Passions

Passions.
The Russell family is a fictional family on the American soap opera Passions, which aired on NBC (1999–2007) and on DirecTV (2007–2008). Created by the soap's founder and head writer James E. Reilly, the family originally consisted of the married couple Eve and T. C. Russell and their children, Whitney and Simone. Later characters included Eve's vengeful adoptive sister Liz Sanbourne, Whitney's husband Chad Harris-Crane, Eve's aunt Irma Johnson, and Eve's child with Julian Crane, Vincent Clarkson, whose alter ego Valerie was played by Daphnée Duplaix (pictured). The cast was frequently nominated for NAACP Image Awards and featured prominently in a series of public service announcements for Black History Month in 2003. The show drew mixed critical attention for storylines involving Chad's affair with the intersex Vincent, but won the award for Outstanding Daily Drama at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2006 for its portrayal of Simone's sexuality. (This article is part of a featured topic: Russell family (Passions).)

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Eurasian crag martin

Eurasian crag martin.
The Eurasian crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) is a small swallow with brown upperparts, paler underparts, and a white-spotted square tail. It breeds in mountains in southern Eurasia and northwestern Africa. It is larger and has brighter tail spots than the three other species in its genus. Many European birds are resident, but northern and Asian populations winter in north Africa, the Middle East or India. This martin builds a half-cup mud nest lined with soft material under a cliff overhang or on a building, and the female lays two to five brown-blotched white eggs, incubated mainly by her although both parents feed the chicks. The martin feeds on insects that are caught as it flies near cliff faces or over open country. Adults and young may be hunted by birds of prey or corvids, and may host blood-sucking mites. With its large and expanding range and population there are no significant conservation concerns. (This article is part of a featured topic: Crag martins.)

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James Thompson (surveyor)

James Thompson (surveyor).
James Thompson (1789–1872) was an American surveyor who created the first plat of Chicago (pictured), completing it on August 4, 1830. Born in South Carolina, Thompson moved to Kaskaskia in southern Illinois as a young man and lived in the area for the rest of his life. He was hired to plat settlements at both ends of the proposed Illinois and Michigan Canal in northern Illinois, including Chicago at the eastern end. Before Thompson's plat fixed its location, the word "Chicago" had been used for various places around the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. The plat named the streets in the area and allowed its residents to obtain legal title to their property. Chicago incorporated as a town in 1833 and as a city in 1837. In addition to his surveying work, Thompson served as a probate judge, county commissioner, and officer in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War. His grave, which was originally unmarked, was given a monument by the city in 1917.

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Banksia sessilis

Banksia sessilis.
Banksia sessilis is a large shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. First collected and described by Robert Brown in the early 19th century, the species grows widely throughout southwest Western Australia. It has prickly dark green leaves and dome-shaped cream-yellow flowerheads. Flowering from winter through to late spring, it provides a key source of food—both the nectar and the insects it attracts—for honeyeaters in the cooler months, and species diversity is reduced in areas where the plant does not occur. Several species of honeyeater, some species of native bee, and the European honey bee seek out and consume the nectar, while the long-billed black cockatoo and Australian ringneck eat the seed. The life cycle of B. sessilis is adapted to regular bushfires. Killed by fire and regenerating by seed afterwards, each shrub generally produces many flowerheads and a massive amount of seed. The species can recolonise disturbed areas, and may grow in thickets.