Sir Thomas de Ercildoun, better remembered as Thomas the Rhymer known as Thomas Learmont or True Thomas, was a Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston in the Borders. Thomas' gift of prophecy is linked to his poetic ability, he is cited as the author of the English Sir Tristrem, a version of the Tristram legend, some lines in Robert Mannyng's Chronicle may be the source of this association. It is not clear if the name Rhymer was his actual surname or a sobriquet. In literature, he appears as the protagonist in the tale about Thomas the Rhymer carried off by the "Queen of Elfland" and returned having gained the gift of prophecy, as well as the inability to tell a lie; the tale survives in a medieval verse romance in five manuscripts, as well as in the popular ballad "Thomas Rhymer". The romance occurs as "Thomas off Ersseldoune" in the Lincoln Thornton Manuscript; the original romance ca. 1400 was condensed into ballad form ca. 1700, though there are dissenting views on this. Walter Scott expanded the ballad into three parts, adding a sequel which incorporated the prophecies ascribed to Thomas, an epilogue where Thomas is summoned back to Elfland after the appearance of a sign, in the form of the milk-white hart and hind.

Numerous prose retellings of the tale of Thomas the Rhymer have been undertaken, included in fairy tale or folk-tale anthologies. Sir Thomas was born in Erceldoune, sometime in the 13th century, has a reputation as the author of many prophetic verses. Little is known for certain of his life but two charters from 1260–80 and 1294 mention him, the latter referring to "Thomas de Ercildounson son and heir of Thome Rymour de Ercildoun". Thomas became known as "True Thomas" because he could not tell a lie. Popular lore recounts how he prophesied many great events in Scottish history, including the death of Alexander III of Scotland. Popular esteem of Thomas lived on for centuries after his death, in Scotland, overtook the reputation of all rival prophets including Merlin, whom the 16th century pamphleteer of The Complaynt of Scotland denounced as the author of the prophecy which the English used as justification for aggression against his countrymen, it became common for fabricated prophecies to be attributed to Thomas to enhance their authority, as seen in collections of prophecies which were printed, the earliest surviving being a chapbook entitled "The Whole Prophecie of Scotland, etc.".

Descriptions and paraphrases of Thomas's prophecies were given by various Scottish historians of yore, though none of them quoted directly from Thomas. "On the morrow, afore noon, shall blow the greatest wind, heard before in Scotland."This prophecy predicted the death of Alexander III in 1286. Thomas gave this prediction to the Earl of Dunbar, but when there was no change in weather patterns discernible at the ninth hour, the Earl sent for the prophet to be reproved. Thomas replied the appointed hour has not come, shortly thereafter, the news came reporting of the king's death; the earliest notice of this prophecy occurs in Bower's 15th-century Scotichronicon, written in Latin. An early English vernacular source is John Bellenden's 16th century Croniklis of Scotland, a translation of Hector Boece."Who shal rule the ile of Bretaine / From the North to the South sey?""A French wife shal beare the Son, / Shall rule all Bretaine to the sey, that of the Bruces blood shall come / As neere as the nint degree."The lines given are structured in the form of one man's questions, answered by another, who goes on to identify himself: "In Erlingstoun, I dwelle at hame/Thomas Rymour men calles me."Printed in the aforementioned chapbook The Whole Prophecie of 1603, published upon the death of Elizabeth I, the prophecy purports to have presaged Scottish rule of all of Britain.

This "became in the sequel by far the most famous of all the prophecies," but it has been argued that this is a rehash of an earlier prophecy, meant for John Stewart, Duke of Albany Words not different are given in the same printed book, under the preceding section for the prophecy of John of Bridlington, the additional date clue there "1513 & thrise three there after" facilitating the identification "Duke's son" in question as Duke of Albany, although Murray noted that the Duke's "performance of... doubty deeds" was something he "utterly failed to do". Walter Scott was familiar with rhymes purported to be the Rhymer's prophecies in the local popular tradition, published several of them. Robert Chambers printed additional collected rhyme prophecies ascribed to Thomas, in Popular Rhymes. "At Eildon Tree, if yon shall be,a brig ower Tweed yon there may see."Scott identifies the tree as that on Eildon Hill in Melrose, some five miles away from today's Earlston. Three bridges built across the river were visible from that vantage point in Scott's day."This Thorn-Tree, as lang as it stands,Earlstoun sall possess a' her lands."or "As long as the Thorn Tree stands / Ercildourne shall keep its lands".

This was first of several prophecies attributed to the Rhymer collected by Chambers, who identified the tree in question as one that fell in a storm in either 1814 or 1821 on the about the last remaining acre belonging to the town of Earlstoun. The prophecy was lent additional weight at the time, because as it so happened, the merchants of the town had fallen under bankruptcy by a series of "unfortunate circumstances". According to one account

James W. Parkman, III is a criminal defense lawyer in Birmingham, Alabama, he has been practicing law for over 40 years, has represented several high-profile clients, most notably former HealthSouth CEO Richard M. Scrushy, Swedish criminal Bo Stefan Eriksson, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Alabama State Senator Harri Anne Smith. Parkman was born in Mobile, raised in Dothan and graduated from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1979, he rose to national prominence when he was retained as lead counsel in the defense of HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, who faced a high-profile prosecution on over 30 counts of accounting fraud. The long trial concluded with a colorful and folksy closing argument from Parkman, Scrushy was acquitted on every count. After the Scrushy trial, Parkman represented Bo Stefan Eriksson in California on auto theft charges involving exotic foreign automobiles, including an Enzo Ferrari which Eriksson crashed in Malibu, California; the trial ended with a deadlocked jury.

Parkman represented former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in his infamous federal corruption prosecution. In the summer of 2011, Parkman represented Alabama State Senator Harri Anne Smith, charged along with eight others under federal bribery and wire fraud statutes. After an initial mistrial, a second prosecution, an expectedly colorful closing argument, Parkman was able to secure acquittals on all counts for his client

Andrea Petkovic is a German tennis player. Born in Tuzla, SFR Yugoslavia, to Serbian father Zoran and Bosniak mother Amira, she moved to Germany at six months old. Petkovic turned professional in 2006 and reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 in October 2011, after reaching the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam events that year. Petkovic suffered three separate injuries in 2012: a back injury in January, an ankle injury in August and a knee injury in December that kept her out for nine months and saw her fall out of the top 200, she has won nine ITF singles titles and three ITF doubles titles. She won the season-ending tennis tournament WTA Tournament of Champions in 2014. Petkovic is coached by Eric van Harpen. Andrea Petkovic was born in SFR Yugoslavia. At the age of six months, the family relocated to Germany. Petkovic first took to the tennis courts, he introduced her to the sport and became her coach. She was able to finish high school before competing in tennis full-time because Zoran never pressured her into joining the professional circuit.

Apart from tennis, she likes to educate herself by reading. Her mother Amira is a dental assistant. Petkovic graduated from high school in 2006 with an Abitur from the Georg-Büchner-Schule in Darmstadt, she has been studying political science at the FernUniversität Hagen since 2008. Petkovic has a successful YouTube channel, home to her video blog entitled "Petkorazzi". In the blog, she makes fun of herself, gives fans chances to win prizes, shows fans what life is like on the tour, she does the blog in both English. In April 2018 she started writing a column for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Since the beginning of her professional career, she has kept a diary at irregular intervals about her life on the WTA Tour in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a major German newspaper. Petkovic obtained German citizenship in 2001, she speaks Serbian, German and French. Petkovic is of Serb ancestry. In a 2009 interview with the WTA, she stated that her parents might move to Novi Sad, where they have a second home.

When asked how German she feels, Petkovic replied, "Obviously I'm German, but I always say my soul is still Serbian. Germans are more cool, reserved. I'm emotional, have lots of fire in my personality. In that sense still feel close to my heritage. For all that, there is much to appreciate about Germany. I feel like I am part of the'system' and feel rooted there." When the United States Tennis Association mistakenly played the Nazi-era version of the German national anthem at the Fed Cup in Hawaii in 2017, Petkovic became outraged and nearly walked off the court. Petkovic turned professional in 2006 after she finished school, but she had won four ITF titles, she was the winner of the tournaments in Antalya, Podgorica and Alphen aan den Rijn. In April 2007, she became a member of the German Fed Cup team, she played her first Grand Slam at the 2007 French Open, where she reached the second round after coming through the qualifying without losing a set and beating Jarmila Groth. There she lost to Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli.

After this, having some success on the ITF Circuit, she reached the top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time. Because of that, she was able to play in the US Open main draw without having to qualify, she once again reached the second round after beating Audra Cohen. In round two she lost to Lucie Šafářová. At the Australian Open in January 2008, in her first-round match against Russia's Anna Chakvetadze, she suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in her right knee after only two minutes of play; this prevented her from playing any tournament for eight months, which caused her ranking drop to 465. After the injury, she started playing on the ITF Circuit again where she won a tournament in Istanbul in November 2008, she finished the year with a ranking of 315. In 2009, Petkovic played her first tournament at the Australian Open due to a protected ranking, she beat fellow German Kathrin Wörle to reach the second round but lost to Alizé Cornet. She kept on playing ITF tournaments until June with success.

She won the GDF Suez Open Romania in Bucharest, defeating Jelena Dokić in the semifinals along the way, regained a top-100 ranking. In July 2009, Petkovic won her first WTA tournament in Bad Gastein, losing only one set throughout the tournament. In the final, she beat Raluca Olaru. On her way to the title, she defeated, amongst others, Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Iveta Benešová, she played the doubles final in Bad Gastein, partnering Tatjana Malek. The following week, she reached the semifinals in Istanbul, losing to Lucie Hradecká in three tight sets. After those two weeks, she achieved her career high singles ranking of world No. 52. For the rest of the year, she struggled to repeat her success but had another good tournament at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo where she came through the qualifying and reached the round of 16. In the second round, she had her win over a top-10 player in beating Svetlana Kuznetsova, but was knocked out by Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets, she played her first tournament in 2010 in Brisbane, where she reached the semifinal with

Hubert Lister Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington, was a British judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1958 to 1971. His term was marked by much less controversy than under Lord Goddard. Parker was the son of Robert Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington, a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated with a double first in Natural Sciences, specialising in geology and intending to go into the oil business; this intention he abandoned on graduating in 1922 to read for the Bar where he was called in 1924, entering the chambers of Donald Somervell. At the Bar, Parker specialised in commercial cases and developed a courtroom style that tried to be fair to all the arguments and make a case with calmness. In 1945, he became the Junior Counsel to the Treasury, an appointment which led on to promotion to the High Court bench, he accepted the second invitation when it came in 1950. As he went straight from being Treasury Devil to the High Court, he never'took silk': the Treasury Devil was never a'silk'.

As a judge, Parker found. He claimed that the first summing up which he gave in a criminal trial was the first he had heard. However, by getting down to the work, he mastered the job and by 1954 was promoted to the Court of Appeal; the more measured style of the appellate courts suited Parker more than the cut and thrust of the King's Bench, his ability to get to the important details of a case was assessed as good by those who appeared before him. He proved that he had reasonable political judgment in 1957 when heading a tribunal over a minor political scandal connected with the setting of interest rates. Lord Goddard announced his resignation as Lord Chief Justice in 1958, he had been an exception to the tradition that the Attorney General be appointed to the role and some commentators expected that the next appointment would therefore be Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, Attorney-General at the time. However Manningham-Buller was disliked and shared Goddard's reactionary views on criminal justice.

Harold Macmillan considered Viscount Kilmuir, the Lord Chancellor. Macmillan therefore decided to appoint a senior Judge, Parker's name emerged as the one candidate with whom most people were happy. On 30 September 1958, Parker took the title Baron Parker of Waddington, of Lincoln’s Inn in the Borough of Holborn. Parker's style was different from Goddard as he confined himself to the higher courts and did not intervene in everyday criminal trials, he had little interest in the social life of the judiciary. He was called upon where a trial had a serious political aspect, was criticised when he imprisoned journalists who refused to reveal their sources during the Vassall tribunal of 1963. Parker's judgment stated in part "the citizen's highest duty is to the State". Parker made history when he sentenced George Blake, convicted of spying, to 42 years imprisonment, the longest sentence passed in an English court. Parker had himself said that the Courts "have a positive responsibility to be the handmaiden of administration rather than its governor".

However, Parker was popular among the profession as he secured improvements in judicial salaries and pensions. Parker was a mild reformer who supported legal aid and tried to modernise some judicial procedures which he thought were antiquated, such as the assize court system. Like Goddard, Parker took an active part in House of Lords debates; the most important speech he made was in debates during the passage of the War Damage Act 1965 which has the effect of retrospectively overturning the judicial decision of the House of Lords in Burmah Oil Co. V Lord Advocate thereby depriving the plaintiff of an award of damages. Parker regarded this as an abhorrent idea in principle, he supported moves to abolish the death penalty. In 1964 Parker instituted the first'Sentencing conference' to try to get consistency. In the late 1960s he introduced the first formal training for Judges, welcomed the formation of the Law Commission; when Lord Beeching headed a committee looking at court reform in 1971, Parker's memorandum was more radical than the committee's recommendations.

Parker announced his retirement before the committee reported, died the next year at the cattle farm he ran together with his wife of 48 years

Turtel Onli is an American artist, author, art therapist and publisher. Over Onli's career, his work has touched upon a variety of disciplines in fine and applied visual art, producing works in painting, illustration, publishing and multimedia production. Onli has authored and illustrated numerous comic books and graphic novels, including NOG, Protector of the Pyramids, Malcolm 10, Nog Nu and Grammar Patrol, he is known as "the Father" of the "Black Age of Comics," a movement dedicated to the promotion and support of Afrocentric comic books and graphic novels. Onli coined the term "Rhythmism" to define and interpret his stylizations, which fuse primitive and futuristic concepts. A public school art teacher, now retired, Onli has worked in the Chicago Public Schools for more than two decades. Onli graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, he returned to the Art Institute and earned a Master of Arts in Art Therapy. His education includes studies in Paris, France, at the Centre Georges Pompidou.

In 1970, Onli founded the Black Arts Guild, which featured touring art exhibitions and published work by its members. In 1974, in conjunction with BAG, he published a series of greeting cards. In 1980, he co-published. In the early 1980s he created five issues of Future Funk. Onli's illustration clients include Playboy Magazine, Chicago Magazine, Avant Garde Magazine, McDonald's, Motown Productions, Rinehart & Winston, MODE magazine, Paris Métro magazine, his work is in the collections of Miles Davis, Alice Coltrane, the Chicago Children's Museum, Johnson Publishing Company. Onli has been a visiting artist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2005: Onli curated “Reverend Phillips and Turtel Onli: An Artistic and Spiritual Legacy,” at the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Munster, Indiana, an exhibition featuring the visionary charts created by his late grandfather, the Rev. Samuel David Phillips, Onli’s own Rhythmistic paintings. In 2010 he opened the new Onli Studios at the Bridgeport Arts Center in Chicago.

Throughout his career, Onli has created Afrocentric Rhythmistic-powered characters who tap into humanity’s innate attraction to exaggeration, the supernatural, pseudo-theological mythology. They represent Onli's belief in the ideal of the powerful defending the weak, he uses the "hero vs. villain" paradigm as his vehicle for reaching beyond “perceived” norms. Onli's character NOG, Nubian of Greatness, one of the earliest Afrocentric comic book characters, was featured in the Chicago Defender, starting in 1979, before transitioning to the comic book NOG, Protector of the Pyramides from 1981-82. NOG returned in NOG is Back!! in 1994 and Nog Nu!! in 2011. In 1993, Onli spearheaded the inaugural Black Age of Comics convention at the Southside Community Arts Center in Chicago, where it was held for three consecutive years. Black Age of Comics Conventions have since been held in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Detroit. Other recent Black Age of Comics conventions were held in Chicago's Bridgeport Arts Center and Kenwood Academy.

From 1984–1989 Onli worked as an art therapist with young people in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes. Onli worked as an art instructor in the Chicago Public Schools. Onli has taught at Columbia College Chicago, is an adjunct professor of Art Appreciation & Drawing at Harold Washington College. 2006: Glyph Comics Awards Pioneer Award — for bringing positive, diverse images to the world of graphic novels and comic books NOG: Protector of the Pyramides Future Funk Malcolm 10 Sustah-Girl — with Cassandra Washington Grammar Patrol — with Cassandra Washington Nog is Back The Origins of Team Blanga: Heroes of the Black Age — includes an original CD soundtrack by Hardy Headz Let's Go Green in the City Sasa Nog Nu!! East/West Zodiac & Journal — with Kocao Winbush The Legend of the AZANIAC 1977: Second World Festival of Black and African Art and Culture — group show 1991: Prairie Avenue Gallery — "The Return of Watermelon: The Redefining of a Stereotype" group show group show 2001: The African American Cultural Center 2005: Center for the Visual and Performing Arts — “Reverend Phillips and Turtel Onli: An Artistic and Spiritual Legacy” 2007: "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet Chicago" group show — "It'z A Rhythmsitic World."

Never boring!!!“ 2011: Tubman African American Museum — "Afro Futurism in the Visual Arts" group show 2011: ETA Creative Arts Foundation — “Passion Fruit: The Other Chicago Black Movement” solo exhibition 2013: DuSable Museum of African American History — "AFRICOBRA: Art and Impact" group show Chicago Sun-Times. Lacher, Irene. "Comics Open the Door to Minority Heroes," Chicago Sun-Times, p. 18. Wisconsin State Journal. Irvine, Martha. "Giving drawing power to black heroes: A handful of artists, some self-published, cross racial-ethnic lines in comic books," Associated Press. Jennings and Duffy, curators. Other Heroes: African American Comic Book Characters and Archetypes. Onli, Turtel. "The Black Age of Comics 101: A Brief History by a Founder," Chicago Art Magazine. Richardson, Clem. "Super Heroic Fest Will

Emperor Wen of Han was the fifth emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China. His personal name was Liu Heng. Liu Heng was a son of Emperor Gao of Han and Consort Bo empress dowager; when Emperor Gao suppressed the rebellion of Dai, he made Liu Heng Prince of Dai. After Empress Dowager Lü's death, the officials eliminated the powerful Lü clan, deliberately chose the Prince of Dai as the emperor, since his mother, Consort Bo, had no powerful relatives, her family was known for its humility and thoughtfulness, his reign brought a much needed political stability that laid the groundwork for prosperity under his grandson Emperor Wu. According to historians, Emperor Wen consulted with ministers on state affairs. Historians noted that the tax rates were at a ratio of "1 out of 30" and "1 out of 60", corresponding to 3.33% and 1.67%, respectively. Warehouses were so full of grain. Emperor Wen was said by Liu Xiang to have devoted much time to legal cases, to have been fond of reading Shen Buhai, using Xing-Ming, a form of personnel examination, to control his subordinates.

In a move of lasting importance in 165 BC, Wen introduced recruitment to the civil service through examination. Potential officials never sat for any sort of academic examinations, their names were sent by local officials to the central government based on reputations and abilities, which were sometimes judged subjectively. In 196 BC, after Emperor Gao defeated the Chen Xi rebellion in the Dai region, he made Liu Heng, his son by Consort Bo, the Prince of Dai; the capital of the principality was at Jinyang. Dai was a region on the boundaries with Xiongnu, Emperor Gao created the principality with the mind to use it as a base to defend against Xiongnu raids. For the first year of the principality's existence, whose army was defeated but who eluded capture, remained a threat, until Zhou Bo killed him in battle in autumn 195 BC, it is not known whether at this time Prince Heng, seven years old, was in Dai, but it seems because his brother Liu Ruyi was the only prince at the time explicitly to have been recorded to be remaining at the capital Chang'an rather than being sent to his principality.

In 181 BC, after Prince Heng's brother, Prince Liu Hui of Zhao, committed suicide over his marital problems, Grand Empress Dowager Lü, in effective control of the imperial government, offered the more prosperous Principality of Zhao to Prince Heng, but Prince Heng, judging that she was intending to make her nephew Lü Lu prince, politely declined and indicated that he preferred remaining on the border. The grand empress dowager made Lü Lu Prince of Zhao. During these years, the Principality of Dai did in fact become a key position in the defense against Xiongnu, Prince Heng became well-acquainted with Xiongnu customs and military strategies, although the extent of his own participation in military actions was unknown. In 180 BC, after Grand Empress Dowager Lü died and the officials made a coup d'etat against her clan and slaughtered them, after some deliberation, the officials offered the imperial throne to Prince Heng, rather than Prince Liu Xiang of Qi, the oldest grandson of Emperor Gao.

The key to their decision was that Prince Xiang's maternal clan was domineering and might repeat the behaviors of the Lü clan, while the clan of Prince Heng's maternal clan, the Bos, were considered to be kind and humble. After some hesitation, Prince Heng 23 years old, accepted the throne as Emperor Wen, his nephew, Emperor Houshao, viewed as a mere puppet of Grand Empress Dowager Lü and suspected of not being a son of Emperor Wen's older brother Emperor Hui, was deposed and executed. Emperor Wen showed an aptitude to govern the empire with diligence, appeared to be genuinely concerned for the people's welfare. Influenced by his wife Empress Dou, an adherent of Taoism, Emperor Wen governed the country with the general policies of non-interference with the people and relaxed laws, his personal life was marked by general willingness to forgive. He was very deferential to Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, Guan Ying, who were instrumental in his accession, they served as successive prime ministers. Examples of Emperor Wen's policies that showed kindness and concern for the people include the following: In 179 BC, he abolished the law that permitted the arrest and imprisonment of parents and siblings of criminals, with the exception of the crime of treason.

In 179 BC, he created a governmental assistance program for those in need. Loans or tax exemptions were offered to widowers, widows and seniors without children, he ordered that monthly stipends of grain and meat be given to seniors over 80 years of age, that additional stipends of cloth and cotton be given to seniors over 90 years of age. In 179 BC, he made peace with Nanyue, whose king Zhao Tuo Empress Dowager Lü had offended with an economic embargo and which therefore engaged in raids against the Principality of Changsha and the Commandery of Nan. Emperor Wen accomplished this by writing humble yet assertive letters to Zhao offering peace with dignity and by caring for Zhao's relatives remaining in his native town of Zhending. In 178 BC, after a solar eclipse, he requested that