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"Light-Horse Harry" Lee, A. C. Hanson, Baltimore Federal Republican, Boston, Cambridge, Confederate, Congress, Continental Army, Dr. Ronald Rubin, Ebenezer Rhoades, George Washington, Henry Lee, Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, John Adams, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Robert E. Lee, Salem, The Essex Gazette, The New-England Chronicle, Uniform Monday Holiday Act, United States, University of Utah, War of 1812, Whiskey Rebellion
Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser
Boston: Ebenezer Rhoades, 1800
"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life: pious, just, humane, temperate and sincere; uniform, dignified and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting."
George Washington's death, late in 1799, evoked hundreds of funeral orations from all over the United States. Of these, that of Henry Lee, delivered before Congress on December 26, 1799 in Philadelphia, is the most memorable. His eulogy was re-printed in newspapers throughout the nation, and in pamphlets printed on the continent and overseas. The eulogy covered nearly the entire front page of newspapers.
As in many newspapers, this issue included "A Proclamation" signed by then-President John Adams setting aside February 22, Washington's birthday, for the public to "testify their grief for the death of General George Washington." In 1885, February 22 was declared a federal holiday. The date was changed to the third Monday of February in 1971 following Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
"Light-Horse Harry" Lee had been summoned by Washington in 1776 to join the Continental Army. In 1778, Washington promoted Lee to the rank of major and gave him command of a small corps of irregulars. Lee's leadership of these troops earned him his nickname. In 1794 Washington sent him to command the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. From 1799 to 1801 he served in Congress.
Lee helped his friend A.C. Hanson, editor of the Baltimore Federal Republican which opposed the War of 1812, resist a mob attack. In the melee he received injuries from which he never recovered. Lee served a year in debtor's prison. He was the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
The Independent Chronicle (1776-1840) originated in 1768 as The Essex Gazette in Salem and The New-England Chronicle in Cambridge which joined forces in Boston. In 1820 it had the distinction of being Boston's oldest running newspaper.
University of Utah copy gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.


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If you are interested in using data from BRAIN-ICU-2, please review the Data and Resource Sharing Policy as well as the Data and Biologic Material Transfer Agreement before submitting a request for data or specimens. You will need to create an account (with username and password) to use the request system.
Brain-ICU-2 data is not yet available.
Create BRAIN-ICU-2 Biospecimen Request
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, a supplemental grant was obtained to apply the BRAIN-ICU-2 protocols to individuals admitted at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment. As of Dec 2020, 19 participants with COVID-19 have have donated brain and brainstem tissue for research and sharing through the RADC Data and Biospecimen Repository. The tissue is all fixed in formalin; no frozen tissue is available.
Clinical and demographic data collected through study participation is available.
Create BRAIN-ICU-2 COVID-19 Biospecimen Request
The application process is implemented through a web-based form. As each page is completed the form is saved. Any page can be updated at any time before the form is submitted.
From this point on, the web system will direct the next steps. The system will send updates to email address of primary investigator. You may want to consider using the address of another staff member who will be in charge of tracking progress.
Committee - Your request will be reviewed by the RADC Resource Distribution Committee
3 outcomes (all notified to applicant via email)
The next three steps can be occurring simultaneously following approval.
After agreement is fully executed and saved on file at Rush, you will receive your data.
The Data and Specimen Sharing Agreements with the National Institutes of Health require Rush investigators to track the distribution of all data and specimens, including the recipients' grant numbers and funding.
If you have any questions about any of the below items, please contact RADC Data Sharing Coordinator Greg Klein at firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscar Host Amid Backlash Over Anti-LGBTQ Tweets
Kevin Hart will no longer be hosting the 91st annual Academy Awards.
One day after he was announced as the master of ceremonies at this year's Oscars, the comedian has resigned from the position amid backlash over anti-gay tweets and comments her made close to a decade ago. Hart, 39, deleted many of the tweets on Thursday, addressing the controversy and his resignation on Instagram.
"My team calls me, 'Oh my God, Kevin, everyone's upset by tweets you did years ago," he said in the video. "Guys, I'm nearly 40 years old. If you don't believe that people change, grown, evolve as they get older, I don't know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify the past, do you. I'm the wrong guy, man."
He declined to apologize for the tweets, telling followers that he previously addressed this same issue more than once in the past. Hart said he would not again say he was in the wrong, but did say that he's "moved on" from his old views.
"I chose to pass on the apology," he said. "The reason why I passed is because I've addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. I've addressed it. I've spoken on it. I've said where the rights and wrongs were. I've said who I am now versus who I was them. I've done it. I'm not going to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I've moved on and I'm in a completely different place in my life."
Less than two hours after the video was posted, Kevin tweeted that he chose to resign from hosting the Academy Awards. He said he did not want to distract from the accolades of the nominees and, despite his previous statement, did apologize to the LGBTQ community.
"I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's...this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past," Hart tweeted.
He went on to say that he was sorry he "hurt people," adding that he is continually "evolving" and hopes to maintain that trajectory. He sent "love & appreciation to the Academy," and said he hopes to one day be asked to host again.
The Academy must now find someone to fill his shoes, a feat Variety has suggested won't be easy. The outlet noted that it appeared, based on how late in the game they announced Hart as the host, that no one was interested in the position. Sources said they had a more difficult time filling the role this year than they had in the past.


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As Romney Ducks Question, New Polls Show Broad Support for President Obama's Action
New polling documents that the general public, including Latino voters and independent voters, are broadly supportive of President Obama's bold decision to protect hundreds of thousands of DREAM Act-eligible young people from deportation. Yet while the American public has decided and voiced its support, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney continues to avoid the question. Both after the President's announcement last Friday and on "Face the Nation" on CBS News this past Sunday, Mitt Romney was asked direct questions and refused to provide direct answers as to whether he would maintain or rescind President Obama's executive action to protect hundreds of thousands of DREAMers.
Below is a recap of recent polling on the President's announcement, documenting that unlike Mitt Romney, the public has a clear – and favorable – position on protecting DREAMers:
- Bloomberg Polling Finds Public Supports DREAMer Protections By 2:1 Margin: Selzer & Co. conducted a poll of likely voters for Bloomberg News that found that by a 64-30% margin, voters support President Obama's new policy that says DREAMers will be eligible for deferred action and work permits. Likely independent voters support the policy by a 66-26% margin. Among self-identified Democrats, 86% support the policy, while Republicans oppose it 56%-36%.
- New Jersey Voters Overwhelmingly Support Provisions of the DREAM Act: Rutgers-Eagleton conducted a recent poll of New Jersey residents to gauge support for the DREAM Act, finding overwhelming, 80% support. After hearing details about the DREAM Act, about 40% of New Jersey residents said they "strongly" supported the bill, and another 40% said they supported it "somewhat." Ten percent said they were somewhat opposed to the bill, and only 8% said they were strongly opposed. As Politicker NJ wrote in light of the poll and the President's announcement on DREAMer protections, "While the poll was taken two weeks before Obama's announcement, the findings suggest that his decision is likely to be popular in New Jersey."
- Latino Voters Supportive of Policy, More Enthusiastic About Obama After Announcement: New polling from Latino Decisions found that Latino voters in five battleground states broadly favor the policy change and are more enthusiastic about supporting the President because of this bold action. As Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions wrote in his analysis of the poll findings, "When asked how they felt about Obama's action that would halt deportations and provide work permits to undocumented immigrant youth who attend college or serve in the military, 49% of Latino voters said it would make them more enthusiastic about Obama, compared to 14% who were less enthusiastic, a net enthusiasm advantage of +35 points."
- Latino Voters Less Likely to Support Romney After Learning of His Immigration Stance: The Latino Decisions polling also found that Mitt Romney's immigration policies and rhetoric have alienated Latino voters. As Barreto wrote, "In contrast to these recent statements by Obama, the survey also tested enthusiasm towards policy statements by Mitt Romney on immigration. Respondents were asked whether Romney's statements calling on undocumented immigrants to self-deport back to their 'home' countries, and to make immigration laws in Arizona a model for the nation, made them more or less enthusiastic about Romney. Among Latino registered voters in five key battleground states, 10% said the Romney statements made them more enthusiastic, while 59% said the statements made them less enthusiastic about Romney, a net enthusiasm deficit of -49 points."
- Gallup Finds American Public More Positive on Immigration: Between June 7 and 10, Gallup conducted a poll of adults nationwide that found that the American public is increasingly moving away from hardline immigration positions. Asked whether immigration was, on the whole, a good thing or a bad thing for the United States, 66% of Americans said it was a good thing, with 29% saying it was generally bad. These numbers stand in stark contrast to the 52% of Americans in 2002 who said immigration was a good thing and the 42% who said it was bad. Additionally, a plurality of Americans say the priority of U.S. immigration policy should be dealing with those immigrants who are already here—not waiting until the border is secured. When asked to choose what the "main focus of the U.S. government should be in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration," 55% said that the priority should be dealing with those immigrants who are already here, while 41% said that securing the border needed to be taken care of first. This is a reversal from past Gallup polling in 2010 and 2011; in 2011, 55% of Americans believed that securing the border ought to be the first priority, while only 43% believed it was more urgent to deal with those immigrants already here. While most people aren't surprised to hear that a majority of Latino voters support comprehensive immigration reform, the views of the general public are often completely misunderstood. As we've noted previously, polls that offer three options (including the both/and option) typically show minority support for the hardline position.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America's Voice, "The American people realize that the President's action is the right thing to do, yet Mitt Romney's silence is deafening. Romney is clearly caught between a nativist rock and a demographic hard place. Given his upcoming speech at the National Association of Latino Appointed and Elected Officials conference this Thursday, we will be watching to see if Romney continues to avoid the issue, continues his hard line stance or pulls out his etch-a-sketch. We can hardly wait."
America's Voice – Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform.


text: Boss Bottled Unlimited Cologne by Hugo Boss, Emphasize your energizing personality when you wear boss bottled unlimited, an alluring fragrance designed for self-assured, confident men. Introduced in 2014 by hugo boss, this aromatic scent combines opening green notes that include iced violet and mint, blended into cool citrus notes of pineapple and grapefruit. The base notes complement the fragrance with labdanum and spicy sandalwood.


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Fire juggling club - Henrys Nite Flite Juggling Torch - Orange
home > Juggling Equipment > Torches > Henrys Nite Flight
Fire juggling club - Henrys Nite Flite Juggling Torch - Orange
Without a doubt the Rolls-Royce of fire clubs. The Nite-Flite is used extensively by fire performers all over the planet. It's classic design with decorated body and air-cushioned handle make it the perfect prop for performances, behaving a predictable, floaty spin. The Nite Flite is both light and robust - it uses an ashwood core which has been reinforced with an aluminium tube which extends in to the handle making it nearly indestructible.
The wooden cone (which is decorated with metallic foil) is protected with an aluminium disc. The additional rubber disc protects both the cone body and wick from being damaged by ground contact. As with the complete Henrys range, attention to detail is apparent throughout - weight discrepancy between clubs is practically non-existent. Wick is easily replaceable.


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- 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 ounces (1 Stick Butter)
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 8 ounces Best Quality Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1. Sift together flour and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Add sugar, brown sugar and salt. Continue creaming mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
- 2. Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until they are fully incorporated. Do not over-beat. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
- 3. On low speed, add sifted flour mixture. Beat slowly until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add chocolate chunks and mix in.
- 3. Heat oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. If not baking right away, remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of dough from mixer and plop them down on the middle of a sheet of parchment or wax paper, creating a log about 1 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold parchment over, creating a sausage. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Using a serrated knife, slice chilled dough into 1/3-inch-thick rounds and place them 2 inches apart, in staggered rows, on parchment-lined sheets and proceed. (Dough will keep nicely, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen dough at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.)
- 4. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned, rotating the baking sheet front to back halfway through. Remove from heat and slide parchment off baking sheet and onto a work surface. Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, or for at least 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.


text: A prism has the same cross-section across the entire length of its shape. When used in eyeglasses, they often correct abnormalities associated with nearsightedness, farsightedness and double vision. Eyeglasses, or corrective lenses, reduce or increase the size of the image based on the eyes' ability to see and focus, while prisms fool the brain into believing the eyes are working collectively by moving the image somewhat down, up, right or left. The geometric configuration permits light to be bent or mirrored in particular ways. Prisms are pounded into the lenses to show the image outside the span of sight and bring it into view so that it can be observed more closely.


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Smart Home Automation solutions provider based in Oman. With a focus on user experience, Smart Homes is creating a revolution in the industry by bridging the world of distributed media (music, pictures, videos and movies) with sophisticated control systems for lighting, appliances, curtains, security, air conditioning, IR systems, and multi-room audio.
Some of the unique features of the Smart Homes offering is that it is highly secure, stable, and state of the art! The potential of Smart Home integration can traverse almost any sub-system and can achieve complex automation scenarios, dependancies, and intelligence of operating a house. We design our systems from during the construction or renovation stages of a project. Some existing can also be automated, but this comes with certain limitations.
The Smart Homes Research and Development team is made up of a highly talented pool of individuals who have been a part of the progress of Smart Home technologies as they have evolved since 2015. Our team is dedicated not only to bringing the best solutions and technologies to Oman, but also to the continuous development of our offering to match the changing lifestyles of our customers as well as the technologies they use.
Our Goal is to create one-of-a-kind Smart Home Automation technologies that are far more advanced than anything else in the Oman, Middle East, even around the world; at the same time, keeping it easy to use in a way that will improve lifestyle and tremendously drive up property value.
Once the Control Technology is chosen, a System is made up of several modules. We like to categorize the Smart Home Automation Experience into 4 modules:
KNX based wired Smart Home Automation allows for the flexibility of installing in any residence in Oman. KNX technology is an industry standard with thousands of manufacturers and supporting partners all over the world. A home owner adopting this technology will can ensure his/her property ranks high on investment protection for the next 5+ years.
Control of all electrical areas including lighting, appliances, HVAC, curtains, and door locks. Lighting Smart Automation control systems will cover dimmers and relay switches. Dimmers will allow the owner to have pre-set lighting moods. Fans, water heaters, sprinkler systems can all be controlled as well and put on pre-set smart automation schedules. Any device that has a relay to turn on or off can be part of the KNX system. Thermostats can be positioned to control cooling, the HVAC can be placed on constant pre-sets based on day of the week and time of the day thus saving energy and promoting environmental friendliness. Curtain tracks can be replaced with motorized KNX modules to allow integration with the Smart Home Automation system. KNX enabled door locks provide for security and easy access control as the owner will be able to activate with one button the door locks and switch off all the lighting at the same time.
Ensuring the security of the house is a critical component of Smart Home Automation. Wired and wireless cameras installed in the form of indoor cameras and outdoor cameras ensure the monitoring and surveillance. Motion sensors and door sensors installed in key areas as well as motion activated sirens can ensure no unauthorized entry at certain times of the day. In our solution, motion sensors and door sensors are also used for automation. for example, a motion sensor can automatically activate lights in a garage, or a door sensor can activate a siren at the entrance at night. A motion sensor can also be installed in a bedroom to turn on the dimmer switches, open the curtains and play music on the speakers only when motion is detected say between 3:00 and 3:30 on weekdays.
Smart Home Automation gives a sense of comfort, security, luxury. But a Multimedia and Theater completes the picture by creating the ultimate multimedia experience on every TV. The user will have a centralized multimedia collection of Movies, Videos, Music, and Pictures. The multimedia collection will then be distributed to every TV in the house by the introduction of a Media Center device connected to each television. Instead of have one room acting as a home theater, every room will be transformed into a luxury entertainment Media Center experience. This module also covers high definition speaker systems ranging from high end cinema speakers to medium range speaker systems for bedrooms and living rooms which can act as 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound systems.
Listening to music is a core part of Smart Home Automation and entertainment. Speakers installed in each room can be used to play and distribute music to the whole house even play the internet radio station in Oman. The user will be able to play his/her favorite music albums on all house speakers or different music for different rooms/zones. Imagine pressing one button before a dinner party in your home in Oman that will turn on all lighting and dimmer switches, adjust the HVAC through its Zwave thermostat and play all party playlists in the living room, dining rooms and majlis.


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Gluten-Free Cooking
When it comes to cooking, there are many dietary restrictions that will be encountered along the way. One restriction that is gaining some degree of notoriety in recent years is the need for a gluten free diet.
Gluten is a substance that is commonly found in flour products that a decent sized portion of the population has a negative reaction to in some form or another. For these people, gluten free isn't a choice it is absolutely necessary.
Gluten free cooking does impose many restrictions and often makes it quite difficult to enjoy something the vast majority of us take for granted-dining out. The good news from those who require gluten free cooking is that more and more restaurants are beginning to acknowledge this condition and offer some selections that are gluten free. It takes time, just as it did with low carb craze for the demand for these products to make it worth the industries while to make adjustments in their way of preparing foods.
While on the one hand it is frustrating to not have the option of dining out, there is some challenge to finding new and tasty foods and combinations for cooking each and every night without falling into a rut of the same old foods that you know you can eat without worry.
Consider cooking gluten free a challenge rather than a chore and you may find that the process is much more enjoyable. You might even find that you appreciate the meals you've worked hard to prepare even better because of the great sense of accomplishment.
There are many resources available for those who need to eat gluten free foods. There are even more and more 'convenience' or prepackaged foods that are designated for gluten free cooking. This means that those who once had no option but creating meals from scratch do now have the occasional shortcut available to them. We are even finding cookie and cake mixes that are now gluten free in order to enjoy some of the finer things in life for those who would have been completely deprived only a few short years ago.
Changes are being made and resources are being shared through the Internet that help not only adults that require special gluten free cooking and diets but also support for the parents of children who must have gluten free diets. Cooking for children in the best of circumstances is often difficult. It is even more difficult when there are excessive dietary restrictions that often eliminate the possibility of our children enjoying childhood favorites. That is why it is so important to seek out the many resources and recipes that are available for gluten free cooking.
If you require a gluten free diet and have no idea where to start or what you should be cooking you should check out the many websites and blogs online that address the issues and needs that are faced by those requiring gluten restrictions. You will probably be amazed at the wealth of information that is available. Also, if you have a Trader Joes or Whole Foods store in your area, most of them either offer or will order gluten free products for your cooking needs.
Gluten free cooking does not have to be the chore many of us think it must be and all gluten free food doesn't taste like cardboard. Take the time to get to know the wonderful gluten free recipes that abound and incorporate them one at a time into your cooking repertoire. You will be amazed at how wonderful you feel as well as how great the food tastes.


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What is the difference between "anyone" and "everyone" in the following context?
For example,
Anyone is welcome to do such and such.
Everyone is welcome to do such and such.
mean exactly the same thing to me. But since I am not a native speaker, I guess there might be some subtle differences. Can anyone explain?


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The History of the Pageant by Mariella Gable, O.S.B.
See also 1936: First performance of the CSB Pageant and 1965: Last performance of the CSB Pageant.
Note: Photos of the Pageant can be seen by searching for the keyword pageant in the Saint Benedict Monastery Archives digital collection.
Short videos (without sound) of the Pageant and Pageant practice are also available.
[This is an edited transcript of a January 5, 1978 recording of S. Mariella Gable, OSB, relating the history of the CSB Pageant.]
The pageant was presented on our south campus for precisely thirty consecutive years, beginning in 1935 and ending in 1965. There are one or two exceptions, and I will take those up as I go down the line. (pause) As we developed it and got it to be the kind of thing we wanted it to be, many persons who were intellectually able truly to judge it came as guests. And I have on hand some of their comments. Now, Sister Grace [McDonald] was head of our History Department, and she knew Dr. Cray very well, who was head of the History Department in the University of Minnesota, and she invited him to come up and watch the pageant. And this is what he wrote back: "I found the pageant for the initiation of your new students as thrilling as a football game, and much more edifying"; and a good deal more, but that is essential.
I knew Dr. Martin Rude very well, who was in the English department at the University of Minnesota, and he heard us talk so much about the pageant, and he said, "How about inviting me and Mrs. Rude up to see it?" And we said, "Oh, by all means come, come over the weekend and stay for Sunday night and see it." And he wrote back: "an unforgettably impressive induction into a Benedictine school, at once an education and a delight."
And then in our own backyard we have the St. Cloud Times. Just at the time we were doing it rather well, in our own judgment. Cliff Sakry, who was a reporter and a journalist and a critic of the sort, wrote quite a long commentary on the pageant. I won't read it all to you, just the kernel of what he had to say. "It is no exaggeration to say that St. Benedict's annual pageants are marvelous spectacles to behold and must rank high among dramatic undertakings of this kind. There is a faultless precision of sound and movement, together with unusually striking originality of theme. Artistically, these pageants are nothing short of superb." Now, I could go on with that kind of thing, but I am just trying to say that persons who had a right to have judgments made favorable judgments.
How did this all get started? It began in the year 1932-33. I was given the whole year free to attend Columbia University in New York City. Now, it wasn't my first experience at Columbia, I had many kinfolk in New York State. And my superiors were generous in giving me permission to visit these people, but I found that to spend a whole summer visiting was something that I couldn't endure. And so I would get permission to visit a week or two weeks and then go down to Columbia and do a summer school, and then come back and visit a little bit more, and come home.
And so by that time I began to know the professors. From the very first I loved Columbia. And I discovered what every able student discovers, that you don't pick courses, you pick teachers. And just by gossiping about with other students, you find out who are the great teachers. Whether you think you need that course or not, you go and register for something he's teaching. Now one of these great men was William Witherly Lawrence, and he was teaching that year a course in medieval literature. And I found that he was simply a thrilling teacher, not because of any external monkey shines with which he entertained us, but because he was so knowledgeable, so reverent about things that deserved reverence. He did the most superb piece of work in teaching Saint Augustine. And then the course moved along and sometime in early December he remarked very dryly at the end of a period, "I shall spend the next three class meetings in describing the work of the Benedictines." And my heart sort of sank, you know that was coming very close to home, and I did wonder very much what he would be about to say, though I had the greatest confidence that it would be correct, and it would be helpful. But, I had no idea at all (pause) how the Benedictines had truly saved the culture of Rome at its best, and of Greece at its best, and passed it on to Europe of the Middle Ages.
Now Benedict came so early that shortly following his period we have something we call the Dark Ages in Europe. And what were the Dark Ages? They were the ages that followed the invasion of the barbarians. It's a very curious thing that just as Rome began to become decadent, Benedict was a drop-out and left his home to go and live in a cave, because he couldn't endure the kind of decadent life that lay all around him in Rome. And he stayed in that cave for some time. And then decided, no, the solitary life wasn't best. He believed in family life, people living together. And he believed in taking in practically everybody. He says at the end of his rule that "this is just for beginners." You know, this isn't for the very developed contemplatives. You could develop as a contemplative, but you could also be, what should we say, an average monk and get along.
But, the monks were kept within an enclosure, and in that enclosure they learned the best methods for farming. They learned the best methods for weaving. They spent a great deal of time copying the manuscripts of the great Greeks and Romans, who had produced classics long before their time. You see, there was no printing press, and if somebody wanted a copy, he had to have a written copy. So, they had what they called the Scriptorium, the place where you did the copying of these great classics, and if you found it a little boring just to write, you decorated with all kinds of pictures, sometimes very humorous ones, and used very brilliant colors– entertained yourself in this process of copying.
Well, here were the barbarians from the North, overrunning Rome. There was a great deal of burning, looting, thievery, all sorts of destruction, and yet those barbarians were smart. They saw the difference between themselves and the people they conquered. The people they conquered were literate. They could read. They had a culture that could be handed on through the copied page. And so one of the first things they did, because the Benedictines provided for taking in children and teaching them, was to take their little barbarian boys and put them in monasteries to be educated. Well, what happened was, so many of them said, "We want to be baptized." Some of them said, "We want to be monks, take us in." And it didn't all happen in one generation, sometimes in two and three generations. Here were these monks whose ancestors were barbarians, going back to the North and carrying Christianity back to their communities from which the barbarians had come. To me, that's one of the most exciting things, that these children should have been converted and carried that faith back.
And when Augustine went to England and converted the British people, and then sent people like Boniface and Alcuin back to Germany and to the North, well, what was this? The thing coming full circle. And he showed, in unmistakable terms, that if it had not been for the monks, with their skill in all kinds of manual labor, and their copying of the great classics of the past, the culture of Greece and Rome would have been lost to Europe. He was able to demonstrate that. And I sat there truly thrilled at this spectacle of what the Benedictines had done.
I was also very sad. I thought, I came to Saint Benedict's, a girl of fifteen, and entered their high school. It was a very good high school. And at the end of high school I entered the convent; at the age of seventeen, I was a novice. And, after my novitiate, during which time I had become eighteen, old enough to make my first vows, I was sent to Bismarck, North Dakota to teach all the subjects in the high school, for three years. Then I came back and made perpetual vows and was on the staff in the college…and also taking college courses. They were very lenient those days. While you were studying, you were also teaching. (pause) It is almost incredible, but that was the way it was done.
And I was always thirsty for learning, I loved it. Any class that I took was a joy to me. But, I thought, here I have been, from the age of fifteen to the age of thirty-three, in a Benedictine institution. I have become a member. I have never once heard anything of this tremendous contribution made by the Benedictines to the culture of Europe. Europe would not have known any of the great Latin essayists or any of the great Greek dramatists if the Benedictines had not done the copying. It is just a simple fact.
I was so hurt, so disappointed with what I had gone through. And I made a very deep resolution that when I had finished my work for my doctorate and got back to the college, this would never, never, never happen again. I would find a way to dramatize the facts, to capture the imagination of the students, so that they would know what their past was like.
When I got back in 1934, I was very much exhausted, for I had worked extremely hard. And we had a dean, Sister Claire, who was a wonderful dean. She did more for the college than any other single person, by way of getting it on its feet. And here we were with a magnificent high school beginning to teach college classes. But, the college needed all sorts of good administration in order to make it a real college. And Sister Claire could do that. She drove herself very hard, and she drove all of us very hard. She was a slave driver. But she did it very casually. She passed me one day in the hall and she said, "I just meant to tell you that from now on you're head of the English department." And I kind of caught my breath and I wanted to say, "What does that mean, what do I do?" But she was gone before I could ask her.
In the back of my mind was the pageant, what I wanted to do. Now, I knew we couldn't present it that first year; that was 1934-35. But I knew we could do a lot of planning. And Sister Marcine was teaching freshman English. And in those days we had a good solid course in [the] history of English literature, beginning with medieval times, and coming on up to the present. We persuaded Sister Marcine to help us the following year. The idea was to pick out one of the great persons who represented the Benedictines and let the students concentrate on that. The first person we picked was Alcuin, a great educator. And that was for the fall of 1935. Now, there was a traditional pageant form, a form I've always hated, but it was the only form I knew. If you were going to do Alcuin, you'd look up his life, and you'd pick the characters who were relevant. And you presented one scene and a second scene and a third scene and a fourth, and ultimately people kind of knew what Alcuin stood for. And we thought it would be very well to have the students do that studying and write the script, which took us well up into the early part of November.
So, one chilly afternoon in November, we had this series of events portrayed in costume with speaking. It was kind of a windy afternoon and nobody could understand very much what anybody was saying. And I thought, "It's pretty awful." But (pause), what we did from the very beginning was to have ambitious programs printed. This was no play business, we meant business. And this was the very first program, 1935 (shows program). And I have to thank Sister Alfreda for the care with which she hoarded every single program. And we know who did what for every single one.
Well, I wasn't happy, I don't know how the others felt. But, the next year, 1936, we picked Saint Bede. And we went through that same kind of, you know, one scene, another scene, another scene, and presented the story of Bede. Now, Bede is very great and it is pretty hard to ruin the impression you get from looking at his life. When it was over I found my way up to the faculty room, and all the main people were there: Miss Constance Zierden, who helped us enormously from the beginning, and Sister Marcine was there; a number of others. And as I entered the faculty room they turned around to me and they said, "Well, what do you think of your pageant?" I said, "It is terrible. We will never have anything like this again. I'm going to have it at night, with electric lights. I'm going to have a bonfire. I'm going to do the whole thing in dancing and pageantry. It's going to be a spectacle from beginning to end. We're going to have music from start to finish. And no matter where you look at it you are going to say, "This is beautiful and I cannot tear myself away from it." Well, they said, "You are just nuts." (laughter) "You're just nuts. How do you think you are going to get electric lights? How do you think you are going to get music? How do you think you are going to do that?" "Well," I said, "I will show you."
And so I began then, working very hard. And the curious thing was, that the next year I was able to do that. And we got the men interested in our problems of lighting. And they assumed that they were a part of the pageant. They found electric outlets in what is now our dining room section. Ultimately, they discovered there was not enough power for all the electricity we wanted. And they negotiated with Northern States Power to lead in a line from Northern States Power for the pageant, so we could have a light on everything. I didn't know what to do for music. But I found that at State College in St. Cloud they did have a small orchestra. We gave them the music and we persuaded them to come out and play for us. So that, by the next year, that is, by 1937, we had the beginnings of the pageant as it came to be. And we had, I had said in my explosion in the faculty room, "We're going to have horses, on which the princes will come in riding." And of course, no matter what I said, they said, "You're nuts, you're nuts, you're nuts." (laughter) But, ultimately we did all that. We did all that.
It was [a] tremendous challenge, and a tremendous thing to do it. Ultimately – and I can't find out from these programs, all of which are here – we found it impossible. We had to move a piano outdoors for practice and have someone play the piano, and you can imagine if you are having six great dances how often you have to go over that same music, and go over it and go over it. There was nothing to do but to have somebody at the piano. And, God bless Sister Fermin, because for years she wore out her fingers playing the practice pieces for the pageant, for the various dances. And I thought, well, I've got to face that problem.
I was in charge of our college magazine. And it was a magazine with a very good reputation. Many of its articles were being used by national magazines. We had money coming in, hand over fist, through our advertising. And I took $1200 of that money and bought an electric organ. (pages turning) And so there we had, you see, the variety, the kind of music that we needed and wanted. (pages turning) And the organ was out there for all of practice. And Sister Fermin, God love her, she realized you couldn't have that expensive organ exposed to the damp of the evening air, so she had blankets and quilts and rugs. And part of her chore every evening was to cover the organ, and to keep it in good condition, so that the next day it would operate properly.
So we overcame, point by point, the difficulties that were in front of us. And we didn't solve all of them right away. Somewhere in the middle of those thirty years, we added a second half to the pageant. The first part showed St. Benedict with all the beautiful choral readers on each side and the frieze of work and prayer featuring people who were doing manual work, people who were reciting office. We had St. Benedict come down from his high station in the middle of the choral readers. And, the Angel of Work and Prayer come over. And, he took a light from both the Angel of Work and the Angel of Prayer and walked straight ahead to a bonfire that had been carefully laid, and lit it. And around it, you couldn't see them, were the flame dancers in the most brilliant red, yellow, and blue costumes. But, they were wrapped up in the black capes that the sisters wore. They were kneeling there, but not to be seen. And, just at the psychological moment, as he lit the fires, somebody lifted all those capes, and they began a very beautiful dance. And I want to give Ms. Zierden all credit, she did all the choreography for us, and it was superb.
We would sit down together, and I would explain what I wanted that dance to represent: the spread of the light. But before that we had another dance, the dance of the barbarians who wore outrageous costumes, as they should, and came in dancing a very barbarous dance. And chanted their chant, "We are the Huns and the Teutons, we are the Picts and the terrible Gauls," and so forth. At the fire the fourteen torches were lit, and passed out to persons representing each of the fourteen centuries of Benedictine history. And these were very carefully chosen, beginning with St. Scholastica, the twin sister of St. Benedict.
Then the bishop – [who] had for years had the job of giving out caps and gowns. And he was very jealous of his prerogative, and we realized we couldn't alienate his good will by saying, "Bishop, you don't need to do that anymore, you know, St. Benedict should do that, give the girls their caps and gowns." So, we just let that drift. He'd march up with his Capa Magna trailing thirty feet behind him, and made a great splash and color, and gave each girl a cap and gown. And they came back and marched up in rows of fourteen to receive those torches. And that's as far as we went, at first. That's only the beginning of the pageant.
Then somewhere in between we decided we should show what these barbarians became after that light had been lit and passed out to the saints. And we decided there were three levels of society we could show. We could show the peasants, who were very important. The scholars were very important, but in a pageant it's awfully hard to show a scholar being a scholar. You know, what are you going to have them do? He carries a scroll and he writes and that is about all you can do. Then, over all these people there was a prince. And we had a good neighbor to the west who would lend us two horses. And we would practice with them, and the prince would come riding in on horseback, welcomed by the peasants and the scholars. Then there would be revelry. Finally, they would hear the chapel bell. That was a sign they all chanted a short form of compline. The idea that laymen monks, everybody together, sang the prayer of the church. And then only did they march up in rows of fourteen.
She goes up, turns slowly, and that whole row of lights moved with tremendous unity forward, so that you saw it first here, then given into the hands of the next row, and then the next, and so on. And, when the lights had come up to the front row, all together the student body sang a pledge of loyalty. Every program carried a synopsis of the pageant. I wanted to read it for you because it is the best way to see what we are trying to do. The symbolism of the pageant is as follows:
First, the dance of the barbarians, which indicates the uncivilized state of Europe in the fifth century of the coming of St. Benedict.
Second, the two friezes, Ora et Labora, the Benedictine model "prayer and work," the double light by which St. Benedict and his followers achieved their work. See, it's a double light.
Third, St. Benedict lights the fire, and as he lit it everybody chanted together, "That in all things God may be glorified."
The fire starting to burn: the flames, very slowly, while they were still kneeling, began this swaying motion, which imitated the rise of the fire; you could see that fire begin to become a great roaring mass of flame. But the girls were dancing that, at the same time, and they circled round and round; they leaped. It was a very striking moment. The dance of the flames meant the spreading of the gospel and culture through the effort of great Benedictines, the civilizing of the barbarians.
Fifth, the procession of the saints, Benedictine leaders of fourteenth century.
Sixth, the lighting of the torches at the central fire, the continuity of the work. And the flames, one by one, carried the torches out and presented them to the saints: the idea that these fourteen saints had done great work, but from this central fire.
And then, when the pageant was about [the] beginning of 1940, we added a new part. And it was Miss Zierden who absolutely gets credit for this, because when she mentioned it to me at first I said, "Oh, no, let's not tamper with it, we've got a good thing going. Let's not make it hard for ourselves." And she said, "You sit down." And I sat there. And she said, "You know, we've got to show that this was not an instantaneous change in those barbarians. The barbarians came back as peasants, as scholars, as princes. And she said, "That was not instantaneous. That was a big struggle." She said, "I want to show, in dancing, the struggle between the barbarians and the flames." And that turned out to be one of the most beautiful parts of the pageant.
You could see the barbarians viciously coming toward the flames, and the flames backing up and then moving towards the barbarians. And finally, the barbarians meekly went and knelt around that central fire and bowed their heads. They had given in, but only after a long and beautiful struggle. And then the little flames went up, and each one lifted up one of the barbarians and left the central stage with him. I think this point of the struggle was marvelously worked out, but that's all to the credit of Connie Zierden.
We wanted the peasants to be featured very colorfully. Most of you don't know what sheaves of grain are, but your grandparents do: a whole collection of barley, or wheat, or whatever, tied in the center. Sister Linnea came from a farm and knew how it was done, so we gave her charge of teaching these girls who were peasants each to come in, they come in line carrying a sheaf of grain, and how to build a shock–so that on each side of the stage we have a shock of grain. During the revelry some of them lounged around the shock, and some of them danced a polka, and altogether we made the peasant life look very attractive.
To have the prince come in on horseback was really an astonishing thing for many people and we were able to handle that very well. Scholars I would say we did the least with, because how can you show someone schooling? You know, there isn't enough drama there. Then they recite compline all together showing all classes are bound together as one in the liturgy of the church. Then, the formal presentation of the caps and gowns to the freshmen by the Bishop of Saint Cloud. When I get far enough down on the programs I see caps and gowns presented by Saint Benedict. So we know the precise moment at which that change was achieved. Then the presentation of the torches to the freshmen which indicates the obligation of students in a Benedictine school to carry on the work of education and culture.
Around 1959 or 1960 there were a number of sisters who became very cantankerous about the pageant. It was too much work. They had up to that time been marvelously cooperative. I made a great mistake myself when I had approached Sister "X". I had known her ten years before when she had come as a freshman, a brilliant girl. She was from Cathedral High School where she had been sort of hyper religious in what I thought was an unbalanced way. For instance, she was with a group like herself. When Easter came and they came to that part of the Gospel where Christ said, "Can you not watch one hour with me?" That gang said, "Can we watch one hour? We're going over to church and stay there all night." Which they did. They would do wildly excessive religious things and I had known that girl when she was like that and I said to her, "Would you mind taking charge of teaching the freshmen to march this year?" That was very hard to do because we had three hundred freshmen. And to teach three hundred freshmen in groups of fourteen to march in an orderly way, I knew what a hard thing that would be. After a couple of days she said, "They don't want to march. I'm not going to work with them." Well, we had no one else to turn it over to at that time. So I would say she succeeded perfectly in wrecking the end of the pageant.
There were people who could be persuaded by that kind of recalcitrance to take a stand against. So that, when I was absent for four years teaching English in St. Louis, what happened was, there was a general spread of discontent. Instead of the ambitious programs that we once had, this was the kind of little slip that would come out with the names of only the freshmen on it. I could hear all around me that the sisters – not the students, the students never complained, the students loved it – but I could hear this rumbling of discontent among the sisters. And so one day in the faculty room, when the rumbling was going on, I said, "You know you don't have to have a pageant." "Don't we?" I said, "No, if you don't want it, you don't have to have it." "Oh, goody, goody, goody!" And the seculars who heard it were simply horrified. But I think that ultimately we have had overwhelming regret from every conceivable source that it was discontinued. Now this, I think, that with our great increase in enrollment and with the various connections with Saint John's, that it would take very vigorous reconsideration of just exactly how the thing could be presented. I think it could be revived. I think it could be redone.
I heard one of our English teachers criticizing its poetry. Now, when I wrote it for the students, I realized that the only thing I needed to worry about was that people would understand what was being said. And I relied much on repetition, such as you find it in the psalms and some of the antiquarianism which you find in Milton's Comus. What was done in that script was done because it had to be done. At that time I think there were loudspeakers; I think there were microphones; but they weren't here. There was no way to do it except through choral reading. I think the time came when that could have been changed, but I would say that I, myself, for the love of community unity, gave the final word for the cessation of the pageant, because I could not endure the spectacle of a divided faculty. It seemed to me if the pageant said anything it said something about unity, and we should respect it.


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Nurses and midwives in Australia say they've had to take extraordinary measures to stop people from stealing personal protective equipment, such as sanitizer and masks, and that some of them have even become targets of violence.
In a statement on its website, the New South Wales Nurses & Midwives' Association issued a plea to the community as the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country exceeded 2,800, with eight deaths, as of Thursday morning.
"Please do not treat nurses, midwives and other health workers like they are infectious," the union said, adding bold text for emphasis. "These trained professionals should be respected and must not be abused, spat on or assaulted as they move through our communities, to and from their workplaces."
The message comes Thursday as police in New South Wales issued an appeal for information in an incident in which a woman wearing a nursing uniform was approached by another woman, who allegedly coughed on her, verbally abused her and then punched her in the face, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
In addition, the union said, there had been many instances "where community members have been stealing bottles of hand sanitiser, face masks and other vital resources from hospital wards, leaving nurses and other hospital staff exposed."
Most hospitals in the state "have had to start cable-tying or using chains so the bottles [of hand sanitizer] aren't going missing from wards," a spokeswoman for the union was quoted by the Herald as saying, "but we are hearing some instances of pallets going missing from deliveries."
The newspaper reports that these incidents include the theft of an entire cart of personal protective equipment at Westmead Hospital in a suburb of Sydney and another in which a pallet of hand sanitizer was intercepted as it was being delivered to a hospital.
Earlier this week, as cases began to spike, Australia's government ordered nonessential services and businesses — including pubs, clubs, gyms, movie houses and places of worship — to shut down.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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INTERIOR - Simply Powerful Joomla Theme
Interiors is our new Responsive Joomla theme that was created specifically to fill the gap in interior design and decoration services that are always in need. This gorgeous theme is fully responsive and easy to use.
It's provided with an awesome slideshow and full width background images for each section where the modules are stored. And on a top everything it's multi language ready, which is very important nowadays to spread the word across the world. It's definitely one of those themes you need.


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Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, has concluded a "historic treaty" with its Muslim communities that grants Muslims broad new rights and privileges but does little to encourage their integration into German society.
The November 13 agreement, signed by Hamburg's Socialist Mayor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of four Muslim umbrella groups, is being praised by the proponents of multiculturalism for putting the northern port city's estimated 200,000 Muslims on an equal footing with Christian residents.
But critics say the agreement, the first of its kind in Germany, will boost the growing influence of Islam in Hamburg and will encourage the perpetuation of a Muslim parallel society in the city.
The most controversial part of the accord involves a commitment by the city government to promote the teaching of Islam in the Hamburg public school system. The agreement grants the leaders of Hamburg's Muslim communities a determinative say in what will be taught by allowing them to develop the teaching curriculum for Islamic studies.
Moreover, Muslim officials will also be able to determine who will (and who will not) be allowed to teach courses about Islam in city schools. In practice, this means that only Muslims will be allowed to teach Islam and that pupils will not be exposed to any critical perspectives about the religious, social and political ideology of Islam.
Under the wide-ranging accord, Muslims in Hamburg will also have the right to take three Islamic holidays as days off from work. Up until now, it has been up to individual employers to decide whether or not to grant Muslim staff religious days off on a case-by-case basis. In addition, Muslim students will be exempt from attending school on Muslim holidays.
The agreement also includes provisions for the construction of more mosques in Hamburg, the upkeep of cultural Islamic facilities, the authorization for Muslims to bury their dead without the use of coffins, as well as the counseling of patients and prison inmates by Muslim clerics.
Hamburg has also pledged to incorporate Muslim broadcast slots alongside Protestant and Catholic broadcasts on public and private radio and television, as well as broadcasting council seats for Muslims with the northern Germany's NDR public broadcaster and Germany's federal ZDF television channel.
Muslims for their part undertake to respect fundamental rights and support equality between the sexes, although the document provides no specifics on how these notions are defined or how they will be enforced.
Mayor Scholz, who is a former federal labor minister of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD), described the signing at the Hamburg city hall as a "milestone" for integration, adding: "With the signing of these agreements, we are strengthening the societal foundation of our city: we are all Hamburg."
Hamburg's agreements were made with the city's Alevi community (Alevis are a liberal sect within Islam based mostly in Turkey) and three Muslim umbrella organizations: the DITIB Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB), the Council of Islamic Communities (Shura) and the Federation of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ). Together these four groups are said to represent about 90% of the Muslims living in Hamburg.
Zekeriya Altug, chairman of the Hamburg branch of the DITIB Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB is actually a branch of the Turkish government's Ministry of Religious Affairs), called it a "historic day" for both Hamburg and Germany. In a statement Altug said: "With it, Hamburg has today set a precedent for the future of our country. Many Muslim employees didn't dare ask for days off on those days for fear of being seen badly. Now they will be able to say: 'It's my holiday, it's governed by law.' That makes an enormous difference."
The agreement still requires final approval by Hamburg's Parliament, in which Scholz's Social Democrats hold a majority. Mayor Scholz said he hoped for a "broad consensus." The opposition Greens have welcomed the accords; Green Party spokesperson Christa Goetsch called them "a new chapter in the history of equality." And Hamburg's Protestant Bishop Kirstin Fehrs said the agreement proved that Hamburg was "open to the world and tolerant."
Nevertheless, SPD parliamentary leader Andreas Dressel urged caution. In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, he said political leaders should "take their time before approving such important matters." He said the Hamburg Parliament's Constitutional Committee will convene an expert hearing on the agreement and that a vote will not take place until the spring of 2013.
The leadership of the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) has also expressed skepticism about the agreement. Party leader Marcus Weinberg and party chairman Dietrich Wersich issued a joint statement saying that although they welcome the conclusion of the talks, after six years of negotiations there are key issues that remain unresolved: "The agreements contain a number of points, the implementation of which need to be clarified. For this reason, the CDU will not take a final position on the matter until it concludes discussion with representatives of the churches, with scientists and with lawyers. The unresolved questions involve detailed issues such as the regulation of the school day, the teaching of religion in public schools and the holidays."
The agreement has also been met with vociferous opposition from the classical liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). In a statement, FDP Deputy Anna von Treuenfels characterized the agreement as "an unnecessary and imprecise treaty unacceptably negotiated behind the backs of the citizenry." She added: "Moreover, this agreement is totally imprecise when accuracy is required more than ever. On the issue of wearing religiously motivated clothing by public servants, especially teachers [sic]. Even the future of the heretofore successful interdenominational model of religious education in Hamburg is being jeopardized. Plus the fact that the lengthy negotiating process and final signature has been carried out without parliamentary involvement is also unacceptable, yet another reason why the FDP rejects this treaty."
The Central Council of Ex-Muslims, a Cologne-based group representing former Muslims who have been sentenced to death for apostasy, said the signing of the accord on November 13 represented a "black day" for Germany. Chairperson Mina Ahadi said: "The city of Hamburg has bowed to pressure Islamic organizations and has made concessions that are a step backwards and do not improve the rights of women."
Muslims for their part hope the Hamburg treaty will establish a precedent for the rest of Germany to follow. The spokesperson for the Alevi community in Germany, Aziz Alsandemir, says: "We hope that this accord will be viewed as a trigger by other provinces."
Bremen, the second-largest city in northern Germany, is close to finalizing its own treaty with local Muslim umbrella groups. According to the Socialist mayor of Bremen, Jens Böhrnsen, "Muslims form a significant part of the population of Bremen." The German states of Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein, both of which are run by Socialist governments, are also looking at negotiating treaties with the Muslims in their regions.
At the national level, the SPD has said it would like to see Islam recognized as an official religion in Germany. In an interview with the newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, SPD politician Dieter Wiefelspütz said: "It would be an important signal to the four million Muslims in Germany, if the state recognizes Islam as a religious community." He added: "Islam needs a fair chance in Germany."
Why are Germany's Socialist politicians, who are usually militantly proud of their secular credentials, bending over backwards to accommodate Islam? The SPD hopes to unseat German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the German elections in the fall of 2013, and Muslim voters may very well determine the outcome.
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.


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2024 Eclipse Information for cities in
These cities in will not be in the path of totality for the 2024 total solar eclipse
Note that certified eye protection must be used AT ALL TIMES when viewing the eclipse from these locations!
We've gathered detailed eclipse information for cities in , to help you plan your eclipse day viewing activities. Everything is summarized in the table(s) below. You can search for a city by typing a couple of letters of the city's name into the search box. Once you get a table that lists all the possible cities, you can click on an individual city name to visit that city's dedicated 2024 eclipse page.
On the city page, you'll find an overview animation of the 2024 eclipse, as well as links to weather, the eclipse Community Page, and the fantastic 2024 eclipse simulator - ALL created specifically for that individual city.
It's all about bringing YOU the most detailed, accurate eclipse information possible - as you prepare to watch the Great North American Eclipse on April 8, 2024!
View the instructions for the values shown in the table
In this table, we've listed the following information:
Location identifier and latitude/longitude
The times in the table have been calculated based on this exact location. Times can shift by several seconds as you get several miles/km away from the location shown.
Start time of the partial phase ("C1")
All times are given in local time or Universal time [UT] (also known as GMT or Zulu time). You can convert the entire table by clicking on the time zone you want to see it shown in!
Where to look for that first "bite" of partial eclipse ("V")
We've called this value "V", because that's what astronomers call it. If you imagine the Sun's disk as a clock face, this is the hour hand value of where to look on that "clock" to see that very first little bite that the Moon is taking! (Remember, you must use eclipse glasses to look at the Sun at this time!)
Who will be the first to see that bite and shout "First Contact!"?
Time of Mid-eclipse
This is when the maximum amount of the Sun's disk is covered. Also given in UT and you can convert it if you like.
Eclipse Magnitude
The amount of the Sun's disk that is covered at the time of mid-eclipse. (Measured as a percentage of the Sun's diameter, not area!)
Altitude and azimuth of the Sun at the time of mid-eclipse
This will let you know where the Sun will be in the sky during mid-eclipse, so you can check to make sure that trees, buildings or mountains won't be in your way. (You can also go outside to your planned viewing location on the day before the eclipse at eclipse time and check it out yourself. The Sun's location in the sky at that time won't change enough in one day for you to notice the difference.)
Altitude is given in degrees. The horizon is at 0°, and straight up is 90°. So 45° would be exactly halfway up, 30° would be 1/3 of the way up, and 60° would be 2/3 of the way up. Anything in between is, well, in between!
Azimuth is given as an angle so you can tell exactly where the Sun will be, and here are some references: 90° is due east, 180° is due south, and 270° is due west. So, if you see 200°, that's a bit less than 1/3 of the way from due south to due west. 135° would be straight southeast.
The table below shows all times in the default time zone of GMT that we're using for . The table will continue to display times in GMT even if you search for a city that uses a different time zone. (You can always change the displayed time zone using the dropdown if you like.)
However, when you go to the city page, community page, or simulator for any city, the time zone will be updated and will be the correct one for that city!
We've calculated all values in the table below using a value of ΔT=69.2s
City | Lat | Long | C1 (UT) | V | Mid-eclipse (UT) | Magnitude | Alt | Az | city english |


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Partner's Meeting
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61 In the four hundred and eightieth[1] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord. 2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[2] 3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[3] and projected ten cubits[4] from the front of the temple. 4 He made narrow windows high up in the temple walls. 5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6 The lowest floor was five cubits[5] wide, the middle floor six cubits[6] and the third floor seven.[7] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. 8 The entrance to the lowest[8] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.
11 The word of the Lord came to Solomon: 12 "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel." 14 So Solomon built the temple and completed it.
15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper. 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[9] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen. 19 He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary. 23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits-ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29 On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold. 31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings. 36 And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams. 37 The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.
71 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. 2 He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,[10] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. 3 It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns-forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. 4 Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. 5 All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.[11] 6 He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.[12] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof. 7 He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge, and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.[13] 8 And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. 9 All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits[14] and some eight.[15] 11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,[16] 14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him. 15 He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.[17] 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits[18] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows[19] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.[20] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits[21] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin[22] and the one to the north Boaz.[23] 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed.
23 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits[24] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim, gourds encircled it-ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. 25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth[25] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.[26] 27 He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.[27] 28 This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim-and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit[28] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.[29] Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal. 34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit[30] deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape. 38 He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths[31] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the pots[32] and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord: 41 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); 43 the ten stands with their ten basins; 44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it; 45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.
48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the Lord's temple: the golden altar; the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; 49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary); the gold floral work and lamps and tongs; 50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated-the silver and gold and the furnishings-and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord's temple.