Steely Dan

Named after a prosthetic phallus in William S. Burroughs's novel Naked

Nordica, Lillian

Nordica grew up from the age of six in Boston, studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, and then gave recitals in the United States and London before resuming study

Myo-o

In the Buddhist mythology of Japan, fierce protective deities, corresponding to the Sanskrit Vidyaraja (�King of Knowledge�), worshiped mainly by the Shingon sect. They take on a ferocious appearance in order to frighten away evil spirits and to destroy ignorance and ugly passions. They are depicted with angry expressions, with a third eye in the middle of their foreheads,

Para�ba

Also called �Parahyba, or Parahyba Do Norte, � estado (�state�) of northeastern Brazil. Primarily an agricultural state, Para�ba is bounded by the states of Rio Grande do Norte on the north, Cear� on the west, and Pernambuco on the south and by the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its area is 20,833 square miles (53,958 square km). Its chief river, the Para�ba, rises on the Pernambuco border and enters the Atlantic Ocean near the state capital,

Leaning Tower Of Pisa

Italian �Torre Pendente di Pisa � medieval structure in Pisa, Italy, that is famous for the settling of its foundations, which caused it to lean 5.5 degrees (about 15 feet [4.5 metres]) from the perpendicular by the late 20th century. The bell tower, begun in 1173 as the third and final structure of the city's cathedral complex, was designed to stand 185 feet (56 metres) high and was constructed of white marble. Three of its eight stories

Annelid, Polychaetes

The body of free-moving polychaetes (see figure) consists of a head, or prostomium, which may bear two or more eyes; a preoral segment, with such appendages as antennae, tentacles, and palpi (fleshy sensory projections); a trunk divisible into distinct segments; and a tail, or pygidium, which may bear anal cirri (fleshy projections) or

Pontus

Ancient district in northeastern Anatolia adjoining the Black Sea. In the 1st century BC it briefly contested Rome's hegemony in Anatolia. An independent Pontic kingdom with its capital at Amaseia (modern Amasya) was established at the end of the 4th century BC in the wake of Alexander's conquests. Superficially Hellenized, the kingdom retained its Persian social structure,

Zaghwan

Also spelled �Zaghouan, � town, northeastern Tunisia. It lies on the fertile, northern slope of Mount Zaghwan at an elevation of 4,247 feet (1,295 m). It is built on the ancient Roman site of Zigus. Parts of a Roman aqueduct and canal network built in the 2nd century BC under the emperor Hadrian are still used to bring water from Zaghwan to Tunis. The importance of Zaghwan water is reflected in the location there of a Roman

Bantock, Sir Granville

After preparing for the Indian civil service, Bantock studied at Trinity College of Music, London, and the Royal Academy of Music, London. He was active as a conductor, founded and edited the New Quarterly Music Review (1893 - 96), and succeeded Sir Edward Elgar as professor

Croesus

A member of the Mermnad dynasty, Croesus succeeded to the throne of his father, Alyattes, after a struggle with his half brother. Croesus is said to have acted as viceroy and commander in

Cossack

Russian �Kazak � (from Turkic kazak, �adventurer,� or �free man�), member of a people dwelling in the northern hinterlands of the Black and Caspian seas. They had a tradition of independence and finally received privileges from the Russian government in return for military services. Originally (in the 15th century) the term referred to semi-independent Tatar groups, which formed in the Dnieper

Kogi

The state consists of a wooded savanna region bisected by the southward-flowing

Antarctica, The Antarctic Treaty

With the ending of IGY the threat arose that the moratorium too would end, letting the carefully worked out Antarctic structure collapse into its pre-IGY chaos. In the fall of 1957 the U.S. Department of State reviewed its Antarctic policy and sounded out agreements with the 11 other governments with Antarctic interests. On May 2, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued identical

Religious Symbolism And Iconography, Relation to the literary and visual arts

Religious symbols and pictures may be identical with, related to, or similar to those of language (metaphors) and to pictorial expressions in prose and poetry. They are related in allegory, parable, fairy tales, fables, and legends in which they can appear in a form that is closely related to that of religious symbolism. Religious symbols are used in the plastic arts, in

Tintern Abbey

Ecclesiastical ruin in Monmouthsire, Wales, on the west bank of the River Wye. Founded for Cistercian monks in 1131, Tintern Abbey was almost entirely rebuilt and enlarged between 1220 and 1287. The building was finally completed, except for minor additions, in the early 14th century. The abbey was dissolved in 1537, and its property was granted to the lord of Chepstow; the crown bought it

Tintern Abbey

Ecclesiastical ruin in Monmouthsire, Wales, on the west bank of the River Wye. Founded for Cistercian monks in 1131, Tintern Abbey was almost entirely rebuilt and enlarged between 1220 and 1287. The building was finally completed, except for minor additions, in the early 14th century. The abbey was dissolved in 1537, and its property was granted to the lord of Chepstow; the crown bought it

Nagasaki

Capital and largest city, Nagasaki ken (prefecture), western Kyushu, Japan, at the mouth of the Urakami-gawa (Urakami River) where it empties into Nagasaki-ko (Nagasaki Harbour). The harbour is composed of a narrow, deep-cut bay, formed at the meeting point of Nomo-saki (Cape Nomo; south) and Nishisonoki-hanto (Nishisonoki Peninsula; northwest). The city is shaped like an amphitheatre,

Bernese Alps

Also called �Bernese Oberland, �German �Berner Alpen, or Berner Oberland, �French �Alpes Bernoises, � segment of the Central Alps lying north of the Upper Rh�ne River and south of the Brienzer and Thunersee (lakes) in Bern and Valais cantons of southwestern Switzerland. The mountains extend east-northeastward from the bend of the Rh�ne near Martigny-Ville to Grimsel Pass and Haslital (valley of the upper Aare River). Many peaks rise to more than 12,000 ft (3,660 m); Finsteraarhorn

Dragasani, Battle Of

(June 19, 1821), military engagement in which the Ottoman Turks defeated the forces of the Greek revolutionary society Philik� Etaire�a and ended the first insurrection of the Greek War of Independence. Intending to overthrow Ottoman rule in the Balkans and to establish an independent Greek state, Philik� Etaire�a sent the Sacred Battalion, under Alexander Ypsilantis,

Ear Disease, Ossicular interruption

The ossicular chain of three tiny bones needed to carry sound vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the fluid that fills the inner ear may be disrupted by infection or by a jarring blow on the head. Most often the separation occurs at its weakest point, where the incus joins the stapes. If the separation is partial, there is a mild impairment of hearing; if it is complete,

Coin, Scandinavia

The origin of Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish coinages is clearly the result of the Danish conquest of England. The Runic alphabet was employed, though not by any means exclusively, on many early coins of Denmark and Norway. The Norwegian series began with Haakon the Great (c. 970 - 995), who copied the pennies of Ethelred II. In the second half of the 11th century, a coinage of small, thin

Anjou, (hercule-) Fran�ois, Duke (duc) D'

Catherine de M�dicis gave him Alen�on in 1566, and he bore the title of Duke d'Alen�on until 1576. Small and swarthy, ambitious

Oarfish

(species Regalecus glesne), large, long, sinuous fish of the family Regalecidae (order Lampridiformes), found throughout the tropics and subtropics in rather deep water. A ribbon-shaped fish, very thin from side to side, the oarfish may grow to a length of about 9 m (30.5 feet) and a weight of 300 kg (660 pounds). It is shiny silver in colour, with long, red, oarlike pelvic fins and a long, red dorsal

Alveolar Proteinosis

Respiratory disorder caused by the filling of large groups of alveoli with protein and lipid (fat) particles. The alveoli are air sacs, minute structures in the lungs in which the exchange of respiratory gases occurs. The gas molecules must pass through a cellular wall, the surface of which is generally covered by a thin film of fatty material secreted from the alveolar

Duality

In mathematics, principle whereby one true statement can be obtained from another by merely interchanging two words. It is a property belonging to the branch of algebra known as lattice theory, which is involved with the concepts of order and structure common to different mathematical systems. A mathematical structure is called a lattice if it can be ordered in

Cumberland

City, seat (1789) of Allegany county, northwestern Maryland, U.S. It lies in a bowl-shaped valley in the narrow panhandle region between Pennsylvania (north) and West Virginia (south), bounded by the Potomac River to the south. It is situated at the entrance to Cumberland Narrows, a natural gateway carved by Wills Creek through the Allegheny Mountains west to the Ohio River valley.

Stilicho, Flavius

Stilicho was half-Roman, half-Vandal by birth. Making the army his career, in 383 he served

Daimbert

Named bishop in 1088 and elevated to archbishop when Pisa was made an archdiocese in 1092, Daimbert accompanied Pope Urban II to France in 1095 to preach the First Crusade. Returning to Pisa the following year, he raised a

Graz

City, capital of Bundesland (federal state) Steiermark, southeastern Austria. The country's second largest city, it lies on the Mur River between the Styrian Alps and a wide, fertile valley, the Grazerfeld. In the 9th century there was probably a fortress on the Schlossberg, a rocky cone (1,552 feet [473 m]) that dominates the city. The name Graz is derived from gradec, a Slavic word meaning

Hour Angle

In astronomy, the angle between an observer's meridian (a great circle passing over his head and through the celestial poles) and the hour circle (any other great circle passing through the poles) on which some celestial body lies. This angle, when expressed in hours and minutes, is the time elapsed since the celestial body's last transit of the observer's meridian. The