S. N. Goenka

Satya Narayan Goenka (30 January 1924 – 29 September 2013), commonly known as S.N. Goenka, was a Burmese-Indian teacher of Vipassanā meditation. Born in Burma to a rich Indian family, he moved to India in 1969 and started teaching meditation. His teaching was notable for emphasizing that the Buddha's path to liberation was non-sectarian, universal, and scientific in character. He became an influential teacher and established meditation centers worldwide. In November 2008 when the construction of the Global Vipassana Pagoda was completed on the outskirts of Mumbai. Goenka was an invited speaker at the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders on 29 August 2000 at the United Nations in New York City. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2012.

Biography

Early life and background

Born on 30 January 1924 in Burma (now Myanmar) to Indian parents from the Marwari ethnic group, Goenka grew up in a conservative Hindu sanatani household. He was a successful businessman, when in 1955 he started experiencing severe, debilitating migraine. Unable to find medical relief, and on the suggestion of a friend, he met with the Vipassana teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Though initially reluctant, Ba Khin took him on as a student. Goenka subsequently trained under him for 14 years.

Sŵn

The Sŵn Festival (sŵn is Welsh for "sound, noise", Welsh pronunciation: [suːn]) is a music festival curated by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and Cardiff-based promoter and Chief Executive of the Welsh Music Foundation, John Rostron. The festival takes place annually in Stephens' hometown of Cardiff, Wales. The first Sŵn Festival took place in November 2007. Bands playing included The Cribs, Beirut, David Holmes, Edwyn Collins and Cherry Ghost.

Music is the festival's core medium, although arts and crafts, bakery masterclasses and 5-a-side football tournaments are incorporated into the schedule. Stephens' eclectic musical taste is reflected in the diversity of the artists performing, and Welsh language bands are well represented on the line-up.

The 2008 festival took place on 14–16 November 2008. Bands playing included Golden Silvers, Truckers of Husk, Micachu And The Shapes, Little Comets, Young Marble Giants, Euros Childs, Colorama, Sweet Baboo and Rob Da Bank.

The 2009 festival took place on 22-24 October 2009. Dananananaykroyd, Johnny Foreigner, Copy Haho, Munch Munch, the Drums, Longcut, Girls, Gaggle, the Twilight Sad, Cate Le Bon, Talons, Sweet Baboo, and Cardiff-based band Los Campesinos! played. Venues used in 2009 were Chapter Arts Centre, Barfly, City Arms, Clwb Ifor Bach, Dempseys, Y Fuwch Goch, The Model Inn, The Toucan, Cardiff University Students Union, The Gate, The Vulcan and the National Museum Cardiff.

Sine nomine

Sine nomine (abbreviated s.n.) is a Latin expression, meaning "without a name". It is most commonly used in the contexts of publishing and bibliographical listings such as library catalogs, to signify that the publisher (or distributor, etc.) of a listed work is unknown, or not printed or specified on the work. Compare with sine loco (s.l.), "without a place", used where the place of publication of a work is unknown or unspecified. While it may sometimes be used to disclose unknown authorship, this is more commonly indicated as anon. or similar.

The phrase and its abbreviation have been deprecated in Anglophone cataloging with the adoption of the Resource Description and Access standard, which instead prescribes the unabbreviated English phrase "publisher not identified" (or "distributor not identified", etc.). Sine loco is likewise replaced by "place of publication not identified".

See also

References

External links

Óðrerir

In Norse mythology, Óðrerir, Óðrørir or Óðrœrir refers either to one of the vessels that contain the mead of poetry (along with Boðn and Són) or to the mead itself.

Attestations

Poetic Edda

Óðrerir is mentioned in two ambiguous passages of the Hávamál. In a first stanza (107), it is sometimes assumed that Óðrerir is synonymous with mead of poetry, but both interpretations are possible.

In another stanza (140), the meaning of Óðrerir depends on the translation.

In most translations, Óðrerir seems to refer to a vessel, but other interpretations of ausinn Óðreri are possible, which can lead to understand Óðrerir to be the mead itself.

Prose Edda

For Snorri Sturluson, Óðrerir is the name of the kettle in which Kvasir's blood was mixed with honey to create the mead:

Similarly, Snorri considers that "liquid of Óðrerir and Boðn and Són" (lögr Óðreris ok Boðnar ok Sónar) is a kenning for the mead of poetry (Skáldskaparmál, 3).

But in skaldic poetry, Óðrerir is a synonym of mead of poetry and it is therefore assumed that Óðrerir as a vessel is Snorri's invention. Moreover, the etymology of the name – which can be rendered into "stirrer of inspiration" or "stirrer of fury" – suggests that it rather refers to the mead. Boðn probably means "vessel" and Són signifies either "reconciliation" or "blood".

Syn (goddess)

In Norse mythology, Syn (Old Norse "refusal") is a goddess associated with defensive refusal. Syn is attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; and in kennings employed in skaldic poetry. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess.

Attestations

In chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, High provides brief descriptions of 16 ásynjur. High lists Syn eleventh, and details that she "guards the doors of the hall and shuts them against those who are not to enter". High additionally states that Syn is "appointed in defense" at things "in legal matters in which she wishes to refute" and that her name is connected to a saying where "a denial (syn) is made when one says no."

In the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Syn is included among a list of 27 ásynjur names. Syn also appears in two kennings used in works recorded in Skáldskaparmál; once for "jötunn" ("hearth-stone-Syn") in Þórsdrápa by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, and for "woman" ("Syn [woman] of soft necklace-stand [neck]") in a work attributed to Steinar.

Scottish & Newcastle

Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland which expanded significantly from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold.

The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Heineken and Carlsberg in 2008 and its assets split between them. The name Scottish & Newcastle UK continued to be used until 2009 for the UK trading operation of Heineken International until it was renamed Heineken UK. The former S&N Pub Enterprises leased pub division has been renamed Star Pubs & Bars.

History

The Company was founded by Grizel Syme who ran her deceased second husband's brewery: this brewery and those of her sons developed into the firm of William Younger & Co. It merged with McEwan's in 1931 becoming Scottish Brewers. In 1960 it merged again this time with Newcastle Breweries to form Scottish & Newcastle.

By 1985, the company had become a regional brewer focused on Scotland and the North of England, ranked number five in the UK and selling around 6 Mhl per annum. By 1995, with the purchase of rival brewing business Courage, S&N had become the UK’s leading brewer, producing around 15 Mhl per annum. Its UK brewing division became known as Scottish Courage but this reverted to S&N UK in February 2006. Its Managed Pub division was known as S&N Retail with around 2,500 outlets in the estate. In early 2000, S&N expanded outside the UK via a number of acquisitions in Western Europe, growing sales to over 50 Mhl per annum. By acquiring Hartwall in 2002, Finland’s leading beverage company business, S&N became 50% owners of Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH) encompassing brewing interests in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltic Countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The remaining 50% of BBH was owned by Carlsberg, which gained full control after the takeover of S&N in 2008.

Disulfur dinitride

Disulfur dinitride is the chemical compound S₂N₂ with a cyclic square planar structure.

Preparation and reactions

Passing gaseous S₄N₄ over silver metal wool at 250–300°C at low pressure (1mm Hg) yields cyclic S₂N₂. The silver reacts with the sulfur produced by the thermal decomposition of the S₄N₄ to form Ag₂S, and the resulting Ag₂S catalyzes the conversion of the S₄N₄ into the four-membered ring S₂N₂,

An alternative uses the less explosive S₄N₃Cl.
S₂N₂ decomposes explosively above 30°, and is shock sensitive. It readily sublimes, and is soluble in diethyl ether. Traces of water cause it to polymerize into S₄N₄. In the solid state it spontaneously polymerizes forming (SN)_x. It forms adducts with Lewis acids via a nitrogen atom, e.g. S₂N₂ · BCl₃, S₂N₂ · 2AlCl₃, S₂N₂ · SbCl₅, S₂N₂ · 2SbCl₅.

Structure and bonding

The S₂N₂ molecule is virtually square and planar. The S-N bond lengths are 165.1pm and 165.7pm and the bond angles are very close to 90°. The S₂N₂ molecule is isoelectronic with the S₄²⁺ dication and has 6π electrons. The bonding has been investigated using a spin-coupled valence bond method and is described as having four framework sigma bonds, with the N atoms bearing a high negative charge and the S atoms a corresponding positive charge. Two π electrons from the sulfur atoms are coupled across the ring making the molecule overall a singlet diradical.