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"Now among the most praised and prolific people in the film industry, who made his screen acting debut in ""What's New Pussycat"" in 1965 ?" | What's New Pussycat Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
48 out of 58 people found the following review useful:
Enjoy irresponsibly
from off in my own little world
20 May 2005
"A sports car
is a sign of man's virility. You should get two, maybe." - Peter Sellers, to Woody Allen
'What's New, Pussycat?' is not a great movie. There isn't much in the way of a plot, it's constructed haphazardly, and parts of it don't make a lot of sense.
That's part of its charm. 'The Pink Panther', from the same era, also has a large, recognizable, hugely talented cast, and it's a much more coherent, technically proficient film. It is also less funny.
Just in case you've never seen anything about the movie before: Peter O'Toole plays Michael, a magazine writer and philanderer in mid-1960's Paris. His dilemma (dramatic conflict, if you will) is Carol (Romy Schneider) a woman he loves so much he wants to be faithful to her, if indeed he can give up all other women and marry her. Other women include Paula Prentiss, Capucine, and Ursula Andress; Woody Allen is the friend with the not so secret crush on Carol. Michael's psychoanalyst is played by Peter Sellers, which should tell you about as much as you need to know.
WNP? has a mood, created in large part by the Bacharach score, that I don't want to call innocent because it tries so hard to be naughty, but there it is. The drug culture hadn't yet picked up the cultural grip released by post-50's paranoia, and a sloppy, silly picture like this seemed to be a good idea.
And that's enough of that; a movie that contains the line 'it's my wife the creature that ate Europe' shouldn't be over-analyzed. Enjoy it for what it is.
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40 out of 54 people found the following review useful:
Most hilarious sex comedy of the 60's.
from London, England
20 November 2000
First movie written by Woody Allen, What's New Pussycat is probably the most hilarious sex comedy of the 60's. The cast is incredible, the script excellent as well as the music written by Burt Bacharach, who has worked several times for the Karl Feldman (e.g. Casino Royale).
The movie is focused on the emotional problems of Michael James (Peter O'Toole) who's not ready to get engaged with Carol (Romy Schneider) for fear to have to renounce to the adventure with other girls. To resolve his problem, he will consult Dr Fassbender (Peter Sellers) a psychiatrist that is actually a sex maniac, incredibly envious a the success of Michael. Peter Sellers is wonderfully hilarious in this role and prove again that he is an excellent actor often under exploited. The movie has also loads of secondary characters that will made you cry with laughter : Victor plays by Woody Allen, hilarious as usual, Renee (Capucine) the nymphomaniac, Anna the wagnerian singer (Eddra Gale) or the sex symbol Ursula Andress.
The only thing you could reproach this movie is the poor direction by Clive Donner but this not a great deal in comparison to the hilarious Woody Allen's screenplay and cast of wonderful actors.
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39 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
Forests and trees
from New York City
11 June 2005
Is it significant that the demographic group who most likes What's New, Pussycat? are males under the age of 18 and the group who likes it the least are females over the age of 45? I have to admit that as a male (although far closer to over 45 than under 18), What's New, Pussycat? somewhat resembles my fantasies of utopia, which would involve a lot of wanton polyamory. But I can't judge a film just on how much I like its freewheeling ethics and its regular presentation of beautiful women. What's New, Pussycat? is often funny and occasionally hilarious, but it also has a lot of plot and direction problems, enough so that by the time the big climax arrives, it feels more like just another random sequence instead of the climax it should feel like (subtextual fuel for the anti-polyamory crowd's fire?)
The story turns out to be centered on a handsome man, Michael James (Peter O'Toole), who attracts women even more than he's attracted to them. He calls them all "pussycat", and that's about all he needs to do to have them ready to jump into bed with him. He's most in love with Carole Werner (Romy Schneider), who keeps pressuring him to get married, but he isn't ready to ditch his polyamorous ways, and he doesn't want to cheat on her after they're married. Michael's psychoanalyst, Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers), is also something of a womanizer, but women don't seem to like him near as much. Michael is also an acquaintance of Victor Shakapopulis (Woody Allen), who is moderately successful with women, but most importantly, he is also in love with Carole. The plot involves various sticky situations, so to speak, between these characters and various ancillary characters.
In addition to appearing as a co-star, Woody Allen wrote the script. This was his first real film. He had done a short called The Laughmaker in 1962, and a lot of television prior to What's New, Pussycat? and of course he had done a lot of stand-up. The script is good, at least on the "trees" level (as opposed to the "forest" level), and Allen's performance in his first film makes it easy to see how he became such a big star. He steals the film whenever he appears. O'Toole, who I've never been a very big fan of, tends to come across with an odd combination of stiffness and pretentiousness, despite Allen's good writing. Sellers seems as if director Clive Donner kept him in check a bit too much, and subsequently can seem lost. But Allen's now famous stock film personality shines through in his scenes. Performing his own comedy, even though he didn't direct, Allen's scenes flow, seem natural, have perfect timing, and are very funny.
Still, it might be difficult to not blame Allen for some of the overall messiness of the story--on the "forest" level. Donner starts with a scene that may be attractive visually--it features Sellers and his Wagnerian Viking wife bickering in their unusual home, shot from a wide angle so we can see the entire front of the house while they run around to from room to room, stairway to stairway--but the unusualness doesn't seem to have much point dramatically. That's indicative of problems to come. Donner too frequently blocks and shoots scenes at unfortunate angles. And there are far too many scenes that seem to be there just to be groovy or unusual, but they drag down the plot, sometimes almost grinding it to a halt.
As the film progresses, the complex relationships involving many different parties can become confusing. It doesn't help that some actors change their look--such as cutting their hair--as the film unfolds. Ancillary characters can come and go without warning and with little explanation. The climax depends on a large number of people heading to the same location, but for half of them, it's not at all clear why they head there, they just announce that they're going. The climax is still a bit funny, and it's one of the better and more complexly staged sequences, but it doesn't have anything like the impact it should. Story-wise, the film feels over before the climax even arrives.
As I just mentioned in my (more favorable) review of the same year's Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, the 1960s, because of a number of factors including the near non-existent application of the dreaded Hays Production Code at this point and a general social atmosphere of experimentation, resulted in films that tended to be sprawling and experimental in their approach to such basics as plot. What's New, Pussycat? is a prime example. It often becomes clear that plot is being played with in a way that leads to occasional abandonment. In a way, What's New, Pussycat? is more just a collection of skits or scenarios, with a loosely related theme. While I'm a fan of experimentation and I admire the loosey-goosey, stream-of-consciousness attitude suggested, and Allen certainly satisfies my taste for absurdism in some of his scenarios (such as his birthday dinner), the fact remains that in this case, the plot experimentation just doesn't quite work.
The final judgment, however, is that I slightly recommend What's New, Pussycat? but primarily to see Allen's scenes and enjoy the writing of his scenarios. There are other attractors and interesting aspects, including the fact that Ursula Andress has probably never looked better than she does here (although she's looked as good), but like an unfortunate many of these 1960s "madcap comedies", What's New, Pussycat? should be approached with a bit of caution.
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25 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
Feather-light entertainment
from Canada
28 August 2007
Some have "analyzed" this (movie) with the heavy, combat-boot tone of the cerebral and moral second-millennium spirit. They say it belongs to the past, the bad bad bad 60s, full of irresponsibility and partying, sexual license and depravity.
Well I say HA! --- HA! HA!
Forget all those (mostly young!) preachers and dive into a silly, inconsequential, wacky movie, full of unrealistic characters doing unrealistic things. It is colorful, full of joy and beautiful people, unpretentious and charming. And in the end, the guy gets the girl and they get married.
As a young boomer, watching this is like slipping into Hush Puppies. You may say what you want about or against the "guilty" innocence of that era, but it sure was comfortable! I miss those times. And a note for the moderns: we were not that innocent, we knew that some of this was dangerous ground... but what do you know, living is the thing that makes you die.
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26 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
Peter Sellers - Under Appreciated - Under Recognized
from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
2 March 2004
What's New Pussycat makes no pretense of being anything other than what it seems on the surface. Peter O'toole holds the lead in a high energy performance consistent with the times that the film represents and was made in. It is Peter Sellers who, once again, steals the screen as the whacked-out Dr. Fritz Fasbender. His performance is classically neurotic "Sellers," with one of his best bavarian (austrian, german - whatever) accents which makes the character. Fans of the Austin Powers series are well served in seeing this film for the influences it produces some 30 years later. Ultimate this is a very funny period piece, uncharacteristically written by Woody Allen (who also co-stars in the film). One of the best scenes of the film occurs between Allen and Sellers as Allen interrupts Sellers Overly Dramatic Suicide with an annual dinner ritual. The humor is raw, the move is fun and should be taken at face value. For Peter Sellers fans this film is a MUST.
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27 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Pussycat-after almost 40 years...
from United States
17 August 2005
Yes, after almost 40 years this movie is a little dated; but, when it came out it was hilariously off-the-wall! The movie, when it was released was a refreshing, non-conformist poke-in-the-eye to the prigs and prudes of the day. At that time, people were used to "Doris Day" and the list from the Catholic church. Yes, I know, in this age, little if anything is left to the imagination. At that time, everything was left to the imagination. Consider the times. The ad-libbed bar scene between O'Toole and Sellers was brilliant besides being hilarious. And then there is the interplay among the members of Dr. Fassbender's and his patients and Dr. Fassbender and his family.
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17 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
Sellers on top form!
21 January 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This is a great film, but one you'll buy for the cast alone. Woody Allen and Peter Sellers in a film together?! Sellers is beautiful in this comic gem of a movie, fully immersed in the colourful 60s. Seller's ability to deliver his lines with that characteristic jaundiced, vague, sexually pre-occupied way, is fully exploited in what is a great role for him.
O'Toole is surprisingly good as the over-sexed Gent who cant commit. He's convincing and funny.
All this is matched by a superb supporting cast, in particular Paula Prentiss, who is exceptional for such a small amount of screen time.
Woody's first outing is uninspired at best. As usual, Woody has some great ideas, but they are shot through with a combination of bad execution and plain miscalculation. For instance , the scene where Woody is miming badly to the Italian Opera record is too contrived; too 'Woody'. Too often we are forced to watch Woody Allen play himself and just arse about on set and we are expected to laugh. This is Woody's problem. He has no versatility, unlike Sellers who could play just about anyone. As a writer and director, Allen has superb talent. But his comedy acting abilities come no where near, and this film displays it.
Highlights: Paula Prentiss (wow!) O'Toole and Sellers in the Nightclub scene dancing to 'My Little Red Book'. Delightful.
O'Toole's reply: "What in the name of all that's gracious, is a semi-virgin?" O'Toole and Seller's drunk as they try to woo Miss Lefebvre O'Toole's nightmare where Sellers appears as Richard III. So apt! Very funny.
If you can't stand classic comedy films, you will probably hate this film. One because the story is so screwy and two because it is 'of the time'. But if you can look beyond the 60s haze and realise what a special, landmark piece of comedy artwork this film really is, you will have made an indispensable addition to your movie collection.
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14 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Michael James: "Pussycat from the sky, I can't resist you"
from Virginia, USA
29 April 2007
"What's New Pussycat? (1965) was directed by a British director, Clive Donner and it is the first feature film for which Woody Allen wrote the original screenplay. Allen also played a supporting role of Victor Skakapopulis, the friend of Michael James (Peter O'Toole). Michael is a fashion editor, surrounded by beauty and glamor of his models which he can't refuse. He truly loves his fiancée Carole (Romy Schneider) and wants to be faithful to her but what can a man do if the gorgeous women literally fell for him from the sky? He sees a psychoanalyst Dr. Fassbender (Peter Sellers) who is not much of help and faces his own demons. Meanwhile, Victor is desperately in love with his best friend's fiancée...
The movie reminds a lot "Casino Royale" - it was made in the 60s, has a great cast (Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, Woody Allen, Ursula Andress), strikingly beautiful women and the song by Burt Bacharach. It takes place in Paris - and it is almost as much mess as "Casino... " is - silly, naive, and often simply ridiculous but somehow it works after all these years. One of the reasons I believe is Allen's script, the dialogs and one-liners that are hilarious. This time, Allen received more screen time that in Casino.... and he made his scenes very funny. "What's New Pussycat?" is not a great movie but it is charming and I like it.
6.5/10
from United States
27 April 2004
What's New Pussycat? (1965) As a sex maniac psychologist, Peter Sellers creates one of the funniest characterizations achieved in the 1960s. Half the cast goes to him to be treated for, what else? Sexual addiction! Peter O'Toole is his primary patient, who earns his reputation as a smooth sophisticated playboy by cheating on the delicious Romy Schneider (taken from us tragically too soon) with: Capuccine, Paula Prentis and Bond-icon Ursula Andress!
Lots of groovy chicks, groovy guys, Pucci dresses, romps in out-of-the-way hotels and the incomparable Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass soundtrack with Tom Jones thrown in for good measure. It's a fine and fitting debut for Woody Allen, who acts as both writer and supporting cast member. With Casino Royale, this is one of the screwballiest comedies of the '60s.
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12 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Paula Prentiss Steals The Show
from Biloxi, Mississippi
3 February 2008
WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? was a popular ticket in 1965--but when seen outside the context of its era it emerges as a slightly choppy, slightly slapdash film long on froth and short on actual amusement.
Originally written by Woody Allen as a vehicle for Warren Beatty, both script and cast underwent a mighty change before it reached the screen, so much so that the experience prompted Allen to swear he'd never allow any one but himself to direct one of his scripts in the future. The story revolves around Michael James (Peter O'Toole), a handsome man who wants to marry Carol (Romy Schneider) but can't stop sleeping around long enough to make a commitment. He accordingly goes to psychiatrist Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers)--who is a sex-crazed nut in pursuit of patient Renee (Capucine.) Before the dust settles Woody Allen, Paula Prentiss, Ursla Andress, and Edra Gale are added to the mix.
O'Toole and Sellers are hardly challenged by the material and Allen introduces his "I'm a New York neurotic" screen persona for the first time--but it is really the abundance of supporting actresses that give the film what little zing it still retains. Romy Schnieder was among Europe's greatest stars and finest actresses of her era; although the script offers her little, she is charming indeed. Much the same can be said of the legendary Capucine in the role of a world-weary nymphomaniac; Ursula Andress, who arrives in the film via parachute, and bovine Edra Gale, who runs riot in Wagnerian attire. But the real scene stealer is Paula Prentiss.
Although extremely attractive, Prentiss was originally typed as a "second lead" of the Eve Arden type--but she quickly graduated to neurotic comedy roles for which she had a truly unique flair. WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? finds her at the top of her form as the interestingly-named Liz Bien, who writes bad poetry, has a tendency to overdose on pills every time she goes to the bathroom, and who attaches herself to the much-harassed Peter O'Toole. It really is a performance that transcends the material and which lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.
The DVD release is third rate, with mediocre visual elements and sound so uneven that I constantly adjusted the volume as I watched. When all is said and done, this is really a film for hardcore fans of its various stars--and especially for Paula Prentiss. If for no other reason, the film is worth watching for her alone.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
| Woody Allen |
"On the ""Sunday Times"" rich list for 2013, who will again top the list in the ""under 30"" music rich list with a personal fortune of £30 million ?" | Woody Allen - Biography - IMDb
Woody Allen
Biography
Showing all 315 items
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (3) | Trade Mark (21) | Trivia (112) | Personal Quotes (171) | Salary (4)
Overview (3)
5' 5" (1.65 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Woody Allen was born Allan Stewart Konigsberg on December 1, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, to Nettie (Cherrie), a bookkeeper, and Martin Konigsberg, a waiter and jewellery engraver. His father was of Russian Jewish descent, and his maternal grandparents were Austrian Jewish immigrants. As a young boy, he became intrigued with magic tricks and playing the clarinet, two hobbies that he continues today.
Allen broke into show business at 15 years when he started writing jokes for a local paper, receiving $200 a week. He later moved on to write jokes for talk shows but felt that his jokes were being wasted. His agents, Charles Joffe and Jack Rollins, convinced him to start doing stand-up and telling his own jokes. Reluctantly he agreed and, although he initially performed with such fear of the audience that he would cover his ears when they applauded his jokes, he eventually became very successful at stand-up. After performing on stage for a few years, he was approached to write a script for Warren Beatty to star in: What's New Pussycat (1965) and would also have a moderate role as a character in the film. During production, Woody gave himself more and better lines and left Beatty with less compelling dialogue. Beatty inevitably quit the project and was replaced by Peter Sellers , who demanded all the best lines and more screen-time.
It was from this experience that Woody realized that he could not work on a film without complete control over its production. Woody's theoretical directorial debut was in What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966); a Japanese spy flick that he dubbed over with his own comedic dialogue about spies searching for the secret recipe for egg salad. His real directorial debut came the next year in the mockumentary Take the Money and Run (1969). He has written, directed and, more often than not, starred in about a film a year ever since, while simultaneously writing more than a dozen plays and several books of comedy.
While best known for his romantic comedies Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979), Woody has made many transitions in his films throughout the years, transitioning from his "early, funny ones" of Bananas (1971), Love and Death (1975) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972); to his more storied and romantic comedies of Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); to the Bergmanesque films of Stardust Memories (1980) and Interiors (1978); and then on to the more recent, but varied works of Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Husbands and Wives (1992), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), _Celebrity_ and Deconstructing Harry (1997); and finally to his films of the last decade, which vary from the light comedy of Scoop (2006), to the self-destructive darkness of Match Point (2005) and, most recently, to the cinematically beautiful tale of Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Although his stories and style have changed over the years, he is regarded as one of the best filmmakers of our time because of his views on art and his mastery of filmmaking.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: David McCollum and Michael Castrignano
Spouse (3)
Frequently casts himself, Diane Keaton , Mia Farrow and Judy Davis
A lot of his movies feature at least one character who is a writer. This is often Woody himself.
Nearly all of his films start and end with white-on-black credits, set in the Windsor typeface, set to jazz music, without any scrolling.
Films his dialog using long, medium-range shots instead of the typical intercut close-ups
His films are almost all set in New York City
His characters (that he plays himself) are often a semi-famous, semi-successful film/tv writer, director, or producer... or a novelist
His thick black glasses, the same type since the 1960s
From Stardust Memories (1980) through Melinda and Melinda (2004), frequently and almost exclusively employs Dick Hyman to contribute musical arrangements, incidental music, and piano accompaniment.
From Sleeper (1973) until Cassandra's Dream (2007), almost never has his movies scored, preferring to use selections from his vast personal record collection.
Billing his actors alphabetically on opening credits
His films often include opening Narration or the protagonist talking directly to the audience
His female characters are often free spirited but naive and often come from small town backgrounds
References to famous writers and literary classics
References to classic films, particularly the works of Ingmar Bergman
Brooklyn Accent
Often bases films on his own life experiences
His unchanging nebbish persona
Trivia (112)
His adopted daughter Bechet Dumaine, named after Sidney Bechet , was born in December 1998.
In October 1997 he was ranked #43 in Empire (UK) magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list.
Speaks French.
Refuses to watch any of his movies once released.
He and former lover Mia Farrow had three children: Moses Farrow (adopted son, aka Misha), Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow (adopted daughter, aka Mallone), and Satchel "Ronan" Farrow, born on Dec. 19, 1987.
Suspended from New York University.
He loves Venice, and helped to raise funds to rebuild the Venetian theater La Fenice, which was destroyed by a fire.
In February 2000 he adopted his second daughter Manzie Tio Allen, named after Manzie Johnson, a drummer with Sidney Bechet 's band, after she had been born in Texas.
Older brother of Letty Aronson .
Was once invited to appear with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Among his biggest idols are Ingmar Bergman , Groucho Marx , Federico Fellini , Cole Porter and Anton Chekhov .
One of the most prolific American directors of his generation, he has written, directed and--more often than not--starred in a film just about every year since 1969.
Accused British interviewer Michael Parkinson of having a morbid interest in his private life and rejected questions about the custody battle for his children during his appearance on the BBC's Parkinson (1971) in 1999.
Born at 10:55 PM EST.
Despite the advancement of sound technology, all of his films are mixed and released in monaural sound, although later ones have a mono Dolby Digital mix.
In 2002 he made his first appearance at the Oscars in Hollywood to make a plea for producers to continue filming their movies in New York after the 9/11 tragedy.
Wrote the concept for the film Hollywood Ending (2002) on the back of a matchbook. Years later, he found the matchbook with the notes for the film on it and made the film.
In 2002 he attended the Cannes Film Festival for the first time to receive the Palm of Palms award for lifetime achievement.
He has more Academy Award nominations (16) for writing than anyone else, all of them are in the Written Directly for the Screen category.
After completing his first musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996), he stated that he'd like to do another in the future with an all-original score. Since making that statement, however, nothing has yet materialized.
In addition to being a comedian, musician and filmmaker, he is also a respected playwright.
Legally changed his name to Heywood Allen. Goes by "Woody" in honor of Woody Herman .
Graduated from Midwood High School at Brooklyn College.
Son of bookkeeper Martin Konigsberg (December 25, 1900-January 13, 2001) and his wife Nettie Konigsberg (November 8, 1906-January 27, 2002).
Was voted the 19th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Has been nominated or won 136 awards, more than Charles Chaplin , Buster Keaton , and Harold Lloyd combined.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985." Pages 20-29. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Has a look-alike puppet in the French show Les guignols de l'info (1988).
Ranked #4 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time.
His biological son Ronan Farrow graduated from college at 15 and was accepted into Yale Law School.
Woody's paternal grandparents, Isaac Koenigsberg and Jennie Copplin, were Russian Jewish immigrants. Woody's maternal grandparents, Leon Cherry and Sarah Hoff, were Austrian Jewish immigrants.
Longtime fan and season ticket holder of the NBA's New York Knicks.
Although he is barely interested in awards, he's one of the Academy's favorites--his 16 Oscar Nominations for Best Original Screenplay as of 2014 are a record for that category. This puts him ahead of Billy Wilder , who had 19 combined Oscar nominations for Writing and Directing. With 24 nominations in the combination of the top-three categories--acting, directing and writing--he holds the record there as well.
Directed 17 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Diane Keaton , Geraldine Page , Maureen Stapleton , Mariel Hemingway , Michael Caine , Dianne Wiest (twice), Martin Landau , Judy Davis , Chazz Palminteri , Jennifer Tilly , Mira Sorvino , Sean Penn , Samantha Morton , Penélope Cruz , Cate Blanchett , Sally Hawkins and himself. Keaton, Caine, Wiest (both times), Sorvino, Cruz, and Blanchett won Oscars for their performances in one of his movies.
Is a fan of Uruguayan musician Alfredo Zitarrosa .
In 2005 he was ranked #10 in Empire (UK) magazine's Greatest Directors Ever! poll.
He has only directed one film in which both of his longtime companions Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow appear: Radio Days (1987).
According to Mia Farrow 's biography, "What Falls Away", Frank Sinatra offered to have Allen's legs broken when he was found to be having an affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn .
Married to Mia Farrow 's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn , from her second marriage with André Previn .
Does not allow his films to be edited for airlines and television broadcasts.
As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, he spent most of his time alone in his room practicing magic tricks or his clarinet.
Got hooked on movies when he was three years old when his mother took him him to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). From that day, he said, theaters became his second home.
In December 2005 he told a reporter that he has earned more money from two real estate transactions than he has from all of his movies combined--he sold his long-held Fifth Avenue penthouse (which he had purchased for $600,000) for a profit of $17 million and a renovated townhouse for a profit of some $7 million.
Five actresses have won Academy Awards for his films: Diane Keaton won Best Actress for Annie Hall (1977), Dianne Wiest won Best Supporting Actress for both Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Bullets Over Broadway (1994). Mira Sorvino won Best Supporting Actress for Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Penélope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine (2013).
His godson Quincy Rose is also a successful writer and actor.
Wrote What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966), Take the Money and Run (1969) and Bananas (1971) with his childhood friend and first writing partner, Mickey Rose . Rose also co-wrote on all of Allen's earlier comedy albums and had a big hand in writing the famous "Moose" sketch.
Stated in an interview that he was "not interested in all that extra stuff on DVDs" and that he hopes his films would speak for themselves. Allen has never recorded an audio commentary or even so much has been interviewed for a DVD of any films with which he had been involved.
Distant cousin of Abe Burrows .
Was originally attached to co-star with Jim Carrey in The Farrelly Brothers comedy Stuck on You (2003), but decided to pass on the idea.
Was set to reprise his voice role in Antz (1998) for a planned direct-to-video "Antz 2" but the project never got off the ground.
Is a vegetarian.
In June 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain.
His variety of neuroses include: arachnophobia (spiders), entomophobia (insects), heliophobia (sunshine), cynophobia (dogs), altophobia (heights), demophobia (crowds), carcinophobia (cancer), thanatophobia (death), misophobia (germs). He admits to being terrified of hotel bathrooms.
After dropping out of New York University, where he studied communication and film, he attended City College of New York.
In 2002 a life-size statue of him was erected in Oviedo, Spain.
Although depicting himself as a nerd in his movies, he was a popular student and an adept baseball and basketball player in high school.
According to Eric Lax 's book, Allen's favorites of his films are (in order): Match Point (2005), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Stardust Memories (1980), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).
His and Mia Farrow 's 12-year relationship ended in a custody battle over their three children in which she accused him of sexually molesting their daughter Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow , though the judge dismissed the claims because they were not substantiated. Farrow ultimately won custody of the children. Allen was denied visitation rights with Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow and could only see his biological son, Ronan Farrow , under supervision. Moses Farrow chose not to see his father.
Although he was granted visitation rights for his son Ronan Farrow , after a custody battle with Mia Farrow , their relationship is estranged (similar to his other children with Farrow, Moses and Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow ). Ronan stated that he cannot have a morally consistent relationship with a man who is his father and his brother-in-law.
Manages his one-film-per-year schedule by setting strict budgets. Actors--famous or otherwise--receive the same salary.
Writes his scripts on a typewriter. He does not own a personal computer, and has his e-mail account managed by assistants.
He directed, wrote and starred in five of the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest Movies: Annie Hall (1977) at #4, Manhattan (1979) at #46, Take the Money and Run (1969) at #66, Bananas (1971) at #69 and Sleeper (1973) at #80.
Profiled in "American Classic Screen Interviews" (Scarecrow Press).
Plays his clarinet at a jazz club where the house rule is that he cannot be addressed by any member of the audience. If someone does speak to him, they are automatically ejected from the club.
As an homage to Gordon Willis , his long-time friend and cinematographer, he includes a scene where you hear the actors talking outside the shot. Willis encouraged him to do this when they were shooting Annie Hall (1977).
Match Point (2005) was his first film to make money in seven years.
In the early 1960s he did stand-up comedy at Enrico's Café in San Francisco.
The oldest Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay (aged 76 in 2012 for Midnight in Paris (2011)).
Is not a member of AMPAS.
Every film directed by Allen since Love and Death (1975) through Café Society (2016), was cast by longtime friend and New York casting director Juliet Taylor .
Since October 2005 he plays clarinet every Monday night at the Café Carlyle in Manhattan.
In December 2007 he made a European concert tour (Brussels, Luxembourg, Vienna, Paris, Budapest, Athens, Lisbon, Barcelona, San Sebastian, La Coruna) with the Eddie Davis New Orleans Jazz Band.
In 1968 he was interviewed in "The Great Comedians Talk About Comedy' by Larry Wilde .
Many big-name actors are so eager to work with him that they usually work for a fraction of their usual salaries.
Despite having the most nominations for ''Best Original Screenplay'', he almost never attends the Academy Awards.
Responded to renewed allegations of child abuse by his estranged and grown daughter Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow by writing an op-ed to the New York Times published Feb 7, 2014 which he concluded by declaring it would be the last time he would ever comment on the matter.
Claims he watches TV only before bed or when he's exercising.
He would offer the part to actors he admires by sending them a letter and asking politely if they are interested in being in one of his movies.
As of 2014, has written three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Annie Hall (1977), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Midnight in Paris (2011). Of those, Annie Hall (1977) is a winner in the category and all the three scripts are winners in the Best Original Screenplay category.
In a July 2014 interview, he revealed that one of his few dream projects would be a biopic of Sidney Bechet .
He was played by Dennis Boutsikaris in Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story (1995).
He is exactly ten years older than his Scenes from a Mall (1991) co-star Bette Midler : Allen was born on December 1, 1935 while Midler was born on December 1, 1945.
He has directed Fred Melamed in seven films: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Shadows and Fog (1991), Husbands and Wives (1992) and Hollywood Ending (2002).
In May 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival Opening Night screening of Café Society (2016), master of ceremonies Laurent Lafitte shocked the audience when he said to Allen, "It's very nice that you've been shooting so many movies in Europe, even if you are not being convicted for rape in the U.S." The "joke" did not go over well with the audience.
He played Caroline Aaron 's brother in both Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Deconstructing Harry (1997).
Since the release of Annie Hall (1977), he has written and directed at least one film every year except for 1981.
He has directed David Ogden Stiers in five films: Another Woman (1988), Shadows and Fog (1991), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001).
At one point in his career he was writing jokes for gossip columnist Earl Wilson .
He has directed Stephanie Roth Haberle in four films: Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Deconstructing Harry (1997), Hollywood Ending (2002) and Melinda and Melinda (2004).
He wrote seven of the Writers Guild of America's 2016 list of 101 Funniest Screenplays: Annie Hall (1977) at #1, Sleeper (1973) at #60, Bananas (1971) at #69, Take the Money and Run (1969) at #76, Love and Death (1975) at #78, Manhattan (1979) at #81, and Broadway Danny Rose (1984) at #92.
From 1976 to 1984, he was the main character of the popular comic strip "Inside Woody Allen", written and drawn by Stu Hample .
The chaotic production of Casino Royale (1967) is what inspired him to begin directing and have more control over his films.
He considers Match Point (2005) to be his best film.
He has directed Steven Randazzo in four films: Husbands and Wives (1992), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Celebrity (1998).
Personal Quotes (171)
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying.
I'm not afraid of dying . . . I just don't want to be there when it happens.
[in 1977] This year I'm a star, but what will I be next year? A black hole?
On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done just as easily lying down.
[asked if he liked the idea of living on on the silver screen] I'd rather live on in my apartment.
[on films] I can't imagine that the business should be run any other way than that the director has complete control of his films. My situation may be unique, but that doesn't speak well for the business--it shouldn't be unique, because the director is the one who has the vision and he's the one who should put that vision onto film.
Basically I am a low-culture person. I prefer watching baseball with a beer and some meatballs.
There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.
I do the movies just for myself like an institutionalized person who basket-weaves. Busy fingers are happy fingers. I don't care about the films. I don't care if they're flushed down the toilet after I die.
Most of the time I don't have much fun. The rest of the time I don't have any fun at all.
[at the Academy Awards in 2002, explaining why he was the one introducing a montage of New York movies] And I said, "You know, God, you can do much better than me. You know, you might want to get Martin Scorsese , or, or Mike Nichols , or Spike Lee , or Sidney Lumet . . . " I kept naming names, you know, and um, I said, "Look, I've given you 15 names of guys who are more talented than I am, and, and smarter and classier" . . . "And they said, "Yes, but they weren't available."
If my film makes one more person miserable, I'll feel I've done my job.
For some reason I'm more appreciated in France than I am back home. The subtitles must be incredibly good.
My relationship with Hollywood isn't love-hate, it's love-contempt. I've never had to suffer any of the indignities that one associates with the studio system. I've always been independent in New York by sheer good luck. But I have an affection for Hollywood because I've had so much pleasure from films that have come out of there. Not a whole lot of them, but a certain amount of them have been very meaningful to me.
The two biggest myths about me are that I'm an intellectual, because I wear these glasses, and that I'm an artist because my films lose money. Those two myths have been prevalent for many years.
Join the army, see the world, meet interesting people--and kill them.
Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends.
If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever.
To you, I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.
If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.
Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once.
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.
[on why he never watches his own movies] I think I would hate them.
[about the audience] I never write down to them. I always assume that they're all as smart as I am . . . if not smarter.
[on the Academy Awards circa 1978] I have no regard for that kind of ceremony. I just don't think they know what they're doing. When you see who wins those things--or who doesn't win them--you can see how meaningless this Oscar thing is.
[on being nominated for an Oscar for Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)] You have to be sure to keep it very much in perspective. You think it's nice at the time because it means more money for your film, but as soon as you let yourself start thinking that way, something happens to the quality of the work.
There was no ripple professionally for me at all when I was in the papers with my custody stuff. I made my films, I worked in the streets of New York, I played jazz every Monday night, I put a play on. Everything professionally went just the same. There were no repercussions. There was white-hot interest for a while, like with all things like that, and then it became uninteresting to people.
The directors that have personal, emotional feelings for me are Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini , and I'm sure there has been some influence but never a direct one. I never set out to try and do anything like them. But, you know, when you listen to a jazz musician like Charlie Parker for years and you love it, then you start to play an instrument, you automatically play like that at first, then you branch off with your own things. The influence is there, it's in your blood.
Hollywood for the most part aimed at the lowest common denominator. It's conceived in venality, it's motivated by pandering to the public, by making a lot of money. People like Ingmar Bergman thought about life, and they had feelings, and they wanted to dramatize them and engage one in a dialogue. I felt I couldn't easily be engaged by the nonsense that came out of Hollywood.
I had a line in one of my movies--"Everyone knows the same truth". Our lives consist of how we choose to distort it. One person will distort it with a kind of wishful thinking like religion, someone else will distort it by thinking political solutions are going to do something, someone else will think a life of sensuality is going to do it, someone else will think art transcends. Art for me has always been the Catholicism of the intellectuals. There is no afterlife for the Catholics really, and there's no afterlife for the arts. "Your painting lived on after you"--well, that doesn't really do it. That's not what you want. Even if your painting does have some longevity, eventually that's going to go. There won't be any works of William Shakespeare or Ludwig van Beethoven , or any theatre to see them in, or air or light. I've always felt you've got to live your life within the context of this worst-case scenario. Which is true; the worst-case scenario is here.
When I was a kid, movies from Hollywood seemed very glamorous, but when you look back at them as a young man, you can see out of the thousands of films that came out of Hollywood there were really very few good ones statistically, and those few that were good were made in spite of the studios. I saw European films as a young man and they were very much better. There's no comparison.
I was just a poor student. I had no interest in it. When I make a film the tacit contract with the audience is that I will give them some entertainment and not bore them. I have to do that. I just lay a message on them. Great filmmakers, like Ingmar Bergman or Akira Kurosawa or Federico Fellini , they're very entertaining, their films are fun. Well, in college they never made it entertaining for me, they just bored me stiff.
The biggest flaw in being self-taught is there are gaps. You self-teach yourself something and you think you know something fairly well, but then there are gaps a university teacher would have taught you as part of a mandatory program. I would probably have been better off if I'd got a better general education, but I was just so bored.
I can bring stars, I've worked with terrific cameramen, but people still have a better chance of making their [$150-million] films because they're not interested in the kind of profits I can bring if I'm profitable.
The sensibility of the filmmaker infuses the project so people see a picture like Annie Hall (1977) and everyone thinks it's so autobiographical. But I was not from Coney Island, I was not born under a Ferris wheel, my father never worked at a place that had bumper cars, that's not how I met Diane Keaton , and that's not how we broke up. Of course, there's that character who's always beleaguered and harassed. Certain things are autobiographical, certain feelings, even occasionally an incident, but overwhelmingly they're totally made up, completely fabricated.
Of course, I would love everybody to see my films. But I don't care enough ever to do anything about it. I would never change a word or make a movie that I thought they would like. I really don't care if they come or not. If they don't want to come, then they don't; if they do come, then great. Do I want to do what I do uncompromisingly, and would I love it if a big audience came? Yes, that would be very nice. I've never done anything to attract an audience, though I always get accused of it over the years.
[on the Academy Awards circa 1978] They're political and bought and negotiated for--although many worthy people have deservedly won--and the whole concept of awards is silly. I cannot abide by the judgment of other people, because if you accept it when they say you deserve an award, then you have to accept it when they say you don't.
I took a speed reading course and read "War and Peace" in 20 minutes. It involves Russia
I know it sounds horrible, but winning that Oscar for Annie Hall (1977) didn't mean anything to me.
When I was in my early 20s, I knew a man--who has since died--who was older than me and also very crazy. He'd been in a straitjacket and institutionalized, and I found him very brilliant. When I would speak to him about writing, about life, art, women, he was very, very cogent--but he couldn't lead his own life, he just couldn't manage.
[on shooting in London, 2004] In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now. There was a time in the 1950s when I wanted to be a playwright, because until that time movies, which mostly came out of Hollywood, were stupid and not interesting. Then we started to get wonderful European films, and American films started to grow up a little bit, and the industry became more fun to work in than the theatre. I loved it. But now it's taken a turn in the other direction and studios are back in command and are not that interested in pictures that make only a little bit of money. When I was younger, every week we'd get a Federico Fellini or an Ingmar Bergman or a Jean-Luc Godard or François Truffaut , but now you almost never get any of that. Filmmakers like myself have a hard time. The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films - if they get a good film they're twice as happy, but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100-million pictures that make $500 million. That's why I'm happy to work in London, because I'm right back in the same kind of liberal creative attitude that I'm used to.
With my complexion I don't tan, I stroke.
I always think it is a mistake to try and be young, because I feel the young people in the United States have not distinguished themselves. The young audience in the United States have not proven to me that they like good movies or good theatre. The films that are made for young people are not wonderful films, they are not thoughtful. They are these blockbusters with special effects. The comedies are dumb, full of toilet jokes, not sophisticated at all. And these are the things the young people embrace. I do not idolize the young.
Man was made in God's image. Do you really think God has red hair and glasses?
Most of life is tragic. You're born, you don't know why. You're here, you don't know why. You go, you die. Your family dies. Your friends die. People suffer. People live in constant terror. The world is full of poverty and corruption and war and Nazis and tsunamis. The net result, the final count is, you lose--you don't beat the house.
Life is for the living.
My brain: It's my second favorite organ.
I don't believe in an afterlife, although I'm bringing along a change of underwear.
Organized crime in America takes in over $40 billion a year and spends very little on office supplies.
It's true I had a lot of anxiety. I was afraid of the dark and suspicious of the light.
I'm a practicing heterosexual, although bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.
I was thrown out of NYU [New York University] for cheating on my Metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.
For me, being famous didn't help me that much. It helped a little. Warren Beatty once said to me many years ago, being a star is like being in a whorehouse with a credit card, and I never found that. For me, it was like being in a whorehouse with a credit card that had expired.
Stanley Kubrick was a great artist. I say this all the time and people think I'm being facetious. I'm not. Kubrick was a guy who obsessed over details and did 100 takes, and you know, I don't feel that way. If I'm shooting a film and it's 6 o'clock at night and I've got a take, and I think I might be able to get a better take if I stayed, but the Knicks tipoff is at 7:30, then that's it. The crews love working on my movies because they know they'll be home by 6.
I never wanted movies to be an end. I wanted them to be a means so that I could have a decent life -- meet attractive women, go out on dates, live decently. Not opulently, but with some security. I feel the same way now. A guy like Steven Spielberg will go live in the desert to make a movie, or Martin Scorsese will make a picture in India and set up camp and live there for four months. I mean, for me, if I'm not shooting in my neighborhood, it's annoying. I have no commitment to my work in that sense. No dedication.
I wasn't away. And I'm not back. Match Point (2005) was a film about luck, and it was a very lucky film for me. I did it the way I do all my pictures, and it just worked. I needed a rainy day, I got a rainy day. I needed sun, I got sun. Kate Winslet dropped out at the last moment because she wanted to be with her family, and Scarlett Johansson was available on two days' notice. It's like I couldn't ruin this picture no matter how hard I tried.
I think there is too much wrong with the world to ever get too relaxed and happy. The more natural state, and the better one, I think, is one of some anxiety and tension over man's plight in this mysterious universe.
80% of success is showing up.
Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.
[Responding to fans, skeptical of his plan to direct an opera] I have no idea what I am doing. But incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm.
I do feel that in everyday life people on a great spectrum get away with crime all the time, ranging from genocide to just street crime. Most crimes do go unsolved, and people commit murders and ruin other people and do the worst things in the world, and, you know, there's no one to penalize you if you don't have a sense of conscience about it. There is an element in life of enormous, enormous injustice that we live with all the time. It's just an ugly-but-true fact of life.
[Movies are a great diversion] because it's much more pleasant to be obsessed over how the hero gets out of his predicament than it is over how I get out of mine.
My mother always said I was a very cheerful kid until I was five years old, and then I turned gloomy.
I can't really come up with a good argument to choose life over death. Except that I'm too scared.
I was never bothered if a film was not well received. But the converse of that is that I never get a lot of pleasure out of it if it is. So it isn't like you can say, "He's an uncompromising artist". That's not true. I'm a compromising person, definitely. It's that I don't get much from either side.
Your perception of time changes as you get older, because you see how brief everything is. You see how meaningless . . . I don't want to depress you, but it's a meaningless little flicker.
I once thought there was a good argument between whether it's worth it to make a film where you confront the human condition, or an escape film. You could argue that the Fred Astaire film is performing a greater service than the Bergman film, because Ingmar Bergman is dealing with a problem that you're never going to solve. Whereas [with] Fred Astaire, you walk in off the street, and for an hour and half they're popping champagne corks and making light banter and you get refreshed, like a lemonade.
I've made perfectly decent films, but not 8½ (1963), not The Seventh Seal (1957) ("The Seventh Seal"), The 400 Blows (1959) ("The 400 Blows") or L'Avventura (1960)--ones that to me really proclaim cinema as art, on the highest level. If I was the teacher, I'd give myself a B.
Ireland's one of the few places that lives up to the hype, that is as beautiful as everyone tells you it is.
[on directing the L.A. Opera, alongside William Friedkin ] I figured, "Eh, I'll be dead before it happens. I'm 72. I'm never going to make it to the opera." But it came around, and next Monday, I start rehearsal. I'll just do the best I can and then get out of town and let them tar and feather Friedkin.
[on directing an opera] He [ Plácido Domingo ] said, "What if we do the [ Giacomo Puccini trilogy--it's three one-acts that are always done together? The first two [ William Friedkin ] will direct. You'll only be responsible for a one-act, a one-hour opera, and it's funny." You know, funny to opera people is not funny to The Marx Brothers .
It would be a disgrace and a humiliation if Barack Obama does not win . . . It would be a terrible thing if the American public was not moved to vote for him, that they actually preferred more of the same.
I never had a teacher who made the least impression on me and if you ask who are my heroes, the answer is simple and truthful: George S. Kaufman and The Marx Brothers .
[on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)] It was one of the few times in my life that I realized that the artist was so much ahead of me.
I've never felt that if I waited five years between films, I'd make better ones. I just make one when I feel like making it. And it comes out to be about one a year. Some of them come out good, and some of them come out less than good. Some of them may be very good and some may be very bad. But I have no interest in an overall plan for them or anything.
If I write a film and there is a part in it for me--great. But if I sit down in advance and think, "I'd like to be in this film," or "It's been a long time since I've been in a film so it would be fun to do one," then all of a sudden there's an enormous amount of limits and compromise. I can only play a few things so that compromises the idea instantly. I think Deconstructing Harry (1997) would have been better with Dustin Hoffman or Robert De Niro , for sure. I also tried very hard to get another actor to play the part I did in The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001). I think we tried to see if Tom Hanks was available, and [ Jack Nicholson ]. Either they weren't available or didn't want to do it. So I finally played that part. And I shouldn't have, because it wasn't my usual kind of role, and I think that hurt the film.
I've been around a long time, and some people may just get tired of me, which I can understand. I've tried to keep my films different over the years, but it's like they complain, "We've eaten Chinese food every day this week." I want to say, "Well, yes, but you had a shrimp meal and you had a pork meal and you had a chicken meal." They say, "Yes, yes, but it's all Chinese food." That's the way I feel about myself. I have a certain amount of obsessive themes and a certain amount of things I'm interested in and no matter how different the film is, whether it's Small Time Crooks (2000) here or Zelig (1983) there, you find in the end that it's Chinese food. If you're not in the mood for my obsessions, then you may not be in the mood for my film. Now, hopefully, if I make enough films, some of them will come out fresh, but there's no guarantee. It's a crapshoot every time I make one. It could come out interesting or you might get the feeling that, God, I've heard this kvetch before--I don't know.
[on Match Point (2005)] To me, it is strictly about luck. Life is such a terrifying experience--it's very important to feel, "I don't believe in luck, well, I make my luck." Well, the truth of the matter is, you don't make your luck. So I wanted to show that here was a guy--and I symbolically made him a tennis player--who's a pretty bad guy, and yet my feeling is, in life, if you get the breaks--if the luck bounces your way, you know--you can not only get by, you can flourish in the same way that I felt [ Martin Landau ] could in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). If you can kill somebody--if you have no moral sense--there's no God out there that's suddenly going to hit you with lightning. Because I don't believe in God. So this is what was on my mind: the enormous unfairness of the world, the enormous injustice of the world, the sense that every day people get away with the worst kinds of crimes. So it's a pessimistic film, in that sense.
[on his least favorite of his own films, Manhattan (1979)] I hated that one. I even made Stardust Memories (1980) for United Artists just so "Manhattan" would stay on the shelf. And even after those efforts, I still can't believe even to this day how it became so commercially successful. I can't believe I got away with it.
[in December 2005] I'm kind of, secretly, in the back of my mind, counting on living a long time. My father lived to 100. My mother lived to 95, almost 96. If there is anything to heredity, I should be able to make films for another 17 years. You never know. A piano could drop on my head.
I've never, ever in my life had any interference. I've always had final cut, no one saw scripts, no one saw casting. So since Take the Money and Run (1969), I've been spoiled. But recently, at about the time of Match Point (2005), the studios began to behave differently. They started to say, "Look, we like to make films with you and we'll give you the money, but we don't want to be treated as if we're just a bank, putting money in a bag and then just going away. You'll still have final cut and all of that, but we would like to see a script, know who you're casting and be involved in some way." I feel that this is a completely reasonable request, but I just wasn't used to working that way, so I went over to Europe. There's no studio system, so they don't care about any of that stuff. They're bankers. And they're happy to be bankers. They put up the money, you give them the film, and that's what they care about. That worked very well for me on "Match Point". So I did it again with Scoop (2006) and Cassandra's Dream (2007). And I made Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) in Spain under the same circumstances.
If they said to me tomorrow, "We're pulling the plug and we're not giving you any more money to make films," that would not bother me in the slightest. I mean, I'm happy to write for the theatre. And if they wouldn't back any of my plays, I'm happy to sit home and write prose. But as long as there are people willing to put up the vast sums of money needed to make films, I should take advantage of it. Because there will come a time when they won't.
[asked when he would retire] Retire and do what? I'd be doing the same thing as I do now: sitting at home writing a play, then characters, jokes and situations would come to me. So I don't know what else I would do with my time.
[on Shelley Duvall ] She's a true one of a kind. She's so effective on the screen, that if she's cast properly, she's incapable of being anything else but fascinating.
[on Michelangelo Antonioni ] I knew him slightly and spent some time with him. He was thin as a wire and athletic and energetic and mentally alert. And he was a wonderful ping-pong player. I played with him; he always won because he had a great reach. That was his game.
[on Ingmar Bergman ] He and I had dinner in his New York hotel suite; it was a great treat for me. I was nervous and really didn't want to go. But he was not at all what you might expect: the formidable, dark, brooding genius. He was a regular guy. He commiserated with me about low box-office grosses and women and having to put up with studios. The world saw him as a genius, and he was worrying about the weekend grosses. Yet he was plain and colloquial in speech, not full of profound pronunciamentos about life. Sven Nykvist told me that when they were doing all those scenes about death and dying, they'd be cracking jokes and gossiping about the actors' sex lives. I liked his attitude that a film is not an event you make a big deal out of. He felt filmmaking was just a group of people working. I copied some of that from him. At times he made two and three films in a year. He worked very fast; he'd shoot seven or eight pages of script at a time. They didn't have the money to do anything else. I think his films have eternal relevance, because they deal with the difficulty of personal relationships and lack of communication between people and religious aspirations and mortality, existential themes that will be relevant a thousand years from now. When many of the things that are successful and trendy today will have been long relegated to musty-looking antiques, his stuff will still be great.
The biggest personal shock to me of all the movies that I've done is that Hollywood Ending (2002) was not thought of as a first-rate, extraordinary comedy. I was stunned that it met with any resistance at all. I thought it was a very, very funny idea and I thought that I executed it absolutely fine, and that I was funny and that Téa Leoni was great. I thought it was a simple, funny idea that worked. I didn't think I blew it anywhere along the line--in performance, in shooting it, in the jokes, situations. When I showed it to the first couple of people, film writers, they said, "This is just great. This is one of the funniest movies you've done." But that's not what the subsequent reactions were. And I was so shocked. I generally don't love my own finished product but this one I did. I don't think many people would, but I would put it toward the top of my comedies. The audience didn't show up. I think if people had gone to see it they would have enjoyed it. But they didn't go to see it.
[on Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)] Everything wonderful about that movie . . . is because of the way it was directed. Otherwise, I thought there were flaws in the writing of the movie and flaws in some of the performances of the movie. But the directing of the movie was so bravura and so superb, that it was just a knockout.
Whenever they ask women what they find appealing in men, a sense of humor is always one of the things they mention. Some women feel power is important, some women feel that looks are important, tenderness, intelligence . . . but [a] sense of humor seems to permeate all of them. So I'm saying to that character played by Goldie Hawn , "Why is that so important?" But it is important apparently because women have said to us that that is very, very important to them. I also feel that humor, just like Fred Astaire dance numbers or these lightweight musicals. gives you a little oasis. You are in this horrible world and for an hour and a half you duck into a dark room and it's air-conditioned and the sun is not blinding you and you leave the terror of the universe behind and you are completely transported into an escapist situation. The women are beautiful, the men are witty and heroic, nobody has terrible problems and this is a delightful escapist thing, and you leave the theater refreshed. It's like drinking a cool lemonade and then after a while you get worn down again and you need it again. It seems to me that making escapist films might be a better service to people than making intellectual ones and making films that deal with issues. It might be better to just make escapist comedies that don't touch on any issues. The people just get a cool lemonade, and then they go out refreshed, they enjoy themselves, they forget how awful things are and it helps them--it strengthens them to get through the day. So I feel humor is important for those two reasons: that it is a little bit of refreshment like music, and that women have told me over the years that it is very, very important to them.
I think what I'm saying is that I'm really impotent against the overwhelming bleakness of the universe and that the only thing I can do is my little gift and do it the best I can, and that is about the best I can do, which is cold comfort.
You want some kind of relief from the agony and terror of human existence. Human existence is a brutal experience to me . . . it's a brutal, meaningless experience--an agonizing, meaningless experience with some oases, delight, some charm and peace, but these are just small oases. Overall, it is a brutal, brutal, terrible experience, and so it's what can you do to alleviate the agony of the human condition, the human predicament? That is what interests me the most. I continue to make the films because the problem obsesses me all the time and it's consistently on my mind and I'm consistently trying to alleviate the problem, and I think by making films as frequently as I do I get a chance to vent the problems. There is some relief. I have said this before in a facetious way, but it is not so facetious: I am a whiner. I do get a certain amount of solace from whining.
I think Frank Capra was a much craftier filmmaker, a wonderful filmmaker. He had enormous technique, and he knew how to manipulate the public quite brilliantly. I was just doing what I was doing because it interested me, and in fact obsessed me. I was not doing it with an eye to manipulate the public. In fact, I probably would have had a larger public if I had gone in a different direction.
[the existence of God, life after death, the meaning of life] were always obsessions of mine, even as a very young child. These were things that interested me as the years went on. My friends were more preoccupied with social issues--issues such as abortion, racial discrimination and Communism--and those issues just never caught my interest. Of course they mattered to me as a citizen to some degree . . . but they never really caught my attention artistically. I always felt that the problems of the world would never ever be solved until people came to terms with the deeper issues--that there would be an aimless reshuffling of world leaders and governments and programs. There was a difference, of course, but it was a minor difference as to who the president was and what the issues were. They seemed major, but as you step back with perspective they were more alike than they were different. The deeper issues always interested me.
I didn't see Shane [from Shane (1953)] as a martyred figure, a persecuted figure. I saw him as quite a heroic figure who does a job that needs to be done, a practical matter. I saw him as a practical secular character. In this world there are just some people who need killing and that is just the way it is. It sounds terrible, but there is no other way to get around that, and most of us are not up to doing it, incapable for moral reasons or physically not up to it. And Shane is a person who saw what had to be done and went out and did it. He had the skill to do it, and that's the way I feel about the world: there are certain problems that can only be dealt with that way. As ugly a truth as that is, I do think it's the truth about the world.
[I believe that] one can commit a crime, do unspeakable things, and get away with it. There are people who commit all sorts of crimes and get away with it, and some of them are plagued with all sorts of guilt for the rest of their lives and others aren't. They commit terrible crimes and they have wonderful lives, wonderful, happy lives, with families and children, and they have done unspeakably terrible things. There is no justice, there is no rational structure to it. That is just the way it is, and each person figures out some way to cope . . . Some people cope better than others. I was with Billy Graham once, and he said that even if it turned out in the end that there is no God and the universe is empty, he would still have had a better life than me. I understand that. If you can delude yourself by believing that there is some kind of Santa Claus out there who is going to bail you out in the end, then it will help you get through. Even if you are proven wrong in the end, you would have had a better life.
[on his character Mickey's personal crisis in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)] I think it should be interpreted to mean that there are these oases, and life is horrible, but it is not relentlessly black from wire to wire. You can sit down and hear a [ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ] symphony, or you can watch The Marx Brothers , and this will give you a pleasant escape for a while. And that is about the best that you can do . . . I feel that one can come up with all these rationalizations and seemingly astute observations, but I think I said it well at the end of Deconstructing Harry (1997): we all know the same truth; our lives consist of how we choose to distort it, and that's it. Everybody knows how awful the world is and what a terrible situation it is and each person distorts it in a certain way that enables him to get through. Some people distort it with religious things. Some people distort it with sports, with money, with love, with art, and they all have their own nonsense about what makes it meaningful, and all but nothing makes it meaningful. These things definitely serve a certain function, but in the end they all fail to give life meaning and everyone goes to his grave in a meaningless way.
Like Boris [from Whatever Works (2009)] I fight it all the time. I've always been lucky: I've never experienced depression. I get sad and blue, but within a certain limit. I've always been able to work freely, to play my clarinet and enjoy women and sport--although I am always aware of the fact that I am operating within a nightmarish context that life itself is a cruel, meaningless, terrible kind of thing. God forbid the people who have bad luck, or even neutral luck, because even the luckiest, the most beautiful and brilliant, what have they got? A minuscule, meaningless life span in the grand scheme of things.
Sarah Palin is a colorful spice in the general recipe of democracy. She's a sexy woman. Yes. Me and Sarah--we could do a romance.
I can only hope that reading out loud does not contribute to the demise of literature, which I don't think will ever happen. When I grew up, one could always hear T.S. Eliot , William Butler Yeats , S.J. Perelman and a host of others read on the Caedmon label, and it was its own little treat that in no way encroached on the pleasure of reading these people.
[on why he chose in 2010 to read his short stories for Audiobook] I was persuaded in a moment of apathy when I was convinced I had a fatal illness and would not live much longer. I don't own a computer, have no idea how to work one, don't own a word processor, and have zero interest in technology. Many people thought it would be a nice idea for me to read my stories, and I gave in.
To me, there's no real difference between a fortune teller or a fortune cookie and any of the organized religions. They're all equally valid or invalid, really. And equally helpful.
Well, I'm against [the aging process]. I think it has nothing to recommend it. You don't gain any wisdom as the years go by. You fall apart, is what happens. People try and put a nice varnish on it, and say, "Well, you mellow. You come to understand life and accept things". But you'd trade all of that for being 35 again. I've experienced that thing where you wake up in the middle of the night and you start to think about your own mortality and envision it, and it gives you a little shiver. That's what happens to Anthony Hopkins at the beginning of [ You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)], and from then on in, he did not want to hear from his more realistic wife, "Oh, you can't keep doing that--you're not young anymore." Yes, she's right, but nobody wants to hear that.
If my films don't show a profit, I know I'm doing something right.
[on the controversy surrounding his marriage to Soon-Yi Previn ] What was the scandal? I fell in love with this girl, married her. We have been married for almost 15 years now. There was no scandal, but people refer to it all the time as a scandal. I kind of like that in a way because when I go I would like to say I had one juicy scandal in my life.
[in 2011] My films have developed over the years. They've gone from films that started out as strips of jokes and funny gags to more character-oriented things--slightly deeper stories where I've sacrificed some laughs. And sometimes I've tried to make serious pictures without any laughs at all. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) is probably a film I wouldn't have been able to make 20 years ago, because I feel I wouldn't have had the depth to make it. I'm forever pessimistic about everything in life, except my work. I feel that my best work is still to come, and I keep working and trying. It may be foolish and misplaced optimism, but nevertheless I'm optimistic. I feel I've always progressed. I've always made the film I wanted to make that year, and the films I made later were better than the ones I made earlier. Manhattan (1979) and Annie Hall (1977) were quite popular, but they were not as good as, say, Match Point (2005), which was a better film than both of those films. Midnight in Paris (2011) I think will be seen as a better film. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) is a better film than those I made years ago. But it's capricious. I get an idea for a film and I do it, and if I'm right in my judgment, and in execution, then the film turns out to be a good film, a step forward. If I guessed wrong and I thought the idea was wonderful and it's really not, or I execute badly, then the film is not such a good film. But it doesn't have anything to do with the chronology.
I think universal harmony is a pipe dream and it may be more productive to focus on more modest goals, like a ban on yodeling.
Not only does my play have no redeeming social value, it has no entertainment value. I wrote this sprightly little one-acter only to test out my new paper shredder. If there is any positive message at all in the narrative, it is that life is a tragedy filled with suffering and despair and yet some people do manage to avoid jury duty.
I've always felt close to a European sensibility. It's a happy accident: when I was a young man and most impressionable, all these great European films were flooding New York City. I was very influenced by those films. It comes out in my work without trying to. It's like if you grow up hearing [ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ] your whole life at home and you start to write music, probably what comes out--until you develop your own style--is an imitation of Mozart, to some degree. And that's what happened with me and films. I've very often relied on European cinema as a crutch or as a guide. The films I grew up with--[ Ingmar Bergman ] and [ Federico Fellini ] and Akira Kurosawa ] and Vittorio De Sica ] and Michelangelo Antonioni ]--just left an indelible mark on me. It's the same with certain American films that impressed me as a young boy, like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and Citizen Kane (1941) and Double Indemnity (1944). There have been very few American films since that have equaled the impact those films had on me, because I do think the time you see them figures into it. Consequently, my films have been well appreciated in Europe, more than the United States, where it's been so-so.
[on Stardust Memories (1980)] I wanted to make a stylish film. Gordon Willis and I liked to work in black and white and I wanted to make a picture about an artist who theoretically should be happy. He has everything in the world--health, success, wealth, notoriety--but in fact he doesn't have anything, he's very unhappy. The point of the story is that he can't get used to the fact that he's mortal and that all his wealth and fame and adulation are not going to preserve him in any meaningful way--he, too, will age and die. At the beginning of the movie you see him wanting to make a serious statement even though he is really a comic filmmaker. Of course, this part is naturally identified with me even though the tale is total fabrication. I never had the feelings of the protagonist in real life. When I made "Stardust Memories" I didn't feel I was a much adored filmmaker whose life was miserable and all around me things were terrible. I thought I was a respectable moviemaker and the perks of success--as I said in my film Celebrity (1998)--actually outweighed the downside. I was never blocked, conflicted much, or steeped in gloom--though I often played that character. I did it again later in Deconstructing Harry (1997). That character is also a writer but nothing like me. I wanted to make "Stardust Memories" stylish. It's a dream film; the attempt is poetic. I'm not saying it comes off but the intent is poetic, so you're not locked in to a realistic story. You could certainly tell a realistic story about a guy who has everything and is unhappy but I was trying to do it on a more fantastic level. I feel if you give the film a chance, there are some rewards in it. It's dense. I haven't seen it in many years, but when I finished it I was very satisfied with it and it was my favorite film to that time.
[on Shadows and Fog (1991)] I think I did a good job directing it and Santo Loquasto 's sets are beautiful. But the picture is in the writing and people weren't interested in the story. You know when you're doing a black-and-white picture that takes place in a European city at night in the [1920s], you're not going to make big bucks. Nobody liked the picture. Carlo Di Palma won an award for it in Italy. It just looked great. There was pleasure in the way it was photographed, and in making it. I make these films to amuse myself, or should I say to distract myself. I wanted to see what it would be like making a film all on a set, outdoors being indoors. And setting it during one night and having all these characters and this old European quality to it. The hope is that others will enjoy it when I'm finished. It fulfilled that desire that keeps me working, that keeps me in the film business. I do all my films for my own personal reasons, and I hope that people will like them and I'm always gratified when I hear they do. But if they don't, there's nothing I can do about that because I don't set out to make them for approval--I like approval, but I don't make them for approval.
[on Anything Else (2003)] The cast is wonderful and I thought it was an interesting story and full of good jokes and good ideas. Somebody said it summed up everything that I always say in movies--they were saying this positively--and maybe it did and that was a negative for me. I don't know. I had [a] screening of it and people seemed to love it. Again, it was one of those pictures that nobody came to. You know, a lot of it is the luck of the draw with someone like me. I'm review-dependent. You hit a guy who likes the film and writes a good review of it, it might possibly do business. The exact same film, if that reviewer's sick that day and the other critic on the paper doesn't like it, then it doesn't do business. There are many, many people making films who are not review-dependent and it doesn't matter what anybody says about them, they have an audience. I only have to mention Spider-Man (2002). With me, it depends who's writing the review. But I did think "Anything Else" was a funny movie. I thought it was a good movie. I was crazy about [ Christina Ricci ] and [ Jason Biggs ] was adorable and Stockard Channing is always a really strong actress.
My sets are boring. Nothing exciting ever happens, and I barely talk to the actors.
[Directing']s a great loafer's job. Much less stressful than if I were running around delivering chicken sandwiches in a deli somewhere.
[To Stu Hample on developing the comic strip "Inside Woody Allen"] Need more character engagement--instead of jokes being free-floating, they must be jokes on the way to character development. Jokes are like the decorations on the Christmas tree--but it's a beautiful tree you need to start with. Only then can you hang baubles on it. (Sorry for the disgusting metaphor.)
Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering--and it's all over much too soon.
I finished writing the script [for To Rome with Love (2012)] and saw that there was a part that I could play. I never force it. I never write something for myself. I'm trying to be faithful to the idea. If I had made "To Rome with Love" in the United States, I could have played Roberto Benigni 's part. If I was 50 years younger, I would have played Jesse Eisenberg 's part. Right now, I'm reduced to fathers of fiancees.
[on playing his screen persona] It's effortless. It's the only thing I can do. I'm not an actor. I can't play [ Anton Chekhov ], I can't play [ William Shakespeare ] or [ August Strindberg ]. I can do that thing that I do. There's a few different kinds of things I can act credibly. I can play an intellectual or a low-life.
I'm not as crazy as they [fans who meet me] think I am. They think I'm a major neurotic and that I'm phobic and incompetent and I'm not. I'm very average, middle class. I get up in the morning, I have a wife and kids, I work, I've been productive, I practice my horn, I go to ballgames, it's a normal kind of thing. I have some quirks, but everybody has some quirks.
[on why he always skips the Oscars] They always have it on Sunday night. And it's always--you can look this up--it's always opposite a good basketball game. And I'm a big basketball fan. So it's a great pleasure for me to come home and get into bed and watch a basketball game. And that's exactly where I was, watching the game.
[on winning an Oscar] That, or anything I ever won, has never changed my life one iota. And the fact that Midnight in Paris (2011) made $160 million meant zero in terms of anyone--and by anyone I mean no one--stepping forward and saying, "We'd like to bankroll your next film".
[American financiers] don't like to work the way I like to work. They like to read the script and have some input. They want to say, "Well, we'll let you cast who you want, but if you can get Brad Pitt , we'd much prefer you got him" . . . We don't do that, though. We don't let them see the script, or have anything to say. So I have a lot of trouble raising money in this country.
For me, success is, I'm in my bedroom at home and get an idea and I think it's a great idea and then I write it, and I look at the script and I say, "My God, I've written a good script here". And then I execute it. And if I execute the thing properly, then I feel great. If people come, it's a delightful bonus.
[on "Ozymandias melancholia," a term for the sense of inevitable decline which he first coined in Stardust Memories (1980)] It's a phenomenon that I think everybody gets afflicted with, certainly the poet [ Percy Bysshe Shelley ] did, but I get afflicted with it. And you feel it really very much in Rome, because you see those ancient ruins and you're hyper-aware of the fact that thousands of yeas ago, there was a civilization that was mighty, the most dominant civilization in the world, and how glorious it must have been. And now it's a couple of bricks here and a couple of bricks there, and someone's sitting on the bricks eating their sandwich.
It isn't just psychological, when you're getting closer to death that time passes faster. I think something happens physiologically so that you experience time in a very different way . . . It's also scary, as you'll see when you get older. It doesn't get better. You don't mellow, you don't gain wisdom and insight. You start to experience joint pain.
[I'm] depressed on a low flame.
My own feeling was always [that] I was totally uninterested in what anyone thought. I loved Soon-Yi Previn and it was a serious thing, not frivolous. We've been together for years, and it's been, on a personal basis, the best years of my life, really. And certainly the best of hers--not because of my scintillating personality, but it really brought her out of herself. She really had a chance to get into the world.
I've shown the older one, [daughter] Bechet, a number of Alfred Hitchcock movies, and I've shown them both [daughters] a couple of The Marx Brothers movies. But they're not that interested . . . I try to encourage them musically and guide them cinematically, but my opinion . . . I represent the Old World, the Europe from which they took boats to escape.
I have a very pessimistic view of everything. Obviously, I'm not a religious person, and I don't have any respect for the religious point of view. I tolerate it, but I find it a mindless grasp of life. [It's] the same thing with the philosophers who tell you that the meaning of life consists of what meaning you give it. I don't buy that, either. It's very unsatisfying.
What you're left with, in the end, are very grisly, unpleasant facts. You can't avoid them, you can't escape them. The best you can do, as far as I see it at the moment--maybe I'll get some other insight someday--is distract. I work all the time, I plunge myself into trivial problems, problems that are not life-threatening: How I'm going to work my third act, or can I get this actress to be in the movie, or am I over budget? These are my problems that obsess me, so I don't sit home and think about the fact that the universe is flying apart at breakneck speed as we're sitting here.
I know of only six genuine comic geniuses in movie history--[ Charles Chaplin ], Buster Keaton , Groucho Marx and Harpo Marx , Peter Sellers and W.C. Fields .
[on being a celebrity] There are lots of nice advantages that you get, being a celebrity. The tabloid things, the bumps in the road, they come and they go. Most people don't have as big a bump as I had, but even the big bump--it's not life-threatening. It's not like the doctor's saying, "I looked at these x-rays of your brain, and there's this little thing growing there". Tabloid things can be handled. I just don't want a shadow on my lung on the x-ray.
I'm just trying to be objective and honest. If you were having a ten-film festival and showing Citizen Kane (1941) on Monday, Rashomon (1950) on Tuesday, Bicycle Thieves (1948), The Seventh Seal (1957) . . . I don't think anything I've ever made could be placed in a festival with those films and hold its own.
I have an idea for a story, and I think to myself, "My God, this is a combination of Eugene O'Neill , and Tennessee Williams , and Arthur Miller " . . . but that's because [when you're writing] you don't have to face the test of reality. You're at home, in your house, it's all in your mind. Now, when it's almost over, and I see what I've got, I start to think, "What have I done? This is going to be such an embarrassment! Can I salvage it?" All your grandiose ideas go out the window. You realize you made a catastrophe, and you think, What if I put the last scene first, drop this character, put in narration? What if I shoot one more scene, to make him not leave his wife, but kill his wife?" [But nine times out of ten, after the screening of the first rough cut,] the feeling is, "OK, now don't panic." The other 10% of the time, it's. "OK. That's not as bad as I thought."
My experience has been, with one exception [ Midnight in Paris (2011)], that when I do a film in a foreign country, the toughest audience for me is that country. In Italy, they said, "This guy doesn't understand Italy". And I can't argue with those criticisms. I'm an American, and that's how I see Barcelona or Rome or England. If the situation was reversed, and somebody from a foreign country made a film here, I might very well be saying, "Yeah, it's OK, but this guy really doesn't get New York". And I'd be right. And I'm sure they're right.
To have been the lead character in a juicy scandal--a really juicy scandal--that will always be a part of what people think of when they think of me. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't please me. It's a non-factor. But it's a true factor.
[Ageing] is a bad business. It's a confirmation that the anxieties and terrors I've had all my life were accurate. There's no advantage to ageing. You don't get wiser, you don't get more mellow, you don't see life in a more glowing way. You have to fight your body decaying, and you have less options. The only thing you can do is what you did when you were 20--because you're always walking with an abyss right under your feet; they can be hoisting a piano on Park Avenue and drop it on your head when you're 20--which is to distract yourself. Getting involved in a movie [occupies] all my anxiety: did I write a good scene for Cate Blanchett ? If I wasn't concentrated on that, I'd be thinking of larger issues. And those are unresolvable, and you're checkmated whichever way you go.
If you're a celebrity, you can get good medical treatment. I can get a doctor on the weekends. I can get the results of my biopsy quickly.
European backers support me when Americans won't. You'd think that after a hit like Midnight in Paris (2011)--made a lot of money, not by The Dark Knight (2008) standards, but by my standards--there would be some companies that would want to do a film with you. But I didn't get a single offer. Not one . . . and then an Italian company I'd been talking to for years was willing to put up money.
Making films is a very nice way to make a living. You work with beautiful women, and charming men, who are amusing and gifted; you work with art directors and costume people . . . you travel places, and the money's good. It's a nice living.
[The French] think I'm an intellectual because I wear these glasses, and they think I'm an artist because my films lose money.
I have one last request. Don't use embalming fluid on me; I want to be stuffed with crab meat.
Editing is that moment when you give up every hope you have of making a great piece of art and you have to settle with what you have.
[in 2011] I'm very happy doing films. I wrote a novel, but it didn't come out well and I put it away. I would like to write for the theatre again, and I will continue to write for "The New Yorker". But I don't have to knock myself out to do one film a year--a year's a long time to make a film. I don't make these films like, say, Steven Spielberg , where I take three years and $100 million. My films are much less ambitious. It's easy for me. I finish a film and I'm sitting around the house and have other ideas; I get them together and I write them. I don't require much money to make a film, so it's not hard for me to get funded. And I'm a good bet for an investor, because I work fast and inexpensively. And when the film is released, before you know it, the small amount that it cost, they've made back. Then once in a while, if I hit one that is popular--like Match Point (2005), which made $100 million--then everybody makes a lot of money on it. Everybody except me.
There are worse things than death. Many of them playing at a theater near you.
I am not a hypochondriac but a totally different genus of crackpot.
My parents both lived to ripe old ages but absolutely refused to pass their genes to me as they believed an inheritance often spoils the child.
Believe it or not, there are many terrible things about being famous and many wonderful things, too. In the end, the good things are better than the bad, so if you have the chance, it's better to be famous.
[Los Angeles] is not a city I could ever live in because I'm not temperamentally suited to the lifestyle here. I could never survive getting up in the morning and seeing all that sunshine and having to get into a car to go anywhere. But I have lots of friends here and I enjoy coming out for a couple of days, eating at a couple of great restaurants, having some laughs and then going home.
[In 2012] I make films for literate people. I have to assume there are many millions of people in the world who are educated and literate and want sophisticated entertainment that does not cater to the lowest common denominator and is not all about car crashes and bathroom jokes.
Europeans started to finance my films very, very generously, and they did so under my rules, which means they don't interfere with me in any way, they don't read my scripts, they don't know what I'm doing and they just have faith that I'll make a film that won't embarrass anyone. It started off in London in 2004 with Match Point (2005) and then I kept going.
[on shooting To Rome with Love (2012) in 2011] I had been speaking to the [Italians] for years about doing a film there and when they said they'd finance it of course I was happy to shoot it there. I felt it lent itself to so many diverse tales. If you stop 100 Romans they'll tell you, "I'm from the city, I know it well and I could give you a million stories."
[In 2012]: I always wanted to be a foreign filmmaker. But I'm from Brooklyn so I couldn't be because I wasn't foreign. But all of a sudden, through happy accidents, I've become one, to such a degree that I'm even writing subtitles. So I'm thrilled with that. The language is never a problem because when you're making a movie there are only a few things you ever talk about and you learn them right away. I did three pictures with a Chinese cameraman who didn't speak a word of English--not a word. And it didn't matter at all because we were only talking about the lighting and the angle.
I've never thought of myself as an actor. I could never play [ Anton Chekhov ] or a big range of characters but there are one or two things I can do: I can play a bookmaker or a low-life agent like in Broadway Danny Rose (1984), or because I look scholarly--although I'm not--I can play some kind of intellectual and get away with it. I have no method whatsoever and I don't rehearse or practice and I never took a lesson. It's just a very limited thing I can do and if there's a need for that sort of character you can hire me and I'll do it, but if there's a need for something more complex then you get Dustin Hoffman .
[on his fear of flying] It's something I'm not thrilled with. I'm always sitting in my seat bracing for the crashing of the plane, but I can't avoid flying because if I don't fly I can't go to places to shoot a film or do promotion for it. And since my wife doesn't have any phobias, she has no fear of flying, nor do my children, so I fly to accommodate them, but it's very difficult for me and always with clenched fists.
I never see a frame of anything I've done after I've done it. I don't even remember what's in the films. And if I'm on the treadmill and I'm surfing the channels and suddenly Manhattan (1979) or some other picture comes on, I go right past it. If I saw "Manhattan" again, I would only see the worst. I would say, "Oh, God, this is so embarrassing. I could have done this. I should have done that." So I spare myself.
If I had my life to live over I would do everything the exact same way--except with the possible exception of seeing the movie remake of Lost Horizon (1937).
I'm very nice to all the actors, and I never raise my voice. I give them a lot of freedom to work, to change my words, and they see in five minutes that I'm not a threat. That they're not gonna have to worry. They are not dealing with some kind of cult genius or some kind of formidable person. Or someone who's a temper tantrum person. You know, they see right away that this guy is going to be a pushover for me. And I am.
[at the premiere of Cassandra's Dream (2007) at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, before showing the movie] Thank you all very much. I hope you enjoy this film, we had a lot of fun making it, and I just hope you have a good time watching it. So sit back and, you know, give it your best shot and if we ever meet again, be kind.
I told him to go forth and multiply, but not in so many words.
[asked in a 2008 interview with "Moving Pictures Magazine" why he called himself Heywood or Woody] It was just arbitrary, just came out of a hat to function for the occasion. It had no meaning whatsoever. It was just arbitrary anonymity that I wanted.
When I see cool films, no matter how beautiful they are, there's something off-putting about them. I have all my characters--or 99% of the characters--dress in autumnal clothes, beiges, and browns, and yellows, and greens. And I have Santo Loquasto make the sets look as warm as possible. And I like the lighting to be very warm, and I color-correct things so that they're very red. When Darius Khondji was color-correcting Midnight in Paris (2011), we went all out and made it red, red, red in color-correction. It makes it like a [ Henri Matisse ]. Matisse said that he wanted his paintings to be a nice easy chair that you sit down in, and enjoy. I feel the same way: I want you to sit back, relax and enjoy the warm color, like take a bath in warm color. It's like how I play the clarinet with a big, fat, warm tone as opposed to a cool sound that's more liquid, or fluid. I prefer a thicker, richer, warmer sound. The same with color; I feel it has a subliminal effect on the viewer in a positive way.
[on directing Joaquin Phoenix ] He's full of emotion and agony. If he says, "Pass the salt", it's like the scene where Oedipus puts out his eyes.
When I made Stardust Memories (1980), it was my own personal favorite film that I had made [up to] that time. It was the first film I had made that I really got rapped on because people--and this may have been my lack of skill, I don't know--felt that what I was saying in the film was that my audience are fools for liking me, that I was demeaning the audience, when that's not what I was doing. I'd never felt that way about the audience, and if I did feel that way I would have been too smart to put it in a movie or anything like that, it was just the furthest thing from my mind - it would not have occurred to me. But through my lack of skill, I managed to convey that other thought and not my intended thought to the audience. The business about "I like your early, funny movies" was just one of the things that occurred to me that I used--it didn't have extra meaning or particular personal meaning, it was just something that occurred to me that I thought was amusing, but no more amusing than the other things that people were asking for and so I used it and it rang a bell with people. They thought the character was me, that I was that character, that I didn't like making comedies, that I thought they were foolish for liking the comedies, but of course none of this had even occurred to me--I feel fine with my early, funny movies: Bananas (1971) and Take the Money and Run (1969)--they were fun to make.
[2015 Cannes Film Festival, when asked if he had seen Cate Blanchett since Blue Jasmine (2013) and his relationship with his casts after filming] I have not seen or spoken to Cate since that movie. You know, it's very professional. [ Emma Stone ] and I did a movie a couple of years ago, and then afterward we did another movie, but, you know, people go their separate ways after a film and it's all very, very professional. You come in, you shoot the film and then on the last day of filming, everybody is very teary and you're not going to see the people anymore, but then you go off and you get on with your life, so I have not seen Cate or spoken with Cate since that picture was over.
I never read what you say about me or the reviews of my film. I made the decision I think five years ago never to read a review of my movie. Never read an interview. Never read anything, because you can easily become obsessed with yourself.
My wife was an immature woman. I'd be in the bathroom taking a bath and she would walk right in and sink my boats.
I keep having this birthday cake fantasy, where they wheel out a big cake with a girl in it and she pops out and hurts me and gets back in.
[2016 interview] There's probably six or eight of my films that I would keep, and you could have all the rest. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) I would include, and Match Point (2005) and Husbands and Wives (1992), probably Zelig (1983), probably Midnight in Paris (2011).
[on Ingmar Bergman ] I was a late-teenager and I saw Summer with Monika (1953) and Sawdust and Tinsel (1953), and they were just clearly superior to other people's movies. The fact that he's got a mind and an intellect and the films are about something and they're substantive and they're philosophical and that they're profound on a human level - that's all great. But he's first and foremost an entertainer, so it's not like doing homework - it's not like going to see some film that you hear is great, and you watch it and you figure, "Well, yes, it is great but I was bored stiff and I'm sure it's great but it's all this talky, boring stuff, and you know..." - not at all!
I get more pleasure out of failing in a project that I am enthused over than in succeeding in a project that I know I can do well.
Salary (4)
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Which is the most Northerly of the islands of Japan ? It's capital, Sapporo has hosted the winter olympics. | Olympic Council of Asia : Games
| Games | Asian Winter Games | Sapporo 2017
Sapporo 2017
The Asian Winter Games will return to Japan for the eighth edition in 2017. The first two Asian Winter Games were held in Sapporo in 1986 and 1990, and the third edition at Aomori in 2003.
Sapporo is the picturesque capital of Hokkaido – the most northerly of Japan’s four main islands – and hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1972. The city of Obihiro will share the hosting duties with Sapporo in 2017 by staging the speed skating events.
Organisers plan to hold the 8th AWG 2017 for February 2017, and present five sports: biathlon, curling, ice hockey, skating (figure skating, short track and speed skating) and skiing (alpine, cross country, freestyle, ski jumping and snowboard).
8th Asian Winter Games Sapporo 2017
Opening Ceremony
| Hokkaido |
Geology - what word is used to describe rocks formed from sand, mud or silt deposited by wind and water ? | HOKKAIDO Prefecture | Habibi Japan
The only WEB site which connects
500 million People in MENA to "REAL JAPAN"
HOKKAIDO Prefecture
photo by nazmi hamidi
Hokkaido is Japan’s largest island and the largest of Japan’s 47 prefectures, its area accounting for 22% of Japan’s total land area. As an island, Hokkaido is the 21th largest island in the world.
SAPPORO CITY
The largest city in Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo.
Sapporo is also the fourth largest city of Japan and best know internationally for having hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first ever held in Asia.
The city has various historical buildings as well as shopping malls and parks and is is major tourist destination itself.
It is also known for the Sapporo Snow Festival, Hokkaido’s celebration of winter.
WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO SEE
Hokkaido has the most magnificent natural beauty in Japan. Many incredible sight-seeing places are found throughout the prefecture and include incredible hot spring resorts, the Shikotsu-Toya National Park (named after its two famous lakes Toya and Shikotsu), the Shiretoko National Park (one of Japan’s most beautiful and unspoiled national parks), the Daisetsu Mountains( a beautiful volcanic group of peaks) and the Kushiro Swamp, Japan’s largest swamp.
Regardless of the season, there are always fun things to do and places to visit and if you wish to enjoy seasonal food and get to know the traditions, attending local events and festivals is the best way.
The Sapporo Snow Festival, which is now world-famous, takes place each year in February and the Furano Lavender Festival is held in summer.
In winter you can enjoy winter sports and other attractions at any of Hokkaido’s many ski resort.
The snowfall usually starts in November and the majority of the ski resorts are opened between December and April.
The high quality seafood is particularly fresh and delicious in Hokkaido.
The beauty of Hokkaido changes with each season, its unique culture and food variety attracting large numbers of tourists from around the world each year.
Locals are very welcoming and always willing to help if you’re in need.
GETTING THERE
By airplane
Sapporo's Chitose Airport is Hokkaido's only international gateway of significance, with flights to Hong Kong, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Busan. However, there are only limited international flights and most visitors will need to transit through hubs such as Tokyo and Osaka. The route between Tokyo and Sapporo is, in terms of capacity and planes flown daily, the busiest in the world.
Narita Airport and Haneda Airport are quite far apart from each other, so make sure you have at least 3 hours traveling time between airports in Tokyo.
By train
You cal also travel to Hokkaido by train (Seikan Tunnel, the longest undersea tunnel in the world, connects Hokkaido and mainland Japan) or by ferries.
CLIMATE/ TEMPERATURE
Hokkaido has relatively cool summers and icy/snowy winters. The average August temperature ranges from 17 to 22 °C, while the average January temperature ranges from −12 to −4 °C.
Unlike the other major islands of Japan, Hokkaido is normally not affected by the June–July rainy season and the relative lack of humidity and typically warm, rather than hot, summer weather makes it a very popular domestic destination.
WHAT TO WEAR
During summer, you should be fine if you wear a short-sleeved shirt, t-shirt or a dress, however a long sleeved shirt is highly recommended if you choose to go near water or to the mountains.
In the winter, be sure to bring warm clothes such as winter coat or jacket, hat, scarf and gloves. Winter boots are a must if you are planing to visit the mountains.
For the spring and autumn a light jacket should keep you warm.
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"What songwriting partnership, wrote more than 20 hit records, with several of their songs becoming number 1 hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including ""Take good care of my Baby"", ""Will you love me Tomorrow"" and ""The Loco-motion"" ?" | The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time | Rolling Stone
The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time
SEE THE FULL LIST
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Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson
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Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson
Benny and Björn had already been a songwriting duo for six years when they teamed up with their girlfriends Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog — who were both Swedish pop stars already — to form Abba. The two of them were hardcore about songwriting: they bought a cottage on the island of Viggsö where they could focus on making their music and lyrics as catchy as humanly possible. "Each song had to be different," Andersson said in 2002, "because, in the Sixties, that's what the Beatles had done. The challenge was to not do another 'Mamma Mia' or 'Waterloo.'" Ulvaeus's lyrics grew progressively darker over the course of Abba's career, even as the band became so unbelievably popular that they were able to release an 18-song greatest hits album simply called Number Ones. After the band split up, Ulvaeus and Andersson went on to collaborate on several musicals — including the Abba jukebox musical, Mamma Mia!, one of the most successful in Broadway history.
Tom T. Hall
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Tom T. Hall
Hall was an English major who said he learned to write songs by osmosis, soaking up everything from Dickens to Hemingway. His best work was charged with literary irony but unfolded with the ease of spoken language, as when the mini-skirted heroine of "Harper Valley P.T.A." struts into the local junior high and exposes small-town hypocrisy by asking why Mrs. Taylor uses so much ice when her husband's out of town. A Number One pop and country hit for Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, it freed Hall to record his own work, which included songs about burying a man who owed him 40 dollars, mourning the death of the local hero who taught him how to drink and play guitar, and "Trip to Hyden," a journalistic tale of a drive to the scene of a mining disaster that was part Woody Guthrie, part Studs Turkel. One of Nashville's most overtly political songwriters, he was a liberal who recorded "Watergate Blues" and turned a drink in a bar after the 1972 Democratic convention into a Number One country hit called "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine." "I couldn't write the 'Darling, you left alone and blue' or 'I'm drunk in this bar and crying' [songs]— I just didn't get it," he once said. "And so I started writing these story songs."
Otis Blackwell
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Otis Blackwell
A Brooklynite who was equally entranced by R&B and country (claiming his favorite singer was C&W mainstay Tex Ritter), Otis Blackwell began his career with 1953's "Daddy Rollin' Stone," which has been covered repeatedly. But large-scale success as a performer eluded him. "I didn't dig it. Got more into writing," he said. When Elvis Presley recorded one of his songs, the result was 1956's epochal "Don't Be Cruel," which was simultaneously Number One on the pop, R&B and country charts. Blackwell subsequently gave Elvis "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender," and wrote a cluster of hits for other artists, including "Great Balls of Fire" for Jerry Lee Lewis. And even though Blackwell's own singing career never took off, it's been noted that his vocals on demos of songs that Presley recorded were followed faithfully by the King. "At certain tempo, the way Elvis sang was the result of copying Otis' demos," said Blackwell's friend Doc Pomus. Oddly, Blackwell and Presley never met.
Taylor Swift
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Taylor Swift
Many singer-songwriters reach the point where they have too many great tunes to fit into a live show. Taylor Swift reached that peak before she turned 21. And then she just kept going. She might be the youngest artist on this list — as you may have heard, she was born in 1989, the year Green Day released their first record. But she's already written two or three careers' worth of keepers. "Hi, I'm Taylor," she told the crowds on her Red tour. "I write songs about my feelings. I'm told I have a lot of feelings." Swift's first three albums display her emotional yet uncommonly inventive country style — even early hits like "Our Song" and "Tim McGraw" sound like nobody else. (Only she could slip the line "Any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored" into a teen romance like "Ours.") But she's really hit her stride with the pop mastery of Red and 1989, especially on confessional ballads like "Clean" and "All Too Well." There's no limit to where she can go from here.
Timbaland and Missy Elliott
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Timbaland and Missy Elliott
"If you listen to my songs, they tell stories," Missy Elliott has said. "I write almost as if I'm in conversation with somebody." The crucible of her collaboration with Timbaland was the Swing Mob, a loose constellation of performers and producers who worked with Jodeci's DeVante Swing in the early Nineties. Tim and Missy started working in earnest as a writing team in 1996, when they collaborated on most of Aaliyah's One in a Million. That was followed by Missy's 1997 breakthrough Supa Dupa Fly — a set of cool, witty, deceptively minimal tracks that flipped between hip-hop, R&B and electronica with finger-snapping ease — and a string of genre-melting records like "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It" that lasted until the early 2000s. The duo has also penned hits for other artists including SWV's "Can We," Total's "Trippin'" and Tweet's "Call Me." Missy hasn't released a new album for 10 years, but she and Timbaland have dropped hints that they've got something brewing.
The Bee Gees
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The Bee Gees
America first discovered the Bee Gees with the 1977 disco soundtrack Saturday Night Fever. But that multiplatinum triumph was just the tip of the iceberg: Australian brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were massively successful songwriters for decades. Elton John has called them "a huge influence on me as a songwriter"; Bono has said their catalog makes him "ill with envy." The Bee Gees' earliest hits ("New York Mining Disaster 1941," "To Love Somebody") were melancholy psychedelia, and their first U.S. Number One single, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," was promptly covered by Al Green. But when they took a stab at disco with 1975's "Jive Talkin'," their career kicked into an even higher gear. Besides their own hits (including a string of six consecutive Number Ones), the brothers wrote the title song for Grease, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream," Barbra Streisand's "Guilty," and Destiny's Child's "Emotion." "We see ourselves first and foremost as composers, writing for ourselves and other people," Robin Gibb said.
John Prine
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John Prine
Maybe it's his family's blue-collar background or the years he spent delivering mail before becoming a full-time musician. But John Prine has always had the innate ability to emphatically capture the highs, lows and occasional laughs of everyday Americans and fringe characters: the drug-addled vet in "Sam Stone," the lonely older folks in "Angel from Montgomery" and "Hello in There." One of a group of early Seventies singer-songwriters to get pegged with the unfortunate tag "New Dylan," Prine has written poignant songs of romantic despair ("Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"), songs that sound like centuries-old mountain ballads ("Paradise") and ribald comic masterpieces aimed at advice columns and various crazies. "You write a song about something that you think might be taboo, you sing it for other people and they immediately recognize themselves in it," Prine says. "I call it optimistic pessimism. You admit everything that's wrong and you talk about it in the sharpest terms, in the keenest way you can."
Billie Joe Armstrong
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Billie Joe Armstrong
"Back then, I just wanted to write songs I could be proud of and be able to play in five years," Billie Joe Armstrong said last year of his attitude while creating Green Day's 1994 pop-punk breakthrough Dookie. The LP went on to sell millions and Armstrong — who didn't get the credit he deserved as a writer back in the days of more serious-minded bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam — has amassed one of the most impressive song books of the last 20 years. His 1996 acoustic ballad "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" has become a standard and a pop cultural touchstone; the Who-scale ambition of 2004's American Idiot made for a rock-opera that remains a totemic response to the Bush era; and Green Day's recent three-album trilogy, Uno!, Dos!, Tre!), displayed a mastery of styles from throughout rock & roll history. And Armstrong is a punk through and through: the whole band gets songwriting credit on its hugely successful catalog.
Paul Westerberg
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Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg wasn't precious about his craft ("I hate music/It's got too many notes," he sang on the first Replacements album in 1981). But he become the American punk-rock poet laureate of the Eighties, reeling off shabbily rousing underdog anthems like "I Will Dare" and "Bastards of Young," as well as beautifully afflicted songs like "Swinging Party" and "Here Comes a Regular." A high-school dropout, Westerberg spoke for a nation of smart, wiseacre misfits, paving the way for Green Day and Nirvana, both of which were led by avowed Replacements fans. "Westerberg could be barreling along and do 'Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out' or 'Gary's Got a Boner,' and then he could slide into 'Unsatisfied' or 'Sixteen Blue,' says Craig Finn of the Hold Steady. "So you think this guy was this drunk, punkish dude and all the sudden he's really sensitive and really vulnerable. Because he's got you looking both ways, it's bigger, it hits harder. Or softer, depending on how you look at it." Westerberg has his own explanation for his unique underdog genius: "I think the opposite when I see something," he once said. "I have dyslexia, and I've used it to its best advantage."
Eminem
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Eminem
With a talent for wordplay that can be as head-spinning as it is disturbing, and a knack for incessant sing-song choruses that suggest he might've thrived in a Brill Building cubicle, Eminem crams hugely popular songs with more internal rhymes and lyrical trickery than anyone else in contemporary pop. His most recent Number One, "The Monster," features bonkers couplets like "Straw into gold chump, I will spin/Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack/Maybe I need a straight jacket, face facts." Like his character in the 2002 biopic 8 Mile, Eminem honed his formidable skills in Detroit rap battles, then polished his rhymes in the studio over springy Dr. Dre tracks that gave him room to freak out as agilely and aggressively as he liked. "Even as a kid, I always wanted the most words to rhyme," Eminem told Rolling Stone. "Say I saw a word like 'transcendalistic tendencies.' I would write it out on a piece of paper and underneath, I'd line a word up with each syllable: 'and bend all mystic sentence trees.' Even if it didn't make sense, that's the kind of drill I would do to practice."
Babyface
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Babyface
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds rose to fame for his work with Antonio "L.A." Reid on Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel, reinforcing taut R&B songwriting with hard hip-hop beats to help create New Jack Swing. But Edmonds' true legacy is as a craftsman of thoughtful ballads and mid-tempo romantic material, with his own solid career as a performer often overshadowed by the huge successes he's enabled other artists to enjoy: "End of the Road," which he wrote for Boyz II Men, broke records with its 13-week run as the Number One song on the Billboard Hot 100. Edmonds has said, "I don't just come in with songs. I talk with the artist and find out what they will or won't sing about." That technique has helped him develop an unrivaled gift for matching a lyric and a mood with a particular singer, especially a particular female singer. It's hard to imagine anyone but Whitney Houston giving shape to "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," anyone but Mary J. Blige taking a stand with "Not Gon' Cry," anyone but Toni Braxton lending the necessary sultry edge to the many songs he's written for her over the past quarter-century.
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Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
It took a husband and wife team — married for more than four decades and parted only by death — to write one of rock's most devastating tales of heartbreak: "Love Hurts." Originated in 1960 by the Everly Brothers — for whom the Byrants wrote a string of chart toppers, each one a compact novel of teen desire and struggle — and raised to operatic status by Roy Orbison, it became one of the founding documents of alt-country when Gram Parsons covered it in 1974, and a year later was turned into a pioneering power ballad by U.K. hard rockers Nazareth, who took it to Number Eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The Bryants' breakthrough came when the Everlys seized on a composition that had been turned down more than 30 times, "Bye Bye Love," and hit Number Two. "Wake Up Little Susie" followed quickly, and went to the top of the chart, as did "All I Have to Do Is Dream," and their varied work included songs that worked with strings, like Buddy Holly's "Raining in My Heart," or with banjo, like "Rocky Top," made into a bluegrass standard by the Osborne Brothers in 1967. "Pick something more certain, like chasing the white whale or eradicating the common housefly," Boudleaux once said of songwriting as a profession. "We didn't have the benefit of such sage advice. . . We made it. Sometimes it pays to be ignorant."
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill
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Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill
Mann and Weil met in 1960 at the song-publishing company Aldon Music, married in 1961 and have been living and working together ever since. Their songs of struggle and triumph brought class consciousness to Brill Building pop, with hits like "On Broadway" for the Drifters, "Uptown" for the Crystals, and "We Gotta Get Out of the Place" for the Animals, but they are best known for the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." Unique among their peers, they never stopped, writing Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram's 1986 hit "Somewhere Out There" and Hanson's 1997 Top 10 single "I Will Come to You." Mann also had a recording career, including a 1961 Top 10 hit about songwriting "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)"; in 2015, Weil published a YA novel, I'm Glad I Did, about songwriting in the Sixties.
Kris Kristofferson
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Kris Kristofferson
"Everything I ever wrote was a attempt to follow in the footsteps of the best country songwriters I knew," Kristofferson once said, citing writers like Hank Williams Jr. and Johnny Cash. But Kristofferson did more than succeed them. A former Rhodes scholar, he wrote songs — "Sunday Morning Comin' Down," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Why Me," "Me and Bobby McGee" — that borrowed equally from Nashville and the Dylan-influenced singer-songwriter world. Thanks to his writerly skills, Kristofferson's hang-dog tales of screwups, hangovers, regret and redemption had the epochal feel of novellas, and without him, there would probably be no Steve Earle, Sturgill Simpson or similar country hippies. 'To me, country, as opposed to Tin Pan Alley, was white man's soul music," he once said. "I really didn't think my songs were any different than what Willie [Nelson\ was writing."
Sam Cooke
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Sam Cooke
From the start, Sam Cooke knew how to write the kind of song people wanted to hear Sam Cooke sing — his very first pop single, "You Send Me," was the perfect showcase for his effortlessly gorgeous melismas and easygoing charm. Cooke's determination to win over mainstream white audiences led him to expand his range as a writer, and he proved equally adept with the starry-eyed pop romance of "Cupid," the urbane dance floor workout "Twistin' the Night Away" even the subtle social commentary of "Chain Gang." But hearing Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" stirred a different sort of ambition in Cooke — a need to write something that more directly addressed his experience as a black man in America. The result was "A Change Is Gonna Come," a soaring encapsulation of the African-American struggle. Cooke, who died in 1964, didn't live to see it become a civil rights anthem recorded by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Beyoncé, or to hear the first African-American President of the United States quote it on the night he was elected.
R.E.M.
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R.E.M.
Whether it's a fleet, planning guitar tune like "Sitting Still" or a luminous ballad like "Nightswimming" or a loopy left-field pop smash like "Stand" the songwriting credit on a golden-era R.E.M. song always read "Berry, Mills, Buck, Stipe." Peter Buck's fluid, arpeggiated guitar runs and sunburst riffs were weaved into Mike Mills' melodic bass lines and Bill Berry's equally musical drumming, creating an evocative compliment for Michael Stipe's impressionistic lyrics. "If I hear something that sounds watery I'll write 'I'll Take the Rain'," Stipe once said. "It can sometimes be stupidly literal." R.E.M.'s whole-band writing process changed a little when Berry left the band in the mid-Nineties, with Mills and Buck writing separately more often. But the same organic give-and-take governed their later albums as well. As Mills said in 2008, "we gradually shape each other's songs into R.E.M. songs."
Kanye West
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Kanye West
The definitive hip-hop artist of the last 15 years, Kanye West made his name as a producer with the Doors-sampling beat on Jay Z's "The Blueprint" and emerged as an unquenchably driven song machine releasing groundbreaking music at a Beatlesque clip. Kanye isn't afraid to outsource (Chicago rapper Rhymefest co-wrote the lyrics to his first game-changing hit, "Jesus Walks," and the credits to his albums can often read like veritable productions workshops). Yet, his stamp is unmistakable — a genius for connecting genres and styles, a knack for spinning out Olympian boasts and an ability to make his egomaniacal admissions and conflictions compelling. West claims he didn't write down any of his rhymes until taking a more craft-oriented approach on 2010's monumentally ambitious My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. "I can write something that, even someone who hates me the most will have to respect and love the song," he has said. West has given us the weapons-grade industrial punk of "New Slaves," the forlorn vocoder balladry of 2008's 808s & Heartbreak (which paved the way for the confessional hip-hop of J. Cole and Drake) and, this year, the haunting Paul McCartney collaboration "Only You." "When I wrote with John, he would sit down with a guitar. I would sit down. We'd ping-pong 'til we had a song," McCartney said. "It was like that [with Kanye]."
Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson
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Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson
Married songwriting partnerships are hardly rare, but few husband-and-wife teams explored the dynamics of monogamy with the depth and insight of Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Their breakthrough was the 1966 Ray Charles party classic "Let's Go Get Stoned," but once the duo went to work at Motown, romantic love became their sole topic. ("I get bored when I'm not writing about love," Ashford once said. "Politics or social commentary don't inspire me. Love lifts me up.") The duets they wrote at Motown, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," interweaved male and female perspectives to strengthen their emotional sweep. Ashford and Simpson later built on this technique during their own career as performers, expressing doubt on "Is It Still Good to Ya" and affirmation on "Sold (as a Rock)" with equal brilliance.
Marvin Gaye
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Marvin Gaye
In 1983, a year before he died, Marvin Gaye said the goal of music was to "tell the world and the people about the upcoming holocaust and to find all of those of higher consciousness who can be saved." Initially, though, it took him years before he was allowed to explore his sacred vision. Motown was so overstaffed with great in-house songwriters that Gaye spent much of the Sixties singing other people's songs. He found his voice as a composer in the Seventies when Four Tops member Obie Benson brought him a song idea that would later blossom into "What's Going On." As Benson remembers, "He added some things that were more ghetto, more natural, which made it seem more like a story than a song. We measured him for the suit, and he tailored it." But Gaye's greatest gift might've been at raising the bedroom come-on into an art form — whether making a straightforward, playful proposition on 1973's "Let's Get It On" or admitting his desperate, almost metaphysical need on 1982's "Sexual Healing."
Björk
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Björk
Iceland's greatest musical export has penned a catalog so tied to her unmatchable accented English and visionary beat-driven arrangements, it's easy to forget what a tremendous writer she is. Yet there's a reason cutting-edge jazz instrumentalists —Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Dave Douglas, Greg Osby — keep covering her tunes, not to mention peers like Thom Yorke, Bon Iver, Death Cab for Cutie, Dirty Projectors, No Age and others. As Björk said in 2007, "I guess I'm quite conservative and romantic about the power of melodies. I try not to record them [when] I first hear them. If I forget all about it and it pops up later on, then I know it's good enough. I let my subconscious do the editing for me." From the disco-fizzy 1993 Debut to the bleakly magnificent 2015 Vulnicura, it hasn't failed her yet.
R. Kelly
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R. Kelly
The mercurial singer-writer-producer's 25-year track record stands on its own: writing or co-writing 30 Top 20 R&B singles for himself or with the Chicago-based group Public Announcement, chart-topping assistance for Puff Daddy, Sparkle and Kelly Price; and the first song to ever debut at Number One on the Hot 100, Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone." His ballads fly higher than anyone else's, his sex jams started evocatively naughty (1993's "Bump N' Grind") and ended up evocatively surreal (2005's "Sex in the Kitchen" and, of course, the 30-part "Trapped in the Closet"). "My talent is more than just sexual songs," said the only man who wrote for the Notorious B.I.G. and Celine Dion. "There was a time I desperately needed for the world to know that I was no-category guy. My whole goal in life was to reach that certain success where people will say, 'Hey, that guy can do anything. He's the Evel Knievel of music. He's jumping over 15 buses!'"
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Lucinda Williams
Raised in Louisiana, Lucinda Williams grew up listening to Hank Williams and reading Flannery O'Connor and emerged in the late Eighties as the great Southern songwriter of her generation. Yet, unlike most artists with a literary bent, she focuses on sensual detail just as much writerly scenes and imagery. Few songwriters use repetition as skillfully as Williams: on 1988's "I Just Wanted to See You So Bad," she ramped up the song's sexual obsession by restating the title after every other line, and the title track from her 1998 masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road captures the peculiar rhythms of childhood memory by restating the song's title at the end of each stanza. Williams learned her sense of concision from her father, poet Miller Williams. "Dad stressed the importance of the economics of writing," she has said. "Clean it up, edit, edit, revise!"
Curtis Mayfield
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Curtis Mayfield
At a time when most songwriters were still talking about love and heartbreak, Curtis Mayfield was penning sweet, subtle Civil Rights epistles like 1964's "Keep on Pushing" and 1965's "People Get Ready" (the latter a favorite of Martin Luther King). As leader of the Impressions, Mayfield's low-key demeanor matched his lithe tenor and restrained, spacious guitar playing that influenced fellow chitlin' circuit veteran Jimi Hendrix' "Little Wing." He kept his empathetic light touch even when he transitioned to the realist street tales of the 1973 Superfly soundtrack. Beyond hits for himself and the Impressions, Mayfield's music provided no shortage of Top 10 songs for generations of artists, including Gladys Knight and the Pips ("On and On"), the Staple Singers ("Let's Do It Again"), Tony Orlando & Dawn ("He Don't Love You [Like I Love You]") and En Vogue ("Giving Him Something He Can Feel"). "Everything was a song," Mayfield said in 1994. "Every conversation, every personal hurt, every observance of people in stress, happiness and love . . . If you could feel it, I could feel it. And I could write a song about it. If you have a good imagination, you can go quite far."
Allen Toussaint
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Allen Toussaint
No one outside of Leiber & Stoller better combined the commercial verities of pop with the deeper-than-dirt hoodoo of the blues than Toussaint did on songs like "Lipstick Traces (on a Cigarette)," "Ride Your Pony" or "Fortune Teller" (covered by the Stones, the Who and a host of other British Invaders). Writing and producing for Irma Thomas ("Ruler of My Heart," or "Pain in My Heart" when Otis Redding cut it), Benny Spellman ("Mother in Law"), Lee Dorsey ("Working in a Coal Mine") and Aaron Neville ("Hercules"), he helped define the sound of the city that helped define the sound of rock & roll: New Orleans. "There are some ingredients we share," Toussaint once said of New Orleans' unique mix of rhythmic and melodic traditions. "That second line brass band parade thing. The syncopation. The humor. . .We take longer to get to the future than anywhere else in America. . .So we have held on to the old world charm more."
Loretta Lynn
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Loretta Lynn
If the personal is political, Loretta Lynn was Nashville's down-home feminist revolutionary. "I looked at the songbooks and thought that anyone could do that," she told American Songwriter, "so I just started writing." Lynn was also a self-taught guitarist, whose earliest songs were in keys seldom used by Nashville session pros. She always took more pride in her writing than in her perky singing, and much of the lyrical material in her 16 country chart-toppers was drawn from her difficult marriage to Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, whose alcoholism and infidelities inspired domestic dramedies like "Don't Come Home a-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)." "I had to have a real reason to write a song," Lynn said. "I wrote them about true things." These included the benefits of contraception ("The Pill") and the plight of divorcees ("Rated X"), which were banned by many country stations but became huge sellers nonetheless.
Isaac Hayes and David Porter
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Isaac Hayes and David Porter
"David approached me with the intention of selling me an insurance policy," Isaac Hayes recalled of his first meeting with the man who would become his songwriting partner — although Porter has vehemently denied that anecdote. Insurance or no, they became an in-house songwriting team at Stax Records, and their collaboration yielded 30 R&B chart hits between 1966 and 1971. (Sometimes Hayes played keyboards on songs they'd written together, or Porter sang backup.) In particular, they were the songwriting masterminds behind Sam and Dave, writing "Soul Man," "I Thank You," "Hold On! I'm Comin'" and other classic duets. The team fell apart once Hayes became a hot buttered soul star in his own right, but they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame together in 2005, three years before Hayes' death. "We had no set pattern and just each came up with melodies, lyrics and hook lines and phrases," Porter said, describing a process that could a produce a life-altering balled like "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" in just 15 minutes. "I'm no musician but I was able to relate to Isaac, we could communicate together."
Patti Smith
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Patti Smith
"Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine," went the opening line of Smith's 1975 debut, Horses, proclaiming her belief in music as provocation and redemption. A gender-bending poet who kicked open the door for punk while retaining a faith in rock's Sixties idealism, she drew on her love of Dylan, garage rock and French symbolist poetry (as well guitarist Lenny Kaye's encyclopedic knowledge) to rewrite rock history in her own image. A collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, "Because the Night," became a Top 20 hit in 1978, and after a long absence she returned in 1988 with "People Have the Power," and then again in 1996 with "About a Boy," a tribute to Kurt Cobain as well as her departed husband Fred "Sonic" Smith and friend Robert Mapplethorpe. The deep passion of her work since shows she's never lost her faith in what she once called "the right to create, without apology, from a stance beyond gender or social definition, but not beyond the responsibility to create something of worth."
Radiohead
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Radiohead
Singer Thom Yorke, guitarist/electronics whiz/orchestral composer Johnny Greenwood and their Radiohead mates, always credited collectively, have produced some the modern era's most glorious songs. Veering away from the pop success of "Creep," the group began deconstructing and abstracting songforms. Yorke and Greenwood have called their process "defacatory," and Yorke suggests his lyrics are as much stream of consciousness flow, gibberish and "just sounds" as anything confessional. ("It's like you're getting beamed it," Yorke has said, "like with a ouija board"). Yet there's a reason Frank Ocean, Vampire Weekend, Gillian Welch, Mark Ronson, Regina Spektor, Gnarls Barkley, the Punch Brothers and others cover their compositions: because the best —from the acoustic ballad "Fake Plastic Trees" to the digital kaleidoscope of "Everything in Its Right Place" — are indelible.
Fats Domino and Dave Barthomolew
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Fats Domino and Dave Barthomolew
Singer/pianist Antoine "Fats" Domino and producer/bandleader Dave Bartholomew started working together in 1949. Over the next 14 years, they collaborated on more than 50 charted singles — mostly written by one or both of them — and became the architects of the New Orleans rock & roll sound: two-and-a-half-minute jewels featuring effervescent piano boogie, in-your-face rhythms and lyrics that drew on local vernacular. ("I used to write songs mostly from things you hear people say all the time," Domino said.) Bartholomew also wrote scores of hits for other New Orleans artists, many of which became rock standards: "I Hear You Knocking," "One Night," "I'm Walkin'." Dr. John told Rolling Stone that, after Lennon and McCartney, Domino and Bartholomew were "probably the greatest team of songwriters ever. They always had a simple melody, a hip set of chord changes and a cool groove."
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen
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Walter Becker and Donald Fagen
When Walter Becker and Donald Fagen met as students at Bard College during the late Sixties, they hit it off over a shared love of jazz, Dylan and the sardonic, post-modern humor of writers like Kurt Vonnegut and John Barth. Thus began the symbiotic relationship that produced a string of sophisticated, acerbic songs that still felt at home amidst the laidback mood of Seventies FM radio — hits like "Do It Again," "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Peg." Setting wry and cryptic, yet oddly poignant, lyrics to music that combined elements of rock and jazz, complex musicianship and smooth melodies, Steely Dan went on a run of near-perfect albums from 1972's Can't Buy a Thrill to 1977's Aja. "I would come up with a basic musical structure, perhaps a hook line and occasionally a story idea," Fagen once said, recalling their process. "Walter would listen to what I had and come up with some kind of narrative structure. We'd work on music and lyrics together, inventing characters, adding musical and verbal jokes, polishing the arrangements and smoking Turkish cigarettes." Though they rarely left the studio during the Seventies, they tour a surprising amount today, playing sets dedicated to their classic albums.
Dan Penn
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Dan Penn
Often working with Spooner Oldham, Penn was an integral part of the Southern soul sound that flowed out of Muscle Shoals and Memphis, and their songs about the hard price lovers pay for their desires became classics: "Dark End of the Street" for James Carr, "I'm Your Puppet" for James and Bobby Purify, "Cry Like a Baby" for the Box Tops (it was Penn who produced "The Letter" for Alex Chilton's first group). The way he could mix the deep grooves of church music and blues with lighter pop melodies electrified his music, but there was nothing light about his greatest work, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man." Written with Chips Moman, it was recorded by Aretha Franklin in 1967, and the feminist power of Franklin's calm preaching about temptation, fidelity and sexual equality was, as Jerry Wexler put it, "perfection." "I think all the best songs come out of just pure, raw feeling that you can't quite explain," Penn once said. "Everything we get is just a gift we can borrow for awhile."
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James Taylor
Taylor was one of the most successful and influential artists to emerge from the "singer-songwriter" scene of the early Seventies. By chronicling every aspect of his life — drug addiction, recovery, marriages and divorces, deaths of friends and family members — he created the mold for confessional balladeers from Cat Stevens to Elliott Smith. "It comes out of a sort of mood of melancholy, somehow," Taylor once told Rolling Stone of his songwriting process. And like Taylor himself, standards like "Fire and Rain," "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" and "Copperline" seem delicate yet are as melodically sturdy as oak trees. As his friend and former guitarist Danny Kortchmar has said, "They're like Christmas carols. It sounds like they were written a hundred years ago." Taylor himself knows that some people slag him for the first-person aspect of his writing: "If you think it's sentimental and self-absorbed, then I agree with you, basically. It's not for everybody. And it doesn't pretend to be. But to me, there's still something compelling to me about doing it."
Jay Z
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Jay Z
No hip-hop artist has reached the Billboard Top Ten more times than Jay Z, and none has done more to shape both the culture and music around him. His most indelible songs — "Izzo (Hova)," "99 Problems," "Big Pimpin'" — mix diamond-sharp rhymes with unshakable hooks. As he notes himself, in the late Nineties and early 2000s, it wasn't summer without a Jay Z hit blasting out of every car window. Recent highpoints like the Kanye West collaboration "Otis" and 2013's "Picasso Baby" show that no number of lunches with Warren Buffet or late-night diaper-duty emergency calls can slow down his de Vinci flow and Sinatra roll. He began writing as a childhood hobby — authoring, as he later recalled, "100,000 songs before I had as record deal." Over the years, his recording-booth ability to conjure intricate verses out of thin air has become legend, but he's a also master of fitting the right lyric to the right musical mood: "I try to feel the emotion of the track and try to feel what the track is talking about, let that dictate the subject matter," he has said. "The melody comes second, and then the words."
Morrissey and Marr
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Morrissey and Marr
"I really believe he's one of the best lyricists there's been," guitarist Johnny Marr said about his songwriting partner in 1989, just after the Smiths' breakup. "I don't think anyone's got his wit or insight or originality or obsession or overall dedication." Together, in less than four years, the duo wrote more than 70 songs, with Marr working as arranger and producer and Morrissey navigating whole new worlds of misery and disaffection, often with much more wit than he got credit for at the time. Morrissey's lyrics went hand-in-glove with Marr's gorgeously-detailed melodies: the lilting car-wreck fantasy "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," the Bo Diddley-in-space wallflower anthem "How Soon Is Now?," the homoerotic Afro-pop of "This Charming Man," the nouvelle vague folk of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want," and on, and on, and on. The more you listen, the clearer it becomes that Marr isn't exaggerating.
Kenny Gamble and Leon A. Huff
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Kenny Gamble and Leon A. Huff
They scored their first big hit with the Soul Survivors' "Expressway to Your Heart" in 1967, but by then the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had already been working together for five years, and over the following 15, they'd define the sound of Philadelphia soul and help invent disco. Gamble wrote most of their lyrics, and keyboardist Huff most of their music, but their roles were flexible, and so was their style: they wrote poignant love songs ("Me and Mrs. Jones"), rubbery political funk ("For the Love of Money"), and richly orchestrated dance music with the rhythms that became disco tropes (like the Soul Train theme "TSOP"). Gamble and Huff launched Philadelphia International Records in 1971, assembling a crew of musicians and engineers around them, and throughout the Seventies, they were near-permanent fixtures on the R&B charts, working with singers including the O'Jays, Lou Rawls and Teddy Pendergrass.
George Harrison
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George Harrison
Harrison wrote one of the Beatles' earliest openly political songs in 1966's "Taxman" and one of their prettiest late-period tunes in "Here Comes the Sun." But his songwriting legacy was sealed for good when Frank Sinatra declared "Something," the group's second-most-covered song after "Yesterday," to be "the greatest love song of the past 50 years." Harrison described songwriting as a means to "get rid of some subconscious burden," comparing the process to "going to confession." After the Beatles split, he let his creative impulses run free on the 1970 triple-album solo debut, All Things Must Pass, and enjoyed a strong Eighties comeback with the pop success of 1987's Cloud Nine as well his stint with the Traveling Wilburys. "If George had had his own group and was writing his own songs back then, he'd have been probably just as big as anybody," his fellow Wilbury Bob Dylan said.
Bert Berns
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Bert Berns
A kid from the Bronx who fell in love with black and Latino music and even traveled to Cuba during Fidel Castro's revolution, Bert Berns got his start in 1960 at age 31 as a Brill Building songwriter and went on a run that included hits like "Twist & Shout," the Exciters' "Tell Him" and Salomon Burke's "Cry to Me." Where other writers of the time strove for sophistication, Berns' songs communicated a fierce romantic hunger and longing. After working as a producer at Atlantic Records, he established his own labels Bang and Shout, where he collaborated closely with Van Morrison (most famously on the singer's biggest hit, "Brown Eyed Girl") and wrote "Piece of My Heart," which was covered by Big Brother and the Holding Company. Berns, who suffered from chronic health problems since childhood, died of a heart attack in 1967 at 38. Despite his enormous reputation among other songwriters, he remains a relatively obscure figure in pop history. "Bert deserves to be elevated to his rightful place in the music industry," Paul McCartney recently said.
Chrissie Hynde
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Chrissie Hynde
As the leader of Pretenders, Hynde linked the start-and-go rhythms and abrasive guitars of post-punk to a heartland rocker's sense of straightforward melody. Hynde had one of the best runs of the New Wave era: winning over a wide pop audience with sharp tunes like "Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)," "Middle of the Road," and "Back on the Chain Gang" as well as the buoyant "Don't Get Me Wrong" and ballads like "2000 Miles." Despite her innate sense of craft, the brash-sounding singer was actually a bit sheepish about her idiosyncratic song structures, admitting, "People talk about songwriting clinics and how to construct a song and I'm sitting there thinking, 'I didn't know that!'" Hynde's lyrics proved even more influential, articulating a complex female toughness that wasn't just a sexy pose, inspiring guitar-slinging women and self-directed pop stars like Madonna, who said, "It gave me courage, inspiration, to see a woman with that kind of confidence in a man's world."
Harry Nilsson
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Harry Nilsson
Nilsson was a pioneer of the Los Angeles studio sound, a crucial bridge between the baroque psychedelic pop of the late Sixties and the more personal singer-songwriter era of the Seventies. Overdubbing his flawless voice, he was his own angelic choir on songs like "1941" and the Beatles medley "You Can't Do That," and he caught the ear of Beatles publicist Derek Taylor, who bought a box of Nilsson records to send to friends. A lifelong friendship with John Lennon — who produced Nilsson's Pussy Cats during his Lost Weekend period — followed. In songs like "You're Breaking My Heart" (". . .so fuck you"), "Gotta Get Up," and "I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City" he applied pop color to the darkness of a shut in, and Three Dog Night turned "One" (". . .is the loneliest number"), into a Top Five hit in 1969. "He had a gift for melody. Which is a rare, inexplicable talent to have," Randy Newman once said of Nilsson's easy way with complex melodies and counterpoint. "People like McCartney have it, Schubert, Elton John has it. Harry had that gift."
Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman
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Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman
Jerome Felder was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn who'd been on crutches since he'd contracted polio at age six. When he started trying to establish himself as a blues singer, he called himself Doc Pomus. But he gave up his performing career in the late Fifties and formed a songwriting partnership with Mort Shuman. Together their ability to match sweet melodies and multi-faceted lyrics was second only to Leiber and Stoller among early rock & roll songwriters. Between 1958 and 1964, they wrote a string of sly, swaggering hits that bridged the divide between R&B and pop — most famously the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me," Elvis Presley's "Little Sister," Dion's "A Teenager in Love" and Andy Williams' "Can't Get Used to Losing You." One example of Pomus' lyrical inventiveness is Ben E. King's "Young Boy Blues," a collaboration with Phil Spector, in which every verse is effectively one long sentence. Spector later called Pomus, who died of cancer in 1991, "the greatest songwriter who ever lived."
Willie Nelson
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Willie Nelson
Nelson was a struggling Music Row pro when Faron Young cut his ode to an empty room, "Hello Walls," in 1961. A string of undeniable classics followed — "Night Life," "Funny How Time Slips Away," and "Crazy," immortalized by Patsy Cline — and Nelson began his own recording career, to fair results. But in the early Seventies he moved to Austin, Texas, and reinvented himself as a link between Nashville's tradition and rock's imperative of personal freedom, making concept albums like Phases and Stages and Red Headed Stranger, helping pioneer the stripped-down Outlaw Country movement and rising as the greatest interpreter of American song outside Frank Sinatra. No one except Dylan has embraced the endless highway with more artistic success — as explained by Nelson in "On the Road Again," a Top 20 Grammy-winning hit in 1980 — and his studio career is just as endless, ranging from Texas swing to reggae to standards with strings. "Willie sort of creeps up on you," Keith Richards once said. "Those beautiful mixtures he has between blues and country and mariachi, that Tex-Mex bit, that tradition of a beautiful cross section of music. . .He's unique."
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Tom Petty
"The words just came tumbling out of me," Petty said of "American Girl," his greatest song and first hit single. He began as the Seventies and Eighties most commercially potent inheritor of the Sixties songwriting tradition, knocking out hit after hit of compact, hard-jangling rock & roll – from "I Need to Know" to "Refugee" to "The Waiting." As he's aged, Petty has movingly explored relationships (1999's divorce chronicle Echo) and the dark side of the American dream itself (2014's Hypnotic Eye), always rooting his music in a sense of our common experience (Johnny Cash told Petty that the title track from 1985's Southern Accents should replace "Dixie" as the region's unofficial anthem). "When young musicians ask me what the most important thing is, I always say it's the song," Petty told Rolling Stone in 2009. "You know, you can chrome a turd, but it's not going to do any good."
George Clinton
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George Clinton
For all of pioneering funk radical George Clinton's subversive use of hard grooves, distortion, jamming, Afro-futurism and arena-wowing spaceships, the vast P-Funk canon was built on traditional songwriting chops. Parliament was born as a doo-wop group in the Fifties led by Clinton, a young Leiber and Stoller fan who worked briefly in the Brill Building and later spent time as a Motown songwriter. After his exposure to Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge and copious amounts of psychedelics, Clinton's pop-wise sense of puns and wordplay helped drive home his interstellar philosophizing. "It was a way of bending people's minds and showing them that what they took for granted might not be the truth at all," he wrote in his bio. "In other words, it was classic psychedelic thinking in the sense that you didn't take no — or yes — for an answer, instead tunneling down a little bit to see what else might be there beyond the binary." Eventually, Clinton's songwriting became a foundation for the G-Funk of the Nineties, including songs like Dr. Dre's "Dre Day" and Snoop Dogg's "Who Am I (What's My Name?)."
Joe Strummer and Mick Jones
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Joe Strummer and Mick Jones
It isn't a stretch to call Joe Strummer and Mick Jones the Lennon and McCartney of the U.K. punk explosion. Between their roaring debut in 1977 and their split in 1983, the duo wrote at a feverish pace, often in Jones' grandmother's flat in a high-rise council estate, bashing out finished songs together as a full band in their rehearsal space. The Clash's 1980 watershed London Calling, which Rolling Stone declared the best album of the Eighties, became a double album not by design but because they were writing so many songs so quickly at the time. "Joe, once he learned how to type, would bang the lyrics out at a high rate of good stuff," Jones recalled. "Then I'd be able to bang out some music while he was hitting the typewriter." Strummer was the band's social conscious, taking the lion's share of the vocals, while Jones came up with the band's most memorable pop moments — 1980's "Train In Vain" and their 1982 smash "Should I Stay or Should I Go." Though they didn't work together for years after Strummer fired Jones from the Clash, the pair was back collaborating on songs shortly before Strummer's death in 2002. "We wrote a batch," said Jones. "We didn't used to write one, we used to write a batch at a time — like gumbo."
Madonna
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Madonna
Before she was a star, Madonna was a songwriter with a sharp ear for a hook and a lyrical catchphrase, playing tracks like "Lucky Star" for record companies in the hope of scoring a contract. Her earliest hits honed the electro beats coming out of the New York club scene into universal radio gold. But songs like her greatest statement, "Like a Prayer," can also summon an anthemic power to rival Springsteen or U2. Madonna has enlisted numerous collaborators en route to selling more than 300 million albums — she started working with longtime writing partner Patrick Leonard after he brought her "Live to Tell" in 1986, and from Shep Pettibone and William Orbit in the Nineties through Diplo, Avicii and Kanye West on 2015's Rebel Heart, she's worked successfully with producers across many genres. Through it all, her songs have been consistently stamped with her own sensibility and inflected with autobiographical detail. "She grew up on Joni Mitchell and Motown and. . . embodies the best of both worlds," says Rick Nowells, who co-wrote with Madonna on 1998's Ray of Light. "She is a wonderful confessional songwriter, as well as being a superb hit chorus pop writer."
Tom Waits
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Tom Waits
Waits began as a throwback, a beatnik jazzbo singing the praises of old cars and barflies and looking for the heart of Saturday night. His early period produced gems like "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)" and "Jersey Girl," made most famous by Bruce Springsteen. But with 1983's Swordfishtrombones and 1985's Rain Dogs he blossomed into what he called his "sur-rural" period, drawing on old blues, German cabaret and street-corner R&B to create songs populated by dice-throwing one-armed dwarves, men with missing fingers playing strange guitars and phantom truck-drivers named Big Joe. "You wave your hand and they scatter like crows," he sang in his rusted plow-blade voice to a Brooklyn girl about her suitors. "They're just thorns without the rose." It would be his biggest hit — Rod Stewart took "Downtown Train" to Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989. "The creative process is imagination, memories, nightmares and dismantling certain aspects of this world and putting them back together in the dark," said Waits. "Songs aren't necessarily verbatim chronicles or necessarily journal entries, they're like smoke."
Kurt Cobain
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Kurt Cobain
Nirvana's skull-crushing noise assault would have meant little if not for the deceptively brilliant pop craft underpinning it. Kurt Cobain was raised on Beatles LPs, which you can hear in songs like "About a Girl" and "Something in the Way." And he employed Dylan-style love-and-theft to left-field pop as well, masterfully distilling indie-rock icons Pixies in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and U.K. post-punks Killing Joke in "Come as You Are." Lyrically, songs like "Rape Me" and "Stay Away" (with its memorable "God is gay" declaration) brought deep gender studies provocations to a mass audience — one of the most astonishing subversive achievements in rock history. And if lines like "I feel stupid and contagious/here we are now, entertain us" became generational epigrams, it's in their cryptic ability to nail inarticulate pain. "I don't like to make things too obvious, because it gets stale," Cobain said. "It's the way I like art."
Stevie Nicks
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Stevie Nicks
Fleetwood Mac blew up in the Seventies thanks to three top-notch singer-songwriters — guitarist/producer/mastermind Lindsey Buckingham, bluesy songbird Christine McVie and the gypsy queen herself, Stevie Nicks. Her "Rhiannon," "Sara" and "Gold Dust Woman" were full of post-hippie witchy imagery, but under the gossamer surface, they were deceptively tough-minded accounts of heartbreak and betrayal in the L.A. heyday of free love and hard drugs. She and Buckingham were a couple when they joined Fleetwood Mac, but some of her greatest songs came out of the wreckage of their relationship — including the Number One "Dreams." "We write about each other, we have continually written about each other, and we'll probably keep writing about each other until we're dead," she told Rolling Stone last year. She remains undiminished as a writer, as she proved on her 2011 gem In Your Dreams. But her most famous song is still "Landslide," her acoustic lament for children growing older, written before she'd even turned 30. "I was only 27," she said. "It was 1973 when I wrote it, about a year before I joined Fleetwood Mac. You can feel really old at 27."
The Notorious B.I.G.
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The Notorious B.I.G.
The greatest rapper ever balanced gangsta realness and R&B playfulness, proving that a self-described "black and ugly" corner kid from Brooklyn could blow up to become a pop superstar through sheer brilliance and charisma. At the heart of Biggie's music was a gift for rolling off scrolls of buoyant lines that were as singable as they were quotable — "Birthdays were the worst days, now we sip champagne when we're thirsty," "Poppa been smooth since days of Underoos" and on and on. Working with pop-savvy producer Sean "Puffy" Combs, Biggie raised his game throughout his brief career —from the social realism of "Things Done Changed" to the euphoric rags-to-riches celebration "Juicy" to effortlessly virtuosic performances like "Hypnotize" and "Ten Crack Commandments," both from his 1997 swan song Life After Death. "I wanted to release music that let people know he was more than just a gangsta rapper," Combs said later. "He showed his pain, but in the end he wanted to make people feel good."
Willie Dixon
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Willie Dixon
Dixon was a fine performer and bass player, but he made his greatest contribution as house songwriter at Chess Records in the 1950s. Dixon was essential in shaping the sound of post-war Chicago blues, supplying masters like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf with riffs as crisp as the creases in a new suit and lyrics so boastful that they'd be terrifying if half-true. By the early Sixties, as a new generation discovered the blues, plenty of young white men were learning to exaggerate their sexual prowess from Dixon's songs. It's possible that no blues writer other than Robert Johnson had had as profound an impact on the development of rock music: Mick Jagger acquired his strut from "Little Red Rooster," which the Stones faithfully covered in 1964; the Doors did a leering L.A. version of "Back Door Man" on their 1967 debut; and Led Zeppelin belatedly admitted the debt "Whole Lotta Love" owed to Dixon's "You Need Love" and "Bring It on Home" when they settled a copyright dispute in the Eighties. "He's the backbone of postwar blues writing," Keith Richards has said, "the absolute."
Billy Joel
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Billy Joel
From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island, rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand — Billy Joel, in real life a piano man from Hicksville. Joel started out playing in rock & roll bands before returning to the piano at the beginning of the Seventies. "After seven years of trying to make it as a rock star, I decided to do what I always wanted to do — write about my own experiences," he said in 1971, around the time of his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor. Joel has always had a heart in Tin Pan Alley, first hitting it big in the Seventies with the semi-confessional tale of wasting away as a lounge performer, "Piano Man." But he's applied his old-school craft to a host of rock styles, scoring hits as a blue-collar balladeer ("She's Always a Woman") or a doo-wop soul man ("The Longest Time"), trying out jazzy Scorcese-like streetlife serenades ("Zanzibar," "Stiletto"). His signature song, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," is an epic seven-minute tale of suburban dreams biting the dust down at the Parkway Diner. Happy 50th anniversary, Brenda and Eddie.
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Don Henley and Glenn Frey
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Don Henley and Glenn Frey
The two future Eagles were lucky to meet up in L.A. in the early Seventies, but in their hunger for success, they were even more fortunate to have formidable competition. "In the beginning, we were the underdogs," Frey once said. "Being in close proximity to Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills and Nash, this unspoken thing was created between Henley and me, which said, 'If we want to be up here with the big boys, we'd better write some fucking good songs.'" They proceeded to do just that: Whether composing together ("Desperado," "One of These Nights," "Tequila Sunrise," "Lyin' Eyes") or with other band members ("Hotel California," "Life in the Fast Lane," "New Kid in Town"), Henley and Frey knew that songs — and fastidiously produced recordings of them— would be the key to their success far more so than their harmonies or lack of flashy showmanship. And those songs, soaked in world-weariness, cynicism, resentment and the occasional happy ending, were so precisely crafted that, decades later, they keep people returning to the records and seeing the band's seemingly endless reunion tour.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin
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Elton John and Bernie Taupin
In 1967, a clever record company executive paired lyricist Bernie Taupin and a young piano player named Reginald Kenneth Dwight. Their partnership has endured for nearly 50 years, putting 57 songs in the Top 40. "Without [Bernie] the journey would not have been possible," Elton said in 1994. "I let all my expressions and my love and my pain and my anger come out with my melodies. I had someone to write my words for me. Without him, the journey would not have been possible." Their process has remained nearly identical from day one: Bernie writes a lyric and sends it to Elton, who sits down at a piano and turns it into a song. They first hit it big in the Seventies with "Your Song," a tune that Taupin now calls "one of the most naïve and childish lyrics in the entire repertoire of music." But it quickly lead to more advanced work like "Madman Across the Water," "Levon" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," along with goofy fun tunes like "Bennie and the Jets" and "Crocodile Rock." "Andy Warhol never explained what his paintings were about," Taupin said said in 2013. "He'd just say, 'What does it mean to you?' That's how I feel about songs."
Neil Diamond
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Neil Diamond
There's a reason Diamond's songs have been covered by everyone from the Monkees and Smash Mouth to Sinatra. First are the meaty, hooky melodies, dating back to early Diamond sing-alongs like "Cherry, Cherry" and "Sweet Caroline" and extending into later, more brooding angst-a-thons like "I Am. . .I Said" and "Song Sung Blue." The all-ages appeal of his music also has to do with the way Diamond has sketched out his life — and the lives of many of his fans. From his early, frisky Brill Building pop ("I'm a Believer") to the later-life love songs about his latest wife, few singers brood and contemplate life in song the way Diamond has. And let's not forget the ebullient "Cracklin' Rosie," the vaguely salacious "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," just two of the more than 50 songs he's placed in the Billboard Top 100 during his half-century-plus career. "I'm motivated to find myself," he told Rolling Stone in 1976. "I do it in a very silly way. I write these little songs and go and sing them. . .It seems like an odd way to gain an inner sense of acceptance of the self. But it's what I do."
Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
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Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong sang Motown's first big hit, 1959's "Money (That's What I Want)," but found an even greater success as a lyricist. For a six-year stretch beginning with 1967's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," he and composer/producer Norman Whitfield were a mighty songwriting team at Motown. Working most famously with the Temptations, they created "psychedelic soul," built on Whitfield's expansively experimental production and Strong's downbeat, socially conscious lyrics. As far away from pop convention as Whitfield and Strong's music could be — several of the artists they worked with grew frustrated with their freakiness — their sound found its audience: the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," the Undisputed Truth's "Smiling Faces Sometimes" and Edwin Starr's vehement protest diatribe "War" were all huge hits. "Norman Whitfield was the visionary," Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey recalled. "He was always building up layers, making breakdowns, creating this searing funk with amazing dynamic changes."
Robbie Robertson
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Robbie Robertson
At a time when many rock songwriters were interested in psychedelic escapism, the Band's Robbie Robertson looked for inspiration in America — its history, its myths and its music. Songs like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Up on Cripple Creek," "The Weight" and "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" were, as Greil Marcus wrote in Mystery Train, "committed to the very idea of America: complicated, dangerous and alive." Robinson's songwriting grounded the Band, influencing generations of back-to-the-land rockers. Yet, he was content to play a kind of behind-the-scenes role, passing out songs for the Band's three distinct vocalists — Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel — in an act of generosity that enhanced the Band's theme of communal progress and spirit. "I had almost like a theater workshop," he said, "where you're casting people in these parts, and that's what my job was then." Since the Band ended its run, Robinson has only released albums sporadically; his most recent, 2013's How to Become Clairvoyant, delivered vintage American idioms with a 21st Century feel.
Jimmy Webb
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Jimmy Webb
"[Songwriting] is hell on Earth," Jimmy Webb wrote in his book, Tunesmith. "If it isn't, then you're doing it wrong." Born in Oklahoma in 1946, Webb is an heir to the Great American Songbook. Sixties hits like "Up, Up and Away," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," and "Wichita Lineman" marked him as an MOR master, a pigeonhole that irked him no end: According to Linda Ronstadt, Webb "was shunned and castigated for what was perceived as his lack of hipness." While he's recognized today for his unique explorations themes of loneliness and individuality in the American landscape, his most popular song remains an abiding enigma. "I don't think it's a very good song," he said of "MacArthur Park," the much-covered 1968 hit he penned for singer Richard Harris. "But the American people appear to have developed an incredible fascination with the one image of the cake out in the rain."
Johnny Cash
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Johnny Cash
His voice had the authority of experience, and so did his songs. In them, he was the man who taught the weeping willow how to cry, the solitary figure who wore black for the poor and beaten-down, the stone-cold killer who boasted he'd "shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." At Sun Records and later at Columbia — in songs like "I Walk the Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Big River," "Five Feet High and Rising" and "I Still Miss Someone" — he married the language of country, blues and gospel to the emerging snap of rock & roll. He recognized emerging talent, recording Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" and Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down," and one of his signature songs was written by his future wife, June Carter, about their emerging love. And he never stopped, recording "The Wanderer" with U2 in 1993, and a series of albums with Rick Rubin in his final years as he battled the effects of Shy-Dragger Syndrome. "Blessed with a profound imagination, he used the gift to express all the various lost causes of the human soul," Dylan wrote after Cash's death in 2003. "This is a miraculous and humbling thing. Listen to him, and he always brings you to your senses."
Sly Stone
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Sly Stone
"My only weapon is my pen/And the frame of mind I'm in," Sly Stone muttered on "Poet," his clearest public statement on the art of songwriting. In his late-Sixties/early-Seventies prime, it was a potent combination: composer/producer David Axelrod called him "the greatest talent in pop music history." Born Sylvester Stewart, Sly was a DJ and record producer with an equal love for soul music ands the Beatles. When he convened Sly and the Family Stone in the late Sixties, he deployed a fast-talking radio jock's ear for aphorism ("different strokes for different folks," "I want to take you higher") and an ability to make tricky arrangements seem natural ("Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin" builds raw funk out of everyone in the band playing radically different parts). From the optimism of "Everyday People" to the funky angst of 1971's There's a Riot Goin' On, his music mapped the flower-power era's journey from utopian promise to catastrophic meltdown as well as anyone, and his grooves and riffs have been endlessly sampled by the hip-hop artists to arrive in his wake. "I have no doubt about my music," Sly said in 1970. "The truth sustains."
Max Martin
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Max Martin
Every pop era has at least one songwriter who effortlessly taps into the zeitgeist, and for the last roughly 15 years, that person has been this Swedish writer-producer. Starting in the Nineties with the Backstreet Boy's "I Want It That Way" and Britney Spears' "…Baby One More Time," among others, Martin helped create the whooshing, hyper-energized sound of modern pop — a talent that has extended to a mind-boggling list of recent collaborations that include Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" and "Teenage Dream," Ariana Grande's "Problem," Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want from Me." "I try to make the songs as good as I can — the way I like it, you know?" Martin has said. "And I guess my taste sometimes happens to be what other people, particularly radio programmers, like, too. As you know, a lot of the stuff that was once considered rubbish or 'for kids' is now considered classic."
John Fogerty
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John Fogerty
"In 1968 I always used to say that I wanted to make records they would still play on the radio in ten years," Creedence Clearwater Revival architect John Fogerty told Rolling Stone in 1993. Try 50 years. CCR were the catchy, hard-driving dance band amidst the psychedelic San Francisco ballroom scene of the late Sixties, scoring 12 Top 40 hits during their run while releasing an incredible five albums between 1968 and 1970. Fogerty's songwriting process reflected the blue-collar worldview of a guy who wrote his first Top 10 hit (1969's "Proud Mary") just two days after being discharged from the Army Reserves: "Just sitting very late at night," he said. "It was quiet, the lights were low. There was no extra stimulus, no alcohol or drugs or anything. It was purely mental. . .I had discovered what all writers discover, whether they're told or not, that you could do anything." Fogerty later admitted to envying the critical adulation received by Bob Dylan and the Band, but he tapped the tenor of his times as well as anyone, whether on the class conscious Vietnam protest anthem "Fortunate Son" or "Bad Moon Rising," which channeled America's sense of impending apocalyptic into two-and-a-half choogling minutes.
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David Bowie
The first time most people heard David Bowie, he was playing an astronaut named Major Tom, floating through space, completely cut off from civilization. Within a couple of years Bowie was channeling that sense of cosmic alienation into albums like 1971's Hunky Dory and the 1972's classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, emerging as one of the most creative (and unpredictable) songwriting forces of the 1970s. Early on, Bowie specialized in offering an indelible vision of the Seventies glam-rock demimonde. Lyrically, his use of William Burroughs-style cut and paste made for fascinating, if at times, baffling flows of image and ideas. "You write down a paragraph or two describing several different subjects creating a kind of story ingredients-list, I suppose, and then cut the sentences into four or five-word sections; mix 'em up and reconnect them," he once said, describing a process that sometimes involves literally pulling phrases out of a hat. "You can get some pretty interesting idea combinations like this." Bowie is also one of rock's great collaborators, whether he's working with Brian Eno, Mick Ronson or Iggy Pop. On timeless songs like "Life on Mars" or "Changes" or "Heroes," his ability to combine accessibility and idiosyncrasy makes for music that marries art and pop and transfigures culture itself.
Al Green
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Al Green
He didn't start writing songs in earnest until he'd recorded a few albums, and his songwriting gifts have been overshadowed by his vocal mastery. Still, Al Green's best original material isn't just a showcase for his voice. Starting in the early Seventies, Green, working with Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell and guitarist/co-writer Teenie Hodges, created a rich catalog of songs that mixed sacred and profane like no other soul singer of any era. Green sang about romantic ecstasy and failings and deeper longings for divine love (the language of Scripture has never been far from his lyrics, even when he was writing secular material). And you could put together a rock-solid compilation of Green's songs that became hits in the hands of other artists: Syl Johnson's (or Talking Heads') "Take Me to the River," Tina Turner's "Let's Stay Together," UB40's "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)," Meli'sa Morgan's "Still in Love With You," Earnest Jackson's "Love and Happiness," and on and on. His songs weren't as political as Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway," Justin Timberlake wrote in Rolling Stone, "But if those guys were speaking to you, Al Green was speaking for you."
Jackson Browne
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Jackson Browne
He may sound (and look) like the prototypical SoCal balladeer, but Browne has spent his career pushing the singer-songwriter envelope. He's written some of rock's most finely observed songs not just about his journey through life (from the prematurely wise "These Days," penned when he was 16 years old, through more recent songs like "The Night Inside Me"), but has also ventured into social critiques ("Lawyers in Love") and political protest ("Lives in the Balance"). Whatever the subject, Browne brings the same probing, thoughtful take on what he called, in "Looking East," "the search for the truth." "The nature of my music has to do with dealing with very fundamental things by depicting my own experience," he told Rolling Stone in 1976. "There's nothing that isn't pretty fundamental." And in "Running on Empty," "Boulevard" and others, he also knew, far more than most of his peers, the value in rocking out. "I learned through Jackson's ceiling and my floor how to write songs," Glenn Frey recalled of a period when he lived in an apartment one floor above Browne, "elbow grease, time, thought, persistence."
Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
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Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia, the writing partners at the center of the Grateful Dead, are the psychedelic Rodgers and Hart. The duo charted deep space — inner and outer—on early collaborations like "Dark Star." But beginning with 1969's Aoxomoxoa, and hitting stride with the 1970 doubleheader of Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, they uncorked a vividly mythic America full of crooked gamblers, coked-up train engineers, strange sea-captains, story-telling crows, card-playing wolves, and — fittingly— transcendence-seeking musicians. "You'd see Hunter standing over in the corner," drummer Mickey Hart said of the time Hunter joined up with the Dead. "He had this little dance he'd do. He had one foot off the ground and he'd be writing in his notebooks. He was communing with the music. And all of a sudden, we had songs." The storytelling was always a delight, but it was Hunter's way with a homey-cosmic aphorism that made Dead lyrics so tattoo-able, bobbing and bouncing on Garcia's sweet, sad melody lines like glinting revelations. "Let there be songs to fill the air," insists the singer on "Ripple," one of the duo's most indelible numbers. And voila: there they are.
Bono and the Edge
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Bono and the Edge
When they first got started in the 1970s, the ambitious lads in U2 made a deal to split all their publishing money evenly. But as important to U2's sound as Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. may be, Bono and the Edge have been the primary songwriting team in the band from day one. Bono brings the grand vision and uncanny ear for heroic hooks, and the Edge brings his sonic mastery and an eagerness to push boundaries. Working together, the duo have pursued their expansive vision from the adolescent cry of "Out of Control" to political anthems like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to the stadium-shaking roar of "Where the Streets Have No Name" to the funky, danceable "Mysterious Ways" and "Discotheque" all the way through the highly-personable "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" from last year's Songs of Innocence. As the band's charismatic frontman, Bono may soak up a lot of the credit, but he's the first to admit how important the Edge is to their songwriting. "Smart people know what [the Edge] does, and he doesn't care about the rest of the world," Bono told Rolling Stone in 2005. "I get annoyed and I say, 'How do people not know?'"
Michael Jackson
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Michael Jackson
Jackson's innate musical genius could be heard on the earliest Jackson 5 chart-toppers. And he came into his own with the sterling disco pop of 1979's Off the Wall and the monumental Thriller, where he got sole writing credit on "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something." By Bad in 1987, he was getting a writing credit on nearly every song on the record. Jackson's collaborators and co-writers marvel at the way his dance-floor classics sprang full-formed from their creator's head. That, Michael said, was the only way he could write: "If I sat down at a piano, if I sat here and played some chords. . .nothing happens." Even more remarkably, the singer imagined the full arrangements for these songs as he wrote them, working from the basic rhythmic elements all the way up to the smallest ornamentations. "He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part," engineer Rob Hoffman recalls. "Had it all in his head; harmony and everything. Not just little eight-bar loop ideas. He would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills."
Merle Haggard
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Merle Haggard
"Hag, you're the guy people think I am," said Johnny Cash to Merle Haggard, whose life and lyrics intertwined magnificently. Among Haggard's 38 Number One country hits, signature tunes like "Okie From Muskogee," "Mama Tried" and "Sing Me Back Home" mixed autobiography and attitude with a honky-tonk spirit in the tradition of Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams. As he told American Songwriter in 2010, "Sometimes the songs got to coming too fast for me to write, and sometimes they still do." The prolific Haggard, who once released eight albums in a three-year period, is an icon of country conservatism thanks to his hippie-baiting classic "Okie From Muskogee." Yet, his music directly influenced rock touchstones like the Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead and the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet, and Hag has been influenced right back. "I'm a rock & roller," he recently told Rolling Stone. "I'm a country guy because of my raisin', but I'm a Chuck Berry man. I love Fats Domino just as much as I like Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell."
Burt Bacharach and Hal David
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Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Burt Bacharach studied classical composition with French composer Darius Milhaud and was part of avant-garde icon John Cage's circle. But he chose pop music as a career and started writing songs with lyricist Hal David, who had a knack for matching wistful sentiments to Bacharach's unconventional jazz chords and constantly shifting time signatures. ("It all counts," Bacharach said. "There is no filler in a three-and-a-half-minute song.") Their first hit came in 1957, but their partnership really took off five years later, when they started working with singer Dionne Warwick. Between 1962 and 1971, Warwick charted with dozens of Bacharach/David songs like "I Say a Little Prayer," "Walk on By" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart." Their songs were hits for other artists, too: Richard Carpenter of the Carpenters, who went to Number One with "Close to You," called Bacharach "one of the most gifted composers who ever drew a breath. . .unorthodox never sounded lovelier or more clever."
Dolly Parton
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Dolly Parton
With 3,000 songs to her name — including more than 20 Number One country singles —Dolly Parton has enjoyed one of country's most impressive songwriting careers. Parton tapped her hardscrabble Tennessee-hills upbringing on songs like "Coat of Many Colors" and "The Bargain Store," and throughout the Seventies, her songs broke new ground in describing romantic heartache and marital hardship. On "Travelin' Man," from her 1971 masterpiece Coat of Many Colors, Parton's mom runs off with her man, and on the gut-wrenching "If I Lose My Mind," also on that album, Parton watches while her boyfriend has sex with another woman. Over the years, her songs have been covered by everyone from the White Stripes to LeAnn Rimes to Whitney Houston, who had an enormous hit with her version of Parton's ballad "I Will Always Love You." Parton has always had a self-deprecating sense of humor (she once described her voice as "a cross between Tiny Tim and a nanny goat"). But she doesn't do much joking around when it comes to the art of songwriting. "I've always prided myself as a songwriter more than anything else" she once said, adding "nothing is more sacred and more precious to me than when I really can get in that zone where it's just God and me."
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Pete Townshend
The Who had a one-of-a-kind drummer, a brilliant bassist, a towering singer — and their songs featured some pretty impressive guitar playing too. But they would never have gone anywhere if Pete Townshend hadn't developed into an endlessly innovative songwriter. Early tunes like their debut single "I Can't Explain" and the epochal anthem "My Generation" were fueled by adolescent angst, but with each passing year, Townshend became more and more ambitious, moving from a loose concept record about a pirate radio station (1967's The Who Sell Out) to a groundbreaking rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind pinball star (1969's Tommy) to a double LP about a young mod facing with a form of split personality disorder (1973's Quadrophenia.) His output slowed down considerably by the mid-1980s and he's released a scant two albums in the past three decades. But what he accomplished in the Who's first 15 years transformed the possibilities of rock music. "If I did [release another album], I think I would want it to be something that really addressed everything that's going on in the world at the moment," he told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "I'm old enough and wise enough and stupid enough and have done enough dangerous shit to say pretty much whatever I like."
Buddy Holly
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Buddy Holly
Chuck Berry wrote about teenage America. Buddy Holly, the other great rock & roll singer-songwriter of the Fifties, embodied it. Holly had only been making records for a little less than two years when he died in a plane crash in 1959 at age 22. Yet, in that brief career, he created an amazing body of work. On songs like "That'll Be the Day," "Rave On," "Everyday," "Oh Boy," "Peggy Sue" and "Not Fade Away," his buoyant, hiccupping vocals and wiry, exuberant guitar playing drove home lyrics that seemed to sum up the hopes, aspirations and fears of the kids buying his records. After a failed attempt to make it in Nashville as a country artist, Holly returned to his native Lubbock, Texas, where he and his band the Crickets drove to producer Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico, to cut a version of "That'll Day Be the Day" (a song Decca Records had rejected), that became a Number One single. Though Petty often took co-writing credit on his songs, Holly was one of the first rock & roll singers to write his own material, exerting a huge influence on the Beatles and Rolling Stone, among countless others. The Beatles' name was inspired by the Crickets and, according to legend, when the Fab Four arrived in America to play The Ed Sullivan Show, John Lennon asked, "Is this the stage Buddy Holly played on?"
Woody Guthrie
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Woody Guthrie
The most influential folk singer in American history once described his creative process thusly: "When I'm writing a song and I get the words, I look around for some tune that has proved its popularity with the people." Born to a relatively prosperous Oklahoma family and radicalized during the Great Depression, the former Woodrow Wilson Guthrie scoured the American musical tradition —from country music to church songs to blues to novelty tunes — and created songs that addressed, and helped shape, the world unfolding around him. ("This Land Is Your Land," which he recorded in 1940 while on leave from the merchant marines, borrowed its melody from an old gospel tune called "Oh My Loving Brother.") The scope of his music is almost unparalleled: Guthrie wrote children's songs and Hanukkah songs, songs supporting unions and World War II and the construction of several dams, songs that celebrated Jesus as an outlaw and criticized Charles Lindbergh as a Nazi sympathizer, even a song about a flying saucer. Guthrie's music, Bob Dylan wrote in Chronicles, "had the infinite sweep of humanity."
Ray Davies
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Ray Davies
"In British rock," said the Who's Pete Townshend of his onetime rival, "Ray Davies is our only true and natural genius." The Kinks' primary songwriter helped invent punk rock with "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night." But with songs like "Waterloo Sunset," "A Well Respected Man," "Sunny Afternoon," "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," and many more, Davies perfected a uniquely English songcraft, rooted in the sly wit and tunefulness of early music hall tradition but extended with fresh concerns (courting a trans woman in "Lola," for instance), a storyteller's exacting eye for realism, and a signature delight in upending British class hierarchies. But it's his ability to nail emotion that makes simple love songs like "Days" incandescent, and elevates a lonely meditation like "Waterloo Sunset" into what some consider the most beautiful song in the English language. "I think the things I write about are the things I can't fight for," he told Rolling Stone in 1970. "There are a lot of things I say that are really commonplace. I can't get rid of them. I go into something minute, then look at it, then go back into it."
James Brown
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James Brown
After scoring R&B hits like "Please Please Please" and recording the greatest live album ever, 1963's Live at the Apollo, James Brown changed the pop songwriting game forever during the Sixties and early Seventies by flipping the script on songform itself, foregrounding his music in tight, tempestuous rhythm to invent what would eventually be known as funk. "Aretha and Otis and Wilson Pickett were out there and getting big. I was still called a soul singer," he once recalled. "I still call myself that but musically I had already gone off in a different direction. I had discovered that my strength was not in the horns, it was in the rhythm." A masterful arranger and composer, Brown also invented a new kind of aphoristic lyrical exhortation that became the lingua franca of hip-hop and dance music. The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business often created on the fly, scrawling lyrics on a paper bag ("Sex Machine") or a cocktail napkin ("Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud"). "He felt everything he wanted to feel, and he would use us to 'write it down,'" says Bootsy Collins, Brown's bassist in the early Seventies. "We were kind of like the interpreters of what he had to say."
Randy Newman
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Randy Newman
"When you're going 80 miles an hour down the freeway you're not necessarily going to notice irony," Randy Newman has said. "But that's what I choose to do." Indeed, he's the greatest ironist in rock & roll. On classic albums like 1970's 12 Songs and 1972's Sail Away, Newman developed characters, explored ironies and embodied perspectives no one else of his time had even considered — "Suzanne" was sung from the point of view of a rapist, "God's Song" surveyed mankind with disgust from the Almighty's easy chair and "Sail Away" was a sales pitch from an antebellum slave trader to Africans on the wonders of America ("Every man is free to take care of his home and his family"). Newman's early albums were commercial calamities, but he had a surprise hit with 1977's "Short People," a bitingly funny parody of bigotry, and he's gone on to enjoy a hugely successful second career writing soundtracks for movies like Toy Story and Monsters Inc. Newman's songs have been covered by countless artists — from Judy Collins to Harry Nilsson to Ray Charles to Manfred Man's Earth Band to Three Dog Night — and his respect among his peers is universal. T. Bone Burnett calls "Sail Away," "the greatest satire in the history of American music."
Elvis Costello
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Elvis Costello
After springing forth in 1977 as a sneering, splay-legged punk rocker with a knack for motor-mouth lyrics ("I was always into writing a lot of words," he said in 2008. "I liked the effect of a lot of images passing by quickly"), Elvis Costello evolved into a songwriter of profoundly American sensibilities and almost unparalleled versatility. Following a series of early rock masterpieces like 1978's searing This Year's Model and 1980's soul-informed tour de force Get Happy!, Costello delivered an album of pure country with 1981's Almost Blue and then hit another highpoint with the Tin Pan Alley subtlety of 1982's Imperial Bedroom. Costello's two-dozen or so best songs — "Beyond Believe," Radio, Radio," "New Lace Sleeves," "Watching the Detectives," "Oliver's Army" among them — make all those densely packed images and subtle wordplay roll by with almost Beatles-esque precision. His ability to embrace diverse styles would lead to fruitful album-length collaborations with Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, his wife, jazz singer Diane Krall, and, most recently, hip-hop crew the Roots. "It's not effortless," he told Rolling Stone in 2004. "I despaired, for a time, of writing any more words. In 'This House Is Empty Now' [on Painted From Memory], I meant this house [points to his head].'"
Robert Johnson
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Robert Johnson
Many bluesmen talked of sin and redemption. Johnson made it personal, walking side by side with Satan in "Me and the Devil Blues," rewriting the Book of Revelations as a diary entry in "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day," looking for shelter from the storm in "Hell Hound on My Trail" and enacting his own crucifixion in "Cross Road Blues." His songwriting, like his guitar playing, was at once vivid and phantasmagorical —psychedelic some 30 years before the Acid Tests — and helped set a course for Bob Dylan (who can be seen holding King of the Delta Blues on the cover of Bringing It All Back Home), the Rolling Stones (who covered "Love in Vain" and "Stop Breaking Down) and Eric Clapton (who covered "Ramblin' on My Mind" and "Cross Road Blues" and then chased Johnson's hell hounds for decades). "When I heard him for the first time, it was like he was singing only for himself, and now and then, maybe God," Clapton once said. "It is the finest music I have ever heard. I have always trusted its purity, and I always will."
Van Morrison
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Van Morrison
Morrison was a hugely successful singer before he began writing songs and he never lost he idea that even the most intricate lyrics are meant to be sung and felt. He began his career with the tough Belfast R&B of Them, and was soon creating a brand of mystic Irish rock & roll that was equally touched by Yeats and Dylan as Jackie Wilson and Leadbelly. Only Van can make a Romantic incantation like "if I ventured in the slipstream/Between the viaducts of your dream" roll out as smooth as Tupelo honey. After becoming disillusioned with commercial pop following the success of his 1967 hit "Brown Eyed Girl," he went into a brief period of down-and-out seclusion, emerging the following year with his greatest statement, Astral Weeks, singing "poetry and mythical musings channeled from my imagination" over meditative backing that wove folk, jazz, blues and soul. Throughout his career — but especially on a run of albums he recorded during the early Seventies that included 1970's Moondance and 1974's Veedon Fleece — Morrison has always rooted his ecstatic visions in a warm, commonplace intimacy perfect for his music's easy-flowing grandeur. "The songs were somewhat channeled works," he said when he performed Astral Weeks live in 2008. "As my songwriting has gone on I tend to do the same channeling, so it's sort of like 'Astral Decades,' I guess."
Lou Reed
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Lou Reed
"I wanted to write the great American novel, but I also loved rock & roll," Reed told an interviewer in 1987. "I just wanted to cram everything into a record that these people had ignored. . .I wanted to write rock & roll that you could listen to as you got older, that wouldn't lose anything, that would be timeless, in the subject matter and the literacy of the lyrics." And so he did. A collegiate creative writing student who played covers in bar bands and briefly held a job writing pop song knockoffs in the Brill Building era, Reed drew inspiration both from literature (Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs, William Burroughs' Naked Lunch) and his own life — for example, the fellow Warhol collaborators that informed quintessential Reed character studies like "Candy Says" and "Walk on the Wild Side." Besides writing about the psychology of polymorphous sexuality and drug users, he penned some of the most beautiful love songs in history ("Pale Blue Eyes," "I'll Be Your Mirror"). Reed was also a sound scientist who, with the Velvet Underground and after, advanced what was possible with simple chords and electric guitars. His creative ambition never flagged: his last major project, Lulu, reimagined a late-19th century play/early 20th-century opera with Metallica, and as always, he took no prisoners.
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
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Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Leiber and Stoller are rock & roll's first great songwriting team, two Jewish kids who turned their love of rhythm and blues into a run of hits marked by their musical inventiveness and lyrical boldness. Leiber, who grew up in Baltimore, and Stoller, who was from Long Island, met in Los Angeles in 1950. With Leiber writing the lyrics and Stoller handling the music, they wrote Top 10 pop hits for Elvis Presley ("Jailhouse Rock"), the Coasters ("Yakety Yak"), Wilbert Harrison ("Kansas City"), the Drifters ("On Broadway") and Dion ("Ruby Baby"). Their slyly humorous story songs skillfully mixed R&B grooves with clever, often subversive lyrics: "Riot in Cell Block #9," a Number One R&B hit for the Robins in 1954, was about a prison uprising, while the Coasters' 1959 chart-topper "Poison Ivy" was a reference to sexually transmitted diseases. The pair's songs usually emerged from improvisatory writing sessions that began with just a handful of Leiber's lyrics. "Often I would have a start, two or four lines," Leiber told writer Robert Palmer in 1978. "Mike would sit at the piano and start to jam, just playing, fooling around, and I'd throw out a line. He'd accommodate the line — metrically, rhythmically." In addition to achieving huge crossover pop success in the U.S., their work was also a massive influence on the British Invasion: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Hollies and the Searchers were just some of the acts who recorded their songs.
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Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
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Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
The Greenwich/Barry team only lasted a few years. They married and started composing songs in the Brill Building in 1962, and split up in 1965. But the dozens of hit songs they wrote for girl groups and teen idols during that time (often with producer Phil Spector pitching in) were as close to raw erotic fervor as you could hear on the radio at the time: the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me," the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack," and — near the end of their partnership — Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High." Even their demo recordings were so fully realized that several charted under the name the Raindrops. "When things were working, and you're really connecting, what could be better?," Greenwich recalled. "Here's the person you're in love with, and you're being creative together, and things are going well — it's the highest high you can imagine. However, when there were disagreements, it was very hard to leave it at the office and go home at night and change hats: 'Hi honey, what do you want for dinner?'" After the split, Barry continued to write songs for acts including the Archies and Olivia Newton–John; Greenwich developed Leader of the Pack, a musical about her career.
Prince
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Prince
Prince's talents as a multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, bandleader and live powerhouse are peerless. But it all builds off his songs, which transform funk, soul, pop and rock into a sound all his own. He's had 30 Top 40 singles in his career, including five Number Ones. Lyrically, he tends to stick to one freaky subject. But no songwriter has explored sex so ingeniously —from the frisky flirtations of "Little Red Corvette" and "U Got the Look" to more ambitious therapy sessions like "When Doves Cry" and "If I Was Your Girlfriend." Musically, his stylistic breadth seems limitless: He learned early on to lace a heavy funky jam with an unforgettable pop hook, then mastered every form of rock song — from three-chord bangers ("Let's Go Crazy") to straight-up power ballads ("Purple Rain") — before introducing melodic and harmonic complexities that pushed his increasingly jazzy and experimental compositions beyond ordinary pop constraints. "He knew the balance between innovation and America's digestive system," Questlove has said of his idol. "He's the only artist who was able to, basically, feed babies the most elaborate of foods that you would never give a child and know exactly how to break down the portions so they could digest it." Prince's own comments on his craft are even more impressionistic. "Sometimes I hear a melody in my head, and it seems like the first color in a painting," he said in a 1998 interview. "And then you can build the rest of the song with other added sounds."
Neil Young
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Neil Young
Neil Young's epic career has veered wildly from folk-rock to country to hard rock to synth-driven New Wave pop to rockabilly to bar-band blues. "Neil doesn't turn corners," Crazy Horse guitarist Frank "Poncho" Sampedro once said. "He ricochets around them." And while he's disappointed more than a few bandmates and fans with his at-times baffling career choices, his songs are always pure Neil. Young's creakingly lovely acoustic ballads and torrential rockers draw on the same ageless themes: the myths and realities of American community and freedom, the individual's hard struggle against crushing political and social forces, mortality and violence, chrome dreams, ragged glories and revolution blues. Young has released an astonishing 36 solo albums, five in the last two years. His best work ("Ambulance Blues," "Powderfinger," "After the Goldrush") may have come in the Sixties and Seventies, but every single album comes with more than a few amazing moments. Songs like the 1970 soft-rock classic "Heart of Gold," his only Number One single, have led to an image of the tireless 69-year-old legend as a lonely troubadour, but Young insists that's deceptive. "Something about my songs, everyone thinks I'm kind of downbeat," he said at his 1995 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "But things have been good for me for a long time. So if I look kind of sad, it's bullshit. Forget it. I'm doing good."
Leonard Cohen
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Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen was a dark Canadian eminence among the pantheon of singer-songwriters to emerge in the Sixties. His haunting bass voice, nylon-stringed guitar patterns, and Greek-chorus backing vocals delivered incantatory verses about love and hate, sex and spirituality, war and peace, ecstasy and depression, and other eternal dualities. A perfectionist known for spending years on a tune, Cohen's genius for details illuminated the oft-covered "Suzanne" and "Hallelujah." "Being a songwriter is like being a nun," Rolling Stone reported him saying in 2014. "You're married to a mystery. It's not a particularly generous mystery, but other people have that experience with matrimony anyway." In 1995, Cohen appeared to reject the worldliness reflected in songs like "The Future" and "Democracy" by putting his career on hold and becoming an ordained Buddhist monk. But he relaunched his career at age 74 and has continued to tour the world and make sensually luminous albums into the 2010s. At 80, he's still our greatest living late-night poet.
Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland
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Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland
During Motown's mid-Sixties golden age, Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier were the label's songwriting and production dream team. All three began their careers as singers, but when they started working together behind the scenes, they made magic. In 1966 alone, Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote and produced 13 Top 10 R&B singles, from the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" to the Four Tops' "I'll Be There." Eddie's deceptively simple lyrics — written to Brian and Lamont's completed tracks — often focused on bittersweet, tormented love ("I got a lot of ideas from what I learned talking to women," he said). But the music was pure delight: melodies that let vocalists' power and move gracefully through them, neatly cross-stitched into an array of instrumental hooks and forceful dance rhythms. Late in the Sixties, Dozier and the Holland brothers left Motown and launched a few record labels of their own; although many of the hits that followed for the likes of Freda Payne and the Honey Cone were credited to "Edythe Wayne," there was no mistaking the H-D-H sound.
Bruce Springsteen
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Bruce Springsteen
He was one of rock's first inheritors, and certainly its greatest, because from the start he saw rock & roll as more than music. "I got tremendous inspiration and a sense of place from the performers who had imagined it before me," he once told Rolling Stone. "They were searchers — Hank Williams, Frank Sinatra, James Brown. The people I loved — Woody Guthrie, Dylan — they were out on the frontier of the American imagination, and they were changing the course of history and our own ideas about who we were." At the start, he balanced epics — the Dylan word clouds of "Blinded by the Light," the Wall of Sound sweep of "Jungleland" — with the tightly constructed stories of struggle that delivered even bigger results, like "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run." Songs like "Badlands" could make a rousing anthem out of existential crisis, and as he focused his sound and narrative, his music continued to gain power and the mass audience he knew it always deserved: Born in the U.S.A. delivered seven Top 10 singles — as many as Michael Jackson's Thriller. Unafraid of risk, Springsteen followed it with a long period of redefinition, making his sound and his stories ever more intimate on 1987's Tunnel of Love and later 1996's The Ghost of Tom Joad. Since reuniting the E Street Band in 1999 he has been reconnecting to his earliest sense of inspiration and mission. "My songs, they're all about the American identity and your own identity," he once explained. "And trying to hold onto what's worthwhile, what makes it a place that's special, because I still believe that it is."
Hank Williams
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Hank Williams
More than six decades after he died at 29 years old in a car wreck on New Year's Day 1953, Hank Williams is still the most revered country artist of all time, and his impact on the history of rock & roll is just as complete. "To me, Hank Williams is still the best songwriter," Bob Dylan said in 1991. Between 1947 and 1953, Williams landed 31 songs in the U.S. Country Top Ten, with five more making the Top Ten in the year following his untimely death. His songs ranged from Friday night party starters like "Hey Good Lookin'" and "Settin' the Woods on Fire" to tales of romantic desolation like "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" to the redemptive anthem "I Saw the Light" to heart-wrenching depictions of dread and isolation like "Lost Highway" and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," the last single released during his lifetime. No matter what mood he was channeling, Williams wrote with an economy and concision few songwriters in any genre have touched. "If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing," he once said, summing up the no-frills eloquence that makes his songs so fun to sing and easy to cover. "Songs like 'Lonesome Whistle' and 'Your Cheatin' Heart' are wonderful to sing because there is no bullshit in them," Beck said. "The words, the melodies and the sentiment are all there, clear and true. It takes economy and simplicity to get to an idea or emotion in a song, and there's no better example of that than Hank Williams."
Brian Wilson
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Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys' resident genius wrote gloriously ecstatic California anthems such as "Fun Fun Fun," "I Get Around" and "California Girls," rock & roll's greatest odes to idyllic summertime freedom. But he also penned darkly introspective masterpieces like "In My Room" and "God Only Knows," as well as groundbreaking symphonic masterpieces like 1966's Pet Sounds, which transformed the idea of rock album-making itself and inspired the Beatles' own masterpiece Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Wilson would later blame his father and bandmates for the despair in his more somber writing. "They wanted surf music, surf music, surf music," he said in 2011. "The sadness came from. . .my heart." Years later, a diagnosis of bipolar schizoaffective disorder would help explain his mood swings, recluse years and bizarre relationship with therapist-manager Eugene Landy. With the completion of his aborted late-Sixties opus Smile in 2004, Wilson reemerged to reclaim his title as a pop eminence who was once again capable of writing with incredible depth and beauty. Yet, despite the heights his music scaled, Wilson's songwriting methodology was deceptively simple. "[I] sit down at the piano and play chords," he told American Songwriter. "And then a melody starts to happen, and then the lyrics start to happen, and then you've got a song."
Bob Marley
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Bob Marley
Marley didn't just introduce reggae to an American audience, he helped transform it from a singles-oriented medium to a social and musical force every bit as powerful as rock & roll at its best. Marley drank deep from American soul music; he briefly lived in Delaware during the late Sixties, where he worked in a factory. On early compositions like dance-floor-filling ska tune "Simmer Down" and the lilting pop gem "Stand Alone" he displayed mastery of sweet melodies and cleverly turned hooks that showed he could've easily done time on Berry Gordy's assembly line as well. As Marley continued to find his voice in the early Seventies, his songs took on an unrivaled breadth and power, especially as he began yoking his skills as an anthemic craftsman to lyrics that raised the banner of Third World struggles against systemic oppression. In reference to his 1972 watershed "Get Up, Stand Up," he said, "I am doing something because I see the exploitation." Marley wrote kind invocations of spiritual and herbal uplift ("Lively Up Yourself," "Stir It Up"), smooth, sensual love songs ("Waiting in Vain," "Is This Love") and searing statements of Rasta enlightenment and Pan-African unity ("Exodus," "Zimbabwe"). In "Redemption Song," released a year before cancer took his life in 1981, he gave us a protest anthem that still carries the universal power of a true global call to arms. "I carried 'Redemption Song' to every meeting I had with a politician, prime minister or president," Bono said. "It was for me a prophetic utterance."
Stevie Wonder
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Stevie Wonder
"I feel there is so much through music that can be said," Wonder once observed, and the songs he's been writing for a half-century have more than lived up to that idea. Whether immersing himself in social commentary ("Higher Ground," "Living for the City"), unabashed sentimentality ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "I Just Called to Say I Love You"), jubilant love ("Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours") or gritty disses ("You Haven't Done Nothin'"), Wonder has consistently tapped into the sum of human emotions and happenings. He was already writing his own songs as a childhood prodigy at Motown during the Sixties (including the 1966 smash "Uptight (It's Alright)."
As he hit his artistic stride on albums like 1972's Talking Book and 1973's Innervisions, he used the recording studio as his palette to create groundbreaking works of soulful self-discovery. "Like a painter, I get my inspiration from experiences that can be painful or beautiful," he has said. "I always start from a feeling of profound gratitude — you know, 'Only by the grace of God am I here'— and write from there. Most songwriters are inspired by an inner voice and spirit." Combined with melodies that can be jubilant, funky or simply gorgeous, Wonder's songs are so enduring that they've been covered by everyone from Sinatra to the Backstreet Boys.
Like a painter, I get my inspiration from experiences that can be painful or beautiful.
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Joni Mitchell
Mitchell came out of the coffee-shop folk culture of the Sixties, and she became the standard bearing star of L.A.'s Laurel Canyon scene. But her restless brilliance couldn't be confined to one moment or movement. She began with songs that only by her later standards seemed simple: "Clouds," "Both Sides Now," "Big Yellow Taxi." But then, banging on her acoustic guitar in startling ways or playing modernist melodies at the piano, she unfurled starkly personal lyrics that pushed beyond "confessional" songwriting towards an almost confrontational intimacy and rawness. "When I realized how popular I was becoming, it was right before Blue," she recalled, in reference to her 1971 masterpiece. "I went, 'Oh my God, a lot of people are listening to me.
Well then they better find out who they're worshiping. Let's see if they can take it. Let's get real.' So I wrote Blue, which horrified a lot of people, you know." Mitchell's run of albums from 1970's Ladies of the Canyon to 1974's Court and Spark, on which she perfected a jazz-bent studio pop, rival any streak of record-making in pop history, and her lyrical depictions of the ecstasy and heartbreak that came with being a strong woman availing herself of the sexual independence of the Sixties and Seventies offer a unique emotional travelogue of the era. "I had no personal defenses," she said of her writing at the time. "I felt like a cellophane rapper on a pack of cigarettes."
Blue horrified a lot of people.
Paul Simon
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Paul Simon
If Paul Simon's career had ended with the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel in 1970, he would still have produced some of the most beloved songs ever – including "The Sound of Silence," "Mrs. Robinson," "Bridge Over Troubled Water." But Simon was just getting started. The quintessential New York singer-songwriter, he switches between styles effortlessly with as much attention to rhythm as melody, a rare quality among artists who came of age in the folk era. Over the decades, his music has incorporated Tin Pan Alley tunecraft, global textures, gentle acoustic reveries, gospel, R&B and electronic music, all without diluting his core appeal as an easeful chronicler of everyday alienation.
Whether he's operating on a large scale summing up our shared national commitments in 1973's "American Tune," or writing a finely wrought personal reflection on lost love like 1986's "Graceland," the same wit and literary detail come through. For the generation that came of age during the Sixties and Seventies, he rivaled Bob Dylan in creating a mirror for their journey from youthful innocence to complicated adulthood. "One of my deficiencies is my voice sounds sincere," Simon told Rolling Stone in 2012. "I've tried to sound ironic. I don't. I can't. Dylan, everything he sings has two meanings. He's telling you the truth and making fun of you at the same time. I sound sincere every time."
I've tried to sound ironic. I don't. I can't.
Carole King/Carole King and Gerry Goffin
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Carole King/Carole King and Gerry Goffin
Goffin and King were pop's most prolific songwriting partnership –and, even more impressively, they kept their winning streaks going even after their marriage split up. With King handling melodies and Goffin the lyrics, the two former Queens College schoolmates worked a block away from the Brill Building and wrote many of professional songwriting's most evocative songs: tracks like "Up on the Roof," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," and "One Fine Day" that were tender snapshots of the adolescent experience. "When Paul and I first got together, we wanted to be the British Goffin and King," John Lennon once said. As a solo act after their divorce, King gave voice to a generation of women who were establishing their own lives and identities in the Seventies; her 1971 masterpiece Tapestry remains one of the biggest-selling albums ever.
Goffin, meanwhile, supplied the lyrics for a string of hits including Diana Ross's "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)," Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You," and Gladys Knight and the Pips' "I've Got to Use My Imagination." For them, there's nothing crass, and everything earnest, about the art of the pop song. "Once I start to create a song, even if commerce is the motivation, I'm still going to try to write the best song and move people in a way that touches them," King has said. "People know when you do that. They know that there's an emotional connection, even if it's commercial."
When Paul and I first got together, we wanted to be the British Goffin and King, John Lennon once said.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
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Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards defined a rock song's essential components – nasty wit, an unforgettable riff, an explosive chorus – and established a blueprint for future rockers to follow. Their work was at once primal and complex, charged by conflict, desire and anger, and unafraid to be explicit about it musically or lyrically. They wrote personal manifestos with political dimensions like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Get Off My Cloud"; they brooded on the tumult of the Sixties with "Gimme Shelter" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash"; they detailed the connections between societal evil and the individual (and made it rock) with "Brown Sugar" and "Sympathy for the Devil." And sometimes –"Start Me Up," "Rip This Joint" – they just kicked the doors in and burned the house down.
One of the many, many things Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have disagreed about over the years is how their songwriting partnership got started. Keith has steadfastly claimed that manager Andrew Loog Oldham locked them in a kitchen until they emerged with "As Tears Go By," while Jagger says the pressure was merely verbal: "He did mentally lock us in a room, but he didn't literally lock us in." Like Lennon/McCartney, Jagger and Richards didn't always write together – "Happy" was all Keith, while "Brown Sugar" all Mick. But both men had a hand in most of the Stones' hits. "I think it's essential," Jagger once told Rolling Stone of the idea of partnership. "People. . .like partnerships because they can identify with the drama of two people in partnership. They can feed off a partnership, and that keeps people entertained. Besides, if you have a successful partnership, it's self-sustaining."
Said Jagger, People. . .like partnerships because they can identify with the drama of two people in partnership.
Smokey Robinson
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Smokey Robinson
"Smokey Robinson was like God in our eyes," Paul McCartney once said. The melodic and lyrical genius behind Motown's greatest hits is the most influential and innovative R&B tunesmith of all time. Robinson was an elegant, delicate singer and poetic writer whose songs brought new levels of nuance to the Top 40. The son of a truck driver raised in what he called "the suave part of the slums," Robinson had his first hit in 1960 with the Miracles' "Shop Around" and went onto pen the Temptations' "My Girl" and "Get Ready," Mary Wells' "My Guy," the Marvelettes' "Don't Mess With Bill," Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar" and many more.
With the Miracles, he had his hand in more than a dozen Top 20 hits (including "The Tracks of My Tears" and "I Second That Emotion"), songs that describe heartbreak with stunning turns of phrase: "Sweetness was only heartache's camouflage/The love I saw in you was just a mirage," he rhymed in 1967. Though Bob Dylan's famous quote calling Smokey "the greatest living poet" might actually be apocryphal, everyone believed it for decades because the songs backed it up perfectly. "My theory of writing is to write a song that has a complete idea and tells a story in the time allotted for a record," he told Rolling Stone in 1968. "It has to be something that really means something, not just a bunch of words on music."
My theory of writing is to write a song that has a complete idea and tells a story in the time allotted for a record.
Chuck Berry
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Chuck Berry
He was rock & roll's first singer-songwriter, and the music's first guitar hero, as well. Berry was a Muddy Waters fan who quickly learned the power of his own boundary-crossing "songs of novelties and feelings of fun and frolic" when he transformed a country song, "Ida Red," into his first single, "Maybellene," a Top Five pop hit. His songs were concise and mythic, celebrating uniquely American freedoms – fast cars in "Maybellene," class mobility in "No Money Down," the country itself in "Back in the U.S.A." – or protesting their denial in coded race parables like "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and "Promised Land," which he wrote while in jail inspired by the freedom marches, consulting an almanac for the route.
Bob Dylan based the meter of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" on "Too Much Monkey Business," Mick Jagger and Keith Richards soaked up the idea of no satisfaction from "30 Days," and John Lennon once summed up his immeasurable impact by saying, "If you gave rock & roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry."
His songs were concise and mythic, celebrating uniquely American freedoms or protesting their denial.
John Lennon
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John Lennon
John Lennon's command of songwriting was both absolute and radically original: that was clear from his earliest collaborations with Paul McCartney, which revolutionized not just music, but the world. "They were doing things nobody was doing," Bob Dylan once remembered of a drive through Colorado when the Beatles ruled the radio. "I knew they were pointing the direction where music had to go." That meant first reconnecting pop music to the awesome power of early rock & roll – Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard – then pushing forward with darker, more personal music like "Hard Day's Night" and "In My Life" that stretched the boundaries of the capabilities of pop, and then diving into the avant garde with music that had only existed in his dreams: "Strawberry Fields Forever," "A Day in the Life," "Revolution #9."
No one better rendered the complexity of personal life or global politics, or better connected the two, than Lennon during his solo career in universal songs like "Watching the Wheels" and "Imagine." "I'm interested in something that means something for everyone," he told Rolling Stone in 1970, "not just for a few kids listening to wallpaper."
They were doing things nobody was doing, Bob Dylan said of the Beatles. I knew they were pointing the direction where music had to go.
Paul McCartney
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Paul McCartney
"I'm in awe of McCartney," Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone in 2007. "He's about the only one that I'm in awe of." Sir Paul is pop's greatest melodist, with a bulging songbook that includes many of the most-performed and best-loved tunes of the past half-century. McCartney has always had a much broader range than silly love songs. He's the weirdo behind "Temporary Secretary" and the feral basher behind "Helter Skelter." But part of what he brought to the Beatles was his passion for the wit and complexity of pre-rock songwriting, from Fats Waller to Peggy Lee.
"Even in the early days we used to write things separately, because Paul was always more advanced than I was," John Lennon once said. Songs like "Yesterday" and "Let It Be" became modern standards, and post-Beatles, McCartney led Wings to six Number One hits, among them "Band on the Run" and "Listen to What the Man Said." "The truth is the problem's always been the same, really," he said earlier this year. "When you think about it, when you're writing a song, you're always trying to write something that you love and the people will love."
When you think about it, when you're writing a song, you're always trying to write something that you love and the people will love.
Bob Dylan
| Carole King |
Zabaglione is an Italian dessert made from eggs, sugar and which fortified wine ? | - dead rock stars - classicbands.com_
This list contains major artists who had hit records
during the classic rock era of 1955 to 1985.
For those who were popular later than '85,
please find the appropriate website.
If there someone we missed that meets the above criteria
kindly let us know at [email protected]
Johnny Ace - accidently killed himself while on tour, backstage at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Eve 1954, while playing Russian Roulette. He was 25 years old. A month later, he had a Top 20 hit with "Pledging My Love"
Johnny Adams - who scored a US Top 30 hit with "Reconsider Me" in 1969, died of cancer on September 14th, 1998. He was 66
Stuart Adamson - a highly regarded Scottish guitarist who led his band Big Country into Billboard's Top 20 in 1983 with "In A Big Country", committed suicide by hanging himself in a hotel room in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 16th, 2001 at the age of 43
Cannonball Adderley - whose version of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" went to #11 in the US in 1967, died following a stroke on August 8th, 1975. He was 46
Bill Albaugh - drummer for The Lemon Pipers on their 1967 US #1 single "Green Tambourine", died on January 20th, 1999, at the age of 53
Arthur Alexander - a rhythm and blues singer-songwriter who reached #24 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1962 with "You Better Move On", died of a heart attack on June 9th, 1993 at the age of 53. Alexander had his tunes recorded by the Beatles ("Anna"), the Rolling Stones ("You Better Move On"), Steve Alaimo ("Every Day I Have To Cry") and Bob Dylan ("Sally Sue Brown")
Dave Alexander - the original bassist for The Stooges, died of pulmonary edema on February 10th, 1975 at the age of 27, after being admitted to a hospital for pancreatitis
Rex Allen - a musician and actor who had a US Top 20 hit with a song called "Don't Go Near The Indians" in 1962, was killed when he was struck by a car on December 17th, 1999. He was 78
Rod Allen - lead singer of The Fortunes, who reached the US Top 10 in 1965 with "You've Got Your Troubles", died on January 11th, 2008, at the age of 63 after a short battle with liver cancer
Duane Allman - of the Allman Brothers Band was killed in a motorcycle accident on October 29th, 1971, one month before his 25th birthday
Tommy Allsup - the guitarist who famously avoided "the day the music died" after losing his plane seat in a coin toss to Ritchie Valens, died following complications from a hernia operation on January 11th, 2017 at the age of 85. In the nearly 58 years after that fateful day, Allsup went on to perform with Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Merle Haggard and Bob Wills
Wayne "Tony" Allwine - rhythm guitarist for Davie Allan & The Arrows, passed away at the age of 62 on May 18th, 2009 due to complications from diabetes. The band reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967 with "Blue's Theme", which opened the biker film The Wild Angels. Allwine would later become Disney's official voice of Mickey Mouse and married voice-over actress, Russi Taylor, the official voice of Minnie Mouse
Lynn Anderson - a Country singer who reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971 with "Rose Garden", passed away on July 31st, 2015 at the age of 67
Signe Anderson - the original female vocalist for Jefferson Airplane passed away on February 4th, 2016 at the age of 74. Signe sang on the band's first album before leaving to care for her first child. That was a decision she would later say that she never regretted
Sam Andrew - a founding guitarist for Big Brother And The Holding Company died on February 12th, 2015 at the age of 73, ten days after suffering a heart attack
Greg Arama - bassist for The Amboy Dukes on their 1968 hit, "Journey To The Center Of The Mind", was killed in a motorcycle accident on September 18th, 1979. He was 29 years old
Louis Armstrong - led the Billboard Hot 100 with "Hello Dolly" in 1964. Died of heart failure on July 6th, 1971, aged 69
Mike Arnone - vocalist for The Duprees on their 1962, #7 hit, "You Belong To Me", passed away at the age of 62 on September 19th, 2005
Eddy Arnold - a Country artist who placed four songs on the Billboard Pop chart, including the 1965 #4 hit "Make The World Go Away", died of natural causes on May 8th, 2008, one week before his 90th birthday
Ron Asheton - guitarist and founding member of The Stooges died of natural causes on or about January 1st, 2009, at the age of 60. In 2003, he was named the 29th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine
Scott Asheton - drummer for legendary punk-rock band The Stooges, suffered a fatal heart attack on March 15th, 2014 at age 64.
Nick Ashford - of the duo Ashford and Simpson, died of throat cancer on August 22nd, 2011 at the age of 69. Nick and his partner Valerie Simpson wrote several Motown classics, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand", "You're All I Need To Get By" and many more before having hits of their own with "Found A Cure" in 1979 and "Solid" in 1985
Chet Atkins - legendary session guitarist, died of cancer on June 30th 2001 at the age of 77
Craig Atkinson - drummer for Count Five on their 1966, Top Ten hit "Psychotic Reaction", died on October 13th, 1998, at the age of 50
Paul Atkinson - guitarist for The Zombies, died April 2 nd, 2004, after losing his battle with liver and kidney disease. He was 58. The band's biggest hits included "She's Not There", "Tell Her No" and "Time Of The Season"
Hoyt Axton - an actor / singer / songwriter who is most often remembered for writing Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World" and "Never Been To Spain" as well as Ringo Starr's "The No No Song" and The Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar", died of a heart attack on October 26th, 1999, at the age of 61
Oz Bach - bassist for Spanky and Our Gang, died of cancer on September 21st, 1998, at the age of 59. The band is most often remembered for their 1967 hit, "Sunday Will Never Be The Same"
Ross Bagdasarian - better known as David Seville, who had a hit with "Witch Doctor" and was the leader of The Chipmunks, died of a heart attack on January 16th, 1972, just days short of his 53rd birthday
Jimmy Bain - who played bass with Rainbow in the mid-'70s and Dio throughout the '80s, passed away on January 24th, 2016 at the age of 68
LaVern Baker - R&B singer who placed 7 songs in the US Top 40 in the mid-1950s and early 1960s, including "Tweedlee Dee" and "I Cried A Tear", died of heart failure on March 10th, 1997, at the age of 67
Lefty Baker - guitarist who joined Spanky And Our Gang in time to record their U.S. Top 20 hit "Like To Get To Know You" as well as the Top 40 "Give A Damn", died of cirrhosis of the liver on August 11th, 1971, about a year after he left the band. He was 29
Lennie Baker - vocalist and sax player for the '50s Tribute group Sha Na Na, passed away at the age of 69 on February 24th, 2016. Joining the group in 1970, he appeared with the band on their TV show, which ran from 1977 to 1981, as well as appearing in the 1978 movie Grease where he sang lead vocal on "Blue Moon"
"Long John" Baldry - British R&B artist died July 21st, 2005, after battling a chest infection for four months. He was 64. Baldry was one of the founding fathers of British rock'n'roll in the '60s. Eric Clapton has stated many times that he was inspired to pick up the guitar after seeing Baldry perform
Peter Banks - who co-founded Yes with Chris Squire in 1968, passed away on March 8th, 2013 at the the age of 65. Banks played on the band's first two albums, 1969's "Yes" and 1970's "Time and a Word", before being dismissed over disagreements about the group's direction
Florence Ballard - one of the original Supremes, died of a heart attack on February 22nd, 1976 at the age of 32. After being dimissed from the group, Ballard separated from her husband and went on welfare after losing an $8.7 million suit for back royalties against Motown Records
Hank Ballard - placed seven songs in the Top 40 in 1960 and 1961 including "Finger Poppin' Time" and "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go", died of cancer on March 2nd, 2003 at the age of 75
Carlton Barrett - drummer for Bob Marley and the Wailers, was shot and killed outside his home in Kingston, Jamaica on April 17th, 1987. Barrett's widow, her lover and an accomplice were charged with murder two weeks later
Syd Barrett - a founding member and driving force behind Pink Floyd, passed away on July 7th, 2006, at the age of 60. He had dropped out of the group in April of 1968 and by 1974 had turned his back on the music industry completely, choosing to retreat to the cellar of his childhood home in Cambridge where he shunned all contact with the outside world
Fontella Bass - Soul singer who topped the Billboard R&B chart in 1965 with "Rescue Me", died from complications of a heart attack on December 26th, 2012 at the age of 72
Stiv Bators - the lead singer and driving force of the punk rock band The Dead Boys, died in his sleep as the result of a concussion on June 2nd, 1990. He was 40 years old
Clyde "Skip" Batton - of Skip and Flip, died of Alzheimer's disease on July 6th, 2003, at the age of 69. The duo scored a pair of Billboard number eleven hits with "It Was I" and "Cherry Pie"
Earl Beal - of the Philadelphia vocal group, The Silhouettes, died on March 22nd, 2001, at the age of 76. The group topped the Billboard chart in 1958 with "Get A Job"
Cor van Beek - drummer for Shocking Blue on their 1969, number one hit, "Venus", died on April 2nd, 1998. He was 49
John Belushi - died of a drug overdose on March 5th, 1982, at the age of 33. He and his partner Dan Aykroyd placed four songs on The Billboard Top 40, including "Soul Man" in 1979, as The Blues Brothers
Jesse Belvin - who scored a 1956 hit with "Goodnight, My Love", was killed in an auto accident in Hope, Arkansas. His wife and the car's driver also died of their injuries. The three were trying to make a fast get-a-way from the first ever mixed race audience pop concert, in the town of Little Rock, after threats had been made against Belvin's life. The accident remains a contentious point, with many suspecting foul play
Estelle Bennett - one of the Ronettes, the singing trio whose 1963 hit "Be My Baby" epitomized the famed "wall of sound" technique of its producer, Phil Spector, was found dead in her Englewood, New Jersey apartment on February 11th, 2009. She was 67
Renaldo "Obie" Benson - bass vocalist for the legendary Motown singing group the Four Tops died of lung cancer on July 1st, 2005 at the age of 69
Brook Benton - best remembered for his 1970 hit, "A Rainy Night In Georgia", died of complications from spinal meningitis on April 9th, 1988 at the age of 56
Jan Berry - one-half of the duo of Jan & Dean, died March 26th, 2004, after after suffering a seizure at his home. Together, the pair sold more than 10 million records and placed 14 hits in the U.S. Top Forty. Jan was a week away from his 63rd birthday
Richard Berry - singer / songwriter most often remembered for writing "Louie Louie", died of heart failure on January 23rd, 1997 at the age of 61
Mr. Acker Bilk - clarinet player who topped the Billboard Hot 100 with the instrumental "Stranger on the Shore" in 1961, passed away on November 2nd, 2014 at the age of 85. He was the first UK act to lead an American music chart in the 1960s
Bobby "Blue" Bland - Blues artist who placed three songs on the Billboard Top 40, including 1962's "Turn On Your Love Light", died June 23rd, 2013 at the age of 83
Bill Black - backed Elvis Presley on his early hits before forming Bill Black's Combo and placing 8 hits in the US Top 40, including "White Silver Sands" in 1960, died of a brain tumor on November 21st, 1965. He was 39
Cilla Black - UK singer who had a string of hits in her homeland in the 1960s as well as reaching #26 in America with "You're My World" in 1964, died of natural causes on August 1st, 2015 at the age of 72
Alan Blakely - rhythm guitar player for The Tremeloes who scored a pair of 1967 hits, "Here Comes My Baby" and "Silence Is Golden", died of cancer on June 1st, 1996 at the age of 54
Bobby Bloom - recorded the number 8 hit, "Montego Bay" died of an accidental gun shot wound on February 28th, 1974 at age 28
Mike Bloomfield - lead guitarist for The Electric Flag died of a drug overdose on February 15th, 1981 at the age of 38
Bob Bogle - lead guitarist and co-founder of The Ventures, known for their instrumental hits "Walk, Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O", died June 14th, 2009. He was 75
Marc Bolan - of T. Rex was killed when the car he was riding in hit a tree on September 16th, 1977, just weeks before his 30th birthday
Trevor Bolder - bassist for Davie Bowie's Spiders From Mars before moving on to Uriah Heep, died of cancer on May 21st, 2013 at the age of 62
Tommy Bolin - the guitarist who took over when Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, died from a drug overdose on December 4th, 1976 at the age of 25
Ronnie Bond - drummer for The Troggs on all of their biggest hits, passed away on November 13th, 1992 at the age of 52
John Bonham - 32 year old drummer for Led Zeppelin, passed out and choked to death on his own vomit on September 25th 1980, following an all-day drinking binge. In December of 1980, Led Zeppelin announced they were disbanding, saying they could not continue without Bonham
Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner - lead singer of The Ohio Players died on January 26th, 2013 at the age of 69. The band placed eight songs on the Hot 100 between 1973 and 1976, including two number ones, "Fire" in 1974 and "Love Rollercoaster" in 1975
Sean Bonniwell - singer / guitarist who led The Music Machine to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Talk Talk" in 1966, died of lung cancer on December 20th, 2011 at the age of 71
Sonny Bono - of the sixties duo Sonny and Cher died in a skiing accident on January 6th, 1998 at the age of 62
Mike Botts - drummer for the soft rock band Bread, passed away in Burbank, California on December 9th, 2005, one day after his 61st birthday, having suffered from colon cancer
David Bowie - an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, died of cancer on January 10th, 2016 at the age of 69. A major force of the Glam Rock movement, Bowie placed thirteen songs on Billboard's Top 40 chart, including "Space Oddity", "Fame", "Golden Years", "Let's Dance", "China Girl", "Blue Jean" and "Dancing In The Street"
Tommy Boyce - singer / songwriter who teamed up with Bobby Hart on the #8 hit "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" in 1968, died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound on November 23rd, 1994. He was 55
"Little Eva" Boyd - whose version of "The Loco-Motion" went all the way to #1 in the U.S. in 1962, passed away April 10th, 2003, at the age of 59, from cervical cancer
Delaney Bramlett - Rock guitarist who gained renown in the late 1960s as part of the rhythm and blues combo Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, died on December 27th, 2008, following gallbladder surgery. He was 69. Bramlett's backing band would often contain the likes of Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Dave Mason. The ensemble achieved a pair of Billboard Top 40 hits in 1971: "Never Ending Song Of Love" (#13) and "Only You Know And I Know" (#20).
Les Braid - bassist and keyboardist for The Swinging Blue Jeans on their 1964 hit "Hippy Hippy Shake" died of cancer on July 31st, 2005 at the age of 67
Laura Branigan - best known for the Platinum-selling hit "Gloria", 52 year old Laura died suddenly on August 26th, 2004, of a brain aneurysm
Erik Braunn - the lead guitarist on Iron Butterfly's 1968 classic rock anthem "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" died of cardiac arrest Friday, July 25th, 2003. He was 52
Walter Brennan - a well known actor who reached number five on the Hot 100 in 1962 with "Old Rivers", died on September 21st, 1974, at the age of 80
Teresa Brewer - who placed 14 songs on the Billboard Top 40, including the Top 10 hits "A Tear Fell" and "Sweet, Old Fashioned Girl", both in 1956, died of neuromuscular disease on October 17th, 2007. She was 76
Audrey Brickley - of The Orlons, who placed 5 songs in the Billboard Top 20 in the early 1960s, died of acute respiratory distress syndrome on July 3rd, 2005, at the age 58.
Shirley Brickley - of The Orlons was shot to death on October 13th, 1977, by an intruder in her home in Philadelphia. She was 35
Lee Brilleaux - front man and founding member of the UK band Dr. Feelgood, died of lymphoma on April 7th, 1994 at the age of 41. Despite the group's British success, they were unable to find an audience in the United States
Johnny Bristol - a writer and producer for Motown records during the 1960s who had a 1973 hit of his own with "Hang On In There Baby", died of natural causes on March 21st, 2004, at the age of 65
Donnie Brooks - who sang the 1960, Billboard Top 40 hits "Mission Bell" and "Doll House", died of congestive heart failure on February 23rd, 2007. He was 71
Bonnie Brown - of the Country / Folk trio The Browns died of lung cancer on July 16th, 2016 at the age of 77
Jim Ed Brown - of The Browns died of cancer on June 11th, 2015 at the age of 81. The trio, which included Jim's sisters Maxine and Bonnie reached the Billboard Hot 100 with the chart topping "The Three Bells" in 1959 and again in 1960 with "Scarlet Ribbons" and "The Old Lamplighter"
Danny Joe Brown - the original lead singer of Molly Hatchet, died March 10th, 2005 from renal failure due to complications from diabetes. He was 53. Brown was the frontman for the band's self-titled album in 1978, which went platinum. In 1979, the next album, "Flirtin' With Disaster" sold over 2 million copies
Errol Brown - the lead singer for the UK band Hot Chocolate on their 1975 hit "You Sexy Thing" died of liver cancer on May 6th, 2015 at the age of 71
James Brown - known by all as the Godfather of Soul, died of pneumonia on December 25th, 2006, at the age of 73. He recorded more than 50 albums and had well over 100 songs that hit the US charts, including "I Got You", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Cold Sweat" and "Sex Machine"
Michael Brown - keyboard player for The Left Banke, died of heart failure on March 19th, 2015 at the age of 65. He he co-wrote the 1966, #14 hit "Walk Away Renee" and composed the follow-up, "Pretty Ballerina", which rose to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
Jack Bruce - bassist for Cream passed away on October 25th, 2014 at the age of 71. Along with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, the legendary supergroup had two Billboard Top 10 hits, "Sunshine Of Your Love" (#5) and "White Room" (#6), both in 1968 as well as three Top Ten albums which sold a combined 2.8 million copies
Dave Brubeck - Jazz pianist and composer who reached the Billboard Top 40 in 1961 with "Take Five", died of heart failure on December 5th, 2012, one day shy of his 92nd birthday
Ola Brunkert - drummer for ABBA on all of their albums died on March 17th, 2008 after he hit his head against a glass door in his dining room, shattering the glass and cutting himself in the neck. He managed to wrap himself with a towel around but collapsed before reaching help. He was 62
Roy Buchanan - a Blues musician and pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a both a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career. He was just 48 years old when he was arrested for public intoxication after a domestic dispute and later found hanging in a jail cell on August 14th, 1988
Tim Buckley - a popular performer and song writer during the 1960s and early 70s, died from a drug overdose on June 25th, 1975 at the age of 28
Ronnie Bullis - drummer for The Troggs on their 1966 hit, "Wild Thing", died on November 13th, 1992, of an undisclosed illness at the age of 49
Cornelius Bumpus - who played saxophone for Steely Dan and sang and played sax for The Doobie Brothers, died of a heart attack on February 3rd, 2004, at the age of 58
Clarence Burke - lead singer of The Five Stairsteps, who had a Billboard #8 hit with "O-o-h Child" in 1970, died May 26th, 2013, one day after his 64th birthday
Solomon Burke - a pioneering Soul singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, died October 10th, 2010 at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport after a flight from Los Angeles. He was 70 years old
Pete Burns - lead singer of the Goth / New Wave band Dead Or Alive died following cardiac arrest on October 24th, 2016 at the age of 57. The band enjoyed two big Billboard hits with "You Spin Me 'Round Like A Record", #11 in 1985 and "Brand New Lover", #15 in 1987
Robert Burns Jr. - Lynyrd Skynyrd's original drummer was killed in a single car accident on April 3rd, 2015 at the age of 64. He played on the band's first two albums, 1973's "(Pronounced 'Leh-'nerd 'Skin-'nerd)" and 1974's "Second Helping" before leaving due to the rigors of touring
Clive Burr - Iron Maiden's drummer on their first three albums, died in his sleep after a long battle with with multiple sclerosis, on March 12th, 2013. He was 56
Boz Burrell - bass guitarist known for his involvement in King Crimson and Bad Company, died following a heart attack on September 21st, 2006, at the age of 60
Dorsey Burnette - reached number 23 in 1960 with "There Was A Tall Oak Tree", suffered a fatal heart attack on August 19th, 1979. He was 46
Johnny Burnette - best remembered for the hits, "You're Sixteen" and "Dreamin'", drowned after a boating accident on August 14th, 1964 at age 30. His son, Rocky Burnette would have a Top Ten hit in 1980 with "Tired Of Toein' The Line"
Heinz Burt - the bassist for The Tornadoes died on April 7th, 2000, at the age of 57, after a long battle with motor neuron disease. The group's biggest hit was the 1962 instrumental, "Telstar"
Cliff Burton - bass guitarist for Metallica was killed on September 27th, 1986 when the band's tour bus skidded and flipped over in rural southern Sweden. Burton was thrown through the window of the bus, which fell on top of him, crushing him to death. He was just 24 years old
Paul Butterfield - who fronted The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, died of drug-related heart failure, May 4th 1987. He was 45
Floyd Butler - of The Friends of Distinction, died of a heart attack on April 29th, 1990 at the age of 49. The band is most often remembered for two Top Ten hits, "Grazing In The Grass" in 1969 and "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" in 1970
Glen Buxton - the original lead guitarist for Alice Cooper, died of natural causes on October 19th, 1997, at the age of 49
John Byrne - the lead singer of The Count Five and writer of their 1966 hit "Psychotic Reaction", died on December 15th, 2008, following kidney and liver failure. He was 61
David Byron - former lead singer of the 70's British heavy rock band Uriah Heep, was found dead in his home on February 28th,1985. He was 38
Alan Caddy - guitarist for The Tornados on their 1962 hit "Telstar", passed away on August 16th, 2000, at the age of 60
Randy Cain - a founding member of the Philadelphia Soul group, the Delfonics, who reached the Billboard Top 40 six times, including "La-La Means I Love You" (#4 in 1968) and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" (#10 in 1970), died April 9th, 2009. He was 63
Al Caiola - the guitarist who recorded the theme songs for Bonanza (#19) and The Magnificent Seven (#35) in 1961, passed away on November 9th, 2016, at the age of 96. He also played on Paul Anka's "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl", Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" and "Splish-Splash", Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are", Del Shannon's "Runaway" and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me"
Steve Caldwell - sang "Double Shot Of My Baby's Love" with The Swingin' Medallions, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 55
Tommy Caldwell - bassist for The Marshall Tucker band was killed in a car accident on April 28th, 1980. He was just 30 years old
Toy Caldwell - guitarist for The Marshall Tucker band on their 1977 million seller, "Heard It In A Love Song", died in his sleep on February 25th, 1993 at the age of 45
J.J. Cale - Grammy award winning singer / songwriter who scored a Billboard #22 hit in 1972 with "Crazy Mama", suffered a fatal heart attack on July 26th, 2013 at the age of 74. He also penned songs recorded by Waylon Jennings, Poco, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty and Carlos Santana, as well as writing "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton
Randy California - guitarist / singer / songwriter who is best known as the leader of the rock band, Spirit, died tragically on January 2nd, 1997, when he was gripped by an undertow while swimming on the coast of the Hawaiian island of Molokai. His body was lost at sea. Before he died, he was able to save his 12 year-old son, Quinn. His real name was Randy Wolfe, but was given his nickname by Jimi Hendrix. At the time of his death, he was six weeks shy of his 46th birthday
Stephen Canaday - of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils was killed when the vintage WW II plane he was riding in, rolled, inverted and crashed into a tree. The pilot failed to maintain speed which resulted in a stall. The band is most often remembered for the 1975 US #3 single "Jackie Blue".
Joe Canzano - vocalist for The Duprees on their 1962 #7 hit, "You Belong To Me", died on February 28th, 1984 at the age of 40
Jim Capaldi - drummer for Traffic, who released eleven classic rock albums in the late sixties and early seventies, died on January 28th, 2005, after a brief battle with stomach cancer. He was 60
Bob Casale - guitarist for the New Wave band Devo, died of heart failure at the age of 61 on February 17th, 2014
Captain Beefheart - died on December 17th, 2010 of complications from multiple sclerosis at the age of 69. Born Don Van Vliet, he rose to prominence in the 1960s with a unique style of Blues-inspired, experimental Rock 'n' Roll. His "Trout Mask Replica" LP was #58 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Henson Cargill - who reached the top of the Country charts and #25 on the US Pop chart in 1968 with "Skip A Rope", died following complications from surgery on March 24th, 2007 at the age of 66
Eric Carr - who replaced Peter Criss as the drummer for KISS, died November 24th, 1991 in a New York hospital following a cerebral haemorrhage which complicated the cancer he was suffering from. He was 41
Karen Carpenter - died of heart irregularities caused by anorexia nervosa just days before her 33rd birthday on February 4th, 1983
Earl "Speedo" Carroll - lead singer for The Cadillacs on their 1955 hit "Speedoo", died November 24th, 2012 from complications of diabetes. Carroll later sang with The Coasters for about two decades before reuniting with a new incarnation of the Cadillacs.
Johnny Cash - died on September 12th, 2003, due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure. He was 71 years old. Johnny began his career as a rock-a-billy artist at Sun Records, along with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. After turning his attention to Country music, he went on to win 11 Grammy Awards and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
June Carter Cash - who accompanied her husband Johnny many of his records, including their 1970, Top 40 Pop hit "If I Were A Carpenter", died of complications following heart valve replacement surgery on May 15th, 2003 at the age of 73
Randy Castillo - best known as Ozzy Osbourne's drummer during the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for Motley Crue, from 1999-2002, died of cancer on March 26th, 2002. He was 51 years old
Danny Cedrone - the guitarist who played lead on Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock", died following a freak stairway fall on June 18th, 1954, less than a month after the recording session
Chas Chandler - bassist of The Animals and Jimi Hendrix manager, died of an aortic aneurysm on July 17th, 1996 at the age of 57
Harry Chapin - singer / songwriter who recorded "Taxi" was just 38 years old when he was killed in a car accident on July 16th, 1981
Ray Charles - singer / pianist who won twelve Grammy awards and is remembered for hits like "Hit the Road Jack", "What'd I Say" and "Georgia on My Mind", succumbed to complications from liver disease on June 10th, 2004, at the age of 73
Bill Chase - leader of the jazz / rock band Chase was killed in a plane crash in Jackson, Minnesota on August 9th, 1974 at the age of 39. Three members of the band where also killed. Chase reached #34 on the Billboard chart with "Get It On" in 1971
Gary Chester - one of the 20th century's busiest studio drummers, died August 17th, 1987 at the age of 62. During the '50s, '60s and '70s, Gary logged over 15,000 studio sessions and appeared on thousands of tracks, including hundreds of hit records
Alex Chilton - the lead singer for The Box Tops on their Billboard Top Ten hits "The Letter" and "Cry Like A Baby", died after experiencing heart problems on March 17th, 2010. He was 59
Arlester "Dyke" Christian - 28 year old leader of Dyke and the Blazers was shot to death in a bar-room altercation on March 30th, 1971. The shooter was arrainged on murder charges but the case was delayed several times and eventually dismissed because of evidence indicating self-defence. The band reached number 35 in 1969 with "We Got More Soul"
John Cipollina - guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service, died May 29th, 1989 after a lifelong battle with emphysema caught up with him at the age of 45
Gene Clark - lead vocalist of The Byrds, died of a heart attack May 24th 1991 at the age of 49
Dee Clark - best known for his hit "Raindrops" suffered a heart attack and died on December 7th, 1990 at age 52
Dick Clark - who brought Rock 'n' Roll into the homes of millions of viewers on his daytime TV show American Bandstand from 1956 to 1988, suffered a fatal heart attack on April 18th, 2012 at the age of 82
Mike Clark - Owner / Manager of Atlanta's Southern Tracks Recording Studio, died February 1st, 2007 after an 8 month illness. He was 63. For many years he played drums with such popular 1960's artists as Tommy Roe, Billy Joe Royal, Joe South, Ray Stevens and Roy Orbison and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1999
Steve Clark - guitarist for Def Leppard, died from an accidental mixing of prescription drugs and alcohol on January 8th, 1991, at the age of 31
Michael Clarke - drummer for The Byrds and later Firefall, died of liver failure on December 19th, 1993. He was 47 years old
Clarence Clemons - the burly sax player who helped develop Bruce Springsteen's early sound, died June 18th, 2011, just six days after suffering a stroke at his Florida home. He was 69
Patsy Cline - 30 year old country singer who sang "I Fall To Pieces" and "Crazy" was killed when her private plane crashed on March 5th, 1963
Jim Clench - bassist for April Wine on their Billboard #32 hit "You Could Have Been A Lady" in 1972, died of cancer on November 3rd, 2010 at the age of 61
Odia Coates - sang "You're Having My Baby" with Paul Anka, died of breast cancer on May 19th, 1991. She was 49
Ed Cobb - of The Four Preps, died of leukemia on September 19th, 1999, at the age of 61. The group placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1958 and 1961, including "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)" and "Big Man"
Eddie Cochran - best known for his 1950's hit, "Summertime Blues", was killed in a car accident on April 17th 1960 at the age of 21
Joe Cocker - whose unique, gravely voice propelled him to stardom in the early 1970s, died after battling lung cancer on December 22nd, 2014. During his forty year career, Cocker placed ten songs on the Billboard Top 40, including the Top 10 hits, "The Letter" (1970), "You Are So Beautiful" (1975) and "Up Where We Belong" with Jennifer Warnes in 1982
Leonard Cohen - poet, composer and singer, passed away on November 10th, 2016 at the age of 82. Inducted into Cleveland's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2008, his composition "Hallelujah" has been covered by over 300 artists
Jerry Corbetta - keyboard player and lead vocalist for Sugarloaf on their 1970, #3 hit "Green-Eyed Lady", passed away on September 16th, 2016 at the age of 68. He had earlier been diagnosed with Pick's disease, which slowly destroys the nerve cells in the brain similarly to Alzheimer's disease
Corrado "Connie" Codarini - an original member of the Canadian vocal group The Four Lads, died of undisclosed causes on April 28th, 2010 at the age of 80. The quartet is most often remembered for their million-selling hits "Moments to Remember", "Standin' On The Corner" and "No, Not Much"
Brian Cole - bass guitarist and vocalist with The Association, died in Los Angeles of a heroin overdose on August 2nd, 1972. He was 28
Nat King Cole - velvet voiced singer who is most often remembered for his hits, "Ramblin' Rose" and "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer", died of lung cancer on February 15th, 1965 at age 47. In all, he placed 28 songs on Billboard's Top 40
Natalie Cole - nine-time Grammy-winning singer and daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole, passed away at the age of 65 on December 31st, 2015. She placed twelve songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1975 and 1991, including the Top Ten hits, "This Will Be", "I've Got Love On My Mind", "Pink Cadillac" and "Miss You Like Crazy"
G.C. Coleman - drummer for the Washington D.C. based group, The Winstons, who reached #7 on the Billboard Pop chart with "Color Him Father" in 1969, died in September, 2006 at the age of 62. He is also remembered for recording what is known as the "Amen break", a drum solo from the song "Amen, Brother", which has been sampled and used in thousands of hip-hop, pop, drum and bass and jungle tracks
Allen Collins - guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, died of pneumonia on January 23rd, 1990. He was 37
Perry Como - who placed 31 songs in the Billboard Top 40 between 1954 and 1973, including "Catch A Falling Star" and "Hot Diggity", passed away at the age of 88, on May 12th, 2001
Arthur Conley - who recorded the 1967 hit, "Sweet Soul Music" died on November 17th, 2003 at his home in the town of Ruurlo, in the eastern Netherlands. The 57 year old singer had been suffering from intestinal cancer
Brian Connolly - vocalist for Sweet, who reached #3 in 1973 with "Little Willy", died of kidney failure on February 10th, 1997 at the age of 52
"Stompin'" Tom Connors - a Canadian icon who recorded hundreds of songs about his native country, died in his sleep of natural causes on March 6th, 2013 at the age of 77. Hockey fans fondly remember him for "The Hockey Song", played in rinks across North America
Sam Cooke - shot and killed by the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles on December 11th, 1964. The manager claimed she acted in self-defence after Cooke raped a 22-year-old woman and then turned to attack her. The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide. Sam Cooke was one month shy of his 34th birthday
Rick Coonce - drummer for The Grass Roots on their 11 Billboard Top 40 hits, died of heart failure on February 25th, 2011 at the age of 64
Don Cornelius - who helped break down racial barriers and broaden the reach of Black culture on his TV music show Soul Train, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound on February 1st, 2012 at the age of 75. His show, which ran nationally from 1971 to 2006, introduced the likes of Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White to large audiences for the first time
Carter Cornelius - of The Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, died of a heart attack on November 7th, 1991. Their biggest hits were "Too Late To Turn Back Now" and "Treat Her Like a Lady"
Glenn Cornick - the original bass player for Jethro Tull, died of congestive heart failure on August 28th, 2014 at the age of 67. Cornick performed with Tull from its inception in late 1967 until 1970
Joey Covington - who played with Jefferson Airplane from 1970-72 and later in the offshoot band Hot Tuna, died in a car crash in Palm Springs on June 4th, 2013. He was 67 years old
Barbara Cowsill - vocalist for the family band The Cowsills, who scored a Billboard number two hit with "The Rain, The Park And Other Things" in 1967, died of emphysema on January 31st, 1985, at the age of 54
Barry Cowsill - bass guitarist for The Cowsills, died on or about September 1st, 2005 from injuries believed to be caused by Hurricane Katrina. His body was recovered December 28th, 2005, from the Chartres Street Wharf, New Orleans. He was 51
Bill Cowsill - lead singer for The Cowsills died February 17th, 2006 at the age of 58. He had been suffering from emphysema, osteoporosis and other ailments. News of his death came just after a memorial ceremony honoring his younger brother, Barry
Floyd Cramer - pianist who scored a Top Ten hit with "Last Date" passed away at the age of 64 on December 31st 1997
Tommy Crain - guitarist for The Charlie Daniels band on their Grammy-winning single "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and more than twenty albums, died on January 13th, 2011 at the age of 59
Vincent Crane - former keyboardist for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, died on February 14th, 1989 of an overdose of painkillers.
Papa John Creach - a fiddler who first came to the notice of rock fans when he joined Jefferson Airplane from 1970 to 1972. This veteran of jazz and blues groups was in his early 50s while his fellow bandmembers were still approaching 30. He died of heart failure on February 22nd, 1994 at the age of 76
Bob Crewe - a singer / songwriter / producer who penned a string of hits for The Four Seasons, including "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man" and "Rag Doll", passed away on September 11th, 2014 at the age of 83. During his career, he also produced dozens of hits for other artists, including "Can't Take My Eyes Of You" for Frankie Valli, "Devil With A Blue Dress On" for Mitch Ryder and "Lady Marmalade" for Labelle
Jim Croce - singer / songwriter who recorded "Operator" and "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" was killed when his chartered plane snagged a pecan tree during takeoff on September 20th, 1973. He was 30 years old
Robbin Crosby - guitarist for the L.A. Hard-Rock group Ratt, who reached the Top 40 twice with "Round And Round" (#12 in 1984) and "Lay It Down" (#40 in 1985), died on June 6th, 2002, two months prior to his 43rd birthday
Bobby Curtola - a Canadian teen idol who reached #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Fortuneteller" in 1962, passed away on June 5th, 2016 at the age of 73. Over his career Curtola achieved 25 Canadian Gold singles and 12 Canadian Gold albums
Chris Curtis - drummer and vocalist for the 1960s pop group The Searchers, passed away on February 28th, 2005 at the age of 63. His band placed seven songs in Billboard's Top 40 including "Love Potion Number Nine" and "Needles And Pins".
King Curtis - legendary session saxophonist who appeared on many hits in the 50's and 60's, including the Coasters' "Yakety Yak", died in a senseless occurrence in front of his home in New York on August 13th, 1971. He had been arguing with a group of men when one pulled out a six-inch dagger and stabbed Curtis in the heart. He was 37
Johnny Cymbal - had a number 16 hit with "Mr. Bass Man" in 1963, died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 48 on March 16th, 1993. He also had a 1969 hit with "Cinnamon", when he was known as "Derek"
Rick Danko - bass player of The Band died in his sleep on December 10th, 1999 at the age of 56
Bobby Darin - actor and singer whose hits included, "Splish Splash" and "Mack The Knife", died Dec. 20th, 1973 after unsuccessful heart surgery at the age of 37
Eugene "Bird" Daughtry - vocalist for The Intruders, who scored a Billboard #6 hit in 1968 with "Cowboys To Girls", died of cancer on December 25th, 1994 at the age of 55
Hal David - lyricist who teamed with Burt Bacharach on dozens of timeless songs for movies, television and a variety of recording artists, died at the age of 91 on September 1st, 2012.
Clifford Davies - drummer for Ted Nugent who played on his trademark recording "Cat Scratch Fever" was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his suburban Atlanta home on April 13th, 2008. He was 59
Marlena Davis - of The Orlons, lost her battle with lung cancer on February 27th, 1993, at the age of 48
Michael Davis - part of the MC5 line-up who rose to prominence with their blistering sound, epitomised by the 1969 track "Kick Out the Jams", died February 17th, 2012, following treatment for liver disease. He was 68
Paul Davis - who placed 8 songs on the Billboard Top 40 Pop chart, including "I Go Crazy" (#7 in 1977), and "65 Love Affair" (#6 in 1982), suffered a fatal heart attack on April 22nd, 2008 at the age of 60. After his Pop career was over, Davis topped the Country chart with "You're Still New to Me", a duet with Marie Osmond in 1986 and "I Won't Take Less Than Your Love" with Paul Overstreet and Tanya Tucker in 1987
Sammy Davis Jr. - placed 8 songs on the Billboard Top 40 including the #1 hit "Candy Man" in 1972, died of throat cancer on May 16th, 1990. He was 64 years old
Skeeter Davis - who scored two top ten hits in 1963 with "The End Of The World" and "I Can't Stay Mad At You", passed away on September 19th, 2004, after a 16 year battle with cancer. She was 73
Tyrone Davis - best known for his hits "Turn Back The Hands of Time" and "Can I Change My Mind", died February 9th, 2005 in from complications following a stroke. He was 66
Tom Dawes - bassist for The Cyrkle on their two 1966 Billboard Top 20 hits, "Red Rubber Ball" and "Turn Down Day", died on October 13th, 2007, following complications from heart surgery. He was 64
Bobby Day - known for his 1958 hit "Rockin' Robin," died of cancer on July 27th 1990. He was 60
Bill Deal - of Bill Deal & the Rhondels died of a massive heart attack at age 59, on December 10th, 2003. Deal and his eight-member group had five chart hits in 1969 and 1970, including "May I", "I've Been Hurt" and "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?"
Jimmy Dean - a Country-crossover artist most often remembered for his two US Top Ten hits, "Big Bad John" in 1960 and "P.T. 109" in 1962, died June 13th, 2010 at his home in Varina, Virginia. Along with placing eight songs on Billboard's Top 40 between 1958 and 1976, Dean was also elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in February, 2010
Dave Dee - of the British Pop Rock group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, died following a three year battle with cancer on January 9th, 2009 at the age of 67. In the late '60s the band spent more time in the UK charts than The Beatles, scoring a number one single in 1968 with "The Legend of Xanadu"
Lenny Dee - a solo organist who reached #19 on the Billboard chart in 1955 with the million selling "Plantation Boogie", died February 12th, 2006 at the age of 83. He was a one-time performer with Jimmy Dorsey and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Jack Paar and the Lawrence Welk Show
Tommy Dee - who reached #11 on the Billboard chart in 1959 with "Three Stars", a song dedicated to Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, died January 26th, 2007, at the age of 70, after a long illness
Denis D'ell - lead singer for The Honeycombs on their 1964 hit "Have I The Right", died of cancer on July 6th, 2005 at the age of 61
Brad Delp - the lead singer for the band Boston, was found dead in his home in southern New Hampshire on March 9th, 2007. He was 55
Sandy Denny - English contemporary folk rocker, died of a brain haemorrhage on April 21st, 1978 at the age of 31
Desmond Dekker - Jamaican reggae pioneer, famed for his worldwide hit "The Israelites", died of a heart attack at his home in England, on May 26th, 2006. He was 64
John Denver - starred in "Oh God" with George Burns and recorded a long string of hits that included "Rocky Mountain High", "Sunshine On My Shoulders" and "Country Roads", was killed when the handmade, experimental airplane he was flying, crashed off the coast of Monterey Bay, CA. on October 12th, 1997. He was 53
Robert Lee Dickey - who peformed as Bobby Purify of the '60s Soul duo James And Bobby Purify, died December 29th, 2011 at the age of 72. The pair is most often remembered for their 1966 Billboard Top 10 hit "I'm Your Puppet"
Bo Diddley - born Ellas Bates, he was a founding father of Rock 'n' Roll whose distinctive syncopated rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired thousands of other musicians. He died of heart failure on June 2nd, 2008, at the age of 79
Cheryl Dilcher - a Greenwich Village Folk singer who enjoyed a cult following in the 1970s but failed to find commercial recording success, died on February 26th, 2005 at the age of 58
Mark Dinning - whose only hit, "Teen Angel" was banned by many radio stations who called it "a death disc", died of a heart attack on March 22nd, 1986 at the age of 52
Ronnie James Dio - the powerful voice for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell, lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 67 on May 16th, 2010
Dick Dodd - drummer and vocalist for The Standells on their 1966 hit "Dirty Water" died of cancer on November 29th, 2013 at the age of 68
Denny Doherty - the angelic voice that carried the '60s folk-pop group the Mamas and the Papas through such memorable hits as "California Dreamin' " and "Monday, Monday", died January 19th, 2007, after suffering an aneurysm in his abdomen. He was 66
Lonnie Donegan - called "the king of skiffle", best known for the top ten hits, "Rock Island Line" and "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Over Night", died November 3rd 2002, at the age of 71, midway through a UK tour
Ral Donner - often cited for his Elvis-sound-alike voice, he reached the Billboard Top 40 five times between 1961 and 1962, including the #4 hit, "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)". Donner died of cancer on April 6th, 1984 at the age of 41
Lee Dorman - bassist for the Psychedelic Rock band Iron Butterfly, passed away on December 21st, 2012 at the age of 70. Dorman played on the band's landmark 1968 album, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Lee Dorsey - scored a pair of Billboard Top Ten hits with "Ya Ya" (#7 in 1961) and "Working In The Coal Mine" (#8 in 1966), died of emphysema on December 1st, 1986, three weeks shy of his 62nd birthday
Peter Doyle - of The New Seekers, died of cancer on October 13th, 2001, at the age of 52. The group scored two Top 20 hits, "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma" in 1970 and "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" in 1971
Nick Drake - English singer / songwriter and musician best known for his acoustic songs. Although he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has grown steadily in stature, to the extent that he is now widely considered one of the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years. The 26 year old musician died on November 25th, 1974, from an overdose of amitriptyline, a type of anti-depressant
Spencer Dryden - drummer for The Jefferson Airplane from 1966 to 1970, passed away on January 10th, 2005, after a brief battle with colon cancer. He was 66
Kevin DuBrow - lead vocalist for Quiet Riot, died November 19th, 2007, at the age of 52. His Heavy Metal band reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983 with "Cum On Feel The Noise" and is often remembered for pushing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" LP out of the top spot with their album "Metal Health"
Patty Duke - died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine on March 29th, 2016 at the age of 69. Along with being an acclaimed TV and movie actress, she also placed two songs on the Billboard Pop chart in 1965 with "Don't Just Stand There" (#8), and "Say Something Funny", (#22)
Cleve Duncan - vocalist for The Penguins on their 1955, Billboard #1 hit, "Earth Angel", passed away on November 7th, 2012, aged 77 years
Donald "Duck" Dunn - bass guitarist for Booker T and the MGs who also played on Otis Redding's "Respect" and Sam And Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'", passed away while touring in Japan on May 13th, 2012 at the age of 70
Ian Dury - English rocker who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s as founder and lead singer of the British band Ian Dury and the Blockheads, died of colorectal cancer on March 27th, 2000, just weeks short of his 58th birthday
Willem Duyn - known as Mouth of the Netherlands' duo of Mouth And MacNeal, died of a heart attack on December 4th, 2004, at the age of 67. The pair are most often remembered for their 1972, US Top Ten hit, "How Do You Do"
Bernie Dwyer - drummer for Freddie and The Dreamers, died on December 4th 2002 at the age of 62
Ronnie Dyson - who had a Top Ten hit in 1970 with "Why Can't I Touch You", died of heart failure and lung disease on November 10th, 1990. He was just 40 years old
Linda Eastman - wife of Paul McCartney and member of Wings, died of breast cancer on April 17th, 1998 at the age of 56
Jerry Edmonton - drummer for Steppenwolf during their hit making years, was killed in a car crash, not far from his Santa Barbara, California home on November 28th, 1993. He was 47
Kenny Edwards - an original member of the Country / Rock band The Stone Poneys, died of cancer at the age of 64 on August 18th, 2010. The group, lead by vocalist Linda Ronstadt, reached #13 in late 1967 with "Different Drum"
Mike Edwards - founding member of The Electric Light Orchestra was killed on September 3rd, 2010 while driving in southwest England when a 600-kilogram bale of hay rolled down a field and crushed his van. The 62-year-old cellist died instantly
Raymond Edwards - of the Philadelphia vocal group, The Silhouettes, died on March 4th, 1997, at the age of 74. The group topped the Billboard chart in 1958 with "Get A Job"
Tommy Edwards - best remembered for his number one 1958 hit "It's All In The Game" passed away on October 23rd, 1969, at the age of 47 after suffering a brain aneurysm
Duke Ellington - jazz band leader, died of cancer on May 24th, 1974 at the age of 75
Keith Emerson - keyboardist and founding member of the Progressive Rock band Emerson, Lake And Palmer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 11th, 2016. He was 71
Bill Eyden - the session drummer hired to play on Procol Harum's 1967 hit "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", died after a lengthy illness on October 15th, 2004 at the age of 74
Mama Cass Elliot - of The Mamas and Papas, succumbed to a heart attack on July 29th, 1974 at the age of 32
Jack Ely - the lead singer on The Kingsmen's 1963 hit, "Louie Louie", died of an unspecified illness on April 28th, 2015. He was 71
John Entwistle - bassist for The Who, died of a heart attack on June 27th, 2002 at the age of 57
Brian Epstein - the manager of The Beatles who took the band from a quartet of rough-necks to being "the most successful rock band in history" in just over two years, died of a drug overdose on August 27th, 1967, three weeks short of his 33rd birthday
Howie Epstein - played bass for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers for 20 years and 12 albums, died of complications due to presciption drug use on February 23rd, 2003 at the age of 47
Janet Ertel - of The Chordettes, died of cancer on November 22nd, 1988, at the age of 75. The group made the Billboard chart nine times between 1954 and 1961 with songs such as "Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop"
Coke Escovedo - an American percussionist who played for Santana, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock, as well as forming the band Azteca, died July 13th, 1986, at the age of 45
Chris Ethridge - bassist and co-founder of The Flying Burrito Brothers passed away on April 23rd, 2012 at the age of 65
Tom Evans - of Badfinger, died November 19th, 1983 at the age of 36. Like his bandmate, Pete Ham, Evens also hanged himself
Betty Everett - best remembered for her 1964 hit, "The Shoop Shoop Song", was found dead at her home in Beloit, Wisconsin on August 19th, 2001. She was 61
Phil Everly - of The Everly Brothers died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on January 3rd, 2014 at the age of 74. Along with his brother, Phil, the Everlys placed 27 singles on the Billboard Top 40, including 12 Top 10 hits between 1957 and 1967
Norm Ezell - guitarist for Five Americans on their 1967 hit "Western Union" died of cancer on May 8th, 2010 at the age of 68
Adam Faith - was one of England's major pop stars in the early 1960s and enjoyed a run of eleven British Top 20 hits prior to the arrival of the Beatles. He suffered a fatal heart attack on March 8th, 2003 at the age of 62
Percy Faith - led his orchestra to the top of the US chart with "Theme From A Summer Place" in 1960, died of cancer on February 9th, 1976. He was 62
Leroy Fann - of Ruby and The Romantics died in November, 1973, at the age of 37
Pete Farndon - bassist for The Pretenders on their US Top 20 hits "Brass In Pocket" (1980) and "Back On The Chain Gang" (1983), died of a drug overdose on April 14th, 1983. He was 30 years old
Edward Farran - of The Arbors, died of kidney failure on January 2nd, 2003, at the age of 64. The group reached number 20 on the Billboard chart in 1969 with their version of "The Letter"
Bobby Farrel - vocalist for Boney M, who topped the charts with "By the Rivers of Babylon" in 1978, died of natural causes on December 30th, 2010 at the age of 61
Danny Federici - the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen, whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising", died of cancer on April 17th, 2008. He was 58
Freddy Fender - The Tex-Mex hitmaker, known for such '70s jukebox standards as "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" died October 14th, 2006, of complications from lung cancer, at the age of 69
Manuel Fernandez - founding member and organist for Los Bravos on their 1966 hit "Black Is Black", committed suicide on May 20th, 1967. He was just 23 years old
Fred Ferrara - backing vocalist for The Brooklyn Bridge died on October 21st, 2011 of cardiac arrest at the age of 67. As member of The Del-Satins, he backed Dion on twelve of his Top 40 hits between 1961 and 1963
Richard "Dimples" Fields - an American Soul singer most often remembered for his 1982 hit, "If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another", which reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #47 on the Hot 100, died following a stroke on January 12th, 2000. He was 58
Doug Fieger - the lead singer for The Knack on their 1979 hit "My Sharona", died February 14th, 2010, after a six-year battle with cancer. He was 57
Mickey Finn - drummer for T Rex, died of kidney and liver problems on January 11th, 2002, at the age of 55. The band reached #10 in the US with "Bang A Gong" in 1972 and had over 20 other UK top 40 singles
Dave Fisher - who formed The Highwaymen with four university pals in the late 1950s, died at the age of 69 after a battle with a bone marrow disorder on May 7th, 2010. The quartet topped the Billboard chart in 1961 with "Michael (Row The Boat Ashore)"
Eddie Fisher - whose 11 Billboard Top 40 hits were often eclipsed by his scandalous personal life with Elizabeth Taylor, died of complications from hip surgery on September 22nd, 2010 at the age of 82. He cracked the Top Ten with "Count Your Blessings" (#5 in 1955), "Heart" (#6 in 1956) and "Dungaree Doll" (#7 in 1956) and was also the father of Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy
Miss Toni Fisher - sang the number 3 hit "The Big Hurt" in 1959, died of a heart attck on February 12th, 1999 at age 67
Charles Fizer - of the R&B vocal group, The Olympics, who achieved a Top 10 hit in 1958 with "Western Movies", was killed during a race riot on August 14th, 1965. He was just 25 years old
Danny Flores - who played saxophone on The Champs' 1958, number one hit, "Tequila" passed away on September 19th, 2006 at the age of 77
Dan Fogelberg - singer / songwriter whose hits "Longer", "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the Soft Rock era of the '70s and '80s, died on December 16th, 2007 after a three year battle with prostate cancer. He was 56
Tom Fogerty - guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival, died on Sept 6th, 1990 of respiratory failure at the age of 48
Frankie Ford - who took "Sea Cruise" to #14 in America in 1959, died of natural causes on September 28th, 2015. He was 76
Charlie Foxx - guitarist and vocalist who teamed up with his sister Inez on the 1963 Billboard #7 hit "Mockingbird", died of leukemia on September 18th, 1998. He was 68
Melvin Franklin - singer for the Temptations died of a brain seizure on February 23rd, 1995, at the age of 52
Andy Fraser - bassist for the group Free and co-writer of their hit "All Right Now", died of cancer on March 16th, 2015 at the age of 62
Alan 'Fluff' Freeman - One of the UK's most popular radio broadcasters, died after a short illness on November 27th 2006, at the age of 79
Alan Freed - disc jockey who is often credited with popularizing the phrase "rock and roll" in the mid 1950s, died of cirrhosis of the liver on Jan. 20th, 1965 at the age of 43
Glenn Frey - co-founder of The Eagles died January 18th, 2016 at the age of 67 of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia while recovering from intestinal surgery. Along with helping the band place eighteen songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1972 and 1995, Frey also reached the chart seven times as a solo artist
Billy Fury - British rock-a-billy artist who scored a major hit in Great Britain in 1961 with "Halfway To Paradise". He was a major star in his homeland, but couldn't catch the break he needed to become a part of the "British Invasion". Billy died from heart and kidney problems on January 27th, 1983 at the age of 42
Bobby Fuller - 24 year old leader of The Bobby Fuller Four who scored a huge hit with "I Fought The Law", was found on the front seat of his mother's Oldsmobile, parked outside of a Los Angeles apartment building on July 18th, 1966. His death was ruled accidental even though gasoline was found on his body and in his lungs
Annette Funicello - who had two US Top 10 singles: "Tall Paul" in 1959 and "O Dio Mio" in 1960, died from complications of multiple sclerosis on April 8th, 2013 at the age of 70. She rose to fame for her TV role on The Mickey Mouse Club and continued her acting career into her adult life, which included six Beach Party movies with Frankie Avalon
Johnny Funches - who wrote and sang lead on The Dells' 1956 million seller, "Oh What A Night", passed away on January 23rd, 1998 at the age of 62
Cassie Gaines - background singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd was killed on October 20th, 1977 when a plane carrying the band crashed into the Mississippi swamp lands, the result of a tragic pilot error. She was 29
Steve Gaines - guitarist who joined Lynyrd Skynyrd when Ed King left the band, was killed on October 20th, 1977 in the plane crash that also took the life of his sister Cassie and Ronnie Van Zandt. Steve Gaines was 28
Rory Gallagher - an Irish blues / rock guitarist best known for his tenure in Taste and his solo work, died of liver failure on June 14th, 1995 at the age of 47
Mike Gannon - Electric Prunes guitarist on their 1967 hit, "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night", died of a gunshot wound while on R&R in Hawaii after a tour of duty in Vietnam in the early 70s.
Mary Ann Ganser - of The Shangri-Las, died of encephalitis in 1971, at the age of 23. Her twin sister and bandmate, Marge, developed breast cancer and passed away in 1996, at the age of 48. The girls sang back-up vocals on the rock rebel classic, "Leader Of The Pack"
Carl Gardner - the lead singer of The Coasters on their pioneering Rock 'n' Roll hits "Yakety Yak", "Charlie Brown", "Poison Ivy" and "Searchin'" died June 12th, 2011 at the age of 83. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's and congestive heart failure
Frankie Garcia - lead singer for Cannibal and the Headhunters on their 1965, Top 30 hit "Land Of 1000 Dances" died on January 21st, 1996, at the age of 49
Jerry Garcia - leader of The Grateful Dead, died of a heart attack on August 9th, 1995, at the age of 53
Freddie Garrity - the lead singer of the 1960s pop band Freddie and the Dreamers died on May 19th, 2006, at the age of 65, after receiving treatment for what were described as "circulation problems"
Bruce Gary - drummer for The Knack on their multi-million selling hit "My Sharona" died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma on August 22nd, 2006. He was 54
Danny Gatton - who was ranked 63rd on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003, locked himself in his garage in Newburg, Maryland and shot himself with no explanation on October 4th, 1994. He was 49
Marvin Gaye - shot and killed by his father during a family dispute, April 1st, 1984, one day short of age 45
Lowell George - slide guitarist who left The Mothers of Invention to form Little Feat, died of a massive heart attack, June 29, 1979, at the age of 34
Samuel George Jr. - lead singer of the Capitols, who had a 1966 hit with "Cool Jerk", died in Detroit after being stabbed with a knife during a family argument on March 17th, 1982. He was 39 years old
Andy Gibb - solo artist and brother of The Bee Gees died at the age of 30, on March 10th, 1988 of an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a viral infection
Maurice Gibb - of The Bee Gees, brother of Barry Gibb and twin of Robin Gibb, died on January 12th, 2003 of a heart attack, following an operation for the removal of an intestinal blockage. He was 53
Robin Gibb - of The Bee Gees passed away on May 20th, 2012 at the age of 62 after battling colon and liver cancer. His vocals were featured on the hits "Massachusetts", "I Started a Joke", "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" and "Holiday"
Michael Gibbins - drummer for Badfinger on their hits "Come And Get It","Day After Day" and "No Matter What", died in his sleep on October 4th, 2005, at the age of 56
Don Gibson - died of natural causes on November 17th, 2003 at the age of 75. Mainly known as a Country artist, he also placed four songs on the US Pop charts, including the #7 single "Oh Lonesome Me" in 1958 and "Sea Of Heartbreak", #21 in 1961
Ray Gillen - best known for his work with Badlands in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s, passed away on December 1st, 1993 at the age of 34
Mic Gillette - horn player who helped found Tower Of Power died following a heart attack on January 17th, 2016 at the age of 64. The band placed three songs on the Billboard Top 40 chart, including the #17 hit, "So Very Hard To Go" in 1974
Keith Godchaux - played keyboards for The Grateful Dead from late 1971 to early 1979, was killed in a car accident on July 23rd, 1980, four days after his 32nd birthday
Paul Goddard - bass player and founding member of The Atlanta Rhythm Section, died of cancer at the age of 68 on April 29th, 2014. Goddard performed on the band's biggest hits, "So Into You", "Imaginary Lover", "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight", "Do It or Die" and "Spooky"
Gerry Goffin - songwriter who wrote more than 50 US Top 40 hits, died June 19th, 2014 at the age of 75. Along with his then-wife, Carole King, Goffin wrote such Rock 'n' Roll standards as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "The Loco-Motion", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "Take Good Care of My Baby"
Andrew Gold - who reached #7 in the U.S. in 1977 with "Lonely Boy" and #25 a year later with "Thank You For Being A Friend", died of cancer on June 3rd, 2011. Along with his solo career, he also arranged songs for and performed on several Linda Rondstadt albums, including "Heart Like a Wheel" and did session work for James Taylor and Carly Simon
Leslie Gore - who placed eleven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1963 and 1967, including "It's My Party", "Judy's Turn To Cry", She's A Fool" and "You Don't Own Me", died of cancer on February 16th, 2015 at the age of 68
Eydie Gorme - a popular nightclub and television singer most often remembered for her 1963 #7 Billboard hit, "Blame It On The Bossa Nova", died August 10th, 2013 at the age of 84. She also reached the Hot 100 six other times between 1956 and 1964
Robert Goulet - although seldom thought of a Rock or Pop singer, he did reach the Billboard Top 20 in 1964 with a song called "My Love, Forgive Me". Goulet died on October 30th, 2007 while awaiting a lung transplant after being diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 73
John Fred Gourrier - who led John Fred and his Playboy Band to Billboard's #1 spot in December 1967 with "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" - died April 15th, 2005, after a long bout with kidney disease. He was 63
Bill Graham - rock promoter who owned the legendary Fillmore theaters in San Francisco and New York was killed in a helicopter crash on October 26th, 1991. He was 60 years old
Gogi Grant - whose million selling hit "The Wayward Wind" spent six weeks at Billboard's number one spot in 1956, passed away at the age of 91 on March 10th, 2016
Jim Grant - bassist for Five Americans on their 1967 hit "Western Union" passed away on November 29th, 2004
Marshall Grant - who played bass for Johnny Cash from 1954 to 1980, passed away on August 7th, 2011 at the age of 83. After his time with The Man In Black, Grant managed The Statler Brothers until they retired in 2002 and later wrote an autobiography entitled I Was There When It Happened
Dobi Gray - soul singer who reached #13 in 1965 with "The In Crowd" and #5 in 1973 with "Drift Away", died December 6th, 2011 at the age of 71 from complications following cancer surgery
Les Gray - vocalist most often remembered for his work with the UK band Mud, died on February 21st, 2004, following a heart attack. The group topped the UK chart three times with "Lonely This Christmas", "Tiger Feet" and "Oh, Boy!"
R.B. Greaves - R&B singer who scored a #2 hit in 1969 with the infectious break-up song "Take a Letter, Maria," died September 27th, 2012. He was 68
Rick Grech - bassist with Blind Faith, died of drug related causes on March 17th, 1990 at the age of 43
Dennis Greene - an original member of Sha Na Na passed away on September 5th, 2015 at the age of 66. Greene sang lead on "Tears On My Pillow" when the band appeared in the 1978 movie Grease. He left the group after fifteen years to pursue a career in law, eventually earning a degree from Yale and becoming a law professor.
Jimmy Greenspoon - Three Dog Night's keyboard player died on March 11th, 2015 of metastatic melanoma at the age of 67. He was with the band from their inception until his death
Dale Griffin - drummer and founding member of the British Glam-Rock band Mott The Hoople, passed away at the age of 67 on January 17th, 2016. The group reached #37 on the Hot 100 in 1972 with the David Bowie written "All The Young Dudes"
Don Griffin - guitarist for The Miracles on their 1976 #1 hit, "Love Machine", died in a car accident in Denver on September 10th, 2015. He was 60 years old
James Griffin - a founding member of the 70s soft rock group Bread, died of lung cancer on January 11th, 2005, at the age of sixty-one
Rob Grill - lead singer and bassist for the 1960s rock band The Grass Roots, whose hits included "Midnight Confessions", "Temptation Eyes" and "Let's Live for Today", died July 11th, 2011 after suffering a head injury from a fall caused by a stroke. He was 67
Kelly Groucutt - bassist and co-lead vocalist for the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1983, died on February 19th, 2009 following a heart attack he suffered the previous day. He was 63
Dave Guard - of The Kingston Trio, died of lymphoma on March 22nd, 1991, at the age of 56. The Trio landed ten songs in the Top 40 between 1958 and 1963, including "Tom Dooley" and "Reverend Mr. Black"
William Guest - of Gladys Knight And The Pips died of heart failure at the age of 74 on December 24th, 2015. His background vocals can be heard on all of the group's hits, including "Midnight Train To Georgia", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and the Grammy winning "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)"
Rutger Gunnarsson - the bass player on every ABBA album and tour, died suddenly at his home in Stockholm, Sweden on May 8th 2015. He was 69
Cornelius Gunter - of The Coasters ("Charlie Brown", "Yakety Yak") was shot to death on February 26th, 1990, at the age of 51
James Gurley - the lead guitarist for Big Brother and the Holding Company, died December 20th, 2009 in a Palm Springs Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was 69. His distinctive style can be heard on songs such as "Piece of My Heart", "Summertime" and "Ball and Chain"
John "Gus" Gustafson - an English bass guitar player and singer who played with The Big Three, Ian Gillan Band, Roxy Music and his own group, Quatermass, died of cancer on September 11th, 2014 at the age of 72
Billy Guy - of The Coasters died of a heart attack on November 5th, 2002. He was 66
Ed Guzman - percussionist for Rare Earth ("Get Ready" - 1970), died on July 29th, 1993
Merle Haggard - died of complications from pneumonia on April 6th, 2016 at the age of 79. Most often remembered for the hits "Mama Tried", "Okie From Muskogee" and 36 other number one records on the Country chart, he also managed to reach #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with "If We Make It Through December"
Bill Haley - who helped start the early 50's rock and roll movement, died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on February 9th, 1981 at age 55
Malcolm Hale - of Spanky and Our Gang, died of liver failure on October 31st, 1968, at the age of 27. The group placed five songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1967 and 1968, including "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" and "Lazy Day"
Greg Ham - whose catchy flute solo is featured on Men At Work's hit "Down Under" was found dead at his home in Melbourne, Australia on April 19th, 2012. He was 58
Peter Ham - singer / guitarist for Badfinger, committed suicide on April 23rd, 1975. He was reported to be deeply depressed by financial problems the group was having. He was 27 years old
Dan Hamilton - of the soft rock trio Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, suffered a stroke and died on December 23rd, 1994
Roy Hamilton - who took "Unchained Melody" into Billboard's Top 10 in 1955, suffered a stroke and died on July 20th, 1969, at the age of 40. Roy also had Top 20 hits with "Don't Let Go" in 1958 and "You Can Have Her" in 1961
Marvin Hamlisch - who had a giant hit record with an instrumental called "The Entertainer" in 1974, died August 6th, 2012 at the age of 68 after a brief, unspecified illness
Ronnie Hammond - lead singer of The Atlanta Rhythm Section died of heart failure on March 14th, 2011 at the age of 60
Tim Hardin - singer / songwriter who is best remembered for "If I Were A Carpenter" died of a drug overdose on December 29th, 1980. He was 39
Slim Harpo - sang the 1966 hit "Baby, Scratch My Back", suffered a fatal heart attack on January 31st, 1970 at the age of 46
Dan Hartman - a former member of The Edgar Winter Group ('72 - '76) who went on to a successful solo career highlighted by 1984's "I Can Dream About You", died of a brain tumor on March 22nd, 1994, just three months after his 43rd birthday
Addie "Micki" Harris - of The Shirelles, died of a heart attack after a performance in Atlanta, Georgia on June 10th, 1982. She was 42
Major Harris - who reached #5 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1975 with "Love Won't Let Me Wait", died from congestive heart and lung failure on November 9th, 2012 at the age of 65
Otis "Damon" Harris - who joined The Tempataions when Eddie Kendricks left in 1972, died of prostate cancer on February 18th, 2013 at the age of 62. He sang on the hits "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", "Take a Look Around" and "Masterpiece" and helpd the group win three Grammy Awards
Richard Harris - actor / singer who took "MacArthur Park" to number 2 in the US in 1968, died of cancer on October 25th, 2002. He was 72
Terence "Jet" Harris - bass guitarist for The Shadows, died from throat cancer on March 18th, 2011. He was 71. Jet played on the hit "Apache" and, during their days as Cliff Richard's backing band, performed on the chart-topper "Living Doll". In 1962 he left the band and had solo hits with "Besame Mucho" and "The Man With The Golden Arm"
Thurston Harris - recorded the Top Ten hit "Little Bitty Pretty One" in 1957, died of a heart attack on April 14th, 1990 at the age of 58
George Harrison - The Beatles' lead guitarist lost his battle with cancer at the age of 58, on November 29th, 2001
Wilbert Harrison - who scored a 1959 chart-topper with "Kansas City", died of a stroke on October 26th, 1994 at the age of 65
John Hartford - the songwriter who wrote Glen Campbell's hit "Gentle On My Mind" and recorded a catalog of more than 30 albums, winning Grammy awards in three different decades, died on June 4th 2001, after a long battle with non-hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 63
Alex Harvey - leader of the 1970s glam rockers, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, died on the eve of his 47th birthday, February 4th, 1982, after suffering two heart attacks
Bobby Hatfield - of The Righteous Brothers, died November 5th, 2003, at the age of 63. His was the voice that was featured on the 1965 hit, "Unchained Melody"
Donny Hathaway - who achieved his greatest commercial success as Roberta Flack's duet partner on 1972's R&B chart topper, "Where Is the Love?" He was found dead on the sidewalk below the 15th-floor window of his New York apartment, a victim of an apparent suicide at the age of 33
Richie Havens - who rose to fame as the opening act at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, died following a heart attack on April 22nd, 2013 at the age of 72. During his lengthy career he scored just one Billboard Top 40 hit, a cover of George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun" which reached #16 in 1971
Tim Hauser - who led The Manhattan Transfer to four Billboard Top 40 hits, including "Boy From New York City" in 1981, died of cardiac arrest on October 16th, 2014, at the age of 72.
Dale Hawkins - a Rockabilly artist most often remembered for his 1957 hit "Susie-Q", lost his battle with colon cancer at the age of 73 on February 14th, 2010
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - died of a haemorrhage in a Paris hospital on February 12th, 2000, at the age of 70. He is most often remembered for his 1956, US Top 40 hit "I Put a Spell on You", which has been selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
Isaac Hayes - the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician who is most often remembered for his Grammy Award winning, 1971 Billboard #1 hit "Theme From Shaft" died August 10th, 2008, at the age of 65. His lush arrangements are credited for laying the groundwork for Disco and urban-contemporary music
Richie Hayward - drummer and co-founder of Little Feat passed away at the age of 64 on August 12th, 2010 after contracting pneumonia as he battled liver cancer
Eddie Hazel - a guitarist in early Funk music in the United States who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic, died at the age of 42 on December 23rd, 1992, from internal bleeding and liver failure . He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997
Lee Hazlewood - producer, songwriter and duet partner of Nancy Sinatra, died on August 4th, 2007 after a three-year battle with renal cancer. He was 78. Along with writing Nancy's hit "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" Hazlewood also shared the mic with her on the US Top 40 hits "Some Velvet Morning" and "Jackson"
Jeff Healey - Canadian jazz and blues / rock vocalist and guitarist who reached #5 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1989 with "Angel Eyes", died of cancer on March 2nd, 2008 at the age of 41
Bobby Hebb - whose 1966 classic "Sunny" reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart, died of lung cancer on August 3rd, 2010. He was 72
Levon Helm - drummer for The Band who sang lead vocals on "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek", died of throat cancer on April 19th, 2012 at the age of 71
Bobby Helms - best known for his perennial Christmas hit, "Jingle Bell Rock", died of emphysema at his home in Martinsville, Indiana on June 19th, 1997. He was 63
Billy Henderson - of The Spinners, who placed 18 songs on Billboard's Top 40, including 7 Top 10 hits, passed away of Feb 2nd, 2007 from complications of diabetes. He was 67
Jimi Hendrix - died September 18th, 1970 from what the coroner's report called 'inhalation of vomit after barbiturate intoxication'. He was 27
Larry Henley - the lead singer of The Newbeats, died of Lewy Body Dementia on December 18th, 2014, at the age of 77. His group placed four songs in the Billboard Top 40, including the #2 hit "Bread And Butter" in 1964. He later enjoyed a prolific song writing career which included Bette Midler's 1989 #1 song, "Wind Beneath My Wings"
Jim Henson - the creator of The Muppets, scored two US Top 30 hits with "Rubber Duckie" in 1970 and "Rainbow Connection" in 1979, died of a sudden virus on May 16th, 1990, at the age of 53
Ray Herr - guitarist for The Ides Of March on their 1970 hit "Vehicle", died on March 29th, 2011, of esophageal cancer at age 64
Bob "The Bear" Hite - vocalist for Canned Heat, died of a heart attack in Venice, California on April 6th, 1981. The 36 year old weighed nearly 300 pounds at the time of his death
Randy Hobbs - bassist for The McCoys on their 1965 hit, "Hang On Sloopy", passed away on August 5th, 1993, at the age of 45
Jim Hodder - the original drummer for Steely Dan drowned in his swimming pool on June 5th, 1990. He was 42. Jim worked on the "Can't Buy a Thrill" and "Countdown to Ecstasy" albums as well as part of "Pretzel Logic". After leaving Steely Dan in 1974, he continued working as a session musician for other acts, including Sammy Hagar and David Soul
Ron Holden - R&B singer who reached #7 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1960 with "Love You So", suffered a fatal heart attack on January 1st, 1997, at the age of 57
Loleatta Holloway - best known for the 1980 Disco hit "Love Sensation", died of heart failure on March 21st, 2011 at the age of 64
Buddy Holly - died when his chartered plane crashed shortly after takeoff on February 3rd, 1959. He was just 22 years old
John Lee Hooker - a legendary blues pioneer who had recorded an estimated 100 albums, died of natural causes at his Los Altos home, June 21st, 2001 at the age of 83
Nicky Hopkins - an English session pianist who was featured on many of the most important British and American Rock recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, died on February 12th, 1994 of complications from intestinal surgery. He was 50 years old
Larry Hoppen - who co-founded the 1970s Pop / Rock group Orleans and sang lead on their hits "Still the One", "Dance With Me" and "Love Takes Time", died July 24th, 2012 at the age of 61
Gladys Horton - whose lead vocals helped The Marvelettes establish their career with such hits as "Mr. Postman", "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789", died following a stroke on January 26th, 2011 at the age of 66
Johnny Horton - country singer who hit the Billboard Pop chart with "The Battle Of New Orleans" (#1), "Sink The Bismarck" (#3) and "North To Alaska" (#4) died in a car accident on November 5th, 1960. He was just 35
William Horton - of the Philadelphia vocal group, The Silhouettes, died on January 23rd, 1995, at the age of 65. The group topped the Billboard chart in 1958 with "Get A Job"
Mike Hossack - drummer for The Doobie Brothers on their hits "Blackwater", "Listen to the Music" and "China Grove, died of cancer at the age of 65 on March 12th, 2012. He left the band in 1973, but returned in 1987 to record the albums "Cycles", "Brotherhood" and 2010's "World Gone Crazy"
Whitney Houston - whose majestic voice helped her place 32 songs on the Billboard Pop chart between 1985 and 2001, passed away at the age of 48 on February 11th, 2012
Alphonso Howell - of The Sensations, who reached #4 in 1962 with "Let Me In", died on May 7th, 1998, at the age of 61
Pookie Hudson - lead singer and songwriter for the doo wop group The Spaniels, who lent his romantic tenor to hits like "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" and influenced generations of later artists, died of complications from cancer of the thymus on January 16th, 2007, at the age of 72
Gene Hughes - lead singer of The Casino's on their #6, 1967 hit, "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", passed away February 3rd, 2004, just one week before a fundraising concert was to be held in Nashville to help pay for his medical and hospital expenses. He was 67 years old
Glen Hughes - the moustachioed, leather-clad biker of The Village People, died of lung cancer on March 4th, 2001
Anita Humes - lead singer for The Essex on their 1963 hits "Easier Said Than Done" (#1) and "A Walkin' Miracle" (#12), passed away on May 30th, 2010 at the age of 69
Ivory Joe Hunter - died on November 8th, 1973 of lung cancer at the age of 60. Hunter was best known for his R&B hits, "Since I Lost You Baby", "I Almost Lost My Mind" and "I Need You So"
Joe Hunter - of The Funk Brothers was found dead in his Detroit apartment on Februay 2nd, 2007. The 79 year old pianist had just returned five days earlier from a European tour with fellow band member Jack Ashford
Ferlin Husky - a Country-music entertainer who reached the Billboard Top 40 twice with "Gone" (#4 in 1957) and "Wings of a Dove" (#12 in 1960) died of heart related problems on March 17th, 2011 at the age of 85
Michael Hutchence - the 37-year-old lead singer of INXS was found dead in his room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney on the morning of November 22nd 1997. The New South Wales coroner determined that Hutchence's death was the result of suicide, although some who were close to him believe he may have died from autoerotic asphyxiation
Rick Huxley - bassist for The Dave Clark Five during their British Invasion hit making years, passed away on February 11th, 2013 at the age of 72
Marvin Inabnett - of The Four Preps, died of a heart attack on March 7th, 1999, at the age of 60. The group placed seven songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1958 and 1961, including "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)", a number 2 hit in 1958
Luther Ingram - the Soul singer who reached #3 on the Billboard Pop chart with his hit "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" and wrote the Staple Singers' hit "Respect Yourself", died of a heart attack on March 19th, 2007. He was 69
Marvin Isley - who joined The Isley Brothers in 1973, in time to record their huge hit, "Who's That Lady", died of undisclosed causes on June 6th, 2010. He was 56
O'Kelly Isley - of The Isley Brothers died of a heart attack on March 31st, 1986, at the age of 48
Steve Jablecki - singer and guitarist for the L.A. group, Wadsworth Mansion, who reached #7 in the US with "Sweet Mary" in 1971, died on April 14th, 2005, at the age of 59
Al Jackson Jr. - drummer and founding member of Booker T. & The MG'S was murdered in his home by an unknown assailant on October 1st, 1975. He was 39
Doris Kenner-Jackson - of the Shirelles, whose soaring harmonies can be heard on "Soldier Boy" and a number of other hits in the early 1960s, died of breast cancer on Feb. 4th, 2000 at age 58
Michael Jackson - the self-proclaimed "King Of Pop" who sold millions of records while collecting 13 Grammy Awards and the hearts of adoring fans around the world, died June 25th, 2009 at the age of 50
Pervis Jackson - bass vocalist and original member of the Motown group The Spinners, died of cancer on August 18th, 2008 at the age of 70. The band had a series of hits in the 1970s, including "Rubber Band Man", "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" and "I'll Be Around"
Tony Jackson - bass player for The Searchers, a Liverpool band best known for the 1964 song "Needles and Pins", died August 18th, 2003 of cirrhosis of the liver. He was 63
Etta James - most often remembered for her signature song, "At Last", which reached number 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 47 on the Hot 100, died from complications of leukemia at the age of 73 on January 20th, 2012. She also placed nine other songs in the American Top 40, won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993
Rick James - most often remembered for the 1981, #16 hit "Super Freak", died on August 6th, 2004, at the age of 56. An autopsy revealed that there were at least nine drugs in his system including cocaine, valium, vicodin, and methamphetamine. Because none of the substances were found in lethal quantities, his death was ruled as accidental
Sonny James - whose 1957 hit "Young Love" topped both the Billboard Pop and Country charts, died of natural causes at the age of 88 on February 22nd, 2016. His initial success was followed by more than twenty, number one Country hits. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first Country artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Jimi Jamison - the lead vocalist for Survivor suffered a fatal heart attack on August 31st, 2014 at the age of 63. He joined the band in 1983 after they had released their hit "Eye of the Tiger" and went on to contribute vocals on songs such as "High on You", "I Can`t Hold Back" and "The Moment of Truth" from The Karate Kid
Waylon Jennings - a member of Buddy Holly's band who gave up his plane seat to The Big Bopper just moments before their doomed flight took off. He went on to become a major Country star and died of diabetes on February 13th, 2002. He was 64
Little Willie John - died in prison under mysterious circumstances on March 26th, 1968, after being convicted of manslaughter two years earlier. He had fourteen hits on the R&B charts and the same number on the Pop charts, including "Fever", "Sleep", and "Talk To Me, Talk To Me"
Sammy Johns - most often remembered for his 1975, Billboard #5 hit, "Chevy Van", died on January 4th, 2013, at the age of 66
Claude Johnson - "Juan" of Don and Juan, who reached number 7 with "What's Your Name" in 1962, died on October 31st, 2002, at the age of 67
General Norman Johnson - the lead singer of the Chairmen Of The Board passed away on October 13th, 2010 at the age of 67. The Detroit vocal quartet placed four songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Give Me Just A Little More Time", a number 3 hit in 1970
Joan Marie Johnson - one of the founding members of the New Orleans girl group The Dixie Cups, died at a hospice in her home town on October 3rd, 2016 at the age of 72. The trio scored a #1 hit in 1964 with "Chapel of Love", but Johnson was forced to drop out after only a few years after being diagnosed with sickle cell anemia
Johnnie Johnson - a rock 'n' roll pioneer who teamed with Chuck Berry on "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place to Go", died of natural causes on April 15th, 2005 at the age of 80
Marv Johnson - R&B artist who reached the Hot 100 nine times, including two Top 10 hits in 1960; "You Got What It Takes" and "I Love The Way You Love" - died following a stroke on May 16th, 1993
Barbara Lee Jones - of the mid-60s girl group, The Chiffons, ("He's So Fine") died of a heart attack on May 15th, 1992. She was 44
Billy Jones - vocalist and guitarist for The Outlaws died of a self inflicted gun shot wound on February 7th, 1995 at the age of 45. The band's biggest hit was "Ghost Riders in the Sky", which rose to #31 on the Billboard chart in 1980
Brian Jones - the original lead guitarist of The Rolling Stones, drowned in his swimming pool on July 3rd, 1969
Davy Jones - of the made-for-TV group The Monkees suffered a fatal heart attack on February 29th, 2012 at the age of 66
Joe Jones - a musician-turned producer who sang the 1961 Billboard #3 hit "You Talk Too Much" and went on to become an independent music publisher and advocate for black artists' rights, died on November 27 th, 2005. He was 79
Joesph Jones Jr. - known as "Little Joe" of the group The Tams died of pancreatic cancer on December 31st, 2010 at the age of 64. Although he joined the band eight years after their Billboard Top Ten hit "What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am", Jones stayed with the group for 36 years before retiring in 2008
Mickey Jones - original bassist and founding member of the '70s rock band Angel, passed away on September 5th, 2009 after a long battle with liver cancer. He was 57
Will "Dub" Jones - of The Coasters ("Charlie Brown") died on January 16th, 2000. He was 71
Janis Joplin - died on October 4th, 1970 from an overdose of heroin at age 27
Don Julian - who lead The Larks on their 1964 #7 hit "The Jerk", died of pneumonia on November 6th, 1998
Marvin Junior - vocalist for The Dells who co-wrote their first hit, "Oh, What a Nite", died from kidney and heart problems on May 29th, 2013 at the age of 77. He was with the group for 57 years.
Hal Kalin - of The Kalin Twins, who are most often remembered for their 1958 million seller, "When", died on August 24th, 2005, as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was 71
Herbie Kalin - of The Kalin Twins, who reached Billboard's #5 spot with "When" and #12 with "Forget Me Not" in 1958, suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 72 on July 21st, 2006
Arthur Kane - best known as the bassist for the pioneering glam punk band the New York Dolls, died of leukemia on July 13th, 2004, at the age of 55
Paul Kantner - a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Starship died on January 28th, 2016 after suffering a heart attack. He was 74
Casey Kasem - the host of US radio shows like American Top 40 and Casey's Countdown for nearly 40 years, died June 15th, 2014 after battling Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1981 and was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in 1985
Terry Kath - guitarist with Chicago, accidentally shot and killed himself with a pistol on January 23rd, 1978, eight days short of his 32nd birthday
Ernie K-Doe - remembered for his 1961 novelty hit, "Mother-In-Law", died of liver failure on July 5th, 2001 at the age of 65
Murray "The K" Kaufman - pioneer rock and roll disc jockey, died of cancer at the age of 60 on February 21st, 1982
Harvey Kaye - keyboard player for Spiral Starecase on their 1969 hit "More Today Than Yesterday", suffered a fatal heart attack on August 17, 2008, just five days before his 70th birthday
John "Speedy" Keene - vocalist and drummer for Thunderclap Newman, died on March 21st, 2002, at the age of 56. The band's biggest hit came in 1969 with "Something In The Air"
Wells Kelly - drummer for Orleans on their hits "Still The One" and "Love Takes Time" died on October 29th, 1984. He was found laying on his back, asphyxiated, in front of the front door of where he was staying while on tour with Meatloaf. He was 35
Eddie Kendricks - formerly of the Temptations before launching a solo career, died of lung cancer on October 5th, 1992, at the age of 52
Chris Kenner - who reached number two in 1961 with "I Like It That Like", suffered a fatal heart attack on January 28th, 1976
Johnny Kidd - who led his band The Pirates to the top of the UK chart with "Shakin' All Over" in 1960, was killed in an auto accident on October 7th, 1966. He was just 30 years old
Lemmy Kilmister - the frontman of the Heavy Metal band Motorhead died of cancer on December 28th, 2015. He was 70
Albert King - Blues guitarist famed for his rendition of "Crosscut Saw" suffered a fatal heart attack on December 21st, 1992, at the age of 69
B.B. King - a legendary American Blues singer, song writer and guitarist, passed away on May 14th, 2015 at the age of 89. He won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone" and Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time
Ben E. King - an R&B legend who passed away on April 30th, 2015 at the age of 76. As a member of The Drifters, he sang lead on their biggest singles, "This Magic Moment", "Save The Last Dance For Me" and "There Goes My Baby." He also reached the Billboard Top 40 seven times as a solo artist, including his 1961 #4 hit, "Stand By Me"
Freddie King - Blues guitarist known as "The Texas Cannonball", reached the Hot 100 in 1961 with "Hide Away", died on December 28th, 1976 from a heart attack at the age of 42. In 2003, King was ranked 25th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time
Kathy Kirby - who had five UK Top 40 hits between 1963 and 1965, including "Dance On", "Secret Love" and "Let Me Go, Lover!" died of a suspected heart attack on May 19th, 2011 at the age of 72
Don Kirshner - the songwriter, manager, publisher and music executive who helped launch the careers of Neil Diamond, Bobby Darin, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, The Monkees, The Archies and Kansas, died of heart failure on January 17th, 2011 at the age of 76
Larry Knechtel - keyboard player for the Soft-Rock group Bread, died following a heart attack on December 24th, 2009 at the age of 69. Knechtel earned a Grammy award for his arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and also performed with Neil Diamond, Randy Newman, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Jr., The Dixie Chicks and Elvis Costello
Terry Knight - who fronted the Michigan based Terry Knight and The Pack ("I, Who Have Nothing") before going on to manage Grand Funk Railroad, was stabbed to death at his Temple, Texas home during a domestic dispute on November 1st, 2004. He was 61. Police charged his daughter's boyfriend with murder
Dick Kniss - who played bass for Peter, Paul And Mary for five decades and co-wrote the John Denver hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders", died of pulmonary disease at the age of 74 on January 25th, 2012
Buddy Knox - best remembered for his 1957 hit, "Party Doll", died of cancer on February 14th, 1999, at the age of 65
Keith Knudsen - longtime Doobie Brothers drummer who was part of the band during their string of hits in the 1970s, died of pneumonia on February 8th, 2005. He was 56
Cub Koda - the leader of Brownsville Station and composer of their hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room", passed away from complications arising from kidney dialysis on July 1st, 2000, at the age of 51
Paul Kossoff - of the rock band "Free", died of heart failure while sleeping during a flight across the U.S. on March 19th, 1976. The 26 year old had played guitar on the group's biggest hit "All Right Now"
Ted Kowalski - a member of the Canadian quartet The Diamonds, died of heart disease on August 8th, 2010 at the age of 79. The vocal group had a string of hits in the late 1950s including "Little Darlin'", "Silhouettes" and "The Stroll"
Phil Kramer - who took Lee Dorman's place when Iron Butterfly re-formed in 1975, was found in a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains, on May 31st, 1999, over four years after he called a police to say he was going to commit suicide. At the time of his death, he was 42
Les Kummel - bassist for The New Colony Six on their Billboard Top 40 hits "I Will Always Think About You" and "Things I'd Like To Say", was killed in a car accident on December 18th, 1978. He was 33
Frankie Laine - suffered complications after hip-replacement surgery and died February 6th, 2007 at the age of 93. The big voiced singer sold over 100 million records and placed seven songs on Billboard's Top 40 between 1955 and 1969, including "Moonlight Gambler" and "Love Is A Golden Ring"
Greg Lake - bassist and vocalist for both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake And Palmer, died of cancer on December 6th, 2016 at the age of 69
Joe Lala - a drummer and percussionist who worked with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, The Eagles and Eric Clapton, died from complications of lung cancer on March 18th, 2014, at the age of 66
Major Lance - who had many hits on the R&B charts as well as placing "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" and "Monkey Time" on the Pop charts, died of heart failure on September 3rd, 1994 at the age of 55
Jackie Landry - of The Chantels, who placed four songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1958 and 1961, including "Maybe", died of cancer on December 23rd, 1997, at the age of 56
Ronnie Lane - of The Small Faces, died from multiple sclerosis on June 4th 1997. He was 51
Allen Lanier - a founding member of Blue Oyster Cult, who scored a Billboard #12 hit in 1976 with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", died on August 14th, 2013 after a long battle with lung disease. He was 67
John Larson - trumpet player for The Ides Of March on their 1970 hit "Vehicle", died of cancer on September 22nd, 2011, at the age of 61
Nicolette Larson - most often remembered for her 1978, number 8 US hit, "Lotta Love", died on December 16th, 1997 as a result of complications arising from cerebral edema triggered by liver failure. She was 45
Roger LaVern - keyboard player for The Tornados on their 1962 instrumental hit, "Telstar", died of cancer on June 13th, 2013. He was 75
Derek Leckenby - lead guitarist for Herman's Hermits, died of cancer on June 4th, 1994, at the age of 51
Alvin Lee - the founder of Ten Years After died unexpectedly from complications following a routine surgical procedure on March 6th, 2013. He was 68. The album oriented band burst to stardom with a memorable Woodstock performance and reached the Billboard Top 40 with "I'd Love To Change The World" in 1971
Arthur Lee - singer and guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Love, died of leukemia on August 3rd, 2006, at the age of 61
Bernard St. Clair Lee - a baritone singer and original member of the Hues Corporation, who had an early Disco hit in 1974 with "Rock the Boat", died of natural causes on March 8th, 2011. He was 66
Peggy Lee - jazz vocalist who reached the Pop charts with "Fever" and "Is That All There Is", died of a heart attack on January 21st, 2002 at the age of 81
Marshall Leib - of the Teddy Bears, died of a heart attack on March 15th, 2002, at the age of 63. Leib, along with Annette Kleinbard and Phil Spector scored a Billboard chart topper in 1958 with "To Know Him Is To Love Him"
Jerry Leiber - a songwriting legend whose credits include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Yakety Yak", "Poison Ivy" and "Love Potion No. 9", died August 23rd, 2011 at the age of 78. Leiber and his songwriting partner Mike Stoller were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later
John Lennon - murdered by Mark David Chapman, December 8th 1980. He was 40 years old
David Lerchey - a founding member of The Dell-Vikings, who reached the Billboard Top 40 with "Come Go With Me" (#4), "Whispering Bells" (#9) and "Cool Shake" (#12), all in 1957, died of cancer on January 29th, 2005 at the age of 67
Wally Lester - backing vocalist for The Skyliners on their 1959, Billboard #12 hit, "Since I Don't Have You", died of pancreatic cancer on April 21st, 2015 at the age of 73
Drake Levin - the lead guitarist for Paul Revere and The Raiders during their prime hit making years, died of cancer on July 4th, 2009. He was 62
Rudy Lewis - lead singer of The Drifters on their hits "On Broadway" and "Up On The Roof", died under mysterious circumstances on May 20th, 1964, the night before the group was set to record "Under the Boardwalk". He was 28 years old
Gary Loizzo - the lead singer for The American Breed on their 1968 #5 hit, "Bend Me, Shape Me", died of pancreatic cancer on January 16th, 2016 at the age of 70
Richard "Scar" Lopez - a founding member of Cannibal and The Headhunters, the East Los Angeles vocal group that scored a #30 Billboard hit in 1965 with "Land of 1000 Dances", died of lung cancer on July 30th, 2010. He was 65
Jon Lord - keyboardist for Deep Purple who co-wrote one their biggest hits, "Smoke On The Water", died at the age of 71 on July 16th, 2012, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer
Peter Lucia - the drummer for Tommy James and the Shondells, died of a heart attack while on a golf course in Los Angeles in 1987. He was 40 years old
Frankie Lymon - who led the 1950's doo-wop group 'The Teenagers' to fame with "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", was found dead of a drug overdose in a friend's apartment in Harlem on February 28th, 1968. He was 25 years old
Phil Lynott - bassist for Thin Lizzy, lost his battle with drugs and died of heart failure and pneumonia on January 4th, 1986 at the age of 34
Jamie Lyons - lead singer of Music Explosion died of a heart attack on September 27th, 2006 at the age of 57. The band is most often remembered for their garage-band classic "Little Bit o' Soul", which spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Pop chart in 1967, peaking at #2
Marshall Lytle - bassist for Bill Haley And His Comets on their hits "Crazy Man, Crazy" and "Rock Around The Clock", died of lung cancer on May 25th, 2013 at the age of 79
Johnny Maestro - the lead singer for The Crests on their seven US Top 40 records, including the 1959, #2 hit "Sixteen Candles" as well as The Brooklyn Bridge on "The Worst That Could Happen" in 1969, died of cancer on March 24th, 2010. He was 70
Byron MacGregor - whose spoken word rendition of "The Americans" became a Billboard number four hit in January 1974, passed away on January 3rd, 1995, at the age of 46
Lonnie Mack - considered by many as a ground breaking guitar soloist, Mack died on April 21st, 2016 at the age of 74. He reached the Billboard Top 40 twice in 1963 with the instrumentals "Memphis" (#5) and "Wham!" (#24)
Bryan MacLean - guitarist and singer-songwriter for the '60s rock act "Love" died of an apparent heart attack on December 25th, 1998 at the age of 52. The band is mostly remembered for their 1966 hit "My Little Red Book"
Kevin MacMichael - lead guitarist of the ritish band Cutting Crew, died of lung cancer on December 31st, 2002 at age 51. The band topped the Billboard chart in 1987 with (I Just) Died in Your Arms .
Miriam Makeba - the South African singer who reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967 with "Pata Pata" suffered an apparent heart attack and died on November 9th, 2008 at the age of 76. Among her many notable achievements was becoming the first African woman to win a Grammy, for Best Folk Recording in 1966 with Harry Belafonte for "An Evening With Belafonte / Makeba"
Teena Marie - known as the "Ivory Queen of Soul", Teena was Motown Records' first white act. As well as scoring two Platinum albums, she reached #37 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1981 with "I Need Your Lovin'" and #4 in 1985 with "Lovergirl". Teena passed away on December 26th, 2010 at the age of 54
Richard Manuel - of The Band, hanged himself in his hotel room on March 4th, 1986, after a performance in Florida. He was 42
Ray Manzarek - keyboard player for The Doors, died May 20th, 2013 at the age of 74 after a long battle with bile duct cancer
Bob Marley - the uncontested King of Reggae, died of melanoma, (skin cancer) that metastasized to his lungs and brain, on May 11th, 1981, at the age of 36
Steve Marriott - formerly of The Small Faces and Humble Pie, was killed in a fire at his home in April 20th 1991. He was 44
Fred Marsden - drummer for Gerry and The Pacemakers died of cancer on December 9th, 2006, at the age of 66
David Martin - bass player for Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs died of a heart attack on August 2nd, 1987, at the age of 50. Martin co-wrote the group's #1 hit "Wooly Bully"
Dean Martin - recorded such standards as "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime", died at the age of 78, on December 25th, 1995, of acute respiratory failure
Dewy Martin - drummer and backing vocalist for Buffalo Springfield on their hit "For What It's Worth", died January 31st, 2009 at the age of 68
Dino Martin Jr. - of Dino, Desi and Billy, was the son of crooner Dean Martin, died when the Air National Guard jet he was piloting crashed into a mountain on March 21st, 1987. He was 35
George Martin - who signed The Beatles to EMI in 1962 and went on to produce most of their catalog, passed away on March 8th, 2016 at the age of 90
Al Martino - a Pop crooner who placed eleven songs on the Billboard Top 40, including "I Love You Because", "Spanish Eyes" and "I Love You More And More Every Day", died October 13th, 2009 at the age of 82. He is often remembered for playing the Frank Sinatra-type role of Johnny Fontane in The Godfather
Nick Massi - bass guitarist and bass vocalist for The Four Seasons on their long string of hits, died of cancer on December 24th, 2000. He was 73
Joe Mauldin - bassist for Buddy Holly And The Crickets died of cancer on February 7th, 2015 at the age of 74
Paul Mauriat - French orchestra leader most often remembered for his 1968, Billboard #1 instrumental hit, "Love Is Blue", passed away on November 3rd, 2006, at the age of 81
Billy Maybray - bassist / drummer / vocalist for The Jaggerz, died of cancer on December 5th, 2004, at the age of 60. Billy played drums on the band's 1970, Billboard #2 hit, "The Rapper" and wrote and sang their debut single, "Baby I Love You"
Curtis Mayfield - best known for his early 1970s hits, "Freddie's Dead" and "Superfly" passed away on December 26th, 1999 at the age of 55
Bob Mayo - who played guitar and keyboards with Peter Frampton on and off over the span of twenty-five years, died of a heart attack on February 23rd, 2004, while on tour with Frampton. He was 52
Lenny Mays - of The Dramatics, passed away of heart failure on November 7th, 2004 at the age of 53. The group cracked the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971 with "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" and again in 1972 with "In The Rain"
Bob McBride - lead singer of Lighthouse, died February 20th, 1998. He was 51. The Toronto band cracked the Hot 100 with "One Fine Morning", on which he sang lead and "Sunny Days", which came after McBride left the band
Linda McCartney - keyboard player and backing vocalist for Paul McCartney's Wings, died of cancer on April 17th, 1998 at the age of 56
Gayle McCormick - lead singer of a group called Smith, died following a lengthy battle with cancer on March 1st, 2016 at the age of 67. The band reached #5 on the Hot 100 with a remake of The Shirelles' "Baby It's You" in 1969 and McCormick followed with a solo hit, "It's A Cryin' Shame", in 1971
Gene McDaniels - most often remembered for his 1961 Top Ten hits "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" and "Tower Of Strength", died at the age of 76 on July 29th, 2011 after a short illness. Gene also wrote Roberta Flack's 1974 number one smash, "Feel Like Makin' Love"
Brian McLeod - guitarist and backing vocalist for Chilliwack, died of brain cancer on April 25th, 1992 at the age of 39. The Vancouver, Canada band is most often remembered for their 1981 hit, "My Girl (Gone, Gone Gone)"
George McCorkle - founding Marshall Tucker Band rhythm guitarist died of cancer June 29th, 2007 at the age of 60. He penned many MTB songs, including the band's first Country Top 40 hit, "Fire on the Mountain"
Van McCoy - who had a number one disco hit with "Do The Hustle", died of a heart attack at the age of 39, on July 6th 1979
Jimmy McCulloch - guitarist for Wings and Thunderclap Newman, died of heart failure on September 28th, 1979. He was 26
Henry McCullough - who played guitar for Paul McCartney's band, Wings, passed away on June 14th, 2016 at the age of 72. His work was featured on the hits "Hi, Hi, Hi", "Live and Let Die" and McCartney's solo hit, "My Love"
Butch McDade - drummer for The Amazing Rhythm Aces on their 1975 hit, "Third Rate Romance" died of cancer on November 29th, 1998, at the age of 52
Gene McFadden - R&B vocalist / songwriter, best known as half of the Philly soul duo McFadden & Whitehead, died of cancer January 27th, 2006, at the age of 56. He and John Whitehead reached number 13 on the Billboard chart in 1979 with "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"
Robbie McIntosh - drummer for The Average White Band died of a drug overdose on Sepember 23rd, 1974
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan - a founding member of The Grateful Dead who contributed vocals, organ, harmonica, percussion and occasionally guitar, died as a result of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on March 8th, 1973, at the age of 27
Scott McKenzie - who sang the U.S. #4 hit "San Francisco", the unofficial anthem for "the summer of love" in 1967, died of the nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome on August 18th, 2012 at the age of 73
Ian McLagan - keyboard player for The Small Faces and later The Faces, died due to complications from a stroke on December 3rd, 2014 at the age of 69. His work can be heard on hits like "Itchycoo Park" and "Stay With Me"
Clyde McPhatter - died of a heart attack on June 13th, 1972 at the age of 39. He had been the original lead singer with The Drifters before having solo hits like "A Lover's Question" and "Lover Please"
Hank Medress - a singer / producer best known as the voice behind The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", died of lung cancer on June 25th, 2007, at the age of 68
Tony Meehan - drummer for The Shadows on their UK number one hit, "Apache", died in hospital on November 28th, 2005, from head injuries sustained in a fall. He was 62. "Apache" spent twenty-one weeks at the top of the British music charts in 1960
Joe Meek - record producer and songwriter, best known for writing "Telstar" by The Tornados, The Honeycombs "Have I The Right" and John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me", committed suicide on February 3rd 1967, at the age of 37
Harold Melvin - leader of the Philadelphia soul group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, died of heart related problems on March 24th, 1997 at age 57. The group is best remembered for the hit, "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
Freddie Mercury - lead singer of Queen died on November 24 th, 1991 at age 45 of AIDS
George Michael - singing star who paired with Andrew Ridgely in Wham! before going on to a highly successful solo career, died on December 25th, 2016 at the age of 53
Ralph Middlebrooks - trumpeter / trombonist for The Ohio Players died on October 15th, 1996 at the age of 57
Fred Milano - tenor vocalist for Dion And The Belmonts on their hits "A Teenager in Love" and "Where or When", died January 1st, 2012, at the age of 72, just three weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer
Buddy Miles - who played drums for Wilson Pickett, the Delfonics and the Ink Spots before founding The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield and later joined Jimi Hendrix in Band Of Gypsys, died on February 26th, 2008 from congestive heart failure. He was 60
Roger Miller - who rose to fame in the mid 1960's with hits like "King Of The Road" and "Dang Me" died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California, on October 25th, 1992, at the age of 56
Sal Mineo - a singer and actor who reached number nine on the Billboard chart in 1957 with "Start Movin' In My Direction", was stabbed to death on February 12th, 1976. He was 37
Guy Mitchell - who scored two number one U.S. hits with "You Got Me Singing The Blues" in 1956 and "Heartaches By The Number" in 1959, died on July 1st, 1999 at the age of 72, from complications following surgery
Mitch Mitchell - drummer for The Jimi Hendrix Experience was found dead in a Portland, Ore. hotel room on November 12th, 2008. He was 62
Domenico Modugno - the Italian singer whose recording of "Volare" topped the North American charts in 1958, died of a heart attack near his home on the island of Lampedusa on August 6th, 1994. He was 66
Ronnie Montrose - an American Rock guitarist who led a number of his own bands as well as recording with The Beau Brummels, Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs and The Edgar Winter Group, died of prostate cancer on March 3rd, 2012 at the age of 64
Keith Moon - drummer for The Who, died of an overdose of the sedative Heminevrin on September 7th, 1978, at the age of 31
Gary Moore - guitarist for the influential Irish rock band Thin Lizzy was found dead in his hotel room in Spain on February 6th, 2011 following a suspected heart attack. He was 58
Johnny Moore - lead singer for The Drifters on their 1960s hit "Under The Boardwalk" died Dec. 30th, 1998, at the age of 64
Scotty Moore - the guitarist who helped Elvis Presley record his earliest hits, passed away on June 28th, 2016 at the age of 84
Rushton Moreve - Steppenwolf bassist who co-wrote "Magic Carpet Ride" with John Kay, was killed in a car crash on July 1st, 1981. He was 32
Jim Morrison - lead singer of the Doors, died July 3rd 1971. The 27-year-old was found dead in his bathtub. Speculation abounded as to the exact cause of death, but no autopsy was performed. His 27 year old widow, Pamela, died of a heroin overdose in April, 1974
Sterling Morrison - one of the founding members of The Velvet Underground died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on August 30th, 1995, two days after his 53rd birthday.
Billy Murcia - the New York Dolls' drummer was accidently suffocated when his girlfriend tried to wake him by forcing him to drink coffee after he passed out from drugs and alcohol following a show at Imperial College in London on November 6th, 1972. Murcia was only 21
Dee Murray - bassist for Elton John during the 1970s and '80s and appeared on the albums "Tumbleweed Connection", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy". Dee battled skin cancer for a number of years and died after suffering a stroke on January 15th, 1992. He was 45
Don Murray - drummer for The Turtles, died on March 22nd, 1996 at the age of 50
Brent Mydland - played keyboards for The Grateful Dead longer than anyone else, from April, 1979 until his death from a drug overdose on July 26th, 1990, at the age of 37. Despite being often referred to as "the new guy", he was with the band for a longer time than any other keyboardist, during which time they had their highest charting material
Alan Myers - drummer for the New Wave band Devo on their 1980, Billboard #14 hit, "Whip It", died of complications from brain cancer on June 24th, 2013 at the age of 58
Nate Nelson - lead vocalist for The Flamingos on their 1959 hit "I Only Have Eyes For You", passed away on April 10th, 1984 at the age of 52
Rick Nelson - scored a string of hits in the late 1950's including "Hello Mary Lou", "Poor Little Fool" and "Travelin' Man", was killed on December 31st, 1985, when his private plane caught fire and crashed. He was 45
Andy "Thunderclap" Newman - died of unspecified causes on March 30th, 2016 at the age of 73. Newman led a self-named band that included Speedy Keen, Jimmy McCulloch and Pete Townshend to #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969 with "Something In The Air"
Harry Nilsson - remembered for "Everybody's Talkin' At Me", died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure on January 15th, 1994, in his 53rd year
Bobby Nunn - vocalist for The Coasters on their 1958 hit, "Yakety Yak", died of a heart attack on November 5th, 1986. He was 61
Jerry Nolan - drummer for The New York Dolls died January 14th, 1992 at the age of 45. He was being treated for bacterial meningitis and bacterial pneumonia at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, when he suffered a stroke and went into a coma from which he never recovered
Nervous Norvus - whose real name was James Drake, reached #8 in 1956 with a novelty tune about bloody accidents called "Transfusion". He Died of liver failure on July 24th, 1968 at the age of 56
Laura Nyro - best known as a composer and lyricist rather than as a performer, she wrote the Fifth Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness" and "Save The Country" as well as Blood, Sweat & Tears' "And When I Die"; Three Dog Night's "Eli's Coming"; and Barbra Streisand's "Stoney End". Nyro died of ovarian cancer on April 8th, 1997, at the age of 49. The same disease had claimed the life of her mother at the same age
Berry Oakley - bassist for The Allman Brothers Band. A year after Duane Allman was killed, Oakley was riding his motorcycle with a member of band's road crew when they collided with a bus just three blocks from where Allman met his fate. Friends took Oakley to the same hospital Allman was treated at, but he died from head injuries and internal bleeding later that night. The 24 year old Oakley was buried next to Allman with matching tombstones, in the Civil War section of Macon's Rose Hill Cemetery
Roy Orbison - one of classic rock's greatest voices was silenced when the 52 yr old Orbison died of a heart attack the night of December 6th, 1988
Phil Ochs - 1960s singer/songwriter who concentrated on topical, folk and protest style songs, suffered from manic-depression and hanged himself on April 9th, 1976, at the age of 35
Frank O'Keefe - bassist for The Outlaws on their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" died on February 26th, 1995 at the age of 44
Johnny O'Keefe - with twenty-nine Top 40 hits to his credit in Australia between 1959 and 1974, O'Keefe has often been called the undisputed King of Australian rock and roll. He died on October 6th 1978 following a heart attack induced by an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs. He was 43
Oliver - singer of "Jean" and "Good Mornin' Starshine" died of cancer at the age of 54, February 13th, 2000
Benjamin Orr - bassist / vocalist for the Cars lost his fight with pancreatic cancer on October 5th, 2000 at the age of 53. Orr sang lead vocals on some of the band's most recognizable hits, such as "Just What I Needed", "Bye Bye Love", "Drive" and "Let's Go"
Johnny Otis - a Rock 'n' Roll pioneer who reached #9 in America with "Willie And The Hand Jive" in 1958, died of natural causes on January 17th, 2012 at the age of 90. After his music career wound down, he went to work as a disc jockey for Los Angeles radio station KFOX and later became an ordained minister, and was heavily involved in politics and the civil rights movement
Buck Owens - a Country artist who reached #25 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1965 with "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail", died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on March 25th, 2006, at the age of 76
Patti Page - the best selling female artist in America in the 1950s, earning 15 Gold singles and 3 Gold albums, passed away on January 1st, 2013. She was 85
Bruce Palmer - bassist for Buffalo Springfield on their classic protest song "For What It's Worth", died on October 11th, 2004 of an apparent heart attack. He was 58
Robert Palmer - reached number 14 in the US in 1979 with "Bad Case Of Loving You", died of a heart attack at the age of 54 on September 26th, 2003
John Panozzo - of Styx, died of a haemorrhage brought on by alcoholism, on July 16th, 1996, at the age of 48. The band had a string of hits that included "Grand Illusion", "Mr. Roboto", "Come Sail Away" and "Babe"
Felix Pappalardi - bassist for the group Mountain, one of America's first hard rock acts. He was shot and killed by his wife, Gail Collins on the night of April 17th, 1983, when they argued over his long-standing affair with a younger woman. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to four years in prison. Felix was 43
Rick Parfitt - guitarist for the English Rock band Status Quo died December 22nd, 2016 at the age of 68 due to a severe infection after suffering an injury to his shoulder. The band reached #12 in the US in 1968 with "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" and topped the UK chart in 1975 with "Down Down"
Priscilla Paris - the youngest member of the female vocal trio The Paris sisters, died on March 5th, 2004 from injuries suffered in a fall at her home. She was 59. Priscilla and her sisters Albeth and Sherrell reached the Billboard Top 40 in 1961 with "I Love How You Love Me" (#5) and again in 1962 with "He Knows I Love Him Too Much" (#34)
Gram Parsons - one time member of The Byrds & The Flying Burrito Brothers, he became a cult figure that influenced countless musicians. Parsons was found dead at Joshua Tree, Ca. Sept 19th, 1973 of an alcohol and drug overdose at the age of 27
Billy Paul - the Soul singer who topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December, 1972 with "Me And Mrs. Jones" died of pancreatic cancer on April 24th, 2016. He was 81
Les Paul - the man who invented the solid-body electric guitar, died of complications from pneumonia on August 13th, 2009 at the age of 94. With Mary Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records for hits including "Vaya Con Dios" and "How High the Moon", both of which reached #1 in the US
Jon Paulos - drummer for The Buckinghams on their string of 1967 hits, including "Kind Of A Drag" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", died of a drug overdose on March 26th, 1980. He was 32
Dennis Payton - saxophonist for The Dave Clark Five died of cancer on December 17th, 2006, at the age of 63
Dan Peek - a founding member of the Soft Rock trio America died in his sleep on July 24th, 2011 at the age of 60. The group notched eight Top 40 hits in the US charts between 1971 and 1975, including "Sister Golden Hair", "Ventura Highway", "Tin Man", "Daisy Jane" and Peek's own composition, "Lonely People"
Teddy Pendergrass - an American soul singer who first rose to fame as lead vocalist for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes in the 1970s before enjoying a successful solo career at the end of the decade, died of colon cancer on January 13th, 2010. He was 59
Carl Perkins - writer of Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" and a pioneer rock-a-billy guitarist, died on January 19th, 1998 at the age of 65 after a long series of illness
Luther Perkins - Johnny Cash's guitar player who is credited for creating the man in black's signature "boom-chicka-boom" style, passed away on August 5th, 1968 at the age of 40
Willie 'Pinetop' Perkins - a Delta Blues pianist best known for his work with Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters, passed away March 21st, 2011 at the age of 97. Perkins' maintained an active musical career well into his 90s and won the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for 2010's "Joined at the Hip"
A J Pero - drummer for Twisted Sister on their 1984, Billboard #21 hit, "We're Not Gonna Take It" died of an apparent heart attack on March 20th, 2015 at the age of 55
Dickie Peterson - guitarist and vocalist for Blue Cheer on their 1969 Billboard #14 hit, "Summertime Blues", died of cancer at the age of 63 on October 12th, 1969
Ray Peterson - who scored a pair of US Top Ten hits with "Tell Laura I Love Her" and "Corinna, Corinna" in 1960, died of cancer on January 25th, 2005, at the age of 69
Lonesome Dave Peverett - lead singer with Savoy Brown and Foghat, suffered from cancer and died of from double-pneumonia on February 7th, 2000, at the age of 56
John Phillips - leader of The Mamas and Papas died of heart failure on March 18th, 2001 at the age of 65
Sam Phillips - the man who discovered Elvis Presley and owner of the legendary Sun Records, passed away July 30th, 2003, at the age of 80. Phillips also helped launch the careers of Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty and Jerry Lee Lewis. He sold Elvis' contract to RCA in November, 1955, for $40,000. Sam was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986
Bobby "Boris" Pickett - whose Boris Karloff impression propelled the Halloween anthem "The Monster Mash" to the top of the Billboard Pop chart in 1962, died of leukemia on April 25th, 2007. He was 69
Wilson Pickett - suffered a fatal heart attack on January 19th, 2006. During his career, he placed 16 hits on Billboard's Pop chart, including "Land Of 1000 Dances" (#6) and "Funky Broadway" (#8)
Bill Pinkney - the last surviving member of the original Drifters passed away on July 4th, 2007 from unknown causes. He was 81
Fayette Pinkney - an original member of The Three Degrees, who lent her voice to the 1970s hits "TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)" and "When Will I See You Again?", died of acute respiratory failure on June 27th, 2009 at the age of 61
Gene Pitney - who had a string of hits in the early and mid-sixties, including " The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (#4), "Only Love Can Break A Heart" (#2) and "It Hurts To Be In Love" (#7), was found dead on April 5th, 2006, at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff, Wales. He was 65
June Pointer - the youngest of the four Pointer Sisters who went from teenage gospel singers to the top of the Pop charts with such hits of the 1970s and 80s as "Fire", "Slow Hand" and "I'm So Excited", died of cancer at the age of 52 on April 11th, 2006
Jeff Porcaro - drummer for Toto suffered a heart attack and died on August 5th, 1992. He was using a pesticide in his yard and an allergic reaction to the substance triggered the attack. An autopsy revealed a serious heart condition that had been previously undiagnosed
Mike Porcaro - bassist for Toto died at the age of 59 on March 15th 2015 after a long battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was with the band from 1983 until 2007
Jannie Pought - of The Bobbettes, who reached number six in 1957 with "Mr. Lee", was stabbed to death by a total stranger as she walked down the street in September, 1980, at the age of 36
Billy Powell - Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist who played on "Sweet Home Alabama" and survived the 1977 plane crash that killed three band members, died of a suspected heart attack on January 28th, 2009. He was 56
Cozy Powell - touted as one of Britain's best session drummers, died in a car accident near Bristol, England on April 5th, 1998 at the age of 50
William Powell - an original member of the O'Jays, died at the age of 35 on May 26th, 1977, after a long bout with cancer
Dave Prater - of the soul duo Sam and Dave, was killed in a car accident in Georgia on April 9th, 1988. He was 50 years of age
Elvis Presley - the King of Rock and Roll, died of heart failure at his Graceland mansion on August 16th, 1977
Reg Presley - the lead singer for The Troggs on their 1966 smash "Wild Thing" died February 4th, 2013 after a year-long struggle with lung cancer. He was 71
Billy Preston - keyboardist who had a series of hit singles in the 1970s, including "Will It Go 'Round In Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing", passed away on June 6th, 2006, at the age of 59
Johnny Preston - who topped the Billboard chart in January, 1960 with "Running Bear", passed away on March 4th, 2011 at the age of 71 from lingering health problems following heart bypass surgery
Ray Price - Country singer who scored a #13 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 with "For The Good Times", died of pancreatic cancer on December 16th, 2013 at the age of 87
Rod Price - a founding member of Foghat died March 24th, 2005, after suffering a heart attack. The 57 year old guitarist was with the band for three platinum and eight gold records including their highest charting US single "Slow Ride" in 1976
Prince - the flamboyant singer / songwriter and multi-instrumentalist died on April 21st, 2016, at the age of 57 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin. Between 1979 and 1999 he had 32 Billboard Top 40 entries including "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry", "Purple Rain" and "Sign 'O' The Times"
Barry Pritchard - vocalist and guitarist for The Fortunes, died of heart failure on January 12th, 1999. The group reached the Billboard Top 20 with "You've Got Your Troubles" in 1965 and "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again" in 1971
Pete Quaife - the original bassist for the Kinks, who played on such early hits as "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night" and "Tired of Waiting for You" before leaving the British band in 1969, died of kidney failure on June 23rd, 2010. He was 66
Clarence Quick - of The Dell-Vikings, suffered a heart attack and died on May 5th, 1983 at the age of 46. The group reached number four with "Come Go With Me" and number nine with "Whispering Bells" in 1957
Eddie Rabbitt - country star whose hits included "I Love A Rainy Night" and "Drivin' My Life Away", died on May 7th, 1998 of lung cancer at the age of 56
Carl Radle - bassist for Eric Clapton's Derek & The Dominoes, Delaney & Bonnie and many others, died on May 30th, 1980 of kidney failure at the age of 37
Gerry Rafferty - the lead singer of Stealers Wheel on their 1973 hit "Stuck In The Middle With You" died after a long illness on January 4th, 2011 at the age of 63. After the band split up, he went on to a successful solo career which included five more Billboard Top 30 hits, including "Baker Street" and "Right Down The Line"
Teddy Randazzo - a rock icon from the 1950s who composed classic hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head" and "Hurt So Bad", died November 21st, 2003. He was 68
Boots Randolph - saxophone player best known for the 1963 hit "Yakety Sax" died from a cerebral hemorrhage on July 3rd, 2007, at the age of 80
Bobby Ramirez - the 23-year-old drummer with Edger Winter's White Trash, was killed in a bar fight in Chicago on July 24th, 1972, after some redneck made a comment about the length of his hair. He died of head injuries after being kicked with steel-tipped shoes
Dee Dee Ramone - bassist for the '70s punk rock band The Ramones died from a drug overdose on June 7th, 2002. His real name is Douglas Colvin
Johnny Ramone - co-founder of The Ramones, passed away September 15th, 2004 after a five year battle with prostate cancer. The 55 year old guitarist's real name is John Cummings
Joey Ramone - singer for The Ramones, died of lymphatic cancer at the age of 49 on April 15th, 2001. His real name is Jeff Hyman
Tommy Ramone - drummer for The Ramones, died from from cancer of the bile duct on July 11th, 2014 at the age of 62. He was born Erdelyi Tamas
Larry Ramos - guitarist and vocalist for The Association died of cancer on April 30th, 2014 at the age of 72. Ramos shared lead vocals on two of the band's biggest hits, "Windy" and "Never My Love"
Allan Ramsay - the original bassist for Gary Lewis and The Playboys was killed in a plane crash on November 27th 1985 at the age of 42
Mike Ramsden - guitarist and vocalist for the British quartet The Silkie died at the age of 60 after a long battle with kidney disease on January 17th, 2004. The band reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965 with a cover of The Beatles "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", on which Lennon produced, McCartney played guitar and Harrison played the tambourine
Danny Rapp - of Danny and The Juniors, scored two 1957 hits with "At The Hop" and "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay", died of a self inflicted gunshot wound on April 4th, 1983. He was 41
Lou Rawls - passed away on January 6th, 2006, at the age of 72, after a long battle with cancer. The velvet voiced singer placed six songs on the Billboard Top 40 Pop chart, including the number two hit, "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" in 1976
Harry Ray - of the R&B trio, The Moments, died of a stroke on October 1st, 1992, at the age of 45. The group's biggest hit was "Love On A Two Way Street", which reached number 3 in 1970
Bill Read - the bass singer who was featured during the talking portion of The Diamonds' 1957 hit "Little Darlin", passed away on October 26th, 2004, at the age of 68
Eugene Record - the lead singer of The Chi-lites, died of cancer on July 22nd, 2005 at the age of 65. The group is most often remembered for the 1972 US #1 single "Oh Girl" and 1972 UK #3 single "Have You Seen Her"
Noel Redding - the bass player with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, died May 11th, 2003 of natural causes. He was 57
Otis Redding - was killed in a plane crash in December 10th, 1967. Four members of his backup band, The Bar-Kays were also killed
Keith Relf - former lead singer for The Yardbirds, was electrocuted on May 14th, 1976, while tuning his guitar at home. He was 33 years old
Herb Reed - bass vocalist for The Platters, died on June 4th, 2012 at the age of 83. The L.A. quintet scored four number one hits, including "The Great Pretender", "My Prayer", Twilight Time" and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", and placed twenty-three songs in the Billboard Top 40
Jerry Reed - guitarist / actor / Country music artist who reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Pop chart with "Amos Moses" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot" in 1971, died September 1st, 2008 from complications of emphysema at the age of 71
Jimmy Reed - Blues singer / guitarist who reached the Billboard Pop chart with "Honest I Do" in 1957 and "Baby What You Want Me To Do" in 1960, died following an epileptic seizure on August 29th, 1976, just days shy of his 51st birthday
Jim Reese - guitarist for The Bobby Fuller Four on their hit "I Fought The Law" suffered a fatal heart attack after playing a round of golf on October 26th, 1991 at the age of 49
Lou Reed - an influential songwriter and guitarist who paved the way for Glam, Punk and Alternative Rock, died of liver disease on October 27th, 2013 at the age of 71. He led the Velvet Underground in the late '60s and enjoyed an outstanding solo career over the next 50 years
Jim Reeves - Country artist who reached the Pop charts four times, including the #2 hit, "He'll Have To Go" in 1960, was killed in a plane crash on July 31st, 1964. He was three weeks short of his 40th birthday
Paul Revere - organist and leader of Paul Revere And The Raiders died October 4th, 2014 following a battle with cancer. Between 1961 and 1971, the band placed 15 songs on Billboard's Top 40, including the Top 10 hits "Kicks", "Hungry", "Good Thing" and "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?"
Debbie Reynolds - singer / actress who topped the Billboard and Cashbox charts in 1957 with "Tammy", died December 28th, 2016 at the age of 84. In early 1958 she reached #20 on the Most Played by Jockeys chart with "A Very Special Love", then scored two entries on the Hot 100 in 1960: "Am I That Easy to Forget" (#25) and "City Lights" (#55)
Nick Reynolds - a founding member of the Kingston Trio, who jump-started the Folk music scene of the late 1950s with their US number one hit "Tom Dooley", died of acute respiratory disease on October 1st, 2008. He was 75
Randy Rhoads - guitarist for Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne, was killed on March 19th, 1982, when the small plane he was riding in crashed while buzzing Osbourne's tour bus. He was 25
Buddy Rich - often called the world's best drummer, died of a brain tumour on April 2nd, 1987 at the age of 69
Charlie Rich - started out as a song writer for Sam Phillips' Sun Records before becoming a country star and later crossed over to the Pop charts with two big 1973 hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl". He developed a blood clot in his lung and died July 25th, 1995, at the age of 62
J.P. Richardson - known as The Big Bopper on his hit "Chantilly Lace", died in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens on February 3rd, 1959
Johnnie Richardson - of the R&B duo Johnnie and Joe, who reached #8 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1957 with "Over The Mountain; Across The Sea", died following a stroke on October 25th, 1988, in her 43rd year
Greg Ridley - bassist for Humble Pie, died November 19th, 2003 of pneumonia and resulting complications. He was 56
Minnie Riperton - died of breast cancer on July 12th, 1979 at the age of 31, four years after her number 1 hit, "Lovin' You". She had also been a member of Stevie Wonder's backup group, Wonderlove
Marty Robbins - Country singer who put 13 songs on the Billboard Pop chart including the 1959, #1 smash "El Paso", died following a heart attack on December 8th, 1982. He was 57
Cynthia Robinson - trumpeter for Sly And The Family Stone died of cancer on November 23rd, 2015 at the age of 69
Vicki Sue Robinson - who scored the US Top 10 Disco hit "Turn The Beat Around" in 1976, died of cancer at the age of 46 on April 27th, 2000
Ed Roberts - of Ruby and The Romantics, died of cancer on August 10th, 1993. He was 57
Bobby Rogers - a founding member of the Motown group The Miracles, died on March 3rd, 2013, at the age of 73 following a long illness. His voice can be heard on the group's hits "Shop Around", "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", "The Tracks of My Tears", "Going to a Go-Go", "I Second That Emotion" and "The Tears of a Clown"
Duane Roland - a founding member of the Southern Rock band Molly Hatchet died of natural causes on June 19th 2006. He was 53
Mick Ronson - guitarist for David Bowie's band Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars, died of liver cancer on April 29th, 1993 at the age of 46
Dave Rowberry - keyboardist who joined the Animals in May of 1965 and played on several major hits, including "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life" and "Don't Bring Me Down", passed away of an apparent heart attack on June 6th, 2003, one month shy of his 63rd birthday
Billy Joe Royal - a Country and Pop vocalist who placed four songs on Billboard's Top 40, died suddenly on October 6th, 2015 at the age of 73. His hits included "Down In The Boondocks" (#9 in 1965), "I Knew You When" (#14 in 1965) and "Cherry Hill Park" (#15 in 1969)
David Ruffin - former lead singer of the Temptations died of an overdose of crack cocaine on June 1st, 1991 at the age of 50
Jimmy Ruffin - Soul singer who reached the Billboard Top 40 with "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" (#7 in 1966), "I've Passed This Way Before" (#17 in 1966), "Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got" (#29 in 1967) and "Hold On To My Love" (#10 in 1980), passed away on November 17th, 2014 at the age of 78
Tommy Ruger - drummer for The Nightcrawlers on their 1967 garage band classic, "The Little Black Egg", died from complications of diabetes on December 11th, 2013. He was 67
Leon Russell - singer / songwriter / studio musician, died in his sleep at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 13th, 2016, at the age of 74. During his career he placed eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Tight Rope" (#11 in 1972) and "Lady Blue" (#14 in 1975). As a studio musician, he played on hit records by Gary Lewis And The Playboys, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Herb Alpert, The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love, Brian Hyland, Dorsey Burnette, Glen Campbell and many others
John Ryanes - of The Monotones, died on May 30th, 1972. The group had one big hit, "Book Of Love", which reached number 5 in 1958
Warren Ryanes - of The Monotones, died in June, 1982
Doug Sahm - leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet, succumbed to a heart attack November 18th, 1999, just days shy of his 58th birthday. The band had three Billboard Top 40 hits with "She's About A Mover" (#13 in 1965), "The Rains Came" (#31 in 1966) and "Mendocino" (#27 in 1969)
Crispian St. Peters - who scored a #2 hit in the UK with "You Were On My Mind" and reached the Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic with "Pied Piper" in 1966, passed away on June 8th, 2010 at the age of 71
Kyu Sakamoto - the first Japanese artist to have a number one hit in the United States with "Sukiyaki" (June 1963), was killed in a Tokyo airplane crash on August 12th, 1985. He was 43
Gary "Gar" Samuelson - the drummer for Megadeth from 1984 through 1987 when he was fired for drug addictions, died of liver failure on July 22nd, 1999 at the age of 41
Joe Santollo - of The Duprees, suffered a fatal heart attack on June 3rd, 1981, at the age of 37. The group is most often remembered for their 1962 hit, "You Belong To Me"
Clarence Satchell - guitarist and saxophone player for the '70s R&B group the Ohio Players, died on December 30th, 1995 from a brain aneurysm at the age of 55. The group placed eight songs in the Billboard Top 40, including two chart toppers, "Fire" in 1974 and "Love Rollercoaster" in 1976
Bill "Little Bo" Savich - drummer for the Rock instrumental group Johnny and The Hurricanes died January 4th, 2002 at the age of 62. The band placed four songs on the Billboard Top 40, including the #5 hit, "Red River Rock" in 1959
Sky Saxon - lead singer and founder of the 1960s band The Seeds, who had a Top 40 hit in 1967 with "Pushin' Too Hard", died June 25th, 2009
Bon Scott - of AC/DC, died of alcohol poisoning on February 19th, 1980. He was 33
James Honeyman Scott - guitarist for The Pretenders on their 1980 hit "Brass In Pocket", died of a drug overdose on June 16th, 1982, at the age of 24
Walter Scott - lead singer of Bob Kuban & the In-Men, who scored a 1966 hit with "The Cheater", was reported missing shortly after Christmas, 1983. His body however, wasn't found until 1987, floating in a cistern with a gunshot wound to the back. A neighbour named Jim Williams, who had starting dating Scott's wife Joanne shortly after the disappearance, was found guilty of murder. Joanne Scott was sentenced to five years for hindering the investigation
Dan Seals - who sang under the name England Dan in a 1970s duo with John Ford Coley, died of cancer on March 25th, 2009, at the age of 61. After scoring several Billboard Pop chart hits, including "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight", "Nights are Forever" and "Love Is The Answer", Seals went on to have a solid career in Country music during the 1980s and early '90s
Pete Seeger - the banjo-picking troubadour who introduced generations of Americans to their Folk Music heritage, died of natural causes on January 27th, 2014 at the age of 94. As a member of The Weavers, he recorded such hits as "Goodnight Irene" and "On Top of Old Smokey" and would go on to write "If I Had a Hammer", "Turn, Turn, Turn", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"
Ed Shaughnessy - drummer for The Tonight Show band for over 29 years, died at the age of 84 following a heart attack on May 24th, 2013
Joe Schermie - original bassist of Three Dog Night died of a heart attack March 26th 2002 at the age of 55
Eddie Serrato - the drummer for Question Mark And The Mysterians on their 1966 hit "96 Tears", suffered a fatal heart attack on February 24th, 2011. He was 65.
Del Shannon - who placed nine songs on the Billboard Top 40 chart, including the #1 hit "Runaway", died of a self inflicted gun shot wound on February 8th, 1990 at age 55
Bobby Sheen - the male vocalist of Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans on their 1963, #8 hit "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah", died of pneumonia on November 11th, 2000, at the age of 58. The trio's only other Billboard Top 40 hit was sung by Darlene Love, as she had, uncredited, on the Crystals' "He's A Rebel" and "He's Sure The Boy I Love"
James "Shep" Sheppard - of Shep and The Limelites, was found murdered in his car on the Long Island Expressway on January 24th, 1970 after being robbed and beaten. The group is best remembered for their 1961 hit, "Daddy's Home"
Tony Sheridan - who used the early Beatles as his backing band during their days of playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany, died following a long illness on February 16th, 2013 at the age of 72
Allan Sherman - recorded the comedy tune, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh", died of respiratory ailments at the age of 48 on November 21st, 1973
Gary Shider - guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic who was featured on their hit "One Nation Under A Groove" died from complications of cancer on June 16th, 2010. He was 56
Troy Shondell - singer who reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "This Time (We're Really Breaking Up)" in 1961, died from complications related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease on January 7th, 2016. He was 76
John Siomos - played drums on countless albums and singles with a host of bands and in studio recordings for artists such as Peter Frampton, Todd Rundgren, Mitch Ryder and Carly Simon, died January 16th 2004, at the age of 56
Frank Sinatra - died of natural causes May 14th 1998 at the age of 83
The Singing Nun - whose given name was Jeanine Deckers, committed suicide on March 29th 1985 after the center for autistic children in Belgium that she helped to found had closed due to lack of funds. Her 1963 hit "Dominique" went to number one in the U.S. and sold over 1.5 million copies, winning a Grammy Award for the year's best gospel song. At the time of her death, she was 52 years old
Percy Sledge - who scored a million selling hit with "When A Man Loves A Woman" in 1966, died of liver cancer on April 14th, 2015
Bobbie Smith - lead vocalist for The Spinners, died on March 16th, 2013 following complications from lung cancer. The group had seven Top 10 singles including "Rubberband Man", "One of a Kind (Love Affair)", "Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me Girl" and "I'll Be Around"
Claydes Charles Smith - a co-founder and lead guitarist for Kool & the Gang died on June 20th, 2006 after a long illness. He was 57
Fred Smith - guitarist for the MC5 on their shock rock hit "Kick Out The Jams", died of heart failure on November 4th, 1994 at the age of 46
Frank Smith - of The Monotones, who reached number 5 in 1958 with "Book Of Love", died of cancer on November 26th, 2000. He was 61
Jerome Smith - former rhythm guitarist and founding member of KC & the Sunshine Band, died July 28th, 2000 after he fell off the bulldozer he was driving and was crushed by the machine. The 47 year old Smith was working in the building and construction trades as a heavy-equipment operator after leaving the music business
Mike Smith - keyboard player and lead vocalist for The Dave Clark Five died of pneumonia on February 28th, 2008, less than two weeks before the band was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was 64
Mike "Smitty" Smith - drummer for Paul Revere and the Raiders during their prime hit making years, died of natural causes at his home in Hawaii on March 6th, 2001, at the age of 58
O.C. Smith - best remembered for "Little Green Apples" and "Hickory Hollar's Tramp" died in his sleep on November 23rd, 2001 at age 65
Sammi Smith - best known for the 1971, Billboard number 8 hit, "Help Me Make It Through the Night", died February 12th, 2005 at the age of 61. She won a Grammy award for her rendition of the song written by Kris Kristofferson, establishing him as a leading Nashville songwriter.
Scott Smith - bassist for Loverboy died at the age of 45 on November 30th, 2000 after a 26-foot wave swept him overboard in shark infested waters off the coast of San Francisco near the Golden Gate Bridge. Loverboy reached the Billboard Top 40 ten times, including two Top 10 hits, "Almost Paradise" and "Lovin' Every Minute Of It"
William Smith - vocalist and keyboard player for Motherlode, died of a heart attack on December 1st, 1997, at the age of 53. The Canadian group hit number 18 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1969 with "When I Die"
Danny Smythe - drummer for The Box Tops on their hits "The Letter" and "Neon Rainbow", passed away on July 6th, 2016 at the age of 67
Phoebe Snow - the velvet voiced singer / songwriter who reached #5 in the U.S. in 1975 with "Poetry Man", died of complications from a stroke on April 26th, 2011. She was 60
Eddie Snyder - pianist for The Cascades on their 1963, Billboard #3 hit, "Rhythm Of The Rain", died of cancer on November 14th, 2000 at the age of 63
Lew Soloff - the trumpeter who played the memorable solo on the album version of Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel", died following a heart attack on March 8th, 2015 at the age of 71
David-Troy Somerville - lead singer for The Diamonds, died of cancer on July 14th, 2015 at the age of 81. The Canadian quartet charted sixteen times on Billboard's various charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the Top 10 hits "Little Darlin'", "Silhouettes" and "The Stroll"
Jimmy Soul - whose real name was James McCleese, hit #1 in 1963 with the novelty tune "If You Wanna Be Happy", died of a heart attack on June 25th, 1988. He was 45
Joe South - singer / songwriter who penned dozens of hit songs in the '60s and '70s, including Deep Purple's "Hush", Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" and Billy Joe Royal's "Down In The Boondocks", as well as his own hits "Games People Play" and "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", died on September 5th, 2012 at the age of 72
Skip Spence - the original drummer for Jefferson Airplane who left to form Moby Grape, died of lung cancer on April 16th, 1999 at the age of 52
Jimmie Spheeris - an American singer-songwriter who released four albums in the 1970s, died at the age of 34 when his motorcycle collided with a van on the morning of July 4th, 1984
Jakson Spires - drummer and founding member of Blackfoot, died March 16th, 2005, at the age of 53, after suffering a brain aneurysm. The band reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August, 1979 with "Highway Song"
Dusty Springfield - who scored a Top Ten U.S. hit with "I Only Want To Be With You" in 1963, died March 2nd, 1999, at the age of 59 after a five year battle with cancer
Chris Squire - bassist and co-founder of the Progressive Rock band Yes, died of leukemia on June 28th, 2015 at the age of 67
Dick St. John - half of the singing team of Dick & DeeDee, who recorded such hits as "The Mountain's High" (1961), "Young And In Love" (1963) and "Thou Shalt Not Steal" (1965), died on December 27th, 2003, from complications suffered in a fall from the roof of his home two weeks earlier. The 63 year old singer had continued to record and performed regularly until his death
Edwin Starr - soul singer who had hits with "War", "Agent Double-O Soul" and "Twenty-five Miles", died of a heart attack on April 1st, 2003 at the age of 61
Ruby Starr - vocalist for Black Oak Arkansas on their 1974 hit "Jim Dandy" as well as having her own solo career, died of cancer on January 14th, 1995 at the age of 45
Terry Stafford - whose Elvis-like voice help make a hit out of "Suspicion" in 1964, died March 17th 1996 at age 54
Cleotha Staples - of the Gospel quartet The Staple Singers, died February 21st, 2013 at the age of 78. The group placed eight songs on the Billboard Top 40, including two chart toppers, "I'll Take You There" in 1971 and "Let's Do It Again" in 1975
B.W. Stevenson - who had a 1973 hit with "My Maria", died after heart surgery on April 28th, 1988, at the age of 38. The "B.W." reportedly stood for "Buckwheat"
Billy Stewart - R&B singer nicknamed "Fat Boy" who hit the Billboard Pop chart Top 40 four times, including the #10 hit "Summertime" in 1966. Billy was killed on January 17th, 1970, along with three members of his band, when his car ran off the road and plunged into a river. He was 32
Ian Stewart - played piano in the original line-up of The Rolling Stones and predates both Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts as a member of the band. Because the group's manager Andrew Loog Oldham did not think Stewart's looks were right for publicity purposes, Stewart officially "left the group", but continued to work with them as a road manager and played keyboards on most of the Stones' essential albums from the 1960s until the 1980s. While waiting to see a doctor about respiratory problems, Stewart suffered a heart attack and died in the waiting room on December 12th, 1985
John Stewart - singer / songwriter who was a member of The Kingston Trio in the early '60s, but more often remembered for writing The Monkees' hit, "Daydream Believer", died following a brain aneurism on January 19th, 2008. Stewart also had a successful solo career which included four dozen albums and a Billboard #9 hit single with "Gold" in 1979
Mike Stewart - guitarist for We Five on their 1965, number one hit "You Were On My Mind", died on November 13th, 2002, at the age of 57
Gordon Stoker - the tenor voice of The Jordanaires who backed Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves and many more, passed away on March 27th, 2013 at the age of 88. Estimated sales of records that the vocal group sang on total more than eight billion copies
Rory Storm - who led The Hurricanes, the group that Ringo Starr quit to join the Beatles, died of an overdose of sleeping pills on September 27th, 1972
Richard Street - a member of The Temptations for 25 years, passed away on February 27th, 2013, of a pulmonary embolism. He was 70
Joe Strummer - lead singer for the landmark British punk band The Clash, suffered a fatal heart attack on December 22nd, 2002, at the age of 50
Jud Strunk - comedian and singer/songwriter who appeared on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and scored a number 14 hit with "Daisy A Day" in 1973, died in a small plane crash in Maine on October 5th 1981. He was 45
Levi Stubbs - lead singer of The Four Tops died after a long series of illnesses, including cancer and a stroke, on October 17th, 2008 at the age of 72
David 'Screaming Lord' Sutch - British shock-rocker was found hanged at his London home, apparently committed suicide on June 17th, 1999, at the age of 58
Stuart Sutcliffe - played bass guitar for The Beatles before Paul McCartney took over in 1961. After leaving the group, he died on April 10th, 1962 of a brain haemorrhage in Hamburg, Germany. Sutcliffe was in his 22nd year
Niki Sullivan - one of Buddy Holly's original Cricketts, died on April 6th, 2004 at the age of 66. He joined Holly in 1956 and played on most of the hit songs the band recorded. The hassel of touring forced him to drop out in 1957
Donna Summer - often called The Queen Of Disco, died of cancer on May 17th, 2012 at the age of 63. During a career that peaked in the '70s, she won five Grammys and sold more than 130 million records worldwide
Edmund Sylvers - lead singer of the Sylvers on their 1975 number one hit, "Boogie Fever", died on March 11th, 2004, after a ten month battle with cancer. He was only 47 years old
Margo Sylvia - of The Tune Weavers, died of a heart attack on October 25th, 1991, at the age of 55. The group topped the Billboard chart in 1957 with "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby"
Marv Tarplin - the guitarist whose riffs and melodies helped form the sound of one of Motown's most successful acts, Smokey Robinson And The Miracles, died September 30th, 2011, at the age of 70
Dallas Taylor - drummer for Crosby, Still And Nash from 1967 until 1974, passed away on January 18th, 2015 at the age of 66
Johnnie Taylor - best remembered for his 1968 hit, "Who's Makin' Love To Your Old Lady?" died of a heart attack on May 31st, 2000, shortly after his 62nd birthday
Mel Taylor - long-time drummer for The Ventures died of cancer on August 11th, 1996 at the age of 62. He recorded and toured with The Ventures from 1961 until his death and also worked as a session musician, playing drums on "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and "Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert & The Tijiuana Brass
Richard Taylor - of the R&B vocal group, The Manhattans, died on December 7th, 1987 at the age of 47
Zola Taylor - who broke gender barriers as the first female member of the 1950s R&B group The Platters, singing on their hit "The Great Pretender", died from complications of pneumonia on April 30th, 2007. She was 69
Tammi Terrell - sang many duets with Marvin Gaye, died of a brain tumour on the 16th of March, 1970, at the age of 24
Peter Tetteroo - vocalist for The Tee Set, died of cancer on September 5th, 2002, at the age of 55. The Dutch band reached number five on the Billboard Pop chart in 1970 with "Ma Belle Amie"
Joe Tex - soul singer whose hits included "I Gotcha" and "Skinny Legs and All" died of a heart attack, August 12th, 1982 at the age of 49
Gary Thain - former bassist of the British band Uriah Heep, died December 8th, 1975 of a heroin overdose. He was 27
Rufus Thomas - R&B singer whose biggest Pop hit was "Walkin' The Dog" in 1963, died on December 15th, 2001, following a short illness. He was 84
Tony Thompson - drummer for Chic, passed away on November 12th, 2003 from renal cell cancer at the age of 48. Thompson played on all the Chic hits, including "Dance, Dance, Dance", "Le Freak", "I Want Your Love" and "Good Times"
Hughie Thomasson - guitarist for The Outlaws on their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" died of a heart attack on September 9th, 2007, at the age of 55
Billy Thorpe - who had over 20 hits in Australia and influenced many American artists with his 1979 album, "Children Of The Sun", died following a massive heart attack on February 28th, 2007, at the age of 60
Johnny Thunders - guitarist who rose to fame with The New York Dolls, died on April 23rd, 1991 at the age of 38. The cause of death appeared to be drug-related, but it has been speculated that foul play may have been involved
Sonny Til - lead singer of The Orioles died of a heart attack on December 9th, 1981 at the age of 51. His group had a hit with "Crying In The Chapel" in 1953
Georgeanna Tillman - of The Marvelettes, who scored a number one hit with "Please Mr Postman" in 1961, died on Jan 6th 1980 of sickle cell anemia at the age of 35
Ivory Tilmon - of The Detroit Emeralds died of a heart attack on July 6th 1982 at the age of 37. The group reached #24 on the Hot 100 in 1972 with "Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms"
Tiny Tim - who reached number 17 in 1968 with "Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips", had a heart attack while on stage and died shortly after on November 30th, 1996 at age 63
Dan Toler - guitarist for Dickey Betts And Great Southern, The Allman Brothers Band and The Gregg Allman Band, passed away on February 25th, 2013 at the age of 64
Mel Torme - passed away on June 5th 1999, at the age of 73, from complications caused by a stroke
Peter Tosh - the guitarist in the original Wailing Wailers with Bob Marley was brutally murdered at his Jamaican home on September 11th, 1987, in his 43rd year. Though robbery was officially said to be the motivation behind Tosh's death, many believe that there were ulterior motives to the killing, citing that nothing was taken from the house
Allen Toussaint - legendary New Orleans pianist, songwriter, producer and performer who penned or produced such classics as "Working in a Coal Mine", "Mother-In-Law", "Lady Marmalade", "Play Something Sweet" and "Southern Nights", died on November 10th, 2015 after suffering a heart attack following a concert he performed in Spain. He was 77
Ed Townsend - who scored a #13 hit with "For Your Love" in 1958, died of heart failure on August 13th, 2003, at the age of 74
Ron Townson - vocalist with The Fifth Dimension, died in his home in Las Vegas on August 2nd, 2001 at age sixty-eight. He suffered renal failure after a four-year battle with kidney disease
Mary Travers - the striking blonde in the Folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary died September 16th, 2009 after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72. Mary's lead vocal can be heard on the group's biggest hit, 1969's "Leaving On A Jet Plane"
Roland Trone - "Don" of Don & Juan, who reached number seven with "What's Your Name" in 1962, died in May 1982, at the age of 45
Domenic Troiano - guitarist for The Guess Who and The James Gang, died of cancer on May 25th, 2005. He was 59
Doris Troy - the big voiced singer of the 1963 hit "Just One Look", died of emphysema on February 16th, 2004 at the age of 67
Andrea True - Disco star and actress who had Top 40 hits with "More, More, More" (1976) and "N.Y. You Got Me Dancing" (1977), died of undisclosed causes on November 7th, 2011 at the age of 68
Mick Tucker - drummer for Sweet, who hit #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1975 with "Ballroom Blitz", died of leukemia on February 14th 2002. He was 53
Tommy Tucker - who hit number eleven in 1964 with "Hi-Heel Sneakers", died of poisoning on January 22nd, 1982, at the age of 42
Mark Tulin - bassist for The Electric Prunes on their 1967 hit "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)", suffered a fatal heart attack on February 26th, 2011, at the age of 62
Big Joe Turner - a Jazz and Blues artist who became an early founder of Rock and Roll when he released "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in 1954. Turner suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 74 on November 24th, 1985
Ike Turner - whose role as one of Rock and Roll's most inovative architects was overshadowed by his image as the man who abused former wife and singing partner Tina Turner, suffered a fatal heart attack on December 12th, 2007. He was 76
Conway Twitty - had an early pop hit with "It's Only Make Believe", died of a heart attack after stomach surgery in Springfield, Missouri, June 5th, 1993
Rob Tyner - lead singer of the MC5, died of heart failure at the age of 46, on September 18th, 1991
Gary Usher - led the studio group The Hondells to the Top 10 in 1964 with "Little Honda", died of cancer on May 25th, 1990. He was 51
Ritchie Valens - singer of "Oh Donna" and "La Bamba", died in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly and J.P. Richardson on February 3rd, 1959
Sylvia Vanderpool - who teamed with guitarist Micky Baker to form Micky and Sylvia. They scored a Billboard R&B #1 and Pop #11 hit "Love Is Strange" in 1957. In 1970 she found success as a songwriter, penning The Moments' "Love On A Two Way Street" and also scored a solo #1 hit in 1973 with "Pillow Talk". Sylvia died of congestive heart failure on September 29th, 2011, at the age of 75
Luther Vandross - the silky smooth voiced R&B singer died on July 1st, 2005 at the age of 54, two years after suffering a major stroke.
Joey Vann - of The Duprees, died on February 28th, 1984 at the age of 40. The group had four Top 40 hits, including 1962's "You Belong To Me"
Randy VanWarmer - who reached #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1979 with "Just When I Needed You Most" died of leukemia on January 12th, 2004, at the age of 48
Ronnie Van Zant - member of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose single "Sweet Home Alabama" reached number 8 in 1974, died with several other band members in a small plane crash on October 20th, 1977. He was just 29
Stevie Ray Vaughan - guitarist whose highly charged and expressive solos turned a new generation on to Rock / Blues in the 1980s, was killed on August 27th, 1990, when the helicopter he was taking from a gig in East Troy, Wisconsin to a show in Chicago, crashed in dense fog, killing everyone on board. Vaughn was 35 years old
Bobby Vee - who had 14 Billboard Top 40 hits between 1960 and 1968, died from complications of early onset Alzheimer's disease on October 24th, 2016 at the age of 73
Lolly Vegas - lead singer and guitarist for Redbone, died of cancer on March 4th, 2010 at the age of 70. The band is most often remembered for their 1974, Billboard #5 hit "Come And Get Your Love"
Mariska Veres - vocalist for Shocking Blue on their mega hit "Venus", died of cancer on December 2nd, 2006, at the age of 59
Henry Vestine - guitarist for Canned Heat, died on October 20th, 1997 at the age of 52 from heart and respiratory failure
Sid Vicious - bassist for the punk rock group the Sex Pistols, died from an accumulation of fluid on the lungs, characteristic of heroin abuse, on February 2nd, 1979. He was just 21 years old
Gene Vincent - recorded "Be-Bop-A-Lula" in 1957, died at the age of 36 following a seizure brought on by a bleeding ulcer on October 12th, 1971 at his parent's California home. Sadly, no one in his family had any money and the city of Los Angeles had to bury him
Janet Vogel - sang soprano for The Skyliners on their 1959, US number one hit, "Since I Don't Have You", committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning on February 21st, 1980. She was 37
Roger Voudouris - singer / songwriter / guitarist who reached #21 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1979 with "Get Used To It", died August 3rd, 2003, at the age of 48, after suffering from liver disease for some time. Although his success was limited in the U.S., he enjoyed a strong following in Japan and Australia
Wayne Wadhams - the keyboard player and lead vocalist for The Fifth Estate on their 1967 hit "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead", died August 19th, 2008. He was 61
Steve Wahrer - drummer and vocalist for The Trashmen on their 1964 hit "Surfin' Bird", died of throat cancer on January 21st 1989, at the age of 47
John Walker - lead vocalist for The Walker Brothers, who enjoyed Billboard Top 20 hits with "Make It Easy On Yourself" in 1965 and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" in 1966, died of liver cancer on May 7th, 2011. He was 67
Junior Walker - leader of the All-Stars on "Shotgun", "What Does It Take" and "Roadrunner", died of cancer on Nov 23rd, 1995 at the age of 64
Jerry Wallace - singer / guitarist who placed seven songs on Billboard's Top 40, including the 1959, #8 hit "Primrose Lane", died on May 5th, 2008, at the age of 79, after suffering congestive heart failure
Gordon Waller - of the Pop duo Peter and Gordon died of cardiac arrest on July 17th, 2009 at the age of 64. The pair were part of the 1960s British Invasion and had a string of hits including "A World Without Love", "I Don't Want To See You Again", "I Go to Pieces" and "Lady Godiva"
Trevor Ward-Davies - better known as Dozy from Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, died January 13th, 2015 at the age of 70
Clint Warwick - the original bass player for The Moody Blues died from liver disease on May 18th, 2004 at the age of 63. Clint left the band in 1966 after playing on their only number one hit, "Go Now"
Muddy Waters - blues guitarist whose real name was McKinley Morganfield, died of a heart attack at the age of 68 on April 30th, 1983
Johnny "Guitar" Watson - whose greatest chart success was "Those Lonely Lonely Nights", which hit the US R&B Top 10 in 1955, died of a heart attack on the 17th May, 1996
Carl Wayne - the lead singer of influential 1960s Pop group the Move, died of oesophageal cancer on August 31st, 2004, at the age of 61
Thomas Wayne (Perkins) - who reached #5 in the US in 1959 with "Tragedy", died on August 15th 1971 at the age of 31 when he drove his car across four lanes of traffic, over a median and slammed into an oncoming car. Some believe he committed suicide as he had earlier confessed to a friend that he once parked his car across both lanes of an interstate highway at night and turned off his lights. Fortunately the first person on the scene was a highway patrolman who arrested him
Laura Webb - of the R&B quintet The Bobbettes, who scored a Billboard number six hit with "Mr. Lee" in 1957, died of cancer on January 8th, 2001
Charlie Webber - of The Swingin' Medallions, died of cancer on January 17th, 2003, at the age of 57. The group is best known for their 1966 hit, "Double Shot Of My Baby's Love"
Bob Welch - a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974 who went on to enjoy a successful solo career with hits such as "Sentimental Lady" and "Ebony Eyes" died on June 7th, 2012, of an apparent suicide. He was 66
Cory Wells - a founding member of Three Dog Night died suddenly on October 21st, 2015 at the age of 74. His lead vocals on "Eli's Coming", "Mama Told Me Not To Come", "Shambala" and "Never Been To Spain" helped the band achieve twenty-one Billboard Top 40 hits and place eleven albums on the Billboard 200 chart
Mary Wells - known for her hits "My Guy" and "You Beat Me To The Punch," died of cancer at age 49 on July 26th, 1992
Vince Welnick - keyboard player for The Tubes and later The Grateful Dead, died on June 2nd, 2006. The 55-year-old musician stood on a hillside behind his Forestville home and drew a knife across his throat in front of his wife
Jimmy Weston - lead singer of The Danleers, died on June 10th 1993. The Brooklyn, New York doo-wop group is most often remembered for their 1958 hit "One Summer Night"
Andy White - the Scottish studio musician who producer George Martin hired to play drums on The Beatles' "Love Me Do" and its B-side, "P.S. I Love You", died following a stroke on November 9th, 2015, at the age of 85
Clarence White - guitarist with the Byrds, died on July 14th, 1973, after being hit by a car in Lancaster, California. He was 29. White joined the Byrds in 1968, after the group had recorded their hits as "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Eight Miles High"
Barry White - known for his lush baritone voice and lyrics that oozed sex appeal on the hits "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" and "You're The First, The Last, My Everything", died following kidney failure on Thursday, July 4th, 2003, at the age of 58
Carl White - a member of The Rivingtons and co-writer of "Papa Oom Mow Mow" and "The Bird Is The Word", died January 9th, 1980 of acute tonsillitis. He was 47. A group called The Trashmen combined his two songs into "Surfin' Bird" and gained a #4 hit in 1964
Maurice White - vocalist and co-founder of Earth, Wind And Fire died in his sleep on February 3rd, 2016 at the age of 74. He helped the band place sixteen songs on Billboard's Top 40 chart between 1974 and 1983
Ronnie White - of The Miracles, died of leukemia on August 26th, 1995. He was 56
Danny Whitten - an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want To Talk About It", a hit for Rita Coolidge and Rod Stewart, died November 18th, 1972 after an alleged heroin overdose. He was 29
Rick "Tim Tam" Wiesend - lead singer of Tim Tam and the Turn-Ons, died of cancer on October 22nd, 2003 at the age of 60. The band's only U.S. chart appearance was "Wait A Minute" in 1966
Leon Wilkeson - bassist for the 70's southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd was found dead on July 27th, 2001 in a Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida hotel room. Allegedly suffering from chronic liver and lung disease, the actual cause of death was deemed "from natural causes". He was 49
John Wilkinson - guitarist who accompanied Elvis Presley for more than a thousand shows as a member of the TCB Band, died January 11th, 2013 at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer
Andy Williams - mellow-voiced singer who placed 27 songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1956 and 1972, passed away on September 26th, 2012 at the age of 84, after a yearlong battle with bladder cancer
Flemming Williams - lead singer for The Hues Corporation on their 1974 hit "Rock The Boat", died of drug related causes in September, 1992
George Williams - vocalist for The Tymes died of cancer on July 28th, 2004, at the age of 68. The Philadelphia quartet topped the Billboard chart in 1963 with "So Much In Love" and reached #1 in the UK in 1975 with "Ms Grace"
Lamar Williams - the bassist who joined the Allman Brothers Band in late 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley and played in the band at the peak of their commercial success, died of lung cancer on January 21st, 1983. He was just 34 years old
Larry Williams - had hit songs with "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Bony Maronie", was found dead on January 7th, 1980 at his Los Angeles home of a gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner called the death a suicide, but rumours persisted for years after his death that he was murdered because of his involvement in drugs and crime
Milan B. Williams - one of the founding members for the Commodores, died on July 9th, 2006 after a long battle with cancer, at the age of 58. He wrote the band's first hit, "Machine Gun"
Paul Williams - of The Temptaions, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound on August 17th, 1973 at the age of 34. Williams had left the Temptations in 1971 because of poor health
Tony Williams - of The Platters died of emphysema at the age of 64 on August 14th, 1992. He sang most of the group's hits up until 1961 when he was replaced by Sonny Turner
Wendy O. Williams - lead singer of the late 70s / early 80s punk band The Plasmatics, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head on April 6th, 1998. She was 48
Chuck Willis - R&B singer / songwriter who placed four songs on the Billboard Top 40, including "C.C. Rider" (#12 in 1957) and "What Am I Living For?" (#9 in 1958), died of a perforated ulcer on April 10th, 1958 at the age of 30
Al Wilson - Soul singer and songwriter who had a number of US hits, including "The Snake" in 1968 and the Billboard #1 smash "Show and Tell" in 1974, died of kidney failure on April 21st, 2008. He was 68
Al Wilson - vocalist and harmonica player for Canned Heat on their hits "On The Road Again" and "Going Up The Country", committed suicide on September 3rd, 1970, in Topanga Canyon, California, when it turned out that he couldn't save a redwood forest from being cut by a timber company. He was 27
Barry Wilson - drummer for Procol Harum, died on October 8th, 1990 after months in a coma following a car accident. He was 43
Bernie Wilson - the baritone voice of Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes, who produced the 1972 hit "If You Don't Know Me by Now", died on December 26th, 2010, following a stroke and a heart attack. He was 64
Carl Wilson - lead guitar player of The Beach Boys, died of cancer, with his family at his bedside on February 6th, 1998. He was 51
Dennis Wilson - drummer for The Beach Boys, jumped over board from his yacht at Marina Del Ray Harbour in Los Angeles and drowned, on Dec. 28th, 1983. He was 39
J. Frank Wilson - One of rock's eeriest stories began on October 23rd, 1964. While his teenaged death song, "Last Kiss" was in the US Top Ten, Wilson, his bandmates and the record's producer, Sonley Roush, were involved in a head-on collision that killed Roush. Wilson never recorded a hit song again and died in a nursing home on October 4th, 1991, a few months shy of his fiftieth birthday
Jackie Wilson - passed away on January 21st, 1984, in Mount Holly, NJ, at Burlington County Memorial Hospital, at the age of 49. He had suffered a heart attack while singing "Lonely Teardrops" at the Latin Casino in New Jersey during a performance in 1975 and hit his head in the fall. Wilson suffered brain damage and required permanent care the rest of his life
Robert Wilson - bassist for The Gap Band, passed away on August 15th, 2010 at the age of 53. In a career that started in the late '70s, the group has had four platinum albums and fifteen Top Ten hits, including four that made it to number one
Ron Wilson - The Surfaris' drummer who recorded rock and roll's most influential drum solo, "Wipe Out", died of a brain aneurysm on May 12th, 1989, at the age of 44
Johnny Winter - Blues guitarist who overcame albinism and poor eye sight, and rose to fame as an arena-level concert draw in the early to mid-'70s, died July 16th, 2014 at the age of 70
Kurt Winter - guitarist who replaced Randy Bachman in The Guess Who, died after a longtime illness of complications from bleeding ulcers. He is best remembered for his contributions and writing credits on the hits "Clap For the Wolfman", "Hand Me Down World" and "Rain Dance".
Wolfman Jack - the disc jockey featured in the movie "American Graffiti", died of a heart attack on July 1st, 1995 at the age of 57. He had just completed a 20-day trip to promote his new book "Have Mercy, The Confession of the Original Party Animal", about his early career and parties with celebrities. He walked up the driveway of his home, went inside to hug his wife and collapsed. The Wolfman's real name was Bob Smith
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk - who played bass for nearly 30 years with Daryl Hall and John Oates and also recorded with Elvis Costello and Billy Joel, died February 27th, 2010 of an apparent heart attack. He was 58
Bobby Womack - Soul singer and studio musician, died June 27th, 2014 at the age of 70. He topped the Billboard R&B chart in 1974 with "Lookin' For A Love", placed it and three other tunes on the Pop chart Top 40 and played guitar on several of Aretha Franklin's albums
Chris Wood - a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason. He died of pneumonia on July 12th, 1983 at the age of 39
Ali-Ollie Woodson - who led The Temptations in the 1980s and '90s and helped restore them to their hit-making glory with songs including "Treat Her Like A Lady", "Sail Away" and "Lady Soul", died of cancer at the age of 58 on May 31st, 2010
Douglas Allen Woody - bass guitarist best known for his tenures with The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule, The Artimus Pyle Band, The Peter Criss Band, Blue Floyd, and Montage, died on August 26th, 2000 at the age of 44
Sheb Wooley - best remembered for his 1958 #1 tune, "The Purple People Eater", died of leukemia on September 16th, 2003, at the age of 82. He charted a total of nine times, with many of his hits being parodies of other popular songs. As an actor, he appeared in more than 60 films, including High Noon and Giant. He also appeared as Pete Nolan in the US television series Rawhide
Eric Woolfson - co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project, died from kidney cancer on December 2nd, 2009 at the age of 64. His songwriting, combined with his keyboard and vocal contributions, helped sell over 50 million records, including the band's signature tune "Eye in the Sky", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October, 1982
Bernie Worrell - whose mastery of the Moog synthesizer helped define the sound of George Clinton's dual projects of Parliament and Funkadelic, died of cancer on June 24th, 2016 at the age of 72
Link Wray - the electric guitar innovator who is often credited as the father of the power chord, died at his home in Copenhagen on November 5th, 2005, of natural causes. He was seventy-six. His 1959 instrumental, "Rumble" was banned by many radio stations, even thought it had no lyrics what so ever
Jimmy Wright - drummer for Five Americans on their 1967, #5 US hit, "Western Union", passed away on January 30th, 2012
Norman Wright - vocalist for The Del-Vikings on their hits "Come Go With Me", "Whispering Bells" and "Cool Shake", passed away on April 23rd, 2010 at the age of 73
Rick Wright - a founding member of Pink Floyd died of cancer at the age of 65 on September 15th, 2008
Stevie Wright - lead vocalist for the Australian group The Easybeats died on December 26th, 2015 at the age of 68. The band reached #16 on the Hot 100 in 1967 with "Friday On My Mind"
Syreeta Wright - who teamed up with Billy Preston on the 1980, number 1 US hit "With You I'm Born Again", passed away on July 6th, 2004 after a two-year battle with bone cancer. She was 58
Philippe Wynne - former lead singer of the Spinners, suffered a fatal heart attack while on stage in Oakland California on July 14th, 1984. He was 43
Zal Yanovsky - guitarist for The Lovin' Spoonful, suffered a fatal heart attack on December 13th, 2002 at his Kingston, Ontario, Canada farm. He was 58
Dennis Yost - lead singer of The Classics IV on a string of hits in the late '60s, including "Spooky", "Stormy", "Traces" and "Everyday With You Girl", died on December 7th, 2008, of respiratory failure at the age of 65
Eldee Young - bass player with the Ramsey Lewis Trio on the instrumental smash "The In Crowd" in 1965 and who later formed Young-Holt Unlimited and reached #3 with "Soulful Strut" in 1968, died of an apparent heart attack on February 12th, 2007, in Thailand, where he was performing. He was 71
Faron Young - who reached number 12 on the US pop chart in 1961 with the country cross-over hit "Hello Walls", died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on December 10th, 1996, at the age of 64
Timi Yuro - was just 18 years old when she reached #4 on the US charts in 1961 with a song called "Hurt", succumbed to brain cancer March 30th, 2004. She was 62
Frank Zappa - died of prostate cancer on December 4th, 1993 at the age of 52
Warren Zevon - singer / songwriter best remembered for his 1978 breakthrough album "Excitable Boy", which contained his only hit single, "Werewolves Of London", died of lung cancer on September 7th, 2003 at the age of 56
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Which British male athlete won an olympic gold medal in London 2012, at age 24 winning the Triathlon event ? | Team GB's gold medal winners at London 2012 Olympics - Telegraph
Team GB's gold medal winners at London 2012 Olympics
A salute to Team GB's gold medallists at the London 2012 Olympics.
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Number one: Sir Chris Hoy struggles to maintain his composure after becoming the most successful British Olympian of all time Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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Streaking away: Mo Farah on his way to winnig the 5,000m - his second gold medal of the Games Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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Katherine Grainger (left) celebrates getting her hands on an Olympic gold alongside Anna Watkins Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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Proud: Ben Ainslie became the most successful sailor in Olympic history and was then chosen to be Great Britain's flag bearer at the closing ceremony Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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Through the pain barrier: Alistair Brownlee crosses the line to win the triathlon in Hyde Park Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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Tearful triumph: An emotional Luke Campbell celebrates winning bantamweight boxing gold after defeating Ireland's John Joe Nevin Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Rowing, women’s pair
Glover, who will have a homecoming parade in Penzance next week, was in a state of disbelief after winning Britain’s first gold of the Games with Stanning.
The former PE teacher even slept with her medal by her pillow. “I think I only had an hour’s sleep the first night,” she said. “I haven’t had a drink for the past four years, so I imagine I will be quite a liability when I do.”
The triumph marked the culmination of an extraordinary journey for Glover, who had never stepped foot in a rowing boat until 2008, when she was identified by UK Sport’s Sporting Giants programme.
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The 26 year-old recalled: “I remember sitting in a room in Bisham Abbey and someone saying, 'A gold medallist in 2012 could be sitting in this room.’ It was quite surreal.”
For Stanning, a captain in the Royal Artillery who may soon be on duty in Afghanistan, the sensation was similarly other-worldly. Her school friends at Gordonstoun voted her the girl most likely to be an Olympic champion.
“I was into all sports – a jack of all trades but master of none. But maybe somebody saw something in me.”
Anthony Joshua
Boxing, super-heavyweight
Joshua’s first priority after winning his gold medal on the last weekend of the Games was to return to Golders Green, to find his cousin, amateur boxer Benga Ilyemi, who had encouraged him to take up the sport four years ago.
Ilyemi had given 'Big Josh’ a start by handing him a pair of borrowed shorts and lending him £25 to buy boots.
“My cousin convinced me to box, that’s how I got started,” Joshua said this week. “He is the novice amateur 91kg champion of England. He is not as big as me, he’s a shorter, more powerful guy, like Mike Tyson was.
“I’m hoping to persuade him to be competing with me in the heavyweight division for GB in Rio in four years. It would be great to go there together in the team.”
As he reflects on his dramatic victory in London’s Excel Centre, Joshua will doubtless take in another viewing of the film, 300, which tells the story of the Spartan king Leonidas and a his tiny force taking on the Persians at Thermopylae in 480BC.
Joshua said that watching the film again and again inspired him to remain defiant in the Olympic final.
Andrew Triggs Hodge, Tom James, Peter Reed and Alex Gregory
Rowing men's four
For Britain’s victorious men’s quartet, the giddy days since they won their gold medal at Eton Dorney have brought an overdue reacquaintance with loved ones. “I neglected my responsibilities as a husband,” Triggs Hodge said of his quest for Olympic glory, and in the seconds after victory he pointedly kissed his wedding ring.
Reed completed a momentous Olympics by proposing to his fiancée, Frauke Oltmanns, at the closing ceremony, with his team-mates watching. “While everyone was having a big party, I managed to find my way into the crowd and did it all properly. I knew where she was sitting. It was wonderful and we are both thrilled.”
James has been busy too, returning to his alma mater of King’s College, Chester, to display his gold medal.
Looking back at the four’s dramatic win, which was secured only after a compelling duel with the Australians, he said: “Words can’t describe the atmosphere. It was epic.”
Gregory, winning his first Olympic gold, admitted: “There is just this sense of massive relief.”
Sir Chris Hoy
Keirin and team sprint
It was, perhaps, the defining image of the London Games: Hoy, Edinburgh’s man of granite, blubbing like a baby on top of the velodrome podium after winning his sixth Olympic gold medal.
The emotion was shared by those squeezed inside the stifling velodrome – fans and riders – and millions of TV viewers who understood the enormity of Hoy’s achievement in surpassing Sir Steve Redgrave’s record medal haul.
Hoy, typically, insisted that Redgrave, with gold medals at five consecutive Games, was the ultimate Olympian.
His memories of the keirin are mainly concerned with dragging back a win from the jaws of defeat around the final bend.
“I put everything I possibly could into it, the race drained me hugely. It’s almost a desire to do yourself and your coaches and everyone that’s helped you justice.
“You reflect just before your race on what you’ve gone through to get here. You’re not willing to let it disappear. I just thought, 'I am not going to shift’.”
Silver medallist Max Levy perhaps put it best when he said of Hoy: “No man is harder to beat. He is never beaten – he is a champion.”
Bradley Wiggins
Cycling, individual time trial
For Wiggins, victory at a sun-drenched Hampton Court was a fitting climax to a spectacular sporting summer.
Not only did he storm to victory in the Tour de France, the first Briton to win the most prestigious cycling race of all, but this victory meant he had won more medals than any athlete in British Olympic history. “It was amazing and still hasn’t sunk in properly,” he said.
“We came straight back from the Tour, stayed low profile in our hotel and then we had the experience of all those incredible crowds cheering us in the road race. They were there again all along the TT course. I never thought I would experience that in my own country.
“The Olympics have been a huge part of my life, it’s why I took up cycling and I have been proud to represent Great Britain in four Games.”
Wiggins’s win was capped by one of the most touching celebrations, as he was enveloped in a bear-hug by his wife, Cath, and children.
“As a wife where’s the sacrifice in helping your other half fulfil their dreams?” Cath said. “And it’s not forever. It’s not like we are a services family who are apart year after year.”
Mo Farah
Athletics, 10,000m and 5,000m
He began the Games as a bit of a hero; he ended it as an icon, with even Usain Bolt an admiring courtier, paying tribute by imitating Farah’s 'Mobot’ celebration after winning the sprint relay.
The little fella still cannot quite believe how Mo-mania swept the nation and as he protested, “I’m still the same old Mo”, you had to hope he was right.
Like Ennis, Hoy and Wiggins, he offered the reassurance that nice guys can be pure gold as athletes.
With Farah, following his amazing double triumph, there was the added sensation that he was perhaps a trailblazer as well as a champion.
Asked about being a symbol of the uplifting multiculturalism of the home team effort, he said he was happy to play that role. “As a kid growing up in London coming from Somalia was a big thing for me,” he said. “It just shows you no matter what or where you come from, if you work hard at something you can achieve.”
Farah, for instance, marvelled at the labours that went into the gymnastic ability of Beth Tweddle. “I thought: 'Wow, how on earth can she do that?’” while the rest of the world was asking the same about him.
“An achievement of extraordinary magnitude,” was how Lord Coe described Farah’s double. To the nation, it was the best of the best of British.
Nicola Adams
Adams, who became the first woman ever to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, is now a genuine sporting superstar, according to her team-mate and fellow London 2012 gold medallist Anthony Joshua.
It is hard to disagree with the super-heavyweight champion’s verdict.
In the aftermath of her win, Adams said she wanted to go to Nando’s, and then she was whisked off in a Rolls-Royce to The Savoy for tea.
She has met Russell Brand, Dizzee Rascal and Lennox Lewis, and she has been presented with a watch worth several thousand pounds by Omega.
There have been appearances on The One Show on BBC 1 alongside Mo Farah and Boris Johnson, and a civic reception in Leeds, her home town.
Yet this proud Yorkshirewoman – who made a reunion with her beloved pet Doberman puppy Dexter, who stayed in kennels during her Olympic adventure, her top priority – is unlikely to lose the grounded attitude that made her such a hit.
“I like being the normal Nikki Adams, walking the dog, doing day-to-day things,” she said. And a few drinks? “Why not?”
Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking
Rowing, lightweight double sculls
Her face a picture of wide-eyed wonderment, Copeland said that all she could think about after winning this improbable gold was being honoured by the Royal Mail.
“The first thing I said to Sophie on crossing the line was, 'We’ve just won – we’re going to be on a stamp’.”
For crewmate Hosking, the win has given her a satisfying piece of one-upmanship on father Peter, a world champion in 1980.
“My dad used to coach me in the double when we were younger, and I remember him saying I had what it took to be a champion. I am not sure I believed him, but it is an incredible moment to share this with him now.
“Dad was always winding me up, saying that I had never won the worlds, but now I can tell him, 'You haven’t won the Olympics’.”
The pair joined forces just six months before the Games, and had a solitary World Cup silver to their name, but they won their gold with a superb demonstration of sculling.
Copeland, pictured above with the Duchess of Cambridge, said: “Two months ago I never would have dreamed of this. I tried to convince myself that it was just another regatta.”
Jason Kenny
Cycling, individual sprint and team sprint
Kenny won his toughest race before the Olympics had even started, coming out on top after a three-year battle to earn selection over Sir Chris Hoy, who won the title so memorably in Beijing.
The selection dilemma arose when cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, decided that there should be only one rider per country in individual events.
Kenny said: “I hadn’t thought about it until that last ride in the final against Grégory Baugé and then it dawned on me, the battle I had to get here with Chris, knowing that you’ve got someone that definitely would not give that second sprint away. I was thinking, 'I had better not mess this one up’.”
Baugé, the defeated world champion, hijacked Kenny’s post-race press conference, with dark mutterings over Britain’s knack of peaking for major championships.
But Kenny was unflustered and was photographed later kissing fellow track star Laura Trott.
Hoy was hugely complimentary about Kenny’s achievement. “Jason can overtake me,” he said. “I am sure he will go on to become one of the greatest sprinters of all time.”
Jessica Ennis
Athletics, heptathlon
The woman who achieved the most difficult trick of all; to be the one who burst out of the poster and brought the Olympics to vibrant life. Sheffield’s steeliest handled the pressure as the home hero like Michael Johnson did at Atlanta 1996 and Cathy Freeman at Sydney 2000 and admitted with relief afterwards that it had not been easy.
There were times in the endless build-up, admitted Ennis, when her fiancé Andy Hill had to take the brunt of her anxiety as she fretted about the prospect of failure.
Ultimately, however, like the rest of the nation, Andy watched his girl win the final heptathlon event, the 800 metres, to prove herself the greatest all-round athlete in the world and laughed: “Isn’t she wonderful? I’ve done well for myself, haven’t I?”
Sheffield embraced her with a warm homecoming celebration and, typically, the selfless Ennis thought only of how her victory might rub off on the next generation of budding athletes in her beloved home city.
“It is so important we create great role models and we’ve done that with these Games,” Ennis said. She was, of course, too modest to reflect that she has established herself as the most striking role model of them all.
Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell
Cycling team pursuit
Going into the Olympics this was Great Britain’s banker.
It was impossible to see this World Championship-winning and world record-breaking trio being beaten and so it proved as they smashed their own world record in all three rides en route to the gold medal. So complete was their dominance, they came close to lapping the United States squad in the final.
“We have all grown so close in the last couple of years, training and racing and spending so much time together, we are like sisters really,” said King. “I suppose we were the form team but there is still a lot pressure, you have still got to go out there and perform, it was such a relief when we pulled it off.”
King, like Trott, started life with the British academy as a sprinter but failed to make the grade. She persuaded the British coaches to give her a chance on the endurance programme and immediately found her niche.
For Rowsell it was a doubly poignant win, coming as it did on International Alopecia Day. The Surrey-born rider now proudly champions all youngsters who, like her, have suffered traumatic hair loss early in life.
Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie
Canoe slalom, C2
Life has been a blur for Stott and Baillie since becoming two of Team GB’s unlikely heroes with gold in the C2 canoe slalom.
Stott, who only moved into the Olympic Village the day after winning gold, has been bewildered by being recognised on the street for the first time , while the mayor of his hometown of Bedford has suggested renaming a bridge in his honour. Baillie’s new-found fame, meanwhile, has brought an appearance on the National Lottery show.
Thoughts are now turning to the future and whether Rio 2016 is a realistic target. Stott has committed to paddling for another year and will review the situation on an annual basis, but another Olympics, and a further four-year training cycle, is unlikely.
The same applies to Baillie, 33, who will now take a break and talk to his coaches before assessing the future, which in 2015 includes the World Championships at Lee Valley. First though he has promised to buy himself a mountain bike as reward for his gold.
Andy Murray
Tennis, singles
Murray is unique within the sweep of Team GB’s 29 gold medallists because his sport chugs on without any sense of let-up now that the Games are over. Indeed, he will be contesting a Grand Slam title in New York as soon as Monday week.
The immediate legacy of his victory over Roger Federer on the middle Sunday of the Olympics was a sense of exhaustion, manifested in his withdrawal after one round of the Toronto Masters citing a sore knee.
But Murray is playing again in Cincinnati this week and should go into the US Open with his self-belief – and prospects – at an all-time high. To win the Olympic tennis event, he beat the two highest-ranked players in the world in successive matches.
And do not underestimate how seriously the world’s elite players take this tournament: Novak Djokovic came off court almost speechless with despair, and promptly admitted that his sense of disappointment was greater than it had been after losing to Federer in the semi-final of Wimbledon proper.
“That was No 1 for me, the biggest win of my life,” Murray said. “I had watched athletics the night before and it gave me such a boost. The momentum the team had was amazing.”
Jade Jones
Taekwondo, under-57kg
By winning Britain’s first-ever gold medal in taekwondo, 19-year-old Jones instantly became Flint’s biggest sporting star since Ian Rush.
Yet Jones, who avenged last year’s World Championship final defeat by China’s Hou Yuzhuo to win the -57kg category, does not intend to let her newly-found fame prove a distraction. On her Twitter account, which now has over 30,000 followers, she has tweeted pictures of the golden postbox in Flint, a chocolate bar named after her and revealed she has had any number of marriage requests since becoming Olympic champion.
After a well-earned break, Jones already seems to have set her sights on defending her title in Rio. “I’m going to have some time out and get mentally hungry again,” she said. “Then I’ve got the World Championships next May, so I’ll see where that takes me.
“I don’t want to be one of those one-hit wonders,
I want to be performing at that level all the time and
I know how hard it is in my category. My coach says the amazing thing about me is I’m doing so well but I’ve still got so far to go. I still make loads of mistakes and I’m only 19. I can get so much stronger as well, my muscles aren’t fully developed yet.”
Ed McKeever
Canoe sprint, K1 200m
The first thing on McKeever’s mind now the Olympics are over is his wedding, which is due to take place next month.
His wife-to-be, Anya Kuczha, is keen to avoid a kayaking theme and McKeever has promised not to take his gold medal to the ceremony for fear of taking attention away from the bride.
McKeever promised to have a holiday by the seaside to celebrate his win but was unsure of his long-term future in the immediate aftermath of his gold medal last Saturday.
“I haven’t made any long-term plans. I’m 28, so it could go either way. I’m just so happy I could contribute to the medal table,” he said.
His coaches were telling a different story. Brendan Purcell, the national sprint coach, believes he can go on until Rio and build an Olympic legacy of his own.
“Physically and mentally he can go on for as long as he wants and he has that drive. That’s the kind of guy he is,” said Purcell.
McKeever is a hard-working and dedicated athlete peaking in his career.
He has accountancy exams in December and is keen to keep up his studies because canoeing does not offer long-term financial stability.
Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Laura Bechtolsheimer
Great Britain enjoyed some golden moments in the spectacular setting of Greenwich Park, including this triumph – their first in an Olympic dressage event.
But there are now doubts over whether the nature of the legacy the sport will enjoy.
Valegro, Uthopia and Alf – the horses that delivered gold for Britain’s trio of riders – are now expected to be auctioned off in an effort to raise around £20 million, which could dent the chance of the squad repeating their success in Rio.
Carl Hester plans to sell the animals to raise funds for his business partner Sasha Stewart, whose work in Ireland has been hit hard by the downturn.
“It was always the plan to ride them until the Olympics and then they would be sold,” Hester said.
“I’d like to say thank you to the other owners for taking the risk and letting us keep them that long.”
Hester, born in Sark, won the Channel Islands’ second Olympic medal, and interest in the tiny location was reported to have increased after his victory with official website traffic up 150%.
A spokesman told the BBC most interest had come from “the UK, Europe and especially Canada”.
Victoria Pendleton
Cycling, keirin gold and individual sprint silver
There has rarely been a dull moment in Pendleton’s track racing career and her penchant for drama was maintained during her final days as a competitor at the velodrome.
There was disqualification when she looked set for a certain silver medal, and maybe better, in the women’s team sprint with Jess Varnish, a glorious gold medal in the keirin and a showdown with her old nemesis Anna Meares in the individual sprint.
“I’m glad that it was me and Anna in the final even if this time the result went against me,” said Pendleton. “It was the way it should have been. She was and is a fantastic competitor.” Her retirement after the race can be seen as a massive changing of the guard.
“If you look for every aspect of a true champion, Vicky possesses them,” said British performance director Dave Brailsford. “I’m sure she’ll take that into the rest of her life. I’d like to say thanks on behalf of British Cycling, because British Cycling owes Vicky Pendleton a huge amount.”
Pendleton insists she will not race competitively again: her thoughts are trained on her marriage to fiance and personal coach Scott Gardner, and more humdrum pursuits. “I’d really like to do a cake-decorating course, and a pattern-making course with my mum,” she said.
Peter Wilson
Shooting, double trap
Already merging into the background after his brief moment in the limelight, the 25 year-old from Dorset was on the tube heading to the Olympic Park unnoticed last Saturday when he overheard two youngsters debating whether Mo Farah had a chance in the 5,000 metres.
He leaned forward into their conversation and, taking from his pocket the gold medal he won in the double trap shooting, asked if they had ever seen one up close before. Recounting how the boys’ mother had given him the sort of look that flashed 'stranger danger’, he nevertheless reckoned that the look of astonishment and excitement on the boys’ faces was one of his experiences of the Games. “All the talk is of inspiring a generation,” he said. “I really hope to inspire a handful of people as a more realistic goal.”
Wilson recalled the encounter at a homecoming party in the hamlet of Wootton Glanville on Monday night. Despite there only being 120 people registered as living there, double that number crammed into the village hall. Wilson, who had lost his voice in the days after victory, had initially planned to head to Dubai after the Olympics to train with his coach Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum. But he put the trip on hold to enjoy his victory.
Greg Rutherford
Athletics, long jump
The man from Milton Keynes knows he was considered one of Britain’s surprise gold medallists of the Games, even though he went into the long jump as the world number one on 2012 form.
But he always believed he could emulate Lynn 'the Leap’ Davies, and so did his family. “I had my parents [Tracy and Andy] there watching, as well as my girlfriend, her mum, brother and sister and a few friends as well,” he said.
“To have them all there just after I’d won was a bit tearjerking. You forget your mum and dad are probably more nervous than you – somebody needed to be there with a de-fib for my dad just in case! – but I just felt so happy I could reward them now and give them back a gold medal for all their help and support down the years.
“It made me think of how supportive my family had been through the years, how through all the sports I tried they were there pushing me on, driving me to Eton for track or to Birmingham for football. They always gave me everything I needed.”
Rutherford, who had been so promising but had so often been the nearly man because of injuries, wonders if the triumph might just be the making of him. “There’s never going to be anything bigger than winning a home Olympics,” he admitted. “But now I want to win as many major medals as I can.”
Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins
For Grainger, gold signalled catharsis. After three successive silvers, she finally clutched the prize she most coveted as she embraced great friend Sir Steve Redgrave, the five-time Olympic champion, on the shore.
“To be honest he wasn’t saying much,” she said.
“I don’t know how he coped with five amazing moments like that – just one has filled me up with joy.”
She conceded, having shed her status as the eternal bridesmaid, that her career would have felt incomplete without the adornment of Olympic gold. “I wouldn’t have felt any less of a person, but from an athlete’s point of view I would have seen it as a very obvious missing link.”
Watkins, who like Grainger is continuing to combine her rowing training with studying for a doctorate, said: “There was pressure from ourselves, because we only wanted one medal. But there was so much trust and confidence in each other.”
Grainger, 36, claims she does not know if she will carry on for a fifth Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but is content to bask in the satisfaction of a lifetime’s ambition fulfilled.
“It has been a long, long wait. I’ve had a great few years, and this is the culmination of a lot of hard work.”
Team show jumping
Nick Skelton, Scott Brash, Peter Charles and Ben Maher
Skelton’s return, together with his horse Big Star, to his yard in Alcester on Sunday, sparked huge celebrations locally.
As word leaked out across social networking sites, one friend drove four hours from Aberystwyth to be there to help the great survivor of British show jumping celebrate his gold medal success.
According to those who were there, drink was taken. Returning with team-mate Brash, Skelton was thrilled by the reception – which included the local post box being painted gold in his honour. It made the 54-year-old veteran – Britain’s most senior gold medallist – even more determined to press on for another stab in Rio.
"It was wonderful,” he said. “Retire? No definitely not. Big Star’s only young. As for me, get my back fixed and I should be good as new.”
His team-mate Charles is also home in the Hampshire village of Bentworth, near Alton, while Maher headed back to Essex lamenting the fact the arena in Greenwich is being dismantled.
“We were in an amazing setting with very high set-back stands and people all rooting for their own country, it was a completely different feeling from any other horse show,” he said. “It’s sad we don’t get to keep it.”
Alistair Brownlee
Triathlon
For Brownlee, the small matter of completing a 1,500m swim, 43km bike ride and 10km run was a doddle compared to the gruelling experience of being an Olympic gold medal winner. “I had done 20 interviews by the next morning,” he revealed. “I didn’t realise that there were so many news channels.”
The interest in Brownlee was understandable: not only was he Great Britain’s first ever triathlon Olympic champion, he stood on the podium alongside his brother Jonny, who won bronze, becoming the first siblings to win an Olympic medal in the same event since the Searle brothers in the men’s eight in 1992. Yet for the champion himself, the experience was strangely underwhelming.
“You spend so much time dedicating yourself to winning an Olympic gold medal and actually I didn’t feel any different at all,” he said. “I don’t know how I expected to feel.”
Brownlee now plans to return to his native Yorkshire, for more gruelling runs on the local fells as he prepares to tackle the 10,000m, as well as the triathlon, at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. “That would be a dream - it would be nice to have a bit of a different challenge,” he said. In the mean time, Brownlee has a Masters to complete at Leeds Metropolitan University: “I’ve got a dissertation in finance to do at some point.”
Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny, Sir Chris Hoy
Cycling, team sprint
Of all Britain’s golden moments in the velodrome, this was the glorious surprise – at least to the cycling world at large, who had watched GB being consistently beaten by both Germany and France during the four years after Beijing.
Going into the Games, however, there were rumours emanating from the British camp of some exceptionally fast times by the trio. “We had trained well since the World Championships and knew it was possible,” Hoy recalled. “It didn’t come right out of the blue, but it was still overwhelming when it happened. We enjoyed it and we gave it our all. I dug deeper than ever before; I didn’t want to let the boys down.”
Hoy’s contribution was immense, as always, but it was the performance of Hindes, who was riding at man one, which was the real revelation, according to former Olympian Chris Boardman.
“With Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy on board it was all about giving them a launching pad and suddenly this 19 year-old is drafted in late on,” he said.
“He had to deliver the ride of his life on the night. That’s exactly what he did and after that GB were flying.”
Laura Trott
Cycling, omnium and team pursuit
The velodrome was rightly saluted as the most boisterous venue at the London Games, and there was no louder cheer than when Trott, the new golden girl of British cycling, claimed victory in the elimination race on day one of the omnium and then clinched gold in the 500m TT 24 hours later.
Although Trott was already a world champion and, indeed, an Olympic gold medallist from the women’s team pursuit event, her individual triumph in London represented the coming of age for an athlete who will form the cornerstone of the women’s squad for years to come, and cemented her reputation as the new Victoria Pendleton.
The attention will take some getting used to. “I suppose the strangest thing was just the enormity of suddenly becoming a double Olympic champion,” she said. “My feet hardly touched the ground as I got whisked from one interview to another. I enjoyed the experience but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so full on.”
Proof of her new-found fame came on the final day of track cycling, when she was snapped sharing a kiss with boyfriend and fellow cyclist Jason Kenny: the image promptly made front pages nationwide.
Charlotte Dujardin
Equestrian, individual dressage
Dujardin helped win Britain’s first medal of any colour in the history of Olympic team dressage.
Not content with one, she then picked up another gold in the individual event, celebrating both victories on a riverboat on the Thames. The achievement put her in the most elite of sporting sisterhoods, up with Kelly Holmes and Laura Trott in the pantheon of British women who have won more than one gold in a single Games.
The niece of the talent show judge Nigel Lythgoe, her immediate plan is for a short holiday on the Isle of Sark with her trainer, British team-mate Carl Hester, who has invited 60 friends to visit his birthplace.
She believes it will be a good place to get away from all the hubbub and to work out what her success is going to mean to her.
“It’s a bit of a surreal feeling. I think it will probably take a few weeks for it all to sink in,” she said.
“It’s going to be great to just have four days of chill-out and relaxing. This has all been the most unbelievable experience.”
Britain won more equestrian medals that at any other Games, and topped the medal table above Germany and Holland.
Ben Ainslie
Sailing, Finn
The 35 year-old has been a busy man since securing that historic fourth gold medal to become the most decorated Olympic sailor of all time. He was handed the honour of being the flag bearer for Team GB at the London 2012 closing ceremony. But he has not had much time to take it all in. It has, he admits, been a whirlwind.
Today he sails his Olympic dinghy Rita up the Thames, in the shadow of Westminster, before heading off for 12 months in San Francisco where he is joining defending America’s Cup team Oracle at the same time as starting his own team, Ben Ainslie Racing, with a view to a full-blown assault on the oldest active trophy in international sport.
“I’m sure that in 10 years’ time I will look back and remember this period as an incredible experience – carrying the flag at the closing ceremony was one of the proudest moments of my life – but at the moment it feels slightly surreal. You’re so exhausted and yet so conscious of trying to take everything in. It helps that
I already have my next challenge about to begin.”
Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas
Cycling, team pursuit
Considered the blue riband event of the sport, the British squad had been under huge pressure after under-performing since taking gold in Beijing but suddenly started to turn a corner during the winter and entered the Olympics off the back of their first significant win over Australia in four years at the World Championships in April.
At the Games there was no stopping them, as Great Britain broke their own world record both in qualifying and the final.
“It was wonderful to see such a hard-working bunch of lads rewarded for their efforts,” reflected coach Dan Hunt. “When you see them flog themselves through the winter and give up so much you want something good for them.
“GB were awesome on the day but don’t think it came easy, far from it. We didn’t fire for a couple of years, we couldn’t get the mix right, we had injuries and we had days when it just wasn’t happening. But they are special blokes and they kept plugging away and the back-up staff gave them every support we could. The end result was the performance we always dreamed of.”
Luke Campbell
| Alistair Brownlee |
In what decade was the Scottish National party founded ? | London 2012 Olympics: sport-by-sport guide to Team GB's strongest medal hopes - Telegraph
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London 2012 Olympics: sport-by-sport guide to Team GB's strongest medal hopes
Hundreds of athletes across the country are engaged in cut-throat competition to earn the right to appear in the greatest show on Earth.
Leader of the pack: Mo Farah, after his triumph in the World Championships, is a strong contender for Olympic gold Photo: PA
Athletics
Britain met its seven-medal target at the World Championships in Daegu last summer, spearheaded by Mo Farah’s 5,000 metres gold and 10,000m silver, and Dai Greene’s 400m hurdles triumph, but there were worrying signs about the country’s lack of strength in depth.
Beyond Britain’s seven medals, the country managed just six more top-eight finishes. The stars will have to perform at their best if Britain are to achieve their eight-medal target in London and two of those face new and imposing threats. Daegu sounded a warning bell for heptathlete Jessica Ennis in the shape of the Russian Tatyana Chernova, who took the Sheffield athlete’s world crown, while Phillips Idowu was upstaged by American newcomer Christian Taylor in the triple jump.
Key dates March 9-11: World Indoor Ch’ships (Istanbul); April 22 Virgin London Marathon; May 4-7 British Universities Ch’ships (Stratford, Olympic test event); June 22-24 UK Ch’ships & Olympic trials (Birmingham); June 27-July 1 European Ch’ships (Helsinki).
Olympic prediction 8 medals.
Cycling
The form of Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome on the road bodes well for early Olympic success while on the track Sir Chris Hoy, who won a world championship silver in the keirin and bronze in the sprint, appears to be getting stronger and faster.
The form of the other male sprinters, however, has been patchy. Lucy Garner was an outstanding world junior champion in the road race but neither Lizzie Armitstead nor Nicole Cooke made the podium in the senior women’s race.
On the track, the stand-out squad last year was the women’s pursuit team who won the world title in Holland and have dominated the World Cup series. Vicky Pendleton won a silver and bronze at the worlds, while Shanaze Reade is on target for gold in the BMX after winning the world title and Olympic test event.
Key dates Feb 17-19: London World Cup (Olympic test event, Feb 17-19); April 4-8: World Track Cycling Ch’ships (Melbourne). June 30-July 22: Tour de France.
Olympic prediction 9 medals.
Rowing
Britain’s rowers are on course to dominate at Eton Dorney this summer after topping the medals table at the World Championships in Slovenia in September. In Olympic class events, Britain won three golds, three silvers and four bronzes, and added four more golds in non-Olympic and Paralympic events.
Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, the Olympic champions in the lightweight men’s double scull, retained their world crown while the men’s four of Alex Gregory, Ric Egington, Tom James and Matt Langridge also claimed gold.
Completing the winning triumvirate was the women’s pair of Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, who have yet to be beaten since they linked up at the start of the 2010 season. After three Olympic silvers, Grainger’s long quest for Olympic gold must surely reach fruition at London 2012.
Key dates March 8-11: Senior Trials (Eton Dorney). May 4-6: World Cup 1 (Belgrade). May 25-27: World Cup 2 (Lucerne). June 15-17: World Cup 3 (Munich).
Olympic prediction 10 medals.
Sailing
The Finn class is dominated by Britain, although only Ben Ainslie will compete in Weymouth as Games qualification is limited to one entry per class. Ainslie and the other British Finn sailors won almost a third of the 44 medals won by the British squad in 2011, which was substantially up on 2010 (33) and proof that the country is on course for a successful Games.
The 470 men’s team of Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell and the women’s match racing team of Lucy and Kate Macgregor and Annie Lush showed their potential by picking up world silver medals. The 470 women’s pair of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark also won world silver and earned Olympic selection, despite only teaming up in February. All but three of the 10 selections were announced in September, with only the 49er, the men’s 470 and the Laser Radial still to be decided.
Key dates March 31-April 2: Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE Majorca (Palma). April 20-27 French Olympic Week (Hyeres). May 23-27 Delta Lloyd Olympic Classes Regatta (Medemblik, Holland). June 4-9 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta (Weymouth).
Olympic prediction 7 medals.
Swimming
Golds in the 800 metres freestyle for Rebecca Adlington and in the 10km open-water race for Keri-Anne Payne were the highlights for Britain at the World Championships in Shanghai last July, though the overall tally of five medals in Olympic events was at the lower end of British Swimming’s target range.
Liam Tancock did add an extra gold in the non-Olympic 50m backstroke, and there were silvers for Adlington in the 400m freestyle, Ellen Gandy in the 200m butterfly and Hannah Miley in the 400m individual medley, but their success was tempered by the failure of some of their team-mates to live up to their potential. The consolation is that there were three fourth-places finishes, which British Swimming will hope to convert into podium finishes this summer.
Key dates March 3-10: British Ch’ships & Olympic Trials (Olympic Park, test event); May 21-27: European Ch’ships (Antwerp); June 20-23: ASA Ch’ships (Sheffield, final Olympic qualifier).
Olympic prediction 6 medals.
Boxing
British boxers have already qualified for the Olympics in five men’s categories, with further opportunities at the final European qualifier in Istanbul in April. The women’s places will be decided at the World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, in May, and Britain have high hopes of qualifying in all three female categories. The British squad achieved their best medal tallies at the men’s European and World Championships last year, which included a gold for Nicola Adams at the Europeans.
The men won three world silvers through flyweight Andrew Selby, bantamweight Luke Campbell and super-heavyweight Anthony Joshua plus a bronze for light-welterweight Tom Stalker to add to the two golds, one silver and one bronze at the European Championships in Ankara.
Key dates April 13-22 European Olympic qualifier (Istanbul); May 21-June 10 Women’s World Ch’ships, Qinhuangdao, China.
Olympic prediction 5 medals.
Canoeing
The sprint team exceeded their qualification targets at the World Championships in Hungary in August, winning two silver medals in Olympic events and a further medal in a non-Olympic event. Jon Schofield and Liam Heath won the silver in the K2 200 metres (after winning gold at the Europeans) and Ed McKeever narrowly failed to retain his world title, winning silver in the K1 200m.
The women’s K4 500m was fourth, just 0.072sec off third place. More importantly, the team qualified seven athlete places outrigh. Selections will be based on performances early this year and all eyes will be on Beijing Olympic gold medallist Tim Brabants, who is focusing on the K1 1000m. The slalom team have secured five places
Key dates April 23-15: GB Olympic slalom selection event (Broxbourne). May 11-13: Slalom European Ch’ships (Augsburg, Germany). May 16-17: Sprint European Olympic Qualifier (Poznan, Poland). June 22-24: Sprint European Ch’ships (Zagreb).
Olympic prediction 3 medals.
Equestrianism
Britain boasts the world’s No 1 and No 2-ranked eventers in Mary King and William Fox-Pitt, as well as the European title-winning dressage team of Laura Bechtolsheimer, Charlotte Dujardin, Emile Faurie and Carl Hester.
Hester won silver in both the grand prix special and grand prix freestyle sections last year, with Bechtolsheimer collecting a bronze in the grand prix special. Britons also picked up bronze medals in the team show jumping and team eventing at the Europeans as well as an individual bronze for show jumper Nick Skelton.
Key dates April 25-29: Dressage, Hagen (Germany). April 25-29: Eventing, Kentucky. May 3-7: Eventing, Badminton. June 20-24: Show jumping, Rotterdam. July 3-8: Show jumping & Dressage, Aachen (Germany).
Olympic prediction 3 medals.
Taekwondo
Just four gold medals are available, and Britain could well be challenging for all of them. Last year’s World Championships in South Korea underlined the country’s strength as Sarah Stevenson claimed her second world title while Welsh teenager Jade Jones took silver and Martin Stamper won bronze. Aaron Cook was eliminated in the first round but is now world No 1.
Key dates: March 3-4: German Open. May 3-6: European Ch’ships (Manchester).
Olympic prediction 3 medals.
Archery
Britain only partially met its 2011 targets but has qualified in five Olympic archery events by right, with a sixth place in the women’s team event highly achievable. Indeed, Britain’s best medal hopes may well lie in the team competitions. At the Olympic test event at Lord’s, the British women conquered world champions Italy before narrowly losing to Japan in the bronze-medal play-off.
Key dates Feb 5-9: World Indoor Ch’ships (Las Vegas). March 31-April 1: GB Olympic Selection Shoot 1 (Lilleshall). April 14-15: GB Olympic Selection Shoot 2 (Lilleshall). April 20-21: GB Olympic Selection Shoot 3 (Lilleshall). May 21-26: European Ch’ships & Olympic Qualifier (Amsterdam).
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Badminton
Imogen Bankier and Chris Adcock were the revelation of last year’s World Championships, winning a silver. They are currently ranked 16th in the world, two places above fellow Britons Robert Blair and Gabrielle White and seven places above Nathan Robertson, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist, and Jenny Wallwork.
Key dates Jan 10-15: Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur). 3-5 Feb: English National Ch’ships (Bolton). March 6-11: All England Open (Birmingham). April 17-21: European Ch’ships (Karlskrona, Sweden). May 20-27: Thomas & Uber Cup Finals (Wuhan, China).
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Diving
Britain returned from the 2011 World Championships with Tom Daley no longer world champion after he could only muster fifth place, well short of the outstanding Qiu Bo, of China. Daley entered the tournament just seven weeks after losing his father to cancer but even he admitted that his performances were lacking the consistency that earned him a global title in 2009. He faces a significant struggle to overcome Bo, who won the individual 10m platform event with a massive score of 584.45 points, but he remains a strong contender for silver.
Daley and his synchro partner, Pete Waterfield, remain outside medal prospects while their female equivalents could also challenge. Tonia Crouch and Sarah Barrow finished just outside the medal places at the worlds but face a battle for selection from Megan Sylvester and Monique Gladding.
Key dates Feb 20-26: World Cup (Olympic test event, London). March 16-17: World Series (Dubai). March 23-24: World Series (Beijing). April 13-14: World Series (Moscow). April 20-21, World Series (Tijuana, Mexico). May 14-20, European Ch’ships (Eindhoven). June 8-10: British Ch’ships & Olympic trials (Sheffield).
Olympic prediction 2 medals.
Football
Stuart Pearce’s selections for the men’s squad are set to dominate the headlines in the build-up to London 2012. How many non-English players will defy their home associations and line up for Team GB, and will David Beckham be deemed good enough to take one of the three permitted over-age places in the under-23 squad? The women’s team will receive far less coverage but may be the ones to deliver a medal.
Key dates June 8-July 1: Euro 2012 (Poland & Ukraine).
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Gymnastics
While the women’s artistic squad have qualified the full quota of five, the men missed the opportunity to do likewise at the World Championships in Tokyo and face a crucial test at London’s 02 Arena next week when they have a second chance to qualify. Beijing bronze medallist Louis Smith was Britain’s sole medal-winner at the worlds, taking bronze on the pommel horse. World Series champion Dan Purvis and former world champion Beth Tweddle cannot be discounted. Kat Driscoll could be a decent outside bet in the trampoline event.
Key date Jan 10-18: Olympic Test Event & Qualifier (02 Arena, London).
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Hockey
With Olympic qualification guaranteed, both the men’s and women’s teams have had the luxury of testing their younger players on the international scene and experimenting with tactics. Both teams have retained their world No 4 ranking. Last May England’s women finished their Champions Trophy campaign in fifth place, while the men came sixth in New Zealand in November — a disappointing performance which included a worrying 8-1 drubbing at the hands of Spain in what was the last high-profile international event before London 2012.
Key dates Jan 28-Feb 5: Women’s Championships Trophy (Rosario, Argentina). May 2-6: Olympic Test event (London). June 5-10: London Cup.
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Modern Pentathlon
Two young British athletes have already achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for London 2012 – Jamie Cooke, 20, who was fourth at the European Championships, and Freyja Prentice, 21, who finished eighth in the same competition. Cooke also took the junior world title in November.
Neither is certain to compete at 2012 as there are two further qualifying opportunities for other British athletes, with a maximum of two men’s and two women’s places available per nation.
Mhairi Spence, ranked fourth in the world, won a silver and a bronze medal during the 2011 World Cup series, while Prentice won her first World Cup medal, a bronze. Both are pushing the Beijing Olympic silver medallist, Heather Fell.
Key dates May 7-13: World Ch’ships (Rome). May 26-27: World Cup Final (Chengdu, China. July 4-10: European Ch’ships (Sofia).
Olympic prediction 2 medals.
Shooting
The British squad surpassed expectations by winning four medals at major championships in 2011 and they have also qualified four Olympic quota places. Peter Wilson is Britain’s outstanding medal hope, having climbed to No 1 in the double-trap world rankings last August after a superb season which included his first gold medal on the World Cup circuit. He was also a member of the British double-trap team that won gold at last year’s European Championships.
Key dates April 18-28: World Cup & Olympic test event (Woolwich). June 17-26: European Ch’ships (Larnaca)
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Tennis
Andy Murray, who again missed out on a grand slam title in 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, is Britain’s only realistic medal contender. Elena Baltacha remains Britain’s top female player with a world ranking of 51. Only the top 56 qualify for the Olympics as of right.
Key dates Jan 16-29: Australian Open. May 27-June 10: French Open. June 25-July 8: The Championships (Wimbledon).
Olympic prediction 1 medal.
Triathlon
If the success of 2011 is repeated, British Triathlon will exceed its stated Olympic ambition of securing one Olympic medal. Alistair Brownlee and brother Jonny dominated the World Championship series, finishing first and second overall.
Welshwoman Helen Jenkins also underlined her Olympic credentials when she regained her World Championship crown with series of consistent results, starting with her emphatic victory at the Olympic test event in Hyde Park. But one small cautionary note: none of the previous World Championship winners has gone on to win the Olympic gold.
Key dates World Championship Series, April 14-15: Sydney. May 12-13: San Diego. May 26-27: Madrid, Spain. June 23-24: Kitzbühel. July 21-22: Hamburg.
Olympic prediction 2 medals.
| i don't know |
"Now among the most praised and honoured people in the film industry, who made his screen acting debut in ""Sunday, Bloody Sunday"" in 1971 ?" | The Top 175 Essential Films of All Time for LGBT Viewers | Advocate.com
Arts & Entertainment film
The Top 175 Essential Films of All Time for LGBT Viewers
What is the most essential movie ever for LGBT viewers? There can be only one. We've made our pick, and now you can vote on Facebook and Twitter in a "Clash of the Classics!"
By Advocate.com Editors
June 23 2014 7:33 AM EDT
Everyone agrees a set of movies exists that are must-sees for any LGBT viewer. We just don't agree on which ones.
Dare ask a gay man for his list, and he's likely to rattle off a few that come to mind quickly and then make amendments to it for the rest of your adult lives. Women don't start with the same list. Some movies are incredibly impactful on depictions of trans people or those living with HIV, or mark major firsts in film. Some are too campy to ignore (at least not if you want to keep up at brunch). The bottom line is there are legions of reasons why a movie could be considered "essential" to the LGBT community.
We've ventured into the tricky territory of ranking which are most essential. To accomplish this feat, everyone on staff was asked for a top 10, then we asked readers for theirs, and finally began the arguing — always politely. Television movies aren't included (sorry, The Laramie Project, An Early Frost, and Gia). Television series aren't included either (apologies to Tales of the City, AbFab, and Angels in America). The result is potentially a guide for anyone who wants to examine our roots through film.
Oh, and we reserve the right to amend it for the rest of our lives. — The Editors
The List:
1. Brokeback Mountain (2005): This Oscar-winning feature film is arguably one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking gay love stories ever told on the silver screen. The chemistry between the late Heath Ledger’s restrained, tortured Ennis Del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal’s sensitive and tender Jack Twist takes viewers high into Wyoming’s Grand Teton mountains in an intimate portrait of two men brutally confined by the hypermasculine culture in which they exist. After watching the film with its emotional gut-punch of a conclusion, you’ll understand Jack’s lament and agony in telling Ennis “I can’t quit you.” The only thing that compares with the powerful performances turned in by Ledger and Gyllenhaal is director Ang Lee’s stunning visuals — which earned him an Academy Award for best director. —Sunnivie Brydum
2. Milk (2008): This film about the life and death of pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk won two richly deserved Oscars, for Dustin Lance Black's screenplay and Sean Penn's performance in the title role. It does not make Milk a plaster saint, but portrays him as fully and fallibly human as well as a formidable crusader for the rights of all. Directed by Gus Van Sant, it's a film that moves and inspires, while assuring that a new generation will know an important figure in our history. —Trudy Ring
3. Paris Is Burning (1990): This documentary shone a bright light on the African-American, Latino, and LGBT communities involved in the New York City ball culture of the mid-to-late 1980s. Directed by Jennie Livingston, Paris Is Burning brought an underground aspect of LGBT culture to the mainstream. From the use of slang (“serving realness”) to unforgettable quotes (“reading is fundamental”), the film has had a lasting impact on both LGBT and mainstream pop culture. —Jase Peeples
4. Cabaret (1972): There's no doubt that Berlin's Kit Kat Klub is just the most fantastically awesome place this side of World War I. Right at the beginning, the Emcee, played by the tireless Joel Grey, bids the audience a hearty "willkommen" to this world of seedy glamour. Our heroine Sally Bowles — portrayed by an exquisite Liza Minnelli — pops off the screen in a story that follows her trapped in love with two men, while the Nazi regime rises to power. The film is epic, gripping, and entertaining. You will be singing at least one of the songs from this musical for days. Weeks. OK, in my case, years — it's "Two Ladies," "Money, Money," and the title tune. —Michelle Garcia
5. The Boys in the Band (1970): Mart Crowley's hit play became the first famous gay film ever. Vito Russo said of the movie, "The internalized guilt of eight gay men at a Manhattan birthday party formed the best and most potent argument for gay liberation ever offered in a popular art form." No, it wasn't representative of what gay life was like‚ but it was representative of what gay life was like for those alcoholic men, in that city, at that time. Crowley's quotable script was shocking, real, and hysterically funny. With Cliff Gorman, Leonard Frey, Kenneth Nelson, and Frederick Combs, and directed by William Friedkin (of Cruising fame.) —Christopher Harrity
6. Philadelphia (1993): Philadelphia encapsulates so many things that signify excellent filmmaking, but one of them is showing something that is simply true to life: When we get to know people who are different from ourselves, we become better people. Tom Hanks's unparalleled performance as Andrew Beckett, a man who is fighting for his dignity and his life, convinces small-time (and homophobic) lawyer Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington, to represent him in a wrongful-termination suit. The film came out before there were revolutionary drugs that helped save the lives of many with HIV and AIDS. Meanwhile, it followed the initial shock of the epidemic, which led to heightened paranoia on one side, and on the other, a better understanding of the virus itself. Philadelphia is undoubtedly a groundbreaking time capsule. —M.G.
7. Bound (1996): This neo-noir thriller marked the directorial debut of the Wachowski siblings, and though it was long before Lana Wachowski was an out trans woman, we can’t help but think it helped influence this superb bisexual/lesbian classic in which Violet (femme and alluring Jennifer Tilly), a moll owned by her Mafia boyfriend (Joe Pantoliano) but looking for escape, has an affair with butch neighbor Corky (Gina Gershon in the hottest lesbian film role ever). The two women hatch a scheme to steal millions from the mob, and the usual noir tropes (just who is betraying who?) work to great success, albeit with a hefty dose of violence (this is a rare film where there are empowered women and violence and the latter isn’t directed at the former). The reason queer girls loved it? The sex was genuine and hot, thanks in large part to Susie Bright, who served as the resident lesbian sexpert to help the auteurs get it right. (She has a cameo too.) —Diane Anderson-Minshall
8. Desert Hearts (1985): Donna Deitch's directorial debut is the first "real" lesbian film (an out lesbian, nobody dies, two women have sex). Based on lesbian author Jane Rule’s novel, Desert of the Heart follows Vivian (Helen Shaver), a repressed divorcee waiting out the legal finalities in a ranch guesthouse in 1950s Nevada. Vivian is all class and repression, and the ranch owner warns her to stay away from her irrepressible lesbian daughter Cay (Patricia Charbonneau, wearing jean shorts and cowboy boots and a whole lot of lesbian lust). Turns out, that’s who she’s drawn to, and soon Cay is unrepressing Viv in the first real lesbian sex scene in a film. Their growing relationship played against the rocky red soil and rolling landscape doesn’t necessarily have a future, but it’s the sight of Vivian’s slow but seismic sexual awakening that makes this film Deitch’s valentine to the rest of us. —D.A.M.
9. Boys Don't Cry (1999): It’s easy to dismiss this as an “important” film, but Boys Don’t Cry, based on the true story of the murder of Brandon Teena, a young trans man killed in Nebraska, is actually an incredibly good one as well. For a film that ends in such an atrocity, it has a breezy romanticism as we meet the flirty Brandon (played by Hilary Swank, in a role that won her an Oscar and made her career) and weary Lana, the girl he falls in love with. Brandon knows little of other trans people, of hormones or gender identity or even the kind of (sadly still limited, but at least talked about) rights trans people have today. But he’s young and in love and troubled, because of having no social safety net, living in an impoverished community, and hiding his birth-gender assignment (and in the film, the lack of medical hormones is the linchpin that eventually leads to his death). Watch it with a big box of Kleenex and a sense of injustice. —D.A.M.
10. Parting Glances (1986): Writer and director Bill Sherwood would never make another film — he succumbed to an AIDS-related disease in 1990 — but his only cinematic work, Parting Glances, will keep his legacy alive for decades to come. The well-acted and brilliantly written film centers on Robert and Michael, a couple preparing for a two-year separation as Michael heads to Africa for work. Over the course of 24 hours, Robert, Michael, and their friends and lovers all collide to hilarious and heart-wrenching effect. Robert's ex-boyfriend Nick (Steve Buscemi — perhaps best known today for his star turns in Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, and Fargo — in his first major role) is a rock star dying of AIDS. But Nick is never a pitiable character, instead a strong and defiant survivor, a rarity for cinematic portrayals of people with AIDS, in the ’90s and beyond. —Neal Broverman
11. Making Love (1982): The plot of this 1982 film — a supposedly straight, married L.A. doctor falls in love with another man — sounds like a Lifetime movie now, but at the time it was groundbreaking. Making Love was also well-acted, with stellar performances from Michael Ontkean as the latently gay protagonist, Kate Jackson as the confused wife, and especially Harry Hamlin as the sexy, hedonistic novelist who Ontkean's character falls for. Hamlin, a huge star at the time, would later say the movie damaged his career but that he remains proud of it. —N.B.
12. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994): Director Stephan Elliott’s Australian film about the adventures of two drag queens and a trans woman who travel across the desert in a rickety old bus to perform a drag show found box office success around the world and a place in the hearts of many LGBT viewers as well. Starring Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp, the film garnered many awards, including an Oscar for Best Costume Design. Today, the film is considered by many to be an LGBT kitsch comedy classic, loved as much for its over-the-top characters as its unflinching look at life through a queer lens. —J.P.
13. But I'm A Cheerleader (1999): This comedy manages to both make fun of the absurdity of efforts to “de-gay” people by sending them to organizations that claim to rid patients of homosexual desires, and make a poignant statement about the dangers of so-called sexual orientation change efforts. Lesbian director Jamie Babbit brings a poignant queer woman’s perspective to the feature, which also stars lesbian fan favorites Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall. Ultimately, the most powerful component of this lighthearted film is the nuanced exploration of female sexuality, which has helped more than a few now out and proud ladies — this writer included — come to terms with being a feminine woman who isn’t straight. —S.B.
14. Maurice (1987): Based on E.M. Forster's long-suppressed novel of gay love, the film stars James Wilby, Rupert Graves, and Hugh Grant all at their most adorable. Forster's novel, written in 1914, was published in 1971, after his death, as Forster knew there was controversy in giving the lovers a happy ending. The novel allowed a new openness in literature and biography. The film was the satisfying second shoe to drop. Gay people who had never seen dreamy romantic images of same-sex couples on the big screen swooned over the beautifully art-directed affair between the well-born Maurice and the laborer Scudder. They also swooned at Rupert Graves's callipygian assets. —C.H.
15. Gods and Monsters (1998): One of our greatest gay actors, Sir Ian McKellen, plays James Whale, the gay movie director who brought Frankenstein and The Invisible Man to the screen in 1930s Hollywood (and demonstrated his versatility by helming the first film version of Show Boat). While Whale is a real-life figure, Gods and Monsters is a fantasia on his last days, showing him largely forgotten by the film industry and drawn to a young, straight gardener, played by Brendan Fraser. McKellen's performance as this gifted, tragic man is extraordinary and heartbreaking. Bill Condon won an Oscar for his screenplay, adapted from Christopher Bram's novel Father of Frankenstein; McKellen was nominated, but he was robbed. —T.R.
16. Beautiful Thing (1996): The British coming-of-age film perfectly captured the sweetness of young gay love at a time when stereotypes and fear of the AIDS epidemic dominated LGBT representations in cinema. Grounded in the reality of a London suburb in 1996, the love story of Jamie and Ste stands out for its honest and positive portrayal of gay teens who embrace their true nature and experience the beauty of first love. —J.P.
17. Longtime Companion (1990): One of the first AIDS-themed films aimed at a wide audience is set in New York City and traces the effect of the disease, beginning with its emergence in 1981, on a group of (mostly) gay friends. It has been criticized for its focus on affluent white men, with the black and Latino characters being either marginal or examples of bad behavior, but it has merit as an early effort to put a human face on AIDS for moviegoers who thought of the illness as someone else’s problem. Written by Craig Lucas and directed by Norman Rene, it features several moving moments, including a goose bump–inducing final scene, and excellent performances from a cast that includes Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Bruce Davison, along with Campbell Scott and Mary-Louise Parker. —T.R.
18. All About Eve (1950): "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." So says Bette Davis, playing Broadway star Margo Channing, in the film's most famous line, but it's only one of many wonderful witticisms in a movie that practically defines gay sensibility, at least a certain type of it, even though it was written and directed by a straight man, Joe Mankiewicz. There is also the intimation that scheming Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), who wants to supplant Margo as first lady of the American stage, may well be a lesbian, but the greatest pleasure in a film with many is the incomparable and perfectly cast George Sanders as the ultimate bitchy queen, that "venomous fishwife" of a drama critic, Addison DeWitt. Sanders won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, Mankiewicz took home directing and screenplay honors, and the film was named Best Picture of the year. —T.R.
19. The Celluloid Closet (1995): This film provides an in-depth look at the history of LGBT people in North American cinema and the attitudes behind these portrayals. One of the most talked-about revelations from the documentary was that Gore Vidal had infused a gay subtext into the screeplay for the epic 1959 film Ben-Hur — a notion that had Vidal and star Charlton Heston in a notoriously public war of words . Based on the book by Vito Russo, the documentary enhanced the foundation of queer film theory and has become a staple in the curriculum of LGBT studies courses at universities around the world. —J.P.
20. Weekend (2011): This beautifully restrained film tells the story of two young gay British men who meet at a club, hook up, and fall in love over the course of an eventful weekend. One of the guys is introverted and half-closeted, while the other is brash, gregarious, and wears his sexuality on his sleeve; their worldviews complement each other and their chemistry is explosive. Through passionate conversations, many drug-fueled, they alternately challenge, confuse, and confound each other. It's a grown-up, no-holds-barred exploration of modern love between men, and even the sex is honest. Directed by Andrew Haigh, who's moved on to executive-produce HBO's Looking, the film well deserved its status as a critical darling. —N.B.
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21. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985): Combining racism, class issues, and gay love in one sudsy mix sounds like a recipe for heavy-handed treacle, but Stephen Frears's My Beautiful Laundrette is as entertaining as it is culturally resonant. The story of a Pakistani man and a street punk falling in love, challenging the conventions of Thatcher-era London, and classing up a laundromat in the way only gay men can do, My Beautiful Laundrette was immediately met with praise and its screenplay nominated for an Oscar. The film's punk was played by the brilliant Daniel Day-Lewis, while director Frears is still on a roll, recently Oscar-nominated for Philomena. —N.B.
22. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984): Before there was Milk, there was The Times of Harvey Milk. While the dramatized version offers a wonderful portrayal of the political trailblazer, there's nothing quite like getting to know the real man, as we do via archival footage in Robert Epstein's remarkable documentary, released just six years after Milk's assassination. There are also numerous interviews with people who knew him, demonstrating how many lives he touched and changed. Harvey Fierstein narrates this deserving Oscar winner. —T.R.
23. The Wizard Of Oz (1939): It’s no wonder that gay men have referred to one another as “Friends of Dorothy” for three quarters of a century. From the moment Judy Garland sings “Over the Rainbow” on a gray Kansas tractor, LGBTs found a heroine, one who so beautifully articulates an anthem for those yearning for “a place where there isn’t any trouble.” Her journey into the Technicolor Land of Oz, which so thrilled audiences in 1939, still continues to enchant both young and old. And while her friends the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow may look like a motley crew, their quest for intelligence, courage, heart, and home is one that continues to resonate with and inspire the LGBT rights movement. —Daniel Reynolds
24. Auntie Mame (1958): Rosalind Russell as everybody's favorite naughty aunt. Little orphaned Patrick Dennis comes to live with his drinky, amorous, wealthy Auntie Mame. LGBT subjects are alluded to coyly — it was 1958, after all — but the core of the story is about conservatives objecting to Auntie Mame's "lifestyle." It's visually splendid, packed with great character performances, but you may want to strangle little Patrick by the second act. "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Be warned: The 1974 musical version Mame, starring Lucille Ball, is a sad disaster. —C.H.
25. Torch Song Trilogy (1988): This superlative early gay film was adapted from the three-part play of the same name by Harvey Feinstein, and centers around his character, Arnold, a shamelessly swishy Jewish drag performer who navigates New York's gay scene, finds love (with Matthew Broderick, at the height of his youthful fame), fights with his mom (Anne Bancroft), and adopts a teen. It's both hilarious and tragic; some moments are at once sad and sentimental and funny. —D.A.M.
26. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001): In this multi-award-winning new cult classic, a trans front woman of an East German punk rock band tells her life story in song form, of falling in love with an American soldier, getting a botched gender surgery (hence the "angry inch"), and of being left for another man. It's less TransAmerica and more Rocky Horror, but John Cameron Mitchell, who wrote and directed it, is smashing in the title role. —D.A.M.
27. Latter Days (2003): Long before the South Park team took on The Book of Mormon, gay writer-director and former Mormon C. Jay Cox explored the damage done to families by the antigay attitudes within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with his ultimately sweet film Latter Days. Sure, the film falls into some classic rom-com tropes — the closeted Mormon missionary moves to Los Angeles, where he encounters the sassy, out actor-turned-waiter ironically named Christian in a predictable laundry room meet-cute — but the performances turned in, especially by Steve Sandvoss as the conflicted missionary, are honest and powerful. Keep an eye out for scene-stealing supporting actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Elder Paul Ryder, Rebekah Johnson as Christian’s musician roomie Julie Taylor, and even Jacqueline Bisset and Amber Benson. —S.B.
28. Trick (1999): A quintessential film for a generation of gay men, 1999’s Trick took a lighthearted look at the pleasures and pitfalls of one-night stands as Gabriel (Christian Campbell) and Mark (John Paul Pitoc) discover that hooking up in Manhattan isn’t as easy as it looks and romance can blossom at the most unexpected times. —J.P.
29. Shelter (2008): Jonah Markowitz’s gay-surfers-in-love movie Shelter is a sweet, sexy, sun-soaked valentine to true love and family values. Zach (Trevor Wright), who has pushed his art-school dreams aside to take care of his selfish deadbeat sister, Jeanne (Tina Holmes), and her 5-year-old son, Cody. Zach gets knocked out of his funk — and his closet — when his best friend’s hunky older brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe), a disillusioned Hollywood screenwriter, retreats to his family’s beach house to try to get his mojo back. They hang. They surf. They fall in love. They’re Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello without the chastity. —The Advocate in 2008
30. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): Nearly every slightly off-kilter high school student in America who rolls with the drama club crowd could say that this film was essential to their upbringing and their appreciation of sexual exploration, camp, and absurdity. This musical has so many things: a satire of ridiculous B-movies, fun with fishnets and heels, insane science fiction, artsy weirdness, and unabashed sexuality. And it's chock-full of very catchy, fun music. —M.G.
31. Capote (2005): The late Philip Seymour Hoffman handily won the Academy Award for his portrayal of the literary world’s enfant terrible Truman Capote in the 2005 biopic. The film shines a light on Capote’s life just as he was beginning research on his true-crime masterpiece In Cold Blood, about the 1959 Clutter family murders in Kansas. Director Bennett Miller’s movie focused on Capote’s unhealthy attachment to one of the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), whom Capote visited in prison. The supporting cast includes a pitch-perfect Catherine Keener as Capote’s dear friend, To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee. Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Amy Ryan, Mark Pellegrino, and Bob Balaban round out the superb cast. While Hoffman was physically much larger than Capote, he nailed the role of a lifetime, imbuing him with complicated pathos as a writer who obliterated boundaries for his story. —Tracy E. Gilchrist
32. The Women (1939): Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell head up an amazing cast of dozens of the greatest female actors of the late '30s. And not one man. Anita Loos added zip to Clare Booth Luce's stage script about the savage backstabbing and mercenary marriages of the Park Avenue set. The zingers race by so fast it demands multiple viewings to savor every barb. Before gay people had films of their own to reflect them, films like this were iconic touchstones. If you heard a man quoting the film, you knew you were among friends. If you want to stay friends with us, don't mention the 2008 version. —C.H.
33. The Wedding Banquet (1993): Before Brokeback Mountain, there was The Wedding Banquet, director Ang Lee’s first film to deal with LGBT themes. Notable as the first film of Taiwanese origin to positively depict an interracial gay couple, The Wedding Banquet is a groundbreaking comedy of errors that centers on a Taiwanese-American who is afraid to come out to his traditional family. In order to placate his relatives, he hides his long-term relationship with a man and makes plans to marry a woman — a plot that, as in many real-life instances, fails miserably. A nominee for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, The Wedding Banquet has withstood the test of time as a film that tackles the perennial and often thorny issues that come with the collision of love and family. —D.R.
34. My Own Private Idaho (1991): Gay director Gus Van Sant's meandering story follows River Phoenix, who plays Mike, a troubled gay street hustler, and his best friend (played by Keanu Reeves) from the streets of Portland to Seattle to Italy and Idaho. Along the way, the film explores love and loss, betrayal and the street life a lot of LGBT kids find themselves in. It's a bit of a gay Easy Rider and a must-see; poignant, emotional, frustrating, and don't expect a happy ending. —D.A.M.
35. Big Eden (2000): In this romantic dramedy, one of the more underrated gay films, Arye Gross (from the sitcom Ellen) plays Henry, a gay New York artist who has to go back to his hometown of Eden, Mont., to care for his ailing grandfather. But it differs from other “homecoming” stories in that Henry’s openly gay and the people in his hometown are not only tolerant of that, some of them are downright supportive (it’s a superb gay fantasy vehicle for anyone who ever left a rural community and dreams of going home). Even better, as Henry deals with his unrequited high school crush, Pike, a quiet Native American shopkeeper (played expertly by Eric Schweig) is falling in love with him. —D.A.M.
36. Strangers on a Train (1951): Alfred Hitchcock was not only the master of suspense, he was the master of getting taboo subjects past the censors in the days of Hollywood's Production Code. It's impossible to miss the sexual tension between tennis player Guy (Farley Granger) and man of leisure Bruno (Robert Walker) from the moment their fashionably shod feet brush together in a train's club car. Guy wants to be free of his wife, while Bruno despises his father, so Bruno proposes that the two commit murders for each other. That sets in motion a film that offers plenty of suspense along with the homoeroticism, plus marvelous Hitchcockian set pieces and well-used D.C. scenery. It's one of Hitch's best, and Walker, usually cast in more lightweight roles, is a revelation as the sinister Bruno. Sadly, Walker died the year the movie was released; he was only 32 years old. —T.R.
37. Transamerica (2005): This award-winning film, starring Felicity Huffman in an Oscar-nominated performance as transgender woman Bree, admittedly doesn’t get everything right when it comes to portraying a fully developed trans character on the big screen. For starters, Huffman is a cisgender (nontrans) woman, whose character discovers that she fathered a son who is now a teenage runaway living in New York. Cue the trans-as-surprise-twist critique. But the film, which had trans woman and vocal coach Andrea James as a consulting producer, was a substantial step forward in mainstream visibility for transgender characters, and remains an accessible way to introduce folks wholly unfamiliar with the concept of gender identity to a sympathetic depiction of some of the struggles that come from seeking an authentic life. —S.B.
38. Another Country (1984): Never has homosexual repression in the British public school system (think Eton) looked quite as beautiful as in director Marek Kanievska’s 1984 big-screen version of Julian Mitchell’s period play of the same name. Based in the 1930s, the film stars a young, gorgeous Rupert Everett as Guy Bennett, an unrepentant gay student who challenges authority, an equally stunning Colin Firth as a budding Marxist, and Cary Elwes as Bennett’s delicious love interest. The film explores burgeoning desire, gay panic in the era, progressive politics, and class war against the backdrop of academia, which is just about everything one can hope for in a movie. —T.E.G.
39. Victor/Victoria (1982): Julie Andrews and James Garner star in this feel-good picture made for a mainstream market that addresses gender, homophobia, and the place of women in society — in song! Set in the 1930s and directed by Andrews’s husband, the extremely gay-friendly Blake Edwards, this farce centers on Andrews as Victoria Grant passing herself off as a male tenor assisted by her fellow cohort in crime, Robert Preston as gay cabaret singer Carole “Toddy” Todd. Tough guy James Garner, much to his own confusion, falls for the young “man.” Also chagrined is Garner’s moll, played to perfection by Lesley Ann Warren in her naughtiest performance ever. Gender hilarity ensues. —C.H.
40. Get Real (1998): This British film about Steve (Ben Silverstone) and his unexpected romance with the star jock of his prep school, John Dixon (Brad Gorton), may not have broken new ground in 1998, but its sincere portrayal of young love has made this gay romantic coming-of-age story a favorite of LGBT fans for more than 15 years. Based on the play by Patrick Wilde, the film’s story of one young man embracing his sexuality, another rejecting it, and the complications that arise from their feelings for one another provides an honest look at the pain, confusion, and potentially liberating experiences that are found on the road to coming out. —J.P.
| Daniel Day-Lewis |
"The following lines are from a famous poem by Stevie Smith :- ""Nobody heard him, the dead man But still he lay moaning I was much further out than you thought"" What is the title of the poem ?" | The Top 175 Essential Films of All Time for LGBT Viewers | Advocate.com
Arts & Entertainment film
The Top 175 Essential Films of All Time for LGBT Viewers
What is the most essential movie ever for LGBT viewers? There can be only one. We've made our pick, and now you can vote on Facebook and Twitter in a "Clash of the Classics!"
By Advocate.com Editors
June 23 2014 7:33 AM EDT
Everyone agrees a set of movies exists that are must-sees for any LGBT viewer. We just don't agree on which ones.
Dare ask a gay man for his list, and he's likely to rattle off a few that come to mind quickly and then make amendments to it for the rest of your adult lives. Women don't start with the same list. Some movies are incredibly impactful on depictions of trans people or those living with HIV, or mark major firsts in film. Some are too campy to ignore (at least not if you want to keep up at brunch). The bottom line is there are legions of reasons why a movie could be considered "essential" to the LGBT community.
We've ventured into the tricky territory of ranking which are most essential. To accomplish this feat, everyone on staff was asked for a top 10, then we asked readers for theirs, and finally began the arguing — always politely. Television movies aren't included (sorry, The Laramie Project, An Early Frost, and Gia). Television series aren't included either (apologies to Tales of the City, AbFab, and Angels in America). The result is potentially a guide for anyone who wants to examine our roots through film.
Oh, and we reserve the right to amend it for the rest of our lives. — The Editors
The List:
1. Brokeback Mountain (2005): This Oscar-winning feature film is arguably one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking gay love stories ever told on the silver screen. The chemistry between the late Heath Ledger’s restrained, tortured Ennis Del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal’s sensitive and tender Jack Twist takes viewers high into Wyoming’s Grand Teton mountains in an intimate portrait of two men brutally confined by the hypermasculine culture in which they exist. After watching the film with its emotional gut-punch of a conclusion, you’ll understand Jack’s lament and agony in telling Ennis “I can’t quit you.” The only thing that compares with the powerful performances turned in by Ledger and Gyllenhaal is director Ang Lee’s stunning visuals — which earned him an Academy Award for best director. —Sunnivie Brydum
2. Milk (2008): This film about the life and death of pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk won two richly deserved Oscars, for Dustin Lance Black's screenplay and Sean Penn's performance in the title role. It does not make Milk a plaster saint, but portrays him as fully and fallibly human as well as a formidable crusader for the rights of all. Directed by Gus Van Sant, it's a film that moves and inspires, while assuring that a new generation will know an important figure in our history. —Trudy Ring
3. Paris Is Burning (1990): This documentary shone a bright light on the African-American, Latino, and LGBT communities involved in the New York City ball culture of the mid-to-late 1980s. Directed by Jennie Livingston, Paris Is Burning brought an underground aspect of LGBT culture to the mainstream. From the use of slang (“serving realness”) to unforgettable quotes (“reading is fundamental”), the film has had a lasting impact on both LGBT and mainstream pop culture. —Jase Peeples
4. Cabaret (1972): There's no doubt that Berlin's Kit Kat Klub is just the most fantastically awesome place this side of World War I. Right at the beginning, the Emcee, played by the tireless Joel Grey, bids the audience a hearty "willkommen" to this world of seedy glamour. Our heroine Sally Bowles — portrayed by an exquisite Liza Minnelli — pops off the screen in a story that follows her trapped in love with two men, while the Nazi regime rises to power. The film is epic, gripping, and entertaining. You will be singing at least one of the songs from this musical for days. Weeks. OK, in my case, years — it's "Two Ladies," "Money, Money," and the title tune. —Michelle Garcia
5. The Boys in the Band (1970): Mart Crowley's hit play became the first famous gay film ever. Vito Russo said of the movie, "The internalized guilt of eight gay men at a Manhattan birthday party formed the best and most potent argument for gay liberation ever offered in a popular art form." No, it wasn't representative of what gay life was like‚ but it was representative of what gay life was like for those alcoholic men, in that city, at that time. Crowley's quotable script was shocking, real, and hysterically funny. With Cliff Gorman, Leonard Frey, Kenneth Nelson, and Frederick Combs, and directed by William Friedkin (of Cruising fame.) —Christopher Harrity
6. Philadelphia (1993): Philadelphia encapsulates so many things that signify excellent filmmaking, but one of them is showing something that is simply true to life: When we get to know people who are different from ourselves, we become better people. Tom Hanks's unparalleled performance as Andrew Beckett, a man who is fighting for his dignity and his life, convinces small-time (and homophobic) lawyer Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington, to represent him in a wrongful-termination suit. The film came out before there were revolutionary drugs that helped save the lives of many with HIV and AIDS. Meanwhile, it followed the initial shock of the epidemic, which led to heightened paranoia on one side, and on the other, a better understanding of the virus itself. Philadelphia is undoubtedly a groundbreaking time capsule. —M.G.
7. Bound (1996): This neo-noir thriller marked the directorial debut of the Wachowski siblings, and though it was long before Lana Wachowski was an out trans woman, we can’t help but think it helped influence this superb bisexual/lesbian classic in which Violet (femme and alluring Jennifer Tilly), a moll owned by her Mafia boyfriend (Joe Pantoliano) but looking for escape, has an affair with butch neighbor Corky (Gina Gershon in the hottest lesbian film role ever). The two women hatch a scheme to steal millions from the mob, and the usual noir tropes (just who is betraying who?) work to great success, albeit with a hefty dose of violence (this is a rare film where there are empowered women and violence and the latter isn’t directed at the former). The reason queer girls loved it? The sex was genuine and hot, thanks in large part to Susie Bright, who served as the resident lesbian sexpert to help the auteurs get it right. (She has a cameo too.) —Diane Anderson-Minshall
8. Desert Hearts (1985): Donna Deitch's directorial debut is the first "real" lesbian film (an out lesbian, nobody dies, two women have sex). Based on lesbian author Jane Rule’s novel, Desert of the Heart follows Vivian (Helen Shaver), a repressed divorcee waiting out the legal finalities in a ranch guesthouse in 1950s Nevada. Vivian is all class and repression, and the ranch owner warns her to stay away from her irrepressible lesbian daughter Cay (Patricia Charbonneau, wearing jean shorts and cowboy boots and a whole lot of lesbian lust). Turns out, that’s who she’s drawn to, and soon Cay is unrepressing Viv in the first real lesbian sex scene in a film. Their growing relationship played against the rocky red soil and rolling landscape doesn’t necessarily have a future, but it’s the sight of Vivian’s slow but seismic sexual awakening that makes this film Deitch’s valentine to the rest of us. —D.A.M.
9. Boys Don't Cry (1999): It’s easy to dismiss this as an “important” film, but Boys Don’t Cry, based on the true story of the murder of Brandon Teena, a young trans man killed in Nebraska, is actually an incredibly good one as well. For a film that ends in such an atrocity, it has a breezy romanticism as we meet the flirty Brandon (played by Hilary Swank, in a role that won her an Oscar and made her career) and weary Lana, the girl he falls in love with. Brandon knows little of other trans people, of hormones or gender identity or even the kind of (sadly still limited, but at least talked about) rights trans people have today. But he’s young and in love and troubled, because of having no social safety net, living in an impoverished community, and hiding his birth-gender assignment (and in the film, the lack of medical hormones is the linchpin that eventually leads to his death). Watch it with a big box of Kleenex and a sense of injustice. —D.A.M.
10. Parting Glances (1986): Writer and director Bill Sherwood would never make another film — he succumbed to an AIDS-related disease in 1990 — but his only cinematic work, Parting Glances, will keep his legacy alive for decades to come. The well-acted and brilliantly written film centers on Robert and Michael, a couple preparing for a two-year separation as Michael heads to Africa for work. Over the course of 24 hours, Robert, Michael, and their friends and lovers all collide to hilarious and heart-wrenching effect. Robert's ex-boyfriend Nick (Steve Buscemi — perhaps best known today for his star turns in Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, and Fargo — in his first major role) is a rock star dying of AIDS. But Nick is never a pitiable character, instead a strong and defiant survivor, a rarity for cinematic portrayals of people with AIDS, in the ’90s and beyond. —Neal Broverman
11. Making Love (1982): The plot of this 1982 film — a supposedly straight, married L.A. doctor falls in love with another man — sounds like a Lifetime movie now, but at the time it was groundbreaking. Making Love was also well-acted, with stellar performances from Michael Ontkean as the latently gay protagonist, Kate Jackson as the confused wife, and especially Harry Hamlin as the sexy, hedonistic novelist who Ontkean's character falls for. Hamlin, a huge star at the time, would later say the movie damaged his career but that he remains proud of it. —N.B.
12. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994): Director Stephan Elliott’s Australian film about the adventures of two drag queens and a trans woman who travel across the desert in a rickety old bus to perform a drag show found box office success around the world and a place in the hearts of many LGBT viewers as well. Starring Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp, the film garnered many awards, including an Oscar for Best Costume Design. Today, the film is considered by many to be an LGBT kitsch comedy classic, loved as much for its over-the-top characters as its unflinching look at life through a queer lens. —J.P.
13. But I'm A Cheerleader (1999): This comedy manages to both make fun of the absurdity of efforts to “de-gay” people by sending them to organizations that claim to rid patients of homosexual desires, and make a poignant statement about the dangers of so-called sexual orientation change efforts. Lesbian director Jamie Babbit brings a poignant queer woman’s perspective to the feature, which also stars lesbian fan favorites Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall. Ultimately, the most powerful component of this lighthearted film is the nuanced exploration of female sexuality, which has helped more than a few now out and proud ladies — this writer included — come to terms with being a feminine woman who isn’t straight. —S.B.
14. Maurice (1987): Based on E.M. Forster's long-suppressed novel of gay love, the film stars James Wilby, Rupert Graves, and Hugh Grant all at their most adorable. Forster's novel, written in 1914, was published in 1971, after his death, as Forster knew there was controversy in giving the lovers a happy ending. The novel allowed a new openness in literature and biography. The film was the satisfying second shoe to drop. Gay people who had never seen dreamy romantic images of same-sex couples on the big screen swooned over the beautifully art-directed affair between the well-born Maurice and the laborer Scudder. They also swooned at Rupert Graves's callipygian assets. —C.H.
15. Gods and Monsters (1998): One of our greatest gay actors, Sir Ian McKellen, plays James Whale, the gay movie director who brought Frankenstein and The Invisible Man to the screen in 1930s Hollywood (and demonstrated his versatility by helming the first film version of Show Boat). While Whale is a real-life figure, Gods and Monsters is a fantasia on his last days, showing him largely forgotten by the film industry and drawn to a young, straight gardener, played by Brendan Fraser. McKellen's performance as this gifted, tragic man is extraordinary and heartbreaking. Bill Condon won an Oscar for his screenplay, adapted from Christopher Bram's novel Father of Frankenstein; McKellen was nominated, but he was robbed. —T.R.
16. Beautiful Thing (1996): The British coming-of-age film perfectly captured the sweetness of young gay love at a time when stereotypes and fear of the AIDS epidemic dominated LGBT representations in cinema. Grounded in the reality of a London suburb in 1996, the love story of Jamie and Ste stands out for its honest and positive portrayal of gay teens who embrace their true nature and experience the beauty of first love. —J.P.
17. Longtime Companion (1990): One of the first AIDS-themed films aimed at a wide audience is set in New York City and traces the effect of the disease, beginning with its emergence in 1981, on a group of (mostly) gay friends. It has been criticized for its focus on affluent white men, with the black and Latino characters being either marginal or examples of bad behavior, but it has merit as an early effort to put a human face on AIDS for moviegoers who thought of the illness as someone else’s problem. Written by Craig Lucas and directed by Norman Rene, it features several moving moments, including a goose bump–inducing final scene, and excellent performances from a cast that includes Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Bruce Davison, along with Campbell Scott and Mary-Louise Parker. —T.R.
18. All About Eve (1950): "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." So says Bette Davis, playing Broadway star Margo Channing, in the film's most famous line, but it's only one of many wonderful witticisms in a movie that practically defines gay sensibility, at least a certain type of it, even though it was written and directed by a straight man, Joe Mankiewicz. There is also the intimation that scheming Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), who wants to supplant Margo as first lady of the American stage, may well be a lesbian, but the greatest pleasure in a film with many is the incomparable and perfectly cast George Sanders as the ultimate bitchy queen, that "venomous fishwife" of a drama critic, Addison DeWitt. Sanders won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, Mankiewicz took home directing and screenplay honors, and the film was named Best Picture of the year. —T.R.
19. The Celluloid Closet (1995): This film provides an in-depth look at the history of LGBT people in North American cinema and the attitudes behind these portrayals. One of the most talked-about revelations from the documentary was that Gore Vidal had infused a gay subtext into the screeplay for the epic 1959 film Ben-Hur — a notion that had Vidal and star Charlton Heston in a notoriously public war of words . Based on the book by Vito Russo, the documentary enhanced the foundation of queer film theory and has become a staple in the curriculum of LGBT studies courses at universities around the world. —J.P.
20. Weekend (2011): This beautifully restrained film tells the story of two young gay British men who meet at a club, hook up, and fall in love over the course of an eventful weekend. One of the guys is introverted and half-closeted, while the other is brash, gregarious, and wears his sexuality on his sleeve; their worldviews complement each other and their chemistry is explosive. Through passionate conversations, many drug-fueled, they alternately challenge, confuse, and confound each other. It's a grown-up, no-holds-barred exploration of modern love between men, and even the sex is honest. Directed by Andrew Haigh, who's moved on to executive-produce HBO's Looking, the film well deserved its status as a critical darling. —N.B.
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21. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985): Combining racism, class issues, and gay love in one sudsy mix sounds like a recipe for heavy-handed treacle, but Stephen Frears's My Beautiful Laundrette is as entertaining as it is culturally resonant. The story of a Pakistani man and a street punk falling in love, challenging the conventions of Thatcher-era London, and classing up a laundromat in the way only gay men can do, My Beautiful Laundrette was immediately met with praise and its screenplay nominated for an Oscar. The film's punk was played by the brilliant Daniel Day-Lewis, while director Frears is still on a roll, recently Oscar-nominated for Philomena. —N.B.
22. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984): Before there was Milk, there was The Times of Harvey Milk. While the dramatized version offers a wonderful portrayal of the political trailblazer, there's nothing quite like getting to know the real man, as we do via archival footage in Robert Epstein's remarkable documentary, released just six years after Milk's assassination. There are also numerous interviews with people who knew him, demonstrating how many lives he touched and changed. Harvey Fierstein narrates this deserving Oscar winner. —T.R.
23. The Wizard Of Oz (1939): It’s no wonder that gay men have referred to one another as “Friends of Dorothy” for three quarters of a century. From the moment Judy Garland sings “Over the Rainbow” on a gray Kansas tractor, LGBTs found a heroine, one who so beautifully articulates an anthem for those yearning for “a place where there isn’t any trouble.” Her journey into the Technicolor Land of Oz, which so thrilled audiences in 1939, still continues to enchant both young and old. And while her friends the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow may look like a motley crew, their quest for intelligence, courage, heart, and home is one that continues to resonate with and inspire the LGBT rights movement. —Daniel Reynolds
24. Auntie Mame (1958): Rosalind Russell as everybody's favorite naughty aunt. Little orphaned Patrick Dennis comes to live with his drinky, amorous, wealthy Auntie Mame. LGBT subjects are alluded to coyly — it was 1958, after all — but the core of the story is about conservatives objecting to Auntie Mame's "lifestyle." It's visually splendid, packed with great character performances, but you may want to strangle little Patrick by the second act. "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Be warned: The 1974 musical version Mame, starring Lucille Ball, is a sad disaster. —C.H.
25. Torch Song Trilogy (1988): This superlative early gay film was adapted from the three-part play of the same name by Harvey Feinstein, and centers around his character, Arnold, a shamelessly swishy Jewish drag performer who navigates New York's gay scene, finds love (with Matthew Broderick, at the height of his youthful fame), fights with his mom (Anne Bancroft), and adopts a teen. It's both hilarious and tragic; some moments are at once sad and sentimental and funny. —D.A.M.
26. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001): In this multi-award-winning new cult classic, a trans front woman of an East German punk rock band tells her life story in song form, of falling in love with an American soldier, getting a botched gender surgery (hence the "angry inch"), and of being left for another man. It's less TransAmerica and more Rocky Horror, but John Cameron Mitchell, who wrote and directed it, is smashing in the title role. —D.A.M.
27. Latter Days (2003): Long before the South Park team took on The Book of Mormon, gay writer-director and former Mormon C. Jay Cox explored the damage done to families by the antigay attitudes within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with his ultimately sweet film Latter Days. Sure, the film falls into some classic rom-com tropes — the closeted Mormon missionary moves to Los Angeles, where he encounters the sassy, out actor-turned-waiter ironically named Christian in a predictable laundry room meet-cute — but the performances turned in, especially by Steve Sandvoss as the conflicted missionary, are honest and powerful. Keep an eye out for scene-stealing supporting actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Elder Paul Ryder, Rebekah Johnson as Christian’s musician roomie Julie Taylor, and even Jacqueline Bisset and Amber Benson. —S.B.
28. Trick (1999): A quintessential film for a generation of gay men, 1999’s Trick took a lighthearted look at the pleasures and pitfalls of one-night stands as Gabriel (Christian Campbell) and Mark (John Paul Pitoc) discover that hooking up in Manhattan isn’t as easy as it looks and romance can blossom at the most unexpected times. —J.P.
29. Shelter (2008): Jonah Markowitz’s gay-surfers-in-love movie Shelter is a sweet, sexy, sun-soaked valentine to true love and family values. Zach (Trevor Wright), who has pushed his art-school dreams aside to take care of his selfish deadbeat sister, Jeanne (Tina Holmes), and her 5-year-old son, Cody. Zach gets knocked out of his funk — and his closet — when his best friend’s hunky older brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe), a disillusioned Hollywood screenwriter, retreats to his family’s beach house to try to get his mojo back. They hang. They surf. They fall in love. They’re Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello without the chastity. —The Advocate in 2008
30. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): Nearly every slightly off-kilter high school student in America who rolls with the drama club crowd could say that this film was essential to their upbringing and their appreciation of sexual exploration, camp, and absurdity. This musical has so many things: a satire of ridiculous B-movies, fun with fishnets and heels, insane science fiction, artsy weirdness, and unabashed sexuality. And it's chock-full of very catchy, fun music. —M.G.
31. Capote (2005): The late Philip Seymour Hoffman handily won the Academy Award for his portrayal of the literary world’s enfant terrible Truman Capote in the 2005 biopic. The film shines a light on Capote’s life just as he was beginning research on his true-crime masterpiece In Cold Blood, about the 1959 Clutter family murders in Kansas. Director Bennett Miller’s movie focused on Capote’s unhealthy attachment to one of the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), whom Capote visited in prison. The supporting cast includes a pitch-perfect Catherine Keener as Capote’s dear friend, To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee. Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Amy Ryan, Mark Pellegrino, and Bob Balaban round out the superb cast. While Hoffman was physically much larger than Capote, he nailed the role of a lifetime, imbuing him with complicated pathos as a writer who obliterated boundaries for his story. —Tracy E. Gilchrist
32. The Women (1939): Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell head up an amazing cast of dozens of the greatest female actors of the late '30s. And not one man. Anita Loos added zip to Clare Booth Luce's stage script about the savage backstabbing and mercenary marriages of the Park Avenue set. The zingers race by so fast it demands multiple viewings to savor every barb. Before gay people had films of their own to reflect them, films like this were iconic touchstones. If you heard a man quoting the film, you knew you were among friends. If you want to stay friends with us, don't mention the 2008 version. —C.H.
33. The Wedding Banquet (1993): Before Brokeback Mountain, there was The Wedding Banquet, director Ang Lee’s first film to deal with LGBT themes. Notable as the first film of Taiwanese origin to positively depict an interracial gay couple, The Wedding Banquet is a groundbreaking comedy of errors that centers on a Taiwanese-American who is afraid to come out to his traditional family. In order to placate his relatives, he hides his long-term relationship with a man and makes plans to marry a woman — a plot that, as in many real-life instances, fails miserably. A nominee for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, The Wedding Banquet has withstood the test of time as a film that tackles the perennial and often thorny issues that come with the collision of love and family. —D.R.
34. My Own Private Idaho (1991): Gay director Gus Van Sant's meandering story follows River Phoenix, who plays Mike, a troubled gay street hustler, and his best friend (played by Keanu Reeves) from the streets of Portland to Seattle to Italy and Idaho. Along the way, the film explores love and loss, betrayal and the street life a lot of LGBT kids find themselves in. It's a bit of a gay Easy Rider and a must-see; poignant, emotional, frustrating, and don't expect a happy ending. —D.A.M.
35. Big Eden (2000): In this romantic dramedy, one of the more underrated gay films, Arye Gross (from the sitcom Ellen) plays Henry, a gay New York artist who has to go back to his hometown of Eden, Mont., to care for his ailing grandfather. But it differs from other “homecoming” stories in that Henry’s openly gay and the people in his hometown are not only tolerant of that, some of them are downright supportive (it’s a superb gay fantasy vehicle for anyone who ever left a rural community and dreams of going home). Even better, as Henry deals with his unrequited high school crush, Pike, a quiet Native American shopkeeper (played expertly by Eric Schweig) is falling in love with him. —D.A.M.
36. Strangers on a Train (1951): Alfred Hitchcock was not only the master of suspense, he was the master of getting taboo subjects past the censors in the days of Hollywood's Production Code. It's impossible to miss the sexual tension between tennis player Guy (Farley Granger) and man of leisure Bruno (Robert Walker) from the moment their fashionably shod feet brush together in a train's club car. Guy wants to be free of his wife, while Bruno despises his father, so Bruno proposes that the two commit murders for each other. That sets in motion a film that offers plenty of suspense along with the homoeroticism, plus marvelous Hitchcockian set pieces and well-used D.C. scenery. It's one of Hitch's best, and Walker, usually cast in more lightweight roles, is a revelation as the sinister Bruno. Sadly, Walker died the year the movie was released; he was only 32 years old. —T.R.
37. Transamerica (2005): This award-winning film, starring Felicity Huffman in an Oscar-nominated performance as transgender woman Bree, admittedly doesn’t get everything right when it comes to portraying a fully developed trans character on the big screen. For starters, Huffman is a cisgender (nontrans) woman, whose character discovers that she fathered a son who is now a teenage runaway living in New York. Cue the trans-as-surprise-twist critique. But the film, which had trans woman and vocal coach Andrea James as a consulting producer, was a substantial step forward in mainstream visibility for transgender characters, and remains an accessible way to introduce folks wholly unfamiliar with the concept of gender identity to a sympathetic depiction of some of the struggles that come from seeking an authentic life. —S.B.
38. Another Country (1984): Never has homosexual repression in the British public school system (think Eton) looked quite as beautiful as in director Marek Kanievska’s 1984 big-screen version of Julian Mitchell’s period play of the same name. Based in the 1930s, the film stars a young, gorgeous Rupert Everett as Guy Bennett, an unrepentant gay student who challenges authority, an equally stunning Colin Firth as a budding Marxist, and Cary Elwes as Bennett’s delicious love interest. The film explores burgeoning desire, gay panic in the era, progressive politics, and class war against the backdrop of academia, which is just about everything one can hope for in a movie. —T.E.G.
39. Victor/Victoria (1982): Julie Andrews and James Garner star in this feel-good picture made for a mainstream market that addresses gender, homophobia, and the place of women in society — in song! Set in the 1930s and directed by Andrews’s husband, the extremely gay-friendly Blake Edwards, this farce centers on Andrews as Victoria Grant passing herself off as a male tenor assisted by her fellow cohort in crime, Robert Preston as gay cabaret singer Carole “Toddy” Todd. Tough guy James Garner, much to his own confusion, falls for the young “man.” Also chagrined is Garner’s moll, played to perfection by Lesley Ann Warren in her naughtiest performance ever. Gender hilarity ensues. —C.H.
40. Get Real (1998): This British film about Steve (Ben Silverstone) and his unexpected romance with the star jock of his prep school, John Dixon (Brad Gorton), may not have broken new ground in 1998, but its sincere portrayal of young love has made this gay romantic coming-of-age story a favorite of LGBT fans for more than 15 years. Based on the play by Patrick Wilde, the film’s story of one young man embracing his sexuality, another rejecting it, and the complications that arise from their feelings for one another provides an honest look at the pain, confusion, and potentially liberating experiences that are found on the road to coming out. —J.P.
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"The following lines are from a famous poem by W.H.Auden :- ""Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos with muffled drum"" What is the title of the poem ?" | Funeral Blues Analysis W.H. Auden : Summary Explanation Meaning Overview Essay Writing Critique Peer Review Literary Criticism Synopsis Online Education
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This poem is a very sensitive analysis of the grief felt after the death of a loved one. The empty space left behind by such a loss can never be filled and W H Auden has expressed all of this in what I consider to be one of the greatest modern poems ever written.
| Posted on 2015-05-13 | by a guest
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For a poem, its not too bad.
under the circumstances, i really like it.
Can anyone see the poem?
Kool poem though
Maybe someone else will see my view
Easy review to do thanks guys!
| Posted on 2012-10-03 | by a guest
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this poem to me dosent want us to find the meaning but to feel the grief on how this person dosent believe in living anymore since this loved one has passed away it shows that this certain person wants everything to stop and feel what shes feeling and mourn together with her.
| Posted on 2012-08-07 | by a guest
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well, this poem is about the persona writing about the mourning emotions he encountered whilst the death of his loved one. It shows the despair and uselessness he felt, in particular, feeling no use in living.
Some Techniques;
4. sibilance \"scribbling on the sky\"
| Posted on 2012-07-17 | by a guest
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further to previous comments, the power of this piece, for me, is that (and having experienced grief myself I know this to be true) there is within me on reading it a recognition of how, at the time we feel it, grief is overblown and our world really does feel as though it is ending... I struggle with the view that the writer intended it to be seen as 100% sarcastic, although I accept that the title \"funeral blues\" suggests a level of levity... \"The Blues\" in musical terms was not slight sadness but real, deep distress. I struggle with the poem as sarcasm because of how the poem makes me feel on reading it... it certainly helped me cope with real feelings of distress on the loss of a relationship with a brother. It can be seen from many angles and like all good poetry is the stronger for its ambiguity. Ultimately its full meaning is not one dimentional rather it depends on what meaning the reader imposes on the words.
| Posted on 2012-05-05 | by a guest
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Various people in all countries take the credit loans from different banks, because that is simple and comfortable.
| Posted on 2012-02-01 | by a guest
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Do you know that it is high time to get the business loans, which will make you dreams real.
| Posted on 2012-01-23 | by a guest
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People in the world get the loan from various creditors, just because this is simple.
| Posted on 2012-01-21 | by a guest
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During the poem, W.H Auden is distraught about the loss of a lover. It is filled with grief and sadness. He is inconsolable. W.H Auden pleads with us to �stop all the clocks�, an impossible act and one that reiterates his utter distress. He commands all happenings such as the tinkling of piano keys and the ringing of a telephone to halt; he believes that everybody should join him in his mourning. It is not the time for others to enjoy themselves. Just the mere thought agonises W.H Auden. He feels as if everyone should share his deepening grief. He continues to emphasise his desperate need for public mourning by asking aeroplanes to commemorate him and traffic policemen to wear black gloves. Although these people would not normally be associated with mourning, W.H Auden yet again can only think of his tragic loss and the fact that everybody from far and wide should grieve alongside him. The reader realises just how important the deceased was to W.H Auden when reading the phrase �He is Dead�. Just the use of capital letters displays the incredibly close relationship between the two lovers. By �scribbling� this sinister message across the sky, W.H Auden believes that the entire world will see and realise what terrible event has occurred. He thinks that the deceased friend is worthy of such a grand funeral procession; again reiterating the love shared between them. W.H Auden continues to describe the closeness and intimacy between them, claiming that he was his North, South, East and West. He has only just realised that his lover�s death and the end of their relationship was inevitable. Along with anything else, love will come to an end. Like before, he proceeds to command the reader to carry out tasks that are impossible. He moans for the sun to be removed and the stars to be snatched away. He asks in despair for the oceans and forests to disappear. Without his lover, his life is meaningless. W.H Auden sincerely believes that because of this tragic occurrence, �nothing now can ever come to any good�. He can envisage no future for himself.
| Posted on 2012-01-01 | by a guest
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When you set up software on your computer, some important records are stored inside of your computer\'s registry. However, when you get rid of or unset up spyware removal, sometimes those records remain inside of your registry. Maybe the software was badly composed or your computer had a hard time unset uping the software effectively. In both case, the end-result is that you have records in your registry that are no longer needed.
| Posted on 2011-11-05 | by a guest
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This \'poem\' is from a play \"The Ascent of F6\" written by Auden and Christopher Isherwood. It is certainly full of sarcasm and hyperbole. It is written from the viewpoint of Michael Ransom, a mountain climber trying to climb F6, a peak in the Himalayas, who laments the death of his brother, James Ransom. The irony is that Michael was atempting to out-shine his late brother!!!
-Torre DeVito
| Posted on 2011-08-04 | by a guest
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this poem also uses a great metaphor\'\'pour away the ocean\'\' it gives the vibe that the poet feels complete pain and who cares about the ocean anymore its dead to him just like his lover. He may say all thoose things about the moon and stars to give effect to the poem and make his point or maybe he is trying to put across that his lover often spoke about the moon and stars but who cares about them anymore his lover is no longer able to talk about them there is no more passion towards them the same with the sea they could have often visited the beach but that will not happen anymore.
| Posted on 2011-06-07 | by a guest
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Hey all I am doing a analysis of two poems I am deciding on picking funeral blues and we real cool. I think both poems relate on self actualization.Both poems are about how one realizes something.
| Posted on 2011-05-14 | by a guest
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You both should check your facts.... youre both right. \'Funeral blues\' and \'stop all the clocks\' are both titles of this poem....
| Posted on 2011-05-05 | by a guest
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The title is right...funeral blues...check ur facts bro
| Posted on 2011-04-18 | by a guest
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By the way the title to this poem is wrong. It is \"Stop All the Clocks\"
| Posted on 2011-04-07 | by a guest
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Can I just assert that \"any analysis is good\" is complete nonsense. There\'s a text here; if you read it, you will understand it. If you look up words you don\'t understand, you will understand it. If you look up historical facts, you will understand its context. Poems aren\'t fluffy lands in which one can self-indulgently claim that \"this is how I see it\" just because he or she is arrogant enough not to look things up.
| Posted on 2011-04-06 | by a guest
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This poem is about Love and Death !!
Love and Death is the main idea of this poem because he loses someone heloved by death... AN example for this is \"He was my North, my South... I thought Love Love last forever but I was wrong\" and \"Bring out the coffin and Let the mourners mourn\"...? This tells us that he loses a loved one by death.... So when they used this poem in the Movie 4 weddings and a funeral it did suit the movie...
| Posted on 2011-04-04 | by a guest
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Just a few notes that helped me a great deal when it came to writing my essay on this poem:
- His love is all consuming, he cannot think about going on without his lover for it is too much torture.
- Written in the first person, which makes it more personal as he is telling us his personal feelings about this person and the way he feels about going on without him. He doesn\'t think that he will be able to continue with normal life.
- Nothing else to live for.
- Written in quatrian stanzas.
- Depressing.
Third stanza is more personal as it is talking about how losing his love will affect him in the short & long term.
:)
| Posted on 2011-03-31 | by a guest
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The period Auden was writing in was an inter-war period, rise of the US, gradual decline of the Empire and because of this; we know that the main movement at the time was modernism. This was also the time frame when Adolf Hitler was at large; also there were social troubles in the UK, the claims on the Atlantic and the end of the Great Depression in the US. Other writers like Elliot and Joyce had inner, more interior views of love. They tried to find reason and justification to love. They viewed love to be pertaining to the mind or soul. But Auden ridiculed their views.
| Posted on 2011-03-23 | by a guest
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Beautiful song.. Pain, grief.. You can translate this song how ever you want, and that\'s the best part. For someone it\'s about lost lover, burried love or not having will for love in general..
| Posted on 2011-03-16 | by a guest
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Bear in mind the period Auden was writing in - inter-war period, gradual decline of the Empire, rise of the US, and moreover, there was a general search for meaning at the time a la modernism. Writers such as Eliot and Joyce used interiority to try find reason and rationale, but Auden mocked the declamatory style of politicians. This was also the period of the rise of Hitler, social troubles in the UK, the end of the Great Depression in the US, and great claims on both sides of the Atlantic - categorical statements that claimed that, for all intents and purposes, history had stopped because a politician said so. I like the comment about Diana - this is exactly what Auden is satirising here.
However, it has also come to be associated with very public displays of grief as seen in something like 4 Weddings and a Funeral. At the same time though, before making too many remarks, bear in mind WHEN the poem was written. Auden was poking fun at the grandiose political promises of the day.
| Posted on 2011-01-25 | by a guest
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Ha Ha Ha/
Basically, this poem is just about his feeling of \"Lost of his lover!!! He uses Many metaphor to make his feeling stronger
| Posted on 2011-01-06 | by a guest
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Firstly W.H Auden is homosexual, notice that he reffers to his lover as a he, \"He was my North, my South, my East, my West,\" Secondly Auden is not \"mocking\" greif, it is his own greif he is writing about. \"I thout that love would last forever: i was wrong.\" The reason for Auden\'s irrational need for the rest of the world to greive with him; is that Audens world was his lover, he was God-like in Auden\'s eyes, which is why \"he\" is consistantly capitalised.
I hope this has been helpful,
ODF
| Posted on 2010-12-12 | by a guest
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The film Four Weddings And A Funeral totally misunderstood this poem: it's not about the death of a true love, it's about a lover who has walked out on the writer.
| Posted on 2010-06-30 | by a guest
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ok, this is quite long, it's a section of my GCSE english coursework essay
In this poem, the writer uses regular verse and traditional pattern of rhythm and rhyme to give impact to his unexpected imagery of the end of a relationship when he cuts himself off from the rest of the his life because his grief is too much. To describe the incredible pain and isolation of when someone you love leaves you and the way time seems insignificant, the writer starts the poem by reiterating the title, creating emphasis by his use of assonance of the monosyllables: �Stop all the clocks�. Unlike Valentine, this poem incorporates a series of metaphors to describe the writer�s feelings instead of using one extended metaphor; he then continues to describe the suffering he feels and the way everything that used to have a purpose stops by using the atypical metaphor of a dog and a bone. To exemplify the way he feels his life has ended, he then uses metaphors associated with a funeral:
Silence the pianos and with a muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
To show the end of happiness and the start of mourning, the writer includes the silencing of the pianos and then low thudding drums used at funeral to describe the phenomenal sadness he feels now the relationship is over. He includes the metaphor �coffin� to either represent his own emotional death he feels now he has lost something so valuable to him or to represent the death of the relationship.
The second stanza further illustrates the engulfing pain this poem is describing. To symbolise the feeling that everything in his life is also submerged in pain, the writer uses the word �moaning� to describe an aeroplane, followed by:
Scribbling on the sky the message He is dead
This line typifies the lackadaisicality he feels now nothing matters by using the word �scribbling�, which is given emphasis by the sibilance of �sky�. The fact that the message has been written on the sky shows the scale of the writer�s grief now the relationship has ended. To show the God-like significance his partner was in his life, he uses �He� with a capital; there is also emphasis on the three heavy monosyllables that creates a morose feel to the end of the line. The writer then expresses that all peace has now gone and is blemished and weighed down with death by referring to �cr�pe bows around the white necks of the public doves�. Auden continues to describe the inconsequentiality of the rest of the world as he pushes himself away from his life:
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
The third stanza of Our Love Now is different from the other two; instead of using metaphors related to everyday life he starts to explore his pain deeper by directly referring to how the loss of his partner will effect him, using metaphors of cosmic significance:
He was my North, my South, my East and West
To describe how life cannot go on without his beloved and how everything in his life is a reminder of pain, the writer expresses how every aspectof himself was associated with his partner:
My working week and my Sunday rest
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song
The last line of the stanza ends in �I was wrong�, which, similarly to �He is dead�, gives a sense of finality to the flow of speech by the use of heavy monosyllables; this live also references to love not lasting forever, concurring with the idea that the poem is about an end to a relationship, not a genuine death.
The final stanza depicts the way he does not care for beauty any more; his immeasurable grief makes it impossible for him to appreciate anything anymore. His first line shows how items of beauty are no longer necessary: �the stars are not wanted now�. His second and third lines to the final stanza further illustrate the way nothing has any importance or significance to his life anymore; he uses metaphors of life-giving things being pushed away like litter:
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
His final line summarises what the entire poem is demonstrating:
For nothing can ever come to any good.
| Posted on 2010-05-26 | by a guest
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Further to my notes of 2010-05-02 here are a few comments and corrections. From Wikipedia ( rough summary)
Auden: 1907 to 1973 (therefore only age 6 at the time of the start of WWI) and stayed in the States during WWII becoming a US citizen. His religion was rather on and off. He returned to Anglicanism in the 1940�s. The Ascent of F6 (1937), another play written with Isherwood, was partly an anti-imperialist satire, partly (in the character of the self-destroying climber Michael Ransom) an examination of Auden's own motives in taking on a public role as a political poet. This play included the first version of "Funeral Blues" ("Stop all the clocks"), written as a satiric eulogy for the (character of a) politician ; Auden later rewrote the poem as a "Cabaret Song" about lost love (written to be sung by the soprano Hedli Anderson for whom he wrote many lyrics in the 1930s).Details of the play "F6" at Wikipedia.
Corrections
In line 8 read �war� not �was�
In line 72 read �tone� for �tome�
In line 80 read �to shout so loudly�
Line 92 approx 4 lines from the end read �perhaps�
| Posted on 2010-05-03 | by a guest
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As an English teacher I find some of this page's remarks most insightful, and others are very silly, especially if trying to make this poem fit your hypothesis, for example that Auden was in WW 1 and died in it, and was against war. Everyone is against was, including soldiers, surprise surprise.
I was in the UK in 1973 when Auden died. WW1 was 1914 to 1918. The first principle of literary analysis is CHECK YOUR FACTS before you make assertions. The second principle is to check the poem's title with the poem's content which is a huge CLUE - in this case THE TITLE is clearly ironic. It is hard to believe you can only be "blue" with such a so-called outpouring of grief. Did you feel just "blue" at the last death in your family? Being blue is being a bit depressed and down, not devastated with grief as this poem ppears to be on the surface.
I agree with the analysis on this page that the poem is hyperbolic, overdone, posturing. The steady iambic pentameter, pom ti pom ti pom ti pom, in "cheap" rhyming couplets (heroic), in four nice neat little quatrains are "dead giveaways". This is not an outpouring of genuine emotion. I can make up doggerel like that off the top of my head in couplets (not in iambic pentameter)
There was a young man of Vancouver
Who went down town for a very fine hoover.
But when he got there
His pockets were bare
That foolish young man of Vancouver.
It's really easy; doesn't need much poetic genius here.
A really fine poet like Auden doesn't mess about as a rule so I believe his poem "Funeral Blues" gives plenty of scope for speculation , yet it is very definitely not a serious or deep emotion. For one thing, it is an almost metaphysical leap to yoke images of doves, (what is a public dove? are there private doves?) telephones and clocks, a juicy bone and traffic cops' gloves with the stars, the moon, the sun, the oceans, and the woods. I think that Auden is pointing exactly (satirically) to how ridiculous that leap is.
Who or what is he writing about? Is it about a lover, male or female? This seems unlikely with the nihilistic view of being blasted out of the universe in the final stanza. A really deep love leaves something behind, even if you do not believe in an afterlife. If you gave your eulogy at a funeral, could you really say that this is the end,in a sarcastic tome, and that there is nothing more, no memories , no lasting legacies? Just nothing?
It might be about the death of Auden's beliefs, God, however he was not religious and somehow I think society would have been deeply offended for a poet to so loudly, bitterly, and so publicly about it. After all, it is a poem that shouts and commands in each stanza. But it is possible. Is it about war? - there does not seem to be any indication in the poem whatever that this is so and therefore to suggest it is irrelevant. If it is about war then please forward to this page the proof thereof. Is it about a close relative or friend? Perhaps so, perhapmyr someone who would find his manner amusing. All in all, that remains an enigma, which is as it should be.
| Posted on 2010-05-02 | by a guest
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Funeral blues is a satirical piece which covers the theme of loss, the loss of his lover who was a politician. Auden uses Over exaggeration and creating urgency in the line 'stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone 'to show how ridiculous love can be viewed but it could be seen as a bitter devastation for him. The cliche line 'i thought love would last forever' is very poignant so presents the torture one must go through when grieving to overcome. This is also depicted in the line 'He was my north, my South, my East and West' literally he was his everything and the idea of his loss of direction clearly is emphasized to show the satirical view.
| Posted on 2010-04-05 | by a guest
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It doesn't matter that Auden was homosexual, he wrote poems universally. The point of view could be for either gender.
The phrase "juicy bone" is a contradiction..&Everything else I was going to say has already been said. :b
| Posted on 2010-03-08 | by a guest
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My teacher said is was about " the end of life as he knew it". Also that WH.Auden pushes everything away from him. Trying to cut himself off from the outside world because the pain was too much. Plus apparently the poem is an accurate analysis of Auden's life.
| Posted on 2010-02-23 | by a guest
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Auden was not writing about his lover, but was writing about his father after he died, that it why the poem is considered posthumous.
| Posted on 2010-02-06 | by a guest
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As so often, one can go far too far in imagined analyses.
This is a short, stark, and so very effective picture of grief. Nothing more.
| Posted on 2009-12-12 | by a guest
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who is this poem aboutsome one tell me i must know now.
| Posted on 2009-11-18 | by a guest
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In the poem �Funeral Blues,� W.H. Auden�s choice of diction allows the reader a greater understanding of the intensity and depth of feeling experienced upon the loss of a loved one. Likewise, the symbolism used by the poet pulls us into the actual world of the grief stricken as he searches for ways to mourn this passing.
Auden�s choice of diction here was used to drawn the reader into the emotional disrepair felt by the afflicted. He shortens sentences and uses comparisons to the destruction left behind after the passing. �The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.� He is using these types of phrases to show us just how significant the death was.
By using such statements as, �Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,� Auden shows a want of motion and sound stopped. He wants the reader to recognize the symbols of distress and mourning. �Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves. Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.� He uses the symbolism to express a certain respectful mourning. One can almost see the funeral procession of grieving family members and friends as they bring the coffin out with solemnity.
After reading all of the other responses, I am greatly interested in finding out more about Auden's life. I feel that the explanation about the play and the poem being written for a woman to sing about someone is probably the most accurate. However, it could very well be that Auden was writing about his own love, or even just a dear, dear friend. I know that I have personally been able to write something this heartfelt about a friend. Auden was obviously an emotional man. Also, the satire view seems very reasonable. As well as being emotional, Auden was quirky.
Thank you!
| Funeral Blues |
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Humanism -> search for the meaning of life Printing press was invented in Germany More books meant more knowledge Reformation Henry the eighth declared himself head of the church, because he wanted his marriage with Catherine of Aragon annulled Henry the eighth had six wives and beheaded them if they were not monogamous, while he fooled around with just about any woman His daughter �Bloody Mary� burnt 300 Protestants at the stake His son Edward was crowned at age 9, then died of TB after which his sister Elizabeth (�The Virgin Queen�) took the thrown Elizabeth beheaded her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, who tried to plot against her, and pretended that she wanted to mary King Philip, her dead sisters widower, to show that her availability as a woman made her powerful King Philip then sent the Spanish Armada, which the navy defeated After her death, her second cousin James became king, who was an ugly weakling He made a new translation of the Bible and patronized Shakespeare and other authors By 1660 England had changes values: scientific truths began challenging religious beliefs William Shakespeare Greatest writer in English Literature Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon Married 26 year old Anna Hathaway at age 18 (1582) Went to flourishing London in 1592, where he became an actor and a playwright and was first accused of plagiarism Built Globe Theatre in 1599 on �the wrong side of town� (theatres were not accepted, were outside city walls similar to prostitutes, etc.) Elizabethan Theatre: round, wooden, roofless building, pit where groundlings stood (only men), 3 balconies for those of higher classes, no d�cor) Speeches about time, season and weather, passionate soliloquies, quick changes, rapid action, interactions with the audience, elaborate costumes, many props His company was called King's Players Players had one week to prepare for a play, which meant 800 lines a day Actors were all men, female parts were played by young boys, there was no actual kissing Only characters of lower social classes would speak in prose (otherwise poetry/drama/song) Macbeth: real King of Scotland, pleased the King, more interested in psychological truth than historical fact Wrote Romeo & Juliet about 1595 Retired from theatre in 1610 Globe Theatre burns down in 1613, he loses a lot of money but helps to rebuild it Wrote 37 plays and about 154 sonnets, also comedies, histories and tragedies Dies on April 23, 1616, aged 52 Romeo & Juliet Shakespearean tragedy Themes: forcefulness of love, love as a cause of violence, individual versus society, inevitability of fate Motifs: light/dark imagery, opposite points of view Symbols: poison, thumb-biting, queen Mab Development: Exposition: Romeo tells about his broken heart, Benvolio takes him to a Capulet party Inciting moment: Romeo and Julia lock eyes at the party Conflict: Romeo and Julia struggle between their families and their love Crisis: Romeo and Julia marry Climax: Romeo kills Tybalt and is banned from Verona Resolution: Julia pretends to be dead, Romeo returns for her and kills himself Denouement: Julia wakes up, finds Romeo and kills herself Unrhymed verse, iambic pentameter The prologue enables the audience to focus on the language and actions, by removing some of the suspense Characters and relationships: Chorus: Appearing at the beginning of the play, the Chorus sets ups the action of the play by reciting the history of the feud between the Capulets and Montagues and predicts the deadly outcome. Escalus, prince of Verona: Representing order, reason,and impartiality, the prince intervenes in the feud between the two families and threatens death to anyone who breaks the peace. He banishes Romeo and investigates the tragedy at the end, declaring that "some shall be pardon'd, and some punish'd" (5.3.308). Montague: The head of the House of Montague and Romeo's father,Montague can't understand his son's melancholy until everything is explained at the end of the play. Capulet: The head of the House of Capulet and Juliet's father, Capulet wants her to marry Paris; and, not knowing she is already married, is furious when she refuses. Romeo: Lord and Lady Montague's son, he falls in love with and secretly marries Juliet,the young daughter of his father's sworn enemy. At first he is a bookish lover, ever ready to indulge in flights of airy rhetoric. However, once he falls in love with Juliet the intensity of his passion fills out the previously shallow character. Mercutio: The prince's relative and Romeo's friend,Mercutio has a tough and bawdy wit which contrasts with Romeo's passion and romance.He is killed in a fight with Tybalt, resulting in Romeo losing his temper and killing Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. Benvolio: Montague's nephew and Romeo's friend, Benvolio is a peacemaker, trying in vain to keep the families from fighting. Tybalt: Lady Capulet's nephew and Juliet's cousin, Tybalt is fiery tempered and reaches for his rapier at the slightest provocation. He challenges Romeo to a fight, but he refuses because he is related to Juliet; Mercutio takes up the challenge and Tybalt kills him. Romeo, then angered, kills Tybalt. Petruchio: A mute follower of Tybalt. Friar Laurence: A well-intended Franciscan priest, Friar Laurence is a confidante of both Romeo and Juliet and, thinking it will stop the family feuding, marries them secretly. He also comes up with the plan to fake Juliet's death, thus putting into motion the deadly events that end the play. Friar John: Another Franciscan priest. Balthasar: Romeo's servant, Balthasar tells Romeo of Juliet's supposed death and goes to her tomb with him. Abram: Montague's messenger, Abram is one of the instigators of the first fight in the play. Sampson: Capulet's servant, Sampson is one of the instigators of the first fight in the play. Gregory: Capulet's servant, Gregory is one of the instigators of the first fight in the play. Clown: Capulet's servant. Peter: Juliet's nurse's servant. Page, to Paris Apothecary Lady Montague: Montague's wife and Romeo's mother, Lady Montague dies of grief when Romeo is exiled. Lady Capulet: Capulet's wife and Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet supports her husband in everything, including Juliet's planned marriage to Paris. She even says she would poison Romeo to have him out of the way and shows no pity for her daughter's anguish. Juliet: Lord and Lady Capulet's daughter, she meets Romeo at her father's party and falls instantly in love. She secretly maries Romeo, and, when he is exiled, agrees to the frightening plan to fake her death. A young girl, she grows to maturity and strength throughout the play. Nurse, to Juliet: A go-between for Juliet and Romeo, the garrulous Nurse carries several messages between the lovers. She is definitely Juliet's friend, but can also be meddling at times. More Romeo&Juliet: pages 10-32 Shakespearean tragedy Drama where the central character(s) suffer great misfortune. Downfall mostly results from: fate/character flaw/combination of the two Theme: central idea or insight about life which explains the downfall Dramatic foil: character whose purpose is to show off to another character Flat character: often used to provide comic relief Static character: does not change (their minds/opinions/character) throughout the story Monologue: only one person speaking on stage, there may be others on stage too Soliloquy: long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage Aside: words spoken, usually in an undertone, not intended to be heard by all characters Pun: humorous use of a word with two meanings Dramatic irony: a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the audience knows to be true Verbal irony: words used to suggest the opposite of what is meant Situational irony: event that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters or audience Comic relief: use of comedy within literature that is NOT a comedy to provide relief from seriousness or sadness Poetic devices and meter Hyperbole: exaggeration Alliteration: words near each other which start with the same consonant sound Assonance: words near each other with the same vowel sound Onomatopoeia: words sound like their meaning (hiss, drip, crash, clang, whisper) Iambic meter: metric pattern in which an unaccented beat is followed by an accented beat (away, I will) Trochaic meter: metric pattern in which an accented beat is followed by an unaccented beat (thinking, do it) Tetrameter: four repetitions of two beats each Pentameter: five repetitions of two beats each Sonnet #18 by William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. Shakespearean Sonnet Characteristics: Shute, 14 lines (one Octave, shute, then a Sestet), iambic pentameter, about love, rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efefgg) Theme: effect of passage of time on great love, poetry Personification 'this' in line 14, implicates the poem, meaning this poem will assure that 'thee' will have eternal life and beauty Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy Not a red rose or a satin heart. I give you an onion. It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love. Here. It will blind you with tears like a lover. It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief. I am trying to be truthful. Not a cute card or a kissogram. I give you an onion. Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful as we are, for as long as we are. Take it. Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring, if you like. Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife. Symbol: onion Metaphores Similes Personification Giving red roses or a kissogram would not be faithful, so the narrator gives an onion Long Distance II by Tony Harrison 1 Though my mother was already two years dead Dad kept her slippers warming by the gas, put hot water bottles her side of the bed and still went to renew her transport pass. 5 You couldn't just drop in. You had to phone. He'd put you off an hour to give him time to clear away her things and look alone as though his still raw love were such a crime. 9 He couldn't risk my blight of disbelief though sure that very soon he'd hear her key scrape in the rusted lock and end his grief. He knew she'd just popped out to get the tea. 13 I believe life ends with death, and that is all. You haven't both gone shopping; just the same, in my new black leather phone book there's your name and the disconnected number I still call. The narrator has recently lost his father and now understands why his father could not let go of his mother when she went 'you' in line 6 is the narrator, whereas 'you' in line 14 is his parents and 'your' in line 15 is his father The first part displays the fathers 'still raw love' for the mother, while she was already two years dead, which the narrator does not understand at the time In the second part, the narrator confesses to doing the same things and not being able to let go when his father dies The lock is rusted because the father did not get many visitors, he kept to himself The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef ghhg, the irregularity in the end has to do with the content of the last stanza Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead. Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West. My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good. Writer uses the imperative to convey his will: everything MUST stop since nothing can ever come to any good now that this special person is gone Sound images, to show the narrator wishes total silence Personification Contrast: black and white My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt The narrator's father (regularly) beats him up Simile: implies the narrator was frightened The narrator adresses his father, meaning he still thinks about/cares about him The father did manual labor, was a drunk, stumbled around due to his intoxication Ambiguous Meter, stanza pattern and rhyme are very regular, just like in a waltz Line 7 suggests the mother never did anything to stop the father, she just stood there, waiting for her face to stop frowning Meditation on the A30 by John Betjeman A man on his own in a car Is revenging himself on his wife; He opens the throttle and bubbles with dottle and puffs at his pitiful life �She's losing her looks very fast, she loses her temper all day; that lorry won't let me get past, this Mini is blocking my way.� "Why can't you step on it and shift her! I can't go on crawling like this! At breakfast she said that she wished I was dead- Thank heavens we don't have to kiss.� "I'd like a nice blonde on my knee And one who won't argue or nag. Who dares to come hooting at me? I only give way to a Jag. "You're barmy or plastered, I'll pass you, you bastard- I will overtake you. I will!" As he clenches his pipe, his moment is ripe And the corner's accepting its kill. The man is afraid of his wife, so he takes his anger out on the traffic Lines 3 and 4 mean as much as: he speads up and smokes his pipe �his moment is ripe� means he is ready to die (or to take on his wife, but he dies anyway) Title is ironic, meditation suggest calm, peace Extra poems included in the preparation package: Flowers by Wendy Cope Some men never think of it. You did. You'd come along And say you'd nearly brought me flowers But something had gone wrong. The shop was closed. Or you had doubts - The sort that minds like ours Dream up incessantly. You thought I might not want your flowers. It made me smile and hug you then. Now I can only smile. But, Look, the flowers you nearly bought Have lasted all this while. Mad Girl's Love Song "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you up inside my head.) The stars go waltzing out in blue and red, And arbitrary blackness gallops in: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane. (I think I made you up inside my head.) God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade: Exit seraphim and Satan's men: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I fancied you'd return the way you said, But I grow old and I forget your name. (I think I made you up inside my head.) I should have loved a thunderbird instead; At least when spring comes they roar back again. I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. (I think I made you up inside my head.)" The Collector by John Fowles Characters: Miranda Grey: popular and intelligent arts student, kidnapped by Frederick, of a higher class than him, looks down on Frederick, tries to convince him to let her go Frederick Clegg: bird collector, obsessed by Miranda, disappointed when he finds out Miranda is nothing better than any other vulgar woman, inhumane, has added Miranda to his 'collection' GP: Miranda's mentor, asked Miranda to go to bed with him, which she refused. During her time in captivity, Miranda realises she is in love with GP and hopes to marry him some day Relationships: Frederick is obsessed by Miranda and adores her, he believes she is the only perfect woman and is much different from all the other vulgar women, is disappointed when he finds out this is not true, but even then refuses to let her go. After Miranda dies, he finds another subject for his obsession Miranda looks down on and makes fun of Frederick because they cannot communicate, Frederick is not nearly as sociable as her and he refuses to let her go Themes: communication, freedom, love, collecting Motifs: the pictures Frederick takes of Miranda (a new collection), GP Symbols: butterflies (symbolise the girls he collects) Development: Exposition: Frederick has noticed Miranda before, moves when he sudden wins money and starts to observe her, mentally preparing himself, step by step, to kidnap her Inciting moment: Frederick kidnaps Miranda Conflict: Miranda tries to convince Frederick to let her go, he will not hear of it Crisis: Miranda tries to escape Climax: Frederick catches Miranda and takes all hope of freedom away Resolution: Miranda falls ill Denouement: Miranda dies The Great Gatsby Characters and relationships: Nick Carraway: narrator, moves from Minnesota to New York to learn the bond business, honest, tolerant, reserves judgement, Jay Gatsby's neighbour, Daisy Buchanan's cousin Jay Gatsby: protagonist of the novel, wealthy young man, throws lavish parties, mysterious man, madly in love with Daisy, has earned his money through criminal activities in order to meet Daisy's standard of living Daisy Buchanan: married to Tom Buchanan, fell in love with Gatsby but felt he could not satisfy her (financial) needs, cynical, behaves superficial to hide the pain she feels due to Tom's constant infidelity Tom Buchanan: Daisy's incredibly wealthy husband, arrogant, hypocritical bully, has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, racist Jordan Baker: Daisy's best friend, becomes romantically involved with Nick, professional golfer who cheated to win her first golf tournament, represents �new woman� of the 20's : self-centered, cynical, boyish Myrtle Wilson: Tom's girlfriend, married to garage-owner George, posesses a fierce vitality and hopes to improve her situation by having an affair with Tom, who sees her as a mere object George Wilson: exhausted, loves and idolises Myrtle, devastated when he finds out she has an affair, comparable to Gatsby since both by their unrequited love for women who love Tom Themes: the decline of the American Dream in the 1920's, hollowness of the upper class Motifs: geography, weather Symbols: the green light (Gatsby's hopes and dreams), the valley of ashes (moral and social decay resulting from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth), Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes (God (only to George Wilson), how people invest objects with meaning) Development: Exposition: Nick moves to New York and meets Gatsby Inciting moment: Gatsby and Daisy meet at Nick's house Conflict: Gatsby wants to be with Daisy, but she is married Crisis: Gatsby and Daisy have an affair Climax: Gatsby and Daisy drive home after a fight with Tom and Daisy runs Myrtle over Resolution: Wilson kills Gatsby Denouement: Daisy and Tom move away Romeo and Juliet Study Guide / Answer Key Prologue Vocabulary mutiny � strife, rivalry piteous � passionate 1. In the prologue, Shakespeare tells his audience what they are to expect in the play. Why do you suppose Shakespeare chooses to use this technique? The Prologue is a technique that does remove some of the suspense, but it enables the reader and audience members to concentrate on the language and actions that take place. 2. Where is the play set? This play is set in the city of Verona in Italy. 3. Put the following lines into your own words: �From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross�d lovers take their life;� Born into these two feuding families are two children who are destined by Fate to become lovers and will commit suicide. 4. What does the term �star-cross�d lovers� suggest? The ancients and the Elizabethans thought the stars influenced destiny or fate; �starcross�d lovers� suggests that the couple�s love is written in the stars and ultimately, so is their death. It is their destiny to cross each other�s path. The word ��cross�d� can also suggest deeper interpretations. For example: a cross or an intersection can imply bad luck. In addition, the cross can suggest that, although the two will meet and fall in love, they are destined to move in opposite directions. The belief that Fate and destiny control life is one major theme of this play. T-2 5. Put these lines into your own words: �Whose misadventur�d piteous overthrows Doth, with their death, bury their parents� strife.� In their misadventure, Romeo and Juliet die; and with their death, they bury the feud between their families. 6. Do you think this prologue is necessary or unnecessary? Answers will vary. Act I, Scene I � Verona. A public place. Vocabulary colliers � people who dig or sell coals valiant � brave fray � brawl partisans � weapons pernicious � vindictive, wicked beseeming � becoming adversary � enemy, nemesis ere � before drave � drove covert � thicket augmenting � increasing importuned � inquired, questioned tyrannous � cruel, vicious siege � the act of being encircled ope � open posterity � future generations 1. What are Sampson and Gregory discussing in the first eleven lines of this scene? Both men work for the Capulets and are discussing their hatred for the Montagues. 2. Sampson and Gregory are bragging, vulgar-mouthed men who engage in word games. What bawdy comment does Sampson make? What kind of �love� is this an example of? Sampson brags that he will take the virginity from the Montague women: ��therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague�s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall.� This is a good example of vulgar love. T-3 3. Who are the two Montagues Gregory and Sampson meet on their way? The Capulets draw their weapons, but what indicates that they are not as brave as they say they are? Abraham and Balthasar are the two Montagues Sampson and Gregory meet. Sampson assures Gregory, �I will back thee.� Gregory wants to run away. Then, both men decide the cowardly route is best and the two plan to instigate, allowing the Montagues to start the fight: �Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.� 4. Why do you suppose biting a thumb is offensive to the Capulets? Biting a thumb is equivalent to modern gesture of sticking up a middle finger. 5. Who is Benvolio and what does he attempt to do? Benvolio, a Montague, tries to break up the fighting servants by drawing his own sword. 6. How does Tybalt, a Capulet, misinterpret Benvolio�s action? What does Tybalt say to him? Tybalt questions Benvolio�s attempts at peace, claims to �hate the word,� and threatens to kill Benvolio. 7. Why is Tybalt considered hot-tempered? Tybalt does not listen to Benvolio�s explanation; rather, he starts fighting immediately. 8. What does Lady Capulet say about Lord Capulet�s age and condition? Instead of calling for a sword to fight with, he should, at his age, be calling for a crutch. 9. What do you suppose prompts Lady Montague to hold her husband back from the fight? The Montagues want to keep their dignity; they are lords and lady�s who should not engage in fighting, they are too good to fight and ��shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe.� 10. The Prince appears, and he is angry. Why is he angry, and what is the promise and threat he makes? This Capulet/Montague feud has disturbed the peace of the city once too often. The next Capulet or Montague who breaks the peace will pay with his life at the hands of the Prince�s civil authority. T-4 11. Lady Montague, glad that Romeo has missed the fight, asks Benvolio if he has seen Romeo. What is Benvolio�s response? Benvolio saw Romeo, sometime before sunrise. Romeo, wanting to be alone, fled into the forest upon first glimpse of Benvolio. Not really eager for company himself, Benvolio did not bother to go after Romeo. 12. Montague, when speaking of Romeo�s recent depression, states: ��But all so soon as the all-cheering sun Should in the farthest east begin to draw The shady curtains from Aurora�s bed, Away from light steals home my heavy son, And private in his chamber pens himself, �� Interpret these lines. What is Montague saying about his son, Romeo? Who is Aurora? Why do you think Shakespeare includes her in these lines? What literary term is employed by the use of Aurora? Montague explains how Romeo stays out until the cheerful sun rises in the east and opens Aurora�s curtains to let the sun shine through; at this moment, Romeo flees from the light to the darkness of his private bedroom. According to Roman mythology, Aurora is the goddess of the dawn. Including mythological references is Shakespeare�s way of relating to his audience. The majority of Shakespeare�s audience would have had a strong grasp on mythology. Shakespeare also includes political and other social events that his audience would have had knowledge about. By referencing Aurora, Shakespeare is utilizing the literary device of allusion. 13. Romeo enters and tells Benvolio the problem. What is his problem? Romeo is in love with, Rosaline, who does not return his love. 14. Romeo�s lines can be seen as presenting the paradox of love or simply as romantic nonsense. What indication is there that Romeo recognizes his sentiments could be viewed as romantic nonsense? When Romeo finishes, he says to Benvolio, �Dost thou not laugh?� 15. What is Benvolio�s response? Benvolio is not laughing because, being young and romantic himself, he has the same problem and can sympathize with Romeo. T-5 16. �Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lover�s eyes; Being vex�d, a sea nourish�d with lovers� tears:�� What literary term is illustrated here? This passage is an example of a metaphor; love is compared to the smoke from fire (passion) and has the ability to create a sea of tears. 17. Although Benvolio and Romeo are saddened by unrequited love, what joke are they able to make? Benvolio asks who Romeo loves. Romeo answers a woman. Benvolio says that that is obvious. 18. What is the nature of Romeo�s desire toward Rosaline? According to the tradition of courtly love, how is Romeo expected to respond to her rejection? Romeo�s overtures toward Rosaline are blatantly sexual (which is a vulgar kind of love). After being refused by her Romeo must, in the tradition of courtly love, pine away and die of unrequited love: ��She hath forsworn to love; and in that vow/Do I live dead, that live to tell it now.� 19. What practical advice does Benvolio give Romeo? Romeo should look for someone else and forget Rosaline, but Romeo responds that he will never be able to forget her. 20. �O, she is rich in beauty, only poor That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.� What are these two lines an example of? These two lines are an example of a couplet. T-6 Act I, Scene II � A street. Vocabulary merit � deserve sirrah � sir holp � helped languish � persistent disease heretics � people whose opinions differ from the official faith (Christianity) scant � barely, hardly 1. After speaking briefly, Paris gets to the point of his visit to the Capulets. What does he ask of Lord Capulet? Paris asks for Capulet�s daughter�s hand in marriage. 2. What is Capulet�s response? Capulet�s daughter, Juliet is not yet fourteen, but in two years they can marry if she is willing. 3. Paris responds that girls younger than she have been married. What is Capulet�s response to this? Capulet�s daughter is the only child he has left. He will not force her into a marriage she does not want. 4. What suggestion and invitation does Capulet make to Paris? Capulet tells Paris to win her heart. Capulet invites Paris to attend a party that night to court her. 5. Compare Capulet�s speech at the beginning of this scene to Sampson and Gregory�s conversation at the beginning of Act I, Scene I. How are the speeches different? Why do you think Shakespeare chose to write the speeches so differently? Capulet�s speech is written in verse, whereas Sampson and Gregory�s conversation is written in prose. Through many of Shakespeare�s plays, members of the upper class tend to speak in verse and servants, or members of the lower class speak in prose. T-7 6. In his conversation with Romeo, Benvolio says: �Take thou some new infection to the eye, And the rank poison of the old will die.� Interpret these lines. Benvolio advises Romeo to find other women (new infection) to fawn over (to the eye) and the heartache (poison) brought on by Rosaline (of the old) will fade away (will die). 7. What does the �poison� Benvolio mentions symbolize? The poison, in this context, symbolizes Romeo�s heartache, and is also a subtle foreshadow of the events to come. 8. Romeo, lamenting his unrequited love, is approached by an illiterate servingman. In reading his list he finds that Rosaline, his love, is going to attend the Capulet party. What suggestion does Benvolio make? Benvolio suggests that they go to the party and Benvolio will show Romeo women that make Rosaline look ugly in comparison: �Compare her face with some that I shall show,/And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.� 9. When Romeo responds that Rosaline is the most beautiful woman since time began, what is Benvolio�s response? Benvolio wants Romeo to look at Rosaline next to someone else, and he will see how little she has to offer. T-8 Act I, Scene III � A room in Capulet�s house. Vocabulary dug � teat, nipple tetchy � touchy, oversensitive, irritable trow � say rood � crucifix perilous � dangerous, hazardous lineament � aspect, characteristic margent � margin endart � take flight and puncture like an arrow 1. Juliet will turn 14 on Lammas�eve. What is the Lammas�tide the women speak of? Lammas Day was a holiday celebrated on August 1st as a day when the first ripe grains were blessed by priests. Lammas�eve, Juliet�s birthday, would then be on July 31st. 2. The Nurse quotes the vulgar remark that her husband made to young Juliet and then, she likes it so much that she repeats it. What do the Nurse�s indecent remarks in front of the family indicate about their relationship? The Nurse seems to be a confidante of both mother and daughter and can say just about anything she pleases without getting into trouble. Note to Teacher: �Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest of age�� suggests Juliet will lie on her back when she is older, thus a very sexual remark. 3. What does Lady Capulet tell Juliet? What is Juliet�s response? Lady Capulet explains that Paris wants to marry Juliet. Lady Capulet also tells her daughter that Paris is a handsome man and a fine catch, so Juliet should look him over tonight at the party and think about it. Juliet decides she will do as her mother suggests. T-9 Act I, Scene IV � A street. Vocabulary prolixity � overly lengthy Tartar � a warrior lath � wood burthen � burden visage � face wantons � tomboys mire � mud agate-stone � a stone with small figures cut into it alderman � city ruler traces � harnesses gossamer � sheer, light filmy substance benefice � secular lifestyle ambuscadoes � traps anon � promptly, soon vile � wicked, heinous steerage � direction 1. Why does Romeo say he is unable to dance? Romeo claims his soul is made of lead (from sadness) which weighs him down. 2. How do the Montagues expect to be able to enter a Capulet house? The party is a masked ball, so they will not be easily recognized. 3. Romeo is apprehensive about going to the masquerade because of the dream he had the night before. Romeo seems to believe (as did many in Shakespeare�s day) that dreams have something to do with life. Perhaps Romeo believes dreams act as omens. What is Mercutio�s opinion of dreams? Mercutio believes dreams signify nothing and reflect a great deal of superstitious nonsense: ��I talk of dreams;/Which are the children of an idle brain,/Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,�� 4. What does Mercutio�s speech reveal about his character? Mercutio�s speech shows how he has the tendency to babble and ramble on. He seems very showy and prone to over exaggerate. T-10 5. Choose 4 � 8 lines of Mercutio�s dream and write a brief summary. Answers may vary. Example: �Her waggon-spokes made of long spinners� legs; The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers; Her traces, of the smallest spider�s web; Her collars, of the moonshine�s watery beams; Her whip, of cricket�s bone; the lash, of film; Her waggoner, a small grey-coated gnat, Not half so big as a round little worm Prick�d from the lazy finger of a maid:�� The Queen Mab�s spokes on her wagon are made from spider�s legs; The cover of her wagon is made from grasshopper wings; Her harness strap is made from the smallest spider�s web; Parts of the harnesses are made from the moon�s watery beams; Her whip is made from a cricket�s bone; the whip�s chord, from a filmy cobweb; Her driver is a small gnat wearing a gray coat, Not even 1/2 as big as a worm Taken from the finger of a lazy maid� 6. How does Benvolio end the conversation? Benvolio casually lets Romeo and Mercutio know that they have yammered on for too long: �This wind you talk of blows us from ourselves;/Supper is done, and we shall come too late.� 7. What is Romeo�s misgiving, and what does the line �some consequence, yet hanging in the stars� have to do with his feeling of dread? Discuss the theme this quote illustrates. Romeo believes that going to this party will initiate a chain of events (destiny �hanging in the stars�) that may end in his untimely death. The theme of Fate having complete control is illustrated by Romeo�s comment. All his faith sits among the stars. T-11 Act I, Scene V � A hall in Capulet�s house. Vocabulary nuptial � wedding ceremony ward � dependent rapier � a small sword solemnity � festivities disparagement � affliction, injury, harm scathe � hurt, injure princox � a rude, impolite boy perforce � is a requirement; is essential choler � fury, anger gall � detest, disgust prodigious � threatening, ominous 1. Lord Capulet and a relative stand, unmasked, on one side of the room. Romeo, masked, standing on the other side, asks a servingman who Juliet is. How does Romeo describe the girl, and what does he conclude? Using elegant comparisons, Romeo describes Juliet as being the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and concludes, �Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!/For I ne�er saw true beauty till this night.� 2. What is Tybalt�s reaction when he hears Romeo�s voice? Tybalt is able to recognize Romeo�s voice, as an enemy, and vows to kill the Montague behind the mask. 3. What does Lord Capulet say to Tybalt in reference to Romeo�s attendance at the party? Lord Capulet informs Tybalt of Romeo�s reputation, saying that the people of Verona brag about how dignified and honorable Romeo has become. Lord Capulet vows to not show Romeo any disrespect. Capulet continues advising Tybalt to ignore Romeo and have a good time at the party: ��Show a fair presence and put off these frowns�� 4. Tybalt obeys his uncle, but what does he foresee? Tybalt withdraws, but proclaims how livid Romeo and Juliet�s meeting makes him. Tybalt predicts that even though the meeting seems sweet, Romeo and Juliet�s relationship will eventually revert to hatred. Tybalt�s prediction supports the theme of the extreme power love has over life. Love�s power is so overwhelming it can be blinding � just as hate has the strength to blind. T-12 5. Romeo, approaching Juliet, begins a conversation, and ends up kissing her twice before the Nurse comes to tell Juliet that her mother requests her. Romeo and his friends leave. How does the audience know that Juliet feels as strongly about Romeo as he does for her? Juliet welcomes Romeo�s kisses, twice. Then, as Romeo is leaving, Juliet sends her Nurse to find out who he is. The audience knows how deeply Juliet feels because she states to her Nurse, �If he be married,/My grave is like to be my wedding bed.� Romeo and Juliet both find out the other belongs to their enemy�s family. Both are devastated. Act II � Prologue. 1. The chorus comments on the action of the play. In your own words, discuss the meaning of the first four lines. Romeo�s desire for Rosaline has died, A new love he has inherited (acquired); Romeo�s love is so strong Juliet�s love is equal to Romeo�s. 2. What problem is alluded to concerning the lovers? Being enemies, the couple is destined to find severe obstacles in their relationship. 3. What is the suggested answer to their problem? Romeo and Juliet have such as strong, passionate connection, they will go to any lengths to be together. 4. What is the rhyme scheme of the prologue for Act II? What type of poem is the prologue? [A] [B] [A] [B] is the rhyme scheme. This prologue is a sonnet, and it ends (as sonnets typically do) with a couplet. 5. Identify the half rhyme within the prologue. This prologue�s half rhyme is seen with the words, �again� and �complain� T-13 Act II, Scene I � A lane by the wall of Capulet�s orchard. Vocabulary purblind � physically blind Venus � Roman goddess of love and beauty demesnes � domain, territory invocation � the act of calling a superior for help 1. Romeo slips away from his friends; the practical, vulgar Mercutio makes some indecent comments about Rosaline. What misapprehension are Mercutio and Benvolio under? What truth does the audience know? Mercutio and Benvolio believe Romeo is still in love with Rosaline and is pining away for her. The audience knows, however, that Romeo is now in love with Juliet and Juliet returns his love. Act II, Scene II � Capulet�s orchard. Vocabulary vestal � celibate, virtuous livery � appearance enmity � hatred perjuries � falsehoods Jove � chief Roman god, Jupiter perverse � passionless, indifferent, unsympathetic ware � conscious of, aware idolatry � worship falconer � a hawk trainer gyves � chains, shackles 1. As the scene opens, Romeo enters and says: �He jests at scars that never felt a wound.� What is Romeo referring to? What does this statement suggest? In the previous scene, Mercutio and Benvolio make fun of Romeo�s pain. Romeo is hurt by Rosaline�s rejection; Mercutio and Benvolio have never been in love, and, therefore, have never been rejected or hurt by love (�never felt a wound�). This statement can be universal as well. Those who have never felt love have no idea what it feels like to be without love, or to be rejected by love. Most importantly, this statement foreshadows the events that will take place in the last scene. The scars and wounds that are created in the last scene, have been created by the powers of love. T-14 2. Romeo�s first speech is among the most famous of Shakespeare�s soliloquies. What is the main idea in Romeo�s speech? Put the last seven lines of this speech into your own words. Romeo praises Juliet�s beauty generously. The last seven lines: Juliet�s beauty glows so bright, she makes the stars look dull; Like daylight with a lamp, Juliet�s eyes shine bright; If her eyes were looking down from heaven, they would light the earth so brightly That birds will believe it to be daylight, singing as if it was morning. Juliet puts her cheek in her hand! I wish I were that glove on her hand, So I may have the pleasure of touching her cheek! 3. Does Juliet know that Romeo is beneath her window? No, at first, Juliet does not know Romeo is beneath the window. 4. One of the most famous lines is when Juliet explains: �O Romeo, Romeo! Wherfore art thou Romeo?� What do these lines mean? Juliet, knowing that Romeo is a Montague, questions why her love, her Romeo, has to be an enemy to her family. Note that �wherefore� actually means �why�. 5. Juliet makes a secret vow to Romeo; what is this vow? What is the significance of this quote in relation to a major theme of the play? �Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I�ll no longer be a Capulet.� Juliet vows to abandon her family name in order to be with Romeo. This quote shows how the love Romeo and Juliet share is driving them to defy once important elements of their social life (family and friends). A major theme of this play is that love is so powerful it has the ability to force couples into doing things they would not ordinarily do. T-15 6. Romeo, after listening to Juliet profess her love, decides to make his presence known. How does Romeo identify himself? Find the quote, then put the passage into modern words. �I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I�ll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo. By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee; Had I it written, I would tear the word.� When Romeo first makes his presence known, he states that, if only Juliet will love him, he will be reborn as her love only � never being called Romeo again. He continues by saying that he is having a difficult time revealing himself, considering how, technically, he is an enemy of Juliet�s. ��tear the word� suggests that Romeo will turn his back on his own family name to have Juliet. 7. As Juliet knows, Romeo is risking death by being there. When she mentions this fact to Romeo, what is his response? Romeo, romantically responds, telling Juliet that he is so in love with her, he is able to climb walls with ease to see her. He also says that no ��stony limits� can ��hold love out�� and none of her kinsman can hurt him. 8. Romeo, still trying to convince Juliet of his safety, says: �I have night�s cloak to hide me from their eyes�� What may �night� symbolize? Night may be a symbol of safety, a way the two lovers can be together without too much danger. Night is secretive, and silent, a way to stay hidden. 9. Juliet is embarrassed that Romeo has overheard how she feels about him, but she decides to ignore convention. Although deeply in love herself, how does she show herself to be shrewd and knowledgeable about men? What concern does Juliet reveal in her private thoughts? Juliet asks Romeo if he loves her, realizing that Romeo might easily lie to her in order to take advantage of her. Juliet is concerned that Romeo may think she can be easily attained because she is not remaining aloof. 10. When Romeo swears by the moon, what does Juliet tell him? Juliet tells Romeo that the moon changes, and his love for her should not change as frequently as the moon. She wants him to speak the truth from his heart. T-16 11. What does Juliet mean when she tells Romeo, ��swear by the gracious self,/Which is the god of my idolatry,�� Juliet is telling Romeo that her love for him is so strong she reveres him as a god. 12. Juliet professes how she idolizes Romeo. What previous scene does this remind you of? In Act I, Scene V, Romeo and Juliet meet at the masquerade. Romeo approaches Juliet, and in this conversation, he uses a lot of religious imagery to express his feelings: �If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this, My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. �O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. �Then move not, while my prayer�s effect I take. Thus from my lips by thine my sin is purged.� 13. What second thoughts does Juliet have? Quote the passage that reveals these thoughts. Juliet is apprehensive because her relationship with Romeo is progressing very quickly. �I have no joy of this contract to-night: It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, Too like the lightening, which doth cease to be Ere one can say �It lightens.� Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer�s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.� 14. After an exchange of vows, the Nurse calls and Juliet must leave. What is Romeo�s feeling as he stands there? Romeo fears this romantic night has been a dream, because everything has been so wonderful he is ��afeard,/Being in night, all this is but a dream,/Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.� 15. Juliet reappears. What does she tell Romeo? Returning to the balcony, Juliet asks Romeo, if his ��love be honourable�� to propose and organize their marriage. If he chooses to marry her, all her fortunes will become his and she will follow him ��throughout the world.� T-17 16. When Juliet reappears, for the second time, she claims: �Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud; Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies, And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine, With repetition of my Romeo�s name.� Why is Juliet�s allusion to Echo significant? In Greek mythology, Echo is a nymph who is madly in love with Narcissus. Echo pines over this love until she fades away completely, leaving only her voice. 17. It is apparent that neither Romeo nor Juliet wants the night to end. What is Juliet�s famous parting line? �Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say good night till it be morrow.� 18. What decision does Romeo make? Romeo decides to go to his �ghostly father�, the Friar, for help. T-18 Act II, Scene III � Friar Laurence�s cell. Vocabulary chequering � speckling, spotting osier � tree of the willow family shrift � confession brine � tears chid�st � scolds, reprimands doting � excessively loving 1. At the beginning of the scene, Friar Laurence, makes a very profound speech. Choose one full sentence in his speech to interpret. Can any of what the Friar says be applied to the world now? Answers may vary. Example: �The earth that�s nature�s mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is her womb: And from her womb children of divers kind We sucking on her natural bosom find, Many for many virtues excellent, None but for some, and yet all different.� Nature is the mother of all beings. The earth is Mother Nature�s natural tomb, a graveyard for all those who pass. Simultaneously, the earth is Mother Nature�s womb; she gives birth to all those who inhabit the earth. Mother Nature�s world is diverse, and all those born on her earth are nurtured by her nature. People will find that her world is full of many wonderful attributes and qualities. These attributes allow the population, Mother Nature�s children, freedom to choose the way they live their lives � which is as diverse and different as the population itself. This passage can be applied to modern times because of the diverse nature of the world, as well as the wide range of opportunities that are available to the population. In addition, Nature, although much has become commercialized, is still appreciated and loved by many. T-19 2. The Friar assumes that Romeo is out so early because he has been up all night with Rosaline. When the Friar is informed that it is not Rosaline, but a Capulet, Romeo wishes to marry, what is the Friar�s reaction? The Friar is shocked that Romeo has changed his affections so quickly. The Friar concludes that Romeo�s love lies only in physical attraction: ��young men�s love then lies/Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.� 3. How is the Friar making fun of Romeo? The Friar cannot believe that after all the lamenting he has heard from Romeo about Rosaline, that Romeo has now completely forgotten her. 4. Why does the Friar agree to help Romeo and Juliet get married? The Friar hopes that the marriage of Romeo and Juliet may end the hatred between their families. T-20 Act II, Scene IV � A street. Vocabulary cleft � split fantasticoes � gallants, cavaliers, suitors roe � fish eggs fishified � changed to a fish dowdy � trollop, harlot, prostitute hams � knees ell � a measurement of forty-five inches mar � hurt troth � loyalty, devotion bawd � whore, prostitute lenten � pie made during Lent vexed � disturbed, troubled shrived � forgiven, pardoned convoy � carriage, transportation prating � gossiping, babbling lieve � rather, �just as soon� apace � swiftly, rapidly 1. Once again, Mercutio yammers on and on at the beginning of this scene. Both Mercutio and Benvolio believe that Romeo is still pining over Rosaline. Once Romeo enters, Mercutio, in one passage, makes several allusions. List the allusions then, do a little research to explain what the allusions mean and how they fit in the context of this scene. Petrarch � an Italian poet who is famous because of his poems to Laura Laura � Laura and Petrarch met in Avignon Dido � Queen of Carthage Cleopatra � Queen of Egypt Helen � daughter of Zeus, who is very beautiful, and desired by many men Hero � in Greek mythology, she is Aphrodite�s priestess, and a mistress to Leander Thisbe � Pyramus� mistress despite her mother�s disapproval Mercutio�s sarcasm here is directed at Romeo as a lover. Mercutio is saying that Romeo�s love for Rosaline, as well as Rosaline�s beauty, far surpasses the beauty of these women. Mercutio calls Helen and Hero �wretches� because their beauty is no match for Rosaline�s, in Romeo�s loving eyes. 2. �Without his roe, like a dried herring: O flesh, flesh, how are thou fishified!� What is the pun Mercutio is making here? What type of pun is this? Romeo, without the �R-o� does not leave much � Romeo has not been himself since he has given all his love to Rosaline. �Roe� are fish eggs, which makes the pun flow easily with the rest of the thought. This type of pun can be referred to as a double entendre. T-21 3. As Romeo enters, Mercutio and Benvolio are discussing Romeo�s longing for Rosaline and Tybalt�s challenge to Romeo. What change in Romeo�s behavior does Mercutio comment on? Mercutio mentions how great it is to see the old Romeo, the sociable, jesting Romeo, not the miserable Romeo pining for Rosaline that has been seen lately. 4. The Nurse and Peter arrive looking for Romeo. How does Romeo respond? Romeo comments that he will grow old waiting to find out what the Nurse wants. 5. What do you think the Nurse�s malapropism, using �confidence� instead of �conference�, suggests about her character, or about the situation? Answers may vary. Example: The use of malapropisms can sometimes suggest ignorance, but in this situation, the slip may be just that � a slip. Romeo and Juliet are courting in complete secret. As Juliet�s confidante, the Nurse has come, in a sense, to confide in Romeo concerning Juliet. 6. After Benvolio and Mercutio leave, the Nurse asks, ��what saucy merchant was this, that was so full of his ropery?� What is Romeo�s answer? As the audience has already seen, Mercutio loves to hear himself talk and will say more in a minute than he will listen to in a month. 7. The Nurse, expresses certain doubts about Romeo. What are these doubts and how does Romeo respond? The Nurse questions Romeo�s intentions because Juliet is so young and inexperienced. The Nurse fears Romeo is leading Juliet ��into a fool�s paradise�� Romeo immediately protests these accusations, which proves to the Nurse that Romeo is sincere and his feelings for Juliet are genuine. 8. What is the message that Romeo gives to the Nurse for Juliet? Romeo wants Juliet to find a way to come for confession at Friar Laurence�s cell that afternoon, so the two can be married. 9. Romeo tells the Nurse that his �man� will deliver something beyond the abbey-wall. What is Romeo�s �man� bringing? The �man� is bringing a rope ladder that is to hang from Juliet�s balcony. T-22 Act II, Scene V � Capulet�s orchard. Vocabulary lame � incapacitated, physically handicapped heralds � couriers, messengers feign � fabricate, act fie � a curse beshrew � a mild curse hie � leave wanton � magnificent, extravagant 1. Juliet waits anxiously for the Nurse to return. How is Juliet able to justify her Nurse�s tardiness? Juliet knows how elders tend to move slower than youngsters. 2. How does the Nurse tease Juliet? The Nurse, claiming to have had a long journey, says she is unable to speak because she needs to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Juliet waits expectantly. Then, instead of telling Juliet Romeo�s response, the Nurse starts complaining of her aches and pains asking about Juliet�s mother, delaying the news Juliet cannot wait to hear. 3. Finally, what does the Nurse tell Juliet? The Nurse gives Romeo�s instructions to Juliet: Juliet is to go to confession at Friar Laurence�s cell, where the two will marry. 4. The Nurse is off to fetch the rope ladder. What is this rope ladder going to be used for? Juliet is to hang the rope ladder from her balcony the night of the marriage, so Romeo can climb the ladder into Juliet�s room. The Nurse, true to character, conveys the message with lusty humor (�You shall bear the burden soon at night�). T-23 Act II, Scene VI � Friar Laurence�s cell. Vocabulary flint � stone with which to make fire wanton � playful, spirited, exuberant blazon � compliment, glorify 1. When speaking with Friar Laurence, while waiting for Juliet, Romeo says: �Do thou close our hands with holy words,/Then love-devouring death do what he dare,/It is enough I may but call her mine.� After interpreting Romeo�s words, what do you think this passage suggests? Essentially, Romeo says that death can do whatever it pleases, once he is married to Juliet. Answers may vary. Example: These lines are foreshadowing the future duel suicides of the lovers. 2. In expressing his reservations about the marriage, find a quote from Friar Laurence, that could foreshadow future events. Friar Laurence says, �These violent delights� (Romeo and Juliet�s passion for each other) may end in a different kind of passion. A more moderate love is a long love, for a love that begins quickly can end quickly. 3. What follows after Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Laurence exit from the stage? Romeo and Juliet are married by the Friar. Act III, Scene I � A public place. Vocabulary addle � jumbled doublet � piece of men�s clothing zounds � derived from an oath �God�s wounds� (swounds) haunt � popular place appertaining � relevant, pertinent dry-beat � to beat, lash, wallop pilcher � case or cover for a sword passado � fencing term effeminate � powerless, weak 1. How does Benvolio show himself to be a reasoning man? Benvolio says in hot weather, like the kind they are experiencing, anger is easily triggered, resulting in a brawl that the two will be unable to avoid. T-24 2. What is Mercutio�s response? Is he correct? Mercutio says that Benvolio is the more hot-tempered one and should not be giving lessons on controlling tempers when Benvolio is unable to control his own. Mercutio is probably incorrect. Benvolio appears to be the more rational of the two. 3. How does Mercutio show himself to be the more reckless of the two? Mercutio loses his temper quickly when Tybalt asks if Mercutio and Romeo �consort.� 4. Romeo enters. Tybalt has a few heated words for Romeo. Even after hearing the insults, Romeo says he has to love Tybalt. Why does Romeo says this? Tybalt is Juliet�s cousin and by marrying Juliet, Romeo has an unconditional love for all Capulets. 5. How does Romeo hint to his marriage to Juliet? Romeo�s love for Tybalt is more than can be imagined. Then, Romeo also says, that the name, Capulet, is a name he cherishes as if it were his own. 6. How does Mercutio react to Romeo�s refusal to fight with Tybalt? Why is this element of the scene significant? Mercutio thinks that Romeo has acted dishonorably. Mercutio then draws his own sword, challenging Tybalt. It is love that forces Romeo to be disloyal to his family and friends by choosing to not fight Tybalt. Because of Romeo�s decision, Mercutio is then forced to act on the hate he feels for the Capulets as well as the loyalty he has for the Montagues � that which Romeo seems to have lost. 7. In what way is Romeo responsible for Mercutio�s being stabbed? Tybalt is in search of Romeo to fight; instead, because Romeo has married Juliet, he has to back down from Tybalt�s challenge. Angry Mercutio steps up. Then, Romeo tries to break up the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio; in so doing, Tybalt finds an opportunity to stab Mercutio. 8. In what way is Mercutio�s comment about his wound ironic? Mercutio says his wound is ��not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door,� but it is enough to kill him. Mercutio also claims, ��ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man�, meaning both �sad and solemn� and �buried.� Mercutio also says, he is �peppered�for this world.� �Peppered� can have several meanings referring to �being dealt a death blow�, to be �finished�, or to be �done in this world.� Mercutio mentions that the Capulets and Montagues ��have made worms� meat of me.� T-25 9. Romeo says, �My very friend hath got this mortal hurt/In my behalf; my reputation stain�d/With Tybalt�s slander,��� Romeo uses �stain�d�, which takes on a duel meaning. What are the different meanings? Romeo�s reputation has been ruined because of the murder (stained) � the murder has literally stained Romeo with blood. 10. What is Romeo�s reaction to Mercutio�s death? Romeo is determined to avenge Mercutio�s death by killing Tybalt. 11. What is Romeo willing to sacrifice for Mercutio? Romeo is willing to get himself killed, as long as he attempts to avenge Mercutio�s death: �Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him.� 12. Once killing Tybalt, Romeo says, �O, I am fortune�s fool!� What does he mean by this? What major theme does this statement support? �Fortune� refers to fate. Romeo firmly believes his future has been written for him. By killing Tybalt, Romeo proves the theme that fortune/fate always prevails. 13. Throughout this play, loyalty proves to be a determining factor for characters who have a decision to make. What is your opinion of Benvolio after he tells the Prince that Romeo is responsible for Tybalt�s death? Answers will vary. Example: Benvolio may be viewed as disloyal to his friend, Romeo. Benvolio may be view as loyal to the Prince. 14. What does Lady Capulet request of the Prince? Lady Capulet wants Romeo to be slain for his crime of killing her nephew, Tybalt. 15. What slant does Benvolio put on his account of the fight? Benvolio tells of how Tybalt, unruly and �deaf to peace,� was blind with rage, despite Romeo�s attempts to stop the brawl. 16. What is Lady Capulet�s comment on Benvolio�s story? Lady Capulet says that Benvolio is speaking falsely because he is a Montague. 17. What is the Prince�s decision? The Prince decides to banish Romeo from the city. If Romeo is seen within city limits, he is to be killed. T-26 Act III, Scene II � Capulet�s orchard. Vocabulary Phoebus � Roman god of the sun (Apollo) Phaethon � son of Apollo amorous � passionate, loving garish � elaborate, pretentious cockatrice � a mythological creature said to have the ability to kill with a single look weal � security, success, fortune corse � corpse bedaub�d � covered, smeared bower � surround, encompass monarch � prince, king, ruler beguiled � fooled, seduced 1. The night is a very significant time for Romeo and Juliet. In her soliloquy, she mentions �night� at least 12 times. List 10 ways Juliet uses �night�. 1. �cloudy night� 2. �close curtain� 3. �love-performing night� 4. love is blind and �best agrees with night� 5. �civil night� 6. �sober-suited matron, all in black� 7. �day in night� 8. �wings of night� 9. �gentle night� 10. �loving, black-brow�d night� 11. When Romeo dies, if he is cut into tiny stars, �the world will be in love with night,/And pay no worship to the garish sun.� 12. the night is exciting, like the eve before a holiday or festival 2. As Juliet waits for night and Romeo�s visit, the Nurse arrives with news. What is the news, and how is it presented? The Nurse, flustered and upset by the news, has difficulty telling Juliet that Romeo has murdered Tybalt and how Juliet�s lover is banished. Because the news is so difficult for the Nurse to deliver, Juliet is under the impression, at first, that Romeo is dead. T-27 3. Juliet�s first reaction is to call Romeo names. What does she call her beloved Romeo? The names she calls Romeo are quite obscure; what do you think they suggest? What is odd about these insults? Answers may vary. Example: �serpent heart� (he has the heart of a devil); �dragon�; �Beautiful tyrant!�; �fiend angelical!�; �Dove-feather�d raven!�; �wolvish-ravening lamb!�; �damned saint�; �honourable villain!� Answers may vary. Example: Juliet is confused. She has lost her cousin, Tybalt, who she loves unconditionally, but it is her true love who is the murderer. These names she calls Romeo are also confused because she is intermixing complements with insults. A �wolvishravening lamb� suggests that he has �wolvish� tendencies(eg. barbaric, uncivilized, etc.), but �lamb� suggests, the lamb of God; this comment goes back to earlier scenes when Juliet professed how much she idolizes Romeo, and how highly she thinks of him. 4. After the name calling, what is Juliet�s second reaction? What does this second reaction prove? Juliet loves Romeo and realizes that Tybalt would have killed Romeo if Romeo had not killed him first. With Juliet�s realization it proves her loyalty and trust to Romeo. 5. Juliet, figuratively states: �Some word there was, worser than Tybalt�s death,/That murder�d me�� What is it that �murder�d� Juliet? Why does she choose to express herself in this way? The statement, �Tybalt is dead, and Romeo banished�� murdered Juliet. Her choice of using the word �murdered� shows how devastated she is by learning both facts. Tybalt, her cousin, dead and killed by Romeo, her only love, hurts her so much it is enough to kill her. (This word choice is another way of foreshadowing the suicides later in the play, as well.) 6. Why does the Nurse, who is obviously fond of Tybalt, volunteer to go and get Romeo? Juliet has said that, with Romeo banished, she is going to go to her room to kill herself. The Nurse knows Romeo is the only one who can comfort Juliet during this time. Being the wonderful confidante she is, the Nurse offers to find Romeo. 7. Where is Romeo hiding, what seems to be Juliet�s plan, and what does she give to the Nurse? Romeo is hiding in Friar Laurence�s cell, and Juliet wants to see him that night before he makes his final exit from the city. Juliet gives the Nurse a ring to deliver to Romeo. This ring signifies to Romeo that the message is from Juliet and that she does not blame him for Tybalt�s death. T-28 Act III, Scene III � Friar Laurence�s cell. Vocabulary affliction � agony, depression, grief sack � rob, ransack, raid usurer � money-lender digressing � departing, diverging, drifting 1. How does Romeo react to the news that he has been banished? Romeo complains a great deal, because life outside of Verona, without Juliet, seems to be no life at all. 2. What is Friar Laurence�s reaction to Romeo�s complaining? Friar Laurence is disappointed with Romeo�s reaction because, by law, Romeo should be put to death for the crime committed. Instead, the Prince has spared Romeo�s life by enforcing the banishment. Romeo should be grateful. 3. Romeo is obviously devastated to be banished from his Juliet, but he is being very stubborn, not even attempting to listen to the Friar�s advice and positive words. Romeo tells the Friar to ��talk no more.� What does the Friar conclude at this point? The Friar concludes, �O, then I see that madmen have no ears.� 4. Why is the Friar unable, according to Romeo, to truly understand Romeo�s feelings about Juliet and being banished? Romeo says, in effect, that the Friar has never felt passion and therefore cannot understand Romeo�s passion for Juliet and how his separation from her is devastating. 5. The Nurse arrives and informs the Friar and Romeo that Juliet, too, is crying just as Romeo is. Hearing of Juliet�s unhappiness and the hatred he supposes she feels toward him, he draws his knife to kill himself. What does the Friar accuse him of? The Friar cannot believe how Romeo is acting. Romeo is not acting like a man, instead he is acting like a woman and a beast: �Thy tears are womanish; thy wild acts denote/The unreasonable fury of a beast:/Unseemly woman in a seeming man!/Or ill-beseeming beast in seeming both!� T-29 6. For what things does the Friar say Romeo should be happy about? Juliet is alive; Tybalt did not kill Romeo; although death is ordinarily the penalty for fighting, the Prince has spared Romeo�s life by ordering banishment. 7. What does the Friar then tell him to do? What instructions does the Friar give Romeo? Romeo should stop complaining about fate; instead, he should go see Juliet, and say his farewells. Romeo is instructed to make his way to Mantua, where he will stay until the marriage can be made public, the families are reconciled, and the Prince agrees to pardon Romeo of the banishment. Act III, Scene IV � A room in Capulet�s house. Vocabulary kinsman � relative 1. In the conversation between Lord Capulet, his wife, and Paris, what do they think is Juliet�s present cause of grief? Juliet�s parents and Paris believe Juliet is locking herself in her room because of the grief she feels over Tybalt�s death. 2. What is learned about Paris� character? Paris is waiting patiently to court Juliet, and after learning about Juliet�s current mourning, Paris states: �These times of woe afford no time to woo.� This statement shows Paris is considerate and sympathetic when it comes to Juliet. It seems that Paris will be loyal to Juliet and his future in-laws. 3. What decision does Lord Capulet make, and why do you suppose he makes this decision? Lord Capulet decides that Juliet and Paris are to marry on Thursday. The suggestion seems to be that a marriage may help Juliet out of her grief. 4. What is your opinion of Juliet�s parents and of Paris? Answers will vary. T-30 Act III, Scene V � Capulet�s orchard. Vocabulary jocund � joyful; invigorating asunder � split, separate, apart runagate � wanderer, nomad dram � destructive, harmful potion carrion � contaminated person; diseased flesh prudence � sense, shrewdness puling � lamenting, complaining stratagems � horrifying, shocking acts stealth � secret, concealed action dishclout � dishcloth twain � two 1. Summarize the conversation between Romeo and Juliet at the opening of this scene. Juliet tries to convince Romeo that it is not morning by telling him it is not the lark he hears, but the nightingale. Romeo knows that if he stays past dawn he is risking his life. Juliet again tries to convince Romeo that the light he sees outside is a meteor, not the sun. Romeo finally gives in because he would rather stay with his love than leave. 2. The mother enters and, seeing Juliet weeping at Romeo�s departure, believes the weeping is for Tybalt. The mother then vents her own anger at Romeo and discloses her plan to have him found and poisoned. Why does Juliet appear to speak ill of Romeo? Juliet�s speech can be read so that it has two meanings. The second meaning, professing her love for Romeo, is known by the audience, but not the mother. 3. What news does Juliet�s mother bring? What is Juliet�s response to her mother? Juliet is to marry Paris on Thursday. Juliet states she would rather marry the villain, Romeo, than Paris. 4. Why does Lord Capulet get so angry when he hears of Juliet�s desire not to marry? Lord Capulet feels that Juliet is �unworthy� because she is so ungrateful of the marriage. He also seems angry that Juliet questions his authority. 5. Why do you think Lord Capulet is so controlling of his family? During Shakespeare�s day, women had little say, and depended on the men of their family to provide for them financially and emotionally. Therefore, women were forced to obey the men in their family. Men, in turn, could take this power for granted, becoming overbearing. T-31 6. What does Lord Capulet threaten if Juliet chooses not to marry Paris? If Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Lord Capulet tells her, ��never after look me in the face�� This statement also foreshadows the deaths at the end of the play. 7. When the Nurse tries to speak up for Juliet, what is she told? Capulet says that the Nurse should hold her tongue. 8. In the last words of Lord Capulet�s speech, how does he try to persuade Juliet to go through with the marriage to Paris? Lord Capulet argues that he owns Juliet and he has decided to give her to Paris; Capulet is not ordering her to be hanged and she will not starve, unless, of course, she chooses to disobey his orders. 9. If forced to marry, what does Juliet threaten? What is her mother�s response? Juliet threatens to kill herself. Juliet is so obstinate about not marrying Paris that her mother is finished discussing it with her. 10. What is the Nurse�s advice, and how can she give that advice knowing how Juliet feels? The Nurse tells Juliet to forget Romeo and go ahead with the marriage to Paris. To the Nurse, a man is a man; and in all respects, Paris is as good a man as Romeo, if not a better man. The Nurse is very practical. 11. In what way does the Nurse�s opinion contrast with Juliet�s? What kind of character does this make the Nurse? The Nurse is in favor of courtly love, a love that is polite and just in the eyes of the public. Juliet, however, is in favor of true love � a love that needs no explanation. Because of this contrast, the Nurse can be considered a foil character to Juliet. 12. When Juliet hears this opinion, what is her decision regarding the Nurse? Juliet is not going to confide in the Nurse any longer. 13. Juliet tells the Nurse she is going to Friar Laurence to confess her sins. Why is she really going there? Juliet wants to see if he can help her find a way out of the marriage to Paris. If he cannot, she plans to kill herself before the wedding. T-32 Act IV, Scene I � Friar Laurence�s cell. Vocabulary inundation � deluge, surge pensive � melancholy prorogue � postpone, suspend arbitrating � settling, resolving charnel-house � designated area for discarding bones of the dead reeky � wretched, foul, vile shanks � calves (parts of the human body) surcease � to end, stop, halt 1. What does Juliet tell the Friar? Juliet will do anything rather than marry Paris. If necessary, she will even consider killing herself before she is disloyal to Romeo. 2. List three things Juliet is willing to do ��without fear or doubt�rather than marry Paris�? Answers may vary. Examples: 1. leap from a tower 2. �lurk/Where serpents are�� 3. be chained with bears 4. be shut �in a charnel-house� (a place where bones from the deceased are kept) 5. be covered with human bones 6. hide in a grave with a dead man 3. What plan does the Friar set out? The Friar advises Juliet to go home and agree to marry Paris. Wednesday night she is to sleep alone and take the potion the Friar will provide for her. This potion will make her appear to be dead: ��no pulse/Shall keep his native progress, but surcrease:/No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest;�� Then she will be carried to the burial crypt. There, Romeo and the Friar will await for her to awaken. Then, she and Romeo can go to Mantua to be together. T-33 Act IV, Scene II � Hall in Capulet�s house. Vocabulary forsooth � in fact, correct gadding � lazily wandering, strolling behests � orders, rulings prostrate � lying flat tush � �keep quiet� 1. Why is Lord Capulet happy? Juliet has agreed to marry Paris, and she apologizes to her father for her willfulness. Act IV, Scene III � Juliet�s chamber. Vocabulary orisons � prayers receptacle � place for discarding the unwanted or those who have passed away mandrake � a plant whose root was said to look like the human form; if the root was pulled from the ground it was believed to cause madness or death 1. If the potion does not work, what is Juliet�s plan? Juliet plans to stab herself. 2. Juliet is a little fearful and a little suspicious. What suspicion about the Friar does she voice? The potion may very well be poison, and the Friar could be saving his own honor by poisoning her. She concludes, though, that the Friar is a holy man and will never do something like that. 3. What worry occupies Juliet next? Juliet wonders what she will do if she wakes from the poison before Romeo gets there and finds herself alone with all the bones and spirits. 4. What is the literary term for Juliet�s speech in this scene? Juliet�s speech is an example of a monologue. T-34 Act IV, Scene IV � Hall in Capulet�s house. Vocabulary quinces � fruits trim � decorate, beautify, adorn 1. During the interchange between the Nurse, Lord Capulet, and Lady Capulet, what has his wife accused him of? Lady Capulet claims he has been known to chase after other women. 2. What does all the action in the house indicate? Everyone is preparing for a wedding feast. Act IV, Scene V � Juliet�s chamber. Vocabulary aqua-vitae � intense spirits (Latin: �water of life�) lamentable � wretched, woeful martyr�d � abused, punished confusions � chaos dirges � sad songs played at funerals troth � truth pestilent � extremely offensive, dreadful 1. How do Lord and Lady Capulet react to the news of Juliet�s death? Lord and Lady Capulet are shocked. Lady Capulet says she will die, too. Lord Capulet feels a great loss; he says he has gotten death as a son-in-law. 2. As he learns of Juliet�s supposed death, what does Lord Capulet compare Juliet to? What literary term is being illustrated? Lord Capulet uses a simile to describe Juliet: �Death lies on her like an untimely frost/Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.� 3. Does the grief seem sincere? It is doubtful that they do not feel a great loss. Even Friar Laurence is convinced they do. T-35 4. How does the Friar try to comfort the grieving parents? The Friar comforts them by explaining that they do not have the ability to keep Juliet from death forever; they should dry their tears, for now Juliet is in heaven: �Heaven and yourself/Had part in this fair maid; now heaven hath all,/And all the better is it for the maid:/Your part in her you could not keep from death;/But heaven keeps his part in eternal life.� 5. What literary term is illustrated here: �Our instruments to melancholy bells; Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast; Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change; Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse,�� With the multiple use of the words �Our� and �to,� this passage becomes an example of anaphora. 6. The next section between Peter and the musicians, seems to be for comic relief. How do you suppose the comic relief scene is supposed to function in the play? After the sadness and weeping for Juliet�s death, Shakespeare introduces a lighter moment in which Peter berates and terrorizes the musicians. It provides a little relief from the somber action. Act V, Scene I � Mantua. A street. Vocabulary presage � predict apothecary � a pharmacist meagre � scrawny, slender penury � deprivation, neediness caitiff � slave-like 1. In Romeo�s short speech at the start of this scene, find an example of foreshadowing. Romeo mentions how he dreamt ��my lady came and found me dead�.� This line foreshadows the later misunderstanding and Romeo�s own death. 2. The Friar is supposed to send a messenger to Romeo informing him of the plan and Juliet�s fake death. Who arrives in Mantua instead, and what news does he give Romeo? What theme is this incident supporting? Balthasar arrives and tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Like everyone else, Balthasar believes Juliet is truly dead. Fate has intervened, proving that destiny controls life. T-36 3. Although it is illegal to sell poisons in Mantua, how is Romeo able to purchase some? Romeo finds a starving pharmacist and tempts him with forty pieces of gold. 4. Romeo has to do some convincing before the pharmacist agrees to sell the poison. How does Romeo convince the pharmacist and what does this show about Romeo�s opinion of the world? In addition, discuss how this scene demonstrates the power of love, continuing with a major theme of the play? Romeo reminds the pharmacist, who is poor and starving, that the law has done nothing for him, ��The world is not thy friend, nor the world�s law:/The world affords no law to make thee rich;/Then be not poor, but break it, and take this.� It is the law that is keeping Romeo from Juliet, therefore, Romeo has no respect for the law. It is the powerful love that he has for Juliet that brings Romeo to feel this utter disrespect for the law. Act V, Scene II � Friar Laurence�s cell. Vocabulary pestilence � disease 1. Why is Friar John not able to go to Mantua and deliver Friar Laurence�s message to Romeo? What theme does this situation support? An outbreak of disease causes Friar John to be quarantined to a house that he was visiting. Fate is in ultimate control. 2. What revision does Friar Laurence make in his plan? Friar Laurence decides to go to the vault and break it open so he can be there when Juliet wakes. Then he plans to sneak her back to his cell and attempt to get another message to Romeo. T-37 Act V, Scene III � A churchyard; in it a monument belonging to the Capulets. Vocabulary obsequies � devotion; mourning mattock � axe maw � mouth (like a grave) ensign � sign, pennant crimson � red sunder � sever, disconnect (the soul from the body) paramour � concubine, mistress inauspicious � unimportant sepulchre � vault, grave contagion � disease restorative � successful, competent medication descry � find, uncover ambiguities � mysteries, uncertainties direful � horrible, awful 1. What is Paris doing at the crypt? Paris is there to spread flowers and pay his respects to Juliet. 2. What does Romeo give to Balthasar? What does Romeo tell Balthasar to do? Why does Balthasar choose not to do it? Balthasar is given a letter to deliver to Romeo�s father. Balthasar is ordered, by Romeo, to leave the monument and not to come back. Balthasar, however, does not leave because the look in Romeo�s eyes is worrisome. 3. What metaphor does Romeo create regarding the crypt, and what is his meaning? Romeo compares the crypt, with its dead bodies, to the jaws of a monster. He plans to pry the jaws open and add one more morsel of food to the mouth, his own dead body. 4. Why do Paris and Romeo fight, since Romeo really has no wish to fight anyone? Paris is going to arrest Romeo and bring him to the Prince. Although he has no wish to, Romeo fights and kills Paris. Romeo is intent on finishing what he has come to do. 5. Although he has just fatally wounded Paris, what act of compassion does Romeo perform for Paris? Paris requests he be carried inside the tomb so that he can die near Juliet. Romeo agrees to do this. T-38 6. Who or what does the Friar say has thwarted all their plans? A greater power than can be contradicted is what the Friar blames, referring to God or Fate, as the controller of these events. This supports the theme that Fate will determine the future and no one has control over their own life. 7. With Romeo and Paris dead, Juliet wakes. How does the Friar hope to resolve this mess? The Friar wants Juliet to leave the crypt with him, and he will hide her ��Among a sisterhood of holy nuns:�� 8. When Juliet refuses to leave the monument, what does the Friar do? The Friar hears a noise, and does not wish to be found there with all the newly dead bodies, so he runs out of the monument. 9. What does Juliet do? Juliet stabs herself with Romeo�s dagger. 10. What has happened to Romeo�s mother? Lady Montague had died of grief after hearing of Romeo�s banishment. 11. The concluding lines of the play state a major theme in this play. Identify these lines, state what they mean and how they reflect the theme. The hatred between Capulet and Montague brings on all the tragedy. Their hate kills Romeo, Juliet, and Tybalt. Because the Prince does not attempt to control the hatred and deal with it forcefully when he should have, he too feels guilty. With the deaths of his kinsmen, Mercutio and Count Paris, the Prince too has been punished for his failure to act. The point that civil discord is ruinous and must not be tolerated is made very forcefully in this speech. This shows that the power of love can be just as powerful as hatred � love can result in violence and death, just as hate can. 12. Identify the play�s exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Exposition � Prologue Rising Action � Tybalt�s death and Juliet�s engagement to Paris Climax � Romeo and Juliet�s duel suicide Falling Action � the discovery of the bodies in the monument Resolution � the reconciliation of the feuding families and the Prince�s final words - = � � � � � I O � � F R _ i � � D L � � � � ' . 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In December 2012, in yet another American mass murder, 26 people (including 20 children) were killed in Newtown, Conneticut. What was the name of the 20 year old killer, who also shot himself ? | Gunman Kills 20 Schoolchildren in Connecticut - The New York Times
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Connecticut State Police stood guard outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday morning. Credit Don Emmert/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A 20-year-old man wearing combat gear and armed with semiautomatic pistols and a semiautomatic rifle killed 26 people — 20 of them children — in an attack in an elementary school in central Connecticut on Friday. Witnesses and officials described a horrific scene as the gunman, with brutal efficiency, chose his victims in two classrooms while other students dove under desks and hid in closets.
Hundreds of terrified parents arrived as their sobbing children were led out of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in a wooded corner of Newtown, Conn. By then, all of the victims had been shot and most were dead, and the gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, had committed suicide. The children killed were said to be 5 to 10 years old.
A 28th person, found dead in a house in the town, was also believed to have been shot by Mr. Lanza. That victim, one law enforcement official said, was Mr. Lanza’s mother, Nancy Lanza, who was initially reported to be a teacher at the school. She apparently owned the guns he used.
Although reports at the time indicated that the principal of the school let Mr. Lanza in because she recognized him, his mother did not work at the school, and he shot his way in, defeating a security system requiring visitors to be buzzed in. Moments later, the principal was shot dead when she went to investigate the sound of gunshots. The school psychologist was also among those who died.
The rampage, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, was the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre , in which a gunman killed 32 people and then himself.
Law enforcement officials said Mr. Lanza had grown up in Newtown, and he was remembered by high school classmates as smart, introverted and nervous. They said he had gone out of his way not to attract attention when he was younger.
The gunman was chillingly accurate. A spokesman for the State Police said he left only one wounded survivor at the school. All the others hit by the barrage of bullets from the guns Mr. Lanza carried died, suggesting that they were shot at point-blank range. One law enforcement official said the shootings occurred in two classrooms in a section of the single-story Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Some who were there said the shooting occurred during morning announcements, and the initial shots could be heard over the school’s public address system. The bodies of those killed were still in the school as of 10 p.m. Friday.
The New York City medical examiner’s office sent a “portable morgue” to Newtown to help with the aftermath of the shootings, a spokeswoman, Ellen Borakove, confirmed late Friday.
Law enforcement officials offered no hint of what had motivated Mr. Lanza. It was also unclear, one investigator said, why Mr. Lanza — after shooting his mother to death inside her home — drove her car to the school and slaughtered the children. “I don’t think anyone knows the answers to those questions at this point,” the official said. As for a possible motive, he added, “we don’t know much for sure.”
F.B.I. agents interviewed his brother, Ryan Lanza, in Hoboken, N.J. His father, Peter Lanza, who was divorced from Nancy Lanza, was also questioned, one official said.
Newtown, a postcard-perfect New England town where everyone seems to know everyone else and where there had lately been holiday tree lightings with apple cider and hot chocolate, was plunged into mourning. Stunned residents attended four memorial services in the town on Friday evening as detectives continued the search for clues, and an explanation.
Maureen Kerins, a hospital nurse who lives close to the school, learned of the shooting from television and hurried to the school to see if she could help.
“I stood outside waiting to go in, but a police officer came out and said they didn’t need any nurses,” she said, “so I knew it wasn’t good.”
In the cold light of Friday morning, faces told the story outside the stricken school. There were the frightened faces of children who were crying as they were led out in a line. There were the grim faces of women. There were the relieved-looking faces of a couple and their little girl.
The shootings set off a tide of anguish nationwide. In Illinois and Georgia, flags were lowered to half-staff in memory of the victims. And at the White House, President Obama struggled to read a statement in the White House briefing room. More than once, he dabbed his eyes.
“Our hearts are broken,” Mr. Obama said, adding that his first reaction was not as a president, but as a parent.
Video
Residents React to School Shooting
People attending a vigil at the St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, Conn., describe their reactions after the fatal shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
By Poh Si Teng and Samantha Stark on Publish Date December 15, 2012. . Watch in Times Video »
“I know there is not a parent in America who does not feel the same overwhelming grief that I do,” he said.
He called the victims “beautiful little kids.”
“They had their entire lives ahead of them: birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own,” he said. Then the president reached up to the corner of one eye.
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Mr. Obama called for “meaningful action” to stop such shootings, but he did not spell out details. In his nearly four years in office, he has not pressed for expanded gun control. But he did allude on Friday to a desire to have politicians put aside their differences to deal with ways to prevent future shootings.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, who went to Newtown, called the shootings “a tragedy of unspeakable terms.”
“Evil visited this community today,” he said.
Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the Connecticut State Police, described “a very horrific and difficult scene” at the school, which had 700 students in kindergarten through fourth grade. It had a security protocol that called for doors to be locked during the day and visitors to be checked on a video monitor inside.
“You had to buzz in and out and the whole nine yards,” said a former chairwoman of the Newtown board of education, Lillian Bittman. “When you buzz, you come up on our screen.”
The lock system did not go into effect until 9:30 each morning, according to a letter to parents from the principal, Dawn Hochsprung, that was posted on several news Web sites. The letter was apparently written earlier in the school year.
Lieutenant Vance said the Newtown police had called for help from police departments nearby and began a manhunt, checking “every nook and cranny and every room.”
Officers were seen kicking in doors as they worked their way through the school.
Lieutenant Vance said the students who died had been in two classrooms. Others said that as the horror unfolded, students and teachers tried to hide in places the gunman would not think to look. Teachers locked the doors, turned off the lights and closed the blinds. Some ordered students to duck under their desks.
The teachers did not explain what was going on, but they did not have to. Everyone could hear the gunfire.
Yvonne Cech, a school librarian, said she had spent 45 minutes locked in a closet with two library clerks, a library catalog assistant and 18 fourth graders.
“The SWAT team escorted us out,” she said, and then the children were reunited with their parents.
Lieutenant Vance said 18 youngsters were pronounced dead at the school and two others were taken to hospitals, where they were declared dead. All the adults who were killed at the school were pronounced dead there.
Law enforcement officials said the weapons used by the gunman were a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns. The police also found a Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine.
One law enforcement official said the guns had not been traced because they had not yet been removed from the school, but state licensing records or permits apparently indicated that Ms. Lanza owned weapons of the same makes and models.
“He visited two classrooms,” said a law enforcement official at the scene, adding that those two classrooms were adjoining.
The first 911 call was recorded about 9:30 and said someone had been shot at the school, an almost unthinkable turn of events on what had begun as just another chilly day in quiet Newtown. Soon, frantic parents were racing to the school, hoping their children were all right. By 10:30, the shooting had stopped. By then, the police had arrived with dogs.
“There is going to be a black cloud over this area forever,” said Craig Ansman, who led his 4-year-old daughter from the preschool down the street from the elementary school. “It will never go away.”
Correction: December 17, 2012
A correction posted with an earlier version of this article was published in error. As the initial article correctly noted, the gunman in the Connecticut shooting used a rifle to carry out the shootings inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School; he did not use two handguns. (He did use a handgun to kill himself.)
Correction: December 18, 2012
An article on Saturday about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and 8 adults dead, using information from the authorities, misstated the way in which the gunman managed to enter the Sandy Hook Elementary School. The gunman, Adam Lanza, shot his way in, defeating the security system that required visitors to be buzzed in; the school’s principal did not allow him to go through the security system after recognizing him. The article also referred incorrectly to the gunman’s mother, Nancy, whom he killed in the house they shared not far from the school. She was never a teacher at the school.
Reporting on the Connecticut shootings was contributed by Al Baker, Charles V. Bagli, Susan Beachy, Jack Begg, David W. Chen, Alison Leigh Cowan, Robert Davey, Matt Flegenheimer, Joseph Goldstein, Emmarie Huetteman, Kristin Hussey, Thomas Kaplan, Elizabeth Maker, Patrick McGeehan, Sheelagh McNeill, Michael Moss, Andy Newman, Richard Pérez-Peña, Jennifer Preston, William K. Rashbaum, Motoko Rich, Ray Rivera, Liz Robbins, Emily S. Rueb, Eric Schmitt, Michael Schwirtz, Kirk Semple, Wendy Ruderman, Jonathan Weisman, Vivian Yee and Kate Zernike.
A version of this article appears in print on December 15, 2012, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Gunman Massacres 20 Children at School in Connecticut; 28 Dead, Including Killer. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
| Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting |
Columbine high school was the setting in 199 for another mass murder. The elementary school in Newtown, Conneticut will be equally infamous. What is the name of the school ? | Connecticut school shooting: Pictures of the children killed in rampage revealed | Daily Mail Online
Gallery of the innocents: Police name the 12 little girls and eight little boys - all age six and seven - gunned down in cold blood by 'mentally disturbed' shooter at Connecticut elementary school
All children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School were under age of 8
Among dead are Charlotte Bacon, Olivia Engel and Madeleine Hsu, all 6
Chase Kowalski, Grace McDonnell and Josephine Gay, all 7, also died
Teacher Victoria Soto, 27, threw herself in front of class to protect them
Head Dawn Hochsprung killed execution-style after confronting shooter
Avielle Richman and Jack Pinto- both six- are the latest pictured
Star Giants football player Victor Cruz wore Pinto's name on his cleats during Sunday's game because the little boy was a big fan of athlete
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"Name the composer, born in Moravia in 1854, whose works include :- The rhapsody ""Taras Bulba"" and the opera ""The Beginning of a romance""?" | Leoš Janáček music | Composers
Romantique
Biography
Leoš Janáček ( baptised Leo Eugen Janáček, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák. His later, mature works incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music in a modern, highly original synthesis, first evident in the opera Jenůfa, which was premiered in 1904 in Brno. The success of Jenůfa (often called the "Moravian national opera") at Prague in 1916 gave Janáček access to the world's great opera stages. Janáček's later works are his most celebrated. They include the symphonic poem Sinfonietta, the oratorial Glagolitic Mass, the rhapsody Taras Bulba, string quartets, other chamber works and operas. He is considered to rank with Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, as one of the most important Czech composers.
Leoš Janáček, son of schoolmaster Jiří (1815–1866), and Amalie, (née Grulich) Janáček (1819–1884), was born in Hukvaldy, Moravia, (then part of the Austrian Empire). He was a gifted child in a family of limited means, and showed an early musical talent in choral singing. His father wanted him to follow the family tradition, and become a teacher, but deferred to Janáček's obvious musical abilities. In 1865 young Janáček enrolled as a ward of the foundation of the Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno, where he took part in choral singing under Pavel Křížkovský and occasionally played the organ. One of his classmates, František Neumann, later described Janáček as an "excellent pianist, who played Beethoven symphonies perfectly in a piano duet with a classmate, under Křížkovský's supervision". Křížkovský found him a problematic and wayward student but recommended his entry to the Prague Organ School. Janáček later remembered Křížkovský as a great conductor and teacher.
Janáček originally intended to study piano and organ but eventually devoted himself to composition. He wrote his first vocal compositions while choirmaster of the Svatopluk Artisan's Association (1873–76). In 1874 he enrolled at the Prague organ school, under František Skuherský and František Blažek. His student days in Prague were impoverished; with no piano in his room, he had to make do with a keyboard drawn on his tabletop. His criticism of Skuherský's performance of the Gregorian mass was published in the March 1875 edition of the journal Cecilie and led to his expulsion from the school – but Skuherský relented, and on 24 July 1875 Janáček graduated with the best results in his class. On his return to Brno he earned a living as a music teacher, and conducted various amateur choirs. From 1876 he taught music at Brno's Teachers Institute. Among his pupils there was Zdenka Schulzová, daughter of Emilian Schulz, the Institute director. She was later to be Janáček's wife. In 1876 he also became a piano student of Amálie Wickenhauserová-Nerudová, with whom he co-organized chamber concertos and performed in concerts over the next two years. In February, 1876, he was voted choirmaster of the Beseda brněnská Philharmonic Society. Apart from an interruption from 1879 to 1881, he remained its choirmaster and conductor until 1888.
From October 1879 to February 1880 he studied piano, organ, and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory. While there, he composed Thema con variazioni for piano in B flat, subtitled Zdenka's Variations. Dissatisfied with his teachers (among them Oskar Paul and Leo Grill), and denied a studentship with Saint-Saëns in Paris, Janáček moved on to the Vienna Conservatory where from April to June 1880 he studied composition with Franz Krenn. He concealed his opposition to Krenn's neo-romanticism, but he quit Joseph Dachs's classes and further piano study when he was criticised for his piano style and technique. He submitted a violin sonata (now lost) to a Vienna Conservatory competition, but the judges rejected it as "too academic". Janáček left the conservatory in June, 1880, disappointed despite Franz Krenn's very complimentary personal report. He returned to Brno where on 13 July 1881, he married his young pupil Zdenka Schulzová.
Janáček was appointed director of the organ school, and held this post until 1919, when the school became the Brno Conservatory.[21] In the mid 1880s Janáček began composing more systematically. Among other works, he created the Four male-voice choruses (1886), dedicated to Antonín Dvořák, and his first opera, Šárka (1887–8). During this period he began to collect and study folk music, songs and dances. In the early months of 1887 he sharply criticized the comic opera The Bridegrooms, by Czech composer Karel Kovařovic, in a Hudební listy journal review: "Which melody stuck in your mind? Which motif? Is this dramatic opera? No, I would write on the poster: "Comedy performed together with music", since the music and the libretto aren't connected to each other". Janáček's review apparently led to mutual dislike and later professional difficulties when Kovařovic, as director of the National Theatre in Prague, refused to stage Janáček's opera Jenůfa.
From the early 1890s, Janáček led the mainstream of folklorist activity in Moravia and Silesia, using a repertoire of folksongs and dances in orchestral and piano arrangements. Most of his achievements in this field were published in 1899–1901 though his interest in folklore would be lifelong. His compositional work was still influenced by the declamatory, dramatic style of Smetana and Dvořák. He expressed very negative opinions on German neo-classicism and especially on Wagner in the Hudební listy journal, which he founded in 1884. The death of his second child, Vladimír, in 1890 was followed by an attempted opera, Beginning of the Romance (1891) and the cantata Amarus (1897).
In the first decade of the 20th century Janáček composed choral church music including Otčenáš (Our Father, 1901), Constitutes (1903) and Ave Maria (1904). In 1901 the first part of his piano cycle On an Overgrown Path was published, and gradually became one of his most frequently performed works. In 1902 Janáček visited Russia twice. On the first occasion he took his daughter Olga to St.Petersburg, where she stayed to study Russian. Only three months later, he returned to St. Petersburg with his wife because Olga was very ill. They took her back to Brno, but her health was worsening. Janáček expressed his painful feelings for his daughter in a new work, his opera Jenůfa, in which the suffering of his daughter became Jenůfa's. When Olga died in February 1903, Janáček dedicated Jenůfa to her memory. The opera was performed in Brno in 1904, with reasonable success, but Janáček felt this was no more than a provincial achievement. He aspired to recognition by the more influential Prague opera, but Jenůfa was refused there (twelve years passed before its first performance in Prague). Dejected and emotionally exhausted, Janáček went to Luhačovice spa to recover. There he met Kamila Urválková, whose love story supplied the theme for his next opera, Osud (Destiny).
In 1905 Janáček attended a demonstration in support of a Czech university in Brno, where the violent death of František Pavlík (a young joiner) at the hands of the police inspired his 1. X. 1905 piano sonata. The incident led him to further promote the anti-German and anti-Austrian ethos of the Russian Circle, which he had co-founded in 1897 and which would be officially banned by the Austrian police in 1915. In 1906 he approached the Czech poet Petr Bezruč, with whom he later collaborated, composing several choral works based on Bezruč's poetry. These included Kantor Halfar (1906), Maryčka Magdónova (1908), and Sedmdesát tisíc (1909). Janáček's life in the first decade of the 20th century was complicated by personal and professional difficulties. He still yearned for artistic recognition from Prague. He destroyed some of his works – others remained unfinished. Nevertheless, he continued composing, and would create several remarkable choral, chamber, orchestral and operatic works, the most notable being the 1914 Cantata Věčné evangelium (The Eternal Gospel), Pohádka (Fairy tale) for violoncello and piano (1910), the 1912 piano cycle V mlhách (In the Mist) and his first symphonic poem Šumařovo dítě (A Fiddler's Child). His fifth opera, Výlet pana Broučka do měsíce, composed from 1908 to 1917, has been characterized as the most "purely Czech in subject and treatment" of all Janáček's operas.
In 1916 he started what would be a long professional and personal relationship with theatre critic, dramatist and translator Max Brod. In the same year Jenůfa, revised by Kovařovic, was finally accepted by the National Theatre; its performance in Prague (1916) was a great success, and brought Janáček his first acclaim. He was 62. Following the Prague première, he began a relationship with singer Gabriela Horváthová, which led to his wife Zdenka's attempted suicide and their "informal" divorce. A year later (1917) he met Kamila Stösslová, a young married woman 38 years his junior, who was to inspire him for the remaining years of his life. He conducted an obsessive and (on his side at least), passionate correspondence with her, of nearly 730 letters. From 1917 to 1919, deeply inspired by Stösslová, he composed The Diary of One Who Disappeared. As he completed its final revision, he began his next 'Kamila' work, the opera Káťa Kabanová.
In 1920 Janáček retired from his post as director of the Brno Conservatory, but continued to teach until 1925. In 1921 he attended a lecture by the Indian philosopher-poet Rabindranath Tagore, and used a Tagore poem as the basis for the chorus The Wandering Madman (1922). At the same time he encountered the microtonal works of Alois Hába. In the early 1920s Janáček completed his opera The Cunning Little Vixen, which had been inspired by a serialized novella in the newspaper Lidové noviny.
In Janáček's 70th year (1924) his biography was published by Max Brod, and he was interviewed by Olin Downes for the New York Times. In 1925 he retired from teaching, but continued composing and was awarded the first honorary doctorate to be given by Masaryk University in Brno. In the spring of 1926 he created the monumental orchestral work Sinfonietta, which rapidly gained wide critical acclaim. In the same year he went to England at the invitation of Rosa Newmarch. A number of his works were performed in London, including his first string quartet, the wind sextet Youth, and his violin sonata. Shortly after, and still in 1926, he started to compose a setting to an Old Church Slavonic text. The result was the large-scale orchestral Glagolitic Mass. Janáček was an atheist, and critical of the organised Church, but religious themes appear frequently in his work. The Glagolitic Mass was partly inspired by the suggestion by a clerical friend, and partly by Janáček's wish to celebrate the anniversary of Czechoslovak independence. In 1927 – the year of Sinfonietta's first performances in New York, Berlin and Brno – he began to compose his final operatic work, From the House of the Dead, the third Act of which was found on his desk after his death. In January 1928 he began his second string quartet, the "Intimate Letters", his "manifesto on love". Meanwhile, Sinfonietta was performed in London, Vienna and Dresden. In his later years, the still-active Janáček became an international celebrity. He became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1927, along with Arnold Schönberg and Paul Hindemith. His operas and other works were finally performed at the world stages, though From the House of the Dead was first performed posthumously. In August 1928 he took an excursion to Štramberk with Kamila Stösslová and her son Otto, but caught a chill, which developed into pneumonia. He died on the 12 August 1928 in Ostrava, at the sanatorium of Dr. L. Klein. He was given a large public funeral, to music from the last scene of his Cunning Little Vixen, and was buried in the Field of Honour at the Central Cemetery, Brno.
Janáček's life was filled with work. He led the organ school, was a Professor at the teachers institute and gymnasium in Brno, collected his "speech tunes" and was composing. From an early age he presented himself as an individualist and his firmly formulated opinions often led to conflict. He unhesitatingly criticized his teachers, who considered him a defiant and anti-authoritarian student. His own students found him strict and uncompromising. Vilém Tauský, one of his pupils, described his encounters with Janáček as somewhat distressing for someone unused to his personality, and noted that Janáček's characteristically staccato speech rhythms were reproduced in some of his operatic characters. In 1881, Janáček gave up his leading role with the Beseda brněnská, as a response to criticism, but a rapid decline in "Beseda"'s performance quality led to his recall in 1882.
His married life, settled and calm in its early years, became increasingly tense and difficult following the death of his daughter, Olga, in 1903. Years of effort in obscurity took their toll, and almost ended his ambitions as a composer.: "I was beaten down", he wrote later; "my own students gave me advices, how to compose, how to speak through orchestra". Success in 1916 – when Karel Kovařovic finally decided to perform Jenůfa in Prague – brought its own problems. Janáček grudgingly resigned himself to the changes forced upon his work. Its success brought him into Prague's music scene and the attentions of soprano Gabriela Horvátová, who guided him through Prague society. Janáček was enchanted by her. On his return to Brno, he appears not to have concealed his new passion from Zdenka, who responded by attempting suicide. Janáček was furious with Zdenka and tried to instigate a divorce, but lost interest in Horvátová. Zdenka, anxious to avoid the public scandal of formal divorce, persuaded him to settle for an "informal" divorce. From then on, until Janáček's death, they would live separate lives in the same household.
In 1917 he began his lifelong, inspirational and unrequited passion for Kamila Stösslová, who neither sought nor rejected his devotion. Janáček pleaded for first-name terms in their correspondence. In 1927 she finally agreed and signed herself "Tvá Kamila" (Your Kamila) in a letter, which Zdenka found. This revelation provoked a furious quarrel between Zdenka and Janáček, though their living arrangements did not change – Janáček seems to have persuaded her to stay. In 1928, the year of his death, Janáček confessed his intention to publicise his feelings for Stösslová. Max Brod had to dissuade him. Janáček's contemporaries and collaborators described him as mistrustful and reserved, but capable of obsessive passion for those he loved. His overwhelming passion for Stösslová was sincere but verged upon self-destruction. Their letters remain an important source for Janáček's artistic intentions and inspiration. His letters to his long-suffering wife are, by contrast, mundanely descriptive. Zdenka seems to have destroyed all hers to Janáček. Only a few postcards survive.
In 1874 Janáček became friends with Antonín Dvořák, and began composing in a relatively traditional romantic style. After his opera Šárka (1887–1888), his style absorbed elements of Moravian and Slovak folk music.
His musical assimilation of the rhythm, pitch contour and inflections of normal Czech speech helped create the very distinctive vocal melodies of his opera Jenůfa (1904), whose 1916 success in Prague was to be the turning point in his career. In Jenůfa, Janáček developed and applied the concept of "speech tunes" to build a unique musical and dramatic style quite independent of "Wagnerian" dramatic method. He studied the circumstances in which "speech tunes" changed, the psychology and temperament of speakers and the coherence within speech, all of which helped render the dramatically truthful roles of his mature operas, and became one of the most significant markers of his style. Janáček took these stylistic principles much farther in his vocal writing than Modest Mussorgsky, and thus anticipates the later work of Béla Bartók. The stylistic basis for his later works originates in the period of 1904–1918, but Janáček composed the majority of his output – and his best known works – in the last decade of his life.
Much of Janáček's work displays great originality and individuality. It employs a vastly expanded view of tonality, uses unorthodox chord spacings and structures, and often, modality: "there is no music without key. Atonality abolishes definite key, and thus tonal modulation....Folksong knows of no atonality." Janáček features accompaniment figures and patterns, with (according to Jim Samson) "the on-going movement of his music...similarly achieved by unorthodox means; often a discourse of short, 'unfinished' phrases comprising constant repetitions of short motifs which gather momentum in a cumulative manner." Janáček named these motifs "sčasovka" in his theoretical works. "Sčasovka" has no strict English equivalent, but John Tyrrell, a leading specialist on Janáček's music, describes it as "a little flash of time, almost a kind of musical capsule, which Janáček often used in slow music as tiny swift motifs with remarkably characteristic rhythms that are supposed to pepper the musical flow." Janáček's use of these repeated motifs demonstrates a remote similarity to minimalist composers (Sir Charles Mackerras called Janáček "the first minimalist composer").
Janáček belongs to a wave of 20th century composers who sought greater realism and greater connection with everyday life, combined with a more all-encompassing use of musical resources. His operas in particular demonstrate the use of "speech"-derived melodic lines, folk and traditional material, and complex modal musical argument. Janáček's works are still regularly performed around the world, and are generally considered popular with audiences. He would also inspire later composers in his homeland, as well as music theorists, among them Jaroslav Volek, to place modal development alongside harmony of importance in music.
The operas of his mature period, Jenůfa (1904), Káťa Kabanová (1921), The Cunning Little Vixen (1924), The Makropulos Affair (1926) and From the House of the Dead (after a novel by Dostoyevsky and premiered posthumously in 1930) are considered his finest works. The Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras became very closely associated with Janáček's operas.
Janáček's chamber music, while not especially voluminous, includes works which are generally considered to be "in the standard repertory" as 20th century classics, particularly his two string quartets: Quartet No. 1, "The Kreutzer Sonata" inspired by the Tolstoy novel, and the Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters". Milan Kundera called these compositions the peak of Janáček's output.
At the Frankfurt am Main Festival of Modern Music in 1927 Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová performed the world premiere of Janáček's lyrical Concertino for piano, two violins, viola, clarinet, French horn and bassoon; the Czech premiere took place in Brno on 16 February 1926. A comparable chamber work for an even more unusual set of instruments, the Capriccio for piano left hand, flute, two trumpets, three trombones and tenor tuba, was written for pianist Otakar Hollmann, who lost the use of his right hand during World War I. After its premiere in Prague on 2 March 1928, it gained considerable acclaim in the musical world.
Other well known pieces by Janáček include the Sinfonietta, the Glagolitic Mass (the text written in Old Church Slavonic), and the rhapsody Taras Bulba. These pieces and the above mentioned five late operas were all written in the last decade of Janáček's life.
Janáček established a school of composition in Brno. Among his notable pupils were Jan Kunc, Václav Kaprál, Vilém Petrželka, Jaroslav Kvapil, Osvald Chlubna, Břetislav Bakala, and Pavel Haas. Most of his students neither imitated nor developed Janáček's style, which left him no direct stylistic descendants. According to Milan Kundera, Janáček developed a personal, modern style in relative isolation from contemporary modernist movements but was in close contact with developments in modern European music. His path towards the innovative "modernism" of his later years was long and solitary, and he achieved true individuation as a composer around his 50th year.
Sir Charles Mackerras, the Australian conductor who helped promote Janáček's works on the world's opera stages, described his style as "... completely new and original, different from anything else ... and impossible to pin down to any one style". According to Mackerras, Janáček's use of whole-tone scale differs from that of Debussy, his folk music inspiration is absolutely dissimilar from Dvořák's and Smetana's, and his characteristically complex rhythms differ from the techniques of the young Stravinsky.
The French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez, who interpreted Janáček's operas and orchestral works, called his music surprisingly modern and fresh: "Its repetitive pulse varies through changes in rhythm, tone and direction." He described his opera From the House of the Dead as "primitive, in the best sense, but also extremely strong, like the paintings of Léger, where the rudimentary character allows a very vigorous kind of expression".
Janáček's life has featured in several films. In 1974 Eva Marie Kaňková made a short documentary Fotograf a muzika (The Photographer and the Music) about the Czech photographer Josef Sudek and his relationship to Janáček's work. In 1983 the Brothers Quay produced a stop motion animated film, Leoš Janáček: Intimate Excursions, about Janáček's life and work, and in 1986 the Czech director Jaromil Jireš made Lev s bílou hřívou (Lion with the White Mane), which showed the amorous inspiration behind Janáček's works. In Search of Janáček is a Czech documentary directed in 2004 by Petr Kaňka, made to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Janáček's birth. An animated cartoon version of The Cunning Little Vixen was made in 2003 by the BBC, with music performed by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and conducted by Kent Nagano. A rearrangement of the opening of the Sinfonietta was used by the progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer for its song Knife-Edge on their debut album.
The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1954. Today the 116-piece ensemble is associated with mostly contemporary music but also regularly performs works from the classical repertoire. The orchestra is resident at the House of Culture Vítkovice (Dům kultury Vítkovice) in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The orchestra tours extensively and has performed in Europe, the U.S., Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Its current music director is Theodore Kuchar.
Czech musicology at the beginning of the 20th century was strongly influenced by Romanticism, in particular by the styles of Wagner and Smetana. Performance practises were conservative, and actively resistant to stylistic innovation. During his lifetime, Janáček reluctantly conceded to Karel Kovařovic's instrumental rearrangement of Jenůfa, most noticeably in the finale, in which Kovařovic added a more 'festive' sound of trumpets and French horns, and doubled some instruments to support Janáček's "poor" instrumentation. The score of Jenůfa was later restored by Charles Mackerras, and is now performed according to Janáček's original intentions.
Another important Czech musicologist, Zdeněk Nejedlý, a great admirer of Smetana and later a communist Minister of Culture, condemned Janáček as an author who could accumulate a lot of material, but was unable to do anything with it. He called Janáček's style "unanimated", and his operatic duets "only speech melodies", without polyphonic strength. Nejedlý considered Janáček rather an amateurish composer, whose music did not conform to the style of Smetana. According to Charles Mackerras, he tried to professionally destroy Janáček. Josef Bartoš, the Czech aesthetician and music critic, called Janáček a "musical eccentric" who clung tenaciously to an imperfect, improvising style, but Bartoš appreciated some elements of Janáček's works and judged him more positively than Nejedlý.
Janáček's friend and collaborator Václav Talich, former chief-conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, sometimes adjusted Janáček's scores, mainly for their instrumentation and dynamics; some critics sharply attacked him for doing so. Talich re-orchestrated Taras Bulba and the Suite from Cunning Little Vixen justifying the latter with the claim that "it was not possible to perform it in the Prague National Theatre unless it was entirely re-orchestrated". Talich's rearrangement rather emasculated the specific sounds and contrasts of Janáček's original, but was the standard version for many years. Charles Mackerras started to research Janáček's music in 1960s, and gradually restored the composer's distinctive scoring. The critical edition of Janáček's scores is published by the Czech Editio Janáček.
Janáček was deeply influenced by folklore, and by Moravian folk music in particular, but not by the pervasive, idealized 19th century romantic folklore variant. He took a realistic, descriptive and analytic approach to the material. Janáček partly composed the original piano accompaniments to more than 150 folk songs, respectful of their original function and context, and partly used folk inspiration in his own works, especially in his mature compositions. His work in this area was not stylistically imitative; instead, he developed a new and original musical aesthetic based on a deep study of the fundamentals of folk music. Through his systematic notation of folk songs as he heard them, Janáček developed an exceptional sensitivity to the melodies and rhythms of speech, from which he compiled a collection of distinctive segments he called "speech tunes". He used these "essences" of spoken language in his vocal and instrumental works. The roots of his style, marked by the lilts of human speech, emerge from the world of folk music.
Janáček's deep and lifelong affection for Russia and Russian culture represents another important element of his musical inspiration. In 1888 he attended the Prague performance of Tchaikovsky's music, and met the older composer. Janáček profoundly admired Tchaikovsky, and particularly appreciated his highly developed musical thought in connection with the use of Russian folk motifs. Janáček's Russian inspiration is especially apparent in his later chamber, symphonic and operatic output. He closely followed developments in Russian music from his early years, and in 1896, following his first visit of Russia, he founded a Russian Circle in Brno. Janáček read Russian authors in their original language. Their literature offered him an enormous and reliable source of inspiration, though this did not blind him to the problems of Russian society. He was twenty-two years old when he wrote his first composition based on a Russian theme: a melodrama, "Death", set to Lermontov's poem. In his later works, he often used literary models with sharply contoured plots. In 1910 Zhukovsky's Tale of Tsar Berendei inspired him to write the Fairy Tale for Cello and Piano. He composed the rhapsody Taras Bulba (1918) to Gogol's short story, and five years later, in 1923, completed his first string quartet, inspired by Tolstoy´s Kreutzer Sonata. Two of his later operas were based on Russian themes: Káťa Kabanová, composed in 1921 to Alexander Ostrovsky's play, The Storm: and his last work, From the House of the Dead, which transformed Dostoyevsky's vision of the world into an exciting collective drama.
Janáček always deeply admired Antonín Dvořák, to whom he dedicated some of his works. He rearranged part of Dvořák's Moravian Duets for mixed choir with original piano accompaniment. In the early years of the 20th century, Janáček became increasingly interested in the music of other European composers. His opera Destiny was a response to another significant and famous work in contemporary Bohemia – Louise, by the French composer Gustave Charpentier. The influence of Giacomo Puccini is apparent particularly in Janáček's later works, for example in his opera Káťa Kabanová. Although he carefully observed developments in European music, his operas remained firmly connected with Czech and Slavic themes.
Janáček created his music theory works, essays and articles over a period of fifty years, from 1877 to 1927. He wrote and edited the Hudební listy journal, and contributed to many specialist music journals, such as Cecílie, Hlídka and Dalibor. He also completed several extensive studies, as Úplná nauka o harmonii (The Complete Harmony Theory), O skladbě souzvukův a jejich spojův (On the Construction of Chords and Their Connections) and Základy hudebního sčasování (Basics of Music "sčasování"). In his essays and books, Janáček examined various musical topics, forms, melody and harmony theories, dyad and triad chords, counterpoint (or "opora", meaning "support") and devoted himself to the study of the mental composition. His theoretical works stress the Czech term "sčasování", Janáček's specific word for rhythm, which has relation to time ("čas" in Czech), and the handling of time in music composition. He distinguished several types of rhythm (sčasovka): "znící" (sounding) – meaning any rhythm, "čítací" (counting) – meaning smaller units measuring the course of rhythm; and "scelovací" (summing) – a long value comprising the length of a rhythmical unit. Janáček used the combination of their mutual action widely in his own works.
Leoš Janáček's literary legacy represents an important illustration of his life, public work and art between 1875 and 1928. He contributed not only to music journals, but wrote essays, reports, reviews, feuilletons, articles and books. His work in this area comprises around 380 individual items. His writing changed over time, and appeared in many genres. Nevertheless, the critical and theoretical sphere remained his main area of interest.
Janáček came from a region characterized by its deeply rooted folk culture, which he explored as a young student under Pavel Křížkovský. His meeting with the folklorist and dialectologist František Bartoš (1837–1906) was decisive in his own development as a folklorist and composer, and led to their collaborative and systematic collections of folk songs. Janáček became an important collector in his own right, especially of Lachian, Moravian Slovakian, Moravian Wallachian and Slovakian songs. From 1879, his collections included transcribed speech intonations. He was one of the organizers of the Czech-Slavic Folklore Exhibition, an important event in Czech culture at the end of 19th century. From 1905 he was President of the newly instituted Working Committee for Czech National Folksong in Moravia and Silesia, a branch of the Austrian institute Das Volkslied in Österreich (Folksong in Austria), which was established in 1902 by the Viennese publishing house Universal Edition. Janáček was a pioneer and propagator of ethnographic photography in Moravia and Silesia. In October, 1909 he acquired an Edison phonograph and became one of the first to use phonographic recording as a folklore research tool. Several of these recording sessions have been preserved, and were reissued in 1998.
| Leoš Janáček |
In which Dickens novel would you find the characters :- Esther Summerson, Allan Woodcourt, and Harold Skimpole ? | Kát'a Kabanová - San Diego Opera
Kát'a Kabanová
In the Classroom
LeoÅ¡ JanáÄek and a Brief Look at Czech Music
The Czech lands produced many composers over the centuries. Among the best known, especially to performers, are two generations of the Benda family, the first, Jan Benda, was born in 1686. Others are the father and sons Stamitz, the senior born in 1717. These and others were not only composers but accomplished performers as well. They traveled and performed throughout Western Europe settling wherever they could obtain employment.
In more recent history, the nineteenth century Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) and Antonin DvoÅák (1841-1904) attained international stature during their lifetimes and to the present. Both incorporated the musical idiom of their native Czech tradition in their compositions. Smetana is best known for his opera The Bartered Bride and the tone poem My Fatherland. One section, The Moldau (Vltava), is a portrayal of the river that flows through Prague.
Antonin DvoÅák, best known of all Czech composers is, who is known for his Romantic and very lyrical style, incorporated national themes in his works. His conducting tours throughout Europe and a lengthy engagement in New York added to his prominence internationally. He served as director of New York's National Conservatory of Music and as a teacher of composition. DvoÅák spent four years (1891-1894) in the U.S. with periodic visits home to Bohemia. While in the U.S. he enjoyed summering in the Czech community of Spillville, Iowa. There he composed two superb works, his ninth (and last) symphony, the New World, and his 'American' quartet, opus 96. Much as he enjoyed the U.S. hospitality, homesickness overcame him and he returned to his homeland before completing his New York contract.
DvoÅák's vast compositional output includes a great favorite, the Cello Concerto opus104 (begun in the U.S.), nine symphonies, symphonic poems, Slavonic dances, countless songs, chamber music, a Requiem and nine operas. Rusalka, a fairy tale opera, is the most popular and is still performed today.
LEOÅ JANÃÄEK (1854-1928)
JanáÄek can be considered a 'late bloomer'. Most of his best works were composed in the last ten years of his life, during the first quarter of the twentieth century. In fact, wide spread recognition did not come until those last ten years. He is therefore considered a twentieth-century composer. Ironically the woman who became his muse during those years and was therefore responsible for his success, was also indirectly responsible for his death.
JanáÄek was born into a family of teachers and musicians in the village of Hukvaldy near Brno, the capital of Moravia. The Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia were at that time under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the tenth child in a family of fourteen (only nine survived their first year, which was common in that era). Even though poor, the family was always involved with music in their home and community. Later in life, JanáÄek said that he "simply had music around him from the cradle". By age eleven, his father being very ill, he was sent to the St. Augustin monastery in Brno (where Gregor Mendel did his study on genetics). Under the tutelage of a former student of his father's, now rector (principal) of the monastery's school, young LeoÅ¡ obtained a scholarship for all his studies. After his father's early death, the rector, Father KÅÞkovský, took LeoÅ¡ under his wing and guided his education. KÅÞkovský, a learned musician, choirmaster and composer is considered a co-founder of modern Czech national music. The rector's influence laid the foundation for the nationalistic bent in JanáÄek's compositions.
Upon graduation, having excelled in all musical studies, especially in organ playing and choir conducting, JanáÄek obtained several conducting positions in Brno. At this time, ca. 1872, he began composing works for choral groups. He undertook further musical studies including composition in Prague, Vienna and Leipzig, never finishing a course. He was always dissatisfied with the quality of instruction and felt that it did not meet his needs. He returned to Brno where he was to live his whole life.
In Brno he resumed his choral directing, founded several choral groups still in existence today and embarked on a teaching career. He also found time to form the Brno Organ School in 1882 which later became the Czech Conservatory of Music. Composing in earnest was also becoming a major and favored occupation. He was still searching and developing his compositional voice. Musical patterns of speech intrigued him. He frequently traveled into the countryside collecting folk songs, notating various peoples' natural speech patterns and the melodic shape of natural sounds. Animal cries, wind, water and storm sounds were all faithfully noted in his journal. All these sounds helped establish his musical style. His theories of harmony were original, particularly the sudden shift in key in many of his works. He definitely was, and still is, considered a composer of startling originality. While increasing his compositional output, he continued teaching as a means of livelihood until his 64th year. Not until the last ten years of his life would his compositions bring adequate financial rewards.
In 1881, JanáÄek married one of his piano students, 15 year old ZdeÅka Schulzová, twelve years his junior. An only child (until the birth of a brother around the time she gave birth to her first child), ZdeÅka was an intelligent, well educated, somewhat spoiled young woman. A few differences signaled a troubled future for the couple. ZdeÅka and LeoÅ¡ came from vastly different background. Her family was quite well off, willingly helpful to the newlyweds. They had in fact been acquainted with LeoÅ¡ for some time prior to the young couple's marriage and had arranged several important introductions for LeoÅ¡ to help his career. JanáÄek came from an educated but poor, lower class family, which wounded his pride. Another problem was the difference in their ethnic backgrounds. ZdeÅka's family originated in Austria while LeoÅ¡, an ardent Czech nationalist, was determined to see his homeland emerge from under Austro-Hungarian rule. All this created countless frictions between LeoÅ¡ his in-laws and ZdeÅka and contributed to their marital problems.
Their daughter Olga was born in 1882 and son Vladimir six years later. Much to both parents' sorrow, the son died at two years of age and Olga at twenty-one. JanáÄek was devastated by the children's deaths, especially Olga's. She had become a cherished companion and sounding board for her father. Any bonds that had held LeoÅ¡ and ZdeÅka together were severely damaged, but they continued to live together in the house built for them on the Music Conservatory grounds in Brno.
JanáÄek had a roving eye and frequently became infatuated with younger women. Whether it led to serious affairs is open to question, but these 'acquaintances' helped inspire many of his works. In 1915 he met his muse, thirty-eight years his junior, a married woman, Kamila Stösslová. The JanáÄeks and Stössls became friends. At first the two couples visited each other and even traveled together. The friendship ended due to ZdeÅka's perception of the too friendly behavior of LeoÅ¡ toward Kamila. Eventually LeoÅ¡ actually developed a passionate attachment to Kamila which was to last until his death. What her husband, an art dealer, thought of it is not clear. Kamila seems to have been a passive, almost indifferent bystander to this infatuation. She was, however, the inspiration for the best works during his last ten years. In the hundreds of letters he wrote to Kamila, he not only wrote of his love for her but his thoughts, hopes and plans for his works. Most of these letters survive and have been published. JanáÄek even wrote a string quartet named Intimate Letters. In essence he considered Kamila his idealized wife. In one letter to Kamila he wrote: "between you and me there is a world of beauty, but all is nothing but fantasy". Kamila answered few of the letters and then rather impersonally. She however enjoyed the attention of a "famous man".
In 1928, while vacationing in his native village with the Stössl family, JanáÄek, Kamila and one of her young sons went for a walk. The boy strayed and disappeared. The 74 year-old JanáÄek caught a chill while searching for the child. Shortly thereafter he developed pneumonia and died on August 12, 1928. ZdeÅka was not at his side.
JanáÄek's compositions number in the hundreds. Several have been lost and others went unfinished. The first work that brought him wide recognition was his opera Jenůfa, completed in 1903. He kept revising it until 1916. First performed in Brno in 1904, it was well received. However, wider acceptance of this work eluded him since he had offended the conductor of the Prague Opera with a published negative concert review. Jenůfa was finally prèmiered in Prague in 1916. It received high acclaim there as well as in Vienna, Berlin and other European cities.
Max Brod, a prominent Prague writer and critic and ardent admirer of JanáÄek's works, translated all of his opera into German. It was customary to present opera in the language of the presenting theatre. Having his operas translated gave JanáÄek access to large audience outside of his native country.
It must be stressed that operas performed in the composer's intended language rather than in translation offer a far truer sound, matching words and music. This is especially true of JanáÄek's style of composition. Of his nine operas, two are still in opera houses' repertory and two others are performed occasionally; the rest are heard mainly in the Czech Republic.
Jenůfa and a later work, Kát'a Kabanová, could be called verismo operas. JanáÄek had a predilection for choosing literary sources for his libretti either from real life situations or from fantasy which sometimes bordered on the supernatural. He handles people in emotional conflicts in a realistic way. To quote JanáÄek, "Don't look in dramatic music only for melodies opera must be the stuff of which real life is made". The use of motifs for his characters interwoven with folk melodies are prevalent in most of his operas. As always, his interest in "speech melodies" that mark the JanáÄek sound makes his music easily identifiable. Orchestration, relatively sparse and simple in his early works, increased incrementally with each work, still distinctively and lushly JanáÄek's own sound.
Thus Jenůfa and Kát'a Kabanová belong to the reality genre. The first deals with a gamut of emotions among simple folk in a village; love, jealousy, honor and honesty drive the characters as JanáÄek visualized them in a Moravian village, familiar surroundings for him. In Kát'a, based on a play by Russian nineteenth-century writer Alexander Ostrovsky, The Storm, JanáÄek deals with the emotional conflicts of a middle class family of the time. He portrays the older characters as stereotypes of the merchant classes, ruthless and hypocritical. The young men, one, Tichon, dominated by his mother, takes refuge in drink and is unable to stand up for his young wife. The other young man, Boris, can not escape from his uncle's oppression. The young wife, Kát'a, unable to have a rewarding marriage with her husband, makes a fatal decision that leads to her death. In the end, propriety and appearances take precedent over personal happiness and freedom.
JanáÄek's operas The Cunning Little Vixen and The Makropulos Case deal with fantasy. Vixen, based on a cartoon serial character from a daily newspaper, is a delightful story. Human characters and animals living in the woods coexist integrated in one another's lives and deal with life's cyclic problems. The Makropulos Case, written by Czech author Karel Capek (also the author of RUR where the word robot was first introduced) is about a glamorous woman who had lived unchanged for over three hundred years due to a formula developed by her father. She is desperately looking for the formula in order to prolong her life again, but finally realizes that she is bored with life, having experienced all there is, and actually wishes to die. JanáÄek's final opera, From the House of the Dead, is based on a story by Russian writer Dostoyevsky. JanáÄek had a great affinity for Russian literature, as a matter of fact for most things Russian. His antipathy to what he felt was oppression under Austro-Hungarian rule turned him into a Russophile. From the House of the Dead is a narrative of life in a Siberian prison camp. An all male cast relates the reasons for being imprisoned and the good and evil that each prisoner visualizes in his life and imprisonment. JanáÄek did not live to see the première of this opera in Brno in 1930.
Four other operas with widely differing themes were also written and presented between 1887 and 1917. Other well known works from his output that are frequently performed are: Taras Bulba, a rhapsody for full orchestra; Glagolitic Mass, a cantata; the song cycle Diary of a Young Man who Vanished; and Sinfonietta, a fanfare-like symphony. Three chamber music pieces are: The 1st String Quartet (Kreutzersonata), 2nd String Quarter (Intimate Letters a reference to his correspondence with Kamila Stösslová) and the Wind Sextet Suite (Youth). These are but a few from JanáÄek's vast output. Many dances, songs and choral works plus church music demonstrate the varied spectrum of composition during JanáÄek's 74 years of life.
U.S. born and Australian raised conductor Sir Charles Mackerras left the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to pursue further conducting studies in Prague in 1947. During his two year stay in the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia at that time) the 22 year-old conductor developed an affinity for JanáÄek's works and became a passionate promoter of his music. A noted conductor today, his artistry keeps him busy around the globe. Almost single-handedly, Sir Charles has reintroduced JanáÄek's music wherever his engagements take him. Thus JanáÄek's works are now performed in music venues all over the world.
Some Czech History
The present Czech Republic consists of the ancient kingdoms of Bohemia and Moravia, called the Czech Lands. Until recently, they were joined with Slovakia to form Czechoslovakia, but that country was not formed until 1918. Surrounded by more powerful neighbors, the Czechs have had many masters. If a man was born in Prague in 1910, he was born an Austrian; at the age of eight he became a Czechoslovak; at the age of twenty-nine a second-class German; at thirty-five regained his Czechoslovak status for a few years; at thirty-eight came under Soviet domination; and at fifty-eight briefly tasted freedom, only to come once more under Soviet control. When he was eighty, he again became a Czechoslovak. At eight-five, he finally became a citizen of the Czech Republic.
BEGINNINGS
The earliest inhabitants of these lands are known only from archaeology. During the Early Bronze Age, people known as Unetice lived there and left many of their artifacts for us to discover. By 400 BC the country was occupied by Celtic tribes, the best-known one being the Boii, who in turn, were overrun in 8 BC by a Germanic tribe, the Marcomanni. (The Latin name for the Boii, Boiohemum, became Bohemia. The name of the river through Prague, the Vltava, or Moldau, came from the Celtic Vlt-Va or wild water.) The Romans advanced to southern Bohemia, and Tacitus tells us of battles with the Marcomanni, but Bohemia was never conquered by Rome. The Germanic domination lasted less than 600 years; then in the sixth century AD, waves of Slavic people arrived and established relationships with the Byzantine and Frankish empires. Thus today's Czechs are a mixture of Celts, Germans and Slavs. Although they are mainly the latter, they have always looked to the West and have therefore been more 'European' than the other Slavic people.
Documentary history begins only in the seventh century; before this, Czech history is based on legends, one of which deals with Cech. He and his brother Lech, were Slavic chieftains who brought their people to Bohemia looking for a place where they could live in peace. They surveyed the country from the mountain of Rip, north of present-day Prague and Cech is supposed to have said, "This is a country overflowing with milk, butter and honey, this is where we shall stay". Lech continued on and settled what is now Poland. When Cech died, his successor, the Duke of Chechy, built a castle in what is now Prague, and called it Vysehrad; its ruins still exist. He left three daughters, the youngest of whom was Libuse, who had the gift of prophecy. She was chosen as the leader of the tribe, but when the elders rebelled against being ruled by a woman, Libuse agreed that she needed a husband. In a vision she saw a plowman in a field with two oxen and sent men to find him. "His name is Premysl", she told them, "and our descendants will rule forever". A white horse would lead them to the place, and when the horse neighed, that would be Premysl; he would be eating on an iron table. All happened as she foretold; the iron table was an upside-down plow. He said he was eating off iron because his descendants would rule with an iron rod; iron was used for plows in peace time and for swords during war. They all rode off to Vysehrad, where Libuse and her court come out in regal splendor to meet them. The wedding was held soon thereafter, and their descendants ruled until 1306 if not, as foretold, forever.
THE PREMYSLID DYNASTY
About the seventh century, the semi-legendary Samo united the Slavs against the Avar tribes of Hungary. Charlemagne joined the battle against the Avars. The state which followed is known as the Great Moravian Empire. Although details of its history are vague, it seems to have included what is now Bohemia, Southern Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia, Southern Poland and Northern Hungary. It fell apart in the early tenth century and most went to Hungary. Bohemia was ruled by the Premyslid dynasty, and Moravia became a crownland of the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was at this time that a castle was built at Brno, but its exact location is now unknown. The Czech prince, Oldich Bretislav I, ruled there and coins were minted.
The Premyslids, were a particularly bloodthirsty group but they continued to prosper. One of the most famous was Prince Vaclav, the King Wenceslas of the Christmas carol. He was probably not the jolly image of that song, but an intelligent tribal chief. Vaclav was killed by supporters of his brother who succeeded him. He is the patron saint of Bohemia, and his statue, which dominates the huge square named for him in Prague, was a focal point for anti-Soviet demonstrations while Czechoslovakia was dominated by the USSR.
The city of Prague is at the crossroad of all of the trade-routes in Bohemia and was first written of in 965 as a town of "stone and line". Bohemia was rich in minerals of all kinds, and Prague soon became one of the major cities in Europe. Charlemagne visited Bohemia, but never conquered it. Officially it became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. But in 1212 the Papal Golden Bull of Sicily confirmed the Czech kings as sovereigns in their land; their only obligation to the emperor was to provide a company of riders for his coronation ceremony. For centuries thereafter, the Bohemian king was the chief of the Electors of the Empire.
THE LUXEMBOURG DYNASTY (1310-1437)
The last of the Premyslids was a woman, Eliska. When she married John of Luxembourg, her family's dynasty ended, and her husband became the king. John was an absentee king, never learned the language, spent most of his time at war, and allowed the country to be ruled for a time by local barons. Nevertheless it was said, "Nothing can be done without the help of God and the King of Bohemia". Bohemia was one of the most important kingdoms in Europe. John's banner, with three feathers and the motto, "Ich dien" (I serve) was that of the Bohemian kings. When John was killed at the battle of Crécy, a scene depicted in Shakespeare's Henry V, the banner was picked up by Edward, the Black Prince, then Prince of Wales. That is why, ever since, it has been a part of the crest of the current Prince of Wales.
John's son was quite a different matter, one of the best kings the Bohemians every had, and known as the 'Father of the Country'. He was King Charles I of Bohemia and, as Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. He had been raised in France and did not speak any Czech when he came to the throne, but soon became fluent and spoke several other languages as well. With Prague as his capital, he reigned for thirty years, reorganized the government, kept the peace, and made Prague one of Europe's handsomest cities. Among other things he built St. Vitus Cathedral, and the famous Charles Bridge across the Vltava (Moldau) river. This still stands and is known for its statues which were added in the eighteenth century. The bridge has withstood the annual impact of floating ice for 600 years. Credit for this is given to the eggs which were mixed with the mortar. Since there were not enough eggs in Prague, all of the towns of Bohemia were ordered to furnish their share. One town, in a misguided effort to prevent breakage during shipment, sent hard-boiled eggs, which, of course, were useless.
Charles wrote down the legend of St. Vaclav, introduced French methods of farming -- including vineyards which are still in existence -- and drained the marshlands of southern Bohemia. Above all, he founded the University of Prague in 1348. Also known as Charles University, it was the fourth established north of the Alps, after Paris, Oxford and Cambridge. Eventually Bohemians were printing books when the people of its neighboring countries could not even read!
HUS AND DALIBOR
Jan Hus, the son of a Bohemian peasant, started life as a poor student and lived a 'Bohemian' life. Later he earned his degree and soon became dean of the philosophy faculty at Charles University. The same year, he was ordained as a priest and began preaching in Prague's Bethlehem Chapel, in Czech rather than in Latin. Like the other reformers of Western Europe, he sought to change the church, publicly denouncing the doctrine of papal infallibility and the sale of indulgences. In 1415, he was given a safe conduct to attend an ecclesiastical council in Constance, but this was a sham. When he got there, he was imprisoned, condemned as a heretic and burnt at the stake, one of the first martyrs of the Reformation. His death united the Czechs against the nobles. Decades of unrest followed as the Hussites fought for freedom over their oppressive masters. (In 1419, seven members of the city council were thrown to their death from a window by a group of Hussites, the first 'defenestration of Prague').
A semi-legendary hero was the knight, Dalibor. When he offered protection to some of the rebellious serfs of his neighbors, he was tried, imprisoned in a tower in Prague Castle, and condemned to death. That much is fact. We are also told that, while in prison, the jailor allowed him to have a violin because, "What Czech doesn't love music?" (Ktery pak Cech by hudbu nemel rad?). He taught himself to play, and people gathered to listen beneath the tower, sending food up to him in a basket. After he died, his music was sorely missed. His prison tower can still be seen and the Czech composer, Smetana, wrote an opera about him.
THE HABSBURGS
In 1526 Bohemia and Moravia passed to Austria and the Habsburgs although Moravia at first retained as separate diet and was sometimes separated from Bohemia. The thrones then became hereditary; until then the kings had been elected. For example, from 1608 to 1611 Bohemia was ruled by Rudolf II and Moravia by his brother Matthais. They remained somewhat separate until the Habsburgs were overthrown in 1918. Prague remained the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire until 1611.
During this time there was constant strife in the Czech Lands. In 1618, two members of the city council were thrown from the window of Prague Castle, the famous second 'defenestration of Prague'. Luckily this time they lived by landing in a filthy moat, and escaped, dirty but unharmed. (The third defenestration was that of Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk in 1948. His body was found beneath a window, but whether he was pushed or committed suicide is unknown.) The 1618 defenestration signaled the beginning of the revolts of the nobles against their Austrian rulers and the start of the Thirty Years War. In 1620 (a date as significant to the Czechs as 1066 is to the British or 1776 to Americans) the Czech nobles were defeated at the Battle of the White Mountain and lost all power over their own destiny. Protestants and Catholics fought each other during the Thirty Years War, and the population of Bohemia was reduced from three million to nine hundred thousand. Dvorak memorialized the battle in his first choral work, The Heirs of the White Mountain).
In the following decades, as a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Czechs almost disappeared as a people. They were led with an iron hand from Vienna; all were forced to become Catholics; Charles University was given to the Jesuits; German became the official language while Czech was spoken only by peasants -- it could be taught only in village elementary schools; Czech books were burned. The word for language or tongue, jazyk, became a synonym for nation. Many of the nobility and educated people went into exile, over 35,000 families in all, leaving a cultural void in the once proud Bohemia. It was the "Time of Darkness".
Later, Protestantism was legalized, the nobility became interested in the language of their ancestors, and finally, in 1791, Czech was once more allowed to be taught at the University. By the middle of the nineteenth century, there was a Czech revival with a renewed interest in the history, the music and the folk tales of Bohemia and Moravia. Because the peasants had been largely illiterate, few tales had been written down until then; now collections were made of the old stories. With the Industrial Revolution, the Czech speakers of the countryside flocked to the towns, and their language soon became the predominant one.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
In 1918, the Habsburg Empire breathed its last and Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia were united into the Democratic Republic of Czechoslovakia, with TomasMasaryk as its first president and Edvard Benes as foreign minister. Masaryk had an American wife and brought U.S. style government to the newly created country. From 1918 to 1938 it was a model of constitutional democracy. However, after Hitler's accession in Germany, there was discord in western Czechoslovakia. The Sudetenland, next to Germany, was mostly inhabited by ethnic Germans. In March of 1938, Hitler invaded Austria (the Anschluss) and demanded the Sudetenland as well. At a meeting in Munich, which the Czechs were not allowed to attend, France and Britain caved in to the dictator. The Nazis occupied the Sudetenland without opposition; Czechoslovakia had been betrayed by its friends. By March 1939 the whole country was under Hitler's control, and Slovakia was declared an independent entity. Czechoslovakia was one of the worst sufferers from the subsequent Holocaust. By a 1930 census, there were aabout 117,550 Jews in Bohemia and Moravia; by 1945, it is estimated there were only about 22,000.
In 1945, Czechoslovakia was 'liberated' by the Soviet army and became one of the Eastern bloc of nations, behind the Iron Curtain. But the citizens were unhappy. Czech writers, the conscience of their country were restive under the restrictions on their freedom of speech. Students became unhappy about the conditions in the universities and, as students do, staged protests. They were supported by the vast majority of Czechs who had seen their standard of living severely eroded. When Alexander Dubcek became chief of the Communist Party's Central Committee, the way was opened for the 'Prague Spring' of 1968. Major reforms took place: political prisoners were freed; limited private enterprise was allowed; journalists were free to print what they wanted, and the sale of newspapers shot up dramatically. Dubcek was often compared to Jan Hus, also a liberator. After 20 years of domination, there was a brief taste of liberty!
However, all of this freedom for one of their 'allies' made the leaders of the Soviet Union very uncomfortable. In the early hours of August 21, 1968, while most of the citizens slept, Warsaw Pact armies invaded Czechoslovakia. The people woke to find tanks at their doorsteps. At first they reacted with mass demonstrations but after 20 Praguers were killed, they turned to subtler forms of sabotage. Road signs were turned the wrong way, and the countryside became a labyrinth for the invaders. They destroyed all of the phone books so the foreigners could not use the telephone. Radio frequencies were channeled into the telephone circuits so the populace could listen to forbidden programs by dialing certain numbers. When the armies shut off Old Town Square with its statue of Hus, long the rallying point for protesters, they moved to Wenceslas Square with its statue of the country's patron saint.
Another twenty years were to pass before the breakup of the Soviet Union meant liberty for Czechoslovakia once more. Vaclav Havel, a playwright, became the president. But the people of Slovakia were still unhappy; under the leadership of the much richer and more industrialized Czechs, they felt they had just replaced one master for another. What followed has been called the 'Velvet Revolution'. In the midst of the tumult all around them with which the Warsaw countries and the Soviet Union were disintegrating, the Czechs and Slovaks peacefully decided to split (January 1, 1993). As had been true 1,000 years before, the Czech Lands now belong to the Czechs.
More details may be found at http://archiv.radio.cz/history. This also has many pictures which may be enlarged and printed.
Some famous Czechs
Jan Hus, Leos Janacek, Gustav Mahler, Franz Kafka, Johann Kepler, Tomas Masaryk, Jan Masaryk, Vaclav Havel, Martina Navratilova, Bedrich Smetana, Alexander Dubcek, Tycho Brahe, Sigmund Freud, Edvard Benes, Gregor Mendel, Karel Capek
Ostrovsky, Alexander
[The source for the libretto of Kát'a Kabanová was the play The Storm, by Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky. The libretto was devised by the composer from a Czech translation of the play. The folloing article centers on Ostrovsky and his play. -NMR]
Although he is usually considered the greatest of all Russian playwrights, Alexander Ostrovsky's (1823-1886) works are little known outside of Russian-speaking countries. Only two are fairly well-known in the West and that is because they are sources for operas, namely Janacek's Katya Kabanova and Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden. This may seem strange because the works of his exact contemporaries Tolstoy (1828-1910, Dostoevsky (1821-1881), Turgenev (1818-1883) and the somewhat later Chekhov (1860-1904) are standards in every Western library. The answer lies in the people he portrayed. For example, Chekhov wrote of upper middle class families, Tolstoy, himself a noble, wrote of the westernized Russian nobility which was known in the west. Ostrovsky wrote of old Russia, especially the lower merchant class which was only a generation or two removed from serfdom. (The serfs were freed in 1861, two years after the first performance of The Storm.) This narrow, bigoted and rigid society was a mystery to westerners. A patriarchal society, it was ruled by tyrants such as Kabanicha and Dikoj who so intimidated the younger generation that they became tyrants themselves.
Alexander's grandfather owned a fine library and could converse in Latin. His father was also well educated and was a member of the civil service, being granted a hereditary nobility. Alexander, born April 12, 1823 was the third son; the first two died in infancy. In school he studied French, Greek and Latin and started to study law. However, he spent most of his time at the Maly Theatre and in coffee houses in conversations about literature. He became a law clerk and eventually served as such in the Moscow Commercial Court. There he became acquainted with the merchant class, obsessed with money, that he was later to portray so vividly. Of one of his early plays, The Bankrupt, the censors said: "All the characters in the play...are first rate villains. The dialogue is filthy. The entire play is an insult to the Russian merchant class". The play was banned from the stage, but Ostrovsky held readings in private houses, word spread, and it was published with overwhelming success. As a result, he lost his job, and Tsar Nicolas I had him placed under police surveillance. (Actually, he was allowed to 'resign' out of respect for his father.) He worked for a newspaper reading proof and writing reviews but, from then on, essentially became a full-time writer. While Ostrovsky never married, he had several relationships with women. The first lived with him for eighteen years and bore him four children before she died. At first they were desperately poor; he had no winter overcoat and no fuel for the fire. He met the married opera singer and actress, Lubov Pavlovna Kositskaya whose career he had been following, and he wrote parts for her in several of his plays. Her appearance in his play Stick to Your Own Sleigh has been hailed as a turning point of Russian theatre. While attending a funeral together in 1852, she commented on how, as a child, the sound of church-bells had always brought her joy. He never forgot. When she separated from her husband he was inspired to write The Storm and used her remarks in Katerina's monologue. He wrote passionate letters to her, but she replied cooly and urged him not to fall in love with her. Almost the same scenario was to be played out years later between the composer Janacek and Kamila Stösslova.
The Storm opened on November 15, 1859, done on a shoe string with bits and pieces of old costumes and sets. It was a sensation! It had to be moved from the Maly to the Bolshoi to accommodate the crowds clamoring to see it. Turgenev wrote: "A most amazing, a most wonderful work of art by a Russian of powerful gifts, which he has completely mastered". Still, an establishment critic called it immoral, said there was no such woman as Katerina, and respectable parents would never take their daughter to see it. However, half a dozen operas are based on this play.
Even when his plays started to be performed, they never paid him much. The rules stated that plays chosen by actors for a benefit performance (and that happened about once a week), became the property of the theatre. The actors were paid but the authors got nothing. But his plays, about fifty in all, were being performed everywhere, usually directed by himself. He wrote for the people's theatre, "cheap seats and a first rate company, rather than expensive seats and a third rate company". Most were for the Maly Theatre which became known as the house that Ostrovsky built. It had existed when he was young, but his works were instrumental in resurrecting the theatre after a period of relative decline.
Ostrovsky started "The Actors Circle", a sort of club. It was private and produced only classics and plays by contemporary Russian authors. From 1874 until his death, he was president of the Society of Russian Dramatic Authors. In 1884, he was made the artistic director the Moscow government theatres. Twelve years after his death, The Actors Circle was replaced by the Moscow Art Theatre. Ostrovsky's methods paved the way for the ground-breaking work of Stanislavsky.
The Music of Kát'a Kabanová
JanáÄek's original models for operatic writing were the operas of his older compatriot, Bedrich Smetana. These were essentially 'number' operas, dramas strung together by discrete arias, ensembles and choruses. But with the writing of Jenůfa he began to question the dramatic viability of these models, and he turned to a more concise, economical style of writing. As John Tyrrell points out in his article on the composer for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, despite training in Leipzig and Vienna in the rudiments of Western classical style JanáÄek's intimate connection to the folk idioms of Moravia made it virtually impossible for him to conform to the phrase lengths and harmonic structures of his German, French and Italian contemporaries. JanáÄek's phrases are short, bordering on blunt. The motives or 'cells' upon which he builds a musical piece are in constant flux, we rarely hear them in the same form as they are initially introduced to us. He will occasionally utilize thematic reminiscence, rather like Verdi's purposeful repetition of suggestive themes in La traviata or the theme from the 'Friendship' Duet in Don Carlo which is heard a number of times in the opera to produce an emotional effect. But typically, a motive or small group of motives will be used to unite one scene of the opera, and these motives will be varied constantly in order to both unite the elements of the scene and to keep the drama moving ahead.
A few of the more important motives used in the opera are introduced in the overture, which was written after most of the opera was completed. The first important motive is heard from the timpani, beginning in the fifth bar of the score. These eight notes simply outline the interval of a fourth, from F natural to B flat, and they are responsible for helping to create the ominous atmosphere of the first section of the overture. But notice that the very same pitches (F natural and B flat) are used to build the 'sleigh bell' motive that appears in the oboe about two minutes into the overture when the tempo picks up. Suddenly the emotional atmosphere has changed, shifted, even though the composer is using the very same melodic material for both moments.
Similar variation techniques are used in every scene of the opera, with the orchestra taking the lead in carrying the development, and the voices simply singing in a kind of parlando style above the instruments. Pay close attention to what occurs in the orchestra underneath the first words uttered by Kudryash in his first scene dialogue with Glasha, a gently rocking motive that is repeated again and again during their conversation. But notice how the nature of the rocking motive changes abruptly when Dikoj, the old merchant, is first seen by Kudryash in the distance and then enters, berating his nephew Boris. The 'rocking' motive of the previous conversation takes on a 'rollicking' nature as Dikoj tears into Boris for his seeming lack of ambition. These are not two different motives, but the same motive developed or varied. When Dikoj leaves and Boris and Kudryash begin their conversation another variant of the motive appears, until it seems to disappear with the entrance of the Kabanov family. This technique is used throughout the opera, with new motives being used for the appearances of new characters (Katya, Kabanicha) or for important dramatic moments (the love scene, the storm).
If it sounds complex, it is; at least for a musician. The great thing about it is that it is also used so intuitively by Janáček that you don't need to know that all of this variation technique is occurring in order to appreciate the work in the theatre. The composer's genius is such that the music fits so well with the drama, the communication of emotion is immediate and accessible.
Synopsis
A short overture introduces some of the themes from the opera.
ACT I, Scene 1: A park above the Volga in the small, fictional, provincial town of Kalinov. Time about 1860.
As Vanya Kudryash sits admiring the beauty of the River Volga and speaking to Glasha, the Kabanov servant, they see Dikoj (Vanya's employer) beating Boris, his nephew. They enter as Vanya and Glasha go off. Dikoy berates Boris for being so lazy and orders him to stay away from him. He then asks Glasha if her mistress is at home. When told she is still at church, he leaves. When Vanya returns and asks Boris why he allows his uncle to beat him, he is told that his parents died and left money for him and his sister on the condition they always obey Dikoy. Only by staying with his uncle can he make sure his sister does not also have to live there and suffer as he does.
An orchestral interlude describes the Kabanovs coming back from church. Boris regrets how quickly his youth is passing. When he hears the name Kabanicha he confesses to Vanya that he is in love with Katya, her daughter-in-law. As they appear, Kabanicha is ordering her son Tichon to leave for Kazan this day and scolds him for putting his wife before his mother. Katya says she and Tichon both love her, but Kabanicha orders her to keep quiet and tells her son his wife should know her place. After Katya enters the house, Tichon tries to protest, but Kabanicha tells him he is too easy on his wife and angrily leaves. Varvara accuses Tichon of being drunk and nagging his wife. When he leaves, she comments on how unhappy Katya is.
Scene 2: A room in the Kabanov house.
As Katya and Varvara sit talking, Katya recalls her happy childhood when she could wander as freely as a bird, and how she imagined angels flying when she was in church. Then she felt as though she herself was flying. Strange sinful feelings are besetting her; at night she thinks a man is whispering to her and that she goes with him. Varvara confesses that she too has sinned. When Tichon appears Katya runs to embrace him and begs him not to leave. When he says he has to obey his mother, she begs to be allowed to go with him, but he refuses. He has to get away. She then asks him to make her promise to never think of another man while he is gone. Kabanicha comes to tell Tichon it is time to go and orders him to tell his wife how to behave. Reluctantly, and prompted by his mother, he tells Katya to respect and honor her mother-in-law, not to sit idle, and not to look at other men. His mother then makes Tichon kneel and kiss her, then say farewell to his wife. When Katya throws her arms around her husband's neck, Kabanicha scolds her for acting like a lover instead of a wife.
ACT II, Scene 1: A room in the Kabanov house
Kabanicha reproaches Katya for not shutting herself in her room and crying after her husband has left. Even if she didn't feel the need, she should have pretended to cry to be like other women. [This was indeed expected of Russian wives at the time.] After she leaves, Varvara suggests she and Katya spend the night in the summerhouse. She has found the key to the nearby gate, taken it and substituted another so Kabanicha will not be suspicious. If she see Boris, she will tell him Katya will wait for him by the gate. Katya doesn't want to take the key, but Varvara thrusts it on her and leaves. Although her conscience tells her she should throw the key away, she rationalizes that it wouldn't hurt to merely talk to Boris. She finally decides she would rather die than not see him and longs for night to come.
A somewhat drunken Dikoy complains to Kabanicha that everyone wants money from him, and she accuses him of being a bully. He tells her how the Devil tempted him to swear at a peasant then beg his forgiveness on his knees. The disgrace of kneeling before a peasant!.
Scene 2: By the gate in the garden fence.
Vanya sings a folk song as he waits for Varvara. Boris appears has he has been instructed, and Vanya warns him of the danger of loving Katya. Varvara enters, and tells Boris that Katya is coming; then she and Vanya walk off together. When Katya appears Boris greets her ardently, but she tells him to stay away from her. She is married; does he want to ruin her? Finally she succombs and throws herself in his arms. Now she can die happy, although she is sure she has sinned and will surely die. Varvara and Vanya return and tell Katya and Boris to go for a walk. Varvara is not afraid they will be found out; Kabanicha always sleeps soundly. Boris and Katya can be heard from offstage declaring their love for each other. As it grows late, Vanya calls the others back.
Act III, Scene 1: A ruined building by the river. (The play tells us it is 10 days later.)
Vanya and his friend Kuligin take shelter from a rainstorm and comment on the remnants of paintings on the wall which depict the damned burning in hell. Other passers-by join them. When Dikoy pears, Vanya tells him they should have lightning rods to protect them. Dikoy does not believe that lightning is just electricity. It is sent as punishment by God; Vanya the mechanic is a heretic and charlatan.
Varvara tells Boris that Tichon has come home unexpectedly and Katya has been acting crazy, wandering around, shaking and crying. Varvara is afraid she will tell Tichon everything, and Kabanicha has become suspicious. As Katya appears moaning that she will die, the passers-by comment on her actions. She breaks completely and does confess she has not kept any of the promises she had made to her husband before he went away. She names Boris as her lover and faints in Tichon's arms.
Scene 2: The banks of the Volga.
Tichon and Glasha are searching for Katya. His mother has said killing Katya is not enough, she should be buried alive. At least she should be beaten. But he loves her still and cannot hurt her. Kabanicha has also been shouting at Varvara who had warned her that something bad would happen. Vanya urges Varvara to go to Moscow with him, and they leave.
Katya enters searching for Boris. If she can see him again, she will die happy. She hears distant singing that sounds like funeral chanting. She wants to die but death does not come, she must go on living and atone. Boris enters and they embrace. His uncle has banished him to Siberia, and he worries about what Kabanicha will do to her daughter-in-law. Katya replies that she will torture her, people will laugh at her, and Tichon will beat her when he is drunk. There is something else she wants to tell him but she can't remember what it is, then says that when he leaves, he should give alms to every beggar he meets. They finally say goodbye.
As Katya goes to the river and jumps in she thinks of birds flying over her grave. Kuligin sees her and calls for help. The others rush in. Kabanicha restrains Tichon as he goes to help, saying his wife is not worth saving. He turns on her and accuses her of being the one who killed Katya. Dikoj has found Katya, and Tichon falls on her corpse. Kabanicha thanks the others for their kindness.
Note: The play ends the same way but with one more line in which Tichon cries that Katya is free but he is left to live and suffer.
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Christianity - the writers of the 27 books of the New Testament were all Jewish, with one exception. Who was the only Gentile, or non-Jewish , writer of the New Testament ? | Was Luke a Gentile? – Zola Levitt Ministries
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Introduction
As we speak and teach the Word, we often mention that the whole Bible is a Jewish book, and that all the writers of the Bible, Old and New Testaments, were Jews. Frequently, someone asks the question, “What about Luke, wasn’t he a Gentile?” This has been taught throughout church history for so long and so consistently, that it is assumed without question it must be true. However, when you study how this conclusion was reached by biblical commentators, you realize how slender their evidence is. The idea that Luke was a Gentile seems to be based more on tradition than any strong biblical evidence.
Importance of the Question
It may not seem important whether or not Luke was a Gentile, but when you think about the magnitude of his work, the issue becomes truly significant. By counting the pages written by Luke in both his Gospel and Acts, it is clear that Luke wrote more pages of the New Testament than any other writer, including Paul and John. If Luke was a Gentile, then the Lord entrusted more pages of New Testament revelation to a Gentile than to any other writer. This would be remarkable, to say the least.
Personally, as a Gentile Christian, I would love to have one of “our guys” as a writer in the canon of Scripture, so I am naturally reluctant to find otherwise. However, the evidence appears overwhelming to me that Luke was, in fact, a Jew. The matter cannot be settled conclusively, because the Scriptures never specifically tell us Luke’s background, but the arguments for his being a Jew appear to far outweigh those for his being a Gentile.
Arguments for Luke Being A Gentile
Usually, biblical commentators simply assert that Luke was a Gentile, without offering any proof at all, as it is so universally believed. Some commentaries, though, present arguments for sustaining the concept of the Gentile background of Luke. Chief among these arguments are the lists from the Epistle to the Colossians.
The Lists in Colossians
In Colossians 4, the Apostle Paul closes his letter by listing the various people who are with him as he writes the epistle, and some of those who are addressed. In these lists Paul makes mention of some who are of “the circumcision” ( Col. 4:10–11 ), and are, therefore, Jews. Although it is not perfectly clear which men are referred to, they are presumably the previous three: Aristarchus, Mark and Jesus called Justus. Paul apparently does not include Tychicus and Onesimus, mentioned before in verses 7–9, as being in the circumcision group.
Later in this same chapter, in verse 14, Paul refers to Luke, the beloved physician. The argument is made that, as Luke is not mentioned in the list of those of “the circumcision”, he therefore must not be a Jew. However, this is very slim evidence, indeed. In the above reference, Paul is speaking of his fellow workers in the preaching ministry. However, Luke was not ever described as being actively involved in the work of preaching, but was rather Paul’s personal physician and historian. It would not be appropriate to put Luke in the list with those who were active in the preaching ministry, regardless of background.
Thus, there are reasons other than background why Luke would not be included in the list of “the circumcision.” It is risky to build a concept on evidence which is so weak, and this is the strongest evidence in the Bible that those who believe Luke was a Gentile use to prove their point.
The Name and Profession Arguments
Proponents have also argued that the name Luke (Lucas) is, in itself, evidence that he was a Gentile. However, the very names mentioned in Col. 4 as being in “the circumcision” are Gentile names: Aristarchus, Marcus and Justus. Paul’s name itself is a Roman name, which he used throughout his ministry among the Gentiles, instead of his Hebrew name, Saul. In the same way Peter’s Hebrew name was Simon. The fact of the matter is that most Jews who lived in the Diaspora used two names: one, a Jewish name, which was used in the synagogue, and the other, a Gentile name, which was used in business. So Luke could well be the public name of a Jew who lived among the Gentiles.
Others have actually claimed that Luke’s profession as a physician would be evidence that he was a Gentile. This would assume that there were no Jewish doctors in the Roman world. Such an idea is preposterous. Christ referred to physicians in Israel on several occasions:
“Physician, heal thyself…” ( Luke 4:23 )
“They that are sick have need of a physician…” ( Matt. 9:12 )
There is as much reason to believe that Jews were in the medical profession in ancient times as they are today.
Thus, none of the arguments supporting the idea that Luke was a Gentile are strong. It is helpful, then, to turn to the arguments that Luke was a Jew.
Arguments for Luke Being a Jew
There are several arguments that support the idea that Luke was a Jew. As has already been stated, there are no specific statements as to the background of Dr. Luke. Therefore, the only way we can know anything about Luke’s background is from inferences in the Scriptures.
The Rule: Oracles Given to Jews
After showing the sinful condition of the Jewish people, explaining how the Jews are just as much subject to sin as are the Gentiles, Paul asks the question, “What advantage has the Jew?” His answer was “Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” ( Rom. 3:1–2 ). The main advantage that Paul recognizes in the Jewish people was that when God gave revelation to the human race, He gave it to and through the Jews. He did not utilize the Gentile people for this purpose. This was the rule: that Jews were the vehicle for revelation. If Luke was an exception, the burden of proof is on those who would claim that he is an exception.
Thus, one has to prove conclusively that Luke was a Gentile before one should abandon the clear rule about the Jewish writing of Scripture. We must assume that Luke is a Jew unless the evidence is so overwhelming that we must conclude he is a Gentile. As we have seen above, the evidence from the lists in Colossians is so weak that it does not meet that criterion. Gentiles are blessed in many ways, especially during this Church Age, but God has never indicated that He has changed His rule of using only Jews to record His revelation.
Trophimus, Not Luke, the Cause of Paul’s Arrest
Dr. Luke was a constant companion of the Apostle Paul from the time that he joined the missionary apostle when he sailed from Troas to Europe. Luke accompanied Paul on his fateful last return trip to Jerusalem, and was an eyewitness to the arrest of Paul in the Temple in Acts 21. The crowd was greatly agitated by the presence of Paul in the Temple, and charged him with bringing Gentiles into the Temple precincts. This was a crime punishable by death. Luke explains that Paul never did bring any Gentiles into the Temple, but he was seen on the streets of Jerusalem with “Trophimus an Ephesian.” Apparently, Paul brought Trophimus with him to Jerusalem so that the apostles and the mother church there could see first-hand the fruits of his labor among the Gentiles. Even though the charge was false, they were able to spread the rumor among the people, and cause a near riot against Paul on the Temple Mount, and for this reason he was arrested.
The point is that, when the Jewish people wanted to accuse Paul of bringing a Gentile into the Temple, they chose Trophimus. Why didn’t they choose Luke, who was also with Paul, and was an eyewitness to these events? If Luke were a Gentile, it would have been far easier, and far more believable, to accuse Paul of bringing Luke with him into the Temple, rather than Trophimus. The fact that Luke was not mentioned in the accusation is a strong indication that he was not a Gentile. Luke was with Paul on several occasions when they made the various trips to Jerusalem in order to report on their missionary efforts to the apostolic church. The issue was never raised about Luke being a Gentile, although he was there in Jerusalem with Paul.
As Luke was not controversial when he travelled with Paul to Jerusalem and the Temple, our assumption must be that he was also a Jew. Thus, there was no mention of Luke as a problem when Paul was arrested.
Luke’s Intimate Knowledge of the Temple
Another argument for the idea that Luke was a Jew is that he showed such an intimate knowledge of the Temple, more than any other of the Gospel writers. When he described the announcement to Zacharias concerning the birth of John the Baptist, Luke went into considerable detail to describe the rotating selection of the Levitical priests for service according to their families. He further described the position of the priest before the altar of incense, where the angel appeared to Zacharias ( Luke 1:8–20 ).
The fact that Luke alone of the four Gospel writers gives this account, and he does so with such vivid detail, argues for his being a Jew, familiar with the Temple procedures. One could even speculate that Luke might have been a Levite as well, as he knew so much about how the Temple operated. Is it logical to assume, without question, that Luke was a Gentile, when he had such a clear understanding of the most intimate workings of the Temple, where no Gentile was allowed to go?
Luke’s Intimate Acquaintance with Mary
Yet another argument is the striking intimacy that Luke had with the mother of Jesus, Mary. He relates the story of the birth of Jesus primarily from Mary’s point of view, and then said that she hid these things “in her heart” ( Luke 2:19 , 51 ). How did Luke, of all the Gospel writers, get so close to Mary that he was able to find out what she had hidden in her heart? As close-knit as the Jerusalem church was, and as difficult as it must have been for Gentiles to have gotten to the “inner circle” of the apostolic leadership, it seems highly unlikely that Luke could have gotten that close to Mary if he were a Gentile.
Actually, it appears that Luke might have served Mary for a time as her personal physician. This is speculation, but how else could he have had such a close relationship with her, so that he could draw from her the details she had hidden in her heart, and had discussed with few others? Luke would have had the opportunity to consult with Mary on the occasions when Paul made his reporting trips to Jerusalem, and especially while Paul was in prison in Caesarea for two years. Such access would have been quite understandable if Luke were a Jew, but would have been most unlikely if he were a Gentile.
Conclusion
My conclusion is, then, that we must infer that Luke was a Jew. The idea that he was a Gentile appears to be based on nothing more than wishful thinking and tradition. The biblical evidence strongly supports the position that Luke was a Jew, and we should always believe the Scriptures over tradition, when there is a conflict between the two.
Copyright © 1996 Zola Levitt Ministries, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All rights reserved. Brief passages may be quoted in reviews or other article. For all other use, please get our written approval.
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What is the world's largest island ? | Wasn't the New Testament written hundreds of years after Christ? | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry
Wasn't the New Testament written hundreds of years after Christ?
by Matt Slick
11/22/08
Though some say that the New Testament was written 100-300 years after Christ died, the truth is that it was written before the close of the first century by those who either knew Christ personally, had encountered him, or were under the direction of those who were His disciples.
In the article When were the gospels written and by whom? , I demonstrated that Matthew, Mark, and Luke were all written before 70 A.D. Basically, the book of Acts was written by Luke. But Luke fails to mention the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., nor does he mention the deaths of James (A.D. 62), Paul (A.D. 64), and Peter (A.D. 65). Since Acts is a historical document dealing with the church, we would naturally expect such important events to be recorded if Acts was written after the fact. Since Acts 1:1-2 mentions that it is the second writing of Luke, the gospel of Luke was written even earlier. Also, Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple in the gospels: "As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down," (Luke 21:6, see also Matt. 24:2; Mark 13:2). Undoubtedly, if Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written after the destruction of the Temple, they would have included the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy in them. Since they don't, it is very strong indication that they were written before 70 A.D.
The gospel of John is supposed to have been written by John the apostle. It is written from the perspective of an eyewitness of the events of Christ's life. The John Rylands papyrus fragment 52 of John's gospel dated in the year 135 contains portions of John 18:31-33, 37-38. This fragment was found in Egypt and a considerable amount of time is needed for the circulation of the gospel before it reached Egypt. It is the last of the gospels and appears to have been written in the 80's to 90's.
Of important note is the lack of mention of the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. But this is understandable since John does not mention Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the Temple. He was not focusing on historical events. Instead, he focused on the theological aspect of the person of Christ and listed His miracles and words that affirmed Christ's deity. This makes perfect sense since he already knew of the previously written gospels.
Furthermore, 1, 2, and 3 John all contain the same writing style as the gospel of John and the book of Revelation which is supposed to have been written in the late 80's or early 90's.
Paul's Writings ~ Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Paul the Apostle was a convert to Christianity . The book of Acts speaks of his conversion in Acts 9. Since Acts was written before 70 A.D. and Paul wrote the Pauline Epistles and we know that Paul died in 64 A.D., the Pauline Epistles were all written before that date. Furthermore, in 1 Cor. 15:3-4 is an early creed of the Christian church where Paul mentions that Jesus had died and risen. "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Notice that he says he received this information. From whom did he receive it? Most probably the apostles since he had a lot of interaction with them. This means that Paul received the gospel account from the eyewitnesses. They were, of course contemporaries; they all died before the turn of the century. Therefore, their writings were completed within the lifetime of the apostles of Jesus.
Hebrews
It is not known for sure who wrote the book of Hebrews. Authorship has been proposed for Paul, Barnabas (Acts 4:36), Apollos (Acts 18:24), etc. The only geographical area mentioned is Italy (Heb. 13:24). The latest possible date for the writing of Hebrews is A.D. 95 but could have been written as early as A.D. 67. The book of Hebrews speaks of the sacrifice by the High Priest in the present tense (Heb. 5:1-3; Heb. 7:27) possibly signifying that the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 A.D. had not yet happened.
James
This epistle claims to have been written by James, "James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings," (James 1:1). The question is, "Which James?" Is it James, the son of Zebedee (Matt. 10:2-3); James, the son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:2-3), or the most commonly and accepted James who was the brother of Jesus? "Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" (Matt. 13:55,56). Notice that the context of the verses suggest immediate family since it mentions Jesus' Mother, brothers, and sisters. Also, see Gal. 1:18,19 which says "Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother." It is probable that James didn't believe in Jesus as the Messiah until Jesus appeared to him after His resurrection as is mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:7, "then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles."
James was martyred by the order of the high priest Ananus after the death of the "procurator Festus in A.D. 61 (Josephus, Ant. 20. 9)." Therefore, the epistle of James was written before A.D. 61. 1
1 and 2 Peter
Both epistles clearly state that they were authored by Peter, an eyewitness of Jesus' life and post-resurrection appearances. Though there have been some who have doubted the authorship of these two epistles, the clear opening statements of each epistle tell us Peter was the author. "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus...", (1 Pet. 1:1) and "Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours..." (2 Pet. 1:1). It certainly seems most logical that Peter is indeed the author of the letters that bear his name.
Peter died in Rome during Nero's persecution of Christians around 64 AD, so the epistles were obviously written before that time.
1, 2, 3 John
The writer of 1 John does not identify himself in the letter. The writer of 2 and 3 John refers to himself as "the elder," (2 John 1; 3 John 1). Regarding the first epistle, authorship can reasonably be determined to be that of John the Apostle . The opening of John is written from the perspective of someone who was there with Jesus (John 1:1-4). Also, "Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History, 3.39) says of Papias, a hearer of John, and a friend of Polycarp, 'He used testimonies from the First Epistle of John. Irenaeus, according to Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History, 5.8), often quoted this Epistle. So in his work Against Heresies (3.15; 5, 8) he quotes from John by name, 1 John 2:18... Clement of Alexandria (Miscellanies, 2.66, p. 464) refers to 1 Jn 5:16, as in John’s larger Epistle.'" 2 "In the earliest canonical lists, dating from the end of the second century, 1 John already appears. Indeed, 1 John is quoted as authoritative by Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna [a disciple of John the apostle] before the middle of the second century. The attestation of 2 John is almost as good. There is no second-century reference to 3 John, but that is not surprising since it deals with a specific, local issue." 3 Furthermore, the style of the three epistles is very similar to that of the gospel of John. 1 John mentions the "word of life" (1 John 1:1) as does the gospel of John 1:1, etc.
It appears that the epistles were written after the Gospel of John since the epistles seem to assume a knowledge of the gospel facts.
Date of writing varies from A.D. 60 to the early 90's. 4
Jude
Jude identifies himself as the brother of James (Jude 1). It is most likely that Jude, in true Christian humility, does not want to equate himself as the brother of Jesus as he is traditionally held to be and seems to be supported by scripture: "Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?" (Matt. 13:55).
6. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown.
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In which county of England would you find BERKELEY CASTLE ? | Berkeley Castle. A great day out in Gloucestershire
Welcome
The Berkeley family welcome you to Berkeley Castle, their ancient fortress home where they have lived since their ancestor, Robert Fitzharding, completed the Keep in the late 12th Century.
The history played out within Berkeley Castle’s walls make it one of the most remarkable buildings in Britain and the family hope that you will visit them to experience its special atmosphere.
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ACCOMMODATION ON THE BERKELEY ESTATE
We are delighted to bring you two wonderful properties on the Berkeley Estate now available for private hire... whether you are planning a family holiday, romantic break or a long overdue catch up with friends!
Brook House is a large townhouse sleeping 20 guests with views across to St Mary's Church, Berkeley Castle & the river severn. It has 9 bedrooms, 5 of which are en-suite, as well as a comfortable open plan living, kitchen, dining space with a table to seat 20. For a summer break the patio is perfect for day time sun lounging and outdoor BBQ's or on a winters day snuggle up in front of a film in the cosy Snug.
Blossom Cottage is a quintessential cosy English cottage sleeping two guests. It is just a short walk from the local amenities of Berkeley town and perfectly placed to explore the Gloucestershire countryside. After a day of exploring, unwind in the white rolltop bath or snuggle up with a steaming coffee from the coffee machine!
To find out more about these two lovely properties please see our accommodation page here .
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In what novel would you find the Dashwood family ? | Berkeley, Gloucestershire | HIstory, Photos, and Visiting Information
HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS: 12th century Berkeley Castle
17th century houses on High Street, Berkeley
The town of Berkeley stands on the eastern bank of the Severn estuary. There's a lot of history in this small Gloucestershire town - most of it centred on the formidable fortress of Berkeley Castle. The castle is famous as the place where the imprisoned king Edward II met his grisly death.
Berkeley Castle inner courtyard
Berkeley Castle rises like a grim, gray prison brooding over the nearby Severn estuary. It was here, in a small, squalid room just off the main entrance to the castle, that the unfortunate Edward was cruelly murdered by his captors in 1327. Lord Berkeley, owner of the castle and Edward's official gaoler, had a convenient alibi for the time of the murder, but it beggars belief to imagine that he did not know of the plot to kill the king.
There has been a manor at Berkeley since at least the late Anglo-Saxon times. Earl Godwin, father of Harold, the last Saxon king of England, owned Berkeley Manor. There is an ornate silver chalice at the castle that is said to have belonged to Earl Godwin. The story goes that Godwin took communion from the cup every day. One day he forgot, and a storm promptly destroyed his lands in Kent.
The present castle at Berkeley was begun in 1153 as a shell keep. This fairly unusual design saw the stone keep surround a central mound rather than sit atop it in the normal style. A few generations later, in 1215, the castle was the final assembly place for for the rebellious West Country barons on their way to their final confrontation with King John at Runnymede and the signing of the Magna Carta.
Berkeley Castle next made its appearance in the annals of English history when William Berkeley, nicknamed William-the-Wasteall by a family historian, gave the entire estate of Berkeley to King Henry VII in exchange for being made Earl Marshall of the realm. It seems that the Dukes of Norfolk, hereditary holders of the title, had fought against Henry at the Battle of Bosworth, and as a result, had the title revoked. William did not pass on his hard-bought prize to subsequent generations of Berkeleys, for he died without an heir, and the title reverted to the Norfolks.
St Mary's church, Berkeley
The castle was property of the crown until the death of Edward VI, when the entail was broken. Elizabeth I was much annoyed by this provision. She tried unsuccessfully to give Berkeley to her favourite, the Earl of Leicester, but it was not hers to give.
The bitterness between Elizabeth and the Berkeley family came to a head when the queen came to stay at the castle on one of her many "progresses" about the country. As she rode in the front gate with her entourage, Lord Berkeley rode out - a supreme insult to the proud queen, and one she did not soon forget.
The castle was besieged by Cromwell's army during the English Civil War and suffered a great deal of damage. The outer walls were flattened, the Gate House destroyed, and the drawbridge demolished. The castle surrendered after three days of bombardment, so further damage was avoided.
The interior of the castle is blissfully original. There is a 14th century great hall built just inside the castle wall. A lovely 16th century wooden screen graces one end of the hall.
The room where Edward II met his fate can be viewed, but for those with a less gruesome turn of mind the medieval kitchens and the morning room created from a Norman chapel are open to visit. Another prize at the castle is the chest carried by Sir Francis Drake on his voyages on the Golden Hind. There are the requisite family portraits, including a Gainsborough and a Reynolds, and very simple gardens.
Immediately beside the castle is St Mary's church, which holds memorials to many of the Berkeley family, including Thomas III, 8th Lord Berkeley (1361), and his wife. In the churchyard is the grave of Dickie Pearce, the last court jester in England. Pearce met an untimely end when he fell from the minstrel's gallery in the great hall of Berkeley Castle during a performance. Look for a Roman brick incorporated into the chancel arch, and the monument to Edward Jenner, inventor of the vaccine for smallpox.
Jenner's house, known as The Chantry, backs onto the churchyard, and is now a museum of his life and work, with fascinating displays on the history of immunology. In the garden is a hut where Jenner inoculated local people, free of charge. The hut, which Jenner called the 'Temple of Vaccinia', has been dubbed the birthplace of public health.
The Old White Hart, a
former 18th century inn
The town centre is full of interesting historic buildings, including the Berkeley Arms pub, and the Victorian town hall.
DID YOU KNOW?
Legend tells us that William Shakespeare wrote his play A Midsummer Night's Dream to be performed at the wedding of a Berkeley family member in 1596. The story might well be true, for Shakespeare is thought to have lived briefly in the area.
A much less plausible tale is the legend of the Witch of Berkeley, who sold her soul to the Devil in exchange for riches. When the time came for the Devil to claim her she tried to renege and took refuge in the church. The sacred place proved unable to protect the witch, for the Devil entered and carried her away tied to a black horse covered with sharp spikes.
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On this day, Novenber 6th, 1860 who was elected as American President? | Abraham Lincoln elected president - Nov 06, 1860 - HISTORY.com
Abraham Lincoln elected president
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Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote but handily defeated the three other candidates: Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Constitutional Union candidate John Bell, and Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, a U.S. senator for Illinois.
Lincoln, a Kentucky-born lawyer and former Whig representative to Congress, first gained national stature during his campaign against Stephen Douglas of Illinois for a U.S. Senate seat in 1858. The senatorial campaign featured a remarkable series of public encounters on the slavery issue, known as the Lincoln-Douglas debates, in which Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery, while Douglas maintained that each territory should have the right to decide whether it would become free or slave. Lincoln lost the Senate race, but his campaign brought national attention to the young Republican Party. In 1860, Lincoln won the party’s presidential nomination.
In the November 1860 election, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the Northern faction of a heavily divided Democratic Party, as well as Breckinridge and Bell. The announcement of Lincoln’s victory signaled the secession of the Southern states, which since the beginning of the year had been publicly threatening secession if the Republicans gained the White House.
By the time of Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, 1861, seven states had seceded, and the Confederate States of America had been formally established, with Jefferson Davis as its elected president. One month later, the American Civil War began when Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina. In 1863, as the tide turned against the Confederacy, Lincoln emancipated the slaves and in 1864 won reelection. In April 1865, he was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after the American Civil War effectively ended with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.
For preserving the Union and bringing an end to slavery, and for his unique character and powerful oratory, Lincoln is hailed as one of the greatest American presidents.
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On which river does Limerick stand? | Abraham Lincoln Biography
Died: April 15 , 1865
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. He is regarded by many as the most influential president of America. He is known for abolishing slavery from the united states. Abraham Lincoln led the United States through the bloody Cold War. Abraham Lincoln was in office as president from March 4, 1861 to .April 15, 1865. John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1965.
Lincoln Memorial
Abraham Lincoln was born in February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was the second son of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. He was born into a poor family. His mother died when he was nine years old. He self-educated himself into a lawyer. in 1842, Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd. They married at Springfield, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846. He was a member of the republican party. He started his fight against slavery at the time. He spoke against the Mexican-American War. He served a two-year term as a congressman. After that he returned to being a lawyer. He again returned to politics only to abolish slavery for good. On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. He defeated democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge of the Southern Democrats and John Bell of the new Constitutional Union Party. He became the first president of United States from The Republican Party. The American Civil War broke out in 1861. The slave states defected from the United States and declared war of Abraham Lincoln’s America. He was reelected as president in 1864 during the war. Abraham Lincoln led the United States to victory in 1865.
Read Biography of: George Washington
Mary Todd Lincoln
A well-known actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated president Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865. He was the first American president to be assassinated. James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy were assassinated after him. Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching the play Our American Cousin. He was with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The died the next morning. His tomb is located at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.
Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC was built-in Abraham Lincoln’s honor. It holds a colossal statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in an armchair. The late precedent has been included in a lot of modern-day fiction in Hollywood. Many successful biographical books and movies have been made on Abraham Lincoln. The five dollar bills has his portrait embedded.
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"Which 1972 movie, Oscar nominated for best picture, was advertised by the tag-line ""Four men ride a wild river, a weekend turns into a nightmare""?" | Library
Cumming, Alan, Leigh, Jennifer Jason
Gjøken (Kukushka)
Sideways
Payne, Alexander
With Sideways, Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Storytelling) has become an unlikely but engaging romantic lead. Struggling novelist and wine connoisseur Miles (Giamatti) takes his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church, Wings) on a wine-tasting tour of California vineyards for a kind of extended bachelor party. Almost immediately, Jack's insatiable need to sow some wild oats before his marriage leads them in into double-dates with a rambunctious wine pourer (Sandra Oh, Under the Tuscan Sun) and a recently divorced waitress (Virginia Madsen, The Hot Spot)—and Miles discovers a little hope that he hasn't let himself feel in a long time. Sideways is a modest but finely tuned film; with gentle compassion, it explores the failures, struggles, and lowered expectations of mid-life. Giamatti makes regret and self-loathing sympathetic, almost sweet. From the director of Election and About Schmidt. —Bret Fetzer
Dial M for Murder
Hitchcock, Alfred
Classic Hitchcock movie starring Grace Kelly & Ray Milland. Ex-tennis pro Tony Wendice decides to murder his wife for her money and because she had an affair the year before. He blackmails an old college associate to strangle her, but when things go wrong he sees a way to turn events to his advantage.
Frenzy
Hitchcock, Alfred
By the time Alfred Hitchcock's second-to-last picture came out in 1972, the censorship restrictions under which he had laboured during his long career had eased up. Now he could give full sway to his lurid fantasies, and that may explain why Frenzy is the director's most violent movie by far—outstripping even Psycho for sheer brutality. Adapted by playwright Anthony Shaffer, the story concerns a series of rape-murders committed by suave fruit-merchant Bob Rusk (Barry Foster), who gets his kicks from throttling women with a necktie. This being a Hitchcock thriller, suspicion naturally falls on the wrong man—ill-tempered publican Richard Blaney (Jon Finch). Enter Inspector Oxford from New Scotland Yard (Alex McCowan), who thrashes out the finer points of the case with his wife (Vivian Merchant), whose tireless enthusiasm for indigestible delicacies like quail with grapes supplies a classic running gag.
Frenzy was the first film Hitchcock had shot entirely in his native Britain since Jamaica Inn (1939), and many contemporary critics used that fact to account for what seemed to them a glorious return to form after a string of Hollywood duds (Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz). Hitchcock specialists are often less wild about it, judging the detective plot mechanical and the oh-so-English tone insufferable. But at least three sequences rank among the most skin-crawling the maestro ever put on celluloid. There is an astonishing moment when the camera backs away from a room in which a murder is occurring, down the stairs, through the front door and then across the street to join the crowd milling indifferently on the pavement. There is also the killer's nerve-wracking attempt to retrieve his tiepin from a corpse stuffed into a sack of potatoes. Finally, there is one act of strangulation so prolonged and gruesome it verges on the pornographic. Was the veteran film-maker a rampant misogynist as feminist observers have frequently charged? Sit through this appalling scene if you dare and decide for yourself. —Peter Matthews
Arven (Family Plot)
Hitchcock, Alfred
Alfred Hitchcock's final film Family Plot is understated comic fun that mixes suspense with deft humour, thanks to a solid cast. The plot centres on the kidnapping of an heir and a diamond theft by a pair of bad guys led by Karen Black and William Devane. The cops seem befuddled, but that doesn't stop a questionable psychic (Barbara Harris) and her not overly bright boyfriend (Bruce Dern, in a rare good-guy role) from picking up the trail and actually solving the crime. Did she do it with actual psychic powers? That's part of the fun of Harris's enjoyably ditsy performance. —Marshall Fine
Fuglene (The Birds)
Hitchcock, Alfred
Vacationing in northern California, Alfred Hitchcock was struck by a story in a Santa Cruz newspaper: "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes". From this peculiar incident, and his memory of a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the master of suspense created one of his strangest and most terrifying films. The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore. Beyond the superb effects, however, The Birds is also one of Hitchcock's most psychologically complicated scenarios, a tense study of violence, loneliness, and complacency. What really gets under your skin are not the bird skirmishes but the anxiety and the eerie quiet between attacks. The director elevated an unknown model, Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), to being his latest cool, blond leading lady, an experience that was not always easy on the much-pecked Ms. Hedren. Still, she returned for the next Hitchcock picture, the underrated Marnie. Treated with scant attention by serious critics in 1963, The Birds has grown into a classic and—despite the sci-fi trappings—one of Hitchcock's most serious films. —Robert Horton
Vertigo
Hitchcock, Alfred
Dreamlike and nightmarishly surreal, Vertigo is Hitchcock's most personal film because it confronts many of the convoluted psychological issues that haunted and fascinated the director. The psychological complexity and the stark truthfulness of their rampant emotions keeps these strangely obsessive characters alive on screen, and Hitchcock understood better than most their barely repressed sexual compulsions, their fascination with death and their almost overwhelming desire for transcendent love. James Stewart finds profound and disturbing new depths in his psyche as Scotty, the tortured acrophobic detective on the trail of a suicidal woman apparently possessed by the ghost of someone long dead. Kim Novak is the classical Hitchcockian blonde whose icy exterior conceals a churning, volcanic emotional core. The agonised romance of Bernard Herrmann's score accompanies the two actors as a third and vitally important character, moving the film along to its culmination in an ecstasy of Wagnerian tragedy. Of course Hitch lavished especial care on every aspect of the production, from designer Edith Head's costumes (he, like Scotty, was most insistent on the grey dress), to the specific colour scheme of each location, to the famous reverse zoom "Vertigo" effect (much imitated, never bettered). The result is Hitch's greatest work and an undisputed landmark of cinema history.
On the DVD: This disc presents the superb restored print of this film in a wonderful widescreen (1.85:1) anamorphic transfer, with remastered Dolby digital soundtrack. There's a half-hour documentary made in 1996 about the painstaking two-year restoration process, plus an informative commentary from the restorers Robert Harris and James Katz, who are joined by original producer Herbert Coleman. There are also text features on the production, cast and crew, plus a trailer for the theatrical release of the restoration. This is an undeniably essential requirement for every DVD collection. —Mark Walker
Spellbound
Hitchcock, Alfred
Alfred Hitchcock takes on Sigmund Freud in this thriller in which psychologist Ingrid Bergman tries to solve a murder by unlocking the clues hidden in the mind of amnesiac suspect Gregory Peck. Among the highlights is a bizarre dream sequence seemingly designed by Salvador Dali—complete with huge eyeballs and pointy scissors. Although the film is in black and white, the original release contained one subliminal blood-red frame, appearing when a gun pointed directly at the camera goes off. Spellbound is one of Hitchcock's strangest and most atmospheric films, providing the director with plenty of opportunities to explore what he called "pure cinema"—i.e., the power of pure visual associations. Miklós Rózsa's haunting score (which features the creepy electronic instrument, the theremin) won an Oscar, and the movie was nominated for best picture, director, supporting actor (Michael Chekhov), cinematography and special visual effects. —Jim Emerson
I Confess
Hitchcock, Alfred
Classic Hitchcock movie starring Montgomery Clift & Anne Baxter. Otto Kellar and his wife Alma work as caretaker and housekeeper at a Catholic church in Quebec. Whilst robbing a house where he sometimes works as a gardener, Otto is caught and kills the owner. Racked with guilt he heads back to the church where Father Michael Logan is working late. Otto confesses his crime, but when the police begin to suspect Father Logan he cannot reveal what he has been told in the confession
The Wrong Man
Hitchcock, Alfred
Classic Hitchcock movie starring Henry Fonda & Vera Miles. Manny Ballestero is an honest hardworking musician at New York's Stork Club. When his wife needs money for dental treatment, Manny goes to the local insurance office to borrow on her policy. Employees at the office mistake him for a hold-up man who robbed them the year before and the police are called. The film tells the true story of what happened to Manny and his family.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Heckerling, Amy
The script for Fast Times at Ridgemont High is based on filmmaker Cameron (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) Crowe's time as a reporter for Rolling Stone. He was so youthful looking that he was able to go undercover for a year at a California high school and write a book about it. The film launched the careers of several young actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates and, above all, Sean Penn. The story line is episodic, dealing with the lives of iconic teen types: one of the school's cool kids, a nerd, a teen queen and, most enjoyably, the class stoner (Penn), who finds himself at odds with a strict history teacher (a wonderfully spiky Ray Walston). This is not a great film but very entertaining and, for a certain age group, a seminal film experience.—Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
On the DVD: Amy (Clueless) Heckerling and Cameron Crowe's commentary is revealing and indicative of a time where nudity on celluloid was shocking rather than the norm as they talk about the issues which contributed to the film's original X-rating, as well as all the actors who originally auditioned for the roles. The transfer quality is high with little grain, and although the soundtrack is in mono rather than Dolby 5.1 it is not detrimental to the film. There's a retrospective documentary called "Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High" featuring new interviews with most of the cast and crew, plus a highly original feature about the locations used in the film, how they looked in 1982 and how they look now. For fact buffs there's the usual mix of biographies, theatrical trailer and production notes.—Kristen Bowditch
Andrei Rublev
Solaris
Tarkovsky, Andrei
Released in 1972, Solaris is Andrei Tarkovsky's third feature and his most far-reaching examination of human perceptions and failings. It's often compared to Kubrick's 2001, but although both bring a metaphysical dimension to bear on space exploration, Solaris has a claustrophobic intensity which grips the attention over spans of typically Tarkovskian stasis. Donatas Banionis is sympathetic as the cosmonaut sent to investigate disappearances on the space station orbiting the planet Solaris, only to be confronted by his past in the guise of his dead wife, magnetically portrayed by Natalya Bondarchuk. The ending is either a revelation or a conceit, depending on your viewpoint.
On the DVD: Solaris reproduces impressively on DVD in widescreen—which is really essential here—and Eduard Artemiev's ambient score comes over with pristine clarity. There are over-dubs in English and French, plus subtitles in 12 languages. An extensive stills gallery, detailed filmographies for cast and crew, and comprehensive biographies of Tarkovsky and author Stanislaw Lem are valuable extras, as are the interviews with Bondarchuk and Tarkovsky's sister and an amusing 1970s promo-film for Banionis. It would have been better had the film been presented complete on one disc, instead of stretched over two. Even so, the overall package does justice to a powerful and disturbing masterpiece. —Richard Whitehouse
Stalker
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Dominik, Andrew
Of all the movies made about or glancingly involving the 19th-century outlaw Jesse Woodson James, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is the most reflective, most ambitious, most intricately fascinating, and indisputably most beautiful. Based on the novel of the same name by Ron Hansen, it picks up James late in his career, a few hours before his final train robbery, then covers the slow catastrophe of the gang's breakup over the next seven months even as the boss himself settles into an approximation of genteel retirement. But in another sense all of the movie is later than that. The very title assumes the audience's familiarity with James as a figure out of history and legend, and our awareness that he was—will be—murdered in his parlor one quiet afternoon by a back-shooting crony.
The film—only the second to be made by New Zealand–born writer-director Andrew Dominik—reminds us that Dominik's debut film, Chopper, was the cunningly off-kilter portrait of another real-life criminal psychopath who became a kind of rock star to his society. The Jesse James of this telling is no Robin Hood robbing the rich to give to the poor, and that train robbery we witness is punctuated by acts of gratuitous brutality, not gallantry. Nineteen-year-old Bob Ford (Casey Affleck) seeks to join the James gang out of hero worship stoked by the dime novels he secretes under his bed, but his glam hero (Brad Pitt) is a monster who takes private glee in infecting his accomplices with his own paranoia, then murdering them for it. In the careful orchestration of James's final moments, there's even a hint that he takes satisfaction in his own demise. Affleck and Pitt (who co-produced with Ridley Scott, among others) are mesmerising in the title roles, but the movie is enriched by an exceptional supporting cast: Sam Shepard as Jesse's older, more stable brother Frank; Sam Rockwell as Bob Ford's own brother Charlie, whose post-assassination descent into madness is astonishing to behold; Paul Schneider, Garret Dillahunt, and Jeremy Renner as three variously doomed gang members; and Mary-Louise Parker, who as Jesse's wife Zee has few lines yet manages with looks and body language to invoke a well nigh-novelistic back-story for herself. There are also electrifying cameos by James Carville, doing solid actorly work as the governor of Missouri; Ted Levine, as a lawman of antic spirit; and Nick Cave, composer of the film's score (with Warren Ellis) and screenwriter of the Aussie western The Proposition, suddenly towering over a late scene to perform the folk song that set the terms for the book and movie's title.
Still, the real co-star is Roger Deakins, probably the finest cinematographer at work today. The landscapes of the movie (mostly in Alberta and Manitoba) will linger in the memory as long as the distinctive faces, and we seem to feel the sting of its snows on our cheeks. Interior scenes are equally persuasive. Few westerns have conveyed so tangibly the bleakness and austerity of the spaces people of the frontier called home, and sought in vain to warm with human spirit. —Richard T. Jameson
WALL-E
From The creators of 'Finding Nemo and Cars', Disney.Pixar presents WALL-E.
The Return (Vozvrashchenie)
The Matrix
Wachowski, Andy, Wachowski, Lana
All Purchasers will receive a FREE computer application that will help them make savings with their shopping on-line.
Werckmeister Harmonies
Stealing Beauty
Bertolucci, Bernardo
Critics were decidedly mixed about this 1996 drama from Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, and the movie enjoyed only a brief theatrical release. Now it's best known for its early appearance by Liv Tyler as a 19-year-old beauty named Lucy who summers at a villa in Tuscany with a variety of artistic types who immediately respond to her inspirational innocence. An amateur poet who has decided it's time to lose her virginity, Lucy has come to Italy after the death of her mother, who visited this artist's refuge 20 years earlier. Several young Italian men find Lucy quite heavenly (she is, after all, Liv Tyler), and she's not immune to their attentions, but she'd rather spend time with a playwright (Jeremy Irons) who is dying of AIDS and therefore has something other than sex on his mind. The movie's plot is about as substantial as Tyler's character (she's sexy, all right, but hardly an intellectual muse), but Stealing Beauty creates a serene mood that's so soothing you'll want to book a flight to Tuscany immediately, just to soak up the setting's idyllic atmosphere. If you're in the right frame of mind, this movie is like a balm for the soul, and Tyler and Bertolucci can share the credit for making this two-hour vacation so charmingly relaxing. —Jeff Shannon
The Dreamers
Bertolucci, Bernardo
A love letter to movies (and the French new wave of the 1960s in particular), Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers starts with a 1968 riot outside of a Parisian movie palace then burrows into an insular love triangle. Matthew (Michael Pitt, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), an expatriate American student, bonds with a twin brother and sister, Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel), over their mutual love of film—they not only quote lines of dialogue, they act out small bits and challenge each other to name the cinematic source. Matthew suspects the twins of incest, but that doesn't stop him from falling into his own intimacies with Isabelle. As the threesome becomes threatened, Paris succumbs to student riots. The Dreamers aspires to be kinky, but the results are more decorative than decadent; nonetheless, the movie's lively energy recalls the careless and vital exuberance of Godard and Truffaut. —Bret Fetzer
La Luna
Pelle erobreren
August, Bille
The end of the 19th century. A boat filled with Swedish emigrants comes to the Danish island of Bornholm. Among them are Lasse and his son Pelle who move to Denmark to find work. They find employment at a large farm, but are treated as the lowest form of life. Pelle starts to speak Danish but is still harassed as a foreigner. But none of them wants to give up their dream of finding a better life than the life they left in Sweden.
Some Like It Hot
Wilder, Billy
Maybe "nobody's perfect," as one character in this masterpiece suggests. But some movies are perfect, and Some Like It Hot is one of them. In Chicago, during the Prohibition era, two skirt-chasing musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), inadvertently witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In order to escape the wrath of gangland chief Spats Colombo (George Raft), the boys, in drag, join an all-woman band headed for Florida. They vie for the attention of the lead singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), a much-disappointed songbird who warbles "I'm Through with Love" but remains vulnerable to yet another unreliable saxophone player. (When Curtis courts her without his dress, he adopts the voice of Cary Grant—a spot-on impersonation.) The script by director Billy Wilder and IAL Diamond is beautifully measured; everything works, like a flawless clock. Aspiring screenwriters would be well advised to throw away the how-to books and simply study this film. The bulk of the slapstick is handled by an unhinged Lemmon and the razor-sharp Joe E. Brown, who plays a horny retiree smitten by Jerry's feminine charms. For all the gags, the film is also wonderfully romantic, as Wilder indulges in just the right amounts of moonlight and the lilting melody of "Park Avenue Fantasy." Some Like It Hot is so delightfully fizzy, it's hard to believe the shooting of the film was a headache, with an unhappy Monroe on her worst behaviour. The results, however, are sublime. —Robert Horton, Amazon.com
The Machinist
Anderson, Brad
As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy—a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Withnail And I
Robinson, Bruce
Set in 1969, the year in which the hippy dreams of so many young Englishmen went sour, 1986's Bruce Robinson's Withnail and I is an enduring British cult. Fellow enthusiasts cry immortal phrases from the endlessly brilliant script to one another like mating calls; "Scrubbers!", "We want the finest wines known to humanity and we want them now!" Withnail is played by the emaciated but defiantly effete Richard E Grant, "I" (i.e., Marwood) by Paul McGann. Out-of-work actors living in desperate penury in a rancid London flat, their lives are a continual struggle to keep warm, alive and in Marwood's case sane, until the pubs open. A sojourn in the country cottage of Withnail's gay Uncle Monty only redoubles their privations—they have to kill a live chicken to eat. The arrival of Monty spells further misery for Marwood as he must fend off his attentions. This borderline homophobic interlude apart, Withnail and I is a delight, enhanced by an aimless but appallingly eventful plot. Popular among students, it strikes a chord with anyone who has undergone a period of debauchery and impoverished squalor prior to finding their way onto life's straight and narrow.—David Stubbs
Shortbus
Mitchell, John Cameron
In his aim to make an honest film about sex, John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) has taken a somewhat documentary approach to Shortbus, a film describing various New Yorkers' sexual pathos. Framed by shots roving a homemade diorama of the city, Shortbus is comprised of vignettes featuring actors who helped craft this story of people's disconnect in sexual endeavors. Jamie (PJ DeBoy) and James (Paul Dawson), a gay couple experiencing a lull in their relationship, visit Sophia (Sook-Yin Lee), a sex therapist whose inability to orgasm results in her clients inviting her to a sex club after which the film is titled. Sophia's husband, Rob (Raphael Barker), is also willing to experiment, so the two independently embark on adventures in self-pleasure. Dominatrix Severin (Lindsay Beamish) plays a crucial role in Sophia and Rob's lives, as her search for real humanity overlaps with their desire for passion.
As each character's plot complicates, the viewer sees a similar melancholy bulldozing its way into these seemingly disparate lives. The depression is repeatedly used in comedic scenes, such as when James is asked on a date while still hospitalised for his attempted suicide. Yo La Tengo's score, which includes Animal Collective among others, lends this film a graceful ambience. Unlike porn, Shortbus has a resonance that encourages the viewer to consider one's own sex life as an important aspect of happiness. —Trinie Dalton
Japon
The Third Man
Reed, Carol
The fractured Europe post-World War II is perfectly captured in Carol Reed's masterpiece thriller, set in a Vienna still shell-shocked from battle. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) is an alcoholic pulp writer come to visit his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). But when Cotton first arrives in Vienna, Lime's funeral is under way. From Lime's girlfriend and an occupying British officer, Martins learns of allegations of Lime's involvement in racketeering, which Martins vows to clear from his friend's reputation. As he is drawn deeper into post-war intrigue, Martins finds layer upon layer of deception, which he desperately tries to sort out. Welles' long-delayed entrance in the film has become one of the hallmarks of modern cinematography and it is just one of dozens of cockeyed camera angles that seem to mirror the off-kilter post-war society. Cotten and Welles give career-making performances and the Anton Karas zither theme will haunt you. —Anne Hurley
Charles Chaplin - The Great Dictator
Chaplin, Charles
The Great Dictator was Charles Chaplin's first fully talking picture, a scathing comic assault on Adolf Hitler, which these days will mostly play like brilliant slapstick. But in 1940, with America still neutral, it was the boldest anti-Nazi statement Hollywood had then put on screen. The thin plot doesn't matter, being just a peg for writer-director Chaplin's almost consistently inventive and hilarious set-pieces featuring himself in the duel roles of Adenoid Hynkel, the ludicrous anti-Semitic Dictator of Tomania, and an innocent Jewish barber who happens to be a Tomanian hero of the Great War. In the latter role he affectionately spins a variation on his beloved Tramp character while briefly romancing a lacklustre Paulette Goddard, costar of his equally satirical Modern Times (1936).
Yet it's as Hynkel/Hitler that Chaplin really shines, from a side-splitting opening speech to some Duck Soup-style madness with rival leader Napaloni, played with flamboyant swagger by Jack Oakie. While the finale, a clarion call for a brave new world united by science and technological progress that seems to emanate straight from 1936's Things to Come, may jar, the comedic approach to a deadly serious subject has proved lastingly influential, from Dr Strangelove (1964) to Life is Beautiful (1997).
On the DVD The Great Dictator is presented in the original 4:3 black and white with strong, clear mono sound and a picture so sharp and detailed that, bar a few very minor instances of damage, the film could have been shot yesterday. Also included are French and Italian dubbed versions and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the soundtrack, which is best avoided. The disc features multiple subtitle options, including English for hard of hearing.
Disc Two begins with a superb 55-minute documentary, directed by film historian Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft, narrated by Kenneth Branagh and coproduced by the BBC. The Tramp and the Dictator goes seriously in-depth to explore the parallels between the world's most loved and hated men, drawing on many interviews and remarkable rare footage, including colour sequences of the making of The Great Dictator shot by Chaplin's brother, Sydney. Next comes the complete 25 minutes of that home-movie footage, including coverage of the original abandoned ending, and a seven-minute deleted scene from Sunnyside (1918), which inspired the barber scene. Finally there is a poster gallery and a scene from Monsieur Verdoux (1947) concerning the rise of Hitler and fascism. Marvellous stuff, though a commentary could have added considerably to the already remarkable silent colour material. —Gary S Dalkin
Steamboat Bill Jr
Reisner, Charles, Keaton, Buster
Steamboat Bill Jr dates from 1928 and is the last great film Buster Keaton made before he gave up his independence and signed for MGM. Buster is the rather fey son of an elderly steamboat owner who is being driven out of business by a wealthy competitor. More by accident than intention Buster turns things around and gets the girl as well. The last 15 minutes are truly astonishing: a storm sequence in which a whole town is blown apart, with Buster experiencing a series of amazing escapes as buildings fall down around his ears.
On the DVD: The print is a good one, best seen in the 4:3 ration, with unobtrusive organ music added. As a nautical extra there's The Boat, a 1921 short (the print not in such a good state as the feature), in which in the course of launching his newly built craft Buster manages to wreck his house, tip his car into the river and sink the boat. And that's only the beginning. —Ed Buscombe
En dag uten krig (Joyeux Noel)
Carion, Christian
Joyeux Noel captures a rare moment of grace from one of the worst wars in the history of mankind, World War I. On Christmas Eve, 1914, as German, French, and Scottish regiments face each other from their respective trenches, a musical call-and-response turns into an impromptu cease-fire, trading chocolates and champagne, playing soccer, and comparing pictures of their wives. But when Christmas ends, the war returns...Joyeux Noel has been justly accused of sentimentality, but if any subject warrants such an earnest and hopeful treatment, it's the horrors of trench warfare. The largely unknown cast—the more familiar faces include Diane Kruger (Troy), Daniel Bruhl (Good Bye Lenin!), Benno Furmann (The Princess and the Warrior), and Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot)—deliver low-key but effective performances as the movie dwells on the everyday elements of life in the face of war. Based on a true incident (though considerably fictionalized). —Bret Fetzer
Reconstruction
The Dark Knight
Nolan, Christopher
The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great—in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision—is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralysed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon—and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution—kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director/co-writer Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism—there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans—and not just superhero fans—The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. —David Horiuchi
Inception
Jean De Florette
Berri, Claude
A truly impressive French film destined to become a modern masterpiece, Jean de Florette is an evocative adaptation of the highly regarded French novel. Two 1920's farmers engage in a bitter rivalry as one tries to tend to a plot of land and the other deviously undermines his efforts in order to conceal a valuable spring. The peasant farmer (Gérard Depardieu) who comes to the countryside to tend the land he has inherited is a naive and trusting soul seeking only to provide for his wife and daughter, while his neighbour (Yves Montand) is intent on doing whatever he can to discourage and demoralise the farmer so that he can take the land for himself. This simple tale unfolds in a wrenching fashion to a tragic conclusion, bringing forth questions about human nature and the prevalence and price of greed. Along with its follow-up, Manon des Sources, this film will leave an indelible impression on anyone who sees it. —Robert Lane
Jean De Florette 2 - Manon of the Spring (Manon Des Sources)
Berri, Claude
Australia released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Manon of the Spring (Manon des Sources) has also been released as Jean de Florette II in the US, as it is a sequel to Claude Berri's Jean de Florette. Both films are drawn from the same source: Filmmaker/novelist Marcel Pagnol's 1952 rural romance, also titled Jean de Florette. Manon (Emmanuelle Beart), now fully grown, is a shepherdess who prefers to keep her distance from the local villagers. She is determined to uncover the truth behind the death of her father (played by Gerard Depardieu in Jean de Florette) and to wreak vengeance on the men she holds responsible. The more sympathetic of the two men, Ugolin (Daniel Auteil), is in love with Manon, but this does not weaken her resolve. She causes the village's water supply to diminish, blaming this action upon Ugolin and his duplicitous co-conspirator Cesar (Yves Montand). The upshot of this vengeful behavior ends in tragedy for all concerned. The joint winners of eight French Cesar awards, Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring were released to the U.S. in tandem in 1987.
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, Ceasar Awards,
Letters from Iwo Jima
Eastwood, Clint
Critically hailed as an instant classic, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima is a masterwork of uncommon humanity and a harrowing, unforgettable indictment of the horrors of war. In an unprecedented demonstration of worldly citizenship, Eastwood (from a spare, tightly focused screenplay by first-time screenwriter Iris Yamashita) has crafted a truly Japanese film, with Japanese dialogue (with subtitles) and filmed in a contemplative Japanese style, serving as both complement and counterpoint to Eastwood's previously released companion film Flags of Our Fathers. Where the earlier film employed a complex non-linear structure and epic-scale production values to dramatise one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and its traumatic impact on American soldiers, Letters reveals the battle of Iwo Jima from the tunnel- and cave-dwelling perspective of the Japanese, hopelessly outnumbered, deprived of reinforcements, and doomed to die in inevitable defeat.
While maintaining many of the traditions of the conventional war drama, Eastwood extends his sympathetic touch to humanise "the enemy," revealing the internal and external conflicts of soldiers and officers alike, forced by circumstance to sacrifice themselves or defend their honour against insurmountable odds. From the weary reluctance of a young recruit named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) to the dignified yet desperately anguished strategy of Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Oscar-nominated The Last Samurai costar Ken Watanabe), whose letters home inspired the film's title and present-day framing device, Letters from Iwo Jima (which conveys the bleakness of battle through a near-total absence of colour) steadfastly avoids the glorification of war while paying honorable tribute to ill-fated men who can only dream of the comforts of home. —Jeff Shannon
4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days
Mungiu, Cristian
Winning the Palm D'or at Cannes in 2007, this superb drama—about a black-market abortion in 1980s Bucharest—stands at the front of a new wave of realist Romanian cinema confronting the economic and moral legacy of failed communism. The two students at the centre of this troubling story are the stoic Otilia and her exasperating friend Gabriela, whose unwanted pregnancy—terminations are outlawed under a national fertility program—forces them to seek the help of a back-alley abortionist: Mr. Bebe. At first cautious and capable, Mr. Bebe's sordid demands expose the depths of Bucharest's seedy underground economy. The tone of this simple and desperate tale is aided by the period detail of Nicolae Ceaușescu's Romania: a boxy dystopia of ID cards, suspicious staff and drab interiors suggests the oppressive state apparatus that has forced the troubles of young Romanians underground. But the film's harshest word is for Romania's established classes—represented by the sentimental doctor parents of Otillia's boyfriend—who are blind to the vulnerability of a new generation of Romanians. The film's harrowing climactic scene is a reproach to their complacency. —Leo Batchelor
Uden for kærligheden
Suspiria
Argento, Dario
Outside of devoted cult audiences, many Americans have yet to discover the extremely stylish, relentlessly terrifying Italian horror genre, or the films of its talented virtuoso, Dario Argento. Suspiria, part one of a still-uncompleted trilogy (the luminously empty Inferno was the second), is considered his masterpiece by Argento devotees but also doubles as a perfect starting point for those unfamiliar with the director or his genre. The convoluted plot follows an American dancer (Jessica Harper) from her arrival at a European ballet school to her discovery that it's actually a witches coven; but, really, don't worry about that too much. Argento makes narrative subservient to technique, preferring instead to assault the senses and nervous system with mood, atmosphere, illusory gore, garish set production, a menacing camera, and perhaps the creepiest score ever created for a movie. It's essentially a series of effectively unsettling set pieces—a raging storm that Harper should have taken for an omen, and a blind man attacked by his own dog are just two examples—strung together on a skeleton structure. But once you've seen it, you'll never forget it. —Dave McCoy
Deep Red (Profondo Rosso)
The Cat O Nine Tails
Argento, Dario
Requiem For A Dream
Aronofsky, Darren
Fantasy mixes with the harsh reality of addiction and the desire for hope in Requiem for a Dream. Beginning at the dawn of a new summer in Coney Island, the film charts the relationship of Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) and her son Harry (Jared Leto)—two characters who are lost with in a world of the self-absorbed desire to feed their addictions at the cost of hope and love. With a sublime score (performed by the Kronos Quartet) accompanying some intense visual imagery, the film sets up an almost fairy-tale wash over the characters' lives, with every hit of their chosen drug turning them into beautiful people surrounded by a haze which enhances all their features. However, unlike films such as Trainspotting which turn the dream into a nightmare then end with a huge dose of hope, Requiem for a Dream forces the viewer through all loss of hope and the descending madness of reality, as winter begins.
Darren Aronofsky's follow-up to the critically acclaimed Pi is a movie which exposes not only the terror caused by addiction of any kind—be it TV or Heroin—but also offers a powerful insight into the destruction caused by the desire to achieve "the American Dream". Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr, the film sacrifices dialogue in favour of imagery and movement: the editing and cinematography are reminiscent of MTV, however the movie takes this very aggressive style and moulds it to its own needs, adding a beautifully haunting narrative and powerful performances by its four main characters (Burstyn just missing out on an Oscar for Best female lead to Julia Roberts). Ultimately the viewer is left with a sense of desperation and despair: Requiem for a Dream exposes drugs and addiction in the most powerful and truthful way a film has ever managed, leaving no stone unturned.
On the DVD: This disc is bursting with excellent special features. The anamorphic widescreen picture makes the most of the film's stylish visuals, and the soundtrack offers choice of either Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0. As well as offering the obligatory theatrical trailer, scene selection and a fantastic director's commentary, there's also a "making-of" featurette, TV trailers charting the reviews and success of the film, an "Anatomy of a scene", and a wide range of deleted scenes. By far the best feature is Hubert Selby Jr's interview with Ellen Burstyn, which offers the writer a chance to put across not just his opinions on his work but also on life as a whole. All these features are placed within an impressively formatted menu. —Nikki Disney
Scanners
Cronenberg, David
David Cronenberg's 1981 horror film Scanners is a darkly paranoid story of a homeless man (Stephen Lack) mistakenly believed to be insane, when in fact he can't turn off the sound of other people's thoughts in his telepathic mind. Helped by a doctor (Patrick McGoohan) and enlisted in a programme of "scanners"—telepaths who also can will heads to explode—he becomes involved in a battle against nefarious forces. A number of critics consider this to be Cronenberg's first great film, and indeed it has a serious vision of destiny that rivals some of the important German expressionist works from the silent cinema. Lack is very good as the odd hero, and McGoohan is effectively eccentric and chilly as the scientist who saves him from the street, only to thrust him into a terrible struggle. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Lean, David
Based on the true story of the building of a bridge on the Burma railway by British prisoners-of-war held under a savage Japanese regime in World War II, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the greatest war films ever made. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Performance (Alex Guinness), for Sir Malcolm Arnold's superb music, and for the screenplay from the novel by Pierre Boulle (who also wrote Monkey Planet, the inspiration for Planet of the Apes). The story does take considerable liberties with history, including the addition of an American saboteur played by William Holden, and an entirely fictitious but superbly constructed and thrilling finale. Made on a vast scale, the film reinvented the war movie as something truly epic, establishing the cinematic beachhead for The Longest Day (1962), Patton (1970) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). It also proved a turning-point in director David Lean's career. Before he made such classic but conventionally scaled films as In Which We Serve (1942) and Hobson's Choice (1953). Afterwards there would only be four more films, but their names are Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984).
On the DVD: Too often the best extras come attached to films that don't really warrant them. Not so here, where a truly great film has been given the attention it deserves. The first disc presents the film in the original extra-wide CinemaScope ratio of 2.55:1, in an anamorphically enhanced transfer which does maximum justice to the film's superb cinematography. The sound has been transferred from the original six-track magnetic elements into 5.1 Dolby Digital and far surpasses what many would expect from a 1950s' feature. The main bonus on the first disc is an isolated presentation of Malcolm Arnold's great Oscar-winning music score, in addition to which there is a trivia game, and maps and historical information linked to appropriate clips.
The second disc contains a new, specially produced 53-minute "making of" documentary featuring many of those involved in the production of the movie. This gives a rich insight into the physical problems of making such a complex epic on location in Ceylon. Also included are the original trailer and two short promotional films from the time of release, one of which is narrated by star William Holden. Finally there is an "appreciation" by director John Milius, an extensive archive of movie posters and artwork, and a booklet that reproduces the text of the film's original 1957 brochure. —Gary S Dalkin
Lawrence of Arabia
Lean, David
In 1962 Lawrence of Arabia scooped another seven Oscars for David Lean and crew after his previous epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai, had performed exactly the same feat a few years earlier. Supported in this Great War desert adventure by a superb cast including Alex Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole gives a complex, star-making performance as the enigmatic TE Lawrence. The magnificent action and vast desert panoramas were captured in luminous 70mm by Cinematographer Freddie Young, here beginning a partnership with Lean that continued through Dr Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Yet what made the film truly outstanding was Robert (A Man For All Seasons) Bolt's literate screenplay, marking the beginning of yet another ongoing collaboration with Lean. The final partnership established was between director and French composer Maurice Jarre, who won one of the Oscars and scored all Lean's remaining films, up to and including A Passage to India in 1984. Fully restored in 1989, this complete version of Lean's masterpiece remains one of cinema's all-time classic visions. —Gary S Dalkin
On the DVD: This vast movie is spread leisurely across two discs, with Maurice Jarre's overture standing in as intermission music for the first track of disc two. But the clarity of the anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby 5.1 soundtrack justify the decision not to cram the whole thing onto one side of a disc. The movie has never looked nor sounded better than here: the desert landscapes are incredibly detailed, with the tiny nomadic figures in the far distance clearly visible on the small screen; the remastered soundtrack, too, is a joy. Thanks are due to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg who supervised (and financed) the restoration of the picture in 1989; on disc two Spielberg chats about why David Lean is his favourite director, and why Lawrence had such a profound influence on him both as a child and as a filmmaker (he regularly re-watches the movie before starting any new project). Other features include an excellent and exhaustive "making-of" documentary with contributions from surviving cast and crew (an avuncular Omar Sharif is particularly entertaining as he reminisces about meeting the hawk-like Lean for the first time), some contemporary featurettes designed to promote the movie and a DVD-ROM facility. The extra features are good—especially the documentary—but the breathtaking quality of both anamorphic picture and digital sound are what make this DVD package a triumph. —Mark Walker
Ryan's Daughter
Wild at Heart
Lynch, David
David Lynch's 1990 Wild at Heart is an utterly random and ugly experience with pockets of startling imagery and inspired set pieces. Based on a Barry Gifford novel, the film stars Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as lovers on the lam whose relationship is tested and who meet some truly dangerous wackos (including an almost-simian Willem Dafoe). Lynch's thoughts seem to be everywhere, and he expects the audience to keep up with a story that seems more a collection of avant-garde whims than a coherent vision with the intuitive brilliance of his Blue Velvet. Cage gives one of his more chaotic performances, but then he was just reading Lynch's signposts. —Tom Keogh
Mulholland Drive
Lynch, David
Pandora couldn't resist opening the forbidden box containing all the delusions of mankind, and let's just say in Mulholland Drive David Lynch indulges a similar impulse. Employing a familiar film noir atmosphere to unravel, as he coyly puts it, "a love story in the city of dreams", Lynch establishes a foreboding but playful narrative in the film's first half before subsuming all of Los Angeles and its corrupt ambitions into his voyeuristic universe of desire. Identities exchange, amnesia proliferates and nightmare visions are induced, but not before we've become enthralled by the film's two main characters: the dazed and sullen femme fatale, Rita (Laura Elena Harring), and the pert blonde just-arrived from Ontario (played exquisitely by Naomi Watts) who decides to help Rita regain her memory. Triggered by a rapturous Spanish-language version of Roy Orbison's "Crying", Lynch's best film since Blue Velvet splits glowingly into two equally compelling parts. —Fionn Meade
Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me
Lynch, David
Elefantmannen (The Elephant Man)
Lynch, David
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup in The Elephant Man but those expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian man. Inarticulate and abused, Merrick is the virtual slave of a carnival barker (Freddie Jones) until dedicated London doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins in a powerfully understated performance) rescues him and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft co-stars as the actress whose visit to Merrick makes him a social curiosity, with John Gielgud and Wendy Hiller as dubious hospital staffers won over by Merrick. David Lynch earned his only Oscar nominations as director and co-writer of this sombre drama, which he shot in a rich black-and-white palette, a sometimes stark, sometimes dreamy visual style that at times recalls the offbeat expressionism of his first film, Eraserhead. It remains a perfect marriage between traditional Hollywood historical drama and Lynch's unique cinematic eye, a compassionate human tale delivered in a gothic vein. The film earned eight Oscar nominations in all and though it left the Oscar ceremony empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. —Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
On the DVD: Being black and white, it's easier to judge the digital transfer in terms of shade and thankfully this print looks just fine. There's a little confusion over the sound, however, which is advertised as Stereo on the box but says Mono on the Audio Menu. It certainly seems to be a basic Dolby stereo but it's a shame Lynch hasn't given it the personal touch since he's obsessed with mixing his films' sound himself. From the nicely thought-out animated menus there's a gallery of 20 photos and a misguiding, dramatic theatrical trailer. The only other extra is a 64-page book of which only 10 pages relate directly to the film (the rest re-tell Lynch's career and the real Elephant Man's life). —Paul Tonks
Hard Candy
Top Secret
Zucker, David, Zucker, Jerry, Abrahams, Jim
In between the disaster movie satire Airplane! in 1980 and the hardboiled cop show parody The Naked Gun in 1988, the comedy crew of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker put together a picture that's almost as funny as their better-known hits. Top Secret! sends up spy movies and cheesy teen rock 'n' roll musicals. Val Kilmer stars as swivel-hipped American rocker Nick Rivers, a sort of blonde Elvis whose secret weapon is Little Richard's tune "Tutti Fruitti." On tour behind the Iron Curtain, Nick strikes blows for democracy overtly and covertly, with his music as well as his espionage skills. In short, this is a very, very silly motion picture. Some great gags, including a subtitled scene in a Swedish book shop, and an inspired bit with a Ford Pinto that not everybody may get anymore. (The Pinto, you may or may not recall, was notoriously prone to gas tank explosions when rear-ended.) —Jim Emerson, Amazon.com
The 39 Steps
Sharp, Don
It's not the 1935 Hitchcock classic, but this sturdy 1978 adaptation of John Buchan's The Thirty Nine Steps is still a rollicking good adventure. In keeping with the Boys' Own derring-do of the story (set in Edwardian London and the Scottish Highlands), the movie maintains a brisk pace that's interrupted only for tea or cocktails. Robert Powell is Richard Hannay, the man who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dastardly Prussian plot to assassinate the Greek Prime Minister. Framed for murder, Hannay must flee to Scotland and attempt to clear his name whilst outwitting the prune-faced Prussian agents. Among all the deftly choreographed action sequences and careful period settings there's a strong vein of humour in the film, and if it wasn't for the numerous murders there would be little reason for PG certification. The grand dénouement comes with the realisation that the predicted time for the assassination is linked to Big Ben; unlike the earlier movie this version climaxes memorably with Powell hanging from the clock's minute hand. It might not be Hitchcock behind the lens, but it's still jolly good fun. —Joan Byrne
The Bourne Identity
Universal, Studios, Region 2; Region 3 2002 118 mins
Come & See (Idi i smotri)
Klimov, Elem
Kniven i huset i byen
Thorstenson, Espen
Blood Simple
Coen, Ethan, Coen, Joel
The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client, and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. —Tom Keogh
No Country For Old Men
Coen, Ethan, Coen, Joel
The Coen brothers make their finest thriller since Fargo with a restrained adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Not that there aren't moments of intense violence, but No Country for Old Men is their quietest, most existential film yet. In this modern-day Western, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a Vietnam veteran who needs a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies (both human and canine). In examining the site, he finds a case filled with $2 million. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife (Kelly Macdonald) he's going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. On the way from El Paso to Mexico, he discovers he's being followed by ex-special ops agent Chigurh (an eerily calm Javier Bardem). Chigurh's weapon of choice is a cattle gun, and he uses it on everyone who gets in his way—or loses a coin toss (as far as he's concerned, bad luck is grounds for death). Just as Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a World War II veteran, is on Moss's trail, Chigurh's former colleague, Wells (Woody Harrelson), is on his. For most of the movie, Moss remains one step ahead of his nemesis. Both men are clever and resourceful—except Moss has a conscious, Chigurh does not (he is, as McCarthy puts it, "a prophet of destruction"). At times, the film plays like an old horror movie, with Chigurh as its lumbering Frankenstein monster. Like the taciturn terminator, No Country for Old Men doesn't move quickly, but the tension never dissipates. This minimalist masterwork represents Joel and Ethan Coen and their entire cast, particularly Brolin and Jones, at the peak of their powers. —Kathleen C. Fennessy
The Solitary Life of Cranes
Weber, Eva
The Constant Gardener
Meirelles, Fernando
The Constant Gardener is the kind of thriller that hasn't been seen since the 1970s: Smart, politically complex, cinematically adventurous, genuinely thrilling and even heartbreaking. Mild diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient, Schindler's List) has a loose cannon of a wife named Tessa (Rachel Weisz, The Shape of Things, The Mummy), who's digging into the dirty doings of a major pharmaceutical company in Kenya. Her brutal murder forces Justin to continue her investigation down some deadly avenues.
This simple plot description doesn't capture the rich texture and slippery, sinuous movement of The Constant Gardener, superbly directed by Fernando Meirelles (Oscar-nominated for his first film, City of God). Shifting back and forth in time, the movie skillfully captures the engaging romance between Justin and Tessa (Fiennes shows considerably more chemistry with Weisz than he had with Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan) and builds a vivid, gripping, and all-too-justified paranoia. And on top of it all, the movie is beautiful, due to both its incredible shots of the African landscape (which at times is haunting and unearthly) and the gorgeous cinematography. Featuring an all-around excellent cast, including Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father), and Danny Huston (Silver City).—Bret Fetzer
Soap
The Godfather I
Coppola, Francis Ford
Generally acknowledged as a bona fide classic, this Francis Ford Coppola film is one of those rare experiences that feels perfectly right from beginning to end—almost as if everyone involved had been born to participate in it. Based on Mario Puzo's bestselling novel about a Mafia dynasty, Coppola's Godfather extracted and enhanced the most universal themes of immigrant experience in America: the plotting-out of hopes and dreams for one's successors, the raising of children to carry on the good work, etc. In the midst of generational strife during the Vietnam years, the film somehow struck a chord with a nation fascinated by the metamorphosis of a rebellious son (Al Pacino) into the keeper of his father's dream. Marlon Brando played against Puzo's own conception of patriarch Vito Corleone, and time has certainly proven the actor correct. The rest of the cast, particularly James Caan, John Cazale, and Robert Duvall as the rest of Vito's male brood—all coping with how to take the mantle of responsibility from their father—is seamless and wonderful. —Tom Keogh
The Godfather II
Swimming Pool
Ozon, François
In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star Charlotte Rampling to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie.
What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant, perhaps jealous fascination. These two women, generations apart, share in Ozon's delicate dance of trust, curiosity and gradual understanding until a twist ending that forces you to re-evaluate everything you've seen. Only then are the mysteries of Swimming Pool fully and tantalisingly revealed. —Jeff Shannon
It's a Wonderful Life
Capra, Frank
Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming—in the teary-eyed final reel—his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. —Robert Horton
The Shawshank Redemption
Darabont, Frank
When The Shawshank Redemption was released in 1994, some critics complained that this popular prison drama was too long to sustain its plot. Those complaints miss the point, because the passage of time is crucial to this story about patience, the squeaky wheels of justice and the growth of a life-long friendship. Only when the film reaches its final, emotionally satisfying scene do you fully understand why writer-director Frank Darabont (adapting a novella by Stephen King) allows the story to unfold at its necessary pace.
Tim Robbins plays a banker named Andy who is sent to Shawshank Prison on a murder charge, but as he gets to know a life-term prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman), we soon realise his claims of innocence are credible. We also realise that Andy's calm, quiet exterior hides a great reserve of patience and fortitude, and Red comes to admire this mild-mannered man who first struck him as weak and unfit for prison life. So it is that The Shawshank Redemption builds considerable impact as a prison drama that defies the conventions of the genre (violence, brutality, riots) to illustrate its theme of faith, friendship and survival. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay, it's a remarkable film (which movie lovers count among their all-time favourites) that signalled the arrival of a promising new filmmaker.
On the DVD: The Shawshank Redemption limited-edition release contains the complete 48-minute documentary "Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature", including interviews with all the principal cast and crew; plus more interview material and the theatrical trailer. —Jeff Shannon
The Karate Kid
Avildsen, John G.
The Karate Kid is a popular 1984 drama by the director, John G Avildsen and one of the better takes on the original fighting classic Rocky (also directed by John G Avildsen). The new kid in town (Ralph Macchio) targeted by karate-wielding bullies, gets himself a mentor in the form of the handyman (Pat Morita) from his apartment building. The mentor teaches him self-confidence, fighting skills and the art of karate. The screen partnership of Macchio's motor-mouth character and Morita's reserved father figure works well and the script allows for the younger man to develop sympathy for the painful memories of his teacher. Elisabeth Shue is enlisted as the romantic interest that klutzy Macchio dreams of winning. But the film's real engine, as with Rocky, is the fighting, and there's plenty of that. Subsequently the film went on to breed many Karate Kid wannabes in the mid 80s. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Ørneredet (Where Eagles Dare)
Hutton, Richard G.
Scorned by reviewers when it came out, Where Eagles Dare has acquired a cult following over the years for its unashamed and highly concentrated dose of commando death-dealing to legions of Nazi machine-gun fodder. In 1968 Clint Eastwood was just getting used to the notion that he might be a world-class movie star; Richard Burton, whose image had been shaped equally by classical theatre and his headline-making romance with Elizabeth Taylor, was eager to try his hand at the action genre. Author Alistair MacLean's novel The Guns of Navarone had inspired the film that started the 1960s vogue for World War II military capers, so he was prevailed upon to write the screenplay (his first). The central location, an impregnable Alpine stronghold locked in ice and snow, is surpassing cool, but the plot and action are ultra-mechanical, and the switcheroo gamesmanship of just who is the undercover double (triple?) agent on the mission becomes aggressively silly. —Richard T Jameson
Singin' In The Rain
Kelly, Gene, Donen, Stanley
Decades before the Hollywood film industry became famous for megabudget disaster and science fiction spectaculars, the studios of Southern California (and particularly Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) were renowned for a uniquely American (and nearly extinct) kind of picture known as The Musical. Indeed, when Sight & Sound conducts its international critics poll in the second year of every decade, this 1952 MGM picture is the American musical that consistently ranks among the 10 best movies ever made. It's not only a great song-and-dance piece starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and a sprightly Debbie Reynolds; it's also an affectionately funny insider spoof about the film industry's uneasy transition from silent pictures to "talkies". Kelly plays debonair star Don Lockwood, whose leading lady Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) has a screechy voice hilariously ill-suited to the new technology (and her glamorous screen image). Among the musical highlights: O'Connor's knockout "Make 'Em Laugh"; the big "Broadway Melody" production number; and, best of all, that charming little title ditty in which Kelly makes movie magic on a drenched set with nothing but a few puddles, a lamppost, and an umbrella. —Jim Emerson
Amores Perros
Iñárritu, González
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's striking Amores Perros is the film Pulp Fiction might have been if Quentin Tarantino were as interested in people as movies. A car crash in Mexico City entwines three stories: in one car is Octavio, who has been entering his dog in fights to get enough money run off with his sister-in-law Susana; in the other car is Valeria, a supermodel who's just moved in with her lover Daniel, who has left his wife for her. As Valeria struggles to recover from her injuries her beloved dog is lost under the floor of the new apartment. Professor-turned-revolutionary El Chivo, who has been living as a derelict/assassin after a long prison sentence, rescues Octavio's injured dog from the crash. All three learn lessons about their lives from the dogs.
Amores Perros opens with chaos, as Octavio and a friend drive away from the latest dogfight with the injured canine on the back seat and enemies in hot pursuit, then hops back, forward and sideways in time. It's a risky device, delaying crucial plot information for over an hour, but the individual stories, which weave in and out of each other with true-life untidiness, are so gripping you'll be happy to go along with them before everything becomes clear. Inarritu is a real find, a distinctive and subtle voice who upends all your expectations of Mexican filmmaking by shifting confidently from raw, on-the-streets violent emotion to cool, upper-middle-class desperation. A uniformly impressive cast create a gallery of unforgettable characters, some with only brief snippet-like scenes, others—such as Emilio Echevarria as the shaggy tramp with hidden depths—by sheer presence.
On the DVD: The anamorphic presentation, augmented for 16:9 TV, is of a pristine print and shows off the imaginative cinematography (with non-removable yellow English sub-titles). The soundtrack is Dolby Digital 5.1 and there are 15-minutes' worth of additional scenes with commentary by Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga (evidently the surviving trace of an entire feature commentary available on a Mexican DVD release), explaining why they were cut. With a behind-the-scenes featurette, a poster gallery, three related pop videos (two by Inarritu) and the trailer (and trailers for other Optimum releases) the special features offer a more than adequate addition to Amores Perros. —Kim Newman
North By Northwest [1959] [DVD]
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, George Tomasini, Alfred Hitchcock
A strong candidate for possibly the most entertaining and enjoyable film ever made by a Hollywood studio, North by Northwest is positioned between the much heavier and more profoundly disturbing Vertigo (1958) and the stark horror of Psycho (1960). In the corpus of Alfred Hitchcock films it shows the director at his most effervescent in a romantic comedy-thriller that also features one of the definitive Cary Grant performances. Which is not to say that this is just "Hitchcock Lite". It's a classic Hitchcock Wrong Man scenario: Grant is Roger O Thornhill (initials ROT), an advertising executive who is mistaken by enemy spies for a US undercover agent named George Kaplan. Convinced these sinister fellows (James Mason as the boss and Martin Landau as his henchman) are trying to kill him, Roger flees and meets a sexy Stranger on a Train (Eva Marie Saint), with whom he engages in one of the longest, most convolutedly choreographed kisses in screen history. And of course there are the famous set pieces: the stabbing at the United Nations, the crop-duster plane attack in the cornfield (where a pedestrian has no place to hide) and the cliffhanger finale atop the stone faces of Mount Rushmore. With its sparkling Ernest Lehman script and that pulse-quickening Bernard Herrmann score, what more could a filmgoer possibly desire? —Jim Emerson, Amazon.com
On the DVD: This wide-screen print of the movie looks remarkably fresh, preserving the vivid depth of the original's VistaVision cinematography. The main extra feature is a new and entertaining 40-minute documentary hosted by Eva Marie Saint in which most of the surviving cast and crew give their insights into the making of the picture (we learn for example that canny Cary Grant charged 15 cents per autograph). Screenwriter Ernest Lehman provides an audio commentary and on a separate audio-only track Bernard Herrmann's masterful score can be heard in its entirety. There's also a stills gallery and trailers. —Mark Walker
Hellboy
Velkommen Mr. Chance (Being There)
Ashby, Hal
Hal Ashby's much-praised Being There stars Peter Sellers in what was perhaps his finest comic performance. Chance the gardener has spent his entire life in an old man's house and has no idea of the world outside except for what television has given him. Sellers manages to make his innocence touching and oddly impressive rather than an offensive exploitation of disability. Jerzy Kozinski's screenplay neither entirely endorses nor discounts the twin possibilities that Chance's simplicity and closeness to the natural world give him access to real wisdom, or that he is simply a blank on whom people project what they want to see and hear. What is clear is that he gives his dying friend Ben (Jack Warden) peace of mind and consoles Ben's wife (Shirley Maclaine). Whether he's being groomed for the Presidency or appearing to walk on water, he always does something right, and the same is true for Sellers' minimalist performance.
On the DVD: Being There is presented in a widescreen visual aspect of 1.85:1 and has 1.0 Dolby Digital mono sound; it comes with the original theatrical trailer, information about the stars and director and a list of the film's awards. —Roz Kaveny
Book of Life
Henry Fool
Hartley, Hal
Simon (James Urbaniak), a shy garbageman, lives with his sister (Parker Posey of Party Girl and Waiting for Guffman, among dozens of other movies) and mother, both of whom treat him with minimal respect. Into Simon's life comes Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), a heavy-drinking self-proclaimed great writer who encourages/provokes Simon to write an enormous poem—a poem that becomes the source of great controversy, proclaimed by some as a great work of art, by others as perverse trash. As Simon's star rises, he tries to draw attention to Henry's work as well, to little avail. Though the premise seems simple, Henry Fool takes on something of an epic sweep as it follows the effects of fame on Simon and Henry's lives. This rumination on art and inspiration was hailed by some critics as the best film yet by writer/director Hal Hartley (Trust, Simple Men, Amateur), while others felt it brought out his worst indulgences. All of Hartley's movies defy easy interpretation, and Henry Fool is no exception. Still, it is a rare film that even tries to tackle such subjects, let alone does so with a combination of intelligence and humour (ranging from verbal quirkiness to scatological embarrassment). Hartley's films, surprisingly enough, feel warmer and more accessible on video; perhaps watching them in one's home makes them seem more intimate and less abstract. —Bret Fetzer
Requiem
Kiki's budservice (Kiki's Delivery Service)
Miyazaki, Hayao
Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur)
Clouzot, Henri-Georges
Ring 1 (Ringu)
Nakata, Hideo
A major box office hit in the Far East, Hideo Nakada's Ring is a subtly creepy Japanese ghost story with an urban legend theme, based on a series of popular teen-appeal novels by Susuki Koji. Far less showy than even the restrained chills of The Blair Witch Project or The Sixth Sense, Ring has nevertheless become a mainstream blockbuster and has already been followed by Ring 2 and the prequel Ring 0. A Hollywood remake is in the works.
Investigating the inexplicable, near-simultaneous deaths of her young niece and three teenage friends, reporter Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) learns of a story about a supernaturally cursed video-tape circulating among school kids. As soon as anyone has watched the tape, allegedly recorded by mistake from a dead TV channel, the telephone rings and the viewer has exactly a week to live. Those doomed are invisibly marked, but their images are distorted if photographed. Inevitably, Asakawa gets hold of the tape and watches it. The enigmatic collage of images include a coy woman combing her hair in a mirror, an old newspaper headline about a volcanic eruption, a hooded figure ranting, people crawling and a rural well. When the phone rings (a memorably exaggerated effect), Asakawa is convinced that the curse is active and calls in her scientist ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada) to help. He watches a copy of the video a day after Asakawa is exposed and willingly submits himself to the curse. Even more urgency is added to their quest when their young son is unwittingly duped, apparently by the mystery woman from the tape, into watching the video too, joining the queue for a supernatural death.
On the DVD: For a film made in the digital era, the letterboxed (16:9) print is in mediocre state, with a noticeable amount of scratching, though the Dolby Digital soundtrack is superb, making this a film that's as scary to listen to as it is to watch (the squeamish might find themselves covering their ears rather than their eyes in some scenes). Otherwise, there are trailers for the first two Ring films and Audition, 10 stills, filmographies for the principals, a review by Mark Kermode, blurb-like extracts from other reviews and the ominous option of playing Sadako's video after a solemn disavowal of responsibility from the distributors! —Kim Newman
Ring 2 (Ringu 2)
Nakata, Hideo
The Ring 2 sequel further complicates the urban myth of the original tale, adding a chilling back-story concerning the origins of Sadako, the long-haired, bug-eyed living dead girl who chills her victims like a video nasty. Shell-shocked by the sudden death of her boyfriend, Koichi, Mai Takano takes it upon herself to investigate the sinister videotape that purportedly kills those who watch it after exactly one week. But the police also want to question Takano concerning her proximity to another death, that of Koichi's former father-in-law, and the disappearance of his ex-wife, Reiko, the journalist who began investigating the video tape curse. Plagued by premonitions and visions, hounded by the police, Takano stumbles upon Yoichi, Reiko's son, who after viewing the videotape has acquired strange supernatural powers. Although now mute, Takano seems able to communicate with him and wins the frightened boy's confidence in order to involve him in scientific experiments carried out by Dr Ikuma, the aims of which are to break the curse of Sadako once and for all. Director Nakata stays true to the tone of his original, tightening the plot like a piano wire around the audience, and priming them for the inevitable next episode in the series. —Chris Campion
The Secret Life Of Words (La Vida secreta de las palabras)
Coixet, Isabel
Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Spanish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: An isolated spot in the middle of the sea. An oil rig, where all the workers are men, on which there has been an accident. A solitary, mysterious woman who is trying to forget her past (Sarah Polley) is brought to the rig to look after a man (Tim Robbins) who has been temporarily blinded. A strange intimacy develops between them, a link full of secrets, truths, lies, humour and pain, from which neither of them will emerge unscathed and which will change their lives forever. A film about the weight of the past. About the sudden silence that is produced before a storm. About twenty-five million waves, a Spanish cook (Javier Cámara) and a goose. And, above all else, about the power of love even in the most terrible circumstances.. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain, Goya Awards, Venice Film Festival,
All The President's Men
Pakula, Alan J.
It helps to have one of history's greatest scoops as your factual inspiration, but journalism thrillers just don't get any better than All the President's Men. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford are perfectly matched as (respectively) Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, whose investigation into the Watergate scandal set the stage for President Richard Nixon's eventual resignation. Their bestselling exposé was brilliantly adapted by screenwriter William Goldman, and director Alan Pakula crafted the film into one of the most intelligent and involving of the 1970s paranoid thrillers. Featuring Jason Robards in his Oscar-winning role as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, All the President's Men is the film against which all other journalism movies must be measured. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Creature From the Black Lagoon
Arnold, Jack
Accused
Thuesen, Jacob
Denmark released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: Danish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Danish ( Subtitles ), English ( Subtitles ), Finnish ( Subtitles ), Norwegian ( Subtitles ), Swedish ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Featurette, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Storyboards, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: At first glance, Henrik, Nina and Stine seem to be a perfectly average family. Henrik is a swimming teacher and his wife Nina is a secretary. If this well-heeled middle-class couple have a problem at all then it's their 14-year-old daughter. Stine's going through a difficult phase, she seems to be distancing herself from her parents. Somebody Stine does communicate with, however, is the school therapist. One day she astounds him by accusing her father of having committed a heinous crime. The authorities lose no time in instructing Stine to leave her parent's house. Henrik is arrested and taken to a prison. He remains behind bars throughout the duration of his trial. In spite of the enormous psychological strain and the fact that their friends begin to turn their back on Henrik, Nina stands by her husband until he is finally acquitted. Months pass before the parents are able to see their daughter again and talk about what happened. It's high time for a reconciliation during which the dark side of this ostensibly normal family begins to emerge. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Berlin International Film Festival, European Film Awards, Stockholm Film Festival,
Beat That My Heart Skipped
Audiard, Jacques
Aliens
Cameron, James
This deluxe five-disc package shows off not only the merits of the films on offer but the wide possibilities of the DVD medium. Even if you're among the many that only rate two or three of the Alien films, this is still an essential purchase. (The jury is still out on the interesting-but-muddy Alien 3, directed by David Fincher—who went on to make Seven and Fight Club—while Alien: Resurrection by Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Delicatessen fame is the nearest the series has come to an ordinary movie.)
Although more than 20 years old, Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) has hardly dated. It's a film of suspense and terror rather than action and excitement, as disturbing (if illogical) as ever, thanks to Swiss-artist HR Giger's visionary monster design, rooted by a clutch of interesting Anglo-American actors (Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Skerritt). Weaver, making her career breakthrough here, slowly emerges from the pack as the survivor, but the sequel, Aliens (1986), really puts her acting skills (for which she was Oscar-nominated) centre-screen, as the maternal warrior-woman whose compassion makes her fitter to survive than the gung-ho space marines. Titanic director James Cameron's action chops are demonstrated best in the series' duel between Ripley and the "bad mother" alien queen. Watched back-to-back, even the less-satisfying later films work as developments of Weaver's Ripley character, as she becomes a tired martyr in Alien 3 (1992) and is reborn as a part-alien clone in Alien: Resurrection (1997).
In this box set, all four films are presented in widescreen aspect ratios derived from pristine prints allowing you to discern more in the shadows than you get in even the best video editions. The imaginatively designed interactive menus flash the logos and computer codes of Weyland-Yutani (the evil corporation in the films) helping you to "access transmission". The digital English soundtrack can be augmented with optional subtitles in English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and Icelandic (impress your friends by reeling off the Hebrew for "Get away from her, you bitch"). Alien has an informative audio commentary by Ridley Scott (whose obsession with detail, see for example his recent Gladiator, suits him perfectly to the task of talking you through his typically hyper-designed films). Also included are deleted scenes and outtakes (such as the until-now-legendary sequence showing the ship's captain in a cocoon, plus a few clearer looks at the original beastie), several trailers, tons of production paintings and stills, the storyboard, an alternate music track and the original score in isolation.
The sequels all have trailers, but the extras diminish with each disc. The "Director's Cut" included on Aliens (17 crucial minutes longer than the original theatrical release, which means you find out Ripley's first name is Ellen) has an interview with Cameron and some backstage footage. Alien 3 contains a "making of" documentary that actually covers all three films, while Alien: Resurrection only has a brief making-of "featurette" (oddly, neither Alien 3's director Fincher nor Resurrection's Jean-Pierre Jeunet are interviewed, and Jeunet isn't even mentioned). An extra fifth disc, free with the set, contains "The Alien Legacy", an hour-long documentary on the making of the first film, concentrating on the script, design, effects, production and direction. —Kim Newman
Avatar
Cameron, James
After 12 years of thinking about it (and waiting for movie technology to catch up with his visions), James Cameron followed up his unsinkable Titanic with Avatar, a sci-fi epic meant to trump all previous sci-fi epics. Set in the future on a distant planet, Avatar spins a simple little parable about greedy colonizers (that would be mankind) messing up the lush tribal world of Pandora. A paraplegic Marine named Jake (Sam Worthington) acts through a 9-foot-tall avatar that allows him to roam the planet and pass as one of the Na'vi, the blue-skinned, large-eyed native people who would very much like to live their peaceful lives without the interference of the visitors. Although he's supposed to be gathering intel for the badass general (Stephen Lang) who'd like to lay waste to the planet and its inhabitants, Jake naturally begins to take a liking to the Na'vi, especially the feisty Neytiri (Zoë Saldana, whose entire performance, recorded by Cameron's complicated motion-capture system, exists as a digitally rendered Na'vi). The movie uses state-of-the-art 3D technology to plunge the viewer deep into Cameron's crazy toy box of planetary ecosystems and high-tech machinery. Maybe it's the fact that Cameron seems torn between his two loves—awesome destructive gizmos and flower-power message mongering—that makes Avatar's pursuit of its point ultimately uncertain. That, and the fact that Cameron's dialogue continues to clunk badly. If you're won over by the movie's trippy new world, the characters will be forgivable as broad, useful archetypes rather than standard-issue stereotypes, and you might be able to overlook the unsurprising central plot. (The overextended "take that, Michael Bay" final battle sequences could tax even Cameron enthusiasts, however.) It doesn't measure up to the hype (what could?) yet Avatar frequently hits a giddy delirium all its own. The film itself is our Pandora, a sensation-saturated universe only the movies could create. —Robert Horton
3.10 To Yuma
Mangold, James
Never let it be said that the Western is dead. Because every time its last rites are read, another filmmaker moves in and produces another fine entry to an enduring genre that’ll simply never go away. In this case, the film is 3:10 To Yuma, and the filmmaker is James Mangold, straight off his Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line.
3:10 To Yuma is, however, a far different beast, bringing together two of the most magnetic male leads in modern day cinema. On the one hand, there’s Christian Bale as the law-enforcing Sheriff, and he’s facing off against Russell Crowe’s killer. Unsurprisingly, it’s the conflict and sparks between these two that ignite the film, and turn it into a film well worth seeking out.
For what director Mangold realises is that the trick with 3:10 To Yuma (named after the prison train that Bale’s character seeks to put Crowe’s on) is to give his two stars room to work, and injecting plenty of action and excitement into the mix. The end result, while not a top-notch Western, turns out to be a real cut above most of the current multiplex fodder. Even if Westerns aren’t usually your thing, it’s well worth giving this one a try. —Jon Foster
Stanley Kubrick - A Life in Pictures
Harlan, Jan
By lifting the veil that protected Stanley Kubrick from public scrutiny, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures allows the world to see a genius who bore little resemblance to the eccentric persona perpetuated by the media. Essentially a professional home movie (producer-director Jan Harlan was Kubrick's long-time executive producer and brother-in-law), it is both biased and privileged in its access to Kubrick's personal archives, but Harlan's balanced approach allows room for appropriate criticism. While offering a definitive survey of Kubrick's life and 13 feature films, it's also a valentine to a devoted husband, father, and collaborator who, as critic Richard Schickel observes, crafted a private life that anyone would envy and admire. The films speak for themselves, while such luminaries as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Tom Cruise (who also narrates) offer valuable perspective. But it's the private anecdotes that are most enlightening in their warmth and affection, revealing an artist whose humanity far outshined the mistaken perceptions of the outside world.
Divided We Fall
Seven Years in Tibet
Annaud, Jean-Jacques
If it hadn't been for Brad Pitt signing on to play the lead role of obsessive Austrian mountain climber Heinrich Harrer, there's a good chance this lavish $70 million film would not have been made. It was one of two films from 1997 (the other being Martin Scorsese's exquisite Kundun) to view the turmoil between China and Tibet through the eyes of the young Dalai Lama. But with Pitt onboard, this adaptation of Harrer's acclaimed book focuses more on Harrer, a Nazi party member whose life was changed by his experiences in Tibet with the Dalai Lama. Having survived a treacherous climb on the challenging peak of Nanga Parbat and a stint in a British POW camp, Harrer and climbing guide Peter Aufschnaiter (nicely played by David Thewlis) arrive at the Tibetan city of Lhasa, where the 14-year-old Dalai Lama lives as ruler of Tibet. Their stay is longer than either could have expected (the "seven years" of the title), and their lives are forever transformed by their proximity to the Tibetan leader and the peaceful ways of the Buddhist people. China looms over the land as a constant invasive threat, but Seven Years in Tibet is more concerned with viewing Tibetan history through the eyes of a visitor. The film is filled with stunning images and delightful moments of discovery and soothing, lighthearted spirituality, and although he is somewhat miscast, Pitt brings the requisite integrity to his central role. What's missing here is a greater understanding of the young Dalai Lama and the culture of Tibet. Whereas Kundun tells its story purely from the Dalai Lama's point of view, Seven Years in Tibet is essentially an outsider's tale. The result is the feeling that only part of the story's been told here—or maybe just the wrong story. But Harrer's memoir is moving and heartfelt, and director Jean-Jacques Annaud has effectively captured both sincerity and splendor in this flawed but worthwhile film. —Jeff Shannon
Bjørnen (The Bear)
Den fabelaktige Amélie fra Montmartre (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain)
Jeunet, Jean-Pierre
With its use of special effects to express the main character's internal emotions, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie could have been mistaken for a French version of Ally McBeal; however, unlike Ally—"woe is me for I cannot find a man"—McBeal, Amelie is not distressed by the lack of men in her life, in fact the whole idea of sex seems to amuse her no end. Basic pleasures such as cracking the top of a Crème Brule offer her all the sensual satisfaction she needs and her existence in the "Paris of Dreams" is the stuff of fairy tales. Indeed, this cinematic treat must have worked wonders for the Paris tourist board: Jeunet's beautiful interpretation of Parisian life is depicted in all the vibrant colours you would expect from the director of Delicatessen.
On the DVD: Amelie has received an additional disc for this special edition release. Disc 1 is the same as the original single-disc release, with a choice of DTS or Dolby 5.1 sound and an 16.9 anamorphic widescreen picture with optional director's commentary. The second disc contains the new special features and, just like original disc, a lot of thought has gone into the access menu with its lavish graphics offering the choice of entering the Café, the Canal or the Station. Yet the most exciting extra in name—"Audrey Tautou's funny face"—is simply a series of out-takes which does little more than allow you to warm to Tautou as a person. The home movie includes the transformation of Tautou into Amelie and the creation of the "photo-booth album". There are also interesting interviews with Jeunet and the cast and crew, and a nice little section themed around the gnome and his travels. Along with this is a storyboard-to-screen exposition, behind-the-scenes pictures, scene tests, teasers and trailers. All in all a decent enough package, but hardly warranting the special edition label. It's hard not to wonder why Momentum didn't offer this set two months earlier. —Nikki Disney
Hjelp, vi flyr! (Airplane!)
Abrahams, Jim, Zucker, David, Zucker, Jerry
The quintessential movie spoof that spawned an entire genre of parody films, the original Airplane! still holds up as one of the brightest comedic gems of the 1980s, not to mention of cinema itself (it often tops polls of the funniest movies ever made). The humour may be low and obvious at times, but the jokes keep coming at a rapid-fire clip and its targets—primarily the lesser lights of 1970s cinema, from disco films to star-studded disaster epics—are more than worthy for send-up. If you've seen even one of the overblown Airport movies then you know the plot: the crew of a filled-to-capacity jetliner is wiped out and it's up to a plucky stewardess and a shell-shocked fighter pilot to land the plane. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are the heroes who have a history that includes a meet-cute á la Saturday Night Fever, a surf scene right out of From Here to Eternity, a Peace Corps trip to Africa to teach the natives the benefits of Tupperware and basketball, a war-ravaged recovery room with a G.I. who thinks he's Ethel Merman (a hilarious cameo)—and those are just the flashbacks! The jokes gleefully skirt the boundaries of bad taste (pilot Peter Graves to a juvenile cockpit visitor: "Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?"), with the high (low?) point being Hagerty's intimate involvement with the blow-up automatic pilot doll, but they'll have you rolling on the floor. The film launched the careers of collaborators Jim Abrahams (Big Business), David Zucker (Ruthless People) and Jerry Zucker (Ghost), as well as revitalising such B-movie actors as Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack and Leslie Nielsen, who built a second career on films like this. A vital part of any home film collection. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
Night on Earth
Jarmusch, Jim
Jim Jarmusch's 1991 ensemble comedy Night on Earth turns a gimmick into a revelation. The story begins in Los Angeles one evening at 7:07 pm A talent agent (Gena Rowlands) gets into the back of a taxi driven by a sullen, chain-smoking young woman (Winona Ryder), and over the course of their bumpy conversation, Rowlands' character becomes convinced that the cabby would be perfect for a particular part in a movie. Meanwhile, at that very moment, taxi drivers in New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki are all having unique encounters with a variety of fares, breaking through that invisible social barrier between the front and back seats of their cars, often to absurd or touching effect. Among them are cabby Roberto Benigni's ranting confessions to a priest, Armin Mueller-Stahl's relinquishing of the wheel to a stunned Giancarlo Esposito and Isaach De Bankolé's relentless discussion of sight and sex with an angry blind woman (Beatrice Dalle). What emerges is a chain of brief intimacies (not always welcomed by the characters), like a number of matches lit simultaneously across the globe, flickering brightly for a few short moments. This popular work by Jarmusch helped confirm his reputation as a fiercely independent filmmaker of rare perception, rigour and classical sensibility matched with original thinking. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Kodenavn: Nina
Badham, John
100% uncut , english / french and german audio : A gang of armed drug-addicts break into a chemist shop to try and steal drugs to fuel their habit. However, the police arrive too fast and all addicts but one are killed. She, Maggie, is sentenced to death by lethal injection for killing a police officer, but she wakes up after the execution to find that she has been spared in order to train her as a government assassin. After a dramatic transformation, she is allowed to leave and start a new life for herself, on the condition that she always be on call for the government. However, she begins to discover that there is more to life than she previously thought and soon begins to wish she could escape from her obligation. But the government aren't so easy to evade...
Deliverance
Boorman, John
One of the key films of the 1970s, John Boorman's Deliverance is a nightmarish adaptation of poet-novelist James Dickey's book about various kinds of survival in modern America. The story concerns four Atlanta businessmen of various male stripe: Jon Voight's character is a reflective, civilized fellow; Burt Reynolds plays a strapping hunter-gatherer in urban clothes; Ned Beatty is a sweaty, weak-willed boy-man, and Ronny Cox essays a spirited, neighbourly type. Together they decide to answer the ancient call of men testing themselves against the elements and set out on a treacherous ride on the rapids of an Appalachian river. What they don't understand until it is too late is that they have ventured into Dickey's variation on the American underbelly, a wild, lawless, dangerous (and dangerously inbred) place isolated from the gloss of the late 20th century. In short order, the four men dig deep into their own suppressed primitiveness, defending themselves against armed cretins, facing the shock of real death on their carefully planned, death-defying adventure and then squarely facing the suspicions of authority over their concealed actions. Boorman, a master teller of stories about individuals on peculiarly mythical journeys, does a terrifying and beautiful job of revealing the complexity of private and collective character—the way one can never be the same after glimpsing the sharp-clawed survivor in one's soul. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
The Proposition
Hillcoat, John
Based on a screenplay from Nick Cave, The Proposition is a slow, thoughtful, brutal and diligent western, that rightly mopped up numerous awards back in its native Australia.
It starts when Ray Winstone’s Captain Stanley makes an unpopular deal with a much-wanted outlaw, Charlie Burns, played by Guy Pierce. Charlie has two brothers: an innocent younger sibling (Mikey), and a heavily wanted older one (Arthur). The Captain takes the younger one into custody on threat of hanging, giving Charlie a matter of days to bring his older brother in.
That’s the core proposition that gives the film its title, yet what really makes the film is its willingness to explore the details. How do the townsfolk feel when they find out Captain Stanley has let a wanted gangster go? What will Stanley’s wife do when she finds out he’s willingness to play a dangerous game with an innocent young man as the stakes? And what will Charlie actually do when confronted by his deadly brother?
The beauty of Cave’s script too is that it doesn’t speed through any of this, consequently building up notable moments of tension, brutality and genuine shock. The performances throughout are strong, with Pierce and Winstone spearheading the cast with skill, yet finding tremendous support in the shape of John Hurt, Emily Watson and Danny Huston. Married up to the subtle and thoughtful direction of John Hillcoat, The Proposition is, quite simply, one of the finest films of the year, and the latest resurrection for a genre that rightly refuses to remain dormant.—Simon Brew
An American Werewolf in London
Landis, John
With an ingenious script, engaging characters, nerve-shredding suspense, genuinely frightening set-pieces and laugh-out-loud funny bits An American Werewolf in London is a prime candidate for the finest horror-comedy ever made. Americans David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are backpacking in northern England when Jack is killed by a wild beast and David is bitten. Back in London David finds himself falling in love with a nurse, Alex (played with winning charm by Jenny Agutter), and turning into a werewolf. Adding to his problems, an increasingly decomposed Jack keeps coming back from the dead, and he is not a happy corpse. The Oscar winning make-up and transformation scenes still look good and rather than send itself up Werewolf plays its horror seriously, the laughs coming naturally from the surreal situation. Naughton is engagingly confused and disbelieving, desperately coping with the ever more nightmarish world, while Landis delivers one absolutely stunning dream sequence, an unbearably tense hunt on the London Underground and a breathtaking finale. Gory, erotic, shocking and romantic, this unforgettable horror classic has it all. Tom Holland's Fright Night (1985) remixed the formula with vampires, as did Landis himself in Innocent Blood (1992). A disappointing sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, followed in 1997. —Gary S Dalkin
Delta-gjengen (National Lampoon's Animal House)
Landis, John
A groundbreaking screwball caper, 1978's National Lampoon's Animal House was in its own way a rite of passage for Hollywood. Set in 1962 at Faber College, it follows the riotous carryings-on of the Delta Fraternity, into which are initiated freshmen Tom Hulce and Stephen Furst. Among the established house members are Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert and the late John Belushi as Bluto, a belching, lecherous, Jack Daniels guzzling maniac. A debauched house of pranksters (culminating in the famous Deathmobile sequence), Delta stands as a fun alternative to the more strait-laced, crew-cut, unpleasantly repressive norm personified by Omega House. As cowriter the late Doug Kenney puts it, "better to be an animal than a vegetable".
Animal House is deliberately set in the pre-JFK assassination, pre-Vietnam era, something not made much of here, but which would have been implicitly understood by its American audience. The film was an enormous success, a rude, liberating catharsis for the latter-day frathousers who watched it. However, decades on, a lot of the humour seems broad, predictable, boorish, oafishly sexist and less witty than Airplane!, made two years later in the same anarchic spirit. Indeed, although it launched the Hollywood careers of several of its players and makers, including Kevin Bacon, director John Landis, Harold Ramis and Tom Hulce, who went on to do fine things, it might well have been inadvertently responsible for the infantilisation of much subsequent Hollywood comedy. Still, there's an undeniable energy that gusts throughout the film and Belushi, whether eating garbage or trying to reinvoke the spirit of America "After the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour" is a joy.
On the DVD: Animal House comes to disc in a good transfer, presented in 1.85:1. The main extra is a featurette in which director John Landis, writer Chris Miller and some of the actors talk about the making of the movie. Interestingly, 23 years on, most of those interviewed look better than they did back in 1978, especially Stephen "Flounder" Furst. —David Stubbs
Den store flukten (The Great Escape)
Sturges, John
The Great Escape image of Steve McQueen (as "The Cooler King") astride his motorcycle has entered silver-screen iconography, alongside Brando on his bike from The Wild One. Based on a true story about a group of POWs who mount a daring breakout from a supposedly inescapable Nazi prison camp, this rousing and suspenseful World War II epic features an all-star cast, including James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, and David McCallum. —Jim Emerson
The Silence of the Lambs
Demme, Jonathan
Based on Thomas Harris's novel, Jonathan Demme's terrifying adaptation of Silence of the Lambs contains only a couple of genuinely shocking moments (one involving an autopsy, the other a prison break). The rest of the film is a splatter-free visual and psychological descent into the hell of madness, redeemed astonishingly by an unlikely connection between a monster and a haunted young woman. Anthony Hopkins is extraordinary as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter, virtually entombed in a subterranean prison for the criminally insane. At the behest of the FBI, agent-in-training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) approaches Lecter, requesting his insights into the identity and methods of a serial killer named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). In exchange, Lecter demands the right to penetrate Starling's most painful memories, creating a bizarre but palpable intimacy that liberates them both under separate but equally horrific circumstances. Demme, a filmmaker with a uniquely populist vision (Melvin and Howard, Something Wild), also spent his early years making pulp for Roger Corman (Caged Heat) and he hasn't forgotten the significance of tone, atmosphere and the unsettling nature of a crudely effective close-up. Much of the film, in fact, consists of actors staring straight into the camera (usually from Clarice's point of view), making every bridge between one set of eyes to another seem terribly dangerous. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Cracks
2 Days In Paris
Delpy, Julie
Julie Delpy, as well as a being a beautiful and talented actress, is a woman of many talents. Want the proof? Then Two Days In Paris, a warm and distinctly European-feel comedy that she also scripted and directed, is a terrific piece of evidence. It’s one of 2007’s most engaging surprises, too.
Delpy previously co-scripted the wonderful Before Sunset, and Two Days In Paris has a similar feel. The film follows Delpy’s Marion and Adam Goldberg’s Jack as they spend time in the French capital, dealing with the assortment of issues and scenarios it throws up. Given that Marion is French and Jack is American, there are cultural issues that are explored. Yet it’s a character piece at heart, and that’s where the film’s strength lies.
Because the treat with Two Days In Paris is the quality of writing. With dialogue crucial to the film’s success, Delpy’s script generates engaging conversations and characters well worth spending time with. The film itself doesn’t quite scale the heights of the aforementioned Before Sunset, but it’s the film that comes the closest since to doing so.
So if you fancy something a little off the beaten track, where character is crucial, the music is grand and the film never takes a cheap shot, then treat yourself to Two Days In Paris. And keep your eye on Julie Delpy; whether in front of or behind the camera, this is a woman with plenty to offer. —Jon Foster
Sex And Lucia
Medem, Julio
The opening of Sex and Lucia transforms the viewer into a hypnotic state of relaxation with shots of the deep blue sea. However, director Julio Medem has other ideas and immediately thereafter thrusts us into a modern-day restaurant where we first meet Lucia who is trying to prevent her boyfriend Lorenzo from committing suicide. Having returned home to find his infamous "note", she runs away to the island Lorenzo spoke of. Here the narrative becomes disjointed, jumping from past, to present, to imagination through Lorenzo's novel.
The premise of the film revolves around relationships and how the past comes back to haunt us all. Although the title indicates that there may be a level of pornography, the film does gauge itself on sex in the middle of the film—to little effect. As with great horror movies, it's what the imagination leads us to think is there and not what we see that titillates our senses and over indulgence leads to boredom after a while (perhaps this was Medem's intention?). However, despite this minor flaw Medem's imagery, as always, is stunning, from the relationship between the moon and the sun, to the sea and the beach, to the blatantly phallic lighthouse with a port hole, every image adds to the plot and once the narrative ties up the loose end you'll feel emotionally revitalised.
On the DVD: Sex and Lucia holds a disappointing array of special features. Roger Clarke's film notes are informative, but like the filmographies is pure text. It also includes the option to play without English subtitles. While the features are disappointing, the soundtrack and visual images offer nothing but unadulterated bliss; you can almost feel the sea wash over you. —Nikki Disney
Point Break
Bigelow, Kathryn
A rash of daring bank robberies erupt in which the bad guys all wear the masks of worse guys—former presidents (nice touch). Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), an impossibly named former football star who blew out his knee and became a studly crime-busting fed instead, figures out that none of the heists occur during surfing season and all of them occur when, so to speak, surf's down. So obviously, he reasons, we're dealing with some surfer-dude bank robbers. He goes undercover with just such a group, led by a very spiritual, very guru-type guy played by Patrick Swayze, who has some muddled philosophies when it comes to materialism. If you can buy all that, this efficiently directed (by Kathryn Bigelow) action flick has some diverting moments (credit it, for example, for anticipating the extreme-sports fad). But Reeves' intelligent-sounding lines don't make him seem remotely intelligent and that plot makes him look positively brilliant. —David Kronke
Old Joy
Raining Stones
Loach, Ken
Raining Stones is classic Ken Loach—an overtly bleak piece of drama shot through with defiant humour, a story of life beyond the edge of society. Bob (Bruce Jones in a role that foreshadows his more ludicrous Coronation Street character) is unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, especially with the added pressure of his young daughter's first communion and the expense involved. And that's it really—one man's struggle to maintain his dignity and provide for his family. Despite the film's frequent moments of comedy (more often than not provided by Loach regular Ricky Tomlinson), Raining Stones is ultimately more than a little disheartening. The film is in many ways similar to Loach's previous film, Riff Raff (1991), but here the examples of a community pulling together are countered with backstabbing and exploitation. In the end, there are no winners or losers in Loach's world, only those who survive and those who don't. —Phil Udell
Touching The Void
Macdonald, Kevin
A gripping, harrowing true-life story told with real skill, Touching The Void is one of the finest documentaries of recent years. It mixes in recreations of real life events with interviews, building up a head of tension that makes it hard to turn your eyes away from.
The story itself centres on two British mountain climbers by the name of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. They head off to the Andes to climb Siula Grande, yet some way into the expedition, Joe Simpson falls and breaks his leg. At this stage he’s still attached to the support rope of Simon Yates, who struggles to bear his weight, and faces an impossible choice between continuing to hang on and face certain death, or cutting the rope and sending his friend plummeting down the side of the mountain.
Not only is this an extraordinary story, but it’s one that Touching The Void tells exceptionally well, with a focus and skill that rightly attracted the interest of award-givers. That those involved in the real-life adventure are telling you the story adds a real weight to the film, and director Kevin Macdonald—he who was behind the Oscar-winning One Day In September—weaves it all together quite brilliantly.
An unforgettable piece of cinema for many reasons, Touching The Void is an extraordinary telling of an extraordinary tale, and one that simply demands to be seen. Do make sure you see it. —Simon Brew
3-Iron (Bin-jip)
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter And Spring
Kim, Ki-duk
Working miracles with only a single set and a handful of characters, Korean director Kim Ki-Duk creates a wise little gem of a movie. As the title suggests, the action takes place in five distinct episodes, but sometimes many years separate the seasons. The setting is a floating monastery in a pristine mountain lake, where an elderly monk teaches a boy the lessons of life—although when the boy grows to manhood, he inevitably must learn a few hard lessons for himself. By the time the story reaches its final sections, you realize you have witnessed the arc of existence—not one person's life, but everyone's. It's as enchanting as a Buddhist fable, but it's not precious; Kim (maker of the notorious The Isle) consistently surprises you with a sex scene or an explosion of black comedy; he also vividly acts in the Winter segment, when the lake around the monastery eerily freezes. —Robert Horton
Time
My Life As a Dog
Hallström, Lasse
Simultaneously elegiac and raw, My Life as a Dog is an uneven—but unforgettable—tearjerker which tells the story of Ingemar, a 12-year-old working-class Swedish boy sent to live with his childless aunt and uncle in a country village when his mother falls ill. Beginning with several representations of the most savage, unsentimental domestic intensity imaginable (interplay between a sick parent and loving child has never looked anywhere near as explosive), My Life as a Dog wisely doesn't attempt to maintain that level of danger; rather, the change in locale to rural Sweden is accompanied by a slackening of pace and a whimsical breeziness. Nevertheless, the tragic condition of Ingemar's mother (and later, the indeterminate fate of Sickan, his beloved dog, consigned to a kennel) hovers over the narrative with a gripping portentousness. At times, director Lasse Hallström misplaces the rhythm, and the film threatens to degenerate into a series of rustic vignettes; luckily, Ingemar's relationship with Gunnar, the jocular yet somewhat sinister uncle who essentially adopts him, carries a fascinating charge. This was later rewritten, whether intentionally or not, by Spike Lee, who changed the gender of the child, set the story in New York City, added a 1970s soul soundtrack, and called it Crooklyn. Swedish, with subtitles —Miles Bethany, Amazon.com
Duck Soup
McCarey, Leo
For those who love the Marx Brothers (Animal Crackers, A Night at the Opera), that this movie is side-slappingly funny is a given. For those new to the Marx Brothers, this is the perfect introduction to Groucho, Chico, and Harpo (and even Zeppo), three of the funniest men to ever grace the screen. Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) is the dictator of the small nation Freedonia. The country is a disaster, in financial disrepair, and the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) is its benefactor and the object of Firefly's shrewd affection. When the leader of the neighboring Sylvania decides he's in love with Mrs. Teasdale, Firefly declares war. The movie, from 1933, is tremendously satirical, a play on politics and war. (As Firefly says to a hapless young solider, "You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are.") Full of witty lines, great sight gags, and even some snazzy song numbers ("Freedonia's Going to War" is the hilarious declaration of battle), this is surely one of the best—if not the best—the Marx Brothers have to offer. —Jenny Brown
The Phantom Of The Opera
Chaney, Lon, Sedgwick, Edward, Laemmle, Ernst, Julian, Rupert
City of Lost Children
Caro, Marc, Jeunet, Jean-Pierre
The fantastic visions of Belgian film-makers Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet find full fruition in this fairy tale for adults. Evoking utopias and dystopias from Brazil to Peter Pan, Caro and Jeunet create a vivid but menacing fantasy city in a perpetually twilight world. In this rough port town lives circus strongman One (Ron Perlman), who wanders the alleys and waterfront dives looking for his little brother, snatched from him by a mysterious gang preying upon the children of the town. Rising from the harbour is an enigmatic castle where lives the evil scientist Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who has lost the ability to dream and robs the nocturnal visions of the children he kidnaps, but receives only mad nightmares from the lonely cherubs. Other wild characters include the Fagin-like Octopus—Siamese twin sisters who control a small gang of runaways-turned-thieves—Krank's six cloned henchmen (all played by the memorable Dominique Pinon from Delicatessen), and a giant brain floating in an aquarium (voiced by Jean-Louis Trintignant). Caro and Jeunet are kindred souls to Terry Gilliam (who is a vocal fan), creating imaginative flights of fancy built of equal parts delight and dread, which seem to be painted on the screen in rich, dreamy colours. —Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Delicatessen
Stranger Than Fiction
Forster, Marc
Much was written about Will Ferrell's first "dramatic role" as Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who begins hearing a voice narrating his life. But Stranger Than Fiction is hardly a drama. However, what Ferrell does—like Jim Carrey before him in The Truman Show—is handle a toned-down character with genuineness and affection: you believe he is this guy. Crick leads a lonely life filled with numbers and routines. While at first he considers the voice a nuisance, Crick decides more action is needed when it speaks of "his demise." Enter Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes on the absurd notion with revelry, trying to find out what kind of book Crick's life is leading. It turns out that the voice Crick is hearing belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a very real—and troubled—author who is writing a book in which Crick is a fictional character. As usual with these things, the stuffed shirt learns to live a better life—Crick even falls for one of his audits, a brash baker named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) has the right tone for the film, using great urban scenes (the unnamed city is Chicago) with interesting visualisations of Crick's world of numbers. He also directs Ferrell, Hoffman, and Gyllenhaal to their most charming performances (plus Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce pop up in two funny scenes). Ferrell succeeds in being a romantic lead you can root for; a scene where he eats Ana's freshly baked cookies is totally delightful without a hint of sarcasm. Screenwriter Zach Helm has two personal traits with his story: like Crick he followed his heart (he stopped rewriting scripts and only worked on his own) and like Eiffel, the final results are not a masterpiece, but good, and entertaining enough. Britt Daniel of the band Spoon worked on the dynamite soundtrack. —Doug Thomas
Den frie vilje (Der Freie Wille)
Glasner, Matthias
Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, SYNOPSIS: Theo (Jürgen Vogel) has raped several women and is, after several years of committing acts of sexual violence, caught. He is committed to a psychiatric prison and, after 12 years in prison, he is released to return to normal life. Theo finds work as a printer, goes regularly to therapy, and lives in a supervised group. But Theo finds that finding a normal life isn't all that easy. Functioning more like a wooden puppet than a person, Theo wanders through his post-prison days more like an inhibited loner with severe difficulties in his social encounters with women. In spite of overwhelming loneliness and growing depression, Theo fights returning to his old violent ways. And then a ray of hope enters Theo's life: he gets to know Netti (Sabine Timoteo), the daughter of the domineering printing house owner. Netti mistrusts men in the same way that Theo mistrusts women. The two outsiders befriend each other and eventually fall in love. But Nettie knows nothing about Theo's past and his problems — until one night when Theo decides that he can't keep living a lie. Der Freie Wille tells the story of a man who is given freedom but still remains a prisoner inside. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Berlin International Film Festival,
Apocalypto
Gibson, Mel
Forget any off-screen impressions you may have of Mel Gibson, and experience Apocalypto as the mad, bloody runaway train that it is. The story is set in the pre-Columbian Maya population: one village is brutally overrun, its residents either slaughtered or abducted, by a ruling tribe that needs slaves and human sacrifices. We focus on the capable warrior Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), although Gibson skillfully sketches a whole population of characters—many of whom don't survive the early reels. Most of the film is set in the dense jungle, but the middle section, in a grand Mayan city, is a dazzling triumph of design, costuming, and sheer decadent terror. The movie itself is a triumph of brutality, as Gibson lets loose his well-established fascination with bodily mortification in a litany of assaults including impalement, evisceration, snakebite, and bee stings. It's a dark, disgusted vision, but Gibson doesn't forget to apply some very canny moviemaking instincts to the violence—including the creation of a tremendous pair of villains (strikingly played by Raoul Trujillo and Rodolfo Palacias). The film is in a Maya dialect, subtitled in English, and shot on digital video (which occasionally betrays itself in some blurry quick pans). Amidst all the mayhem, nothing in the film is more devastating than a final wordless exchange of looks between captured villager Blunted (Jonathan Brewer) and his wife's mother (Maria Isabel Diaz), a superb change in tone from their early relationship. Yes, this is an obsessive, crazed movie, but Gibson knows what he's doing. —Robert Horton
The Deer Hunter
Cimino, Michael
The Deer Hunter is an expansive portrait of friendship in a Pennsylvania steel town, and of the effects of the Vietnam War. Led by the trio of Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken (who won a supporting actor Oscar), the first hour is dominated by an engrossing Russian Orthodox wedding and reception. When the drama moves overseas it switches from anthropologically realistic documentation of a community's rituals to highly controversial and still shocking Russian Roulette scenes, symbolising the random horror of war. Unforgettable as they are, the Vietnam sequences occupy less than a third of the three-hour running time; defying movie convention The Deer Hunter is fundamentally a before-and-after ensemble character study anchored by De Niro's great performance.
Although it was the first serious Hollywood feature to address the Vietnam War, the plausibility of some of the later plot developments raises awkward questions. But the film remains powerfully effective, its deliberate pace, naturalistic overlapping dialogue and unflinching seriousness marking it very much a product of the 1970s. With nine Oscar nominations and five wins, including Best Picture and Director, it's a cinematic landmark that stands the test time, almost incidentally setting Meryl Streep on the road to superstardom in her first leading role.
On the DVD: The Deer Hunter: Special Edition has the film on the first disc with a serious yet amiable Region 2 exclusive discussion track between director Michael Cimino and critic SX Finnie. The picture is anamorphically enhanced at 2.35:1, and perfectly reproduces Vilmos Zsigmond's deliberately desaturated, necessarily grainy cinematography. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack clearly reveals the mono original, being largely focused on the centre speaker and while it does a good job, some of the choral music does sound harsh. Dialogue is sometimes indecipherable, but that's due to the naturalistic nature of the original sound recording and mixing.
Disc 2 offers excellent new interviews with Jon Savage (15 mins), Vilmos Zsigmond (15 mins) and Michael Cimino (23 mins). Also included is the original trailer (anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1), a routine photo gallery and a DVD version of the original press brochure. There's no trace of the 40 minutes of deleted material referred to by Cimino, but this presentation is still an object lesson in how quality of extras triumphs over quantity. —Gary S Dalkin
Seventh Continent
Hidden (Cache)
Haneke, Michael
A tense, taut and unsettling thriller, Hidden is a film that expertly follows television presenter Georges, whose seemingly perfect life is shattered when he receives a videotape. On it is a lengthy stream of surveillance footage of his home, shot from just across the street. And it’s just the first of many. Further tapes, accompanied by strange and disturbing drawings, start to arrive, leaving Georges, his wife and his teenage son unsettled.
The film slowly builds from there, as Georges starts looking to his past to try and find the answer to who is sending the tapes, only to find himself increasingly disturbed by the memories he recalls.
Grounded by excellent performances from Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche, Hidden is a masterclass in slow-burning cinema. It has no easy answers, boasts some quite superb direction, and it’s also distinctly unconventional in how it goes about its business (right from the opening titles). Director Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher) cleverly works his story across several levels, and while, come the end credits, some may initially find themselves underwhelmed, here’s a film that stays in the brain long after the stop button has been pressed. Granted, it won’t be to all tastes, but those that do find themselves engrossed are likely to agree that this is one of the finest French films in many years.—Jon Foster
Heat
Mann, Michael
Having developed his skill as a master of contemporary crime drama, writer-director Michael Mann displayed every aspect of that mastery in this intelligent, character-driven thriller from 1995, which also marked the first onscreen pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The two great actors had played father and son in the separate time periods of The Godfather, Part II, but this was the first film in which the pair appeared together, and although their only scene together is brief, it's the riveting fulcrum of this high-tech cops-and-robbers scenario. De Niro plays a master thief with highly skilled partners (Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore) whose latest heist draws the attention of Pacino, playing a seasoned Los Angeles detective whose investigation reveals that cop and criminal lead similar lives. Both are so devoted to their professions that their personal lives are a disaster. Pacino's with a wife (Diane Venora) who cheats to avoid the reality of their desolate marriage; De Niro pays the price for a life with no outside connections; and Kilmer's wife (Ashley Judd) has all but given up hope that her husband will quit his criminal career. These are men obsessed, and as De Niro and Pacino know, they'll both do whatever's necessary to bring the other down. Mann's brilliant screenplay explores these personal obsessions and sacrifices with absorbing insight, and the tension mounts with some of the most riveting action sequences ever filmed—most notably a daylight siege that turns downtown Los Angeles into a virtual war zone of automatic gunfire. At nearly three hours, heat qualifies as a kind of intimate epic, certain to leave some viewers impatiently waiting for more action, but it's all part of Mann's compelling strategy. Heat is a true rarity: a crime thriller with equal measures of intense excitement and dramatic depth, giving De Niro and Pacino a prime showcase for their finely matched talents. —Jeff Shannon
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Gondry, Michel
Screenwriters rarely develop a distinctive voice that can be recognized from movie to movie, but the ornate imagination of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has made him a unique and much-needed cinematic presence. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a guy decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she's had him erased from her own memory—but midway through the procedure, he changes his mind and struggles to hang on to their experiences together. In other hands, the premise of memory-erasing would become a trashy science-fiction thriller; Kaufman, along with director Michel Gondry, spins this idea into a funny, sad, structurally complex, and simply enthralling love story that juggles morality, identity, and heartbreak with confident skill. The entire cast—Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and more—give superb performances, carefully pitched so that cleverness never trumps feeling. A great movie. —Bret Fetzer
The Science Of Sleep (La science des rêves)
Gondry, Michel
The Science of Sleep concerns the flirtations and misunderstandings of Stéphane (played by Gael García Bernal), an aspiring visual artist, and Stéphanie (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg), his Parisian neighbour who creates whimsical sculptures from cotton balls and felt. As Stéphane toils in a caustic office for a company that makes calendars, he retreats into his dreams and finds them increasingly hard to distinguish from reality, and vice-versa.
The French magician and director Georges Méliès was arguably the first master of special effects, filling the silent movie houses of the early 20th century with camera trickery that stunned and delighted audiences. A century later, Michel Gondry works very much in the spirit of his artistic predecessor and countryman, creating films and music videos that feel just as hand-crafted and visually fantastical. The Science of Sleep is a trilingual film, with dialogue spoken in French, English, and Spanish by characters who are very much global citizens, crossing boundaries of consciousness as easily as they cross boundaries of culture. Gondry decorates his love story with deliberately low-tech special effects, including cellophane made to look like bath water and a subconscious television studio constructed largely of corrugated cardboard. This is filmmaking with all the seams and stitches exposed, an appreciation for the patent falseness of films that nonetheless transport and enchant us. It's dreamy. —Ryan Boudinot
Blow-Up
Antonioni, Michelangelo
It may not stand up as an art-house film (the opening and closing shots of a mime playing tennis belong in the Pretentious Metaphor Hall of Fame), but this head scratcher is an absorbing travelogue of swinging London circa 1967, courtesy of auteur tourist Michelangelo Antonioni. Blow Up is also a meticulous, paranoid murder mystery that has left its fingerprints on dozens of later films, from Coppola's The Conversation to the recent cult item The Usual Suspects. The efforts of a fashion photographer (David Hemmings) to analyse a photo snapped off-the-cuff in a public park, which may have recorded a crime in progress, resonated at the time with conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination. From here it looks like an anticipation of up-to-the-minute anxieties about the filtering of perception through metastasising media. The movie marked the film debut of Vanessa Redgrave, and in the justly celebrated purple-paper scene, expat chanteuse-to-be Jane Birkin. —David Chute
All Or Nothing
Leigh, Mike
Writer-director Mike Leigh, after a brief detour into the period drama of Topsy-Turvy, returns to the lives of contemporary working-class Brits. Phil (longtime Leigh collaborator Timothy Spall, Secrets and Lies) is a quiet taxi driver whose marriage to Penny (Lesley Manville) has gone dry, though neither has quite realized it. They bicker with each other and their children and try to find some pleasure in going out with friends, but their friends have their own struggles—even Penny's coworker Maureen (Ruth Sheen), whose naturally buoyant personality is colliding with her resentful daughter's pregnancy. All or Nothing is among Leigh's bleakest films; the relentless misery of these characters' lives is hard to take. But thanks to the incredibly committed acting, when moments of tenderness come, they have a devastating impact. —Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
Donnie Brasco
Newell, Mike
Based on a memoir by former undercover cop Joe Pistone (whose daring and unprecedented infiltration of the New York Mob scene earned him a place in the federal witness protection program), Donnie Brasco is like a de-romanticised, de-mythologised version of The Godfather. It offers an uncommonly detailed, privileged glimpse inside the world of organised crime from the perspective of the little guys at the bottom of Mafia hierarchy rather than from the kingpins at the top. Donnie Brasco is not only one of the great modern-day gangster movies to put in the company of The Godfather films and GoodFellas, but it is also one of the great undercover police movies—arguably surpassing Serpico and Prince of the City in richness of character, detail and moral complexity. Donnie (Johnny Depp, a splendid actor) is practically adopted by Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a gregarious, low-level "made" man who grows to love his young protégé like a son. (Pacino really sinks into this guy's skin and polyester slacks and creates his freshest, most fully realised character since his 1970s heyday.) As Donnie acclimates himself to Lefty's world, he distances himself from his wife (a terrific Anne Heche) and family for their own protection. Almost imperceptibly his sense of identity slips away from him. Questioning his own confused loyalties, unable to trust anybody else because he himself is an imposter, Donnie loses his way in a murky and treacherous no-man's land. The film is directed by Mike Newell, who also headed up Four Weddings and a Funeral and the gritty, true crime melodrama Dance with a Stranger. —Jim Emerson
Catch - 22
I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba)
Kalatozov, Mikhail
Don't Look Now
Roeg, Nicolas
Don't Look Now was filmed in 1973 and based around a Daphne Du Maurier novel. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, it has lost none of its chill: like Kubrick's The Shining, its dazzling use of juxtaposition, colour, sound and editing make it a seductive experience in cinematic terror, whose aftershock lingers in daydreams and nightmares, filling you with uncertainty and dread even after its horrific climax. Donald Sutherland plays John Baxter, an architect, Julie Christie his wife: a well-to-do couple whose young daughter drowns while out playing. Cut to Venice, out of season, where the couple encounter a pair of sisters, one of whom claims psychic powers and to have communicated with their dead daughter. The subsequent plot is as labyrinthine as the back streets of the city itself, down which Baxter spots a diminutive and elusive red-coated figure akin to his daughter, before being drawn into an almost unbearable finale. Don't Look Now is a Gothic masterpiece, with its melange of gore, mystery, ecstasy, the supernatural and above all grief, while the city of Venice itself—which thanks to Roeg and his team seems to breathe like a dark, sinister living organism throughout the movie—deserves a credit in its own right. Not just a magnificent drama but an advanced feat of cinema. —David Stubbs
Orions belte
Solum, Ola, Cole, Tristan DeVere
Norway released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Norwegian ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Norwegian ( Dolby DTS 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), Norwegian ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Alternative Footage, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Featurette, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Special Edition, SYNOPSIS: This is an exciting thriller about three men who accidentally stumble upon a Russian spy station on "Orion's Belt," a remote segment of the Norwegian island that is their home. Tom (Helge Jordal), Larse (Sverre Anker Ousdal), and Sverre (Hans Ola Sorlie) run a barely profitable business boating tourists around the fjords and showing off the stunning landscapes that are a part of their coastline. But since this business has limited potential, one day the three decide to smuggle out a tractor and sell it for a good return in Greenland. On the way back from that successful venture, a storm hits hard, and they seek shelter on the northern, deserted shore of their island. There they discover the Russian spy station. The three are soon spotted, and though they try to make an escape in their boat, a Russian helicopter nearly shoots it out from under them. Tom's ingenuity devises a way to down the chopper, but soon another looms on the horizon to take its place. Eventually, Tom alone makes his way back home and then is summoned to Oslo for a meeting with the authorities, an encounter that turns out to be very different than expected.
Platoon
Stone, Oliver
Winning a raft of awards, not least of which four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, Oliver Stone's Platoon was a box-office smash heralding Hollywood's second wave of Vietnam war films. Where predecessors The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979) were elaborate epics, Platoon simply showed the daily reality of the war from the point of view of ordinary soldiers. Stone's own service in Vietnam gives his work a unique authenticity.
Charlie Sheen gives his best performance to date, enduring a series of increasingly large-scale and bloody battles which retrospectively make one wonder why Saving Private Ryan was hailed as so new. Against this gruelling verity the film falters over the symbolic conflict between good and evil sergeants played by Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger. Even though this was also based in real life, it strikes a too conventionally Hollywood-like note in a film which otherwise maintains much of the raw power of Stone's other film from 1986, Salvador. Johnny Depp fans should look out for an early appearance by the star. Stone would return to Vietnam with the more sophisticated Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven and Earth (1993).
On the DVD: The 50-minute documentary "Tour of the Inferno" goes beyond the usual "making-of" to present a personal account both of the film and of Stone's own time in Vietnam. Likewise the two audio commentaries—one by Stone, the other by Captain Dale Dye, fellow veteran and military technical advisor—range between the making of the film and the degree to which the actors came to inhabit their parts, to their own wartime experiences. Both commentaries bring a fresh level of appreciation and understanding to the film. Also included is the original trailer and three TV commercials, together with well-presented stills galleries of behind-the-scenes photos and poster art. Following a credit sequence marred by dirt on the print, the anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 image is sharp and clear. The many night scenes are very dark but remain easily comprehensible. The three-channel Dolby Digital sound is suitably raw and powerful, though an early sequence featuring rain in the jungle suffers from very distracting repeated drop-outs in the left channel. —Gary S Dalkin
JFK
Stone, Oliver
Not a John F Kennedy biopic, but a film of New Orleans' attorney Jim Garrison's investigation into the President's assassination, JFK is that rarest of things, a modern Hollywood drama which credits the audience with serious intelligence and ultimately proves itself a great film. Oliver Stone's film has the archetypal story, visual scale and substance to match; not just a gripping real-life conspiracy thriller, but a fable for the fall of the American dream (a theme further explored by the director in Nixon and Any Given Sunday). JFK doesn't reveal exactly what happened in Dallas on 22 November 1963—those who knew generally took their secrets to the grave—but marshals a vast wealth of facts and plausible theories, trusting the audience to draw its own conclusions. Following less than a year after Dances With Wolves (1990), these two epics mark the high point of Kevin Costner's career and the vast supporting cast here, including Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland, is superb. Quite simply the best American political film ever made. —Gary S Dalkin
Salo
Pasolini, Pier Paolo
Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom (known in Italian as Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma) provoked howls of outrage and execration on its original release in 1975, and the controversy rages to this day. Until the British Board of Film Classification finally ventured a certificate in 2000, the movie could only be shown at private cinema clubs, and even then in severely mutilated form. The relaxation of the censors' shears allows you to see for yourself what the fuss was about, but be warned—Salò will test the very limits of your endurance. Updating the Marquis de Sade's phantasmagorical novel of the same title from 18th-century France to fascist Italy at the end of World War II, writer-director Pasolini relates a bloodthirsty fable about how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Four upper-class libertines gather in an elegant palazzo to inflict the extremes of sexual perversion and cruelty upon a hand-picked collection of young men and women. Meanwhile, three ageing courtesans enflame the proceedings further by spinning tales of monstrous depravity. The most upsetting aspect of the film is the way Pasolini's coldly voyeuristic camera dehumanises the victims into lumps of random flesh. Though you may feel revulsion at the grisly details, you aren't expected to care much about what happens to either master or slave. In one notorious episode, the subjugated youths are forced to eat their own excrement—a scene almost impossible to watch, even if you know the meal was actually composed of chocolate and orange marmalade. (Pasolini mischievously claimed to be satirising our modern culture of junk food.) Salò is the ultimate vision of apocalypse—and as if in confirmation, the director was himself brutally murdered just before its premiere. You can reject the movie as the work of an evil-minded pornographer, but you won't easily forget it. —Peter Matthews
Mannen fra toget (L'homme du train)
Leconte, Patrice
You wouldn't think that a movie, which mostly consists of two old guys talking could be a thriller, but that's exactly what L'Homme du Train is. French singer Johnny Hallyday plays a professional criminal who comes to a small town to take part in a robbery. By chance, he meets talkative Jean Rochefort, who invites the laconic Hallyday to stay at his house because the hotel is closed. The two form an unlikely friendship, each curious about (and envious of) the other's life. But all the while plans for the robbery continue, while Rochefort is preparing for a dangerous event of his own. The pitch-perfect performances make L'Homme du Train completely involving. Rochefort and Hallyday play off of each other beautifully; it's impossible to put your finger on what makes these subtle, supple scenes so magnetic. The whole is directed with spare authority by Patrice Leconte (La Veuve de Saint-Pierre). —Bret Fetzer
Black Book
Verhoeven, Paul
Absent from the directors’ chair for over half a decade, Paul Verhoeven returns to business with the engaging thriller Black Book, and it finds him once again near the top of his game.
Leaving the disappointing Hollow Man firmly in the rear view mirror, and more in keeping with his original Dutch films than his infamous Hollywood output (Basic Instinct, Robocop, Starship Troopers and Showgirls all sit on his CV), Black Book is the story of a refugee by the name of Rachel Stein in the second World War, who embarks on a quest for revenge when her family are killed. Stein joins up with the Resistance, and is giving the mission of using her seductive charms to infiltrate the German Security Service, and the ingredients then fall into place for a labyrinthine thriller of some quality.
Black Book works for several reasons. Firstly, lead actress Carice von Houten is quite excellent, while the tight screenplay is happy to provoke questions and keep the complex plot in check. Verhoeven, too, directs well, occasionally relying a little too much on one or two of his conventions, but nonetheless delivering an engrossing piece of cinema.
For sure, Black Book isn’t perfect, and there are films that treat the material with more gravitas than is on display here. But it’s still a strong, well-made thriller, and one that leaves you hoping its director won’t be away for quite so long next time. —Jon Foster
Live Flesh
Volver
Almodóvar, Pedro
Spanish for "coming back," Volver is a return to the all-female format of All About My Mother. Unlike Pedro Almodóvar's previous two pictures, the story revolves around a group of women in Madrid and his native La Mancha. (The cast received a collective best actress award at Cannes.) Raimunda (a zaftig Penélope Cruz) is the engine powering this heartfelt, yet humorous vehicle. When husband Paco (Antonio de la Torre) is murdered, Raimunda makes like Mildred Pierce to deflect attention away from daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo). After telling everyone the lout has left, she struggles to conceal his body. The other women in her life all have secrets of their own. Her sister, Sole (Lola Dueñas), for instance, has taken in their mother, Irene (a sprightly Carmen Maura). Since Irene perished in a fire, is this person a ghost or simply a woman who looks like her? Then there's their childhood friend, Agustina (Blanca Portillo), who is desperate to find out why her mother disappeared after the blaze. Was she responsible? Almodóvar deftly blends the ghost story with the murder mystery in his tribute to the Italian neo-realist films of the 1950s. The resilient Raimunda is a throwback to the earthy heroines of Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. The latter appears in Luchino Visconti's Bellissima, which shows up on Sole's television one night (thus confirming the link). If Almodóvar’s 16th feature lacks the emotional punch of the more audacious Talk to Her, it's less heavy-handed than Bad Education and Cruz is a revelation. —Kathleen C. Fennessy
Last Life In The Universe
Ratanauruang, Pen-ek
The Italian Job
Collinson, Peter
The greatest Brit-flick crime caper comedy of all time, 1969's The Italian Job towers mightily above its latter-day mockney imitators. After Alfie but before Get Carter Michael Caine is the hippest ex-con around, bedding the birds (several at a time) and spouting immortal one-liners ("You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"). The inheritor of a devious plan to steal gold bullion in the traffic-choked streets of Turin, Caine recruits a misfit team of genial underworld types—including a lecherous Benny Hill and three plummy public-schoolboy rally drivers—and uses the occasion of an England-Italy football match as cover for the heist.
In his final screen appearance, Noel Coward joyfully sends up his own patriotic persona, and there are small though priceless cameos from the likes of Irene Handl and John Le Mesurier. But The Italian Job's real stars are the three Mini Coopers—patriotically decorated red, white and blue—that run rings round every other vehicle in an immortal car-chase sequence, which preserves forever the British public's love affair with the little car. Quincy Jones provided the irreverent music, naturally, while the cliffhanger ending thumbs its nose at anything so un-hip as a resolution. It's all unashamedly jingoistic—ridiculously, gleefully, absurdly so—but the whole sums up the joie de vivre of the 1960s so perfectly that future historians need only look here to learn why the decade was swinging.
On the DVD: The Italian Job disc contains three all-new documentaries—"The Great Idea" (conception), "The Self-Preservation Society" (casting), and "Get a Bloomin' Move On" (stunts)—which dovetail into a good 68-minute "making of" featurette. Contributors include scriptwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and Producer Michael Deeley, who also crops up on the sporadically interesting commentary track with author of The Making of The Italian Job, Matthew Field. The deleted "Blue Danube" waltz scene is also included, with optional commentary. The print is a decent anamorphic transfer of the original 2.35:1 ratio, and the soundtrack has been remastered to Dolby 5.1. The animated Mini Cooper menus set the tone perfectly. —Mark Walker
Drowning By Numbers
Greenaway, Peter
Danish Edition, PAL/Region 2 DVD: Subtitles: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish. Drowning By Numbers is a sharp and witty tale of female camaraderie with Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson and Joely Richardson giving first-class performances. Peter Greenaway's charming pastoral setting overflows with metaphors and mathematical riddles in a film that will continue to amuse for countless viewings.
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover
Greenaway, Peter
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. Few directors polarise audiences in the same way as Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th-century painting as by the French New Wave. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes colour as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. —Bret Fetzer
Zoo (A Zed And Two Noughts)
Greenaway, Peter
100% Uncut , DVD/RC2 , English and German Audio , German Import
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Jackson, Peter
A marvellously sympathetic yet spectacularly cinematic treatment of the first part of Tolkien’s trilogy, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the film that finally showed how extraordinary digital effects could be used to support story and characters, not simply overwhelm them. Both long-time fantasy fans and newcomers alike were simultaneously amazed, astonished and left agog for parts two and three.
Jackson’s abiding love for the source material comes across in the wealth of incidental detail (the stone trolls from The Hobbit, Bilbo’s hand-drawn maps); and even when he deviates from the book he does so for sound dramatic reasons (the interminable Tom Bombadil interlude is deleted; Arwen not Glorfindel rescues Frodo at the ford). New Zealand stands in wonderfully for Middle-Earth and his cast are almost ideal, headed by Elijah Wood as a suitably naïve Frodo, though one with plenty of iron resolve, and Ian McKellen as an avuncular-yet-grimly determined Gandalf. The set-piece battle sequences have both an epic grandeur and a visceral, bloody immediacy: the Orcs, and Saruman’s Uruk-Hai in particular, are no mere cannon-fodder, but tough and terrifying adversaries. Tolkien’s legacy could hardly have been better served.
On the DVD: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring two-disc set presents the original theatrical release (approx 171 minutes) on the first disc with a vivid Dolby 5.1 soundtrack and a simply splendid anamorphic print that allows even the darkest recesses of Moria to be glimpsed. The second disc contains 15 short behind-the-scenes pieces originally seen on the official Web site plus three substantial featurettes. The Houghton Mifflin "Welcome to Middle-Earth" is a 16-minute first look at the transition from page to screen, most interesting for its treasurable interview with Tolkien’s original publisher Rayner Unwin. "Quest for the Ring" is a pretty standard 20-minute Fox TV special with lots of cast and crew interviews. Better is the Sci-Fi Channel’s "A Passage to Middle-Earth", a 40-minute special that goes into a lot more detail about many aspects of the production and how the creative team conceived the film’s look.
Most mouth-watering for fans who just can’t wait is a 10-minute Two Towers preview, in which Peter Jackson personally tantalises us with behind-the-scenes glimpses of Gollum and Helm’s Deep, plus a tasty three-minute teaser for the four-disc Fellowship special edition. Rounding out a good package are trailers, Enya’s "May It Be" video and a Two Towers video game preview.—Mark Walker
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Jackson, Peter
With The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the focus of Tolkien's epic story moves from the fantastic to the mythic, from magic and monsters towards men and their deeds, as the expanding panorama of Middle-earth introduces us to the Viking-like Riders of Rohan and the men of Gondor. Which is not to say that Peter Jackson's three-hour second instalment doesn't have its fair share of amazing new creatures—here we meet Wargs, Oliphaunts and winged Nazgul, to name three—just that the film is concerned more with myth-making on a heroic scale than the wide-eyed wonder of The Fellowship of the Ring.
There's no time for recapitulation, as a host of new characters are introduced in rapid succession. In Rohan we meet the initially moribund King Theoden (Bernard Hill); his treacherous advisor Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif); his feisty niece Eowyn (Miranda Otto); and his strong-willed nephew Eomer (Karl Urban). Faramir (David Wenham), brother of Boromir, is the other principal human addition to the cast. The hobbits, though, encounter the two most remarkable new characters, both of whom are digitally generated: in Fangorn Forest, Merry and Pippin are literally carried away by Treebeard, a dignified old Ent; while Frodo and Sam capture the duplicitous Gollum, whose fate is inextricably intertwined with that of the Ring.
The film stands or falls with Gollum. If the characterisation had gone the way of Jar Jar Binks, The Two Towers would have been ruined, notwithstanding all the spectacle and grandeur of the rest. But Gollum is a triumph, a tribute both to the computer animators and the motion-captured performance of Andy Serkis: his "dialogues", delivered theatre-like direct to the audience, are a masterstroke. Here and elsewhere Jackson is unafraid to make changes to the story line, bringing Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath, for example, or tipping Aragorn over a cliff. Yet the director's deft touch always seems to add not detract from Tolkien's vision. Just three among many examples: Aragorn's poignant dreams of Arwen (Liv Tyler); Gimli's comic repartee even in the heat of battle; and the wickedly effective siege weapons of the Uruk-Hai (which signify both Saruman's mastery and his perversion of technology). The climactic confrontation at Helm's Deep contains images the like of which have simply never been seen on film before. Almost unimaginably, there's so much more still to come in the Return of the King.
On the DVD: The Two Towers two-disc set, like the Fellowship before it, features the theatrical version of the movie on the first disc, in glorious 2.35:1 widescreen, accompanied by Dolby 5.1 or Dolby Stereo sound options. As before, commentaries and the really in-depth features are held back for the extended four-disc version.
Such as they are, all the extras are reserved for Disc Two. The 14-minute documentary On the Set is a run-of-the-mill publicity preview for the movie; more substantial is the 43-minute Return to Middle-Earth, another promotional feature, which at least has plenty of input from cast and crew. Much more interesting are the briefer pieces, notably: Sean Astin's charming silent short The Long and the Short of It, plus an amusing making-of featurette; a teaser trailer for the extended DVD release; and a tantalising 12-minute sneak peek at Return of the King, introduced by Peter Jackson, in which he declares nonchalantly that "Helm's Deep was just an opening skirmish"! —Mark Walker
Forgotten Silver
Unbearable Lightness Of Being
Kaufman, Philip
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Tomas, the happily irresponsible Czech lover of Milan Kundera's novel, which is set in Prague just before and during the Soviet invasion in 1968. Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche are the two vastly different women who occupy his attention and to some extent represent different sides of his values and personality. In any case, the character's decision to flee Russian tanks with one of them—and then return—has profound consequences on his life. Directed by Philip Kaufman, this rich, erotic, fascinating character study with allegorical overtones is a touchstone for many filmgoers. Several key sequences—such as Olin wearing a bowler hat and writhing most attractively—linger in the memory, while Kaufman's assured sense of the story inspires superb performances all around. —Tom Keogh
Pulp Fiction
Tarantino, Quentin
With the knockout one-two punch of 1992's Reservoir Dogs and 1994's Pulp Fiction writer-director Quentin Tarantino stunned the filmmaking world, exploding into prominence as a cinematic heavyweight contender. But Pulp Fiction was more than just the follow-up to an impressive first feature, or the winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, or a script stuffed with the sort of juicy bubblegum dialogue actors just love to chew, or the vehicle that re-established John Travolta on the A-list, or the relatively low-budget ($8 million) independent showcase for an ultrahip mixture of established marquee names and rising stars from the indie scene (among them Samuel L Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Julia Sweeney, Kathy Griffin and Phil Lamar). It was more, even, than an unprecedented $100-million-plus hit for indie distributor Miramax. Pulp Fiction was a sensation. No, it was not the Second Coming (I actually think Reservoir Dogs is a more substantial film; and PT Anderson outdid Tarantino in 1997 by making his directorial debut with two even more mature and accomplished pictures, Hard Eight and Boogie Nights). But Pulp Fiction packs so much energy and invention into telling its nonchronologically interwoven short stories (all about temptation, corruption, and redemption amongst modern criminals, large and small) it leaves viewers both exhilarated and exhausted—hearts racing and knuckles white from the ride. (Oh, and the infectious, surf-guitar-based soundtrack is tastier than a Royale with Cheese.) —Jim Emerson
Kill Bill, Volume 2
Tarantino, Quentin
"The Bride" (Uma Thurman) gets her satisfaction—and so do we—in Quentin Tarantino's "roaring rampage of revenge", Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Where Vol. 1 was a hyper-kinetic tribute to the Asian chop-socky grindhouse flicks that have been thoroughly cross-referenced in Tarantino's film-loving brain, Vol. 2—not a sequel, but Part Two of a breathtakingly cinematic epic—is Tarantino's contemporary martial-arts Western, fuelled by iconic images, music and themes lifted from any source that Tarantino holds dear, from the action-packed cheapies of William Witney (one of several filmmakers Tarantino gratefully honours in the closing credits) to the spaghetti epics of Sergio Leone. Tarantino doesn't copy so much as elevate the genres he loves, and the entirety of Kill Bill is clearly the product of a singular artistic vision, even as it careens from one influence to another. Violence erupts with dynamic impact, but unlike Vol. 1, this slower grand finale revels in Tarantino's trademark dialogue and loopy longueurs, reviving the career of David Carradine (who plays Bill for what he is: a snake charmer), and giving Thurman's Bride an outlet for maternal love and well-earned happiness. Has any actress endured so much for the sake of a unique collaboration? As the credits remind us, "The Bride" was jointly created by "Q&U", and she's become an unforgettable heroine in a pair of delirious movie-movies (Vol. 3 awaits, some 15 years hence) that Tarantino fans will study and love for decades to come. —Jeff Shannon
Reservoir Dogs
Tarantino, Quentin
Arguably the finest movie of its kind, Terminator 2: Judgment Day captured Arnold Schwarzenegger at the very apex of his Hollywood celebrity and James Cameron at the peak of his perfectionist directorial powers. Nothing the star did subsequently measured up to his iconic performance here, spouting legendary catchphrases and wielding weaponry with unparalleled cool; and while the director had an even bigger hit with the bloated and sentimental Titanic, few followers of his career would deny that Cameron's true forte has always been sci-fi action. With an incomparably bigger budget than its 1984 precursor, T2 essentially reworks the original scenario with envelope-stretching special effects and simply more, more, more of everything. Yet, for all its scale, T2 remains at heart a classic sci-fi tale: robots running amok, time travel paradoxes and dystopian future worlds are recurrent genre themes, which are here simply revitalised by Cameron's glorious celebration of the mechanistic. From the V-twin roar of a Harley Fat Boy to the metal-crunching steel mill finale, the director's fascination with machines is this movie's strongest motif: it's no coincidence that the character with whom the audience identifies most strongly is a robot. Now that impressive but unengaging CGI effects have come to over-dominate sci-fi movies (think of The Phantom Menace), T2's pivotal blending of extraordinary live-action stuntwork and FX looks more and more like it will never be equalled. —Mark Walker
Lantana
Lawrence, Ray
Lantana teased its subtle way into the minds of cinemagoers in 2002 with a welcome reminder that nothing succeeds like a well-written, hypnotically acted drama that reflects the humanity, complexity and frailty of its audiences right back at them. Lantana is about betrayal, grief beyond recovery and the tenuous threads by which the most superficially ordinary relationships founder or survive. At the same time, it is quietly and profoundly life-affirming. It is, as producer Jan Chapman suggests during the director's commentary, "a film you have to pay attention to". But it rewards that attention.
Andrew Bovell's economic, absorbing script is based on his original stage play Speaking in Tongues. A series of coincidences creates a network of links between characters with unsettling and often shattering consequences. Like another Australian classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Lantana explores a constantly shifting line between deceit and honesty. It is a psychological mystery in which the land itself claims a life that has nowhere else to go. Director Ray Lawrence draws minutely observed performances from his actors, particularly Anthony LaPaglia as Leon, the Sydney detective in the throes of mid-life crisis, Kerry Armstrong as his wife Sonia and Barbara Hershey as Valerie, the psychologist whose panic finally releases her from an untenable situation. Lantana is engrossing from beginning to end.
On the DVD: Lantana is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, bringing the extraordinary, realistic lighting of the original cinematography to life on the small screen. Paul Kelly's brooding score and the leitmotif of the Salsa songs make huge contributions to an intimate and often raw viewing experience. Apart from the fascinating director's commentary which tellingly reveals that a major Hollywood studio loved the concept but declined the project because the marketing department couldn't work out how to sell it, extras include the requisite making-of documentary, trailers and biographies. —Piers Ford
Gandhi
Attenborough, Richard
Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look at the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas. This is a fine film. —Tom Keogh
Superman - The Movie
Donner, Richard
Modern blockbuster cinema came of age with the release of three huge science fiction/fantasy extravaganzas in the late 1970s. In 1978 Superman was the last of these, a gigantic hit unfairly overshadowed by Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Christopher Reeve is completely convincing as both Superman and mild-mannered alter ego Clarke Kent, sparking real chemistry with Margot Kidder's fellow reporter Lois Lane. Very much a film of two halves, the opening tells the origin of Superman from the apocalyptic fate of Krypton to his nostalgically rendered boyhood in the mid-West. After a wonderful sequence introducing the Fortress of Solitude the film changes gear as the adult Clarke Kent arrives in Metropolis and Superman battles arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). Though the tone becomes lighter and introduces comedy, Superman succeeds because Donner plays the titular character straight. From Marlon Brando's heavyweight cameo to the surprisingly wrenching finale, Superman unfolds as an epic modern myth, a spiritual fable for a secular age and a fantastic entertainment for the young at heart. With breathtaking production design, still special effects, gorgeous cinematography, thrilling set-pieces, wit, romance and John Williams' extraordinarily rich music score, Superman has the power to make you believe a man can fly.
On the DVD: Superman is presented in an extended director's cut which adds eight minutes to the theatrical original. The restored material is so artfully integrated many viewers may not even notice, but it would have been nice to at least have the opportunity to watch the original via seamless branching. The sound has been remixed into extraordinarily powerful Dolby Digital 5.1—the superb main title sequence is worth the price alone—and the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is, except for some unavoidably grainy effects shots, pristine. The commentary by Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz reveals more about the background than all but the most dedicated fan will ever need to know, while film music aficionados will revel in the opportunity to listen to John Williams' score isolated in Dolby Digital 5.1. On the second side of the disc are a eight alternate John Williams music cues, a selection of deleted scenes and the screen tests of a variety of would-be Lois Lanes, introduced and with optional commentary by casting director Lynn Stalmaster. These are fascinating, and show how right for the part Margot Kidder really was. A DVD-ROM only feature presents the storyboards plus various Web features, while the real highlight is a 90-minute documentary divided into three sections covering pre-production, filming and special effects. The picture quality on all the extras is very good indeed. An enthralling package, DVD doesn't get much better than this. —Gary S Dalkin
Before Sunset
Linklater, Richard
In 1994, director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life) made Before Sunrise, a gorgeous poem of a movie about two strangers (played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) wandering around Vienna, talking, and falling in love. Ten years later, Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy have returned with Before Sunset, which reunites the same characters after Hawke has written a book about that night. Delpy appears at the final book reading of his European tour; they have less than two hours before Hawke has to catch a flight to New York...and in that time, they walk around Paris, talk, and fall in love all over again. It sounds simple, perhaps dull, but it's written with such skill and care and acted with such richness that it's a miracle of filmmaking. On its own, Before Sunset is moving and wonderful; seen right after Before Sunrise, it will break your heart. —Bret Fetzer
Slacker
Misery
Reiner, Rob
Based on the chilling bestseller by Stephen King, Misery was brought to the screen by director Rob Reiner as one of the most effective thrillers of the 1990s. From a brilliant adaptation by screenwriter William Goldman, Reiner turned King's cautionary tale of fame and idolatry into a mainstream masterpiece of escalating suspense, translating King's own experience with obsessive fans into a frightening tale of entrapment and psychotic behavior. Kathy Bates deservedly won an Academy Award for her performance as Annie Wilkes, an unbalanced devotee of romance novels written by Paul Sheldon (James Caan), whose books provide Annie with a much-needed escape from her pathetic life and her secret, violent past. After Annie rescues the injured Sheldon from a car accident, she seizes the opportunity to nurse her favorite writer back to health, but her tender loving care soon turns to terrorism as she demands that Sheldon write his latest novel according to her wish-fulfillment fantasies. From this point forward, Misery percolates to a boil as equal parts mystery, thriller, and cleverly dark comedy, with the helpless author pitched in deadly warfare against his number one fan. While Bates carefully modulates her role from doting kindness to sympathetic loneliness and finally to horrifying ferocity, Caan is equally superb as the celebrated author who must literally write for his life. It's essentially a two-actor film, but Richard Farnsworth and Lauren Bacall are excellent in supporting roles as they investigate the writer's mysterious disappearance. Frightening, funny, and totally irresistible, Misery was such a hit that some of Bates's dialogue entered the popular lexicon (particularly her nagging reference to Caan as "Mister Man"), and its nail-biting thrills remain timelessly intense. —Jeff Shannon
Kind Hearts & Coronets
Hamer, Robert
Set in Victorian England, Robert Hamer's 1949 masterpiece Kind Hearts and Coronets remains the most gracefully mordant of Ealing Comedies. Dennis Price plays Louis D'Ascoyne, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose Mother was spurned by her noble family for marrying an Italian singer for love. Louis resolves to murder the several of his relatives ahead of him in line for the Dukedom, all of whom are played by Alec Guinness, in order to avenge his Mother—for, as Louis observes, " revenge is a dish which people of taste prefer to eat cold". He gets away with it, only to be arraigned for the one murder of which he is innocent. Guinness' virtuoso performances have been justly celebrated, ranging as they do from a youthful D'Ascoyne concealing his enthusiasm for public houses from his priggish wife ("she has views on such places") to a brace of doomed uncles and one aunt, ranging from the doddery to the peppery. Miles Malleson is a splendid doggerel-spouting hangman, while Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood take advantage of unusually strong female roles. But the great joy of Kind Hearts and Coronets is the way in which its appallingly black subject matter (considered beyond the pale by many critics at the time) is conveyed in such elegantly ironic turns of phrase by Dennis Price's narrator/anti-hero. Serial murder has never been conducted with such exquisite manners and discreet charm. —David Stubbs
Eddie Murphy Raw
Townsend, Robert
The audacious concert film Eddie Murphy Raw rubbed some people the wrong way upon its release in 1987, but there's no denying that between Murphy's more insensitive bits about women and gay men is some of his most inspired material. While the young comedian indulges an unattractive homophobia and rants about the sexual manipulativeness of all females, he makes up for it with an amazing story about being chided by Bill Cosby for obscene humor and does a great impression of Mr. T falling under the spell of a Jedi mind trick. The best stuff comes deep into the show, particularly a long tale of being pressured into a fight at a club, resulting in a phone call to Murphy's drunk father, the latter in the middle of a verbal attack on his wife. The scene is genuinely horrifying and funny, testament to Murphy's early reputation as heir to Richard Pryor's mercilessly autobiographical brilliance. —Tom Keogh
Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella)
Benigni, Roberto
Italy's rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni accomplishes the impossible in his World War II comedy Life Is Beautiful: he shapes a simultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy out of the tragedy of the Holocaust. An international sensation and the most successful foreign language film in US history, the picture also earned director-cowriter-star Benigni Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor. He plays the Jewish country boy Guido, a madcap romantic in Mussolini's Italy who wins the heart of his sweetheart (Benigni's real-life sweetie, Nicoletta Braschi) and raises a darling son (the adorable Giorgio Cantarini) in the shadow of fascism. When the Nazis ship the men off to a concentration camp in the waning days of the war, Guido is determined to shelter his son from the evils around them and convinces him they're in an elaborate contest to win (of all things) a tank. Guido tirelessly maintains the ruse with comic ingenuity, even as the horrors escalate and the camp's population continues to dwindle—all the more impetus to keep his son safe, secure and, most of all, hidden. Benigni walks a fine line mining comedy from tragedy and his efforts are pure fantasy—he accomplishes feats no man could realistically pull off—both of which have drawn fire from a few critics. Yet for all its wacky humour and inventive gags, Life Is Beautiful is a moving and poignant tale of one father's sacrifice to save not just his young son's life but his innocence in the face of one of the most evil acts ever perpetrated by the human race. —Sean Axmaker
Chinatown
Polanski, Roman
Roman Polanski's brooding film noir exposes the darkest side of the land of sunshine, the Los Angeles of the 1930s, where power is the only currency—and the only real thing worth buying. Jack Nicholson is J J Gittes, a private eye in the Chandler mould, who during a routine straying-spouse investigation finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a jigsaw puzzle of clues and corruption. The glamorous Evelyn Mulwray (a dazzling Faye Dunaway) and her titanic father, Noah Cross (John Huston), are at the black-hole centre of this tale of treachery, incest and political bribery. The crackling, hard-bitten script by Robert Towne won a well-deserved Oscar, and the muted colour cinematography makes the goings-on seem both bleak and impossibly vibrant. Polanski himself has a brief, memorable cameo as the thug who tangles with Nicholson's nose. Chinatown is one of the greatest, most completely satisfying crime films of all time. —Anne Hurley
The Pianist
Polanski, Roman
Based on the extraordinary events of Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman's life, The Pianist gave Roman Polanski the chance to revisit and distil his own experiences living as a Polish Jew during World War II. A long-awaited project for the director, this personal angle has resulted in a deeply affecting film that marks a startling return to form for Polanski.
Szpilman (Adrien Brody) is a pianist recording a recital for a local radio station when bombs drop on Warsaw in 1939, just before the Nazi occupation of the city really begins to take hold. As he and his family are slowly stripped of their rights, they endure the humiliation of being forced to live in a walled ghetto, already overcrowded with the entire Jewish population of Warsaw. In a lucky twist, Szpilman is handed the chance to escape, given that he leaves his family in the ghetto to be inevitably shipped off to concentration camps, becoming a fugitive living in terror and isolation.
Taking a classical and measured approach to structure and style, Polanski's elegant film depicts the brutalities and dehumanising experiences that Szpilman endured without making him a hero; he is more of an observer who is tortured by what he helplessly watches. With the film focusing on events entirely from his experiences yet furnished with very little dialogue, Brody gives a subtle yet powerful performance and the end result is devastating. This is as much a standout film for Polanski as it is for his immensely talented leading man.
On the DVD: The Pianist arrives on disc with a surprisingly sparse amount of extras. Only one is really substantial: "A Story of Survival", a 45-minute making of feature which gives a lot of time to Roman Polanski and his own experiences; both of making the film and relating it to his time spent in the Krakow ghetto during World War II. Adrien Brody also features, talking about his preparation for the role and his experiences working with Polanski on such a personal project. Featuring alongside is footage of the real Warsaw ghetto taken by Nazi soldiers and the photographs used as a basis for some of the film's key scenes. Most poignant are the images of the real Szpilman, who died in 2000, still finding pleasure in playing the piano despite his horrendous past. A photo gallery, trailer, posters and filmographies are perfunctory additions. —Laura Bushell
Wild Bunch
Peckinpah, Sam
Here's how director Sam Peckinpah described his motivation behind The Wild Bunch at the time of the film's 1969 release: "I was trying to tell a simple story about bad men in changing times. The Wild Bunch is simply what happens when killers go to Mexico. The strange thing is you feel a great sense of loss when these killers reach the end of the line." All of these statements are true, but they don't begin to cover the impact that Peckinpah's film had on the evolution of American movies. Now the film is most widely recognized as a milestone event in the escalation of screen violence, but that's a label of limited perspective. Of course, Peckinpah's bloody climactic gunfight became a masterfully directed, photographed, and edited ballet of graphic violence that transcended the conventional Western and moved into a slow-motion realm of pure cinematic intensity. But the film—surely one of the greatest Westerns ever made—is also a richly thematic tale of, as Peckinpah said, "bad men in changing times." The year is 1913 and the fading band of thieves known as the Wild Bunch (led by William Holden as Pike) decide to pull one last job before retirement. But an ambush foils their plans, and Peckinpah's film becomes an epic yet intimate tale of betrayed loyalties, tenacious rivalry, and the bunch's dogged determination to maintain their fading code of honor among thieves. The 144-minute director's cut enhances the theme of male bonding that recurs in many of Peckinpah's films, restoring deleted scenes to deepen the viewer's understanding of the friendship turned rivalry between Pike and his former friend Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), who now leads a posse in pursuit of the bunch, a dimension that adds resonance to an already classic American film. The Wild Bunch is a masterpiece that should not be defined strictly in terms of its violence, but as a story of mythic proportion, brimming with rich characters and dialogue and the bittersweet irony of outlaw traditions on the wane. —Jeff Shannon
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
Raimi, Sam
Writer-director Sam Raimi's extremely stylized, blood-soaked follow-up to his creepy Evil Dead isn't really a sequel; rather, it's a remake on a better budget. It also isn't really a horror film (though there are plenty of decapitations, zombies, supernatural demons, and gore) as much as it is a hilarious, sophisticated slapstick send-up of the terror genre. Raimi takes every horror convention that exists and exaggerates it with mind-blowing special effects, crossed with mocking Three Stooges humour. The plot alone is a genre cliché right out of any number of horror films. Several teens (including our hero, Ash, played by Bruce Campbell in a manic tour-de-force of physical comedy) visit a broken-down cottage in the woods—miles from civilization—find a copy of the Book of the Dead, and unleash supernatural powers that gut every character in sight. All, that is, except Ash, who takes this very personally and spends much of the of the film getting his head smashed while battling the unseen forces. Raimi uses this bare-bones story as a stage to showcase dazzling special effects and eye-popping visuals, including some of the most spectacular point-of-view Steadicam work ever (done by Peter Deming). Although it went unnoticed in the cinemas, the film has since become an influential cult-video favourite, paving the way for over-the-top comic gross-out films like Peter Jackson's Dead Alive.—Dave McCoy
Libanon (Lebanon)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Derrickson, Scott
A surprise hit when it was released in September 2005, The Exorcism of Emily Rose tells a riveting horror story while tackling substantial issues of religious and spiritual belief. It's based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a German student who believed she was possessed by demons, and whose death during an attempted exorcism in 1976 led to the conviction of two priests on charges of negligent manslaughter.
As director and cowriter (with Paul Harris Boardman), filmmaker Scott Derrickson adapts this factual case into a riveting courtroom drama in which questions of faith, and the possibility of demonic possession, take the place of provable facts in the case of Father Moore (superbly played by Tom Wilkinson). A small-town Catholic priest, Moore has been put on trial for the post-exorcism death of Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), a college student who, like her real-life inspiration, believed she was suffering from demonic possession. As an agnostic defense attorney (Laura Linney) argues the father's case against a Methodist prosecutor (Campbell Scott), flashbacks reveal the exorcism ritual and Emily's ultimately fatal ordeal, and Carpenter's performance is so frighteningly effective that it's almost painful to watch.
From here, the film remains deliberately ambiguous, leaving viewers to ponder their own belief (or lack of it) in the supernatural. It lacks the extreme shock value of The Exorcist, but by leaving room for doubt and belief in a legal context, The Exorcism of Emily Rose gains depth and resonance in a way that guarantees similar long-term appeal. —Jeff Shannon
Into the Wild
Penn, Sean
A superb cast and an even-handed treatment of a true story buoy Into the Wild, Sean Penn's screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer's bestselling book. Emile Hirsch stars as Christopher McCandless, scion of a prosperous but troubled family who, after graduating from Atlanta's Emory University in the early 1990s, decides to chuck it all in and become a self-styled "aesthetic voyager" in search of "ultimate freedom." He certainly doesn't do it by halves: after donating his substantial savings account to charity and literally torching the rest of his cash, McCandless changes his name (to "Alexander Supertramp"), abandons his family (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden as his bickering, clueless parents and Jena Malone as his baffled but loving sister, who relates much of the back-story in voice-over), and hits the road, bound for the Alaskan bush and determined not to be found. For the next two years he lives the life of a vagabond, working a few odd jobs, kayaking through the Grand Canyon into Mexico, landing on L.A.'s Skid Row, and turning his back on everyone who tries to befriend him (including Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker as two kindly, middle-aged hippies and Hal Holbrook in a deeply affecting performance as an old widower who tries to take "Alex" under his wing). Penn, who directed and wrote the screenplay, alternates these interludes with scenes depicting McCandless' Alaskan idyll—which soon turns out be not so idyllic after all. Settling into an abandoned school bus, he manages to sustain himself for a while, shooting small game (and one very large moose), reading, and recording his existential musings on paper. But when the harsh realities of life in the wilderness set in, our boy finds himself well out of his depth, not just ill-prepared for the rigors of day to day survival but realising the importance of the very thing he wanted to escape—namely, human relationships. It'd be easy to either idealise McCandless as a genuinely free spirit, unencumbered by the societal strictures that tie the rest of us down, or else dismiss him as a hopelessly callow naïf, a fool whose disdain for practical realities ultimately doomed him. Into the Wild does neither, for the most part telling the tale with an admirable lack of cheap sentiment and leaving us to decide for ourselves. —Sam Graham
Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era una volta il West)
Leone, Sergio
Sergio Leone had to be persuaded to return to the Western for Once Upon a Time in the West after the success of his "Dollars" trilogy. The result is a masterpiece that expands the vision of the earlier movies in every way. It could as easily have been called The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Blonde as Charles Bronson steps into the No-Name role as the harmonica-playing vengeance seeker, Henry Fonda trashes his Wyatt Earp image as a dead-faced, blue-eyed killer who has sold out to the rapacious railroad; Jason Robards provides humanitarian footnotes as a life-loving but doomed bandit and the astonishingly beautiful Claudia Cardinale shows that all these grown-up little boys are less fit to make a country than one determined widow-mother-whore-angel-everywoman. The opening sequence—Woody Strode, Al Mulock and Jack Elam waiting for a train and bothered by a fly and dripping water—is masterful bravura, homing in on tiny details for a fascinating but eventless length of time before Bronson arrives for the lightning-fast shoot-out. With striking widescreen compositions and epic running time, this picture truly wins points for length and width.
On the DVD: Once Upon a Time in the West on disc is the transfer fans have been waiting for: the longest available version of the film in shimmering widescreen (enhanced for 16:9 TVs) which lends full impact to Leone's long shots of Monument Valley scenery or bustling crowds of activity, but also highlights his ultra-close images as Bronson's beady eyes or Cardinale's luscious pout fill the entire screen. A commentary track is mostly by expert Sir Christopher Frayling, with input from other academics, participants and enthusiasts—it's good on the detail, and Alex Cox winningly points out that one scene bizarrely can't be reconciled with what happens before or after it.
Disc 2 has four featurettes which, taken together, add up to a feature-length documentary on the film, and though overlapping the commentary slightly offer a wealth of further good stuff, plus the elegant Cardinale's undiminished smile. Also included is the trailer, notes on the cast, menu screens with generous selections from Ennio Morricone's score, stills gallery, comparison shots from the film and contemporary snapshots of the locations. —Kim Newman
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Leone, Sergio
This two-disc Special Edition presents the restored, extended English-language version of Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, now clocking in at almost three hours (actually 171 minutes on this Region 2 DVD as a result of the faster frames-per-second ratio of the PAL format). It includes some 14 minutes of previously cut scenes, with both Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach returning to the editing suite in 2003 to add their voices to scenes that had never before been dubbed into English (Wallach's voice is noticeably that of a much older man in these additional sequences). The extra material contains nothing of vital importance, but it's good to have the movie returned to pretty much the way Leone originally wanted it. The anamorphic widescreen picture is now also accompanied by a handsome Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, making this the most complete and satisfactory version so far released.
Film historian Richard Schickel provides an authoritative and engaging commentary on Disc 1. On the second disc there are featurettes on Leone's West (20 mins), The Leone Style (24 mins), Reconstructing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (11 mins) and a documentary about the historical background of the Sibley campaign, The Man Who Lost the Civil War (15 mins). In addition, there's a two-part appreciation of composer Ennio Morricone, Il Maestro, by film-music expert John Burlinghame. Tuco's extended torture scene can be found here, along with a reconstruction of the fragmentary "Socorro Sequence". In short, exemplary bonus features that will satisfy every Leone aficionado. —Mark Walker
A Fistful Of Dynamite
A Fistful Of Dollars
Leone, Sergio
A Fistful of Dollars launched the spaghetti Western and catapulted Clint Eastwood to stardom. Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai picture Yojimbo, it scored a resounding success (in Italy in 1964 and the U.S. in 1967), as did its sequels, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The advertising campaign promoted Eastwood's character—laconic, amoral, dangerous—as the Man with No Name (though in the film he's clearly referred to as Joe), and audiences loved the movie's refreshing new take on the Western genre. Gone are the pieties about making the streets safe for women and children. Instead it's every man for himself. Striking, too, was a new emphasis on violence, with stylized, almost balletic gunfights and baroque touches such as Eastwood's armoured breastplate. The Dollars films had a marked influence on the Hollywood Western—for example, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch—but their most enduring legacy is Clint Eastwood himself. —Edward Buscombe
For A Few Dollars More
Leone, Sergio
12 Angry Men
Lumet, Sidney
Sidney Lumet's directorial debut Twelve Angry Men remains a tense, atmospheric (though slightly manipulative and stagey) courtroom thriller, in which the viewer never sees a trial and the only action is verbal. As he does in his later corruption commentaries such as Serpico or Q & A, Lumet focuses on the lonely one-man battles of a protagonist whose ethics alienate him from the rest of jaded society. As the film opens, the seemingly open-and-shut trial of a young Puerto Rican accused of murdering his father with a knife has just concluded and the 12-man jury retires to their microscopic, sweltering quarters to decide the verdict. When the votes are counted, 11 men rule guilty, while one—played by Henry Fonda, again typecast as another liberal, truth-seeking hero—doubts the obvious. Stressing the idea of "reasonable doubt", Fonda slowly chips away at the jury, who represent a microcosm of white, male society—exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. The tight script by Reginald Rose (based on his own teleplay) presents each juror vividly using detailed soliloquies, all which are expertly performed by the film's flawless cast. Still, it's Lumet's claustrophobic direction—all sweaty close-ups and cramped compositions within a one-room setting—that really transforms this contrived story into an explosive and compelling nail-biter. —Dave McCoy, Amazon.com
Network
Lumet, Sidney
Media madness reigns supreme in screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's scathing satire about the uses and abuses of network television. But while Chayefsky's and director Sidney Lumet's take on television may seem quaint in the age of "reality TV" and Jerry Springer's talk-show fisticuffs, Network is every bit as potent now as it was when the film was released in 1976. And because Chayefsky was one of the greatest of all dramatists, his Oscar-winning script about the ratings frenzy at the cost of cultural integrity is a showcase for powerhouse acting by Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight (who each won Oscars), and Oscar nominee William Holden in one of his finest roles. Finch plays a veteran network anchorman who's been fired because of low ratings. His character's response is to announce he'll kill himself on live television two weeks hence. What follows, along with skyrocketing ratings, is the anchorman's descent into insanity, during which he fervently rages against the medium that made him a celebrity. Dunaway plays the frigid, ratings-obsessed producer who pursues success with cold-blooded zeal; Holden is the married executive who tries to thaw her out during his own seething midlife crisis. Through it all, Chayefsky (via Finch) urges the viewer to repeat the now-famous mantra "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" to reclaim our humanity from the medium that threatens to steal it away. —Jeff Shannon
Dog Day Afternoon
Lumet, Sidney
A gripping true crime yarn, a juicy slice of overheated New York atmosphere and a splendid showcase for its young actors, Dog Day Afternoon is a minor classic of the 1970s. The opening montage of New York street life (set to Elton John's lazy "Amoreena") establishes the oppressive mood of a scorching afternoon in the city with such immediacy that you can almost smell the garbage baking in the sun and the water from the hydrants evaporating from the sizzling pavement. Al Pacino plays Sonny, who, along with his rather slow-witted accomplice Sal (John Cazale, familiar as Pacino's Godfather brother Fredo), holds hostages after a botched a bank robbery. Sonny finds himself transformed into a rebel celebrity when his standoff with police (including lead negotiator Charles Durning) is covered live on local television. The movie doesn't appear to be about anything in particular, but it really conveys the feel of wild and unpredictable events unfolding before your eyes, and the whole picture is so convincing and involving that you're glued to the screen. An Oscar winner for original screenplay, Dog Day Afternoon was also nominated for best picture, actor, supporting actor (Chris Sarandon, as a surprise figure from Sonny's past), editing, and director (Sidney Lumet of Serpico, Prince of the City, The Verdict and Running on Empty). —Jim Emerson
Somewhere
Coppola, Sofia
Director Sofia Coppola's career to date exemplifies the adage to "write what you know." For her fourth feature, Francis Ford Coppola's youngest child focuses on a famous man and his daughter. Actor Johnny Marco (a surprisingly poignant Stephen Dorff) stays in Tinseltown's Chateau Marmont while promoting his latest picture. When he isn't attending press junkets, he smokes, sleeps around, and hires blonde twins who pole-dance for his entertainment (they bring their own collapsible poles). At a party, he gets so drunk he falls and breaks his wrist. Into this adult scenario, his ex-wife drops off 11-year-old Cleo (Elle Fanning) for a visit. Despite the state of suspended adolescence in which he drifts, Johnny gets a kick out of this well-behaved kid, who skates like a champ and cooks like a pro. If Cleo doesn't quite worship her delinquent dad, she enjoys his company, but when Johnny finds out her mother needs to "take some time off," he must examine a life in which mind-numbing routine takes precedence over purpose. Somewhere represents Coppola's third film about a famous figure, after Marie Antoinette, and her second about a movie star, after Lost in Translation. Johnny shares Bob's frustration with a system that treats him more like a cog in the machine than a human being. Coppola conveys his frustration best when Johnny gets fitted for an old-age mask—a remarkable sequence in which Dorff looks like a plaster monster devoid of eyes and mouth, just two holes through which to breathe. —Kathleen C. Fennessy
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
Kubrick, Stanley
Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made, Stanley Kubrick's cold war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, to give it its full title, is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity, beginning when General Jack D Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids", mounts his singular campaign against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the Soviet Union. The Soviets counter the threat with a so-called "Doomsday Device," and the world hangs in the balance while the US president (Peter Sellers) engages in hilarious hot-line negotiations with his Soviet counterpart. Sellers also plays a British military attaché and the mad scientist Dr Strangelove; George C Scott is outrageously frantic as General Buck Turgidson, whose presidential advice consists mainly of panic and statistics about "acceptable losses". With dialogue ("You can't fight here! This is the war room!") and images (Slim Pickens's character riding the bomb to oblivion) that have become a part of our cultural vocabulary, Kubrick's film regularly appears on critics' lists of the all-time best. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
The Killers Kiss (Il Bacio Dell'Assassino)
Kubrick, Stanley
An exercise in film noir fairytale, 1955's Killer's Kiss was Stanley Kubrick's second feature film (he had the first buried forever) and shows just how powerful a filmmaker he was right out of the gate. Followers of Kubrick's career will note the appearance of themes and images that recurred (a final axe-fight in a warehouse full of disembodied mannequin parts would not be out of place in The Shining), but this is also notably unlike later Kubrick films in its use of authentic locations and its 65-minute running time.
The plot is a tiny anecdote about a washed-up boxer (Jamie Smith), a dance hall dame (Irene Kane) and a slimy hood (Frank Silvera) during one crowded weekend of brutality and romance.
There's a sense of a young director playing games: the boxing match (a definite influence on Raging Bull) is all low-angle close-ups and subjective shots with plenty of thump and dazzle, and the traditional Expressionist look of noir is exaggerated with many a tricky shot or doomy plot twist. The three unfamiliar leads are all excellent as small-timers struggling with big passions, and there is already a potent use of raucous source music and subtle sound design to augment the stark, haunted black and white imagery.
On the DVD Killer's Kiss on disc features no extras other than a blaring trailer ("a picture as brazen as the naked lights of Broadway, as hard as the New York streets in which it was shot!"). The black and white picture is 4:3, and comes with soundtracks in English, German, Italian and Spanish; subtitles in English, German, Italian, French, Dutch and Spanish. —Kim Newman
The Killing (L'ultime Razzia)
Kubrick, Stanley
Among Stanley Kubrick's early film output The Killing stands out as the most lastingly influential: Quentin Tarantino credits the film as a huge inspiration for Reservoir Dogs and just about any movie or TV show that plays around with its own internal chronology owes the same debt. This sort of convoluted crime caper had really kicked off with John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle in 1950. From then on, nouveau noir scripts kept trying to find new ways of telling very similar stories. Here the novel Clean Break is adapted for the screen in a jigsaw-puzzle structure that caught Kubrick's eye. With a dry narration we're introduced to the key players in a racetrack heist as it's being planned, but the story bounces back and forth between what happens to each of them during and before the big event. All of this keeps the audience guessing as to exactly how it will go wrong, while the downbeat telling, the unsympathetic characters and the excessively dramatic score clearly foretell that it will go wrong from the start. The denouement is comically daft no matter how many times you see it.
On the DVD: The Killing is a no-frills DVD transfer, in 4:3 ratio and with its original mono soundtrack. Criminally, just one trailer is all that's been dug up as an extra. —Paul Tonks
Paths Of Glory
Kubrick, Stanley
The pity of war has been a much-favoured film topic; the treachery of war much less so, though never more persuasively than in Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick's breakthrough feature from 1957. Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest screen performances as Colonel Dax, the idealistic First World War soldier appalled by the arbitrary court-marshal meted out to three of his men after an impossible attempt to storm German lines goes disastrously wrong. George Macready is an utterly believable Gerneral Mireau, obsessed with his own honour and standing, whom Adolphe Majou complements tellingly as the urbane and cynical General Bruler. Those who know Kubrick from his later sprawling epics will be surprised at the tautness and concision shown here, even though the screenplay—which he co-wrote—has a certain theatrical stiffness.
On the DVD: Paths of Glory on disc reproduces well in full-screen format, and Gerald Fried's bitingly ironic score comes through powerfully. There are five dubbed and six subtitled languages. The original trailer is a masterpiece of gritty reportage, well worth reviving. Along with Dr Strangelove and 2001, this is Kubrick's most focussed and durable film. —Richard Whitehouse
2001: A Space Odyssey
Kubrick, Stanley
Confirming that art and commerce can co-exist, 2001: A Space Odyssey was the biggest box-office hit of 1968, remains the greatest science fiction film yet made and is among the most revolutionary, challenging and debated work of the 20th century. It begins within a pre-historic age. A black monolith uplifts the intelligence of a group of apes on the African plains. The most famous edit in cinema introduces the 21st century, and after a second monolith is found on the moon a mission is launched to Jupiter. On the spacecraft are Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Poole (Gary Lockwood), along with the most famous computer in fiction, HAL. Their adventure will be, as per the original title, a "journey beyond the stars". Written by science fiction visionary Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, 2001 elevated the SF film to entirely new levels, being rigorously constructed with a story on the most epic of scales. Four years in the making and filmed in 70 mm, the attention to detail is staggering and four decades later barely any aspect of the film looks dated, the visual richness and elegant pacing creating the sense of actually being in space more convincingly than any other film. A sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two (1984) followed, while Solaris (1972), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Abyss (1989) and A.I. (2001) are all indebted to this absolute classic which towers monolithically over them all.
On the DVD: There is nothing but the original trailer which, given the status of the film and the existence of an excellent making-of documentary shown on Channel 4 in 2001, is particularly disappointing. Shortly before he died Kubrick supervised the restoration of the film and the production of new 70 mm prints for theatrical release in 2001. Fortunately the DVD has been taken from this material and transferred at the 70 mm ratio of 2.21-1. There is some slight cropping noticeable, but both anamorphically enhanced image and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (the film was originally released with a six-channel magnetic sound) are excellent, making this transfer infinitely preferable to previous video incarnations. —Gary S Dalkin
2001: A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray]
Kubrick, Stanley
Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Leonard RossiterDirector: Stanley Kubrick
Interview
Buscemi, Steve
After directing three films and an Emmy-winning episode of The Sopranos, Steve Buscemi turned to Holland—specifically to the work of Theo van Gogh. Before his 2004 murder by an Islamic extremist, the Dutch filmmaker (and Vincent van Gogh descendent) was planning an English-language version of his 2003 Interview—even considering Madonna for the Katja Schuurman role. In Buscemi's reconfiguration, the actor plays jaded journalist Pierre. Once a war correspondent, he now takes any gig he can get. When his editor assigns him an interview with tabloid fixture Katya (Sienna Miller, doing her finest work to date), Pierre grudgingly acquiesces. Their first meeting in a restaurant is a bust. But through a chance second encounter, they continue their verbal volly in her roomy Manhattan loft, where Pierre discovers that Katya is sharper than her image suggests, and she learns about his tragic past. They flirt, fight, kiss, and cry. By the end it becomes clear that one of them isn't being completely honest. As an acting exercise, Interview gets the job done, and Miller’s American accent is especially convincing. As a story, it's less satisfying, not because of the minimal cast or stage-like setting—My Dinner With André made a virtue out of similar limitations—but because the opponents aren't evenly matched. They're also less agreeable than Louis Malle's dining companions. Interview is first in a trio of van Gogh adaptations, with Stanley Tucci attached to Blind Date and John Turturro to 1-900. —Kathleen C. Fennessy
Secretary
Shainberg, Steven
Secretary is a kinky love story featuring a standout performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal, an offbeat young actress in her first starring role. Gyllenhaal plays Lee, a nervous girl who compulsively cuts herself, but who then gets a job as a secretary for Edward, an imperious lawyer (James Spader, an old hand at tales of perverse affection). Edward's reprimands for typos and spelling errors begin with mild humiliation, but as Lee responds to his orders—which are driven as much by his own anxieties and fears as any sense of order—the punishments escalate to spankings, shackles and more.
Secretary walks a fine line: it finds sly humour in these sadomasochistic doings without turning them into a gag and it takes Lee and Edward's mutual desires seriously without getting self-righteous or pompous. Certainly not a movie for everyone, but some people may be unexpectedly stirred up by this smart and steamy tale of repressed passion. —Bret Fetzer
Sex, Lies and Videotape
Soderbergh, Steven
Steven Soderbergh made a striking directorial debut with 1989's Sex, Lies and Videotape, a film that's intimate yet alienated, objective yet intense. James Spader is at one with the part of friendly yet distant Graham, returning to his home town for a reunion with school friend and now up-and-coming lawyer, John, and his sexually frustrated wife, Ann. The "special project" that Graham keeps close to his chest in his apartment gradually draws in the others, turning their emotional lives upside down and providing the catharsis that they sorely need.
Soderbergh keeps the pacing taut, encouraging an ensemble-like interplay that evokes a theatre piece perfectly remade for film. Andie MacDowell gives one of her most convincing screen portrayals as Ann, with Peter Gallagher cynically self-righteous as John. Laura San Giacomo proves choice casting as nymphet sibling Cynthia. Cliff Martinez's sultry ambient score adds much to the aura of mystery and intrigue.
On the DVD: Sex, Lies and Videotape's widescreen picture format captures much of the movie's claustrophobic tension. There are overdubs in five European languages and subtitles in 13 languages, but no other special features—not even the original theatrical trailer—which is a pity. Soderbergh is among the most inventive directors at work today, so a commentary would have been a welcome enhancement. Even so, this DVD reissue reinforces the claims of an absorbing and disturbing indie masterpiece. —Richard Whitehouse
Kafka
Soderbergh, Steven
Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Steve Soderbergh did a 180 degree turnaround from his debut film sex, lies, and videotape with Kafka, a stark art-film fable for literature majors. Jeremy Irons plays a fictional Franz Kafka, living in Prague in 1919. By day, Kafka works in a massive, impersonal insurance company. At night, he spends his time alone writing stories about men who turn into giant cockroaches. Although quiet and solitary, he becomes a suspect in a murder investigation conducted by Inspector Grubach (Armin Mueller-Stahl) when a friend of his turns up dead. Rather than being harassed by Grubach, Kafka decides to investigate his friend's murder on his own. Kafka speaks to his dead friend's girlfriend, Gabriela (Theresa Russell) and talks with gravestone carver Bizzlebek (Jeroen Krabbe). Kafka follows the clues to the Castle, a menacing tower that casts its shadow over the city and houses files on everything. He winds his way through the cellars and tunnels of the Castle, where he encounters the evil and insidious Dr. Murnau (Ian Holm), whom he hopes holds the solution to the murder.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Spielberg, Steven
Released in 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was that year's cerebral alternative to Star Wars. It's arguably the archetypal Spielberg film, featuring a fantasy-meets-reality storyline (to be developed further in E.T.), a misunderstood Everyman character (Richard Dreyfuss), apparently hostile government agents (long before The X-Files), a sense of childlike awe in the face of the otherworldly, and a sweeping feel for epic film-making learned from the classic school of David Lean. Contributing to the film's overall success are the Oscar-winning cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond, Douglas Trumbull's lavish effects and an extraordinary score from John Williams that develops from eerie atonality à la Ligeti to the gorgeous sentiment of "When You Wish Upon a Star" over the end credits.
Not content with the final result, Spielberg tinkered with the editing and inserted some new scenes to make a "Special Edition" in 1980 which ran three minutes shorter than the original, then made further revisions to create a slightly longer "Collector's Edition" in 1998. This later version deletes the mothership interior scenes that were inserted in the "Special Edition" and restores the original ending.
On the DVD: CE3K is packaged here with confusing documentation that fails to make clear any differences between earlier versions of the film and this "Collector's Edition"—worse, the back cover blurb misleadingly implies that this disc is the 1980 "Special Edition" edit. It is not. A gorgeous anamorphic widescreen print of Spielberg's 1998 "Collector's Edition" edit occupies the first disc: this is the version with the original theatrical ending restored but new scenes from the "Special Edition" retained.
The second disc rounds up sundry deleted scenes that were either dropped from the original version or never made it into the film at all—fans of the "Special Edition" can find the mothership interior sequence here. The excellent "making-of" documentary dates from 1997 and has interviews with almost everyone involved, including the director speaking from the set of Saving Private Ryan. Thankfully the superb picture and sound of the feature make this set entirely compelling and more than compensate for the inadequate packaging. —Mark Walker
3 Days of the Condor
Pollack, Sydney
audio : english subtitles : dutch / danish / finnish / swedish / norwegian
They Shoot Horses Don't They?
Pollack, Sydney
Vil du se min smukke navle?
Kragh-Jacobsen, Søren
Zatoichi
Kitano, Takeshi
Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, the Japanese actor-director best known in the US for his quirky, ulraviolent gangster movies (Fireworks, Brother, Sonatine) and in the UK (among satellite and cable viewers, at least) for the bizarre It's a Knockout-meets-Endurance gameshow Takeshi's Castle, applies his off-kilter sensibility to the samurai genre in The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi. A blind masseur (Kitano with his hair dyed white) wanders into a small town divided up by rival gangs. Though hunched and shuffling, Zatoichi soon reveals his deadly skills as a swordsman. He befriends a pair of geisha girls with secrets of their own and helps them hunt down the bandits who killed their parents. But one of the gangs has just hired a ronin, a masterless samurai, whose fighting skill may equal the blind swordsman's.
Zatoichi mixes a melodramatic storyline, deadpan comedy, and dazzling, CGI-enhanced swordfights into a supremely entertaining package. In Japan, Zatoichi is a recurring character in popular action movies, but Kitano places his own unique stamp on the series. —Bret Fetzer
Gjest Baardsen
Days Of Heaven
Malick, Terrence
Originally shown on the big screen in glorious 70 mm, Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven is an aesthetically flawless eye-catching period piece that won its cinematographer, Néstor Almendros, an Oscar. Texture and colour are the unbilled characters in this tragic tale, and are just as important as the players. Richard Gere works in a Chicago steel mill at the turn of the 19th century, but must flee the city after accidentally killing a man. Heading for the wheat fields of Texas, he packs up his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) and his younger sister (Linda Manz). Instead of a better life, they head straight into tragedy when a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard) falls for Adams. Believing him to be dying and expecting to inherit a fortune, she agrees to marry him. Their plans change when Shepard fails to die and Gere takes matters into his own hands. The story, sadly, fades somewhat when compared to the glory of the visuals. —Rochelle O'Gorman
The New World
Malick, Terrence
The legend of Pocahontas and John Smith receives a luminous and essential retelling by maverick filmmaker Terrence Malick. The facts of Virginia's first white settlers, circa 1607, have been told for eons and fortified by Disney's animated films: explorer Smith (Colin Farrell) and the Native American princess (newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher) bond when the two cultures meet, a flashpoint of curiosity and war lapping interchangeably at the shores of the new continent. Malick, who took a twenty year break between his second and third films (Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line), is a master of film poetry; the film washes over you, with minimal dialogue (you see characters speak on camera for less than a quarter of the film).
The rest of the words are a stream-of-consciousness narration—a technique Malick has used before but never to such degree, creating a movie you feel more than watch. The film's beauty (shot in Virginia by Emmanuel Lubezki) and production design (by Jack Fisk) seems very organic, and in fact, organic is a great label for the movie as a whole, from the dreadful conditions of early Jamestown (it makes you wonder why Englishman would want to live there) to the luminescent love story. Malick is blessed with a cast that includes Wes Studi, August Schellenberg, Christopher Plummer, and Christian Bale (who, curiously, was also in the Disney production). Fourteen-year-old Kilcher, the soul of the film, is an amazing find, and Farrell, so often tagged as the next big thing, delivers his first exceptional performance since his stunning debut in Tigerland. James Horner provides a fine score, but is overshadowed by a Mozart concerto and a recurring prelude from Wagner's Das Rheingold, a scrumptious weaving of horns fit to fuel the gentle intoxication of this film. Note: the film was initially 150 minutes, and then trimmed to 135 by Malick before the regular theatrical run. It was also the first film shot in 65mm since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. —Doug Thomas
Hotel Rwanda
George, Terry
Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George (Some Mother's Son) brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Brazil
Gilliam, Terry
If Franz Kafka had been an animator and film director—oh, and a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus—this is the sort of outrageously dystopian satire one could easily imagine him making. However, Brazil was made by Terry Gilliam, who is all of the above except, of course, Franz Kafka. Be that as it may, Gilliam sure captures the paranoid-subversive spirit of Kafka's The Trial (along with his own Python animation) in this bureaucratic nightmare-comedy about a meek governmental clerk named Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) whose life is destroyed by a simple bug. Not a software bug, a real bug (no doubt related to Kafka's famous Metamorphosis insect) that gets smooshed in a printer and causes a typographical error unjustly identifying an innocent citizen, one Mr. Buttle, as suspected terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro). When Sam becomes enmeshed in unravelling this bureaucratic glitch, he himself winds up labelled as a miscreant.
The movie presents such an unrelentingly imaginative and savage vision of 20th-century bureaucracy that it almost became a victim of small-minded studio management itself—until Gilliam surreptitiously screened his cut for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, who named it the best movie of 1985 and virtually embarrassed Universal into releasing it. —Jim Emerson
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Gilliam, Terry, Jones, Terry
The second best comedy ever made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail must give precedence only to the same team's masterpiece, The Life of Brian (1979). Even though most of this film's set-pieces are now indelibly inscribed in every Python fan's psyche, as if by magic they never seem to pall. And they remain endlessly, joyfully quotable: from the Black Knight ("It's just a flesh wound"), to the constitutional peasants ("Come and see the violence inherent in the system!") and the taunting French soldier ("Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"). Not forgetting of course the migratory habits of European and African swallows...
The film's mock-Arthurian narrative provides a sturdy framework for the jokes, and the authentic-looking production design is relentlessly and gloriously dirty. The miniscule budget turns out to be one of the film's greatest assets: Can't afford horses? Use coconuts instead. No money for special effects? Let Terry Gilliam animate. And so on, from Camelot ("it's only a model") to the rampaging killer rabbit glove puppet. True it's let down a little by a rushed ending, and the jokes lack the sting of Life of Brian's sharply observed satire, but Holy Grail is still timeless comedy that's surely destined for immortality.
On the DVD: Disc One contains a digitally remastered anamorphic (16:9) print of the film—which is still a little grainy, but a big improvement on previous video releases—with a splendidly remixed Dolby 5.1 soundtrack (plus an added 24 seconds of self-referential humour "absolutely free"!). There are two commentaries, one with the two Terrys, co-directors Jones and Gilliam, the other a splicing together of three separate commentaries by Michael Palin, John Cleese (in waspish, nit-picking mood) and Eric Idle. A "Follow the Killer Rabbit" feature provides access either to the Accountant's invoices or Gilliam's conceptual sketches. Subtitle options allow you to read the screenplay or watch with spookily appropriate captions from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II.
The second disc has lots more material, much of it very silly and inconsequential (an educational film on coconuts, the Camelot song in Lego and so on), plus a long-ish documentary from 2001 in which Palin and Jones revisit Doune Castle, Glencoe and other Scottish locations. Perhaps best of all, though, are the two scenes from the Japanese version with English subtitles, in which we see the search for the Holy sake cup, and the Ni-saying Knights who want... bonsai! —Mark Walker
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Hughes, Terry, MacNaughton, Ian
Released for the first time on DVD, Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl presents some of the Python lads' finest, funniest (and foulest) work. Cut from their four night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in 1980, this DVD is jam-packed with sketches, songs and a host of their finest gags from their TV series.
Numbers include the sexually confused lumberjack, the Ministry of Silly Walks, the Argument Clinic and the exploding balladeer. Some of the group's funnier short-film pieces are featured as well, including the International Philosophy Match (Germany vs. Greece) and Terry Gilliam's animated pieces. Monty Python aficionados will enjoy seeing the lads do their thing for a live crowd, and there's a fantastic rapport with the audience. The sketches are looser and less hermetic than those in the Monty Python TV shows or films. Aside from the unusual setting, there's nothing particularly revelatory about Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl... But for Python fans and fanatics—and they are legion—this won't matter a jot. —Nick Poppy
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Jones, Terry
There is not a single joke, sight-gag or one-liner in Monty Python's Life of Brian that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but—extraordinarily—almost every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse. Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world—instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life.
On the DVD: Life of Brian returns to Region 2 DVD in a decent widescreen anamorphic print with Dolby 5.1 sound—neither are exactly revelatory, but at least it's an improvement on the previous release, which was, shockingly, pan & scan. The 50-minute BBC documentary, "The Pythons", was filmed mainly on location in 1979 and isn't especially remarkable or insightful (a new retrospective would have been appreciated). There are trailers for this movie, as well as Holy Grail plus three other non-Python movies. There's no commentary track, sadly. —Mark Walker
Adam's Apples (Adams æbler)
Pretty As a Picture: Art of David Lynch
Keeler, Toby
Freaks
Browning, Tod
One of the most famous, most shocking and, for much of its existence, most elusive of cult films, Tod Browning's Freaks remains worthy of its dubious top billing by literary critic Leslie Fiedler as the greatest of all Freak movies. At the centre of the story are two circus midgets, Hans and Frieda (already well known in the 1930s through film and advertising appearances as Harry and Daisy Earles), whose marriage plans are blasted when Hans becomes the target of the aerialist Cleopatra's plot to marry him then kill him off for his money. During what is certainly one of the most notorious scenes in cult film history, the wedding party of freaks ritually embrace Cleopatra as one of us. Through her undisguised horror at this and her gruesome punishment by the freaks, the film bluntly confronts viewers about our awkwardness about different bodies while simultaneously stirring up fear and alarm in familiar horror-movie style. Better known for the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula (1931), Brownings showmanship was equally a product of the circus (he was himself an adolescent contortionist in a travelling show). His meshing of circus and cinema—two dangerous entertainments—produces Freaks' uniquely disquieting effect.
Startled and indignant preview audiences forced the producers to add an explanatory foreword to the film but even this crackles with sensationalism as it veers between sideshow-style sympathy and fright warning. None the less, protests and local censorship ensued and the film never reached the mass audience for which it was made. Still, some of the real stars of the midway Ten-in-One shows of the 1920s and 30s (Johnny Eck, Daisy and Violet Hilton the Siamese twins, Prince Randian, the Hindu Living Torso) are showcased here as themselves and it is their undeniably real presence in what is otherwise familiar fictional terrain which is still so provocative. —Helen Stoddart
Happiness
Solondz, Todd
At times brilliant and insightful, at times repellent and false, Happiness is director Todd Solondz's multi-story tale of sex, perversion and loneliness. Plumbing depths of Crumb-like angst and rejection, Solondz won the Cannes International Critics Prize in 1998 and the film was a staple of nearly every critic's Top 10 list. Admirable, shocking, and hilarious for its sarcastic yet strangely empathetic look at consenting adults' confusion between lust and love, the film stares unflinchingly until the audience blinks. But it doesn't stop there. A word of strong caution to parents: One of the main characters, a suburban super dad (played by Dylan Baker), is really a predatory paedophile and there is more than an attempt to paint him as a sympathetic character. Children are used in this film as running gags or, worse, the means to an end. Whether that end is a humorous scene for Solondz or sexual gratification for the rapist becomes largely irrelevant. Happiness is an intelligent, sad film, revelatory and exact at moments. It's also abuse in the guise of art. That's nothing to celebrate. —Keith Simanton
Red Dust
Run Lola Run
Tykwer, Tom
It's difficult to create a film that's fast paced, exciting and aesthetically appealing without diluting its dialogue. Run Lola Run, directed and written by Tom Tykwer, is an enchanting balance of pace and narrative, creating a universal parable that leaps over cultural barriers. This is the story of young Lola (Franka Potente) and her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). In the space of 20 minutes, they must come up with 100,000 deutsche marks to pay back a seedy gangster, who will be less than forgiving when he finds out that Manni incompetently lost his cash to an opportunistic vagrant. Lola, confronted with one obstacle after another, rides an emotional roller coaster in her high-speed efforts to help the hapless Manni—attempting to extract the cash first from her double-dealing father (appropriately a bank manager), and then by any means necessary. From this point nothing goes right for either protagonist, but just when you think you've figured out the movie, the director introduces a series of brilliant existential twists that boggle the mind. Tykwer uses rapid camera movements and innovative pauses to explore the theme of cause and effect. Accompanied by a pulse-pounding soundtrack, we follow Lola through every turn and every heartbreak as she and Manni rush forward on a collision course with fate. There were a variety of original and intelligent films released in 1999, but perhaps none were as witty and clever as this little gem—one of the best foreign films of the year. —Jeremy Storey, Amazon.com
Winter Sleepers
Gåten Kaspar Hauser (Enigma of Kaspar Hauser)
Herzog, Werner
Cobra Verde
Herzog, Werner
Australia released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN, SPECIAL FEATURES: Biographies, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Director Werner Herzog, as usual, has spared no one — especially himself — in bringing this story of 19th-century African slave trading to the screen. Klaus Kinski plays an enterprising young Brazilian who after impregnating the three daughters of his plantation-owning employer, is sent to West Africa to round up slaves. Kinski goes to great lengths to befriend the very people he hopes to enslave and he eventually manages to overthrow a mad monarch and set himself up as king. As the years pass, Kinski grows wealthy — and careless. However, despite enslaving the tribe, he does show some signs of humanitarian benevolence. Though the title translates literally as Green Cobra, Cobra Verde was released in the U.S. as Slave Coast.
Fitzcarraldo
Herzog, Werner
Werner Herzog's lengthy 1982 fever dream is typical of the director's passion for boundless experience: the story concerns the title character's determination to open a shipping route over the Amazon as well as build an opera house (worthy of Caruso) at a river trading post. Klaus Kinski (star of Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God) plays the visionary/madman with a spooky dignity, and Herzog—as always—thrills to the mystic possibilities of filming where no one else would even think of placing a camera. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Little Dieter Needs To Fly
Herzog, Werner
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
Herzog, Werner
Rushmore
Anderson, Wes
Wes Anderson's follow-up to the quirky Bottle Rocket is a wonderfully unorthodox coming-of-age story that ranks with Harold and Maude and The Graduate in the pantheon of timeless cult classics. Jason Schwartzman (son of Talia Shire and nephew of Francis Coppola) stars as Max Fisher, a 15-year-old attending the prestigious Rushmore Academy on scholarship, where he's failing all of his classes but is the superstar of the school's extracurricular activities (head of the drama club, the beekeeper club, the fencing club...). Possessing boundless confidence and chutzpah, as well as an aura of authority he seems to have been born with, Max finds two unlikely soulmates in his permutations at Rushmore: industrial magnate and Rushmore alumnus Herman Blume (Bill Murray) and first-grade teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). His alliance with Blume and crush on Miss Cross, however, are thrown out of kilter by his expulsion from Rushmore, and a budding romance between the two adults that threatens Max's own designs on the lovely schoolteacher.
Never stooping to sentimentality or schmaltz, Anderson and cowriter Owen Wilson have fashioned a wickedly intelligent and wildly funny tale of young adulthood that hits all the right notes in its mix of melancholy and optimism. As played by Schwartzman, Max is both immediately endearing and ferociously irritating: smarter than all the adults around him, with little sense of his shortcomings, he's an unstoppable dynamo who commands grudging respect despite his outlandish projects (including a school play about Vietnam). Murray, as the tycoon who determinedly wages war with Max for the affections of Miss Cross, is a revelation of middle-aged resignation. Disgusted with his family, his life, and himself, he's turned around by both Max's antagonism and Miss Cross's love. Williams is equally affecting as the teacher who still carries a torch for her dead husband, and the superb supporting cast also includes Seymour Cassel as Max's barber father, Brian Cox as the frustrated headmaster of Rushmore, and a hilarious Mason Gamble as Max's young charge. Put this one on your shelf of modern masterpieces. —Mark Englehart
Atanarjuat - The Fast Runner
Kunuk, Zacharias
The Fast Runner turns the frozen landscape of northern Canada into the stage for an adventure as sweeping as The Odyssey or Beowulf. Adapted from an Inuit legend, The Fast Runner centres on Atanarjuat, a charismatic young hunter struggling for the affections of Atuat, who has already been promised to Oki, the son of the camp's leader. When Atuat chooses Atanarjuat, Oki seems to accept it, but later events turn his anger and hatred into a murderous spite. This story, as passionate and primal as any film noir, is framed by the daily lives of the Inuit—a struggle for survival that is both simple and vivid, foreign yet immediately understandable. No one in the cast is a professional actor, but the performances are direct and compelling, telling a story that is epic and intimate. —Bret Fetzer
Lila Says (Lila dit ça)
Doueiri, Ziad
| Deliverance |
Formula 1 - On which racetrack was the World Champion Jim Clark killed? | A~Z : The A to Z of MOViES on Australian TV ~ Television
Dallas (1950) Western. Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman
A Dangerous Profession (1949) Drama. Pat O’Brien, George Raft. (PG) (B&W)
A Date with the Falcon (1942) A scientist, who has perfected the process of making synthetic diamonds, is kidnapped, and his twin brother takes his place. Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Mona Maris, Frank Moran, Ed Gargan [USA | Violence]
Dave (1993) Romantic Comedy. Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver.
Dazed and Confused (1993) Comedy. Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey
Death in Venice (1971) Drama. Dirk Bogarde, Björn Andrésen.
Dead of Night (1945) Horror. Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer. (B&W)
Death on the Nile (1978) Mystery. Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis.
Deliverance (1972) A weekend camping trip through the mountain wilderness turns into a terrifying nightmare for four men. Cast: Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Billy Mckinney [USA| thriller]
The Devil’s Advocate (1997) Thriller. Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves.
Die Another Day (2002) Action. Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry.
The Dinner Guest (2007) Drama. Daniel Auteuil, Thierry Lhermitte.
The Dirty Dozen (1967) War. Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine
District B13: Ultimatum (2009) Action. Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle.
Dogs in Space (1986) Set against the backdrop of Melbourne’s late ’70s punk rock scene this film chronicles life in a chaotic, squalid share house. [Australia | Drug use/references | Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes]
Don’t Tell (2005) Drama. Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Stefania Rocca.
Doom (2005) Cast: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Rosamund Pike [USA | Action]
Duel in the Jungle (1954) Adventure. Dana Andrews, David Farrar.
Dune (1984) Sci-Fi. Francesca Annis, Kyle MacLachlan.
Dreamship Surprise: Period 1 (2004) Comedy.
__________| E |__________
Easy Living (1949) Comedy. Victor Mature, Lizabeth Scott. (B&W)
Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) Mystery. Tom Berenger, Michael Paré.
Edge of America (2003) Drama.
El Greco (2007) Biography. Nick Ashdon, Juan Diego Botto.
Elephant Boy (1937) Adventure. Sabu, Walter Hudd
Emerald City (1988) Adapted from David Williamson’s classic play, a tale of two cities, four people and life’s little pleasures. Cast: Nicole Kidman, John Hargreaves [Australia | comedy | sexual references | sex scenes]
Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970) An attractive, young charmer by the name of Mr Sloane weasels his way into the lives of a middle-aged brother and sister, while trying to disguise the truth about his unpleasant past. Cast: Beryl Reid, Harry Andrews, Alan Webb [UK | Comedy | Adult Themes | Sexual references/sex scenes]
Envy (2004) Comedy. Ben Stiller, Jack Black.
Escort in Love ( ) Alice is a housewife in a posh part of Rome and a mother to nine-year-old son Filippo, enjoying a luxurious home and lifestyle. When her husband dies in a car accident she is left with a massive debt and the risk of losing her son. Desperate for cash and with no skills, Alice turns to the oldest profession in the world – prostitution. [Italy | Comedy | Adult Themes | Drug use / references | Coarse language | Sexual references / sex scenes]
Every Little Step (2008) Documentary. Bob Avian, Justin Bellero.
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) The demonic force that possessed Regan four years ago seemingly had left; however, Father Lamont is instructed by the cardinal to investigate the death of Father Merrin, only to learn the demon Pazuzu was repossessing her. Cast: Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Kitty Winn, James Earl Jones [Horror | USA | Supernatural themes]
Extraordinary Measures (2010) Drama. Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell.
800 Bullets (2002) Carlos, a 12-year-old Spanish boy, discovers that both his deceased father and grandfather Julian were stuntmen in the ‘spaghetti western’ films shot in Spain in the 1970s. Carlos’s wealthy mother Laura refuses to tell him anything about it as her husband is dead and she harbours a longstanding resentment against her late husband’s father. Carlos manages to coax enough information out of his grandmother to skip out on a school skiing trip and travel instead to Almeria, the area where classic westerns such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly were shot. Carlos encounters a group of ex-stuntmen living in Texas Hollywood – an old Western film set – where he searches for his grandfather. [Spain | Comedy | Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes | Violence]
__________| F |__________
The Facts of Life (1960) Two middle-class suburbanites find themselves bored with their lives and marriages. Comedy. Bob Hope, Lucille Ball.
The Falcon in Hollywood (1944) Crime. Tom Conway, Rita Corday (B&W)
The Falcon in Mexico (1944) Crime. Tom Conway, Rita Corday. (PG) (B&W)
The Falcon in San Francisco (1945) Crime. Tom Conway, Rita Corday. (PG) (B&W)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm-raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers’ retaliation. Cast: Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Willem Dafoe, Anjelica Huston [USA | Adventure]
Feeling Minnesota (1996)Freddie, a former stripper engaged to Sam, falls in love with his brother Jack and runs off with him. When Sam finds out he’s forced to track them down and take the matter into his own hands. Cast: Cameron Diaz, Keanu Reeves, Dan Aykroyd, Courtney Love [USA | drama]
Fierce Creatures (1997) Comedy. Kevin Kline, Jamie Curtis.
Flipped (2010) Romance. Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe.
Fool’s Gold (2008) A happy-go-lucky beach-bum-turned-treasure-hunter becomes obsessed with finding 40 chests of exotic treasure that was lost at sea in 1715. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland [USA | Adventure]
For Those Who Think Young (1964) Comedy. James Darren, Pamela Tiffin
The Foreigner (2002) Action. Steven Seagal, Max Ryan.
Frantic (1988) Thriller. Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner.
Friendly Persuasion (1956) Drama. Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire.
The Full Monty (1997) Comedy. Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson.
Funny Farm (1988) Andy and Elizabeth are sick of life in the city, and decide to move to the country. Buying a home near a picturesque town, then soon discover (to their horror) that things are done differently in the country. Cast: Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith Osborne, Joseph Maher, Jack Gilpin [USA | Comedy]
5th Ave Girl (1939) Comedy. Ginger Rogers, James Ellison. (G) (B&W)
55 Days at Peking (1963)
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. Cast: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, Leo Genn [USA | Drama]
__________| G |__________
Gabriel (2007) Cast: Andy Whitfield, Dwaine Stevenson [Australia | Action]
Gallants (2010) Tiger and Dragon could defeat any opponent, until their master fell into a coma. Now they must protect their restaurant from encroaching gangsters, in this hilarious love letter to martial arts films [Hong Kong | Action]
The Gay Falcon (1941) Crime. George Sanders, Wendy Barrie. (B&W)
Geek Charming (2011) Family. Sarah Hyland, Matt Prokop
The General (1927) Comedy. Buster Keaton, Marion Mack
The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) When he attends his younger brother’s wedding, playboy Connor is troubled to discover that the ghosts of his many girlfriends have come to give him a piece of their mind and teach him a thing or two about true love. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner [USA | Comedy | Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes]
Ghost Town (2008) Bertram Pincus is a man who lacks people skills. When Pincus dies and is then revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover he can see ghosts. Cast: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni, Kristen Wiig, Michael-Leon Wooley, Aasif Mandvi [USA | comedy] . Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear.
Good Hair (2009) USA Documentary.
Good Will Hunting (1997) Drama. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck.
GREASE (1978) The hit musical about two teenagers growing up in the 1950s, when keeping one’s cool meant everything. After Sandy and Danny share a perfect summer romance they mistakenly believe they will never see each other again. But, as it happens, they wind up at the same high school and a rocky relationship begins. The two sing and dance their way through such hits as Greased Lightning, Summer Love, You’re the One That I Want and Hopelessly Devoted to You. Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Frankie Avalon, Didi Conn, Sid Caesar, Eve Arden, Jeff Conaway, Jamie Donnelly, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Alice Ghostley [USA | Musical]
Great Day (1945) Drama. Eric Portman, Flora Robson. (B&W)
Green Fire (1954) Drama. Stewart Granger, Grace Kelly
The Gumball Rally (1976) Action. Michael Sarrazin, Gary Busey.
Gunfight at Comanche Creek (1963) Western. Audie Murphy, Colleen Miller.
__________| H |__________
Halloweentown High (2004) When the portal between Earth and Halloweentown is opened, Marnie sets up an exchange program, bringing a group of Halloweentown students to attend her mortal high school. But when strange things begin to occur, Marnie and her family must protect the students from the Knights of the Iron Dagger, while also saving their own powers. Cast: Kimberly J Brown, Debbie Reynolds, Joey Zimmerman, Emily Roeske, Finn Wittrock [USA | Horror | supernatural themes]
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971) Comedy. Susannah York
The Haunting (1999) When Eleanor, Theo and Luke decide to take part in a sleep study at a huge mansion they get more than they bargained for when Dr Marrow tells them of the house’s ghostly past. Cast: Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Lili Taylor, Bruce Dern, Marian Seldes, Virginia Madsen, Tom Irwin [USA | Horror | Violence]
Heading South (2005) Drama. Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young
Heist (2001) Crime. Gene Hackman, Danny De Vito.
Hell (2005) Drama. Emmanuelle Beart, Karin Viard.
Hell Boats (1970) War. James Franciscus, Elizabeth Shepherd.
Hell’s House (1932) Drama. Bette Davis, Pat O’Brien.
High Plains Drifter (1973) Western. Clint Eastwood, Mitchell Ryan.
The Hitch-Hiker (1953) Film-Noir
Hooper (1978) Top Hollywood stuntman Sonny Hooper meets his potential rival, Ski. On the day of a dazzling flying car stunt, Ski attempts to chicken out but learns that Hooper has other ideas. Cast: Burt Reynolds, Jan Michael Vincent, Sally Field, Brian Keith, John Marley, James Best, Adam West [USA |comedy]
How Do You Know (2010) Comedy. Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson
How the West Was Won (1962) Western. James Stewart, John Wayne.
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) Comedy. Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman.
Hunger (2008) The final months of Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican Army activist who protested his treatment at the hands of British prison guards with a hunger strike, are chronicled in this historical drama, the first feature film from artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen. Nominated for the 2009 BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon [Ireland / UK | Adult Themes | Nudity | Violence]
__________| i |__________
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) Animation. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo.
Ice Cold in Alex (1958) A group of army personnel and nurses attempt a dangerous and arduous trek across the deserts of North Africa during World War II. Cast: John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Diane Clare [UK | adventure | B&W]
I Could Go on Singing (1963) A musical drama about a singer who visits the son she gave up in order to continue her career. Drama. Dirk Bogarde, Jack Klugman.
Ill Met By Moonlight (1957) A WWII action-drama about a daring plan for a handful of men to kidnap a German general on Crete. Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Marius Goring, David Oxley, Cyril Cusack [War]
I Love You Too (2010) Comedy. Brendan Cowell, Peter Dinklage
I’m All Right Jack (1959) Comedy. Peter Sellers, Terry Thomas. (B&W)
In My Father’s Country (2008) Aus Documentary.
In Name Only (1939) Grant is an unhappily married man, desperately in love with a sweet widow, however his manipulative, social-climbing wife refuses to give him a divorce. Cast: Cary Grant, Kay Francis, Carole Lombard [USA | Drama]
Intolerance (1916) Drama. Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh.
The Irishman (1978) [Aus | drama] The special love story of Paddy Doolan and his family. Stars Michael Craig and Robin Nevin.
The Iron Major (1943) Biography. Pat O’Brien, Robert Ryan.
The Island (2005) Adventure. Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson.
Inspector Montalbano: Wings of Sphinx ( ) Crime. Luca Zingaretti, Cesare Bocci
__________| J |__________
Jackie Brown (1997) Crime. Samuel L. Jackson, Pam Grier.
Jamaica Inn (1939)Based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier about a gang of thieves who prey upon the merchant ships which founder in the heavy seas off the rocky coast of Cornwall. Cast: Charles Laughton [UK | Adventure]
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Cast: Kathy Baker, Maria Bello [USA | Drama]
Jerusalema (2007) Action. Daniel Buckland, Robert Hobbs.
Joshua (2007) Thriller. Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga
Jules and Jim (1962) Decades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman. Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner [France | Drama]
__________| K |__________
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) Thriller. Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson.
Kaleidoscope (1966) Comedy. Warren Beatty, Susannah York
Kamchatka (2002) Drama. Matías Del Pozo, Ricardo Darín.
Kelly’s Heroes (1970) A group of soldiers fighting in France in WWII are headed by Lieutenant Kelly who, after capturing a friendly German officer, learns the whereabouts of millions of dollars in gold bars. Cast: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Carroll O’Connor [War | USA | Coarse language | Violence]
Key Largo (1948) Crime. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall. (B&W)
The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) Documentary.
The Kite Runner (2007) Drama. Khalid Abdalla, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada.
The Killing of Angel Street (1981) Thriller.
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) Comedy. Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson. (B&W)
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) Romance. Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen.
Knight and Day (2010) Action. Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) Action. Stephen Chow, Yuen Wah.
__________| L |__________
The Ladykillers (1955) A gang of bank robbers are foiled when they run into the meddling of a sweet old lady. Cast: Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers [UK | Comedy | Adult Themes]
The Land Has Eyes ( 2004) A coming of age story about a young woman, Viki, attempting to escape the stifling conformity of island culture. [Fiji | Drama]
Largo Winch (2008) After a powerful billionaire is murdered, his secret adoptive son must race to prove his legitimacy, find his father’s killers and stop them from taking over his financial empire. Nominated for Best International Film at the 2012 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA. Cast: Tomer Sisley, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Mélanie Thierry [France | Adventure]
The Last Samurai (2003) In Japan, Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren trains the Emperor’s troops to use modern weapons as they prepare to defeat the last of the country’s samurais. Cast: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly [USA | Action]
Laxdale Hall (1953) Romantic Comedy. Raymond Huntley, Ronald Squire.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) Comedy. Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) When the Baudelaire children’s parents die in a fire, they are sent to live with Count Olaf, a distant relative whose only interest in them is to seize their fortune. Cast: Jim Carrey, Jude Law, Meryl Streep, Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson, Timothy Spall [USA | Family]
Lethal Weapon (1987) Action. Mel Gibson, Danny Glover.
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) Action. Mel Gibson, Danny Glover.
Like Chef, Like God (2004) Drama. Yorgos Karamichos, Yorgos Nakos.
Lilian’s Story (1996) Drama. Toni Collette.
A Little Princess (1995) When her adoring father leaves for war, Sara Crewe goes to a strict New York boarding school and endures the harsh treatment of the stern headmistress. Cast: Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews, Rusty Schwimmer [USA | Fantasy]
Little Women (1949)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Fantasy. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Fantasy. Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen.
The Lost Valentine (2011)
Love, Lust & Lies (2009) The fifth film in the documentary series Gillian Armstrong has been making about the lives, hopes and dreams of three lively, working class Adelaide girls since they were fourteen in 1976. [Australia | documentary]
Lou (2010) Drama. Emily Barclay, John Hurt.
__________| M |__________
MAD MAX (1979) In a post apocalyptic future, jaded motorcycle cop Max’s world is shattered when a malicious gang murders his family as an act of retaliation, forcing a devastated Max to hit the open road seeking vengeance. Cast: Mel Gibson, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Joanne Samuel, Steve Bisley [Australia | action | coarse language | violence]
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) Action. Mel Gibson, Tina Turner.
Made of Honour (2007) Romantic Comedy. Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan.
Madison (2001) Drama. James Caviezel, Jake Lloyd.
Mad Bastards (2010) Mad Bastards, the critically acclaimed and award-winning Australian movie, tells the story of TJ who sets out on a journey to the remote Kimberley town of Five Rivers to find 13-year-old Bullet, the son he has never met. [Australia | drama]
The Magic Box (1951) Drama. Maria Schell, Margaret Johnston.
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) Adventure. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons.
The Mango Tree (1977) Drama. Geraldine Fitzgerald, Robert Helpmann.
The Man Who Finally Died (1962) Cast: Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing [Thriller | B&W]
Map of the Human Heart (1992) Romance
Marmaduke (2010) Family. Owen Wilson, Emma Stone.
The Marriage Certificate (2001) Drama. Feng Gong, Lu Liping. [China | Mandarin]
Marriage on the Rocks (1965) Comedy. Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr.
Mary Poppins (1964) Family. Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke.
The Matrix (1999) Neo, a lonely computer hacker, believes that Morpheus, someone he knows only through legend as an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can give him the answer to the question “What is the Matrix?” Contacted by Trinity, a beautiful stranger who leads him into another world, a brutal battle begins against a group of viciously intelligent secret agents. Every move, every second, every thought is crucial once Neo learns the truth about The Matrix. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne [USA | Sci-fi]
Maytime in Mayfair (1949) Musical. Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding.
Memories of Murder (2003) Based on a series of real-life murders, a gripping and compelling thriller that broke box office records in South Korea. A small-town cop and a more sophisticated city cop try to track down a serial killer on a murder spree in a small town south of Seoul. Cast: Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-Kyung, Jae-ho Song [South Korea | Korean | Crime]
Me, Myself & Irene (2000) Comedy. Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger.
Merrill’s Marauders (1962) War. Jeff Chandler, Ty Hardin.
McLintock! (1963) Cattle baron, George Washington McLintock, has his hands full when his estranged wife returns to get a divorce in order to move out east for good with their daughter Becky. Cast: John Wayne [USA | Western]
Michael Clayton (2007) Drama. George Clooney, Tilda Swinton.
Mind Prey (1999) In this psychological thriller, a police detective takes on a case and becomes embroiled in a web of kidnap, conspiracy and revenge. Cast: Eriq La Salle, Titus Welliver, Sheila Kelley, Kenneth Welsh, Nicole Ari Parker, Luis Guzmán, Judy Reyes [USA | thriller]
Minimal Stories (2002) Three people and a baby set off on separate journeys along the same road. Their disparate dreams and stories intertwine amid the breathtaking deserted Patagonic route. Winner of the Special Prize of the Jury at the 2002 San Sebastian International Film Festival. Cast: Javier Lombardo, Antonio Benedicti [Argentina | Spanish | comedy]
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) Comedy. Frances McDormand, Amy Adams.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) Action. Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner
Mission: Impossible II (2000) Action. Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton.
Monsters (2010) Drama. Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able.
The Moon of the Wolf (1972) Horror. David Janssen, Barbara Rush.
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) A ship is wrecked off the coast of a remote island. The island is owned by a strange count who invites the survivors to stay but he has an underlying motive for his generosity. Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks [USA | thriller]
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) Comedy. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy.
The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) Family. Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor.
Murder by Numbers (2002) Two gifted high school students execute a perfect murder – then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective. Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ben Chaplin, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt [USA | Thriller | Adult Themes | Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes | Violence]
Muriel’s Wedding (1994) In her hunt for Mr Right, Muriel buys a one-way ticket to freedom, and embarks on a madcap journey of self-discovery. Cast: Bill Hunter, Sophie Lee, Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Gennie Nevinson [Australia | Comedy]
__________| N |__________
The Necessities of Life (2008) Drama. Natar Ungalaaq, Antoine Bertrand.
The New Mankind (2007) [Finland | Drama]
Night Shift (1982) Comedy. Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton.
Nikita (1990) Thriller. Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade.
Nine Months (1995) When he finds out his longtime girlfriend is pregnant, a commitment-phobe realises he might have to change his lifestyle for better or much, much worse. Cast: Hugh Grant, Julianne Moore, Tom Arnold, Joan Cusack, Jeff Goldblum, Robin Williams [USA | comedy]
Notorious (2009) Drama. Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie.
Not with My Wife, You Don’t! (1966) Comedy. Tony Curtis, Virna Lisi.
Novo (2002) Comedy. Eduardo Noriega, Anna Mouglalis.
NOW AND THEN (1995) Four childhood friends gather together to prepare for the birth of Chrissey’s baby, while they reminisce about when they were 12-year-old girls growing up together in a small-town during the summer of 1970. Cast: Gaby Hoffmann, Demi Moore, Thora Birch, Melanie Griffith, Christina Ricci, Rosie O’Donnell, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Rita Wilson [USA | drama | nudity] YouTube video: Now And Then movie trailer…
Now You See It… (2005) Children. Alyson Michalka, Johnny Pacar.
__________| O |__________
OCEAN’S THiRTEEN (2007) Danny Ocean rounds up the boys for a third heist, after casino owner Willy Bank double-crosses one of the original 11, Reuben Tishkoff. Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Elliott Gould, Scott Caan, Andy Garcia [USA | comedy | coarse language | sexual references | sex scenes, violence]
The Omega Man (1971) Sci-Fi. Charlton Heston, Paul Koslo
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) Comedy. Barbra Streisand, Yves Montand.
Once Upon a Time in China (1991) Action. Jet Li, Biao Yuen.
Our Daily Bread (1934) Drama. Karen Morley, Tom Keene.
Our Miss Fred (1973) Comedy. Danny La Rue, Alfred Marks.
Out of Season (1975) Drama. Vanessa Redgrave, Cliff Robertson.
Outbreak (1995) Action. Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo.
The Outlaws is Coming (1965) Comedy. Larry Fine, Moe Howard. (G) (B&W)
__________| P |__________
Pajama Party (1964) Comedy. Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello.
Pal Joey (1957) Musical. Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth.
Paper Moon (1973) Comedy. Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal.
Paprika ( ) A machine that allows therapists to enter their patients’ dreams is stolen and a young dream therapist, Paprika, has to recover it. Award winning anime director Satoshi Kon returns to the virtual set with a cautionary tale of technology run amok. [Animation]
Paranormal Activity (2007) Horror. Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat.
Passenger 57 (1992) An undercover anti-terrorism expert is forced to use his expertise when his flight is hijacked by a psychopathic terrorist. Cast: Wesley Snipes, Tom Sizemore, Bruce Greenwood, Elizabeth Hurley, Ernie Lively, Bruce Payne, Alex Datcher, Robert Hooks, Michael Horse [USA | Action]
The Pelican Brief (1993) A young female law student endangers her own life while solving one of the most significant crimes in history. Cast: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard, Tony Goldwyn, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow [USA | Thriller]
The People That Time Forgot (1977) Adventure. Patrick Wayne, Doug McClure
Percy’s Progress (1974) Percy, the man with the world’s first penis transplant, discovers that there is a chemical in the city’s water that makes men impotent. Cast: Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliott, Judy Geeson, Leigh Lawson [UK | comedy | Adult Themes | Sexual references / sex scenes]
The Perfect Date (2010) French Comedy.
The Perfect Match (1988) Tim is an immature couch potato and Nancy is a boring bookworm who meet when Nancy answers Tim’s personal ad and their relationship is one fun deception after another Cast: Marc McClure, Jennifer Edwards, Diane Stilwell, Rob Paulsen, Karen Witter, Jean Byron, Edward Mehler [USA | comedy]
The Photograph (2007) Sita is an escort at a karaoke bar who struggles to raise money to pay back her pimp as well as support her daughter and ailing grandmother back in the village. When she has to leave the place she’s been staying, she persuades an ageing photographer to let her rent the attic room above his photo studio. Despite the differences between them, the two gradually become closer. Cast: Kay Tong Lim, Lukman Sardi [Indonesia | drama]
The Pink Panther (2006) When a famous soccer coach is murdered and his priceless ring stolen, a ring set with the stunning diamond known as the Pink Panther, cracking the case becomes a national obsession. Cast: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Beyoncé Knowles [USA | comedy]
The Pink Panther 2 (2009) Comedy. Steve Martin, Jean Reno.
Play It Again, Sam (1972) Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton [USA | Comedy]
Please Turn Over (1960) The orderly suburban life of a 1950s English town is turned on its head when the teenage daughter of one of the residents writes a steamy bestseller featuring characters obviously based on the local population. Cast: Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Jean Kent, Ted Ray, Julia Lockwood [UK | comedy | sexual references | sex scenes | B&W]
Poetic Justice ( ) Drama. Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur.
Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988) Comedy. Bubba Smith, George Gaynes.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989) Comedy. Bubba Smith, David Grant.
Pretty Baby (1978) A photographer in turn-of-the-century New Orleans takes pictures of prostitutes, and eventually falls for one hooker’s prepubescent daughter. Cast: Keith Carradine, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields [USA | Drama | Adult Themes | Nudity | Sexual references | sex scenes | violence]
Primeval (2007) Horror. Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton
Public Enemy Number One – Part Two (2008) Action. Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France.
__________| Q |__________
The Queen (2006) Drama. Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen.
__________| R |__________
RADiO FLYER (1992) Two young brothers whose childhood world of monsters and secret potions is turned upside down when a very real monster, a volatile stepfather, enters their lives. Cast: Tom Hanks, Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Adam Baldwin, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello [Drama]
RAiN MAN (1988) When an autistic savant inherits three million dollars from his deceased father, his estranged younger brother takes him under his wing in an attempt to trick him out of the money. Cast: Drama. Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise. [USA]
Reign of Assassins ( ) Action.
Rendition (2007) Drama. Reese Witherspoon, Omar Metwally.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) Something evil’s lurking in Raccoon City, and the fearless Alice is one of only a few willing to put her life on the line to investigate the malevolent force. A virus is attacking the area’s denizens, turning them into the undead. Cast: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann [Canada | Horror]
Rich in Love (1992)
Two daughters help their father with his wife’s sudden and unexpected departure. Cast: Albert Finney, Jill Clayburgh, Kathryn Erbe, Kyle MacLachlan, Piper Laurie, Ethan Hawke, Suzy Amis, Alfre Woodard [USA | drama]
The Road to Hong Kong (1962) Comedy. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope. (G) (B&W)
Roadgames (1981) Drama. Stacy Keach.
The Roly Poly Man (1994) Drama. Paul Chubb.
Ronin (1998) Action. Robert De Niro, Jean Reno.
Rush Hour (1998) Action. Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker.
__________| S |__________
Saint Joan (1957) Drama. Jean Seberg, Richard Widmark.
Salomé (2002) Richard Strauss’ musical drama, based on the play by Oscar Wilde, in a one act opera. Salome requests the head of the prophet Jokanaan (John the Baptist) on a silver platter, as a reward for dancing the Dance of the Seven Veils. From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, production by David McVicar. Conducted by Philippe Jordan with Nadja Michael as Salome. [Spain | German | drama]
Samurai (2002) Action. Cyril Mourali, Maï Anh Le.
Sands of the Desert (1960) A diminutive travel agent goes out to investigate a desert holiday camp which has suffered from sabotage. Cast: Charles Drake, Peter Arne, Raymond Huntley, Sarah Branch [UK | comedy]
The Scar (1948) Crime. Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett.
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) Adventure. Leslie Howard.
Schemes (1994) Thriller. James McCaffrey, Leslie Hope.
School For Scoundrels (1960) Enrol in the wacky College of Lifemanship where a senior host of great British comedians teach a completely uproarious course on how to come out tops in any social situation. Cast: Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Terry Thomas, Alastair Sim [UK | comedy]
Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King (2010) Animation. Hayden Panettiere, Lauren Bacall.
Scooby Doo! Legend Of The Phantosaur (2012) Animation. Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard.
The Sea Wolves (1980) War. Roger Moore, Gregory Peck.
Sea Devils (1937) Action. Victor McLaglen, Ida Lupino. (B&W)
The Second Woman (1951) Film-Noir. Robert Young, Betsy Drake.
The Secret Adversary (Agatha Christie) (1983) Mystery. James Warwick.
The Secret Garden (1993)
SELENA (1997) The true life story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez , a Texas-born recording artist who rose to fame with chart-topping albums on the Latin music charts. Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos. [USA | drama]
Separation City (2009) Comedy. Joel Edgerton, Rhona Mitra.
Serving Sara (2002) Comedy. Matthew Perry, Elizabeth Hurley
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) After curing the sleuth’s cocaine addiction, Sigmund Freud joins forces with Sherlock Holmes to solve a kidnapping mystery. Cast: Alan Arkin, Nicol Williamson. [UK | Adventure]
Se7en (1995) Thriller. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman.
The Siege of Pinchgut (1959) Drama. Aldo Ray, Heather Sears. (B&W)
Shaft (2000) Action. Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams.
Shallow Hal (2001) Comedy. Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow. (M)
Shame (1987) Drama. Deborra-Lee Furness.
Shame (2011) In New York City, Brandon’s carefully cultivated private life, which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction, is disrupted when his sister arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan [UK | Drama | Adult Themes | Nudity | Sexual references / sex scenes]
Shanghai Knights (2003) Action. Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson.
Shaolin (2011) Set in the early 20th century, China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords fight to expand their power. General Hou is at the centre of the struggle with his violent and ruthless tactics that rarely discriminate between soldiers and civilians. When Hou is betrayed by fellow general Cao Man, he is forced into hiding, and takes refuge with the monks at their hidden mountain temple. Cast: Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Jackie Chan [Hong Kong | action]
She (1965) Adventure. Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing.
Silent Witness (2011) When human rights lawyer Anna Sandor calls Harry to Budapest to investigate the death of a client, they start to uncover a sinister underworld conspiracy, putting both their lives in danger. Cast: William Gaminara, Emilia Fox [UK | Drama | Adult Themes | Drug use / references | Nudity | Sexual references / sex scenes | Violence]
The Shining (1980) Horror. Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall.
SiLENT WiTNESS (2011) Leo investigates a potential copycat killing, but the team are starting to wonder if Karl Bentley was wrongly convicted, leaving the real murderer free to set out on a new killing spree. Cast: Emilia Fox, William Gaminara [UK | drama]
The Singer (2006) Romance. Cécile De France, Christine Citti.
S1m0ne (2002) Comedy. Al Pacino, Winona Ryder.
SLEEPER (1973) The adventures of the owner (Woody Allen) of a health food store who is cryogenically frozen in foil in 1973, and defrosted 200 years later in an ineptly-led police state. The film contains many elements which parody notable works of science fiction. Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck, Marya Small, Susan Miller [USA | science fiction | comedy]
Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Romance. Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton.
Something to Sing About (1937) A New York band leader journeys to Hollywood when he is offered a contract with a studio, but he is determined to do things his way and not theirs. Cast: James Cagney, Gene Lockhart [USA | musical]
South of Algiers (1953) Drama. Eric Portman, Wanda Hendrix.
Spanglish (2004) Comedy. Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni.
Spencer’s Mountain (1963) Drama. Henry Fonda, Maureen O’Hara.
Spies Like Us (1985) A pair of inept recruits in a US intelligence-gathering organisation are purposely sent on an impossible mission and manage to wind up at the balance point of nuclear war between the major world powers. Cast: Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon, Bruce Davison, William Prince, Bernie Casey [USA | comedy]
Spirit of the People (1940) Drama. Raymond Massey, Ruth Gordon.
Splice (2009) Horror.
Splinter (2008) Horror. . Premiere
Spring Breakdown (2008) Three thirty-something friends break the monotony of their uninspired lives by vacationing on an island that’s a popular spring break getaway for college co-eds – something they never got to do as teenagers. Cast: Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch, Jane Lynch [USA | comedy]
Spy Game (2001) Action. Robert Redford, Brad Pitt.
Stanley & Iris (1990) Romance. Swoosie Kurtz, Martha Plimpton
Starman (1984) Adventure. Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen.
Starsky & Hutch (2004) Two police officers with an opposite view on what being a cop actually means must work together in order to take down the biggest drug lord in their towns history. Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell [comedy]
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock’s body. Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Mark Lenard, Christopher Lloyd, Robin Curtis, Dame Judith Anderson, John Larroquette [USA | Sci-Fi]
Strange Illusion (1945) Crime. Jimmy Lydon, Warren William
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Sci-Fi. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy.
Stone (1974) Action. Ken Shorter.
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) Musical. Maurice Evans, Peter Finch
Submarine X-1 (1968) War. James Caan, David Sumner.
The Suite Life Movie (2011) Family. Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse.
Superman: Doomsday (2007) To defend Earth, Superman battles an evil entity known as Doomsday, who proves too strong for the Man of Steel. But as the world mourns the fallen superhero, Lex Luthor’s joy in his enemy’s demise is short-lived. Even death can’t stop Superman. Cast: Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, James Marsters [USA | Action]
Superman III (1983) Action. Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) Action. Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman.
Svengali (1931) Drama. John Barrymore, Marian Marsh.
The Swarm (1978) A huge swarm of deadly African bees spreads terror over American cities by killing thousands of people. Cast: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, Henry Fonda [USA | Sci-Fi]
Sweet Home Alabama (2002) Romantic Comedy. Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey
The Swimmer (1968) Drama. Burt Lancaster.
17 Again (2009)
On the brink of a midlife crisis, 30-something Mike O’Donnell wishes he could have a “do-over.” And that’s exactly what he gets when he wakes up one morning to find he’s 17 years old again. With his adult mind stuck inside the body of a teenager, Mike actually has the chance to reverse some decisions he wishes he’d never made. But maybe they weren’t so bad after all. Cast: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry [USA | Comedy |
Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes | Violence]
__________| T |__________
Taken Away (1996) Drama. Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker.
Talk To Me About Love (2008) Sasha is a young man in his 20s, deeply in love with the beautiful Benedetta, who doesn’t seem to recognise his existence. Nicole is a French woman in her 40s, living in Rome with her husband. They casually meet and start a friendship which becomes a sentimental education for the youth. A hit at the Italian box office and winner of a 2008 David Di Donatello award. [Italy | romance | Adult Themes , Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes]
Tear this Heart Out (2008) Drama. Ana Claudia Talancón, Daniel Giménez Cacho.
Thelma & Louise (1991) Drama. Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis.
Three Amigos! (1986) Comedy. Steve Martin, Chevy Chase.
Three Inches (2011) A 26-year-old underachiever is struck by lightning and awakens from a coma to discover that he has gained the ability to move objects with his mind up to a distance of three inches. Cast: Noah Reid, Stephanie Jacobsen, James Marsters, Naoko Mori, Andrea Martin, Alona Tal, Kyle Schmid [USA | Sci-Fi | violence]
Three Kings (1999) Action. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg.
That’s Entertainment! (1974) Musical. Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra.
Throw Momma from the Train (ABC2 USA comedy movie 1987 ) Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal. (M) The story of a bitter ex-husband and a 40-year-old mama’s boy who want their respective spouse and mother dead, but who will pull it off?
Top Gun (1986) Maverick is a hot pilot. When he encounters a pair of MiGs over the Persian Gulf, his wingman freaks out. On almost no fuel, Maverick is able to talk him back down to the carrier. When the wingman quits, Maverick is moved up and sent to the Top Gun Naval Flight School. There, he fights the attitudes of the other pilots, his father’s memory and himself. He serenades a woman in a bar only to discover that she is one of the instructors. Despite her best attempts to resist his charms she falls for him and they become lovers. Meanwhile, Maverick’s skill is proving he is clearly the best pilot in the school which prompts an inflation in his cockiness. Relying on his skill to get him through, his life falls apart when tragedy strikes and his best friend is killed. He leaves the school but is urged to return. He must summon all the courage he has to rise above his ego to prove to himself that he is a “Top Gun” pilot. Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis [USA | Action]
Torrente: the Dumb Arm of the Law ( ) Comedy.
Torrente 2: Mission In Marbella (2001) Action. Gabino Diego, Tony Leblanc.
TOY SOLDiERS (1991) Backed by an elite squad of commandos, a South American drug lord takes the students of an exclusive Northeastern prep school hostage. Cast: Lou Gossett Jr., Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Keith Coogan, Andrew Divoff, Denholm Elliott, Jerry Orbach, George Perez [USA | action]
Transformers: Dark of the Moon ( ) Action. Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) Action. Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox.
The Trouble with Angels (1966) Comedy. Rosalind Russell, Binnie Barnes.
Tudawali (1988)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Romantic Comedy. Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles.
21 (2008) Drama. Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne
__________| U |__________
The Ugly Truth (2009) A romantically challenged morning show producer is embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. Cast: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Bree Turner, Eric Winter, Cheryl Hines [USA | comedy | coarse language, sexual references | sex scenes]
Unnatural Causes (1993) Crime. Roy Marsden, Simon Chandler.
Unstoppable (2010) When an unmanned freight train is barrelling towards the city, a veteran engineer and a young conductor race against the clock to prevent a catastrophe. Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Dunn, T.J. Miller [USA | Action]
Uptown Girls (2003) Comedy. Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning.
__________| V |__________
Valley of the Sun (1942) Western. George Marshall, Lucille Ball (B&W)
Van Diemen’s Land (2009) Thriller. Oscar Redding, Arthur Angel.
Vares: Private Eye (2004) Hard-drinking private investigator Vares becomes romantically and then professionally involved with a beautiful but troubled blonde. A fast-paced gangster film that boasts a cast of shady characters who plot and double-cross their way across the country. Cast: Juha Veijonen, Laura Malmivaara, Jorma Tommila [Finland | Crime | Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes | Violence]
Vincent Wants to Sea (2012) [German | drama]
__________| W |__________
Wag the Dog (1997) Comedy. Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro
A Walton Wedding (1995) The Waltons reunite once again to celebrate the 1960s wedding of the oldest son, John-Boy. However, impending crises threaten to shatter the family’s happiness. Cast: Ralph White, Michael Learned, Ellen Corby, Kami Cotler, David W Harper, Mary Beth McDonough, Judy Norton, Eric Scott, Richard Thomas, Jon Walmsley, Kate McNeil, Joe Conley, Ronnie Claire Edwards, Holland Taylor [USA | drama]
War Paint (1953) Action. Robert Stack, Joan Taylor
Warrior (2010) Action. Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte.
Wedding Crashers (2005) John and Jeremy are friends who share one truly unique springtime hobby – crashing weddings. But when they crash the wedding of the season, John falls in love and decides to break the ‘rules’. Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, Christopher Walken [USA | Comedy | Coarse language | Sexual references/sex scenes]
We Have a Pope (2011) The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to appear on St Peter’s balcony to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But his fear of the new-found responsibility suddenly thrust upon him is one he must face alone. This heart-warming story in the vein of The King’s Speech is directed by Palme d’Or winner Nanni Moretti. [drama]
We Own the Night (2007) Crime. Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes.
Went the Day Well? (1942) Thriller. Oliver Wilsford, Valerie Taylor (B&W)
What’s Your Number? (2011) Struggling to find the perfect man, a woman looks back at the past 20 men she’s had relationships with in her life and wonders if one of them might be her one true love. Cast: Chris Evans, Anna Faris, Matthew Bomer, Zachary Quinto [USA | comedy | coarse language | sexual references | sex scenes]
The Whole Nine Yards (2000) Comedy. Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry
The Whole Ten Yards (2004) Comedy. Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry.
Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story (2009) Maria Korp, was a loving wife and mother left for dead in the boot of her car in 2005. As Maria lay dying, Australia was gripped by a bizarre tale of suburban secrets, a cheating husband and the ultimate price paid by all involved. Cast: Rebecca Gibney, Vince Colosimo, Maya Elliott [Australia | Crime | Sexual references/sex scenes | Violence]
The Wicker Man (1973) Thriller. Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland.
Wild Child (2009) Romantic Comedy. Emma Roberts, Lexi Ainsworth.
The Wings of Eagles (1957) Commander Frank Wead, a daring but reckless WWI Navy pilot has to rebuild his life from scratch after a drunken accident. Cast: Maureen O’Hara, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond, John Wayne [Drama]
With Honors (1994) Drama. Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser.
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) Crime. Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich.
Wild Rovers (1971) Western. Ryan O’Neal, Will Holt
Wrongfully Accused (1998) Comedy. Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crenna.
The Wrong Man (2006) Crime. Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis
__________| X |__________
Yatterman (2009) Action. Sho Sakurai, Sadao Abe.
Yellowbeard (1983) Comedy. John Cleese, Graham Chapman
Yellowstone Kelly (1959) Western. Clint Walker, Edward Byrnes.
__________| Z |__________
Zelig (1983) Leonard Zelig is the ultimate camp follower, a celebrity nonentity who fits in everywhere because he actually changes himself to blend with his surroundings. Cast: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow [USA | Comedy]
Zenon: Z3 (2004) In the third instalment of the Zenon trilogy, everyone’s favourite overachiever Zenon Kar is competing to win the Galactic Teen Supreme contest and celebrate at the Moonstock Festival in the year 2054. However, Zenon is torn when her aspiration to beat handsome competitor Bronley Hale is interrupted by moon activist Sage Borealis. Sage is desperate to keep the moon from being colonised and wants Zenon’s help. Meanwhile, Commander Plank and Aunt Judy’s precocious new foster daughter, Dasha, is star struck by Zenon. And really, who could blame her? Cast: Kirsten Storms, Alyson Morgan, Glenn McMillan, Benjamin J. Easter, Raven, Lauren Maltby, Phumi Mthembu, Stuart Pankin, Holly Fulger [USA | Comedy]
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973) Music. David Bowie, Mick Ronson.
Zim and Co (2005) Comedy. Adrien Jolivet, Nathalie Richard.
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…more to be sorted in to the A to Z above…
The Lady Says No (1952) Comedy. (G)
He’s Just Not That Into You (2008) Comedy. Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson. (M)
Feast of Love (2008) Drama. Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear. (MA)
Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986) Comedy. Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith. (PG)Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) Comedy. Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith. (PG)Behave Yourself! (1951) Comedy. (PG)Dadnapped (2009) Family. Emily Osment, David Henrie. (PG)The Clique (2010) Comedy. Ellen Marlow, Elizabeth McLaughlin. (PG)
Arabian Adventure (1979) Adventure. Christopher Lee, Oliver Tobias. (G)
Caddie (Aust 1976) Drama. Helen Morse, Jack Thompson. (M)
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) Comedy. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy. (G)
Conquest of the Air (1940) Drama. Laurence Olivier. (PG)
Blueberry (2004) Western. Vincent Cassel, Juliette Lewis. (M)
Striptease (1996) Drama. Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds. (MA)
Intolerance (1916) A major innovation in the narrative technique of the cinema, these four stories are based on a single theme – social injustice – told in parallel. DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 1916 CAST Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh
The Second Woman (1951) Scientific experiments accidentally revive an executed criminal and makes him indestructable, prompting him to seek revenge. FILM-NOIR | USA | ENGLISH | 1951 CAST Robert Young, Betsy Drake, John Sutton
Schemes (REPEAT) Paul, a middle-aged architect, loses his wife in an accident and is comforted by his best friend’s wife; however, her affections are not as innocent as they seem – unbeknown to Paul.[Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] THRILLER | USA | ENGLISH | 1994 CAST James McCaffrey, Leslie Hope, John Glover, Polly Draper, John de Lancie, Debra Mooney, George Wallace, Allison Mackie
Bangkok Dangerous (REPEAT) Kong is a professional killer who has been mute since childhood. He works the city’s toughest streets, bringing down his steady, impersonal revenge on the world. Ultimately, his chance for redemption comes in the form of Fon, a shop assistant who shows him the only tenderness and warmth he has ever known.[Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language, Violence]ACTION | THAILAND | THAI | 1999 CAST Pawalit Mongkolpisit, Premsinee Ratanasopha, Patharawarin Timkul
Before Sunrise (REPEAT)A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe and wind up spending a romantic evening together in Vienna. Knowing it will be their only one, they vow to reunite in six months.[Coarse language]ROMANCE | USA | ENGLISH | 1995 CAST Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Laxdale Hall (REPEAT) A parliamentary delegation is sent to a remote community in the Scottish Highlands where the residents are protesting at their poor links with the outside world. ROMANTIC COMEDY | UK | ENGLISH | 1953 CAST Raymond Huntley, Ronald Squire, Kathleen Ryan
Se7en (REPEAT) A pair of homicide detectives must solve a series of puzzling murders based on the seven deadly sins – gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and wrath. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language, Violence] THRILLER | USA | ENGLISH | 1995 CAST Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Roundtree
The Clairvoyant
Evil Mind – 1935 A fake music-hall clairvoyant meets a woman, and suddenly his predictions seem to come true.
Jet Storm (REPEAT) Believing that a fellow passenger is the hit-and-run driver who killed his child, Ernest Tilley smuggles a bomb on a flight from London to New York and intends to kill him. THRILLER | UK | ENGLISH | 1959 CAST Richard Attenborough
Second Chorus (REPEAT)Showcasing the talents of Fred Astaire, two college musicians battle the odds to rise to the top of their profession and then for the favours of Paulette Goddard. MUSICAL | USA | ENGLISH | 1940 CAST Fred Astaire, Burgess Meredith
The Great Rupert (1950) A little squirrel with lots of charm accidentally helps two poor, down-but-not-out families overcome their obstacles. COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 1950
Gomorrah(REPEAT) Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, this is an inside look at Italy’s modern-day crime families, told through the stories of five individuals who think they can make their own compact with the Camorra. Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2008, and five European Film Awards, including Best Film. [Drug use/references, Violence] DRAMA | ITALY | ENGLISH | 2008
The Storm Warriors (2009) An epic battle is played out by warriors harnessing the power of the elements in this action drama from the directing team of Danny Pang and Oxide Pang Chun. Heroic warriors Wind and Cloud find themselves up against a ruthless Japanese warlord intent on invading China and taking control of the land. A sequel to the 1998 blockbuster, The Storm Riders. Winner of the award for Best Visual Effects at the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards [Violence] ACTION | HONG KONG | CANTONESE | 2009
Running Home (REPEAT) A young street kid becomes embroiled in the dangerous world of jewel smuggling as he attempts to reunite with his family. [Violence] DRAMA | CANADA | ENGLISH | 1999 CAST Claudia Christian, Kristian Ayre, Andreas Apergis, Alex McArthur, Caroline Dhavernas, Lisa Bronwyn Moore, Adam MacDonald, Derek Eyamie
Passengers (REPEAT)A grief counsellor working with a group of plane-crash survivors finds herself at the root of a mystery when her clients begin to disappear. [Adult Themes or medical procedures] DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Dianne Wiest, Clea DuVall
Spring and Port Wine (REPEAT)The autocratic head of a working-class family comes into conflict with his wife and children because of his unbending attitudes and discipline. [Sexual references/sex scenes] DRAMA | UK | ENGLISH | 1970
The Final Destination (PREMIERE) After a young man’s premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end. [Horror or supernatural themes, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | 2009
Expresso Bongo (REPEAT) A cheap, opportunistic Soho talent agent picks up an amateur singer and bongo player and transforms the kid into a highly regarded international singing sensation. DRAMA | UK | ENGLISH | 1959 CAST Laurence Harvey
The Squeaker (REPEAT) A disgraced ex-detective finds an opportunity to clear his name. He must capture the “Squeaker”, a jewel thief who is exposing other uncooperative criminals to the police. CRIME | UK | ENGLISH | 1937 CAST Edmund Lowe
Tokyo Sonata (REPEAT) An award-winning portrait of a seemingly average Japanese family whose lives threaten to unravel after the father loses his job and individual secrets come to the surface. DRAMA | JAPAN | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Koji Yakusho
The Villian Still Pursued Her (1940 ) A villianous lawyer attempts to steal away Mary who is to be engaged to Edward, by luring Edward into a sordid lifestyle of drinking and excess. ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 1940 CAST Buster Keaton, Hugh Herbert, Billy Gilbert
Silent Warnings (2003) A group of college students begin finding crop circles by the house they’ve moved into. Following the disappearance of one of them, they begin suspecting something sinister. [Horror or supernatural themes, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | CAST Stephen Baldwin, A.J. Buckley, Billy Zane, Callie De Fabry, David O’Donnell
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (REPEAT) Seconds before Earth is destroyed by the nastiest creatures in the universe, mild-mannered Arthur Dent is whisked into space by his friend, an alien in human form. And so the misadventures begin as he and fellow travellers search for answers to the mystery of life, the universe and everything. Based on Douglas Adams’ best-selling novel. [Violence] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2005 CAST Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey, Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Stephen Fry, John Malkovich
Tremors (REPEAT) Two handymen battle giant carnivorous sandworms that are threatening their small Nevada town. [Horror or supernatural themes, Coarse language] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 1990 CAST Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Finn Carter, Victor Wong
Against the Current (REPEAT) Struggling with a tragic past, a man with an urgent calling enlists two friends to help him swim the length of the Hudson River. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 2010 CAST Joseph Fiennes, Samantha Sherman, Pell James, Justin Kirk
Three Hats for Lisa (REPEAT) A musical chase around swinging ’60s London, evading press and police as three young Cockneys take a day off work to meet a foreign movie star at Heathrow airport. COMEDY | UK | ENGLISH | 1966 CAST Sid James, Una Stubbs, Joe Brown, Sophie Hardy
xXx: The Next Level (REPEAT) A devastating attack on Washington is in progress. When Darius Stone, a new agent to the XXX program, uncovers this plan, his investigations lead him deep into the US government. Only he can stop the inevitable tragedy from happening. [Coarse language, Violence] ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 2005 CAST Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Peter Strauss
Final Destination 5 (PREMIERE) Survivors of a suspension-bridge collapse learn there’s no way you can cheat Death when he come after them, one by one. [Horror or supernatural themes, Violence] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | 2011 CAST Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe
The Villian Still Pursued Her (1940 ) A villianous lawyer attempts to steal away Mary who is to be engaged to Edward, by luring Edward into a sordid lifestyle of drinking and excess. ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 1940
Inspector Montalbano: The Age of Doubt (REPEAT) When a luxury yacht comes across a dead body in a dinghy off the coast of Vigata, they notify the local port authority and Inspector Montalbano is called to investigate. But he soon begins to suspect that the yacht’s crew has something to do with the mysterious death and is hiding something. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] CRIME | ITALY | ITALIAN CAST Luca Zingaretti, Cesare Bocci, Peppino Mazzotta
Deranged (REPEAT) An eccentric psychiatrist, aiming to be in the spotlight, is not willing to let anyone or anything get in her way.[Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] CRIME | USA | ENGLISH | 2002 CAST JoBeth Williams, Jason Brooks, Sally Kirkland, Leo Rossi, Kari Wuhrer, Anicka Haywood, Nicholas Read, Sage Kirkpatrick, Robert Costanzo, Peter Jason, Denice Duff, Gibby Brand, Kevin Brief
Thumbsucker (PREMIERE)Teenager Justin Cobb has an embarrassing secret: He still sucks his thumb. Berated by his father for the childish habit and unable to confide in anyone, Justin lets his loopy orthodontist try hypnosis. Trouble is, it works almost too well, and before long, Justin needs another crutch to keep his angst at bay. [Drug use/references, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] ROMANCE | USA | ENGLISH | 2005 CAST Keanu Reeves, Vincent D’Onofrio, Benjamin Bratt, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn
The Small Back Room (REPEAT) As the Germans drop explosive booby traps on 1943 England, the embittered expert who’ll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Violence] DRAMA | UK | ENGLISH | 1949 CAST David Farrar, Jack Hawkins, Kathleen Byron, Emeric Pressburger, Anthony Bushell
The Brain Machine (REPEAT) A doctor is taken hostage by a drug smuggler whom she has diagnosed as psychotic. Her estranged husband has to find her before the smuggling gang find him and kill them both.[Violence] CRIME | UK | ENGLISH | 1956 CAST Patrick Barr, Maxwell Reed, Elizabeth Allan, Russell Napier
Crooks in Cloisters (REPEAT)Having pulled off the smallest ever train robbery, Little Walter and his crew decide to get out of London and set up business in a disused monastery. COMEDY | UK | ENGLISH | 1964 CAST Ronald Fraser, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Cribbins, Joseph O’Connor, Davy Kaye
Night Boat to Dublin (REPEAT) Allied agents attempt to rescue a Swedish physicist from the Nazis during World War II. [Violence] THRILLER | UK | ENGLISH | 1946 CAST Robert Newton, Muriel Pavlow
Superman vs The Elite (PREMIERE) The Man of Steel finds himself outshone by a new team of ruthless superheroes who hold his idealism in contempt. [Coarse language, Violence] ANIMATION | ENGLISH | 2012
The Red Shoes (1948) The classic story of a ballerina torn between passion and artistic devotion. Contains a celebrated ballet sequence choreographed by Robert Helpmann. DRAMA | UK | ENGLISH | CAST Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook
An Education (2009) London, 1961. Smart, attractive 16-year-old Jenny finds her traditional education replaced by something slightly more sinister when an older, more worldly suitor sweeps her off of her feet while placing her future in jeopardy. Nominated for three Academy Awards in 2010, including Best Picture.[Adult Themes or medical procedures] DRAMA | UK | ENGLISH | 2009 CAST Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina
General Nil ( ) General Nil’s life has long been a taboo topic in Poland, but with this film the truth about the fierce leader is finally revealed. The country’s most legendary and most controversial general, Emil August Fieldorf, was better known as General Nil and served throughout two world wars before being betrayed and executed by the Nazi and Communist regimes. Like all historical giants, he lived a life of incredible highs and crushing lows, and director Ryszard Bugajski explores his story with passion and conviction.[Violence] BIOGRAPHY | POLAND | POLISH
Lemonade Mouth (REPEAT) Five disparate high school students meet in detention, realise they are destined to rock and ultimately form a band that becomes a champion for students sidelined by the high school elite. FAMILY | ENGLISH | 2011 CAST Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Hayley Kiyoko, Naomi Scott, Blake Michael, Nick Roux, Chris Brochu, Tisha Campbell-Martin
The Lion King (REPEAT) Follow the adventures of a young lion in the biggest animated movie of them all. Simba is a young cub who just can’t wait to be king. After the sudden death of his father, Mufasa, and the treacherous actions of his uncle Scar, Simba is led into exile and ultimately on a heros journey of self-discovery. With the help of his comical friends – Pumbaa and Timon – Simba must come to terms with his destiny and make things right as King.ANIMATION | USA | ENGLISH | 1994
Knocked Up (REPEAT) Alison Scott is an up-an-coming entertainment journalist whose life is on the fast track. But it gets seriously derailed when a drunken one-nighter with slacker Ben Stone results in an unwanted pregnancy. Faced with the prospect of going it alone or getting to know the baby’s father, Alison decides to give the lovable doof a chance. But she quickly discovers that building a relationship from scratch isn’t nearly as easy as making a baby [Drug use/references, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2007 CAST Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, Charlyne Yi, Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow, Joanna Kerns, Harold Ramis, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Wiig
Dante’s Peak (REPEAT) Dr Harry Dalton arrives in the US town of Dante’s Peak to investigate unusual seismic activity in the quiet community. He soon discovers that the lives of the people living here are threatened as the once inactive volcano may now erupt at any given moment. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 1997 CAST Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Charles Hallahan, Jamie Renée Smith, Jeremy Foley, Elizabeth Hoffman, Grant Heslov, Kirk Trutner, Arabella Field, Tzi Ma, Brian Reddy, Lee Garlington
Jaws: The Revenge (REPEAT) Now widowed, Ellen Brody finds herself reliving the horrors of the past when a mammoth shark kills her son. [Violence] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | 1987 CAST Michael Caine, Karen Young, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Lorraine Gary, Judith Barsi, Lynn Whitfield, Melvin Van Peebles, Mitchell Anderson, Cedric Scott
John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (REPEAT) A story of human colonists on Mars who must be rescued after becoming possessed by vengeful martian ghosts. [Coarse language, Violence] ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 2001 CAST Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Joanna Cassidy
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (REPEAT) A hunch and the defunding of his lab prompts geology professor Trevor Anderson, whose outrageous theories have made him a laughingstock in academia – to set off for Iceland in search of a portal to Earth’s core.[Violence] ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Seth Meyers, Anita Briem
Grown Ups (REPEAT) Just because you grow older doesn’t mean you have to grow up. After their high school basketball coach passes away, five good friends and former teammates reunite for a Fourth of July holiday weekend. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2010 CAST Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek
Be Kind Rewind (REPEAT) Video store employee Mike can’t believe his bad luck when his buddy accidentally magnetises his brain and erases every video in the store. Now, they’re pressed to produce their own remakes of every erased film. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Jack Black, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Mos Def
The Brigand of Kandahar (REPEAT) In 1850s India, a British officer in the Bengal Lancers is falsely accused of cowardice, court-martialled and discharged. [Violence] ADVENTURE | UK | ENGLISH | 1965 CAST Oliver Reed, Ronald Lewis, Duncan Lamont, Yvonne Romain
Mrs. Miniver (REPEAT) The Miniver family must learn to cope with war constantly threatening their home front. But when valiant Mrs Miniver captures a German pilot, the stark reality of war arrives on her doorstep. DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 1942 CAST Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright
The Clique (REPEAT) The life of a leader of an arrogant group of privileged schoolgirls takes an unexpected turn when a middle-class family with a self-assured teenage daughter, move into their guest house. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2010 CAST Ellen Marlow, Elizabeth McLaughlin
Planet 51 (REPEAT) An American astronaut lands on Planet 51 thinking he’s the first person to step foot on it. To his surprise, he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people. [Violence] ANIMATION | USA | ENGLISH | 2009 CAST Jessica Biel, John Cleese, Gary Oldman, Dwayne Johnson
The Matrix Reloaded (REPEAT) In order for Neo to fulfil the Prophecy to end the inevitable war, they return to the Matrix where they discover new, more powerful foes. Agent Smith also returns after escaping deletion. [Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence SCI-FI | USA | ENGLISH | 2003 CAST Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne
Fugitive Pieces ( ) Young Jakob sees his parents murdered by Nazis in Poland during the war and his sister dragged away to an unknown fate. Rescued by a kindly Greek archaeologist working nearby, Jakob eventually winds up in Canada after the war. As an adult he becomes a successful writer, but his obsession with the past leaves him with an inability to cope with others who cannot feel the same pain. Winner of four Directors Guild of Canada awards in 2008, including Best Direction. [Sexual references/sex scenes] DRAMA | CANADA | ENGLISH | 2007 CAST Robbie Kay, Monika Schurmann, Nina Dobrev
Just Sex and Nothing Else (REPEAT) A sexy film about a woman disillusioned by the state of affairs in the dating scene. Thirty-something Dora is desperate to have a baby and decides that all she really needs is sex, so she sets up an internet site looking for sperm donors. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language, Nudity, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | HUNGARY | HUNGARIAN | 2005 CAST Judit Schell, Sándor Csányi, Kata Dobó
Little Jungle Boy (REPEAT) The story of a 12-year-old boy who grows up in the jungle with animals but is kidnapped and taken to Singapore. FAMILY | AUSTRALIA | ENGLISH | 1971
Badman’s Territory (REPEAT) A western drama set between 1850-1899, when part of the West was uncontrolled by government, and notorious outlaws of frontier history fled across the territory’s border, leaving the sheriff and his men helpless. [Violence] WESTERN | USA | ENGLISH | 1946 CAST Randolph Scott, Gabby Hayes, Steve Brodie, Ann Richards, Ray Collins, Chief Thundercloud
Trail Street (REPEAT) The story of the men and women who carved a great wheat empire out of the wilds of early Kansas. WESTERN | USA | ENGLISH | 1947 CAST Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Steve Brodie, Madge Meredith
Body Snatchers (REPEAT) From a normal existence, the Malone family find themselves plunged into a world of terror where people’s lives are drained by body snatchers and become inhumane monsters. [Horror or supernatural themes, Coarse language, Violence] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | 1993 CAST Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, Gabrielle Anwar
The Brigand of Kandahar (REPEAT) In 1850s India, a British officer in the Bengal Lancers is falsely accused of cowardice, court-martialled and discharged. [Violence] ADVENTURE | UK | ENGLISH | 1965 CAST Oliver Reed, Ronald Lewis, Duncan Lamont, Yvonne Romain
Mrs. Miniver (REPEAT) The Miniver family must learn to cope with war constantly threatening their home front. But when valiant Mrs Miniver captures a German pilot, the stark reality of war arrives on her doorstep. DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 1942 CAST Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright
Three Hats for Lisa (REPEAT) A musical chase around swinging ’60s London, evading press and police as three young Cockneys take a day off work to meet a foreign movie star at Heathrow airport. COMEDY | UK | ENGLISH | 1966 CAST Sid James, Una Stubbs, Joe Brown, Sophie Hardy
Miss Robin Hood (REPEAT) A modern female Robin Hood does good for all. COMEDY | UK | ENGLISH | 1952 CAST Margaret Rutherford, Sid James
The Reaping (REPEAT) Ex-missionary Katherine has devoted her life to debunking religious phenomena. But when she’s called to a small Southern town to investigate a series of strange occurrences, she runs out of logical explanations. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | 2007 CAST Hilary Swank, David Morrisey, Stephen Rea
Alien Raiders (REPEAT) A group of scientists take a grocery store hostage believing that they have traced an Alien invasion to this location. They are determined to stop this invasion at all costs.[Horror or supernatural themes, Coarse language, Violence] HORROR | USA | ENGLISH | 2010 CAST Carlos Bernard, Mathew St. Patrick, Courtney Ford, Rockmond Dunbar
Tim Winton’s The Turning ( ) Seventeen Australian directors create chapters of the hauntingly beautiful novel by Tim Winton. The overlapping stories explore the extraordinary turning points in ordinary people’s lives. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] DRAMA | AUSTRALIA | ENGLISH | 2012
Jacquou Le Croquant (REPEAT) A lavish 19th century epic about a French peasant boy who grows up to lead a revolt against the man responsible for his father’s death. An adventurous tale of forbidden love, honour, hardship and privilege based on the 1897 novel by Eugene le Roy. [Violence] DRAMA | FRANCE | FRENCH | 2007 CAST Gaspard Ulliel, Leo Legrand, Marie-Josée Croze
Kinyarwanda ( ) At the time of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Mufti of Rwanda issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from participating in the killing of the Tutsi. As the country became a slaughterhouse, mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis came together to protect each other. Kinyarwanda is based on true accounts from survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the madrassa of Nyanza. [Violence] DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 2011
Hannibal Brooks (REPEAT) A British POW is assigned to care for an elephant in a Munich Zoo, leading to a series of adventures across the Alps. [Violence] COMEDY | UK | ENGLISH | 1969 CAST Oliver Reed, Karin Baal, Wolfgang Preiss, Helmut Lohner, Peter Karsten
Kung Fu Panda (REPEAT) A clumsy and overweight panda, Po, dreams of becoming a kung fu master. When great leader Oogway has a vision that the imprisoned kung fu warrior Tai Lung will soon escape, he declares it time to choose China’s dragon warrior. Po and the townspeople rush to the Jade Palace to witness the contest between Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Crane and Viper. After a miracle of sorts, Po finds himself apart of the contest where hilarity reigns as Master Shifu tries to make Po into some resemblance of a kung fu warrior.[Violence] ANIMATION | USA | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Wayne Knight, Michael Clarke Duncan
American Pie: The Wedding(REPEAT) It’s the wedding of Jim and Michelle and the gathering of their families and friends, including Jim’s old friends from high school and Michelle’s little sister. [Coarse language, Nudity, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2003 CAST Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas, January Jones, Eugene Levy, Molly Cheek, Deborah Rush, Fred Willard
American Pie Presents Beta House (REPEAT)Our favourite band of wild teens head off to college and land right on fraternity row where everyone is swept up in the craziness, pranks, partying and unpredictable situations. [Coarse language, Nudity, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2007 CAST Eugene Levy, Jason Segel, Steve Talley, John White, Christopher McDonald, Nick Nicotera, Jonathan Keltz, Bradford Anderson, Christine Barger, Sarah Power
Return of the Frontiersman (REPEAT) A sheriff has to jail his son after Logan is accused of killing a brawler who provoked a fight. Logan escapes jail with the aid of his friend who, unknown to Logan, is the real killer. [Violence] WESTERN | USA | ENGLISH | 1950CAST Gordon MacRae, Rory Calhoun, Julie London, Jack Holt, Fred Clark
Where Eagles Dare (REPEAT) After the shooting down of a British aircraft, a commando team headed by Major John Smith is sent in to retrieve the sole survivor, a US General with detailed knowledge of the D-Day operation.[Violence] WAR | UK | ENGLISH | 1969 CAST Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton, Patrick Wymark
The Illusionist (REPEAT) With his eye on a lovely aristocrat, a gifted illusionist named Eisenheim uses his powers to win her away from her betrothed, a crowned prince. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 2006 CAST Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell
The Bodyguard (REPEAT) A former secret service agent is now a bodyguard for a pop superstar-turned-actress. In the course of protecting the unpredictable star from a homicidal fan, they develop a trust and love that is rare for both. [Coarse language, Violence] DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 1992 CAST Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, Ralph Waite
Dumb & Dumber (REPEAT) Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels get more than they bargained for when they try to return a briefcase left at the airport by socialite Mary Swanson. Unaware that the case is crammed with cash intended for the baddies who abducted Mary’s husband, the two cretins set out on a cross-country trip to find her – with the kidnappers not far behind. [Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 1994 CAST Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly
Red Riding Hood ( ) In a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl falls for a woodcutter, much to her family’s displeasure. But none of this matters when the werewolf begins to kill villagers. [Horror or supernatural themes, Violence] DRAMA | USA | ENGLISH | 2010 CAST Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Max Irons
Rocknrolla ( ) A story of sex, thugs and rock ‘n’ roll, this film takes a dangerous ride into high crime and low life in contemporary London, where real estate has supplanted drugs as the biggest market and criminals are its most enthusiastic entrepreneurs. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] ACTION | UK | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Jeremy Piven
A Very Brady Sequel ( ) At the Brady’s anniversary party, Carol Brady’s first husband arrives. When he kidnaps Carol, the family takes off in pursuit for the adventure of their lives. [Drug use/references, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 1996 CAST Shelley Long, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Christine Taylor, Richard Belzer, David Spade, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rosie O’Donnell
Horrible Bosses (REPEAT) Three best friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realise they are standing in the way of their happiness. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes]COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2011CAST Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey
Payback (REPEAT) A ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Asian gang, survives the attack and makes it his mission to exact revenge. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] ACTION | USA | ENGLISH | 1999 CAST Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Lucy Liu, Deborah Unger, Kris Kristofferson
Assassination of a High School President (REPEAT) At a Catholic high school, the popular girl teams up with a sophomore newspaper reporter to investigate a case of stolen SAT exams. Once the duo target their suspects, a larger conspiracy is unearthed. [Drug use/references, Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2008CAST Mischa Barton, Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Michael Rapaport, Kathryn Morris, Melonie Diaz
Seven Days to Noon (REPEAT) John Willingdon, steals an atomic bomb from the lab where he works. Appalled by the weapon’s deadly power, he threatens to detonate the bomb if government doesn’t ban nuclear research. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Violence] THRILLER | UK | ENGLISH | 1950 CAST Barry Jones, Olive Sloane, André Morell, Sheila Manahan, Hugh Cross
Cactus (REPEAT) A man is kidnapped from his home and taken on a journey into the Australian outback, where the strength and endurance of the kidnapper and hostage are tested. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] CRIME | AUSTRALIA | ENGLISH | 2008 CAST Bryan Brown, Travis McMahon, Shane Jacobson, David Lyons
Guess Who (REPEAT) It’s time to for Simon to meet his future father-in-law, Percy. But he is faced with his ultimate challenge as Percy is a sarcastic father who has plenty to say about his daughter bringing home a white boy. [Sexual references/sex scenes] COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 2005 CAST Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana
The Road to Guantanamo (REPEAT) Part drama, part documentary, this film focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were heading for a wedding in Pakistan but were captured on the Afghanistan border and then imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. Two years of relentless interrogations and torture followed before they were released without charge. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Coarse language] DOCUMENTARY | UK | ENGLISH | 2006 CAST Riz Ahmed, Farhad Harun, Waqar Siddiqui
Wake in Fright (REPEAT) The story of a teacher who arrives in a rough outback mining town for an overnight stay, but his one night stretches to five and he plunges headlong towards his own destruction. [Adult Themes or medical procedures, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence] THRILLER | AUSTRALIA | ENGLISH | 1971 CAST Donald Pleasence
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (REPEAT)12.10am – 1.50amGO!YesterdayWhen the four boys see an R-rated movie featuring Canadians Terrance and Phillip, they are pronounced corrupted, and their parents pressure the United States to wage war against Canada.[Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes, Violence]COMEDY | USA | ENGLISH | 1999
Licence to Kill (1989) Action.
The Anarchist’s Wife (2008) Drama. María Valverde, Juan Diego Botto.
3 (2010) Comedy. Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper.
Storm Boy (1976) Drama.
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Which name links that of a cricket commentator with a Bond villain? | James Bond 24: What is Spectre and who is Blofeld? - Telegraph
James Bond
James Bond 24: What is Spectre and who is Blofeld?
Bond 24's title has been revealed as Spectre, but what's the story behind the name? And will its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, appear in the new film?
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So the wait is over: it’s been announced that the 24th James Bond film will be called Spectre. Which means a return to the screen for the fictional terrorist organisation that featured in both the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, and the films adapted from them.
What does Spectre stand for?
Spectre is an acronym for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. The organisation made its first appearance in Fleming's 1961 novel Thunderball, and on screen in the first Bond film, Dr No (1962).
Who are the members of Spectre?
A heady mix of nasties, beginning with suave, metal-handed scientist Dr Julius No (Joseph Wiseman), followed by the eyepatch-wearing Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) in Thunderball. Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), famous for her bladed shoes in From Russia With Love, was Number 3 in the organisation (having defected from Smersh), and the sinister Mr Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr Kidd (Putter Smith), who tried to cremate Bond in Diamonds Are Forever, were also henchmen of the gang. But most famous of all is Spectre's Number 1: Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
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12 Feb 2015
Who is Blofeld?
The ultimate super-villain, his heart set on world domination, Blofeld appeared in three Bond novels (Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice) and seven Bond films (From Russia with Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, For Your Eyes Only and Never Say Never Again).
With his Nehru-collared suit and white Turkish angora cat, he is one of the most recognisable of the Bond characters, and has been parodied in everything from Danger Mouse to Austin Powers, where he was the main inspiration for Mike Myers's Dr Evil. His name was inspired by a boy Ian Fleming was at Eton with, Thomas Blofeld – father of the cricket commentator Henry "Blowers" Blofeld.
What does Blofeld look like?
Blofeld is a man of many guises. In From Russia With Love and Thunderball his face was never seen. In those films his body (only glimpsed below the neck) was that of Anthony Dawson (who also appeared in Dial M For Murder, and later popped up in 1967 Italian Bond spoof OK Connery) and his voice was supplied by the Viennese actor Eric Pohlmann.
In the Bond books, Fleming had Blofeld undergo plastic surgery to maintain his anonymity. This helps to make sense of the fact that Blofeld has been played by a series of different actors: Donald Pleasence (You Only Live Twice; bald, with a scar across his eye); Telly Savalas (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; bald, no earlobes); Charles Gray (Diamonds Are Forever; grey-haired, earlobes restored); John Hollis (For Your Eyes Only; wheelchair-bound and never referred to by name because of copyright disputes over Thunderball); and Max von Sydow (grey-haired, bearded) in 1983’s Never Say Never Again.
Will Blofeld make an appearance in the new film?
Ostensibly, the answer is no; the role was not mentioned at the Bond 24 press conference. But remember that Blofeld is a master of disguise, and consider the character to be played by Christoph Waltz. The two-time Oscar-winner will play Franz Oberhauser, son of Hannes Oberhauser, the Austrian climbing and skiing instructor who taught Bond when 007 was a boy. Rumour has it that Franz will turn into Blofeld – and thus Waltz will become the fifth (credited) actor to play the villain.
Spectre is released on October 23 2015 in the UK and November 6 2015 in the US
Spectre unveiling: new James Bond film cast revealed
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Which Rogers and Hart musical was based on Shaespeare's Comedy of Errors? | Notebook | Global | The Guardian
The Guardian
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Does anyone get a kick out of Matt?
Sports stars are now popular choices on Strictly Come Dancing. Darren Gough won the last series, edging out Colin Jackson, and before that Denise Lewis very nearly waltzed off with the crown. So it is no surprise that there are three in this season's line-up. The inclusion of the elegant cricketer Mark Ramprakash was understandable. That of Peter Schmeichel less so, though clearly the producers are hoping for the same metamorphosis from maladroit giant to graceful swan that Gough underwent.
But why Matt Dawson? After all, it's not as if there are people complaining that there is too little of the former rugby player on TV. Only a few weeks before, he was appearing on, and winning, Celebrity Masterchef . Then there is A Question of Sport, where his exchanges with Sue Barker are as embarrassing as one of your friends trying to flirt with your mum. A couple of years ago, Clive Woodward expressed a concern that many of England's World Cup winners would, in retirement, take the easy option of media work ahead of putting something back into the game through coaching. Wonder who he had in mind?
Remarkably, Dawson's Masterchef victory prompted one journalist to wonder whether he might be a contender to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Has 2006 really been that bad?
Why does Shivnarine Chanderpaul have stickers under his eyes?
On closer inspection, the markings visible on either cheek through the grill of his helmet turn out to be nothing more than anti-glare strips of the kind worn by American footballers. But here's the difference: Chanderpaul's strips are sponsored, most recently by the digital cellphone company Digicel. It surely won't be long before our own Prince Charming, Kevin Pietersen, follows suit. Is there a more unlikely trendsetter in world cricket than Shivnarine Chanderpaul , the diminutive West Indies batsman with an Indian heritage? Not only does the Guyanese have perhaps the most unorthodox technique in the Test game - hunched and shuffling, he resembles nothing so much as a startled crab at the crease - but he wears face paint whenever he goes out to bat in one-day internationals.
How many hats can one man wear?
Never content with being just the vice-chairman of Arsenal, David Dein was once nicknamed the 'kingmaker' for his role, as FA vice-chairman, in selecting Sven as England boss, and arguing his way on to the committee to choose Sven's successor. Dein was ousted from the FA board in June, but has now been appointed president of the G-14 group, which represents 18 of Europe's biggest clubs. While demanding that the FA compensate Newcastle for Michael Owen's World Cup injury, Dein remains a member of the FA Council and represents the Premier League on UEFA's committee for club competitions. Did someone say 'conflict of interests'?
You only live twice Mr Bond
A correspondent to Private Eye recently suggested that Ian Fleming had named Blofeld, the evil mastermind in his James Bond novels, after the father of BBC cricket commentator Henry Blofeld. We went straight to the fruity TMS commentator for confirmation ...
'My dear thing, it's quite true. My Papa and Ian had known each other at Eton. When Ian was working on the novel that would become Thunderball in the early Sixties, he wrote to Papa telling him that he had come up with a new villain, that he wanted to name him Blofeld and would he mind. Exclamation mark, exclamation mark! Papa thought it mildly amusing and wasn't in the least bit worried. Mind you, that was before any of the films had been made, so he had no idea how notorious Blofeld would become.'
Blofeld Snr wasn't the only old Etonian to appear as Bond's nemesis. Scaramanga, the three-nippled psychotic played by Christopher Lee in The Man With the Golden Gun, was named after a school chum and golfing partner of the author. He and Fleming are said to have enjoyed several rounds at Royal Ashdown Forest, a sedate club in deepest Sussex. The Bond villain perished after a hall-of-mirrors shootout, but on the club's honours board the name lives on.
Good month for ... charity
Shane Warne
Raises cash for needy kids by appearing on Neighbours and playing poker with Hugh Grant. Who says do-gooding is dull?
Madejski Wags
Launch a campaign for women and children with the slogan: 'We're not spending money, we're raising it.' Nice one.
Peter Gregory
Quits job as the England cricket team's doctor to work with the poor. In Romania.
Bad month for ... music
Henry Olonga
Treated viewers of C5's All Star Talent Show to Nessun Dorma but still without a producer for his debut album, Aurelia.
Joe Worsley
The rugby player is 'making interesting electronic noises' on his computer. They'll call these his early years.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Writing lyrics for his sister's new single. 'The public adore me for myself, not because of my brother,' says modest Katie - aka Ronalda.
Sporting lexicon
Hooked v. Vogue word used to describe a footballer being substituted, adapted from a TV talent show in which a hook pulled failing acts off stage. Viz. a report in the Sun: 'A furious Arjen Robben, hooked after 67 minutes ...'
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Which North Wales town is included in the name of a pop star who had a Number One hit with It's Only Make Believe in 1958? | It's Behind You - Popstars in Panto!
Popstars in Panto!
In 2011 Rapper and Pop Star Vanilla Ice appeared in pantomime as Captain Hook. This year also found Tony �
Amarillo
Windsor
.
As with everything Pantomime, there is nothing new in having a music celebrity star in the show. The convention goes back a good fifty odd years at the very least.
The 1960�s saw a new wave of panto performers- The Pop Singer. The Flagship of British Pantomime at that time, The London Palladium had heralded the rise of the Male Principal Boy as Pop Singer- a trend that swept theatres around the UK . Rock and Roll might be competition for Variety, but Pantomime quickly embraced it and showcased it within its variety based format.
The Age Of The Pop Star Panto was here to stay throughout the �Swinging 60�s and in to the Seventies.- and beyond.
The Palladium Pantomimes - Rise of the Pop Idol in Panto.
An early Palladium panto starring a recording artist was in 1957.
David Whitfield: The 1950�s Singing Star appeared in Robinson Crusoe at the Palladium 1957 opposite Tommy Cooper and Arthur Askey with Patricia Perkins and Joseph Layode. He made several other pantomime appearances during his career. Teddy Johnson replaced him in rehearsals for The Alex Birmingham shortly before teaming up with Pearl Carr.
Fifties singer Joan Regan�s career took her pre pop to the Beatles and beyond.
Joan Regan- Joan starred in �Puss In Boots� at The London Palladium in 1962 alongside recording star Frankie Vaughan and comedian Dick Emery. Frankie Vaughan was the current pop idol of that age, and Joan was an established recording star. Joan also appeared in Liverpool at the Empire theatre alongside rising new star Lynda Barron- this was either 1956 or 1958.
Joan Regan (born in Romford 1928) is still making the occasional performance to this day- I had the pleasure of working with her in a Music Hall a few years ago- her voice is as strong today as it was when she began her recording career in 1953. Her hit records included �I�ll Walk Alone� and �Too Young� which got her a recording contract through Delfont for Decca Records, and later for Pye Records. Resident singer for the BBC she had her own Television series called �Be My Guest�, as well as a record career, Royal Command performances and variety. She appeared in the film of �6.5 Special� alongside the newly minted Rock and pop stars Lonnie Donegan, The John Barry Seven, Jim Dale and Petula Clark.
�Somebody else�s Roses�, �Ricochet� and �Happy Anniversary� were further hits- her most popular being �May You Always� in 1958 for EMI�s HMV Label. Joan Regan married Harry Claff the joint manager of the Palladium five years before starring in panto there- and, after Claff was jailed for fraud, of which Regan was unaware of, she divorced her husband, and suffered a breakdown. She lived in America from 1968 continuing to make records and returned to the UK in the 1990�s.
Frankie Vaughan- Born Frank Abelson in Liverpool, �Mr Moonlight�, Frankie Vaughan recorded for Decca (1950) with a hit �Daddy�s Little Girl�, and for HMV (1952) and with trademark Top Hat and Cane for Philips from 1955 �Tweedle Dee� one of the 22 hits he created in the top 40 for this label.
Early films included �Wonderful Things� and �The Lady�s A Square� co-starring with Anna Neagle.
Frankie Vaughan�s hits include �Seventeen�, �Green Door�, �Tower Of Strength� and �Give Me The Moonlight� which became his high kicking signature tune. He appeared at the Copacabana in New York, had a hit in the American Charts with �Judy� (1957) and Frankie really did go to Hollywood- he made a film with Marilyn Monroe- called �Let�s Make Love�
His Palladium Pantomime was �Puss In Boots� with 50�s and 60�s singing star Joan Regan, Dick Emery as �Puss�, Jimmy Edwards, Mike & Bernie Winters and Gillian Lynne- Gillian became one of the top choreographers in Musical Theatre, and created the staging for �Cats� at The New London Theatre.
Cliff Richard and The Shadows. Cliff Richard had already become a major recording and film star by 1964. His films included �The Young Ones�, �Summer Holiday�, (1963)�Wonderful Life� and �Finders Keepers� Influenced by Presley, He and Tommy Steele were the first in a line of Pop Stars, along with Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde and Billy Fury.
Appearances on TV�s �Oh Boy!� in 1958 and a contract with EMI led to hit records like �Schoolboy Crush�, �Move It�, �Dynamite", and his fifth single �Living Doll� which is still his signature song today.
I believe Cliff and The Shadows appeared in pantomime at Stockton- The Globe Theatre- possibly in 1961 or thereabouts. Apparently during their off stage time the Shadows were busy composing the score for �Summer Holiday� the film.
�Cliff In �Aladdin� London Palladium 1964: This panto starred Cliff, The Shadows, veteran comedian Arthur Askey and Una Stubbs.
Cliff & The Shadows- �Cinderella� 1966-67. This panto featured Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott as the Ugly Sisters, with Jack Douglas and Tanya �The Adorable Elephant�. It also featured Peter Gilmore, Pippa Steel and Tudor Davies. It was the first time small radio microphones were used in a Palladium Pantomime. Because the large stand microphones were not seen, Cliff was accused of miming his songs!
The Shadows wrote all the lyrics and music for this pantomime. It was their third. The Original line up of the Shadows was Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch from Newcastle, who teamed up with Jet Harris, Tony Meehan and Cliff Richard.
By 1963 and the London Palladium �Cinderella� The Shadows were Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett (Drummer, joined in 1961) and John Rostill (Bass Guitar, joined that year).
Cliff Richard & The Shadows had a huge hit with �Please Don�t Tease� No1 1960 and The Shadows-�Apache�-1960 sold one million records.�Kon Tiki� (1961), �The Young Ones� (1962) �Foot Tapper� (1963) and Dance On� 1963. For Cliff- now Sir Cliff the hits kept coming through the decades in a career to widespread to cover here- his influence as Male Principal Boy in pantomime was widespread- soon theatres around the UK wanted to book a male pop star as Jack, Aladdin and Dick Whittington.
Frank Ifield. Born in Coventry of Australian parents, he moved to Sydney in 1946. At 19 he was the Number 1 recording star in Australia. Hits include �I Remember You�- seven weeks at Number One in 1962. Also �She Taught Me How To Yodel�, also in 1962 �Lovesick Blues� and in 1963 The Wayward Wind�
In 1963 Frank Ifield was as popular in the UK as The Beatles. He amassed three number one hit records.
His pantomime at The London Palladium was in 1965 �Babes In The Wood� with Frank Ifield as an heroic Robin Hood. The pantomime also starred Arthur Askey as Nurse, Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Roy Kinnear. The Aida Foster children were featured, among them were a young Elaine Paige and a young Sharon Arden- better known today as Sharon Osborne!
Engelbert Humperdink.
In 2012 Engelbert Humperdink represented the
United Kingdom
in the Eurovision Song Contest, at the age of 76.
Born Gerry Dorsey and named after the Operatic composer of �Hansel & Gretel� .Engelbert starred as Crusoe in the Palladium Pantomime �Robinson Crusoe in 1967 with veteran comedian Arthur Askey as Mrs Crusoe. During the run Arthur fell through a trapdoor, and Billy Tasker went on in his place. When captured by the natives on the desert Isle, and held in a cage Engelbert sang his number one hit �Please release me, Let me go!�
Also appearing were Jimmy Logan and Hope and Keen. The script was by David Croft before he teamed up with Jimmy Perry to create shows such as �It Aint Half Hot Mum�. He was also the creator of �Dad�s Army�, �Are You Being Served� and other hit television comedy series.
Mary Hopkin: Mary Hopkin starred alongside Tommy Steele and Billy Dainty in �Dick Whittington� at the Palladium in 1969. She also appeared at The Opera House Manchester 1971 in �Cinderella� for Mills & Delfont. This pantomime starred Mary Hopkin with Arthur Askey and Lonnie Donegan. The young man playing Dandini on �55 a week was David Essex! He had previously understudied Tommy Steele at the Palladium and appeared in that Role.
The panto included Peter Butterworth and Joe Black with Dailey & Wayne and Tony Adams, later to find fame in �Crossroads� on ITV.
Born in Pontadawe South Wales, Mary Hopkin aged 18 won the TV Talent Show �Opportunity Knocks� and caught the attention of Paul McCartney. She was one of the first artistes to record on the Beatles� Apple Record Label, and her first single �Those Were The Days� became a Number One Hit in the UK and reached Number Two in the American Hit Parade.
Mary followed this with hits like �Turn, Turn, Turn� and �Goodbye�, and was the UK entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest with �Knock Knock- Who�s there?�- she came second to Dana who sang �All Kinds Of Everything�.
In 1971 Mary Hopkin began to retire from the public eye to marry and have a family. Living in Mumbles, Swansea at that time I would sometimes see her on the seafront.
Mumbles had a good reputation for pop stars and celebrity- my neighbour was Bonnie Tyler, Catherine Zeta Jones lived in the area appearing in the local amateur shows before heading for stardom, and actress Joanna Paige lived along the road a short distance from where veteran actor Gerald Harper had lived. Welsh Hollywood perhaps!
Mary Hopkin later led a fairly nomadic lifestyle, and very recently collaborated on an album with Dolly Parton, duetting �Those Were The Days� with Dolly.
Tommy Steele � Britain�s first real Rock Star.
�Britain's answer to Elvis�- Tommy Steele was born Thomas Hinks in 1936 in Bermondsey, London, and, after a stint in the Merchant Navy (1952-56) during which he played in a few groups, he was spotted by John Kennedy and Larry Parnes, and was given a recording contract with Decca. So fast was Tommy�s rise to success that his first single �Rock With The Caveman� and an appearance on the TV show �Off The Record� in 1956 , he was greeted with fan hysteria wherever he went. Less than a year after his debut a biopic was made of his life ��The Tommy Steele Story". By this time he�d had three chart singles including �Singing The Blues�.
The first Rock & Roll star to appear in Madam Tussauds waxworks in Britain, and the first to appear in �This Is Your Life�, in 1957 he was described as:
�A sensational discovery for Pantomime�
After an appearance in� Goldilocks.�- Tommy later went on to play Buttons in the Rogers & Hammerstein version of �Cinderella� at The London Coliseum in 1958. Yana played the title role with Jimmy Edwards as Baron and Kenneth Williams partnering Ted Durante as The Ugly Sisters. He played Dick Whittington at The Palladium Panto with Mary Hopkin in 1969. His understudy was the young David Essex.
With over 13 top 20 hits, Tommy Steele made a second film, �The Duke Wore Jeans�, followed by �Tommy The Toreador� in 1959 which produced the hit record �Little White Bull�.
Tommy became a West End and Broadway star in musicals such as �Hans Christian Andresen�, �Half A Sixpence�, �Singing In The Rain� (directed & starred in London) and was to reprise his role in �Half A Sixpence� on film in Hollywood. As a film star he appeared in �Finian�s Rainbow� with Petula Clark and Fred Astaire, �The Happiest Millionaire� �Where�s Jack�, and wrote and starred in the film "Quincy's Quest�.
Touring musicals included �Sugar�, �Some Like It Hot�, Dr. Doolittle and of course �Scrooge� which has played many major theatres in the UK. This Christmas Tommy Steele will be starring once again as �Scrooge� at The Lowry, Salford 2011-12.
While the London Palladium influenced the change from Female Principal Boy in the 1960�s the tide briefly turned back to using ladies in the role mainly because of one Palladium Panto Star- the year was 1970. The star- Cilla!
Cilla Black- began her panto career in the same year as she was launched as a pop star by Brian Epstein- in 1965 she starred as �Red Riding Hood� at Wimbledon
�Anyone Who Had A Heart� 1964 and �You�re My World� 1964 were two of her early hit records.
Cilla Black starred as �Aladdin� at The Palladium in 1970. In addition Cilla has had a huge career in recording, television and in Pantomime. Her appearance at the London Palladium was the turning point for the Principal Boy- Having been in the hands of male performers- often Pop Star Performers at the Palladium, Cilla�s appearance as �Boy� in the title role saw a swing (briefly) back to the traditional Principal Boy played by a female.
See our � Spotlight On Cilla Black � for full details of her career and pantomime appearances.
Cilla�s most recent appearance in Pantoland was for First Family Entertainment at the newly opened Waterside Theatre In Aylesbury as Fairy Godmother in �Cinderella � 2010-11.
The Stars of the 1950 Pop Charts had already found a niche in the world of pantomime. Stars like Ronnie Hilton, The Beverley Sisters, Joan Regan and Yana were appearing in panto alongside the up and coming chart toppers of the pre Beatles age.
Freddie and the Dreamers, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Shadows were among pop groups who found themselves playing Chinese Policemen, Brokers Men or The Brothers of The Principal Boy in pantomimes across the country.
Record Moguls were only too pleased to loan out their young stars to promote their latest chart song in a panto for a few months- Cilla Black was to make her first appearance on stage as the Star of �Red Riding Hood� in Wimbledon.
Some 1960�s Pop Idols were put into pantomime without even the thinnest disguise of being in the story. In the 1950�s and early 1960�s it was possible to halt the panto halfway through the second act and simply announce �Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome our special guest star Miss Alma Cogan... or Mr Danny Williams singing his latest hit �Moon River� or �Your very own Miss Dusty Springfield� singing her latest hits. It was a convention that had started in the ten years before with recording artistes such as Vera Lynn walking onto the stage halfway through a pantomime, usually in the ballroom, sometimes in the Woods to perform a fifteen minute spot. They rarely remained for the final curtain and could sometimes appear in three different pantomimes in a day!
The 1950�s Stars and Pantomime
Julie Andrews- appeared at The London Palladium in 1953 as �Cinderella� � Jon Pertwee was one of the Ugly Sisters. Max Bygraves- major recording star and famed later for his �Singalongamax� party albums- was Buttons. Richard Hearne played Baron Pastry and the script was penned by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan.
Julie Andrews starred in the Casino (Now The Prince Edward Theatre) London in �Aladdin�. For details of Julie Andrew�s early career in pantomime, see our article: Julie Andrews in Pantomime by Simon Moss .
Ronnie Hilton - in 1956 Elvis Presley�s USA Hit record �Heartbreak Hotel� failed to dislodge Ronnie Hilton from the Number One Hit Parade in the UK. He remained there for six weeks with �No Other Love�- such was the celebrity of Ronnie Hilton through the 1950�s and later in the mid 1960�s.
Ronnie was a charming and lovely and a funny man- he liked it drop, it has to be said and was generous to a fault. He was a delight to work with when we did Hull Pantomime- his home town � with �Cinderella�, and although by this time ( 1989) his fame had waned, his charm was always to the fore. Spending time with Ronnie and his (second) wife Chrissie was a great joy, as was watching him in his singing spot in the ballroom as Baron when he became young again.
Born in Hull in 1926 , Adrian Hill (renamed by a producer- �It sounds too much like a Doctor�) or Ronnie Hilton as he became made his debut at the Dudley Hippodrome in 1954. Almost overnight he was urged to give up his �day job� and received a BBC radio series and a recording contract with EMI�s own HMV label.
In 1954 he released �Veni, Vidi, Vici� and �I Still Believe�, followed by �A Blossom Fell� in 1955. Other hits followed- �The Yellow Rose Of Texas� and �Stars Shine In Your Eyes�- he was effectively one of the last of the balladeer before Rock and Roll took over the airwaves.
A smooth strong singing style in the mould of a Sinatra or a Nat King Cole, he achieved huge fame in 1956 with �No Other Love�. His version of �Magic Moments� was actually released before the iconic one by Perry Como in the States, a fact Ronnie never let pass unnoticed!
Other hits included �Around The World� in 1957- Ronnie�s version was more popular than Bing Crosby�s, and he was honoured to appear in three Royal Command Performances.
He had nine top twenty chart hits between 1954 and 1957. Ronnie earned a fortune and spent a fortune. Throughout he always performed in Pantomime as Wishee Washee, Idle Jack and latterly as King and as Baron.
His early pantomime career was cemented by the 1957-8 �Sleeping Beauty� at the Lyceum Sheffield, and he followed this with a huge number of pantomime appearances, a great many of them in Hull and Leeds. In 1958 he starred at the Alhambra in Bradford for Sam Newsome in �Dick Whittington� with Sonny Jenks and Billy Stutt.
In 1970 Ronnie starred alongside Les Dawson and Wyn Calvin at the Leeds Grand in �Babes In The Wood�.
Grand Theatre Leeds - 1965
click on image to enlarge
Paul Elliott regarded Ronnie as his �Lucky Mascot�, as he starred in Paul�s first pantomimes in the early 1970�s and they did excellent business.
When Ronnie�s career in recording waned in the early 1960�s he continued to make annual Summer season and panto appearances until in 1965 he recorded �Windmill In Old Amsterdam� � a comedy number, aimed mostly at Children that went on to sell over a million records! It became the number (much to his chagrin) that he was forever associated with.
Perfect in �Cinderella� when we did it together- Ronnie sat on the Palace stairs after the ball, when Cinders had fled and sang it gently as one by one the dancers in mouse costumes appeared and the house went crazy!
Ronnie was an inspiration and great fun to listen to- his stories were legendary. He�d been there, done that and survived. It was heart warming that his later years were spent as the voice of BBC2�s �Sounds Of The Fifties� which he continued even after suffering a stroke, and almost up until his death in 2001 aged 75.
Ronnie took the whole company- Les Dennis, Sophie Aldred, Natalie Cleverley, Peter Robbins, Myself out for a meal by the seaside near Hull. This was by now his twenty seventh pantomime.
He was a modest man, and we only discovered later in the evening that he�d once owned the restaurant in his �Flashier� days- the current owner had volumes of scrapbooks under the counter- a great panto artiste and a huge star was Ronnie Hilton.
Ronnie Interviewed
Alma Cogan- the vivacious singer of the 1950�s and �60�s. The girl �With a giggle in her voice�. With her trademark dresses billowing out in exaggerated �Fifties style she became a pantomime star on a few occasions- mostly appearing as �Special Guest Star� in the second half, performing a few numbers and departing- it was an accepted way of getting popular singing stars to appear and promote- and rarely was it even mentioned in the plot. Stars like Alma Cogan and later Dusty Springfield would simple appear in their modern clothes and do fifteen minutes! Cilla Black was a later generation by 1965 and played the role of Red Riding Hood in her debut appearance.
One of Alma�s pantomime appearances was �Guest Starring� in �Aladdin� at the Empress Theatre, Brixton London with Bill Maynard and Maureen Kershaw.
Alma Cogan�s hits included �Twenty Tiny Fingers�, �Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo� (and they say the lyrics of today are strange?_ �Willie Can�, �The Railroad Runs Through The Middle Of The House�, �Bell Bottom Blues�, �Dreamboat� and �Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its flavour on the bedpost overnight!�. She had swooping ballads as well as comedy numbers and was a truly major star- one of televisions most frequent guest stars, and one of the first pop stars to be promoted through television not radio- as well as the pantomime appearances.
Alma Cogan sadly died in 1966 aged only 34. Throughout her career her home was open to all of Show Business, and her parties were legendary. Vivacious both on and offstage she was hugely missed by her fans.
Yana- �The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane�
Today an internet search for Yana brings up hundreds of pictures of model Yana Gupta, but in 1956 the face on every magazine and on television and screen was a different Yana.
Yana- born Pamela Guard in Romford Essex 1932. Yana was the glamorous singing star of the late 1950�s and early 1960�s. Her film and television career included her own show and feature films for Warwick Films including �Zarak� and �The Cockleshell Heroes�.
In 1956 she starred in �The Yana Show� on BBC TV and went to America to appear on the Bob Hope and Ed Sullivan Shows.
1957 she starred in �The Kings Of Skiffle� at The Prince Of Wales Theatre London �Encased�, as the Daily Telegraph reported �in a white gown that fitted like a bandage and clinging so closely to a hand microphone that one could be forgiven for mistaking it for mouthspray�
Her hit recordings included �Climb Up The Wall� (1956 for HMV and �The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane�. She also had hits with �Mr Wonderful� 1957 and �I Need You� 1958.
She starred in the title role of �Cinderella� by Rogers & Hammerstein in 1958.
This pantomime opened at the London Coliseum with pop star Tommy Steele as Buttons. On the cast recording Yana sang �In My Own Little Corner� and �A Lovely Night". Yana starred alongside Norman Wisdom in the London Palladium Pantomime, "Turn Again Whittington� as Alice Fitzwarren in 1960 and later appeared with Bruce Forsyth in panto at the Palace Manchester.
In 1964 Yana starred in �Cinderella� at The New Theatre Oxford. The panto starred Des O�Connor as Buttons, with Danny La Rue and Alan Hayes as The Ugly Sisters, Erica Yorke as Prince Charming, Jack Douglas, George Arnett and Wendy Cameron.
Yana later played Principal Boy in many pantomimes including �Aladdin� at The Royal, Brighton She had top billing alongside Bernard Bresslaw, Clive Dunn and Basil Brush. She Married three times, her second husband being Alan Curtis, the prolific Pantomime Villain and veteran of many Palladium Pantomimes.
One of her last pantomime appearances was at the Civic Theatre Colne in �Robin Hood and The Babes In The Wood� in the 1980�s Having given up performing she had a brief revival after being �rediscovered� as Glinda in �The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz� at Crewe, and returned to cabaret for a short while. She appeared in the ITV programme �Where Are They Now� in 1983 while still performing in cabaret.
Yana died in 1989 aged 57.
Rosemary Squires - (not to be confused with Rosemary Squire who, along with her husband Howard Panter head The Ambassadors Theatre Group) popular singer of the 1950�s and 1960�s appeared in some pantomimes including �Mother Goose� in 1960 at The Granada Shrewsbury, starring with trumpeter and recording star Eddie Calvert.
The Royal Command Variety Show 1960
This show, held at the Victoria Palace and headlined by The Crazy Gang and Liberace, alongside Nat King Cole and Vera Lynn � the show heralded the dawning of the age of pop and rock and roll into variety, pantomime and television. The cast list is truly a �Who�s Who� of pop with the older guard- Vera Lynn, Anne Shelton, Ronnie Carroll Joan Regan and Ronnie Hilton alongside the established Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, Brian Johnson and Alma Cogan, Marion Ryan, Bruce Forsyth and newest stars- Millicent Martin, Lonnie Donegan, Adam Faith and Dennis Lotis.
Ruby Murray- The Irish singing sensation broke all hit parade records before, and indeed since in 1955 with Five Singles in the Top Twenty at the same time!
The Twenty Year old with the gentle breathy voice had huge hits with singles like �Softly Softly�, �If Anyone Finds This I Love You�
Ruby starred as Principal Girl in several pantomimes, often with her husband Bernard (Bernie)Burgess. Fortunately Bernie listed the early pantomimes on the Ruby Murray Website.
Liverpool Empire 1957-58 �Babes In The Wood� with Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warris. Playing opposite Ruby as Robin Hood was Lynette Rae who later went on to marry Irish singing star Val Doonican. The panto also starred Arthur Haynes and Freddie Frinton- Freddie was famed for his �drunk act� and for the famous television sketch �Dinner For One� with Cicely Courtneidge. This sketch is hugely popular in Germany to this day, and is part of their traditional New Year viewing on TV!
1959-60 The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester- �Dick Whittington� starring Ruby Murray and Freddie Mills.
The NME- New Musical Express revealed on 23rd September 1960 that Pantomime was beckoning for Pop Stars Dennis Lotis, Ruby Murray and The Dallas Boys that year.
1960-61 The Pavilion Theatre, Torquay with Ruby Murray starring as �Cinderella� and Derek Roy as Buttons.
1962 The King�s Theatre Southsea saw the opening of the touring version of �Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs� starring Ruby Murray- The photograph (kindly sent to us by Duggie Chapman) shows Ruby with husband Bernard Burgess as Prince Rupert and the debut of Ted Rogers as Muddles. It also featured Jean and Peter Barbour�s Puppet specialty, Barbara Jackson and Tony Lester.
The tour of �Snow White� went around the UK for almost eleven months.
(We are very grateful to cast member Llewellyn Williams for correcting our earlier claim of two years!)
1963-64 �Puss In Boots� at The Royalty Theatre, Chester. The panto starred Ruby with Peter Goodwright, Alex Munro (popular North Wales based entertainer and Father of film star Janet Munro). The manager of the Royalty Theatre at that time was Dennis Critchley.
That era of entertainers and their huge popularity meant a few entered the Cockney Hall Of Fame- so popular were they that their names becoming rhyming slang- Lionel Blair- �Putting on my Lionel�s� was slang for Flared Trousers- Blair=Flare for example. Rhyming slang for being hungry was Hank Marvin (from The Shadows) Marvin=Starvin� and Ruby Murray�s name is still in everyday use in East London, and all over the UK � I�m going for a Ruby- A Ruby Murray= A Curry!
I was very lucky to have worked with Ruby on a number of occasions in the 1970�s. One season at the Grand in Scarborough was memorable. The room was crowded, the audience had �had a few�- I opened with a cockney medley on the piano with a pearly suit and went down like the Hindenburg. Complete silence. As I exited Ruby clutched me as she entered �Oh god!� she said. The band struck up �When Irish Eyes are Smilin�� and you could hear a pin drop. Then the audience talked through her entire act. When Ruby came off- she never cut a single song despite I was able to tell her what we hadn�t known. It was �Scots week� in Scarborough, and our house came entirely from Glasgow!
I was waiting for the finale in �Cinderella� years later-17th December 1996 on the opposite side of the stage to Bob Carolgees when I saw someone speak to him. He mimed to me the news that Ruby had died that evening- he and I had both worked with her and after curtain down we went out to a bar and toasted her memory that evening. A gesture I know she�d have approved.
The Beverley Sisters- Joy, Babs and Teddie- collectively �The Beverley Sisters� or �The Bev�s�. Britain�s answer to The Andrews Sisters they entered the Guiness Book Of Records for being the longest harmony act in history without a change in the line-up.
Joy (born 1929) and twins Babs and Teddie (Born 1932) had hits with �Sisters�, written for them by Irving Berlin, and �I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus�, �Little Donkey� and �The Little Drummer Boy�. Other hits include �Bye Bye Love� and �Always and Forever�.
When Joy Beverly married Billy Wright in 1958 the streets of Poole were jammed with thousands of fans. Joy was at the peak of her career and Billy Wright was England�s football idol- The first footballer to play for England 100 times. They were the Posh and Becks of their time.
They appeared in many pantomimes- one notably with Ken Dodd as second billing at the Empire Liverpool in 1956. In the second half panto was swept away as the three sisters took to the stage in their modern stage clothes and performed their close harmony act on a park bench with drapes.
They were the highest paid entertainers in the UK for almost twenty years. Their television show �Those Beverley Sisters� ran for seven years. The appeared non stop on television, in Summer season, Royal Variety Performances and in pantomime, and were amongst the earliest singing stars to forge lucrative advertising contracts- Kodak, Woodpecker Cider , Esso and Nulon Hand Cream were among a few. Little wonder the inseparable sisters bought houses next to each other and later houses for their children.
The �Bev�s� were the daughters of Music Hall duo Coram and Miles. Joy�s two daughters Vicky and Babette and Teddie�s daughter Sasha became �The Little Foxes� � a pop version of their Mother�s and Aunt�s careers. It was Peter Stringfellow who had the clever idea of presenting the Three Beverley Sisters and The Three Foxes at the London Hippodrome in cabaret!
They topped the bill at the London Palladium constantly in the 1950�s and �60�s- with Danny Kaye, Billed above Cliff Richard as befits the first female group from the UK to break into the USA market.
Up until very recently they still made the odd appearance, and are strong supporters of the Burma Star Association. All three ladies received their MBE�s at Buckingham Palace in 2006.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson were the most popular singing duo of the 1950�s and early �60�s. Husband and wife who entered Eurovision with �Sing Little Birdie� in 1959 and came second. The record went to number 12 in the UK Hit Parade.
The following year-1960 Teddy�s brother Bryan Johnson entered Eurovision with �Looking High, High, High� and also came second.
Born in 1919- Teddy Johnson was a drummer and later a recording artist for Columbia and a DJ on Radio Luxembourg.
Pearl � born in Exeter in 1921 came from a theatrical background. Her Father was a Theatre Manager and her Mother was a singer. At 17 Pearl became one of C.B.Cochrans Young Ladies, and appeared in revues for two years.
Pearl was later to become a band singer with �The Philip Green Band where the drummer was Teddy Johnson. Later Pearl joined �The Keynotes� and had a hit with �Memories Are Made Of This� with Dave King and �You Can�t Be True To Two�. She appeared as part of a Musical Section in The Royal Variety Show of 1953.
Pearl and Teddy married in 1955.
They were almost permanent features on Television screens through the 1950�s, frequent stars of �Blackpool Night Out�, �Big Night Out� and guests on �The Winifred Atwell Show� for almost a decade-as well as appearing in very early commercials.
Pearl & Teddy in Eurovision 1959
They scored another UK hit with �How Wonderful To Know� in 1961. Throughout the seventies and eighties they appeared in Summer Seasons and in Cabaret.
A reference in the Monty Python sketch "Communist Quiz�, where Chairman Mao has to name their entry in the 1959 Eurovision Contest brought their name back and created interest once again.
They appeared in pantomime- among them were 1954 Grand Theatre Wolverhampton �Aladdin�- Teddy Johnson appeared in this one solo.
Not able to find very much information regarding their panto appearances I asked a mutual friend Bobby Crush if he could help out- as it turned out he was having dinner with them both that evening, and Teddy and Pearl gave him the following information.
The 1954-55 Aladdin: Teddy took over from a sick David Whitfield at the request of Derek Salberg (Clarkson Rose was the "Dame""). Teddy went in at very short notice, learned the show in a matter of days and a grateful Derek Salberg asked him to do panto for him the following year.
By then, Ted had paired up with Pearl Carr and together they did Birmingham Alex, 1955/56 "Cinderella". with Adele Dixon, as Prince Charming, Ted Gatty and Tommy Rose as The Ugly Sisters and Terry O�Neil. Once again it was Produced by Derek Salberg.
The following year in 1956-57 they repeated the same panto- �Cinderella� for Salberg, this time at the Grand Theatre Wolverhampton.
The only other panto they did either separately or together was for Bunny Baron at The Lewisham Broadway Theatre in 1970-71 (previously known as Lewisham Concert Hall) appearing together in "Babes in the Wood" with Ted as "Robin Hood" and Pearl as "Maid Marian" .
They continued their association with Bunny Baron by playing Summer Season for him in 1971 at Weston-Super-Mare.
In 1987 Pearl and Teddy appeared in the West End run of Stephen Sondheim�s �Follies�. They stopped the show each night with their duet �Rain On The Roof�
Teddy and Pearl chose to retire �On A High� after an eighteenth month run of �Follies� (Staying with the show through the cast change) and remain in good health. Teddy is 92 and
Pearl
is 91. They both recently retired to the Entertainment Artistes �Brindsworth House� in Twickenham where they keep an active��..
The Pop Era in Pantomime- 1950�s-�60�s.
The Stars:
Lonnie Donegan- The most influential and important British Artist of the pre Beatles Era.
Born in Glasgow 1932 Anthony Donegan, he took the name of his idol, the blues singer Lonnie Johnson and having formed the Tony Donegan Jazz band joined Chris Barber�s Trad Jazz band as Lonnie Donegan.
His family had moved to East Ham London when he was two years old, and he set up his own brand of Skiffle in 1953, releasing �Rock Island Line� in 1955. It went straight into the Top Ten charts and established him as a pop star.
�The King Of Skiffle� was later signed to Pye Records and the hits continued. He had an unprecedented succession of hits between 1956-1962. Lonnie had 24 successive top thirty hits including �Cumberland Gap�, �Gamblin� Man�, �Putting On The Style� (1957 it went to Number One) and �My Old Man�s A Dustman�- The first British male artiste to have entered the charts AT Number One!
He appeared on TV in a series of songs and sketches called �Putting On The Donegan� from 1959-1961.
�Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour On The Bedpost overnight� was his second USA chart entry in 1961, making Lonnie the most successful British performer in America at that time. He was the first British performer to secure two US Top Ten Records.
Meanwhile Lonnie Donegan appeared annually in British Pantomime from 1957 through into the mid 1960�s.
His many pantomime appearances include :
1957 Chiswick Empire �Aladdin�- the Principal Boy was Maureen Kershaw and in the same role at the Globe Theatre, Stockton.
1959 Finsbury Park Empire for Lew & Leslie Grade. The pantomime was �Robinson Crusoe�, Lonnie playing Billy Crusoe opposite the (then) double act of Joe Baker and Jack Douglas- later of �Carry On � Fame, and Allan Bruce, Robbie Beamont and Sally Barnes as Mrs Crusoe.
In this pantomime Eighteen year old Julia McKenzie was Principal girl- Polly Perkins.. She later went on to be a West End Star of many Sondheim Musicals, and Television star- �Fresh Fields� and TV�s Miss Marple most recently-here she was in one of her earliest professional shows.
1960 Theatre Royal Nottingham �Cinderella� starring Lonnie Donegan with The Three Monarchs, Danny La Rue & Alan Haynes as The Ugly Sisters, Jill Westlake, Terry Donovan and George Arnett.
This was the year Lonnie appeared in the Royal Command Performance.
Jill Westlake who played �Cinderella� opposite Lonnie�s Buttons was to marry Lonnie after he divorced his wife a few years later in 1962. In 1971 Jill and Lonnie were divorced.
Terry Donovan who played the Dandini often appeared in Winston�s club and in cabaret with Danny La Rue at this time. She is Mrs Barry Cryer.
1961 The Birmingham Hippodrome �Cinderella�- the same cast mostly as Nottingham for Emile Littler and Tom Arnold. Audrey Jeans was co starring. It was in this pantomime Lonnie sang his No: 1 hit record �My Old Man�s A Dustman�.
1962 Leeds Grand Theatre �Cinderella� with Lonnie in his third year as �Buttons�. Jill Westlake was once again Cinderella, and the cast remained the same- The Three Monarchs, Danny La Rue and Alan Haynes.
In 1963 Jill Westlake continued the role of Cinderella with Danny La Rue and Alan Haynes for one more year. This time in Bournemouth. Lonnie was not in this pantomime
There is a gap with no pantomime information between 1963 and 1971. We�d be grateful if anyone has any details of Lonnie Donegan pantomimes during this period.
1971 Lonnie Donegan appeared with Mary Hopkin and Arthur Askey in �Cinderella� at the Opera House Manchester
1972 Lonnie and the Donegan band appeared in pantomime at the Pavilion Theatre Bournemouth.
�My Old Man�s A Dustman�
In 1978 Lonnie released �Putting On The Style�, a record of his early successes collaborating on the disc with Elton John, Brian May and Ringo Starr.
He appeared onstage in the 1920�s musical �Mr Cinders� in 1984, toured America in cabaret and was awarded the MBE for services to Music in 2000. That year he played Glastonbury.
Midway through a UK tour in 2002 with his family Lonnie Donegan died, aged 71.
Billy Fury � influenced, as was Cliff Richard by Elvis, Billy Fury was launched on the TV Programmes �Cool For Cats� and �Oh Boy!� in 1959. Born Ronald Wycherley in Liverpool, he had a total of eighteen singles in the top twenty charts during his pop career. Records included �Maybe Tomorrow�, �Margo�, �Colette� and �That�s Love�.
His hit �Halfway To Paradise� is still regarded as a major pop ballad. He left Decca and signed with Phillips, releasing his self composed album �The Sound Of Fury�.
He added nine more top 20 hits between 1963-65. He ranked alongside Cliff Richard and Marty Wilde as the most popular rockers of the early 1960�s.
The illustrations here show Billy in pantomime at The New Theatre, Oxford, in �Aladdin�.
Cheryl Kennedy is photographed next to him playing The Princess. The group �The Gamblers� are seen forming a triumphant arch for Aladdin and his bride.
The photos were taken by Stanley Bielecki for the magazine �Pop Weekly� which included the readers own chart votes and news and photographs of Billy, Cliff, The Barron Knights, Janie Jones, Tom Jones and a Christmas Greeting from Elvis and the Colonel!
Billy played the role of Stormy Tempest in the David Essex film �That�ll Be The Day� in 1973.
Billy Fury suffered from ill health and died of heart failure in 1983 aged 42.
Marty Wilde
In July 1957 Reginald Smith wasn�t exactly a catchy name to head a pop-group, so it was as Reg Patterson and the Hound Dogs that he was first spotted by the legendary Larry Parnes. A quick name-change � Marty Wilde and the Wild Cats � and some early appearances on TV shows like �Cool for Cats�, �The Six-Five Special� and �Oh, Boy!� launched him into a spectacular and long-lasting career .
The first hit record was �Endless Sleep� in the summer of 1958, and within a year Marty Wilde was hosting Jack Good�s TV show �Boys Meet Girls� and even appeared on the 1959 Royal Variety Show. Four successive Top Ten hits followed and then his marriage to Joyce Baker, one of the singing group The Vernon Girls, whom he met on his TV shows. In those days a marriage was considered the kiss of death for a teen-idol, but Marty was more than just a teen-idol. In 1961 he made a film �The Hellions� and then played the lead in a West End musical opposite Chita Rivera � this was �Bye Bye Birdie�. This meant he was established as an all-rounder by the time the Beatles turned the pop-world upside down and shortened the careers of many other teen-idols.
Marty and his wife starred in the 1966 panto at Swansea Grand Theatre as Robin Hood and Maid Marion � running from Boxing Day to March 4th (they were long runs in those days). It was a very domestic set-up, with 6 year old Kim Wilde and her 4 year old baby-brother Ricky playing in the dressing-room, being looked after by doting dressers when Mum and Dad were both on together.
The Good and Bad Robbers were George Truzzi and comedian Danny O�Dea (much later to find fame in �The Last of the Summer Wine�), and the cast included double-act Bud Smart and Peter Tracy, and Peter Thorne (later a very popular Dame himself) as the Sheriff of Nottingham. The dame was Welsh singer-comedian Ivor Owen as Nurse Glucose, singing to the Babes, as I recall, �It�s a Boy, It�s a Boy, It�s a Ball of Bouncing Joy� � and I remember being puzzled because there was both a boy babe and a girl babe � and the poor girl was being ignored.
Pantos in those days always had standard �solo spots� for the stars. Marty Wilde sang �Rubber Ball�, �Donna�, and �Endless Sleep� in a 12 minute solo, which was just about acceptable for Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. However, Ivor Owen, dressed as Nurse Glucose, in his solo spot sang three powerful ballads, ending with a religious song about �God�s Holy Lights�. Nothing could be more bizarre than a man dressed as Dame singing a holy song! The pantomime was directed as always by John Chilvers and choreographed by Cherry Willoughby.
Marty�s show business career continues to this day with three of his children also in the music business (Kim Wilde of course, and her brother and sister, Ricky and Roxanne) while the fourth, Marty Jnr, is a sportsman.
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders. Born Glyn Ellis in 1945, He founded a group in 1962 and secured a recording contract with Fontana records. Wayne himself took his name from Elvis�s drummer.
In 1962 �The Game Of Love� went to number 2 in the UK charts. He and the mindbenders released several records before he turned solo in 1965.
His last hit was �Pamela, Pamela� in 1967- it went to number 11 in the UK Charts.
Wayne appeared in the Swansea Grand Theatre Pantomime in 1968. �Jack And The Beanstalk� starred Wayne alongside Roy Lance as comic, Sian Hopkins as Princess, Trevor Moreton as Dame Trott, Jonathan Prince, Jean and Peter Barbour as Daisy The Cow and Giant speciality, Sandra Wrenall and a comedy duo named The Harmon Brothers.
The Harmon Brothers were later to become The Chuckle Brothers! See our article Spotlight on The Chuckle Brothers .
This year 2011 Wayne Fontana is touring in the long running show �The Solid Silver Sixties Show� with Mike Berry and The Merseybeats.
Mark Wynter- His handsome �Boy Next Door� looks created a big fan base for Mark Wynter- his hit �Venus In Blue Jeans� was one of several top 30 chart hits. Mark transferred to acting and has work extensively in theatre, he is currently touring in a thriller called �Verdict� for Bill Kenwright and The Agatha Christie Company.
In 1960 he starred in �Mother Goose� at the Gaumont Southampton, produced by Joe Collins- father of Joan Collins. * see the full programme in our � Before They Were Famous � section.
In 1973 Mark appeared in Jack & The Beanstalk at the London Palladium with Frankie Howerd and Dora Bryan. In 1979 Mark appeared in �Jack And The Beanstalk� at The Ashcroft Croydon with Nerys Hughes and Jon Pertwee.
Craig Douglas - Born 1941 and Dubbed �The Singing Milkman�, the former milkman appeared on the TV pop show �The Six-Five Special� in 1959 and received sack fulls of fan mail resulting in a recording contract for Decca.
The �Six Five Special� was the most watched pop show of its time- Craig Douglas appeared frequently along with Cliff Richard and Joe Brown (on his first appearance) and later with Shirley Bassey, Ruby Murray, Vince Eager and Marty Wilde on other shows.
Voted �Best New Singer of 1959� Craig changed to Top Rank Records and recorded a staggering 8 cover versions of American songs.
His Number One Hit record was �Only Sixteen�, recorded at EMI�s Abbey Road Studios. Mike Sammes performed the whistling parts.
Craig went on to have nine Top Forty UK singles and achieved a record for having four consecutive number 9 placings in the UK singles charts.
In 1962 he appeared in the film �It�s Trad Dad!� with Helen Shapiro and topped the bill on the Beatles first major UK stage show.
Amongst his other hit records were �A Hundred Pounds Of Clay�, �Pretty Blue Eyes� (at number 4) �Time� and �Oh Lonesome Me� in 1962.
Craig Douglas appeared at the Theatre Royal Brighton in �Cinderella� in the 1960�s. The panto starred Norman Vaughan and featured Bill Pertwee and Barry Howard as The Ugly Sisters.
Craig appeared on television variety shows such as �Big Night Out� hosted by Mike and Bernie Winters� in the early �sixties, appearing alongside Lionel Blair and his dancers, Hylda Baker, Dusty Springfield, Max Wall and Susan Maughan.
Craig Douglas�s recording career ended in the mid �Sixties and he has worked as a cabaret entertainer since. In1999 Craig appeared at the Civic Theatre Rotherham as Alderman Fitzwarren in �Dick Whittington� with Johnny Dallas as Sarah The Cook and Andy Pelos.
I had the great pleasure of working with him in a Music Hall Show a couple of years ago, and he continues to revive memories of the �Swinging Sixties� with his cabaret spots.
Joe Brown & The Bruvvers -
Born in 1941 and brought up in Plaistow, London�s East End, Joe Brown worked as a session guitarist- working for Pop legend Larry Parnes. He was signed to Decca and in 1960 became Joe Brown and The Bruvvers.
They had hits including �Dark Town Strutters Ball� and in 1962 �Picture Of You� went to Number One and stayed in the charts for months.The Beatles opened shows for them- and the hits continued �It only Took A Minute�, �I�m Henry The Eighth I Am�, and several films. These included �Three Hats For Lisa� with Sid James, �Crazy World� and Spike Milligan Meets Joe Brown. A Cinema Short.
1962 The Globe Theatre Stockton- �Aladdin� with Maureen Kershaw as Aladdin. In 1964 Joe and The Bruvvers were again with Maureen in �Aladdin� at The Granada Shrewsbury.
Joe went on to make countless TV appearances and �The Joe Brown Show� ran for three series on ITV. His children�s TV show �Joe & Co� was for the BBC. He appeared in �Charlie Girl� in the West End- He opened in 1965 and continued for three years, playing the role with Dame Anna Neagle and then Cyd Charisse.
In 1968 Joe was at the Odeon Streatham in �Cinderella� with Dick Emery. Joe played Buttons and as part of his routine to entertain Cinderella he performed a multi instrumental spot. In this he played guitar, acoustic guitar, ukulele, banjo lutes and even a mandolin!
Joe Brown has continued to write music, and to tour. He played Milo in �Sleuth� and appeared for seven months in the musical �Pump Boys and Dinettes� between his own concert tours.
In the 1980�s Joe made several panto appearances at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. These included �Aladdin� in 1985 with Bryan Burdon and Emlyn Harris, and 1987 in �Mother Goose� again with Bryan Burdon, joined by Suzy Aitchinson, James Barron and Barbara Newman as �Priscilla�.
In 2008 he reached UK gold with his album �Joe Brown- The Best Of�, and received the MBE in 2009.He continued to tour in Solid Gold with Marty Wilde and in Joe and Marty Together concerts. In 2010 he supported Status Quo for ten nights on their UK tour and this year is touring the UK once again.
Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry Marsden (born Liverpool 1942)and his group the Pacemakers were the second group to be signed by Brian Epstein in 1962. Their first single �How Do You Do It� was a Number One Hit- followed by I Like It� 1963 Four Weeks at Number One. The Rogers & Hammerstein song from �Carousel� became Gerry Marsden�s anthem and �You�ll Never Walk Alone� stayed at Number One in 1963 for Four Weeks.
�You�ll Never Walk Alone� has been the anthem for Liverpool Football Club and can be heard sung from the terraces weekly.
The hits that followed included �It�s Gonna Be Alright�, �Don�t Let The Sun Catch You Crying� and �Ferry Cross The Mersey�. The Pacemakers were Gerry�s brother, Fred and Les Maguire and Les Chadwick.
One of Gerry Marsden�s pantomime appearances was in his home town at the Empire Liverpool 1976. �Jack and the Beanstalk� starred Gerry Marsden, Molly Sugden and Coronation Street�s Kathy Jones.
Gerry went solo and followed a career in television, and became Sooty�s helper on several occasions alongside his friend Mathew Corbett. Gerry starred in the West End Musical �Charlie Girl� with Derek Nimmo and (Dame) Anna Neagle, and continues to appear in tours and cabaret today. His recent being the �60�s Gold� tour along with The Searchers, Len �Chip� Hawkes and the Fortunes.
Freddie Garrity - Born in 1936,Freddie Garrity founded �Freddie and The Dreamers� in 1959, They were, In Freddie�s words �the first group to leap about and do comedy on stage". They made their first broadcast in 1961 and had their debut at Liverpool�s Cavern Club in 1962.
1963 was the groups major year- they auditioned for EMI and their demo was thought good enough to release- �If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody� shot to number 3 in the charts.
Freddie and the Dreamers first panto was 1963. The Royalty Theatre Chester in �Cinderella�. That year their huge hit �You Were Made For Me� came out that Christmas and went to Number 3 in the charts.
The same year Freddie and the group were in a film �What A Crazy World� with Marty Wilde and Joe Brown.
1964 they released hits �Over You� and �Just For You�.
In 1965 Freddie And The Dreamers starred in �Aladdin� at The Palace Theatre Manchester. The panto also starred singer Des O�Connor.
That year Freddie released the film �Every Day�s A Holiday�, and he and the Dreamers had a further two hit records in the charts.
While on tour, believing they were earning serious money, they discovered they were also responsible for paying the two support groups, all travel and all accommodation including meals. They finished in debt! As a consequence Freddie left the group and turned to television.
In 1967 Freddie & The Dreamers starred in �Cinderella� at the ABC Stockton.
�Little Big Time� made Freddie Garrity a children�s TV star. The show ran for nearly three years to 1973.
He played Wishee Washee with Lulu at Oxford New Theatre in �Aladdin�, 1976.
In the 1980�s Freddie played Jack in �Jack and The Beanstalk� frequently for John Farrow. He played the Oxford Apollo with Anne Charleston, Alvin Stardust and with Lynsey de Paul.
Peter Thorne would often play Dame Trott. I recall hiring a cow to this pantomime and having to repair the unspeakable things that Freddie attached to it during its short trip to Pantoland! It would have �Not Wanted On The Voyage� stuck on its side, or large stickers saying �This End Up� or flyers advertising a Freddie Garrity Gig. The state of her udders were disgraceful! Poor Daisy obviously suffered for her art in the hands of joker Garrity.
Freddie played Muddles in �Snow White� with Letitia Dean at the Davenport Theatre Stockport in1993 and in �Jack & The Beanstalk� at Hanley Theatre Royal- With Alvin Stardust.
At one stage in his career the zany antics of geeky looking Freddie Garrity- he created his own dance moves to rival the twist- Freddie and The Dreamers topped the bill over the rolling stones on a UK tour.
Sadly Freddie became an invalid in 2001 and died in 2005.
Freddie and The Dreamers on Blue Peter 1960�s.
Peter Noone- �Herman and The Hermits�. At the age of 15 Peter Noone (Born 1947) became Herman of Herman And The Hermits and from 1963 had hits with RAK records and MGM records- including their first hit �I�m Into Something Good� which went to Number 1 in the UK charts. The group had success in the US as well with this and �Henery The Eighth I Am�- achieving three top three hits in America.
Peter Noon began his career as a child actor- he was Len Fairclough�s son in �Coronation Street�, and established as a pop star he made several films- in 1965 �Pop Gear� then three films for MGM- �Mrs Brown you�ve got a lovely daughter� (Another hit with the title song) �Hold On� in 1966 and �When The Boys Meet The Girls�.
Solo he had four singles and a hit with �Oh You Pretty Thing�- and continued his career with hits in 1974 and 1989. He has starred on American Television as �Pinocchio� and on Broadway in �Pirates�- currently living in Santa Barbara he was a mentor on �American Idol� in 2007 and sang his hit �There�s A Kind Of Hush�. He is currently on tour in the USA.
Pantomime credits for Peter Noon include the BBC Television �Dick Whittington� shown on Christmas Day 1972 with Peter Noone, Dick Emery, Michael Aspel and Gemma Craven.
Pantomimes on stage include 1969 in �Aladdin� at The Streatham Odeon with Norman Vaughan, The Oxford New Theatre with �Crackerjack� favourite Peter Glaze as Dame- and in 1972 starring with Roy Hudd, Wyn Calvin and Ivor Emmanuel in �Dick Whittington� at The Bristol Hippodrome.
Adam Faith: Born Terry Nelhams in 1940 in Acton, London. Adam Faith worked as a film cutter for Rank when he found chart success through appearances on BBC�s �Six-Five Special� and �Drumbeat". He received a recording contract from HMV and then Top Rank. His debut single released in 1958.
The New Musical Express September 1960 revealed that Adam Faith was set to make his Pantomime debut as Mate- presumably in �Dick Whittington� for the season 1960-61.
In 1986 Peter Robbins and I were in �Cinderella� at Richmond - One afternoon we discovered one of the Juvenile�s dads waiting for their child to finish the show and whilst chatting learned he himself had been a child actor- an artful dodger and was something to do with music. We gave him a cuppa and afterwards the chorus came to our room demanding to know �What was he like?� �Who?� we said- �Phil Collins of course!�... Ohhhh! Then the penny dropped. We�d had no idea. The chorus got their revenge- Adam Faith was backstage visiting, and we spotted him having a chat with the chorus in the corridor. ��What was he like?� we enquired. �Who?� �Adam Faith of course�- Ohh , who's that then?� Peter and I returned to our dressing room crushed!
Helen Shapiro: in 1960 the fourteen year old Helen Shapiro was launched into the world of pop music. Three years later she was supported by The Beatles on UK tours !
Her first single was �Don�t Treat Me Like Child� which went to Number One, followed by �You Don�t Know� and her third �Walking Back To Happiness� shot to number one with advance orders for 300,000 copies- it ultimately sold over a million copies worldwide.
Dubbed �Britain�s Answer To Brenda Lee�, she possessed a rich, deep and mature voice. She appeared in films- including �Play It Cool� with Billy Fury and �It�s Trad Dad!�
Helen is still a much sought after Jazz and Blues singer, and has played in many pantomimes starting as Principal Boy and always, no matter where or when, performing �Walking Back To Happiness� as her signature solo.
Jess Conrad- Born Gerald James, primarily an actor and a pop singer, Jess Conrad made his TV Pop debut in 1960. By 1961 he had received a �Tip For Stardom� in the pop press. As an actor he appeared in ATV�s �Rock A Bye Barney� play about a popstar, and in the film �Friends and Neighbours� with Arthur Askey. He released �Cherry Pie�, and had a hit with �Mystery Girl� (written by actor Trevor Peacock). In 1959 he appeared with Cliff Richard in the film �Serious Charge�, and other film roles included �Too Young To Marry�, the horror flick �Konga� and in 1979 the �Great Rock And Roll Scandal�.
Jess is the hero of over twenty five to thirty pantomimes not including the lengthy tours he undertook with Jim Davidson�s �Adult� pantomime �Sinderella� as Prince Charming.
At Swansea Grand Theatre in 1965 He played Jack- Marquis Of Carabosse in �Puss In Boots�. Puss was played by the young Keith Harris with Bruan Burden, Jennifer Creighton and the double act Grande And Mars.
Pantomimes include Wimbledon Theatre� Dick Whittington�1972 with Dana, Jack Douglas, and Norman Vaughan, and pantomimes from Ayr to Westcliff and from Halifax to the Dominion Theatre In London�s West End.
He has played Prince Charming in �Cinderella� many times, and similarly Robin Hood-and latterly a few villains. These include Captain Hook in �Peter Pan� at The Victoria Theatre Halifax, Abanazar in �Aladdin� at The Theatre Royal Windsor, and the Sheriff in �Robin Hood� at Stoke On Trent.
Jess has recently played Baron in �Cinderella� at Windsor.
Dennis Lotis
According to the Pop Bible- The New Musical Express, Dennis Lotis made his debut pantomime in 1960, and in 1968 Dennis appeared in �Cinderella� at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The show starred Des O�Connor and Jack Douglas.
His career spanned Television, variety radio and recording. South African born in 1926 he arrived in the UK in the 1950�s and became a lead vocalist with the Ted Heath Orchestra, alongside Dickie Valentine and Lita Rosa. They released several recordings and Dennis had a hit with �Cuddle Me� before turning solo. He was awarded Top Male Singer� by The NME in 1957. He enjoyed a film career appearing in films such as �The Golden Disc� (1958) �Its a Wonderful World�, �Sword Of Sherwood Forest� (1960) and �What Every Woman Wants� (1962).
Dennis appeared in the 1969 Leeds Grand Theatre Pantomime "Cinderella�. This panto starred Dickie Henderson and Dorothy Wayne.. He also appeared in �Cinderella� in the 1980�s playing the role of Baron Hardup at Solihul Library Theatre with Linda Reagan, and Mal Rich as Buttons.
He toured in variety and cabaret- I saw him once sharing the bill with Diana Dors and with Lita Roza, and continued to appear in nostalgia shows with Joan Regan into 2000. In 2009 he appeared with the Glen Miller tribute band on their concert tour.
Top of the bill in the Gaumont Southampton �Babes In The Wood� 1962-63 were pop stars Mike Sarne (Come Outside with Wendy Richard June 1962 was his Number One Hit) and Danny Williams �Moon River� Dec 1961- released in the UK before Andy Williams made it his signature song a few months later in the USA. The pantomime was produced by Joe Collins.
Mike Sarne (Parlaphone). He went on to become a Hollywood Director (including the film �Myra Breckinridge� starring Raquel Welch, Mae West (in her eighties) and Farrah Fawcett in 1970).
Danny Williams (1942-2005) Born in South Africa became a UK Pop Star for HMV with Albums �Days Of Wine & Roses� 1963 . This panto also featured a young Anita Harris who was later to have chart success.
Mike Sarne & Wendy Richard �Come Outside� on YouTube.
Susan Maughan � Born in Consett 1942 Susan Maughan �s family moved to Birmingham whenshe was fifteen. She became band singer with the Ronnie Hancock band, and later sang with the Ray Ellington Quartet for a year before being �discovered� and signed to Philips.
Susan�s first single was �Mama Do The Twist� 1961 followed by �Baby Doll Twist� and a moden take on Sophie Tucker�s number �Some Of These Days�. It was her Fourth single that shot her to fame.
�I wanna Be Bobby�s Girl� went to Number Three in the UK Charts and made Susan Maughan into a much sought after entertainer.
In 1963 she released �Hand A Handkerchief To Helen�, �Make Him Mine� and �She�s New To You� and released several albums later, including �I wanna be Bobby�s Girl but..�
Singing �I Wanna Be Bobby�s Girl�- Susan Maughan 1962
In 1963 she appeared in the Royal Variety Performance along with the Beatles, and Marlene Dietrich, and made the film �What A Crazy World� with Marty Wilde and Joe Brown. She continued to appear in cabaret thereafter and replaced Clodagh Rodgers in �Meet Me In London� at The Adelphi Theatre.
She appeared frequently on Television throughout the 1960�s and into the �Seventies, and featured in children�s TV series �Emu�s Wide World� in the 1980�s.
Hugely popular in both Pantomime and Summer Seasons- especially at Blackpool, Susan continues to tour today in 1960�s shows, often sharing the bill with Barry Ryan and Dave Berry.
Her pantomimes include a long association with John Inman�s �Mother Goose�_ i saw both Swansea and Nottingham with John, Barbara Newman and Susan Maughan.
In 1973 Susan Maughan played Maid Marion in the �Junior Showtime� TV Panto- �Babes In The Wood�- also appearing were regulars Bobby Bennett, Mark Curry, Roy Rolland (as Nanny Riley) with Bonnie Langford, Norman Collier, and Peter Goodwright.
Susan has appeared in numerous pantomimes- a few of these include:
1980 Bradford Alhambra �Jack & The Beanstalk� with Cannon & Ball and Norman Collier and Paul & June Kidd as Daisy The Cow.
1986 Theatre Royal Plymouth- �Cinderella� with Paul Henry, Nyree Dawn Porter- as Fairy Godmother, Susan Maughan as Prince and Bill Simpson as Baron. The Sisters were Chris Harris and Simon Browne.
1988 Swansea Grand Theatre �Mother Goose� with John Inman (Susan had a long association with John and this show) Bruce Montague and Terry Hall with Lenny The Lion.
1993 Palace Manchester �Dick Whittington� starring Ken Dodd with Wyn Calvin as Sarah The Cook and Glyn Owen.
2003 Croydon Ashcroft Theatre for Nick Thomas and Jon Conway (Qdos) in �Aladdin� as Empress Of China. Jim Davidson starred with Dean Gaffney, and the panto featured Andy Ford.
2004 Susan Maughan starred in �Aladdin� at Tunbridge Wells .
A long standing member of the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, Susan Maughan continues to make cabaret appearances and fund raising events for this theatrical charitable organisation.
Johnny De Little
Johnny De Little starred in the Swansea Grand Panto �Dick Whittington� in 1967. The panto featured Peter Kaye, Sandra Wells, Tommy Rose as Sarah The Cook, Du-Marte & Denzar�s �Skeleton�s Alive!� and featured a very young Berwick Kaler, now York�s long serving Panto star and Dame!
Berwick has been starring at York Theatre Royal for thirty four years
Johnny De Little was born Brian King in The Aberdale Valley, South Wales and was a local pop star for this pantomime at Swansea. He followed in the footsteps of Marty Wilde who had been there the year before, and was followed by Wayne Fontana. Swansea was emulating what the London Palladium- the flagship panto house- was currently presenting. Pop Stars in Panto!
Johnny De Little was a prot�g� of pop supremo John Barry-The man regarded as the Bond Films �In House� composer- Johnny released five singles, all approved by John Barry- �Days Of Wine and Roses�, �The Wind And The Rain�, �Unchained Melody� �The Knack� �What To Do With Laurie� on Columbia records and CBS between 1961 and 1965. Johnny appeared in a BBC play �Girl On A Roof� about an infatuated pop fan- the lead played by Ray Brooks and Johnny De Little in a smaller role- they were joined in the film by the John Barry Seven for several numbers.
Johnny was later to become involved in the soundtrack of �The Knack�- film score by John Barry- and recorded the soundtrack that was heard in the American release of this Rita Tushingham film, and recoded for EMI. He also sang on the demo of �From Russia With Love�, which eventually was given to the more established Matt Monroe.
YouTube clip from the Tommy Steele film �It�s All Happening� featuring Johnny De Little.
Johnny and his wife Leah Bell were recently on tour in 2010-11 in their �Silver Bells� Christmas Show for Johnny Manns Productions. Leah Bell presents Pantomimes each year, and this year is staging the panto at Consett.
Vince Eager- Born Roy Taylor in 1940, Vince Eager was a pioneer of pop and rock. He founded the �Vagabonds� skiffle group, influenced by Lonnie Denegan, and came to the attention of Larry Parnes manager of Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Billy Fury and Joe Brown. Parnes named and launched his new find as Vince Eager and the Vagabonds.
Between 159 and 1961 there were over a hundred appearances on TV- �Drumbeat�, �Six-Five Special� and �Oh Boy!�, often accompanied by the John Barry Seven. Vince released over 14 singles and 5 albums at that time, and toured with Billy Fury, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and Marty Wilde. It is possible that he appeared in Pantomime at the Garrick Theatre Stockport circa 1958 and certainly starred in pantomime in Swansea at The Grand Theatre in 1964.
The Swansea Panto �Aladdin� starred Vince alongside Duggie Clark, Alan Wells, Lynton Boys, Lesley King, Frank Ellis, Jonathan Prince and Emerson & Jayne- The Flying carpet speciality.
In the 1980�s Vince starred in the West End Musical �Elvis� and released further albums. Vince published �Vince Eager�s Rock And Roll Files� and is currently touring in his own show.
www.vinceeager.co.uk
Alvin Stardust- The flamboyant pop star of the Seventies, Alvin began his pop career in 1961 when he took the name of Shane Fenton, and performing as Shane Fenton and the Fentones. He and the group were regulars on TV�s �Saturday Club� and �Easy Beat� and, signed to the Parlaphone label produced hits including �I�m A Moody Guy� and �Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue�.
Born Bernard Jewry his second career began in 1973 when, as Alvin Stardust he became one of the 1970�s top recording artistes.
Many pantomime appearances have followed his rise as Alvin Stardust.
In 1979 Alvin played Robinson Crusoe at The Palace Theatre, Plymouth. The star was (Sir) Norman Wisdom. Ship wrecked with Alvin on the Island were �It �Aint Half Hot Mum� stars Michael Knowles and Donald Hewlitt.
Other pantomimes include �Jack & The Beanstalk� with Freddie & The Dreamers at the Hanley Theatre Royal. He has appeared recently as baddie- Sheriff of Nottingham and as Abanazar in �Aladdin�. It was in that guise that I stood next to him on the Panto Themed �Weakest Link� a few years ago- Alvin�s Abanazar costume had a trick turban with a large eye. He beat Anne Robinson to the famous wink she gives and totally upstaged �The Queen Of Mean� that day!
Alvin is married to West End Singer Julie Paton, and they appear together in panto each year and together in pantomime from time to time.
Dusty Springfield
One of the best selling singers of the �Sixties- Dusty Springfield was born in 1939 in West Hampstead. She began by joining a close harmony trio �The Lana Sisters� in 1958 then later forming �The Springfields� in 1960 with her Brother Dion and Reshad Feild, later replaced by Mike Hurst.
Her solo career began in 1963.- Hit records like �I only Want To Be With You� followed by �Wishin� and Hopin�� in 1964 established Dusty as a major recording star. Later in �64 �I Just Don�t Know What To Do With Myself� went into Number Three in the charts and in 1966 �You Don�t Have To Say You Love Me� was Number One.
In 1966 Dusty Springfield was the best selling female singer in the world, and an icon of the �Swinging Sixties� worldwide.
This was the year that she appeared in her only (as far as we know) pantomime.
�Merry King Cole�, Liverpool Empire 1966/67
This pantomime is possibly the only one that Dusty Springfield appeared in, it is believed that she disliked the experience deeply, and was not likely to repeat it.. This panto also featured Paul & Barry Ryan pop stars (sons of TV Singer Marion Ryan) and impressionist Peter Goodwight, Charlie Cairoli, Sid Plummer and Pat Lancaster. It was produced by Tom Arnold and Bernard Delfont.
In 1968 �Son Of A Preacher Man� became a huge hit and her �Memphis� album for Atlantic Records in 1969 was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the greatest albums of all time.
A huge recording career and appearances on television, over eighteen top selling singles and inauguration into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the USA was followed by her collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys in �What Have I Done To Deserve This� (it went to Number 2) and �Nothing Has Been Proved� and �In Private�.
One of the greatest recording artistes of all time, Dusty Springfield received the OBE in her hospital room � she died shortly afterwards in 1999.
Marianne Faithful - Born in Hampstead in 1946, Marianne Faithful became an iconic figure for the �Swinging Sixties� and has had a career that spans five decades.
Theatre was in her genes- her mother Baroness Erisso had been a ballerina in Max Reinhardt�s company- Marianne started her career as a folk singer around 1964, became a pop singer and latterly a jazz and blues singer.
Such a powerful icon for the era she has played God twice in Jennifer Saunder�s �Absolutely Fabulous�- opposite Anita Pallenberg as The Devil.
Famous for her long affair with Mick Jagger (1966-70) He and Keith Richards wrote her hit single �As Tears Go By�. She had chart success with �Little Bird� and �Come and Stay With Me� also.
Her career path was not destined for pantomime but she appeared in a musical version of �Alice In Wonderland� for Paul Elliott and Duncan Weldon. This touring production featured Peggy Mount, Julian Orchard and Anton Dolin. Faithful played Alice.
Her stage work has been prestigious, from appearing at the Royal Court opposite Glenda Jackson, to her Ophelia opposite Nicol Williamson�s Hamlet (Anthony Hopkins was Claudius) through to theatre tours with Peter Gilmore- notably �The Rainmaker� and appearances at most major art venues. She played Pirate Jenny in Threepenny Opera at The Gate, Dublin in 1993.She played Pink�s Mother in Pink Floyd�s �The Wall� live at Berlin.
During this time her private life has continued to soar up and down like a roller coaster- during these times some of her finest albums have been released- �Broken English� (1979) �Strange Weather� (1987) �Vagabond Ways� (1999) �Kissing Time� (2002) and is now partly resident in Paris. Her 2011 album �Horses and High Heels� resulted in appearances at London�s Barbican May 2011.
David Essex - Born in London�s East Ham in 1947 he left his job as an apprentice electrician at Plessey�s factory in Ilford to pursue a career as a musician. In 1964 he was launched as David Essex. During the Summer of 2011 David is appearing in BBC�s soap �EastEnders� as Eddie Moon- Uncle of Alfie Moon. He has recently finished a lengthy tour and West End season with his musical �All The Fun Of The Fair�, which he co-wrote with Jon Conway.
He achieved West End fame in Godspell, in 1971 and was the star of the film �That�ll Be The Day� (Billy Fury appeared in this film with him).in 1973, and the sequel (with Adam Faith) �Stardust�. He received huge acclaim in the role of Che, in the West End musical �Evita�. In 1978.
Essex began his panto career understudying Tommy Steel in the 1969 London Palladium Pantomime �Dick Whittington� . The show also starred Mary Hopkin, Billy Dainty and Kenneth Connor. Two years later he played Dandini in �Cinderella� at The Opera House Manchester in 1971 with Arthur Askey, Mary Hopkin and Lonnie Donnegan.
He has been signed over the years to Fontana, Pye, MCA, Decca and released eight records under these companies, and became the biggest seller on the CBS label at one point.
The Essex hits include �Rock On� in 1973 which shot to number one in the USA charts and Number 2 in the UK, followed by �Gonna Make You A Star�, and �Stardust� (1974) �Hold Me Close�, �If I Could� and �Rolling Stone� (1975) �City Lights� and �Coming Home� (1976) �Cool Out Tonight� and �Stay With Me Baby� in 1977 and, of course the Mike Batt & Tim Rice hit �A Winter�s Tale� which reached Number Two in the charts in 1982
Over the years he has regularly appeared in pantomimes- at one time playing �Robinson Crusoe� frequently � The Mayflower Southampton and the 1996 King�s Theatre Edinburgh for example, and as the villainous Captain Hook- these �Peter Pan� pantomimes included the Derngate Northampton in 2007 with Sophie Lawrence and his recent �Peter Pan� at Darlington (2010-11) with The Grumbleweeds playing opposite his wife Susan Hallam-Wright as Peter Pan.
Pop stars who turned actors are included in the panto lineup, these include Paul Nicholas - who has made countless appearances as Prince Charming, including the London Palladium production of �Cinderella� with Dame Anna Neagle as Fairy Godmother, and as Buttons with myself and Peter Robbins on several occasions, and recently as Captain Hook.
Sheila Fergusson - of Three Degrees Fame has appeared in many pantomimes for both Qdos and for First Family, Chesney Hawkes- The One and Only was in the Deco Northampton last year playing �Aladdin�, and former Page Three and Pop Singer Samantha Fox has trod those panto boards.
David Hasselhoff - �The Hoff�-Movie star, Baywatch Actor and a singer with a huge following in Germany has made a few appearances for First Family � most recently as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at Wimbledon with Louis Spence and also in Bristol (2011-12).
David has just completed a concert in
London
�s 02 Arena.
Paul Michael Glazer - Movie Actor most famous for his role in the TV series �Starsky & Hutch. Has appeared in Pantomime For First Family, as well as having a career as a pop singer.
Toyah Wilcox- In a career spanning thirty years Toyah has had thirteen top 40 singles, recorded twenty albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays, made eleven feature films and presented such diverse television programmes as The Good Sex Guide Late, Watchdog and Songs Of Praise.
Her career began as an actress at the same time as her pop career. Derek Jarman offered her the role of Mad in seminal punk epic Jubilee. She continued to gain strong roles, appearing alongside Katherine Hepburn in the film, The Corn is Green, as well as playing Monkey in the legendary Quadrophenia. She teamed up with Jarman again to play Miranda in his innovative version of The Tempest.
Toyah's band was gaining critical success with the debut single Victims of the Riddle (no.1 in the independent charts for 12 months) and her first album, The Blue Meaning, became a Top 40 hit. In 1982 she won the Best Female Singer at the Rock & Pop Awards.
She recorded two series of the BBC�s popular Fasten Your Seatbelt, two series of the BBC Scotland�s kid�s drama series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, fronted her own BBC1 series Discovering Eve and was a regular presenter on Watchdog, The Heaven & Earth Show and Holiday. Toyah participated in the 2003 Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and most recently appeared in ITV2�s Secret Diary of a Call Girl as the mother of lead actress Billie Piper.
Pantomime has always been a big part of Toyah�s career and she has appeared in over twenty. In 2011-12 she appeared at the Alban Arena for Evolution Pantomimes.
Sinitta: 1997 Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. Sinitta played Princess in �Aladdin� with Cannon & Ball as Chinese Policemen, Anthony Engelman as Aladdin, John Altman as Abanazar and Brian Cant as Widow Twankey. Sinitta�s Mother, Miquel Brown has appeared in several pantomimes for E&B/Qdos as Fairy Godmother. Miquel also appeared in �Aladdin� at Poole for Michael Rose and David Morgan.
Neil Morrisey - �Bob The Builder� Can we appear in pantomime now and then? Yes We Can!
Victoria Adams/Beckham- Pop star, Spice Girl. And fashion designer Victoria MAY have made an appearance in Panto as a dancer at the beginning of her career.
Jimmy Osmond - Of the sensational family singing group- Jimmy stared in Swansea pantomime �Aladdin� for Qdos 2011-12. He has made several previous appearances in �Cinderella�.
EUROVISION
The annual institution that is The Eurovision Song Contest, descended from its earlier incarnation �A Song For Europe� has seen a good few Pantomime Principals in its time. From Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson, Brian Johnson through to Dana and indeed (a tribute to our Panto Star Dana) Dana International, �Buck�s Fizz�, Sonia, and David Van Day, not forgetting Steven Fisher & Sally Ann Triplett who appeared as �Bardo� Mark Evans- Eurovision recently on tour in High School Musical2, and Blue�s Anthony Costa, and of course the entrants from Ireland for the last two years, Jedward!
These and many other stars of Eurovision have trod the boards of Pantoland. Here are a few:
Lulu - Born Marie McDonald McLauchlin Lawrie in Lennoxtown, Glasgow 1948.
Lulu has appeared in �Peter Pan� playing Peter in the musical several times and in �Babes In The Wood�.
She became a star aged fourteen, having been discovered by Marion Massey in Glasgow- Marie and her group �The Gleneagles� became Lulu and The Luvvers in 1964 and had her first hit for Decca- �Shout!� reached number seven in the UK charts.
Shortly afterwards hits like �Here Comes The Night� and �Leave A Little Love� went into the charts. Lulu turned solo in 1966 and her year filled with recording work, concert tours- with Roy Orbison and The Walker Brothers, television, radio and Pantomime at Wimbledon Theatre London.
That year, 1966 Lulu starred in �Babes In The Wood� with veteran comedian Arthur Askey and Roy Castle. Lulu starred as Maid Marion with Arthur as Nurse Martha and Roy Castle as Simon. The girl �Babe�-�Jennifer� in this pantomime, supplied by the Aida Foster School was Elaine Page!
The Welsh born actor and Hollywood star Roger Rees played The Sheriff Of Nottingham in this production. John Gower played Robin, opposite Lulu.
Lulu had left Decca and was now signed to Columbia managed by Mickie Most, and her pantomime engagement was slotted in with her film engagement appearing with Sidney Poitier in �To Sir with Love�. Her recording of the title song topped the American Singles Charts for Five Weeks. It sold a million copies and a total of Four Million worldwide!
After three more hits, seasons in Hollywood, at London�s �Talk Of The Town� and her own BBC Television series, Lulu married Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees in 1969, the year she represented the UK in The Eurovision Song Contest.
Eurovision 1969- �Boom Bang A Bang!� Lulu�s song came joint first- one of the extremely rare times the UK has ever won, and went to Number 2 in the charts.
In 1971 Lulu was the subject of TV�s �This Is Your Life�- she was 23 years old.
1972 �Peter Pan�-at the Manchester Palace Theatre. Lulu starred in J.M.Barrie�s musical play to perform the role she was to repeat many times in her career. The diminutive Lulu flying across the stage to take on Hook brought Peter Pan to life for a great many children over the years. The Manchester production saw her battle Anthony Sharp as Captain Hook. Sharp had recently filmed �A Clockwork Orange� and was familiar to television viewers for his aristocratic roles- colonels and vicars and in this case, villainous pirate kings. This show broke a 60 year old box office record.
In 1974 Lulu recorded the David Bowie songs for the soundtrack of �The Man With The Golden Gun�. One, �The Man Who Sold The World� went to number 3 in the charts.
In 1975 Lulu repeated her success by appearing as �Peter Pan� at the London Palladium opposite Ron Moody as Captain Hook. Moody of course achieved huge fame as Fagin in Lionel Bart�s �Oliver� in 1960 and in the film version of the musical.
Rachel Gurney -�Upstairs Downstairs� Lady Bellamy played Mrs Darling in this Palladium production of J.M.Barrie�s play with music. Tessa Wyatt also featured along with Tony Sympson and Peter Bland.
Lulu married top hairdresser John Freida in 1976 . That year she appeared as �Aladdin� at The New Theatre Oxford playing opposite 60�s pop star Freddie Garrity, of �Freddie and The Dreamers�.
In the �Eighties she appeared in several musicals including the 1983 �Song & Dance� by Lloyd-Webber at the Palace Theatre London, and as Miss Adelaide in �Guys & Dolls� for the National Theatre at the Prince Of Wales Theatre. In 1987 she appeared with Ernie Wise in the Savoy Theatre in �The Mystery Of Edwin Drood�.
That year 1987 Lulu repeated her role as �Peter Pan� at London�s Cambridge Theatre. George Cole- Film and television star, star and known to millions as �Arthur Daley� from Minder- played Captain Hook.
The following year 1988 she appeared as Peter Pan at Wimbledon Theatre (Where she played her first pantomime twenty-two years before) in the version that also went on a UK tour. �Peter Pan- The Musical� toured with Lulu, Christopher Timothy (As Captain Hook)Michelle Thorneycroft, Alan Helm, Ruth Mayo, Kerry-Jane Beddows, Annabel Griggs and Joseph Morely.
In 1993 Lulu reached number 11 in the charts with �Independence� and �I�m Back For More� went into the charts. Finally in 1993 she achieved her first number one chart hit single- �Relight My Fire� a collaboration with �Take That�.
She was awarded the OBE in 2000.
Lynsey de Paul- Songwriter and singer- Lynsey de Paul is a prolific composer. She first hit the charts co-writing the �Fortunes� hit �Storm In A Tea Cup� and followed it a few months later in 1972 with her own hit �Sugar Me� which went to number 5 in the charts in the UK and Number one in several European countries.
Other hits include �Won�t Somebody Dance With Me� at Number 5 (It won her the Novello Award) �Ohh I Do� at Number five in the UK and also in Japan, and �No Honestly�- the hit number of the theme for an ITV sitcom of the same name. It stayed at Number 7 in the charts. Lynsey also composed the theme for the 1977 �The Rag Trade� comedy revival.
She appeared in several pantomimes- The Oxford New Theatre �Jack And The Beanstalk� and in 1983 in �Aladdin� at the Shaftesbury Theatre London, alongside Richard O�Sullivan, Tommy Trinder, Derek Griffiths and Roy Kinnear. It was a �Theatre Of Comedy� production.
With her blond hair, diminutive figure and sultry voice she was a huge hit on television shows and throughout her career has continued to write hit numbers for dozens of major recording stars here and in the USA. She lived in America with her then partner, Movie star James Coburn until the early �Eighties. Among her many hit records �There�s No Place Like London� was a hit for Shirley Bassey and has opened many a �Dick Whittington� Pantomime since she composed it!
Dana - The pop singer who has possibly made more pantomime appearances than any other- with the exception of The Nolans. She became the perfect �Snow White� in theatres around the UK.
Dana starred in the 1972 Wimbledon Theatre �Dick Whittington� with Jack Douglas, Norman Vaughn and pop star of the 1960�s Jess Conrad.. She appeared frequently as Snow White for Albermarle.- one of her many appearances included �Snow White�- in 1987 she starred with Roy Walker, Ronnie and Su Douglas at The Bristol Hippodrome .Su Douglas played Wicked Queen, as she did again with Dana at the Palace Manchester �Snow White� with Jimmy Cricket, and Mike Holloway in 1991.
Dana was Ireland�s winning entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest- she sang �All Kinds Of Everything�- a song she sang in every one of her pantomimes thereafter. The UK Entrant that year was Mary Hopkin with �Knock Knock, Who�s There?�.
After winning the contest Dana became a national hero in Ireland, and �All Kinds Of Everything� went on to become a two million seller throughout Ireland, the UK and in Europe.
She had her own television series on the BBC �A Day Out With Dana�,and RTE�s �Dana� Series and for over forty years has produced records since her debut single �Sixteen�in 1967 through to the release of her latest album in 2011.
Currently Dana resides in Ireland with her family and presents �Dana and Friends� on EWTN. She produces Christian music and last year toured the �All Kinds Of Everything� 20th Anniversary Tour.
Born in Islington, North London in 1951 her family moved back to Ireland-Derry when she was five years old. Dana moved with her family to America in the 1990�s to Birmingham Alabama, and became involved in Christian concerts and tours. In 1997 she was nominated to run for the Irish Presidential elections, and in 1999 became elected the European Member Of Parliament for Connacht-Ulster
Sonia - Sonia Evans was the UK entrant to Eurovision with �Better The Devil You Know� in 1993, and came second in the contest. A pop star from the age of sixteen she began her career in 1989 launched by Stock, Aitken & Waterman for Chrysalis Records. Her number one hit �You�ll Never Stop me Loving You� was followed by her album �Everybody Knows� in 1990.
All five singles from this album were top 20 hits. She became one of the youngest artistes to have achieved this. She released �You�ve Got A friend� with the group �Big Fun� for charity Childline, and sang in both Band Aid (1989) and Gulf Aid (1991).
1991 saw �Only Fools� released and her album �Better The Devil� was released in 1993.
That year, 1993 Sonia joined the cast of �Slice Of Saturday Night� with Dennis Waterman in the West End, and the following year played Sandy in �Grease� in London�s West End with Craig McLachlan and Shane Richie. She also toured in �What A Feeling� and, in 2000 in Jon Conway�s �80�s musical �Eternal Flame�.
A former actress from brief appearances in Brookside (1988) and in BBC�s �Bread�, she appeared in pantomime as Principal Boy. Her panto appearances include playing Dick Whittington at the Neptune Theatre, Liverpool, Peter Pan at His Majesty�s Theatre Aberdeen and at Belfast Opera House- For Qdos, as Aladdin in �Aladdin� and repeating Peter Pan at the New Theatre Cardiff in 2000.
In 2006 -7 Sonia played Jack in �Jack & The Beanstalk� at Horesham opposite Mark Curry, Graham James (As Dame Trott) and Claire Marlowe and Tania Whatley.
Cheryl Baker - A real �Eastender�, Cheryl was born in Bethnal Green East London in 1954.She was one of the Eurovision group �Buck�s Fizz�- they came first in 1981 with �Making Your Mind Up�- with an iconic routine involving band members Bobby G and Mike Nolan whipping off the skirts worn by Jay Aston and Cheryl.
The group had three British Number One Hits- �Making Your Mind Up�, �Land Of Make Believe� and �My Camera Never Lies�.
The group were involved in a coach crash on tour in Newcastle in 1984 in which Cheryl broke three vertebrae and Mike Nolan suffered serious head injuries- Cheryl helped set up the charity �Head First�.
Cheryl moved into TV presenting �Record Breakers� with Roy Castle and �The Saturday Picture Show� with Mark Curry.
In 1986 Cheryl starred in the Christmas day Granada production of �Cinderella� playing the title role. The following year, 1987 Cheryl played Maid Marion in the London Palladium production of �Babes In The Wood�
�Babes In The Wood� starred Cannon & Ball as the Robbers, Marty Webb as Robin Hood, Barbara Windsor as Fairy, John Inman as Nurse, Derek Griffiths as Sheriff and Cheryl Baker. Peter Howitt played Will Scarlet and Nicholas Smith, along with Rod Hull and Emu. It was to be the last pantomime to date staged at the London Palladium.
In 1988 she presented her own show �Eggs and Baker� which ran for five years.
Cheryl played Polly Perkins in the Swansea Grand Theatre�s �Robinson Crusoe� in 1992. The show starred Rod Hull and Emu, Joe Pasquale, Dave Benson Phillips, Mark Greenstreet and local comedian Owen Money.
In 1993 Cheryl Baker starred in the Ashcroft Croydon production of �Dick Whittington� with Mike Doyle, John Altman, Loraine Chase and Roger Kitter as Sarah The Cook.
In 1993 Cheryl pursued a solo career, concentrating on television presenting and released a few singles.
In 2000 Cheryl played Aladdin at the Queen�s Theatre Barnstable for Ian Liston�s �Hiss & Boo� Productions. Douglas Mounce played Widow Twankey.
In 2002 She played �The Enchantress� in The Aylesbury Theatre Panto �Jack & The Beanstalk�.
The following year 2003 Cheryl appeared in Sevenoaks Kent, where she lived in �Aladdin� at The Stag Theatre.
During 2009 Cheryl toured with �Menopause The Musical�, she appeared in �Footloose� on tour and in London�s West End, �Honk� The Musical, and touring in thrillers including �Anyone For Murder� and �Dial M For Murder� as well as her television appearances .She was recently in �Popstars to Operastars� on TV.
Jay Aston from Bucks Fizz also appeared in pantomimes. These include the 2004-05 �Snow White� as Wicked Queen at the Camberley Theatre.
Mike Nolan of Bucks Fizz fame appeared in �Aladdin� as Wishee Washee at The King�s Theatre Southsea directed by John Nolan (no relation) husband of Kim Hartman who played Aladdin. I recall this clearly because I costumed the production!
David Van Day - �Dollar� the pop duo made his panto debut in 2009-10 as Abanazar in �Aladdin� at Arbroath. He may have appeared in pantomime 2010-11 at a venue in Grays In Essex in addition to this.
Clodagh Rodgers - Born in Northern Ireland 1947, Clodagh Rodgers received a contract with RCA in 1968 with �Play The Drama To The End�. In 1969 she released �Come Back and Shake Me� followed by �Goodnight Midnight�, �Biljo�, �Everybody Leave, The Party�s Over� and �Lady Love Bug�. Her entry into Eurovision history was �Jack In The Box�- this was followed in 1971 by �Cinderella� at the London Palladium. In 1973 she appeared with Ronnie Corbett in �Cinderella�- direct from The Palladium. This panto starred The Patton Brothers again, but had John Inman and Barry Howard as The Ugly Sisters. It was repeated the next year at The Palace Theatre Manchester- 1974.
Anthony Costa - �Blue.� Anthony Costa represented the UK in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with �I Can�. As part of �Blue� along with Duncan James, Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan, the group reached over fifteen million sales worldwide. Hits include �Sorry seems to be the hardest word� and �All Rise�. The group founded in 2001 split four years later but reunited in 2009. The group has also collaborated with Stevie Wonder and Elton John.
Ex �Grange Hill� actor, Anthony has appeared as Aladdin at the New Theatre Cardiff, 2008 alongside Chris Gascoyne, Ceri Dupree and Andy Jones, and as Jack in �Jack And The Beanstalk� at Ipswich in 2009 opposite Carina Gillespie and Ken Morley as Dame Trott. With James Mackenzie as Fleshcreep. Anthony also played dual roles of �Beast and Prince� in �Beauty And The Beast� at Chatham.
Following in the tradition of the Beverley Sisters, one group of sisters have made a huge impact in pantomime- this year (2011) three of them are appearing in two pantomimes in the London area, and their Panto Pedigree is astonishing- The Nolans!
The Nolans. : The Irish Singing Group called The Nolan Sisters and then simply The Nolans have all appeared in pantomimes across the UK.
The group was formed originally with their parents and brother Tommy when the family moved from Dublin to Blackpool around 1963.
The Sisters are: Anne (1950), Denise (1952), Maureen (1954), Linda (1959) Bernadette (1960) and the youngest Coleen, born in 1965.
Their greatest hit �I�m In The Mood For Dancing� was released in 1979 and went to Number 3 in the UK charts, Number 2 In The Irish Charts and Number 1 in Japan! They remain successful throughout Japan to this day.
The Line up has changed over the years- Coleen being the latest sister to join the group, she replaced Anne when she left in 1980 when the group became simply �The Nolans�. Recently some of the sisters reunited in 2009 for a tour, DVD and an album �I�m In The Mood Again� which went to number 22 in the charts- this version of the group did not include Anne and Denise.
The Nolan Sisters achieved success after appearing on The Cliff Richard Show in 1974 and were soon to be support group to Frank Sinatra on his tour, and Engelbert Humperdink in 1978. That year their album of covers �20 Giant Hits� went to Number Three, and their 1980 Album �Making Waves� went to Number 11 for an incredible 33 weeks.
Denise left in that year to pursue her solo career. Anne left in 1980. Linda left in 1882 which left Bernie, Maureen, Coleen and Anne together to 1994.
In 2000 the group reformed with Anne, Maureen and Anne�s daughter Amy with singer Julia Duickworth until 2005. Maureen had now become the longest serving Sister with 31 years in The Nolans to her credit.
The girls have all had varied and successful careers in presenting, cabaret, musicals and straight plays as well as clocking up very many pantomime appearances over the years.
Anne Nolan has appeared in many pantomimes including �Cinderella� at Liverpool Empire, �Dick Whittington� at Carlisle, �Snow White� at Colne Civic Theatre, at Thameside Hippodrome (2002) as Wicked Queen in �Snow White� with Ben Steel and Stuart Wade and again as Queen Malevola in �Snow White� at York Opera House (2005)
Coleen Nolan - Coleen has also made her mark as a Television presenter and has appeared in �Loose Women� on TV since 2004. Her credits include �Dancing On Ice� and the 2004 Film �Breaking and Entering�. In October 2010 Coleen played Fairy Godmother in the Adult�s Only Comedy �Panto�s On Strike� at The Opera House Manchester alongside Jonathan Wilkes, Brian Capron and Eric Potts.
Denise Nolan Star of �Blood Brothers� the musical, She is one of the most prolific Panto stars out of the Nolans, Denise has 25-30 Pantomimes to date and has listed them on her website :
Linda Nolan played the role of Maggie May at Blackpool�s Central Pier for a ten year Summer Season. She too has starred in �Blood Brothers� from 2000-2004 and again last year. I was lucky enough to catch her musical theatre debut was in the 1993 Pump Boys And Dinettes� at Hornchurch. She starred alongside Bobby Crush and Rose-Marie. She toured in �Cell Block H� with Lily Savage. 1996-97.
Linda made her first panto appearance in Coventry in 1984 with Michael Barrymore. She has starred in �Aladdin�, �Dick Whittington�, �Jack & The Beanstalk� �Babes In The Wood� �Cinderella� and recently as Wicked Queen in Snow White.
When Linda appeared at Belfast Opera House opposite May McFettridge in 2005 she had already appeared in fifteen pantomimes. Panto stars she�s worked with include The Krankies- Pavilion Glasgow 1995, Stu Francis and Bobby Davro. In 2010 She was Queen Grizelda in �Snow White� at Worthing for Paul Holman.
Bernie Nolan appeared in Brookside and The Bill, and like several of her sisters starred in Blood Brothers and also in the Musical �Flashdance�-Bernie has made many panto appearances. She appeared in panto with Cannon & Ball from 1988 to 1991, Other pantomimes include playing Jack in �Jack & The Beanstalk� at Blackpool Grand (1997)Wicked Queen in �Snow White� with Andy Ford at Croydon (2006)Fairy in �Cinderella� Blackpool with Tina O�Brien and Johnny Briggs and Fairy Godmother at Dunstable (2009) .Bernie will starred in �Beauty And The Beast� at Stevenage last season alongside Leanne Jones.
Boy Bands have made appearances in pantomime over the years-The Monkees recently toured the UK (well, three out of four!) and British star Davy Jones has appeared in panto over the years since he first appeared in �Coronation Street� as Elsie Tanner�s Grandson!.
Davy Jones- The Monkees. (1945-2012)
Manchester born Davy Jones was lead singer of the phenomenally successful group �The Monkees�, appearing in their television show from 1966 until 1971 alongside Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith.
Davy first came to fame as Ena Sharple�s grandson Colin in Granada TV�s �Coronation Street� in its second year at the age of 14. He went on to appear as The Artful Dodger in the West End production of �Oliver!� transferring to Broadway in the same role.
By 1965 Davy had signed to Colpix/Columbia records and released �What Are We Going To Do�, and two Albums followed, one for Pye. The Monkees established him and his band mates as international stars, cresting on the success of the Beatles. Davy fronted hits like �I�m A Believer� and �Daydream Believer� and �I Wanna Be Free�.
In 1978 Davy appeared in Micky Dolenz�s production of �The Point� which I saw at the Mermaid Theatre in London. He was later to appear in the tour of �Forget Me Not Lane�, by Peter Nichols. I remember that the entire gallery of teenage girls screamed every single time Davy appeared in this play (there was not a song to be heard!) and continued to scream until he exited! I saw this at the Swansea Grand Theatre.
It was at Swansea Grand that Davy appeared in �Puss In Boots� in 1980-81. It opened on December 26th and ran until the 8th March! The Panto also featured Graham Cole (later to star in �The Bill�), Menna Trussler, Peter Holbrook with local comic Kenny Smiles and Swansea�s popular Dame- Freddie Lees.
Davy also appeared in two pantomimes for Charles Haley Productions. Jennifer Haley recalls-
�Davy Jones worked for Phillip and I ( Charles Haley productions ) in the early 80's at the Library theatre Luton, going on to the theatre at Holloway polytechnic, and the next year at the Civic Theatre Camberley.
He played Buttons in Cinderella at both venues with more or less the same cast. The �Uglies� were Nottingham pair Johnny Peach and his partner Ian, and Pat Kane and Howell Evans played baron and Blodwyn (doubling as fairy godmother. )
The show was great and Davy was real star quality. I was a little apprehensive about directing him as I knew very little about the " Monkees " not being into pop but he was a real pro and a star in every sense of the word.
He incorporated "dream believer " into the kitchen scene pretending to drive cinders to the ball with edited lyrics !!!! My memories of him are of a charming man and a great performer. I believe he lived near Manchester with his wife and children and I think they kept horses. His death is a great loss to the business �
Davy was the only performer to have played both Artful Dodger and later Fagin in �Oliver!�, and enjoyed one final revival of the Monkees when the group toured in February 2011 in their �45th Anniversary Tour� in America and in the UK.
Davy Jones died on 29th February 2012.
Ireland�s original boyband, �The Bachelors� gave way to Boyzone, and Take That have yet to appear in Pantoland, although Robbie Williams has made several filmic appearances in panto alongside his best mate Jonathan Wilkes.
BOYZONE:
Stephen Gately - along with Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham, they were part of Irelands biggest ever pop bands, Boyzone. the boy band that had over 16 singles in the UK Top five charts. Hits like �No Matter What� ensured Boyzone played to millions in the UK and Europe. Founded in 1993 the membes split in 2000, before reforming in 2008.
Stephen Gately released three hit singles during his solo career including �A New Beginning�, and appeared in West End successes like �Joseph� (2002-03) and as The Child Catcher in �Chitty Chitty Bang Bang� at The London Palladium 2004-05.
Stephen made his panto debut for First Family Entertainment in The Churchill Theatre, Bromley in their 2005 �Cinderella� as Dandini. The following year he appeared as The Scarecrow in The Wizard Of OZ� at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. He died suddenly in his home in Spain in 2009.
Fellow �Boyzone� members Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy have both made pantomime appearances.
Shane Lynch is the veteran with five panto appearances- three of them for Evolution. His most recent 2010 was in �Sleeping Beauty� at The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford as Prince with Royce Mills as Dame, Sarah Jane Honeywell as �Beauty� and Nichola McAuliffe. His first panto was in 2004 at The Wycombe Swan for Qdos in �Snow White� with Anita Dobson as Wicked Queen and Justin Fletcher. That Autumn Shane appeared with me on �The Weakest Link� Panto Special, where we pitted our wits against the �Queen Of Mean�, Anne Robinson!
The next year, 2005 he starred in The Gordon Craig Stevenage �Snow White� for Evolution, That same year Shane�s sister Keavy Lynch, half of the pop band �Bewitched� starred in her panto at Nottingham.
Later in 2006 Shane appeared for Pele Productions at Ashton Under Lyme in �Cinderella� with Sue Jenkins . In 2009 Shane played Prince Charming in �Cinderella� at Southport Theatre.
| Con-way |
Selcuk (pronounced SELCHOOK) - a Turkish town, is home to one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. What was the city's name in ancient times? | It's Behind You - Popstars in Panto!
Popstars in Panto!
In 2011 Rapper and Pop Star Vanilla Ice appeared in pantomime as Captain Hook. This year also found Tony �
Amarillo
Windsor
.
As with everything Pantomime, there is nothing new in having a music celebrity star in the show. The convention goes back a good fifty odd years at the very least.
The 1960�s saw a new wave of panto performers- The Pop Singer. The Flagship of British Pantomime at that time, The London Palladium had heralded the rise of the Male Principal Boy as Pop Singer- a trend that swept theatres around the UK . Rock and Roll might be competition for Variety, but Pantomime quickly embraced it and showcased it within its variety based format.
The Age Of The Pop Star Panto was here to stay throughout the �Swinging 60�s and in to the Seventies.- and beyond.
The Palladium Pantomimes - Rise of the Pop Idol in Panto.
An early Palladium panto starring a recording artist was in 1957.
David Whitfield: The 1950�s Singing Star appeared in Robinson Crusoe at the Palladium 1957 opposite Tommy Cooper and Arthur Askey with Patricia Perkins and Joseph Layode. He made several other pantomime appearances during his career. Teddy Johnson replaced him in rehearsals for The Alex Birmingham shortly before teaming up with Pearl Carr.
Fifties singer Joan Regan�s career took her pre pop to the Beatles and beyond.
Joan Regan- Joan starred in �Puss In Boots� at The London Palladium in 1962 alongside recording star Frankie Vaughan and comedian Dick Emery. Frankie Vaughan was the current pop idol of that age, and Joan was an established recording star. Joan also appeared in Liverpool at the Empire theatre alongside rising new star Lynda Barron- this was either 1956 or 1958.
Joan Regan (born in Romford 1928) is still making the occasional performance to this day- I had the pleasure of working with her in a Music Hall a few years ago- her voice is as strong today as it was when she began her recording career in 1953. Her hit records included �I�ll Walk Alone� and �Too Young� which got her a recording contract through Delfont for Decca Records, and later for Pye Records. Resident singer for the BBC she had her own Television series called �Be My Guest�, as well as a record career, Royal Command performances and variety. She appeared in the film of �6.5 Special� alongside the newly minted Rock and pop stars Lonnie Donegan, The John Barry Seven, Jim Dale and Petula Clark.
�Somebody else�s Roses�, �Ricochet� and �Happy Anniversary� were further hits- her most popular being �May You Always� in 1958 for EMI�s HMV Label. Joan Regan married Harry Claff the joint manager of the Palladium five years before starring in panto there- and, after Claff was jailed for fraud, of which Regan was unaware of, she divorced her husband, and suffered a breakdown. She lived in America from 1968 continuing to make records and returned to the UK in the 1990�s.
Frankie Vaughan- Born Frank Abelson in Liverpool, �Mr Moonlight�, Frankie Vaughan recorded for Decca (1950) with a hit �Daddy�s Little Girl�, and for HMV (1952) and with trademark Top Hat and Cane for Philips from 1955 �Tweedle Dee� one of the 22 hits he created in the top 40 for this label.
Early films included �Wonderful Things� and �The Lady�s A Square� co-starring with Anna Neagle.
Frankie Vaughan�s hits include �Seventeen�, �Green Door�, �Tower Of Strength� and �Give Me The Moonlight� which became his high kicking signature tune. He appeared at the Copacabana in New York, had a hit in the American Charts with �Judy� (1957) and Frankie really did go to Hollywood- he made a film with Marilyn Monroe- called �Let�s Make Love�
His Palladium Pantomime was �Puss In Boots� with 50�s and 60�s singing star Joan Regan, Dick Emery as �Puss�, Jimmy Edwards, Mike & Bernie Winters and Gillian Lynne- Gillian became one of the top choreographers in Musical Theatre, and created the staging for �Cats� at The New London Theatre.
Cliff Richard and The Shadows. Cliff Richard had already become a major recording and film star by 1964. His films included �The Young Ones�, �Summer Holiday�, (1963)�Wonderful Life� and �Finders Keepers� Influenced by Presley, He and Tommy Steele were the first in a line of Pop Stars, along with Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde and Billy Fury.
Appearances on TV�s �Oh Boy!� in 1958 and a contract with EMI led to hit records like �Schoolboy Crush�, �Move It�, �Dynamite", and his fifth single �Living Doll� which is still his signature song today.
I believe Cliff and The Shadows appeared in pantomime at Stockton- The Globe Theatre- possibly in 1961 or thereabouts. Apparently during their off stage time the Shadows were busy composing the score for �Summer Holiday� the film.
�Cliff In �Aladdin� London Palladium 1964: This panto starred Cliff, The Shadows, veteran comedian Arthur Askey and Una Stubbs.
Cliff & The Shadows- �Cinderella� 1966-67. This panto featured Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott as the Ugly Sisters, with Jack Douglas and Tanya �The Adorable Elephant�. It also featured Peter Gilmore, Pippa Steel and Tudor Davies. It was the first time small radio microphones were used in a Palladium Pantomime. Because the large stand microphones were not seen, Cliff was accused of miming his songs!
The Shadows wrote all the lyrics and music for this pantomime. It was their third. The Original line up of the Shadows was Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch from Newcastle, who teamed up with Jet Harris, Tony Meehan and Cliff Richard.
By 1963 and the London Palladium �Cinderella� The Shadows were Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett (Drummer, joined in 1961) and John Rostill (Bass Guitar, joined that year).
Cliff Richard & The Shadows had a huge hit with �Please Don�t Tease� No1 1960 and The Shadows-�Apache�-1960 sold one million records.�Kon Tiki� (1961), �The Young Ones� (1962) �Foot Tapper� (1963) and Dance On� 1963. For Cliff- now Sir Cliff the hits kept coming through the decades in a career to widespread to cover here- his influence as Male Principal Boy in pantomime was widespread- soon theatres around the UK wanted to book a male pop star as Jack, Aladdin and Dick Whittington.
Frank Ifield. Born in Coventry of Australian parents, he moved to Sydney in 1946. At 19 he was the Number 1 recording star in Australia. Hits include �I Remember You�- seven weeks at Number One in 1962. Also �She Taught Me How To Yodel�, also in 1962 �Lovesick Blues� and in 1963 The Wayward Wind�
In 1963 Frank Ifield was as popular in the UK as The Beatles. He amassed three number one hit records.
His pantomime at The London Palladium was in 1965 �Babes In The Wood� with Frank Ifield as an heroic Robin Hood. The pantomime also starred Arthur Askey as Nurse, Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Roy Kinnear. The Aida Foster children were featured, among them were a young Elaine Paige and a young Sharon Arden- better known today as Sharon Osborne!
Engelbert Humperdink.
In 2012 Engelbert Humperdink represented the
United Kingdom
in the Eurovision Song Contest, at the age of 76.
Born Gerry Dorsey and named after the Operatic composer of �Hansel & Gretel� .Engelbert starred as Crusoe in the Palladium Pantomime �Robinson Crusoe in 1967 with veteran comedian Arthur Askey as Mrs Crusoe. During the run Arthur fell through a trapdoor, and Billy Tasker went on in his place. When captured by the natives on the desert Isle, and held in a cage Engelbert sang his number one hit �Please release me, Let me go!�
Also appearing were Jimmy Logan and Hope and Keen. The script was by David Croft before he teamed up with Jimmy Perry to create shows such as �It Aint Half Hot Mum�. He was also the creator of �Dad�s Army�, �Are You Being Served� and other hit television comedy series.
Mary Hopkin: Mary Hopkin starred alongside Tommy Steele and Billy Dainty in �Dick Whittington� at the Palladium in 1969. She also appeared at The Opera House Manchester 1971 in �Cinderella� for Mills & Delfont. This pantomime starred Mary Hopkin with Arthur Askey and Lonnie Donegan. The young man playing Dandini on �55 a week was David Essex! He had previously understudied Tommy Steele at the Palladium and appeared in that Role.
The panto included Peter Butterworth and Joe Black with Dailey & Wayne and Tony Adams, later to find fame in �Crossroads� on ITV.
Born in Pontadawe South Wales, Mary Hopkin aged 18 won the TV Talent Show �Opportunity Knocks� and caught the attention of Paul McCartney. She was one of the first artistes to record on the Beatles� Apple Record Label, and her first single �Those Were The Days� became a Number One Hit in the UK and reached Number Two in the American Hit Parade.
Mary followed this with hits like �Turn, Turn, Turn� and �Goodbye�, and was the UK entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest with �Knock Knock- Who�s there?�- she came second to Dana who sang �All Kinds Of Everything�.
In 1971 Mary Hopkin began to retire from the public eye to marry and have a family. Living in Mumbles, Swansea at that time I would sometimes see her on the seafront.
Mumbles had a good reputation for pop stars and celebrity- my neighbour was Bonnie Tyler, Catherine Zeta Jones lived in the area appearing in the local amateur shows before heading for stardom, and actress Joanna Paige lived along the road a short distance from where veteran actor Gerald Harper had lived. Welsh Hollywood perhaps!
Mary Hopkin later led a fairly nomadic lifestyle, and very recently collaborated on an album with Dolly Parton, duetting �Those Were The Days� with Dolly.
Tommy Steele � Britain�s first real Rock Star.
�Britain's answer to Elvis�- Tommy Steele was born Thomas Hinks in 1936 in Bermondsey, London, and, after a stint in the Merchant Navy (1952-56) during which he played in a few groups, he was spotted by John Kennedy and Larry Parnes, and was given a recording contract with Decca. So fast was Tommy�s rise to success that his first single �Rock With The Caveman� and an appearance on the TV show �Off The Record� in 1956 , he was greeted with fan hysteria wherever he went. Less than a year after his debut a biopic was made of his life ��The Tommy Steele Story". By this time he�d had three chart singles including �Singing The Blues�.
The first Rock & Roll star to appear in Madam Tussauds waxworks in Britain, and the first to appear in �This Is Your Life�, in 1957 he was described as:
�A sensational discovery for Pantomime�
After an appearance in� Goldilocks.�- Tommy later went on to play Buttons in the Rogers & Hammerstein version of �Cinderella� at The London Coliseum in 1958. Yana played the title role with Jimmy Edwards as Baron and Kenneth Williams partnering Ted Durante as The Ugly Sisters. He played Dick Whittington at The Palladium Panto with Mary Hopkin in 1969. His understudy was the young David Essex.
With over 13 top 20 hits, Tommy Steele made a second film, �The Duke Wore Jeans�, followed by �Tommy The Toreador� in 1959 which produced the hit record �Little White Bull�.
Tommy became a West End and Broadway star in musicals such as �Hans Christian Andresen�, �Half A Sixpence�, �Singing In The Rain� (directed & starred in London) and was to reprise his role in �Half A Sixpence� on film in Hollywood. As a film star he appeared in �Finian�s Rainbow� with Petula Clark and Fred Astaire, �The Happiest Millionaire� �Where�s Jack�, and wrote and starred in the film "Quincy's Quest�.
Touring musicals included �Sugar�, �Some Like It Hot�, Dr. Doolittle and of course �Scrooge� which has played many major theatres in the UK. This Christmas Tommy Steele will be starring once again as �Scrooge� at The Lowry, Salford 2011-12.
While the London Palladium influenced the change from Female Principal Boy in the 1960�s the tide briefly turned back to using ladies in the role mainly because of one Palladium Panto Star- the year was 1970. The star- Cilla!
Cilla Black- began her panto career in the same year as she was launched as a pop star by Brian Epstein- in 1965 she starred as �Red Riding Hood� at Wimbledon
�Anyone Who Had A Heart� 1964 and �You�re My World� 1964 were two of her early hit records.
Cilla Black starred as �Aladdin� at The Palladium in 1970. In addition Cilla has had a huge career in recording, television and in Pantomime. Her appearance at the London Palladium was the turning point for the Principal Boy- Having been in the hands of male performers- often Pop Star Performers at the Palladium, Cilla�s appearance as �Boy� in the title role saw a swing (briefly) back to the traditional Principal Boy played by a female.
See our � Spotlight On Cilla Black � for full details of her career and pantomime appearances.
Cilla�s most recent appearance in Pantoland was for First Family Entertainment at the newly opened Waterside Theatre In Aylesbury as Fairy Godmother in �Cinderella � 2010-11.
The Stars of the 1950 Pop Charts had already found a niche in the world of pantomime. Stars like Ronnie Hilton, The Beverley Sisters, Joan Regan and Yana were appearing in panto alongside the up and coming chart toppers of the pre Beatles age.
Freddie and the Dreamers, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Shadows were among pop groups who found themselves playing Chinese Policemen, Brokers Men or The Brothers of The Principal Boy in pantomimes across the country.
Record Moguls were only too pleased to loan out their young stars to promote their latest chart song in a panto for a few months- Cilla Black was to make her first appearance on stage as the Star of �Red Riding Hood� in Wimbledon.
Some 1960�s Pop Idols were put into pantomime without even the thinnest disguise of being in the story. In the 1950�s and early 1960�s it was possible to halt the panto halfway through the second act and simply announce �Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome our special guest star Miss Alma Cogan... or Mr Danny Williams singing his latest hit �Moon River� or �Your very own Miss Dusty Springfield� singing her latest hits. It was a convention that had started in the ten years before with recording artistes such as Vera Lynn walking onto the stage halfway through a pantomime, usually in the ballroom, sometimes in the Woods to perform a fifteen minute spot. They rarely remained for the final curtain and could sometimes appear in three different pantomimes in a day!
The 1950�s Stars and Pantomime
Julie Andrews- appeared at The London Palladium in 1953 as �Cinderella� � Jon Pertwee was one of the Ugly Sisters. Max Bygraves- major recording star and famed later for his �Singalongamax� party albums- was Buttons. Richard Hearne played Baron Pastry and the script was penned by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan.
Julie Andrews starred in the Casino (Now The Prince Edward Theatre) London in �Aladdin�. For details of Julie Andrew�s early career in pantomime, see our article: Julie Andrews in Pantomime by Simon Moss .
Ronnie Hilton - in 1956 Elvis Presley�s USA Hit record �Heartbreak Hotel� failed to dislodge Ronnie Hilton from the Number One Hit Parade in the UK. He remained there for six weeks with �No Other Love�- such was the celebrity of Ronnie Hilton through the 1950�s and later in the mid 1960�s.
Ronnie was a charming and lovely and a funny man- he liked it drop, it has to be said and was generous to a fault. He was a delight to work with when we did Hull Pantomime- his home town � with �Cinderella�, and although by this time ( 1989) his fame had waned, his charm was always to the fore. Spending time with Ronnie and his (second) wife Chrissie was a great joy, as was watching him in his singing spot in the ballroom as Baron when he became young again.
Born in Hull in 1926 , Adrian Hill (renamed by a producer- �It sounds too much like a Doctor�) or Ronnie Hilton as he became made his debut at the Dudley Hippodrome in 1954. Almost overnight he was urged to give up his �day job� and received a BBC radio series and a recording contract with EMI�s own HMV label.
In 1954 he released �Veni, Vidi, Vici� and �I Still Believe�, followed by �A Blossom Fell� in 1955. Other hits followed- �The Yellow Rose Of Texas� and �Stars Shine In Your Eyes�- he was effectively one of the last of the balladeer before Rock and Roll took over the airwaves.
A smooth strong singing style in the mould of a Sinatra or a Nat King Cole, he achieved huge fame in 1956 with �No Other Love�. His version of �Magic Moments� was actually released before the iconic one by Perry Como in the States, a fact Ronnie never let pass unnoticed!
Other hits included �Around The World� in 1957- Ronnie�s version was more popular than Bing Crosby�s, and he was honoured to appear in three Royal Command Performances.
He had nine top twenty chart hits between 1954 and 1957. Ronnie earned a fortune and spent a fortune. Throughout he always performed in Pantomime as Wishee Washee, Idle Jack and latterly as King and as Baron.
His early pantomime career was cemented by the 1957-8 �Sleeping Beauty� at the Lyceum Sheffield, and he followed this with a huge number of pantomime appearances, a great many of them in Hull and Leeds. In 1958 he starred at the Alhambra in Bradford for Sam Newsome in �Dick Whittington� with Sonny Jenks and Billy Stutt.
In 1970 Ronnie starred alongside Les Dawson and Wyn Calvin at the Leeds Grand in �Babes In The Wood�.
Grand Theatre Leeds - 1965
click on image to enlarge
Paul Elliott regarded Ronnie as his �Lucky Mascot�, as he starred in Paul�s first pantomimes in the early 1970�s and they did excellent business.
When Ronnie�s career in recording waned in the early 1960�s he continued to make annual Summer season and panto appearances until in 1965 he recorded �Windmill In Old Amsterdam� � a comedy number, aimed mostly at Children that went on to sell over a million records! It became the number (much to his chagrin) that he was forever associated with.
Perfect in �Cinderella� when we did it together- Ronnie sat on the Palace stairs after the ball, when Cinders had fled and sang it gently as one by one the dancers in mouse costumes appeared and the house went crazy!
Ronnie was an inspiration and great fun to listen to- his stories were legendary. He�d been there, done that and survived. It was heart warming that his later years were spent as the voice of BBC2�s �Sounds Of The Fifties� which he continued even after suffering a stroke, and almost up until his death in 2001 aged 75.
Ronnie took the whole company- Les Dennis, Sophie Aldred, Natalie Cleverley, Peter Robbins, Myself out for a meal by the seaside near Hull. This was by now his twenty seventh pantomime.
He was a modest man, and we only discovered later in the evening that he�d once owned the restaurant in his �Flashier� days- the current owner had volumes of scrapbooks under the counter- a great panto artiste and a huge star was Ronnie Hilton.
Ronnie Interviewed
Alma Cogan- the vivacious singer of the 1950�s and �60�s. The girl �With a giggle in her voice�. With her trademark dresses billowing out in exaggerated �Fifties style she became a pantomime star on a few occasions- mostly appearing as �Special Guest Star� in the second half, performing a few numbers and departing- it was an accepted way of getting popular singing stars to appear and promote- and rarely was it even mentioned in the plot. Stars like Alma Cogan and later Dusty Springfield would simple appear in their modern clothes and do fifteen minutes! Cilla Black was a later generation by 1965 and played the role of Red Riding Hood in her debut appearance.
One of Alma�s pantomime appearances was �Guest Starring� in �Aladdin� at the Empress Theatre, Brixton London with Bill Maynard and Maureen Kershaw.
Alma Cogan�s hits included �Twenty Tiny Fingers�, �Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo� (and they say the lyrics of today are strange?_ �Willie Can�, �The Railroad Runs Through The Middle Of The House�, �Bell Bottom Blues�, �Dreamboat� and �Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its flavour on the bedpost overnight!�. She had swooping ballads as well as comedy numbers and was a truly major star- one of televisions most frequent guest stars, and one of the first pop stars to be promoted through television not radio- as well as the pantomime appearances.
Alma Cogan sadly died in 1966 aged only 34. Throughout her career her home was open to all of Show Business, and her parties were legendary. Vivacious both on and offstage she was hugely missed by her fans.
Yana- �The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane�
Today an internet search for Yana brings up hundreds of pictures of model Yana Gupta, but in 1956 the face on every magazine and on television and screen was a different Yana.
Yana- born Pamela Guard in Romford Essex 1932. Yana was the glamorous singing star of the late 1950�s and early 1960�s. Her film and television career included her own show and feature films for Warwick Films including �Zarak� and �The Cockleshell Heroes�.
In 1956 she starred in �The Yana Show� on BBC TV and went to America to appear on the Bob Hope and Ed Sullivan Shows.
1957 she starred in �The Kings Of Skiffle� at The Prince Of Wales Theatre London �Encased�, as the Daily Telegraph reported �in a white gown that fitted like a bandage and clinging so closely to a hand microphone that one could be forgiven for mistaking it for mouthspray�
Her hit recordings included �Climb Up The Wall� (1956 for HMV and �The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane�. She also had hits with �Mr Wonderful� 1957 and �I Need You� 1958.
She starred in the title role of �Cinderella� by Rogers & Hammerstein in 1958.
This pantomime opened at the London Coliseum with pop star Tommy Steele as Buttons. On the cast recording Yana sang �In My Own Little Corner� and �A Lovely Night". Yana starred alongside Norman Wisdom in the London Palladium Pantomime, "Turn Again Whittington� as Alice Fitzwarren in 1960 and later appeared with Bruce Forsyth in panto at the Palace Manchester.
In 1964 Yana starred in �Cinderella� at The New Theatre Oxford. The panto starred Des O�Connor as Buttons, with Danny La Rue and Alan Hayes as The Ugly Sisters, Erica Yorke as Prince Charming, Jack Douglas, George Arnett and Wendy Cameron.
Yana later played Principal Boy in many pantomimes including �Aladdin� at The Royal, Brighton She had top billing alongside Bernard Bresslaw, Clive Dunn and Basil Brush. She Married three times, her second husband being Alan Curtis, the prolific Pantomime Villain and veteran of many Palladium Pantomimes.
One of her last pantomime appearances was at the Civic Theatre Colne in �Robin Hood and The Babes In The Wood� in the 1980�s Having given up performing she had a brief revival after being �rediscovered� as Glinda in �The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz� at Crewe, and returned to cabaret for a short while. She appeared in the ITV programme �Where Are They Now� in 1983 while still performing in cabaret.
Yana died in 1989 aged 57.
Rosemary Squires - (not to be confused with Rosemary Squire who, along with her husband Howard Panter head The Ambassadors Theatre Group) popular singer of the 1950�s and 1960�s appeared in some pantomimes including �Mother Goose� in 1960 at The Granada Shrewsbury, starring with trumpeter and recording star Eddie Calvert.
The Royal Command Variety Show 1960
This show, held at the Victoria Palace and headlined by The Crazy Gang and Liberace, alongside Nat King Cole and Vera Lynn � the show heralded the dawning of the age of pop and rock and roll into variety, pantomime and television. The cast list is truly a �Who�s Who� of pop with the older guard- Vera Lynn, Anne Shelton, Ronnie Carroll Joan Regan and Ronnie Hilton alongside the established Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, Brian Johnson and Alma Cogan, Marion Ryan, Bruce Forsyth and newest stars- Millicent Martin, Lonnie Donegan, Adam Faith and Dennis Lotis.
Ruby Murray- The Irish singing sensation broke all hit parade records before, and indeed since in 1955 with Five Singles in the Top Twenty at the same time!
The Twenty Year old with the gentle breathy voice had huge hits with singles like �Softly Softly�, �If Anyone Finds This I Love You�
Ruby starred as Principal Girl in several pantomimes, often with her husband Bernard (Bernie)Burgess. Fortunately Bernie listed the early pantomimes on the Ruby Murray Website.
Liverpool Empire 1957-58 �Babes In The Wood� with Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warris. Playing opposite Ruby as Robin Hood was Lynette Rae who later went on to marry Irish singing star Val Doonican. The panto also starred Arthur Haynes and Freddie Frinton- Freddie was famed for his �drunk act� and for the famous television sketch �Dinner For One� with Cicely Courtneidge. This sketch is hugely popular in Germany to this day, and is part of their traditional New Year viewing on TV!
1959-60 The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester- �Dick Whittington� starring Ruby Murray and Freddie Mills.
The NME- New Musical Express revealed on 23rd September 1960 that Pantomime was beckoning for Pop Stars Dennis Lotis, Ruby Murray and The Dallas Boys that year.
1960-61 The Pavilion Theatre, Torquay with Ruby Murray starring as �Cinderella� and Derek Roy as Buttons.
1962 The King�s Theatre Southsea saw the opening of the touring version of �Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs� starring Ruby Murray- The photograph (kindly sent to us by Duggie Chapman) shows Ruby with husband Bernard Burgess as Prince Rupert and the debut of Ted Rogers as Muddles. It also featured Jean and Peter Barbour�s Puppet specialty, Barbara Jackson and Tony Lester.
The tour of �Snow White� went around the UK for almost eleven months.
(We are very grateful to cast member Llewellyn Williams for correcting our earlier claim of two years!)
1963-64 �Puss In Boots� at The Royalty Theatre, Chester. The panto starred Ruby with Peter Goodwright, Alex Munro (popular North Wales based entertainer and Father of film star Janet Munro). The manager of the Royalty Theatre at that time was Dennis Critchley.
That era of entertainers and their huge popularity meant a few entered the Cockney Hall Of Fame- so popular were they that their names becoming rhyming slang- Lionel Blair- �Putting on my Lionel�s� was slang for Flared Trousers- Blair=Flare for example. Rhyming slang for being hungry was Hank Marvin (from The Shadows) Marvin=Starvin� and Ruby Murray�s name is still in everyday use in East London, and all over the UK � I�m going for a Ruby- A Ruby Murray= A Curry!
I was very lucky to have worked with Ruby on a number of occasions in the 1970�s. One season at the Grand in Scarborough was memorable. The room was crowded, the audience had �had a few�- I opened with a cockney medley on the piano with a pearly suit and went down like the Hindenburg. Complete silence. As I exited Ruby clutched me as she entered �Oh god!� she said. The band struck up �When Irish Eyes are Smilin�� and you could hear a pin drop. Then the audience talked through her entire act. When Ruby came off- she never cut a single song despite I was able to tell her what we hadn�t known. It was �Scots week� in Scarborough, and our house came entirely from Glasgow!
I was waiting for the finale in �Cinderella� years later-17th December 1996 on the opposite side of the stage to Bob Carolgees when I saw someone speak to him. He mimed to me the news that Ruby had died that evening- he and I had both worked with her and after curtain down we went out to a bar and toasted her memory that evening. A gesture I know she�d have approved.
The Beverley Sisters- Joy, Babs and Teddie- collectively �The Beverley Sisters� or �The Bev�s�. Britain�s answer to The Andrews Sisters they entered the Guiness Book Of Records for being the longest harmony act in history without a change in the line-up.
Joy (born 1929) and twins Babs and Teddie (Born 1932) had hits with �Sisters�, written for them by Irving Berlin, and �I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus�, �Little Donkey� and �The Little Drummer Boy�. Other hits include �Bye Bye Love� and �Always and Forever�.
When Joy Beverly married Billy Wright in 1958 the streets of Poole were jammed with thousands of fans. Joy was at the peak of her career and Billy Wright was England�s football idol- The first footballer to play for England 100 times. They were the Posh and Becks of their time.
They appeared in many pantomimes- one notably with Ken Dodd as second billing at the Empire Liverpool in 1956. In the second half panto was swept away as the three sisters took to the stage in their modern stage clothes and performed their close harmony act on a park bench with drapes.
They were the highest paid entertainers in the UK for almost twenty years. Their television show �Those Beverley Sisters� ran for seven years. The appeared non stop on television, in Summer season, Royal Variety Performances and in pantomime, and were amongst the earliest singing stars to forge lucrative advertising contracts- Kodak, Woodpecker Cider , Esso and Nulon Hand Cream were among a few. Little wonder the inseparable sisters bought houses next to each other and later houses for their children.
The �Bev�s� were the daughters of Music Hall duo Coram and Miles. Joy�s two daughters Vicky and Babette and Teddie�s daughter Sasha became �The Little Foxes� � a pop version of their Mother�s and Aunt�s careers. It was Peter Stringfellow who had the clever idea of presenting the Three Beverley Sisters and The Three Foxes at the London Hippodrome in cabaret!
They topped the bill at the London Palladium constantly in the 1950�s and �60�s- with Danny Kaye, Billed above Cliff Richard as befits the first female group from the UK to break into the USA market.
Up until very recently they still made the odd appearance, and are strong supporters of the Burma Star Association. All three ladies received their MBE�s at Buckingham Palace in 2006.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson were the most popular singing duo of the 1950�s and early �60�s. Husband and wife who entered Eurovision with �Sing Little Birdie� in 1959 and came second. The record went to number 12 in the UK Hit Parade.
The following year-1960 Teddy�s brother Bryan Johnson entered Eurovision with �Looking High, High, High� and also came second.
Born in 1919- Teddy Johnson was a drummer and later a recording artist for Columbia and a DJ on Radio Luxembourg.
Pearl � born in Exeter in 1921 came from a theatrical background. Her Father was a Theatre Manager and her Mother was a singer. At 17 Pearl became one of C.B.Cochrans Young Ladies, and appeared in revues for two years.
Pearl was later to become a band singer with �The Philip Green Band where the drummer was Teddy Johnson. Later Pearl joined �The Keynotes� and had a hit with �Memories Are Made Of This� with Dave King and �You Can�t Be True To Two�. She appeared as part of a Musical Section in The Royal Variety Show of 1953.
Pearl and Teddy married in 1955.
They were almost permanent features on Television screens through the 1950�s, frequent stars of �Blackpool Night Out�, �Big Night Out� and guests on �The Winifred Atwell Show� for almost a decade-as well as appearing in very early commercials.
Pearl & Teddy in Eurovision 1959
They scored another UK hit with �How Wonderful To Know� in 1961. Throughout the seventies and eighties they appeared in Summer Seasons and in Cabaret.
A reference in the Monty Python sketch "Communist Quiz�, where Chairman Mao has to name their entry in the 1959 Eurovision Contest brought their name back and created interest once again.
They appeared in pantomime- among them were 1954 Grand Theatre Wolverhampton �Aladdin�- Teddy Johnson appeared in this one solo.
Not able to find very much information regarding their panto appearances I asked a mutual friend Bobby Crush if he could help out- as it turned out he was having dinner with them both that evening, and Teddy and Pearl gave him the following information.
The 1954-55 Aladdin: Teddy took over from a sick David Whitfield at the request of Derek Salberg (Clarkson Rose was the "Dame""). Teddy went in at very short notice, learned the show in a matter of days and a grateful Derek Salberg asked him to do panto for him the following year.
By then, Ted had paired up with Pearl Carr and together they did Birmingham Alex, 1955/56 "Cinderella". with Adele Dixon, as Prince Charming, Ted Gatty and Tommy Rose as The Ugly Sisters and Terry O�Neil. Once again it was Produced by Derek Salberg.
The following year in 1956-57 they repeated the same panto- �Cinderella� for Salberg, this time at the Grand Theatre Wolverhampton.
The only other panto they did either separately or together was for Bunny Baron at The Lewisham Broadway Theatre in 1970-71 (previously known as Lewisham Concert Hall) appearing together in "Babes in the Wood" with Ted as "Robin Hood" and Pearl as "Maid Marian" .
They continued their association with Bunny Baron by playing Summer Season for him in 1971 at Weston-Super-Mare.
In 1987 Pearl and Teddy appeared in the West End run of Stephen Sondheim�s �Follies�. They stopped the show each night with their duet �Rain On The Roof�
Teddy and Pearl chose to retire �On A High� after an eighteenth month run of �Follies� (Staying with the show through the cast change) and remain in good health. Teddy is 92 and
Pearl
is 91. They both recently retired to the Entertainment Artistes �Brindsworth House� in Twickenham where they keep an active��..
The Pop Era in Pantomime- 1950�s-�60�s.
The Stars:
Lonnie Donegan- The most influential and important British Artist of the pre Beatles Era.
Born in Glasgow 1932 Anthony Donegan, he took the name of his idol, the blues singer Lonnie Johnson and having formed the Tony Donegan Jazz band joined Chris Barber�s Trad Jazz band as Lonnie Donegan.
His family had moved to East Ham London when he was two years old, and he set up his own brand of Skiffle in 1953, releasing �Rock Island Line� in 1955. It went straight into the Top Ten charts and established him as a pop star.
�The King Of Skiffle� was later signed to Pye Records and the hits continued. He had an unprecedented succession of hits between 1956-1962. Lonnie had 24 successive top thirty hits including �Cumberland Gap�, �Gamblin� Man�, �Putting On The Style� (1957 it went to Number One) and �My Old Man�s A Dustman�- The first British male artiste to have entered the charts AT Number One!
He appeared on TV in a series of songs and sketches called �Putting On The Donegan� from 1959-1961.
�Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour On The Bedpost overnight� was his second USA chart entry in 1961, making Lonnie the most successful British performer in America at that time. He was the first British performer to secure two US Top Ten Records.
Meanwhile Lonnie Donegan appeared annually in British Pantomime from 1957 through into the mid 1960�s.
His many pantomime appearances include :
1957 Chiswick Empire �Aladdin�- the Principal Boy was Maureen Kershaw and in the same role at the Globe Theatre, Stockton.
1959 Finsbury Park Empire for Lew & Leslie Grade. The pantomime was �Robinson Crusoe�, Lonnie playing Billy Crusoe opposite the (then) double act of Joe Baker and Jack Douglas- later of �Carry On � Fame, and Allan Bruce, Robbie Beamont and Sally Barnes as Mrs Crusoe.
In this pantomime Eighteen year old Julia McKenzie was Principal girl- Polly Perkins.. She later went on to be a West End Star of many Sondheim Musicals, and Television star- �Fresh Fields� and TV�s Miss Marple most recently-here she was in one of her earliest professional shows.
1960 Theatre Royal Nottingham �Cinderella� starring Lonnie Donegan with The Three Monarchs, Danny La Rue & Alan Haynes as The Ugly Sisters, Jill Westlake, Terry Donovan and George Arnett.
This was the year Lonnie appeared in the Royal Command Performance.
Jill Westlake who played �Cinderella� opposite Lonnie�s Buttons was to marry Lonnie after he divorced his wife a few years later in 1962. In 1971 Jill and Lonnie were divorced.
Terry Donovan who played the Dandini often appeared in Winston�s club and in cabaret with Danny La Rue at this time. She is Mrs Barry Cryer.
1961 The Birmingham Hippodrome �Cinderella�- the same cast mostly as Nottingham for Emile Littler and Tom Arnold. Audrey Jeans was co starring. It was in this pantomime Lonnie sang his No: 1 hit record �My Old Man�s A Dustman�.
1962 Leeds Grand Theatre �Cinderella� with Lonnie in his third year as �Buttons�. Jill Westlake was once again Cinderella, and the cast remained the same- The Three Monarchs, Danny La Rue and Alan Haynes.
In 1963 Jill Westlake continued the role of Cinderella with Danny La Rue and Alan Haynes for one more year. This time in Bournemouth. Lonnie was not in this pantomime
There is a gap with no pantomime information between 1963 and 1971. We�d be grateful if anyone has any details of Lonnie Donegan pantomimes during this period.
1971 Lonnie Donegan appeared with Mary Hopkin and Arthur Askey in �Cinderella� at the Opera House Manchester
1972 Lonnie and the Donegan band appeared in pantomime at the Pavilion Theatre Bournemouth.
�My Old Man�s A Dustman�
In 1978 Lonnie released �Putting On The Style�, a record of his early successes collaborating on the disc with Elton John, Brian May and Ringo Starr.
He appeared onstage in the 1920�s musical �Mr Cinders� in 1984, toured America in cabaret and was awarded the MBE for services to Music in 2000. That year he played Glastonbury.
Midway through a UK tour in 2002 with his family Lonnie Donegan died, aged 71.
Billy Fury � influenced, as was Cliff Richard by Elvis, Billy Fury was launched on the TV Programmes �Cool For Cats� and �Oh Boy!� in 1959. Born Ronald Wycherley in Liverpool, he had a total of eighteen singles in the top twenty charts during his pop career. Records included �Maybe Tomorrow�, �Margo�, �Colette� and �That�s Love�.
His hit �Halfway To Paradise� is still regarded as a major pop ballad. He left Decca and signed with Phillips, releasing his self composed album �The Sound Of Fury�.
He added nine more top 20 hits between 1963-65. He ranked alongside Cliff Richard and Marty Wilde as the most popular rockers of the early 1960�s.
The illustrations here show Billy in pantomime at The New Theatre, Oxford, in �Aladdin�.
Cheryl Kennedy is photographed next to him playing The Princess. The group �The Gamblers� are seen forming a triumphant arch for Aladdin and his bride.
The photos were taken by Stanley Bielecki for the magazine �Pop Weekly� which included the readers own chart votes and news and photographs of Billy, Cliff, The Barron Knights, Janie Jones, Tom Jones and a Christmas Greeting from Elvis and the Colonel!
Billy played the role of Stormy Tempest in the David Essex film �That�ll Be The Day� in 1973.
Billy Fury suffered from ill health and died of heart failure in 1983 aged 42.
Marty Wilde
In July 1957 Reginald Smith wasn�t exactly a catchy name to head a pop-group, so it was as Reg Patterson and the Hound Dogs that he was first spotted by the legendary Larry Parnes. A quick name-change � Marty Wilde and the Wild Cats � and some early appearances on TV shows like �Cool for Cats�, �The Six-Five Special� and �Oh, Boy!� launched him into a spectacular and long-lasting career .
The first hit record was �Endless Sleep� in the summer of 1958, and within a year Marty Wilde was hosting Jack Good�s TV show �Boys Meet Girls� and even appeared on the 1959 Royal Variety Show. Four successive Top Ten hits followed and then his marriage to Joyce Baker, one of the singing group The Vernon Girls, whom he met on his TV shows. In those days a marriage was considered the kiss of death for a teen-idol, but Marty was more than just a teen-idol. In 1961 he made a film �The Hellions� and then played the lead in a West End musical opposite Chita Rivera � this was �Bye Bye Birdie�. This meant he was established as an all-rounder by the time the Beatles turned the pop-world upside down and shortened the careers of many other teen-idols.
Marty and his wife starred in the 1966 panto at Swansea Grand Theatre as Robin Hood and Maid Marion � running from Boxing Day to March 4th (they were long runs in those days). It was a very domestic set-up, with 6 year old Kim Wilde and her 4 year old baby-brother Ricky playing in the dressing-room, being looked after by doting dressers when Mum and Dad were both on together.
The Good and Bad Robbers were George Truzzi and comedian Danny O�Dea (much later to find fame in �The Last of the Summer Wine�), and the cast included double-act Bud Smart and Peter Tracy, and Peter Thorne (later a very popular Dame himself) as the Sheriff of Nottingham. The dame was Welsh singer-comedian Ivor Owen as Nurse Glucose, singing to the Babes, as I recall, �It�s a Boy, It�s a Boy, It�s a Ball of Bouncing Joy� � and I remember being puzzled because there was both a boy babe and a girl babe � and the poor girl was being ignored.
Pantos in those days always had standard �solo spots� for the stars. Marty Wilde sang �Rubber Ball�, �Donna�, and �Endless Sleep� in a 12 minute solo, which was just about acceptable for Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. However, Ivor Owen, dressed as Nurse Glucose, in his solo spot sang three powerful ballads, ending with a religious song about �God�s Holy Lights�. Nothing could be more bizarre than a man dressed as Dame singing a holy song! The pantomime was directed as always by John Chilvers and choreographed by Cherry Willoughby.
Marty�s show business career continues to this day with three of his children also in the music business (Kim Wilde of course, and her brother and sister, Ricky and Roxanne) while the fourth, Marty Jnr, is a sportsman.
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders. Born Glyn Ellis in 1945, He founded a group in 1962 and secured a recording contract with Fontana records. Wayne himself took his name from Elvis�s drummer.
In 1962 �The Game Of Love� went to number 2 in the UK charts. He and the mindbenders released several records before he turned solo in 1965.
His last hit was �Pamela, Pamela� in 1967- it went to number 11 in the UK Charts.
Wayne appeared in the Swansea Grand Theatre Pantomime in 1968. �Jack And The Beanstalk� starred Wayne alongside Roy Lance as comic, Sian Hopkins as Princess, Trevor Moreton as Dame Trott, Jonathan Prince, Jean and Peter Barbour as Daisy The Cow and Giant speciality, Sandra Wrenall and a comedy duo named The Harmon Brothers.
The Harmon Brothers were later to become The Chuckle Brothers! See our article Spotlight on The Chuckle Brothers .
This year 2011 Wayne Fontana is touring in the long running show �The Solid Silver Sixties Show� with Mike Berry and The Merseybeats.
Mark Wynter- His handsome �Boy Next Door� looks created a big fan base for Mark Wynter- his hit �Venus In Blue Jeans� was one of several top 30 chart hits. Mark transferred to acting and has work extensively in theatre, he is currently touring in a thriller called �Verdict� for Bill Kenwright and The Agatha Christie Company.
In 1960 he starred in �Mother Goose� at the Gaumont Southampton, produced by Joe Collins- father of Joan Collins. * see the full programme in our � Before They Were Famous � section.
In 1973 Mark appeared in Jack & The Beanstalk at the London Palladium with Frankie Howerd and Dora Bryan. In 1979 Mark appeared in �Jack And The Beanstalk� at The Ashcroft Croydon with Nerys Hughes and Jon Pertwee.
Craig Douglas - Born 1941 and Dubbed �The Singing Milkman�, the former milkman appeared on the TV pop show �The Six-Five Special� in 1959 and received sack fulls of fan mail resulting in a recording contract for Decca.
The �Six Five Special� was the most watched pop show of its time- Craig Douglas appeared frequently along with Cliff Richard and Joe Brown (on his first appearance) and later with Shirley Bassey, Ruby Murray, Vince Eager and Marty Wilde on other shows.
Voted �Best New Singer of 1959� Craig changed to Top Rank Records and recorded a staggering 8 cover versions of American songs.
His Number One Hit record was �Only Sixteen�, recorded at EMI�s Abbey Road Studios. Mike Sammes performed the whistling parts.
Craig went on to have nine Top Forty UK singles and achieved a record for having four consecutive number 9 placings in the UK singles charts.
In 1962 he appeared in the film �It�s Trad Dad!� with Helen Shapiro and topped the bill on the Beatles first major UK stage show.
Amongst his other hit records were �A Hundred Pounds Of Clay�, �Pretty Blue Eyes� (at number 4) �Time� and �Oh Lonesome Me� in 1962.
Craig Douglas appeared at the Theatre Royal Brighton in �Cinderella� in the 1960�s. The panto starred Norman Vaughan and featured Bill Pertwee and Barry Howard as The Ugly Sisters.
Craig appeared on television variety shows such as �Big Night Out� hosted by Mike and Bernie Winters� in the early �sixties, appearing alongside Lionel Blair and his dancers, Hylda Baker, Dusty Springfield, Max Wall and Susan Maughan.
Craig Douglas�s recording career ended in the mid �Sixties and he has worked as a cabaret entertainer since. In1999 Craig appeared at the Civic Theatre Rotherham as Alderman Fitzwarren in �Dick Whittington� with Johnny Dallas as Sarah The Cook and Andy Pelos.
I had the great pleasure of working with him in a Music Hall Show a couple of years ago, and he continues to revive memories of the �Swinging Sixties� with his cabaret spots.
Joe Brown & The Bruvvers -
Born in 1941 and brought up in Plaistow, London�s East End, Joe Brown worked as a session guitarist- working for Pop legend Larry Parnes. He was signed to Decca and in 1960 became Joe Brown and The Bruvvers.
They had hits including �Dark Town Strutters Ball� and in 1962 �Picture Of You� went to Number One and stayed in the charts for months.The Beatles opened shows for them- and the hits continued �It only Took A Minute�, �I�m Henry The Eighth I Am�, and several films. These included �Three Hats For Lisa� with Sid James, �Crazy World� and Spike Milligan Meets Joe Brown. A Cinema Short.
1962 The Globe Theatre Stockton- �Aladdin� with Maureen Kershaw as Aladdin. In 1964 Joe and The Bruvvers were again with Maureen in �Aladdin� at The Granada Shrewsbury.
Joe went on to make countless TV appearances and �The Joe Brown Show� ran for three series on ITV. His children�s TV show �Joe & Co� was for the BBC. He appeared in �Charlie Girl� in the West End- He opened in 1965 and continued for three years, playing the role with Dame Anna Neagle and then Cyd Charisse.
In 1968 Joe was at the Odeon Streatham in �Cinderella� with Dick Emery. Joe played Buttons and as part of his routine to entertain Cinderella he performed a multi instrumental spot. In this he played guitar, acoustic guitar, ukulele, banjo lutes and even a mandolin!
Joe Brown has continued to write music, and to tour. He played Milo in �Sleuth� and appeared for seven months in the musical �Pump Boys and Dinettes� between his own concert tours.
In the 1980�s Joe made several panto appearances at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. These included �Aladdin� in 1985 with Bryan Burdon and Emlyn Harris, and 1987 in �Mother Goose� again with Bryan Burdon, joined by Suzy Aitchinson, James Barron and Barbara Newman as �Priscilla�.
In 2008 he reached UK gold with his album �Joe Brown- The Best Of�, and received the MBE in 2009.He continued to tour in Solid Gold with Marty Wilde and in Joe and Marty Together concerts. In 2010 he supported Status Quo for ten nights on their UK tour and this year is touring the UK once again.
Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry Marsden (born Liverpool 1942)and his group the Pacemakers were the second group to be signed by Brian Epstein in 1962. Their first single �How Do You Do It� was a Number One Hit- followed by I Like It� 1963 Four Weeks at Number One. The Rogers & Hammerstein song from �Carousel� became Gerry Marsden�s anthem and �You�ll Never Walk Alone� stayed at Number One in 1963 for Four Weeks.
�You�ll Never Walk Alone� has been the anthem for Liverpool Football Club and can be heard sung from the terraces weekly.
The hits that followed included �It�s Gonna Be Alright�, �Don�t Let The Sun Catch You Crying� and �Ferry Cross The Mersey�. The Pacemakers were Gerry�s brother, Fred and Les Maguire and Les Chadwick.
One of Gerry Marsden�s pantomime appearances was in his home town at the Empire Liverpool 1976. �Jack and the Beanstalk� starred Gerry Marsden, Molly Sugden and Coronation Street�s Kathy Jones.
Gerry went solo and followed a career in television, and became Sooty�s helper on several occasions alongside his friend Mathew Corbett. Gerry starred in the West End Musical �Charlie Girl� with Derek Nimmo and (Dame) Anna Neagle, and continues to appear in tours and cabaret today. His recent being the �60�s Gold� tour along with The Searchers, Len �Chip� Hawkes and the Fortunes.
Freddie Garrity - Born in 1936,Freddie Garrity founded �Freddie and The Dreamers� in 1959, They were, In Freddie�s words �the first group to leap about and do comedy on stage". They made their first broadcast in 1961 and had their debut at Liverpool�s Cavern Club in 1962.
1963 was the groups major year- they auditioned for EMI and their demo was thought good enough to release- �If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody� shot to number 3 in the charts.
Freddie and the Dreamers first panto was 1963. The Royalty Theatre Chester in �Cinderella�. That year their huge hit �You Were Made For Me� came out that Christmas and went to Number 3 in the charts.
The same year Freddie and the group were in a film �What A Crazy World� with Marty Wilde and Joe Brown.
1964 they released hits �Over You� and �Just For You�.
In 1965 Freddie And The Dreamers starred in �Aladdin� at The Palace Theatre Manchester. The panto also starred singer Des O�Connor.
That year Freddie released the film �Every Day�s A Holiday�, and he and the Dreamers had a further two hit records in the charts.
While on tour, believing they were earning serious money, they discovered they were also responsible for paying the two support groups, all travel and all accommodation including meals. They finished in debt! As a consequence Freddie left the group and turned to television.
In 1967 Freddie & The Dreamers starred in �Cinderella� at the ABC Stockton.
�Little Big Time� made Freddie Garrity a children�s TV star. The show ran for nearly three years to 1973.
He played Wishee Washee with Lulu at Oxford New Theatre in �Aladdin�, 1976.
In the 1980�s Freddie played Jack in �Jack and The Beanstalk� frequently for John Farrow. He played the Oxford Apollo with Anne Charleston, Alvin Stardust and with Lynsey de Paul.
Peter Thorne would often play Dame Trott. I recall hiring a cow to this pantomime and having to repair the unspeakable things that Freddie attached to it during its short trip to Pantoland! It would have �Not Wanted On The Voyage� stuck on its side, or large stickers saying �This End Up� or flyers advertising a Freddie Garrity Gig. The state of her udders were disgraceful! Poor Daisy obviously suffered for her art in the hands of joker Garrity.
Freddie played Muddles in �Snow White� with Letitia Dean at the Davenport Theatre Stockport in1993 and in �Jack & The Beanstalk� at Hanley Theatre Royal- With Alvin Stardust.
At one stage in his career the zany antics of geeky looking Freddie Garrity- he created his own dance moves to rival the twist- Freddie and The Dreamers topped the bill over the rolling stones on a UK tour.
Sadly Freddie became an invalid in 2001 and died in 2005.
Freddie and The Dreamers on Blue Peter 1960�s.
Peter Noone- �Herman and The Hermits�. At the age of 15 Peter Noone (Born 1947) became Herman of Herman And The Hermits and from 1963 had hits with RAK records and MGM records- including their first hit �I�m Into Something Good� which went to Number 1 in the UK charts. The group had success in the US as well with this and �Henery The Eighth I Am�- achieving three top three hits in America.
Peter Noon began his career as a child actor- he was Len Fairclough�s son in �Coronation Street�, and established as a pop star he made several films- in 1965 �Pop Gear� then three films for MGM- �Mrs Brown you�ve got a lovely daughter� (Another hit with the title song) �Hold On� in 1966 and �When The Boys Meet The Girls�.
Solo he had four singles and a hit with �Oh You Pretty Thing�- and continued his career with hits in 1974 and 1989. He has starred on American Television as �Pinocchio� and on Broadway in �Pirates�- currently living in Santa Barbara he was a mentor on �American Idol� in 2007 and sang his hit �There�s A Kind Of Hush�. He is currently on tour in the USA.
Pantomime credits for Peter Noon include the BBC Television �Dick Whittington� shown on Christmas Day 1972 with Peter Noone, Dick Emery, Michael Aspel and Gemma Craven.
Pantomimes on stage include 1969 in �Aladdin� at The Streatham Odeon with Norman Vaughan, The Oxford New Theatre with �Crackerjack� favourite Peter Glaze as Dame- and in 1972 starring with Roy Hudd, Wyn Calvin and Ivor Emmanuel in �Dick Whittington� at The Bristol Hippodrome.
Adam Faith: Born Terry Nelhams in 1940 in Acton, London. Adam Faith worked as a film cutter for Rank when he found chart success through appearances on BBC�s �Six-Five Special� and �Drumbeat". He received a recording contract from HMV and then Top Rank. His debut single released in 1958.
The New Musical Express September 1960 revealed that Adam Faith was set to make his Pantomime debut as Mate- presumably in �Dick Whittington� for the season 1960-61.
In 1986 Peter Robbins and I were in �Cinderella� at Richmond - One afternoon we discovered one of the Juvenile�s dads waiting for their child to finish the show and whilst chatting learned he himself had been a child actor- an artful dodger and was something to do with music. We gave him a cuppa and afterwards the chorus came to our room demanding to know �What was he like?� �Who?� we said- �Phil Collins of course!�... Ohhhh! Then the penny dropped. We�d had no idea. The chorus got their revenge- Adam Faith was backstage visiting, and we spotted him having a chat with the chorus in the corridor. ��What was he like?� we enquired. �Who?� �Adam Faith of course�- Ohh , who's that then?� Peter and I returned to our dressing room crushed!
Helen Shapiro: in 1960 the fourteen year old Helen Shapiro was launched into the world of pop music. Three years later she was supported by The Beatles on UK tours !
Her first single was �Don�t Treat Me Like Child� which went to Number One, followed by �You Don�t Know� and her third �Walking Back To Happiness� shot to number one with advance orders for 300,000 copies- it ultimately sold over a million copies worldwide.
Dubbed �Britain�s Answer To Brenda Lee�, she possessed a rich, deep and mature voice. She appeared in films- including �Play It Cool� with Billy Fury and �It�s Trad Dad!�
Helen is still a much sought after Jazz and Blues singer, and has played in many pantomimes starting as Principal Boy and always, no matter where or when, performing �Walking Back To Happiness� as her signature solo.
Jess Conrad- Born Gerald James, primarily an actor and a pop singer, Jess Conrad made his TV Pop debut in 1960. By 1961 he had received a �Tip For Stardom� in the pop press. As an actor he appeared in ATV�s �Rock A Bye Barney� play about a popstar, and in the film �Friends and Neighbours� with Arthur Askey. He released �Cherry Pie�, and had a hit with �Mystery Girl� (written by actor Trevor Peacock). In 1959 he appeared with Cliff Richard in the film �Serious Charge�, and other film roles included �Too Young To Marry�, the horror flick �Konga� and in 1979 the �Great Rock And Roll Scandal�.
Jess is the hero of over twenty five to thirty pantomimes not including the lengthy tours he undertook with Jim Davidson�s �Adult� pantomime �Sinderella� as Prince Charming.
At Swansea Grand Theatre in 1965 He played Jack- Marquis Of Carabosse in �Puss In Boots�. Puss was played by the young Keith Harris with Bruan Burden, Jennifer Creighton and the double act Grande And Mars.
Pantomimes include Wimbledon Theatre� Dick Whittington�1972 with Dana, Jack Douglas, and Norman Vaughan, and pantomimes from Ayr to Westcliff and from Halifax to the Dominion Theatre In London�s West End.
He has played Prince Charming in �Cinderella� many times, and similarly Robin Hood-and latterly a few villains. These include Captain Hook in �Peter Pan� at The Victoria Theatre Halifax, Abanazar in �Aladdin� at The Theatre Royal Windsor, and the Sheriff in �Robin Hood� at Stoke On Trent.
Jess has recently played Baron in �Cinderella� at Windsor.
Dennis Lotis
According to the Pop Bible- The New Musical Express, Dennis Lotis made his debut pantomime in 1960, and in 1968 Dennis appeared in �Cinderella� at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The show starred Des O�Connor and Jack Douglas.
His career spanned Television, variety radio and recording. South African born in 1926 he arrived in the UK in the 1950�s and became a lead vocalist with the Ted Heath Orchestra, alongside Dickie Valentine and Lita Rosa. They released several recordings and Dennis had a hit with �Cuddle Me� before turning solo. He was awarded Top Male Singer� by The NME in 1957. He enjoyed a film career appearing in films such as �The Golden Disc� (1958) �Its a Wonderful World�, �Sword Of Sherwood Forest� (1960) and �What Every Woman Wants� (1962).
Dennis appeared in the 1969 Leeds Grand Theatre Pantomime "Cinderella�. This panto starred Dickie Henderson and Dorothy Wayne.. He also appeared in �Cinderella� in the 1980�s playing the role of Baron Hardup at Solihul Library Theatre with Linda Reagan, and Mal Rich as Buttons.
He toured in variety and cabaret- I saw him once sharing the bill with Diana Dors and with Lita Roza, and continued to appear in nostalgia shows with Joan Regan into 2000. In 2009 he appeared with the Glen Miller tribute band on their concert tour.
Top of the bill in the Gaumont Southampton �Babes In The Wood� 1962-63 were pop stars Mike Sarne (Come Outside with Wendy Richard June 1962 was his Number One Hit) and Danny Williams �Moon River� Dec 1961- released in the UK before Andy Williams made it his signature song a few months later in the USA. The pantomime was produced by Joe Collins.
Mike Sarne (Parlaphone). He went on to become a Hollywood Director (including the film �Myra Breckinridge� starring Raquel Welch, Mae West (in her eighties) and Farrah Fawcett in 1970).
Danny Williams (1942-2005) Born in South Africa became a UK Pop Star for HMV with Albums �Days Of Wine & Roses� 1963 . This panto also featured a young Anita Harris who was later to have chart success.
Mike Sarne & Wendy Richard �Come Outside� on YouTube.
Susan Maughan � Born in Consett 1942 Susan Maughan �s family moved to Birmingham whenshe was fifteen. She became band singer with the Ronnie Hancock band, and later sang with the Ray Ellington Quartet for a year before being �discovered� and signed to Philips.
Susan�s first single was �Mama Do The Twist� 1961 followed by �Baby Doll Twist� and a moden take on Sophie Tucker�s number �Some Of These Days�. It was her Fourth single that shot her to fame.
�I wanna Be Bobby�s Girl� went to Number Three in the UK Charts and made Susan Maughan into a much sought after entertainer.
In 1963 she released �Hand A Handkerchief To Helen�, �Make Him Mine� and �She�s New To You� and released several albums later, including �I wanna be Bobby�s Girl but..�
Singing �I Wanna Be Bobby�s Girl�- Susan Maughan 1962
In 1963 she appeared in the Royal Variety Performance along with the Beatles, and Marlene Dietrich, and made the film �What A Crazy World� with Marty Wilde and Joe Brown. She continued to appear in cabaret thereafter and replaced Clodagh Rodgers in �Meet Me In London� at The Adelphi Theatre.
She appeared frequently on Television throughout the 1960�s and into the �Seventies, and featured in children�s TV series �Emu�s Wide World� in the 1980�s.
Hugely popular in both Pantomime and Summer Seasons- especially at Blackpool, Susan continues to tour today in 1960�s shows, often sharing the bill with Barry Ryan and Dave Berry.
Her pantomimes include a long association with John Inman�s �Mother Goose�_ i saw both Swansea and Nottingham with John, Barbara Newman and Susan Maughan.
In 1973 Susan Maughan played Maid Marion in the �Junior Showtime� TV Panto- �Babes In The Wood�- also appearing were regulars Bobby Bennett, Mark Curry, Roy Rolland (as Nanny Riley) with Bonnie Langford, Norman Collier, and Peter Goodwright.
Susan has appeared in numerous pantomimes- a few of these include:
1980 Bradford Alhambra �Jack & The Beanstalk� with Cannon & Ball and Norman Collier and Paul & June Kidd as Daisy The Cow.
1986 Theatre Royal Plymouth- �Cinderella� with Paul Henry, Nyree Dawn Porter- as Fairy Godmother, Susan Maughan as Prince and Bill Simpson as Baron. The Sisters were Chris Harris and Simon Browne.
1988 Swansea Grand Theatre �Mother Goose� with John Inman (Susan had a long association with John and this show) Bruce Montague and Terry Hall with Lenny The Lion.
1993 Palace Manchester �Dick Whittington� starring Ken Dodd with Wyn Calvin as Sarah The Cook and Glyn Owen.
2003 Croydon Ashcroft Theatre for Nick Thomas and Jon Conway (Qdos) in �Aladdin� as Empress Of China. Jim Davidson starred with Dean Gaffney, and the panto featured Andy Ford.
2004 Susan Maughan starred in �Aladdin� at Tunbridge Wells .
A long standing member of the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, Susan Maughan continues to make cabaret appearances and fund raising events for this theatrical charitable organisation.
Johnny De Little
Johnny De Little starred in the Swansea Grand Panto �Dick Whittington� in 1967. The panto featured Peter Kaye, Sandra Wells, Tommy Rose as Sarah The Cook, Du-Marte & Denzar�s �Skeleton�s Alive!� and featured a very young Berwick Kaler, now York�s long serving Panto star and Dame!
Berwick has been starring at York Theatre Royal for thirty four years
Johnny De Little was born Brian King in The Aberdale Valley, South Wales and was a local pop star for this pantomime at Swansea. He followed in the footsteps of Marty Wilde who had been there the year before, and was followed by Wayne Fontana. Swansea was emulating what the London Palladium- the flagship panto house- was currently presenting. Pop Stars in Panto!
Johnny De Little was a prot�g� of pop supremo John Barry-The man regarded as the Bond Films �In House� composer- Johnny released five singles, all approved by John Barry- �Days Of Wine and Roses�, �The Wind And The Rain�, �Unchained Melody� �The Knack� �What To Do With Laurie� on Columbia records and CBS between 1961 and 1965. Johnny appeared in a BBC play �Girl On A Roof� about an infatuated pop fan- the lead played by Ray Brooks and Johnny De Little in a smaller role- they were joined in the film by the John Barry Seven for several numbers.
Johnny was later to become involved in the soundtrack of �The Knack�- film score by John Barry- and recorded the soundtrack that was heard in the American release of this Rita Tushingham film, and recoded for EMI. He also sang on the demo of �From Russia With Love�, which eventually was given to the more established Matt Monroe.
YouTube clip from the Tommy Steele film �It�s All Happening� featuring Johnny De Little.
Johnny and his wife Leah Bell were recently on tour in 2010-11 in their �Silver Bells� Christmas Show for Johnny Manns Productions. Leah Bell presents Pantomimes each year, and this year is staging the panto at Consett.
Vince Eager- Born Roy Taylor in 1940, Vince Eager was a pioneer of pop and rock. He founded the �Vagabonds� skiffle group, influenced by Lonnie Denegan, and came to the attention of Larry Parnes manager of Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Billy Fury and Joe Brown. Parnes named and launched his new find as Vince Eager and the Vagabonds.
Between 159 and 1961 there were over a hundred appearances on TV- �Drumbeat�, �Six-Five Special� and �Oh Boy!�, often accompanied by the John Barry Seven. Vince released over 14 singles and 5 albums at that time, and toured with Billy Fury, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and Marty Wilde. It is possible that he appeared in Pantomime at the Garrick Theatre Stockport circa 1958 and certainly starred in pantomime in Swansea at The Grand Theatre in 1964.
The Swansea Panto �Aladdin� starred Vince alongside Duggie Clark, Alan Wells, Lynton Boys, Lesley King, Frank Ellis, Jonathan Prince and Emerson & Jayne- The Flying carpet speciality.
In the 1980�s Vince starred in the West End Musical �Elvis� and released further albums. Vince published �Vince Eager�s Rock And Roll Files� and is currently touring in his own show.
www.vinceeager.co.uk
Alvin Stardust- The flamboyant pop star of the Seventies, Alvin began his pop career in 1961 when he took the name of Shane Fenton, and performing as Shane Fenton and the Fentones. He and the group were regulars on TV�s �Saturday Club� and �Easy Beat� and, signed to the Parlaphone label produced hits including �I�m A Moody Guy� and �Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue�.
Born Bernard Jewry his second career began in 1973 when, as Alvin Stardust he became one of the 1970�s top recording artistes.
Many pantomime appearances have followed his rise as Alvin Stardust.
In 1979 Alvin played Robinson Crusoe at The Palace Theatre, Plymouth. The star was (Sir) Norman Wisdom. Ship wrecked with Alvin on the Island were �It �Aint Half Hot Mum� stars Michael Knowles and Donald Hewlitt.
Other pantomimes include �Jack & The Beanstalk� with Freddie & The Dreamers at the Hanley Theatre Royal. He has appeared recently as baddie- Sheriff of Nottingham and as Abanazar in �Aladdin�. It was in that guise that I stood next to him on the Panto Themed �Weakest Link� a few years ago- Alvin�s Abanazar costume had a trick turban with a large eye. He beat Anne Robinson to the famous wink she gives and totally upstaged �The Queen Of Mean� that day!
Alvin is married to West End Singer Julie Paton, and they appear together in panto each year and together in pantomime from time to time.
Dusty Springfield
One of the best selling singers of the �Sixties- Dusty Springfield was born in 1939 in West Hampstead. She began by joining a close harmony trio �The Lana Sisters� in 1958 then later forming �The Springfields� in 1960 with her Brother Dion and Reshad Feild, later replaced by Mike Hurst.
Her solo career began in 1963.- Hit records like �I only Want To Be With You� followed by �Wishin� and Hopin�� in 1964 established Dusty as a major recording star. Later in �64 �I Just Don�t Know What To Do With Myself� went into Number Three in the charts and in 1966 �You Don�t Have To Say You Love Me� was Number One.
In 1966 Dusty Springfield was the best selling female singer in the world, and an icon of the �Swinging Sixties� worldwide.
This was the year that she appeared in her only (as far as we know) pantomime.
�Merry King Cole�, Liverpool Empire 1966/67
This pantomime is possibly the only one that Dusty Springfield appeared in, it is believed that she disliked the experience deeply, and was not likely to repeat it.. This panto also featured Paul & Barry Ryan pop stars (sons of TV Singer Marion Ryan) and impressionist Peter Goodwight, Charlie Cairoli, Sid Plummer and Pat Lancaster. It was produced by Tom Arnold and Bernard Delfont.
In 1968 �Son Of A Preacher Man� became a huge hit and her �Memphis� album for Atlantic Records in 1969 was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the greatest albums of all time.
A huge recording career and appearances on television, over eighteen top selling singles and inauguration into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the USA was followed by her collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys in �What Have I Done To Deserve This� (it went to Number 2) and �Nothing Has Been Proved� and �In Private�.
One of the greatest recording artistes of all time, Dusty Springfield received the OBE in her hospital room � she died shortly afterwards in 1999.
Marianne Faithful - Born in Hampstead in 1946, Marianne Faithful became an iconic figure for the �Swinging Sixties� and has had a career that spans five decades.
Theatre was in her genes- her mother Baroness Erisso had been a ballerina in Max Reinhardt�s company- Marianne started her career as a folk singer around 1964, became a pop singer and latterly a jazz and blues singer.
Such a powerful icon for the era she has played God twice in Jennifer Saunder�s �Absolutely Fabulous�- opposite Anita Pallenberg as The Devil.
Famous for her long affair with Mick Jagger (1966-70) He and Keith Richards wrote her hit single �As Tears Go By�. She had chart success with �Little Bird� and �Come and Stay With Me� also.
Her career path was not destined for pantomime but she appeared in a musical version of �Alice In Wonderland� for Paul Elliott and Duncan Weldon. This touring production featured Peggy Mount, Julian Orchard and Anton Dolin. Faithful played Alice.
Her stage work has been prestigious, from appearing at the Royal Court opposite Glenda Jackson, to her Ophelia opposite Nicol Williamson�s Hamlet (Anthony Hopkins was Claudius) through to theatre tours with Peter Gilmore- notably �The Rainmaker� and appearances at most major art venues. She played Pirate Jenny in Threepenny Opera at The Gate, Dublin in 1993.She played Pink�s Mother in Pink Floyd�s �The Wall� live at Berlin.
During this time her private life has continued to soar up and down like a roller coaster- during these times some of her finest albums have been released- �Broken English� (1979) �Strange Weather� (1987) �Vagabond Ways� (1999) �Kissing Time� (2002) and is now partly resident in Paris. Her 2011 album �Horses and High Heels� resulted in appearances at London�s Barbican May 2011.
David Essex - Born in London�s East Ham in 1947 he left his job as an apprentice electrician at Plessey�s factory in Ilford to pursue a career as a musician. In 1964 he was launched as David Essex. During the Summer of 2011 David is appearing in BBC�s soap �EastEnders� as Eddie Moon- Uncle of Alfie Moon. He has recently finished a lengthy tour and West End season with his musical �All The Fun Of The Fair�, which he co-wrote with Jon Conway.
He achieved West End fame in Godspell, in 1971 and was the star of the film �That�ll Be The Day� (Billy Fury appeared in this film with him).in 1973, and the sequel (with Adam Faith) �Stardust�. He received huge acclaim in the role of Che, in the West End musical �Evita�. In 1978.
Essex began his panto career understudying Tommy Steel in the 1969 London Palladium Pantomime �Dick Whittington� . The show also starred Mary Hopkin, Billy Dainty and Kenneth Connor. Two years later he played Dandini in �Cinderella� at The Opera House Manchester in 1971 with Arthur Askey, Mary Hopkin and Lonnie Donnegan.
He has been signed over the years to Fontana, Pye, MCA, Decca and released eight records under these companies, and became the biggest seller on the CBS label at one point.
The Essex hits include �Rock On� in 1973 which shot to number one in the USA charts and Number 2 in the UK, followed by �Gonna Make You A Star�, and �Stardust� (1974) �Hold Me Close�, �If I Could� and �Rolling Stone� (1975) �City Lights� and �Coming Home� (1976) �Cool Out Tonight� and �Stay With Me Baby� in 1977 and, of course the Mike Batt & Tim Rice hit �A Winter�s Tale� which reached Number Two in the charts in 1982
Over the years he has regularly appeared in pantomimes- at one time playing �Robinson Crusoe� frequently � The Mayflower Southampton and the 1996 King�s Theatre Edinburgh for example, and as the villainous Captain Hook- these �Peter Pan� pantomimes included the Derngate Northampton in 2007 with Sophie Lawrence and his recent �Peter Pan� at Darlington (2010-11) with The Grumbleweeds playing opposite his wife Susan Hallam-Wright as Peter Pan.
Pop stars who turned actors are included in the panto lineup, these include Paul Nicholas - who has made countless appearances as Prince Charming, including the London Palladium production of �Cinderella� with Dame Anna Neagle as Fairy Godmother, and as Buttons with myself and Peter Robbins on several occasions, and recently as Captain Hook.
Sheila Fergusson - of Three Degrees Fame has appeared in many pantomimes for both Qdos and for First Family, Chesney Hawkes- The One and Only was in the Deco Northampton last year playing �Aladdin�, and former Page Three and Pop Singer Samantha Fox has trod those panto boards.
David Hasselhoff - �The Hoff�-Movie star, Baywatch Actor and a singer with a huge following in Germany has made a few appearances for First Family � most recently as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at Wimbledon with Louis Spence and also in Bristol (2011-12).
David has just completed a concert in
London
�s 02 Arena.
Paul Michael Glazer - Movie Actor most famous for his role in the TV series �Starsky & Hutch. Has appeared in Pantomime For First Family, as well as having a career as a pop singer.
Toyah Wilcox- In a career spanning thirty years Toyah has had thirteen top 40 singles, recorded twenty albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays, made eleven feature films and presented such diverse television programmes as The Good Sex Guide Late, Watchdog and Songs Of Praise.
Her career began as an actress at the same time as her pop career. Derek Jarman offered her the role of Mad in seminal punk epic Jubilee. She continued to gain strong roles, appearing alongside Katherine Hepburn in the film, The Corn is Green, as well as playing Monkey in the legendary Quadrophenia. She teamed up with Jarman again to play Miranda in his innovative version of The Tempest.
Toyah's band was gaining critical success with the debut single Victims of the Riddle (no.1 in the independent charts for 12 months) and her first album, The Blue Meaning, became a Top 40 hit. In 1982 she won the Best Female Singer at the Rock & Pop Awards.
She recorded two series of the BBC�s popular Fasten Your Seatbelt, two series of the BBC Scotland�s kid�s drama series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, fronted her own BBC1 series Discovering Eve and was a regular presenter on Watchdog, The Heaven & Earth Show and Holiday. Toyah participated in the 2003 Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and most recently appeared in ITV2�s Secret Diary of a Call Girl as the mother of lead actress Billie Piper.
Pantomime has always been a big part of Toyah�s career and she has appeared in over twenty. In 2011-12 she appeared at the Alban Arena for Evolution Pantomimes.
Sinitta: 1997 Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. Sinitta played Princess in �Aladdin� with Cannon & Ball as Chinese Policemen, Anthony Engelman as Aladdin, John Altman as Abanazar and Brian Cant as Widow Twankey. Sinitta�s Mother, Miquel Brown has appeared in several pantomimes for E&B/Qdos as Fairy Godmother. Miquel also appeared in �Aladdin� at Poole for Michael Rose and David Morgan.
Neil Morrisey - �Bob The Builder� Can we appear in pantomime now and then? Yes We Can!
Victoria Adams/Beckham- Pop star, Spice Girl. And fashion designer Victoria MAY have made an appearance in Panto as a dancer at the beginning of her career.
Jimmy Osmond - Of the sensational family singing group- Jimmy stared in Swansea pantomime �Aladdin� for Qdos 2011-12. He has made several previous appearances in �Cinderella�.
EUROVISION
The annual institution that is The Eurovision Song Contest, descended from its earlier incarnation �A Song For Europe� has seen a good few Pantomime Principals in its time. From Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson, Brian Johnson through to Dana and indeed (a tribute to our Panto Star Dana) Dana International, �Buck�s Fizz�, Sonia, and David Van Day, not forgetting Steven Fisher & Sally Ann Triplett who appeared as �Bardo� Mark Evans- Eurovision recently on tour in High School Musical2, and Blue�s Anthony Costa, and of course the entrants from Ireland for the last two years, Jedward!
These and many other stars of Eurovision have trod the boards of Pantoland. Here are a few:
Lulu - Born Marie McDonald McLauchlin Lawrie in Lennoxtown, Glasgow 1948.
Lulu has appeared in �Peter Pan� playing Peter in the musical several times and in �Babes In The Wood�.
She became a star aged fourteen, having been discovered by Marion Massey in Glasgow- Marie and her group �The Gleneagles� became Lulu and The Luvvers in 1964 and had her first hit for Decca- �Shout!� reached number seven in the UK charts.
Shortly afterwards hits like �Here Comes The Night� and �Leave A Little Love� went into the charts. Lulu turned solo in 1966 and her year filled with recording work, concert tours- with Roy Orbison and The Walker Brothers, television, radio and Pantomime at Wimbledon Theatre London.
That year, 1966 Lulu starred in �Babes In The Wood� with veteran comedian Arthur Askey and Roy Castle. Lulu starred as Maid Marion with Arthur as Nurse Martha and Roy Castle as Simon. The girl �Babe�-�Jennifer� in this pantomime, supplied by the Aida Foster School was Elaine Page!
The Welsh born actor and Hollywood star Roger Rees played The Sheriff Of Nottingham in this production. John Gower played Robin, opposite Lulu.
Lulu had left Decca and was now signed to Columbia managed by Mickie Most, and her pantomime engagement was slotted in with her film engagement appearing with Sidney Poitier in �To Sir with Love�. Her recording of the title song topped the American Singles Charts for Five Weeks. It sold a million copies and a total of Four Million worldwide!
After three more hits, seasons in Hollywood, at London�s �Talk Of The Town� and her own BBC Television series, Lulu married Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees in 1969, the year she represented the UK in The Eurovision Song Contest.
Eurovision 1969- �Boom Bang A Bang!� Lulu�s song came joint first- one of the extremely rare times the UK has ever won, and went to Number 2 in the charts.
In 1971 Lulu was the subject of TV�s �This Is Your Life�- she was 23 years old.
1972 �Peter Pan�-at the Manchester Palace Theatre. Lulu starred in J.M.Barrie�s musical play to perform the role she was to repeat many times in her career. The diminutive Lulu flying across the stage to take on Hook brought Peter Pan to life for a great many children over the years. The Manchester production saw her battle Anthony Sharp as Captain Hook. Sharp had recently filmed �A Clockwork Orange� and was familiar to television viewers for his aristocratic roles- colonels and vicars and in this case, villainous pirate kings. This show broke a 60 year old box office record.
In 1974 Lulu recorded the David Bowie songs for the soundtrack of �The Man With The Golden Gun�. One, �The Man Who Sold The World� went to number 3 in the charts.
In 1975 Lulu repeated her success by appearing as �Peter Pan� at the London Palladium opposite Ron Moody as Captain Hook. Moody of course achieved huge fame as Fagin in Lionel Bart�s �Oliver� in 1960 and in the film version of the musical.
Rachel Gurney -�Upstairs Downstairs� Lady Bellamy played Mrs Darling in this Palladium production of J.M.Barrie�s play with music. Tessa Wyatt also featured along with Tony Sympson and Peter Bland.
Lulu married top hairdresser John Freida in 1976 . That year she appeared as �Aladdin� at The New Theatre Oxford playing opposite 60�s pop star Freddie Garrity, of �Freddie and The Dreamers�.
In the �Eighties she appeared in several musicals including the 1983 �Song & Dance� by Lloyd-Webber at the Palace Theatre London, and as Miss Adelaide in �Guys & Dolls� for the National Theatre at the Prince Of Wales Theatre. In 1987 she appeared with Ernie Wise in the Savoy Theatre in �The Mystery Of Edwin Drood�.
That year 1987 Lulu repeated her role as �Peter Pan� at London�s Cambridge Theatre. George Cole- Film and television star, star and known to millions as �Arthur Daley� from Minder- played Captain Hook.
The following year 1988 she appeared as Peter Pan at Wimbledon Theatre (Where she played her first pantomime twenty-two years before) in the version that also went on a UK tour. �Peter Pan- The Musical� toured with Lulu, Christopher Timothy (As Captain Hook)Michelle Thorneycroft, Alan Helm, Ruth Mayo, Kerry-Jane Beddows, Annabel Griggs and Joseph Morely.
In 1993 Lulu reached number 11 in the charts with �Independence� and �I�m Back For More� went into the charts. Finally in 1993 she achieved her first number one chart hit single- �Relight My Fire� a collaboration with �Take That�.
She was awarded the OBE in 2000.
Lynsey de Paul- Songwriter and singer- Lynsey de Paul is a prolific composer. She first hit the charts co-writing the �Fortunes� hit �Storm In A Tea Cup� and followed it a few months later in 1972 with her own hit �Sugar Me� which went to number 5 in the charts in the UK and Number one in several European countries.
Other hits include �Won�t Somebody Dance With Me� at Number 5 (It won her the Novello Award) �Ohh I Do� at Number five in the UK and also in Japan, and �No Honestly�- the hit number of the theme for an ITV sitcom of the same name. It stayed at Number 7 in the charts. Lynsey also composed the theme for the 1977 �The Rag Trade� comedy revival.
She appeared in several pantomimes- The Oxford New Theatre �Jack And The Beanstalk� and in 1983 in �Aladdin� at the Shaftesbury Theatre London, alongside Richard O�Sullivan, Tommy Trinder, Derek Griffiths and Roy Kinnear. It was a �Theatre Of Comedy� production.
With her blond hair, diminutive figure and sultry voice she was a huge hit on television shows and throughout her career has continued to write hit numbers for dozens of major recording stars here and in the USA. She lived in America with her then partner, Movie star James Coburn until the early �Eighties. Among her many hit records �There�s No Place Like London� was a hit for Shirley Bassey and has opened many a �Dick Whittington� Pantomime since she composed it!
Dana - The pop singer who has possibly made more pantomime appearances than any other- with the exception of The Nolans. She became the perfect �Snow White� in theatres around the UK.
Dana starred in the 1972 Wimbledon Theatre �Dick Whittington� with Jack Douglas, Norman Vaughn and pop star of the 1960�s Jess Conrad.. She appeared frequently as Snow White for Albermarle.- one of her many appearances included �Snow White�- in 1987 she starred with Roy Walker, Ronnie and Su Douglas at The Bristol Hippodrome .Su Douglas played Wicked Queen, as she did again with Dana at the Palace Manchester �Snow White� with Jimmy Cricket, and Mike Holloway in 1991.
Dana was Ireland�s winning entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest- she sang �All Kinds Of Everything�- a song she sang in every one of her pantomimes thereafter. The UK Entrant that year was Mary Hopkin with �Knock Knock, Who�s There?�.
After winning the contest Dana became a national hero in Ireland, and �All Kinds Of Everything� went on to become a two million seller throughout Ireland, the UK and in Europe.
She had her own television series on the BBC �A Day Out With Dana�,and RTE�s �Dana� Series and for over forty years has produced records since her debut single �Sixteen�in 1967 through to the release of her latest album in 2011.
Currently Dana resides in Ireland with her family and presents �Dana and Friends� on EWTN. She produces Christian music and last year toured the �All Kinds Of Everything� 20th Anniversary Tour.
Born in Islington, North London in 1951 her family moved back to Ireland-Derry when she was five years old. Dana moved with her family to America in the 1990�s to Birmingham Alabama, and became involved in Christian concerts and tours. In 1997 she was nominated to run for the Irish Presidential elections, and in 1999 became elected the European Member Of Parliament for Connacht-Ulster
Sonia - Sonia Evans was the UK entrant to Eurovision with �Better The Devil You Know� in 1993, and came second in the contest. A pop star from the age of sixteen she began her career in 1989 launched by Stock, Aitken & Waterman for Chrysalis Records. Her number one hit �You�ll Never Stop me Loving You� was followed by her album �Everybody Knows� in 1990.
All five singles from this album were top 20 hits. She became one of the youngest artistes to have achieved this. She released �You�ve Got A friend� with the group �Big Fun� for charity Childline, and sang in both Band Aid (1989) and Gulf Aid (1991).
1991 saw �Only Fools� released and her album �Better The Devil� was released in 1993.
That year, 1993 Sonia joined the cast of �Slice Of Saturday Night� with Dennis Waterman in the West End, and the following year played Sandy in �Grease� in London�s West End with Craig McLachlan and Shane Richie. She also toured in �What A Feeling� and, in 2000 in Jon Conway�s �80�s musical �Eternal Flame�.
A former actress from brief appearances in Brookside (1988) and in BBC�s �Bread�, she appeared in pantomime as Principal Boy. Her panto appearances include playing Dick Whittington at the Neptune Theatre, Liverpool, Peter Pan at His Majesty�s Theatre Aberdeen and at Belfast Opera House- For Qdos, as Aladdin in �Aladdin� and repeating Peter Pan at the New Theatre Cardiff in 2000.
In 2006 -7 Sonia played Jack in �Jack & The Beanstalk� at Horesham opposite Mark Curry, Graham James (As Dame Trott) and Claire Marlowe and Tania Whatley.
Cheryl Baker - A real �Eastender�, Cheryl was born in Bethnal Green East London in 1954.She was one of the Eurovision group �Buck�s Fizz�- they came first in 1981 with �Making Your Mind Up�- with an iconic routine involving band members Bobby G and Mike Nolan whipping off the skirts worn by Jay Aston and Cheryl.
The group had three British Number One Hits- �Making Your Mind Up�, �Land Of Make Believe� and �My Camera Never Lies�.
The group were involved in a coach crash on tour in Newcastle in 1984 in which Cheryl broke three vertebrae and Mike Nolan suffered serious head injuries- Cheryl helped set up the charity �Head First�.
Cheryl moved into TV presenting �Record Breakers� with Roy Castle and �The Saturday Picture Show� with Mark Curry.
In 1986 Cheryl starred in the Christmas day Granada production of �Cinderella� playing the title role. The following year, 1987 Cheryl played Maid Marion in the London Palladium production of �Babes In The Wood�
�Babes In The Wood� starred Cannon & Ball as the Robbers, Marty Webb as Robin Hood, Barbara Windsor as Fairy, John Inman as Nurse, Derek Griffiths as Sheriff and Cheryl Baker. Peter Howitt played Will Scarlet and Nicholas Smith, along with Rod Hull and Emu. It was to be the last pantomime to date staged at the London Palladium.
In 1988 she presented her own show �Eggs and Baker� which ran for five years.
Cheryl played Polly Perkins in the Swansea Grand Theatre�s �Robinson Crusoe� in 1992. The show starred Rod Hull and Emu, Joe Pasquale, Dave Benson Phillips, Mark Greenstreet and local comedian Owen Money.
In 1993 Cheryl Baker starred in the Ashcroft Croydon production of �Dick Whittington� with Mike Doyle, John Altman, Loraine Chase and Roger Kitter as Sarah The Cook.
In 1993 Cheryl pursued a solo career, concentrating on television presenting and released a few singles.
In 2000 Cheryl played Aladdin at the Queen�s Theatre Barnstable for Ian Liston�s �Hiss & Boo� Productions. Douglas Mounce played Widow Twankey.
In 2002 She played �The Enchantress� in The Aylesbury Theatre Panto �Jack & The Beanstalk�.
The following year 2003 Cheryl appeared in Sevenoaks Kent, where she lived in �Aladdin� at The Stag Theatre.
During 2009 Cheryl toured with �Menopause The Musical�, she appeared in �Footloose� on tour and in London�s West End, �Honk� The Musical, and touring in thrillers including �Anyone For Murder� and �Dial M For Murder� as well as her television appearances .She was recently in �Popstars to Operastars� on TV.
Jay Aston from Bucks Fizz also appeared in pantomimes. These include the 2004-05 �Snow White� as Wicked Queen at the Camberley Theatre.
Mike Nolan of Bucks Fizz fame appeared in �Aladdin� as Wishee Washee at The King�s Theatre Southsea directed by John Nolan (no relation) husband of Kim Hartman who played Aladdin. I recall this clearly because I costumed the production!
David Van Day - �Dollar� the pop duo made his panto debut in 2009-10 as Abanazar in �Aladdin� at Arbroath. He may have appeared in pantomime 2010-11 at a venue in Grays In Essex in addition to this.
Clodagh Rodgers - Born in Northern Ireland 1947, Clodagh Rodgers received a contract with RCA in 1968 with �Play The Drama To The End�. In 1969 she released �Come Back and Shake Me� followed by �Goodnight Midnight�, �Biljo�, �Everybody Leave, The Party�s Over� and �Lady Love Bug�. Her entry into Eurovision history was �Jack In The Box�- this was followed in 1971 by �Cinderella� at the London Palladium. In 1973 she appeared with Ronnie Corbett in �Cinderella�- direct from The Palladium. This panto starred The Patton Brothers again, but had John Inman and Barry Howard as The Ugly Sisters. It was repeated the next year at The Palace Theatre Manchester- 1974.
Anthony Costa - �Blue.� Anthony Costa represented the UK in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with �I Can�. As part of �Blue� along with Duncan James, Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan, the group reached over fifteen million sales worldwide. Hits include �Sorry seems to be the hardest word� and �All Rise�. The group founded in 2001 split four years later but reunited in 2009. The group has also collaborated with Stevie Wonder and Elton John.
Ex �Grange Hill� actor, Anthony has appeared as Aladdin at the New Theatre Cardiff, 2008 alongside Chris Gascoyne, Ceri Dupree and Andy Jones, and as Jack in �Jack And The Beanstalk� at Ipswich in 2009 opposite Carina Gillespie and Ken Morley as Dame Trott. With James Mackenzie as Fleshcreep. Anthony also played dual roles of �Beast and Prince� in �Beauty And The Beast� at Chatham.
Following in the tradition of the Beverley Sisters, one group of sisters have made a huge impact in pantomime- this year (2011) three of them are appearing in two pantomimes in the London area, and their Panto Pedigree is astonishing- The Nolans!
The Nolans. : The Irish Singing Group called The Nolan Sisters and then simply The Nolans have all appeared in pantomimes across the UK.
The group was formed originally with their parents and brother Tommy when the family moved from Dublin to Blackpool around 1963.
The Sisters are: Anne (1950), Denise (1952), Maureen (1954), Linda (1959) Bernadette (1960) and the youngest Coleen, born in 1965.
Their greatest hit �I�m In The Mood For Dancing� was released in 1979 and went to Number 3 in the UK charts, Number 2 In The Irish Charts and Number 1 in Japan! They remain successful throughout Japan to this day.
The Line up has changed over the years- Coleen being the latest sister to join the group, she replaced Anne when she left in 1980 when the group became simply �The Nolans�. Recently some of the sisters reunited in 2009 for a tour, DVD and an album �I�m In The Mood Again� which went to number 22 in the charts- this version of the group did not include Anne and Denise.
The Nolan Sisters achieved success after appearing on The Cliff Richard Show in 1974 and were soon to be support group to Frank Sinatra on his tour, and Engelbert Humperdink in 1978. That year their album of covers �20 Giant Hits� went to Number Three, and their 1980 Album �Making Waves� went to Number 11 for an incredible 33 weeks.
Denise left in that year to pursue her solo career. Anne left in 1980. Linda left in 1882 which left Bernie, Maureen, Coleen and Anne together to 1994.
In 2000 the group reformed with Anne, Maureen and Anne�s daughter Amy with singer Julia Duickworth until 2005. Maureen had now become the longest serving Sister with 31 years in The Nolans to her credit.
The girls have all had varied and successful careers in presenting, cabaret, musicals and straight plays as well as clocking up very many pantomime appearances over the years.
Anne Nolan has appeared in many pantomimes including �Cinderella� at Liverpool Empire, �Dick Whittington� at Carlisle, �Snow White� at Colne Civic Theatre, at Thameside Hippodrome (2002) as Wicked Queen in �Snow White� with Ben Steel and Stuart Wade and again as Queen Malevola in �Snow White� at York Opera House (2005)
Coleen Nolan - Coleen has also made her mark as a Television presenter and has appeared in �Loose Women� on TV since 2004. Her credits include �Dancing On Ice� and the 2004 Film �Breaking and Entering�. In October 2010 Coleen played Fairy Godmother in the Adult�s Only Comedy �Panto�s On Strike� at The Opera House Manchester alongside Jonathan Wilkes, Brian Capron and Eric Potts.
Denise Nolan Star of �Blood Brothers� the musical, She is one of the most prolific Panto stars out of the Nolans, Denise has 25-30 Pantomimes to date and has listed them on her website :
Linda Nolan played the role of Maggie May at Blackpool�s Central Pier for a ten year Summer Season. She too has starred in �Blood Brothers� from 2000-2004 and again last year. I was lucky enough to catch her musical theatre debut was in the 1993 Pump Boys And Dinettes� at Hornchurch. She starred alongside Bobby Crush and Rose-Marie. She toured in �Cell Block H� with Lily Savage. 1996-97.
Linda made her first panto appearance in Coventry in 1984 with Michael Barrymore. She has starred in �Aladdin�, �Dick Whittington�, �Jack & The Beanstalk� �Babes In The Wood� �Cinderella� and recently as Wicked Queen in Snow White.
When Linda appeared at Belfast Opera House opposite May McFettridge in 2005 she had already appeared in fifteen pantomimes. Panto stars she�s worked with include The Krankies- Pavilion Glasgow 1995, Stu Francis and Bobby Davro. In 2010 She was Queen Grizelda in �Snow White� at Worthing for Paul Holman.
Bernie Nolan appeared in Brookside and The Bill, and like several of her sisters starred in Blood Brothers and also in the Musical �Flashdance�-Bernie has made many panto appearances. She appeared in panto with Cannon & Ball from 1988 to 1991, Other pantomimes include playing Jack in �Jack & The Beanstalk� at Blackpool Grand (1997)Wicked Queen in �Snow White� with Andy Ford at Croydon (2006)Fairy in �Cinderella� Blackpool with Tina O�Brien and Johnny Briggs and Fairy Godmother at Dunstable (2009) .Bernie will starred in �Beauty And The Beast� at Stevenage last season alongside Leanne Jones.
Boy Bands have made appearances in pantomime over the years-The Monkees recently toured the UK (well, three out of four!) and British star Davy Jones has appeared in panto over the years since he first appeared in �Coronation Street� as Elsie Tanner�s Grandson!.
Davy Jones- The Monkees. (1945-2012)
Manchester born Davy Jones was lead singer of the phenomenally successful group �The Monkees�, appearing in their television show from 1966 until 1971 alongside Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith.
Davy first came to fame as Ena Sharple�s grandson Colin in Granada TV�s �Coronation Street� in its second year at the age of 14. He went on to appear as The Artful Dodger in the West End production of �Oliver!� transferring to Broadway in the same role.
By 1965 Davy had signed to Colpix/Columbia records and released �What Are We Going To Do�, and two Albums followed, one for Pye. The Monkees established him and his band mates as international stars, cresting on the success of the Beatles. Davy fronted hits like �I�m A Believer� and �Daydream Believer� and �I Wanna Be Free�.
In 1978 Davy appeared in Micky Dolenz�s production of �The Point� which I saw at the Mermaid Theatre in London. He was later to appear in the tour of �Forget Me Not Lane�, by Peter Nichols. I remember that the entire gallery of teenage girls screamed every single time Davy appeared in this play (there was not a song to be heard!) and continued to scream until he exited! I saw this at the Swansea Grand Theatre.
It was at Swansea Grand that Davy appeared in �Puss In Boots� in 1980-81. It opened on December 26th and ran until the 8th March! The Panto also featured Graham Cole (later to star in �The Bill�), Menna Trussler, Peter Holbrook with local comic Kenny Smiles and Swansea�s popular Dame- Freddie Lees.
Davy also appeared in two pantomimes for Charles Haley Productions. Jennifer Haley recalls-
�Davy Jones worked for Phillip and I ( Charles Haley productions ) in the early 80's at the Library theatre Luton, going on to the theatre at Holloway polytechnic, and the next year at the Civic Theatre Camberley.
He played Buttons in Cinderella at both venues with more or less the same cast. The �Uglies� were Nottingham pair Johnny Peach and his partner Ian, and Pat Kane and Howell Evans played baron and Blodwyn (doubling as fairy godmother. )
The show was great and Davy was real star quality. I was a little apprehensive about directing him as I knew very little about the " Monkees " not being into pop but he was a real pro and a star in every sense of the word.
He incorporated "dream believer " into the kitchen scene pretending to drive cinders to the ball with edited lyrics !!!! My memories of him are of a charming man and a great performer. I believe he lived near Manchester with his wife and children and I think they kept horses. His death is a great loss to the business �
Davy was the only performer to have played both Artful Dodger and later Fagin in �Oliver!�, and enjoyed one final revival of the Monkees when the group toured in February 2011 in their �45th Anniversary Tour� in America and in the UK.
Davy Jones died on 29th February 2012.
Ireland�s original boyband, �The Bachelors� gave way to Boyzone, and Take That have yet to appear in Pantoland, although Robbie Williams has made several filmic appearances in panto alongside his best mate Jonathan Wilkes.
BOYZONE:
Stephen Gately - along with Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham, they were part of Irelands biggest ever pop bands, Boyzone. the boy band that had over 16 singles in the UK Top five charts. Hits like �No Matter What� ensured Boyzone played to millions in the UK and Europe. Founded in 1993 the membes split in 2000, before reforming in 2008.
Stephen Gately released three hit singles during his solo career including �A New Beginning�, and appeared in West End successes like �Joseph� (2002-03) and as The Child Catcher in �Chitty Chitty Bang Bang� at The London Palladium 2004-05.
Stephen made his panto debut for First Family Entertainment in The Churchill Theatre, Bromley in their 2005 �Cinderella� as Dandini. The following year he appeared as The Scarecrow in The Wizard Of OZ� at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. He died suddenly in his home in Spain in 2009.
Fellow �Boyzone� members Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy have both made pantomime appearances.
Shane Lynch is the veteran with five panto appearances- three of them for Evolution. His most recent 2010 was in �Sleeping Beauty� at The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford as Prince with Royce Mills as Dame, Sarah Jane Honeywell as �Beauty� and Nichola McAuliffe. His first panto was in 2004 at The Wycombe Swan for Qdos in �Snow White� with Anita Dobson as Wicked Queen and Justin Fletcher. That Autumn Shane appeared with me on �The Weakest Link� Panto Special, where we pitted our wits against the �Queen Of Mean�, Anne Robinson!
The next year, 2005 he starred in The Gordon Craig Stevenage �Snow White� for Evolution, That same year Shane�s sister Keavy Lynch, half of the pop band �Bewitched� starred in her panto at Nottingham.
Later in 2006 Shane appeared for Pele Productions at Ashton Under Lyme in �Cinderella� with Sue Jenkins . In 2009 Shane played Prince Charming in �Cinderella� at Southport Theatre.
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Bodrum - a Turkish town, is home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. What was its name in ancient times? | Wonders of Bodrum, Turkey - 7wonders.org
7 Wonders » Wonders of Asia » Wonders of Turkey » Wonders of Bodrum
Wonders of Bodrum, Turkey
It is a Turkish port at the Aegean Sea in the southwestern region of Turkey, which was called anciently Halicarnassus of Caria and was the town where the Mausoleum of Mausollos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was. This port is currently one of the most important centers of tourism and yachting of Turkey. It is located in the beautiful peninsula of Bodrum (in the Mugla province) that was home of the famous historian Herodotus one of the authors of the list of the seven wonders.
The first human settlements of Bodrum belonged to the Carians and the Dorian Greeks who occupied the zone around 700 BC. Later the city was part of the Persian Empire. One of the satrapy (Persian governor) was the king Mausollos, (ruled 377 - 353), whose tomb “The Mausoleum” was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today there are only some remains of the fabulous tomb, which are one of the tourist attractions of the city.
According to the history, after Mausollo’s death, Ada of Caria took the power in Halicarnassus (the ancient name of Bodrum) and became the Persian satrapy; this woman surrendered when Alexander the Great arrived to Caria, then Alexander entrusted the government of Caria to her; therefore, she adopted Alexander as her son to ensure that the crown of Caria passed unconditionally to him after the Ada’s death. The archeologists have found the tomb of Ada and her remains are currently in the archeological museum of Bodrum.
The entrance to the port of the city is guarded by an impressive medieval castle (Castle of Saint Peter), which was constructed by the Crusaders Knights of Rhodes in the XV century. This castle was built thanks to a permission gave by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed; the castle and its town were called Petronium whence the modern name of the city (Bodrum) derives. In the XVI century the city was conquered by Suleyman the Magnificent and became part of the Ottoman Empire.
At the beginning of the XX century Bodrum was a small fishing town until the writer Cevat Sakir Kabaagaccli who was exile under fortress arrest in the Bodrum Castle wrote the book “The Fisherman of Halicarnassus”, which attracted first many intellectuals and tourists later.
The region of Bodrum is famous by its clear, tide less, warm seas, where it can find caves, rock formations and many reefs. Bodrum is also the cradle of the underwater archeology, which was conceived in 1959 by the journalist and diver Peter Throckmorton, who dove in several shipwrecks guided by the Turkish sponge fisherman Kemal Aras. Therefore, Bodrum has an important underwater archeology museum which displays a great variety of objects recovered from the Sea.
Today Bodrum is known as a popular holiday resort. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations of Turkey. During summer the population of the city grows from 50 000 people to around one million. There are many yachts and gullets (a two-masted wooden sailing vessel) in the zone, therefore the “Blue Cruise” a famous Turkish Mediterranean classic for yachts in the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea starts in Bodrum
As any tourist city, Bodrum is full of resorts, guest houses, hotels, shops, restaurants, shops and bars. The city has also an International airport, which has connections with the main cities of Europe. Besides, there are ferries from Bodrum to the main Greek islands, such as Rhodes or Kos. Bodrum is a nice city full of wonders.
Wonders of Bodrum
| Halicarnassus |
"Who is the Chairman of the ""BBC Trust"", the overseeing body of the BBC?" | Bodrum | Bodrum Temizlik – Bodrum Cleaning
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Bodrum
Bodrum (from Petronium), formerly Halicarnassus (Turkish: Halikarnas, Ancient Greek: Ἁλικαρνασσός ), is a Turkish port town in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of the country. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova, and it faces the Greek island of Kos. Today, it is an international center of tourism and yachting. The city was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times. The Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was here.
Bodrum Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 15th century, overlooks the harbor and the International Marina. The castle grounds includes a Museum of Underwater Archeology and hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year.
The first recorded settlers in Bodrum region were the Carians and the harbor area was colonized by Dorian Greeks as of the 7th century BC and the city later fell under Persian rule. Under the Persians, it was the capital city of the satrapy of Caria, the region that had since long constituted its hinterland and of which it was the principal port. Its strategic location ensured that the city enjoyed considerable autonomy. Archaeological evidence from the period such as the recently discovered Salmakis (Kaplankalesi) Inscription, now in Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, attest to the particular pride[clarification needed] its inhabitants had developed [1]. A famous native was Herodotus, the Greek historian (484-420 BC).
Mausolus ruled Caria from here, nominally on behalf of the Persians and independent in practical terms for much of his reign between 377 to 353 BC. When he died in 353 BC, Artemisia II of Caria, who was both his sister and his widow, employed the ancient Greek architects Satyros and Pythis, and the four sculptors Bryaxis, Scopas, Leochares and Timotheus to build a monument, as well as a tomb, for him. The word “mausoleum” derives from the structure of this tomb. It was a temple-like structure decorated with reliefs and statuary on a massive base. It stood for 1700 years and was finally destroyed by earthquakes.[citation needed] Today only the foundations and a few pieces of sculpture remain.
Alexander the Great laid siege to the city after his arrival in Carian lands and, together with his ally, the queen Ada of Caria, captured it after heavy fighting.
Crusader Knights arrived in 1402 and used the remains of the Mauseoleum as a quarry to build the still impressively standing Bodrum Castle (Castle of Saint Peter), which is also particular in being one of the last examples of Crusader architecture in the East.
Bodrum marina
The Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes were given the permission to build it by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed I, after Tamerlane had destroyed their previous fortress located in Izmir’s inner bay. The castle and its town became known as Petronium, whence the modern name Bodrum derives.
In 1522, Suleyman the Magnificent conquered the base of the Crusader knights on the island of Rhodes, who then withdrew to Malta, leaving The Castle of Saint Peter and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.
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Which name links a Yorkshire power station with a Bond villain? | How one power plant chips away at the UK's carbon footprint - Fireplace.co.uk
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How one power plant chips away at the UK's carbon footprint
By burning wood pellets instead of coal Drax power station, one of Britain’s biggest polluters, has turned green Converting a coal-fired power station to one that burns wood might sound easy enough, until you see first-hand what is involved. It is only when you stand in the middle of the sprawling Drax power station near Selby in North Yorkshire – the biggest in Britain – that you realise the sheer scale of Europe’s largest decarbonisation project.
The first thing to hit you is the difference between how the coal and the wood pellets are stored on site, and the incendiary reason why. While the vast store of coal is spread out, open to all weathers, the bone-dry pellets have to be protected from the elements in four huge storage domes 50m (164ft) high – about 30 per cent taller than the Royal Albert Hall.
Whereas coal is fed into a power station when wet (it quickly dries out when milled into dust for the furnace), the wood pellets become unusable if damp. So they have to be kept dry inside their storage domes, which themselves have to filled with nitrogen gas to limit the risk of spontaneous combustion.
But this is just one of the many differences between the old and the new Drax. Converting a power plant from coal to biomass fuel has never been done on this scale anywhere in the world – and the engineering involved has broken new ground.
Drax, named after a neighbouring medieval village (not the fictional James Bond villain created by Ian Fleming), is Britain’s largest power station and was once its single biggest emitter of carbon dioxide thanks to its huge appetite for the dirtiest of all fossil fuels – coal.
Drax’s six huge, electricity-generating turbines can each meet the power needs of a city the size of Leeds. They are driven by the superheated steam from six giant boilers or furnaces, each weighing about the same as 32 blue whales.
They rely on the heat of the power station’s six units, now partly powered by biomass in the form of compressed wood pellets imported from commercial forests overseas, mostly in the eastern United States and Canada.
Two of the six Drax units are fully converted to biomass. A third will be burning 100 per cent wood pellets later this year at a total cost of some £700m – and the woman in charge of Drax doesn’t want it to stop here.
“We stand ready to convert a fourth unit,” says Dorothy Thompson, the chief executive of the Drax Group – who, since she joined the company 10 years ago, has pushed through one of the world’s most ambitious decarbonisation projects, which some experts had doubted as workable. “We used to be the biggest carbon emitter in the UK by site, which was rather unpleasant at the time. We were the centre for a lot of protests, and actually we were not comfortable with it ourselves,” Ms Thompson says.
“At the time it was simply thought not possible to burn biomass in a unit of any size that had been used to burn coal… The government was worried that biomass was just a way of continuing the life of coal. We said ‘what if we burned biomass on its own?’,” she says.
The electricity generated by Drax accounts for about 7 or 8 per cent of the total power of the National Grid, some 27 terawatt hours of electricity – enough to power about six million homes. The two, 100-per-cent biomass-burning units at Drax alone account for some 12 per cent of the UK’s total renewable-electricity generation, according to the company.
The idea behind biomass is simple enough. Wood fuel is in theory a renewable carbon source, because you burn the carbon that has been recently absorbed from the atmosphere by living vegetation, not the carbon of fossil fuel that has been locked underground for millions of years.
If you burn wood pellets from the waste cuttings of the timber industry in a converted coal-fired power station, it should be possible to produce electricity that is largely carbon-neutral, provided the carbon of wood fuel is replaced by the carbon of growing trees – which Drax insists is the case.
Of course, there is fossil fuel carbon that is used – for instance in the conversion of wood waste into dry pellets, and the oil used in the shipping and transport from America to Yorkshire. Even so, Drax estimates the carbon savings compared to coal are still above 80 per cent.
But not everyone is convinced that biomass is that renewable. Environmentalists have criticised the government’s encouragement of biomass burning on the grounds that it has resulted in forests being chopped down without a serious audit of carbon sustainability, as well as other environmental costs, such as the effect on forest wildlife and biodiversity.
Ms Thompson accepts that there is “good and bad biomass”. But she insisted that the biomass carbon from the working timber forests of North America is from waste cuttings – and never simply from trees chopped down wholesale for biomass burning.
“There is no question there are good ways to buy biomass and there are bad ways to buy biomass. Bad biomass uses an awful lot of carbon in its collection, transport and delivery and comes from sources that are not sustainable,” Ms Thompson says.
“Good biomass is very low carbon right across the supply chain and comes from a truly sustainable source. All the biomass we burn is good biomass,” she says.
“The first thing is that it must come from a sustainable forest. The second it that it must be low carbon, and we measure the carbon cost at every single point across the supply chain. The biomass we burn here at Drax accounts for 86 per cent of the carbon savings compared to coal,” she explained.
Each stage of the process, from forest, to wood-pellet production, to shipping and burning at Drax, is audited independently by outside contractors, Ms Thompson emphasised.
“The reason why I can be very confident that we are doing the right thing is that since 2008 we have audited our compliance with those rules. We use low-grade wood from working forests and, essentially, if we weren’t using it, it would probably go to waste,” she says.
“We are not simply cutting down forests. These forests are grown for their valuable saw log… We’re taking a sliver out of something that’s growing all the time.”
Drax has contracts with American timber companies extending over the next 10 or 12 years. It currently uses about 7 million tons of biomass waste each year, which is a fraction of the 93 million tones of biomass waste produced annually in the US alone, Ms Thompson says.
But the big question for 2016 is whether the Government will continue to invest in Britain’s biggest decarbonisation project in its next round of renewable-energy subsidies. Drax needs these renewable subsidies to continue converting its three remaining coal-fired units – although it can operate if it has to on just the three existing biomass units.
The signs so far are not looking good. Although the Government says it is committed to cutting carbon emissions and phasing out all coal-fired power stations by 2015, it has cancelled its flagship carbon-capture and storage project, to the deep disappointment of companies still in the fossil-fuel business – including Drax.
| Drax |
Which helicopter, manufactured by Sikorsky has been commonly used by US forces in combat areas over the last thirty years? | Freak power: how biomass is helping the UK decarbonise | The Engineer
Freak power: how biomass is helping the UK decarbonise
11th September 2015 1:24 pm
16th December 2015 3:03 pm
Senior Reporter
Drax, the UK’s biggest power station, is slowly weaning itself off coal and replacing it with biomass. The Engineer took a look around to see what all the fuss was about.
Drax. For me, the name will always conjure images of the Bond villain from Moonraker, portrayed on screen by Michael Lonsdale. It also strikes me as one of the more obscure place names in the UK, sounding more like an industrial town in the Ruhr Valley rather than a picturesque village in North Yorkshire. The power station of course takes its name from the village, but it somehow seems to fit better with the concrete and steel of the chimneys, cooling towers, boilers and turbine halls that make up the facility. When I visited this week, the sky was an intimidating shade of grey, just as I had pictured it.
As the UK’s largest power station, Drax provides between seven and eight per cent of the country’s electricity needs. Since it was built in the 1970s, that electricity has come almost exclusively from coal, making Drax the single biggest source of carbon emissions in the UK. Over the past number of years however, the plant has started transitioning to biomass, with two of the six generating units already converted, a third almost complete, and a fourth awaiting the outcome of a government decision. According to Drax, this makes it Europe’s biggest decarbonisation project, with biomass conversion reducing CO2 emissions by 12 million tonnes a year.
The Engineer has written extensively about the biomass conversion, having recently spoken with Drax Group’s operations director Peter Emery. The wood pellets that are pulverised to dust and then burnt to fire the station’s boilers come largely from North America, where Drax has invested millions in the infrastructure required for their production. This includes facilities for turning the raw materials into pellets, as well as railheads for transporting the biomass to ports.
A train offloads biomass pellets at Drax
Processing wood into pellets in Canada and the US – then shipping those pellets across the Atlantic Ocean – does not on the surface appear to be the most environmentally friendly supply chain. However, Drax is keen to point out that the wood it uses to produce biomass comes from harvesting residues such as limbs and branches, rather than the higher value saw logs used for construction and furniture. The sheer volume of pellets it ships also means that the carbon footprint from transport is relatively low.
The CO2 emitted when the biomass is burnt has been absorbed during the life of the trees, making this part of the process carbon neutral. Overall, Drax claims the carbon emissions associated with biomass – including production and shipping – represent an 80 per cent reduction compared to coal. According to Matthew Rivers, Drax’s director of Group sustainability who oversees the North American biomass operation, the partner organisations across the Atlantic have also been carefully selected to align with Drax’s sustainability criteria.
One of the four massive biomass silos at Drax
Perhaps more importantly, biomass could play a central role in the country as a whole hitting its emission targets, softening the transition to renewables. The UK is legally committed to a 15 per cent share of the energy mix for renewables by 2020, with an 80 per cent carbon emission reduction pledged for 2050. While progress is being made with solar and wind, these energy sources are by their nature intermittent and unreliable. Tidal power will hopefully provide a more stable source of energy in the future, but the investments required are large, and the technology is still at a low level of maturity.
The cost and flexibility of biomass makes it a viable candidate to complement wind and solar, picking up the slack when conditions don’t favour those sources, while at the same time reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Drax claims that to replace its current biomass generating capacity of 2,000MW with onshore wind would add £3.6bn to the costs of decarbonisation by 2020, and reaching the 2050 target without biomass would cost an additional £44bn. Ideally, one hopes that biomass, like nuclear power, will no longer be required one day, as cleaner forms of renewables evolve to fully meet our energy demands. In the meantime however, the priority needs to be reducing our carbon output by whatever means necessary. Compared to fossil fuels, biomass and nuclear offer a much safer path forward.
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Which Cole Porter musical was based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew? | Cole Porter — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm
30s
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. His works include the musical comedies Kiss Me, Kate (1948) (based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew), Fifty Million Frenchmen and Anything Goes, as well as songs like "Night and Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "I've Got You Under My Skin". He was noted for his sophisticated (sometimes ribald) lyrics, clever rhymes, and complex forms. He was one… read more
| Kiss Me, Kate |
How many American states begin with the letter A ? | Porter, Shakespeare blend in "Kiss Me Kate"
Porter, Shakespeare blend in "Kiss Me Kate"
Posted: April 14, 2012
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J. Miles Cary/News Sentinel Bill Black, professor and associate head of theatre, with a book of drawings for the "Kiss Me Kate" costumes. Black did all of the drawings for the costumes. He is sitting next to a dressing gown worn by "Lilli Vanessi," also Kate in the play.
Katy Wolfe Zahn and Neil Friedman play the leads in the Clarence Brown's production of "Kiss Me Kate."
J. Miles Cary/News Sentinel Kyle Schellinger works on the dress that Kate will wear near the end of the show.
Clarence Brown ends its season with musical flair
By Amy McRary of the Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted: April 14, 2012 0
Cole Porter and William Shakespeare. A play-within-a-play. Almost 100 costumes; a live orchestra. Witty dialogue; a romantic comedy with sophisticated flair.The University of Tennessee's Clarence Brown Theatre includes all of the above with its 2011-12 season-ending show "Kiss Me Kate." The theater presents the Porter musical based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" April 19-May 6.
"Kiss Me Kate" opened on Broadway in 1948, becoming Porter's most successful musical. Described as an onstage "Taming of the Shrew" with a backstage "Peyton Place," "Kiss Me Kate" was based on the frequently argumentative backstage relationship of theater legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. What happens on stage is complicated by the characters' offstage lives and romantic entanglements. With its backstage love-hate story, the play also is a love story to the theatrical profession.
Porter's original musical won five Tony Awards, including the first given for Best Musical. The play was revived and revised in 1999, tweaked slightly for a contemporary audience. The Clarence Brown production uses that revision.
Clarence Brown artist-in-residence Neil Friedman plays director Fred Graham, who acts the lead role of the "Shrew's" Petruchio. Singer and actress Katy Wolfe Zahn plays Graham's ex-wife and star Lilli Vanessi, who acts the temperamental Kate in "Shrew."
"Kiss Me Kate" is directed by Calvin MacLean, the theater department head and the producing artistic director of the Clarence Brown company. MacLean says the production is witty and fun with some modern touches inspired by the chaotic energy of the likes of Mel Brooks and "Spamalot."
Porter, says MacLean, "is such a wit and he's a little devil. He likes to mix things up And we have some fun with that."
The orchestra in the Clarence Brown orchestra pit will perform 18 Porter tunes. Among them will be "Always True to You in My Fashion," "Too Darn Hot" and "So in Love." "The sounds are terrific; there are beautiful melodies," says MacLean.
Because "Kiss Me Kate" is set both in 1948 and in Shakespeare's 16th century, costume designer Bill Black designed wardrobes for two plays. The actors' "street clothes" are done in the 1940s period while the Shakespearean part of the play requires a medieval style.
Ask Black, a UT professor and associate department head, how many costumes he's designed for "Kiss Me Kate." He's likely only half-joking when he deadpans, "Too many."
The number of costumes totals close to 100, and all of those for the "Shrew" portion were designed by Black and created in-house. Most characters have three to four different looks. "That's a lot," he says. "This is a very big show. The biggest show in a long time."
Costumes for "Shrew" are often created in an Italian Renaissance style, Black says. For "Kiss Me Kate" he designed attire in a "kind of Italian Renaissance styled through the eyes of Dior." The Shakespearean dress is done in bright tones that include reds, greens and peaches. Black often combined various shades of one palette ? red for example for the "Shrew's" fiery Kate ? in a skirt's panels.
Designer Christian Dior is an inspiration because Wolfe Zahn's character Lilli comments that all her clothes are done by Dior. "And Dior gives you circular skirts good for dancing," says Black. One of Wolfe Zahn's 1940s suits is a cream jacket over a black pleated skirt. The outfit was inspired by an iconic Dior suit of the period. Black made the jacket and found the black skirt on eBay.
Again as in recent seasons, the theater is ending its season with a big musical. MacLean says there's more than one reason.
"Spring sort of asks for something light and renewing. The end of the season asks for a story that you can go into the theater and have a good time," he says.
A big year-end show also is a matter of practicality. "You have to have time to build all the scenery and costumes," says MacLean.
"I think people are going to have a good time," says MacLean of "Kiss Me Kate." "And see us trying to be ambitious with musical theater."
About Amy McRary
Amy McRary writes about the arts, people, animals, history and more as a features/entertainment/general assignment reporter for The News Sentinel.
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How many american states begin with the letter W ? | How many U.S. states begin with the letter "I"? | Reference.com
How many U.S. states begin with the letter "I"?
A:
Quick Answer
According to About.com, there are four states in the United States that begin with the letter "I." Idaho, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa all start with this vowel. The letters that start the most states, both with eight each, are "M" and "N."
Full Answer
The letters that rank second in starting the most states, all with four states each, are "A," "I" and "W." Seven letters do not begin the name of any states: "B," "E," "J," "Q," "X," "Y" and "Z." According to State Symbols USA, Idaho was simply a made up word with no real meaning. Illinois is "the French version of an Algonquin Indian word for "warriors." Indiana means "Land of the Indians" and Iowa was named after a tribe of Sioux Indians called the Ioway.
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Which Iain Banks novel has the name of a bird in the title? The book was also made into a television series. | States per Letter Quiz
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"Which British composer wrote the music used as the theme for Desert Island Discs ? He also wrote the ""Dambusters"" march and the ""Knightsbridge"" march." | Eric Coates - father of British Light Music
All Classical Composers
Eric Coates (1886-1957) - father of British Light Music
Eric Coates showed musical ability from an early age, and as a boy received violin lessons and instruction in music theory. He later progressed to the viola and played both instruments in orchestras including under the batons of both Henry Wood and Sir Thomas Beecham. He had privately written a number of pieces before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Music to formally study composition and the viola. He threw himself fervently into all manner of musical activities, playing with numerous groups in addition to his normal studies, but increasingly found his viola playing hindered by a pain and consequent weakness in his left hand. Over time he was forced to devote less time to playing and more to composition, but found his skills as an arranger and composer to be much in demand.
From the start he made it clear that he was not interested in composing "serious" classical pieces but wanted to focus on "lighter" works. Thus he created settings of many poems, arranged all manner of songs, wrote many orchestral pieces for concert hall and stage, and established himself as the father of British Light Music. Although there have been "light" composers from many eras in many countries, it is often thought of as a British phenomenon.What is Light Music? It is pleasant melodic music, less demanding of the listener and easier on the ear. It does not try to make any profound statements or push boundaries but is content simply to entertain, like the waltzes and polkas of the Strauss family. That should make this style of music ideally suited for film, radio and television, but Coates was not interested in composing directly for these media. He did not want his music to be constrained by such needs, but wanted complete freedom to shape his pieces. Nevertheless his music did indirectly find a useful outlet in these media.
First he had written an orchestral suite called the "London Suite", the frist movement "Covent Garden" using the song "Cherry Ripe", but it was the third movement march called "Knightsbridge" which caught the public attention when it was used by the radio programme "In Town Tonight". Then there was another piece "By the Sleepy Lagoon" sometimes called just "Sleepy Lagoon", a Valse Serenade for strings. This became a hit and was later adopted by the BBC as the signature for their popular programme "Desert Island Discs" which has run for more than 50 years. Then there is his piece called "Calling All Workers". Initially he wrote this during the war years at his wife's suggestion for the staff at the Red Cross depot where she worked. This theme was also adopted for a radio programme "Music while you Work". Between these three works, Coates' music was very familiar indeed to the BBC's audience, and the corporation commissioned the composer to write a work for their re-opening of Television services in 1946 - this was the "Television March".
With his track record and popular success in radio and television, it is not surprising that Coates had been asked to compose for film. As previously noted, the composer did not warm to this idea and had turned down previous approaches. However, in 1954 his name was naturally mentioned in the context of a new film. The "Dambusters" story of the bouncing bomb was very British and patriotic, and Coates was well-known for his marches. The film makers were advised of Coates dislike of film scoring, so they decided to ask him instead for such a march. When Coates' publisher conveyed this request to the composer, Coates replied that he had finished just such a march the previous day. The march lying on Coates desk was therefore named "The Dambusters March", and Leighton Lucas was hired to weave this into the film's score. This was one of the last major pieces written by Eric Coates.
Music by Eric Coates:
London Suite: Covent Garden, Westminster, Knightsbridge - the final movement being used by radio's "In Town Tonight"
London Again Suite - the composer's sequel
By The Sleepy Lagoon - used for many years as the signature tune to radio's "Desert Island Discs"
Calling All Workers - used for many years as the signature tune to radio's "Music While You Work"
Television March - BBC commission
The Three Elizabeths Suite - written during WWII and dedicated to the Queen Mother, this was later used in the original BBC production of "The Forsyte Saga"
The Dambusters March - an heroic march used in the film of the same name
High Flight March - similarly used in the film "High Flight"
The Old Curiosity Shop - a film dating from 1934
Recommendations:
The following albums contain a good cross-section of favourite pieces by Eric Coates:
The Symphonic Eric Coates - from Amazon.co.uk , or Amazon.com
By the Sleepy Lagoon, Summer Days, etc. - from Amazon.co.uk , or Amazon.com
The Three Elizabeths Suite - from Amazon.co.uk , or Amazon.com
Calling All Workers, Springtime, etc. - from Amazon.co.uk , or Amazon.com
| Eric Coates |
"Which French artist painted ""Cotton-brokers Office"", ""L'Absinthe"" and ""Dancer at the bar""?" | The Definitive Eric Coates - all of his commercial recordings 1923-1957: Amazon.co.uk: Music
1. Eric Coates, The Merrymakers Overture
2. Eric Coates, From Meadow to Mayfair Suite
3. Eric Coates, Summer Afternoon Idyll
4. Eric Coates, Cinderella Phantasy
5. Eric Coates, By The Sleepy Lagoon Valse Serenade
6. Eric Coates, The Jester At The Wedding No.1 The Princess Arrives March
7. Eric Coates, By The TamariskIntermezzo
8. Eric Coates, Saxo-Rhapsody
9. Eric Coates, Summer Days Suite
10. Eric Coates, Springtime Suite
11. Eric Coates, For Your Delight Serenade
Disc: 2
1. Eric Coates, Footlights Concert Valse
2. Eric Coates, Last Love Romance
3. Eric Coates, The Seven Seas March
4. Eric Coates, I Sing To You
5. Eric Coates, Calling All Workers March
6. Eric Coates, Fanfare Number 1
7. Eric Coates, Salute the Soldier March
8. Eric Coates, Fanfare Number 2
9. Eric Coates, The Eighth Army March
10. Eric Coates, The Four Centuries Suite
11. Eric Coates, The Three Elizabeths Suite
12. Eric Coates, Dancing Nights Concert Valse
13. Eric Coates, London Calling March
14. Eric Coates, London Bridge March
15. Eric Coates, London Suite Knightsbridge March
Disc: 3
1. Eric Coates, A Song Of Loyalty
2. Eric Coates, By The Sleepy Lagoon Valse Serenade
3. Eric Coates, Bird Songs At Eventide
4. Eric Coates, Television March
5. Eric Coates, Wood Nymphs Valsette
6. Eric Coates, London Suite
7. Eric Coates, London Again Suite
8. Eric Coates, The Three Men Suite
9. Eric Coates, The Jester At The Wedding No.4 Dance Of The Orange Blossoms
10. Eric Coates, Music Everywhere Rediffusion March
11. Eric Coates, The Dam Busters March
12. Eric Coates, Sound And Vision The A.T.V. Television March
Disc: 4
1. Eric Coates, High Flight March
2. Eric Coates, Impression of a Princess Intermezzo
3. Eric Coates, Wood Nymphs Valsette
4. Eric Coates, South Wales and West Television March
5. Eric Coates, London Suite
6. Eric Coates, London Again Suite
7. Eric Coates, The Three Elizabeths Suite
8. Eric Coates, The Four Centuries Suite
Disc: 5
1. Eric Coates, Summer Days Suite
2. Eric Coates, Wood Nymphs Valsette
3. Eric Coates, With A Song In My Heart. Symphonic Rhapsody after Richard Rodgers
4. Eric Coates, Bird Songs at Eventide
5. Eric Coates, I Pitch My Lonely Caravan At Night Symphonic Rhapsody
6. Eric Coates, I Heard You Singing & Bird Songs At Eventide, Symphonic Rhapsody
7. Eric Coates, London Suite
8. Eric Coates, London Bridge March
9. Eric Coates, The Jester At The Wedding No.1 The Princess Arrives
10. Eric Coates, The Jester At The Wedding No.4 The Dance Of The Orange Blossoms Valse
11. Eric Coates, The Three Men Suite
12. Eric Coates, Wood Nymphs Valsette
13. Eric Coates, Song Of Loyalty (The Prayer Within Our Hearts)
Disc: 6
1. Eric Coates, Meadow To Mayfair Suite No.2 A Song By The Way
2. Eric Coates, London Again Suite
3. Eric Coates, By The Sleepy Lagoon Valse Serenade
4. Eric Coates, The Three Bears A Phantasy
5. Eric Coates, London Suite Knightsbridge March
6. Eric Coates, Television March
7. Eric Coates, Valse From The Phantasy The Three Bears
8. Eric Coates, The Merrymakers Overture
9. Eric Coates, Moresque Dance Interlude
10. Eric Coates, Joyous Youth Suite
11. Eric Coates, Summer Days Suite At The Dance
12. Eric Coates, The Selfish Giant A Phantasy
Disc: 7
1. Eric Coates, From The Countryside Suite
2. Eric Coates, Miniature Suite
3. Eric Coates, Joyous Youth Suite
4. Eric Coates, Moresque Dance Interlude
Product Description
Product Description
Eric Coates conducts his own compositions, all of his commercially released recordings 1923 1957. Includes an extended essay by Michael Payne. For Full Track Listing contact Nimbus Records
Review
Both Nimbus and Alan Bunting, who was responsible for the restorations and re-masterings, are to be congratulated on compiling such a comprehensive survey of the work of Eric Coates as conductor. Like a number of other composers working in the first half of the 20th Century, including Elgar and Walton to name only two, Coates regularly worked in the recording studios - in his case in both EMI and Decca facilities. An unmissable bargain for Coates fans and, it is to be hoped, an introduction to younger generations of music-lovers, especially those who appreciate first class tunes. --Ian Lace, Musicweb-international.com, August 2013
A new box set from Nimbus proises to be the outstanding Light Music release of 2013 - if not the decade. The sound restorations are outstanding, which is hardly suprising when you consider Alan Bunting is widely recognised as one of the finest digital wizards of the world. Nimbus have produced a top quality product in all respects at a very reasonable price. --David Ades, Journal into Melody, August 2013
Customer Reviews
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"What insect acts as the transmitting agent in the spread of the infectious disease ""Bubonic Plague""?" | FAQ | Plague | CDC
Plague
Is a vaccine available to prevent plague?
What is plague?
Plague is an infectious disease that affects rodents, certain other animals, and humans. It is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. These bacteria are found in many areas of the world, including the United States.
How do people become infected with plague?
People most commonly acquire plague when they are bitten by a flea that is infected with the plague bacteria. People can also become infected from direct contact with infected tissues or fluids while handling an animal that is sick with or that has died from plague. Finally, people can become infected from inhaling respiratory droplets after close contact with cats and humans with pneumonic plague.
What are the different forms of plague?
There are three forms of plague:
Bubonic plague: Patients develop sudden onset of fever, headache, chills, and weakness and one or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes (called buboes). This form is usually the result of an infected flea bite. The bacteria multiply in the lymph node closest to where the bacteria entered the human body. If the patient is not treated with appropriate antibiotics, the bacteria can spread to other parts of the body.
Septicemic plague: Patients develop fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs. Skin and other tissues may turn black and die, especially on fingers, toes, and the nose. Septicemic plague can occur as the first symptoms of plague, or may develop from untreated bubonic plague. This form results from bites of infected fleas or from handling an infected animal.
Pneumonic plague: Patients develop fever, headache, weakness, and a rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery mucous. Pneumonic plague may develop from inhaling infectious droplets or from untreated bubonic or septicemic plague that spreads to the lungs. The pneumonia may cause respiratory failure and shock. Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of the disease and is the only form of plague that can be spread from person to person (by infectious droplets).
Forms of plague.
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What is the basic transmission cycle of plague?
Fleas become infected by feeding on rodents, such as chipmunks, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, mice, and other mammals that are infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Fleas transmit the plague bacteria to humans and other mammals during a subsequent feeding. The plague bacteria survive briefly (a few days) in the blood of rodents and for longer periods in the fleas. An illustration of plague ecology in the United States is available.
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Could one person get plague from another person?
Yes, when a person has plague pneumonia they may cough droplets containing the plague bacteria into air. If these bacteria-containing droplets are breathed in by another person they can cause pneumonic plague. Human-to-human transmission is rare and typically requires direct and close contact with the person with pneumonic plague.
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What is the incubation period for plague?
A person usually becomes ill with bubonic plague 2 to 6 days after being infected. Someone exposed to Yersinia pestis through the air would become ill within 1 to 3 days.
When bubonic plague is left untreated, plague bacteria can invade the bloodstream. When plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream, they spread rapidly throughout the body and cause a severe and often fatal condition called septicemic plague. Untreated bubonic plague can also progress into an infection of the lungs, causing pneumonic plague. If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, all forms of plague can progress rapidly to death.
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How is plague diagnosed?
The first step in plague diagnosis is evaluation by a health worker. If the health worker suspects plague, samples of the patient’s blood, sputum, or lymph node aspirate are sent to a laboratory for testing. Once the laboratory receives the sample, preliminary results can be ready in less than two hours. Laboratory confirmation will take longer, usually 24 to 48 hours. Often, presumptive treatment with antibiotics will start as soon as samples are taken, if plague is suspected.
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How many cases of plague occur in the United States? Globally?
Plague was first introduced into the United States in 1900. Between 1900 and 2012, 1006 confirmed or probable human plague cases occurred in the United States. Over 80% of United States plague cases have been the bubonic form. In recent decades, an average of 7 human plague cases are reported each year (range: 1-17 cases per year). Plague has occurred in people of all ages (infants up to age 96), though 50% of cases occur in people ages 12–45. Worldwide, between 1,000 and 2,000 cases each year are reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), though the true number is likely much higher.
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What is the death rate of plague?
In the pre-antibiotic era (1900 through 1941), mortality among those infected with plague in the United States was 66%. Antibiotics greatly reduced mortality, and by 1990-2010 overall mortality had decreased to 11%. Plague can still be fatal despite effective antibiotics, though it is lower for bubonic plague cases than for septicemic or pneumonic plague cases. It is hard to assess the mortality rate of plague in developing countries, as relatively few cases are reliably diagnosed and reported to health authorities. WHO cites mortality rates of 8–10%, however some studies (WHO, 2004) suggest that mortality may be much higher in some plague endemic areas.
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How is plague treated?
Plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics. Once a patient is diagnosed with suspected plague they should be hospitalized and, in the case of pneumonic plague, medically isolated. Laboratory tests should be done, including blood cultures for plague bacteria and microscopic examination of lymph node, blood, and sputum samples. Antibiotic treatment should begin as soon as possible after laboratory specimens are taken. To prevent a high risk of death in patients with pneumonic plague, antibiotics should be given as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours of the first symptoms.
Top of Page
Is the disease seasonal in its occurrence?
Yes. Although cases can occur any time of the year, most cases in the United States are acquired from late spring to early fall.
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Where is plague most common in the United States?
Plague occurs in rural and semi-rural areas of the western United States. Plague is most common in the southwestern states, particularly New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.
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Who is at risk for getting plague in the United States?
Human plague occurs in areas where the bacteria are present in wild rodent populations. The risks are generally highest in rural and semi-rural areas, including homes that provide food and shelter for various ground squirrels, chipmunks and wood rats, or other areas where you may encounter rodents.
Top of Page
Is a vaccine available to prevent plague?
A plague vaccine is not available. New plague vaccines are in development but are not expected to be commercially available in the immediate future.
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The element of the Periodic Table HAFNIUM has its name derived from the Latin name for the city in which it was discovered. Which city? | Rats are exonerated as reservoir hosts for the Black Death - BugBitten
BugBitten
The black rat, Rattus rattus. Sourse: wiki commons
Doctor Schnabel [Dr. Beak], a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome. Source: wiki commons
The grim reaper, a symbol of the Black Death: wiki commons
Most British school children are familiar with the story of the Black Death and subsequent plague epidemics that decimated the population of Europe in the Middle Ages. It now seems that the villain of the plot, the black rat, may have been wrongly accused of acting as a European reservoir for the plague bacteria and initiating sporadic disease outbreaks for 400 years.
Contrary to many people’s understanding, the plague is not a thing of the past. Although it disappeared from Europe in the early 1900s it still persists in many pockets around the world (see map), as witnessed by the current outbreak in Madagascar . Analysis of DNA and immunoprotein samples from the remains of medieval plague victims has confirmed that the Black Death and subsequent plague epidemics were caused by the same bacterium, Yersinia pestis , as modern day outbreaks.
Shortly after Alexandre Yersin’s discovery, in the l890s, of the bacillus that caused the European plague pandemics, the accepted medical understanding was that plague was transmitted to humans from fleas infesting black rats; infected fleas thus acting as vectors. When rats began dying of the disease in large numbers infected fleas bit humans as an alternative host and thus infected them.
However the role of the black rat has been challenged by several investigators. For example, Anne Karin Hufthammer made a case against the involvement of black rats in plague epidemics in Scandinavia. She based her challenge on archeological information from bone assemblages that showed that black rats were very rare in medieval Norway, despite regular outbreaks of the plague. Indeed it is likely that the colder climatic conditions across Europe during this period would not have been conducive to the survival of populations of the black rat nor the Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopsis in most of Europe. The now common brown rat had not arrived in Europe at this time.
One of the places where the plague bacterium persists is in the Central Asian Deserts, where the great gerbil,
Rhombomys opimus, is the primary host. Gerbils are social animals, living in burrows infested with several parasitic arthropods, including the fleas that act as vectors for the bacterium. Gerbil populations fluctuate and the sylvatic plague bacterium will spread in the population when it exceeds an upper threshold level. Work published in 2007 by Nils Christian Stenseth and colleagues, who were studying the gerbil populations in Kazakhstan, suggested a co-dependency exists between climatic conditions, vegetation cover, synchronised increase in gerbil densities and plague transmission. Warm, moist conditions promote vegetation growth in these arid areas, giving rise to large gerbil populations and large plague epizootics. As gerbil populations crash, flea populations rise, the plague bacteria spread and infected fleas spill-over onto domestic animals and humans.
The latest study from this group has just been published . Here they asked whether climatic fluctuations were also responsible for the waves of plague pandemics that swept Europe after the initial Black Death of 1347-1353.
There are, of course, no reliable climatic records from the 13th / 14th century and so Stenseth and his colleagues used tree-ring based data as a climate proxy when looking for a relationship between climate fluctuations and plague outbreaks in medieval Europe.
They used historical records of 7,711 plague outbreaks that occurred after the Black Death and data from the analysis of 15 tree-ring based climate proxies taken across Europe and Asia. Unlike modern Asian outbreaks, no association could be found between plague outbreaks and climatic conditions.
Furthermore, there was little evidence that there was a local wildlife reservoir of Y. pestis that could have initiated new outbreaks. To determine this they selected outbreaks that occurred within 500 km of the location where one of the tree-ring samples had been taken and where, within a radius of 1000 km, there had been no previous plague outbreak in the past 2 years that could have been the source of the new outbreak. This analysis suggested that most outbreaks could be attributed to previous outbreaks nearby, as only 24 episodes remained that could only have been initiated by reservoirs of bacteria in the local rodent populations. In addition, 8 of these were historically documented to have been introduced with shipping from plague infested areas.
These findings caused then to turn their attention to the possibility that each new wave of disease had a maritime origin.
Using the same criteria to select locations, they were able to detect 61 potential maritime introductions that occurred between 1346 and 1856 in 17 harbours around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea coasts. These sea routes linked Europe with the overland routes to Asia. Historical reports were used to identify 16 potential introductions from Asia. Periods of climatic fluctuations were identified from tree ring analysis at sites on these ancient trade routes to Central Asia. Here populations of long tailed ground squirrels and Altai marmots are the rodent reservoir of plague.
Map of the spread of the Black Death: Source, http://chssp.ucdavis.edu/programs/historyblueprint/maps/medieval-map#blackdeathanch
They found that a period of approximately 15 years consistently occurred between a climatic fluctuation in the Karakorum mountain range in northern Pakistan and a plague reintroduction in Europe. This suggest a scenario whereby; 1-2 years after a climatic fluctuation, the rodent populations crashed and infected fleas sought alternative hosts. A period of 10-12 years followed when, they hypothesised, the disease travelled West via caravan routes to the sea (the ancient Silk Road). It took a further 2-3 years to spread into Europe via maritime trade routes.
Evidence for the spread via the ancient caravan routes requires further investigation but camels are easily infected with plague from the bites of fleas and the bacillus could also have travelled in infected traders, other animals or fleas in their cargo.
It would appear that we may need to rewrite the history books and place the blame for these ancient scourges that changed the face of Europe upon the trade in exotic goods rather than the humble rat.
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Who was the British Prime Minister during the War of American Independence? He was blamed for the inept policy and military failures leading to the loss of the American colonies? | BBC - History - British History in depth: Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
On This Day
Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
Do you know which prime minister brought 'fallen women' to 10 Downing Street? Or which one fought a duel? Or who was known as 'the Goat'?
Take a political journey through nearly 300 years of high ideals and low cunning, from Gordon Brown to the first man to hold prime ministerial powers, Robert Walpole.
Margaret Thatcher
Conservative, 1979 - 1990
Britain's first female prime minister came to power with the country descending into industrial and economic chaos. A relatively inexperienced politician, she nonetheless adopted a personal style of indomitable self-confidence and brooked no weakness in herself or her colleagues. Derisively dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviet press, she wore the moniker with pride. Her government's free-market policies included trade liberalisation, deregulation, sweeping privatisation, breaking the power of the unions, focus on the individual and the creation of an 'enterprise culture'. 'Thatcherism' has had a profound and lasting economic and social impact on Britain, and still sharply divides opinion to this day. The first PM to serve three consecutive terms (including two 'landslide' victories) she was eventually toppled by her own party following the disastrous imposition of a 'poll tax'. Nonetheless, she is generally considered to be one of the best peace time prime ministers of the 20th Century.
James Callaghan
Labour, 1976 - 1979
Callaghan inherited the office of prime minister following the surprise resignation of Harold Wilson. With only a tiny parliamentary majority to support him, he faced an increasingly one-sided confrontation with organised labour in the form of rampant strike action. Things came to a head in the so-called 'Winter of Discontent', a phrase from Shakespeare borrowed by Callaghan himself to describe the events leading up to February 1979. Britain was 'strikebound', with public servants staging mass walk outs, leaving food and fuel supplies undelivered, rubbish uncollected and - most notoriously - bodies unburied. Things became so bad in Hull it was dubbed 'the second Stalingrad'. The tabloid press has since been accused of overstating the severity of the situation (and wrongly quoting him as saying 'Crisis? What Crisis?') but it was enough at the time to sound the death knell for Callaghan's government later in the same year.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1974 - 1976
In March 1974, Wilson became prime minister for the third time at the head of a minority government, following the first hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) for 45 years. Often described as a wily fixer and negotiator, it took all of his skills to hold on to power in the face of economic and industrial turmoil. His party was also sharply divided, with many Labour members of parliament (MPs) bitter about Wilson's manoeuvring against his colleagues. He called another general election in October 1974, thereby ending the shortest parliament since 1681, and was returned to office with a majority of just three seats. He presided over a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), and a collapse in the value of the pound which prompted a humiliating 'rescue operation' by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Exhausted, Wilson resigned saying 'politicians should not go on and on'.
Edward Heath
Conservative, 1970 - 1974
Heath succeeded in taking Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the European Union, despite two previous failed attempts by Britain to gain entry, in 1961 and 1967. But his government was dogged by torrid industrial relations and recurrent economic crises. Things came to a head in January 1974, when industry was put on a 'three-day week' to conserve fuel. Fuel was in dangerously short supply following a combination of domestic industrial action (coal miners on 'work-to-rule') and a quadrupling of prices by Middle Eastern oil exporting nations in the wake of Israel's victory in the Yom Kippur War. In March 1974, Heath called a general election on the question of 'who governs Britain?' - the unions, or the elected representatives of the people. To his surprise the result was a hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) and he was ousted.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1964 - 1970
In 1964, 'Good old Mr Wilson' - an avuncular, pipe-smoking figure - came to power amid much excitement and optimism. He had promised a 'new Britain' forged in 'the white heat of a second industrial revolution'. In reality, his administration never escaped from a cycle of economic crises, vainly battling against further devaluations of the pound. Wilson won a second general election in 1966 (the year England lifted the football World Cup) making him the first Labour PM to serve consecutive terms. In 1967, the government failed in its application for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) and was also finally forced to devalue sterling. The electorate became disillusioned with Wilson, who lost narrowly to the Conservatives in the 1970 election.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative, 1963 - 1964
In 1963, a change in the law allowed hereditary peers to disclaim (or 'drop') their titles, which in turn meant they were able to become members of parliament (MPs). The only peer ever to do so and become prime minister was Douglas-Home, formerly the 14th Earl of Home, who assumed the office when Harold Macmillan retired due to ill health. He was the first prime minister in the post-war period not to win his own mandate (be elected or re-elected by popular vote).
Harold Macmillan, Conservative, 1957 - 1963
Macmillan came to power at a time when Britain was confronting its loss of world-power status and facing mounting economic troubles. Nonetheless, he successfully associated the Conservatives with a new age of affluence and the burgeoning consumer revolution. But his oft-quoted assurance 'You've never had it so good' actually finishes 'What is beginning to worry some of us is, is it too good to be true?'. His government is principally remembered for the so-called 'Profumo Affair', a sex scandal that erupted in 1963 and contributed to the Conservatives' defeat at the general election the following year. Secretary of State for War John Profumo had been having an affair with a showgirl who was also seeing the Soviet naval attaché to London - a serious transgression at the height of the Cold War. After lying to the House of Commons, Profumo admitted the truth in June 1963 and resigned in disgrace. Macmillan resigned due to ill health in October the same year.
Sir Anthony Eden, Conservative, 1955 - 1957
When Sir Winston Churchill retired due to ill health, Eden took over as prime minister. Many years before, Churchill had anointed Eden as his successor, but later acknowledged he had made 'a great mistake'. His opinion was born out as the new PM blundered into the Suez Crisis. Following Egypt's decision to nationalise the Suez canal, Britain (the principal shareholder), France and Israel invaded in October 1956 to near-universal condemnation and the threat of nuclear strikes by the Soviet Union. Within a week, Britain was forced into an embarrassing climb-down. Humiliated and in ill-health, Eden left the country for a holiday at the Jamaican home of James Bond author, Ian Fleming. He returned in mid-December to the sarcastic newspaper headline: 'Prime Minister Visits Britain'. He resigned on 9 January 1957.
Sir Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1951 - 1955
Churchill's desire to return to power, despite his assured place in history, had much to do with his belligerent refusal to accept that the British public had rejected him in 1945. Now the electorate was seeking to put behind it the hardships and privations of the post-war years under Clement Atlee and return to a more traditional idea of society - so-called 'housing and red meat' issues. Churchill tried - and failed - to recreate the dynamism of his wartime administration, and he struggled to adjust to the political realities of the Cold War, preferring direct action and personal diplomacy to proxy wars and cabinet consensus. His refusal to retire, despite suffering a stroke, caused mounting frustrations among his colleagues. At the age of 80, he finally conceded to his failing health and stepped down, although he continued to serve as an MP.
Clement Attlee, Labour, 1945 - 1951
World War Two had sharply exposed the imbalances in Britain's social, economic and political structures. For a population that had sacrificed so much, a return to the pre-war status quo was simply not an option. In 1942, a report by Sir William Beveridge, chairman of a Ministry of Health committee, had advocated a system of national insurance, comprehensive welfare for all and strategies to maintain full employment. The 'Beveridge Report' formed the basis of Labour pledges in the 1945 election and resulted in a landslide victory. Attlee's government successfully harnessed the wartime sense of unity to create the National Health Service, a national insurance scheme, a huge programme of nationalisation (including the Bank of England and most heavy industries) and a massive building programme. He also made Britain a nuclear-armed power. These sweeping reforms resulted in a parliamentary consensus on key social and economic policies that would last until 1979. But by 1951, a row over plans to charge for spectacles and false teeth had split the cabinet. Party disunity and a struggling economy contributed to Attlee - cruelly dubbed by Churchill 'a modest man with much to be modest about' - losing the next election.
Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1940 - 1945
By the time Churchill was asked to lead the coalition government in 1940, he had already enjoyed colourful and controversial careers as a journalist, soldier and politician. He had twice 'crossed the floor' of the House of Commons, the first time defecting from Conservative to Liberal and serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during the early years of World War One. Demoted in the wake of the slaughter at Gallipoli, he preferred to resign and take up a commission fighting on the Western Front. Despite standing against the Conservatives in a 1924 by-election, Churchill was welcomed back into the party that same year and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for five years under Stanley Baldwin. But personal disagreements and his vehement anti-Fascism would lead to nearly a decade in the political wilderness. Following Neville Chamberlain's resignation in 1940, Churchill finally realised his 'destiny' and accepted the office of prime minister. Promising nothing more than 'blood, toil, tears and sweat', he almost single-handedly restored Britain's desire to fight on in adversity. Despite Churchill's enormous personal popularity, by 1945 the electorate no longer wanted a war leader and the Conservatives lost by a landslide.
Neville Chamberlain, Conservative, 1937 - 1940
Rarely has the hyperbole of politicians been as resoundingly exposed as when Neville Chamberlain returned from his 1938 negotiations with Adolf Hitler, brandishing his famous 'piece of paper' and declaring the agreement it represented to be 'peace for our time'. Within a year, Germany had invaded Poland and Britain was plunged into World War Two. With his policy of 'appeasement' towards Hitler utterly bankrupted, Chamberlain resigned in 1940. He was replaced by Winston Churchill. When the issue of honours was discussed, he stated that he wanted to die 'plain Mr Chamberlain, like my father'. His father, Joseph Chamberlain, was the politician who split the Conservatives in 1903 by pushing for tariffs on imported goods. It was this very issue that convinced Churchill to defect to the Liberals, with whom he first achieved high office. Chamberlain died six months after resigning.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1935 - 1937
When Baldwin returned to power in 1935, the financial crisis sparked by the Wall Street Crash six years before appeared to be over. It was to be swiftly replaced by a constitutional crisis brought about by Edward VIII's desire to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Baldwin advised Edward that Mrs Simpson would not be accepted as Queen by the public, and that the king could not condone divorce as head of the Church of England. The king proposed a 'morganatic' marriage, whereby Mrs Simpson would become his consort, but not Queen. The government rejected the idea and threatened to resign if the king forced the issue. The story then broke in the press, to general disapproval by the public. Rather than break the engagement, Edward abdicated on 11 December 1936. Credited with saving the monarchy, Baldwin is also condemned for failing to begin re-arming when it became clear that Nazi Germany was building up its armed forces.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1929 - 1935
MacDonald began his second term at the head of a minority government (one that does not have an outright majority) and with the economy in deep crisis. Britain was still in the grip of the Great Depression and unemployment soon soared to two million. With fewer people able to pay tax, revenues had fallen as demand for unemployment benefits had soared. Unable to meet the deficit, by 1931 it was being proposed that benefits and salaries should be cut. Labour ministers rejected the plan as running counter to their core beliefs. MacDonald went to the king, George V, to proffer his resignation. George suggested MacDonald to try and form a 'national government' or coalition of all the parties. (This is the last recorded direct political intervention by a British monarch.) The National Government was formed, with MacDonald as prime minister, but Stanley Baldwin, leader of the Conservative Party, the de facto 'power behind the throne'. MacDonald is still considered by many in the Labour Party as their worst political traitor.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1924 - 1929
In May 1926, the Trades Union Congress called for a general walkout in support of a coal miners' protest against threatened wage cuts. It was the first and, to date, only general strike in British history. The strike affected key industries, such as gas, electricity and the railways, but ended after just nine days due to lack of public backing and well-organised emergency measures by Baldwin's government. Far from succeeding in its aims, the General Strike actually led to a decline in trade union membership and the miners ended up accepting longer hours and less pay. It also gave impetus to the 1927 Trade Disputes Act, which curtailed workers' ability to take industrial action. Baldwin's government also extended the vote to women over 21 and passed the Pensions Act, but eventually fell as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and the Depression that followed.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1924
In 1924, MacDonald briefly became the first Labour prime minister, ending two centuries of Conservative - Liberal domination of British politics. It was the first party to gain power with the express purpose of representing the voice of the 'working class'. An MP since 1906, MacDonald was respected as a thinker, but criticised by many within his own party as insufficiently radical (despite appointing the first female cabinet minister, Margaret Bondfield, in 1929). His opposition to World War One had made him deeply unpopular and he continually suffered a torrid time at the hands of the press. The publication by two newspapers of the 'Zinoviev letter' did much to damage his chances in the run up to the 1924 election. The letter (which he had seen but decided to keep secret) purported to be from Soviet intelligence and urged British communists to commit acts of sedition. He lost by a wide margin. The letter is now widely accepted to be a fraud.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1923
During his very brief first term as prime minister, Stanley Baldwin bumped into an old school friend on a train. Asked what he was doing these days, Baldwin replied: 'I am the prime minister.' Having come to power following Andrew Bonar Law's resignation, he called an election in the hope of gaining his own mandate (election by popular vote), but lost.
Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative, 1922 - 1923
Branded the 'unknown prime minister' by his bitter political rival HH Asquith, Canadian-born Bonar Law is principally remembered for a single speech he made in 1922. The Conservatives had been part of a coalition under the Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, since 1916. Many were considering joining Lloyd George permanently, but Bonar Law's speech changed their minds. Instead, the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition and Lloyd George was forced to resign. The king, George V, asked Bonar Law to form a new government. Reluctantly he accepted, despite still grieving two sons killed in World War One and - as it turned out - dying of throat cancer. He held office for 209 days before resigning due to ill health. He died six months later and was buried at Westminster Abbey, upon which Asquith commented: 'It is fitting that we should have buried the Unknown Prime Minister by the side of the Unknown Warrior.'
David Lloyd George, Liberal, 1916 - 1922
Lloyd George guided Britain to victory in World War One and presided over the legislation that gave women the vote in 1918, but he is remembered as much for his private life as his public achievements. Nicknamed the 'Welsh Wizard', he was also less kindly known as 'The Goat' - a reference to his countless affairs. (Scandalously, he lived with his mistress and illegitimate daughter in London while his wife and other children lived in Wales.) The first 'working class' prime minister, Lloyd George had risen to prominence by solving the shortage of munitions on the Western Front. It was his desire to get to grips with the requirements of 'total war' that led to his split with then Liberal Prime Minister HH Asquith. It also brought him closer to the Conservatives, with whom he formed a new coalition government when Asquith resigned. That coalition would disintegrate six years later in the midst of a scandal. Serious allegations were made that peerages had been sold for as much as £40,000. (One list even included John Drughorn, who had been convicted for trading with the enemy in 1915.) Lloyd George resigned in October 1922.
HH Asquith, Liberal, 1908 - 1916
Asquith's government had shown great longevity, but disintegrated in the face of the unequalled disasters of the Somme and Gallipoli. With World War One going badly, fellow Liberal David Lloyd George had seized his chance and ousted Asquith. But in the preceding eight years, the two politicians had together overseen one of the greatest constitutional upheavals of the 20th Century and ushered in some of the predecessors of the Welfare State. Old Age Pensions were introduced and Unemployment Exchanges (job centres) were set up by then Liberal minister Winston Churchill. But when Lloyd George attempted to introduce a budget with land and income taxes disadvantageous to the 'propertied' classes, it was thrown out by the House of Lords. Lloyd George branded the Lords 'Mr Balfour's poodle' (a reference to Conservative leader AJ Balfour's supposed control over the peers). The stand-off resulted in two general elections during 1910, the second of which the Liberals won with a 'peers against the people' campaign slogan. The budget was passed and, in 1911, the Parliament Act became law. The Act stated that the Lords could only veto a Commons bill twice, and instituted five-yearly general elections.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal, 1905 - 1908
Arthur James Balfour, Conservative, 1902 - 1905
The nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, Balfour had none of his uncle's political skills despite a long period of mentoring. He was instead something of a philosopher, publishing several weighty books, including 'A Defence of Philosophic Doubt', 'The Foundations of Belief', and 'Theism and Humanism'. Following a cabinet split Balfour resigned, gambling that the Liberals would be unable to form a government and that he would be returned to power. He was wrong.
Marquess of Salisbury, 1895 - 1902, Conservative
Salisbury came to power for the third and final time when the weak Liberal government of the Earl of Rosebery fell. The political climate was one of rising resentment among the lower and middle classes, who demanded better conditions, social reforms and proper political representation. Bitterly divided, the Liberals would nonetheless experience a revival as they sought reforms of the squalid, disease-ridden British 'concentration camps' used in the Boer War. But it was the founding of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) on 27 February 1900 that signalled a quiet, yet highly significant sea-change in British politics. This coalition of socialist groups would win two seats in the 1900 general election and 29 seats in 1906. Later that same year, the LRC changed its name to the Labour Party. Despite failing health, Salisbury agreed to stay on to help Edward VII manage the transition following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. He resigned in favour of his nephew, AJ Balfour, in the first months of the new King's reign. (Notably, he was the last serving prime minister to sit in the Lords.)
Earl of Rosebery, Liberal, 1894 - 1895
Rosebury reluctantly became prime minister on the insistence of Queen Victoria, despite still mourning the loss of his wife. Desperate to have a minister she actually liked, Victoria had taken the unusual step of not consulting the outgoing PM, William Gladstone, about his successor. Rosebery, who always loved horseracing more than the 'evil smelling bog' of politics, was gratefully allowed to resign a year later. Notably, he is the only prime minister to have produced not one, but three Derby winners, in 1894, 1895 and 1905. (Despite his aversion to politics, Rosebery was no stranger to scandal. The Prince of Wales had reputedly once intervened to prevent him from being horsewhipped by the Marquess of Queensbury, with whose son Rosebery was believed to be having an affair. Queensbury's other son was Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover.)
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1892 - 1894
Gladstone's fourth term as prime minister was completely overshadowed by his insistence on introducing a third bill on the subject of 'Home Rule' for Ireland. The Conservative-dominated House of Lords threw the bill out and generally obstructed Liberal attempts to pass legislation. With his cabinet split and his health failing, the 'Grand Old Man' stepped down for the last time. The public was, in any case, exhausted with Home Rule and instead wanted reforms to working conditions and electoral practices. (Meanwhile, out on the political fringe, the Independent Labour Party had been set up under Keir Hardie to represent the working class and 'secure the collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange'. Leading figures in the party included George Bernard Shaw and Ramsay MacDonald.)
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1886 - 1892
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1886
Gladstone came to power for the third time with 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland still the dominant issue. A bitter election battle had seen the Conservative government fall after Irish Nationalist members of parliament sided with the Liberals to defeat them. Instead, the Liberals formed a government in coalition with the Irish Nationalists and Gladstone tried to push through his second attempt at a Home Rule bill. The bill split the Liberals and Gladstone resigned. He lost the general election when the 'Liberal Unionists' - those who wanted Ireland to be ruled from Westminster - broke away from Gladstone's Liberals to fight the next election as a separate party. Most Liberal Unionists were of the 'Whig' or propertied faction of the party, which meant that when they went, they took most of the money with them.
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1885 - 1886
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1880 - 1885
Having failed to force Gladstone to serve under Lord Hartington, Queen Victoria reluctantly accepted 'that half-mad firebrand' as prime minister for the second time. He had only lately returned to politics from retirement after his so-called 'Midlothian Campaign', in which he spoke to large crowds - a practice considered by polite Victorian society to be 'undignified'. His campaign did much to discredit Disraeli's government and had clearly struck a chord with a public eager for social and electoral reform. The Ballot Act in 1872 had instituted secret ballots for local and general elections. Now came the Corrupt Practices Act, which set maximum election expenses, and the Reform and Redistribution Act, which effectively extended voting qualifications to another six million men. There were other burning issues. The United States had just overtaken Britain as the world's largest industrialised economy, and 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland continued to dominate. In seeking support for Home Rule, James Parnell's Irish Nationalists sided with the Conservatives to defeat a Liberal budget measure. Gladstone resigned and was replaced by the 'caretaker government' of the Marquess of Salisbury.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1874 - 1880
After a brief taste of power in 1868, it had taken Disraeli six years to become prime minister again. He wasted no time in bringing about the social reforms he had envisaged in the 1840s as a member of the radical Young England group. His Acts included measures to provide suitable housing and sewerage, to protect the quality of food, to improve workers rights (including the Climbing Boys Act which banned the use of juveniles as chimney sweeps) and to implement basic standards of education. In 1876, Disraeli was made the Earl of Beaconsfield, but continued to run the government from the Lords. He persuaded Queen Victoria to take the title 'Empress of India' in 1877 and scored a diplomatic success in limiting Russian influence in the Balkans at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. He retired in 1880, hoping to spend his remaining years adding more novels to his already impressive bibliography, but died just one year later.
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1868 - 1874
Upon taking office for the first time Gladstone declared it his 'mission' to 'pacify Ireland' - a prize that was always to elude him. Nonetheless, Gladstone was to become the dominant Liberal politician of the late 19th Century, serving as prime minister four times despite earning Queen Victoria's antipathy early in his career. (She famously complained that 'he always addresses me as if I were a public meeting'.) He had started his career as an ultra-conservative Tory, but would end it as a dedicated political reformer who did much to establish the Liberal Party's association with issues of freedom and justice. But Gladstone also had his idiosyncrasies. He made a regular habit of going to brothels and often brought prostitutes back to 10 Downing Street. In an era when politicians' private lives were very private, his embarrassed colleagues nonetheless felt it necessary to explain his behaviour as 'rescue work' to save 'fallen women'.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1868
On being asked to become prime minister following the resignation of the Earl of Derby, Disraeli announced: 'I have reached the top of the greasy pole'. He immediately struck up an excellent rapport with Queen Victoria, who approved of his imperialist ambitions and his belief that Britain should be the most powerful nation in the world. Unhappily for the Queen, Disraeli's first term ended almost immediately with an election victory for the Liberals. Despite serving as an MP since 1837 and twice being Chancellor of the Exchequer, Disraeli's journey to the top was not without scandal. In 1835, he was forced to apologise in court after being accused of bribing voters in Maidstone. He also accrued enormous debts in his twenties through speculation on the stock exchange. Disraeli suffered a nervous breakdown as a result, but eventually paid off his creditors by marrying a rich widow, Mary Anne Wyndam Lewis, in 1839.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1866 - 1868
The introduction of the 1867 Reform Act made Derby's third term as prime minister a major step in the true democratisation of Britain. The Act extended the vote to all adult male householders (and lodgers paying £10 rental or more, resident for a year or more) living in a borough constituency. Simply put, it created more than 1.5 million new voters. Versions of the Reform Act had been under serious discussion since 1860, but had always foundered on Conservative fears. Many considered it a 'revolutionary' move that would create a majority of 'working class' voters for the first time. In proposing the Reform Act, Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, had warned his colleagues that they would be labelled the 'anti-reform' party if they continued to resist. The legislation was passed, and also received the backing of the Liberals under their new leader, William Gladstone.
Earl Russell, Whig, 1865 - 1866
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal, 1859 - 1865
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1858 - 1859
The property qualification - the requirement that a man must own property in order to stand as a member of parliament - was finally abolished during Derby's second term as prime minister. It meant that members of parliament (MPs) were no longer drawn exclusively from the 'propertied' classes and could realistically be 'working class'. This fulfilled one of the six conditions set out by the Chartists - supporters of the Third Chartist Petition, written in 1838. It demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for MPs, and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament).
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , 1855 - 1858
Earl of Aberdeen, Tory, 1852 - 1855
It was something of a cruel irony that Aberdeen came to be blamed for blundering into the dreadful Crimean War. As plain George Hamilton Gordon he had made a successful career as a diplomat and had done much to normalise Britain's relationships with its powerful neighbours. Vivid reports from the front by WH Russel of the Times have since led to the Crimean being styled the first 'media war'. His reports publicised the squalor and disease that were claiming more soldiers' lives than the fighting, and inspired Florence Nightingale to volunteer and take the first 38 nurses out to treat the wounded. In 1855, Aberdeen conceded to his critics and resigned.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1852
Earl Russell, Whig, 1846 - 1851
Confronted by the Irish Potato Famine, declining trade and rising unemployment, Russell still managed to push through trade liberalisation measures and limits on women's working hours. A dedicated reformer, he nonetheless presided over the rejection of the Third Chartist Petition. Set out 1838, it demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for members of parliament (MPs), and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament). Already rejected once by parliament in 1839, the petition had gathered 5 million signatures by 1848. Presented to parliament a second time, it was again rejected. The Chartist movement slowly petered out, even as revolutions blazed across Europe, but many of its aims were eventually realised.
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1841 - 1846
Peel's second term as prime minister was nothing short of tumultuous. Economic depression, rising deficits, Chartist agitation, famine in Ireland and Anti-Corn League protests crowded in. A raft of legislation was created to stabilise the economy and improve working conditions. The Factory Act regulated work hours (and banned children under eight from the workplace), the Railway Act provided for cheap, regular train services, the Bank Charter Act capped the number of notes the Bank of England could issue and the Mines Act prevented women and children from working underground. But a failed harvest in 1845 provided Peel with his greatest challenge. There was an increasing clamour for repeal of the Corn Laws, which forbade the import of cheap grain from overseas. Powerful vested interests in the Tory Party opposed such a move, but in the end Peel confronted them and called for repeal. After nearly six months of debate, and with the Tories split in two, the Corn Laws were finally repealed. Defeated on a separate issue, Peel resigned the same day, but was cheered by crowds as he left the Commons. (The 'Peelite' faction of the Tories is widely recognised as the foundation of the modern Conservative.)
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1835 - 1841
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1834 - 1835
Invited by William IV to form a new government, Peel immediately called a general election to strengthen his party. Campaigning on his so-called 'Tamworth Manifesto', Peel promised a respectful approach to traditional politics, combined with measured, controlled reform. He thereby signalled a significant shift from staunch, reactionary 'Tory' to progressive 'Conservative' politics. Crucially, he pledged to accept the 1832 Reform Act, which had recently increased the number of people eligible to vote. Peel won the election, but only narrowly. He resigned the following year after several parliamentary defeats. (Peel is probably best remembered for creating the Metropolitan Police in 1829 while Home Secretary in the Duke of Wellington's first government. The nickname 'bobbies' for policemen is derived from his first name.)
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1834
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1834
In a bid to repress trade unions, Melbourne's government introduced legislation against 'illegal oaths'. As a result, the Grand National Consolidated Trades' Union failed. In March of the same year, six labourers were transported to Australia for seven years for attempting to provide a fund for workers in need. They became known as the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs'. Melbourne himself was notoriously laid back. When first asked to become prime minister he declared it 'a damned bore'. Having accepted, he would often refuse to allow his cabinet colleagues to leave the room, insisting 'I'm damned if I know what we agreed on. We must all say the same thing.'
Earl Grey, Whig, 1830 - 1834
In June 1832, the Reform Act finally passed into law after 15 torrid months of debate. It extended the vote to just 7% of the adult male population, based on a series of lowered property qualifications. Introduced in March 1831, the bill scraped through the Commons by a single vote, but was thrown out at the committee stage (when the bill is debated in detail - sometimes called the 'second reading'). Parliament was dissolved and the general election was fought on the single issue of the Reform Act - an unprecedented event in British political history. The Whigs won the election and passed the bill, but the House of Lords (with a majority of Tories) threw it out, sparking riots and civil disobedience across the country. With the spectre of France's bloody revolution clearly in mind, William IV eventually agreed to create 50 Whig peers to redress the balance in the Lords if the bill was rejected again. The Lords conceded and the Act was finally passed into law. After all his efforts, Earl Grey is principally remembered for giving his name to a fragrant blend of tea.
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1828 - 1830
Wellington's first term in office was dominated by the thorny subject of Catholic emancipation. Catholics were permitted to vote, but were not allowed to sit as members of parliament (MPs) and had restrictions on the property they could own. Initially, the 'Iron Duke' was staunchly in favour of the status quo, but soon came to realise that emancipation might be the only way to end conflict arising from the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland in 1801. He became such an advocate that he even fought a duel with the 10th Earl of Winchilsea over the issue. The Earl had accused him of plotting the downfall of the 'Protestant constitution', but then backed down and apologised. They still had to go through the ritual of the duel at Battersea Fields, with both men deliberately firing high and wide. Wellington eventually drove the legislation through, opening the way for Catholic MPs.
Viscount Goderich, Tory, 1827 - 1828
George Canning, Tory, 1827
Canning finally became prime minister after a long career in politics, only to die of pneumonia 119 days later. He had famously fought a duel in 1809 with his bitterest political rival, Lord Castlereagh, and was shot in the thigh. Castlereagh committed suicide with a penknife in 1822, after becoming depressed about his falling popularity.
Earl of Liverpool, Tory, 1812 - 1827
Liverpool is the second longest serving prime minister in British history (after Robert Walpole), winning four general elections and clinging on to power despite a massive stroke that incapacitated him for his last two years in office. Liverpool became PM at a time when Britain was emerging from the Napoleonic Wars and the first rumblings of 'working class' unrest were just beginning to be felt. Staunchly undemocratic in his outlook, Liverpool suppressed efforts to give the wider populace a voice. He was unrepentant when, in 1819, troops fired on a pro-reform mass meeting at St Peter's Fields in Manchester, killing eleven - the so-called 'Peterloo Massacre'. Trade unions were legalised by the 1825 Combination Act, but were so narrowly defined that members were forced to bargain over wages and conditions amid a minefield of heavy penalties for transgressions. (Liverpool's one concession to popular sentiment was in the trial of Queen Caroline on trumped up adultery charges. The legal victimisation of George IV's estranged wife, who was tried in parliament in 1820, brought her mass sympathy. Mindful not to provoke the mob in the wake of Peterloo, the charges were eventually dropped.)
Spencer Perceval, Tory, 1809 - 1812
Perceval bears a dubious distinction as the only British prime minister to be assassinated. As chancellor of the exchequer he moved in to 10 Downing Street in 1807, before rising to the office of prime minister two years later. His 12 young children - some born while he was in office - also lived in the PM's crowded residence. Against expectations, he had skilfully kept his government afloat for three years despite a severe economic downturn and continuing war with Napoleon. He was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons on 11 May 1812 by a merchant called John Bellingham who was seeking government compensation for his business debts. Perceval's body lay in 10 Downing Street for five days before burial. Bellingham gave himself up immediately. Tried for murder, he was found guilty and hanged a week later.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1807 - 1809
Lord Grenville, Whig, 1806 - 1807
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1804 - 1806
Faced by a fresh invasion threat from Napoleon, George III once again turned to Pitt. A shadow of his former self due to failing health and suspected alcoholism, Pitt nonetheless accepted. He made alliances with Napoleon's continental rivals - Russia, Austria and Sweden - then, in 1805, Admiral Lord Nelson shattered French invasion hopes at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pitt did not have long to savour victory before Napoleon defeated both Russia and Austria to stand astride the whole of Europe. Heartsick, utterly exhausted, penniless and unmarried, Pitt died on 23 January 1806 at the age of 46.
Henry Addington, Tory, 1801 - 1804
Addington secured the Peace of Amiens with France in 1802, but would see Britain plunge into war with Napoleon again just two years later. He also passed the first Factory Act into law. The Act was the earliest attempt to reform working conditions in factories. It set a maximum 12 hour working day for children and addressed issues like proper ventilation, basic education and sleeping conditions. (Notably, his government also awarded Edward Jenner £10,000 to continue his pioneering work on a vaccine for smallpox.) But he was generally poorly regarded, prompting the satirical rhyme 'Pitt is to Addington, as London is to Paddington' - a reference to his distinguished predecessor as prime minister, William Pitt.
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1783-1801
Pitt 'the Younger' was the youngest prime minister in British history, taking office at the tender age of just 24. But his youth did not seem to disadvantage him as he threw himself into the manifold problems of government, holding on to the top office for 17 years - fifteen years longer than his father, Pitt 'the Elder'. His first priority was to reduce the National Debt, which had doubled with the loss of the American colonies in 1783. George III's mental illness then threw up the spectre of a constitutional crisis, with the transfer of sovereignty to the erratic Prince of Wales only narrowly averted by the king's recovery. Further threats to the monarchy emanated from across the Channel, with the bloody French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent war with France in 1793. War increased taxes and caused food shortages, damaging Pitt's popularity to the extent that he employed bodyguards out of fear for his safety. In a bid to resolve at least one intractable conflict, he pushed through the Act of Union with Ireland in 1800, but the related Emancipation of Catholics Bill was rejected by the king a year later. Having lost George III's confidence, Pitt was left with no option but to resign.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1783
Earl Shelburne, Whig, 1782 - 1783
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1782
Lord North, Tory, 1770 - 1782
North is chiefly somewhat unfairly remembered as the prime minister who lost the American colonies. Groomed by George III to lead his parliamentary supporters, North was fiercely loyal to his king, whose policy it had been to 'punish' the American colonials. The American War of Independence, reluctantly entered into by both sides, had been prosecuted at the king's behest in retaliation for their refusal to pay more towards their own defence. As hostilities progressed, North's blundering and indecision worsened an already difficult situation, and by 1782 it was clear that the outcome was likely to be a disaster. He begged George III to be allowed to resign, but the king refused to release him until the war was over. North has since become the yardstick for prime ministerial mediocrity, with later PMs being criticised as 'the worst since Lord North'.
Duke of Grafton, Whig, 1768 - 1770
An unremarkable prime minister, Grafton had a quite remarkable appetite for extra-marital affairs and openly kept several mistresses. He scandalised polite society in 1764 by leaving his wife and going to live with his mistress, Anne Parsons, also known as 'Mrs Houghton'. (Horace Walpole referred to her derisively as 'everybody's Mrs Houghton'.) Popular opinion had disapproved of Grafton's behaviour, until his wife did something even more shocking. She eloped with the Earl of Upper Ossory and had a child by him. Grafton divorced her in 1769, then abandoned Mrs Houghton and married Elizabeth Wrottesley, with whom he had 13 children. The Mrs Houghton ended up marrying the king's brother. This unsuitable union gave impetus to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which decreed that the monarch had to give permission for all royal weddings.
Earl of Chatham, Pitt 'The Elder', Whig, 1766 - 1768
Pitt 'the Elder' is widely credited as the man who built the British Empire, although much of this was done in the role of secretary of state under the governments of the Duke of Newcastle. He chose his fights carefully, conducting military campaigns where conditions were best suited to British merchants. Pitt added India, West Africa, the West Indies and the American colonies to Britain's overseas possessions, and was persistently belligerent towards colonial rivals like France and Spain. His relentless imperialism kept the merchants happy but infuriated men like Newcastle who counted the financial cost of his wars. Pitt was a superb public speaker and a master of the devastating put-down, but his career was dogged with recurrent mental illness and gout. Ironically, it was during his term as prime minister that he was at his least effective, often struggling to build support. He collapsed in the House of Lords in October 1768 and died four days later. (Pitt was the MP for a 'burgage borough' - an empty piece of land with no-one living on it. His constituency, Old Sarum, was a mound in Wiltshire. On polling day, seven voters met in a tent to cast their votes.)
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1765 - 1766
George Grenville, Whig, 1763 - 1765
Grenville is one of the few prime ministers to have been sacked by the monarch. He was fired after a row with George III over who should rule in his place if his mental health continued to deteriorate.
Earl of Bute, Tory, 1762 - 1763
Bute was one of Britain's more unpopular prime ministers. Things came to a head when he failed to lower the taxes he had raised to fight France in the American colonies. Rioting erupted, his effigies were burnt and the windows in his house were smashed. Bute was generally disliked by colleagues and public, and was lampooned for his 'fine pair of legs', of which he was reputed to be extremely proud. His close relationship with the Prince of Wales's widow, the Dowager Princess Augusta, was also the subject of much scurrilous gossip. The nickname 'Sir Pertinax MacSycophant' was a contemptuous reference to the Roman Emperor Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was murdered three months after his meteoric assent by his own bodyguard. Unable to muster support in parliament, Bute resigned in 1763.
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1757 - 1762
Newcastle healed his rift with Pitt 'the Elder' by inviting him to serve in his government as secretary of state. Effectively a power-sharing coalition of two powerful men, the relationship gave birth to the British Empire. Their government eventually fell as a result of the new king, George III's hostility to Pitt, who had sought to restrict the influence of the monarch in political matters.
Duke of Devonshire, Whig, 1756-1757
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1754 - 1756
Newcastle became PM after his brother, Henry Pelham, died in office. It is the only instance of two brothers serving as prime minister. Newcastle enraged Pitt 'the Elder' by refusing to promote him in the new government, then compounded the insult by sacking him.
Henry Pelham, Whig, 1743 - 1754
Earl of Wilmington, Whig, 1742 - 1743
Sir Robert Walpole, Whig, 1721 - 1742
Walpole is widely acknowledged as the first prime minister, although he never actually held the title. He was also the longest serving, lasting 21 years. But Walpole's first stint in government, as secretary of war, had ended inauspiciously with a six month spell in the Tower of London for receiving an illegal payment. Undeterred, he rose to power again on the back of a collapsed financial scheme in which many prominent individuals had invested. Walpole had the foresight (or luck) to get out early, and as a result was credited with great financial acumen. George I invited him to become chancellor and gave him the powers that came to be associated with the office of prime minister. His owed his longevity in office (and the incredible wealth he accumulated) to a combination of great personal charm, enduring popularity, sharp practice and startling sycophancy. The accession of George II saw him temporarily eclipsed, but he worked hard to win over the new monarch. He was rewarded with both the new King's trust and 10 Downing Street, which remains the official residence of the prime minister to this day. Walpole was eventually brought down by an election loss at Chippenham and died just three years later.
| Frederick North, Lord North |
"Written in honour of his friend Arthur Hallam, the poem, ""In Memoriam"" was published in 1850. Who was the author of this poem, who was appointed Poet Laureate in the same year?" | BBC - History - British History in depth: Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
On This Day
Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline
Do you know which prime minister brought 'fallen women' to 10 Downing Street? Or which one fought a duel? Or who was known as 'the Goat'?
Take a political journey through nearly 300 years of high ideals and low cunning, from Gordon Brown to the first man to hold prime ministerial powers, Robert Walpole.
Margaret Thatcher
Conservative, 1979 - 1990
Britain's first female prime minister came to power with the country descending into industrial and economic chaos. A relatively inexperienced politician, she nonetheless adopted a personal style of indomitable self-confidence and brooked no weakness in herself or her colleagues. Derisively dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviet press, she wore the moniker with pride. Her government's free-market policies included trade liberalisation, deregulation, sweeping privatisation, breaking the power of the unions, focus on the individual and the creation of an 'enterprise culture'. 'Thatcherism' has had a profound and lasting economic and social impact on Britain, and still sharply divides opinion to this day. The first PM to serve three consecutive terms (including two 'landslide' victories) she was eventually toppled by her own party following the disastrous imposition of a 'poll tax'. Nonetheless, she is generally considered to be one of the best peace time prime ministers of the 20th Century.
James Callaghan
Labour, 1976 - 1979
Callaghan inherited the office of prime minister following the surprise resignation of Harold Wilson. With only a tiny parliamentary majority to support him, he faced an increasingly one-sided confrontation with organised labour in the form of rampant strike action. Things came to a head in the so-called 'Winter of Discontent', a phrase from Shakespeare borrowed by Callaghan himself to describe the events leading up to February 1979. Britain was 'strikebound', with public servants staging mass walk outs, leaving food and fuel supplies undelivered, rubbish uncollected and - most notoriously - bodies unburied. Things became so bad in Hull it was dubbed 'the second Stalingrad'. The tabloid press has since been accused of overstating the severity of the situation (and wrongly quoting him as saying 'Crisis? What Crisis?') but it was enough at the time to sound the death knell for Callaghan's government later in the same year.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1974 - 1976
In March 1974, Wilson became prime minister for the third time at the head of a minority government, following the first hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) for 45 years. Often described as a wily fixer and negotiator, it took all of his skills to hold on to power in the face of economic and industrial turmoil. His party was also sharply divided, with many Labour members of parliament (MPs) bitter about Wilson's manoeuvring against his colleagues. He called another general election in October 1974, thereby ending the shortest parliament since 1681, and was returned to office with a majority of just three seats. He presided over a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), and a collapse in the value of the pound which prompted a humiliating 'rescue operation' by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Exhausted, Wilson resigned saying 'politicians should not go on and on'.
Edward Heath
Conservative, 1970 - 1974
Heath succeeded in taking Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the European Union, despite two previous failed attempts by Britain to gain entry, in 1961 and 1967. But his government was dogged by torrid industrial relations and recurrent economic crises. Things came to a head in January 1974, when industry was put on a 'three-day week' to conserve fuel. Fuel was in dangerously short supply following a combination of domestic industrial action (coal miners on 'work-to-rule') and a quadrupling of prices by Middle Eastern oil exporting nations in the wake of Israel's victory in the Yom Kippur War. In March 1974, Heath called a general election on the question of 'who governs Britain?' - the unions, or the elected representatives of the people. To his surprise the result was a hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) and he was ousted.
Harold Wilson
Labour, 1964 - 1970
In 1964, 'Good old Mr Wilson' - an avuncular, pipe-smoking figure - came to power amid much excitement and optimism. He had promised a 'new Britain' forged in 'the white heat of a second industrial revolution'. In reality, his administration never escaped from a cycle of economic crises, vainly battling against further devaluations of the pound. Wilson won a second general election in 1966 (the year England lifted the football World Cup) making him the first Labour PM to serve consecutive terms. In 1967, the government failed in its application for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) and was also finally forced to devalue sterling. The electorate became disillusioned with Wilson, who lost narrowly to the Conservatives in the 1970 election.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative, 1963 - 1964
In 1963, a change in the law allowed hereditary peers to disclaim (or 'drop') their titles, which in turn meant they were able to become members of parliament (MPs). The only peer ever to do so and become prime minister was Douglas-Home, formerly the 14th Earl of Home, who assumed the office when Harold Macmillan retired due to ill health. He was the first prime minister in the post-war period not to win his own mandate (be elected or re-elected by popular vote).
Harold Macmillan, Conservative, 1957 - 1963
Macmillan came to power at a time when Britain was confronting its loss of world-power status and facing mounting economic troubles. Nonetheless, he successfully associated the Conservatives with a new age of affluence and the burgeoning consumer revolution. But his oft-quoted assurance 'You've never had it so good' actually finishes 'What is beginning to worry some of us is, is it too good to be true?'. His government is principally remembered for the so-called 'Profumo Affair', a sex scandal that erupted in 1963 and contributed to the Conservatives' defeat at the general election the following year. Secretary of State for War John Profumo had been having an affair with a showgirl who was also seeing the Soviet naval attaché to London - a serious transgression at the height of the Cold War. After lying to the House of Commons, Profumo admitted the truth in June 1963 and resigned in disgrace. Macmillan resigned due to ill health in October the same year.
Sir Anthony Eden, Conservative, 1955 - 1957
When Sir Winston Churchill retired due to ill health, Eden took over as prime minister. Many years before, Churchill had anointed Eden as his successor, but later acknowledged he had made 'a great mistake'. His opinion was born out as the new PM blundered into the Suez Crisis. Following Egypt's decision to nationalise the Suez canal, Britain (the principal shareholder), France and Israel invaded in October 1956 to near-universal condemnation and the threat of nuclear strikes by the Soviet Union. Within a week, Britain was forced into an embarrassing climb-down. Humiliated and in ill-health, Eden left the country for a holiday at the Jamaican home of James Bond author, Ian Fleming. He returned in mid-December to the sarcastic newspaper headline: 'Prime Minister Visits Britain'. He resigned on 9 January 1957.
Sir Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1951 - 1955
Churchill's desire to return to power, despite his assured place in history, had much to do with his belligerent refusal to accept that the British public had rejected him in 1945. Now the electorate was seeking to put behind it the hardships and privations of the post-war years under Clement Atlee and return to a more traditional idea of society - so-called 'housing and red meat' issues. Churchill tried - and failed - to recreate the dynamism of his wartime administration, and he struggled to adjust to the political realities of the Cold War, preferring direct action and personal diplomacy to proxy wars and cabinet consensus. His refusal to retire, despite suffering a stroke, caused mounting frustrations among his colleagues. At the age of 80, he finally conceded to his failing health and stepped down, although he continued to serve as an MP.
Clement Attlee, Labour, 1945 - 1951
World War Two had sharply exposed the imbalances in Britain's social, economic and political structures. For a population that had sacrificed so much, a return to the pre-war status quo was simply not an option. In 1942, a report by Sir William Beveridge, chairman of a Ministry of Health committee, had advocated a system of national insurance, comprehensive welfare for all and strategies to maintain full employment. The 'Beveridge Report' formed the basis of Labour pledges in the 1945 election and resulted in a landslide victory. Attlee's government successfully harnessed the wartime sense of unity to create the National Health Service, a national insurance scheme, a huge programme of nationalisation (including the Bank of England and most heavy industries) and a massive building programme. He also made Britain a nuclear-armed power. These sweeping reforms resulted in a parliamentary consensus on key social and economic policies that would last until 1979. But by 1951, a row over plans to charge for spectacles and false teeth had split the cabinet. Party disunity and a struggling economy contributed to Attlee - cruelly dubbed by Churchill 'a modest man with much to be modest about' - losing the next election.
Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1940 - 1945
By the time Churchill was asked to lead the coalition government in 1940, he had already enjoyed colourful and controversial careers as a journalist, soldier and politician. He had twice 'crossed the floor' of the House of Commons, the first time defecting from Conservative to Liberal and serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during the early years of World War One. Demoted in the wake of the slaughter at Gallipoli, he preferred to resign and take up a commission fighting on the Western Front. Despite standing against the Conservatives in a 1924 by-election, Churchill was welcomed back into the party that same year and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for five years under Stanley Baldwin. But personal disagreements and his vehement anti-Fascism would lead to nearly a decade in the political wilderness. Following Neville Chamberlain's resignation in 1940, Churchill finally realised his 'destiny' and accepted the office of prime minister. Promising nothing more than 'blood, toil, tears and sweat', he almost single-handedly restored Britain's desire to fight on in adversity. Despite Churchill's enormous personal popularity, by 1945 the electorate no longer wanted a war leader and the Conservatives lost by a landslide.
Neville Chamberlain, Conservative, 1937 - 1940
Rarely has the hyperbole of politicians been as resoundingly exposed as when Neville Chamberlain returned from his 1938 negotiations with Adolf Hitler, brandishing his famous 'piece of paper' and declaring the agreement it represented to be 'peace for our time'. Within a year, Germany had invaded Poland and Britain was plunged into World War Two. With his policy of 'appeasement' towards Hitler utterly bankrupted, Chamberlain resigned in 1940. He was replaced by Winston Churchill. When the issue of honours was discussed, he stated that he wanted to die 'plain Mr Chamberlain, like my father'. His father, Joseph Chamberlain, was the politician who split the Conservatives in 1903 by pushing for tariffs on imported goods. It was this very issue that convinced Churchill to defect to the Liberals, with whom he first achieved high office. Chamberlain died six months after resigning.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1935 - 1937
When Baldwin returned to power in 1935, the financial crisis sparked by the Wall Street Crash six years before appeared to be over. It was to be swiftly replaced by a constitutional crisis brought about by Edward VIII's desire to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Baldwin advised Edward that Mrs Simpson would not be accepted as Queen by the public, and that the king could not condone divorce as head of the Church of England. The king proposed a 'morganatic' marriage, whereby Mrs Simpson would become his consort, but not Queen. The government rejected the idea and threatened to resign if the king forced the issue. The story then broke in the press, to general disapproval by the public. Rather than break the engagement, Edward abdicated on 11 December 1936. Credited with saving the monarchy, Baldwin is also condemned for failing to begin re-arming when it became clear that Nazi Germany was building up its armed forces.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1929 - 1935
MacDonald began his second term at the head of a minority government (one that does not have an outright majority) and with the economy in deep crisis. Britain was still in the grip of the Great Depression and unemployment soon soared to two million. With fewer people able to pay tax, revenues had fallen as demand for unemployment benefits had soared. Unable to meet the deficit, by 1931 it was being proposed that benefits and salaries should be cut. Labour ministers rejected the plan as running counter to their core beliefs. MacDonald went to the king, George V, to proffer his resignation. George suggested MacDonald to try and form a 'national government' or coalition of all the parties. (This is the last recorded direct political intervention by a British monarch.) The National Government was formed, with MacDonald as prime minister, but Stanley Baldwin, leader of the Conservative Party, the de facto 'power behind the throne'. MacDonald is still considered by many in the Labour Party as their worst political traitor.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1924 - 1929
In May 1926, the Trades Union Congress called for a general walkout in support of a coal miners' protest against threatened wage cuts. It was the first and, to date, only general strike in British history. The strike affected key industries, such as gas, electricity and the railways, but ended after just nine days due to lack of public backing and well-organised emergency measures by Baldwin's government. Far from succeeding in its aims, the General Strike actually led to a decline in trade union membership and the miners ended up accepting longer hours and less pay. It also gave impetus to the 1927 Trade Disputes Act, which curtailed workers' ability to take industrial action. Baldwin's government also extended the vote to women over 21 and passed the Pensions Act, but eventually fell as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and the Depression that followed.
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1924
In 1924, MacDonald briefly became the first Labour prime minister, ending two centuries of Conservative - Liberal domination of British politics. It was the first party to gain power with the express purpose of representing the voice of the 'working class'. An MP since 1906, MacDonald was respected as a thinker, but criticised by many within his own party as insufficiently radical (despite appointing the first female cabinet minister, Margaret Bondfield, in 1929). His opposition to World War One had made him deeply unpopular and he continually suffered a torrid time at the hands of the press. The publication by two newspapers of the 'Zinoviev letter' did much to damage his chances in the run up to the 1924 election. The letter (which he had seen but decided to keep secret) purported to be from Soviet intelligence and urged British communists to commit acts of sedition. He lost by a wide margin. The letter is now widely accepted to be a fraud.
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1923
During his very brief first term as prime minister, Stanley Baldwin bumped into an old school friend on a train. Asked what he was doing these days, Baldwin replied: 'I am the prime minister.' Having come to power following Andrew Bonar Law's resignation, he called an election in the hope of gaining his own mandate (election by popular vote), but lost.
Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative, 1922 - 1923
Branded the 'unknown prime minister' by his bitter political rival HH Asquith, Canadian-born Bonar Law is principally remembered for a single speech he made in 1922. The Conservatives had been part of a coalition under the Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, since 1916. Many were considering joining Lloyd George permanently, but Bonar Law's speech changed their minds. Instead, the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition and Lloyd George was forced to resign. The king, George V, asked Bonar Law to form a new government. Reluctantly he accepted, despite still grieving two sons killed in World War One and - as it turned out - dying of throat cancer. He held office for 209 days before resigning due to ill health. He died six months later and was buried at Westminster Abbey, upon which Asquith commented: 'It is fitting that we should have buried the Unknown Prime Minister by the side of the Unknown Warrior.'
David Lloyd George, Liberal, 1916 - 1922
Lloyd George guided Britain to victory in World War One and presided over the legislation that gave women the vote in 1918, but he is remembered as much for his private life as his public achievements. Nicknamed the 'Welsh Wizard', he was also less kindly known as 'The Goat' - a reference to his countless affairs. (Scandalously, he lived with his mistress and illegitimate daughter in London while his wife and other children lived in Wales.) The first 'working class' prime minister, Lloyd George had risen to prominence by solving the shortage of munitions on the Western Front. It was his desire to get to grips with the requirements of 'total war' that led to his split with then Liberal Prime Minister HH Asquith. It also brought him closer to the Conservatives, with whom he formed a new coalition government when Asquith resigned. That coalition would disintegrate six years later in the midst of a scandal. Serious allegations were made that peerages had been sold for as much as £40,000. (One list even included John Drughorn, who had been convicted for trading with the enemy in 1915.) Lloyd George resigned in October 1922.
HH Asquith, Liberal, 1908 - 1916
Asquith's government had shown great longevity, but disintegrated in the face of the unequalled disasters of the Somme and Gallipoli. With World War One going badly, fellow Liberal David Lloyd George had seized his chance and ousted Asquith. But in the preceding eight years, the two politicians had together overseen one of the greatest constitutional upheavals of the 20th Century and ushered in some of the predecessors of the Welfare State. Old Age Pensions were introduced and Unemployment Exchanges (job centres) were set up by then Liberal minister Winston Churchill. But when Lloyd George attempted to introduce a budget with land and income taxes disadvantageous to the 'propertied' classes, it was thrown out by the House of Lords. Lloyd George branded the Lords 'Mr Balfour's poodle' (a reference to Conservative leader AJ Balfour's supposed control over the peers). The stand-off resulted in two general elections during 1910, the second of which the Liberals won with a 'peers against the people' campaign slogan. The budget was passed and, in 1911, the Parliament Act became law. The Act stated that the Lords could only veto a Commons bill twice, and instituted five-yearly general elections.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal, 1905 - 1908
Arthur James Balfour, Conservative, 1902 - 1905
The nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, Balfour had none of his uncle's political skills despite a long period of mentoring. He was instead something of a philosopher, publishing several weighty books, including 'A Defence of Philosophic Doubt', 'The Foundations of Belief', and 'Theism and Humanism'. Following a cabinet split Balfour resigned, gambling that the Liberals would be unable to form a government and that he would be returned to power. He was wrong.
Marquess of Salisbury, 1895 - 1902, Conservative
Salisbury came to power for the third and final time when the weak Liberal government of the Earl of Rosebery fell. The political climate was one of rising resentment among the lower and middle classes, who demanded better conditions, social reforms and proper political representation. Bitterly divided, the Liberals would nonetheless experience a revival as they sought reforms of the squalid, disease-ridden British 'concentration camps' used in the Boer War. But it was the founding of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) on 27 February 1900 that signalled a quiet, yet highly significant sea-change in British politics. This coalition of socialist groups would win two seats in the 1900 general election and 29 seats in 1906. Later that same year, the LRC changed its name to the Labour Party. Despite failing health, Salisbury agreed to stay on to help Edward VII manage the transition following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. He resigned in favour of his nephew, AJ Balfour, in the first months of the new King's reign. (Notably, he was the last serving prime minister to sit in the Lords.)
Earl of Rosebery, Liberal, 1894 - 1895
Rosebury reluctantly became prime minister on the insistence of Queen Victoria, despite still mourning the loss of his wife. Desperate to have a minister she actually liked, Victoria had taken the unusual step of not consulting the outgoing PM, William Gladstone, about his successor. Rosebery, who always loved horseracing more than the 'evil smelling bog' of politics, was gratefully allowed to resign a year later. Notably, he is the only prime minister to have produced not one, but three Derby winners, in 1894, 1895 and 1905. (Despite his aversion to politics, Rosebery was no stranger to scandal. The Prince of Wales had reputedly once intervened to prevent him from being horsewhipped by the Marquess of Queensbury, with whose son Rosebery was believed to be having an affair. Queensbury's other son was Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover.)
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1892 - 1894
Gladstone's fourth term as prime minister was completely overshadowed by his insistence on introducing a third bill on the subject of 'Home Rule' for Ireland. The Conservative-dominated House of Lords threw the bill out and generally obstructed Liberal attempts to pass legislation. With his cabinet split and his health failing, the 'Grand Old Man' stepped down for the last time. The public was, in any case, exhausted with Home Rule and instead wanted reforms to working conditions and electoral practices. (Meanwhile, out on the political fringe, the Independent Labour Party had been set up under Keir Hardie to represent the working class and 'secure the collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange'. Leading figures in the party included George Bernard Shaw and Ramsay MacDonald.)
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1886 - 1892
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1886
Gladstone came to power for the third time with 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland still the dominant issue. A bitter election battle had seen the Conservative government fall after Irish Nationalist members of parliament sided with the Liberals to defeat them. Instead, the Liberals formed a government in coalition with the Irish Nationalists and Gladstone tried to push through his second attempt at a Home Rule bill. The bill split the Liberals and Gladstone resigned. He lost the general election when the 'Liberal Unionists' - those who wanted Ireland to be ruled from Westminster - broke away from Gladstone's Liberals to fight the next election as a separate party. Most Liberal Unionists were of the 'Whig' or propertied faction of the party, which meant that when they went, they took most of the money with them.
Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1885 - 1886
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1880 - 1885
Having failed to force Gladstone to serve under Lord Hartington, Queen Victoria reluctantly accepted 'that half-mad firebrand' as prime minister for the second time. He had only lately returned to politics from retirement after his so-called 'Midlothian Campaign', in which he spoke to large crowds - a practice considered by polite Victorian society to be 'undignified'. His campaign did much to discredit Disraeli's government and had clearly struck a chord with a public eager for social and electoral reform. The Ballot Act in 1872 had instituted secret ballots for local and general elections. Now came the Corrupt Practices Act, which set maximum election expenses, and the Reform and Redistribution Act, which effectively extended voting qualifications to another six million men. There were other burning issues. The United States had just overtaken Britain as the world's largest industrialised economy, and 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland continued to dominate. In seeking support for Home Rule, James Parnell's Irish Nationalists sided with the Conservatives to defeat a Liberal budget measure. Gladstone resigned and was replaced by the 'caretaker government' of the Marquess of Salisbury.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1874 - 1880
After a brief taste of power in 1868, it had taken Disraeli six years to become prime minister again. He wasted no time in bringing about the social reforms he had envisaged in the 1840s as a member of the radical Young England group. His Acts included measures to provide suitable housing and sewerage, to protect the quality of food, to improve workers rights (including the Climbing Boys Act which banned the use of juveniles as chimney sweeps) and to implement basic standards of education. In 1876, Disraeli was made the Earl of Beaconsfield, but continued to run the government from the Lords. He persuaded Queen Victoria to take the title 'Empress of India' in 1877 and scored a diplomatic success in limiting Russian influence in the Balkans at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. He retired in 1880, hoping to spend his remaining years adding more novels to his already impressive bibliography, but died just one year later.
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1868 - 1874
Upon taking office for the first time Gladstone declared it his 'mission' to 'pacify Ireland' - a prize that was always to elude him. Nonetheless, Gladstone was to become the dominant Liberal politician of the late 19th Century, serving as prime minister four times despite earning Queen Victoria's antipathy early in his career. (She famously complained that 'he always addresses me as if I were a public meeting'.) He had started his career as an ultra-conservative Tory, but would end it as a dedicated political reformer who did much to establish the Liberal Party's association with issues of freedom and justice. But Gladstone also had his idiosyncrasies. He made a regular habit of going to brothels and often brought prostitutes back to 10 Downing Street. In an era when politicians' private lives were very private, his embarrassed colleagues nonetheless felt it necessary to explain his behaviour as 'rescue work' to save 'fallen women'.
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1868
On being asked to become prime minister following the resignation of the Earl of Derby, Disraeli announced: 'I have reached the top of the greasy pole'. He immediately struck up an excellent rapport with Queen Victoria, who approved of his imperialist ambitions and his belief that Britain should be the most powerful nation in the world. Unhappily for the Queen, Disraeli's first term ended almost immediately with an election victory for the Liberals. Despite serving as an MP since 1837 and twice being Chancellor of the Exchequer, Disraeli's journey to the top was not without scandal. In 1835, he was forced to apologise in court after being accused of bribing voters in Maidstone. He also accrued enormous debts in his twenties through speculation on the stock exchange. Disraeli suffered a nervous breakdown as a result, but eventually paid off his creditors by marrying a rich widow, Mary Anne Wyndam Lewis, in 1839.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1866 - 1868
The introduction of the 1867 Reform Act made Derby's third term as prime minister a major step in the true democratisation of Britain. The Act extended the vote to all adult male householders (and lodgers paying £10 rental or more, resident for a year or more) living in a borough constituency. Simply put, it created more than 1.5 million new voters. Versions of the Reform Act had been under serious discussion since 1860, but had always foundered on Conservative fears. Many considered it a 'revolutionary' move that would create a majority of 'working class' voters for the first time. In proposing the Reform Act, Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, had warned his colleagues that they would be labelled the 'anti-reform' party if they continued to resist. The legislation was passed, and also received the backing of the Liberals under their new leader, William Gladstone.
Earl Russell, Whig, 1865 - 1866
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal, 1859 - 1865
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1858 - 1859
The property qualification - the requirement that a man must own property in order to stand as a member of parliament - was finally abolished during Derby's second term as prime minister. It meant that members of parliament (MPs) were no longer drawn exclusively from the 'propertied' classes and could realistically be 'working class'. This fulfilled one of the six conditions set out by the Chartists - supporters of the Third Chartist Petition, written in 1838. It demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for MPs, and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament).
Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , 1855 - 1858
Earl of Aberdeen, Tory, 1852 - 1855
It was something of a cruel irony that Aberdeen came to be blamed for blundering into the dreadful Crimean War. As plain George Hamilton Gordon he had made a successful career as a diplomat and had done much to normalise Britain's relationships with its powerful neighbours. Vivid reports from the front by WH Russel of the Times have since led to the Crimean being styled the first 'media war'. His reports publicised the squalor and disease that were claiming more soldiers' lives than the fighting, and inspired Florence Nightingale to volunteer and take the first 38 nurses out to treat the wounded. In 1855, Aberdeen conceded to his critics and resigned.
Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1852
Earl Russell, Whig, 1846 - 1851
Confronted by the Irish Potato Famine, declining trade and rising unemployment, Russell still managed to push through trade liberalisation measures and limits on women's working hours. A dedicated reformer, he nonetheless presided over the rejection of the Third Chartist Petition. Set out 1838, it demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for members of parliament (MPs), and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament). Already rejected once by parliament in 1839, the petition had gathered 5 million signatures by 1848. Presented to parliament a second time, it was again rejected. The Chartist movement slowly petered out, even as revolutions blazed across Europe, but many of its aims were eventually realised.
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1841 - 1846
Peel's second term as prime minister was nothing short of tumultuous. Economic depression, rising deficits, Chartist agitation, famine in Ireland and Anti-Corn League protests crowded in. A raft of legislation was created to stabilise the economy and improve working conditions. The Factory Act regulated work hours (and banned children under eight from the workplace), the Railway Act provided for cheap, regular train services, the Bank Charter Act capped the number of notes the Bank of England could issue and the Mines Act prevented women and children from working underground. But a failed harvest in 1845 provided Peel with his greatest challenge. There was an increasing clamour for repeal of the Corn Laws, which forbade the import of cheap grain from overseas. Powerful vested interests in the Tory Party opposed such a move, but in the end Peel confronted them and called for repeal. After nearly six months of debate, and with the Tories split in two, the Corn Laws were finally repealed. Defeated on a separate issue, Peel resigned the same day, but was cheered by crowds as he left the Commons. (The 'Peelite' faction of the Tories is widely recognised as the foundation of the modern Conservative.)
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1835 - 1841
Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1834 - 1835
Invited by William IV to form a new government, Peel immediately called a general election to strengthen his party. Campaigning on his so-called 'Tamworth Manifesto', Peel promised a respectful approach to traditional politics, combined with measured, controlled reform. He thereby signalled a significant shift from staunch, reactionary 'Tory' to progressive 'Conservative' politics. Crucially, he pledged to accept the 1832 Reform Act, which had recently increased the number of people eligible to vote. Peel won the election, but only narrowly. He resigned the following year after several parliamentary defeats. (Peel is probably best remembered for creating the Metropolitan Police in 1829 while Home Secretary in the Duke of Wellington's first government. The nickname 'bobbies' for policemen is derived from his first name.)
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1834
Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1834
In a bid to repress trade unions, Melbourne's government introduced legislation against 'illegal oaths'. As a result, the Grand National Consolidated Trades' Union failed. In March of the same year, six labourers were transported to Australia for seven years for attempting to provide a fund for workers in need. They became known as the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs'. Melbourne himself was notoriously laid back. When first asked to become prime minister he declared it 'a damned bore'. Having accepted, he would often refuse to allow his cabinet colleagues to leave the room, insisting 'I'm damned if I know what we agreed on. We must all say the same thing.'
Earl Grey, Whig, 1830 - 1834
In June 1832, the Reform Act finally passed into law after 15 torrid months of debate. It extended the vote to just 7% of the adult male population, based on a series of lowered property qualifications. Introduced in March 1831, the bill scraped through the Commons by a single vote, but was thrown out at the committee stage (when the bill is debated in detail - sometimes called the 'second reading'). Parliament was dissolved and the general election was fought on the single issue of the Reform Act - an unprecedented event in British political history. The Whigs won the election and passed the bill, but the House of Lords (with a majority of Tories) threw it out, sparking riots and civil disobedience across the country. With the spectre of France's bloody revolution clearly in mind, William IV eventually agreed to create 50 Whig peers to redress the balance in the Lords if the bill was rejected again. The Lords conceded and the Act was finally passed into law. After all his efforts, Earl Grey is principally remembered for giving his name to a fragrant blend of tea.
Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1828 - 1830
Wellington's first term in office was dominated by the thorny subject of Catholic emancipation. Catholics were permitted to vote, but were not allowed to sit as members of parliament (MPs) and had restrictions on the property they could own. Initially, the 'Iron Duke' was staunchly in favour of the status quo, but soon came to realise that emancipation might be the only way to end conflict arising from the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland in 1801. He became such an advocate that he even fought a duel with the 10th Earl of Winchilsea over the issue. The Earl had accused him of plotting the downfall of the 'Protestant constitution', but then backed down and apologised. They still had to go through the ritual of the duel at Battersea Fields, with both men deliberately firing high and wide. Wellington eventually drove the legislation through, opening the way for Catholic MPs.
Viscount Goderich, Tory, 1827 - 1828
George Canning, Tory, 1827
Canning finally became prime minister after a long career in politics, only to die of pneumonia 119 days later. He had famously fought a duel in 1809 with his bitterest political rival, Lord Castlereagh, and was shot in the thigh. Castlereagh committed suicide with a penknife in 1822, after becoming depressed about his falling popularity.
Earl of Liverpool, Tory, 1812 - 1827
Liverpool is the second longest serving prime minister in British history (after Robert Walpole), winning four general elections and clinging on to power despite a massive stroke that incapacitated him for his last two years in office. Liverpool became PM at a time when Britain was emerging from the Napoleonic Wars and the first rumblings of 'working class' unrest were just beginning to be felt. Staunchly undemocratic in his outlook, Liverpool suppressed efforts to give the wider populace a voice. He was unrepentant when, in 1819, troops fired on a pro-reform mass meeting at St Peter's Fields in Manchester, killing eleven - the so-called 'Peterloo Massacre'. Trade unions were legalised by the 1825 Combination Act, but were so narrowly defined that members were forced to bargain over wages and conditions amid a minefield of heavy penalties for transgressions. (Liverpool's one concession to popular sentiment was in the trial of Queen Caroline on trumped up adultery charges. The legal victimisation of George IV's estranged wife, who was tried in parliament in 1820, brought her mass sympathy. Mindful not to provoke the mob in the wake of Peterloo, the charges were eventually dropped.)
Spencer Perceval, Tory, 1809 - 1812
Perceval bears a dubious distinction as the only British prime minister to be assassinated. As chancellor of the exchequer he moved in to 10 Downing Street in 1807, before rising to the office of prime minister two years later. His 12 young children - some born while he was in office - also lived in the PM's crowded residence. Against expectations, he had skilfully kept his government afloat for three years despite a severe economic downturn and continuing war with Napoleon. He was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons on 11 May 1812 by a merchant called John Bellingham who was seeking government compensation for his business debts. Perceval's body lay in 10 Downing Street for five days before burial. Bellingham gave himself up immediately. Tried for murder, he was found guilty and hanged a week later.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1807 - 1809
Lord Grenville, Whig, 1806 - 1807
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1804 - 1806
Faced by a fresh invasion threat from Napoleon, George III once again turned to Pitt. A shadow of his former self due to failing health and suspected alcoholism, Pitt nonetheless accepted. He made alliances with Napoleon's continental rivals - Russia, Austria and Sweden - then, in 1805, Admiral Lord Nelson shattered French invasion hopes at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pitt did not have long to savour victory before Napoleon defeated both Russia and Austria to stand astride the whole of Europe. Heartsick, utterly exhausted, penniless and unmarried, Pitt died on 23 January 1806 at the age of 46.
Henry Addington, Tory, 1801 - 1804
Addington secured the Peace of Amiens with France in 1802, but would see Britain plunge into war with Napoleon again just two years later. He also passed the first Factory Act into law. The Act was the earliest attempt to reform working conditions in factories. It set a maximum 12 hour working day for children and addressed issues like proper ventilation, basic education and sleeping conditions. (Notably, his government also awarded Edward Jenner £10,000 to continue his pioneering work on a vaccine for smallpox.) But he was generally poorly regarded, prompting the satirical rhyme 'Pitt is to Addington, as London is to Paddington' - a reference to his distinguished predecessor as prime minister, William Pitt.
William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1783-1801
Pitt 'the Younger' was the youngest prime minister in British history, taking office at the tender age of just 24. But his youth did not seem to disadvantage him as he threw himself into the manifold problems of government, holding on to the top office for 17 years - fifteen years longer than his father, Pitt 'the Elder'. His first priority was to reduce the National Debt, which had doubled with the loss of the American colonies in 1783. George III's mental illness then threw up the spectre of a constitutional crisis, with the transfer of sovereignty to the erratic Prince of Wales only narrowly averted by the king's recovery. Further threats to the monarchy emanated from across the Channel, with the bloody French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent war with France in 1793. War increased taxes and caused food shortages, damaging Pitt's popularity to the extent that he employed bodyguards out of fear for his safety. In a bid to resolve at least one intractable conflict, he pushed through the Act of Union with Ireland in 1800, but the related Emancipation of Catholics Bill was rejected by the king a year later. Having lost George III's confidence, Pitt was left with no option but to resign.
Duke of Portland, Tory, 1783
Earl Shelburne, Whig, 1782 - 1783
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1782
Lord North, Tory, 1770 - 1782
North is chiefly somewhat unfairly remembered as the prime minister who lost the American colonies. Groomed by George III to lead his parliamentary supporters, North was fiercely loyal to his king, whose policy it had been to 'punish' the American colonials. The American War of Independence, reluctantly entered into by both sides, had been prosecuted at the king's behest in retaliation for their refusal to pay more towards their own defence. As hostilities progressed, North's blundering and indecision worsened an already difficult situation, and by 1782 it was clear that the outcome was likely to be a disaster. He begged George III to be allowed to resign, but the king refused to release him until the war was over. North has since become the yardstick for prime ministerial mediocrity, with later PMs being criticised as 'the worst since Lord North'.
Duke of Grafton, Whig, 1768 - 1770
An unremarkable prime minister, Grafton had a quite remarkable appetite for extra-marital affairs and openly kept several mistresses. He scandalised polite society in 1764 by leaving his wife and going to live with his mistress, Anne Parsons, also known as 'Mrs Houghton'. (Horace Walpole referred to her derisively as 'everybody's Mrs Houghton'.) Popular opinion had disapproved of Grafton's behaviour, until his wife did something even more shocking. She eloped with the Earl of Upper Ossory and had a child by him. Grafton divorced her in 1769, then abandoned Mrs Houghton and married Elizabeth Wrottesley, with whom he had 13 children. The Mrs Houghton ended up marrying the king's brother. This unsuitable union gave impetus to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which decreed that the monarch had to give permission for all royal weddings.
Earl of Chatham, Pitt 'The Elder', Whig, 1766 - 1768
Pitt 'the Elder' is widely credited as the man who built the British Empire, although much of this was done in the role of secretary of state under the governments of the Duke of Newcastle. He chose his fights carefully, conducting military campaigns where conditions were best suited to British merchants. Pitt added India, West Africa, the West Indies and the American colonies to Britain's overseas possessions, and was persistently belligerent towards colonial rivals like France and Spain. His relentless imperialism kept the merchants happy but infuriated men like Newcastle who counted the financial cost of his wars. Pitt was a superb public speaker and a master of the devastating put-down, but his career was dogged with recurrent mental illness and gout. Ironically, it was during his term as prime minister that he was at his least effective, often struggling to build support. He collapsed in the House of Lords in October 1768 and died four days later. (Pitt was the MP for a 'burgage borough' - an empty piece of land with no-one living on it. His constituency, Old Sarum, was a mound in Wiltshire. On polling day, seven voters met in a tent to cast their votes.)
Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1765 - 1766
George Grenville, Whig, 1763 - 1765
Grenville is one of the few prime ministers to have been sacked by the monarch. He was fired after a row with George III over who should rule in his place if his mental health continued to deteriorate.
Earl of Bute, Tory, 1762 - 1763
Bute was one of Britain's more unpopular prime ministers. Things came to a head when he failed to lower the taxes he had raised to fight France in the American colonies. Rioting erupted, his effigies were burnt and the windows in his house were smashed. Bute was generally disliked by colleagues and public, and was lampooned for his 'fine pair of legs', of which he was reputed to be extremely proud. His close relationship with the Prince of Wales's widow, the Dowager Princess Augusta, was also the subject of much scurrilous gossip. The nickname 'Sir Pertinax MacSycophant' was a contemptuous reference to the Roman Emperor Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was murdered three months after his meteoric assent by his own bodyguard. Unable to muster support in parliament, Bute resigned in 1763.
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1757 - 1762
Newcastle healed his rift with Pitt 'the Elder' by inviting him to serve in his government as secretary of state. Effectively a power-sharing coalition of two powerful men, the relationship gave birth to the British Empire. Their government eventually fell as a result of the new king, George III's hostility to Pitt, who had sought to restrict the influence of the monarch in political matters.
Duke of Devonshire, Whig, 1756-1757
Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1754 - 1756
Newcastle became PM after his brother, Henry Pelham, died in office. It is the only instance of two brothers serving as prime minister. Newcastle enraged Pitt 'the Elder' by refusing to promote him in the new government, then compounded the insult by sacking him.
Henry Pelham, Whig, 1743 - 1754
Earl of Wilmington, Whig, 1742 - 1743
Sir Robert Walpole, Whig, 1721 - 1742
Walpole is widely acknowledged as the first prime minister, although he never actually held the title. He was also the longest serving, lasting 21 years. But Walpole's first stint in government, as secretary of war, had ended inauspiciously with a six month spell in the Tower of London for receiving an illegal payment. Undeterred, he rose to power again on the back of a collapsed financial scheme in which many prominent individuals had invested. Walpole had the foresight (or luck) to get out early, and as a result was credited with great financial acumen. George I invited him to become chancellor and gave him the powers that came to be associated with the office of prime minister. His owed his longevity in office (and the incredible wealth he accumulated) to a combination of great personal charm, enduring popularity, sharp practice and startling sycophancy. The accession of George II saw him temporarily eclipsed, but he worked hard to win over the new monarch. He was rewarded with both the new King's trust and 10 Downing Street, which remains the official residence of the prime minister to this day. Walpole was eventually brought down by an election loss at Chippenham and died just three years later.
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"Composed as an elegy following the death of his friend John Keats, the poem ""Adonais"" was written in 1821 by which poet?" | Percy Bysshe Shelley: Adonais. An Elegy on the Death of John Keats.
ENGLISH POETRY 1579-1830: SPENSER AND THE TRADITION
Adonais. An Elegy on the Death of John Keats.
Adonais. An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, Etc. By Percy B. Shelley.
TEXT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEXES
55 Spenserians: Shelley, who knew Keats but slightly, admired his later verse and was deeply moved by his death. Richly informed by the whole tradition of pastoral elegy, Adonais is the more surprising when one considers how moribund the formal eclogue had become since Samuel Johnson 's criticism of Lycidas was published half a century earlier. Compare Coleridge's "Monody on the Death of Chatterton" with its sources in Spenser and Milton. Byron, Thomas Moore, and Shelley himself appear as shepherds mourning at Keats's bier. While a number of eclogues had been composed in Spenserian stanzas in the eighteenth century, the use of this stanza in pastoral had become very uncommon; indeed, pastoral eclogues themselves had become uncommon when Shelley, looking back to ancient models, composed this famous elegy.
Literary Chronicle: "Of the beauty of Mr. Shelley's elegy we shall not speak; to every poetic mind, its transcendent merits must be apparent" (1 December 1821) 752.
Literary Gazette: "It is so far a fortunate thing that this piece of impious and utter absurdity can have little circulation in Britain. The copy in our hands is one of some score sent to the Author's intimates from Pisa, where it has been printed in a quarto form 'with the types of Didot,' and two learned Epigraphs from Plato and Moschus. Solemn as the subject is, (for in truth, we must grieve for the early death of any youth of literary ambition,) it is hardly possible to help laughing at the mock solemnity with which Shelley charges the Quarterly Review for having murdered his friend with — a critique! If Criticism killed the disciples of that school, Shelley would not have been alive to write an Elegy on another: — but the whole is most farcical from a pen which, on other occasions, has treated the soul, the body, life and death agreeably to the opinions, the principles, and the practice of Percy Bysshe Shelley" (8 December 1821) 772.
Leigh Hunt to Percy Bysshe Shelley: "I delight in Adonais . It is the most Delphic poetry I have seen a long while; full of those embodyings of the most subtle and airy imaginations, — those arrestings and explanations of the most shadowy yearnings of our being — which are the most difficult of all things to put into words, and the most delightful when put" 26 March 1822; in Correspondence (1862) 1:179.
Leigh Hunt : "Since I left London, Mr. Shelley's Adonais , or Elegy on the Death of Mr. Keats has, I find, made its appearance. I have not seen the London edition, but I have an Italian one printed at Pisa, with which I must content myself at present. The other was to have had notes. It is not a poem calculated to be popular, any more than the Prometheus Unbound; it is of too abstract and subtle a nature for that purpose; but it will delight the few, to whom Mr. Shelley is accustomed to address himself. Spenser would be pleased with it if he were living. A mere town reader and a Quarterly Reviewer will find it caviare. Adonais , in short, is such an elegy as poet might be expected to write upon poet. The author has had before him his recollections of Lycidas, of Moschus and Bion, and of the doctrines of Plato; and in the stanza of the most poetical of poets, Spenser, has brought his own genius, in all its etherial beauty, to lead a pomp of Loves, Graces, and Intelligences in honour of the departed" The Examiner 754 (7 July 1822) 419.
William Hazlitt : "Mr. Shelley died, it seems, with a volume of Mr. Keats's poetry grasped with one hand in his bosom! These are two out of four poets, patriots and friends, who have visited Italy within a few years, both of whom have been soon hurried to a more distant shore. Keats died young; and 'yet his infelicity had years too many.' A canker had blighted the tender bloom that o'erspread a face in which youth and genius strove with beauty. The shaft was sped — venal, vulgar, venomous, that drove him from his country, with sickness and penury for companions, and followed him to his grave. And yet there are those who could trample on the faded flower — men to whom breaking hearts are a subject of merriment — who laugh loud over the silent urn of Genius, and play out their game of venality and infamy with the crumbling bones of their victims!" in Review of Shelley, Posthumous Poems; Edinburgh Review 40 (July 1824) 499.
European Magazine: " Adonais is, perhaps, of all the many sublime euthanasia that our language can boast, the most awfully grand, and the most tenderly affecting. Some objection may be made to it on the score of its exuberance of metaphor, and allegorical personification, in classical allusion, and in new sprung fancies; but though, with respect to the majority of funereal songsters, it be true, as Tickel says, that 'Truth denies all eloquence to woe,' yet with those whose very heart-strings are fastened on the lyre, every shock, however rude, that sets them in vibration, will draw forth 'most eloquent music'" 87 (April 1825) 345.
Sumner Lincoln Fairfield : "The last production of Shelley was his elegy on the death of Keats. It is equally remarkable for its singular poetic beauty and its severe crimination of Croker, the savage reviewer of Keats. Mournfully he laments his departed friend, without apprehending that his words would soon be applicable to himself. Even while he poured out his lamentations, the doom had gone forth against him — and it was speedily fulfilled" in "The Young Poets of Britain" Philadelphia Monthly Magazine 2 (September 1828) 326.
Nathaniel Parker Willis: "We have long been trying unsuccessfully to get a volume of Keats's Poems, and when we do succeed we shall endeavor to express our feelings in reference to his genius and his fate more fully than we dare now. Meantime, we have met in the Album of a friend lately returned from Europe, some stanzas of the Adonais which we extract here. It is a singulr Poem, written in the strongest style of personification, and in some passages exceedingly dim and indistict. Adonais is of course Keats, and everying in Nature is personified to mourn his death" American Monthly Magazine [Boston] 2 (August 1830) 353-54.
George Gilfillan: "His style reminds you of the 'large utterance of the early gods.' It is a giant speech, handed down from Plato to Dante, from Dante to Bacon, from these to Coleridge, Shelley, and Wordsworth. It is the 'speech in which Spenser wrote his Fairy Queen, and Milton discoursed the Areopagitica to men, to angels, and to eternity.' It is a speech of which we fear the type is failing among modern men. You observe, finally, about Shelley's poetry, the exceeding strength, sweetness, beauty, and music of his versification. His blank verse, without having Miltonic majesty, is elegance itself. His Spenserian stanza has not, except in parts, the mellifluous flow of Spenser, but it is less rugged and arbitrary than Byron's; and in energy, fire, and sweep of sound, leaves Beattie, Thomson, &c. far behind" Gallery of Literary Portraits (1845) 86.
Joseph Devey: "The death of poor Keats, at once struck all the chords of his heart. The result was a monody which, for depth of feeling, for exquisite pathos, for the beautiful embodiments of the powers of nature, draped in the hues of a subtle philosophy, is unsurpassed in any literature. The Adonais may challenge comparison with Lycidas, even in plaintive melody, or naive grace and tender simplicity. In every other quality Milton would be the first to admit his rival's superiority" A Comparative View of Modern English Poets (1873) 256.
Rowland E. Prothero: "The Quarterly article on Endymion (1818) written by Croker, appeared in September, 1818. Two years and a half later, February 23, 1821, John Keats (1795-1821) died at Rome of consumption. His unfortunate passion for Fanny Brawne, pecuniary troubles, and, in his enfeebled health, the injustice of the criticism that he had received, accelerated the progress of a disease which first declared itself in February, 1820. 'A loose, slack, not well-dressed youth met me,' says Coleridge, 'in a lane near Highgate. It was Keats. He was introduced to me, and staid a minute or so. After he had left us a little way, he came back, and said, 'Let me carry away the memory, Coleridge, of having pressed your hand!' 'There is death in that hand,' I said, when Keats was gone; yet this was, I believe, before the consumption showed itself distinctly'' (Table Talk, vol. ii. pp. 89, 90)" in Byron, Letters and Journals (1898-1901) 5:267n.
George Saintsbury: "Exercising his full rights of Spenserian inheritance, he has combined the pictorial power of the Faerie Queene with the mystic ardour of the Four Hymns, the sweetness of part of the Calendar, the intensity — in sorrow now, not in love — of the Epithalamion , adding his own marvellous idiosyncrasy of phrase. The opening, the great and well-known passages from the entry of the Dreams to the simile of the dome, the towering magnificence of the final apostrophe, and some of the fragments not incorporated, do not merely exemplify to the full the power of this wonderful metre: they add to it" History of English Prosody (1906-10) 111-12.
Oliver Elton: "A prolonged elegy — unless, like In Memoriam, it consists of a series of separate poems sewn together — almost demands some sort of machinery. In Lycidas and Adonais there is the classical, traditionary machinery with its formal structure. Invocation, sympathy of nature, procession of mourners, personal digression, lament, climax, change of mood, and final consolation: — each poet adapts the scheme to his own genius. And the likeness to the type is increased by the note of invective which dignifies Lycidas; but it spoils Adonais ; for even had Keats been killed 'by an article,' which was not the case, what have Quarterly Reviewers to do with that which is written and conceived sub specie aeternitatis?" Survey of English Literature 1780-1830 (1912) 2:207.
Ian Jack: "He uses the stanza in a highly personal way. It is only necessary to turn back to The Faerie Queene to be struck by the extraordinary rapidity of Shelley's stanzas.... It is possible that he associated the Spenserian stanza with Keats: according to Medwin, The Revolt of Islam had been written in competition with Endymion, to see which of the young poets could write the better long poem" Oxford History of English Literature (1963) 91.
Though the poem had not appeared in Britain, a copy made its way to Blackwood's Magazine, which published a parody: "Weep for my Tomcat! all ye Tabbies weep" 10 (December 1821) 700.
I weep for Adonais — he is dead!
O, weep for Adonais! though our tears
Thaw not the frost which binds so dear a head!
And thou, sad Hour, selected from all years
To mourn our loss, rouse thy obscure compeers,
And teach them thine own sorrow, say: with me
Died Adonais; till the Future dares
Forget the Past, his fate and fame shall be
An echo and a light unto eternity!
Where wert thou mighty Mother, when he lay,
When thy Son lay, pierced by the shaft which flies
In darkness? where was lorn Urania
When Adonais died? With veiled eyes,
'Mid listening Echoes, in her Paradise
She sate, while one, with soft enamoured breath,
Rekindled all the fading melodies,
With which, like flowers that mock the corse beneath,
He had adorned and hid the coming bulk of death.
O, weep for Adonais — he is dead!
Wake, melancholy Mother, wake and weep!
Yet wherefore? Quench within their burning bed
Thy fiery tears, and let thy loud heart keep
Like his, a mute and uncomplaining sleep;
For he is gone, where all things wise and fair
Descend; — oh, dream not that the amorous Deep
Will yet restore him to the vital air;
Death feeds on his mute voice, and laughs at our despair.
Most musical of mourners, weep again!
Lament anew, Urania! — He died,
Who was the Sire of an immortal strain,
Blind, old, and lonely, when his country's pride,
The priest, the slave, and the liberticide,
Trampled and mocked with many a loathed rite
Of lust and blood; he went, unterrified,
Into the gulf of death; but his clear Sprite
Yet reigns o'er earth; the third among the sons of light.
Most musical of mourners, weep anew!
Not all to that bright station dared to climb;
And happier they their happiness who knew,
Whose tapers yet burn through that night of time
In which suns perished; others more sublime,
Struck by the envious wrath of man or God,
Have sunk, extinct in their refulgent prime;
And some yet live, treading the thorny road,
Which leads, through toil and hate, to Fame's serene abode.
But now, thy youngest, dearest one has perished,
The nursling of thy widowhood, who grew,
Like a pale flower by some sad maiden cherished,
And fed with true love tears, instead of dew;
Most musical of mourners, weep anew!
Thy extreme hope, the loveliest and the last,
The bloom, whose petals nipt before they blew
Died on the promise of the fruit, is waste;
The broken lily lies — the storm is overpast.
To that high Capital, where kingly Death
Keeps his pale court in beauty and decay,
He came; and bought, with price of purest breath,
A grave among the eternal. — Come away!
Haste, while the vault of blue Italian day
Is yet his fitting charnel-roof! while still
He lies, as if in dewy sleep he lay;
Awake him not! surely he takes his fill
Of deep and liquid rest, forgetful of all ill.
He will awake no more, oh, never more!—
Within the twilight chamber spreads apace,
The shadow of white Death, and at the door
Invisible Corruption waits to trace
His extreme way to her dim dwelling-place;
The eternal Hunger sits, but pity and awe
Soothe her pale rage, nor dares she to deface
So fair a prey, till darkness, and the law
Of mortal change, shall fill the grave which is her maw.
O, weep for Adonais! — The quick Dreams,
The passion-winged Ministers of thought,
Who were his flocks, whom near the living streams
Of his young spirit he fed, and whom he taught
The love which was its music, wander not,—
Wander no more, from kindling brain to brain,
But droop there, whence they sprung; and mourn their lot
Round the cold heart, where, after their sweet pain,
They ne'er will gather strength, or find a home again.
And one with trembling hands clasps his cold head,
And fans him with her moonlight wings, and cries;
"Our love, our hope, our sorrow, is not dead;
See, on the silken fringe of his faint eyes,
Like dew upon a sleeping flower, there lies
A tear some Dream has loosened from his brain."
Lost Angel of a ruined Paradise!
She knew not 'twas her own; as with no stain
She faded, like a cloud which had outwept its rain.
One from a lucid urn of starry dew
Washed his light limbs as if embalming them;
Another clipt her profuse locks, and threw
The wreath upon him, like an anadem,
Which frozen tears instead of pearls begem;
Another in her wilful grief would break
Her bow and winged reeds, as if to stem
A greater loss with one which was more weak;
And dull the barbed fire against his frozen cheek.
Another Splendour on his mouth alit,
That mouth, whence it was wont to draw the breath
Which gave it strength to pierce the guarded wit,
And pass into the panting heart beneath
With lightning and with music: the damp death
Quenched its caress upon his icy lips;
And, as a dying meteor stains a wreath
Of moonlight vapour, which the cold night clips,
It flushed through his pale limbs, and past to its eclipse.
And others came . . . Desires and Adorations,
Winged Persuasions and veiled Destinies,
Splendours, and Glooms, and glimmering Incarnations
Of hopes and fears, and twilight Phantasies;
And Sorrow, with her family of Sighs,
And Pleasure, blind with tears, led by the gleam
Of her own dying smile instead of eyes,
Came in slow pomp; — the moving pomp might seem
Like pageantry of mist on an autumnal stream.
All he had loved, and moulded into thought,
From shape, and hue, and odour, and sweet sound,
Lamented Adonais. Morning sought
Her eastern watchtower, and her hair unbound,
Wet with the tears which should adorn the ground,
Dimmed the aerial eyes that kindle day;
Afar the melancholy thunder moaned,
Pale Ocean in unquiet slumber lay,
And the wild winds flew round, sobbing in their dismay.
Lost Echo sits amid the voiceless mountains,
And feeds her grief with his remembered lay,
And will no more reply to winds or fountains,
Or amorous birds perched on the young green spray,
Or herdsman's horn, or bell at closing day;
Since she can mimic not his lips, more dear
Than those for whose disdain she pined away
Into a shadow of all sounds: — a drear
Murmur, between their songs, is all the woodmen hear.
Grief made the young Spring wild, and she threw down
Her kindling buds, as if she Autumn were,
Or they dead leaves; since her delight is flown
For whom should she have waked the sullen year?
To Phoebus was not Hyacinth so dear
Nor to himself Narcissus, as to both
Thou Adonais: wan they stand and sere
Amid the faint companions of their youth,
With dew all turned to tears; odour, to sighing rush.
Thy spirit's sister, the lorn nightingale
Mourns not her mate with such melodious pain;
Not so the eagle, who like thee could scale
Heaven, and could nourish in the sun's domain
Her mighty youth with morning, doth complain,
Soaring and screaming round her empty nest,
As Albion wails for thee: the curse of Cain
Light on his head who pierced thy innocent breast,
And scared the angel soul that was its earthly guest!
Ah woe is me! Winter is come and gone,
But grief returns with the revolving year;
The airs and streams renew their joyous tone;
The ants, the bees, the swallows reappear;
Fresh leaves and flowers deck the dead Seasons' bier;
The amorous birds now pair in every brake,
And build their mossy homes in field and brere;
And the green lizard, and the golden snake,
Like unimprisoned flames, out of their trance awake.
Through wood and stream and field and hill and Ocean
A quickening life from the Earth's heart has burst
As it has ever done, with change and motion,
From the great morning of the world when first
God dawned on Chaos; in its stream immersed
The lamps of Heaven flash with a softer light;
All baser things pant with life's sacred thirst;
Diffuse themselves; and spend in love's delight,
The beauty and the joy of their renewed might.
The leprous corpse touched by this spirit tender
Exhales itself in flowers of gentle breath;
Like incarnations of the stars, when splendour
Is changed to fragrance, they illumine death
And mock the merry worm that wakes beneath;
Nought we know, dies. Shall that alone which knows
Be as a sword consumed before the sheath
By sightless lightning? — th' intense atom glows
A moment, then is quenched in a most cold repose.
Alas! that all we loved of him should be,
But for our grief, as if it had not been,
And grief itself be mortal! Woe is me!
Whence are we, and why are we? of what scene
The actors or spectators? Great and mean
Meet massed in death, who lends what life must borrow.
As long as skies are blue, and fields are green,
Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow,
Month follow month with woe, and year wake year to sorrow.
He will awake no more, oh, never more!
"Wake thou," cried Misery, "childless Mother, rise
Out of thy sleep, and slake, in thy heart's core,
A wound more fierce than his with soars and sighs."
And all the Dreams that watched Urania's eyes,
And all the Echoes whom their sister's song
Had held in holy silence, cried: "Arise!"
Swift as a Thought by the snake Memory stung,
Prom her ambrosial rest the fading Splendour sprung.
She rose like an autumnal Night, that springs
Out of the East, and follows wild and drear
The golden Day, which, on eternal wings,
Even as a ghost abandoning a bier,
Had left the Earth a corpse. Sorrow and fear
So struck, so roused, so rapt Urania;
So saddened round her like an atmosphere
Of stormy mist; so swept her on her way
Even to the mournful place where Adonais lay.
Out of her secret Paradise she sped,
Through camps and cities rough with stone, and steel,
And human hearts, which to her aery tread
Yielding not, wounded the invisible
Palms of her tender feet where'er they fell:
And barbed tongues, and thoughts more sharp than they
Rent the soft Form they never could repel,
Whose sacred blood, like the young tears of May,
Paved with eternal flowers that undeserving way.
In the death chamber for a moment Death
Shamed by the presence of that living Might
Blushed to annihilation, and the breath
Revisited those lips, and life's pale light
Flashed through those limbs, so late her dear delight.
"Leave me not wild and drear and comfortless,
As silent lightning leaves the starless night!
Leave me not!" cried Urania: her distress
Roused Death: Death rose and smiled, and met her vain caress.
"Stay yet awhile! speak to me once again;
Kiss me, so long but as a kiss may live;
And in my heartless breast and burning brain
That word, that kiss shall all thoughts else survive
With food of saddest memory kept alive,
Now thou art dead, as if it were a part
Of thee, my Adonais! I would give
All that I am to be as thou now art!
But I am chained to Time, and cannot thence depart!
"Oh gentle child, beautiful as thou wert,
Why didst thou leave the trodden paths of men
Too soon, and with weak hands though mighty heart
Dare the unpastured dragon in his den?
Defenceless as thou wert, oh where was then
Wisdom the mirrored shield, or scorn the spear?
Or hadst thou waited the full cycle, when
Thy spirit should have filled its crescent sphere,
The monsters of life's waste had fled from thee like deer.
"The herded wolves, bold only to pursue;
The obscene ravens, clamorous o'er the dead;
The vultures to the conqueror's banner true
Who feed where Desolation first has fed,
And whose wings rain contagion; — how they fled,
When like Apollo, from his golden bow,
The Pythian of the age one arrow sped
And smiled! — The spoilers tempt no second blow,
They fawn on the proud feet that spurn them lying low.
"The sun comes forth, and many reptiles spawn;
He sets, and each ephemeral insect then
Is gathered into death without a dawn,
And the immortal stars awake again;
So is it in the world of living men:
A godlike mind soars forth, in its delight
Making earth bare and veiling heaven, and when
It sinks, the swarms that dimmed or shared its light
Leave to its kindred lamps the spirit's awful night."
Thus ceased she: and the mountain shepherds came,
Their garlands sere, their magic mantles rent;
The Pilgrim of Eternity, whose fame
Over his living head like Heaven is bent,
An early but enduring monument,
Came, veiling all the lightnings of his song
In sorrow; from her wilds Ierne sent
The sweetest lyrist of her saddest wrong,
And love taught grief to fall like music from his tongue.
Midst others of less note, came one frail Form,
A phantom among men; companionless
As the last cloud of an expiring storm
Whose thunder is its knell; he, as I guess,
Had gazed on Nature's naked loveliness,
Actaeon-like, and now he fled astray
With feeble steps o'er the world's wilderness,
And his own thoughts, along that rugged way,
Pursued, like raging hounds, their father and their prey.
A pardlike Spirit beautiful and swift—
A Love in desolation masked; — a Power
Girt round with weakness; — it can scarce uplift
The weight of the superincumbent hour;
It is a dying lamp, a falling shower,
A breaking billow; — even whilst we speak
Is it not broken? On the withering flower
The killing sun smiles brightly: on a cheek
The life can burn in blood, even while the heart may break.
His head was bound with pansies overblown,
And faded violets, white, and pied, and blue;
And a light spear topped with a cypress cone,
Round whose rude shaft dark ivy tresses grew
Yet dripping with the forest's noonday dew,
Vibrated, as the ever-beating heart
Shook the weak hand that grasped it; of that crew
He came the last, neglected and apart;
A herd-abandoned deer struck by the hunter's dart.
All stood aloof, and at his partial moan
Smiled through their tears; well knew that gentle band
Who in another's fate now wept his own;
As in the accents of an unknown land,
He sung new sorrow; sad Urania scanned
The Stranger's mien, and murmured: "who art thou?"
He answered not, but with a sudden hand
Made bare his branded and ensanguined brow,
Which was like Cain's or Christ's — Oh! that it should be so!
What softer voice is hushed over the dead?
Athwart what brow is that dark mantle thrown?
What form leans sadly o'er the white death-bed,
In mockery of monumental stone,
The heavy heart heaving without a moan?
If it be He, who, gentlest of the wise,
Taught, soothed, loved, honoured the departed one;
Let me not vex, with inharmonious sighs
The silence of that heart's accepted sacrifice.
Our Adonais has drunk poison — oh!
What deaf and viperous murderer could crown
Life's early cup with such a draught of woe?
The nameless worm would now itself disown.
It felt, yet could escape the magic tone
Whose prelude held all envy, hate, and wrong,
But what was howling in one breast alone,
Silent with expectation of the song,
Whose master's hand is cold, whose silver lyre unstrung.
Live thou, whose infamy is not thy fame!
Live! fear no heavier chastisement from me,
Thou noteless blot on a remembered name!
But be thyself, and know thyself to be!
And ever at thy season be thou free
To spill the venom when thy fangs o'erflow:
Remorse and Self-contempt shall cling to thee;
Hot Shame shall burn upon thy secret brow,
And like a beaten hound tremble thou shalt — as now.
Nor let us weep that our delight is fled
Far from these carrion kites that scream below;
He wakes or sleeps with the enduring dead;
Thou canst not soar where he is sitting now.—
Dust to the dust! but the pure spirit shall flow
Back to the burning fountain whence it came,
A portion of the Eternal, which must glow
through time and change, unquenchably the same,
Whilst thy cold embers choke the sordid hearth of shame.
Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep—
He hath awakened from the dream of life—
'Tis we, who lost in stormy visions, keep
With phantoms an unprofitable strife,
And in mad trance, strike with our spirit's knife
Invulnerable nothings. — We decay
Like corpses in a charnel; fear and grief
Convulse us and consume us day by day,
And cold hopes swarm like worms within our living clay.
He has outsoared the shadow of our night;
Envy and calumny and hate and pain,
And that unrest which men miscall delight,
Can touch him not and torture not again;
From the contagion of the world's slow stain
He is secure, and now can never mourn
A heart grown cold, a head grown grey in vain;
Nor, when the spirit's self has ceased to burn,
With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn.
He lives, he wakes — 'tis Death is dead, not he;
Mourn not for Adonais. — Thou young Dawn
Turn all thy dew to splendour, for from thee
The spirit thou lamentest is not gone;
Ye caverns and ye forests, cease to moan!
Cease ye faint flowers and fountains, and thou Air
Which like a mourning veil thy scarf hadst thrown
O'er the abandoned Earth, now leave it bare
Even to the joyous stars which smile on it's despair!
He is made one with Nature: there is heard
His voice in all her music, from the moan
Of thunder, to the song of night's sweet bird;
He is a presence to be felt and known
In darkness and in light, from herb and stone,
Spreading itself where'er that Power may move
Which has withdrawn his being to its own;
Which wields the world with never wearied love,
Sustains it from beneath, and kindles it above.
He is a portion of the loveliness
Which once he made more lovely: he doth bear
His part, while the one Spirit's plastic stress
Sweeps through the dull dense world, compelling there,
All new successions to the forms they wear;
Torturing th' unwilling dross that checks it's flight
To it's own likeness, as each mass may bear;
And bursting in it's beauty and it's might
From trees and beasts and men into the Heaven's light.
The splendours of the firmament of time
May be eclipsed, but are extinguished not;
Like stars to their appointed height they climb
And death is a low mist which cannot blot
The brightness it may veil. When lofty thought
Lifts a young heart above its mortal lair,
And love and life contend in it, for what
Shall be its earthly doom, the dead live there
And move like winds of light on dark and stormy air.
The inheritors of unfulfilled renown
Rose from their thrones, built beyond mortal thought,
Far in the Unapparent. Chatterton
Rose pale, his solemn agony had not
Yet faded from him; Sidney, as he fought
And as he fell and as he lived and loved
Sublimely mild, a Spirit without spot,
Arose; and Lucan, by his death approved:
Oblivion as they rose shrank like a thing reproved.
And many more, whose names on Earth are dark
But whose transmitted effluence cannot die
So long as fire outlives the parent spark,
Rose, robed in dazzling immortality.
"Thou art become as one of us," they cry,
"It was for thee yon kingless sphere has long
Swung blind in unascended majesty,
Silent alone amid an Heaven of Song.
Assume thy winged throne, thou Vesper of our throng!"
Who mourns for Adonais? oh come forth
Fond wretch! and know thyself and him aright.
Clasp with thy panting soul the pendulous Earth;
As from a centre, dart thy spirit's light
Beyond all worlds, until its spacious might
Satiate the void circumference: then shrink
Even to a point within our day and night;
And keep thy heart light lest it make thee sink
When hope has kindled hope, and lured thee to the brink.
Or go to Rome, which is the sepulchre
O, not of him, but of our joy: 'tis nought
That ages, empires, and religions there
Lie buried in the ravage they have wrought;
For such as he can lend, — they borrow not
Glory from those who made the world their prey;
And he is gathered to the kings of thought
Who waged contention with their time's decay,
And of the past are all that cannot pass away.
Go thou to Rome, — at once the Paradise,
The grave, the city, and the wilderness;
And where its wrecks like shattered mountains rise,
And flowering weeds, and fragrant copses dress
The bones of Desolation's nakedness
Pass, till the Spirit of the spot shall lead
Thy footsteps to a slope of green access
Where, like an infant's smile, over the dead,
A light of laughing flowers along the grass is spread.
And gray walls moulder round, on which dull Time
Feeds, like slow fire upon a hoary brand;
And one keen pyramid with wedge sublime,
Pavilioning the dust of him who planned
This refuge for his memory, doth stand
Like flame transformed to marble; and beneath,
A field is spread, on which a newer band
Have pitched in Heaven's smile their camp of death
Welcoming him we lose with scarce extinguished breath.
Here pause: these graves are all too young as yet
To have outgrown the sorrow which consigned
Its charge to each; and if the seal is set,
Here, on one fountain of a mourning mind,
Break it not thou! too surely shalt thou find
Thine own well full, if thou returnest home,
Of tears and gall. From the world's bitter wind
Seek shelter in the shadow of the tomb.
What Adonais is, why fear we to become?
The One remains, the many change and pass;
Heaven's light forever shines, Earth's shadows fly;
Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass,
Stains the white radiance of Eternity,
Until Death tramples it to fragments. — Die,
If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek!
Follow where all is fled! — Rome's azure sky,
Flowers, ruins, statues, music, words, are weak
The glory they transfuse with fitting truth to speak.
Why linger, why turn back, why shrink, my Heart?
Thy hopes are gone before: from all things here
They have departed; thou shouldst now depart!
A light is past from the revolving year,
And man, and woman; and what still is dear
Attracts to crush, repels to make thee wither.
The soft sky smiles, — the low wind whispers near;
'Tis Adonais calls! oh, hasten thither,
No more let Life divide what Death can join together.
That Light whose smile kindles the Universe,
That Beauty in which all things work and move,
That Benediction which the eclipsing Curse
Of birth can quench not, that sustaining Love
Which through the web of being blindly wove
By man and beast and earth and air and sea,
Burns bright or dim, as each are mirrors of
The fire for which all thirst; now beams on me,
Consuming the last clouds of cold mortality.
The breath whose might I have invoked in song
Descends on me; my spirit's bark is driven,
Far from the shore, far from the trembling throng
Whose sails were never to the tempest given;
The massy earth and sphered skies are riven!
I am borne darkly, fearfully, afar;
Whilst burning through the inmost veil of Heaven,
The soul of Adonais, like a star,
Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are.
[pp. 7-25]
Pisa: 1821.
25 pp.; 4to.
Reprinted in Literary Chronicle 3 (1 December 1821) 751-54; Poetical Works of Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats (1829); American Monthly Magazine [Boston] 2 (August 1830) 354-56; The English Poets, ed. Thomas Humphry Ward (1880).
In Poems, ed. Thomas Hutchinson (1905).
CITATIONS:
NSTC 2S18504
Bohme, Spenser's literarisches Nachleben (1911) 294; Good, Milton Tradition (1915) 109; Reschke, Die Spenserstanze (1918) 126-28; T. P. Harrison, "Spenser and Shelley's Adonais" Texas Studies in English 13 (1933) 54-63; Harrison, Pastoral Elegy (1939); Forman, "Keats Allusions" Notes & Queries 192 (1947) 249; Davies, "Check List of Spenserian Stanza" BNYPL 77 (1974) 324; Spenser Encyclopedia, "Shelley" (1990) 644.
REVIEWS:
Blackwood's Magazine 10 (December 1821) 696-700; European Magazine 87 (April 1825) 345-47; The Examiner (7 July 1822) 419-21; Literary Chronicle (1 December 1821) 751-54; Literary Gazette (8 December 1821) 772-73.
INDEXES:
| Shelley |
"Which British composer wrote the music used as the theme for the BBC coverage of the London Marathon? He also composed ""633 Squadron"" and the Miss Marple theme." | Project MUSE - Shelley's Adonais and John Keats
Shelley's Adonais and John Keats
Kelvin Everest
Adonais differs from other English elegies in celebrating its subject throughout as a more important poet than the author, which is what Shelley really judged Keats to be. 1 The poem is a courteously elaborated compliment to its subject as a poet who, it is anticipated, is about to take his place among the major English poets of both past and present, whose tradition he has embodied and sustained. In Adonais conception, form, style, imagery, and allusion are all to be understood as in graceful honour of the dead. 2 The elegy's formal Greek dress and densely allusive classicism are in civilised rebuke of the attacks on Keats and his supposed upstart and unlearned poetic pretensions in the Tory Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, the British Critic, and the Quarterly Review, which had sneered at him as a Cockney guttersnipe. 3 Keats's longest published poem, Endymion, with its sustained immersion in material from Greek myth, had been singled out for ridicule, and Shelley particularly admired the equally Grecian Hyperion, which he considered a work of genius. The predominant classical element in Shelley's elegy derives from its subtle pattern of allusion to the Greek pastoral elegies of Bion and Moschus, the Lament for Adonis and the Lament for Bion. Shelley had translated parts of both these poems, and his version of Bion has an emotional intensity which suggests that it may already have carried for him a special association with the death of his son William: Shelley's and Mary's grief for their son, and his place of burial in the same cemetery as Keats, are referred to in Adonais, stanzas xlix and li. The [End Page 237] second anniversary of William Shelley's death (he died aged 3 in Rome) was 7 June, a day which fell in the composition period of Adonais, and it may be that grief for William imports an emotional charge into the elegy for Keats, with whom Shelley was never more than an acquaintance with shared friends. 4
Shelley's elegy offers numerous echoes of Bion and Moschus, in its diction and phrasing, and in passages of sustained paraphrase. Adonais also incorporates various formulaic elements of pastoral elegy and poetic conventions of mourning. The dominant presence of Bion and Moschus is mixed with more glancing or implicit evocations of other major presences in the classical tradition of pastoral elegy, including Theocritus and Virgil, and beyond such specific evocations Shelley's poem is characterised by a pervasive classicism of style, allusion, phrasing, and general manner. This manner incorporates Latin tags from Horace, stylistic traits and epithets from Virgil and Ovid, Greek puns in the tradition of Socrates' etymologies in the Cratylus, and a learned insider's ease of frequent reference to Greek philosophy (especially Platonic philosophy), to myth, and to the canon of Greek literature. The effect extends to the very appearance, paratexts and incidentals of the poem's first printing in Pisa, closely supervised by Shelley himself: the title page offers an untranslated Greek epigraph from Plato; when the page is turned the Preface is again headed by four lines of untranslated Greek with the scholarly attribution 'Moschus, Epitaph. Bion'; and the poem itself then proceeds at a stately and heavily punctuated slow pace, highly unusual for Shelley, 5 with each carefully and beautifully printed stanza numbered in Roman capitals. The ornately posed classicism of the rhetoric of Adonais not only draws heavily on Shelley's profound and sophisticated immersion in classical culture, but deliberately celebrates Keats's claims to classic status, and honours in ceremonially formal terms the seriousness and scale of his achievement.
Adonais bases its central narrative situation, the mourning of Urania for Adonais, on Bion's source-story, the grief of Venus for Adonis. The mythical Adonis is a vegetation spirit whose association with the cycle of death and rebirth in nature offers Shelley's poem a powerful charge of resonance and implication, but in its specific handling of these materials the elegy is primarily [End Page 238] concentrated in a literary idiom. In the fertility myth Venus loves a young boy, Adonis, who is killed by a boar. Her tears revive him, but he returns to life only in summer, sleeping on flowers for the rest of the year with Persephone in the underworld. English poetic treatments of the story directly relevant to Shelley's purposes in Adonais include Spenser's, in The Faerie Queene II. vi. 29-49, and Keats's own handling of it in Endymion ii. 387-533. The fertility myth of a boy loved by a goddess, killed by a savage beast, and sleeping or waking with the seasonal life of Nature, parallels the fate of Keats, loved by the Muse, killed by a Tory reviewer, but whose body is re-absorbed into the vitality of Nature and whose spirit lives on with the 'enduring dead'. This narrative connects in Adonais with the theme of Moschus's Lament for Bion, which articulates the classical formula of a shepherd-poet grieving for the loss of a fellow shepherd and superior poet. Shelley's adaptation of these sources in Adonais is given a strong literary inflection. Urania, who takes the place of Venus in the source myth, is in Shelley's conception the presiding goddess of the English poetic tradition, her name replacing at one point in the draft what was originally the phrase 'great Poesy'. 6 Shelley's Urania is the widow of Milton and bereaved mother of Adonais/Keats, and it is she who is the principal mourner in the poem, followed by other sorrowing English poets, living and dead, and also by Keats's own poems, written or unwritten. In the first half of the poem Urania's identity as the mother of English poets is central to the coherence of the 'action', and is particularly significant in the poem's powerfully reflexive effect. Keats's permanent presence within that tradition is partly dependent on the success of Shelley's own poem in establishing his subject's claims to be so regarded, and that success in turn offers a guarantee of Shelley's own status. Urania is Milton's muse in Paradise Lost (vii. 1-39), and Shelley's own dedication to her as muse is articulated in a letter to Thomas Love Peacock in February 1820, before he had heard of Keats's death, describing himself as composing the Defence of Poetry 'in honour of my mistress Urania'. 7
Urania in Adonais has sometimes been understood to embrace a wider philosophical connotation which carries her significance [End Page 239] well beyond the broadly literary. A number of studies have sought to demonstrate a pervasive and central Platonism in the poem's intellectual framework, structure and style, which can be construed as in accord with her Platonic associations. 8 Peacock speaks in a note to his poem Rhododaphne, which Shelley will have known well, of the significance of Urania in Neoplatonic commentary:
The Egyptians, as Plutarch informs us in his Erotic dialogue, recognised three distinct powers of Love: the Uranian, or Heavenly; the Pandemian, Vulgar or Earthly; and the Sun . . . Uranian Love, in the mythological philosophy of Plato, is the deity or genius of pure mental passion for the good and the beautiful; and Pandemian Love, of ordinary sexual attachment. 9
The Platonic identification of Aphrodite Urania with heavenly love, in contrast with the common, earthly and sexual love embodied in Aphrodite Pandemia, originates in Plato's Symposium, which Shelley translated at Bagni di Lucca in the summer of 1818:
For assuredly there are two Venuses; one, the eldest, the daughter of Uranus, born without a mother, whom we call the Uranian; the other younger, the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, whom we call the Pandemian . . . The Love . . . which attends upon Venus Pandemos is, in truth, common to the vulgar, and presides over transient and fortuitous connexions, and is worshipped by the least excellent of mankind. The votaries of this deity seek the body rather than the soul, and the ignorant rather than the wise, disdaining all that is honourable and lovely, and considering how they shall best satisfy their sensual necessities. This Love is derived from the younger goddess, who partakes in her nature both of male and female. But the attendant on the other, the Uranian, whose nature is entirely masculine, is the Love who inspires us with affection, and exempts us from all wantonness and libertinism. Those who are inspired by this divinity seek the affections [End Page 240] of those endowed by nature with greater excellence and vigour both of body and mind. And it is easy to distinguish those who especially exist under the influence of this power, by their choosing in Early youth as the objects of their love those in whom the intellectual faculties have begun to develop. 10
Shelley's Urania in Adonais might seem to pose an unwanted contrast with the lower Cyprian Aphrodite of the source myth in Bion's handling, where the goddess is distinctly earthy and sexual, and so not ideally fitted to Shelley's adaptation to Keats's situation; hence the change in Urania's identity in Adonais from lover to mother. The Symposium itself goes on to explore the identity of the Uranian love with both music and poetry:
Music is then the knowledge of that which relates to love in harmony and system. In the very system of harmony and rhythm, it is easy to distinguish love. The double love is not distinguishable in music itself; but it is required to apply it to the service of mankind by system and harmony, which is called poetry, or the composition of melody; or by the correct use of songs and measures already composed, which is called discipline; then one can be distinguished from the other, by the aid of an extremely skilful artist. And the better love ought to be honoured and preserved for the sake of those who are virtuous, and that the nature of the vicious may be changed through the inspiration of its spirit. This is that beautiful Uranian love, the attendant on the Uranian muse . . . 11
In this light the figure of Urania can serve to embody a specific conception of English poetic tradition, particularly where Milton plays a central role; but because of her Platonic associations Urania can also, in the latter part of Adonais, personify a wider conception of the enduring character of human creativity, which in its memorials and productions offers a mode of immortality through its continual successive reincarnations in [End Page 241] the mental life of human generations. Her position as the muse of astronomy provides a further motivation, especially given the complex pattern of star imagery which is initiated in the poem's Platonic motto, and which culminates in the closing lines of the final stanza. Shelley's Urania also resembles Asia in Prometheus Unbound, another female embodiment of the ideal whose ultimate mode of existence is as pure love, an absolute too bright ever to be approached directly, but – as throughout Shelley's writings – to be inferred through the effects of her presence. Shelley's language in the second half of Adonais is evidently coloured by Platonic and Neoplatonic imagery, although not in terms which suggest any systematic exposition of or formal commitment to Platonism or Neoplatonism, however understood. Plato is consistently honoured as a great poet in the inclusive sense of Defence of Poetry, but not as a thinker whose specific doctrines are to be adhered to as a guiding body of thought. Shelley's fragmentary Preface to his translation of the Symposium puts it succinctly:
[Plato's] views into the nature of mind and existence are often obscure, only because they are profound; and though his theories respecting the government of the world, and the elementary laws of moral action, are not always correct, yet there is scarcely any of his treatises which do not, however stained by puerile sophisms, contain the most remarkable intuitions into all that can be the subject of the human mind. 12
As Michael Scrivener cogently notes, in the final stanzas of Adonais 'the Neoplatonic One to which the postmortal spirit returns is a metaphor, a symbol, and must be understood as a poetically useful fiction'. 13 The unmistakable presence of Platonic metaphors and patterns of thought in Adonais is better understood as an element in the poem's rhetorical classicism.
Keats is represented in Adonais as the heir of Milton because of the powerful impression made on Shelley by the heavily Miltonic Hyperion, which Shelley first read in October 1820. 14 Lycidas is consequently (and unsurprisingly) a palpable presence in the poem's allusive texture, together with a range [End Page 242] of evocations embracing Paradise Lost and other poems. 15 However, Keats's favourite poet in the period when Shelley knew him personally was not Milton, but Spenser, and as various commentators have noted, 16 Adonais is coloured by a graceful patterning of allusions which acknowledge Spenser's influence on Keats. Adonais is in Spenserian stanzas, and offers a profusion of echoes which are unusual in being derived from less familiar shorter works, including Spenser's own elegy for Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophel, with its associated 'Doleful Lay of Clorinda', the Fowre Hymnes, Daphnaidae, and the Epithalamion. 17 Spenser's relationship with Sir Philip Sidney is a notable feature of his presence in Adonais. Shelley had been reading Sidney's Defence of Poesy in February 1820 in connection with his own Defence of Poetry, 18 and Spenser's carefully poised elegy Astrophel thus offered an apposite model for Shelley's own version of the Greek pastoral lament by one poet for another, and explains Sidney's own presence in Shelley's poem in stanza xlv. This connects with the origin of Lycidas in the death of Milton's friend Edward King and sets the literary context for Shelley's self-positioning relative to Keats and to English poetry in stanzas xxx-xxxiv of Adonais.
The dominating literary presence that pervades the rhetoric of Adonais, however, is not Milton, or Spenser, but Keats himself. Despite the number of commentators who have discussed this aspect of the poem, including various exercises in scholarly source-hunting and the identification of references, the extent of Shelley's indebtedness to Keats in Adonais has not been fully appreciated or understood. 19 Shelley's elegy comprises a critique of Keats's poetic career and its context in the party-dominated culture of the Reviews. It repeatedly refers to Keats's published poetry, particularly Endymion and Hyperion but also all of the major odes. These allusions range from almost direct quotation, through complimentary references by word, phrasing or pun, to the implicit celebrations of major passages in Keats, which inform some of the best-known stanzas of Adonais. Shelley's central purpose is to establish Keats as a fixed star in the constellation of the great poets, and its brilliantly original approach is to weave the products of Keats's poetic imagination into the texture of his elegy. In [End Page 243] Adonais the presence of Keats in the English poetic tradition is consequently neither a matter of mere assertion nor simply a demonstration of his claims to be the inheritor – or indeed more literally the literary offspring – of Spenser and Milton. Keats's comparable stature is everywhere implicit in the poem's echoing of his living poetic voice, alongside those of his peers. The poem's opening announces its intentions; after a solemnly slow-moving and emphatically Grecian adoption of the pastoral idiom, Shelley invites the moment of Keats's death to communicate to the rest of time the injunction that Keats must not be forgotten:
I weep for Adonais – he is dead!O, weep for Adonais! though our tearsThaw not the frost which binds so dear a head!And thou, sad Hour, selected from all yearsTo mourn our loss, rouse thy obscure compeers,And teach them thine own sorrow, say: with meDied Adonais; till the Future daresForget the Past, his fate and fame shall beAn echo and a light unto eternity!
Themode of this echoing may be illustrated by some examples of Keats's presence as a poet in the texture of the rhetoric of Adonais.
Some Keatsian references in Adonais are long attested and easily recognised, as in the obvious allusion to Isabella: Or, the Pot of Basil in stanza vi:
But now, thy youngest, dearest one, has perished,The nursling of thy widowhood, who grew,Like a pale flower by some sad maiden cherished,And fed with true love tears, instead of dew;Most musical of mourners, weep anew!Thy extreme hope, the loveliest and the last,The bloom, whose petals nipped before they blewDied on the promise of the fruit, is waste;The broken lily lies – the storm is overpast. [End Page 244]
This allusive tribute is not merely gestural, but puts the Quarterly's reviewers in the position of Isabella's brothers, who murdered her lover for gain; Urania weeps over her poetical offspring, destroyed by a government hireling, just as Isabella
Hung over her sweet basil evermore,And moistened it with tears unto the core.
(ll. 422-3) 20
The maiden was 'sad' because it was from Lorenzo's mouldering head that her (white-flowered) basil had grown and spread 'in perfumèd leafits' (l. 432); Urania, too, is sad because what 'exhales itself in flowers of gentle breath' is a 'leprous corpse' (Adonais ll. 172-3).
It has also often been noted that the first line of stanza xvii is a complimentary allusion to Keats's 'Ode to a Nightingale':
Thy spirit's sister, the lorn nightingaleMourns not her mate with such melodious pain;Not so the eagle, who like thee could scaleHeaven, and could nourish in the sun's domainHer mighty youth with morning, doth complain,Soaring and screaming round her empty nest,As Albion wails for thee: the curse of CainLight on his head who pierced thy innocent breast,And scared the angel soul that was its earthly guest!
The 'Ode to a Nightingale' seems to have been exempt from Shelley's initially rather lukewarm estimate of the poems other than Hyperion in the Lamia volume of 1820, because the Defence of Poetry, written in February 1820, appears at one famous moment to have Keats's poem in mind:
A Poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness, and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why.
(para. 12) 21 [End Page 245]
The apparent allusion in Adonais to the 'lorn nightingale' is reinforced by the epithet 'lorn' ('forlorn! The very word is like a bell'), and the reference is sustained also in the following line, where the 'melodious pain' with which the nightingale 'mourns . . . her mate' concentrates at once the diction and the emotional mise en scène of the ode's first stanza:
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thy happiness – That thou, light-wingèd dryad of the trees, In some melodious plotOf beechen green, and shadows numberless, Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
The self-conscious indebtedness of Shelley's stanza implies the presence of Keats in the literary culture on which Adonais constantly draws. Keats's stature is also implicit in his proximity and fellowship with other voices. The first line of Coleridge's 'To the Nightingale', 'Sister of love-lorn Poets, Philomel!', may also be invoked. Less emphatically, but in a manner characteristic of the diction of Adonais, Milton and Lycidas are hinted at in the resonance of the Keatsian word 'melodious' (it also occurs twice in Hyperion iii, ll. 49 and 81):
Who would not sing for Lycidas? He knewHimself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.He must not float upon his watery bierUnwept, and welter to the parching wind,Without the meed of some melodious tear.
(ll. 10-14)
Adonais often uses single words or short phrases to no more than suggest an echo of a source in Keats's literary forebears; as in lines 262-3, where Shelley's 'the mountain shepherds came, / Their garlands sere, their magic mantles rent' recalls at [End Page 246] once the 'ivy never sere' and 'mantle hairy' of Lycidas lines 2 and 104. Spenser is also constantly echoed in this way, as in 'The amorous birds now pair in every brake, / And build their mossy homes in field and brere' (Adonais ll. 159-60); 'brere' is an unusual form for 'briar' except in Spenser, where it is the normal spelling in The Shepheardes Calender. Shelley's two lines also rehearse a semi-formulaic Spenserian habit, as in 'Who through thicke woods and brakes and briers him drew, / To weary him the more', and 'Through hils and dales, through bushes and through breres / Long thus she fled' (Faerie Queene VI. v. 17. 3-4, VI. viii. 32. 1-2). This effect is repeated in the phrase 'love's delight' (Adonais l. 170), which is a very common phrase throughout Spenser, occurring many times in The Faerie Queene but also in Daphnaida (513), Astrophel (54), the Hymne . . . of Love (269) and the Hymne . . . of Beavtie (233).
The setting of the Keatsian allusion in Adonais stanza xvii is more complex because the shaping and mood of the stanza is also gracefully classical. The immediate 'source' is Moschus:
Not so much did the dolphin mourn beside the sea-banks, nor ever sang so sweet the nightingale on the cliffs, nor so much lamented the swallow on the long ranges of the hills, nor shrilled so loud the halcyon o'er his sorrows . . . Nor so much, by the grey sea-waves, did ever the sea-bird sing, nor so much in the dells of dawn did the bird of Memnon bewail the son of the Mourning, fluttering around his tomb, as they lamented for Bion dead . . . Nightingales, and all the swallows that once he was wont to delight, that he would teach to speak, they sat over against each other on the boughs and kept moaning, and the birds sang in answer, 'Wail, ye wretched ones, even ye'. 22
Shelley's use of theGreek pastoral tradition in Adonais combines ingenious coincidence and semi-punning (as in the fortuitous presence of the nightingale in both Moschus and Keats) with an apparently effortless readiness in adapting the moods and situations of the Greek poems to the exigencies of his particular concern with Keats's mortal fate and the prospect of his [End Page 247] immortal fame. Virgil is also present in the background, deployed with a similar unostentatious ingenuity, and enriching the cultural setting in which England ('Albion') is dramatised as mourning for its dead hero-poet:
As a nightingale he sang that sorrowing under a poplar'sShade laments the young she has lost, whom a heartless ploughmanHas noticed and dragged from the nest unfledged; and the nightingaleWeeps all night, on a branch repeating a piteous song,Loading the acres around with the burden of her lament. 23
Stanza xvii offers a different classical idiom in extending the Keatsian reference from the nightingale to the eagle. Keats often refers to eagles in his poetry (cf. Hyperion i. 156-7, 182, and ii. 226, and the line from the sonnet 'On Seeing the Elgin Marbles', 'Like a sick eagle looking at the sky'), which Shelley acknowledges in his introduction of 'the eagle, who like thee could scale / Heaven'. There is a sophisticated classical pun here which bows to Hyperion, which literally understood in its Greek derivation,
, means 'going aloft' and hence the 'scaling Heaven' of Shelley's lines. As William Michael Rossetti first recognised, these classical sources also include, in the image of the eagle 'soaring and screaming round her empty nest', a reminiscence of Aeschylus, Agamemnon 49-56, a passage itself recalling Odyssey xvi. 216. 24
Rossetti also first noted that Shelley's complicated image in lines 147-51, of the bereft Albion mourning more intensely for Keats than the eagle for its young, is suggested by a passage in Milton's Areopagitica, which thus enlarges the appropriate literary context still further:
Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant Nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks: Methinks I see her as an Eagle, [renewing] her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full mid-day beam; purging and unscaling her long-abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly [End Page 248] radiance; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means . . . 25
One abiding paradox in Shelley's representation of the reactions to Keats's death, with its vision of a Miltonic grandeur in the mourning of the nation, is its entirely imaginary nature. Keats was not a figure of national reputation when he died; on the contrary, there appeared at the time every indication that, like a Kirke White, he was destined for obscurity, surviving only as a memory in the minds of his immediate circle (as Adonais itself laments, in stanza xxi). The poem's assertion that 'Albion wails for thee', and its wish that Keats's murderous reviewer – 'his head who pierced thy innocent breast' – should be cursed like Cain, are endorsed only by their articulation in Shelley's elegy. The audibility of Keats's echoing voice is consequently linked decisively with the power of Shelley's own verse to survive and be heard. Since Keats's poetic fate is inextricably bound up with Shelley's own, the presence in Adonais of Keats's voicewill only secure its place in the tradition of English poetry if Shelley's elegy itself survives.
Shelley's determination is to use his own poem as the agent of a self-fulfilling prophecy that Keats's fame will become 'an echo and a light unto eternity'. It is fitting that the classical nymph Echo herself figures in Adonais (in stanza xv) and that she is conceived as abandoning her conventional practice of echoing such sounds as she hears, because she has become preoccupied in her grief with echoing only the 'remembered lay' of Keats:
Lost Echo sits amid the voiceless mountains,And feeds her grief with his remembered lay,And will no more reply to winds or fountains,Or amorous birds perched on the young green spray,Or herdsman's horn, or bell at closing day,Since she can mimic not his lips, more dearThan those for whose disdain she pined awayInto a shadow of all sounds: – a drearMurmur, between their songs, is all the woodmen hear. [End Page 249]
Amongst the sounds that Echo is here, for the time being at least, not repeating, are those evoked by Shelley's line 'Or herdsman's horn, or bell at closing day', an unmistakable allusion to Gray's Elegy (a favourite of Shelley's from childhood), which in the immediate aftermath of Keats's death must also give precedence. 26 The nymph is not the only personified echo in Adonais. In the opening stanzas Urania is imagined in her first reaction to the news of Keats's death, 'Mid listening Echoes', one of which
with soft enamoured breath,Rekindled all the fading melodies,With which, like flowers that mock the corse beneath,He had adorned and hid the coming bulk of death.
Urania as the goddess of English poetry looks for comfort in her bereavement to echoes, who are reciting the 'fading melodies' of Keats's poems. Thismoment is returned to later when, as Urania is about to go on her journey to Keats's tomb, she is roused by 'all the Echoes whom their Sister's song / Had held in holy silence' (ll. 195-6; i.e. the Echo who 'rekindled all the fading melodies' of Keats's poems).
Shelley perhaps considered Keats's 'Ode to a Nightingale' to be the poem which came closest in stature to Hyperion, because he links the two poems again in stanza xlii of Adonais:
He is made one with Nature: there is heardHis voice in all her music, from the moanOf thunder, to the song of night's sweet bird;
Here the obvious reference of 'night's sweet bird' is paired with 'the moan / Of thunder' which is a recurring motif in Hyperion, as for example in 'As if the vanward clouds of evil days / Had spent their malice, and the sullen rear / Was with its storèd thunder labouring up' (i. 39-41; compare also Hyperion i. 325, ii. 121, and iii. 103). Shelley, however, clearly regarded Hyperion much more highly than most of the other poems in Keats's 1820 volume, and also much more highly than Endymion (which he seems to have found barely readable). 27 [End Page 250] Indeed, it seems likely that right up to the period in April 1821 just after he had first learned that Keats had died, hewas not particularly familiar with most of his published output. When Shelley wrote to Byron on 17 April 1821 (Letters ii. 283-4) conveying the news, Byron replied on 26 April in typically robust style:
I am very sorry to hear what you say of Keats – is it actually true? I did not think criticism had been so killing. Though I differ from you essentially in your estimate of his performances, I so much abhor all unnecessary pain, that I would rather he had been seated on the highest peak of Parnassus than have perished in such a manner. Poor fellow! Though with such inordinate self-love he would probably have not been very happy. I read the review of 'Endymion' in the Quarterly. It was severe, – but not so severe as many reviews in that and other journals upon others.
I recollect the effect on me of the Edinburgh on my first poem; it was rage, and resistance, and redress – but not despondency nor despair . . . Had I known that Keats was dead – or that he was alive and so sensitive – I should have omitted some remarks upon his poetry [in Byron's Letter to John Murray (1821) on the Bowles/Pope controversy], to which I was provoked by his attack upon Pope, and my disapprobation of his own style of writing. 28
Shelley's reply of 4 May picks up Byron's reactions and develops them, identifying Hunt as the source of the story that Keats's final illness had been brought on by the Quarterly's review. There is a deepening anger with the contemptuously destructive tone and terms of the attacks on a young and immature talent: 'Some plants, which require delicacy in rearing, might bring forth beautiful flowers if ever they should arrive at maturity'. This position is explicitly contrasted with Byron's own powerful ability to withstand such criticism, and his 'strength to soar beyond the arrows' (Byron's ability to withstand criticism and to return it in kind, and the association of Keats with a blighted early-blooming flower, are both [End Page 251] elements that reappear transformed in Adonais, for example in stanzas vi and xxviii). Shelley himself is now 'morbidly indifferent to this sort of praise or blame; and this, perhaps, deprives me of an incitement to do what now I shall never do, i.e., write anything worth calling a poem'. Shelley also notes Byron's regret that he had included Keats as a target in his pamphlet war with Bowles over the merits of Pope. As he explains,
I did not know that Keats had attacked Pope; I had heard that Bowles had done so, and that you had most severely chastised him therefor. Pope, it seems, has been selected as the pivot of a dispute in taste, on which, until I understand it, I must profess myself neuter. I certainly do not think Pope, or any writer, a fit model for any succeeding writer; if he, or they should be determined to be so, it would all come to a question as to under what forms mediocrity should perpetually reproduce itself; for true genius vindicates to itself an exemption from all regard to whatever has gone before – and in this question I feel no interest. 29
These remarks show that Byron had set Shelley thinking about the use of writers as models, but this passage also makes it plain that at the time of this letter Shelley was not familiar with Keats's 'Sleep and Poetry', the final poem in Poems (1817), which although it does not name him clearly has Pope and his followers in mind in castigating the 'schism / Nurtured by foppery and barbarism' caused by the dominance of the heroic couplet in the early part of the eighteenth century:
Men were thought wise who could not understandHis [Apollo's] glories: with a puling infant's forceThey swayed about upon a rocking horse,And thought it Pegasus . . . beauty was awake!Why were ye not awake? But ye were deadTo things ye knew not of – were closely wed [End Page 252] To musty laws lined out with wretched ruleAnd compass vile . . .
('Sleep and Poetry', ll. 181-96)
The profusion and detail of Shelley's Keatsian allusions in Adonais indicate that he must have undertaken ameditated programme of intensive reading in Keats in theweek or so following the 4 May letter, as detailedwork on the composition of Adonais will have begun by the middle of May. It is also evident that Byron's letter of 26 April also stimulated a period of programmatic reading in Pope (and indeed in Byron). 30 Pope does not feature prominently in the records of Shelley's reading, but Mary Shelley's journal shows that over a few days in the latter part of May 1821 Shelley read aloud the whole of The Rape of the Lock, and that on 26 May he also read aloud the Essay on Criticism. 31 The latter poem appears to lie behind a passage in Adonais which engages obliquely with Keats's fate at the hands of the Tory critics, who had seized on Keats's 'Cockney' stylistic mannerisms as evidence of his upstart pretensions, his failure to appreciate sound models, and his political affiliation with the school of Leigh Hunt. Stanza xii is part of a sequence in which the Echoes are joined by 'Dreams' and 'Splendours' – all variously representing written or unwritten poems – as mourners within the 'twilight chamber' of Keats's tomb:
Another Splendour on his mouth alit,That mouth, whence it was wont to draw the breathWhich gave it strength to pierce the guarded wit,And pass into the panting heart beneathWith lightning and with music:
The sense here of an original and distinctive quality in Keats's poetry, able to make its effect by breaking through the defences of a 'guarded wit', recalls Pope's Essay:
Thus Pegasus, a nearer way to take,May boldly deviate from the common track.Great wits sometimes may gloriously offend,And rise to faults true critics dare not mend; [End Page 253] From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part,And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art,Which, without passing through the judgment, gainsThe heart, and all its end at once attains.
(Essay on Criticism i. 150-7)
The allusion deftly turns Pope's famous lines to Keats's advantage, and implicitly rebukes the anonymous critic who had attacked Keats for his idiosyncratic and 'unclassical' style. This effect, in Adonais, of detailed commentary not just on Keats's work as a poet, but on the effects on creativity of the schismatic literary politics of the day, is highly characteristic.
Shelley even appears to confirm the possibility that he had prepared for Adonais by a deliberate programme of reading. At the end of a letter of 13 July 1821 to his friends John and Maria Gisborne he writes:
I will only remind you of Faust – my impatience for the conclusion of which is only exceeded by my desire to welcome you. – Do you observe any traces of him in the Poem [Adonais] I send you. – Poets, the best of them – are a very camæleonic race: they take the colour not only of what they feed on, but of the very leaves under which they pass. – 32
This implies a distinction between two kinds of literary allusion in play in Adonais. One is the constant possibility of glancing allusion to some presence in the general literary culture, or in the present incidental reading of Shelley and his circle. The example of this that Shelley himself gives in his letter is a reminiscence of Goethe's Faust in stanza xliii, 33 but other instances might include the various reminiscences of Shakespeare ( for example Macbeth at ll. 184-5, Romeo and Juliet at l. 219, Henry V at l. 237), and the several more or less explicit recollections of biblical passages such as the obvious allusion in line 151 to Genesis 4: 11-14. There are also a number of words, phrases and images which clearly derive from Dante, a subject of constant discussion and study in Shelley's Pisan circle. But although the imagery in particular more frequently suggests [End Page 254] Dante in the poem's closing stanzas – and while it must be granted that the heightened manner of the last third of Adonais is partly effected through a deliberate approximation to the intense visionary manner of both Dante and Plato – it is difficult to establish a definite thematic or rhetorical patterning which can be taken as a dominant effect. The other kind of literary presence implied in Shelley's letter, providing the chameleon poetwith 'the colour of what they feed on', is exemplified in those patterns of systematic allusion in Adonais which are integral with the entirety of the poem's imaginative conception and detailed realisation: Bion and Moschus; Spenser and Milton; and, pre-eminently, Keats himself, as in stanza xliii:
He is a portion of the lovelinessWhich once he made more lovely: he doth bearHis part, while the one Spirit's plastic stressSweeps through the dull dense world, compelling there,All new successions to the forms they wear;Torturing th' unwilling dross that checks its flightTo its own likeness, as each mass may bear;And bursting in its beauty and its mightFrom trees and beasts and men into the Heaven's light.
This much-discussed stanza clearly borrows the language of Platonic and Neoplatonic discourse, and can be linked with passages in the Timaeus 68, and the Ennead I.6.2 of Plotinus. Shelley's verse, however, does not form part of any sustained overarching discourse of a kind which may be inferred from his writings as a whole. He does not write as a philosopher. This stanza seems to owe at least as much to Coleridge's 'Eolian Harp', which similarly adapts the heavily metaphorical style of Neoplatonic thought to the purposes of an English poem. But one principal effect of stanza xliii is to honour the speech of Oceanus in Keats's Hyperion, with its courageously clear-sighted and stoically impersonal acceptance of change as progress:
As Heaven and Earth are fairer, fairer farThan Chaos and blank Darkness, though once chiefs; [End Page 255] And as we show beyond that Heaven and EarthIn form and shape compact and beautiful,In will, in action free, companionship,And thousand other signs of purer life;So on our heels a fresh perfection treads,A power more strong in beauty, born of usAnd fated to excel us, as we passIn glory that old Darkness: nor are weThereby more conquered, than by us the ruleOf shapeless chaos. Say, doth the dull soilQuarrel with the proud forests it hath fed,And feedeth still, more comely than itself?Can it deny the chiefdom of green groves?Or shall the tree be envious of the doveBecause it cooeth, and hath snowy wingsTo wander wherewithal and find its joys?We are such forest-trees, and our fair boughsHave bred forth, not pale solitary doves,But eagles golden-feathered, who do towerAbove us in their beauty, and must reignIn right thereof. For 'tis the eternal lawThat first in beauty should be first in might.
(Hyperion ii. 206-229)
The allusion is perfectly placed as the language of Adonais gathers energy towards its climax. For Shelley Keats's transformation from fated mortal man to immortally famous poet is itself an instance of a higher beauty supplanting a lower, and of a triumphant negotiation of the difficult intransigencies of material transformation, 'torturing th' unwilling dross that checks its flight'. The passage is also remarkable in assuming as a given the greatness of Keats's poem, and in invoking its presence at a level of detail which would not be matched in any critical commentary for decades. One further such example is offered in the most famous lines of Shelley's elegy:
The One remains, the many change and pass;Heaven's light forever shines, Earth's shadows fly;Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass, [End Page 256] Stains the white radiance of Eternity,Until Death tramples it to fragments.
These lines are in a Platonic idiom, although they do not articulate any specific Platonic doctrine, and have never been convincingly traced to anyparticular classical source. Their sense approximates more closely to Shelley's own words in the Defence of Poetry, explaining his conception of the prophetic character of the poet: 'A Poet participates in the eternal, the infinite and the one; as far as relates to his conceptions, time and place and number are not' (para. 4). In terms of literary reference, however, what Shelley has in mind is Porphyro's climactic vision of Madeline as she prepares to disrobe in The Eve of St Agnes:
A casement high and triple-arched there was, All garlanded with carven imag'ries Of fruits, and flowers, and bunches of knot-grass, And diamonded with panes of quaint device, Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes, As are the tiger-moth's deep-damasked wings; And in the midst, 'mong thousand heraldries, And twilight saints, and dim emblazonings,A shielded scutcheon blushed with blood of queens and kings.
Full on this casement shone the wintry moon, And threw warm gules on Madeline's fair breast, As down she knelt for heaven's grace and boon; Rose-bloom fell on her hands, together pressed, And on her silver cross soft amethyst, And on her hair a glory, like a saint: She seemed a splendid angel, newly dressed, Save wings, for Heaven – Porphyro grew faint;She knelt, so pure a thing, so free from mortal taint.
(ll. 208-25)
Shelley's lines commemorate this beautifully realised vision, where the glass 'innumerable of stains' breaks the white moonlight into colours; and in so commemorating the living poetry of his dead contemporary the lines themselves enact their own [End Page 257] assertion, that Keats as a poet has become onewith a constellation of permanent presences existing beyond the exigencies and vicissitudes of 'Earth's shadows'.
This significance of Keats's poetry in the design and verbal texture of Adonais is reflected in Shelley's title. The simultaneous identification with and difference from a classical model, so characteristic of Shelley's use of classical sources throughout his work, finds its defining instance in the name Adonais. Various suggestions have been offered as to what is implied in Shelley's invented name, the most influential probably being Earl Wasserman's idea that it is a telescoping of the Greek 'Adonis' with Hebrew 'Adonai', thus underpinning a grand syncretic design in the poem's philosophical argument as Wasserman understands it. 34 This derivation of Adonais is awkward, partly because of syllabic incompatibility, and because of the strain of imagining Keats as Jehovah. Adonais as a title, and as a classical name for Keats, is probably best understood as an aspect of Shelley's determination to sustain a sophisticated and learned classicism in honour of Keats's right to absolute canonical status. The name thus offers a Platonic pun on the Greek word for 'nightingale', άηηών ('aedon'), in the manner of Socrates' etymologies in Plato's Cratylus. Compare for example Socrates' discussion of the derivation of the name of the goddess Hera (Ήρη):
Hera is the lovely one (έρατή, 'erate'), for Zeus, according to tradition, loved and married her; possibly also the name may have been givenwhen the legislatorwas thinking of the heavens, and may be only a disguise of the air (άήρ, 'aer'), putting the end in the place of the beginning. 35
Shelley's title uses this seriously playful type of etymology, 'putting the end in the place of the beginning', in an elegant merging of the classical name in the source myth, with the singing bird most associated both with poetry and with, and by, Keats himself. In the poem Keats as a nightingale is gently iterated at lines 145-6:
Thy spirit's sister, the lorn nightingaleMourns not her mate with such melodious pain [End Page 258]
And the poem's opening stanzas, with their machinery of 'listening Echoes' which are to echo Keats throughout the poem, invoke
all the fading melodiesWith which, like flowers that mock the corse beneath,He had adorned and hid the coming bulk of death.
(ll. 16-18)
These fading melodies themselves echo the closing lines of the 'Ode to a Nightingale':
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades Past the near meadows, over the hill stream, Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep In the next valley-glades:Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music – do I wake or sleep?
(ll. 75-80)
Shelley considered Adonais his best poem. As he remarked to his friends the Gisbornes, 'It is a highly wrought piece of art, perhaps better in point of composition than any thing I have written'. 36 The immense care and thought with which Shelley's elegy is elaborated constitutes the grandest of the many compliments paid to Keats as a poet. It is difficult not to think that Keats's celebrated advice to Shelley in his last letter to him was remembered and taken as a guiding principle in the composition of Adonais: 'You I am sure will forgive me for sincerely remarking that you might curb your magnanimity and be more of an artist, and load every rift of your subject with ore'. 37
Kelvin Everest
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"Which French artist painted ""Haystacks"", ""Rouen Cathedral"" and ""Sunrise""?" | 1000+ images about Art Monet Haystacks on Pinterest | Sun, Snow and Search
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Art Monet Haystacks
| Claude Monet |
"Which insect acts as the transmitting agent in the spread of the infectious disease ""Sleeping Sickness""?" | Learn From a Master: Monet Painting Techniques
By Paul Heaston on
July 11, 2013
When one thinks of Impressionism, more often than not the first name that comes to mind is French painter Claude Monet. With his dappled brushstrokes and fascination with changing light, Monet’s work more than any other defines the term ‘impression.’
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to paint like Monet, you are certainly not alone. Here’s a look at some of his techniques.
Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise from 1873 was the painting that caused art critic Louis Leroy to coin the term “Impressionism,” though his intent was more insult than compliment at the time.
Monet’s brushstrokes are incredibly simple.
To maintain the same level of spontaneity and energy throughout, he has not worked any part of the painting past the level of a few short strokes, allowing the viewer’s eye to “optically blend” color and value information. In this detail of the water, you can see the raised edges of thick paint, and the intense, almost straight-from-the-tube color.
His short strokes and heavy impasto anticipate both the work of Vincent Van Gogh a few years later and the pointillist techniques of Georges Seurat.
Haystacks at Giverny 1884
Monet’s Haystacks series show his approach to a familiar problem for landscape painters: atmospheric perspective.
Artists have long known that distant objects close to the horizon appear more blue and get lighter the further away they are. The traditional approach has been to paint atmospheric perspective softly, using as well-blended and diffused a brushstroke as possible to make the imagery appear further away. Monet shakes up that tradition by vigorously attacking this area with his signature short, choppy strokes, once again coaxing the viewer to “optically blend” the strokes and values, and it still fades into the background.
The haystacks themselves are a great example of how value, color and context go a long way toward describing something. Monet doesn’t have to paint individual straws for the viewer to see the hay-- another brilliant “impression.”
Three Studies of Rouen Cathedral 1894
Monet was fascinated by the interplay between light and the natural and built landscape, and his series of studies of Rouen Cathedral from 1894 are one of the most detailed examinations of how light changes over time and through different weather that any painter has ever undertaken.
Especially interesting is how Monet’s technique changes to respond to the different light scenarios-- in a soft light situation, Monet’s brushstrokes are similarly soft and diffused, while his impasto grows more aggressive and sculptural when the scene contains a harsher, stronger light. This series of paintings also emphasizes the speed at which Monet must have had to work to capture the light at the right moments.
Water Lilies 1899
When you first come face to face one of the larger paintings from Monet’s Water Lilies series in person, it’s hard to understand how something so monumental in scale can seem so delicate and peaceful. If you look a little closer it’s also notable just how much Monet accomplished with an extremely limited palette of mostly muted and muddy greens and blues. Yet the lilies seem to glow with light, as do the reflections in the water.
Monet’s secret to making the pond seem three-dimensional is that only the lilies are impasto, with a tiny bit of indigo painted underneath each one serving as a shadow and reflection.
The pond itself, though made of Monet’s choppy brushstrokes, is flat and smooth. In the middle of everything is a radiant impasto yellow flower, poised against a complementary blue reflection.
Monet’s techniques have made him synonymous with Impressionism, but they aren’t exclusive to that movement. You can see his influence in many contemporary paintings, both representational and abstract.
Explore Impressionism further in Master Palettes: Explore Color Mixing . Or learn about great oil portrait painters . And be sure to come back to the Craftsy blog tomorrow for more fun with fine art! We'll share five tips for painting watercolor portraits.
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Football - former Italian star Paulo de Canio became manager of which football club in 2011 ? | Paolo Di Canio sacked by Sunderland after ANOTHER bust-up with players | Daily Mail Online
Paolo Di Canio's tumultuous reign as Sunderland manager came to an end after his players turned on him during a furious training ground bust-up.
The fiery Italian called his stars in for a crisis meeting at the club’s Cleadon training ground on Sunday following their disappointing 3-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
But the summit quickly turned sour after Di Canio pointed the finger at a number of his players, blaming them for their poor start to the season.
VIDEO Scroll down to watch Di Canio booed by his own fans and his last interview
Short stint: Paolo Di Canio's spell on Wearside has been terminated by Sunderland
Stand-off: Di Canio faced up to the visiting fans after his side's defeat at West Brom
DI CANIO'S PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD AT SUNDERLAND
G
22
17%
A clutch of his players, however, are understood to have responded angrily at Di Canio’s dressing down, telling the Italian in no uncertain terms what they thought of him.
It is believed certain players told the manager, who signed 14 players during the summer transfer window, they did not like him and did not want to play for him.
Di Canio is then said to have told his disgruntled players to tell the club’s hierarchy to sack him if they no longer wanted him in charge.
FIVE REASONS DI CANIO HAD TO GO
1) Results
Two wins out of 12 in the Barclays Premier League is simply not enough and not good enough. The 3-0 win at Newcastle may have been a memorable day for Sunderland supporters, as were his touchline antics. Combined, instantly won a place in the hearts of Sunderland fans.
It bought him some time, he became an instant Mackem Legend. But his overall record is poor, which is why they are bottom of the league.
2) No one likes him, he doesn’t care
The rules, regulations and dietary restrictions were always going to cause a problem because they were so daft and draconian. Even if half of his rules were right, he tried to change too much too quickly and didn’t know when to draw a line and stop. And there was no one strong enough to stand up to him and say 'enough' until it was too late.
A Premier League manager cannot run a club by fear and by treating his players like children. And to have everyday staff, particularly the loyal long-serving ones, terrified of doing their jobs with a smile on their faces is just not acceptable. Not at a club like Sunderland. He had no empathy for the common man.
3) Tactics
There was very little wrong with the training sessions and the homework and background on opposition was up there with the best. Those are his strengths. But to believe that a 4-2-4 system and trying to pass the ball would work, especially against top class opposition, was frighteningly naïve.
He might not have signed the 14 new players, because new director of football Roberto Di Fanti did that. But he couldn’t get them to play together or live up to Di Fanti’s billing. And that is a worry for the club and his successor.
4) Public and private criticism
He could not help himself when it came to having a go at his players in public. And it is just not done. Can you imagine how Di Canio would have reacted if David Pleat or Ron Atkinson had criticised him so openly and cruelly in public when he was at Sheffield Wednesday?
In fact his book is full of indignation when anyone had a bad word to say about him. The Celtic chapter is rife with incidents. And it’s funny how Di Canio was always right, always the wronged party.
And if he was prepared to do it in the press, what must he have been like behind the scenes? The behind locked doors tirade which followed the Crystal Palace defeat was about 45 minutes long, with very few pauses for breath. And 90 per cent of it made no sense. The players switched off weeks ago.
5) The third person
'Paolo Di Canio this', 'Paolo Di Canio that’. It was all about Paolo Di Canio. And he repeatedly talked in the third person. It’s not normal. Just look at the celebrations at St James’ Park. It was all about him.
But what Paolo Di Canio didn’t realise when Paolo Di Canio kept talking about Paolo Di Canio was that while Paolo Di Canio might have thought the supporters would love Paolo Di Canio forever, eventually fans at a club like Sunderland will see through someone like Paolo Di Canio because it is not all about Paolo Di Canio. It is about Sunderland, winning games and having players capable of doing that.
When he went on to the pitch at the Hawthorns, Paolo Di Canio may have thought the supporters would understand the gesture. It just perplexed and angered fans who expect more from their manager, whoever he is.
COLIN YOUNG
All too much: Sunderland supporters made their feelings clear to Di Canio while one young supporter was left in tears (below) as the Black Cats were beaten at The Hawthorns on Saturday
All too much: Sunderland fans made their feelings clear to Di Canio while one young supporter was left in tears
SUNDERLAND STATEMENT ON THE SACKING OF THE ITALIAN
‘Sunderland AFC confirms that it has parted company with Head Coach Paolo Di Canio this evening. Kevin Ball will take charge of the squad ahead of Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup game against Peterborough United and an announcement will be made in due course regarding a permanent successor. The club would like to place on record its thanks to Paolo and his staff and wishes them well for the future.’
BET ON THE NEW BOSS...
Roberto Di Matteo favourite to replace Di Canio... 4/7
Gianfranco Zola 8/1 to be next Sunderland manager
August 17 - Sunderland 0 Fulham 1 (L)
Aug 24 - Southampton 1 Sunderland 1 (D)
Aug 27 - Sunderland 4 MK Dons 2 [Capital One Cup] (W)
Aug 31 - Crystal Palace 3 Sunderland 1 (L)
September 14 - Sunderland 1 Arsenal 3 (L)
Sep 21 - West Brom 3 Sunderland 0 (L)
'They need to look into each other's eyes. They lost their belief after 20 minutes. They turned their faces away. They must try to discover their mentality.
'One result could be good medicine. One win and everything will become clear. As an honest, intelligent person, I know we have to quickly get out of this situation. Someone in 10th position can get sacked, but I am not worried about my job. But I am worried about the results.
'You will have to ask the board about me. They will of course ask why we are bottom of the table and think about their decisions. If we continue to lose, lose, lose, there will be consequences.'
It proved to be the final straw, however, as a Black Cats statement confirmed Di Canio’s departure.
It read: ‘Sunderland AFC confirms that it has parted company with head coach Paolo Di Canio this evening.
‘Kevin Ball will take charge of the squad ahead of Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup game against Peterborough United and an announcement will be made in due course regarding a permanent successor.
End of the road: Di Canio will return to the Academy of Light training ground on Monday to collect his belongings after being axed
‘The club would like to place on record its thanks to Paolo and his staff and wishes them well for the future.’
Short wanted to give Di Canio until after the international break to turn things around - but details of the angry confrontation has forced the issue.
Sunderland remain bottom of the Barclays Premier League without a win - and with fixtures against Manchester United and Liverpool on the horizon the task of climbing up the table will not be easier.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon and former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo will be contenders to replace Di Canio.
Di Canio arrived at the Stadium of Light in March, taking over from Martin O’Neill.
The Italian’s appointment had the desired effect as he saved the club from relegation but a series of bust-ups with his players placed huge question marks over his position at the club.
Members of the squad have been incensed by the former West Ham forward’s decision to publicly criticise players and have complained privately about his strict training regime.
It seems yet another confrontation has hammered the final nail in Di Canio’s Sunderland coffin.
OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE ITALIAN WHEN DI CANIO ARRIVED
Di Canio launched an Italian takeover at Sunderland in his first full day in charge at the Stadium of Light back in April.
Following his controversial appointment, he was given full rein to pick his backroom staff.
Fabrizio Piccareta, who was his assistant at previous club Swindon Town, joined him as first-team coach. Domenico Doardo joined as goalkeeping coach, Claudio Donatelli joined as fitness coach, and Giulio Viscardi completed the new-look backroom staff as physiotherapist and masseur.
The four all served alongside Di Canio at Swindon from May 2011 to February 2013. Steve Walford, Steve Guppy, Jim Henry and Seamus McDonagh all followed Martin O'Neill out of the club.
New faces: Di Canio brought in 14 new players this summer including Jozy Altidore and Modibo Diakite (below)
Abrasive: Di Canio was said to have fallen out with a number of players, including Phil Bardsley who was sold after being pictured in a casino surrounded by £20 notes
DI CANIO'S FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE IN CHARGE AT THE STADIUM OF LIGHT
Not for the first time, Paolo Di Canio left supporters open-mouthed at the Hawthorns on Saturday. After the 3-0 loss to West Brom, he marched up to the 2,500 visiting Sunderland fans and attempted to communicate with them.
He shrugged his shoulders, opened his arms then finally walked away as he received a mixed reaction. Later, Di Canio tried to explain his actions. It was to be his final press conference as Sunderland’s manager:
What were you trying to say to the fans?
Pick me. Blame me. Leave the players out. I have no worries about that because they (supporters) are right. They are absolutely right. If I was in their position, I would be more furious than them.
Some of them did blame you — do you understand that?
Absolutely. I did much worse when I was a fan. I can’t tell you what I did, otherwise I will be arrested. But I hope that one day those people will celebrate with a smile. They pay, they suffer, make sacrifices. One day I will leave, the players will leave, but they will remain.
Can you turn this round?
I believe in what I’m doing. I do this because I believe in my regime. My regime is for top, top professionals.
Discipline, practice. We completely dominated the game. The first ball in our box, our opponents scored. Then we lost our belief and finished playing football.
One win could turn this round.
Do you fear for your position?
You have to ask the chairman, Ellis Short and the board. It’s normal to think about what’s going on. If we keep going lose, lose, lose, it will be a natural consequence, not only for Paolo Di Canio... but what’s the result in the end?
How do you know the players still have faith in you?
I believe they are following me. I want them to share responsibility. Don’t turn your face to the other side. It’s better to have a confrontation. Look in each other’s eyes.
Fake Di Canio? It doesn’t work.
Would you ever walk away?
What? Never. I always believe that I am the best manager in the world. Those 24 players have to adapt to me. It doesn’t work the other way round.
SUNDERLAND'S TRANSFER CAROUSEL SINCE PAOLO DI CANIO ARRIVED
INS: Modibo Diakite (Lazio, free), Duncan Watmore (Altrincham, undisclosed), Valentin Roberge (Maritimo, free), Cabral (Basle, free), David Moberg Karlsson (IFK Gothenburg, free), Vito Mannone (Arsenal, £2m), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, £6m), El Hadji Ba (Le Havre, undisclosed), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus, £8.6m), Ondrej Celustka (Trabzonspor, season-long loan), Charis Mavrias (Panathinaikos, £2.5m), Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea, season-long loan), Fabio Borini (Liverpool, season-long loan), Andrea Dossena (Napoli, season-long loan).
OUTS: Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull, £2m), James McClean (Wigan, £2m), Titus Bramble (released), Matthew Kilgallon (Blackburn, free), Ryan Noble (Burnley, free), Alfred N'Diaye (Eskisehirspor, season-long loan), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool, £9m) Danny Graham (Hull, season-long loan), Billy Knott (Wycombe, one-month loan), Stephane Sessegnon (West Brom, £6m).
| Swindon |
The element of the Periodic Table LUTETIUM has its name derived from the Latin name for the city in which is was discovered. Which city? | Paolo Di Canio applies for Bolton manager's job... and Peter Reid wants talks over role | Daily Mail Online
Paolo Di Canio applies for Bolton manager's job... and Peter Reid wants talks over role
Di Canio unlikely to become Bolton's next manager
Peter Reid would be keen to talk about an overseeing role at the club
Phil Brown has also been linked, as has Steve Clarke
comments
Paolo Di Canio applied for the vacant Bolton manager's job as he looks to return to football.
The Italian apparently threw his hat into the ring as Wanderers look to replace Dougie Freedman, who left 'by mutual consent' last week.
However, Di Canio is unlikely to get the job, say the Telegraph . He has been out of work since being fired by Sunderland in September last year but has good lower-league credentials from his time at Swindon.
VIDEO Scroll down to watch Di Canio booed by his own fans (ARCHIVE)
Paolo Di Canio applied for the Bolton job but is unlikely to be appointed by Wanderers
It is thought Bolton are looking for someone with a connection to the club and their former midfielder Peter Reid is keen on a role.
The 58-year-old is currently preparing Mumbai City for the start of the Indian Super League season but would be willing to talk about a return to Wanderers, for whom he played more than 200 times between 1974 and 1982.
It is thought he would favour a role using his experience to oversee a young, up-and-coming coach, such as current Bolton academy director Jimmy Phillips.
Peter Reid, currently managing Mumbai City, is keen to talk to Bolton about a role at the club
Tony Mowbray and Chris Hughton are the bookies' favourites, while ex-Bolton captain and assistant manager Phil Brown - who is boss of Southend - is also linked.
Steve Clarke, another out-of-work boss, has also been mentioned in The Sun and it is thought Wanderers could be keen on the Scot.
Bolton are currently bottom of the Championship and face Birmingham away in their next match on October 18, by which time they would hope to have appointed a new manager.
Reid drives Bolton forward during his eight years as a central midfielder at Burnden Park
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"ANAGRAMS - Which sport is the link between the follwing anagrams of two famous Americans? ""MERGE OF ORANGE"" and ""MONKEY SIT""." | Internet Anagram Server : Anagrams by Pinchas Aronas
The cougar = or Huge cat
Alibi = I bail
Oscar statue = To ace US star
Spermicide = I crimp seed
The Titanic disaster = Death, it starts in ice
Egalitarian = Anti-regalia
Singer Maria Callas = All screaming arias
The Cuban cigars = Thus, a big cancer
Claustrophobia = Car, ship, loo - tabu
Painter Fernand Leger = Prefer 'Engine Land' art
Sir Stanley Matthews = Means star with style
Crime novelist = Trims violence
Diego Maradona = An arm? Good idea!
The pornographic websites = It's her boring peep show act
Last wish = This's law = With lass
Fashion designer = Fine rig and shoes = Oh, gain fine dress!
The astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus = Space motion: our Earth circles Sun, no? = Space's our home. I learn construction.
The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot = New chemists often active out there, in Zion = A home of true Zetetics & new inventions itch
[Zetetic - a seeker]
The famous American actor Charlie Chaplin = On air, the small chap of true archaic cinema
Olympiad = I do my lap
Actor Sylvester Stallone = Very cool talentless star
God is everywhere = WORD giver, he eyes!
Great city of London = Root city of England = No clarity, fog noted
'Aerosmith' = More A hits
Certainly not = Can't rely on it
Chairman Gates = A magnate's rich
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution = Soul of vital, narrow, chosen heredity
Miss Serena Williams = Win slam, smile arises
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Spanish senorita = She's not Parisian
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Hebrew University of Jerusalem = Sure, our very able Jewish men fit
Great Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' = or Versed Italian man's 'La Gioconda' = 'La Gioconda'. As normal, rates -DIVINE = One arrant diva's smile - 'La Gioconda'
William Westmoreland = Well, solid wartime man = I will lead war moments
To cast pearls before swine = Can refer to possible waste
Singer Billy Ocean = Really sonic being
Painter Michelangelo Buonarroti = Heart into marble or upon a ceiling
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The aftermath of Katrina = Take that hat off, mariner
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Actor Robin Williams = Clown or a bit similar
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French composer Claude Achille Debussy = A bunch of classic cheery model preludes
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Riots in French capital = Conflict in Paris heart
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South American countries = He came to tour Inca's ruins
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Actress Sienna Rose Miller = Star in lesser cinema roles
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Princess Stephanie of Monaco = In casino, perhaps? Comes often
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Mother's Day cards = Cross my heart, Dad.
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Christians, Muslims and the Jews = Jerusalem stands within schism
The singer Little Richard = Recreated thrilling hits
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A somersault = Use arms a lot
The actress Meryl Streep = Respect her master style
Hyundai Entourage = Genuine hardy auto
A night to remember = The big rare moment
Mideast = Mad site
A motor vehicle = Oil the car & move
A person morbidly concerned with his health = Er...man bothered with illness? Hypochondriac!
Carnegie Hall in New York city = I hear concert. Likely yawning
Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy = 'Heavy and Lean' is ultra-drollery!
(Kirk Douglas) Issur Danielovitch Demsky = Hick is suddenly movie star
There is no God but Allah = Slaughter, hate in blood
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Beatles 'Yellow submarine' = We'll be in a stormy blue sea
Ehud Olmert reaches out to the Palestinians = Ruler has hinted solution to the M.East peace
Ehud Olmert reaches out to Palestinians = Solution to the peace in M.East - hard rules
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Israeli government = Naive Olmert, resign!
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Muslims face increasing 'Islamophobia' in Europe = I'm Arab, I feel repugnance, omission impious clash
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English children's books author Beatrix Potter = Can explore old kin stories through the rabbits
'Travels into several remote nations of the word, in four parts, by Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships'
=
Adventures of noble Gulliver in different countries - arrival to short people state (war-maven) , Giants... hopes, traumas, finally - horses
[The original title of Gulliver's Travels] Actor Stephen Glenn Martin = Prattling man on the screen = Acting person. Enthralment
The professional dancers = Share floor and nice steps
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy = i.e. Giant spire on the way to fall
A pressure mounts on Olmert to resign = Israel: No sneers, our ortten PM must go
Martin Scorsese's 'The Departed' = The 'Desires Oscars' department = Masterpiece herds noted stars
Sinbad The Sailor = Listen his 'Abroad!' = Islander & his boat = This old sea-brain
Madonna Louise Ciccone = Nice music and a cool one!
Kabbalistic = Is 'black' a bit
The Asian = Ah, in East!
Mary Wollstonecraft = Normally, wrote facts
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Human genetic code = Get choice, menu - DNA
'The hunchback of Notre Dame' written by Victor Hugo = Great French book, vetoed mutant boy within church
Love and Eroticism = No more civil dates
Addition = AND, idiot!
Members of Parliament = A PM Blair & some fret men = PM T. Blair & fearsome men = Amoral men, fibs, temper
Captain Nemo = Ocean-pit man
Writer Boris Leonidovich Pasternak = Historical prose, evident brainwork
Is there intelligent life on Mars? = Those infirm little green aliens?
The little green aliens = Real intelligent, these!
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Godless dollar = A lordless gold
[there is no 'In God we trust' on it]
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Bacon, artist = Abstraction
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Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun = Blond Frau had an evil rat
Compensation = On past income
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The Kalahari desert = Heat, real death-risk
Walt Disney,'The Lion King' = Ain't the kids yelling now!
Livres = Silver
The 'Live Earth' concerts = Recent vocal hits there
Model Paris Hilton = Poor mind is lethal
Pentagon leaders' ambition = End to Palestinian embargo
His harem = Share him
Suite 'Pictures at an exhibition' = Hear it, it is nice tunes about pix
Eating kosher = Seeking Torah = Eager to knish
Federal Republic of Germany = Friendly place for a beer-mug
Walt Disney's movie 'The Lion King' = Moving! Now all tiny kids see it, eh?
This great nation of ours = O, (for the ignorant) it's USA!
Hideous man = In madhouse
Hurricane Flossie = Careful, is inshore! = Oh, insure life, cars!
Michael Praetorius = I hear real top music
Sting and 'The Police' = Taped nice long hits = This poetic England!
Osama Bin Laden urges Americans to convert = Once again a 'reverent' Muslim on broadcasts
Singer Luciano Pavarotti = Curtains to a living opera = Top, raising, natural voice = On air pure, giant vocalist
Siad Barre = Arab is Red
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California = Broad long avenue traces false illusions
Beautiful woman = But I am awful one!
The Ebola viruses = Those abuse liver
Noriega = I an ogre
Roadside bombing in Baghdad = Odd Arabs did 'big bang' in home
Maccabi 'Elite' Tel-Aviv = Civil, active, able team
Forty two thousand and one hundred ninety five meters = Defines marathon run. Not thy event, dud - is not for weedy!
Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger = A master hero, worrying partner, gal - learned hoyden
Free online dating service = Easier love-finding center
James Fenimore Cooper = Rejoice, me man of prose! = Major income - prose-fee
'The last of the Mohicans' = O, that man! He's lost chief
Fenimore Cooper's 'The Last of The Mohicans' = O, some poor ethnic chief - feathers man - lost!
Great Wheel of China = Now face real height!
Bhutto under house arrest in Pakistan = Aha, thanks to ruinous brute president!
World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse = I feverishly plan to watch & defend our brood = Oh, pederasty not rich love! Awful, forbidden! = Wonderful pathfinder to avoid lechers, boy!
Very nice! = Even I cry!
President Omar Al-Bashir = P.S. Arab is a modern Hitler
'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' = The children each try a lot of cacao
Christopher Bryan Moneymaker = Boy's poker-myth, earner, rich man
Escaped tiger kills man in SF zoo = So, king-sized animal left corpse
The Indian reservation = Oh, retain Red Natives IN!
Gwen Renee Stefani = A fine 'n' sweet genre
Diana, The Princess = Cheap and sinister?
Disdain = Did a sin?
Experimentations = Strip, examine, note = Exam entire points
Sexually transmitted disease = Tenet: mixed lays result as AIDS
'Oprah Winfrey Network' = Ratify her known power
Coteries = O, I secret!
Greek hero Achilles = Reck, sir! Go heal heel!
'Rolling Stones' band = Real, not blind songs
A pioneer neurologist Sigmund Freud = Grip genuine, rude solution of dreams
Real sex = Relaxes
Breach of promise = Boors, I'm free chap!
Alexander the Great = Dare that ex-general
Memories of Italy = So I, my life at Rome
The female orgasms = Her most false game
Composer Claude Achille Debussy = Cosy, coddle, pleasurable music, eh!
'The flight of the bumble bee' by N. Rimsky-Korsakov = Best flying rhythm took from beehive. Skulk, babe!
Megabytes = By me (Gates)
The stratagem = Gee! smart, that! = That gamester!
The sadomasochist = So, I do the 'smash' act
Schumacher = Cars chum, eh?
Bruce Springsteen = Creep brings tunes
Orchitis = O, sir, itch! = Oi, Christ!
Little Red Riding Hood = O, Lord! The nit girl died?!
Goldilocks and the three bears = Her snack good as her little bed
Renault Chamade = A cruel death, man!
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas = No happiness at Middle East - I numb Arab
Cabernet Sauvignon = Consent in vague bar
Marlborough Galleries = All rooms huger, real big!
Electric Light Orchestra = Recollect rich, great hits
The latex condoms = Man clothed to sex
Robert Schumann = Born-charm tunes
The late Antonio Stradivari = Attained that so rare violin
Yellow pages = We sell, go pay
Los Angeles, California = No angels, local fairies
Cholesterol = Cell-shooter
Hyundai Accent GT = Naughty accident
Denigration = Die, ignorant!
The prostate gland = That spot enlarged
Christina Applegate = Her act? It's appealing! = It's her acting appeal
The Mitsubishi Motors Corporation = I ship our 'motion hit' - best motor cars
Conspirator = Rat, scorpion = I spot rancor
An Oedipus complex = Ma & son? O, Cupid, expel!
Christopher Columbus = Such trip, such bloomer!
Ulcer = Cruel
Charles De Gaulle = Such legal leader
Chinese restaurant = Run, taste ashen rice
Adam and Eve = Even a Ma & Dad
Loneliness = Ill oneness
I want to be your Valentine = Attention, I buy a new lover
Paris Marathon = Sport-mania. Rah!
The Mountain of Parnassus = An Athens famous top ruins
Common slip of the tongue = The fouling comment -'Oops!'
Famous director Steven Spielberg = Best films producer. So generative!
Physicist Sir Isaac Newton = So sharp (in scientistic way)
The Argentinian singer Carlos Gardel = Ah, legend! Real tango star! Nice ring, sir.
The equivalent = Halt, quite even!
Hooliganism = Ooh, is malign! = Oh, I so malign!
Man can not live by bread alone = My blot - I need banana, veal, corn...
The ampersand = Here AND stamp
Extraterrestrial invader = Star-rider, extravert alien
Italian duce Benito Mussolini = Noisome built-in lunatic ideas
Demission = I done, miss
Poet Thomas Stearns Eliot = i.e. has some top-sort talent = His talent rates poems too
Dame Agatha Christie = Crime-death saga. A hit. = I head that crime-saga
Admiral Nelson = Droll man in sea
Admiral Horatio Nelson = To mainland - sailor & hero = It an old sailor man & hero
The Eurovision Song Contest = Oh, singers & contentious vote!
Singer Michael Bolton = The nice rambling solo = Ah, nice trembling solo = O, chosen, brilliant gem!
Peter Shilton = The sport line = Post...three-nil!!!
Arsenal Football Club = Bores all but local fan
Boston Wanderers = Born sores... and wet
Manchester City = Yes, cretin, match!
Manchester City Football Club = Soccer, but bit melancholy, flat
Love is in the air = Etherial vision
The wishbone = Oh, bet he wins!
Bolivian President Carlos Mesa = Damn, I act so irresponsable, evil!
Carlos Mesa = Some rascal
Chamber music = Bach! mum cries
Police = Cop lie
Singer Rod Stewart = Insert great words = Testing rare words
Bristol = Lo, Brits!
Israeli general Moshe Dayan = Is a real one-eyed largish man
Singer Whitney Houston = She young, hot. It's winner!
The Sony Playstation = Nations play the toys
Chernobyl, Ukraine = Bear only rich nuke
Enuresis = I see runs
The marriage counseling = Egomaniacs ruling there
Actor Michael Landon = Calm, land-action hero
The famous vampire Count Dracula = 'A human-computer' of vascular diet
Miss Venus Williams = Mum is evil lass; wins
The millionaire Steve Fossett = O, his interests - love, title, fame!
Tom Cruise = I'm sore, cut!
The morning-after pills = Timing. Hell for parents
Actress Sharon Stone = One 'stars chosen' star
The American actress Demi Moore = Other sacred memories at cinema
A feminist = Finest aim = i.e. Fits man
Montessori = I set morons
The Champions League finals = Face up, English men also a hit!
Separate = See, apart!
Bosnia = No bias = So, I ban
Wilt Chamberlain = Recall - I'm with NBA
Adroitness = In trades so
Angel of death = Fatal end, eh? Go!
Piece of mozzarella = Free meal - pizza! Cool!
Revolution in Russia = It's Lenin, our saviour
Dolce far niente = Entrance of idle = Near deflection
Act of God = Good fact?
Spanish painter El Greco = His art - apple-green icons
Painter Francisco De Goya = Aspire good, nice, fancy art
Walpurgis night = Hags twirling up
Bermuda shorts = Red rash to bums = Stores hard bum = Read -"Bum shorts'
The Federal Republic of Germany = My forgathered peaceful Berlin = Life of much large pedantry & beer = Peaceful? Bad energy from Hitler
Suicide thoughts = Got such...'Thus I die'
Lucy in the sky with diamonds = What idyl! Dinky, honest music!
Shine on you crazy diamond = Yon I hear odd zany music, no? (yon - yonder, there)
Virulence = Cruel vein
Henri Matisse = See star in him
Singer Charles Aznavour = Vulgarizes rare chanson
The presidential elections = He needs political interest
The Australian boomerang = A real bargain to some hunt
Martin Scorsese = Sir, on set, scream! = Some nicer stars = Cinema or stress = i.e. Crass monster = O sir, smart scene! = A most 'Sir Screen'
The Boston strangler = Er...best 'n' long throats
Albert Desalvo = Bad, revels a lot
Mafioso = So, I'm oaf
Andrew Gigante = We trained gang
Gigante = Gang tie
Arthur Gary Bishop = I harsh, abrupt, gory
The Confederations Cup = Audience fetch on sport = Then top soccer - fun idea
The Confederations Cup finals in Germany = Flamy Argentinian soccer often punished
That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind = Moon. Spoken as man from Planet Earth nails a tinted flag
Sinecure = Nice, sure
Chronic fatigue syndrome = If my dear resting on couch = I charge more dysfunction
The decision to marry = Erotic man, he so dirty!
Territorial army and volunteer reserve = Relevant military used over near terror = Really trained maneuver over terrorist
Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Miserables' = Covers big masses revolution. Hell = Scriber to involve homeless Gauls
Opportunity = Option up, try (or vice versa)
The night before Christmas = Rich mother's gifts beneath
Pastiche = It's cheap
Spanish flamenco = Oh, man's fine claps!
Pedro Almodovar = Poor loved drama
To err is human = Is true, no harm
Salacity = Is lay-act
Singer Kylie Minogue = I like money, I snugger
Hellas = As Hell
Michel De Nostradamus = Dreams. Much details? No! = Had some incult dreams = Had inmost-clue-dreams
Composer Peter Cornelius = or One proper select music
Doctor Kurt Waldheim = Demur that wild crook! = I mocked Old War truth
Emotionally involved = Love? I'm not in love, lady!
A blot on the landscape = Had spot on clean table = Clean had notable spot = A spot on the bald-clean
The ideal woman = Want ideal home
A seductress = Crude assets
William Butler Yeats = Subtle wily material = I write, but all measly
Felicity Huffman = Fluffy cinema hit
The philosopher Immanuel Kant = Oh, people, I'm last human-thinker!
Lady Caroline Lamb = I morally balanced
B. Shaw's 'Pygmalion' = Bow, smashing play!
Peter James Crouch = Act here, jump, score = Jump, care the score = The pure 'soccer-jam' = The soccer & a jumper
The forensic pathologist = I go into that corpse flesh
Admirable? = I'm real bad!
The consonant = A? No, no! H, N, S, T, etc.
A Middle East's arm race = Mad tale, dire massacre
Don't cry for me Argentina = Tragedy. An inner comfort
The author Ernest Hemingway = O, there naughty man! He writes
Miss Hillary Rodham Clinton = O snot! I'll marry childish man! = I still honor my man - lad's rich!
The Boeing seven-eight-seven Dreamliner = Tried? Is never seen high above, gentlemen!
The New Hardee's Monster Thickburger = Shocking murderer between the trash
Le tour de France = Tend lure of race
Iran: No secret arms deal with Syria = No crisis. We hate and martyr Israel = Strain war-machine! Destroy Israel!
The airports warned about terror dry runs = True worry. Hard to insure bared transport
South Korean hostage killed by Taliban = Kinky Arabs held Asian... He got bullet too
Bush and Brown seek to establish rapports = That workable partnership bounds bosses
Gesticulations = It's to signal, cue
Silence is golden = Lies need closing
The first love = Vet, life short! (vet - to subject to thorough examination or evaluation)
Venial = An evil
The dipsomaniac = I am a pinched sot = Cheap mind, I a sot
The soused = He used sot
The soaker = He rake, sot
Shakespeare, the Immortal Bard = His poems remarkable, read that
Documentary 'Arctic tale' = Not act, ice-drama, cruelty = Accent to truly ice-drama = One-act dramatic cruelty
The chairman Mao Tse Tung = Giant man? Scum o' the Earth! = Chinese man taught - 'To arm!'= 'Nag', he communist at heart
Urethritis = Ire...it hurts!
Ecstasy = Say 'Sect' (not a drug)
Michel De Nostradame = The mind-made oracles = Search and model time = Oracles, I demand them! = Clear mind, do the same! = Let him dream a second = Alchemist dreamed on = Had time-clone dreams
Prophet Michel de Nostradame = Hah, I prompt demented oracles!
Thespian, the greatest of all = 'Salt' of the pleasing theatre
Green dollar = General Lord
Vinaigrette = Tang, I veer it
Famous Big Ben is being silenced for the maintenance = O, Britain's time-machine enfeebled; confuses banging!
The actress Marilyn Monroe = Screen-honey, immortal star = Tersely, she romantic Norma = 'Salty', secret-man in her room = Rather solemn cinema-story
Napoleon = One on Alp
Soichiro Honda = Hi, I on car's hood! = Ooh... and I so rich!
Roman gladiator = Lad got an armor, I = Lad in toga? Armor!
Calista Flockhart = Lo, flat chick - a star!
First Congregational Church in Neosho, Missouri = Horrific gun shooting. Micronesian secular shot
Southampton FC = O, match's top fun!
David, king of Israel = I advise folk in drag
The Premier Tony Blair = Horribly intemperate = Me? I terrible, phony, rat = Or...Pity, he terrible man
Solomon, The King of Israel = Look 'Throne families', 'Song' = Look for mine hot sign - 'seal' = Male's in song of hit-looker
"The Birmingham Symphony Orchestra = Charming rhythm, best harmony & poise
The Yucatan Peninsula = A sunny ethnic plateau
Ryan Seacrest = Say, screen-art
Kimberly Elise Trammel = Remember me? I talk silly
The director Steven Spielberg = It brightest screen developer
Rocco Francis Marchegiano = A ring-icon coach arms force
The Great Britain = Giant tribe & earth
Eight thousand eight hundred forty eight meters = Height of highest mount. Tens dare, get hurt, dry & die
Samuel Pack Elliott = Like lout pal? Cast me!
Sam Pack Elliott = I'll make top acts
The University of Notre Dame = Even I in to study there for MA
Yellow Magic Orchestra = Create show, claim glory
The Olympus Digital Camera = Picture may halt old images = Aha, my gal, old-time pictures! = Aptly 'caught' & 'laid' memories = Aim - replay 'caught' old-times
The Lamborghini 350 GT = Bring that, go 530 mile/h!
Lamborghini Murcileago LP640 Roadster = The prim, long, glorious & admirable car = I 'pert', admirable, glorious, long car. 460 m/h
The Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe = Ah, Latin Blood Glamor! Huge price!"
The Lamborghini Countach = Long machine, but oh!, car - hit!
Fantastic = Ain't facts
George Frideric Handel = Hear glorified genre CD
'Who wants to live forever ? = No sweat! Revolver? How fit!
The movie star = Votes rate him = Rave, 'I the most!'
Advocatus Diaboli = To a bad vicious lad
An orgasmic release = Scream, a large noise = Scream as eager lion = Agree, a lion's scream! = Er...scream analogies
Arabian horse = He is Arab roan
A blessing in disguise = Gauge bliss inside sin
TV show,'American Idol' = Admire now vocal hits = Hear now timid vocals = or 'New maids vocal hit'
The American Idol TV Show = There domain with vocals = Hear mild voices... whatnot!? = Watch hard emotions. LIVE!"
Henriette, the hurricane = Hit uncertain. Here? There?
The Mosque in Karbala = Arabs kneel to HIM (qua)
The Acropolis = Ooh, past relic! = Relics. A photo? = Oh, a relic tops! = Oh, lost a price! = O, sir, 'hot place'! = Heroical spot
The Athens Acropolis = Aha, protect holiness! = Oh, chapel is stone-art!
Chevrolet Savana = Have 'Real-Cost' van
Haruomi Hosono = Ooh, harmonious!
Ryuichi Sakamoto = A hit or 'okay' music
(musicians from Yellow Magic Orchestra)
The late George Harrison = O, he hot! Great, real singer
The Bin Laden's video = Evil Bin, he's not dead!
The male reproductive system = There is matey 'love-duct' & sperm = Testicle have duty - more sperm
Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature = To save there affluent heritage - original tongue, lyrics and prose = Here to help save original 'tangy' dialects for future generations
A message from Sheikh Osama Bin Laden to the American people = Pentagon: See this mad fool Arab peacemaker's lie. Shame on him!
The Colosseum, Italy = Oh, stately Coliseum!
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy = Oh, clearly, I momentous site! = Here it 'Socially Momentous' = Timeless 'monolith' you care = Some local ruins (the moiety)
'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson = Story about never reassured billions-nest = Notably unarrested, true silver-obsession = Unrest, troubles, banditry on overseas isle
City of Los Angeles = Gents say 'Cool life! = 'To fly eagles' (coins)
Indonesia = 'Nodi' in sea
(nodi pl. of node - A knob, knot, protuberance)
Save money, live better = Very vital beseem note = Believe monetary vets = Interest evolve? Maybe
(Wal-Mart's new slogan)
Manuel Noriega = I rule & manage, no?
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno = No analogue to mean moron in ire
Sudan Ebolavirus = Bad (usual version)
Reston Ebolavirus = A troubles version
Arnold George Dorsey alias Engelbert Humperdinck = I recorded really deep, glum, heartbreaking songs, no? = I merely produced general old heartbreaking songs
The Rocky Mountains = My, one hot track in US! = County to hikers, man = Many think to course = Ah, country to ski, men!
Nessiteras rhombopteryx = By experts: No-harm stories = I pry best hoaxers monster
(Scientific name of Loch Ness monster)
Justin Timberlake = Trim junkie bleats
Myanmar troops hunt pro-democracy protesters = Army cops try to 'reap' & punch more demonstrators
North Korea agrees to disable main nuclear facility = America finally gathered nukes-reactor's abolition
A strangulation = Lungs - 'No air!'...Ta ta!
The Major League Soccer = Just cool game + career, eh?
Short Message Service = It charges some verses
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? - Lady Marmalade = O, my 'crazed' chivalrous audacious lover came! Love me!
Madeira = I am dear = I a dream
The London Ambulance Service = Men have concerned about ills
The 'Olympiakos' Piraeus = Sport is a key, 'hale opium'
Dungeons & Dragons = God, no sun & dangers!
C(do), D(re), E(mi), F(fa), G(sol), A(la), B(si) = I add basic formal solfege = ...did a basic formal solfege
Doris Lessing = Is golden, sirs!
The Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation = Utilitarian speedy succor to harm, no?
Southern California's sprawling wildfires = Afwul, rising, wild Inferno strips real chaos
Southern California wildfires = Ah, worried officials silent run! = Arnold with officials reinsure
Southern California = Oh, arson, lunatic fire!
The California's Desert = It's real, fierce, hot sand
Thomas Gerard Tancredo = Rah, danger to democrats!
Edouard Manet = O, 'nude' dame art!
Edouard Manet, impressionist = Is some nude maiden's portrait
The famous pianist Richard Clayderman = Hefty & ardent, harmonic & paradisal music
A modern romance = CD 'Enamor, Enamor'
The long hair = Ah, on the girl!
Umpire = I'm pure = Impure?
The actor Mel Gibson = The combating roles = The acting bloomers = O, matching best role! = Blame Christ, not ego
Medical prescription = Receipt rids complain?
A severe punishment = Vehement pains. Sure
A punishment = Insane thump = I spent human = U pen this man = Pain hunts me
Splendiferous = So refined, plus = Nudes profiles
A contradiction in terms = Concern: Smart ain't Idiot
Hugo Almeida = A goal due him
The Venetian adventurer Giovanni Giacomo Casanova = Ooh, 'suave' on a virgin, on a vacant dame, a teen-virgin, etc.
Online dating service = Evidencing relations
Eastern Congo = On green coast = Green coast, no?
The National Geographic Society = So, a photogenic cheating reality
The fascist Walter Richard Rudolf Hess = Fetid worthless rascal, fetid harsh cur = A retch! This world suffered this rascal = Fuhrer's-addict thief, worthless rascal
'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' = By aim - to flatten land
Kurdish rebels = Elder Bush-'Risk!'
The Taliban insurgent = He unstable intrigant
The Taliban insurgents = Able in anti-US-strength
The crackdown could fuel Islamic insurgency in Pakistan = Musharraf's killin' induce condign new pious-attack-cycle
A television writers strike = Is trite? Real sensitive work!
A Writers Guild votes to strike = Disuse o' TV glitterati & workers
Composer Ludwig van Beethoven = Hove top new music. Bravo! Legend! = Have proved - belong to new music
Barbara West Dainton = Was in bad, errant boat
(the second-to-last survivor of Titanic)
More violence in Pakistan = Police makes nation riven
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull = Ah, join lucky H. Ford seeking distant lost mean land!
'Moonlight shadow' = Old hit among show
Dancing with the stars = Winners had tight acts
Show 'Dancing with the stars' = Test's hard. Which tango wins?
Motor City named nation's most dangerous = Detroit: Nasty crimes amount's no good, man
Bush says Mideast peace talks worth the risks = Such shaky worthless debates is trap, mistake
The Annapolis conference = None chance for Palestine = Here connection & safe plan = Once free nations can help = Oh, fine plan to Renascence! = Once foes, therein can plan = In there, once foes, can plan = Neat chance for open lines = Planners of neaten choice = Hence, foes learn not panic
Bush urges additional AIDS money = Mind out disease or badly anguish!
Suspect in trouble before hostage drama = L. Eisenberg spoofs that Democrat bureau
A Hothouse Effect = Oh see, cut off heat!
A Greenhouse effect = Create huge offense
Wiltshire couple Robert and Deborah Fry = Cruel part: drowned for their 'holy babies'
(drowned saving their children)
The cauldron = Lunch to dear
Angina pectoris = Sore, acting pain = Giant sore & panic = O, creating pains!
Giuseppe Mercadante = Pen a deep great music = Unpaged masterpiece
A Harley Davidson motorcycle's = A dandy or classy motor vehicle
The Harley Davidson motorcycle = Smooth vehicle? Contrary, deadly!
Harley Davidson Motorcycles = Ooh, randy cyclists love, dream! = Dandy or classy motor vehicle
That Chinese ball = This can be lethal!
Elvis Aaron Presley = Say, real, live person? = I say, -' Please, love RNR! [Rock'N'Roll]
'I got my mind set on you' = My dingy emotions out
'Super Mario Brothers' video game = Our improved image - Brats-Heroes
The Golden Compass = Most glanced hopes
Robert Hawkins = Broken wraiths = Be warn, hot risk!
The Will Smith's Motion picture 'I am legend' = Hero meets well hiding impolitic mutants
Jehovah's Witnesses = Have "Jew's son" thesis
Nearly 95 percent of the email sent in 2007 has been spam = Terrible anathemas seen on any finest PC. Help me!
Isaac Asimov's science-fiction novel 'I, robot' = A case of bionic love, icons, activities norms
The Beatles 'Yellow submarine' = Aye, their swell album, best one = We all see their best album yon
Band 'Spice Girls' = Bad singers clip
Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" = Her whole, best, strong, detailed fable
The Musical TeleVision = Have some illicit tunes = Listen to a live music, eh? = Ah, menu is - 'Little Voices!'
The 'Animal Collective' = Nice vocal all the time
The movie "American Gangster" = Is game: another agent v. crime
Chris Evert and Greg Norman engaged = Changed grand rings over agreement
What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? = Please, change this line, 'wit'. I'll kick your again! I do!
William Roger Clemens = Clearing well memoirs = No crimes? Gem? Well? Liar?
I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas = I meditate harsh, firm, magic snow = This air made the magic snow firm
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet tired of the man = Heed now: Each minor states that Mighty devoted to his life, gets Mercy
Last-minute shoppers = Hapless spurt, no time!
Francesca Lewis = Carcass? New life!
(12-year-old, sole survivor of a plane crash in Panama, December 23, 2007. Survived in the mountains for two days before being rescued)
New England Patriots = Neat, top winners glad
Kenya candidate claims rigging in vote = Raila Odinga is making decency vetting
Indian reservation = Naive Red nation, sir
Indian reservations = Dear natives 'in irons'
Diana, the Princess of Wales = Scenario: Wife's death's plan
Bhutto's son maintains her political dynasty = Toll: continuation, stays behind his Ma's party
Acer Incorporated = I dear PC- creator, no?
Levy Restaurants = Rule: stay 'n' starve
The Neapolitan spaghetti = Note that shape - giant pile! = It's giant heap on the plate
Spaghetti Neapolitan = He gets Italian pot (pan) = I hate inept long pasta!
The Princess and the Pea = Her steep itch ends a nap = Peeress, nap and the itch
The University of Liverpool = Pithily : Evolution's forever!
Vertigo = I got rev
The vertigoes = Go, hit Everest!
Guidance's from above = Became in God's favour
The Fast Food Restaurant = Short feast and 'Out' after = Affronts! hardest eat-out = Rats! Offhand eat out & rest
Miss Miley Cyrus = My Muse is lyrics
Elisha Graves Otis = His elevator is gas!
Otis Elevator Company = Reactivates monopoly = O, many copies 'to travel'!
Spider Biofuel = I do life superb!
Week ashore = Here we soak
The disagreeable person = Oh, see a real President! G.B.
The macaroni = Ethnic aroma
The International Space Station = Ain't spies alone interact on that?
The American Indian = Hi, I am an ancient Red = Hi, I a red & ancient man!
A mermaid = I'm a dream
Lindsay Dee Lohan = Lady on headlines
The Shadows = The sad show = Do the swash = We had shots
The Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare = Aha, British male-writer maked all poems!
Model Gabriel Aubry = Aye, dribble glamour!
Ron Leavitt = Er...not vital = Into real TV
'Englishman in New York' = Known rhyme. Sing, 'alien'! = Mainly he known singer
Singer Elvis Aaron Presley = Proven sir, I nearly ageless = Sales, perseveringly on air = A peerless sir, only in grave = I revere pills, grass. Anyone!?
Singer Amy Winehouse = So, yes, I am huge winner! = Ear, my show is genuine
Oligarch = A rich log = Rich goal
The filling stations = Fits into giant 'Shell'
Mango tree, Pa? - Pomegranate
Gaius Petronius Arbiter = I got a super brain, it sure = But a pure satires origin = A rigour - I pen but satires
Katharine Hope McPhee = Hear me - the phonic peak
Impersonator = Minor-sort 'APE'
A prescient = Can see trip...
Natural selection = O, last ancient rule!
Singer Diana Ross = Dear airs in songs
'Jesus Christ Superstar' = Just shares scriptures
Nefarious man = So mean & unfair
Hamlet 'To be or not to be' = Noble hero at bet motto
The most beautiful girl in the world = True unforgettable doll is with him = Hunt the glamorous little bird - wife = Hunt for, 'till it the sublime dowager = O his true, delightful, brittle woman!
Meditations = India; OM-test
(OM -a mystic syllable, used as a mantra)
Hilarious moment = Also humor (in time)
The loyalist = To Hell, I stay!
Pleistocene = Let's open ice
Mother country = Turn to cry 'HOME!'
Spain and Portugal = Latin-papas ground
The Iberian peninsula = Pin-in earth in blue sea
Nice self-portrait = On terrific pastel = Perfect art in oils
Satisfaction = I so fantastic! = O, is fantastic!
Golden medal = Mold 'A Legend'
My favorite girl = O, it very firm gal!
Queen of France, Catherine de Medici = Once efficient, hard, queer, nice dame
Andre-Gustave Citroen = Sure, got invented a car
'Robinson Crusoe', novel by Daniel Defoe = Alone on obscure isle (nobody ever find)
Nice restaurant = A rarest cute inn
Roman Emperor Caligula = Peculiar man, moral ogre
Famous actor comedian James Eugene Carrey = Joyous man made cues of great cinema career
Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red colours = Our good old lovely Rainbow ingredients. Lure & elegance
The continuation = It authentic 'On & On'
The consultation = A cue 'n' hint to lost
A spaghetti = Hi, get pasta!
Bargain = A grab-in
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra = Clever read and amusive stage
Endangered species = Presence sag, indeed
Do you believe in love? = I been loved...I love you!
Weapons of mass destruction = So, Faust (demon) pets war-icons
Family bank account = Only buck-mania, fact
Olympic Games of modern era = O, prim races! Gold, money, fame
Storm in a teacup = A true panic, most
Jesus Christ, the savior of the world = Oh, Teacher! His first words - 'Just love!'
Economy = Money Co.
Encyclopaedia Britannica = A nice'n'capable dictionary
Adore = O, dear!
New dictionary = It nice - any word!
The new variation = Another view, ain't?
American actor = Came-r-r-a, action!
Israeli Knesset = Like Senate, sirs
Rome was not built in a day = Word about means in Italy = Town made by our Italians! = Nay, I slow. A bad time to run = Warned at lousy ambition
Abidance = In a "A..B..C..D..E"
Testosterone injection = It sets erection on jet, no?
Montessori system = Is more tests, my son
Whether you like it or not = Hey, it lot routine work, eh?
Poisons = So, no sip!
The chicken = Check, it hen
South America, Argentina = Here is a curt-tango-mania
The global obesity epidemic = Impeaches to big belly. O, diet!
The earthquake's epicentre = Technique rates - peak there
Weather forecast = We care heat, frost...
Perversity = Is very pert
Old story of love triangle = Disloyal lover forgotten?
The astronomers = There moon, stars!
The sperm donors = Mothers respond
Whitney Houston Greatest Hits = Herewith a hottest songs' 'unity'
The modern city = Oh, dirty cement!
The Arafat's burial = Ah, it tearful Arabs!
The film animator Walter Elias Disney = All-times fine art; made his own reality = His name was made in 'reality for little'
Lacoste fahsion = Ah, also fine cost!
The dangerous chemicals = Damage, ulcer on his chest
Ethan Hawke = Hah, new take!
Confirmed = Mind-force
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year = Er...my warm, shy phrase in dance party
A mother = THE AMOR
The last fashion = That is on a shelf = That is on a flesh
The Spanish inquisition = Question (in hiss), hit, pain
The Spanish armada = Rat, man, ships ahead!
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev = Thick Russian; cheek,high verve
Andy Warhol = Ah, only draw!
Sophocles 'Antigone' = Nice song, poets' halo
'We are the champions' = Hits' name 'We cap hero' = I hear-'Note, we champs'
The Winter Olympic Games = Men try 'white magic' slope
The Gordian knot = Dark & tight one, no?
Mortal sin = It's normal?
Falsetto voice = Fit to vocal, see
The hormones = He + mother = son
Animals = Lamas in
The Gulag Archipelago = Right, a huge gaol place
The singer Elvis Costello = or This gentle voice sells
Vietnamese = Seem native
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station = Such terrible weapon. Any control? = Horrible waste up (not only cancer)
Sony Playstation = As in past, only toy
Appendicitis = It 'spiced' pain
Windsor castle = Crown site, lads = Weird class, not?
Hercule Poirot = Oh, truer police!
'Centuries' = True (since)
Misogynist = Got in missy = O, tying miss!
Metro Goldwyn Mayer = Wanted memory & glory
The single European currency = They cancel 'green' in our purse
Windows Media Player = We aim wonder display
Marriage counseling = Arguing? No, smile & care! = Cleaning our mirages = Ruins, real magic gone = O, nice girl & man argues
Sylvester Stallone in Rambo = Brainless malevolent story
Beethoven's "Moonlight sonata' = Oh, seven notes at a night bloom!
Pick famed Northern male = Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Carl Lewis = Races will
Singer Placido Domingo = Moiling, doing operas CD
Pierre Auguste Renoir = Art/Europe/Genius...I err?
Painter Thomas Smith = Hi, this man - top master!
Renault = Real nut?
Joan Miro = I major, no?
Oscar de la Renta = or Create sandal
George Harrison = He's roaring ogre = or Go rehearsing
The rehearsing = Sing there & hear
Lee Harvey Oswald = Who leaved slayer?
Hotel California = Rah ,ain't life cool?
The security video camera = As it, to reduce heavy crime
Relationships = Hi, it's personal!
Contraceptive methods = Devices protect hot man
The unprotected sex = Pox, tetter...Need such?
The best things in life are free = Breaths, this feeling, fine tree...
Adam and Eve in the Gardens of Eden = After maid, Heaven's ended and gone = Heaven; God defeated man and 'siren' = Anagram of 'Destined Heaven ended'
Free school = Cheer, fools!
God's Ten Commandments = God-sent damn comments
The rutting season = Oh, nature's setting! = Oh, nature's testing! = True sign's HEAT, not?
State of Bahrein = Fine, to the Arabs
Theological discussions = God is classic solution, eh? = Logical decisions? Shouts!
Fanaticism = Fit maniacs
A soldier = I real sod
(sod: man)
The swimmer Ian Thorpe = I mesh & romp in the water
The great singer Bob Marley = Best reggae - no harm & liberty = Mainly best reggae, brother!
Booby trap = Poor tabby
'Casper the friendly ghost' - the movie = So, there festive grey child-phantom
The gravestone = Sever, THAT gone
Death by misadventure = Uh, end at very bad times!
Painter Henri Matisse = See hit! Man inspire art = Praise his eminent art = Culminate deep art, no?
The Shiatsu treatment = It easement? That hurts!
The theological discussion = Idiots! In such case, go to Hell!
Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas = Sobered Don Juan. In magazines too.
Great Britain = Big Rain treat
Confessions = Foes, sins, con...
The Bermuda triangle = I under threat & gamble = I'm - threat, Blue Danger = Rated 'Blue nightmare' = Grumble, it near death = It large-number-death
God bless America = A sod begs miracle = O, bilge! Sam scared
Emperor = Per Rome
The Royal Residences, Buckingham Palace = Calm place. Here king's house, yard, cabinet...
The Socialist Republic of Cuba = I, Castro, absolute public-chief = I, F.Castro, but plausible choice
Chairman Mao Tse Tung = Scream it out - 'Hangman!' = Ah, communist at anger! = Not a China-master, mug = Most argute Chinaman? = Summon at Great China = Hang & tear a communist!
The Socialistic Revolution = To us, it historical violence
Lordosis = Sir so old
The Great October Socialistic Revolution = Terrible, chaotic violence. So, it - "Tsar, go out!"
Ayrton Senna da Silva = Annals: O, a nasty drive!
Medication = Acid item, no? = Decimation
Closure = So cruel
The little boys room = Toilet (other symbol)
Too many broken hearts = Thank boy, no more tears!
All you need is love = Ensoul lovely idea! = O, an used lovely lie!
The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso = Applies his hot abstract passion
A bottle of whiskey = 'Key' of lowest habit = We obey to hit flask
The Alpine ski = Slip, hit a knee
The ale-barrel = All beer, heart! = Halt, real beer!
Vituperations = A spit on virtue
Hatred = Dr. Hate
Marcello Mastroianni = Roll on, I'm a cinema star! = Install more Macaroni = Romantic roles 'animal'
Artist Marcello Mastroianni = An immortal Latin actor rises = Immortal Latin star & scenario
The Righteous Brothers = O, there bright 'shouters'!
Killer with a badge = Delight, I break law!
Kate Baker = Break & take
(Ma Baker)
Karma = A mark
The Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud = His understanding of our lust (true image) = I understand that our 'rueful ego' missing = Heritage - Understanding of our stimulus = Understand that furious ego is ruling me
Federal Bureau of Investigation = To nail free 'Bad, Negative & Furious'
Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle = Noticed augural hints, or any? = Again, story around hint (clue) = It's our canny leading author = Real actions undying author
The pioneer surgeon Christiaan Barnard = I run heart operations researching band
We hear at void = The radio wave
The Holocaust = Such loot & hate!
The Holocaust history = Hitler, sot youth, chaos
Women toilets = New stool time
International signal of distress - SOS = Sign of disaster, siren on all stations = Sign of disaster. No lies & translations = Is a sign of disaster still on sonar net? = Listen on radio sailors signs & net fast! = Listen on radio fast sent sailors sign
L.Leonov = Lo, novel!
Director Milos Forman = Or record it so - film-man
The ballroom dancers = Old notable charmers
Calories = or I scale = A cole, sir? = Rice also? = As recoil
Sir Peter Paul Rubens = Pure art, superb lines
The discomfort of angina pectoris = I get chest pain. Oafs, inform doctor!
The hurricane Dennis = I churn & rend in the sea
Hipsters = He strips
The 'Wildlife photographer of the year' winners = We shoot well: deer fight, piranha prey, eft, rhino...
The Britain's Labour Party leader = Bear out leadership? Blair - tyrant
Sir James Paul McCartney = Just play, manic screamer
Goldie Hawn = Head in glow
Miss Goldie Hawn = Single-show-maid
'Batman begins' = "I best, man!...BANG!"
The 'Air supply' = Play super hit = Play pure hits
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin = or Fighting imperious vicar = I'm vaporing historic figure
G.E. Rasputin = Pig's nature
The London suicide-bomb outrages = Boom! Continued slaughter, bodies
Florence Nightingale = Rich, fine, gentle gal, no?
Nurse Florence Nightingale, The Lady of the lamp = Lo, she our gentle nanny, medical help after fight
The worldwide famous painter Rembrandt = Man drew, dealed with number of portraits
Painter Hieronymus Bosch = Honor his name (by pictures)
Shirley Temple = Silly temper, eh? = Er...they sell imp
Parasite = As pirate
'Billy Elliot', the musical = Ballet. 'Lo, I clumsy? I lithe?'
City of Saint Petersburg = It got-by perfect - Russian
Michelangelo Buonarroti's 'The Pieta' = Lo, Christ on a petit blue Maria! He gone? = Ah, that religious one! Top, nice marble
Retired = Er...tired
Ultimate champion Yelena Isinbayeva = Oh, epic name! I easily beat many in vault
Honorable Doctor Kurt Waldheim = Murderer with cool & bad look (than)
Sculpturer Auguste Rodin = Nude groups is art, culture
Sculptor Auguste Rodin = or A Golden Cuts pursuit
Monsieur Auguste Rodin = Man is our stone-die guru
Singer David Bowie = Own big ideas & drive
Celsius and Fahrenheit = Each handles 'fire' units
Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius = Sir assured his most renowned scale
The motor racings = More cars tonight = Right, cars & men too
Actress Julie Andrews in 'The sound of music' = In war-musical, heroine just defends scouts = Sis just want hide sons from cruel audience
Until death do us part = Oh, part adults united! = Ends-up ritual? That do.
Actor Michael Caine = Each action-miracle
A golden voice = Vocal on edge, I
'There is a house in New Orleans' = No, these - lies. Area now ruins, eh?
The City of New Orleans = O, fie! Only water & stench = Incoherent, low safety = Town of earthy silence = Town of hearty silence = Sincerely, town of hate = O, new reality - of stench! = Chiefly water-on-stone
Gloria Estefan = 'Fire on LA stage'
The magnificent pyramid of Cheops = Nice empty midget Pharaoh's coffin
Writer Alistair Maclean = I rate war & criminal tales
The London suicide-bomb outrages = Bad outcomes, odor in English-tube
Lance Armstrong = Long 'n' smart race
The American actor Dustin Lee Hoffman = Damn cheerful fact - he 'Tootsie' & 'Rain man'!
'War and Peace' by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy = Heroic battles and love... Anyway, pick love! = Piece: Wealthy lady N.Rostova back in love
End of the road = Heed, to and fro = Done for death
A typical Londoner = Pale lady or nit con = Dry, lone, no capital
Spiro Theodore Agnew = or One who griped East = Oh, ignored East power! = Open war THERE is good = Oh, poor! New tragedies
Nicotine addiction = In tonic-dedication
Nicotine marks = Notice arm, skin...
Florida State University = I avail interest for study
The sin of adultery = Dirty unsafe hotel = Due filthy treason
The artist formerly known as Prince = Crank's a nit performer with no style
The Polaroid cameras = Sir made a clear photo = Clear photo is a dream
Most Americans say Bush not honest = He is most nasty one, obscurant & sham
Witness = It's news!
Colgate whitening paste = An aseptic glowing teeth!
The famous Greek mathematician Archimedes = Image of man that cheered 'Eureka!' is mismatch?
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite = I entail better & greater life
News: Bush refuse to set timetable for Iraq war = Time, stubborn! Life show - sequestrate warfare!
The professional gambler = Eternal big hope for slam = Foster big hopes, earn small = Ah, ill person, bets for game!
An intelligent woman = Owning menial talent?
Sherlock Holmes = He'll mesh crooks
Eating a Christmas pie = Grimaces, antipathies
Christmas presents = Stamps, shirt, screen... = Pet, cress, man's shirt...
Bomber kills more than 30 on Baghdad bus = Blame on Bush and 30 'throbbed' kilograms
Smart guy = A gutsy Mr.
The indiscreet person = Is coherent, President
Nordic countries = Ice-rind contours
Investigator: US shipped out detainees = 'Goat' punished in States visited Europe (goat - a lecherous man)= USA 'pigs' hide it; sent deviants to Europe = Ado: Punished in States get Europe visit
The Unknown Soldier = Link.(Who under stone?) = Keen now this old urn
[link - a torch]
[keen - to wail in lamentation, especially for the dead]
The United States The Postal Service = The nicest letters posted via USA = Then it 'device' to pass USA letters
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier = O, mob, think who left under stone!
The naturists = Anti-shutters = Unearths tits
Clirotidectomies = Code: erotic limits
The females circumcision = Islamic mufti's coherence
Scores of whales beached in New Zealand = Woe when obese crazed 'sea fish' clan land
The Disney's 'Finding Nemo' = Tiny, designed fish (no men)
Actress Sarah Silverman = Lass, as ever, charmin' star
Walter Disney = I draw tensely
Walter Elias Disney = Yes, I draw tale-lines
'It's a long way to Tipperary' = War nostalgia, pity poetry = I-patriot, yet play war song = 'Oily' past Giant War poetry
Handle with care = Are held in watch
Ancient = Inca.net
American actor Tom Hanks = Man 'took' main characters
Procrastinations = Airport sanctions
Kobe Bryant = NBA-trek-boy
Casino hotels = i.e. Lost cash, no? = Oh, steal coins!
The professional astrological consultation = All giant stars position 'choose' local fortune = Stars location is local signal to hope & fortune = All stars are tools of an opt outlining choices
Wheels = Slew, eh?
Perish the thought = Hope - highest truth = Trust the High Hope
A perambulator = A tour-able pram = About real pram
The perambulators = Brats real home (put)
A man is innocent until proven guilty = Naive, nut men paying on sin till court
New military sensor can hear through walls = Army listens WHEN we laugh or train scholar = When on hall, army 'wires' can steal our rights = Warning: Hush her, army listens to war locale
Augustine vulcano erupts on the Alaska island = Thousand great unusual lava plates on ice-skin
Leyan Lo solves Rubik's Cube in record time = Rubric: I more skilly - about eleven seconds!
Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, emir of Kuwait = As Arab sheik I had wealth, kif, ale, jumbo harem
The famous black singer Stevie Wonder = A sweet-blue voice from 'night-darkness'
[he's blind, no?]
Totalitarism = A limit to tsar?
The South American countries = Most curious ancient earth, eh? = Earth's to the curious Inca-men
The International Morse code = Method to earn nice relations = Once, the main letters on radio
'Kinder' chocolate eggs = Gag-icons locked there
The Republic of Ireland = I found reel-birthplace = Rich, top life? Endurable = I feel dear North public = If picture broaden - Hell = Beer - helpful indicator = I fold leprechaun tribe = Flinched tribal Europe = Hi, terrible place found!
Martin Luther King day = 'Dream' I truly thanking = Dark men thingy ritual = Alright, dark men unity
The Martin Luther King's day = Utterly, thanking 'his dream!'
Michael Jackson = Claims he no jack
Singer Michael Jackson = Home reclining jackass
The Roman Forum = Haunt from Rome
Carpe Diem = Mad recipe
Archimedes of Syracuse = Assume. Research. Codify. = My focus - research ideas = My focus - a search desire = Measure of hydric cases = Fiery scream as douches
The Winter Olympic Games on Torino = Competitions, only in grim weather = Right time to play in snow or ice, men! = Merit men go to win place in history = Imagine competitors, hotly winner
The German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler = 'Father' of Hell, hating murderer
Southern = Er...hot sun = Sun & throe = Nurse hot
Norwegians = In snow rage = A snow-reign = Regain snow
Scotland = Old & scant
The Twentieth Winter Olympic games = New athletic meeting. My 'White Sport' = Oh, my! Wet emphatic winner gets title = My, wet champions get their new title! = Met the wiry champions get new title
Solomon The Wise = Ooh, timeless now!
Stacy Keibler = Ask celebrity = Racy, bit sleek
Potato = To a pot
A losing battle = Battalion legs
(legs - runs away)
Eurosport channel = Race, pool, then runs...
Samford University = Study, a firm version
Iowa State University = Tuition assertive way
School of The Visual Arts = 'Hash', festival to colours!
The American actor Clint Eastwood = Cool action at dramatic western, eh? = A smart, intact, ice-cool, WANTED hero
Unsentimental = Meanest nut, nil
O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo = Ooh, for remote hero-wooer, remote amour!
Neil Percival Young = U R playing nice, love!
The actor Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio = To the world I dear, rich cinema-Apollo
Pantagruelian = Real Giant (a pun)
Thomas Coleman Younger = Ay, man huge, cool monster! = O, some tough-larceny man! = Rough man locates money = Common slaughter, no? Aye.
Monastic = Stoic man
An ocelot = Lo, one cat!
Oh, those Russians! = Oh, I hate USSR sons!
A bad compromise is better than good lawsuit = That 'good war' impossible, obtain me sad truce
New York Cosmos = 'cos money works!
'Sleeping beauty' = But pleasing eye
Discreet = Secret ID
The Sydney Opera House = 'A-y-e! H-e-y!' Here sound's top!
Michael Jackson ordered to close Neverland = Cancel, then! No more cajoled kids or lads, ever!
Teacher = THE CARE
A golden opportunity = Apt option, only urged = It - open ground to play
Window of opportunities = UP for wide options to win
Achievements = Nice, save them
Actress Maureen Stapleton = Late top US-screen star name
No thru! = Oh, turn!
A sore point = Operations = Torose pain
A game of cat and mouse = Adage of a mean custom
A palomino [horse] = Polo-mania
Obdurateness = Sure not based = Reason busted = Be unassorted = Abusers noted = Be not assured
The poltergeist = Teeth-split ogre
Alain Delon = I one and ALL
Astronauts = To a star! Sun!
Cosmonauts = A cosmo-nuts
The seductress = She erects stud
The abstinence = Ancient behest = Best, enhance it
Media = i.e. Mad
Daily bread = I barely add
R and B = Brand
The movie 'Fantomas against Scotland Yard' = Story of hating asocial madman's vendetta
City of Saint Petersburg (former Leningrad) = Decently framing, refer to big Russian port
Joannie Rochette = Another 'jet' on ice
[Canadian figure skater]
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, 'War and Peace' = His very tale. Weapon and love 'cocktail'
A drop in the ocean = Aha, indecent, poor! = Er...cheap donation
A four lettered word = Treated for rude & low
A neatly turned phrase = Unearthed pleasantry
A matter of negotiation = Fit to treat, no egomania
Daintiness = Instead sin = Detains sin
After nine months' pregnancy = More parents fetching nanny = Perfect son...nightmare nanny
Irina Slutskaya = Italian? A Russky!
Enrico Macias = I a sonic 'cream'
Edit Piaf = If I taped?!
French singer Salvatore Adamo = This dear Frog earns vocal-name
Spontaneously = To use 'SNAP' only
Rene Magritte = Greet mine art
'Benfica' = I FC-bane
Familiarity breeds contempt = Many times credit profitable = Impatience forms bitter lady = Maybe price for dilettantism? = Flattery bedims imprecation = Compliment best, fair idea. Try!
Hartebeest = Beast there
Russian torpedoes = I use sonar & stop Red
Casey Mears = A messy race = Seamy races = Yes, same car
Champs Elysees, Paris = Simply see Arc's shape
The disciple Judas Iscariot = I aid to epic lad - Jesus Christ
The designer Vera Wang = Never wear 'aged' things! = Draw thee evening rags = Sew red evening rag & hat
Thomas Alva Edison = Ah, anodes, voltaism!
Actor Bruce Lee, The Dragon = Our belted character gone = N.B. - Great coloured teacher
Seroxat tablets = Tabs set to relax
Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate = My, my! A treat by hoax-drug!
Scottish Soccer League = 'Celtic' outgoes chasers
The actress Natalie Portman = Hot cinema star (spare talent)
American Hot Dogs = or as death coming = Organ-stomach die
Famous author Margaret Mitchell = I 'mum' of the rum gal Scarlett O'Hara
A Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekov = Ah, 'Uncle Vania' script, 'Ivanov', other works
Undressing = Rings nudes
After us the deluge = Last huge rude fete
Apres moi le deluge = Ego-rule: I'm pleased
Robert Louis Stevenson = Sure best novelist, or no?
Miss Procter = More scripts
Adelaide Anne Procter = Nice and dear, real poet
Theory of relativity = Oh, very fit to reality!
Adriano Celentano = Once 'National Dear'
Cleopatra of Egypt = Gal of top-race-type = Got top, pearly face
Donatien Alphonse Francois De Sade = Fool sadist enhanced & reasoned pain = He added on lot of pains, insane scare
Edgar Allan Poe = Read, all on page = All on page, dear
O-three zone = Ozone there
Honore Balssa = He's also baron?
[Honore de Balzac]
Old Bourbon = O, blood, burn!
'Stella Artois' = Total ale, sirs!
"Stella Artois' beer = Best ale to real sir
The US author William Sydney Porter = That writer usually 'imposed' O'Henry = O'Henry. What ideally put, rum stories!
Agathon: Even God cannot change the past = Advance, that snatch-path gone...gone...gone
Diogenes = I seen God = Ego is 'den' = NO is edge
Charles = He's Carl
The coach Steve McClaren = Clever Scotch, he can team
Moody Blues = Bloody Muse!
The poet Thomas Gray = Ah, get rhymes to a top!
Siamese twins = Same, I witness
The Roman Coliseum and The Forum = Mute remains of the loud monarch
Actress Julia Roberts = So, I just cerebral star
Best before date... = Be tasted before
Battles in Somalia = O, Islam ain't stable!
Mogadishu: Battles in Somalia = Abolish mutilations & damages!
I, Sting = Sing it
The sleeping partner = Genteel partnership
My inamorata = I amatory-man = Maria, not May
'A million little pieces' = One simple illicit tale
Active Merapi volcano = Overcome panic, it lava
His fly open = Oh, penis, fly!
Abnormal testicles = Cite 'A monster balls'
Nice amatory verses = Yes, romantic as ever! = Some tears, naive cry = Eases, very romantic = Even my Rosie - carats! = See as very romantic
Every Englishman's great ambition = Saving the Tony Blair's regime name? = Easily manage British government = Get vanish Tony Blair's regime name
Onanist = Stain, no? = On satin? = Anti-son = Not a sin?
I love you my darling = You grim, naive dolly = Your money, villa...Dig? = No, my dove, I ugly liar
Unbelievable story = One brave but sly lie = One subtly brave lie = Even our salty Bible = Evils, brute baloney
Contention = Not, not nice
The singer Beyonce = Nice energy! Oh, best!
Beethoven's Appassionata = He 'paves' best piano sonata
The Apartheid regime = I merge hit, rape & death
Morning erections = O, groins increment!
The morning erections = Honoring centimeters = Rotten 'gnome' rise inch
The fornication = Not ethic, no fair
'A spirit passed before me' = Poets iamb disperse fear
Chris Martin = I rich 'n' smart
The Coldplay = CD? Hell to pay!
'There's a place' = The real space
The World Cup in Germany = Adept winner; much glory
The World Cup finals, Germany = Wonderful players matching = Winner holds flag up, team cry
The World Cup finals in Germany = Careful winning, medals, trophy = Newsy 'n' right place for Mundial = Grumpy French led, Italians won
Dr. Gabriel Van Helsing = Brave, daring, shelling
Exodus International = United on rational sex
Mysterious Stonehenge = Igneous system there, no?
Charity begins at home = The Hot Magic is nearby = I get the Basic Harmony = It teaches big harmony
Prince William = A prim nice Will
Pitta bread = Bited-apart
The Principality of Monaco = If rich - on top; money, capital
The first dance lesson = Hands...let feet in cross
Mount Everest, Nepal = Ample stone, venture
Tim The Hanger = The nightmare
Oddly enough = Holy God, nude!
The coleslaw = Hell, cows-eat!
The Christology = To etch HIS glory
Osama Bin Laden = One's bad animal
Superstitions = It's stories, pun = Inputs stories
Seattle, Washington = Elegant as this town! = 'English' town & a state = Town gains athletes = This, angel, East town
Better than sex = Be the next star = Be the next tsar
Infidelities = I defile - it sin = i.e. Find, it lies
Rhinoceros = Horn is core
Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) = Homo - Strong-Musical-Star
El Cinco de Mayo = Nice day, me cool
Naples, Italy = Ye, Latin pals
I, Neapolitan = Open Italian
Festival Cannes, Palme d'Or = 'Enacts' novel films parade = Means - First Place and Love
The aphorism = Phrase to him
Steps to recover from infidelity = 1. Strife, 2. - Find lover. Yes, competitor
Naomi Campbell = I'm clean Aplomb
Airways = Away, sir!
Madonna, The Material Girl = Drat! Hear man, get a million!
Stum = Must
Carlos Vicente Tenorio = O, ever into Latino soccer!
Coelho = He cool!
The famous writer Paulo Coelho = O, some ethical powerful author!
Leonardo Da Vinci's painting 'Mona Lisa' = O, on canvas odd Italian smile! (Pain? Grin?)
Milton's Paradise Lost = i.e. Psalms to Saint lord
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz = Viz, big-well-hot-fertile mind, no?
Philosopher Rene Descartes = O, listen, heed, search, prosper!
Christian Bale = A clean British
Breast augmentation = Mean: About tits range = Earn a mount-big teats
The Roland Garros men's final = Gosh, real tennis from R. Nadal!
Arthur Wimperis = I write sharp & rum
Pythagoras of Samos = Moot assays of graph
The actor Philip Seymour Hoffman = Hah, picture hero of many top films!
The breaking of wind = We breathing? Kind of = How, after being kind? = Within fog 'n' bad reek
Toni Luca = O, lunatic!
Penis augmentation = One amusing patient
The sixty-nine position = i.e. It is top hot sex, ninny!
Vincenzo Iaquinta = Viz, I quite a 'cannon'!
M. Ballack = Mack 'Ball'
Elias Repin = Praise line = Aspire line
Real painter = A later Repin
The Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky = 'Pictures': Sods, shop-rooms, rumors, Kiev's gate hymn, etc.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky = Russky gives me most top chord
After the non-alcoholic beer = Oh, it clear! One belch, one fart
The adults diapers = Ah, it's lad's turd & pee!
The diapers = Reaped shit = Dreep a shit = Drat, his pee! = It's hard-pee = Ah, dirts & pee!
Secret Garden, 'Nocturne' = 'Eden' runs great concert
The Chieftains = Safe ethnic hit = Each hit, finest
D. Hasselhoff = Dash of flesh
'Arctic Monkeys' band = A best 'n' dynamic rock
Message in a bottle = Go & net best sea-mail
Dave Berry = Every bard
The famous chemist Dmitri Mendeleev = Hm, I divide & form taut elements scheme
Sir Paul McCartney = Rap? Try clean music = Care, plan & try music
Charles William Shirley Brooks = His books' charm will really rise
Inspector Maigret = I get crime-patrons = Tapering to crimes = To pin great crimes = I'm stern great cop, I = Great in crime-stop = Great in crime-spot = Enigmatic reports = 'Greetin', I smart cop! = At crime get prison = I top strange crime = or I get pert manics
The sexual shenanigans = Naughtiness, anal sex, eh? = Shag six, then ensue anal
Shenanigans = Shag nannies
Leadership = Raised help = Has replied = Is help, dear
Lead singer = A legend, sir = Needs a girl
Metropolis = Spoilt Rome
Epidermis = Is deep rim = Rim espied
The procurer = Er...he corrupt
Orthodontics = This doctor? NO! = Roots, ditch, no? = Icon's - Dr. Tooth
The funeral march = Urn (he left a charm) = The urn (he far & calm)
The American = He ain't cream
American businessman = Insane manic bears sum
Espionage = I gape & nose
Industrial espionage = I nose, tail, persuading = Ingenious lad's pirate
The industrial espionage = On pure night I steal ideas
Chief inspector Jules Maigret = Justice person, malice fighter = Terrific policeman. He sets jug [prison] = Proliferating justice scheme = Real, profiting justice scheme = In crimes get help for a justice
Gravestone epitaphs = Stop. Heaven's gate. RIP.
Personal website = Beware: pointless! = It's rebel's weapon = Beware, spoils net! = Towers plebeians
Rats and mice = Reminds a cat
The most powerful man in the world turns sixty on Thursday = True pix of untrustworthy, mindless, sham tyrant. He old now
Piscatorial = Sail to Capri = A tropic sail
Piscatory = I 'toy' carps
A theatre critic = The act criteria
Marks and Spencer = Scan, remark, spend
Desdemona = Ado ends me
Othello and Desdemona = She dead? No, dolt male, NO!
The gossip columns = Menus: light scoops = English smut & scoop
Fourth of July celebrations = Jolly count of Free USA birth
British baroness Helene Hayman = Noble, shy manners here is a habit
Learning difficulties = Significant field & rule
A Mercedes limousine = I same sure nice model
Pointer Sisters = Present sis-trio
The liaison = A hot sin, lie
Perfectionist = Not fit, PRECISE!
Lady Diana Spencer = Plan easy riddance = Easy plan: Car + Di = end
Chairman Mao = or 'Mama China'
S. Berlusconi = Is cruel snob
Infinitesimally = I fine, small, I tiny
Isaac Newton's first law of motion = Wow, fools, inertia is constant! F = ma
Ram and Zvonarova win Wimbledon's mixed doubles finals = Lad from Zion and 'bad' Russian woman blew involved mixes
The old fart = Dolt father
The monkeys family = My, he akin to myself! = I mean, they my folks = Aye, this 'menfolk' my = Safety link, my home = Yes, my 'hamlet' of kin = Anytime he's my folk = This 'men' my folk, aye
Gladiator = A glad riot
The gladiator = Go & trial Death! = I great, hot lad
Pedro Martinez de la Rosa = Realize named road-sport = Matador? Ride-zeal person!
Pedro de la Rosa = Real roads dope
Tennis player Rudek Stepanek = Earned plenty & I seek ATP ranks
Southern Beirut = O, there but ruins!
War in Southern Beirut = Tie, win...Our Earth burns!
Pictures from Japan = Re-scan Fuji ramp & top
Author Georges Joseph Christian Simenon = O, Jesus, hang on his hero - Inspector Maigret!
President Silvio Berlusconi = In depression (civil troubles)
Advertisement = Enters TV media
Orenthal James Simpson = Ah, male joins sportsmen! = She jails me! No sport, man!
Orenthal Simpson = Sportsman? O, he nil!
Mesdemoiselles = See models smile
Impertinent = Nit in temper
The battle of Stalingrad = Adolf Hitler at test. BANG! = That battlefield groans = Satan-Hitler got bad & left = Real fight.'Satan bottled!' = At all - big start of the end
'Don't leave me this way' = An old - 'Stay with me, Eve!' = Even - 'O, stay with me, lad!'
Take showers = To wash reeks
It's no big deal = Albeit, doings = Is tangible, do
Scientist Dmitriy Ivanovich Mendeleev = I sided active involvement in chemistry
Fascist Hermann Goering = I frenetic & gross hangman
Hermann Goering = He - 'no grin' German
The Nuremberg trial = Grab true Hitler-men!
The writer Alexandre Dumas = It rather new deluxe dramas = Ah, rewritten deluxe dramas!
The singer Ani DiFranco = I find canto & rehearsing = Her fine disc on a rating
Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) = Maul & maim! (I had saucy class)
Michael Drosnin = Donnish miracle = Do charm in lines = I lines-chord man
Lee Tamahori = He? Late Maori
The author James Fenimore Cooper = A totem & one major hero - super chief
Stanley Laurel = True 'lean' sally
Alexandre Dumas = Read, damn sexual = Drama & sexual end = Arm, a duel and sex
The philosopher Confucius = Ooh, cup silence! Profit hush!
Down and out = O, dud, wanton!
Valetudinarian = Invalid? A nature!
The composer Rinaldo di Capua = A honor & appreciated old music
'Be discovered, be a star!' = Rates above described!
'Temptation Island" = Damn it, pal, I on test! = Sand & intimate plot = Damn petit Latinos!
US comedian Seinfeld = Audience fond smiles
'The planet of the apes', book by famous writer Pierre Boulle = About 'The Monkey Power'; if fat horrible beast rules people
Cedilla = Allied C
Island of Borneo = Far, bold, no noise
Camelot: The National Lottery = Lo, nice to treat all that money!
Auschwitz, Poland = Old Nazis up. Watch!
The concentration camp Auschwitz, Poland = Rotten Nazi-occupants (which to damn) place
Fisher-Price toys = Yes, terrific shop! = Yes, for this price?!
Felipe Calderon = Nice leader? Flop!
South Korea's capital city = Seoul. O, that capacity - risk!
Bush makes transportation secretary pick = Thanks, precious Mary Peters!..Back to trains!
'Animal planet' on the Discovery Channel = On TV: nice elephant, cold snail, ram, hyena...
Russian roulette = Real ruinous test = Salute or...U rest in...
Cuisine Francaise = Fair, in nice sauces
Senegal = Glen & sea
Singapore = Grip on sea
Russian Federation = One unfair disaster = I intend - area of USSR = Is in area of nut Reds
Bahamas = Ah, samba!
Honduras = O, hard sun! = Hoard sun
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya = Arabian jail by amir, yah
Tate Gallery = Legal art (yet)
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova = Soviet astronaut. Lack, have no men?
Tennis player Maria Sharapova = A sharp arm, a naive personality
The kidnapped Corporal Gilad Shalit = Poor sat? Alright? Handicapped? Killed?
Disneyland Theme Park Resort, Paris = Kids, pairs and men play or rest there
Low libido = I old, I blow
The Russian composer = To hear person's music = Person to share music
The angina pectoris = Pain at chest region = Since, got heart-pain
Yosemite National Park = I look at many trees, I nap... = Tamarisk, peony... Elation!
The lost city of Atlantis = They last? Total fictions! = Isle, not city that floats = They still too fantastic! = Yet, into facts, this - atoll = Honestly, is it total fact?
Oscar Wilde = I scale word
The author Oscar Wilde = Each word suit, real, hot
The composer Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni = I bloom in nice, moving sonatas, hot opera
American athlete Carl Lewis = Trace, I win all the male races
Dante's Inferno = End after sin, no?
Comrade Stalin = Lead-narcotism = Old mean racist = Nail democrats! = Old manic tears = Lodestar - manic = Lost Red maniac = It's clear, no? MAD! = Satan. Old crime = Me, Satanic-Lord
The comrade Stalin = Death, not miracles = Hot scam, nit leader = Detrimental chaos
Charles Goodyear = Hey, real car-goods! = Large cosy road, eh?
Inventor Charles Goodyear = Very cool tire, has no danger = Oh, race & drive along on tyres! = A hero doing novel car tyres
Comrade Vladimir Lenin = Criminal and more - Devil! = Real rival. Demonic mind
The astronaut Ilan Ramon = Am star-nut, national hero
The comrade Vladimir Ulianov (Lenin) = Revolution! He mad villain, Red manic
The psychiatrist Sigmund Freud = I spurt chief night-dreams study
The Colonel Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin = One 'allegorical' achiever. 'Guy in the sky' = Okay, I launch air-vehicle. Energy...'Let's go!'
The composer Claudio Monteverdi = Renovator. O, he did complete music!
Economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen bank = Credit to needy mums. A humane bank among humans
William Tell = All-time Will
'Yankees' pitcher Cory Fulton Lidle = I fly in N.York, lope, cut, crash & 'delete'
The statues of Easter island = It features last stone-heads = See heads? Astronauts left it?
Statues of Easter island = Distasteful stones area
'Gulliver's travels' by Jonathan Swift = All stabs, joyful & thriving events, war... = Just thrilling novel, brave & fast ways = Just a fast swab: very thrilling novel = Involves aberrant law, 'justly' fights = Well! Slavery, nut fights, variant jobs = I 'fly' with all vagrants ventures & jobs
The Salvador Dali's Art Museum = Ah, most valued, 'mad' surrealist!
Rare meteorite found in Kansas field = Sure, one-of-its-kind material, and free!
A Nightmare on Elm street = Some men-relating threat = Rots me, threatening male! = Entitle the ogre-arms man = He's ogre in maltreatment = Nit ogre, he maltreats men
"Call me when you're sober" = My new beer & alcohol user
The nuclear tests in North Korea = Then I learn: Rockets - threat on US
Bush: I won't change strategy in Iraq = By that, questioning & searching war = We trying nice thing - to quash Arabs = Quote: Nay, I screw Arabs night-night!
Israel: Flights over Lebanon to continue = So, in all this, bare violence unforgotten
Arrest leads to discovery of Egypt tombs = Boy-pilferers 'add' to grotto (caves) system
iPod turns five = It provides fun
The law of supply and demand = Helpful way to spend and dam
Fernando Alonso Diaz = Dozen finals on a road = Finds zeal on a road, no?
The Royal Shakespeare Company = Okay, shape actors (men) play here = Men play each part. Hookers? - Easy!
Troubles = Blue sort = Blot, sure
Professional sportman = Man for oil & snap posters
Finance = Can fine
Tottenham Hotspur FC = The Top 'nuts' for match = The sport-match to fun
Thomas Cruise = I sum: he's actor
Thomas Cruise Mapother = Ah, sure! prime smooth act = Smooth act & supreme hair
The Clint Eastwood's, 'Million dollar baby' = She won many 'diabolic' battles, till...O, Lord!
Chivas Regal = Charge vials
'What do you get when you fall in love?' = You? That novel,'hallowed', young wife = Woo novel, healthy young/adult wife
The Kissing Bandit = Bed-knight? It's a sin!
Reamonn, 'Supergirl' = Purr mine real song = Pure, normal singer
The Irish dancer Michael Flatley = His 'mechanical', ready feet - thrill!
The Crimean war = A raw crime (then)
Socialist party = Astray politics
John Logan's motion picture 'The last of samurai' = Militant Tom Cruise along & of South Japan shore
Aleksandr Hleb = Hankered balls = Hark! needs ball
Footballer Aleksandr Hleb = 'Labeled' to hanker for balls
Daniel Ortega = O, giant leader! = To gain leader
Daniel Ortega Saavedra = O, sad! Ain't leader. Ravage.
Operation = O, atropine!
Wigan Athletic FC = Act. Fight. Lace. Win (lace - attack)
Harriet Beecher Stowe = Brother? I care, he sweet
Tourette's syndrome = No-modesty utterers = Rotten. Yes, most rude
Forty four year old Bo Stefan Eriksson = Okay, 'buffoon' destroys stolen Ferrari
Shaw's 'Pygmalion' = Ow, smashing play!
The famous American actor Christopher Reeve = To reach for hit-movie-career he acts Superman
'Video killed the radio star' = Trivial, like the dead 'Doors'
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan = The Taliban official using her camps = The Russian-claim: incapable of fight = I main place of such Taliban fighters = US primal office chasing the Taliban
United Artists Company = Sat top cinema industry = Top stars & untidy cinema = Cinema stars & top nudity = Top stars in cinema-duty = Into mad, nasty pictures = Natty pictures domains
The London Lunatic Asylum = Many dull-nuts location, eh?
Palmistry = Imply star
New York Times = Key to rim news
The New York Times = My, it hot news reek! = Remit hot, key news
The rap music = Parties, chum! = "U + he = Mist + crap"
That desirable communism = The somnambulistic dream
The White House, Washington = Oh, within - HE, who guts Senate
Undesirable = Ire and blues
The impossible = I bet hope's slim
The impossible dreams = Me hopes: I dreamt bliss = Diet problems, Messiah...
The New York Post = Hook pretty news
New post = Top news
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons = Nice choice for ugly artists & some peasant
Transcendental meditation = Attentions mental riddance = Acted internal 'No mind' state = Silence. Intent to add mantra = Tend to select Indian mantra
The transcendental meditation = Trance. 'No mind' state. Let Death in!
Killing two birds with one stone = Wit or kindness? No, I will get both = I sort. End is known - I will get both
The Ouija board = Ah, I abjured too!
Where is the land of milk and honey? = Handle thy new-kind of home - Israel
Desperate housewives = So upset & we have desire! = Sure, I see 'a deep' TV show
School board = Ooh, Lords, ABC!
The pen is mightier than the sword = The sharp word hits eight - ten men, I
Only the good die young = They gone, you doing old = Eyeing on youth, old dog? = None? You eighty, old dog! = They 'done', you going old
The movie 'Casino Royale' = Holy America, it OO-seven! = Macho-reality of OO-seven = Oh, alacrity! I'm OO-seven
Motion picture 'Casino Royale' = Money operations. O, it crucial!
The motion picture 'Casino Royale' = I am cool spy. There, routine action
'Sealed with a kiss' = A hit (we sale disks) = Was else a hit, kids = Was said - 'Sleek hit'
'Unbreak my heart!' = Take me, nab! Hurry!
'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare = A wile. My jealous heart is broken & impaled = A remarkable poem with jealousy, din, lies
'Romeo and Juliet' by W. Shakespeare = Said - 'Weep my jealous broken heart!'
Mister Television = Er..visit & see Milton
Mister Television Milton Berle = I'm little & risible. Seen more on TV
The Guinness Book of Records = Source of Honored, Best & Kings
'You've lost that lovin' feeling' = A hit. Love song. Fit, lovely tune = Eventually, love shifting too = Love is love. Nothing fault, yet = Gave it. Fully into honest love = They veto, oust 'Falling in love' = It you - love slave? Nothing left? = Visually, Eve, nothing left too = You shall give vent to life, not? = O, still in love, fag? Out the envy!
The Decameron = O, damn, he erect!
'American pie' = Peer, I maniac = Mania recipe
Gaellivare = Er..a village
The aventures of Robin Hood = Venture. As hobo? Thief? Donor?
Sir Henry Wotton = 'Hot story' winner
The Magnificent seven = Men fights. A nice event
Chrysler Corporation = Oh, lorry & nice sport-car!
Unmotivated = One avid mutt
'Think of your forefathers! Think of your posterity!' = Hero of kith & kin! Fortify parents, foster your youth!
The last minute = Thee stimulant
The Gospel of Judas Iscariot = Oath!? A disciple forgot Jesus!
Memento mori = Memo to miner
National Film Board = Information: All bad
The picaroons = To prison. Each!
The picaroon = Oh, pirate & con!
Athletes = Let's heat!
USA Green Card = A curse & danger?
The USA Green Card = Treasured change = True changes, dear
Optimistically = A lot simplicity
Pessimistically = A less simplicity = It silly escapism
Misanthrope = No simp & hater = Sin methapor = Simp, no heart
The misanthrope = This 'pro' hate men = Honest,'prim' hate = I hate men thorps = His top - men-hater = Mr.Top Shine Hate
King Arthur's Camelot = Our cream, last knight = A ruler, knight & mascot
The modern palmistry = Hand. Let's trip memory = Let hand strip memory
Modern palmistry = Lo, my printed arms! = My printed morals = Print lad's memory
The palmistry = My star help it
Numerologist = Retooling sum = Into-sum-ogler
The protagonist = Spotting at hero = Tasting top hero = Stating top hero = Ooh, petting star!
A disaster scene = I scare, tense & sad = As I scared & tense
Break your leg! = Regular 'OK, bye!'
Abnormal = Ban moral
Comrades = O, Red scam! = More cads = 'cos am Red = Reds-coma
Madness = DNA mess? = ...and mess
Interpretations of dreams = Minds retreat - option & fears = Pets arrested information = Important and free stories = Finest demeanors portrait = Portrait of entire madness = It readin' of person matters = Important side (after snore) = Most irritant deep fears, no? = or Transmit into deep fears = Fears & 'tripe' demonstration = Reports, frame & destination = Spared information tester = Spread information setter = Mind rest after operations
Radetsky march = Heard my tracks? = Hark streamy CD = Hark army-set CD = Hear my stark CD
A revolutionist = No riot, it's value = Value sortition = True violations = Voltaire. Suit, no?
Ivory-billed woodpecker = O, keep cool! Very wild bird
Eve Ensler's,'The vagina monologues' = Heroine's 'love nest' language & moves = Her love (amusing love) seen on stage = One vulgar, even hostile message, no? = Lie gone. One honest vulvar message = Message? Love snug & love inane throe
The investigation = He gets invitation
The investigations = Gives his attention
The police investigations = He insisting - 'Leave it to cop'
A starvation diet = I eat viands? A tort!
The countryside = Hide & rest county = You dine & stretch
Forensic medicine = I fond crime scene, I = I 'science of minder' = Science: 'I find more'
Generation = Ingrate one
Generations = Gone in tears = Ignorant, see = Strange one, I
Saddam exchanged taunts before hanging = Stings of executed damned Arab...Hang! Hang!
Tribunal = Nub: trial
The singer Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman) = Bard & gentleman. 'Mobilize brotherly manners'
Procrustean bed = Bad person. Er...cut! = Abed curt person
The burial ground = But he our darling! = A 'hurting' boulder = I brought urn. Deal = Right, old-beau urn = Burier - 'Tough land' = Righto, undurable = I dug earth. Blur, no?
Between Scylla and Charybdis = Nice sally - 'Why bad centre's bad' = Clearly, tense by bad 'sandwich' = Whereby ascendancy still bad
The stimulus = I must hustle
Forensic journalist = Core: joins fun trials
Film director Akira Kurosawa = Mark force, war, aikido, rituals
Overeating = I note grave = or Negative
The overeating = Negative throe
Stop overeating = A rot even to pigs
Putrefactions = A rot up & infects
Long letter to sweetheart = To tell her - 'Not we greatest?'
Paternoster = Tears on pert = A repent-sort
The professional dancer = Senior of clean, hard step
The famous writer Joseph Rudyard Kipling = Protrudes hairy kid from jungle, with apes
Mephisto = So, The Imp = Ethos imp
one of the seven chief devils, the tempter of Faust
"It's been a hard day's night" = They sing a dear bands hit = Hasty British-agenda end = British set, handy agenda
Australian open = i.e. A sport. Annual
Australian Open Tournament = Annual tennis (top or amateur)
The beach scavengers = Catch seven bags here = Chest, bench, vase, gear...
Charles Simonyi = i.e. Rich man so sly
Nathuram Godse = Great human? Sod!
Nathuram Vinayak Godse = Outraged, vain, shaky man
Bush chides Iraq over recent executions = Heard butcher's excessive critique - 'No no!'
The Spaniard Carmela Bousada = Date, such an old Ma bears a pair
Tres bien = Er...in best
Yao Ming = I gamy, no?
Old soldier = O, does drill!
A soldier = Is loader
Isla Fisher = She is flair
Henry M. Paulson = Money-rush plan = Prune man? Oh, sly!
Video cameras = A sacred movie = A scared movie?
Hillary Rodham Clinton = C. Hill nominator? Hardly! = Thrill on Monica? Hardly!
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton = ...and I'll lead into rich harmony
The Russian defector = Oh, unrestricted & safe! = Code there is - Run fast = 'Friend' races to the US = In such fear to desert = I run to share defects = Ouch, deserter faints! = Cheated us & frontiers = Consider that US free = Red chief runs to East?
Obesity? = Bite soy!
Prometheus = Supreme hot = Presume hot = Muster hope = He most pure
A chocolate collection = Alcohol, cocoa inlet, etc.
A pathologist = Hospital-toga
Forensic pathologist = I got into half corpses = 'Lights' proof into case = His 'glint' to proof case
The censors = Short scene
The forensic pathologist = Proof - it lightens 'hot case' = The apt relics of shooting
The Asian Bird Flu epidemic = If media published, certain! = I mind the idea, public fears
Internet spam = Is entrapment = Set men in trap
(Alain) Prost = Sport
Forest Whitaker = Hit for week? Star?
British Parliament = Airs thine PM T. Blair
French anti-semites = 'Fete' in Christ's name
There is = It's here
The Maid of Orleans = Foolhardiest name = 'Lionet' - head of arms = Led aims of a throne = Leads aim of throne = A homeland - 'To fires!' = O, flamed hero- saint!
The Maiden of Orleans = One flamed saint hero
The Van Allen's radiation belts = 'A tent'. Save Earth, land & billions
The cirrhosis = This sore rich
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak = It 'Bolshevik-Draconian' prose
Author Boris Leonidovich Pasternak = Old patriotic Russian book? Hah, never!
Pasternak's 'Doctor Zhivago' = Havoc-period. Tzar's 'got sank'
Is there life on Mars? = Is aliens therefrom? = Other lifes remains?
Costa del Sol = Cosset a doll = Coolest lads!
Animadversion = 'Armed invasion' = A damn revision = Invaders aim, no?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica = Notice inlay: Each part in A, B, C, D, E...
Nine US soldiers killed in the Iraq bombing = 'Blood bill' requires names & inside thinking
Liverpool knocked title-holders Barcelona out of the Champions League = Looks like English football team dethrone each old European Cup victor
King Lear = Large kin
Clint Eastwood in the film 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' = Blondie, Angel Eyes & dolt Tuco. Hot fight with damn Death = Find The Blondie, hot Angel Eyes & mad Tuco with that gold
Chinese woman makes history in Ireland = Anna Lo(weak Erin-minority) heeds schism
The former Playboy centerfold Anna Nicole Smith = OD. Hereby my last chapter of normal 'innocent' life
[OD: overdose]
Hamlet's soliloquy = Squeal-'Holy, I'm lost!'
The famed terpsichorean Isadora Duncan = Hear it - I danced a thousand performances = I, Hetaira, danced thousand performances
Ethical code = Dealt choice = i.e. Cold teach
The 'Amor Amor' = Mother-Aroma
Eau de toilette 'Amor Amor' = Made true elite aroma too
Sinapism = Miss pain = I in spasm
The tornadoes = O, Earth stoned!
Dangerous narcotics = O, 'turd', grass 'n' cocaine!
Raimonds Bergmanis = Big Iron Man's dreams
Jeanne D'Arc, the Maid of Orleans = Some dear, French national jade = Oh, jade-man risen to lead France = Jade, as male, redo French nation = French jade, dame, "National Rose" = Aha, to join, redeem France-lands!
Actress Shannon Tweed = Now she ascendent-star
Computer software developer Charles Simonyi = Review (shortly): Led Europe-Microsoft & spaceman
Francois Mitterand = It is mordant France
Latin America = Inca material = It racial name
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida = O, Wonderland for 'wild' lads or laity!
The Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida = O, holidays! Forward Little Wonderland!
Campbells condensed tomato soup = Best and also complete compounds!
Anti-USA protest = Our States inapt?
North Korea would allow UN inspectors = We shall narrow nuke- production-tools
Saint Peter's Basilica = Alias 'Priest's cabinet'
The Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta = Here major East Timor person (it's him)
The Atropa Belladonna = Oh, note: a 'real bad' plant
A land overflowing with milk and honey = Known Holy Land within 'flavored' image
The Norton AntiVirus = Invasion/tort hunter
Norton AntiVirus (complete package)= 'An armour' (given tool keeps PC intact)
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Ronnie Wood = D.j., let me hear awkward, chic, hairy rock band 'Rolling stones'! I'm waiting!
Colonel Gaddafi = I glad-faced loon = Leading fool & cad
Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi = Recall, I am mad, fool and a mug
Robin Hood of Locksley = O, fishy noble & old crook!
Robin of Locksley = Noble, frisky & cool = O, robs folk nicely! = If Noble - sly crook
Sir Robin of Locksley = No yells, I rob for sick = I rob nice or sly folks = Slyer. I nick (rob) fools
Virginia Tech massacre = Grave & his Satanic crime
Isabella Amaryllis Charlotte Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe = She caught Royal Prince's heart. Bill lolls - got a heart trauma
Eva Hitler = Evil heart = Evil hater
It a relevant ~ alternative
Virginia Tech campus = A chap, ire, gun, victims = C.S. Hui - 'acting vampire' = C.S. Hui - 'am acting viper'
Adolf Hitler and his Eva Braun = Ah, it's a Fuhrer and a blind love!
The Parisian streets = Aha, prettiest sirens!
A drought = Guard - HOT!
Admire = I dream = I'm dear = Er...maid!
Adoption = O, not paid!
Alive and kicking = Living idea & knack
Moist = O, mist!
A billion = I on a bill
Popular science fiction = Unclear, specific option = If icon - planet occupiers
Craig Bellamy = Glib & racy male = Clearly, am Big!
Craig Douglas Bellamy = Cordial ball-games guy = Go, dear guy, claim balls!
Matrimonial = I'm marital, no?
Wet behind the ears = He brat, he needs wit = He needs wit & breath
Sylvester Stallone = O, vastly relentless! = No style stars level
The Cinco de Mayo party = O, meat & pyrotechnic day!
Concentration = O, inner contact! = Connection-art
Chandelier = Hire candle
Collaboration = A lot in co-labor
Augmentation = I get an amount
Competition = I mince to top
Compote = Come & pot
Corruption = Pro in court
Christine Marie Evert-Lloyd = My 'little-horrid' serve in...Ace!
Middle East arms race = Clear! maddest armies = Armies came & straddle = Mad leaders at crimes = A derelict drama & mess
A Middle East arms race = Same dramatic leaders = Same dramatic dealers = Same racial, mad desert
Venus de Milo = Line moved us
America the beautiful = But a failure each time
Mats Wilander = Lad - 'win-master'
Sahara desert = Area's hardest = Sets hard area
The American Express Card = Er...Dramatic expense & crash = Err...Dramatic cash expense
Ra, The God of Sun = O, fond Huge Star!
Actress Alice Krieg = Stars' ice-like grace
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado = Ain't a clever leader. Good farce
Mujahid Osama Bin Laden = Bad man in jail? Madhouse? = I so unable jihad madman
Thomas Paine = Ah, man is poet!
Mister William Tunstall-Pedoe = I still manipulate words. Let me!
'Rolling Stones' Keith Richards = Dear rock 'n' roll hits, he sings it
Director Sydney Pollack = Do old tricky screenplay
PM mister Anthony Blair = Brits imply - Another man!
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs = She's stranded infant & we hew. Vow!
Actor Tobey Maguire, best known for the Spiderman movies = I very fit, I make cobwebs, guard poor & net mean, hot monsters
Thomas Edward Lawrence = Where M.East and 'cold war'
Claude Oscar Monet = Made colours 'enact' = Can use 'tamed' color
C.O. Monet and P. A. Renoir = Modern art? O no, an epic!
Actress Katherine Heigl = Here she like acting star
Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte = See strong, optimistic, 'live' tableaus = Got live cities prints, some tableaus
Hosni Mubarak = O, a brisk human! = U monkish Arab!
Walter Richard Rudolf Hess = Coward Fuhrer's (Hitler's) lad
Windows Internet Explorer = New 'torrent'! See world in pix
Actress Angela Bassett = A clean, best stages star
Vladimir Putin, George Bush and Tony Blair = Big, unearthly, overbidding manipulators
An intercourse = Union, 'race', rest
The Prime Minister Tony Blair = Mental Tory in British Empire = My intolerant British Empire = There I trim problems & inanity
The Global Warming = Big warmth, all gone
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor = She bizarre lady 'to loot' men
Actress Maria Magdalene Dietrich = America-star hides German dialect = Maid is a real, rich & decent megastar
The Brunei Princess wed in lavish ceremony = Very rich bride wins helpmate (union scenes)
Terpsichorean = Her part so nice! = O, it's her prance! = Actor spin here = Archers, pointe = Stir, hop, careen
Old synagogue = God, angels & you = Ay, God's lounge! = God alone & guys
The old synagogue = Gently, a God-House! = Go see Godly haunt = Goal - hunt God's eye = House only gadget = Old gauge - honesty = Gauged Holy-Stone = God atones, hugely = God so neatly huge = One God, hale & gutsy = God, only He, A Guest
Mattress = Rests-mat
Lewis Hamilton has won The Canadian Grand Prix = As next national champion, lad wins high reward = This new exhilarating champion 'lands on' award
How come 'abbreviated' is such a long word? = O, huge! Above, old comic Bernard Shaw's wit.
Either that wallpaper goes or I do = That 'pearl' - poor O. Wilde's 'heritage'
International = Learn it in NATO?
The arrows = War & throes = Others war
The poisoned arrow = Ooh, stirred weapon! = A 'shower' to pride, no?
Salman Rushdie is knighted = He's hunting Islam dark side
The President of the United States of America, George Walker Bush = Bad rated, pert ego, reckless man...I get effort in the White House, USA = Funked, macabre leader got stage. Prefers to sit in the White House = World Trade Centre's outrage his huge mistake. He's 'patentee' of fib.
The Collection of Tragedies, written by William Shakespeare = It a new series of weird plays. It King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, etc.
The Father's day = He's earthy & daft = He's hearty & daft
Too much wine = I touch women
International Women's Open = Real women in a top tennis, no?
Auf Wiedersehen = When free ..."Adieus!"
Examination = I...No, I am a....NEXT!!
Midas = Is mad
'Deep forest' music = CD of supreme site
Shove it! = His veto
Hopeless = H-e-e-l-p! SOS!
The Russian revolution = Soviet union's real = Riots. Union have result = Tovarish Lenin route us
Always look on the bright side of life = O, life is OK! I forget all the washy & bond = Oh, don't see filth of bias, ill, weak, gory!
There is no place like home = Real homesick. I telephone.
Mother Nature = Ah, True mentor! = Her name - Tutor = Tour there, man! = Tour , Earthmen! = More than true
What can I do? = How? Can't aid!
The disloyalty = Hate & do it slyly
Television = i.e. Lies on TV
Temptations = Main, top test
Elvis Presley = Sip & yell verse
Exotic sight = Sex; I got itch
Give us a bit optimism = A big MUST. I'm positive
Spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs = Cards! (Husband is most pleased)
Manchester United = Nice team? Nuts! Herd! = Ten in red. Such team!
Playlets = Let's play!
The road to hell is paved with good intentions = DOING leads to Lord, not 'I wish it, even hope that...'
Pianofortes = Fits on opera
General idea = An agreed lie
I'm not that kind of girl = Taking hint - flirt--mood = Tonight I mind for talk
Look what they done to my song = Got easy, hot-hot, known melody
The smile of Mona Lisa = Loons, I am this female! [i.e. Leonardo da Vinci himself]
Man does not live by bread alone = Note, I demand real love, baby-son... = O, I demand eternal love, baby-son... = Reveal boloney: obtain demands!
Counsel = Clues, no?
Walt Disney 'Pocahontas' = Told, was captain's honey
Abd-ar-Rahman = Hard Arab-man
Kleptomaniac = I con & take lamp...
The hermaphrodite = Mother hid there Pa
The secret lover = Settle her & cover
Hippodromes = Oh, rides-pomp!
The Spanish flamenco = Females hop in chants
Trues are...treasure
Entertainment = Meant Internet? = Men at Internet
The groom and the bride = Both 'honed' & get married
Kareem Abdul Jabbar id est Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor = Undid a wide, fine basketball career, as L.Bird & M. Jordan
Christmas comes but once a year = Come, you smartass! Be nicer & chat
Mona Lisa (real name is 'La Gioconda') = So, again, Leonardo & 'maniacal' smile
Ashton Moore = Ooh, a monster!
Chernobyl disaster = Horrible days & scent
Diplomats = Spoilt & mad
Submarine = Marine-bus
Private tennis coach = An active sport-niche = I can patch into serve
New Years resolutions = New, lousy reassertion = Iron rules? Yes, no sweat! = One is swears - Only true! = No war, lust, sin, eyesore = Now, I truly see reasons
The chronic disease = Er...his chances to die = O heed, this is cancer!
Disembarkation = i.e. Damn boat - risk!
I've got...to give
The financier = Rich, neat, fine
An Alzheimer disease = Seem, I a senile-hazard
Criminality = I'm nary licit
Gregorian chants = Stern 'gang', a choir
Via satellite = At least I 'LIVE'!
Censorship = He crops sin
The weight-lifters = Re: Fight with steel!
Cheetah = He cat, eh!
Fate has decided otherwise = Direct is - 'Oh, he was defeated!'
The loose girl = To Hell, orgies!
Beautiful girl = I all but figure
The Oscar statue = Oh, create status!
The road accidents = I'd tot: each cars' end
Hibernations = Oh, it bears 'inn'!
That is to say...it has to stay
Former French President Charles de Gaulle = HM nice, perfect 'frogs land's' leader. He ruler.
The unprintable anagrams = Unpleasant, a nightmare, br....
The French cook = Reckon 'hot chef'
An impressionist = I in spots smearin' = Is points smearin' = I'm "stains-person", I
Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - To be or not to be, that is the question = Heirs' memorable queer hesitations, that betoken potent fears and top shock
The hospital patients = Test this top pain & heal
Mountain Everest = O, it means venture! = Vet mountaineers = I must venerate, no?
If you are to describe the truth, leave the elegance to the tailor = The reality - facts - vulgar, hated & eerie. There thee 'boot' elocution
Limited time offer = Timed for lifetime?
Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express' = Here text: Grouped hero-massacre (in this train)
The horse guards = Hurrah, go steeds!
La Fontaine = I tale-fan, no?
Eucalyptus = Cut, use, play
The military = Hi, army title!
Love at the first sight = Is to vest heart-flight
Most our children lack...the Rock and Roll music!
Telephone directories = I plot here erotic needs
Homeopathy = Ooh, empathy!
The force of gravity = To verify g-factor, eh! = Forgive theory. FACT.
The 'Werther's original' candies = Another rich darling sweeties = Danger's there within - calories = I, rare new taste cherishing old
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair = Healthy Briton. Can only snarl
The best football player in the world - Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) = Added note: This ebony fellow is able talent, phenomenal top scorer & star!
Michelangelo's statue 'David' = Old athleticism, nude savage
Morganatically = Amatory-calling = Loyal & tragic man = Romantic gal-lay
The mother nature is calling = Hi, man! (regular toilet-stench)
Emotional insanity = It is inane, mat, loony
James Bond's serial = Real Man's job sides
The 'James Bond' serial = There Man's job & ladies
Females = Feel, Sam!
Masturbation = An aim - to burst = Mania to burst
X and Y chromosomes = Ah, common sexy 'rods'!
The Fine Young Cannibals = A big fun. Can listen, honey!
The Oprah Winfrey Show = Fat one. Why worship her?
Well's...swell
Newcastle United = Salute decent win
The American continent = Ancient, ancient Mother
Don Quixote de la Mancha = He (qua) exotic and old man
Pamela Anderson = Reason man paled = One real damn sap
English Premier League football = Regular belief - hooligans 'temple' = Temperable, ill hooligans refuge
English Premier League = Huge, 'ripe' men galleries
The famous composer Frederic Chopin = O, his French-mood music & opera, perfect!
The American actor Tom Cruise = I cinema star. Cute charmer too.
Rome, Eternal City = More recent Italy
Motion picture 'Alexander' = I exotic, proud, eternal man
A typical American = 'Clean' aim - rapacity
World of cinema = Claim of wonder
Fatso = So fat
Massachusett's bay = Sea, but mass yachts
Pills = P.S. ill
The stains of semen = Manifest on sheets
Pulchritudes = Cupid hurtles = Hustler, Cupid!
The prophecies of Nostradamus = His mouthed forecasts on paper
Painter Claude Monet = Our talented epic man = A pure 'demonic' talent = Muted, pale art. Nice, no?
'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves = (sic) About very big sad ruler
Tiger Woods = Good wrist, e?
Durex contraceptives = Penis-duct extra cover
The Blessed Eucharist = HE cuts, bleeds...Share it! = Bread's the clue, thesis
The footballer Diego Armando Maradona = Oh, lad from Argentina-team! A loaded boor!
The vegetarian meals = Hi, gal never eats meat!
The porcelain toilets = Nice & tall to shit or pee = I in the real top closet = A cell to shit or pee, nit! = The certain stool-pile = All rotten piece o' shit
Habeas corpus = So, chap abuser
Pilates method = It's made to help
Arthur Conan Doyle, 'Sherlock Holmes stories' = Sleuth locates crooks error; many he holds in
Terra Incognita = Terrain: I can't go
The Arabian desert = Bitter sand area, eh! = I bear ardent heats
The Winter Olympic Games in Sochi = We promising nice, homy athletics
Race to the White House begins = The Cabinet goes with rehouse
Help rebuild lives and communities in hurricane affected states = Pure idea. The Bush-Clinton fund lifts medical service, reanimates
A miscreant = Mean racist = Crime-Satan
Alice Hobday = O, be a hic-lady!
[She has been hiccuping for the last 20 years]
The 'Nivea' = It heaven!
The 'Nivea' gel-cream = Large achievement!
Protests in Pakistan = Riots spin & knap state
The Middle East Peace negotiations = Palestine - agitated, sectioned home
Greek Achilles = Large sick heel
Bin Laden issues warning on Iraq and Israel = No grins. Al-Qaida ensures asinine blind war.
France ushers in New Year's smoking ban = Frogs wane 'chimneys', rakes insane 'burn'
Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's = Fast food or darned lunch-mockery
Plane with ten aboard crashes in Alaska = A clear snow-blankets, an airship, a Death
Levee breaks amid West Coast storms = Dams' set-waters became risk to solve
An added = Addenda
Report of UFO = Proof of true?
The gourmand = Mouth-danger = Mad to hunger
Oversimplification = (sic) A primitive 'n' fool = I from naive politics
The customer is always right = Myth & laughter ('cos I waitress) = Waitress (laugh) - 'Come & try this!'
Scottish chemist Charles Mackintosh = Sets thick 'mesh/schism' raincoat cloth
The Italian physicist Galileo Galilei = On a high Pisa I elicit & tally legalities
Religion is the opium of the masses = Implies enough stories of atheism = Theism is morphine, false guise too = Theism is poison, is 'Rule of the Game' = Theism - he's poison, failure, egotism = Seems theism is huge potion or 'fail' = Life rough. Seems theism is a potion
Ashley Alexandra Dupre = Had pure sex and real lay
Puritanical lifestyle = Alliance & purity itself = Lay-clients are pitiful = Nuptials - real felicity = Actually, pristine life = Face it, lay - insult & peril
Professor Walter Lewin = One laws & powers trifler
The American actor Michael Douglas = Oh, real star! Magical, touched cinema.
Magnetic = 'Magic net'
Sacerdotal = Sacred, a lot = A Lord-caste
Sacerdotalism = I almost sacred
Marathon Seoul = Some run! A lot, ah?
A monotony = Too many, no?
Spring is in the air = Is heart-inspiring!
Confidant = O, can't find!
A Chevrolet Silverado = Love road-star vehicle = O, road-travels-vehicle!
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz = Just a crazed Red, fool 'n' liar
Polygamist = Gimp to lays
San Diego, California = Sea, air, lacing in food
Crime doesn't pay = O, it's damn creepy!
Titanic, The Unsinkable Ship = Until ice knaps it in the bash
The United States Government = Don't trust these negative men
The coitus = Touchiest = Host cutie = Hot cuties = O, hi cutest!
Stomach stapling operation = A chop to patients' organ...Slim?
Christian ideology = Only God is hieratic!
Bandit = Bad nit
Hippocrates = Chop-parties! = i.e. Chop parts = Chop, it spare!
Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli = Blow of 'raveled' maid. Title remains in USA
The Princess Diana = She ends in a pit-car
Steven Demetre Georgiou alias Cat Stevens now Yusuf Islam = Evocative singer gets away & turns into eased useful Moslem
The California Golden Bears = Headings in football career
Great Smoky Mountains = Me making a stony tours = Making some nasty tour
Cognitive therapist = Giant theoretic spiv = Tragic...then positive = Visiting top teacher = Visiting top cheater = O, visiting that creep!
Salmonella = On all meals
The hurricane Felix = He erratic influx, eh?
Israeli 'spy' Mordechai Vanunu = Pan, he is a very ridiculous man
[pan - to critisize]
Roland Emmerich's 'The day after tomorrow' = Some lower dramatic 'hydro-threat' for men
EURO finals, Portugal, Lisbon = O, lea & unsurprising football!
Honest? = He's not! = She not!
Society of Jesus = Sect; issue of joy
Couple of megabytes = Maybe goes to 'fuel' PC?
I practised ...pediatrics
The famous sportswoman Nadia Comaneci = Was cute, modest Romanian champion, oafs!
One strange animal - liger = Means a large lion 'n' tiger
The footballer = He 'battler' & fool
Hetaerism = Harem-site
Painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci = Precision, standard, icon, a divine talent
Pleasure = Super ale! = Pure sale
The simultaneous orgasms = Usual moans together, miss = Smasher, got mutual noises! = Shouts also rung same time = Soul-shouts rang same time
Ernest Hemingway = Name's with energy!
Intelligence Quotient = Quite nice, telling note
The anti-aging treatment = At time-negating art, then
Mother's little helper = Throes? Her mettle-pill
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev = Thick Russian; high verve & cheek
English proverbs and sayings = N.B. Vary lingo designs & phrases
Painters = Sea print
Satan - Prince of Darkness = Data: Enforces sin & pranks = Case of prankster and sin = So, face prankster and sin
The oldest profession in the world = Need it? Find whore, trollop, hostess...
United States of America = Dictator. Senate is 'a fume' = See an attitude of racism = Inside, a true taste of Mac = i.e. Infatuates Democrats = It's 'Free to act' - Made in USA = It force-state Made in USA = Fete to racist Made in USA = See for maniacs attitude = Fetid in most acute areas = Dictates to 'A free animus'= De facto is neat, is mature Our state made finest CIA = Meet our fantastic ideas
Trojan horse tale = Hot roan - real jest
(roan - horse)
Tale of Trojan horse = Foal or another jest?
President Bush = He's bit spurned
So, the war in Vietnam is a fiasco? = America's invasion - hit of waste?
Agatha Christie's Poirot = Right, I chase a rapist too
Homo Sapiens = O, man is so hep!
Gilbert and Sullivan = Ballads turning live
David and Batsheba = Diva ends a bath bad
She's a very kinky girl, the kind you don't take home to mother = OK, she's dirty, tough, hot, mordant knave & 'monkey'. Yet, I like her
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark = Frank man & the Cold Empire
Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Little house on the prairie' = Her tale - all low lies, unrestrained girlish Utopia.
Erotic fantasies = Ai, fast erections!
Frustration and despair = Rats, I darned! Unfair! Stop!
The heavy crime = Eh, I have't mercy!
The oldest profession = O, dispose rotten flesh!
Woman = Ma now
Automatic gear = Am out, I get a car
Demetria Guynes = Sugary teen Demi
[Demi Moore]
The English soccer = He gets chronicles
Races driver Emerson Fittipaldi = Trivial terrific speeds-...and more!
Treason = One's rat
Grand finale = A flaring end
Painter El Greco = Er...grace, top line = Grace & repletion = Elegance or trip?
Do's and Dont's = Odd stands, no?
The famous criminals = or Such mafia-men list
Polygraph test = Apt. Helps. Go, try.
Actresses Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Sarah Jessica Parker = 'Sex and the City'; stars in this movie. Carnal japes and lark critics rank as a 'risk'.
The show-girl = Hi, worth legs!
Shark-infested waters = States where dark fins
The Temptations = Potent hits team
Pre-revolutionary Russia = Previously, in our tsar-era
Hieronymus Bosch = Oh, my brush so nice!
The intercourse = Sh, true erection!
Adolf Hitler = Drill of hate
Red Hot Chili Peppers = Propel rich deep hits
Actress Sophia Loren = She special star, or no?
Animal vivisection = No, a sin! Victim alive!
So help me God = Homed gospel
The intelligence = Lithe, gentle, nice
Horsepower = Where spoor
Pianofortes = Pair of notes = Fit on operas = In soft opera
One googol = e.g. long OOO....
The other woman = or The new hot ma
Celebration = or Nice table
Decoration = O, in Art-deco! = Iron-coated
The androgen = Ah, 'Not-gender!'
My old woman = Now moldy ma
Electronics = Note cicles
Phantasmagoria = Oh, is apt - Anagram!
President = It spender = Need trips
Disaster = Star dies = Er.. it's sad
South America, Brazil = It our rich zeal - SAMBA!
Groom and bride = Go bond, married = Odd mirage born
Failure of health = Hah, of ill feature!
At any price = Pay certain
Sin against The Holy Ghost = Satan's thing, his theology
Diamonds = Maids nod
Cluster of spectators = Respects/flouts actor
Mona Lisa = A man's oil
Christmas = It's charms
Televiewers = We see TV & rile
American actress = Main career - casts = Scenarist, camera...
Between ourselves = We're so even & subtle
The chicanery = Rich cheat, ney?
Acerbity = Act by ire
Hide-and-seek = See kid? Ah, end!
Hors d'oeuvres = Devours horse?
The Laws of Nature = What not, safe rule! = What true/false, no?
Freudian slip = Prudes in fail = Failin' prudes
Better a living dog than dead lion = Tend & gain to be alive and old, right?!
Cosmopolitan = Is cool top man = It's cool - no map!
Nightingale = Genial 'thing' = It nigh angel!
Onanism = O, man, sin!
Famous singer Paul Anka = Usual, par man. A King's foe.
Stumble = Tumbles
There is six condoms in a pack = Choice is - rampant sex & no kids!
Velocipede = Lope-device
White House, Washington DC = Inside? Thug, he who acts now
Sting and The Police = Angled top nice hits
The package tour = Take group & teach
Teach one's grandmother to suck eggs = Suggest to aged reckon on the charms = Suggest to an aged to check her norms
The minor = In mother = More thin
The compulsive anagrammer = Put me in, am each 'grams lover
The confusion = He not in focus
Nuclear spy = Any scruple
Made for one another = Hard frame: One to One = Enamored of another?
The economy packs = Pocket cash money
The jurisdiction = Hi, no justice, dirt!
The jurisdictions = ID (in short) - justice
The city of Liverpool = Chief port; lively too! = O, it lovely chief port! = Oh, love & felicity port!
International airports = Airliner-stop (not a train)
I am not myself today = Testimony of malady
A 'Tony Awards' = Art nowadays
Seventh Idol David Cook = Oh, lad's kind voice voted!
The sprinter Usain Bolt = Ah, list! I best top runner = This 'bestial' top runner = This stabile top runner = or I hit, planet's best run! = Able in short, 'petit' runs = It able in the run-sports
LeBron Raymond James = Yes, male 'born M. Jordan'!
Thomas Lauren Friedman = Author. Man framed lines.
No limits, no excuses = O, smile, sex counts in!
Flat Earth Society = O, the facts? Reality?
Bo Diddley = Died by old = Old did 'bye!'
Holy land, Israel = Yes, I Lord 'n' Allah!
Food, drink and cigarette = O, kind diet & danger factor!
The political spectrum = Hot multiple practices = Host multiple practice
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam = Militants; afoot reliable regime
Castro = Tsar Co.
Salmonella Enterica = Meal is not real clean! = Er...lo, meals ain't clean!
The penis enlaregment = Repine meanest length
Debit = I debt
Edouard Leon Cortes = O, used a tender color! = One deeds - colour-art = Needs colour to dare = Read on color etudes
The Blue Marble = Belle Earth, bum!
Gentle sex = Let X-genes
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara = A true chaos & revenge = Eager venture & chaos = Hate nerves...Courage! = See anger & true havoc = Hero gave us 'A centre' = Tough as a reverence = Thou - reverence saga = Aha, gusto & reverence!
The waters = Earth's wet = Wets earth
The New York Times = They kit more news = O my, there news-kit!
The 'Victoria's Secret' lingerie = I aesthetic girl's entire cover
'Good cholesterol' = or See logo to HDL-C
Save the rainforests! = O, trees vanish faster!
Earth's forests = 'Stash' for trees
Francois de la Rochefoucauld = Ooh, focused careful cardinal! = Ah, could use force of cardinal! = Lo, audacious French face Lord!
Jules Gabriel Verne, 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' = He revealed 'Nautilus' journey's beneath waters; guts-legend
Mark Cavendish = Hacks in mad rev = Hack in mad revs
[cyclist]
Pope Benedict XVI = Expect divine bop
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. = Champions in beer. Use such can!
A praised...paradise
Barack Hussen Obama = Abask America, no Bush! = Ah, USA, some brain back!
Miss America Contest = Most nicest is a Cream!
Colorado Technical University = Live on nice lady-tutor, sir-coach...
Acropolis of Athens = Ooh, place for saints! = Location of seraphs = He's on capital's 'roof'
Pireaus, Athens = Sea, ship, nature... = Tune ships area
Pireaus, the port of Athens = For that purpose, in the sea
Staycation = Ay, ain't cost!
Cholesterol drug Vytorin = Right doctor & lovely nurse = Very strong cure to ill, doh!
'They Might be Giants' = Get the many big hits
Diego Armando Maradona = Oo, ardor and 'mad in a game'! = O, a game-domain and ardor!
Deniers of the Holocaust = ...cussed -,'Oh, Hitler not a foe!'
The burgomaster = Treat some burgh
The Federal Republic of Germany = Anger & fume by creep Adolf Hitler
'I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength' = The churl man's growth & high elevations in Gods' might!
The life in USA = Hi, I feel as nut!
Impertinence = In nice temper?
Hallucinogenic drugs = Ugh, luring cocaine & LSD!
David Foster Wallace = Deal alive word & facts
The Islamic leader ...dallies hate & crime = Heretical mislead? = I deal clear theism = Ideal & clear theism
Abu Dhabi = I a bad hub
A three hundred and sixty five days = Huh, evens tidy-fixed standard year!
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island = Reword: Splendid vacations in Canada
Insurance = I can nurse
Health insurance = Hi, rent can heal us! = Can heal 'the ruins'
A grandfather = Ah, fart danger!
A grandmother = or The grandma = Grandma to her
A Manchester City Football Club = Best faculty team, brill coach. No?
Sean Patrick Flanery = Nice 'n' freaky pal. Star.
The dramatist William Shakespeare = Was 'a peak!' Theatres still admire him = His art made him as star. We keep it all.
Tenor Placido = Pal crooned it
Tenor Placido Domingo = Made top crooning idol = Top crooning idol, dame = Top! God or idol? Nice man
The tenor Placido Domingo = I adept, hot crooning model
A motion picture 'Body of Lies' = CIA importunes it bloody foe
The coach Fabio Capello = Football-ace. I 'chop' each.
'American Pie' films = Fair simple cinema
Don't publish my name = The Dumb, simply anon. = Don't spy, I humble man = Dumb the lips. Anonym.
Fernando Alonso = So, lad ran on F.One = Lad of Senna or no? = Fool ran on sedan?
Politics in the United States = It is lies, hate, stupid content
Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston = Both join travels and sin. No pill = A van...Sinned. Pill? Jolt, birth soon! = Print: Both, lad 'n' lass, join in love
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel = True paragon and skilful man = Great sound in a full park, man! = Sound in park. Artful men. Gala = Painful song - an adult remark
Wall Street = We tell - rats! = Rest, wallet
The young and the restless = Then, see hunt, loss tragedy = Tush! nonetheless - tragedy
Millvina Dean = Land, man! I live!
(Titanic's survival)
Driver Lewis Hamilton = or Trivial wheels-mind
The erotic man = I am hot 'n' erect
'Late Show' with David Letterman = Wild, tart, white male heads on TV
Director Oliver Stone = Torrid love to screen, I
Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins = He - prudent boxer; 'inheritance' -KO's
Charles A. Lindbergh = Bring all, he crashed!
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg = Remarkable charm; right below
[actor and underwear model]
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska = I am rich, I grip deals, love vodka
[Russian millionaire]
Religious fundamentalist = Men, our life is a dust, a glint! = I fall. I use trust in God. Amen!
Wings = Swing
'Now that the magic has gone' = Somewhat changing to hate
[song]
Vegetarianism = Re: I am veganist = Mister, I a vegan = Eager vitamins = I in 'starve-game' = I am serving tea = Meat? I? Grave sin!
Cockpit of airplane = A nice pack for pilot
The waiter = With eater
President-elect Barack Obama = America pretends to be a Black
'Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!' = 'This - meat', - was your fine reply
The final countdown = Until end of watch, no?
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair = Only the inborn sly charlatan = Real chaos by tall North ninny
Northern Los Angeles, California = Hot inferno grills one clans' area = One can grill as real, hot infernos
The Deripaska scandal = Sneak Red capital, dash
Kanye Omari West = We make noisy art!
[rapper]
Earnest Graham = Game's heart, ran = Hem...ran as Great!
[American foootball runner]
President Barack Hussein Obama = Sad nation. Peacemaker ribs Bush
Ford, Chrysler and General Motors = Oh, normally strong cars deferred!
The Palestine Liberation Organization = Antagonize Israel, battle their opinion
The Counter Strike = Nice trek, true shot
[computer game]
Anagrams never lie = Aver real meanings
Contradiction = It ain't concord
Oscar de la Hoya "The Golden Boy" = Real good healthy body case, no?
[boxer]
The Gibson Brothers = Three short gibbons
We are fighting shadows = This aged/newish war - fog = Ah, this new war is fogged!
Crime drama "The Godfather" = Mafia; get them hard record
Yves Saint Laurent = Analyst in vesture = I slant any vesture = Vain-natures style = Any suit's relevant
'Don't let the sun go down on me' = Do them old tune, not new song
'Every little thing she does is magic' = Yes, Miss Delight! Nice, great love-hit! = Agreed, Miss gets nice hit, lovely hit
Stratford-Upon-Avon in Warwickshire, Britain = Harp a visit in our known, a terrific bard's town
Bermuda triangle = A gamble, intruder! = A tangible murder = Grim but a real end = A din - great rumble = I arranged tumble = Mean, large, turbid = Me (I) - brutal danger = Be alert, man, I drug! = Beat regular mind = Able at murdering = Belting marauder
'Message in a bottle' = Tenable aim - get SOS
Austrian Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger = Warrior/agent galls in hazardous scene
Back seat driver = Be track-adviser = Bad track? Revise! = Direct, 'bark', SAVE!
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet = Look, dear pal, 'Titanic' drowned in sea! = OK, do awarded panel in 'Titanic' roles!
Greta Lovisa Gustafsson = US loves 'gas' of giant star = O, love, gas, fuss! Giant star!
[Greta Garbo]
Swedish - American actress Greta Lovisa Gustafsson = Giant star of silent movies. Her success saga, awards...
The Athenian dramatist Sophocles = I attach at sleep, son and his mother
Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Commedia per musica) = Mozart's famous opera; a comic dialog realizing one's 'ideal' life
Defenestration = Die faster - no net!
Can we do it? Yes we can! = Concede, it's a new way!
Matisse, 'Pink Nude' = Spunkiest maiden
Henri Matisse, 'Pink nude' = Put in herein naked miss
The plastic money = No cash? Pity. Let me!
A tragedy = Great day?
The Washington Post = That hot 'n' new gossip
Giant Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro' = Groom (hair-setter) got amazing affair
Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre = Any neat education began? Torment! = An annoyed acute beating, torment
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi = Connote to carved foolish boy, peculiar child = Carpenter's voiced, fictional boy-doll...Oh! Ouch!
Los Angeles, California, USA = Colossal Arnie in a sea-gulf
'Othello, the Moor of Venice' by William Shakespeare = Ebony hero (he was epic lover) aims to kill hot female = The ebony asocial hero kills white female over mop = Aha, here ebony lover, top male, comes to kill his wife = Hoar macho ebony lover kills his petite female. Woe = All real tale? Ebony hero chokes his wife. Motive - mop.
The movie 'Last tango in Paris' = Pair having emotional tests = To save mating relationship?
My documents, My pictures, My music = My cute computer is My mind, My cuss
The decapitation = I can't tie top (head) = Ain't death poetic?
The African continent = In fact, innocent earth
VAustralia = Air-valutas
[International airline]
Federico Fellini's 'Satyricon'= Ironical, dirty scenes of life = Direct, fierily confessional = Inference - crisis of old Italy
Life sucks and then you die = F***, destiny so unideal, eh!
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) = Seamiest henchmen act vs Israel to maim
Economy crisis = Coin/coins misery
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert = Elite leadership is minimum terror = Minimum terror desire? Help, it's a lie!
Transgression = Er...strong as sin
Poet William Shakespeare = Marlowe is the lapse, I - Peak!
President Barack Hussein Obama = He's boss in a bankrupted America
How to find her G-spot = Wend for top, hot sigh
Motherly advice = Ma to every child = Very methodical
Chevrolet Optra = The top car, lover!
Cold, snow, the men ski = In Stockholm, Sweden
"Slumdog Millionaire" = I'll earn good sum. I, mil! = I earn old mil. I so glum
A metrosexual = Amour + latexes
'Hamburger Union' = Ah, bring our menu!
The famous Williams sisters - Serena and Venus = Won massive sums at tennis fields; share 'a rule'
'Race to Witch Mountain' = Cinema 'on tour'. Watch it!
The Irish Republican Army = Uhr, chaps aim Erin liberty!
White House = 'W' out. He is, eh.
Broadway theatres, New York = Aye, dear, entry to B. Shaw work!
Australia's "Sound Relief" Concert = Tunes, arts for local audience, sir
Film 'Enemies: A love story' = See not filmsy, real movie = Messy-life movie. Real? Not!
'Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens = A very wit-blest kids' chronicles
Ginola = In!..G-O-A-L
The astronautics = O, authentic stars!
Car owner = Careworn
'Ivanhoe' by Sir walter Scott = The basic violent war story
Brotherhood of men = Both - honor & freedom
American International group = 'No guarantee' or inapt, criminal = Corrupt manager, nation in a lie = A large, mean, corrupt inanition
The Somali pirate = A hostile primate
The Somalian pirates = A peril to this seaman
The climate changes = Cliche - Heat gets man
Aborigines = Base, origin
The actor Clint Eastwood = I do that cool western act
London, Great Britain = Land at Breton origin
'The Old Man and the Sea' = Man's death - lone death
Nadia Comaneci = I can do 'n' I am ace
The signs of the zodiac = Hi, this got dozen faces
City of Yellowknife = I flee folky icy town = I feel folky icy town
Mister Simon Wiesentahl = Mission: waste Hitler-men
Ennio Marchetto = Oh, eminent actor!
Entertainer Ennio Marchetto = Cram entire theatre in one, not?
Yellowknife = Only few like
Dom DeLuise = Lo, Muse died! = I used model
'It is a foolish thing to make a long prologue and to be short in the story itself' = Ooh, ooh! Thereon so stupid to start lengthily , still making fine saga too brief
President Obama = A best man, period! = A most deep brain
The Spanish Armada = Had seamanship-art = Hard at seamanship = Ah, hard stamp in sea! = Aha, them Spaniards!
The fashion designer Gianni Versace = Ah, neat rig of his, a nice evening dress!
The global crisis = Er..big chaos, still
Bare-chested = Cedes the bra
Statue "Venus de Milo = Mute stone is valued = U sad mute live stone!
Don't cry for me, Argentina ...and try confront a regime
Caffeine = Fine cafe
Desperation = I need pastor = A tied person = A top need, sir
Metro Station = Treats motion
United States Naval Academy = Active men study sea at a land
Merriam Webster's dictionary = Remains my best 'word-criteria'
The Penguin Dictionary of Proverbs = Providing you brief phrase content
Susan Margaret Boyle = A bore, ugly star's name = Songs by real amateur
The general store = A lot genres there
'Sex and the city' = Excited 'n' nasty
X-Men origins: Wolverine = Nix new longer movie, sir!
Arlovski = Rival's KO
The esophageal cancer = Along speech-tracheae
A trachea = Chat-area
Author Willard R. Espy = Hi, 'Words at play' ruler!
Respirations = Spit air, snore
A motion picture "Schindler's list' = Holocaust in silent, direct prism = Holocaust. Script lines remind it
An old? = No, lad!
Miss California's...as firm as silicon
Apotheosis = He is so atop!
The ballroom dancings = man and girl, both close
Mortise and tenon = Damn, so enter into! = O, met and insert, no?
Treasure chest = Sh, a true secret!
International diplomacy = All piracy, domination-net
The Chernobyl Nuclear power plant in Ukraine = The uncannily blown peripheral nuke reactor
The music from Argentina = Same rich firm tango tune
Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece Sunflowers = Moving, elegant, freshest 'crown-cups' in vase
UFO photos = Thou spoof!
Male castration = Omit a carnal set
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint = Draw masterful Potter, gal and friend in cinema
Beethoven's Eroica = Ooh, nice! A best, ever!
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood = Adorable words while rich with aphorisms
Medieval wars against the Muslims in the Middle Ages, led by Christian kings = Whisking, deadly, evil crusades; mean, detrimental battles missing high aims
The dramatis personae = Pros names aid theatre
The lingam = Male thing
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial = Human moment - I aim to honor late rulers
The Guantanamo prison = O, that USA! Raping men, no?
Tropical storm Claudette = Mad clutter, peril to coast
South African Caster Semenya = A fact: once he ran as true missy
The Last Supper = 'Sheep' trust pal
British Royal Marine = It is an army. Horrible!
I need 'rags' = A designer
Chastity belt = By latch I test
An oasis in the desert = i.e. ease thirst on sand
The soldier Gilad Shalit = I, lad, still their hostage = Slight to halted Israeli
American imperialism = A criminal empire's aim
Ralph Waldo Emerson = Ah, all pen, more words!
'Don't cry for me Argentina' = Grief (rent Madonna to cry)
'Don't leave me this way' = Mate whined - Stay, love!'
The song 'Candle in the wind' = Scathed end. Elton whining.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad = Oh, a Tehran-drip, madman. Denies Judaism.
Beyonce 'Single ladies' = Nice lie. Gals need boys
Periodic Table of Chemical Elements = A rectifiable incomplete old scheme
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum = Am sheik, mammoth man, Dubai lord
David Wright Miliband = A wild, avid, bright mind
The missionary position = Oh, yes sir, it's main option! = I on the top 'o any miss. I, sir = I stay on her, I on top. I, miss
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries = It's truth: Israel made up vaccine
Take a gamble = Make a bet, gal
Take a position = OK, attain pose
Take a shower = Soak (water, eh)
Andrea del Sarto = One dear lad's art [painter]
Peter Silverman = Me reveals print [owner of Leonardo da Vinci's new painting]
The Goldstone report = No gold there, protest!
He met his Waterloo = I lost the war, eh? O, me!
Lethal dose = O, sell Death!
Dehydration = i.e. hot 'n' dry
Halloween costume party = We can put on REAL clothes
Inspector = I stern cop
The snoring problems = Mr. robs night sleep, no?
United Artists Company = Tops at cinema industry
Piano recitals = I air notes, clap!
Astronaut Neil Alden Armstrong = Moon landing - rarest, real stunt!
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal = Here, lad makes Allah ashamed
The ignoramus = Mr. 'A hot genius'
The singer Dana International = Dashing national entertainer
Fruits and vegetables = Best value. Fits garden = Defeat starving-blues
The middle ear = Did let me hear
The Emperor's New Clothes' fairy tale = Yells of: 'HM creep, he wears not attire!'
Former cities of East Berlin and West Berlin = Two became one. Residents refill rift in bars
Michelin star = Meal ain't rich?
The dormitory = Roomed thirty
'There's Something About Mary' = Both youngsters' aim: mate her
Siberian weather = A bias here - winter
Russian city of Perm = Music party is on fire = No music party. Fire! = A 'crispy' misfortune
The Climate Talks = Task: Halt ice melt!
Osama bin Mohammed, bin Awad bin Laden = I who bombed lands, I bad man, I a mean man
West Qurna oilfield = Iraq: Found well site = Oldest fuel in W.Iraq
'Up in the air', starring George Clooney = Hero in one great picture gains glory
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi = I cunning producer of festive operas
Little Red Riding Hood = I, girl, 'hired' to tend old
Well known fairy tale 'Little Red Riding Hood' = They - little girl and leerin' wolf in dark wood
Bruce Springsteen, alias 'The Boss' = A superb singer! Best hits! So clean!
The Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutaliab = Fraud, a liar, true killer targets to ruin, a human-bomb
The knight in shining armour = Thinking - Union! He's a Mr.Right!
Porsche Carrers GT = Sport car, her grace = Recharge sport car
The Israeli Defense Force = Teen soldiers face fire, eh
Captain Chelsey B.Sullenberger III = Bet he rescues plane in a big, icy rill
The Middle East Peace Talks = Semites talked. Dealt pact, eh?
The Italian sculptor Nicola Pisano = I can cut, tailor, polish a plain stone
The Great Ocrober Socialist Revolution = Itch to a terrible violence. So, tsar, go out!
Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich = You think crank Kiev-saviour?
Astrud Gilberto = Old, true, big star
Sylvester Stallone in the Rambo series = Artist's silent, lonely hero seems brave
Senior Hamas military commander Mahmoud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhouh = Harmful man, amoral man. A team murdered him. Chaos in Dubai...Shalom, boy!
The singer Andrea Bocelli = Gee, so I real blind chanter! = I real blind chanter. Go, see.
Singer Alison Moyet = I'm any genre soloist
Singing can rebuild the damaged brain = Chant, use rigid madrigal and be benign!
Popsicle = Ice plops
Paramedic = Apace, I'm Dr
President Akio Toyoda = i.e. Park, son, Toyota died = Disdain or keep Toyota? = Toyota in dark episode
Toyota Motor Corp President = End to car's promoter too. Pity.
Some electrons, protons and neutrons = Represent control on atom soundness
Boneyard = Body near = Bay or end?
Country music group 'Lady Antebellum' = Young play demotic, cultural numbers
The Costa Rica vacation = Can visit to cacao-earth
The Eighty Second Academy Awards = They mediated, changed Oscar ways
Female's reproductive system = Cultivates my free sperm dose
The number representing the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle = Remember crucial rate, interchange's term, coefficient Pi -- three dot one four
Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien known as Dusty Springfield = British woman-singer. Spriest talent been frankly adored by audience
The former American President Ronald Wilson Reagan = Transposed from cinema to engineer near, hard, ill war
Mister Carlos Slim Helu = I, richest male, roll sums
Find amazing deals on top vacations = Facing a dozen valid stations on map
The 'Alice in Wonderland' story = A child enters inane toy-world = or Teeny child at insane world
The kleptomaniacs = Pinch to make steal
Kleptomaniacs = Pick, steal, moan
A French Revolution = France, violent hour
The Great Wall of China = Ah, watch at long relief!
Great City of London = Only detraction - fog
The Russian Revolution = Lenin, he's tutor & saviour
Message = Gee, a SMS!
The Nuclear talks = All nuke-chatters = Call - 'Nuke's threat!' = All rest chat 'nuke'
The Icelandic largest volcano = Tectonic ash covering all dale
NASA faked the moon landings = Fans asked to hang on damn lie = Hang on to damn lies and fakes
The video game industry = Media diverts The Young
Video game industry = Toy's a drug - 'Dive in me!
The Children of Israel = Search The Lord in life = I, Teacher, Lord in flesh = Re: Lord left HIS in each = Hi, Lord's eternal chief!
All skin types body lotion = Sold by silky potential, no?
The Prime Ministerial Debates = Theme: Elite Brits spar in media
Goldman Sachs Group = Scrap hoodlums gang!
Good atheist = O, God hates it!
The Good Samaritan = Oh, great aids to man! = O, it a God's earthman!
Good Samaritan = To air a God's man
The International Journal of Obesity = Learn to abolish routine fat 'n' enjoy it
Veronica Siwik-Daniels = Sin a sin. I a wicked lover
The paterfamilias = It is male, pa, father = I spelt - I am a father
Dzhanet Abdurakhmanova = Bad knave, hazard to human
The Sword of Damocles = Shadow reflects doom
The Sherwood forest = Few trees host R. Hood
Sherwood = We R. Hoods
Separation of Church and State = So, hence faith and courts apart
Sir Isaac's Newton apple tree = One scientist prepares a law = A scientist seen a proper law = A precise law's presentation
'That sounds good to me' [British song in Eurovision songs contest] = Smooth, outdated song = That song so outmoded = Oh, most outdated song!
A normal G-spot = Plan to orgasm
A concord = On accord
The CEO of British Petroleum Tony Hayward = Unworthy; hefty oil spot bothered America
[driver] Danica Sue Patrick = Pick a car and use it
What is the square root of hundred? = Huh, is adequate for short word - TEN!
Brooklyn = Look NY br. [br.: bridge]
The Otis Elevator Company = Can help move it to a storey
The Royal Shakespeare Company = Hope to see rare play & many hacks
The nuclear holocaust = Count chaos, a true Hell
The cyanide poisoning = Hi, nice sip to end agony! = Hey, poignant decision! = Hygienic end as option
The cyanide = They can die = Nice death? Y?
'Romeo and Juliet' story = Read to motley juniors
'God bless America' = So sad - beg miracle
Actress Elizabeth Taylor = Eyes-blaze. Total, rich star = Christ, eyes-blaze! To altar! [had many husbands]
The surrealist Salvador Dali = Shares 'visual riddle' art a lot
'Repuglicans' = Pigs can rule
Eleven hours and five minutes = Isner v Mahut use 'EVEN' on field
Oh, need hat ~ on the head!
Eldrick Tont 'Tiger' Woods = OK, credit to golden wrist!
Arlington National Cemetery = One can integrate in army toll
The Arlington National Cemetery = All gone hero; an interment at city
The tennis player Tomas Berdych = My, Nadal's best there! Nice trophy!
Cholesterol = O, he rots cell!
'Romeo and Juliet' play = All enjoy prude 'Ti amo!'
Robert James Fischer = I, brat from chess, jeer
EMINEM's album 'Recovery' = My more venerable music
The World Cup Finals ~ has plentiful crowd
Santiago Solari = O, I a star in goals!
The sculptor Auguste Rodin = O, producing result - statue!
Caryn Elaine Johnson (Whoopi Goldberg) = Oh, girl alone can bring deep joy on show!
Humphrey Bogart = Bah, Mr. Rough Type!
Maria Magdalene Dietrich = I, emigrant, made a rich deal
The Tropical Storm Bonnie = Not norm, it's peril to beach
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar = Rare human handles stick
The Bram Stoker's gothic novel 'Dracula' = Lug-charmer attacks others' blood-vein
Mahatma Gandhi = A man had a might
The politician Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi = A thin chap, India-man, had chaste and grim look
Tyson Gay stuns world-record holder Usain Bolt = Oh, actually, odd boy is world's strongest runner!
Peace won't come soon to Middle East = We (Semites) concede to 'A plan to doom'
Congeals = So, can gel
Ritalin tablets = Brat still eatin'
Eggs from Iowa farms could come to a table near you = Omelet food-bug's long way from America to a saucer
Top Gear' with host Jeremy Clarkson = Joker at the glimpse on worthy cars
Political memoirs = Topic - immoral lies
Congenial = Angelic, no? = Nice gal, no?
A lottery of Mega Millions = A lot of money, still mirage
The urine sample = Human pees liter
'Decision Points' by George W. Bush = Tipsy one describing W. House-bog = W. House President is big con, bogy = Describing bogey-post in W. House = Despot-bogey scribing in W. House = Bogy begins W. House description = W. House Pres. Bio: boggy incidents = Not big, dysgenic W. House Pres. Bio = Icy, ebbing, sot Pres. doing W. House
Netanyahu: Agreement possible within year = Unison-time is here, elegant pathway nearby
An hermaphrodite = Hinted - her ma or pa = Mother 'n' pa, I heard = Or Hid there ma 'n' pa
The 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' = Snotty, funny, sprightly, comic, eh?
Lipogrammatic sentences = Means: comic gap in letters
Tropical Storm Matthew = The worst, mortal impact
Diego Tristan = Giant steroid
L. Apotheker = Take HP role = OK, relate HP! = Leo - HP taker = Trek a HP, Leo!"
An evil-minded = Devil DNA in me = I manned devil = Named in devil ~ and devil in me
California leaders agree on budget = Arnold and Co. tie agreeable figures
The wind farms = Men wish draft
Samsung telephones = Huge panels note SMS
Manic Street Preachers = Parenthetic screamers = Creeps scream in the 'art'
Nepotism = Mine tops = Mine's top
Robert Edwards = Bred to rewards
Robert G. Edwards = Bred, got rewards
She never satisfied = Has five/ten desires
Armoury = Our army
The film 'Last Tango in Paris' = Fate, thrill, mating, passion
Last Tango in Paris = A pair lost in angst = Stars in plot again
The self-driving car = First grand vehicle?
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan = It's a major remake in Nippon senate = Major mistake in Nippon senate era
The archipelago = Oh, pelagic earth!
A sycophant = O, nasty chap!
Stage IV cancer = Accent is 'Grave'
The attorneys = Honest treaty
Demi Lovato = Maid to love
The crematorium = Time to char & mure
Show host Piers Morgan = Shoots his new program
A protesting = Anger: 'Stop it!'
The abortion = Hi, bear no tot! = Botheration
The sailor = Soil! Earth! = Rah! to isle = Lo, is earth!
The fashion model Hyoni Kang = Ah my, she hot and fine looking!
Chilean miner Edison Pena = Nice man deep in soil. He ran
Diana, the Princess of Wales = In past, Charles' one sad wife
A Personal Computer = Mac or Apple? Not sure
Taylor Swift = First to yawl
The launch of a nuclear missile = Uranium cancels life, eh? So, halt!
All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree (Einstein) = See, Lord an engineer of all the necessaries & each brain. (Smart scientist)
British couple finally freed from Somali pirates = Pitifully, it is release of Chandlers pair from mob
The airport screeners = Hence, reap terrorists = Pester in terror chase
The soprano prodigy Jackie Evancho = Enjoy hot voice, cap her - kid's paragon!
Ireland bailout fails to calm nervy Spain and Portugal = An actual Erin's fault - very appalling Madrid (Lisbon too)
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange = Judas white analogue? I like frankness!
Pharisaical = Chap is a liar
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark = Hero, man from play, detected father-king
Ahamednijad = Me and a jihad
President Ahmadinejad = I presented a damn jihad
Medal of Honor = O, for homeland!
Bankruptcies = Neat bucks r.i.p. = Pertain bucks
Iran nuclear talks get under way = Take warnings naturally - reduce
Die Antwoord = A new, odd trio
[Australian trio]
"The Social Network" = Owner likes to chat
Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly = Ah, I a bully, outlaw, bad mad Arab!
[suspected Stockholm suicide bomber]
The world's oldest profession" = Words define hostess (trollop)
Department of Homeland Security = Protect needy/haunted from Islam
Isabelle Caro = Bale calories!
Prying as ~ a spy ring
Sistine Chapel = Hi, nice pastels!
The rose diamond = Oh, admired stone!
The dementia ~ ate thee mind
The grave condition = Can invite her to God
"'Welcome to the pleasure-dome!' = O-O, here we made lust complete!
Niagara Falls in New York, United States = Features a lot waters, sinking any lad in
More birds drop dead in US = Odd end, a morbid surprise
Medal of Honor = Hero? Damn fool!
Players LeBron James and Kobe Bryant = Or spry, dear men enjoy NBA basketball
Innocency = None cynic
Iran vows to bring Israel to justice over alleged murder of nuclear scientist = Terrible, cruel assassination! Give more loud, urgent trial for convicted Jews!
"The Social Network" Dominates Golden Globes = O, looks well, good, best, the grandest in cinema!
The antidepressant medicine = Inspect, treat men inside head
The breast cancer = Er...can't bare chest
The Australian Open females competition = i.e. Na Li, at finals, to meet one top, sure champ
The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak = Keeps denying riot in Arab state. Humph!
Demonstrations in Cairo, Egypt = O, many incidents, top rage, riots!
US Begins Evacuation Flights From Cairo = Thus Americans leaving focus of big riot
President Hosni Mubarak = Riots punish and break me
Deflorations = O, lad - first one! = Not for ladies!
Silicone breast = Celebration, sis! = Is license to bra = So, nicest bra - lie?!
Life on other planets = Let proof aliens, then!
A 'Trident Splash' [chewing gum] = Let's snap it hard!
Metropolitan Opera stage = Get, meet soprano-alto pair
The Spartans military education = I'm stoical student, I parry Athena
Juxtaposition = Up to joint axis
Michelangelo Buonarroti's "Creation of Adam" = O, God touches 'mire-born' man to a fair alliance! = Ah, mere Italian fresco in color about man & God
Fashion models = Fool maids & hens = Do some flashin'
Monotheism = ONE, Him most
The promiscuity = i.e. (sic) Try to hump
The serial monogamist = Noisome, straight male = To smash one girl a time = At most, he aims one girl = Aims one gal (short time)
Beautiful engagement ring = Great blue genuine gift, man!
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies [Aristotle] = But wife is spiritless, emotionless obligation... good vocal, no head
Slave trader = Sad traveler
Israel is an island of the democracy = Holy Land is a main force, sacred site = Holy Land nice, sacred site from Asia
Apophis Asteroid = Ooh, it disappears!
Our marvelous Planet Earth = Pure love, as natural mother = Mother, a supernatural love
Obama's second year = May score as bad one
Teenage girl collapses and dies after first kiss = Registered fatal necking for lass. It displeases.
Solution for everything = History: Not gunfire - LOVE!
Los Angeles 'Clippers' forward Blake Griffin = Offers NBA life, grace, lip, power, grand skills
Egypt echoes across region: Iran, Bahrain, Yemen = Arabs seethe, copy Cairo's harmony-engineering
'They Might Be Giants' = Sing the mighty beat
'Sacramento 'Kings' player Omri Casspi [first Israeli in NBA]= Israeli sportsman picks racy game, no?
Middle East protests = Old states distemper
A slot machine = Ah, metal coins!
Just in time = JIT (minutes)
The wrongly imprisoned man = My, got drawn in irons!..Help me!
'Belly Fat Free' [diet book] = Be flat, freely!
Russian Roulette = O, result ain't sure!
Arab world unrest = Darn troubles, war!
Space shuttle Discovery's last launch = NASA cuts the travel ship's loud cycle
Actress Natalie Portman = Name Oscar in latest part
The adversary = Very sad hater
Contraction is ~ a constriction
The architect Antoni Gaudi = A neat church got initiated
Pedophiles = Pope-shield
The priests-pedophiles = Pope shields their step
Kilometers = Trek 'o miles
The Port of Marseilles = Temple for the sailors?
Master in Business = In best US seminars
The oil prices = Politics here
Japan's death toll = A planet had jolts
Antonio Banderas = O, one star in a band!
The Michelin stars = Hints richest meal
Fukushima nuclear plant = F**k up, hurt all Asian men!
Minister Ya'alon = Israel, my nation = National misery
Obama declares himself candidate for re-election = Fatherland, once more! Democratic lead is feasible!
The whodunit = Who hunted it?
Whodunit = Wound, hit ...
The synagogues = Gen: Goys hate us
What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex [book without any text inside] = Man hankers but for sex (improve at that way) = No text (Ah, rakish empty wet man favours bar!)
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss = Twins: Conversely, 'No deal, Mark!"
Is the president of the Czech Republic a pen stealer? = Therefore, citizens (the public) peep leader's snatch
The battle for Libya = Be ally of that tribe = Ah, battle of liberty!
Staphylococcus aureus = A cuss at you...Help! Succor!
Liberty alliance = Call entire Libya!
Rockabilly style = Best; lyrically OK
Deadly tornadoes = O, destroyed a land!
'Hold It Against Me'" = Let a hot maid sing! = Lad, I'm hot! (teasing)
The official royal wedding list = Rigidly follow it, find each seat
The Royal Couple: Prince William and Kate Middleton = Two, tumidly married, like place in the London palace
Death of bin Laden = End of a blind hate
US forces killed Osama bin Laden = Skillful Americans; one s.o.b. dead
Real pundit = Prudential
The monosodium glutamate = Oh, go mum, don't use it at meal!
Sarah Burton, the royal wedding dress designer = Gown's author dressed a bride in her grand style
A literary pseudonym = Dispel your arty name = I.e. arty/proud/sly name
A prostate = Arse at top
Model Elisabetta Canalis = So, belle Italian dame acts
A precious metal = Some Au particle = Prime Au (etc. also)
The married couple Rose Pollard and Forrest Lunsway = Amour for teens: such old pair, really old partners wed
The sectarian = Heart in caste
Osama Bin Laden = Bold man in a sea
The Spain, Barcelona = Catalonians b.p. here
Real actors = Oscar, later
The 'Cold Meat Industry' = Dealt hot, trendy music
'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' = Picaroons fantasies 'grab' better in three D
Wet dream = Drew mate
Bernardo Bertolucci 'Ultimo tango a Parigi' = Plot: Brando - coital guru, Maria - erotic being
The politician = I in plot, I cheat = O, I pathetic nil!
Nickname of Paris - The City of Lights = O, is French capital sky of nighttime!
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni = I on huge oil-color icons, I'm David in marble too
Martin Scorsese = So, it's a Mr. Screen!
Harold Egbert Camping = The glam END or big crap?
Eric Patrick Clapton = It a clip, park concert... = I clip concert at park
Angela Dorothea Merkel = Took real German lead, eh = O, OK! The real German lead!
Sean Kingston [fat singer] = One 'tank' sings
Diplomatic relations = O damn, it's realpolitic!
Michael Sylvester Stallone = Let's call sly Vietnam heroes! = Call 'sly-steel' Vietnam's hero = Style? Shall master violence! = The cinema star, sells lovely = He's levelly-lost cinema star
Don Corleone = No one colder
Vito Corleone = Root violence = O, violent core!
Minerals = Real Si, Mn...
Tornadoes = No rest, ado
Endeavour ends final mission with the smooth landing = So, main shuttle now home and finished in doing travels
The nuclear power = New help - U-reactor
Peter Iroga of the Solomon Islands [biggest feet in the world] = Oh, go on, pal airs solid monster feet!
A sculpture = Sure cut, pal = Real cuts up
Sting And The Police = Apt, nice, golden hits = Poetic England hits = Top in his elegant CD
Israeli government = A revenger, no limits
The Israeli government = Ah, stern violent regime!
Monster Arizona wildfire threatens line of mountain towns = Ministrations time now - all zone was under threat of inferno Claude Monet's series of 'Water Lilies' = Delicate flowers lie on stream issue = U see master's delicate flowers in oil
He slept with her and her, and her = Ha! The shrewd philanderer, then
The 'Gay Girl in Damascus' = Such damaging, stray lie
The first total lunar eclipse of the year = Earth truly tips on face of her satellite
Very nice solo album = Music by lover, alone
Afghanistan troop drawdown = Adopt 'No war!' and 'No war fights!'
'Saturday Night Fever' - the original movie sound-track = Younger kid Travolta, him dancing over feature's hits
Deforestation = Toasted on fire? = O, fit on a desert!
Ben-Gurion = One big run
Hotel California = O, a nice hit for all! = One fair local hit
Ratko Mladic = I'm a dark clot = Dark-aim clot
A Freedom Flotilla = More aid of all Left
'I need a dollar' [song] = Deal dire loan
Search for tequila = Chase after liquor
Inheritance = Ancient heir
The penalties = Settle pain, eh = Let's pain thee
Bethanie Lynn Mattek-Sands = The bland Yanks tennis team = Ken, had many tennis battles = Talent; makes tennis by hand
Trabajo = Art? A job!
'Electric Light Orchestra' band = All graced the British concert = Recall big-hits-thread concert? = Call gathered British concert
'Don't Leave Me This Way' = My love awaits the end?
'Hold It Against Me' = It's gal-made-hit, no?
Peter Falk as Columbo = O, masterful bleak cop! = Famous Lt. (bleaker cop)
Volcano Erupts in the Central Indonesia = i.e. Cone-center spits hot lava on land. I run
Is western democracy alive in Egypt? = Cairo new system angrily deceptive
Turkey insists on apology to normalize Israel ties = i.e. Zion must tell, noisily, to Ankara 'Sorry', stop siege
Village People, 'In the navy' = Appealing, even lovely, hit
'You Can't Stop the Music' = You must set phonic act
'Waterloo' by the Swedish group Abba = Two babes & boys reap huge old war hit
'Kings of Leon' [one family rock band] = One-folk sing
The National Basketball Association = Aha, attention, it a 'All-Black obsession'!
Hot weather = The heat-row
The Mubarak's trial = Air the brutal mask!
True economic recovery = i.e. To overcome currency
Pavonine = Vain, open
Singer Andrea Bocelli = Recognise a real blind
Arnold George Dorsey alias Engelbert Humperdinck = Good old singer. Legend, put - shiny remarkable career
Enrique Iglesias = I a sequel-singer, I
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler = I sing regularly (I prime sequel, see)
The Biblical inspirations = Rabbi's lithe lips in action
The Metropolitan Police Service = Teach people: Violent riots - crime!
Cholera Outbreaks Spread Across Somalia = Disease hurts a poor black-color mass area
The hurricane Irene = Her ire can ruin thee
'Time to say goodbye' = Today? O, time goes by!
'The Gulag Archipelago' = A huge tragic gaol. Help! = Huge gaol; graphic tale
Emasculation = Cut one salami
The McDonald's restaurant = Dr.: A stunned stomach alert! = Such rotten, standard meal
Sarah Louise Heath Palin = Hail, hail eh? Not a USA Pres.!
A TV show 'Wheel of Fortune' = Wow, have lots of fun there!
You don't belong here = End trouble, honey. Go!
Asteroid to narrowly miss Earth = A disaster nearly hits tomorrow Israeli Navy Boards Boats Bound for Gaza = No doubt, Zion ably ravages aids for Arabs
The actor Laurence Olivier = Occur in a live theatre role
Coldplay 'Paradise' = i.e. Lads do play crap
British Monarchy = Ah, my rich Britons! = My, this baron rich!
The Global Positioning System = Lost? Sighing? Listen to map & obey!
Gilad Shalit is free = He's glad, fit Israeli
Tropical islands = All is in postcard = Local spirit, sand...
The tropical islands archipelago = Nice, hot hot girls! Paradisal place!
Sperm donation = One imports DNA
Georgios Papandreou = Europe-gang aids poor
Bill and Hillary Clinton = I call it Horny 'n' All Blind
Teenagers' faces = Age festers acne
A see-through lingerie = Oh, agree, nighties lure!
A bull in a china shop = Ouch! Pain in balls! Ah!
Miss Angola Leila Lopes = O, a gal pleases millions!
'No games, no politics, no delays' = As one slogan: 'Once, simply do it!'
The E-coli outbreak = Trouble: I eat, choke...
A lonely housewife = Uh, fellow, I easy one!
The "God Particle" mystery = Get my secret? Ah, pity! (Lord)
The Facebook fans = Batch of fake ones
Tens of thousands of protesters pressure Putin = These students offer no support to Russian Pres.
The George Lucas Star Wars movies ~ Came with several gorgeous stars
Iran court sentences American to death = Tehran to a decent man: 'Our secrets in CIA?'
The most beautiful girl = To us - right-built female
Italy cruise ship 'Costa Concordia' = Chaos, corpses, a loud cry. Titanic II?
Reverse play = Verse replay
Recipes = Re: spice
Egyptian court continues trial of Mubarak = Prosecution back in to maul a tyrant figure
Gloria Marie Steinem [feminist] = i.e. Tie - girl or man SAME! = A tiresome girlie, man = To me, marriage is line = I'm same one irate girl
Rick Santorum = Mr. Crank is out!
Mr. Penis = Spermin'
Bashar Assad = Has Arabs sad
The Beatles "Yellow submarine" = My heart below blue silent sea
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (Mr. Bean) = A nitwit, bananas. Man so berserk, no? = See a born artist. I'm known bananas
'Sports Illustrated' = Loud starlets strip = Top stars. Still rude
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies = A terse End of the Show. Loss for music industry. RIP
Valentine Day card = Evidently a canard
Tu Bishvat holiday [Jewish New Year of the Trees] = Hi, bush vital today!
Ruined teeth 'n' canals? = The dental insurance!
The poseur = Posture, eh
The Obama's birth control policy = Catholics, abortion thy problem?
An unemployment report = True, man, plenty poor men!
'War Horse' = Rare show!
Hague fears Iran could start 'new Cold War' = Accuser: Tehran is awful, a danger to world
Anthony Shadid, Reporter = That one had sorry end. RIP.
"Disturbing" study finds nineteen percent of the teens drive after using marijuana = Every fifth junior uses drugs during ride?... Instant penitence and finest abatement!
All you ever wanted = A new lady...true love!
Egomania = O, me, again!
The ladies' corsets = Let's aid sore chest
Nuclear negotiations with Iran = No cure in isolating Tehran? Wait!
A jowl = Lo, jaw!
Nehru-Gandhi families = Indians rule. High fame
The motion picture 'A Beautiful Mind' = O, impute it to deceitful human brain!
The Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer be printed = Cannot print & charge. Will be replaced by online edition.
Santorum = A nostrum
Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean = Hi, fine Captain Cameron can reach it!
Lofty = To fly
Burma elections = Troubles came in = O, misrule can't be!
[Bin Laden's wives] Kharia Hussain Sabir, Siham Sharif and Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh = Ah, familiar shaikh Bin Laden had us (as surah) - Arab-faith madams!
What happens after we die? = Safe pew with harp at Eden = Few rap, weep in that Hades
The silicon breast = O, elite chests in bra!
The brassiere = It's her bra, see
Pleasures = Are pluses
Egypt's Presidential Elections = No perils - settles peace, dignity
President Barack Obama's administration = Americans in prostration. Bad, bad mistake!
The Iran nuclear talks = Attack's near? Ruin, hell!
Non-violence works = Reckon - love wins, no?
Walt Disney's motion picture 'Mary Poppins' = I, prim polite nanny, support domestic ways
The movie 'Wanderlust' = Theme: Tour, view lands
Stallone in 'Rambo' movies = Violent man's role (I am s.o.b.)
Truvada (Gilead Sciences Incorporated) = Ordered top vaccine against cruel AIDS
'The sound of silence' = Let end of such noise
Walt Disney's movie Pinocchio = Wood-chips toy lives in cinema
The Walt Disney's Pinocchio = This chap - tiny wooden slice
Yad Vashem holocaust memorial = Huh, local aim to save sad memory
The National Weight-Loss Plan = Thin/lean - no' pigs', total 'whales'
President-elect Francois Hollande = France dispelled rotten Nicolas, eh
Obstetrician = I notice brats
Path of least resistance = Easiest plan for the acts
Planet Bollywood = One lowly, bad plot
"Diapers and politicians should be changed often -- both for the same reason." = No sham - shit is shit! Unappealing fecal odor, bad scent, and therefore booed.
Stupefaction = Inept at focus
Singer Joshua Ledet = Judge: "This one's REAL!
Dancing with the stars = Scan the hard twisting
'Madame Bovary' = O, very 'bad mama'!
Saturday Night Live = Arty laugh inside TV = Try a laugh inside TV
Done! = O, end!
| Boxing |
What was the name of the German terrorist gang of the 1970s and 80s? With a Marxist ideology they committed over thirty murders and around 300 bomb attacks. | Internet Anagram Server : Anagrams by Pinchas Aronas
The cougar = or Huge cat
Alibi = I bail
Oscar statue = To ace US star
Spermicide = I crimp seed
The Titanic disaster = Death, it starts in ice
Egalitarian = Anti-regalia
Singer Maria Callas = All screaming arias
The Cuban cigars = Thus, a big cancer
Claustrophobia = Car, ship, loo - tabu
Painter Fernand Leger = Prefer 'Engine Land' art
Sir Stanley Matthews = Means star with style
Crime novelist = Trims violence
Diego Maradona = An arm? Good idea!
The pornographic websites = It's her boring peep show act
Last wish = This's law = With lass
Fashion designer = Fine rig and shoes = Oh, gain fine dress!
The astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus = Space motion: our Earth circles Sun, no? = Space's our home. I learn construction.
The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot = New chemists often active out there, in Zion = A home of true Zetetics & new inventions itch
[Zetetic - a seeker]
The famous American actor Charlie Chaplin = On air, the small chap of true archaic cinema
Olympiad = I do my lap
Actor Sylvester Stallone = Very cool talentless star
God is everywhere = WORD giver, he eyes!
Great city of London = Root city of England = No clarity, fog noted
'Aerosmith' = More A hits
Certainly not = Can't rely on it
Chairman Gates = A magnate's rich
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution = Soul of vital, narrow, chosen heredity
Miss Serena Williams = Win slam, smile arises
The video camera = A home art device
Actor Sidney Poitier = One Oscar. 'Pity, I tried!'
The Costa Brava region of Spain = Anchoring of private sea-boats
Generalissimo = Legions, armies
Bermuda triangle = Mirage & brutal end
Parodist = I do parts
Sir Lancelot and Guinevere = Intrigues can end real love
Spanish senorita = She's not Parisian
The group 'Guns'n'Roses' = Ogre runs up the songs
Hebrew University of Jerusalem = Sure, our very able Jewish men fit
Great Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' = or Versed Italian man's 'La Gioconda' = 'La Gioconda'. As normal, rates -DIVINE = One arrant diva's smile - 'La Gioconda'
William Westmoreland = Well, solid wartime man = I will lead war moments
To cast pearls before swine = Can refer to possible waste
Singer Billy Ocean = Really sonic being
Painter Michelangelo Buonarroti = Heart into marble or upon a ceiling
Carte blanche = Cancel the bar
The aftermath of Katrina = Take that hat off, mariner
The Gambino family = Might be Mafia only
...and they lived happily ever after = Delivered that very happy finale
Arctic expedition = An exotic iced trip
Michel Salgado = He'd claim goals
Actor Robin Williams = Clown or a bit similar
Motion picture 'A beautiful mind' = Delirium but a fine computation
Greenwich station = Whence I got trains
Confessional = On scale of sin
French composer Claude Achille Debussy = A bunch of classic cheery model preludes
Actress Maria Schneider = Dame is a rich screen star
The French riots = Torch, then fires
Riots in French capital = Conflict in Paris heart
Private detective Sherlock Holmes = Let's harm the evil deceptive crooks!
The true meaning of Christmas = Feast & other charming minutes = She for using time at merchant = Unearth gifts & memories, chant... = Cherish a great moment, it's fun!
South American countries = He came to tour Inca's ruins
Actor Louis De Funes = Fatuous screen-idol
The famous animator Walt Disney = Author of tiny sweet/mad animals
The Golden Globe Awards Ceremonial = Other adorable cinema legends glow
'Ivanhoe' by Sir Walter Scott = His best war-atrocity novel = Brave hero in a costly twist = Best historic novel (art way) = War-taste by historic novel
A sore throat = Orators hate
The Simpson's cartoons = Spastic Homer, snot son...
Poltergeist = It spelt 'ogre'
The President of the United States of America George Walker Bush = A gangster from the White House undertakes debate-free politics
Heathrow Airport, London = Rain? Hop to another world!
Actress Sienna Rose Miller = Star in lesser cinema roles
William Henry Gates = Get a share in my will! = My wealth real, I sign = My wealth is in large = Largely, I with means = Regally, I with means
Princess Stephanie of Monaco = In casino, perhaps? Comes often
The Apartheid = Hit, rape, death
'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth' = Human, fill this planet further. Reputably, indeed.
The girl of your dreams = Must glorify & adore her
Mother's Day cards = Cross my heart, Dad.
Scum of the Earth = Term of such hate
British Airways = Brits & Irish away!
Christians, Muslims and the Jews = Jerusalem stands within schism
The singer Little Richard = Recreated thrilling hits
'Murder on the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie = Examine it. It's death, horror, passenger-butchery.
A somersault = Use arms a lot
The actress Meryl Streep = Respect her master style
Hyundai Entourage = Genuine hardy auto
A night to remember = The big rare moment
Mideast = Mad site
A motor vehicle = Oil the car & move
A person morbidly concerned with his health = Er...man bothered with illness? Hypochondriac!
Carnegie Hall in New York city = I hear concert. Likely yawning
Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy = 'Heavy and Lean' is ultra-drollery!
(Kirk Douglas) Issur Danielovitch Demsky = Hick is suddenly movie star
There is no God but Allah = Slaughter, hate in blood
Espaniol = Ole, Spain!
'The weakest link' = Think, talk...we see.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston = Is not white, hazel...but honey!
I am terrible with names = Wait, remember! Hi, Stalin!
General Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte = Generates pogrom, outrageous Chilean junta
The spirit board = Prohibited arts
Middle Eastern nations = Nested in mad relations = Latin? No, darned semites!
Beatles 'Yellow submarine' = We'll be in a stormy blue sea
Ehud Olmert reaches out to the Palestinians = Ruler has hinted solution to the M.East peace
Ehud Olmert reaches out to Palestinians = Solution to the peace in M.East - hard rules
Penis enhancement surgeries = Nurse, get me spare nine inches!
The President of the Russian Federation = Sir Putin, he's head in 'not-free-of-Red' state
The Apple Macintosh = Machines apt to help
The narcolepsy = Nap costly here = Not chary sleep = Oh, nap secretly! = Lot 'cheery' naps
Israeli government = Naive Olmert, resign!
'Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens = Accents British kid so very well
Muslims face increasing 'Islamophobia' in Europe = I'm Arab, I feel repugnance, omission impious clash
Eve Ensler's 'The vagina monologues' = Loose heroine's vulva engagements
English children's books author Beatrix Potter = Can explore old kin stories through the rabbits
'Travels into several remote nations of the word, in four parts, by Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships'
=
Adventures of noble Gulliver in different countries - arrival to short people state (war-maven) , Giants... hopes, traumas, finally - horses
[The original title of Gulliver's Travels] Actor Stephen Glenn Martin = Prattling man on the screen = Acting person. Enthralment
The professional dancers = Share floor and nice steps
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy = i.e. Giant spire on the way to fall
A pressure mounts on Olmert to resign = Israel: No sneers, our ortten PM must go
Martin Scorsese's 'The Departed' = The 'Desires Oscars' department = Masterpiece herds noted stars
Sinbad The Sailor = Listen his 'Abroad!' = Islander & his boat = This old sea-brain
Madonna Louise Ciccone = Nice music and a cool one!
Kabbalistic = Is 'black' a bit
The Asian = Ah, in East!
Mary Wollstonecraft = Normally, wrote facts
Suicides = Cuss, I die!
Human genetic code = Get choice, menu - DNA
'The hunchback of Notre Dame' written by Victor Hugo = Great French book, vetoed mutant boy within church
Love and Eroticism = No more civil dates
Addition = AND, idiot!
Members of Parliament = A PM Blair & some fret men = PM T. Blair & fearsome men = Amoral men, fibs, temper
Captain Nemo = Ocean-pit man
Writer Boris Leonidovich Pasternak = Historical prose, evident brainwork
Is there intelligent life on Mars? = Those infirm little green aliens?
The little green aliens = Real intelligent, these!
The Walt Disney Parks = Wealthy parents' kids
The film actress Sophia Loren = Oh, she a perfect millions star!
Godless dollar = A lordless gold
[there is no 'In God we trust' on it]
Confiture = Once fruit
Rossini's 'The barber of Seville' = Irresistible shaver of nobles
The arhythmias = Hah, it's my heart!
Bacon, artist = Abstraction
Actress Uma Thurman = Human trusts camera
Bush administration = Is brutish damnation
The erection = To entice her
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun = Blond Frau had an evil rat
Compensation = On past income
The tornado destroys Kansas town = No roads and estates, thrown to sky
The Kalahari desert = Heat, real death-risk
Walt Disney,'The Lion King' = Ain't the kids yelling now!
Livres = Silver
The 'Live Earth' concerts = Recent vocal hits there
Model Paris Hilton = Poor mind is lethal
Pentagon leaders' ambition = End to Palestinian embargo
His harem = Share him
Suite 'Pictures at an exhibition' = Hear it, it is nice tunes about pix
Eating kosher = Seeking Torah = Eager to knish
Federal Republic of Germany = Friendly place for a beer-mug
Walt Disney's movie 'The Lion King' = Moving! Now all tiny kids see it, eh?
This great nation of ours = O, (for the ignorant) it's USA!
Hideous man = In madhouse
Hurricane Flossie = Careful, is inshore! = Oh, insure life, cars!
Michael Praetorius = I hear real top music
Sting and 'The Police' = Taped nice long hits = This poetic England!
Osama Bin Laden urges Americans to convert = Once again a 'reverent' Muslim on broadcasts
Singer Luciano Pavarotti = Curtains to a living opera = Top, raising, natural voice = On air pure, giant vocalist
Siad Barre = Arab is Red
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California = Broad long avenue traces false illusions
Beautiful woman = But I am awful one!
The Ebola viruses = Those abuse liver
Noriega = I an ogre
Roadside bombing in Baghdad = Odd Arabs did 'big bang' in home
Maccabi 'Elite' Tel-Aviv = Civil, active, able team
Forty two thousand and one hundred ninety five meters = Defines marathon run. Not thy event, dud - is not for weedy!
Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger = A master hero, worrying partner, gal - learned hoyden
Free online dating service = Easier love-finding center
James Fenimore Cooper = Rejoice, me man of prose! = Major income - prose-fee
'The last of the Mohicans' = O, that man! He's lost chief
Fenimore Cooper's 'The Last of The Mohicans' = O, some poor ethnic chief - feathers man - lost!
Great Wheel of China = Now face real height!
Bhutto under house arrest in Pakistan = Aha, thanks to ruinous brute president!
World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse = I feverishly plan to watch & defend our brood = Oh, pederasty not rich love! Awful, forbidden! = Wonderful pathfinder to avoid lechers, boy!
Very nice! = Even I cry!
President Omar Al-Bashir = P.S. Arab is a modern Hitler
'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' = The children each try a lot of cacao
Christopher Bryan Moneymaker = Boy's poker-myth, earner, rich man
Escaped tiger kills man in SF zoo = So, king-sized animal left corpse
The Indian reservation = Oh, retain Red Natives IN!
Gwen Renee Stefani = A fine 'n' sweet genre
Diana, The Princess = Cheap and sinister?
Disdain = Did a sin?
Experimentations = Strip, examine, note = Exam entire points
Sexually transmitted disease = Tenet: mixed lays result as AIDS
'Oprah Winfrey Network' = Ratify her known power
Coteries = O, I secret!
Greek hero Achilles = Reck, sir! Go heal heel!
'Rolling Stones' band = Real, not blind songs
A pioneer neurologist Sigmund Freud = Grip genuine, rude solution of dreams
Real sex = Relaxes
Breach of promise = Boors, I'm free chap!
Alexander the Great = Dare that ex-general
Memories of Italy = So I, my life at Rome
The female orgasms = Her most false game
Composer Claude Achille Debussy = Cosy, coddle, pleasurable music, eh!
'The flight of the bumble bee' by N. Rimsky-Korsakov = Best flying rhythm took from beehive. Skulk, babe!
Megabytes = By me (Gates)
The stratagem = Gee! smart, that! = That gamester!
The sadomasochist = So, I do the 'smash' act
Schumacher = Cars chum, eh?
Bruce Springsteen = Creep brings tunes
Orchitis = O, sir, itch! = Oi, Christ!
Little Red Riding Hood = O, Lord! The nit girl died?!
Goldilocks and the three bears = Her snack good as her little bed
Renault Chamade = A cruel death, man!
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas = No happiness at Middle East - I numb Arab
Cabernet Sauvignon = Consent in vague bar
Marlborough Galleries = All rooms huger, real big!
Electric Light Orchestra = Recollect rich, great hits
The latex condoms = Man clothed to sex
Robert Schumann = Born-charm tunes
The late Antonio Stradivari = Attained that so rare violin
Yellow pages = We sell, go pay
Los Angeles, California = No angels, local fairies
Cholesterol = Cell-shooter
Hyundai Accent GT = Naughty accident
Denigration = Die, ignorant!
The prostate gland = That spot enlarged
Christina Applegate = Her act? It's appealing! = It's her acting appeal
The Mitsubishi Motors Corporation = I ship our 'motion hit' - best motor cars
Conspirator = Rat, scorpion = I spot rancor
An Oedipus complex = Ma & son? O, Cupid, expel!
Christopher Columbus = Such trip, such bloomer!
Ulcer = Cruel
Charles De Gaulle = Such legal leader
Chinese restaurant = Run, taste ashen rice
Adam and Eve = Even a Ma & Dad
Loneliness = Ill oneness
I want to be your Valentine = Attention, I buy a new lover
Paris Marathon = Sport-mania. Rah!
The Mountain of Parnassus = An Athens famous top ruins
Common slip of the tongue = The fouling comment -'Oops!'
Famous director Steven Spielberg = Best films producer. So generative!
Physicist Sir Isaac Newton = So sharp (in scientistic way)
The Argentinian singer Carlos Gardel = Ah, legend! Real tango star! Nice ring, sir.
The equivalent = Halt, quite even!
Hooliganism = Ooh, is malign! = Oh, I so malign!
Man can not live by bread alone = My blot - I need banana, veal, corn...
The ampersand = Here AND stamp
Extraterrestrial invader = Star-rider, extravert alien
Italian duce Benito Mussolini = Noisome built-in lunatic ideas
Demission = I done, miss
Poet Thomas Stearns Eliot = i.e. has some top-sort talent = His talent rates poems too
Dame Agatha Christie = Crime-death saga. A hit. = I head that crime-saga
Admiral Nelson = Droll man in sea
Admiral Horatio Nelson = To mainland - sailor & hero = It an old sailor man & hero
The Eurovision Song Contest = Oh, singers & contentious vote!
Singer Michael Bolton = The nice rambling solo = Ah, nice trembling solo = O, chosen, brilliant gem!
Peter Shilton = The sport line = Post...three-nil!!!
Arsenal Football Club = Bores all but local fan
Boston Wanderers = Born sores... and wet
Manchester City = Yes, cretin, match!
Manchester City Football Club = Soccer, but bit melancholy, flat
Love is in the air = Etherial vision
The wishbone = Oh, bet he wins!
Bolivian President Carlos Mesa = Damn, I act so irresponsable, evil!
Carlos Mesa = Some rascal
Chamber music = Bach! mum cries
Police = Cop lie
Singer Rod Stewart = Insert great words = Testing rare words
Bristol = Lo, Brits!
Israeli general Moshe Dayan = Is a real one-eyed largish man
Singer Whitney Houston = She young, hot. It's winner!
The Sony Playstation = Nations play the toys
Chernobyl, Ukraine = Bear only rich nuke
Enuresis = I see runs
The marriage counseling = Egomaniacs ruling there
Actor Michael Landon = Calm, land-action hero
The famous vampire Count Dracula = 'A human-computer' of vascular diet
Miss Venus Williams = Mum is evil lass; wins
The millionaire Steve Fossett = O, his interests - love, title, fame!
Tom Cruise = I'm sore, cut!
The morning-after pills = Timing. Hell for parents
Actress Sharon Stone = One 'stars chosen' star
The American actress Demi Moore = Other sacred memories at cinema
A feminist = Finest aim = i.e. Fits man
Montessori = I set morons
The Champions League finals = Face up, English men also a hit!
Separate = See, apart!
Bosnia = No bias = So, I ban
Wilt Chamberlain = Recall - I'm with NBA
Adroitness = In trades so
Angel of death = Fatal end, eh? Go!
Piece of mozzarella = Free meal - pizza! Cool!
Revolution in Russia = It's Lenin, our saviour
Dolce far niente = Entrance of idle = Near deflection
Act of God = Good fact?
Spanish painter El Greco = His art - apple-green icons
Painter Francisco De Goya = Aspire good, nice, fancy art
Walpurgis night = Hags twirling up
Bermuda shorts = Red rash to bums = Stores hard bum = Read -"Bum shorts'
The Federal Republic of Germany = My forgathered peaceful Berlin = Life of much large pedantry & beer = Peaceful? Bad energy from Hitler
Suicide thoughts = Got such...'Thus I die'
Lucy in the sky with diamonds = What idyl! Dinky, honest music!
Shine on you crazy diamond = Yon I hear odd zany music, no? (yon - yonder, there)
Virulence = Cruel vein
Henri Matisse = See star in him
Singer Charles Aznavour = Vulgarizes rare chanson
The presidential elections = He needs political interest
The Australian boomerang = A real bargain to some hunt
Martin Scorsese = Sir, on set, scream! = Some nicer stars = Cinema or stress = i.e. Crass monster = O sir, smart scene! = A most 'Sir Screen'
The Boston strangler = Er...best 'n' long throats
Albert Desalvo = Bad, revels a lot
Mafioso = So, I'm oaf
Andrew Gigante = We trained gang
Gigante = Gang tie
Arthur Gary Bishop = I harsh, abrupt, gory
The Confederations Cup = Audience fetch on sport = Then top soccer - fun idea
The Confederations Cup finals in Germany = Flamy Argentinian soccer often punished
That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind = Moon. Spoken as man from Planet Earth nails a tinted flag
Sinecure = Nice, sure
Chronic fatigue syndrome = If my dear resting on couch = I charge more dysfunction
The decision to marry = Erotic man, he so dirty!
Territorial army and volunteer reserve = Relevant military used over near terror = Really trained maneuver over terrorist
Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Miserables' = Covers big masses revolution. Hell = Scriber to involve homeless Gauls
Opportunity = Option up, try (or vice versa)
The night before Christmas = Rich mother's gifts beneath
Pastiche = It's cheap
Spanish flamenco = Oh, man's fine claps!
Pedro Almodovar = Poor loved drama
To err is human = Is true, no harm
Salacity = Is lay-act
Singer Kylie Minogue = I like money, I snugger
Hellas = As Hell
Michel De Nostradamus = Dreams. Much details? No! = Had some incult dreams = Had inmost-clue-dreams
Composer Peter Cornelius = or One proper select music
Doctor Kurt Waldheim = Demur that wild crook! = I mocked Old War truth
Emotionally involved = Love? I'm not in love, lady!
A blot on the landscape = Had spot on clean table = Clean had notable spot = A spot on the bald-clean
The ideal woman = Want ideal home
A seductress = Crude assets
William Butler Yeats = Subtle wily material = I write, but all measly
Felicity Huffman = Fluffy cinema hit
The philosopher Immanuel Kant = Oh, people, I'm last human-thinker!
Lady Caroline Lamb = I morally balanced
B. Shaw's 'Pygmalion' = Bow, smashing play!
Peter James Crouch = Act here, jump, score = Jump, care the score = The pure 'soccer-jam' = The soccer & a jumper
The forensic pathologist = I go into that corpse flesh
Admirable? = I'm real bad!
The consonant = A? No, no! H, N, S, T, etc.
A Middle East's arm race = Mad tale, dire massacre
Don't cry for me Argentina = Tragedy. An inner comfort
The author Ernest Hemingway = O, there naughty man! He writes
Miss Hillary Rodham Clinton = O snot! I'll marry childish man! = I still honor my man - lad's rich!
The Boeing seven-eight-seven Dreamliner = Tried? Is never seen high above, gentlemen!
The New Hardee's Monster Thickburger = Shocking murderer between the trash
Le tour de France = Tend lure of race
Iran: No secret arms deal with Syria = No crisis. We hate and martyr Israel = Strain war-machine! Destroy Israel!
The airports warned about terror dry runs = True worry. Hard to insure bared transport
South Korean hostage killed by Taliban = Kinky Arabs held Asian... He got bullet too
Bush and Brown seek to establish rapports = That workable partnership bounds bosses
Gesticulations = It's to signal, cue
Silence is golden = Lies need closing
The first love = Vet, life short! (vet - to subject to thorough examination or evaluation)
Venial = An evil
The dipsomaniac = I am a pinched sot = Cheap mind, I a sot
The soused = He used sot
The soaker = He rake, sot
Shakespeare, the Immortal Bard = His poems remarkable, read that
Documentary 'Arctic tale' = Not act, ice-drama, cruelty = Accent to truly ice-drama = One-act dramatic cruelty
The chairman Mao Tse Tung = Giant man? Scum o' the Earth! = Chinese man taught - 'To arm!'= 'Nag', he communist at heart
Urethritis = Ire...it hurts!
Ecstasy = Say 'Sect' (not a drug)
Michel De Nostradame = The mind-made oracles = Search and model time = Oracles, I demand them! = Clear mind, do the same! = Let him dream a second = Alchemist dreamed on = Had time-clone dreams
Prophet Michel de Nostradame = Hah, I prompt demented oracles!
Thespian, the greatest of all = 'Salt' of the pleasing theatre
Green dollar = General Lord
Vinaigrette = Tang, I veer it
Famous Big Ben is being silenced for the maintenance = O, Britain's time-machine enfeebled; confuses banging!
The actress Marilyn Monroe = Screen-honey, immortal star = Tersely, she romantic Norma = 'Salty', secret-man in her room = Rather solemn cinema-story
Napoleon = One on Alp
Soichiro Honda = Hi, I on car's hood! = Ooh... and I so rich!
Roman gladiator = Lad got an armor, I = Lad in toga? Armor!
Calista Flockhart = Lo, flat chick - a star!
First Congregational Church in Neosho, Missouri = Horrific gun shooting. Micronesian secular shot
Southampton FC = O, match's top fun!
David, king of Israel = I advise folk in drag
The Premier Tony Blair = Horribly intemperate = Me? I terrible, phony, rat = Or...Pity, he terrible man
Solomon, The King of Israel = Look 'Throne families', 'Song' = Look for mine hot sign - 'seal' = Male's in song of hit-looker
"The Birmingham Symphony Orchestra = Charming rhythm, best harmony & poise
The Yucatan Peninsula = A sunny ethnic plateau
Ryan Seacrest = Say, screen-art
Kimberly Elise Trammel = Remember me? I talk silly
The director Steven Spielberg = It brightest screen developer
Rocco Francis Marchegiano = A ring-icon coach arms force
The Great Britain = Giant tribe & earth
Eight thousand eight hundred forty eight meters = Height of highest mount. Tens dare, get hurt, dry & die
Samuel Pack Elliott = Like lout pal? Cast me!
Sam Pack Elliott = I'll make top acts
The University of Notre Dame = Even I in to study there for MA
Yellow Magic Orchestra = Create show, claim glory
The Olympus Digital Camera = Picture may halt old images = Aha, my gal, old-time pictures! = Aptly 'caught' & 'laid' memories = Aim - replay 'caught' old-times
The Lamborghini 350 GT = Bring that, go 530 mile/h!
Lamborghini Murcileago LP640 Roadster = The prim, long, glorious & admirable car = I 'pert', admirable, glorious, long car. 460 m/h
The Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe = Ah, Latin Blood Glamor! Huge price!"
The Lamborghini Countach = Long machine, but oh!, car - hit!
Fantastic = Ain't facts
George Frideric Handel = Hear glorified genre CD
'Who wants to live forever ? = No sweat! Revolver? How fit!
The movie star = Votes rate him = Rave, 'I the most!'
Advocatus Diaboli = To a bad vicious lad
An orgasmic release = Scream, a large noise = Scream as eager lion = Agree, a lion's scream! = Er...scream analogies
Arabian horse = He is Arab roan
A blessing in disguise = Gauge bliss inside sin
TV show,'American Idol' = Admire now vocal hits = Hear now timid vocals = or 'New maids vocal hit'
The American Idol TV Show = There domain with vocals = Hear mild voices... whatnot!? = Watch hard emotions. LIVE!"
Henriette, the hurricane = Hit uncertain. Here? There?
The Mosque in Karbala = Arabs kneel to HIM (qua)
The Acropolis = Ooh, past relic! = Relics. A photo? = Oh, a relic tops! = Oh, lost a price! = O, sir, 'hot place'! = Heroical spot
The Athens Acropolis = Aha, protect holiness! = Oh, chapel is stone-art!
Chevrolet Savana = Have 'Real-Cost' van
Haruomi Hosono = Ooh, harmonious!
Ryuichi Sakamoto = A hit or 'okay' music
(musicians from Yellow Magic Orchestra)
The late George Harrison = O, he hot! Great, real singer
The Bin Laden's video = Evil Bin, he's not dead!
The male reproductive system = There is matey 'love-duct' & sperm = Testicle have duty - more sperm
Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature = To save there affluent heritage - original tongue, lyrics and prose = Here to help save original 'tangy' dialects for future generations
A message from Sheikh Osama Bin Laden to the American people = Pentagon: See this mad fool Arab peacemaker's lie. Shame on him!
The Colosseum, Italy = Oh, stately Coliseum!
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy = Oh, clearly, I momentous site! = Here it 'Socially Momentous' = Timeless 'monolith' you care = Some local ruins (the moiety)
'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson = Story about never reassured billions-nest = Notably unarrested, true silver-obsession = Unrest, troubles, banditry on overseas isle
City of Los Angeles = Gents say 'Cool life! = 'To fly eagles' (coins)
Indonesia = 'Nodi' in sea
(nodi pl. of node - A knob, knot, protuberance)
Save money, live better = Very vital beseem note = Believe monetary vets = Interest evolve? Maybe
(Wal-Mart's new slogan)
Manuel Noriega = I rule & manage, no?
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno = No analogue to mean moron in ire
Sudan Ebolavirus = Bad (usual version)
Reston Ebolavirus = A troubles version
Arnold George Dorsey alias Engelbert Humperdinck = I recorded really deep, glum, heartbreaking songs, no? = I merely produced general old heartbreaking songs
The Rocky Mountains = My, one hot track in US! = County to hikers, man = Many think to course = Ah, country to ski, men!
Nessiteras rhombopteryx = By experts: No-harm stories = I pry best hoaxers monster
(Scientific name of Loch Ness monster)
Justin Timberlake = Trim junkie bleats
Myanmar troops hunt pro-democracy protesters = Army cops try to 'reap' & punch more demonstrators
North Korea agrees to disable main nuclear facility = America finally gathered nukes-reactor's abolition
A strangulation = Lungs - 'No air!'...Ta ta!
The Major League Soccer = Just cool game + career, eh?
Short Message Service = It charges some verses
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? - Lady Marmalade = O, my 'crazed' chivalrous audacious lover came! Love me!
Madeira = I am dear = I a dream
The London Ambulance Service = Men have concerned about ills
The 'Olympiakos' Piraeus = Sport is a key, 'hale opium'
Dungeons & Dragons = God, no sun & dangers!
C(do), D(re), E(mi), F(fa), G(sol), A(la), B(si) = I add basic formal solfege = ...did a basic formal solfege
Doris Lessing = Is golden, sirs!
The Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation = Utilitarian speedy succor to harm, no?
Southern California's sprawling wildfires = Afwul, rising, wild Inferno strips real chaos
Southern California wildfires = Ah, worried officials silent run! = Arnold with officials reinsure
Southern California = Oh, arson, lunatic fire!
The California's Desert = It's real, fierce, hot sand
Thomas Gerard Tancredo = Rah, danger to democrats!
Edouard Manet = O, 'nude' dame art!
Edouard Manet, impressionist = Is some nude maiden's portrait
The famous pianist Richard Clayderman = Hefty & ardent, harmonic & paradisal music
A modern romance = CD 'Enamor, Enamor'
The long hair = Ah, on the girl!
Umpire = I'm pure = Impure?
The actor Mel Gibson = The combating roles = The acting bloomers = O, matching best role! = Blame Christ, not ego
Medical prescription = Receipt rids complain?
A severe punishment = Vehement pains. Sure
A punishment = Insane thump = I spent human = U pen this man = Pain hunts me
Splendiferous = So refined, plus = Nudes profiles
A contradiction in terms = Concern: Smart ain't Idiot
Hugo Almeida = A goal due him
The Venetian adventurer Giovanni Giacomo Casanova = Ooh, 'suave' on a virgin, on a vacant dame, a teen-virgin, etc.
Online dating service = Evidencing relations
Eastern Congo = On green coast = Green coast, no?
The National Geographic Society = So, a photogenic cheating reality
The fascist Walter Richard Rudolf Hess = Fetid worthless rascal, fetid harsh cur = A retch! This world suffered this rascal = Fuhrer's-addict thief, worthless rascal
'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' = By aim - to flatten land
Kurdish rebels = Elder Bush-'Risk!'
The Taliban insurgent = He unstable intrigant
The Taliban insurgents = Able in anti-US-strength
The crackdown could fuel Islamic insurgency in Pakistan = Musharraf's killin' induce condign new pious-attack-cycle
A television writers strike = Is trite? Real sensitive work!
A Writers Guild votes to strike = Disuse o' TV glitterati & workers
Composer Ludwig van Beethoven = Hove top new music. Bravo! Legend! = Have proved - belong to new music
Barbara West Dainton = Was in bad, errant boat
(the second-to-last survivor of Titanic)
More violence in Pakistan = Police makes nation riven
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull = Ah, join lucky H. Ford seeking distant lost mean land!
'Moonlight shadow' = Old hit among show
Dancing with the stars = Winners had tight acts
Show 'Dancing with the stars' = Test's hard. Which tango wins?
Motor City named nation's most dangerous = Detroit: Nasty crimes amount's no good, man
Bush says Mideast peace talks worth the risks = Such shaky worthless debates is trap, mistake
The Annapolis conference = None chance for Palestine = Here connection & safe plan = Once free nations can help = Oh, fine plan to Renascence! = Once foes, therein can plan = In there, once foes, can plan = Neat chance for open lines = Planners of neaten choice = Hence, foes learn not panic
Bush urges additional AIDS money = Mind out disease or badly anguish!
Suspect in trouble before hostage drama = L. Eisenberg spoofs that Democrat bureau
A Hothouse Effect = Oh see, cut off heat!
A Greenhouse effect = Create huge offense
Wiltshire couple Robert and Deborah Fry = Cruel part: drowned for their 'holy babies'
(drowned saving their children)
The cauldron = Lunch to dear
Angina pectoris = Sore, acting pain = Giant sore & panic = O, creating pains!
Giuseppe Mercadante = Pen a deep great music = Unpaged masterpiece
A Harley Davidson motorcycle's = A dandy or classy motor vehicle
The Harley Davidson motorcycle = Smooth vehicle? Contrary, deadly!
Harley Davidson Motorcycles = Ooh, randy cyclists love, dream! = Dandy or classy motor vehicle
That Chinese ball = This can be lethal!
Elvis Aaron Presley = Say, real, live person? = I say, -' Please, love RNR! [Rock'N'Roll]
'I got my mind set on you' = My dingy emotions out
'Super Mario Brothers' video game = Our improved image - Brats-Heroes
The Golden Compass = Most glanced hopes
Robert Hawkins = Broken wraiths = Be warn, hot risk!
The Will Smith's Motion picture 'I am legend' = Hero meets well hiding impolitic mutants
Jehovah's Witnesses = Have "Jew's son" thesis
Nearly 95 percent of the email sent in 2007 has been spam = Terrible anathemas seen on any finest PC. Help me!
Isaac Asimov's science-fiction novel 'I, robot' = A case of bionic love, icons, activities norms
The Beatles 'Yellow submarine' = Aye, their swell album, best one = We all see their best album yon
Band 'Spice Girls' = Bad singers clip
Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" = Her whole, best, strong, detailed fable
The Musical TeleVision = Have some illicit tunes = Listen to a live music, eh? = Ah, menu is - 'Little Voices!'
The 'Animal Collective' = Nice vocal all the time
The movie "American Gangster" = Is game: another agent v. crime
Chris Evert and Greg Norman engaged = Changed grand rings over agreement
What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? = Please, change this line, 'wit'. I'll kick your again! I do!
William Roger Clemens = Clearing well memoirs = No crimes? Gem? Well? Liar?
I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas = I meditate harsh, firm, magic snow = This air made the magic snow firm
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet tired of the man = Heed now: Each minor states that Mighty devoted to his life, gets Mercy
Last-minute shoppers = Hapless spurt, no time!
Francesca Lewis = Carcass? New life!
(12-year-old, sole survivor of a plane crash in Panama, December 23, 2007. Survived in the mountains for two days before being rescued)
New England Patriots = Neat, top winners glad
Kenya candidate claims rigging in vote = Raila Odinga is making decency vetting
Indian reservation = Naive Red nation, sir
Indian reservations = Dear natives 'in irons'
Diana, the Princess of Wales = Scenario: Wife's death's plan
Bhutto's son maintains her political dynasty = Toll: continuation, stays behind his Ma's party
Acer Incorporated = I dear PC- creator, no?
Levy Restaurants = Rule: stay 'n' starve
The Neapolitan spaghetti = Note that shape - giant pile! = It's giant heap on the plate
Spaghetti Neapolitan = He gets Italian pot (pan) = I hate inept long pasta!
The Princess and the Pea = Her steep itch ends a nap = Peeress, nap and the itch
The University of Liverpool = Pithily : Evolution's forever!
Vertigo = I got rev
The vertigoes = Go, hit Everest!
Guidance's from above = Became in God's favour
The Fast Food Restaurant = Short feast and 'Out' after = Affronts! hardest eat-out = Rats! Offhand eat out & rest
Miss Miley Cyrus = My Muse is lyrics
Elisha Graves Otis = His elevator is gas!
Otis Elevator Company = Reactivates monopoly = O, many copies 'to travel'!
Spider Biofuel = I do life superb!
Week ashore = Here we soak
The disagreeable person = Oh, see a real President! G.B.
The macaroni = Ethnic aroma
The International Space Station = Ain't spies alone interact on that?
The American Indian = Hi, I am an ancient Red = Hi, I a red & ancient man!
A mermaid = I'm a dream
Lindsay Dee Lohan = Lady on headlines
The Shadows = The sad show = Do the swash = We had shots
The Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare = Aha, British male-writer maked all poems!
Model Gabriel Aubry = Aye, dribble glamour!
Ron Leavitt = Er...not vital = Into real TV
'Englishman in New York' = Known rhyme. Sing, 'alien'! = Mainly he known singer
Singer Elvis Aaron Presley = Proven sir, I nearly ageless = Sales, perseveringly on air = A peerless sir, only in grave = I revere pills, grass. Anyone!?
Singer Amy Winehouse = So, yes, I am huge winner! = Ear, my show is genuine
Oligarch = A rich log = Rich goal
The filling stations = Fits into giant 'Shell'
Mango tree, Pa? - Pomegranate
Gaius Petronius Arbiter = I got a super brain, it sure = But a pure satires origin = A rigour - I pen but satires
Katharine Hope McPhee = Hear me - the phonic peak
Impersonator = Minor-sort 'APE'
A prescient = Can see trip...
Natural selection = O, last ancient rule!
Singer Diana Ross = Dear airs in songs
'Jesus Christ Superstar' = Just shares scriptures
Nefarious man = So mean & unfair
Hamlet 'To be or not to be' = Noble hero at bet motto
The most beautiful girl in the world = True unforgettable doll is with him = Hunt the glamorous little bird - wife = Hunt for, 'till it the sublime dowager = O his true, delightful, brittle woman!
Meditations = India; OM-test
(OM -a mystic syllable, used as a mantra)
Hilarious moment = Also humor (in time)
The loyalist = To Hell, I stay!
Pleistocene = Let's open ice
Mother country = Turn to cry 'HOME!'
Spain and Portugal = Latin-papas ground
The Iberian peninsula = Pin-in earth in blue sea
Nice self-portrait = On terrific pastel = Perfect art in oils
Satisfaction = I so fantastic! = O, is fantastic!
Golden medal = Mold 'A Legend'
My favorite girl = O, it very firm gal!
Queen of France, Catherine de Medici = Once efficient, hard, queer, nice dame
Andre-Gustave Citroen = Sure, got invented a car
'Robinson Crusoe', novel by Daniel Defoe = Alone on obscure isle (nobody ever find)
Nice restaurant = A rarest cute inn
Roman Emperor Caligula = Peculiar man, moral ogre
Famous actor comedian James Eugene Carrey = Joyous man made cues of great cinema career
Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red colours = Our good old lovely Rainbow ingredients. Lure & elegance
The continuation = It authentic 'On & On'
The consultation = A cue 'n' hint to lost
A spaghetti = Hi, get pasta!
Bargain = A grab-in
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra = Clever read and amusive stage
Endangered species = Presence sag, indeed
Do you believe in love? = I been loved...I love you!
Weapons of mass destruction = So, Faust (demon) pets war-icons
Family bank account = Only buck-mania, fact
Olympic Games of modern era = O, prim races! Gold, money, fame
Storm in a teacup = A true panic, most
Jesus Christ, the savior of the world = Oh, Teacher! His first words - 'Just love!'
Economy = Money Co.
Encyclopaedia Britannica = A nice'n'capable dictionary
Adore = O, dear!
New dictionary = It nice - any word!
The new variation = Another view, ain't?
American actor = Came-r-r-a, action!
Israeli Knesset = Like Senate, sirs
Rome was not built in a day = Word about means in Italy = Town made by our Italians! = Nay, I slow. A bad time to run = Warned at lousy ambition
Abidance = In a "A..B..C..D..E"
Testosterone injection = It sets erection on jet, no?
Montessori system = Is more tests, my son
Whether you like it or not = Hey, it lot routine work, eh?
Poisons = So, no sip!
The chicken = Check, it hen
South America, Argentina = Here is a curt-tango-mania
The global obesity epidemic = Impeaches to big belly. O, diet!
The earthquake's epicentre = Technique rates - peak there
Weather forecast = We care heat, frost...
Perversity = Is very pert
Old story of love triangle = Disloyal lover forgotten?
The astronomers = There moon, stars!
The sperm donors = Mothers respond
Whitney Houston Greatest Hits = Herewith a hottest songs' 'unity'
The modern city = Oh, dirty cement!
The Arafat's burial = Ah, it tearful Arabs!
The film animator Walter Elias Disney = All-times fine art; made his own reality = His name was made in 'reality for little'
Lacoste fahsion = Ah, also fine cost!
The dangerous chemicals = Damage, ulcer on his chest
Ethan Hawke = Hah, new take!
Confirmed = Mind-force
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year = Er...my warm, shy phrase in dance party
A mother = THE AMOR
The last fashion = That is on a shelf = That is on a flesh
The Spanish inquisition = Question (in hiss), hit, pain
The Spanish armada = Rat, man, ships ahead!
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev = Thick Russian; cheek,high verve
Andy Warhol = Ah, only draw!
Sophocles 'Antigone' = Nice song, poets' halo
'We are the champions' = Hits' name 'We cap hero' = I hear-'Note, we champs'
The Winter Olympic Games = Men try 'white magic' slope
The Gordian knot = Dark & tight one, no?
Mortal sin = It's normal?
Falsetto voice = Fit to vocal, see
The hormones = He + mother = son
Animals = Lamas in
The Gulag Archipelago = Right, a huge gaol place
The singer Elvis Costello = or This gentle voice sells
Vietnamese = Seem native
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station = Such terrible weapon. Any control? = Horrible waste up (not only cancer)
Sony Playstation = As in past, only toy
Appendicitis = It 'spiced' pain
Windsor castle = Crown site, lads = Weird class, not?
Hercule Poirot = Oh, truer police!
'Centuries' = True (since)
Misogynist = Got in missy = O, tying miss!
Metro Goldwyn Mayer = Wanted memory & glory
The single European currency = They cancel 'green' in our purse
Windows Media Player = We aim wonder display
Marriage counseling = Arguing? No, smile & care! = Cleaning our mirages = Ruins, real magic gone = O, nice girl & man argues
Sylvester Stallone in Rambo = Brainless malevolent story
Beethoven's "Moonlight sonata' = Oh, seven notes at a night bloom!
Pick famed Northern male = Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Carl Lewis = Races will
Singer Placido Domingo = Moiling, doing operas CD
Pierre Auguste Renoir = Art/Europe/Genius...I err?
Painter Thomas Smith = Hi, this man - top master!
Renault = Real nut?
Joan Miro = I major, no?
Oscar de la Renta = or Create sandal
George Harrison = He's roaring ogre = or Go rehearsing
The rehearsing = Sing there & hear
Lee Harvey Oswald = Who leaved slayer?
Hotel California = Rah ,ain't life cool?
The security video camera = As it, to reduce heavy crime
Relationships = Hi, it's personal!
Contraceptive methods = Devices protect hot man
The unprotected sex = Pox, tetter...Need such?
The best things in life are free = Breaths, this feeling, fine tree...
Adam and Eve in the Gardens of Eden = After maid, Heaven's ended and gone = Heaven; God defeated man and 'siren' = Anagram of 'Destined Heaven ended'
Free school = Cheer, fools!
God's Ten Commandments = God-sent damn comments
The rutting season = Oh, nature's setting! = Oh, nature's testing! = True sign's HEAT, not?
State of Bahrein = Fine, to the Arabs
Theological discussions = God is classic solution, eh? = Logical decisions? Shouts!
Fanaticism = Fit maniacs
A soldier = I real sod
(sod: man)
The swimmer Ian Thorpe = I mesh & romp in the water
The great singer Bob Marley = Best reggae - no harm & liberty = Mainly best reggae, brother!
Booby trap = Poor tabby
'Casper the friendly ghost' - the movie = So, there festive grey child-phantom
The gravestone = Sever, THAT gone
Death by misadventure = Uh, end at very bad times!
Painter Henri Matisse = See hit! Man inspire art = Praise his eminent art = Culminate deep art, no?
The Shiatsu treatment = It easement? That hurts!
The theological discussion = Idiots! In such case, go to Hell!
Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas = Sobered Don Juan. In magazines too.
Great Britain = Big Rain treat
Confessions = Foes, sins, con...
The Bermuda triangle = I under threat & gamble = I'm - threat, Blue Danger = Rated 'Blue nightmare' = Grumble, it near death = It large-number-death
God bless America = A sod begs miracle = O, bilge! Sam scared
Emperor = Per Rome
The Royal Residences, Buckingham Palace = Calm place. Here king's house, yard, cabinet...
The Socialist Republic of Cuba = I, Castro, absolute public-chief = I, F.Castro, but plausible choice
Chairman Mao Tse Tung = Scream it out - 'Hangman!' = Ah, communist at anger! = Not a China-master, mug = Most argute Chinaman? = Summon at Great China = Hang & tear a communist!
The Socialistic Revolution = To us, it historical violence
Lordosis = Sir so old
The Great October Socialistic Revolution = Terrible, chaotic violence. So, it - "Tsar, go out!"
Ayrton Senna da Silva = Annals: O, a nasty drive!
Medication = Acid item, no? = Decimation
Closure = So cruel
The little boys room = Toilet (other symbol)
Too many broken hearts = Thank boy, no more tears!
All you need is love = Ensoul lovely idea! = O, an used lovely lie!
The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso = Applies his hot abstract passion
A bottle of whiskey = 'Key' of lowest habit = We obey to hit flask
The Alpine ski = Slip, hit a knee
The ale-barrel = All beer, heart! = Halt, real beer!
Vituperations = A spit on virtue
Hatred = Dr. Hate
Marcello Mastroianni = Roll on, I'm a cinema star! = Install more Macaroni = Romantic roles 'animal'
Artist Marcello Mastroianni = An immortal Latin actor rises = Immortal Latin star & scenario
The Righteous Brothers = O, there bright 'shouters'!
Killer with a badge = Delight, I break law!
Kate Baker = Break & take
(Ma Baker)
Karma = A mark
The Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud = His understanding of our lust (true image) = I understand that our 'rueful ego' missing = Heritage - Understanding of our stimulus = Understand that furious ego is ruling me
Federal Bureau of Investigation = To nail free 'Bad, Negative & Furious'
Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle = Noticed augural hints, or any? = Again, story around hint (clue) = It's our canny leading author = Real actions undying author
The pioneer surgeon Christiaan Barnard = I run heart operations researching band
We hear at void = The radio wave
The Holocaust = Such loot & hate!
The Holocaust history = Hitler, sot youth, chaos
Women toilets = New stool time
International signal of distress - SOS = Sign of disaster, siren on all stations = Sign of disaster. No lies & translations = Is a sign of disaster still on sonar net? = Listen on radio sailors signs & net fast! = Listen on radio fast sent sailors sign
L.Leonov = Lo, novel!
Director Milos Forman = Or record it so - film-man
The ballroom dancers = Old notable charmers
Calories = or I scale = A cole, sir? = Rice also? = As recoil
Sir Peter Paul Rubens = Pure art, superb lines
The discomfort of angina pectoris = I get chest pain. Oafs, inform doctor!
The hurricane Dennis = I churn & rend in the sea
Hipsters = He strips
The 'Wildlife photographer of the year' winners = We shoot well: deer fight, piranha prey, eft, rhino...
The Britain's Labour Party leader = Bear out leadership? Blair - tyrant
Sir James Paul McCartney = Just play, manic screamer
Goldie Hawn = Head in glow
Miss Goldie Hawn = Single-show-maid
'Batman begins' = "I best, man!...BANG!"
The 'Air supply' = Play super hit = Play pure hits
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin = or Fighting imperious vicar = I'm vaporing historic figure
G.E. Rasputin = Pig's nature
The London suicide-bomb outrages = Boom! Continued slaughter, bodies
Florence Nightingale = Rich, fine, gentle gal, no?
Nurse Florence Nightingale, The Lady of the lamp = Lo, she our gentle nanny, medical help after fight
The worldwide famous painter Rembrandt = Man drew, dealed with number of portraits
Painter Hieronymus Bosch = Honor his name (by pictures)
Shirley Temple = Silly temper, eh? = Er...they sell imp
Parasite = As pirate
'Billy Elliot', the musical = Ballet. 'Lo, I clumsy? I lithe?'
City of Saint Petersburg = It got-by perfect - Russian
Michelangelo Buonarroti's 'The Pieta' = Lo, Christ on a petit blue Maria! He gone? = Ah, that religious one! Top, nice marble
Retired = Er...tired
Ultimate champion Yelena Isinbayeva = Oh, epic name! I easily beat many in vault
Honorable Doctor Kurt Waldheim = Murderer with cool & bad look (than)
Sculpturer Auguste Rodin = Nude groups is art, culture
Sculptor Auguste Rodin = or A Golden Cuts pursuit
Monsieur Auguste Rodin = Man is our stone-die guru
Singer David Bowie = Own big ideas & drive
Celsius and Fahrenheit = Each handles 'fire' units
Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius = Sir assured his most renowned scale
The motor racings = More cars tonight = Right, cars & men too
Actress Julie Andrews in 'The sound of music' = In war-musical, heroine just defends scouts = Sis just want hide sons from cruel audience
Until death do us part = Oh, part adults united! = Ends-up ritual? That do.
Actor Michael Caine = Each action-miracle
A golden voice = Vocal on edge, I
'There is a house in New Orleans' = No, these - lies. Area now ruins, eh?
The City of New Orleans = O, fie! Only water & stench = Incoherent, low safety = Town of earthy silence = Town of hearty silence = Sincerely, town of hate = O, new reality - of stench! = Chiefly water-on-stone
Gloria Estefan = 'Fire on LA stage'
The magnificent pyramid of Cheops = Nice empty midget Pharaoh's coffin
Writer Alistair Maclean = I rate war & criminal tales
The London suicide-bomb outrages = Bad outcomes, odor in English-tube
Lance Armstrong = Long 'n' smart race
The American actor Dustin Lee Hoffman = Damn cheerful fact - he 'Tootsie' & 'Rain man'!
'War and Peace' by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy = Heroic battles and love... Anyway, pick love! = Piece: Wealthy lady N.Rostova back in love
End of the road = Heed, to and fro = Done for death
A typical Londoner = Pale lady or nit con = Dry, lone, no capital
Spiro Theodore Agnew = or One who griped East = Oh, ignored East power! = Open war THERE is good = Oh, poor! New tragedies
Nicotine addiction = In tonic-dedication
Nicotine marks = Notice arm, skin...
Florida State University = I avail interest for study
The sin of adultery = Dirty unsafe hotel = Due filthy treason
The artist formerly known as Prince = Crank's a nit performer with no style
The Polaroid cameras = Sir made a clear photo = Clear photo is a dream
Most Americans say Bush not honest = He is most nasty one, obscurant & sham
Witness = It's news!
Colgate whitening paste = An aseptic glowing teeth!
The famous Greek mathematician Archimedes = Image of man that cheered 'Eureka!' is mismatch?
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite = I entail better & greater life
News: Bush refuse to set timetable for Iraq war = Time, stubborn! Life show - sequestrate warfare!
The professional gambler = Eternal big hope for slam = Foster big hopes, earn small = Ah, ill person, bets for game!
An intelligent woman = Owning menial talent?
Sherlock Holmes = He'll mesh crooks
Eating a Christmas pie = Grimaces, antipathies
Christmas presents = Stamps, shirt, screen... = Pet, cress, man's shirt...
Bomber kills more than 30 on Baghdad bus = Blame on Bush and 30 'throbbed' kilograms
Smart guy = A gutsy Mr.
The indiscreet person = Is coherent, President
Nordic countries = Ice-rind contours
Investigator: US shipped out detainees = 'Goat' punished in States visited Europe (goat - a lecherous man)= USA 'pigs' hide it; sent deviants to Europe = Ado: Punished in States get Europe visit
The Unknown Soldier = Link.(Who under stone?) = Keen now this old urn
[link - a torch]
[keen - to wail in lamentation, especially for the dead]
The United States The Postal Service = The nicest letters posted via USA = Then it 'device' to pass USA letters
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier = O, mob, think who left under stone!
The naturists = Anti-shutters = Unearths tits
Clirotidectomies = Code: erotic limits
The females circumcision = Islamic mufti's coherence
Scores of whales beached in New Zealand = Woe when obese crazed 'sea fish' clan land
The Disney's 'Finding Nemo' = Tiny, designed fish (no men)
Actress Sarah Silverman = Lass, as ever, charmin' star
Walter Disney = I draw tensely
Walter Elias Disney = Yes, I draw tale-lines
'It's a long way to Tipperary' = War nostalgia, pity poetry = I-patriot, yet play war song = 'Oily' past Giant War poetry
Handle with care = Are held in watch
Ancient = Inca.net
American actor Tom Hanks = Man 'took' main characters
Procrastinations = Airport sanctions
Kobe Bryant = NBA-trek-boy
Casino hotels = i.e. Lost cash, no? = Oh, steal coins!
The professional astrological consultation = All giant stars position 'choose' local fortune = Stars location is local signal to hope & fortune = All stars are tools of an opt outlining choices
Wheels = Slew, eh?
Perish the thought = Hope - highest truth = Trust the High Hope
A perambulator = A tour-able pram = About real pram
The perambulators = Brats real home (put)
A man is innocent until proven guilty = Naive, nut men paying on sin till court
New military sensor can hear through walls = Army listens WHEN we laugh or train scholar = When on hall, army 'wires' can steal our rights = Warning: Hush her, army listens to war locale
Augustine vulcano erupts on the Alaska island = Thousand great unusual lava plates on ice-skin
Leyan Lo solves Rubik's Cube in record time = Rubric: I more skilly - about eleven seconds!
Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, emir of Kuwait = As Arab sheik I had wealth, kif, ale, jumbo harem
The famous black singer Stevie Wonder = A sweet-blue voice from 'night-darkness'
[he's blind, no?]
Totalitarism = A limit to tsar?
The South American countries = Most curious ancient earth, eh? = Earth's to the curious Inca-men
The International Morse code = Method to earn nice relations = Once, the main letters on radio
'Kinder' chocolate eggs = Gag-icons locked there
The Republic of Ireland = I found reel-birthplace = Rich, top life? Endurable = I feel dear North public = If picture broaden - Hell = Beer - helpful indicator = I fold leprechaun tribe = Flinched tribal Europe = Hi, terrible place found!
Martin Luther King day = 'Dream' I truly thanking = Dark men thingy ritual = Alright, dark men unity
The Martin Luther King's day = Utterly, thanking 'his dream!'
Michael Jackson = Claims he no jack
Singer Michael Jackson = Home reclining jackass
The Roman Forum = Haunt from Rome
Carpe Diem = Mad recipe
Archimedes of Syracuse = Assume. Research. Codify. = My focus - research ideas = My focus - a search desire = Measure of hydric cases = Fiery scream as douches
The Winter Olympic Games on Torino = Competitions, only in grim weather = Right time to play in snow or ice, men! = Merit men go to win place in history = Imagine competitors, hotly winner
The German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler = 'Father' of Hell, hating murderer
Southern = Er...hot sun = Sun & throe = Nurse hot
Norwegians = In snow rage = A snow-reign = Regain snow
Scotland = Old & scant
The Twentieth Winter Olympic games = New athletic meeting. My 'White Sport' = Oh, my! Wet emphatic winner gets title = My, wet champions get their new title! = Met the wiry champions get new title
Solomon The Wise = Ooh, timeless now!
Stacy Keibler = Ask celebrity = Racy, bit sleek
Potato = To a pot
A losing battle = Battalion legs
(legs - runs away)
Eurosport channel = Race, pool, then runs...
Samford University = Study, a firm version
Iowa State University = Tuition assertive way
School of The Visual Arts = 'Hash', festival to colours!
The American actor Clint Eastwood = Cool action at dramatic western, eh? = A smart, intact, ice-cool, WANTED hero
Unsentimental = Meanest nut, nil
O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo = Ooh, for remote hero-wooer, remote amour!
Neil Percival Young = U R playing nice, love!
The actor Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio = To the world I dear, rich cinema-Apollo
Pantagruelian = Real Giant (a pun)
Thomas Coleman Younger = Ay, man huge, cool monster! = O, some tough-larceny man! = Rough man locates money = Common slaughter, no? Aye.
Monastic = Stoic man
An ocelot = Lo, one cat!
Oh, those Russians! = Oh, I hate USSR sons!
A bad compromise is better than good lawsuit = That 'good war' impossible, obtain me sad truce
New York Cosmos = 'cos money works!
'Sleeping beauty' = But pleasing eye
Discreet = Secret ID
The Sydney Opera House = 'A-y-e! H-e-y!' Here sound's top!
Michael Jackson ordered to close Neverland = Cancel, then! No more cajoled kids or lads, ever!
Teacher = THE CARE
A golden opportunity = Apt option, only urged = It - open ground to play
Window of opportunities = UP for wide options to win
Achievements = Nice, save them
Actress Maureen Stapleton = Late top US-screen star name
No thru! = Oh, turn!
A sore point = Operations = Torose pain
A game of cat and mouse = Adage of a mean custom
A palomino [horse] = Polo-mania
Obdurateness = Sure not based = Reason busted = Be unassorted = Abusers noted = Be not assured
The poltergeist = Teeth-split ogre
Alain Delon = I one and ALL
Astronauts = To a star! Sun!
Cosmonauts = A cosmo-nuts
The seductress = She erects stud
The abstinence = Ancient behest = Best, enhance it
Media = i.e. Mad
Daily bread = I barely add
R and B = Brand
The movie 'Fantomas against Scotland Yard' = Story of hating asocial madman's vendetta
City of Saint Petersburg (former Leningrad) = Decently framing, refer to big Russian port
Joannie Rochette = Another 'jet' on ice
[Canadian figure skater]
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, 'War and Peace' = His very tale. Weapon and love 'cocktail'
A drop in the ocean = Aha, indecent, poor! = Er...cheap donation
A four lettered word = Treated for rude & low
A neatly turned phrase = Unearthed pleasantry
A matter of negotiation = Fit to treat, no egomania
Daintiness = Instead sin = Detains sin
After nine months' pregnancy = More parents fetching nanny = Perfect son...nightmare nanny
Irina Slutskaya = Italian? A Russky!
Enrico Macias = I a sonic 'cream'
Edit Piaf = If I taped?!
French singer Salvatore Adamo = This dear Frog earns vocal-name
Spontaneously = To use 'SNAP' only
Rene Magritte = Greet mine art
'Benfica' = I FC-bane
Familiarity breeds contempt = Many times credit profitable = Impatience forms bitter lady = Maybe price for dilettantism? = Flattery bedims imprecation = Compliment best, fair idea. Try!
Hartebeest = Beast there
Russian torpedoes = I use sonar & stop Red
Casey Mears = A messy race = Seamy races = Yes, same car
Champs Elysees, Paris = Simply see Arc's shape
The disciple Judas Iscariot = I aid to epic lad - Jesus Christ
The designer Vera Wang = Never wear 'aged' things! = Draw thee evening rags = Sew red evening rag & hat
Thomas Alva Edison = Ah, anodes, voltaism!
Actor Bruce Lee, The Dragon = Our belted character gone = N.B. - Great coloured teacher
Seroxat tablets = Tabs set to relax
Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate = My, my! A treat by hoax-drug!
Scottish Soccer League = 'Celtic' outgoes chasers
The actress Natalie Portman = Hot cinema star (spare talent)
American Hot Dogs = or as death coming = Organ-stomach die
Famous author Margaret Mitchell = I 'mum' of the rum gal Scarlett O'Hara
A Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekov = Ah, 'Uncle Vania' script, 'Ivanov', other works
Undressing = Rings nudes
After us the deluge = Last huge rude fete
Apres moi le deluge = Ego-rule: I'm pleased
Robert Louis Stevenson = Sure best novelist, or no?
Miss Procter = More scripts
Adelaide Anne Procter = Nice and dear, real poet
Theory of relativity = Oh, very fit to reality!
Adriano Celentano = Once 'National Dear'
Cleopatra of Egypt = Gal of top-race-type = Got top, pearly face
Donatien Alphonse Francois De Sade = Fool sadist enhanced & reasoned pain = He added on lot of pains, insane scare
Edgar Allan Poe = Read, all on page = All on page, dear
O-three zone = Ozone there
Honore Balssa = He's also baron?
[Honore de Balzac]
Old Bourbon = O, blood, burn!
'Stella Artois' = Total ale, sirs!
"Stella Artois' beer = Best ale to real sir
The US author William Sydney Porter = That writer usually 'imposed' O'Henry = O'Henry. What ideally put, rum stories!
Agathon: Even God cannot change the past = Advance, that snatch-path gone...gone...gone
Diogenes = I seen God = Ego is 'den' = NO is edge
Charles = He's Carl
The coach Steve McClaren = Clever Scotch, he can team
Moody Blues = Bloody Muse!
The poet Thomas Gray = Ah, get rhymes to a top!
Siamese twins = Same, I witness
The Roman Coliseum and The Forum = Mute remains of the loud monarch
Actress Julia Roberts = So, I just cerebral star
Best before date... = Be tasted before
Battles in Somalia = O, Islam ain't stable!
Mogadishu: Battles in Somalia = Abolish mutilations & damages!
I, Sting = Sing it
The sleeping partner = Genteel partnership
My inamorata = I amatory-man = Maria, not May
'A million little pieces' = One simple illicit tale
Active Merapi volcano = Overcome panic, it lava
His fly open = Oh, penis, fly!
Abnormal testicles = Cite 'A monster balls'
Nice amatory verses = Yes, romantic as ever! = Some tears, naive cry = Eases, very romantic = Even my Rosie - carats! = See as very romantic
Every Englishman's great ambition = Saving the Tony Blair's regime name? = Easily manage British government = Get vanish Tony Blair's regime name
Onanist = Stain, no? = On satin? = Anti-son = Not a sin?
I love you my darling = You grim, naive dolly = Your money, villa...Dig? = No, my dove, I ugly liar
Unbelievable story = One brave but sly lie = One subtly brave lie = Even our salty Bible = Evils, brute baloney
Contention = Not, not nice
The singer Beyonce = Nice energy! Oh, best!
Beethoven's Appassionata = He 'paves' best piano sonata
The Apartheid regime = I merge hit, rape & death
Morning erections = O, groins increment!
The morning erections = Honoring centimeters = Rotten 'gnome' rise inch
The fornication = Not ethic, no fair
'A spirit passed before me' = Poets iamb disperse fear
Chris Martin = I rich 'n' smart
The Coldplay = CD? Hell to pay!
'There's a place' = The real space
The World Cup in Germany = Adept winner; much glory
The World Cup finals, Germany = Wonderful players matching = Winner holds flag up, team cry
The World Cup finals in Germany = Careful winning, medals, trophy = Newsy 'n' right place for Mundial = Grumpy French led, Italians won
Dr. Gabriel Van Helsing = Brave, daring, shelling
Exodus International = United on rational sex
Mysterious Stonehenge = Igneous system there, no?
Charity begins at home = The Hot Magic is nearby = I get the Basic Harmony = It teaches big harmony
Prince William = A prim nice Will
Pitta bread = Bited-apart
The Principality of Monaco = If rich - on top; money, capital
The first dance lesson = Hands...let feet in cross
Mount Everest, Nepal = Ample stone, venture
Tim The Hanger = The nightmare
Oddly enough = Holy God, nude!
The coleslaw = Hell, cows-eat!
The Christology = To etch HIS glory
Osama Bin Laden = One's bad animal
Superstitions = It's stories, pun = Inputs stories
Seattle, Washington = Elegant as this town! = 'English' town & a state = Town gains athletes = This, angel, East town
Better than sex = Be the next star = Be the next tsar
Infidelities = I defile - it sin = i.e. Find, it lies
Rhinoceros = Horn is core
Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) = Homo - Strong-Musical-Star
El Cinco de Mayo = Nice day, me cool
Naples, Italy = Ye, Latin pals
I, Neapolitan = Open Italian
Festival Cannes, Palme d'Or = 'Enacts' novel films parade = Means - First Place and Love
The aphorism = Phrase to him
Steps to recover from infidelity = 1. Strife, 2. - Find lover. Yes, competitor
Naomi Campbell = I'm clean Aplomb
Airways = Away, sir!
Madonna, The Material Girl = Drat! Hear man, get a million!
Stum = Must
Carlos Vicente Tenorio = O, ever into Latino soccer!
Coelho = He cool!
The famous writer Paulo Coelho = O, some ethical powerful author!
Leonardo Da Vinci's painting 'Mona Lisa' = O, on canvas odd Italian smile! (Pain? Grin?)
Milton's Paradise Lost = i.e. Psalms to Saint lord
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz = Viz, big-well-hot-fertile mind, no?
Philosopher Rene Descartes = O, listen, heed, search, prosper!
Christian Bale = A clean British
Breast augmentation = Mean: About tits range = Earn a mount-big teats
The Roland Garros men's final = Gosh, real tennis from R. Nadal!
Arthur Wimperis = I write sharp & rum
Pythagoras of Samos = Moot assays of graph
The actor Philip Seymour Hoffman = Hah, picture hero of many top films!
The breaking of wind = We breathing? Kind of = How, after being kind? = Within fog 'n' bad reek
Toni Luca = O, lunatic!
Penis augmentation = One amusing patient
The sixty-nine position = i.e. It is top hot sex, ninny!
Vincenzo Iaquinta = Viz, I quite a 'cannon'!
M. Ballack = Mack 'Ball'
Elias Repin = Praise line = Aspire line
Real painter = A later Repin
The Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky = 'Pictures': Sods, shop-rooms, rumors, Kiev's gate hymn, etc.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky = Russky gives me most top chord
After the non-alcoholic beer = Oh, it clear! One belch, one fart
The adults diapers = Ah, it's lad's turd & pee!
The diapers = Reaped shit = Dreep a shit = Drat, his pee! = It's hard-pee = Ah, dirts & pee!
Secret Garden, 'Nocturne' = 'Eden' runs great concert
The Chieftains = Safe ethnic hit = Each hit, finest
D. Hasselhoff = Dash of flesh
'Arctic Monkeys' band = A best 'n' dynamic rock
Message in a bottle = Go & net best sea-mail
Dave Berry = Every bard
The famous chemist Dmitri Mendeleev = Hm, I divide & form taut elements scheme
Sir Paul McCartney = Rap? Try clean music = Care, plan & try music
Charles William Shirley Brooks = His books' charm will really rise
Inspector Maigret = I get crime-patrons = Tapering to crimes = To pin great crimes = I'm stern great cop, I = Great in crime-stop = Great in crime-spot = Enigmatic reports = 'Greetin', I smart cop! = At crime get prison = I top strange crime = or I get pert manics
The sexual shenanigans = Naughtiness, anal sex, eh? = Shag six, then ensue anal
Shenanigans = Shag nannies
Leadership = Raised help = Has replied = Is help, dear
Lead singer = A legend, sir = Needs a girl
Metropolis = Spoilt Rome
Epidermis = Is deep rim = Rim espied
The procurer = Er...he corrupt
Orthodontics = This doctor? NO! = Roots, ditch, no? = Icon's - Dr. Tooth
The funeral march = Urn (he left a charm) = The urn (he far & calm)
The American = He ain't cream
American businessman = Insane manic bears sum
Espionage = I gape & nose
Industrial espionage = I nose, tail, persuading = Ingenious lad's pirate
The industrial espionage = On pure night I steal ideas
Chief inspector Jules Maigret = Justice person, malice fighter = Terrific policeman. He sets jug [prison] = Proliferating justice scheme = Real, profiting justice scheme = In crimes get help for a justice
Gravestone epitaphs = Stop. Heaven's gate. RIP.
Personal website = Beware: pointless! = It's rebel's weapon = Beware, spoils net! = Towers plebeians
Rats and mice = Reminds a cat
The most powerful man in the world turns sixty on Thursday = True pix of untrustworthy, mindless, sham tyrant. He old now
Piscatorial = Sail to Capri = A tropic sail
Piscatory = I 'toy' carps
A theatre critic = The act criteria
Marks and Spencer = Scan, remark, spend
Desdemona = Ado ends me
Othello and Desdemona = She dead? No, dolt male, NO!
The gossip columns = Menus: light scoops = English smut & scoop
Fourth of July celebrations = Jolly count of Free USA birth
British baroness Helene Hayman = Noble, shy manners here is a habit
Learning difficulties = Significant field & rule
A Mercedes limousine = I same sure nice model
Pointer Sisters = Present sis-trio
The liaison = A hot sin, lie
Perfectionist = Not fit, PRECISE!
Lady Diana Spencer = Plan easy riddance = Easy plan: Car + Di = end
Chairman Mao = or 'Mama China'
S. Berlusconi = Is cruel snob
Infinitesimally = I fine, small, I tiny
Isaac Newton's first law of motion = Wow, fools, inertia is constant! F = ma
Ram and Zvonarova win Wimbledon's mixed doubles finals = Lad from Zion and 'bad' Russian woman blew involved mixes
The old fart = Dolt father
The monkeys family = My, he akin to myself! = I mean, they my folks = Aye, this 'menfolk' my = Safety link, my home = Yes, my 'hamlet' of kin = Anytime he's my folk = This 'men' my folk, aye
Gladiator = A glad riot
The gladiator = Go & trial Death! = I great, hot lad
Pedro Martinez de la Rosa = Realize named road-sport = Matador? Ride-zeal person!
Pedro de la Rosa = Real roads dope
Tennis player Rudek Stepanek = Earned plenty & I seek ATP ranks
Southern Beirut = O, there but ruins!
War in Southern Beirut = Tie, win...Our Earth burns!
Pictures from Japan = Re-scan Fuji ramp & top
Author Georges Joseph Christian Simenon = O, Jesus, hang on his hero - Inspector Maigret!
President Silvio Berlusconi = In depression (civil troubles)
Advertisement = Enters TV media
Orenthal James Simpson = Ah, male joins sportsmen! = She jails me! No sport, man!
Orenthal Simpson = Sportsman? O, he nil!
Mesdemoiselles = See models smile
Impertinent = Nit in temper
The battle of Stalingrad = Adolf Hitler at test. BANG! = That battlefield groans = Satan-Hitler got bad & left = Real fight.'Satan bottled!' = At all - big start of the end
'Don't leave me this way' = An old - 'Stay with me, Eve!' = Even - 'O, stay with me, lad!'
Take showers = To wash reeks
It's no big deal = Albeit, doings = Is tangible, do
Scientist Dmitriy Ivanovich Mendeleev = I sided active involvement in chemistry
Fascist Hermann Goering = I frenetic & gross hangman
Hermann Goering = He - 'no grin' German
The Nuremberg trial = Grab true Hitler-men!
The writer Alexandre Dumas = It rather new deluxe dramas = Ah, rewritten deluxe dramas!
The singer Ani DiFranco = I find canto & rehearsing = Her fine disc on a rating
Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) = Maul & maim! (I had saucy class)
Michael Drosnin = Donnish miracle = Do charm in lines = I lines-chord man
Lee Tamahori = He? Late Maori
The author James Fenimore Cooper = A totem & one major hero - super chief
Stanley Laurel = True 'lean' sally
Alexandre Dumas = Read, damn sexual = Drama & sexual end = Arm, a duel and sex
The philosopher Confucius = Ooh, cup silence! Profit hush!
Down and out = O, dud, wanton!
Valetudinarian = Invalid? A nature!
The composer Rinaldo di Capua = A honor & appreciated old music
'Be discovered, be a star!' = Rates above described!
'Temptation Island" = Damn it, pal, I on test! = Sand & intimate plot = Damn petit Latinos!
US comedian Seinfeld = Audience fond smiles
'The planet of the apes', book by famous writer Pierre Boulle = About 'The Monkey Power'; if fat horrible beast rules people
Cedilla = Allied C
Island of Borneo = Far, bold, no noise
Camelot: The National Lottery = Lo, nice to treat all that money!
Auschwitz, Poland = Old Nazis up. Watch!
The concentration camp Auschwitz, Poland = Rotten Nazi-occupants (which to damn) place
Fisher-Price toys = Yes, terrific shop! = Yes, for this price?!
Felipe Calderon = Nice leader? Flop!
South Korea's capital city = Seoul. O, that capacity - risk!
Bush makes transportation secretary pick = Thanks, precious Mary Peters!..Back to trains!
'Animal planet' on the Discovery Channel = On TV: nice elephant, cold snail, ram, hyena...
Russian roulette = Real ruinous test = Salute or...U rest in...
Cuisine Francaise = Fair, in nice sauces
Senegal = Glen & sea
Singapore = Grip on sea
Russian Federation = One unfair disaster = I intend - area of USSR = Is in area of nut Reds
Bahamas = Ah, samba!
Honduras = O, hard sun! = Hoard sun
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya = Arabian jail by amir, yah
Tate Gallery = Legal art (yet)
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova = Soviet astronaut. Lack, have no men?
Tennis player Maria Sharapova = A sharp arm, a naive personality
The kidnapped Corporal Gilad Shalit = Poor sat? Alright? Handicapped? Killed?
Disneyland Theme Park Resort, Paris = Kids, pairs and men play or rest there
Low libido = I old, I blow
The Russian composer = To hear person's music = Person to share music
The angina pectoris = Pain at chest region = Since, got heart-pain
Yosemite National Park = I look at many trees, I nap... = Tamarisk, peony... Elation!
The lost city of Atlantis = They last? Total fictions! = Isle, not city that floats = They still too fantastic! = Yet, into facts, this - atoll = Honestly, is it total fact?
Oscar Wilde = I scale word
The author Oscar Wilde = Each word suit, real, hot
The composer Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni = I bloom in nice, moving sonatas, hot opera
American athlete Carl Lewis = Trace, I win all the male races
Dante's Inferno = End after sin, no?
Comrade Stalin = Lead-narcotism = Old mean racist = Nail democrats! = Old manic tears = Lodestar - manic = Lost Red maniac = It's clear, no? MAD! = Satan. Old crime = Me, Satanic-Lord
The comrade Stalin = Death, not miracles = Hot scam, nit leader = Detrimental chaos
Charles Goodyear = Hey, real car-goods! = Large cosy road, eh?
Inventor Charles Goodyear = Very cool tire, has no danger = Oh, race & drive along on tyres! = A hero doing novel car tyres
Comrade Vladimir Lenin = Criminal and more - Devil! = Real rival. Demonic mind
The astronaut Ilan Ramon = Am star-nut, national hero
The comrade Vladimir Ulianov (Lenin) = Revolution! He mad villain, Red manic
The psychiatrist Sigmund Freud = I spurt chief night-dreams study
The Colonel Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin = One 'allegorical' achiever. 'Guy in the sky' = Okay, I launch air-vehicle. Energy...'Let's go!'
The composer Claudio Monteverdi = Renovator. O, he did complete music!
Economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen bank = Credit to needy mums. A humane bank among humans
William Tell = All-time Will
'Yankees' pitcher Cory Fulton Lidle = I fly in N.York, lope, cut, crash & 'delete'
The statues of Easter island = It features last stone-heads = See heads? Astronauts left it?
Statues of Easter island = Distasteful stones area
'Gulliver's travels' by Jonathan Swift = All stabs, joyful & thriving events, war... = Just thrilling novel, brave & fast ways = Just a fast swab: very thrilling novel = Involves aberrant law, 'justly' fights = Well! Slavery, nut fights, variant jobs = I 'fly' with all vagrants ventures & jobs
The Salvador Dali's Art Museum = Ah, most valued, 'mad' surrealist!
Rare meteorite found in Kansas field = Sure, one-of-its-kind material, and free!
A Nightmare on Elm street = Some men-relating threat = Rots me, threatening male! = Entitle the ogre-arms man = He's ogre in maltreatment = Nit ogre, he maltreats men
"Call me when you're sober" = My new beer & alcohol user
The nuclear tests in North Korea = Then I learn: Rockets - threat on US
Bush: I won't change strategy in Iraq = By that, questioning & searching war = We trying nice thing - to quash Arabs = Quote: Nay, I screw Arabs night-night!
Israel: Flights over Lebanon to continue = So, in all this, bare violence unforgotten
Arrest leads to discovery of Egypt tombs = Boy-pilferers 'add' to grotto (caves) system
iPod turns five = It provides fun
The law of supply and demand = Helpful way to spend and dam
Fernando Alonso Diaz = Dozen finals on a road = Finds zeal on a road, no?
The Royal Shakespeare Company = Okay, shape actors (men) play here = Men play each part. Hookers? - Easy!
Troubles = Blue sort = Blot, sure
Professional sportman = Man for oil & snap posters
Finance = Can fine
Tottenham Hotspur FC = The Top 'nuts' for match = The sport-match to fun
Thomas Cruise = I sum: he's actor
Thomas Cruise Mapother = Ah, sure! prime smooth act = Smooth act & supreme hair
The Clint Eastwood's, 'Million dollar baby' = She won many 'diabolic' battles, till...O, Lord!
Chivas Regal = Charge vials
'What do you get when you fall in love?' = You? That novel,'hallowed', young wife = Woo novel, healthy young/adult wife
The Kissing Bandit = Bed-knight? It's a sin!
Reamonn, 'Supergirl' = Purr mine real song = Pure, normal singer
The Irish dancer Michael Flatley = His 'mechanical', ready feet - thrill!
The Crimean war = A raw crime (then)
Socialist party = Astray politics
John Logan's motion picture 'The last of samurai' = Militant Tom Cruise along & of South Japan shore
Aleksandr Hleb = Hankered balls = Hark! needs ball
Footballer Aleksandr Hleb = 'Labeled' to hanker for balls
Daniel Ortega = O, giant leader! = To gain leader
Daniel Ortega Saavedra = O, sad! Ain't leader. Ravage.
Operation = O, atropine!
Wigan Athletic FC = Act. Fight. Lace. Win (lace - attack)
Harriet Beecher Stowe = Brother? I care, he sweet
Tourette's syndrome = No-modesty utterers = Rotten. Yes, most rude
Forty four year old Bo Stefan Eriksson = Okay, 'buffoon' destroys stolen Ferrari
Shaw's 'Pygmalion' = Ow, smashing play!
The famous American actor Christopher Reeve = To reach for hit-movie-career he acts Superman
'Video killed the radio star' = Trivial, like the dead 'Doors'
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan = The Taliban official using her camps = The Russian-claim: incapable of fight = I main place of such Taliban fighters = US primal office chasing the Taliban
United Artists Company = Sat top cinema industry = Top stars & untidy cinema = Cinema stars & top nudity = Top stars in cinema-duty = Into mad, nasty pictures = Natty pictures domains
The London Lunatic Asylum = Many dull-nuts location, eh?
Palmistry = Imply star
New York Times = Key to rim news
The New York Times = My, it hot news reek! = Remit hot, key news
The rap music = Parties, chum! = "U + he = Mist + crap"
That desirable communism = The somnambulistic dream
The White House, Washington = Oh, within - HE, who guts Senate
Undesirable = Ire and blues
The impossible = I bet hope's slim
The impossible dreams = Me hopes: I dreamt bliss = Diet problems, Messiah...
The New York Post = Hook pretty news
New post = Top news
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons = Nice choice for ugly artists & some peasant
Transcendental meditation = Attentions mental riddance = Acted internal 'No mind' state = Silence. Intent to add mantra = Tend to select Indian mantra
The transcendental meditation = Trance. 'No mind' state. Let Death in!
Killing two birds with one stone = Wit or kindness? No, I will get both = I sort. End is known - I will get both
The Ouija board = Ah, I abjured too!
Where is the land of milk and honey? = Handle thy new-kind of home - Israel
Desperate housewives = So upset & we have desire! = Sure, I see 'a deep' TV show
School board = Ooh, Lords, ABC!
The pen is mightier than the sword = The sharp word hits eight - ten men, I
Only the good die young = They gone, you doing old = Eyeing on youth, old dog? = None? You eighty, old dog! = They 'done', you going old
The movie 'Casino Royale' = Holy America, it OO-seven! = Macho-reality of OO-seven = Oh, alacrity! I'm OO-seven
Motion picture 'Casino Royale' = Money operations. O, it crucial!
The motion picture 'Casino Royale' = I am cool spy. There, routine action
'Sealed with a kiss' = A hit (we sale disks) = Was else a hit, kids = Was said - 'Sleek hit'
'Unbreak my heart!' = Take me, nab! Hurry!
'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare = A wile. My jealous heart is broken & impaled = A remarkable poem with jealousy, din, lies
'Romeo and Juliet' by W. Shakespeare = Said - 'Weep my jealous broken heart!'
Mister Television = Er..visit & see Milton
Mister Television Milton Berle = I'm little & risible. Seen more on TV
The Guinness Book of Records = Source of Honored, Best & Kings
'You've lost that lovin' feeling' = A hit. Love song. Fit, lovely tune = Eventually, love shifting too = Love is love. Nothing fault, yet = Gave it. Fully into honest love = They veto, oust 'Falling in love' = It you - love slave? Nothing left? = Visually, Eve, nothing left too = You shall give vent to life, not? = O, still in love, fag? Out the envy!
The Decameron = O, damn, he erect!
'American pie' = Peer, I maniac = Mania recipe
Gaellivare = Er..a village
The aventures of Robin Hood = Venture. As hobo? Thief? Donor?
Sir Henry Wotton = 'Hot story' winner
The Magnificent seven = Men fights. A nice event
Chrysler Corporation = Oh, lorry & nice sport-car!
Unmotivated = One avid mutt
'Think of your forefathers! Think of your posterity!' = Hero of kith & kin! Fortify parents, foster your youth!
The last minute = Thee stimulant
The Gospel of Judas Iscariot = Oath!? A disciple forgot Jesus!
Memento mori = Memo to miner
National Film Board = Information: All bad
The picaroons = To prison. Each!
The picaroon = Oh, pirate & con!
Athletes = Let's heat!
USA Green Card = A curse & danger?
The USA Green Card = Treasured change = True changes, dear
Optimistically = A lot simplicity
Pessimistically = A less simplicity = It silly escapism
Misanthrope = No simp & hater = Sin methapor = Simp, no heart
The misanthrope = This 'pro' hate men = Honest,'prim' hate = I hate men thorps = His top - men-hater = Mr.Top Shine Hate
King Arthur's Camelot = Our cream, last knight = A ruler, knight & mascot
The modern palmistry = Hand. Let's trip memory = Let hand strip memory
Modern palmistry = Lo, my printed arms! = My printed morals = Print lad's memory
The palmistry = My star help it
Numerologist = Retooling sum = Into-sum-ogler
The protagonist = Spotting at hero = Tasting top hero = Stating top hero = Ooh, petting star!
A disaster scene = I scare, tense & sad = As I scared & tense
Break your leg! = Regular 'OK, bye!'
Abnormal = Ban moral
Comrades = O, Red scam! = More cads = 'cos am Red = Reds-coma
Madness = DNA mess? = ...and mess
Interpretations of dreams = Minds retreat - option & fears = Pets arrested information = Important and free stories = Finest demeanors portrait = Portrait of entire madness = It readin' of person matters = Important side (after snore) = Most irritant deep fears, no? = or Transmit into deep fears = Fears & 'tripe' demonstration = Reports, frame & destination = Spared information tester = Spread information setter = Mind rest after operations
Radetsky march = Heard my tracks? = Hark streamy CD = Hark army-set CD = Hear my stark CD
A revolutionist = No riot, it's value = Value sortition = True violations = Voltaire. Suit, no?
Ivory-billed woodpecker = O, keep cool! Very wild bird
Eve Ensler's,'The vagina monologues' = Heroine's 'love nest' language & moves = Her love (amusing love) seen on stage = One vulgar, even hostile message, no? = Lie gone. One honest vulvar message = Message? Love snug & love inane throe
The investigation = He gets invitation
The investigations = Gives his attention
The police investigations = He insisting - 'Leave it to cop'
A starvation diet = I eat viands? A tort!
The countryside = Hide & rest county = You dine & stretch
Forensic medicine = I fond crime scene, I = I 'science of minder' = Science: 'I find more'
Generation = Ingrate one
Generations = Gone in tears = Ignorant, see = Strange one, I
Saddam exchanged taunts before hanging = Stings of executed damned Arab...Hang! Hang!
Tribunal = Nub: trial
The singer Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman) = Bard & gentleman. 'Mobilize brotherly manners'
Procrustean bed = Bad person. Er...cut! = Abed curt person
The burial ground = But he our darling! = A 'hurting' boulder = I brought urn. Deal = Right, old-beau urn = Burier - 'Tough land' = Righto, undurable = I dug earth. Blur, no?
Between Scylla and Charybdis = Nice sally - 'Why bad centre's bad' = Clearly, tense by bad 'sandwich' = Whereby ascendancy still bad
The stimulus = I must hustle
Forensic journalist = Core: joins fun trials
Film director Akira Kurosawa = Mark force, war, aikido, rituals
Overeating = I note grave = or Negative
The overeating = Negative throe
Stop overeating = A rot even to pigs
Putrefactions = A rot up & infects
Long letter to sweetheart = To tell her - 'Not we greatest?'
Paternoster = Tears on pert = A repent-sort
The professional dancer = Senior of clean, hard step
The famous writer Joseph Rudyard Kipling = Protrudes hairy kid from jungle, with apes
Mephisto = So, The Imp = Ethos imp
one of the seven chief devils, the tempter of Faust
"It's been a hard day's night" = They sing a dear bands hit = Hasty British-agenda end = British set, handy agenda
Australian open = i.e. A sport. Annual
Australian Open Tournament = Annual tennis (top or amateur)
The beach scavengers = Catch seven bags here = Chest, bench, vase, gear...
Charles Simonyi = i.e. Rich man so sly
Nathuram Godse = Great human? Sod!
Nathuram Vinayak Godse = Outraged, vain, shaky man
Bush chides Iraq over recent executions = Heard butcher's excessive critique - 'No no!'
The Spaniard Carmela Bousada = Date, such an old Ma bears a pair
Tres bien = Er...in best
Yao Ming = I gamy, no?
Old soldier = O, does drill!
A soldier = Is loader
Isla Fisher = She is flair
Henry M. Paulson = Money-rush plan = Prune man? Oh, sly!
Video cameras = A sacred movie = A scared movie?
Hillary Rodham Clinton = C. Hill nominator? Hardly! = Thrill on Monica? Hardly!
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton = ...and I'll lead into rich harmony
The Russian defector = Oh, unrestricted & safe! = Code there is - Run fast = 'Friend' races to the US = In such fear to desert = I run to share defects = Ouch, deserter faints! = Cheated us & frontiers = Consider that US free = Red chief runs to East?
Obesity? = Bite soy!
Prometheus = Supreme hot = Presume hot = Muster hope = He most pure
A chocolate collection = Alcohol, cocoa inlet, etc.
A pathologist = Hospital-toga
Forensic pathologist = I got into half corpses = 'Lights' proof into case = His 'glint' to proof case
The censors = Short scene
The forensic pathologist = Proof - it lightens 'hot case' = The apt relics of shooting
The Asian Bird Flu epidemic = If media published, certain! = I mind the idea, public fears
Internet spam = Is entrapment = Set men in trap
(Alain) Prost = Sport
Forest Whitaker = Hit for week? Star?
British Parliament = Airs thine PM T. Blair
French anti-semites = 'Fete' in Christ's name
There is = It's here
The Maid of Orleans = Foolhardiest name = 'Lionet' - head of arms = Led aims of a throne = Leads aim of throne = A homeland - 'To fires!' = O, flamed hero- saint!
The Maiden of Orleans = One flamed saint hero
The Van Allen's radiation belts = 'A tent'. Save Earth, land & billions
The cirrhosis = This sore rich
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak = It 'Bolshevik-Draconian' prose
Author Boris Leonidovich Pasternak = Old patriotic Russian book? Hah, never!
Pasternak's 'Doctor Zhivago' = Havoc-period. Tzar's 'got sank'
Is there life on Mars? = Is aliens therefrom? = Other lifes remains?
Costa del Sol = Cosset a doll = Coolest lads!
Animadversion = 'Armed invasion' = A damn revision = Invaders aim, no?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica = Notice inlay: Each part in A, B, C, D, E...
Nine US soldiers killed in the Iraq bombing = 'Blood bill' requires names & inside thinking
Liverpool knocked title-holders Barcelona out of the Champions League = Looks like English football team dethrone each old European Cup victor
King Lear = Large kin
Clint Eastwood in the film 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' = Blondie, Angel Eyes & dolt Tuco. Hot fight with damn Death = Find The Blondie, hot Angel Eyes & mad Tuco with that gold
Chinese woman makes history in Ireland = Anna Lo(weak Erin-minority) heeds schism
The former Playboy centerfold Anna Nicole Smith = OD. Hereby my last chapter of normal 'innocent' life
[OD: overdose]
Hamlet's soliloquy = Squeal-'Holy, I'm lost!'
The famed terpsichorean Isadora Duncan = Hear it - I danced a thousand performances = I, Hetaira, danced thousand performances
Ethical code = Dealt choice = i.e. Cold teach
The 'Amor Amor' = Mother-Aroma
Eau de toilette 'Amor Amor' = Made true elite aroma too
Sinapism = Miss pain = I in spasm
The tornadoes = O, Earth stoned!
Dangerous narcotics = O, 'turd', grass 'n' cocaine!
Raimonds Bergmanis = Big Iron Man's dreams
Jeanne D'Arc, the Maid of Orleans = Some dear, French national jade = Oh, jade-man risen to lead France = Jade, as male, redo French nation = French jade, dame, "National Rose" = Aha, to join, redeem France-lands!
Actress Shannon Tweed = Now she ascendent-star
Computer software developer Charles Simonyi = Review (shortly): Led Europe-Microsoft & spaceman
Francois Mitterand = It is mordant France
Latin America = Inca material = It racial name
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida = O, Wonderland for 'wild' lads or laity!
The Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida = O, holidays! Forward Little Wonderland!
Campbells condensed tomato soup = Best and also complete compounds!
Anti-USA protest = Our States inapt?
North Korea would allow UN inspectors = We shall narrow nuke- production-tools
Saint Peter's Basilica = Alias 'Priest's cabinet'
The Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta = Here major East Timor person (it's him)
The Atropa Belladonna = Oh, note: a 'real bad' plant
A land overflowing with milk and honey = Known Holy Land within 'flavored' image
The Norton AntiVirus = Invasion/tort hunter
Norton AntiVirus (complete package)= 'An armour' (given tool keeps PC intact)
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Ronnie Wood = D.j., let me hear awkward, chic, hairy rock band 'Rolling stones'! I'm waiting!
Colonel Gaddafi = I glad-faced loon = Leading fool & cad
Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi = Recall, I am mad, fool and a mug
Robin Hood of Locksley = O, fishy noble & old crook!
Robin of Locksley = Noble, frisky & cool = O, robs folk nicely! = If Noble - sly crook
Sir Robin of Locksley = No yells, I rob for sick = I rob nice or sly folks = Slyer. I nick (rob) fools
Virginia Tech massacre = Grave & his Satanic crime
Isabella Amaryllis Charlotte Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe = She caught Royal Prince's heart. Bill lolls - got a heart trauma
Eva Hitler = Evil heart = Evil hater
It a relevant ~ alternative
Virginia Tech campus = A chap, ire, gun, victims = C.S. Hui - 'acting vampire' = C.S. Hui - 'am acting viper'
Adolf Hitler and his Eva Braun = Ah, it's a Fuhrer and a blind love!
The Parisian streets = Aha, prettiest sirens!
A drought = Guard - HOT!
Admire = I dream = I'm dear = Er...maid!
Adoption = O, not paid!
Alive and kicking = Living idea & knack
Moist = O, mist!
A billion = I on a bill
Popular science fiction = Unclear, specific option = If icon - planet occupiers
Craig Bellamy = Glib & racy male = Clearly, am Big!
Craig Douglas Bellamy = Cordial ball-games guy = Go, dear guy, claim balls!
Matrimonial = I'm marital, no?
Wet behind the ears = He brat, he needs wit = He needs wit & breath
Sylvester Stallone = O, vastly relentless! = No style stars level
The Cinco de Mayo party = O, meat & pyrotechnic day!
Concentration = O, inner contact! = Connection-art
Chandelier = Hire candle
Collaboration = A lot in co-labor
Augmentation = I get an amount
Competition = I mince to top
Compote = Come & pot
Corruption = Pro in court
Christine Marie Evert-Lloyd = My 'little-horrid' serve in...Ace!
Middle East arms race = Clear! maddest armies = Armies came & straddle = Mad leaders at crimes = A derelict drama & mess
A Middle East arms race = Same dramatic leaders = Same dramatic dealers = Same racial, mad desert
Venus de Milo = Line moved us
America the beautiful = But a failure each time
Mats Wilander = Lad - 'win-master'
Sahara desert = Area's hardest = Sets hard area
The American Express Card = Er...Dramatic expense & crash = Err...Dramatic cash expense
Ra, The God of Sun = O, fond Huge Star!
Actress Alice Krieg = Stars' ice-like grace
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado = Ain't a clever leader. Good farce
Mujahid Osama Bin Laden = Bad man in jail? Madhouse? = I so unable jihad madman
Thomas Paine = Ah, man is poet!
Mister William Tunstall-Pedoe = I still manipulate words. Let me!
'Rolling Stones' Keith Richards = Dear rock 'n' roll hits, he sings it
Director Sydney Pollack = Do old tricky screenplay
PM mister Anthony Blair = Brits imply - Another man!
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs = She's stranded infant & we hew. Vow!
Actor Tobey Maguire, best known for the Spiderman movies = I very fit, I make cobwebs, guard poor & net mean, hot monsters
Thomas Edward Lawrence = Where M.East and 'cold war'
Claude Oscar Monet = Made colours 'enact' = Can use 'tamed' color
C.O. Monet and P. A. Renoir = Modern art? O no, an epic!
Actress Katherine Heigl = Here she like acting star
Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte = See strong, optimistic, 'live' tableaus = Got live cities prints, some tableaus
Hosni Mubarak = O, a brisk human! = U monkish Arab!
Walter Richard Rudolf Hess = Coward Fuhrer's (Hitler's) lad
Windows Internet Explorer = New 'torrent'! See world in pix
Actress Angela Bassett = A clean, best stages star
Vladimir Putin, George Bush and Tony Blair = Big, unearthly, overbidding manipulators
An intercourse = Union, 'race', rest
The Prime Minister Tony Blair = Mental Tory in British Empire = My intolerant British Empire = There I trim problems & inanity
The Global Warming = Big warmth, all gone
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor = She bizarre lady 'to loot' men
Actress Maria Magdalene Dietrich = America-star hides German dialect = Maid is a real, rich & decent megastar
The Brunei Princess wed in lavish ceremony = Very rich bride wins helpmate (union scenes)
Terpsichorean = Her part so nice! = O, it's her prance! = Actor spin here = Archers, pointe = Stir, hop, careen
Old synagogue = God, angels & you = Ay, God's lounge! = God alone & guys
The old synagogue = Gently, a God-House! = Go see Godly haunt = Goal - hunt God's eye = House only gadget = Old gauge - honesty = Gauged Holy-Stone = God atones, hugely = God so neatly huge = One God, hale & gutsy = God, only He, A Guest
Mattress = Rests-mat
Lewis Hamilton has won The Canadian Grand Prix = As next national champion, lad wins high reward = This new exhilarating champion 'lands on' award
How come 'abbreviated' is such a long word? = O, huge! Above, old comic Bernard Shaw's wit.
Either that wallpaper goes or I do = That 'pearl' - poor O. Wilde's 'heritage'
International = Learn it in NATO?
The arrows = War & throes = Others war
The poisoned arrow = Ooh, stirred weapon! = A 'shower' to pride, no?
Salman Rushdie is knighted = He's hunting Islam dark side
The President of the United States of America, George Walker Bush = Bad rated, pert ego, reckless man...I get effort in the White House, USA = Funked, macabre leader got stage. Prefers to sit in the White House = World Trade Centre's outrage his huge mistake. He's 'patentee' of fib.
The Collection of Tragedies, written by William Shakespeare = It a new series of weird plays. It King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, etc.
The Father's day = He's earthy & daft = He's hearty & daft
Too much wine = I touch women
International Women's Open = Real women in a top tennis, no?
Auf Wiedersehen = When free ..."Adieus!"
Examination = I...No, I am a....NEXT!!
Midas = Is mad
'Deep forest' music = CD of supreme site
Shove it! = His veto
Hopeless = H-e-e-l-p! SOS!
The Russian revolution = Soviet union's real = Riots. Union have result = Tovarish Lenin route us
Always look on the bright side of life = O, life is OK! I forget all the washy & bond = Oh, don't see filth of bias, ill, weak, gory!
There is no place like home = Real homesick. I telephone.
Mother Nature = Ah, True mentor! = Her name - Tutor = Tour there, man! = Tour , Earthmen! = More than true
What can I do? = How? Can't aid!
The disloyalty = Hate & do it slyly
Television = i.e. Lies on TV
Temptations = Main, top test
Elvis Presley = Sip & yell verse
Exotic sight = Sex; I got itch
Give us a bit optimism = A big MUST. I'm positive
Spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs = Cards! (Husband is most pleased)
Manchester United = Nice team? Nuts! Herd! = Ten in red. Such team!
Playlets = Let's play!
The road to hell is paved with good intentions = DOING leads to Lord, not 'I wish it, even hope that...'
Pianofortes = Fits on opera
General idea = An agreed lie
I'm not that kind of girl = Taking hint - flirt--mood = Tonight I mind for talk
Look what they done to my song = Got easy, hot-hot, known melody
The smile of Mona Lisa = Loons, I am this female! [i.e. Leonardo da Vinci himself]
Man does not live by bread alone = Note, I demand real love, baby-son... = O, I demand eternal love, baby-son... = Reveal boloney: obtain demands!
Counsel = Clues, no?
Walt Disney 'Pocahontas' = Told, was captain's honey
Abd-ar-Rahman = Hard Arab-man
Kleptomaniac = I con & take lamp...
The hermaphrodite = Mother hid there Pa
The secret lover = Settle her & cover
Hippodromes = Oh, rides-pomp!
The Spanish flamenco = Females hop in chants
Trues are...treasure
Entertainment = Meant Internet? = Men at Internet
The groom and the bride = Both 'honed' & get married
Kareem Abdul Jabbar id est Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor = Undid a wide, fine basketball career, as L.Bird & M. Jordan
Christmas comes but once a year = Come, you smartass! Be nicer & chat
Mona Lisa (real name is 'La Gioconda') = So, again, Leonardo & 'maniacal' smile
Ashton Moore = Ooh, a monster!
Chernobyl disaster = Horrible days & scent
Diplomats = Spoilt & mad
Submarine = Marine-bus
Private tennis coach = An active sport-niche = I can patch into serve
New Years resolutions = New, lousy reassertion = Iron rules? Yes, no sweat! = One is swears - Only true! = No war, lust, sin, eyesore = Now, I truly see reasons
The chronic disease = Er...his chances to die = O heed, this is cancer!
Disembarkation = i.e. Damn boat - risk!
I've got...to give
The financier = Rich, neat, fine
An Alzheimer disease = Seem, I a senile-hazard
Criminality = I'm nary licit
Gregorian chants = Stern 'gang', a choir
Via satellite = At least I 'LIVE'!
Censorship = He crops sin
The weight-lifters = Re: Fight with steel!
Cheetah = He cat, eh!
Fate has decided otherwise = Direct is - 'Oh, he was defeated!'
The loose girl = To Hell, orgies!
Beautiful girl = I all but figure
The Oscar statue = Oh, create status!
The road accidents = I'd tot: each cars' end
Hibernations = Oh, it bears 'inn'!
That is to say...it has to stay
Former French President Charles de Gaulle = HM nice, perfect 'frogs land's' leader. He ruler.
The unprintable anagrams = Unpleasant, a nightmare, br....
The French cook = Reckon 'hot chef'
An impressionist = I in spots smearin' = Is points smearin' = I'm "stains-person", I
Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - To be or not to be, that is the question = Heirs' memorable queer hesitations, that betoken potent fears and top shock
The hospital patients = Test this top pain & heal
Mountain Everest = O, it means venture! = Vet mountaineers = I must venerate, no?
If you are to describe the truth, leave the elegance to the tailor = The reality - facts - vulgar, hated & eerie. There thee 'boot' elocution
Limited time offer = Timed for lifetime?
Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express' = Here text: Grouped hero-massacre (in this train)
The horse guards = Hurrah, go steeds!
La Fontaine = I tale-fan, no?
Eucalyptus = Cut, use, play
The military = Hi, army title!
Love at the first sight = Is to vest heart-flight
Most our children lack...the Rock and Roll music!
Telephone directories = I plot here erotic needs
Homeopathy = Ooh, empathy!
The force of gravity = To verify g-factor, eh! = Forgive theory. FACT.
The 'Werther's original' candies = Another rich darling sweeties = Danger's there within - calories = I, rare new taste cherishing old
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair = Healthy Briton. Can only snarl
The best football player in the world - Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) = Added note: This ebony fellow is able talent, phenomenal top scorer & star!
Michelangelo's statue 'David' = Old athleticism, nude savage
Morganatically = Amatory-calling = Loyal & tragic man = Romantic gal-lay
The mother nature is calling = Hi, man! (regular toilet-stench)
Emotional insanity = It is inane, mat, loony
James Bond's serial = Real Man's job sides
The 'James Bond' serial = There Man's job & ladies
Females = Feel, Sam!
Masturbation = An aim - to burst = Mania to burst
X and Y chromosomes = Ah, common sexy 'rods'!
The Fine Young Cannibals = A big fun. Can listen, honey!
The Oprah Winfrey Show = Fat one. Why worship her?
Well's...swell
Newcastle United = Salute decent win
The American continent = Ancient, ancient Mother
Don Quixote de la Mancha = He (qua) exotic and old man
Pamela Anderson = Reason man paled = One real damn sap
English Premier League football = Regular belief - hooligans 'temple' = Temperable, ill hooligans refuge
English Premier League = Huge, 'ripe' men galleries
The famous composer Frederic Chopin = O, his French-mood music & opera, perfect!
The American actor Tom Cruise = I cinema star. Cute charmer too.
Rome, Eternal City = More recent Italy
Motion picture 'Alexander' = I exotic, proud, eternal man
A typical American = 'Clean' aim - rapacity
World of cinema = Claim of wonder
Fatso = So fat
Massachusett's bay = Sea, but mass yachts
Pills = P.S. ill
The stains of semen = Manifest on sheets
Pulchritudes = Cupid hurtles = Hustler, Cupid!
The prophecies of Nostradamus = His mouthed forecasts on paper
Painter Claude Monet = Our talented epic man = A pure 'demonic' talent = Muted, pale art. Nice, no?
'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves = (sic) About very big sad ruler
Tiger Woods = Good wrist, e?
Durex contraceptives = Penis-duct extra cover
The Blessed Eucharist = HE cuts, bleeds...Share it! = Bread's the clue, thesis
The footballer Diego Armando Maradona = Oh, lad from Argentina-team! A loaded boor!
The vegetarian meals = Hi, gal never eats meat!
The porcelain toilets = Nice & tall to shit or pee = I in the real top closet = A cell to shit or pee, nit! = The certain stool-pile = All rotten piece o' shit
Habeas corpus = So, chap abuser
Pilates method = It's made to help
Arthur Conan Doyle, 'Sherlock Holmes stories' = Sleuth locates crooks error; many he holds in
Terra Incognita = Terrain: I can't go
The Arabian desert = Bitter sand area, eh! = I bear ardent heats
The Winter Olympic Games in Sochi = We promising nice, homy athletics
Race to the White House begins = The Cabinet goes with rehouse
Help rebuild lives and communities in hurricane affected states = Pure idea. The Bush-Clinton fund lifts medical service, reanimates
A miscreant = Mean racist = Crime-Satan
Alice Hobday = O, be a hic-lady!
[She has been hiccuping for the last 20 years]
The 'Nivea' = It heaven!
The 'Nivea' gel-cream = Large achievement!
Protests in Pakistan = Riots spin & knap state
The Middle East Peace negotiations = Palestine - agitated, sectioned home
Greek Achilles = Large sick heel
Bin Laden issues warning on Iraq and Israel = No grins. Al-Qaida ensures asinine blind war.
France ushers in New Year's smoking ban = Frogs wane 'chimneys', rakes insane 'burn'
Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's = Fast food or darned lunch-mockery
Plane with ten aboard crashes in Alaska = A clear snow-blankets, an airship, a Death
Levee breaks amid West Coast storms = Dams' set-waters became risk to solve
An added = Addenda
Report of UFO = Proof of true?
The gourmand = Mouth-danger = Mad to hunger
Oversimplification = (sic) A primitive 'n' fool = I from naive politics
The customer is always right = Myth & laughter ('cos I waitress) = Waitress (laugh) - 'Come & try this!'
Scottish chemist Charles Mackintosh = Sets thick 'mesh/schism' raincoat cloth
The Italian physicist Galileo Galilei = On a high Pisa I elicit & tally legalities
Religion is the opium of the masses = Implies enough stories of atheism = Theism is morphine, false guise too = Theism is poison, is 'Rule of the Game' = Theism - he's poison, failure, egotism = Seems theism is huge potion or 'fail' = Life rough. Seems theism is a potion
Ashley Alexandra Dupre = Had pure sex and real lay
Puritanical lifestyle = Alliance & purity itself = Lay-clients are pitiful = Nuptials - real felicity = Actually, pristine life = Face it, lay - insult & peril
Professor Walter Lewin = One laws & powers trifler
The American actor Michael Douglas = Oh, real star! Magical, touched cinema.
Magnetic = 'Magic net'
Sacerdotal = Sacred, a lot = A Lord-caste
Sacerdotalism = I almost sacred
Marathon Seoul = Some run! A lot, ah?
A monotony = Too many, no?
Spring is in the air = Is heart-inspiring!
Confidant = O, can't find!
A Chevrolet Silverado = Love road-star vehicle = O, road-travels-vehicle!
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz = Just a crazed Red, fool 'n' liar
Polygamist = Gimp to lays
San Diego, California = Sea, air, lacing in food
Crime doesn't pay = O, it's damn creepy!
Titanic, The Unsinkable Ship = Until ice knaps it in the bash
The United States Government = Don't trust these negative men
The coitus = Touchiest = Host cutie = Hot cuties = O, hi cutest!
Stomach stapling operation = A chop to patients' organ...Slim?
Christian ideology = Only God is hieratic!
Bandit = Bad nit
Hippocrates = Chop-parties! = i.e. Chop parts = Chop, it spare!
Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli = Blow of 'raveled' maid. Title remains in USA
The Princess Diana = She ends in a pit-car
Steven Demetre Georgiou alias Cat Stevens now Yusuf Islam = Evocative singer gets away & turns into eased useful Moslem
The California Golden Bears = Headings in football career
Great Smoky Mountains = Me making a stony tours = Making some nasty tour
Cognitive therapist = Giant theoretic spiv = Tragic...then positive = Visiting top teacher = Visiting top cheater = O, visiting that creep!
Salmonella = On all meals
The hurricane Felix = He erratic influx, eh?
Israeli 'spy' Mordechai Vanunu = Pan, he is a very ridiculous man
[pan - to critisize]
Roland Emmerich's 'The day after tomorrow' = Some lower dramatic 'hydro-threat' for men
EURO finals, Portugal, Lisbon = O, lea & unsurprising football!
Honest? = He's not! = She not!
Society of Jesus = Sect; issue of joy
Couple of megabytes = Maybe goes to 'fuel' PC?
I practised ...pediatrics
The famous sportswoman Nadia Comaneci = Was cute, modest Romanian champion, oafs!
One strange animal - liger = Means a large lion 'n' tiger
The footballer = He 'battler' & fool
Hetaerism = Harem-site
Painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci = Precision, standard, icon, a divine talent
Pleasure = Super ale! = Pure sale
The simultaneous orgasms = Usual moans together, miss = Smasher, got mutual noises! = Shouts also rung same time = Soul-shouts rang same time
Ernest Hemingway = Name's with energy!
Intelligence Quotient = Quite nice, telling note
The anti-aging treatment = At time-negating art, then
Mother's little helper = Throes? Her mettle-pill
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev = Thick Russian; high verve & cheek
English proverbs and sayings = N.B. Vary lingo designs & phrases
Painters = Sea print
Satan - Prince of Darkness = Data: Enforces sin & pranks = Case of prankster and sin = So, face prankster and sin
The oldest profession in the world = Need it? Find whore, trollop, hostess...
United States of America = Dictator. Senate is 'a fume' = See an attitude of racism = Inside, a true taste of Mac = i.e. Infatuates Democrats = It's 'Free to act' - Made in USA = It force-state Made in USA = Fete to racist Made in USA = See for maniacs attitude = Fetid in most acute areas = Dictates to 'A free animus'= De facto is neat, is mature Our state made finest CIA = Meet our fantastic ideas
Trojan horse tale = Hot roan - real jest
(roan - horse)
Tale of Trojan horse = Foal or another jest?
President Bush = He's bit spurned
So, the war in Vietnam is a fiasco? = America's invasion - hit of waste?
Agatha Christie's Poirot = Right, I chase a rapist too
Homo Sapiens = O, man is so hep!
Gilbert and Sullivan = Ballads turning live
David and Batsheba = Diva ends a bath bad
She's a very kinky girl, the kind you don't take home to mother = OK, she's dirty, tough, hot, mordant knave & 'monkey'. Yet, I like her
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark = Frank man & the Cold Empire
Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Little house on the prairie' = Her tale - all low lies, unrestrained girlish Utopia.
Erotic fantasies = Ai, fast erections!
Frustration and despair = Rats, I darned! Unfair! Stop!
The heavy crime = Eh, I have't mercy!
The oldest profession = O, dispose rotten flesh!
Woman = Ma now
Automatic gear = Am out, I get a car
Demetria Guynes = Sugary teen Demi
[Demi Moore]
The English soccer = He gets chronicles
Races driver Emerson Fittipaldi = Trivial terrific speeds-...and more!
Treason = One's rat
Grand finale = A flaring end
Painter El Greco = Er...grace, top line = Grace & repletion = Elegance or trip?
Do's and Dont's = Odd stands, no?
The famous criminals = or Such mafia-men list
Polygraph test = Apt. Helps. Go, try.
Actresses Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Sarah Jessica Parker = 'Sex and the City'; stars in this movie. Carnal japes and lark critics rank as a 'risk'.
The show-girl = Hi, worth legs!
Shark-infested waters = States where dark fins
The Temptations = Potent hits team
Pre-revolutionary Russia = Previously, in our tsar-era
Hieronymus Bosch = Oh, my brush so nice!
The intercourse = Sh, true erection!
Adolf Hitler = Drill of hate
Red Hot Chili Peppers = Propel rich deep hits
Actress Sophia Loren = She special star, or no?
Animal vivisection = No, a sin! Victim alive!
So help me God = Homed gospel
The intelligence = Lithe, gentle, nice
Horsepower = Where spoor
Pianofortes = Pair of notes = Fit on operas = In soft opera
One googol = e.g. long OOO....
The other woman = or The new hot ma
Celebration = or Nice table
Decoration = O, in Art-deco! = Iron-coated
The androgen = Ah, 'Not-gender!'
My old woman = Now moldy ma
Electronics = Note cicles
Phantasmagoria = Oh, is apt - Anagram!
President = It spender = Need trips
Disaster = Star dies = Er.. it's sad
South America, Brazil = It our rich zeal - SAMBA!
Groom and bride = Go bond, married = Odd mirage born
Failure of health = Hah, of ill feature!
At any price = Pay certain
Sin against The Holy Ghost = Satan's thing, his theology
Diamonds = Maids nod
Cluster of spectators = Respects/flouts actor
Mona Lisa = A man's oil
Christmas = It's charms
Televiewers = We see TV & rile
American actress = Main career - casts = Scenarist, camera...
Between ourselves = We're so even & subtle
The chicanery = Rich cheat, ney?
Acerbity = Act by ire
Hide-and-seek = See kid? Ah, end!
Hors d'oeuvres = Devours horse?
The Laws of Nature = What not, safe rule! = What true/false, no?
Freudian slip = Prudes in fail = Failin' prudes
Better a living dog than dead lion = Tend & gain to be alive and old, right?!
Cosmopolitan = Is cool top man = It's cool - no map!
Nightingale = Genial 'thing' = It nigh angel!
Onanism = O, man, sin!
Famous singer Paul Anka = Usual, par man. A King's foe.
Stumble = Tumbles
There is six condoms in a pack = Choice is - rampant sex & no kids!
Velocipede = Lope-device
White House, Washington DC = Inside? Thug, he who acts now
Sting and The Police = Angled top nice hits
The package tour = Take group & teach
Teach one's grandmother to suck eggs = Suggest to aged reckon on the charms = Suggest to an aged to check her norms
The minor = In mother = More thin
The compulsive anagrammer = Put me in, am each 'grams lover
The confusion = He not in focus
Nuclear spy = Any scruple
Made for one another = Hard frame: One to One = Enamored of another?
The economy packs = Pocket cash money
The jurisdiction = Hi, no justice, dirt!
The jurisdictions = ID (in short) - justice
The city of Liverpool = Chief port; lively too! = O, it lovely chief port! = Oh, love & felicity port!
International airports = Airliner-stop (not a train)
I am not myself today = Testimony of malady
A 'Tony Awards' = Art nowadays
Seventh Idol David Cook = Oh, lad's kind voice voted!
The sprinter Usain Bolt = Ah, list! I best top runner = This 'bestial' top runner = This stabile top runner = or I hit, planet's best run! = Able in short, 'petit' runs = It able in the run-sports
LeBron Raymond James = Yes, male 'born M. Jordan'!
Thomas Lauren Friedman = Author. Man framed lines.
No limits, no excuses = O, smile, sex counts in!
Flat Earth Society = O, the facts? Reality?
Bo Diddley = Died by old = Old did 'bye!'
Holy land, Israel = Yes, I Lord 'n' Allah!
Food, drink and cigarette = O, kind diet & danger factor!
The political spectrum = Hot multiple practices = Host multiple practice
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam = Militants; afoot reliable regime
Castro = Tsar Co.
Salmonella Enterica = Meal is not real clean! = Er...lo, meals ain't clean!
The penis enlaregment = Repine meanest length
Debit = I debt
Edouard Leon Cortes = O, used a tender color! = One deeds - colour-art = Needs colour to dare = Read on color etudes
The Blue Marble = Belle Earth, bum!
Gentle sex = Let X-genes
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara = A true chaos & revenge = Eager venture & chaos = Hate nerves...Courage! = See anger & true havoc = Hero gave us 'A centre' = Tough as a reverence = Thou - reverence saga = Aha, gusto & reverence!
The waters = Earth's wet = Wets earth
The New York Times = They kit more news = O my, there news-kit!
The 'Victoria's Secret' lingerie = I aesthetic girl's entire cover
'Good cholesterol' = or See logo to HDL-C
Save the rainforests! = O, trees vanish faster!
Earth's forests = 'Stash' for trees
Francois de la Rochefoucauld = Ooh, focused careful cardinal! = Ah, could use force of cardinal! = Lo, audacious French face Lord!
Jules Gabriel Verne, 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' = He revealed 'Nautilus' journey's beneath waters; guts-legend
Mark Cavendish = Hacks in mad rev = Hack in mad revs
[cyclist]
Pope Benedict XVI = Expect divine bop
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. = Champions in beer. Use such can!
A praised...paradise
Barack Hussen Obama = Abask America, no Bush! = Ah, USA, some brain back!
Miss America Contest = Most nicest is a Cream!
Colorado Technical University = Live on nice lady-tutor, sir-coach...
Acropolis of Athens = Ooh, place for saints! = Location of seraphs = He's on capital's 'roof'
Pireaus, Athens = Sea, ship, nature... = Tune ships area
Pireaus, the port of Athens = For that purpose, in the sea
Staycation = Ay, ain't cost!
Cholesterol drug Vytorin = Right doctor & lovely nurse = Very strong cure to ill, doh!
'They Might be Giants' = Get the many big hits
Diego Armando Maradona = Oo, ardor and 'mad in a game'! = O, a game-domain and ardor!
Deniers of the Holocaust = ...cussed -,'Oh, Hitler not a foe!'
The burgomaster = Treat some burgh
The Federal Republic of Germany = Anger & fume by creep Adolf Hitler
'I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength' = The churl man's growth & high elevations in Gods' might!
The life in USA = Hi, I feel as nut!
Impertinence = In nice temper?
Hallucinogenic drugs = Ugh, luring cocaine & LSD!
David Foster Wallace = Deal alive word & facts
The Islamic leader ...dallies hate & crime = Heretical mislead? = I deal clear theism = Ideal & clear theism
Abu Dhabi = I a bad hub
A three hundred and sixty five days = Huh, evens tidy-fixed standard year!
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island = Reword: Splendid vacations in Canada
Insurance = I can nurse
Health insurance = Hi, rent can heal us! = Can heal 'the ruins'
A grandfather = Ah, fart danger!
A grandmother = or The grandma = Grandma to her
A Manchester City Football Club = Best faculty team, brill coach. No?
Sean Patrick Flanery = Nice 'n' freaky pal. Star.
The dramatist William Shakespeare = Was 'a peak!' Theatres still admire him = His art made him as star. We keep it all.
Tenor Placido = Pal crooned it
Tenor Placido Domingo = Made top crooning idol = Top crooning idol, dame = Top! God or idol? Nice man
The tenor Placido Domingo = I adept, hot crooning model
A motion picture 'Body of Lies' = CIA importunes it bloody foe
The coach Fabio Capello = Football-ace. I 'chop' each.
'American Pie' films = Fair simple cinema
Don't publish my name = The Dumb, simply anon. = Don't spy, I humble man = Dumb the lips. Anonym.
Fernando Alonso = So, lad ran on F.One = Lad of Senna or no? = Fool ran on sedan?
Politics in the United States = It is lies, hate, stupid content
Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston = Both join travels and sin. No pill = A van...Sinned. Pill? Jolt, birth soon! = Print: Both, lad 'n' lass, join in love
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel = True paragon and skilful man = Great sound in a full park, man! = Sound in park. Artful men. Gala = Painful song - an adult remark
Wall Street = We tell - rats! = Rest, wallet
The young and the restless = Then, see hunt, loss tragedy = Tush! nonetheless - tragedy
Millvina Dean = Land, man! I live!
(Titanic's survival)
Driver Lewis Hamilton = or Trivial wheels-mind
The erotic man = I am hot 'n' erect
'Late Show' with David Letterman = Wild, tart, white male heads on TV
Director Oliver Stone = Torrid love to screen, I
Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins = He - prudent boxer; 'inheritance' -KO's
Charles A. Lindbergh = Bring all, he crashed!
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg = Remarkable charm; right below
[actor and underwear model]
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska = I am rich, I grip deals, love vodka
[Russian millionaire]
Religious fundamentalist = Men, our life is a dust, a glint! = I fall. I use trust in God. Amen!
Wings = Swing
'Now that the magic has gone' = Somewhat changing to hate
[song]
Vegetarianism = Re: I am veganist = Mister, I a vegan = Eager vitamins = I in 'starve-game' = I am serving tea = Meat? I? Grave sin!
Cockpit of airplane = A nice pack for pilot
The waiter = With eater
President-elect Barack Obama = America pretends to be a Black
'Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!' = 'This - meat', - was your fine reply
The final countdown = Until end of watch, no?
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair = Only the inborn sly charlatan = Real chaos by tall North ninny
Northern Los Angeles, California = Hot inferno grills one clans' area = One can grill as real, hot infernos
The Deripaska scandal = Sneak Red capital, dash
Kanye Omari West = We make noisy art!
[rapper]
Earnest Graham = Game's heart, ran = Hem...ran as Great!
[American foootball runner]
President Barack Hussein Obama = Sad nation. Peacemaker ribs Bush
Ford, Chrysler and General Motors = Oh, normally strong cars deferred!
The Palestine Liberation Organization = Antagonize Israel, battle their opinion
The Counter Strike = Nice trek, true shot
[computer game]
Anagrams never lie = Aver real meanings
Contradiction = It ain't concord
Oscar de la Hoya "The Golden Boy" = Real good healthy body case, no?
[boxer]
The Gibson Brothers = Three short gibbons
We are fighting shadows = This aged/newish war - fog = Ah, this new war is fogged!
Crime drama "The Godfather" = Mafia; get them hard record
Yves Saint Laurent = Analyst in vesture = I slant any vesture = Vain-natures style = Any suit's relevant
'Don't let the sun go down on me' = Do them old tune, not new song
'Every little thing she does is magic' = Yes, Miss Delight! Nice, great love-hit! = Agreed, Miss gets nice hit, lovely hit
Stratford-Upon-Avon in Warwickshire, Britain = Harp a visit in our known, a terrific bard's town
Bermuda triangle = A gamble, intruder! = A tangible murder = Grim but a real end = A din - great rumble = I arranged tumble = Mean, large, turbid = Me (I) - brutal danger = Be alert, man, I drug! = Beat regular mind = Able at murdering = Belting marauder
'Message in a bottle' = Tenable aim - get SOS
Austrian Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger = Warrior/agent galls in hazardous scene
Back seat driver = Be track-adviser = Bad track? Revise! = Direct, 'bark', SAVE!
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet = Look, dear pal, 'Titanic' drowned in sea! = OK, do awarded panel in 'Titanic' roles!
Greta Lovisa Gustafsson = US loves 'gas' of giant star = O, love, gas, fuss! Giant star!
[Greta Garbo]
Swedish - American actress Greta Lovisa Gustafsson = Giant star of silent movies. Her success saga, awards...
The Athenian dramatist Sophocles = I attach at sleep, son and his mother
Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Commedia per musica) = Mozart's famous opera; a comic dialog realizing one's 'ideal' life
Defenestration = Die faster - no net!
Can we do it? Yes we can! = Concede, it's a new way!
Matisse, 'Pink Nude' = Spunkiest maiden
Henri Matisse, 'Pink nude' = Put in herein naked miss
The plastic money = No cash? Pity. Let me!
A tragedy = Great day?
The Washington Post = That hot 'n' new gossip
Giant Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro' = Groom (hair-setter) got amazing affair
Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre = Any neat education began? Torment! = An annoyed acute beating, torment
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi = Connote to carved foolish boy, peculiar child = Carpenter's voiced, fictional boy-doll...Oh! Ouch!
Los Angeles, California, USA = Colossal Arnie in a sea-gulf
'Othello, the Moor of Venice' by William Shakespeare = Ebony hero (he was epic lover) aims to kill hot female = The ebony asocial hero kills white female over mop = Aha, here ebony lover, top male, comes to kill his wife = Hoar macho ebony lover kills his petite female. Woe = All real tale? Ebony hero chokes his wife. Motive - mop.
The movie 'Last tango in Paris' = Pair having emotional tests = To save mating relationship?
My documents, My pictures, My music = My cute computer is My mind, My cuss
The decapitation = I can't tie top (head) = Ain't death poetic?
The African continent = In fact, innocent earth
VAustralia = Air-valutas
[International airline]
Federico Fellini's 'Satyricon'= Ironical, dirty scenes of life = Direct, fierily confessional = Inference - crisis of old Italy
Life sucks and then you die = F***, destiny so unideal, eh!
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) = Seamiest henchmen act vs Israel to maim
Economy crisis = Coin/coins misery
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert = Elite leadership is minimum terror = Minimum terror desire? Help, it's a lie!
Transgression = Er...strong as sin
Poet William Shakespeare = Marlowe is the lapse, I - Peak!
President Barack Hussein Obama = He's boss in a bankrupted America
How to find her G-spot = Wend for top, hot sigh
Motherly advice = Ma to every child = Very methodical
Chevrolet Optra = The top car, lover!
Cold, snow, the men ski = In Stockholm, Sweden
"Slumdog Millionaire" = I'll earn good sum. I, mil! = I earn old mil. I so glum
A metrosexual = Amour + latexes
'Hamburger Union' = Ah, bring our menu!
The famous Williams sisters - Serena and Venus = Won massive sums at tennis fields; share 'a rule'
'Race to Witch Mountain' = Cinema 'on tour'. Watch it!
The Irish Republican Army = Uhr, chaps aim Erin liberty!
White House = 'W' out. He is, eh.
Broadway theatres, New York = Aye, dear, entry to B. Shaw work!
Australia's "Sound Relief" Concert = Tunes, arts for local audience, sir
Film 'Enemies: A love story' = See not filmsy, real movie = Messy-life movie. Real? Not!
'Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens = A very wit-blest kids' chronicles
Ginola = In!..G-O-A-L
The astronautics = O, authentic stars!
Car owner = Careworn
'Ivanhoe' by Sir walter Scott = The basic violent war story
Brotherhood of men = Both - honor & freedom
American International group = 'No guarantee' or inapt, criminal = Corrupt manager, nation in a lie = A large, mean, corrupt inanition
The Somali pirate = A hostile primate
The Somalian pirates = A peril to this seaman
The climate changes = Cliche - Heat gets man
Aborigines = Base, origin
The actor Clint Eastwood = I do that cool western act
London, Great Britain = Land at Breton origin
'The Old Man and the Sea' = Man's death - lone death
Nadia Comaneci = I can do 'n' I am ace
The signs of the zodiac = Hi, this got dozen faces
City of Yellowknife = I flee folky icy town = I feel folky icy town
Mister Simon Wiesentahl = Mission: waste Hitler-men
Ennio Marchetto = Oh, eminent actor!
Entertainer Ennio Marchetto = Cram entire theatre in one, not?
Yellowknife = Only few like
Dom DeLuise = Lo, Muse died! = I used model
'It is a foolish thing to make a long prologue and to be short in the story itself' = Ooh, ooh! Thereon so stupid to start lengthily , still making fine saga too brief
President Obama = A best man, period! = A most deep brain
The Spanish Armada = Had seamanship-art = Hard at seamanship = Ah, hard stamp in sea! = Aha, them Spaniards!
The fashion designer Gianni Versace = Ah, neat rig of his, a nice evening dress!
The global crisis = Er..big chaos, still
Bare-chested = Cedes the bra
Statue "Venus de Milo = Mute stone is valued = U sad mute live stone!
Don't cry for me, Argentina ...and try confront a regime
Caffeine = Fine cafe
Desperation = I need pastor = A tied person = A top need, sir
Metro Station = Treats motion
United States Naval Academy = Active men study sea at a land
Merriam Webster's dictionary = Remains my best 'word-criteria'
The Penguin Dictionary of Proverbs = Providing you brief phrase content
Susan Margaret Boyle = A bore, ugly star's name = Songs by real amateur
The general store = A lot genres there
'Sex and the city' = Excited 'n' nasty
X-Men origins: Wolverine = Nix new longer movie, sir!
Arlovski = Rival's KO
The esophageal cancer = Along speech-tracheae
A trachea = Chat-area
Author Willard R. Espy = Hi, 'Words at play' ruler!
Respirations = Spit air, snore
A motion picture "Schindler's list' = Holocaust in silent, direct prism = Holocaust. Script lines remind it
An old? = No, lad!
Miss California's...as firm as silicon
Apotheosis = He is so atop!
The ballroom dancings = man and girl, both close
Mortise and tenon = Damn, so enter into! = O, met and insert, no?
Treasure chest = Sh, a true secret!
International diplomacy = All piracy, domination-net
The Chernobyl Nuclear power plant in Ukraine = The uncannily blown peripheral nuke reactor
The music from Argentina = Same rich firm tango tune
Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece Sunflowers = Moving, elegant, freshest 'crown-cups' in vase
UFO photos = Thou spoof!
Male castration = Omit a carnal set
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint = Draw masterful Potter, gal and friend in cinema
Beethoven's Eroica = Ooh, nice! A best, ever!
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood = Adorable words while rich with aphorisms
Medieval wars against the Muslims in the Middle Ages, led by Christian kings = Whisking, deadly, evil crusades; mean, detrimental battles missing high aims
The dramatis personae = Pros names aid theatre
The lingam = Male thing
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial = Human moment - I aim to honor late rulers
The Guantanamo prison = O, that USA! Raping men, no?
Tropical storm Claudette = Mad clutter, peril to coast
South African Caster Semenya = A fact: once he ran as true missy
The Last Supper = 'Sheep' trust pal
British Royal Marine = It is an army. Horrible!
I need 'rags' = A designer
Chastity belt = By latch I test
An oasis in the desert = i.e. ease thirst on sand
The soldier Gilad Shalit = I, lad, still their hostage = Slight to halted Israeli
American imperialism = A criminal empire's aim
Ralph Waldo Emerson = Ah, all pen, more words!
'Don't cry for me Argentina' = Grief (rent Madonna to cry)
'Don't leave me this way' = Mate whined - Stay, love!'
The song 'Candle in the wind' = Scathed end. Elton whining.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad = Oh, a Tehran-drip, madman. Denies Judaism.
Beyonce 'Single ladies' = Nice lie. Gals need boys
Periodic Table of Chemical Elements = A rectifiable incomplete old scheme
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum = Am sheik, mammoth man, Dubai lord
David Wright Miliband = A wild, avid, bright mind
The missionary position = Oh, yes sir, it's main option! = I on the top 'o any miss. I, sir = I stay on her, I on top. I, miss
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries = It's truth: Israel made up vaccine
Take a gamble = Make a bet, gal
Take a position = OK, attain pose
Take a shower = Soak (water, eh)
Andrea del Sarto = One dear lad's art [painter]
Peter Silverman = Me reveals print [owner of Leonardo da Vinci's new painting]
The Goldstone report = No gold there, protest!
He met his Waterloo = I lost the war, eh? O, me!
Lethal dose = O, sell Death!
Dehydration = i.e. hot 'n' dry
Halloween costume party = We can put on REAL clothes
Inspector = I stern cop
The snoring problems = Mr. robs night sleep, no?
United Artists Company = Tops at cinema industry
Piano recitals = I air notes, clap!
Astronaut Neil Alden Armstrong = Moon landing - rarest, real stunt!
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal = Here, lad makes Allah ashamed
The ignoramus = Mr. 'A hot genius'
The singer Dana International = Dashing national entertainer
Fruits and vegetables = Best value. Fits garden = Defeat starving-blues
The middle ear = Did let me hear
The Emperor's New Clothes' fairy tale = Yells of: 'HM creep, he wears not attire!'
Former cities of East Berlin and West Berlin = Two became one. Residents refill rift in bars
Michelin star = Meal ain't rich?
The dormitory = Roomed thirty
'There's Something About Mary' = Both youngsters' aim: mate her
Siberian weather = A bias here - winter
Russian city of Perm = Music party is on fire = No music party. Fire! = A 'crispy' misfortune
The Climate Talks = Task: Halt ice melt!
Osama bin Mohammed, bin Awad bin Laden = I who bombed lands, I bad man, I a mean man
West Qurna oilfield = Iraq: Found well site = Oldest fuel in W.Iraq
'Up in the air', starring George Clooney = Hero in one great picture gains glory
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi = I cunning producer of festive operas
Little Red Riding Hood = I, girl, 'hired' to tend old
Well known fairy tale 'Little Red Riding Hood' = They - little girl and leerin' wolf in dark wood
Bruce Springsteen, alias 'The Boss' = A superb singer! Best hits! So clean!
The Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutaliab = Fraud, a liar, true killer targets to ruin, a human-bomb
The knight in shining armour = Thinking - Union! He's a Mr.Right!
Porsche Carrers GT = Sport car, her grace = Recharge sport car
The Israeli Defense Force = Teen soldiers face fire, eh
Captain Chelsey B.Sullenberger III = Bet he rescues plane in a big, icy rill
The Middle East Peace Talks = Semites talked. Dealt pact, eh?
The Italian sculptor Nicola Pisano = I can cut, tailor, polish a plain stone
The Great Ocrober Socialist Revolution = Itch to a terrible violence. So, tsar, go out!
Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich = You think crank Kiev-saviour?
Astrud Gilberto = Old, true, big star
Sylvester Stallone in the Rambo series = Artist's silent, lonely hero seems brave
Senior Hamas military commander Mahmoud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhouh = Harmful man, amoral man. A team murdered him. Chaos in Dubai...Shalom, boy!
The singer Andrea Bocelli = Gee, so I real blind chanter! = I real blind chanter. Go, see.
Singer Alison Moyet = I'm any genre soloist
Singing can rebuild the damaged brain = Chant, use rigid madrigal and be benign!
Popsicle = Ice plops
Paramedic = Apace, I'm Dr
President Akio Toyoda = i.e. Park, son, Toyota died = Disdain or keep Toyota? = Toyota in dark episode
Toyota Motor Corp President = End to car's promoter too. Pity.
Some electrons, protons and neutrons = Represent control on atom soundness
Boneyard = Body near = Bay or end?
Country music group 'Lady Antebellum' = Young play demotic, cultural numbers
The Costa Rica vacation = Can visit to cacao-earth
The Eighty Second Academy Awards = They mediated, changed Oscar ways
Female's reproductive system = Cultivates my free sperm dose
The number representing the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle = Remember crucial rate, interchange's term, coefficient Pi -- three dot one four
Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien known as Dusty Springfield = British woman-singer. Spriest talent been frankly adored by audience
The former American President Ronald Wilson Reagan = Transposed from cinema to engineer near, hard, ill war
Mister Carlos Slim Helu = I, richest male, roll sums
Find amazing deals on top vacations = Facing a dozen valid stations on map
The 'Alice in Wonderland' story = A child enters inane toy-world = or Teeny child at insane world
The kleptomaniacs = Pinch to make steal
Kleptomaniacs = Pick, steal, moan
A French Revolution = France, violent hour
The Great Wall of China = Ah, watch at long relief!
Great City of London = Only detraction - fog
The Russian Revolution = Lenin, he's tutor & saviour
Message = Gee, a SMS!
The Nuclear talks = All nuke-chatters = Call - 'Nuke's threat!' = All rest chat 'nuke'
The Icelandic largest volcano = Tectonic ash covering all dale
NASA faked the moon landings = Fans asked to hang on damn lie = Hang on to damn lies and fakes
The video game industry = Media diverts The Young
Video game industry = Toy's a drug - 'Dive in me!
The Children of Israel = Search The Lord in life = I, Teacher, Lord in flesh = Re: Lord left HIS in each = Hi, Lord's eternal chief!
All skin types body lotion = Sold by silky potential, no?
The Prime Ministerial Debates = Theme: Elite Brits spar in media
Goldman Sachs Group = Scrap hoodlums gang!
Good atheist = O, God hates it!
The Good Samaritan = Oh, great aids to man! = O, it a God's earthman!
Good Samaritan = To air a God's man
The International Journal of Obesity = Learn to abolish routine fat 'n' enjoy it
Veronica Siwik-Daniels = Sin a sin. I a wicked lover
The paterfamilias = It is male, pa, father = I spelt - I am a father
Dzhanet Abdurakhmanova = Bad knave, hazard to human
The Sword of Damocles = Shadow reflects doom
The Sherwood forest = Few trees host R. Hood
Sherwood = We R. Hoods
Separation of Church and State = So, hence faith and courts apart
Sir Isaac's Newton apple tree = One scientist prepares a law = A scientist seen a proper law = A precise law's presentation
'That sounds good to me' [British song in Eurovision songs contest] = Smooth, outdated song = That song so outmoded = Oh, most outdated song!
A normal G-spot = Plan to orgasm
A concord = On accord
The CEO of British Petroleum Tony Hayward = Unworthy; hefty oil spot bothered America
[driver] Danica Sue Patrick = Pick a car and use it
What is the square root of hundred? = Huh, is adequate for short word - TEN!
Brooklyn = Look NY br. [br.: bridge]
The Otis Elevator Company = Can help move it to a storey
The Royal Shakespeare Company = Hope to see rare play & many hacks
The nuclear holocaust = Count chaos, a true Hell
The cyanide poisoning = Hi, nice sip to end agony! = Hey, poignant decision! = Hygienic end as option
The cyanide = They can die = Nice death? Y?
'Romeo and Juliet' story = Read to motley juniors
'God bless America' = So sad - beg miracle
Actress Elizabeth Taylor = Eyes-blaze. Total, rich star = Christ, eyes-blaze! To altar! [had many husbands]
The surrealist Salvador Dali = Shares 'visual riddle' art a lot
'Repuglicans' = Pigs can rule
Eleven hours and five minutes = Isner v Mahut use 'EVEN' on field
Oh, need hat ~ on the head!
Eldrick Tont 'Tiger' Woods = OK, credit to golden wrist!
Arlington National Cemetery = One can integrate in army toll
The Arlington National Cemetery = All gone hero; an interment at city
The tennis player Tomas Berdych = My, Nadal's best there! Nice trophy!
Cholesterol = O, he rots cell!
'Romeo and Juliet' play = All enjoy prude 'Ti amo!'
Robert James Fischer = I, brat from chess, jeer
EMINEM's album 'Recovery' = My more venerable music
The World Cup Finals ~ has plentiful crowd
Santiago Solari = O, I a star in goals!
The sculptor Auguste Rodin = O, producing result - statue!
Caryn Elaine Johnson (Whoopi Goldberg) = Oh, girl alone can bring deep joy on show!
Humphrey Bogart = Bah, Mr. Rough Type!
Maria Magdalene Dietrich = I, emigrant, made a rich deal
The Tropical Storm Bonnie = Not norm, it's peril to beach
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar = Rare human handles stick
The Bram Stoker's gothic novel 'Dracula' = Lug-charmer attacks others' blood-vein
Mahatma Gandhi = A man had a might
The politician Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi = A thin chap, India-man, had chaste and grim look
Tyson Gay stuns world-record holder Usain Bolt = Oh, actually, odd boy is world's strongest runner!
Peace won't come soon to Middle East = We (Semites) concede to 'A plan to doom'
Congeals = So, can gel
Ritalin tablets = Brat still eatin'
Eggs from Iowa farms could come to a table near you = Omelet food-bug's long way from America to a saucer
Top Gear' with host Jeremy Clarkson = Joker at the glimpse on worthy cars
Political memoirs = Topic - immoral lies
Congenial = Angelic, no? = Nice gal, no?
A lottery of Mega Millions = A lot of money, still mirage
The urine sample = Human pees liter
'Decision Points' by George W. Bush = Tipsy one describing W. House-bog = W. House President is big con, bogy = Describing bogey-post in W. House = Despot-bogey scribing in W. House = Bogy begins W. House description = W. House Pres. Bio: boggy incidents = Not big, dysgenic W. House Pres. Bio = Icy, ebbing, sot Pres. doing W. House
Netanyahu: Agreement possible within year = Unison-time is here, elegant pathway nearby
An hermaphrodite = Hinted - her ma or pa = Mother 'n' pa, I heard = Or Hid there ma 'n' pa
The 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' = Snotty, funny, sprightly, comic, eh?
Lipogrammatic sentences = Means: comic gap in letters
Tropical Storm Matthew = The worst, mortal impact
Diego Tristan = Giant steroid
L. Apotheker = Take HP role = OK, relate HP! = Leo - HP taker = Trek a HP, Leo!"
An evil-minded = Devil DNA in me = I manned devil = Named in devil ~ and devil in me
California leaders agree on budget = Arnold and Co. tie agreeable figures
The wind farms = Men wish draft
Samsung telephones = Huge panels note SMS
Manic Street Preachers = Parenthetic screamers = Creeps scream in the 'art'
Nepotism = Mine tops = Mine's top
Robert Edwards = Bred to rewards
Robert G. Edwards = Bred, got rewards
She never satisfied = Has five/ten desires
Armoury = Our army
The film 'Last Tango in Paris' = Fate, thrill, mating, passion
Last Tango in Paris = A pair lost in angst = Stars in plot again
The self-driving car = First grand vehicle?
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan = It's a major remake in Nippon senate = Major mistake in Nippon senate era
The archipelago = Oh, pelagic earth!
A sycophant = O, nasty chap!
Stage IV cancer = Accent is 'Grave'
The attorneys = Honest treaty
Demi Lovato = Maid to love
The crematorium = Time to char & mure
Show host Piers Morgan = Shoots his new program
A protesting = Anger: 'Stop it!'
The abortion = Hi, bear no tot! = Botheration
The sailor = Soil! Earth! = Rah! to isle = Lo, is earth!
The fashion model Hyoni Kang = Ah my, she hot and fine looking!
Chilean miner Edison Pena = Nice man deep in soil. He ran
Diana, the Princess of Wales = In past, Charles' one sad wife
A Personal Computer = Mac or Apple? Not sure
Taylor Swift = First to yawl
The launch of a nuclear missile = Uranium cancels life, eh? So, halt!
All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree (Einstein) = See, Lord an engineer of all the necessaries & each brain. (Smart scientist)
British couple finally freed from Somali pirates = Pitifully, it is release of Chandlers pair from mob
The airport screeners = Hence, reap terrorists = Pester in terror chase
The soprano prodigy Jackie Evancho = Enjoy hot voice, cap her - kid's paragon!
Ireland bailout fails to calm nervy Spain and Portugal = An actual Erin's fault - very appalling Madrid (Lisbon too)
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange = Judas white analogue? I like frankness!
Pharisaical = Chap is a liar
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark = Hero, man from play, detected father-king
Ahamednijad = Me and a jihad
President Ahmadinejad = I presented a damn jihad
Medal of Honor = O, for homeland!
Bankruptcies = Neat bucks r.i.p. = Pertain bucks
Iran nuclear talks get under way = Take warnings naturally - reduce
Die Antwoord = A new, odd trio
[Australian trio]
"The Social Network" = Owner likes to chat
Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly = Ah, I a bully, outlaw, bad mad Arab!
[suspected Stockholm suicide bomber]
The world's oldest profession" = Words define hostess (trollop)
Department of Homeland Security = Protect needy/haunted from Islam
Isabelle Caro = Bale calories!
Prying as ~ a spy ring
Sistine Chapel = Hi, nice pastels!
The rose diamond = Oh, admired stone!
The dementia ~ ate thee mind
The grave condition = Can invite her to God
"'Welcome to the pleasure-dome!' = O-O, here we made lust complete!
Niagara Falls in New York, United States = Features a lot waters, sinking any lad in
More birds drop dead in US = Odd end, a morbid surprise
Medal of Honor = Hero? Damn fool!
Players LeBron James and Kobe Bryant = Or spry, dear men enjoy NBA basketball
Innocency = None cynic
Iran vows to bring Israel to justice over alleged murder of nuclear scientist = Terrible, cruel assassination! Give more loud, urgent trial for convicted Jews!
"The Social Network" Dominates Golden Globes = O, looks well, good, best, the grandest in cinema!
The antidepressant medicine = Inspect, treat men inside head
The breast cancer = Er...can't bare chest
The Australian Open females competition = i.e. Na Li, at finals, to meet one top, sure champ
The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak = Keeps denying riot in Arab state. Humph!
Demonstrations in Cairo, Egypt = O, many incidents, top rage, riots!
US Begins Evacuation Flights From Cairo = Thus Americans leaving focus of big riot
President Hosni Mubarak = Riots punish and break me
Deflorations = O, lad - first one! = Not for ladies!
Silicone breast = Celebration, sis! = Is license to bra = So, nicest bra - lie?!
Life on other planets = Let proof aliens, then!
A 'Trident Splash' [chewing gum] = Let's snap it hard!
Metropolitan Opera stage = Get, meet soprano-alto pair
The Spartans military education = I'm stoical student, I parry Athena
Juxtaposition = Up to joint axis
Michelangelo Buonarroti's "Creation of Adam" = O, God touches 'mire-born' man to a fair alliance! = Ah, mere Italian fresco in color about man & God
Fashion models = Fool maids & hens = Do some flashin'
Monotheism = ONE, Him most
The promiscuity = i.e. (sic) Try to hump
The serial monogamist = Noisome, straight male = To smash one girl a time = At most, he aims one girl = Aims one gal (short time)
Beautiful engagement ring = Great blue genuine gift, man!
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies [Aristotle] = But wife is spiritless, emotionless obligation... good vocal, no head
Slave trader = Sad traveler
Israel is an island of the democracy = Holy Land is a main force, sacred site = Holy Land nice, sacred site from Asia
Apophis Asteroid = Ooh, it disappears!
Our marvelous Planet Earth = Pure love, as natural mother = Mother, a supernatural love
Obama's second year = May score as bad one
Teenage girl collapses and dies after first kiss = Registered fatal necking for lass. It displeases.
Solution for everything = History: Not gunfire - LOVE!
Los Angeles 'Clippers' forward Blake Griffin = Offers NBA life, grace, lip, power, grand skills
Egypt echoes across region: Iran, Bahrain, Yemen = Arabs seethe, copy Cairo's harmony-engineering
'They Might Be Giants' = Sing the mighty beat
'Sacramento 'Kings' player Omri Casspi [first Israeli in NBA]= Israeli sportsman picks racy game, no?
Middle East protests = Old states distemper
A slot machine = Ah, metal coins!
Just in time = JIT (minutes)
The wrongly imprisoned man = My, got drawn in irons!..Help me!
'Belly Fat Free' [diet book] = Be flat, freely!
Russian Roulette = O, result ain't sure!
Arab world unrest = Darn troubles, war!
Space shuttle Discovery's last launch = NASA cuts the travel ship's loud cycle
Actress Natalie Portman = Name Oscar in latest part
The adversary = Very sad hater
Contraction is ~ a constriction
The architect Antoni Gaudi = A neat church got initiated
Pedophiles = Pope-shield
The priests-pedophiles = Pope shields their step
Kilometers = Trek 'o miles
The Port of Marseilles = Temple for the sailors?
Master in Business = In best US seminars
The oil prices = Politics here
Japan's death toll = A planet had jolts
Antonio Banderas = O, one star in a band!
The Michelin stars = Hints richest meal
Fukushima nuclear plant = F**k up, hurt all Asian men!
Minister Ya'alon = Israel, my nation = National misery
Obama declares himself candidate for re-election = Fatherland, once more! Democratic lead is feasible!
The whodunit = Who hunted it?
Whodunit = Wound, hit ...
The synagogues = Gen: Goys hate us
What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex [book without any text inside] = Man hankers but for sex (improve at that way) = No text (Ah, rakish empty wet man favours bar!)
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss = Twins: Conversely, 'No deal, Mark!"
Is the president of the Czech Republic a pen stealer? = Therefore, citizens (the public) peep leader's snatch
The battle for Libya = Be ally of that tribe = Ah, battle of liberty!
Staphylococcus aureus = A cuss at you...Help! Succor!
Liberty alliance = Call entire Libya!
Rockabilly style = Best; lyrically OK
Deadly tornadoes = O, destroyed a land!
'Hold It Against Me'" = Let a hot maid sing! = Lad, I'm hot! (teasing)
The official royal wedding list = Rigidly follow it, find each seat
The Royal Couple: Prince William and Kate Middleton = Two, tumidly married, like place in the London palace
Death of bin Laden = End of a blind hate
US forces killed Osama bin Laden = Skillful Americans; one s.o.b. dead
Real pundit = Prudential
The monosodium glutamate = Oh, go mum, don't use it at meal!
Sarah Burton, the royal wedding dress designer = Gown's author dressed a bride in her grand style
A literary pseudonym = Dispel your arty name = I.e. arty/proud/sly name
A prostate = Arse at top
Model Elisabetta Canalis = So, belle Italian dame acts
A precious metal = Some Au particle = Prime Au (etc. also)
The married couple Rose Pollard and Forrest Lunsway = Amour for teens: such old pair, really old partners wed
The sectarian = Heart in caste
Osama Bin Laden = Bold man in a sea
The Spain, Barcelona = Catalonians b.p. here
Real actors = Oscar, later
The 'Cold Meat Industry' = Dealt hot, trendy music
'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' = Picaroons fantasies 'grab' better in three D
Wet dream = Drew mate
Bernardo Bertolucci 'Ultimo tango a Parigi' = Plot: Brando - coital guru, Maria - erotic being
The politician = I in plot, I cheat = O, I pathetic nil!
Nickname of Paris - The City of Lights = O, is French capital sky of nighttime!
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni = I on huge oil-color icons, I'm David in marble too
Martin Scorsese = So, it's a Mr. Screen!
Harold Egbert Camping = The glam END or big crap?
Eric Patrick Clapton = It a clip, park concert... = I clip concert at park
Angela Dorothea Merkel = Took real German lead, eh = O, OK! The real German lead!
Sean Kingston [fat singer] = One 'tank' sings
Diplomatic relations = O damn, it's realpolitic!
Michael Sylvester Stallone = Let's call sly Vietnam heroes! = Call 'sly-steel' Vietnam's hero = Style? Shall master violence! = The cinema star, sells lovely = He's levelly-lost cinema star
Don Corleone = No one colder
Vito Corleone = Root violence = O, violent core!
Minerals = Real Si, Mn...
Tornadoes = No rest, ado
Endeavour ends final mission with the smooth landing = So, main shuttle now home and finished in doing travels
The nuclear power = New help - U-reactor
Peter Iroga of the Solomon Islands [biggest feet in the world] = Oh, go on, pal airs solid monster feet!
A sculpture = Sure cut, pal = Real cuts up
Sting And The Police = Apt, nice, golden hits = Poetic England hits = Top in his elegant CD
Israeli government = A revenger, no limits
The Israeli government = Ah, stern violent regime!
Monster Arizona wildfire threatens line of mountain towns = Ministrations time now - all zone was under threat of inferno Claude Monet's series of 'Water Lilies' = Delicate flowers lie on stream issue = U see master's delicate flowers in oil
He slept with her and her, and her = Ha! The shrewd philanderer, then
The 'Gay Girl in Damascus' = Such damaging, stray lie
The first total lunar eclipse of the year = Earth truly tips on face of her satellite
Very nice solo album = Music by lover, alone
Afghanistan troop drawdown = Adopt 'No war!' and 'No war fights!'
'Saturday Night Fever' - the original movie sound-track = Younger kid Travolta, him dancing over feature's hits
Deforestation = Toasted on fire? = O, fit on a desert!
Ben-Gurion = One big run
Hotel California = O, a nice hit for all! = One fair local hit
Ratko Mladic = I'm a dark clot = Dark-aim clot
A Freedom Flotilla = More aid of all Left
'I need a dollar' [song] = Deal dire loan
Search for tequila = Chase after liquor
Inheritance = Ancient heir
The penalties = Settle pain, eh = Let's pain thee
Bethanie Lynn Mattek-Sands = The bland Yanks tennis team = Ken, had many tennis battles = Talent; makes tennis by hand
Trabajo = Art? A job!
'Electric Light Orchestra' band = All graced the British concert = Recall big-hits-thread concert? = Call gathered British concert
'Don't Leave Me This Way' = My love awaits the end?
'Hold It Against Me' = It's gal-made-hit, no?
Peter Falk as Columbo = O, masterful bleak cop! = Famous Lt. (bleaker cop)
Volcano Erupts in the Central Indonesia = i.e. Cone-center spits hot lava on land. I run
Is western democracy alive in Egypt? = Cairo new system angrily deceptive
Turkey insists on apology to normalize Israel ties = i.e. Zion must tell, noisily, to Ankara 'Sorry', stop siege
Village People, 'In the navy' = Appealing, even lovely, hit
'You Can't Stop the Music' = You must set phonic act
'Waterloo' by the Swedish group Abba = Two babes & boys reap huge old war hit
'Kings of Leon' [one family rock band] = One-folk sing
The National Basketball Association = Aha, attention, it a 'All-Black obsession'!
Hot weather = The heat-row
The Mubarak's trial = Air the brutal mask!
True economic recovery = i.e. To overcome currency
Pavonine = Vain, open
Singer Andrea Bocelli = Recognise a real blind
Arnold George Dorsey alias Engelbert Humperdinck = Good old singer. Legend, put - shiny remarkable career
Enrique Iglesias = I a sequel-singer, I
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler = I sing regularly (I prime sequel, see)
The Biblical inspirations = Rabbi's lithe lips in action
The Metropolitan Police Service = Teach people: Violent riots - crime!
Cholera Outbreaks Spread Across Somalia = Disease hurts a poor black-color mass area
The hurricane Irene = Her ire can ruin thee
'Time to say goodbye' = Today? O, time goes by!
'The Gulag Archipelago' = A huge tragic gaol. Help! = Huge gaol; graphic tale
Emasculation = Cut one salami
The McDonald's restaurant = Dr.: A stunned stomach alert! = Such rotten, standard meal
Sarah Louise Heath Palin = Hail, hail eh? Not a USA Pres.!
A TV show 'Wheel of Fortune' = Wow, have lots of fun there!
You don't belong here = End trouble, honey. Go!
Asteroid to narrowly miss Earth = A disaster nearly hits tomorrow Israeli Navy Boards Boats Bound for Gaza = No doubt, Zion ably ravages aids for Arabs
The actor Laurence Olivier = Occur in a live theatre role
Coldplay 'Paradise' = i.e. Lads do play crap
British Monarchy = Ah, my rich Britons! = My, this baron rich!
The Global Positioning System = Lost? Sighing? Listen to map & obey!
Gilad Shalit is free = He's glad, fit Israeli
Tropical islands = All is in postcard = Local spirit, sand...
The tropical islands archipelago = Nice, hot hot girls! Paradisal place!
Sperm donation = One imports DNA
Georgios Papandreou = Europe-gang aids poor
Bill and Hillary Clinton = I call it Horny 'n' All Blind
Teenagers' faces = Age festers acne
A see-through lingerie = Oh, agree, nighties lure!
A bull in a china shop = Ouch! Pain in balls! Ah!
Miss Angola Leila Lopes = O, a gal pleases millions!
'No games, no politics, no delays' = As one slogan: 'Once, simply do it!'
The E-coli outbreak = Trouble: I eat, choke...
A lonely housewife = Uh, fellow, I easy one!
The "God Particle" mystery = Get my secret? Ah, pity! (Lord)
The Facebook fans = Batch of fake ones
Tens of thousands of protesters pressure Putin = These students offer no support to Russian Pres.
The George Lucas Star Wars movies ~ Came with several gorgeous stars
Iran court sentences American to death = Tehran to a decent man: 'Our secrets in CIA?'
The most beautiful girl = To us - right-built female
Italy cruise ship 'Costa Concordia' = Chaos, corpses, a loud cry. Titanic II?
Reverse play = Verse replay
Recipes = Re: spice
Egyptian court continues trial of Mubarak = Prosecution back in to maul a tyrant figure
Gloria Marie Steinem [feminist] = i.e. Tie - girl or man SAME! = A tiresome girlie, man = To me, marriage is line = I'm same one irate girl
Rick Santorum = Mr. Crank is out!
Mr. Penis = Spermin'
Bashar Assad = Has Arabs sad
The Beatles "Yellow submarine" = My heart below blue silent sea
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (Mr. Bean) = A nitwit, bananas. Man so berserk, no? = See a born artist. I'm known bananas
'Sports Illustrated' = Loud starlets strip = Top stars. Still rude
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies = A terse End of the Show. Loss for music industry. RIP
Valentine Day card = Evidently a canard
Tu Bishvat holiday [Jewish New Year of the Trees] = Hi, bush vital today!
Ruined teeth 'n' canals? = The dental insurance!
The poseur = Posture, eh
The Obama's birth control policy = Catholics, abortion thy problem?
An unemployment report = True, man, plenty poor men!
'War Horse' = Rare show!
Hague fears Iran could start 'new Cold War' = Accuser: Tehran is awful, a danger to world
Anthony Shadid, Reporter = That one had sorry end. RIP.
"Disturbing" study finds nineteen percent of the teens drive after using marijuana = Every fifth junior uses drugs during ride?... Instant penitence and finest abatement!
All you ever wanted = A new lady...true love!
Egomania = O, me, again!
The ladies' corsets = Let's aid sore chest
Nuclear negotiations with Iran = No cure in isolating Tehran? Wait!
A jowl = Lo, jaw!
Nehru-Gandhi families = Indians rule. High fame
The motion picture 'A Beautiful Mind' = O, impute it to deceitful human brain!
The Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer be printed = Cannot print & charge. Will be replaced by online edition.
Santorum = A nostrum
Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean = Hi, fine Captain Cameron can reach it!
Lofty = To fly
Burma elections = Troubles came in = O, misrule can't be!
[Bin Laden's wives] Kharia Hussain Sabir, Siham Sharif and Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh = Ah, familiar shaikh Bin Laden had us (as surah) - Arab-faith madams!
What happens after we die? = Safe pew with harp at Eden = Few rap, weep in that Hades
The silicon breast = O, elite chests in bra!
The brassiere = It's her bra, see
Pleasures = Are pluses
Egypt's Presidential Elections = No perils - settles peace, dignity
President Barack Obama's administration = Americans in prostration. Bad, bad mistake!
The Iran nuclear talks = Attack's near? Ruin, hell!
Non-violence works = Reckon - love wins, no?
Walt Disney's motion picture 'Mary Poppins' = I, prim polite nanny, support domestic ways
The movie 'Wanderlust' = Theme: Tour, view lands
Stallone in 'Rambo' movies = Violent man's role (I am s.o.b.)
Truvada (Gilead Sciences Incorporated) = Ordered top vaccine against cruel AIDS
'The sound of silence' = Let end of such noise
Walt Disney's movie Pinocchio = Wood-chips toy lives in cinema
The Walt Disney's Pinocchio = This chap - tiny wooden slice
Yad Vashem holocaust memorial = Huh, local aim to save sad memory
The National Weight-Loss Plan = Thin/lean - no' pigs', total 'whales'
President-elect Francois Hollande = France dispelled rotten Nicolas, eh
Obstetrician = I notice brats
Path of least resistance = Easiest plan for the acts
Planet Bollywood = One lowly, bad plot
"Diapers and politicians should be changed often -- both for the same reason." = No sham - shit is shit! Unappealing fecal odor, bad scent, and therefore booed.
Stupefaction = Inept at focus
Singer Joshua Ledet = Judge: "This one's REAL!
Dancing with the stars = Scan the hard twisting
'Madame Bovary' = O, very 'bad mama'!
Saturday Night Live = Arty laugh inside TV = Try a laugh inside TV
Done! = O, end!
| i don't know |
What was the name of the Italian terrorist gang of the 1970s and 80s? With a Marxist ideology they committed many crimes and murders, including that of Prime Minister Aldo Moro. | Inside Terrorism
Inside Terrorism
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Defining Terrorism
What is terrorism? Few words have so insidiously worked their way into our everyday vocabulary. Like `Internet' -- another grossly over-used term that has similarly become an indispensable part of the argot of the late twentieth century -- most people have a vague idea or impression of what terrorism is, but lack a more precise, concrete and truly explanatory definition of the word. This imprecision has been abetted partly by the modern media, whose efforts to communicate an often complex and convoluted message in the briefest amount of airtime or print space possible have led to the promiscuous labelling of a range of violent acts as `terrorism'. Pick up a newspaper or turn on the television and -- even within the same broadcast or on the same page -- one can find such disparate acts as the bombing of a building, the assassination of a head of state, the massacre of civilians by a military unit, the poisoning of produce on supermarket shelves or the deliberate contamination of over-the-counter medication in a chemist's shop all described as incidents of terrorism. Indeed, virtually any especially abhorrent act of violence that is perceived as directed against society -- whether it involves the activities of anti-government dissidents or governments themselves, organized crime syndicates or common criminals, rioting mobs or persons engaged in militant protest, individual psychotics or lone extortionists -- is often labelled `terrorism'.
Dictionary definitions are of little help. The pre-eminent authority on the English language, the much-venerated Oxford English Dictionary, is disappointingly unobliging when it comes to providing edification on this subject, its interpretation at once too literal and too historical to be of much contemporary use:
Terrorism: A system of terror. 1. Government by intimidation as directed and carried out by the party in power in France during the revolution of 1789-94; the system of `Terror'. 2. gen. A policy intended to strike with terror those against whom it is adopted; the employment of methods of intimidation; the fact of terrorizing or condition of being terrorized.
These definitions are wholly unsatisfying. Rather than learning what terrorism is, one instead finds, in the first instance, a somewhat potted historical -- and, in respect of the modern accepted usage of the term, a uselessly anachronistic -- description. The second definition offered is only slightly more helpful. While accurately communicating the fear-inducing quality of terrorism, the definition is still so broad as to apply to almost any action that scares (`terrorizes') us. Though an integral part of `terrorism', this definition is still insufficient for the purpose of accurately defining the phenomenon that is today called `terrorism'.
A slightly more satisfying elucidation may be found in the OED's definition of the perpetrator of the act than in its efforts to come to grips with the act itself. In this respect, a `terrorist' is defined thus:
1. As a political term: a. Applied to the Jacobins and their agents and partisans in the French Revolution, esp. to those connected with the Revolutionary tribunals during the `Reign of Terror'. b. Any one who attempts to further his views by a system of coercive intimidation; spec. applied to members of one of the extreme revolutionary societies in Russia.
This is appreciably more helpful. First, it immediately introduces the reader to the notion of terrorism as a political concept. As will be seen, this key characteristic of terrorism is absolutely paramount to understanding its aims, motivations and purposes and critical in distinguishing it from other types of violence.
Terrorism, in the most widely accepted contemporary usage of the term, is fundamentally and inherently political. It is also ineluctably about power: the pursuit of power, the acquisition of power, and the use of power to achieve political change. Terrorism is thus violence -- or, equally important, the threat of violence -- used and directed in pursuit of, or in service of, a political aim. With this vital point clearly illuminated, one can appreciate the significance of the additional definition of `terrorist' provided by the OED: `Any one who attempts to further his views by a system of coercive intimidation'. This definition underscores clearly the other fundamental characteristic of terrorism: that it is a planned, calculated, and indeed systematic act.
Given this relatively straightforward elucidation, why, then, is terrorism so difficult to define? The most compelling reason perhaps is because the meaning of the term has changed so frequently over the past two hundred years.
The Changing Meaning of Terrorism
The word `terrorism' was first popularized during the French Revolution. In contrast to its contemporary usage, at that time terrorism had a decidedly positive connotation. The system or regime de la terreur of 1793-4 -- from which the English word came -- was adopted as a means to establish order during the transient anarchical period of turmoil and upheaval that followed the uprisings of 1789, as it has followed in the wake of many other revolutions. Hence, unlike terrorism as it is commonly understood today, to mean a revolutionary or anti-government activity undertaken by non-state or subnational entities, the regime de la terreur was an instrument of governance wielded by the recently established revolutionary state. It was designed to consolidate the new government's power by intimidating counter-revolutionaries, subversives and all other dissidents whom the new regime regarded as `enemies of the people'. The Committee of General Security and the Revolutionary Tribunal (`People's Court' in the modern vernacular) were thus accorded wide powers of arrest and judgement, publicly putting to death by guillotine persons convicted of treasonous (i.e. reactionary) crimes. In this manner, a powerful lesson was conveyed to any and all who might oppose the revolution or grow nostalgic for the ancien regime.
Ironically, perhaps, terrorism in its original context Was also closely associated with the ideals of virtue and democracy. The revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre firmly believed that virtue was the mainspring of a popular government at peace, but that during the time of revolution must be allied with terror in order for democracy to triumph. He appealed famously to `virtue, without which terror is evil; terror, without which virtue is helpless', and proclaimed: `Terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe and inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue.'
Despite this divergence from its subsequent meaning, the French Revolution's `terrorism' still shared at least two key characteristics in common with its modern-day variant. First, the regime de la terreur was neither random nor indiscriminate, as terrorism is often portrayed today, but was organized, deliberate and systematic. Second, its goal and its very justification -- like that of contemporary terrorism -- was the creation of a `new and better society' in place of a fundamentally corrupt and undemocratic political system. Indeed, Robespierre's vague and utopian exegeses of the revolution's central goals are remarkably similar in tone and content to the equally turgid, millenarian manifestos issued by many contemporary revolutionary -- primarily left-wing, Marxist-oriented -- terrorist organizations. For example, in 1794 Robespierre declared, in language eerily presaging the communiques issued by groups such as Germany's Red Army Faction and Italy's Red Brigades nearly two centuries later:
We want an order of things ... in which the arts are an adornment to the liberty that ennobles them, and commerce the source of wealth for the public and not of monstrous opulence for a few families ... In our country we desire morality instead of selfishness, honesty and not mere `honor', principle and not mere custom, duty and not mere propriety, the sway of reason rather than the tyranny of fashion, a scorn for vice and not a contempt for the unfortunate ...
Like many other revolutions, the French Revolution eventually began to consume itself. On 8 Thermidor, year two of the new calendar adopted by the revolutionaries (26 July 1794), Robespierre announced to the National Convention that he had in his possession a new list of traitors. Fearing that their own names might be on that list, extremists joined forces with moderates to repudiate both Robespierre and his regime de la terreur. Robespierre and his closest followers themselves met the same fate that had befallen some 40,000 others: execution by guillotine. The Terror was at an end; thereafter terrorism became a term associated with the abuse of office and power -- with overt `criminal' implications. Within a year of Robespierre's demise, the word had been popularized in English by Edmund Burke who, in his famous polemic against the French Revolution, described the `Thousands of those Hell hounds called Terrorists ... let loose on the people'.
One of the French Revolution's more enduring repercussions was the impetus it gave to anti-monarchical sentiment elsewhere in Europe. Popular subservience to rulers who derived their authority from God through `divine right of rule', not from their subjects, was increasingly questioned by a politically awakened continent. The advent of nationalism, and with it notions of statehood and citizenship based on the common identity of a people rather than the lineage of a royal family, were resulting in the unification and creation of new nation-states such as Germany and Italy. Meanwhile, the massive socio-economic changes engendered by the industrial revolution were creating new `universalist' ideologies (such as communism/Marxism), born of the alienation and exploitative conditions of nineteenth-century capitalism. From this milieu a new era of terrorism emerged, in which the concept had gained many of the familiar revolutionary, anti-state connotations of today. Its chief progenitor was arguably the Italian republican extremist, Carlo Pisacane, who had forsaken his birthright as duke of San Giovanni only to perish in 1857 during an ill-fated revolt against `Bourbon rule. A passionate advocate of federalism and mutualism, Pisacane is remembered less on this account than for the theory of `propaganda by deed', which he is credited with defining -- an idea that has exerted a compelling influence on rebels and terrorists alike ever since. `The propaganda of the idea is a chimera,' Pisacane wrote. `Ideas result from deeds, not the latter from the former, and the people will not be free when they are educated, but educated when they are free.' Violence, he argued, was necessary not only to draw attention to, or generate publicity for, a cause, but to inform, educate and ultimately rally the masses behind the revolution. The didactic purpose of violence, Pisacane argued, could never be effectively replaced by pamphlets, wall posters or assemblies.
Perhaps the first organization to put into practice Pisacane's dictum was the Narodnaya Volya, or People's Will (sometimes translated as People's Freedom), a small group of Russian constitutionalists that had been founded in 1878 to challenge tsarist rule. For the Narodnaya Volya, the apathy and alienation of the Russian masses afforded few alternatives to the resort to daring and dramatic acts of violence designed to attract attention to the group and its cause. However, unlike the many late twentieth-century terrorist organizations who have cited the principle of `propaganda by deed' to justify the wanton targeting of civilians in order to assure them publicity through the shock and horror produced by wholesale bloodshed, the Narodnaya Volya displayed an almost quixotic attitude to the violence they wrought. To them, `propaganda by deed' meant the selective targeting of specific individuals whom the group considered the embodiment of the autocratic, oppressive state. Hence their victims -- the tsar, leading members of the royal family, senior government officials -- were deliberately chosen for their `symbolic' value as the dynastic heads and subservient agents of a corrupt and tyrannical regime. An intrinsic element in the group's collective beliefs was that `not one drop of superfluous blood' should be shed in pursuit of aims, however noble or utilitarian they might be. Even having selected their targets with great care and the utmost deliberation, group members still harboured profound regrets about taking the life of a fellow human being. Their unswerving adherence to this principle is perhaps best illustrated by the failed attempt on the life of the Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich made by a successor organization to the Narodnaya Volya in 1905. As the royal carriage came into view, the terrorist tasked with the assassination saw that the duke was unexpectedly accompanied by his children and therefore aborted his mission rather than risk harming the intended victim's family (the duke was killed in a subsequent attack). By comparison, the mid-air explosion caused by a terrorist bomb on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988 indiscriminately claimed the lives of all 259 persons on board -- innocent men, women and children alike -- plus eleven inhabitants of the village where the plane crashed.
Ironically, the Narodnaya Volya's most dramatic accomplishment also led directly to its demise. On 1 March 1881 the group assassinated Tsar Alexander II. The failure of eight previous plots had led the conspirators to take extraordinary measures to ensure the success of this attempt. Four volunteers were given four bombs each and deployed along the alternative routes followed by the tsar's cortege. As two of the bomber-assassins stood in wait on the same street, the sleighs carrying the tsar and his Cossack escort approached the first terrorist, who hurled his bomb at the passing sleigh, missing it by inches. The whole entourage came to a halt as soldiers seized the hapless culprit and the tsar descended from his sleigh to check on a bystander wounded by the explosion. `Thank God, I am safe,' the tsar reportedly declared -- just as the second bomber emerged from the crowd and detonated his weapon, killing both himself and his target. The full weight of the tsarist state now fell on the heads of the Narodnaya Volya. Acting on information provided by the arrested member, the secret police swept down on the group's safe houses and hide-outs, rounding up most of the plotters, who were quickly tried, convicted and hanged. Further information from this group led to subsequent arrests, so that within a year of the assassination only one member of the original executive committee was still at large. She too was finally apprehended in 1883, at which point the first generation of Narodnaya Volya terrorists ceased to exist, although various successor organizations subsequently emerged to carry on the struggle.
At the time, the repercussions of the tsar's assassination could not have been known or appreciated by either the condemned or their comrades languishing in prison or exiled to Siberia. But in addition to precipitating the beginning of the end of tsarist rule, the group also deeply influenced individual revolutionaries and subversive organizations elsewhere. To the nascent anarchist movement, the `propaganda by deed' strategy championed by the Narodnaya Volya provided a model to be emulated. Within four months of the tsar's murder, a group of radicals in London convened an `anarchist conference' which publicly applauded the assassination and extolled tyrannicide as a means to achieve revolutionary change. In hopes of encouraging and coordinating worldwide anarchist activities, the conferees decided to establish an `Anarchist International' (or `Black International'). Although this idea, like most of their ambitious plans, came to nought, the publicity generated by even a putative `Anarchist International' was sufficient to create a myth of global revolutionary pretensions and thereby stimulate fears and suspicions disproportionate to its actual impact or political achievements. Disparate and uncoordinated though the anarchists' violence was, the movement's emphasis on individual action or operations carried out by small cells of like-minded radicals made detection and prevention by the police particularly difficult, thus further heightening public fears. For example, following the assassination of US President William McKinley in 1901 (by a young Hungarian refugee, Leon Czolgocz, who, while not a regular member of any anarchist organization, was nonetheless influenced by the philosophy), Congress swiftly enacted legislation barring known anarchists or anyone `who disbelieves in or is opposed to all organized government' from entering the United States. However, while anarchists were responsible for an impressive string of assassinations of heads of state and a number of particularly notorious bombings from about 1878 until the second decade of the twentieth century, in the final analysis, other than stimulating often exaggerated fears, anarchism made little tangible impact on either the domestic or the international politics of the countries affected. It does, however, offer an interesting historical footnote: much as the `information revolution' of the late twentieth century is alleged to have made the means and methods of bomb-making and other types of terrorist activity more readily available via the Internet, on CD-ROM, and through ordinary libraries and bookstores, one of anarchism's flourishing `cottage industries' more than a century earlier was the widespread distribution of similar `how-to' or DIY-type manuals and publications of violence and mayhem.
On the eve of the First World War, terrorism still retained its revolutionary connotations. By this time, growing unrest and irredentist ferment had already welled up within the decaying Ottoman and Habsburg Empires. In the 1880s and 1890s, for example, militant Armenian nationalist movements in eastern Turkey pursued a terrorist strategy against continued Ottoman rule of a kind that would later be adopted by most of the post-Second World War ethnonationalist/separatist movements. The Armenians' objective was simultaneously to strike a blow against the despotic `alien' regime through repeated attacks on its colonial administration and security forces, in order to rally indigenous support, as well as to attract international attention, sympathy and support. Around the same time, the Inner Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was active in the region overlapping present-day Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. Although the Macedonians did not go on to suffer the catastrophic fate that befell the Armenians during the First World War (when an estimated one million persons perished in what is considered to be the first officially implemented genocide of the twentieth century), IMRO never came close to achieving its aim of an independent Macedonia and thereafter degenerated into a mostly criminal organization of hired thugs and political assassins.
The events immediately preceding the First World War in Bosnia are of course more familiar because of their subsequent cataclysmic impact on world affairs. There, similar groups of disaffected nationalists -- Bosnian Serb intellectuals, university students and even schoolchildren, collectively known as Mlada Bosna, or Young Bosnians -- arose against continued Habsburg suzerainty. While it is perhaps easy to dismiss the movement, as some historians have, as comprised of `frustrated, poor, dreary and maladjusted' adolescents -- much as many contemporary observers similarly denigrate modern-day terrorists as mindless, obsessive and maladjusted -- it was a member of Young Bosnia, Gavrilo Princip, who is widely credited with having set in motion the chain of events that began on 28 June 1914, when he assassinated the Habsburg Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, and culminated in the First World War. Whatever its superficially juvenile characteristics, the group was nonetheless passionately dedicated to the attainment of a federal South Slav political entity -- uniting Slovenes, Croats and Serbs -- and resolutely committed to assassination as the vehicle with which to achieve that aim. In this respect, the Young Bosnians perhaps had more in common with the radical republicanism of Giuseppe Mazzini, one of the most ardent exponents of Italian unification in the nineteenth century, than with groups such as the Narodnaya Volya -- despite a shared conviction in the efficacy of tyrannicide. An even more significant difference, however, was the degree of involvement in, and external support provided to, Young Bosnian activities by various shadowy Serbian nationalist groups. Principal among these was the pan-Serb secret society, the Narodna Obrana (`The People's Defence' or `National Defence').
The Narodna Obrana had been established in 1908 originally to promote Serb cultural and national activities. It subsequently assumed a more subversive orientation as the movement became increasingly involved with anti-Austrian activities -- including terrorism -- mostly in neighbouring Bosnia and Hercegovina. Although the Narodna Obrana's exclusionist pan-Serbian aims clashed with the Young Bosnians' less parochial South Slav ideals, its leadership was quite happy to manipulate and exploit the Bosnians' emotive nationalism and youthful zeal for their own purposes. To this end, the Narodna Obrana actively recruited, trained and armed young Bosnians and Hercegovinians from movements such as the Young Bosnians who were then deployed in various seditious activities against the Habsburgs. As early as four years before the archduke's assassination, a Hercegovinian youth, trained by a Serb army officer with close ties to the Narodna Obrana, had attempted to kill the governor of Bosnia. But, while the Narodna Obrana included among its members senior Serbian government officials, it was not an explicitly government-controlled or directly state-supported entity. Whatever hazy government links it maintained were further and deliberately obscured when a radical faction left the Narodna Obrana in 1911 and established the Ujedinjenje ili Start, `The Union of Death' or `Death or Unification' -- more popularly known as the Crna Ruka, or the `Black Hand'. This more militant and appreciably more clandestine splinter has been described by one historian as combining
the more unattractive features of the anarchist cells of earlier years -- which had been responsible for quite a number of assassinations in Europe and whose methods had a good deal of influence via the writings of Russian anarchists upon Serbian youth -- and of the [American] Ku Klux Klan. There were gory rituals and oaths of loyalty, there were murders of backsliding members, there was identification of members by number, there were distributions of guns and bombs. And there was a steady traffic between Bosnia and Serbia.
This group, which continued to maintain close links with its parent body, was largely composed of serving Serbian military officers. It was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Dragutin Dmitrievich (known by his pseudonym, Apis), himself the chief of the Intelligence Department of the Serbian general staff. With this key additional advantage of direct access to military armaments, intelligence and training facilities, the Black Hand effectively took charge of all Serb-backed clandestine operations in Bosnia.
Although there were obviously close links between the Serbian military, the Black Hand and the Young Bosnians, it would be a mistake to regard the relationship as one of direct control, much less outright manipulation. Clearly, the Serbian government was well aware of the Black Hand's objectives and the violent means the group employed in pursuit of them; indeed, the Serbian Crown Prince Alexander was one of the group's benefactors. But this does not mean that the Serbian government was necessarily as committed to war with Austria as the Black Hand's leaders were, or that it was prepared to countenance the group's more extreme plans for fomenting cross-border, anti-Habsburg terrorism. There is some evidence to suggest that the Black Hand may have been trying to force Austria's hand against Serbia and thereby plunge both countries into war by actively abetting the Young Bosnians' plot to assassinate the archduke. Indeed, according to one revisionist account of the events leading up to the murder, even though the pistol used by Princip had been supplied by the Black Hand from a Serb military armoury in Kragujevac, and even though Princip had been trained by the Black Hand in Serbia before being smuggled back across the border for the assassination, at the eleventh hour Dmitrievich had apparently bowed to intense government pressure and tried to stop the assassination. According to this version, Princip and his fellow conspirators would hear nothing of it and stubbornly went ahead with their plans. Contrary to popular assumption, therefore, the archduke's assassination may not have been specifically ordered or even directly sanctioned by the Serbian government. However, the obscure links between high government officials and their senior military commanders and ostensibly independent, transnational terrorist movements, and the tangled web of intrigue, plots, clandestine arms provision and training, intelligence agents and cross-border sanctuary these relationships inevitably involved, provide a pertinent historical parallel to the contemporary phenomenon known as `state-sponsored' terrorism (that is, the active and often clandestine support, encouragement and assistance provided by a foreign government to a terrorist group), which is discussed below.
By the 1930s, the meaning of `terrorism' had changed again. It was now used less to refer to revolutionary movements and violence directed against governments and their leaders, and more to describe the practices of mass repression employed by totalitarian states and their dictatorial leaders against their own citizens. Thus the term regained its former connotations of abuse of power by governments, and was applied specifically to the authoritarian regimes that had come to power in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. In Germany and Italy respectively, the accession to office of Hitler and Mussolini had depended in large measure on the `street' -- the mobilization and deployment of gangs of brown- or black-shifted thugs to harass and intimidate political opponents and root out other scapegoats for public vilification and further victimization. `Terror? Never,' Mussolini insisted, demurely dismissing such intimidation as `simply ... social hygiene, taking those individuals out of circulation like a doctor would take out a bacillus'. The most sinister dimension of this form of `terror' was that it became an intrinsic component of Fascist and Nazi governance, executed at the behest of, and in complete subservience to, the ruling political party of the land -- which had arrogated to itself complete, total control of the country and its people. A system of government-sanctioned fear and coercion was thus created whereby political brawls, street fights and widespread persecution of Jews, communists and other declared `enemies of the state' became the means through which complete and submissive compliance was ensured. The totality of party control over, and perversion of, government was perhaps most clearly evinced by a speech given by Hermann Goering, the newly appointed Prussian minister of the interior, in 1933. `Fellow Germans,' he declared,
My measures will not be crippled by any judicial thinking. My measures will not be crippled by any bureaucracy. Here I don't have to worry about Justice; my mission is only to destroy and exterminate, nothing more. This struggle will be a struggle against chaos, and such a struggle I shall not conduct with the power of the police. A bourgeois State might have done that. Certainly, I shall use the power of the State and the police to the utmost, my dear Communists, so don't draw any false conclusions; but the struggle to the death, in which my fist will grasp your necks, I shall lead with those there -- the Brown Shirts.
The `Great Terror' that Stalin was shortly to unleash in Russia both resembled and differed from that of the Nazis. On the one hand, drawing inspiration from Hitler's ruthless elimination of his own political opponents, the Russian dictator similarly transformed the political party he led into a servile instrument responsive directly to his personal will, and the state's police and security apparatus into slavish organs of coercion, enforcement and repression. But conditions in the Soviet Union of the 1930s bore little resemblance to the turbulent political, social and economic upheaval afflicting Germany and Italy during that decade and the previous one. On the other hand, therefore, unlike either the Nazis or the Fascists, who had emerged from the political free-for-alls in their own countries to seize power and then had to struggle to consolidate their rule and retain their unchallenged authority, the Russian Communist Party had by the mid-1930s been firmly entrenched in power for more than a decade. Stalin's purges, in contrast to those of the French Revolution, and even to Russia's own recent experience, were not `launched in time of crisis, or revolution and war ... [but] in the coldest of cold blood, when Russia had at last reached a comparatively calm and even moderately prosperous condition'. Thus the political purges ordered by Stalin became, in the words of one of his biographers, a `conspiracy to seize total power by terrorist action', resulting in the death, exile, imprisonment or forcible impressment of millions.
Certainly, similar forms of state-imposed or state-directed violence and terror against a government's own citizens continue today. The use of so-called `death squads' (often off-duty or plain-clothes security or police officers) in conjunction with blatant intimidation of political opponents, human rights and aid workers, student groups, labour organizers, journalists and others has been a prominent feature of the right-wing military dictatorships that took power in Argentina, Chile and Greece during the 1970s and even of elected governments in El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia and Peru since the mid-1980s. But these state-sanctioned or explicitly ordered acts of internal political violence directed mostly against domestic populations -- that is, rule by violence and intimidation by those already in power against their own citizenry -- are generally termed `terror' in order to distinguish that phenomenon from `terrorism', which is understood to be violence committed by non-state entities.
Following the Second World War, in another swing of the pendulum of meaning, `terrorism' regained the revolutionary connotations with which is it most commonly associated today. At that time, the term was used primarily in reference to the violent revolts then being prosecuted by the various indigenous nationalist/anti-colonialist groups that emerged in Asia, Africa and the Middle East during the late 1940s and 1950s to oppose continued European rule. Countries as diverse as Israel, Kenya, Cyprus and Algeria, for example, owe their independence at least in part to nationalist political movements that employed terrorism against colonial powers. It was also during this period that the `politically correct' appellation of `freedom fighters' came into fashion as a result of the political legitimacy that the international community (whose sympathy and support was actively courted by many of these movements) accorded to struggles for national liberation and self-determination. Many newly independent Third World countries and communist bloc states in particular adopted this vernacular, arguing that anyone or any movement that fought against `colonial' oppression and/or Western domination should not be described as `terrorists', but were properly deemed to be `freedom fighters'. This position was perhaps most famously explained by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Yassir Arafat, when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in November 1974. `The difference between the revolutionary and the terrorist,' Arafat stated, `lies in the reason for which each fights. For whoever stands by a just cause and fights for the freedom and liberation of his land from the invaders, the settlers and the colonialists, cannot possibly be called terrorist ...'
During the late 1960s and 1970s, terrorism continued to be viewed within a revolutionary context. However, this usage now expanded to include nationalist and ethnic separatist groups outside a colonial or neo-colonial framework as well as radical, entirely ideologically motivated organizations. Disenfranchised or exiled nationalist minorities -- such as the PLO, the Quebecois separatist group FLQ (Front de Liberation du Quebec), the Basque ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna, or Freedom for the Basque Homeland) and even a hitherto unknown South Moluccan irredentist group seeking independence from Indonesia -- adopted terrorism as a means to draw attention to themselves and their respective causes, in many instances with the specific aim, like their anti-colonial predecessors, of attracting international sympathy and support. Around the same time, various left-wing political extremists -- drawn mostly from the radical student organizations and Marxist/Leninist/Maoist movements in Western Europe, Latin America and the United States -- began to form terrorist groups opposing American intervention in Vietnam and what they claimed were the irredeemable social and economic inequities of the modern capitalist liberal-democratic state.
Although the revolutionary cum ethno-nationalist/separatist and ideological exemplars continue to shape our most basic understanding of the term, in recent years `terrorism' has been used to denote broader, less distinct phenomena. In the early 1980s, for example, terrorism came to be regarded as a calculated means to destabilize the West as part of a vast global conspiracy. Books like The Terror Network by Claire Sterling propagated the notion to a receptive American presidential administration and similarly susceptible governments elsewhere that the seemingly isolated terrorist incidents perpetrated by disparate groups scattered across the globe were in fact linked elements of a massive clandestine plot, orchestrated by the Kremlin and implemented by its Warsaw Pact client states, to destroy the Free World. By the middle of the decade, however, a series of suicide bombings directed mostly against American diplomatic and military targets in the Middle East was focusing attention on the rising threat of state-sponsored terrorism. Consequently, this phenomenon -- whereby various renegade foreign governments such as the regimes in Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria became actively involved in sponsoring or commissioning terrorist acts -- replaced communist conspiracy theories as the main context within which terrorism was viewed. Terrorism thus became associated with a type of covert or surrogate warfare whereby weaker states could confront larger, more powerful rivals without the risk of retribution.
In the early 1990s the meaning and usage of the term `terrorism' were further blurred by the emergence of two new buzzwords: `narco-terrorism' and the so-called `gray area phenomenon'. The former term revived the Moscow-orchestrated terrorism conspiracy theories of previous years while introducing the critical new dimension of narcotics trafficking. Thus `narco-terrorism' was defined by one of the concept's foremost propagators as the `use of drug trafficking to advance the objectives of certain governments and terrorist organizations' -- identified as the `Marxist-Leninist regimes' of the Soviet Union, Cuba, Bulgaria and Nicaragua, among others. The emphasis on `narco-terrorism' as the latest manifestation of the communist plot to undermine Western society, however, had the unfortunate effect of diverting official attention away from a bona fide emerging trend. To a greater extent than ever in the past, entirely criminal (that is, violent, economically motivated) organizations were now forging strategic alliances with terrorist and guerrilla organizations or themselves employing violence for specifically political ends. The growing power of the Colombian cocaine cartels, their close ties with left-wing terrorist groups in Colombia and Peru, and their repeated attempts to subvert Colombia's electoral process and undermine successive governments constitute perhaps the best-known example of this continuing trend.
Those who drew attention to this `gray area phenomenon' were concerned less with grand conspiracies than with highlighting the increasingly fluid and variable nature of subnational conflict in the post-Cold War era. Accordingly, in the 1990s terrorism began to be subsumed by some analysts within the `gray area phenomenon'. Thus the latter term came to be used to denote `threats to the stability of nation states by non-state actors and non-governmental processes and organizations'; to describe violence affecting `immense regions or urban areas where control has shifted from legitimate governments to new half-political, half-criminal powers'; or simply to group together in one category the range of conflicts across the world that no longer conformed to traditionally accepted notions of war as fighting between the armed forces of two or more established states, but instead involved irregular forces as one or more of the combatants. Terrorism had shifted its meaning again from an individual phenomenon of subnational violence to one of several elements, or part of a wider pattern, of non-state conflict.
Why is Terrorism so Difficult to Define?
Not surprisingly, as the meaning and usage of the word have changed over time to accommodate the political vernacular and discourse of each successive era, terrorism has proved increasingly elusive in the face of attempts to construct one consistent definition. At one time, the terrorists themselves were far more cooperative in this endeavour than they are today. The early practitioners didn't mince their words or hide behind the semantic camouflage of more anodyne labels such as `freedom fighter' or `urban guerrilla'. The nineteenth-century anarchists, for example, unabashedly proclaimed themselves to be terrorists and frankly proclaimed their tactics to be terrorism. The members of Narodnaya Volya similarly displayed no qualms in using these same words to describe themselves and their deeds. However, such frankness did not last. The Jewish terrorist group of the 1940s known as Lehi (the Hebrew acronym for Lohamei Herut Yisrael, the Freedom Fighters for Israel, more popularly known simply as the Stern Gang after their founder and first leader, Abraham Stern) is thought to be one of the last terrorist groups actually to describe itself publicly as such. It is significant, however, that even Lehi, while it may have been far more candid than its latter-day counterparts, chose as the name of the organization not `Terrorist Fighters for Israel', but the far less pejorative `Freedom Fighters for Israel'. Similarly, although more than twenty years later the Brazilian revolutionary Carlos Marighela displayed few compunctions about openly advocating the use of `terrorist' tactics, he still insisted on depicting himself and his disciples as `urban guerrillas' rather than `urban terrorists'. Indeed, it is clear from Marighela's writings that he was well aware of the word's undesirable connotations, and strove to displace them with positive resonances. `The words "aggressor" and "terrorist"', Marighela wrote in his famous Handbook of Urban Guerrilla War (also known as the `Mini-Manual'), `no longer mean what they did. Instead of arousing fear or censure, they are a call to action. To be called an aggressor or a terrorist in Brazil is now an honour to any citizen, for it means that he is fighting, with a gun in his hand, against the monstrosity of the present dictatorship and the suffering it causes.'
This trend towards ever more convoluted semantic obfuscations to side-step terrorism's pejorative overtones has, if anything, become more entrenched in recent decades. Terrorist organizations almost without exception now regularly select names for themselves that consciously eschew the word `terrorism' in any of its forms. Instead these groups actively seek to evoke images of:
* freedom and liberation (e.g. the National Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Freedom for the Basque Homeland, etc.);
* armies or other military organizational structures (e.g. the National Military Organization, the Popular Liberation Army, the Fifth Battalion of the Liberation Army, etc.);
* actual self-defence movements (e.g. the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, the Shankhill Defence Association, the Organization for the Defence of the Free People, the Jewish Defense Organization, etc.);
* righteous vengeance (the Organization for the Oppressed on Earth, the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide, the Palestinian Revenge Organization, etc.);
-- or else deliberately choose names that are decidedly neutral and therefore bereft of all but the most innocuous suggestions or associations (e.g. the Shining Path, Front Line, al-Dawa (`The Call'), Alfaro Lives -- Damn It!, Kach (`Thus'), al-Gamat al-Islamiya (`The Islamic Organization'), the Lantero Youth Movement, etc.).
What all these examples suggest is that terrorists clearly do not see or regard themselves as others do. `Above all I am a family man,' the arch-terrorist Carlos, `The Jackal', described himself to a French newspaper following his capture in 1994. Cast perpetually on the defensive and forced to take up arms to protect themselves and their real or imagined constituents only, terrorists perceive themselves as reluctant warriors, driven by desperation -- and lacking any viable alternative -- to violence against a repressive state, a predatory rival ethnic or nationalist group, or an unresponsive international order. This perceived characteristic of self-denial also distinguishes the terrorist from other types of political extremists as well as from persons similarly involved in illegal, violent avocations. A communist or a revolutionary, for example, would likely readily accept and admit that he is in fact a communist or a revolutionary. Indeed, many would doubtless take particular pride in claiming either of those appellations for themselves. Similarly, even a person engaged in illegal, wholly disreputable or entirely selfish violent activities, such as robbing banks or carrying out contract killings, would probably admit to being a bank robber or a murderer for hire. The terrorist, by contrast, will never acknowledge that he is a terrorist and moreover will go to great lengths to evade and obscure any such inference or connection. Terry Anderson, the American journalist who was held hostage for almost seven years by the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, relates a telling conversation he had with one of his guards. The guard had objected to a newspaper article that referred to Hezbollah as terrorists. `We are not terrorists,' he indignantly stated, `we are fighters. ` Anderson replied, `Hajj, you are a terrorist, look it up in the dictionary. You are a terrorist, you may not like the word and if you do not like the word, do not do it.' The terrorist will always argue that it is society or the government or the socio-economic `system' and its laws that are the real `terrorists', and moreover that if it were not for this oppression, he would not have felt the need to defend either himself or the population he claims to represent. Another revealing example of this process of obfuscation-projection may be found in the book Invisible Armies, written by Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, the spiritual leader of the Lebanese terrorist group responsible for Anderson's kidnapping. `We don't see ourselves as terrorists,' Fadlallah explains, `because we don't believe in terrorism. We don't see resisting the occupier as a terrorist action. We see ourselves as mujihadeen [holy warriors] who fight a Holy War for the people.'
On one point, at least, everyone agrees: terrorism is a pejorative term. It is a word with intrinsically negative connotations that is generally applied to one's enemies and opponents, or to those with whom one disagrees and would otherwise prefer to ignore. `What is called terrorism', Brian Jenkins has written, `thus seems to depend on one's point of view. Use of the term implies a moral judgement; and if one party can successfully attach the label terrorist to its opponent, then it has indirectly persuaded others to adopt its moral viewpoint.' Hence the decision to call someone or label some organization `terrorist' becomes almost unavoidably subjective, depending largely on whether one sympathizes with or opposes the person/group/cause concerned. If one identifies with the victim of the violence, for example, then the act is terrorism. If, however, one identifies with the perpetrator, the violent act is regarded in a more sympathetic, if not positive (or, at the worst, an ambivalent) light; and it is not terrorism.
The implications of this associational logic were perhaps most clearly demonstrated in the exchanges between Western and non-Western member states of the United Nations following the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, in which eleven Israeli athletes were killed. The debate began with the proposal by the then UN Secretary-General, Kurt Waldheim, that the UN should not remain a `mute spectator' to the acts of terrorist violence then occurring throughout the world but should take practical steps that might prevent further bloodshed. While a majority of the UN member states supported the Secretary-General, a disputatious minority -- including many Arab states and various African and Asian countries -- derailed the discussion, arguing (much as Arafat would do two years later in his own address to the General Assembly) that `people who struggle to liberate themselves from foreign oppression and exploitation have the right to use all methods at their disposal, including force'.
The Third World delegates justified their position with two arguments. First, they claimed that all bona fide liberation movements are invariably decried as `terrorists' by the regimes against which their struggles for freedom are directed. The Nazis, for example, labelled as terrorists the resistance groups opposing Germany's occupation of their lands, Moulaye el-Hassen, the Mauritanian ambassador, pointed out, just as `all liberation movements are described as terrorists by those who have reduced them to slavery'. Therefore, by condemning `terrorism' the UN was endorsing the power of the strong over the weak and of the established entity over its non-established challenger -- in effect, acting as the defender of the status quo. According to Chen Chu, the deputy representative of the People's Republic of China, the UN thus was proposing to deprive `oppressed nations and peoples' of the only effective weapon they had with which to oppose `imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism and Israeli Zionism'. Second, the Third World delegates argued forcefully that it is not the violence itself that is germane, but its `underlying causes': that is, the `misery, frustration, grievance and despair' that produce the violent acts. As the Mauritanian representative again explained, the term `terrorist' could `hardly be held to apply to persons who were denied the most elementary human rights, dignity, freedom and independence, and whose countries objected to foreign occupation'. When the issue was again raised the following year, Syria objected on the grounds that `the international community is under legal and moral obligation to promote the struggle for liberation and to resist any attempt to depict this struggle as synonymous with terrorism and illegitimate violence'. The resultant definitional paralysis subsequently throttled UN efforts to make any substantive progress on international cooperation against terrorism beyond very specific agreements on individual aspects of the problem (concerning, for example, diplomats and civil aviation).
The opposite approach, where identification with the victim determines the classification of a violent act as terrorism, is evident in the conclusions of a parliamentary working group of NATO (an organization comprised of long-established, status quo Western states). The final report of the 1989 North Atlantic Assembly's Subcommittee on Terrorism states: `Murder, kidnapping, arson and other felonious acts constitute criminal behavior, but many non-Western nations have proved reluctant to condemn as terrorist acts what they consider to be struggles of national liberation.' In this reasoning, the defining characteristic of terrorism is the act of violence itself, not the motivations or justification for or reasons behind it. This approach has long been espoused by analysts such as Jenkins who argue that terrorism should be defined `by the nature of the act, not by the identity of the perpetrators or the nature of their cause'. But this is not an entirely satisfactory solution either, since it fails to differentiate clearly between violence perpetrated by states and by non-state entities, such as terrorists. Accordingly, it plays into the hands of terrorists and their apologists who would argue that there is no difference between the `low-tech' terrorist pipe-bomb placed in the rubbish bin at a crowded market that wantonly and indiscriminately kills or maims everyone within a radius measured in tens of feet and the `high-tech' precision-guided ordnance dropped by air force fighter-bombers from a height of 20,000 feet or more that achieves the same wanton and indiscriminate effects on the crowded marketplace far below. This rationale thus equates the random violence inflicted on enemy population centres by military forces -- such as the Luftwaffe's raids on Warsaw and Coventry, the Allied fire-bombings of Dresden and Tokyo, and the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War, and indeed the countervalue strategy of the post-war superpowers' strategic nuclear policy, which deliberately targeted the enemy's civilian population -- with the violence committed by substate entities labelled 'terrorists', since both involve the infliction of death and injury on noncombatants. Indeed, this was precisely the point made during the above-mentioned UN debates by the Cuban representative, who argued that `the methods of combat used by national liberation movements could not be declared illegal while the policy of terrorism unleashed against certain peoples [by the armed forces of established states] was declared legitimate'.
It is a familiar argument. Terrorists, as we have seen, deliberately cloak themselves in the terminology of military jargon. They consciously portray themselves as bona fide (freedom) fighters, if not soldiers, who -- though they wear no identifying uniform or insignia -- are entitled to treatment as prisoners of war (POWs) if captured and therefore should not be prosecuted as common criminals in ordinary courts of law. Terrorists further argue that, because of their numerical inferiority, far more limited firepower and paucity of resources compared with an established nation-state's massive defence and national security apparatus, they have no choice but to operate clandestinely, emerging from the shadows to carry out dramatic (in other words, bloody and destructive) acts of hit-and-run violence in order to attract attention to, and ensure publicity for, themselves and their cause. The bomb-in-the-rubbish-bin, in their view, is merely a circumstantially imposed `poor man's air force': the only means with which the terrorist can challenge -- and get the attention of -- the more powerful state. `How else can we bring pressure to bear on the world?' one of Arafat's political aides once enquired. `The deaths are regrettable, but they are a fact of war in which innocents have become involved. They are no more innocent than the Palestinian women and children killed by the Israelis and we are ready to carry the war all over the world.
But rationalizations such as these ignore the fact that, even while national armed forces have been responsible for far more death and destruction than terrorists might ever aspire to bring about, there nonetheless is a fundamental qualitative difference between the two types of violence. Even in war there are rules and accepted norms of behaviour that prohibit the use of certain types of weapons (for example, hollow-point or `dum-dum' bullets, CS `tear' gas, chemical and biological warfare agents), proscribe various tactics and outlaw attacks on specific categories of targets. Accordingly, in theory, if not always in practice, the rules of war -- as observed from the early seventeenth century when they were first proposed by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius and subsequently codified in the famous Geneva and Hague Conventions on Warfare of the 1860s, 1899, 1907 and 1949 -- not only grant civilian noncombatants immunity from attack, but also
* prohibit taking civilians as hostages;
* impose regulations governing the treatment of captured or surrendered soldiers (POWs);
* outlaw reprisals against either civilians or POWs;
* recognize neutral territory and the rights of citizens of neutral states; and
* uphold the inviolability of diplomats and other accredited representatives.
Even the most cursory review of terrorist tactics and targets over the past quarter-century reveals that terrorists have violated all these rules. They not infrequently have
* taken hostage civilians, whom in some instances they have then brutally executed (e.g. the former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro and the German industrialist Hans Martin Schleyer, who were respectively taken captive and later murdered by the Red Brigades and the Red Army Faction);
* similarly abused and murdered kidnapped military officers -- even when they were serving on UN-sponsored peacekeeping or truce supervisory missions (e.g. the American Marine Lieutenant-Colonel William Higgins, the commander of a UN truce monitoring detachment, who was abducted by Lebanese Shi'a terrorists in 1989 and subsequently hanged);
* undertaken reprisals against wholly innocent civilians, often in countries far removed from the terrorists' ostensible `theatre of operation', thus disdaining any concept of neutral states or the rights of citizens of neutral countries (e.g. the brutal 1986 machine-gun and hand-grenade attack on Turkish Jewish worshippers at an Istanbul synagogue carried out by the Palestinian Abu Nidal Organization in retaliation for a recent Israeli raid on a guerrilla base in southern Lebanon); and
* repeatedly attacked embassies and other diplomatic installations (e.g. the bombings of the US embassies in Beirut and Kuwait City in 1983 and 1984, and the mass hostage-taking at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru, in 1996-7), as well as deliberately targeting diplomats and other accredited representatives (e.g. the British ambassador to Uruguay, Sir Geoffrey Jackson, who was kidnapped by leftist terrorists in that country in 1971, and the fifty-two American diplomats taken hostage at the Tehran legation in 1979).
Admittedly, the armed forces of established states have also been guilty of violating some of the same rules of war. However, when these transgressions do occur -- when civilians are deliberately and wantonly attacked in war or taken hostage and killed by military forces -- the term `war crime' is used to describe such acts and, imperfect and flawed as both international and national judicial remedies may be, steps nonetheless are often taken to hold the perpetrators accountable for these crimes. By comparison, one of the fundamental raisons d'etre of international terrorism is a refusal to be bound by such rules of warfare and codes of conduct. International terrorism disdains any concept of delimited areas of combat or demarcated battlefields, much less respect of neutral territory. Accordingly, terrorists have repeatedly taken their often parochial struggles to other, sometimes geographically distant, third party countries and there deliberately enmeshed persons completely unconnected with the terrorists' cause or grievances in violent incidents designed to generate attention and publicity.
The reporting of terrorism by the news media, which have been drawn into the semantic debates that divided the UN in the 1970s and continue to influence all discourse on terrorism, has further contributed to the obfuscation of the terrorist/'freedom fighter' debate, enshrining imprecision and implication as the lingua franca of political violence in the name of objectivity and neutrality. In striving to avoid appearing either partisan or judgemental, the American media, for example, resorted to describing terrorists -- often in the same report -- as variously guerrillas, gunmen, raiders, commandos and even soldiers. A random sample of American newspaper reports of Palestinian terrorist activities between June and December 1973, found in the terrorism archives and database maintained at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, provided striking illustrations of this practice. Out of eight headlines of articles describing the same incident, six used the word `guerrillas' and only two `terrorists' to describe the perpetrators. An interesting pattern was also observed whereby those accounts that immediately followed a particularly horrific or tragic incident -- that is, involving the death and injury of innocent persons (in this instance, the attack on a Pan Am airliner at Rome airport, in which thirty-two passengers were killed) -- tended to describe the perpetrators as `terrorists' and their act as `terrorism' (albeit in one case only in the headline, before reverting to the more neutral terminology of `commando', `militants', and `guerrilla attack' in the text) more frequently than did reports of less serious or non-lethal incidents. One New York Times leading article, however, was far less restrained than the stories describing the actual incident, describing it as `bloody' and `mindless' and using the words `terrorists' and `terrorism' interchangeably with `guerrillas' and `extremists'. Only six months previously, however, the same newspaper had run a story about another terrorist attack that completely eschewed the terms `terrorism' and `terrorist', preferring `guerrillas' and `resistance' (as in `resistance movement') instead. The Christian Science Monitor's reports of the Rome Pan Am attack similarly avoided `terrorist' and `terrorism' in favour of `guerrillas' and `extremists'; an Associated Press story in the next day's Los Angeles Times also stuck with `guerrillas', while the two Washington Post articles on the same incident opted for the terms `commandos' and `guerrillas'.
This slavish devotion to terminological neutrality, which David Rapoport first observed over twenty years ago, is still in evidence today. A recent article appearing in the International Herald Tribune (a Paris-based newspaper published in conjunction with the New York Times and Washington Post) reported an incident in Algeria where thirty persons had been killed by perpetrators who were variously described as `terrorists' in the article's headline, less judgementally as `extremists' in the lead paragraph and as the still more ambiguous `Islamic fundamentalists' in the article's third paragraph. In a country that since 1992 has been afflicted with an unrelenting wave of terrorist violence and bloodshed that has claimed the lives of an estimated 75,000 persons, one might think that the distinctions between `terrorists', mere `extremists' and ordinary `fundamentalists' would be clearer. Equally interesting was the article that appeared on the opposite side of the same page of the newspaper that described the `decades of sporadic guerrilla [my emphasis] warfare by the IRA' in Northern Ireland. Yet fifty years ago the same newspaper apparently had fewer qualms about using the word `terrorists' to describe the two young Jewish men in pre-independence Israel who, while awaiting execution after having been convicted of attacking British military targets, committed suicide. Other press accounts of the same period in The Times of London and the Palestine Post similarly had no difficulties, for example, in describing the 1946 bombing by Jewish terrorists of the British military headquarters and government secretariat located in Jerusalem's King David Hotel as a `terrorist' act perpetrated by `terrorists'. Similarly, in perhaps the most specific application of the term, the communist terrorists against whom the British fought in Malaya throughout the late 1940s and 1950s were routinely referred to as `CTs' -- for `Communist terrorists'. As Rapoport warned in the 1970s, `In attempting to correct the abuse of language for political purposes, our journalists may succeed in making language altogether worthless.'
The cumulative effect of this proclivity towards equivocation is that today there is no one widely accepted or agreed definition for terrorism. Different departments or agencies of even the same government will themselves often have very different definitions for terrorism. The US State Department, for example, uses the definition of terrorism contained in Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f(d):
premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience,
while the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as
the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives,
and the US Department of Defense defines it as
the unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives.
Not surprisingly, each of the above definitions reflects the priorities and particular interests of the specific agency involved. The State Department's emphasis is on the premeditated and planned or calculated nature of terrorism in contrast to more spontaneous acts of political violence. Its definition is also the only one of the three to emphasize both the ineluctably political nature of terrorism and the perpetrators' fundamental `subnational' characteristic. The State Department definition, however, is conspicuously deficient in failing to consider the psychological dimension of terrorism. Terrorism is as much about the threat of violence as the violent act itself and, accordingly, is deliberately conceived to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the actual target of the act among a wider, watching, `target' audience. As Jenkins succinctly observed two decades ago, `Terrorism is theatre.'
Given the FBI's mission of investigating and solving crimes -- both political (e.g. terrorism) and other -- it is not surprising that its definition focuses on different elements. Unlike the State Department, this definition does address the psychological dimensions of the terrorist act described above, laying stress on terrorism's intimidatory and coercive aspects. The FBI definition also identifies a much broader category of terrorist targets than only `noncombatants', specifying not only governments and their citizens, but also inanimate objects, such as private and public property. The FBI definition further recognizes social alongside political objectives as fundamental terrorist aims -- though it offers no clearer elucidation of either.
The Department of Defense definition of terrorism is arguably the most complete of the three. It highlights the terrorist threat as much as the actual act of violence and focuses on terrorism's targeting of whole societies as well as governments. The Defense Department definition further cites the religious and ideological aims of terrorism alongside its fundamental political objectives -- but curiously omits the social dimension found in the FBI's definition.
It is not only individual agencies within the same governmental apparatus that cannot agree on a single definition of terrorism. Experts and other long-established scholars in the field are equally incapable of reaching a consensus. In the first edition of his magisterial survey, Political Terrorism: A Research Guide, Alex Schmid devoted more than a hundred pages to examining more than a hundred different definitions of terrorism in an effort to discover a broadly acceptable, reasonably comprehensive explication of the word. Four years and a second edition later, Schmid was no closer to the goal of his quest, conceding in the first sentence of the revised volume that the `search for an adequate definition is still on'. Walter Laqueur despaired of defining terrorism in both editions of his monumental work on the subject, maintaining that it is neither possible to do so nor worthwhile to make the attempt. `Ten years of debates on typologies and definitions', he responded to a survey on definitions conducted by Schmid, `have not enhanced our knowledge of the subject to a significant degree.' Laqueur's contention is supported by the twenty-two different word categories occurring in the 109 different definitions that Schmid identified in his survey (see Table 1 overleaf).
At the end of this exhaustive exercise, Schmid asks `whether the above list contains all the elements necessary for a good definition. The answer', he suggests, `is probably "no".' If it is impossible to define terrorism, as Laqueur argues, and fruitless to attempt to cobble together a truly comprehensive definition, as Schmid admits, are we to conclude that terrorism is impervious to precise, much less accurate definition? Not entirely. If we cannot define terrorism, then we can at least usefully distinguish it from other types of violence and identify the characteristics that make terrorism the distinct phenomenon of political violence that it is.
Distinctions as a Path to Definition
Guerrilla warfare is a good place to start. Terrorism is often confused or equated with, or treated as synonymous with, guerrilla warfare. This is not entirely surprising, since guerrillas often employ the same tactics (assassination, kidnapping, bombings of public gathering-places, hostage-taking, etc.) for the same purposes (to intimidate or coerce, thereby affecting behaviour through the arousal of fear) as terrorists. In addition, both terrorists and guerrillas wear neither uniform nor identifying insignia and thus are often indistinguishable from noncombatants. However, despite the inclination to lump both terrorists and guerrillas into the same catch-all category of `irregulars', there are nonetheless fundamental differences between the two. `Guerrilla', for example, in its most widely accepted usage, is taken to refer to a numerically larger group of armed individuals, who operate as a military unit, attack enemy military forces, and seize and hold territory (even if only ephemerally during daylight hours), while also exercising some form of sovereignty or control over a defined geographical area and its population. Terrorists, however, do not function in the open as armed units, generally do not attempt to seize or hold territory, deliberately avoid engaging enemy military forces in combat and rarely exercise any direct control or sovereignty either over territory or population.
It is also useful to distinguish terrorists from ordinary criminals. Like terrorists, criminals use violence as a means to attaining a specific end. However, while the violent act itself may be similar -- kidnapping, shooting, arson, for example -- the purpose or motivation clearly is not. Whether the criminal employs violence as a means to obtain money, to acquire material goods, or to kill or injure a specific victim for pay, he is acting primarily for selfish, personal motivations (usually material gain). Moreover, unlike terrorism, the ordinary criminal's violent act is not designed or intended to have consequences or create psychological repercussions beyond the act itself. The criminal may of course use some short-term act of violence to `terrorize' his victim, such as waving a gun in the face of a bank clerk during a robbery in order to ensure the clerk's expeditious compliance. In these instances, however, the bank robber is conveying no `message' (political or otherwise) through his act of violence beyond facilitating the rapid handing over of his `loot'. The criminal's act therefore is not meant to have any effect reaching beyond either the incident itself or the immediate victim. Further, the violence is neither conceived nor intended to convey any message to anyone other than the bank clerk himself, whose rapid cooperation is the robber's only objective. Perhaps most fundamentally, the criminal is not concerned with influencing or affecting public opinion: he simply wants to abscond with his money or accomplish his mercenary task in the quickest and easiest way possible so that he may reap his reward and enjoy the fruits of his labours. By contrast, the fundamental aim of the terrorist's violence is ultimately to change `the system' -- about which the ordinary criminal, of course, couldn't care less.
The terrorist is also very different from the lunatic assassin, who may use identical tactics (e.g. shooting, bombing) and perhaps even seeks the same objective (e.g. the death of a political figure). However, while the tactics and targets of terrorists and lone assassins are often identical, their purpose is not. Whereas the terrorist's goal is again ineluctably political (to change or fundamentally alter a political system through his violent act), the lunatic assassin's goal is more often intrinsically idiosyncratic, completely egocentric and deeply personal. John Hinckley, who tried to kill President Reagan in 1981 to impress the actress Jodie Foster, is a case in point. He acted not from political motivation or ideological conviction but to fulfil some profound personal quest (killing the president to impress his screen idol). Such entirely apolitical motivations can in no way be compared to the rationalizations used by the Narodnaya Volya to justify its campaign of tyrannicide against the tsar and his minions, nor even to the Irish Republican Army's efforts to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher or her successor, John Major, in hopes of dramatically changing British policy towards Northern Ireland. Further, just as one person cannot credibly claim to be a political party, so a lone individual cannot be considered to constitute a terrorist group. In this respect, even though Sirhan Sirhan's assassination of presidential candidate and US Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968 had a political motive (to protest against US support for Israel), it is debatable whether the murder should be defined as a terrorist act since Sirhan belonged to no organized political group and acted entirely on his own, out of deep personal frustration and a profound animus that few others shared. To qualify as terrorism, violence must be perpetrated by some organizational entity with at least some conspiratorial structure and identifiable chain of command beyond a single individual acting on his or her own.
Finally, the point should be emphasized that, unlike the ordinary criminal or the lunatic assassin, the terrorist is not pursuing purely egocentric goals -- he is not driven by the wish to line his own pocket or satisfy some personal need or grievance. The terrorist is fundamentally an altruist: he believes that he is serving a `good' cause designed to achieve a greater good for a wider constituency -- whether real or imagined -- which the terrorist and his organization purport to represent. The criminal, by comparison, serves no cause at all, just his own personal aggrandizement and material satiation. Indeed, a `terrorist without a cause (at least in his own mind)', Konrad Kellen has argued, `is not a terrorist'. Yet the possession or identification of a cause is not a sufficient criterion for labelling someone a terrorist. In this key respect, the difference between terrorists and political extremists is clear. Many persons, of course, harbour all sorts of radical and extreme beliefs and opinions, and many of them belong to radical or even illegal or proscribed political organizations. However, if they do not use violence in the pursuance of their beliefs, they cannot be considered terrorists. The terrorist is fundamentally a violent intellectual, prepared to use and indeed committed to using force in the attainment of his goals.
By distinguishing terrorists from other types of criminals and terrorism from other forms of crime, we come to appreciate that terrorism is
* ineluctably political in aims and motives;
* violent -- or, equally important, threatens violence;
* designed to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim or target;
* conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia); and
* perpetrated by a subnational group or non-state entity.
We may therefore now attempt to define terrorism as the deliberate creation and exploitation of fear through violence or the threat of violence in the pursuit of political change. All terrorist acts involve violence or the threat of violence. Terrorism is specifically designed to have far-reaching psychological effects beyond the immediate victim(s) or object of the terrorist attack. It is meant to instil fear within, and thereby intimidate, a wider `target audience' that might include a rival ethnic or religious group, an entire country, a national government or political party, or public opinion in general. Terrorism is designed to create power where there is none or to consolidate power where there is very little. Through the publicity generated by their violence, terrorists seek to obtain the leverage, influence and power they otherwise lack to effect political change on either a local or an international scale.
(C) 1998 Bruce Hoffman All rights reserved. ISBN: 0-231-11468-0
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TERRORISM
Although the terrors of war and criminal violence have been known since the dawn of human existence, the concept of terrorism as a form of political violence originated in le terreur of the French Revolution . Initially a word for the brutal excesses of a revolutionary government (some forty thousand persons were guillotined), by the late nineteenth century "terrorism" referred almost exclusively to the antigovernment violence of groups such as the Russian Narodnaya Volya ("Will of the People"). Since then, the designation of particular groups and actions as terrorist has varied with political assumptions and aims.
To defenders of government, almost any violence by opponents may be defined as terrorism. To opponents, virtually any governmental effort to restrain or repress opposition may be defined as terrorism. Whether "oppositional" or "state" terrorism, the distinction itself is embedded in a snarl of issues raised by the intersection of ideological and analytical concerns.
Defining terrorism
After noting that more than one hundred definitions have been offered, Laqueur (1999) concludes that the only generally accepted characteristic of terrorism is that it involves violence or the threat of violence. Nonetheless, most observers also include political motivation and some notion of an organization that accepts and fosters violence as a political tactic.
Political motivation may vary from a scarcely articulate resentment of felt obstructions and sensed antagonists to a highly developed consciousness and analysis of political relationships. Mob violence against despised racial or ethnic groups typically has no specific political rationale and goals, despite the tendency of politicians and media commentators to impute responsibility for such violence to agitators and conspirators. At a somewhat higher level of political consciousness are planned attacks by individuals aroused by ideological messages warning them of some threat (e.g., extinction of the white race, loss of national sovereignty, environmental catastrophe, economic ruin) and blaming it on some population (e.g., Jews , Arabs, nonwhites, whites) or institution (e.g., the American "Zionist Occupation Government," the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund). Revolutionary strategists such as Che Guevara and Carlos Marighela, as well as counterrevolutionary strategists such as East Germany's Markus Wolff and Argentina 's General Augusto Pinochet, exemplify the application of reason to planning and justifying the systematic use of terrorism and other forms of violence for political ends. Whether in the revolutionists' manuals of guerrilla warfare and bomb-making or the counterrevolutionists' manuals of "low intensity warfare" and antiterrorist operations, the rationales for violence are derived from quite explicit (though sometimes bizarre) understandings of the historical and social dimensions of the conflict situation.
Whether individuals acting on their own initiative may be terrorists depends on how one defines political organization. Wardlaw is one of the few analysts to allow for the possibility of a lone terrorist who uses or threatens violence to coerce a target group, beyond the immediate victims, into acceding to political demands. Theodore Kaczinski (the Unabomber) might be seen as an example. However, the Unabomber acted in awareness that a great many people agreed or sympathized with his views on the environmental threats posed by corporate greed aided and abetted by irresponsible scientific research and governmental corruption. Similarly, the fugitive Eric Robert Rudolph, wanted for abortion clinic bombings as well as for the Atlanta Olympics bombing, acted with at least the tacit (and probably some material) support of antiabortion and antigovernment extremists. That their views were drawn from or coincided with the ideologies of terrorist organizations (ranging from Earth First and the May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO) to Aryan Nations and The Order) indicates that they acted in an organizational context, from which they drew inspiration, orientation, and justification.
The notion of organizational context implies that terrorists may be more or less loosely organized, and that particular organizations may be indirectly as well as directly responsible for terrorist incidents. For instance, while the Saudi Arabian exile Osama bin Ladan cannot possibly be directly responsible for every attack by Islamic fundamentalists, his ideological and financial support for their cause encourages terrorism far beyond the operations of his own organization. Indeed, bin Ladan's organization appears to be more accurately described as a network of quasi-independent militant groups who benefit from his capacity to provide inspirational leadership and logistical support.
So far we have observed that terrorism is politically motivated violence for which organizations are directly or indirectly responsible. What remains to be settled is just how terrorism differs from other political violence. To begin, no definition of terrorism has included rioting, civil war, revolution, or international war, though analysts have agreed that terrorist incidents may occur in conjunction with or as a part of such violence. The consensus is that terrorist violence is more organized and deliberate than rioting, lesser in organization and scale than war. And though guerrillas are often pictured as terrorists by their government opponents (e.g., the Zapatista rebels in Mexico), guerrilla resistance to governmental forces does not necessarily involve terrorist acts.
Differentiating assassination and terrorism is more problematic. Ben-Yehuda argues strongly that terrorism must be distinguished from assassination, but has been unable to pin down the exact nature of the presumed differences. He suggests that terrorism is indiscriminate killing aimed at a general target while assassination targets specific individuals, but is admittedly unable to maintain the distinction in his own case analyses (pp. 38, 46–47). As the number of victims rises, observers appear to be increasingly likely to describe the incident as terrorism rather than assassination. And insofar as "innocents" such as children, café patrons, and passing motorists are victims, the violence is more likely to be viewed as terrorism. But the difficulty is that deliberate attacks on specific individuals because of their political importance may harm people who just happen to be in the line of fire or nearby when the bomb explodes. Moreover, "innocents" may be victimized by assassins not only accidentally but sometimes deliberately—for example, to eliminate witnesses, distract pursuers, or intimidate bystanders.
Perhaps the best working solution is to accept Ben-Yehuda's general point: that assassination is targeted at specific persons even though others may be harmed, while terrorism is characterized by essentially random targeting. Both aim at maximum political impact, but differ in the rationale for target selection: the assassin believes that killing one or more specific persons will be effective in weakening the will of the opposition; the terrorist believes that the randomness of victimization—especially if casualties are maximized—will be effective, particularly by spreading the perceived risks of victimization.
To summarize, terrorism is defined as politically motivated violence, for which organizations are directly or indirectly responsible, that is intended to weaken the will of the opposition by using random targeting to spread the fear of victimization.
Terrorism and law
There is no established legal definition of terrorism. Internationally, efforts within and outside the United Nations have failed in the face of widely divergent perceptions of what constitutes terrorism and who are terrorists. In 1972 the General Assembly formed an Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism that met for seven years. There were prolonged debates on whether it is necessary or possible to reach a definition (Higgins). Moreover, it became clear that terrorism cannot be defined in terms of specified acts, targets, purposes, or actors. For instance, the shooting of a high official by an individual may be motivated by personal jealousy or envy; a plane may be destroyed in a plot to collect insurance; a diplomat may be kidnapped to force payment of a ransom. Beyond the apparent technical impossibility of defining terrorism as a distinct criminal offense, international rivalries make it politically impossible.
Probably the most intractable political issues have been whether a legal definition should or can include (1) violent actions by a state, and (2) violent resistance to internal or foreign oppression. On the question of state terrorism, governments have adamantly rejected any legal definition that might apply to their own acts of violence against external or internal enemies. On the second issue, governments have sharply disagreed on whether the concept of terrorism might extend to violence on behalf of such causes as "national liberation" from colonial rule or imperial domination, "progressive" opposition to capitalism, resistance to "cultural genocide," or impeding "assaults on the environment." The outcome has been a consensus to abandon the quest for a legal definition of terrorism in favor of a piecemeal strategy: the ad hoc prohibition of carefully delimited acts against specified targets such as skyjacking commercial airliners.
Apart from the United Nations, there have been other multinational attempts to establish a legal basis for cooperation against oppositional (including state-sponsored) terrorism. Most such efforts involve operational agreements among states to help one another in such ways as sharing intelligence, apprehending and extraditing suspects, and joint training of special police and military units. The most ambitious such arrangement is the 1992 agreement (the Maastricht "third pillar") institutionalizing cooperation among the twelve members of the European Union in combating "terrorism, drug trafficking, and serious organized crime" (Chalk, p. 3). The treaty commits the members to eliminating internal border controls, while leaving the definition of terrorism to the discretion of the operational executive (the "K4 Committee"). Given the greater freedom of movement and the lack of oversight by either national parliaments or elected EU institutions, there is some concern that Western Europe is becoming more vulnerable to terrorism while at the same time weakening democratic legal controls over antiterrorism policy decisions (Chalk).
Within the United States , the legal status of terrorism is similarly unsettled. Although it is the subject of a growing stream of congressional committee hearings, presidential statements, and reports from the cabinet level down through the complex of intelligence and investigative agencies, terrorism is as much a term of convenience in American legal discourse as it is in international law. A statutory definition is found in the United States Code, Section 2656f(d): "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetuated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience." However, it is used by the State Department as a guideline for compiling incidence reports, but not by either the Defense Department or the F.B.I., which have their own definitions reflecting the differences in agency priorities and interests (Hoffman, pp. 37–38). Though crimes of violence believed to be politically motivated are given the highest investigative priority, the F.B.I. emphasizes specific criminal conduct in developing evidence on which charges are based. Accused persons are indicted not for terrorism but for "a plethora of traditional and, occasionally, exotic criminal offenses" (Smith, p. 7). Two sets of guidelines have been issued by the Attorney General: domestic terrorism investigations are conducted under explicit public guidelines, "foreign-based" terrorism investigations under classified guidelines allowing greater leeway. Increased federal powers (including controversial restrictions on habeas corpus) to deal with both domestic and foreign terrorism were provided in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (Kappler). It is increasingly clear that although political motivation is typically avoided as an element in the prosecution of terrorists, conviction does result in significantly longer sentences (averaging 167 months) than for comparable conventional offenders (averaging 46 months)–with identification as "terrorist" being the most powerful predictor of sentence severity (Smith and Damphousse).
Because of their openness and commitment to the rule of law, democracies are indeed more likely than dictatorships to suffer terrorist attacks, and tend under attack to increase police discretionary powers. (For the classic review of the issues, see Wilkinson.) It appears highly unlikely that democratic institutions can be protected from oppositional terrorism without sacrificing, at least temporarily, some freedoms. Whether and how far antiterrorism measures can proceed without themselves contributing to the permanent weakening of democracy is the subject of continuing debate.
Explaining terrorism
Research aimed at explaining terrorism has focused on the psychological characteristics of individual terrorists, the nature of terrorist organizations, and the social or cultural environments in which terrorist organizations emerge.
The psychology of terrorists. In a useful summation of the literature, Ross has identified seven psychological approaches that have been used in efforts to understand terrorists: psychoanalytical, learning, frustration-aggression, narcissism-aggression, trait, developmental, and motivational/rational choice. Finding some merit in each, though none is satisfactory in itself, he proposes an integration of their key features in a model consisting of five "etiological features of terrorism listed in increasing order of importance" (p. 182). First: the development of facilitating traits, with the most often reported being fear, hostility, depression, guilt, antiauthoritarianism, perceived lack of manliness, self-centeredness, extreme extroversion, need for high risks or stress, and alienation. Second: frustration or narcissistic rage resulting in aggressive behavior. Third: associational drives arising from social marginality and isolation. Fourth: learning opportunities to which members of terrorist organizations are exposed, through which orientations and behaviors are shaped. Fifth: cost-benefit calculations by which terrorist acts are justified as the only or most effective means to achieve political goals.
To his credit, Ross argues that these psychological factors constitute a process inclining, though not determining, an individual to become a terrorist. Further, he embeds the psychological model in a larger model of historical and structural factors that define the contexts, either facilitating or inhibiting, in which the processes operate. The full model incorporating both psychological and structural factors summarizes numerous hypotheses about causal paths. This is an ambitious and commendable effort to organize all that has been learned about terrorists and terrorism, as the basis for further research. However, the vast body of research on which it is based is extremely uneven in quality, in terms of both conceptual and methodological rigor. In particular, the psychological studies have generally ignored the political and ideological clashes in which terrorists and terrorism are defined. The assumption of psychopathology has dominated the field of terrorist research, and the measurement of psychological variables has been characterized by low reliability and dubious validity.
The potential value of psychological studies of individual terrorists appears to be quite limited at best. Perhaps the most promising line of inquiry is to follow Crenshaw's lead in recognizing that terrorist behavior is a matter of strategic choice. In Hoffman's words, the "terrorist is fundamentally a violent intellectual, prepared to use and indeed committed to using force in the attainment of his goals" (p. 43). Whatever one thinks of the content and implications of terrorist reasoning, it is clear that terrorists do base their decisions on what they know, or believe they know, about the realities of the political situations in which they operate. That their knowledge and the conclusions to which it leads may be mistaken or even bizarre in the eyes of outsiders is a function not of psychopathology but instead of the information and analyses to which they have access. Among the most important determinants of what terrorists can know and believe are the organizations to which they belong, or at least from which they receive inspiration and direction.
The nature of terrorist organizations. Terrorist organizations vary from the classic secret "cell" structure to loosely defined networks of persons with essentially the same political ideology who have adopted terrorist tactics. Examples of tightly organized (and extensively researched) groups are the Irish Republican Army, the Italian Red Brigade, the German Baader-Meinhof Group (Red Army Fraction), and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN). There are fewer examples of terrorist networks, and less has been written about them, partly because they have proven to be more difficult to locate and study and partly because the shift toward less tightly knit and identifiable organizations is a relatively recent development. (Debates in the 1960s–1980s era over the existence of a worldwide terrorist network dominated by the former USSR were driven by cold war politics rather than any real evidence.) Perhaps the prototypical network internationally is that associated with Osama bin Ladan, widely considered ultimately responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York , the 1996 destruction of an American military housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia , and the 2000 attack on the U. S. S. Cole while berthed for refueling at Aden, Yemen .
Within the United States, there is an emerging network of right-wing terrorists, many of whom are sometime members of an assortment of militias, secessionist communities, white supremacy organizations, and morality movements, most of them adherents to some variant of Christian Identity ideology. The main impetus for shifting to more loosely organized domestic terrorism is the success of the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies in obtaining criminal convictions of leaders and members of such organizations as the Ku Klux Klan and Richard Butler's Aryan Nations, which have also been bankrupted by civil suits. To date, the most deadly incident linked to the rightist network is the 1995 bombing of the Murrah federal office building in Oklahoma City (in which 168 people died) by Timothy McVeigh, with help from a few associates and at least tacit approval of many others.
Becoming a terrorist appears to be a "process of radicalization" (Turk) in which politically aware individuals move through blurred and overlapping stages of alienation, searching, recruitment, commitment, and action. Whether a particular individual will in fact become a terrorist cannot be predicted because of the myriad factors affecting the transitions at every point. One of the few safe generalizations is that the many who begin the process become a relative few by its end. And it should be kept in mind that what is known about the radicalization process is based almost entirely on studies of "cell" organizations.
The trajectory begins with a vaguely disturbing sense that "our" kind of people and values are threatened, combined with the assumption that one can "do something about it." This level of political consciousness tends to reflect the individual's perceptions of social divisions and conflicts, with the most common being those associated with class, ethnic, racial, nationalist, and ideological distinctions. Accordingly, it is very likely that a particular group will be seen as the threat which needs to be countered. Conventional political activities such as helping in elections and signing petitions may result in perceived failures to improve the situation. Repeated experiences of political failure lead to frustration with conventional politics: the resentment of threatening others is now heightened by alienation from "the system."
Searching for alternatives may take the alienated individual through a range of ideological and organizational possibilities. Reading, listening to speeches and debates, going to meetings, arguing with others: the search may lead from one version of truth to another, from one group to another, in what some searchers find a confusing odyssey that they wish to end in a clear resolution. They feel the need to believe and do "something." Some of the options will at least raise the issue of whether and when it is right to use violence to further political objectives. And some will offer convincing justifications for violence. Whatever the form of violence advocated or encouraged, eventually the killing of opponents will be the key issue in deciding how serious are one's political concerns. Taking up the gun or bomb is at this point the test of commitment.
The searcher will by now probably have been noticed by those already committed to terrorism. Whether the individual will become a terrorist is problematic, as terrorist organizations screen out the great majority of potential recruits. Regardless of their fervor, individuals seen as lacking the potential for total commitment and disciplined action will not be recruited. Those who are selected will have to "cross the bridge" to be accepted as members of the terrorist organization, which usually means they will be given the assignment of murdering a police officer or committing some other deadly act. The test serves both to confirm the recruit's willingness and ability to carry out an act of illegal violence and to give the organization the power to turn the offender over to the authorities if necessary—for example, in the event of a refusal to obey orders or a future change of heart.
Commitment is ensured by a strict regimen of internal discipline combining isolation, blackmail, coercion, and indoctrination. Physical and social isolation is accomplished by persuading or forcing the individual to cut off ties to family, friends, and anyone else outside the organization. In rare instances, a contact may be authorized, usually in order to obtain funds, supplies, information, target access, or something else of use to the organization. Movements from place to place are tightly controlled. Members are required to turn over all financial and other personal assets to the organization. Blackmail is a constant threat should the member become seriously troublesome. More often, members who are thought to be weakening in their commitment or to be insubordinate, careless about security, or losing their nerve are punished by beatings, confinement, deprivation of food or other amenities, torture, rape, or murder.
While the elements of isolation, blackmail, and coercion place the individual terrorist in a highly vulnerable controlled environment, real commitment is achieved by indoctrination. Access to unauthorized sources of information is prohibited, exposure to authorized sources is required. Increasingly, the terrorist develops a perspective shaped only by the organization's ideology. Factual assertions cannot be checked, explanations cannot be tested, assumptions and implications cannot be debated. Dissensus becomes an impossibility as well as an offense within the organization. Not surprisingly, the world view promoted by indoctrination typically exaggerates the salience and resources of the organization and the effectiveness of its actions. The major themes are that the cause is just, the organization's power is growing, the struggle is the foremost political reality for opponents as it is for the terrorists, the opposition is weakening, and victory is assured.
The end product of the radicalization process is a dedicated terrorist, whose convictions are nonetheless real even though based as much on isolation and lack of knowledge as much as on collegial support and knowledge of political realities. To the terrorist, responsibility for terrorism and its casualties lies with the opposition, whose threats and intransigence have forced adoption of the terrorist option. The struggle is not a "fantasy war" but a real one.
Environments of terrorism. Excepting the most ruthless dictatorships, terrorist organizations have emerged in virtually every kind of society: democratic and authoritarian, developed and developing, ethnically or racially diverse and homogeneous societies. The diversity of social and cultural environments of terrorism has, so far anyway, defeated efforts to explain terrorism by pointing to class, racial, or other social inequalities; economic exploitation or decline; political oppression; demographic imbalances; or other social structural factors. (For exhaustive reviews of general theories of terrorism and other forms of political violence, see Schmid and Jongman, and Zimmermann.) If theories focused on political and economic factors have achieved little, their failure has at a minimum encouraged the questioning of the common assumption that violence is a political abnormality somehow caused by political and/or economic inequities. That violence may well be not just a potential aberration but an ever-present option in political conflicts is suggested by Laqueur's observation that terrorist organizations usually arise from "a split between the moderate and the more extreme wings of an already-existing organization" (p. 104).
A far more promising path to explanation is suggested by the increasing significance of religious elements, and the declining importance of secular materialist notions of class and power struggles, in the ideologies of terrorism. Juergensmeyer has in a monumental study opened up the implications of this historic shift, demonstrating that the meaningfulness of their struggle for most contemporary terrorists derives from religious traditions and innovations (seldom acknowledged as such) that constitute, or are compatible with, "cultures of violence" (pp. 10–12). The thesis is developed through case studies of "social groupings" (encompassing huge and small networks as well as tight organizations) whose ideologies express themes found in five major religious traditions: Christianity , Judaism , Islam , Sikhism, and Buddhism .
In each case it is shown that the terrorist ideology cannot be cavalierly dismissed as simply a distortion or deviation. Christian antiabortionists such as Michael Bray justify the bombing of clinics and the murder of surgeons by complex theological arguments against killing the innocent and for establishing a new moral order. Yoel Lerner's 1995 assassination of Israel's prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was justified by Rabbi Meir Kahane as a religious act to ensure the survival of the state of Israel, which is the essential fore-runner of the biblical Israel to be fulfilled through divine redemption (the coming of the Messiah ). The World Trade Center bombing and other violence against the United States and its allies is defended by invoking the Koran 's prescription of violence to defend the faith against its enemies, including whoever threatens the material and cultural survival of the faithful. Sikh terrorism in India and abroad is similarly justified by such leaders as Simranjit Singh Mann as protecting the faith from the corrosive effects of secularism and Hinduization. And despite Buddhism's pacifist teachings, Shoko Asahara found justification for releasing sarin gas in the Tokyo subway in traditional Buddhist teachings that the rule of nonviolence can be broken when five conditions are satisfied: "something living must have been killed; the killer must have known that it was alive; the killer must have intended to kill it; an actual act of killing must have taken place; and the person or animal attacked must, in fact, have died" (Juergensmeyer, p. 113). Force may be used to defend the faith and to establish a peaceful moral order.
In each case, religious ideas provide an explanation of the believer's sense of loss and threat in this world; define in cosmic terms the need to struggle against those responsible; and give the believer's life a wonderful new significance as a holy warrior in a just cause. Doubt, confusion, and hopelessness are overcome by a transcendent truth that makes sense of what for many have been "real experiences of economic destitution, social oppression, political corruption, and a desperate need for the hope of rising above the limitations of modern life" (Juergensmeyer, p. 242). Increasingly, the religious ideologies driving terrorist movements resonate with widely held feelings that the secularism of the modern world order is threatening the nonmaterial values (family, morality, faith, caring, sharing) on which human societies depend for meaning and survival.
Three conclusions are drawn from reviewing efforts to explain terrorism. First, terrorists are not psychologically much different from the rest of us. Second, their organizations are shifting toward looser networks rather than the tight hierarchies of the past. Third, the environments inspiring terrorism are increasingly cultural, and specifically religious. The implications for the future appear to be grim.
The future of terrorism
Because individual terrorists and their organizations are becoming harder to keep track of, and given the difficulties of identifying terrorists and terrorism in the first place, the policy assumptions of the past are likely to be counterproductive in the future. Containment, in particular, does not seem to be a promising strategy when the ease of travel and communication are helping to make anachronisms of international borders. Similarly, efforts to control investments and limit technology transfers appear to be not only failing but also aggravating the fears of people around the globe who distrust the motives of multinational economic and political entities. The 2000 demonstrations in Seattle and elsewhere against the International Monetary Fund are harbingers of what we can expect as the development-investment programs of the Western power centers sharpen the great differences between those favored by the programs and those disadvantaged by them.
The "new terrorism" of religiously dedicated holy warriors is less vulnerable to being deterred by military and law enforcement threats. Indeed, the use of violence has not only failed to diminish international and domestic terrorism but also provided the ideologists of terrorism with useful ammunition. Rightist domestic terrorism in the United States has been strengthened by such incidents as the Waco assault, as has Islamic terrorism by the attempted assassinations of Osama bin Ladan and other leading figures. Though understandable and perhaps even appropriate in some instances, military tactical responses to terrorist threats and attacks have given credence in the eyes of believers to religious depictions of Western, particularly American, societies as satanic. The new terrorists are convinced of divine approval of their actions and of ultimate victory, even if it is to be a supernatural one. As Laqueur emphasizes, the new terrorists are so dangerous precisely because they "are not primarily interested in gain or glory, but instead want a state or a society in their own image, cleansed of their enemies" (p. 277).
Such warriors can be expected to show little reluctance to use weapons of mass destruction. Although governments have concentrated investigative resources on reducing the threat of major nuclear attacks, most analysts are more concerned with the growing possibility of small-scale yet spectacularly alarming weapons being used. Small nuclear devices are perhaps less likely to be used than chemical or biological weapons, but in any event the casualties of the future will probably be much greater on average than in the past. Meanwhile, conventional weapons continue to be readily available, along with instructions on how to make and use them. The portent is more incidents, more deaths and injuries, and more terrorist challenges to established social orders.
Austin T. Turk
See also Crime Causation: Political Theories; International Criminal Law; Political Process and Crime; War and Violent Crime; War Crimes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy
COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc.
Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Brian Michael Jenkins
Terrorism was a matter of growing international concern during the last three decades of the twentieth century, but following the 11 September 2001, attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., it became the paramount issue of U.S. foreign policy. On that day Middle Eastern terrorists hijacked four U.S. commercial airliners. They seized the controls and crashed two of the planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Passengers fought to regain control of the fourth plane, which then crashed in Pennsylvania , missing any symbolic targets but killing all those on board. These attacks, unprecedented in the annals of terrorism and unparalleled in American history in the magnitude and concentration of casualties, provoked an equally unprecedented declaration of war against terrorism.
Terrorist tactics themselves are nothing new. Political intrigues and wars throughout history have involved murder, hostage taking, and sabotage. Deliberately savage and cruel, even by eighth-century standards, Viking berserkers spread terror throughout the British Isles. Muslim assassins provoked terror among Christian crusaders and Arab leaders in the twelfth century. Julius Caesar , King Richard the Lionhearted, and Miguel de Cervantes were all held for ransom.
The word "terror" entered the political lexicon during the French Revolution 's "reign of terror" and in the twentieth century was associated with oppression by totalitarian governments. The term "terrorism" emerged in the nineteenth century when bomb-throwing revolutionaries who wanted to obliterate property and terrorize the ruling classes acknowledged themselves to be terrorists. Revolutionary terrorism continued into the early twentieth century and reemerged following World War I. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, terrorism often accompanied armed struggles for independence, especially in Algeria and Palestine .
THE EMERGENCE OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
Terrorists continued to use the tactics of their historical predecessors: setting off bombs in public places, assassinating officials, kidnapping individuals to demand political concessions or ransom payments. But a new phenomenon, international terrorism, began with a series of spectacular attacks in the late 1960s. In 1968, Palestinians hijacked an El Al jetliner and flew it to Algeria, where they demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners. This began a wave of hijackings to obtain political concessions. In 1969 urban guerrillas in Brazil kidnapped the U.S. ambassador, later releasing him in return for the release of fifteen comrades imprisoned in Brazil. The tactic quickly spread throughout the world. In the following twelve months, diplomats were kidnapped in Uruguay , Argentina , Bolivia , Guatemala , the Dominican Republic , and Jordan .
In February 1970 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) sabotaged a Swissair flight to Tel Aviv, killing all forty-seven persons on board. In September 1970 the same group hijacked three airliners bound for Europe and diverted them to Jordan. In May 1972 three members of the Japanese Red Army, a group allied with the PFLP, attacked passengers at Israel's Lod Airport, killing twenty-five and wounding seventy-six. And in September of that year, members of Black September, another Middle Eastern group, seized nine Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Five of the terrorists and all nine of the hostages were killed in a disastrous rescue attempt by German police. The three surviving terrorists were traded for hostages aboard a Lufthansa flight hijacked the next month.
International terrorism emerged from a confluence of political circumstances and technological process. In the Middle East , Israel's defeat of the Arab armies in the Six-Day War of 1967 and the inability of Palestinians to mount an effective resistance movement in the territories newly occupied by Israel pushed them toward the use of terrorist tactics. Their mentors were the Algerian revolutionaries who in the fight for independence had carried their own terrorist campaign to France itself. For the Palestinians, anyone anywhere in the world who supported Israel's continued existence became a potential target, greatly broadening the theater of operations.
Inspired by the success of the Cuban revolution but unable to replicate its success, Latin America 's guerrillas moved their struggle from the countryside into the cities. They replaced traditional guerrilla warfare with bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings, which guaranteed them national and international attention. Spectacular action took the place of patient political mobilization. At the same time, the Vietnam War sparked a new wave of revolutionary fervor that spread through the universities of Europe, Japan , and the United States . Mass protest movements spawned small groups on their extremist fringes that were determined to pursue a more violent struggle. These extremist groups emulated the tactics of their ideological counterparts in Latin America and the Middle East.
Changes in the technological environment during the 1970s also facilitated international terrorism. Jet air travel offered terrorists worldwide mobility and, with it, opportunities to strike targets anywhere. Television and the deployment of communications satellites offered terrorists almost instantaneous access to a global audience. By choreographing dramatic incidents of violence and hostage situations in which human life hung in the balance, terrorists could guarantee worldwide press coverage for their acts and their causes. The diffusion of small arms around the world and of increasingly powerful explosives and sophisticated detonating devices took terrorists far beyond the capacity of the early bomb throwers. Modern technology-dependent societies offered numerous vulnerabilities, from power grids to jumbo jets.
The relationship of all these incidents to one another was not self-evident at the time. Beyond the similarity in tactics, there was no obvious connection between a kidnapping in Uruguay, a bombing in Germany , and a hijacking in Africa. Why should actions carried out by persons who called themselves Tupamaros, Montoneros, the Red Brigades, or the Japanese Red Army be addressed within the same analytical and policy framework? International terrorism was an artificial construct useful for policy purposes. While recognizing the diversity of the terrorists and their causes, it identified their actions in the international domain as a mutual problem for all nations.
THE TARGETING OF AMERICA
Concern about international terrorism on the part of the U.S. foreign policy community was driven by two overlapping issues: the use of tactics that fell outside the accepted norms of diplomacy and armed conflict and the spillover of terrorist violence into the international domain. The latter was particularly important, since the prominence of the United States in world affairs and its involvement in many contentious areas made Americans and American interests frequent targets. Hundreds of terrorist attacks have been directed against the United States, its diplomats, and its diplomatic facilities.
Major incidents have included the kidnappings of U.S. diplomats in Latin America in the late 1960s and early 1970s; the multiple hijacking to Jordan's Dawson Field in 1970; the attack on arriving American passengers at Israel's Lod Airport in 1972; the terrorist seizure of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum , Sudan , and the subsequent murder of two American diplomats in 1973; the terrorist takeover of the U.S. consulate in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia , in 1975; the 1979 takeover of the American embassy in Tehran ; the suicide bombings of the American embassy and U.S. marine barracks in Beirut in 1983; the bombing in 1983 of the American embassy in Kuwait ; the kidnappings of Americans and the protracted hostage crisis in Lebanon , which lasted from 1984 to 1991; the hijackings of TWA flight 847 and of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985; the Libyan terrorist campaign in 1986; the sabotage and crash of PanAm flight 103 in 1988; the assassination plot against former President George H. W. Bush in 1993; the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993; the suicide bombing of the American military residential facility in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia , in 1996; the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998; the suicide bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in 2000; and the attacks in 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The attacks in the 1980s increasingly involved truck bombs, huge amounts of explosives on wheels, often driven by suicide drivers. These attacks manifested a fundamental change in terrorism. Traditionally, terrorists wanted a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead. Wanton violence was seen as counterproductive. But with the replacement of ideological causes by ethnic hatreds and religious fanaticism, large-scale, indiscriminate violence became the reality. Terrorists wanted a lot of people dead. But while truck bombs increased death tolls, they could not easily push the number of victims above several hundred. The terrorist solution was multiple attacks. In 1994 terrorists plotted to sabotage twelve U.S. airliners in the Pacific, and the 1998 attacks on the American embassies in Africa as well as the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon involved multiple targets. These large-scale operations have also led to fears that terrorists will incorporate chemical, biological, or possibly even nuclear weapons in future attacks.
DEFINING TERRORISM
It is clear that efforts to combat terrorism depend on international cooperation, but international politics has complicated attempts even to define international terrorism. Discussions in international forums have inevitably bogged down in futile debate. Some see terrorism as an alternative mode of warfare used by nations or groups that lack the conventional means of waging war, not as something to be outlawed. Some, believing that the ends justify the means, seek to exclude from the definition anything done by those engaged in wars of liberation. Others have wanted to broaden the definition to include acts of violence and other repressive acts by colonial, racist, and alien regimes against peoples struggling for liberation.
The United States has tried to define terrorism objectively on the basis of the quality of the act, not the identity of the perpetrators or the nature of their political cause. The rationale is that all terrorist acts are crimes, and many would also be war crimes or "grave breaches" of the rules of war even if one accepted the terrorists' assertion that they wage war. Terrorist acts involve violence or the threat of violence, sometimes coupled with explicit demands and always directed against noncombatants. The perpetrators are usually members of an organized group whose purposes are political. And the hallmark of terrorism—actions that are carried out in a way that will achieve maximum publicity and cause major alarm—introduces a distinction between the victims of the violence and the target audience. Indeed, the identity of the victims may be secondary or even irrelevant to the terrorist cause. "Pure terrorism" is entirely indiscriminate violence.
The U.S. position never won universal endorsement, but ultimately, the international community has come to achieve a rough consensus on terrorism. Although the community of nations could not reach an agreement on a precise definition, it did denounce terrorism as a form of political expression or mode of armed conflict and managed to construct a corpus of conventions that identified and outlawed specific tactics: airline hijacking, the sabotage of commercial aircraft, attacks on airports, attacks on diplomats and diplomatic facilities, the taking of hostages, bomb attacks on civilian targets, and so on. This tactic-by-tactic approach gradually extended to cover virtually all the manifestations of international terrorism.
CRIME OR WARFARE?
A continuing U.S. policy issue has been whether terrorism should be considered as a crime or a mode of war. The question is not merely one of a choice of words. The two are different concepts with entirely different operational implications. If terrorism is considered a criminal matter, the appropriate response is to gather evidence, correctly determine the culpability of the individual or individuals responsible for the incident, and then apprehend and bring the perpetrators to trial. This has been the primary approach taken by the United States, and it has received wide international acceptance. To enhance this approach, the United States extended the jurisdiction of American courts to cover all terrorist acts against U.S. citizens and facilities anywhere in the world, thereby giving the Federal Bureau of Investigation legislative authority to investigate terrorist crimes and apprehend terrorists anywhere. Although not all nations accept this assertion, a number of terrorists have been turned over to U.S. authorities for prosecution in the United States.
Public trials of terrorists keep terrorism firmly in the realm of crime, strip terrorists of their political pretensions, and allow the United States to make a public case against those terrorists still at large. Dealing with terrorism strictly as a criminal matter, however, presents a number of problems. Evidence is extremely difficult to gather in an international investigation where some countries might not cooperate, and apprehending individual terrorists is extremely difficult. Moreover, the criminal approach does not provide an entirely satisfactory answer to a continuing campaign of terrorism waged by a distant group, and it does not work against a state sponsor of terrorism.
If, on the other hand, terrorism is viewed as war, there is less concern with individual culpability; only proximate responsibility—for example, the correct identification of the terrorist group—need be established. Evidence does not have to be of courtroom quality; intelligence reporting will suffice. The focus is not on the accused individual but on the correct identification of the enemy.
The United States has at different times taken both approaches, and recently began to orchestrate the criminal and military approaches, combining conventional evidence gathering and intelligence reporting to indict and prosecute terrorists, then combining that with information gained at trial to support further indictments, which were then utilized to justify military action.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTERTERRORIST POLICY
U.S. policy on terrorism has been largely driven by events. Indeed, policy is rarely created in the abstract. It responds to events that create a requirement to do something. Policy is reactive, an accumulation of statements and actions that then become precedents. And it is constantly evolving. Ask some official to explain the reasoning behind a certain policy and, if he knows his history well enough, he will cite the exact incident that prompted the reaction. This is especially true of a diverse, multifaceted phenomenon such as terrorism.
Much of the early U.S. counterterrorist policy focused on dealing with hostage incidents—hijackings and kidnappings. In addition to increasing security at airports, the United States sought to improve international cooperation in returning passengers and aircraft and prosecuting or extraditing the hijackers. Gradually, use of this tactic became less frequent, but it never disappeared. In the cases of kidnappings of American diplomats by urban guerrilla organizations in Latin America, the United States initially took the position that the host country must do whatever is necessary, including yielding to the kidnappers' demands. As kidnappings continued, however, resistance grew and the policy moved toward one of no concessions. That policy was sealed in blood in March 1973 with the murder of two American diplomats by members of Black September who demanded, among other things, the release of the convicted assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The no-concessions policy has remained one of the pillars of the U.S. response to terrorism, although at times creative ways to bend it have been sought.
The same hard-line policy was applied to embassy takeovers. Improved security made such takeovers more difficult and governments were increasingly willing to use force. Faced with declining prospects of achieving their demands and growing risks of capture or death, terrorists gradually abandoned the tactic in the 1980s.
American presidents have learned that hostage situations can be politically perilous. Frustration over the inability of the United States to rescue or negotiate the release of American hostages held for more than a year in Iran probably contributed to President James Earl Carter's defeat in the 1980 presidential elections. Six years later, the revelation that the United States, in contradiction to its own no-concessions policy, had secretly sold weapons to Iran in return for the release of American hostages in Lebanon deeply embarrassed the Reagan administration.
Since the late 1970s, the question of how to deal with state sponsors of terrorism has been a major policy issue. Under pressure from Congress, the U.S. Department of State identified Iran, Syria , Libya , Iraq , Sudan, North Korea, and Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism, a list that has changed little in the past quarter century. In 2000, the National Commission on Terrorism recommended that Afghanistan be added to the list and that both Pakistan and Greece be identified as countries that were not fully cooperating with the United States, a suggestion that provoked howls of protest.
Middle East conflicts have motivated most of the major terrorist crises, and most of the states identified by the United States as state sponsors of terrorism are in that part of the world. The region's secular extremists and, increasingly, its religious fanatics have seen themselves as being at war with America. America's steadfast support for the State of Israel has angered many, but even U.S. attempts to broker agreements between Israel and the Palestinians have provoked reactions by hard-liners who oppose any accord. America's close relationship with the shah of Iran, overthrown by Islamic revolutionaries in 1979, was a further source of antagonism. Some Muslim fanatics have come to see the American commitment to the principles of freedom, democracy, and equality and what they regard as a subversive and libertine American popular culture as a dangerous influence to be eradicated. The fanatic terrorists' beliefs require them to strike violently at the American presence and influence, and no reconciliation is in sight. One continuing foreign policy challenge for the United States has been to keep efforts to combat terrorism from appearing to be a war on the Arab world or Islam . The United States opposes the violent tactics of terrorism, not any system of beliefs.
Countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism are subject to economic sanctions that deny U.S. assistance and prohibit trade with the United States, but sanctions are only effective if they are universally enforced. International compliance has been patchy at best, although Syria's blatant involvement in a 1986 plot to plant a bomb aboard an airliner departing London led to further European sanctions against that country. Largely to appease an angry United States, Europe went along with some sanctions against Libya in 1986, and suspected Libyan involvement in the sabotage of PanAm 103 in 1988 and a French airliner in Africa in 1989 resulted in more stringent sanctions being imposed until Libya agreed to turn over two Libyans suspected of involvement in the PanAm incident to a tribunal in The Hague. U.S. sanctions on Libya remained in effect for other reasons. To ensure more universal compliance, the United States has sought to have the United Nations impose sanctions. In 2000 Afghanistan became subject to UN sanctions for its refusal to turn over known terrorists.
Additional sanctions were imposed on Iraq as a consequence of that country's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent Gulf War. However, the issue transcends Iraqi sponsorship of terrorism and involves that country's suspected secret efforts to manufacture chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Sudan entered into productive discussions with the United States in mid-2000 and became a possible candidate for removal of American sanctions.
Sanctions, however, have been criticized as blunt, ineffective instruments—the modern economic equivalent of medieval siege warfare. They inflict more suffering on ordinary people than on the governments in which the people have no say, and efforts have been initiated to develop more precisely targeted sanctions that hurt rulers, not the general populace. Nonetheless, economic sanctions have stunted economic development in these countries and probably have moderated, if not reversed, the behavior of their governments, although that would be hard to prove.
MILITARY FORCE AND ITS LIMITS
The United States has used military force in response to terrorism on a number of occasions. U.S. forces bombed Libya in 1986 in response to a Libyan-sponsored terrorist attack in Germany and indications of further attacks being planned; an Iraqi intelligence facility was bombed in 1993 in response to Iraqi involvement in the thwarted assassination attempt on former President Bush during a visit to Kuwait; and, in response to terrorist attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998, U.S. forces bombed terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan suspected of manufacturing chemical weapons.
While terrorists themselves offer few lucrative targets for conventional attack, military action may still be useful. It can disrupt the terrorists' operations, forcing them to move their camps, tend to their own security, and worry about the possibility of further strikes. It can also be used to reinforce diplomacy. Military force serves as a warning to states that sponsoring terrorism is not without serious risks. It demonstrates resolve and it clearly signals that the country initiating it regards terrorism as a very serious issue. It also carries with it an invitation to states to cooperate.
Military force may also be viewed in some cases as necessary for domestic political purposes, not as a cynical ploy to garner political support or distract the public from other issues, but as a way to demonstrate to an alarmed public that something is being done. The British suffered terribly during the Battle of Britain , and their ability to take the punishment without a complete collapse of morale depended in part on the fact their British forces were fighting to destroy the enemy. The absence of military action could reinforce feelings of national impotence that could, in turn, lead to popular support for draconian measures to ensure security that might imperil civil liberties.
The opportunities for military action against terrorism, however, are limited. It is necessary to focus and carefully calibrate the response; otherwise, the use of force becomes capricious. A military response, moreover, must be delivered soon after the terrorist incident that provokes it. It has been difficult to sustain military operations beyond the first strike. The United States may have wanted the terrorists to fear that it might attack them again, but in fact it never did. That may change in light of the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
QUESTIONABLE ALTERNATIVES
There were possible alternatives to the policies that have been chosen. The United States might have tried to pay less attention to the issue of terrorism, putting it lower on the foreign policy agenda, deliberately adopting a more phlegmatic posture and using less bellicose rhetoric. But given the spectacular nature of terrorist attacks and the public outrage they provoke, it would have been extremely difficult to sustain a deliberately phlegmatic policy.
The United States could have followed a more flexible policy in dealing with hostage situations, as did some European nations. However, the private sector's practice of routinely paying ransom for company executives kidnapped abroad suggests that compliance only encourages further kidnappings. And research suggests that it is the ability of the local government to apprehend, convict, and punish kidnappers and destroy their gangs, whether they are politically motivated or common criminals, that determines the frequency of kidnappings. Politically motivated kidnappings have declined. The United States could have adopted a policy of assassinating foreign terrorist leaders, as Israel did in 1972. While this policy may have led to the removal of some effective terrorist leaders, it has had little discernible effect on the level of terrorism aimed against Israel.
The United States did not have to officially designate state sponsors of terrorism and automatically impose sanctions, thus depriving itself of more flexible forms of diplomacy. As noted earlier, the record of sanctions is at best a mixed one. The United States could have rejected the use of military force altogether, relying instead exclusively on a criminal justice approach. However, few other nations extend the jurisdiction of their courts and send law enforcement officials abroad to investigate terrorist crimes against their citizens.
Persuading other nations to support sanctions, America's use of military force, and the rendition of foreign terrorists to the United States for trial have all required vigorous American diplomacy. The willingness to impose sanctions and use military force, as well as offer assistance in other areas, has in turn reinforced that diplomacy.
THE FRUITS OF AMERICAN POLICY
American policy has historically been pragmatic. Efforts to combat terrorism were just that. American diplomats paid little attention to root causes and conflict resolution, lest counterterrorism efforts become mixed up with judgments of causes. At the same time, the United States has devoted considerable effort to resolving the Middle East conflict, helping to bring about an end to the violence in Northern Ireland , and intervening to prevent ethnic cleansing and other atrocities in the Balkans that, if left to fester or produce vast new semi-permanent populations of refugees, could have become new sources of terrorist violence.
Progress has been made. Intelligence has improved through unilateral efforts and improved liaison with other intelligence services. An international legal framework has been created and international cooperation has increased. Countries would rather not be identified as state sponsors of terrorism. The volume of international terrorism, as it is defined by the United States, has declined, and certain tactics have declined significantly. All this could have been seen as a measure of success on 10 September 2001. However, the terrorist attacks on the following day—attacks on American soil that caused far more casualties than all of the previous terrorist incidents put together—overshadowed any sense of achievement.
11 SEPTEMBER 2001
The 11 September 2001 attacks have provoked a more formal expression of belligerency—a presidential declaration of war on those responsible for the attacks. The declaration clearly indicates the intention of the United States to use military force again and again at times and places and with means it deems appropriate. More terrorist attacks against Americans, abroad and in the United States, are possible. Exactly how the continuing campaign will be conducted, whether allies of the United States will participate, and what effect it will have are unknown at this time. Whether the counterattack will divide the nation politically remains to be seen.
Within the shadow of this tragedy, however, lie opportunities for even greater international determination and cooperation, if not to end terrorism once and for all—an unrealistic objective—at least to significantly reduce its practice. Whether such determination and cooperation materialize will depend on whether the rest of the world sees this event as an attack on the United States or as a threat to the international system as it exists.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bass, Gail, et al. Options for U.S. Policy on Terrorism. Santa Monica, Calif., 1981.
Evans, Ernest. Calling a Truce to Terror: The American Response to International Terrorism. Westport, Conn., 1979.
Heymann, Philip B. Terrorism and America: A Commonsense Strategy for a Democratic Society. Cambridge, Mass., 1998.
Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. New York , 1998.
Jenkins, Brian Michael. International Terrorism: A New Mode of Conflict. Los Angeles , 1975.
——. International Terrorism: The Other World War. Santa Monica, Calif., 1985.
——. Terrorism: Policy Issues for the Bush Administration. Santa Monica, Calif., 1989.
Lesser, Ian O., et al. Countering the New Terrorism. Santa Monica, Calif., 1999.
Long, David E. The Anatomy of Terrorism. New York, 1990.
Pillar, Paul R. Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy. Washington, D.C., 2001.
Simon, Jeffrey D. The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism. Bloomington, Ind., 1994.
U.S. Department of State. Patterns of Global Terrorism. Washington, D.C. Published annually.
See also Covert Operations; Embargoes and Sanctions; Intelligence and Counter Intelligence.
KIDNAPPED
On 9 September 1969 a small team comprised of members of two leftist urban guerrilla organizations—the October 8 Revolutionary Movement and Action for National Liberation—kidnapped Charles Burke Elbrick, the recently arrived U.S. ambassador to Brazil, the first of many kidnappings of diplomats. They selected him as their target because, in their words, "If we had selected the Turkish ambassador, nobody would have paid any attention." The kidnappers' communiqué gave more details. "Mr. Elbrick represents in our country the interests of imperialism, which … maintain the regime of oppression and exploitation." Elbrick's kidnappers never told him that in return for his safe release they had demanded the release of fifteen prisoners, mostly student and labor leaders, one old Communist Party leader, and several of those allegedly involved in the earlier assassination of American diplomat. It was a deliberately mixed group chosen to inspire unity among Brazil's revolutionaries.
The United States urged the government of Brazil to do everything necessary to ensure the ambassador's release. In fact, the triumvirate of military officers ruling Brazil during the president's illness had already decided to meet the kidnappers' demands, not because of U.S. pressure, but because they saw it as an opportunity to make a humanitarian gesture and give Brazil the chance to disprove accusations of widespread torture. This line of reasoning did not win unanimous approval through the Brazilian armed forces, and one local commander briefly ordered his forces to surround the airport where the prisoners had been assembled to be flown to political exile in Mexico, but higher-ranking officers intervened and the exchange plan proceeded.
Once the prisoners arrived in Mexico, Elbrick was released in good condition. His captors had washed and pressed his bloodstained shirt and tie (he had been hit on the head with a pistol during the abduction), and they gave him a copy of a book on revolution by Ho Chi Minh , in which they had inscribed, "To our first political prisoner, with the expression of our respect for his calm behavior in action."
In the following months the guerrillas kidnapped the Japanese consul general in Sao Paulo and the ambassadors of Germany and Switzerland . In each case the government freed prisoners in exchange for release of the diplomats but subsequently cracked down hard and brutally, ultimately destroying the urban guerrilla groups. But the tactic of kidnapping diplomats spread to other countries. Local governments and the governments of the diplomatic representatives became increasingly resistant to meeting the demands of those holding hostages. The term "terrorist" increasingly replaced the more neutral term "urban guerrilla."
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Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
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TERRORISM
Violence directed primarily and randomly against civilians with the aim of intimidating them, achieving political goals, or exacting revenge for perceived grievances.
Since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks that destroyed the twin World Trade Center skyscrapers in New York City and killed nearly 2,800 persons, terrorism arising out of conflicts in the Middle East has been a focus of international media attention. Concern about violence undertaken by groups and states it considered to be terrorists prompted the United States to declare a war on terrorism, two manifestations of which have been the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq . Despite this close association of terrorism with the Middle East, with the notable exception of the year 2001, the majority of terrorist incidents committed worldwide and the majority of victims of terrorism have been outside of or unrelated to political conflicts in the Middle East. Nevertheless, it is true that civilians somewhere in the Middle East have been victims of politically motivated violence every year since at least 1992.
Defining Terrorism
In trying to assess the significance of terrorism, the most difficult problem is the lack of an agreed-upon understanding of what the word terrorism means. Political scientists tend to restrict terrorism to acts of violence carried out by nonstate actors against civilians. Historians, sociologists, and experts in international humanitarian law, however, tend to use a broader definition that includes all premeditated acts of violence against civilians, whether carried out by nonstate political groups or by states. Governments—especially those confronting armed opposition groups—and the media generally use the political-science definition of terrorism, often expanding it to include violent acts against military as well as civilian victims. In contrast, the nonstate perpetrators of violence consider their actions to be legitimate forms of resistance to state terrorism aimed at suppressing self-determination, even though they may be directed against civilians (Kimmerling, p. 23). The notion of a legitimate right to resist state oppression is controversial, and no international legal convention addresses this matter. Nonstate groups generally cite the 1960 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples as recognizing their right of resistance. Indeed, that resolution declares, "forcible resistance to forcible denial of self-determination . . . is legitimate," and it says that nonstate groups may receive external support from other governments.
Giving a measure of international legitimacy to resistance struggles has complicated the problem of defining terrorism because it essentially has become a political decision whether a nonstate actor is deemed a terrorist or a genuine national liberation movement fighting for independence from foreign control or occupation. During the Cold War rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States (1947–1991), such decisions tended to be based more on ideological factors than on objective assessments of the goals and motives of particular nonstate groups. For example, the Soviet Union provided clandestine support for the South Yemen independence movement (1963–1967) and for the Dhufar liberation movement in Oman (1965–1971) primarily because both areas at the time were under the control of Britain , a major U.S. ally. Similarly, the United States provided covert assistance to the Kurds in Iraq (1970–1975) and the Mojahedin in Afghanistan (1979–1989) primarily because in both cases the nonstate groups were fighting for independence from Soviet client regimes. The Soviet Union and the United States condemned as
terrorists those nonstate groups that were fighting against regimes the other country favored, and they praised as national resistance heroes those groups fighting against governments they opposed.
Over time, a special vocabulary of terrorism emerged. For instance, the term state terrorism came to be used for violent acts used by disfavored states to suppress resistance movements. The Soviet Union used this term to describe the policies of two U.S. allies: Israel, for the repression of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip after 1967; and Turkey , for the repression of its Kurdish minority after 1984. The United States, in turn, used state terrorism as early as the mid-1970s to describe the repressive domestic policies of states it considered to be Soviet allies, such as Iraq, Syria , and South Yemen. During the 1980s another term, state sponsor of terrorism, emerged to describe the support for nonstate groups provided by countries that clearly were not allied to either the Soviet Union or the United States. Iran and Libya were identified as the main state sponsors of terrorism, the former because of its assistance after 1982 to Hizbullah in Lebanon . In the case of Libya, the United States accused that country of supporting Palestinian groups that targeted U.S. and Israeli interests in Europe and of assisting several terrorist groups operating in north and central Africa.
Origins of Terrorism in the Arab–Israel Conflict
The superpower rivalry in and rhetoric about the Middle East tended both to obscure the local origins of terrorism and to frustrate efforts to address the multifaceted consequences of violence. This problem is best revealed in the Arab–Israel conflict, which began in 1948 separately from but in tandem with the Cold War and still continues unresolved even though the superpower conflict has ended. One significant legacy of the Cold War relationship to the Arab–Israel conflict has been a great volume of partisan literature, especially in the years after the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. The Israeli–Palestinian struggle over pre-1948 Palestine (which became Israel plus the territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 1948) is the core of the Arab–Israel conflict. The literature on this aspect of the conflict illustrates the controversies in trying to achieve any relatively objective consensus on what groups merit designation as terrorists and what kinds of violent acts constitute terrorism. For this reason, it is a useful case to study.
For nearly thirty years prior to the signing of the Oslo Accord in September 1993, the State of Israel proclaimed the PLO and the various Palestinian resistance groups that comprised its membership to be terrorist organizations. Inevitably, there emerged a body of writings that supported the Israeli position, not just in Israel but also in Europe and North America . Although some of these studies were sophisticated and scholarly analyses of the PLO's goals and methods, other accounts were merely polemical denunciations of PLO tactics. Beginning in 1968 and continuing for more than a decade, armed Palestinian groups known as fidaʾiyyun (guerrillas) carried out numerous, violent operations that resulted in the deaths of civilians. Many of their actions were sensational incidents that attracted considerable media attention—a PLO objective, as the guerrillas hoped publicity would further their cause. The several international airplane hijackings, for example, culminated in September 1970 (known as Black September) with the hijacking of four planes in as many days, precipitating a civil war between the PLO and the army of Jordan . Attacks on Israeli interests abroad culminated in the seizing of Israeli athletes as hostages at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich , an incident that left eleven athletes dead. Sporadic cross-border raids into Israel (from Jordan and Lebanon) culminated in the temporary seizure of buildings in the northern Israeli towns of Kiryat Shmona and Maʿalot (April and May 1974) and the deaths of thirty-eight civilians, including many children. Rather than winning sympathy for the Palestinians as the perpetrators expected, such incidents created and reinforced a public image of the PLO as a terrorist organization.
In contrast to the official Israeli and U.S. views, the PLO saw itself as a national liberation movement dedicated to achieving Palestinian rights and resisting what it termed Israeli state terrorism. Its fighters were lauded as heroes and martyrs, and its operations against Israeli civilians were justified as defense of, or reprisals for, Israeli attacks on Palestinian refugee camps and assassinations of PLO leaders. The Soviet Union, the primary international backer of the PLO after 1968, tended to remain silent about many of the more sensational acts of violence by Palestinian guerrillas, but it continued to promote the PLO as a national liberation movement. Soviet support was especially significant after 1974 when Moscow encouraged diplomatic recognition of the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Quite separate from the Soviet backing for the PLO, a few academic studies and advocacy articles appeared that were sympathetic to Palestinian claims and rights. Although these writings were scarcer than the volumes of pro-Israeli literature and never achieved a similar impact on the mainstream U.S. media, they did have some influence on intellectuals in Africa, Asia , and Europe.
The Israeli–PLO conflict affected both regional and international politics by the late 1970s. This is because the PLO used Lebanon, where a large number of Palestinian refugees had lived since 1948, as a base for operations against Israel throughout the 1970s, and Israel responded with retaliatory raids against what it termed "terrorist nests"—suspected PLO facilities in refugee camps. Many Lebanese and Palestinian civilians died in these raids, and their deaths were described officially as "collateral damage" in a larger operation against "terrorist infrastructure." The PLO condemned Israeli air strikes as further evidence of state terror and also cited them as justification for its own continuing attacks across the Lebanon-Israel border. The escalating cycle of attacks and reprisals contributed to the civil war in Lebanon (1975–1989) and also led to an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978. Israeli forces occupied a 6-mile-wide security strip, ostensibly to prevent attacks into Israel; this occupation lasted until 2000. A second Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 resulted in a war with the PLO, its forced withdrawal from Lebanon under international protection, and the Israeli occupation of Beirut and all of southern Lebanon. However, almost as soon as the threat from the PLO seemed to be contained, Israel faced a new source of terrorism that stemmed directly from its occupation of Lebanon (which lasted until 1985).
A Lebanese group, Hizbullah, was formed in late 1982 with the initial aim of expelling Israeli forces from Lebanon. Hizbullah's tactics, which included suicide bombings against French and U.S. military forces in 1983 and, beginning in 1984, the kidnapping of European civilians to use as hostages for the release of its members held in Israeli jails, earned it an international reputation as a terrorist organization. Hizbullah, however, neither sought nor received any support from the Soviet Union. Like the revolutionary government that assumed power in Iran in 1979, Hizbullah was equally hostile to Soviet and U.S. policies in the Middle East. Although its objectives were first and foremost political, Hizbullah also was inspired by its own interpretation of Shiʿite Islam . Its frequent use of religious rhetoric to explain or to justify its actions tended to alienate the Soviet Union even more than its direct criticisms did. Thus, Hizbullah became one of the first major nonstate groups in the Middle East to lack a superpower patron. Despite or perhaps because of this status, Hizbullah succeeded in establishing a permanent presence in Lebanon's politics and in becoming a nonstate group whose actions Israel neither could control nor ignore.
Meanwhile, the removal of the PLO to Tunisia did not end its political influence among Palestinians, and when an intifada (uprising) erupted in December 1987 among Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the PLO gradually emerged as a main coordinating force for the resistance. New groups unaffiliated with the PLO also emerged during the intifada, principally HAMAS and Islamic Jihad. Unlike the PLO, which claimed to be inspired by secular ideas, HAMAS and Islamic Jihad cited religious ideals and percepts as at least partial justification for their resistance against Israeli rule. Concern about the increasing influence of groups such as HAMAS and Islamic Jihad may have prompted the leaders of Israel's Labor Party to begin negotiations with the PLO to end the long conflict. The political rapprochement between Israel and the PLO in 1993 not only was unexpected, but it also necessitated a re-evaluation of the negative ways each side had depicted the other. However, the years of intellectual and emotional investment in the terrorism paradigm made it difficult for some people on both sides to view formerly hated terrorists as legitimate partners in peace negotiations.
Thus, from the outset of the Oslo peace process, some Israelis and Palestinians were skeptical of the agreement and even were determined to overturn it. The assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995 (by an Israeli opposed to the Oslo Accord) and the first suicide bombings undertaken in 1996 by HAMAS were significant terrorist incidents that led to multiple actions and reprisals that cumulatively undermined popular support for the peace process among both Israelis and Palestinians.
It was in this increasingly tense atmosphere that Israeli politician Ariel Sharon intervened in a manner that would have the effect (albeit at the time, unforeseen) of overturning the peace process. Sharon was one of those Israelis who distrusted and even opposed the Oslo Accord, and it is plausible that he never had changed his conviction that the PLO was a terrorist organization. When in September 2000 he led a group of Knesset members, under armed escort, into the Muslim religious complex in Jerusalem known as al-Haram al-Sharif, his intention was to assert Israeli sovereignty over a site that Jews claim is the Temple Mount—the location of their ancient temple destroyed by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago—and thus to prevent its possible return to Palestinian sovereignty, which had been proposed by some members of the Labor Party. The incident provoked clashes with Palestinian worshipers, and the next day Israeli police killed four protesting Palestinians as they emerged from Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque in al-Haram al-Sharif complex. The situation escalated rapidly as Palestinian policemen, in an effort to protect civilians, clashed with Israeli soldiers at checkpoints in the West Bank. The al-Aqsa intifada thus began, and subsequently its characteristic features included targeted assassinations of suspected Palestinian resistance leaders by Israel and retaliatory Palestinian suicide bombings at crowded civilian sites inside Israeli cities. By early 2001, Israel and its supporters were labeling all acts of violence from the Palestinian side as terrorism.
The U.S. "War on Terrorism"
Middle East terrorism, except for incidents such as the attack at the Munich Olympic games in 1972, generally has stayed within the region. However, Middle East–related terrorism acquired a global dimension with the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States by nineteen members of the al-Qaʿida network. Al-Qaʿida is a political organization founded by Saudi Arabian national Osama bin Ladin, and its objectives after 1991 were to attack the United States and its interests because it viewed the U.S. government as the main sponsor of regimes that it defined as "unjust," oppressive, and illegitimate. Ironically, bin Ladin collaborated with U.S. officials during the 1980s when he and the United States shared the same goal of forcing the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. But when the United States dispatched troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990, bin Ladin viewed this development as being no different from the situation of Soviet troops in Afghanistan—in both cases the army of an "imperialist" superpower occupying a weaker and Muslim country. Furthermore, the presence of U.S. military forces in Saudi Arabia meant that a non-Muslim army for the first time in more than 1,400 years was occupying the religiously sacred land in which were located Islam's two holiest sites, the cities of Mecca and Medina. Even though bin Ladin believed and practiced a very conservative interpretation of Sunni Islam, his primary objectives vis-à-vis the United States are political, not religious. Beginning with the bombing in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in 1993, persons close to his al-Qaʿida organization were implicated in several terrorist attacks. The most sensational incidents included suicide bombings outside the barracks housing U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia in 1996 and outside two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998. The 2001 attacks prompted the United States to declare a "war on terrorism," and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan became the first target because it provided sanctuary to al-Qaʿida and rejected requests for the extradition of bin Ladin and other leaders.
Its war on terrorism policy led the United States to focus on groups it designated as terrorist to an unprecedented extent. One consequence of this new preoccupation was that after 2001 Washington accepted the argument of Israeli prime minister Sharon that PLO chairman and Palestinian Authority president Yasir Arafat was condoning terrorist actions by groups such as HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, and his own Al-Fatah movement. When in spring 2002 the Israeli army reoccupied West Bank towns and villages that were supposed to be under the control of the Palestinian Authority, the United States effectively did not protest. Thus, the peace process between Israel and the PLO, seriously ailing since fall 2000, became an indirect but fatal casualty of the war on terrorism.
The war on terrorism is cause for concern among legal experts in the field of international humanitarian law, especially because states identified as sponsors of terrorism, such as Iraq, become legitimate targets for attack because they are thought to possess weapons of mass destruction that they might provide to terrorist groups. The experts believe that civilians, who have been the primary victims of violent conflicts since the early 1990s, will be the main victims again, and they cite statistics that demonstrate that this has been the case in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
The phenomenon of terrorism has prompted the drafting of several conventions, most notably the Rome Statute, that would make the intentional killing of civilians a war crime, no matter who is responsible (i.e., a government or a nonstate group). The intent is to criminalize violence against civilians so that individuals can be prosecuted. The European Union generally, and its member states such as Belgium specifically, have made the most progress in terms of accepting the idea that violence against civilians, whether undertaken by a state or nonstate organization, is terrorism and needs to be punished. Other states, including major countries such as China , Israel, Russia , and the United States, reject categorically the notion of state terrorism and insist that international laws pertaining to terrorism must limit definitions to nonstate groups that target civilians. Ultimately, one of the most effective ways of reducing terrorism is for states to identify and remove the causes that motivates terrorists, such as the denial of freedom and political participation, repressive political occupation, and poverty and despair.
see also aqsa intifada, al-; arafat, yasir; bin ladin, osama; black september; fidaʾiyyun; hamas; hizbullah; hostage crises; islamic jihad; palestine liberation organization (plo); popular front for the liberation of palestine ; qaʿida, al-.
Bibliography
Davis, Joyce M. Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance, and Despair in the Middle East. New York: Palgrave, 2003.
Falk, Richard. "Azmi Bishara, the Right of Resistance, and the Palestinian Ordeal." Journal of Palestine Studies 31, no. 2 (Winter 2002): 19–33.
Hirst, David. The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East, 3d edition. New York: Thunder Mouth's Press/Nation Books, 2004.
Picco, Giandomenico. Man without a Gun: One Diplomat's Secret Struggle to Free the Hostages, Fight Terrorism, and End a War. New York: Times Books/Random House, 1999.
Ron, James. Frontiers and Ghettos: State Violence in Serbia and Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
Shlaim, Avi. The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. New York: Norton, 2000.
Stern, Jessica. Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill. New York: Ecco, 2003.
Victor, Barbara. Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2003.
eric hooglund
West's Encyclopedia of American Law
COPYRIGHT 2005 The Gale Group, Inc.
TERRORISM
The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate a government or the civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives.
Since the september 11th attacks on the United States in 2001, which resulted in the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City and severe damage to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., the United States has changed its priorities to focus upon eradicating terrorism in the world. Terrorism involves the systematic use of terror or violence to achieve political goals. The targets of terrorism include government officials, identified individuals or groups, and innocent bystanders. In most cases terrorists seek to overthrow or destabilize an existing political regime, but totalitarian and dictatorial governments also use terror to maintain their power.
The Oklahoma City Bombing
In June 1997 the murder and conspiracy trial of Timothy J. McVeigh ended in the death sentence. The 29-year-old former Army sergeant was convicted of bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. The blast, which claimed 168 lives, was the worst terrorist act ever committed on U.S. soil. McVeigh pleaded not guilty, but the elaborate case mounted by federal prosecutors led to a swift jury verdict of guilty on all 11 counts.
After a nationwide manhunt, investigators from the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) had linked McVeigh to the blast using remnants of a Ryder rental truck believed to have carried the bomb. At trial, prosecutors established further ties: telephone records and testimony by the owner of the rental office suggested McVeigh had rented the truck under an alias in Junction City, Kansas, two days before the bombing. Residue from explosives had also been found on McVeigh's clothing.
Prosecutors portrayed McVeigh as an anti-government extremist. The defendant's sister, Jennifer McVeigh, told the court that he was angry over the government's destruction of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in April 1993, and that he had hinted at taking action. Personal correspondence was introduced as evidence in an effort to round out the portrait of McVeigh as a follower of far-right politics, who was disillusioned and willing to commit acts of terror. Key testimony came from Michael J. Fortier, an Army friend and co-conspirator who had surveyed the Federal Building with McVeigh, and his wife, Lori Fortier. The Fortiers said that McVeigh wanted the bombing to start a civil war.
Led by Oklahoma attorney Stephen Jones, the defense team was critical of every phase of the prosecution. Defense attorneys attacked the methodology of the FBI in preparing physical evidence as well as the government's witnesses. In particular, they charged that the Fortiers were liars who hoped to escape prison time and to profit financially from their testimony. Maintaining that McVeigh was railroaded, the defense pointed to the existence of a human leg found in the ruins of the building to suggest that the actual Oklahoma City bomber had died in the explosion.
After the jurors returned a guilty verdict on June 2, the trial moved into an unusual penalty phase. The defense, seeking leniency, made a lengthy presentation about the Waco siege, at which McVeigh had been present, in what seemed to observers an odd effort to explain his motives in Oklahoma City. It also called to the stand William McVeigh, who made an emotionally charged appeal for his son's life. But the statements of survivors who had lost family and friends in the Oklahoma massacre apparently swayed the jurors, who decided on execution.
further readings
Gottman, Andrew J. 1999. "Fair Notice, Even for Terrorists: Timothy McVeigh and a New Standard for the Ex Post Facto Clause." Washington and Lee Law Review 56 (spring).
Hoffman, David. 1998. The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror.Venice, Calif.: Feral House.
"Responding to Terrorism: Crime, Punishment, and War." 2002. Harvard Law Review 115 (February).
Rodgers, Jim, and Tim Kullman. 2002. Facing Terror: The Government's Response to Contemporary Extremists in America.Lanham, Md.: Univ. Press of America.
cross-references
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc.
Terrorism
Terrorism, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ), is "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
The destruction inherent in any act of mass terrorism inevitably causes secondary environmental pollution effects, many of them serious. Acts of terrorism can also be directed against the environment itself, or specific natural resources such as freshwater, oil, or agricultural products.
Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center
The secondary environmental effects of terrorism can often be as significant as its primary effects. The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City on September 11, 2001, had negative health consequences beyond the staggering loss of life. The collapse of the structures and subsequent fires spewed an enormous cloud of dust and toxins into the air over the city. Pulverized concrete, building materials, heavy metals, and human remains were inhaled by residents and rescue workers in lower Manhattan until a heavy rain three days later washed away most of the dust.
The immediate environmental fallout from the WTC collapse contained asbestos and fibrous glass from the building structure; mercury, dioxins, furans, and other cancer-causing toxins from the burning of fluorescent light bulbs and computer screens; heavy metals such as cadmium and lead and volatile organic compounds like benzene. Federal, state, and local agencies went right to work monitoring air quality and cleaning up dust and debris from the WTC collapse, but these actions themselves have serious environmental consequences. One in four cleanup workers at Ground Zero reportedly
suffer from asthma and respiratory illness brought about by dust inhaled at the site. Some airborne pollutants and dust were resuspended as a result of ongoing cleanup efforts.
The secondary pollution concerns include possible contamination of waterways around lower Manhattan as well as the challenge of where to dispose of the catastrophe's 1.2 million tons of waste. Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island has been accepting WTC debris, some containing asbestos and other toxic materials, despite being slated to close December 31, 2001. Since Fresh Kills was not designed to accept hazardous waste, there is concern about whether or not contaminants could leach from the landfill into surrounding groundwater.
COMMON POLLUTANTS FROM SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, ATTACK
AND THEIR HEALTH EFFECTS
The Oxford Companion to American Military History
© The Oxford Companion to American Military History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000.
Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Terrorism is defined in Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f(d) as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.” Terrorism falls into the spectrum of low intensity conflict, relying upon the methods and strategies of unconventional warfare in targeting businesspeople, tourists, and other civilians to gain exposure, pressure governments, and extort concessions.
It is important to differentiate among state terrorism, state‐supported terrorism and sub‐state terrorism.
“State terrorism” refers to the use of terror by a government, using the resources of the state—including the police, judiciary, military—against its own citizens to quell domestic opposition to its policies, as exemplified by the “dirty war” in Argentina during the 1970s and early 1980s in which an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 regime opponents were killed or disappeared. “State‐supported terrorism” refers to situations where states provide logistical, financial and training support for a terrorist organization. In 1998, the U.S. Department of State designated Cuba , Iran , Iraq , Libya , North Korea, Sudan , and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism. Sub‐state terrorism refers to acts of terrorism perpetrated by non‐state actors.
In considering sub‐state terrorism, one can distinguish between five principal varieties:
Social revolutionary terrorism, also known as terrorism of the left, includes those acts perpetrated by groups seeking to overthrow the capitalist economic and social order and was typified by the European “fighting communist organizations” active throughout the 1970s and 1980s (e.g., the Red Army Faction in Germany and the Red Brigades in Italy), though social revolutionary groups have been active around the world, including the Shining Path in Peru and the Japanese Red Army Faction in Japan .
Religious extremist terrorism is characterized by groups seeking to maintain or create a religious social and political order and has included groups representing established religious doctrines as well groups representing “new religions.” Traditional groups include Christian, Jewish, and Islamic extremists, while new religions include groups like Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for the 1995 subway sarin attack in Tokyo , Japan.
Nationalist‐separatist terrorists, also known as ethno‐nationalist terrorists, includes those groups fighting to establish a new political order or state based on ethnic dominance or homogeneity. The Irish Republican Army, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka , the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) in Spain , and the various groups representing Palestinian causes are prominent examples.
Right‐wing terrorists comprise those groups seeking to maintain an extant political order or to return society to an idealized “golden age” of the past. Examples include neo‐ Nazi terrorist groups and groups espousing fascist ideology.
Single‐issue terrorism, as the label suggests, represents groups acting on a single issue, such as the environment or animal rights.
The era of modern terrorism was ushered in by the dramatic slaying of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian group Black September during the globally televised 1972 Olympics in Munich , Germany. While terrorism prior to 1972 principally had been a domestic phenomenon, the Munich attack emphasized the expansion of tactics and targets to include exploitation of global mass communications networks and international aviation, internationalizing terrorism.
The relationship between terrorism and the media has been extensively studied (Nacos, 1994), and has been found to influence the tactics and strategies of modern terrorist groups. According to one estimate (Jenkins, 1985: 12), 95% of all terrorist attacks are designed to maximize exposure and influence through the media. The hijacking of airlines (“skyjackings”) was particularly prevalent during the 1970s and early 1980s, as were hostage taking episodes. All received extensive media coverage.
The terrorist threat to the United States has traditionally come from two distinctly different strains of political terrorism: the leftist social revolutionary terrorists of Western Europe, attacking representatives of the United States as symbols of capitalism and Western militarism in the form of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ); and the national‐separatist and religious fundamentalist groups of the Middle East —especially those connected with the liberation movements in Palestine—who attack U.S. forces and civilians first as supporters of Israel and second in connection with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
The German Red Army Faction (RAF) was responsible for numerous bombings of U.S. military installations. U.S. forces have also been targeted in Italy by the Red Brigades and in Greece by the Revolutionary Organization “November 17.” Apart from bombings, European social revolutionary groups have been engaged in assassination and kidnapping attempts against U.S. military and NATO leaders stationed in Europe .
While terrorism committed by the European leftist groups against U.S. targets in Europe remained fairly localized, terrorists operating out of the Middle East, especially those organizations supported by states hostile to U.S. interests, such as Syria, Libya, and Iran, have operated on a more global setting, taking advantage of air travel and modern mass communications to pressure the United States and its allies into withdrawing support for Israel and diminishing U.S. and Western influence in the region.
America's first prolonged experience with terrorism began in 1979 with the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran , Iran, and the ensuing hostage crisis in which U.S. diplomats were held for 444 days. U.S. airliners have been susceptible to skyjackings, such as the 1985 Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight 847 skyjacking by Abu Nidal terrorists resulting in the deaths of 2 Americans, and bombings, the most spectacular of which was the 1988 bombing of PAN AM flight 103 by suspected Libyan terrorists.
Terrorists operating out of the Middle East frequently target U.S. military personnel. PLO splinter groups were responsible for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut , killing 86 and wounding 100, and the car‐bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut airport, resulting in the deaths of 241 U.S. servicemen. U.S. servicemen were targeted by Libyan terrorists in the 1986 bombing of a nightclub in Berlin , Germany. Following the Persian Gulf War in 1991, U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia have become targets of Islamic groups heavily opposing U.S.‐Saudi Arabian cooperation and the continued presence of U.S. forces on Saudi Arabian soil. The bombing of the Khobar Towers military residence in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, resulted in 19 deaths and 500 wounded.
Evidence suggests changing trends in terrorism as the twentieth century draws to a close. First, there is a trend toward fewer, but more lethal acts. Second, there are fewer claims of responsibility being made for attacks, perhaps reflecting the growing prevalence of religious extremist terrorism and transnational terrorism. Third, the collapse of the Soviet Union has raised concern that poorly guarded nuclear, chemical, and biological materials might find their way into the hands of terrorists. Finally, international terrorists have for the first time attacked targets within the territorial United States with the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the subsequent conspiracy to bomb several other New York City landmarks by Middle East terrorists. The U.S. has also experienced its most devastating case of domestic anti‐government terrorism with the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City , resulting in 168 deaths.
To combat terrorism, the United States' counterterrorism policy follows three general rules: the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists; the U.S. will treat terrorists as criminals and pursue them aggressively; and the U.S. will apply maximum sanctions upon states supporting terrorism and encourage other states to do so as well (U.S. Department of State, 1996:iv). Accordingly, the U.S. has responded to the threat of modern international terrorism with a multi‐tracked approach, including diplomatic and legal efforts and military interdiction and deterrence. The United States is a party to nine major multilateral conventions that define states' responsibilities toward countering terrorism. Among them are treaties protecting diplomatic personnel and the safety of civil aviation and maritime navigation; outlawing the taking of hostages; the physical protection of nuclear materials; and the marking of explosives for identification.
Following the passage of the “long arm” anti‐terrorism statute in 1984, the Department of Justice has been empowered to arrest foreign nationals who have committed acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens for trial in the U.S. court system. Fawaz Younis (1987) and Mohammed Al Rezaq (1995) were arrested abroad by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and successfully tried in the U.S. The Department of Defense and U.S. military forces have played a mixed role in support of the United States' counterterrorism policy. Delta Force, the United States' secretive military unit specifically designed to counter terrorism, was founded during the Carter Administration (1976–1980). Modeled on the British Secret Air Services (SAS), Delta Force is comprised of elite commandos skilled in hostage rescue and incident interdiction. However, Delta Force's first deployment, Operation Eagle Claw (1980) to rescue the U.S. diplomats held hostage in Iran, proved a disastrous failure. Delta Force was joined in 1980 by a Navy counterpart, Seal Team 6, also tasked primarily with hostage rescue.
In addition to hostage rescue, U.S. military forces have been used to retaliate against states which have sponsored terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, such as the 1986 bombing raid on the Libyan capitol Tripoli in response to Libyan involvement in several dramatic acts of international terrorism in 1985 and 1986.
In a triumph of timely intelligence and coordination with the U.S. military, the aircraft carrying the hijackers of the Achille Lauro was intercepted by U.S. warplanes and forced to land at a U.S. Air Force base in Italy in October, 1985. The standoff at the airport between Italian and U.S. forces claiming jurisdiction over the captured terrorists, however, emphasizes the difficulties of pursuing U.S. counterterrorism policies abroad.
This entry is being updated.
Bibliography
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TERRORISM
Terrorism refers here to the public health consequences and the methods for prevention of the purposeful use of violence or threats of violence by groups or individuals in order to serve political or personal agendas. This article does not include what has been termed "state terrorism," the use of violence by a nation-state without clear necessity for self-defense and without the authorization of the United Nations.
EXAMPLES OF TERRORISM
Use or threat of use of violence has long caused concern among those responsible for public health. Examples include indiscriminate violence, such as the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City and the 1995 bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City , and targeted violence, such as attacks on facilities for the termination of pregnancy or on those who work in such facilities. The primary responsibility for response to the health consequences of such violence has resided largely in emergency medical services and the primary responsibility for prevention in agencies concerned with public order and safety, such as the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Recent instances of use or threatened use of biological or chemical agents in terrorism have raised interest in the role of public health agencies and public health personnel in primary or secondary prevention. Documented episodes, although extremely rare, have been dramatic. In Japan , the chemical warfare agent Sarin was released by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Matsumoto in 1994 and in the Tokyo subway in 1995. In 1984, an Oregon cult allegedly contaminated salad bars with a biological agent, salmonella. These episodes, and recent hoaxes concerning anthrax release, have led to well publicized, costly responses by public health and public safety officials. Chemical terrorism could include the purposeful contamination of water and food supplies or the aerosolization of toxicants within enclosed public spaces. Biological terrorist actions could include purposeful contamination with infectious materials, as well as the purposeful release of insects or other vectors infected with a transmissible disease.
AVAILABILITY OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Underlying concern about bioterrorism is the long history of use of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) in war. Since World War II , worldwide military forces have built up major stockpiles of such weapons and tested them at a number of sites around the world. Although the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) outlawed the development, production, stockpiling, and transfer of these weapons, large stockpiles of chemical weapons still await destruction in several nations, and it is alleged that stockpiles of biological weapons are still maintained in a few nations. Although the technical knowledge and materials needed to produce CBW are relatively available, the ability to "weaponize" and target these materials remains extremely limited. The risk of their use appears to be small, but any use constitutes a threat to public health.
TYPES OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS
There are at least seventy types of bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, and fungi that can be weaponized, including tularemia, anthrax, Q fever, epidemic typhus, smallpox, brucellosis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, botulinum toxin, dengue fever, Russian spring-summer encephalitis, Lassa fever, Marburg, Ebola, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (Machupo), and Argentinean hemorrhagic fever (Junin). Antibiotic resistant strains of anthrax, plague, tularemia, and glanders have allegedly been developed. Viruses and toxins can be genetically altered to heighten their infectiousness, permitting the development of pathogens capable of overcoming existing vaccines. It is estimated that no more than 20 to 30 percent of the diseases the aforementioned agents cause can be effectively treated.
RECENT HISTORY OF CONTROL
In 1994 U.S. president Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order asserting that the potential use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons "by terrorist groups or rogue states" represents "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States ." This Order, renewed annually, makes it illegal for anyone in the United States to help anyone to acquire, design, produce, or stockpile CBW. The Order was amended in 1998 to include penalties for trafficking in equipment that could indirectly contribute to a foreign biological warfare program.
In 1995 President Clinton announced a new policy against "superterrorism"—terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction. The Departments of Defense, Energy, and State, together with the FBI and the CIA , were to oversee a wide network of military and civilian agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dedicated to identifying CBW attacks and to coping with their consequences. In 1997, a $52.6 million Domestic Preparedness Program was authorized for emergency response teams in 120 selected cities, whereby police, fire departments, and public health officials were to receive special training and equipment to help them combat biological and chemical terrorism.
In 1998 President Clinton announced new initiatives to address bioterrorism. Hearings before a committee of the U.S. Senate in 1998 included witnesses who stated that such proposals were misguided because so many resources were being assigned to military rather than to medical or public health authorities. Ethical questions raised include whether such funds could be better spent on providing adequate public health measures, preventive medicine, and treatment for endemic illness to the population.
LIMITATIONS OF COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES
Overall, there is little evidence that specific vaccine programs or other technical defensive programs are effective or ethical preventive measures against the use or threat of use of biologic weapons. Many public health experts argue that the best defenses against use of biological weapons lie in ethical proscription of work on them by health professionals and scientists and protection of the global population against all serious infectious disease, not just diseases caused intentionally, by ameliorating poverty and inadequate nutrition, housing, and education.
As part of this effort, it is argued, industrialized countries should enable developing countries to build capacity for detection, diagnosis, and treatment of all disease by providing technical information and needed resources. Article X of the BWC, encouraging the exchange of information and materials for peaceful purposes, should be strengthened. Research organizations, professional societies, and individual scientists should pledge not to engage knowingly in research or teaching that furthers the development and use of biological weapons. Furthermore, all countries could prohibit the development of novel biological agents that do not have an unambiguously peaceful purpose, even if these activities are promoted for defensive purposes.
An important reason that a few nations, groups, or individuals may continue to develop or stockpile chemical or biological weapons, known as "the poor nation's nuclear weapons," lies in the massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons maintained by the United States and other nuclear powers. As long as these nations fail to recognize their obligations under the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to move expeditiously toward nuclear weapons abolition, biological and chemical weapons will remain a threat.
Victor W. Sidel
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TERRORISM
TERRORISM is a political tactic that uses threat or violence, usually against civilians, to frighten a target group into conceding to certain political demands.
The term "terrorism" was first used to describe the state terrorism practiced by the French revolutionaries of 1789–1795. Through kangaroo courts, executions by guillotine, and violent repression of political opponents, the revolutionaries tried to frighten the population into submission. Two great terrorist states of the twentieth century, Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, also practiced the threat and use of violence to keep their own citizens in line.
In the nineteenth century, terrorist tactics were adopted by individuals and groups that used assassinations, bombings, and kidnappings to undermine popular support for what the terrorists saw as unjust policies or tyrannical governments. Terrorist acts were first committed on a wide scale in the United States during the latter part of the nineteenth century. On 4 May 1886, an anarchist bomb killed eight policemen during a demonstration in Chicago's Haymarket Square, and on 16 September 1920, an anarchist bomb hidden in a wagon on Wall Street killed thirty people and seriously injured more than two hundred.
Although anarchist violence received the most newspaper coverage during this period, the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was the most important terrorist group in the United States from 1850 to the 1960s. The KKK used marches, beatings, and lynchings to intimidate
African Americans who wished to vote or otherwise participate in the political process.
Beginning in the late 1960s, extreme-left groups like the Weathermen engaged in kidnapping and bombings to protest the Vietnam War, while groups like the Symbionese Liberation Army engaged in armed actions against civilians or the police, hoping thereby to provoke a "people's revolution." These groups disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s only to be replaced by extreme-right terrorist organizations.
On 19 April 1995 a truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, destroying the building and killing 168 people. An act of domestic terrorism, the Oklahoma City Bombing was the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history at the time. Testifying before the U.S. Senate in 1998, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh stated that, "The current domestic terrorist threat primarily comes from right-wing extremist groups, including radical paramilitary [militia] groups, Puerto Rican terrorist groups, and special interest groups."
The period after 1960 saw the rise of international terrorist attacks on Americans in the Middle East and in Latin America. The most dramatic instance of terrorism during this period was the 4 November 1979 attack by
Iranian students on the United States Embassy in Teheran, when sixty-six diplomats were held hostage until their release on 20 January 1981. According to the U.S. State Department, seventy-seven U.S. citizens were killed and 651 injured in international terrorist attacks between 1995 and 2000.
By the mid-1970s, international terrorists began to carry out operations on American soil. On 24 January 1975, the Puerto Rican Armed National Liberation Front killed four people when bombs exploded at the Fraunces Tavern in New York City. Eleven months later, on 29 December 1975, a bomb exploded in the TWA terminal at La Guardia Airport, killing eleven. No group ever claimed responsibility. The next major incident occurred on 26 February 1993, when a truck bomb exploded in the basement of New York's World Trade Center, killing six and wounding thousands. At his 1997trial, bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef stated, "I support terrorism so long as it was against the United States government and against Israel."
On 11 September 2001, in the most murderous terrorist attack American history had yet witnessed, almost three thousand people were killed. Nineteen Middle Eastern terrorists hijacked four airplanes; one crashed into the Pentagon, two destroyed the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center, and one, possibly headed for the White House, crashed in a wooded area of Pennsylvania. Although the hijackers left no message, they were clearly motivated by hatred of the United States and by a desire to force a change in American policy in the Middle East.
The enormity of the attack pushed terrorism to the top of the American political agenda, with President George W. Bush declaring "war on terror" in his 20 September 2001 address to a joint session of Congress. President Bush predicted that this new war could last for years or even decades. The World Trade Center attack also led to a major change in the way the United States deals with terrorism. Before 11 September 2001, the United States followed a police-justice model whereby police and intelligence agencies identified and apprehended terrorists and then turned them over to the justice system. After those attacks, however, the Bush Administration adopted a preemptive-war model, whereby the United States intends to strike at individual terrorists or terrorist groups anywhere in the world and has threatened to use all means necessary, from special forces to massive military force, to attack what it identifies as "terrorist states" that support international terrorism.
The adoption of this model led President Bush in his 29 January 2002 State of the Union address to talk about Iran, Iraq, and North Korea together as an "axis of evil" and to threaten military action against Iraq. This statement led to much uneasiness among allies of the United States, who feared that the administration's war on terrorism signaled a move toward unilateralism in U.S. foreign policy and the destabilization of international relations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harmon, Christopher. Terrorism Today. Portland, Ore.: Frank Cass, 2000.
Laqueur, Walter. The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Wilkinson, Paul, Terrorism and the Liberal State. New York: New York University Press, 1986.
Harvey G.Simmons
See also 9/11 Attack andvol. 9:George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People (As Delivered Before Congress), 20 September 2001 .
Cite this article
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc.
Terrorism
Terrorism refers to the illegitimate use of violence or intimidation to advance a group's interests. Examples include detonating explosives in public places, taking hostages, or assassinating politicians. Central to the concept of terrorism is that its objective is primarily ideological. Terrorists typically do not employ violence to gain wealth but rather to bring attention to political causes.
Because the term terrorism hinges on a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate use of violence, controversy often accompanies its use. For example, governments routinely use force to advance their interests, but do not characterize their actions as instances of terrorism. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City is readily identified as a terrorist act because it was undertaken by a very small group of individuals and not an entire government. Yet much more violent attacks directed against large cities during World War II are not characterized as acts of terrorism. Within a single conflict use of the term "terrorist" in news reports can reveal the political sympathies of the broadcaster or the government that released information about the attack. For example, in the American press violent events undertaken by Palestinians are far more likely to be characterized as acts of terrorism than equally or more violent actions taken by the Israeli military. This political component became very clear in the United States during the Reagan administration, which aided the Contra rebels who were waging a campaign of violence against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua . Officials in the American government characterized the Contras as "freedom fighters" while supporters of the Sandinistas portrayed them as terrorists.
The use of violence by small groups to advance their interests is not a twenty-first-century development. The term terrorism first appeared during the French Revolution and the Jacobin Reign of Terror. Similarly, many other words associated with terrorism (i.e., thug, assassin, and zealot ) derive from groups alleged to have used violence and death to advance their political objectives.
Historically terrorism is thought to have passed through several distinct stages, from its origin among religious groups fighting to defend or advance their organization's beliefs, to secular groups, whose objectives were clearly political. Traced by some historians to the French Revolution, this process of the secularization of terrorism continued throughout the twentieth century. Modern technology's ability to expand the audience for violent actions is thought by some analysts to have fueled terrorism's appeal, making nations with a free press particularly susceptible to the quest for media coverage. Twentieth- and twenty-first-century accounts of terrorism argue that it may have moved into a new period, as new technology allows small groups of individuals the ability to wield tremendous destructive power, and permits even faster coverage of that destruction to a wide audience, as evidenced by the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. Experts warn that such attacks are not limited to religiously motivated groups but can also include assaults stemming from personal grudges or psychopathological conditions.
In contrast to individual acts of violence, the use of terrorism by small political organizations is thought to serve several functions: (1) It makes the group committing the terrorist act appear large and powerful, thus intimidating outsiders and boosting morale of the terrorist group's members; (2) it reveals the vulnerability of the target, whose apparent strength is thereby placed in doubt and whose authority may become undermined; (3) it can eliminate opposition; (4) it may start a chain reaction of assaults undertaken by sympathetic political groups; and (5) it cements the terrorists to the organization because individuals who commit acts of terror cannot leave the organization very easily.
The impact of media coverage of terrorist acts is mixed. On the one hand, most Americans greatly overestimate the threat of terrorism, probably due to media coverage of the subject. In fact, the chances of being killed in an automobile accident are more than one hundred times higher than the chance of being killed by a terrorist action while overseas. On the other hand, sustained terrorist attacks can produce a backlash against the perpetrator's cause, as occurred in 1999 when bombings of Moscow apartment buildings increased the hostility of Russian citizens toward Chechens, who were thought to be responsible for the blasts.
Attempts to combat terrorism include use of metal detectors and dogs at locales thought to be likely targets for attack. While these methods are effective at reducing the frequency of terrorist acts, it appears impossible to protect targets completely against determined terrorists. Ironically, methods to offset terrorism exaggerate the public's perception of threat and thus advance one of terrorism's main objectives.
See also: Death Squads; Terrorist Attacks on America
Bibliography
Crenshaw, Martha. "The Logic of Terrorism." In Walter Reich ed., Origins of Terrorism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Fleming, Dan B., and Arnold Schuetz. "Terrorism, Assassination, and Political Torture." In Daniel Leviton ed., Horrendous Death, Health, and Well-Being. New York: Hemisphere Publishing, 1991.
Laqueur, Walter. The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Laqueur, Walter. Terrorism. Boston: Little, Brown, 1977.
Shurkin, Joel. "Modern Terrorists Are 'Anemic.'" Stanford Observer, 6 February 1988, 1ff.
Stern, Jessica. The Ultimate Terrorists. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
Stohl, Michael. The Politics of Terrorism. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1983.
JONATHAN F. LEWIS
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
Copyright The Columbia University Press
terrorism, the threat or use of violence, often against the civilian population, to achieve political or social ends, to intimidate opponents, or to publicize grievances. The term dates from the Reign of Terror (1793–94) in the French Revolution but has taken on additional meaning in the 20th cent. Terrorism involves activities such as assassinations, bombings, random killings, and hijackings. Used for political, not military, purposes, and most typically by groups too weak to mount open assaults, it is a modern tool of the alienated, and its psychological impact on the public has increased because of extensive coverage by the media. Political terrorism also may be part of a government campaign to eliminate the opposition, as under Hitler , Mussolini , Stalin , and others, or may be part of a revolutionary effort to overthrow a regime. Terrorist attacks also are now a common tactic in guerrilla warfare . Governments find attacks by terrorist groups difficult to prevent; international agreements to tighten borders or return terrorists for trial may offer some deterrence.
Terrorism reaches back to ancient Greece and has occurred throughout history. Terrorism by radicals (of both the left and right) and by nationalists became widespread after World War II. Since the late 20th cent. acts of terrorism have been associated with the Italian Red Brigades, the Irish Republican Army , the Palestine Liberation Organization , Peru's Shining Path , Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Weathermen and some members of U.S. "militia" organizations, among many groups. Religiously inspired terrrorism has also occurred, such as that of extremist Christian opponents of abortion in the United States; of extremist Muslims associated with Hamas , Osama bin Laden 's Al Qaeda , and other organizations; of extremist Sikhs in India; and of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo, who released nerve gas in Tokyo's subway system (1995).
In 1999 the UN Security Council unanimously called for better international cooperation in fighting terrorism and asked governments not to aid terrorists. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by Al Qaeda on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon —the most devastating terrorist attacks in history—prompted calls by U.S. political leaders for a world "war on terrorism." Although the U.S. effort to destroy Al Qaeda and overthrow the Afghani government that hosted it was initially successful, terrorism is not a movement but a tactic used by a wide variety of groups, some of which are regarded (and supported) as "freedom fighters" in various countries or by various peoples. So-called state-sponsored terrorism, in which governments provide support or protection to terrorist groups that carry out proxy attacks against other countries, also complicates international efforts to end terror attacks, but financial sanctions have been placed by many countries on organizations that directly or indirectly support terrorists. The 2001 bioterror attacks in which anthrax spores were mailed to various U.S. media and government offices may not be linked to the events of September 11, but they raised specter of biological and chemical terrorism and revealed the difficulty of dealing with such attacks.
See B. Hoffman, Inside Terrorism (1998); M. Carr, The Infernal Machine: A History of Terrorism (2007); S. Nathanson, Terrorism and the Ethics of War (2010); M. A. Miller, The Foundations of Modern Terrorism (2013).
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The Oxford Companion to British History
© The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002.
terrorism, notoriously difficult to define, is the deliberate attempt by self-appointed groups to employ violence, often indiscriminately, to attain their objectives, national, political, religious, or criminal. Its object is to create panic, weaken resolve, destroy opponents, discredit governments, and produce political and economic dislocation. In Britain , an early terrorist attempt was the Gunpowder plot of 1605 which would have killed the king and many members of Parliament. Edmund Burke claimed that the French Revolution of 1789 had introduced a new concept of terror, supported by governments themselves. The Cato Street conspirators of 1820 intended to murder the British cabinet at dinner as the prelude to an insurrection.
Britons became familiar with terrorist outrages—the maiming of cattle, destruction of crops, burning of houses, and murder of opponents—during the Irish agitations of the 19th cent. Great indignation was felt in 1867 at the murder of a policeman by Fenians , though the perpetrators, who were hanged, were regarded by Irish nationalists as the ‘Manchester martyrs’ . The later 19th cent. saw an increase in assassinations, often by anarchists . In the USA, Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley were killed (1865, 1881, 1901); Alexander II of Russia was blown up by a bomb in 1882; the empress of Austria shot in 1898; King Humbert I of Italy murdered in 1900; and Stolypin, the Russian reformer, shot at the opera in 1911. The murder of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in 1914 led directly to the First World War .
After 1945, terrorism acquired new dimensions, with links between international groups, and growing disregard for the loss of innocent lives. Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, President Kennedy in 1963, Aldo Moro, a former prime minister of Italy, kidnapped and murdered by the Red Brigade in 1978, Lord Mountbatten killed by the IRA in 1980, and Indira Gandhi killed by one of her own bodyguards in 1984. Car-bombs and aircraft hijacking became increasingly common and, in the Middle East , suicide-bombers proved hard to stop. In 1988 nearly 300 people died when Pan Am flight 103 was destroyed over Lockerbie; the Real IRA killed 26 people and injured 200 more with a bomb at Omagh in 1998. These atrocities were dwarfed on 11 September 2001 when the World Trade Centre at New York was destroyed by supporters of Osama bin Laden with the loss of nearly 3,000 lives. Britain joined in the coalition to root out the al-Qa'eda terrorist network in Afghanistan , and in the 2003 campaign in Iraq which overthrew Saddam Hussain. In Britain itself, international terrorism moved closer with the attack in 2005 on London's transport system, which left more than 50 people dead.
J. A. Cannon
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc.
TERRORISM
A half-century of Russian history was bloodstained by revolutionary terrorism. Its first outburst was the abortive April 1866 assassination attempt against Tsar Alexander II by Dmitry Karakozov. From then on, extremists of different ideological persuasions, with varying degrees of success, resorted to acts of terror as part of their struggle against the contemporary sociopolitical order.
Terrorist activity had a particularly strong impact on the country's life during two distinct periods. The first was the so-called heroic period, between 1878 and 1881, when the Party of the People's Will (Narodnaya Volya )—the first modern terrorist organization in the world—dominated the radical camp. Its campaign against the autocracy culminated in the assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881. Alexander III's government succeeded in disintegrating the People's Will; yet, after a twenty-year period of relative and deceptive calm, a new wave of terrorism erupted during the reign of Russia 's last tsar, Nicholas II (1894–1917). Its perpetrators were members of various newly formed left-wing organizations, who implicated themselves in terrorist acts even when their parties in theory rejected terrorism as a suitable tactic. As radical activity reached its peak during the 1905–1907 crisis, terrorism became an all-pervasive phenomenon, affecting not only the elite civil and military circles but every layer of society. During the first decade of the twentieth century, the terrorists were responsible for approximately 17,000 casualties throughout the empire. Their attacks were indiscriminate, directed at a broad category of alleged "watchdogs of the old regime" and "oppressors of the poor."
Although terrorism subsided by late 1907, largely as a result of severe repressive measures employed by Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin, until the collapse of the imperial order in 1917 it remained a threatening weapon in the hands of extremists seeking the demise of the tsarist regime.
See also: nicholas ii; people's will the; red terror; zhelyabov, andrei ivanovich
bibliography
Footman, David. (1968). Red Prelude: A Biography of Zhelyabov. London: Barrie & Rockliff.
Geifman, Anna. (1993). Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894–1917. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Anna Geifman
Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes
© Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes 2007, originally published by Oxford University Press 2007.
terrorist •tantrist •guitarist, scenarist, tsarist •sitarist • memoirist • belletrist •centrist • Marist • sacrist •lyrist, panegyrist •equilibrist • interest •optometrist, psychometrist, sociometrist •satirist •afforest, florist, forest, Forrest •rainforest • folklorist •careerist, querist, theorist •plagiarist • meliorist • apiarist •topiarist • diarist • psychiatrist •jurist, purist, tourist •obituarist • caricaturist • pedicurist •manicurist • sinecurist • naturist •miniaturist • futurist •agriculturist, apiculturist, arboriculturist, horticulturist, pisciculturist, sericulturist, silviculturist, viniculturist, viticulturist •acupuncturist • welfarist • allegorist •Eucharist • artillerist • secularist •particularist •colourist (US colorist) •amorist • ephemerist • mesmerist •consumerist, humorist •mannerist • tenorist • seminarist •terrorist • adventurist • detectorist •documentarist • militarist •monetarist • lepidopterist •motorist, votarist •scooterist • voluntarist • zitherist •Everest • aquarist • auteurist
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Who created several children's shows for TV, including Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog? | BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Bagpuss and Ivor creator dies
Bagpuss and Ivor creator dies
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Bagpuss was one of Oliver Postgate's best-loved creations
Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has died aged 83, his family has confirmed.
Postgate, who lived in Kent, created some of the best-loved children's TV series including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog.
His work, screened on the BBC and ITV from the 1950s to the present day, was often in collaboration with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin.
In a poll earlier this year, Bagpuss, a saggy pink cloth cat, was voted the best TV animal of all-time.
Postgate's partner, Naomi Linnell, confirmed he died at a nursing home near his home in Broadstairs in Kent on Monday.
Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy
Sandra Kerr, colleague of Oliver Postgate
Friend and colleague, Sandra Kerr, has been paying tribute to "a creative and eccentric talent".
Ms Kerr, the voice of the mice in Bagpuss, said they had so much fun working together, their giggles can be heard on the Bagpuss soundtrack.
Asked where his inspiration came from, she said: "Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy.
"He and Peter just responded to that part of themselves they had never lost."
Conservative leader David Cameron told BBC Radio 5 Live that Ivor the Engine was his favourite of Postgate and Firmin's characters.
"I never really got the Clangers," he added. "My wife's a big Clangers fan - I never quite got that in the same way."
Oliver Postgate created many much-loved children's TV programmes
Postgate's work was popular with generations of children who loved the strangeness of the characters and the warmth of his story-telling.
The short animated films, which he would script and narrate, were created by Smallfilms production company, set up with Firmin.
The partners worked in a makeshift studio in a disused cowshed in Kent on a tiny budget often using home-made equipment.
Ivor the Engine, a series for ITV about a little Welsh steam engine who wanted to sing in a choir, was their first creation. The 1960s BBC series of Noggin the Nog about a baby-faced king of the race of Nogs followed.
The pair swiftly established themselves as reliable purveyors of children's entertainment, in the days when there were just two channels and children's television occupied a privileged teatime slot.
'Praise and encouragement'
Describing the commissioning process, Postgate said: "We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say, 'Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?'"
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"The pop group ""Simply Red"" had over 20 hit records in the top twenty. What was their only Number One?" | Noggin and the Dragon - Oliver Postgate - Bok (9781405281546) | Bokus
Noggin and the Dragon
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Exquisite new hardback editions of the classic Noggin the Nog books about a friendly Viking, based on the beloved BBC series created by Oliver Postgate and BAFTA - award winning Peter Firmin, creators of The Clangers, Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine. Noggin's son, Little Knut, wants to go on a dragon hunt with his friends. So Noggin sends them off with brave Thor Nogson as an escort. But what happens when Thor Nogson finds a dragon? And is the dragon all that it seems? It is perfect for fans of Cressida Cowell's How to be a Viking, Noggin the Nog pairs Peter Firmin's charming and colourful illustrations with Oliver Postgate's inimitable storytelling to create the ideal books for newly independent readers. Peter Firmin partnered with Oliver Postgate to found Smallfilms in 1959 and together they went on to produce some of the BBC's best-loved television shows for children including Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, Bagpuss and The Clangers - which recently returned to screens in the US and UK, narrated by William Shatner and Michael Palin. It collects more classic Noggin books: Noggin and the Whale, Noggin the King and Nogbad Comes Back.
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Bourbon whiskey is named after a county in which US state? | Pinkie's - Whiskey Bourbon
Woodford Reserve
Since the dawn of civilization, distilled spirits have been known to mankind as the “water of life.” In every clime, in every corner of the the world, people have been enjoying spirits distilled from the grains and fruits growing around them. The modern process of distillation can be traced to the Arabs, it is the Celtic peoples of the British Isles to whom we are indebted for the origins of one type of spirit – whiskey. The Celtic ancestors of modern Scotch and Irish called their drink distilled from grain “usigebaugh” (pronounced wis-ge-baugh) – water of life. The English shortened this to “whisky (spelled without the “e.” The Irish, and Americans, of course, spell it with the “e”). A simple definition, one that’s short and to the point is that whiskey is a spirit, aged in wood, obtained from the distillation of a fermented mash of grain. Whiskey can be produced from any grain, but corn, rye and barley are the principal grains used.
Straight whiskey is an alcoholic distillate from a fermented mash of grain distilled at not exceeding 160 proof and with drawn from the cistern room of the distillery at not more than 110 proof and not less than 80 proof, and aged for not less than 24 calendar months in new charred oak barrels. Straight whiskey can be distilled from any grain or combination of grains. There are several types of straight whiskies in the United States.
Bourbon has been distilled in the United States since the days of the American Revolution, it was not until May 4, 1964, that Congress recognized it as a “distinctive product of the United States.” Under federal regulations, bourbon is a whiskey distilled at not exceeding 160 proof from a fermented mash of not less that 51% corn. The balance of the mash may be any other grain but is generally rye and barley malt. Also the product must be stored in new charred oak barrels. Bourbon includes both straights and bonds. Factoid: Bourbon was first produced by a frontier preacher, Rev. Elijah Craig, who distilled the whiskey in what was then the western part of Virginia, later to be part of the new state of Kentucky. The immediate area was named Bourbon County and the whiskey became known as Bourbon whiskey.
Corn whiskey is distilled from a fermented mash of grain containing at least 80% corn, and is designated a straight corn whiskey. It can be stored in either uncharred barrels or re-used charred barrels. Corn whiskey is a fiery drink of the backwoods that gets little chance to mature at all. Closest thing to “White Lightning."
Sour Mash whiskey is a type of whiskey which is produced as a result of using part of the previous day’s mash instead of water to start and to assist in the fermentation of a new batch of mash. A definition of “mash” is a mixture of grain, molasses or sugar with water and yeast, which is fermented and distilled to produce ethyl alcohol. There is nothing “sour” about Sour Mash Whiskey. Some good judges of Bourbon feel that this particular type has the most pleasing of all Bourbon flavors.
Rye whiskey is a product that is not distilled more than 160 proof from a fermented mash of grain containing at least 51% rye grain. Also a straight rye in the United States must be bottled at not less than 80 proof , and be aged in new charred oak barrels for not less than two years.
Tennessee whiskey production process follows that of bourbon, but itdiffers in the extra steps that take place immediately after distilling. At that point the whiskey is seeped very slowly through vats packed with charcoal. Charcoal is very important, its use eliminates congeners before aging. Congeners are the natural flavor constituents in spirits. They are traces of oils, esters and acids carried through the distillation process and into the distillate. Spirits distilled at lower proofs have the highest congeneric content. High proof neutral spirits are practically free of congeners. The charcoal used in the production of Tennessee whiskey comes from the Tennessee hard maple tree.
When the whiskey comes off the still, it is slowly introduced into vats where it is permitted to seep down uniformly through the entire area of the charcoal. In about ten days, the first drops of whiskey trickle out, and continue in this drop by drop fashion until the leaching vat is emptied. Following the leaching process, the whiskey is put into charred, white oak barrels for storage and aging.
American Blended is a balanced blending of straight whiskies and neutral spirits containing at least 20% straight whiskey and bottled at not less than 80 proof. “Neutral Spirits” are distilled spirits at or above 190 proof.
In producing a blended whiskey, the distiller combines several straight whiskies with extremely light bodied, almost flavorless spirits (neutral grain spirits) and sometimes the distiller adds a blending agent such as sherry. The result is a balanced whiskey that is exceptionally uniform in lightness and flavor.
Blended whiskies are “built.” The straight whiskies that go into them are distilled and aged to take a planned part in the blend. Every blend on a store’s shelves has a number of straight whiskies in its formula. The standard for any blend is the “fixed” character of taste and bouquet the distiller has chosen. The “taste quotient” can be maintained year after year. In order to maintain the taste pattern of the blend the distiller expertise comes out, because no two straight whiskies are exactly alike. They (straight whiskies) vary with each grain crop and they very slightly from batch to batch. In creating and maintaining the same blend year after year the blender/distiller must continually compensate for these changes if he is to have uniformity in his brand. Blended whiskies are not merely stirred, but are allowed to rest together for a considerable period of time, commonly known as the marrying period. For this final aging, the blend , in some instances, is restored to whiskey barrels. The product can be aged in either used oak barrels or in new uncharred oak barrels.
Bonded whiskey is not blended. It has been stored continuously for at least four years in wooden barrels and which is bottled at 100 proof ; it must all be the product of a single distillery, by the same distiller, during a single season and year. It is then entitled to be labeled as “bottled in bond” and sealed with the U.S. government’s green strip stamp.
Bottled in bond whiskey must be bottled under supervision of the U.S. government within the distillery in a bottling-in-bond department specially constructed according to federal specifications which provides accommodations for inspectors of the Internal Revenue Service.
Under federal regulations, the distiller, if so chooses, is allowed to bottle this whiskey without paying the excise tax, provided he keeps the bottled product in a bonded warehouse until ready to be moved into the distribution channels. When the bottled in bond whiskey is removed, it the tax-paid by the owner. The term bottled in bond is not a guarantee of quality but refers only to the regulatory procedure under which it is bottled and taxed.
Canadian Whisky is a distinctive product of Canada, in which corn and rye are the principal grains used in the mash. Being a people primarily of British and French origin, it is only logical that Canadians combine the traditions of the Scotch Highlands and the French Cognac region in their whisky production skills. Canadians contain no distilled spirits less than two years old, they are a whisky of delicate flavor and light body. The distillers may blend their whiskies either before aging or during the aging period. Most Canadians exported to the United States are blends. U.S. regulations do not permit the labeling of Canadian whiskies as straights. No limitations on grain formulas, proof of distillation or cooperage.
Canadian blends are not a blend of straight whiskies and neutral spirits as they are in the United States. The lightest spirits, distilled at 185 proof, would be legally defined as whiskey ( rather than neutral spirits) in the U.S.
They are generally bottled at six years of age or more. A Canadian that is under four years of age must state its age on the label. Aging is done typically in wooden casks or barrels which may be charred on the inside
Irish whisky is a product of Ireland that is actually two kinds of whiskey, one produced in Northern Ireland and the other in the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland whisky is a blend of malt whiskies and grain whiskey. The malt whiskies are distilled in pot stills at about 111 proof from a mash of barley malt. The grain whiskey is distilled in continuous stills at over 180 proof.
The Republic of Ireland is a blended whiskey distilled at not more that 171 proof in pot stills. The difference is in the mash. The malted barley is mixed with wheat, oats and rye.
It is generally accepted that the Irish were the first people in Western Europe to make spirits. They are made from a mash of cereals, mostly barley with perhaps twenty percent of oat and wheat . Half of the barley is malted (see Scotch Whisky) and when all the cereals are mashed the starch in them is turned into sugar. The use of oats in the mash is a ancient practice, which so far is only used by the Irish. The oats are “cracked" rather than ground before
being added to the mash. Note that unlike scotch whisky, whose ingredients and methods of manufacture it generally follows, the barley malt in Irish whiskey is not impregnated with smokey flavor from burning peat.
The distilling of the femented mash, or “wash” as it is technically called, is very much the same in Ireland as it is in Scotland. Pot stills are used exclusively for the straight whiskies. Irish whiskies are distilled at a higher proof than scotch malts, making them somewhat lighter. No Irish whiskey is aged less than three years and it is the only whiskey in the world that is distilled three times. An exceptionally smooth, uniquely light flavored whiskey.
Vatted Malt scotch is a scotch produced by marrying together various malt whiskies from several distilleries. They are generally labeled “Scotch Malt Whisky” or “Pure Malt”. Vatted malts cannot be labeled as a single malt.
Grain whisky is a whisky that is produced from malted and unmalted cereals in a continuous distillation process. A higher strength spirit the matures more quickly than that of malt whiskey.
Blended whisky is a whisky (scotch) that is created from both single malts and grain whisky. The blended whisky accounts for about 95 percent of Scotch whisky sales.
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"The status of which planet in the Solar System was changed in 2006 by the International Astronomic Union when it was re-classified as a ""dwarf planet"" ?" | How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital - Hungry History
How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital
August 17, 2015 By Christopher Klein
Credit: iStockphoto.com
How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital
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How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital
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There’s no law mandating that bourbon must be produced in Kentucky, although it might seem that way given the state’s dominance in distilling the distinctive corn-based, barrel-aged whiskey. According to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, the Bluegrass State produces and ages approximately 95 percent of the world’s bourbon whiskey.
So is there something in Kentucky’s water that has caused the bourbon industry to flourish? In fact, there is. The state sits atop vast deposits of blue limestone, which filters out hard iron and imparts sweet-tasting calcium and magnesium. “To this day you can go to an open stream in Kentucky, and it will taste better than 90 percent of tap water in the country because the limestone filters out unwanted minerals,” says whiskey historian Fred Minnick, author of “Whiskey Women” and “Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker.”
Kentucky’s wide temperature swings—from chilly winters to hot summers—are also conducive to producing bourbon because they cause the charred oak barrels, which give the spirit its amber color and distinctive taste, to alternately absorb and release the whiskey. “We have the ideal climate to age bourbon probably,” says Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell, a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame who grew up less than five miles from the distillery where he has worked since 1954. “You need the hot summers and cold winters so that the wood can breathe and the whiskey can move in and out of it.”
Another factor that makes Kentucky fertile ground for bourbon production is literally its fertile ground. The influx of settlers who crossed the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1700s soon learned the Kentucky soil was perfect for growing bourbon’s second main ingredient—corn. Drawn in part by Virginia’s 1776 Corn Patch and Cabin Rights Act, which offered 400 acres to any settlers who built cabins and planted corn in its then-territory of Kentucky, immigrants from Germany, Scotland and the north of Ireland were among those who arrived with the whiskey-distilling knowledge from their homelands in tow.
The ease of growing corn in Kentucky caused distillers who migrated from the East Coast to change their whiskey recipes. “Rye was the plentiful grain in Pennsylvania and Maryland,” Russell says, “but when distillers came over the Appalachians they found corn the dominant grain so they used corn instead of rye.”
By the 1780s a distinctive style of corn-based whiskey was being distilled in Kentucky, although Minnick says the story that Baptist minister Elijah Craig invented bourbon by accident after storing his whiskey in barrels charred by a fire is mere legend concocted by whiskey advocates to cloak the spirit in the spiritual. “Craig was a very powerful and important person, but we don’t have any credible records to indicate that he would have been a true inventor of bourbon,” Minnick says.
Whiskey increased in popularity after the American Revolution as the import of rum—which had been the most popular alcoholic drink in many American colonies—slowed with decline of the “triangle trade” with Great Britain. The lingering debt from the war, however, caused the federal government to levy a tax on liquor in 1791. Distillers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, in particular, bristled at the tax and led the Whiskey Rebellion, which was eventually quelled by thousands of federal troops dispatched by President George Washington in 1794.
Minnick notes, however, that the Whiskey Rebellion did not spark a mass migration of tax-dodging distillers to Kentucky and that an estimated 500 distilleries were already operating in the state at the time. However, he notes that to prevent a similar popular uprising Congress left whiskey largely tax-free until the Civil War, except briefly to pay for the War of 1812. “After the Whiskey Rebellion, Congress decided not to tax whiskey, but they added tariffs onto rum because there was a thought that money from rum would end up getting into the hands of the British.”
The high levies on rum and its key ingredient, molasses, contributed to soaring whiskey consumption in the early decades of the republic. Kentucky’s whiskey industry, in particular, thrived as slave labor assisted with production and distillers took advantage of the state’s plethora of navigable waterways—such as the Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers—that provided easy access to big cities such as Cincinnati and New Orleans.
In addition to Kentucky’s geographic advantages, Minnick says the state’s strong families who passed distilling down from generation to generation and sustained their businesses in bad economic times also allowed the bourbon industry to flourish. “Many major areas had significant distilling capacity, but the stronger families were here in Kentucky, and that sustained bourbon through the years. All the historical family names that you see on these old bourbon bottles were passionate. They developed a following, and for the most part these companies have been able to work together for the common good.”
Although the term “bourbon” began to appear in newspaper advertisements for Kentucky’s particular brand of whiskey by the 1820s, its origins are murky. Some historians believe the moniker was inspired by Kentucky’s Bourbon County—itself named after the French royal family in recognition of France’s support in the American Revolution. Bourbon County originally occupied a large section of central Kentucky, and local distillers stamped its name as the county of origin on whiskey barrels transported around the country. Minnick says another theory is the name derived from Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where the drink was popular in the French Quarter saloons. “There’s not enough good evidence one way or another,” he says.
There’s one fact about bourbon, though, that can’t be disputed according to Russell. “You can make bourbon anyplace in the country,” he says, “but if it’s not Kentucky bourbon, it’s not bourbon.”
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Who developed the first suvvessful vaccine for Smallpox ? | WHO | Smallpox
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Smallpox
Smallpox is an acute contagious disease caused by variola virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus family. Smallpox, which is believed to have originated over 3,000 years ago in India or Egypt, was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. Smallpox is transmitted from person to person by infected aerosols and air droplets spread in face-to-face contact with an infected person. The disease can also be transmitted by contaminated clothes and bedding, though the risk of infection from this source is much lower.
Following an incubation period of about 12-14 days there is a sudden onset of influenza-like symptoms including fever, malaise, headache, prostration, severe back pain and, less often, abdominal pain and vomiting. Two to three days later, a characteristic rash appears, first on the face, hands and forearms and then after a few days progressing to the trunk. Lesions also develop in the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth, and ulcerate very soon after their formation, releasing large amounts of virus into the mouth and throat. Two forms of the disease are recognized, variola minor with a mortality rate of approximately 1%, and the more common variola major with a mortality rate of 30%. Between 65–80% of survivors are marked with deep pitted scars (pockmarks), most prominent on the face.
In 1967, WHO launched an intensified plan to eradicate smallpox. Following a successful campaign to achieve high levels of immunization globally, the last case of endemically circulating smallpox occurred in 1977. In 1979, WHO recommended that vaccination against smallpox be stopped in all countries, the only exception being special groups, such as researchers working with smallpox and related viruses.
The global eradication of smallpox was certified in December 1979 and endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 1980, marking one of the most successful collaborative public health initiatives in history. Following eradication, smallpox, vaccine production was halted. A large stock of the smallpox vaccine was retained around the world although the storage conditions and potency of these stocks are not known. Two sites in the USA and Russia hold stocks of variola virus. In the interest of global security, these stocks were to be destroyed by the end of the twentieth century. However, due to continued interest in research and development involving variola virus, the destruction of the remaining stocks of smallpox virus has been postponed by the World Health Assembly.
Smallpox Vaccines
Edward Jenner demonstrated, in 1798, that inoculation of humans with live vaccinia virus (cowpox) could protect against smallpox. This brought the first hope that the disease could be controlled. Vaccinia vaccine has been used continuously since then. Most existing vaccine stocks and the vaccine utilized by the WHO eradication campaign consisted of pulp scraped from vaccinia-infected animal skin, mainly calf or sheep, with phenol added to a concentration sufficient to kill bacteria, but not so high as to inactivate the vaccinia virus. The live vaccine was then freeze-dried and sealed in ampoules for later re-suspension in sterile buffer and subsequent intradermal inoculation by multiple puncture with a bifurcated needle. The vaccinia virus is remarkably stable when lyophilized, and vaccines stored under appropriate conditions for as long as 18 years have not lost their potency.
A number of new vaccines produced on cell substrates rather than animal skin have been developed following renewed interest in the production and use of smallpox vaccines.
Smallpox vaccine standardization
Written Standards
WHO recommendations for the production and quality control of smallpox vaccines were first adopted in 1959 and revised in 1965. They were updated in 2003 in case new supplies of vaccine were required. This update includes production on cell substrates and introduces modern requirements for adventitious agent testing.
| Edward Jenner |
Who was the chief executive of RBS bank who resigned in 2009, a month before RBS announced a loss of £24 billion, the largest loss in UK corporate history ? | The history of vaccination - Vaccinations - NHS Choices
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The history of vaccination
Vaccination is a miracle of modern medicine. In the past 50 years, it's saved more lives worldwide than any other medical product or procedure. However, the fascinating story of vaccination goes back all the way to Ancient Greece.
429 BC: Thucydides notices that people who survive smallpox do not get reinfected
As long ago as 429 BC, the Greek historian Thucydides observed that those who survived the smallpox plague in Athens did not become reinfected with the disease.
900 AD: Chinese discover variolation
The Chinese were the first to discover and use a primitive form of vaccination called variolation. It was carried out as early as the 10th century, and particularly between the 14th and 17th centuries.
The aim was to prevent smallpox by exposing healthy people to tissue from the scabs caused by the disease. They did this by either putting it under the skin or, more often, inserting powdered scabs from smallpox pustules up the nose.
1700s: Variolation spreads around the world
Variolation eventually spread to Turkey, and arrived in England in the early 18th century. At this time, smallpox was the most infectious disease in Europe. It struck rich and poor alike, and killed up to one-fifth of those infected in numerous epidemics.
Variolation caused mild illness, but although it occasionally caused death, smallpox rates were lower in populations that tried it.
1796: Edward Jenner discovers vaccination
British physician Dr Edward Jenner (pictured) discovered vaccination in its modern form and proved to the scientific community that it worked.
1803: Royal Jennerian Institute founded
Support for vaccination grew. Jenner was awarded government funding, and in 1803 the Royal Jennerian Institute was founded. Vaccination became popular throughout Europe and, soon after, the US.
1870s: Violent opposition to vaccination
Although vaccination was taken up enthusiastically by many, there was some violent opposition as it became more widespread. People found it hard to believe that it really worked. They also felt it took away people's civil liberties, particularly when it was compulsory.
1880s: A vaccine against rabies
Louis Pasteur improved vaccination even more and developed a rabies vaccine . As the science of immunology developed and scientists began to understand more about how diseases worked, other vaccines were created.
1890: Emil von Behring discovers the basis of diphtheria and tetanus vaccines
German scientist Emil von Behring was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Japanese physician and bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovered the antitoxins of diphtheria and tetanus . He demonstrated that animals injected with small amounts of the tetanus toxin became immune to the disease.
1920s: Vaccines become widely available
By the end of the 1920s, vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and tuberculosis (TB) were all available.
Vaccination spread across the globe – although these early vaccines were crude, they worked. The first vaccination programmes dramatically reduced the number of deaths from disease and were crucial in establishing the concept of preventative public health measures.
1955: Polio vaccination begins
Polio vaccination was introduced in the UK, dramatically reducing the number of cases of the disease. Nowadays, polio is extremely rare and is close to being completely eliminated from the planet.
1956: WHO fights to eradicate smallpox
The first attempt to use the smallpox vaccine on a global scale began when the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to try to eradicate smallpox across the world.
1980: Smallpox eradicated from the world
Smallpox was declared as being eradicated in 1980. It was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of medicine.
2008: Cervical cancer scientist awarded Nobel Prize
Professor Harald zur Hausen discovered that cervical cancer was caused by a virus, making it possible to develop a vaccine for the disease.
The scientist proved that a group of viruses called human papillomaviruses (HPV) caused cervical cancer . This discovery led to the development of the HPV vaccine , which protects against cervical cancer, and is now widely available.
2008: NHS vaccinates girls against cancer
In England, the NHS cervical cancer vaccination programme began, whereby all girls aged 12 to 13 are offered HPV vaccination to protect them against cervical cancer. It is the first time that a routine universal vaccine has been given to prevent a type of cancer.
2013: NHS vaccinates against shingles, rotavirus and children's flu
The NHS vaccination programme saw the introduction of rotavirus vaccination for babies and a shingles vaccine for over-70s. A children's flu vaccine was also launched. This is given as a nasal spray rather than an injection.
2015: NHS vaccinates babies against meningitis B
The NHS vaccination programme saw the introduction of Men B vaccination for babies. The programme is the first national, routine, universal and publicly funded Men B vaccination programme in the world.
Page last reviewed: 07/04/2016
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The classic novel by Emile Zola about a French coalminers strike in the 1860's had what title ? | Germinal: Emile Zola, H. Ellis: 9780236176908: Amazon.com: Books
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From Dominique Jullien’s Introduction to Germinal
What makes Germinal so compelling is the combination of symbolic force and factual accuracy. Zola approached each one of his novels with extensive research; he was particularly thorough in this and complemented his factual research with a visit to the real location of his story. He first read extensivelyon the mining industry, the mining regions of northern France, the daily lives of miners, technical innovations in the pits, and working-class political movements. Then, at the end of February 1884, for about a week he visited the mining country. He talked to engineers, entered miners’ houses, went deep down into the mining tunnels, and observed the small mining town of Anzin, where a strike had just begun. His voluminous Notes sur Anzin” (Notes on Anzin”; see the Gallimard edition of Les Rougon-Macquart, listed in For Further Reading”) form an extraordinary record of personal impressions and factual information. Zola was very careful to avoid anachronism. Between the late 1860s, when the novel takes place, and 1884, when Zola took notes for his novel, things had been changing in the coal mines, although the technical methods of extraction hadn’t altered dramatically, and the miners’ living conditions remained miserable and were made worse by rising prices and an economic slump. In Germinal we find women, as young as twelve and as old as forty, working in the mines. Women were paid half of a man’s wages. Children of eleven worked fourteen-hour days. Strikes were illegal and often ended in bloody confrontations with the army. But miners were beginning to agitate for better conditions. A series of dramatic strikes in the last years of the Second Empire shocked public opinion and inspired the strike scenes in Germinal. In 1869 the army fired into the crowd of striking miners at La Ricamarie, killing thirteen, including two women. Another fourteen died later in similar circumstances at Aubin. But slowly miners, like workers elsewhere, were organizing to improve their lot. Little by little, the labor laws restricting workers’ rights were relaxed. Workers’ associations gradually became more tolerated. Protective laws were implemented: For example, in 1874 women could no longer be employed underground, and children under twelve were not allowed to work in the mines at all. Solidarity among workers improved, as support for ill, injured, and striking workers was more effectively organized. Karl Marx’s Manifest Der Kommunistischen Partei (Manifesto of the Communist Party) was published in 1848. In 1864 Marx helped found the International Workingmen’s Association in London; this First International” helped radicalize workers’ movements in France. And the French translation of Das Kapital (1867, first volume) was published beginning in 1875. Hard-line Marxism, with its intransigent theory of class warfare, came to dominate LaborCapital relations. This is clearly shown in the novel. Germinal weaves the story of the hero’s political education into the background story of the miners’ plight. When Étienne Lantier first comes to Montsou, he is poor and ignorant. His mind is as barren as the dark plain of the mining country. But when he emerges from the flooded mine at the end of the novel, Étienne is poised to become a professional revolutionary, leaving behind both nihilistic terrorism and conciliatory reformism.
Zola’s novel is a fascinating document on the political movements of the time. Rasseneur, who owns the café where miners gather to drink and talk, embodiees the moderates, the supporters of cooperation between Labor and Capital. The moderates are pitted against socialist politicians like Pluchart, the hero’s role model, who is sent by the International to organize and indoctrinate miners of the northern region of France. At the heart of the novel lies the ideological rivalry between Rasseneur and Étienne and their battle for the miners’ hearts and minds. Étienne’s superior education and rousing rhetorical skills soon give him precedence over Rasseneur, who is booed by the miners when he tries to speak against the strike (part four, chapter VII). But after the catastrophic failure of the strike, it is Étienne’s turn to experience loss of popularity. When the enraged miners throw bricks at him, he is rescued by Rasseneur, who calms the mob with his soothing eloquence, and who is once again cheered as its leader. Later, the two men have a drink together and bond over their shared disillusionment with the savagery of the crowd (part seven, chapter I). Yet in the last chapter, Étienne, called to Paris by Pluchart to join the Paris section of the International, is once again reconciled with the miners. The silent handshakes he exchanges with them on the morning of his departure acknowledge that they once again accept him as their leader and count on him, rather than Rasseneur, to lead them to victory (part seven, chapter VI). Zola’s portrayal of his hero as a Marxist revolutionary in the making is masterful. He shows Étienne’s transformation from a young and rather incompetent worker to a self-taught zealot and an ambitious déclassé, who fights for the working classes but feels superior to them. (Étienne’s culture is a medley of popularized Darwinism, undigested Marxism, and elements of anarchism lifted from social theorist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin.) Zola’s ambivalence toward professional revolutionaries is obviousPluchart, the elusive and ambitious apparatchik, who uses the miners’ discontent for his own political promotion and spends barely enough time in Montsou to collect party memberships (part four, chapter IV), is hardly idealized. But, curiously, Étienne is not idealized either. He is intoxicated with this first enjoyment of popularity”, and later he hardens into a sectarian collectivist when he convinces the miners at a secret meeting in the woods that the new communist society is around the corner (part four, chapter VII). He is too pleased with his own pedantry. He is an irresponsible revolutionary whose fiery speeches about a better future bring tragedy to his comrades.
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
| Germinal |
Who was the chief executive of Barclays bank who resigned in July 2012 after Barclays had been severely fined for fixing LIBOR rates ? | Germinal Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
21 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
A French epic masterpiece and "must see" for movie buffs.
from Orange County, CA USA
22 April 2001
"Germinal", based on a novel by Emile Zola, is an epic film which studies the anatomy of a strike in a 19th century French coal mine. During it's 2.5+ hour run time, the film shows the wretchedness of coal miners, their deplorable living conditions, their attempts to organize, negotiations, strike, rioting, police suppression, sabotage, etc. The story is woven around a handful of characters who represent the forces at work; management, union, profiteers, scabs, etc.
About Zola's novel, Havelock Ellis wrote: "It was neither amusing enough nor outrageous enough to attract the multitude". So it is with the film which emphasizes realism over romanticism and exists more as a study of a timeless social/political issue than pure commercial entertainment. A must see for cinema buffs but not likely have broad commercial appeal.
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11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
And you thought YOU had it bad?
from Ronn Ives/FUTURES Antiques, Norfolk, VA.
17 July 2005
"Germinal" (French, 1993): This EPIC story, adapted from Emile Zola's novel and put to film by Claude Berri (director of "Jean de Florette" and "Manon of the Spring"), is the gritty depiction of hard working coal miners in 1800's France, trying to eek out a living and better their lives by forming a labor union. Loaded with issues rising through the Industrial Age, Gerard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Judith Henry, and Jean-Roger Milo deservedly star in a frighteningly bleak setting, with ominous musical scoring, and the relentless, black dust of coal. Comparisons to the wealthy mine owners lives, opulent and very isolated from their industry's realities, are blatant and clear. Zola wanted some economic and moral balance even just a little and set about depicting a situation that could not be denied.
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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Very good movie for people who are interested in the life of the ordinary man during the industrial revolution
from Tessenderlo, Belgium
14 May 2005
I've never been interested in costume drama's that deal with 18th and 19th century high society. As I once said before in another review: "There is just too much gold foil, too much ugly wigs and pompous costumes, too much over the top decors, just too much of everything that I detest in it" and I really haven't changed my idea about that so far. But when I'm able to see a movie that deals with the life of the ordinary man in that time period, than I'm always willing to give it a chance.
"Germinal" is such a movie that deals with life of the ordinary man and woman. It tells the story of the coal miners in the region of Lille, in the North of France at the end of the 19th century. They are all poor, they work too hard in awful conditions and they don't get paid what they deserve by the bosses who only want to get richer and richer by doing whatever they can so they won't have to pay a cent to their workforce. Of course the miners aren't happy with that situation and when they get into contact with two men who both want to change the situation, one a communist union man and the other one an anarchist, the miners soon go on a strike, with some very unpleasant consequences as a result...
What first went through my mind while seeing this one, was that this movie has a lot of similarities with "Daens" (1993), the Belgian movie that tells the story of the poor textile workers in Flanders at the end of the 19th century. It's the same time period and both regions are only about 60 miles or 90 kilometers apart. If you like to see what life in the European industrial regions at the end of the 19th century was like, than both movies are certainly something you shouldn't miss.
What I liked about the movie as well was that it had a good pace and that it stayed interesting from the beginning until the end. It could have been very easy for the director to make a movie about this subject that lasted 5 or 6 hours, but than it might have lost much of its power. Now, you get a pretty good idea of what life in that region during the industrial revolution was like, without having to struggle through too many details that don't really contribute to the story. Next to the good story, I must say that I also liked the acting. Even though Gérard Depardieu hasn't always made the best choices of movies to play in, I always like him in the role of the ordinary man, the underdog that has to fight the system. I liked him in the mini-series "Les Misérables" as well and he has the same kind of role in this movie. The other actors did a fine job as well, even though I have to admit that I don't really know anyone of them, except for Bernard Fresson perhaps. All in all this is a very good adaptation of the novel by Émile Zola. It does exactly what I expected from it and that's why I give it at least a 7.5/10.
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18 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
genius
6 March 2006
Genius - Hollywood can never touch this.
We should be thankful that there is a country that produces real films - and of this scope.
I cringe to think how badly this would have been mutilated by Americans - we'd have a happy ending, they'd "go easy" on the commie stuff, there would be no premarital relations, the shopkeeper would be spared, some bland and muscly "action hero" type would catch the saboteur character and they'd fight with wrenches - sparks flying in the mineshaft. They would take out all social commentary, rename it etc etc... And then - the sequel "Germinal 2 - the Heroes of the Pit!" in a modern day setting with oil wells and helicopters.
Anyway, in all sincerity, I hope the accountants of Hollywood never try to butcher this story.
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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
How in the world do you get out of exploitation by the rich?
from Québec, Québec, Canada
10 October 1999
"Germinal" is a vivid, colorful, eloquent rendering of how the life of mine workers was in Europe in late 19th century. It is also a powerful illustration of how a strike could come about in that time, and how difficult - almost hopeless - it could seem for those dirt-poor people to try and improve their miserable life conditions. Of course, the contrast with the bourgeoisie is striking and thought-provoking. Depardieu (as Maheu) is, as usual, a giant figure, and most other actors are also very convincing. One question that remains when you saw it all is : can you really change a society's deep, unfair structure without violence?
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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Good solid classic story-telling
from Kansas City, Missouri, USA
14 June 2004
A straightforward, generally fast-moving, recounting of a gripping social struggle, portrayed without any special effects for special effects' sake (though I think there was plenty of unobtrusive special effects), with the emphasis always on the dramatic line; good acting by all concerned; generally plain, clear photography that served the story-telling and not some "artsy" vision--all these added up, for me, to an enthuasiastic vote of "ten." Cannot praise this film enough. No, it's not some summit of art, but it's a textbook example of how to tell a story, keep the audience's attention, and honor the dramatic basis of the project instead of indulging in "artistic" whims and triviliaties that will appear dated in five or six years.
I'll be watching this one again. (By the way, I found the distant shot of the striking workers marching across the plain especially moving. And I had the feeling throughout the film that this was how things really looked at that terrible period of French, and European, history.)
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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
A decent attempt at a complex story
from United Arab Emirates
30 April 2004
Tackling a book such as Germinal is a mammoth task - and one that I always thought was extremely difficult to transfer onto the big screen.
There are two ways you can do it, keep it simple or explore everything and bore the audience to death. You can see here that the director has decided to keep the story as simple and straightforward as possible.
This means there are a few gaping holes in the film, as it ignores some of the intricacies of the story and many of the sub-plots which punctuate the story and add to the feel of the book.
In one sense he succeeds, as the tempo of the film is high and it rattles along at a fair pace, not reading like a 2 and a half hour story.
But the major drawback of this tactic is that Germinal ends up looking like a simplistic noble workers versus the greedy bosses story, when the novel is anything but that.
Scorn is poured on both sides with equal contempt by Zola, and plenty of sympathy is given to some of the "wealthy" protaganists in the book.
Having said this, I do understand that in order to keep the film from turning into a 4 hour behemoth, you need to try and keep it as simple as possible.
On the whole, however, it is pretty well acted and the art direction is utterly breathtaking. The villages, the pits, the landscapes, the mines are fabulously shot. You really can feel the poverty oozing from every inch of the screen.
Gerard Depardieu (Maheu) and Renaud (Ettiene) put in some pretty convincing turns but feel that Jean-Roger Milo rather over-egged Chaval, turning him into some pseudo incredible hulk type character who is incapable of speaking normally. Judith Henry also seems a little to young and fresh faced to play Catherine.
I think I let my interpretation of the book cloud my judgement, and as a result I was disappointed because I expected more from the film than I should have.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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9 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
a difficult task
from United States
22 August 2008
Reducing Zola's masterful but monstrously long novel to a movie is the problem that Claude Berri does not seem to have resolved. He sticks close to Zola's text, which means that we get lots of undeveloped snippets of what were very developed scenes in the novel. If you don't know the novel, this probably causes a certain sense of confusion. If you do know the novel, and it is well-known in France, you have the sense that you are just skimming the surface. I think that Berri would have done better to be less faithful to the novel, or at least less comprehensive in his adaptation of it.
That said, there are most certainly good things in this movie. Miou Miou delivers, in my opinion, the movie's best performance. No, she is not at all the earth mother that Zola's la Meheude is. But she acts with her face, saying far more with a facial gesture than many words would have said. In a movie that skims over a lot of material, that makes for very effective acting. Depardieu is sometimes very good - physically he is perfect for the part of le Maheu - sometimes he seems to deliver the lines without thinking about them. The actor who plays Souvarine is very striking.
The cinematography is nice, but does not convey a lot of what Zola emphasizes in the novel: the heat and lack of space in the mine tunnels, etc.
A good movie if you haven't read the novel; a disappointing one if you have.
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7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Workers struggle.
from Australia
14 April 1999
Big production values supported by the humane acting and a heart wrenching story of poverty and misery. The script has a few gaping holes in it but you manage to overcome those obstacles and be affected by this touching film.
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5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Good Intentions Perhaps, But No, Sorry, This Sucks
16 April 2012
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Making a two-hour film out of a 500 page book is tough, sure. But this version stinks. I'm sure someone really thought (Claude Berri?) this would be good. The problem is the film scratches the surface of the world Zola created. An obvious example is the mine, Le Voreux itself, in the beginning is described as a kind of living, breathing, horrific thing that swallows humans by the cartload. The trepidation of Etienne in going down to work is described in the book with such detail that when you watch the film the reality of what horror it must have really been is reduced to a simple look of anxiety on Etienne's face while he comfortably waits to descend. There is no trace of the idea of Le Voreux being a monstrous man-swallower. Missing this thematic point has nothing to do with a film's running length. It's a classic movie rendering of a book, without flavor, without guts, without imagination. The casting is atrocious. Etienne is supposed to be twenty-one years old, this guy looks well into his thirties (he was 40 in 1992). It's an important factor. Gerard Depardieu is fat as Maheu, in the book these poor people were starving to death, skinny to the point of emaciation, yet here is Depardieu looking very well fed. Who said Depardieu was physically perfect for the role? Are you nuts? These people were starving to death. The way they portrayed the poor was so prettied up, the younger sister was hunchbacked by malnutrition in the book but here is a cute healthy looking girl of course, their hair is clean and clothes relatively tidy, they look like modern people dressed up. If they wanted to make it look real, these people would have looked like they were suffering physically, as Zola described them. Malnourished, with bad skin, teeth, etc. Berri or whomever didn't have the guts to really show what they must have looked like, it would have been too extreme. Yet the extremity is the book's central character in a way. Without that, this is garbage. Another example, in the mines, in the book, the characters would have to crawl on their hands and knees to get to the seam in places, in pitch-black darkness at points, and Etienne would have suffered all sorts of bruises and cuts, but in the movie they just stroll on up to the spot. The characters and setting in the movie do no justice to how the book describes things like the temperature, freezing cold one minute and dying of heat the next. There are many examples like this. I had to turn it off. The acting wasn't that good either, not necessarily their fault, when they're forced to generalize things that were compressed and not naturally developed in the film the way they were in the book. Look, of course it's difficult to adapt a book, especially a good book, but if you can't do it, just don't. You're embarrassing yourself. The contrast between the classes in this book and how it completely illuminates their difference make the story make sense. This movie unfortunately doesn't come close. Only stupid 21st/20th Century minds from the Civilized West could actually think the poor characters in the movie were shown realistically as impoverished. We have no idea. That's why you read the book. Make the movie if you have the courage to do it justice. Without showing the real conditions, the desperation of the people to strike doesn't make sense, they have to be willing to die, because they're dying already.
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Who developed the first successful vaccine for Polio ? | Salk announces polio vaccine - Mar 26, 1953 - HISTORY.com
Salk announces polio vaccine
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A+E Networks
On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1952–an epidemic year for polio–there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. For promising eventually to eradicate the disease, which is known as “infant paralysis” because it mainly affects children, Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time.
Polio, a disease that has affected humanity throughout recorded history, attacks the nervous system and can cause varying degrees of paralysis. Since the virus is easily transmitted, epidemics were commonplace in the first decades of the 20th century. The first major polio epidemic in the United States occurred in Vermont in the summer of 1894, and by the 20th century thousands were affected every year. In the first decades of the 20th century, treatments were limited to quarantines and the infamous “iron lung,” a metal coffin-like contraption that aided respiration. Although children, and especially infants, were among the worst affected, adults were also often afflicted, including future president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1921 was stricken with polio at the age of 39 and was left partially paralyzed. Roosevelt later transformed his estate in Warm Springs, Georgia, into a recovery retreat for polio victims and was instrumental in raising funds for polio-related research and the treatment of polio patients.
Salk, born in New York City in 1914, first conducted research on viruses in the 1930s when he was a medical student at New York University, and during World War II helped develop flu vaccines. In 1947, he became head of a research laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh and in 1948 was awarded a grant to study the polio virus and develop a possible vaccine. By 1950, he had an early version of his polio vaccine.
Salk’s procedure, first attempted unsuccessfully by American Maurice Brodie in the 1930s, was to kill several strains of the virus and then inject the benign viruses into a healthy person’s bloodstream. The person’s immune system would then create antibodies designed to resist future exposure to poliomyelitis. Salk conducted the first human trials on former polio patients and on himself and his family, and by 1953 was ready to announce his findings. This occurred on the CBS national radio network on the evening of March 25 and two days later in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Salk became an immediate celebrity.
In 1954, clinical trials using the Salk vaccine and a placebo began on nearly two million American schoolchildren. In April 1955, it was announced that the vaccine was effective and safe, and a nationwide inoculation campaign began. New polio cases dropped to under 6,000 in 1957, the first year after the vaccine was widely available. In 1962, an oral vaccine developed by Polish-American researcher Albert Sabin became available, greatly facilitating distribution of the polio vaccine. Today, there are just a handful of polio cases in the United States every year, and most of these are “imported” by Americans from developing nations where polio is still a problem. Among other honors, Jonas Salk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. He died in La Jolla, California, in 1995.
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Which planet in the Solar System is closest to earth in size and mass ? | Children receive first polio vaccine - Feb 23, 1954 - HISTORY.com
Children receive first polio vaccine
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Children receive first polio vaccine
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Children receive first polio vaccine
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A+E Networks
On this day in 1954, a group of children from Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, receive the first injections of the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk.
Though not as devastating as the plague or influenza, poliomyelitis was a highly contagious disease that emerged in terrifying outbreaks and seemed impossible to stop. Attacking the nerve cells and sometimes the central nervous system, polio caused muscle deterioration, paralysis and even death. Even as medicine vastly improved in the first half of the 20th century in the Western world, polio still struck, affecting mostly children but sometimes adults as well. The most famous victim of a 1921 outbreak in America was future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then a young politician. The disease spread quickly, leaving his legs permanently paralyzed.
In the late 1940s, the March of Dimes, a grassroots organization founded with President Roosevelt’s help to find a way to defend against polio, enlisted Dr. Jonas Salk, head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. Salk found that polio had as many as 125 strains of three basic types, and that an effective vaccine needed to combat all three. By growing samples of the polio virus and then deactivating, or “killing” them by adding a chemical called formalin, Salk developed his vaccine, which was able to immunize without infecting the patient.
After mass inoculations began in 1954, everyone marveled at the high success rate–some 60-70 percent–until the vaccine caused a sudden outbreak of some 200 cases. After it was determined that the cases were all caused by one faulty batch of the vaccine, production standards were improved, and by August 1955 some 4 million shots had been given. Cases of polio in the U.S. dropped from 14,647 in 1955 to 5,894 in 1956, and by 1959 some 90 other countries were using Salk’s vaccine.
A later version of the polio vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, used a weakened form of the live virus and was swallowed instead of injected. It was licensed in 1962 and soon became more popular than Salk’s vaccine, as it was cheaper to make and easier for people to take. There is still no cure for polio once it has been contracted, but the use of vaccines has virtually eliminated polio in the United States. Globally, there are now around 250,000 cases each year, mostly in developing countries. The World Health Organization has set a goal of eradicating polio from the entire world by 2010.
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What is the second biggest city in Libya ? | Benghazi(بنغازي)
A view of Benghazi from across the lake.
Benghazi, the capital of Benghazi Municipality (Sha'biya), is the main port of Cyrenaica on the Mediterranean coast, in Eastern Libya, and as such it is one of Libya's major economic centres. The city is the second largest in Libya after the capital Tripoli, with a population of nearly one million people (with confirmed 500,120 according to 1995 census).
Origin & Etymology of The Name Benghazi (Berenice)
The name Benghazi occurs in various forms, including Bengazi, Benghazi, Banghazi, Bingazi, Bengasi or Binghazi. During the Greek period the city was initially known as Eusperides or Euesperides (around 525 BC), after it was associated with the mythological Hesperides Garden, owing to the fertility of not only the area around Benghazi but also of the whole verdant Green Mountain we now know as Barqa. After Eusperides was abandoned around 347 BC, a new settlement was started nearby, which became Berenice (one of the five cities of the the Pentapolis) around 249 BC, after the Berber princess Berenice, Bernice, or Berenike, the daughter of the Cyrenaican king Magas.
The etymology of the name Berenice means: "the bearer of victory", from which we also have the local name of the region of Cyrenaica, namely Barqa, Barce or Barka. These names appear to have had been used until around 1450 AD, when the name was suddenly changed to its current form Benghazi.
Brief History of Benghazi
There is no doubt that the city goes back to the ancient period when the Greek colonists occupied Cyrenaica, as it was mentioned by Herodotus (IV.204) in relation to the revolt of Barca and the Persian invasions in the region. This ancient city (Berenice) was located northeast of modern Benghazi. Coins dating from around the 5th century BC show the famous silphium plant that made Cyrene a prosperous city. It appears that the city was invaded by Greek colonists, rather than being built or founded by them, as historians (e.g., Thucydides) spoke of the Libyan siege of the city around 414 BC by the local Berber Nasamone tribes (the Nasamones). When the Romans arrived in the area, around the middle of the 1st century BC, the city fell under their domain and quickly became a Roman city right down to the 7th century AD. After the city had attained a strategic place in the economy of the region, as a mediator between European merchants and the locals of Libya interior, it was badly vandalised by the Vandals during the 5th century AD, and then when the Ottoman pirates invaded Benghazi in 1578 they continued to ruin rather than run the city until 1911, when the wars demolished what had remained. The Italian invasions of 1911 were strongly opposed by the locals, united under the resistance of Omar Almoukhtar, where more than 100,000 Libyans were said to have disappeared in Mussolini's fascist camps. The destruction of the city reached its climax when it was bombed more than 1000 times during World War II. Then in 1942 the Allied forces invaded the area, defeated the Italians and controlled Benghazi until 1949, when appointed King Idris Assanousi made Benghazi the capital of Cyrenaica (Barqa) and ultimately the second capital of Libya.
Adda'wah Alislamiyah Building, with its distinctive pyramidal cubes.
Culture In Benghazi
Historical records portray an image of ancient Benghazi as being an important city, with advanced culture, very similar to that was present in prosperous Cyrene. Typical of ancient Libyan customary law, the legal system consisted of a council of elders who resided as the chief magistrates who between them conducted the affairs of the society. Today Benghazi remains one of the main cultural centres in Libya, teeming with renowned academics and scholars, theaters, libraries, and a big university: Gar Younes University (جامعة قاريونس), originally started as an art college.
Benghazi's Tourist Attractions
The land journey from Tripolitania to Cyrenaica can take a whole day and therefore most tours are designed to include flying from Tripoli to Benghazi airport and then use Benghazi as a base to explore the archaeological sites of the Green Mountain including Cyrene, Apollonia, Qasr Libya and Slontah. Many of the old landmarks of Benghazi were repeatedly destroyed during its violent history and as such the city has lost most of its ancient and old buildings. The architectural heritage of Benghazi is evident through the various styles still present within its distinctive streets, including Islamic buildings and mosques, Christian churches,Turkish houses, Italian colonnaded streets, and modern tower blocks. Perhaps one of the oldest remaining quarters is the Old City or the Medina - the heart of Benghazi city, with its busy Italianate Freedom Square (Maydan Alhurriya); the Old Lighthouse; and the 19th-century Ottoman palace, with its 360 rooms.
Old Berenice
Some of the ancient buildings that survived the onslaught until recently include the remains of a Greek wall, a Byzantine church, and Roman houses (see the following map).
A view of what remained of Old Berenice, including a Greek wall and Roman houses.
Benghazi Catholic Cathedral
Benghazi Catholic Cathedral, with its two large distinct domes, was built between 1929 and 1939.
The largest colonial building still stands in Benghazi city centre today is the former Catholic Cathedral in Cathedral Square; once was one of the largest churches in the whole of North Africa. The basilica-based, neo-classical style of the church was designed by the Italian architects Guido Ottavo and Cabiati Ferrazza, with the large domes covering both spans of the nave. Apparently, the original drawings of the plan show a three-floor bell tower which was never built.
Benghazi Catholic Cathedral is currently (2009 - 2010) undergoing renovation work by an Italian company.
Souq Aljareed ('The Palm Fronds Market')
If you have a some spare time for Benghazi and would like to do some bazaar shopping, then the covered souk would be the place to start, with its vibrant colours and chatter, local music and a mixture of wonderful aromas usually dominated by the smell emanating from the falafel stalls. Here you can find local products to buy, from traditional clothes to leather shoes and bags, and from brass and copper ornaments to gold filigree earrings and bracelets.
Benghazi War Graves Cemetery is built and maintained by the British Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A view from across the lake of Tibesti Hotel, in Jamal Abdul Nasser Street - the highest building in Benghazi.
Benghazi Benina International Airport (BEN)
Benghazi Benina International Airport (BEN)
Contact Telephone: +218 (0)61 97147
Map of Benghazi and the surrounding towns of Cyrenaica.
This map of Benghazi shows the main and connecting roads of Cyrenaica, linking Benghazi to the rest of the towns and villages of the Green Mountain. If you are driving across Libya and you are short of time, then instead of following the road from Benghazi along the coast all the way to Egypt, you can take the short cut via Ajdabiya and straight to Tobruk. There is also a road from here to Awjila > Jalu > Alkufrah.
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In what year was the first Eurovision Song Contest held ? | Libyan protesters seize 2nd biggest city
Libyan protesters seize 2nd biggest city
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Feb 21, 2011 | Vote 0 0
Libyan protesters seize 2nd biggest city
Guelph Mercury
CAIRO — Libyan protesters celebrated in the streets of Benghazi on Monday, claiming control of the country’s second largest city after bloody fighting, and anti-government unrest spread to the capital with clashes in Tripoli’s main square for the first time. Moammar Gadhafi’s son vowed that his father and security forces would fight “until the last bullet.”
Protesters demanding Gadhafi’s ouster planed new marches in the capital’s main Green Square and at the leader’s residence for Monday evening. That was likely to bring a new round of violence after a similar march the night before prompted clashes that lasted till dawn, with witnesses reporting snipers opening fire on protesters and Gadhafi supporters racing through crowds in trucks and cars, firing automatic weapons and running people over.
During the day Monday, a fire was raging at the People’s Hall, the main hall for government gatherings where the country’s equivalent of a parliament holds its sessions several times a year, the pro-government news website Qureyna said. It also reported the first major sign of discontent in Gadhafi’s government, saying Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil resigned from his post to protest the “excessive use of force against unarmed protesters.”
The capital was largely shut down, with schools, government offices and most stores closed, as armed members of pro-government organizations called “Revolutionary Committees” circulated in the streets hunting for protesters in Tripoli’s old city, said one protester, named Fathi.
The protests and violence were the heaviest yet in the capital of two million people, a sign of how unrest was spreading after six days of demonstrations in eastern cities demanding the end of the elder Gadhafi’s rule.
Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, went on state TV late Sunday night, warning civil war will break out if protests continue, a theme continued Monday on Libyan state TV, where a pro-regime commentator spoke of chaos and “rivers of blood” turning Libya into “another Somalia” if security is not restored.
Gadhafi’s regime has unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. More than 200 have been killed in Libya, according to medical officials, human rights groups and exiled dissidents.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, visiting neighbouring Egypt, called the Libyan government’s crackdown “appalling.”
“We can see what is happening in Libya, which is completely appalling and unacceptable as the regime is using the most vicious forms of repression against people who want to see that country — which is one of the most closed and one of the most autocratic — make progress. The response they have shown has been quite appalling,” he told reporters in Cairo.
Fragmentation is a real danger in Libya, a country of deep tribal divisions and a historic rivalry between Tripoli and Benghazi. The Arab world’s longest ruling leader in power for nearly 42 years, Moammar Gadhafi has held an unquestioned grip over the highly decentralized system of government he created, called the “Jamahiriya,” or “rule by masses.”
Libya’s former ambassador to the Arab League in Cairo, Abdel-Moneim al-Houni, who a day earlier resigned from his post to side with protesters, issued a statement demanding Gadhafi “be put on trial along with his aides, security and military commanders over the mass killings in Libya.”
“Gadhafi’s regime is now in the trash of history because he betrayed his nation and his people,” al-Houni said.
The spiralling turmoil in Libya, an OPEC country that is a significant oil supplier to Europe, was raising international alarm. Oil prices jumped $1.67 to nearly $88 a barrel Monday amid investor concern.
Two leading oil companies, Statoil and BP, said they were pulling some employees out of Libya or preparing to do so. Portugal sent plane to pick up its citizens and other EU nationals and Turkey sent two ferries to pick up construction workers stranded in the unrest-hit country. EU foreign ministers were discussing on Monday the possible evacuation of European citizens. Mobs attacked South Korean, Turkish and Serbian construction workers at various sites around the country, officials from each country said.
The internet has been largely shut down in Libya, residents can no longer make international calls from land lines and journalists cannot work freely, but eyewitness reports trickling out of the country suggested that protesters were fighting back more forcefully. Most witnesses and residents spoke on condition they be identified by first name only or not at all, out of fear of retaliation.
In Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, protesters were in control of the streets Monday and took over the main security headquarters, known as the Katiba, after bloody clashes Sunday that killed at least 60 people, according to a doctor at the main hospital.
Drivers honked their horns in celebration and protesters in the streets chanted “Long live Libya.” Protesters took down the Libyan flag from above Benghazi’s main courthouse and raised the flag of the country’s old monarchy, which was toppled in 1969 by the military coup that brought Moammar Gadhafi to power, according to witnesses and video footage posted on the internet.
Benghazi’s airport was closed, according to an airport official in Cairo. A Turkish Airlines flight trying to land in Benghazi to evacuate Turkish citizens Monday was turned away, told by ground control to circle over the airport then to return to Istanbul.
There were fears of chaos as young men — including regime supporters — seized weapons from the Katiba and other captured security buildings. “The youths now have arms and that’s worrying,” said Iman, a doctor at the main hospital. “We are appealing to the wise men of every neighbourhood to rein in the youths.”
Youth volunteers were directing traffic and guarding homes and public facilities, said Najla, a lawyer and university lecturer in Benghazi. She and other residents said police had disappeared from the streets.
Benghazi has seen a cycle of bloody clashes over the past week, as security forces kill protesters, followed by funerals that turn into new protests, sparking new bloody shootings. After funerals Sunday, protesters fanned out, burning government buildings and police stations and besieging the Katiba.
Security forces battled back, at times using heavy-calibre machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns, according to residents. One witness said she saw bodies torn apart and that makeshift clinics were set up in the streets to treat the wounded. Ahmed Hassan, a doctor at the main Al-Jalaa hospital, said funerals were expected Monday for 20 of those killed the day before, but that families of 40 others were still trying to identify their loved ones because their bodies were too damaged.
In some cases, army units reportedly sided with protesters against security forces and pro-Gadhafi militias. Mohamed Abdul-Rahman, a 42-year-old Benghazi merchant, said he saw an army battalion chasing militiamen from a security compound.
After seizing the Katiba, protesters found the bodies of 13 uniformed security officers inside who had been handcuffed and shot in the head, then set on fire, said Hassan, the doctor. He said protesters believed the 13 had been executed by fellow security forces for refusing to attack protesters.
Protest leaders and army units that sided with them were working to keep order in the streets Monday, directing traffic and guarding homes and official buildings, several residents said.
On Sunday night, Gadhafi’s son Seif el-Islam — long seen as his likely successor — took to state TV, trying to take a tough line in a rambling and sometimes confused speech of nearly 40 minutes.
“We are not Tunisia and Egypt,” he said. “Moammar Gadhafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him.”
“The armed forces are with him. Tens of thousands are heading here to be with him. We will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet,” he said.
He warned the protesters that they risked igniting a civil war in which Libya’s oil wealth “will be burned.” He also promised “historic” reforms in Libya if protests stop.
Seif has often been put forward as the regime’s face of reform. Several of the elder Gadhafi’s sons have powerful positions in the regime and in past years have competed for influence. Seif’s younger brother Mutassim is the national security adviser, with a strong role in the military and security forces, and another brother Khamis heads the army’s 32nd Brigade, which according to U.S. diplomats is the best trained and best equipped force in the military.
Even as Seif spoke, major clashes had broken out for the first time in Tripoli.
Sunday afternoon, protesters from various parts of the city began to stream toward central Green Square, chanting “God is great,” said one 28-year-old man who was among the marchers.
In the square, they found groups of Gadhafi supporters, but the larger number of protesters appeared to be taking over the square and surrounding streets, he and two other witnesses said. That was when the backlash began, with snipers firing down from rooftops and militiamen attacking the crowds, shooting and chasing people down side streets. they said.
Gadhafi supporters in pickup trucks and cars raced through the square, shooting automatic weapons. “They were driving like mad men searching for someone to kill. . . . It was total chaos, shooting and shouting,” said the 28-year-old.
The witnesses reported seeing casualties, but the number could not be confirmed. One witness, named Fathi, said he saw at least two he believed were dead and many more wounded.
After midnight, protesters took over the main Tripoli offices of two state-run satellite stations, Al-Jamahiriya-1 and Al-Shebabiya, one witness said.
The Associated Press
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Which French scientist (1736 -1806) is best known for his law of electrostatic force and gives his name to the unit of electric charge ? | Complete Knowledge database of Electricity and Electrical Technology : May 2012
1620 - Niccolo Cabeo discovers that electricity can be repulsive as well as attractive.
1630 - Vincenzo Cascariolo, a Bolognese shoemaker, discovers fluorescence.
1638 - Rene Descartes theorizes that light is a pressure wave through the second of his three types of matter of which the universe is made. He invents properties of this fluid that make it possible to calculate the reflection and refraction of light. The ``modern'' notion of the aether is born.
1638 - Galileo attempts to measure the speed of light by a lantern relay between distant hilltops. He gets a very large answer.
1644 - Rene Descartes theorizes that the magnetic poles are on the central axis of a spinning vortex of one of his fluids. This vortex theory remains popular for a long time, enabling Leonhard Euler and two of the Bernoullis to share a prize of the French Academy as late as 1743.
1657 - Pierre de Fermat shows that the principle of least time is capable of explaining refraction and reflection of light. Fighting with the Cartesians begins. (This principle for reflected light had been anticipated anciently by Hero of Alexandria.)
1665 - Francesco Maria Grimaldi, in a posthumous report, discovers and gives the name of diffraction to the bending of light around opaque bodies.
1667 - Robert Hooke reports in his Micrographia the discovery of the rings of light formed by a layer of air between two glass plates. These were actually first observed by Robert Boyle, which explains why they are now called Newton's rings. In the same work he gives the matching-wave-front derivation of reflection and refraction that is still found in most introductory physics texts. These waves travel through the aether. He also develops a theory of color in which white light is a simple disturbance and colors are complex distortions of the basic simple white form.
1671 - Isaac Newton destroys Hooke's theory of color by experimenting with prisms to show that white light is a mixture of all the colors and that once a pure color is obtained it can never be changed into another color. Newton argues against light being a vibration of the ether, preferring that it be something else that is capable of traveling through the aether. He doesn't insist that this something else consist of particles, but allows that it may be some other kind of emanation or impulse. In Newton's own words, ``...let every man here take his fancy.''
1675 - Olaf Roemer repeats Galileo's experiment using the moons of Jupiter as the distant hilltop. He measures m/s.
1678 - Christiaan Huygens introduces his famous construction and principle, thinks about translating his manuscript into Latin, then publishes it in the original French in 1690. He uses his theory to discuss the double refraction of Iceland Spar. His is a theory of pulses, however, not of periodic waves.
1717 - Newton shows that the ``two-ness'' of double refraction clearly rules out light being aether waves. (All aether wave theories were sound-like, so Newton was right; longitudinal waves can't be polarized.)
1728 - James Bradley shows that the orbital motion of the earth changes the apparent motions of the stars in a way that is consistent with light having a finite speed of travel.
1729 - Stephen Gray shows that electricity doesn't have to be made in place by rubbing but can also be transferred from place to place with conducting wires. He also shows that the charge on electrified objects resides on their surfaces.
1733 - Charles Francois du Fay discovers that electricity comes in two kinds which he called resinous(-) and vitreous(+).
1742 - Thomas Le Seur and Francis Jacquier, in a note to the edition of Newton's Principia that they publish, show that the force law between two magnets is inverse cube.
1749 - Abbe Jean-Antoine Nollet invents the two-fluid theory electricity.
1745 - Pieter van Musschenbroek invents the Leyden jar, or capacitor, and nearly kills his friend Cunaeus.
1747 - Benjamin Franklin invents the theory of one-fluid electricity in which one of Nollet's fluids exists and the other is just the absence of the first. He proposes the principle of conservation of charge and calls the fluid that exists and flows ``positive''. This educated guess ensures that undergraduates will always be confused about the direction of current flow. He also discovers that electricity can act at a distance in situations where fluid flow makes no sense.
1748 - Sir William Watson uses an electrostatic machine and a vacuum pump to make the first glow discharge. His glass vessel is three feet long and three inches in diameter: the first fluorescent light bulb.
1750 - John Michell discovers that the two poles of a magnet are equal in strength and that the force law for individual poles is inverse square.
1752 - Johann Sulzer puts lead and silver together in his mouth, performing the first recorded ``tongue test'' of a battery.
1759 - Francis Ulrich Theodore Aepinus shows that electrical effects are a combination of fluid flow confined to matter and action at a distance. He also discovers charging by induction.
1762 - Canton reports that a red hot poker placed close to a small electrified body destroys its electrification.
1764 - Joseph Louis Lagrange discovers the divergence theorem in connection with the study of gravitation. It later becomes known as Gauss's law. (See 1813).
1766 - Joseph Priestly, acting on a suggestion in a letter from Benjamin Franklin, shows that hollow charged vessels contain no charge on the inside and based on his knowledge that hollow shells of mass have no gravity inside correctly deduces that the electric force law is inverse square.
1775 - Henry Cavendish invents the idea of capacitance and resistance (the latter without any way of measuring current other than the level of personal discomfort). But being indifferent to fame he is content to wait for his work to be published by Lord Kelvin in 1879.
1777 - Joseph Louis Lagrange invents the concept of the scalar potential for gravitational fields.
1780 - Luigi Galvani causes dead frog legs to twitch with static electricity, then also discovers that the same twitching can be caused by contact with dissimilar metals. His followers invent another invisible fluid, that of ``animal electricity'', to describe this effect.
1782 - Pierre Simon Laplace shows that Lagrange's potential satisfies.
1785 - Charles Augustin Coulomb uses a torsion balance to verify that the electric force law is inverse square. He also proposes a combined fluid/action-at-a-distance theory like that of Aepinus but with two conducting fluids instead of one. Fighting breaks out between single and double fluid partisans. He also discovers that the electric force near a conductor is proportional to its surface charge density and makes contributions to the two-fluid theory of magnetism.
1793 - Alessandro Volta makes the first batteries and argues that animal electricity is just ordinary electricity flowing through the frog legs under the impetus of the force produced by the contact of dissimilar metals. He discovers the importance of ``completing the circuit.'' In 1800 he discovers the Voltaic pile (dissimilar metals separated by wet cardboard) which greatly increases the magnitude of the effect.
1800 - William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle discover that water may be separated into hydrogen and oxygen by the action of Volta's pile.
1801 - Thomas Young gives a theory of Newton's rings based on constructive and destructive interference of waves. He explains the dark spot in the middle by proposing that there is a phase shift on reflection between a less dense and more dense medium, then uses essence of sassafras (whose index of refraction is intermediate between those of crown and flint glass) to get a light spot at the center.
1803 - Thomas Young explains the fringes at the edges of shadows by means of the wave theory of light. The wave theory begins its ascendance, but has one important difficulty: light is thought of as a longitudinal wave, which makes it difficult to explain double refraction effects in certain crystals.
1807 - Humphrey Davy shows that the essential element of Volta's pile is chemical action since pure water gives no effect. He argues that chemical effects are electrical in nature.
1808 - Laplace gives an explanation of double refraction using the particle theory, which Young attacks as improbable.
1808 - Etienne Louis Malus, a military engineer, enters a prize competition sponsored by the French Academy ``To furnish a mathematical theory of double refraction, and to confirm it by experiment.'' He discovers that light reflected at certain angles from transparent substances as well as the separate rays from a double-refracting crystal have the same property of polarization. In 1810 he receives the prize and emboldens the proponents of the particle theory of light because no one sees how a wave theory can make waves of different polarizations.
1811 - Arago shows that some crystals alter the polarization of light passing through them.
1812 - Biot shows that Arago's crystals rotate the plane of polarization about the propagation direction.
1812 - Simeon Denis Poisson further develops the two-fluid theory of electricity, showing that the charge on conductors must reside on their surfaces and be so distributed that the electric force within the conductor vanishes. This surface charge density calculation is carried out in detail for ellipsoids. He also shows that the potential within a distribution of electricity satisfies the equation.
1812 - Michael Faraday, a bookbinders apprentice, writes to Sir Humphrey Davy asking for a job as a scientific assistant. Davy interviews Faraday and finds that he has educated himself by reading the books he was supposed to be binding. He gets the job.
1813 - Laplace shows that at the surface of a conductor the electric force is perpendicular to the surface.
1813 - Karl Friedrich Gauss rediscovers the divergence theorem of Lagrange. It will later become known as Gauss's law.
1815 - David Brewster establishes his law of complete polarization upon reflection at a special angle now known as Brewster's angle. He also discovers that in addition of uniaxial cystals there are also biaxial ones. For uniaxial crystals there is the faint possibility of a wave theory of longitudinal-type, but this appears to be impossible for biaxial ones.
1816 - David Brewster invents the kaleidoscope.
1816 - Francois Arago, an associate of Augustin Fresnel, visits Thomas Young and describes to him a series of experiments performed by Fresnel and himself which shows that light of differing polarizations cannot interfere. Reflecting later on this curious effect Young sees that it can be explained if light is transverse instead of longitudinal. This idea is communicated to Fresnel in 1818 and he immediately sees how it clears up many of the remaining difficulties of the wave theory. Six years later the particle theory is dead.
1817 - Augustin Fresnel annoys the French Academy. The Academy, hoping to destroy the wave theory once and for all, proposes diffraction as the prize subject for 1818. To the chagrin of the particle-theory partisans in the Academy the winning memoir in 1818 is that of Augustin Fresnel who explains diffraction as the mutual interference of the secondary waves emitted by the unblocked portions of the incident wave, in the style of Huygens. One of the judges from the particle camp of the Academy is Poisson, who points out that if Fresnel's theory were to be indeed correct, then there should be a bright spot at the center of the shadow of a circular disc. This, he suggests to Fresnel, must be tested experimentally. The experiment doesn't go as Poisson hopes, however, and the spot becomes known as ``Poisson's spot.''
1820 - Hans Christian Oersted discovers that electric current in a wire causes a compass needle to orient itself perpendicular to the wire.
1820 - Andre Marie Ampere, one week after hearing of Oersted's discovery, shows that parallel currents attract each other and that opposite currents attract.
1820 - Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart show that the magnetic force exerted on a magnetic pole by a wire falls off like 1/r and is oriented perpendicular to the wire. Whittaker then says that ``This result was soon further analyzed,'' to obtain
1820 - John Herschel shows that quartz samples that rotate the plane of polarization of light in opposite directions have different crystalline forms. This difference is helical in nature.
1821 - Faraday begins electrical work by repeating Oersted's experiments.
1821 - Humphrey Davy shows that direct current is carried throughout the volume of a conductor and establishes that for long wires. He also discovers that resistance is increased as the temperature rises.
1822 - Thomas Johann Seebeck discovers the thermoelectric effect by showing that a current will flow in a circuit made of dissimilar metals if there is a temperature difference between the metals.
1824 - Poisson invents the concept of the magnetic scalar potential and of surface and volume pole densities described by the formulas. He also finds the magnetic field inside a spherical cavity within magnetized material.
1825 - Ampere publishes his collected results on magnetism. His expression for the magnetic field produced by a small segment of current is different from that which follows naturally from the Biot-Savart law by an additive term which integrates to zero around closed circuit. It is unfortunate that electrodynamics and relativity decide in favor of Biot and Savart rather than for the much more sophisticated Ampere, whose memoir contains both mathematical analysis and experimentation, artfully blended together. In this memoir are given some special instances of the result we now call Stokes theorem or as we usually write it. Maxwell describes this work as ``one of the most brilliant achievements in science. The whole, theory and experiment, seems as if it had leaped, full-grown and full-armed, from the brain of the `Newton of electricity'. It is perfect in form and unassailable in accuracy; and it is summed up in a formula from which all the phenomena may be deduced, and which must always remain the cardinal formula of electrodynamics.''
1825 - Fresnel shows that combinations of waves of opposite circular polarization traveling at different speeds can account for the rotation of the plane of polarization.
1826 - Georg Simon Ohm establishes the result now known as Ohm's law. V=IR seems a pretty simple law to name after someone, but the importance of Ohm's work does not lie in this simple proportionality. What Ohm did was develop the idea of voltage as the driver of electric current. He reasoned by making an analogy between Fourier's theory of heat flow and electricity. In his scheme temperature and voltage correspond as do heat flow and electrical current. It was not until some years later that Ohm's electroscopic force (V in his law) and Poisson's electrostatic potential were shown to be identical.
1827 - Augustin Fresnel publishes a decade of research in the wave theory of light. Included in these collected papers are explanations of diffraction effects, polarization effects, double refraction, and Fresnel's sine and tangent laws for reflection at the interface between two transparent media.
1827 - Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier publishes the correct equations for vibratory motions in one type of elastic solid. This begins the quest for a detailed mathematical theory of the aether based on the equations of continuum mechanics.
1827 - F. Savery, after noticing that the current from a Leyden jar magnetizes needles in alternating layers, conjectures that the electric motion during the discharge consists of a series of oscillations.
1828 - George Green generalizes and extends the work of Lagrange, Laplace, and Poisson and attaches the name potential to their scalar function. Green's theorems are given, as well as the divergence theorem (Gauss's law), but Green doesn't know of the work of Lagrange and Gauss and only references Priestly's deduction of the inverse square law from Franklin's experimental work on the charging of hollow vessels.
1828 - Augustine Louis Cauchy presents a theory similar to Navier's, but based on a direct study of elastic properties rather than using a molecular hypothesis. These equations are more general than Navier's. In Cauchy's theory, and in much of what follows, the aether is supposed to have the same inertia in each medium, but different elastic properties.
1828 - Poisson shows that the equations of Navier and Cauchy have wave solutions of two types: transverse and longitudinal. Mathematical physicists spend the next 50 years trying to invent an elastic aether for which the longitudinal waves are absent.
1831 - Faraday shows that changing currents in one circuit induce currents in a neighboring circuit. Over the next several years he performs hundreds of experments and shows that they can all be explained by the idea of changing magnetic flux. No mathematics is involved, just picture thinking using his field-lines.
1831 - Ostrogradsky rediscovers the divergence theorem of Lagrange, Gauss, and Green.
1832 - Joseph Henry independently discovers induced currents.
1833 - Faraday begins work on the relation of electricity to chemistry. In one of his notebooks he concludes after a series of experiments, ``...there is a certain absolute quantity of the electric power associated with each atom of matter.''
1834 - Faraday discovers self inductance.
1834 - Jean Charles Peltier discovers the flip side of Seebeck's thermoelectric effect. He finds that current driven in a circuit made of dissimilar metals causes the different metals to be at different temperatures.
1834 - Emil Lenz formulates his rule for determining the direction of Faraday's induced currents. In its original form it was a force law rather than an induced emf law: ``Induced currents flow in such a direction as to produce magnetic forces that try to keep the magnetic flux the same.'' So Lenz would predict that if you try to push a conductor into a strong magnetic field, it will be repelled. He would also predict that if you try to pull a conductor out of a strong magnetic field that the magnetic forces on the induced currents will oppose the pull.
1835 - James MacCullagh and Franz Neumann extend Cauchy's theory to crystalline media
1837 - Faraday discovers the idea of the dielectric constant.
1837 - George Green attacks the elastic aether problem from a new angle. Instead of deriving boundary conditions between different media by finding which ones give agreement with the experimental laws of optics, he derives the correct boundary conditions from general dynamical principles. This advance makes the elastic theories not quite fit with light.
1838 - Faraday shows that the effects of induced electricity in insulators are analogous to induced magnetism in magnetic materials. Those more mathematically inclined immediately appropriate Poisson's theory of induced magnetism
1838 - Faraday discovers Faraday's dark space, a dark region in a glow discharge near the negative electrode.
1839 - James MacCullagh invents an elastic aether in which there are no longitudinal waves. In this aether the potential energy of deformation depends only on the rotation of the volume elements and not on their compression or general distortion. This theory gives the same wave equation as that satisfied by in Maxwell's theory.
1839 - William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) removes some of the objections to MacCullagh's rotation theory by inventing a mechanical model which satisfies MacCullagh's energy of rotation hypothesis. It has spheres, rigid bars, sliding contacts, and flywheels.
1839 - Cauchy and Green present more refined elastic aether theories, Cauchy's removing the longitudinal waves by postulating a negative compressibility, and Green's using an involved description of crystalline solids.
1841 - Michael Faraday is completely exhausted by his efforts of the previous 2 decades, so he rests for 4 years.
1841 - James Prescott Joule shows that energy is conserved in electrical circuits involving current flow, thermal heating, and chemical transformations.
1842 - F. Neumann and Matthew O'Brien suggest that optical properties in materials arise from differences in the amount of force that the particles of matter exert on the aether as it flows around and between them.
1842 - Julius Robert Mayer asserts that heat and work are equivalent. His paper is rejected by Annalen der Physik.
1842 - Joseph Henry rediscovers the result of F. Savery about the oscillation of the electric current in a capacitive discharge and states, ``The phenomena require us to admit the existence of a principal discharge in one direction, and then several reflex actions backward and forward, each more feeble than the preceding, until equilibrium is restored.''
1842 - Christian Doppler gives the theory of the Doppler effect.
1845 - Faraday quits resting and discovers that the plane of polarization of light is rotated when it travels in glass along the direction of the magnetic lines of force produced by an electromagnet (Faraday rotation).
1845 - Franz Neumann uses (i) Lenz's law, (ii) the assumption that the induced emf is proportional to the magnetic force on a current element, and (iii) Ampere's analysis to deduce Faraday's law. In the process he finds a potential function from which the induced electric field can be obtained, namely the vector potential (in the Coulomb gauge), thus discovering the result which Maxwell wrote.
1846 - George Airy modifies MacCullagh's elastic aether theory to account for Faraday rotation.
1846 - Faraday, inspired by his discovery of the magnetic rotation of light, writes a short paper speculating that light might electro-magnetic in nature. He thinks it might be transverse vibrations of his beloved field lines.
1846 - Faraday discovers diamagnetism. He sees the effect in heavy glass, bismuth, and other materials.
1846 - Wilhelm Weber combines Ampere's analysis, Faraday's experiments, and the assumption of Fechner that currents consist of equal amounts of positive and negative electricity moving opposite to each other at the same speed to derive an electromagnetic theory based on forces between moving charged particles. This theory has a velocity-dependent potential energy and is wrong, but it stimulates much work on electromagnetic theory which eventually leads to the work of Maxwell and Lorenz. It also inspires a new look at gravitation by William Thomson to see if a velocity-dependent correction to the gravitational energy could account for the precession of Mercury's perihelion.
1846 - William Thomson shows that Neumann's electromagnetic potential is in fact the vector potential from which may be obtained.
1847 - Weber proposes that diamagnetism is just Faraday's law acting on molecular circuits. In answering the objection that this would mean that everything should be diamagnetic he correctly guesses that diamagnetism is masked in paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials because they have relatively strong permanent molecular currents. This work rids the world of magnetic fluids.
1847 - Hermann von Helmholtz writes a memoir ``On the Conservation of Force'' which emphatically states the principle of conservation of energy: ``Conservation of energy is a universal principle of nature. Kinetic and potential energy of dynamical systems may be converted into heat according to definite quantitative laws as taught by Rumford, Mayer, and Joule. Any of these forms of energy may be converted into chemical, electrostatic, voltaic, and magnetic forms.'' He reads it before the Physical Society of Berlin whose older members regard it as too speculative and reject it for publication in Annalen der Physik.
1848-9 - Gustav Kirchoff extends Ohm's work to conduction in three dimensions, gives his laws for circuit networks, and finally shows that Ohm's ``electroscopic force'' which drives current through resistors and the old electrostatic potential of Lagrange, Laplace, and Poisson are the same. He also shows that in steady state electrical currents distribute themselves so as to minimize the amount of Joule heating.
1849 - A. Fizeau repeats Galileo's hilltop experiment (9 km separation distance) with a rapidly rotating toothed wheel and measures m/s.
1849 - George Gabriel Stokes studies diffraction around opaque bodies both theoretically and experimentally and shows that the vibration of aether particles are executed at right angles to the plane of polarization. Three years later he comes to the same conclusion by applying aether theory to light scattered from the sky. This result is, however, inconsistent with optics in crystals.
1850 - Stokes overcomes some of the difficulties with crystals by turning Cauchy's hypothesis around and letting the elastic properties of the aether be the same in all materials, but allowing the inertia to differ. This gives rise to the conceptual difficulty of having the inertia be different in different directions (in anisotropic crystals).
1850 - Jean Foucault improves on Fizeau's measurement and uses his apparatus to show that the speed of light is less in water than in air.
1850 - Stokes law is stated without proof by Lord Kelvin (William Thomson). Later Stokes assigns the proof of this theorem as part of the examination for the Smith's Prize. Presumably, he knows how to do the problem. Maxwell, who was a candidate for this prize, later remembers this problem, traces it back to Stokes and calls it Stokes theorem.
1850 - William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) invents the idea of magnetic permeability and susceptibility, along with the separate concepts.
1851 - Thomson gives a general theory of thermoelectric phenomena, describing the effects seen by Seebeck and Peltier.
1853 - Thomson uses Poisson's magnetic theory to derive the correct formula for magnetic energy: He also gives the formula and gives the world the powerful, but confusing, analysis where the forces on circuits are obtained by taking either the positive or negative gradient of the magnetic energy. Knowing which sign to use is, of course, the confusing part.
1853 - Thomson gives the theory of the RLC circuit providing a mathematical description for the observations of Henry and Savery.
1854 - Faraday clears up the problem of disagreements in the measured speeds of signals along transmission lines by showing that it is crucial to include the effect of capacitance.
1854 - Thomson, in a letter to Stokes, gives the equation of telegraphy ignoring the inductance: where R is the cable resistance and where C is the capacitance per unit length. Since this is the diffusion equation, the signal does not travel at a definite speed.
1855 - Faraday retires, living quietly in a house provided by the Queen until his death in 1867.
1855 - James Clerk Maxwell writes a memoir in which he attempts to marry Faraday's intuitive field line ideas with Thomson's mathematical analogies. In this memoir the physical importance of the divergence and curl operators for electromagnetism first become evident.
1857 - Gustav Kirchoff derives the equation of telegraphy for an aerial coaxial cable where the inductance is important and derives the full telegraphy equation: where L and C are the inductance per unit length and the capacitance per unit length. He recognizes that when the resistance is small, this is the wave equation with propagation speed, which for a coaxial cable turns out to be very close to the speed of light. Kirchoff notices the coincidence, and is thus the first to discover that electromagnetic signals can travel at the speed of light.
1861 - Bernhard Riemann develops a variant of Weber's electromagnetic theory which is also wrong.
1861 - Maxwell publishes a mechanical model of the electromagnetic field. Magnetic fields correspond to rotating vortices with idle wheels between them and electric fields correspond to elastic displacements, hence displacement currents. This addition completes Maxwell's equations and it is now easy for him to derive the wave equation exactly as done in our textbooks on electromagnetism and to note that the speed of wave propagation was close to the measured speed of light.
Maxwell writes, ``We can scarcely avoid the inference that light in the transverse undulations of the same medium which is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena.
Thomson, on the other hand, says of the displacement current, ``(it is a) curious and ingenious, but not wholly tenable hypothesis.''
1864 - Maxwell reads a memoir before the Royal Society in which the mechanical model is stripped away and just the equations remain. He also discusses the vector and scalar potentials, using the Coulomb gauge. He attributes physical significance to both of these potentials. He wants to present the predictions of his theory on the subjects of reflection and refraction, but the requirements of his mechanical model keep him from finding the correct boundary conditions, so he never does this calculation.
1867 - Stokes performs experiments that kill his own anisotropic inertia theory.
1867 - Joseph Boussinesq suggests that instead of aether being different in different media, perhaps the aether is the same everywhere, but it interacts differently with different materials, similar to the modern electromagnetic wave theory.
1867 - Riemann proposes a simple electric theory of light in which Poisson's equation is replaced.
1867 - Ludwig Lorenz develops an electromagnetic theory of light in which the scalar and vector potentials, in retarded form, are the starting point. He shows that these retarded potentials each satisfy the wave equation and that Maxwell's equations for the field potentials. His vector potential does not obey the Coulomb gauge, however, but another relation now known as the Lorenz gauge. Although he is able to derive Maxwell's equations from his retarded potentials, he does not subscribe to Maxwell's view that light involves electromagnetic waves in the aether. He feels, rather, that the fundamental basis of all luminous vibrations is electric currents, arguing that space has enough matter in it to support the necessary currents.
1868 - Maxwell decides that giving physical significance to the scalar and vector potentials is a bad idea and bases his further work on light.
1869 - Maxwell presents the first calculation in which a dispersive medium is made up of atoms with natural frequencies. This makes possible detailed modeling of dispersion with refractive indices having resonant denominators.
1869 - Hittorf finds that cathode rays can cast a shadow.
1870 - Helmholtz derives the correct laws of reflection and refraction from Maxwell's equations by using the following boundary condition. Once these boundary conditions are taken Maxwell's theory is just a repeat of MacCullagh's theory. The details were not given by Helmholtz himself, but appear rather in the inaugural dissertation of H. A. Lorentz.
1870-1900 - The hunt is on for physical models of the aether which are natural and from which Maxwell's equations can be derived. The physicists who work on this problem include Maxwell, Thomson, Kirchoff, Bjerknes, Leahy, Fitz Gerald, Helmholtz, and Hicks.
1872 - E. Mascart looks for the motion of the earth through the aether by measuring the rotation of the plane of polarization of light propagated along the axis of a quartz crystal.
1873 - Maxwell publishes his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, which discusses everything known at the time about electromagnetism from the viewpoint of Faraday. His own theory is not very thoroughly discussed, but he does introduce his electromagnetic stress tensor in this work, including the accompanying idea of electromagnetic momentum.
1875 - John Kerr shows that ordinary dielectrics subjected to strong electric fields become double refracting, showing directly that electric fields and light are closely related.
1876 - Henry Rowland performs an experiment inspired by Helmholtz which shows for the first time that moving electric charge is the same thing as an electric current.
1876 - A. Bartoli infers the necessity of light pressure from thermal arguments, thus beginnning the exploration of the connection between electromagnetism and thermodynamics.
1879 - J. Stefan discovers the Stefan-Boltzmann law, i.e., that radiant emission is proportional.
1879 - Edwin Hall performs an experiment that had been suggested by Henry Rowland and discovers the Hall effect, including its theoretical description by means of the Hall term in Ohm's law.
1879 - Sir William Crookes invents the radiometer and studies the interaction of beams of cathode ray particles in vacuum tubes.
1879 - Ludwig Boltzmann uses Hall's result to estimate the speed of charge carriers (assuming that charge carriers are only of one sign.)
1880 - Rowland shows that Faraday rotation can be obtained by combining Maxwell's equations and the Hall term in Ohm's law, assuming that displacement currents are affected in the same way as conduction currents.
1881 - J. J. Thomson attempts to verify the existence of the displacement current by looking for magnetic effects produced by the changing electric field made by a moving charged sphere.
1881 - George Fitz Gerald points out that J. J. Thomson's analysis is incorrect because he left out the effects of the conduction current of the moving sphere. Including both currents makes the separate effect of the displacement current disappear.
1881 - Helmholtz, in a lecture in London, points out that the idea of charged particles in atoms can be consistent with Maxwell's and Faraday's ideas, helping to pave the way for our modern picture of particles and fields interacting instead of thinking about everything as a disturbance of the aether, as was popular after Maxwell.
1881 - Albert Michelson and Edwin Morley attempt to measure the motion of the earth through the aether by using interferometry. They find no relative velocity. Michelson interprets this result as supporting Stokes hypothesis in which the aether in the neighborhood of the earth moves at the earth's velocity.
1883 - Fitz Gerald proposes testing Maxwell's theory by using oscillating currents in what we would now call a magnetic dipole antenna (loop of wire). He performs the analysis and discovers that very high frequencies are required to make the test. Later that year he proposes obtaining the required high frequencies by discharging a capacitor into a circuit.
1883-5 - Horace Lamb and Oliver Heaviside analyze the interaction of oscillating electromagnetic fields with conductors and discover the effect of skin depth.
1884 - John Poynting shows that Maxwell's equations predict that energy flows through empty space with the energy flux. He also investigates energy flow in Faraday fashion by assigning energy to moving tubes of electric and magnetic flux.
1884 - Heinrich Hertz asserts that made by charges and made by a changing magnetic field are identical. Working from dynamical ideas based on this assumption and some of Maxwell's equations, Hertz is able to derive the rest of them.
1887 - Svante Arrhenius deduces that in dilute solutions electrolytes are completely dissociated into positive and negative ions.
1887 - Hertz finds that ultraviolet light falling on the negative electrode in a spark gap facilitates conduction by the gas in the gap.
1888 - R. T. Glazebrook revives one of Cauchy's wave theories and combines it with Stokes anisotropic aether inertia theory to get agreement with the experiments of Stokes in 1867.
1888 - Hertz discovers that oscillating sparks can be produced in an open secondary circuit if the frequency of the primary is resonant with the secondary. He uses this radiator to show that electrical signals are propagated along wires and through the air at about the same speed, both about the speed of light. He also shows that his electric radiations, when passed through a slit in a screen, exhibit diffraction effects. Polarization effects using a grating of parallel metal wires are also observed.
1888 - Roentgen shows that when an uncharged dielectric is moved at right angles to a magnetic field is produced.
1889 - Hertz gives the theory of radiation from his oscillating spark gap.
1889 - Oliver Heaviside finds the correct form for the electric and magnetic fields of a moving charged particle, valid for all speeds v < c.
1889 - J. J. Thomson shows that Canton's effect (1762) in which a red hot poker can neutralize the electrification of a small charged body is due to electron emission causing the air between the poker and the body to become conducting.
1890 - Fitz Gerald uses the retarded potentials of L. Lorenz to calculate electric dipole radiation from Hertz's radiator.
1892 - Oliver Lodge performs experiments on the propagation of light near rapidly moving steel disks to test Stokes hypothesis that moving matter drags the aether with it. No such effect is observed.
1892 - Hendrik Anton Lorentz presents his electron theory of electrified matter and the aether. This theory combines Maxwell's equations, with the source terms and with the Lorentz force law for the acceleration of charged particles:
1892 - George Fitz Gerald proposes length contraction as a way to reconcile Lorentz's theory and the null results on the motion of the earth through the aether. At the end of this year Lorentz endorses this idea.
1894 - J. J. Thomson measures the speed of cathode rays and shows that they travel much more slowly than the speed of light. The aether model of cathode rays begins to die.
1894 - Philip Lenard studies the penetration of cathode rays through matter.
1895 - Pierre Curie experimentally discovers Curie's law for paramagnetism and also shows that there is no temperature effect for diamagnetism.
1895 - Lorentz, in his ``Search for a theory of electrical and optical effects in moving bodies'' gives the Lorentz transformation to first order in v/c. The transformed time variable he calls ``local time''.
1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays produced by bremsstrahlung in cathode ray tubes.
1896 - Arthur Shuster, Emil Wiechert, and George Stokes propose that X-rays are aether waves of exceedingly small wavelength.
1896 - J. J. Thomson discovers that materials through which X-rays pass are rendered conducting.
1896 - Henri Becquerel discovers that some sort of natural radiation from uranium salts can expose a photographic plate wrapped in thick black paper.
1896 - P. Zeeman discovers the splitting of atomic line spectra by a magnetic field.
1896 - Lorentz gives an electron theory of the Zeeman effect.
1897 - J. J. Thomson argues that cathode rays must be charged particles smaller in size than atoms (Emil Wiechert made the same suggestion independently in this same year). In response Fitz Gerald suggests that ``we are dealing with free electrons in these cathode rays.''
1897 - W. Wien discovers that positively-charged moving particles can also be made (the so-called canal rays of E. Goldstein) and that they have a much smaller q/m ratio than cathode rays.
1897 - J. J. Thomson deflects cathode rays by crossed electric and magnetic fields and measures e/m.
1898 - Marie and Pierre Curie separate from pitchblende two highly radioactive elements which they name polonium and radium.
1899 - Ernest Rutherford discovers that the rays from uranium come in two types, which he calls alpha and beta radiation.
1900 - Marie and Pierre Curie show that beta rays and cathode rays are identical.
1900 - Emil Wiechert shows that simply replacing the distributed charge from Lorentz's theory with the charge of a moving point particle gives incorrect results. Instead the Lienard-Wiechert retarded potentials must be used.
1900 - Joseph Larmor obtains the second order corrections to the Lorentz Transformation.
1901 - R. Blondlot performs experiments that show that Lorentz's theory in which there is no moving aether gives the correct result in cases where the hypothesis of a moving aether gives the wrong result.
1902 - Lord Rayleigh performs experiments to test whether the Fitz Gerald contraction is capable of causing double refraction in moving transparent substances. No such effect is found.
1903 - The Hagen-Rubens connections between the conductivity of metals and their optical properties are experimentally established.
1903 - Lorentz gives the famous square root formulas for the Lorentz transformation giving the effect to all orders in v/c.
1904 - Lorentz gives his electron-collision theory of electrical conduction
1905 - H. A. Wilson performs experiments similar to those of Blondlot; again, Lorentz's theory is found to give the correct result.
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^-U^JITt^*^ GOVERNMENT OF TAMILNADU SCIENCE IX STANDARD Untouchability Inhuman - Crime Department of School Education A publication under Government of Tamilnadu Distribution of Free Textboolc Programme (NOT FOR SALE) © Government of Tamilnadu First Edition -2011 (This Book \s published under uniform system of school education scheme) Chair Person Dr.S.Krishnaswamy Senior Professor and Head, Dept. of Genetic Engineering Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai Reviewers Dr. K. Perumal V. Arul Prasad Associate Professor and Head, Dept. of Physics, PG. Teacher Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Arts and Science, Coimbatore. Mettupatti, Salem Dist. Authors B0taity Dr.A.Nagammai K.Vijaya PG.Teacher, PG.Teacher, Govt. Hr. Sec. School, T.V.S. Matric. Hr. Sec. School, Thirugokarnam, Pudukottai. Madurai. Zoology C.A.Baskaran K.Royappa PG.Teacher, PG.Teacher., Ambrose Hr. Sec. School, St. Joseph's Anglo Indian Boys' Hr. Sec. School Meygnanapuram, Tuticorin Dist. Vepery, Chennai. Chemistry P.Chockalingam RNarayanasamy PG.Teacher, PG.Teacher, Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Pachaiyappa Hindu Nadar Hr. Sec. School, Vadasery, Nagerkoil. Kamatchipuram, Theni Dist. Physics TNatanasabapathy M.Stephensen PG. Teacher, PG.Teacher, Anjuham Hr Sec. School, St.Mary's Matric Boys' Hr Sec. School, West Mambalam, Chennai. Perambur,Chennai. Illustration Book wrapper & Layout A.Kasi viswanathan, M.Chinnaswamy M.S.Nagarajan, Aruppukottai. N.GopalaKrishnan, Vasan V.Murugan, Chennai. Type setting - B.Suganthi, B.Yuvaraj Textbook printing Tamilnadu Textbook Corporation College Road, Chennai - 600 006 Price : Rs. This book has been printed on 80 G.S.M. Maplitho paper Printed by offset at CH. NO. TOPICS PAGE NO. BIOLOGY 1. Improvement in food resources 1 2. Addiction and Healthy lifestyle 21 3. Human body Organ system 27 4. Structure and Physiological functions of plants 49 5. Animal kingdom 69 6. Cells and Tissues 93 7. Bio-geo chemical cycle 111 8. Pollution and ozone depletion CHEMISTRY 117 9. Is matter around us pure? 131 10. Atomic structure 143 11. Chemical equation 155 12. Periodic classification of elements 169 13. Chemical bonds PHYSICS 185 14. Measuring instruments 199 15. Motion and Liquids 209 16. Work, power, energy and Heat 235 17. Sound 253 PRACTICALS 267 Chapteifci IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES BIOLOGY 1.1. IMPROVEMENT IN CROP YIELDS We eat several varieties of food like rice, sambar, idly, dosai, chappathi, poori, pongal, vadai, parotta, bread, sweets, fruit-salad, ice-creams, etc. All these are made from cereals, pulses, greens, vegetables, fruits and animal products like milk, egg, meat, etc. Food, in general, is derived from plants and animals. Food is required for growth, development and repair of the body. It also protects the body from diseases and provides energy. Food provides Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Vitamins and Minerals. Food Nutrient Cereals Carbohydrates Pulses Protein Meat, (mutton, chicken....), fish and egg. Fat and protein Fruits and vegetables, especially green vegetables like spinach and cabbage Minerals and Vitamins Observe the pictures given below !5S What do we infer from these pictures? ► ► ► There is an increase in population. Expansion of city and urbanization. Houses and Factories are constructed by destroying fertile lands. / c Increase in Population c \ Reduction in cultivable lands \ c Need for larger quantity of food Scarcity of Food Thus, we understand the reasons for the scarcity of food. The scarcity of food can be overcome by i) increasing the yield of crops ii) retaining the cultivable lands without diversion to other uses. iii) optimizing water usage for cultivation. iv) improving the preservation and distribution system of food materials. How to increase the crop yield? Crop yield can be increased by ► introducing new and improved varieties ► adopting better farm practices Cultivation or farming can be divided into four stages. i) Selection of seeds and planting, ii) Nurturing and protection of the plants, iii) Harvesting and transporting the yield. iv) Storing the yield. Introduction of new and improved varieties Improved varieties or strains of crops are produced by selective breeding for various useful characteristics such as disease resistance, response to fertilizers, product quality, higher yield, etc. Common factors for crop improvement O Higher Yield To increase the productivity of the crop per acre. O Improved Quality Quality of crop products vary from crop to crop. Baking quality in wheat, protein quality in pulses, oil quality in oil seeds, etc. O Biotic and abiotic resistance Crop production is decreased due to biotic (diseases, insects, pests, etc.,) and abiotic factors (heat, cold, salinity and drought). Varieties resistant to these stresses can improve crop production. O Change in maturity pattern Shorter maturity period; uniform maturity makes the harvesting process easy and reduces losses during harvesting. O Wider Adaptability One variety can be grown under different climatic conditions in different areas. Developing varieties of wider adaptability helps in stabilizing crop production. O Desirable agronomic characters Tallness and profuse branching are desirable characters for fodder crops. Dwarfness is desired in cereals. Developing varieties of desired agronomic characters give higher productivity. BIOLOGY J. A I Some improved varieties of crops and fruits: 1. Fodder crop 2. Paddy S.Wheat 4. Baby corn 5. Maize 6. Sunflower 7. Mango 8. Grapes 1.2 NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT The higher yields of crops mainly depend upon input applications like improved seeds, fertilizers and modern techniques of sowing and harvesting. Plants require a number of nutrients for their growth and development. Plants get nutrients from air, water and soil. Nearly 16 elements are essential for plant growth and reproduction. On the basis of the requirement by the plants, they are further classified into Macro Nutrients and Micro Nutrients. MACRO NUTRIENTS Elements which are needed in large quantities for growth of the plants are called Macro Nutrients. They are Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Sulphur, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and Iron. MICRO NUTRIENTS Elements which are needed by the plants in very small quantities are called Micro Nutrients. They are Manganese, Copper, Molybdenum, Zinc, Boron and Chlorine. Due to lack of nutrients, deficiency diseases occur in human beings. Likewise, deficiency of macro and micro nutrients affects physiological processes in plants including growth, reproduction and susceptibility to diseases resulting in low yield or no yield at all. 1.3 USES OF MANURE AND FERTILIZERS We can eliminate deficiency of nutrients by using manures and fertilizers. ACTIVITY -1.1 Take two potted plants of 'Keerai'. Name them as A and B. Apply cow dung or urea and sprinkle water for potted plant A. Sprinkle water alone for potted plant B. Keep them in sunlight and observe their growth for 15-20 days. Which one grows faster? Why? Based on the kind of biological materials used, manure can be classified as, i) Compost & Vermi Compost ii) Green Manure ACTIVITY -1.2 Manure is an organic substance and is prepared by the decomposition of plant and animal wastes. Collect animal wastes like cow dung, plant wastes, domestic wastes, sewage wastes, etc. and allow them to decompose in a pit in your garden for some days. What do you get? IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES Compost prepared by using earth worms to speed up the process of decomposition of plant and animal wastes is called Vermi Compost. Vermi Compost Green Manures Leguminous plants like Sunn-hemp or Cluster Bean are grown and then mulched by ploughing them back into the soil. This helps in enriching the soil with Nitrogen and Phosphorous. Sunn-hemp Uses of Manure ► Manure enhances the water holding capacity of the soil. ► It increases the number of friendly microbes. ► It improves the soil texture. FERTILIZERS Fertilizers are chemicals commercially produced in factories and used as plant nutrients. They supply Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, etc.. They are used to ensure good vegetative growth giving rise to healthy plants. Type of Fertilizers Examples Nitrogenous Fertilizers Urea, Ammonium Sulphate, Ammonium Nitrate, etc. Phosphatic Fertilizers Single Super Phosphate, Triple Super Phosphate Potassic Fertilizers Potassium Nitrate, Pottassium Chloride Complex Fertilizers Nitrophosphate, Ammonium Phosphate, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) Application of fertilizers results in higher yield of crops. At the same time, it increases the cost of farming. As the fertilizers are water soluble chemicals, large part of the fertilizers applied is washed away due to excessive irrigation. They are not fully absorbed by the plants. This excess fertilizer is washed away into the ponds, lakes, canals and rivers, resulting in the growth of unwanted plants like Water Hyacinth, algae, etc. These plants disturb the water bodies and the flow of water. As a result, fishes and other living organisms do not get sufficient sunlight and oxygen and die. BIOLOGY ACTIVITY -1.3 Visit a nearby paddy field where fertilizer has been applied, and observe the number of earthworms. Compare this with the number of earthworms in a garden where no fertilizer has been applied. What do you observe? why? Differences between Manures and Fertilizers Manures Fertilizers 1. Manure is a natural substance obtained by the decomposition of cattle dung, human waste and plant waste. 1. Fertilizer is a mineral or chemical compound containing nutrients like Sulphur, Phosphorous, Nitrogen, etc. 2. Manures are organic substances. 2. Fertilizers are inorganic compounds. 3. Manures can be prepared in fields. 3. Fertilizers are manufactured in factories. 4. Manures contain all nutrients but in small quantities. 4. They contain higher quantities of one or more specific nutrients. 5. Manures add plenty of humus to soil and improve the texture of the soil. 5. Fertilizers do not result in the addition of humus to the soil. 6. Manures are not easily absorbed because they are less soluble in nature. 6. Fertilizers are soluble in water and it is easily absorbed. 7. Manures are less soluble; they are not easily washed away from the soil and hence their effect is long lasting. 7. Fertilizers are easily washed away by water and hence their effect is of shorter duration and require repeated application. Fertilizers should be applied carefully in terms of proper dose, time and observing pre-and post application precautions for their complete utilization. Fertilizers have short term benefits. But manures give long term benefits. We must balance the use of fertilizers and manures to suit the long term and short term need of plants. 1.4 PROTECTION FROM PESTS AND DISEASES Pests are organisms of plant or animal origin which damage cultivated crops or plant products in storage. Crop yield is lost due to pests during sowing, harvest, storage and consumption. This is a great loss to the national economy. MORE TO KNOW Fertilizers which are derived from living organisms are called Bio-fertilizers. The main source of bio-fertilizers are bacteria, cyanobacteria and fungi. Bio-fertilizers are renewable and non- polluting sources of plant nutrients. They also improve the soil condition. Rhizobium and Cyanobacteria such as Anabaena and Nostoc are some common bio-fertilizers. lAl PEST CONTROL There are different methods of controlling of the pests. The most common method of controlling pests is the use of pesticides. IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES A man spraying pesticides Pesticides are classified as Insecticides, Fungicides, Weedicides, Rodenticides, etc., depending upon their use. i) Insecticides : The chemical substances which are used to kill the insects are called insecticides, e.g. DDT (Dichloro diphenyl trichloro ethane), Malathion etc., ii) Fungicides : The chemicals used to kill fungi are called fungicides, e.g. Bordeaux mixture. iii) Weedicides : The chemical substances which are used to kill the weeds are called weedicides. e.g.2-4-D. (2-4-Dichloro phenoxy acetic acid) iv) Rodenticides : The chemicals used to kill rodents like rats, mice and squirrel are called rodenticides, e.g. Zinc Phosphate, Arsenic etc. 1.4.2 INSECT PESTS Insects are serious pests of plants which attack them in all stages and parts. Based on the mode of attack, the insect pests can be classified into three types. i) Chewing Insects: They cut and chew the root, stem and leaves of the plants, e.g. grasshoppers, caterpillars, etc. Pyrilla (Sugarcane Leaf Hopper) Mustard Aphid Painted Bug Some common Indian Insect Pests of Crop Plants. ii) Sucking Insects: They suck the cell sap from different parts of the plants, e.g. Leaf hoppers, aphids etc.. iii) Borer Insects: They bore and enter different parts and feed on the plant tissues, e.g. sugarcane borer. BIOLOGY 1.4.3 METHODSOFINSECT PEST CONTROL The infestation of different types of insect pests can be controlled by the following methods. ► Root cutting insects are controlled by mixing insecticides in soil, e.g. Chloropyriphos. ► Stem and leaf cutting and boring insects are controlled by dusting or spraying contact insecticides. e.g. Malathion, Lindane and Thiodan. ► The sap sucking insects can be controlled by spraying insecticides, e.g. Dimethoate and Metasystox. 1.4.4. DISEASES OF CROP PLANTS A wide variety of plant pathogens such as bacteria, virus and fungi exist in our environment. When they get favourable conditions for their growth and propagation, they spread and infest the crop plants causing diseases. Based on the mode of transmission, plant diseases are classified into four types. IK Tikka disease of Groundnut 1. Seed-borne diseases They are spread through seeds, e.g. Leaf spot of rice. Loose smut of wheat. 2. Soil-borne diseases They are spread through the soil. They affect roots and stems in plants, e.g. Tikka disease of groundnut. 3. Air-borne diseases These diseases are transmitted by the air. They attack all aerial parts of the plants like leaves, flowers and fruits, e.g. Blast of rice. Rust of wheat etc. 4. Water - borne diseases The diseases which are transmitted through water are called water-borne diseases, e.g. Bacterial blight of rice. 1.4.5 PRECAUTIONS FOR APPLYING PESTICIDES ► Do not touch the pesticide with bare hands; use rubber gloves while handling it. ► Do not blow, suck or apply mouth to any sprinkler, nozzle or other parts of the spraying equipment. ► Do not spray pesticides against the direction of wind in the open field. Use only the prescribed dose of the pesticides for spraying. Organic Pesticides As the pesticides are toxic chemicals, they cause environmental pollution. Therefore we should try to avoid excessive use of such chemicals and should adopt the following preventive measures of protecting crops from pests. ► Use of resistant varieties. ► Crop Rotation and cropping system (growing different crops on a piece of land which leads to destruction of pests in the absence of specific host). ► Clean Cultivation (Proper sanitation of field before sowing the crop) ► Summer Ploughing. Storage of Grains Most crops are harvested once a year. In order to get food items regularly throughout the year, they are stored in safe storage. Cereals or food grains are stored by the farmer, trader and Food Corporation of India (FCI). During storage, grains and seeds are subjected to spoilage by various agencies. Factors responsible for such losses are i) Biotic factors (insects, rodents like squirrel and rat, birds, fungi, mites and bacteria). ii) Abiotic factors (moisture and temperature) These factors cause ► infestation of insects ► degradation in quality ► loss in weight ► poor germinability ► discolouration of produce ► poor marketability. Therefore, it is essential to protect the produce from any kind of loss during storage. Preventive and Control Measures are used when produce is stored for future use. They include strict cleaning of the produce before storage, proper drying of the produce in sunlight and then in shade and fumigation using chemicals that kill pests. Pulse beetle Khapra beetle Some insect pests of stored grains ACTIVITY -1.4 Visit nearby crop fields and observe and identify weeds, insect pests and diseases noticed in crops. BIOLOGY 1.5 HYBRIDIZATION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS 1-5-1 HYBRIDIZATION IN PLANTS Hybridization is the method of producing improved varieties by crossing two or more plants of dissimilar genotypes together. A plant variety containing as many desirable characters as possible can be produced by hybridization. Hybridization involves selection of parents with desirable qualities. Useful characteristics are scattered in different varieties. It is possible to bring all the characters in a single variety by Hybridization. Hybridization can be i) Intervarietal (cross between two different varieties) ii) Interspecific (cross between two species of the same genus) iii) Intergeneric (cross between different genera) Of the above three types, intervarietal hybridization is widely adopted in plant breeding. HYBRID VARIETY OF MAIZE Hybridization procedure includes different steps. They are i) Selection of parents, ii) Selfing of parents, iii) Emasculation, iv) Bagging, Tagging and Labelling, v) Crossing and vi) Harvesting the hybrid seeds and raising F^ generation. 1-5-2- HYBRIDISATION IN ANIMALS Hybridisation is a method of breeding, where the offspring is formed by the union of two genetically dissimilar parents. It involves the application of the principles of genetics and physiology of reproduction. Hybridisation has long been used for commercial production of cattle, swine, sheep and poultry. Superior hybrids are likely to be obtained when genetically different parents are used in the cross. Practically, all hybrids of poultry and swine are produced by hybridisation. The various characteristics of the parent animals which should be taken into consideration for animals breeding are, 1. Resistance to diseases 2. Tolerance to climatic conditions 3. General appearance 4. Size and configuration 5. Productivity 6. Good health 7. Proper age of reproduction Poultry shed The different methods of animal hybridisation are as follows : Inbreeding Breeding between closely related individuals within the same breed is known as inbreeding. The importance of inbreeding are 1. It is used as a tool primarily for building of desirable genotype and to promote homozygous desirable characters. Inbreeding in cattle 2. To bring undesirable recessive genes to light. This enable the breeder to separate them from the stock. 3. Inbreeding promotes uniformity. 4. Inbreeding associated with selection can produce improved stocks. Selection It is a process of selecting productive individuals for further breeding. Modern approach of selection is based on records of performance. Out breeding It is a breeding of unrelated animals which may be between individuals of same breed a) Out crossing: It involves the crossing of animals of the same breed (without a common ancestor). b) Cross breeding: In this method, superior males of one breed are mated with superior females of another breed. It involves the fusion of two different breeds in order to combine the desirable qualities of both. c) Inter specific Hybridisation: In this method, male and female animals of two different species are mated. In some cases, the progeny may combine desirable features of both the parents. For example, mule is produced from a cross between female horse (mare) and male donkey. Mules are sturdier and hardier than their parental species, and are well suited for hard work in different terrains like mountainous regions. There are two methods of inter specific hybridisation. i) Natural Method: In this method crossing of indigenous and exotic breeds takes place in order to significantly improve the yield. ii) Artificial insemination: It is a method used in hybridization in which stored semen of a desired male animal is introduced into the genital tract BIOLOGY of a selected female animal by the use of suitable instruments in order to obtain a better breed of the animal. Advantages 1. Ensures the progeny with desirable qualities. 2. It is an economical method wherein semen from an animal is used to impregnate many females. 3. It provides high yielding animals with increased production of milk, eggs and meat. 4. Frozen semen can be stored for a long period and it can be transported even to the remote areas. ACTIVITY 1.5 1.6. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY The branch of agriculture which deals with the feeding, shelter, health and breeding of domestic animals such as cattle, pigs, horses and fowls is called animal husbandry. The various elements of animal husbandry are : 1. Proper feeding of animals. 2. Provision for clean drinking water for animals. 3. Proper shelter for animals. 4. Prevention and cure of animal diseases. 5. Proper breeding of animals. Visit an animal husbandry clinic to know about the common diseases of cattle. MORE TO KNOW Animal Product Fat % Protein % Sugar % Minerals % Water % Milk 3.60 4.00 4.50 0.70 87.20 Egg 12.00 13.00 Trace 1.00 74.00 Meat 3.60 21.10 Trace 1.10 74.20 Fish 2.50 19.00 Trace 1.30 77.20 1. Cattle feed Cattle feed has two types of substances roughage and concentrates. Roughage is a coarse and fibrous substance having low nutrient contents. The concentrates are cotton seeds, oil seeds, oil cakes, cereal grains etc., 2. Shelter Domestic animals should be provided with proper houses and shelter which can protect them from heat, cold, rain, predator and disease causing organisms. The shelter should be clean, airy, well lighted and well ventilated so that they are safe guarded from various diseases. Proper arrangement should be made for removal of dung and the drainage of animal urine. Protection of aninnal health Protection involves prevention, control and cure of animal diseases to keep them fit and healthy. The diseases are mainly due to virus, bacteria, fungi, etc.. Vaccination against infections should be administrated to protect animals from contagious diseases. IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF MILK SL.NO. CONSTITUENTS FUNCTION 1. CALCIUM Builds and maintains bone mass 2. VITAMIN D Promotes Calcium Metabolism 3. PROTEIN Builds and repairs muscles. 4. POTASSIUM Maintenance of Blood Pressure. 5. VITAMIN B2 Cellular Metabolism 6. VITAMIN B4 Functioning of Enzymes 7. VITAMIN B12 Maturation of Red Blood Cells. White revolution White revolution attributes to increase in milk production by using new improved breeds of cattle. Dr. V.Kurien is the founder chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). This board designed and implemented the world's largest dairy development programme called OPERATION FLOOD. Dr. V.Kurien is considered as Father of White revolution. 1.7. POULTRY FARMING Poultry farming is defined as rearing and breeding of avian species for the purpose of egg and meat. Chicken occupy 90% of the total poultry. The term poultry includes chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons, guinea fowls, etc.. The poultry industry with its production in the form of eggs and meat is of particular importance in providing a balanced diet for the human population. Proper management of poultry includes methods of hatching, rearing, housing, sanitation, prevention of diseases and a sound marketing system. Silver revolution The increase in egg production brought about the 'Silver Revolution' in the area of animal husbandry. There are more than hundreds of breeds of fowls. The fowls are classified on the basis of their utility to man. They are l.meat type 2.egg type and 3. Dual type. Breeds of fowl Indian breeds - Chittagong, Aseel, arakanth and : busra are four , breeds of indigenous fowls in India. Asiatic Breeds - Brahma and Langshan are asiatic breeds. Exotic breeds - Plymouth rock, Le ghorn Rhode island, Black Minorca are examples for exotic breeds. IVIORE TO KNOW Vegetarian eggs: Fertile eggs rot more rapidly than infertile eggs. Hence the production of infertile eggs is desired. Hens are capable of laying eggs without the presence of cock and the eggs obtained are infertile. Such eggs are called vegetarian eggs. BIOLOGY MORE TO KNOW White leghorn is the most high egg yielding breed in the world. India ranks fifth in the world poultry production. Examples for cross breeds of Poultry are-HH-260, IBL-80, B-77, IIS-82 Advantages of Cross breeds 1. Cross breeds lay more number of eggs. 2. The eggs produced are larger in size. 3. They yield more meat. Nutritional value Eggs and meat are a good source of protein. Eggs also contain calcium, Phosphorus, sodium, Vit. Bl, B12, D, etc. Housing of Birds The two principal methods of birds keeping generally used in India. They are a) semi-intensive method and b) intensive method. Poultry farm Poultry feed Poultry diets are composed primarily of a mixture of cereal grains, soya bean meal. Fish meal. Bone meal. Wheat bran, groundnut cake, barley, oats, maize, animal by product meals, etc. Trace minerals such as Zinc, iron, copper iodine, manganese, selenium etc. must be included in the poultry feed. Poultry disease and control Poultry are often affected by diseases and attacked by predators ( eg. Cat, Dog, Fox). Some of the common diseases found in Indian fowl are Tick fever (Spirochaetosis), Tuberculosis, Fowl Cholera, Fowl Pox, Flu, etc.. Disease control Poultry diseases can be controlled by vaccination. Isolation of affected ones, improving the sanitary conditions, removing dampness and exposure to sunlight. Feeding poultry a well balanced diet will prevent them from developing deficiency diseases. Poultry industry in Tamilnadu The Tamilnadu Government is giving much importance to poultry industry. Namakkal, Palladam and Chennai are well known for poultry industries. Each child is given an egg on all school working days in Tamilnadu. ACTIVITY -1.6 Visit a nearby poultry farm to observe rearing, feeding and breeding of birds. 1.8. PISCICULTURE The process of rearing and breeding of fishes in rivers, streams, ponds, irrigation canals, paddy fields, etc., is known as pisciculture. Pisciculture has an important place in Indian economy. It provides income and employment to millions of fishermen and IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES Common carp farmers, particularly in the coastal areas. Factors to be considered for pisciculture 1. Topography or location of pond. 2. Water resources and quality of water. 3. Soil quality (Nutrients) 4. Temperature of the water. Types offish culture a. Extensive fish culture - growing fish on natural feed. b. Intensive fish culture - Growing fish on artificial feed to maximize production c. Monoculture - Growing a single type of fish in a given water body. d. Poly culture - Growing one or more types of fishes with different feeding habits together in a water body. e. Integrated fish culture - Growing fish with agricultural crops or other animals. Types of fishing ponds Fish culture requires different types of ponds for the various stages of growth of fish. The types of ponds are as follows, 1. Breeding ponds: Sexually mature males and females are collected and left in these ponds for the breeding. 2. Hatchery ponds: The seeds collected from breeding ponds are placed in order to hatch the young fishes called fish fries. 3. Nursery pond: 3 to 5 day old fish fries are fed well and retained for about 20 days. 4. Rearing ponds: These are deeper ponds in which fish fries from the nursery ponds are transferred and maintained here for about three months. The fish fries grow to a size of about 125 mm length and are now called fish fingerlings. 5. Stocking ponds: These are larger ponds and the fingerlings are fed with artificial feed. Organic and inorganic fertilizers are used in increase growth. Antibiotics are used to prevent infectious diseases. When the fishes attain the required size, they are harvested. Nutritional value of fishery products Fishes are rich in animal protein, vitamins and minerals. The vitamin-A content of fish liver helps in good vision. Vitamins such as B6, B12, Biotin, Niacin, D and minerals such as phosphorus, potassium and iron promotes normal growth of human body. Fish meal for cattle and poultry is prepared from the non-edible parts of fishes. MORE TO KNOW Facts about Indian fisheries (both capture and culture) 1 . Total fish production - 7th position in the world. 2. Marine fish production - 10th position in the world. 3. Aquaculture production - 2nd in south east Asia. 4. Fish industry contribution - Rs. 400 Crores annually as foreign exchange. BIOLOGY 1.9. APICULTURE The scientific method of rearing honeybees for honey and wax is called 'Apiculture' or 'Bee keeping'. Honey bees are social insects. They live in colonies. They exhibit team work and division of labour. They feed on the pollen and nectar of flowers. The honey bees collect nectar from various flowers. The nectar is swallowed by the bees. In the stomach, the nectar is converted into honey and stored in the honey combs. There are three types of bees in a colony. a. Queen -The only fertile female in the hive and it's function is to lay eggs. b. Drones - These are fertile male bees and it's function is to mate with queen bee and fertilize the eggs. c. Workers - These are sterile females. They take care of the queen and young bees, collect nectar build honey combs and protect the bee hive. Honeybee varieties a. Indigenous varieties 1. Apis Indica - Common Indian honey bee. ii. Apis dorsata - Rock bee iii. Apis florea - Little bee. MORE TO KNOW Round dance Waggle dance HONEYBEECOMMUNICATION (Dance forms) Round dance indicates that the source of nectar is within 100 mts., Waggle dance signifies a long distance. The dance movements specifies the direction of nectar with respect to the sun. In 1973 KARL VON FRISCH received Noble prize for deciphering this language. Worker Queen Drone b. Exotic varieties i. Apis mellifera (Italian bee) ii. Apis adamsoni (South African bee) Economic importance of honey bees Honey bees are used in the production of honey and bee wax. Uses of honey 1. Honey is an energy rich food. For eg. 1 Kg of honey contains 3200 calories of energy. 2. Honey contains sugars, minerals, vitamins, enzymes and pollen. 3. Honey is an antiseptic and contains formic acid as the preservative. 4. Honey is a blood purifier, a cure against cough, cold, sore throat, ulcers of tongue, stomach and intestine. 5. Honey is helpful in building up the haemoglobin content of the blood. 6. Honey is used in the preparation of bread, cakes and biscuits. Bee wax It is utilized in the manufacture of cosmetics, lubricants, cold creams, shaving creams, polishes, candles, ointments and in medical preparations. 1.10. AQUACULTURE Aquaculture deals with the farming of economically important aquatic organisms both plants and animals under controlled condition in a confined environment. Aquaculture includes culture of prawn, lobsters, fish, pearl oysters, mussels, crabs, etc.. IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES EVALUATION Section -A Choose the correct answer 1. Tallness and profuse branching are desirable characters for (oil seed varieties, fruit trees, vegetables, fodder crops). 2. Nutrients are provided to the plants by air, soil and (rock, fossil, water, volcano). 3. Anabaena is a (cyanobacteria, green alga, brown alga, red alga). 4. 2,4 - D is a (insecticide, fungicide, rodenticide, weedicide). 5. An insect which cut and chew the root, stem and leaves of the plants (cotton ball, weevil, aphid, grasshopper, leafhopper) Section - B 6. complete the table with suitable answer. Name of the crop Disease Type of disease Rice ? Seed- borne Ground nut Tikka ? 7. As our country is the second in population in the world, it Is necessary to increase the yield of crops. How can we improve the crop yields? 8. i) Deficiency diseases occur in human beings due to the lack of nutrients. Does it occur in plants too? ii) If the growth of the plants in your garden is stunted, what will you do to hasten the growth? 9. Make lists of macro and micro nutrients from the following; Copper, chlorine, boron, calcium, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sulphur, zinc, iron, magnesium. Section C 10. i) Match the items in Column A with the items in Column B Column A Column B 1. Emasculation a. Storage of grain 2. Fertilizer b. Bordeaux mixture 3. Fungicide c. Hybridization 4. FCI d. Urea ii) To eliminate the nutrient deficiency we use manures and fertilizers. a) Which one is absorbed easily by plants ? b) Explain why. BIOLOGY Section -A 1. In Artificial insemination method, the frozen semen is utilized to impregnate many females. Mention its advantages. Section - B 2. Minerals are essential for the proper development of poultry animals. Mention at least four minerals. 3. Honey is a good medicine. List out any four medicinal uses of honey. 4 . Rearrange Column B to match Column A Inbreeding a) Desirable qualities Cross breeding b) Frozen Semen Inter specific hybridization c) Homozygous Characters Artificial insemination d) Mule. Section - C 5. Observe the given table with a set of 4 terms in Column A. Pick out the odd term and enter in column B. Identify the common features of the remaining three items and note down in Column C. MODEL A B C 1. Aseel. Karknath. Busra, Leghorn. Leghorn Indian breeds of Poultry 2. Inbreeding, Crossbreeding, Inter specific hybridization. Artificial insemination. 3. Monoculture, Polyculture, Integrated Fish Culture, Intensive Fish Culture 4. Apis indica. Apis dorsata. Apis florea. Apis Mellifera ^^ FURTHER REFERENCE Books 1. Economic Botany - Plants in our world 2000 - Beryl Simpson and Molly ogorzaly, Mc Graw Hill Publications 2. Economic Botany of Crop plants 2000 - A.V.S.S. Sambamurthy and N.S.Subrahmanyam, Asiatech Publisher. 3. Economic Zoology - Shukula, G.S. and Upadhyay V.B. (1997) Rastogi Publication, Meerut. Websites http://www.biology-online.org http://www.tnau.ac.in Chapter^^^ ADDICTION AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE BIOLOGY CHAPTER -2 2.1. ADDICTION The term addiction is used to describe a compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity. Addiction leads to harmful consequences to an individual's health, mental state, and social life. Histologically, addiction has been defined as psycho-active substances which cross blood - brain barrier temporarily altering the chemical nature of the brain. The drugs and alcohol are misused and consumed in large quantities by an individual without the consultation of medical practitioners. They affect the central nervous system, liver spleen, kidney, heart etc.. Slowly the individual becomes addicted to these drugs and alcohol. This addiction leads to personal as well as social problems. The Addiction Cycle PERSONAL ADDICTION REASONS FOR 1. Genetic and mental susceptibility of an individual towards alcoholism. 2. Some use drugs for pain relief and it causes addiction. 3. Highly common reason for drug addiction is inability to cope up with emotional stress, anxiety, depres- sion, environmental stress etc. 4. Some people become addicted due to underlying psychological disor- ders such as post traumatic stress disorder or attention deficit disorder. SOCIAL REASONS FOR ADDICTION 1. Individuals become addicted because of peer compulsion. 2. Some people become addicted due to disturbing environment in the factories. FANTASY IT STARTS IN THE MIND 3. People relax after heavy physical work, and become addicted. 4. Hopelessness in life leads people to become addicted. 2.2. KINDS OF ADDICTION a) ALCOHOLISM Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disabling addictive disorder. Ethyl alcohol ( C2H5OH) or Fate of men after drinking alcohol ethanol, is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine and liquors. Alcohol is produced by the fermentation of yeast, sugar and starch. It is a central nervous system depressant that is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into the blood stream. The study of alcoholism is both fascinating and frustrating . Certainly it is little understood . HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLISM Many other physiological studies I ADDICTION AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE showed that there is a physiological pre disposition towards the loss of control. Certainly the Cerebellum ( small brain) is affected, that is why the skeletal muscles have an impaired function. Liver cirrhosis: A healthy liver is able to regenerate most of its own cells when they become damaged. At the final stage of cirrhosis, the liver can no longer effectively replace damaged cells. Every year, there are about 27,000 deaths because of liver cirrhosis all over the world. Heavy alcohol use over several years can cause chronic injury to the liver. Alcohol-related cirrhosis led to more death than cirrhosis due to any other cause. Liver affected by liver cirrhosis MORE TO KNOW In South America Vehicles like buses are powered with ethyl alcohol. It is a very good pollution free fuel. Ethyl alcohol is also a very good solvent for paints and varnish. PREVENTION OF ALCOHOLISM ► Addiction of alcohol can be prevented at early stage by taking the following steps: ► The harmful effects of alcohol such as drowsiness. Induce sleep, damaged liver cells which cause for death must be explained to the people. ► If the addiction is developed due to being idle and by the pressure of the job, both the idleness and the nature of the jobs should be changed. ► Psychotherapy helps the patient in changing their life style. ► By educating parents and teachers to help the patients recover from alcoholic addiction. ► Drug therapy is also a valuable treatment.Medicines like Benzodi- azepines, high dose of vitamin B and antidepressant like phenothiazines are effective in the recovery of alcoholic addiction. ► A number of voluntary organizations are financially assisting to undertake the educative work in various communities and target groups. 2.2.(b). SMOKING CIGARETTES A cigarette (French "small cigar") is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. Nicotine is one of the most frequently used addictive drug and the leading preventable cause of disease and disability and death in India. Cigrattes and tobacco in any form are illegal substance in most of the countries. BIOLOGY CHAPTER -2 EFFECTS OF SMOKING ON HEART Cigarette Smoking Cigarette contains many toxic substances like ^^^^^^ nicotine, carbon, etc. When inhaled, these toxic substance get deposited on the inner walls of the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart This results in plaque formation | o This plaque causes narrowing of the blood vessels. Blood supply to the walls of the heart is gradually reduced o As blood carries oxygen to heart. Oxygen supply is also reduced i> As there is no sufficient blood supply and^^ oxygen supply to heart, it damages the heart muscle i> Leads to heart attack Smoking causes diseases like Heart attack, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Cardiovascular diseases and finally leads to Death LUNGS Smoking destroys small hairs (cilia) present in the upper respiratory track (trachea). In normal persons these hairs protect lungs from germs, dust, smoke and other harmful chemicals enter lungs causing infection, cough and lung cancer. The air sacs of lungs ( alveoli) get permanently damaged causing difficulty in breathing. DIGESTIVE SYSTEM Smoking causes heart burn, delays the healing of peptic ulcer, increases risk of Crohn's diseases and formation of gall stones. It affects liver and increases the chances of stomach cancer. LEGS Smoking affects blood vessels of legs causing chronic pain in legs. EYES The sensitive blood vessels of eyes are easily damaged by smoking. This causes redness of eyes and itching. Heavy smoking may lead to degeneration and loss of eye sight. SKIN Due to smoking, the skin is deprived of oxygen and it loses its texture. An average smoker looks five years older than his healthy nonsmoking counterparts. The skin loses its healthy glow and takes yellowish- grey cast. The more cigarettes smoked, the worse the skin will look. Wrinkles start appearing very quickly as smoking affects the elastic in the tissues of the skin. BONES It accelerates the process of Osteoporosis. CANCER Smoking causes cancer in lungs, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus and bladder. Tobacco smoke contains more 1 ADDICTION AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE Common adverse effects of TOBACCO SMOKING Larynx cancer Oesophagus cancer Myocardial infarction Systemic athero sclerosis Bladder cancer Oral cavity cancer Lung cancer Chronic bronchitis Emphysema Peptic ulcer Pancreas cancer than 60 substances which cause cancer. 90% of lung cancer death occurs due to smoking. REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM Smoking reduces fertility in both men and women. IN WOMEN Smoking imbalances estrogen hormone in women and it reduces blood flow to genital organs. Women who smoke can get diseases in fallopian tubes and their egg production is affected. Smoking can cause abortion. It accelerates ageing process and can cause early menopause. The growth of baby retards when mother smokes in pregnancy. It affects the brain development of the baby and reduces its IQ. This happens even when mother is a passive smoker. The chances of miscarriage premature birth and fatel death increase. IN MEN Smoking causes damages to the male reproductive system in many ways. 2.2 (C). DRUG ABUSE In the study of addiction, the term 'drug' means unauthorized and improportionate use of chemicals which is injurious to health. Sometimes the authorized drugs are consumed in large quantities without doctors advice. It also leads to drug addiction. Consumption of such drugs for a long period of time have direct effect on the central nervous system and its related problems. Heroin, Opium, Cocaine are some of the drugs that are injurious to health. These drugs are also called narcotics. NARCOTIC DRUGS ► Drug addicts may commit crimes like theft, rape or murder. ► Corruption, Narco-terrorism. SIGNS OF DRUG ABUSE Harmful effects of drug abuse Impaired diseases health, HIV /AIDS. infectious Absence from school and college. Possible death due to frustration or illhealth. ► Sudden change of mood and temper. ► Bouts of drowsiness or sleeplessness. ► Body pain, nausea, unsteady gait. ► Losing interest in job and studies. ► Telling lies and stealing money. Following constitute offence in relation to illicit drugs. ► Possession even in small quantity. ► Cultivation of drug crops without permission. ► Allowing your premises to store, sell or consume. P W ■ ■ ^^^^^^^^^^^H ^^™ BIOLOGY ^^^^^" CHAPTER -2 ^"^ ► Illicit manufacture, sale, purchase and transportation. ► Trafficing of drugs is a non-bailable offence (Prison sentence up to 20 years and fine up to Rs.2 lakhs) ► Death penalty for repeat offenders. What students should do ► Always resist peer pressure and say " No to Drugs " Drugs are not "Cool" Decide your self. Girl students should be cautious of taking drinks containing " date rape drugs". Report drug abuse or trafficking to your school, college or police. 2.3. PREVENTION OF ADDICTION Non- addiction isatermusedforthe prevention of addiction. It narrates the management of alcoholism and drug abuse. There are Government and Non Government organizations in our country which have Rehabilitation centre to treat and counsel the drug addicts and alcoholics by means of medical and psychological approaches. The following are the steps taken in rehabilitation centre to deaddict the individuals. First step The identification of addicted individuals. Second step The composition of drug is analyzed. Third step The addicted individual is identified to find out whether the dependency is physical or psychological. Fourth step A suitable chemotherapy is given to the addicts to the detoxify drug consumed. Fifth step Treatment should be given for a long time. Sixth step There should be periodical observation given according to his physical, mental, social and the occupational status. 2.4 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE Healthy lifestyle is a term given to a group of habits like healthy eating, being physically active, leading a smoke free and stress free life. Our motherland India is predicted to become the diabetic and cardiovascular disease capital of the world. Obesity Obesity is defined as an excessive accumulation of fat in the body that leads to increased health problems. Obesity can have its grassroots from childhood and those children are significantly much above the standard of weight for height for their age group. Lethargy, sluggishness and difficulty in carrying out activities of daily living are some of the adverse effects of obesity. The causes of obesity are unhealthy dietary k L ADDICTION AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE habits, lack of physical activity, genetic susceptibility, endocrine disorders and some medications. Prevention of Heart Disease and Obesity 1. Dietary and lifestyle changes ► Eat plenty of food rich in fibers such as fruits and green leafy vegetables as part of your diet. Intake of more amount of steamed and oil free foods like idle, idiyappam, puttu etc., ► Nuts, whole grains, seasonal fruits and vegetables can be consumed. ► Eating fish twice a week helps to prevent blood clot formation in arteries as it contains omega-3 fatty acids. ► Eat less amount of red meat (mutton, beef) and fried foods (chips, etc.,) because it raises the blood cholesterol level ► Though milk and milk products (Ghee, Butter, Cheese) are a good source of calcium, excessive amount leads to overweight. ► Avoid high calorie fast foods. ► Reducing dietary sugars(sweets, chocolates, etc.,) and salt (pickles, pappads, etc.,) in the diet. ► Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption should be avoided. 2. Physical activity ► Reduce or limitthe time of watching television, using computer, playing video games, etc., ► Increase physical activity to burn out calories which in turn enhances optimal blood circulation. Eg., Walking for an hour every day, playing games in the play ground, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, dancing, etc., ► Aim for ideal weight for(body mass index) by height following appropriate dietary habits and adequate physical activity. 3. Stress relieving activities Share your feeling with family and friends, manage your time, get enough sleep, spend time in nature, listen to good music, engage yourself in gardening, painting, playing with pets, time outs for picnics with family ect., helps in relieving stress. EVALUATION Section -A 1. This is a wall paper pasted in many places. What does it mean? BIOLOGY CHAPTER -2 Section - B 2. June 26 is International day against drug abuse and is trafficing day. It is proposed to conduct an awareness programme for the public. Write five messages to make people aware against the use of drugs. Explain your message. 3. This is an illustration made by the Government, a) Write what actually this illustration tells us. ^^^ b) Write two diseases caused by smoking. c) How can we create awareness about smoke among the people? 4. Given below are the different steps in over drinking of alcohol. Identify the missing links Liver can no longer effectively replaced damage cells called I I 2. I is the character of mammals. It connects E and E This is a problem due to over drinking of alcohol. Section - C 5. The following are the some of the illeffects of smoking. Arrange them in a correct form with the organs. Organs Illeffects 1. Heart a) Degeneration and loss of eye sight. 2. Lungs b) Loses its texture. 3. Digestive system c) Causes abortion. 4. Eyes d) Air sacs get permanently damaged. 5. Skin e) delays healing peptic uncer. 6. Bones f) Atherosclerosis. 7. Reproductive organ (Female) g) Osteoporosis. Chapterh ^_m HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM CHAPTER -3 3.1. SKIN Skin is an integumentary system that covers the outside of the body. It is highly essential to protect internal organs and prevent the entrance of pathogens. The skin is composed of three major tissues: 1. Epidermis. 2. Dermis. 3. Hypodermis. Hair shaft Epidermis- Dermis— Subcutaneous- tissue Oil gland Lymph vessel Nerve Hair follicle Fatty tissue Sweat gland Structure of skin 1. Epidermis Epidermis is the upper layer of the skin. The outer most layer consists of flat, thin and scale - like dead cells. It is separated from the dermis by basement membrane. It contains melanocytes, giving colour to the skin. The deepest layers of epidermis have the nerve endings. 2. Dermis The dermis is the middle layer. It is thick but elastic. The dermis consists of nerves, blood vessels, hair follicles, sweat glands and sebaceous glands (oil glands). The sweat glands separate sweat from the blood. The sebaceous gland secretes sebum which keeps the skin smooth and shiny. The arectorpili is the smooth muscle necessary to move the hair. 3. Hypodermis It is the lower most layer, which contains large amount of adipose tissue. HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM Functions of Skin 1. Skin protects the internal organs of our body. 2. It prevents the entrance of infectious agents. 3. It reduces water loss. 4. Skin regulates the body temperature. 5. Skin can prepare Vitamin D with the help of sunlight. 6. It allows us to feel touch, pain and temperature. 7. Skin acts as an excretory organ and excretes sweat. MORE TO KNOW Skin colour of woman is determined by the melanocytes of the basement membrane. The formation of melanocytes is by hereditary. Even then there is some impact of colour by external factors like temperature, sunlight, wind and costumes. ACTIVITY -3.1 1. Identify various derivatives of skin like hair, feather, nail and scales in various animals. MORE TO KNOW MORE TO KNOW A r Wrinkles: If you pinch your skin and let go, it springs back into shape. This happens because skin contains proteins in the dermis that stretch like elastic. As people get older, their skin become less elastic, so it begins to form wrinkles. The Europeans are white in colour because of the lack of melanin pigments. That is why they cannot tolerate sunlight. 3.2. MUSCULO - SKELETAL SYSTEM 3.2.1. MUSCULAR SYSTEM Locomotion and bodily movement are characteristic features of the animals. The movements are effected by various cell organ cells such as cilia, flagella and organ like muscles. Muscle movement is more powerful and energetic. Human body contains 700 to 800 muscles. CHAPTER -3 Various animals and their locomotory organs Animals Locomotory organs 1 Amoeba Pseudopodia 2 Paramecium Cilia 3 Euglena Flagella 4 Earthworm Body setae 5 Star fish Tube feet 6 Fish Fins 7 Birds Wings 8 Bat Petagium Based on the structure, function and occurrence, three different types of muscle tissues have been identified. They are the skeletal, visceral and cardiac muscles. Skeletal Muscles The skeletal muscles are attached to bones by tendons which helps in transfering the forces developed by skeletal muscles to the bones. These muscles are covered by sheets of connective tissues called fascia. Tendons These are connective tissue structure showing slight elasticity. They are like cords or straps strongly attached to bones. The tensile strength of tendons is nearly half that of steel. A tendon having 10 mm diameter can support 600 - 1000 kg. Fascia These are assemblages of connective tissue lining skeletal muscles as membranous sheets. The fascia may be superficial or deep. The superficial fascia is a layer of loose connective tissue found in between skin and muscles. The deep fascia are collagen fibers found as a tough, inelastic sheath around the musculature. They run between groups of muscles and connect with the bones. Distribution of muscles There are five different sets of muscles in our body. 1. Muscles of the head. 2. Muscles of the neck. 3. Muscles of the trunk region 4. Muscles of the upper limb. 5. Muscles of the lower limb. MORE TO KNOW Skeletal Muscles: 1 sq.cm of muscle can lift 3.5kg. HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM Few muscles and their functions Facial Expressions Facial expression, such as looking, shocked or smiling, are tiny voluntary movements made by more than 30 different muscles. Although they are voluntary, we often make these movements without our knowledge. Breathing Four important thoracic muscles are associated with the process of breathing. The process of inspiration is due to scalene and external intercostal muscles. The expiration is performed due to internal intercostal muscles and transverse thoracis. Major breathing movement is due to diaphragm, a curved musculo fibrous sheath that separates thoracic cavity from abdominal cavity. Biceps muscles Triceps muscles Biceps and triceps muscles: MORE TO KNOW Sound is not produced while the muscles function. But machines are producing sounds. If muscles make noise imagine how a rat will escape from a cat. LUIGI GALVANI By accident, the Italian professor of Anatomy, Luigi Galvani (1737-98) discovered that a dead frog's legs contracted if they were pegged to an iron frame with brass pins. Galvani thought that frog's muscles movement made electricity, which caused the contractions. Galvani was right to think that electricity made the muscle move, but in fact it was the two metals acting together that made the electricity. We now know that in living animals, electrical signals from the nerve make the muscles contract. Functions of muscles 1. Muscles are responsible for locomotion. 2. It provides beautiful shape to our body. 3. The inner smooth muscles of the visceral organs make them work like a machine all through our life. ACTIVITY -3.2 1.Go to the Government Medical college hospital and observe the different types of human muscles and organs. BIOLOGY CHAPTER -3 Significant muscles, their location and movennent S.no Name Location Movement 1 Trapezius Upper back and each side of neck Upper pulling movement 2 Deltoids Shoulders Arm raising 3 Pectorals Chest Horizontal pressing and drawing of arm across the body 4 Lattismus dorsi Wide back muscle Pulling and rowing movement 5 Biceps Front portion of the upper arm Arm bending and twisting 6 Triceps Back of upper arm Pushing and strightening of upper arm. 7 Calves Lower leg between ankle and knee Raising and lowering of toes. 3-2-2- SKELETAL SYSTEM The skeletal system consists of bones, cartilages and ligaments. It is a frame on which all organs are arranged. The bones can be long, short, flat or irregular in shape. Skull Skull Thoracic cavity Hu merus Pectoral girdle Femur Human skeleton The human skeletal system is divided in two categories. 1. The axial skeleton 2. The appendi- cular skeleton. Axial skeleton It is the upright axis ofthe body. Axial skeleton consists of skull, hyoid bones, vertebral column and thoracic cage. Eye orbit Nasal bone Maxilla Mandible Human skull Skull consists of 22 bones. Among the 22, 8 are head bones and remaining 14 are facial bones. Skull supports the organ of vision, hearing, smell and taste. The skull is divided into head bones and facial bones. The cranium is covered by eight bones. All are flat bones. They are joined with immovable joints. It protects the brain. A large opening is found at the base of the skull. Through this opening the HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM medulla oblongata of the brain descends down as the spinal cord. MORE TO KNOW All animals can move their lower jaw (mandible). Crocodile alone can move its upper jaw (maxilla). Thoracic cavity The thoracic cavity consists of three different types of bones. The front portion has single bone named sternum. The back portion has a long vertebral column. Both the bones are connected by ribs on the lateral side. Back bone Thoracic cavity of a human Rib Cage There are 12 pairs of ribs. Each articulates with a thoracic vertebrae. In the front, the first ten pairs are attached with the sternum. The first seven are directly attached with sternum. They are called the true ribs. Cartilages of the 8^^, 9^^ and 10^^ are fused and attached to the sternum indirectly. They are called false ribs, ll*"^ and 12*'^ pairs are not attached to the sternum. They are called floating ribs. The vertebral column or vertebrae The vertebrae make up slight "S" shaped vertebral column or back bone. Acutally back bone consists of 33 vertebrae. They are divided into 5 regions. Cervical region Thoracic region Lumbar region Sacral region Coccygeal region vertebral column of a human They are 1. Cervical vertebrae-7 2. Thoracic vertebrae -12 3. Lumbar vertebrae -5 4. Sacral vertebrae -5 5. Coccygeal vertebrae -4 But,the sacral five bones are joined together to form one bone, and also coccygeal four bones join together to form another bone. So the total vertebrae in the back bone is only 26. CHAPTER -3 Appendicular skeleton Appendicular skeleton consists of Pectoral girdle and the upper limb (hands) Pelvic girdle and the lower limb (Legs). Upper limb or hands Hands are attached to the pectoral girdle. Each pectoral girdle has a pair of scapula or shoulder bones and a clavicle or collar bone. Upper arm has a long bone named humerus. The distal end of the upper arm is articulate with two forearm bones named ulna and radius. Wrist consists of eight carpels, arranged in two rows. The frame work of the hand is formed of five metacarpels. Each hand has five digits. They include one thumb and four fingers. Each digit has small long bones called phalanges. The thumb has two phalanges and each finger has three phalanges. Scapula Humerus Phalanges Upper limb or human hand The pelvic girdle and leg The pelvic girdle is a ring of bones in the hip region formed by sacrum and paired bones called coxae or hip bones. Each coxa is formed by the fusion of three bones namely ilium, ischium and pubis. The thigh region contains the longest bone called femur. The distal end Pelvis Femur Patella Tibia Fibula Lower limb or human leg of the femur has connection with lower limb tibia and fibula. The knee region has a large flat bone called the patella. The ankle consists of seven tarsal bones. The ankle articulates with tibia and fibula through talus. Foot is formed by metatarsals and phalanges. They correspond to the metacarpals and phalanges of the hand. Functions of Bones ► Bones remain as region for the attachment of muscles. ► It also helps to hold weight of our body. ► They give safety to the inner organs. ► This system is useful for locomotion. ► The bones remain as a reservoir for calcium and fat. ► The bone marrow is the site for the production of red blood corpuscles. Number of bones in human body In human body, there are 206 bones of those 80 are in the axial skeleton, 126 are in the appendicular skeleton. Among the bones of the axial skeleton 28 bones are in the skull, 26 bones are in the vertebral column, 25 bones are in the thoracic cage and one remains as the hyoid bone. MORE TO KNOW Phylum mollusca is the animal group that do not have internal skeletal system. HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM 3.3. DIGESTIVE SYSTEM Digestion is process of conversion of larger compounds into simpler molecules that can be assimilated either by blood or by lymph. Large compounds Simple molecules 1. Carbohydrates Glucose 2. Proteins Amino acids 3. fat Fatty acid and glycerol Generally two major types of digestion are encountered 1. Intra cellular digestion 2. Extra cellular digestion 1. Intra cellular digestion Amoeba like unicellular organisms digest its prey inside the food vacuole and expels the undigested food. This type of digestion is called intracellular digestion. e.g. Amoeba. 2. Extra cellular digestion Various glands secrete enzymes into the cavity and digest the food extra cellularly. This kind of digestion outside the cell, but within the cavity is extracellular digestion, e.g. Human. The alimentary canal It is a coiled muscular tube extending from the mouth to the anus. It is about 6-9 meters long and consists of many specialized sections. Arranged sequentially, these are mouth, buccal cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine. Large intestine, rectum and anus. It also includes, some accessory digestive organs like salivary glands, pancreas and liver. Mouth It is an oval shaped cavity bounded in front by lips and laterally by the jaws. The roof of the cavity is lined by the palate. The floor contains a tongue. The upper salivary glands pharynx esophagus liver gallbladde pancreas large intestine small intestine appendix anus rectum'" Organs of digestion jaw and lower jaw are lined by the tooth. Mouth helps ingestion. Teeth In man, teeth are 32 in number. 4 incisors, 2 canines, 4 premolars and 6 molars in each jaw. The last set of molar tooth grow after the age of 20. Hence they are named as wisdom tooth. Tongue It is the organ for the sense of taste. It is attached to the floor of the mouth. Its CHAPTER -3 tip is thin and narrow. The upper surface of the tongue contains several papillae or sensory buds. MORE TO KNOW MORE TO KNOW The hardest part of the human body is the tooth. Salivary gland parotid gland Sublingual gland Submaxillary gland 3 pairs of salivary glands open into the mouth. They are parotid, sub-maxillary and sub-lingual. ► Parotid glands - It is the largest gland of the three pairs. It is found below the ear. ► Submaxillary gland - It is found below the jaw and irregular in shape. ^ Sublingual gland - It is the smallest gland. It is found at the base of the tongue. MORE TO KNOW Parotid gland is the only salivary gland affected by mumps virus. The three pairs of salivary glands secrete approximately 1.5 liters of saliva every day. Salivary gland secretes saliva. The saliva has the following 1. Ptyal in (Amylase) - enzyme 2. Bicarbonate - salt 3. Mucus - carbohydrate 4. Lysozyme - enzyme If our mouth dries due to dehydration we could not develop speech. Pharynx Pharynx is found below the nose and mouth. It is about 11 cm in length. This region has 7 openings . They are 2 internal nostrils, 2 eustachian tubes, mouth, larynx and oesophagus. Oesophagus It is a musculo-membranous canal about 22 cm length. It extends from pharynx to the stomach. The inner lining has a mucus coat and it is lined by epithelium. Stomach Since Stomach is the main organ of digestion, it is the most dilated part of the alimentary canal. Stomach is a horizontal chamber containing 3 conspicuous regions. They are cardiac, fundus and pyloric. The stomach secretes gastric juice. The gastric juice contains the following: 1. Pepsin 2. Renin 3. Hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid is secreted by a special type cells in the gastric pit namely oxyntic cells. Small intestine The stomach opens into the small intestine through pylorus. The small intestine is divisible into 3 regions duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Duodenum Duodenum is around 22 cm in length. In this region where the liver and pancreas are connected to the alimentary canal. HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM liver stomach duodenum Anatomy of liver and pancreas Liver Liver is the largest glandular organ in human. It weighs about 1500 gms. It contains two unequal lobes. The right lobe is larger. Liver secretes bile juice which is greenish yellow in colour. The bile is temporarily stored in gall bladder. The gall bladder is attached to the bile duct. The duct opens into the duodenum. Bile juice helps the digestion of fat. It does not have any enzyme. It has bile salts and bile pigments. Bile juice Psodium glycolate ^^— r Sodium tauro glycolate Bile salts Bilirubin Biliviridin Bile piqments MORE TO KNOW Excess of eating fatty foods leads to the formation of bile stones in the gall bladder. Pancreas Pancreas is a long, leaf like transparent gland. It is 15 to 20 cms long. Pancreas secretes pancreatic juice and it is connected with duodenum through pancreatic duct. Pancreas acts as an exocrine gland and endocrine gland. The gland's upper surface bears the islets of langerhans. The pancreatic alpha cells secrete the hormone glucogon, and the pancreatic beta cells secrete the harmon insulin. As an exocrine it secretes the following enzynnes 1. Trypsin, 2. Chymotrypsin, 3. Carboxy peptidase, 4. Amylase, 5. Lipase Jejunum Jejunum constitutes 2/5th of the small intestine. It starts from the duodenum and ends with ileum. The secretion of small intestine is intestinal juice. The intestinal juice contains the enzymes: l.Sucrase, 2. Maltase, 3. Lactase, 4. Lipase Ileum It is a coiled tube-like structure which constitutes 3/5^^ of the small intestine. It contains numerous minute finger-like projections called villi (1 mm) in length. They are approximately 4 million in number. Internally each villus contains fine blood capillaries and lacteal tubes. Food absorption takes place here. Transverse colon Ascending colon Caecum Descending I colon Sigmoid colon Large Intestine Large intestine It extends from the ileum to the anus. It is about 1.5 metres in length. It is divided into caecum, colon, and rectum. CHAPTER -3 Caecum Caecum is a large blind pouch and measures about 5 cm in length. The terminal part of the caecum is vermiform appendix. CLAUDE BERNARD MARCELLO MALPIGHI (1628-1694) The french scientist Claude Bernard (1813-78) was one of the first people to study physiology. He discovered that glucose, the main source of energy for the body, is stored in the liver as glycogen and released as and when it is needed. He also studied digestion ,how drugs change the way the body works and the nervous system. Functions of alimentary canal 1. Ingestion, 2. Digestion, 3. Absorption, 4. Assimilation, 5. Egestion MORE TO KNOW Dogs regulate body temperature by panting. Marcello Malpighi, was born in Italy in March 1628, studied Aristotelian philosophy and graduated as a medical doctor. Malpighi developed an intense interest in scientific research with a fond love for the teaching. He is considered as the founder of comparative psychology. J I In 1669, Malpighi published the result of his work on the silkworm. He discovered that these insects had no lungs, but breathed through a row of holes located on the lateral side of their long bodies. Distribution of air within the insect occurs through a system of tubules that Malpighi termed as trachea. While observing dissected lung tissue, Malpighi discovered tiny, thin walled microtubules, which he named capillaries. He went on to hypothesize that the capillaries were the connection between arteries and veins that allowed blood to flow back to the heart, and these are the vital organs which do all the functions of the circulatory systems. A number of anatomical structures still bear his name. Malpighian corpuscles in the circulatory and lymphatic systems, the Malpighian layer of epidermis (rete malphigi) and the, malpighian tube in insects. Excretion of nitrogenous waste such as uric acid and water removal from the faeces is carried out by Malpighian tubules. d HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM 3.4. EXCRETORY SYSTEM Excretion: The process of elimination of metabolic wastes from our body. There are three types of organisms on the basis of excretion of waste matter l.Ammonotelisnn Most teleost fish (bony fish), Organs which are involved in excretion tadpole and acquatic insects excrete nitrogenous waste as ammonia. 2. Ureotelism Urea excretion is called ureotelism. For example mammals and adult amphibians, marine fishes and turtles. S.Uricotelism Excretion of uric acid is called Human excretory system consists of a Uricotelism. For example Birds and pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary reptiles. bladder and urethra. are called excretory organs. An mals and their excretory organs 1. Amoeba - Contractile Vacuole 2. Earthworm Nephridia 3. Tapeworm Flame cells 4. Insects Malphigian tubules 5. Mammals - Kidneys Kidneys Kidney is a chief excretory organ. It is a pair of dark red, bean shaped organ placed behind the abdomen, on each side of the vertebral column. The average adult kidney measures about 12 cm in length, 6 cm in width, and 3 cm in thickness. Adrenal glands Vein Artery Ureter Capsula fibrosa Medulla renalis Pelvis renalis "Cortex renalis Bladder Urinary system The outer surface of the kidney is convex and the inner surface is concave and it faces the vertebral column. The right kidney is just lower than that of the left kidney because the right side of the body is occupied by the the liver. Each kidney is surrounded by a fibrous membrane called capsule. Two ureters join the kidneys with urinary bladder. Urinary bladder is the temporary storage organ of urine. Urine is expelled through the urethra to the exterior. Nephron Kidneys are made up of millions of nephrons, which are the structural and functional unit of kidneys. Each kidney consists of about one million of nephrons. Other excretory organs in human body Lungs Lungs excrete CO2 and water from the blood. Skin Skin excretes sweat. The sweat consists of dissolved urea, uric acid and lactic acid. Liver Liver excretes bile pig- ments, formed during the breakdown of haemo- globin. It is incharge for the formation of urea through ornithin cycle. CHAPTER -3 Functions of kidney 1. It excretes nitrogenous wastes (urea) formed as a result of protein metabolism. 2. It helps to maintain the fluid and electrolyte balance of our body . 3. It helps to regulate acid-base balance of blood. 4. It helps to maintain osmotic pressure in blood and tissue. 5. It helps to retain important plasma constituents like glucose, amino acids, etc,. MORE TO KNOW Pelvis Cortex Medulla Longitudinal section of Kidney MORE TO KNOW Kidney functions are the basis of blood pressure. 1. There are approximately 1 million nephrons in each kidney. At least 450,000 of them must remain functional to ensure survival. 2. Every minute kidneys receive 1/5^^ blood of the cardiac output that is approximately 1.250 liters every minute. r Among reptiles only the crocodiles have a four chambered heart. ^ 3.5. CIRCULATORY SYSTEM (BLOOD VASCULAR SYSTEM) Circulatory System Or Blood vascular system Circulatory system is a special system which contains heart, blood vessels and blood. This system makes the blood to circulate around the body because of the contraction and expansion of heart. Blood vascular system <P ^ \ Open blood vascular system J Loosed blood vascular system] Open blood vascular system In open type, the blood is pumped by the heart into the blood vessels that opens into blood spaces(cavities). There is no capillary system e.g. most arthropods. These cavities are called haemocoel. The pressure of the blood here is very low. e.g. cockroach Closed blood vascular system The blood is circulating through the blood vessels and it creates blood pressure inside the blood vessels e.g. human blood vascular system. HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM Heart The heart is a hollow, muscular organ. It is somewhat conical in shape. The heart is covered with double walled membrane called pericardium. The space between the pericardial membrane is called pericardial space, which is filled with pericardial fluid. The pericardial fluid protects the heart from shock. The heart is placed inside the thoracic chamber in between the two lungs in the mediastinum. Animals and their hearts: 1. Earthworm 8 pairs of lateral hearts 2. Cockroach 13 chambered heart 3. Fish 2 Chambered heart 4. Amphibians 3 chambered heart 5. Reptiles 3 chambered heart, ventricle is partially separated. 6. Birds 4 chambered heart 7. Mammals 4 chambered heart MORE TO KNOW The total voulme of blood in blue whale is 12 tonnes. It can be pumped by its heart. Internal structure of human heart Human heart consists of four chambers. Two upper thin chambers are called artria (Singular-artrium ) and two lower thick chambers are called ventricles. The right side of the heart is separated from the left side by a longitudinal wall named inter artrio- ventricular septum. Aorta Pulmonary Artery Superior vena cava Inferior vena cava Tricuspid valve Pulmonary Vein Bicuspid valve CHAPTER -3 Blood vessels connected with heart Right Atrium receives a) Superior venacava b) inferior venacava c) Coronary vein Right Ventricle Pulmonary artery (Deoxygenated blood) Left Atrium receives Pulmonary veins (Oxygenated blood) Left Ventricle Aorta Artery Valves in heart 1. Tricuspid Valve: Located in between right atrium and right ventricle. 2. Bicuspid Valve(Mitral valve): Lies in between left atrium and left ventricle. 3. Semi lunar valves: Present near the mouth of pulmonary artery and aorta. Arteries The blood vessels carrying blood away MORE TO KNOW 72x60x24x365x80 This is the number of heart beat for a human living up to the age of 80. Vein from the heart are the arteries. Generally, the arteries carry oxygenated blood except pulmonary artery. Veins Generally, the veins carry deoxygenated blood except pulmonary veins. Capillaries Capillaries are fine, small tubes found spreading in the midst of the cells. They perform all the functions of blood vascular system. It is considered as a vital tube of the blood vascular system. Human blood Human blood consists of two components. 1. Plasma 2. Blood corpuscles HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM Difference between artery and vein No Arteries Veins 1 It carries blood from the heart to the organs. It carries blood from the organs to the heart. 2 It carries oxygenated blood except pulmonary artery. It carries deoxygenated blood except pulmonary veins. 3 The wall is thick and elastic. The wall is thin and less elastic. 4 It is found deep inside the muscles. It is found superficialy 5 Valves are absent. Valves are present. 1. Plasma It is an extra cellular fluid of about 55 per cent of the blood volume. It is a faint yellow colour fluid, which is alkaline in nature. Plasma contains proteins, enzymes, hormones, wastes and elements. 2. Blood corpuscles Nearly 45 per cent volume of blood contains corpuscles. The blood corpuscles are of three types. 1. Erythrocytes or red blood corpuscles(RBC) 2. Leucocytes or white blood corpuscles(WBC) 3. Thrombocytes or blood platelets. 1. Erythrocytes They are red, biconcave and disc shaped cells. The red colour of the RBC is due to the presence of respiratory pigment haemoglobin. Haemoglobin helps in transporting oxygen and carbon- di-oxide in our body. One cubic mm of blood contains 5 millions of RBC. The life span of RBC is 120 days. They are destroyed in the liver and spleen. RBC's are prepared by red bone marrow. Red blood corpuscles (RBC) 2. Leucocytes They are colourless, irregular and nucleated cells. The WBC's are fewer in number compared to RBC's and they are larger in size. One cubic mm of blood contains 8000 WBC's. There are 5 types of WBC which are monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. The life span of WBC is 4 weeks. They are prepared by yellow bone marrow and lymphatic tissue. WBC's attack the invading germs and protect our body. o G e o 1. Neutrophil, 2. Monocyte, 3. Eosionophil, 4. Basophil, 5. Lymphocytes White blood corpuscles (WBC) CHAPTER -3 3. Thrombocytes (Blood Platelets) These are small, non-nucleated and colourless structures floating in the plasma. In one cubic mm of blood there are 2,00,000 to 4,00,000 thrombocytes. Whenever there is an injury, the thrombocytes disintegrate to give rise to thromboplastin, which helps in the clotting of blood. Functions of blood 1. Blood distributes the digested food. 2. Blood carries the metabolic wastes to the excretory organs. 3. Blood carries hormones, which are the secretions of endocrine glands. 4. Blood distributes the heat evenly throughout the body. 5. Blood keeps all the tissues moist. ACTIVITY -3.3 1. Observe the human blood smear under compound microscope and identify RBC and WBC. Thrombocytes (Blood Platelets) 3.6. RESPIRATORY SYSTEM Respiration The phenomenon of release of energy by oxidation of various organic molecules is known as respiration. C.H^p, +6O2 > 6CO2 +6H2O + energy (2900 KJ) Glucose + oxygen — ► carbon dioxide + water. Respiration is of two types on the basis of usage of oxygen. 1. Aerobic Respiration 2. Anaerobic Respiration Aerobic Respiration Respiration, with saturated amount of oxygen. This type of respiration is found in higher animals. Anaerobic Respiration Respiration, without oxygen. In this process little amount of energy is liberated. For example Bacteria. Breathing Breathing is entirely different from that of respiration. It is an initial step in respiration. Inhaling of atmospheric air and exhalling of carbon-di-oxide is called breathing. Breathing activity Count, how many times do you breath every minute. (i) at rest (ii) after climbing a stair case. Compare your results with those of your friends. You will notice that the breathing rate goes up with exercise. When you exercise, your body needs more energy and therefore more oxygen. HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM Animals and their mode of Respiration 1. Amoeba ^^^^^^^^H L^ Cockroach through tracheoles ^^H 3. Sea cucumber through respiratory trees 1^- Fishes ^^^^^^^ through gills ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 5. Frog a) cutaneous respiration(skin) b) Pulmonary respiration (lungs) c) Buccal cavity respiration (buccalcarity) 3.6.1. HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM Nasal Cavity Hyoid bone Thyroid cartilage Cricoid cartilage Nasopharyngeal tonsil Nasopharynx Soft palate Tongue Oropharynx Epiglottis Laryngopharynx The pathway of air from the nose to the larnyx The respiratory organs include nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and lungs. The nasal cavity follows the external nose. The nose is a visible prominent structure. The nasal passage opens outside through external nostrils. It opens inside the internal nostrils at pharynx. The trachea (or wind pipe) is a membranous tube supported by 'C shaped cartilage rings. The inner wall is lined by mucous membrane. It consists of ciliated columnar epithelium. MORE TO KNOW The cartilage ring found at the basal region is called carina. Foreign objects reaching carina stimulate a powerful cough. BIOLOGY CHAPTER -3 Respiratory area The total surface of the alveoli will be around 80-100 metre square and equals the size of the tennis court. Lungs Trachea Bronchus Alveoli Structure of Lungs The pair of lungs are the actual organs of respiration. It is conical in shape and placed inside the thoracic chamber. The base of the lungs rests on the diaphragm. The right lung has three lobes and left lung has two lobes. Each lung is surrounded by a double wall membrane called pleura. The region MORE TO KNOW inside the pleural membrane is named as the pleural cavity. The cavity is filled with pleural fluid. The primary bronchi on entering into each lung is divided further into secondary bronchi. The secondary bronchi in turn gives rise to tertiary bronchi. They divide still further and finally gives rise to bronchioles. The bronchioles divide several times to become still smaller terminal bronchioles. The terminal bronchioles end in small air filled chambers called alveoli. This is the place, where exchange of gases takes place. Exchange of gases is only by simple diffusion. Human lungs have about 300 million alveoli. Every minute lung contracts and expands between 12 to 15 times. Functions of Lungs 1. The lungs separate CO2 from the blood. 2. It can excrete water vapour. Arteriole (from pulmonary artery) People suffer due to smoke. Smoke contains large amount of CO, a toxic gas. The respiratory pigment haemoglobin has affinity towards O2, more affinity towards CO2 and most affinity towards CO. That is why people entering into the burning place die due to suffocation. Elastic fibres Respiratory bronchiole Smooth muslce Venule (to pulmonary vein) Alveolar duct Capillaries Allveoli Enlarged view of the alveolus and its capillary network HUMAN BODY ORGAN SYSTEM EVALUATION Section -A 1. Study the relationship of the given pair and write the missing word or sentences a) Heart : Pericardium ; Lung : b) Mouth : Saliva ; Liver : c) Skin : Prevents the enterance of infectious agents WBC 2. Study the relationship and write the name of the missing muscle. Inspiration : Scalene and external intercostal muscles. Expiration : 1) 2) 3. Bile salts : : Bile Pigments : : 4. Renin, Lactase, Lipase : Enzymes Glucogon, Insulin : Section - B 5. Observe the given diagram of skin. a) What are X, Y and Z ? b) Write the importance of X. c) Name the secretions of Y and Z. d) Write the importance of the secretions. 6. Match the Column A with B. A. Animals B. Locomotory organs 1. Amoeba a) Flagella 2. Paramoecium b) Pseudopodia 3. Euglena c) Tube feet 4. Earthworm d) Cilia 5. Starfish e) Body setae. 7. Assertion : A) Skin colour of woman is determined by the presence of melanosytes present in the skin. Reason : B) The skin colour of woman cannot be changed by cosmetics. a) A is right B is wrong. b) A is wrong, B is right. c) B explains A d) B does not explain A. BIOLOGY CHAPTER -3 8. Which one is not correctly matched? Organs Enzymes 1. Salivary glands Ptyalin 2. Stomach Pepsin 3. Pancreas Sucrase 4. Jejunum Maltase 9. It is an illustration of human heart. 1) What is X and Y? 2) Where are they? 3) Write their functions. Section - C 10. Diagram of human chest is given. Copy the diagram and mark parts. a) 1 to 7 ribs are called . Why? b) 8 to 10 ribs are named . Reason. c) Write the significance of 11 and 12 ribs. d) Name to organs in the thoracic chamber. 11. Complete the sehematic representation of animals and their mode of excretion. IRTHER REFEREf Books L>tr m^^ Manual ofZoologyVol.il - Chordata - M.Ekambaranatha Ayyar and T.N.Ananthakrishnan, S.Viswanathan Printers and Publishers. Websites http://www.enchantedlearning.com Chapter STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS iH BIOLOGY CHAPTER - 4 4.1. PLANT CELLS Cells are the structural and functional units of all living organisms. They form the building blocks of organisms. Cells of living organisms could be observed only after the discovery of microscope. The study about the structure and function of the cell is called Cytology or Cell biology. All living organisms are made up of one or more cells. Organisms which are made up of only one cell are called unicellular organisms, e.g. Chlamydomonas. Organisms which are made up of many cells are called muticellular organisms, e.g. Most plants and animals. ACTIVITY -4.1 Cut a small piece of onion and separate a peel. Place the peel on a glass slide in a drop of water. Put a drop of methylene blue on the peel. Wash it in water to remove the excess stain. Put a drop of glycerine and cover it with a coverslip. Observe it under the microscope. The boundary of the onion peel is the cell membrane covered by another thick covering called cell wall. The central dense round body in the centre is called nucleus. The substance between the nucleus and cell membrane is called cytoplasm. Structure of a Plant Cell Ribosome Smooth endoplasmic reticulum Nucleolus Nucleus Rough endoplasmic reticulum Amyloplast Cell wall Cell membrane Golgi apparatus Chloroplast Vacuole Mitochondrion Cytoplasm Ultra structure of a plant cell (an eukaryotic cell) I STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS The plant cell may be spherical or rectangular or hexagonal in shape. It consists of a cell wall and protoplast. Cell wall is absent in animal cells. Protoplast denotes the whole of protoplasm present in a cell. It is differentiated into plasma membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm and vacuoles. Various cell organelles like endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, chloroplast, golgi bodies, ribosomes, etc are embedded in the cytoplasm. 4.2. PLANT TISSUES The body of plants and animals is made up of different types of cells. These cells originate from a single cell by repeated divisions and get differentiated CLASSIFICATION OF TISSUES during development. In unicellular organisms all the body functions are performed by a single cell. But in multicellular organisms, different functions are performed by different groups of cells. The groups of cells having a common origin and performing similar functions are called tissues. Several tissues are organized to form tissue system and the tissue systems form the organs and several organs into organism. Cells -► Tissues -► Tissue systems i Organisms < Organs Meristematic Tissue (immature cells, capable of division) Permanent Tissue (mature cells, incapable of division) Parenchyma Collenchyma Sclerenchyma iH BIOLOGY CHAPTER - 4 4.3. PLANT FUNCTIONS Plants germinate from seeds, grow, develop, mature, reproduce and die. Plant physiology deals with how plants function. Water is essential for all physiological activities of plants. Itisan universal solvent. It plays a vital role in photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, transportation from root to leaf, etc. Presence of water in the soil is essential for the normal functioning of plants. Soil water contain minerals in dissolved state. Plants absorb water and minerals from the soil with the help of root hairs. This process is called absorption. Absorption in plants is done by three forces namely (i) Imbibition, (ii) Diffusion and (iii) Osmosis (i)lmbibition: Imbibition is the uptake of water or other solvents by substances that do not dissolve in water resulting in swelling of these substances. Such substances are called imbibants. e.g. wood, seeds, etc. In plant cells, the cell wall is the imbibant. It absorbs water and forms a channel for movement of water into the cell by diffusion and osmosis. Zone of Maturation Root hair zone Zone of elongation IVIeristematic region Regions of the root Imbibition plays a very important role in seed germination which involves absorption of water by seed coats, their swelling and rupture causing the emergence of the radicle and plumule. ACTIVITY -4.2 Place a lighted incense stick at one corner of the room. The sweet fragrance of the incense stick spreads all over the room. Here the fragrance moves out from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration till it becomes uniform. (11) Diffusion Dissolved molecules move from a region of higher concentration to the region of lower concentration until the molecules are evenly distributed throughout the available space. Gases such as Oxygen, Carbon dioxide and nutrients like minerals move into or between the cells by diffusion. (iii) Osnnosis The movement of a solvent (water molecule) from a region of its higher concentration to the region of its lower concentration through a semipermeable membrane is called Osmosis. Demonstration of Osmosis A potato is taken and peeled. Its base is cut to make it flat. A hollow cavity is made in the centre of the tuber and filled with sugar solution. The initial level of solution is marked with the help of a pin. It is placed in a beaker containing coloured water. After sometime, it is observed that the sugar solution in the cavity of the potato becomes coloured and level rises. How has this taken place? This is due to the entry of water from the beaker into the cavity of potato through the living cells of potato. Here the living cells of potato act as a semipermeable membrane. Active absorption and Passive absorption Two mechanisms are involved in STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS absorbed by the root through its root hairs. The absorbed water reaches the xylem vessels and finally reaches the leaves. This movement of water and mineral salts is known as Ascent of Sap. z£— ^^^g^ Demonstration of Ascent of Sap Coloured water Potato tuber Potato Osmoscope Experiment helping soil water to enter into the root hairs. They are (i) Passive Absorption (ii) Active Absorption. ACTIVITY -4.3 1. Take a few fresh grapes and keep in a dish containing concentrated sugar solution. 2. Take a few raisins (dried grapes). Soak them in water. Observe the changes in both the cases. Take an entire balsam plant without damaging the roots. Wash the roots to remove the soil particles. Insert the roots into a bottle containing dilute eosin solution or red ink solution. Leave the setup aside for sometime. After sometime, red streaks can be observed on the stem and veins of leaves. If a section of the stem is mounted on a microscope and observed, it shows that only xylem vessels are coloured showing that ascent of sap takes place only through the xylem vessels. Plant Passive Absorption The absorption of mineral ions without the use of metabolic energy is called passive absorption. Active Absorption The uptake of mineral ions by using metabolic energy is called active absorption. Ascent of Sap The water, along with mineral salts, is Cork Bottle Eosin solution Ascent of Sap Experiment The leaf is a flattened, lateral out growth of the stem. The functions of the leaf are a) Photosynthesis b) Respiration c) Transpiration d) Food Storage - Synthesizing Carbotiydrate using light energy, CO^ and water. - Tal<ing in oxygen and giving off CO 2- - Giving out excess water as water vapour. - Leaves also serve as organs of food storage in some plants. e) Vegetative reproduction - Buds that can develop into new plants. iH BIOLOGY 4.31. PHOTOSYNTHESIS CHAPTER - 4 Green plants are autotrophic and synthesize their own food by the process of photosynthesis. 'Photo' means 'light' and 'synthesis' means 'to build' thus 'photosynthesis' means 'building up by light'. How do green plants prepare food? The process of photosynthesis takes place in the green leaves of a plant. The green leaves prepare the food by combining carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight and Chlorophyll. Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere enters the leaves through tiny pores called stomata. Water is taken from the soil. This water is transported to the leaves through roots and stem. The green pigment called Chlorophyll present in green leaves absorb light energy. The sunlight provides energy required to carryout the chemical reactions involved in the preparation of food. The process by which green plants synthesize carbohydrate from Carbon dioxide and water by using energy from sunlight in the presence of Chlorophyll is called Photosynthesis. Oxygen is released during photosynthesis. Sun Food goes up Oxygen A schematic representation of Photosynthesis The overall equation of photosynthesis is, Sunlight 6CO2 + 6H2O ► CgH^206 (glucose) + 6O2 Chlorophyll Materials required for Photosynthesis 1) Light energy 2) Chlorophyll 3) Carbon dioxide and 4) Water Site of Photosynthesis Leaves which contain chloroplasts are the main photosynthetic organelles of the plant. Chloroplasts have chlorophyll pigments which are necessary for the synthesis of food. Mechanism of Photosynthesis The process of photosynthesis occurs in two phases. : (i) Light reaction (ii) Dark reaction. Light Reaction The reaction involving pigments, solar energy and water that produces ATP (Adenosine Tri Phosphate) and NADPH2 (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate- reduced form) is called light reaction. Dark Reaction The reaction in which CO2 is reduced STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS to carbohydrate by making use of ATP and NADPH2 generated by light reaction is called Dark reaction. Light is not required for this reaction. So it is called dark reaction. Experinnent to show that oxygen is evolved during photosynthesis. (Test tube and funnel experiment). ACTIVITY - 4.4 Oxygen Gas bubbles Test tube Water \ ^ r Funnel -Beaker Hydrilla Shoots Test tube and funnel experiment Place a few cut branches of Hydrilla in a beaker of water and invert a glass funnel over the cut branches in such a way, that the cut end faces the stem of the funnel. The stem of the funnel should be below the level of water. A test tube Pluck a leaf from a plant. Dip it in boiling water for 5 minutes. Then dip it in 90% alcohol to decolourize it. Wash in water and add few drops of Iodine solution. Observe the change if any. Why does the colour change? is filled with water and it is inverted over the stem of the funnel. A pinch of Sodium bicarbonate is added to the water as a source of Carbon dioxide. Now the apparatus is kept in sunlight for 4 to 6 hours. The gas bubbles may be observed from the cut ends of hydrilla branches kept with in the funnel. These gas bubbles are collected in the test tube by downward displacement of water. The gas is tested for oxygen. When a burnt splinter is taken near the mouth of the tube, it glows brightly and this proves that the gas is oxygen. This experiment proves that oxygen is evolved during photosynthesis. Factors affecting Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is influenced by various factors. They are light, temperature, CO2, Chlorophyll distribution. Water, Mineral salts and age of the leaf. 4.3.2. TRANSPIRATION Guard cells Stomatal pore Chloroplast (a) (b) (a) Open and (b) closed stomatal pore BIOLOGY Plant absorbs a large quantity of water from the soil by the root hairs. They use only a fraction of this absorbed water. A large amount of water is lost by plants in the form of water vapour. The loss of water through the aerial parts of the plant such as leaves and green shoot is known as Transpiration. Types of Transpiration There are three types of transpiration i) Stomatal transpiration. ii) Cuticular transpiration iii) Lenticular transpiration ACTIVITY - 4.5 Apply some nail polish (very light pink) on the lower surface of the leaves of a potted plant. After a few minutes, gently peel of the nail polish. Now place one such nail polish peeling on a drop of water placed on a slide. Fix a cover slip and observe this peeling under a microscope. Through the microscope you can see the impression of the cells and the stomatal openings on the lower surface of a leaf. Stomatal transpiration Stomata are tiny pores in the epidermis of leaves and other aerial parts of the plant like stem. They are surrounded by two kidney shaped cells called guard cells. Each guard cell has an elastic outer thin wall and a thick inner wall. When the guard cells are turgid (full of water), the outer walls are stretched and the stomata remains open. This happens during day time. At night, the guard cells become flaccid by losing water to the surrounding cells. The inner walls come closer. This reduces the stomatal opening. The ACTIVITY - 4.6 Take some Coriander leaves and keep them in a polythene bag for few hours. Observe what happens. transpiration of water through stomata is called stomatal transpiration. A large quantity of water is lost through the stomata during transpiration. Cuticular transpiration Cuticle is the waxy layer lying over the epidermis of the leaf. Only a small amount of transpiration occurs through the cuticle. This is known as cuticular transpiration. Lenticular transpiration Lenticels are minute pores found on the barks of woody plants. A small amount of transpiration occurs through lenticels also. This is known as lenticular transpiration. Experinnent to show that transpiration takes place through the leaves (Bell Jar Experiment) Take two identical potted plants with broad leaves. Cover the surface of the pot with rubber sheet so that the soil is not exposed. In one plant, remove all the leaves and apply vaseline to the cut ends of the leaves. Cover both the potted plants separately with two dry bell jars. Leave this set up for few hours. Observe what happens? STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS Droplets of water are seen on the inner surface of the bell jar which covered the plant with leaves, where as no water droplet is seen in the other bell jar. The presence of water droplets proves that transpiration takes place only through leaves. Water droplets Factors affecting transpiration Light, temperature, wind, quantity of water in the soil, number of stomata and surface area of the leaf are the factors that affect transpiration. Bell jar Bell Jar Experiment 4.3.3. RESPIRATION All living organisms perform various functions. For this, energy is required. The process of breathing is very much related to the process of release of energy from food. All the energy required for life processes is obtained by the oxidation of food. Mitochondria are the seats of biological oxidations which furnish energy for the various activities of the cell. The process by which food (Carbohydrate) is broken down and the energy is released for use in other activities is called oxidation. It is commonly referred to as biological oxidation or respiration. Respiration is defined as a biochemical process consisting of oxidation and degradation of food with the release of energy. The energy released during respiration is stored in the form of ATP (Adenosine Tri Phosphate) molecules in the cells and are used by the organism as and when required. ATP has a high energy content. So ATP is known as the energy currency of the cell. Types of respiration Oxidation of food can occur in the presence of oxygen as well as in the absence of oxygen. Based on this, there are two types of respiration. i) Aerobic respiration ii) Anaerobic respiration BIOLOGY CHAPTER - 4 Aerobic respiration (Aerobic - with air) This type of respiration occurs normally in all plants. In this type of respiration glucose is completely oxidized in the presence of oxygen, releasing CO2, water and energy. CqH^Pq (glucose) + 6O2 ► 6CO2 + 6 H2O + 2900 KJ energy Aerobic oxidation of glucose occurs in 4 steps 1) Glycolysis 2) Oxidation of Pyruvic acid 3) Kreb's Cycle 4) Electron transport chain Anaerobic Respiration (Anaerobic - without air) Organisms like Bacteria and Yeast undergo respiration in the absence of oxygen. It is called anaerobic respiration. In this type, oxidation of food material is incomplete. Yeast CgH^206(g'ucose) ► 2C2H5OH + 2 CO2 + 50 KJ energy Zymase (enzyme) Glycolysis is common for both aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Factors affecting respiration: Oxygen, Temperature, Water, Light, CO2, and Glucose are some of the factors that affect respiration. 4.3.4. TRANSPORTATION What is meant by transport? "Transport" means 'to carry things from one place to another'. In biology, transport is a life process by which a substance absorbed or made in one part of the body of an organism is carried to the other parts of the body. Special tissues and organs are needed for the transport of substances in plants and animals. TRANSPORT IN PLANTS Due to the branching shape of a plant, all the cells of a plant can get oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis directly from the air by diffusion. So, the substances which are to be supplied to a plant through a transport system are water and minerals. Another work of the transport system of plants is to transport food prepared in the leaves to the various parts of the plants like stem, roots etc. The plants have two transport systems 1. Xylem 2. Phloem The transport of materials in a plant can be divided into two parts. i) Transport of water and minerals in the plant. ii) Transport of food and other substances like hormones in the plant. Transport of Water and minerals Water and minerals are absorbed from the soil by the roots of the plant and transported to the various parts of the plant like stem, leaves and flowers. The STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS MORE TO KNOW The world's tallest tree in the giant Sequoia, water has to travel to an incredible 84m (275 ft) before it reaches the highest leaves at the top of the tree. water and minerals dissolved in it move from the roots to the other parts through the two kinds of xylem cells called xylem vessels and tracheids. In Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms, tracheids are the only water conducting tissue. In Angiosperms either only xylem Root hair '^:^ ifi: Phloem Rhizodermis Pericycle Endodermis Path of Water across the root vessels transport water or both xylem vessels and tracheids transport water. Flow of sugar Sieve tube cell Companion Cell ] Sieve Plate Food Transportation Transport of Food and other substances The transport of food from leaves to the other parts of the plant is called translocation. The movement of food materials through phloem depends on the action of living cells called sieve tubes. The food is made in the mesophyll cells of a leaf. The food made by the mesophyll cells of a leaf enters into the sieve tubes of the phloem. Once the food enters the sieve tubes in the leaves, it is transported to all other parts of the plant body by the network of sieve tubes present in all parts of the plant like stem and roots. The movement of water and dissolved salts in xylem is always upwards and it is caused by the suction of water at the top because of low pressure created by transpiration from leaves. The movement of food in phloem can be, upwards or downwards or lateral depending upon the needs of the plant. CHAPTER - 4 4A PLANT NUTRITION Autotrophs All living organisms require a continuous supply of carbon containing compounds for growth and for building up their body structures. Energy is also required to maintain their daily activities. It is derived by oxidizing either organic or inorganic compounds. Intake of nutrients into the body by an organism is called nutrition. All the nutrients required by organisms are obtained through the food they consume. Organisms differ in their modes of nutrition. There are mainly two modes of nutrition. 1) Autotrophic nutrition. 2) Heterotrophic nutrition Autotrophic nutrition In autotrophic nutrition, the organism synthesizes its own food. Organisms which are able to synthesize their own food materials are called autotrophs. They convert carbon dioxide and water into various organic compounds with the help of energy. Depending on how the plants obtain energy for converting carbon dioxide to organic compounds, they are classified as 1) Photo autotrophs 2) Chemo autotrophs Photo autotrophs Organisms which use energy from sunlight for the synthesis of food are called photo autotrophs, e.g. Green sulphur bacteria, purple sulphur bacteria and all green plants. Chemo autotrophs Organisms which use chemical energy J STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS ACTIVITY - 4.7 Take a piece of bread, moisten the bread with water and keep it in a closed box for a few days. What do you see? for the synthesis of carbon compounds are called chemo autotrophs. They get energy by oxidizing simple inorganic compounds such as hydrogen, sulphur containing compounds, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, etc. eg. Nitrosomonas Heterotrophic nutrition Some organisms cannot synthesize their own food. They depend on other organisms for their food directly or indirectly. Organisms which are not able to synthesize their own food are called heterotrophs. Heterotrophic nutrition is of two types i) Saprophytic nutrition ii) Parasitic nutrition Saprophytic Nutrition Plants which obtain nutrition from dead or non-living organic matter are called Saprophytes, e.g: Mucor (Fungus), Bacillus subtilis (Bacteria) and Monotropa (Angiosperm) Parasitic Nutrition In parasitic i nutrition, an organism derives its food from the body of other living organism (host). Some plants get their nourish- ment from other living plants or I animals. They are called parasitic plants. The plants or animals from which the parasites get their nourishment are called hosts. They have some special structures which penetrate the host and absorb food, water and minerals. These special structures are called haustoria. e.g: Xanthomonas citri (bacteria) Cercospora personata (fungus) Cuscuta (angiosperm) Cuscuta (Dodder plant) Monotropa (Indian pipe) Mushroom BIOLOGY CHAPTER - 4 MORE TO KNOW Some plants are capable of synthesizing food by photosynthesis but they are not able to synthesize proteins due to the deficiency of nitrogen. They overcome this deficiency by catching small insects and digesting them. Such plants are called insectivorous plants, e.g. Nepenthes, Drosera and Utricularia. Nepenthes (Pitcher plant) Drosera (Sundew plant) Utricularia (Bladderwort) Symbiotic Nutrition In this type of nutrition there is an association of two different living organisms. When two organisms live together, they exchange nutrients and are benefited mutually. Such type of nutrition is called symbiotic nutrition and the organisms are called Symbionts. e.g. Lichen, Mycorrhiza and Rhizobium. 4.5. MOVEMENTS IN PLANTS Can plants move? The plants are fixed at Lichen Rhizobium a place with their roots in the ground. So they cannot move from one place to another. They lack the power of locomotion. Movements of the individual parts or organs of plant are possible when they are subjected to some external stimuli like light, water, chemical substances and touch. The plant movements made in response to external stimuli fall into two main categories. 1) Tropisms 2) Nasties Tropisms A growth or movement of a plant part in response to an external STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS Stimulus in which the direction of stimulus determines the direction of response is called tropism. If the growth or movement of a plant part, is towards the stimulus, it is called positive tropism. If the growth or movement of a plant part, is away from the stimulus, it is called negative tropism. ACTIVITY - 4.8 Stimulus Type of tropism Light Phototropism Gravity Geotropism Chemical Chemotropism Water Hydrotropism Touch Thigmotropism Phototropism The movement of a plant part in response to light is called phototropism. If the plant part moves towards the light, it is called positive phototropism. If the plant part moves away from the light, it is called negative phototropism. The stem always grows towards light and root always grows away from sunlight. i) Take a potted plant growing in a transparent glass jar in a normal position. You can see that its roots are growing downwards and its stem is growing upwards. ii) Now tilt the potted plant and keep the pot horizontally on its side. What is the position of the roots? What is the position of the stem? Are they both parallel to the ground or not? iii) Allow the plant to remain in this position for a few days. After a few days what do you observe? Geotropism The movement of plant part in response to gravity is called geotropism. If the plant part moves towards the direction of gravity, it is called positive geotropism. If the plant part moves against the direction of gravity, it is called negative geotropism. Roots of a plant always grow down wards in the direction of gravity and stem always grows upwards against the direction of gravity. Negative geotropism I Positive ^ geotropism Phototropism Geotropism iH BIOLOGY ACTIVITY - 4.9 1. Take a potted plant growing in a transparent glass jar. Keep it in the open space. What do you observe? 2. Take another potted plant and keep it having a straight stem and root near the window in a dark room so that sunlight falls on it through the window only. What do you see? Chemotropism The movement of a plant part in response to a chemical stimulus is called chemotropism. If the plant part shows movement towards the chemical, it is called positive chemotropism. On the other hand if the plant part shows movement away from the chemical, then it is called negative chemotropism. Pollen Tube Ovule Chemotropism The growth (movement) of a pollen tube towards the ovule induced by a sugary substance as stimulus, is an example of chemotropism. The ripe stigma in the carpel of a flower secretes a chemical substance (sugary substance) into the style towards the ovary. This sugary substance acts as a stimulus for the pollen grains which fall on the stigma CHAPTER - 4 of the carpel. The pollen grain responds to this stimulus by growing a pollen tube in the downward direction into the style of the carpel and reaches the ovule in the ovary of the flower for carrying out fertilization. Hydrotropism The movement of a plant part in response to water is called hydrotropism. If the plant part moves towards water, it is called positive hydrotropism. On the other hand if the part moves away from water it is called negative hydrotropism. The roots of a plant always go towards water and they are positively hydrotropic. Hydrotropism Thigmotropism Climbing plants have weak stems, so they cannot stand erect. They have climbing organs called tendrils. Tendrils are the thin, thread-like growths on the stems or leaves of climbing plants. Tendrils are sensitive to touch or contact of other objects. When a tendril touches an object, then the side of tendril in contact with the object grows, slower than its other side. This causes the tendril to bend towards the object by growing towards it, wind around the object and cling to it. The winding movement of the tendril of a climbing plant is an example for thigmotropism. STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS ACTIVITY - 4.10 i) Take two glass troughs A and B and fill each one of them with two - thirds of soil. ii) Plant a tiny seedling in trough A. iii) Plant a similar seedling in trough B and also place a small 'clay pot' inside the soil. iv) Water the soil in trough A daily and uniformly. v) Do not water the soil in trough B but put some water in the clay pot buried in the soil. vi) Leave both the troughs for a few days. vii) After a few days, dig up the seedlings carefully from both the troughs without damaging their roots. What do you observe? Is the root of seedling in trough A straight or bent? Is the root of a seedling in trough B bent? Why? Thigmotropism: NASTIES The movement of a plant part in response to an external stimulus in which the direction of response is not determined by the direction of stimulus is called nastic movement. Example : i) The folding up of the leaves of a sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) - touch. ii) The opening of the petals of Dandelion flowers in morning in bright light and closing in the evening - light. iii) The closing of the petals of moon flower in the morning in bright light and opening at dark- light. The folding up of the leaves of a sensitive plant on touch is not a growth movement but the opening and closing of petals of flowers is growth movement. Some of the nastic movements are as follows: 1) Thigmonasty (Seismonasty) The non-directional movement of a plant part in response to the touch of an object is called thigmonasty. The best example for thigmonasty is Mimosa pudica (Touch-me-not plant). It we touch the leaves of the sensitive plant with our fingers, then its leaves fold up and droop immediately. iH BIOLOGY Before touch After touch Mimosa pudica (Touch-me-not plant) ii) Photonasty Dandelion The non-directional movement of a plant in response to light is called photonasty. The opening of leaves and flowers during day time and their closure at night is an example. A Dandelion flower opens up in the morning in bright light but closes in the evening when the light fades and it gets dark. iii) Thermonasty The non-directional movement of a plant in response to temperature is called thermonasty. In Crocus, the flowers open at high temperature and close at low temperature. 4.6. SENSITIVITY IN PLANTS i) When a torch light is focused to our eyes, we automatically close our eyes. ii) When we come in contact with a hot surface unexpectedly, immediately we withdraw our hands. All these things happen because human beings as well as animals are sensitive to stimuli like light, heat, etc. When we touch the leaves of Mimosa pudica, suddenly the leaves fold up. Even though the plants CHAPTER - 4 don't have any nervous system, they respond to stimuli. How? The petiole of Mimosa pudica leaves are pulvinate. (pad - like swellings at the base of leaf). The pulvini (singular pulvinus) contain a lot of water in their cells. Due to the internal 'water pressure' in them, all the pulvini are very firm and hold the leaves above them upright. The pulvini have also large intercellular spaces between their cells. The folding up of the leaves of a sensitive plant on touching is due to the loss of water from the Pulvini. The pulvini lose their firmness causing the leaves to droop and fall. When the leaves of sensitive plants are touched with a finger, then an electric impulse is generated which travels through ordinary cells. This electrical impulse acts on a plant hormone. The plant hormone makes the water migrate from the cells of one half of a pulvinus to the intercellular spaces in the other half of pulvinus. This loss of water forces the leaf to fold. Similarly, all the pulvini lose firmness and become limp. As a result all the leaves above them collapse and droop. After a gap of 15 to 30 minutes, water usually diffuses back into the same cells of pulvinus from which it left, and the leaf returns to its original position. STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS EVALUATION Section -A Choose the correct answer 1. A plant cell differs from an animal cell in the presence of (cell membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, plasma membrane, cell wall). 2. A parasitic plant (mushroom, mucor, cuscutta, yeast). 3. The loss of water from the aerial parts of the plant is known as (photosynthesis, transpiration, reproduction, respiration). 4. The movement of a plant part in response to light is called (geotropism, hydrotropism, phototropism, thigmotropism). 5. The energy currency of cell (FAD, NADP, NAD, ATP) Section - B 6. i) Is man an autotroph or heterotroph? ii) Explain why. 7. Complete the equation 8. 9. 6CO2 + C6H12O6 + Plants absorb water and minerals from the soil with the help of root hairs. Name the forces involved in absorption. Section C a) Plants prepare their own food. i) Name the process by which plants make food. ii) Apart from carbondioxide and water, what other things are required for making food. b) Observe the diagram i) Copy the diagram and label the following parts a) stomatal pore b) chloroplast ii) Point out the function of each part labelled. BIOLOGY CHAPTER - 4 10. Respiration is defined as biochemical process consisting of oxidation and degradation of food with release of energy. a) Differentiate Aerobic and Anaerobic respiration. yeast b) CgH^^O 6' '12^6 +2CO2 + 50KJ energy zymase c) List out the factors affecting respiration. 11. a) Complete the pie chart which shows the types of transpiration. b) Match the column A with column B Stimulus (A) Type of Tropism (B) Gravity Chemotropism Chemical Thigmotropism Touch Geotropism FURTHER REFERENCE Books 1. Plant Anatomy 2008 - B.P Pandey, S.Chand publishers. 2. Plant Anatomy 1990 - A.Fahn, Pergamon publishers. 3. Fundamentals of Plant Physiology 2000 - Jain V.K, S.Chand publishers. 4. Text Book of Microbiology 2009 - Anantha Narayanan. R & Jayaram Paniker C.K. Orient Longman Publishers. ©^ \.- Websites http://www.en.wikipedia.org http://www.sciencecentral.com Chapter_0_ ANIMAL KINGDOM CHAPTER-5 Introduction Animals originated approximately 600 million year ago. More than 2 million existing varieties of animals have been identified. Of these more than 12,72,000 are invertebrates and fewer than 62,000 species are vertebrates. TAXONOMY The branch of biology dealing with identification, description, nomenclature and classification is called taxonomy. Biological classification helps us to identify organisms and later recognize those already classified. MORE TO KNOW MORE TO KNOW Aristotle, the father of Zoology was the first to classify animals based on their similarities and differences. Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish Botanist is regarded as the father of modern taxonomy. I ANIMAL KINGDOM Levels of classification Based on similarities and differences in the structure, animals are divided into small groups called taxons. Linnaeus classified organisms into kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. Kingdom jpecies Units of Taxonomy Protists Evolutionary Tree Criteria for classification 1. Grade of organisation - animals are grouped into unicellular and multicellular based on the number of cells. 2. Germ layers - the multicellular animals are classified into diploblastic (two germ layers) and triploblastic (three germ layers) animals. a. b. c. Symmetry - it refers to the arrangement of body parts. Based on symmetry, animals are classified into Assymetrical (eg. Amoeba) Radially symmetrical (eg. Hydra) Bilaterally symmetrical (eg. Earthworm) BIOLOGY CHAPTER-5 4. Coelom - the space between the body wall and digestive tract is called coelom. Based on the nature of coelom, animals are divided into a. Acoelomate - Animals without a coelom (eg. Tape worm) b. Pseudocoelomate - Animals with a false coelom (eg. Round worm) c. Eucoelomate - Animals with a true coelom (eg. Earth worm) Toad 5. Body temperature - animals are classified into two groups on the basis of their ability to regulate body temperature into a. Poikilothermic animals - whose body temperature varies with that of environment, (eg. Fish, frog) b. Homeothermic animals - whose body temperature always remains constant irrespective of changes in the surrounding, (eg. Birds, man) Animals are classified into two major groups, namely invertebrates and vertebrates based on the absence or presence of back bone (Vertebral column) 5.1. INVERTEBRATES Invertebrates are classified into nine phyla namely 1. Phylum Protozoa (eg. Amoeba) 2. Phylum Porifera (eg. Sponges) 3. Phylum Coelenterata (eg. Hydra) 4. Phylum Platyhelminthes (eg. Tape worm) 5. Phylum Aschelminthes (eg. Ascaris) 6. Phylum Annelida (eg. Earth worm) 7. Phylum Arthropoda (eg. Cockroach) 8. Phylum Mollusca (eg. Snail) and 9. Phylum Echinodermata (eg. Star fish) Phylum Protozoa Paramoecium LI ANIMAL KINGDOM These are generally unicellular microscopic animals. Locomotion takes place by cilia, flagella or pseudopodia. Mode of nutrition may be holozoic, saprozoic or parasitic. They reproduce asexually through binary or multiple fission and sexually by conjugation. ACTIVITY -5.1 ^ ^ ► Collect a sample of water from a fresh water pond. Prepare a micro slide after adding a drop of methylene blue stain to the water. View the slide under a microscope. Try to find an amoeba. Phylum Porifera These are non-motile marine animals attached to some solid support such as rocks or shells. These are multicellular animals with perforated bodies. The cells are loosely arranged without the formation of tissues.The pores lead to a canal system which helps in circulating water throughout the body to bring in food and oxygen. They possess an internal skeleton made up of calcareous or silicious spicules. Reproduction is both by asexual (budding or gemmule formation) or sexual method (fusion of male and female gametes) Phylum Coelenterata Sea anemone These animals are aquatic with radial symmetry. There is a distinct body cavity called coelenteron or gastro vascular cavity. The body bears slender, flexible tentacles around the mouth. The tentacles at their tip bears stinging cells called cnidoblasts for offence and defence. Reproduction takes place either by asexual (budding or fission) or by sexual method (by gametes). MORE TO KNOW The Australian sea wasp or box jelly fish (Chironex fleckeri) is the most venomous coelenterate in the world. It has enough poison to kill about sixty people. ACTIVITY -5.2 Sponges Observe a permanent slide of hydra under a dissection microscope. Observe the mouth, tentacles and basal disc of hydra and draw a neat labelled diagram. Phylum Platyhelminthes (flat worms) These are triploblastic, bilaterally symmetrical and acoelomate animals. These are either free living (eg. Planaria) or parasitic (eg. Tape worm). Parasites have organs of attachment such as hooks and suckers. They are mostly hermaphrodites (i.e. male and female sex organs are present in the same individual). Planaria Tape worm Phylum Aschelminthes (round or thread worms) The body is cylindrical, unsegmented and covered by a resistant cuticle. The animals are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic and pseudocoelomate. Circulatory and respiratory systems are absent. Sexes are separate and fertilization is internal. These are familiar as parasitic worms causing elephantiasis (filarial worm) and ascariasis (ascaris). CHAPTER-5 MORE TO KNOW Earthworms are referred to as "Farmer's Friend"? Why? Earthworm plays a vital role in improving the fertility of the soil. It ploghs the land and assists in the recycling of organic matter for the efficient growth of the plants. The soil system is loosened, stirred up and aerated by the vertical migration of earthworms. Phylum Annelida Do you know about vermicompost? Which animal plays a vital role in vermicomposting? Earthworm Earthworms and leeches are familiar examples of annelids. The body is long, cylindrical and segmented (i.e. the body is divided into compartments called segments). They move with the help of setae and parapodia. They exhibit cephalisation (formation of a distinct head) and metamerism (segmental repetition of identical organs). MORE TO KNOW Ascaris HIRUDIN - is a naturally occurring protein in the salivary glands of Leeches that has a blood anticoagulant property. Hence blood fails to clot ensuring continuous flow of blood when the leech sucks the blood. This property is widely used in the field of medicine and used in the treatment of blood clotting disorders and in the development of anticoagulant pharmaceuticals . I Phylum Arthropoda Butterfly Do you know which is the largest phylum? Do you know which is the most successful group of animals on earth? Arthropods are the largest group of organisms and insects are the most successful group of animals. These forms have jointed legs with a chitinous exoskeleton. They show open type of circulation and possess compound eyes. They respire by gills, tracheae, book lungs or body surface Scorpion MORE TO KNOW Insects form one of the most successful groups of animals. More than a million species of insects are known today. Phylum Mollusca Body is soft, unsegmented and without appendages. It is surrounded by a thin. ANIMAL KINGDOM fleshy structure called mantle which a secretes hard calcareous shell. They move around with the help of a muscular foot. Respiration is usually by gills called ctenidia. Mussels Phylum Echinodermata These are spiny skinned organisms. Body is covered by calcareous spines, water vascular system is a characteristic feature of this group. These animals move with the help of tube feet and show great power of regeneration. Starfish ACTIVITY -5.3 "^ ^ Observe the preserved specimens of invertebrates. Draw neat diagrams. List out the different poisonous invertebrates. CHAPTER-5 Biodiversity of India India is endowed with an immense variety of plants and animals. It is a home to 2000 species of fishes, 182 species of amphibians, 453 species of reptiles, 1200 species of birds and 350 species of mammals. India ranks within the top 10 countries in the world in the biodiversity of vertebrates. 5.2. VERTEBRATES Vertebrates are groups of animals which have a true vertebral column and internal skeleton. These are coelomate, triploblastic animals with a notochord and nerve chord. How do vertebrates differ from invertebrates? S.No. Invetebrates Vertebrates 01. They do not have a back bone. They have a distinct back bone. 02. They include both unicellular and multi cellular organisms. They include only multi cellular organisms. 03. They have diversified locomotory organs such as pseudopodia, flagella, cilia, etc.. They have two pairs of limbs for locomotion. 04 Organisms may be free living or parasitic. All organisms are free living. 05. Systems are simple in organisation. Systems are complex and highly organised. 06. Reproduction is by asexual or sexual methods. Reproduction is only by sexual method. Vertebrates are classified into five classes as follows. 1. Class Pisces. 2. Class Amphibia 3. Class Reptilia 4. Class Aves and 5. Class Mammalia Class Pisces These are aquatic animals and their skin is covered with scales which form the exoskeleton. The Endoskeleton is made up of either cartilage (eg. sharks) or bone (eg. catia). The body is streamlined. Respiration is by gills which are covered by an operculum on either side. Heart is two chambered (one Auricle and One Ventricle). Air bladder is present above the alimentary canal which regulates buoyancy. These are cold blooded animals. They are either oviparous or viviparous. Lion fish I ANIMAL KINGDOM MIGRATION IN FISHES Fishes can migrate vertically up and down the water column or horizontally across ocean or along rivers many Marine fishes make daily vertical migrations. Types of Horizontal Migration are 1. Anadromous Migration - 2. Catadromous Migration 3. Amphidromous Migration - Class Amphibia Fishes live in the ocean mostly and breed in fresh water. Fishes live in fresh water and breed in the ocean. Fishes move between fresh and salt water during their life cycle but not for breeding. MORE TO KNOW Salamander Amphibians are cold blooded vertebrates which can live on land as well as in water (dual life). Body is divisible into head and trunk. Skin is moist and slimy. The heart is three chambered (Two Auricles and one Ventricle). Respiration is by gills (tadpole), skin and lungs Amphibians are good indicators of environmental changes. They breathe partially through their skin which makes them sensitive to radiation, pollution and habitat destruction. Scientists believe amphibians can show the first signs of environmental emergencies. In the last 20 years, the number of amphibian species have declined with some species becoming extinct due to acid rain, ozone depletion and chemical pollution. (adult). Fertilisation is external. They are oviparous (egg laying) showing complete metamorphosis. MORE TO KNOW Unforgiving fish? The stone fish may be the highly poisonous fish in the world. The poison is carried in its skin and in sacs attached to razor sharp spines along its back. When attacked or even accidentally stepped on, the stone fish pushes its spines into the predator and releases the poison into the wounds which usually results in paralysis or death. h\Wv m m-' li" •-• : CHAPTER-5 MORE TO KNOW The drug derived from the extract of Poison arrow frog (Epipedobates tricolor) works as a powerful painkiller. It has the same benefits of morphine but without any side effects. How to distinguish frogs from toads? TOAD FROG Short hind legs. Long hind legs. Rough, warty skin. Moist, smooth skin. Spends little time in water. Spends More time in water. Walks and makes short hops. Jumps. Toothless. Teeth in upper jaw. Webless hind feet. Webbed hind feet. Class Reptilia These are creeping or crawling terrestrial animals and their body is covered with dryskin or epidermal scales. Tympanum represents the ear. Heart is three chambered. Snakes and lizards shed their scales as skin cast. They are oviparous and development is direct. Indian Cobra Superlatives The slowest reptile The fastest reptile World's fastest snake The world's longest snake Largest poisonous snake Smallest reptile Largest reptile Giant tortoises of Galapagos islands. Spiny tailed Iguana of Costa Rica. The black mamba of Africa A reticulated python King Cobra. Gecko Komodo dragon. 1 Class Aves Peacock Birds are characterized by the presence of feathers, modified forelimbs (wings), beak and air filled bones (pneumatic bones). These are warm blooded and oviparous which lay cledoic eggs (with shell) with large amount of yolk (reserve food). The hind limbs are modified for walking, swimming or clasping. Owl MORE TO KNOW Birds like crows and ravens have a large brain with large number of brain cells. Birds like parrots just imitate the sounds of human. ANIMAL KINGDOM MORE TO KNOW ► Woodpeckers not only peck the wood for insects but can also hear the sound of insects crawling inside the wood. ► Penguins can survive freezing cold temperatures because of a thick layer of the fat below their skin which act as heat insulator. ► Owls can easily hunt in darkness, since their eye balls are elastic and can be focused instantly at any distance. They can widely open their pupil to allow more light to enter. Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary It is one of the spectacular breeding grounds in India. It is located in Kancheepuram District of Tamilnadu (about 75 km from Chennai). The bird life (Resident and Visitors) include Cormarants, Darters, Herons, Egrets, Open billed stork. Spoon bills, white ibis. Little grebe, Blackwinged suits, Grey pelican etc. November to February is the ideal season to visit the sanctuary. Vedanthangal birds sanctuary Class Mammalia Mammals are higher chordates characterised by a presence of milk BIOLOGY J CHAPTER-5 Echolocation in Bats Dolphins producing glands (mammary glands). Their skin has hairs as well as sweat and oil glands. Heterodont dentition (different types of teeth), external ears or pinnae, diaphragm (muscle which separate thorax and abdomen), pulmonary respiration (lungs), internal fertilization and viviparity are other salient features. Echolocation is also called bio sonar which is used by several animals like bats. These animals emit ultrasound waves and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various object in the surroundings. They use these echoes to locate, range and identify the objects. It is used for navigation and for hunting in total darkness. MORE TO KNOW ► Mammals like Echidna and Platypus are egg laying. ► Whales and dolphins are mammals. ► African elephant is the biggest land mammal and blue whale is the biggest aquatic mammal. ► Kangaroos can leap up to 30 feet in one bounce. ► Pygmy shrew is the slowest mammal. ► Bats are the only mammals which can fly. ACTIVITY -5.4 ► Make a visit to the zoo and note down the different animals and their feeding habits. 1 ANIMAL KINGDOM 5.3. VARIOUS MODES OF REPRODUCTION IN ANIMALS ^^^^^^^^ Lion with cub Hippopotamus with young one Reproduction in the capacity of an organism to produce young ones of their own kind. Reproduction in an inherent capacity of organisms to ensure the sustenance of their species. Major types of reproduction All animals from protozoans to mammals have the ability to reproduce. Reproduction is basically of two types namely Asexual and sexual reproduction. S.No. Asexual Reproduction Sexual Reproduction 01. It involves a single parent. It involves two parents (male and female) each capable of producing gametes. 02. It doesnot involve the fusion of gametes. It involves the fusion of male and female gametes [(i.e.) Sperm and ovum] resulting in the formation of zygote. Asexual Reproduction In asexual reproduction, new individuals are formed from a single parent. It may involve the whole body of an organism or body cells. These include multiple fission, binary fission, budding, regeneration gemmule and spore formation, etc.. Binary fission : eg. Parannoecium Paramoecium is an unicellular organism which reproduces by binary fission. In this process a constriction appears at the centre which divides the nucleus and cytoplasm into two parts. Thus a single paramoecium is divided into two. Multiple Fission Many protozoans reproduce by multiple fission under unfavorable condition. In this process, the nucleus of the parent cell divides repeatedly to form a number of daughter nuclei. Each daughter nucleus is surrounded by cytoplasm and plasma membrane and thus a number of daughter cells are formed. Each cell separates and leads an independent life. Daughter Paramoecia Binary fission in paramoecium ACTIVITY -5.5 Observe a microslide of binary fission in amoeba. Budding Hydra reproduces asexually by budding. During budding the body wall of hydra produces an outgrowth (bud) due CHAPTER-5 to repeated cell division at one specific site. This bud gradually grows in size and develops a mouth and tentacles at the free end. Soon a constriction appears at the point of contact and the daughter hydra gets separated from the mother and lead an independent life. Gemnnules Budding Gemmule Gemmules are internal buds found in sponges and are resistant to unfavourable condition. These buds have an outer thick layer with numerous air spaces and two inner chitinous layers. During favourable conditions, the cell mass comes out of the gemmule through an opening called the micropyle. Later the cell mass develops into a young sponge. Spore and cyst fornnation This type of reproduction is common among protozoan parasites such as Plasmodium (malarial parasite). This method is also called sporulation. During unfavourable conditions, the protoplasm is condensed and covered by a thick, protective covering called the cyst. When conditions are favourable, the cyst gets dissolved. The protoplasm regains its original nature and the organism undergoes fission. I Regeneration Animals like sponges, Hydra, Planaria and star fish exhibit regeneration. It is a complex process which involves the repair of damaged cells or tissues or redevelopment of severed part or formation of whole body from a small fragment. Autotomy It refers to the power of self cutting of body parts for defense. Examples - Regeneration of arms in star fish, regeneration of tail in house lizard. Regeneration in man Regeneration is highly limited in higher animals due to more specialization and complex organisation. Examples of regeneration in man 1. Healing of wounds. 2. Replacement of dead or worn out blood cells. 3. Replacement of the horny layer of the skin. Advantages of Asexual reproduction 1. It requires only one parent. 2. It donot involve gametes and fertilization. 3. The young ones have identical characteristics of their parents. Disadvantages of Asexual reproduction 1. It does not result in large variations and hence donot lead to speciation and evolution. 2. Transmission of undersiable characters from parent to offspring without any change. Sexual reproduction All higher animals and a few lower ANIMAL KINGDOM organisms can reproduce sexually. On the basis of the presence of gonads, organisms are classified into two types. 1. Unisexual organisms - with only one type of gonad (i.e. either testis or ovary) eg. - Human beings. 2. Bisexual organisms or Hermophrodites - Organism with both testis and ovary) eg - Tapeworm, Hydra. Conjugation in Paramecium Lower organisms like Paramecium reproduce sexually by conjugation. It involves the transfer of nuclear materials. Schematic representation of sexual reproduction Female Sperm (n) Ovum (n) Zygote (2n) Embryo Young individual In higher organisms, two individuals of a species (male and female) are involved in sexual reproduction. The male reproductive organ is the testis which produce the sperms. The female reproductive organ is the ovary which produce the ova or eggs. A sperm and an egg fuse to form a zygote. CHAPTER-5 The fusion of sperm and ovum is called fertilization. The zygote further develops into an embryo and later becomes an adult. 5.4. REPRODUCTION IN HUMAN Male reproductive system Vas deferens Prostate gland Bladder Seminal Vesicle Cowper's gland Epididymis Testis Scrotum Human male reproductive system The male reproductive system includes the primary sex organs and accessory organs. The primary sex organs are the testis and the accessory organs are seminal vesicles, prostrate glands, urethra and penis. A pair of testis are located in the scrotum outside the abdominal cavity because sperm formation requires a lower temperature than the normal body temperature. Each testis contains a coiled mass of tubules known as seminiferous tubules which produce sperms. The process of formation of sperms is known as spermatogenesis. The interstitial cells of the testis also secrete the male sex hormones (androgens) which control spermatogenesis and the appearance of male sexual characters such as growth of beard, moustache, body hair, hoarse voice, etc.. The Sertoli cells of the testis provide nourishment to the developing sperms. The sperms are delivered through the vas deferens which unites with the urethra which form a common passage for both sperms and urine. Along the path of vas deferens lies seminal vesicles and prostrate glands which add their secretions so that sperms are released in a fluid called semen. This fluid provides nutrition and helps in the transport of sperms. Structure of a mature sperm The sperm consists of four parts namely head, neck, midpiece and tail. The head contains a condensed nucleus containing haploid set (n) of chromosomes and a terminal acrosome (Golgi apparatus) containing hyaluronidase and protealytic enzymes. The neck contains a proximal and a distal centriole. The distal centriole is continuous with axial filament. The I midpiece contains the spirally coiled mitochondria. The tail represents the remnants of cytoplasm and propels the sperm in the liquid medium. Head Midpiece Tail Sperm MORE TO KNOW Anton van Leeuwenhock (1632 - 1723) was the first observe and draw sperm cells. Female reproductive system Fundus of uterus Uterine tube Ampulla Infundibulum Vagina Human female reproductive system The female reproductive system consists of ovaries and accessory organs such as fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix ANIMAL KINGDOM MORE TO KNOW Sperm Bank Sperms are collected in the form of semen and can be stored in sperm bank viable for several years in frozen state in liquid nitrogen at a very low temperature. These sperms are useful in invitro fertilization and artificial insemination techniques. and vagina. The ovary produces an egg for every 28 days (menstrual cycle) as well as female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone. Each ovary consists of follicle cells which produce the ovum by a process known as oogenesis. The uterus is a hollow, thick walled muscular organ formed of three layers and the fertilized ovum is embedded and nourished in the uterus. Vagina is a muscular tube which connects the cervix and the external genitalia. It serves to receive sperms and as a birth canal. The oestrogen is responsible for oogenesis and for the appearance of female secondary sexual characters such as development of breasts, growth of hair, feminine voice, etc.. Structure of egg of human ovum The egg of human is alecithal (without yolk) and contain cortical granules and yolk platelets. The egg is surrounded by a number of egg membranes. 1. Vitelline membrane - The ovum is surrounded immediately by a thin transparent membrane. 2. Zona pellucida - It is a thick transparent membrane above the vitelline membrane. 3. Corona radiata - The outermost thick membrane formed by the follicle cells. BIOLOGY Menstrual cycle The rhythmic series of changes in the female sex organs that occur for about 28 days throughout the reproductive life of women from puberty to menopause (except during pregnancy) is known as menstrual cycle. After ovulation, the mature ovum is brought to the fallopian tube and may get fertilized. When the ovum is not fertilized, the ovum along with the uterine wall is ruptured and discharged with blood and uterine tissue by a process called menstruation. It involves three phases namely 1. The follicular phase (5th day - 14th day) 2. The luteal phase or Premenstrual phase (15th day - 28th day) 3. The menstrual phase (1st day - 5th day) Menstrual cycle 1. Follicular phase: This phase is initiated by the secretion of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) of pituitary. J CHAPTER-5 During this phase primary ovarian follicles begin to grow and the mature graffian follicles burst and release the ovum into the fallopian tube (ovulation). 2. Luteal phase: This stage is influenced by Lutenising Hormone (LH) of pituitary gland. After the release of the ovum, the ruptured part of graffian follicle is transformed into a transitory endocrine gland called corpus luteum. It secretes the pregnancy hormone called progesterone. This hormone causes the thickness of endometrium and prepares the uterus to receive the fertilized ovum. If the ovum is not fertilized, the ovum and uterine wall gets ruptured and discharged during menstrual phase. 3. Menstrual phase: The decline in progesterone and oestrogen initiates the shedding of unfertilized egg and endometrium with severe bleeding in a process called mensus or menstruation. At the termination of menstruation, the corpus luteum is converted into a scar tissue called corpus albicans. 5.5. FERTILIZATION Fertilization is a process of fusion of male and female gamete to form a diploid zygote. Types of fertilization The two types of fertilization are (a) External fertilization - The fusion of the gametes occurs outside the body of the animal, (eg. Frogs, Echinoderms). (b) Internal fertilization -The fusion of the gametes occur within the body of the female, (eg. Reptiles, Birds and Mammals). Mechanism of fertilization Atthe time of ovulation, the ovum is fully matured and it enters the infundibulum of the uterine tube and passes into the ampulla. Fertilization of the ovum occurs in the ampulla of the uterine tube. Only one spermatozoan pierces the egg membrane Zona pellucida and enters the ovum. Polygamy (entry of more sperms) is prevented by the fertilization membrane around the ovum. 1 ANIMAL KINGDOM 5.6. DEVELOPMENT OF EMBRYO 3. Cleavage 4. Blastocyst Blasttulation to implantation The fertilized ovum is called the zygote. As soon as it is formed, it becomes activated and mitotic divisions sets in. This is the first phase of embryo's development called the cleavage. As a result a ball of cells called the blastula is formed. The outer surface forms the trophoblast and the embryo gets attached to the wall of the uterus. This process is known as implantation. The implanted embryo develops the extra embryonic membranes such as amnion, allantois, chorion and yolk sac. Amnion provides a fluid medium to the developing embryo. It prevents dessication of the embryo and function as a shock absorber. The chorion and allantois fuse to form the placenta. It helps in the exchange of gases between the mother and the foetus and also the elimination of nitrogenous wastes from the foetus. The embryo and the placenta are connected by the umbilical cord which is derived from the allantois. Stages in the development of the human foetus. Gestation period : From the fertilization of the ovum to the birth of the baby it takes about nine months. The period during which the foetus remains inside the uterus is called the gestation period. The development of foetus can be studied as phases of three month period - the first, second and third trimesters. First trimester During this period, the proliferation of cells takes place and gradually a single cell is transformed into a foetus. Organogenesis takes place resulting in the formation of organs. BIOLOGY J CHAPTER-5 Development of Human embryo Second trimester The foetus grows rapidly. The respiratory and circulatory systems become well developed and functional. The bones and muscles are well formed. Third trimester The length and weight of the foetus increases very rapidly and the development is completed. Child birth A few days before birth, the foetus turns head downwards in the uterus just above the cervix. At the onset of childbirth, the uterus begins to contract rhythmically under the influence of oxytocin hormone. These contractions become stronger and more frequent. This marks the onset of labour pain. With continued powerful contractions, the amnion ruptures and the amniotic fluid flows out through the vagina. Finally, the muscular contractions of the uterus and the abodmen expel the child through the dilated cervix and vagina. The umbilical cord that still connects the child to the placenta is tied and cut. A few minutes later, the placenta breaks away from the uterus and is expelled as 'after birth'. Lactation The first milk which comes out from the mother's mammary gland just after childbirth is known as colostrum. It is rich in proteins and nutrients. It also contains antibodies that provide immunity for the newborn infant. The secretion of milk is stimulated by the pituitary hormone prolactin. Advantages of mother's milk ► It is easily available, clean, uncontaminated and sterile. ► It is available at a correct temperature for the baby's needs. ► It contains antibodies which shield the baby from external viral and bacterial infections. ► In rural areas breast milk is used as eye drops for viral conjunctivitis and minor eye infections as a first aid. ► The calorific value of breast milk is 70 per 100 ml of milk and this fully meet the requirements of the infant. ► Lactoferin a protein in breast milk, provides considerable protection against intestinal and respiratory infections. MORE TO KNOW The test tube babies are formed by the technique of invitro fertilization in which fertilization and early development takes place in an artificial medium outside. Steptoe and Edwards of UK were successful in producing the first test tube baby. LI ANIMAL KINGDOM 5.7. VIVIPAROUS ANIMALS Vivipary means directly giving birth to young ones (e.g placental mammals). The young ones directly receives food and oxygen from the mother through the placenta and also excretes the wastes through it. 5.8. OVIPAROUS MORE TO KNOW Cledoic eggs Oviparous animals lay eggs laden with yolk. The embryonic development takes place outside the body of the mother. Land dwelling Non cledoic eggs animals lay eggs with shell (cledoic eggs). The shell gives protection and prevents dessication. These eggs are laid outside after the process of internal fertilization (e.g. Reptiles and insects). Ovoviviparous animals In these animals the embryos develop inside the eggs that are retained within the mother's body until they are ready to hatch, the young ones are nourished by the egg yolk and there is no placental connection, eg. Vipers 5.9. YOUNG ONES TO ADULT The young ones which emerge from the egg either has resemblance or no resemblance with the adult. The young one has to pass through morphological, anatomical and physiological changes and get transformed into an adult. These changes which transform the young ones into adults are known as metamorphosis. 1 CHAPTER-5 Metamorphosis in insects In insects, the outer skin is cast off periodically and this process is known as moulting or ecdysis. The larval stages between two successive moultings are called stadia (singular - stadium). Thus the insect grows by a series of changes and these growing stages are called instars. MORE TO KNOW Moulting hormone Moulting hormone or ecdysone or juvenile hormones are secreted by the neuro secretory cells of the brain and controls moulting in insects. Types of metamorphosis Incomplete metamorphosis Lifecycle of Grasshopper: The newly hatched young ones resembles the adult except in size, lack of wings and reproductive organs, the young ones (nymphs) undergo several intermediary stages through successive moultings to become an adult. Egg — ► Nymph — ►Adult e.g Grasshopper, Mayfly Complete metamorphosis Eggs Pupa Complete metamorphosis Lifecycle of Butterfly The young ones are strikingly different from the adults and the process of development starts with larva which hatch Incomplete metamorphosis out of the egg. It is worm like and termed as caterpillar. The larva feeds voraciously on leaves and increase in size. Then the larva enters a resting stage the pupa and develops a pupal case (cocoon) around it. After a period of time, the adult or imago emerges out of the cocoon. Egg — ► Larva — ► Pupa — ► Adult e.g. Butterfly, silk moth. ANIMAL KINGDOM EVALUATION Section -A 1. The arrangement of body parts in an organism is known as symmetry. Classify organisms based on symmetry. 2. Reptilia -^ Pisces -^ Aves -^ Mammalia -^ Amphibia Arrange in correct sequence according to the evolutionary trend. 3. The eggs of mammals are alecithal ( Without yolk ). How do the mother feeds the young ones? 4. In some organisms both the male and female sex organs are present in a single individual. Name such organisms. Give an example. 5. The process of menstrual cycle stops during pregnancy and resumes after child birth. Name the hormone involved and mention its function. 6. During the time of delivery, the mother experiences severe labour pain. Name the hormone responsible for it and mention its significance. Section - B 7. Millions of organisms inhabit the earth. They are classified and placed under different groups. Mention the need for classification. Organisms Locomotory organs Paramoecium Limbs Fishes Webbed feet Frogs Wings Aves Fins Mammals Cilia 8. a) Match the organisms with their locomotory organs. b) Correlate the locomotory organs with their mode of existence. 9. Bats are nocturnal animals. But, they could navigate in total darkness. Explain. 10. The eggs of birds are Cledoic (shell) and contains yolk. Mention the role of the shell and yolk in birds. 11 . Most of the birds can fly. List out the structural adaptations which enable them to fly. 12. Earthworms can increase soil fertility. Justify. 13. The testis are located in the scrotum outside the abdominal cavity. Give reason. CHAPTER-5 14. In higher organisms the male and female can be distinguished by certain external features called secondary sexual characters. List out some male and female characters in human. 15. Both the Sperm and Ovum contains haploid set (n) of chromosomes. Give reason. 16. The developing foetus can communicate with the mother through the placenta. Mention the role of placenta. 17. The gestation period in human is about nine months which is divided into three divisions called trimesters. List out the changes which occur during the first trimester. 18. Mother's milk is the wholesome food for the child. Justify your answer. 19. In insects during metamorphosis, the outer skin is cast off periodically. Name the process and mention its significance. Section - C 20. Match the following columns A, B and C to make meaningful sequences. Column A Column B Column C Tapeworm Vermi compost Calcareous spines Earthworm Spiny Skin Parasite Starfish Locomotion Soft body Paramoecium Shell Organic farming Mussels Hooks and suckers Flagella FURTHER REFERENCE Books 1. Developmental Biology -Arumugam.N, Saras Publications. 2. A Manual of Zoology, Volumel& II - Ekambaranatha lyar, E.K.and T.N.Ananthakrishnan, Viswanathan & Co. 3. Invertebrates - Barnes, R.D., W.B.Saunders Publications. Websites http://www.worldanimal.net http://www.animaltrial.com Chapter O m CELLS AND TISSUES BIOLOGY CHAPTER -6 6.1. PROKARYOTIC AND EUKARYOTIC CELLS Based on the complexity of organization, especially nuclear organization, the cells are classified into two types. i) Prokaryotic cells. ii) Eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells The cells of Bacteria and Cyano Bacteria (blue green algae) lack a well organised nucleus and are called prokaryotic cells. Their DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) is not enclosed by a nuclear membrane. They also lack membrane bound organelles. The organisms which possess prokaryotic cells are called prokaryotic organisms or prokaryotes. They are considered to be primitive organisms. Eukaryotic Cells The cells of all plants (except bacteria and cyano bacteria) and animals possess a well organised nucleus and are called Eukaryotic cells. Their genetic material is enclosed by a nuclear membrane. They A Prokaryotic cell (Bacteria) possess membrane bound organelles like Endoplasmic reticulum, golgi body, mitochondria, plastids and vacuoles. The organisms which possess eukaryotic cells are called Eukaryotic organisms or eukaryotes. Differences between Prokaryotic cell and Eukaryotic cell Prokaryotic Cell Eukaryotic Cell 1. It is generally smaller (1-10 micro metre) in size 1. It is comparatively larger (5-100 micro metre) in size. 2. It lacks a well organised nucleus as its nuclear material is not surrounded by a nuclear membrane. 2. It contains a well organized nucleus as its nuclear material is surrounded by a nuclear membrane. 3. It has a single chromosome 3. It has more than one chromosome. 4. Nucleolus is absent 4 Nucleolus is present 5. It lacks membrane bound cell organelles. 5. It possess membrane bound cell organelles. 6. Cell division occurs by fission or budding. Mitotic and meiotic divisions are absent 6. Cell division takes place by mitosis and meiosis. 7. Ribosomes are smaller 7. Ribosomes are larger I I CELLS AND TISSUES 6.2. MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS Do you know? 1. What is meant by unicellular organism? 2. Give one example for unicellular organism. 3. What are multicellular organisms? The organisms having many cells in their body are called multicellular organisms, e.g. Most plants and animals. Multicellular level of organization represent an advanced state among living organisms. Multicellular organisms have different kinds of cells to perform different functions. 6.3 CELL AS A BASIC UNIT OF LIFE Higher organisms contain organs; organs are composed of tissues; tissues are made up of cells and cells are formed from molecules. However, in all living organisms the cell is the functional unit. All biological activities revolve around the MORE TO KNOW I ► The study of cell is not possible without a microscope, Robert Hooke in 1665 coined the term cell. ► Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1674), studied the structure of bacteria, protozoa, etc. under the simple microscope which he himself designed. ► Robert Brown discovered that all cells contain nucleus. ► Purkinje coined the term, 'protoplasm' for the living substance present inside the cell. Compound Microscope i Leeuwenhoek Microscope activity of the cell. Cell is defined as a unit of an organism delimited by a plasma membrane in animal cells, and cell wall and plasma membrane in plant cells. Thus, cell forms the basic unit of life. CELL SIZE, SHAPE AND NUMBER There is much variation in size, shape and number of cells in different organisms, and also in various parts of the body. Most of the cells are only a few micrometres in diameter and are visible only with the help of a microscope. Cells may be spherical, spindle shaped, elongated, polyhedral or irregular in shape. The shape of the cells is determined by the specific function they perform. The number of cells is related to the size of the organ or body. Thus, small organisms have limited number of cells, while the larger ones such as elephant, whale or banyan tree have a countless number of cells. STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF A CELL A cell is made of life giving substance called protoplasm. The protoplasm is a highly organised jelly like, viscous, semifluid, composed of molecules of various chemicals. Most of these are ^^^^^^■^^^^^^^H ^1 ■ ■ m^^^^^^^H ^ BIOLOGY ^^^^^ ^B 1 CHAPTER-6^^" organic molecules such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, nucleic acid etc. Protoplasm is commonly called the 'physical basis of life'. A plant cell consists of a cell wall and protoplast. Cell wall is absent in animal cells. Protoplast denotes the whole of protoplasm present in a cell. It is differentiated into plasma membrane, nucleus and cytoplasm. Lysosome Rough endoplasmic reticulum Smooth endoplasmic reticulum Plasma Membran Mitochondrion ^olgi apparatus Nucleolus Nucleus ICentrioles Ribosom Microtubule: Ultra structure of an Animal cell Cytoplasm Various cell organelles are suspended in the cytoplasm. Plant cells differ from animal cells in many ways. Differences between Plant cell and Aninnal cell S.No. Plant cell Animal cell 1. Plant cell has an outer rigid cell wall which is made up of cellulose. Animal cell lacks a cell wall. 2. Plant cell is larger than animal cell. Animal cell is comparatively smaller in size. 3. Plant cell has large vacuoles which occupy more space in the cell. Animal cell usually lacks vacuoles. Even if they are present, they occur in minute sizes. 4. Centrosome is present only in the cells of some lower plants. All the animal cells have centrosomes. 5. Lysosomes are found only in the eukaryotic plant cells. Lysosomes are found in all animal cells. 6. Plant cell contains plastids. Plastids are absent 7. Mostly, starch is the storage material. Glycogen is the storage material. 6.3.1. CELL MEMBRANE AND CELL WALL Cell Membrane (Plasma membrane or Plasmalemma) The contents of the cell are enclosed by a thin, delicate living membrane called cell membrane. It is the outer boundary of the cell. Cell membrane is flexible and is made up of a continuous bilayer of lipid molecules and protein molecules on both of its surfaces and also embedded in it. Functions ► Plasma membrane selectively regulates the entry and exit of the substances into and out of the cell. Therefore, it is called a selectively permeable membrane or semi- permeable membrane. ► It provides an outer boundary to the cell and protects the cell from injury. ► It allows the flow of materials and information between different organelles of the same cell, as well as between the adjacent cells. ► It provides some organic connections between the adjacent cells. CELL WALL Cell wall is present only in plant cells. It is a rigid protective covering outside the plasma membrane. Presence of cell wall in plant cells distinguishes them from animal cells. Most of the plant cell walls are made of cellulose. The cell wall consists of three layers namely, middle lamella, primary wall and secondary wall. The middle lamella is a thin amorphous cement like layer between two adjacent cells. Primary wall is the first formed wall of the cell and is produced inner to the middle lamella. The secondary wall is a thick layer found inner to the primary wall. Functions of cell wall 1. Cell wall gives a definite shape to the plant cells. 2. It provides mechanical strength to the cell. 3. It protects the protoplasm against injury. 4. It gives rigidity to the cell. 6.3.2. CYTOPLASM Cytoplasm is a viscous, translucent. homogeneous and semifluid mass of protoplasm excluding the nucleus. The portion of cytoplasm immediately below the cell membrane is gel like and is called ectoplasm. The cytoplasm between the ectoplasm and nuclear membrane is liquefied and is called endoplasm. Cytoplasm consists of vital molecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, amino acids, minerals and water. It is the seat of cellular metabolism. Different types of cell organelles are embedded within the cytoplasm. Each type of organelle performs specific functions in the cell. Functions of Cytoplasm ► Cytoplasm helps in intracellular distribution of enzymes, nutrients and other biomolecules within the cell. ► Synthesis of different types of biomolecules such as proteins, nucleotides, fatty acids etc., takes place in the cytoplasm. 6.3.3. CELL ORGANELLES A cell performs a variety of functions such as i) Synthesis of complex molecules and their breakdown, ii) Production of energy, iii) Secretion of certain substances, etc.. These activities of the cell are performed by different cell organelles. These organelles are enclosed by membranes. To understand the functioning of the cell, it is necessary to know briefly about the structure of cell organelles. Endoplasmic Reticulum Endoplasmic reticulum is a complicated and interconnected system of membrane bound channels and tubules. It is spread throughout the cytoplasm and ^^^^^^■^^^^^^^H ^1 ■ ■ m^^^^^^^H ^ BIOLOGY ^^^^^ ^B 1 CHAPTER-6^^* is continuous with the plasma membrane and nuclear membrane. There are two types of Endoplasmic Reticulum. a. Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum. (RER) b. Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum. (SER) Rough endoplasmic reticulum (Granular endoplasmic reticulum) They are found in cells which synthesize proteins. This type of endoplasmic reticulum possesses rough walls because the ribosomes remain attached with membrane of endoplasmic reticulum. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (Agranular endoplasmic reticulum) They are found in cells which synthesize lipid. The walls are smooth and ribosomes are not attached to its membrane. Functions 1. Endoplasmic Reticulum (E.R) provides large surface area for the metabolic activities of the cell. 2. Rough endoplasmic reticulum plays an important role in protein synthesis. 3. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is involved in the synthesis of steroid, hormones and lipids. Golgi Complex or Golgi apparatus The Golgi apparatus wasfirstdescribed by Camillo Golgi. Golgi complex consist of saucer-like compartments called cisternae, network of interconnecting tubules, vesicles and vacuoles at the peripheral regions. In plant cells, Golgi apparatus is referred to as dictyosomes. Vesicles O Golgi complex Functions 1. Golgi apparatus is involved in the formation of lysosomes. 2. It is also responsible for the synthesis of cell wall and cell membrane. Lysosomes Lysosomes are small membrane bound vesicles which contain various types of digestive enzymes. These serve as intracellular digestive system, hence they are called digestive bags. They are produced by the joint activity of Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. If the membrane of Lysosome happens to get ruptured, the enzymes of Lysosome would digest the entire cellular structure causing death of the cell. So Lysosomes are called 'suicide bags'. MORE TO KNOW Lysosomes are involved in the destruction of aged and wornout cellular organelles. They are therefore also called demolition squads or scavangers or cellular housekeepers. I CELLS AND TISSUES Functions 1. Lysosomes are involved in the intracellular digestion of food particles ingested by the cell through endocytosis. 2. The lysosomes of WBCs (White blood cells) destroy pathogens and other foreign particles and thus take part in natural defence of the body. Ribosomes Ribosomes are small granular structures made up of ribo nucleic acids (RNA) and proteins. They occur free in the cytoplasm as well as attached to the outer surface of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Each ribosome consists of two subunits - a small subunit and a large subunit. At the time of protein synthesis many ribosomes get attached to messenger RNA and form a structure called polyribosome or polysome. 308 Subunit 408 Subunit I 508 Subunit 60S Subunit 70S Ribosome SOS Ribosome There are two types of ribosomes a. 70S - Ribosome. It is small and consists of SOS and SOS subunits. It is seen in prokaryotic cells. b. SOS - Ribosome. It is made up of 40S and 60S subunits. It is seen in eukaryotic cells. Functions Ribosomes play an important role in protein synthesis. So they are called, 'protein factories' of the cell. Vacuoles Vacuoles are fluid- filled sacs bound by a single membrane and are present in plant cells as well as in certain protozoans as food vacuoles and contractile vacuoles. In plant cells, major portion of the cell is occupied by vacuoles and are bound by the definite membrane called tonoplast. Vacuoles of plants are filled with cell sap containing minerals, sugars, amino acids and dissolved waste products. Functions i) Vacuoles store and concentrate mineral salts as well as nutrients. ii) They maintain proper osmotic pressure in the cell for its turgidity and absorption of water. Mitochondria Mitochondria are globular or cylindrical organelles. Each mitochondrion is bound by two membranes - an outer continuous membrane and an inner membrane thrown into folds called cristae. These cristae divide the inner chamber incompletely. The inner chamber is filled with homogenous dense material called the matrix. The cristae have pin headed bodies called F^ particles or Oxysomes which play an important role in respiration. The matrix of mitochondria contains enzymes necessary for the oxidation of food during respiration and release of energy in the form of ATP molecules. Therefore mitochondria are called power houses of the cell. The mitochondria contain proteins, lipids and a small amount of DNA. Functions i) Mitochondria synthesize energy rich compounds such as ATR ii) Mitochondria provide important intermediates for the synthesis of several biochemicals like CHAPTER -6 chlorophyll, cytochromes, steroids, aminoacids etc. Outer membrane Inner membrane DNA Mitochondrion Cristae Piastids Plastids are disc or oval shaped organelles which occur in plant cells only. Plastids are of three types. They are Leucoplasts, Chromoplasts and Chloroplasts. i) Leucoplasts: These are colourless plastids which store food in the form of starch, lipids and proteins ii) Chromoplasts: These are yellow or reddish in colour due to the presence of pigments other than chlorophyll. Chromoplasts provide colour to many flowers and fruits. iii) Chloroplasts: These are green coloured plastids which possess the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll. Outer Membrane Granum Lumen Inner Membrane Stroma Chloroplast Thylakoids Each chloroplast consists of a double membraned envelope and a matrix. The inner membrane is arranged along the length of the plastids as lamellae. At certain regions, the lamellae are thickened and appear like pile of coins. These are called the grana. Each granum consists of disc shaped membranous sacs called thylakoids. Inside these grana, the chlorophyll is located. The non-thylakoid portion of the matrix is called stroma. It contains a number of enzymes involved in photosynthesis. Centrosonne Centrosome is present in animal cells and in certain lower plants. It is absent in prokaryotic cells and in higher plant cells. It is located near one pole of the nucleus. It contains a pair of small, hollow granules called centrioles. Functions Centrioles play an important role in the formation of spindle fibres during cell division. 6.4. NUCLEUS Nucleus is the major central structure in the cell. It is a dense spherical structure embedded in the cytoplasm. Nucleus has a double membraned envelope called nuclear envelope. Nuclear envelope encloses a ground substance called nucleoplasm or karyolymph. The nuclear envelope possesses many pores called nuclear pores. The nucleoplasm has two types of nuclear structures i) the nucleolus and, ii) chromatin. The nucleolus is a spherical body rich in protein and RNA. It is the site of ribosome formation. There may be one or more nucleoli in the nucleoplasm. The chromatin is a network of fine threads composed of genetic material DNA (Deoxyribo nucleic acid) and proteins. During cell division chromatin is condensed into thick cord like Ribosomes Structures called Chromosomes. The chromosomes contain genes and each gene is responsible for one hereditary character of the organism. Genes contain information for inheritance of features from parents to next generation in the form of DNA molecule. Nucleoplasm Nuclear Envelope Nucleus Functions: Nucleus controls all the metabolic activities of the cell. It controls the inheritance of characters from parents to off-springs. It controls cell division. i) ii) i) 6.4.1. CHROMOSOMES Chromosomes are thread-like condensed chromatin fibres which contain hereditary information and are visible only during cell division. Each chromosome consists of two similar structures called chromatids. Both the chromatids are joined at a particular point called centromere. The primary constriction is the region of chromosome occupied by the centromere. The terminal part of chromosome is telomere. Types of chromosomes Depending upon the position of the centromere, the chromosomes are of four types. 1. Metacentric Chromosome : The centromere lies in the middle of the chromosome and the two arms are almost equal in length. It is a V-shaped chromosome. Submetacentric Chromosome : The centromere lies slightly away from the middle of the chromosome and hence, its one arm is slightly shorter than the other. It is a 'J' shaped chromosome. Acrocentric chromosome : The centromere lies near the end and hence, one arm is very short and the other arm is very long. It is a rod-shaped chromosome. Telocentric Chromosome : The centromere lies at one end of the chromosome, and hence, there is only one arm on one side. It is also a rod-shaped chromosome. Chromatid Centromere Kinetochore Chromatid Structure of chromosome Centromere Centromere Metacentric Submetacentric Acrocentric Types of chromosomes Telocentric BIOLOGY CHAPTER -6 DNA Structure DNA (Deoxy ribonucleic acid) is the genetic material in most of the organisms and higher organisms. DNA is made up of millions of nucleotides. Each nucleotide is made up of a pentose sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The nitrogenous bases are of two kinds- Purines and Pyrimidines. Adenine and Guanine are the purines and Thymine and Cytosine are the pyrimidines. The structure of DNA was proposed by Watson and Crick. DNA is a double stranded structure in which the two strands are coiled around each other forming a double helix. The backbone of the helix is formed of sugar and phosphate molecules. The nitrogenous bases are attached to sugar molecules. The two poly-nucleotide strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between specific pairs of purines and pyrimidines. The two strands run in antiparallel and opposite directions, (i.e. ^^^ structure they run in opposite direction 5' to 3' and 3' to 5' end). The two strands are intertwined in clockwise direction. The diameter of DNA molecule is 20A° (Armstrong units). Adenine Thymine Guanine Cytosine DNA Backbone 6.5. CELL DIVISION AND TYPES Let us take a seed and break it open. There is no plant inside the seed. Similarly if we break open an egg, there is no chick inside. But the seed, when sown in soil and watered, gives a plant which may grow into a tree. Similarly, the egg, when incubated, gives a chick. Have we ever thought how this is possible?. Plants or animals make their beginning from a single celled zygote. This zygote divides several times to produce a plant or an animal. This process is called development and it occurs by cell division. One of the most important characteristics of a living being is its ability to reproduce. The process of reproduction involves an increase in the number of cells by cell division. New cells can arise from pre-existing cells only through the process of cell division. Cell multiplication is needed for growth, development and repair of the body. Cells divide by three different methods. They are Amitosis, Mitosis and Meiosis. In each case, division of nucleus occurs before the division of cytoplasm. Amitosis (Direct division) Amitosis is a simple method of cell division. It is also called direct cell division. The nucleus elongates and develops a constriction around its middle. The constriction gradually deepens and finally divides the nucleus into two daughter nucleus. This is followed by the constriction of the cytoplasm to form two daughter cells. This type of cell division is common in prokaryotes. (e.g. Bacteria, Amoeba) Mitosis (or) Indirect cell division: Mitosis takes place in somatic cells (body cells). It is a continuous process and takes place in four phases. These are Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase and Telophase. Interphase Before a cell undergoes mitotic Cellwall-- Nuclear Membrane Nucleus Interphase -*- c J \m Spindle fibres I 1 Metaphase Prophase I vyyv ^ Anaphase y / 1 CD O >^ CC Q Early Telophase Late Telophase Mitosis division, it prepares itself for the division. This phase is called interphase. The chromatin material duplicates due to duplication of nucleic acids. Prophase ► Chromatin network begins to coil and appears as long thread-like structures called chromosomes. ► Each chromosome consists of two chromatids that lie side by side and are joined along a point called centromere. ► Spindle fibres are developed from the poles towards the centre. Nuclear membrane and nucleolus start disappearing. Metaphase ► The nuclear membrane totally disappears. ► Chromosomes become shorter and thicker. ► The chromatids move to the centre of the cell with their centromeres. ► Centromeres are attached to the spindle fibres. Anaphase ► The centromere of each chromo- some divides into two. ► When each chromatid gets a centromere, it becomes a chromosome. ► One of these chromosomes moves to one pole and the other towards the opposite pole by the contraction of spindle fibres. Telophase ► The daughter chromosomes reach the poles. ► The nucleolus and nuclear membrane reappear and thus two daughter nuclei are formed at the two poles of the cell. ► The spindle fibres disappear. ► This division of nucleus is called Karyokinesis. Cytokinesis The division of cytoplasm is called cytokinesis. In plant cells, the cytoplasmic division occurs by the formation of a cell plate at the centre of the cell between the two daughter nuclei. Thus at the end of mitosis, two identical daughter cells are formed. Meiosis Meiosis is a type of cell division which takes place in the reproductive cells of organisms. This process can be observed in the formation of gametes. BIOLOGY CHAPTER -6 6.6. DIFFUSION OR EXCHANGE OF SUBSTANCES BETWEEN CELLS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT Materials are exchanged between the cytoplasm and external environment across the plasma membrane by different processes. Transport across the membrane may be passive or active. Passive Transport It is a type of diffusion in which an ion or molecule crossing a membrane moves its electrochemical or concentration gradient. No metabolic energy is consumed in passive transport. Passive transport occurs by three processes namely (i) Osmosis (ii) Simple diffusion (iii) Facilitated diffusion i) Osmosis: The to and fro movement of water molecules through the plasma membrane occurs due to differences in the concentration of the solutes on either side. The process by which the water molecules pass through a membrane from a region of higher water concentration to the region of lower water concentration is known as Osmosis. The process in which the water molecules enter into the cell is known as endosmosis. The process in which the water molecules move out of the cell is known as exosmosis. In plant cells due to excessive exosmosis, the cytoplasm along with the plasma membrane shrinks away from the cell wall. This process is known as plasmolysis. ii) Simple diffusion: In simple diffusion, molecules of gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide enter the cell through the plasma membrane without the help of any permease (transport proteins). iii) Facilitated diffusion: This is a special type of passive transport. Ions or molecules cross the membrane rapidly. Specific permeases in the membrane facilitates their crossing. Like simple diffusion, it also does not require any metabolic energy. It occurs only in the direction of a concentration gradient. Active transport Active transport is the movement of any substance through the cell membrane that requires energy. It is always against the concentration gradient, (i.e. from lower concentration to higher concentration). In this process the solute particles move against their chemical concentration or electrochemical gradient. Energy is required for this process. Some membrane proteins act as carrier molecules and transport the solute to the other side of the membrane. Bulk transport Cells continuously import or export large molecules across the plasma membrane. Macromolecules are secreted out from the cell by exocytosis and are injested into the cell from outside by endocytosis. Exocytosis: The outward transport of substances by means of carrier molecules is known as exocytosis. It is quite common in secretory or excretory cells. Endocytosis Endocytosis occurs by infolding or extension of the plasma membrane to form a vesicle or vacuole. It is of two types : 1) Phagocytosis 2) Pinocytosis Phagocytosis (cell eating) Substances are taken up in solid form. Cells which involve in this process are called phagocytes and said to be phagocytic, (e.g. white blood cells). Pinocytosis (Cell drinking) Substances are taken up in fluid form, (e.g. Amoeboid protozoans and certain kidney cells). Pinocytosis occurs in plants also. 6.7. TISSUES TYPES, STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF PLANT TISSUES The progressive evolution in plants has resulted in increasing complexity of structures. In higher plants, roots, stem, leaves and flowers carry out different functions. Due to this division of labour, the cells of the plants are differentiated to form different tissues. (See the flow chart in 4.2) Meristematic tissues ACTIVITY -6.1 Observe the growth of a small plant. It grows straight. Now cut the tip of the shoot apex and observe its growth. Does the plant continue to grow even after removing the shoot tip? The growth of plants occurs only in certain specific regions. This is because the dividing tissue also known as meristematic tissue (Meristos - divisible) is located only at these points. The meristematic tissues are made up of group of similar and immature cells, which can divide and form new cells. Meristematic cells divide continuously and thus help in increasing the length and thickness of the plant. Depending upon the position, meristematic tissues are of three types. They are as follows: i) Apical meristems: Apical meristem is present at the growing Meristematic Tissue Apical Meristem Intercalary Meristem Lateral Meristem Longitudinal section of position of meristems a shoot showing tips of stems and roots and increases the length of the plant body. Intercalary meristems: These meristems occupy base of the leaves and the base of the internodal regions in plants such as grasses (mostly in monocotyledonous plants). These help in elongation of the internodes. Lateral meristems: This includes the meristematic tissues occupying the lateral regions of the stems and roots which bring about increase in the width of the plant body. (e.g. Cork cambium and Vascular cambium). CHAPTER -6 Characteristic features of meristematic tissues ► The meristematic cells may be round, oval, polygonal or rectangular in shape. ► Their cell walls are thin, elastic and made up of cellulose. ► They are closely arranged without intercellular spaces. ► They have dense cytoplasm with large nucleus. Permanent Tissues ACTIVITY -6.2 Take a plant stem and cut it into very thin slices or sections. Now, stain the slices with saffranin. Place one neatly cut section on a slide and put a drop of glycerine. Cover with a cover-slip and observe under a microscope. Observe the various types of cells and their arrangement. a. Are all cells similar in structure? b. How many types of cells can be seen? What happens to the cells formed by meristematic tissues? Some cells produced by meristematic tissues stop dividing and form a permanent tissue. They have definite structure and function. They are differentiated into various types to perform different functions. The permanent tissues are classified as i) Simple tissues and ii) Complex tissues Cuticle Epidermis Hypodermis Resin duct Phloem Cambium Xylem Pith Transverse section of a sunflower stem Simple tissues A tissue with the cells of similar structure (one type of cells) and function is called simple tissue. It is of three types. a. Parenchyma b. Collenchyma c. Sclerenchyma Parenchyma The cells of the parenchyma are generally thin walled with intercellular Parenchyma spaces. They are living cells. They are generally present in all organs of a plant. They are oval or spherical or rectangular or cylindrical in shape. The cell wall is made of cellulose and pectic materials. In general, the parenchyma cells serve to store and conduct food materials, water and minerals. Collenchyma Thick wall Nucleus Vacuole Collenchyma The cells of collenchymaare polygonal in cross section and have unevenly thickened walls. These thickenings are due to the deposition of more cellulose, hemi-cellulose and pectin. The thickening is confined to the corners of the cells. They generally occur in the dicot stem in two or more layers below the epidermis. It is absent in the roots. It also occurs in petiole and pedicel. Like Parenchyma, Collenchyma is also a living tissue. The main function of Collenchyma is to provide strength and flexibility to the growing organs like young stem. Sclerenchyma It is a dead tissue. The cells are thick with lignified walls. They give mechanical support to the organs. This has two types of cells - Sclereids and Fibres. Sclereids Sclereids are stone cells which are commonly found in shells of the nut, pulp of certain fruits such as Pear and Sapota. Fibres The fibres are elongated strands with simple pits throughout its length. Complex permanent tissues : Xylem Xylem is mainly concerned with the transport of nutrients, water and minerals upwards in the plant body. It forms a continuous tube through the roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits by the fusion of elongated cells. It is composed of different kinds of cells namely, a. Tracheids b. Xylem vessels. c. Xylem fibres d. Xylem parenchyma. a. Tracheids Tracheids are elongated, tapering cells with blunt ends. They have lignified secondary wall. They are the chief water conducting elements in Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms. b. Xylem vessels Xylem vessels have perforations at the end and are placed one above the other ^^^^^^■^^^^^^^H ■ ■ m^^^^^^^H ^ BIOLOGY ^^^^^ P CHAPTER-6^^" Cytoplasm Nucleus Xylem Fibre Tracheid ^___ Xylem Vessel ^^'^"^ . Parenchyma Kinds of Xylem cells like a long pipe line. They are seen in the xylem of angiosperms. They conduct water, mineral nutrients and also provide mechanical strength to the plant body. c. Xylem Fibres The fibres of Sclerenchyma associated with the xylem are known as xylem fibres. They give additional mechanical strength to the plant. They are also called wood fibres. d. Xylem Parenchyma The parenchyma cells associated with xylem are known as xylem parenchyma. It is the only living tissue amongst xylem cells. They store food reserves in the form of starch and fat. They also help in conduction of water. Phloem Phloem conducts food materials from leaves to the other parts of the plant. It is made up of four types of cells. a) Sieve elements b) Companion cells c) Phloem fibres d) Phloem parenchyma Sieve elements Sieve elements are the conducting elements of the phloem. Sieve elements are of two types - sieve cells and sieve tubes. Sieve cells are present in Pterido- phytes and Gymnosperms where as sieve tubes are present in Angiosperms. Companion cells Companion cells are thin walled elongated specialized Parenchyma cells. They are associated with sieve elements. They have a prominent nucleus and cytoplasm. They help the sieve tube in conduction of food materials in angiosperms. Phloem fibres The fibres of sclerenchyma associated with phloem are called phloem fibres. They are also called bast-fibres. They give mechanical support to the plant. Among the four types of phloem cells, phloem fibres are the only dead tissues. Phloem parenchyma The parenchyma cells associated with phloem are called phloem parenchyma. They store starch and fats. Phloem Tissue 1. Phloem Parenchyma 2. Companion Cell 3. Sieve tube 4. Sieve plate ■_ 1 EVALUATION Section A Choose the correct answer 1. Power house of the cell (chloroplast, nucleus, mitochondrion, lysosome). 2. The membrane of vacuole (cell membrane, nuclear membrane, plasma lemma, tonoplast). 3. The cell division common in prokaryotes (mitosis, amitosis, meiosis, both mitosis and meiosis). 4. Substances taken up in fluid form (phagocytosis, exocytosis, receptor-mediated endocytosis, pinocytosis). 5. The only living tissue amongst xylem cells (vessels, tracheids, xylem parenchyma, xylem fibres). Section B 6. Observe the given figure of a cell and answer the following questions. i) Name the parts of the figure marked (a) and (b) ii) Give one function of each of the parts. 7. Phloem is a food conducting tissue it is made up of following four types of cells. Two cells are missing. Complete the missing cells. i) sieve elements ii) iii) phloem fibres iv) 8. Observe the figure. i. Identify the tissue depicted in figure. ii. Copy the diagram and label the parts (a) and (b) CHAPTER -6 9. Complete the table Name of the chromosome Shape of the chromosome 1. Metacentric 1. 2. 2. 'J' shaped chromosome 3. Acrocentric 3. 4. Telocentric 4. 10. Read the following statements and correct them. i) Golgi apparatus was first described by Watson and Crick, ii) Cell wall is present in animal cells. Section C 11. A) Write the technical terms of the following. i) An organism whose body is made up of many cells, ii) An organism which is made up of only one cell, iii) An organism whose cells have well organized nucleus. B) Fill in the blanks. i) Division of cytoplasm is known as . ii) Prokaryotic cells do not have well organized . 12. Answer the questions related to figure. i) Copy the diagram and name the parts of the diagram marked a toe. ii) Which part of the figure is responsible for elongation of stem? iii) Which part of the figure is responsible for secondary growth? iv) Name the part which is responsible for elongation of internodes. JRTHER REFEREf Books 1. Plant Physiology 2004 - Salisbury F.B and Ross C.W, Wadsworth publishers. 2. Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Evolution & Ecology - 2008 - Agarwal V.K and Verma P.S., S.Chand Publishers. 3. Life Science 1990 - Silver Burdett K Ginn Publications. Websites http://www.sciencecentral.com http://www.botany.org Sx. Chapter BIO-GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE BIOLOGY CHAPTER -7 7. BIO-GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE Both abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) components of the biosphere constantly interact with each other to form a dynamic, but stable system. Such interaction includes transfer of matter and energy between the different components of the biosphere. All living organisms require Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphorous, Potassium and Calcium in large amounts. They get the nutrients from air (Atmosphere) water (Hydrosphere) and soil (Lithosphere). The nutrient elements derived from the earth by the living organisms for use in their growth and development are called bio-geo chemicals. These bio-geo chemicals are used by the living organisms and are released to the environment, when the dead bodies of the organisms and their excreta are decomposed. These chemicals become available again for reuse and recycling. The cyclic flow of elements or compounds between non-living environ- ment (soil, rock, air, water) and living organisms is known as bio-geo chemical cycle. 7.1. LIFE AND NON-LIFE INTERACTIONS (BIOTIC & ABIOTIC FACTORS) Environment means the surroundings in which animals and plants live including both the physical factors and other organisms. Thus, each and everything which surrounds and affects the living organisms constitute its environment. The branch of biology which deals with the inter-relationships of organisms and their environment is called Ecology. The organisms and the physical environment of the habitat form an ecological complex termed ecosystem. Ecosystem (Environmental system) includes two essential components. I) Abiotic components (Physical or non-living) II) Biotic components (living) ABIOTIC COMPONENTS The abiotic components of the environment are air, water, soil, light and temperature. Thus, abiotic components of our environment tend to affect us and all the living organisms variously. They play a vital role in their growth, development and survival. Green plants need light, water and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. Animals need food, water and oxygen for their survival. BIOTIC COMPONENTS The biotic components of environment include all living organisms including human beings. Plants and animals are interdependent. 'Interdependence' - means the way in which the living organisms depend on each other in order to remain alive. Interaction between insects and plants BIO-GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE grow and reproduce. For example bees depend for their food on pollen and nectar from flowers. Flowers depend on bees for pollination. The green plants (autotrophs) are the producers of food for all living organisms. Solar energy is captured by autotrophs to synthesize food materials. The energy is transferred to herbivores when they consume plants. When carnivores feed on herbivores, the energy is transferred to carnivores. The final breakdown of organic wastes and dead materials are carried out by decomposers to return the energy to the environment. Thus 7.2. WATER CYCLE the energy trapped by green plants is relayed through a series of heterotrophic organisms. This forms the food chain. Grass - Rabbit - Fox -Tiger Man and animals take in oxygen during respiration and give out carbon dioxide. The plants absorb this CO2 during photosynthesis and liberate oxygen in to the atmosphere. Thus plants and animals are interdependent. Water is an important component of the environment and is essential for living beings. Oceans are the biggest store houses of water from which water evaporates to form clouds. Water also evaporates from other water bodies like rivers, lakes, ponds etc, to form clouds. On Condensation, water vapour in the clouds comes down as rain. The rainwater passes through rivers and eventually reaches the oceans. lud Forrnation ^ain Clouds Water cycle The circulation of water also occurs through plants and animals. Plants absorb water from the soil or water reservoir and add it to the air (atmosphere) as vapour by transpiration. Water transpired by trees cools the surrounding air and plays a role in determining the micro climate around them. Animals take water from the water reservoir or with food. They return it to the air as vapours by respiration or to the soil as fluid by excretion. Mammals excrete water as sweat which evaporates from their bodies. Water is also added to the environment by death and decay of organisms. Water vapour formed by transpiration and respiration form clouds. Rain adds water to soil for reuse by plants and animals. BIOLOGY CHAPTER -7 MORE TO KNOW About two-thirds of our body is made up of water. The Earth's water supply is made up of 97% oceans, 2% ice caps, 1% fresh ground water. In 20 minutes, one thunderstorm can send down over 125,000,000 gallons of water. (One gallon is equivalent to 4.5 litres) 7.3. NITROGEN CYCLE Nitrogen is an essential element required by organisms to synthesize proteins and nucleic acids. Though atmosphere contains about 78% of Nitrogen, it cannot be utilised by living organism unless it is converted into ammonia, amino acids or nitrates. These compounds which are available in the soil are cycled and recycled through the ecosystem. Nitrogen Cycle in Nature The process by which these forms get interconverted to maintain a constant amount of nitrogen in atmosphere, by physical and biological processes is called Nitrogen Cycle. The Nitrogen Cycle involves i) ii) iii) iv) Nitrogen fixation Nitrogen assimilation Ammonification Nitrification and v) Denitrification Nitrogen fixation During nitrogen fixation, nitrogen is oxidized to oxides by lightning and these oxides get dissolved in rain water and get precipitated. During biological nitrogen fixation, the nitrogen fixing bacteria such as Azotobacter, Rhizobium and blue green algae like Nostoc convert gaseous nitrogen to ammonia and nitrates. Nitrogen assimilation The nitrates absorbed by plants is utilized for making organic matter such as proteins, nucleic acids etc. Plant proteins and other nitrogenous compounds consumed by animals are converted into animal proteins. Ammonification Animal proteins are excreted out in the form of urea, uric acid or ammonia. When the plants and animals die, their proteins BIO-GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE are broken down to release ammonia by the action of bacteria and fungi. This process of ammonia formation is called ammonification. Nitrification During this process, the ammonia is converted into nitrites and nitrates by soil bacteria such as Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas which are then absorbed by plants through their roots. Denitrification Free living soil bacteria such as Pseudomonas reduce nitrate ions of soil into gaseous nitrogen which returns to the atmosphere. Organisnns involved in Nitrogen cycle Activity Name of organism Nitrogen Fixation Rhizobium, Azotobacter and Nostoc. Ammonification Ammonifying bacteria and fungi. Nitrification Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. Denitrification Pseudomonas. 7.4. CARBON CYCLE Carbon is the most significant element in the environment. All organic compounds contain carbon. The three main sources of carbon are i) CO2 of the air and CO2 dissolved in oceans, ii) Carbonate rock in the earth's crust and. Atmospheric Carbon dioxide Green Plants build CO2 into organic compounds by photosynthesis Animals convert plant material into animal tissue Prehistoric Plants from deposits of coal petroleum and natural gas Carbon Cycle closely linked to energy flow. The basic movement of carbon is from atmospheric reservoir to producers, to consumers and then to decomposers. The atmospheric carbon dioxide enters into the living world, i.e. green plants, through the process of photosynthesis to form carbohydrates (food). The plant food is taken by herbivores and then passes through small and large carnivores. The respiratory activities at each trophic level return carbon dioxide quickly to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is also returned to the atmosphere through decomposition of dead organic materials, burning of fossil fuels and volcanic activities. MORE TO KNOW iii) Fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. Being a main element involved in the fixation of energy by photosynthesis, it is Without the carbon cycle, carbon would not recycled, resulting in the inability for living things to survive. 7.5. OXYGEN CYCLE All living organisms require oxygen for respiration. Oxygen is one of the BIOLOGY CHAPTER -7 constituents of water and forms about 20% of the air in the atmosphere. Oxygen enters the living world through respiration. It oxidizes the food materials and produces energy and carbon dioxide. Oxygen is also used up in the burning of the materials and carbon dioxide is produced. The carbon dioxide is utilized by the plants to produce food materials during the process of photosynthesis and oxygen is released. Oxygen combines with nitrogen to produce oxides of nitrogen, which are taken up by the plants to produce amino acids and proteins. These compounds, after breaking down, release oxygen in the atmosphere and maintain balance in the environment. Atmospheric Oxygen Go Organic Molecules ^6 *^12 ^6 Photosynthesis CO, H2O Oxygen Cycle EVALUATION Section A Choose the correct answer 1. The life sustaining zone of the earth, where lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere interact is called (ozonosphere, stratosphere, biosphere, none of these). 2. Biggest storehouses of water (river, lake, pond, ocean). Section B 3. Construct atleast two food chains with the help of the organisms given (Lion, Tiger, Grass, Deer, Fox, Rabbit). 4. Study the relationship between the words in the first pair and then fill the missing word in the following pair. i) Denitrifying bacteria : Pseudomonas, ii) Nitrifying bacteria : iii) Nitrogen fixing bacteria : Section C 5. A) Plants and animals are inter-dependant. i) Do you agree with this statement? ii) Comment. B) List out biotic and abiotic components Air, Deer, Water, Dog, Man, Soil, Light, Plant. FURTHER REFERENCE] Book Plant Ecology 2008 - Shukia R.S and Chandel P, S.Chand Publishers. Websites http://www.wisegeek.com Chapter POLLUTION AND OZONE DEPLETION BIOLOGY CHAPTER -8 8. POLLUTION AND OZONE DEPLETION Can you say that the air we breathe in is pure or the water we use is clean? Is the heat during the summer months unbearable? What are the reasons for these changes? The reason is pollution What is pollution? Is it natural or man- made? What are its causes and effects? Let us try to find out the answers. Definition Pollution is an undesirable change in physical, chemical and biological characteristics of our land, air or water caused by excessive accumulation of pollutants (i.e. Substances which cause pollution). 8.1. KINDS OF POLLUTION The pollution is of four major types namely air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and noise pollution. In terms of origin it may be natural or anthropogenic (man-made). 8.1.1. AIR POLLUTION Degradation of air quality and natural atmospheric condition constitute air pollution. The air pollutant may be a gas or particulate matter. MORE TO KNOW Black Lung disease It is common among coal miners due to the inhalation of carbon particulates which lead to Lung Cancer. V Air pollutants and their effects 1. Particulate matter - it comprises of small suspended particles such as soot, dust, pesticides, etc., and biological agents such as spores, pollen and dust mites. It causes respiratory ailments such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc., 2. Carbon monoxide - is a product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels in automobiles. It is highly poisonous to most animals. When inhaled, carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. 3. Hydrocarbons - hydrocarbons such as methane, are evolved from soil microbes (methanogens) in flooded rice fields and swamps. They are also generated during the burning of coal and petroleum products. Brown air POLLUTION AND OZONE DEPLETION 4. Sulphur dioxide - is released from oil refineries and ore smelters which use the sulphur containing fuels. It causes harmful effects on plants and animals. It causes chlorosis (loss of chlorophyll) and necrosis (localised death of tissues). In human, it causes health problems such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. 5. Nitrogen oxides - It causes reddish brown haze (brown air) in traffic congested city air which contributes to heart and lung problems. Secondary effects of air pollution Photochemical smog - Smog is a mixture of smoke and fog. It is formed in the atmosphere under the influence of sunlight by the photochemical reactions of hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and oxygen, resulting in the formation of PAN (peroxy acetyl nitrate). PAN damages the chlorophyll and thus reduces photosynthesis and growth. It also causes acute irritation of eyes and throat. Visibility of the surrounding is reduced due to smog. Acid rain - gases such as Sulphur di oxide and Nitrogen oxides are oxidized to form sulphuric and nitric acids along with water, and precipitate as acid rain. It damages building materials, plants and animals. It also makes the soil acidic. *S7 Sculpture affected by acid rain ^^^^^^■^^^^^^H P ■ ■ ^^^^^H ^^H ^ BIOLOGY ^^" CHAPTER -8 ^ ^■^ MORE TO KNOW BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY (2nd & 3rd Dec' 1 984) refers to the industrial disaster which killed thousands of people and animals due to the inhaling of methyl iso cyanate (MIC) gas which leaked out from a fertilizer factory owned by Union Carbide Company Many people who inhaled the gas, still suffer from respiratory immunological and neurological disorders, cardiac failure, birth defects, etc,. Control of air pollution 1. The particulates emitted by industries should be controlled by devices such as scrubbers, precipitators and filters. 2. Use of unleaded or low sulphur fuel is to be encouraged. 3. Shifting to non-conventional sources of energy (e.g solar energy, hydel energy, tidal energy, etc.,) in order to reduce the dependance of conventional sources. Smoking in public places should be prohibited, because the cigarette smoke contains carcinogens such as benzopyrene. An average smoker runs the risk of developing heart and lung diseases. Planting of trees along the road sides and around industrial areas. 8.1.2. WATER POLLUTION Water pollution is defined as the adding of unwanted substances or the change of physical and chemical characteristics of water in any way which makes it unfit for human consumption. It is caused by waste products of industries (effluents), domestic sewage, oil spillage, agricultural and industrial run off etc.. Urban run off Oil storage tanks Transpiration Sources and effects of water pollution 1. Industrial wastes -The industrial effluents containing heavy metals and chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, mercury, zinc, nickel, etc,, are directly released into the water bodies such as lakes, ponds and rivers without proper treatment. These wastes contaminate the water bodies and make them unsuitable for human consumption. Hot water is another noted pollutant from industries. Many POLLUTION AND OZONE DEPLETION industries use water as a coolant for the machinery and release of hot waste water into the water bodies causing thermal pollution which affect both the plant and animal life. 2. The surface run off - the surface run off from agricultural land is contaminated with pesticides and residues of inorganicfertilizers. The run off from urban and industrial are rich in organic and inorganic compounds. These pollutants contaminate both surface and ground water resources. 3. Oil spills - An oil spill is an accidental discharge of petroleum products in oceans and estuaries from capsized oil tankers, offshore drilling and exploration operations. It can cause drastic damage to the marine and coastal bio diversity. 4. Domestic Sewage - It is rich in organic matter and detergents. Decomposition of organic matter increases the nutrient content of the water bodies. Availability of excess nutrients results in algal bloom on the surface of water resulting in the deficiency of oxygen content(BOD - Biological Oxygen Demand). This in turn leads to the death of aquatic organisms. This process is known as Eutrophication. MORE TO KNOW MORE TO KNOW Biological magnification of DDT (Dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane) is seen in aquatic food chain. The concentration of DDT gradually increases at each trophic level. DDT inhibits calcium carbonate deposition in the oviducts of certain birds which result in the laying of thin shelled eggs. These eggs can easily break during incubation and the developing embryos are destroyed. MINAMATA DISEASE Mercury poisoning due to the consumption of fish captured from mercury contaminated Minamata Bay in Japan was detected in 1952. Mercury compound in waste water are converted by bacterial action into extremely toxic methyl mercury which can cause numbness of limbs, lips and tongue. It can also cause deafness, blurring of vision and mental derangement. Control of water pollution 1. Sewage treatment plants should be installed to treat sewage before releasing into water bodies. 2. Excessive use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers should be avoided. 3. Biological control of insect pests and organic farming is to be followed in order to reduce the dependence on pesticides and inorganic fertilizers. 4. By legislation and strict enforcement. 5. By creating social awareness among people about the water pollution and the need for pure water. Unpleasant odour Turbidity ^ Ir ' Siltation E o o Id < ^N Effects of Water Pollution Disease transmission ^^ Biological oxygen demand ■ 1 1 ■ ^^ BIOLOGY "^^ CHAPTER -8 " ^■" MORE TO KNOW REVERSE OSMOSIS (RO) It is the most efficient way of obtaining purified drinl<ing water. During this process, pressure is applied on the solution which has more concentration. This reverses the natural direction of water flow and osmosis from high gradient to low gradient. This process involves energyexpenditure. The membranes used for RO process have a dense barrier layer which allow only the water to pass through and prevents the passage of solutes. Hence, it is best suited for desalination of sea water (removal of salt). 8.1.3. SOIL POLLUTION Soil pollution is the unfavourable alteration of soil by the addition or removal of substances which decrease soil productivity and ground water quality. It usually results from different human activities like dumping of waste, use of agro chemicals, mining operations and urbanization. Causes and effects The industrial solid waste and sludge contain toxic organic and inorganic compounds as well as heavy metals. The radio active waste from nuclear power plants and nuclear explosions also contaminate the soil. Fly ash contains fine particulates which are released from thermal power plants. It settle on the ground and cause pollution. The domestic waste is rich in organic matter and undergo decomposition. The hospital waste contains a variety of pathogens that can seriously affect human health. Agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, insecticides and inorganic fertilizers may pollute drinking water and can change the chemical properties of the soil adversely affecting the soil organisms. Control of soil pollution Management of soil wastes include collection and categorization of wastes. Recovery of resources like scrap metals, plastics, etc., for recycling and reuse and safe disposal with a minimum environmental hazards is to be followed. Other notable methods of waste disposal include incineration (burning in the presence of oxygen) and pyrolysis (burning in the absence of oxygen). Afforestation and reforestation should be undertaken on a large scale to prevent soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients. 8.1.4. RADIOACTIVE POLLUTION Nuclear power plant The emission of protons, electrons and electromagnetic radiations released by the disintegration of radioactive substances such as radium, thorium, uranium, etc,, cause air, water and land pollution. Effects :- ► The ionising radiations can cause mutations. Nuclear explosion Strontium-90 accumulates in bones causing bone cancer. lodine-131 can damage bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes and can cause leukemia (blood cancer). MORE TO KNOW Chernobyl disaster (Ukraine) The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station was undoubtedly the world's worst nuclear disaster. The deadly radioactive material was released into the atmosphere. The inhabitants of Chernobyl were exposed to radioactivity which was hundred times greater than Hiroshima bomb. Babies were born with infirmities and people suffered from serious diseases like thyroid cancer. Preventive measures ► Care should be taken to prevent the leakage of radioactive substances from nuclear reactors. ► Radioactive wastes should be disposed off safely. ► Strict measures should be followed in the construction and maintenance of nuclear power plants to prevent nuclear accidents. ► Control or prevention of nuclear tests. 8.1.5. NOISE POLLUTION Noise may be defined as an unwanted and unpleasant sound that may have adverse effects on animals and humans. The unit of sound level is decibels (db). Noise level above 120 db is considered harmful to human beings. MORE TO KNOW Jet Aircraft (take off) 145 db Heavy city traffic 90 db Vaccum cleaner 85 db Window Air conditioner 60 db Normal speech 60 db Sources The different sources associated with noise pollution are industrial machinery, road, rail and air transport, loudspeakers, construction equipments, household appliances, crackers, etc,. Effects Noise seriously affects heartbeat, breathing, and can cause constriction of blood vessels. It can cause headache, sleeplessness, irritability and mayseriously affect the productive performance of human. Loud noises (above 130 db) can cause damage to the ear drum, hair cells of cochlea (organ of hearing) and thereby BIOLOGY CHAPTER -8 resulting in temperory or permanent loss of hearing. It can also seriously affect the concentration of students while learning. Control nneasures The industries should be established away from residential areas. Trees should be planted along roadside or highways to reduce noise levels. The industrial machinery and motor vehicles should be properly maintained in order to minimize the noise. The use of loudspeakers and bursting of crackers should be restricted. Effort must be made to create awareness among people about the harmful effects of noise and the need to control it. MORE TO KNOW Various laws and rules have been promulgated by the government of India from time to time to control pollution. Some of them are 1974 - Water (prevention, control of pollution) Act. 1980- Forest Act. 1981 - Air ( prevention, control of pollution) Act. 1986 - Environmental pollution Act. 1988 - Motor vehicles Act 8.2. GLOBAL WARMING ► July 1998 was the hottest month world over. ► In 1998 India had the hottest period in 50 years. ► Since 1988 nine of the hottest years in more than a century have been recorded. ► There is a rapid melting of snow and subsequent rise in sea level. What could be the reason for these alarming changes in the climate and environment? The answer is global warming which refers to an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere or simply it is the warming of the earth. Melting of glaciers The root cause of this adverse climatic change is the greenhouse effect caused by greenhouse gases. 8.2.1. GREEN HOUSE EFFECT The trapping of energy from the sun by green house gases in the atmosphere leading to rise in earth's temperature is known as the green house effect. The green house gases such as carbondioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chloro fluro carbons, etc,, absorb and reflect infra red waves radiated by the earth causing increase in temperature as in a green house. GREEN HOUSE A green house A green house is a structure primarly of glass or plastic in which temperature POLLUTION AND OZONE DEPLETION and humidity can be controlled for the cultivation or production of plants. Green house gases ► Carbondioxide - most abundant greenhouse gas released by burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, respiration of animals, decaying of organic matter, etc, . At present there is an increase of 31% of carbondioxide. ► Methane - it is produced by the incomplete decomposition of organic compounds by methanogenic bacteria under anaerobic condition. It is also produced by the enteric fermentation in the cow and from the flooded rice fields. ► Nitrous oxide - is released by burning of fossil fuels, industrial processes, agricultural practices like ploughing etc,. ► Chloro fluro carbons - are coolant gases used in refrigerators, aerosols, solvents, etc,. Effects of global warming ► The level of the sea rises due to the melting of glaciers and thermal expansion of water which will submerge many parts of countries. Arctic Bear in melting snow ► Due to global warming the rise in temperature could create unexpected changes in weather conditions - making some regions hotter and others colder. Warmer temperature (Global warming) ( Migration of forests fc d Drying up of ^ towards poles deciduous forests f Change in the | kinds of crops ' BIOLOGY CHAPTER -8 ► The rainfall pattern could also change causing drought in some areas and flooding in others. ► Crops and forests may be affected by insect pests and plant diseases resulting in severe damage. ► Water borne and insect borne diseases such as malaria and dengue could spread to temperate countries. ► It can also result in the loss of bio diversity due to the extinction of coral reefs and other key species. Control measures Global warming can be controlled by reducing the use of fossil fuels, reforestation, carbon sequestration (trapping CO2), shifting to renewable sources of energy such as solar power, wind power, hydel power, etc,. Ten things you can do to reduce Global warming 1. Use less heat and air- conditioning. 2. Drive less (automobiles) and drive smart (bicyles). 3. Buy energy efficient products (•rated). 4. Use CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs. 5. Reduce, reuse and recycle resources. 6. Use less hot water. 7. Use the "off" switch when needed. 8. Plant a tree. 9. Encourage others to conserve energy. 10. Do the energy auditing of household appliances. MORE TO KNOW EL NINO EFFECT It causes erratic weather patterns which occur due to the interaction of unusually warm or cold sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central pacific oceans. It was once a rare cyclical weather condition which has become more frequent, persistent and intense. Compact fluorescent light CFLs are a great way to save energy eventhough they cost a little more and are slower to brighten up than an ordinary bulb. They produce less amount of heat. 8.3. OZONE DEPLETION The ozone layer in the stratosphere is protective in function as it filters the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. This ozone is continously broken down and reformed; these two processes perfectly balance each other. But due to human activity, this balance is upset leading to the thinning of ozone layer (ozone holes). The decrease in the amount of ozone in the stratosphere is called ozone depletion. Ozone depletion Reasons The ozone hole is due to chlorine and bromine formed in the atmosphere. The common ones are chloroflurocarbons, methyl bromide, nitrogen oxides, etc,, which are released from freezers, air conditioners, aerosol products, industrial solvents, etc,. Effects ► In humans, it can cause the incidence of skin cancer, cataracts and poor immune response. ► In plants, it can affect crop yield and productivity. ► The UV radiation can also cause the death of phytoplanktons (producers), young fishes and larval forms. Control measures Controlling the production, use and emission of ozone depleting substances, recycling of chemicals and adoption of protection measures from sun's radiation are some of the measures to control ozone depletion. 8A SCIENCETODAY-OILSPILL Do you know about the recent environmental problem in the Gulf of Mexico and USA? What is an oil spill and what are its environmental implications? An oil spill is a release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons into the environment, mainly due to human activities. It includes the release of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells. Environmental impacts Oil spill affects the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water and land. It forms a thick black layer above the sea water and considerably increase its viscosity which interfere with the locomotion of organisms. The oil floating on top of the water reduces the penetration of sunlight, limiting photosynthesis by marine plants and phytoplanktons (producers). It will, in turn, affect the other members of the marine food chain. The oil also drenches the plumage of birds and impairs their ability to fly and escape from predators. Birds may ingest the oil while preening their feathers resulting in kidney damage, altered liver function and metabolic imbalances. The oil which covers the coats of aquatic mammals such as seals can reduce their heat insulation capacity, resulting in hypothermia (decrease in body temperature). Crude oil contains a mixture of volatile hydrocarbons like benzene, toluene, xylene, etc,, which are carcinogenic in nature (cancer causing). Symptoms of exposure include dizziness, headaches, nausea, rapid heart beat and dehydration. Control and preventive measures ► The oil spills can be controlled by preventing the release of oil or hydrocarbons during transit, exploration or accidents. ► The sea food should be thoroughly tested for contaminants before consumption. ► The oil spills may be cleared by using certain micro organisms such as bacteria. This process of clearing the oil spills by using bacteria is known as bio remediation. ^^^^^^■^^^^^^H w ■ ■ ■ ^^^^^H ^^H ^ BIOLOGY ^^" CHAPTER -8 ^■^ PSEUDOMONAS BACTERIA Dr.Ananda Mohan Chakraborty One of the notable achievements in bio remediation is the invention of Pseudomonas putida, a genetically engineered bacterium by an Indian American scientist Dr.Ananda Mohan Chakraborty It is a rod shaped saprotrophic soil bacteria with a diverse metabolism to degrade hydrocarbons and organic solvents like octane and toluene. Recent episodes of Oil spills Deep water horizon oil spill Oil spill in gulf of mexico It is a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and is the largest offshore spill in US history. It stemmed from a sea floor oil gusher that resulted from the April 2010 deep water horizon drilling rig explosion. The resulting oil slick covers atleast 2500 sq. miles fluctuating from day to day depending on weather conditions. The spill continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitat as well as fishing and tourism industries. The spill threatens an environmental disaster due to factors such as petroleum toxicity and oxygen depletion. More than 400 species which live in the Gulf of Mexico are at risk. Mumbai oil spill (August 2010) The spill occurred due to the collision of two oil tankers MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia off the coast of Mumbai. An estimated 400 tonnes of oil was spilled into the Arabian sea. The oil spill is proved to cause extensive damage to the marine eco-system, as well as the sensitive mangrove plants. of Agencies Management C.RR - Environmental Centre, Chennai: Environmental Education This centre promotes environmental awareness among the public. It gives guidance for environmental laws, environmental impacts and environmental management studies. It promotes the use of renewable sources of energy. Madras Naturalists Society: It creates environmental consciousness through seminars, camps, video shows and visits to wild life sanctuaries and national parks. It conducts surveys regarding pollution and deforestation. MSSRF (M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation): It is a non-profit research organisation and was established in 1998. It carries out research and development in six major areas such as Bio-diversity, Bio- technology, Food scarcity. Coastal system research. Information and Education and Communication. POLLUTION AND OZONE DEPLETION EVALUATION Section -A 1. Bursting of crackers and use of loud speakers are restricted at night time due to noise pollution. Mention any two harmful effects of noise. 2. On 10/10/10 at 10 p.m. lights were put off all over the world for an hour marking the 'earth hour'. Mention its significance. Section - B A B C Fossil fuels, Carbon Mon- oxide, Blood Sulphur tri oxide. Acid rain. Damage monuments PAN, Photochemical smog. Visibility 3. a) What is common in the above mentioned boxes A, B and C. b) PAN - PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG. Construct two more pairs c) Relate the data in box A and B and prepare notes. 4. Water pollution due to domestic sewage leads to algal bloom and eutrophication. How can it damage the aquatic ecosystems. 5. Prepare two posters containing slogans to create awareness about harmful effects of noise. 6. We can realize the changes in the climate and seasons due to global warming. Mention any two changes. 7. Planting of green trees is encouraged. At the same time felling of trees also occur at an alarming phase. How can your strike a balance? Section - C 8. The non conventional sources of energy are Solar Energy, Hydel Energy, Tidal energy etc.. Write a note regarding their role in reducing pollution. 9. Oil spills in seas and oceans are of frequent occurrence due to oil explorations, tanker accidents etc., write a note on the influence of oil spills on marine life. ^^^^^^^^^^ FURTHER REFERENCE ^^^^^^^^H Books # 1. Elements of Ecology - Clarke G.L., John 2. Fundamentals of Ecology - Odum E.P, Philadelphia. Websites wiley & sons, W.B.Saunders Newyork. ; Company, x^jSk ^ http://www.ecology.com '^BJf-^ http://www.nationalgeographic.com ^^^^^^■^^^^^^H P ■ ■ ^^^^^H ^^H ^ BIOLOGY ^^" CHAPTER -8 ^■^ Scientific names, Common names and Tamil names of some plants and animals S.No. Scientific Name Common Name Tamil Name How is it called locally? 1. Brassica oleracea Cabbage (LpLfitDLffiCSarrffi 2. Cyamopsis tetragonoloba Cluster bean Qarr^^eu 60)17 3. Arachis hypogea Ground nut r£]6U53fl3l_60)6U 4. Oryza sativa Rice(Paddy) QfBeb 5. Vasella rubra Spinach Uff60)6Ufl3<S6IDrr 6. Crotalariajuncea Sunn-hemp ffbooiuemu 7. Eichhornia crassipes Water hyacinth ^amLi^^rrLii 60)17 8. Triticum vulgare Wheat (D63n"gJ60)LJ] 9. Impatiens balsamina Balsam (Sn-.#]^gjii60)u 10. Utricularia polyvaloides Bladderwort Li_|L_rf]@(S6urf]ujn- 11. Coriandrum sativum Coriander Qffin"^gjLJ]6\)6i51 12. Taraxacum officinale Dandelion (Si_60oii_6i51ujn-6or 13. Cuscutta reflexa Dodder plant ^ii60)LJ]Ujn-n- «%_i5^6b (^6b6Ugj)ffi_^n-rf] 14. Monotropa uniflora Indian pipe L|60)aii5l60)6U« «sn-6Trn-6or 15. Agaricus campestris Mushroom rBn"LLJ«@60)i_ 16. Allium cepa Onion Qeurijffimuii 17. Nepenthes khasiana Pitcher plant @®60)6U^^n"6Ui7ii 18. Solanum tuberosum Potato 2_(r560)6Tra3jflLprij(g 19. Crocus sativus Saffron @rij@LJiiJLj, 20. Drosera burmannii Sundew plant 6TpiiL|^^600lb00n (^rf]uJIJU60f]^gJ6Tf]^ ^rreurrii ) 21. Mimosa pudica Touch-me-not plant (Sensitive plant) (Qfl^mli_n-mt#]6oo)irij«^) 22. Amoeba proteus Amoeba ^L^urr 23. Paramoecium caudatum Paramoecium un-i7L^«#]ujii 24. Hydra vulgaris Hydra 60)6irDifi7n" 25. Obelia geniculata Jelly fish QrBn"rij@Lf6or 26. Periplaneta americana Cockroach fl3i7Uun-6orLj,ff«#l 27. Pila globosa snail rBfioreofrt fb^^o)^ 28. Lamellidans lamellidans Freshwater mussel rB6or6of[t mili^ 29. Asterias rubens Star fish FBilff^^rr L^eor 30. Naja naja Cobra FBebeu umiL| 31. Pavo cristatus Peacock LJ]ll5l6b 32. Tyto alba Owl ,^60)^ Chap teriJJ IS MATTER AROUND US CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-9 Consider a balloon filled with air. Its mass is higher than an empty balloon. Increase in mass is due to the air filled. It shows that air has a certain mass. Similarly fine sand, rice, stone etc., have definite masses. Thus any substance that occupies a volume with characteristic mass can be called as matter. All matters in the universe exist in three states. There are two ways of classification of matter. 1. According to physical state as solid, liquid or gas. 2. According to its composition as element, compound or mixture. PHYSICAL STATES OF MATTER Solid: Solids have a definite shape and a definite volume. The shape of a solid does not change much with temperature. It is rigid and not compressed appreciably even at high pressures. They usually have high densities and expand only very slightly when heated. In a solid, the molecules are held tightly together in definite arrangements. Liquid: Liquids have no definite shape and they take the shape of their container. They have a definite volume. They are not appreciably compressed by moderate pressures. They expand more than solids on heating and changes into the gaseous state. They have lower densities than solids. Gas: Gases have no definite shape and volume and take the shape of the container and fill the entire container. They are easily compressed by even small pressures and also expand more than liquids on heating. They have low densities. A^ i Solid Liquid Gas IS MATTER AROUND US PURE? Is matter around us pure? Matter may be classified as a pure substance or a mixture of two or more pure substances.The nature of matter can be determined by studying its properties and its composition. Colour, odour, density, melting point and boiling point are often treated as physical properties of matter. The physical properties of a substance can be observed or measured without changing its composition. During a chemical reaction, the compositions of substances are changed. For example, when the gaseous hydrogen element combines with oxygen, the compound, water is formed. Hydrogen + oxygen ► water Water contains hydrogen and oxygen but the properties of water are different from those of hydrogen and oxygen. Most forms of matter that we encounter, for example the air we breathe, the gasoline for cars are not chemically pure. The term "impure" is different from adulteration. According to scientists, the term "pure" means single form of matter. A pure substance is a distinct type of matter. A substance has the same properties throughout the whole sample. 9.1. MIXTURES Pure water is a familiar example of a substance. All samples of pure water have the same boiling point, whereas, seawater is not a pure substance. It contains both salt and water along with other dissolved substances. Thus a pure substance should consist of a single type of particle or matter whereas, substances like seawater, minerals, soil etc are examples of mixtures. 1 In mixtures, elements areW I physically mixed in any ratio and no , , new compound is formed^^^^^^J MORE TO KNOW The purity of a substance is often determined by measuring its physical properties. For example, a colourless, odourless, tasteless liquid which at atmospheric pressure, boils at 100° C, freezes at 0° C and has a density of 1.0 g cm"^ is water. A pure substance is either an element or a compound. k % a b c d a) Atoms of an Element b) Molecules of an Element c) Molecules of a compound d) Mixture of atom, element and a compound ACTIVITY -9.1 Classify the following substances as element, mixture and compund. (i)lnk (ii) Paint (iii) Oxygen (iv) Air (v) Water CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-9 9.2. CHARACTERISTICS MIXTURES OF To understand the differences between mixtures and compounds, let us consider a mixture of iron and sulphur as an example of a mixture. Here iron and sulphur make a mixture. Mixture has the properties of individual components. For example, mixture of iron and sulphur has their own properties. When touched with magnet, iron is attracted by the magnet. On the other hand, when burnt, sulphur escapes in the form of sulphur dioxide gas. Consider the chemical reaction between iron and sulphur. Iron+Sulphur — ► Ferrous sulphide Here, ferrous sulphide is a compound and not a mixture. The compound, ferrous sulphide does not have the properties of individual components, iron and sulphur. Left- Sulphur and Iron Right - Ferrous sulphide ACTIVITY -9.2 The figure shows copper sulphate in one dish and copper sulphate with sodium chloride in another dish. Identify pure substance and mixture. Examples of mixtures Mixtures made up of two components are called binary mixtures and those containing three components are called ternary mixtures. Air and sea water are neither elements nor compounds but mixtures. Pure substances have fixed compositions. Composition of a mixture can vary. A cup of sweetened coffee, for example can contain either a little sugar or a lot. Similarly air may contain to 5% by weight of water vapour.Sea water may contain 3.5 to 30% salt. Thus a mixture contains more than one kind of pure constituents or components. The substances making up a 1 mixture are called constituents or components. J ACTIVITY -9.3 "^ k. Is air around us pure? Write reasons. B^ H _^ji^i MORE TO KNOW The lead in your pencil is actually a form of carbon called graphite mixed with clay. What is a Compound? Compounds are substances composed of two or more elements combined in fixed ratio by weight. The compound always has the same physical and chemical properties. A compound always contains the same percentage (by weight) of each element. For example, all samples of pure water are 11.19% (by weight) hydrogen and 88.81% (by weight) oxygen. This summary of many observations is called the law of constant composition. IS MATTER AROUND US PURE? Law of constant composition A purecompoundalwayscontains the same elements combined together in the same definite proportions by weight irrespective of its method of preparation. Types of mixtures Examples Solid in solid Coins, alloys Solid in liquid Sea water Solid in gas Smoke(carbon particles in air) Liquid in solid Amalgam Liquid in liquid Alcohol and water Gas in solid Gas adsorbed by charcoal Gas in liquid Soda drinks Gas in gas Air ACTIVITY - 9.4^^ ^ Can you identify the different states or T^*^ phases present in a glass of fruit juice with ice-cubes in it. u Is water a mixture or a compound? Water is a compound because of the following reasons. ► It is homogeneous. ► It has definite physical constants such as boiling point, freezing point, density, etc. ► The properties of water are entirely different from those of its constituents, i.e, hydrogen and oxygen. ► Water has a definite composition by mass. The ratio of H:0 by mass is 1:8. Is air a mixture or a compound? Air is a mixture because of following reasons. the Air does not have a fixed composition. The composition of air varies from place to place. Artificial air can be made by mixing the various components of air in the same proportions in which they occur at a place, and when this is done, no energy changes are noticed. The components of air can be separated by a physical method such as fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid air does not have a definite boiling point. It boils over a range of temperature between -196^C and -ISS^C. If air were a compound, the composition of air expelled from water should not be different from the composition of air around us. But it is known that during respiration, exhaled air is richer in oxygen than ordinary air. ACTIVITY - 9.5 Classify the following into mixture or compound. (i) Alloys (ii) Smoke (iii) Juice (iv) Milk (v) Common salt (vi) Coffee (vii) Carbon di oxide (viii) Ice cream. Composition of inhaled air and exhaled air during respiration. Inhaled Air Exhaled Air Contains 78% nitrogen. Contains 78% nitrogen. Contains 20% oxygen. Contains 16% oxygen. Contains 0.03% Carbon dioxide. Contains 4% Carbon dioxide. Contains very little moisture. Contains appreciable amount of moisture. CHEMISTRY Composition of air CHAPTER-9 Gas in mass % Nitrogen 75.50% Oxygen 23.20% Argon 1.0% Carbon dioxide 0.046% Neon Negligible Helium Negligible ACTIVITY -9.6 Aspirin is a medicine for headache. It is composed of 60% carbon, 4.5% hydrogen and 35.5% oxygen by mass, regardless of its source. Is aspirin a mixture or a compound? 9.2.1. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MIXTURE AND COMPOUND 9.3. TYPES OF MIXTURES There are two types of mixtures. They are, i. Homogeneous mixture ii. Heterogeneous mixture 9.3.1. HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURES AND THEIR TYPES Homogeneous mixtures have only one phase. They have the same properties throughout a sample although the properties of different samples may be different. Homogeneous mixtures are called solutions. There are three types of homogeneous mixtures. Solid homogeneous mixture -Alloys Liquid homogeneous mixture -Alcohol in water Gaseous homogeneous mixture -Air ACTIVITY -9.7 Homogeneous Mixtures Mixture Compound Elements are physically mixed in any ratio and no new compound is formed. Elements are chemically combined in a fixed ratio to form a new compound. They have no sharp or definite melting point, boiling point, density etc. They have definite melting point, boiling point, density etc. A mixture exhibits the properties of its constituent or component elements. Property of a compound is different from its constituent or component elements. They are either homogeneous or heterogeneous in nature. They are always homogeneous in nature. Constituents of a mixture can be separated by physical methods like filtration, magnetic separation etc. Constituents of a compound cannot be separated by physical methods. Which of the following are physical changes and which are chemical changes? (1) Rusting of iron. (2) Melting of ice. (3) A seed grows into a plant. (4) Aluminium metal is rolled into a foil. (5) Candle burns. 1 Salt in water Strong tea Weak tea ACTIVITY -9.8 ^ k^ 1 A drop of ink mixes C^ H^ c:r ^^ with water. Tl^ • Is it a 1 iiomogeneous 1 1 mixture or a m iieterogeneous \\^^ mixture? L^'Wft^ 1 9.3.2. HETEROGENEOUS MIXTURES AND THEIR TYPES Heterogeneous mixtures have more than one phase. They do not have the same properties throughout a sample. Bits of the phases can be seen either with the eye or with a microscope. The phases can be in the same or different physical states. Solid - solid heterogeneous mixture - mixture of sugar and salt Solid - liquid heterogeneous mixture - ice cubes in water Gaseous heterogeneous mixtures - smoke in air. IS MATTER AROUND US PURE? ACTIVITY -9.9 This beaker contains a solution of copper sulphate salt dissolved in water. Is it a homogeneous mixture or a heterogeneous mixture? Support your conclusion. ACTIVITY -9.10 Classify each of the following as homogeneous or heterogeneous (i) Tea (ii) Ink (iv) Sugar solution (iii) Fruit salad Classification of matter Matter f Mixtures ► Variable composition. ► ► Easily separated by physical methods. ► ► No physical constants. ► — I Pure Substances Constant composition. Not easily separated by physical methods. Have definite physical constants. f Homogeneous Mixtures ► Have the same composition throughout. ► Components are indistinguishable. Heterogeneous Mixtures Do not have the same composition throughout. Components are distinguishable. Elements Contain atoms of the same kind. Compounds Contain two or more elements in a definite ratio by mass. ^^^^^^^^■^^^^^^^^^^^H 1 ■ ■ CHAPTER-9 ^^TcHEMISTRY ^^^^^B 1 9.4. SEPARATION OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF A MIXTURE People have used methods of separating and purifying materials since ancient times. Today, ► The oil industry refines crude oil and separates it into fuels, lubricants and raw materials for chemical industry. ► The mining industry is based on the separation of metals and some non- metals from their ores. ► Pharmaceutical companies separate and purify natural and synthetic drugs etc. In the laboratory, different methods of separation are used to get the individual component from a mixture. Some of the physical methods are, 1. Decantation: Used to separate a liquid from a solid (present as large particles) that does not dissolve in it. 2. Filtration: Used to separate a liquid from a solid (present as very small particles) which does not dissolve in the liquid. 3. Distillation: Used to separate a non- volatile solid and a volatile liquid present together as a solution. 4. Fractional distillation: Used for separating a mixture containing two or more liquids with an appreciable difference in their boiling points. 5. Separating funnel: To separate two completely immiscible liquids. 6. Sublimation: Used for separating a mixture of two solids, one of which sublimes. 7. Chromatography: Used to separate two substances based on the difference in the force of attraction between the substances and a solid (adsorption). ACTIVITY -9.11 In a beaker, mix together an equal quantity of fine salt and white flour. Pour water into the beaker and stir well. Observe the solubility of flour and salt in water. Flour settles on the bottom of the beaker. Mention a suitable method of separation of flour from salt. 9.4.1. SEPARATION OF MIXTURES BY SUBLIMATION By sublimation, a volatile solid substance is separated from a mixture containing a non-volatile solid substance. Sublimation is defined as a process, in which a substance in solid state is directly converted into vapour state. At high temperature, the molecules of volatile solid move far away from each other making the solid substance into vapour. # * • f t ^xoct^n^xd 1. Solid molecules evaporate 2. Iodine crystal vapourises 3. Sublimation of dry ice (carbon dioxide in ice form) IS MATTER AROUND US PURE? Consider a mixture containing common salt and ammonium chloride. Both common salt and ammonium chloride are solid substances. Common salt is a non-volatile substance. It does not undergo sublimation. Ammonium chloride is characteristic of undergoing sublimation. Hence Ammonium chloride can be separated from common salt by sublimation. ACTIVITY -9.12 Take a mixture containing common salt and camphor in a china dish ► Keep it on a stand. ► Invert a funnel over the dish. ► Close the funnel stem by means of cotton. ► Heat the china dish. ► Observe the physical change. cotton n plug inverted funnel 1 solidified ammonium chloride vapours of ammonium chloride MORE TO KNOW Solids that undergo sublimation are camphor, naphthalene, benzoic acid, iodine and ammonium chloride. 9.4.2. SEPARATION OF A MIXTURE CONTAINING IMMISCIBLE LIQUIDS separating funnel kerosene oil water stop cock Immiscible liquids are usually separated by using a device named "separating funnel". Consider a mixture containing kerosene and water. Both the liquids are immiscible with each other. By using a separating funnel, one liquid can be separated from the other. Less denser liquid remains in the upper layer while high denser liquid remains in the lower layer. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-9 ACTIVITY -9.13^^^^^^^^H Take a mixture containing kerosene and water. Pour the mixture into a separating funnel. Close the mouth of the separating funnel. Shake it for 10 minutes. Hold the funnel in a stand for 15 minutes. Observe the changes. Note the lower and upper layers. ► What is the principle behind it? containing miscible liquids. It works on the principle that the two liquids should vary in their boiling points by 25°C. ► Consider a mixture containing two liquids namely benzene and toluene. ► Both the liquids are miscible with one another. ► They can be separated by fractional distillation. ► Boiling point of benzene is 353 K. ► Boiling point of toluene is 384 K. ► The difference in their boiling points is 31 K. ACTIVITY-9.14 9.4.3. SEPARATION OF A MIXTURE CONTAINING MISCIBLE LIQUIDS Fractional distillation is a suitable method for separation of a mixture mercury therommeter ► ► ► ► water condenser flask benzene and toluene mixture bunsen burner Take a mixture of alcohol and water in a distillation flask. Fit a thermometer. Fit a condenser. Heat the mixture slowly. Alcohol vapourises first and gets condensed in the condenser and is collected. Water remains in the flask. distillate IS MATTER AROUND US PURE? Identification of element, compound and mixture. ^H Matter NO V YES EVALUATION SECTION - A Choose the correct answer. 1 . The lead in the pencil we use is made of a material called graphite. Graphite is a mixture of (carbon and clay, clay and nitrogen) 2. Pure water is a compound. It contains 11.19% by mass of hydrogen and oxygen by mass. (88.81% , 31.81%) 3. Coins are mixtures of solid in solid. Smoke is a mixture of (solid in gas, gas in solid) 4. Some pair of items are given below. Could you identify the correct pair? a) Air - gas in gas b) Seawater - solid in liquid c) Soft drinks - gas in liquid. d) Amalgam - liquid in liquid 5. Components of a given matter can be separated by various purifying technics. Components of liquid air can be separated by adopting physical method, (fractional distillation , distillation , sublimation) 6. Rusting of iron is a chemical change. The melting of ice is (physical change , chemical change). CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-9 SECTION - B 7. Pure substance contains a single type of particles. Is sea water pure or not? justify. 8. In a compound two or more elements are combined in a fixed ratio by mass. Mention any two properties of a compound? 9. Homogeneous mixture contains a single type of phase. Heterogeneous mixture contains different types of phases. Quote one example for each type. 10. When a solid comphor is exposed to air, it changes into gaseous state. It is a physical change. Name the change that takes place? Could you give another example for such a change. 11. (a) Separation of a mixture containing water and kerosene can be done by use of (distillation , separating funnel) (b) (sublimation, chromatography) process is used to separate common salt and ammonium chloride. 12. A liquid 'A' has a boiling point of 353 K and another liquid 'B' has a boiling point of 384K. Both are miscible with each other. They are separated by "fractional distillation". Justify the reason for using fractional distillation method. SECTION - C 13. In mixtures, components are combined in any ratio. (a) How does a mixture differ from a compound? (b) What are the types of mixtures? (c) Write one example each for either type? 14. All matters in the universe exist in three states namely solid, liquid and gas. (a) Why do solid substances have definite shape? (b) Write any two properties of a solid substance? (c) Will the solid substance expand on heating? Why? FURTHER REFERENCE Book General Chemistry (Second Edition) - Jean B.Umland & Jon M.Bellama West publishing company Websites ( http://www.tutorvista.com Chapter ATOMIC STRUCTURE CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-10 Take a stone. Break it into several pieces. Powder all the pieces. Each particle of powder is composed of atoms. There is no particle without atoms. Once it was believed that atoms couldnot be divided. But today scientists have revealed that each atom consists of further smallest particles. The study of internal structure of atom proves the presence of such particles. The development of modern atomic theories is an excellent example of how science progresses. Many scientists contribute their knowledge for development. New experiments lead to either changes in the old theories or even to new theories. Theories are useful in providing the basis for further work. Although, J.J.Thomson's atomic theory explained electrical neutrality of atoms, it could not reveal the presence of nucleus in an atom, which was later in 1909 proposed by Ernest Rutherford. 10.1. DISCOVERY OF THE NUCLEUS Rutherford's contribution Rutherford observed what happens to alpha particles projected at a thin metal foil. I Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) r Ernest Rutherford, a british physicist "probed atoms with alpha particles. He was known as the "father of nuclear physics". He was awarded Nobel Prize for his contribution in structure of atom Kin 1908. MORE TO KNOW Alpha particles are helium ions He^"^ .The mass of an alpha particle is about 8000 times the mass of an electron. Velocity of alpha particles is about ZxlO'' m/s. 10.2. RUTHERFORD'S EXPERIMENT A stream of alpha particles was made to pass through a thin gold foil of about 4x10"^ cm thickness. Most of the alpha particles did go through the foil in a straight line. Some alpha particles were deflected through an average angle of 90° .Rarely the path of 1 in 20,000 alpha particles scored a direct hit on the nucleus and returned by an angle of 180°. From this experiment, he concluded that there is a heavy positive charge occupying small volume, at the centre of an atom. Alpha particles 1. Not scattered at all 2. Slightly scattered 3. More scattered 4. Returned at 180° Schematic diagram showing alpha particles bombarding one gold atom. The nucleus of the gold atom is shown in the centre. 10.3. RUTHERFORD'S MODEL OF ATOM Rutherford pictured the atom as consisting of a small, dense, positively charged nucleus containing most of the mass of the atom with the electrons in the space outside the nucleus The moving electrons occupy most of the volume of the atom. The electrons must be moving very rapidly in the space around the nucleus. Electrons Nucleus 10.3.1. LIMITATIONS According to electromagnetic theory, a moving electron should accelerate and continuously lose energy. Due to the loss of energy, path of electron may reduce and finally the electron should fall into nucleus. If it happens so, atom becomes unstable. But atoms are stable. Hence Rutherford's theory does not explain the stability of atom. Nucleus Electron ACTIVITY -10.1 In Rutherford's experiment, 1. Why did majority alpha particles pass through the foil unaffected? 2.Why were very few alpha particles deflected? 3.1s the size of nucleus small or large with respect to the size of atom? MORE TO KNOW Remember a small boy swinging a stone on the end of a string around him. The stone is able to occupy a larger volume because it is moving rapidly. Similarly the electrons in an atom are able to occupy a larger volume because they are moving very fast. Niel'sBohr(1885-1962) Niel's Bohr was born on October 7, 1885 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was also an outstanding soccer player. He worked with Rutherford at the University of Manchester. Bohr's theory became the basis for modern physics known as Quantum Mechanics. Bohr received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1922. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-10 10.4. BOHR'S MODEL OF ATOM Orbit Niel's Bohr modified Rutiierford's atom model and put forth the following postulates. ► In atoms, the electrons revolve around the nucleus in stationary circular paths. These paths are called orbits or shells or energy levels. ► As long as electrons revolve in the same orbit, it does not lose or gain energy. ► The circular orbits are numbered as 1, 2, 3, 4 or designated as K, L, M, N shells. These numbers are referred to as principal quantum numbers (n). ► Smaller the size of orbit, smaller is the energy of the orbit. ► As we move away from nucleus, energy of orbit is constantly increasing. ► Maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in an energy level (n) is given by 2n2 . Third energy level (M-shell) Second energy - level (L-shell) First energy level (K-shell) When an electron absorbs energy, it jumps from lower energy level to higher energy level. When an electron returns from higher energy level to lower energy level, it gives off energy. n = 1 (K shell) .n = 2(Lshell) Orbit is defined as the path, by which electrons revolve around the nucleus. 10.5. DISCOVERY OF NEUTRONS In 1932, James Chadwick observed that when beryllium was exposed to alpha particles, particles with about the same mass as protons were given off. These emitted particles carried no electrical charge. Hence they were called as neutrons. Beryllium + alpha ray carbon + neutron MORE TO KNOW Number of neutrons = Mass number ■ Number of protons (Atomic number) Characteristics of neutron no ► Neutrons are particles with charge. ie neutral particles. ► Neutrons are present in the nuclei of all atoms except hydrogen atom. ► Mass of a neutron is almost equal to the mass of a proton. ► Atoms of the same element with different number of neutrons are called as isotopes of the element. ► Neutron is also regarded as a sub- atomic particle. 10.6. CHARACTERISTICS OF FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES Physical and chemical properties of elements and their compounds can be explained by the fundamental particles of an atom. The fundamental particles of an atom are. Protons: They are positively charged particles. They are present inside the nucleus. n = 3 (M shell) Electrons: They are negatively charged particles. They revolve around the nucleus in circular orbits. Neutrons: They are neutral particles. They are present inside the nucleus. 10.6.1. COMPOSITION OF NUCLEUS Electrons have negligible mass. Hence the mass of an atom mainly depends on the mass of the nucleus. Nucleus of an atom consists of two components. They are protons and neutrons. Protons are positively charged. Protons repel each other because of their like-charges. Hence, more than one proton cannot be packed in a small volume to form a stable nucleus unless neutrons are present. Neutrons reduce the repulsive force between positively charged protons and contribute to the force that holds the particles in the nucleus together. Proton Neutron Nucleus ACTIVITY -10.2^ ^ A has 11 protons, 11 electrons & 12 neutrons. B has 15 protons, 15 electrons & 16 neutrons. C has 4 protons, 4 electrons & 5 neutrons. Identify the elements A, B and C? 10.7. ATOMIC NUMBER AND MASS NUMBER Atomic number We know that, an atom consists of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. Atom as a whole is electrically neutral. It is so, due to the presence of equal number of protons and electrons. This number is referred to as atomic number. Atomic number of an atom can be defined as, The number of protons in the nucleus (OR) The number of electrons revolving around the nucleus. ACTIVITY -10.3 Can you write the atomic numbers of (i) Beryllium (ii) Carbon (iii) Nitrogen (iv) Neon (v) Magnesium Mass number We learnt that the mass of an atom entirely resides on the mass of nucleus. The mass of the lightest atom, hydrogen has been chosen as the unit of mass. Since the nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons, mass number (A) is defined as, the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom Mass Number (A) = Number of protons + Number of neutrons MORE TO KNOW In lighter atoms, one neutron per proton is enough. Heavier atoms with more protons in the nucleus need more neutrons in the nucleus, for the nucleus to be stable. Thus the stability of the nucleus is determined by the Neutron-Proton ratio. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-10 ACTIVITY -10.4^ ^ Complete the following table Species Atomic number number of protons number of neutrons Boron 5 Sodium 11 Phosphorus 15 Neon 10 1 Representation of Atomic number and Mass number Superscript represents mass number. Subscript represents atomic number. For example, Atomic number of nitrogen is 7. Mass number of nitrogen is 14. 14 Representation: ACTIVITY -10.5 7N Which elements have the same number of neutrons? l.Lithium-3Li ~^ 2.Carbon-gCi2 3. Nitrogen -7N ^^ A.Beryllium-^Be ^ S.Oxygen-gO^^ MORE TO KNOW Chlorine has fractional atomic mass. Chlorine-35 exists by 75% Chlorine-37 exists by 25% Average atomic mass of chlorine is, /75x35V/25x37l 1^100 J |100 J = 35.5 10.8. ISOTOPES Protron Neutron Isotopes of lithium American scientist, T.W.Richards observed to his amazement that lead from samples collected in different places differed in atomic mass. This suggested that all atoms of an element are not exactly alike. It is clear that atoms of an element have the same chemical properties. But they may differ in their masses. "^^^^ Isotopes are atoms of an element that differ in mass numbers, but having the same atomic number. _ Characteristics of isotopes ► Isotopes of an element differ in mass numbers only. ► Difference in mass number is due to difference in number of neutrons. ► Isotopes of an element have the same physical properties. ► However, variations in chemical properties are noted in isotopes. ► Elements having isotopes exhibit fractional atomic mass. ACTIVITY -10.6 (i) Can you calculate the number of neutrons in the isotopes. (a) ,Hi, ,H2, ^H3 (b),,Cp5, ^^CP7 (ii) What do you infer from the result? Electron Proton Neutron Hydrogen atom (Common hydrogen) Deuterium atom (Heavy hydrogen) Tritium atom (Radioactive hydrogen) Element Isotope Representation Hydrogen Protium Deuterium Tritium iH2 (or) ,H3 (or) J' Chlorine Chlorine-35 Chlorine-37 ,,C|35 ,,C|37 Carbon Carbon-12 Carbon-14 3C14 Uranium Uranium-235 Uranium-238 1)235 92^ 1)238 ACTIVITY -10.7 The element bromine has the following isotopes. BrDmine-79 (49.7%) and BromineBl (50.3%) Can you calculate the average atomic mass of Bromine? Uses of Isotopes ► Many isotopes find use in medical field. ► lron-59 isotope is used in the treatment of anaemia. ► lodine-131 isotope is used for treatment of goiter. ► Cobalt-60 isotope is used in the treatment of cancer. ► Phosphorous-32 isotope is used in eye treatment. ► Carbon-11 isotope is used in the treatment of brain scan. ACTIVITY -10.8 From the given average atomic mass, which element does exist with least number of isotopes? ► Chlorine-35. 5 ► Hydrogen-1.008 ► Oxygen-16.0 10.9. ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION OF ATOMS It is known that atoms consist of a positively charged nucleus with protons and neutrons in it. Negatively charged particles called electrons constantly revolve around the nucleus in set of orbits. The electron orbits are numbered as 1, 2, 3, etc, starting from the orbit closest to the nucleus. These orbits are also called K, L, M, N shells, as mentioned in the atom model proposed by Niel's Bohr. The maximum number of electrons in an orbit is given by Zn^, where n is the orbit number. ► For the first orbit n = 1 , and the number of electrons it can hold is 2x1^=2. ► For the second orbit n = 2, and it can hold a maximum of 2x2^=8 electrons. ► For the third orbit n = 3, and it can hold a maximum of 2x3^=18 electrons. It must be understood that the second orbit begins only after the first orbit is filled. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-10 The third orbit begins to fill only after the second orbit is filled. But the fourth orbit commences even before the third orbit is completely filled. The reason for this lies in the concept of quantum numbers. Thus the term electronic configuration or electronic structure refers to the way, the electrons are arranged around the nucleus. Most of the properties of elements and their compounds depend on their electronic configurations. To write electronic configuration, the principal quantum number of the shells must be known. This number describes the number of orbits present in the atom. Let us consider sodium atom. Atomic number of sodium = Total number of electrons in sodium = 11 Orbit wise distribution of electrons Orbit Number of electrons 1. (K-Shell) 2n^ =2x1^=2 electrons 2. (L-Sheii) 2n^ =2x2^=8 electrons 3. (M-Shell) Remaining-1 electron The electronic distribution in sodium is 2, 8, 1. Electron distribution in nitrogen (2,5) MORE TO KNOW Much of the experimental evidence forelectronicconfiguration comes from atomic spectra. Some elements and their electronic configurations Element Hydrogen (H) Helium (He) Lithium (Li) Beryllium (Be) Boron (B) Carbon (C) O 0) II <z Electron dot structure (^ c o IUT3 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 Some elements and their electronic configurations Element Nitrogen (N) Oxygen (O) Fluorine (F) Neon (Ne) Sodium (Na) Magnesium (Mg) U CD 11 <Z 8 10 11 12 Electron dot structure c o tuti 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,8,1 2,8,2 Element Aluminium (Al) Silicon (Si) Phosphorus (p) Sulphur (S) Chlorine (CI) Argon (Ar) O CD II <Z 13 14 15 16 17 18 Electron dot structure c o ° S tub 2,8,3 2,8,4 2,8,5 2,8,6 2,8,7 2,8,8 CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-10 ACTIVITY -10.9 ^ k. Write the electron distribution i Element Atomic number Electron distribution K L M Lithium 3 Boron 5 Fluorine 9 Magnesium 12 Phosphorous 15 10.9.1. VALENCE ELECTRONS AND VALENCY " The number of electrons in the ■ outer energy level (orbit) of an atom are the ones that can take part in chemical bonding. These electrons are referred to as the - valence electrons. « The outermost shell or orbit of an atom is known as valence shell or valence orbit. The electrons present in the outer shell are called valence electrons. The number representing the valence electrons is used to calculate the valency of the element. This valency is regarded as the combining capacity of elements. Illustration Lithium (Atomic number:3) has the electronic distribution, (n=l) K Shell 2 (electron) (n=2) L Shell 1 (remaining electron) Outer most shell is 'L'. The valence electron = 1 The valency of Lithium = 1 When the number of electrons in the outermost shell is close to its full capacity, (such as 8 for L shell) valency is then determined by subtracting the valence electron number from the full capacity of 8. For example fluorine (atomic number: 9) has the electron distribution, n shell electrons 1 (K) 2 2 (L) 7 Outer shell (L) has 7 electrons which is close to the full capacity of 8. Hence valency = (8 -7) = 1 ACTIVITY -10.10 ^ Calculate the valence electrons and determine the valency. Element Atomic number Valence electrons Valency Hydrogen 1 Boron 5 Carbon 6 Magnesium 12 Aluminium 13 ATOMIC STRUCTURE EVALUATION SECTION - A Choose the correct answer 1. Total number of electrons, that can be accommodated in an orbit is given by 2n2 (n = 1, 2, 3....). Maximum number of electrons, that can be present in first orbit is 2. Goldstein discovered protons. It is present in the nucleus. Charge on the protons are (negative, positive, neutral). 3. A subatomic particle is revolving around the nucleus in orbits. It is nagatively charged. It was discovered by J.J.Thomson. Name the particle. 4. Number of neutrons present in 3Li'' is 4. Find the number of neutrons present in gO^^ element. 5. Nucleus of an atom has two components. They are proton and (neutron, electron) 6. The sum of the number of protons and neutrons present in the nucleus is called mass number. Find the number of protons in the following element. Element Mass number Number of protons Number of neutrons Sodium 23 ? 12 7. Atomic number and mass number of lyCI^^ are 17 and 35 respectively. What is the number of protons present in it? 8. (Iodine - 131, Phosphorus - 32, Iron - 59) isotope is used for the treatment of goiter. 9. The electron distribution of fluorine is 2, 7. What is the valency of the element? 10. Electron distribution of sodium is 2, 8, 1. What is its valency? 11. Every atom has equal number of protons and electrons. Both are oppositively charged. Neutron is electrically neutral. What is the nature of atom? SECTION - B 12. Electrons in an atom revolve around the nucleus in circular stationary paths? a) Who proposed such a statement? b) What is the name of the circular path? 13. K shell of ^N^^ has 2 electrons. How many electrons are present in the L shell? 14. ^-j X^^ is a gaseous element. Its atomic number is 17. Its mass number is 35. Find out the number of electrons, protons and neutrons. CHEMISTRY J CHAPTER-10 15. Many Isotopes are used in medical field. a) Which isotope is used for the treatment of anaemia? b) Which one is used in eye treatment? 16. Write the electron distribution in the following elements. Element Atomic number Eleci tron distribution K L M Boron IVIagnesium 5 12 2 8 - 17. Find the valence electrons and valency. Element Atomic number Valence electron valency Carbon Aluminium 6(2,4) 13(2,8,3) 18 . Atoms of the same element, having same atomic number and different mass numbers are known as Isotope. Mention the names of isotopes of hydrogen. SECTION - C 19. Name the completely filled orbits. Element Atomic Number Names of completely filled orbits Nitrogen 7 Neon 10 Magnesium 12 Sulphur 16 Argon 18 20. Correlate the facts with properties. (i) More dense part of an atom valency (ii) Chargeless particle Atomic number (iii) Outermost orbit nucleus (iv) Number of electons in outermost orbit Valence shell (V) Number of protons Neutron Proton '^: FURTHER reference! Book Atomic Structure Advanced Inoganic Chemistry - Satya prakash, GD Tuli - S.Chand & Company Ltd Websites http://www.shodor.org http://www.chemguide.co.uk. Chapter,-LX CHEMICAL EQUATION CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-11 11. CHEMICAL EQUATION Plants produce their food (carbohydrate) during photosynthesis. Essential requirements for photosynthesis are (i) sunlight, (ii) carbon dioxide, (iii) water, (iv) chlorophyll. The event of photosynthesis can be represented in a short way in the form of an equation. Sunlight Carbon dioxide + Water Chlorophyll -► Carbohydrate + Oxygen Thus, chemical equations summarise information about chemical reactions. To write a chemical equation, you must identify the substances that are present before and after reaction. 11.1. TYPES OF RADICALS IONS AND ions are charged particles formed by the transfer of electrons from one element to another element. When atoms of reactive metals such as sodium combine with atoms of non-metals like fluorine to form compounds, enough electrons are transferred from one atom to another so as to attain the stable electronic distribution like noble (inert) gases with closest atomic number. Because the negative charge of the electrons in an atom equals the positive charge on the nucleus, the loss of an electron leaves an ion with a positive charge. Formation of sodium ion from sodium atom Atomic number of sodium is 11 and sodium atom has 11 electrons outside its nucleus. The inert gas closest to sodium is neon with atomic number 10. Hence, to get the same number of electrons as a neon atom, a sodium atom must lose one electron. Because atoms are electrically neutral, loss of one electron leaves a sodium ion with a +1 charge. Sodium atom loses one electron It is shown as Na (Sodium atom) 11 protons & 11 electrons ■> Na+ + e- (Sodium ion) 11 protons & 10 electrons + e" Positively charged ions, such as Na"" are called cations. Metals usually form cations. Formation of fluoride ion from fluorine atom Non-metals usually gain electrons when they form ions. Fluorine is a non- metal. Atomic number of fluorine is 9. The inert gas that has an atomic number closest to 10 is neon, with atomic number 10. To get the same number of electrons as a neon atom, a fluorine atom must gain one electron. Since, atoms are electrically neutral, a gain of one electron gives a fluoride ion with a -1 charge. Fluorine gains one electron It is shown as F + (Fluorine atom) 9 protons & 9 electrons 4 F (Fluoride ion) 9 protons & 10 electrons Negatively charged ions such as F are called anions. Nonmetals usually form anions. Mono atomic ions Mono atomic ions are formed from one atom. Sodium ion (Na^) is a mono atomic cation. Fluoride ion (F ) is a mono atomic anion. Polyatomic ions A poly atomic ion is a charged particle formed from more than one atom. These are group of atoms of different elements which behave as single units, and are known as polyatomic ions. Consider the compound, sodium sulphate. It is made up of two parts, namely sodium and sulphate. The sodium found as a part of sodium sulphate compound is not sodium atom but it is sodium ion and sulphate is radical. Radical CHEMICAL EQUATION MORE TO KNOW You cannot say how many cations and anions are found in a compound simply from the name. ACTIVITY -U-l"^ ^ Write the formulas of the following mono atomic anions. 1. Bromide ion 5. Iodide ion 2. Chloride ion 6. Oxide ion 3. Fluoride ion 7. Nitride ion 4.Hydride ion 8. Sulphide ion MORE TO KNOW The names of most mono atomic negative ions end with suffix "ide". Monovalent poly- atomic ions Bivalent poly- atomic ions Trivalent poly- atomic ions A radical is defined as a positively or negatively charged monoatomic ion or polyatomic ion. The compound sodium sulphate may be thought of as the product obtained when the base sodium hydroxide reacts with sulphuric acid. Sodium hydroxide + Sulphuric acid ► Sodium sulphate + water In the compound sodium sulphate, sodium is called the basic radical, because it comes from the base sodium hydroxide and sulphate is called the acid radical because it comes from sulphuric acid. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-11 MORE TO KNOW c Compounds that contain polyatomic ions are ionic in nature J Monovalent polyatomic ions ACTIVITY -ll-Z"^ ^ Identify and write cations and anions in the following compounds. 1. Silver nitrate 2. Magnesium sulphate 3. Aluminium oxide 4. Lead nitrate 5. Potassium carbonate 6. Barium chloride 7. Zinc sulphate 8. Copper nitrate Bivalent polyatomic ions Name Formula Bisulphate ion HSO4- Bisulphite ion HSO3- Chlorate ion CIO3- Chlorite ion CIO2- Cyanide ion CN- Hydroxide ion OH- Hypochlorite ion cio- Nitrate ion NO3- Nitrite ion NO2- Perchlorate ion CIO4- Permanganate ion MnO^- Name Formula Carbonate ion CO32- Chromate ion Cr042- Dichromate ion ap/- Manganate ion Mn042- Peroxide ion 0/- Sulphate ion SO42- Sulphite ion SO32- Thiosulphate ion SaOa^- Trivaient polyatonnic ions Name Formula Borate ion BO33- Phosphate ion po/- MORE TO KNOW Ammonium ion is a polyatomic monovalent cation.lt is represented byNH^ ACTIVITY -11.3^ ^ Identify the p )olyatomic ions 1. Chloride ion 4. Hydroxide ion 2. Chlorite ion 5. Phosphide ion 3. Oxide ion 6. Phosphate ion CHEMICAL EQUATION Multivalent cations or polyvalent cations Formula Name Formula Name Au+ Gold (1) or Aureus Au3+ Gold (III) or Auric Ce3+ Cerium (III) or Cerous Ce^^ Cerium (IV) or Ceric Co2+ Cobalt (II) or Cobaltous Co3+ Cobalt (III) or Cobaltic Cr2+ Chromium (II) or Chromous Cr3+ Chromium (III) or Chromic Cu+ Copper (1) or Cuprous Cu2+ Copper (II) or Cupric Fe2+ Iron (II) or Ferrous Fe3+ Iron (III) or Ferric Mn2+ Manganese (II) or Manganous Mn3+ Manganese (III) or Manganic Pb2+ Lead (II) or Plumbous Pb4+ Lead (IV) or Plumbic Sn2+ Tin (II) or Stannous Sn4+ Tin (IV) or Stannic ACTIVITY -11.4 Write the names of following cations, (i) Fe2- (ii) Hg^ (iii) Fe3+ (i) Hg2+ MORE TO KNOW A molecule formed by combination or association of two molecules is known as a dimer. Hg2^"^ Mercurous ion exists as a dimer only. Chemical symbols and valencies Valency = 1 Valency = 2 Valency = 3 Valency = 4 Bromine (Br) Barium (Ba) Boron (B) Carbon (C) Chlorine (CI) Calcium (Ca) Aluminium (Al) Silicon (Si) Fluorine (F) Magnesium (Mg) Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O) Iodine (1) Sulphur (S) Lithium (Li) Sodium (Na) Potassium (K) CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-11 MORE TO KNOW c Most of the polyatomic names end with suffixes "-ite","-ate". ) 11.2. LEARNING TO WRITE CHEMICAL SYMBOLS AND CHEMICAL FORMULAE BY CRISSCROSSING VALENCIES Chemical formula of the compound is the symbolic representation of its composition. To write chemical formula of a compound, symbols and valencies of constituent elements must be known. The valency of atom of an element can be thought of as hands or arms of that atom. Writing a chemical formula ► The symbols or formulas of the component radicals of the compound are written side by side. ► Positive radicals are written left and negative radicals on the right. ► The valencies of the radicals are written below the respective symbols. ► The criss-cross method is applied to exchange the numerical value of valency of each radical. It is written as subscript of the other radical. ► The radical is enclosed in a bracket and the subscript is placed outside the lower right corner. ► The common factor is removed. ► If the subscript of the radical is one, it is omitted. ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Sodium chloride 2. Potassium bromide 3. Hydrogen chloride Na,^C!, NaCI Kk Br ->< 1+ 1-} KBr HCI 4. Zinc oxide 5. Barium oxide 6. Aluminium oxide ZnO BaO AI2O3 7. Sodium phosphate 8. Ammonium carbonate 9. Calcium hydroxide Na (poj NagPO^ NH4V ^0^ 1+ 2- ■ (NH4)2C03 Ca^OH^ 2+ 1-^ Ca(0H)2 CHEMICAL EQUATION Common Greek Prefixes Prefix Number Mono- 1 Di- 2 Tri- 3 Tetra - 4 Penta - 5 Hexa- 6 Hepta - 7 Octa- 8 Nona - 9 Deca - 10 ACTIVITY -ll-S"^ ^ Write the chemical formula of the following compounds. 1. Sodium hydroxide 2. Sodium carbonate 3. Calcium hydroxide 4. Ammonium sulphate 5. Phosphorous trichloride 6. Sulphur hexafluoride 7. Copper (II) nitrate 8. Cobalt (II) chloride MORE TO KNOW Of over 13 million compounds known, 91% of them contain carbon. 1 million = Thousand thousands = (10 lakh) 11.3. INTRODUCTION TO WRITE CHEMICAL REACTIONS The first reaction known to be carried out by humans was combustion (burning). Combustion is the rapid reaction of materials with oxygen. Both heat and light are usually given off during combustion. Fig: Combustion Reaction The symbolic expression of a chemical reaction using symbols of reactants and products is called a chemical equation. ► Reactants are the substances that are present before a reaction takes place. ► Products are the substances that are formed in a reaction. ► The arrow sign means "react to form". ► ► The plus sign means "and". Any special conditions needed to make the reaction to take place are written above or below the arrow mark. NatNa +| CI CI 11 2Na+Cl2-2NaCI Thus, chemical equation is a short hand method of representing a chemical change. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-11 The rules for naming inorganic compounds are summarized as, mr Inorganic Compounds Rule: Name of metal + Name of anion Example: Aluminium oxide (AI2O3) Barium chloride (BaCy Calcium carbonate (CaC03 ) Magnesium sulphate (MgSOJ Sodium nitrate (NaNOg) J Rule: Show cations with Roman numerals Example: Copper (I) oxide (CU2O) Copper (II) oxide (CuO) Iron (II) chloride (FeCy Iron (III) chloride (FeCy Tin (II) oxide (SnO) Tin (IV) oxide (Sn02) Rule : (i) Elements in left of the periodic table first. (ii) If both elements are from the same group, lower one first. (iii) Use Greek prefixes to show the number of atoms. Example: Carbon monoxide (CO) Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) Sulphur dioxide (SO2 ) Sulphur trioxide (SO3 ) CHEMICAL EQUATION 11.4. BALANCING THE CHEMICAL EQUATION 1. Identify reactants and products and write the equation in sentences. 2. Write symbols for elements and formulae for compounds. 3. Balance by changing coefficients in front of the symbols and formulae. 4. Do not change formulae or add or remove substances. 5. Check to be sure whether the same number of each kind of atom is shown on both sides. 6. If the coefficients have a common divisor, simplify. 7. If the product formed is a precipitate (solid separates from solution), use a downward arrow mark (|). 8. If the product formed is gas, an upward arrow mark (f) is used. Balancing of chemical equations 2H2 + O2 2H2O It involves the following steps 1. Write the skeleton equation with correct formula of reactants and products. 2. Count the number of atoms of various elements on both the sides of the sign of equality and make them equal on both sides by multiplying the formulae by a suitable integer. 3. In case of diatomic gases appear as reactants or products; balance the equation by keeping the gases in atomic form. Example 1: Reaction between Iron and Chlorine Skeleton equation Balance CI atom Balance Fe atom Fe + CI2 Fe + 3CI2 2Fe + 3CL ■► Feci 3 2FeCl3 2FeCL Example 2: Reaction of Sodium Carbonate with Hydrochloric acid Skeleton equation Balance sodium atom: Na2C03 + HCI ► NaCI + H2O + CO2 Na2C03 + HCI ► 2NaCI + H2O + CO2 Balance hydrogen, chlorine and oxygen atoms: ► 2NaCI + HoO + CO, Na2C03 + 2HCI Balanced equations : Illustration 1 Reaction between sulphur-di-oxide and oxygen to form sulphur-tri-oxide: ACTIVITY -11.6 ^Q) Sulphur dioxide 2SO, 4 Sulphur trioxide 2SOo Take 3ml of sodium hydroxide in a test tube. Add 5 ml of dilute hydrochloric acid. Name the salt formed. Write a balanced chemical equation CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-11 Illustration : 2 Reaction between hydrogen and Chlorine to form Hydrogen Chloride: ACTIVITY -U.7 ^j^l^ H, CL H 2HCI Illustration : 3 Reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to form water: H h; H^^ -^ '%^ A 2H2 + O2 H -► 2H2O Q^A CDb <S)C From the diagram write the equation for the reaction between A and B to give the product C. ACTIVITY -U.8 Balance the chemical equations. ►NO 1. N2 + O2 2. CaCOg + HCI 3. Na + H2O 4. KCIO3 5. N2 + H2 6. NH3 + O2 ■> CaCl2 + H2O + CO2 -►NaOH + H, ■> KCI + O, -►NK -►N2 + H2O MORE TO KNOW 11.5. INFORMATIONS CONVEYED BY CHEMICAL EQUATIONS ► Reactants and products. ► Number of molecules. ► Number of moles. ► Relative masses. ► Relative volume. Most of the reactions take place in aqueous solutions. Example: All biological reactions, many geological processes, industrial reactions, including most of the reactions carried out in chemistry laboratory. 11.6. INFORMATIONS NOT CONVEYED BY 1 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS. ► Nature of reactants I and products. H ► Heat changes. I ► Reaction condition. I ► Concentration. ■ ► Time factor. ■ ► Isotopes. I Illustration ®®^@ CHEMICAL EQUATION 2 Hydrogen atoms Oxygen atom ®(g)® Electron Nucleus 2H. 1 Water molecule + Oo ► 2H2O The above balanced equation provides The following informations are not the following informations (i) Reactants and products In this reaction, hydrogen and oxygen are reactants and water is the product obtained. (ii) Number of molecules The equation shows that two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule combine to form two molecules of water. The two molecules of water are made up of four hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms all together. (iii) Number of moles The relative number of moles of hydrogen, oxygen and water are in the ratio 2:1:2. (iv) Relative masses The relative masses of hydrogen, oxygen and water are in the ratio 4:32:36 which is equal to 1:8:9. (v) Relative volumes The relative volumes of hydrogen, oxygen and water are in the ratio 2:1:2. conveyed by the chemical equation (i) Nature of reactants and products This equation does not convey any information about the physical states of hydrogen, oxygen and water. (ii) Heat changes A chemical reaction is always accompanied by heat changes. Such an information is not conveyed. (iii) Reaction conditions The favourable conditions of temperature and pressure to carry out the reaction are not mentioned. (iv) Concentrations The concentrations of hydrogen, oxygen and water are not furnished. (v) Time factor The time required for completion of the reaction is not specified. (vi) Isotopes There is no particular information about the isotopes of the elements hydrogen and oxygen. CHEMISTRY J. CHAPTER-11 Know the occurrence of natural chemical reaction Some chemical reactions take place naturally during lightening. Nitrogen in the atmosphere combine with oxygen to form nitrogen di oxide. N. 20. ■> 2NO, "2 '-^2 "^ *-ii.w2 Oxygen present in the atmosphere is converted to ozone. 30. -► 2O0 This acidic oxide like nitrogen di oxide mixes with tiny droplets of water vapour to produce acid rain which is harmful to plants. EVALUATION Section A Choose the correct answer 1. Sodium atom is electro positive in nature. Atomic number of sodium is 11. Then number of electrons in sodium ion is (9,10,12) 2. If an atom undergoes loss of electron it becomes electro positive ion. Number of electrons lost by Fe^"" ion is (2,3,0) 3. A chemical compound contains acid radical and basic radicals. The basic radical present in zinc sulphate compound is (Zinc ion. Sulphate ion, both) 4. A polyatomic ion is a charged particle formed from more than one atom. Identify the polyatomic ion from the following C|- , 02- , Na^ , NH/ 5. An electronegative ion is formed by gaining of electrons. Select the mono atomic anions from the following CN- , PO/- , I- , NO2- CHEMICAL EQUATION 6. An ion is produced as a result of gain or loss of electrons by an atom. In Au^"^ ion, 3 electrons are . (gained, lost) 7. Reactants are the substances that are present before the chemical reaction takes place. 2Fe + 3CI2 ►2FeCl3 Name the reactants 8. A chemical formula is a symbolic representation of the constituents of a compound. Pick out the correct chemical formula of sodium carbonate. Na2(C03)2, 2NaC03, Na2C03 9. Valency of sodium is 1. Valency of chlorine is 1. Write the formula of sodium chloride. 10. The number of atoms of the reactants and products of various elements on both side are equal in a balanced chemical equation. Balance the following equation. N2 + H2 ►NH3 Section B 11. Na ►Na^ + e" Cl + e- ► C|- a) Is sodium a metal or non-metal? b) Write the name of CI" ion. 12. A compound is formed by the combination of both acid and basic radicals. Mention the acid radical in the following compounds. a) K2CO3 b) BaCl2 13. Match: CI" - polyatomic anion Cr^"^ - monoatomic anion NH^"^ - monoatomic cation PO^^" - polyatomic cation 14. Name the anions present in the following compounds. a) NaCI b) KNO3 15. Pickout the odd one a) NO3" , NO2- , MnO^" , CI" b) BaCl2 , NaN03 MgSO^ , CU2O CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-11 16. The given sentences are wrong. Correct the mistakes wherever necessary and write the correct sentences. a) Change the formulae wherever necessary. b) If the product formed is a precipitate, use upward arrow mark (f ). 17. Pick up the poly atomic anions from the following. Chloride ion, Fluoride ion Phosphate ion Sulphate ion 18. Atomic number of fluorine is 9. It becomes fluoride ion, after gaining an electron. Give the reason for its acceptancy nature of electron. 19.Valency of Zn is 2 Valency of Oxygen is 2 Construct the formula for zinc oxide by using the above hints. 20. Formula of Aluminium oxide is AI2O3. Find the valency of Aluminium and Oxygen. Section - C 21. The formula of a compound formed between silicon and Oxygen is Si02. Predict the formula of the compound formed between (i) Carbon and Oxygen (ii) Silicon and Chlorine (iii) Carbon and Sulphur (iv) Calcium and Nitrogen (v) Aluminium and Fluorine 22. Identify the elements and compounds (i) Br^ (ii) HF (iii) P, (iv) NH3 (v) Sg FURTHER REFERENCE # Book General Chemistry - Jean B. Umland & Jon.M.Bellama West publishing company Websites ^ http://www.visionlearning.com ^ http://www.chymist.com Chapter PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-12 12. PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS In a fruit shop, there are different types of fruits. Are they kept in a heap? They are arranged in a proper way. The stacking of fruits in the fruit stall involves (i) types of fruits, (ii) their size, (iii) colour. This type of arrangement is called classification. Similarly, in chemistry hundreds of elements have been discovered. It is necessary to classify them on the basis of some properties, which makes us useful to refer an element easily. History of Periodic Table More than one hundred elements, are known today. Inorder to track so many elements in a logical and semantic way, scientists studied many properties of elements. There are groups of elements having similar physical and chemical properties. For example, sodium vigorously reacts with water. Similarly, potassium also vigorously reacts with water. In addition, sodium and potassium are silvery white metals and are very soft. A similar prediction can be made about rubidium and cesium. Attempts have been made from time to time to classify the elements on the basis of their physical and chemical properties. This resulted in the concept called 'periodicity'. 12.1 EARLY ATTEMPTS OF CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS Lavoisier's classification of elements In 1789, Lavoisier first attempted to classify the elements into two divisions namely Metals and Non-metals. However this classification was not satisfactory as there were many exceptions in each category. Dobereiner's classification of elements In 1817, Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner grouped three elements into what he termed triads. For example, elements like lithium, sodium and potassium have atomic masses 7, 23 and 39 respectively. They are grouped together into a triad as. Li (7) Na (23) K (39) In each case, the middle element has an atomic mass almost equal to the average atomic masses of the other two elements in the triad. Chemically alike elements could be arranged in a group of three in which the atomic mass of the middle element was approximately the arithmetic mean of the two extreme elements. Note that the atomic mass of sodium is the average of atomic masses of lithium and potassium. Limitation of Dobereiner's law Only a limited number of elements could give such triads and this law failed to accommodate other elements resembling a lot with triads. ACTIVITY -12.1 Element Atomic Mass Calcium 40 Strontium 88 Barium 137 Chlorine 35.5 Bromine 80.0 Iodine 127.0 Arrange the above elements in two groups of triads. PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS Newland's classification of elements In 1863, John Newland suggested another classification of elements. He arranged the elements in the order of their increasing atomic masses. He noted that there appeared to be a repetition of similar properties in every eighth element. Therefore he placed seven elements in each group. He then arranged the 49 elements known at that time into seven groups of seven each. Newland referred to his arrangement as the Law of octaves. I If elements be arranged in ascending order of their atomic masses then every eighth element was a kind of repetition of the first one either succeeding or m preceding it like eighth note in octave of music. J For example, Note 1 (Sa) 2 (re) 3 (ga) 4 (ma) 5 (pa) 6 (dha) 7 (ni) Element Li Be B C N O F Na Mg Al Si P S CI K Ca Cr Ti Mn Fe - Note: Sodium is similar to Lithium. Similarly Magnesium is similar to Beryllium. ACTIVITY -12.2 ^l^^p write the name ot element with sinmar Element Element with similar property Aluminium Silicon Phosphorous Sulphur Chlorine Periodicity is the recurrence of similar physical and chemical properties of elements when arranged in a particular order. Limitations of Newland's classification At that time inert gases were not discovered. Later, with the inclusion of inert gas, 'Neon' between 'Fluorine' and 'Sodium', it was the 9th element which became similar to the first. Similarly inclusion of inert gas 'Argon' between 'Chlorine' and 'Potassium' also made it the 9th element similar to the first. Lothar Meyer's classification of elements In 1864, Lothar Meyer plotted atomic weight against atomic volume of various elements. He found that elements with similar properties and valency fell under one another. However, this also could not give the better understanding. j CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-12 Mendeleev, a Russian chemist who was the first to propose that the seemingly different chemical elements can be sorted out according to certain similarities in their properties. The arrangement he proposed is called the periodic table. His table proved to be a unifying principle in chemistry and led to the discovery of many new chemical elements. Mendeleev (1834-1907) 12.2 MENDELEEV'S PERIODIC TABLE Groups^ ljl|L^ ^mpw ■IP ^^^1 Oxide : Hydride: R,0 RH RO RH2 R2O3 RH3 RO, RH4 R2O5 RH3 RO3 RH2 R2O7 RH RO4 Periods A B A B A B A B A B A B A B Transition Series 1 H 1.008 2 Li 6.941 Be 9.012 B 10.81 C 12.011 N 14.007 15.999 F 18.998 3 Na 22.99 Mg 24.31 Al 26.98 Si 28.09 P 30.97 S 32.06 CI 35.453 4 First Series K 39.10 Ca 40.08 Ti 47.90 v 50.94 Cr 52.20 Mn 54.94 Fe Co Ni 55.85 58.93 58.69 Second Series Cu 63.55 Zn 65.39 -- -- As 74.92 Se 78.96 Br 79.90 5 First Series Rb 85.47 Sr 87.62 Y 88.91 Zr 91.22 Nb 92.91 Mo 95.94 To 98 Ru Rh Pd 101.07 102.9 106.4 Second series Ag 107.87 Cd 112.41 In 114.82 Sn 118.71 Sb 121.76 Te 127.90 1 126.90 6. First series Cs 132.90 Ba 137.34 La 138.91 Hf 178.49 Ta 180.95 W 183.84 -- Os Ir Pt 190.2 192.2 195.2 Second series Au 196.97 Hg 200.59 Tl 204.38 Pb 207.2 Bi 208.98 Fig: Mendeleev's Periodic Table ("R" is used to represent any of the elements in a group) 12,3 MENDELEEV'S CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS Tine first successful arrangement of elements was done in 1 869 by Russian chemist Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev. Mendeleev published a periodic table of elements on the basis of a law called mendeleev's periodic law which states that, f "The physical and chemical properties of elements are the periodic functionsj of their atomic masses". ACTIVITY -12.3 A Name the elements missing in the Mendeleev's periodic table with atomic masses 44, 68 and 72. To which group do they belong? Is there any group for noble gases? PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS Characteristics of Mendeleev's Periodic table ► Mendeleev felt that similar properties occurred after periods (horizontal rows) of varying length. ► Mendeleev made an eight-column table of elements. ► He had to leave some blank spaces in order to group all the elements with similar properties in the same column. ► Mendeleev suggested that there must be other elements that had not been discovered. ► He predicted the properties and atomic masses of several elements that were known at that time. Later on, when these elements were discovered their properties remarkably agreed with the predicted one. For example, He left a gap below silicon in group IV A, and called the yet- undiscovered element as 'Eka silicon'. Discovery of 'Germanium' during his life time proved him correct. Property Mendeleev's prediction in 1871 Actual property of Germanium discovered in 1886 l.Atomic Mass About 72 72.59 2. Specific gravity 5.5 g cm"^ 5.47 g cm"^ 3. Colour Dark grey Dark grey 4.Formula of oxide ESO2 Ge02 5. Nature of chloride ESCI4 GeCI^ ► Similarly Scandium for 'eka-boron' and Gallium for 'eka-aluminium' vacancies were later discovered during his life time. ► Eight out of ten vacant spaces left by Mendeleev were filled by the discovery of new elements. ► Incorrect atomic masses of some arranged elements were corrected. For example, atomic mass of Beryllium as corrected from 13 to 9. ACTIVITY -12.4 ACTIVITY -12.5 Using Mendeleev's periodic table, write the formula of oxides of 1. Lithium, 2. Boron, 3. Sodium, 4. Beryllium, 5. Calcium. MORE TO KNOW Write down the names of elements belonging to I and II groups in Mendeleev's periodic table. Group lA IB MA MB Elements The difficulty in the Mendeleev's periodic table is overcome by introduction of Modern periodic table. It is also known as Long form of periodic table. In this table, properties of elements are dependent on their electronic configurations (distributions). Hence, modern periodic law is defined as the properties of elements are the periodic function of their atomic numbers. CHEMISTRY Modified Mendeleev's periodic table CHAPTER-12 CD CD &~ CD o o ^ LU 00 o 2 o 00 -^ < 00 in ^ CD X o 00 un ■-^ 00 CsJ Ci o CD CsJ ?? 00 00 00 CsJ TJ C7> CD 00 CL CD "-00 CsJ r-. in CD in ^ ^ O O ^ un — r- ^ 00 CD 00 un ^ ^ CsJ 1^ > Csj o CsJ CD CD 3 (/) 00 in in o o Tr-\ 5 o s CsJ CD CD ^ < CD LL 00 <^ CD IT) ^ in 00 ^ OvJ in tS IT) o ^ CD 00 o CD CD CsJ 00 in CD CsJ CD S o CsJ in 00 C/) CD CD ^"^ o ^ CD o CsJ CsJ un O n ,T. > < CD O CN CD CD s s s CD CN [^ 00 o ^-\ 00 S 00 un <3> CsJ 00 CsJ ^<^ Q- ^ > C^ <r 00 ^^ 00 CsJ CD CD ,—1 C/) ^ \— 00 s 00 > < CQ o o 1^ -1 CD s " ^ CD un 1^ 1^ CD 00 CD 00 ^ ^ CD 00 o in Csj CD ^ 3 CD s 00 o CsJ o o CO ^ ■Pc^ CD CD rsi o CO o x^ Q. 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CL z LD ^ 1^ CO ^ CD CO CD r-\ CsJ T3 D Csl Csl O CsJ ^ o 05 ^ ^ CD CO r-\ Csl i_ CL 05 CD Q- O CD ^ ^ ^ LO CO CD tH CsJ CD SI o \- CNJ •^ o O 00 c\i o ^ LO 00 CD r-\ CNJ in CD T3 (/) <D ns ■D ^ c c ^ ■^ ^ * -1 ■X < CD I^ -Q 03 -I— • o 'td o a5 Q_ CO "O c "O 0) O O) PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS Characteristics of Modified mendeleev's periodic table Elements increasing masses. are arranged in the order of their atomic 5. 6. 8. Vertical columns are called 'groups' and horizontal rows are called 'periods'. There are 'nine groups' numbered from I to VIII and O. I to VII groups are sub divided into sub groups A and B. There are 'seven periods'. The first three periods contain 2, 8, 8 elements respectively. They are called 'short periods'. The fourth, fifth and sixth periods have 18, 18 and 32 elements respectively. The seventh period is an incomplete period. 9. Blank spaces are left for elements to be discovered. 10. The series of 'fourteen elements' following lanthanum is called 'Lanthanide series'. 11. The series of 'fourteen elements' following actinium is called 'Actinide series'. 12. Lanthanides and actinides are placed at the bottom of the periodic table. Limitations of modified Mendeleev's periodic table 1. Few elements having a higher atomic mass were placed before elements having a lower atomic mass. Example: Argon (39.9) was placed before Potassium (39.1) Cobalt (58.9) was placed before Nickel (58.6) Tellurium (127.9) was placed before Iodine (126.9) 2. There were no provisions for placing Isotopes. 3. Position of hydrogen in the periodic table was not certain about keeping it with either in group lAor in group VII A. 4. Chemically dissimilar elements were placed in the same group. For example. Alkali metals were placed along with \ Sodium Potassium Coinage metals Copper Silver Gold MORE TO KNOW Gallium is a metal. It has a melting point of 29.8°C. Hence temperature of human body is enough to melt the metal. 12.3.1. METALS AND NON-METALS All the elements in the periodic table are broadly divided into ► Metals ► Nonmetals ► Semi-metals (Metalloids) Metals Metals are shiny if their surfaces are clean. All metals (except mercury) are solids under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. Metals usually conduct heat and electricity well and can be rolled or hammered into sheets and CHEMISTRY pulled into wires. Their chemical properties vary tremendously. 'Gold' and 'Platinum' are used in jewellery because they do not react with water or oxygen in the air. Rubidium not only reacts violently with water but begins to burn if it is exposed to air. Native form J Platinum Gold Silver Nonmetals Elements that do not have the properties of metals are called nonmetals. Yellow-Sulphur, White-Phosphorous, Red-Bromine, Black-Carbon Metalloids (Semi-metals) Elements that have some metallic properties and some nonmetallic properties are called metalloids. They are all solids and look rather like metals. Eg. Silicon, Germanium. 12.3.2. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF METALS AND NON-METALS 1. Physical state Metals exist in solid state except mercury. Nonmetals may exist in solid, liquid or gaseous state. CHAPTER-12 2. Density Metals have usually high density. Nonmetals are less denser substances. 3. Conductivity Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity. Nonmetals are poor conductors or non-conductors of heat and electricity. ACTIVITY -12.6 ► Take a copper rod. ► Clamp this rod on a stand. ► Fix a pin to the free end of the rod using a wax. ► Heat the rod using a Bunsen burner as shown in the figure. ► Observe that, after sometimes, the pin falls down. ► Write down the reason. PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS 4. Metallic Lusture Metals in pure state, have polished surface and reflect the light falling on the surface producing a characteristic shining. This property is known as metallic lusture. Generally non-metals have no lustrous character. However graphite is a nonmetal with lustrous character. ACTIVITY -12.7 Take samples of iron, copper, aluminium and magnesium. Note the appearance of the sample first. Clean the surface of each sample by rubbing them using sand paper. Now note the appearance of the sample again. Name the elements in the decreasing order of lustrous character. MORE TO KNOW ► Among metals, silver is the best conductor of electricity. ► Among nonmetals, graphite is the only conductor of electricity. ► Mercury is a metal with a very low melting point and it becomes liquid at room temperature. 5. Malleability Malleability is the ability of metals to be hammered or squeezed. Hence metals are malleable. Nonmetals cannot be hammered and hence they are not malleable. 6. Ductility Ductility is the ability of metals to be pulled or stretched into different shapes. Hence metals are ductile. Nonmetals are non-ductile. ACTIVITY -12.8 Ductility is the ability of metals to be drawn into thin wires ► Consider iron, magnesium, lead, copper, aluminium and calcium. ► Which of the above metals are also available in the form of wires? MORE TO KNOW ► Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal-over 3300°C. ► The lightest metal is lithium. It weighs about half as much as water. ► Osmium is the heaviest metal. It is about 22 times heavier than water and nearly 3 times heavier than iron. 7. Sonority It is the phenomenon of producing a characteristic sound when a material is struck. Metals are sonorous in nature. Nonmetals are nonsonorous. ACTIVITY -12.9 ► ► ► Take pieces of iron, copper and aluminium. Take one by one and strike it using a hammer several times. Observe the sound produced. Repeat with other metals. Record the sonorous character of these metals. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-12 8. Hardness Substances with high density are hard, whereas less denser substances are soft. Metals are hard. Hence they have high melting point except mercury. Nonmetals have low density and hence they are soft. 12.3.3CHEMICALPROPERTIES OF METALS AND NON METALS 1. Action of oxygen(combustion) (i) Metals Metals combine with oxygen to form metallic oxides. Magnesium burns in oxygen to form magnesium oxide. Magnesium burns in oxygen Aluminium combines with oxygen to form a layer of aluminium oxide. 4AI + 30. ^ 2AI2O3 Formation of aluminium oxide over a surface of aluminium Iron wool (threads) burns in oxygen to form iron oxide along with release of thermal energy and light energy. 4Fe + 30. -► 2FepO 2^3 Iron wool (made into thin fibres) burns in oxygen to produce both heat and light energy. (11) Non-metals Sulphur burns in air at 250° C with a pale blue flame to form sulphur dioxide. S + O. ■>so,t Phosphorous burns in air to form phosphorous pentoxide. 4P + 50, ■>2PAt Carbon burns in air to form carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. 2C + 0, C+Oo ■ — ►2COf ■^co^t ACTIVITY -12.10 Classify the following oxides into acidic or basic oxides. 1. Sodium oxide 2. Zinc oxide 3. Aluminium oxide 4. Carbon dioxide 5. Sulphur dioxide ■ PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS 2. Action of water (i) Metals Metals like sodium and potassium react with cold water vigorously and liberate hydrogen gas. ►2NaOH + H2f 2Na + 2H20 2K + 2H2O -►2KOH + H2f Magnesium and Iron react with steam to form magnesium oxide and iron oxide respectively. Hydrogen is liberated. Mg + H2O 3Fe + 4 H2O -►MgO + H2t — ► FegO^ + 4 H2 f Aluminium slowly reacts with steam to form aluminium hydroxide and hydrogen. 2AI + 6H20- -►2AI(OH)3 + 3H2f Other metals like copper, nickel, silver, gold have no reaction with water. (ii) Nonmetals Carbon reacts with water to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen. C + H2O -►COf +H2t 3. Action of acids on metals Metals such as sodium, magnesium, aluminium react with dilute hydrochloric acid and liberate hydrogen gas. Mg + 2HCI 2AI + 6HCI -►MgCl2 + H2f -►2AICl3 + 3H2f ACTIVITY -12.U ► Take 10 ml of dilute hydrochloric acid in a test tube. ► Add a small piece of iron into it. ► Observe the changes. 4. Action of chlorine (i) Metals Metals like sodium, calcium react with chlorine to form their chlorides. 2Na + CL Ca + CL- — ► 2NaCI -► CaCL (ii) Nonmetals Sulphur reacts with chlorine to form sulphur mono chloride. 2S + CL ■> S2CI2 5. Action of hydrogen (i) Metals Very few metals like sodium, potassium, calcium react with hydrogen to form their hydrides. 2Na+K Ca+H,- -►2NaH -►CaH. (ii) Nonmetals Sulphur reacts with hydrogen to form hydrogen sulphide which has characteristic rotten egg odour. S + H. ■^H^Sf Carbon reacts with hydrogen in the presence of electric arc to form acetylene. 2C + H. -^C^H^t 12.3.4 REACTIVITY SERIES in single - replacement reactions, one element takes the place of another element in a compound. Very reactive metals react with water at room temperature. The reactive metal, takes the place of hydrogen in water. At room temperature, sodium reacts with water more vigorously. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-12 2Na + 2H20 -►2NaOH + H2f MORE TO KNOW Calcium reacts with water slowly. Ca + 2H2O -►Ca(OH)2 + H2t Magnesium does not react with water. Mg + H^ -► No reaction These observations lead to the conclusion that the order of reactivity of these metals towards water is, Na > Ca > Mg ACTIVITY -12.12^^^^^^^^H Reactivity series of metals: Potassium(K) These metals react with water Sodium(Na) Calcium(Ca) Magnesium(Mg) These metals react with dilute acids. Aluminium(AI) Manganese(Mn) Zinc(Zn) Chromium(Cr) Iron(Fe) Nlckel(Ni) Tin(Sn) Lead(Pb) Copper(Cu) These metals do not react with dilute acids. Silver(Ag) Gold(Au) 1 Reactivity of metals appears to decrease from left to right across a period in the periodic table and reactivity increases from top to bottom of a group in the periodic table. 12.3.5 USES OF SERIES REACTIVITY 1. Metals which react with water are placed first in the reactivity series. 2. Metals at the beginning of the series react with dilute acids. 3. Metals at the bottom of the series do not react with water. 4. Metals at the bottom of the series do not react with dilute acids. 5. Metals in the middle of the series react with dilute acids. 6. Metals upper in the reactivity series displace the metals in the bottom of the series. 12.3.6 ALLOYS The idea of making alloys is not new. It was known by people in ancient times. Thousands of years ago, people discovered that they could use copper instead of stone to make their tools. About 3500 B.C. it was found that if tin, a fairly soft metal was combined with copper, a very hard material was produced. This material was the alloy called "bronze". Bronze was a better material for many purposes than either of the two metals that composed it. Alloys are homogeneous mixture consisting of two or more metals fused together in the molten state in fixed ratios. PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS Composition of Alloys There are two types of alloys. They are, (1) Substitutional alloys (ii) Interstitial alloys In substitutional alloys, atoms of one metal randomly take the place of atoms of another metal. 90% Ni - 10% Cu • =Ni 10% Ni - 90% Cu •=Cu In interstitial alloys, small non-metallic atoms such as H(Hydrogen), B(Boron), C(Carbon) and N(Nitrogen) occupy the holes in the crystal structure of the metal. Types of alloys: There are two types of alloys. They are, ► Ferrous alloys - contain iron as base metal. ► Non-ferrous alloys - contain a little or no iron. MORE TO KNOW Substitutional alloy G = Fe in top layer Q = Fe in second layer • = Carbon Interstitial alloy AInicos are alloys of Iron, Aluminium and Nickel and Cobalt. AInicos are used to make magnets, up to 25 times as strong as ordinary magnets. 12.3.7 USES OF ALLOYS Name Composed of Uses Brass Copper Zinc Screws, windows and door fittings Bronze Copper Tin Statues, machine parts Solder Tin Lead In electrical and plumbing industries to join metal surfaces without melting them. Steel Iron, Carbon, Chromium, Nickel, Tungsten Construction of bridges, buildings, household products, cooking utensils Duralumin Aluminium, Copper Manganese, Magnesium Aircraft parts, cars, ships and nails. Characteristics of alloy 1. It enhances the hardness of metal. 2. It enhances the tensile strength of the base metal. 3. It improves corrosion resistance. 4. It modifies the colour. 5. It provides better castability MORE TO KNOW Amalgam is an alloy in which one of the constituents is mercury. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-12 12.3.8. NANO SCIENCE Nanoscience is the study of atoms, molecules and objects whose size is on the nanometre scale (1-100 nm). 1 nanometre = 10"^ metre Nanotechnology ► It involves devices . making ultra-small ► They are about a nanometre. ► One nanometre is equal to one billionth of a metre in length. ► It is roughly the size of ten atoms placed end to end. Objective of nanotechnology When the size of the matter is reduced to a few nanometers, there is an increase in surface area. The increased surface area assumes a critical role such as in "chemical catalysis". Applications of nanotechnology ► Tiny computers can be produced, which are many times faster than ordinary ones. ► It is used to make miniature pumps,which are useful in medical field. ► Nanostructured materials are used as catalysts to improve the efficiency of batteries. ► It makes a significant contribution to the fields of semiconductors and biotechnology. ► It converts a particular wavelength of light into heat. ► It finds use in the treatment of cancer. ► It is used in textile industry to provide better stain-resistance in fabrics. ► It is useful to reduce the degradation of food and vegetables. EVALUATION Section A Choose the correct answer 1 . Classification of elements into two divisions namely metals and non-metals was firstly attempted by (Dobereiner, Lavoisier, Mendeleev). 2. As per Newland's 'Law of octaves' which of the two elements in the given table have repetition of similar properties. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Na Mg Al Si P S CI K 3. In Mendeleev's periodic table, all the elements are sorted in the periodic functions of their (Mass number. Atomic number) 4. One of the coinage metals is (Copper, Sodium, Nickel) 5. Liquid metal at room temperatrue is (Mercury, Bromine, Tin) PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS 6. Osmium is the heaviest metal. It is (22V2, 3, about half) times heavier than iron. 7. Metalloids have some metallic properties and some nonmetallic properties. An example for metalloid is (Silicon, Argon, Iodine) 8. Complete Mg+02 ► ? 9. Sodium reacts with water and gives sodium hydroxide and (O2, H^.Cy 10. Sulphur reacts with hydrogen to give hydrogen sulphide. The odour of hydrogen sulphide is (rotten egg, pleasant) 11. Arrange the following elements in the ascending order, based on their reactivity. Na, Ca, Mg 12. Bronze is an alloy of (copper and tin, silver and tin, copper and silver) 13. An alloy used in manufacturing Aircraft parts is (solder, brass, duralumin) 14. The technology that is useful to reduce the degradation of food and vegetables is (Nano technology, biotechnology, genetic engineering) Section B 15. Mendeleev's periodic table is constructed into vertical columns and horizontal rows. a. Mention the name of vertical columns b. Mention the name of horizontal rows. 16. In the periodic table the position of hydrogen was not certain. Give reason. 17. Pick the odd one out. a. Coins, Brass, Copper, Gold ornaments b. Bromine, Carbon, Hydrogen, Aluminium 18. What is an alloy? Give one example. 19. 2Na+ CI2 ► NaCI a. Name the product. b. Name the colour of CI2 gas. 20. Mention the objective of nano science. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-12 Section C 21. Mendeleev arranged elements in periods and groups. a. Total number of periods in modified periodic table b. Total number of groups in modified periodic table c. Number of elements in first period d. Mention the incomplete period e. Where are the Lanthanides and Actinides placed? 22. Answer the following a. Metals are sonorous in nature. But non-metals are non-sonorous . Give reason. b. Which is the most ductile and malleable metal? c. Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity. Can you say the metal which is the best conductor of electricity? d. Metals are hard. Non metals are soft. Give reason. 23. Answer the following a. Aluminium reacts with oxygen to form a layer. Write the name and chemical formula of the layer. b. Sodium reacts with water to form sodium hydroxide. But magnesium does not react with water. Give reason. c. P2O5 is acidic or basic? 24. Answer the following a. Mention any two applications of nanotechnology? b. Name the alloy that is used to make statues. c. Write the composition of solder. . FU RTHER ^BkEEHEI Book ext book of Inorganic chemistry - P.L. Soni Sultan chand & Sons Websites http://www.chymist.com Chapter CHEMICAL BONDS CHEMISTRY ■ H 1 ■ CHAPTER-13 13. CHEMICAL BONDS In a garland, the flowers are tiedup by means of a thread. Unless the flowers are tied, they cannot be held together. The role of thread is to hold all the flowers together. It is more or less equivalent to a bond. Molecules of chemical substances are made of two or more atoms joined together by some force acting between them. This force which results from the interaction between the various atoms that forms a stable molecule is referred to as the chemical bond. A chemical bond is defined as a force that acts between two or more atoms to hold them together as a stable molecule. 13.1 OCTET RULE Gilbert Newton Lewis used the knowledge of electronic configuration of elements to explain "why atoms joined to form molecules". He visualized that inert (noble) gases have a stable electronic configuration, while atoms of all other elements have unstable or incomplete electronic configuration. In 1916, G.N. Lewis gave the"electronic theory of valence". This electronic theory of valence could well be named as the "octet theory of valence". Atoms interact by either electron- transfer or electron-sharing, so as to achieve the stable outer shell of eight electrons. This tendency for atoms to have eight electrons in the outer shell is known as "octet rule" or "Rule of eight". MORE TO KNOW ACTIVITY -13.1^ k Which among the following elements share or transfer electrons to obey octet rule? 1. Helium 2. Argon 3. Lithium 4. Chlorine Elements with stable electronic configurations have eight electrons in their outermost shell. They are called inert gases. Ne (Atomic number 10) = 2, 8 and Ar (Atomic number 18) = 2,8,8 ACTIVITY -13.2 The following elements have no stable electronic configuration. Write the electron distribution. Element Atomic number Electron distribution Sodium Carbon Fluorine Chlorine MORE TO KNOW Lewis used dot-symbols to represent the valence electrons which make bonds. Lewis Electron Valence Symbol distribution electrons H ti> 1 -Be* (2 -) 2 12,3} 3 • (2,4> -♦ mm * (2,5) B CHEMICAL BONDS 13.2 TYPES OF CHEMICAL BOND Scientists have recognized three different types of bonds. They are, ► Ionic or electrovalent bond ► Covalent bond ► Co-ordinate covalent bond MORE TO KNOW Electrostatic attraction is found between oppositlvely charged ions. It is also known as coulombic force of attraction. 13.3 FORMATION OF IONIC AND COVALENT BOND 1. Formation of ionic (or) electrovalent bond Let us consider two atoms A and B. The atom A has 1 electron In its valence (outermost) shell. B has 7 electrons in Its valence shell. Hence A has 1 electron excess and B has 1 electron shorter than the stable octet configuration. Therefore, A transfers an electron to B.ln this transaction both the atoms A and B acquire a stable electron- octet configuration. A becomes a positive ion (cation) and B becomes a negative Ion (anion). Both the Ions are held together by electrostatic force of attraction. Formation of ionic bond between A and B can be shown as, Ax A+ + X rI • I (OR) A% B A ^ B (OR) Ab Thus electrostatic attraction between cation (+) and anion (-) produced by electron transfer constitutes an ionic or electrovalent bond. The compounds containing such a bond are referred to as "Ionic or electrovalent compounds" by . dsj ACTIVITY -13.3"^ k. The atom wh becomes anion. ich gives off electron becomes cation and which accepts electron Which atoms do form cations or anions? 1. Lithium 3. Fluorine 2. Sodium 4. Chlorine Conditions favourable for the formation of ionic bond (i) Number of valence electrons The atom A should possess 1, 2 or 3 valence electrons while the atom B should have 5, 6 or 7 valence electrons. (ii) Net lowering of energy To form a stable ionic compound, there must be a net lowering of energy. In other CHEMISTRY ■ ■ 1 ■ CHAPTER-13 words, energy must be released as a result of electron transfer from one atom to another. (iii) Attraction towards electrons Atoms A and B should differ in their attracting powers towards electrons. A has less attraction of electrons and hence gives off the electron while B has more attraction towards electron and hence gains electrons. Illustration: 1 MORE TO KNOW Attracting power of bonded pair electrons by an atom is known as electro negativity. Atom with more attraction towards bonded electrons is called more electronegative element and lesser attraction towards bonded electrons is known as lower electronegative element. Formation of Sodium chloride Sodium chloride is formed from an atom of sodium and one atom of chlorine. Electronic configuration of Na atom=2, 8, 1 (Atomic number 11) Electronic configuration of CI atom=2, 8, 7 (Atomic number 17). Sodium transfers its one valence electron to chlorine and both achieve stable electron octet configurations. Hence sodium (Na) becomes, sodium cation (Na"") and Chlorine (CI) becomes chloride anion (CI) both the ions are joined together by electrostatic force of attraction to make an ionic bond. In the Crystalline state, each Na"" ion is surrounded by 6 CI" ions and each CI" ion is surrounded by 6 Na"" ions. 2,8,1 Sodium atom 2,8,7 Chlorine atom 2,8 Sodium cation 2,8,8 Chloride anion Structure of sodium chloride CHEMICAL BONDS Illustration: 2 Formation of Magnesium chloride Atoms Atomic number Electron distribution Magnesium 12 2,8,2 Chlorine 17 2,8,7 Magnesium has 2 valence electrons while chlorine has 7 valence electrons. Magnesium atom transfers 2 electrons one to each chlorine atom and thus all the three atoms achieve the stable octet electronic configuration. Magnesium atom becomes Mg^"^ ion and the 2 chlorine atoms become 2 CI" ions forming Magnesium chloride as MgCl2 . 2,8,2 Magnesium atom 2,8,7 Chlorine atom 2,8 Magnesium cation 2,8,8 Chloride anion 2. Formation of Covalent bonds G.N.Lewis suggested that two atoms could achieve stable 2 or 8 electrons in the outer shell by sharing electrons between them. Atom A has 1 valence electron and atom B has 1 valence electron. As they approach each other, each atom contributes one electron and the resulting electron pair fills the outer shell of both the atoms. «P# Blue - copper sulphate White - sodium chloride Red - cobalt chloride } Ionic compounds (OR) A Thus a shared pair of electrons contributes a covalent bond or electron pair bond. The compounds containing a covalent bond are called covalent compounds. CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-13 Conditions for formation of covalent bond Number of valence electrons Each of the combining atoms A and B should have 5, 6 or 7 valence electrons so that both the atoms achieve the stable octet electronic configuration by sharing 3, 2 orl electron pair. Equal electron attraction Both the atoms A and B should exhibit nearly equal attraction towards bonded pair of electrons, ie. equal electronegativity. Equal sharing of electrons Both the atoms A and B should have nearly equal attraction towards bonded electron pair. MORE TO KNOW ( Multiple bonds enable more atoms to achieve an octet electronic configuration. J Illustration: 1 Formation of hydrogen molecule Hydrogen molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms. Each hydrogen atom has one valence electron. Each hydrogen atom contributes an electron to the shared pair and both the atoms attain stable electronic configuration. -00 Hydrogen atom Hydrogen atom Hydrogen molecule Illustration: 2 Formation of chlorine molecule Each chlorine atom (2, 8, 7) has seven valence electrons. Each of them share an electron and attain stable electronic configuration. Chlorine atom Chlorine atom Chlorine molecule CHEMICAL BONDS Illustration: 3 Formation of water molecule Oxygen atom (2, 6) has six valence electrons. Hydrogen atom has one valence electron each. Oxygen atom shares two electrons one each with two hydrogen atoms. Water molecule Hydrogen atoms Oxygen atom MORE TO KNOW r ^^^ Water molecule Illustration: 4 Formation of ammonia molecule Nitrogen atom (2, 5) has five valence electrons. Hydrogen atom has one valence electron each, electrons one each with three hydrogen atoms. Lone pair of electrons are the electrons, that are not involved in bond formation. A Nitrogen atom Hydrogen atoms Nitrogen atom shares three Lone pair of electrons Bonded pair of electrons Ammonia molecule CHEMISTRY CHAPTER-13 hydrogen atom Shared electrons Covalent bond nitrogen atom nucleus of hydrogen atom nucleus nitrogen atom High melting point Since the (+) and (-) ions are tightly held in their positions, only at high temperature, these ions acquire sufficient energy to overcome the attractive force causing movement. Hence ionic compounds have high melting point. Hard and brittle Their hardness is due to strong electrostatic force of attraction. When external force is applied slight shift takes place bringing like-ions in front of each other. It causes repulsion and cleavage occurs. Ammonia molecule Cleavage ACTIVITY -13.4 Write the Lewis formula and predict the number of covalent bonds in 1. Chlorine 2. Ammonia 3. Fluorine 13.3.1. COMMON PROPERTIES OF IONIC COMPOUNDS Solids at room temperature On account of strong electrostatic force between the opposite ions, these ions are not in a free movement. Hence ionic compounds are solids at room temperature. MORE TO KNOW Refractory materials are heat resistant materials. They have very high melting points. They are used in the extraction of metals from their ores. Some refractory materials are ionic compounds. CHEMICAL BONDS Soluble in water When a crystal is put in water, the polar water molecules separate the (+) and (-) ions making the crystal soluble. ACTIVITY -13.5 1. Take two beakers. 2. Take little water in one beaker and little kerosene in another beaker. 3. Add sodium chloride salt to each of the beakers. 4. Observe the solubility. Conductors of electricity In the solid state, the ions are fixed in their positions. Hence they are poor conductors of electricity. In molten stage and in water solutions, the ions are free to move. Hence they conduct electricity in molten state or in aqueous solutions. Ionic reactions are fast Ionic compounds give reactions between ions. Hence their reactions are fast. 13.3.2. COMMON PROPERTIES OF COVALENT COMPOUNDS Gases, liquids or solids at room temperature Due to weak intermolecular forces between the molecules, covalent compounds exist as gases, liquids or relatively soft solids. Low boiling point In solids, the molecules are held by weak forces of attraction. When heat is applied the molecules are readily pulled out and get free movement as in liquid. Soft solids A molecular layer in the crystal easily slips relative to adjacent layers. Thus the crystals are easily broken. Soluble in organic solvents These compounds readily dissolve in non-polar solvents like toluene, benzene etc. The solvent molecules easily overcome the weak inter molecular forces of attraction. MORE TO KNOW Bonds in which electron pairs are equally shared are non-polar bonds. Bonds in which electron pairs are not equally shared are polar bonds. CHEMISTRY ACTIVITY -13.6 CHAPTER-13 ACTIVITY -13.7 Classify the following solvents into polar and non-polar. 1. Benzene 3. Ether 2. Water 4. Chloroform Non-conductors of electricity Since there are no (+) and (-) ions in covalent molecules, they are not capable of conducting electricity in molten state or in solution state. Molecular reactions are slow In reaction of covalent compounds, the molecules as a whole undergo a change. There is no electrical force to speed up the reactions. Hence these reactions are slow. Take sodium chloride and paraffin wax. Take two solvents namely water and turpentine in separate beakers. First add sodium chloride to both the solvents and note the solubility. Then add paraffin wax to both the solvents separately in another beakers and note the solubility. Differentiate the solubility. 13.4 DIFFERENCES COMPOUNDS BETWEEN IONIC AND COVALENT Ionic bond Covalent bond Formed by transfer of electrons from a metal to a non-metal atom. Formed by sharing of electrons between non-metal atoms. Consists of electrostatic force of attraction between (+) and (-) ions. Consists of weak force of attraction between atoms. Non-rigid and non-directional rigid and directional Properties of compound Properties of compound Solids at room temperature Gases, liquids or soft solids at room temperature. Has high melting and boiling points. Has low melting and boiling points. Hard and brittle. Soft, much readily broken. Soluble in polar solvents and insoluble in organic solvents. Soluble in non-polar solvents and insoluble in polar solvents. Conductor of electricity in molten or solution state. Non-Conductor of electricity in molten or solution state. Undergoes ionic reactions which are fast. Undergoes molecular reactions which are slow. CHEMICAL BONDS 13.5 COORDINATE COVALENT BOND In a normal covalent bond, each of the two bonded atoms contributes one electron to make the shared pair. In some cases, a covalent bond is formed when both the electrons are supplied entirely by one atom. Such a bond is called coordinate covalent or dative bond. Thus coordinate covalent bond is a covalent bond in which both the electrons of the shared pair come from one of the two atoms or ions. The compounds containing a coordinate bond are called coordinate compounds. MORE TO KNOW Sharing of two pairs of electrons make a double bond. Sharing of three pairs of electrons make a triple bond. These are called multiple covalent bonds. 1. Carbon dioxide 0=C =0 (two double bonds) 2. Oxygen 0=0 (one double bond) 3. Nitrogen N=N (one triple bond) If an atom 'A' has an unshared pair of electrons (lone pair) and another 'B' is short of two electrons, then a coordinate bond is formed. 'A' donates the lone pair (2 electrons) to 'B' which accepts it. A: + B (OR) A — >B Illustration Ammonium ion (NH^^) Ammonium ion is formed by the addition of hydrogen ion (H"") with ammonia (NH3). In ammonia molecule, the central nitrogen atom is linked to three hydrogen atoms and yet nitrogen has an unshared pair of electrons. Nitrogen donates this lone pair of electrons to hydrogen ion of an acid forming ammonium ion. H H - n: + h I (Hydrogen ion) H (Ammonia) H I H- N I H MORE TO KNOW H (OR) [NHJ (Ammonium ion) Under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure, carbon dioxide is a gas because molecules of carbon dioxide are non-polar. Water is a liquid as a result of the great polarity of water molecules CHEMISTRY ■ ■ 1 ■ CHAPTER-13 ACTIVITY -13.8 o t Sulphur tri oxide (SO3) has the structure, O = S -^O How many coordinate linkages are present in this molecule? Identify the acceptor and donor atoms. ACTIVITY -13.9 Carbon monoxide is a gas. It is a coordinate compound. Structure of carbon monoxide is C — O Identify the donor and acceptor atoms. 13.5.1. COMMON PROPERTIES OF COORDINATE COMPOUNDS Conductors of electricity They do not give individual ions in water and are poor conductors of electricity. Soluble in organic solvents They are sparingly soluble in water and dissolve in organic solvents. Melting and boiling points They are semi polar in nature. They possess melting and boiling points higher than those of purely covalent compounds, but lower than ionic compounds. Exceptions to the Octet Rule It is true that quite a few molecules had non-octet structure. Atoms in these molecules could have a number of electrons in the valence orbit short of the octet or in excess of the octet. (i) Four electrons around the central atom Beryllium di chloride (BeCl2) Beryllium Chlorine Atomic number 4 17 Electron distribution 2,2 2,8,7 Valence electrons 2 7 •Be- + 2 -Ct CHEMICAL BONDS Each chlorine atom is surrounded by 8 electrons but beryllium atom has only 4 electrons around it. (11) Six electrons around the central atom Boron tri fluoride (BF3) Boron Fluorine Atomic number 5 9 Electron distribution 2,3 2,7 Valence electrons 3 7 Each fluorine atom is surrounded by 8 electrons but boron atom has only 6 electrons around it. B. + 3 -F' mm ACTIVITY -13.10 Atomic number of phosphorous is IS.Write the electron distribution in phosphorous. Atomic number of chlorine is 17.Write the electron distribution of chlorine. One phosphorous atom combines with five chlorine atoms to form phosphorous penta chloride (PCl5).Which atom will have the octet? EVALUATION Section A Choose the correct answer 1. As per the Octet rule, noble gases are stable in nature. This is due to the presence of (eight, seven, six) electrons in their outermost shell. 2. The element that would form cation due to loss of electron during the chemical reaction is (chlorine, lithium, fluorine) 3. Atomic number of magnesium is 12. Then its electron distribution is (2,2,8/2,8,2/8,2,2) 4. An element X has 6 electrons in its outermost shell. Then the number of electrons shared by X with another atom to form covalent bond is (3, 2, 6) 5. The compound that possess high melting point is (NH3, NaF) 6. Bond in which the electron are equally shared is (polar bond, non polar bond, ionic bond) CHEMISTRY I 1 1 1 ■ CHAPTER-13 7. Pickout the wrong statement about the properties of covalent compounds. a) They are neither hard nor brittle. b) Molecular reactions are fast. Section B 8. NaCI is an Ionic compound. How is an ionic bond formed? 9. All the elements tend to attain eight electrons in their outer most shell either by sharing or transfer of electron. From the electronic distribution of the following, which one undergoes loss of electron or sharing of electrons. X = 2, 7 Y = 2, 8, 1 10. MgCl2 is a solid compound. It does not conduct electricity in solid state. When it is in molten state it conducts electricity. Find the reason. Section - C 11. Na (2,8,1) CI -►Na^ (2,8) ci- ■> Na^CI- (2,8,7) (2,8) (2,8,8) The above equation represents the formation of sodium chloride. Observe the above equation and answer the following. (a) How many electrons are transferred from Na to CI? (b) Name the force acting between Na"" and CI". (c) Name the nearest noble gas to CI" (d) Name the bond between Na"" and CI" (e) How many electrons are present in Na"^ ion? 12. Ammonia molecule is formed by the sharing of electrons between Nitrogen and hydrogen. For the molecules of ammonia., answer the following. (a) State whether ammonia is a covalent or ionic molecule. (b) Number of covalent bonds between N and H (c) Does ammonia conduct electricity (d) Draw the structure of ammonia FURTHER REFERENCE Book Essentials of Physical Chemistry - B.S.Bahl,G.D.Tuli,Arun Bahl. S. Chand & Company Ltd Websites http://www.beyondbooks.com http://www. visionlearning.com ChapteiJ-^ MEASURING INSTRUMENTS CHAPTER-14 MEASURING INSTRUMENTS Kannan and his father went to market to buy nylon ropes for their house. They left home by 5:05:00 p.m and reached the shop by 5:23:39 p.m. That is they took 18 minute and 39 second to reach the shop from home. Kannan's digital watch was used to verify the time taken. Now they asked for twenty metre rope from the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper took the rope and weighed 375 gram using digital balance. Thus measurement is an integral part of our day-to-day life. Let us see how various things are measured. MEASURING INSTRUMENTS 14.1. CONCEPT OF SMALL MEASUREMENTS Physics is based on the study of systematic measurement. It is necessary to measure things accurately. Why should measurements be made accurate? When we fill petrol at a petrol bunk for our vehicle, the meter may stop at two digits (say 1.9 litre), but at another bunk, it may show a reading of three digits (say 1.92 litre) which is the actual quantity for the same amount. Such accurate measurement is possible with an electronic meter. 14.2. MEASURING LENGTH In a laboratory, a small metre scale is used to measure the length of any object. In a metre scale, the smallest length that can be measured is 1 mm. This is called the Least Count of a metre scale. For example when we measure a substance which has a length of 1 inch (2.54 cm), we get a reading of either 2.5 cm or 2.6 cm. This measurement is not accurate. Now, it is possible to measure such a reading with the help of a secondary scale called Vernier Scale, designed by a French scientist, Pierre Vernier. With the help of a Vernier Scale along with a metre scale, it is possible to measure length correct to 0.1 mm or 0.01 cm. Least count The smallest measurement that can be measured using a device or instrument is called least count of that instrument. ACTIVITY -14.1 Findthe least count of thedifferent ammeters and voltmeters used in your school physics laboratory. Least Count of a Vernier Least Count (LC) of a Vernier is equal to the difference between a main scale division (MSD) and a Vernier scale division (VSD). L.C = 1MSD-1VSD ACTIVITY -14.2 Measure the growth of your nail in one week. Find the growth per day and per hour. 14.2.1. VERNIER CALIPERS (SLIDE CALIPERS) This instrument is based on the principle of Vernier. The name Vernier is now applied to the small movable scale attached to a Caliper, Sextant, Barometer or other graduated instruments. ► The Vernier Calipers consists of a thin long steel bar graduated in cm and mm. This is called the Main scale. ► At the left end, an upper jaw and a lower jaw are fixed perpendicular to the bar called fixed jaws. ► To the right of the fixed jaws of the vernier calipers is found, the vernier scale consisting of an upper and a lower movable jaws that slides over the main scale. ► The Vernier scale can be moved or fixed at any position by using screws provided on it. PHYSICS CHAPTER-14 ► The lower jaws are used to measure the external dimensions and the upper jaws are used to measure the internal dimensions of objects. ► The thin bar attached to the Vernier scale at the right side is used to measure the depth of hollow objects. Vernier calipers Parts 1. Lower Jaws 2. Upper Jaws 3. Depth Probe 4. Main Scale 5. Vernier 6. Retainer ACTIVITY -14.3 Assume that your nail grows 2 mm per month. Calculate the growth per day, per hour and per minute. Least count of a vernier calipers Consider 1 cm of a main scale. It is divided into 10 equal parts of length 1 mm. the Vernier scale has 10 equal divisions (VSD) equal to 9 Main scale divisions (MSD). 10 VSD = 9 MSD IVSD = 9/10 MSD IMSD = 1 mm IVSD - 9/10 mm L.C = 1 MSD - 1 VSD = 1 mm - 9/10 mm = 1/10 mm L.C = 0.1 mm = 0.01 cm Error Error may be defined as the deviation from the actual value. If the value is greater than that of actual value, it is called positive error. If the value is less than that of actual value, it is called negative error. Zero Error of a vernier calipers -1 f MM 1 1 } 5 1C d 'v ^ 1 ^^^^^n^ Bring the two lower jaws into contact. If the zero of the Vernier scale coincides with the zero of the Main scale there is no zero error. Positive Error Positive Zero Error MEASURING INSTRUMENTS If the zero of the Vernier scale is to the right of the Main scale zero, the zero error is positive and the zero correction (ZC) is negative. For example, if the n^^ division of the Vernier scale coincides with any division of the Main scale the Zero Error = + (n x L.C) Negative Error Negative Zero Error If the zero of the Vernier scale is to the left of the Main scale zero, the zero error is negative and the zero correction (ZC) is positive. For example, if the n^^ division of the Vernier scale coincides with a division of the Main scale the Zero Error = - (10 - n) x L.C Measuring the length of a cylinder First find least count and zero error of a vernier calipers. Now grip the cylinder whose length is to be measured between the two lower jaws. Note the Main scale reading (MSR) just before the zero of the Vernier. Note the division of the Vernier Scale which coincides (VC) with a Main Scale reading. The observed length of the cylinder = MSR + (VC x LC) The correct length of the cylinder = MSR + (VC x LC) ± ZC Take readings at different points on the cylinder. Take the mean of the last column reading as the correct length of the object. S.No Main Scale Reading (MSR) cm Vernier Coincidence (VC) Observed Reading (OR) = MSR+(VC X LC) cm Corrected Reading OR±ZC cm 1 2 3 PHYSICS CHAPTER-14 Digital Vernier calipers that are used nowadays give visual readings at once, that is they show the measurements as numerical display Digital Vernier Calipers ACTIVITY -14.4 Find the volume of your geometry box / lunch box using Vernier calipers. 14.3. MEASURING MASS AND WEIGHT When we look at the composition of different elements on the wrapper of drugs, it is given in milligram. This small measurement is possible by electronic (digital) balance. We can see a digital balance of accuracy O.OOlg in a Jewellery shop. Mass Mass of a body is the measure of the quantity of matter contained in the body. It does not vary from place to place. The SI unit of mass is kilogram. It is measured using different types balances, which are the following. Common (beam) balance A beam balance compares the sample mass with a standard reference mass using a horizontal beam. Two pan balance This type of balance is commonly used for measuring mass in shops. Physical balance It is used in laboratories, to measure mass of an object correct to a milligram. Weight Weight is a measure of gravitational force on a body. It varies from place to place. It is measured using spring balance. MEASURING INSTRUMENTS Spring balance It measures weight by the distance a spring stretches under its load. Medical scale It is used to measure the body weight of human beings, it has a spring which compresses in proportion to the weight. ' fi n #1 M fi H I* ¥• ij K »(^ « ♦' 11 " ^ Digital balance 1 Now a days digital balance is used for accurate and quick measurement of weight. It works on strain gauge (length sensitive electrical resistance) scale principle. Weigh bridge It is used to measure weight of very heavy objects such as lorries and trucks using principle of strain gauge. Hydraulic scale It is used to measure very heavy loads lifted by cranes which makes use of hydraulic force, to measure weight. 14.4. MEASURING TIME 1984 Olympics was disastrous for P.T.Usha as !r she lost the bronze medal in 400m hurdles by 0.01s (1/100 s). How is the small time like 0.01s measured? Recently digital clocks, atomic clocks and quartz clocks allow the measurement small times accurately. of In ancient times, time was measured by sun dials, water clocks, sand clocks and graduated candles. During the night the position of stars (celestial bodies) in the sky was used to find time. All these methods were inaccurate. Sun dial It is based on the principle of the shadow of an object being formed on the ground when the sun rises and the sun sets. Water clock These clocks are based on containers which are slowly filled with water coming out at a steady time. Markings on the inside surface is used to measure the passage of time. Sand clock These clocks work similar to water clocks. Sand is used instead of water. PHYSICS CHAPTER-14 Mechanical clock Galileo's discovery of the pendulum led to the invention of pendulum clock. Watches and small clocks were invented with hair spring (a spiral spring), in which balance wheel is used to keep accurate time. MORE TO KNOW Quartz clock Quartz crystal watches offer better performance and accuracy. Quartz crystals vibrate with high frequency. These vibrations are used to indicate time in a liquid crystal display (LCD) digitally. Atomic clock The most accurate clocks used now a days are atomic clocks. It is based on the principle of periodic vibration taking place within the ceasium atom. In India the time standard is provided by atomic clock kept at National Physical laboratory, New Delhi. Local time and Standard time The local time differs from place to place as it is calculated by the position of the sun. When the sun reaches the highest position in the sky over a place, the time is taken as 12 noon at that place. This is called local time. Each country selects a standard meridian to set a uniform time irrespective of distances. The standard meridian of India is 82.5° E to calculate standard time. This time is called Indian Standard Time (1ST) The standard meridian of England is Greenwich Meridian is called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 1ST is SVz hour ahead of GMT i.e. 12 noon in England will be 5.30 pm in India. An imaginary line drawn between north and south poles of the globe is called meridian. The earth is divided in to 24 time zones spacing 15° of longitudes, one for each hour of the day. The meridian passing through the Royal observatory in Greenwich, England is taken as prime meridian with the origin of 0°. When it is 7.00 am in New York city, it is 12.00 noon in London, UK and already 9.00 pm in Tokyo, Japan. Symbols of measurement factors Smaller Quantities MEASURING INSTRUMENTS Larger Quantities Factor Prefix Symbol 10-1 deci d 10-2 centi c 10-3 milli m 10-6 micro H 10-9 nano n Factor Prefix Symbol 101 deca da 102 hecto h 103 kilo k 106 mega M 109 giga G ACTIVITY -14.5 Find your friends weight and time taken for 100 m race and fill it in the following table. S.No. Name weight (kg) time (s) EVALUATION Section A 1. 5 X 10^ |is is equivalent to a) 0.5 s b) 5 s c) 50 s d) 500 s 2. While using Vernier calipers, to measure the internal diameter of a cylindrical pipe, pick out from the parts of the Vernier caliper given below. Depth probe, retainer, inside jaws, outside jaws Section B 3. Match the following. S.No. Device Place of use 1. Beam balance Jewellery shop 2. IVIedical scale Laboratories 3. Physical balance Hospitals 4. Digital balance Markets 4. In a vernier calipers, the difference between I MSD and IVSD is found to be 0.1 mm. What does it represent? 5. Kavitha wants to find the thickness of a page of her science textbook which contains 250 pages using vernier calipers. Explain how she might do this appropriately. CHAPTER-14 6. Calculate the correct readings of the vernier calipers from the given table. Laest count =0.01 cm Zero correction = Nil S.No. MSR VC Observed Reading = MSR + (VC X LC) cm Correct Reading OR ± ZC cm 1. 3 20 2. 3 25 Factor Prefix Symbol IQi deci 10-6 [i giga G 106 mega 7. Complete the table choosing the right term from the list given in brackets. (10^ , micro, d, 10"^, milli, m, M) 8. A student measures the diameter of a bead using a digital vernier calipers. The reading in the vernier caliper is 4.27 cm. If he wants to verify the result with the ordinary vernier calipers with no error, i) Where would be the zero of the vernier lie in the main scale? ii) Which divisions of the vernier scale reading coincides with main scale reading. Section C 9. 1) Define least count of an instrument, ii) Explain types of Zero error of vernier calipers, iii) Write the steps involved in measuring any dimension of a given object using vernier calipers. FURTHER REFERENCE # Books 1. Fundamentals of Physics - David Halliday & Robert Resnick JohnWiley 2. Complete Physics for IGCSE - Oxford publications Websites ^ http://www.nist.gov/pml/ http://www.teach-nology.com http://www.splung.com Chapter MOTION AND LIQUIDS PHYSICS CHAPTER-15 MOTION Karthik and his parent were going to their native place by train to celebrate pongal festival. Karthik was watching the scenary through the window. He was surprised to see that the trees were seen to be receding. He asked his mother whether the trees really moved backwards. Mother explained that the trees were at rest. The trees seem to be receding because the train is in motion. Let us explain to Karthik and others about rest and motion. MOTION AND LIQUIDS 15. MOTION In the figure, the position of trees around the building is not changing with respect to the building. Then the trees are at rest. When you are cycling or running, you are changing position with respect to trees and buildings. You are said to be moving. Inference A body is said to be in the state of rest when it remains in the same position with respect to time. A body is said to be in the state of motion, when it continuously changes its position with respect to time. ACTIVITY -15.1 List out certain things which are at rest or in motion related to you. S. No. Rest Motion 01 House Sun 02 03 04 05 ACTIVITY -15.2 Discuss which of the objects in the class room are at rest and which are in motion. Measuring the rate of motion A farmer takes vegetable from his house to the market everyday. He may travel along two paths to reach the market. Answer the following questions by observing the figure. 1. What is distance? How much distance does the farmer travel everyday? Distance is the length of the path covered. The farmer travels a distance of 1.5km, when he takes pathl and 2.5 km when he travels along path 2. Inference The distance between the two places is not the same; it depends upon the path chosen. 2. What will be the shortest distance between the house and the market? It is the distance covered when travelled along a straight line. It is 1 km. This is known as displacement. Inference The shortest distance, or distance travelled along a straight line, is known as displacement. PHYSICS ACTIVITY -15.3 ifi. CHAPTER-15 o ► 0123456789 10 Consider the motion of an ant along a straight line path. The ant starts its journey from 'O'. Let 'A' and 'C represent the position of the ant at different instances. At first, the ant moves through C and reaches A. Then it moves back along the same path and reaches C. Find the distance travelled by the ant and displacement. ACTIVITY -15.4 ACTIVITY -15.5 Walk from one corner of your classroom to the opposite corner along the sides. Measure the distance covered by you. Now walk diagonally across to the opposite corner, and measure the displacement. Note the difference. -lOcm 10cm- Draw a semicircle of radius lOcm. Measure the path ABC(distance) and AOC(displacement). You can observe that distance = 31.4cm and displacement = 20cm. 15.1. UNIFORM MOTION AND NON UNIFORM MOTION Consider the race between the hare and the tortoise. The data regarding the motion of the two are given in the table. MOTION AND LIQUIDS Time (minute) Distance travelled by hare(m) Distance travelled by tortoise(m) 5 10 5 10 30 10 15 35 15 20 35 20 25 35 25 30 35 30 35 35 35 40 35 40 45 35 45 50 48 50 From the data, we notice that the tortoise covers 5m in every 5 minute. It covers the same distance in a particular time throughout its motion. This type of motion is known as uniform motion. If an object covers equal distances in equal intervals of time, it is said to be in uniform motion. The hare, in its motion, covers different distances in a particular time. This type of motion is known as non-uniform motion. If an object covers unequal distance in equal intervals of time, it is said to be in non-uniform motion. 15.2. MEASURING THE RATE OF MOTION Speed A car starts from Salem and reaches Chennai in 6 hour. A bus takes 8 hour to travel the same distance. Which has moved faster? Why? The car travels faster than the bus, because it covers the distance in a short time. Inference When a body covers a distance in a short time, it is said to be fast. If it takes more time to cover the distance, it is said to be slow. Speed is the quantity used to say whether the motion is slow or fast. Speed is the distance travelled in one second (or) rate of distance travelled. Total Distance travelled Speed = Time taken Speed is measured in m/s (or) ms"^ It can also be expressed in km/hour (or) kmh"^ Example A train moves with a speed of 100 km/hour, means it will cover a distance of 100km in 1 hour. ACTIVITY -15.6 List some examples of uniform and non uniform motion. Uniform Non-uniform Oscillation of pendulum of a wall clock. Movement of a car in a crowded street. r PHYSICS Try this: A car takes 6 hours to cover a distance of 300 km. What is its speed? If the same car travels with a speed of 60km/hour, how much time it will take to travell the same distance? If it has to cover the distance in 5 hour, what will be the speed? Velocity When we speak of speed, the direction of motion is not considered. If we take into account the direction of motion also, then we can understand the motion clearly. (The speed with direction is known as velocity). To measure the velocity, we should consider displacement instead of distance. Velocity is the displacement made in one second (or) rate of change of displacement. Rate of change means, change per second. Displacement Velocity = Time It is also expressed in m/s Uniform Velocity Equal displacement covered by a body in equal intervals of time is known as uniform velocity. 15.3. RATE OF CHANGE OF VELOCITY During uniform motion of an object along a straight line, the change in the velocity of the object for any time interval is zero. However, in non-uniform motion, velocity varies with time. How can we now express the change in velocity of an object? For this, we have to introduce another physical quantity called acceleration. Acceleration is the change in velocity of an object per second or rate of change of velocity. Acceleration = CHAPTER-15 Change in velocity Time taken The unit of acceleration is m/s^ or ms"^ If the velocity of the body increases with time, the acceleration is positive, and the kind of motion is called accelerated motion. If the velocity of the body decreases with time, the acceleration is negative (retardation), and the motion is called decelerated motion. Uniform Acceleration If an object travels in a straight line and its velocity increases or decreases by equal amount in equal intervals of time, then the acceleration of the object is uniform. Example A car moves with a uniform acceleration of 8 m/s^, means its velocity increases by 8 m/s for every second. A train moves with a uniform acceleration of -10 m/s^ or retardation of 10 m/s^, means its velocity will decrease by 10 m/s for every second. The velocity of a car changes from 10 m/s to 50 m/s. What will be its acceleration? Change in velocity Acceleration = : ; Time taken (final velocity - initial velocity) a = a = Time (50 - 10) 10 40 a = 10 a = 4 m/s^ From the above example, we can give a formula for acceleration. V- u a= where, u - initial velocity V - final velocity t - time ACTIVITY -15.7 MOTION AND LIQUIDS MORE TO KNOW S.No. Motion Speed ms"^ Kmh-i 1 Rat 0.5 1.8 2 Man 1.0 3.6 3 Bee 5.0 18 4 P.T.Usha 9 32.4 5 Cheetah 24 90 6 7 Speed of sound Speed of light 340 3x10^ 1224 10.8x10^ From the following motion of different buses, find whether the acceleration is (a) uniform positive (b) non uniform positive (c) zero (d) uniform negative and (e) non uniform negative. Time (s) Speed (l<m h^) Bus A Bus B BusC Bus D Bus E 2 4 6 8 10 12 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 4 2 4 6 9 12 14 3 6 9 12 15 18 20 18 14 8 3 15.4 GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF MOTION Distance - tinne graph We can easily understand the relation between time and distance by using a graph. Taking a suitable scale, a graph is drawn by taking time along the x axis and distance along the y axis. The graph is known as distance - time graph. Uniform motion The following table shows the distance walked by Murugan at different times. ACTIVITY -15.8 Time (minute) Distance (metre) 5 500 10 1000 15 1500 20 2000 25 2500 The time of arrival of a lorry at Madurai, Thirnelveli and Nagarcoil from Trichy and the corresponding distance from Trichy are given in the following table. station distance (km) time of arrival Trichy 5.00 am Madurai 120 8.00 am Thirunelveli 270 11.45 am Nagarcoil 350 1.45 pm Plot the distance-time graph for the lorry and find the speed of the lorry from the graph. PHYSICS CHAPTER-15 CD CD CD O C cd -I—' CO "Q :::i::i:::::i:i::i:::::i:ii:i::i::i::i:xiiiiiiiixiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 1 1 1 Qppjfi XX ■ /I 1— ■ J. :iiiiiiii:iii:iiiii::iii:ii:i::iiiiiii:: X axis icm - 5 minute :: k ^ p p p ^B_ ?500 IP p p p p p o z P ^2. "^ ■ ^ Zt P p p P p p Q ^A ^ 1500 :::::!!!!!!::::::::! :!!!!:::B""""" : is::::::::::::::::: :::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::?:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: __ ,? . :::::::::::::::::::::::::?:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::?::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: __ ,t . ::::::::::::::::::::::?:::::::::::::::::;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ^ u 2^_ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ p 500 ::::::::;■::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ^ p p p . ^ p p 10 15 ti Time (minute) - Fig 15.1 20^2 25 30 X Here, Murugan covers equal distance in equal intervals of time. He walks with uniform speed. The graph is a straight line for uniform speed. The speed of Murugan can be found from the distance-time graph as shown in Fig 15.1. Consider a small part AB. From B draw a perpendicular to x axis. From A, draw a line parallel to x axis. These two lines meet each other at C to form a triangle ABC. Now on the graph, BC corresponds to the distance (S2-sJ and AC denotes the time interval (t2-tj. Speed of the object. V = (S2-S,) BC AC (t2 - ti) Accelerated motion (Non uniform velocity) The following table shows the distance travelled by a car in a time interval of 2 s. Time ? 4 6 8 10 V? s Distance 1 4 9 lb ■/b 8b m The distance - time graph, for the motion of the car, is shown in Fig 15.2. MOTION AND LIQUIDS The nature of the graph shows, non-linear variation of the distance travelled by the car. Thus the graph represents motion with non-uniform speed. Y X 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Time (second) ► Fig 15.2. Velocity-Time graph The variation in velocity with time for an object moving in a straight line can be represented by a velocity-time graph. Uniform velocity (Un-accelerated motion) The following graph shows the velocity-time graph for a car moving with uniform velocity of 40kmh"^. In this graph, time is taken along the x axis and velocity is taken along the y axis. o fK 1 > \ I ) 40 30 20 10 t t ( ' L" 2 L Time (hour) Fig 15.3. X PHYSICS In the graph (Fig 15.3), AC or BD represents the velocity and CD or AB represents time t2 - 1^ = 3 - 1 = 2 hour. We have, Displacement = velocity x time s=ACxCDorABxBD = 40x2 = 80 km Uniformly accelerated motion The following table shows the velocity of a car at regular intervals during a test drive. CHAPTER-15 Time (s) Velocity (km h"^) 5 2.5 10 5.0 15 7.5 20 10.0 25 12.5 The velocity-time graph for the motion of the car is shown as in Fig 15.4. Time (second) Fig 15.4. The nature of the graph shows that velocity changes by equal amounts in equal intervals of time. The displacement 's' of the car will be given by area ABCDE under the velocity-time graph. s = Area ABCDE s=Area of the rectangle ABCD + area of the triangle ADE s=ABxBC + y(ADxDE) Non-uniformly accelerated motion In the case of non-uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time graph can have any shape. The following velocity-time graph, as shown in Fig 15.5, represents the non-uniform variation of velocity of a car with time. E o — — 40 :::::::::::::: :::i ::5;:::: :::: ijj :::: ::::: :: — Time (hour) Fig 15.5. ACTIVITY -15.9 Form two groups A & B consist of 5 students each. The two groups stand at two junctions of the road separated by a distance of 500 m. Let the two groups record the vehicle number, types of vehicle and time of crossing the junctions on either side for 15 minute. From the data, calculate the speed of different vehicles and the number of vehicles violated the speed limit. MOTION AND LIQUIDS ACTIVITY -15.10 Rahul and his sister Ramya go to school on their bicycles. Both of them start at the same time from their home, they take different time to reach school, although they follow the same route. The following table shows the distance travelled by them in different times. Time Distance travelled by Rahul (km) Distance travelled by Ramya (km) 8.00 am 8.05 am 1.0 1.0 8.10 am 2.0 1.9 8.15 am 3.0 2.7 8.20 am 4.0 3.5 8.25 am ~ 4.0 Plot the distance-time graph for their motions on the same scale and explain. 15.5. EQUATIONS OF MOTION (GRAPHICAL METHOD) Consider an object moving along a straight line with a uniform acceleration 'a'. The velocity of the object changes from u to v in a time t. s is the displacement of the object, in the time t. The velocity-time graph of the object is shown in Fig 15.6. Y " " 7 / / / " " t 7 / / U 7 F. -1 2 _ k k h A M J rf y d y y y k k k k k ■ M M J rf d y y y y y k kH'' ^? / i D / / / / / / / / / / / \ / ^ J ^ ^ ^ ■ ^ ' ■ ^ 7 " " " " " * 3 " ■ " " ■ ^ / o o / / / ^ 7 ■ " > / / / / " " 7 / / / / / / / / / o c s E K A and B are two points taken on the graph. The velocity at A is the initial velocity u and that at B is the final velocity v. From A, draw two perpendiculars, one to the x axis (AC) and another to the y axis (AD). Similarly, perpendicular lines are drawn from B (BE & BF) AG is the perpendicular drawn from A to BE. Equation for velocity at a time In the graph, AC gives the initial velocity (u). BE gives the final velocity (v). CE represents the time taken t. DF gives the change in velocity. Change in velocity Acceleration = Time DF a = Time Fig 15.6. CE But OE - OC = t OF-OD OE-OC PHYSICS CHAPTER-15 a = v-u t V - u = at (i) v = u+at (I) Equation for displacement Let 's' be the displacement of the body in a time t. In the graph, Displacement = Area CABE s=Area of the rectangle CAGE + Area of the triangle ABG. s=ACxCE + ^(AGxGB) Here AC = = u CE = t AG = t GB = v-u = at [from (i)] s - ut + 2 X t > cat ..(II) at a s = ut + -|- at2 EC luation for velo city position In the graph, Displacement = Area of the trapezium CABE s = ^ (AC+EB) X CE Here AC = u EB = V, CE = t u + V s = xt ■(ii) From (i), t = V - u Substituting the value of t, u + V V - u s = — ;:; — X s = v^- u^ 2a v^ - u^ = 2as v^ = u^ + 2as .(III) (I), (II) and (III) are the equations of motion. Acceleration due to gravity What do we observe when a body is thrown vertically upwards? The velocity of the body gradually decreases and becomes zero at a maximum height.The body is decelarated or retarded. When the body is allowed to fall down, the velocity gradually increases. Now the body is accelerated. The decelaration or acceleration due to the gravitational force of earth is known as accelaration due to gravity, denoted as 'g'. The average value of 'g' is 9.8 m/s^. The velocity of the body thrown vertically upwards will decrease by 9.8m for every second and the velocity of a body falling down increases by 9.8m for every second. The equations of motion for this body can be obtained from the equations of motion. V: :u + at S= 1 ut+ 2 at2 V2 = u^ + 2as For the body thrown upwards, equations can be obtained by substituting a = -g and s = h we get, v = u - gt h = ut - ^ gt2 v2= u2-2gh When a body allowed to fall freely, u = 0. a = g and s = h Now, the equations will be v = gt h = ^gt2 v^ = 2gh MOTION AND LIQUIDS 15.6. UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION An athlete runs along the circumference of a circular path. This type of motion is known as circular motion. The movement of an object in a circular path is called circular motion. When an object moves in a circular path with a constant velocity, its motion is called uniform circular motion. In uniform circular motion, the magnitude of the velocity is constant at all points and the direction of the velocity changes continuously. How is the velocity of the body moving along a given circular path? Already we have given the velocity by using displacement. This is termed as linear velocity. Now we can give the velocity in another way by considering the angle covered by the body. This is known as angular velocity. In what unit, do we measure angle? Angle is measured in degree. But we can have another unit called radian. One radian is the angle subtended by an arc of a circle of length equal to its radius at the centre of the circle. Angular displacement The angle covered by the line joining the body and the centre of the circle (radius vector). It is measured in radian. Angular velocity The angular displacement in one second (rate of change of angular displacement) is called angular velocity. angular displacement Angular velocity = time taken (A) = 6 t Can you give the unit of angular velocity? It is radian /second. Relation between linear velocity and angular velocity Consider a body moving along the circumference of a circle of radius r with linear velocity v. Its angular velocity is oo. Let the body moves from A to B in a time t and 6 is the angle covered. Let AB = S = displacement Linear velocity = displacement / time V = AB v= _S t ■(1) PHYSICS If e is the angle subtended by an arc of length s and radius r. Then S = re (2) Substituting (2) in (1), V = re t e But —r~ = cjo = angular velocity V = r 0) Linear velocity = Radius of the circle x Angular velocity 15.6.1. CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND CENTRIFUGAL FORCE Take a piece of thread and tie a stone at one of its ends. Move the stone to describe a circular path with constant speed by holding the thread at the other end as shown in the figure. Now let the stone go by releasing the thread. Repeat the activity for few times and release the stone at different positions. Check the direction of motion of the stone. We notice that the stone moves along a straight line tangential to the circular path. This is because once the stone is released, it continues to move along the direction it has been moving at that instant. This shows that the direction of motion changed at every point when the stone was moving along the circular path. CHAPTER-15 This shows that there is a force acting along the string directed inwards, makes the body move in the circular path. This force is known as centripetal force. The constant force that acts on the body along the radius towards the centre and perpendicular to the velocity of the body is known as centripetal force. Let us consider an object of mass m, moving along a circular path of radius r, with an angular velocity co and linear velocity v. F = mv^ Again, centripetal force, F = mru)^ ( since v = ro) ) Examples 1. In the case of the stone tied to the end of a string and rotated in a circular path, the centripetal force is provided by the tension in the string. 2. When a car takes a turn on the road, the frictional force between the tyres and the road provides the centripetal force. 3. In the case of planets revolving round the sun or the moon revolves around the earth, the centripetal force is provided by the gravitational force of attraction between them. 4. For an electron revolving around the nucleus in a circular path, the electro static force of attraction between the electron and the nucleus provides the necessary centripetal force. In the first example (stone), not only is the stone acted upon by aforce (centripetal force) along the string towards the centre, but the stone also exerts an equal and opposite force on the hand away from the centre along the string. The force, which is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the centripetal force is known as centrifugal force. Examples 1. While churning curd, butter goes to the side due to centrifugal force. A cyclist turning a corner leans inwards. Now the frictional force (centripetal force) is balanced by the centrifugal force mv^ MOTION AND LIQUIDS MORE TO KNOW North pole Equator The earth is flattened at the poles and bulged at the equator. The diameter of the earth is 48 km more at the equator than at the poles. The velocity of the particles at the equator is more than the velocity of the particles at the poles. So centrifugal force acting on the particles is more at the equator. This is the reason for the bulging of the earth at the equator. 15.7. LIQUIDS Liquids flow from one place to another. They have a definite volume. They take the shape of the container. Liquids show very little change in volume even when large compressive forces are applied. So we assume that liquids are incompressible. 15.7.1.UPTHRUSTAND BUOYANCY ACTIVITY -15.11 Take a piece of cork, press it inside water in a beaker. What do you feel? press it to more depth. What difference do you notice at various depths? You will find it more difficult to push it as it goes deeper. This indicates that water exerts force on the cork in the uphold direction. The upward force exerted by water goes on increasing as the cork is pressed deeper. PHYSICS We know that, pressure at any point inside a liquid is p = hdg. This shows that pressure increases with depth. When a body floats or immerses in a liquid, the pressure on the bottom surface is more than that the pressure on the top surface. Due to the difference in pressure, an upward force acts on the body. This upward force is called upthrust or buoyant force. The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced. The buoyant force (upthrust) acts through the centre of gravity of the displaced liquid which is known as centre of buoyancy. Due to the upthrust exerted on the body by the liquid, the weight of the body appears to be less when the body is immersed in the liquid. For example, when we immerse a mug into a bucket of water, the mug filled with water appears to be lighter as long as it is under water. But when it is lifted up out of the water we feel that the mug is heavier. This shows that the weight of the body under water is less than its weight when it is above the surface of water. 15.7.2. ARCHIMEDES Archimedes Archimedes (287 - 212 BC) was a Greek scientist CHAPTER-15 Archimedes discovered many important principles of statics and hydrostatics and put them into practice. He was the son of an astronomer and a friend and relative of Hiero, king of Syracuse. He received his training and education in Alexandria, which was the centre of learning in those days. Lever He invented the water screw for irrigating the fields of Egypt. He discovered the principle of lever and is reported to have said to the king : "Give me a place where I may stand and I will move the world". He invented many mechanical devices to drop heavy weights on Roman ships which attacked the Greeks. Eureka The famous principle in hydrostatics, known as Archimedes principle is said to have been proposed under very peculiar circumstances. The king had ordered a jeweller to make for him a crown of gold as an offering to God. When the crown was delivered, the king suspected it, be adulterated with silver and so he asked Archimedes to investigate. When Archimedes kept pondering over the matter; one day, during his bath, he observed that his limbs were buoyed up. It at once struck him that all bodies immersed in water would lose weight in MOTION AND LIQUIDS this way. This excited him so much that forgetting to dress himself up, he ran out of his bath shouting "EUREKA" which means, "I have found it". ACTIVITY -15.12 Perform a skit in the school on the life history of Archimedes. Archimedes Principle When a body is immersed in fluid (liquid or gas) it experiences an apparent loss of weight which is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Experiment to verify Archimedes principle Suspend a piece of stone from the hook of a spring balance. Note the weight of the stone in air (w^) Gently lower the stone in to the water of an overflowing jar filled to its maximum capacity with water as shown in figure. Now note the weight of the stone (W2) Find the weight of a beaker (W3) Collect the overflowing water in the beaker. Weigh the beaker with water (w^) Find the weight of the displaced water (W4-W3) Find the loss of weight of the stone (W1-W2) We find that (w^ - W2) = (w^ - W3). Thus Archimedes Principle is verified. spnng balance overflowing jar beaker with displaced water 15.7.3. RELATIVE DENSITY Density Density of a body is defined as the mass per unit volume of the body. Mass Density = Volume Unit of density is Kg m"^ Relative density Relative density is defined as the ratio of density of the body to the density of water. It has no unit. PHYSICS Determination of Relative density 1. To determine the relative density of a insoluble solid heavier than water using Archimedes principle. beaker hydrostatic bench Suspend the given body from the hook of the left scale pan of the physical balance. Find the mass in air. (m^ ) Immerse the body in a beaker of water placed on a hydrostatic bench. Find the mass in water. (m2 ) Take care that there are no air bubbles sticking to the body, that the body is not touching the sides or bottom of the beaker and that the body is completely immersed inside water. Calculation Mass of the solid in air = m^ g CHAPTER-15 Mass of the solid in water = m2 g Loss of mass in water = (m^- m2) g Massof displaced water = (m^-m2) g Volume of water displaced = (m^- m2) cc (since 1 gm of water has a volume of 1 cc) Volume of the body = (m^ - m2) cc Density of the solid Mass of the substance Volume of the substance m. m^- m2 gcm- m. Relative density of the solid = m^- m2 no unit (since the density of water = 1 g cm"^) 2. Relative density of a solid lighter A than water (cork) A brass bob can be used as a sinker in order to keep the cork in water. Suspend the brass bob from the left scale pan. Immerse it in a beaker of water placed on a hydrostatic bench. Find the mass, (m^) Tie the cork to the same string in such a way that it is in air and the brass bob is in water. MOTION AND LIQUIDS Find the mass. (1112) Tie the cork together with the bob. Immerse both of them in water. Find the mass. (m3) Mass of the cork in air = (m2 - m^) g Mass of the cork in water = (m3 - m J g Loss of mass of cork in water = (m2- mj - (m3- m^) g = (m2- m3) g Relative density of cork Mass in air Loss of mass in water m2-m^ m2- m3 (no unit) 3. Relative density of a liquid Take a brass bob which is insoluble either in water or in the given liquid. Suspend the brass bob from the hook of the left scale pan. Find the mass, (m^) Immerse the bob in a beaker of water placed on a hydrostatic bench. Find the mass. (m2) Now immerse the bob in the given liquid. Find the mass. (m3) ^ Calculations Mass of the solid in air = m^ g Mass of the solid in water = m2 g Mass of the solid in liquid = m3 g Loss of mass in water = (m^- m2) g Loss of mass in liquid = (m^- m3) g Volumes of water displaced and liquid displaced are equal. Relative density of the liquid Loss of mass in liquid Loss of mass in water m^-m3 m^- m2 (no unit) 15.7.4 EXPLANATION FOR A BODY WHOLLY OR PARTIALLY IMMERSED IN A LIQUID ACTIVITY -15.13 Take a beaker filled with water. Take a piece of cork and an iron nail of equal mass. Place them on the surface of water. observe what happens? The cork floats while the nail sinks. This is because of the difference in their densities. The density of cork is lesser than the density of water. This means that the upthrust of water on the cork is greater than the weight of the cork. So it floats. The density of the iron nail is more than the density of the water. This means that the upthrust of water on the iron is lesser than the weight of the nail. So it sinks. An iron piece floats in mercury, but sinks in water .This is because the density of mercury (13600 kg m"^) is greater than PHYSICS the density of water (1000 kg m"^). Even though the volumes of mercury and water displaced are equal to the volume of the iron piece, the weight of mercury displaced by the iron piece (upthurst) is greater than the weight of iron piece. But the weight of water displaced is lesser than the weight of iron piece. A ship made up of iron floats in water. This is because the ship is hollow and contains air. The large space inside the ship enables it to displace a volume of water much greater than the actual volume of iron that was used in the construction. So the weight of water displaced is greater than the weight of the ship. A body which floats in a liquid is in equilibrium under the action of the two forces, (a) It's weight acting vertically downwards and (b)the resultant thurst on it due to the liquid acting upwards. These two forces must be equal and opposite. The resultant upthurst may be equal to or greater than the weight of the liquid by the body, and that it acts through the centre of gravity ofthe displaced liquid. Laws of floatation 1. The weight of the floating body is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by it . 2. The centre of gravity of the floating body and the centre of gravity of the liquid displaced (centre of buoyancy) are in the same vertical line. MORE TO KNOW CHAPTER-15 The density of air is 14 times grater than that of hydrogen. The weight of a hydrogen filled balloon is much less than the weight of the air it displaces. The difference between the two weights gives the lifting power ofthe balloon. Thus a hydrogen filled balloon flies high in the air. ACTIVITY -15.14 Take a small hollow plastic doll. Put a hole. Take a container with water. Cover the mouth of the container with a rubber sheet. Press the rubber sheet. Now the doll sinks in water. When the rubber sheet is pressed, the pressure inside the container increases and it forces the water to enter into the doll through the hole, the weight of the doll is now more than the weight of the water displaced by it. Hydrometers The laws of floatation are made use of in the construction of hydrometers used for the determination of the specific gravities of solids and liquids. There are two types of hydrometers (1) The constant immersion hydrometer, in which the weight of the hydrometer is adjusted to make it sink to the same fixed mark in all liquids. (2) The variable immersion hydrometer in which the weight of the hydrometer remains the same , but the depth to which it sinks in different liquids vary. The common hydrometer The common hydrometer is of variable immersion type. It is graduated such that the specific gravity of a liquid can be directly determined. It consists of a narrow uniform stem of glass, closed at the top and provided with a glass bulb at the bottom. The bulb is weighed with mercury or leadshots to make the hydrometer to float vertically in various liquids as shown in Fig 15.7. To find the specific gravity of the liquid, float the hydrometer in the liquid. The reading on the stem indicates the specific gravity of the liquid. Usually, two different hydrometers, one used for liquids denser than water, and the other, for liquids lighter than water are provided. A common hydrometer used to test the purity of milk by noting its specific gravity is called a LACTOMETER. Test tube float Jar with water MOTION AND LIQUIDS / 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 ilO. stem 1.15 1.20 ■4- Tube V- Bulb with Mercury Fig. 15.7. Common hydrometer Twine Graduated test tube with lead shots Jar with liquid T T A test tube float consists of a flat bottomed test tube of uniform area of cross section. It is graduated in centimetre from the bottom to the top to measure the depth of immersion in a liquid. The float is made heavy by adding lead shots or sand to enable it to float vertically. PHYSICS Experiment to find the specific gravity of a liquid using a test tube float as a variable immersion hydrometer Take two tall jars of the same capacity. Fill one of them with water and the other with the given liquid whose specific gravity is to be found. Take a graduated test tube and add lead shots or sand to make it heavy so that it floats vertically. Tie a long thread near the mouth of the test tube to enable us to lower the float in to the jar. Immerse the loaded float first in the jar of water. Take care that the float does not touch the sides or bottom of the jar and there should be no air bubbles sticking to the sides of the float. Note the depth of immersion in water (hj without parrallax error. Gently take the float out from the water . Wipe the water droplets on the sides with a clean cloth. Now gently lower the float into the jar containing the liquid. (Do not add or remove any lead shots). Note the depth of immersion of the float in the liquid (h2). Specific gravity of the liquid = Depth of immersion of the float in water Depth of immersion of the float in liquid h. CHAPTER-15 Now add or remove a few lead shots and repeat the experiment. Note down h^and h2 in each case .Repeat the experiment and tabulate the readings. Take the average value of h. as the specific gravity of the liquid . Theory Weight of water displaced = ah^d^g Weight of liquid displaced =ah2d2g Where, a-area of cross section of the float d^-density of water d2-density of liquid g-acceleration due to gravity Since the weight of the test tube float is the same in both the cases Weight of liquid displaced=weight of water displaced ah2d2g = ah^d^g d. h. Specific gravity of the liquid = h. Sl.no Depth of immersion of tine float Specific gravity ^ of the liquid = (no unit) ^ in water (h^) cm in liquid (h2) cm 1 2 3 4 5 MOTION AND LIQUIDS Experiment to find the specific gravity of a liquid using a test tube float as a constant immersion hydrometer Make the test tube float to float in water vertically to a certain height 'h'. Take care that the test tube float does not touch the sides or bottom of the jar . Take the float out and wipe the outside dry. Find the weight of the float in water( wj . Now make the test tube float to float in the given liquid. Add or remove lead shots so that it floats to the same depth 'h'. Take the test tube float out , wipe the outside dry. Find the weight of the float in liquid (W2). Repeat the experiment for different depths and tabulate the readings. 1. Jar with water 2. Twine 3. Graduated test tube with lead shots 4. Jar with liquid S.no Weight of the float W2 Specific gravity = w, (no unit) In water (w^) kg In liquid (W2) kg 1 2 3 4 As the depth of immersion of the float is the same in both cases , the volume of water and the liquid displaced are same. According to the law of floatation the weight of the floating body is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced. Weight of the water displaced,w^=ahd^g 1 Weight of liquid displaced,W2=ahd2g 2 Equ. 2 divided by equ. 1, Wo w. Specific gravity of the liquid = weight of the float in liquid weight of the float in water ACTIVITY -15.15 Take a water bottle cap. Paste a piece of graph sheet at the side. Take water in one glass tumbler and salt solution in another glass tumbler. Float the cap vertically (add some sand if necessary) in water and in salt solution. Note the depth of immersion. Find the specific gravity of the salt solution. Change the concentration of the salt solution and find the specific gravity at different concentrations. PHYSICS CHAPTER-15 EVALUATION Section A 1. Arrange the following speeds in the ascending order. (7 m/s, 15 km/h, 2km/minute, 0.1 m/millisecond) 2. When a body rotating along the circular path has unit linear velocity, its angular velocity is equal to of the circular path. (the radius, square of the radius, reciprocal of the radius, square root of the radius) 3. If a body start from rest, the acceleration of the body after 2 second is of its displacement. (half, twice, four times, one fourth) 4. The gradient or slope of the distance-time graph at any point gives . (acceleration, displacement, velocity, time) 5. The area under the velocity-time graph represents the the moving object. (velocity of, displacement covered by, acceleration of, speed of) 6. In a 1 00 m race, the winner takes 1 s to reach the finishing point. The average speed of the winner is (5 m/s, 10 m/s, 20 m/s, 40 m/s) 7. Pick out odd one from the following with respect to the properties of a liquid. a) They have definite volume, b) Liquids are incompressible. c) They have their own shape. Section B 8. Complete the table from the list given below; ( m/s, rad/s^, rad, m/ s^, rad/s) SI. No Physical quantity Unit 1 Velocity 2 Acceleration 3 Angular displacement 4 Angular velocity 9. i) Match the following graph with their corresponding motion. Motion a) Unaccelerated motion b) Non-uniformly accelerated motion c) Uniformly accelerated motion Graph o o (A) o o (B) o o (C) Time Time Time ii) What is the value of acceleration in graph 'B'? MOTION AND LIQUIDS 10. A motorcycle traveling at 20 m/s has an acceleration of 4 m/s^. What does it explain about velocity of the motorcycle? 11. A bus travels a distance of 20 km from Chennai Central to Airport in 45 minutes, i) What is the average speed? ii) Why actual speed differs from average speed? -1.5 kg -3 kg 12. Analyze the diagram and answer the following i) What is the apparent loss in weight of the block inside the water? i) What do you infer from the diagram? 13. Statement. 'In uniform circular motion, the magnitude and direction of velocity at different points remain the same', check whether the above statement is correct or incorrect. Reason out. Section C 14. A coin is tossed with a velocity 3 m/s at A. Vb^ ^^V A^ % a) What happens to the velocity along AB, along DE and at C? b) What happens to acceleration of the coin along AC and CE? c) The distance and vertical displacement covered by the coin between A & E. 15. The diagram shows the position of a ball as it rolled down a track. The ball took 0.5 s to roll from one position to other. a) State whether the motion of the ball is uniform or non-uniform motion. b) What is the distance traveled by the ball in 2.5 s? c) Find the average velocity of the ball from A to F. PHYSICS 16. Consider the motions in the following cases, (i) moving car CHAPTER-15 (ii) a man climbed to terrace and got down nana nana (iii) ball completed one rotation a) In which of the above cases the displacement of the object may be zero. b) Justify your answer. 17. The following graph shows the motion of a car. a) What do you infer from the above graph ^ along OAandAB? ^^ b) What is the speed of the car along OA and along AB? -| 1 — r^ — I — f — i — ( — I — I — r O 1 234S67f^ Time 18. Derive the three equations of motion by graphical method. FURTHER REFERENCE i^ Books 1. General Physics - IVIorton M. Sternhein - Joseph W. Kane - JohnWiley 2. Fundamentals of Physics - David Halliday & Robert Resnick -JohnWiley Websites - http://www.futuresouth.com ' http://www.splung.com Chapter WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT PHYSICS CHAPTER-16 WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT One day Kumar went to see his father at their paddy field. Workers were loading paddy bags into a lorry. He saw the worker Ramu loading as many as 32 bags in an hour. But, at the same time, Somu loaded only 26 bags. He asked his father why was it so? Father replied that, Ramu has more energy compared to Somu. Because of that only the difference arose. Let us help Kumar and others to understand more about energy, work and power in a detailed manner. WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT 16.1. WORK The meaning of work in our daily life is different from that of physics. Anything that makes us tired is known as work. For example, reading, writing, painting, walking, etc. In physics work (W) is said to be done, when a force (F) acts on the body and point of application of the force is displaced (s) in the direction of force. work done = force x displacement W = Fs (i) If the body is displaced in the same direction of force, work is done by a force as shown in Fig. 16.1. Fig. 16.1. Work done by a man (ii) If the displacement is against a force, the work is done against the force. (iii) If the displacement is perpendicular to the direction of the force, work done is zero. Unit of work Unit of work is joule (J). One joule of work is said to be done when a force of 1 newton acting on a body displacing it by a distance of 1 m. Larger units of work are i) kilojoule (1000 joule) ii) megajoule (10 lakh joule) James Prescott Joule James Prescott Joule was an outstanding British physicist. He is best known for his research in electricity and thermodynamics. Amongst other things, he formulated a law for heating effect of electrtic current. He also verified experimentally the law of conservation of energy and discovered the value of mechanical equivalent of heat. The unit of energy and work called joule, is named after him. 16.2. ENERGY Life is impossible without energy. The demand for energy is ever increasing. Living things and machines need energy in order to work. The energy of the body is defined as its capacity to do work. solar irradiance ^7|?^" V, module battery charger controller battery oaiiery \ Solar energy ACTIVITY -16.1 PHYSICS Unit of energy Energy is measured in terms of work. Unit of energy is also joule. One joule of energy is required to do one joule of work. Different forms of energy We live in a world where we have energy in many different forms. Some important forms of energy are mechanical energy, chemical energy, light energy, heat energy, electrical energy, nuclear energy and sound energy. Mechanical Energy The energy used to displace a body or to change the position of the body or to deform the body is known as mechanical energy. Mechanical energy is of two types i) Potential energy ii) Kinetic energy. 16.2.1. POTENTIAL ENERGY The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position or due to state of strain, is called potential energy. CHAPTER-16 The work done to above the ground the potential energy Eg. weight lifting. lift a body level gives of the body. Example: Water stored in reservoir has large amount of potential energy due to which it can drive a water turbine when allowed to fall down. This is the principle of production of hydro electric energy. generator transformer 1 1^.^^^^ tension line turbine Hydropower Station ACTIVITY -16.2 Bow and Arrow shape of the bow. Take a bamboo stick and make a bow. Place an arrow made of a light stick with one end supported by stretched string. Now stretch the string and release the arrow, which flies off. Note the change in the The potential energy stored in the bow due to the change of shape is used in the form of kinetic energy in the movement of the arrow. Expression for potential energy of a body above the ground level Work is done in raising an object from the ground to certain height against the gravity is stored in the body as a potential energy. Consider an object of mass m. It is raised through a height h from the ground. Force is needed to do this. Higher level ! Ground level Fig. 16.2. WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT The downward force acting on the body due to gravity = mg. The work has to be done to lift the body through a height h against the force of gravity as shown in Fig 16.2. The object gains energy to do the work done (w) on it. work done = force x displacement w = F X h \ Since F=ma w = mgh \ a=g F=mg Work done is equal to potential energy of an object. Ep = mgh. ACTIVITY -16.3 Sm 8m O o Find the value of potential energy at different points, m = 10 kg and g = 10 ms"2 i- Ep(X) = Ep(Y) = Ep(Z) = Second floor First floor Ground floor I 3m 1 Y 4m ACTIVITY -16.4 Find the potential energy of a ball with respect to position P,Q and R. Take m = 5 kg and g = 10 ms"^ i. Ep(P) = _ ii. Ep(Q) = iii. Ep(R) = Understand that potential energy of a body at a point is different for different levels. PHYSICS 16.2.2. KINETIC ENERGY Energy possessed by an object due to its motion is called kinetic energy. Kinetic energy of an object increases with its speed. Kinetic energy of an object moving with a velocity is equal to the work done on it to make it acquire that velocity. Example-1 Kinetic energy of a hammer is used to drive a nail into the wall. J CHAPTER-16 Example-2 Bullet fired from a gun can penetrate into a target due to its kinetic energy. Expression for kinetic energy Let a body (ball) of mass m is moving with an initial velocity v. If it is brought to rest by applying a retarding (opposing) force F, then it comes to rest by a displacement S. Let, E^ = work done against the force used to stop it. Ek = F . S --> (1) But retarding force F = ma — > (2) Let initial velocity u = v, final velocity v = From III equation of motion v2 = u^ + 2aS Opposing " force Rest applying, = v^ - 2aS (v a is retardation) 2aS = v2 v^ displacement, S = 2a --> (3) substituting (2) and (3) in (1) v^ E^ = max Ek = 2a mv" WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT 16.3. LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY ACTIVITY -16.5 A Steel ball of mass 5 kg (namely shot put) is dropped from a height of 5 m. Find and fill the table, (take g = 10 ms"^ for easy calculation) Height of steel ball above the ground m potential energy Ep = mgh J Kinetic energy 1 k 2 J Total energy E = Ep+E, J 5 4 3 2 X Ground level Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but it is transformed from one form to another. Alternatively, whenever energy gets transformed, the total energy remains unchanged. Proof - Freely falling body It may be shown that in the absence of external dissipative forces (frictional force) the total mechanical energy of a body remains constant. Consider a body of mass m falls from a point A, which is at a height h from the ground as shown in fig. At A, Kinetic energy E^ = Potential energy E = mgh Total energy E = E + E^ = mgh + E = mgh During the fall, the body is at a position B. The body has moved a distance x from A. At B, velocity v^ = u^ + 2as applying, v^ = + 2ax = 2ax Kinetic energy E^ = "r~ mv^ PHYSICS CHAPTER-16 m X 2gx = mgx Potential energy Ep = mg (h - x) Total energy E = E + Ek = mg (h-x) + mgx = mgh - mgx + mgx E = mgh If the body reaches the position C. Ate, Potential energy Ep = Velocity of the body C is v2 = u^ + 2as u = 0, a = g, s = h applying v^ = + 2gh = 2gh 1 1 kinetic energy E,^= — mv2 = — mx2gh E^ = mgh Total energy at C E = Ep + E, E = + mgh E = mgh Thus we have seen that sum of potential and kinetic energy of freely falling body at all points remains same. Under the force of gravity, the mechanical energy of a body remains constant. 16.4. RATE OF DOING WORK (OR) POWER ACTIVITY -16.6 Think and find which one of the following will have more power - Bike, Car, Bus and Aeroplane, why?. Power is defined as the rate of doing work or work done per unit time. work done Power = time taken w P = t 16.5. UNIT OF POWER The unit of power is J/S known as watt, its symbol is W. 1 joule 1 watt = 1 second 1 W = IJ s-i James Watt (1736-1819) A Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the industrial revolution in the world. _ Watt was interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and reheating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency and cost effectiveness of steam engines. He developed the concept of horsepower. The SI unit of power, the watt, was named after him. WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT Commercial unit of energy is kilo watt hour We pay electricity bill in terms of unit or kWh. It is a commercial unit of electric energy consumed by the user. Watt hour = power in watt x time in hour. Example : How much energy will be used when a hundred watt bulb is used for 10 hour? Energy = 100 watt x 10 hour = 1000 w h = Ikw h I kwh is known as 1 unit. One kilowatt hour means thousand watt of power is consumed in one hour. 1 kWh = 1 kW X 1 h = 1000 W X 60 X 60 s = 1000 Js-i X 3600 s = 3.6 X 10^ J 1 unit = 1 kilowatt hour = 3.6x10^ J Try this How long can a 40 watt bulb glow in order to consume 1 unit of energy? How much energy is consumed, when a motor of 500 W power runs for 4 hour?. r V Energy Transfermation Water from dam: Potential energy into Kinetic energy Microphone : Sound energy into Electrical energy TV Camera : Light energy into Electrical energy ACTIVITY -16.7 Solar Cell Iron Box Light energy into Electrical energy : Electrical energy into Heat energy Loud speaker : Electrical energy into Sound energy Fan : Electrical energy into Mechanical energy Light : Electrical energy into Light energy Find and write the power (in watt) consumed by following electrical appliances at your home. ► Tube light ► Ceiling fan ► Mixi ► Grinder ► Water heater ► Air conditioner ► ► ► 16.6. HEAT We know that heat is a form of energy. The degree of hotness or coldness is given by temperature. Will the temperature give the amount of heat energy possessed by a body? No, the temperature alone cannot give any idea about the heat energy. Then, how to measure the heat? Heat is commonly experienced by everybody just as easily as one feels the weight of an object. But the measurement of heat is not as simple as the measurement of weight. Heat can only be measured in terms of the effects it produces. ACTIVITY -16.8 Take three identical hard glass beakers. Take 50 ml of water in the 1^^ beaker, 75 ml of water in the 2"^ and 100 ml in the 3^^. Note their initial temperatures. Heat the beakers one by one using spirit lamp for a certain period of time (say 5 minutes). Note the rise in temperature in each case (Here we have supplied the same amount of heat). PHYSICS In the activity-16.8, temperature be same? I CHAPTER-16 Will the rise in 16.6.1. THERMAL CAPACITY No, the rise in temperature is not the same in the three cases. Inferences The same amount of heat supplied to different masses of same material will not give the same rise in temperature. But we can see the product of the mass and the rise in temperature will remain the same for all. Therefore the product of mass and rise in temperature can be taken as the measure of the quantity of heat. ACTIVITY -16.9 Take three identical beakers and fill them with equal mass of water, kerosene and coconut oil. Note their initial temperatures. Using spirit lamps heat the three beakers for five minute. Observe the difference in the rise of temperature of different liquids. Coconut Kerosene Water oil Inference The rise in temperature depends on the nature of the substance. What do you infer from these activities? The rise in temperature depends on mass and nature of the substance. To describe the combined effect of mass and nature of the substance we introduce the term thermal capacity or heat capacity. Thermal or heat capacity of a body is defined as the amount of heat required to raise its temperature by 1 K. Its unit is joule / kelvin (J/K or JK"^) ACTIVITY -16.10 Take a stone and water of same mass. Place them in the hot sun for an hour. Now touch the stone with one hand and water with the other hand. Observe that the stone is hotter than water. From the above activity we understand that heat capacities are different for different substances. Specific heat capacity (s) The above activity shows that the heat capacity depends upon the nature of the substance. Different substances of same mass have different heat capacities because of this factor. We take it into account by defining a quantity called specific heat capacity. The amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of substance through 1 K. Its unit is J kg-i K'^ WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT Example The specific iieat capacity of water is 4180 J kg-i K-i It means that 4180 joule of heat is required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water through 1 K. MORE TO KNOW Specific heat capacity of water is 30 times that of mercury, i.e., by using the same heat given to water, the temperature of 30 kg mercury can be raised by IK. The specific heat capacity of mercury is 140 J kg"^ K"^. J Compare the above two specific heat capacities. What do you infer? Shall we calculate the amount of heat energy possessed by the body? Consider the following example. Let us consider that the temperature of 5 kg of mercury is raised by 10 K. How much heat is required? Specific heat capacity of mercury is 140 J kg"^ K"^ Heat capacity = heat required to raise the temperature by 1 K Heat capacity = m s = 5 X 140 = 700 J K-i Total heat supplied = heat capacity x rise in temperature = 700x10 = 7000 joule Total heat supplied = mass x specific heat capacity x rise in temperature Quantity of heat (Q) = mass (m) x specific heat (S) x increase in temperature (0) Q = mSe 16.7. CHANGE OF STATE Everyone is familiar with three states of matter - solid, liquid and gas (or vapour). Of these three states, solid state is most familiar. We are less familiar with the gaseous state of matter even though we are surrounded everywhere by the substance in the gaseous state - the air. Solid and liquid states are the most predominant form of matter in our planet. We shall consider the important effects arising out of addition or removal of heat energy. It is common exeperience that many substances change their state on supply or removal of heat energy. The process of converting a substance from one state to another is called change of state. freezing Melting The process in which a substance changes from the solid state into liquid state on heating is called melting or fusion. Melting point The constant temperature at which a solid gets converted into its liquid state is called melting point. PHYSICS CHAPTER-16 ACTIVITY -16.11 Take ice and put it into a container. A thermometer is inserted. What happens? Temperature remains constant at 0°C until an ice melts and changes into water. Ice takes the heat from the atmospheric air and melted. Temperature is found to be 0°C. The change takes place at a temperature called melting point. Therefore the melting point of ice is 0°C. Melting point of wax A test tube with sufficient quantity of wax is taken and a thermometer is placed in the test tube through a cork. It is then placed in a beaker containing water. Water is heated till the wax in the test tube melts and gets converted completely into the liquid state. Heating is stopped and wax is allowed to cool. The temperature of the wax is noted for every one minute till the temperature of wax falls to 30 °C. thermometer water wax Bunsen Burner 0) 0) Q- E .0) 57° C B Solid state X Time A graph is plotted between time along the X axis and temperture along the Y axis. In the graph in the portion AB shows the wax in the liquid state and below C it is in the solid state. The temperature corresponding to the horizontal line in the graph gives the melting point of wax. At this temperature the liquid wax is converted solid without change of temperature. The melting point of wax is 57° C. When the liquid wax changes into a solid, its volume decreases. Boiling The process in which a substance in its liquid state gets converted into vapour state is called boiling. WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT Boiling point The constant temperature at which a liquid is converted into its vapour is known as boiling point. Boiling point of water Arrange the apparatus as shown in figure. I Thermometer Lord Kelvin Water Bunsen burner Take some water in boiling tube. Fix the thermometer, so that its bulb remains just above the water level. The boiling tube is heated. The mercury in the thermometer rises and remains constant at a temperature 100° C. This constant termperature is called as boiling point of water. 16.8. KELVIN'S SCALE OF TEMPERATURE If a substance is cooled continuously its temperature decreases but there is a limit to the lowest temperature to which a substance can be cooled. The lowest possible temperature is taken as zero point of the Kelvin's scale. This temperature is called as absolute zero.This is written as K. At absolute zero there is no molecular motion and hence no heat energy in a substance. At absolute zero all atomic and molecular motion stop. So absolute zero is the lowest temperature possible and denoted by K or -273° C. was a physicist and an engineer. He is widely known for his eminent contribution to thermodynamics. He devised the kelvin scale of temperature. The unit of temperature was named after him to honour his outstanding contribution and achievements. All objects at all temperature above absolute zero, emit thermal or heat energy. Kelvin scale (K) = Celsius scale (°C) + 273 Celsius scale (°C) = Kelvin scale (K) - 273 If temperature is expressed in kelvin scale degree symbol is omitted. @ @ 373 k II 100 C 273 k Ok 0"C -273^ i i Celsius, Kelvin scale PHYSICS CHAPTER-16 Expansion of gases ACTIVITY -16.12 A balloon is fixed to the mouth of an empty and dry flask. Heat the flask over a flame and observe the balloon. It keeps growing in size on heating continuously. Why does it happen? The pressure of air inside the flask and hence air inside the balloon increases. (The increase in pressure is due to heating). Stop heating. What happens and why? It's size decreases which indicates the decrease of pressure. From the activity 16.12, we infer that the bulging of the balloon is due to increase of pressure of air on heating. We can also infer that the volume of air inside the flask and balloon also increased with temperature. Supply of heat may produce an increase in both volume and pressure of a gas. In solids and liquids we consider only volume changes. we consider changes pressure or both with For gases, in volume or temperature. It is convenient to study the variation of one of them with temperature by keeping the other constant. In the activity 16.12, we have only the variation of volume with temperature, there is no change in pressure here as air is free to expand against the constant external pressure. How can we explain the variation of pressure alone with temperature.? What happens when a metallic container with an air tight lid is heated? The volume is constant and pressure will be increasing. If the container is strongly heated, the lid may not be able to withstand the large pressure and may blow off. Robert Boyle is best known for his work in physics and chemistry. He formulated Boyle's law. He is regarded as the first modern chemist. He described the element as primitive simple and perfectly complete bodies. From 1661 the term element has been reserved for material substances. & GAS 16.9. GAS LAWS EQUATION Gas laws The expansion of gas is usually due to variation of pressure, volume and temperature. Finding the relation between the any two by keeping third one constant, are known as gas laws. The relation can be the change in pressure and volume by keeping temperature constant, called Boyle's law. Boyle's law. At constant temperature, the pressure of a given mass of gas is inversely proportional to its volume. If P is the pressure, V is the volume at constant temperature, 1 p a pv = a constant V WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT Charle's law The relation between volume and temperature by keeping pressure constant, is called Charles law or law of volume. Law of volume: At constant pressure, the volume (v) of a given mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature (T). ACTIVITY 16.13 v va T, = a constant The relation between pressure and temperature by keeping volume constant, is called Charles law or law of pressure. Law of pressure: At constant volume, the pressure (p) of a given mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature (T). pa T, = a constant Jacques Charles (1746 - 1823) He was a French inventor, scientist, mathematician, balloonist and Professor of Physics in Paris. He found the relation between the temperature and volume. His experiment revealed that all gases expand and contract to the same extent when heated through the same temperature intervals. He constructed the first hydrogen balloon, which brought him popular fame and royal patronage. He also invented hydrometer. Take a transparent syringe and seal its nozzle. Push down the piston and slowly release it as shown in fig. observe what happens. — piston graduated syringe enclosed volume of air sealed nozzle Gas equation: The gas equation is relating the pressure, volume and temperature of perfect gas, which obeys Boyle's law and Charle's law. Let p - pressure, v - volume, T- Temperature using Boyle's law, T is constant 1 pa — using Charle's law v is constant, p a T using both the laws we get T pa V pv aT pv = RT where R is proportional constant, and is known as gas constant. The value of R = 8.31 J mol'^ K'^ If n is the number of mole in the gas, pv = nRT It is the perfect gas equation. PHYSICS CHAPTER-16 EVALUATION Section -A 1. Work done by the force is said to be negative, if the displacement of a body is . (along the force, against the force) 2. The degree of hotness or coldness of a body is (heat, temperature). 3. Pick the odd one out from the following based on the nature of energy possessed by them. ( moving car, water stored in a tank, a book on a table, ceiling fan in OFF position) 4. Commercial unit of electrical energy is . Goule, joule/second, watt, kilowatt hour) 5. Select the liquid from the following which has the specific heat capacity of 4180 JKg-iK-i. (mercury, kerosene, water, coconut oil) Section - B 6. (i) ' (ii) (iii) Observe the above figures, state and explain in each case whether work is done or not? 7. What is the work done by the force of gravity on a satellite moving around the earth? Justify your answer. 8. Now-a-days copper bottom vessels are used for cooking rather than other metals. Why? 9. See the following pictures. Mention the nature of energy transformation. • DDDD DDDD DDDD DDDD 1 (iii) (iv) WORK, POWER, ENERGY AND HEAT 10. Match the following Change of state Examples 1) vapourisation a) burning of champhor 2) condensation b) water changed into ice 3) freezing c) steam 4) sublimation d) rain 11. Raja weighing 40 kg claims up on a staircase of 20 steps, each with 16 cm height in 20 second. Find his power. 12. See the diagrams, Calculate the potential energy stored in the compressed spring? F = 10N 13. The boiling point of water is 100°K. Identify the mistake(s) in the above statement and correct it in Kelvin scale. 14. Complete the following table by choosing the right answer given below. (mechanical energy, microphone, loudspeaker) SI. No Energy transformation Device From To 1 Electrical energy Motor 2 Sound energy Electrical energy Section - C 15. Kala is doing an experiment in science laboratory to determine the melting point of wax by cooling curve method. She recorded the temperature of melted wax as below a) Draw a cooling curve by taking time along the x-axis and temperature along the y-axis. b) Find the melting point of wax from the cooling curve. c) What is the state of wax along the flat portion of the curve? Time (minute) Temperature ( °C) 85 1 80 2 70 3 60 4 57 6 57 7 57 8 54 9 48 PHYSICS i CHAPTER-16 16. Consider the case of freely falling body given in the following figures AtA Kinetic energy=0 Potential energy=mgh AtB Kinetic energy=mgx Ate Kinetic energy=mgh Potential energy=0 a) Find the potential energy of the body at B b) Find the total energy at A,B and C. c) Is there any variation in total energy? What do you infer from the result? Ground level 17. Describe an experiment to determine melting point of wax. FURTHER REFERENCI Books 1. Physics Foundation and Frontiers - G.Gamov and J.M.CIereland - Tata Mc Graw Hill 2. Complete Physics for IGCSE - Oxford publications Websites http://www.edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/n_renew/energy.htm http://www.arvindguptatoys.com http://www.physics.about.com Chapter SOUND PHYSICS CHAPTER-17 SOUND Meena and her parent went for a wedding reception, she saw the members of the orchestra adjusting their instruments by plucking, tapping, beating, etc,, before the music programme began. Meena asked her father why they did such things? Father explained that by doing such adjustments they get proper vibrations and music. Let us help Meena and others to understand more about sound. 17.1. PRODUCTION OF SOUND Sound has great importance in our daily life. Sound makes it possible for us to communicate with one another through speech. ► Musical sound gives us pleasure. ► Radio and television sound gives us information and entertainment. ► Horn sound of vehicles alert us. ACTIVITY -17.1 ACTIVITY -17.3 Pluck the string of the Veena or the Guitar. Rub the Violin string. See the vibrating string and hear the sound. Veena Violin Guitar (i) Blow a whistle (ii) Press the horn and hear the sound. Whistle Horn From the above activities, we understand that we can produce sound by scratching, rubbing, blowing, plucking, hitting and shaking different objects. All these activities set the objects vibrating, they make the surrounding air particles to vibrate and produce sound. Vibrations are small to and fro motion of objects. ACTIVITY -17.2 ACTIVITY -17.4 (i) Ring the bell / set the alarm clock and hear the sound. (ii) Beat a drum with its stick and hear the sound. ^^. Bell Drums Alarm Clock Make a list of all the sounds you can think of and fit them into their families. SI. No. Being Rubbed Being blown Being Plucked Being hit 1. Violin Whistle Guitar Drums 2. 3. 4. PHYSICS CHAPTER-17 17.2. PROPAGATION OF SOUND ACTIVITY -17.5 Throw a stone into a pool of water. See the circular waves spread out from the point of disturbance and travel outward on the surface of water as shown in figure. Sound travels through a medium from the point of generation to the listener. Sound waves travel along the to and fro movement of the vibrating objects that produce them. M ed I u m ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The matter or substance through which sound is transmitted is called a medium. It can be a solid, liquid or gas. Robert Boyle, the scientist, proved that sound cannot pass through vacuum or empty space. He kept an electric bell. Inside a glass container, as shown in fig 17.1. By removing the air slowly from the container using vacuum pump, the volume of sound decreases and no sound is heard when the air is removed completely. By allowing the air back to the container the sound is heard again. A wave is a disturbance that moves through a medium when the particles of the medium set neighboring particles into motion. They, in turn, produce similar motion in others. The particles of the medium do not move forward, but the disturbance is carried forward, similar to the propagation of sound in a medium. to electric connection rubber cork y 1 > bell jar 1 r y 5?v :tric bell c - > elec ^^ m pump Im Fig. 17.1. Electric bell in jar 17.3. LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE WAVES WAVES ^m Electro Magnetic Waves Mechanical Waves (Transverse waves) (eg. Light Waves, Infra red Ultra violet, etc.) Longitudinal Waves ACTIVITY -17.6 J T 1 fongitudinal Waves Transverse waves eg: sound waves eg: water wavesj Take a spring. Hold one end and ask your friend to hold other end. Stretch the spring as shown in fig. O'OOOO'OOOOIMMXJOO'OOOOOODDWJDDODO Now push the spring towards your friend. Move your hand for pushing and pulling the spring alternatively. You can see the spring as shown in fig. mmwmmmmmm^^\ C - Compression R - Rarefaction "If the particles of a medium vibrate in a direction, parallel to or along the direction of propagation of wave, it is called longitudinal wave" Example: sound waves 4 t Direction bf vibrations of particles i >i — > ■> Direction of propagation Sound waves in air or gases travel in the form of longitudinal waves. Longitudinal wave propagate in a medium in the form of compression and rarefaction as shown fig 17.2. PHYSICS CHAPTER-17 Compression is the area with maximum pressure, rarefaction is the area with minimum pressure. compression rarefaction Tuning fork Fig. 17.2. Longitudinal waves Transverse waves ACTIVITY -17.7 Stretch a long rope with one end fixed and hold the other end firmly. Jerk your hand up and down. You can see an up and down movements and forming transverse wave as shown in fig. Crest : The maximum displacement along the upward direction. Trough: The maximum displacement along the downward direction. Direction of vibrations of particles Direction of + propagation "If the particles of the medium vibrate in a direction, perpendicular to the direction of propagation, the wave is called transverse wave." Example: water waves, vibrations of stretched string. Transverse waves propagate in a medium in the form of crests and troughs as shown in fig 17.3. ^time trough Fig 17.3. Transverse waves Difference between Transverse and Longitudinal waves Transverse waves Longitudinal waves Particles of the medium vibrate in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Particles of the medium vibrate in a direction which is parallel to the direction of propagation. Crests and troughs are formed Compressions and rarefactions are formed. Can travel through solids and surfaces of liquid. Can travel through solids, liquids and gases. eg. Water waves eg. Sound waves. Why transverse wave does not travel through air or gases? Definitions Amplitude (a): The maximum displacement of a particle from the mean position is called amplitude. Its unit is metre. Time period (T) : Time taken by a particle of the medium to complete one vibration is called Time period. Its unit is second. Frequency (n) : The number of vibrations completed by a particle in one second is called frequency . Its unit is 1 hertz, n = T Wave Length (A) : Distance moved by a wave during the time a particle completes one vibration. Its unit is metre. Velocity of a wave or Relation between Velocity, wavelength and Frequency Distance travelled by a wave in T second = A Velocity = frequency x wavelength X < ► wavelength (A) f\ \ r N -1— • 1 \ / \ c 1 \ # 1 CD / \ # \ EG f \ <ii TJ \ ^ CD-- O \ 3 \ timei cd m ~ \ \ Q. \ Q_ \ 1 (/) \e \ 1 Q < ► \J wavelength (A) MORE TO KNOW Sound travels almost five times faster through water and twenty times faster through iron than it travels in air. MORE TO KNOW velocity = but n =■ distance time 1 V = nA Speed of light (3x10^ m/s) is much faster than the speed of sound (340 m/s). Light travels almost million times faster than sound. Due to this reason lightning flash is seen first and thunder sound is heard next. PHYSICS CHAPTER-17 17.4. REFLECTION OF SOUND ACTIVITY -17.8 Take two identical pipes made of card board or chart paper or brown paper. Arrange them on a table near a wall. Keep an alarm clock near the open end of one of the pipes and try to hear the sound of alarm clock through the other pipe as shown in fig. Adjust the angles of pipes, so that you get maximum sound. Realise that sound can also be reflected like light. Sound can be reflected from hills and tall buildings. card board ^<- clock ear normal 17.4.1. ECHO The sound waves produced by us bounce back or reflected from the forest or mountain or buildings come to our ears as Echo. For example, the sound uttered by a person may be heard two or three times after the reflection from an object. They are called echo. ACTIVITY -17.9 "^ ^ When you go to a cave or a subway and shout, you can hear the voice again, a short time after you have shouted. The delay is caused by the time your voice has taken to travel to the walls and back again. You hear your voice as echo. f incident waves reflected waves > BU^ N9 \/vNB\^° ^^H The sensation of sound persists in our brain for about 1/10^^ of a second. Any sound which comes as reflection to ear after 1/10^^ of second travels a distance of about 34 metre. Therefore, to hear echo, the barrier reflecting the sound should be least at a distance of 17 meters. Why? Think! ,, , .^ distance Velocity = — : time Distance = velocity X time = 340X1/10 = 34 m. Echoes may be heard more than once due to successive or multiple reflections. The rolling of thunder is due to the successive reflections of the sound from a number of reflecting surfaces, such as cloud and land. 17.4.2. REVERBERATION A sound created in a big hall will persist by repeated reflection from the walls until it is reduced to a value when it is no longer audible. The repeated reflection that results in the persistence of sound is called reverberation. Audio recording theatre In an auditorium, big hall, theatres and audio recording theatres, etc, the excessive reverberation is highly undesirable. The reverberation time should not be more than its optimum value. For speech, it is 0.5 second, for music 1 to 1.5 second. To reduce reverberation, the roof and walls of auditorium are generally covered with sound absorbing materials like compressed fibre board, rough plaster or draperies. The seat materials are also selected on the basis of their sound absorbing properties. 17.5. RANGE OF HEARING Sound is produced by vibrating bodies. We can hearsound of frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. This range of frequencies, sensed by our ear is known as the audible range of sound for human beings. (One Hz= one cycle/second) Sound of frequencies above 20,000 Hz are known as ultrasonic. Sometimes sound produced by bats, dolphins are ultrasonic. Sound of frequencies below 20Hz are called infrasonic. We cannot hear ultrasonic and infrasonic. But certainanimalscan produce and detect ultrasonic and infrasonic. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857 - 94) A German scientist, Hertz gave the first experimental proof of the existence of radio waves. He did research on the evaporation of liquids. He had a deep interest in meteorology also. The frequency which is measured in cycles / second was changed as hertz (Hz) after him. PHYSICS ± CHAPTER-17 Audible range of sound ( in Hertz) for Human and certain animals 20 - 20,000 Human Elephant Cow Cat Rabbit 16 - 12,000 ■ "-^ 16- 40,000 100 - 32,000 40 - 46,000 1000 - 1,00,000 1000 - 1,50,000 Bat 70 -1,50,000 Dolphins 900 - 2,00,000 Seal ACTIVITY -17.10 Try to count different sounds you hear from various living beings from morning to night. 17.6. APPLICATION OF ULTRASOUND Ultra sound scan is currently considered to be a safe, non- invasive, accurate and cost effective investigation of the foetus. It has progressively become an indispensable obstetric tool and plays an important role in the care of every pregnant woman. 17.6.1. SONAR (Sound NavigationAnd Ranging) Sonar is a device that uses ultrasonic waves to measure the distance, direction and speed of underwater objects and depth of the sea. Sonar consists of a transmitter and a detector, installed in a ship as shown in fig 17.4. ACTIVITY -17.11 ship CJ CJ water /— (Ktectt^ — — liu^ — gtilse zz = ^earbed Fig 17.4. Ultra sound sent by transmitter and received by the detector The transmitter produces and transmits ultrasonic waves. These waves travel through water and after striking the object on the sea bed, get reflected and are sensed by the detector. The detector converts the ultrasonic waves into electrical signal which are appropriately interpreted. Echo Ranging Set the time interval between transmission and reception of ultrasound is T speed of sound through water is V total distance travelled (to & fro) is '2d'. vxt 2d = V X t d = This method is called Echo Ranging. It is used to determine the depth of the sea and to locate underwater hills, submarine, icebergs, sunken ship, etc. Stand on a railway platform and hear the whistle sound of the train as it approaches and leaves. 17.6.2. DOPPLER EFFECT IN SOUND The pitch of the whistle seems higher as the train comes towards you and lower when the train goes away from you. If an observer is situated at a fixed distance from a sound source, the frequency of sound heard by him is the same as produced by the source. But if the sound source or the observer or both are in a state of motion, the frequency of the sound appears to be changed to the observer. The phenomenon of the apparent change in the frequency of the source due to relative motion between the source and the observer is called as Doppler's effect. PHYSICS J^ CHAPTER-17 1 Christian Johann Doppler (1803 - 53) He was an Austrian mathematician and physicist. He is known for his principle. He first proposed in concerning the coloured light of| double stars in 1842. This principle is known as the Doppler effect. He hypothesized that the pitch of a sound would change if the source of the sound was moving. This principle is used in velocity and distance measurements and various applications i Uses of Doppler effect in sound ► RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging) Doppler effect principle is used in RADAR to determine the velocities and movement of submarines and aircrafts. ► Traffic control vehicles direct microwaves on speeding vehicles. The waves reflected by the moving vehicles act as a moving source. From the Doppler shift in frequency, the speed of vehicles are detected. ► The Doppler shift of radar waves are used in airports to find the height, speed and distance of approaching aircrafts. ► Bats send out and receive ultrasonic waves reflected by the prey and obstacles. Bats detect the location, distance and movement of the prey by the Doppler shift. ultra sound waves echo from insect Insect EVALUATION Section -A 1. When we hear music, the medium through which the sound transmitted is . (solid, liquid, gas) 2. Pick the odd one out from the following intruments on basis of prodution of sound X Mouth organ Veena Flute Clarinet 3. In the following diagram, state in which of the following cases, the sound propagates in air. Vibrating Wave tuning fork propagation a) b) 4. From the list of frequencies, find the ultrasonic frequency. (2000 Hz, 20000Hz, 30000 Hz, 10000 Hz) 5. The principle on which stethoscope works is (reflection, multiple reflection) 6. Find the odd one out on the basis of audiable range Elephant Rabit Bat Dolphin Section - B 7. Match the following a) ripples on surface of water longitudinal wave b) light waves electro magnetic transverse c) sound waves mechanical transverse PHYSICS CHAPTER-17 8. Two auditoriums, named A and B are constructed adjacently. The sound engineer examined both and gave report as follows Auditorium Reverberation time A 1.5 s B 0.5 s Select the auditorium for, a) speech and seminar b) cultural programmes 9. A sonar device on a submarine sends out a signal and receives an echo 5 s later. Calculate the speed of sound in water if the distance of the object from the submarine is 3625 m. 10. The echo of our sound is not heard in our living room, but it is heard distinctly in a big hall. Why? 11. a) In which ofthe given position A, B or C, is an alarm clock to be placed, so that the maximum sound is heard by the observer. b) Give reason for your answer. 12. In an auditorium or a cinema hall, the roof and walls are covered with draperies or compressed fibre board. Why? Section - C 13. The following figure represents a sound wave. a) Draw and mark the name of the variables x, y and z. b) Write the equation for velocity of a wave using the above variables. c) Write any two differences between transverse and longitudinal waves. FURTHER REFERENC Books 1. Know about Science - sound - Dreamland 2. V.K.Science, Physics, Class IX - Satya Prakash, V.K. (India) Enterprises, New Delhi - 2 Websites ^ http://www.alcyone.com/max/physics/index.html http://www.dmoz.org/science/physics PRACTICALS LIST OF PRACTICALS S.No Name of the Experiment Aim of the Experiment Apparatus/ Materials required Time 1 Plant Cell To prepare a temporary mount of the onion peel and study of plant cells Onion bulb, watchglass, coverslip, slide, methylene blue or safrannin, glycerine, blotting paper and microscope 40 minute 2 Osmosis To study the phenomenon of osmosis by using potato osmoscope Potato, knife, sugar solution, beaker, coloured water, pins, etc.. 40 minute 3 Pollen Grain To dust the pollen grains on the slide and observe under the dissection (simple) microscope. Draw and label the parts. Flowers, dissection (simple) microscope, glass slide and needle 40 minute 4 Ascent of Sap To prove the ascent of sap through xylem vessels by using balsam plant. A bottle or a beaker, water, eosin stain or red ink and balsam plant 40 minute 5 Paramoecium To identify the prepared slide of paramoceium Compound microscope, paramoceium slide 40 minute 6 Purity of Milk To measure the strength (purity of milk) by using lactometer. Milk, lactometer 40 minute 7 Micro organisms To identify the micro organisms in pond water Pond water in a beaker, compound microscope, glass slide 40 minute 8 Ethyl Alcohol To find out ethyl alcohol in a medium. Ethyl alcohol, acidified potassium dichromate, test tube 40 minute SI. No Name of the Experiment Aim of the Experiment Apparatus/ Materials required Time 9 Measurement of volume of liquid To measure the volumes of solutions using pipette Pippette (20 ml) Beaker (250 ml) 40 Minute 10 Preparation of saturated, unsaturated and super saturated solutions To prepare solutions of different concentrations like unsaturated, saturated and supersaturated solutions 100 ml beakers, distilled water, sodium chloride 40 Minute 11 Study the characteristics of metals To determine the relative strengths (electropositive characters) of given metals Test tube Lead , Zinc and Copper, Pb (N03)2 ZnSO^, CUSO4 40 Minute 12 Identification of acid radicals in the given salt To identify carbonate, chloride, sulphate acid radicals present in the given salt Test tube Carbonate salt. Sulphate salt. Chloride salt Dil. HCI,AgN03, BaCl2 40 Minute 13 Finding the diameter of a spherical body To determine the diameter of a spherical body using vernier calipers. Vernier calipers. Spherical body (Simple pendulum bob) 40 minute 14 Finding the relation between length and time period of a simple pendulum To find the period of oscillation and proving (l/T^) is a constant Simple pendulum apparatus (stand, bob, twine, split cork), stopwatch 40 minute 15 Determining density of a solid To determine the density of a solid heavier than water using Archimede's principle Spring Balance, brass bob, beaker with water 40 minute 16 Temperature - Time Relation To determine the boiling point of water and to draw the cooling curve Beaker with water, electric heater, tripod stand, wire gauze 40 minute PRACTICALS 1. TO STUDY A PLANT CELL Aim: To prepare a temporary slide of the onion peel and study of plant cells. Materials Required: An onion bulb, watchglass, coverslip, glass slide, methylene blue stain or safranin, glycerine, blotting paper and microscope. Procedure: i. Cut a small piece of onion and separate a peel from one of its inner layers. ii. Place the peel on a glass slide in a drop of water. iii. Put a drop of methylene blue or safranin on the peel. iv. Wash it in water to remove the excess stain. V. Put a drop of glycerine and cover it with a coverslip vi. Remove excess glycerine from the edges of coverslip with the help of a piece of blotting paper vii. Observe the slide under the microscope first in low power and then in high power. Observation: Elongated and rectangular cells arranged in a brick like fashion, can be observed. Each cell has a rigid cell wall outside the plasma membrane and deeply coloured rounded nucleus surrounded by granular cytoplasm. The central part of the cell is occupied by the central vacuole. (i) Piece of onion bulb (iv) Drop of water (V) (ii) Snap the scale backward (vi) Stages to show the mounting (iii) Pull the transparent peel steps procedure on a slide, to take out an onion peel Draw a diagram of the cells as seen under microscope and label Nucleus, Vacuole and Cellwall. PRACTICALS 2. TO STUDY THE PHENOMENON OF OSMOSIS Aim: To study the phenomenon of osmosis by potato osmoscope. Principle: Movement of molecules of water or solvent from a region of its higher concentration to the region of its lower concentration through a semipermeable membrane is called osmosis. Materials Required: Potato, knife, sugar solution, beaker, coloured water, pins, etc,. Procedure: a. A potato is taken and peeled. b. Its base is cut to make it flat. c. A hollow cavity is made in the centre of the tuber filled with sugar solution. d. The initial level of solution is marked with the help of a pin. e. It is placed in a beaker containing coloured water. f. Leave the experimental set up for sometime. g. Final level of sugar solution is measured. Sugar solution Coloured water Potato tuber ri-ii,- Record the observations in the table Initial levl of sugar solution (mm) Final level of sugar solution (mm) Difference between initial level and final level (mm) Inference: The level of sugar solution and becomes due to PRACTICALS 3. TO OBSERVE THE POLLEN GRAINS Aim: To dust the pollen grains on the slide and observe under the dissection (simple) microscope and draw and label the parts. Materials Required: Flowers, dissection (simple) microscope, glass slide and needle. Procedure: a. Collect the pollen grains from a given flower. b. With the help of a needle, place the pollen grains on the slide. c. Observe the slide under microscope. Observation: a. It is a single celled structure. b. It has two layers. The outer exine which is spiny and the inner intine is thin and smooth. c. It contains a single nucleus and cytoplasm. Draw the structure of pollen grain as observed through microscope. Label Exine, Intine, Cytoplasm and Nucleus PRACTICALS 4. TO PROVE ASCENT OF SAP Aim: To prove the ascent of sap through xylem vessels by using Balsam plant (Kasithumbai plant). Principle: The conduction of water and mineral salts from the roots upward by the stem through the xylem vessels is known as the ascent of sap. Materials Required: A bottle, water, eosin stain or red ink and Balsam plant. Procedure: a) Take a bottle containing water and add a few drops of eosin stain or red ink. b) Close the mouth of the bottle with a one-holed rubber cork. c) Insert a balsam plant into it. d) Keep the apparatus undisturbed for some time. Plant Cork Bottle Eosin solution Record the periodical observations in the interval of 10 minute each. SI.No Periodicity Observations 1. After 10 Minute 2. After 20 Minute 3. After 30 Minute Inference: Red streaks seen in the stem and in the veins of leaves prove that PRACTICALS J 5. TO IDENTIFY PARAMOECIUM Observe a prepared slide of paramoecium under a compound microscope. Draw and label the parts. Preparation of sample Take few pieces of straw and immerse inside a beaker containing water and keep it for about 3 days. Number of paramoecium are developed, while the straw is decaying. Place a drop of water on the slide from the beaker and observe it under compound microscope. Identification: The slide kept for identification is an unicellular protozoan - the paramoecium. Observation: 1. Structure of paramoecium 2. Locomotion of paramoecium 6. TO FIND OUT THE PURITY OF MILK Aim: To find out the strength (purity) of milk by using a lactometer. Requirement: Milk, lactometer. Principle: 100ml of pure milk is taken in a beaker. The meter bulb is dipped into the beaker. The bulb just sinks and then begin to float. The reading on the meter indicates the purity of milk. Observation: If the bulb sinks deeper, it indicates that the milk contains more water and if the reading is at mark, it shows that the milk is very rich and pure. SI. No Milk Water Lactometer reading 1 100 ml Nil 2 100 ml 10ml 3 100 ml 20ml 4 100 ml 30ml Result: Thus the lactometer is used to find out the strength (purity) of the milk. PRACTICALS 7. TO DETECT MICRO ORGANISMS IN POND WATER Aim: To identify various microorganisms (any three) seen in a drop of pond water. Draw diagram. Requirements: A glass beaker with pond water, glass slide, compound microscope. Procedure: A drop of pond water is kept on a glass slide. The slide is kept under the microscope. Observation: Any three micro organisms in the pond water may be identified and neat diagrams are drawn. Result: The organisms found in pond water are PRACTICALS 8. TO FIND OUT ETHYL ALCOHOL IN THE MEDIUM Aim: To find out ethyl alcohol in the medium. Required Materials: Ethyl alcohol, acidified potassium dichromate Procedure: Take 5 ml of acidified potassium dichromate in a test tube. Add a drop of ethyl alcohol and shake well. Slowly the colour of the mixture red orange is turned into green. It shows the presence of alcohol. Inference: In this reaction chromium ions (Cr VI) red orange is converted into (Cr III), which is green in colour. Experiment Observation Inference Acidified potassium dichromate is treated with a drop of ethyl alcohol colour of the presence of mixture is turned into Result: The presence of is confirmed / not confirmed. Importance of this test: This test is used to find out a drunkard. It is a respiratory analysis. PRACTICALS 9. TO MEASURE VOLUME OF LIQUIDS Aim: To measure the volumes of given colourless and coloured solutions using pipette. Required Materials: Pipette (20 ml), beaker (250 ml). Procedure: Take a pipette of definite volume. Wash it with water and then rinse with the given solution. Put the lower end of the pipette well below the surface of the liquid and suck the solution slowly, till the solution rises well above the circular mark on the stem. Take it out of your mouth and quickly close it with the fore finger. Raise the pipette till the circular mark is at level with your eye. Then release the pressure of your finger slightly to let the liquid drop out slowly until the lower part of the meniscus just touches the circular mark (For coloured solutions, upper meniscus should be taken into account.) To discharge, introduce the lower end of the pipette inside the receiving vessel and remove the finger. Record the volume of liquid measured in the tabular column. Tabulation: SI No. Name of Liquid Nature of colour Nature of meniscus Volume of liquid Report: The volume of liquid measured using pipette is Precaution: Never use a pipette for sucking strong acids or strong alkalies. ml. PRACTICALS 10. TO PREPARE UNSATURATED, SATURATED AND SUPER SATURATED SOLUTIONS Aim: To prepare solutions of different concentrations like unsaturated, saturated and supersaturated solutions. Required Materials: 100 ml beakers, distilled water, sodium chloride Principle: ► A solution which can dissolve more of the solute at a given temperature is known as an unsaturated solution. ► A solution which can not dissolve any more of the solute is known as a saturated solution, ► A solution which contains much greater quantity of the solute that can be normally present in the saturated solution is known as a supersaturated solution. Procedure: Take about 25 ml of distilled water in a 100 ml beaker. Add about 2g of sodium chloride to it and stir well. The salt dissolves completely. Now note the nature of solution obtained. Repeat the addition of salt to the above solution, till some of the added salt remains at the bottom of the beaker. Now note the nature of solution. Add more and more quantity of the salt to the above solution. Heat the solution for few minutes to dissolve the salt. Now stop heating and allow it to settle. Observe the separation of crystals of the salt. Note the nature of solution. Tabulation: SI. No. Name of salt added Weight of Salt added Volume of water Nature of Concentration of Solution Report: The solutions obtained are classified as. solutions. and 11. TO STUDY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF METALS Aim: To determine the relative strengths (electropositive characters) of given metals. Principle: Relative strengths of metals can be determined by the precipitation of one metal by another. Chemicals required: ► Small pieces of copper, lead and zinc ► Solutions of leadnitrate, coppersulphate and zincsulphate. Procedure: Trial 1: Take about 5ml each of leadnitrate and zincsulphate in two separate test tubes. Add pieces of copper to both the tubes and observe the changes and record. (No chemical change occurs in both the tubes). Tabulation: SI. No. Solutions taken Metal added Observation Trial 2 : Take about 5ml each of coppersulphate and zincnitrate solutions in two separate test tubes. Add pieces of lead to both the tubes and observe the changes (lead reacts with copper sulphate and not with zinc sulphate). Tabulation: SI. No. Solutions taken Metal added Observation Trial 3 : Take about 5ml of coppersulphate and leadnitrate solutions in two separate test tubes. Add pieces of z/nc to both the tubes and observe the changes (Zinc reacts with both copper sulphate and lead nitrate). Tabulation: SI. No. Solutions taken Metal added Observation Report: The order of relative strengths of the metals are > PRACTICALS 12. TO IDENTIFY ACID RADICALS Aim: To identify the acid radical present in the given salt. identification of Carbonate acid radical Experiment Observation 1. Take about Ig of the salt in a test tube. Add 2-3ml of dilute hydrochloric acid. Brisk effervescence due to the liberation of CO2 gas. 2. To the salt solution, add few drops of Magnesium sulphate solution. A white precipitate of magnesium carbonate is formed. Report: The acid radical present in the salt is Identification of Chloride acid radical Experiment Observation 1. Take about 3g of the given salt in test tube.To which add very little amount of manganesedioxide followed by conc.sulphuric acid. Heat the mixture for few seconds. Evolution of greenish yellow chlorine gas (CI2). 2. Add few drops of silver nitrate solution to the aqueous solution of the salt. A curdy white precipitate of silver chloride is formed. Report: The acid radical present in the salt is Identification of Sulphate acid radical Experiment Observation 1. Take a pinch of the salt in a test tube. Add water. If the salt is insoluble in water add dil. hydrochloric acid till the effervescence ceases. Then add Barium chloride solution. Formation of a white precipitate of Barium sulphate. 2. Add a few drops of lead acetate solution to the aqueous solution of the salt. Formation of a white precipitate of Lead sulphate. Report: The acid radical present in the salt is PRACTICALS 13. FINDING THE DIAMETER OF A SPHERICAL BODY Aim: To determine the diameter of a spherical body using Vernier Calipers. Apparatus required: The Vernier calipers, the given spherical body Formula: Diameter of the sphere = OR ± ZC x 10"2 m Where, OR = MSR +(VC X LC) x IO-2 m OR = Observed Reading x 10"^ m MSR = Main scale reading x 10"^ m LC = Least count x 10"^ m VC = Vernier coincidence ZC = Zero correction x 10"^ m Procedure ► Find the Least Count of the Vernier Calipers. Find also the Zero Error of the Vernier Calipers. Place the body firmly between the two lower jaws. Note the main scale reading and the Vernier coincidence. Repeat the experiment for different positions of the body. Measure the diameter of the sphere using the formula. Diameter of the sphere = OR ± ZC, OR = MSR +(VC x LC) Observation: Number of Vernier scale divisions, N = Value of one main scale division(lMSD) = 1 Least Count = x IMSD N ZE = ZC = S.No Main Scale Reading (MSR) cm Vernier Coincidence (VC) Observed Reading (OR) = MSR+(VC X LC) cm Corrected Reading OR±ZC cm 1 2 3 4 Result : Diameter of the sphere = Diameter of the given sphere = Mean X 10"2m PRACTICALS 14. FINDING THE RELATION BETWEEN LENGTH AND TIME PERIOD OF SIMPLE PENDULUM Aim: To find the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum and to prove that l/T^ is a constant. Apparatus required: Simple pendulum apparatus, stop watch. Formula: l/T^ is a constant Where, I is the length of the simple pendulum (m) T is the Period of oscillation of the simple pendulum (s) Procedure: a (3 t» one oscillation ► Suspend the simple pendulum for a length of 70 cm. ► Make the pendulum to oscillate with small amplitude. ► When the pendulum crosses the mean position towards the right, start a stop watch and count zero. ► When it crosses the mean position towards the right next time, count one. ► Like this count up to twenty and stop the stopwatch. ► Find the time taken for 20 oscillations and record in the tabulation. ► Repeat the experiment by changing the length to 80cm, 90cm, 100cm and 110cm. ► Tabulate the readings and find T, T^ & l/T^. ► The last column of the tabulation is found to be constant, hence proving l/T^ is a constant. Observation: S. No. Length of the simple pendulum m Time taken for 20 oscillations s Period T s T2 s2 I/T2 ms-2 1 0.7 2 0.8 3 0.9 4 1.0 5 1.1 Result: From the table, it is found that l/T^ is a constant. PRACTICALS 15. DETERMINING DENSITY OF A SOLID Aim: To determine the density of a solid heavier than water using Archimedes' principle. Apparatus required: Spring balance, three spherical bodies of same material but different weight (e.g. 3 brass simple pendulum bobs of different size), beaker with water. Formula: w. d = W^-W2 kg m -3 where, d = density of the solid (kg m"^) w^ = weight of the solid in air (kg) W2 = weight of the solid in water (kg) Procedure: ► Suspend the given solid from the hook of a spring balance. ► Find the weight of the solid in air (wj. ► Immerse the solid in a beaker of water. ► Find the weight of the solid in water (W2). ► Find the weight of the other two solids in air and water. ► Enter the readings in a tabular column. ► Take the average of the last column reading as the density of the given solid. Observation: s. No. Weight of the solid in air x 10-3 kg Weight of the solid in water x lO^ kg W2 w, d = W^-W2 kg m^ Mean Result: Density of the given solid = kg m -3 Note: (i) The body should be completely immersed in water (ii) The body should not touch the sides or bottom of the beaker (iii) No air bubbles sticking to the solid PRACTICALS 16. TEMPERATURE - TIME RELATIONSHIP Aim: To determine the boiling point of water and to draw the cooling curve. Apparatus required: Beaker with water, electric heater, tripod stand, wire gauze, graph sheet. Procedure: ► Place the beaker with water over the wire gauze placed on the tripod stand. ► Fix a thermometer to a stand and immerse it in water. ► Heat the beaker with a electric heater. ► When water boils, note the thermometer reading. ► It gives the boiling point of water. ► Stop heating and allow water to cool. ► Take the thermometer reading while switching on the stop clock. ► Find temperature interval using stop clock. ► Similarly note the thermometer reading for every one minute interval till the temperature falls upto 60°c. ► Record the readings in the tabulation. Observation: Maximum temperature measured = °c For a suitable scale draw .-. The boiling point of water = o^ the cooling curve by taking time along the x axis and temperature along the y axis. Time (minute) Temperature ( °c) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Time Result: 1. The boiling point of water = 2. The cooling curve is drawn
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"Which car manufacturer, based in Asia, was named as ""Best Car Manufacturer"" of 2012 ?" | World Top Ranking Car Companies – 1Reservoir.com
HEAVY BUS: – 5,686
Details:-
With Number of Up and Down remained top company of early 2000s now present at No.1 The company established in 1933 by Toyota Loom work its subsidiary by Kiichiro Toyoda Who traveled in different parts of world it develop all type of Cars, Buses, Wagons etc. now a days it is successfully back at rank 1 as it faces loss because of problem in accelerator of its eight models but this Japanese company strived back successfully
General Motors Company (United States)
Sub Category Ranking
Buick Division North America, China, Israel, and Taiwan
Cadillac Division North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa
Chevrolet Division Global, except Australia and New Zealand
GMC Division North America, Middle East
Holden Subsidiary Australia, New Zealand
Opel Subsidiary Global, except North America and United Kingdom
Vauxhall Subsidiary United Kingdom
HEAVY BUS: – 14,575
Details:-
Name of Hyundai is taken from Korean word meaning modernity it have many of working products including steel to defense equipment its automobile industries is started in 1967 after 20 years of its function its Fate is known as Broken Up Its founded by Chung Ju-Yung now its headquarters is located in Seoul, South Korea its serving in all parts of world it normally prefer to develop large vehicles instead of small cars.
Ford Motor Company (United States)
Sub Category Ranking
Lincoln Division North America, Middle East, Japan and South Korea
Mercury Division North America, Middle East, Japan
Total Production: – 6,077,126
HEAVY BUS: 43,836
Details:-
Fiat Chrysler Automobile was founded in October 12 2014 by merger of Fiat and Chrysler Motors, an American automaker with merger of Fiat the Italian manufacturers, It was founded because of bak ruptcy issue of Chrysler motors and its acquisition by Fiat by getting majority shares of the company. Walter Chrysler formed motor company on June 6, 1925 and it was initially ally with Maxwell-Chalmers company in 1920’s and in 1923 this company got defaulted and after that started as company named as Chrysler Motors forming headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. Now after acquisition from Fiat Motors its headquarters are shifted to United Kingdom and John Elkaann is chairman of FCA.
HEAVY BUS: —-
Details:-
Honda The continuously growing automobile company having interesting history founded by a person having great interest in automobiles .Soichiro Honda started his career as mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, later on he started his company to provide piston ring to Toyota but lost contract due to its poor quality than visiting engineering university and various factories around Japan, he didn’t graduate but again started producing pistons, which are acceptable by Toyota. He founded cars company on 24 September 1948 with the Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa its headquarters are located at Minato, Tokyo, Japan its largest Motorcycle manufacturer since 1959 and 2nd largest combustion engine manufacturer now Takanobu is CEO of Honda now
HEAVY BUS: —-
Details:-
In 1909 Michio Suzuki the founder of Suzuki motors founded Suzuki Loom Works in small village due to great success in it, he started Suzuki Motors in 1937, his vehicles are too much famous in south asia. Mostly Suzuki motors develop cars less than 1000CC and also develop Motorcycles, Engines. Head Quarter of Suzuki Motors is present in Hamamatsu, Shizuoaka Japan and Osamu Suzuki, Chairman Suzuki motors is planning to install another engines making factory.
PSA Peugeot Citroën S.A. (France)
Sub Category Ranking
Citroën Subsidiary Global, except North America and South Asia
Peugeot Subsidiary Global, except North America and South Asia
Total Production: – 2,833,781
Some Interesting Facts :-
Daimler AG holds 20% shares of Eicher Motor, 10% of of Kamzan and Tesla Motors, 6.75% of of Tata Motors and
3.1% in Renault Nissan Alliance
Fiat hold 90% stake in Ferrari and 61.8% stake in Chrysler
Ford Motor Company have 3% Shares of Mazda and 12.1% of Aston Martin
Geely Automobile have 23% shares of Maganese Bronze Holding
General Motor Hold 7% Share of PSA Peugeot Citroen
Hyundai Kia Automotive group have 33.99% Shares of KIA Motors
Toyota Holds 51% Shares off Daihatsu
Volkswagen group have 19.9% share of suzuki
Suzuki own 5% Shares of Volkswagen
In Jan 2013 Volvo has agreed to pay 1 billion dollar for a minority stake China’sDongfeng Motors
Last but most interesting Renault hold 44.3% Shares of Nissan and Nissan holds 15% of Renault while there
alliance hold 3.1% shares of Daimler
General Motors sales went down to 2.42 million vehicles in 1st quarter of 2015 allowing Volkswagen to beat its rank
Statics Division: World Best Ranked Car Companies of the World Ranking under 1Reservoir
Note: Car Production May Vary Over Month Due To Demand of Difference or New Model of Vehicle
Term Car Also Include Jeeps, Vans and Other Vehicles like MotorCar
*HCV Stands For Heavy Commercial Vehicle
*LCV stands for LightCommercial Vehicle
*Its Common Fact that Best Car Companies always have highest cars production
* The Car Companies who have largest production also have same Best/Highest/Largest Rank as the costumer interest and their quality that made it possible that most of the people are using cars of there Company
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What is the name of the starch used for puddings which is obtained from the leaves of Palm trees ? | Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia | Our History
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia
ShopKiaGear.com
About KMMG
"Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia."
Our History
Kia Motors America, Inc. (KMA),the sales and marketing arm of the company, is based in Irvine, Calif. and along with KMMG, is dedicated to the strategies of its parent company, Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) of Seoul, South Korea. KMC, the fastest growing automaker in the world, was founded in 1944 and is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. Kia means to “arise or come out of Asia” and Kia has truly risen as a global player, boasting an ever-expanding product line-up.
A few of the many significant events for Kia through the years include:
KMC was originally called “Kyungsung Precision Industry” when it was established in 1944.
In 1951, Kia produced Korea’s first bicycle.
In 1961, Kia produced Korea’s first motorcycle.
The K-360, Korea’s first domestically produced truck, was produced by Kia in 1962.
The Brisa, Korea’s first domestically produced passenger car, was first produced in 1974.
Kia’s most widely-sold vehicle, Pride, was first produced in 1986.
The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group was formed in 1998.
Kia’s brand-leading SUV, the Sorento, was first produced in 2002.
Today, the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group is the world’s fifth leading automotive manufacturer with group revenue of $100 billion in 2007 and over 120,000 employees worldwide.
Kia has managed some pretty incredible growth during the past few years, both in the number of dealers who sell Kia vehicles and in the number of owners who are driving them. Today, there are more than one-million Kia vehicles on American roads. With every year that passes, more and more people are discovering the value of owning a Kia.
The guiding principles are easily stated: “Provide high-quality, high value vehicles at prices well below the competition and back them up with the Kia 10-year/100,000-mile Warranty Program and a customer-first policy.”
Safety is always the priority, from concept to crash test. Kia Motors is determined that every one of its vehicles should always be as safe as possible, and this goal is ensured by a rigorous system of collision tests and simulations. Right up until the finished vehicle reaches the customer, Kia maintains a thorough customer-oriented quality control system, precisely assessing the customers’ needs and demands to enhance the production process.
KMMG Milestones:
March 13, 2006 — Kia President E.S. Chung and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue sign the contracts for Kia to build its first North American automobile manufacturing facility on over 2,200 acres in West Point.
June 2006 — The State of Georgia begins site preparation at the 650-acre Kia building pad.
October 20, 2006 — A groundbreaking ceremony is held for KMMG.
November 12, 2007 — KMMG announces its first production vehicle will be the next generation Kia Sorento.
December 10, 2007 — The first beam is erected on the KMMG building pad.
January 8, 2008 — KMMG President/CEO Byung Mo Ahn and Team Members celebrate the opening of Kia’s online application process with Georgia Quick Start.
February 7, 2008 — KMMG’s first application process closes with an automotive industry benchmark-setting 43,013 applications received.
March 25, 2008 — KMMG and state officials celebrate the grand opening of the $20 million Kia Georgia Training Center in conjunction with Georgia Quick Start, the state’s workforce training program.
August 4, 2008 — The first hourly Team Members begin work at KMMG.
October 28, 2008 — KMMG President/CEO Byung Mo Ahn and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue attend a celebration for the arrival of the stamping press at KMMG.
December 10, 2008 — Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announces the opening of Exit 6 along Interstate 85, Kia Parkway and Kia Boulevard to the public.
March 27, 2009 — Team members begin moving to the plant site in West Point.
April 17, 2009 — All KMMG team members move to the plant site.
November 16, 2009 — KMMG starts mass producing the 2011 Kia Sorento.
February 26, 2010 — KMMG celebrates grand opening with ceremony attended by Hyundai Automotive Group Chairman M.K. Chung and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.
April 21, 2010 — KMMG produces 50,000th vehicle.
May 7, 2010 — Second job application process concludes with 44,507 applicants.
September 2, 2010 — Production of 100,000th vehicle.
September 27, 2010 – Start of production of 2nd vehicle, 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe.
October 7, 2010 – KMMG launches 2nd shift.
November 18, 2010 – KMMG announced the re-opening of online application process for the 3rd wave of hiring.
April 13, 2011 – Arrival of second stamping press, first major equipment of plant expansion.
April 21, 2011 – Announcement that KMMG will be producing the 2011 Kia Optima later in 2011.
May 4, 2011 – KMMG Donates $1.5 million to the American Red Cross for tornado disaster relief in Georgia.
May 27, 2011 – KMMG receives ISO-TS 16949:2009 certification.
June 13, 2011 – KMMG launches a 3rd shift of production.
July 7, 2011 – KMMG produces 300,000th vehicle.
Sept. 2, 2011 – KMMG starts mass production of the 2012 Kia Optima.
Sept. 12, 2011 – Kia Optima Hybrid achieves Guinness World Record for best fuel economy traveling 48 contiguous US states at 65 mpg.
Oct. 31, 2011 – KMMG produces 400,000th vehicle.
Nov. 14, 2011 – KMMG closes third wave of hiring with 45,745 applications received.
Jan. 2, 2012– KMMG completes an expansion, increasing the plant’s full production capacity to 360,000 vehicles annually.
Feb. 21, 2012 – KMMG recognized as best manufacturer by LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce.
Feb. 29, 2012 – KMMG produces 500,000th vehicle.
April 19, 2012 – KMMG was named the State of Georgia’s Large Manufacturer of the Year.
June 7, 2012 – KMMG officials join City of West Point officials for the grand opening of the city’s new fire station on Kia Parkway.
Aug. 22, 2012 – Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Mong-Koo Chung is joined by U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia for an official visit at KMMG.
Nov. 20, 2012 – KMMG pledges $900,000 to the SAE Foundation impacting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in Troup County.
Nov. 28, 2012 – It is announced that Kia Motors will be making a significant investment of $1.6 billion in efficiencies and equipment at the KMMG facility.
Dec. 21, 2012 – KMMG provides $400,000 in funding support to the Troup County Development Authority.
June 26, 2013 – KMMG provides $600,000 in funding for Troup County’s career academy.
June 27, 2013 – KMMG donates $850,000 to the City of West Point.
July 11, 2013 – KMMG produces 1,000,000th vehicle.
Sept. 9, 2013 – Announces growth to more than 14,000 direct and indirect jobs due to localization.
Nov. 12, 2014 – KMMG produces 1,500,000th vehicle.
Nov. 16, 2014 – KMMG celebrates five years since the start of production.
Nov. 17, 2014 – KMMG launches all-new 2016 Kia Sorento.
June 17 – 2015 – Sorento named 2015 IQS winner by JD Power
Sept. 28, 2015 – KMMG launches all-new 2016 Kia Optima
March 29, 2016 – KMMG produces 2,000,000th vehicle.
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What spice is obtained from grated hard aromatic seeds, sharing its name with the evergreen tree from which the seeds are obtained ? | Spices and other flavorings & discussion
��������� The history of spices, condiments and other flavoring plants has been considered one of the most romantic chapters in the history of vegetable products (Hill 1952).� Since ancient times spices have been eagerly sought and highly valued.� The craving for spices has been one of the driving forces in human progress and has changed the course of history and geography.� The discovery of new lands and of shorter trade routs and the colonization of areas that grew spices have resulted partly from this interest in aromatic plants.� A quest for spices created a furor comparable to the Crusades, and was one of the dominant factors in European history during the Middle Ages and into the 16th Century.� However, the use and cultivation of spices can be traced to the beginnings of history.� Spices have played an important part in all the ancient civilizations of China and India, in Babylon and Egypt and in Greece and Rome.� The spices of greatest international importance originated in the Asiatic tropics and were among the first objects of commerce between the East and the West.� The Arabs were the first spice traders, bringing their products from southern India and the Spice Islands by caravan to Arabia and from there to Europe.� This trade later spread to other countries as well.� For many years Venice, Italy led the trade.� In the 16th Century the Portuguese assumed control and held a monopoly for 200 years.� The Dutch followed and later the British Empire shared with Holland most of the world spice trade.
��������� Spices have been put to many uses such as to season insipid foods and to give zest to an otherwise monotonous diet as well as to serve as preservatives.� Their aromatic qualities were useful in overcoming offensive odors of spoiled food.� They were used in beverages, medicine and even in lieu of currency.� Rich and poor alike sought after spices and they were expensive because of the demand and the difficulty and cost of obtaining them.� They were the basis of many great fortunes during 1300-1700 A.D.
��������� The use of spices then somewhat diminished in modern times, especially as other means of food preservation were deployed.� The practice of importing the various aromatic materials in a crude state and converting them into a powdered or ground form is still followed in an effort to prevent adulteration and to ensure the quality of the final product.� Essential oils that are obtained from the various substances are also imported in large quantity.
��������� Spices are not usually classed as foods for they contain little of nutritive value.� However, they do give an agreeable flavor and aroma to food and greatly enhance the pleasure of eating.� They stimulate the appetite and increase the flow of gastric juices.� Therefore, they are often called food accessories or adjuncts.� Their value is due to the presence of the essential oils and occasionally to other aromatic entities.�
��������� The medicinal value of spices is not a great as was believed during the Middle Ages, but a large number of them are still official drugs in both Europe and America.� They are used as carminatives and antiseptics and to hide the unpleasant taste of other drugs.� They also are important in many industries and are used in perfumery, incense, and soaps, as dyes, in histology and in some arts.
��������� Most spices are still obtained from the tropics, predominantly Asia.� Africa supplies the grains of paradise while tropical America furnishes vanilla, red pepper and allspice.� A small number are found in the cooler temperate regions of the Old World.
�� �������Classification of spices is difficult as there are no absolute boundaries between the various groups.� Usually all aromatic vegetable products that are used for flavoring foods and drinks are included under spices.� In other cases the term �spice� is confined to hard or hardened parts of plants that are usually used in a pulverized condition.� Condiments are spices or other flavoring substances that have a sharp taste and are usually added to food after it has been cooked.� Savory seeds are small fruits or seeds that are used whole.� In the sweet or savory herbs, fresh or dried leaves are used for flavoring or garnishing.� Essences are aqueous or alcoholic extractions of the essential oils.� Because of the difficulty of distinguishing between spices, condiments, and the other flavoring substances, it is probably best to consider this group on a morphological basis== the nature of the plant part utilized (Hill 1952).� A few more common spices out of the hundreds in existence are herein considered under roots, barks, buds and flowers, fruits, seeds, and leaves and stems.
Angelica
��������� Angelica, Angelica archangelica, is a stout perennial herb with large pinnately compound leaves and small greenish-white flowers in terminal compound umbels.� It is indigenous to Syria but now occurs in many parts of Europe and Western Asia in low ground.� It has even made it to boreal regions in Lapland and the Alps.
��������� The entire plant is aromatic.� The roots and fruits are dried and used for flavoring cakes, candy and beverages, such as vermouth and the various bitters and liqueurs.� The young stems and leafstalks are candied by steeping them in syrups of increasing strength.� Candied angelica is used for decorating and flavoring other candy and cakes because of its attractive bright green color and aromatic taste.� The oil that is usually distilled from the fruits is used in flavoring, perfumery and medicine.� It is widely cultivated in Germany and it dates from about 1,500 AD.
Galangal
��������� Lesser Galangal, Alpinia officinarum, is native to southern China and was in ancient times there.� It is a perennial herb with a raceme of showy flowers and ornamental foliage.� The reddish-brown rhizomes have an aromatic, spicy odor and a pungent taste, like a mixture of pepper and ginger.� Galangal has lost much of its importance in modern times, bit it is still used to some extent in cooking, medicine and for flavoring liqueurs and bitters.
��������� Greater Galangal, Alpinia galanga, is a larger plant of Java and Malaya.� It is also used for flavoring purposes.
Ginger
��������� Ginger, Zingiber officinale, is the most important spice that is obtained from roots.� It has a long and interesting history.� Indigenous in Southeastern Asia, it was used in China and India in ancient times, and was brought by caravans to Asia Minor before the Roman Empire.� It was among the first of the oriental spices to be known in Europe where it became prominent early in the Middle Ages.� For many years it was an important drug, being the principal ingredient of a remedy for the plague especially in England during the reign of Henry VIII.� Ginger is now cultivated over a wider area than most spices due most likely to the ease with which the roots can be transported.� It was one of the first Asiatic spices to be grown in the Western Hemisphere.
��������� The plant is an erect perennial herb with thick scaly rhizomes that branch digitately and are known as �hands.�� The stem reaches a height of about three feet and is surrounded by the sheathing bases of the leaves.� The flowers are borne in a spike with greenish-yellow bracts subtending the yellowish flowers that have a purple lip.� Ginger is mostly cultivated in small home gardens.� A rich moist soil, partial shade and a tropical climate are desirable.� Propagation is by rhizomes.
��������� The rhizomes are pale yellow in color externally and a greenish yellow inside.� They contain starch, gums, an oleoresin and an essential oil.� The different varieties vary in the content of the latter two contents.� The rhizomes are removed from the soil after the aerial parts of the plant have withered.
��������� Two ways are used to prepare ginger.� In Preserved Green Ginger the young juicy rhizomes are dried, cleaned, and boiled in water until tender.� They are then peeled, scraped, and boiled several times in a sugar solution.� They are finally packed in a similar solution.� Sometimes preserved ginger is prepared in a dry state by dusting the drying rhizomes with powdered sugar.� In Dried or Cured Ginger the rhizomes are cleaned, carefully peeled and dried in the sun.� They are sometimes parboiled in water or limejuice before peeling.� This is the black ginger of commerce.� Bleaching the rhizomes makes white ginger.
��������� An essential oil contributes to the aromatic odor of ginger, while the pungent taste is due to the presence of the nonvolatile oleoresin, Gingerin .� Ginger is used more as a condiment than as a spice.� It dilates the blood vessels in the skin, causing a feeling of warmth and increases perspiration with an accompanying drop in temperature.
��������� Ginger is used in medicine as a carminative and a digestive stimulant.� It is widely used in culinary preparations, such as soups, pickles, puddings, gingerbread and cookies and is an ingredient of all curries except those used with fish.� Ginger is very popular for flavoring beverages such as ginger ale and ginger beer.� It was once added to wine and porter.� The oleoresin is extracted and used in medicine and flavoring.� The essential oil is also extracted.
��������� Ginger is grown mainly in China, Japan, Sierra Leone, Queensland, Indonesia and Jamaica and other West Indies islands where the soil and climate are favorable.
Horseradish
��������� Armoracia lapathifolia is indigenous to Southeastern Europe.� The plant is widely grown both in Europe and America and often escapes from cultivation and becomes established as a troublesome weed.� It is a tall hardy plant with glossy green toothed leaves and masses of small whtie flowers.� The large, fleshy, white cylindrical roots are usually dug in the autumn.� They are scraped or grated and used as a ocndiment, either fresh or preserved in vinegar.� The pungent taste is due to a glucoside, Sinigrin, that is broken down in water by enzyme action.� it is similar to mustard oil in its properties.� Horseradish is a valuable condiment that has been used for centuries as it aids digestion and prevents scurvy.
Sasaparilla
��������� Sasaparilla, is obtained from the dried roots of some tropical species of Smilax, among them Similax aristolochiaefolia from Mexico, S. officinalis from Hondurus and S. regelii from Jamaica.� The plants are climbing or trailing vines with prickly stems.� They are found in dense moist jungles.� Propagation is by seed, layering, cuttings or suckers.� They have a short thick rhizome and very long thin roots that extend to 10 ft.� Thus the collection of roots is a laborious process.� They are harvested when 2-3 years of age.� The roots have a bitter substance that is used for flavoring.� Sasaparilla is usually used in combination with wintergreen and other aromatics.� it was once used in medicine.�
Tumeric
��������� Turmeric, Curcuma longa, is both a dye and a spice.� It is native to Cochin China and the East Indies and is widely cultivated in all the world tropics.� Turmeric is popular in India where enormous quantities have been used for centuries.� The plant is a robust perennial with a short stem and tufted leaves.� The pale yellow flowers are borne in dense spikes, topped by a tuft of pinkish bracts.� The rhizomes that supply the colorful condiment are short and thick with blunt tubers.� They are cleaned, washed and dried in the sun.� Turmeric is very aromatic with a musky odor and it has a pungent bitter taste.� It is used to flavor, and at the same time color, butter, cheese, pickles, mustard and other foodstuffs.� Turmeric is one of the main ingredients of curry.� Curry is not a single substance, but a compound of many spices.� Each type of meat or other food requires its own particular curry.� One recipe for a meat curry includes turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cardamom, fenugreek, cayenne pepper, pimiento, black pepper, long pepper, cloves and nutmeg.� Another curry, used for fish, is made of turmeric, coriander, black pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper and fenugreek.
Zedoary
��������� Zedoary, Curcuma zedoaria, is similar in habit to Turmeric but with pale yellowish or white flowers and showy crimson or purple bracts.� It is extensively grown in India for the large tuberous rhizomes that are sliced and dried.� It is used as a spice for flavoring liqueurs and curries.� However its principal use today is in medicine, perfumery and cosmetics.
Cassia
��������� Cassia, Cinnamomum cassia, is also known as Chinese Cinnamon.� It is a spice that was used in China since 2,500 B.C., in Egypt in the 17th Century B.C. and was familiar to people of the Mediterranean region since ancient times.� In the earlier records it is often confused with cinnamon.� Cassia is an evergreen tree of Burma that reaches 40 ft in height, with smooth pale bark, small pale yellow flowers and a fleshy drupe like fruit.� The tree is grown in southern China from seed, usually on terraced hillsides.� Trees from 60-10 years of age are cut down and cut up into short lengths.� The bark is loosened, stripped off and dried.� Cassia bark reaches the markets in the form of dark reddish brown �quills,� usually with some patches of grayish cork on the outside.� It varies in quality, but is always very aromatic although not as delicate as cinnamon.� It contains tannin, sugar, starch, a dye, a fixed oil and the essential oil that is distilled and used in medicine and flavoring.
��������� Cassia buds are the dried unripe fruits that contain the same essential oil.� They are picked when only one-fourth grown and resemble small cloves.
��������� Sources of cassia of lesser importance are Indian cassia from Cinnamomum tamala; Padan cassia with smooth bark and no cork from C. burmannii from Indonesia.� Large amounts of this cassia have been exported to America.� Oliver�s bark, C. oliveri, of Australia and Massola bark, C. massoia, of New Guinea are of lesser importance.
��������� The bark and oil of cassias are used in medicine, for flavoring and in soap, perfumery and candy.
Cinnamon
��������� Cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, quickly superseded cassia once it was discovered.� Native people used it long before it attracted the foreign trade.� It is native to Sri Lanka and is often called Ceylon cinnamon.� For years it was grown only in Sri Lanka and was a monopoly of the Portuguese, Dutch and English in succession.� Today the tree is grown in southern India, Burma, and parts of Malaya and in tropical America.
��������� The plant is an evergreen shrub or small tree with attractive dark coriaceous aromatic leaves, numerous inconspicuous yellow flowers and blackish berries.� When cultivated the young trees are cut back and sucker shoots develop from the roots.� These are long and slender and provide the commercial product.� They are cut twice a year, the bark is removed and the outer and inner portions are scraped away.� After drying compound quills are tied up ready for shipment.� The waste is used as a source of oil of cinnamon.� The leaves and roots are also aromatic but the essential oil differs from that in the bark and is of little value.� Cinnamon is a very popular spice for flavoring foods.� It is also used in candy, gum, incense, dentifrices and perfumes.� The oil is used in medicine as a carminative, antiseptic and astringent and as a source of cinnamon extract.
������ Saigon cinnamon or Saigon cassia, Cinnamomum loureirii, is grown in Vietnam.� Its coarse bark is valued in China and Japan and is also used in America where it is recognized as an official cinnamon in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.
���������
��������� < bot71 >� Cinnamon Tree (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) [Ceylon], (ex. Riverside, CA)
Sassafras
��������� Although not a true spice, sassafras is an important flavoring material.� It is obtained from the bark on the roots of Sassafras albidum of eastern North America.� The sassafras is a tree of 60-100 ft. height with typically lobed leaves and greenish yellow dioecious flowers produced before the leaves and dark blue drupes with red stalks.� Amerindians and early colonists used the spicy root bark.� All parts of the plant are aromatic.� The bark is gathered in the spring or autumn, deprived of the outer corky layers and dried.� The supply comes mainly from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.� Sassafras is used for flavoring tobacco, patent medicines, root beer and other beverages, soaps, perfumes, dentrifices and gum.� Both sassafras bark and sassafras pith are used in medicine.� The oil is obtained by distillation and is used for flavoring and as a source of artificial heliotrope.� It is also an ingredient of soap and floor and polishing oils.
Capers
��������� Capparis spinosa is a trailing spiny shrub only a few feet tall.� It is native to the Mediterranean region and is cultivated in Southern Europe and the southern United States.� The solitary berrylike fruits are borne on thick stalks.� The unopened flower buds are gathered every morning and pickled in salt and strong vinegar.� These capers are roughly spherical and round angled, and dark green in color.� They have a very pungent taste and are used as condiments with meat and in sauces and pickles.
Cloves
��������� Cloves, Syzygium aromaticum, were in use in the 3rd Century B.C. in China, was well known to the Romans and reached northern Europe during the Middle Ages.� Their source and place of origin were not known until the Portuguese discovered the Molucca Islands in the 16th Century.� For a while cloves were a Portuguese and later a Dutch monopoly.� Today they are grown all over the world�s tropics.
��������� The clove is the unopened flower bud of a small, conical and very symmetrical evergreen tree.� In the wild state it produces clusters of crimson flowers, but in cultivation it never reaches the flowering state.� The flower buds are greenish or reddish when fresh and become brown and brittle on drying.� They have a nail-like shape and the name �clove� is derived from the French word for nail, clou.� They have a slightly cylindrical base surmounted by the plump, ball-like unopened corolla that is surrounded by the 4-toothed calyx.� The buds are picked by hand, stemmed and dried in the sun or in kilns.� The crop is difficult to grow, as yields are uncertain.� Curttngs are useless and the seeds germinate and grow slowly.� Therefore, nursery seedlings are usually necessary for large scale propagation.� The yield is low until trees are at least 20 years old.� Adequate moisture in the soil is required and growth is best near the ocean.
��������� Cloves are very aromatic and fine flavored imparting warming qualities.� They have many uses both whole and in the ground state, as a culinary spice, for the flavor blends well with both sweet and savory foods.� They are used for flavoring pickles, curries, ketchup and sauces, in medicine and for perfuming the environment.� Cloves have stimulating properties and are one of the ingredients of betel-nut chew.� Clove cigarettes are smoked in Java.
��������� The essential oil that is obtained by distilling cloves with water or steam is also valuable.� it is used in medicine as an aid to digestion and for its antiseptic and antispasmodic action.� it is often used as a local antiseptic in dentistry.� Externally it has a counterirritant action.� it is an ingredient in many toothpastes and mouthwashes.� The oil has many industrial applications and is widely employed in perfumes, in scenting soap and as a clearing agent in histological preparations.� The main constituent of the oil, Eugenol , is extracted and used as an imitation carnation in perfumes and for the formation of artificial vanilla.
��������� Clove stems are a commercial product with a lesser content of the essential oil.� The dried fruits, known as mother cloves, are also valuable.� Zanzibar, Indonesia, Mauritius and the West Indies produce most of the crop.
��������� < bot451 >� Clove orchard [Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry] in Jamaica highlands
Saffron
��������� Saffron Crocus, Crocus sativus, cultivation dates to the time of the Greeks and Hebrews and is still carried on in many parts of Europe and the Orient.� The dried stigmas and tops of the styles are used as a spice and as a dye.� Saffron was of great importance during the Middle Ages for its both real and fancied value in medicine.� It is used today as a flavoring and as an ingredient of many Continental dishes, especially the famous French bouillabaisse.
Flavoring from Flowers
��������� The essential oils in certain flowers are often used for flavoring candy, cakes and similar products, though as in the case of perfumes, synthetic substances have replaced the natural ones.� Otto of Roses and the oil from sweet violets are still used.� Floral syrups are also prepared and used for flavoring ices and beverages.� Crystallized flowers are used that are prepared by placing fresh flowers in baskets and allowing sugar syrup to trickle over them until saturation.� They are then dried in the sun or with artificial heat.� These confections have the flavor imparted by the respective essential oils.� The industry centers in Grasse, France.� The flowers utilized include violets, rose petals, lavender, carnations, lilac and orange.
Allspice
��������� Pimenta dioica, is a small tree native to the West Indies and parts of Central and South America.� The dried unripe fruits make up the spice called allspice, Pimento or Jamaica pepper .� The name �allspice� comes from the flavor that resembles a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
��������� The tree is evergreen, 20-30 ft. tall with greenish white flowers and purple fruits.� The ripe fruits lose most of their aromatic qualities so the commercial product is gathered when the berries are mature but still green.� Branches are broken off and the fruit removed by hand or flails.� The ripe and undersized berries are discarded and the desirable ones dried for several days.� They become wrinkled and turn dull reddish brown while the aroma becomes more pronounced.� This tree is common in Jamaica where it does not have to be cultivated.� It grows slowly and begins to bare when about 7 years old and continues to bear for 12 years with an average yield of 75-100 lbs. per tree.
��������� Allspice is used as a culinary spice in a mixture with other spices of alone.� It is especially favored for pickles, sausages, soups and sauces.� The extracted oil is used for flavoring and perfumery.� The leaves contain an inferior oil of bay that is sometimes used to adulterate bay rum.� The wood is used for canes and umbrella handles.� Although Jamaica produces most of the commercial product, Mexico and Guatemala grow a small amount.
Capsicum (Peppers)
��������� The most important contribution of America to the spices is capsicum or red pepper.� Today these are actually consumed in large quantity as a vegetable, but will be treated in this section.� This condiment is obtained from the fruits of several different plants all of which belong to the genus Capsicum.� The genus is native to tropical America and the West Indies.� The use of capsicums in America date back to pre-Inca times.� Capsicums reached Europe shortly after the voyages of Columbus who found the West Indian natives commonly using red pepper,�� By 1600 capsicums had become widespread in the Eastern tropics where they are an important part of the diet to this day.
��������� The long time that capsicums were cultivated by Amerindians has resulted in many varieties that differ in habit and in the size, shape, color and pungency of the fruit.� Among these are the bell peppers, chiles, paprikas, pimientos, tabascos and others.� They are believed by many authorities to be derived from a single species known variously as Capsicum frutescens of C. annuum.
��������� All of the capsicums contain an indigestible skin that covers the fruit.� This can be removed by roasting the fruits over an open flame or in a broiler for a few minutes on each side.� The skin then blisters and may be easily removed, which facilitates digestion.
Sweet or Bell Peppers
��������� Capsicum frutescens var. grossum are herbs or slightly woody plants, 2-3 ft. tall, with ovate leaves, white flowers with a rotate corolla and many-seeded fleshy fruits that are technically berries.� The fruits are large and puffy with a depression at the base and are yellow or red in color when ripe.� This variety includes some of the mildest of all the capsicums as the pungent principle is confined to the seeds.� They are widely used in temperate areas of America and Europe where they are used as a fruit vegetable rather than a spice.� Both green and ripe peppers are consumed raw in salads, or are cooked in various ways, stuffed peppers being very popular.� They are also used in pickles.� The plants are grown as annuals or biennials, depending on the climate.� A long season is required but they are well adapted to cooler areas for they are somewhat frost tolerant.
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Paprikas
��������� These are European varieties with large mild fruits.� Spanish paprika, better known as pimiento, produces attractive fruits with a typical flavor, but entirely lacking in pungency.� They are preserved and are used in cheese preparations and stuffed olives.� They are also grown in South America, California and Georgia.� Hungarian paprika has long pointed fruits that are more pungent.� They are dried and used for powdered paprika or fresh in salads.� The uses of paprika as a condiment and in cooking are well known.� It has high vitamin content.
Chiles (Chilis)
��������� Capsicum frutescens var. longum are wholly tropical and subtropical plants.� They are more woody and taller with small pod like berries and innumerable small flat seeds.� The crimson or orange-red fruits are elongated, conical, somewhat flattened and very pungent.� The pungent principles are present in the flesh, rind and seeds.� These peppers are cultivated throughout the world tropics.� The African varieties are the hottest, but Japanese chiles are more favored for culinary purposes.� The ripe fruits are dried in the sun and used whole or powdered.� The ground fruits constitute the cayenne pepper or red pepper of commerce.� Capsicum is used in medicine internally as a powerful stimulant and carminative and to prevent fever.� It is used externally as a counterirritant.� It is extensively used in such beverages as ginger ale because of its pungency.� There are countless culinary uses for chiles.� These peppers are especially favored in the America tropics where they are used in chile con carne, tamales and other dishes.� Extracting the pulp by pressure and pickling in brine or strong vinegar makes pepper sauce.� Tabasco sauce is pepper sauce made from a small variety grown in Louisiana.
��������� In North America Mexico, California, New Mexico and Texas are the chief producers of chiles.� Many varieties with varying degrees of pungency are grown and they are usually consumed whole or after drying the flesh is removed after boiling the dried fruits in water.� The dried chiles develop flavors that are distinct from the fresh fruit and are more often used as a traditional spice.
Juniper
�� �������Juniperus communis has berries that are used as a flavoring substance.� This is a small tree or prostrate shrub with evergreen needlelike leaves and a berrylike cone, formed by the fleshy coalesced scales.� It is native to the cooler parts of Asia, Europe and North America.� The berries have a sweetish pulp with a typical gin like aroma.� They are purple in color with a greenish bloom.� When dried they are used in flavoring wild game and various meats, but more typically for gin.� The volatile oil that is extracted from crushed berries by steam distillation is also used for flavoring gin and in some medicines.
Black & White Pepper
��������� This kind of pepper has been an important spice in the East since ancient times.� It was important to the early Greeks and Romans, and was the principal spice used during the Middle Ages when tributes were often levied in pepper.� As early as 1180 AD the Guild of Pepperers was one of the leading trade guilds in England.� London still retains its identity as the center of the pepper trade.� The high prices charged for pepper was one of the main incentives for the search for a sea route to India.
��������� Black Pepper, Piper nigrum, is a vine indigenous to India or the Indo-Malayan region.� It is now cultivated everywhere in the Eastern tropics from Africa to India, Thailand, the Philippines the East Indies and the South Sea Islands.� The plant is a weak climbing or trailing shrub with adventitious roots that reach a length of 30 ft. in the wild state.� It has coriaceous evergreen leaves and very small flower4s in catkins.� The fruits are small one-seeded berry-like drupes, about 50 to a catkin.� In ripening they change in color from green to bright red and then to yellow.� Pepper requires a hot humid climate and at least partial shade.� Various soils can be used.� The plants are supported on posts or living trees.� When they reach about 2 ft. in height the tip is removed to promote the development of lateral buds.� The crop begins to yield in 2-3 years and reaches full bearing in 7 years.� Propagation is by seed or cuttings from the tips of the vines.
��������� The preparation of black pepper of commerce involves gathering the fruits when at least a few of the berries in each spike are red.� They are picked by hand. �The spikes are dried in the sun or in smoke and are sometimes treated with boiling water before drying.� When dry the berries or peppercorns are rubbed off, winnowed and packed for shipment.� They are reddish brown or black with a wrinkled surface and measure 3-5 mm. in diameter.
��������� White Pepper is the same species as white pepper but it is prepared from berries that are nearly ripe.� They are picked and piled-up to ferment or are soaked in water.� The pulp and outer coating of the seed are then removed.� White pepper is a yellowish gray color and the surface is smooth.� Oftentimes white pepper is prepared from black peppercorns by grinding off the outer parts by machine.� Although not as pungent as black pepper, white pepper is often preferred in the trade.� Commercial ground pepper is often a blend.
��������� The aromatic odor of pepper is due to a volatile oil, while the pungent taste is the presence of an oleoresin.� An alkaloid is also present.� Pepper stimulates the flow of saliva and gastric juices and has a cooling effect.�� The culinary uses are numerous, and it is especially valuable as a condiment.� Pepper by itself as well as the oleoresin and alkaloid are used in medicine.� The alkaloid is used as a source of synthetic heliotrope.
Long Pepper
��������� Long pepper is derived from Piper retrofractum, of Java and Piper longum of India.� The first species is a climbing woody plant native to Malaya but is cultivated in Java, Bali and adjacent islands.� The latter species is more of a shrub and is native to India, Sri-Lanka and the Philippines.� It is grown extensively in Bengal.� The Romans preferred long pepper to black pepper.� The tiny fruits are fused into cylindrical spike like cones.� These are collected when unripe and dried quickly in the sun or over fires.� Long pepper contains the same principles as black pepper, but is more aromatic and sweeter.� It is grown in the same manner as black pepper.� It is used chiefly in the tropics in pickles, preserves and curries.
Star Anise
����� ����This is the fruit of a small evergreen tree, Illicium verum, probably native to China.� The star-shaped reddish-brown fruits consist of eight carpels, each with a hard shiny seed.� Both the seeds and the fruit are aromatic with a flavor of anise.� The plant is cultivated from seed only in southern China and Viet Nam.� It requires special climatic conditions for development.� The tree yields from 6-100 years of age, often producing two crops per year.� The fruits re collected before they are ripe and are dried or are immediately distilled for the oil.� Star anise is used as a culinary spice in Eastern cooking.� It is often chewed to sweeten the breath and aid digestion.� The oil is used in medicine as a carminative, expectorant and flavoring and also in liqueurs, aperitifs and perfumery.
Vanilla
��������� Vanilla planifolia is a climbing orchid, native to the hot humid forests of tropical America.� The flavoring material is obtained from the cured, fully grown but unripe fruits.� It was extensively used in Pre-Columbian America.� The Europeans who found the Aztecs using it to flavor chocolate, carried vanilla to Europe.� It soon reached the Eastern tropics and was cultivated in many areas.
��������� The plant is a climbing vine with fleshy adventitious roots, large succulent leaves and greenish-yellow flowers.� The fruits are long, thin, yellow, pod like capsules known as vanilla beans.� Vanilla is a wholly tropical species and requires a hot climate with frequent rains.� In cultivation it is grown from cuttings and is trained on posts or living trees.� The flowers are pollinated by hand.
��������� The flavor and aroma of vanilla is not present in the pods until they have been cured.� The unripe fruits are picked at just the right time and submitted to a sweating process.� They are exposed to the sun during the morning, and are then protected by covers during the afternoon.� At night they are placed in airtight boxes.� During this curing process a glucoside is changed by enzyme action into a crystalline substance, Vanillin , which possesses the characteristic odor and flavor.� The pods become tough and pliable and very fragrant, and turn dark brown in color.� Frequently crystals of vanillin appear on the surface.� Vanilla is cultivated in many tropical areas where an island climate is particular favorable.� Mexico, the Seychelles Islands, Madagascar, the Comoro Islands, Reunion, Tahiti, Dominica, Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe are principal producing areas.� West Indian or Pompona Vanilla is obtained from Vanilla pompona, a species with shorter, thicker pods.
��������� Vanilla is used to flavor chocolate, ice cream, candy, puddings, cakes, beverages, etc.� Sometimes the beans are used but more often an extract is prepared by soaking the crushed beans in alcohol. �The manufacture of synthetic vanillin from eugenol, which occurs in clove oil, has threatened the vanilla industry, but the natural product has a superior flavor.� Several other plants have been used as substitute for true vanilla, but they are of inferior quality.
Savory �Seeds�
��������� The family Umbelliferae is characterized by the possession of aromatic fruits.� These fruits consist of two one-seeded carpels, or mericarps, with numerous oil ducts containing essential oils.� The mericarps separate readily and are so seed like in appearance that they are often called seeds.� These savory �seeds� are usually used whole for flavoring.� The most common commercial species are anise, caraway, celery, coriander, cumin, dill and fennel.
Anise
��������� Pimpinella anisum is mentioned in writings of the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans and was highly valued during the Middle Ages for its real or reputed medicinal value.� Anise is an annual, about 2 ft. tall with simple or ternate basal leaves and pinnate stem leaves.� The small fruits are grayish brown and covered with short hairs.� Anise is extensively cultivated in Europe, Asia Minor, India, Mexico and parts of South America.� It is indigenous in the Mediterranean region.� It is used for flavoring cakes, curries, pastry and candy.� The oil is distilled and used in medicine, perfumery, soaps and other toilet articles and beverages.� The liqueur anisette is widely used, especially in Southern Europe.
Caraway
��������� Carum carvi is a native of Europe and Western Asia, but has become widely distributed in temperate regions of both hemispheres, often occurring as a weed.� It was cultivated in Europe before the time of the Lake Dwellers.� The plant is a perennial with thick roots, compound leaves with linear segments and small white flowers.� The brown fruits are slightly curved and tapering.� These �seeds� are used by the baking industry, in perfumery, medicine and beverages, such as the liqueur Kűmmel .� Caraway is grown commercially throughout Northern Europe and in parts of North America.
Celery
��������� Celery �seeds�, Apium graveolens var. dulce, are used in flavoring foods.� These fruits are small and dark brown with a pronounced celery flavor.� The oil has some medicinal value, but is used mainly for flavoring in the form of an extract.� Salt flavored with celery-seed oil or the ground seeds, is in great demand for culinary purposes.
Coriander
��������� Coriandrum sativum, native to the Mediterranean region, is mentioned in Egyptian, Sanskrit, Hebrew and Roman literature.� During the Middle Ages it had many strange uses, such as love potions, incense, etc.� The plant is widely grown in Europe, Morocco, India and South Hispanic America.� It is a perennial, 3-ft. in height with small white or pinkish flowers.� The lower leaves have broad segments while the upper are very narrow.� The globular yellow-brown fruits have a characteristic odor when fresh and are often used in salads and sauces.� Some find the odor offensive.� The dried fruits are pleasantly aromatic and serve as a common flavoring for both sweet and savory foods, especially in Europe and India.� The fruits are frequently candied in a sugar solution and sold as �sugar plums.�� Oil of coriander is used in medicine and in flavoring beverages, such as gin, whisky and various liqueurs.� The extract is superior to either the dried fruit or the oil for flavoring.
Cumin
��������� Cuminum cyminum has been cultivated for such a long period that it is impossible to determine its place of origin.� It most likely originated in the Mediterranean area.� The plant is an attractive small annual with small pinkish flowers.� The elongated oval fruits are light brown and hot and aromatic.� Cumin was valued highly by the ancients and is frequently mentioned in the Bible.� Today is widely grown in Southern Europe, India and warmer parts of North America.� The fruits are used in soup, curries, bread, cake, cheese and pickles and often are candied.� The oil is used in perfumery and for flavoring beverages.
Dill
��������� Anethum graveolens, indigenous to Eurasia, still grows wild in many places.� It was known in ancient Greece, Rome and Palestine where it was held in high esteem.� It is cultivated in Europe, India and North America.� The plant is a small annual or biennial with light green leaves and yellow flowers.� The �seeds� are oval, light brown and very compressed.� In North America dill is used mainly for flavoring pickles.� In France, India and other countries it is widely used in soups, sauces and stews and for other culinary purposes.� Dill oil is frequently used as a substitute for the seeds.� Both the seeds and the oil are used in medicine.� The leaves are becoming more widely used in salads.
Fennel
������ Foeniculum vulgare has an interesting history.� Native to the Mediterranean region, it has spread all over the world and often occurs as an escape from cultivation.� The ancient Chinese, Hindus and Egyptians knew it as a culinary spice.� The Romans cultivated it for its aromatic fruits and edible shoots.� It is essential in modern French and Italian cuisine.� All parts of the plant are aromatic and are utilized in various ways.� Fennel is a tall perennial with finely divided leaves and yellow flowers.� The �seeds� are oval and greenish or yellowish brown.� They are used in cooking and for candy and liqueurs.� The oil is used in perfumes, medicine and soaps.� The thickened leafstalks of one variety, Finochio or Florence fennel (F. vulgare var. dulce) are blanched and used as a vegetable.
Cardamon
��������� The aromatic seeds of the cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum, have been an important spice in the Orient for centuries.� The plant is a native of India and is cultivated mainly in that country and Sri Lanka.� It has also been introduced into other tropical areas.� Large quantities are grown in Central America, especially Guatemala.� It is a perennial herb, 6-12 ft. tall, with long lanceolate leaves with sheathing bases.� The white flowers, with a blue and yellow lib, are borne on a separate elongated stalk.� The fruits that are triangular paper-thin capsules are borne the year round.� The small seeds are light colored and have a delicate flavor.� They are usually kept in the fruit until required for the flavor is superior.� In other cases seeds of either wild or cultivated plants are gathered when completely ripe and dried in the sun.� Few spices are handled with greater care.� Cardamoms are used in cakes, pickles, and curries and for other culinary purposes, as well as in medicine.� They are a popular masticatory in India.� The oil is used to some extent in cooking and in flavoring beverages.
Fenugreek
��������� Trigonella foenum-graecum, is an annual legume with white flowers and long slender pods with a pronounced beak.� It is native to Southern Europe and Asia where it is grown for forage and ornamental purposes.� The small seeds are used in India for curries, in dyeing and in medicine.� The extract is used with other aromatic substances to make an artificial maple flavoring.
Grains of Paradise
��������� Aframomum melegueta is a perennial herb of West Africa that is the source of the aromatic seeds known as Grains of Paradise.� The plant has large rootstalks that send up an erect stem, 8 ft. or more in height, with long fragrant leaves and showy yellow orchid like flowers in dense spikes.� The fruits are orange pear-shaped capsules that contain the golden brown seeds with a distinctive aroma.� These seeds are very pungent and during the Middle Ages rivaled pepper as a spice.� They are still used somewhat in medicine and for flavoring beverages.� Other species of Amomum are sometimes utilized as substitutes.
Mustard
��������� Mustard was widely known since ancient times.� It is frequently mentioned in the Bible and in Greek and Roman writings.� During its long history it has had some curious uses.� It is now grown as a field crop in most temperate regions, especially North America, Europe, China and Japan.� Mainly cultivated for its seeds, the tops are used as potherbs and salad plants.� There are three main species utilized: white, black and Indian mustard
White Mustard
��������� Brassica hirta is a freely branching annual, 2-6 ft tall, with yellow flowers, hairy lobed leaves and a bristly pod with a long beak.� The small round seeds are yellow on the outside and white within.� They contain mucilage, proteins, a fixed oil and a glucoside, Sinalbin .� When ground seeds are treated with water this glucoside is broken down through enzyme activity and yields a nonvolatile sulfur compound with a typical sharp taste and pungency.� White mustard is used in medicine and as a condiment.� The fixed oil is expressed and used externally as a counterirritant.� It is also used as a lubricant and illuminant.
Black Mustard
��������� Brassica nigra is also native to Eurasia.� It is grown more commonly, and has become a weed in North America.� It is cultivated especially in California, Montana and Kentucky.� The plant is smaller than the white mustard and has smooth pods with dark brown seeds that are yellow on the inside.� Black mustard seed has the same general constituents as white mustard seed.� The glucoside, Sinigrin yields on decomposition a volatile oil containing sulfur, which is responsible for the pungent, aromatic odor and flavor.� This essential oil is very powerful and dangerous to handle as it can blister the skin.� It also attacks the membranes of the eyes and nose.� When diluted it is used in medicine as a counterirritant and to some extent in condiments.� The expressed fixed oil has a mild taste.� It is used in making soap and in medicine.
��������� Ground mustard is widely used as a condiment and in preparing pickles, sardines and salad dressing.� It has a stimulating effect on the salivary glands and also increases the peristaltic movements of the stomach.� Mustard and warm water form an efficient emetic.� The more pungent black mustard is preferred in continental Europe while white mustard is more popular in England.� However, ground mustard is usually a combination of both kinds.� The familiar mustard paste is prepared by treating ground mustard with salt, vinegar and various aromatics.
Indian Mustard
��������� Brassica juncea is used in India and parts of Europe as a spice and in cooking.� Its properties are similar to those of black mustard.� The fixed oil is expressed and used in cooking and to anoint the body.
Nutmeg & Mace
��������� Both nutmeg and mace are obtained from Myristica fragrans, native to the Moluccas or Spice Islands.� It is now grown in the tropics worldwide, especially in the East Indies and the West Indies.� These spices were probably not known to the ancients.� However, they had reached Europe by the 12th Century.� The discovery of the spice Islands in 1512 led the Portuguese to obtain a monopoly of nutmeg and mace, which later was dominated by the Dutch.� Later trees were smuggled into French and British possessions and the monopoly was broken.
��������� The plant is a handsome evergreen tree with dark leaves that reaches a height of 30-60 ft.� It is usually dioecious, with small pale-yellow flowers that are fleshy and aromatic.� The ripe fruits are golden-yellow and resemble apricots or plums.� They gradually dry out and when completely ripe the husk splits open revealing the shiny brown seed covered with a bright-red branching aril.� The kernel inside the seed is the nutmeg of commerce.� The aril is the source of mace.
��������� nutmeg is propagated from seed in nurseries and later transplanted.� It needs a hot moist climate and thrives when near the sea, so that islands are very favorable for its growth.� The trees come into full bearing when about 20 years old and contuse for 30-40 years.� The yield is very high, a large tree furnishes about 1,000 nutmegs annually.� Fruits are produced all year round.� After the husks split open the fruits are picked, the pericarp is removed and the made is stripped from the shell, flattened and dried.� it turns a yellowish brown.� The seeds are dried and the shell cracked off.� The kernels are removed, sorted and often treated with lime to prevent insect attack.
��������� Mace is a very delicately flavored spice and is used with savory dishes and in making pickles, ketchup and sauces.
��������� Nutmegs have been used medicinally and as a culinary spice for centuries.� Grated nutmeg is used with puddings, custards and other sweet dishes and with various beverages.� A jelly is made from the fresh husks of the ripe fruit.� An essential oil is extracted for use in medicine and as a flavoring agent.� This oil contains a very toxic substance, Myristicin , and can be used only in small amounts.� Caution must also be exercised in the use of nutmeg and mace.� nutmeg oil is used in the perfume and tobacco industries and in dentifrices.� Nutmegs contain a fixed oil, called nutmeg butter.�
Tonka Beans
��������� The South American trees, Dipteryx odorata and D. oppositifolia, are the source of Tonka beans.� They serve as a substitute for vanilla.� Most of the commercial supply is from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.� The large trees, up to 110 ft tall, have strange egg-shaped fruits with a hard shell and pulpy flesh surrounding a single seed.� The fallen fruits are collected, broken open and dried.� These resemble Jordan almonds and have a black wrinkled surface.� They contain a crystalline substance, Coumarin , which is of importance in the manufacture of perfumes.� The odor is that of new-mown hay, and closely suggests vanilla.� The beans, or an alcohol extract are used for flavoring tobacco, cosmetics, perfumes, soap, liqueurs, as a substitute for vanilla in cocoa, candy and ice cream and as a fixative for dyes.
Spices from Leaves
��������� The aromatic leaves of many plants frequently have been used to flavor foods and for their medicinal qualities.� Many of these belong to the mint family that is identified by its aromatic odor, square stems and small bilabiate corollas.� Some of the more important mints are basil, peppermint, balm, marjoram, savory, sage, thyme, spearmint, bay , parsley, terragon and wintergreen.
Basil
��������� Sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum, is most likely native to India and Africa.� It has been used in India for centuries as a condiment and in England because of its aromatic qualities.� The leaves are used in salads, stews dressings as an ingredient of mock turtle soup and Fetter Lane sausages.� Basil is also very popular in French and Italian cookery.� The golden-yellow essential oil is used in perfumery and various beverages.� There are several varieties.
Peppermint
��������� Mentha piperita is one of the most important of the aromatic herbs.� It is a perennial found wild in moist ground in the temperate parts of Asia, Europe and America.� It is cultivated in Europe and has been an important crop plant in America for since the 18th Century.� Mucky soils that are unsuitable for other types of agriculture are ideal.� The crop is harvested with mowing machines when in blossom and after drying it is hauled to distilleries.� Peppermint has a refreshing odor and a persistent cooling taste.� The leaves are used for flavoring but the oil, obtained by steam distillation, is of greater importance.� The oil is used to flavor candy, gum, dentifrices and various pharmaceutical preparations.� It is valuable in both internal and external medicine and in the perfume and soap industries.� Because of its penetrating odor it has often been used to detect leaks in pipes.� Peppermint camphor or menthol, a derivative of the oil extracted by freezing, is valuable as an antiseptic and has been used in the treatment of the common cold.
��������� Japanese peppermint, Mentha arvensis var. piperascens, is cultivated in Japan, Brazil and North America as the main source of methol.� Although the menthol content is higher than in Mentha piperita, both the oil and the camphor are very bitter and less valuable.
Balm
��������� Melissa officinalis is a perennial herb of Southern Europe that has been introduced into all temperate climates.� It has been cultivated since before 100 B.C. and was well known to the Greeks, Arabs and Romans.� The leaves are used in stews, sauces, soups, dressings and salads.� The essential oil has a lemon flavor and is used in beverages.� The flowers are an important source of honey.
Marjoram
��������� Sweet marjoram, Majorana hortensis, is indigenous in the Mediterranean region where it has been known since ancient times.� It is a sacred plant in India and is popular both in Europe and North America.� The leaves, flowers and tender stems are used for flavoring syrups, dressings, stews and sauces.� The essential oil is used for perfumes and soap.� Pot Marjoram , Origanum vulgare, is also used as a substitute.
��������� < bot680 >� Marjoram in flower (Majorana hortensis) [Mediterranean] (ex. Riverside, CA)
Savory
��������� Satureja hortensis is native to the Mediterranean region but is now grown worldwide.�� The leaves are strongly aromatic with a warm bitter taste.� Its principal use is in sauces, dressings and gravies.� It was used as a potherb during Roman times.� Winter savory, Satureja montana is of some importance in Europe.
Sage
��������� Salvia officinalis has been a valued spice for use in making stuffing for meats, sausage and fowl.� It adds zest to Italian cookery.� The plant is a shrubby herb of the Mediterranean region.� The grayish green hairy leaves are very aromatic.� It has been used for its reputed health benefits since Roman times.� Oil of sage is used in the perfume industry.
��������� < bot681 >� Sage (Salvia officinalis) [Mediterranean] (ex. Riverside, CA)
Thyme
��������� Thymus vulgaris is indigenous to the Mediterranean region where it is widespread as a wild plant.� It has escaped cultivation in most countries and often escapes.� Thyme has been used since the time of the Greeks and Romans as incense and as a source of honey, the latter being distinctive and of high quality.� The fresh or dried green parts of this low shrubby plant are used in sauces, soups, dressings and gravies.� The oil is used in perfumery.� Thymol , a derivative of the oil, is antiseptic and is used in mouthwashes, toothpastes, as a fungicide and as an internal medicine where it is effective against hookworm.� It also has some industrial uses.
Spearmint
��������� Mentha spicata is native to temperate Asia and Europe.� It is now common worldwide.� It was known before the Christian era.� Both fresh and dried leaves are used for jelly, mint sauce and to flavor soups, sauces, stews and beverages.� It is also used in chewing gum, candy, dentifrices and medicine.� The plant resembles peppermint but has longer and lighter colored leaves and more pointed spikes.� It is mild in flavor.
Bay
��������� Sweet bay, Laurus nobilis, is a small tree native to Asia Minor.� It is very ornamental and is often cultivated.� The leaves constituted the laurel of antiquity, the symbol of victory.� These leaves are bitter and aromatic and are widely used in cooking.� Bay is extensively grown in Europe where the leaves are used in puddings, soups and other culinary products.� It is an ingredient of the �bouquet� the small bunch of sweet herbs used widely by the French.� The essential oil was once used in medicine.� Bay leaves also contain a fixed oil.
Parsley
��������� Petroselinum crispum is one of the most widely cultivated garden herbs.� It is native to the rocky shores of the Mediterranean, but has escaped from cultivation in all moist cool climates.� The plant is usually biennial and during the first year produces a dense tuft of dark green finely divided leaves.� The leaves are used as a garnish and for flavoring soups, stuffing and omelets.� They are a good source of Vitamin C.� In Europe the tops are often used for potherbs and the roots as boiled vegetables.
Terragon
��������� Artemisia dracunculus is a small herbaceous perennial of Western Asia that is widely grown in Europe for its pungent, aromatic leaves, which are used in making vinegar and pickles. It is also used for seasoning salads, soups and various meats.� The tender shoots can also be utilized.� The essential oil is used to perfume toilet articles.
Wintergreen
��������� Wintergreen or Checkerberry is important as a flavoring in North America.� The original source was Gaultheria procumbens, a low creeping evergreen plant with flat, dark green shiny leaves that grows wild in eastern North America.� The leaves contain a glucoside, which breaks down in water to form methyl salicylate or oil of wintergreen.� The oil is distilled from the leaves in copper stills.� It was once an important industry in New England.� The sweet birch, Betula lenta, contains the same glucoside in its bark and the young twigs and bark of this plant have generally displaced the checkerberry as the source of oil.� The oil is used in medicine and in flavoring candy, soft drinks, chewing gum and dentifrices.
Minor Savory Leaves
��������� Other plants that contain aromatic oils and that are used to some extent in medicine and for flavoring are certain mints, such as Catnip , Nepeta cataria, Clary Sage , Salvia sclarea, Hyssop , Hyssopus officinalis, and European Pennyroyal , Mentha pulegium.� Some that belong to other plant families include Chervil , Anthriscus cerefolium, Lovage , Levisticum officinale, Rue , Ruta graveolens, and Tansy , Tanacetum vulgare.
Misc. Spices & Flavoring Substances
��������� Various other plants that are used as flavorings but which are discussed in other section include calamus root, almonds chives, garlic, hoarhound, cubebs, lavender, lemon, lime, orange, pistachio, orris root, poppy seeds, sesame and rosemary.
| Nutmeg (moth) |
In what year was the first BBC Sports Personality if theYear held ? | Tickle My Senses: Spices and Herbs used in Mangalorean Cookery.
Spices and Herbs used in Mangalorean Cookery.
Spices and Herbs used in Mangalorean Cookery.
Spices and Herbs used in Mangalorean Cookery.
Red chillies are used in the preparation of spice pastes/ masalas in Mangalorean cookery. There are 4 different varieties used most commonly in Mangalorean dishes.
Byadagi or Kaddi Chillies-Byadagi chillies are grown in Goa and Dharwar in Karnataka. The thin, tall crinkly Chilli gets its name from a small town Byadgi, located near Haveri district of Karnataka, a state located in South of India. These chillies are also called Kaddi ( (Kaddi = Thin and slender in Kannada) ) chillies and when dried, the skin is wrinkled red in color with aromatic mild pungency. They provide a distictive red color and flavour to Mangalorean food
Kashmiri Chillies-One of much in demand chilli in India is Kashmiri Chilli. Though there is lot of wrong claims, the true Kashmir Chilli is grown in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It has a crinkled shiny skin and is fleshy with a dark red in color. They are mild in pungency and have a fruit like flavor.
Guddi Mirsaang /Chilli-Very strong, spicy, non crinkly short chilli which gives a rich red color.
Jirgi Mirsang Chilli- These are tiny chillies that are very hot and pungent.
Kashmiri Chili powder (Mirsang pito)-Red color, fine powder. It is mildly hot and renders spice pastes a rich red colour.
Cayenne pepper (Lal Mirch)-is a spice made from the seeds of plants in the capsicum family (ranging from sweet pepper to chili - in general, the smaller the fruit, the hotter it is). Cayenne peppers' bright red color signals its high content of beta-carotene or pro-vitamin A. It includes both the ground seeds as well as the dried flesh. It should not be as hot as chili powder, but it is pretty hot and should therefore be used with care. Cayenne pepper is used to provide the heat for many spicy dishes.
Asafoetida (Hing) - also known as devil's dung. It is a resin taken from a plant from the parsley family. It is a distinctive and pungent spice. It is most commonly found in powdered form. When cooked, it has a truffle-like flavor and a roasted garlic aroma. It is used mainly for its digestive properties, especially in the cooking of beans and lentils, as it is reputed to have antiflatulence properties. A pinch of it can be fried in hot oil before the rest of the ingredients are cooked.
Star Anise- its star shape and a licorice taste similar to regular anise, only stronger. Star anise is the seed pod of an evergreen tree
Turmeric root- comes from the root of Curcuma longa, a leafy plant related to ginger. It has a bright yellow color and a pungent, warm, earthy aroma and taste. Although it becomes bitter if too much used. It is mildly antiseptic.
Turmeric powder (Hallad)- Turmeric is an essential spice in Indian food, giving a rich, appetizing color. It is used in curries, fish dishes and with beans because of its digestive properties. Research show that turmeric inhibits blood clotting, reduces liver toxins, and helps the liver metabolize fats and so aids weight loss.
Turmeric leaves- Used to prepare sweets called patholoyos, also for baking fish.
Tamarind (Amsan) -It is the sticky, dried, brown pod of the evergreen tree. It has a sour taste and very tart, citric flavor. The pulp must be soaked before usage. It is used as a souring agent in curries, pickles, chutneys of meat , fish and vegetables.
Peppercorns (Meere ) – available in two varities black and white. It is very pungent. It is used in its whole and powdered form in various forms of cooking. Black pepper is more aromatic, white is stronger and hotter. Pepper is the only spice that us used to flavor food before, during and after cooking. Whole or grounded peppercorns can be added to most non-sweet dishes.
Nigella/ Onion Seeds (Kalonji) - are small, irregular shaped black seeds of the plant that grows in India - Kalonji. This spice can be used fresh or dry roasted in curries, and added to vegetables, relishes, pickles and yogurts. It is featured in many spice mixtures such as Bengali five-spice mixture panchphoron, which also includes fenugreek, mustard, cumin and fennel.
Nutmeg (Jaiphal)- The nutmeg fruit contains an outer covering called mace and an inner fruit which is the nutmeg. It has nutty, warm and slightly sweet flavor. Nutmeg is used to add sweet and savory flavor to dishes such as pies, custards, puddings, cakes, soufflés, vegetables, egg dishes, lamb, and fish, and beverages.
Mace (Javitri)- is the fleshy lattice, covering of the nutmeg (hard nut), which is golden brown in color. Like nutmeg, mace is a sweet and flavorful spice, which can be substituted for nutmeg or cinnamon to complement a variety of foods. Mace is also used in sauces for fish and pickle chutneys.
Mustard- The brown mustard seeds are more commonly used in Indian cooking but black seeds contain a higher proportion of the volatile mustard oil and strongest flavor. The larger yellow variety, known as white mustard are much les pungent. Powdered mustard has no aroma when dry, but a hot flavor is released when it is mixed with water. The seeds can be put whole into very hot oil and popped. Mustards seeds are a popular addition to dishes such as vegetable, beans, pastries and pickles. Also available as a sauce and pastes.
Mint (Pudina)-Indian mint has a stronger flavor and more pungent aroma than Western varieties. This herb is often paired with lamb. The warm sweet fragrance of mint is cooling to the palate, leaving a fresh aftertaste. Indian cooking and is widely used in chutneys, relishes, salads, sauces and teas. Mint is mostly added to biryanis. Mint is also perfect as a garnish for desserts, and goes well with fruits, iced tea, lemonade and yogurts as well as a variety of cocktails.
Mango powder (Amchur)- This sour powder is made from unripe mangoes. It has a sour, lemony taste, with a slightly sweet edge. The primary use of it is for Chutneys. It can be added to chickpeas, potatoes and eggplants. More, it is used as a dry seasoning for grilled dishes and sometimes appears in Bombay mix, the Indian version of potato chips or pretzels. Amchur is also an essential ingredient in making Chaat Masala. It gives any dish a tangy, sour flavor, and is the perfect substitute for lemon, tamarind or lime juice. If you are unable to find you can use a dash of lemon.
Ginger (Alae)- the fresh root is a knobly rhizome with a sweet aroma and hot, pungent taste. It is used very commonly in Asian cooking. It is commonly combined with garlic and sold in a paste form. Young ginger is used to make ginger preserve. Also used in the preparation of pickles, syrup, ginger biscuits.
Garlic (Lasun) - closely related to the onion. It has a powerful pungent or hot flavor when raw, which mellows when it is cooked. It has very strong odor. Bulbs, whose segments are usually called "cloves" are the part of the plant most commonly eaten.Garlic is used as a condiment and as flavoring in gravies, sauces, soups, stews, pickles, salads, salad dressing and breads. Garlic pickles and freshly ground garlic chutneys are popular side dishes for rice, snacks and chappathis. Garlic powder is made from ground dehydrated cloves and is used widely as a substitute for fresh garlic. Garlic helps to purify the blood and lower blood pressure. It is considered as a cure for heart ailments.
Garam Masala– meaning “hot spices” - is a mixture of ground spices (recipes vary) (cloves, cardamom, cumin, peppercorns and cinnamon, bay leaves). It is far better to grind your own spices than to buy the mixture ready-ground.
Fenugreek (Kasuri Methi)- is short, upright plant (related to spinach) with oval leaves. The entire plant has a strong, sweet aroma. The mature leaves have the bitter taste. Ground fenugreek (seeds) has a warm, yellowish-brown color with a strong curry-like taste. In powdered form, fenugreek is one of the main ingredients of curry powders. Fenugreek is used to add flavor to meat dishes. It is also considered as an aphrodisiac.
Fennel (Saunf)-It has a sweet and aniseed flavor.Used sparingly, it gives warmth and sweetness to curries. Sugar coated or roasted fennel seeds are chewed to freshen the breath after the meal. They have digestive properties.
Curry leaves (Kadi patha) - are small grey-greenish leaves (a bit like bay), relative of the orange. They can be used fresh or dried. Their aroma is released by its heat and moisture. They are sometimes fried in the oil the food is cooked in, and then discarded. They are mainly used as an aromatic and flavoring for most curries and soups. Also used to make chutneys.
Cumin (Jeera) -The seeds are oval with ridges, greenish-beige in color, warm, nutty aroma. They can be ground to a powder. Cumin is usually dry-fried before use. It is used in preparation of curries of meat , fish, vegetables. Also used as seasoning of pickles, chutneys, lentil soups/dhals.
Ajwain, Oma (vovam)- This spice contains thymol oil. It has medicinal properties, and its decoction is used to treat colds. The preparation Nivol is given to breastfeeding mothers when babies have a cold.
Cloves (lavang ) - It has a strong, sweet aroma and hot, pungent taste, Cloves are best bought whole and ground, if necessary. They have been used in India for thousands of years, not only in cooking, but to sweeten the breath and to relieve the pain of toothache. They contain a mild anesthetic. Whole cloves are frequently used to flavor meat dishes, curries, and soups.
Cinnamon (Dalchni)- is the dried bark of various laurel trees in the cinnamomun family. It is a sweet-tasting spice, with a warm, woody aroma. The smell of Cinnamon is pleasant, stimulates the senses, yet calms the nerves.The thinnest bark is the best quality cinnamon. It is available as a powder but is much better bought in sticks. When ground, the flavor becomes stronger. Whole cinnamon is used for spacing hot drinks, ground- in cakes, sweet dishes, fruit pies (especially apples). It can also be used in more piquant dishes, such as curries, and combines perfectly with chicken.
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya)- is a member of a parsley family. The seeds are oval in shape, ridged, and turn from bright green to beige when ripen. This spice tastes sweet and tangy, with a slightly citrus flavor. Coriander is usually sold in powdered form, although the whole seeds are also available. An important spice used in preparation of spice pastes/ masalas for meat, fish and vegetables curries.
Cilantro (Hara Dhaniya/Kothmir Bhaji)- this fresh herb is a fragrant mix of parsley and citrus. The leaves are rather like those of flat-leaved parsley, but darker. The leaves have a very distinctive bitter-sweet taste. Cilantro it is usually added toward the end of cooking to preserve the fresh aroma. Also it is frequently used as a garnish. The seed of the cilantro is known as coriander.
Cardamom (Elaichi)-Elettaria Cardamomum is the seed of a tropical fruit in the ginger family.Fruits and seeds leave pleasant aroma with sweet, pungent taste behind when chewed. Cardamom has a sweet, lemony, eucalyptus flavor. It is world's second most expensive spice. It is available as a powder, dried pods, or loose seeds. Green cardamoms are the most common, but there are also black and cream varieties. It is one of India's favorite spices, used in curries, savoury and sweet dishes, ice cream and custards.
Kokam has the same souring qualities as tamarind, especially enhancing coconut-based curries or vegetable dishes like potatoes, okra or lentils. Kokum is especially used with fish curries, three or four skins being enough to season an average dish. It is also included in chutneys and pickles.
Saffron (Zaffran)- this spice is made from orange colored dried stigmas of the especially cultivated crocus (75 stamens are needed to make 100 g (4 oz) of the spice.) It is the most expensive spice of all. It has a distinctively pungent, honey-like flavor and aroma. It is available as whole threads or powdered. When ground they form a russet powder. The filaments can be lightly roasted, crumbled in a little hot water and left to infuse to bring out their full strength. Saffron is used to color rice dishes, sweets, puddings, sauces and soups to bright yellow.
Bayleaves- these fragrant leaves with pointed ends are used in their dried form. These are used in curries and rice preparations.
| i don't know |
"Which author created the fictional character ""Allan Quartermain"" ?" | Allan Quatermain (c.1815-c.1886), Adventurer
Allan Quatermain (c.1815-c.1886), Adventurer
The Dates
The dates I estimate for Allan (c.1815-c.1886) are based on information in the books about him.
Born
The first book about him according to internal chronology, Marie, says that ``as a very young man'' he accompanied Piet Retief's Boer expedition to the
Zulu king Dingaan ( Shaka Zulu's half brother ). There was one such expedition in 1830 . However, in the novel Allan and the editor both mention the year 1835 in relation to when he first met Retief, so apparently the expedition in question was in 1835. I'm assuming very young man means younger than 21; let's say he was 20 years old, and then he was born about 1815. Or maybe he was precocious and was 15 in 1835, so born about 1820.
Encounter south africa says Retief visited Dingaan in October 1837 , so maybe Allan Quatermain was born about 1817. Dingaan had his men kill Retief 6 February 1838 , so the AQ couldn't have met Retief any later than that.
At the beginning of King Solomon's Mines Allan says that he is 55 years old. At the end of that book, he quotes a letter dated 1 October 1884 ; thus he must have been born about 1829. If so, he must have been very precocious in 1835 to have been fighting wars and getting married at the age of 6. Since Marie was written much later, let's assume the early dates in that novel are more correct, and lets retain the estimate of 1815 for his birth year.
The Marie of the novel by that title was Marie Marais, Allan's first wife; they both lived in Boer South Africa; her father was a French Huguenot.
Died
The story of Marie was supposedly found in a manuscript found by the keeper of his estate, who in a fictional letter dated January 17th, 1909, says,
``The Court, however, not being satisfied that there was any legal proof of his death, invested the capital funds in trustee securities, and by my advice let his place in Yorkshire to a tenant who has remained in occupation of it during the last two decades.''
— Mr. George Curtis, in Marie
Two decades before would have been about 1889. There is an editorial note in the second book written about Allan, which was the one in which he died:
``*{By a sad coincidence, since the above was written by Mr Quatermain, the Masai have, in April 1886, massacred a missionary and his wife--Mr and Mrs Houghton--on this very Tana River, and at the spot described. These are, I believe, the first white people who are known to have fallen victims to this cruel tribe. --EDITOR.}''
— Allan Quatermain
So internal evidence indicates that the book was written about 1885, purportedly by Allan himself. That also estimates the year of his death, since he last wrote in it just before he died. Let's also take into account Allan's comments in Allan Quatermain that it had been two years since he had buried his son, and that he had been ``several years'' in England, after forty years in the wild. Two years after he was moving to England at the end of King Solomon's Mines in 1884 would be 1886. So Allan Quatermain must be set in 1886 or later. Let's say 1886, which is the year before the latter book was published, and thus probably the year Haggard finished working on it. It is said that Haggard wrote that book in ten weeks in 1885, but the editorial remark indicates someone edited it in 1886. Thus Allan Quatermain was born about 1815 and died about 1886, apparently at the age of 71.
I'm sure that if there are better estimates, someone will let me know.
Update 14 June 2013 : Wikipedia has him born 1817 died c. 18 June 1885, with this chronology from J. E. Scott, "A Note Concerning the Late Mr Allan Quatermain", in A Bibliography of the Works of Sir Henry Haggard 1856–1925, London: Elkin Mathews Ltd, 1947.
1835–1838: Marie (1912)
1842–1843: "Allan's Wife", title story in the collection Allan's Wife (1887)
1854–1856: Child of Storm (1913)
1858: "A Tale of Three Lions", included in the collection Allan's Wife (1887)
1859: Maiwa's Revenge: or, The War of the Little Hand (1888)
1868: "Hunter Quatermain's Story", included in the collection Allan's Wife (1887)
1869: "Long Odds", included in the collection Allan's Wife (1887)
1870: Allan and the Holy Flower (1915)
1871: Heu-heu: or, The Monster (1924)
1872: She and Allan (1920)
1873: The Treasure of the Lake (1926)
1874: The Ivory Child (1916)
1879: Finished (1917)
1879: "Magepa the Buck", included in the collection Smith and the Pharaohs (1920)
1880: King Solomon's Mines (1885)
1882: The Ancient Allan (1920)
1883: Allan and the Ice-gods (1927)
1884–1885: Allan Quatermain (1887)
Also added some links (mostly about Retief) and some pictures. End Update 14 June 2013 .
Our cousin once removed by fiction, Allan Quatermain, first appeared in 1885 in King Solomon's Mines , by H. Rider Haggard. Haggard had recently read Robert Louis Stephenson's Treasure Island, and had been dared by a friend to do better. So he wrote one of the great adventure novels, and created one of the great adventurers:
``...the lonely existence in wild places, often with only the sun and the stars for companions; the continual adventures; the strange tribes with whom I came in contact; in short, the change, the danger, the hope always of finding something great and new, that attracted and still attracts me, even now when I have found the great and the new.''
—Allan Quatermain, Child of Storm
That was Allan's own account of his motivations.
Two years later, Haggard wrote the book named after Allan Quatermain , in which his hero dies. In that book Allan's friend Good writes of him:
``Tender, constant, humorous, and possessing of many of the qualities that go to make a poet, he was yet almost unrivalled as a man of action and a citizen of the world. ''
Ah, here it is, in The Days of My Life Volume I by Sir H. Rider Haggard, 1912, first published 1926:
I was despatched to the Rev. [H. J.] Graham, who took in two or three small boys (at that time I must have been nine or ten years of age) at Garsington Rectory near Oxford.
The Rectory, long ago pulled down, was a low grey house that once had served as a place of refuge in time of plague for the Fellows of one of the Oxford colleges. Twice, if not three times, in the course of my after life I have revisited this spot; the last occasion being about two years ago. Except that the Rectory has been rebuilt the place remains just the same. There is the old seventeenth-century dovecote and the shell of the ancient pollard elm, in the hollow
trunk of which I used to play with a child of my own age, Mrs. Graham's little sister Blanche, who was as fair in colouring as one of her name should be. I believe that she has now been dead many years.
Quite near to the Rectory and not far from the pretty church, through the chancel door of which once I saw a donkey thrust its head and burst into violent brays in the midst of Mr. Graham's sermon, stood a farm-house. The farmer, a long, lank man who wore a smart frock, was very kind to me—I found his grave in the churchyard when last I was there. He was called [ William ] Quatermain, a name that I used in "King Solomon's Mines" and other books in after years. After looking at this farm and the tree nearby which bore walnuts bigger and finer than any that grow nowadays, I went to the new Rectory and there saw working in the garden a tall, thin old man, who reminded me strangely of one whom I remembered over thirty years before.
"Is your name Quatermain?" I asked.
He answered that it was. Further inquiry revealed the fact that he was a younger brother of my old friend, whom I was able to describe to him so accurately that he exclaimed in delight:
"That's him! Why, you /do/ bring him back from the dead, and he gone so long no one don't think of him no more."
Also added pictures of Allan, Selous, and Connery as Allan, plus a few links and typo fixes.
End Update of 13 June 2013.
And as we know, Oxfordshire is the historical center of Quatermaines in England. And in America there are French Huguenot connections (see sidebar about Allan's first wife, Marie Marais).
I could also call Allan our cousin by diary, since an adventurer who claimed to have discovered King Solomon's Mines is mentioned near the historical person Dr. William Quarterman in the Diary of Samuel Pepys:
"Alexander St. Michel (S. Pepys father-in-law) . . . In 1667 he petitioned the king, asserting that he had discovered King Solomon's gold and silver mines, and the Diary ... contains a curious commentary upon these visions of wealth:--"
— 1893 introduction to the Diary of Samuel Pepys
Both Allan and Haggard were very much creatures of their Victorian times. Allan often didn't have much use for civlization, but he was an unquestioning supporter of the British Empire; Haggard and Kipling even colaborated on several books. Allan shows a real appreciation of various cultures ranging from Boer to Zulu, yet often he sounds racist to modern ears. No doubt many current practices and sayings will sound barbaric a century hence.
Allan was apparently modeled on assorted rugged Victorian adventurers in Africa such as Dr. Livingstone, Frederick Courteney Selous , and on Haggard himself. (I don't know if Alexander St. Michel was a model). Allan influenced other fictional adventurers, from Strider (Haggard was the only author Tolkien would admit had influenced him) to Edgar Rice Borroughs' John Carter of Mars. And Haggard's books influenced adventure writers from Kipling to Conan Doyle to Michael Crichton (Allan was the archetypical Great White Hunter and Crichton's movie Congo has a character who describes himself as a Great White Hunter who happens to be black; Haggard's books about Allan invented the Lost Race genre, and Congo includes a lost race; plus of course it is set in Africa.)
Yet sometimes there was more than adventure to the Quatermain stories.
As one reviewer wrote of King Solomon's Mines,
``The story is essentially one of a hard journey that develops from a mere treasure hunt into a voyage of the spirit.''
| H. Rider Haggard |
"The former Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson called this institution ""The English Religion"". To what was he referring ?" | The Mahatma and the Hare: Amazon.de: H. Rider Haggard: Fremdsprachige Bücher
Produktbeschreibungen
Synopsis
There is a man who has lost his wife and daughter. He is the sole survivor in the accident and feels great guilt. And in this guilt, he begins to drink more and more each day. Then one day as the man was contemplating suicide, a stranger named Joren comes along and tells him not to worry. He tells him of reincarnated souls, of a life beyond the mortal one, and he teaches the man to transcend his physical body. But will he like what he finds on the other side? H. Rider Haggard was an English author known for his fantastic adventure stories as well as his sympathetic portrayal of native peoples. He is best known for creating the fictional character Allan Quartermain. A character that has been resurrected as a comic book hero in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sean Connery played the role of Allan Quartermain in the film adaptation of the comic. The Mahatma and the Hare is considered one of Haggard's more existential pieces.
Über den Autor und weitere Mitwirkende
Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856 - 1925), known as H. Rider Haggard, was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa and a pioneer of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform throughout the British Empire. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. He was known for his fantastic adventure stories as well as his sympathetic portrayal of native peoples. He is best known for creating the fictional character Allan Quartermain. A character that has been resurrected as a comic book hero in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sean Connery played the role of Allan Quartermain in the film adaptation of the comic.
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"The species name ""Fagus"" as in Fagus Sylvatica and Fagus Purpurea has the common English name for which tree ?" | Fagus sylvatica (copper beech) | Plants & Fungi At Kew
Fagus sylvatica (copper beech)
Copper beech trees can be propagated by grafting to maintain the colour of the leaves.
Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Atropunicea') at Kew Gardens
Species information
copper beech (synonym: Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea')
Conservation status:
IUCN status of Least Concern (LC)
Habitat:
Woodland, often on chalky soil.
Known hazards:
Genus: Fagus
About this species
Copper beeches first appeared as mutants independently in different parts of Europe and were already known in Germany before 1488. Today this tree is planted extensively in parks and gardens, and whilst admired by some, others find the copper beech's dark purple leaves an unattractive and depressing addition to the landscape.
Synonym:
Fagus sylvatica is found throughout Europe, to the Caucasus.
Description
Spiky cases protect the fruits
The copper beech is a large tree that often grows on chalky soil. The inconspicuous flowers are pollinated by the wind and the fruits are three-sided nuts (called beech mast) inside spiky cases (see image, right).
The size and shape of Fagus sylvatica depends on its environment. Given space, the beech will spread its branches widely and can grow up to a massive 42 m (140 ft) high. In tightly packed woods, the tree will grow straight, with few side branches, to reach the light. This becomes an even greater priority with time.
The arrangement of leaves is such that they overlap, which, while efficient for the tree, shades the ground beneath and can also prevent rain from reaching it. So if the floor of the English wood you're walking through comprises little more than fungi and rotting leaves, it's probably a beech wood.
Copper beech trees are quite variable in leaf colour as they are normally propagated by seed. Particularly dark clones have been selected over the years and those are grafted to maintain the true colour. The best-known are 'Cuprea', 'Nigra', 'Riversii' and 'Spaethiana'.
Uses
A copper beech at Kew
Beech, like hazel, has been used for centuries for its wood, specifically in making furniture. The Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire are home to large areas of beech woodlands and in the past, chairmakers, also known as 'bodgers', actually worked in the woods themselves. In 1887 a group of sport-minded furniture makers from High Wycombe, then the centre of the industry, founded Wycombe Wanderers Football Club. To this day, the team's nickname is 'The Chairboys'.
Beech timber is ideal for chairs as it bends without breaking, has a fine grain and is relatively free of knots. Beech has a history of being pollarded. Pollarding is the practice of removing all the branches to stimulate the growth of new, smaller shoots. At Burnham Beeches, for example, beeches were historically pollarded as a source of fuelwood, amongst other uses.
Beech tends not to be used for building as it decays quickly without protection and is not strong enough to bear any great weight.
In addition to the utility of its timber, beech also provides nourishment for wildlife in the form of nuts, also known as beech mast. A bumper crop of these nuts is produced every four to five years when badgers, squirrels and many birds feast on them. Although edible they are rarely eaten by humans. Very young leaves are also edible.
Cultivation
The beech is easily cultivated, though slow-growing at first. It needs a lot of room as it can get very large. The tree is shallow-rooted so it is best to choose a sheltered spot to avoid it being blown over. The bark is very sensitive to sunlight and old trunks that suddenly become exposed to the sun (for example by the felling of surrounding trees or raising of the canopy) will get sunburn, which may cause the tree to die.
Leaves of Fagus sylvatica in autumn
At Kew, beeches are propagated by grafting in order to retain genetic material from important old trees in the gardens, or to grow cultivars such as copper beeches. Root stocks for grafting are grown in the Arboretum Nursery by sowing seed. The seed is not viable for long and so needs to be sown as soon as it is ripe. If sown in the autumn it will germinate the following spring. The seed is either sown directly into the nursery field (with wire mesh protection from mice and squirrels) or into 12-litre pots, kept frost-free under glass, with plenty of natural light. Tony Hall, who manages this collection, says that when the seedlings emerge they look like miniature forests, but that this is the ideal way to create root stock material.
Grafting is done in January with the unions warmed by a hot pipe system. The pipe temperature is kept at around 21˚C whilst the rootstock below is kept cooler at around 5 to 10˚C. The buds are sprayed once a day to keep them moist. Using this method it takes about two to three weeks for the union to form a callus. After this the new plants are grown on in their pots for a season, and then transplanted into the nursery field for growing on.
Although rarely used, cuttings from newly emerged shoots can be easily rooted under mist.
Mature trees generally do well in the Gardens as they like Kew’s sandy soil. However, beeches benefit from summer rainfall and like moisture and high humidity, so in recent years they have been showing signs of stress.
References and credits
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"The record ""Red Red Wine"" was a huge hit for the group UB40 reaching number one in the charts in both the UK and USA. Which singer wrote the song ?" | European beech | The Morton Arboretum
Generally low maintenance, but cankers can be a problem.
Native geographic location and habitat
Native to Europe.
European beech (Fagus sylvatica)photo: John Hagstrom
Bark color and texture
Bark is smooth gray with an elephant-hide appearance.
Leaf or needle arrangement, size, shape, and texture
Simple, alternate leaves with shallow teeth; attractive dark green; 2 to 4 inches long.
Fall color is russet or bronze.
Flower arrangement, shape, and size
Inconspicuous; separate male and female flowers on the same tree.
Fruit, cone, nut, and seed descriptions
Edible beechnuts, triangular shape; usually two nuts in a prickly husk.
Cultivars and their differences
Fern-leaved European Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Asplenifolia’): Graceful, lustrous green cut leaves turn golden brown in fall.
River’s Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Riversii’) : A purple-leaved selection featuring large glossy leaves; foliage emerges deep purple in spring, fades to purple-green in summer and finally turns copper in autumn.
Tricolored European Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Tricolor’) : This cultivar has purple leaves with an irregular rose and pinkish white border; smaller than the species (30 feet tall). Light shade during the heat of the day is needed to keep the light colored leaf edges from burning.
Weeping European Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’): A weeping form with variable shape.
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John Newcombe was one half of a famous tennis pairing who were Wimbledon Doubles Champions three times. Who was his partner ? | The 25 Greatest Male Tennis Players of the Open Era | Bleacher Report
The 25 Greatest Male Tennis Players of the Open Era
By Sergey Zikov , Senior Analyst
Feb 21, 2009
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Here are the 25 greatest athletes of the tennis world in the Open Era, meaning since 1968. I can't acknowledge greats like Fred Perry, Don Budge, and Bill Tilden for that reason, but they would all certainly make the list.
These men come from all over the globe. From Australia to Sweden and South Africa to North America, they are all united in a common goal: to win Grand Slams.
Some did this extremely well (see Sampras, Pete) and some spent more time as the lovable runner-up (see Lendl, Ivan).
All title wins and Grand Slam victories listed are for singles only.
So let the fun begin.
25a. Patrick Rafter (AUS)
Career Titles: 11
Career Grand Slams: 2
Rafter may very well be the last true serve-and-volley Grand Slam champion. Although he played a short career, the Aussie won back-to-back US Open titles in 1997 and 1998.
Rafter was also twice a runner-up at Wimbledon, one of those times falling to Pete Sampras.
He also won 10 doubles titles, winning the Australian Open title with doubles legend Jonas Bjorkman in 1999. He was elected into the Australian Open Hall of Fame on Australia Day in 2008.
Career Titles: 26
Career Grand Slams: 2
Lleyton Hewitt, the fiery Australian kid who could, reached the world No. 1 ranking faster than anybody else. At 20 years and 268 days old, Hewitt became the world's best. He defeated Pete Sampras in the US Open to win his first Grand Slam title, then went on to win at Wimbledon the next year.
Hewitt also won the 2000 US Open doubles final, with Belarussian Max Mirnyi as a partner. He has been an exceptional hard court player throughout his career, and is commonly regarded as one of the elite defenders in the game.
Career Titles: 26
Career Grand Slams: 1
Roddick is the prototype Power Era player. He plays his points short and holds the ATP World Record for fastest serve, clocked at a ridiculous 155 mph.
He captured his first and only Grand Slam title to date when he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets at the US Open in 2003.
Roddick has also reached three other Grand Slam finals (twice in Wimbledon, once more in Flushing Meadows) but lost to Roger Federer each time. He is currently engaged to model Brooklyn Decker.
23. Manuel Orantes (ESP)
Career Titles: 33
Career Grand Slams: 1
Orantes had a unique knack of playing extraordinarily well in minor tournaments, but falling apart in Grand Slams.
However, his only Grand Slam victory was a very impressive one to say the least; he defeated American Jimmy Connors at the US Open in 1975. He also did it in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Orantes also gave Bjorn Borg an excellent match at Roland Garros in 1974, where he won the first two sets before collapsing. He also partnered with Jose Higueras in 1978 to reach the French Open final in doubles.
22. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS)
Career Titles: 26
Career Grand Slams: 2
Kafelnikov has a very special mark on his record. He is the last man to capture the singles and doubles trophies at a Grand Slam event (1996 French Open). He partnered with Daniel Vacek and defeated the team of Guy Forget/Jakob Hlasek to win the doubles title, then went on to pummel Michael Stich for the singles title.
He would also win the Australian Open in 1999.
The heavy-swinging righty from Sochi also had four career Grand Slam doubles titles and an Olympic gold medal in singles at the Sydney games in 2000.
21. Michael Chang (USA)
Career Titles: 34
Career Grand Slams: 1
The diminutive Chang (5'9" 160 lbs.) had a reputation of winning young. He won countless titles as a teenager, but none more famous than his Grand Slam victory at the French Open in 1989.
The 17-year-old Chang faced World No. 1 and three-time champion Ivan Lendl, and won in a five-set epic that lasted well over four hours.
Chang never reached No. 1 in the world and he never won another Grand Slam after his win in 1989. He was a runner-up three times. Chang still is considered one of the best defenders in history, thanks to his blinding speed and recovery.
20. Thomas Muster (AUT)
Career Titles: 44
Career Grand Slams: 1
Dubbed the "King of Clay" in the 1990s, his lone Grand Slam came at the French Open in 1995, where he defeated Michael Chang.
Although he never won the event again, he won nearly all of his career ATP titles on clay courts. The southpaw won 40 out of his 44 tournament wins on the sands.
The skinny Austrian reached the world No. 1 ranking in the early stages of 1996, but he did not hold it for long. He won a title he probably never wanted in 1990, when he was awarded the ATP's "Comeback Player of the Year."
19. Gustavo Kuerten (BRA)
Career Titles: 20
Career Grand Slams: 3
Guga Kuerten was easily the best Brazilian to ever play the game. He was a clay court specialist who won all three of his Grand Slam titles at the French Open, in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
Despite never making it past the quarterfinals in any other Grand Slam event, Guga was practically automatic at Roland Garros.
The vast majority of Kuerten's ATP titles came on clay, although he did have several hard court championships mixed in. He also dabbled in doubles towards the end of his career, teaming up with fellow Brazilian Fernando Meligeni to win five ATP titles.
18. Ilie Nastase (ROM)
Career Titles: 57
Career Grand Slams: 2
Nastase won Grand Slam titles in every way possible. He won two in singles, three in doubles, and two more in mixed doubles. His most impressive win was over Arthur Ashe in the 1972 US Open, where it took the Romanian five sets and close to five hours to seal the deal.
The versatile Nastase won ATP events on all surfaces, too. He may have possibly been one of the best carpet court players in history, as he won practically every carpet tournament he entered during the 1970s.
17. Jim Courier (USA)
Career Titles: 23
Career Grand Slams: 4
Courier started out his career with a bang, defeating fellow young star Andre Agassi in five sets at the French Open.
He would go on to win four Grand Slam titles, two at Roland Garros and two more in Melbourne. Courier faced his arch-nemesis, Stefan Edberg, three times in Grand Slam finals, winning two of them.
He spent 58 weeks ranked at No. 1 and despite having a decent game on all surfaces, the majority of his tournament wins came on hard courts. Courier founded the non-profit organization "Courier's Kids" to help children play tennis after his retirement.
16. John Newcombe (AUS)
Career Titles: 32 (68 in total)
Career Grand Slams: 5
Newcombe had a very productive career as a singles player, winning multiple titles at the US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon. His signature match was a victory over Ken Rosewall at Wimbledon in 1970.
However, Newcombe may be most famous for his ATP-record 12 Grand Slam titles in doubles, many with fellow Aussie Tony Roche as a partner.
Career Titles: 33
Career Grand Slams: 3
Ashe was not only a leader on the court for advancement of American tennis, but also an activist in social issues as well.
Ashe won every Grand Slam event except the French Open. He defeated fellow American Jimmy Connors in 1975 at Wimbledon to claim his final championship.
He had a rivalry with Roy Emerson before the Open Era in the early 1960s. He was the first African-American to win a Grand Slam, and he was also a major activist in the worldwide fight against AIDS.
14. Guillermo Vilas (ARG)
Career Titles: 62
Career Grand Slams: 4
Vilas was a southpaw baseliner in an era where players commonly would serve and volley. He was the first South American male to ever win a Grand Slam event when he defeated Brian Gottfried at Roland Garros. He would win four Grand Slams in total.
Vilas holds two impressive ATP records. First, he had a 46-match winning streak on all surfaces in 1977 which still hasn't come close to falling. Second, he won the most titles in a season, also in 1977, with 16 ATP Tour championships.
13. Stefan Edberg (SWE)
Career Titles: 42
Career Grand Slams: 6
The big Swede was also big on serve-and-volley. He is one of the few players to ever be ranked No. 1 in the world in singles and doubles at the same time.
Edberg won every Grand Slam event twice except the French Open, in which he made it to the final and lost to Michael Chang.
He was fierce rivals with Boris Becker; they met at Wimbledon three consecutive years (1988-90). Edberg took two of those crowns. He also won two doubles crowns with fellow Swede and doubles titan Anders Jarryd.
12. Boris Becker (GER)
Career Titles: 49
Career Grand Slams: 6
Boris Becker accomplished just about everything a tennis player could possibly imagine. He won six career Grand Slam titles (three at Wimbledon), won an Olympic Gold in Barcelona, and led the West Germany Davis Cup team to a dramatic victory over the United States in 1989 where he beat Andre Agassi in five brutal sets.
Becker won an unheard of 26 titles on indoor carpet courts over the course of his career, still a record today.
Bizarrely enough with how tremendous of a singles player he was, he reached a higher mark in doubles first, despite never winning a Grand Slam doubles event.
11. Mats Wilander (SWE)
Career Titles: 33
Career Grand Slams: 7
Mats Wilander is in exclusive company because he can say that he has won a Grand Slam on all three surfaces (the other two are Rafael Nadal and Jimmy Connors).
Although he never won Wimbledon, his grass title came at the Australian Open when it was still played on lawn.
The all-purpose Wilander also won a Grand Slam in doubles, and reached finals two more times. He was at his best when playing on clay, where he won the French Open three times, defeating Guillermo Vilas in the first and Ivan Lendl in the second.
Career Titles: 32
Career Grand Slams: 6
Don't expect the Raging Bull to sit here for the rest of his career. Nadal has already put together a phenomenal body of work, and he's only 22. He has won Grand Slams on all surfaces and has put himself in prime position to become only the second man in Open Era history to win all four Grand Slams in a year.
Although Nadal calls the red clay of Roland Garros home, he has certainly expanded his horizons. His rivalry with Roger Federer may end up being the best of all-time.
9. Ken Rosewall (AUS)
Career Titles: 25 (132 in total)
Career Grand Slams: 6 (12 in total)
Ken Rosewall's picture should show up in the dictionary under the word "consistency." He was a Top 20 player in the world for 25 straight years, and even won the Australian Open at 38 years old.
The minuscule Rosewall (5'7" and 145 pounds), played with constant agility and had a never-ending motor.
Although Rosewall won the majority of his tournaments before the Open Era, he was still winning Grand Slam events deep into his 30s, where he won three of them after his 35th birthday. Talk about impressive.
8. Ivan Lendl (CZE)
Career Titles: 94
Career Grand Slams: 8
Lendl, despite winning eight career Grand Slams, may be better known for another statistic. He has competed in an ATP-record 19 Grand Slam finals and made it to at least one in each of 11 consecutive years.
He helped to usher in a Power Era of tennis, utilizing a heavy topspin forehands from the baseline. He won every Grand Slam event except Wimbledon, despite making it to the finals in two consecutive years. The lovable loser from the Czech Republic is second all-time in the Open Era for career titles.
7. Jimmy Connors (USA)
Career Titles: 109
Career Grand Slams: 8
Jimbo Connors was one of the best to ever play the game, and yet he doesn't even get serious contention for the best American player in the Open Era! Connors won an ATP-record 109 career titles and added a friendly eight Grand Slams to go with it.
He could dominate all surfaces at any time and spent a mundane 268 total weeks at No. 1 in the world.
Connors also double dipped for a while with Ilie Nastase, where the duo won two Grand Slams (Wimbledon & the US Open). Jimbo also holds the strange record of being the only man to win the US Open on three different surfaces.
6. John McEnroe (USA)
Career Titles: 77
Career Grand Slams: 7
Yes, Johnny Mac, we are serious. You are sixth best in the Open Era. Although John McEnroe was one of the best to ever play, he will be most remembered for his Hall of Fame conniptions on the court. He had intense rivalries with any player who would give him a decent match (mainly Borg, Connors, and Lendl).
Despite McEnroe never winning the French or Australian Open, he more than made up for it in Wimbledon and US Open titles. His most famous match without doubt would be the 1980 Wimbledon final against Bjorn Borg, which Borg ended up winning 8-6 in the fifth set.
5. Andre Agassi (USA)
Career Titles: 60
Career Grand Slams: 8
The Wonder Boy, Andre Agassi didn't turn out so bad after all. He is the only male player to complete a career Golden Slam (all four Grand Slam events plus an Olympic gold).
Dubbed the best serve-returner in history by many of the top players who have faced Agassi, he had insane hand-eye coordination.
He was a truly dominant force on the hard courts, winning 46 of his 60 career titles on the concrete, but he was no slouch on other surfaces. The only grass court tournament he won happened to be called Wimbledon. He is married to former WTA star Steffi Graf.
4. Pete Sampras (USA)
Career Titles: 64
Career Grand Slams: 14
Pistol Pete Sampras will always be remembered for his mind-blowing seven Wimbledon singles championships. Sampras had literally no weaknesses in his game, and could use any weapon at any time.
His serve could win points. His forehand was deadly. And his net game was unparalleled. His 14 career Grand Slams remain an Open Era record.
His only weakness may have been his complete inability to win on clay. He made it to the Roland Garros semifinals just once in his career, and never went any further. He was a prime-time performer who had an 84 percent winning percentage in Grand Slams.
3. Roger Federer (SUI)
Career Titles: 57
Career Grand Slams: 13
You can't say enough about Roger Federer. The Swiss master-tactician has already nearly matched Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slams, and Federer has done it in half the time.
He combines a mixture of power and shot-making that has dazzled crowds around the world for many years.
He remains fierce rivals with Rafael Nadal. Nadal has mauled Federer on clay, while Federer still has the upper hand on grass and hard courts in terms of victories.
If Federer can stay healthy, he could possibly reach Connors' mark for career titles too.
2. Bjorn Borg (SWE)
Career Titles: 63
Career Grand Slams: 11
Borg was a multi-faceted machine who could transition his game to any surface. He won back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles three straight times. Rafael Nadal has done that feat only once. He currently holds the record for most French Open titles won, with six, but that record could fall in the near future.
Borg made the game look like a stroll in the park. In a game that was evolving away from finesse, he used his racquet like a magic wand to return everything in sight. Although for a guy that couldn't stand being second best, that's where he stands here.
1. Rod Laver (AUS)
Career Titles: 40 (198 in total)
Career Grand Slams: 5 (11 in total)
Finally, the best player of all time. Laver is the only man in Open Era history to complete a calendar year Grand Slam, where he won all four titles in 1969.
The miniature left-hander from Rockhampton, Australia, did things never before seen with a racquet. He revolutionized the way the game was played...spinning the ball and expert volleys.
He is credited with 198 singles titles (most before the Open Era), but his sheer dominance over the entire field was brilliance on a level never seen again.
Laver also showcased his mastery of the doubles game while partnered with Roy Emerson, where the two won in Melbourne and Wimbledon.
He also has a stadium named after him.
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Which general, famous for his military exploits against the French in the Napoleonic Wars was born in Glasgow in 1761 and died in Spain in 1809 ? | Bryan Bros. | Tennis Tennis Tennis
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12
Tags: Bryan Bros. , Davis Cup , John Isner , Mardy Fish
One of the biggest shocks in recent Davis Cup history was completed on Saturday afternoon when the US doubles team of Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets to see the Americans through to April’s quarterfinals. The reverberations from John Isner’s stunning win over Federer on Friday night carried through to the doubles, which followed a very similar pattern to the Isner-Federer singles. The Swiss won the opening set and looked reasonably comfortable for a set and a half, but once the Americans had broken, the balance of power shifted, and Federer in particular fell away at the end as the US pair won 46 63 63 63 in 2 hours 18 minutes. Because so much was made of Federer’s return to the Davis Cup first round for the first time in eight years, it’s easy to see this result as a disaster for the Swiss. A disappointment it certainly is, but to view it as a disaster would be to take too much credit away from an American team that seems finally to have lost its fear of away clay.
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Tags: Andy Murray , Novak Djokovic , Rafael Nadal
This year’s draw will be very strong as the top eight teams in the world as well as five Top 10 players have confirmed their entry. Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Monfils and Almagro all entered.
The top-ranked Bryan brothers will be back to defend the title they won last summer in Toronto. Meanwhile, Canadian Daniel Nestor and his partner, Max Mirnyi of Belarus will be seeded second. Several players have decided to team up with their compatriots. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will team up with Janko Tipsarevic, Rafael Nadal will play with Marc Lopez, Gilles Simon will make up an all-French team with Richard Gasquet and two-time defending Rogers Cup champion Andy Murray will partner with his brother, Jamie Murray. In addition, Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have entered alongside Pablo Andujar and Stanislas Wawrinka, respectively.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Davis Cup , Jim Courier
The American team that will take on Chile for the fifth time in the first round of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is a combination of experience and a touch of newish blood. Twenty years after his debut as a player in the first round against Mexico in Mexico City, Jim Courier makes his debut as a captain in Santiago. As a player Jim Courier had a very solid record in Davis Cup. Other than his last tie, which was against Australia in Boston in 1999, every time he was in the USA side, they won and there were 13 of those team triumphs. His win-loss record as a player was 16-10 in singles and 1-0 in doubles. Courier has transitioned from player to team coach to captain, a career he is naturally very proud of. He joked that the “way my body feels” he’s more than happy to be on the bench and let others do the work. “As far as being captain, this is a great gig obviously when you get guys like this on your team, who love Davis Cup, they love to be here, they love to support United States tennis,” Courier said. “They are ready to go to battle and give everything they’ve got. It’s a huge honour, a thrill. Sure, I am on the learning curve this week as well. I think we will be in good shape. I am very comfortable and at ease with all of these guys already and hoping they feel the same way. My job is to stay out of their way.”
Courier leads the massively experienced Andy Roddick, the still developing John Isner and the world’s best doubles combination Bob and Mike Bryan. Roddick is returning to the fold after taking a year off from Davis Cup, Isner has played just two ties before, while the Bryans have never lost a Davis Cup doubles rubber on red clay, the chosen surface at the Estadio Nacional.
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Tags: 2011 Australian Open , Bob and Mike Bryan
Bob and Mike Bryan spoiled the reunion party for Indian veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to claim their fifth Australian Open men’s doubles title in six years. The 32-year-old Bryans, the world’s top-ranked pairing, downed 36-year-old Bhupathi and 37-year-old Paes 6-3 6-4 to make it three straight titles at Melbourne Park, having also claimed the event in 2006 and 2007. Their five Australian Open crowns give them 10 grand slam titles as a combination overall, including at least one of each of the majors. They already held the record for the most tournament titles of any men’s pairing in the Open era, which they stretched to 68, seven clear of retired Australians Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge. They are also closing in on the Woodies’ collection of 11 grand slam trophies, and are within two of the Open era record of 12, held by another Australian pairing of John Newcombe and Tony Roche.
Bhupathi and Paes had been hoping to complete a remarkable comeback story. They were formerly a formidable combination, but their most recent previous grand slam tournament together was in 2002. The Indians had been seeking a career grand slam, each having won the French Open, US Open and Wimbledon either together, or with other partners during their long tennis estrangement.
The identical and identically-dressed Bryans – right-hander Mike is two minutes older than left-hander Bob – celebrated their victory with their familiar chest bump.
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Tags: 2010 ATP Final , Bob and Mike Bryan
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski kept Group A wide open at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday, when they saved three match points against World No. 1 team Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in a 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-8 victory. The 32-year-old Bryan twins could have qualified for the semi-finals if they had won after Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner had denied Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes their first win earlier in the day. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski came alive in the nick of time towards the end of the second set, fighting back for a famous win in one hour and 38 minutes that snapped a three-match losing streak against the Bryans.
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Tags: Bob and Mike Bryan
The best measure of what India’s Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi accomplished at the U.S. Open could be found in the stands, not the scoreline.
The doubles team reached the U.S. Open final Wednesday, winning a match that brought the United Nations ambassadors from their long-at-odds countries to Flushing Meadows to watch the action together.
The idea of Pakistan and India on the same side of anything has long been considered far-flung. These neighboring countries have been through three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947 and spent most of the time between in a state of distrust and heightened military tension.
“This is sports, but it shows the great potential,” India’s ambassador, Hardeep Puri, told The Associated Press.
They lost 7-6, 7-6 in today’s final to Mike and Bob Bryan, the winningest doubles team in history.
Bopanna and Qureshi — the “Indo-Pak Express” they call themselves — came together more for convenience than for message-sending. There’s very little top-level tennis in Pakistan, so to find a partner, Qureshi had to look to his neighboring country.
They started in 2003, played on and off since then. Their story gathered steam earlier this year when they started wearing sweat shirts with slogans reading “Stop War, Start Tennis” as part of a campaign backed by a Monaco-based group called Peace and Sport.
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Tags: Bryan Bros. , Sam Querrey
The USTA conducted a tennis clinic featuring the QuickStart play format on the White House South Lawn with Sam Querrey and doubles team Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan on Tuesday, August 3. The event was part of the South Lawn Series, a summer-long series of events that brings local children, sports leagues and community programs together to the South Lawn in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity.
The clinic ran on two 78’ courts constructed on the South Lawn that housed eight 36’ courts specifically designed for children aged 10-and-under. USTA instructors partnered up with tennis players Sam Querrey and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan to lead 100 local Washington youth from USTA National Junior Tennis & Learning chapters including the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, CREATE Tennis, the Southeast Tennis & Learning Center and the Junior Tennis Champions Center in a QuickStart clinic that demonstrated ways for kids to get 60 minutes of active play per day. Developed to keep kids active and expose them to tennis at an early age, the QuickStart play format provides kids with an exciting introduction to tennis by scaling down the game to better fit the needs of young children by utilising smaller balls, racquets and courts.
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Bob and Mike Bryan won their record 62nd career doubles title on the ATP Tour on Sunday.
The twin brothers defeated American Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer of Netherlands Antilles 6-7 (8-6), 6-2 (10-7) in the Farmers Classic, the Bryans’ 100th career final.
They had been tied with Hall of Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde of Australia, who won 61 titles.
“The Woodies put a record way out there. Sixty-one was Mount Everest when we started,” Mike Bryan said. “We love what we do. To get this, one of their many records, is special.”
Woodforde was on hand to congratulate the brothers.
“For many, many years you’ve been traveling in elite company. Thanks to the victory today you’re in rarefied air. You guys stand together as one,” he said. “I know this 62nd victory has been waiting since May. Our run sort of ended because I elected to retire, but I know you two will continue for years to come. The floodgates will open entirely, so I know 70, 80 will come.”
The Bryans won their sixth title in the tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the UCLA campus, not far from their hometown of Camarillo in Ventura County.
It was their 16th consecutive match win in the Farmers Classic. Mike jumped into Bob’s arms to celebrate in front of several family members, including parents Wayne and Kathy.
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Tags: 2010 Roland Garros , Andy Roddick , Bob and Mike Bryan , Teimuraraz Gabashvili
Andy Roddick proved to those who still didn’t believe, that he just can’t play on red clay as has lost in the third round of the French Open to 114th-ranked qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia.
Gabashvili beat the sixth-seeded Roddick 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 Saturday to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Roddick was broken four times and never looked capable of turning the match around.
Throwing his racket and grumbling, Roddick tried to play more offensive tennis in the third set only to be punished by Gabashvili’s passing shots.
Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open but has only made it to the fourth round at Roland Garros once, last year.
American twins Bob and Mike Bryan have been upset in the second round of French Open men’s doubles by unseeded Brazilians Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.
The top-seeded Bryans lost 6-3, 7-6 (6) Saturday, ending their bid for a record 62nd career doubles championship.
They tied the Open era mark of 61 men’s doubles titles – originally set by the retired Australian pair of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde – by winning at the Madrid Masters two weeks ago.
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Tags: 2010 Indian Wells , Bryan Bros. , Rafael Nadal
In doubles matches, second-seeded Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were thwarted in their attempt to claim their first BNP Paribas Open title, stunned by the Czech-German pairing of Tomas Berdych and Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(4), 7-5 in their opening match. Third seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes were also upset, falling to Spaniards Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
Top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic made their way safely into the second round as they defeated Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-4. Nestor and Zimonjic were finalists in 2008.
Here’s a question for all the tennis experts. When was the last time a male player won both singles and doubles titles at an ATP event?
| i don't know |
"Shakespeare coined which three word phrase in the play ""Othello"" which has become a commonly used cliche for Jealousy ?" | Words and Phrases Coined by Shakespeare
Words and Phrases Coined by Shakespeare
NOTE: This list (including some of the errors I originally made) is found in several other places online. That's fine, but I've asked that folks who want this on their own sites mention that I am the original compiler.
For many English-speakers, the following phrases are familiar enough to be considered common expressions, proverbs, and/or clichés. All of them originated with or were popularized by Shakespeare.
All our yesterdays (Macbeth)
All that glitters is not gold (The Merchant of Venice)("glisters")
All's well that ends well (title)
As good luck would have it (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
As merry as the day is long (Much Ado About Nothing / King John)
Bated breath (The Merchant of Venice)
Bag and baggage (As You Like It / Winter's Tale)
Bear a charmed life (Macbeth)
Be-all and the end-all (Macbeth)
Beggar all description (Antony and Cleopatra)
Better foot before ("best foot forward") (King John)
The better part of valor is discretion (I Henry IV; possibly already a known saying)
In a better world than this (As You Like It)
Neither a borrower nor a lender be (Hamlet)
Brave new world (The Tempest)
Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew)
Breathed his last (3 Henry VI)
Brevity is the soul of wit (Hamlet)
Refuse to budge an inch (Measure for Measure / Taming of the Shrew)
Catch a cold (Cymbeline; claimed but seems unlikely, seems to refer to bad weather)
Cold comfort (The Taming of the Shrew / King John)
Conscience does make cowards of us all (Hamlet)
Come what come may ("come what may") (Macbeth)
Comparisons are odorous (Much Ado about Nothing)
Crack of doom (Macbeth)
Dead as a doornail (2 Henry VI)
A dish fit for the gods (Julius Caesar)
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war (Julius Caesar)
Dog will have his day (Hamlet; quoted earlier by Erasmus and Queen Elizabeth)
Devil incarnate (Titus Andronicus / Henry V)
Eaten me out of house and home (2 Henry IV)
Elbow room (King John; first attested 1540 according to Merriam-Webster)
Farewell to all my greatness (Henry VIII)
Faint hearted (I Henry VI)
Fancy-free (Midsummer Night's Dream)
Fight till the last gasp (I Henry VI)
Flaming youth (Hamlet)
Forever and a day (As You Like It)
For goodness' sake (Henry VIII)
Foregone conclusion (Othello)
The game is afoot (I Henry IV)
The game is up (Cymbeline)
Give the devil his due (I Henry IV)
Good riddance (Troilus and Cressida)
Jealousy is the green-eyed monster (Othello)
It was Greek to me (Julius Caesar)
Heart of gold (Henry V)
Her infinite variety (Antony and Cleopatra)
'Tis high time (The Comedy of Errors)
Hoist with his own petard (Hamlet)
Household words (Henry V)
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse! (Richard III)
Ill wind which blows no man to good (2 Henry IV)
Improbable fiction (Twelfth Night)
In a pickle (The Tempest)
In my heart of hearts (Hamlet)
In my mind's eye (Hamlet)
Infinite space (Hamlet)
In my book of memory (I Henry VI)
It is but so-so(As You Like It)
It smells to heaven (Hamlet)
Itching palm (Julius Caesar)
Kill with kindness (Taming of the Shrew)
Killing frost (Henry VIII)
Knit brow (The Rape of Lucrece)
Knock knock! Who's there? (Macbeth)
Laid on with a trowel (As You Like It)
Laughing stock (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
Laugh yourself into stitches (Twelfth Night)
Lean and hungry look (Julius Caesar)
Lie low (Much Ado about Nothing)
Live long day (Julius Caesar)
Love is blind (Merchant of Venice)
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water (Henry VIII)
Melted into thin air (The Tempest)
Though this be madness, yet there is method in it ("There's a method to my madness") (Hamlet)
Make a virtue of necessity (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
The Makings of(Henry VIII)
Milk of human kindness (Macbeth)
Ministering angel (Hamlet)
Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows (The Tempest)
More honored in the breach than in the observance (Hamlet)
More in sorrow than in anger (Hamlet)
More sinned against than sinning (King Lear)
Much Ado About Nothing (title)
Murder most foul (Hamlet)
Naked truth (Love's Labours Lost)
Neither rhyme nor reason (As You Like It)
Not slept one wink (Cymbeline)
Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it (Macbeth)
[Obvious] as a nose on a man's face (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
Once more into the breach (Henry V)
One fell swoop (Macbeth)
One that loved not wisely but too well (Othello)
Time is out of joint (Hamlet)
Out of the jaws of death (Twelfth Night)
Own flesh and blood (Hamlet)
Star-crossed lovers (Romeo and Juliet)
Parting is such sweet sorrow (Romeo and Juliet)
What's past is prologue (The Tempest)
[What] a piece of work [is man] (Hamlet)
Pitched battle (Taming of the Shrew)
A plague on both your houses (Romeo and Juliet)
Play fast and loose (King John)
Pomp and circumstance (Othello)
[A poor] thing, but mine own (As You Like It)
Pound of flesh (The Merchant of Venice)
Primrose path (Hamlet)
Quality of mercy is not strained (The Merchant of Venice)
Salad days (Antony and Cleopatra)
Sea change (The Tempest)
Seen better days (As You Like It? Timon of Athens?)
Send packing (I Henry IV)
How sharper than the serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child (King Lear)
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day (Sonnets)
Make short shrift (Richard III)
Sick at heart (Hamlet)
Snail paced (Troilus and Cressida)
Something in the wind (The Comedy of Errors)
Something wicked this way comes (Macbeth)
A sorry sight (Macbeth)
Stony hearted (I Henry IV)
Such stuff as dreams are made on (The Tempest)
Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep ("Still waters run deep") (2 Henry VI)
The short and the long of it (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
Sweet are the uses of adversity (As You Like It)
Sweets to the sweet (Hamlet)
Swift as a shadow (A Midsummer Night's Dream
Tedious as a twice-told tale (King John)
Set my teeth on edge (I Henry IV)
Tell truth and shame the devil (1 Henry IV)
Thereby hangs a tale (Othello; in context, this seems to have been already in use)
There's no such thing (?) (Macbeth)
There's the rub (Hamlet)
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily ("to gild the lily") (King John)
To thine own self be true (Hamlet)
Too much of a good thing (As You Like It)
Tower of strength (Richard III)
Towering passion (Hamlet)
Trippingly on the tongue (Hamlet)
Truth will out (The Merchant of Venice)
Violent delights have violent ends (Romeo and Juliet)
Wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello)
What the dickens (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
What's done is done (Macbeth)
What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. (Romeo and Juliet)
What fools these mortals be (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
What the dickens (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
Wild-goose chase (Romeo and Juliet)
Wish is father to that thought (2 Henry IV)
Witching time of night (Hamlet)
Working-day world (As You Like It)
The world's my oyster (Merry Wives of Windsor)
Yeoman's service (Hamlet)
Words Supposedly Coined by Shakespeare
I compiled these from multiple sources online in 2003. Each of these words and compounds supposedly is not known to have appeared in print prior to the publication of Shakespeare's works. For this reason, people claim that Shakespeare invented these words.
How many of these are true coinages by "the Bard", and how many are simply the earliest written attestations of a word or words already in use, I can't tell you. The ones that seem real are new forms of words already in the language. Words like "advertising", "assassination", "bedazzled", "consanguineous", "dishearten", "enmesh", "eventful", "eyesore", "lackluster", "moonbeam", outbreak", "quarrelsome", "radiance", "reclusive", "seamy-side", "stealthy", "submerge", "time-honored", "undervalued", "unmitigated", "unreal", "well-read", "watchdog", and "whirligig" would have been meaningful to the audience.
A few words are first attested in Shakespeare and seem to have caused extra problems for the typesetters. This suggests they are really coined by Shakespeare. One example is "denote".
The popular book Coined by Shakespeare acknowledges that it is presenting first attestations rather than certain inventions. For example, "alligator" appeared for the first time in print as an English word in "Romeo and Juliet", but it has Spanish antecedents, and only the terminal "-r" seems to be new with Shakespeare. "Puke" appears as a vulgar term for vomiting in the near-contemporary "Duchess of Malfi", and it seems well-known; so Shakespeare's use in "As You Like It" seems more likely just a first attestation. The region of Dalmatia is as old as the Roman Empire, and obviously Shakespeare did not coin the adjectival form.
Words like "anchovy", "bandit", and "zany" are just first attestations of loan-words. By contrast, in "Troilus and Cressida", Shakespeare seems to have been having fun introducing new forms of old words, even though "orgulous" and "deracinate" never did catch on.
Right now I'm in the process of referencing these. I would like to hear from anyone who knows for certain about any item on this page.
I stand corrected; one of my sources misattributed "fool's paradise" to Romeo and Juliet though it appears in Tyndale's Bible and probably earlier.
abstemious (The Tempest -- a Latin word that meant "to abstain from alcoholic drink" was generalized to sexual behavior as well)
academe (Love's Labour's Lost; this is just an English form of "Academy", the Greek for Plato's grove)
accommodation (Othello)
accused (n.) (Richard II -- first known use as a noun, meaning person accused of a crime)
addiction (Henry V / Othello)
advertising (adj.)(Measure for Measure; in context, means "being attentive"; the noun was already in use)
aerial (Othello)
alligator (Romeo and Juliet; Spanish "aligarto" was already in use in English)
amazement (13 instances; first known use as a noun)
anchovy (I Henry IV; first attestation in English of the Spanish word for dried edible fish)
apostrophe ("apostrophas")(Love's Labour's Lost; seems to be a well-known word already)
arch-villain (Measure for Measure / Timon of Athens)
to arouse (2 Henry VI / Hamlet; "rouse" was the usual form)
assassination (Macbeth; "assassin" was already in use and derives from "hashish eater")
auspicious (several; "auspice" was a Roman practice of fortune-telling by bird flight)
bachelorship (I Henry VI)
backing (I Henry VI; this is just a pun on a known word)
bandit (II Henry VI, actually "bandetto", the first attestation in English of a familiar Italian word for people "banned", i.e., outlaws)
barefaced (in the sense of "barefaced power") (Macbeth)
baseless (in the sense of fantasy without grounding in fact) (The Tempest)
beached (several, merely means "possessing a beach")
bedazzled (The Taming of the Shrew)
bedroom (A Midsummer Night's Dream, merely means a place to sleep on the ground)
belongings (Measure for Measure)
bump (Romeo and Juliet; first attestation of onomopoeic word)
buzzer (Hamlet; means gossipper)
to cake (Timon of Athens, first attestation as a verb)
to castigate (Timon of Athens)
to cater (As You Like It; from coetous, a buyer of provisions)
clangor (3 Henry VI / 2 Henry IV)
to champion (Macbeth; first attestation as a verb, and in an older sense of "to challenge"; though the noun was familiar as someone who would fight for another)
circumstantial (As You Like It / Cymbeline; first attestation in the sense of "indirect")
cold-blooded (King John; first use to mean "lack of emotion")
coldhearted (Antony and Cleopatra)
compact (several; seems to have been a common word)
to comply (Othello)
to compromise (The Merchant of Venice, several of the histories; seems to have been already in use)
to cow (Macbeth; first use in English of a Scandinavian verb)
consanguineous (Twelfth Night; "consanguinity" was already in use)
control (n.) (Twelfth Night)
critic (Love's Labour's Lost; Latin term)
critical (not in today's sense) (Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream)
cruelhearted (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
Dalmatians (Cymbeline)
dauntless (Macbeth)
dawn (I Henry IV, King John; first use as a noun, the standard had been "dawning")
day's work (several, must have been a common expression)
deafening (II Henry IV; in the sense of a noise that is loud but does not produce real deafness)
to denote (several; already a word in Latin)
depository (???)
discontent (Richard III / Titus Andronicus; the verb was in use but this is the first attestation as a noun)
design (several, seems unlikely)
dialogue (several, seems already familiar)
disgraceful (I Henry VI; means "not graceful")
dishearten (Henry V)
to dislocate (King Lear, refers to anatomy)
distasteful (Timon of Athens)
distracted (Hamlet / Measure for Measure; seems possible)
divest (Henry V / King Lear; probably already in use as referring to a royal title)
domineering (Love's Labour's Lost; from a Dutch word)
downstairs (I Henry IV, supposedly first use as an adjective)
droplet (Timon of Athens)
to drug (Macbeth; first use as a verb)
to dwindle (I Henry IV / Macbeth, seems already familiar as a term for body wasting)
to educate (Love's Labour's Lost)
to elbow (King Lear; first use as a verb)
embrace (I Henry VI; first use as a noun)
employer (Much Ado about Nothing)
employment (several, obviously familiar)
engagement (several, seems simply the first attestation)
to enmesh (Othello)
enthroned (Antony and Cleopatra)
epileptic (King Lear; first use as an adjective, though the noun was old)
equivocal (Othello / All's Well that Ends Well; first use as adjective, though the verb "to equivocate" was familiar)
eventful (As You Like It)
excitement (Hamlet / Troilus and Cressida; both times as plural; first use as a noun)
expedience (several, supposedly first use as noun)
exposure (several, supposedly first use as noun)
eyeball (The Tempest)
eyedrops (II Henry IV; means "tears")
eyesore (The Taming of the Shrew)
fanged (Hamlet, first attestation)
farmhouse (The Merry Wives of Windsor; first known use of the compound)
far-off (several, seems already familiar)
fashionable (Timon of Athens / Troilus and Cressida)
fathomless (not today's sense) (Troilus and Cressida)
fitful (Macbeth)
fixture (not current sense) (Merry Wives of Windsor / Winter's Tale)
flawed (King Lear; first use as an adjective)
flowery (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
foppish (King Lear)
fortune-teller (The Comedy of Errors)
to forward (I Henry IV; first use as a verb)
foul-mouthed (several, seems already familiar)
freezing (Cymbeline)
frugal (several; "frugality" was already in common use)
full-grown (Pericles)
generous (several, obviously already known)
gloomy (several, "to gloom" was a verb)
glow (several; the word had originally meant red-and-warm)
gnarled (Measure for Measure; alteration of knurled which was a standard word for bumpy)
go-between (several, seems familiar)
to gossip (The Comedy of Errors; first use as a verb; "gossip" was one's familiar friends)
gust (III Henry VI, seems already familiar and was an Old Norse word)
half-blooded (King Lear)
hint (Othello, first use in today's sense)
hob-nails (I Henry IV, alleged; seems already familiar)
hobnob (Twelfth Night; older term was "hab, nab", and not in today's sense)
homely (several, seems already familiar)
honey-tongued (Love's Labour's Lost)
hoodwinked (already known from falconry)
hostile (several, seems like a word that is already familiar)
hot-blooded (The Merry Wives of Windsor / King Lear)
housekeeping (The Taming of the Shrew; seems unlikely)
howl (several, clearly familiar)
to humor (Love's Labour's Lost, first attestation as a verb)
hunchbacked (can't find)
to hurry (Comedy of Errors, first attestation as verb)
ill-tempered (can't find)
immediacy (King Lear, first use as noun)
impartial (2 Henry IV)
to impede (Macbeth, first use as verb, though "impediment" was already widely used)
import (several, and not used in the modern sense)
immediacy (King Lear, first attestation as a noun)
importantly (Cymbeline, first attestation as an adverb)
inaudible (All's Well that Ends Well; "audible" was already in use)
inauspicious (Romeo and Juliet)
indistinguishable (not in today's sense)(Troilus and Cressida)
inducement (several, seems unlikely)
investment (II Henry IV, not in present sense)
invitation (The Merry Wives of Windsor; signifies "flirting")
invulnerable King John / Hamlet / The Tempest; first attestation for the negative; Coriolanus has unvulnerable)
jaded (several, seems already a term of contempt)
Judgement Day (I Henry VI; usual term had been "Day of Judgement")
juiced (Merry Wives of Windsor; first attestation as an adjective)
kissing (several, first attestation of the participle, though surely not its first use)
lackluster (As You Like It)
ladybird (Romeo and Juliet)
to lament (several, seems already familiare)
to lapse (several, first attestation as a verb, though already familiar as a noun)
to launder (first use as a verb; "laundress" was in common use)
laughable (The Merchant of Venice)
leaky (Antony and Cleopatra / The Tempest)
leapfrog (Henry V; first attestation but seems unlikely as a coinage)
lonely (several, seems unlikely)
to lower (several, seems already known)
luggage (first use as noun)
lustrous (Twelfth Night / All's Well that Ends Well)
madcap (several, attestation as adjective; the noun had become popular just before)
majestic (several, first use as adjective)
majestically (I Henry IV; first attestation as adverb)
malignancy (Twelfth Night, seems possible)
manager (Love's Labour's Lost / Midsummer Night's Dream; first attestation as noun)
marketable (As You Like It; first use as adjective)
militarist (All's Well that Ends Well)
mimic (Midsummer Night's Dream)
misgiving (Julius Caesar; first use as noun, though "to misgive" was in common use)
misplaced (several, seems unlikely)
to misquote (1 Henry IV; not in the present sense)
money's worth (Love's Labours Lost)
monumental (several, seems unlikely)
moonbeam (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
mortifying (Merchant of Venice / Much Ado About Nothing )
motionless (Henry V)
mountaineer (Cymbeline; the sense is "hillbilly")
multitudinous (Macbeth)
neglect (several, obviously already known)
to negotiate (Much Ado about Nothing / Twelfth Night; verb from the Latin)
new-fallen (Venus and Adonis / I Henry IV)
new-fangled (Love's Labour's Lost / As You Like It)
nimble-footed (several, seems already a familiar expression)
noiseless (King Lear / All's Well that Ends Well)
to numb (King Lear, first attestation as a transitive verb)
obscene (several; straight from Latin)
obsequiously (first use of the adverb; comes from "obsequies", or funeral rites)
outbreak (Hamlet, first attestation as a noun)
to outdare (I Henry IV)
to outgrow (can't find)
over-ripened (II Henry VI ;first-use of the familiar compound)
over-weathered The Merchant of Venice)
overview (can't find)
pageantry (Pericles Prince of Tyre)
pale-faced (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
to pander (several; was already a proverb)
pedant (several, seems already in common use for a stuffy teacher)
perplex (King John / Cymbeline)
perusal (Sonnets / Hamlet; first use as a noun)
to petition (Antony and Cleopatra / Coriolanus; first use as a verb)
pious (several, seems very unlikely)
posture (several, seems known)
premeditated (several; first attestation of the adjective, though the noun was in use)
priceless (???)
Promethean (Othello / Love's Labour's Lost)
protester (not today's sense) (Julius Caesar)
published (2 Henry VI)
puking (As You Like It)
puppy-dog (King John / Henry V)
on purpose (several; seems very unlikely)
quarrelsome (As You Like It / Taming of the Shrew)
questing (As You Like It; first use of the gerund)
in question (several, seems already in use)
radiance (several; first use as noun)
to rant (The Merry Wives of Windsor / Hamlet; loan-word from Dutch or previously-unattested English word?)
rancorous (2 Henry VI, Comedy of Errors, Richard III, all early plays, seems unlikely)
raw-boned (I Henry VI)
reclusive (Much Ado about Nothing; first use as adjective)
reinforcement (Troilus and Cressida / Coriolanus; seems already in use)
reliance (???)
remorseless (several, first attestation of this form)
reprieve (several, obviously already in use)
resolve (several, obviously already in use)
restoration (King Lear)
restraint (several, seems already familiar)
retirement (II Henry IV; refers to military retreat; first use as noun)
revolting (several, obviously already familiar)
to rival (King Lear; first attestation as verb; noun was well-known)
rival (Midsummer Night's Dream; first attestation as adjective, noun was well-known)
roadway (II Henry IV; first attestation of the compound)
rumination (As You Like It; first use as noun)
sacrificial (Timon of Athens; not today's usage)
sanctimonious (Measure for Measure / Tempest)
satisfying (Othello / Cymbeline)
savage (several; the word was obviously already in use)
savagery (King John / Henry V; first use as this form)
schoolboy (Julius Caesar / Much Ado about Nothing)
scrubbed (The Merchant of Venice)
scuffle (Antony and Cleopatra; first use as noun, though the verb was familiar)
seamy-side (Othello)
to secure (II Henry VI; first use as a verb; the adjective was well-known)
shipwrecked (Pericles Prince of Tyre, seems unlikely)
shooting star (Richard II; first known use of the phrase)
shudder (Timon of Athens; first use as a noun; verb already well-known)
silk (alleged; obviously not Shakespeare's)
stocking (obviously not Shakespeare's)
skim milk (I Henry IV; first use of the familiar term)
to sneak (Measure for Measure; supposed first use of the verb)
soft-hearted (2 Henry VI / 3 Henry VI; first use of the familiar phrase)
spectacled (Coriolanus; not in today's sense)
splitting (II Henry VI; first use as adjective)
sportive (Richard III / Comedy of Errors / All's Well that Ends Well; supposed first use)
to squabble (Othello; supposed first use, as with "to swagger")
stealthy (Macbeth; first use as adjective)
stillborn (can't find, obviously not Shakespeare's)
to submerge (Antony and Cleopatra)
successful (Titus Andronicus, seems dubious)
suffocating (Othello; supposed first use as a descriptor)
to sully (I Henry VI)
superscript (Love's Labour's Lost)
to supervise (Love's Labour's Lost; also Hamlet but not in today's sense)
to swagger (II Henry IV, others; in context this seems to be already a well-known word)
switch (first use to mean "twig")
tardily (All's Well that Ends Well; first use of adverb)
tardiness (King Lear; "tardy" as adjective was well-known)
threateningly (All's Well that Ends Well; first use of the adverb)
tightly (The Merry Wives of Windsor; first use as an adverb)
time-honored (Richard II)
title page (can't find; seems unlikely)
to torture (several; first use as a verb)
traditional (Richard III; first use as adjective)
tranquil (Othello; "tranquility" was an old word)
transcendence (All's Well that Ends Well; first attestation of the noun)
tongue-tied (III Henry VI / Julius Caesar / Troilus and Cressida; seems first attestation of a phrase already in use)
unaccommodated (King Lear)
unaware (Venus and Adonis; first use as an adverb; the adjective was not yet in use)
to unclog (Coriolanus, first use as a negative)
unappeased (Titus Andronicus)
unchanging (The Merchant of Venice)
unclaimed (As You Like It; not in today's sense)
uncomfortable (Romeo and Juliet)
to undervalue (The Merchant of Venice)
to undress (The Taming of the Shrew; seems unlikely)
unearthly (Winter's Tale)
uneducated (Love's Labour's Lost, seems possible)
ungoverned (Richard III / King Lear)
to unhand (Hamlet)
unmitigated (Much Ado about Nothing)
unpublished (King Lear; in the sense of "still unknown")
unreal (Macbeth, first use of the negative)
unsolicited (Titus Andronicus / Henry VIII; supposed first use of the form)
unswayed (Richard III; not in today's sense, but "is the sword unswung?")
unwillingness (Richard III / Richard II)
upstairs (I Henry IV; supposedly first use as an adjective)
urging (Richard III / Comedy of Errors; first attestation as a noun
useful (several, seems already familiar)
varied (Love's Labour's Lost, others)
vastly (Rape of Lucrece, not present sense)
viewless (Measure for Measure; means "invisible")
vulnerable (Macbeth; used in today's sense)
watchdog (The Tempest; first use of the phrase)
well-behaved (The Merry Wives of Windsor; first known use of the compound)
well-bred (II Henry IV; first use of the familiar compound)
well-read (I Henry IV)
| Jealousy |
Golf - Which Australian golfer won the 1960 British Open, beating Arnold Palmer into second place ? | Shakespeare 450th Birthday Everyday Phrases - Business Insider
Wikimedia Commons
On Wednesday, April 23, renowned poet, playwright, and snappy dresser William Shakespeare will turn 450 years old.
Whether you're a fan or not, you probably use many of his phrases on a regular basis — maybe without even knowing.
We created a list of 13 popular, albeit strange, sayings The Bard coined. In fact, we say or write some of them so often they've become clichés.
1. "Green-eyed monster"
In "Othello," Iago describes jealousy as a monster that devours its source.
"Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on" (Act 3, Scene 3).
In this case, Iago uses romance as an example. He thinks a man would rather know his wife is cheating than suspect her without proof.
2. "In a pickle"
Meaning: a difficult or uncomfortable situation.
In "The Tempest," King Alonso asks his jester, Trinculo, "How camest thou in this pickle?" (In other words, "How did you get so drunk?")
The inebriated Trinculo responds, "I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last ... " (Act 5, Scene 1).
Trinculo's drinking does cause trouble for him, which gives the modern use its meaning. Shakespeare's original intent makes sense, though, as many pickling processes require alcohol.
3. "The world is your oyster"
Meaning: being in a position to take advantage of life's opportunities.
In "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Falstaff refuses to lend Pistol any money. Pistol retorts, "Why, then the world's mine oyster, which I with sword will open" (Act 2, Scene 2).
Since Falstaff won't help Pistol financially, he vows to obtain his fortune using violent means.
We've dropped the angry undertones for modern use.
4. "Catch a cold"
Meaning: to get sick.
In "Cymbeline," one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, Iachimo says to Posthumus Leonatus, "We will have these things set down by lawful counsel, and straight away for Britain, lest the bargain should catch cold and starve ... " (Act 1, Scene 4).
In other words, if the deal takes too long it will fall apart. This created the idea of "cold" causing an unwanted event, like illness, for the first time.
5. "It's all Greek to me."
Meaning: that something is indistinguishable or incomprehensible.
In "Julius Caesar," when Cassius asks Casca what Cicero said, Casca responds, "But, for mine own part, it was Greek to me" (Act 1, Scene 2).
Cassius didn't understand because he doesn't speak Greek. The phrase has obviously become not so literal.
6. "Love is blind"
Meaning: an inability to see shortcomings in a lover; doing crazy things when in love.
In the "The Merchant Of Venice," Jessica disguises herself as a boy just to see her beloved, Lorenzo. Needless to say, she feels a little silly but simply has to see him.
"But love is blind, and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit ... " (Act 2, Scene 6)
7. "Wild goose chase"
Meaning: a hopeless and never-ending pursuit.
In "Romeo and Juliet," Romeo makes a play on words comparing his shoe to his penis, and Mercutio just can't compete with Romeo's wit. He tells Romeo to stop joking, but Romeo implores his friend to continue — an impossible feat in Mercutio's mind.
Mercutio says, "Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five" (Act 2, Scene 4).
8. "A heart of gold"
Meaning: a very kind or honorable person.
In "Henry V," King Henry disguises himself as a commoner, and Pistol, unaware of the King's true identity, speaks to him. When the King asks if he considers himself a better man than the king, Pistol says, "The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame ... " (Act 4, Scene 1).
Today, however, we say someone "has" a heart of gold, not that he or she "is" one.
9. "Break the ice"
"And if you break the ice, and do this feat,
Achieve the elder, set the younger free ... " (Act 1, Scene 2).
In the "The Taming Of The Shrew," Baptista Minola has two daughters: a sassy one and a modest, beautiful one — the younger daughter. He refuses to let any suitors even speak to his younger daughter until his older daughter marries. Tranio (as Lucentio) suggests that another man marry the older daughter, so he can try to win the younger one's affection. But first, he must "break the ice" — maybe a reference to heart.
10. "Laughing stock"
Meaning: a person subjected to ridicule.
In "The Merry Wives Of Windsor," Doctor Caius says to Sir Hugh Evans:
"Pray you let us not be laughing-stocks to other men's humours;
I desire you in friendship, and I will one way or other make you amends" (Act 3, Scene 1).
Here, Doctor Caius thinks the two will make fools of themselves if they fight — exactly what people want and expect. They should end the conflict and save their reputations instead.
11. "Wear your heart on your sleeve"
Meaning: to express your emotions openly, especially when others notice without much effort.
In "Othello," Iago says he'll "wear my heart upon my sleeve. For daws to peck at: I am not what I am" (Act 1, Scene 1).
The phrase most likely stemmed from jousting matches in the Middle Ages. Knights would wear tokens (such as scarfs) from their ladies tucked into the sleeves of their armor. But the first recorded use appears in Shakespeare's play.
12. "Dogs of war"
Meaning: soldiers; the brutalities that accompany war.
In "Julius Caesar," Mark Antony says to Brutus and Cassius, "Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war ... " (Act 3, Scene 1) shortly after Caesar's assassination.
Here, Mark Antony predicts that Caesar's ghost will come back, with help from the goddess of vengeance, to start a massive war in Italy.
He continues, "This foul deed will stink up to the sky with men’s corpses, which will beg to be buried" (Act 3, Scene 1).
Thus the phrase today, either referring to soldiers or brutality in general, carries a serious connotation.
13. "Method to his madness"
Meaning: Someone's strange behavior has a purpose.
In "Hamlet" Polonius says as an aside, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t" (Act 2, Scene 2).
Just before this, Hamlet randomly pretends to read a passage from his book that makes fun of the elderly. Polonius, an old man, doesn't fully understand the jab but knows Hamlet has some "method" behind this "madness."
| i don't know |
"Who painted ""Girl reading a letter"" ?" | GIRL READING A LETTER BY AN OPEN WINDOW by Johannes Vermeer
Apr 22, Giuseppe Torelli, composer (Concert Grossi op 8), is born in Italy.
literature
Moliere was anointed with the patronage of King Louis XIV. Molière left behind a body of work which not only changed the face of French classical comedy, but has gone on to influence the work of other dramatists the world over. The greatest of his plays include The School for Husbands (1661), The School for Wives (1662), The Misanthrope (1666), The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666), Tartuffe (1664,1667,1669), The Miser (1668), and The Imaginary Invalid (1673).
science & philosophy
Amsterdam naturalist Jan Swammerdam, 21, gives the first description of red blood cells. He will complete his medical studies in 1667 but devote himself to studying insects, tadpoles, frogs, and mammals rather than practicing medicine.
history
Sep 3, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the New Commonwealth, i.e. ruler over England’s Puritan parliament, dies at age 59. Richard Cromwell succeeded his father as English Lord Protector.
It has been estimated that there were about 650 to 750 painters working in the Netherlands in 1650s or about one for each 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants, in Delft one out of every 500. By comparison, the number of painters in Renaissance Italy was about one every 330, in a population of some 9 million. Most Dutch painters came from middle-class families since painting generally did not offer sufficient status to attract the wealthy and the poor could rarely afford the training. As their status and social ambition rose, some Dutch artists assumed the manners, and dress, of their wealthy clients. Vermeer himself appears to have made serious efforts to cast himself as a gentleman/artist.
When Vermeer turned his attention to the domestic interior motif, he entered into a highly competitive niche market already dominated by a few exceptional artists such as Gerrit ter Borch, Frans van Mieris and Gerrit Dou. These painters specialized in themes of upper-class domestic interiors, now grouped togehter with a host of other subjects under the term �genre.� Their work displays an truly astonishing level of detai,l at times near microscopic, and required enormous number of work hours making them affordable for a select few. Dou is reported to have sold some works for more than 1,000 guilders or roughly the equivalent of the venerated great Italian Masters. A modest Dutch house could be had for less.
Before the 1650s, few rooms in the typical middle-class Dutch house had specialized functions. Beds, for example, were placed in halls, kitchens or wherever they could fit. But when rooms did assume a particular use, it was often reflected in the paintings chosen to decorate them—domestic scenes or religious images were selected more often for private areas of the house while landscapes or city views were shown in public areas.
Typical Dutch homes were generally far more cluttered and not as well-lit as the pristine environments that appear in Vermeer's compositions. The image of the famous 17th-century doll house created by Petronella Dunois very likely affords a more accurate idea of the furniture arrangement and density of a true Dutch well-to-do home.
Although exceptionally few Dutch domestic envirnoments have survived, a few doll's houses made in Amsterdam in the second half of the 17th century are regarded as an inexhaustible source of information about the furnishing of grand merchant's houses in the heyday of the Dutch Republic. One such doll-house was commissioned by Petronella Oortsman (1656-1718), who as a wealthy widow married the silk merchant Johannes Brandt in 1686. She started assembling her doll's house shortly after marriage.
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam estimates that Petronella Oortman spent twenty to thirty thousand guilders on her model house, the price of a real house along one of Amsterdam's most sought-after canal locations at that time. It took nearly 20 years to build.
Merry Company at a Table
Hendrick van der Burch
55 x 69 cm.
Private collection
Historians of economics have estimated that out of five million works of art that were created in the Dutch Republic during the 17th century. Interiors views and still-lives comprised at least 10% of the total output, or about five hundred thousand works. And since these works are so expertly painted, the viewer tends to believe that the artist painted exactly what was in front of him. However, the most outstanding aspect of these images, namely, their apparent capacity to offer unmediated access to the past, is paradoxically the most deceptive. Art historians have come to the conclusion that we are dealing with a case of modified reality (see left) rather than a literal transcription of Dutch homes. The sitters in their environments which we see were meticulously arranged combining both real and fictive elements.
While the window casements and walls in Vermeer's rooms appear to be factual, the marble floors were fictive. While more humble objects, such as the porcelain wine jugs, tables, pictures, mirrors and maps, were probably Vermeer's own. On the other hand the luxurious hand-woven tapestries, the keyboard instruments and gilt chandelier were borrowed brought in for the occasion. Vermeer had full access to these luxury items through his rich Delft patron Pieter van Ruijven or similar channels.
In a certain sense Vermeer's painted environments are analogous to the photo reproductions of today's interiors design magazines advertising luxury homes, which are assembled only to be photographed and afterwards disassembled. They both portray an ideal interior—brighter, cleaner, neater and more richly decorated. Moreover, these pictures were expensive commodities in themselves which would have bolstered cultural pretensions of their owners.
The signature of Catharina Bolnes on a legal document
Many writers believe that this handsome young woman is Vermeer's wife, Catharina Bolnes. As is the case for the vast number of common 17th-century men and women, the voice of Catharina Bolnes has been lost. Not a single letter, diary entry or note by her hand has survived. Only once are we able to pick up her faint voice through a document dated 24th and 30th April, 1676. Catharina, in a desperate attempt to flea the grip of her creditors after the untimely death of her husband, spoke of her Johannes so: "as a result and owing to the great burden of his children, having no means of his own, he had lapsed into such decay and decadence, which he had so taken to heart that, as if he had fallen into a frenzy, in a day or day and a half had gone from being healthy to being dead." After Johannes' death Catharina was alone with her mother, saddled with ten minors and full of debt.
Catharina would have remained silent had it not been for the notoriety of her husband for whom historians have combed every shred of documentary evidence that could have possible regarded the artist, his colleagues and his family. What we know largely emerges from legal testimonies elegantly transcribed on vellum ledger books by Dutch notaries, probably the most meticulous note-takers of all times. The evidence which regards Catharina tells us that we are in front of an exceptional woman, at least in relation to the 750,000 women of the time who lived in the Netherlands.
Portrait of Arnold Houbraken (1660-1719)
author of De groote
en schilderessen (The Great Theatre
of Dutch Painters), in an engraving by his
son Jacob.
The popular myth about Vermeer's fame goes that he was recovered from total obscurity by the French critic Thoré-Bürger in the mid-1800s. Like many myths, this one contains some but not all the truth. Although Vermeer was not well known in his time outside his native town Delft, his works were never completely forgotten.
After the artist's early death, some of his works continued to be of considerable value to several generations of Amsterdam collectors with money and taste, and a few works continued to evoke admiration and high prices whenever they came onto the market. But for unclear reasons, the name of Vermeer was excluded from Arnold Houbraken's Groote Schouburgh, the foundational 18th-century Dutch book on artists. Thus, for almost 150 years after his death Vermeer's fame hardly spread out of the Netherlands.
It is a curious fact that the Vermeer canvases which left the Netherlands were not infrequently attributed to familiar Dutch artists known to outsiders. In 1742, for example, his Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window came to Dresden as a Rembrandt.
Interior with a Dordrecht Family (detail)
Nicolaes Maes
112.4 x 121.0 cm.
The Norton Simon Foundation
The type of Chinese porcelain that appears in this work was imported in huge quantities for European consumption by the East Indies Company, or VOC as it was called by the Dutch. Vermeer and his fellow citizens must have been particularly familiar with objects of this kind because Delft was one of six towns in Holland that had a chamber of the VOC. As the world's first multi-national company, the VOC had commercial interests all over the globe and accessed the world's oceans through Delfshaven, Delft's 17th-century harbor town. With a little imagination, one can picture merchant ships busily unloading their precious cargoes on the quay of Vermeer's View of Delft connected to Delfshaven by the canal which exits the right-hand part of the composition.
To give an idea of the colossal proportions of the porcelain trade, in 1608, one of the first years of organized trade, the VOC had ordered 50,000 butter dishes, 10,000 plates, 2,000 fruit dishes, and 1,000 of salt cellars, mustard pots and various wide bowls and dishes plus an unspecified number of jugs and cups. In a few years, these articles could be found in many Dutch households. In 1640, the ship Nassau carried an astronomical number of pieces, 126,391 in all, to Amsterdam. The trade with China continued until the mid-17th century when civil wars caused by the fall of the Ming dynasty (1644) disrupted suppliers and the European traders turned to Japan.
Fine porcelain would have normally been displayed on the household's best cabinets or on specially made racks. Nonetheless, these rare objects had no cultural value for the Dutch outside the fact that they were exotic, precious and expensive regardless of their style or even their quality. Thus for Vermeer, the exotic motifs which decorated them no symbolic meaning, and, theus, they must be taken literally as rare objects, beautiful in themselves.
Chinese potters had produced porcelain for export markets all over the world. Ironically, what the Dutch considered the epitome of style was second rate porcelain for the Chinese. The special models made for exportation rarely attracted Chinese taste. Many of these "unpalatable" hybrids appear in Dutch still life paintings, and were taken as the epitome of refinery. Instead, products destined for Chinese domestic consumption were made according to higher standards of taste and facture. Period documents reveal that finest exemplars were not allowed out of the country on penalty of corporal punishiment.
The Dutch had no regard of porcelain's original use and as years passed, it eventually found its way onto the dinner table because it was incredibly easy to clean and did not pass on food's e flavor to the next meal.
Even though the Dutch were poor judges of Chinese standards they knew that they surpassed anything produced in Europe.
Woman with a Basket of Fruit
Christiaen van Couwenbergh
107.5 x 93 cm.
Gemäldesammlung der Universität, Göttingen
There exists a long tradition of paintings of woman with luscious fruit. Symbolically, fruit could alternately allude to the figure of Venus (the goddess of love) in the Judgment of Paris or the Biblical apple (the symbol of sin) of Adam and Eve. The appearance of fruit in European easel painting exceeds any other kinds of food although very rarely do we see the fruit actually being eaten. Fruit's popularity as a motif in painting is owed to its visual appeal, brilliant colors, shapes and variety of peculiar textures, making fruit a particularly stimulating challenge. Moreover, fruit generally has positive associations owing to its sweetness. From the 16th century on, artists created numerous portraits of beautiful women accessorized with fruit or holding bowls or attractive baskets of it. Bowls and baskets of fruit were commonly features in busts of the figure of the "temptress" in works by Dutch painters such as Gerrit van Honthorst and Christiaan van Couwenbergh.
In the Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Vermeer displays in great evidence an imported Chinese Wan-Li bowl with peaches, plums and perhaps a large apple. One peach has been halved with its rounded pit exposed to the viewer. The exhibit of ripe fruit alludes, perhaps, to the fullness of the letter reader, perhaps, opened, or "ripe," for love. A Dutch poet once recommended to "send apples, send pears or other fruit" to win over the heart of one's lover drawing inspiration from Ovid's Ars Amatoria.
Four years after Vermeer was accepted into the St Luke Guild in Delft, he painted the present work and established his definitive artistic course. No evidence explains what might have induced him to reject his initial classical teachings—of an unknown master—and foray into the mode of genre painting. But so divergent was his new approach that had they not been signed, it is doubtful that scholars would have ever attributed the early Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Diana and her Companions and even the Procuress to Vermeer.
In the 17th-century Netherlands, independence from one's master was not unusual. Some painters were satisfied to preserve the artistic tradition of their masters while many broke away to explore new themes and styles. No few painters worked successfully in different styles. Samuel Van Hoogstraten, an important painter and art theoretician of the time, painted simultaneously in the "antique" mode, producing large-scale history paintings of biblical and classical themes, small trompe-l'œil paintings and a few genre scenes of contemporary life clearly anchored in the "modern" mode. Interior painters occasionally tried their hand at still life and some portrait painters, who worked in one of the most highly specialized fields, dabbled in the distant landscape genre. In the Netherlands, the amazing variety of available themes and techniques had been stimulated by an open and variegated art market and the absence of official academies.
The only requirements for changing modes of painting was sufficient talent and a knack for understanding what might appeal to a given clientele.
Johann Sebastian Bach
| Johannes Vermeer |
The species name Picea as in Picea Abies and Picea Sitchensis has the common English name for which tree ? | Vermeer's 'Woman In Blue' Brings Her Mystery, Allure To L.A. : NPR
Vermeer's 'Woman In Blue' Brings Her Mystery, Allure To L.A.
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Vermeer's 'Woman In Blue' Brings Her Mystery, Allure To L.A.
Vermeer's 'Woman In Blue' Brings Her Mystery, Allure To L.A.
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Susan Stamberg
The Getty Museum is the last and only U.S. stop on the world tour of Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest)/Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust hide caption
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Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest)/Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust
Johannes Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring is easy to fall in love with — she's young, dewy, beautiful (Scarlett Johansson played her in the 2003 movie about the painting), and she looks right at you. But the 17th-century Dutch master's Woman in Blue Reading a Letter is different — her face is shadowed and she stands in profile, totally absorbed in her letter.
Pieter Roelofs recently accompanied Woman in Blue from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where she's on display until March 31, her first-ever appearance on the West Coast.
Roelofs, the Rijksmuseum's curator for 17th-century Dutch painting, smilingly says he always dresses to match the painting he'll be discussing: Today he sports a deep-blue shirt and sky-blue tie. Vermeer's Woman in Blue, meanwhile, wears a short, full-cut blue jacket with a lustrous sheen that could be satin. The painter used different shades of blue to contour the jacket, which is pale and almost neon in front as she faces a window, and darkly shadowed in back.
Vermeer made his beautiful blue — "celestial blue," as Vincent van Gogh called it — with lapis lazuli stones. "They imported it from Afghanistan," Roelofs says, "already in the 17th century."
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Roelofs explains that the painter would grind a chunk of lapis lazuli into powder, "and then he added oil as a binding material." He only mixed a small amount of paint every day — just enough for the area of canvas he was working on. (After all, there were no paint-preserving tubes in 1663.)
Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring is also showing on the West Coast, at the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, until June 2. Courtesy of the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague hide caption
Courtesy of the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Allure Of 'Woman In Blue'
Woman in Blue could be Girl With a Pearl Earring's slightly older aunt — less innocent, more serious. Her mouth is slightly open; her head bends forward a bit.
"It's really her and this piece of paper sent by someone, expressing a message that we do not know," Roelofs says. "We are part of the story, but we shouldn't be there, probably, and this is lovely. I think that Vermeer — he's a master in creating these kind of connections between a person being depicted and us ... the beholders. And I think even after 350 years it still has these same kind of artistic qualities and power to involve us and make us part of the story."
But Vermeer is only telling a bit of the story. Anne Woollett, Getty's curator of paintings, says there are still so many questions: We don't know who the lady is; we don't know who wrote the letter.
"We don't really know what she's reading, whether she's re-reading a letter that came out of the box that's at the lower left, whether she's reading something that's just arrived," Woollett says. "Perhaps she was sitting on the chair on the right and she stood up to read something important. It's all very alluring."
Vermeer's Instant, Enigmatic Message
The Getty's website is inviting visitors to imagine the letter's first line. A professional writer will pick one submission, then create the rest of the message. Given how intent the woman looks, along with those parted lips, it just might be a love letter, penned in a distant place — at sea, maybe — and carefully composed. In those days in Holland, good communication was highly valued.
"There were manuals from France which gave some guidance about how to write to someone," Woollett says, "how to write those important thoughts and feelings in an elegant way."
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Bob Hewitt was one half of a famous tennis pairing who were Wimbledon Double Champions three times. Who was his partner ? | Mark Knowles | Tennis Tennis Tennis
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Archive for the 'Mark Knowles' Category
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
Bahamian tennis star Mark Knowles is pleased to announce the annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational will be held on 1-4 December 2011 at the Atlantis Resort & Casino by Presenting Sponsor, MDC-Partners, and organized by the Mark Knowles Management Group (MKMG).
This year’s featured players are Andy Roddick, Xavier Malisse, and Sabine Lisicki with some additional stars to be announced at a later date. The organizers plan to hold a Pro/Am doubles tournament for Platinum sponsors, a Pro Exhibition and an opportunity for top Bahamian junior tennis players to interact with the visiting professionals.
The Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational was established in 2001, its mission to raise funds supporting a range of local children’s charities on the islands. Past beneficiaries have included The Sassoon Pediatric Heart Foundation, The Cancer Society, The Association of the Physically Disabled, The Children’s Emergency Hospital, The Boy Scouts of Bahamas, The Special Olympics and scholarships for promising junior tennis players. Through the generous support of sponsors, fellow tennis players and of course, the fans, proceeds have saved lives and provided important opportunities for a number of individuals. 2010 marked the tenth anniversary of the event and pushed total contributions to over $650,000. Proceeds enabled Knowles to endow a local hospital with its first children’s heart defibrillator – in the past, child cardiac arrest patients had to rely on the usage of an adult defibrillator. Previous projects have included emergency heart surgery for a baby girl, 12 days in age; the remodeling of cancer recovery rooms; and funding for a Special Olympics tennis player, who recently won a medal at the World Games.
Tags: Mark Knowles , Sabine Lisicki
Not content to let their male counterparts enjoy all the fun in the sun in The Bahamas, this year’s Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational charity event from December 2nd to 5th has drawn 3 repeat female participants; Anna Lena Groenefeld, Sabine Lisicki and Olga Savchuk and a new face, U.S. Federation Cup team heroine, Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
The Professional Tennis Exhibition will be held at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre at 3.00 p.m. on Saturday 4th December. Admission: Adults $10 and Children Free. Students in school sports shirts Free. (Don’t be surprised if Andy Murray shows up!)
The annual hit with the Pros will take place with junior players selected by Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association at the Exhibition on 4th December at the National Tennis Centre ending with an autograph session with the pros.
The proceeds of the event will go to aid local children’s’ charities. To date over $500,000 has been distributed to various charities.
Tickets are now on sale at the National Tennis Centre, Atlantis Tennis Centre, Village Squash Club, H.G.Christie Ltd. and Lyford Cay School or telephone 242-359-2542.
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Tags: Mahesh Bhupathi , Mark Knowles
Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles edged a tight encounter with Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Tuesday afternoon at The O2.
Having also defeated Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak in their first match Sunday, they now top Group B with a 2-0 match record. The top two teams from Groups A and B advance to the semi-finals on Saturday.
“We’re excited, very excited,” said Knowles. “Especially because they were playing extremely well. They were serving at an incredible rate; very hard, but also high percentage. They were playing really, really well there in the first set. We just kind of rode them out, got a couple looks at a second serve in the second set, and were able to return well and turn the match around. We played really solid at the end and kind of raised our level.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Anna-Lena Groenefeld , Mark Knowles
Tickets are now on sale for the 9th Annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational professional exhibition and charity event to be held in Nassau on December 5th, 2009 at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. The Exhibition starts at 3pm and is open to all.
Andy Roddick and Mark Knowles’ recent doubles partner from Wimbledon, Anna-Lena Groenefeld are confirmed to be in attendance.
Once again, the proceeds of the event will go to aid local children’s charities such as The Cancer Society, the Sassoon (Bahamas) Foundation for Pediatric Heart Care, The Special Olympics, The Association for the Physically Disabled, The Chance Foundation and the Mark Knowles Tennis Scholarship Fund. To date over $400,000 has been distributed to various charities. The aim this year is to increase total donations to $500,000.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
Andy Roddick has agreed to participate in the 9th Mark Knowles Charity Invitational December 3-5 in an exhibition at the National Tennis Center.
“It’s extremely exciting to have a former world number one and grand slam champion and someone as popular as Andy coming to the event,” said Knowles yesterday. “It’s really a huge boost and it has added a lot of excitement. We are just waiting on his arrival because he has said he will be willing to participate in any event that we have on the schedule. That’s the type of person he is.”
Knowles and Roddick partnered at the Beijing Open where they reached the doubles final when Knowles’ regular partner Mahesh Bhupathi took a break to recuperate from a groin injury he sustained playing Davis Cup for India.
Roddick, who has been ranked No.1 in the world and is currently ranked No.7, has always wanted to come to the Bahamas and participate in the tournament, according to Knowles.
Paying together in Beijing solidified this year’s appearance for the No.1 ranked American player, who won the 2003 US Open and was a three-time Wimbledon finalist. “We got a little closer and I found out that he such a nice guy,” Knowles said. “He has his own foundation like the Andy Roddick Charitable Organisation, so he understands what it is I’m doing,” Knowles said.
“With him coming, I think it’s going to be one of the greatest ever. To have somebody like Andy Roddick in the Bahamas is going to be so exciting.”
This year, Knowles and his organisers have switched the professional tennis exhibition from Atlantis on Paradise Island to the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, 3pm Saturday, December 5.
While adults will be charged an admission fee, Vicki Knowles-Andrews, Knowles’ mother, has indicated that they will be allowing children to be admitted free so as to give as many of them as possible the opportunity to meet Roddick up close and personal.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Bryan Bros. , Mark Knowles
Andy shared a nice moment with his friends after losing the match, giving Bob Bryan a chest pump during the presentation ceremony.
Despite an impressive week together, Andy and Mark Knowles were unable to overcome the world number two pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan in the final of the China Open. Andy and Mark Knowles lost 6-4, 6-2.
Andy’s Davis Cup team mates, Bob and Mike Bryan admitted they had prepared for a tough match in Sunday’s final:
“We were ready for a dog fight,” said Bob Bryan. “When you’ve got one of the best singles players of our era playing with one of the best doubles players of our era it’s going to make for a great match up. Mike and I came out focussed and played one of the best matches we’ve played in a long time.”
Andy is now off to Shanghai for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
Andy is out in the first round of the China Open after a superb performance from qualifier Lukasz Kubot saw the Pole prevail 6-2, 6-4.
Andy was looking to defend his title at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Beijing this week and would have qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals had he reached the final and other results had gone his way.
He will have the chance to secure his place at the eight-man field in London when he competes at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 next week.
While Andy was playing in his first match since the US Open, World No. 143 Kubot had won three matches in qualifying and came into the match in strong form, breaking serve three times as he clinched the first set 6-2.
Andy hit back in the second set to take a 3-1 lead, but two unforced errors proved costly as he immediately handed the break back to Kubot, double faulting to make the score line 3-2.
Kubot took to the court with an aggressive game plan and maintained it throughout. The 27 year old, who reached his first ATPWorld Tour final in Belgrade in May, kept his composure in the latter stages of the second set and broke serve to lead 5-4 as Andy netted a forehand. The Pole then closed out the victory with successive aces after 81 minutes.
All is not lost for Andy in Beijing as he and Mark Knowles remain in contention in the doubles draw. They will face Jose Acasuso and Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals after the South Americans ousted top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic on Tuesday.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
In the 16-team doubles draw, Andy has partnered Bahamian Mark Knowles – a former doubles World No. 1 who has won a staggering 52 titles. It will be the first time the two have played together.
Andy and Knowles are unseeded and will face Chinese Taipei wild cards Hsin-Han Lee and Tsung-Hua Yang in the first round. In the quarter-finals, there is the strong possibility of facing World No. 1 duo Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.
Andy’s Davis Cup teammates Bob and Mike Bryan are also in the draw, seeded second.
Defending champion Andy is seeded third in the 32-man singles draw and will meet Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot in the first round. It’s a strong field in the Chinese capital, evidenced by Andy’s possible second round opponents – either Paul-Henri Mathieu or Ivan Ljubicic.
Sixth seed and Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling is a potential quarter-final opponent, while Andy also shares the bottom half of the draw with World No. 4 Novak Djokovic and this week’s Kuala Lumpur runner-up Fernando Verdasco, seeded fifth.
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal leads the field as he makes his return from an abdominal strain, but would not face Andy until the final. Kuala Lumpur champion Nikolay Davydenko is also involved in the top half, as is eighth-seeded wild card Marin Cilic.
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Tags: Mark Knowles
Winning a Wimbledon title was a dream, as it is for any player, but there was an extra incentive for Knowles.
“I have a British passport – my mom’s British – so I’ve grown up in the tradition of Wimbledon. It was always the one tournament I wanted to win,” he revealed. “To finally have won it, it’s thrilling. To be on Centre Court, and to go up in the Royal Box and receive the trophy, it’s something that no one can ever take away from me.”
Knowles has now won all four Grand Slam tournaments, adding his first mixed doubles title to his men’s doubles titles won alongside former partner Daniel Nestor at the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 US Open and 2007 Roland Garros. He and Nestor were also finalists at Wimbledon in 2002.
The Bahamian also achieved a special milestone earlier in The Championships, playing his 1000th career doubles match – the most among active players – in the men’s doubles quarter-finals with Mahesh Bhupathi. He is only the sixth player to reach the 1000-match plateau, joining Cyril Suk (1147), Sherwood Stewart (1080), Todd Woodbridge (1042), Rick Leach (1038) and Jonas Bjorkman (1015).
“At the start of your career it’s not really something you set out to do,” said the 37-year old. “It’s unfathomable that you’ll be around that long and be that successful. I’m just playing because I still enjoy the game, and I still enjoy the challenge of trying to win matches. There’s so much competition out there and it’s changed so much since I first came on tour so it brings a whole different excitement to it.”
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Tags: Aussie Open , Bryan Bros. , Mark Knowles
Second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan will contest their fifth straight Australian Open final against third seeds Mark Knowles and Mahesh Bhupathi, who will be appearing in their first Grand Slam championship title-match, on Saturday.
The Bryan twins defeated fourth seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes 6-3, 6-3 in 54 minutes on the Hisense Arena, in what was a repeat of the 2008 US Open final. Dlouhy and Paes committed nine unforced errors, as the Bryans converted five of eight break point opportunities.
The 30-year-old Californians finished runner-up in 2004 (l. to Llodra-Santoro) and 2005 (l. to Black-Ullyett) and won back-to-back titles in 2006 (d. Damm-Paes) and 2007 (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi).
They are currently fourth in the all-time doubles Grand Slam title leaders of the Open Era behind Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche (7), Americans Peter Fleming and John McEnroe (7) and Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (11).
The Bryans opened their 2009 ATP World Tour season by capturing their 50th ATP World Tour title at the Medibank International in Sydney (d. Nestor-Zimonjic). They are only the fourth team in the Open Era to win at least 50 titles, joining Woodbridge-Woodforde (61), Fleming-McEnroe (57), and Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan (57).
Knowles and Bhupathi earned a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against the unseeded Polish-Austrian duo of Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach. They raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, and then capitalised on three of their four break point chances in the second set to secure the victory in 58 minutes.
| Frew McMillan |
Which general, famous for his military exploits against the French in the Napoleonic Wars, was born in St Petersburg in 1745 and died in Russia in 1813 ? | Mark Knowles | Tennis Tennis Tennis
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
Bahamian tennis star Mark Knowles is pleased to announce the annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational will be held on 1-4 December 2011 at the Atlantis Resort & Casino by Presenting Sponsor, MDC-Partners, and organized by the Mark Knowles Management Group (MKMG).
This year’s featured players are Andy Roddick, Xavier Malisse, and Sabine Lisicki with some additional stars to be announced at a later date. The organizers plan to hold a Pro/Am doubles tournament for Platinum sponsors, a Pro Exhibition and an opportunity for top Bahamian junior tennis players to interact with the visiting professionals.
The Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational was established in 2001, its mission to raise funds supporting a range of local children’s charities on the islands. Past beneficiaries have included The Sassoon Pediatric Heart Foundation, The Cancer Society, The Association of the Physically Disabled, The Children’s Emergency Hospital, The Boy Scouts of Bahamas, The Special Olympics and scholarships for promising junior tennis players. Through the generous support of sponsors, fellow tennis players and of course, the fans, proceeds have saved lives and provided important opportunities for a number of individuals. 2010 marked the tenth anniversary of the event and pushed total contributions to over $650,000. Proceeds enabled Knowles to endow a local hospital with its first children’s heart defibrillator – in the past, child cardiac arrest patients had to rely on the usage of an adult defibrillator. Previous projects have included emergency heart surgery for a baby girl, 12 days in age; the remodeling of cancer recovery rooms; and funding for a Special Olympics tennis player, who recently won a medal at the World Games.
Tags: Mark Knowles , Sabine Lisicki
Not content to let their male counterparts enjoy all the fun in the sun in The Bahamas, this year’s Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational charity event from December 2nd to 5th has drawn 3 repeat female participants; Anna Lena Groenefeld, Sabine Lisicki and Olga Savchuk and a new face, U.S. Federation Cup team heroine, Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
The Professional Tennis Exhibition will be held at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre at 3.00 p.m. on Saturday 4th December. Admission: Adults $10 and Children Free. Students in school sports shirts Free. (Don’t be surprised if Andy Murray shows up!)
The annual hit with the Pros will take place with junior players selected by Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association at the Exhibition on 4th December at the National Tennis Centre ending with an autograph session with the pros.
The proceeds of the event will go to aid local children’s’ charities. To date over $500,000 has been distributed to various charities.
Tickets are now on sale at the National Tennis Centre, Atlantis Tennis Centre, Village Squash Club, H.G.Christie Ltd. and Lyford Cay School or telephone 242-359-2542.
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Tags: Mahesh Bhupathi , Mark Knowles
Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles edged a tight encounter with Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Tuesday afternoon at The O2.
Having also defeated Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak in their first match Sunday, they now top Group B with a 2-0 match record. The top two teams from Groups A and B advance to the semi-finals on Saturday.
“We’re excited, very excited,” said Knowles. “Especially because they were playing extremely well. They were serving at an incredible rate; very hard, but also high percentage. They were playing really, really well there in the first set. We just kind of rode them out, got a couple looks at a second serve in the second set, and were able to return well and turn the match around. We played really solid at the end and kind of raised our level.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Anna-Lena Groenefeld , Mark Knowles
Tickets are now on sale for the 9th Annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational professional exhibition and charity event to be held in Nassau on December 5th, 2009 at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. The Exhibition starts at 3pm and is open to all.
Andy Roddick and Mark Knowles’ recent doubles partner from Wimbledon, Anna-Lena Groenefeld are confirmed to be in attendance.
Once again, the proceeds of the event will go to aid local children’s charities such as The Cancer Society, the Sassoon (Bahamas) Foundation for Pediatric Heart Care, The Special Olympics, The Association for the Physically Disabled, The Chance Foundation and the Mark Knowles Tennis Scholarship Fund. To date over $400,000 has been distributed to various charities. The aim this year is to increase total donations to $500,000.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
Andy Roddick has agreed to participate in the 9th Mark Knowles Charity Invitational December 3-5 in an exhibition at the National Tennis Center.
“It’s extremely exciting to have a former world number one and grand slam champion and someone as popular as Andy coming to the event,” said Knowles yesterday. “It’s really a huge boost and it has added a lot of excitement. We are just waiting on his arrival because he has said he will be willing to participate in any event that we have on the schedule. That’s the type of person he is.”
Knowles and Roddick partnered at the Beijing Open where they reached the doubles final when Knowles’ regular partner Mahesh Bhupathi took a break to recuperate from a groin injury he sustained playing Davis Cup for India.
Roddick, who has been ranked No.1 in the world and is currently ranked No.7, has always wanted to come to the Bahamas and participate in the tournament, according to Knowles.
Paying together in Beijing solidified this year’s appearance for the No.1 ranked American player, who won the 2003 US Open and was a three-time Wimbledon finalist. “We got a little closer and I found out that he such a nice guy,” Knowles said. “He has his own foundation like the Andy Roddick Charitable Organisation, so he understands what it is I’m doing,” Knowles said.
“With him coming, I think it’s going to be one of the greatest ever. To have somebody like Andy Roddick in the Bahamas is going to be so exciting.”
This year, Knowles and his organisers have switched the professional tennis exhibition from Atlantis on Paradise Island to the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, 3pm Saturday, December 5.
While adults will be charged an admission fee, Vicki Knowles-Andrews, Knowles’ mother, has indicated that they will be allowing children to be admitted free so as to give as many of them as possible the opportunity to meet Roddick up close and personal.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Bryan Bros. , Mark Knowles
Andy shared a nice moment with his friends after losing the match, giving Bob Bryan a chest pump during the presentation ceremony.
Despite an impressive week together, Andy and Mark Knowles were unable to overcome the world number two pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan in the final of the China Open. Andy and Mark Knowles lost 6-4, 6-2.
Andy’s Davis Cup team mates, Bob and Mike Bryan admitted they had prepared for a tough match in Sunday’s final:
“We were ready for a dog fight,” said Bob Bryan. “When you’ve got one of the best singles players of our era playing with one of the best doubles players of our era it’s going to make for a great match up. Mike and I came out focussed and played one of the best matches we’ve played in a long time.”
Andy is now off to Shanghai for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
Andy is out in the first round of the China Open after a superb performance from qualifier Lukasz Kubot saw the Pole prevail 6-2, 6-4.
Andy was looking to defend his title at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Beijing this week and would have qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals had he reached the final and other results had gone his way.
He will have the chance to secure his place at the eight-man field in London when he competes at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 next week.
While Andy was playing in his first match since the US Open, World No. 143 Kubot had won three matches in qualifying and came into the match in strong form, breaking serve three times as he clinched the first set 6-2.
Andy hit back in the second set to take a 3-1 lead, but two unforced errors proved costly as he immediately handed the break back to Kubot, double faulting to make the score line 3-2.
Kubot took to the court with an aggressive game plan and maintained it throughout. The 27 year old, who reached his first ATPWorld Tour final in Belgrade in May, kept his composure in the latter stages of the second set and broke serve to lead 5-4 as Andy netted a forehand. The Pole then closed out the victory with successive aces after 81 minutes.
All is not lost for Andy in Beijing as he and Mark Knowles remain in contention in the doubles draw. They will face Jose Acasuso and Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals after the South Americans ousted top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic on Tuesday.
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Tags: Andy Roddick , Mark Knowles
In the 16-team doubles draw, Andy has partnered Bahamian Mark Knowles – a former doubles World No. 1 who has won a staggering 52 titles. It will be the first time the two have played together.
Andy and Knowles are unseeded and will face Chinese Taipei wild cards Hsin-Han Lee and Tsung-Hua Yang in the first round. In the quarter-finals, there is the strong possibility of facing World No. 1 duo Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.
Andy’s Davis Cup teammates Bob and Mike Bryan are also in the draw, seeded second.
Defending champion Andy is seeded third in the 32-man singles draw and will meet Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot in the first round. It’s a strong field in the Chinese capital, evidenced by Andy’s possible second round opponents – either Paul-Henri Mathieu or Ivan Ljubicic.
Sixth seed and Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling is a potential quarter-final opponent, while Andy also shares the bottom half of the draw with World No. 4 Novak Djokovic and this week’s Kuala Lumpur runner-up Fernando Verdasco, seeded fifth.
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal leads the field as he makes his return from an abdominal strain, but would not face Andy until the final. Kuala Lumpur champion Nikolay Davydenko is also involved in the top half, as is eighth-seeded wild card Marin Cilic.
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Tags: Mark Knowles
Winning a Wimbledon title was a dream, as it is for any player, but there was an extra incentive for Knowles.
“I have a British passport – my mom’s British – so I’ve grown up in the tradition of Wimbledon. It was always the one tournament I wanted to win,” he revealed. “To finally have won it, it’s thrilling. To be on Centre Court, and to go up in the Royal Box and receive the trophy, it’s something that no one can ever take away from me.”
Knowles has now won all four Grand Slam tournaments, adding his first mixed doubles title to his men’s doubles titles won alongside former partner Daniel Nestor at the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 US Open and 2007 Roland Garros. He and Nestor were also finalists at Wimbledon in 2002.
The Bahamian also achieved a special milestone earlier in The Championships, playing his 1000th career doubles match – the most among active players – in the men’s doubles quarter-finals with Mahesh Bhupathi. He is only the sixth player to reach the 1000-match plateau, joining Cyril Suk (1147), Sherwood Stewart (1080), Todd Woodbridge (1042), Rick Leach (1038) and Jonas Bjorkman (1015).
“At the start of your career it’s not really something you set out to do,” said the 37-year old. “It’s unfathomable that you’ll be around that long and be that successful. I’m just playing because I still enjoy the game, and I still enjoy the challenge of trying to win matches. There’s so much competition out there and it’s changed so much since I first came on tour so it brings a whole different excitement to it.”
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Tags: Aussie Open , Bryan Bros. , Mark Knowles
Second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan will contest their fifth straight Australian Open final against third seeds Mark Knowles and Mahesh Bhupathi, who will be appearing in their first Grand Slam championship title-match, on Saturday.
The Bryan twins defeated fourth seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes 6-3, 6-3 in 54 minutes on the Hisense Arena, in what was a repeat of the 2008 US Open final. Dlouhy and Paes committed nine unforced errors, as the Bryans converted five of eight break point opportunities.
The 30-year-old Californians finished runner-up in 2004 (l. to Llodra-Santoro) and 2005 (l. to Black-Ullyett) and won back-to-back titles in 2006 (d. Damm-Paes) and 2007 (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi).
They are currently fourth in the all-time doubles Grand Slam title leaders of the Open Era behind Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche (7), Americans Peter Fleming and John McEnroe (7) and Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (11).
The Bryans opened their 2009 ATP World Tour season by capturing their 50th ATP World Tour title at the Medibank International in Sydney (d. Nestor-Zimonjic). They are only the fourth team in the Open Era to win at least 50 titles, joining Woodbridge-Woodforde (61), Fleming-McEnroe (57), and Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan (57).
Knowles and Bhupathi earned a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against the unseeded Polish-Austrian duo of Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach. They raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, and then capitalised on three of their four break point chances in the second set to secure the victory in 58 minutes.
| i don't know |
Which region of France is bordered by Spain to the south and by the Bay of Biscay to the west ? | Political Map of France - Nations Online Project
Political Map of France
___ Political Map of France
About France
France is a country located on the western edge of Europe, bordered by the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic Ocean) in west, by the English Channel in north west, by the North Sea in north, by Belgium and Luxembourg in north east, by Germany , Switzerland and Italy in east, by the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco , Spain and Andorra in south. France shares also maritime borders with the United Kingdom .
Since 1994 France and the UK are connected by the Channel Tunnel, a 50.5 km (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone in Kent, UK with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France.
With an area of 551,500 km² Metropolitan France is more than twice the size of the United Kingdom or more than twice the size of the U.S. state Colorado .
France has a population of 66.6 million people (est. 2016); 64.5 million people in Metropolitan France and 2.1 million in its overseas regions.
Largest city and capital is Paris . Spoken language is French (official).
Map is showing Metropolitan France, that is the French mainland and the island of Corsica. Depicted on the map is the country with international borders, the national capital Paris, region capitals, major cities, main roads, and major airports.
Geography of France [show]
Metropolitan France has two shorelines, one at the North Atlantic Ocean, the other at the Mediterranean Sea, it sums up to a total of 3,427 km of coastline.
About two-thirds of the county's interior (in north and west) consists of plains or gently rolling hills, within there are two major basins: the Paris basin in the northwest, drained by the river Seine, and the Aquitaine basin in the southwest, drained by the Garonne river. The plains are interspersed with highlands here and there.
To the south of the country are the rugged Pyrenees, two parallel mountain ranges that creates a natural border between France and Spain, its highest mountains rise up to more than 3,000 m.
In south east the Massif Central, a formerly volcanic region with a large concentration of extinct volcanoes, like the Chaine des Puys, a chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars within the Massif Central. East of the Massif, separated by a deep north-south cleft created by the Rhone River are the French Alps, part of the Alps, the great mountain range system of Europe. Within the Alps is the highest mountain of France, Mont Blanc with 4,807 m. It is also Italy's highest peak because the "White Mountain" sits on the border which separtes both nations.
French Rivers:
The longest rivers within France are Loire, Seine, Garonne, and Rhone, the Rhine river in east forms the border with Germany for about 160 km (100 mi). Seine, and Garonne are the main rivers for transportation in France.
Airports:
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Rossy Airport ( IATA code : CDG), located in the vicinity of Paris is the largest and busiest airport in France. Paris-Orly Airport ( IATA code : ORY) located south of Paris is the busiest French airport for domestic traffic.
Major Seaports:
France has several major seaports, largest port is Marseille , followed by Le Havre, Dunkirk, and Nantes/Saint-Nazaire.
all countries of the world
You are free to use this map for educational purposes, please refer to the Nations Online Project.
Political Map of France
Cities and Towns in France:
The Map shows the location of following French cities:
Agen, Aix-en-Provence, Ajaccio, Alençon, Alès, Amiens, Angers, Angoulême, Annecy, Arcachon, Arles, Arras, Auch, Aurillac, Auxerre, Avallon, Avignon, Bastia, Bayonne, Beaune, Beauvais, Belfort, Besançon, Biarritz, Bonifacio, Bordeaux, Bourg-, Bourges, Bressuire, Brest, Brive-la-, Béziers, Caen, Calais, Calvi, Cannes, Carcassone, Castres, Chambéry, Cherbourg, Châlons-en-Champagne, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Corte, Dieppe, Dijon, Douarnenez, Dunkirk, Gaillarde, Gap, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Le Mans, Le Puy, Lille, Limoges, Lorient, Lourdes, Lyon (capital of Rhône-Alpes region; third largest city; pop. 720,000), Marseille (major seaport and second largest city; pop. 850,000), Meaux, Metz, Montpellier, Montélimar, Moulins, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Narbonne, Nice (fifth most populous city: pop. 350,000), Nîmes, Orléans, Pamiers, Paris (capital and largest city; pop. 2.2 million), Pau, Perpignan, Poitiers, Pontarlier, Périgueux, Reims, Rennes, Riom, Roanne, Rouen, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Dizier, Saint-Maurice, Saint-Étienne, Saintes, Sedan, St Malo, Strasbourg , Toulon, ToulouseTours, Troyes, Valence (Drôme dep.), Valenciennes, Verdun, and Versailles .
| Aquitaine |
"In 2012, who was elected as ""General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party"" and will serve as the leader of China until 2022, arguably becoming the most powerful man in the world ?" | Political Map of France - Nations Online Project
Political Map of France
___ Political Map of France
About France
France is a country located on the western edge of Europe, bordered by the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic Ocean) in west, by the English Channel in north west, by the North Sea in north, by Belgium and Luxembourg in north east, by Germany , Switzerland and Italy in east, by the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco , Spain and Andorra in south. France shares also maritime borders with the United Kingdom .
Since 1994 France and the UK are connected by the Channel Tunnel, a 50.5 km (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone in Kent, UK with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France.
With an area of 551,500 km² Metropolitan France is more than twice the size of the United Kingdom or more than twice the size of the U.S. state Colorado .
France has a population of 66.6 million people (est. 2016); 64.5 million people in Metropolitan France and 2.1 million in its overseas regions.
Largest city and capital is Paris . Spoken language is French (official).
Map is showing Metropolitan France, that is the French mainland and the island of Corsica. Depicted on the map is the country with international borders, the national capital Paris, region capitals, major cities, main roads, and major airports.
Geography of France [show]
Metropolitan France has two shorelines, one at the North Atlantic Ocean, the other at the Mediterranean Sea, it sums up to a total of 3,427 km of coastline.
About two-thirds of the county's interior (in north and west) consists of plains or gently rolling hills, within there are two major basins: the Paris basin in the northwest, drained by the river Seine, and the Aquitaine basin in the southwest, drained by the Garonne river. The plains are interspersed with highlands here and there.
To the south of the country are the rugged Pyrenees, two parallel mountain ranges that creates a natural border between France and Spain, its highest mountains rise up to more than 3,000 m.
In south east the Massif Central, a formerly volcanic region with a large concentration of extinct volcanoes, like the Chaine des Puys, a chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars within the Massif Central. East of the Massif, separated by a deep north-south cleft created by the Rhone River are the French Alps, part of the Alps, the great mountain range system of Europe. Within the Alps is the highest mountain of France, Mont Blanc with 4,807 m. It is also Italy's highest peak because the "White Mountain" sits on the border which separtes both nations.
French Rivers:
The longest rivers within France are Loire, Seine, Garonne, and Rhone, the Rhine river in east forms the border with Germany for about 160 km (100 mi). Seine, and Garonne are the main rivers for transportation in France.
Airports:
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Rossy Airport ( IATA code : CDG), located in the vicinity of Paris is the largest and busiest airport in France. Paris-Orly Airport ( IATA code : ORY) located south of Paris is the busiest French airport for domestic traffic.
Major Seaports:
France has several major seaports, largest port is Marseille , followed by Le Havre, Dunkirk, and Nantes/Saint-Nazaire.
all countries of the world
You are free to use this map for educational purposes, please refer to the Nations Online Project.
Political Map of France
Cities and Towns in France:
The Map shows the location of following French cities:
Agen, Aix-en-Provence, Ajaccio, Alençon, Alès, Amiens, Angers, Angoulême, Annecy, Arcachon, Arles, Arras, Auch, Aurillac, Auxerre, Avallon, Avignon, Bastia, Bayonne, Beaune, Beauvais, Belfort, Besançon, Biarritz, Bonifacio, Bordeaux, Bourg-, Bourges, Bressuire, Brest, Brive-la-, Béziers, Caen, Calais, Calvi, Cannes, Carcassone, Castres, Chambéry, Cherbourg, Châlons-en-Champagne, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Corte, Dieppe, Dijon, Douarnenez, Dunkirk, Gaillarde, Gap, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Le Mans, Le Puy, Lille, Limoges, Lorient, Lourdes, Lyon (capital of Rhône-Alpes region; third largest city; pop. 720,000), Marseille (major seaport and second largest city; pop. 850,000), Meaux, Metz, Montpellier, Montélimar, Moulins, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Narbonne, Nice (fifth most populous city: pop. 350,000), Nîmes, Orléans, Pamiers, Paris (capital and largest city; pop. 2.2 million), Pau, Perpignan, Poitiers, Pontarlier, Périgueux, Reims, Rennes, Riom, Roanne, Rouen, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Dizier, Saint-Maurice, Saint-Étienne, Saintes, Sedan, St Malo, Strasbourg , Toulon, ToulouseTours, Troyes, Valence (Drôme dep.), Valenciennes, Verdun, and Versailles .
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"Which poet laureate wrote the poems ""Mount Zion"", ""New bats in old belfries"" and ""A nip in the air"" ?" | John Betjeman | Poetry Foundation
Poetry Foundation
1906–1984
Mark Gerson
John Betjeman, poet laureate of the United Kingdom from 1972 until his death in 1984, was known by many as a poet whose writing evoked a sense of nostalgia. He utilized traditional poetic forms, wrote with a light touch about public issues, celebrated classic architecture, and satirized much of contemporary society for his perception of its superficiality. "Modern 'progress' is anathema to him ... ," Jocelyn Brooke wrote in Ronald Firbank and John Betjeman prior to Betjeman's death: "though fortunately for us [he] is still able to laugh." Brooke continued: "Perhaps [Betjeman] can best be described as a writer who uses the medium of light verse for a serious purpose: not merely as a vehicle for satire or social commentary, but as a means of expressing a peculiar and specialized form of aesthetic emotion, in which nostalgia and humour are about equally blended."
Betjeman's poetry was considered something of a phenomenon: it was read by a large audience and was also praised by literary critics. As Ralph J. Mills pointed out in Descant, "Betjeman is a phenomenon in contemporary English literature, a truly popular poet. The sudden fame won by his Collected Poems . . . brought him a wide reputation and made him quickly into a public personality." Betjeman was also admired by such poets and critics as Edmund Wilson and W. H. Auden , who dedicated his own The Age of Anxiety to his fellow poet. "Certainly it is very rare in our day to see much accord between distinguished critics and poets on the one hand and the general public on the other," Mills would add; "but the very complexity of Betjeman's personality and feelings beneath the skillful though apparently simple surface of his verse probably unites, in whatever different kinds of levels of appreciation, the otherwise remote members of his audience."
1958's Collected Poems first brought Betjeman into the popular limelight. Displaying the poet's skillful use of nineteenth-century poetic models, the collection was enthusiastically received by many critics. A Times Literary Supplement reviewer, for example, stated that Betjeman's poems were "a pleasant change from the shapeless and unarticulated matter . . . offered us by so many of his contemporaries. For Mr. Betjeman is a born versifier, ingenious and endlessly original; his echoes of Tennyson and Crabb, Praed and Father Prout, are never mere pastiche; and he is always attentive to the sound of his words, the run of his lines, the shape of his stanzas." T. J. Ross, however, found that although "his ear is as flawless as Tennyson's and his effects sometimes as remarkable, Betjeman creates a world which, unlike the Victorians', is a miniature." Ross believed that when Betjeman involved the reader completely with his subject "the result [was] poor." Only when he kept the reader at a distance did he bring his work up to the level of "first-rate minor art." But Louise Bogan had high praise for Betjeman's work: "His verse forms, elaborately varied, reproduce an entire set of neglected Victorian techniques, which he manipulates with the utmost dexterity and taste. His diction and his observation are delightfully fresh and original. And it is a pleasure to let down our defenses and be swept along by his anapaestic lines, with their bouncing unstressed syllables, and to meet no imperfect or false rhymes in the process; to recognize sentiment so delicately shaded, so sincerely felt, that it becomes immediately acceptable even to our modern sensibilities, grown used to the harsh, the violent, and the horrifying."
In Summoned by Bells, Betjeman recreates his personal past in richly-detailed poems. Because the poet was able to recreate so accurately the time and place of his own childhood, Mills attributed to Betjeman "an almost Proustian memory." Walter Allen, writing in the New York Times Book Review, called Summoned by Bells an autobiography. But the collection, Allen explained, "can't be judged simply as the equivalent of an autobiographical novel. Whatever the final verdict on it may be, it is an extraordinarily accomplished, sustained exercise in narrative verse." Philip Larkin , in his review of the book for the Spectator, found that, although all the poems in the collection tell the poet's life story, Betjeman "is not an egoist: rather, he is that rare thing, an extrovert sensitive. . . . [Time] and again in scenes where interest might be expected to focus on the author's feelings we find it instead shifting to the details." Larkin concludes that "Betjeman has an astonishing command of detail, both visual and circumstantial."
The poems from both High and Low and A Nip in the Air were included in the fourth edition of Betjeman's Collected Poems. Larkin, writing in his introduction to the volume, explained that Betjeman was a difficult poet for many critics to approach. "Betjeman," he explained, "constitutes a kind of distorting mirror in which all our critical catch-phrases appear in gross unacceptable parody. He is committed, ambiguous, and ironic; he is conscious of literary tradition (but quotes the wrong authors); he is a satirist (but on the wrong side); he has his own White Goddess (in blazer and shorts). And he has done all those things such as forging a personal utterance, creating a private myth, bringing a new language and new properties to poetry, and even . . . giving poetry back to the general reader, all equally undeniably, yet none of them in quite the way we meant. No wonder our keen critical tools twitch fretfully at his approach."
Additional verses, which Betjeman had chosen to omit from previous volumes and which some critics noted were of uneven quality, were collected as Uncollected Poems. This work was published in 1982, two years before the poet's death. While noting in a review of the work for the London Sunday Times that Uncollected Poems contained some "duds," John Carey added that it also included "poems no sensible reader will miss. The best of them touch on dying, that undying Betjeman bug-bear. Whatever his relations with contemporary life, he is unchallengeably the laureate of contemporary death, and has traced, in poem after poem, its horribly normal advance from the preliminary twinge . . . to the fatal X-ray photographs and the hospital bed, conveniently placed for you to hear your relatives, in the car park below, making off cheerily to tea and telly."
A sociable man who developed numerous close friendships with a variety of people over the years, Betjeman wrote many letters. His voluminous correspondence was collected in the two-volume Letters, published posthumously beginning in 1994. Edited by his daughter, Candida Lycett Green, Letters traces the poet's life through two periods: 1926 through 1951, and 1951 through 1984, the year of Betjeman's death. "Somewhere in these two thick volumes," friend and critic Mark Girouard commented in the Times Literary Supplement, "John Betjeman remarks that he wrote letters in order to avoid writing poems. . . . To write letters . . . so that the reading of them brings the writer into the room with one, is a rare gift, but Betjeman certainly had it."
In the London Review of Books, Patricia Beer commented on the element of humor that runs throughout the collected Letters. Listing the poet's "apparatus of mirth" as "Oirish imitations, babytalk, spoof signatures, rustic voices, rebus writing, caricatures, doodles and so on," Beer noted that "it too often sounds as though it needed oiling. . . Some will in any case find the jollity very much to their taste. Those who do not will have many and various sorts of seriousness, even melancholy, to choose from in this protean collection."
Besides writing and editing several works on architecture, throughout his life Betjeman remained passionately involved in architectural preservation efforts. As he told Willa Petschek, he was most interested "in saving groups of buildings of towns that can be ruined by 'a single frightful store that looks like a drive-in movie. The only way to prevent more and more ugly buildings going up . . . is to draw people's attention to what's good in all periods.'" Betjeman made numerous appearances on television to promote preservation and became, as Petschek maintained, "a cherished national cult."
Betjeman championed such causes in his poetry as well; he wrote lovingly of the places of his childhood, of the buildings and monuments in danger of destruction. "Betjeman's approach to architecture (which he values second only to poetry) enabled him to recognize the 'living force' of 19th-century buildings, especially the Victorian Gothic," Petschek noted. "Partly through his verse and topographical writings, his guidebooks, poetry readings and TV appearances, but also through his warmth and peculiar genius for imparting enthusiasm for everything from rood screens to ladies' legs, he has made the public accept a rapid reversal in taste."
Bibliography
Mount Zion; or, In Touch with the Infinite, James Press (London), 1931.
Continual Dew: A Little Book of Bourgeois Verse, J. Murray (London), 1937.
(Under pseudonym Epsilon) Sir John Piers, Westmeath Examiner (Mullingar, Ireland), 1938.
Old Lights for New Chancels: Verses Topographical and Amatory, J. Murray, 1940.
New Bats in Old Belfries, J. Murray, 1945.
Slick but Not Streamlined: Poems and Short Pieces, selected and with an introduction by W. H. Auden, Doubleday, 1947.
Selected Poems, compiled and with an introduction by John Sparrow, J. Murray, 1948.
St. Katherine's Church, Chiselhampton, Oxfordshire: Verses Turned in Aid of a Public Subscription towards the Restoration of the Church of St. Katherine, Chiselhampton [Chiselhampton], 1950.
A Few Late Chrysanthemums: New Poems, Transatlantic, 1954.
Poems in the Porch, S.P.C.K. (London), 1954.
Collected Poems, compiled and with an introduction by the Earl of Birkenhead, J. Murray, 1958, Houghton (Boston), 1959, 3rd enlarged edition published as John Betjeman's Collected Poems, J. Murray, 1970, Houghton, 1971, 4th edition, J. Murray, 1980.
John Betjeman (selected poems), E. Hulton, 1958.
Poems, Vista Books, 1960.
Summoned by Bells (autobiography in verse), Houghton, 1960, new edition, J. Murray, 1976.
A Ring of Bells, selected and with an introduction by Irene Slade, J. Murray, 1962, Houghton, 1963.
High and Low, J. Murray, 1966, Houghton, 1967.
Six Betjeman Songs, with music by Mervyn Horder, Duckworth (London), 1967.
A Nip in the Air, J. Murray, 1975, Norton (New York, NY), 1976.
Betjeman in Miniature: Selected Poems of Sir John Betjeman, Gleniffer Press, 1976.
Metro-land, Warren, 1977.
The Best of Betjeman, selected by John Guest, J. Murray, 1978.
Church Poems, J. Murray, 1981.
Uncollected Poems, J. Murray, 1982.
The Illustrated Summoned by Bells, J. Murray, 1994.
The Illustrated Poems of John Betjeman, J. Murray, 1995.
WORKS ON ARCHITECTURE
Ghastly Good Taste; or, A Depressing Story of the Rise and Fall of English Architecture, Chapman & Hall (London), 1933, St. Martin's (New York City), 1971.
An Oxford University Chest, illustrated by L. Moholy-Nagy and others, J. Miles (London), 1938.
Antiquarian Prejudice, Hogarth Press (London), 1939.
Cities and Small Towns, Collins (London), 1943.
English Cities and Small Towns, Collins, 1943.
First and Last Loves, Musson (New York, NY), 1952.
The English Town in the Last Hundred Years (Rede Lecture), Cambridge University Press, 1956.
(Under pseudonym Richard M. Farren) Ground Plan to Skyline, Newman Neame (London), 1960.
The City of London Churches, Pitkin Pictorials (London), 1965.
Ten Wren Churches, illustrated by R. Beer, Editions Electo, 1970.
A Pictorial History of English Architecture, Macmillan (New York City), 1972.
London's Historic Railway Stations, Transatlantic, 1972.
West Country Churches, Society of Sts. Peter and Paul, 1973.
In Praise of Churches, John Murray (London, England), 1996.
EDITOR
Cornwall Illustrated in a Series of Views, Architectural Press, 1934.
(With Geoffrey Taylor) English, Scottish, and Welsh Landscape, 1700-c. 1860, Muller, 1944.
Watergate Children's Classics, Watergate Classics (London), 1947.
(With Taylor, and contributor) English Love Poems, Faber, 1957.
An American's Guide to English Parish Churches, Including the Isle of Man, McDowell, Obolensky, 1958, published in England as Collins Guide to English Parish Churches, Collins, 1958, revised edition published as Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches, Volume 1: The North, Volume 2: The South, 1968.
Altar and Pew: Church of England Verses, E. Hulton, 1959.
(And author of introduction) Charles Tennyson Turner, A Hundred Sonnets, Hart-Davis, 1960, Dufour, 1961.
(With Winnifred Hindley) A Wealth of Poetry, Blackwell, 1963.
(And author of introduction and commentaries) Victorian and Edwardian London from Old Photographs, Viking, 1969.
(With David Vaisey) Victorian and Edwardian Oxford from Old Photographs, Batsford, 1971.
(With J. S. Gay) Victorian and Edwardian Brighton from Old Photographs, Batsford, 1972.
Also editor, with Rowse, of Victorian and Edwardian Cornwall from Old Photographs, 1974, and of John Masefield's Selected Poems, 1978. General editor of "Shell Guides" series, Architectural Press, 1934- 64.
TELEVISION DOCUMENTARIES
The Stained Glass at Fairford, 1955.
(With Stewart Farver) Pity about the Abbey, 1965.
Metro-Land, 1973.
A Passion for Churches, 1974.
Vicar of This Parish, 1976.
Betjeman's Dublin, 1979.
OTHER
Shell Guide to Cornwall, Architectural Press, 1934, published as Cornwall Illustrated, Architectural Press, 1935, revised edition published as Cornwall: A Shell Guide, Faber, 1964.
Devon Shell Guide, Architectural Press, 1936, revised edition, Faber, 1955.
Vintage London, Collins, 1942.
(And illustrator, with John Piper) Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide, J. Murray, 1948.
(And illustrator, with Piper) Murray's Berkshire Architectural Guide, J. Murray, 1949.
(With Piper) Shropshire: A Shell Guide, Faber, 1951.
The English Scene: A Reader's Guide (includes reading list by L. Russell Muirhead), Cambridge University Press for the National Book League, 1951.
(Illustrator) Basil Fulford Lowther Clarke, English Churches, London House & Markwell, 1964.
A Plea for Holy Trinity Church, Sloan Street, Church Union, 1974.
John Betjeman's Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1980.
Lord Mount Prospect, Tragara Press, 1981.
Betjeman's Cornwall, J. Murray, 1984.
The Golden Treasury of John Betjeman (recording), Spoken Arts, 1984.
Betjeman's London, edited by Pennie Denton, J. Murray, 1988.
John Betjeman: Letters, Methuen (London), edited by Candida Lycett Green, Volume 1: 1926-1951, 1994, Volume Two, 1951-1984, 1995.
(With Paul Hogarth) In Praise of Churches, J. Murray, 1996.
John Betjeman: Coming Home; an Anthology of His Prose 1920-1977, selected and introduced by Candida Lycett Green, Methuen (London), 1997.
Recordings by the author of his own work include Poems, Argo, and Summoned by Bells, Argo. Contributor to books, including, A Panorama of Rural England, edited by Walter James Turner, Chanticleer Press/Hastings House, 1944; The Englishman's Country, edited by Turner, Collins, 1945; Studies in the History of Swindon, [Swindon], 1950; Gala Day London, Harvill, 1953; The Twelfth Man, Cassell, 1971; and Likes and Dislikes: A Private Anthology, Tragara Press, 1981. Author of introduction to books, including Selected Poems, by Henry J. Newbolt, Nelson, 1940; William Purcell, Onward Christian Soldier, by William Purcell, Longmans, 1957. Book critic, Daily Telegraph, 1952, and Daily Herald (London); columnist, Spectator, 1954-58; film critic, London Evening Standard. MEDIA ADAPTATIONS: Donald Swann has set some of Betjeman's poems to music.
Further Readings
Bogan, Louise, A Poet's Alphabet: Reflections on the Literary Art and Vocation, McGraw-Hill, 1970.
Brooke, Jocelyn, Ronald Firbank and John Betjeman, Longmans, Green (New York, NY), 1962.
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Gale (Detroit), Volume 2, 1974; Volume 6, 1976; Volume 10, 1979; Volume 34, 1985; Volume 43, 1987.
Delaney, Frank, Betjeman Country, J. Murray, 1983.
Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 20: British Poets, 1914-1945, Gale, 1983.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook: 1984, Gale, 1985.
A Garland for the Laureate: Poems Presented to Sir John Betjeman on His 75th Birthday, Celandine Press, 1981.
Hillier, Bevis, compiler, John Betjeman: A Life in Pictures, J. Murray, 1984.
Hillier, Young Betjeman, J. Murray, 1988.
Kermode, Frank, Puzzles & Epiphanies, Chilmark Press (New York City), 1962.
Press, John, John Betjeman, Longman, 1974.
Sparrow, John, Independent Essays, Faber, 1963.
Stanford, Derek, John Betjeman: A Study, Spearman, 1961.
Stapleton, Margaret L., Sir John Betjeman: A Bibliography of Writings by and about Him, Scarecrow Press (Metuchen, NJ), 1974.
Stem, Gladys, And Did He Stop and Speak to You, Regnery, 1958.
Wain, John, Essays on Literature and Ideas, St. Martin's, 1963.
PERIODICALS
Arizona Quarterly, spring, 1963, pp. 37-49.
Book Collector, winter, 1992, pp. 477-97.
Books and Bookmen, May, 1967.
Book World, September 15, 1968.
British Book News, February, 1983, p. 116.
Christian Century, February 22, 1961; June 5, 1963.
Commonweal, March 3, 1961.
Contemporary Review, May, 1960, pp. 286-89; July, 1994, pp. 39-41; August, 1994, p. 107.
Dalhousie Review, spring, 1976, pp. 112-24.
Descant, spring, 1969.
Horizon, April 13, 1946, pp. 221-38.
Listener, January 26, 1967; May 23, 1985, pp. 20-1.
London Magazine, March, 1967.
London Review of Books, December 8, 1994, pp. 22-3.
Los Angeles Times, June 1, 1984, p. 7.
New Statesman, December 3, 1960, p. 894; January 6, 1961; October 3, 1969.
Newsweek, November 28, 1960.
New Yorker, April 18, 1959; September 2, 1967; May 23, 1970.
New York Herald Tribune Lively Arts, December 4, 1960.
New York Herald Tribune Weekly Book Review, September 14, 1947, p. 6.
New York Review of Books, May 18, 1967, pp. 31-4.
New York Times, October 11, 1972, p. 18.
New York Times Book Review, November 27, 1960, pp. 5, 30; September 24, 1967, p. 57; December 7, 1969.
New York Times Magazine, August 13, 1967.
Observer (London), April 24, 1994, pp. 18-19.
Poetry Review, summer, 1967.
Punch, April 29, 1970.
Review of English Studies, November, 1991, pp. 541-50.
Spectator, October 8, 1954, pp. 443-44; December 2, 1960, p. 913; April 18, 1970; April 23, 1994, pp. 30-1.
Sunday Times (London), May 20, 1984, p. 5.
Time, February 2, 1959; December 5, 1960; October 23, 1972; December 4, 1972.
Times (London), July 14, 1954, p. 10; October 11, 1972, p. 16; January 9, 1983, p. 43; May 22, 1984.
Times Literary Supplement, December 12, 1958, p. 720; November 10, 1966; May 21, 1970; March 27, 1981, p. 335; December 10, 1993, p. 13; December 8, 1995, p. 8.
Twentieth Century, February, 1959, pp. 130-37.
Western Humanities Review, summer, 1973, pp. 289-94.
Discover this poet's context and related poetry, articles, and media.
Poems by John Betjeman
| John Betjeman |
Shostakovish's symphony number 2 has the name of which month ? | Collected Poems: Betjeman, John: Trade Paperback: 9780374126537: Powell's Books
Collected Poems
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Qty
Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough
To get it ready for the plough.
The cabbages are coming now;
The earth exhales.
--from "Slough"
When the beloved English poet John Betjeman's Collected Poems first appeared in 1958, it made publishing history, and has now sold more than two million copies to a steadily expanding readership. Betjeman is almost unique among poets in that his work appeals equally strongly to those who love poetry and to those who rarely read it. This volume, the first American edition of the Collected Poems, incorporates all the poems that Betjeman published after the original Collected Poems and includes a new foreword by Britain's poet laureate, Andrew Motion.
Review
"A neat comic sense, an unfeigned comfort with 19th-century manners and forms, and a good eye for English milieus made Betjeman (1906 1984) both a great craftsman of light verse and the most popular British poet of his day. His first U.K. Collected Poems, in 1958, sold millions of copies. Newly available in the United States alongside A.N. Wilson's new biography, this big book can show Americans what so many Britons cherish: ballads and love poems devoted to strapping, tennis-playing young women; a fondness for Cornwall's seaside; devotion to traditional England, along with an amused contempt for the middle-class ways that might destroy it (the ways in which he, and his readers, actually live). Betjeman and his sympathetic characters, from King Edward VIII to a 'husband down at the depot with car in car-park,' hike along 'stony lanes and back at six to tea,' celebrate Christmas, admire South London's churches and denounce the 'Inexpensive Progress' which plans to 'Leave no village standing./ Which could provide a landing/ For aeroplanes to roar.' Though Philip Larkin called Betjeman (poet laureate from 1972 on) his favorite contemporary poet, 'Betj' provides nothing like Larkin's memorable depths; his enviable skill, however, might entice Anglophiles, or devotees of light verse, to queue up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review
"John Betjeman has succeeded better than most of his contemporaries in narrowing the gulf between poetry and the public. In his own province of feeling he has established a personal regency over all contemporary taste." --The Times (London) "He is in the best sense a committed writer, whose poems spring from what he really feels about real life, and as a result he brings back to poetry a sense of dramatic urgency it had all but lost." --Philip Larkin
Synopsis
A first American edition of the mid-twentieth-century British poet laureate's major works collects the complete body of his published works since the publication of his original volume and features a new foreword by fellow poet laureate Andrew Motion. Original.
About the Author
Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984) was one of Britain's most recognized, beloved, and bestselling poets of the last century. He was knighted in 1969 and named Poet Laureate in 1972.
Table of Contents
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Vaughan Williams's symphony number 7 has the name of which continent ? | Sinfonia Antarctica (Symphony No.7) (Vaughan Williams, Ralph) - IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music
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Sinfonia Antarctica (Symphony No.7) (Vaughan Williams, Ralph)
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Movements/SectionsMov'ts/Sec's
| Antarctica |
"Which poet laureate wrote the poems ""the hawk in the rain"", Moortown"" and ""Birthday letters"" ?" | Vaughan Williams: Complete EMI Recordings / Boult - Warner Classics: 5099990356728 | Buy from ArkivMusic
Vaughan Williams: Complete EMI Recordings / Boult
Release Date: 03/26/2013
Number of Discs: 13
Recorded in: Mixed
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SEE, HEAR & LEARN MORE! Notes & Editorial Reviews Works on This Recording Customer Reviews
Notes and Editorial Reviews
Doubtless future generations of VW adherents will replay the game of swings and roundabouts that emerges every time one contrasts the two symphonic cycles left by Adrian Boult. The first was in mono for Decca beginning in the early 1950s, and the second for EMI in stereo, starting in 1968. If one has Belart�s quite vivid 1996 transfers of that first cycle [461 442-2] one has a box of enduring worth with performances of taut drama. The later cycle, here repackaged in the context of Boult�s complete EMI VW recordings, offers many valuable opportunities to understand and appreciate Boult�s subtly modified view of the canon.
Naturally the sound quality will loom large. Indeed for some
Read more people, it will largely eclipse interpretative matters. Taking those further, sound obsessives wouldn�t much care for 1968 recordings in any case, nourishing only the latest test case in ultimate reproduction. For the rest of us, it�s a hugely rewarding chance to get to grips with these major undertakings. It�s not really a question of tempi. It would be tedious indeed to tabulate the timings and measure out performances by the minute and second. Boult is certainly not always slower in his stereo cycle; not by a long chalk. It�s rather more a question of intensity.
The Sea Symphony is actually slightly tauter in 1968 than in the Decca traversal. His soloists back then were the admirable Isobel Baillie and John Cameron, whom I happen, just, to prefer to Sheila Armstrong and John Carol Case. There�s an extra degree of communicative drama in the Decca, fine though the EMI is. Boult first conducted A London Symphony in 1918, and in between these two recordings seems slightly to have rethought his approach to the first two movements. He is more expansive in the opening movement in 1971 but significantly faster in the Lento second movement. Lovers of the symphony won�t need reminding of Richard Hickox�s pioneering recording of the original 1913 version. Seriously hardcore collectors will need Eugene Goossens version of the 1920 edition, made in Cincinnati and once available on Biddulph [WHL016], which is an easier listen, but is not more important historically than Dan Godfrey�s pioneering recording of the 1920 version, made in 1925, and available on Symposium 1377.
The Pastoral (with the New Philharmonia, not LPO) receives beautiful recordings, complementary in strengths. He takes a little more time in the Decca but both finales offer gripping symphonic summations and the playing is fine throughout in both discs. Margaret Ritchie sings in the earlier of the two, Margaret Price in the stereo remake. Interestingly, to show Boult�s conducting was perhaps more fluid interpretatively than is often thought - by which I don�t mean necessarily more intense live than in the studio, though that was often the case too - the live 1972 performance he gave in Studio 1 Maida Vale for the BBC with its Symphony Orchestra, and with soprano Valerie Hill, reminds me a touch more of the Decca of two decades before than the more recent EMI [BBC Radio Classics 15656 91642].
Bernstein, Mitropoulos, and Stokowski: there�s something for everyone when it comes to No.4. Add the composer himself in his famous recording, the disinterred Barbirolli and then add the two Boults and you have pretty much all you need, if you fancy �historic� recordings. Boult remained pretty consistent, though his earlier recording�s opening movement is elemental in its power, even more so than the stereo remake. The Decca recording is a little brittle but certainly nothing can efface Boult�s gripping command here. Again this is with the New Philharmonia. Except for the finale, where he is tangibly a bit terser, No. 5 is just that shade slower in 1969 but not much less moving. The wind playing in the Romanza is necessarily more vivid because of the recording quality as is, too, the veiled string tone. I wouldn�t be without his first thoughts though.
Boult recorded the Sixth on 78s in 1949-50 [Dutton CDBP9703], with the original and revised versions of the Scherzo, following it with his Decca LP. It�s here too, so you needn�t go to the Dutton if you want to acquire it. Boult tightened both the Moderato second movement and the numbing Epilogue in his 1967 New Philharmonia recording when compared to the Decca, but his 1949 EMI 78 had an even faster Epilogue. As if to show that nothing is in limbo when it comes to VW-Boult studies, the conductor�s August 1972 live Prom performance shaves a full two minutes off the Decca Epilogue alone, aligning it to Boult�s later preferred speed. Boult is even more visceral in that Prom in the opening movement with his old orchestra, the BBC Symphony. It can be found coupled with No.3 in the BBC disc noted above.
I suspect one performance that some will prefer over another is that of the Decca Sinfonia Antartica. The Decca has superscriptions spoken by John Gielgud and the performance is masterly from beginning to end; conducting of a calibre not often encountered in this work. Boult is only marginally less atmospheric in 1968 and he has Norma Burrowes where earlier he had Margaret Ritchie once again. This is a matter of tempi and tempo relationships, because he is significantly tighter in the remake to an extent that is quite unusual in his discography. Some, therefore, may prefer this �symphonic tautness� to the more filmic latitude of the Decca. I love both, but in this case I tend toward the wide-open spaces of the Decca. Symphony No.8 may also divide loyalties. The Decca is in 1956 stereo - the only one of the cycle to be thus recorded, given that he didn�t record No.9 for Decca, only for Everest. The Decca No.8 is also beautifully performed with a good tonal response from the LPO fiddles. The 1969 version is very similar in outline, but perhaps fractionally less compelling expressively. This leaves the field to the EMI Ninth, recorded in December 1969, which should certainly be heard in conjunction with the equally excellent Everest traversal [EVC 9001] which was recorded about seven months after the composer�s death.
The symphonies are the spine of this 13-CD boxed set. The smaller items are all present. Hugh Bean�s lovely 1967 Lark Ascending is here but so is the earlier 1952 recording with Jean Pougnet with his faster vibrato. I rather prefer Iona Brown�s first recording, with Neville Marriner, to both, but it�s a delight to have the two coupled in this way. There are two recordings of the Serenade to Music. The first was made in 1951 in the Royal Festival Hall in the choral version - an interesting occasion, as it was the hall�s opening; this has never been released on CD before - whilst the 1969 remake is heard with the 16 solo singers. The Tallis Fantasia can also be admired in both the 1940 and 1975 versions, whilst Job is also subject to two recordings, namely the famous 1946 78 set and Boult�s 1970 stereo. Vronsky and Babin join the LPO and Boult for a splendid traversal of the problematic (is it problematic?) Concerto in C, for two pianos. The Partita for double string orchestra and Concerto Grosso both derive from 1975 sessions. Flos campi (my computer just wrote the name of that well-known seaside baud, Flo Scampi) is heard with violist William Primrose in superb form in 1946.
One of VW�s choral masterpieces is Dona Nobis Pacem where the soloists are Armstrong and Carol Case (April 1973). VW�s own live 1936 performance is even faster and can be heard on SOMM CD071, coupled with part of a Prom concert in 1952 where the composer conducted his Fifth Symphony. The Song of Thanksgiving, which had earlier been known as Thanksgiving for Victory was sung by Betty Dolemore with narrator Robert Speaight in 1951. There�s an earlier viscerally exciting Boult performance, with that lovely soprano Elsie Suddaby and narrator Valentine �The Man in Black� Dyall, once available on Intaglio INCD7571. Pianist Peter Katin and the LPO Choir join to produce a stirring Fantasia (quasi variazione) on the Old 104 th. Menuhin�s 1952 mono performance of the Concerto accademico - or Violin Concerto in D minor as it really should always be called, if for no other reason than to stop people shying away from it - is here, though it was shelved when recorded and not released for very many years. Several smaller pieces will afford great pleasure, not least The Wasps suite, Toward the Unknown Region and the Norfolk Rhapsody No.1.
The Pilgrim�s Progress has been revived on stage recently, to mixed reviews. For those who wish to listen, Boult�s 1972 recording occupies the last two CDs in this 13-CD box. It has a vast cast-list of some of the best-known singers in Britain at the time. It�s salutary to be reminded that this was Boult�s only opera recording. The rehearsal segments that are included last around 27 minutes and have been issued previously but they are valuable for illustrating the conductor�s patient, jovial but very occasionally irascible industry.
There�s a modestly sized booklet with an essay and full discographical details. The transfers are not new. They date from 1986 to 1992, with the exception of the 1951 Serenade to Music and the 1940 Tallis Fantasia which were made in 2013; the latter is a bit muddy for my own tastes.
It seems superfluous to recommend this box. It contains around 17 hours of Boult�s VW. Many of these recordings are amongst the very best you will hear. Above it, the box offers a concentrated focus on one of the composer�s most devoted exponents, a man who premiered three of the symphonies, and who remained an artistic partner par excellence.
Average Customer Review:
( 1 Customer Review )
A S;ight Modification September 17, 2013 By Robert Q. (Greensboro, NC) See All My Reviews "My disappointment is with the exclusion from this box of the two recorded versions of RVW's Christmas cantata, Hodie. Both recordings are excellent representatives of his creative genius, sticking marvelously close to the New Testament record. Other than that, this is both an excellent box and a very good buy. So much Boult! I never tire of his interpretations of this beloved British composer. After taking a second look at my criticism of this set, I suddenly realized why the cantata Hodie was not included. The simple reason, which I overlooked, was that both recommended recordings of Hodie were conducted by two different conductors, not by Maestro Boult. I am therefore adding a fifth star to my rating of this set. I have never heard a recording of RVW's compositions by Maestro Boult which I did not cherish. He remains the standard, in my humble opinion, by which I judge all others." Report Abuse
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"Which Italian composer wrote the film music for the movies ""A fistful of dollars"", ""The good, the bad and the ugly"" and ""The mission"" ?" | 'A Fistful of Dollars? It's my worst ever score' | Film | The Guardian
'A Fistful of Dollars? It's my worst ever score'
He is the god of film soundtracks. Will Hodgkinson finds out what makes Ennio Morricone tick
They shoot, he scores ... Ennio Morricone. Photograph: Szilard Koszticsak/AP
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Rome on May 15, and Italy's new president, 80-year-old, Giorgio Napolitano is being sworn in. A procession of liveried soldiers march outside Quirinale Palace and 21 cannons are shot from Gianicolo Hill to herald the president's arrival. A few hundred yards away at the chic Piazza Venezia, a ceremony of a different kind is taking place involving another, equally decorated 80-year-old: Ennio Morricone, the godfather of film music, is preparing to be interviewed.
"He can be quite grumpy," says the genial translator a little nervously as we wait in the cobbled courtyard of Morricone's building to be summoned by the maestro. "Once I translated for an American journalist who kept asking him about the Sergio Leone films. Morricone told me that if she asked him about Leone one more time, he was leaving."
This is not the first time I've been warned about the "Leone question". Morricone has written scores for more than 400 films since receiving his first commission in 1962, but his name will forever be linked with the haunting whistles, ticking pocket-watches and gloriously foreboding orchestral sweeps that give 1960s westerns such as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly their mood and tension. Apparently he's not too happy about this. And he finds the common term for Leone's Italian-made recreations of the American west deeply offensive. I've been told that should I in any way connect the word "spaghetti" with "western", I might find a plate of the stuff tipped over my head.
Finally, we are summoned to Morricone's apartment. Huge double doors open on to a gilded palace of a flat. The flat is so immaculate - even the stack of art books on the coffee table is in perfect geometric alignment - it is hard to tell if it is actually inhabited or merely a showpiece for Roman living. But sitting in one of the sofas, looking like a modern-day emperor, is Morricone. He doesn't exactly smile, but he does not look hostile either. I try to butter him up by mentioning an obscure film called Stark System that he scored. He groans.
"I can't remember anything about it," he says, "except that the director was a woman." Further questions about little-known movies bring recollections of "a beautiful woman" whose "private parts" were featured in close-up, and "a stunning woman who was at least 6ft tall". If nothing else, Morricone's career has brought him into contact with a lot of women.
Morricone's stubborn clarity of vision, combined with a rigorous training and an open mind, has put him in a class of his own among soundtrack composers. Born into a musical family in 1926 and educated at the Conservatory of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, Morricone began working in film music by chance. "Once I finished my studies, I played trumpet with a small band just when the war had finished, a very bad time in our history," he says. "We used to play for American and British armies and I didn't like that - I didn't enjoy playing other people's music, and if I hadn't worked in film I would have been a composer of free music. But a director called me, so I started writing scores. I have never once gone to a director and offered him ideas; they have always come to me."
Sergio Leone, a former school friend, came to Morricone when he needed music for his first film in 1964. Reasoning that not asking Morricone about A Fistful of Dollars would be like not asking Frank Sinatra about My Way, I promise to keep my questions about his Leone scores to a minimum, and ask how he came up with the brooding score. "Who told him not to ask me about Leone?" he snaps at the translator, before eloquently detailing his working relationship with the director.
"Some of the music was written before the film, which is unusual," he explains. "Leone's films were made like that because he wanted the music to be an important part of it, and he often kept the scenes longer simply because he didn't want the music to end. That's why the films were so slow - because they were following the pattern of the music."
Why did A Fistful of Dollars make such an impact? "I don't know. It's the worst film Leone made and the worst score I did. But there are other films I wrote music for that had bigger success. The Mission, Once Upon a Time in America and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are all better."
After the success of the westerns, the commissions came flooding in. Morricone knocked out dark and brooding scores for the bloody Italian crime genre known as giallo, named after the yellow pages of Italian pulp fiction paperbacks. He wrote music for the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini, who was said to be so worried about Morricone's reaction to the depravity depicted in his film Salo that he refused to show the composer any rushes. ("It wasn't to my taste," says Morricone, who only saw the film once it was completed.)
His experimental tendencies were allowed full rein in his scores for the horror films of Dario Argento. "His films are full of blood, so contemporary electronic music works perfectly and the audience accepted the music as linked to those strong scenes." Did he ever work with Goblin, Dario Argento's own electronic group? He appears to take umbrage. "Nobody ever collaborates with me. I have had a few composers conducting my music but that is as far as it goes."
I ask where his ideas come from. "They come from me, of course!" he replies irritably. "The director doesn't tell me anything: it's my idea and even if the director comes along to tell me to do this or that, it's still my creation." I tell him that I wasn't disputing the originality of his work, but merely wished to know where the seeds of his musical thoughts germinate. That appears to pacify him. "Sometimes the idea comes from very far away, and when you get to the end of it you can't remember where the beginning was. One simple idea develops into something completely different."
Unusually among successful film composers, Morricone has never moved to Hollywood. He has also refused to learn English, which, having got some sense of his character over the last hour or so, is beginning to make sense. "I never had the time," he says of his lack of linguistic knowledge. As for relocating to America, it was never an option, even after his high-profile success with Hollywood films such as The Mission (for which he was nominated for an Oscar). America would just have to come to him.
"They said they would give me a villa," he says of the attempts Hollywood studios made to get him to move. "I told them I liked it in Italy, and there was no need to leave Rome because I only speak with the director about the score, not the studio." He is deeply critical of the Hollywood trend for composers to write a score that is then sent to a professional arranger. "In the history of music, composition is instrumentation - a composer doesn't just write the music and then get someone else to do the orchestration. Nobody, apart from a few people in America, does this."
Morricone remains prolific. He spends most days writing at his Rome apartment. He takes a month off each summer but ends up composing anyway, working for an hour or so every morning. "When I do have free time my concern is: will I ever be able to write again? But this is normal. There is a tenor singer I knew who used to wake up every morning convinced he no longer had a voice. So I keep going because the function fuels the organ; the work creates the work."
Does he have any thoughts of retiring? "Would you like me to retire? Actually, I already have. I receive my state pension and I pay taxes on my earnings. But nobody told me I had to stop working when I receive my pension."
It's taken a while for me to realise that this haughty old man, this Caesar of film music, is having a sly laugh at the expense of the rather earnest foreign journalist. I ask him if he has any unrealised ambitions. He almost smiles. "Of course. I would like to be the chess world champion. But perhaps I will have to wait until I'm reborn for that."
· Ennio Morricone conducts the Gyor Philharmonic Orchestra at Hammersmith Apollo, London. Box office: 0870 606 3400. The performances have now been postponed until December 1 and 2. Ennio Morricone: The Man and his Music is published by Warner Classics.
How to buy Morricone on CD
Once Upon a Time in the West (BMG)
To really appreciate Morricone you need to hear his soundtracks in their entirety. This, one of the most iconic scores in film history, is a good start. Cheyenne creates an eerie atmosphere with banjo and out-of-tune piano, while Man With a Harmonica is the most recognisable theme in the western genre.
Morricone: The Man and his Music (Warner Classics)
Morricone conducts the Rome Sinfonietta and four soloists through his most famous songs. Includes Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in America and The Mission, plus other film music transcribed for solo piano.
3 Ennio Morricone at the Movies (Camden)
Features such classics as Paying Off Scores, from For a Few Dollars More, and the legendary, much-pastiched theme tune to A Fistful of Dollars, and lesser known western themes.
Metti, Una Sera A Cena (Love Circle) (Cinevox)
One of his most beautiful pieces, for this 1969 film about wife-swapping. The title track is a masterpiece in harmonic minimalism; Hurry to Me is groovy easy listening.
Ad Ogni Costo (Grand Slam) (Dagored)
The soundtrack for this 1967 caper movie starring Janet Leigh and Klaus Kinski sees Morricone playing his own instrument, the trumpet, on a solo on the title track. Alongside his signature wordless vocals and moody atmospherics, he manages to find space for bossa nova and samba tunes, making this one of his most eclectic works.
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"In 1958 what was the first airline to fly a jet airliner ""The Comet"" across the Atlantic ?" | For a Fistful of Euros: Did Ennio Morricone Cheat Guitarist Behind Famous Spaghetti Western Riffs? | Hollywood Reporter
For a Fistful of Euros: Did Ennio Morricone Cheat Guitarist Behind Famous Spaghetti Western Riffs?
10:22 AM PDT 5/8/2013 by Eric J. Lyman
COMMENTS
Clint Eastwood in 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'
The daughter of Pino Rucher alleges her father, now deceased, was denied the proper credit for guitar solos for three classic film soundtracks written by Ennio Morricone.
ROME – Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone will be called into court based on charges from the daughter of guitarist Pino Rucher, who says Morricone did not give her father proper credit for guitar solos her performed on three of Morricone’s best-known soundtracks. She’s asking for €800,000 ($1.1 million) to compensate for the oversight.
According to an article in the Wednesday’s edition of La Repubblica , Maria Rucher alleges that the famous and easily recognizable guitar solos in Morricone’s compositions for the soundtracks of Spaghetti Western classics A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly -- all starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone -- were the sole creations of her father, who died 17 years ago at the age of 72.
In the credits, the performances of those compositions are credited equally to Rucher and fellow band mates Enrico Ciacci (the brother of well-known Italian singer Little Tony), Alessandro Alessandroni, and Bruno Battisti D’Amario. Morricone has not issued a statement in connection to the charges.
The elder Rucher was a noted jazz guitarist and musical arranger who collaborated regularly with Morricone, Leone, and other cinema and music industry figures starting in the 1940s and until he retired in 1983. Among his professional accomplishments, he is credited with being the first to play an electric guitar on the soundtrack for a cowboy film.
There is no indication why Maria Rucher waited 17 years after the death of her father -- and 47 years after the last of the three films in question first appeared in cinemas -- to make her allegations. According to Italian legal experts, contemporary intellectual property laws are much tougher than those in place in the 1960s, which would help Rucher’s case. But there would have to be some more recent development or the case could run the risk of being thrown out because of statute of limitation rules.
This is the second time in two months that the 84-year-old Morricone has been in the headlines: in March he told a group of students at Rome’s LUISS University that he would never work with U.S. director Quentin Tarantino again after their minor collaboration on Django Unchained, saying the director “places music in his films without coherence.” Morricone later said the comments had been taken out of context and that he was just making the point that using only parts of songs means that what movie goers hear “is not always consistent with the entire work.”
Though Morricone has composed the soundtracks for more than 500 films in a career that dates to 1959, he is showing no signs of slowing down: he is currently working on three films, including Leningrad, the long-awaited World War II drama from Oscar winning Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore.
Morricone’s star-studded career has resulted in five Oscar nominations for best Musical Score -- for Days of Heaven (1978), The Mission (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Bugsy (1991), and Melena (2000) -- and he was given an honorary Oscar for “contributions to the art of film music” in 2007.
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The name of which chemical element of the Periodic Table ends with the letters ALT ? | Naming Chemical Compounds & Writing Chemical Formulas
Binary Compounds
All true binary compounds contain only two elements. The name of every binary compound ends with �ide.� Binary compounds come in three types. They are:
Type I............. the metal forms only one type of cation
Type II............ the metal forms two or more types of cations
Type III.......... contains only nonmetals
We will look at each type, one at a time.
Type I Binary Compounds
For Type I binary compounds the metal present can be found in either Group 1 or Group 2 on the periodic table. The naming system for this type of compound is quite simple and is found below.
Rules for naming Type I binary compounds
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the name of the element.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the first part of the element name (the root) and adding the letters �IDE.�
4. Write the name for the compound by combining the names of the ions.
Name the compound RbI.
� Rb is the chemical symbol for rubidium.
� I is the chemical symbol for iodine, whose root is �iod.� Add the �ide� ending to get iodide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name rubidium iodide.
Name the compound CaO.
� Ca is the chemical symbol for calcium.
� O is the symbol for oxygen, whose root is �ox.� Add the �ide� ending to get oxide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name calcium oxide.
Name the compound Li3N.
� Li is the chemical symbol for lithium.
� N is the chemical symbol for nitrogen, whose root is �nitr.� Add the �ide� ending to get nitride.
� Put the pieces together to get the name lithium nitride.
Write the formula for potassium sulfide.
� The chemical symbol of potassium is K. K is in the 1st column of the periodic table, therefore, its oxidation state is +1.
� Sulfide is derived from sulfur, whose symbol is S. Its oxidation state is -2.
+1 -2
� So far we have� K S.
� The total positive charge must balance the total negative charge. Therefore, we need 2 K atoms to give a total positive charge of +2. This balances the -2 charge on the sulfur.
� Putting it all together we have K2S.
Write the formula for magnesium chloride.
� The chemical symbol of magnesium is Mg. Mg is in the 2nd column of the periodic table, therefore, its oxidation state is +2.
� Chloride is derived from chlorine, whose symbol is Cl. Its oxidation state is -1.
+2 -1
� So far we have� Mg Cl
� The total positive charge must balance the total negative charge. Therefore, we need 2 chlorine atoms to give a total negative charge of -2. This balances the charge on the magnesium.
� Putting it all together we have MgCl2.
NaCl � sodium chloride
KI � potassium iodide
RbBr � rubidium bromide
MgS � magnesium sulfide
Mg3N2 � magnesium nitride
Sodium fluoride � NaF
Strontium oxide � SrO
Beryllium chloride � BeCl2
Cesium sulfide � Ce2S
Potassium phophide � K3P
Type II Binary Compounds
For Type II binary compounds the metal present is NOT found in either Group 1 or Group 2 on the periodic table. The naming system for this type of compound is found below.
Rules for naming Type II binary compounds
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the name of the element. Include a Roman numeral to indicate the oxidation number (charge) on the metal cation.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the first part of the element name (the root) and adding the letters �IDE.�
4. Write the name for the compound by combining the names of the ions.
Name the compound FeCl2.
� Fe is the chemical symbol for iron.
o Fe is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed in the name. We�ll come back to that shortly.
� Cl is the chemical symbol for chlorine, whose root is �chlor.� Add the �ide� ending to get chloride.
� At this point we have iron (??) chloride.
� To find the Roman numeral�
o Find the charge of the anion.
� Cl has a -1 charge.
o Multiply times the number of those atoms to get the total negative charge.
� There are 2 Cl atoms.
� 2 times -1 = -2. <--- total negative charge.
o Balance total negative charge with total positive charge.
� The total negative charge of -2 must be balanced with a total positive charge of +2.
o Divide the total positive charge by the number of atoms to get Roman numeral.
� There is only 1 Fe
� +2 divided by 1 = +2. The Roman numeral is II.
� Put the pieces together to get the name iron (II) chloride.
Name the compound PbS2.
� Pb is the chemical symbol for lead.
o Pb is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed.
� S is sulfur, whose root is �sulf.� Add the �ide� ending to get sulfide.
� At this point we have lead (??) sulfide.
� To find the Roman numeral�
� S has a charge of -2.
� There are 2 sulfur atoms so�. 2 x -2 = -4. <---- total negative charge
� The total positive charge must be +4.
� There is 1 lead atom so� +4 � 1 = +4. The Roman numeral is IV.
� Put the pieces together to get the name lead (IV) sulfide.
Write the formula for nickel (III) oxide.
� The chemical symbol of nickel is Ni. The oxidation state is +3, as given by the Roman numeral.
� Oxide is derived from oxygen, whose symbol is O. Its oxidation state is -2.
+3 -2
� So far we have Ni O.
� In order to balance the charges we find the least common multiple (LCM) of 3 and 2. The LCM is 6. We need two Ni atoms (+6 � +3 = 2) and three O atoms (-6 � -2 = 3) to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have Ni2O3.
Write the formula for lead (IV) nitride.
� The chemical symbol of lead is Pb. The oxidation state is +4.
� Nitride is derived from nitrogen, whose symbol is N. Its oxidation state is -3.
+4 -3
� So far we have Pb N.
� The LCM of 4 and 3 is 12. We need three Pb atoms (+12 � +4 = 3) and 4 N atoms (-12 � -3 = 4) to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have Pb3N4.
Write the name for iron (II) oxide.
� The chemical symbol of iron is Fe. The oxidation state is +2.
� Oxide is derived from oxygen, whose symbol is O. Its oxidation state is -2.
+2 -2
� So far we have Fe O
� Since the charges already balance there is no additional work to be done.
� Putting it all together we have FeO.
Fe2O3 � Iron (III) oxide
CuCl � Copper (I) chloride
CuCl2 � Copper (II) chloride
PbS � lead (II) sulfide
PbS2 � lead (IV) sulfide
Chromium (VI) oxide � CrO3
Cobalt (III) sulfide � Co2S3
Nickel (II) bromide � NiBr2
Mercury (II) phosphide � Hg3P2
Cadmium (II) iodide � CdI2
Type III Binary Compounds
Type III binary compounds contain no metal atoms. There are two different naming systems for Type III binary compounds: the �old system� and the �new system.� The old system uses prefixes to indicate the number of each atom present and the new system is identical to that used for naming Type II compounds.
It is important to note that only one system can be used at a time. NEVER mix prefixes and Roman numerals.
Rules for naming Type III binary compounds: the OLD SYSTEM
1. The first element in the formula is named first, and the full element name is used.
2. The second element is named as though it were an anion: root + ide
3. Prefixes are used to denote the numbers of atoms present. (See table below)
4. The prefix mono- is never used for naming the first element.
Name the compound NO2.
� N is the chemical symbol of nitrogen. Since there is only one nitrogen atom AND it is the first element the prefix mono is not used.
� O is the chemical symbol of oxygen, whose root is ox. Add the ide ending to get oxide. There are two oxygen atoms so we also add the prefix di to get dioxide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name nitrogen dioxide.
Name the compound N2O.
� N is the chemical symbol of nitrogen. Since there are two nitrogen atoms we need to add the prefix di to get dinitrogen.
� O is the chemical symbol of oxygen, whose root is ox. Add the ide ending to get oxide. There is only one oxygen atom we add the prefix mono (mono IS used for the second element) to get monoxide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name dinitrogen monoxide.
Write the formula for carbon tetrachloride.
� The chemical symbol of carbon is C. There is no prefix before carbon in the chemical name, therefore, there is only 1 C atom in the chemical formula.
� Tetrachloride has the prefix tetra which means there are 4 atoms present. Chloride is derived from chlorine, whose symbol is Cl. Thus, there are 4 Cl atoms in the chemical formula.
� Putting it all together we have CCl4.
Write the formula for dinotrogen pentaoxide.
� The prefix di means 2. Thus there are 2 N atoms in the chemical formula.
� The prefix penta means 5. Thus, there are 5 O atoms in the chemical formula.
� Putting it all together we have N2O5.
Now let us apply the �new system� to these same compounds. For Type III binary compounds the �new system� is identical to that used to name Type II binary compounds. The advantage to using the new system is that you have one less system to learn.
Rules for naming Type III binary compounds: the NEW SYSTEM
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the name of the element. Include a Roman numeral to indicate the oxidation number (charge) on the metal cation.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the first part of the element name (the root) and adding the letters �IDE.�
4. Write the name for the compound by combining the names of the ions.
Name the compound NO2.
� N is the chemical symbol for nitrogen.
o Nitrogen is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed in the name.
� O is the symbol for oxygen, whose root is �ox.� Add the �ide� ending to get oxide.
� At this point we have nitrogen (??) oxide.
� To find the Roman numeral�
� O has a charge of -2.
� 2 oxygen atoms times -2 = -4. <---- total negative charge.
� The total negative charge of -4 must be balanced with a total positive charge of +4.
� +4 divided by 1 (one N atom) = +4. The Roman numeral is IV.
� Put the pieces together to get the name nitrogen (IV) oxide.
Name the compound N2O.
� N is the chemical symbol for nitrogen.
o Nitrogen is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed in the name.
� O is the symbol for oxygen, whose root is �ox.� Add the �ide� ending to get oxide.
� At this point we have nitrogen (??) oxide.
� To find the Roman numeral�.
� O has a charge of -2.
� 2 oxygen atoms times -2 = -4. <---- total negative charge.
� The total positive charge must be +2.
� +2 divided by 2 (2 N atoms) = +1. The Roman numeral is I.
� Put the pieces together to get the name nitrogen (I) oxide.
Write the formula for carbon(IV) chloride.
� The symbol for carbon is C. The oxidation state is +4, as given by the Roman numeral.
� Chloride is derived from chlorine. The charge on chlorine is -1.
+4 -1
� So far we have C Cl
� The LCM of 4 and 1 is 4. We need 1 C atom (+4 � +4 = 1) and 4 Cl atoms (-4 � -1 = 4) to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have CCl4.
Write the formula for nitrogen (V) oxide.
� The symbol for nitrogen is N. The Roman numeral indicates a charge of +5.
� Oxide is derived from oxygen. The charge on oxygen is -2.
+5 -2
� So far we have N O
� The LCM of 5 and 2 is 10. Therefore, we need 2 N atoms and 5 O atoms to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have N2O5.
(A.K.A. Compounds that contain polyatomic ions)
An ion is an atom with an electric charge (positive or negative).
A polyatomic ion is a group of atoms with an electric charge. (Even though it is a group of atoms it acts like it were a single atom.)
The names of nearly all polyatomic ions end with the letters �ate or �ite. Beware three exceptions: cyanide, hydroxide, and peroxide. These ions end with �ide� which can trick into thinking you have a binary compound when you actually have a ternary compound.
Follow the naming systems for Type I and Type II binary compounds but�
DON�T CHANGE THE NAME OF THE POLYATOMIC ION.
Na2SO4 � sodium sulfate
KH2PO4 � potassium dihydrogen phosphate
Fe(NO3)3 � iron (III) nitrate
Mn(OH)2 � manganese (II) hydroxide
Na2SO3 � sodium sulfite
Calcium hydroxide � Ca(OH)2
Sodium phosphate � Na3PO4
Ammonium dichromate � (NH4)2Cr2O7
Cobalt (II) perchlorate � Co(ClO4)2
Copper (II) nitrite � Cu(NO2)2
Naming Polyatomic Ions that Contain Oxygen
There are many atoms that form several different polyatomic ions with oxygen. The naming system for these ions is based on two things: the most common ion in each series and the number of oxygen atoms compared to the most common ion. The ones that concern us most are ions of phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen, chlorine, and carbon. Memorize these ions!
SO22- = hyposulfite
Note: Some of the ions do not exist in the real world, they are written here to show how to use the naming system.
Naming Acids
For this class, ALL acids begin with H (hydrogen). The names of ALL acids end with the word �acid.� There are two types of acids: those that contain oxygen and those that do not.
Naming acids that DO NOT contain oxygen
1. Take the name of the anion, add the prefix �hydro� and change the ending to �ic.�
2. Add the word �acid.�
Name the compounds HF.
� We know this is an acid because the chemical formula starts with �H.�
� Take the name of the anion (fluoride) add the prefix �hydro� and change the ending to �ic�: hydrofluoric
� Finally, add the word �acid.�
� hydrofluoric acid
Name the compound HCN.
� We know this is an acid because the chemical formula starts with �H.�
� There is no oxygen present so we start with the prefix �hydro.�
� Next, take the name of the anion (cyanide) and change the ending to �ic�: hydrocyanic
� Finally, add the word �acid.�
� hydrocyanic acid
Write the formula for hydrobromic acid.
� We know the formula starts with �H� because it is an acid. The charge on hydrogen is +1.
� We also know that the acid does not contain oxygen because of the �hydro� prefix.
� Removing the �hydro� and �ic� leaves us with �brom�, the root of bromine or Br. The charge on bromine is -1.
+1 -1
� So far we have H Br
� Balance the charges to get the formula HBr.
Write the formula for hydrosulfuric acid.
� We know the formula starts with �H� because it is an acid. The charge on hydrogen is +1.
� We also know that the acid does not contain oxygen because of the �hydro� prefix.
� Removing the �hydro� and �ic� leaves us with sulfur. The charge on sulfur is -2.
+1 -2
� So far we have H S
� Balance the charges to get the formula H2S.
Naming Acids the DO contain oxygen
1. Find the name of the polyatomic ion.
2. Change �ate� to �ic� or �ite� to �ous.�
3. Add the word acid.
� You know it�s an acid because it starts with H.
� ClO4- is the perchlorate ion.
� Change the �ate� to �ic� and get perchloric.
� Add the word acid and get perchloric acid.
� You know it�s an acid because it starts with H.
� SO32- is the sulfite ion.
� Change the �ite� to �ous� and get sulfous.
� Add the word acid and get sulfous acid.
o The name is actually sulfurous acid, but I will count sulfous acid correct because it follows the naming system.
Write the formula for phosphorous acid.
� The word acid tells us the first element is H. The charge on H is +1.
� We also know it is a ternary acid because the prefix �hydro� (meaning binary acid) is missing.
� Change �ous� to �ite� to get phophite. The formula for phophite is PO3-3.
� Putting it together and balancing the charges we get H3PO3.
Write the formula for each of the following compounds.
51. tin (II) nitrate 76. calcium bicarbonate
52. zinc (II) phosphate 77. calcium hydroxide
53. hypophosphorous acid 78. zinc (II) bisulfate
54. iron (III) chloride 79. silver (I) oxide
55. lithium sulfide 80. chlorous acid
56. silver (I) oxalate 81. lead (IV) oxide
57. perchloric acid 82. calcium acetate
58. potassium permanganate 83. sodium phosphate
59. strontium hypochlorite 84. copper (I) oxide
60. copper (I) sulfite 85. phosphorous acid
61. carbon (IV) sulfide 86. hydroiodic acid
62. calcium oxide 87. sodium fluoride
63. barium carbonate 88. phosphorus (V) oxide
64. antimony (III) dichromate 89. sulfur (II) bromide
65. silicon (IV) oxide 90. aluminum (III) sulfate
66. iron (II) carbonate 91. nitrogen (III) oxide
67. sodium cyanide 92. aluminum (III) iodide
68. carbon (IV) chloride 93. iron (III) phosphate
69. cesium fluoride 94. zinc (II) perchlorate
70. sodium chromate 95. sodium dihydrogen phosphate
71. hydrosulfuric acid 96. sulfurous acid
72. aluminum (III) oxide 97. strontium carbonate
73. ammonium phosphate 98. copper (II) hydroxide
74. boron (III) fluoride 99. iron (II) oxalate
75. radium sulfate 100. phosphorous (V) sulfide
| Co-Balt |
In the classic TV comedy series 'Men Behaving Badly', what were the first names of the to men ? | Naming Chemical Compounds & Writing Chemical Formulas
Binary Compounds
All true binary compounds contain only two elements. The name of every binary compound ends with �ide.� Binary compounds come in three types. They are:
Type I............. the metal forms only one type of cation
Type II............ the metal forms two or more types of cations
Type III.......... contains only nonmetals
We will look at each type, one at a time.
Type I Binary Compounds
For Type I binary compounds the metal present can be found in either Group 1 or Group 2 on the periodic table. The naming system for this type of compound is quite simple and is found below.
Rules for naming Type I binary compounds
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the name of the element.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the first part of the element name (the root) and adding the letters �IDE.�
4. Write the name for the compound by combining the names of the ions.
Name the compound RbI.
� Rb is the chemical symbol for rubidium.
� I is the chemical symbol for iodine, whose root is �iod.� Add the �ide� ending to get iodide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name rubidium iodide.
Name the compound CaO.
� Ca is the chemical symbol for calcium.
� O is the symbol for oxygen, whose root is �ox.� Add the �ide� ending to get oxide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name calcium oxide.
Name the compound Li3N.
� Li is the chemical symbol for lithium.
� N is the chemical symbol for nitrogen, whose root is �nitr.� Add the �ide� ending to get nitride.
� Put the pieces together to get the name lithium nitride.
Write the formula for potassium sulfide.
� The chemical symbol of potassium is K. K is in the 1st column of the periodic table, therefore, its oxidation state is +1.
� Sulfide is derived from sulfur, whose symbol is S. Its oxidation state is -2.
+1 -2
� So far we have� K S.
� The total positive charge must balance the total negative charge. Therefore, we need 2 K atoms to give a total positive charge of +2. This balances the -2 charge on the sulfur.
� Putting it all together we have K2S.
Write the formula for magnesium chloride.
� The chemical symbol of magnesium is Mg. Mg is in the 2nd column of the periodic table, therefore, its oxidation state is +2.
� Chloride is derived from chlorine, whose symbol is Cl. Its oxidation state is -1.
+2 -1
� So far we have� Mg Cl
� The total positive charge must balance the total negative charge. Therefore, we need 2 chlorine atoms to give a total negative charge of -2. This balances the charge on the magnesium.
� Putting it all together we have MgCl2.
NaCl � sodium chloride
KI � potassium iodide
RbBr � rubidium bromide
MgS � magnesium sulfide
Mg3N2 � magnesium nitride
Sodium fluoride � NaF
Strontium oxide � SrO
Beryllium chloride � BeCl2
Cesium sulfide � Ce2S
Potassium phophide � K3P
Type II Binary Compounds
For Type II binary compounds the metal present is NOT found in either Group 1 or Group 2 on the periodic table. The naming system for this type of compound is found below.
Rules for naming Type II binary compounds
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the name of the element. Include a Roman numeral to indicate the oxidation number (charge) on the metal cation.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the first part of the element name (the root) and adding the letters �IDE.�
4. Write the name for the compound by combining the names of the ions.
Name the compound FeCl2.
� Fe is the chemical symbol for iron.
o Fe is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed in the name. We�ll come back to that shortly.
� Cl is the chemical symbol for chlorine, whose root is �chlor.� Add the �ide� ending to get chloride.
� At this point we have iron (??) chloride.
� To find the Roman numeral�
o Find the charge of the anion.
� Cl has a -1 charge.
o Multiply times the number of those atoms to get the total negative charge.
� There are 2 Cl atoms.
� 2 times -1 = -2. <--- total negative charge.
o Balance total negative charge with total positive charge.
� The total negative charge of -2 must be balanced with a total positive charge of +2.
o Divide the total positive charge by the number of atoms to get Roman numeral.
� There is only 1 Fe
� +2 divided by 1 = +2. The Roman numeral is II.
� Put the pieces together to get the name iron (II) chloride.
Name the compound PbS2.
� Pb is the chemical symbol for lead.
o Pb is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed.
� S is sulfur, whose root is �sulf.� Add the �ide� ending to get sulfide.
� At this point we have lead (??) sulfide.
� To find the Roman numeral�
� S has a charge of -2.
� There are 2 sulfur atoms so�. 2 x -2 = -4. <---- total negative charge
� The total positive charge must be +4.
� There is 1 lead atom so� +4 � 1 = +4. The Roman numeral is IV.
� Put the pieces together to get the name lead (IV) sulfide.
Write the formula for nickel (III) oxide.
� The chemical symbol of nickel is Ni. The oxidation state is +3, as given by the Roman numeral.
� Oxide is derived from oxygen, whose symbol is O. Its oxidation state is -2.
+3 -2
� So far we have Ni O.
� In order to balance the charges we find the least common multiple (LCM) of 3 and 2. The LCM is 6. We need two Ni atoms (+6 � +3 = 2) and three O atoms (-6 � -2 = 3) to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have Ni2O3.
Write the formula for lead (IV) nitride.
� The chemical symbol of lead is Pb. The oxidation state is +4.
� Nitride is derived from nitrogen, whose symbol is N. Its oxidation state is -3.
+4 -3
� So far we have Pb N.
� The LCM of 4 and 3 is 12. We need three Pb atoms (+12 � +4 = 3) and 4 N atoms (-12 � -3 = 4) to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have Pb3N4.
Write the name for iron (II) oxide.
� The chemical symbol of iron is Fe. The oxidation state is +2.
� Oxide is derived from oxygen, whose symbol is O. Its oxidation state is -2.
+2 -2
� So far we have Fe O
� Since the charges already balance there is no additional work to be done.
� Putting it all together we have FeO.
Fe2O3 � Iron (III) oxide
CuCl � Copper (I) chloride
CuCl2 � Copper (II) chloride
PbS � lead (II) sulfide
PbS2 � lead (IV) sulfide
Chromium (VI) oxide � CrO3
Cobalt (III) sulfide � Co2S3
Nickel (II) bromide � NiBr2
Mercury (II) phosphide � Hg3P2
Cadmium (II) iodide � CdI2
Type III Binary Compounds
Type III binary compounds contain no metal atoms. There are two different naming systems for Type III binary compounds: the �old system� and the �new system.� The old system uses prefixes to indicate the number of each atom present and the new system is identical to that used for naming Type II compounds.
It is important to note that only one system can be used at a time. NEVER mix prefixes and Roman numerals.
Rules for naming Type III binary compounds: the OLD SYSTEM
1. The first element in the formula is named first, and the full element name is used.
2. The second element is named as though it were an anion: root + ide
3. Prefixes are used to denote the numbers of atoms present. (See table below)
4. The prefix mono- is never used for naming the first element.
Name the compound NO2.
� N is the chemical symbol of nitrogen. Since there is only one nitrogen atom AND it is the first element the prefix mono is not used.
� O is the chemical symbol of oxygen, whose root is ox. Add the ide ending to get oxide. There are two oxygen atoms so we also add the prefix di to get dioxide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name nitrogen dioxide.
Name the compound N2O.
� N is the chemical symbol of nitrogen. Since there are two nitrogen atoms we need to add the prefix di to get dinitrogen.
� O is the chemical symbol of oxygen, whose root is ox. Add the ide ending to get oxide. There is only one oxygen atom we add the prefix mono (mono IS used for the second element) to get monoxide.
� Put the pieces together to get the name dinitrogen monoxide.
Write the formula for carbon tetrachloride.
� The chemical symbol of carbon is C. There is no prefix before carbon in the chemical name, therefore, there is only 1 C atom in the chemical formula.
� Tetrachloride has the prefix tetra which means there are 4 atoms present. Chloride is derived from chlorine, whose symbol is Cl. Thus, there are 4 Cl atoms in the chemical formula.
� Putting it all together we have CCl4.
Write the formula for dinotrogen pentaoxide.
� The prefix di means 2. Thus there are 2 N atoms in the chemical formula.
� The prefix penta means 5. Thus, there are 5 O atoms in the chemical formula.
� Putting it all together we have N2O5.
Now let us apply the �new system� to these same compounds. For Type III binary compounds the �new system� is identical to that used to name Type II binary compounds. The advantage to using the new system is that you have one less system to learn.
Rules for naming Type III binary compounds: the NEW SYSTEM
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the name of the element. Include a Roman numeral to indicate the oxidation number (charge) on the metal cation.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the first part of the element name (the root) and adding the letters �IDE.�
4. Write the name for the compound by combining the names of the ions.
Name the compound NO2.
� N is the chemical symbol for nitrogen.
o Nitrogen is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed in the name.
� O is the symbol for oxygen, whose root is �ox.� Add the �ide� ending to get oxide.
� At this point we have nitrogen (??) oxide.
� To find the Roman numeral�
� O has a charge of -2.
� 2 oxygen atoms times -2 = -4. <---- total negative charge.
� The total negative charge of -4 must be balanced with a total positive charge of +4.
� +4 divided by 1 (one N atom) = +4. The Roman numeral is IV.
� Put the pieces together to get the name nitrogen (IV) oxide.
Name the compound N2O.
� N is the chemical symbol for nitrogen.
o Nitrogen is not in the 1st or 2nd column; therefore a Roman numeral is needed in the name.
� O is the symbol for oxygen, whose root is �ox.� Add the �ide� ending to get oxide.
� At this point we have nitrogen (??) oxide.
� To find the Roman numeral�.
� O has a charge of -2.
� 2 oxygen atoms times -2 = -4. <---- total negative charge.
� The total positive charge must be +2.
� +2 divided by 2 (2 N atoms) = +1. The Roman numeral is I.
� Put the pieces together to get the name nitrogen (I) oxide.
Write the formula for carbon(IV) chloride.
� The symbol for carbon is C. The oxidation state is +4, as given by the Roman numeral.
� Chloride is derived from chlorine. The charge on chlorine is -1.
+4 -1
� So far we have C Cl
� The LCM of 4 and 1 is 4. We need 1 C atom (+4 � +4 = 1) and 4 Cl atoms (-4 � -1 = 4) to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have CCl4.
Write the formula for nitrogen (V) oxide.
� The symbol for nitrogen is N. The Roman numeral indicates a charge of +5.
� Oxide is derived from oxygen. The charge on oxygen is -2.
+5 -2
� So far we have N O
� The LCM of 5 and 2 is 10. Therefore, we need 2 N atoms and 5 O atoms to balance the charges.
� Putting it all together we have N2O5.
(A.K.A. Compounds that contain polyatomic ions)
An ion is an atom with an electric charge (positive or negative).
A polyatomic ion is a group of atoms with an electric charge. (Even though it is a group of atoms it acts like it were a single atom.)
The names of nearly all polyatomic ions end with the letters �ate or �ite. Beware three exceptions: cyanide, hydroxide, and peroxide. These ions end with �ide� which can trick into thinking you have a binary compound when you actually have a ternary compound.
Follow the naming systems for Type I and Type II binary compounds but�
DON�T CHANGE THE NAME OF THE POLYATOMIC ION.
Na2SO4 � sodium sulfate
KH2PO4 � potassium dihydrogen phosphate
Fe(NO3)3 � iron (III) nitrate
Mn(OH)2 � manganese (II) hydroxide
Na2SO3 � sodium sulfite
Calcium hydroxide � Ca(OH)2
Sodium phosphate � Na3PO4
Ammonium dichromate � (NH4)2Cr2O7
Cobalt (II) perchlorate � Co(ClO4)2
Copper (II) nitrite � Cu(NO2)2
Naming Polyatomic Ions that Contain Oxygen
There are many atoms that form several different polyatomic ions with oxygen. The naming system for these ions is based on two things: the most common ion in each series and the number of oxygen atoms compared to the most common ion. The ones that concern us most are ions of phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen, chlorine, and carbon. Memorize these ions!
SO22- = hyposulfite
Note: Some of the ions do not exist in the real world, they are written here to show how to use the naming system.
Naming Acids
For this class, ALL acids begin with H (hydrogen). The names of ALL acids end with the word �acid.� There are two types of acids: those that contain oxygen and those that do not.
Naming acids that DO NOT contain oxygen
1. Take the name of the anion, add the prefix �hydro� and change the ending to �ic.�
2. Add the word �acid.�
Name the compounds HF.
� We know this is an acid because the chemical formula starts with �H.�
� Take the name of the anion (fluoride) add the prefix �hydro� and change the ending to �ic�: hydrofluoric
� Finally, add the word �acid.�
� hydrofluoric acid
Name the compound HCN.
� We know this is an acid because the chemical formula starts with �H.�
� There is no oxygen present so we start with the prefix �hydro.�
� Next, take the name of the anion (cyanide) and change the ending to �ic�: hydrocyanic
� Finally, add the word �acid.�
� hydrocyanic acid
Write the formula for hydrobromic acid.
� We know the formula starts with �H� because it is an acid. The charge on hydrogen is +1.
� We also know that the acid does not contain oxygen because of the �hydro� prefix.
� Removing the �hydro� and �ic� leaves us with �brom�, the root of bromine or Br. The charge on bromine is -1.
+1 -1
� So far we have H Br
� Balance the charges to get the formula HBr.
Write the formula for hydrosulfuric acid.
� We know the formula starts with �H� because it is an acid. The charge on hydrogen is +1.
� We also know that the acid does not contain oxygen because of the �hydro� prefix.
� Removing the �hydro� and �ic� leaves us with sulfur. The charge on sulfur is -2.
+1 -2
� So far we have H S
� Balance the charges to get the formula H2S.
Naming Acids the DO contain oxygen
1. Find the name of the polyatomic ion.
2. Change �ate� to �ic� or �ite� to �ous.�
3. Add the word acid.
� You know it�s an acid because it starts with H.
� ClO4- is the perchlorate ion.
� Change the �ate� to �ic� and get perchloric.
� Add the word acid and get perchloric acid.
� You know it�s an acid because it starts with H.
� SO32- is the sulfite ion.
� Change the �ite� to �ous� and get sulfous.
� Add the word acid and get sulfous acid.
o The name is actually sulfurous acid, but I will count sulfous acid correct because it follows the naming system.
Write the formula for phosphorous acid.
� The word acid tells us the first element is H. The charge on H is +1.
� We also know it is a ternary acid because the prefix �hydro� (meaning binary acid) is missing.
� Change �ous� to �ite� to get phophite. The formula for phophite is PO3-3.
� Putting it together and balancing the charges we get H3PO3.
Write the formula for each of the following compounds.
51. tin (II) nitrate 76. calcium bicarbonate
52. zinc (II) phosphate 77. calcium hydroxide
53. hypophosphorous acid 78. zinc (II) bisulfate
54. iron (III) chloride 79. silver (I) oxide
55. lithium sulfide 80. chlorous acid
56. silver (I) oxalate 81. lead (IV) oxide
57. perchloric acid 82. calcium acetate
58. potassium permanganate 83. sodium phosphate
59. strontium hypochlorite 84. copper (I) oxide
60. copper (I) sulfite 85. phosphorous acid
61. carbon (IV) sulfide 86. hydroiodic acid
62. calcium oxide 87. sodium fluoride
63. barium carbonate 88. phosphorus (V) oxide
64. antimony (III) dichromate 89. sulfur (II) bromide
65. silicon (IV) oxide 90. aluminum (III) sulfate
66. iron (II) carbonate 91. nitrogen (III) oxide
67. sodium cyanide 92. aluminum (III) iodide
68. carbon (IV) chloride 93. iron (III) phosphate
69. cesium fluoride 94. zinc (II) perchlorate
70. sodium chromate 95. sodium dihydrogen phosphate
71. hydrosulfuric acid 96. sulfurous acid
72. aluminum (III) oxide 97. strontium carbonate
73. ammonium phosphate 98. copper (II) hydroxide
74. boron (III) fluoride 99. iron (II) oxalate
75. radium sulfate 100. phosphorous (V) sulfide
| i don't know |
In 1940 a film called 'The Philadelphia Story' was released starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart. Based on a Philip Barry play it was later remade, in 1956, as what musical ? | The Philadelphia Story (1940) - IMDb
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When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Director:
Donald Ogden Stewart (screen play), Philip Barry (based on the play by)
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Storyline
Philadelphia socialites Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven married impulsively, with their marriage and subsequent divorce being equally passionate. They broke up when Dexter's drinking became excessive, it a mechanism to cope with Tracy's unforgiving manner to the imperfect, imperfections which Dexter admits he readily has. Two years after their break-up, Tracy is about to remarry, the ceremony to take place at the Lord mansion. Tracy's bridegroom is nouveau riche businessman and aspiring politician George Kittredge, who is otherwise a rather ordinary man and who idolizes Tracy. The day before the wedding, three unexpected guests show up at the Lord mansion: Macaulay Connor (Mike to his friends), Elizabeth Imbrie - the two who are friends of Tracy's absent brother, Junior - and Dexter himself. Dexter, an employee of the tabloid Spy magazine, made a deal with its publisher and editor Sidney Kidd to get a story on Tracy's wedding - the wedding of the year - in return for Kidd not ... Written by Huggo
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Broadway's howling year-run comedy hit of the snooty society beauty who slipped and fell - IN LOVE! See more »
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17 January 1941 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Die Nacht vor der Hochzeit See more »
Filming Locations:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color:
Did You Know?
Trivia
Katharine Hepburn 's swimming pool dive is the real thing. No doubles were used. See more »
Goofs
When Tracy and Dexter are talking about the information that Kidd has on her father, Dexter hands her pictures and the story of her father and the dancer, Teena Mara. After Tracy shuffles through the paper multiple times, there doesn't seem to be anything written, typed or have pictures on this paper. See more »
Quotes
George Kittredge : You're like some marvelous, distant, well, queen, I guess. You're so cool and fine and always so much your own. There's a kind of beautiful purity about you, Tracy, like, like a statue.
George Kittredge : Oh, it's grand, Tracy. It's what everybody feels about you. It's what I first worshipped you for from afar.
Tracy Lord : I don't want to be worshipped. I want to be loved.
Sobre las olas (Over the Waves)
(1887) (uncredited)
(Buffalo, New York) – See all my reviews
After Katharine Hepburn was one of a group of stars dictated "box office poison" by the ruling moguls of Hollywood she went east and scored a complete triumph on stage with The Philadelphia Story. But our Kate was the shrewd one, she had the foresight to buy the film rights from author Philip Barry and peddle them to the studio that would guarantee her repeating her stage role and giving her creative control.
On stage she had co-starred with Joseph Cotten, Van Heflin, and Shirley Booth all of whom became movie names later on, but meant nothing to Hollywood in 1940. She had the choice of leading men and cast in their places, Cary Grant, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey.
This was Grant's fourth and final appearance on screen with Hepburn. It's a typical Cary Grant part, witty and urbane, with a touch of the rogue in him. He's Hepburn's ex-husband, still very much in love with his ex-wife, but she's marrying stuffed shirt John Howard.
Reporter James Stewart and photographer Ruth Hussey are covering Hepburn's wedding for Spy Magazine, the National Enquirer of the day. Through a little judicious blackmail they're invited to this premier society wedding, but both feel out of place and used.
After The Philadelphia Story, Katharine Hepburn was a movie name the rest of her long life. Even with an occasional clinker no one ever questioned her about being box office poison.
James Stewart won the Best Actor Oscar in probably the most romantic he was ever on the screen. A lot felt it was a consolation Oscar for not winning it for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939. Stewart himself proclaimed to all who'd listen that he voted for good friend Henry Fonda in the Academy Sweepstakes for The Grapes of Wrath. I've always felt that when Stewart talked about those hearth fires banked down low to Hepburn, he was really talking about himself. He's a cynical fellow at first and his romantic side comes as a surprise to him more than even the audience.
The Philadelphia Story has become such a classic that even the musical remake High Society doesn't try to copy it, it just presents a softer musical alternative. But I'd kind of liked to have seen Hepburn do this with her original cast as well. Oscars were in the future for Van Heflin and Shirley Booth and Joseph Cotten the following year made his debut in the biggest film of all.
39 of 47 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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| High society |
Which is the only Shakespeare play with a British place name in the title ? | The Philadelphia Story Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
62 out of 71 people found the following review useful:
Hepburn's Ferocious Comeback.
17 April 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
A movie custom-made to fit the personality of an arrogant but headstrong movie star, a play with dialog that sizzles with so much ferocity that it threatens to leap out the confines of its own frame, performances that could not have and have not have been excelled ever since, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is one of the best screwball comedies ever made and the third to pair her with Cary Grant with whom she worked so completely well. Hepburn had asked that Tracy and Gable be her leading men but looking at this film, for all the chemistry that Tracy and Hepburn ever had and all the talent Gable had for acting in comedic farce, I can't imagine either of them playing any of the two leading males that are after Tracy Lord's love. That Grant plays C. K. Dexter "Dex" Haven so perfectly well, and his opening scene with Hepburn is the stuff of movie history, only rectifies that. That Stewart embodies the essence of MaCauley Connors as if he were in fact the character just proves how strong an actor he was, and one who didn't have to resort to extreme emoting to make his point. That the three make for the most memorable romantic triangle in film history is probably an understatement.
Of course the story is old. Of course the character motivations are dated. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY belongs perpetually in its own time, the late 1930s (when it was written and performed on stage), when sensibilities towards the rich were much different than they are today. The whole bit of the society princess being humbled to become a better person is really a thinly disguised fable that tells the story of how Hepburn, who had made such a powerful debut in film with her appearance in A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT, quickly established a personality so abrasive (she wouldn't do interviews or cheesecake, it is rare to find a Hepburn picture from the 30s where she is dolled up) that it translated into box-office bomb after bomb and by 1938 she was all but washed up. Tracy Lord's return to humankind is really the story of Hepburn's return to the world of acting even if she retained her abrasiveness to her last days. And of course, who better suited for this role than Hepburn herself, who had done the role on stage and by the time Hollywood came (reluctantly) calling -- they wanted Norma Shearer, who in my opinion could have carried it off but differently -- knew the part in and out (and owned the rights to the play in a shrewd move). We can't imagine anyone else playing this role, which is why when the inevitable musical remake was made in 1956 with Grace Kelly in the lead, it misfires, and no amount of Cole Porter could save it even if it was a commercial success.
But regardless being dated, maybe too talky for some, what a movie. To see the utter craziness of the plot which backfires at least twice and creates a sense of really not knowing what will happen next (even when we know on a certain level Hepburn and Grant will wind up in each other's arms) is the stuff romantic comedy is made of. Oscar nominated in almost every major category, it won two -- Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay -- but over the years it's grown beyond statuettes and remains as one of the greatest films of the 20th Century.
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67 out of 87 people found the following review useful:
My favourite 1940s Comedy
from Sydney, Australia
1 January 2000
Katharine Hepburn, my favourite actress, gives the performance of her career as Tracy Lord, a spoilt Philadelphia socialite. The movie is a triple treat, with my other two most favourite actors, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, in the other lead roles, Cary as Tracy's former husband C.K Dexter Haven, and Jimmy as the peeved reporter who Kate falls in love with.
Although there has been much written about Jimmy Stewart not deserving the Oscar that year, if it was given for the Academy passing over his performance in "Mr Smith Goes to Washington", then it was well deserved. Cary Grant deserved a nomination, and Kate definitely should have taken out the prize for the year. I could be going to extremes, but I think this was definitely the movie that deserved to take home the statuette for Best Picture of 1940. I have seen both "Rebecca" and "The Grapes of Wrath", movies highly acclaimed that year, but neither has ever come close to "The Philadelphia Story".
The first time I watched it I missed not only most of the witty one-liners, but the whole point of the story. It was the first movie I watched with each of the three stars. Almost a year later after I viewed it again I couldn't believe how I could have passed over such a rare gem.
As a fourteen year old, I can't be pretentious in definitely knowing the real themes of the movie. Maybe something in the way of humility and degrees of acceptance, I'm not so sure. I have thought about it a lot, but have only reached the conclusion that it is one of those 'feel good' movies that is re-watchable. There are things about it, even close to my tenth viewing, that I am still picking up on.
Lead by Ruth Hussey and Virginia Weidler, the supporting cast of "The Philadelphia Story" is one of the finest I have seen.
With Cole Porter songs, and yet another star cast, this movie was shockingly remade into the musical "High Society" in 1956. On all accounts, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm cannot match the sophistication and wit of the non-musical cast. It seemed too much like recycled humour, despite its attempts to modernize an immortal story.
This movie is a slice of Old Hollywood that must not be sampled once to enjoy it. It should be taken in many times!
Rating: 10/10
from Indianapolis, IN
5 October 2003
That this brilliant story originated on stage is obvious. The stage requires personas of epic and electric beauty. Philadelphia Story boasts three of the brightest stars that ever burned to occupy these personas, which they do with miraculous luminance.
The play, of course, was written for Hepburn by Phillip Barry, and after over 400 performances on Broadway she cleverly bought the film rights right out from under the noses of Hollywood moguls who fancied themselves smarter than Dear Kate. This came at a time when Hepburn was tops on the list of stars who had been labeled box office poison by producers.
The dynamics between the stars are legendary. Finer actors never lived, and these are the performances of a lifetime for each of them. Stewart is funny, smoldering, passionate and moving and he has moments, many of them, of stunning brilliance in each of those emotions. Grant is his typical stilted and elegant self, funny, gracious, urbane and, yes, beautiful. And then there is Hepburn. She is breathtaking to look at, and she plays your heart strings in a masterful glissando plucking at every emotion as she moves effortlessly across her entire unmatched range.
The supporting cast is worthy of the surplus of talent that surrounds them, and offer a few unforgettable moments of their own. And the presence of George Cukor, the greatest director of women in history, and the best director of Hepburn as well, coaxes every brilliant word of the script to its full potential.
You must not miss this treasure simply because it is from another era. It depicts that era with insight and irreverence that expose it, and the rarified world of old Philadelphia Money (yes, with a capital "M") like few films of its time, or any time, could. Every time I watch this movie, and the frequency would embarrass me if I were honest about it, I love it more.
Watch it. Study it. Assimilate every second of it and your understanding and appreciation of cinema will be enriched for it. And you'll have a great time doing it!
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55 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
The most sophisticated comedy ever!
from Sydney
2 November 1999
Firstly, let me say, that I love Kate Hepburn. She's my favourite actress, and in my opinion, she can do no wrong. For this reason, I'd probably give a good rating to every movie she made.
But 'The Philadelphia Story' really does deserve wonderful praise. It's by far the most sophisticated, and in my opinion, the greatest comedy ever made, one of Kate's greatest roles. She's absolutely hilarious as Tracy Lord, bringing perfection to the role she created on the stage a year before the film, mocking, insulting and making fun out of Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant.
Her drunken scene with Stewart is pure magic and her mockery of him ('dear professor') is wonderful.
Grant and Stewart are fabulous, Stewart as the rough and tumble reporter infatuated with Tracy and Grant as the neglected ex- husband.
Ruth Hussey and Virginia Weidler are fantastic in supporting roles, and really add to the hilarity of the whole picture.
A funny, bouyant ride through the 1940's- I completely recommend it!
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44 out of 56 people found the following review useful:
Peerless cast, witty script gives this classic comedy of manners ageless appeal.
from Los Angeles, California
9 May 2001
They say "the idle rich is the devil's playground." Well, never has the playground been more playful or fun than in "The Philadelphia Story." It's so gratifying to know that vintage movies like "The Philadelphia Story" will outlive us all. Playwright Phillip Barry certainly had an ear for sophisticated chatter and, along with "Bringing Up Baby" and "Holiday," he singlehandedly defined the term "screwball comedy" in the late 30s. And so it is fortunate for all of us that the screen adaptations of each of these classic Broadway plays are classics in their own right.
Katharine Hepburn, who starred with Cary Grant in all three of the aforementioned films, plays society prig Tracy Lord, a spoiled, temperamental rich girl who owns a will of iron and a heart to match. What she wants more than life itself is to experience true love like a down-to-earth REAL person, but is she capable of it? A stormy first marriage to C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant) has not taken the wind out of her sails, so she decides to make a go of it again. Announcing her forthcoming marriage to wealthy George Kittredge, a rather staid, uptight sort, it comes off more like a match made in gold than in heaven. However, the stubborn Tracy is convinced she is in love this time.
Around to disrupt the wedding plans is Tracy's former husband, who still has feelings for her and her family, her estranged scandal-ridden father, her young, precocious sister, and a posterior-pinching uncle. Also hovering around the Lord estate is tabloid reporter Liz Imbrie and her photographer Mike Connor, assigned to cover the impending nuptials and, of course, scout out any juicy gossip.
With a deft ensemble and crisp, intuitive direction (George Cukor), the dialogue blisters with furious fun (courtesy of Oscar-winning scripter Donald Ogden Stewart), with every character having his or her chance to bask in the limelight. Hepburn, who was considered "box-office poison" at the time, revitalized her Hollywood career with "The Philadelphia Story," smartly buying the film rights to ensure her starring role. Dripping with frilly-edged sarcasm, she makes full use of her clipped Bryn Mawr speech tones. But her ultimate triumph is that her 'ice queen' demeanor never alienates the viewer. We still root for Tracy to come down to earth, rejoin the human race and live out that fairy tale ending. Cary Grant is as smooth as silk pajamas as Tracy's first husband, raring and ready to pull her off that mighty pedestal she's placed herself so high on. Synonymous with elegance and style, I doubt there is another actor who can handle martini-dry banter the way he does. He is flawless -- in a class by himself.
The real revelation, however, is Jimmy Stewart as the smitten photographer who is only too willing to keep Tracy perched on that pedestal. Stewart, who won the Oscar, breaks from his usual "aw shucks" mode to show a surprising comic range. His midnight poolside soliloquy with Kate is wondrous and lingers long after the closing credits. Completing the romantic quadrangle is the wonderful Ruth Hussey, who inherits the wisecracking Eve Arden role, the good-natured trooper who always seems to come in second man-wise. Hussey takes the ball and runs with it, giving the ripest performance of the bunch.
Additional praise must be given to Mary Nash, as Tracy's flowery, meticulous mother; young tomboy Virginia Weidler, an adroit little scenestealer, for keeping up with the big folks and offering a wickedly smart-assed rendition of "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady"; John Howard for his dour, stuffy groom-to-be and good sportsmanship as the butt of many a joke; John Halliday, who manages a couple of razor-sharp scenes as Hepburn's reproaching father, and Roland Young, who played Cosmo Topper in the delightful "Topper" film series, for adding his typical brand of bemused merriment as lecherous Uncle Willy.
From the opening classic bit with Hepburn and Grant squaring off to the church altar denouement, "The Philadelphia Story" provides a wealth of entertainment. It's a rare, rich package even the Lord family can't buy!
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39 out of 47 people found the following review useful:
Dictating her own comeback
from Buffalo, New York
12 November 2005
After Katharine Hepburn was one of a group of stars dictated "box office poison" by the ruling moguls of Hollywood she went east and scored a complete triumph on stage with The Philadelphia Story. But our Kate was the shrewd one, she had the foresight to buy the film rights from author Philip Barry and peddle them to the studio that would guarantee her repeating her stage role and giving her creative control.
On stage she had co-starred with Joseph Cotten, Van Heflin, and Shirley Booth all of whom became movie names later on, but meant nothing to Hollywood in 1940. She had the choice of leading men and cast in their places, Cary Grant, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey.
This was Grant's fourth and final appearance on screen with Hepburn. It's a typical Cary Grant part, witty and urbane, with a touch of the rogue in him. He's Hepburn's ex-husband, still very much in love with his ex-wife, but she's marrying stuffed shirt John Howard.
Reporter James Stewart and photographer Ruth Hussey are covering Hepburn's wedding for Spy Magazine, the National Enquirer of the day. Through a little judicious blackmail they're invited to this premier society wedding, but both feel out of place and used.
After The Philadelphia Story, Katharine Hepburn was a movie name the rest of her long life. Even with an occasional clinker no one ever questioned her about being box office poison.
James Stewart won the Best Actor Oscar in probably the most romantic he was ever on the screen. A lot felt it was a consolation Oscar for not winning it for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939. Stewart himself proclaimed to all who'd listen that he voted for good friend Henry Fonda in the Academy Sweepstakes for The Grapes of Wrath. I've always felt that when Stewart talked about those hearth fires banked down low to Hepburn, he was really talking about himself. He's a cynical fellow at first and his romantic side comes as a surprise to him more than even the audience.
The Philadelphia Story has become such a classic that even the musical remake High Society doesn't try to copy it, it just presents a softer musical alternative. But I'd kind of liked to have seen Hepburn do this with her original cast as well. Oscars were in the future for Van Heflin and Shirley Booth and Joseph Cotten the following year made his debut in the biggest film of all.
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36 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
Three legends in their prime
from Atlanta, GA
20 May 2001
This is a delightful romantic comedy about the life and loves of a high society girl. Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) is about to be married to George Kittredge (John Howard), a self made man who elevated himself from the lower class. The wedding is supposed to be a private affair, but Tracy's ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) blackmails her into letting two reporters, Macaulay Conner and Elizabeth Imbrie (James Stewart and Ruth Hussey) cover the event. What ensues is a screwball courtship for the heart of Tracy as everyone falls in love with her at once.
Director David Cukor (`Little Women', `My Fair Lady') provides a fast paced comedy with rapid-fire repartee and fosters a bubbly chemistry between the cast members, which brims with laughs. Cukor received one of his five Oscar nominations for this film and it was well deserved.
Katharine Hepburn is marvelous as the blueblood bride to be. She is a well-grounded girl who is not beyond putting on airs for show. She is simultaneously sassy and dreamy and her comic timing is superb earning her one of twelve nominations for best actress. Despite a star's billing, Cary Grant plays a supporting role as the sarcastic Dexter Haven. With his deadpan delivery, he provides the perfect foil to Hepburn and Stewart.
Even with the luminous cast, Jimmy Stewart steals the show with a comedic tour de force. His inebriated scene with Cary Grant is uproariously funny and his puppy dog wooing of Katherine Hepburn is enchanting. It is hard to believe that James Stewart only won one Oscar in his outstanding career. Though nominated five times, the only role for which he won the statue is this one, a performance that is unquestionably among his best.
This tremendous comedy brings together three screen legends at the peak of their careers. It was nominated for six Academy Awards winning two, and it was rated #51 on AFI's top 100 of the century. It is a timeless classic that is sure to please. I rated it a 10/10. See it and enjoy.
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29 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
One of the best Romantic Comedies
18 September 2003
My Rating: ***1/2 out of ****.
The Philadelphia Story is one of the earlier Romantic Comedies. It is also one of the best. This film basically has what most romantic comedies today dont have. That would be a well-written script, Great Acting, and actually funny.
The acting is a huge strength in the film. This is called Katharine Hepburn's best role by many, while I admit she is excellent in a number of scenes, I think she tends to overact at times. Cary Grant is great here. Everyone else is Great but I believe James Stewart to be the standout. He is perfect for this role, its a flawless performance, that he deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar for.
The Script has wonderful dialogue thats delivered flawlessly by the actors. Even simple dialogue like "Isn't that awful" was delivered superbly by Katharine Hepburn. George Cukor made this project look like nothing, he made many films which were "womens films" but he does a damn good job here.
If you think Romantic Comedies of today are good, look at The Philadelphia Story and they will pale in comparison. The Philadelphia Story is a very good film and worth remembering, unlike the mediocre to crappy romantic comedies of today. The Philadelphia Story is highly recommended.
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30 out of 37 people found the following review useful:
Great dialogue, great performances and a real fun, urgent pace to the material make this a delightfully fun film
from United Kingdom
27 December 2005
It is the wedding of the year with socialite Tracy Lord due to marry George Kittredge behind closed doors, with no press allowed. However the editor of Spy Magazine is set to run an exposé of Tracy's philandering father and a New York dancer and strikes a deal with her ex husband CK Dexter Haven if he can get a couple of journalists into the wedding and the reception. Keen to get back at Tracy, Dexter agrees to help and escorts writer Mike Conner and photographer Liz Imbrie into the Lord home in the days before the wedding. With tensions high between Dexter and Tracy, everyone playing games and relationships equally confused and confusing anything could happen and surprises are in store.
Shot in about 8 weeks with a low number of takes and some impressive adlibbed and one-shot scenes this is a movie worth seeing even before you look at the cast list and the professional reviews. The plot is partly a comedy, partly a character drama and partly a romance (albeit a rather tidy one) and each aspect pretty much works in tandem with the others. The comic tension between the characters is really well written and, although it is a cliché, it does fizz and spark across the screen and is regularly hilarious and consistently a delight to the ears. With such superficial energy it would be easy to ignore the fact that it is interesting below this; specifically I liked the character of Tracy and the way that parts of the film show her character being stripped back as she in particular learns something about how she comes across, softening her character a little bit in later scenes. However to suggest that this has great depths is to give it more praise than it deserves, because it doesn't run deep and it isn't a great drama. Likewise the romance isn't a main part of it but it does still work because it is all delivered at such a fresh and funny pace that it draws you in, even to the point where I gratefully accepted the film's conclusion with a smile rather than a sneer.
The cast are a delight, but then that pretty much goes without saying, and they work with the dialogue like a surgeon uses a scalpel. In fact that is a good example because the dialogue is normally almost as sharp as said instrument. Grant may have got top billing and the big money (which he then donated away) but it is very much a shared effort between the three stars, with Grant in fact having the least showy character. If anything the film belongs to Hepburn who is a delight whether spitting back at her father with tears in her eyes or a barbed comment sliding in like a greased knife. Stewart is just as good and is reaction shots show a real comic timing, but he also gives good dialogue and he is fun. Like Stewart, Grant has a great chemistry with Hepburn, which means that he can deliver convincing tension and trade insults without undermining the ending which otherwise would have maybe been an ask too far. Hussey is good and it is easy to forget that she must have felt a bit out of her depth but it never shows in her performance. Support is roundly strong from Young, Nash, Halliday and even Weildler.
Overall this is a delightful film that is such fun and has such a good pace and spark that it is easy to buy into the weaker elements of the narrative and not only forgive them but get into them. The dialogue is sparky and funny while the delivery of same is just what the material deserved. The cast have chemistry and help inject urgency to the story that keeps it all moving forward. A wonderfully delightful film that is fun to watch and surprisingly engaging.
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34 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
Main Line society wedding
from New York
11 April 2005
The excellent play by Phillip Barry, is the basis for the delightful transfer to the screen. The choice of George Cukor as its director seems to have been made in heaven. Indeed, Mr. Cukor clearly understood what was needed to make this film the classic it became. George Cukor's contribution, as well of the magnificent screenplay, by Donald Ogden Stewart, make this a timeless comedy that looks as fresh today as when it was originally released.
It helps tremendously that Katherine Hepburn had played Tracy Lord on the stage and knew what made her tick. Ms. Hepburn, an actress of enormous talent, is the embodiment of this society woman. Katherine Hepburn clearly understood her character. Having come herself from a privileged family, she was able to get deep inside her character. Tracy Lord is going to be married to George Kitteredge, a man from her own social circle. Deep down inside, Tracy can't get her mind from the man she really loves, the rascal Dexler.
The casting of Cary Grant as C.K. Dexler was a touch of genius. Mr. Grant had played opposite Ms. Hepburn before. He was an actor that always delivered and was always a welcome addition to any of the movies of the period. Mr. Grant, with his good looks, makes the perfect man to play the part. As Dexler, the man who broke Tracy's heart, he returns just before the wedding, perhaps to remind her he's still loves her and can't get her out of his mind.
James Stewart was the other happy casting of "The Philadelphia Story". He was relatively unknown to the movie going public, but he left his mark all over the picture. As McCauley (Mike) Conner, this actor was perfect. As the tabloid reporter infiltrating the society wedding he proved his impeccable sense of timing.
Ruth Hussey, contributes to the film in unexpected ways. Virginia Weidler, as Dinah, is irresistible. The rest of the ensemble cast is a director's dream. Mary Nash, John Howard, Roland Young, John Halliday, Henry Daniel and the rest, are perfect.
"The Philadelphia Story" will keep delighting audiences for many years to come.
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| i don't know |
"The ""Goldwing"" is a famous motor-cycle model, produced by which company ?" | Goldwing History
By Steve Saunders
I have lost count of the number of times people have said to me; "You ride a Goldwing. I thought they stopped making them in the 1980's". Well folks, Honda are still making them in the 21st. Century and for anyone who thought otherwise, read my version of the history of the Honda Goldwing motorcycle.
The Honda Goldwing motorcycle first saw the light of day at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in October 1974, as the flat-four cylinder, 999cc GL1000 Gold Wing and was released to the world for the 1975 model year. While this first production version of the now famous Goldwing was ultimately deemed to be a success (it was after all the birth of a legend), it's place in the world of motorcycling was not entirely cast in stone at the beginning. Part of the reason for this was the fact that the GL1000 didn't really fit properly into any particular motorcycle class, even though it was officially tagged as a tourer. Weighing in at 584lbs dry, it was far too heavy to be called a sports bike and the upright sitting position also helped to kill of any such sporting pretensions. The rear coil spring suspension wasn't up to the job of handling all the weight when the rider was pushing it through heavy going, such as the winding country roads that all bikers love (at least occasionally) to tackle. The total absence of touring kit fitted as standard didn't help the official touring image either, Honda didn't make their own saddlebags and trunk available for the GL1000 until it's last year of production in 1979, in spite of promising to do so in 1975. A Honda fairing was not even an option until the GL1100 Interstate was released in 1980! Honda's claim that the GL1000 was a tourer must have rang hollow in the ears of many owners keen to have their machines kitted out for the job. It's almost like the design team had a picture of what they wanted to make, but no clear idea of where to fit it once it went into production. More than one GL1000 owner has told me that their early impressions from the press reports was that Honda seemed to be more concerned with emphasising the outright straight-line performance of the beast, and cementing it's role as a proper touring motorcycle seemed to be of secondary importance at the time. One has to bear in mind that Honda (and all the other major motorcycle manufacturers) were trying to develop many models in the 1970's, this being the biggest boom time for motorcycles ever, period. This was a time when everyone and his sons bought motorcycles and paying attention to the needs of different types of riders (cruiser types, racers, commuters, tourers etc.) must have been very difficult during those hectic days.
Nevertheless and in spite of all the confusion about the Goldwings role in life, the GL1000 proved to be a very reliable motorcycle, quite capable of going very long distances without missing a beat and almost immediately the aftermarket fairing & pannier suppliers started to cater for the requests of those who wanted to use the GL1000 for more than just popping down to the shops or Sunday morning posing at the local meet. This is what finally gave the Goldwing it's place in the motorcycling world, it really became a touring motorcycle because it's owners shaped it into one and Honda, always keen to keep an ear to the ground, listened to what the customers wanted (just as well too or they might have killed the Goldwing off before long, not least because expected sales of the Goldwing in the first year of production were less than 10% of what Honda had predicted) and started planning the next incarnation of what has turned into a legend in the world of touring motorcycles.
In the meantime, 1976 saw the standard GL1000 unchanged, apart from a badly needed grease nipple on the driveshaft. A limited edition LTD model was rolled out alongside the standard model and the LTD had some nice badges, pinstriping, a better seat, flared mudguards, gold coloured wheels and spokes and some more nice but otherwise unimportant cosmetics, all at a fairly hefty extra cost of course. The LTD version of the GL1000 was only available for that one model year.
1977 saw the first tentative model changes based on customer feedback to Honda (hands up all those who can remember filling out those early questionnaires at rallies) and the Goldwing got higher handlebars with neoprene grips, dual contoured saddle and chromed heat shields on the header pipes. Chromed upper engine mounting brackets were a nice touch. More importantly, the steering head bearings were now tapered rollers instead of quick-wear & seize ball types. Front & rear engine and rocker covers were now thicker and this was designed to reduce noise, but no-one really noticed. The fuel tank had an internal coating applied to prevent rust.
Smaller carburettors, shorter valve timing and increased spark advance in 1978 were designed to give the GL1000 increased roll-on performance in top gear, which translated into slightly less top speed but more torque, which apparently is what the long distance rider needed. The camshafts were severely detuned in order (along with the carb revisions) to improve low speed performance. It's generally accepted that these well-meaning changes really blunted top-end performance, while doing very little good for the low-end.
The fuel, coolant temperature and voltage gauges were fitted to a pod and mounted on the tank, which made fitting a tank bag rather difficult, but few really objected as they looked good. The awkward but functional kick starter was omitted this year (the broken ankle brigade may have sparked fears of litigation) and the troublesome wire wheels were replaced with five spoke Comstars, although they didn't fare much better in terms of longevity. Gone was the worry about rusted or loose spokes on wire wheels, now owners were fretting about cracked rims and loose rivets on the Comstars. The stepped saddle was introduced this year and has been a feature of all Goldwing models ever since. A fully chromed exhaust system which didn't rust as fast as the earlier painted ones, rear indicators moved from the frame to the rear mudguard and shocks with much welcomed and long overdue two-stage damping (in addition to longer forks & springs) completed the picture. The beast still handled like a brick when pushed hard, in spite of the new FVQ (often called fade very quickly) shocks and the better forks. The new exhaust made the machine sound livelier and the smaller mufflers allowed easy access to the clutch, which was just as well as this was a problem area on the GL1000 in those days.
1979 saw big discounting on GL1000's as the replacement model was eagerly anticipated and the last remaining numbers of the original (quite large numbers too and new GL1000's could still be sourced from storage for several years after production ceased) could be had with some minor changes in the shape of a then very cool looking CBX style tail light with two bulbs, rectangular indicators and brake fluid reservoir and black brake and clutch levers instead of the previous unpainted alloy ones.
This last year for the GL1000 was an opportunity to lose some of the excess weight and regain some of the performance the model had lost in previous years (particularly in 1978), but alas a final opportunity to remedy some of the more persistent GL1000 problem areas was lost and the cosmetics were the only areas attended to at the end of the decade. Thus the Goldwing continued it's slide down the credibility scale until the 1980 model year. Honda managed to keep the lid on the replacement for the GL1000 until the last possible moment. To this day and to their credit, Honda are probably better at keeping secrets than the CIA or the KGB etc. The GL1000 bowed out at the end of it's production cycle a bit less powerful and slightly heavier than the first models at 604lbs dry.
The GL1100 was announced for the 1980 model year and this time Honda got it right. This was the first ever Japanese mass produced motorcycle to roll off the production line fully kitted out as a proper touring motorcycle. Full fairing, trunk and panniers on the Interstate model (the unfaired model was called the GL1100 Standard), all at a time when injection moulding for motorcycle plastics was in it's early days and to Honda's credit, the quality, fit and finish of the stuff was first rate. The new frame was stiffened considerably to cope with the extra poke and the not inconsiderable extra weight of the Interstate. The bigger 1085cc engine was still a flat-four, but gave more torque and also ran smoother and less truculently than the previous model, due in no small part to the smaller carburettors and electronic ignition. The suspension was air assisted and this greatly transformed the handling and comfort of the beast and inspired much more confidence when the going got a tad aggressive, in spite of the weight increase of the dressed models to 672lbs. The forks could take between 14-21psi of air, the rear shocks 29-42psi. The Standard model weighed 18lbs less than the last GL1000's, which showed how more modern production methods could be used to reduce weight by using more in the way of lighter plastics for parts like mudguards, dummy tank etc.
Motorcycle magazines immediately gave the new machine the thumbs-up and customers all over the world hassled their dealers for a machine that Honda couldn't kick out of the factory quick enough to meet the demand. Even in the USA, bikers who were used to the home grown tourer in the shape of the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide were gobsmacked at the new standards of reliability set by the Goldwing. The big Honda went and stopped very respectably for such a beast, kept all of the engine oil actually inside the engine instead of all over the ground and it's reliability meant that the Goldwing rider didn't have to fill the luggage space with repair tools every time the machine was taken out. The GL1100 was the Goldwing that the original model should have been, but the faithful had to wait since 1975 for the opportunity to get their hands on this magnificent machine.
1980 was a big year for Honda Motorcycles in other ways too. In May the first Goldwings started rolling off the production line in the new plant in Marysville, Ohio, USA. This was a very clever and well thought out move by Honda, creating jobs for Americans to produce their flagship motorcycle in the USA would see the Goldwing (and by association other Honda products) more widely accepted in the biggest consumer market in the world.
For some time now, Honda had been producing accessories for their own motorcycles, under the imaginatively thought out Hondaline brand name. For those who weren't satisfied with the already comprehensive kit on the GL1100, Hondaline had such luxuries as a full radio/cassette, CB radio and lots more bits at exorbitant prices that didn't seem to deter customers one bit. Honda knew that the typical Goldwing rider was past the first flush of youth and probably had his mortgage (or most of it) paid off and had cash to spare for the luxuries that a younger rider would rather forego in order to feed his children, keep the wife content and maintain a roof over their heads. The aftermarket suppliers too were quick to adapt to the new challenge (no doubt they all knew that the Goldwing was here for the long term) and before long one could buy countless accessories for the Goldwing, from many suppliers eager to meet demand and fill the large gaps that Honda had left. This pattern has been repeated for every Goldwing model ever since and the GL1100 is the machine that really saw the Goldwing accepted as the ultimate tourer, a title that the Goldwing has held more or less unchallenged since then.
1981 saw some minor tweaks and improvements, such as a reshaped saddle which was slightly lower than before. As on the 1980 model, the saddle could be adjusted forward and back by about 40mm, but this time with a press of a lever instead of the previous fiddling with Allen keys. The saddle on the Goldwing has probably seen more changes than any other area of the machine over the years. Almost yearly there are subtle changes to the shape and foam density and no matter how much effort Honda put into this area, there are always plenty of people whose rear-ends don't quite fit comfortably enough. The rear shocks could now take up to 57psi of air, this being the limit for the rest of the GL1100's production life. Orange & Gold pinstriping this year, a scratch-resistant windshield and better instrument shielding to stop unwanted reflections on the windshield all showed Honda were keen to refine the beast. Saddlebag liners were available from this year as well, at extra cost.
The 1982 GL1100 had some major improvements in the new Aspencade. This machine had an electrically operated air pump for the suspension, accessed from the top of the dummy tank, instead of the previous tyre valve setup (retained on the Standard and Interstate) which required the rider to either keep a manual pump handy or go to the local garage to pump up the suspension. Two-tone paintwork was applied to the Aspencade and all the GL1100's got smaller wheels (18" front, 16" rear) and twin pot brake calipers. The wheel rims were now wider (2.5" front and 3"rear) to allow for wider tyres on all models and self-cancelling indicators were fitted to all models from 1982. All GL1100's from 1982 got neater crash bars which replaced the previous shin bashers (although the new ones weren't perfect either) and dual piston brake calipers all round. The Aspencade also got vented stainless steel discs, two-tone seat and trunk pouches, the Clarion type 2 AM/FM stereo radio, digital dash, CB radio (US machines) and a clock. The stereo, CB radio and air pump are available as options on the Interstate.
1983 was the final year of production for the GL1100 and Honda didn't disappoint, even though the model was being replaced the following year. All models got flatter footpegs, the passenger ones being slightly adjustable. The Aspencade now had eleven spoke aluminium wheels instead of the previous troublesome Comstars (which were never really able to cope with all the weight), had the suspension pump controls mounted on the handlebars just below the dash and finally got linked brakes which were much welcomed by the Goldwing community. The Aspencade now had an LCD dash with advanced (for the time) features. The choke lever was now operated by thumb on the left handlebar. Anti-dive forks (TRAC) helped considerably to reduce wallowing. Changes to the gearing saw better fuel economy, a shorter first gear made the machine faster off-the-line but top gear acceleration was now a bit more sluggish. Changes to the forks helped prevent bottoming-out and stronger springs in the rear shocks meant that the bike could be ridden without any air in them, although this wasn't always entirely wise, especially when travelling two-up. The self-cancelling indicators had some improvements to make them more reliable and the seat was redesigned to give the passenger more room. Locating the trunk both higher and further back gave even more space for those passengers who were never completely happy no matter how much Honda improved the Goldwing. The standard had been set for future Goldwings and whether you loved them or not, everyone knew that the beast was going to get bigger and more luxurious as time went on. The Aspencade now tipped the scales at over 700lbs! Comfort and size were the criteria from now on. When the replacement for the GL1100 was announced, this time there was no major discounting of prices on the last of the outgoing model. Dealers had no trouble shifting existing machines and there was no panic in trying to offload them. A far cry to just four years back. Interestingly, this has been the case with the arrival of new Goldwing models ever since and reinforces the belief that the GL1100 was the machine that rubberstamped the Goldwings seal of approval with long-distance riders all over the world. There is no doubt in my mind that the GL1100 was the make or break Goldwing, a repeat lukewarm reception by the buying public for this model (similar to that experienced by the GL1000) would surely have seen any further development of the Goldwing stopped at this point.
The GL1200 arrived for the 1984 model year and continued the trend set by it's predecessor. Competition from Yamaha's Venture (which many motorcycle magazines compared to the Goldwing) no doubt hastened the development of the successor to the GL1100 and the GL1200 was Honda's answer. There was the unfaired Standard, the dressed Interstate and the top of the range Aspencade, which had the Type 3 audio system. New, stiffer frame with major improvements, bigger and more responsive 1182cc version of the flat-four engine with bags more torque and hydraulic valve adjusters, better suspension and handling were the main attractions on the new Goldwing. A hydraulic clutch was another first for a Goldwing. Carried forward from the previous Aspencade were the now even better air suspension controls and linked brakes, and the new Aspencade had a more advanced audio system and upgraded LCD dash. The front wheel was a rather unusually small (for such a large machine) 16" and this gave the steering a very light and quick feel. The styling of the plastics was more aggressive than the GL1100, the fairing, trunk, panniers and lights all had a more squarish brute look which was evident on many motorcycles and cars for a while in the eighties. The flowing lines of the previous model were not quite as subtle on the GL1200, but the integration of the luggage was much better now because there were less gaps and spaces between the panels and much more efficient use was made of the available storage space. Four 32mm CV carburettors managed to give better response with a light feel, without the need for accelerator pumps. The GL1200 was the first Goldwing to drift away from the common Honda "parts bin" approach and most of the parts fitted to a GL1200 were unique to that machine and not fitted to any other Honda motorcycle. Hondaline could supply you with a CB radio and other fripperies considered essential by many owners of the new machine. The aftermarket suppliers had a field day, small cottage industries had sprung up everywhere to feed the habit and the vast range of chrome goodies, backrests, lights etc. available for the Goldwing rivalled that which could be had for Harley-Davidson owners.
1985 saw Honda drop the Standard unfaired Goldwing. Since the introduction of the GL1100 Interstate, sales of the unfaired versions had slumped dramatically and in spite of the predictable whining and howls of protest from the aftermarket fairing and luggage suppliers, this was the beginning of the era when accountants really did have a big say in marketing policy, so the Standard was unceremoniously put down by Honda. Alongside the Interstate and Aspencade, Honda brought in the GL1200LTD for this year only. The LTD had computerised fuel injection, auto levelling rear suspension and a sophisticated trip computer. The fuel injection, while not entirely without it's faults in the real world, transformed the GL1200 into a real animal which made the carburettor models seem sluggish in comparison. The LTD was only available in two-tone gold/brown. From 1985, GL1200 alternator capacity was increased (though still not by enough to cater for all the accessory lights that owners usually fitted) and the ignition pick-up coils were mounted at the front of the engine instead of the rear. An altered top gear made for smoother cruising in top and the fairing had better ventilation.
1986 saw mainly cosmetic changes to the Interstate and Aspencade, the LTD was replaced by the SE-i, which came in Pearl White only and had little over the LTD except for Dolby noise reduction on the Panasonic Type 3 audio system (the Aspencade got the same audio treatment), an uprated 500 watt alternator, a slightly better seat (which was also fitted to the Interstate and Aspencade) and different badges. The SE-i had ballooned out to over 770lbs. Many people who had bought the supposedly unique LTD the year before felt cheated by what looked like another LTD in the shape of the SE-i in a different colour, the general feeling being that Honda were just cashing in again this year. An Aspencade badge on the saddlebags of the SE-i didn't go down too well with buyers who wanted their own unique Goldwing to be distinct from the "lesser" models. The carburettor models were back to 30mm CV's with accelerator pumps, although it made little noticeable difference to the riding experience.
The final year of production for the GL1200 was 1987 and there was little change. No doubt Honda were saving the major surprise for the following year, although the Goldwing faithful had been expecting the rumoured "Super Goldwing" for the current model year. The SE-i was gone and the Interstate and Aspencade got a much plusher saddle, the best on any Goldwing to date. The Aspencade now had cruise control and trunk mirror as standard, and the lower cowl (oil filter cover as Honda called it) and side vents seen on the SE-i were now fitted to the Aspencade. Colour-matched riders footpeg accents with a nice chrome trim were also fitted to the Aspencade this year. The final drive and differential had been made much smoother and quieter and this translated into less chucking and jumping at trundling speeds. All of these improvements meant that the 1987 models were the quietest and best sorted GL1200's to date.
After a false start the previous year, the long awaited GL1500 finally hit the buying public for the 1988 model year. This of course was a major new model and totally redesigned from the ground up. The GL1500 now had a silky smooth flat six cylinder engine of 1520cc and a reverse gear, real news for touring motorcycles in those days. This was the first mass produced six-cylinder motorcycle
to have a reverse gear and was more in line with the intentions of Honda's 1470cc six -cylinder prototype M1 of 1972. The M1 had been an engineering exercise to see what could be achieved with the available technology of the day and it is possible that the GL1500 engine designers drew some inspiration from the earlier work. All new bodywork on the GL1500 almost enclosed the whole machine and the single key operation of the trunk and panniers, as well as the bodywork design on which not a single screw or bolt could be seen, showed that the Honda designers had spent a lot of time on this bike. They had in fact started work on this machine the same year that the GL1200 was launched! The GL1500 was the quietest Goldwing yet, from the engine to the exhaust note. The traditionalists complained that it looked, sounded and rode too much like a two-wheeled car and indeed riding it gave one a feeling of being insulated from the road. Of course, anyone who traded up to a GL1500 from an older model Goldwing soon adapted to the new machine and I doubt if many GL1500 owners were inclined to offload the new machine for a previous model after riding the six cylinder monster. Monster it was too, in weight as well as size and the first year GL1500 was a colossal 793lbs, although riding the thing was so easy that it felt lighter than the GL1200. The saddle was the most sumptuous yet and was quite capable of carrying the most ample of rear ends for long distances in comfort. Air assisted rear suspension was fitted to the new machine. All of the switchgear, lights, indicators etc. had been designed specifically for the GL1500 and there was none of the all too common "parts bin" approach that was evident on other Honda offerings of the day.
1989 saw the ever popular Wineberry (not identical to earlier versions) colour return. The nice 1500/6 badge on the rear of the right saddlebag was lost forever, otherwise nothing major to report.
1990 saw some decent revisions, when the GL1500SE was placed alongside the GL1500. The SE had two-tone paint, trunk spoiler/light, windscreen vent, lighted handlebar switches, adjustable passenger footboards and foot warmer vents that looked better than they worked. All this extra kit on the SE could be yours for about 15% extra cash over the cost of the stock GL1500. Camshaft and carburettor modifications that year helped to eliminate chucking at trundling speed and the trunk and pannier lids were made to fit better in order to keep water out. Rear wheel to drive flange changed from 6 spigots to 5.
1991 saw the arrival of the Interstate, which was now the basic model. The Interstate was 40lbs lighter, due to the lack of reverse gear (no, you couldn't fit one later on folks), cruise control and on-board air suspension compressor, more basic sound system and passenger footpegs instead of boards. Interestingly, Honda lowered the seat height of the Interstate by almost an inch by skimming some of the foam, but didn't do so with the other models. Speaking of other models, the previous GL1500 was now the Aspencade. There was also an Anniversary model (for the 10th anniversary of Goldwing production in the USA), which was available in two-tone gold/brown.
In 1992, the Interstate got a slightly better specified audio system but no other real news to report then. This and the following couple of years were not exactly a time of inspiration for the Goldwing, although there was some refinement of the model. Perhaps the GL1500 design team can be forgiven for using up all their imagination on the initial model, leaving little in reserve for future improvement.
1993 didn't see much change either, the SE getting the CB radio (previously an expensive Hondaline accessory) as standard. The cruise control now took it's reading directly from the camshaft, which made it more responsive and from now on the 1520cc engines all had needle roller bearings in the rocker arm pivots. Small improvements like this went a long way and tied up the loose ends.
The following year, 1994 was no different, apart from the usual new colour options and it is testament to the design of the GL1500 that Honda could get away with no major modifications for so long. The GL1500 was so far ahead of the competition in design and specification that it was still selling like hot cakes. Indeed, the Goldwing was Honda's second best-selling motorcycle in the USA in 1994. Nevertheless, the Goldwing community was becoming impatient for change and the presence of Honda folks at major US rallies this last year handing out questionnaires was an indication that something new was at least being thought about.
Finally, the 1995 model year saw some real change. On the surface, new 20th. Anniversary badges, a new chrome screen garnish, slimmer side panels to make it easier for the short legged to get their feet down and some other styling refinements looked like not a lot had changed. But under the surface Honda had managed to make the suspension both lower and stiffer and this improved the handling no end. Also, with some foam shaved from the saddle, the SE and Aspencade were now 40mm lower than before, which finally made them the same height as the Interstate. These changes gave the Goldwing a new lease of life, although there were many who had expected major changes, like better brakes or fuel injection.
The next two years saw no more real changes apart from the Interstate being discontinued in 1996 (not too many folks mourned it's passing either), but by now we were in the early age of the Internet and with many Goldwing web sites and homepages springing up all over the world there was a huge following eagerly seeking out information on a possible replacement for the now rather middle-aged GL1500. A recall to have the bank angle sensor replaced was announced this year and applied to all GL1500 models back to 1988.
1997 saw the SE's lower underbelly panels colour matched to the main panel colour, helping to make the Goldwing look more streamlined. Symbols instead of text on the handlebar switchgear made it easier to read them no matter where you came from. Some important but invisible changes inside the engine were carried out too. The clutch was stronger and some of the components from the Valkyrie engine (main bearings, piston & ring sets, valve springs, con-rod bolts) were now shared with the Goldwing. The Valkyrie final drive was fitted to the Goldwing as well, as was much of the gearbox which gave marginally cleaner and smoother shifting. Not many folks noticed the difference, myself included and I happily rode my new '97 SE for three years oblivious to the differences until I started doing a bit of research on the different model changes.
1998 saw quite a few cosmetic differences, nine in fact. The Aspencade and SE got a new clear plastic headlamp and clear indicators (these were only on the American market models though, Europeans were fobbed off with the old lights and indicators), white faced instruments, new fishtail type exhaust tips that altered the exhaust sound, two-tone saddle with better back support for the pillion passenger, new rocker covers with "1500" gouged into them instead of the previous classy logo strip (which had previously been gold plated on the SE's), a skimpier engine guard (the older one would have hidden the ugly new rocker cover if it had still fitted) and badges that looked more aggressive than before. These cosmetic changes gave the ageing GL1500 a much sleeker look, although such things as the rear lighting setup and flat looking rear-end were beginning to look a bit fussy in the new age of curves and flowing lines.
These changes were carried through to 1999 but by now everyone was awaiting the much anticipated new Goldwing, which had been rumoured for the last three years. Nevertheless, the recent cosmetic changes to the Goldwing were sufficient to keep sales up (no doubt aided this last couple of years by a buoyant world economy), in spite of such mouth-watering hallucinations of a possible 2000cc eight cylinder Goldwing with auto-transmission, or try the one about a V6 2.5 litre replacement with six speed transmission (I know a few rumour-mongers who had red faces a couple of years later). The power of the rumours was very strong and there was always someone who knew someone that had a relative who drank beer with a buddy employed in the Goldwing plant who put the headlamp bulbs in the GL1500 and this guy was sworn to secrecy but... Thus the fever spread and those of use who lived through the time saw it all, the fake photographs doctored so easily by Photoshop gurus and posted on the Internet by members of a now very computer-literate public, the fake postings on web sites and in magazines etc. It was all good fun though and kept us all guessing for a long time. Surely the new model would arrive for the dawn of the new Century?
Disappointment for the 2000 model year and we saw the GL1500 enter another new year alive and well. This was not what was expected for the Goldwings 25th anniversary. The only differences were that Honda had dropped the unpopular white faced instruments (back to black for 2000) and the SE got chromed rocker covers. There was also a nice 25th anniversary badge.
The long awaited new Goldwing was announced in April of that year and the GL1500 finally stepped down after an almost unheard of thirteen year reign at the very top and an increase in weight to almost 820lbs. Most of the other pretenders to the throne didn't fare so well, the Yamaha Venture and Suzuki's Cavalcade had both competed against the GL1200 but the GL1500 had killed them off in short order. The only real threat to the Goldwing in recent times had been the BMW K1200LT, but Honda were about to answer this and set the standard once again with the GL1500's successor.
The GL1800 was finally announced for the 2001 model year, and in fact it was correct to say it arrived in time for the new Millenium. The official unveiling had been done the previous August and in an age where people could hide small cameras the size of a button on their person, it's a miracle how Honda managed to keep pictures of the new Goldwing a secret for so long. Honda should really be put in charge of national security in Japan! They managed to keep a lid on things right up to the last minute.
Honda had managed once again to completely redesign the Goldwing from the ground up. Everyone and his dog knew that Honda couldn't simply continue to make their flagship tourer heavier as the engine size got bigger. Over the previous thirteen years, most magazine test riders agreed that the GL1500 had been pushing the limits of what they called the "performance envelope" and common sense suggested to Goldwing riders that if the next Goldwing couldn't at the very least maintain the weight of the GL1500, then the end of the line had already been reached. With this in mind, Honda built an all new aluminium frame which comprised only 31 parts, compared to the previous models 130 and the new frame weighed 25lbs less than before. The new frame was much stiffer than before (a 77% increase in torsional rigidity and 119% increase in lateral rigidity) and combined with an engine both bigger at 1832cc's (118 bhp and 125 lb./ft. of torque) and 4lbs lighter than before, this meant that the GL1800 weighed 40lbs less than the GL1500. The frame was produced by Kaiser Aluminum and was designed in conjunction with Honda of America Mfg. in a project that started in 1998. The frame was produced in Kaiser's extrusion plant in London, Ontario and from 2000 they started supplying the extruded sections of the GL1800 frames to the Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio. Honda technicians welded the sections together manually. In April 2002, Kaiser won the Transportation Category award of the 2002 International Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition, for their efforts on the GL1800 frame project.
Anyway, back to the main subject before I go off track too much. The whole look of the Goldwing had now changed from big comfy tourer to a more sporty long distance machine designed to appeal to the younger rider as well as existing Goldwing owners. Big news also was the inclusion of fuel injection and the option of ABS brakes, long overdue on the six cylinder monster. Slightly slimmer bodywork dragged the design into the new Millennium, yet Honda had managed to make the seat much bigger and this time there was enough pillion space to swallow the rear ends of even those requiring XXXXL pants. The seat height and diameter of the wheels remained the same as before, but the tyres were wider and for only the second time on a Goldwing they were not supplied by Dunlop, but Bridgestone. Honda's efforts resulted in a machine that went and stopped far better than most people had dared to hope and riding it gave the impression that it was far lighter than the GL1500, rather than a mere 40lbs. Magazine test riders all over the world heaped praise on the new Goldwing and it was no longer a machine for Goldwing bashers to ridicule. The general consensus was that the GL1800 was much more practical than before and was a motorcycle that many (and younger) riders would use every day, rather than saving for use only at weekends. Available colours for 2001 were Illusion Red, Black, Pearl Hot Rod Yellow and Pearl Apollo Blue.
The Hondaline department, now very slick and efficient, were not caught napping this time. The marketing of accessories was helped by wide use of the Internet, as well as brochures and magazine adverts. There was a staggering 51 items available from Hondaline for the GL1800, far surpassing any effort made for previous Goldwings and they were available right from the time the GL1800 hit the dealers showrooms. Indeed, it was now possible for a Goldwing to become a bottomless pit for those who had the cash to spend on Hondaline accessories and the aftermarket suppliers had to take a deep breath and look very hard to find spots to fill this time and over the coming months there was a drip feed of items made available, rather than the usual flood.
2002
saw no major changes. The GL1800 was too new to do more than tweak here and there. Three new colours were introduced (Pearl Sunburst Orange, Stream Silver and Illusion Blue-also known as Pearl Chromium Purple) alongside Black, Illusion Red and Pearl Hot Rod Yellow with Pearl Blue being dropped after only one year. The Goldwing was still available with or without ABS brakes. The full Hondaline range of accessories was available and the aftermarket to their credit had managed to add many more bits and pieces to their product ranges. The high price of the Hondaline stuff no doubt gave lots of scope for the competition. A recall during the previous year saw the pulse rotor being replaced on many models and the kill switch on lots of models had to be fixed too, so Honda seem to be on top of things. Anyone who didn't like the GL1800 could still buy GL1500's new (year 2000 models) from many dealers, there were lots of them still in crates. They were now selling at up to 10% more than when they were still in production and of course this is because the GL1800 was much more expensive to buy.
2003 arrived and the GL1800 continued to be improved on. No major model or name changes, the ever popular Candy Red (different shade to the GL1500, the new colour was called Durango Red) made a welcome return this year. Stream Silver, Black, Pearl Hot Rod Yellow and Illusion Blue were retained. Another orange colour was introduced, this time a darker Jupiter Orange. The early CD player problems appeared to have been fixed and the Bridgestone tyres that cupped and wore out at worryingly low mileages have been replaced by Dunlops. The overheating issue that affected some GL1800's was now being attended to with the US Service Bulletin 13. Announced in September, a US recall for certain VIN numbers to inspect and repair/strengthen the lowest crossmember of the frame was of more significance for some owners. A European recall for this issue in early October indicated that the problem was more widespread than it seemed earlier in the year. Only one GL1800 was affected by the frame recall in Ireland. Some bike magazines reckoned that this made the GL1800 the most recalled motorcycle that Honda had produced to date! For some reason, the windshield now had two sliding bolts instead of four. The rumour mill had started to grind into action again, with reports of a possible Aspencade and SE addition in a year or two. A huge range of aftermarket accessories was by now available for the GL1800, alas at the expense of the GL1500 and older models. Every year sees available accessories for older Goldwings sink without a trace. It's always about money folks, and it seems the minute a particular model becomes a bit old, the accessory manufacturers ruthlessly cull the available goodies. Only three years after the demise of the GL1500, almost 50% of the accessories for this machine had disappeared from the big name catalogues (I notice this because I collect the catalogues), even though there are more 1500's on the planet than any other Goldwing. By summer of 2003, the last of the 2000 model year GL1500's seem to have been sold and searching the dealers for one out of the crate was now a waste of effort.
2004 arrived and we got the '04 models that were available to U.S. dealers from July 28th 2003. The rest of the world has to wait for the start of each year to get that years models, but the Americans get to sample them months before the rest of us. The fact that Goldwings are all made in the USA accounts for this. No major changes this year either. Lighted handlebar (long overdue) and radio switches and a vent in the windshield were about as exciting as it got. The rear brake calliper got a heat shield between it and the exhaust muffler. The audio system was modified internally, mainly to cure a problem with the CB mute circuit now working properly.
New colours in the shape of Flare Red (which had a different pattern on the saddle material and different badges), Kelly Magenta, Pearl Challenger Brown and Titanium. For some odd reason known only to Honda, Magenta was cancelled almost immediately after dealers got the 04's so there should only be a few hundred available (collectable perhaps in the future) and Arctic White had been added to the line-up instead. Candy Red and Black are retained for this year. Rumours of a slightly redesigned lower fairing (for the 2005 model year) to accommodate new radiator fans or a modified cooling system had been doing the rounds on the Internet forums for some time now.
The 2005 Goldwing models were announced on September 8th 2004. For the Goldwings 30th anniversary the only noticeable changes were anniversary badges and key and some new colours. Under the skin however, the GL1800 frame had been considerably strengthened in the lower crossmember area. This was to end the possibility of the frame cracking in this area. Colours for 2005 were Pearl Yellow, Arctic White, Metallic Silver, Dark Gray Metallic, Bright Blue Metallic and Candy Black Cherry. Flare Red, Pearl Challenger Brown and the ever popular Candy Red were casualties this year and Black (which had been available on all GL1800 model years since it's release) was also dropped. The Silver and Pearl Yellow bikes get the same saddle pattern as the Flare Red had in 2004 and there was a different opening ceremony on the display of all 2005 models as well. The rumoured cooling system changes were unfounded and already the talk was of changes for 2006, with the possibility of an SE model being the favourite topic among those disgruntled Goldwing faithful who expected more than just new badges for the 30th anniversary of Honda's flagship touring motorcycle.
The 2006 model was announced as usual the previous September. This time there were some big changes and refinements. First glance revealed a re-designed dash and larger front and rear speaker pods, but the changes went much deeper. The GL1800 for 2006 came in four variations, which caused confusion for many buyers at the time. The first was with the Premium Audio package, which had six speakers and an 80 watts per channel external amplifier. The Gold Wing Audio/Comfort package model added (in addition to the audio package mentioned) heated grips and a heated saddle (separate controls for front and back) and warm air flaps in the lower exhaust cowls similar to those found on the GL1500SE. The Audio/Comfort/Navi package added a flash-card based GPS system to the other options, GPS being a long overdue and welcome addition, although it wasn't available on European models for 2006. The top of the line model was the Audio/Comfort/Navi/ABS package. In a move that didn't go down well with loyal Goldwing customers, this meant that you had to buy the most expensive version to avail of ABS brakes. An airbag system was promised during the 2006 production run. In reality, this meant that we seen airbags in September 2006, for the 07 model year.
Other changes included larger radiators and cooling fans, better rubbers between the engine guards and exhaust cowls, new rear trunk and saddlebag lights (the saddlebag lights won't fit pre 2006 models but the trunk lights will), facelifted meter panel and instruments, and bigger rear speaker pods. Many of the wiring connector blocks are smaller and neater automotive types and are a departure from the traditional Hitachi types. Colours for 2006 were Topeka Gold, Challenger Brown Metallic (Titanium), Cabernet Red, Arctic White, and Black was back for 2006 as is Pearl Challenger Brown. Hondaline hadn't been asleep during these changes either. Several new items were added to the already long list of wallet-draining goodies. These included a small trunk rack, nice round exhaust extensions and little speaker pod armrests. Many accessories (Hondaline and aftermarket) for the 2001-2005 models either won't fit the 2006 models, or need adapted wiring looms to plug into the new machines.
September 2006 saw the 2007 line-up rolled out. Four variations of the GL1800 as in 2006, but changed once again this year, so buyers needed to be awake when deciding which model to go for. The Premium Audio package for the base model stayed the same. The Audio/Comfort model now had the Sat-Nav included. The Audio/Comfort/Navi model now had ABS brakes and the top of the range model was the Airbag model, which also had the Audio/Comfort/Sat-Nav/ABS. This means that ABS was now available on the top two models for 2007. Cabernet Red was carried over from the previous year. New colours were Billet Metallic Silver, Crucible Orange Metallic, Nebulous Black and Dark Blue Metallic.
Two GL1800 variations were available for Europe for 2007. The Sat-Nav and Airbag was included on the GL1800 DeLuxe model destined for Europe market that year and this model also had ABS brakes and the Audio/Comfort package. The basic GL1800 model for Europe came minus ABS, Sat-Nat or airbag.
The 2008 Goldwing model information was released earlier in the year than the traditional September and we had all read the fine print while the summer was still young. Models are the same as for 2007 and new colours are Pearl Alpine White and Candy Caliente Red. Cabaret Red was retained for this year and Challenger Brown Metallic (Titanium) and Gloss Black were resurrected after last years absence.
The lineup for 2009 wasn't particularly big news, even though Honda threw a few more gadgets at the now long-running GL1800. Much bigger and not very welcome news was that Honda were pulling production of the Goldwing back to Japan, after 27 years of production in the USA. It's fair to say that the 2010 Goldwing will be made in Japan and of course speculation is rife that a new Goldwing will be unveiled next year as the new location is retooled, presumably for a new model.
Anyway, back to the 2009 GL1800 models. The Sat-Nav maps have been updated to NT maps this year. The unit now took SD cards and the NAVI graphics were improved, making the display easier to see. New to the Goldwing is a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and XM radio. The TPMS is fitted to all models and an indicator flashes when tire pressure is 10 percent low and it stays on when pressure is 20 percent low. XM radio is now available on all Sat-Nat models. This XM radio system also carries the ability to provide real-time traffic and weather info, for a monthly fee. The Goldwing Airbag model is top of the line and includes the Premium Audio, all-new TPMS, XM Radio, Sat-Nav and ABS brakes. The Gold Wing Premium Audio/Comfort/Sat-Nav/XM/ABS model also has the TPMS and XM Radio, only the airbag is absent. Next is the Audio/Comfort/Sat-Nav/XM Radio model. The Audio/Comfort is the base model once again. Colours (six) for this year are Pearl Hot Rod Yellow, Candy Black Cherry, Mesquite Brown Metallic, Monterey Blue Metallic, Pewter Silver Metallic and Columbia Blue Metallic.
The Goldwing 2010 lineup was more of the same. Those expecting a replacement for the now nine year old GL1800 were in for a dissapointment as Honda probably used existing stock badged as 2010 models to buy time, while the new factory in Japan could be preparing for production of a new Goldwing. Five colours for 2010 and these are last years Pearl Yellow and Mesquite Brown Metallic, Candy Caliente Red resurrected from 2008, Pearl Glacier White. Nebulous Black Metallic makes a welcome return after a long absence.
For the 2011 model year.... well actually there will be no Goldwing model at all for that year. But fear not, Goldwing production hasn't ended, it's just been stalled while the production plant is moved from Marysville USA to Kumamoto in Japan. American Honda announced their plans at the 2010 Wing Ding in Des Moines, Iowa. Apparently Goldwings will be made in Kumamoto during 2011 for the 2012 model year. Anyone wanting to buy a Goldwing for the remainder of 2010 and 2011 will have to buy one of the many unsold 2010 GL1800 models. The fact that Honda moved all the tooling for the GL1800 to the new plant rather than scrapping it after ceasing production of the current model indicates that the 2012 may well be the same basic platform. Time will tell and we will probably have to wait until mid-2011 before Honda reveal their plans for the 2012 model.
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Which T.V. Quiz show host used the catchphrase :- I mean that most sincerely, friends ? | Honda | Motorcycle Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Edit
Soichiro Honda began producing motorcycles in 1946 to satisfy a thirst for cheap transportation in war devastated Japan. Honda began his effort by installing military surplus engines in bicycles. As Honda became more prosperous, he designed his own 50cc engine for the bicycles. The first motorcycle that featured a completely Honda designed motor and frame was produced in 1949. It was called the Model D for Dream. The success of this model was quickly followed by the model J Benly.
The first Honda prototype.
The story of Honda actually begins in Yamahigashi, Japan on November 17 1906. On that day Soichiro was born to Gihei and Mika Honda. Gihei was the local blacksmith and Mika was a weaver.
Gihei Honda gave his son an interest in mechanical devices at an early age. Soichiro, as a young child was able to help his father repair farm machinery and build his own toys. He became familiar with gasolene engines by studying the small engine that powered the local rice mill.
Honda began to refine his mechanical skills working on bicycles that his father began selling. By 1922, Honda was ready to work on something more complicated and at the age of 15 he moved to Tokyo and began working in an auto repair shop.
Starting out as an apprentice, Honda developed into a highly skilled mechanic. By the time Honda was 17 years old, he was the trused mechanic of famous Japanese race car driver Shinichi Sakibahara. This led to a victory at Tsurumi, Japan where the team won the Chairman's Trophy.
1947 Honda motorized bicycle
Four years after that victory, Honda opened his own auto repair shop in Hamamatsu where he continued to refine his mechanical and engineering skills.
1949 Honda Model D, Honda's first motorcycle.
Soichiro Honda began producing motorcycles in Japan shortly after World War II to satisfy the war torn country’s need for cheap transportation. The first Honda motorcycle that featured both a Honda designed motor and frame was produced in 1949. It was called the Model D for Dream. The success of this model was quickly followed by the model J Benly.
Honda wanted to sell a more powerful motorcycle that led to the 146cc over head valve four-stroke E-Type Dream. This was a motorcycle capable of producing 5 ½ horse power with a top speed of 50mph. The motorcycle featured Honda's own designed frame and suspension on both wheels.
In 1952 Honda began producing the Cub. It featured a 1/2 horsepower, 50cc, two-stroke engine. Within a year, the little motorcycle was being produced at a rate of 6500 units per month. The steady cash flow from this popular model provided resources to secure the future of the company.
In 1953 Honda began producing a four-stroke single powered motorcycle featuring more engineering sophistication. This small motorcycle was also called a Benly and featured a three-speed gearbox, pressed steel Frame, rear suspension with the engine and swinging arm on a sprung pivot, and telescopic front suspension and produced 3.8bhp.
Honda C100
A revolution in the motorcycle industry began in 1958 when Honda brought the C100 Super Club to the American market. It was the first Honda motorcycle sold in the U.S. The small step through design was easy to ride reliable bike. It was featured in the famous “you meet the nicest people on a Honda” marketing campaign that eventually made the C100 motorcycle the best selling motorcycle of all times. Eventually more than 30 million would be built.
Honda CA 77 Dream.
Honda attracted international attention with the CB models. These included the CA72 (250cc) and followed by the CA77 (305cc). The parallel twin engines proved very reliable, however their stamped steel welded frames handled poorly at higher speeds.
Honda CB 77
Performance and handling improved when the company bolted the little parallel twin engines to a steel tubular frame and added twin carburetors for more power. The motorcycles were known as the CB 72 and 77 super hawk models and gained a reputation of reliability.
With money coming in from sales of the c100, Honda turned their attention to racing. They stunned the world in 1961 with a racing victory at the Isle of Man. Their secret was a 125cc 5 cylinder engine that could rev to 22,000 rpm without coming apart. It was faster than anything in its class.
The financial success of the C100 as well as the racing skills the company learned on the race track allowed Honda to begin designing larger motorcycles with more more powerful engines. The first commercially successful large motorcycle from this effort was the CB450, brought out in 1965 and called the black bomber. This innovative engine featured torsion bar valve springs that allowed high rpm and was the first serious effort by Honda to challenge English dominance in the American marketplace.
Honda 450 Black Bomber
Honda CB 750 Four
This was followed in 1969 with the Honda CB750 four. A powerful and reliable motorcycle that dominated the motorcycle market.
The success of the CB 750 4 cylinder Honda led to a series of smaller Honda motorcycles with 350, 400, 550 cc motors and ushered in the era of the universal Japanese motorcycle and spelled the end of British motorcycle dominance in the world.
Honda CBX 6 Cylinder.
This design would reach its fruition when it morphed into the cult classic inline 6 cylinder CBX in 1978.
The reliability and power of the four cylinder Honda 750 soon led to a new kind of motorcyclist, the long distance touring rider. Craig Vetter designed a full fairing for the motorcycle called a Windjammer. Before long thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts were touring the countryside on their motorcycles behind a Windjammer .
In 1974 Honda brought out the GL1000 Gold Wing. The motorcycle featured a flat four cylinder 999cc a water cooled engine with power delivered through a driveshaft. It proved to be as reliable as the cars of the day. Soon thousands of Goldwings were bought up and converted to touring motorcycles by their new owners.
1978 Honda Goldwing
With interest running so high for touring models, Honda brought out the Interstate model in 1980. This was the first Japanese produced motorcycle to roll off the assembly line as a complete touring motorcycle. The motorcycle featured a full fairing, trunk and saddlebags.
In addition to touring motorcycles, Honda began developing a series of V-four engines in the 1970s. This led to the production of the Honda Sabre and Magna in 1980. These two models led to a whole series of VF designated high performance motorcycles ranging between 400cc and 1000cc. But due to mechanical problems the VF line was unable to sustain itself.
Following the VF was the new VFR series of motorcycles. The VFR 750R was a sport touring motorcycle with lots of power, good balance and reliability.
In 1996 Honda produced the fastest motorcycle in production with the CBR1100XX Super Blackbird (1137cc). The motorcycle became popular with the long range high speed touring crowd.
Honda CBR 1100XX BlackBird
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The capital of Morocco is Rabat. What was its former capital ? | The Capital Of Morocco | Morocco Capital
The Capital Of Morocco | Morocco Capital
The Capital of Morocco is Rabat,its also the country's administrative,cultural and political center.Morocco Capital is a major highway junction.
Mar 24, 2012
Vsiting Morocco The Charming Country
Morocco is really an phenomenal place of stunning scenery. Kaleidoscopic mountains, serene beaches, desert dunes and stunning numerous shades culture attracts extraordinary bad tempt tourists to Morocco flights.
The magic of Marrakech and Casablanca, Sahara dunes and rolling increases the beauty of the Atlas Mountains. There are extraordinary reasons for choosing a holiday in Morocco.
Imperial city of Marrakech and Casablanca grab top flight tour in Morocco. These cities are loaded with tourist treasures and promises to amaze visitors with umpteen attractions and shopping opportunities.
In alto class airports, cities are easily handy for tourist flights to Morocco. Not surprisingly, galore(ip) airlines selling nickel-and-dime tickets for destinations to support aggregate distribution channels customized tour of the city. Efficient airport shuttle service in these cities, the train more fetching.
Casablanca.
This bustling city is a mix of mysterious features orthodox and nonclassical. Casablanca rewards visitors exquisite normal wonders, which stay in the city welcomed. Not surprisingly, the Casablanca years ago to sell like scorching cakes.
The abstract refuge for pilgrims, intricately put-up mosque Hassan II Mosque, a beaming Arabian architectural genius, and welcomes enthusiasts culture suggests. Hassan II Mosque attracts enthusiasts intercontinental search for flights to Casablanca.
For budget travelers who are stingy flights to Morocco, there is no shortage of sixpenny eateries and sunrise media is combined of the champion of complete. This unusual dining spot in Casablanca, a maze of high-speed food chains and restaurants that serve delicious dishes.
Square of Mohammed Vmodern shopping place in Casablanca and is very fashionable with visitors. It houses a chain of shops selling clothes, perfume, books and strange items at competitive prices.
Marrakech.
The past city of Marrakech Arabs. An newsworthy cultural and real heritage of the city is a extraordinary temptation for vacation. City budget press the Travelers than many_a low-cost flights to Marrakech traffic. In fact, it is wrongheaded to say that most travelers to book flights, budget travel Marrakech decent. Marrakesh fine celebration is not a problem.
Tourist spells, such as a mosque Koutoubia of Marrakech, Dar Si Said Museum of lovers of art and silly look at flights to Morocco.
Rue Smarine souq, a fashionable tourist Marrakech, is home to handed-down markets, and attract lucrative hunting book catchpenny flights to Morocco. The active bazaars remain fully repair lift burdensome souvenirs to tourists at prices below the chromatic. Spices, dried fruits, jewelry, carpets, wooden handicrafts, textiles, shoes and kitchen, the local market in almost every thinkable product or a specialized price.
Many stalls and vendors of fashionable restaurant with delicious food of Marrakech. Foodies can choose from, including global expansion and ethnic foods.
The Capital of Morocco Rabat
Political and administrative capital of Morocco since 1912, quiet, tidy, orderly, tasteful, Rabat is located on the magnificent site of the river mouth on the Atlantic Bouregreg. The realization of this urban city aired by many as gardens and wide avenues planted make the visit more enjoyable. The abundance of public gardens, the royal golf (one of the largest and most prestigious in the world), planting a green belt (forest consists of all kinds of trees secured by a wall), the sumptuousness of the royal palace its méchouar, walls and remains fully safeguarded and promoted, the vastness of the campus (the largest academic center of Morocco), its beautiful neighborhoods, make it a pleasant place to stay is enhanced an archaeological, historical and cultic importance. This year, for the first time in the history of Morocco Capital, Rabat was elected Cultural Capital of the Arab world by the Council of Ministers of Culture of the Arab country. This city has always been a cradle of culture by these writers and artists. is one of the reasons that contributed to his nomination. Following his election, the city has implemented a program for cultural activity for the year 2003 in various fields and varied. it will be just as good drama, song and visual arts. R'bat, prepare yourself for an eventful year!. Tour Hassan Tour Hassan RabatC'est the most famous monument of Morocco Capital. Sultan Yacoub El Mansour (XII century) plans to build the largest mosque in the Muslim world after that of Samarra in Iraq. Unfortunately, work was abandoned after his death in 1199. The tower was peaking at over 60m, but only reached 44m.A originally the minaret was built to accommodate up to 40,000 people. His style is a masterpiece of traditional Moroccan art. The Oudaias The Oudayas:There is no site in Rabat more striking than the Kasbah of Oudaias(Oudayas)with its monumental door Oudaïa Almohad. From there, the eye loses the crenellated ramparts, the ancient site of Souk el Ghezel the wool souk, where even in 1920, twice a week on Thursdays and Sunday mornings, the spinners of the Kasbah and the Medina came to sell the products of their work, the skeins of handspun wool. At the XVI and XVII centuries, the Christian captives were presented to prospective purchasers. The view then moves to the Rue des Consuls. It is inhabited by almost all Europeans until 1911 (there were seventeen families). There were the consulates of France and England, whose streets were named. Surprisingly white roofs nested or checkerboard of the medina, the ancient stone nostalgia, this secret life of colorful houses with terraces of drying laundry. Who can get tired of this charming image of Rabat, unfortunately struck by the towers of large buildings on Avenue Mohammed V, the flower market and the Post Office, not to mention the TV antennas that disfigure the old medina . The gate of the Kasbah Oudaïa was long walled and served in prison. She was cleared of rubbish which concealed its friezes, arabesques, its Kufic characters, until 1916, by Maurice Tranchant de Lunel, who restored it. It commanded the entrance to the Kasbah and gave access to the old walkway. Kasbah Ouadaïa is built on the site of Borj oldest, Ksar of Benitargas, probably of Roman origin. Built by the Almohad Sultans, Abdelmoumen (1150) and Yacoub El Mansour XII century it was alternately Mehedya in honor of the first caliph Ibn Toumert then Ribat Al Fath, camp victory. At all times, the Kasbah will be the nerve center of military and Rabat, especially after the installation on the left bank of the Bouregreg, Andalusians expelled from Spain in the XVI and XVII century, during the Reconquista. Chellah Rabat Chellah or challahAujourd'hui, this historic site has become a favorite spot for tourists and R'bat sheltering occasional cultural and artistic events. Protected by a wall with strong towers and three monumental gates that reflect the art Merinid Chellah houses in its space intramural many Arab-Islamic monuments and Roman remains such as: the Roman Forum, the streets of the time Roman remains of Roman houses and shops, where the necropolis is currently the Mausoleum of Abu al-Hassan, hammam, foundouk, the madrassa and mosque Merinid, and then other Islamic remains before and after the time Merinid. However, the site also houses Chellah lush vegetation, in a sense "gardens" left in part to the natural state. They are curiously the favorite refuge for storks and egrets throughout the year. Historically, the name (Salt the new) that would have been given in Rabat by Mariscains does not figure in the Arab sources of the history of Morocco. It would appear, cons, that expression (Colonia Salad Romand) Chellah Roman name, would become the old abbreviated Salé, Capital of princes Znati the 4th century AH. Thus, on the hill overlooking the Bouregreg south-east of Rabat, Chellah site, or the old Sala Colonia, we refer to the most remote human settlement in the valley, knowing that after a Phoenician presence and charthaginoise, the Romans built a city and a river port serving counter Mediterranean. Accommodation - Hotels: The capital has a wide range of hotels, lodging the simplest to the hotel very high standard. - Riad & Guest Houses: Staying in a riad or guest house is an ideal way to discover the Moroccan traditions and enjoy an exclusive service, anxious to satisfy the lower desires. These typical houses which sometimes have several centuries of existence, have been restored with taste and respect for the knowledge of their ancestors. We discover all that makes the refinement of Moroccan craftsmanship fountains covered with colorful ceramics and mosaics with tiles, intricately carved plaster ceilings and cedar painted geometric patterns. Nestled in the oldest parts of the city (or medina Kasbah), these houses are preserved by thick walls. - Camping: For tight budgets and for those who want to be closer to the ocean, Salé and Temara have a campsite on the beach. - Apart-hotels For long stays in family, renting an apartment hotel can be a good solution combining convenience and comfort. It makes you feel at home while enjoying the benefits of infrastructure and hotel accommodation. - Youth Hostels: Rabat has a youth hostel near the Medina and Bab el-Had. The hostel is open to persons who do not have a membership card, a small surcharge. (Downtown at 43 rue Marrassa). Rabat City of the Future project Amwaj (waves) - Valley bou Regraga rabatSalé and Rabat have the prestige of their past have been the jewels of successive builders. With the project Amwaj (Waves), it is towards an ambitious future they look, without denying their origins. This is one of the largest urban projects in Morocco today. The development of the Valley Bouregreg applied to no less than 5000 acres between the Capital of Morocco Rabat and Salé, the Atlantic Ocean to the dam Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah. This project will take place in six phases. The first, called "Amwaj" whose work began in March 2006, provides for the rehabilitation of the space of two banks in respect of environmental protection, cultural heritage, historical and architectural sites. Tourism, business and ecology are the watchwords of the project. The work focuses on the creation of hotels, residences, commercial space and leisure and a marina. At the River Bouregreg, work on water pollution and the creation of dams is a priority. One of the most important areas is to restore the Bouregreg its former prestige and rehabilitate its maritime identity.
This articles contains Some precious historical facts about the capital of Morocco.
We found the first traces of man in the Capital of Morocco, on the current site of Chellah the eighth century BC. It was the Romans who gave the name instead, which is a corruption of the Latin word Sala, first name given to the river Bouregreg separating the cities of Rabat and Salé. They set up is a river port, which disappeared at the end of the Roman Empire.
Berber tribes settled longer below morocco capital, on both sides of Bouregreg. On the right bank of the river on the rocky outcrop, is built by monks sodats in the tenth century, a ribat (fortified monastery) who gave his name to the city. It is from these that ribats Islamized Almohad Berber tribes of the High Atlas lead their holy war. They help to strengthen the Kasbah and make an important stronghold.
We are then at the end of the twelfth century and Yacoub El Mansour, Almohad sovereign power, wants Rabat the Atlantic Alexandria and the Capital of Morocco. He raises the Hassan Tower in the image of the Koutoubia of Marrakech and the Giralda in Seville. He strengthens the kasbah, surrounds two huge walls with five gates.
The prestigious sovereign award definitely the name to the city of Rabat El Fath: Ribat Victory.
But Yacoub El Mansour died without completing his work and the city loses its luster. The largest mosque in the world, the Hassan Tower, is never completed and gradually fall into ruin. The end of the Almohad dynasty begin the decline of Rabat.
The Kasbah remain habited, but will gradually lose its original purpose. It will attract more foreign wildlife that increasingly became important.
Among them, the so-called Andalusian, Moorish past expelled from Spain in the seventeenth century. These highly Europeanized Arabs have forgotten their ancestral customs. To feel secure, they built a wall that bisects the Medina: "the wall of the Andalusians.
Morocco' Capital gradually becomes a den of robbers and pirates, head of traffic of all kinds. Over the centuries, the city loses its appeal, and should the existence of his royal palace to the insecurity of the imperial road Fez-Marrakesh, Rabat then constituting the sovereign a fallback.
In 1912, when the introduction of the French protectorate, the Resident General Lyautey seduced by the city as much as by its climate and its strategic position facing the Atlantic, requires the Sultan Moulay Youssef leaving Fez to Rabat the capital city of Morocco.
The French occupiers modernize the city while retaining its Moorish character. In 1956, at the end of the protectorate, Mohamed V Rabat maintains as the capital city of Morocco . His son Hassan II in 1961, and his grand-son Mohamed VI in 1999, confirm this choice, while alternating stays in the various palaces of the Kingdom, according to the tradition of the Moroccan king, across Morocco.
That is how a small town became the capital of Morocco ,one of the largest countries in Africa. Rabat has now become the second city of the country (one million inhabitants with Savory across the Bouregreg), seat of government, parliament, home of the royal authority.
It takes advantage of its status as Morocco's Capital: it is better maintained, the more flowery and most opulent of Morocco. But it is an authentic city of Morocco, the opposite of a soulless city. To convince you, browse these pages and you will find that Rabat is a city full of life, a true representative city of Morocco.
What is The Capital Of Morocco ?
Rabat,the capital of Morocco is located in the north, on the Atlantic coast, on the left bank of the mouth of Bouregreg, opposite the city of Salé. Rabat is the great political and administrative center of the country where the royal palace, government and embassies.
Rabat is home to neighborhoods as diverse as Agdal, Souissi, Riyadh (residential and rich), Ocean, Aviation and Yacoub Bin Mansour. Salé, which is part of the conurbation, for its part is a dormitory-town connected to Rabat by a bridge. Surrounded by ramparts, the capital of Morocco Kingdom has an important architectural heritage that has many monuments such as the enclosure doors of the Casbah Oudaïa, the minaret of the Hassan Mosque (XII century), which is 55 m, one of the few vestiges of this unfinished building and near the city, the necropolis of Chellah. The city is home to several museums (archeology, crafts). It is the seat of the University Mohammed V (1957) and several cultural and educational institutes.
Important port, Morocco's capital Rabat is also a commercial and industrial city (textiles, foodstuffs, construction materials) where tourism and local crafts are also a major economic role.
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The pop group Ultravox were very popular in the 80's . How many number 1 hit records did they have ? | Rabat Travel Guide: Morocco's Laid-back Capital
jakuza
Morocco's laid-back capital
Rabat (اÙرباط in Arabic) is the capital of Morocco, though far from its largest city: In terms of population it for instance ranks behind Marrakesh, Fes and Casablanca. Rabat lies on the country's western Atlantic coast at about an hours drive from Casablanca and at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river. On the other side lies the city of Salé, almost forming Rabat's mirror image in terms of georgraphical proportions.
While Rabat is Morocco's capital, it has typically been overlooked by travelers into the country, preferring places like Marrakesh and Fes instead. That is starting to change, and a catalyst to that has been the 2012 designation of Rabat as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The authentic medina (easier to navigate than the one in Fes!), 12th century Hassan Tower (pictured) and fantastic Kasbah of the Udayas were the main drivers behind that.
Besides having no shortage of sights, what you will above all notice in Rabat is the relatively laid-back atmosphere, especially when you contrast it to the intensity of Casablanca. A city well worth visiting, and perhaps a good place to start your explorations of the country in, as it allows you to ease into the "attack on the senses" that you will inevitably experience here! [Review by travelindicator]
Key info
Rabat is a city in Morocco's region of Rabat-Sale. It has a population of 2,120,192, is situated at an altitude of 135ft and the best airport to fly into is RBA (Sale, Rabat)
The currency used in Morocco is the Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Rabat Weather
Historical average maximum temperature per month (℉):
Jan
Historical average rainfall per month (inches):
Jan
Very low cost of living/staying (cheaper than 89% of destinations)
Your Travel Distance
Distance: 5,971 mi (from Los Angeles)
Weather - 14 day forecast
Temperature (): 32℉
Rainfall (): 0in
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"Which fashion house markets the perfume ""Addict"" ?" | History - Profile - Christian Dior Finance
Birth of Christian Dior in Granville (Normandy, France), on January 21.
1946
Backed by Marcel Boussac, Christian Dior founds his own couture house, in a private house at 30, avenue Montaigne in Paris.
1947
On February 12, Christian Dior presents the 90 models of his first collection on six mannequins. The “Corolle” and “Huit” lines are very quickly rechristened “New Look”.
Parfums Christian Dior is founded, headed by Serge Heftler Louiche.
Dior names the first perfume “Miss Dior” in honor of his sister Catherine.
Pierre Cardin begins at Christian Dior, as the “leading man” in the workshop. He remains there until 1950.
1948
In November, a luxury ready-to-wear house is established in New York at the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street, the first of its kind.
Creation of Christian Dior Parfums New York.
1949
Launch of the perfume “Diorama”. By marketing Dior stockings in the United States, the brand creates the licensing system.
1950
License for neckties. All accessories follow. Within three years, this system will be copied by all the couture houses.
1952
The Christian Dior brand consolidates its presence in Europe by creating Christian Dior Models Limited in London.
Agreement with the House of Youth in Sydney for exclusive Christian Dior New York models.
Exclusive agreement with Los Gobelinos of Santiago, Chile for the Christian Dior Paris Haute Couture collections.
1955
At age 19, Yves Saint Laurent becomes Christian Dior’s first and only assistant.
Opening of the Grande Boutique at the corner of avenue Montaigne and rue François Ier.
Launch of Dior lipstick. A line of beauty products will follow.
1957
Christian Dior succumbs to a heart attack while convalescing at Montecatini on October 24. Yves Saint Laurent is named to provide artistic direction for the brand.
1960
Called up for National Service, Yves Saint Laurent leaves Dior after completing six collections. Marc Bohan succeeds him. He is 34 years old.
1961
Marc Bohan presents his first collection, “Slim Look,” under the Dior label.
1962
Yves Saint Laurent opens his own couture house.
1963
Launch of the perfume “Diorling”.
1966
Launch of the men’s fragrance “Eau Sauvage”.
1967
Philippe Guibourgé, assistant to Marc Bohan, creates the “Miss Dior” line, the first Dior women’s ready-to-wear line in France.
Opening of the “Baby Dior” boutique.
1968
Launch of the Christian Dior Coordinated Knits line.
The Dior perfume company is sold to Moët Hennessy.
Frédéric Castet assumes management of the Fashion Furs Department - Christian Dior Paris.
1970
Creation of the Christian Dior Monsieur line. At Parly II, a new Christian Dior boutique is decorated by Gae Aulenti.
1972
Launch of the perfume “Diorella”.
1973
Creation in France of the ready-to-wear fur collection, which will then be manufactured under license in the United States, Canada, and Japan.
1978
Bankruptcy of the Marcel Boussac group, whose assets, under the authorization of the Paris Trade Court, are purchased by the Willot Group.
1979
Launch of the perfume “Dioressence”.
1980
Launch of the men’s fragrance “Jules”.
1981
The Willot group declares bankruptcy.
1984
A group of investors, led by Bernard Arnault, takes control of the former Willot Group.
1985
Bernard Arnault becomes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Christian Dior. Launch of the perfume “Poison”.
1987
The Paris Fashion Museum dedicates an exhibition to Christian Dior, on the fortieth anniversary of his first collection.
1988
Through its subsidiary Jacques Rober, held jointly with the Guinness group, Christian Dior takes a 32% equity stake in the share capital of LVMH. The share capital of Christian Dior is offered to French and foreign institutional investors who subscribe to a capital increase of 3.3 billion francs in a private placement.
1989
Gianfranco Ferré joins Christian Dior as creator of the Haute Couture, Fashion Furs, and Women’s ready-to-wear collections. His first Haute Couture collection is awarded the Dé d’Or. Opening of a boutique in Hawaii. Jacques Rober’s stake in LVMH is increased to 44%.
1990
Opening of boutiques in Los Angeles and New York. LVMH’s stake is increased to 46%.
1991
Listing of Christian Dior on the spot market, and then the monthly settlement market of the Paris stock exchange. Launch of the perfume “Dune”.
1992
Patrick Lavoix is named Creative Director of “Christian Dior Monsieur”. Relaunch of “Miss Dior” perfume.
1994
A revision of agreements with Guinness has the effect of increasing Christian Dior’s consolidated stake in LVMH from 24.5% to 41.6%.
1995
The Couture line is transferred to a wholly-owned subsidiary that takes the corporate name “Christian Dior Couture”.
1996
John Galliano becomes creator of Christian Dior Couture.
1997
Christian Dior Couture takes over the network of 13 boutiques operated under franchise by its Japanese licensee, Kanebo.
1998
Christian Dior Couture takes over the direct marketing of ready-to-wear and women’s accessories in Japan after terminating its licensing agreement with Kanebo.
1999
Launch of the perfume “J’adore”.
Creation of a new business group, Fine Jewelry, whose collections are created by Victoire de Castellane.
2001
In January 2001, Hedi Slimane, new creator of the “Homme” line, presents his first collection based on a new contemporary masculine concept.
Launch of the men’s fragrance “Higher”.
Opening of the Fine Jewelry boutique at Place Vendôme, created under the supervision of Victoire de Castellane.
2002
Launch of the perfume “Addict”.
2003
Opening of a flagship boutique in the Omotesando district (Tokyo).
2004
Opening of a flagship boutique in the Ginza district (Tokyo).
2005
Celebration of the centennial of Christian Dior’s birth.
Launch of the perfumes “Miss Dior Chérie” and “Dior Homme”.
2006
Christian Dior Couture directly takes over the activity of its Moscow agent and opens a boutique in the GUM department store.
2007
Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the creation of Maison Dior (1947). Kris Van Assche, the new creator of the menswear line, presents his first collections.
2008
Major exhibition organized in Beijing, in association with Chinese artists, to celebrate the brand’s entrance into the Chinese marketplace.
2009
New online advertising campaign for Lady Dior handbags featuring Marion Cotillard.
2010
Organization of an event in Shanghai to celebrate the expansion and reopening of the boutique in the Plaza 66 shopping mall.
2011
Organization of the Inspiration Dior exhibition in Moscow at the Pushkin Museum.
2012
Raf Simons is named artistic Director of the Haute Couture, Ready-to-wear, and Women's accessories collections.
2013
Presentation of the first collection by Raf Simons and opening of boutiques in Vietnam.
2014
Haute Couture collection show in Hong Kong and presentation of the Croisière collection in New York.
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Christian Dior
The time span between 21st January 1905 and 24th October 1957 takes into account the life and creations of one of the giants in world fashion, Christian Dior.
Dior received influence which was integral and complex in his original and large scale creations. In purely biographical aspect this comes his mother’s elegance. Her style inspired him for decades to come. As an intelligent and spiritually growing individual he showed interest in history and archeology. He managed an art gallery, making sketches since he was a child, Dior took up on ideas from the great masters of the arts. Two other giants leave their mark on his art development in French fashion Rober Pige (working together between 1938 and 1939) and Lucien LeLon (working together between 1942 and 1946).
Dior’s first collection surprisingly but absolutely justified was called New Look by the media. Tight corsets and skirts in the shape of bells manage to magnetize the attention of users and admirers alike. After the misery of the second world war out of nowhere comes a creator who offers women clothing of the most expensive material in unbelievable quantities. It is stated that in order to make one of these dresses Dior needed 20 meters of cloth. Dior himself remembers the following: “we swam up from a period of war and uniforms and female soldiers that resembled boxers. I created flower-women with tender shoulders, protruding breasts, slim waists and wide skirts”.
It is fact that thanks to the French textile giant Marsel Busak in 1946 it became possible to rent the “Avenue Morten” building and thus to open Christian Dior’s fashion house. It is easy to judge on the growth of the fashion house since only 6 years later it included 6 companies, 16 associated enterprises, 28 warehouses and over 1000 employees.
The designer created collections in different lines and shapes – N-shape (1954), A-shape (1955), Y-shape (1055). Dior’s launched fashion was always interpreted as the New Look. He has a great contribution in the creation of the suit consisting of three parts – cloth vest, simple top and soft skirt. As Giorgina O’hara notes they have a great influence on the development of fashion for years to come.
Christian Dior is the first designer who managed to renovate the high taste immediately after the second world war, imposing ultimately romanticism and new extravagancy. The main characteristic in his style is the symbol of “youth, hope and the future” in a post-war time.
The great creator dies on 24th October 1957. Some claim this happened during a card game, others claim that it happened after ingestion a fish bone while staying in Montecatini spa center, Italy. M. Pokna’s book tells us about how he sent to immortality – Yve Sent Loren, Pier Berje, Jaque Fat, Pier Cardin all attended the funeral. The all time adversary Coco Chanel did not personally attend the funeral but did send a cross made out of roses.
After his death John Galliano remains a designer for the women fashion and Hedi Slimane for the men’s fashion. In 2007 Hedi Slimane was replaced by Kris Van Assche.
Over the years this famous brand does not solely attract attention through magnificent night dresses, skirts and suits, but also with their impressive shoes, hats, jewels, cosmetic products and perfumes. The list of flavors is long and divided into several parts. The first perfume Miss Dior came out in 1947. It was followed by Diorama (1949), Eau Fraiche, Diorissimo (1956), Eau Sauvage (1956), Diorling (1963), Diorella (1972), Dioressence (1979), Dior Dior and Jules.
The Poison line was released in 1985. It is the first women’s perfume that does not contain the word Dior in its name. then are launched Tendre Poison (1994), Hypnotic Poison (1998), Pure Poison (2004) and Midnight Poison (2007).
Famous and valued are the perfumes Dune, Fahrenheit, J’Adore , Dolce Vita, and Addict .
Here is their release through the years: Miss Dior Cherie (2005), Dior Addict 2 (2005), Dior Homme (2005), Pure Poison Elixir (2006), Midnight Charm (2006), Fahrenheit 32 (2007), Dior Addict 2 Summer Peonies (2007), Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Toilette (2007), Dior Homme Cologne (2007), Eau Sauvage Fraicheur Cuir (2007), Dior Addict Shine & J’Adore Le Jasmin (2007), J’Adore L’Absolu (2007), Dior Homme Intense (2007), La Collection Particuliere Passage N°4, N°8 & N°9 (2007), Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Printemps (2008), Escale a Portofino (2008), Dior Addict 2 Summer Litchi (2008), Miss Dior Cherie Blooming Bouquet (2008), Dior Homme Sport (2008), Poison Elixirs (2008), Miss Dior Cherie L’Eau (2009), J’Adore L’Eau Cologne Florale (2009), Escale a Pondichery (2009), Fahrenheit Absolute (2009).
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