Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Talavera De La Reina

Town, Toledo provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Castile-La Mancha, central Spain, on the northern bank of the Tagus River near its confluence with the Alberche. The town originated as the Roman Caesarobriga and was conquered by King Alfonso VI in 1082. Alfonso XI gave it to his queen, Maria of Portugal, whence its appellation de la Reina (“of the

Monday, April 04, 2005

Talking Heads

In 1974 three classmates from the Rhode Island School of Design moved to New York City and declared themselves Talking Heads. Singer-guitarist Byrne, drummer

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Hyperion

One of the smaller satellites of Saturn, discovered in 1848 independently by the astronomers William Bond and George Bond of the United States and William Lassell of England. Hyperion orbits Saturn once every 21.3 days at a distance of 1,482,000 km (918,840 miles), between the orbits of the major satellites Titan and Iapetus. Its orbit is unusual in that it is somewhat eccentric (e = 0.104°) yet uninclined

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Tébessa

Latin  Theveste  town, northeastern Algeria. It is located 146 miles (235 km) by road south of Annaba and 12 miles (19 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. Tébessa was an outpost of Carthage in the 7th century BC and a Roman garrison town in 146 BC. It declined in the 5th and 6th centuries AD and disappeared from history after the Arab invasion of the 7th century. The Turks stationed a small military garrison there, and, after

Friday, April 01, 2005

Wang Chen

Wang was denounced by later historians as the first of a series of eunuchs whose mismanagement helped destroy the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Wang was the constant companion and personal servant of the emperor Cheng-t'ung, who ascended the throne while still a boy. Isolated from

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Kuala Lipis

Town, central West Malaysia (Malaya), situated along the Jelai River. It is a commercial centre for nearby villages and the riverine Aboriginals who inhabit the dense jungle to the north. Some of its residents live on the slopes of the surrounding hills, while many Malay families cluster in communities of raft huts along the river. The terminus of the central Malayan

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Laing, R(onald) D(avid)

Laing was born into a working-class family and grew up in Glasgow. He studied medicine and psychiatry and earned a doctoral degree in medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1951. After serving as a conscript psychiatrist in the British army