Insanity

Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person becoming a danger to themselves or others, though not all such acts are considered insanity; likewise, not all acts showing indifference toward societal norms are acts of insanity. In modern usage, insanity is most commonly encountered as an informal unscientific term denoting mental instability, or in the narrow legal context of the insanity defense. In the medical profession the term is now avoided in favor of diagnoses of specific mental disorders; the presence of delusions or hallucinations is broadly referred to as psychosis. When discussing mental illness in general terms, "psychopathology" is considered a preferred descriptor.

In English, the word "sane" derives from the Latin adjective sanus meaning "healthy". Juvenal's phrase mens sana in corpore sano is often translated to mean a "healthy mind in a healthy body". From this perspective, insanity can be considered as poor health of the mind, not necessarily of the brain as an organ (although that can affect mental health), but rather refers to defective function of mental processes such as reasoning. Another Latin phrase related to our current concept of sanity is "compos mentis" (lit. "sound of mind"), and a euphemistic term for insanity is "non compos mentis". In law, mens rea means having had criminal intent, or a guilty mind, when the act (actus reus) was committed.

Gargoyle

In architecture, a gargoyle (/ˈɡɑːrɡɔɪl/) is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall. When Gothic flying buttresses were used, aqueducts were sometimes cut into the buttress to divert water over the aisle walls.

Etymology

The term originates from the French gargouille, which in English is likely to mean "throat" or is otherwise known as the "gullet"; cf. Latin gurgulio, gula, gargula ("gullet" or "throat") and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (e.g., Portuguese and Spanish garganta, "throat"; gárgola, "gargoyle"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which shares a Latin root with the verb "gargle" and is likely imitative in origin. The Italian word for gargoyle is doccione or gronda sporgente, (but also gargolla o garguglia, when it has a grotesque shape) an architecturally precise phrase which means "protruding gutter."

You Can Play

You Can Play is a social activism campaign dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sports, centered on the slogan, "If you can play, you can play." The campaign was launched on March 4, 2012, by its three co-founders: Patrick Burke (a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers and son of former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke), Brian Kitts, and Glenn Witman (both of GForce Sports). The campaign was precipitated by the death of Brendan Burke, son of Brian and brother of Patrick. You Can Play is an official partner of the National Hockey League. The current executive director of the organization is Wade Davis.

Background

Prior to his death, Brendan Burke was known for his efforts to combat homophobia in hockey. Brendan, a student manager for the Miami University RedHawks hockey team, came out publicly in 2009 as an openly gay man through an article written for ESPN.com by John Buccigross. Brendan appeared with father Brian on the Canadian channel TSN during an intermission of a nationally televised hockey game to discuss his sexuality and his father's acceptance. Brendan said, "I think it's important my story is told to people because there are a lot of gay athletes out there and gay people working in pro sports that deserve to know there are safe environments where people are supportive regardless of your sexual orientation." Brendan died in a car crash on February 5, 2010. He was 21 years old.

The Oxford Gargoyles

The Oxford Gargoyles is a mixed-voice jazz a cappella group from Oxford University, England. The group's repertoire is rooted in the jazz songbook but also extends to pop, soul, Latin and gospel numbers. The group was founded in 1998 and has been instrumental in the rise of collegiate a cappella in the United Kingdom. The Gargoyles were involved in organising the BICCAs (British Inter-Collegiate Championship of A Cappella), as well as participating in the Western European category of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella since its inception in 2006. In 2007, the Gargoyles won the Western European semifinal of the ICCAs and competed in the world final, held in the Alice Tully Hall (part of the Lincoln Center in New York City). In 2010, the Gargoyles were the winners of The Voice Festival UK. In 2012, the Gargoyles were crowned the BBC Choir of the Year 'Open Category' winner. In 2014, the group performed again in the Grand Final of the Choir of the Year competition in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK.

The Oxford

The Oxford may refer to:

See also