In mathematics, a hypergeometric series is a power series in which the ratios of successive coefficients k is a rational function of k. The series, if convergent, will define a hypergeometric function which may then be defined over a wider domain of the argument by analytic continuation. Hypergeometric functions generalize many special functions, including the Bessel functions, the incomplete Gamma function, the error function, the elliptic integrals and the orthogonal polynomials. This is in part because the hypergeometric functions are solutions to the hypergeometric differential equation, which is a fairly general second-order ordinary differential equation.
The ordinary hypergeometric series should not be confused with the basic hypergeometric series, which, despite its name, is a rather more complicated and less frequently studied series. The basic series is the q-analog of the ordinary hypergeometric series. There are several generalizations of the ordinary hypergeometric series, including a generalization to Riemann symmetric spaces.

The series 2F1
Several of the familiar elementary functions can be expressed in terms of the hypergeometric function ₂F₁. These include

Elementary functions
The classic orthogonal polynomials can all be expressed as special cases of with one or both a and b being (negative) integers. Many other special cases are listed in the Category:Special hypergeometric functions.
The function ₂F₁ has several integral representations, including the Euler hypergeometric integral.
Applications of hypergeometric series include the inversion of elliptic integrals; these are constructed by taking the ratio of the two linearly independent solutions of the hypergeometric differential equation to form Schwarz-Christoffel maps of the fundamental domain to the complex projective line or Riemann sphere.
A wide range of integrals of simple functions can be expressed using the hypergeometric function, e.g.:

A limiting case of ₂F₁ is the Kummer function ₁F₁(a,b;z), known as the confluent hypergeometric function.

Special cases and applications
In the general case, the hypergeometric series is written as:

where α₀ = 1 and

The series may also be written:

where (a)_n = a(a + 1)(a + 2)...(a + n − 1) is the rising factorial or Pochhammer symbol.

The series pFq
A number of hypergeometric function identities were discovered in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; one classical list of such identities is Bailey's list.
It is currently understood that there is a very large number of such identities, and several algorithms are now known to generate and prove these identities. Some mathematicians research the various patterns that emerge from these algorithms.

Formal definition
The standard notation for the general hypergeometric series is

Here, the integers m and p refer to the degree of the polynomials P and Q, respectively, referring to the ratio

If m>p+1, the radius of convergence is zero and so there is no analytic function. The series naturally terminates in case P(n) is ever 0 for n a natural number. If Q(n) were ever zero, the coefficients would be undefined.
The full notation for F assumes that P and Q are monic and factorised, so that the notation for F includes an m-tuple that is the list of the negatives of the zeroes of P and a p-tuple of the negatives of the zeroes of Q. This is not much of a restriction: the fundamental theorem of algebra applies, and we can also absorb a leading coefficient of P or Q by redefining z. As a result of the factorisation, a general term in the series then takes the form of a ratio of products of Pochhammer symbols. Since Pochhammer notation for rising factorials is traditional it is neater to write F with the negatives of the zeros. Thus, to complete the notational example, one has

where (a)_n = a(a + 1)(a + 2)...(a + n − 1) is the rising factorial or Pochhammer symbol. Here, the zeros of P were −a and −b, while the zero of Q was −c.

History and generalizations

Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947 in Bellows Falls, Vermont) is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for 24 years with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.
Although born in Vermont, Fisk is quick to point out that he is actually from Charlestown, New Hampshire, just across the Connecticut River from Bellows Falls, Vermont. This being the case, Fisk graduated from Charlestown High School, playing baseball for the American Legion team in Bellows Falls. At the University of New Hampshire, Fisk started for the basketball team, while also playing baseball.

Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971-1980)
Chicago White Sox (1981-1993)
All-Star (AL): 1972-74, 1976-78, 1980-82, 1985, 1991
1972 A.L. Rookie of the Year
A.L. Gold Glove Award: 1972
A.L. Silver Slugger Award: 1981, 1985, 1988 Professional Career
Drafted by the Red Sox in 1967, Fisk played a few games for Boston in 1969 and 1971 but broke out for the Red Sox in his first full season in 1972. Fisk won the AL Gold Glove at Catcher and the AL Rookie of the Year awards that year. He played with the Red Sox until 1980, and with the White Sox from 1981-1993.
In 1972, he led the American League with 9 triples (tied with Joe Rudi of the Oakland Athletics). He is the last catcher to lead the league in this statistical category.
In Fisk's long career, he caught 2,226 games, more than any other catcher in history. He was an 11-time All-Star and hit 376 career home runs.

Boston Red Sox
But the defining moment of his illustrious career came in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park. Fisk was facing Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pat Darcy and hit a pitch down the left field line that appeared to be heading to foul territory. The enduring image of Fisk jumping and waving the ball fair as he made his way to first base is inarguably one of baseball's greatest moments (it is referred to in the Gus Van Sant movie Good Will Hunting). The ball struck the foul pole, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 win and forcing a seventh and deciding game of the fall classic. The next day, the Reds won the first of two back-to-back World Series championships.
The image of him waving the ball fair changed the way baseball was televised. During this time, cameramen covering baseball were instructed to follow the flight of the ball. In a 1999 interview, NBC cameraman Lou Gerard admitted that the classic shot was not due to his own skills as a cameraman, but rather because he had been distracted by a nearby rat. Unable to follow the ball, he kept the camera on Fisk instead. , and resulted in many future memorable World Series moments involving, among others, Kirk Gibson (1988), Joe Carter (1993) and Edgar Renteria (1997).

1975 World Series
Fisk was signed by the White Sox as a free agent on March 18, 1981. At that time, his old number 27 was held on the White Sox by pitcher Ken Kravec. Fisk flip-flopped his old number and thus wore the unusual baseball number of 72 on his jersey. Although Kravec was traded just 10 days later, Fisk retained the number 72 throughout his career with the White Sox.
After joining the White Sox, he helped the team win its first American League Western Division Title in 1983. His .289 batting average, 26 home runs, and 86 RBI, as well as his leadership on the young team helped him to finish third in the MVP voting (behind Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray). After injuries reduced his playing time in 1984, he began a new training program which he would use for the rest of his career. In 1985, he came back to hit a career best 37 home runs and 107 RBI. Fisk often credited the training program to extending his career.

Chicago White Sox
Fisk is 2nd all-time in home runs hit after the age of 40 with 72. A single in the 1991 All-Star Game made him the oldest player to collect a hit in the history of All-Star competition. Fisk was also the final active position player who played in the 1960s.
Fisk was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 choosing the Boston Red Sox cap for his plaque, although he played for more seasons with the Chicago White Sox.
Fisk was known to fans by two endearing nicknames. While "Pudge" is a common name given to catchers (a nickname shared, for example, by catcher Ivan Rodriguez), he is also known as "The Commander" for his ability to take control on the field.
Fisk is also one of a small minority of baseball players who are embraced by the fans of two teams. The Chicago White Sox retired his uniform number 72 on September 14, 1997. The Boston Red Sox retired his uniform number 27 on September 4, 2000. He is one of eight people to have their uniform number retired by at least two teams.
In 1999, he was selected as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Records and Honors
Aside from his historic home runs and his strong work ethic, Fisk was universally revered for his love and respect of the game itself. In one memorable incident, pro-football and pro-baseball player Deion Sanders hit a pop fly, and refused to run to first base, suspecting that the ball would be easily caught. Fisk yelled at Sanders to run the ball out and told Sanders during his next at-bat, "If you don't play it [the game] right, I'm going to kick your ass right here.
Fisk is also known for his longstanding feud with New York Yankee counterpart Thurman Munson. One particular incident that typified their feud, and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in general, occurred on August 1, 1973 at Fenway Park. With the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the 9th, Munson attempted to score on Gene Michael's missed bunt attempt. Munson barreled into Fisk, triggering a 10-minute bench-clearing brawl in which both catchers were ejected. The feud ended tragically in 1979, when Munson was killed in a plane crash.
In another incident that typified the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, Fisk was also involved in an altercation with Lou Piniella during a May 2, 1976 game at Yankee Stadium. In the sixth inning of this game, Piniella barreled into Fisk trying to score on an Otto Velez single. Fisk and Piniella shoved each other at home plate, triggering another bench-clearing brawl. After the fight aparently died down and order appeared to be restored, Fisk's pitcher, Bill Lee, and Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles began exchanging words and punches, igniting the brawl all over again. Lee suffered a separated left shoulder in the altercation and missed a great part of the season.

Dedications
On June 13, 2005, the Red Sox honored Fisk and the 12th-inning home run that won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series by naming the left field foul pole where it landed the "Fisk Pole". In a pregame ceremony from the Monster Seats, Fisk was cheered by the Fenway Park crowd while the shot was replayed to the strains of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. The Red Sox scheduled the ceremony to coincide with an interleague series against the Cincinnati Reds, who made their first trip back to Fenway Park since the '75 Series. Thirty years later, the video of Fisk trying to wave the ball fair remains one of the game's enduring images. Game 6 is often considered one of the best games ever played in Major League history. Fenway's right field foul pole, which is just 302 feet from the plate, is named Pesky's Pole, for light-hitting former Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky. Mel Parnell named the pole after Pesky in 1948 when he won a game with a home run just inside the right field pole. On the field, Fisk threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former batterymate Luis Tiant.

The Fisk Pole
After the June 13 ceremony in Boston, Fisk received an honorary World Series ring from the Red Sox commemorating their 2004 World Series victory. On Saturday, August 12, 2006, the Chicago White Sox presented Fisk with another ring, this one in honor of the White Sox' 2005 championship.

Rings
The Chicago White Sox unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Carlton Fisk on August 7, 2005. The statue is located inside U.S. Cellular Field on the main concourse in left field. It joined similar statues depicting Charles Comiskey and Minnie Minoso and eventually Luis Aparicio, Nellie Fox, and Billy Pierce.

Career Statistics

Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
Top 500 home run hitters of all time
List of major league players with 2,000 hits
List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
Hitting for the cycle

Hrisi Avgi (Greek:Χρυσή Αυγή English:Golden Dawn) is a Greek nationalist party, espousing an anti-semitic, anti-capitalist and anti-immigrant philosophy based partially on laws of ancient Spartan society. Hrisi Avgi is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by that party.
The party is often classified as a neo-Nazi party, though it claims the roots of its doctrine predate the German Nazi Party. The leader of the party is Nikolaos Michaloliakos. The party's symbol is a red flag bearing a black meander pattern with white trim. Other symbols adopted by Hrisi Avgi members were the national emblem of Greece, the labrys and the Celtic cross.
Unlike the Hellenic Front, the Popular Orthodox Rally, and other far-right, traditionalist, and religious conservative movements, Hrisi Avgi openly espouses Nazi-like symbols and ideology, as well as putsch-style methods. The party also advocates much more radical policies in relation to immigration, irridenta and border issues.
The party, which never reached as high as 1% of the vote in a national election, ceased political operation in 2005, and anti-fascists say it was absorbed by the similarly small Patriotic Alliance. The latter ceased operations after Michaloliakos withdrew support, and in March 2007, Hrisi Avgi held its sixth congress, where it announced the resumption of their political activism.

History
According to Hrisi Avgi leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the party paused its own autonomous political activities after December 1, 2005, due to clashes with anti-fascists.

2005-2007
Hrisi Avgi claimed to have local organisations in 32 Greek cities, as well as in Cyprus.

Activities
Hrisi Avgi's Youth Front has organised activities such as distributing fliers with racist messages in Athens schools and organising white power concerts. The Youth Front also publishes the white nationalist magazine Resistance Hellas-Antepithesi, which promotes neo-Nazi ideas to young people through music and sports topics. The magazine is a sister publication of the United States-based National Alliance's Resistance magazine. This collaboration between Greek nationalists and American racialists began in 2001, after National Alliance founder William Luther Pierce visited Thessaloniki, Greece. Pierce's succesor, Erich Gliebe, ratified the collaboration after Pierce's death.

Youth Front
Hrisi Avgi described itself as a "Popular Nationalist Movement" and "uncompromising Nationalists."

Violence by and against Hrisi Avgi
In 2000, Hrisi Avgi members formed the hooligan firm Galazia Stratia (Greek for "Blue Army"), which has described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams." It has been reported that following Hrisi Avgi's official disbandment in 2005, many former party members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia.

Football hooliganism
Antonios Androutsopoulos (better known as Periandros), a prominent member of Hrisi Avgi, was on the run from 1998 to September 14, 2005 after being accused of the June 16, 1998 attempted murder of three left-wing students — including Dimitris Kousouris, who was heavily injured.

The Periandros case
In a 1998 interview with the newspaper Eleftherotypia, Georgios Romaios (the minister of public order at the time) alleged the existence of "fascist elements in the Greek police", and vowed to suppress them.

Hrisi Avgi had very good relations and contacts with officers of the force, on and off duty, as well as with common policemen.
The police provided the group with batons and radio communications equipment during mass demonstrations, mainly during celebrations of the Athens Polytechnic uprising and during rallies by left-wing and anarchist groups, in order to provoke riots.
The connections of the group with the force, as well as connections with Periandros, largely delayed his arrest.
The brother of "Periandros", also a member of Hrisi Avgi, was a security escort of an unnamed New Democracy MP.
Most Hrisi Avgi members were illegally carrying weapons. See also

Background
After independence in 1962 he headed a powerful military faction within the government, and was made defence minister with the support of the Algerian leader Ahmed Ben Bella, whose ascent to power he had assisted as chief of staff. He grew increasingly distrustful of Ben Bella's erratic style of government and ideological puritanism, and in June 1965, Boumédienne seized power in a bloodless coup. The country's constitution and political institutions were abolished, and he ruled through a Revolutionary Council of his own (mostly military) supporters. These were mainly drawn from his companions during the war years, when he was based around the Moroccan border town of Oujda, which caused analysts to speak of the "Oujda group". (One prominent member of this circle was Boumédienne's long-time foreign minister, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is since 1999 Algeria's president.)
Initially lacking a personal power base, he was seen as potentially a weak ruler, but after a botched coup attempt against him by military officers in 1967 he tightened his rule. He then remained Algeria's undisputed ruler until his death in 1978, as all potential rivals emerging from within the regime were purged or relegated to symbolic posts; among them several members of the former Oujda group.

After independence
Economically, Boumédienne turned away from Ben Bella's focus on rural Algeria and experiments in socialist cooperative businesses (l'autogéstion). Instead, he opted for a more systematic and planified programme of state-driven industrialization. Algeria had virtually no advanced production at the time, but in 1971 Boumédienne nationalized the Algerian oil industry, increasing government revenue tremendously (and sparking intense protest from the French government). He then put the soaring oil and gas resources -- enhanced by the oil price shock of 1973 -- into building heavy industry, hoping to make his country the Maghreb's industrial centre. His years in power were in fact marked by a reliable and consistent economic growth, but after his death in the 1980s, the drop in oil prices and increasingly evident inefficiency of the country's state-run industries, promted a change in policy towards gradual economical liberalization.
In the 1970s, along with the expansion of state industry and oil nationalization, Boumédienne declared a series of socialist revolutions, and strengthened the leftist aspect of his regime. This allowed for a rapprochement with the hitherto suppressed remnants of the Algerian Communist Party (the PAGS), whose members were now co-opted into the regime, although without formal legalization of their party. Algeria formally remained a single-party state under the FLN, but Boumédienne's personal rule had marginalized the ex-liberation movement, and little attention was paid to the affairs of the FLN in everyday affairs. From the mid-1970s, constitutional rule was gradually reinstated and political institutions reestablished. Political pluralism was not tolerated in Boumédienne's Algeria, even if a brief moment of somewhat more relaxed public debate was allowed preceeding the adoption of a constitution that reestablished political institutions, in 1976. However, the referendum typically ended in virtually unanimous approval of the government-backed document. With the recreation of the office of President following this, Boumédienne was himself elected in a single-candidate election.

Foreign policy
In 1978, his appearances became increasingly rare. After lingering in a coma for 39 days, he died of a rare blood disease, Waldenström macroglobulinemia, following unsuccessful treatment in Moscow. Rumors about his being assassinated or poisoned have surfaced occasionally in Algerian politics, perhaps due to the rarity of the disease. The death of Boumédienne left a power vacuum in Algeria which could not easily be filled; a series of military conclaves eventually agreed to sidestep the competing left- and rightwing contenders, and designate the highest-ranking military officer, Col. Chadli Bendjedid, as a compromise selection.[1] Still, factional intrigue mushroomed after Boumédienne's death, and no Algerian president has since gained the same complete control over the country as he had.

The Bath Assembly Rooms, designed by John Wood the Younger in 1769, are a set of elegant assembly rooms located in the heart of the World Heritage City of Bath in England which are now open to the public as a visitor attraction.

History
The Assembly Rooms formed the hub of fashionable Georgian society in the city. Citizens would gather in the rooms in the evening for balls and other public functions, or simply to play cards. Mothers and chaperones bringing their daughters to Bath for the social season, hoping to marry them off to a suitable husband, would take their charge to such events where, very quickly, one might meet all the eligible men currently in the City.
Scenes such as this feature in the novels of Jane Austen, who lived in Bath with her parents and sister from 1801 to 1805. Her two novels set in Bath, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published in 1818 and both mention the Assembly Rooms:
Mrs Allen was so long in dressing, that they did not enter the ball-room till late. The season was full, the room crowded, and the two ladies squeezed in as well as they could. As for Mr Allen, he repaired directly to the card-room, and left them to enjoy a mob by themselves. (Northanger Abbey)
Charles Dickens also visited Bath on several occasions. He gave public readings in the Assembly Rooms and mentions them in the Pickwick Papers (published in 1837):
In the ball-room, the long card-room, the octagonal card-room, the staircases, and the passages, the hum of many voices, and the sound of many feet, were perfectly bewildering. Dresses rustled, feathers waved, lights shone, and jewels sparkled. There was the music — not of the quadrille band, for it had not yet commenced; but the music of soft tiny footsteps, with now and then a clear merry laugh — low and gentle, but very pleasant to hear in a female voice, whether in Bath or elsewhere.
The Assembly Rooms were damaged during a series of air raids on Bath during World War II but restored shortly afterwards.
More recently the rooms have been used for public functions such as the awarding of degrees by the University of Bath.

The Plain Folk of the Old South, often called yeomen, were the middling white United States Southerners of the 19th century who owned few slaves or none.

Historical perspectives
From the travel accounts of Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1850s through the early-twentieth-century interpretations of historians William E. Dodd and Ulrich B. Phillips common southerners were portrayed as minor players in the antebellum period.
Romantic portrayals, especially Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1937) and its 1939 film ignored them. Novelist Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road, portrayed the degraded condition of whites dwelling beyond the great plantations.

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, usually leaning toward the observational rather than the experimental, and encompasses more research that is published in magazines than in academic journals.

Natural history societies

Natural philosophy
Natural science
Naturalism (philosophy)
Nature documentary
Nature writing
Nature
Nature study
Big History
Timeline of evolution

The Sheffield Sharks is a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, England. The Sharks currently play in the British Basketball League and play their home fixtures at English Institute of Sport - Sheffield.

Franchise history
The franchise was established in 1991 when the team, then called the Sheffield Forgers in reference to the city's history as a major steel producer, were admitted to National Basketball League Division 2. After two seasons competing in the division, with an overall 26-16 record, the Forgers were crowned Champions in 1993 and promoted to NBL Division 1.
The 1993-1994 season would prove to be another successful one for the Forgers having reached the National Trophy final where they beat Plymouth Raiders 62-60 on "home" territory at the Sheffield Arena. Their stay in the First Division didn't last long, and although they finished in 4th position with a 10-8 record, the Forgers were admitted to the professional top-tier British Basketball League to replace the withdrawing Guildford Kings.

"Forging" history
Renamed as Sheffield Sharks, the team dominated the league in its rookie season, and with a 29-7 league record, marched on to take the BBL League Championship and National Cup with an incredible 89-66 victory in the final against Thames Valley Tigers. However the Tigers got their revenge over the Sharks with a nailbiting 74-69 win in the BBL Trophy final. The Sharks also missed out on the Play-off final following a 72-84 loss to Worthing Bears in the Final Four, despite this the Sheffield team still enjoyed a phenomenal debut season.

Sharks swim with the "big boys"
Sharks' adventure continued into Europe in the following season (1995-96) when they competed in the prestigious Euroleague. After knocking out Luxembourg team Residence Helmsange in the Qualifying round, the Sharks were then eliminated in the First Round by Spanish giants Real Madrid after a 57-67 defeat in Sheffield and a 75-78 defeat in Madrid. As a result of losing, Sheffield were then placed in the Third Round of the less glamourous European Cup, where they were subsequently knocked out by Belgian club Oostende Basket, thus ending their European adventure.
On the domestic scene, the Sharks could not repeat the highs of their previous season, finishing as Runners-up in the League Championship (30-6) to London Towers, and losing the final of the National Cup 58-70 also to the dominating Towers. Their Play-off dreams were also shattered in the Semi-final's by eventual winners Birmingham Bullets, whom they lost to 68-82.

Taking a bite at Europe
Sheffield Arena (1994-2002)
Ponds Forge (2002-2006)
English Institute of Sport - Sheffield (2006-present)

Season-by-season records

Trophies

NBL Division 2 Winners: 1992/93 1
BBL Winners: 1994/95, 1998/99, & 2002/03 3
BBL Northern Conference Winners: 2000/01 1
BBL Runners Up: 1995/96, 1996/97, & 2003/04 3
BBL Northern Conference Runners Up: 1999/00, & 2001/02 2 League

NBL Division 2 Play Off Winners: 1992/93 1
BBL Play Off Winners: 2003/04 1
BBL Play Off Runners Up: 2000/01, & 2001/02 2 Playoffs

National Trophy Winners: 1993/94 1
BBL Trophy Winners: 1997/98 1
BBL Trophy Runners Up: 1994/95 1 Trophy

National Cup Winners: 1994/95, 1998/99, & 1999/00 3
BBL Cup Winners: 2003/04 1
National Cup Runners Up: 1995/96, & 1996/97 2 Cup

Players
The numbers are established according to the official websites of the team (www.sheffieldsharks.com) and Britain's top professional league, the BBL (www.bbl.org.uk).
As of September 29, 2007

Notable former players

Basketball in England
British Basketball League
Euroleague
National Basketball League
Sheffield Arena

The Serenade for strings in G major, K 525, also known as Eine kleine Nachtmusik ("A little night music" or less literally, "A little serenade"), is one of the most popular compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in 1787 in Vienna while working on Don Giovanni. It is not known why or for whom he wrote this piece.
The work was written for a chamber ensemble of two violins, viola, and cello with optional double bass. It is often performed today with more than one person to a part.

Allegro
The second movement is a "Romanza", in Andante and contrasting and slower than the first movement. It is in a "section rondo form" and is similar to the sonata rondo form (ABACA). The first theme (A) is graceful and lyrical. It is followed by a more rhythmical second theme (B). The first theme returns (A) and is followed by the third theme (C), which is darker than the first two and includes a touch of C minor. The first theme (A) returns to finish the movement. The key is in C major, which is the sub-dominant of G major

Romanze
The third movement is a minuet and trio (ABA). The movement is in the tonic key, which is in G major and is fairly quick with a tempo of Allegretto. It contains two themes, a minuet and a trio. The movement begins with the minuet (A), then the trio theme enters (B), and it ends with the minuet (A). It ends in the tonic key, which is in G major.

Rondo
Mozart listed this work as having five movements in his own catalogue of his works. ("Allegro - Minuet and Trio. - Romance, Minuet and Trio and Finale.")

Robert Pollard (born October 31, 1957) is a Dayton, Ohio singer-songwriter, who until 2004 was the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. During his high school years, he was a successful basketball and baseball player. Pollard was a fourth grade schoolteacher until 1994, when Guided by Voices first broke into the national consciousness with the release of the album Bee Thousand. With over 900 songs registered to his name with BMI [1], Pollard is among the most prolific songwriters of his time. In 2006 Paste Magazine listed him at the 78th greatest living songwriter of all-time [2].

Solo career
Solo Albums:

1996 - Not in My Airforce
1998 - Waved Out
1999 - Kid Marine
1999 - Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department (with Doug Gillard)
2001 - Choreographed Man of War (billed as "Robert Pollard and the Soft Rock Renegades")
2003 - Motel of Fools (12"/CD EP)
2004 - Fiction Man
2005 - Music From "Bubble" (7"/CD EP)
2005 - Zoom (7"/CD EP)
2005 - Relaxation of the Asshole
2006 - From a Compound Eye (CD/2xLP)
2006 - Normal Happiness
2006 - Moon (live LP included with original mail orders of Normal Happiness)
2007 - Meet the King: Asshole 2
2007 - Silverfish Trivia (CD EP)
2007 - Standard Gargoyle Decisions (October 9 on Merge Records)
2007 - Coast to Coast Carpet of Love (October 9 on Merge Records) Discography

Side Projects
During the mid-90's, in addition to GbV albums appearing annually, Pollard's prolificacy typically was vented onto innumerable singles, EPs, compilations and other side releases. However, once signed to a major label and constrained to the expectation of producing only a single album per 18 months, Pollard began the self-financed and released Fading Captain Series, a series of releases both under his own name, and a wide variety of pseudonyms. In addition to solo and archival releases, Pollard began collaborating with fellow musicians and friends by mail via a process dubbed "postal rock" - Pollard would receive completed musical backing tracks, and add his own lyrics and vocals. Albums under the Airport 5, Circus Devils, and Go Back Snowball monikers, among others were produced in this fashion.
In December 2006 Pollard announced that the Fading Captain Series was being concluded with the release of Crickets, a 50-song "best of" collection spanning from 1999 through 2007 [5].
Acid Ranch: (archival recordings featuring Robert Pollard, Kevin Fennell and Mitch Mitchell)
Airport 5: (Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout)
Circus Devils: (Robert Pollard and Todd and Tim Tobias)
Go Back Snowball: (Robert Pollard and Mac McCaughan)
Hazzard Hotrods: (Recording of informal 1990 performance by Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, and Kevin Fennell)
Howling Wolf Orchestra: (Pollard and various GbV members)
Keene Brothers: (Robert Pollard and Tommy Keene)
Lexo and the Leapers: (Robert Pollard backed by The Tasties)
Lifeguards (Robert Pollard and Doug Gillard)
The Moping Swans (Robert Pollard, Greg Demos, Jim MacPherson and Tony Conley)
Nightwalker (pseudonym for archival GbV recordings)
Phantom Tollbooth:
Psycho and the Birds: (Todd Tobias supplementing Pollard solo demos)
The Takeovers: (Robert Pollard and Chris Slusarenko)

2002 - Some Of The Magic Syrup Was Preserved (2xLP--Pollard's first double album)
2005 - As Forever: A Manifesto Of Fractured Imagination And Wreckless Living
2007 - The Great Houdini Wasn't So Great"
2001 - Tower in the Fountain of Sparks
2002 - Life Starts Here
2001 - Ringworm Interiors
2002 - The Harold Pig Memorial
2003 - Pinball Mars
2005 - Five
2007 - Sgt. Disco (due in July on Ipecac Records)
2002 - Calling Zero
2000 - Big Trouble (re-released as Bigger Trouble 2005)
2000 - Speedtraps for the Bee Kingdom (12" EP/CD)
2006 - Blues and Boogie Shoes
1999 - Ask Them (12" EP/CD)
2003 - Mist King Urth
2005 - Lightninghead to Coffee Pot (12" EP/CD)
1999 - In Shop We Build Electric Chairs: Professional Music by Nightwalker 1984-1993
2003 - Beard of Lighting
2006 - All That is Holy
2006 - Check Your Zoo (7" EP/CD)
2006 - Turn to Red
2007 - Bad Football Fading Captain Series
When Pollard announced that the Fading Captain Series was being concluded he also announced that he was starting up a new record label, then called Record Company Records [6] but later re-titled as Prom is Coming [7], which is named after a song off his first solo album Not in My Airforce. The first release on Prom is Coming was Silverfish Trivia.

Law And Government

Raphael J. Musto, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 14th Senatorial District
James J. Rhoades, Republican, Pennsylvania's 29th Senatorial District Pennsylvania State Senate

Keith R. McCall, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 122nd Representative District Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Paul E. Kanjorski, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district United States House of Representatives

Arlen Specter, Republican
Bob Casey, Democrat United States Senate
Carbon County was created on March 13, 1843 from parts of Northampton and Monroe Counties and was named for the extensive deposits of coal in the region.
Carbon County is the location of the trials and executions of the controversial Molly Maguires, an Irish secret society that had been accused of terrorizing the region.

History
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,003 km² (387 mi²). 987 km² (381 mi²) of it is land and 16 km² (6 mi²) of it (1.60%) is water.

Geography

Luzerne County (north)
Monroe County (east)
Northampton County (southeast)
Lehigh County (south)
Schuylkill County (southwest) Adjacent counties
As of the census² of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 60/km² (154/mi²). There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 31/km² (80/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82% White, 0.60% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.4% were of German, 10.1% Irish, 9.2% Italian, 7.9% American, 6.6% Slovak, 6.0% Polish and 5.8% Pennsylvania German ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 23,701 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out with 22.20% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

Demographics
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Carbon County:

Municipalities

Beaver Meadows
Bowmanstown
East Side
Jim Thorpe
Lansford
Lehighton
Nesquehoning
Palmerton
Parryville
Summit Hill
Weatherly
Weissport Boroughs

Banks Township
East Penn Township
Franklin Township
Kidder Township
Lausanne Township
Lehigh Township
Lower Towamensing Township
Mahoning Township
Packer Township
Penn Forest Township
Towamensing Township Townships
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Tresckow
Weissport East Census-designated places

Education

Lehigh Carbon Community College - Carbon Campus, Nesquehoning Public School Districts
There are three Pennsylvania state parks in Carbon County.

Beltzville State Park
Lehigh Gorge State Park stretches along the Lehigh River in Luzerne County and into Carbon County.
Hickory Run State Park

The Medical University of Vienna , formerly the faculty of medicine of the University of Vienna, became an independent university on January 1, 2004. The independence of medical schools from the structure of "general" universities was part of a larger reform of the Austrian university system enacted by the Schüssel government in 2003.

The Scottish Junior Football Ayrshire Division One (also known as the Ayrshire League) is a third-tier division of the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association.

ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – "Consortium of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany"), is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in West Germany in 1950 to represent the common interests of the new, de-centralized post-war broadcasting services - in particular, the introduction of a joint television network.
Today ARD maintains and operates a national television network, known since 1994 as Das Erste ("The First"). This network began broadcasting in 1952 under the name of Deutsches Fernsehen ("German Television"), becoming Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen ("First German Television") with the introduction of a new corporate design on October 1, 1984. The name is an indication that it is regarded as the country's primary network, comparable to BBC One. ARD's programming is transmitted directly to homes throughout Germany via its own extensive terrestrial transmitter network. ARD also produces a digital package of three free-to-air channels (EinsFestival, EinsPlus and EinsExtra) and participates in the production of cable/satellite channels Phoenix (events, news, and documentaries), KI.KA (children's programmes), 3sat (cultural/traditional programming), and arte (Franco-German cultural programming).
ARD's constituent broadcasting institutions – BR, HR, MDR, NDR, Radio Bremen, RBB, SR, SWR, and WDR (see below for an explanation of the abbreviations), as well as international broadcaster Deutsche Welle – operate 54 regional and local radio stations and networks, two nationwide radio channels, and seven regional TV networks, some of which split further during certain parts of the day.

History
The winning Allies of World War II were determined that German radio after the war would not broadcast the same propaganda as the pre-war Reichsrundfunk ('Imperial Broadcasting'). A federal structure, the renunciation of state influence and the avoidance of economic dependence were to be the key of the radio and TV institutions under public law (öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk- und Fernsehanstalten, public broadcasting and TV organizations). In 1947 the US military governor Lucius D. Clay declared diversity of public opinion as the main aim of post-war media policy. Individuals aligned with the post-war Allied forces in their respective sectors of Germany had a local influence on local regional broadcasters. NDR cites the influence of Hugh Greene on the early years of their organization.
After the creation of individual broadcasting agencies for most German federal states, these principles were further consolidated by Länder broadcasting laws, decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), and state treaties between the Länder. ARD members are thus (at least nominally) free of government influence, and rely for only a small part of their income on advertising (1995: ten percent). They are financed mainly from licence fees from radio and TV owners, the amount of which is determined in a complex political process. The proclaimed aim of the ARD corporations is not only to inform and to entertain, but also to encourage the integration of various parts of society, and let minorities have a say in the programming.
In the 1950s the ARD radio services became the major factor of the mass media system in West Germany. As early as 1952 the ARD radio stations had ten million listeners. However, the radio stations operated on a regional level, and it was only the development of a television umbrella that helped the ARD to establish itself nationwide. The broadcasting of a countrywide television service was the goal of the ARD from the outset, and the go-ahead for this was given at the end of 1952. The same year ARD was admitted as a full active member of the European Broadcasting Union. In 1955 there was a split of the founding member NWDR ("Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk", English: "North-West German Broadcasting") into today's NDR and WDR. The year before (1954), the smaller SFB was split off. The first daily news feature, the Tagesschau went on the air from Hamburg in 1956. The eight o'clock announcement of the Tagesschau newsreader: "Hier ist das Erste Deutsche Fernsehen mit der Tagesschau" ("This is the first German television channel with the Daily Review") continues to be the ARD's trademark, currently attracting eight million viewers every day.

1960s-1980s
After unification and the closure of the GDR television service, two new regional broadcasters were established in the East, becoming ARD members in 1992. These were originally the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR, English: "Central German Broadcasting"), and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB, English: "East German Broadcasting Brandenburg"). The existing NDR service expanded into the north-east, where it also covers Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The ORB service has since merged with the former Sender Freies Berlin (SFB, English "Broadcaster Free Berlin") to become Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB, English: "Broadcasting Berlin-Brandenburg").
Another merger took place between two member organizations of the ARD in 1998. The former Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR, English: "Southern German Broadcasting") and Südwestfunk (SWF, English: "Southwest Radio") became Südwestrundfunk (SWR, English: "Southwest Broadcasting") on 1 October 1998.

1990s

ARD programming
Today, ARD member stations usually regulate their own radio programming. Some ARD member stations usually collaborate for common radio services (an example being Nordwestradio, a culture-oriented radio station co-produced by Radio Bremen and NDR). Most ARD stations, however, will have at least a news-oriented radio station, a classical-music station, a youth-oriented station, and a cultural station. At night some stations will relay common night programming produced on a rota system by the ARD stations themselves. There are three common night programming services: Nachtexpress/Radiowecker (light music), Nachtkonzert (classical music), and Popnacht (pop music). Most services are on the FM broadcast band, though some services are also available on DAB.
A similar network intended for national coverage is called DeutschlandRadio, however DeutschlandRadio is not an ARD member - instead DeutschlandRadio is controlled by both ARD and ZDF. DeutschlandRadio provides two radio services: DeutschlandFunk (DLF), a news-oriented service, and DeutschlandRadio Kultur, a music-oriented service.
ARD is probably best known to shortwave enthusiasts for member station Deutsche Welle, which broadcasts its radio services mostly on shortwave radio, though DW broadcasts can also be picked up via satellite and the Internet.

Radio
The main television channels of the ARD are the nationwide Das Erste and seven regional channels operated by the different regional broadcasting institutions. These channels were available on the analogue terrestrial transmitters until the shutdown of the analogue transmitters started in 2003. Das Erste and the third programmes, like the radio stations, are principally funded via licence fees, with a very limited amount of on-air advertising.
Das Erste broadcasts nationwide 24 hours a day, although the schedule does include four and a half hours of joint programming with ZDF each weekday, in the form of the news programmes Morgenmagazin (on air 5.30–9.00) and Mittagsmagazin (13.00–14.00), which the two organizations take weekly turns to produce.
The regional members of ARD all, jointly or separately, operate their own regional channels, known collectively as die Dritten ("the Third Programmes"). These are:
The schedules of these regional channels also include sub-regional opt-outs at certain times, in particular for local news.
ARD has started three additional channels as part of their ARD Digital package:
ARD is also involved in several joint venture channels:
The international broadcaster Deutsche Welle also produces television services; however these services are mostly available via satellite.

Bayerisches Fernsehen from Bayerischer Rundfunk
HR-fernsehen from Hessischer Rundfunk
MDR Fernsehen from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
NDR Fernsehen from Norddeutscher Rundfunk

• with the collaboration of Radio Bremen
  RBB Fernsehen from Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
  SWR Fernsehen from Südwestrundfunk
  
  
  
  • with the collaboration of Saarländischer Rundfunk
    WDR Fernsehen from Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
    EinsPlus
    EinsExtra
    EinsFestival
    3sat, a cultural channel with ZDF, ORF and SRG
    KI.KA, a children's channel with ZDF
    Arte, a Franco-German cultural channel
    Phoenix with ZDF Television
    Over the history of broadcasting in Germany since World War II, there were other members of ARD, which are now defunct, through splits or mergers. These include Sender Freies Berlin (SFB; Transmitter Free Berlin) and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB; East German Broadcasting Brandenburg) which merged to become RBB. There were also Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR, Southern German Broadcasting) and Südwestfunk (SWF, Southwest Broadcasting) which merged to become SWR. Until the 1950s, there was also Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; Northwest German Broadcasting), which split into the present NDR and WDR.
    ARD operates many correspondents' offices in foreign cities, only rivaled in numbers by CNN. ARD and its regional broadcasters are also represented on the World Wide Web.
    ARD operates several other companies and institutions, sometimes jointly with ZDF: Degeto Film, a television rights trader and production company; the German National Broadcasting Archives (DRA), the Institute for Broadcasting Technology (IRT - Institut für Rundfunktechnik), responsible for research and development; the Fee Collection Center (GEZ), and others.
    
    Current controversy
    
    ARD: ARD Jahrbuch 2005. Hans-Bredow-Institut, 2005 ISBN 3-8329-1730-6 (Online Excerpts, in German)