Réunion ibis

The Réunion ibis or Réunion sacred ibis (Threskiornis solitarius) is an extinct species of ibis that was endemic to the volcanic island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The first subfossil remains were found in 1974, and the ibis was first scientifically described in 1987. Its closest relatives are the Malagasy sacred ibis, the African sacred ibis, and the straw-necked ibis.

Travellers' accounts from the 17th and 18th centuries described a white bird that flew with difficulty, and it was subsequently referred to as the Réunion solitaire. In the mid 19th century, the old travellers' accounts were incorrectly assumed to refer to white relatives of the dodo, due to one account specifically mentioning dodos on the island, and because 17th-century paintings of white dodos had recently surfaced. However, no fossils referable to dodo-like birds were ever found on Réunion, and it was later questioned whether the paintings had anything to do with the island. Other identities were suggested as well, based only on speculation. In the late 20th century, the discovery of a subfossil ibis led to the idea that the old accounts actually referred to an ibis species instead. The idea that the solitaire and the subfossil ibis are identical has only met with limited dissent, and is now widely accepted.

Ibis (1886)

The Ibis was a paddle-propelled steamship built in 1886 at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering, Govan, Scotland for the British Government's Nile Expedition.

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Hotel Ibis

ibis is an international hotel company, owned by a holding company of hotels AccorHotels approximately three times the size, that is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and was founded in 1967. The ibis opened its founding hotel in 1974 and in January 2014 the company opened the 1,000th example in Surabaya, Indonesia. Around 400 ibis Hotels are throughout France and most of the remainder are elsewhere in Europe. The hotels are generally close to city centres, airports or railway stations and offer low rates compared to many global hotel groups of comparable size.

History

The first ibis opened in Bordeaux in 1974 and within a decade had expanded throughout the regions of France, particularly in the cities.

Hotel facilities

Standard facilities are a feature of Accor's economy hotels, excepting budget sub-brands of Formule 1 and ibis Budget, offering a 24-hour reception. Rooms provide a bathroom/shower room, a desk, a double or two single beds, wardrobe space, and international and local channels on the television. The hotel sometimes includes a restaurant or bar offering food early in the morning to noon (04:00-12:00), and in some hotels a 24-hour snack menu is offered. Generally, the ibis hotels are seen as having an economy emphasis so Accor is endeavouring to change this by advertising all the hotel's achievements, distinctive features and highlighting Accor's satisfaction guarantee.

Ibis (bicycles)

Ibis Bicycles is a mountain bike manufacturer located in northern California. It produces the popular Mojo mountain bike frame among other models. Ibis products are distributed in 33 countries.

History

Ibis Bicycles was founded by Scot Nicol, one of the earliest mountain bikers in northern California. It began in Nicol's garage in 1981, when a friend asked him to build a frame. Nicol sold the company to an investment group in 2000 and it went bankrupt within 20 months. Ibis returned to the industry at the 2005 Interbike tradeshow. Nicol has since partnered with Hans Heim, formerly of Specialized, Tom Morgan, and Roxy Lo.

Production

Ibis frames are produced in Shenzhen, China. Other Ibis products are produced in Taiwan. Ibis frames are now made with carbon fiber exclusively, though a future return to steel, aluminum, and/or titanium has not been ruled out.

Innovation

While many companies (Columbus has their famous "Genius" tubing), actually came up with sophisticated names for their steel bikes tubing, Nicol and Ibis called their tubing "Moron"- meaning it had more on the ends for strength and less in the middle to give the bikes light weight (a standard practice in cycling called "butted tubing")

Réunion

Réunion (French: La Réunion, IPA: [la ʁeynjɔ̃]; previously Île Bourbon) is an insular region of France located in the Indian Ocean. It is situated east of Madagascar and about 175 kilometres (109 mi) southwest of Mauritius, the nearest island. As of 2014, its population numbered 844,994 inhabitants.

The island has been inhabited since the 17th century, when people from Europe (mostly France), Madagascar and Africa settled there. Slavery was abolished on 20 December 1848 (a date celebrated yearly on the island), after which indentured workers were brought from South India, among other places. The island became an overseas department of France in 1946.

The local language, spoken by the majority of the population, is Réunion Creole. The official language is French.

Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other four overseas departments, it is also one of the 18 regions of France, with the modified status of overseas regions, and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland. Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, a part of the Eurozone.

Reunion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

"Reunion" is the 81st episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, It is the seventh episode of the fourth season.

In the episode, K'Ehleyr returns to the Enterprise to advise Captain Picard, who is chosen to arbitrate the selection of the new Klingon leader from two candidates, Gowron and Duras, one of whom is suspected to be a traitor.

Plot

The starship Enterprise is met by a Klingon Vor'cha class battlecruiser, and Ambassador K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) requests to speak to Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) on an "urgent matter". When she beams aboard, she brings a young Klingon boy (Jon Paul Steuer); based on his previous romantic experience with K'Ehleyr, Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) suspects the child is his son. K'Ehleyr warns the senior staff of a power struggle occurring within the Klingon Empire and implores Picard to meet Chancellor K'mpec (Charles Cooper) aboard the battlecruiser. On the Klingon ship, K'mpec acknowledges that he has been poisoned and is slowly dying, and insists that Picard become the Arbiter of Succession and identify his assassin. K'mpec dies shortly afterward. In a private moment, K'Ehleyr confirms to Worf that the Klingon boy is his son, Alexander, and she did not tell Worf for fear he would try to have a deeper relationship with her; Worf, already burdened by his discommendation, fears for Alexander's future, given the stigma of his family name.

Reunion (1989 film)

Reunion is a 1989 dramatic film based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Fred Uhlman, directed by Jerry Schatzberg from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. It stars Jason Robards. The film was released in France under the title L' Ami Retrouvé and in Germany as Der Wiedergefundene Freund.

The story is centred on the "enchanted friendship" of two teenagers in 1933 Germany. Hans Strauss (Christien Anholt) is the son of a Jewish doctor and Konradin Von Lohenburg (Samuel West) is from an aristocratic family. The background is the rise of Nazism. Jason Robards plays the older Hans in the 70's as he prepares to travel to Germany for the first time since the 1930s. The film was shot on location in Berlin, New York and Stuttgart.Reunion was nominated for a Golden Palm at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

American lawyer Henry Strauss (Robards) is preparing to return to Germany for the first time since he left in 1933 following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He is seeking to renew an "enchanting friendship" of his youth with aristocrat Konradin Von Lohenburg (West).