The Sphynx cat is a breed of cat known for its lack of coat. Hairlessness in cats is a naturally-occurring genetic mutation; the skin should have the texture of chamois leather, as it has fine hairs, or the cat may be hairless. Whiskers may be present, either whole or broken, or may be absent; the cats have a narrow, long head, webbed feet. Their skin is the color that their fur would be, all the usual cat markings may be found on the Sphynx cat's skin; because they have no fur they lose more body heat than coated cats. These breed standards are defined by The International Cat Association: Wedge-shaped heads with prominent cheekbones Large, lemon-shaped eyes Very large ears with no hair on inside, but soft down on outside base Well-muscled, powerful neck of medium length Medium length torso, barrel-chested, full, round abdomen, sometimes called a pot belly Paw pads thicker than other cats, giving the appearance of walking on cushions Whiplike, tapering tail from body to tip, Muscular body Sphynx are known for their extroverted behavior.

They display a high level of energy, intelligence and affection for their owners. They are one of the more dog-like breeds of cats greeting their owners at the door and friendly when meeting strangers; the contemporary breed of Sphynx cat known as the Canadian Sphynx, is distinct from the Russian hairless cat breeds, like Peterbald and Donskoy. Although hairless cats have been reported throughout history, breeders in Europe have been working on the Sphynx breed since the early 1960s. Two different sets of hairless felines discovered in North America in the 1970s provided the foundation cats for what was shaped into the existing Sphynx breed; the current American and European Sphynx breed is descended from two lines of natural mutations: Dermis and Epidermis barn cats from the Pearson family of Wadena, Minnesota Bambi and Paloma stray cats found in Toronto, Ontario and raised by Shirley Smith The Canadian Sphynx breed was started in 1966 in Toronto when a hairless kitten named Prune was born to a black and white domestic shorthair queen.

The kitten was mated with its mother. Together with a few naked kittens found the cat Prune marked the first attempt to create a hairless breed. After purchasing these cats in 1966 and referring to them as "Moonstones" and "Canadian Hairless," Ridyadh Bawa, a science graduate of the University of Toronto, combined efforts with his mother Yania, a long time Siamese breeder, Kees and Rita Tenhoves to develop a breed of cats, subsequently renamed as "Sphynx"; the Bawas and the Tenhoves were the first individuals able to determine the autosomal recessive nature of the Sphynx gene for hairlessness while being successful in transforming this knowledge into a successful breeding program with kittens which were capable of reproducing. The Tenhoves were able to get the new breed provisional showing status through the Cat Fanciers' Association but had the status revoked in 1971, when it was felt by the CFA Board that the breed had concerns over fertility; the first breeders faced a number of problems.

The genetic pool was limited and many kittens died. There was a problem with many of the females suffering convulsions. In 1978, cat breeder Shirley Smith of Ontario, found three hairless kittens on the streets of her neighborhood. In 1983 she sent two of them to Dr. Hugo Hernandez in the Netherlands to breed the two kittens, named Punkie and Paloma, to a white Devon Rex named Curare van Jetrophin; the resulting litter produced five kittens: two males from this litter were used, along with Punkie's half-sister, Paloma. The first noted occurring foundation Sphynx originated as hairless stray barn cats in Wadena, Minnesota, at the farm of Milt and Ethelyn Pearson; the Pearsons identified hairless kittens occurring in several litters of their domestic shorthair barn cats in the mid-1970s. Two hairless female kittens born in 1975 and 1976, Epidermis and Dermis, were sold to Oregon breeder Kim Mueske, became an important part of the Sphynx breeding program. Working with the Pearson line of cats was breeder Georgiana Gattenby of Brainerd, who outcrossed with Cornish Rex cats.

Other hairless breeds might have body temperaments that differ from those described above. There are, for example, new hairless breeds, including the Don Sphynx and the Peterbald from Russia, which arose from their own spontaneous gene mutations; the standard for the Sphynx differs between cat associations such as The International Cat Association, Fédération Internationale Féline and Cat Fanciers' Association. In 2010, DNA analysis confirmed that Sphynx hairlessness was produced by a different allele of the same gene that produces the short curly hair of the Devon Rex, with the Sphynx's allele being incompletely dominant over the Devon allele and both being recessive to the wild type; the Sphynx's allele is termed "hr", for hairless. The only allowable outcross breeds in the CFA are now Domestic Shorthair. Other associations may vary, the Russian Blue is a permitted outcross in the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. In Europe the Devon Rex has been used for outcrosses; the Sphynx's hairlessness is produced by a mu

The Dallas Aces were the world's first professional bridge team, organized in 1968 by Dallas businessman Ira Corn. Corn was determined to return bridge supremacy to America, after its domination for more than a decade by the formidable Italian Blue Team; the Aces, in various formations during the years featured stars such as James Jacoby, Bobby Wolff, Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman, Mike Lawrence, Paul Soloway, Eric Murray and Sami Kehela. They won the 1977 and 1983 Bermuda Bowls, as well as several other competitions; the team disbanded after Corn's death in 1982. Corn recruited James Jacoby and Bobby Wolff Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman, Mike Lawrence, paying salaries plus expenses for major tournaments. Bob Hamman at first declined an invitation, but became the sixth team member in 1969. Jacoby paired with Wolff, Eisenberg with Goldman, Lawrence with Hamman; the team analyzed hands for long hours. Corn hired coaches and provided a computer from one of his companies to assist analysis and to generate bridge deals to order.

In 1969, the team achieved its first major success, winning the Spingold Knockout Teams at the fall North American Bridge Championships. That year it represented North America in the Bermuda Bowl tournament, the nearly-annual Teams world championship, but the Aces placed third behind a team from Taiwan—an astonishing upset and the first time that a Bermuda Bowl final match did not include North America or the United States. Meanwhile, the Blue Team won its tenth in a row, disbanded; the Aces beat Taiwan in the 1970 final and defended their title in 1971, beating France in the final. After 1971, Corn paid no salaries; the composition of the team began changing. In 1971, Eisenberg departed, replaced by Paul Soloway until 1973, when he in turn was replaced by Mark Blumenthal; that year the Aces as defenders lost the Bermuda Bowl final to Italy, with three players from the Blue Teams on its roster. Lawrence and Jacoby were the next to leave, making way for the Canadian pair of Eric Murray and Sami Kehela.

They lost two more Bermuda Bowl finals, in 1974 and 1975, to Italy, which fielded three and two Blue Team members. Other personnel changes followed; the Aces recaptured the Bermuda Bowl in 1977 with the pairs Eisenberg–Eddie Kantar, Hamman–Wolff, Soloway–John Swanson. As "USA" in the 1980 World Team Olympiad, the Aces won the silver medal. Corn, who would die of a heart attack in April 1982, assembled one final Aces team in 1981. Now comprising Mike Becker–Ron Rubin and Alan Sontag–Peter Weichsel with Hamman–Wolff, it went on to win the 1982 Spingold and the 1983 Bermuda Bowl, it dedicated the victory to Corn and disbanded. Hamman, Bob. At the Table: My Life and Times. Memphis, TN: DBM Publications. P. 314. ISBN 0-9642584-0-4. Wolff, Bobby; the Lone Wolff: autobiography of a bridge maverick. Toronto: Master Point Press. ISBN 978-1-897106-37-2. "Dallas Aces" at Claire Bridge – with photos

The spotted snake-eel known as the tiger snake eel or the spotted tiger snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Frédéric Girard in 1859, it is a marine, tropical eel, known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 60 metres, inhabits benthic sediments of mud and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 74 centimetres, but more reach a TL of 60 centimetres; the spotted snake-eel is of no commercial interest to fisheries. Due to its wide distribution in the eastern Pacific, its lack of known threats and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist lists the species as Least Concern. Photos of Spotted snake-eel on Sealife Collection

Events from the year 1670 in England. Monarch – Charles II Parliament – Cavalier 1 June – the secret treaty of Dover is signed between King Charles II of England and France. 8 July O. S. -- Spain recognises the Cayman Islands as English possessions by the Treaty of Madrid. 18 August – John Dryden is appointed as historiographer royal. 20 September – production of Mrs Aphra Behn's first play, The Forced Marriage, at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre by the Duke's Company, with Thomas Betterton in the lead. 9 November – Bushel's Case establishes that members of a jury may not be punished for delivering a verdict according to their conscience if contrary to the view of the judge. 21 December – John Coventry is maimed for making a joke about the King, resulting in passing of the Maiming Act, making lying in wait to maim anyone a felony. Rock salt is discovered near Northwich in Cheshire. 24 January – William Congreve, playwright 10 April – Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, 23 April – Cassandra Willoughby, Duchess of Chandos, historian 8 May – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, soldier 19 July – Richard Leveridge and composer 21 August – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, illegitimate son of King James II 27 September – Sir Thomas Stanley, 4th Baronet, Member of Parliament 4 December – John Aislabie and director of the South Sea Company 28 December – Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex James Annesley, 3rd Earl of Anglesey Laurence Echard, historian Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham, royal favourite 3 January – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, soldier 21 January – Claude Duval, hanged 15 March – John Davenport, clergy 5 May – Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet and politician 30 June – Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart 4 July – Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton, Royalist 16 September – William Penn, admiral 21 November – Sir Walter Yonge, 2nd Baronet, Member of Parliament Gilbert Mabbot, licenser of the press

Waltzing Regitze known as Memories of a Marriage, is a 1989 Danish drama film directed by Kaspar Rostrup. Based upon a popular Danish novel by Martha Christensen, the film is an unsentimental portrait of the history and changes of a middle-aged couple's marriage, told through flashbacks during a summer party; the film stars Frits Helmuth. Waltzing Regitze was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1990, it won the Robert Award for Film of the Year and swept the Bodil Awards, winning Best Danish Film as well as all four of acting categories. List of submissions to the 62nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film List of Danish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Waltzing Regitze on IMDb Dansen med regitze at Det Danske Filminstitut Dansen med regitze at Den Danske Film Database

"Admit It" is the second single from Dutch pop singer and songwriter, Esmée Denters, from her debut studio album Outta Here. It was released as a CD single and download in the Netherlands on 4 September 2009, it was released in the UK on 28 December 2009. Due to a lack of airplay on UK radio the single failed to make the top 40; the song was written by Toby Gad. Toby Gad produced the song, together with Justin Timberlake who provided additional vocals and beatbox. Upon its UK release, it was described by noted R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul as "punchy retro-funk"; the video was directed by Kenneth Cappello. It premiered on 3 September on Dutch music channel TMF. Denters said of the video, "Since I wrote this song, I envisioned the video a certain way. It’s a fun and flirty song, I wanted that to show in the video as well. So my friend and I just started writing the storyline for the video and gave it to the video director, Kenneth Cappello, he did an amazing job capturing all of it."

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics