Michael Thirlwell (3 June 1621 - 14 May 1687) was an English botanist in the 17th century and a great friend of Admiral Christopher James Ridley.
Life and work
Thirlwell was born in a large village on the outskirts of Newcastle. His father was an engineer and he was expected to continue that occupation; however, from a very young age he expressed a passion for nature and later became a botanist. Although he did not make any famous discoveries of his own he collected samples of thousands of plants, particularly from the west coast of Africa from a number of voyages with Admiral Christopher James Ridley. When he returned to England, he sold his samples to a rich professor (Professor Daniel Mcmenzie); over the years the pressed plants changed hands many times until at some point in the 1780s they came under the ownership of Sir James Edward Smith. It is rumoured that Sir James Edward Smith wrote a book on these plants, but as yet it has not been found (). Due to the large amount of money he sold his pressed plants for, Thirlwell lived with his wife and their two children lived in an upper-class part of London for the rest of their lives. Michael Thirlwell later died in 1687 to what is thought to have been coronary heart disease, however not much is known about his death.
Life and work
Thirlwell was born in a large village on the outskirts of Newcastle. His father was an engineer and he was expected to continue that occupation; however, from a very young age he expressed a passion for nature and later became a botanist. Although he did not make any famous discoveries of his own he collected samples of thousands of plants, particularly from the west coast of Africa from a number of voyages with Admiral Christopher James Ridley. When he returned to England, he sold his samples to a rich professor (Professor Daniel Mcmenzie); over the years the pressed plants changed hands many times until at some point in the 1780s they came under the ownership of Sir James Edward Smith. It is rumoured that Sir James Edward Smith wrote a book on these plants, but as yet it has not been found (). Due to the large amount of money he sold his pressed plants for, Thirlwell lived with his wife and their two children lived in an upper-class part of London for the rest of their lives. Michael Thirlwell later died in 1687 to what is thought to have been coronary heart disease, however not much is known about his death.
Bourque Newswatch is a Canadian news aggregator website, run by journalist Pierre Bourque. The site publishes breaking news in a format similar to the American Drudge Report.
Bourque claims to have been the first media source to report a number of major stories, including Jean Charest's departure from federal politics to lead the Quebec Liberal Party, the retirement of Gilbert Parent as Speaker of the House of Commons and the 2000 election call. However, the Ryerson Review of Journalism found that Bourque's exclusive scoops have also been wrong on many occasions. For example, in 2000 he inaccurately reported that Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin would cross the floor to the Progressive Conservatives after Stockwell Day won the Alliance leadership, that Elsie Wayne and Mac Harb would be appointed to the Senate, and that Mike Harris would retire as Premier of Ontario that year.
Finally, RRJ found it difficult to verify Bourque's claimed web traffic; in a random sample of 6,500 Canadian internet users in September 2000, not a single one had visited Bourque Newswatch. RRJ also found that almost no major Canadian journalist used Bourque Newswatch as a source, although some admitted to using the site as an aggregator to quickly review the day's mainstream media headlines.
Bourque claims to have been the first media source to report a number of major stories, including Jean Charest's departure from federal politics to lead the Quebec Liberal Party, the retirement of Gilbert Parent as Speaker of the House of Commons and the 2000 election call. However, the Ryerson Review of Journalism found that Bourque's exclusive scoops have also been wrong on many occasions. For example, in 2000 he inaccurately reported that Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin would cross the floor to the Progressive Conservatives after Stockwell Day won the Alliance leadership, that Elsie Wayne and Mac Harb would be appointed to the Senate, and that Mike Harris would retire as Premier of Ontario that year.
Finally, RRJ found it difficult to verify Bourque's claimed web traffic; in a random sample of 6,500 Canadian internet users in September 2000, not a single one had visited Bourque Newswatch. RRJ also found that almost no major Canadian journalist used Bourque Newswatch as a source, although some admitted to using the site as an aggregator to quickly review the day's mainstream media headlines.
Alex Sumner (born 10th October, year unknown) is a novelist and writer on the Occult. He is the author of two novels entitled The Magus and Opus Secunda which form the first two parts of a trilogy (a third instalment is said to be forthcoming). He has also penned several non-fiction articles for the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, an online ezine. Very little biographical information has been released about him although apparently he lives in Essex, England.
Bibliography
Non-fiction
* The Novels of Dion Fortune
* [http://www.jwmt.org/v1n2/review.html Book Review: "A Rosicrucian Notebook" by Willy Schroedter]
*
* Pathworking on the Qabalistic Tree of Life
* (sic)
* [http://www.jwmt.org/v1n6/gardner.html Book Review: "Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration" by Philip Heselton]
* The Bornless Ritual
* Isopsephos - Greek Gematria
* Healing in the Hermetic Tradition
* Herbal Alchemy On A Budget
* Angelic Invocations
Fiction
* The Magus (2009), ISBN: 978-1-4092-8811-4
* Opus Secunda (2010), ISBN: 978-1-4457-6297-5
External Sites
Sol Ascendans - The Website of Alex Sumner
Bibliography
Non-fiction
* The Novels of Dion Fortune
* [http://www.jwmt.org/v1n2/review.html Book Review: "A Rosicrucian Notebook" by Willy Schroedter]
*
* Pathworking on the Qabalistic Tree of Life
* (sic)
* [http://www.jwmt.org/v1n6/gardner.html Book Review: "Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration" by Philip Heselton]
* The Bornless Ritual
* Isopsephos - Greek Gematria
* Healing in the Hermetic Tradition
* Herbal Alchemy On A Budget
* Angelic Invocations
Fiction
* The Magus (2009), ISBN: 978-1-4092-8811-4
* Opus Secunda (2010), ISBN: 978-1-4457-6297-5
External Sites
Sol Ascendans - The Website of Alex Sumner
Candace Cartwright Young is a professor of political science at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO, and a leading expert on academic assessment in higher education. She received her BA in history and government at Columbia College and her MA and PhD in political science at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. Her dissertation, U.S. Olympic Politics: A Public Policy Case Study, was inspired by her husband Larry Young, the two-time Olympic bronze medalist (and, to date, only American medalist) in racewalking. Dr. Young has been teaching at Truman since 1980, and her teaching interests include American government, public administration, and public policy. Her research focuses mostly on academic assessment - she has published extensively on assessment, and she has moderated academic conferences on the topic. Indeed, her controbutions are so significant that she has been cited in faculty senate resolutions from major universities such as the State University of New York. Indeed, she served as the keynote speaker at SUNY's 2009 Celebration of Teaching, where she presented her most recent research on educational assessment. In addition to these achievements, Dr. Young has served on numerous statewide panels on higher education in Missouri including the Missouri Assessment Consortium, and she is the past president of the Missouri Political Science Association.