Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón, other Spanish name: Islas Galápagos, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈislas gaˈlapaɣos]) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 906 km (563 mi) west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.

The Galápagos Islands and their surrounding waters form the Galápagos Province of Ecuador, the Galápagos National Park, and the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over 25,000.

The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species and were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

The first recorded visit to the islands happened by chance in 1535, when the Bishop of Panamá Fray Tomás de Berlanga went to Peru to arbitrate in a dispute between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. De Berlanga was blown off course, though he eventually returned to the Spanish Empire and described the conditions of the islands and the animals that inhabited them. The group of islands was shown and named in Abraham Ortelius's atlas published in 1570. The first crude map of the islands was made in 1684 by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley, who named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after British royalty and noblemen. These names were used in the authoritative navigation charts of the islands prepared during the Beagle survey under captain Robert Fitzroy, and in Darwin's popular book The Voyage of the Beagle. The new Republic of Ecuador took the islands from Spanish ownership in 1832, and subsequently gave them official Spanish names. The older names remained in use in English language publications, including Herman Melville's The Encantadas of 1854.

Galapagos (video game)

Galapagos: Mendel's Escape is a computer action game developed by Anark Game Studios and published by Electronic Arts in 1997. It is perhaps best known for its use of "artificial life technology" to control the main character, only giving the player indirect control of the creature by manipulating the environment.

Gameplay

Unlike with most games, the main character of Galapagos is in control of itself and only indirectly responds to changes you make to its environment. This is possible through the use of a proprietary Artificial Intelligence system known as Non-stationary Entropic Reduction Mapping, or NERM. This character is thus fully capable of maneuvering through the environment while avoiding surfaces and obstacles it has previously learned is harmful, entirely on its own.

However, the creature does not know how to manipulate the levers and switches found throughout the various areas in the game, so it is up to you to help. As it moves around, the camera angle changes to reveal the new obstacles. Correct manipulation of the devices, through puzzle solving and careful timing, is needed to succeed.

Galápagos (radio show)

Galápagos is an Ecuadorian radio show aired every Saturday at 2100 UTC on HCJB La Voz de los Andes (12000 kHz, 25m band).

Synopsis

Galápagos is a 15 minute long radio show which talks about the economic and ecological development of the archipelago. It also incentives the tourism and the local music. The programme is hosted by Edwin Chamorro.

External links

Schelmish

Schelmish was a German Mittelalter rock band from the city of Bonn. The band originally formed in 1999 for a birthday celebration for band member Des Demonia's mother. The language of their songs varies between German, English, Latin, French and several old languages. The band split-up in December 2012; a group of member founded the Electro Folk Rock Band InVictus.

History

The inspiration for forming of Schelmish was the birthday of Des Demonia's mother in 1999. Musically, Schelmish is rooted in Irish Folk. Today though they are rather oriented towards Mittelalter Rock.

Their first CD Von Räubern, Lumpen und anderen Schelmen (Of Robbers, Rascals and other Scoundrels) was released in 2000. It features the original line-up of Schelmish and contains traditional medieval songs.

The second CD Aequinoctium is also composed only of medieval songs. It was released in 2001. For the recordings, Balitur joined the band while Igerne and Buchanan departed.

On Codex Lascivus, the third CD, released in 2002, the band's first original pieces can be heard. For this effort Amsel von Nydeggen (of Filia Irata), Fragor der Schlagfertige, Sakepharus der Schmierenkomödiant and Septimus joined the band, while, Morbius, Balitur and Bajonne left. This CD includes the instrumental Rotta, which since its release has traditionally been played at each of their concerts.