"I'm a mean green mother from outer space"
SHOP OR DIE, people of Earth! [offer void where prohibited] -- Capitalists from outer space, from Justice League Int'l comics
"Seed me, Seymour" -- a random number generator meets the big green mother from outer space</p>
"I'm a mean green mother from outer space" -- Audrey II, The Little Shop of Horrors
I want to read my new poem about pork brains and outer space ...
Auditory hallucinations, especially voices, seem to fall into two distinct classes--(1) those which are heard as coming from without, and are more or less definitely localized in outer space, (2) those which seem to be within the head or, in some cases, within the chest, and to have less definite auditory quality. It seems probable that the latter are hallucinations involving principally kinaesthetic sensations, sensations of movement of the organs of speech. Entry: HALLUCINATION
According to these theoretical views we should expect to find a general uniformity of composition in the constituent matter of the solar system. For many years the only available evidence on this point was derived from the meteorites (q.v.) which so constantly fall from outer space upon the surface of the earth. These bodies were found to consist of elements, all of which had been recognized as entering into the constitution of the earth. But the discoveries of spectroscopic research have made known a far more widely serviceable method of investigation, which can be applied even to the luminous stars and nebulae that lie far beyond the bounds of the solar system. By this method information has been obtained regarding the constitution of the sun, and many of our terrestrial metals, such as iron, nickel and magnesium, have been ascertained to exist in the form of incandescent vapour in the solar atmosphere. The present condition of the sun probably represents one of the phases through which stars and planets pass in their progress towards becoming cool and dark bodies in space. If our globe was at first, like its parent sun, an incandescent mass of probably gaseous matter, occupying much more space than it now fills, we can conceive that it has ever since been cooling and contracting until it has reached its present form and dimensions, and that it still retains a high internal temperature. Its oblately spheroidal form is such as would be assumed by a rotating mass of matter in the transition from a vaporous and self-luminous or liquid condition to one of cool and dark solidity. But it has been claimed that even a solid spherical globe might develop, under the influence of protracted rotation, such a shape as the earth at present possesses. Entry: PART
I went to my window, opened it, and looked out. There were the two wings of the building; there was the garden; there were the skirts of Lowood; there was the hilly horizon. My eye passed all other objects to rest on those most remote, the blue peaks; it was those I longed to surmount; all within their boundary of rock and heath seemed prison-ground, exile limits. I traced the white road winding round the base of one mountain, and vanishing in a gorge between two; how I longed to follow it farther! I recalled the time when I had travelled that very road in a coach; I remembered descending that hill at twilight; an age seemed to have elapsed since the day which brought me first to Lowood, and I had never quitted it since. My vacations had all been spent at school: Mrs. Reed had never sent for me to Gateshead; neither she nor any of her family had ever been to visit me. I had had no communication by letter or message with the outer world: school-rules, school-duties, school-habits and notions, and voices, and faces, and phrases, and costumes, and preferences, and antipathies--such was what I knew of existence. And now I felt that it was not enough; I tired of the routine of eight years in one afternoon. I desired liberty; for liberty I gasped; for liberty I uttered a prayer; it seemed scattered on the wind then faintly blowing. I abandoned it and framed a humbler supplication; for change, stimulus: that petition, too, seemed swept off into vague space: "Then," I cried, half desperate, "grant me at least a new servitude!"
Now, inclusive of the occasional wide intervals between the revolving outer circles, and inclusive of the spaces between the various pods in any one of those circles, the entire area at this juncture, embraced by the whole multitude, must have contained at least two or three square miles. At any rate--though indeed such a test at such a time might be deceptive--spoutings might be discovered from our low boat that seemed playing up almost from the rim of the horizon. I mention this circumstance, because, as if the cows and calves had been purposely locked up in this innermost fold; and as if the wide extent of the herd had hitherto prevented them from learning the precise cause of its stopping; or, possibly, being so young, unsophisticated, and every way innocent and inexperienced; however it may have been, these smaller whales--now and then visiting our becalmed boat from the margin of the lake--evinced a wondrous fearlessness and confidence, or else a still becharmed panic which it was impossible not to marvel at. Like household dogs they came snuffling round us, right up to our gunwales, and touching them; till it almost seemed that some spell had suddenly domesticated them. Queequeg patted their foreheads; Starbuck scratched their backs with his lance; but fearful of the consequences, for the time refrained from darting it.
Any one who, like ourselves, has wandered about in these solitudes contiguous to our faubourgs, which may be designated as the limbos of Paris, has seen here and there, in the most desert spot, at the most unexpected moment, behind a meagre hedge, or in the corner of a lugubrious wall, children grouped tumultuously, fetid, muddy, dusty, ragged, dishevelled, playing hide-and-seek, and crowned with corn-flowers. All of them are little ones who have made their escape from poor families. The outer boulevard is their breathing space; the suburbs belong to them. There they are eternally playing truant. There they innocently sing their repertory of dirty songs. There they are, or rather, there they exist, far from every eye, in the sweet light of May or June, kneeling round a hole in the ground, snapping marbles with their thumbs, quarrelling over half-farthings, irresponsible, volatile, free and happy; and, no sooner do they catch sight of you than they recollect that they have an industry, and that they must earn their living, and they offer to sell you an old woollen stocking filled with cockchafers, or a bunch of lilacs. These encounters with strange children are one of the charming and at the same time poignant graces of the environs of Paris.
DAGHESTAN, a province of Russia, Transcaucasia, occupying the triangular space between the Andi ridge, the south-east division of the main Caucasus range, and the Caspian Sea. It has the province of Terek on the N.W., the government of Tiflis on the S.W., and that of Baku on the S.E. With the exception of a narrow strip along the sea-coast and a small district in the N., it is entirely mountainous. Area, 11,332 sq. m. The snow-clad Andi ridge, belonging to the system of transverse upheavals which cross the Caucasus, branches off the latter at Borbalo Peak (10,175 ft.), and reaches its highest altitudes in Tebulos-mta (14,775 ft.) and Diklos-mta (13,740 ft.). It is encircled on the N. by a lower outer ridge, the Karadagh, through which the rivers cut their way. This ridge is thickly clothed with forests, chiefly beech. The Boz-dagh and another ridge run between the four Koisu rivers, the head-streams of the Sulak, which flows into the Caspian. The next most important stream, out of the great number which course down the flanks of the Caucasus and terminate in the Caspian, is the Samur. The most notable feature of the province is, however, according to O. W. H. Abich (_Sur la structure et la géologie du Daghestan_, 1862), the successive folds of Jurassic limestones and slates, all nearly parallel to the Caucasus, which form lofty, narrow plateaus. Many of the peaks upon them rise higher than 12,000 ft., and the passes lie at altitudes of 11,000 ft. in the interior and 9000 ft. towards the Caspian. Towards the Caspian, especially between Petrovsk and the river Sulak, the Cretaceous system is well represented, and upon its rocks rest marls, shales, and sandstones of the Eocene period. The country is altogether difficult of access, and only one military route leads up from the river Terek, while every one of the eleven passes known across the Caucasus is a mere bridle-path. The climate is severe on the plateaus, hot towards the Caspian, and dry everywhere. The average temperatures are--year 51°, January 26°, July 73° at Temir-khan-shura (42° 49´ N.; alt. 1510 ft.). The annual rainfall varies from 17 to 21 in. The population, estimated at 605,100 in 1906, numbered 587,326 in 1897, of whom only 5000 were Russians. They consist chiefly of mountaineers known as Lesghians (i.e. 158,550 Avars, 121,375 Darghis, 94,506 Kurins), a race closely akin to the Circassians, intermingled towards the Caspian Sea with Tatars and Georgians. There are also sprinklings of Jews and Persians. The highlands of Daghestan were for many years the stronghold of the Circassians in their struggle against Russia, especially under the leadership of Shamyl, whose last stand was made on the steep mountain fastness of Gunib, 74 m. S. of Temir-khan-shura, in 1859. The difficulty of communication between the valleys has resulted in the growth of a great number of dialects. Avarian is a sort of inter-tribal tongue, while Lakh or Kazi-kumukh, Kurin, Darghi-kaitakh, Andi, and Tabasaran are some of the more important dialects, each subdivided into sub-dialects. The mountaineers breed some cattle and sheep, and cultivate small fields on the mountain-sides. In the littoral districts excellent crops of cereals, cotton, fruit, wine and tobacco are obtained with the aid of irrigation. Silkworms are bred. The mountaineers excel also in a variety of petty trades. Sulphur, salt and copper are the most important of the minerals. A railway line to connect the North Caucasian line (Rostov to Petrovsk) with the Transcaucasian line (Batum to Baku) has been built along the Caspian shore from Petrovsk, through the "gate" or pass of Derbent, to Baku. The province is divided into nine districts--Temir-khan-shura, Avar, Andi, Gunib, Dargo, Kazi-kumukh, Kaitago-Tabasaran, Kurin, and Samur. The only towns are Temir-khan-shura (pop. 9208 in 1897), the capital of the government, Derbent (14,821) and Petrovsk (9806), the last two both on the Caspian. Entry: DAGHESTAN
The great advantages which the Peiraic promontory with its three natural harbours offered for purposes of defence and commerce were first recognized by Themistocles, in whose archonship (493 B.C.) the fortifications of the Peiraeus were begun. Before his time the Athenians used as a port the roadstead of Phalerum at the north-eastern corner of Phalerum bay partly sheltered by Cape Kolias. As soon as the building of the city walls had been completed, Themistocles resumed the construction of the Peiraeus defences, which protected the larger harbour of Cantharus on the west and the smaller ports of Zea and Munychia (respectively south-west and south-east of the Munychia heights), terminating in moles at their entrances and enclosing the entire promontory on the land and sea sides except a portion of the south-west shore of the peninsula of Acte. The walls, built of finely compacted blocks, were about 10 ft. in thickness and upwards of 60 ft. in height, and were strengthened by towers. The town was laid out at great expense in straight, broad streets, intersecting each other at right angles, by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus in the time of Pericles. In the centre was the Agora of Hippodamus; on the western margin of the Cantharus harbour extended the emporium, or Digma, the centre of commercial activity, flanked by a series of porticoes; at its northern end, near the entrance to the inner harbour, was another Agora, on the site of the modern market-place, and near it the [Greek: makra stoa], the corn depot of the state. This inner and shallower harbour, perhaps the [Greek: kophos limaen], was afterwards excluded from the town precinct by the walls of Conon, which traversing its opening on an embankment ([Greek: to dia meson choma]) ran round the outer shore of the western promontory of Eëtionea, previously enclosed, with some space to the north-west, by the wider circuit of Themistocles. In the harbours of Zea and Munychia traces may be seen of the remarkable series of galley-slips in which the Athenian fleet was built and repaired. The galley-slips around Zea were roofed by a row of gables supported by stone columns, each gable sheltering two triremes. Among the other noteworthy buildings of the Peiraeus were the arsenal ([Greek: skeuothaekae]) of Philo and the temples of Zeus Soter, the patron god of the sailors, of the Cnidian Artemis, built by Cimon, and of Artemis Munychia, situated near the fort on the Munychia height; traces of a temple of Asclepius, of two theatres and of a hippodrome remain. The fine marble lion of the classical period which stood at the mouth of the Cantharus harbour gave the Peiraeus its medieval and modern names of Porto Leone and Porto Draco; it was carried away to Venice by Morosini. Entry: I
_Geology_.--The Apennines are the continuation of the Alpine chain, but the individual zones of the Alps cannot be traced into the Apennines. The zone of the Brianconnais (see ALPS) may be followed as far as the Gulf of Genoa, but scarcely beyond, unless it is represented by the Trias and older beds of the Apuan Alps. The inner zone of crystalline and schistose rocks which forms the main chain of the Alps, is absent in the Apennines except towards the southern end. The Apennines, indeed, consist almost entirely of Mesozoic and Tertiary beds, like the outer zones of the Alps. Remnants of a former inner zone of more ancient rocks may be seen in the Apuan Alps, in the islands off the Tuscan coast; in the Catena Metallifera, Cape Circeo and the island of Zannone, as well as in the Calabrian peninsula. These remnants lie at a comparatively low level, and excepting the Apuan Alps and the Calabrian peninsula they do not now form any part of the Apennine chain. But that in Tertiary times there was a high interior zone of crystalline rocks is indicated by the character of the Eocene beds in the southern Apennines. These are formed to a large extent of thick conglomerates which are full of pebbles and boulders of granite and schist. Many of the boulders are of considerable size and they are often still angular. There is now no crystalline region from which they could reach their present position; and this and other considerations have led the followers of E. Suess to conclude that even in Tertiary times a large land mass consisting of ancient rocks occupied the space which is now covered by the southern portion of the Tyrrhenian Sea. This old land mass has been called Tyrrhenis, and probably extended from Sicily into Latium and as far west as Sardinia. On the Italian border of this land there was raised a mountain chain with an inner crystalline zone and an outer zone of Mesozoic and Tertiary beds. Subsequent faulting has caused the subsidence of the greater part of Tyrrhenis, including nearly the whole of the inner zone of the mountain chain, and has left only the outer zones standing as the present Apennines. Entry: 3
Not the least important part of the bricklayer's art is the formation of chimney and other flues. Considerable skill is required in [Sidenote: Chimneys and flues.] gathering-over properly above the fireplace so as to conduct the smoke into the smaller flue, which itself requires to be built with precision, so that its capacity may not vary in different parts. Bends must be made in gradual curves so as to offer the least possible resistance to the up-draught, and at least one bend of not less than 60° should be formed in each flue to intercept down-draughts. Every fireplace must have a separate flue. The collection of a number of flues into a "stack" is economical, and tends to increase the efficiency of the flues, the heat from one flue assisting the up-draught in those adjoining it. It is also desirable from an aesthetic point of view, for a number of single flue chimneys sticking up from various parts of the roof would appear most unsightly. The architects of the Elizabethan and later periods were masters of this difficult art of treating a stack or stacks as an architectural feature. The shaft should be carried well above the roof, higher, if possible, than adjacent buildings, which are apt to cause down-draught and make the chimney smoke. When this is found impossible, one of the many forms of patent chimney-pots or revolving cowls must be adopted. Each flue must be separated by smoke-proof "withes" or divisions, usually half a brick in thickness; connexion between them causes smoky chimneys. The size of the flue for an ordinary grate is 14×9 in.; for a kitchen stove 14×14 in. The outer wall of a chimney stack may with advantage be made 9 in. thick. Fireclay tubes, rectangular or circular in transverse section, are largely used in place of the pargetting; although more expensive than the latter they have the advantage in point of cleanliness and durability. Fireplaces generally require more depth than can be provided in the thickness of the wall, and therefore necessitate a projection to contain the fireplace and flues, called the "chimney breast." Sometimes, especially when the wall is an external one, the projection may be made on the back, thus allowing a flush wall in the room and giving more space and a more conveniently-shaped room. The projection on the outside face of the wall may be treated as an ornamental feature. The fireplace opening is covered by a brick relieving arch, which is fortified by wrought-iron bar from ½ to ¾ in. thick and 2 to 3 in. wide. It is usually bent to a "camber," and the brick arch built upon it naturally takes the same curve. Each end is "caulked," that is, split longitudinally and turned up and down. The interior of a chimney breast behind the stove should always be filled in solid with concrete or brickwork. The flooring in the chimney opening is called the "hearth"; the back hearth covers the space between the jambs of the chimney breast, and the front hearth rests upon the brick "trimmer arch" designed to support it. The hearth is now often formed in solid concrete, supported on the brick wall and fillets fixed to the floor joists, without any trimmer arch and finished in neat cement or glazed tiles instead of stone slabs. Entry: A
The soft body of the Brachiopod is in all cases protected by a shell composed of two distinct valves; these valves are always, except in cases of malformation, equal-sided, but not equivalved. The valves are, consequently, essentially symmetrical, which is not the case with the Lamellibranchiata,--so much so, that certain Brachiopod shells were named _Lampades_, or lamp shells, by some early naturalists; but while such may bear a kind of resemblance to an antique Etruscan lamp, by far the larger number in no way resemble one. The shell is likewise most beautiful in its endless shapes and variations. In some species it is thin, semi-transparent and glassy, in others massive. Generally the shell is from a quarter of an inch to about 4 in. in size, but in certain species it attains nearly a foot in breadth by something less in length, as is the case with _Productus giganteus_. The valves are also in some species very unequal in their respective thickness, as may be seen in _Productus_ (_Daviesiella_)[1] _llangollensis_, _Davidsonia verneuilii_, &c., and while the space allotted to the animal is very great in many species, as in _Terebratula sphaeroidalis_, it is very small in others belonging to _Strophomena_, _Leptaena_, _Chonetes_, &c. The ventral valve is usually the thickest, and in some forms is six or seven times as great as the opposite one. The outer surface of many of the species presents likewise the most exquisite sculpture, heightened by brilliant shades, or spots of green, red, yellow and bluish black. Traces of the original colour have also been preserved in some of the fossil forms; radiating bands of a reddish tint have been often seen in well-preserved examples of _Terebratula_ (_Dielasma_) _hastata_, _T_. (_Dielasma_) _sacculus_, _T. communis_, _T. biplicata_, and of several others. Some specimens of _T. carnea_ are of a beautiful pale pink colour when first removed from their matrix, and E. Deslongchamps has described the tint of several Jurassic species. Entry: 11
T. Christy's incubator, which we shall describe next, has passed through several forms. We shall consider the most recent one (1894). The incubator (fig. 1) is double walled, and the space between the two walls is packed with a non-conducting material. In the upper part of the incubator there is a water tank (T) divided by a horizontal partition into two chambers, communicating with each other at the left-hand side. Below the tank is the incubation drawer (E), which contains the eggs and also a temperature regulator or thermostat (R). The tank is traversed by a ventilating shaft (V), and inserted into this is a smaller sliding tube passing up to it from a hole in the bottom of the incubator drawer. The floor of the incubator drawer is perforated, and beneath it is an enclosed air space which opens into the sliding air shaft just described. Fresh air is let into the incubator drawer from a few apertures (I) at its top. The ventilating shaft (V) is closed externally by a cap (C), which can be raised from or lowered down upon its orifice by the horizontal arm (H) working upon pivot joints at (P). This arm is operated by the thermostat (R), through the agency of a vertical rod. The water in the tank is heated by an external boiler (B) through two pipes, one of which (T) serves as an inlet, and the other (L) as an outlet channel from the tank. These two pipes do not open directly into the tank, but into an outer vessel (O) communicating with it. Communication between this vessel and the tank may be made or broken by means of a sliding valve (S), which is pierced by an aperture that corresponds in position with the upper of the two in the wall of the tank when the valve is up. When this valve is in its upper position, the tank (T) communicates with the outer vessel (O) by two apertures (A and A´), the top one being the inlet and the lower one the outlet. These coincide in position with the tubes from the boiler. This latter (B) is a conical vessel containing two spaces. The heated water is contained in the outer of these spaces, while the central space is an air shaft heated by a lamp flame. This particular form of the boiler results in the water at its top part being more heated than that in its lower. As a consequence of this, a continual circulation of water through the tank ensues. The more heated water, being specifically lighter, passes into the outer vessel, where it remains among the higher strata, and therefore enters the tank through the upper aperture. In passing along the upper division of the tank it becomes slightly cooled and sinks therefore into the lower compartment, passes along it, and out through the aperture A´. Hence it passes into the lower portion of the boiler, where it becomes warmed and specifically lighter; in consequence it becomes pushed upwards in the boiler by the cooler and heavier water coming in behind and below it. Entry: T
GISORS, a town of France, in the department of Eure, situated in the pleasant valley of the Epte, 44. m. N.W. of Paris on the railway to Dieppe. Pop. (1906) 4345. Gisors is dominated by a feudal stronghold built chiefly by the kings of England in the 11th and 12th centuries. The outer enceinte, to which is attached a cylindrical donjon erected by Philip Augustus, king of France, embraces an area of over 7 acres. On a mound in the centre of this space rises an older donjon, octagonal in shape, protected by another enceinte. The outer ramparts and the ground they enclose have been converted into promenades. The church of St Gervais dates in its oldest parts--the central tower, the choir and parts of the aisles--from the middle of the 13th century, when it was founded by Blanche of Castile. The rest of the church belongs to the Renaissance period. The Gothic and Renaissance styles mingle in the west façade, which, like the interior of the building, is adorned with a profusion of sculptures; the fine carving on the wooden doors of the north and west portals is particularly noticeable. The less interesting buildings of the town include a wooden house of the Renaissance era, an old convent now used as an hôtel de ville, and a handsome modern hospital. There is a statue of General de Blanmont, born at Gisors in 1770. Among the industries of Gisors are felt manufacture, bleaching, dyeing and leather-dressing. Entry: GISORS