Sunday, September 30, 2007

Ta-Tanisha
Ta-Tanisha (born January 15, 1953) is an American character actress, best known for her role as Pam on the television series Room 222, which she played from 1970 to 1972.
She later appeared in a bit role in the 1973 film The Sting, and played Lamont Sanford's love interest, Janet Lawson, on Sanford and Son for two episodes before Marlene Clark assumed the role. Ta-Tanisha also appeared on Good Times three times (in three separate roles) as well as on What's Happening!!.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Biography
Mendes was born in Reading, Berkshire, England. He is the son of a Trinidadian Portuguese Protestant father and an English Jewish mother. His father, Peter, is the son of the Trinidadian writer Alfred Mendes, author of the novels Black Fauns and Pitch Lake, and part of the group around CLR James and Albert Gomes which produced the Beacon literary magazine in the early 1930s. His secondary education was at Magdalen College School, Oxford, and he later attended Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge.

Early life
Mendes first attracted attention for his assured production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in the West End starring Judi Dench. He was under 25. Soon he was directing plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company where his productions, many of them featuring Simon Russell Beale, included Troilus and Cressida, Richard III and The Tempest. These productions were praised for their clarity, intelligence and stylishness.
He has also worked at the Royal National Theatre, directing Edward Bond's The Sea, Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, and Othello with Simon Russell Beale as Iago.
In 1992 he was appointed artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, an intimate studio space in London's West End which he quickly transformed into one of the most exciting venues in the city. His opening production was Stephen Sondheim's Assassins which revelled in the show's dark, comic brilliance and rescued it from the critical opprobrium it had suffered on its American opening. He followed this with a series of excellent classic revivals, many of which attracted some of the finest actors and biggest stars of the decade. Among Mendes's best productions were John Kander and Fred Ebb's Cabaret, Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Stephen Sondheim's Company, Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus and his farewell duo of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, which transferred to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. As artistic director Mendes also gave some of the country's finest younger directors the opportunity to do some of their best work: Matthew Warchus's production of Sam Shepard's True West, Katie Mitchell's of Beckett's Endgame, David Leveaux's of Sophocles's Elektra and Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing were amongst the most critically acclaimed of the decade. The Donmar's present artistic diretor Michael Grandage directed some of the key productions of the later part of Mendes's tenure, including Peter Nichols's Passion Play and Privates on Parade and Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.

Won a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Newcomer after directing Judi Dench in The Cherry Orchard.
1990: Began directing for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
1992: became artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre
1994: directed revival of Oliver! (with score specially revised and added to by the original composer and lyricist, Lionel Bart) at the London Palladium; the show ran for four years, becoming, on July 8, 1997, the longest-running show at that venue.
1994: directed revival of Cabaret
1995: won Olivier award for Best Director for The Glass Menagerie
1996: won Olivier award for Best Director of a Musical for Company
1998: revival of Cabaret opens on Broadway; wins four Tony Awards, including Best Musical (Revival)
1998: directed David Hare's The Blue Room, starring Nicole Kidman (and Iain Glen).
2003: won Olivier award for Best Director for Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night
2003: directed a Broadway revival of Gypsy, starring Bernadette Peters.
2003: started film and theatre production company, Neal Street Productions, with Pippa Harris and Caro Newling. Sam Mendes Career
After a string of romances with actresses, including Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart and Rachel Weisz, Mendes married English actress Kate Winslet on May 24, 2003 in Anguilla in the Caribbean. Their first child, Joe Alfie Winslet-Mendes, was born on December 22, 2004. Mendes also has a step-daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton, from Winslet's first marriage to assistant director Jim Threapleton. The family now lives in New York City and Cotswolds, England.

Sam Mendes Film

Through his first three films he has so far maintained a recurrent motif where rain indicates death. In American Beauty, the murderous climax unfolds on a rainy night. In Road to Perdition, the murderous beginning unfolds on a rainy night. In Jarhead, the movie is set in the desert, where it never rains, and the only death happens outside the desert.
Another trademark maintained through his first three feature films is a narrator voiceover that begins and ends the movie in similar fashion: Lester in American Beauty, Michael in Road to Perdition and Swofford in Jarhead.
Often casts Chris Cooper.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Generation C
Generation C (also known as Gen C) is the label given to a new generation by trend spotters, media commentators, technology industry observers/CEOs and semioticians. What the C stands for is currently under debate, particularly given the lack of direct research (as opposed to deductive reasoning) on the subject. Although, some believe this to be irrelevant seeing as Generations X & Y do not stand for anything either.
The American Press Association's Media Center describes Gen C as "creating, producing and participating in news in a connected, informed society."

Related Terms and Trends
The proposed title of 'The Content Generation'.

C – Cusp
C – Caring
C – Culture
C – Control
C – Content
C – Channel
C – Criterion
C – Celebrity
C – Cynicism
C – Character
C – Connected
C – Consensus
C – Complexity
C – Collaborative
C – Code (internet coding)
C – Community/Communication
C – Companies/Corporations (most will be working for large companies and/or corporations rather than small or medium sized businesses)
C – Creativity/Creative/Creators (also Creative Class)

Thursday, September 27, 2007


Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism / Mazdaism Ahura Mazda Zarathustra (Zoroaster) aša (asha) / arta
Overview of the Angels Amesha Spentas · Yazatas Ahuras · Daevas Angra Mainyu
Avesta · Gathas Vendidad The Ahuna Vairya Invocation Fire TemplesZoroastrians Dēnkard · Bundahišn Book of Arda Viraf Book of Jamasp Story of Sanjan Zurvanism Calendar · Festivals Marriage Eschatology Zoroastrians in Iran Parsis · Iranis • • • Persecution of Zoroastrians
Index of Related Articles
Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). Mazdaism is the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all (God). Mazdaism is also widely known under its ancient Iranian name Mazdayasna, meaning "the worship of wisdom".
As demonstrated by Zoroastrian creed and articles of faith, the two terms are effectively synonymous. In a declaration of the creed — the Fravarānē — the adherent states: "…I profess myself a devotee of Mazda, a follower of Zarathustra." (Yasna 12.2, 12.8)
Some scholars have suggested that Zoroastrianism was where the first prophet of a monotheistic faith arose with its largest centers in India and Iran. For details, see adherents below.

Terminology

There is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is ultimately directed.
Ahura Mazda's creation - evident as asha, truth and order - is the antithesis of chaos, evident as druj, falsehood and disorder. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict (see #3 below).
Active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of free will, and Zoroastrianism rejects all forms of monasticism.
Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end (cf: Zoroastrian eschatology). In the final renovation, all of creation - even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness" - will be (re)united in God.
In Zoroastrian tradition, the malevolent is represented by Angra Mainyu, the "Destructive Principle", while the benevolent is represented through Ahura Mazda's Spenta Mainyu, the instrument or "Bounteous Principle" of the act of creation. It is through Spenta Mainyu that Ahura Mazda is eminent in humankind, and through which the Creator interacts with the world. According to Zoroastrian cosmology, in articulating the Ahuna Vairya formula, Ahura Mazda made his ultimate triumph evident to Angra Mainyu.
As expressions and aspects of Creation, Ahura Mazda emanated seven "sparks", the Amesha Spentas, "Bounteous Immortals" that are each the hypostasis and representative of one aspect of that Creation. These Amesha Spenta are in turn assisted by a league of lesser principles, the Yazatas, each "Worthy of Worship" and each again a hypostasis of a moral or physical aspect of Creation. Basic beliefs
Although older (see Zoroaster for a date), Zoroastrianism only enters recorded history in the mid-5th century BCE. Herodotus's The Histories (completed c. 440 BCE) includes a description of Greater Iranian society with what may be recognizably Zoroastrian features, including exposure of the dead. (See Towers of Silence).
Perhaps more importantly, The Histories is a primary source of information on the early period of the Achaemenid era (648330 BCE), in particular with respect to the role of the Magi. According to Herodotus i.101, the "Magi" were the sixth tribe of the Medians (until the unification of the Persian empire under Cyrus the Great, all Iranians were referred to as Mede or Mada by the peoples of the Ancient World), who appear to have been the priestly caste of the Mesopotamian-influenced branch of Zoroastrianism today known as "Zurvanism", and who wielded considerable influence at the courts of the Median emperors.
Following the unification of the Median and Persian empires in 550 BCE, Cyrus II and later his son Cambyses II curtailed the powers of the "Magi" after these had attempted to seed dissent following their loss of influence. In 522 BCE, the "Magi" revolted and set up a rival claimant to the throne. The usurper, pretending to be Cyrus' younger son Smerdis, took power shortly thereafter. Owing to the despotic rule of Cambyses and his long absence in Egypt, "the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations," acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years (Herodotus iii. 68).
According to the Behistun Inscription, pseudo-Smerdis ruled for seven months before being overthrown by Darius I in 521 BCE. The "Magi", though persecuted, continued to exist, and a year following the death of the first pseudo-Smerdis (named Gaumata), had a second pseudo-Smerdis (named Vahyazdāta) attempt a coup. The coup, though initially successful, failed.
Whether Cyrus II was a Zoroastrian is subject to debate. It did however influence him to the extent that it became the non-imposing religion of his empire, and its beliefs would later allow Cyrus to free the Jews from captivity (and allow them to return to Judea) when the emperor took Babylon in 539 BCE. Whether Darius I, though certainly a devotee of Ahura Mazda (as attested to several times in the Behistun inscription), was a follower of Zoroaster has not been conclusively established, since a devotion to Ahura Mazda was (at the time) not necessarily an indication of an adherence to Zoroaster's teaching.
Darius I and later Achaemenid emperors, though acknowledging their devotion to Ahura Mazda in inscriptions, appear to have permitted religions to coexist. Nonetheless, it was during the Achaemenid period that Zoroastrianism gained momentum, and a number of the Zoroastrian texts (that today are part of the greater compendium of the Avesta) have been attributed to that period. It was also during the (later) Achaemenid era that many of the divinities and divine concepts of proto-Indo-Iranian religion(s) were incorporated in Zoroastrianism, in particular, those to whom the days of the month of the Zoroastrian calendar are dedicated. That religious calendar, which is still in use today, is itself (to some extent) an Achaemenid-era development. Those divinities, the yazatas, are present-day Zoroastrianism's angels. (Dhalla, 1938).
Almost nothing is known of the status of Zoroastrianism under the Seleucids and Parthians who ruled over Persia following Alexander the Great's invasion in 330 BCE. According to later Zoroastrian legend (Denkard, Book of Arda Viraf), many of the Zoroastrian sacred texts were lost when Alexander's troops destroyed the royal library at Persepolis subsequent to the taking of the city. Diodorus Siculus's Bibliotheca historia (completed c. 60 BCE), which is to a great extent an encapsulation of earlier works, appears to substantiate Zoroastrian legend (Diod. 17.72.2–17.72.6). According to one archaeological examination, the ruins of the palace of Xerxes bear traces of having been subjected to fire (Stolze, 1882). Whether a vast collection of (semi-)religious texts "written on parchment in gold ink" as suggested by the Denkard actually existed remains a matter of speculation, but is in all likelihood untrue. Given that many of the Denkards statements-as-fact have since been established as untrue, among scholars, the tale of the library is widely accepted to be a fiction. (Kellens, 2002)
When the Sassanid dynasty came into power in 228 CE, they aggressively promoted the Zurvanite form of Zoroastrianism and in some cases persecuted Christians and Manichaeans. When the Sassanids captured territory, they often built fire temples there to promote their religion. The Sassanids were suspicious of Christians not least because of their perceived ties to the Christian Roman Empire. Thus, those Christians loyal to the Patriarchate of Babylon — which had broken with Roman Christianity when the latter condemned Nestorianism — were tolerated and even sometimes favored by the Sassanids. Nestorians lived in large numbers in Mesopotamia and Khuzestan during this period.
A form of Zoroastrianism was apparently also the chief religion of pre-Christian Caucasus region, or at least was prominent there. During periods of Sassanid suzerainty over the Caucasus, the Sassanids made attempts to promote the religion there as well.
Well before the 6th century, Zoroastrianism had spread to northern China via the Silk Road, gaining official status in a number of Chinese states. Remains of Zoroastrian temples have been found in Kaifeng and Zhenjiang, and according to some scholars,
Many Zoroastrians fled, among them several groups who eventually migrated to the western shores of the Indian subcontinent, where they finally settled. According to the Qissa-i Sanjan "Story of Sanjan", the only existing account of the early years of Zoroastrian refugees in India, the immigrants originated from (greater) Khorasan. The descendants of those and other settlers, who are today known as the Parsis, founded the Indian cities of Sanjan and Navsari, which are said to have been named after the cities of their origin: Sanjan (near Merv, in present-day Turkmenistan) and the eponymous Sari (in modern Mazandaran, Iran). (Kotwal, 2004)
In the centuries following the fall of the Sassanid Empire, Zoroastrianism began to gradually return to the form it had had under the Achaemenids, and no evidence of what is today called the "Zurvan Heresy" exists beyond the 10th century CE. (Boyce, 2002) Ironically, it was Zurvanism and Zurvan-influenced texts that first reached the west, leading to the supposition that Zoroastrianism was a religion with two deities: Zurvan and Ahura Mazda (the latter being opposed by Angra Mainyu).
Today, the number of Zoroastrians is significantly lower than it once was, but the religion is alive. Over the centuries, adherents of the faith have dispersed in all directions, but greater concentrations of Zoroastrians may still be found on the Indian subcontinent and in Iran.

History

Religious texts

Main article: Avesta Scripture
The texts of the Avesta are complemented by several secondary works of religious or semi-religious nature, which although not sacred and not used as scripture, have a significant influence on Zoroastrian doctrine. They are all of a much later date - in general from between the 9th and 12th centuries - with the youngest treatises dating to the 17th century. Some of these works quote passages that are believed to be from lost sections of the Avesta.
The most important of these secondary texts (of which there some 60 in all) are:
The use of the expression Zend-Avesta to refer to the Avesta, or the use of Zend as the name of a language or script, are relatively recent and popular mistakes. The word Zend or Zand, meaning "commentary, translation", refers to supplementaries in Middle Persian not intended for use as theological texts by themselves but for religious instruction of the (by then) non-Avestan-speaking public. In contrast, the texts of the Avesta proper remained sacrosanct and continued to be recited in Avestan - which was considered a sacred language.
In a general sense, all the secondary texts mentioned above are also included in the Zend rubric since they too often include commentaries on the Avesta and on the religion.

The Dēnkard "Acts of Religion" in Middle Persian
The Bundahishn "Primordial Creation" in Middle Persian
The Mēnog-ī Khirad "Spirit of Wisdom" in Middle Persian
The Arda Viraf Nāmag "Book of Arda Viraf" in Middle Persian
The Sad Dar "Hundred Doors or Chapters" in Modern Persian
The Rivayats or traditional treatises in Middle and Modern Persian Other texts
Ahura Mazda is the beginning and the end, the creator of everything which can and cannot be seen, the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth. In the Gathas, the most sacred texts of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, the prophet acknowledged devotion to no other divinity besides Ahura Mazda.
Daena (din in modern Persian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the Mathra-Spenta 'Holy Words'. Daena has been used to mean religion, faith, law, even as a translation for the Hindu and Buddhist term Dharma, religious duty, but which can also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue. The metaphor of the 'path' of Daena is represented in Zoroastrianism by the muslin undershirt Sudra, the 'Good/Holy Path', and the 72-thread Kushti girdle, the 'Pathfinder'.
Daena should not be confused with the fundamental principle asha (Vedic rta), the equitable law of the universe, which governed the life of the ancient Indo-Iranians. For these, asha was the course of everything observable, the motion of the planets and astral bodies, the progression of the seasons, the pattern of daily nomadic herdsman life, governed by regular metronomic events such as sunrise and sunset. All physical creation (geti) was thus determined to run according to a master plan - inherent to Ahura Mazda - and violations of the order (druj) were violations against creation, and thus violations against Ahura Mazda. This concept of asha versus the druj should not be confused with the good-versus-evil battle evident in western religions, for although both forms of opposition express moral conflict, the asha versus druj concept is more subtle and nuanced, representing, for instance, chaos (that opposes order); or 'uncreation', evident as natural decay (that opposes creation); or more simply 'the lie' (that opposes truth, righteousness). Moreover, in His role as the one uncreated Creator of all, Ahura Mazda is not the creator of 'druj' which is 'nothing', anti-creation, and thus (likewise) uncreated. Thus, in Zoroaster's revelation, Ahura Mazda was perceived to be the creator of only the good (Yasna 31.4), the "supreme benevolent providence" (Yasna 43.11), that will ultimately triumph (Yasna 48.1)
In this schema of asha versus druj, mortal beings (humans and animals both) play a critical role, for they too are created. Here, in their lives, they are active participants in the conflict and it is their duty to defend order, which would decay without counteraction. Throughout the Gathas, Zoroaster emphasizes deeds and actions; and accordingly asceticism is frowned upon in Zoroastrianism. In later Zoroastrianism, this was explained as fleeing from the experiences of life, which was the very purpose that the urvan (most commonly translated as the 'soul') was sent into the mortal world to collect. The avoidance of any aspect of life, which includes the avoidance of the pleasures of life, is a shirking of the responsibility and duty to oneself, one's urvan, and one's family and social obligations.
Thus, central to Zoroastrianism is the emphasis on moral choice, to choose between the responsibility and duty for which one is in the mortal world, or to give up this duty and so facilitate the work of druj. Similarly, predestination is rejected in Zoroastrian teaching. Humans bear responsibility for all situations they are in, and in the way they act to one another. Reward, punishment, happiness and grief all depend on how individuals live their life.
In Zoroastrianism, good transpires for those who do righteous deeds. Those who do evil have themselves to blame for their ruin. Zoroastrian morality is then to be summed up in the simple phrase, "good thoughts, good words, good deeds" (Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta in Avestan), for it is through these that asha is maintained and druj is kept in check.
Through accumulation, several other beliefs were introduced to the religion, that in some instances supersede those expressed in the Gathas. In the late 19th century, the moral and immoral forces came to be represented by Spenta Mainyu and its Satanic antithesis Angra Mainyu, the 'good spirit' and 'evil spirit' emanations of Ahura Mazda respectively. Although the names are old, this opposition is a modern western-influenced development popularized by Martin Haug in the 1880s, and was in effect a realignment of the precepts of Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism), which had invented a third deity, Zurvan, in order to explain a mention of twinship (Yasna 30.3) between the moral and immoral. Although Zurvanism had died out by the 10th century, the critical question of the "twin brothers" mentioned in Yasna 30.3 remained, and Haug's explanation provided a convenient defence against Christian missionaries who disparaged the Parsis (Indian Zoroastrians) for their 'dualism'. Haug's concept was subsequently disseminated as a Parsi interpretation, thus corroborating Haug's theory and the idea became so popular that it is now almost universally accepted as doctrine.
Achaemenid era (648–330 BCE) Zoroastrianism developed the abstract concepts of heaven, hell, personal and final judgement, all of which are only alluded to in the Gathas. Yasna 19 (which has only survived in a Sassanid era (226–650 CE) Zend commentary on the Ahuna Vairya invocation), prescribes a Path to Judgement known as the Chinvat Peretum or Chinvat bridge (cf: As-Sirāt in Islam), which all souls had to cross, and judgement (over thoughts, words, deeds performed during a lifetime) was passed as they were doing so. However, the Zoroastrian personal judgement is not final. At the end of time, when evil is finally defeated, all souls will be ultimately reunited with their Fravashi. Thus, Zoroastrianism can be said to be a universalist religion with respect to salvation.
In addition, and strongly influenced by Babylonian and Akkadian practices, the Achaemenids popularized shrines and temples, hitherto alien forms of worship. In the wake of Achaemenid expansion, shrines were constructed throughout the empire and particularly influenced the role of Mithra, Aredvi Sura Anahita, Verethregna and Tishtrya, all of which, in addition to their original (proto-)Indo-Iranian functions, now also received Perso-Babylonian functions.
Although the worship of images would eventually fall out of favour (and be replaced by the iconoclastic fire temples), the lasting legacy of the Achaemenids was a vast, complex hierarchy of Yazatas (modern Zoroastrianism's Angels) that were now not just evident in the religion, but firmly established, not least because the divinities received dedications in the Zoroastrian calendar, thus ensuring that they were frequently invoked. Additionally, the Amesha Spenta, the six originally abstract terms that were regarded as direct emanations or aspects or 'divine sparks' of Ahura Mazda, came to be personified as an archangel retinue.
Some Zoroastrians believe in the future coming of a Messiah-like figure known as the Peshotan. This too is a modern syncretic development, and is frowned upon by more conservative Zoroastrians.

Principal beliefs
Some major modern Zoroastrian precepts:

Equalism: Equality of all, irrespective of gender, race, or religion. However, in Bundahishn it is told that Negroes are of demonic origin and that they were created by the evil Zohak. (Bundahishn, XIVB.)
Respect and kindness towards all living things. Condemnation of the oppression of human beings, cruelty against animals and sacrifice of animals.
Environmentalism: Nature is central to the practice of Zoroastrianism and many important Zoroastrian annual festivals are in celebration of nature: new year on the first day of spring, the water festival in summer, the autumn festival at the end of the season, and the mid-winter fire festival.
Hard work and charity: Laziness and sloth are frowned upon. Zoroastrians are encouraged to part with a little of what would otherwise be their own.
Loyalty and faithfulness to "family, settlement, tribe, and countries." Zoroastrian precepts

The symbol of fire: The energy of the creator is represented in Zoroastrianism by fire and the sun which are both enduring, radiant, pure and life sustaining. Zoroastrians usually pray in front of some form of fire (or any source of light). (It is important to note that fire is not worshipped by Zoroastrians, but is used simply as symbol and a point of focus, much like the crucifix in Christianity. For details, see Fire temple)
Proselytizing and conversion: Parsi Zoroastrians do not proselytize. In recent years, however, Zoroastrian communities in both Iran, Europe and the Americas have been more tolerant towards conversion. While this move has not been supported officially by the priesthood in Mumbai, India, it has been endorsed by the Council of Mobeds in Tehran.
Inter-faith marriages: As in many other faiths, Zoroastrians are strongly encouraged to marry others of the same faith, but this is not a requirement of the religion itself. Some members of the Indian Zoroastrian community (the Parsis) contend that a child must have a Parsi father to be eligible for introduction into the faith, but this assertion is considered by most to be a violation of the Zoroastrian tenets of gender equality, and may be a remnant of an old legal definition (since overruled) of Parsi. However, to this day, some priests will not perform the Navjote ceremony - i.e. the rites of admission into the religion - for children of mixed-marriages, irrespective of which parent is a non-Parsi. This issue is a matter of great debate within the Parsi community, but with the increasingly global nature of modern society and the dwindling number of Zoroastrians, such opinions are less vociferous than they previously were.
Death and burial: Religious rituals related to death are all concerned with the person's soul and not the body. Zoroastrians believe that on the fourth day after death, the human soul leaves the body and the body remains as an empty shell. Traditionally, Zoroastrians disposed of their dead by leaving them atop open-topped enclosures, called Towers of Silence, or Dokhmas. Vultures and the weather would clean the flesh off the bones, which were then placed into an ossuary at the center of the Tower. Fire and Earth were considered too sacred for the dead to be placed in them. While this practice is continued in India by some Parsis, it had ended by the beginning of the twentieth century in Iran. In India, burial and cremation are becoming increasingly popular alternatives. Other distinguishing characteristics
Small Zoroastrian communities are found in India, Pakistan, Iran, as well as major urban areas in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and a worldwide diaspora. Zoroastrian communities comprise two main groups of people: those of Indian Zoroastrian background, who are known as Parsis (or Parsees), and those of Iranian background.
Adherents

Main article: Zoroastrians in Iran In Iran
Main article: Parsis, the Zoroastrians of the Indian subcontinent.
Subsequent to the fall of the Persian Empire, after which Zoroastrianism was gradually supplanted by Islam, many Zoroastrians fled to other regions in the hope of preserving their religious tradition. Among them were several groups who migrated to Gujarat, on the western shores of the Indian subcontinent, where they finally settled. The descendants of those refugees are today known as the Parsis.
In contrast to their co-religionists elsewhere, in India the Zoroastrians enjoyed tolerance and even admiration from other religious communities. From the 19th century onward, the Parsis gained a reputation for their education and widespread influence in all aspects of society, partly due to the divisive strategy of British colonialism which favored certain minorities. As such, Parsis are generally more affluent than other Indians and are stereotypically viewed as among the most Anglicised and "Westernised" of Indian minority groups. They have also played an instrumental role in the economic development of the country over many decades; several of the best-known business conglomerates of India are run by Parsi-Zoroastrians, including the Tata, Godrej, and Wadia families.

In South Asia
There is some interest among Iranians, as well as people in various Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in their ancient Zoroastrian heritage; some people in these countries take notice of their Zoroastrian past. In fact, UNESCO (at the instigation of the government of Tajikistan) declared 2003 a year to celebrate the "3000th Anniversary of Zoroastrian Culture," with special events throughout the world.

In Central Asia
In 1996, the number of Zoroastrians worldwide was estimated to be "at most 200,000" (Melton, 1996:837). India's 2001 Census found 69,601 Parsi Zoroastrians. In Pakistan they number 5000, mostly living in Karachi. North America is thought to be home to 18,000–25,000 Zoroastrians of both South Asian and Iranian background. Iran's figures of Zoroastrians have ranged widely; the last census (1974) before the revolution of 1979 revealed 21,400 Zoroastrians.
Few (if any) adherents remain in the Central Asian regions that were once considered the traditional stronghold of Zoroastrianism, i.e. Bactria (see also Balkh) which is in Northern Afghanistan, Sogdiana, Margiana, and other areas closest to Zoroaster's homeland.
In the Indian census of 2001, the Parsis numbered 69,601, representing approximately 0.006% of the total population of India, with a concentration in and around the city of Mumbai (previously known as Bombay). Due to a low birth rate and high rate of emigration, demographic trends project that by the year 2020 the Parsis will number only about 23,000 or 0.002% of the total population of India. The Parsis will then cease to be called a community and will be labelled a 'tribe'.
Despite the above evidence to the contrary, the "World Christian Encyclopedia" claims Zoroastrianism to be the fastest growing religion in the world, at 2.68% over 1990–2000.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

History
One of the oldest sides in the K-League, the club was formed in December 1983, and started out in 1984 as Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso, owned and financially supported by the LG Group, located in the city of Cheongju. In the inaugural season, the club finished seventh out of the eight sides. The club fared better in 1985 when they won the Championship with the help of Thai international Piyapong Pue-On, who was the top goalscorer, as well as the league leader in assists.

Founding
At the start of 1990 season, the K-League, worried about financial stability of clubs, invited number of clubs to play in Seoul, the capital and the most populous city in South Korea. Thus, the Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso moved to Dongdaemun Stadium in Seoul at the beginning of 1990. The move proved to be a very good one, as the club finished the year as champions of K-League. As part of the LG Group's corporate identity change, the club changed its name to LG Cheetahs in 1991. After several successful seasons in Seoul, the club was forced to move in 1996, as part of K-League's decision to create strong regional basis for each club. For clubs located in Seoul, this meant a forced move, as the K-League banned clubs from claiming Seoul as their home, asserting that clubs based in the capital had the unfair advantage in drawing crowds compared to others and, thus, would harm any type of competition. As a result, the club moved to the city of Anyang, a satellite city of Seoul, and now was known as the Anyang LG Cheetahs. In the upcoming years, a solid base of supporters was formed, and it established a strong league rivalry with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings, partly fueled also by the fact that LG Group and Samsung Group, which owned the Suwon club, were also considered rivals in the business world, especially in electronics. The club continued to grow and in 2000, they won their third Championship, behind the firepower of striker Choi Yong-Soo and the rookie wingback Lee Young-Pyo.

Move to Seoul and then to Anyang
For 2002 FIFA World Cup, in Korea and Japan, 10 brand new stadiums of World Cup standards were built in Korea. After the World Cup, the Korean World Cup Organizing Committee and the Korea Football Associaton (KFA) actively supported the move of regional K-League clubs into the new stadia, to avoid any financial losses by having to maintain a stadium in playing conditions without any income. However, due to the previous decision by the league to exclude any member club from being based in Seoul, Seoul World Cup Stadium remained vacant, except as a host of some international friendlies. Thus, the city government of Seoul and the KFA both actively sought for a K-League club to play at the stadium to avoid substantial financial losses. Initially, the idea was to create a new club, but when it was later learned that any club playing in Seoul World Cup Stadium would have to pay partially for the construction fees of the stadium, this proved very unlikely. Thus, the KFA tried to lure one of the current clubs to Seoul. Anyang LG Cheetahs, behind the financial backing of the LG Group, who not only viewed the move back to Seoul as a way to increase its advertising presence, but has the right to come back to Seoul 'cause it was forcefully changed its franchise in 90's, announced in February 2004 that it would pay the share of the construction fees (which turned out to be 15 billion wons, or at that time 15 million USD).
This proposed move provoked a significant amount of anger from the local supporters of the club, 'Anyang RED', resulting in series of demonstrations by the supporters, also the supporters of other clubs and 'Red Devil'. Further fueling the resistance was the general consensus of the South Korean public that football clubs need to have strong regional ties, not a simple marketing branch of a corporation that could be moved without agreement of the fans. However, the lure of the Seoul market was too great for the LG Group to avoid. Furthermore, the LG Group considered the move to Seoul as a "return" to Seoul, asserting that it is simply reclaiming what was taken away from them. Despite a strong supporter protest against move from fans of many other clubs, the move was finalised but the club had to relent somewhat, as the official name of the club was changed to FC Seoul, along with the promise that the LG Group would invest money into youth football in Seoul. The lack of the corporate identity in the club name was seen by the media as a huge compromise, since it is bound to lose certain marketability.

FC Seoul Move Again To Seoul
as of July 2007

Current first team squad

Flag of Thailand Piyapong Piew-on 1984-1986
Flag of South Korea Choi Yong-Soo 1994-1996, 1999-2000, 2006
Flag of South Korea Lee Young-Pyo 2000-2002
Flag of South Korea Baek Ji-Hoon 2005-2006 Notable managers

2004-Present: FC Seoul
1997-2003: Anyang LG Cheetahs FC
1991-1996: LG Cheetahs FC
1983-1990: Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso FC

Tuesday, September 25, 2007


A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two bones crossed together under the skull. Today, it is generally used as a warning of danger (usually in regard to poisonous substances).
The symbol, or some variation thereof, was also featured on the Jolly Roger, one of the many flag designs of European and American pirates; it is thought of as the stereotypical pirate flag, although it has historically been used for other purposes as well.
Traditionally, the crossbones behind the skull indicates poison, while the crossbones under the skull (the "Jolly Roger") indicates pirates or piracy.
Skull and crossbones Skull and crossbones
Modern uses

Hazard symbol
Jolly Roger
Mr. Yuk
Sedlec Ossuary — a church made of skeletons that uses the Skull and crossbones symbol at some places
Totenkopf — "Dead (person)'s Head" insignia of former German elite military units.
Skull and Bones
Danse Macabre

Monday, September 24, 2007

Paradox
A paradox is an apparently true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. Typically, either the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true or cannot all be true together. The word paradox is often used interchangeably and wrongly with contradiction; but whereas a contradiction asserts its own opposite, many paradoxes do allow for resolution of some kind.
The recognition of ambiguities, equivocations, and unstated assumptions underlying known paradoxes has led to significant advances in science, philosophy and mathematics. But many paradoxes, such as Curry's paradox, do not yet have universally accepted resolutions.
Sometimes the term paradox is used for situations that are merely surprising. The birthday paradox, for instance, is unexpected but perfectly logical. This is also the usage in economics, where a paradox is a counterintuitive outcome of economic theory. In literature it can be any contradictory or obviously untrue statement, which resolves itself upon later inspection.

Paradox Moral paradox

List of paradoxes
Paradox (database)
Impossible object
Formal fallacy
Dilemma
Puzzle
Zeno's paradoxes
Self refuting ideas
Paradoxes of set theory

Sunday, September 23, 2007


Brett Lorenzo Favre (pronounced 'Farv') was born on October 10, 1969 in Gulfport, Mississippi.

NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Pro Bowl (x8)
AP NFL MVP (x3)
AP Offensive POY (x1)
UPI NFC Offensive POY (x2)
PFWA MVP (x2)
Bert Bell Award (x2)
NEA MVP Award (x2)
NFL All-Time records (x2)
Green Bay Packers All-Time records (x4)
Atlanta Falcons (1991)
Green Bay Packers (1992-present) Early years
After high school, Southern Mississippi offered Favre a scholarship (the only one he received). Southern Miss wanted him to play defensive back but Favre wanted to play quarterback instead. Favre began his freshman year as the seventh string quarterback and took over the starting position in the second half of the third game of the year against Tulane on September 19, 1987. Favre, despite suffering a hangover from the night before and vomiting during warm-ups, led the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory with two touchdown passes.

College career
Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round, 33rd overall in the 1991 NFL Draft. Atlanta coach Jerry Glanville did not approve of the drafting of Favre, saying it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game.

Brett Favre Atlanta Falcons career
Brett Favre has played 16 seasons in Green Bay. During his time in Green Bay, Favre has won three consecutive MVP awards, the first person in NFL history to do so.

Green Bay Packers career
In the second game of the 1992 season, the Packers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers were leading 17-0 at half time when head coach Mike Holmgren benched starting quarterback Don Majkowski and Favre played the second half. On his first regular season play as a Packer, Favre threw a pass which was deflected and caught by himself. Favre was tackled and the completion went for -7 yards. The Packers lost the game 31-3, chalking up only 106 yards passing.

Beginnings in Green Bay
Favre led the Packers to their best season in 30-years in the 1996 season, winning his second consecutive MVP award in the process. The Packers led the NFL in points scored as well as fewest points scored against. Green Bay tied the Denver Broncos for the NFL's best regular season record, 13-3, defeated the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field in the playoffs. The Packers advanced to Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome, a short drive from Favre's hometown.

Post-Super Bowl seasons
Favre was the target of controversy at the end of 2001 when, in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Favre rolled to his right and slid down at the feet of hard-charging Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. It was Strahan's lone sack of the game and gave him the NFL's single-season sack record of 22.5, which topped Mark Gastineau's record of 22 set in 1984.

Strahan controversy
One of the defining moments of Favre's career, and arguably his greatest game ever, took place on December 22, 2003, in a Monday Night Football game against the Oakland Raiders, the day after his father, Irvin, died suddenly of a heart attack while driving his car. Favre elected to play and passed for four touchdowns in the first half and 399 total yards in a 41-7 victory over the Raiders on international television (even receiving applause from the highly partisan "Raider Nation"). Afterwards, Favre said, "I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight."

2003 Oakland Raiders game
In the 2005 Green Bay Packers season, despite throwing for over 3,000 yards for a record 14th consecutive time, Favre had a below average season with only 20 touchdown passes and a league-leading 29 interceptions. The loss of guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle to free agency along with key injuries to Javon Walker, Ahman Green, and others, hampered Favre and the Packers in 2005. His passer rating was 70.9, 31st in the NFL and the worst single season rating of his career.

Recent years

Career awards

Favre has won the National Football League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award three times, all in consecutive years (1995, 1996, and 1997; the last shared with Barry Sanders).
In 1999, he was ranked number 82 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Honors and awards
Favre currently possesses a number of NFL records:
From 2002 to 2004, Favre threw a touchdown pass in 36 consecutive games, Consecutive starts
On Sunday, December 21, 2003, Irvin Favre ran into a ditch near Kiln, Mississippi, where years earlier Brett Favre had nearly died in a car accident. Sergeant Joe Gazzo of the Mississippi Highway Patrol stated, "It didn't appear that the accident was serious enough to cause him to be unconscious, so that leads us to believe that a medical condition was what caused him to go off the road." Irvin Favre went off the road at 5:23 p.m., according to eye-witness reports, and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. An autopsy performed the following day showed that Irvin Favre died of a sudden heart attack.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

World Ocean
The World Ocean, world ocean, or global ocean is the interconnected system of the Earth's oceanic (or marine) waters, and comprises the bulk of the hydrosphere.
The unity and continuity of the World Ocean, with relatively free interchange among its parts, is of fundamental importance to oceanography. Customarily, it is divided into a number of principal oceanic areas that are delimited by the continents and various oceanographic features: these divisions are the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean (sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic), Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean (sometimes reckoned instead as just the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans). In turn, oceanic waters are interspersed by many smaller seas and other bodies of water.
A global ocean has existed in one form or another on Earth for eons, and the notion dates back to classical antiquity (in the form of Oceanus). The contemporary concept of the World Ocean was coined by the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky in the early 20th century to describe what is basically a solitary, continuous ocean that covers and encircles most of the Earth.
While continuous, the World Ocean can be visualized as being centered on the Southern Ocean. The Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans can be seen as bays or lobes extending northward from the Southern Ocean. Further north, the Atlantic opens into the Arctic Ocean, which is connected to the Pacific by the Bering Strait:
The approximate shape of the World Ocean can for most purposes be treated as constant, although in fact it is not: continental drift continually changes its structure.

Arctic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean is the ocean surrounding Antarctica, dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, generally the ocean south of sixty degrees south latitude. The Southern Ocean is partially covered in sea ice, the extent of which varies according to the season. The Southern Ocean is the second smallest of the five named oceans.
The Atlantic Ocean, the second largest, extends from the Southern Ocean between South America, Africa, North America and Europe, to the Arctic Ocean. The Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean south of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope.
The Indian Ocean extends northward from the Southern Ocean to India, between Africa and Australia. The Indian Ocean joins the Pacific Ocean to the west, near Australia.
The Pacific Ocean, the largest of all, also reaches northward from the Southern Ocean to the Arctic Ocean. It spans the gap between Australia, Asia, North America and Oceania. The Pacific Ocean meets the Atlantic south of South America at Cape Horn.
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the five. It joins the Atlantic near Greenland and Iceland, and joins the Pacific at the Bering Strait. It overlies the North Pole, touching North America in the Western hemisphere and Scandinavia and Asia in the Eastern hemisphere. The Arctic Ocean is partially covered in sea ice, the extent of which varies according to the season. Some authorities do not consider the Arctic Ocean a bona fide ocean, because it is largely surrounded by land with only limited exchange of water with the other oceans. Consequently, it is considered by some to be a sea of the Atlantic, referred to as the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or Arctic Sea. See also

Sea
Plate tectonics
Superocean
World Ocean Atlas
Seven Seas

Friday, September 21, 2007

Terry Knight
Terry Knight (April 9, 1943 - November 1, 2004), born Richard Terrence Knapp, was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality.
Born in Lapeer, Michigan, Knight's career began as a Detroit DJ in 1963 when he replaced Dave Shafer as "Jack the Bellboy" on WJBK, coming to Detroit from Flint, Michigan's legendary Top 40 rocker WTAC. The following year, he moved across the river to CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. Arguably the first American DJ to air the Rolling Stones, he hosted a legendary late night show from high-powered CKLW, bringing the British Invasion to the Northern states. He was awarded the honorary title of "The Sixth Stone" for his early support of the Stones. By the end of 1964, however, Knight had left CKLW and the radio business, intending to pursue his own career in music.
Around 1965, Knight fashioned his own songwriting and performing career in Flint, Michigan, as the front man for Terry Knight and the Pack. With his band, Knight recorded a handful of regional hits for local Lucky 11 Records, including his self-penned generation gap anthem "A Change On The Way," as well as scoring two national hits, a tasteful cover of the Yardbirds' "Mister, You're A Better Man Than I" and his ultra-lounge reading of Ben E. King's "I (Who Have Nothing)." TK&TP left behind two long-playing garage classics before breaking up in 1967. (Brownsville Station honored TK&TP with a cover of the Knight-penned "Love, Love, Love, Love, Love" on their '73 album Yeah!)
In '67, Knight attempted a solo career as a singer and staff producer with the terminal Cameo-Parkway label, with limited success. He produced and wrote a handful of tracks by other artists, including garage legends ? & the Mysterians and the easy-listening International Pop Orchestra. He also scored music for the 20th Century Fox noir classic The Incident. In '69, Knight secured a contract with Capitol Records where he released a 45, "Saint Paul," which contributed to the "Paul Is Dead" hoax. Although his version failed to rise above Billboard's Hot 100, the song provided New Zealand singer Shane the best-selling single of the 1960s in his native land.
From there, Capitol retained Knight as the manager and producer of Grand Funk Railroad, the largest-selling rock band of 1970. His Beatlesque production on GFR's "Closer To Home" transformed the raucous concert attraction into an acclaimed recording group and radio staple. He also discovered and produced the Fort Worth, Texas group Bloodrock, who hit the Top 40 in early 1971 with the unlikely death anthem "D.O.A." [Dead On Arrival].
Between 1970-72, Knight was the most successful - and controversial - promoter in the rock business, racking up an unprecedented eight gold albums while simultaneously waging a war of words with Rolling Stone.
In 1972, both Grand Funk Railroad and Bloodrock severed their professional relations with Knight, the former quite acrimoniously. He was dropped from Capitol soon after, and began his own label, Brown Bag Records, releasing albums and singles by Mom's Apple Pie, John Hambrick, Wild Cherry and Faith. None of them found commercial success and, in late 1973, Knight retired permanently from show business. He associated with super model Twiggy and raced cars with film star Paul Newman in the mid-70s before succumbing to the cocaine addiction that claimed his later years.
Terry Knight was murdered at the age of 61, stabbed multiple times in a fight with his daughter's boyfriend in their shared apartment in Temple, Texas. On November 26, 2005, his killer, Donald A. Fair, was sentenced to life in prison. Terry's daughter, Danielle, survives him.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Brett Reed
Brett A. Reed (b. July 12, 1972 in Oakland, California) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Rancid that he joined in November of 1991. He left the band on November 3, 2006 and was replaced by Branden Steineckert. The reason why Brett left Rancid remains unknown. While he still records music in his home studio, he currently work as a fabricator at a high-end Hotrod shop in the East Bay. Brett is a left-handed drummer.
EPs and compilation albums: Rancid (EP) (1992) | Radio Radio Radio (1993) | Let Me Go (2000) | BYO Split Series, Vol. 3 (2002) Singles: "Time Bomb" | "Ruby Soho" | "Fall Back Down"
Brett Reed

Wednesday, September 19, 2007


A microorganism (also spelt as microrganism) or microbe is an organism that is microscopic (too small to be seen by the human eye). The study of microorganisms is called microbiology. Microorganisms can be bacteria, fungi, archaea or protists, but not viruses and prions, which are generally classified as non-living. Micro-organisms are generally single-celled, or unicellular organisms; however, there are exceptions as some unicellular protists are visible to the average human, and some multicellular species are microscopic.
Microorganisms live almost everywhere on earth where there is liquid water, including hot springs on the ocean floor and deep inside rocks within the earth's crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can also fix nitrogen, they are an important part of the nitrogen cycle. However, pathogenic microbes can invade other organisms and cause diseases that kill millions of people every year.

History
Further information: Timeline of evolution
Single-celled microorganisms were the first forms of life to develop on earth, approximately 3—4 billion years ago.

Evolution
Prior to Anton van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1675, it had been a mystery as to why grapes could be turned into wine, milk into cheese, or why food would spoil. Leeuwenhoek did not make the connection between these processes and microorganisms, but he did establish that there were forms of life that were not visible to the naked eye.

Microbe Discovery
Microorganisms can be found almost anywhere in the taxonomic organization of life on the planet. Bacteria and archaea are almost always microscopic, whilst a number of eukaryotes are also microscopic, including most protists and a number of fungi. Viruses are generally regarded as not living and therefore are not microbes, although the field of microbiology also encompasses the study of viruses.

Classification
Prokaryotes are organisms that lack a cell nucleus and the other organelles found in eukaryotes. Prokaryotes are almost always unicellular, although some such as myxobacteria can aggregate into complex structures as part of their life cycle. These organisms are divided into two groups, the archaea and the bacteria.

Prokaryotes

Main article: Bacteria Bacteria

Main article: Archaea Archaea

Main article: Eukaryote Eukaryotes

Main article: Protista Protists

Main article: Micro-animals Animals

Main article: Fungus Fungi

Main article: Plant Plants
Microorganisms are found in almost every habitat present in nature. Even in hostile environments such as the poles, deserts, geysers, rocks, and the deep sea, some types of microorganisms have adapted to the extreme conditions and sustained colonies; these organisms are known as extremophiles. Extremophiles have been isolated from rocks as much as 7 kilometres below the earth's surface, Many types of microorganisms have intimate symbiotic relationships with other larger organisms; some of which are mutually beneficial (mutualism), while others can be damaging to the host organism (parasitism). If microorganisms can cause disease in a host they are known as pathogens.

Habitats and ecology

Main article: Extremophile Extremophiles
The nitrogen cycle in soils depends on the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. One way this can occur is in the nodules in the roots of legumes that contain symbiotic bacteria of the genera Rhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Azorhizobium.

Soil microbes
Symbiotic microbes

Importance

Main article: Fermentation (food) Use in food

Main article: Ethanol fermentation Use in energy
Microbes are also essential tools in biotechnology, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. Microbes can be harnessed for uses such as creating steroids and treating skin diseases. Scientists are also considering using microbes for living fuel cells, and as a solution for pollution.

Use in science

Main article: Biological warfare Use in warfare

Importance in human health
Microorganisms can form an endosymbiotic relationship with other, larger, organisms. For example, the bacteria that live within the human digestive system contribute to gut immunity, synthesise vitamins such as folic acid and biotin, and ferment complex undigestible carbohydrates.

Human digestion
Microorganisms are the cause of many infectious diseases. The organisms involved include bacteria, causing diseases such as plague, tuberculosis and anthrax; protozoa, causing diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness and toxoplasmosis; and also fungi causing diseases such as ringworm, candidiasis or histoplasmosis. However, other diseases such as influenza, yellow fever or AIDS are caused by viruses, which are not living organisms and are not therefore microorganisms. As of 2007, no clear examples of archaean pathogens are known,

Diseases and immunology

Main article: Hygiene Microorganisms in fiction

Biological warfare
Biology
Microbial intelligence
Nanobacterium
Petri dish
Prokaryote
Soil contamination
Staining