked to sing the song "Careless Whisper" by George Michael; each audition would be watched again to judge the applicant's performance. Out of the 300, 50 were selected for a second audition. For the second audition the applicants where asked to sing two songs, including one of their own choice with a backing tape. Mikey Graham sang "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf, Keith Duffy sang "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred, Ronan Keating sang "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens, Stephen Gately sang "Hello" by Lionel Richie. Out of this 50, 10 were selected for a third audition. In the end, Gately, Richard Rock, Shane Lynch and Mark Walton were chosen. Graham was rejected but would join after the departure of Rock, who left citing musical differences with Ronan Keating. Keating faced opposition from his parents and teachers, he was planning to move to New York to study in college on a sports scholarship and pursue his dream to win an Olympic medal for athletics.
In the end Ronan decided to go along with Boyzone. Duffy's parents were against their son throwing away a solid and promising career and joining the band. Louis Walsh set about trying to get a deal with a good record company but it would take many rejection letters before they would be signed. In 1994 Lynch and Duffy were involved in a car crash. Walsh was furious, drew up contracts for all the bandmembers to sign, leading to their activities being restricted. With some of the original lineup leaving and others being brought into the group, it took some time before Boyzone settled down into its most recognisable five-member line-up of Shane Lynch, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham and Keith Duffy. Boyzone played through 1994 in pubs and clubs all over Northern Ireland before Polygram signed them up in 1994 and released the cover version of the Four Seasons' hit "Working My Way Back to You", featuring Graham and Gately on lead vocals, it reached No. 3 in the Irish Charts. The release of their cover version of the classic Osmonds' hit, "Love Me for a Reason", broke into the British charts.
The song was included in their 1995 hit debut album Said and Done. The album reached the No. 1 spot in Ireland and the UK. In 1995, the singles "Key to My Life", "So Good" and "Father and Son" were released, which all got the attention of new fans in Europe, their second album, A Different Beat, was released in 1996. It was the album that would bring the band worldwide success, sold 2 million copies worldwide; the song "Coming Home Now" was released as a single. Boyzone had their first UK No. 1 single, a cover of the Bee Gees' hit "Words". The album contained the hit singles "A Different Beat" and "Isn't It a Wonder". In 1997, Boyzone released three singles: "Isn't It a Wonder", "Picture of You", "Baby Can I Hold You/Shooting Star"; the group performed "Let The Message Run Free" at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, co-hosted by Keating, in Dublin and tried to break the US market with their version of "Mystical Experience", which they recorded in Spanish. Ronan Keating – who by now had emerged as the lead singer and frontman – won the Ivor Novello Award for songwriting in 1997 for "Picture of You".
Their third studio album, Where We Belong, was released in 1998 and featured Boyzone's writing abilities.
Jordan Christopher Deschamps-Braly is an American maxillofacial and craniofacial surgeon specializing in facial gender confirmation surgery for transgender people. He co-developed a procedure for building a new Adam's apple for trans men and is known for his work as a plastic surgeon for trans women. Deschamps-Braly grew up in Oklahoma, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oklahoma Honors College with an advanced degree in biochemistry in 2001 from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 2005. Surgeon Douglas Ousterhout picked Deschamps-Braly as successor to his surgical practice focused on transgender clients. Deschamps-Braly calls these procedures facial gender confirmation surgery, which includes facial feminization surgery and facial masculinization surgery. In 2017, Deschamps-Braly published a case report on the first facial confirmation surgery for trans men that included his new procedure for masculinization of the Adam's apple. In 2019, he moved into a new office designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects.
In 2011, during his craniofacial surgery fellowship in Paris, Deschamps-Braly met model and Sorbonne student Maya Alex. They married in San Francisco in 2013. Official website
Wallhausen is a municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located on the Helme river north of the Kyffhäuser mountain range and the border with Thuringia. Wallhausen is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Goldene Aue; the municipality consists of the 4 villages Wallhausen, Hohlstedt and Riethnordhausen. In 909 Henry the Fowler, the son of Duke Otto I of Saxony, married Matilda at the Pfalz of Wallhausen, their son Otto was born here in 912. King Otto III gave the castle to his aunt Abbess Matilda of Quedlinburg in 985. Wallhausen was a possession of the Saxon Electorate, it became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony in 1815
Knockout Cup is a British motorcycle speedway competition run annually since 1929. Each division has its own respective Knockout Cup; the current Knockout Cup competitions are the Premiership Knockout Cup, the Championship Knockout Cup and the National League Knockout Cup. The cups have been run in the past under the associated name of the League. For example Elite League Knockout Cup when tier one was the Elite League, a Premier League Knockout Cup when tier two was the Premier League and so on. National Trophy 1931-1964 British League Knockout Cup 1965-1967 British League Division One Knockout Cup 1968-1974 British League Knockout Cup 1975-1994 Premier League Knockout Cup 1995-1996 Elite League Knockout Cup 1997-2012 not held, 2012-2016 SGB Premiership Knockout Cup 2017–present National Trophy 1934-1964 British League Division Two Knockout Cup 1968-1974 New National League Knockout Cup 1975-1976 National League Knockout Cup 1977-1990 British League Division Two Knockout Cup 1991-1994 Academy League Knockout Cup 1995 Conference League Knockout Cup 1996 Premier League Knockout Cup 1997-2016 SGB Championship Knockout Cup 2017–present Conference League Knockout Cup 1998-2008 National League Knockout Cup 2009–present Shared title*Most Tier One Knockout Cups