Book

A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is a leaf, and each side of a leaf is a page. A set of text-filled or illustrated pages produced in electronic format is known as an electronic book, or e-book.

Books may also refer to works of literature, or a main division of such a work. In library and information science, a book is called a monograph, to distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers. The body of all written works including books is literature. In novels and sometimes other types of books (for example, biographies), a book may be divided into several large sections, also called books (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and so on). An avid reader of books is a bibliophile or colloquially, bookworm.

A shop where books are bought and sold is a bookshop or bookstore. Books can also be borrowed from libraries. Google has estimated that as of 2010, approximately 130,000,000 unique titles had been published. In some wealthier nations, printed books are giving way to the usage of electronic or e-books, though sales of e-books declined in the first half of 2015.

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.

Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre works of American creators like George M. Cohan. The Princess Theatre musicals and other smart shows like Of Thee I Sing (1931) were artistic steps forward beyond revues and other frothy entertainments of the early 20th century and led to such groundbreaking works as Show Boat (1927) and Oklahoma! (1943). Some of the most famous and iconic musicals through the decades that followed include West Side Story (1957), The Fantasticks (1960), Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), Les Misérables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Rent (1996), The Producers (2001) and Wicked (2003).

Bibliomancy

Bibliomancy is the use of books in divination. The method of employing sacred books (especially specific words and verses) for 'magical medicine', for removing negative entities, or for divination is widespread in many religions of the world.

Terminology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word bibliomancy (etymologically from βιβλίον biblio- "books" and μαντεία -mancy "divination by means of") "divination by books, or by verses of the Bible" was first recorded in 1753 (Chambers' Cyclopædia). Sometimes this term is used synonymously with stichomancy (from στίχος sticho- "row, line, verse") "divination by lines of verse in books taken at hazard", which was first recorded ca. 1693 (Urquhart's Rabelais).

Bibliomancy compares with rhapsodomancy (from rhapsode "poem, song, ode") "divination by reading a random passage from a poem". A historical precedent was the ancient Roman practice of sortes ("sortilege, divination by drawing lots") which specialized into sortes Homericae, sortes Virgilianae, and sortes Sanctorum, using the texts of Homer, Virgil, and the Bible.

Child

Biologically, a child (plural: children) is a human between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority.

Child may also describe a relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, metaphorically, an authority figure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties".

There are many social issues that affect children, such as childhood education, bullying, child poverty, dysfunctional families, child labor, and in developing countries, hunger. Children can be raised by parents, by fosterers, guardians or partially raised in a day care center.

Legal, biological, and social definitions

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines child as "a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier". This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. In U.S. Immigration Law, a child refers to anyone who is under the age of 21.

Children (David Murray album)

Children is the eighth album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label. It was released in 1984 and features performances by Murray, James "Blood" Ulmer, Don Pullen, Lonnie Plaxico and Marvin "Smitty" Smith.

The album was identified by Chris Kelsey in his Allmusic essay "Free Jazz: A Subjective History" as one of the 20 Essential Free Jazz Albums.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "The somewhat noisy performances are pretty spontaneous and, thanks to Pullen's rhythmic style, a little more accessible than one might expect, despite being quite adventurous.".

Track listing

Personnel

Children (play)

Children is an early play by American playwright A. R. Gurney. It was first produced in London in 1974 and received its American premiere in 1976, directed by Keith Fowler and starring Carmen Mathews and Lynda Myles at the Virginia Museum Theater (now Leslie Cheek Theater) in Richmond. It was inspired by John Cheever's short story "Goodbye My Brother" A 2009 production starring Judith Light gave the play a new ending, and received positive reviews.

Plot

Randy and Barbara, adult children of an affluent New England family, spend Fourth of July weekend at their family's beach house on an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Both are shocked when their widowed mother informs them that they're soon to be joined by their youngest brother, Pokey, long estranged from the family. When questioned as to the reasons for the reunion, their mother reveals that she plans to remarry—to their late father's best friend—and that, due to the conditions of their father's will, the house will pass to the three children. Pokey's arrival threatens the stability of this solid WASPish clan. Randy's childish competitiveness with his brother is reawakened. Pokey's liberated wife, Miriam, causes Randy's wife, Jane, to confront her true feelings about her life as a suburban wife and mother. Meanwhile, Barbara is having an affair with the family's former gardener, now married. Pokey announces his intentions to sell the house once it passes to the children, thus upsetting Barbara's plans for a quiet domestic life with her lover on the island. The children's upset forces their mother to confront where her life with her husband has brought her, and whether the true happiness really waits in her future.