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Holystone
Holystone is a soft and brittle sandstone that was formerly used in the Royal Navy and US Navy for scrubbing and whitening the wooden decks of ships. A variety of origins have been proposed for the term, including that such stones were taken from broken monuments of St. Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth or else the ruined church of St. Helens adjacent to the St Helens Road anchorage of the Isle of Wight where ships would often provision. The US Navy has it that the term may have come from the fact that 'holystoning the deck' was originally done on one's knees, as in prayer.US Navy Office of Information Origins of Navy Terminology page/ref> Smaller holystones were called "prayer books" and larger ones "Bibles". Holystoning eventually was not generally done on the knees but with a stick resting in a depression in the flat side of the stone and held under the arm and in the hands and moved back and forth with grain on each plank while standing or partially leaning over to put pressu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 In Film
The following is an overview of 1956 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1956 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * February 5 – First showing of documentary films by the Free Cinema movement, at the National Film Theatre, London. * February 16 – ''Carousel'' is the first film released that was shot in CinemaScope 55. * February 23 – Arthur B. Krim and Robert Benjamin acquire Mary Pickford's interest in United Artists for $3 million giving them full ownership of UA. * February – Warner Bros. sells much of its pre-1950 library to Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.); after a series of mergers the films return to WB 40 years later. * February – Darryl F. Zanuck announces his resignation as head of production of 20th Century Fox after 20 years as the studio head. He is later replaced by Buddy Adler. * April 18 – Grace K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ship Transport
Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it provides a higher-capacity mode of transportation for passengers and cargo than land transport, the latter typically being more costly per unit payload due to it being affected by terrain conditions and road/rail infrastructures. The advent of aviation during the 20th century has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers, though it is still popular for ferry, short trips and cruise ship, pleasure cruises. Transport by watercraft is much cheaper than transport by aircraft or land vehicles (both road and rail), but is significantly slower for longer journeys and heavily dependent on adequate port facilities. Maritime transport accounts for roughly 80% of international trade, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Developm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Banks Of Newfoundland
"The Banks Of Newfoundland" is the earliest Newfoundland composition set down in music notation. It was composed by Chief Justice Francis Forbes in 1820 and published in a piano arrangement by Oliver Ditson of Boston. Originally composed as a dance, it was treated as a march by the soldiers of Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I; it later became the Regiment's authorized march. It has also been associated with the Royal St. John's Regatta since its early days. As a Regatta tune it is more popularly known as "Up The Pond", and is traditionally played as the crews pass the bandstand on their return to the stakes. It was later made the official tune of the Regatta. An entirely different "The Banks of Newfoundland" is a song in ballad form, created as a parody of "Van Dieman's Land." It voices the lament of a sailor on a voyage from Liverpool to New York, on which one must pass the cold Grand Banks. Lyrics THE BANKS OF NEWFOUNDLAND :You bully boys of Liverpool :And I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Terror (TV Series)
''The Terror'' is an American supernatural horror drama anthology television series developed for AMC. The series is named after Dan Simmons's 2007 novel, which serves as the basis for the first season which premiered on March 25, 2018. A second season, called ''The Terror: Infamy'', premiered on August 12, 2019. In February 2024, the series was renewed for a third season, called ''The Terror: Devil in Silver'', based on the novel of the same name by Victor LaValle and is set to premiere in 2025. The first season was developed by David Kajganich and is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to the Arctic from 1845 to 1848. Kajganich and Soo Hugh served as co-showrunners. Featured in the cast are Jared Harris as Captain Francis Crozier, Tobias Menzies as Commander James Fitzjames, Paul Ready as Dr. Harry Goodsir, and Ciarán Hinds as Franklin. The second season was co-created by Alexander Woo and Max Borenstein and is mostly set in an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. He ranks among the List of highest-grossing film directors, highest-grossing directors, with his films grossing a cumulative $5 billion worldwide. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ridley Scott, many accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was Knight Bachelor, knighted by Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, Knight Grand Cross by Charles III, King Charles III in 2024. An alumnus of the Royal College of Art in London, Scott began his career in television as a designer and director before moving into advertising as a director o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oakum
Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibers used to seal gaps. Its traditional application was in shipbuilding for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships. Oakum was also used in plumbing for sealing joints in cast iron pipe, and in log cabins for chinking. In shipbuilding it was forced into the seams using a hammer and a caulking iron, then sealed into place with hot pitch. It is also referenced frequently as a medical supply for medieval surgeons, often used alongside bandages for sealing wounds. History The word oakum derives from Middle English ', from Old English ', from ' ( separative and perfective prefix) + ' (akin to Old English ', "comb")—literally "off-combings". Oakum was at one time recycled from old tarry ropes and cordage, which were painstakingly unravelled and reduced to fibre, termed "picking". The task of picking and preparation was a common occupation in prisons and workhouses, where the y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, Application software, software applications, music, audiovisual, and print materials. The Archive also advocates a Information wants to be free, free and open Internet. Its mission is committing to provide "universal access to all knowledge". The Internet Archive allows the public to upload and download digital material to its data cluster, but the bulk of its data is collected automatically by its web crawlers, which work to preserve as much of the public web as possible. Its web archiving, web archive, the Wayback Machine, contains hundreds of billions of web captures. The Archive also oversees numerous Internet Archive#Book collections, book digitization projects, collectively one of the world's largest book digitization efforts. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sot-Weed Factor (novel)
''The Sot-Weed Factor'' is a 1960 novel by the American writer John Barth. The novel marks the beginning of Barth's literary postmodernism. ''The Sot-Weed Factor'' takes its title from the poem ''The Sot-Weed Factor: Or, a Voyage to Maryland. A Satyr'' (1708) by the English-born poet Ebenezer Cooke ( – ), about whom few biographical details are known. A satirical epic set in the 1680s–90s in London and colonial Maryland, the novel tells of a fictionalized Ebenezer Cooke, who is given the title " Poet Laureate of Maryland" by Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore and commissioned to write a ''Marylandiad'' to sing the praises of the colony. He undergoes adventures on his journey to and within Maryland while striving to preserve his virginity. The complicated '' Tom Jones''–like plot is interwoven with numerous digressions and stories-within-stories, and is written in a style patterned on the writing of 18th-century novelists such as Henry Fielding, Laurence Ste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Barth
John Simmons Barth (; May 27, 1930 – April 2, 2024) was an American writer best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include '' The Sot-Weed Factor'', a whimsical retelling of Maryland's colonial history; '' Giles Goat-Boy'', a satirical fantasy in which a university is a microcosm of the Cold War world; and '' Lost in the Funhouse'', a self-referential and experimental collection of short stories. He was co-recipient of the National Book Award in 1973 for his episodic novel '' Chimera''. Life John Barth, called "Jack", was born in Cambridge, Maryland, on May 27, 1930. He had an older brother, Bill, and a twin sister, Jill. In 1947, he graduated from Cambridge High School, where he played drums and wrote for the school newspaper. He briefly studied "Elementary Theory and Advanced Orchestration" at the Juilliard School before attending Johns Hopkins University, where he received a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Far Side Of The World
''The Far Side of the World'' is the tenth historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1984. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. The story from ''Treason's Harbour'' has several points resolved, as to the success of Maturin's work identifying the French spies, the trap that Aubrey sailed out of but HMS ''Pollux'' did not, and Aubrey resolving the tension between him and Lieutenant Fielding, who escaped the worst French prisoner-of-war facility. In Gibraltar, Captain Aubrey receives another mission, to sail HMS ''Surprise'' to protect British whalers in the Pacific Ocean from USS ''Norfolk'', for his first voyage around Cape Horn. Dr Maturin has not yet identified the high-level spy who got away. Unaware, he sends the letter to his own wife explaining his protection of the Navy wife via that very villain. The Pacific Ocean is full of wonders, and prizes, once the Jonah is off the ship. One review considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 In Film
2003 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country- and genre- specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts. Highest-grossing films The top 10 films released in 2003 by worldwide gross are as follows: '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' grossed more than $1.14 billion, making it the highest-grossing film in 2003 worldwide and in North America and the second-highest-grossing film up to that time. It was also the second film to surpass the billion-dollar milestone after ''Titanic'' in 1997. ''Finding Nemo'' was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time until being overtaken by ''Shrek 2'' in 2004. Events * February 24: '' The Pianist'', directed by Roman Polanski, wins 7 César Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Music and Best Cinematography. * June 12: Gregory Peck dies of bronchopneumonia. * June 29: Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
