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9,248,894 |
Italian ironclad Affondatore
| 1,148,962,413 |
Ironclad warship of the Italian Royal Navy
|
[
"1865 ships",
"Ironclad warships of the Regia Marina",
"Maritime incidents in August 1866",
"Ships built in Millwall"
] |
Affondatore was an armoured ram of the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy), built in the 1860s by Harrison, Millwall, London. Construction commenced in 1863; the ship, despite being incomplete, was brought to Italy during the Third Italian War of Independence. Affondatore, which translates as "Sinker", was initially designed to rely on her ram as her only weapon, but during construction she was also equipped with two 300-pounder guns.
The ship arrived off the island of Lissa shortly before the eponymous battle in July 1866. There, she served as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano. During the action, she was involved in a melee with Austrian warships and was hit many times by Austrian guns. She sank in a storm in August, potentially as a result of the damage she incurred at Lissa, but was refloated and rebuilt between 1867 and 1873. She thereafter served with the main Italian fleet. She served as a guard ship in Venice from 1904 to 1907, and then as a depot ship in Taranto. The ultimate fate of the ship is unknown.
## Design
On 11 October 1862, the Italian Navy placed an order with the British shipyard Mare of Millwall, London, for an armoured steam ram, to a design by the Italian naval officer Simone Antonio Saint-Bon, but financial problems resulted in the order being transferred to the shipyard Harrison, also of Millwall. Saint-Bon had originally intended the ship to be unarmed, relying only on its ram to sink enemy ships, but an engineer at Harrison revised the plan to include two large-caliber guns.
### General characteristics and machinery
Affondatore had a length of 89.56 metres (293 ft 10 in) between perpendiculars and 93.89 m (308 ft) overall, with a beam of 12.20 m (40 ft) and a draught of 6.35 m (20 ft 10 in). She displaced 4,006 long tons (4,070 t) normally and up to 4,307 long tons (4,376 t) at full load. As built, the ship had a very minimal superstructure, with only a small conning tower. She had a crew of 309 officers and enlisted, which later increased to 356.
The ship was powered by one single-expansion steam engine that drove a single propeller shaft. Steam was provided by eight rectangular boilers, which were trunked into two funnels placed amidships. The engines generated 2,717 indicated horsepower (2,026 kW), giving a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Sufficient coal was carried to give a range of 1,647 nautical miles (3,050 km; 1,895 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). To supplement the steam engine on long-range voyages, Affondatore was fitted with a two-masted schooner rig.
### Armament and armour
As built, Affondatore carried a main gun armament of two 300-pounder Armstrong guns in single turrets fore and aft. The exact diameter of the guns is unknown, but they were either 220 mm (8.7 in) or 228 mm (9 in). She also carried two 80 mm (3.1 in) guns to be used in landings. A 2.5-metre-long (8.2 ft) ram was fitted. The ship had an iron hull, with sides and turrets protected by 127 mm (5 in) of wrought iron armour, with a 50-millimetre-thick (2 in) armoured deck.
## Service history
Affondatore was laid down on 11 April 1863 and launched on 3 November 1865. With Italy preparing to declare war against Austria in June 1866, the Italian government ordered Affondatore's crew to move the incomplete ship from British waters to Cherbourg for fitting out, in order to avoid the possibility of the ship being confiscated by the British. Affondatore left Cherbourg on 20 June, the day Italy declared war, sailing to join the main Italian fleet which was operating in the Adriatic Sea. The Third Italian War of Independence was fought concurrently with the Austro-Prussian War. The Italian fleet commander, Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, initially adopted a cautious course of action; he was unwilling to risk battle with the Austrian Navy, despite the fact that the Austrian fleet was much weaker than his own. Persano claimed he was simply waiting for Affondatore to arrive, but his inaction weakened morale in the fleet, with many of his subordinates openly accusing him of cowardice. The ship passed through Gibraltar on 28 June, making her way into the Mediterranean.
### Battle of Lissa
On 16 July, Persano took the Italian fleet out of Ancona, bound for Lissa, where they arrived on the 18th. With them, they brought troop transports carrying 3,000 soldiers; the Italian warships began bombarding the Austrian forts on the island, with the intention of landing the soldiers once the fortresses had been silenced. In response, the Austrian Navy sent the fleet under Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff to attack the Italian ships. After arriving off Lissa on the 18th, Persano spent two days unsuccessfully trying to suppress the Austrian gun batteries on the island so he could land the soldiers. This resulted in a significant expenditure of ammunition, which would affect the outcome of the coming battle. Affondatore joined the fleet after it had arrived off Lissa on 19 July, but her crew were not fully worked up and had struggled to handle the ship while sailing to Italy and the Adriatic. Persano decided to make a third attempt to force a landing on the 20th, but before the Italians could begin the attack, the dispatch boat Esploratore arrived, bringing news of Tegetthoff's approach. Persano's fleet was in disarray; the three ships of Admiral Giovanni Vacca's 1st Division were three miles to the northeast from Persano's main force, and three other ironclads were further away to the west.
Persano immediately ordered his ships to form up with Vacca's, first in line abreast formation, and then in line ahead formation; Affondatore was initially located on the disengaged side of the Italian line. Shortly before the action began, Persano decided to leave his flagship, Re d'Italia, and transfer to Affondatore, though none of his subordinates on the other ships were aware of the change. Persano used Affondatore to steam up and down the Italian line, issuing various orders to the individual ships, but as the ship captains were not aware that he was aboard Affondatore, they ignored his signals. The Italians were thus left to fight as individuals without direction. More dangerously, by stopping Re d'Italia, he allowed a significant gap to open up between Vacca's three ships and the rest of the fleet. Tegetthoff took his fleet through the gap between Vacca's and Persano's ships, though he failed to ram any Italian vessels on the first pass. The Austrians then turned back toward Persano's ships, and took the leading ships under heavy fire. Persano initially kept his ship out of the action, until after Re d'Italia had been rammed and sunk by the Austrian flagship, Erzherzog Ferdinand Max.
After the Austrians began targeting the ironclad Re di Portogallo, Persano decided to finally commit his ship to the battle, by attempting to ram the Austrian wooden ship-of-the-line Kaiser, though he failed to make a direct strike. Kaiser then rammed Re di Portogallo, before Affondatore made a second, unsuccessful attempt to ram her. Affondatore did, however, score a hit with one of her guns, badly damaging Kaiser, killing or wounding twenty of her crew. By this time, the Austrian ironclads disengaged from the melee to protect their wooden ships. Persano made an attempt to follow them with Affondatore, but he broke off the attempt when only one of his other ironclads followed him. His crews were badly demoralized by the battle, and his ships were low on ammunition and coal. The Italian fleet began to withdraw, followed by the Austrians; as night began to fall, the opposing fleets disengaged completely, heading for Ancona and Pola, respectively. In the course of the battle, she had been hit by 22 Austrian shells.
### Later career
Affondatore sank in a storm in Ancona harbour on 6 August 1866, which may have been due to damage received during the Battle of Lissa. According to naval historians Greene and Massignani, however, Affondatore merely took on too much water due to her low freeboard; the damage sustained at Lissa had nothing to do with her sinking. She had been refloated by 5 November. After refloating, Affondatore was rebuilt at La Spezia from 1867 to 1873. The ship's masts and sails were removed, with a single mast carrying a fighting top fitted in their place. In 1883–1885, she was fitted with new boilers and engines, rated at 3,240 indicated horsepower (2,420 kW), and giving a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). During the annual fleet maneuvers held in 1885, Affondatore served in the 2nd Division of the "Western Squadron"; she was joined by the ironclad Roma and five torpedo boats. The "Western Squadron" attacked the defending "Eastern Squadron", simulating a Franco-Italian conflict, with operations conducted off Sardinia.
Affondatore was present during a naval review held for the German Kaiser Wilhelm II during a visit to Italy in 1888. From 1888 to 1889, Affondatore was significantly modernized. Her main battery guns were replaced with two 250 mm (10 in) guns in new turrets. A new, larger superstructure was built to house a new secondary armament, and a second military mast was fitted. Her new secondary battery consisted of six 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, one 75 mm (3 in) QF gun, eight 57 mm (2.2 in) QF guns, and four 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon. In 1891, Affondatore became a torpedo training ship, and was fitted with two torpedo tubes.
The ship served in the 3rd Division of the Active Squadron during the 1893 fleet maneuvers, along with the ironclad Enrico Dandolo, the torpedo cruiser Goito, and four torpedo boats. During the maneuvers, which lasted from 6 August to 5 September, the ships of the Active Squadron simulated a French attack on the Italian fleet. As of 1 October that year, she was stationed in Taranto along with the ironclad Ancona, the protected cruisers Liguria, Etruria, and Umbria, the torpedo cruisers Monzambano, Montebello, and Confienza, and several other vessels. She remained there through 1894. By 1899, Affondatore was in service with the 2nd Division, which also included the ironclads Sicilia and Castelfidardo, and the torpedo cruisers Partenope and Urania. In 1904, she was assigned to the defence of Venice, serving as a guard ship until 1907. She was stricken on 11 October 1907, and thereafter served as a floating ammunition depot at Taranto. Her ultimate fate is unknown.
|
8,331,340 |
Charles J. Loring Jr.
| 1,088,405,446 |
United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient
|
[
"1918 births",
"1952 deaths",
"American military personnel killed in the Korean War",
"American prisoners of war in World War II",
"Aviators from Maine",
"Aviators killed by being shot down",
"Cheverus High School alumni",
"Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor",
"Loring Air Force Base",
"Military personnel from Portland, Maine",
"Military personnel missing in action",
"Recipients of the Air Medal",
"Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)",
"Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)",
"United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipients",
"United States Air Force officers",
"United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War",
"United States Army Air Forces officers",
"United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II",
"World War II prisoners of war held by Germany"
] |
Charles Joseph Loring Jr. (October 2, 1918 – November 22, 1952) was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later in the United States Air Force in the Korean War. Loring rose to the rank of major and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on November 22, 1952, above Kunwha, Korea during a close air support mission.
Born in Portland, Maine, Loring joined the United States Army in 1942 and was quickly selected to undergo pilot training. He spent several months stationed in Puerto Rico before being transferred to duty in the United Kingdom in 1944. There, he flew 55 combat missions in P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft before being shot down and serving six months as a Nazi German prisoner of war. By the outset of the Korean War, Loring was working in an administrative role in the United States, but by 1952 had been transferred to combat duty in Korea.
During a patrol on November 22, 1952, Loring was leading a flight of F-80 Shooting Stars of the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron in an attack on a Chinese artillery position. During the run, his aircraft was struck by intense and accurate anti aircraft fire. Rather than abort the mission, Loring continued his diving run, aiming his disabled aircraft at the position and obliterating it, killing himself in the process. After his death, Loring was awarded the Medal of Honor and made the namesake of Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine.
## Early life
Charles Loring Jr. was born on October 2, 1918, in Portland, Maine to Charles J. Loring Sr. and Irene Cronin Loring. He lived in the town throughout his early life, attending Cheverus High School, and graduating in 1937.
## Military service
### World War II
After the United States entry into World War II, Loring enlisted in the U.S. Army at Portland, at age 23. in March 1942, and as a private joined the Army Air Corps. By May 1942, he had been selected as an aviation cadet at the USAAC pre-flight school at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Loring completed Primary flight training at Douglas, GA, Basic at Greenville, Mississippi and Advanced at Napier Field, Alabama. After graduating, Loring was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve with a pilot rating.
In December 1942, Loring was assigned to the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force at Losey Army Airfield in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. The unit flew anti-submarine patrols as part of a force defending the Panama Canal and Caribbean Sea areas. During this time, Loring primarily flew P-39 Airacobra and P-40 Warhawk fighter and ground attack aircraft. After a stint of this duty, the 36th Fighter Group returned to the United States to Charleston Army Airfield in Charleston, South Carolina. There, Loring and the other pilots of the unit trained with the P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. It briefly moved to Scribner, Nebraska as part of this flight training.
In April 1944, Loring and the group moved to England to fly missions against Nazi German targets. The 36th Fighter Group flew out of RAF Kingsnorth in Kent, England flying reconnaissance, fighter escort and interdiction missions. The missions involved striking military strongpoints in northern Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord. Following the success of Overlord, Loring continued to fly air support missions for the remainder of the conflict. By December, he had flown 55 combat missions. He had been awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions under fire on June 12, 1944, that destroyed ten enemy armored vehicles in the area of Coutances, France while on a dive-bombing mission.
#### Prisoner of war
On December 24, 1944, Loring was flying a mission over Belgium when his P-47 was hit by flak artillery as he strafed ground targets. Loring was subsequently captured and spent six months as a German prisoner of war. Loring was liberated on May 5, 1945, three days before the end of the war on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day).
After World War II, Loring remained in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Promoted to captain, he served in a number of administrative roles in the post-war Air Corps, which became the United States Air Force in 1947.
### Korean War
By the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Loring was attached to Air University and was not immediately sent to Korea for combat duty. On February 3, 1952, Loring was reassigned to the 2353rd Personnel Processing Squadron at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California. This unit was quickly moved to South Korea, where it was assigned to the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Fifth Air Force, with the assignment of supervising training for replacement pilots before they were moved into combat units. During this time he flew with the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, while assisting the new pilots.
In July 1952, Loring transferred to the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron full-time, where he served as operations officer. In this role he returned to combat duty, this time as a jet aircraft fighter pilot operating the F-80 Shooting Star. Missions for this unit primarily concerned close air support, air strikes and interdiction missions supporting United Nations Command ground troops in the country. In this role, Loring's unit primarily fought North Korean and Chinese ground targets. By November 22, 1952, Loring had completed 50 combat missions. At that time the ground battle in Korea had developed into a stalemate, with the two sides firmly entrenched along the 38th Parallel. Throughout November, the UN forces had been launching Operation Showdown against two targets: Triangle Hill and Sniper Ridge, northwest of Kunwha, 20 miles (32 km) north of the 38th Parallel. During the battle, the Chinese managed to amass 133 large caliber guns, 24 BM-13 rocket launchers and 47 anti-aircraft guns in the largest Chinese artillery operation during the Korean War, and it posed a serious threat to ground troops of the ROK 2nd Infantry Division operating in the area. The artillery was heavily guarded, forcing the UN forces to use airpower to combat them.
#### Medal of Honor action and death
Late in the morning of November 22, 1952, Loring led a flight of four F-80s on patrol over Kunwha. Upon radioing a forward air controller, he was told a T-6 Texan flying over Sniper Ridge had spotted a concentration of artillery near the ridge which was pinning down UN ground troops on the ridge. He was also told the artillery concentration was surrounded by a heavy presence of anti-aircraft guns. Loring ordered the flight to the location, spotting the artillery concentration. Immediately after Loring began his dive bombing run, he was spotted by the anti-aircraft batteries. The Chinese crews operating them were highly skilled, and even at a distance, the batteries fired an extremely accurate barrage which struck Loring's aircraft several times on the nose and fuselage. The fire disabled the aircraft. His wingmen, noting the damage, suggested he abort the bombing mission, as the flight was not far behind the lines and Loring's aircraft could have attempted the return trip. Instead, Loring ceased radio contact, and resumed what appeared to be the standard bombing mission. At 4,000 feet (1,200 m), however, Loring accelerated his aircraft at a 40-degree angle in what appeared to be a controlled maneuver, lining up the Chinese batteries. The other pilots reported they watched, stunned, as Loring dove his damaged aircraft into the battery position. Loring was killed instantly in the impact, but his action resulted in the complete destruction of the battery position.
Loring's remains were never recovered after the crash and he was listed as "Missing in action, presumed dead."
## Honors
On May 5, 1954, Loring's widow received a Medal of Honor from President Dwight Eisenhower. At that time, it was also announced that the newly built Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine would be named Loring Air Force Base in his honor.
In 2000, "Loring Memorial Park" was dedicated for Major Loring in Portland, Maine in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood.
Cheverus High School (named in 1924 after the first Roman Catholic bishop of the Boston Diocese) where Loring had graduated from in 1937, created a display in its alumni room dedicated to Major Loring. The display featured replicas of Loring's medals, as well as his high school diploma. The school also created a school award named after him which honors students who have served in the U.S. military.
The Amvets Charles J. Loring Post 25 in Portland, Maine is named after Major Loring.
The combined enlisted/officer club at Kunsan AB, South Korea is named in his honor.
## Military awards
Loring's military awards and decorations include:
### Medal of Honor citation
Loring was one of four U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor recipients of the Korean War. All four were pilots who were killed in action. They were the only U.S. Air Force members to receive the Army version of the medal (the USAF version was first awarded during the Vietnam War). His Medal of Honor citation reads as follows.
> Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Air Force, 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Fifth Air Force
> Place and date: Near Sniper Ridge, North Korea, November 22, 1952
> Entered service at: Portland, Maine. Born: October 2, 1918, Portland, Maine
> Citation:
> Maj. Loring distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While leading a flight of 4 F-80 type aircraft on a close support mission, Maj. Loring was briefed by a controller to dive-bomb enemy gun positions which were harassing friendly ground troops. After verifying the location of the target, Maj. Loring rolled into his dive bomb run. Throughout the run, extremely accurate ground fire was directed on his aircraft. Disregarding the accuracy and intensity of the ground fire, Maj. Loring aggressively continued to press the attack until his aircraft was hit. At approximately 4,000 feet, he deliberately altered his course and aimed his diving aircraft at active gun emplacements concentrated on a ridge northwest of the briefed target, turned his aircraft 45 degrees to the left, pulled up in a deliberate, controlled maneuver, and elected to sacrifice his life by diving his aircraft directly into the midst of the enemy emplacements. His selfless and heroic action completely destroyed the enemy gun emplacement and eliminated a dangerous threat to United Nations ground forces. Maj. Loring's noble spirit, superlative courage, and conspicuous self-sacrifice in inflicting maximum damage on the enemy exemplified valor of the highest degree and his actions were in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Air Force.
## See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
- George A. Davis Jr., USAF-M0H
- Louis J. Sebille, USAF-MOH
- John S. Walmsley Jr., USAF-MOH
|
64,064,216 |
Sidney Hill
| 1,168,532,678 |
British merchant and philanthropist (1829–1908)
|
[
"1829 births",
"1908 deaths",
"19th-century English businesspeople",
"English Methodists",
"English justices of the peace",
"English merchants",
"People from Clifton, Bristol",
"People of the Victorian era",
"Wesleyan Methodists"
] |
Simon Sidney Hill (1 October 1829 – 3 March 1908) was an English philanthropist, merchant, gentleman farmer, and justice of the peace. From beginnings as a linen merchant, he made his fortune as a colonial and general merchant trading from South Africa. He supported and endowed almshouses in Churchill and Lower Langford, and manses for Methodist clergy at Banwell and Cheddar. He founded Methodist churches at Port Elizabeth, Sandford, Shipham and Blagdon besides the Wesley Methodist church and school at Churchill. Many of his charitable foundations still survive.
## Early life
Hill was born on 1 October 1829 at Berkeley Place in Clifton, Bristol, and was as baptised at St James' Priory, Bristol, on 1 November 1829. He was the sixth and youngest son of Thomas Hill (1778–1846), a former master sweep and soot merchant, and Elizabeth (1783–1857), née James.
His father was apprenticed as a climbing boy from the age of eight, serving from 1787 to 1798, before joining the Royal Marines at Devonport, Plymouth. He left the navy after four years, returned to sweeping, but left it again to earn a living as a labourer in Devonport Dockyard. He returned to sweeping again in 1811 and followed it until his retirement. He was also a foreman to the Clifton Norwich Union Fire Insurance Office for twelve years, until one of his other sons took over the role. Thomas died on 7 October 1846(1846-10-07) (aged 68) when Sidney was just years old.
Hill was educated at Portway House boarding school, located between Victoria Park and Partis College, in Weston, Bath. In September 1847, Sidney joined Sunday Methodist society classes, led by William Bobbett, at the Old Market Street chapel in Bristol, where he converted to Methodism. Hill would later dedicate Shipham Methodist Chapel to the memory of William.
## Life as a merchant
### Early years
Described as a delicate boy, Hill did not follow in his father's soot business, although two of his brothers did. When he came of age, he inherited money from his father's estate that he used to open a small linen draper shop at Berkeley Place, Clifton. The business grew and he moved to larger premises at 7 Byron Place, Lower Berkeley Place, Clifton. However, by 1856 he was not in good health and his doctor advised him to travel to a country with a warmer climate. Hill sold the drapery business and embarked on a sea voyage to New Zealand, but when the ship berthed at Algoa Bay in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, he decided to remain there. The first letter he received there informed him of the death of his mother on 31 March 1857(1857-03-31) (aged 73), which left him bereaved.
In 1857, Hill opened a dry goods store at Port Elizabeth, and in 1859, went into partnership with William Savage. Savage was the son of a former paper maker and stationer in Lewes, East Sussex. He had arrived in Port Elizabeth around 1849 and started a business selling stationery and hardware. Their partnership, Savage & Hill, Colonial and General Merchants, began trading commodities from 95 and 97 Main Street (southern side) in Port Elizabeth. They traded in anything from household hardware, refined sugar, ammunition, minerals, to ostrich feathers for the fashion trade and haberdashery industry. The bulk of their trade was transacted from Port Elizabeth, but as the business prospered, branches were opened in the principal towns of the Cape Colony and in the Colony of Natal.
### Marriage
In 1864, Hill returned to London to direct the firm's large shipping interests from their offices at 41 Bow Lane, Cheapside, London, moving later to offices at 6 and 42 Palmerston Buildings in Bishopsgate Street. On 15 June 1864, he married Mary Ann Bobbett at the Wesleyan chapel, Churchill, North Somerset. The Reverend William Shaw Caldecott was Hill's best man, and later, the author of ' (1875).
Bobbett was born on (1839-03-06)6 March 1839, the eldest daughter of John Winter and Frances Bobbett. John Winter Bobbett was a baker and corn and flour dealer, in partnership with his brother, and Hill's close friend, William Bobbett, at W. and J. W. Bobbett, on West Street, Old Market, Bristol. In 1849, Bobbett was sent to school; first to the Quaker Friends' Boarding School at Sidcot, near the village of Winscombe, North Somerset, and then to a finishing school, the Quaker Mount School in York. She was away from home for five years, and when she returned to Bristol, she became a housekeeper for her uncle, William Bobbett, at West Street, Bristol.
Hill had met her before their marriage, when he had been invited to Sunday tea at Bristol, and then at Sidney Villa in Dinghurst, Churchill, after William Bobbett had moved there in 1859, following his retirement on 2 July 1859. Bobbett and Hill shared a staunch belief in the work of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and this would influence much of their life, particularly Hill's later years after he purchased the Langford estate.
### Life in South Africa
The Hills spent six months in London before Sidney's business took them back to South Africa, departing England on 10 February 1865 for a month long voyage to Port Elizabeth. Savage & Hill prospered after the growth of trade at Port Elizabeth following the discovery of diamonds at Griqualand West in 1870, and the subsequent completion of the railway to Kimberley, Northern Cape, in 1873. With the rapid expansion of the Cape Colony's railway network to the interior over the following years, the harbour of Port Elizabeth became the focus for serving import and export needs of a large area of the Cape's hinterland. The rapid economic development around the port, which followed the railway construction, caused Port Elizabeth to be nicknamed "the Liverpool of South Africa", after the major British city and port.
Despite being engaged in an expanding business, Hill found time for furthering the work of the Wesleyan Methodist church at Port Elizabeth, occupying the offices of superintendent of the Sunday school, class leader, and chapel and circuit steward. In April 1870, Hill gave £550 () towards the construction of the original Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Russell Road, Port Elizabeth.
### Death of Mary Ann Hill
Around 1870, Mary Ann Hill was diagnosed with tuberculosis in her left lung. With her health failing, the Hills left South Africa for England on 8 April 1874. They decided to winter in Bournemouth due to the mild climate there, but after only five weeks' residence, Mary Ann died in the evening of 7 December 1874. She was buried at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol. In 1881, her remains were removed from Arnos Vale and reinterred at the Wesleyan Methodist church, Churchill, that was built in her memory in 1880.
## Later life
### Return to England
In mourning after Mary Ann's death, Hill returned to South Africa, but could not settle, and in June 1876, he decided to find somewhere to live near Churchill, close to his friend William Bobbett. In mid-1877, Langford House, Lower Langford, came on to the market after the owner, William Turner, a partner in a ship and marine insurance broker company in Bristol, died on 13 November 1876. Hill purchased the estate and took up residence at the end of October 1877. The estate included 35 acres (14 hectares) of parkland, 8 acres (3.2 hectares) of orchards, 4 acres (1.6 hectares) of arable land, stabling, and two adjacent, semi-detached houses in Langford village, known as Mendip Villa and Richmond House.
Hill retired from commercial life after dissolving the Savage & Hill partnership on 1 November 1881. By that point, he had accumulated considerable wealth, and consequently, was able to spend a substantial amount of money making improvements to Langford House. He re-modelled the house, added a belvedere tower in Italianate style, and decorated the interior in typical Victorian style with dark paint and panelling. In 1891, a clock tower was built above the coach house and a gilt turret clock and carillon installed in November of that year. He installed a conservatory and greenhouses, constructed in teak by Foster and Pearson of Beeston, Nottinghamshire, to provide the bedding and house plants for the estate.
### Livestock breeding
Hill took up a new life as a gentleman farmer, adding stables to the estate, a dairy and "Langford Bullock Palaces" for his prized Red Scotch Shorthorn cattle. He was well known as a breeder of pedigree shorthorn cattle, Southdown sheep, hackney, and shire horses. In 1881, he laid the foundation for his herd by purchasing two pedigree Dairy Shorthorns cows, Minerva and Irony, and the pedigree bull Oswald 50118, from Richard Stratton of Duffryn, Newport. However, by 1892 the herd had outgrown their accommodation, and they were sold at auction. Between 1897 and 1898, Hill purchased six cows, that included the pedigree cow Lavender Gem, and her heifer calf Lavender Wreath. The two cows had offspring that were show prize winners. The whole of the herd was of Scottish origin, apart from shorthorns purchased from Joseph Dean Willis of Bapton on 30 July 1897. The herd was dispersed shortly after Hill's death, in an auction held at Langford House on 10 September 1908.
### Work for the Methodist Church
Hill did much to further the work of the Methodist church in Somerset and help those in need. In memory of Mary Ann Hill, he founded the Memorial Wesley Methodist church and schoolroom at Churchill. He also vested in trustees a large sum of money to provide an income for the maintenance of the chapel and schoolroom. In 1887, he founded Victoria Jubilee Homes, and gifted a farm and lands at Congresbury, to provide for repairs and maintenance. From the 1890s, Methodists had come from the North of England to be employed at the paper mills in Redcliffe Street, Cheddar, and from South Wales at the shirt factories located in the Cheddar Gorge. Around the mid-1890s, Methodist society leaders at Cheddar, Somerset, began to see the need for larger and more convenient premises. Hill was approached, and two cottages, and the garden and orchard behind the existing chapel, were purchased. A manse to replace the one at Axbridge, two ministers' houses on the Worle Road, Banwell, and a furnished chapel in Cheddar were all gifted by Hill, including the furnishings for a schoolroom that was created by converting the old chapel. He also funded and endowed twelve Wesleyan Cottage Homes at Churchill.
### Other charitable acts
Although a life-long Methodist, Hill helped other Christian institutions such as contributing to Churchill parish church funds, donating £100 to the building of All Saints Church, Sandford, and gifting a stained glass window to Axbridge parish church after its restoration in 1887. Hill would also help people directly: He would notice those needing help and make enquiries about them. A note would be given to them to take to the post office in Churchill. The two upstairs rooms of the office were full of household items provided by Langford House. Arthur Henry Carter, the owner of the post office, would follow the instructions in the note and supply blankets, boots, food or whatever was required. At Christmas, children who attended the Methodist Sunday school were given a set of clothes each and the contents of each parcel were noted so that the same things were not included for the following Christmas. Hill was also a long-term supporter of the Bristol Hospital for Sick Children and Women, and would visit the hospital at Christmas, giving money to each patient and nurse.
### Public life
On 11 June 1885, Hill was elected a fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute, and by May 1886, he was a steward of the Infant Orphanage Asylum. He was a Liberal in politics and was selected as a vice-president of the Wells Liberal Association on 20 May 1886. On 19 October 1886, he was made a justice of the peace for Somerset and served on the Axbridge bench for over 20 years. From 1887, he served as the vice-president of the Weston‐super‐Mare and East Somerset horticultural society, and in January of the following year, he accepted the office of president of the society. By January 1890, he had been elected to the Council of the Imperial Federation League. He took lead positions amongst the Wesleyans of the Bristol and Bath district, representing the district at church synods and conferences.
Hill also undertook parish responsibilities such as being president of the Churchill football and cricket clubs. He lent a field free of charge for their use in Langford House grounds and contributed to the finances of each club. He was an organiser for the Jubilee and Coronation celebrations that were hosted in the grounds of Langford House. On 7 February 1899, he was elected vice-president of the Wrington and District Fanciers' Association.
## Death and funeral
After returning from church on 26 January 1908, at about 4:00 pm, Hill slipped while walking across the Langford House hallway, fracturing his thigh. After four weeks, his thigh seemed to be healing, and the splints were removed. However, more serious complications developed; influenza followed by pneumonia, and he died at 11:45 am on 3 March 1908, aged 78. The funeral was held at the Wesleyan Methodist church, Churchill, on 10 March 1908, at 2:00 pm.
Despite the cold and windy weather that day, hundreds of people attended from Churchill, Langford, Wrington, and other villages; there were so many mourners that the service had to be held outside the Methodist chapel. The outdoor staff of the Langford House estate, which including nine gardeners, headed the funeral's foot procession. The coffin bore the inscription "Simon Sidney Hill, born 1 October 1829, died 3 March 1908" and he was interred in the same grave as Mary Ann Hill. A memorial service was held at the Methodist chapel, Cheddar, in the evening of 15 March 1908, and was conducted by Henry John Stockbridge.
## Legacy
Langford House was later left to Hill's nephew Thomas James Hill, but he only lived there for four years before his death on 9 February 1912. The terms of the will were that the next beneficiary was James Alfred Hill, another nephew, but he had died at Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa, on 27 January 1910(1910-01-27) (aged 60), so the occupancy was taken up by Thomas Sidney Hill (known as the "second Sidney Hill"), a great-nephew, and the eldest son of Thomas James Hill. Thomas Sidney Hill died on 25 September 1944(1944-09-25) (aged 70), and two years later, the Commissioners of Crown Land bought Langford House. In 1948, the University of Bristol founded the School of Veterinary Science there. Many of Hill's other charitable works still survive today; Victoria Jubilee Langford Homes and the Sidney Hill Churchill Wesleyan Cottage Homes are registered charities providing housing for local people in need.
Hill's memory lives on in the legacy of buildings that he founded, but he meant more than this to some of his neighbours. The late Ronald Henry Bailey, a former editor of The Weston & Somerset Mercury newspaper, and an authority on Mendip folklore and other antiquarian matters, described Hill as:
> An exceptional man, among the last of the old school of benefactors who, in the days before National Pensions and State Health Services, made life tolerable for unfortunate neighbours when they fell by the wayside. He died just as the social pattern was changing for the better.
Nonetheless, Hill's wealth came from trade with southern Africa and it is not certain to what extent his fortune was amassed at the expense of others. On balance, however, it is thought likely that his business dealings as a merchant were without reproach. Certainly, that whatever his attitudes as a younger man, he later shared his wealth with the less fortunate.
## Philanthropic works
Hill was prolific in works for the public benefit. He funded and endowed the Queen Victoria Memorial Homes in Langford, to benefit those who could not afford to rent decent and safe accommodation. He founded Wesleyan churches, Sunday schools, and ministers' houses in England and in South Africa, and endowed a house at Homes for Little Boys, a former orphanage near Swanley, Kent. He also donated substantial amounts of money to aid the Wesleyan cause: £500 to help build the Wesleyan chapel at Linden Road, Clevedon, and after his death, Hill's estate donated £1,500 to fund the building of the Wesleyan Mission Hall at Seymour Road, Gloucester. His final act to benefit the poor was to fund, furnish, and endow twelve Wesleyan cottage homes at Churchill.
## Arms
In 1882, arms were granted and confirmed. According to FoxDavies in ' (1895), Hill bore:
## See also
|
1,316,349 |
New Slang
| 1,171,549,301 | null |
[
"2000s ballads",
"2001 singles",
"2001 songs",
"Folk ballads",
"Music videos directed by Lance Bangs",
"Pop ballads",
"Songs about loneliness",
"Sub Pop singles",
"The Shins songs"
] |
"New Slang" is a song by American rock band The Shins, released on February 19, 2001 as the lead single from the group's debut studio album, Oh, Inverted World (2001). Written by guitarist and vocalist James Mercer, it concerns his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico and his experiences there in his late 20s. The lyrics are fueled with "angst and confusion," as Mercer was finding himself constantly depressed and disconnected from his friends and scene. The song attracted attention from Sub Pop Records, who issued the song as a single in February 2001. The buzz created by the song led to positive press for the group's debut album, Oh, Inverted World.
The song began to be licensed in a variety of media beginning in 2002, including various television programs and a McDonald's advert that aired during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although the song never charted on any international charts, it became a sensation following its appearance in the film Garden State (2004), where Sam, a character played by Natalie Portman, referred to it as a song that "will change your life." The band saw increased record sales and visibility as a result. Critics were very positive in their assessments of "New Slang", with many calling it one of the best songs from Oh, Inverted World.
The song's music video was directed by Lance Bangs, and features shots filmed in Albuquerque and Portland, Oregon.
## Background
The Shins were not truly a band when James Mercer composed the song, and the idea of making music his career seemed uncertain. The song's creation was partially a reaction to the music scene in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the band's hometown, which Mercer described as "macho, really heavy, and aggressive." He characterized it as a punk rock-esque move akin to giving the finger to the entire town. The song was born out of frustration regarding his personal life and future. "It's definitely a moment in my life, that sort of angst and confusion about what my future was going to be," he remarked. He described it as a "Saturn return" period of his life, in which he felt he could not relate to anyone in his hometown and his life there had become depressing. He had become a "hermit" working on the band's debut album, Oh, Inverted World, and had lost interest in partying with friends. The line "Gold teeth and a curse for this town" refers to his songwriting talent and his feelings on Albuquerque.
Friends of the band, including Zeke Howard from Love As Laughter and Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse sent record labels cassette demos of the band's songs, including "New Slang". Mercer sent a demo to Sub Pop Records in Seattle, Washington, and label co-founder Jonathan Poneman caught a concert in San Francisco while the band was on tour with Modest Mouse. He offered the band a one-off single deal, and the label included it in their Single-of-the-Month series, issuing a 7" single to fan club members in February 2001. Positive press for "New Slang" made the group's debut, Oh, Inverted World, one of the most anticipated indie rock albums of 2001, and Sub Pop signed the band in full.
## Reception
### Critical reception
"New Slang" received positive critical reception. Stewart Mason of the Weekly Alibi in the band's hometown of Albuquerque called it "the most immediately appealing song on the album," praising it as "simply brilliant, [...] mostly acoustic ballad with the absolute finest melody the band has yet concocted and Mercer's typically oblique but evocative lyrics."
AllMusic called the song a "mid-tempo, strummy folk tune with a real catch-on falsetto melody," giving its 7" single a four-star review, summarizing that the release "could be a lost single from a brilliant, obscure '60s psych-folk band while still sounding far ahead of its time." Rolling Stone ranked it the "most affecting" song from Oh, Inverted World, describing it as "a shuffling folk ballad with a spaghetti-western feel and a somber melody that could have come off an Elliott Smith album." Pitchfork panned the song, deeming it an imitation of Simon & Garfunkel. The New York Times also covered the song, noting that "It has an odd, slightly serpentine vocal melody (it sounds a bit like an adapted madrigal), and the lyrics are absurd and somehow touching."
The A.V. Club called "New Slang" one of the year's "loveliest ballads." Will Hermes, in a piece on NPR's All Things Considered, called the song a "masterpiece," as well as "ridiculously melodic and structurally flawless." Pitchfork later included the song at number 62 on its list of "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s," calling it "An agoraphobic bedroom-pop gem that shuffled its way onto a stage larger than anyone imagined possible. "New Slang" paved the way for Norah, Nick, Juno, and the many lovely, odd, and grating mainstream/indie pairings to come."
### Accolades
\* denotes an unordered list
## Music video
The song's music video was filmed in various locations in Albuquerque and Portland. Among the areas filmed included the Rio Grande, junkyards, and near Mercer's home. The clip was directed by Lance Bangs, an associate of Spike Jonze. It features the band re-enacting the cover art of other bands' albums, including Zen Arcade and New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü, Let It Be by The Replacements, Moon Pix by Cat Power, Double Nickels on the Dime by The Minutemen, Squirrel Bait's first EP, Sonic Youth's Sister and Slint's Spiderland. Shooting in just two cities created logistical problems for album covers originally photographed in cities such as Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Louisville. For the homage to Double Nickels on the Dime, the band had to track down the exact model of the car featured on the album cover (a Volkswagen Beetle), and Albuquerque happened to have a San Pedro Street, which is featured on a freeway sign on the original cover.
The video was in rotation on M2, Much Music, and on the program 120 Minutes. The clip was also available for download from Sub Pop's website in 2002.
## Commercial performance and usage
The song proved to be a "stealth hit," helping Oh, Inverted World move over 100,000 copies within two years, considered remarkable for an independent label; Sub Pop had hoped the record would sell 10,000 copies. The song was also used on an episode of Scrubs, The O.C., The Sopranos, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the MTV reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Mercer was positive in licensing the song to a variety of media, confirming to The New York Times that he received more money from touring and licensing than record sales.
The song was featured in a McDonald's advert that aired during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Mercer elaborated on the song's inclusion in the ad in an interview: "That whole thing was just an ad agency that McDonald’s hired to do a “hip commercial,” or whatever. So the kid who offered the whole thing up to us was a Shins fan." Online message boards (many on Pitchfork) and fans of the Shins criticized the move as excessively commercialist. The band's hometown alt weekly ran an editorial titled "McShins, New Corporate Suck-ass" in reaction. The ad's aesthetics were criticized for straying from the company's typical upbeat themes, and fans of the band found its inclusion subversive, considering a set of the song's lyrics, which at times refer to "the dirt in your fries." The royalties Mercer earned from the commercial allowed him to purchase a home. In addition, the band used the money to finance a tour and relocate to Portland, Oregon, where they built a basement studio and recorded their second album, Chutes Too Narrow (2003). Mercer nevertheless "recognized the detrimental capacity of linking music with advertising," remarking, "Imagine us playing "New Slang," and everyone in the audience going, 'That's the song from the McDonald's commercial — I'm loving it.'"
"New Slang" achieved a new level of cultural significance when it was prominently featured in the film Garden State (2004). In a scene from the film, Sam (portrayed by Natalie Portman) tells Andrew Largeman (played by Zach Braff) that the song "will change your life." The song had previously been featured on the first soundtrack to Braff's television show Scrubs. The film ""changed everything" for the group, leading their first two albums to sell more than twice what they had prior to the film's debut. "Almost overnight, the Shins became indie-rock icons," wrote Robert Levine of Spin. The band extended their tour in support of the song and its popularity. "We saw a change in our audience. By the time we were done touring for Chutes Too Narrow, there was this new interest," said Mercer. "We toured again almost as the soundtrack to that movie, and colleges were all of a sudden interested in us playing on their campuses. We wanted to consummate the new relationship by touring and having a relationship with them. I mean, it just kept growing!" This additional exposure helped Oh, Inverted World move 500,000 units in the United States.
The band performed the song on their debut appearance at Saturday Night Live in 2007. Mercer was disappointed the show's producers requested he perform a song at that point six years old, but obliged after hearing stories of artists that argued their setlist and were not invited back.
## Formats and track listing
7" (2001)
1. "New Slang" – 3:51
2. "Sphagnum Esplanade" - 4:01
CD Promo (2004)
1. "New Slang" – 3:51
## Certifications
|
43,251,498 |
Mississippi Highway 792
| 1,036,976,227 |
Highway in Mississippi, United States
|
[
"State highways in Mississippi",
"Transportation in Lowndes County, Mississippi",
"Transportation in Noxubee County, Mississippi"
] |
Mississippi Highway 792 (MS 792) is a road in eastern Mississippi. It starts at U.S. Route 45 (US 45), and travels east. Near halfway of the route, SR 792 turns south and continues to its eastern terminus at MS 388. The highway was designated in 1998, and no major changes have been made since.
## Route description
MS 792 is located in southern Lowndes and northern Noxubee counties. In 2012, Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) calculated as many as 1,800 vehicles traveling west of Trinity Road and Weyerhaeuser Road, and as few as 540 vehicles traveling south of Bluitt Road. The route is legally defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3, and is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
MS 792 starts at a T-intersection with US 45, near the Black Prairie wildlife management area. It travels east along Carson Road, going through a small group of trees and farmland. At Gun Club Road, the landscape changes completely into farmland. Near 3.5 miles (5.6 km) later, Carson Road intersects Weyerhaeuser Road, that leads to cellulose fiber mills. MS 792 later turns southeastward at Old Macon Road, and crosses over a river. South of Plum Grove Road, the route shifts slightly to the west. Old Macon Road enters Noxubee County, while crossing over a small creek. MS 792 continues south for a few more miles, before ending at MS 388.
## History
The route was constructed by 1998, connecting from US 45 to MS 388. MS 792 was fully paved, and no significant changes have happened on the route since.
## Major intersections
|
23,733,491 |
Cardinal protector of England
| 1,145,164,761 |
Roman Catholic Church title for a particular Cardinal representative of England
|
[
"1492 establishments in England",
"1539 disestablishments in England",
"Cardinal protectors",
"Catholicism-related controversies",
"Christianity in medieval England",
"English Reformation",
"English cardinals",
"English diplomats",
"History of Catholicism in England",
"Lists of Roman Catholics"
] |
The Cardinal protector of England was an appointed crown-cardinal of England from 1492 until 1539. A cardinal protector is the representative of a Roman Catholic nation or organisation within the College of Cardinals, appointed by the pope. The role was terminated as a result of the English Reformation.
The role of national protectorships within the College developed during the fifteenth century, due to developments in the emergence of national monarchies and Renaissance diplomacy. Cardinal protectors of Roman Catholic religious orders date back farther to the thirteenth century. According to King Henry VIII, the cardinal protector "indueth as it were our owne Person, for the defence of Us and our Realme in al matiers [in the Curia]...touching the same". The cardinal protector represented the monarch in consistory, especially in cases where the right of investiture was divided between the pope and the monarch, and also led the English diplomatic corps in Rome.
Although earlier cardinals had filled similar roles, "the existence of national protectorships was first openly and regularly recognized only" by Pope Julius II. The terms 'cardinal protector' and 'cardinal procurator' were "used very loosely and sometimes interchangeably during the fifteenth century". The earliest reference to a 'cardinal protector' of England dates from 1492, but according to Wilkie, this results from a confusion between this office and that of cardinal procurator.
Unlike other national cardinal protectors, the cardinal protectors of England, Scotland, and Ireland were generally chosen exclusively by the pope. The cardinal was "imposed from above, rather than chosen" and often had no direct relationship with the governments of these countries. The English cardinal protector played a large role in English ecclesiastical appointments, and a substantial role in similar appointments in Scotland and Ireland.
## History
### Piccolomini (1492–1503)
Francesco Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius III, was the first cardinal protector of England, elevated on the initiative of King Henry VII, and also the first officially approved cardinal protector of "any nation whatever". Henry VII viewed good relations with Rome as a protection against domestic and foreign enemies and sent Christopher Urswick, his "almoner and trusted councillor" to Rome after receiving a bull of dispensation to marry Elizabeth of York. When Henry VII first sought a cardinal protector in 1492, he feared that many of the English bishops would support his Yorkist opponents (to whom they owed their appointments).
A variety of other disagreements existed, such as the papal income tax and the refusal of the pope to create John Morton, the archbishop of Canterbury, a cardinal; Innocent VII had passed over Morton in his first consistory, despite creating two French cardinals. Nor had John Sherwood, the English ambassador in Rome, been created a cardinal in 1484, despite the request of King Richard III. Piccolomini's creation as cardinal protector was requested by Henry VII in a letter congratulating the newly elected Pope Alexander VI, and was confirmed in a response which was probably written by Giovanni Gigli.
Piccolomini was already the protector of the Camaldese Benedictines and was close to German princes, although he was not the German protector in any official sense, and his protectorship of England is "the first official one of any cardinal which can be firmly established". Henry VII did not object to Piccolomini's German connections, even viewing them as an asset against the French.
### Castellesi (1503–1504)
The appointment of Adriano Castellesi as cardinal on 31 May 1503 "eclipsed England's cardinal protector", with appointments to the English sees thereafter being referred through Castellesi instead of through Piccolomini. Piccolomini was himself elected as Pope Pius III on 22 September 1503, only to die less than a month later, on 18 October; Castellesi did not vote for him and Piccolomini was chosen for his perceived neutrality rather than for his English connections. According to the account of Castellesi, Pius III acknowledged him as his de facto successor as protector.
Castellesi was a favourite of Pope Alexander VI, which became a liability during the reign of Pope Julius II. During Julius II's reign, Castellesi, "although neither requesting nor mentioning the office of protector of England, certainly presented himself to Henry VII as the cardinal responsible for English affairs in the Curia". In an attempt to secure his status against the intrigues of Silvestro Gigli, Castellesi donated his residence, the Palazzo Giraud Torlonia on the present Via della Conciliazione, to Henry VII. In 1504, Henry VII named six official members of his embassy, headed by Castellesi, and also including Sir Gilbert Talbot, Richard Beere, Robert Sherborne, Silvestro Gigli, and Edward Scott.
Paris de Grassi, the master of papal ceremonies, referred to Castellesi as "Regis Protector" in his notes of a meeting between the embassy and the pope.
### della Rovere (1504–1508)
A letter from Julius II to Henry VII dated 6 July 1504, remarks that the king had chosen the pope's cardinal-nephew Galeotto della Rovere as cardinal protector; the letter does not mention Castellesi. della Rovere's selection was likely arranged by Gigli. Castellesi was compensated by being promoted to the wealthier See of Bath and Wells. Castellesi lost favour with the king and fled Rome until the death of Julius II.
Rovere died on 11 September 1508, leaving England without a cardinal protector. Sherbone and Hugh Inge were back in England; Scott was dead; Gigli was in England as nuncio. The "only man on whose loyalty the king could truly rely" was Christopher Fisher, who was a "single, bumbling amateur" compared to the more seasoned curial diplomats who surrounded him. Henry VII himself died on 21 April 1509.
Another cardinal-nephew, Sisto della Rovere, who received the vice-chancellorship and all the benefices of his half-brother, was not explicitly named as protector, although he wrote to Henry VII stating his intent to "maintain his brother's friendships". Henry VIII replied to Sisto that he considered his friendship especially valuable, asserting that Sisto had been close to his father. There is no evidence that Sisto was offered the protectorship.
### Aldiosi (1509–1510)
Cardinal Francesco Adiosi may have become cardinal protector, but this appointment "cannot be exactly established" as his only surviving letters to England do not mention the protectorate. Adiosi is explicitly mentioned as protector in a 1509 letter from Christopher Bainbridge (the first English curial cardinal since the death of Adam Easton in 1397), by which point Adiosi and go-between Girolamo Bonvisio were on the "brink of disgrace".
Bonvisio disclosed the contents of his discussions with the king to a French agent and confessed his being employed by Aldiosi under threat of torture; by this point Adiosi was no longer protector. According to a 6 April 1510 letter from the Venetian ambassador, the king dismissed Adiosi as protector and gave the post to Sisto della Rovere. There is no direct evidence that Sisto ever received the official title before he died in March 1517. Until the death of Julius II, Bainbridge "filled the vacuum, real or in effect, in the protectorship of England".
Castellesi returned to Rome on the death of Julius II on 21 February 1513 for the papal conclave, 1513; although Castellesi "tactually" voted for Bainbridge on the second ballot, the two inevitably came into conflict as "rival representatives of England". The lack of consistorial records, which would list which cardinals referred the nominations of which bishops, are missing for this period, making it impossible to assess the extent of Bainbridge's role.
### Medici (1514–1523)
In 1514, Gigli (as the agent of Wolsey and Henry VIII) arranged for another cardinal-nephew Giulio de'Medici (future Pope Clement VII) to be cardinal protector of England. Medici's letter of appointment makes no reference to Sisto della Rovere. An 8 February 1514 letter from Pope Leo X to Henry VIII of England flatters the king for having elevated the pope's cardinal-nephew and cousin as protector. The pope's brother Giuliano de' Medici was also made a Knight of the Garter (just as Guidobaldo II della Rovere had been made when della Rovere had been made protector).
Bainbridge was "short-circuited" by the appointment of Medici, although he continued to play a role until his death on 14 July 1514. Gigli was accused of having played a role in the death of Bainbridge and Medici was charged with examining the facts, concluding that Gigli was innocent. The period between Piccolomini and Medici (from 1503 to 1514) is one where the role of the protector was not well-defined. The importance of the office increased significantly with the appointment of Medici in 1514, due in no small part to the friendship between Medici and Wolsey. According to Wilkie, "its importance stemmed from the special relationship of the papacy with England as the most reliable supporter of papal independence".
Medici accepted the protectorship of France as well in 1516, meeting Francis I of France personally in Bologna, much to the "discomfiture of England". Medici was elected Clement VII on 19 November 1523.
### Campeggio (1524–1539)
Lorenzo Campeggio was close to Medici and served as cardinal protector to Germany at the time of Medici's election. Campeggio received a variety of appointments from Clement VII before Henry VIII chose him as protector on 22 February 1524 (conditional on the pope's acceptance of Wolsey as legate for life).
Campeggio found his loyalty divided when he was appointed with Wolsey to judge the issue of the requested annulment of Henry VIII of England from Catherine of Aragon, the aunt of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Campeggio came out in favour of the legitimacy of the marriage, after considerable delay in travelling and reviewing the canonical evidence. The final sentence in the case was handed down in Rome in 1534, the same year the English Parliament passed the First Act of Supremacy. Henry VIII was particularly displeased by Campeggio's "constant company with the emperor" in the years prior to his verdict and Campeggio's rapidly growing income, having been granted the bishopric of Huesca and Jaca in 1530, and the bishopric of Mallorca in 1532, both by Charles V.
In January 1531, Campeggio was dismissed as cardinal protector, although it did not become public knowledge until May. At first it was unclear whether Henry VIII intended to appoint a successor, with Giovanni Domenico de Cupis emerging as an active candidate in March 1532. The king favoured Alessandro Farnese (future Pope Paul III), and instructed his ambassadors on 21 March to offer it to Farnese, and then de Cupis or Giovanni del Monte (future Pope Julius III) in the event that Farnese declined or was not approved.
Not knowing that Henry VIII had already secretly married the pregnant Anne Boleyn, Clement VII decided to reach out to the monarch by appointing Thomas Cranmer, an outspoken proponent of Henry VIII's annulment, as archbishop of Canterbury. A threatened excommunication was handed down when Cranmer pronounced Henry VIII's marriage null and void; Henry VIII responded by telling Campeggio's vicar general for Salisbury to stop all revenues from his bishopric until further notice. Henry VIII then claimed the authority to act on behalf of Campeggio in making various ecclesiastical appointments. The fifth session of the Reformation Parliament deprived Campeggio and Girolamo Ghinucci of their English sees (unless they swore loyalty to the king). Unaware of this statute, two days later on 23 March 1534 Campeggio entered Consistory for the final ruling against annulment.
According to Wilkie, "years of cooperation from both popes and cardinal protectors had taught a wilful Henry VIII to expect to have his way over the church of England". Clement VII died on 25 September before learning of the denial of papal authority on 31 March by the Convocation of Canterbury. In the 1534 papal conclave, Campeggio was the only cardinal to oppose Farnese's proposal for non-secret voting and the only cardinal not to kiss the feet of the newly elected Farnese as Paul III.
## Attempts at reconciliation
Many in Rome still thought reconciliation with England was possible, and Paul III elevated two English cardinals, John Fisher (at the time imprisoned and sentenced to death by Henry VIII) and Girolamo Ghinucci. The execution of Fisher prompted Paul III to excommunicate and purportedly depose Henry VIII. While Campeggio lived, no attempt was made in Rome to fill any of the thirteen episcopal vacancies in England.
Queen Mary I of England briefly reconciled with Rome and appointed Reginald Pole as archbishop of Canterbury. However, "papal restoration in England was doomed even before it was accomplished" when Mary I married Philip II of Spain. In 1555, Pope Paul IV named a new cardinal protector, Giovanni Morone, but the queen did not confirm the nomination and Campeggio remained the last cardinal protector "chosen by the crown".
Meanwhile, loyalty to the pope became a defining feature of the movement for Irish nationalism and bishops appointed by the pope garnered a larger following than the hierarchy of the church of Ireland appointed by the crown. According to Wilkie, "the cardinal protectors had assisted in the loss of England to the papacy, and Ireland remained loyal to the papacy in spite of them".
## List of Cardinal protectors
- Francesco Piccolomini (future Pope Pius III), first cardinal protector of England (ante 8 February 1492 – 1503), de facto protector of Germany
- Adriano Castellesi, de facto protector of England and official protector of Germany
- Galeotto Franciotti della Rovere (1505–11 September 1508)
- Francesco Adiosi (1508–1510)
- Giulio de'Medici (1514–1523) (future Pope Clement VII)
- Lorenzo Campeggio (1523–1534, died 1539)
Not confirmed by the crown
- Giovanni Morone, (1578–1579)
- Philip Howard (1682–1694)
- Filippo Antonio Gualterio (circa 1717)
- Cardinal Baschi (circa 4 November 1797)
- Ercole Consalvi (circa 1817, acting)
Similar prior offices
- Thomas of Jorz, proctor for Kings Edward I and Edward II of England (1305–1310)
- Ferry de Clugny, employed in Rome by Edward IV of England (d. 1483)
|
27,379,686 |
Avery Homestead
| 1,090,291,066 |
Historic house in Connecticut, United States
|
[
"1696 establishments in Connecticut",
"Houses completed in 1696",
"Houses in Ledyard, Connecticut",
"Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut",
"National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut"
] |
The Avery Homestead is a two-story Colonial-style home in Ledyard, Connecticut that was built circa 1696. Evidence suggests that the house may have begun as a single-story, one-room house and later expanded to a two-story, two-room house by 1726. The house underwent major additions and renovations by Theophilus Avery and later his grandson, Theophilus Avery. In the mid-1950s, Amos Avery began a decade-long restoration effort to return the house to its 18th-century appearance. The Avery Homestead is historically significant as a well-preserved example of an 18th-century farmhouse with fine craftsmanship. The home is also historically important because more than twelve generations of the Avery family have resided there over the course of three centuries. The Avery Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
## Overview
The Avery Homestead is located on the west side of Ledyard, Connecticut and faces south on Avery Hill Road. The house overlooks 100 acres (40 hectares) of stone-walled pasture land that extends south to Stoddards Wharf Road. The two-story house has a shed to the immediate east and a two-story barn to the southeast. Past the barn is a farm pond that is located in a small valley formed by Billings-Avery Brook. The brook extends west for a mile (about 1.6 km) before joining the Thames River.
## Design
The Avery Homestead is a two-story Colonial-style house that is believed to have been originally constructed around 1696. The main block of the house is built in the double cube of the Georgian style. It is unknown if the house originally began as a one-room one-story house with the original structure having been on the current east-end of the main block. The expansion and alteration of houses in this way was common in Ledyard and tool markings and different fenestration patterns are supporting evidence for this theory. The strongest evidence is the pitsaw marks found on the chimney girts in the hall and parlor, exposed framing and sheathing has markings consistent with a water-powered up-and-down saw. It is certain that the house had achieved its two-story and two-room appearance by 1726 due to its parlor being used as a meeting room for church services. Further evidence in the construction of the fireplace flues which indicates that the main block of the house was completed prior to the American Revolution. Around 1780, the main house was extended by 5 feet (1.5 m) in the rear during a two-story addition that gives the house a slight saltbox appearance. This changes were made while under the ownership of Theophilus Avery. Around 1870, under the ownership Theophilus Avery's grandson, also Theophilus Avery, the original kitchen ell was removed from the building and became a separate building to the east of the house. The new and present ell that was constructed served as an open shed until 1965 when it was converted to a shop and office.
The framing of the house is unusual because it has "longitudinal summer beams extending from the end girts to the chimney girts in both the hall and the parlor. Corner and intermediate posts are flared in gunstock pattern. The walls are sheathed with vertical planking except in the attic gables, where the planks are laid horizontally, alternating the taper. Framing is cased in the parlor and exposed in the hall, where the summers are adzed and roughly chamfered." The attic construction is conventional with equally spaced rafters that have mortise and tenon joints at the ridge. This type of construction indicates that the conventional principal rafter or purlin framing may not have been used in Ledyard during that time.
The low granite block foundation of the house is more exposed on the west side of the house, allowing for a full-height door exiting from the cellar. The stone stack supports four fireplaces that each support the hall, hall chamber, parlor and the cellar. Also there is a smoke chamber in the stack in the attic. The original kitchen, now in the hall, features a large fireplace with bake oven in the rear wall of the firebox. The attic once housed a large loom that was later moved down to the west side of the cellar. Amos G. Avery, who owned and restored the house prior to its 1992 National Register of Historic Places listing, removed an 1871 Victorian balustrade on the front staircase installed by the second Theophilus Avery.
The main barn is oriented on a north–south axis and has a conventional bent framing and sheathed with vertical boards. It is believed that the addition of a cupola with a hip roof may have been a later addition to the barn. Photos dating from 1870 confirm its age, but the date of construction for the barn cannot be determined, but it may date from the 18th century. The former ell of the house was converted in a shed and dates to around 1780.
## Owners
More than twelve generations of the Avery family have resided in the Avery Homestead. The original house was constructed about 1696 by William Morgan, around the time of his marriage to Margaret Avery. The two were descendants of James Morgan and James Avery respectively. The house passed to Deacon William Morgan Jr. who used the house to conduct church services from 1726, when North Groton became a separate parish, and lasted until the completion of a meetinghouse. Deacon William Morgan Jr. sold the house to John Wood in 1745. Nine years would pass before it would be reacquired by the Avery family in 1754. Theophilus Avery, the first, owned the house from 1757 to 1798. The second Theophilus Avery possessed the house from 1852 to 1880. Amos G. Avery acquired the house in 1946 from his father.
In 1970, Amos Avery donated 100 acres of land to the Mashantucket Land Trust and kept the surrounding 40 acres. Amos Avery also restored the house to a "more or less" 18th-century appearance through a decade-long restoration effort. The restoration effort began in the mid-1950s when he poked a hole in the ceiling and felt the molding, spurring his desire to see what was underneath. The ceiling was removed and the room was restored and then it moved to the next room. Avery removed plaster off the fireplaces, replaced the wide floor boards and replicated the wainscotting. Upon Amos Avery's death in July 1998, aged 96, the house passed to his oldest son Edward. Many historical artifacts were put up for auction, including 12 wicker baskets of Mohegan or Pequot origin, which were bid on by the Mashantucket Pequot Museum.
## Importance
The Avery Homestead is historically significant as a "rare survival of a late-seventeenth and early eighteenth-century farmstead, a significance enhanced by the exceptional integrity of its rural setting. The picturesque interrelationship of the house, farmyard, and outbuildings, which is set off by the broad sweep of the associated pasture and crop land, is especially evocative of eighteenth-century lifeways." Believed to be the oldest building in Ledyard, the Avery Homestead is marked by its fine craftsmanship and state of preservation. The Avery Homestead is also historically important due to its ties to the Avery family. The Avery family has owned the house for three centuries save for a brief nine-year period, from 1745 to 1754. The Avery Homestead was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
## Plaque
A historical plaque awarded to Avery indicates that it is the oldest house in Ledyard and states its date from 1720, but evidence suggests it to be older. This plaque was part of a statewide funded campaign by the State of Connecticut for the 350th anniversary of the state's founding. Disagreements over the program were widespread due to the difficulty in dating the homes by craftsmanship and the lack of documentation to prove it. Ledyard recognized the Avery Homestead because of the documentation possessed by Amos G. Avery.
## See also
- List of the oldest buildings in Connecticut
- National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut
|
1,832,990 |
Goodies (Ciara album)
| 1,172,669,948 | null |
[
"2004 debut albums",
"Albums produced by Bangladesh (record producer)",
"Albums produced by Dre & Vidal",
"Albums produced by Jasper Cameron",
"Albums produced by Jazze Pha",
"Albums produced by Lil Jon",
"Albums produced by R. Kelly",
"Ciara albums",
"LaFace Records albums"
] |
Goodies is the debut studio album by American singer Ciara. It was released on September 28, 2004, via Jazze Pha's Sho'nuff Records and LaFace Records. After writing songs for several established acts, Ciara's talents were noticed by Jazze Pha, and she began to work on what became Goodies. The album's conception came through the title track, produced by Lil Jon and created as a female crunk counterpart to other singles produced by Lil Jon such as Usher's "Yeah!" and Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek". Ciara worked with additional writers and producers on the album, including Jazze Pha, Bangladesh, R. Kelly, Johntá Austin, Sean Garrett, and Keri Hilson, among others.
With Goodies, Ciara was referred to as the "Princess" or "First Lady of Crunk&B". The album uses dance music while utilizing pop, R&B, and hip-hop influences. Critics gave the album positive to mixed reviews, commending the "Goodies"-esque songs, while deeming others as unoriginal and noting Ciara's limited vocal abilities. Most critics compared the work to late singer Aaliyah, and also said it had qualities of Destiny's Child.
The album was a commercial success. In the United States, the album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 124,750 copies in its opening week. It was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. The album also fared well internationally, being certified platinum by the Music Canada (MC) and gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Goodies earned Ciara two Grammy nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "1, 2 Step" in 2006.
## Background
In her mid-teens, Ciara formed the all-girl group Hearsay with two of her friends. The group recorded demos, but as time went on, they began to have differences and eventually parted ways. Despite this setback, Ciara was still determined to reach her goal and signed a publishing deal as a songwriter. After leaving the group Hearsay, Texas native Ciara earned a writing job via her manager, for Atlanta's Tricky Stewart and The-Dream's RedZone Entertainment, penning songs for Mýa and Fantasia among others. According to Ciara, no one believed in her dreams of hearing her own music on the radio until she met producer Jazze Pha in 2002. Within five months of meeting her, Pha signed her to his Sho'nuff label and they had already recorded five tracks. About Ciara, Jazze Pha said, "What was really lacking is the Janet Jackson, high-energy dance [music]. Ciara fills that void. She's pretty, she can dance, she can write music, and kids love her. Everyone loves her."
## Recording
After graduating from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia in 2003, she was signed by LaFace Records executive, L.A. Reid, whom she was introduced to by Jazze Pha. She began production on her debut album later that year. Recording sessions for the album took place at Chocolate Factory, Chicago, IL; Circle House Studios, Miami, FL; Darp Studios, Atlanta, GA; Doppler Studios, Atlanta, GA; Futuristic Recording Studios, Atlanta, GA; Ground Breaking Studios, Atlanta, GA; Hit Factory Criteria, Miami, FL; Hitco, Atlanta, GA; Patchwerk Recordings, Atlanta, GA; Phoenix Ave. Studios, Atlanta, GA; Sony Music Studios, New York, NY; Studio 609 Recordings, Philadelphia, PA; The Studio, Philadelphia, PA.
In early 2004, Ciara wrote a demo with record producer Sean Garrett, co-writer of Usher's crunk hit "Yeah." After hearing a demo, crunk producer Lil Jon, who also produced and was featured on "Yeah", began to work on the full record, to have it released on LaFace. Originally, Ciara was reluctant to work with the track produced by Lil Jon, reportedly disliking crunk music at first. However, she decided to use the song to go against the grain and deliver lyrics in contrast of female promiscuity lines delivered by fellow female artists. To give her a title to stand out, Lil Jon dubbed Ciara as the "Princess of Crunk&B." Dubbed the female counterpart to "Yeah" and fellow crunk hit "Freek-a-Leek" by Petey Pablo, Laface looked to capitalize on the success of the previous songs. In addition to working with Jazze Pha, who produced most of the album, Lil Jon, and Garrett, she worked with several other Atlanta-based writers and producers including Bangladesh, Johntá Austin, Jasper Cameron, and others, while featuring collaborations from Atlanta's T.I. and Ludacris. R&B singer R. Kelly wrote and produced a track.
When talking about the album's theme, Ciara said it was universal, stating, "It's about everybody. You'll have songs with different emotions, happy, sad, 'my heart is broken.' What everybody goes through." On her success with the preluding title track, Ciara said, "I'm very content right now. I take everything a day at a time. Every time I hear good news, I'm shouting out, 'Praise God.' Everybody around me is so excited, I still haven't got it. I haven't really felt it like they're feeling it for me."
## Composition
The album consists of bouncy dance music mixed with crunk, combined with either R&B, pop or hip hop music. The ballads on the set utilize Ciara's breathy vocals, as the uptempo pieces. Lyrical content varies on the album. Songs like "Goodies" issue a message of female empowerment and abstinence, and this is contradicted as she hints at teasing sex. Slant Magazine compared this to Britney Spears-esque "layer of tease to the mature" in her early work. Utilizing influences from 80's dance music, qualities of the work of Destiny's Child and Aaliyah are evident.
"Goodies" is heavily influenced by male counterpart crunk song "Yeah" and also has been compared to Kelis's "Milkshake." The song makes use of a repeated whistle, "faux operated vocals" in parts and a western guitar riff near the end. "1, 2 Step," which continues the club music theme, is built around a simple dance and features Missy Elliott in a pas de deux. and according to Mike Pattensden of The Times, "owes plenty to classic New York electro." "Oh," a downtempo song, features a heavy bassline and has been called "brooding electronic grind," and, according to Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian, "sounds like R&B reimagined by Gary Numan." "Pick Up the Phone" was described as a rip-off of Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat" by Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine. "Next to You," written by R. Kelly, is part of the album's second half of ballads, and was said to capture "Ciara's youthful indecisiveness." "Hotline" features a "funky clap" and beatboxing.
## Singles
Goodies' lead single, the title track, featuring Petey Pablo, was released on June 8, 2004. Conceived as a crunk female counterpart to Usher's "Yeah," the lyrical content goes against the grain, speaking of abstinence, rejecting advances because "the goodies will stay in the jar". Critics hailed it as an "anthem of the summer" and one of the best singles of the year, complementing its dance-feel and beat, and the irony of the "clever" lyrics. The single performed well worldwide, topping the charts in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and charting in the top ten of other charts, receiving Platinum certification in the United States. The music video shot for the song features Ciara partying with friends. "1, 2 Step", featuring Missy Elliott, was released as the second single, incorporating a hip-hop and dance-pop feel, deriving influences from 1980s electro music. While topping the charts in Canada, it additionally appeared in the top ten of six other countries, and was certified Platinum or Gold in multiple regions. The accompanying music video features Ciara and others performing the dance. The song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Oh", featuring Ludacris, proclaimed as a love song to Atlanta, was released as the album's third single on March 5, 2005. Carrying a slow, dark tone, critics noted "Oh" as a standout track from Goodies. The song performed well worldwide, appearing the top ten of seven charts, and certified either Platinum or Gold in multiple regions. The song's music video, which is similar to that of "Goodies", takes place at a block party, and was nominated for Best R&B Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. In May 2005, Ciara mentioned that the album's fourth single would be "Thug Style" or "Pick Up the Phone" - or maybe even "And I". The final choice, "And I", was released on August 30, 2005, and only managed to peak at ninety-six on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "And I" is loosely based on the 1992 film, The Bodyguard, and NBA player Carmelo Anthony portrayed Ciara's love interest. In December 2005, The Washington Post reported that "Hotline" would be the album's fifth single, but the release failed to materialize.
## Critical reception
Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B and commented, "If Aaliyah had lived to make another CD, it might have sounded like Goodies," and said that other album cuts "prove she's no one-track pony." Noting the singles "Goodies," "1, 2 Step," and "Oh" as standout tracks, Allmusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars. Steve Jones of USA Today said, "The voice doesn't blow you away, but as with Goodies, she takes a lyrically intriguing offbeat path from time to time. Though not every song is a goodie, she does have a few treats in store." Even though he said the album wasn't a perfect work, Azeem Ahmad of musicOMH said, "The talent is obviously there but if we are to carry out Ciara's wish of forgetting about "the other chicks" then there's some fine-tuning needed. For now there's no direct threat to any other hip-hop divas, but the void left by Aaliyah is still there for someone to try and fill. There's no reason why Ciara can't one day hold her own with the best." Jalylah Burrell of PopMatters commented that "Goodies is nothing new, but it is executed well."
Although pointing out the flaws of Goodies, Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian said, "Ciara has no conviction as a sweet-talker but her disconnected style clicks perfectly with the cold, clinical (in a good way) hits." Mike Pattenden of The Times said, "Goodies has some tasty treats, but they're all stacked on top of the jar," commenting that Ciara's "whispery, girlish voice that is often relegated to the background by stronger performers, suggesting she is little more than a pretty mouthpiece for Jon and his posse of producers." Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani compared it to the work to Aaliyah, stating some of it was not up to par with the late singer, but complimented the title track-esque tracks.
## Commercial performance
Goodies debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 124,750 copies in its first week. The album also topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, before being dethroned by the Usher's Confessions. In its second week, the album dropped to number 10 on the chart, selling 66,000 more copies. The album spent a total of 71 weeks on the chart. On October 10, 2006, the album was triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over three million copies in the United States. As of June 2010, the album has sold 2.7 million copies in the US.
In Canada, the album debuted at number 35 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album was eventually certified platinum by Music Canada for sales of over 100,000 copies in Canada.
In the United Kingdom, the album charted at 26 in on the UK Albums Chart, and spent 20 weeks on the chart. The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 100,000 copies in the UK. The album also charted moderately in other countries, including the top 40 on the New Zealand Albums Chart and Irish Albums Chart.
## Legacy
Following the release of her debut single "Goodies", Ciara was dubbed the Princess of Crunk&B by various media outlets. In the early and mid-2000s, "Goodies" joined other crunk music hits produced by Lil Jon in climbing to the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, along with "Get Low", "Yeah!" and "Freek-a-Leek". "Yeah!" and "Goodies" were the first tracks to introduce the substyle of crunk music and contemporary R&B, called crunk&B, to the public. Both of those tracks (performed by Usher and Ciara, respectively) were essential pop hits of 2004. Since then, crunk&B has been one of the most popular genres of sung African-American music, along with electropop, the genre that replaced crunk and crunk&B in the charts in 2008. After the album's lead single reached the summit of the US Billboard Hot 100, it spent seven weeks at number one, becoming the longest-running number-one debut single by a female artist since 1977
The album's lead singles success exemplified urban music's commercial dominance during the early 2000s, which featured massive crossover success on the Billboard charts by R&B and hip hop artists. In 2004, all 12 songs that topped the Billboard Hot 100 were from African-American recording artists which also accounted for 80% of the number-one R&B hits that year. Along with Usher's streak of singles, Top 40 radio and both pop and R&B charts were topped by OutKast's "Hey Ya!", Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot", Terror Squad's "Lean Back", and Ciara's "Goodies". Chris Molanphy of The Village Voice later remarked that "by the early 2000s, urban music was pop music."
The work helped Ciara earn several nominations, including Best New Artist at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. Several Goodies singles received several nominations at different ceremonies, which included "1, 2 Step" being nominated at the 48th Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The song "1, 2 Step" from the album Goodies has received numerous awards, including both "Best Performed Songs in the ASCAP Repertory" and "Most Performed Songs" from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, "Best Collaboration" from the BET Awards, and "Best Dance Cut" from the Soul Train Lady of Soul Music Awards, and "Choice Music R&B/Hip Hop Track" from the Teen Choice Awards. Ciara has received nine nominations from the BET Awards, winning one of them.
In retrospect of Goodies, Bryson Paul wrote for ThisIsRnB on the album and where it placed Ciara in pop culture. "With the Crunk era at its peak, Ciara added a sexy female perspective to the gritty punk-influenced genre, and — along with the likes of fellow ATLien Usher — helped create the subgenre now aptly referred to as Crunk&B. [...] the young songstress separated herself from an all-star pack of new singers that included Rihanna, Ashanti, Nivea and the juggernaut trio, Destiny’s Child. As she rose to the top of the charts, CiCi was often compared to greats ranging as far back as Janet Jackson to the late Aaliyah". He concluded:
> "Goodies is often referred to as Ciara’s best work and for good reasoning. It was with this album that the return of R&B to Atlanta was pushed further as it served as a solid follow-up to the release of Monica’s 2003 “After the Storm” and Usher’s iconic “Confessions” album that was released just months before. And at a decade and a half later, the album still resonates with today’s pop culture.
>
> The album’s vibe is one that patents its own signature choreographed flow — both physically and vocally. Displaying perfect sequence, delivery, and explosiveness thanks to the crunk-injected 808s, Goodies helped set the standard for a new era of talented R&B stars."
Rob Copsey also wrote on the album's impact for the OCC. "Ciara had immediately established herself on the global stage ... Goodies was a hit in Australia and most of Europe, earning her the dubious title a 'Princess of Crunk&B'". He continued, "16 years on, the influence of Goodies can be felt, most notably on the debut single by Normani, Motivation, on which the former Fifth Harmony singer pays homage to Goodies and several other quintessential '90s/'00s music videos in her visual".
Several recording artists have also cited singles from Goodies or the album itself as an influence or personal favorite of theirs, such as Normani, Ari Lennox, Latto, Lizzo, and Alana Haim.
## Track listing
Notes
- "The Title" contains a sample from "Love Ballad", written by Skip Scarborough, as performed by L.T.D.
## Personnel
Credits adapted from Liner Notes and Allmusic.
- Ciara – lead vocals (All tracks)
- Kori Anders – recording engineer (5), mixing assistant (2, 4, 12)
- Carlos Bedoya – recording engineer (2)
- Jim Bottari – recording engineer (9)
- Leslie Brathwaite – recording engineer (8), mixing (2-4, 6–8, 10–13)
- Ralph Cacciurri – recording engineer (5)
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Mike Davis – recording engineer (4)
- Vidal Davis – mixing (5)
- Vincent Dilorenzo – recording engineer, mixing (5)
- Rodney East – additional keyboards (9)
- Missy Elliott – rap vocals (2)
- Yolonda Frederick – make-up
- Andy Gallas – music programming, recording engineer (9)
- Abel Garibaldi – music programming, recording engineer (9)
- Serban Ghenea – mixing (9)
- John Hanes – digital editing, pro-tools engineer (9)
- Andre Harris – mixing (5)
- Jazze Pha – backing vocals (2-3, 6–7), rap vocals (13), instrumentation (3, 6–7), executive producer
- LaMarquis Jefferson – bass played by (1, 13)
- Rachael Johnson – stylist
- R. Kelly – musical arrangement, background vocals (9)
- Henry "Noonie" Lee Jr. – executive producer
- Craig Love – guitar (1, 13)
- Ludacris – rap vocals (5)
- Donnie Lyle – guitar (9)
- Carlton Lynn – recording engineer (12)
- Mark Mann – photography
- Ian Mereness – recording engineer (9)
- Jason Mlodzinski – assistant
- Peter Mokran - mixing (14)
- Steve "ESP" Nowacynski – recording engineer (1, 13)
- Petey Pablo – rap vocals (1)
- Mark Pitts – A&R
- Charles Sanders – recording engineer (1, 13)
- Ray Seay – mixing (1, 13)
- Adonis Shropshire – recording engineer (10)
- Shereese Slate – hair stylist
- Jonathan "Lil Jon" Smith – additional rap vocals, production, mixing (1, 13)
- Nico Solis – recording engineer (4, 13), mixing (13)
- French Spencer – instrumentation (11)
- Vern Spencer – recording engineer (11)
- Brian Stanley – recording engineer (1, 13), mixing (1)
- Shakir Stewart – A&R
- Anthony "T.A." Tate – executive producer
- Sam Thomas – recording engineer (2, 4–5)
- T.I. – rap vocals (13)
- Mike Tsarsati – mixing assistant (5)
- Courtney Walter – art direction, design
- Nathan Wheeler – assistant
- Cory Williams – mixing assistant (3, 6–8, 10–11)
- Phillana Williams – marketing
- Arnold Wolfe – recording engineer (3, 6–7)
- Sean Garrett - vocal production (1, 13)
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## See also
- List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2004 (US)
|
7,756,255 |
San Marino at the 2002 Winter Olympics
| 997,930,077 | null |
[
"2002 in Sammarinese sport",
"Nations at the 2002 Winter Olympics",
"San Marino at the Winter Olympics by year"
] |
San Marino sent a delegation to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States from 8–24 February 2002. This was the nation's sixth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single athlete, alpine skier Gian Matteo Giordani. In his race, the giant slalom, he finished in last place of those who finished the course at 57th.
## Background
San Marino first entered Olympic competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The nation did not enter a Winter Olympic Games until Innsbruck in 1976. Excepting the 1980 and 1998 Winter Olympics, San Marino has participated in every edition of the Winter Olympics since, making Salt Lake City the nation's sixth Winter Olympics appearance. The Sammarinesi delegation consisted of a single alpine skier, Gian Matteo Giordani. He was also selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. He was the only athlete competing for San Marino at the 2002 Games.
## Alpine skiing
Gian Matteo Giordani was 17 years old at the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics. Giordani placed at 73rd and 57th in the first and second runs, respectively. Giordani finished with a combined time of 2:48.31 and in 57th place overall, leaving him in last place among competitors that successfully completed the course.
|
18,677,443 |
2004–05 Arsenal F.C. season
| 1,170,823,155 |
119th season in existence of Arsenal F.C.
|
[
"2004–05 FA Premier League by team",
"Arsenal F.C. seasons"
] |
The 2004–05 season was Arsenal Football Club's 13th season in the Premier League and their 79th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club ended the campaign as FA Cup winners, but failed to retain their Premier League title as they finished second to Chelsea. In the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal made an exit in the knockout stages to Bayern Munich.
In the transfer window Arsenal purchased goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who initially served a backup to Jens Lehmann, and midfielder Mathieu Flamini. The club kept hold of its captain Patrick Vieira after much transfer speculation over his expected move to Real Madrid. Several players left Arsenal before the campaign got under way; defender Martin Keown left to play for Leicester City, Ray Parlour joined Middlesbrough while Sylvain Wiltord signed for Lyon.
Arsenal began the season in good form and equalled Nottingham Forest's unbeaten league run of 42 matches against Middlesbrough. The team set a new English division record and went a further seven games unbeaten before losing to Manchester United in controversial circumstances. Arsenal's form suffered as a result and defensive shortcomings became more apparent; two draws and a defeat in November reinforced Chelsea's position at the top of the table, where they remained for the rest of the season. At home to Crystal Palace in February 2005, Wenger named an Arsenal squad with no English players – a first in the club's history which attracted criticism from the media. The team ended the season strongly, with a run of eight wins from nine games ensuring a second-place finish. 32 different players represented the club in five competitions and there were 15 different goalscorers. Arsenal's top goalscorer was Thierry Henry, who scored 30 goals in 42 games.
## Background
Arsenal ended the previous season as league champions, becoming the first side since Preston North End 115 years earlier to do so undefeated. They completed their historic league campaign with 26 wins, 12 draws and 90 points.
By the end of January 2004, Arsenal were still in the hunt for all four trophies, but suffered setbacks in each of the cup competitions; they were unable to retain the FA Cup, losing out to eventual winners Manchester United in the semi-finals and days later were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Chelsea in the quarter-finals. They exited the League Cup after a defeat to Middlesbrough in early February.
### Transfers
In
Out
## Pre-season
## FA Community Shield
The 2004 edition of the FA Community Shield, was contested between Manchester United and Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium on 8 August. Cesc Fàbregas started alongside Gilberto Silva in midfield for Arsenal as Vieira was absent, while Thierry Henry partnered Dennis Bergkamp up front. After a goalless first half, Arsenal took the lead when Gilberto scored in the 50th minute. Manchester United equalised through Alan Smith five minutes after, but José Antonio Reyes restored Arsenal's advantage two minutes before the hour mark. Mikaël Silvestre scored an own goal 11 minutes before the end to give Arsenal a 3–1 victory. Wenger praised Fàbregas's performance after the match, describing the midfielder as a "complete player" and reiterated his desire to keep Vieira.
## Premier League
A total of 20 teams competed in the Premier League in the 2004–05 season. Each team played 38 matches; two against every other team and one match at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the season the top two teams qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League; teams in third and fourth needed to play a qualifier. The provisional fixture list was released on 24 June 2004, but was subject to change in the event of clashes with other competitions, international football, inclement weather, or matches being selected for television coverage.
### August–October
Arsenal began their defence of the league title against Everton on 15 August 2004. Fàbregas was named in the first eleven; at 17 years 103 days he became the club's youngest ever Premier League player. It was Bergkamp on his 500th league appearance who opened the scoring for Arsenal and Reyes made it 2–0, heading the ball in from Freddie Ljungberg's cross. Ljungberg added a third goal in the second half and in spite of the team conceding moments after, Robert Pires scored Arsenal's fourth in the 83rd minute. Shortly before the kick-off at home to Middlesbrough the following weekend, the club was presented a golden replica of the Premier League trophy, to commemorate their unbeaten season. In the match, Henry gave Arsenal the lead, which was cancelled out before half time by Joseph-Désiré Job's goal-bound effort. Four minutes after the interval, Franck Queudrue exploited an error from defender Pascal Cygan and in turn passed the ball to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who "finish[ed] with perfect brutality". Queudrue scored to put Middlesbrough 3–1 up in the 53rd minute, but Bergkamp replied with a goal for Arsenal a minute later. The home team completed the comeback with further goals by Reyes, Pires and Henry. Wenger afterwards admitted Arsenal's defending was poor, but said their attacking threat made up for their deficiencies. The 5–3 win meant Arsenal equalled Nottingham Forest's record of 42 league matches undefeated. Three days later, the team beat Blackburn Rovers 3–0 to set a new record. Arsenal at the end of the month travelled to Norwich City, where three first half goals set the team on the way to a 4–1 victory. The win ended Norwich's eight-month undefeated record at Carrow Road.
Due to international fixtures, Arsenal did not play another game for two weeks. On the resumption of club football, they travelled across London to face Fulham. Vieira made his return to the first team in place of Fàbregas. Fulham was awarded a penalty in the first half, after Ashley Cole brought down striker Andy Cole in the penalty area. Referee Mark Halsey however changed his mind after protests from the Arsenal players and a consultation with his assistant; the game was restarted with a dropped-ball. Arsenal scored three times in the second half and ended the weekend of 6 September 2004 top of the league table, two points clear of second place Chelsea. The league champions dropped their first points of the season at home to Bolton Wanderers. At the City of Manchester Stadium on 25 September 2004, a goal by Cole earned Arsenal a 1–0 win against Manchester City. Journalist Russell Thomas, writing for The Guardian, commented on Arsenal's fatigue during the second half and opined that the team needed to keep their focus against sterner opposition.
Arsenal beat Charlton Athletic in early October to extend their unbeaten run to 48 league matches. Charlton manager Alan Curbishley said of his opponents: "The gulf between Arsenal and the rest of the Premier League means that the rest have got it all to do to try and stop them, and I'm including the big three or four." Two goals from Pires and one from Henry ensured a 3–1 win against Aston Villa, who had led the game early on. Attention soon turned to Arsenal's trip to face Manchester United. The champions were looking to go half a century of league games unbeaten, whereas the home team – in transition, attempted to push on for a title challenge. The game saw many late aggressive tackles made by United players go unpunished and later in the match, an attempted challenge by Sol Campbell on Wayne Rooney earned Manchester United a controversial penalty, converted by Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 73rd minute. Rooney then scored United's second goal of the match to end Arsenal's unbeaten run on 49 games. Tempers boiled over in the players' tunnel, where pizza was thrown at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. When speaking to the media, a distraught Wenger told reporters that Rooney dived to win the penalty and criticised the refereeing performance of Mike Riley. He was later found guilty of insinuating that Van Nistelrooy was a cheat, and fined £15,000 by the FA.
The final match of October was against Southampton at Highbury. Henry who missed a penalty early on, scored to put Arsenal in front in the 67th minute. Southampton replied with two goals from Rory Delap, but Van Persie in stoppage time equalised for the home team with a curling shot. The draw meant Arsenal stood in first position and had accumulated 26 points. The team were level on points with Chelsea, with a marginally better goal difference.
### November–December
For the second league game in succession, Arsenal dropped two points. The team drew 1–1 at Crystal Palace on 6 November 2004, which meant Chelsea overtook them in first position. Wenger rued Arsenal's inability to hold onto leads in matches and admitted the fluency had disappeared in their football, possibly because of the manner in which they lost the unbeaten record. A week later Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. It was Tottenham who began the match the better of the two teams and took the lead after 36 minutes when Noureddine Naybet scored. Henry equalised for Arsenal moments before half-time, and the champions went in front after Lauren converted a penalty. Vieira scored on the hour mark to make it 3–1, before Jermain Defoe replied for Tottenham instantly with a "wonderful, dipping finish into the top corner". Fàbregas created Arsenal's fourth goal, scored by Ljungberg. In the final 16 minutes Tottenham scored twice and Arsenal once; the final score was 5–4, making it the highest scoring North London derby. Arsenal's defending was ridiculed by Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who told reporters, "Five-four is a hockey score, not a football score."
Arsenal only managed a draw against West Bromwich Albion on 20 November 2004; Robert Earnshaw's goal with 11 minutes remaining of normal time cancelled out Pires' opener. Arsenal lost their final match of November, away to Liverpool at Anfield. Vieira finished off a one-touch move to equalise for Arsenal – who were behind in the first half – but Neil Mellor scored the winning goal of the game, shooting from long range. Football pundit Alan Hansen in his analysis on Match of the Day criticised the temperament of Arsenal's players and questioned their desire: "When you have success, sometimes it isn't there and you have to dig in with great determination and hard work, and at the moment they are not doing that. When you look at their two big players, Henry and Vieira, [you think they] must do better in future." Arsenal ended the month in second, five points behind leaders Chelsea.
Henry scored two late goals in Arsenal's victory over Birmingham City on 4 December 2004. Wenger replaced Lehmann in goal with Almunia, who made his league debut. Arsenal then faced league leaders Chelsea at Highbury; the match was billed as "Judgement Day" by Sky Sports. With Vieira suspended and Gilberto and Edu injured, Wenger picked Flamini to partner Fabregas in midfield. The first chance of the match went to Henry, who scored inside 75 seconds. John Terry levelled the score, but Henry restored Arsenal's lead from a contentious free-kick – Graham Poll allowed the striker to take it quickly without warning the Chelsea players. Eiður Guðjohnsen equalised early in the second half for Chelsea, and late on Henry missed a chance to score a hat-trick. There were no further goals and the match ended 2–2, meaning Chelsea remained five points clear of Arsenal. Wenger said he was disappointed in the manner his team conceded to Chelsea – from two set pieces, but added, "I thought we did really well, and it was important for us to come back to the level we want to be at."
Arsenal won their remaining games in December and conceded no goals. They beat Portsmouth courtesy of a Campbell goal in the second half, and on Boxing Day defeated Fulham by two goals. Vieira scored the winning goal against Newcastle United, a volley that deflected over goalkeeper Shay Given. After 20 games, Arsenal accumulated 44 points and lay second in the league table.
### January–February
On New Year's Day, Ljungberg scored two goals in Arsenal's 3–1 win against Charlton Athletic. The team four days later drew at home to Manchester City. Arsenal lost further ground to Chelsea after defeat to Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. Wenger conceded that Chelsea were favourites to win the league because of their point advantage, but added: "We will keep going and fight until the last minute of the championship." Arsenal ended January with a 1–0 home win against Newcastle United. Wenger made four changes from the Bolton defeat, with Bergkamp the match scorer coming in place of Van Persie.
The first night of February saw Arsenal host Manchester United at Highbury. In the tunnel before the match Roy Keane was seen confronting Vieira; the United captain accused him of intimidating his teammate Gary Neville. Vieira scored after eight minutes, but Giggs equalised for Manchester United 10 minutes later. Bergkamp restored Arsenal's advantage nine minutes before half time, but two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and one by John O'Shea in the second half gave United a 4–2 win. It was Arsenal's fourth league defeat of the season and moved them down to third spot, overtaken by their opponents. Wenger ruled his team out of the title race and refused to blame Almunia for his error in Ronaldo's first goal. The goalkeeper was dropped in Arsenal's next game, away to Aston Villa. Three first half goals by Ljungberg, Henry and Cole gave Arsenal a comfortable win.
For the match against Crystal Palace on 14 February 2005, Wenger named an Arsenal squad that did not feature a single British player – a first in the club's history. The team did not get off to the best of starts with Lehmann miskicking a back pass and Vieira losing possession routinely, but grew as the game went on and scored three goals in seven minutes. On his 200th league appearance, Henry scored in either half, with the result 5–1 to Arsenal. The result was somewhat overshadowed by the foreign makeup of the team; former player Paul Merson called it a "joke" and PFA chairman Gordon Taylor noted it was a "worrying pattern for English football". When asked about his team selections, Wenger said: "I don't look at the passport of people, I look at their quality and their attitude."
Arsenal only earned a point at Southampton, where Van Persie was sent off for a late challenge on Graeme Le Saux. The team remained in third at the end of February, four points behind Manchester United and 10 behind leaders Chelsea, who played a game less than both challengers.
### March–May
Arsenal's form improved as the season drew to a close. At home to Portsmouth on 5 March 2005, the team earned three points courtesy of Henry's hat-trick. Van Persie scored the only goal in Arsenal's match against Blackburn Rovers and the team moved back to second position with a home win against Norwich City – Henry scored another hat-trick. A week later Pires' goal was enough for Arsenal to beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium and win their fourth consecutive match. The team then played out a goalless draw against Chelsea, who were on course to become champions; Wenger congratulated his opponents on their season and felt Arsenal needed to score first so that they could "force them to come out from the back."
Arsenal defeated Tottenham 1–0 on 25 April 2005, which meant Chelsea needed to wait on Saturday in order to mathematically win the title. Second position was the best Arsenal could aim for by the time they faced West Bromwich Albion on 2 May 2005. Goals from Van Persie and Edu earned a 2–0 win for the team and Arsenal beat Champions League finalists Liverpool at Highbury to all-but secure second spot. Arsenal recorded the biggest win of the league season, against Everton at Highbury. An inspired performance by Bergkamp helped the team win 7–0; he created the opening two goals and scored in the second half. Arsenal lost their final game of the campaign, away to Birmingham City. It was a lacklustre performance by the visitors, who equalised through Bergkamp after going a goal behind, but conceded in the 90th minute.
### Matches
### Classification
#### Results summary
#### Results by round
## FA Cup
Arsenal entered the competition in the third round, by virtue of their Premier League status. Their opening match was a home tie against Stoke City. The visitors took the lead just before the break, but goals from Reyes and Van Persie in the second half meant Arsenal won 2–1. They then faced Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the next round; a goal apiece from Vieira and Ljungberg secured a comfortable 2–0 victory.
Arsenal's opponent in the fifth round was Sheffield United. After 35 minutes Bergkamp was sent off for his apparent push on Cullip. With eleven minutes of normal time remaining, Robert Pires scored for Arsenal, but the team conceded a late penalty which Andy Gray converted. The equaliser for Sheffield United meant the match was replayed at Bramall Lane on 1 March 2005. Both teams played out a goalless draw after full-time and throughout extra-time, so the tie was decided by a penalty shootout. Almunia saved two penalties, which ensured progress into the quarter-finals.
Bolton Wanderers hosted Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium in the sixth round of the competition. Ljungberg scored the only goal of the tie after just three minutes; he had an opportunity to extend Arsenal's lead in stoppage time, but hit the ball over from six yards. Arsenal faced Blackburn Rovers in the semi-final which was played at the Millennium Stadium. Two goals from Van Persie and one from Pires gave Arsenal a 3–0 win, in a match marred by Blackburn's aggressive tactics.
This set up a showdown with Manchester United in the final on 21 May 2005. United were on top for long periods of the game but Arsenal resisted their pressure and the match ended 0–0 after 120 minutes, albeit Arsenal were a man lighter after Reyes' dismissal with a minute remaining for two bookable offences. The match went to penalties with all the penalty takers converting barring Paul Scholes, whose effort was denied by Lehmann. Vieira converted the final and winning spot-kick to seal a tenth FA Cup crown for Arsenal.
## Football League Cup
The Football League Cup is a cup competition open to clubs in the Premier League and Football League. Like the FA Cup it is played on a knockout basis, with the exception of the second round and semi-finals, which are contested over a two-legged tie. Together with the other clubs playing in European competitions, Arsenal entered the Football League Cup in the third round. The team were drawn to face Manchester City, on the week of 25 October 2004. Wenger fielded a relatively young team for the tie, which took the lead in the second half when Van Persie scored. Danny Karbassiyoon extended the visitor's lead in the 90th minute, just before Manchester City striker Robbie Fowler scored from a free-kick.
In the fourth round, Arsenal faced Everton at Highbury. The team went behind after eight minutes of play, but Quincy Owusu-Abeyie levelled the scoreline and in the second half Arturo Lupoli scored twice. Wenger was pleased with how his team responded to the setback and added: "They played intelligently, technically well and with the spirit we like to play the game." Arsenal bowed out of the competition away to Manchester United; the only goal of the match came inside 19 seconds when David Bellion profited from an error by goalkeeper Almunia.
## UEFA Champions League
### Group stage
Arsenal were drawn in Group E, along with Dutch champions PSV, Greek club Panathinaikos and Norwegian side Rosenborg. An Alex own goal was enough for Arsenal to claim three points against PSV on the first matchday. The team drew away to Rosenborg and earned a point at Panathinaikos, despite twice having taken the lead at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. In the reverse fixture, Cygan scored an own goal to cancel out Henry's first-half opener; the result left Arsenal in second position. Their next match was against PSV at the Philips Stadion, where after eight minutes the home side took the lead. Henry equalised for Arsenal, having created the chance following a one-two with Ljungberg. In the second half Lauren and Vieira were both sent off, for two bookable offences. Wenger accepted referee Herbert Fandel's decision, but added his surprise that Mark van Bommel was not cautioned: "If you look at the number of fouls he made without being punished it is very surprising because he made some deliberate fouls. Some people might criticise Patrick when we were down to 10 men but he felt he had to fight harder to win the ball."
The draw against PSV meant Arsenal had to beat against Rosenborg to qualify for the last 16. A 5–1 win at home, with five different goalscorers on the scoresheet, put Arsenal top of the group given PSV lost to Panathinaikos.
### Knockout phase
#### Round of 16
Arsenal were drawn against Bayern Munich in the knockout stages. In the first leg a mistake from Touré presented Claudio Pizarro to score inside four minutes. The striker then scored his second of the match in the 58th minute, getting past his marker Touré, and Hasan Salihamidžić added a third for Bayern seven minutes later. Touré scored an away goal late on for Arsenal, which gave them a slender chance of progressing into the quarter-finals. Arsenal beat Bayern in the second leg, but a solitary goal – scored by Henry in the 66th minute, meant the club was eliminated.
## Player statistics
Arsenal used a total of 32 players during the 2004–05 season and there were 18 different goalscorers. There were also three squad members who did not make a first-team appearance in the campaign. The team played in a 4–4–2 formation throughout the season, but Wenger deployed a 4–5–1 formation for the cup final. Touré featured in 49 matches – the most of any Arsenal player in the campaign.
The team scored a total of 117 goals in all competitions. The highest scorer was Henry, with 30 goals, followed by Pires who scored 17 goals. Five Arsenal players were sent off during the season: Vieira, Reyes, Bergkamp, Van Persie and Lauren.
Key
No. = Squad number
Pos = Playing position
Nat. = Nationality
Apps = Appearances
GK = Goalkeeper
DF = Defender
MF = Midfielder
FW = Forward
`= Yellow cards`
`= Red cards`
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute. Players with number struck through and marked left the club during the playing season.
Source:
## See also
- 2004-05 in English football
|
6,589,393 |
Walton and Ivythorn Hills
| 1,037,920,368 |
Hills in Somerset, England
|
[
"Hills of Somerset",
"National Trust properties in Somerset",
"Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset",
"Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1953"
] |
Walton and Ivythorn Hills is a 34.9 hectares (86 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Street at the south-eastern end of the Polden Hills in the English county of Somerset. Walton Hill is south of the village of Walton, and Ivythorn Hill is south of Street. Notified in 1953, the site is now owned and managed by the National Trust who acquired the freehold in 1988.
The hills which rise to 80 metres (260 ft) above Ordnance datum (mean sea level) are made up of limestone, rheatic clay and Keuper marl covered with calcareous grassland, scrubland and coppiced woodland. A quarry existed in the Middle Ages. This supports a variety of Butterflies, Leafhoppers, Spiders, Soldier Flies and Great Green Bush Crickets living on the vegetation. Notable buildings include Ivythorne Manor, which was originally built for Glastonbury Abbey, Walton windmill and a small sanatorium which became the first youth hostel in Somerset. In 1977 a short lived hippie camp was set up on Ivythorne Hill. The camp was a Free Festival to celebrate 7/7/77. The festival was attended by an estimated 3,000 people and was basically a one-day affair, with some people arriving early and the hangers on eventually evicted by the council.
## Geography
The Polden Hills a long, low ridge, extending for 10 miles (16 km), and separated from the Mendip Hills, to which they are nearly parallel, by a marshy tract, known as the Somerset Levels. The ridge is underlain by Blue Lias with alternating strata of limestone, rheatic clay and Keuper marl.
At the highest point on Walton Hill, which reaches 80 metres (260 ft) above Ordnance datum (mean sea level), there is a topograph or orientation stone used as a triangulation point and highlighting key features of the surrounding landscape including the Somerset Levels and the Admiral Hood Monument. It forms the starting point for the 6 miles (9.7 km) long footpath known as the Polden Way.
## History
A quarry on Ivythorn Hill produced stone for Street Manor in 1403. Ivythorne Manor is a Grade II\* listed building which was built as a monastic dwelling in the medieval era and rebuilt in 1488 by John Selwood, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey. It later became a country house and was revised and extended from the 16th to 20th centuries by the Marshall and Sydenham families which owned it. Within the grounds is a dovecote which was probably built around 1578 for John Sydenham.
Walton windmill on Walton Hill was described as "new-erected" in 1741, although there had been a mill erected on the site in 1342. It was worked until 1906. It is now a Grade II listed building and private residence. There was also a windmill on Ivythorne Hill.
The shoe manufacturer C. & J. Clark, through the Society of Friends, had a small sanatorium and convalescent home on Ivythorn Hill overlooking Street. In 1931, this chalet style building was leased to the Youth Hostel Association and became the first youth hostel in Somerset. It is still used for this purpose.
This site is owned and managed by the National Trust. They acquired the freehold of 0.248 hectares (0.61 acres) of Ivythorn Hill in 1988 from Street Estates, which followed 16.606 hectares (41.03 acres) of Walton Hill in 1940 from Polden Farms Ltd and the initial 18.751 hectares (46.33 acres) of Ivythorn Hill and Wood in 1919 from Baron St Audries.
In 1977 Ivythorne Hill was the site of a hippie camp following summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge. They were evicted by Mendip District Council.
## Ecology
Walton and Ivythorn Hills are covered by a variety of semi-natural habitats. These include unimproved calcareous grassland, scrubland and coppiced woodland including field maple and Ash. The range of habitats are home to many species of invertebrate. Butterflies, Leafhoppers, Spiders and Soldier Flies are particularly well represented. There is also a population of Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima).
Between 2011 and 2013 a project was undertaken to increase the population of Large blue butterflies on the Polden Hills. This included planting Wild Thyme and managing the grazing on Walton Hill.
|
15,989,361 |
History of the Ottawa Senators (1992–)
| 1,155,447,219 |
Aspect of history surrounding the Ottawa Senators
|
[
"History of the Ottawa Senators (1992–)",
"National Hockey League history by team",
"Ottawa Senators"
] |
Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the Ottawa Senators are the second National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to have the Ottawa Senators name. The original Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, had a famed history, winning 11 Stanley Cups and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. On December 6, 1990, after a two-year public campaign by Firestone to return the NHL to Ottawa, the NHL awarded a new franchise for an expansion fee of . The team began play in the 1992–93 season.
The club has seen its share of struggles, both on and off the ice. The team has had two changes of ownership, from Firestone to Rod Bryden in 1993 due to the arena development process and its financing, and subsequently to Eugene Melnyk after the team filed for bankruptcy in 2003. On the ice, the club finished last in the League in its first four seasons. Changes in hockey management have led to a steady improvement of the team's play, resulting in the team qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs in 16 seasons, most recently in 2017. The team won the Presidents' Trophy in 2002–03 and made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007.
Melnyk died in 2022, eventually leading to the initiation of the sale of the franchise by his estate. Several offers believed to be worth approximately have been made for the franchise.
## The "Bring back the Senators" campaign
At the weekly Terrace Investments Ltd. management meeting on December 4, 1987, Duncan MacDonald tabled the initial idea of the NHL returning to Ottawa after learning (Ottawa Citizen, Sports section) about the League's expansion plans for three new franchises in the 1990s. Real estate developer Bruce Firestone privately entertained the idea for months. He decided to launch a bid for the Ottawa franchise through his development firm Terrace Investments. Firestone first told his fellow Terrace executives, Cyril Leeder, and Randy Sexton, after a game of shinny hockey in March 1988. Both were surprised; Leeder thought the idea was "ridiculous".
A major obstacle was that while Firestone believed that Ottawa was ready to once again support a franchise, Terrace did not have enough assets to finance a team, let alone build an arena. Firestone's belief was that they could do both as part of a development project. Their plan was to build a mini-city (named West Terrace) of 9,000 around a arena and hotel development on approximately 500 acres (2.0 km<sup>2</sup>). Getting an NHL club for the arena would drive up the price of the surrounding lands and Terrace's net worth would jump from to by 1997. The strategy was straightforward: "Buy the site, win the franchise, build the building." In 1989, Terrace found what seemed to be a suitable site west of Ottawa, 600 acres (2.4 km<sup>2</sup>) of farmland, located on both sides of the 417 Highway west of Terry Fox Drive in the then City of Kanata.
On June 22, 1989, Terrace publicly announced their intentions to acquire an NHL franchise and revive the Senators name. The name choice provoked threats of legal action, though Firestone obtained permission from original-era / 1950s era Senators club owner Tommy Gorman's descendants to use the old Senators name and settled with the Ottawa Jr. Senators' owners.
To kick off the "Bring Back the Senators" campaign, Terrace held a press conference on September 7, 1989 with special guests Frank Finnigan, representing the old Senators' players, and Joe Gorman, representing the Gorman family. Finnigan, the last surviving member of the Senators' last Stanley Cup championship (in 1927), was presented with a new number 8 jersey and the promise to have him drop the first puck at the first game if they emerged victorious. Terrace unveiled drawings of the , 22,500 seat arena, now named the Palladium, designed by Rossetti Associates, architects of The Palace of Auburn Hills arena. Also unveiled was a logo for the team using a stylized Peace Tower and Canadian flag, designed by David O'Malley of Ottawa. The theme song for the franchise drive was Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down."
The Senators' bid was considered something of a longshot. While Ottawa had become the fourth largest metropolitan area in Canada, a considerable portion of this was located across the Ottawa River in Quebec, which was largely French Canadian and part of the loyal fan base of the Montreal Canadiens. Moreover, the city's growth had largely been driven by the corresponding growth of the federal government, which was (and remains) by far the largest employer, and as such the city did not have a large corporate base.
However, the biggest question was the matter of financing. Whereas established professional sports leagues typically require prospective owners to be able and willing make a substantial capital investment using their own funds in order to be considered for a franchise, Firestone essentially intended to pay for the franchise, build the arena and underwrite the inevitable early losses that would result from playing the first few seasons in the Ottawa Civic Centre entirely with borrowed money. In contrast, most of the competing bidders were well-capitalized and either had arenas in place or firm plans to build them.
Jim Durrell, the mayor of Ottawa at the time, but later part of the Senators' front office, said, "It's not that the area isn't a big enough market to support a professional hockey team, it's just that we're not going to get it." National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) head Alan Eagleson was quoted as saying, "Local fans are being led through the petunia patch if Bruce Firestone thinks he can land an NHL expansion franchise for Ottawa this century, well into the next or ever." Despite the naysayers, 11,000 fans sent in \$25 non-refundable pledges toward season tickets by November 1990.
Having already awarded a franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area that would become the San Jose Sharks, in December 1990 the NHL held a meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, to consider the remaining expansion applications. A well-financed bid from Tim Hortons founder Ron Joyce for Hamilton, where an NHL-caliber arena was already in place, was considered a front-runner. It was widely assumed the NHL would not add more than one franchise in Canada. However, NHL executives were reportedly impressed by the Ottawa presentation, including Finnigan's participation, the several hundred fans and the marching band who traveled to Palm Beach.
The apparent decisive factor was that Firestone was one of the few applicants willing to pay the franchise fee without reservations. The entry fee had come as a shock to many observers and would-be owners, and in nominal terms was more than eight times the owners paid for expansion franchises in the 1970s. While Joyce was also willing to pay \$50 million for a franchise, he had been expecting part of the fee to be deferred until after commencing play, a concession frequently granted by the league to the teams that had joined in the 1970s. There was also the question of possible compensation to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres for encroaching their territories.
On December 6, 1990, the Terrace group was approved to purchase one of the two franchises (the other being the Tampa Bay Lightning) to start play in the 1992–93 season.
## Financing struggles
### The Palladium project
Since the location for the new arena was on land designated for agriculture, the arena and development had to be approved by the Government of Ontario. This was evidently seen as little more than a formality when the bid was first submitted. At the time, the province was governed by the seemingly popular Ontario Liberal Party and many of the key players seeking to bring back the Senators (such as Rod Bryden) were longstanding, well-connected Liberals.
However, the Liberals were unexpectedly ousted in a snap election shortly before the NHL awarded Ottawa a franchise. The then-new Ontario New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae was openly hostile to the conversion of farmland and refused to offer any assistance to the project. As the rezoning hearings dragged on, Firestone was offered \$20 million to relocate to Anaheim, which had an arena, but no team. Firestone turned it down, claiming, "I didn't bring back the Ottawa Senators to play in Anaheim." Anaheim would eventually land an expansion team of its own (called the Mighty Ducks), which commenced play one year after Ottawa.
Eventually, the rezoning was approved with conditions. The Palladium's size was reduced to 18,500, and Terrace had to pay for a necessary highway interchange. Terrace had to suspend its plans for the rest of the "West Terrace" development, which limited the site's value. Only the lands to the south of the 417 were allowed to be developed, and the lands on the north side of the 417 were to remain farmland. According to Firestone, Terrace's investment lost \$80 million in value to secure the zoning. Eventually, the strain to complete the payment on the franchise to the NHL and to build the arena led to Firestone's resignation on August 17, 1993, after Terrace missed mortgage and development payments. He was replaced as club president by Bryden, who would lead the franchise for the next ten years.
The government-imposed restrictions made financing of the arena project difficult to secure. Terrace had four financing deals fail. As it became clear that the Senators could not finance a needed highway interchange without government backing, the Government of Ontario was persuaded successfully to provide a \$27 million loan for the highway interchange construction. In the end, the firm of Ogden Entertainment, a New York City facilities management firm, backed the project with a \$20 million loan in exchange for a 30-year contract to manage the facility. In addition, American banks loaned \$110 million, the federal government gave the Senators \$6 million, \$10 million from Terrace and \$15 million from a Canadian pension fund.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned setbacks, both Terrace and the NHL had realized the arena would not be ready for the 1992-93 season. To get the Ottawa Civic Centre to something approaching NHL specifications, the venue was expanded to seat about 10,000 fans and several dozen luxury boxes were built.
Once construction actually started the project went smoothly, and the arena was completed on budget within 18 months. The Senators played the first game at the Palladium on January 17, 1996. One month after opening, Corel Corporation bought the naming rights in a ten-year deal and the arena was renamed the Corel Centre. The naming rights were then purchased by Scotiabank in a 25-year deal and the arena was re-branded Scotiabank Place. Seven years later, Scotiabank sold the naming rights to Canadian Tire Corporation in a deal which saw the facility become the Canadian Tire Centre, which is its current name.
### The bankruptcy
The debt payments weighed heavily on the Senators. For several years, Bryden tried to reschedule the debt on the arena. There were various attempts at filing tax losses to write off the debt, all rejected by the Government of Canada. In 2002, Ogden went bankrupt. It had re-invented itself as Covanta Energy and failed not long after the Enron scandal broke out. This led to the Senators filing for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003, when it could not arrange financing to pay all it owed to Covanta, becoming due because of Covanta's bankruptcy.
On August 26, 2003 the team and arena was purchased by Biovail chief executive officer (CEO) and Toronto St. Michael's Majors owner Eugene Melnyk, who had shown interest for several years in the team. The limited partnership between Terrace and the limited partners was dissolved and Covanta's creditors received the proceeds of the sale towards the money it was owed for the NHL franchise fee and the Palladium.
## 1992–1995: Expansion club struggles
The team would name Mel Bridgman as their first general manager (GM) in 1991 after being turned down by Scotty Bowman and John Muckler. The decision was criticized by the press due to Bridgman's lack of GM experience. In the coaching department, the club would pick Rick Bowness, formerly the Boston Bruins' head coach, as their first head coach, assisted by Alain Vigneault, E. J. Maguire and Chico Resch. John Ferguson, Sr., would be named director of player personnel.
The Expansion draft day on June 18, 1992, was memorable. The team's laptop computer failed and the club was unprepared with a backup plan, picking several ineligible players. Not much talent was available as other teams protected young prospects. The players the Senators did select were "journeymen NHLers or players who had good years in minor leagues but no longer were considered prospects." While side-deals during the Draft were not allowed, the team would select players in concert with the other teams and in return, other teams gave the Senators Neil Brady, Jody Hull, Brad Marsh and Steve Weeks during the summer, all who would ultimately make the team. In the Entry Draft, the Senators would name Alexei Yashin their first-ever pick, though he would not join the team until 1993.
### 1992–93: First season
The new Senators were placed in the Adams Division of the Wales Conference, and played their first game on October 8, 1992, at the Ottawa Civic Centre against the Montreal Canadiens. There was much pre-game spectacle — the skating of Brian Orser, the raising of banners commemorating the original Senators' eight Stanley Cup wins, retirement of Frank Finnigan's jersey number and the singing of the anthem by Ottawa native Alanis Morissette.
NHL President Gil Stein took part, presenting Bruce Firestone with a "certificate of reinstatement" to commemorate Ottawa's return to the NHL after 58 years. The ceremonial face-off between Laurie Boschman and Denis Savard was done by Frank Finnigan, Jr., (his father having died on December 25, 1991), Firestone, Stein and original Senator Ray Kinsella. The Senators would play in the 10,000 seat Civic Centre until January 1996.
The Senators would defeat the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens 5–3 that night, but it would turn out to be their only highlight of the season for the Senators. The club would tie with the San Jose Sharks for the worst record in the League that year, winning just ten games with 70 losses and four ties (24 points) in the 1992–93 season. The Senators tied the NHL record for fewest road wins for their record that season, with one. Their points total for the season was one point better than the NHL record for fewest points in a season ever. The Senators had aimed low. Firestone had set beating the old record the Senators' goal for the season, as the team planned to finish low in the standings for its first few years in order to receive high draft picks.
Daigle Cup
Among the disappointments during the early years of the resurrected Senators was Alexandre Daigle, the number one overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. During the 1992–93 season, it had become clear that Daigle would be the number one pick. The Quebec Nordiques publicly announced that they would trade several players for him, as they wished to build a new arena and needed a marquee francophone player. As the season progressed, both the Senators and the San Jose Sharks were neck-and-neck in last place, and at that time, NHL rules meant the worst team would receive the first overall pick. This "competition" was variously dubbed the "Daigle Cup" and the "Yelnats Puc."
Near the end of the season, the Senators would call other teams to ask for their opponent's best players to be playing them in upcoming matches, making plans to field a weaker squad if their opponent did so also. The club made no trades to improve its position, not wanting to lose the number one pick. After the season, Bruce Firestone would make comments to the press about how the team deliberately lost games, expecting that comments would be "off the record." Instead, his comments were reported, the NHL investigated, and the team was fined \$100,000 for his comments. The NHL changed its rules as of the 1995 Draft so that a lottery would be held for the top draft picks.
In 1993, the Senators would sign Daigle to a \$12.25 million contract, the largest rookie salary in League history, which would lead to a cap on rookie contracts a few years later. The club would promote Daigle over Alexei Yashin, nominating Daigle for rookie of the year over Yashin. His play did not justify full-time status and in 1995, coaches Rick Bowness and Alain Vigneault demoted Daigle to part-time status. The move led to Bowness and Vigneault being fired. In the end, Daigle did not come close to the career the Senators hoped for. After scoring only 74 goals in just over four seasons, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, and is widely regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in sports history.
### 1993–1995
After the 1992–93 season, Bridgman was fired and replaced by Senators Vice-President Randy Sexton. In the 1993–94 season, with the NHL renaming the conferences and divisions, the team was now based in the Eastern Conference's Northeast Division. The club added prospects Daigle and Yashin. Yashin would have an outstanding rookie season and become a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Yashin led the team in points with 30 goals and 79 points, while Daigle had 51 points. The Senators would make some progress, improving their record to 14 wins and 37 points, but would again finish last in the League. The Senators would select Radek Bonk with their pick, third overall, in the 1994 Draft.
During this period, the club may have been more focused on building the Palladium, for which construction began in July 1994. In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Yashin and Daigle led the club in points again, although their point totals declined. The 1994–95 Senators team record declined also from the previous season, finishing with nine wins and 23 points (this was over only 48 games), to finish last in the League again.
## 1996–2004: Jacques Martin era
### Ottawa's turnaround
One month before the Senators were to open the new Palladium, after three-straight last place finishes, and poor attendance at the Civic Centre, the Senators organization was in turmoil. Star player Alexei Yashin, angered that management favoured Daigle over him despite posting higher numbers, was a contract hold-out. First-round draft choice Bryan Berard, who had left the Senators training camp unsigned to a contract, had publicly stated that he would never report to the Senators. After Head Coach Rick Bowness demoted Daigle to the fourth line, General Manager Randy Sexton fired Bowness and Assistant Coach Alain Vigneault on November 20, 1995. He replaced the coaches with Prince Edward Island Senators coach Dave Allison and gave the assistant coaching job to former Hartford Whalers Head Coach Pierre McGuire, who was working at the time as a scout for the Senators. Daigle was returned to full-time duty, but Sexton's changes did not improve the team's play.
The situation was a large concern for the Senators ownership and especially for Ogden, which had much invested in the soon-to-open Palladium and which did not want to open the Palladium to poor attendance. Ogden brought in Roy Mlakar to assist in sorting out the turmoil; he would eventually become team president and CEO.
The turnaround process started with the firing of Sexton on December 11, 1995, and the hiring of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Assistant General Manager Pierre Gauthier as GM, Ottawa's first with previous NHL executive experience. Before the end of January, Gauthier had signed Yashin to a three-year contract, traded Berard to the New York Islanders for Wade Redden, and hired Jacques Martin as head coach.
In the midst of the upheaval, the new Palladium had opened. The Senators, still coached by Allison, lost their opening game in the arena 3–0 to Montreal on January 17, 1996. The event was much more subdued than their franchise's first game. The Cup banners were raised, but the winches jammed, blocking the view of many fans. There were no entertainment big names, and only Firestone and Bryden participated in the ceremonial face-off. The club would lose its first four games at the Palladium, winning none for Allison, who was later fired on January 24 after the team lost 22 of 25 games. While Ottawa finished last in the League for the fourth year in a row, the 1995–96 season ended with renewed optimism, partly from the debut of new star Daniel Alfredsson, who won the Calder Trophy, the NHL rookie of the year award, the first Senator to do so. Alfredsson, selected 133rd overall in 1994, was also selected to play in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game.
The 1996–97 season would see the Senators qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time, in dramatic fashion. They clinched the seventh seed on the last game of the regular season thanks to a late goal from Steve Duchesne against the Buffalo Sabres' Dominik Hasek, giving the Senators a 1–0 win and the first playoff appearance for an Ottawa-based team in 67 years. The Senators then faced Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs and were eliminated in the full seven games. Despite holding a lead in Game 7, Alexei Yashin put the puck in his own net, allowing Buffalo to tie the game and eventually win the game and the series on a goal by Derek Plante in overtime.
The next season, 1997–98, saw the Senators improve further. They improved their regular season record, finishing with their first winning record in franchise history (one game over .500). In the first play-off round, they upset the top-seeded and the heavily favoured New Jersey Devils in six games to win their first playoff series. The Senators next faced the eventual Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals and lost in five games. It was in this season that the team unveiled its "third jersey" in red with the Centurion head logo "rotated" to face forward. The jersey and logo would be used until the end of the 2006–07 season.
After the season, Rick Dudley would become general manager after Pierre Gauthier returned to Anaheim to become the Ducks' general manager. Dudley would be the Ottawa GM for only a year, however, leaving to join Tampa Bay (for which the Senators received Rob Zamuner as compensation), and was replaced by Marshall Johnston.
### Emergence as contenders
The Senators met with limited success in the playoffs, only winning five series in their first nine trips to the post-season.
In 1998–99, the Senators jumped from 14th in the previous season to third, with 103 points—the first 100-point season in club history. The team, however, took an embarrassing pratfall in the playoffs, being swept by Buffalo after scoring just three goals in the entire series.
Ottawa was locked in a contract dispute with then-captain Alexei Yashin during the 1999–2000 season. Yashin held out for the entire season, hoping either to play elsewhere or claim his contract was for 1999–2000, not a year of service. The team responded by suspending him for the entire season and granting the captaincy to Daniel Alfredsson. Yashin tried to sign on with a team in Switzerland, but the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) banned him from playing internationally until the dispute with the Senators was resolved. An NHL arbitrator rejected Yashin's request to make him a free agent, instead ruling that he owed the Senators one more season if he ever returned to the NHL. The Senators even took legal action to recover damages suffered as a result of the dispute.
Despite the distraction, the Senators' regular season was successful as they finished with 93 points to qualify for the playoffs in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Like the previous year, they had a quick playoff exit, losing in six games in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yashin returned for the 2000–01 season, though no longer the captain of the team. Despite being booed at home and in most arenas, being cursed as "Alexei Cashin" or "Cashin Yashin" by the fans, he played well for the Senators. The Senators had another successful season, finishing with 109 points, winning the Division and placing second in the East. For the third-straight season, however, the Senators could not win a playoff round, losing again to Toronto in the first round, this time in a 4–0 sweep. After the season, on the day of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Yashin would be dealt to the New York Islanders in exchange for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the Islanders' first-round draft pick (second overall), which the Senators used to select Jason Spezza. Yashin would sign a \$87.5 million ten-year contract with the Islanders.
In 2001–02, the Senators regular season points total dropped to 94 points, third in the Division, but the team did qualify for the playoffs. Jacques Martin stepped aside as head coach for the final two games to allow Assistant Coach Roger Neilson to have 1,000 games as head coach in the NHL. In the first round, they upset the Philadelphia Flyers in five games, limiting the Flyers' high-powered offence to just two goals for the franchise's second playoff series win. This led to a second round series with Toronto, the third-straight year the Senators had met the Maple Leafs in the "Battle of Ontario." The Maple Leafs won the series in a tense seven-game affair, despite the Senators leading the series 3–2 after five games.
After the disappointing end to the season, there was speculation that front-office changes were coming. In the end, GM Marshall Johnston retired, but Martin and Mlakar were re-signed. John Muckler was hired on June 12, 2002, the Senators' sixth GM, and the first with previous experience as a general manager (with Buffalo). He had been interested in the Ottawa job in 1991, but he chose not to wait for the Senators to make him an offer, and he joined the Sabres organization.
In 2002–03, off-ice problems dominated the headlines. The Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003, after a long history of debt. They continued regular season play after getting some emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, Ottawa won the Presidents' Trophy, finishing with a franchise-record 113 points, making them the first Canadian team to win it since the Calgary Flames in 1989. This was also the highest finish by an Ottawa team in 77 years (since the original Senators finished first overall in 1926). In the 2003 playoffs, they defeated Yashin and his New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers before coming within one game of making it into the Finals, falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the New Jersey Devils.
### Failure in playoffs and firing of Jacques Martin
In the off-season, Eugene Melnyk would purchase the club to bring financial stability and the team entered the 2003–04 season with high expectations. Head Coach Jacques Martin would guide the team to another good regular season, finishing with 102 points. This was good for only third in the tightly contested Northeast Division, as Boston would have 104 and Toronto 103.
The seedings meant that the Senators would play the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2004 playoffs for the fourth-straight time. By now, Ottawa had developed a strong rivalry with their Ontario rivals, and there was a great deal of pressure on the team to finally defeat the Leafs. Despite missing their captain Mats Sundin and other veterans, the Maple Leafs would win the series on the back of goaltender Ed Belfour, who had two shutouts in the series, defeating the Senators in seven games. In Game 7, Senators goaltender Patrick Lalime would surrender three goals before the first period was done and would be replaced by backup Martin Prusek. The Senators were not able to come back from the 3–0 deficit, losing 4–1. It was Lalime's last appearance in a Senators' uniform, and Martin's last game as coach—two days after the loss, Martin was fired. and Lalime was later traded to the St. Louis Blues for a fourth-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft.
After losing eight of 12 playoff series, including all four series in five years against Toronto, team management felt that a new coach was required for playoff success. Muckler even suggested that the new coach would have "to fix the dressing room", implying the team was not responding to Martin. On June 8, 2004, Bryan Murray became the team's fifth head coach, leaving the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, where he had been general manager. He would not actually coach until 2005 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, instead spending time on scouting.
## 2004–2017: Bryan Murray era
### 2004–05: Lockout time
The Senators, like the other NHL teams, did not play during the lockout. Most players chose to play in Europe, although some, including Jason Spezza, played for the Senators' farm team, the Binghamton Senators. Prior to the lockout, the Senators had acquired free agent goaltender Dominik Hasek. He did not play for any teams during the season, instead practicing with Binghamton. Daniel Alfredsson had a very good season in Sweden with Frölunda HC, winning the Swedish championship.
### 2005–06: High expectations unfulfilled
The media predicted the Senators to be Stanley Cup contenders, as they had a strong core back after the lockout, played in an up-tempo style fitting the new rule changes and Hasek was expected to provide top-notch goaltending. The team rushed out of the gate, winning 19 of the first 22 games, in the end winning 52 games and 113 points, placing first in the East, and second overall in the League.
Prior to the season, the Senators had acquired Dany Heatley in a blockbuster trade with the Atlanta Thrashers for Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries. Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza immediately formed one of the League's top offensive lines, dubbed the "CASH line" by fans in a contest held by the Ottawa Citizen. (The name is made from the initials of Captain Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. Another nickname the line has picked up is the "Pizza Line", and is the nickname used by the Citizen's rival paper, the Ottawa Sun.) The line made a dramatic debut in the first game, with Alfredsson scoring a goal to force overtime and Alfredsson and Heatley scoring goals in the League's first-ever shootout round. Heatley became the first player in franchise history to reach 100 points and the first to reach the 50-goal mark. The line is notable as a top offensive line, the top line of all time for the Senators, and is widely regarded as one of the top lines in the NHL earning such quotes as "best trio in the NHL," "most dangerous line in hockey," "high-flying trio," "League's highest scoring line" and "potent first line" in the sports media and hockey fans, both of the Senators and other teams.
Despite the regular season success, the team entered the playoffs under a cloud. In February, Hasek had suffered an adductor muscle injury while playing for the Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He had played only one game for the Czechs and returned to Ottawa to heal, but would never play for the Senators again. Rookie goaltender Ray Emery had to take over the starting goaltender duties, leading the media to predict an early playoff exit due to Hasek's absence. Hopes were raised in the first round, however, when Emery would become the first rookie goaltender since Philadelphia's Brian Boucher in 2000 to win a playoff series when the Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to one. However, the Senators then lost to the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, a series in which all games were decided by one goal.
This was the last hurrah for several Senators, as Zdeno Chara, Dominik Hasek, Martin Havlat, Bryan Smolinski and Brian Pothier all left the team after the season; Chara, Hasek and Pothier departed via free agency, while Havlat and Smolinski were both dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks.
### 2006–07: Trip to the Stanley Cup Finals
The Senators' season went off to a poor start, and was marked by a struggle to reach a .500 win–loss ratio. Until December, the team had a 21–18–1 record, though they had much more success in the remaining half of the season, eventually finishing second in the Division after the Presidents' Trophy-winning Sabres and earning the fourth seed in the East. They ultimately finished with 105 points, their fourth-straight 100-point season and sixth in their last eight.
In the playoffs, Ottawa's fourth placing in the Conference meant that the first-round playoff series was against the fifth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. Some media were expecting the Penguins to win the series for three reasons—the Penguins had won the season series, the Senators' past playoff troubles and the strong young talent of the Penguins, particularly young star Sidney Crosby. The Senators, however, won easily by a score of four games to one, including a 3–0 shutout win in Game 5. This was the only series where the Senators were the higher-seeded team.
The second-round series was against the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils in a rematch of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals. The Senators again won by a score of four games to one.
Next, the Senators faced off against Buffalo in the Conference Final, looking to get even for losing to the Sabres in the 2006 playoffs. The Senators took the series, again by a score of four games to one, earning the Prince of Wales Trophy as the Eastern Conference champions and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Western Conference-winning Anaheim Ducks. Daniel Alfredsson scored the series-winning goal, (see video) in overtime, redemption for being beaten a year before on the goal that eliminated Ottawa from the playoffs. It was also the first series win by the Senators against the Sabres.
First Stanley Cup finals in the capital in 80 years
The 2006–07 Senators thus became the first Ottawa team to be in the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1927 Stanley Cup Finals. Despite the 80-year gap, one fan attended games both the 1927 and the 2007 Finals—the third game of the series and first home game for Ottawa on June 2 was attended by 99-year-old Russell Williams as a guest of the Senators. He had attended the last Finals game in Ottawa on April 13, 1927, played in the old Ottawa Auditorium. The 1927 and 2007 games were won by both Senators teams respectively.
The city was swept up in the excitement of being in the Finals. Businesses along all the main streets posted large hand-drawn "Go Sens Go" signs, residents put up large displays in front of their homes or decorated their cars. A large Senators flag was draped on the City Hall, along with a large video screen showing the games. A six-story likeness of Daniel Alfredsson was hung on the Corel building and the Senators organization held rallies at City Hall, and car rallies of decorated cars paraded from Lynx stadium, through downtown to Scotiabank Place.
The series marked the first time that an NHL team with a captain from Europe had made the Finals, as Senators captain Alfredsson hails from Sweden. (Previously, only Americans or Canadians had captained teams in the Finals.) Alfredsson would be one of the bright lights for the Senators in the series, as he had been in all the playoff series. But he would be one of the few bright lights as Anaheim won the series in five games bolstered by strong defensive play and opportunistic scoring.
The first two games were in Anaheim, both won by the Ducks by one-goal margins. Game 3 went to the Senators, but Game 4 in Ottawa was won by the Ducks, for an insurmountable three games to one lead. The Ducks would finish the series in Game 5 at home. The Ducks had been favoured to win the Cup since before the season started. The Senators were the third consecutive Canadian franchise to reach the Final and they suffered the same fate as the Calgary Flames of 2004 and the Edmonton Oilers of 2006.
### 2007–08: Stanley Cup hangover
The Senators made major changes in their hockey staff during the off-season. On June 17, 2007, General manager John Muckler was fired; he had been in the last year of his contract. Head coach Bryan Murray was subsequently promoted to GM. On July 5, 2007, he hired his nephew Tim Murray as assistant GM, followed by the promotion of assistant coach John Paddock to head coach on July 6, 2007. On August 15, Goaltending coach Ron Low was named as assistant coach while Eli Wilson was named goaltending coach. Assistant coach Greg Carvel retained his duties.
On November 5, 2007, the Senators set a franchise record eighth-straight win with their victory over the Maple Leafs. On November 6, six Senators were named to the All-Star Game ballot: Daniel Alfredsson, Ray Emery, Dany Heatley, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden and Jason Spezza, the most from any one team in the NHL. The "CASH line" was named to the All-Star roster in its entirety, Alfredsson to the starting lineup and Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza as reserves. On January 24, 2008, Alfredsson recorded a franchise-record seven points (three goals and four assists) against the Tampa Bay Lightning, taking over the NHL scoring lead momentarily.
After the hot start, a prolonged slump through January and February occurred during which the Senators won only seven of 21 games, and Murray fired Head Coach Paddock and Assistant Coach Ron Low on February 27, 2008, taking over the coaching duties himself. After the coaching switch, team performance improved but did not match the performance of the beginning of the season. A playoff spot was in doubt until the Senators' last game of the season, a loss to Boston, but the team qualified due to the Carolina Hurricanes losing. After all other games were played, the team ended up as the seventh seed and faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round, a repeat of the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Senators lost the series four games to none, the third time they were swept in a first-round series. The result, after going to the Finals the previous season, led to speculation by the media that the team would make a large change in personnel before next season, including the buy-out of Ray Emery and the Senators not re-signing their free agents.
### 2008–09: Season of turnover
After a disappointing 2007–08 season, Senators' management promised change, and in the off-season fulfilled that promise with changes both in coaching and on-ice personnel. On June 13, 2008, the Senators named Craig Hartsburg, who had been head coach of the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, as the new head coach, signing him to a three-year contract. The Senators also named Curtis Hunt, formerly of the Regina Pats, as assistant coach. On the player side, the first change was the buy-out of troubled goaltender Ray Emery's contract following a difficult season. Long-time Senator Wade Redden left via free-agency, and 2007–08 trade acquisitions Mike Commodore, Cory Stillman and Martin Lapointe were not re-signed. Brian McGrattan and Andrej Meszaros were traded, Meszaros following a contract dispute. From the free agent market, the Senators signed goaltender Alex Auld, defenceman Jason Smith, and agitating forward Jarkko Ruutu. In exchange for Meszaros, defencemen Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a 2009 first-round draft pick (later dealt for defenceman Chris Campoli) were acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
To start the 2008–09 season, the Senators played their first-ever games in Europe, starting in Gothenburg, Sweden, playing Daniel Alfredsson's former team, Frölunda HC. The Senators then began the regular season with two games in Stockholm against the Pittsburgh Penguins, splitting the results in a 4–3 overtime loss and a 3–1 win. The Senators struggled throughout the first half of the season, having the lowest number of goals scored in the League. Following a disappointing 17–24–7 start, the Senators fired Hartsburg on February 1, 2009, after a 7–4 loss to the Washington Capitals. He was replaced by Cory Clouston, the head coach of their farm team in Binghamton. The team showed almost immediate improvement under Clouston, playing above .500 for the remainder of the season. Though much improved, the team was unable to make up for its poor start, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention on March 31. The team continued to play well, winning nine games in a row at home. On April 8, Clouston was rewarded with a two-year deal to continue coaching the Senators.
### 2009–10: Return to the playoffs
After the season had concluded, word was leaked that star forward Heatley had demanded a trade, placing GM Murray in a precarious position. On June 30, a deal to Edmonton was finalized, but Heatley rejected it by refusing to waive his no-trade clause. On September 12, 2009, Heatley was traded, along with a fifth-round pick in 2010 NHL Entry Draft, to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forwards Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, as well as a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. Michalek would play well for the Senators, but Cheechoo struggled and was demoted to the Binghamton Senators before having his contract bought out in the off-season.
On January 13, 2010, Bryan Murray relieved Goaltending Coach Eli Wilson of his duties. Immediately afterward, the team went on a team-record 11-game winning streak. The streak propelled the team to the top of the Northeast Division standings and a top-three placing for the playoffs. The team was unable to hold off the Sabres for the division lead, but qualified for the playoffs in the fifth position. For the third season in four, the Senators played off against the Penguins in the first round. A highlight for the Senators was winning a triple-overtime fifth game in Pittsburgh, but the team was unable to win a playoff game on home ice, losing the series in six games.
### 2010–11: Rebuilding
The Senators had a much poorer than expected 2010–11 campaign, resulting in constant rumours of a shakeup right through until December. The rumours were heightened in January after the team went on a lengthy losing streak. January was a dismal month for the Senators, winning only one game all month. Media speculated on the imminent firing of Clouston, Murray or both. Owner Melynk cleared the air in an article in the January 22, 2011 edition of the Ottawa Sun. Melnyk stated that he would not fire either Clouston or Murray, but that he had given up on this season and was in the process of developing a plan for the future. On Monday, January 24, The Globe and Mail reported that the plan included hiring a new general manager before the June entry draft and that Murray would be retained as an advisor to the team. A decision on whether to retain Clouston would be made by the new general manager. The article by Roy MacGregor, a long-time reporter of the Ottawa Senators, stated that former Assistant Coach Pierre McGuire had already been interviewed. Murray, in a press conference that day stated that he wished to stay on as the team's general manager. He also stated that Melnyk was allowing him to continue as general manager without restraint. Murray said that the players were now to be judged by their play until the February 28 trade deadline. Murray would attempt to move "a couple, at least" of the players for draft picks or prospects at that time if the Senators remained out of playoff contention. At the time of Murray's comments the team was eight games under .500 and 14 points out of a playoff position after 49 games.
Murray started with the trading of Mike Fisher to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2011 draft. Fisher already had a home in Nashville with new wife Carrie Underwood. The trading of Fisher, a fan favorite in Ottawa, lead to a small anti-Underwood backlash in the city with the banning of her songs from the play lists of some local radio stations. Murray next traded Chris Kelly, another veteran, to the Boston Bruins for a second-round pick in the 2011 draft. A few days later, pending unrestricted free agent Jarkko Ruutu was sent to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2011. A swap of goaltenders was made with the Colorado Avalanche which brought Craig Anderson to Ottawa in exchange for Brian Elliott. Both goalies were having sub-par seasons prior to the trade. Under-achieving forward Alex Kovalev was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a seventh-round draft pick. On trade deadline day, Ottawa picked up goaltender Curtis McElhinney on waivers, and traded Chris Campoli with a seventh-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for a second-round pick and Ryan Potulny. Goaltender Anderson played very well down the stretch for Ottawa, and the team quickly signed the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent to a four-year contract. After media speculation on the future of Murray within the organization, Murray was re-signed as general manager on April 8, to a three-year extension. On April 9, Head Coach Cory Clouston and assistants Greg Carvel and Brad Lauer were dismissed from their positions. Murray said that the decision was made based on the fact that the team entered the season believing it was a contender, but finished with a 32–40–10 record. Former Detroit Red Wings Assistant Coach Paul MacLean was hired as Clouston's replacement on June 14, 2011.
### 2011–2016: Up and down seasons
As the 2011–12 season began, many hockey writers and commentators were convinced that the Senators would finish at or near the bottom of the NHL standings. In the midst of rebuilding, the Ottawa lineup contained many rookies and inexperienced players. The team struggled out of the gate, losing five of their first six games before a reversal of fortunes saw them win six games in a row. In December 2011, the team acquired forward Kyle Turris from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for David Rundblad and a draft pick. The team improved its play afterwards and moved into a playoff position before the All-Star Game. For the first time in Senators' history, the All-Star Game was held in Ottawa, and it was considered a great success. Five Senators were voted in or named to the event, including Daniel Alfredsson, who was named captain of one team. The team continued its playoff push after the break. After starting goalie Craig Anderson injured his hand in a kitchen accident at home, the Senators called up Robin Lehner from Binghamton and acquired highly regarded goaltender Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues. While Anderson recovered, the team continued its solid play. On April 1, 2012, the Senators defeated the New York Islanders 5–1, officially ensuring a playoff position. The team finished as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, drawing a first round playoff matchup against the Conference champion New York Rangers. Ultimately, Ottawa lost the series in seven games.
The next season, Ottawa would be challenged to repeat the success they had in 2011–12, due to long-term injuries to key players such as Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Craig Anderson. Despite these injuries, the Senators would finish seventh in the Eastern Conference and head coach Paul MacLean would go on to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year. Ottawa would play the second-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, eventually winning in five games, blowing out Montreal 6–1 in games three and five. The Senators would advance to play the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round, this time losing in five games. During the off-season, the Senators traded veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2013. July 5, 2013 would be a day of mixed emotions for the city and fans, as long-time captain Daniel Alfredsson signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings, leaving Ottawa after 17 seasons with the Senators and 14 as captain. The signing shocked numerous fans across the city and many within the Senators organization. The day finished optimistically however, as Murray acquired star forward Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forwards Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen and a first-round draft pick in 2014. Murray would also sign free agent forward Clarke MacArthur to a two-year contract that same day and would sign free agent defenceman Joe Corvo to a one-year contract three days later on July 8.
For the 2013–14 season, the League re-aligned and Ottawa was moved to the new Atlantic Division along with the rest of the old Northeast Division and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings from the Western Conference. The re-alignment increased the competition to qualify for the playoffs, as there was now 16 teams in the East fighting for eight playoff spots. There were changes on the club as well. Ottawa entered the season with Jason Spezza as the team's new captain as long-time captain Daniel Alfredsson left to join the Detroit Red Wings after a contract dispute with the club. The same day that Alfredsson signed, the club swung a deal for Anaheim Ducks' scorer Bobby Ryan. There were numerous other changes to the lineup as well. The club signed free agents Clarke MacArthur and Joe Corvo, while not re-signing veteran defencemen Sergei Gonchar and Andre Benoit. While MacArthur had a career season, Ryan played well until he was injured, and Corvo lost his place in the lineup. The club struggled on defence, with shots and goals against increasing from the previous season. The club was a sub-.500 team much of the season, or only a few games above and never was in a playoff position all season. At the NHL trade deadline, Murray traded for flashy right winger Ales Hemsky from Edmonton and he played well, establishing chemistry on a line alongside Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, though the club was eliminated from playoff contention in the last week of the season.
In 2014–15, the team made the playoffs, only to lose in the first round.
## 2017–present: Pierre Dorion era
Murray retired after the 2015–16 season. He had been diagnosed with cancer and the team failed again to make the playoffs. The team promoted assistant GM Pierre Dorion to general manager and hired Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford as associate head coaches. The 2016–17 season was a surprise high point for the team as it made a playoff run to the Eastern Conference Final, losing in double-overtime in the seventh game of the series. The team picked up several veterans that made key contributions and Karlsson, Turris and Ryan made crucial contributions.
The 2017–18 season was a major disappointment. From the playoff run team, the team lost Clarke MacArthur, Marc Methot, Chris Neil, Chris Kelly, Tommy Wingels and Viktor Stalberg. Additionally, captain Erik Karlsson was injured to start the season and first-line center Kyle Turris was in a contract dispute with the team. Turris was traded to the Nashville Predators by way of a three team trade with Nashville and the Colorado Avalanche which resulted in Ottawa acquiring Matt Duchene. The team at first absorbed the changes and remained in a playoff spot. However, team play declined to the point where the team traded away several veterans at the trade deadline and finished in 30th place in the league. The team hosted an outdoor game to great success, however, owner Eugene Melnyk made off-the-cuff comments about fan attendance that soured fan opinions.
The 2017 playoffs run is the most recent season in which the Senators qualified for the playoffs. In the succeeding seasons, Dorion traded away many of its top players in exchange for draft picks and prospects. Karlsson was traded to the San Jose Sharks for several draft picks. Mark Stone was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. Duchene was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Since then, the Senators have developed a core of good young players, including Tim Stuetzle, Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson. After several seasons near the bottom of the standings, the team contended for a playoff spot in 2022-23 after adding veterans Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat and Jakob Chychrun.
During the 2021-22 season, team owner Melnyk succumbed to a terminal illness. The months that followed were filled with speculation on the status of the team. Although Melnyk had promised that the team would remain in his daughter's hands, in December 2022 the team announced that the team would be sold, the only condition on the sale being that the team must remain in Ottawa. Since that time, the NHL in conjunction with a New York investment banker has conducted a sale process that has attracted several high-profile bidders and reportedly could fetch a selling price of . Besides the team, the Senators Sports & Entertainment corporation owns the existing arena and hundreds of acres of land around the arena, plus an option on a downtown arena site. Despite the high value of its assets, the corporation was reported to have a high level of debt, which may have precipitated the sale. According to reports, Melnyk bought the team using financing of \$50 million, or half of the purchase price. By the time of Melynk's passing, the amount of debt on the team was estimated to be \$450 million. Several celebrities have been linked to groups interested in purchasing the team, including Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dogg.
## Logo and jersey design
The team colours are red, black and white, like the original era Senators, and like other Ottawa sports teams (such as the Ottawa Renegades, Rough Riders and 67s), with added trim of gold. The colours are attributed to the colours of the defunct Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association, the Ottawa Hockey Club being a member club.
The club logo is officially the head of a Roman general, a member of the Senate of the Roman Empire, projecting from a gold circle. There have been several versions of the team logo. The original, unveiled on May 23, 1991, described the general as a "centurion figure, strong and prominent" according to its designer, Tony Milchard. Milchard intended the logo to be similar to that of the Chicago Blackhawks head logo. Leaked before its unveiling, the logo design was unpopular with fans, being compared unfavourably to the American Express card, the USC Trojans and the Trojan condom. The original had the words "Ottawa Senators" within the circle. This logo was slightly revised in 1996 to remove the team name from the gold circle and replace it with laurels.
The original home jersey was white with black and red stripes. The original "away" jersey was black, with white and red trim. Shoulder patches used a winged "S" in "established MDCCCXCIV" (1894) logo. The League changed its policies on coloured and white jerseys and the white jersey became the away jersey. The club would use the white jersey with the original logo until the end of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.
In 1998, the Senators unveiled a new logo, taking the head, which had been in profile, and rotating it so that it was face-first. The new logo was unveiled with a new red "third" jersey, prominently using "curved" or "swoosh" stripes. On the shoulder, the original logo was used as a shoulder patch. The original dark jersey, (then the "away" jersey) which was mostly black, was retired after the season. The red jersey became the home jersey and it remained in use until the end of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.
Starting in July 2000, the Senators reused the alternate logo on another third jersey, designed by Ottawa firm Hoselton Brunet, this one black with red and gold sleeves and a gold stripe with laurel leaves along the bottom of the jersey. On the shoulders, was a modified version of the original Peace Tower logo of the expansion campaign, which the management liked. Like the original logo, this design was leaked onto the Internet. This jersey was in use until the end of the 2006–07 season.
### 2007 update
On August 22, 2007, the Senators unveiled a set of new jerseys, which have a more refined, streamlined look to them,. The team retired all three previous jerseys and did not have a third jersey for the 2007–08 season. The updated look came in conjunction with the launch of the new Rbk EDGE jerseys by Reebok, adopted League-wide for the 2007–08 season.
At the same time, the team updated its logos, designed by local firm Acart Communications. The new primary logo is an update of the old secondary logo, which according to team owner Eugene Melnyk, "represents strength and determination." The logo was modified in several ways, updating the facial features, removing facial colouring, reducing size of the gold semicircle and updating the cape of the warrior. The new secondary logo is an update of the old primary logo. Only the primary logo will appear on the jerseys, as the secondary logo will be on Sens' merchandise. The new shoulder patch 'O' logo replaces the winged 'S' shoulder patch with the jersey logo of the original Ottawa Senators club.
### 2008 and 2011 third jerseys
On November 22, 2008, the Senators unveiled a new third jersey in a game versus the New York Rangers. Marketed with the slogan 'Back in Black' in reference to the black "away" jerseys the team wore during its first several seasons, the jersey is primarily black, while the team's other traditional colors of white and red are also integrated. The Senators' primary "centurion figure" logo moves to the shoulders. The front features the word 'SENS' in white with red and gold trim, as a new primary logo. The 'SENS' third jersey was retired in 2011.
On January 20, 2011, the Ottawa Sun reported that the Senators organization was studying designs for a new third jersey to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the current franchise. The Senators announced to season ticket holders on March 2, 2011, that the new third jersey will be a 'heritage design' based on the early-era Senators jersey. The new third jersey was to be unveiled officially on October 1, 2011, however was mistakenly leaked after being discovered in a souvenir store at First Niagara Center. The jersey will be a 'barber-pole' design with a large 'O' on the front, and shield-shaped badges on each shoulder. One shoulder badge has the words "Ottawa Senators", the other has the words "Sénateurs d'Ottawa".
Mostly black, the third jersey incorporates horizontal striping intended to be reminiscent of the original Senators' 'barber-pole' designs, and the large letter O used in Ottawa jersey designs going back to the 1890s. The new jersey, while an entirely new creation, most resembles the look of the 1926–27 Senators, when the franchise won its last Stanley Cup. Shield-type patches were added to the shoulders. The design of the shield-type patches was intended to be similar to the shield patches that the original Senators added to their jerseys after each Stanley Cup championship win. The patches spell the team name, one in English, and one in French. Jacob Barrette, a local Gatineau, Quebec fan had posted a similar design on the internet since 2009. The Senators worked with Barrette to develop the jersey design in time for the 20th anniversary season.
### 2014 Heritage Classic jersey
A special edition jersey was used for the 2014 Heritage Classic against the Vancouver Canucks on March 2, 2014. The jersey shares virtually the same characteristics as their current third jersey, albeit reversed so that cream is the primary colour.
### 2017 update
The move to Adidas as the NHL's uniform provider necessitated some slight changes in the Senators uniforms. While the overall design was carried over from the Reebok Edge look, the fonts now use the style that was found on the barber-pole third jerseys they wore from 2011–17.
## See also
- Battle of Ontario
- Ice hockey in Ottawa
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of ice hockey teams in Ontario
|
7,810,989 |
The Silent Cartographer
| 1,164,697,728 |
Level in the video game Halo: Combat Evolved
|
[
"Halo (franchise)",
"Video game levels"
] |
"The Silent Cartographer" is the fourth level in the first-person shooter (FPS) video game Halo: Combat Evolved. Taking place on the Halo ringworld, it follows the Master Chief and a group of UNSC Marines as they wage a daytime beachfront assault on the Covenant alien race in search of an ancient Forerunner installation known as The Silent Cartographer.
The level has received critical praise for its visuals and level design, as well as its use of vehicles to enhance gameplay. Called one of the most iconic levels in the Halo series, and one of the best FPS levels of all time, it is credited as a genre-defining level that changed how such levels would be designed in future games from linear, corridor-heavy designs to open spaces emphasizing player freedom. It was also an important aspect of Halo's development, crystallizing the decisions of the development team on the game's genre and visual design language.
## Level content
The player, in the role of Master Chief, starts out flying towards an island on a Pelican dropship, piloted by the character Foehammer. After Master Chief and his fellow Marines touch down on the beach, combat immediately begins against the enemy Covenant. The enemies are too far away to hit effectively, forcing the player to charge up the beach and into the battle. After eliminating a group of hostile aliens, Foehammer drops a Warthog jeep for the player to ride. The player is encouraged to drive further down the beach, where they fight more aliens who have been dropped off by their own ship.
The aliens lock the door of a Forerunner facility, forcing the player back down the beach to find the unlocking system, guarded by a type of powerful Covenant known as Hunters. Following the player's unlocking of the door, they are also forced to contend with Covenant Elites equipped with active camouflage. Following this, the player retrieves a rocket launcher from a downed Pelican. Getting in a new Warthog, the player unlocks the previously sealed door and enters an interior area with more vertical combat. There, the player must fight their way to the Cartographer and past a powerful sword-wielding Elite and their other squad members. When this is complete, they are evacuated via Pelican.
## Development
According to Marcus Lehto, the art director of Halo: Combat Evolved, The Silent Cartographer's design was first inspired by the "amazing beauty" of the Pacific Northwest, when Bungie and its developers moved to Seattle after Microsoft acquired the studio in June 2000. The level was created while Halo was still being planned as a real-time strategy game, and was designed with wide-open spaces that were conducive to such gameplay. However, the fact that the Warthog was so "fun" to drive led the team to change the game's genre, making it an action game. The multiple paths and wide-open areas featured in the level's design forced the team to design missions that did not have to be done in a linear order.
According to The Art of Halo, The Silent Cartographer was used to test aspects of the game while they were in development, such as lighting, visibility, objects and effects. The level was also used for early demonstrations of the game. Lehto stated that "the Forerunner visual language didn't really come together for me until I worked on the level that became 'The Silent Cartographer' in Halo — the 'beach landing' level".
## Reception
G.B. Burford of Kotaku called the level "superb", with a "constant sense that you're making progress as you play through the level". He stated that while the level's generous use of checkpoints gave the impression of the player being on the attack, they are also vulnerable due to being alone for a large part of the level. Alex Dale of GamesRadar+ called the level one that bucked the trend of "tight, claustrophobic corridors" and "blew the walls wide open", "offering the kind of freeform, tactical warfare that fans could only have dreamed about at the time". David Houghton of the same website called the level's design "bogglingly non-linear brilliance", saying that, 13 years later, free-roaming shooter series were still trying to catch up.
Robert Purchese of Eurogamer said that The Silent Cartographer had one of the best beaches in video games, calling it "to this day [...] the greatest Halo campaign level of all time". He stated that "I found myself dumbfounded a video game could immerse me in such a heart-pumping, epic shooter battle". Saying that "what's remarkable about The Silent Cartographer is that no matter what the player does or where the player goes, it doesn't break stride", he stated that, as the player makes their way deeper underground and into the ringworld's interior, "you start to realise that everything is connected in a way that at least creates the illusion of coherence". Claiming that "the island feels real", he concludes that "back in 2001, Halo's beach blew me away. Looking back at old gameplay of The Silent Cartographer now, nearly 20 years later, it still does."
Matt Whittaker of Hardcore Gamer called the level "one of the most iconic missions in the entire series, as it blends Warthog play, labyrinthine interior sections and a blend of every type of Covenant enemy present in Halo: Combat Evolved", praising the improved visual clarity of the Hunter aliens as the best improvement to the level in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Jonathon Dornbrush of Entertainment Weekly ranked The Silent Cartographer the best level in Halo: Combat Evolved, calling it "an impressively long but rarely tedious mission that employs all of Halo's best elements, while also introducing the brutality of Hunters". Andy Kelly of PC Gamer cited the level when professing that Halo was his favorite series game, stating, "that rousing music, the blue skies and sparkling water, the Pelican cruising over the beach, and later, the chance to bounce around in a Warthog. That's peak Halo for me, really." While he admitted that "it's really just a wider linear path than the other levels", he nonetheless added that "the scale gives you a real sense of adventure and freedom". He also included it on his list of best FPS levels of all time. Speedrunner Andrew "Goatrope" Halabourda noted that in 2004, The Silent Cartographer was the most popular single level in Halo to speedrun.
## Legacy
The Silent Cartographer was planned to be featured in the cancelled Halo film. The level influenced the design of future games in the series, such as the level design of Halo: Reach, due to its combination of on-foot and vehicle action, forcing players to board and exit vehicles as they traversed the level. Reach featured a level called The Long Night of Solace which was said to be "a retread of The Silent Cartographer", but which was praised by IGN for being more "epic" and "apocalyptic". The level also received a spiritual successor in the Warzone multiplayer mode of Halo 5: Guardians, which contains a level, Raid on Apex 7, that features a similar environment.
A mission inspired by the level was included in the racing game Forza Horizon 4, including a driveable Warthog.
Gene Park of The Washington Post perceived the open world campaign mode of Halo Infinite as a full-game expansion of The Silent Cartographer, a claim that Natalie Clayton of PC Gamer contested on the grounds that the level only resembles an open world deceptively, and a full-game expansion of The Silent Cartographer would be too linear to truly become one.
|
11,791,882 |
David Falk
| 1,161,483,992 |
American sports agent (born 1950)
|
[
"1950 births",
"American sports agents",
"George Washington University Law School alumni",
"Living people",
"People from Nassau County, New York",
"Syracuse University alumni"
] |
David B. Falk (born 1950) is an American sports agent who primarily works with basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He began his career representing professional tennis players for Donald Dell's ProServ and is best known for representing sports icon Michael Jordan for the entirety of Jordan's career. Besides Jordan, Falk has represented more than 100 other NBA players, and is generally considered to be the most influential player agent the NBA has seen. During the peak years of Falk's career in the 1990s, he was often considered the second-most powerful person in the NBA behind Commissioner David Stern, and in 2000 he had at least one client on all but two NBA teams. He was listed among the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports" for 12 straight years from 1990 to 2001 by The Sporting News, and was also named one of the Top 50 Marketers in the United States by Advertising Age in 1995.
Falk negotiated the then-highest contracts in NBA history for Patrick Ewing and Danny Ferry. He also negotiated professional sports' first US\$100 million contract for Alonzo Mourning as part of an unprecedented free agency period, during which his company, FAME, changed the entire salary structure of the NBA, negotiating more than \$400 million in contracts for its free agent clients in a six-day period.
In January 2007, Falk re-launched FAME, and today serves as its founder and CEO. He represented nine players in 2012; in the prime of his sports agent career in the 1990s he represented as many as 40 players at a time.
## Personal life
Falk was born to a middle-class Jewish family on Long Island, New York, the second of three children. Falk's father had never finished high school and owned two butcher shops on Long Island, while his mother, Pearl Falk, had two master's degrees, spoke six languages, and had worked as an interpreter in World War II for Nelson Rockefeller in Latin American affairs. Falk described his mother, a teacher and inspirational force as "a perfectionist", and called her "the biggest influence in my life", the one who drove him to achieve great heights.
> Nothing was really ever good enough. I brought home my college board scores—I think I got just under 1,400 the first time. She was crushed. She didn't understand how I could do so poorly. I think that I share a lot of those qualities. She used to have an expression that I would say is the guiding principle of my life: Always shoot for the stars and never settle for second best."
Falk's mother was an avid New York Knicks fan, a fact which influenced Falk's career decision upon his career path. Longtime childhood friend and colleague, Attorney Reid Kahn, remembers Falk proclaiming that he wanted to represent professional athletes in the fourth grade. Another high school friend noted that Falk was not good enough to make any of the teams at Douglas MacArthur High School in Levittown, New York, but that he was an ardent sports fan who frequently watched baseball games at Shea Stadium.
He graduated from Syracuse University in 1972, with a degree in economics, and subsequently, George Washington University Law School, where he earned a J.D. with honors in 1975.
During his law school years, his parents separated. Falk maintained minimal contact with his father, but remained very close with his mother until her death in 1988.
Falk lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife, Rhonda (Frank). Rhonda served as an undergraduate admissions counselor for George Washington University for five years. For 10 years she worked as a production manager for a software company in Rockville, Maryland and later moved into the software publishing division and managed the distribution and sales of software through international resellers around the world. She also serves on the board of directors of Woodmont Country Club. They have two daughters, Daina, (born 1983) a graduate of Duke University, and Jocelyn (born 1988) a graduate of Syracuse University.
Falk has been nicknamed The Bird of Prey by former Washington Post sportswriter Tony Kornheiser. He was also portrayed by actor Chris Messina in the 2023 film Air.
## Sports marketing, promotions, and contracts
### ProServ and signing of Michael Jordan
After many attempts to establish contact with agents Bob Woolf of Boston and Larry Fleisher, Falk turned to ProServ's Donald Dell in 1974. Falk attempted to get Dell on the phone for "six or seven weeks." Finally, annoyed at Dell's seeming unavailability, Falk called Dell's office "about 17 times in a three-hour period" until Dell took his call. When Dell informed him that ProServ was not hiring, Falk offered to work for free. Dell consented to take on Falk as an unpaid intern while he was attending law school, finally offering him a full-time job starting at \$13,000 after his graduation from George Washington University Law School in 1975.
Dell was a former pro tennis player and primarily represented tennis players, so he allowed Falk to handle a large portion of ProServ's NBA dealings. Falk proved to be a capable agent and negotiator, as he signed the \#1 NBA draft picks in 1976 (John Lucas) and 1981 (Mark Aguirre), and negotiated the first million-dollar NBA shoe deal for James Worthy in 1982.
ProServ had an inside track with North Carolina after they successfully represented a number of N.C. basketball alumni, including Tom LaGarde, Phil Ford, Dudley Bradley, and James Worthy. In 1984, the same year Michael Jordan entered the NBA draft, Frank Craighill and Lee Fentress, two of Dell's ProServ partners, left to start a competing firm, Advantage International. Dell and Falk signed \#3 pick Jordan, while Craighill and Fentress signed Sam Perkins.
### Nike shoe deal: "Air Jordan"
After signing Jordan, Falk quickly made the first great deal for him: the Nike shoe deal. At the start of the 80s, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a six-figure shoe deal for \$100,000 (with Adidas), and Nike was a small player next to companies like Converse, which had virtually owned the market on basketball shoes through the 1970s. After James Worthy signed an 8-year, \$1.2 million endorsement deal with New Balance in 1982, also negotiated by Falk, Falk decided to make large demands to shoe companies for Jordan's services, including his own shoe line and a royalty.
> We decided to stretch the envelope", Falk said. "Instead of calling up the companies and asking them how much they would pay Michael Jordan, we called them up and asked them to make a presentation and explain what they could do to promote him. Needless to say, this got a lot of quizzical replies."
Unbeknownst to Falk and Jordan, Nike had decided to target Jordan as their player of the future. Jordan himself was initially reticent; throughout college he had worn Converse because of the company's endorsement deal with Tar Heels coach Dean Smith, and off the court, he wore Adidas. Jordan had never worn or even seen a Nike shoe before the company contacted him.
Nike's initial offer was \$250,000, his own shoe line, and a percentage of the revenues. Jordan already had a standing offer from Adidas for \$500,000, and Falk demanded that Nike match the figure in addition to the revenue percentage. Nike came back with an offer of \$500,000 and a smaller cut. Falk agreed.
> "David Falk elected to take more guaranteed money and less revenue percentage", said (Nike Scout) Sonny Vaccaro. "So out of the chute he lost himself a lot of money. But in retrospect, it really amounted to nothing. It wasn't a big-time bidding war. Probably the most determining thing was Adidas wasn't going to offer him a lot of money. It was the first time that the athlete was going to share in the royalties of the shoe. That was the gamble."
The deal was all the more significant because it was considered difficult to market African-American players in 1984, especially in a team sport like basketball. In fact, Nike insisted on several "outs" in its initial contract with Jordan: the shoe line could be dropped if certain sales figures were not met, or if Jordan failed to make the NBA All-Star Game in his first three years. The shoe line was expected to earn \$3 million for Nike in about three to four years. As it turned out, the Air Jordan sneaker earned Nike \$130 million in 1985 alone, making their \$500,000 contract with Jordan one of the great bargains of all time, a precursor to Jordan's more lucrative deals with Nike, including a 1997 deal for \$30 million. Jordan's relationship with Nike is often considered the most successful sports endorsement relationship in history.
### Marketing Michael Jordan
Falk allowed Nike to establish Jordan's primary image, then began splitting it up among other advertisers, including Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Wilson Sporting Goods, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Falk's ideas stretched to all areas of the marketplace, including a fragrance (called simply "Michael Jordan") made by the Beverly Hills designer Bijan, which was cited as the best-marketed product of 1996 by the American Marketing Association. Falk even came up with the idea of teaming Bugs Bunny and Jordan together in a feature film, and then sold the concept to Warner Bros. in 1993. The ensuing film, Space Jam, was executive produced by Falk and released in 1996. Perhaps most importantly, Falk "set a precedent by 'opting out' Jordan from the league's licensing program, in effect reclaiming Jordan's image for his own use."
> A lot of people don't like David, but he's the best at what he does", Jordan told USA Today last year. "What he does is get underneath your skin, whoever he's negotiating with, because he figures out what your objectives are, your angles. He understands the market; he understands the players. He's a brash, arrogant, egotistical, aggressive negotiator, which is good, because when you have someone represent you, you want him to do that. Marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.'"
Due partly to Falk's tenacity and partly to Michael Jordan's own professional success and personal magnetism, Jordan became "indisputably the most powerful and effective endorser of products in American history, ... (making) the business of hawking products more lucrative than playing the game." Jordan's success was such that he turned down \$300 million worth of endorsement deals in the space of four months in 1998.
### ProServ split, establishment and sale of FAME
In 1992, after great early success, Falk considered himself underpaid and underappreciated. He split with ProServ and Donald Dell to establish his own company, Falk Associates Management Enterprises (FAME).
> I paid more in taxes this year (1996) than I earned in 17 years working for Donald Dell", Falk said with some lingering bitterness. "I'm all for loyalty, but that has to be a two-way street."
In the split, a messy professional divorce, Falk brought all of his considerable client list with him, but agreed to provide Dell with 50% of fees for Dell's former clients and 17.5% of Falk's income for new contracts. Dell "sought arbitration to enforce the agreement, claiming that Falk 'unilaterally' had rewritten clients' third-party contracts to reduce fees to Dell."
Falk and partners Curtis Polk and Mike Higgins soon propelled FAME to the top of the NBA player representation business. At its peak, the company consisted of about 25 people and represented 45 players. During FAME's seven year existence, it represented "an unprecedented six first-round draft picks in the NBA, negotiated over \$400 million in contracts for its free-agent clients, and negotiated four of the five largest contracts in team sports history." Just prior to the company's sale in 1998, the contracts of Falk's players totaled almost \$800 million.
In 1998, Falk sold FAME to the entertainment group SFX for \$100 million, while remaining the group's president. In the space of a year, SFX bought 14 private sports representation companies for a combined \$1.5 billion and consolidated them into SFX Sports Group in 1999, naming Falk as Chairman. One of the companies SFX acquired was ProServ, and Falk found himself in charge of the company that he had left on such bitter terms.
During his Chairmanship at SFX Sports Group from 1999 to 2001, "Falk oversaw the acquisition of a dozen sports agencies that enabled SFX to represent approximately 20 percent of MLB and NBA players." Largely due to the work of Falk and fellow agent Arn Tellem, the umbrella SFX Sports Group represented 78 NBA players in contract negotiations in 2000, and came to represent approximately one-third of NBA players in 2002.
## 1995 and 1998 NBA lockouts
### 1995 NBA lockout
Falk was one of the key figures in the 1995 NBA lockout. The lockout originally occurred when the players wanted a soft salary cap, while the owners wanted a hard salary cap. Falk led a rebellion on the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) by establishing a dissident faction of 16 players and a number of agents (including players Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Reggie Miller, and fellow agents Marc Fleisher and Arn Tellem) that began advocating for NBPA decertification. The goal was to strip NBA management of antitrust protection, making the salary cap and other forms of collective bargaining violations of antitrust laws, win a settlement in court, and then immediately re-form the Players' Union. NBA Commissioner David Stern criticized Falk's involvement in the negotiations, saying that he was "trashing his own clients." Kenny Gattison, the Charlotte Hornets' player representative, went so far as to blame the entire lockout on Falk.
> I think this whole thing has been manufactured by David Falk", Gattison told The Charlotte Observer Friday night. "The guys he used to initiate the decertification drive aren't concerned with the union and the everyday little guy. These guys have been in the league 10 or 11 years and have yet to voice an opinion about what's going on. Then all of a sudden David Falk doesn't like what's going on."
Despite considerable support, decertification was defeated by a vote of the Players' Union, 226–134. But even though Falk did not manage to decertify the NBPA, his influence helped to lead to the abandonment of a luxury tax on salaries, and ultimately led to a deal that increased the players' portion of NBA revenues from 52% to 57%, as well as the salary structure that saw Michael Jordan make \$33 million for the 1998 season alone. Some argued that the concessions Falk gained from the owners through his role in the 1995 lockout were the primary cause of another lockout that occurred just three seasons later.
### 1998–99 NBA lockout
During the 1998–99 lockout, Falk was often described as the "invisible hand" that guided union negotiations. The NBPA President during the lockout, Patrick Ewing, was a client of Falk's. Falk was also the agent of "nearly half" of the union's 19-member negotiating committee, including Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, and Dikembe Mutombo. Though his presence in negotiations was already assumed, Falk publicly stated in an article in The New York Times, on October 31, 1998, that he would "roll up his sleeves and exert as much influence as he (could) behind the scenes,... (planning) to take a more proactive role in ending the lockout."
Shortly after his statements in The New York Times article, Falk and Arn Tellem, who together represented more than 70 of the NBA's 400 players, organized a charity exhibition game, with part of the proceeds going to financially pinched NBA players. The rosters had a number of Falk clients, and some saw the game as a threat by Falk "to create a new league through a partnership with the entertainment giant SFX, which [had] recently purchased Falk's company for \$150 million." The game was played on December 19, 1998 in the Atlantic City Convention Center, featuring 16 All-Stars and drawing a crowd of about 6,000 people. Falk and the other organizers had originally planned to give 90% of the proceeds to NBA players, but public criticism caused them to instead give almost all of the \$1 million to national and local charities.
Meanwhile, Falk was being criticized on multiple fronts for his role in lockout negotiations. NBA Commissioner David Stern accused Falk and Arn Tellem specifically of "holding the deal hostage" to reap benefits for their high-end clients. Fellow player agent Harold MacDonald disparaged what he saw as Falk's excessive influence on the union's president, Patrick Ewing:
> Every time I see Patrick say something, it's almost like watching the Energizer bunny", said the agent Harold MacDonald, who represents Derrick Coleman and Terry Mills. "I'm just waiting for Falk to put in another battery, and off Patrick goes again. Hardly any influence? Give me a break."
Isiah Thomas, who was President of the Players' Union from 1988 to 1994, blasted Falk by saying that "he's been trying to take over the union for years," and many saw Falk as the controlling influence in the union's negotiations. Falk's involvement in the 1998 lockout also led to Mike Lupica famously dubbing Falk "Rasputin off the bench" in a New York Daily News article, "the rare person who could make a writer root for a sports owner." The lockout finally ended just 29 hours before the cancellation of the entire NBA season after the players overwhelmingly ratified the latest deal put forward, 179-5.
## Influence and inspiration
### Facilitating NBA trades
Falk's client list, with Michael Jordan its centerpiece, made him one of the primary movers and shakers in the NBA, able to leverage teams into agreeing to his terms on contracts and trades. Some speculated that Falk engineered as many as one of every five NBA trades during the height of his power, and he was often considered the second-most powerful man in basketball behind NBA Commissioner David Stern. In The Sporting News list of the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports", Falk was listed no lower than \#32 for 10 straight years from 1991 to 2000, peaking at \#14 from 1998 to 1999.
> Falk has massive leverage", says the general manager of one N.B.A. team who didn't want his name used for fear of angering Falk. "If he just had Michael, he would be considered a marketing genius, which he is. But David represents so many players that he is a major force. He pretty much gets what he asks for."
A 1999 deal in which Falk forced the Minnesota Timberwolves to trade Stephon Marbury gives a good indication of how Falk used his power. Falk threatened the Timberwolves by telling them that Marbury would walk away in free agency at the end of the season if he was not traded, as well as suggesting that he would dump his stable of free agents into the lap of Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause if Marbury was not moved. As the Minnesota Timberwolves started looking around for possible trade scenarios, Falk even went so far as to veto a trade that would have brought Kerry Kittles (another Falk client) to Minnesota for Marbury, claiming that Kittles had no interest in playing for Minnesota. The Timberwolves were eventually forced to send Marbury to New Jersey in a three-team trade. Minnesota's General Manager, Kevin McHale, was greatly embittered about the trade, and has been quoted as saying that "If a nuclear bomb dropped on earth, two things would survive: roaches and David Falk."
A second trade which resulted from Falk's influence was the 2000 mega-deal which moved Knicks All-Star center Patrick Ewing to the Seattle SuperSonics in a four-team trade involving 12 players and 5 draft picks. Falk apparently made threats to the Knicks that he would move Glen Rice to the Miami Heat if they did not consent to trade Ewing, who supposedly wanted out of New York.
Falk was frequently blasted for making use of threats and side-deals to move his clients around and maximize their earnings, but he remained unapologetic, arguing that he was simply looking after the best interests of his clients.
> That's called leverage", he said. "Every company in the world uses leverage whenever they engage in any negotiation. It's bad for the teams and good for the players. I work for the players."
### Building wealth for clients and himself
As early as 1992, even before his departure from ProServ, other NBA agents had begun acknowledging that Falk generally negotiated the contracts that defined the market for the year, and set the standard by which other agents were judged. By the end of the 1995 NBA lockout, Falk controlled enough top players that he was seen as "dictat(ing) the structure and the economics of the entire league," so much so that during one six-day period in the summer of 1996, he negotiated six contracts—for Jordan, Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, Kenny Anderson, Dikembe Mutombo and Lee Mayberry—worth more than \$335 million. Since Falk usually earned 4% of player contracts, which is the maximum amount allowed by the Players' Union, he made roughly \$13 million for these six deals alone. He was so successful at negotiating contracts that in 1998, just before he sold FAME to SFX Entertainment, the contracts of Falk's players totaled just under \$800 million.
Falk also earned as much as 20% of player endorsement deals and off-court income, and with Michael Jordan's endorsement deals alone soaring to over \$40 million annually in the mid-90s, Falk counted his yearly income in the tens of millions. He also negotiated notable shoe endorsements for James Worthy, Boomer Esiason (the first NFL player to endorse the Reebok Pump) and Allen Iverson. Falk was not well-liked around the league, with even NBA executives acknowledging that they felt he held a disproportionate amount of power. As the negotiator behind four of the five largest contracts in team sports history and the pre-eminent agent in the NBA, Falk was a contributor to the spike in player salaries that saw the average NBA contract rise from \$330,000 in 1984, the year Jordan was signed, to \$4.5 million in 2001, when he stepped down as Chairman of SFX Sports Group. Falk himself scoffed at the venom that was frequently directed his way:
> There's always something to criticize -- I have too much power or too many clients. I scoff at that. Think about it: If you lived on a block with \$300,000 houses and you sold yours for \$2.5 million, your neighbors would thank you. But in my business they don't. That used to make me angry. Now I'm just amused.
### Professional legacy
Falk's enduring legacy can best be described as the NBA's new star-centered focus. Falk's idea was that since most people bought Chicago Bulls tickets to see Michael Jordan, Jordan himself should get a large proportion of the benefit.
> Basketball is a hybrid between an individual and team sport", Falk is saying. "Very gifted players almost make a team by themselves. In that environment, a Michael Jordan, Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, Shaquille O'Neal and Patrick Ewing bring in the fans. Fans come to watch them play primarily. They create marketing opportunities, new stadiums, luxury boxes, and they should be paid a disproportionate amount of money. The salary structure should be close to what it is in Hollywood, where Jim Carrey makes \$16 million a film and the second star makes \$2 million. That's what I believe as an economics major and as a neo-capitalist."
As David Halberstam put it in his book Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made,
> Michael Jordan and David Falk helped make each other, and each profited to a remarkable degree from their special collaboration. It is true that Michael Jordan was the person who in the end actually did the deeds, went on the court and hit the final jump shot again and again, but it is also true that David Falk helped revolutionize the process of representing a basketball player, going into a team sport and creating the idea of the individual player as a commercial superstar.
### Personal legacy and philanthropy
On April 23, 2008, Syracuse University established The David B. Falk Center for Sport Management, an annex to the Carrier Dome, to better prepare graduates to enter the sports industry, and student-athletes to manage realities of professional sports through life-skills training, in its College of Human Ecology. It was supported by a \$5 million gift from Falk and his wife Rhonda. The Falk Center's inaugural event was a panel discussion on issues in contemporary sports at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Falk is chair of the university's Sport Management Advisory Board.
On June 22, 2009, it was announced that Rick Burton was named the David B. Falk Distinguished Professor of Sport Management and will begin his position on August 20, teaching courses in international sport, sport communications and sport marketing while pursuing scholarly work, research and other academic initiatives in the Department of Sport Management. Burton was the first executive director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business, chief marketing officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee and commissioner of the National Basketball League in Sydney, Australia.
On March 24, 2011 it was announced that Falk had made a pledge of an additional \$15 million to Syracuse University and "The David B. Falk Center for Sports Management" to establish the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
In 2014, Falk and Patrick Ewing announced a \$3.3 million donation to the John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletics Center under construction at Georgetown University. The amount is a reference to Ewing's number, 33.
On Oct. 23, 2015, the Dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Diane Lyden Murphy, led a dedication ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new home of the college. For the first time in the college's history—which dates back to 1917 when the School of Home Economics began as a course in the College of Agriculture and the first nutrition course was taught—Falk College's academic disciplines and administrative offices are housed in a central location.
## Other ventures
Falk is also on the board of directors of Sapphire Brands; a founding investor in private aviation company, Marquis Jet and Golf GCX Partners; and a founder and principal in Relevad Media Group, a digital alternative advertising company. Falk is a frequent guest lecturer at universities across the country, including Harvard, Yale, and Duke, and serves on the George Washington University National Law Center's advisory board.
> My mother was a teacher, and I think that's one reason that, amidst my deal-making skills, I have a very strong pedagogical bent", he says. "I really enjoy teaching, and believe it is one of the most important professions in our society."
### Executive Producer
Falk executive produced a number of sports-related films, including Space Jam, which teamed Jordan with a number of Looney Tunes characters, Michael Jordan to the Max, the critically acclaimed large-format feature, and the Sports Emmy Award-winning On Hallowed Ground, a documentary on the history of the Rucker Park Basketball League.
### The Bald Truth
Falk's first book, The Bald Truth, was released on February 3, 2009.
## Partial client list
Falk's 2014 NBA player clients are in bold*', while his non-NBA player clients are in italics*.
|
63,875,485 |
Never again
| 1,168,713,397 |
Phrase associated with the Holocaust and other genocides
|
[
"Aftermath of the Holocaust",
"English words and phrases",
"Genocide prevention",
"Holocaust terminology",
"Linguistic controversies"
] |
"Never again" is a phrase or slogan which is associated with the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. The phrase may originate from a 1927 poem by Yitzhak Lamdan which stated "Never again shall Masada fall!" In the context of genocide, the slogan was used by liberated prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp to express anti-fascist sentiment. The exact meaning of the phrase is debated, including whether it should be used as a particularistic command to avert a second Holocaust of Jews or whether it is a universalist injunction to prevent all forms of genocide.
The phrase is widely used by politicians and writers and it also appears on many Holocaust memorials. It has also been appropriated as a political slogan for other causes, from commemoration of the 1976 Argentine coup, the promotion of gun control or abortion rights, and as an injunction to fight against terrorism after the September 11 attacks.
## Origins
The slogan "Never again shall Masada fall!" is derived from a 1927 epic poem, Masada, by Yitzhak Lamdan. The poem is about the siege of Masada, in which a group of Jewish rebels (the Sicarii) held out against Roman armies and, according to legend, committed mass suicide rather than be captured. In Zionism, the story of Masada became a national myth and was lauded as an example of Jewish heroism. Considered one of the most significant examples of early Yishuv literature, Masada achieved massive popularity among Zionists in the land of Israel and in the Jewish diaspora. Masada became a part of the official Hebrew curriculum and the slogan became an unofficial national motto. In postwar Israel, the behavior of Jews during the Holocaust was unfavorably contrasted with the behavior of the defenders of Masada: the former were denigrated for having gone "like sheep to the slaughter" while the latter were praised for their heroic and resolute fight.
Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its allies murdered about six million Jews in a genocide which became known as the Holocaust. The Nazi attempt to implement their final solution to the Jewish question took place during World War II in Europe. The first use of the phrase "never again" in the context of the Holocaust was in April 1945 when newly liberated survivors at Buchenwald concentration camp displayed it in various languages on handmade signs. Cultural studies scholars Diana I. Popescu and Tanja Schult write that there was initially a distinction between political prisoners, who invoked "never again" as part of their fight against fascism, and Jewish survivors, whose imperative was to "never forget" their murdered relatives and destroyed communities. They write that the distinction has been blurred in the subsequent decades as the Holocaust was universalised. According to the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 because "the international community vowed never again to allow" the atrocities of World War II, and the Genocide Convention was adopted the same year. Eric Sundquist notes that "the founding of Israel was predicated on the injunction to remember a history of destruction—the destruction of two Temples, exile and pogroms, and the Holocaust—and to ensure that such events will never happen again". The slogan "never again" was used on Israeli kibbutzim by the end of the 1940s, and was used in the Swedish documentary Mein Kampf [de] in 1961.
## Definition
According to Hans Kellner, "Unpacking the semantic contents of 'Never Again' would be an enormous task. Suffice it to say that this phrase, despite its non-imperative form as a speech act, orders someone to resolve that something shall not happen for a second time. The someone, in the first instance, is a Jew; the something is usually called the Holocaust." Kellner suggests that it is related to the "biblical imperative of memory" (zakhor), in Deuteronomy 5:15, "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm." (In the bible, this refers to remembering and keeping Shabbat). It is also closely related to the biblical command in Exodus 23:9: "You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt."
The initial meaning of the phrase, used by Abba Kovner and other Holocaust survivors, was particular to the Jewish community but the phrase's meaning was later broadened to other genocides. It is still a matter of debate whether "Never again" refers primarily to Jews ("Never again can we allow Jews to be victims of another Holocaust") or whether it has a universal meaning ("Never again shall the world allow genocide to take place anywhere against any group"). However, most politicians use it in the latter sense. The phrase is used commonly in postwar German politics, but it has different meanings. According to one interpretation, because Nazism was a synthesis of preexisting aspects of German political thought and an extreme form of ethnic nationalism, all forms of German nationalism should be rejected. Other politicians argue that the Nazis "misused" appeals to patriotism and that a new German identity should be built.
Writing about the phrase, Ellen Posman observed: "A past though often recent humiliation, and an emphasis on former victimhood, can lead to a communal desire for a show of strength that can easily turn violent." Meir Kahane, a far-right rabbi, and his Jewish Defense League made use of the phrase. To Kahane and his followers, "Never again" referred specifically to the Jews and its imperative to fight antisemitism was a call to arms that justified terrorism against perceived enemies. The Jewish Defense League song included the passage "To our slaughtered brethren and lonely widows: / Never again will our people's blood be shed by water, / Never again will such things be heard in Judea." After Kahane's death in 1990, Sholom Comay, president of the American Jewish Committee, said "Despite our considerable differences, Meir Kahane must always be remembered for the slogan 'Never Again,' which for so many became the battle cry of post-Holocaust Jewry."
## Contemporary usage
According to Aaron Dorfman, "Since the Holocaust, the Jewish community's attitude toward preventing genocide has been summed up in the moral philosophy of 'Never Again.'" What this meant was that the Jews would not allow themselves to be victimized. The phrase has been used in many official commemorations and appears on many Holocaust memorials and museums, including memorials at Treblinka extermination camp and Dachau concentration camp, as well as in commemoration of the Rwandan genocide.
It is in wide use by Holocaust survivors, politicians, writers, and other commentators, who invoke it for a variety of purposes. In 2012, Elie Wiesel wrote: "'Never again' becomes more than a slogan: It's a prayer, a promise, a vow ... never again the glorification of base, ugly, dark violence." The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum made the phrase, in its universal sense, the theme of its 2013 Days of Remembrance, urging people to look out for the "warning signs" of genocide.
In 2016, Samuel Totten suggested that the "once powerful admonition [has] become a cliché" because it is repeatedly used even as genocides continue to occur, and condemnation of genocide tends to only occur after it is already over. For an increasing number of critics, the phrase has become empty and overused. Others, including Adama Dieng, have noted that genocide has continued to occur, not never again but "time and again" or "again and again" after World War II. In 2020, several critics of the Chinese government used the phrase to refer to the perceived lack of international reaction to the Uyghur genocide. On 1 March 2022, after the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center was hit by Russian missiles and shells during the battle of Kyiv, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued that "never again" means not being silent about Russia's aggression, lest history repeat itself.
Multiple United States presidents, including Jimmy Carter in 1979, Ronald Reagan in 1984, George H. W. Bush in 1991, Bill Clinton in 1993, and Barack Obama in 2011, have promised that the Holocaust would not happen again, and that action would be forthcoming to stop genocide. However, genocide occurred during their presidencies: Cambodia in Carter's case, Anfal genocide during Reagan's presidency, Bosnia for Bush and Clinton, Rwanda under Clinton, and Yazidi genocide for Obama. Elie Wiesel wrote that if "never again" were upheld "there would be no Cambodia, and no Rwanda and no Darfur and no Bosnia." Totten argued that the phrase would only recover its gravitas if "no one but those who are truly serious about preventing another Holocaust" invoked it.
## Other uses
In Argentina, the phrase Nunca más (never more) is used in annual commemorations of the 1976 Argentine coup, to emphasize continued opposition to military coups, dictatorship, and political violence, and a commitment to democracy and human rights.
In Brazil, "never again" has been used as a motif by groups that opposed the Brazilian military dictatorship since the 1980s, starting with the book Brazil: Never Again, the human rights organisation Torture Never Again, and the monument of the same name.
In the Philippines, "never again" has been used as a rallying cry for the commemoration and remembrance of martial law under Ferdinand Marcos, and is usually chanted alongside the phrase "never forget" on occasions such as the annual commemorations of the declaration of martial law on September 21, and on the anniversary of the People Power Revolution on February 25, which is a public holiday in the country.
"Never again" has also been used in commemoration of Japanese American internment and the Chinese Exclusion Act.
After the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush declared that terrorism would be allowed to triumph "never again". He referenced the phrase when defending the trial of non-citizens in military courts for terrorism-related offenses and mass surveillance policies adopted by his administration. Bush commented, "Foreign terrorists and agents must never again be allowed to use our freedoms against us." His words echoed a speech that his father had given after winning the Gulf War: "never again be held hostage to the darker side of human nature".
The phrase has been used by political advocacy groups Never Again Action, which opposes immigration detention in the United States, and by Never Again MSD, a group that campaigns against gun violence in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas shooting.
## See also
- Responsibility to protect
- The war to end war
- Never Forget (disambiguation)
- Lest we forget
|
31,654 |
Third Amendment to the United States Constitution
| 1,157,884,877 |
1791 amendment restricting quartering of soldiers in private homes
|
[
"1791 in American law",
"1791 in American politics",
"United States Bill of Rights"
] |
The Third Amendment (Amendment III) to the United States Constitution places restrictions on the quartering (the placement and/or sheltering) of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, forbidding the practice in peacetime. The amendment is a response to the Quartering Acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain during the buildup to the American Revolutionary War, which had allowed the British Army to lodge soldiers in public buildings.
The Third Amendment was introduced in Congress in 1789 by James Madison as a part of the United States Bill of Rights, in response to Anti-Federalist objections to the new Constitution. Congress proposed the amendment to the states on September 28, 1789, and by December 15, 1791, the necessary three-quarters of the states had ratified it. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson announced the adoption of the amendment on March 1, 1792.
The amendment is one of the least controversial of the Constitution and is rarely litigated, with criminal justice writer Radley Balko calling it the "runt piglet" of the U.S. Constitution. To date, it has never been the primary basis of a Supreme Court decision, though it was the basis of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit case Engblom v. Carey in 1982.
## Text
> No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
## Background
In 1765, the British parliament enacted the first of the Quartering Acts, requiring the American colonies to pay the costs of British soldiers serving in the colonies, and requiring that if the local barracks provided insufficient space, that the colonists lodge the troops in alehouses, inns, and livery stables. After the Boston Tea Party, the Quartering Act of 1774 was enacted. As one of the Intolerable Acts that pushed the colonies toward revolution, it authorized British troops to be housed wherever necessary, including in private homes. The quartering of troops was cited as one of the colonists' grievances in the United States Declaration of Independence.
## Adoption
After several years of comparatively weak government under the Articles of Confederation, a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia proposed a new constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring a stronger chief executive and other changes. George Mason, a Constitutional Convention delegate and the drafter of Virginia's Declaration of Rights, proposed that a bill of rights listing and guaranteeing civil liberties be included. Other delegates—including future Bill of Rights drafter James Madison—disagreed, arguing that existing state guarantees of civil liberties were sufficient and that any attempt to enumerate individual rights risked implying that other, unnamed rights were unprotected. After a brief debate, Mason's proposal was defeated by a unanimous vote of the state delegations.
For the constitution to be ratified, however, nine of the thirteen states were required to approve it in state conventions. Opposition to ratification ("Anti-Federalism") was partly based on the Constitution's lack of adequate guarantees for civil liberties. Supporters of the Constitution in states where popular sentiment was against ratification (including Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York) successfully proposed that their state conventions both ratify the Constitution and call for the addition of a bill of rights. Several state conventions specifically proposed a provision against the quartering of troops in private homes. At the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention, Patrick Henry stated, "One of our first complaints, under the former government, was the quartering of troops among us. This was one of the principal reasons for dissolving the connection with Great Britain. Here we may have troops in time of peace. They may be billeted in any manner—to tyrannize, oppress, and crush us."
### Proposal and ratification
In the 1st United States Congress, following the state legislatures' request, James Madison proposed twenty constitutional amendments based on state bills of rights and English sources such as the Bill of Rights 1689; one of these was a prohibition against quartering troops in private homes. Several revisions to the future Third Amendment were proposed in Congress, which chiefly differed in the way in which peace and war were distinguished (including the possibility of a situation, such as unrest, which was neither peace nor war), and whether the executive or the legislature would have the authority to authorize quartering. However, the amendment ultimately passed Congress almost unchanged and by unanimous vote. Congress reduced Madison's proposed twenty amendments to twelve, and these were submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789.
By the time the Bill of Rights was submitted to the states for ratification, opinions had shifted in both parties. Many Federalists, who had previously opposed a Bill of Rights, now supported the Bill as a means of silencing the Anti-Federalists' most effective criticism. Many Anti-Federalists, in contrast, now opposed it, realizing the Bill's adoption would greatly lessen the chances of a second constitutional convention, which they desired. Anti-Federalists such as Richard Henry Lee also argued that the Bill left the most objectionable portions of the Constitution, such as the federal judiciary and direct taxation, intact.
On November 20, 1789, New Jersey ratified eleven of the twelve amendments, rejecting Article II, which regulated Congressional pay raises. On December 19 and 22, respectively, Maryland and North Carolina ratified all twelve amendments. On January 19, 25, and 28, 1790, respectively, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Delaware ratified the Bill, though New Hampshire rejected the amendment on Congressional pay raises, and Delaware rejected Article I, which regulated the size of the House. This brought the total of ratifying states to six of the required ten, but the process stalled in other states: Connecticut and Georgia found a Bill of Rights unnecessary and so refused to ratify, while Massachusetts ratified most of the amendments, but failed to send official notice to the Secretary of State that it had done so.
In February through June 1790, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island ratified eleven of the amendments, though all three rejected the amendment on Congressional pay raises. Virginia initially postponed its debate, but after Vermont was admitted to the Union in 1791, the total number of states needed for ratification rose to eleven. Vermont ratified on November 3, 1791, approving all twelve amendments, and Virginia finally followed on December 15, 1791. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson announced the adoption of the ten successfully ratified amendments on March 1, 1792.
## Judicial interpretation
The Third Amendment is among the least cited sections of the U.S. Constitution. In the words of Encyclopædia Britannica, "as the history of the country progressed with little conflict on American soil, the amendment has had little occasion to be invoked." To date, no major Supreme Court decision has used the amendment as its primary basis.
The legal historian Tom W. Bell argued in 1993 that the quartering of American soldiers during the War of 1812 and American Civil War violated the Third Amendment, but this argument was never presented in court during either war. Following the Civil War, the Army compensated property owners for rent and damages, which may have preempted Third Amendment claims.
The Third Amendment has been invoked in a few instances as helping establish an implicit right to privacy in the Constitution. Justice William O. Douglas used the amendment along with others in the Bill of Rights as a partial basis for the majority decision in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which cited the Third Amendment as implying a belief that an individual's home should be free from agents of the state.
In one of the seven opinions in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), Justice Robert H. Jackson cited the Third Amendment as providing evidence of the Framers' intent to constrain executive power even during wartime:
> [t]hat military powers of the Commander in Chief were not to supersede representative government of internal affairs seems obvious from the Constitution and from elementary American history. Time out of mind, and even now in many parts of the world, a military commander can seize private housing to shelter his troops. Not so, however, in the United States, for the Third Amendment says ... [E]ven in war time, his seizure of needed military housing must be authorized by Congress.
One of the few times a federal court was asked to invalidate a law or action on Third Amendment grounds was in Engblom v. Carey (1982). In 1979, prison officials in New York organized a strike; they were evicted from their prison facility residences, which were reassigned to members of the National Guard who had temporarily taken their place as prison guards. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled: (1) that the term owner in the Third Amendment includes tenants (paralleling similar cases regarding the Fourth Amendment, governing search and seizure), (2) National Guard troops are "soldiers" for purposes of the Third Amendment, and (3) that the Third Amendment is incorporated (applies to the states) by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case was remanded to the district court, which dismissed it on the grounds that state officials could not have been aware of this interpretation.
In the most recent Third Amendment decision handed down by a federal court, on February 2, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada held in Mitchell v. City of Henderson that the Third Amendment does not apply to intrusions by municipal police officers as, despite their appearance and equipment, they are not soldiers. For his claims under the Third Amendment, Mitchell had alleged that the police used his house as a lookout point.
In an earlier case, United States v. Valenzuela (1951), the defendant asked that a federal rent-control law be struck down because it was "the incubator and hatchery of swarms of bureaucrats to be quartered as storm troopers upon the people in violation of Amendment III of the United States Constitution." The court declined his request. Later, in Jones v. United States Secretary of Defense (1972), Army reservists unsuccessfully cited the Third Amendment as justification for refusing to march in a parade. Similar arguments in a variety of contexts have been denied in other cases.
## See also
- Dragonnades
- List of amendments to the United States Constitution
- Quartering Acts
|
25,400,681 |
Potamon fluviatile
| 1,056,034,867 |
Species of crab
|
[
"Crustaceans described in 1785",
"Freshwater crustaceans of Europe",
"Near threatened animals",
"Potamoidea"
] |
Potamon fluviatile is a freshwater crab found in or near wooded streams, rivers and lakes in Southern Europe. It is an omnivore with broad ecological tolerances, and adults typically reach 50 mm (2 in) in size during their 10–12 year lifespan. They inhabit burrows and are aggressive, apparently outcompeting native crayfish.
P. fluviatile has been harvested for food since classical antiquity, and is now threatened by overexploitation. Many of the island populations are particularly vulnerable, and the Maltese subspecies has become a conservation icon. A population in Rome may have been brought there before the founding of the Roman Empire.
## Description
Adult Potamon fluviatile may reach a carapace length of 50 millimetres (2.0 in), with females being generally smaller than males. As with other crabs, the body is roughly square, with the reduced abdomen tucked beneath the thorax. The thorax bears five pairs of legs, the first of which is armed with large claws.
The life span of P. fluviatile is typically 10–12 years. Moulting does not occur in winter. Mating lasts between 30 min and 21 hours, with spawning usually taking place in August. Females carry the eggs on their pleopods (appendages on the abdomen) until they hatch directly into juvenile crabs, having passed through the larval stages inside the egg.
Potamon fluviatile is edible, as indicated by its alternative specific epithet edulis, and was known to the ancient Greeks; it is probably this species which they depicted on medals found at Agrigento, Sicily. More recently, the species was depicted on the 5¢ coin in the last series of Maltese coins before the introduction of the Euro there in 2007.
## Ecology
Potamon fluviatile has a generalist diet, feeding on vegetable debris, scraping algae from surfaces, or preying on frogs, tadpoles, and various invertebrates, such as insect larvae, snails or worms. No predator seems to specialise on P. fluviatile, but a number of animals take it opportunistically, including rats, foxes, weasels, birds of prey and jays. The most significant predator may be mankind, with individual prospectors able to catch 3,000 to 10,000 in one season.
Adults occupy burrows, while smaller individuals shelter under stones. The entrances to the burrows may be more than 5 m (16 ft) from the stream's edge and are always above water level. The burrows may be more than 80 cm (31 in) long, and probably serve to protect the crabs from extreme cold.
Potamon fluviatile is an aggressive species, mostly attacking with the larger right claw, since 90% of individuals are right-handed.
In the Tosco-Emilian Apennines, P. fluviatile is only found south of the watershed, in contrast with the crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes, which occurs on both sides on the mountains. Although their ranges overlap, the two species do not inhabit the same water courses, apparently because the crab outcompetes the crayfish, which is therefore forced to live in less favourable locations where the crab cannot survive. Non-indigenous crayfish may pose a greater threat to P. fluviatile than native crayfish, although the greatest threats remain pollution, overfishing and the draining of wetlands.
## Distribution
The natural range of Potamon fluviatile is highly fragmented, and covers parts of many countries with a Mediterranean coastline. It is found in mainland Italy and on the Balkan Peninsula from Dalmatia to the Axios River in Greece. It is also found on a number of islands, including Sicily, Malta and Gozo, the Ionian Islands, Aegean Islands, Sporades and Andros in the Cyclades. Although the species as a whole is widespread, it is declining in numbers, and these insular populations are particularly vulnerable.
### Italy
Potamon fluviatile is widely distributed in much of mainland Italy, especially in the provinces of Trento, Lombardy, Veneto, Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Apulia, and Calabria, as well as on the island of Sicily. Although it used to be found as far north as Lake Garda, P. fluviatile no longer occurs north of the River Po.
In 1997 a population of P. fluviatile was discovered under the ruins of Trajan's Forum in the heart of Rome, living in canals built by the Etruscans which connect to the Cloaca Maxima. Based on a genetic analysis, which demonstrated that these crabs were similar to those in Greece, researchers believe that they had been brought by the Greeks before the founding of the city, some 3000 years ago. The crabs' unusual size, up to 12 cm (4.7 in), and longevity (up to 15 years) are also interpreted as evidence of a long-established population, by analogy with island gigantism.
### Malta
On the island of Malta, Potamon fluviatile is rare and restricted to a few locations in the west of the island. On Gozo, there is a single population which inhabits part of a valley only 700 metres (770 yd) long.
### Balkans
In the Balkan Peninsula, Potamon fluviatile is known to occur in Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. There are four species of Potamon in the Balkans, and P. fluviatile is replaced by Potamon ibericum in northeastern Greece. In mainland Greece, P. fluviatile is found in the drainages of the Axios, Thyamis, Aheron and Arachthos, Pineiós, Piros-Tethreas, Pamisos and Evrotas rivers.
In the Ionian Islands, P. fluviatile is known to occur at only one site on Corfu, as well as on Kefalonia, Lefkada and Zakynthos. In the Aegean Islands, it is found on Skiathos and Skopelos (Sporades), on Euboea and Skyros, and at a single site on Andros in the Cyclades.
## Taxonomy
Potamon fluviatile is at the western distributional limit of the genus Potamon. Other species in the genus occur through Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and across Central Asia as far east as northwestern India. The populations of P. fluviatile on the Peloponnese, Kefalonia, and Zakynthos may represent a separate, cryptic species, and the population from the Peloponnese was described in 2010 as P. pelops.
P. fluviatile was formerly divided into three subspecies: P. f. algeriense, P. f. berghetripsorum and P. f. fluviatile. The first two of these live in North Africa, and were later combined and separated from P. fluviatile as the species Potamon algeriense. By 1983, the nominate subspecies (equivalent to the current circumscription of the species P. fluviatile) had been divided into six nationes, or "tribes". Natio fluviatilis was found in northern Italy, natio tarantium in southern Italy, and nationes thessalonis, kühnelti and laconis were found in parts of Greece. The geographical distribution of natio leucosis was not reported, and it was suggested that a further (undescribed) tribe inhabited the Greek island of Andros. Despite this wealth of infraspecific taxa, they are rarely used by scientists, and some have questioned directly the value of defining infraspecific taxa within P. fluviatile. In 1990, the population on Malta was described as a separate subspecies, Potamon fluviatile lanfrancoi, and that taxon has become a conservation icon in Malta following its legal protection in 1993, although not all scientists recognise the taxon.
|
25,952,125 |
Typhoon Angela (1989)
| 1,171,125,536 |
Pacific typhoon in 1989
|
[
"1989 Pacific typhoon season",
"1989 disasters in the Philippines",
"Typhoons",
"Typhoons in Vietnam",
"Typhoons in the Philippines"
] |
Typhoon Angela, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rubing, was an intense tropical cyclone that formed in late September 1989. The storm developed from a tropical disturbance in the monsoon trough and moved generally westward throughout its duration. The storm ultimately peaked in intensity as a super typhoon and struck northern Luzon in the Philippines. After weakening and traversing the South China Sea, Angela bypassed Hainan to the south and struck Vietnam before dissipating. The storm caused severe damage and 119 fatalities in the Philippines. Thousands of houses were damaged, and hundreds of thousands of residents were impacted by the typhoon. Monetary damage is placed at \$8 million.
## Meteorological history
The origins of Typhoon Angela trace back to a tropical disturbance in the monsoon trough that became very active after a lull in convection. The disturbance developed over the western Caroline Islands, and persisted for two days until it was noted in a Significant Tropical Weather Advisory issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). It rapidly matured, and prompted a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert shortly thereafter. Enhanced upper-level outflow assisted the storm's intensification. At 0600 UTC on September 28, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) recognized the storm as a tropical depression. The JTWC issued their first advisory on the depression, designated 34W, at 0600 UTC on September 29. However, at the same time, the JMA upgraded it to a tropical storm.
At 1800 UTC on September 29, the JTWC classified the depression as Tropical Storm Angela. The system initially tracking northwestward, Angela turned westward along the southern periphery of a subtropical ridge to the north. The tropical storm began to rapidly intensify, and the JMA upgraded it to a severe tropical storm at 1800 UTC on September 30, while the JTWC estimated that it had attained typhoon intensity. The JMA then upgraded Angela to a typhoon shortly thereafter, and assessed it as having reached peak intensity on October 2, with 10-minute maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 925 millibars. Continuing westward, the typhoon attained super typhoon status four days later, and the JTWC reported that Angela peaked in strength on October 5. Between October 5 and October 6, Angela crossed the northern coast of Luzon in the Philippines.
The storm weakened after interacting with land, and the JTWC downgraded it to a typhoon on October 6 as it emerged into the South China Sea. An area of high pressure built over China, pushing Angela towards the southwest. Wind shear over the area weakened somewhat, and the typhoon re-intensified. However, as it passed south of Hainan, the cyclone again weakened due to the interaction with land. At 0600 UTC on October 10, Angela struck the coast of Vietnam and moved ashore. The JTWC issued their final advisory on the system at 1200 UTC, at which time the JMA downgraded it to a severe tropical storm, to a tropical storm six hours later, and to a tropical depression early on October 11.
## Preparations and impact
On October 6, Angela prompted the issuance of the Stand By Signal No. 1 in Hong Kong. It was replaced by a Strong Wind Signal No. 3 the next day, and after the typhoon's closest approach to the region on October 8, a Strong Monsoon Signal was hoisted. One-hour sustained winds reached 39 mph (63 km/h), out of the east, at Waglan Island. Gusts at Tate's Cairn peaked at 51 mph (82 km/h) from the north-northeast.
Angela caused severe damage in the Philippines. It is estimated that 119 people perished, and 192 more were injured. Additionally, 28 remained missing following the storm. In total, 219,178 people, or 39,095 families, were affected by the cyclone. About 33,309 homes sustained some degree of damage. The typhoon's intense winds and heavy rainfall triggered flooding and damaged crops. The hardest-hit areas were in the Cagayan province. Overall, the storm left approximately \$8 million (1989 USD) in damage across the region. The same area was impacted by Typhoon Sarah in September. Angela forced thousands of residents to seek shelter in evacuation centers.
The JTWC issued 46 warnings on the storm over the course of 12 days, the longest of any storm during the season. Angela was among the five storms to attain super typhoon status in 1989, and was deemed the most severe typhoon of the year, at the time, in the Philippines.
## See also
- 1989 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoons in the Philippines
- Typhoon Angela (1995)
|
2,684,250 |
AUM-N-2 Petrel
| 1,111,504,497 | null |
[
"Anti-ship missiles of the United States",
"Fairchild aircraft",
"Military equipment introduced in the 1950s",
"Target drones of the United States"
] |
The AUM-N-2 Petrel, also known as Kingfisher C and AUM-2, was an air-to-surface missile produced as part of Project Kingfisher for the United States Navy. Intended for use against enemy surface ships and surfaced submarines, giving aircraft the ability to deliver aerial torpedoes from outside the range of defensive armament, it saw brief operational service in the late 1950s. The project was never considered a high priority by the Navy however, as it was useless against submerged submarines, which were considered the greatest potential threat.
Following its withdrawal from operational usage, the Petrel was used as a target drone, receiving the designation AQM-41A shortly before being retired from service altogether.
## Design and development
The development of the Petrel began in August 1944, when the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) began Project Kingfisher, intending to develop a series of standoff torpedo weapons. The "Kingfisher C", later designated AUM-2 and then as AUM-N-2 (for 'Air-to-Underwater Missile'), was designed as an air-launched jet-powered missile which carried a torpedo as its payload. Various different design options were considered for this missile; the final choice was a Mark 21 Mod 2 torpedo, 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter, with a Fairchild J44 turbojet engine providing 1,000 lbf (4.4 kN) thrust, wooden fins and wings 13 feet 2 inches (4.01 m) in span, and a nose fairing housing guidance equipment. On launch the 3,800-pound (1,700 kg), 24-foot (7.3 m) missile dropped to 200 feet (61 m) above the water and cruised at Mach 0.5 towards the target, using semi-active radar homing. Once the missile had reached a range of just under 4,900 feet (1,500 m) from its target, the engine would be shut down and all wings and fins jettisoned. The torpedo dropped on a free trajectory into the water and began to home in on the target. The weapon was suitable for use against surface targets only—primarily ships and surfaced submarines, with the Navy considering the weapon effective against targets traveling at up to 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The AUM-2 was usually carried by the Lockheed P2V Neptune, although the Grumman S2F Tracker was also considered as a potential carrier aircraft.
## Operational history
Under the authority of the National Bureau of Standards, tests of the AUM-2 began in 1951; by this time, the Mark 41 torpedo had replaced the Mark 21 Mod 2 as its payload. Development was transferred to the Guided Missiles Division of Fairchild Aircraft in 1954, with the missile being declared operational in 1956; the Petrel project was publicly revealed by Fairchild in the company's annual report for that year. The weapons were produced at the Fairchild Guided Missiles Division factory at Wyandanch, Long Island, New York; production was completed by 1957.
The Petrel was never considered a very high priority by the U.S. Navy, which was far more concerned about the threat from submarines than surface ships. New submarine designs powered by nuclear reactors, which could remain submerged indefinitely, were beginning to appear in the mid-1950s. The prospects of catching an enemy submarine on the surface were therefore receding, and more emphasis was being placed on underwater engagements, for which Petrel's radar homing was useless; the use of semi-active radar guidance also required the launching aircraft to continue closing on the target throughout the missile's flight, exposing it to a far greater danger from enemy defenses.
In February 1956, the weapons test ship USS Mississippi participated in tests of the Petrel. Later in 1956 patrol squadrons VP(HM)-13 on the Atlantic coast and VP(HM)-10 on the Pacific coast began working up with P2V-6M Neptune carrier aircraft; however in 1957 responsibility for the Petrel was transferred to the United States Navy Reserve units, with VP-834 being assigned as the Petrel's operational squadron in the USNR. By the start of 1959 the phaseout of the Petrel had begun, and on 29 January 1959 the Petrel program was cancelled entirely, no longer being considered necessary in the changing strategic environment. The Neptunes that had been converted for carrying the missile were restored to their normal configuration and reassigned, with the remaining Petrels were converted to serve as air-launched target drones.
In 1962, the remaining Petrel drones were redesignated AQM-41A under the new Tri-Service designation system; they were finally retired from service shortly afterwards.
|
70,975,982 |
Emma Reaney
| 1,171,541,986 |
American swimmer (born 1992)
|
[
"1992 births",
"21st-century American women",
"American female breaststroke swimmers",
"American female medley swimmers",
"Living people",
"Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)",
"Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's swimmers",
"Sportspeople from Lawrence, Kansas",
"Universiade bronze medalists for the United States",
"Universiade medalists in swimming"
] |
Emma Reaney (born October 20, 1992) is a former competition breaststroke and individual medley swimmer and current swim coach. She is an 8-time All-American (all in individual events) and 5-time All-American honorable mention (4 individual and 1 relay). She medaled for Team USA at the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) (silver, 200m medley relay) and the 2015 Summer Universiade (bronze, 50m breaststroke and 4×100 m medley). She has set American records in both the 200-yard breaststroke and the 4x50 meter medley relay. , Reaney still held 4 Notre Dame swimming event records.
## Early life
Reaney was born to Mark and Ann Reaney in Lawrence, Kansas. Reaney competed for the Lawrence Aquahawks swim club when she was a young child. She attended Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas. At age 15 she competed in the 200 meter individual medley at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials (finishing 73rd).
## College career
As a freshman, Reaney became the first swimmer to receive three Big East Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week honors in a single season. At the 2012 Big East Championships Reaney won the 100 yard breaststroke and 200 yard IM and was a member of the 400 yard medley relay and 400 yard freestyle relay champions. She earned 3 NCAA All-American honorable mentions (100 yard breaststroke, 11th; 200 yard breaststroke, 14th and 200 yard IM, 9th).
As a sophomore, Reaney again received three Big East Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week honors in a single season. On January 16, 2013, Reaney was named Counsilman Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com National Division I Women's Swimmer of the Week when she broke Rebecca Soni's Rolfs Aquatic Center pool records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke that were set on October 19, 2007. At the 2013 Big East Championships Reaney won the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes and 200 yard IM and was a member of the 200 yard medley relay, 400 yard medley relay and 800 yard freestyle relay champions. She was recognized as the 2013 Big East Championship Meet Most Outstanding Swimmer. She earned 2 All-American selections (100 yard breaststroke, 5th; 200 yard breaststroke, 5th) and an All-American honorable mention (200 yard IM, 9th; 400 yard medley, 13th). During the offseason, she had a breakout meet at the 2013 U.S. Open as the top American in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and the winner of the 200 IM. Her 100- and 200-meter breast times of 1:07.56 and 2:26.65, respectively, placed Reaney on the 2013–2014 US National Team.
During her junior season, Reaney earned ACC Women's Swimmer of the Week recognition 5 times. At the 2014 ACC Women's Swimming and Diving Championship, Reaney won three gold medals (all in league record time). She won the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes as well as the 200 individual medley, earning ACC Championship Most Valuable Swimmer recognition. Following the Championship, she earned Women's Division I Phillip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Swimmer of the Week recognition and Speedo Performance of the Week recognition. She won the 200 yard breaststroke at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, becoming Notre Dame's first national champion swimmer. She earned 2014 All American scrolls (200 yard breaststroke, 1st; 100 yard breaststroke, 3rd; 200 yard IM, 7th) Her 200-yard time of 2:04.06 broke her own American, NCAA, ACC, Notre Dame and U.S. Open records and surpassed Caitlin Leverenz' NCAA Championships record time of 2:04.76 (2012). She had first set these records at the 2014 ACC Championships with a 2:04.36 time where she also won ACC titles in the 100 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard IM. She surpassed Breeja Larson's American record of 2:04.48 (which had eclipsed two-time defending 200 meter breastroke Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Soni's 2009 American record of 2:04.75). She was the first person to hold an American record while a student at Notre Dame. Along with men's fencer Gerek Meinhardt and female fencer Lee Kiefer, Reaney was part of the 2nd Notre Dame trio to be named individual national champion in a single year and the 4th to be either individual national champion or national athlete of the year in a single year. Many of Reaney's records were broken in one fell swoop by Indiana University's Lilly King at the 2016 NCAA championships. However, Reaney's ACC record survived until 2021 when University of Virginia's Kate Douglass bested it, and her ACC Championship meet record survived until Virginia's Alexandra Walsh eclipsed it at the 2022 ACC Championships. Following the season, Reaney was named ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year. She also earned ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition. Reaney was one of four swimmers on the Capital One Academic All-America Division I At-Large First Team along with Kim Jacob of the University of Alabama, Elizabeth Beisel of University of Florida, and Maya DiRado of Stanford University as well as diver Laura Ryan of the University of Georgia.
Prior to her senior year, head coach Brian Barnes, who resigned abruptly, was replaced by Tim Welsh. As a senior, Reaney won the 100 yard breaststroke at the 2015 ACC Championships. She earned 3 additional All-American recognitions (100 yard breaststroke, 3rd; 200 yard breaststroke, 4th and 200 yard IM, 4th). She was named to the Capital One Academic All-America At-Large Division I Second Team.
Entering the 2021–22 season, Reaney was the holder of the four oldest school swimming records (all set in 2014): 57.79, 100 yard breaststroke; 2:04.06, 200 yard breaststroke; 1:54.92, 200 yard individual medley; and 4:08.63, 400 yard individual medley. Reaney's 100 breaststroke time of 57.79 stood as the ACC record until Sophie Hansson posted 57.74 on February 22, 2019. Reaney's 2014 ACC Championships 100 yard breaststroke record time of 58.46 was surpassed by Andrea Cottrell's 2016 time of 58.26. Her 2014 ACC Championships 200 IM record time of 1:54.92 was surpassed in 2017 by Alexia Zevnik's time of 1:54.44.
## International competition
Reaney entered the 2008 United States Olympic trials and placed 73rd out of 106 in the 200 IM with a time of 2:20.19. She went into the 2012 United States Olympic trials seeded 42nd in the 200 Individual medley, but finished 9th in the prelims with a personal record of 2:14.79 and 13th in the semifinals in 2:15.51. She also competed in the 200 breaststroke. Reaney made the Team USA rosters for 2013–14 and 2014–15.
On July 10, 2015, she finished behind Mariya Liver and Fiona Doyle in a bronze medal tie with Martina Carraro in the 50 meter breaststroke at the World University games. In November 2015, Reaney shattered the top knuckle of her index finger with a 40 pounds (18.1 kg) dumbbell in a training accident. By the time of the 2016 United States Olympic trials, Reaney had endured a period with 5 coaches in 2 years. Reaney participated in 4 events (100- & 200-meter breaststroke, 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley) at the 2016 trials, but did not reach the finals of any. Her final career event before retiring was the semifinals of the Women's 200 Meter Long Course Breaststroke at the trials. She finished 9th, making her first alternate for the 8-person finals in the event.
## Professional career
After retiring from competitive swimming in 2016, Reaney initially spent time as an au pair in Australia. She began her coaching career at St. Francis College for the 2021 season as an assistant coach. She then was hired by New York University in August 2021 to serve as an assistant coach.
|
19,919,977 |
Charon's obol
| 1,173,467,928 |
Coin placed in or on the mouth of the dead
|
[
"Ancient Greek religion",
"Ancient Roman religion",
"Archaeology of death",
"Coins of ancient Greece",
"Death customs",
"Death in Greek mythology",
"Gallo-Roman religion",
"Mythological objects",
"Payments",
"Roman mythology"
] |
Charon's obol is an allusive term for the coin placed in or on the mouth of a dead person before burial. Greek and Latin literary sources specify the coin as an obol, and explain it as a payment or bribe for Charon, the ferryman who conveyed souls across the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. Archaeological examples of these coins, of various denominations in practice, have been called "the most famous grave goods from antiquity."
The custom is primarily associated with the ancient Greeks and Romans, though it is also found in the ancient Near East. In Western Europe, a similar usage of coins in burials occurs in regions inhabited by Celts of the Gallo-Roman, Hispano-Roman and Romano-British cultures, and among the Germanic peoples of late antiquity and the early Christian era, with sporadic examples into the early 20th century.
Although archaeology shows that the myth reflects an actual custom, the placement of coins with the dead was neither pervasive nor confined to a single coin in the deceased's mouth. In many burials, inscribed metal-leaf tablets or exonumia take the place of the coin, or gold-foil crosses during the early Christian period. The presence of coins or a coin-hoard in Germanic ship-burials suggests an analogous concept.
The phrase "Charon’s obol" as used by archaeologists sometimes can be understood as referring to a particular religious rite, but often serves as a kind of shorthand for coinage as grave goods presumed to further the deceased's passage into the afterlife. In Latin, Charon's obol sometimes is called a viaticum, or "sustenance for the journey"; the placement of the coin on the mouth has been explained also as a seal to protect the deceased's soul or to prevent it from returning.
## Terminology
The coin for Charon is conventionally referred to in Greek literature as an obolos (Greek ὀβολός), one of the basic denominations of ancient Greek coinage, worth one-sixth of a drachma. Among the Greeks, coins in actual burials are sometimes also a danakē (δανάκη) or other relatively small-denomination gold, silver, bronze or copper coin in local use. In Roman literary sources the coin is usually bronze or copper. From the 6th to the 4th centuries BC in the Black Sea region, low-value coins depicting arrowheads or dolphins were in use mainly for the purpose of "local exchange and to serve as ‘Charon’s obol.‘" The payment is sometimes specified with a term for "boat fare" (in Greek naulon, ναῦλον, Latin naulum); "fee for ferrying" (porthmeion, πορθμήϊον or πορθμεῖον); or "waterway toll" (Latin portorium).
The word naulon (ναῦλον) is defined by the Christian-era lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria as the coin put into the mouth of the dead; one of the meanings of danakē (δανάκη) is given as "the obol for the dead". The Suda defines danakē as a coin traditionally buried with the dead for paying the ferryman to cross the river Acheron, and explicates the definition of porthmēïon (πορθμήϊον) as a ferryman's fee with a quotation from the poet Callimachus, who notes the custom of carrying the porthmēïon in the "parched mouths of the dead."
### Charon's obol as viaticum
In Latin, Charon's obol is sometimes called a viaticum, which in everyday usage means "provision for a journey" (from via, "way, road, journey"), encompassing food, money and other supplies. The same word can refer to the living allowance granted to those stripped of their property and condemned to exile, and by metaphorical extension to preparing for death at the end of life's journey. Cicero, in his philosophical dialogue On Old Age (44 BC), has the interlocutor Cato the Elder combine two metaphors — nearing the end of a journey, and ripening fruit — in speaking of the approach to death:
> I don’t understand what greed should want for itself in old age; for can anything be sillier than to acquire more provisions (viaticum) as less of the journey remains? ... Fruits, if they are green, can scarcely be wrenched off the trees; if they are ripe and softened, they fall. In the same way, violence carries off the life of young men; old men, the fullness of time. To me this is so richly pleasing that, the nearer I draw to death, I seem within sight of landfall, as if, at an unscheduled time, I will come into the harbor after a long voyage.
Drawing on this metaphorical sense of "provision for the journey into death," ecclesiastical Latin borrowed the term viaticum for the form of Eucharist that is placed in the mouth of a person who is dying as provision for the soul's passage to eternal life. The earliest literary evidence of this Christian usage for viaticum appears in Paulinus’s account of the death of Saint Ambrose in 397 AD. The 7th-century Synodus Hibernensis offers an etymological explanation: "This word ‘viaticum’ is the name of communion, that is to say, ‘the guardianship of the way,’ for it guards the soul until it shall stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." Thomas Aquinas explained the term as "a prefiguration of the fruit of God, which will be in the Promised Land. And because of this it is called the viaticum, since it provides us with the way of getting there"; the idea of Christians as "travelers in search of salvation" finds early expression in the Confessions of St. Augustine.
An equivalent word in Greek is ephodion (ἐφόδιον); like viaticum, the word is used in antiquity to mean "provision for a journey" (literally, "something for the road," from the prefix ἐπ-, "on" + ὁδός, "road, way") and later in Greek patristic literature for the Eucharist administered on the point of death.
## In literature
Greek and Roman literary sources from the 5th century BC through the 2nd century AD are consistent in attributing four characteristics to Charon's obol:
- it is a single, low-denomination coin;
- it is placed in the mouth;
- the placement occurs at the time of death;
- it represents a boat fare.
Greek epigrams that were literary versions of epitaphs refer to "the obol that pays the passage of the departed," with some epigrams referring to the belief by mocking or debunking it. The satirist Lucian has Charon himself, in a dialogue of the same name, declare that he collects "an obol from everyone who makes the downward journey." In an elegy of consolation spoken in the person of the dead woman, the Augustan poet Propertius expresses the finality of death by her payment of the bronze coin to the infernal toll collector (portitor). Several other authors mention the fee. Often, an author uses the low value of the coin to emphasize that death makes no distinction between rich and poor; all must pay the same because all must die, and a rich person can take no greater amount into death:
> My luggage is only a flask, a wallet, an old cloak, and the obol that pays the passage of the departed.
The incongruity of paying what is, in effect, admission to Hell encouraged a comic or satiric treatment, and Charon as a ferryman who must be persuaded, threatened, or bribed to do his job appears to be a literary construct that is not reflected in early classical art. Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood has shown that in 5th-century BC depictions of Charon, as on the funerary vases called lekythoi, he is a non-threatening, even reassuring presence who guides women, adolescents, and children to the afterlife. Humor, as in Aristophanes's comic catabasis The Frogs, "makes the journey to Hades less frightening by articulating it explicitly and trivializing it." Aristophanes makes jokes about the fee, and a character complains that Theseus must have introduced it, characterizing the Athenian hero in his role of city organizer as a bureaucrat.
Lucian satirizes the obol in his essay "On Funerals":
> So thoroughly are people taken in by all of this that when one of the family dies, immediately they bring an obol and put it into his mouth to pay the ferryman for setting him over, without considering what sort of coinage is customary and current in the lower world and whether it is the Athenian or the Macedonian or the Aeginetan obol that is legal tender there, nor indeed that it would be far better not to pay the fare, since in that case the ferryman would not take them and they would be escorted to life again.
In another satirical work of Lucian, the "Dialogs of the dead", a character called Menippus has just died and Charon is asking for an obol in order to convey him across the river to the underworld, Menippus refuses to pay the obol, and consequently to enter the world of the dead claiming that:
> You can’t get blood out of a stone
Literally, "You can't get [any obols] from one who doesn't have any."
## Archaeological evidence
The use of coins as grave goods shows a variety of practice that casts doubt on the accuracy of the term "Charon’s obol" as an interpretational category. The phrase continues to be used, however, to suggest the ritual or religious significance of coinage in a funerary context.
Coins are found in Greek burials by the 5th century BC, as soon as Greece was monetized, and appear throughout the Roman Empire into the 5th century AD, with examples conforming to the Charon's obol type as far west as the Iberian Peninsula, north into Britain, and east to the Vistula river in Poland. The jawbones of skulls found in certain burials in Roman Britain are stained greenish from contact with a copper coin; Roman coins are found later in Anglo-Saxon graves, but often pierced for wearing as a necklace or amulet. Among the ancient Greeks, only about 5 to 10 percent of known burials contain any coins at all; in some Roman cremation cemeteries, however, as many as half the graves yield coins. Many if not most of these occurrences conform to the myth of Charon's obol in neither the number of coins nor their positioning. Variety of placement and number, including but not limited to a single coin in the mouth, is characteristic of all periods and places.
### Hellenized world
Some of the oldest coins from Mediterranean tombs have been found on Cyprus. In 2001 Destrooper-Georgiades, a specialist in Achaemenid numismatics, said that investigations of 33 tombs had yielded 77 coins. Although denomination varies, as does the number in any given burial, small coins predominate. Coins started to be placed in tombs almost as soon as they came into circulation on the island in the 6th century, and some predate both the first issue of the obol and any literary reference to Charon's fee.
Although only a small percentage of Greek burials contain coins, among these there are widespread examples of a single coin positioned in the mouth of a skull or with cremation remains. In cremation urns, the coin sometimes adheres to the jawbone of the skull. At Olynthus, 136 coins (mostly bronze, but some silver), were found with burials; in 1932, archaeologists reported that 20 graves had each contained four bronze coins, which they believed were intended for placement in the mouth. A few tombs at Olynthus have contained two coins, but more often a single bronze coin was positioned in the mouth or within the head of the skeleton. In Hellenistic-era tombs at one cemetery in Athens, coins, usually bronze, were found most often in the dead person's mouth, though sometimes in the hand, loose in the grave, or in a vessel. At Chania, an originally Minoan settlement on Crete, a tomb dating from the second half of the 3rd century BC held a rich variety of grave goods, including fine gold jewelry, a gold tray with the image of a bird, a clay vessel, a bronze mirror, a bronze strigil, and a bronze "Charon coin" depicting Zeus. In excavations of 91 tombs at a cemetery in Amphipolis during the mid- to late 1990s, a majority of the dead were found to have a coin in the mouth. The burials dated from the 4th to the late 2nd century BC.
A notable use of a danake occurred in the burial of a woman in 4th-century BC Thessaly, a likely initiate into the Orphic or Dionysiac mysteries. Her religious paraphernalia included gold tablets inscribed with instructions for the afterlife and a terracotta figure of a Bacchic worshipper. Upon her lips was placed a gold danake stamped with the Gorgon's head. Coins begin to appear with greater frequency in graves during the 3rd century BC, along with gold wreaths and plain unguentaria (small bottles for oil) in place of the earlier lekythoi. Black-figure lekythoi had often depicted Dionysiac scenes; the later white-ground vessels often show Charon, usually with his pole, but rarely (or dubiously) accepting the coin.
The Black Sea region has also produced examples of Charon's obol. At Apollonia Pontica, the custom had been practiced from the mid-4th century BC; in one cemetery, for instance, 17 percent of graves contained small bronze local coins in the mouth or hand of the deceased. During 1998 excavations of Pichvnari, on the coast of present-day Georgia, a single coin was found in seven burials, and a pair of coins in two. The coins, silver triobols of the local Colchian currency, were located near the mouth, with the exception of one that was near the hand. It is unclear whether the dead were Colchians or Greeks. The investigating archaeologists did not regard the practice as typical of the region, but speculate that the local geography lent itself to adapting the Greek myth, as bodies of the dead in actuality had to be ferried across a river from the town to the cemetery.
### Near East
Charon's obol is usually regarded as Hellenic, and a single coin in burials is often taken as a mark of Hellenization, but the practice may be independent of Greek influence in some regions. The placing of a coin in the mouth of the deceased is found also during Parthian and Sasanian times in what is now Iran. Curiously, the coin was not the danake of Persian origin, as it was sometimes among the Greeks, but usually a Greek drachma. In the Yazdi region, objects consecrated in graves may include a coin or piece of silver; the custom is thought to be perhaps as old as the Seleucid era and may be a form of Charon's obol.
Discoveries of a single coin near the skull in tombs of the Levant suggest a similar practice among Phoenicians in the Persian period. Jewish ossuaries sometimes contain a single coin; for example, in an ossuary bearing the inscriptional name "Miriam, daughter of Simeon," a coin minted during the reign of Herod Agrippa I, dated 42/43 AD, was found in the skull's mouth. Although the placement of a coin within the skull is uncommon in Jewish antiquity and was potentially an act of idolatry, rabbinic literature preserves an allusion to Charon in a lament for the dead "tumbling aboard the ferry and having to borrow his fare." Boats are sometimes depicted on ossuaries or the walls of Jewish crypts, and one of the coins found within a skull may have been chosen because it depicted a ship.
### Western Europe
Cemeteries in the Western Roman Empire vary widely: in a 1st-century BC community in Cisalpine Gaul, coins were included in more than 40 percent of graves, but none was placed in the mouth of the deceased; the figure is only 10 percent for cremations at Empúries in Spain and York in Britain. On the Iberian Peninsula, evidence interpreted as Charon's obol has been found at Tarragona. In Belgic Gaul, varying deposits of coins are found with the dead for the 1st through 3rd centuries, but are most frequent in the late 4th and early 5th centuries. Thirty Gallo-Roman burials near the Pont de Pasly, Soissons, each contained a coin for Charon. Germanic burials show a preference for gold coins, but even within a single cemetery and a narrow time period, their disposition varies.
In one Merovingian cemetery of Frénouville, Normandy, which was in use for four centuries after Christ, coins are found in a minority of the graves. At one time, the cemetery was regarded as exhibiting two distinct phases: an earlier Gallo-Roman period when the dead were buried with vessels, notably of glass, and Charon's obol; and later, when they were given funerary dress and goods according to Frankish custom. This neat division, however, has been shown to be misleading. In the 3rd- to 4th-century area of the cemetery, coins were placed near the skulls or hands, sometimes protected by a pouch or vessel, or were found in the grave-fill as if tossed in. Bronze coins usually numbered one or two per grave, as would be expected from the custom of Charon's obol, but one burial contained 23 bronze coins, and another held a gold solidus and a semissis. The latter examples indicate that coins might have represented relative social status. In the newer part of the cemetery, which remained in use through the 6th century, the deposition patterns for coinage were similar, but the coins themselves were not contemporaneous with the burials, and some were pierced for wearing. The use of older coins may reflect a shortage of new currency, or may indicate that the old coins held a traditional symbolic meaning apart from their denominational value. "The varied placement of coins of different values ... demonstrates at least partial if not complete loss of understanding of the original religious function of Charon’s obol," remarks Bonnie Effros, a specialist in Merovingian burial customs. "These factors make it difficult to determine the rite’s significance."
Although the rite of Charon's obol was practiced no more uniformly in Northern Europe than in Greece, there are examples of individual burials or small groups conforming to the pattern. At Broadstairs in Kent, a young man had been buried with a Merovingian gold tremissis (ca. 575) in his mouth. A gold-plated coin was found in the mouth of a young man buried on the Isle of Wight in the mid-6th century; his other grave goods included vessels, a drinking horn, a knife, and gaming-counters of ivory with one cobalt-blue glass piece.
Scandinavian and Germanic gold bracteates found in burials of the 5th and 6th centuries, particularly those in Britain, have also been interpreted in light of Charon's obol. These gold disks, similar to coins though generally single-sided, were influenced by late Roman imperial coins and medallions but feature iconography from Norse myth and runic inscriptions. The stamping process created an extended rim that forms a frame with a loop for threading; the bracteates often appear in burials as a woman's necklace. A function comparable to that of Charon's obol is suggested by examples such as a man's burial at Monkton in Kent and a group of several male graves on Gotland, Sweden, for which the bracteate was deposited in a pouch beside the body. In the Gotland burials, the bracteates lack rim and loop, and show no traces of wear, suggesting that they had not been intended for everyday use.
According to one interpretation, the purse-hoard in the Sutton Hoo ship burial (Suffolk, East Anglia), which contained a variety of Merovingian gold coins, unites the traditional Germanic voyage to the afterlife with "an unusually splendid form of Charon's obol." The burial yielded 37 gold tremisses dating from the late 6th and early 7th century, three unstruck coin blanks, and two small gold ingots. It has been conjectured that the coins were to pay the oarsmen who would row the ship into the next world, while the ingots were meant for the steersmen. Although Charon is usually a lone figure in depictions from both antiquity and the modern era, there is some slight evidence that his ship might be furnished with oarsmen. A fragment of 6th century BC pottery has been interpreted as Charon sitting in the stern as steersman of a boat fitted with ten pairs of oars and rowed by eidola (εἴδωλα), shades of the dead. A reference in Lucian seems also to imply that the shades might row the boat.
In Scandinavia, scattered examples of Charon's obol have been documented from the Roman Iron Age and the Migration Period; in the Viking Age eastern Sweden produces the best evidence, Denmark rarely, and Norway and Finland inconclusively. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Charon's obol appears in graves in Sweden, Scania, and Norway. Swedish folklore documents the custom from the 18th into the 20th century.
### Among Christians
The custom of Charon's obol not only continued into the Christian era, but was adopted by Christians, as a single coin was sometimes placed in the mouth for Christian burials. At Arcy-Sainte-Restitue in Picardy, a Merovingian grave yielded a coin of Constantine I, the first Christian emperor, used as Charon's obol. In Britain, the practice was just as frequent, if not more so, among Christians and persisted even to the end of the 19th century. A folklorist writing in 1914 was able to document a witness in Britain who had seen a penny placed in the mouth of an old man as he lay in his coffin. In 1878, Pope Pius IX was entombed with a coin. The practice was widely documented around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in Greece, where the coin was sometimes accompanied by a key.
### 'Ghost' coins and crosses
So-called "ghost coins" also appear with the dead. These are impressions of an actual coin or numismatic icon struck into a small piece of gold foil. In a 5th- or 4th-century BC grave at Syracuse, Sicily, a small rectangular gold leaf stamped with a dual-faced figure, possibly Demeter/Kore, was found in the skeleton's mouth. In a marble cremation box from the mid-2nd century BC, the "Charon's piece" took the form of a bit of gold foil stamped with an owl; in addition to the charred bone fragments, the box also contained gold leaves from a wreath of the type sometimes associated with the mystery religions. Within an Athenian family burial plot of the 2nd century BC, a thin gold disk similarly stamped with the owl of Athens had been placed in the mouth of each male.
These examples of the "Charon's piece" resemble in material and size the tiny inscribed tablet or funerary amulet called a lamella (Latin for a metal-foil sheet) or a Totenpass, a "passport for the dead" with instructions on navigating the afterlife, conventionally regarded as a form of Orphic or Dionysiac devotional. Several of these prayer sheets have been found in positions that indicate placement in or on the deceased's mouth. A functional equivalence with the Charon's piece is further suggested by the evidence of flattened coins used as mouth coverings (epistomia) from graves in Crete. A gold phylactery with a damaged inscription invoking the syncretic god Sarapis was found within the skull in a burial from the late 1st century AD in southern Rome. The gold tablet may have served both as a protective amulet during the deceased's lifetime and then, with its insertion into the mouth, possibly on the model of Charon's obol, as a Totenpass.
In a late Roman-era burial in Douris, near Baalbek, Lebanon, the forehead, nose, and mouth of the deceased — a woman, in so far as skeletal remains can indicate — were covered with sheets of gold-leaf. She wore a wreath made from gold oak leaves, and her clothing had been sewn with gold-leaf ovals decorated with female faces. Several glass vessels were arranged at her feet, and her discoverers interpreted the bronze coin close to her head as an example of Charon's obol.
Textual evidence also exists for covering portions of the deceased's body with gold foil. One of the accusations of heresy against the Phrygian Christian movement known as the Montanists was that they sealed the mouths of their dead with plates of gold like initiates into the mysteries; factual or not, the charge indicates an anxiety that Christian practice be distinguished from that of other religions, and again suggests that Charon's obol and the "Orphic" gold tablets could fulfill a similar purpose. The early Christian poet Prudentius seems to be referring either to these inscribed gold-leaf tablets or to the larger gold-foil coverings in one of his condemnations of the mystery religions. Prudentius says that auri lammina ("sheets of gold") were placed on the bodies of initiates as part of funeral rites. This practice may or may not be distinct from the funerary use of gold leaf inscribed with figures and placed on the eyes, mouths, and chests of warriors in Macedonian burials during the late Archaic period (580–460 BC); in September 2008, archaeologists working near Pella in northern Greece publicized the discovery of twenty warrior graves in which the deceased wore bronze helmets and were supplied with iron swords and knives along with these gold-leaf coverings.
#### Goldblattkreuze
In Gaul and in Alemannic territory, Christian graves of the Merovingian period reveal an analogous Christianized practice in the form of gold or gold-alloy leaf shaped like a cross, imprinted with designs, and deposited possibly as votives or amulets for the deceased. These paper-thin, fragile gold crosses are sometimes referred to by scholars with the German term Goldblattkreuze. They appear to have been sewn onto the deceased's garment just before burial, not worn during life, and in this practice are comparable to the pierced Roman coins found in Anglo-Saxon graves that were attached to clothing instead of or in addition to being threaded onto a necklace.
The crosses are characteristic of Lombardic Italy (Cisalpine Gaul of the Roman imperial era), where they were fastened to veils and placed over the deceased's mouth in a continuation of Byzantine practice. Throughout the Lombardic realm and north into Germanic territory, the crosses gradually replaced bracteates during the 7th century. The transition is signalled by Scandinavian bracteates found in Kent that are stamped with cross motifs resembling the Lombardic crosses. Two plain gold-foil crosses of Latin form, found in the burial of a 7th-century East Saxon king, are the first known examples from England, announced in 2004. The king's other grave goods included glass vessels made in England and two different Merovingian gold coins, each of which had a cross on the reverse. Coins of the period were adapted with Christian iconography in part to facilitate their use as an alternative to amulets of traditional religions.
#### Scandinavian gullgubber
Scandinavia also produced small and fragile gold-foil pieces, called gullgubber, that were worked in repoussé with human figures. These begin to appear in the late Iron Age and continue into the Viking Age. In form they resemble the gold-foil pieces such as those found at Douris, but the gullgubber were not fashioned with a fastening element and are not associated with burials. They occur in the archaeological record sometimes singly, but most often in large numbers. Some scholars have speculated that they are a form of "temple money" or votive offering, but Sharon Ratke has suggested that they might represent good wishes for travelers, perhaps as a metaphor for the dead on their journey to the otherworld, especially those depicting "wraiths."
## Religious significance
Ships often appear in Greek and Roman funerary art representing a voyage to the Isles of the Blessed, and a 2nd-century sarcophagus found in Velletri, near Rome, included Charon's boat among its subject matter. In modern-era Greek folkloric survivals of Charon (as Charos the death demon), sea voyage and river crossing are conflated, and in one later tale, the soul is held hostage by pirates, perhaps representing the oarsmen, who require a ransom for release. The mytheme of the passage to the afterlife as a voyage or crossing is not unique to Greco-Roman belief nor to Indo-European culture as a whole, as it occurs also in ancient Egyptian religion and other belief systems that are culturally unrelated. The boatman of the dead himself appears in diverse cultures with no special relation to Greece or to each other. A Sumerian model for Charon has been proposed, and the figure has possible antecedents among the Egyptians; scholars are divided as to whether these influenced the tradition of Charon, but the 1st-century BC historian Diodorus Siculus thought so and mentions the fee. It might go without saying that only when coinage comes into common use is the idea of payment introduced, but coins were placed in graves before the appearance of the Charon myth in literature.
Because of the diversity of religious beliefs in the Greco-Roman world, and because the mystery religions that were most concerned with the afterlife and soteriology placed a high value on secrecy and arcane knowledge, no single theology has been reconstructed that would account for Charon's obol. Franz Cumont regarded the numerous examples found in Roman tombs as "evidence of no more than a traditional rite which men performed without attaching a definite meaning to it." The use of a coin for the rite seems to depend not just on the myth of Charon, but also on other religious and mythic traditions associating wealth and the underworld.
### Death and wealth
In cultures that practiced the rite of Charon's obol, the infernal ferryman who requires payment is one of a number of underworld deities associated with wealth. For the Greeks, Pluto (Ploutōn, Πλούτων), the ruler of the dead and the consort of Persephone, became conflated with Plutus (Ploutos, Πλοῦτος), wealth personified; Plato points out the meaningful ambiguity of this etymological play in his dialogue Cratylus. Hermes is a god of boundaries, travel, and liminality, and thus conveys souls across the border that separates the living from the dead, acting as a psychopomp, but he was also a god of exchange, commerce, and profit. The name of his Roman counterpart Mercury was thought in antiquity to share its derivation with the Latin word merces, "goods, merchandise."
The numerous chthonic deities among the Romans were also frequently associated with wealth. In his treatise On the Nature of the Gods, Cicero identifies the Roman god Dis Pater with the Greek Pluton, explaining that riches are hidden in and arise from the earth. Dis Pater is sometimes regarded as a chthonic Saturn, ruler of the Golden Age, whose consort Ops was a goddess of abundance. The obscure goddess Angerona, whose iconography depicted silence and secrecy, and whose festival followed that of Ops, seems to have regulated communications between the realm of the living and the underworld; she may have been a guardian of both arcane knowledge and stored, secret wealth. When a Roman died, the treasury at the Temple of Venus in the sacred grove of the funeral goddess Libitina collected a coin as a "death tax".
The Republican poet Ennius locates the "treasuries of Death" across the Acheron. Romans threw an annual offering of coins into the Lacus Curtius, a pit or chasm in the middle of the Roman Forum that was regarded as a mundus or "port of communication" with the underworld.
Chthonic wealth is sometimes attributed to the Celtic horned god of the Cernunnos type, one of the deities proposed as the divine progenitor of the Gauls that Julius Caesar identified with Dis Pater. On a relief from the Gallic civitas of the Remi, the god holds in his lap a sack or purse, the contents of which — identified by scholars variably as coins or food (grain, small fruits, or nuts) — may be intentionally ambiguous in expressing desired abundance. The antler-horned god appears on coins from Gaul and Britain, in explicit association with wealth. In his best-known representation, on the problematic Gundestrup Cauldron, he is surrounded by animals with mythico-religious significance; taken in the context of an accompanying scene of initiation, the horned god can be interpreted as presiding over the process of metempsychosis, the cycle of death and rebirth, regarded by ancient literary sources as one of the most important tenets of Celtic religion and characteristic also of Pythagoreanism and the Orphic or Dionysiac mysteries.
From its 7th-century BC beginnings in western Anatolia, ancient coinage was viewed not as distinctly secular, but as a form of communal trust bound up in the ties expressed by religion. The earliest known coin-hoard from antiquity was found buried in a pot within the foundations of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, dating to the mid-6th century BC. The iconography of gods and various divine beings appeared regularly on coins issued by Greek cities and later by Rome. The effect of monetization on religious practice is indicated by notations in Greek calendars of sacrifices pertaining to fees for priests and prices for offerings and victims. One fragmentary text seems to refer to a single obol to be paid by each initiate of the Eleusinian Mysteries to the priestess of Demeter, the symbolic value of which is perhaps to be interpreted in light of Charon's obol as the initiate's gaining access to knowledge required for successful passage to the afterlife.
Erwin Rohde argued, on the basis of later folk customs, that the obol was originally a payment to the dead person himself, as a way of compensating him for the loss of property that passed to the living, or as a token substitute for the more ancient practice of consigning his property to the grave with him. In Rohde's view, the obol was later attached to the myth of the ferryman as an ex post facto explanation.
In the view of Richard Seaford, the introduction of coinage to Greece and the theorizing about value it provoked was concomitant with and even contributed to the creation of Greek metaphysics. Plato criticizes common currency as "polluting", but also says that the guardians of his ideal republic should have divine gold and silver money from the gods always present in their souls. This Platonic "money in the soul" holds the promise of "divinity, homogeneity, unchanging permanence, self-sufficiency, invisibility."
### The coin as food or seal
Attempts to explain the symbolism of the rite also must negotiate the illogical placement of the coin in the mouth. The Latin term viaticum makes sense of Charon's obol as "sustenance for the journey," and it has been suggested that coins replaced offerings of food for the dead in Roman tradition.
This dichotomy of food for the living and gold for the dead is a theme in the myth of King Midas, versions of which draw on elements of the Dionysian mysteries. The Phrygian king's famous "golden touch" was a divine gift from Dionysus, but its acceptance separated him from the human world of nourishment and reproduction: both his food and his daughter were transformed by contact with him into immutable, unreciprocal gold. In some versions of the myth, Midas's hard-won insight into the meaning of life and the limitations of earthly wealth is accompanied by conversion to the cult of Dionysus. Having learned his lessons as an initiate into the mysteries, and after ritual immersion in the river Pactolus, Midas forsakes the "bogus eternity" of gold for spiritual rebirth.
John Cuthbert Lawson, an early 20th-century folklorist whose approach was influenced by the Cambridge Ritualists, argued that both the food metaphor and the coin as payment for the ferryman were later rationalizations of the original ritual. Although single coins from inhumations appear most often inside or in the vicinity of the skull, they are also found in the hand or a pouch, a more logical place to carry a payment. Lawson viewed the coin as originally a seal, used as potsherds sometimes were on the lips of the dead to block the return of the soul, believed to pass from the body with the last breath. One of the first steps in preparing a corpse was to seal the lips, sometimes with linen or gold bands, to prevent the soul's return. The stopping of the mouth by Charon's obol has been used to illuminate burial practices intended, for instance, to prevent vampires or other revenants from returning.
The placement of the coin on the mouth can be compared to practices pertaining to the disposition of the dead in the Near East. An Egyptian custom is indicated by a burial at Abydos, dating from the 22nd Dynasty (945–720 BC) or later, for which the deceased woman's mouth was covered with a faience uadjet, or protective eye amulet. Oval mouth coverings, perforated for fastening, are found in burials throughout the Near East from the 1st century BC through the 1st century AD, providing evidence of an analogous practice for sealing the mouths of the dead in regions not under Roman Imperial control. Bahraini excavations at the necropolis of Al-Hajjar produced examples of these coverings in gold leaf, one of which retained labial imprints.
A coin may make a superior seal because of its iconography; in the Thessalian burial of an initiate described above, for instance, the coin on the lips depicted the apotropaic device of the Gorgon's head. The seal may also serve to regulate the speech of the dead, which was sometimes sought through rituals for its prophetic powers, but also highly regulated as dangerous; mystery religions that offered arcane knowledge of the afterlife prescribed ritual silence. A golden key (chrusea klês) was laid on the tongue of initiates as a symbol of the revelation they were obligated to keep secret. "Charon's obol" is often found in burials with objects or inscriptions indicative of mystery cult, and the coin figures in a Latin prose narrative that alludes to initiation ritual, the "Cupid and Psyche" story from the Metamorphoses of Apuleius.
### The catabasis of Psyche
In the 2nd-century "Cupid and Psyche" narrative by Apuleius, Psyche, whose name is a Greek word for "soul," is sent on an underworld quest to retrieve the box containing Proserpina’s secret beauty, in order to restore the love of Cupid. The tale lends itself to multiple interpretational approaches, and it has frequently been analyzed as an allegory of Platonism as well as of religious initiation, iterating on a smaller scale the plot of the Metamorphoses as a whole, which concerns the protagonist Lucius’s journey towards salvation through the cult of Isis. Ritual elements were associated with the story even before Apuleius’s version, as indicated in visual representations; for instance, a 1st-century BC sardonyx cameo depicting the wedding of Cupid and Psyche shows an attendant elevating a liknon (basket) used in Dionysiac initiation. C. Moreschini saw the Metamorphoses as moving away from the Platonism of Apuleius’s earlier Apology toward a vision of mystic salvation.
Before embarking on her descent, Psyche receives instructions for navigating the underworld:
> The airway of Dis is there, and through the yawning gates the pathless route is revealed. Once you cross the threshold, you are committed to the unswerving course that takes you to the very Regia of Orcus. But you shouldn’t go emptyhanded through the shadows past this point, but rather carry cakes of honeyed barley in both hands, and transport two coins in your mouth. ... Pass by in silence, without uttering a word. Without further delay you’ll come to the river of the dead, where Prefect Charon demands the toll (portorium) up front before he’ll ferry transients in his stitched boat to the distant shore. So you see, even among the dead greed lives, and Charon, that collection agent of Dis, is not the kind of god who does anything without a tip. But even when he’s dying, the poor man’s required to make his own way (viaticum ... quaerere), and if it happens that he doesn’t have a penny (aes) at hand, nobody will give him permission to draw his last breath. To this nasty old man you’ll give one of the two coins you carry — call it boat fare (naulum) — but in such a way that he himself should take it from your mouth with his own hand.
The two coins serve the plot by providing Psyche with fare for the return; allegorically, this return trip suggests the soul’s rebirth, perhaps a Platonic reincarnation or the divine form implied by the so-called Orphic gold tablets. The myth of Charon has rarely been interpreted in light of mystery religions, despite the association in Apuleius and archaeological evidence of burials that incorporate both Charon’s obol and cultic paraphernalia. And yet "the image of the ferry," Helen King notes, "hints that death is not final, but can be reversed, because the ferryman could carry his passengers either way." A funeral rite is itself a kind of initiation, or the transition of the soul into another stage of "life."
### Coins on the eyes?
Contrary to popular etiology there is little evidence to connect the myth of Charon to the custom of placing a pair of coins on the eyes of the deceased, though the larger gold-foil coverings discussed above might include pieces shaped for the eyes. Pairs of coins are sometimes found in burials, including cremation urns; among the collections of the British Museum is an urn from Athens, ca. 300 BC, that contained cremated remains, two obols, and a terracotta figure of a mourning siren. Ancient Greek and Latin literary sources, however, mention a pair of coins only when a return trip is anticipated, as in the case of Psyche's catabasis, and never in regard to sealing the eyes.
Only rarely does the placement of a pair of coins suggest they might have covered the eyes. In Judea, a pair of silver denarii were found in the eye sockets of a skull; the burial dated to the 2nd century A.D. occurs within a Jewish community, but the religious affiliation of the deceased is unclear. Jewish ritual in antiquity did not require that the eye be sealed by an object, and it is debatable whether the custom of placing coins on the eyes of the dead was practiced among Jews prior to the modern era. During the 1980s, the issue became embroiled with the controversies regarding the Shroud of Turin when it was argued that the eye area revealed the outlines of coins; since the placement of coins on the eyes for burial is not securely attested in antiquity, apart from the one example from Judea cited above, this interpretation of evidence obtained through digital image processing cannot be claimed as firm support for the shroud's authenticity.
### Coins at the feet
Coins are found also at the deceased's feet, although the purpose of this positioning is uncertain. John Chrysostom mentions and disparages the use of coins depicting Alexander the Great as amulets attached by the living to the head or feet, and offers the Christian cross as a more powerful alternative for both salvation and healing:
> And what is one to say about them who use charms and amulets, and encircle their heads and feet with golden coins of Alexander of Macedon. Are these our hopes, tell me, that after the cross and death of our Master, we should place our hopes of salvation on an image of a Greek king? Dost thou not know what great result the cross has achieved? It has abolished death, has extinguished sin, has made Hades useless, has undone the power of the devil, and is it not worth trusting for the health of the body?
## Christian transformation
With instructions that recall those received by Psyche for her heroic descent, or the inscribed Totenpass for initiates, the Christian protagonist of a 14th-century French pilgrimage narrative is advised:
> This bread (pain, i.e. the Eucharist) is most necessary for the journey you have to make. Before you can come to the place where you will have what you desire, you will go through very difficult straits and you will find poor lodgings, so that you will often be in trouble if you do not carry this bread with you.
Anglo-Saxon and early–medieval Irish missionaries took the idea of a viaticum literally, carrying the Eucharistic bread and oil with them everywhere.
The need for a viaticum figures in a myth-tinged account of the death of King William II of England, told by the Anglo-Norman chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar: dying from a battle wound and delirious, the desperate king kept calling out for the corpus domini (Lord's body) until a huntsman acted as priest and gave him flowering herbs as his viaticum. In the dominant tradition of William's death, he is killed while hunting on the second day of red stag season, which began August 1, the date of both Lughnasadh and the Feast of St. Peter's Chains.
The hunt is also associated with the administering of a herbal viaticum in the medieval chansons de geste, in which traditional heroic culture and Christian values interpenetrate. The chansons offer multiple examples of grass or foliage substituted as a viaticum when a warrior or knight meets his violent end outside the Christian community. Sarah Kay views this substitute rite as communion with the Girardian "primitive sacred," speculating that "pagan" beliefs lurk beneath a Christian veneer. In the Raoul de Cambrai, the dying Bernier receives three blades of grass in place of the corpus Domini. Two other chansons place this desire for communion within the mytheme of the sacrificial boar hunt. In Daurel et Beton, Bove is murdered next to the boar he just killed; he asks his own killer to grant him communion "with a leaf," and when he is denied, he then asks that his enemy eat his heart instead. This request is granted; the killer partakes of the victim's body as an alternative sacrament. In Garin le Loheren, Begon is similarly assassinated next to the corpse of a boar, and takes communion with three blades of grass.
Kay's conjecture that a pre-Christian tradition accounts for the use of leaves as the viaticum is supported by evidence from Hellenistic magico-religious practice, the continuance of which is documented in Gaul and among Germanic peoples. Spells from the Greek Magical Papyri often require the insertion of a leaf — an actual leaf, a papyrus scrap, the representation of a leaf in metal foil, or an inscribed rectangular lamella (as described above) — into the mouth of a corpse or skull, as a means of conveying messages to and from the realms of the living and the dead. In one spell attributed to Pitys the Thessalian, the practitioner is instructed to inscribe a flax leaf with magic words and to insert it into the mouth of a dead person.
The insertion of herbs into the mouth of the dead, with a promise of resurrection, occurs also in the Irish tale "The Kern in the Narrow Stripes," the earliest written version of which dates to the 1800s but is thought to preserve an oral tradition of early Irish myth. The kern of the title is an otherworldly trickster figure who performs a series of miracles; after inducing twenty armed men to kill each other, he produces herbs from his bag and instructs his host's gatekeeper to place them within the jaws of each dead man to bring him back to life. At the end of the tale, the mysterious visitor is revealed as Manannán mac Lir, the Irish god known in other stories for his herd of pigs that offer eternal feasting from their self-renewing flesh.
### Sacrament and superstition
Scholars have suggested that the use of a viaticum in the Christian rite for the dying reflected preexisting religious practice, with Charon's obol replaced by a more acceptably Christian sacrament. In one miraculous story, recounted by Pope Innocent III in a letter dated 1213, the coins in a moneybox were said literally to have been transformed into communion wafers. Because of the viaticum's presumed pre-Christian origin, an anti-Catholic historian of religion at the turn of the 18th–19th centuries propagandized the practice, stating that "it was from the heathens [that] the papists borrowed it." Contemporary scholars are more likely to explain the borrowing in light of the deep-seated conservatism of burial practices or as a form of religious syncretism motivated by a psychological need for continuity.
Among Christians, the practice of burying a corpse with a coin in its mouth was never widespread enough to warrant condemnation from the Church, but the substitute rite came under official scrutiny; the viaticum should not be, but often was, placed in the mouth after death, apparently out of a superstitious desire for its magical protection. By the time Augustine wrote his Confessions, "African bishops had forbidden the celebration of the eucharist in the presence of the corpse. This was necessary to stop the occasional practice of placing the eucharistic bread in the mouth of the dead, a viaticum which replaced the coin needed to pay Charon’s fare." Pope Gregory I, in his biography of Benedict of Nursia, tells the story of a monk whose body was twice ejected from his tomb; Benedict advised the family to restore the dead man to his resting place with the viaticum placed on his chest. The placement suggests a functional equivalence with the Goldblattkreuze and the Orphic gold tablets; its purpose — to assure the deceased's successful passage to the afterlife — is analogous to that of Charon's obol and the Totenpässe of mystery initiates, and in this case it acts also as a seal to block the dead from returning to the world of the living.
Ideally, the journey into death would begin immediately after taking the sacrament. Eusebius offers an example of an elderly Christian who managed to hold off death until his grandson placed a portion of the Eucharist in his mouth. In a general audience October 24, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI quoted Paulinus's account of the death of St. Ambrose, who received and swallowed the corpus Domini and immediately "gave up his spirit, taking the good Viaticum with him. His soul, thus refreshed by the virtue of that food, now enjoys the company of Angels." A perhaps apocryphal story from a Cistercian chronicle circa 1200 indicates that the viaticum was regarded as an apotropaic seal against demons (ad avertendos daemonas), who nevertheless induced a woman to attempt to snatch the Host (viaticum) from the mouth of Pope Urban III's corpse. Like Charon's obol, the viaticum can serve as both sustenance for the journey and seal.
In the 19th century, the German scholar Georg Heinrici proposed that Greek and Roman practices pertaining to the care of the dead, specifically including Charon's obol, shed light on vicarious baptism, or baptism for the dead, to which St. Paul refers in a letter to the Corinthians. A century after Heinrici, James Downey examined the funerary practices of Christian Corinthians in historical context and argued that they intended vicarious baptism to protect the deceased's soul against interference on the journey to the afterlife. Both vicarious baptism and the placement of a viaticum in the mouth of a person already dead reflect Christian responses to, rather than outright rejection of, ancient religious traditions pertaining to the cult of the dead.
## Art of the modern era
Although Charon has been a popular subject of art, particularly in the 19th century, the act of payment is less often depicted. An exception is the Charon and Psyche of John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, exhibited ca. 1883. The story of Cupid and Psyche found several expressions among the Pre-Raphaelite artists and their literary peers, and Stanhope, while mourning the death of his only child, produced a number of works dealing with the afterlife. His Psyche paintings were most likely based on the narrative poem of William Morris that was a retelling of the version by Apuleius. In Stanhope's vision, the ferryman is a calm and patriarchal figure more in keeping with the Charon of the archaic Greek lekythoi than the fearsome antagonist often found in Christian-era art and literature.
## Modern poetry
Poets of the modern era have continued to make use of Charon's obol as a living allusion. In "Don Juan aux enfers" ("Don Juan in Hell"), the French Symboliste poet Charles Baudelaire marks the eponymous hero's entry to the underworld with his payment of the obol to Charon. A. E. Housman speaks of a man "Crossing alone the nighted ferry / With the one coin for fee," to "the just city / And free land of the grave." Irish Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney makes a less direct allusion with a simile — "words imposing on my tongue like obols" — in the "Fosterage" section of his long poem Singing School:
> The speaker associates himself with the dead, bearing payment for Charon the ferryman, to cross the river Styx. Here, the poet is placing great significance on the language of poetry — potentially his own language — by virtue of the spiritual, magical value of the currency to which it is compared.
## See also
- Hell money
|
2,313,520 |
Cicuta
| 1,158,221,926 |
Genus of plants
|
[
"Apioideae",
"Apioideae genera",
"Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus"
] |
Cicuta, commonly known as water hemlock, is a genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to 2.5 meters (8 ft) tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape (umbel). Plants in this genus may also be referred to as cowbane or poison parsnip. Cicuta is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly North America and Europe, typically growing in wet meadows, along streambanks and other wet and marshy areas. These plants bear a close resemblance to other members in the family Apiaceae and may be confused with a number of edible or poisonous plants. The common name hemlock may also be confused with poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), or with the Hemlock tree.
Water hemlock is considered one of North America's most toxic plants, being highly poisonous to humans. Three members of the genus contain a toxin named cicutoxin which causes central nervous system stimulatory effects including seizures following ingestion. Medical treatment of poisoning may include the use of activated charcoal to decrease gastrointestinal absorption of the toxic principle along with supportive care including anticonvulsant drugs such as a benzodiazepine. High doses of anticonvulsant medicine are often required to halt seizure activity and further medical care including intubation and mechanical ventilation may be required.
## Description
Cicuta spp. are perennial plants that are all similar in morphology, growing up to a maximum of 2.5 meters (8 ft) in height. The stem of the plant is branching, erect, smooth and hollow (except for partitions at the junction of the leaves and stem), sometimes being purple-striped, or mottled (typically only C. maculata has the purple stripes or spots). Attached to the base of the stem is a tuberous root with thickened rootstocks. The rootstocks are multichambered and contain a yellowish oily liquid which turns reddish brown on exposure to air and emits a characteristic smell of raw parsnip. The alternate leaves are two or three pinnately compound and may reach 30–90 cm (12–35 in) in length. The leaflets are lanceolate, serrate, 5–10 cm (2–4 in) in length, and sharply toothed. The plant flowers in spring or early summer; the flowers are small with green or white petals clustered in an umbrella shape (umbel) characteristic to this family; the umbel measures 5–10 cm (2–4 in) across. The plants produce a cylindrical fruit which is 4–6 mm (5⁄32–1⁄4 in) in length. The plant is spread primarily by seeds which are produced in large numbers and are small in size.
## Taxonomy
The genus Cicuta is one of many genera in the family Apiaceae, which is in the order Apiales. Apiaceae is also known as Umbelliferae, and both of these family names are permitted to be used by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. In Europe, Cicuta was not distinguished from the similar genus Conium before the year 1500. The first mention of the genus in the United States was in the eighteenth century. Carl Linnaeus formally described three species in 1753. The type species is Cicuta virosa. The genus is now recognized to comprise four species:
Other species names such as Cicuta bolanderi, Cicuta californica, and Cicuta curtissii are older names now recognized to be varieties of the widespread, morphologically variable Cicuta maculata. Cicuta maculata is now recognized to have four varieties: var. maculata, var. angustifolia, var. victorinii, and var. bolanderi. Phylogenetic analysis using the sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) loci was not conclusive but seems to show that C. bulbifera and C. virosa are monophyletic, while C. douglasii may not be. It was also suggested a specimen from California may warrant recognition as a distinct species. Other common names for the genus in general include poison parsnip, beaver poison, wild carrot, wild parsnip, and false parsley.
## Similar species
Members of the family Apiaceae bear close resemblance to each other, and have many characteristics in common. Cicuta spp. are often mistaken for edible plants such as wild celery (Angelica archangelica), celery (Apium graveolens), pignut (Conopodium majus), wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and water parsnip (Berula spp.). One of the more common misidentifications is between water hemlock and water parsnip; both have clusters of small white flowers shaped like umbrellas, and both have the same habitat near the shoreline of lakes and rivers. Differences between water parsnip and water hemlock include the water parsnip having leaves only once compound while the water hemlock has leaves which are two or three times compound. Water hemlock also has a large swelling at the stem base which water parsnip lacks. Additionally, water hemlock has bracts at the base of each small flower cluster, not at the base of the main flower head, while water parsnip has both bracts at the base of flowers and also at the main flower head.
Additionally, there can be confusion between the various water hemlock species and poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) as the common name hemlock is applied to both Cicuta and Conium maculatum. Both are poisonous and can be differentiated by differences in their root structure. Water hemlock has a branched root systems with tubules, while poison hemlock has a single tap root. Another reliable method to identify water hemlock is to examine the leaf veins. Water hemlock is unique in the family Apiaceae in that it has leaf veins which terminate in the notches between the leaf tips, rather than extend to the tip of the leaf, as is found in the leaf structure of other members of this family.
## Distribution and habitat
Cicuta spp. are found growing across North America and Europe. Typically, they grow in wet habitats usually alongside ponds and streams, in marshes or swamps, or areas that are swampy at least part of the year. Plants can also be found growing in water. Of the four species, Cicuta maculata has the most widespread distribution occurring across the majority of North America. Cicuta bulbifera also has a relatively large distribution, found throughout Northern North America. Cicuta douglasii is found in the northwest corner of North America, while Cicuta virosa is found in central and northern Europe (including the British Isles), northern Eurasia, and in the far north of North America.
## Toxicity
All members of Cicuta contain high levels of the poisonous principle cicutoxin, an unsaturated aliphatic alcohol that is structurally closely related to the toxin oenanthotoxin found in the plant hemlock water dropwort. Cicutoxin is present at all stages of growth and in all parts of the plant, but is most concentrated in the roots which appear to be the most toxic in the early spring. Its primary toxic effect is to act as a stimulant in the central nervous system. It is a non-competitive gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor antagonist. Cicutoxin acts on the GABA<sub>A</sub> receptor causing a block of the chloride channel which results in neuronal depolarization. In the presence of cicutoxin, this depolarization continues unabated, causing cell overactivity. This hyperactivity in brain cells results in seizures. Cicutoxin is very poisonous, and water hemlock is considered one of North America's most toxic plants. Ingestion of Cicuta can be fatal in humans, and there are reports in medical literature of severe poisoning and death as early as 1670. A number of people have also died following ingestion of the plant in the 20th and 21st century.
The in mice administered cicutoxin by intraperitoneal injection is 48.3 milligrams per kilogram body weight; this compares with 5.9 mg/kg for mice given potassium cyanide by intraperitoneal injection, while the LD<sub>50</sub> for arsenic via intraperitoneal injection in mice is 46.2 mg/kg. The exact toxic dose of plant material in humans is unknown; it is thought ingestion of water hemlock in any quantity can result in poisoning, and very small amounts may lead to death. Poisoning has been reported following children blowing whistles made from the hollow stem of water hemlock plants. Intoxication has also been reported following skin contact with the plant; in one case, a family of five rubbed the plant onto the skin and were poisoned, with two children dying. Livestock have long been the worst affected, leading to the common name "cowbane". Poisoning in livestock is common and typically occurs following ingestion of roots of the plant. When the ground is soft in Spring, grazing animals tend to pull the entire plant out of the ground, ingesting both the foliage and the roots. Roots exposed by ploughing can also be the source of livestock poisonings. Ingestion of plant material may cause death in the animal in as little as 15 minutes.
### Symptoms
Upon consumption, both in humans and other species, the symptoms of poisoning are characterized mainly by generalized seizures. The onset of symptoms following ingestion may be as soon as 15 minutes. Initial symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tremors, confusion, weakness, dizziness, and drowsiness, although the rapid onset of seizure activity may be the first sign presented following poisoning. Seizures are usually described as clonic or tonic–clonic. Complications of ongoing seizure activity include increased body temperature, decreases in the pH of the blood (metabolic acidosis), swelling in the brain, blood coagulation disorders, muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis), and kidney failure. Additional neurological symptoms may include hallucinations, delirium, tingling, pricking, or numbness of a person's skin, dilated pupils, and coma. Cardiovascular symptoms include alternating slow or fast heart rate and alternating low and high blood pressure. Other cardiac effects may include ECG abnormalities such as widening of the PR interval, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation. Symptoms of excess salivation, wheezing, respiratory distress, and absence of breathing have also been reported.
Death is usually caused by respiratory failure or ventricular fibrillation secondary to ongoing seizure activity; fatalities have occurred within a few hours of ingestion. Poisoned people who recover usually regain consciousness and seizures cease within 24 to 48 hours of poisoning, although seizures may persist for up to 96 hours. There are occasional long-term effects, such as retrograde amnesia of the events leading to intoxication and the intoxication itself. Other ongoing mild effects may include restlessness, muscle weakness, twitching, and anxiety. Complete resolution of symptoms may take a number of days, or these ongoing symptoms may persist for months after poisoning.
### Diagnosis and treatment
Water hemlock poisoning is usually diagnosed following a history of plant ingestion and symptoms of abrupt onset of seizures. Laboratory tests to determine the presence of cicutoxin in the blood such as spectrofluorimetry, high pressure liquid chromatography, thin layer chromatography, and mass spectrometry have been used to detect cicutoxin, but these tests are not performed routinely in hospital laboratories. If a sample of the plant ingested has been retained, diagnosis can be confirmed by having the plant identified by a botanist.
Initial treatment of poisoning may include gastrointestinal decontamination with activated charcoal. Decontamination is typically performed only if a potentially toxic amount of plant matter has been ingested up to one hour previously, and the patient has a normal intact airway or has been intubated. There is no specific antidote for water hemlock poisoning, and treatment consists mainly of supportive care. Treatment may include control of seizures with the administration of a benzodiazepines such as lorazepam or diazepam, or, if seizures are refractory to this treatment, a barbiturate such as phenobarbital is administered. The anticonvulsant phenytoin is not recommended, as it has not been shown to be effective for seizure control following water hemlock poisoning. Treatment with high doses of benzodiazepines or barbiturates may cause respiratory depression, and respiratory support including intubation and mechanical ventilation is required in these patients. Continuous electroencephalography monitoring is recommended in symptomatic patients.
Further treatment for complications of metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, hyperthermia, or low blood pressure may be required. Metabolic acidosis is treated by administering sodium bicarbonate. Low blood pressure is usually treated with intravenous fluid replacement, but the administration of dopamine or norepinephrine may be required to restore blood pressure. The management of rhabdomyolysis includes ensuring adequate hydration and urinary alkalinization; a complication of rhabdomyolysis is acute kidney injury, which may require management with hemodialysis. However, hemodialysis, hemoperfusion, or other extracorporeal techniques do not remove cicutoxin from the blood and are therefore not useful in enhancing elimination.
## See also
- List of poisonous plants
|
72,967,088 |
Book of Common Prayer (Unitarian)
| 1,170,972,350 |
Unitarian editions published since 1724
|
[
"1724 books",
"1774 in Christianity",
"1774 in England",
"1774 non-fiction books",
"1785 in Christianity",
"1785 in Massachusetts",
"1785 non-fiction books",
"1986 in Christianity",
"1986 non-fiction books",
"Book of Common Prayer",
"Christianity in Boston",
"English Dissenters",
"Episcopal Church in Massachusetts",
"Unitarianism"
] |
Since the 18th century, there have been several editions of the Book of Common Prayer produced and revised for use by Unitarians. Several versions descend from an unpublished manuscript of alterations to the Church of England's 1662 Book of Common Prayer originally produced by English philosopher and clergyman Samuel Clarke in 1724, with descendant liturgical books remaining in use today.
Clarke, a Semi-Arian and Subordinationist, viewed the doctrine of the Trinity as theologically unsound and saw the 1662 prayer book's inclusion of elements like the Athanasian Creed as perpetuating these errors. Clarke's manuscript alterations emphasized the excision of Trinitarian references in favor of prayers directed toward God the Father. Theophilus Lindsey would build upon Clarke's work after receiving a copy of the changes, publishing his own series of Unitarian prayer books from 1774 onward. Lindsey's Essex Street Chapel in London, the first Unitarian church in England, utilized these prayer books for worship. When an Essex Street Chapel congregant introduced James Freeman of King's Chapel in Boston to Lindsey's prayer book, Freeman further edited its liturgies and convinced his congregation to adopt his revision in 1785.
These Unitarian forms were among a trend of Nonconformist efforts to revise the 1662 prayer book through the eighteenth and nineteenth century; the Anglican prayer book remained the primary basis for English Unitarian worship literature until 1861. The Unitarian revisions influenced other prayer book revision efforts, including John Wesley's The Sunday Service of the Methodists and the American Episcopal Church's first prayer book revision effort. The King's Chapel prayer book, currently in its ninth edition as first published in 1986, remains that congregation's standard liturgical text.
## History
Samuel Clarke, the Church of England rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly, privately created an altered version of the church's legally mandated liturgy, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, in 1724. He was a Semi-Arian and, like early Unitarians in Transylvania and what was then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a subordinationist who held that God the Father was supreme and, unlike God the Son, alone worthy of worship. Clarke had previously written a study of 1,250 Bible verses, The Scriptural Doctrine of the Trinity, which contained his theology and prescribed a new rule for prayer based on the notion Jesus Christ derives his powers as savior from the Father. According to Clarke, the theology of the Trinity had developed as a result of poor metaphysics and the inclusion of the Athanasian Creed in the 1662 prayer book perpetuated this inaccurate theology.
In his 1724 manuscript of alterations to the 1662 prayer book, Clarke rewrote prayers to redirect them exclusively towards God the Father. Clarke was a friend of Caroline, who later became queen consort of King George II. After Caroline became queen in 1727, Clarke intended to request she push his nomination as a bishop, a position that would allow him to formally revise the prayer book. Had he not declined to sign the Thirty-nine Articles and encountered protests from William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury, over this heterodoxy, historian A. Elliot Peaston believed Clarke might have become the Archbishop of Canterbury. Unable to secure official support for his views, Clarke's altered prayer book went unpublished. However, copies were made and the original manuscript alterations were given to the British Library following his death.
Clarke's alterations would eventually inspire several revised prayers books for Presbyterian-influenced congregations and become the basis for what historian G. J. Cuming deemed the most influential unofficial revision to the 1662 prayer book. Theophilus Lindsey, then a Presbyterian-minded Church of England vicar at the Church of St Anne, Catterick, acquired a copy of Clarke's altered prayer book made by his brother-in-law and fellow clergyman John Disney. Therein, Lindsey found Clarke's many revisions, including references to the Trinity "slashed out with violent strokes". Lindsey was so impressed with Clarke's work that he intended to introduce the changes to his congregation at Catterick, but ultimately decided against such action as he believed they would in violation of his vows to the Church of England. However, following his resignation from the church and influenced by John Jones's 1749 Free and Candid Disquisitions, he added further Unitarian alterations to Clarke's work and published them in 1774 as The Book of Common Prayer reformed according to the plan of the late Dr Samuel Clarke, publishing an enlarged edition in 1775. While Lindsey used Clarke's name, liturgist Ronald Jasper argued that little was borrowed from the 1724 alterations in producing the 1774 prayer book and that Lindsey's liturgy was more radical, with influence from William Whiston.
Lindsey's prayer book was utilized by the Dissenter congregation he founded at Essex Street Chapel—the first formally Unitarian church in England—from its first service on 17 April 1774 onward. Lindsey was part of a network of like-minded churchmen, including Joseph Priestley, that had influenced Lindsey's aversion to the unmodified 1662 prayer book before his resignation from the Church of England. While Lindsey seems to have approved of Priestley's efforts to produce a paraphrased Bible, Lindsey retained the King James Version and 1662 prayer book's psalter for his revised prayer book on the premise that he was preserving the 1662 prayer book's scriptural foundations while replacing its theology. Lindsey's prayer book, which was repeatedly revised, proved popular with Presbyterians and helped cement the address of all prayers to God the Father as "one of the most tenacious characteristics of Unitarian worship".
English Unitarian attempts to revise the Anglican prayer book continued into the nineteenth century. Lindsey's editions in particular remained a dominant influence in English Unitarian service books. However, some Unitarian liturgies like John Prior Estlin's 1814 General Prayer-Book were derived from the 1662 prayer book independent of Lindsey's work. Despite their departure from Trinitarian orthodoxy, English Unitarian revisions often featured only conservative changes in hopes of limiting division between Unitarians and the Church of England. In 1861, Thomas Sadler and James Martineau published Common Prayer for Christian Worship, initiating a departure from utilizing the Anglican prayer book as the basis of English Unitarian worship. However, some Anglican influences survived within Sadler and Martineau's text and five of the 40 English Unitarian liturgical books published from 1861 until the middle of the next century were derived from the Anglican prayer book.
### Freeman and the King's Chapel liturgy
In 1784, Essex Street Chapel congregant William Hazlitt provided a copy of Lindsey's prayer book to his friend James Freeman of King's Chapel in Boston, spurring a Unitarian revision of the prayer book that remains in use there today. Founded in 1686, King's Chapel was the oldest Anglican church in Boston. As the American Revolution War escalated, King's Chapel's Loyalist Anglican minister and much of its congregation fled with the British Army when it evacuated Boston in 1776. Those Anglicans who remained permitted members of the Old South Church congregation to use King's Chapel, with the two groups celebrating separately at alternating times in the day. Under this scheme, Freeman—Harvard graduate and Congregationalist—was invited to serve as a lay reader at King's Chapel in 1782. The congregation's proprietors chose Freeman as pastor on 21 April 1783.
Freeman was initially content using the 1662 prayer book as modified at Trinity Church. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, there was broad support for both a new American Anglican church and a local revision to the 1662 prayer book. Simultaneously, there was a rise of Unitarian sentiment across New England congregations, including at King's Chapel. Already, King's Chapel had ceased praying the 1662 prayer book's prescribed prayer for the king and royal family, instead substituting prayers for the president and Congress. Additionally, Freeman's position enabled him to say the Athanasian Creed at his discretion. Hazlitt, who had arrived in Boston from England in search of a preaching position, informed Freeman of Lindsey's prayer book and convinced Freeman and "several respectable ministers" to abandon the ubiquitous Trinitarian doxology.
At age 24, Freeman agitated for a revised prayer book for King's Chapel. On 20 February 1785, the proprietors voted to create a committee composed of seven men to report on Freeman's alterations. Drawing upon Clarke and Lindsey's work, Freeman worked with Hazlitt on a prayer book which was then put to a vote by the proprietor's of King's Chapel. Freeman wrote to his father before the vote, saying that, despite being optimistic that he had the necessary support, he would resign his position as pastor should the prayer book vote fail. On 19 June, Freeman's prayer book was adopted by a 20–7 majority. "Thus," Francis William Pitt Greenwood said in his sermon at Freeman's funeral, "the first Episcopal church in New England became the first Unitarian church in the New World."
The 1785 prayer book's preface held that "no Christian, it is supposed, can take offence at, or find his conscience wounded" by the King's Chapel liturgy and that "The Trinitarian, the Unitarian, the Calvinist, and the Arminian will read nothing in it which can give him any reasonable umbrage." Despite this, there was dissent and controversy over the liturgy's publication. With Freeman still not ordained, he applied for ordination in the new Anglican Episcopal Church in 1786. This application was rejected by Bishops Samuel Seabury and Samuel Provoost after Freeman refused to assent to the Episcopalians' own prayer book and the Trinitarian theology within it.
The congregation decided to ordain Freeman themselves, devising and performing their own "solemn and appropriate form" in November 1787, with the senior churchwarden laying his hands on Freeman. This event ended King's Chapel's association with the Episcopal Church. Samuel J. May wrote that Freeman was isolated during his early ministry through his exclusion from the Episcopal Church and poor integration with nearby Congregationalist ministers who were "embarrassed" by Freeman's use of a prayer book and liturgies. Freeman retired from ministry in 1826.
Under the guidance of assistant minister Samuel Cary, a second edition of the liturgy was published in 1811 which included services from other congregations and reintroduced prayers removed in the 1785 edition. Greenwood oversaw three revisions between 1828 and 1841 which sought to improve the prayer book's private devotional functionality and introduced over 100 hymns to the psalter. Theses additions were subsequently removed in the 1918 sixth edition by senior minister Howard N. Brown. This version would remain largely unchanged through 1980, though minister Joseph Barth introduced services from 1955 to 1965 which were likely influenced by his Catholic upbringing. The congregation also borrowed liturgical concepts from the Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council reforms.
In 1980, the vestry voted to create a committee of nine lay members to revise a new prayer book. This revision process took five years, culminating in the current ninth edition in 1986. The congregation is now part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. King's Chapel is described as "Unitarian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance," and its prayer book stands in contrast with the preference for humanist and non-Christian inspired forms of radical free worship among modern Unitarians.
## Contents
Since Thomas Cranmer introduced the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, there have been many editions of the Book of Common Prayer published in more than 200 languages. According to historian David Ney, Cranmer hoped his prayer book would grant the English people "a robustly Trinitarian worship which immersed them in the full counsel of the Word of God". Cranmer drew upon both the medieval Sarum Use and contemporary Lutheran and Calvinist forms in developing the liturgies contained within the Anglican prayer book. The successive editions of the Church of England's prayer books iterated on its contents, which by the 1662 prayer book featured the Holy Communion office, Daily Office, lectionaries, calendar of feasts and fasts, ordinal, psalter, and Thirty-nine Articles. The 1662 prayer book also contained the rites for confirmation, several forms of baptism, and burial. It was from the 1662 prayer book that the Unitarian and other Dissident prayer book traditions found their basis.
Many of Unitarian revisions themselves drew upon Lindsey's editions, mirroring the 1662 prayer book's structure if not always its verbiage. The English Unitarian revisions of the period from 1774 until 1851 demonstrated little evidence that their compilers were learned in liturgics, though their Unitarian theology was strongly expressed. A commonality among Unitarian liturgical texts was their Communion offices which expressed an extreme sacramentarian or memorialist theology of the Eucharist.
### Clarke
Clarke's 1724 manuscript of alterations to the 1662 prayer book were generally Unitarian and Nontrinitarian, with all Trinitarian formulae modified or removed. Clarke made these alterations with a pen within his personal copy of the prayer book. The alterations including deleting the Gloria Patri and replacing it with his own doxology that only addressed God the Father. He also rewrote portions of the Litany to direct prayers away from the Holy Spirit towards the Father. The Nicene Creed was replaced with a psalm; the Athanasian Creed was removed.
Clarke's ordinal deleted Trinitarian references at the conclusion of prayers. He also adjusted the formulae for the ordinations of priests and bishops, changing the impositions of hands to prayers. The hymn "Come Holy Ghost" in the ordination of priests was supplanted with a psalm, while the wording in the consecratory rite for the episcopate of "fall to Prayer" was made "offer up our Prayers".
### Lindsey
Lindsey's 1774 prayer book, which incorporated both his own and Clarke's alterations to the 1662 prayer book, was tonally Unitarian with some Puritan influence. In order to prevent the interpretation that a priest could forgive sins, the absolution at both Mattins and Evensong are both replaced with the Collect for Purity and the Communion office is rewritten as a prayer for God's forgiveness. The Te Deum, Benedicite, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were all removed. Additionally, the prefaces, Athanasian Creed, catechism, ordinal, and some collects were removed. The virgin birth of Jesus was rejected as "unhistorical" and Satan no longer mentioned within the Litany. Like Clarke, Lindsey presumed that ante-Nicene Christians subscribed to Unitarian views, thus preserving the Apostles' Creed in this revision.
Lindsey's prayer book emphasized the Daily Office, drawing upon medieval Catholic practices and establishing non-Eucharistic offices as the norm for Unitarian worship. The Communion office—sans the Prayer of Humble Access, Lord's Prayer, and Prayer of Thanksgiving—was always led by Mattins. Lindsey similarly removed references to sacrifice and the Second Coming. Offices for private baptism, the "Baptism of those of Riper Years", and confirmation were removed and the matrimonial office altered to included a longer exhortation. While Lindsey's omissions were extensive, they were not entirely unusual among contemporary prayer book abridgments. It was not uncommon for 18th-century English printers trying to keep expenses down to delete material not conducive to devotional usage. Additionally, some of the material removed in the original 1774 revised prayer book were reintroduced in Lindsey's later editions, including within the 1791 edition that brought back offices for adult Baptism and ordination as well as a catechism.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Unitarian Neville Chamberlain utilized the phrase "Peace for our time", a modified form of the phrase "peace in our time" which appears in the 1662 prayer book. It is possible that his familiarity with the phrase came from its retention within Lindsey's recension of the Book of Common Prayer and modified appearance within later Unitarian service books.
### King's Chapel
The first edition of the King's Chapel liturgy closely followed the amendments within Clarke's prayer book. Freeman's 1785 preface acknowledges that "great assistance hath been derived from the Judicious corrections of the Reverend Mr. Lindsey" and his prayer book revised according to "the truly pious and justly celebrated Doctor Samuel Clarke". The Trinitarian Gloria Patri was deleted, as were the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds. Freeman's low churchmanship and the congregation's egalitarianism saw minister replace priest and ordinance replace sacrament. A catechism written by Priestley, who relocated to preach in Pennsylvania towards to end of his life, was included for teaching children.
Unlike Lindsey's prayer book, the King's Chapel prayer book retained the Benedicite due to its biblical basis in 2 Corinthians. The text also differed in keeping an altered Te Deum, as well as maintaining both the Venite and the General Confession's "there is no health in us." Freeman, writing to Lindsey in 1786, described that "Some defects and improprieties" were retained so that the King's Chapel congregation might "omit the most objectionable parts of the old service, the Athanasian prayers." According to King Chapel minister Carl Scovel, Freeman's 1785 liturgy appears "quite traditional" to the modern eye, with the Sunday offices and lectionary largely similar to those of the 1662 prayer book.
Greenwood reported that the first edition of the King's Chapel liturgy was immediately published after its approval and used until 1811, when it was supplanted with the amended second edition. Greenwood, replacing Freeman as pastor, guided the next three revisions; the 1828 third edition added further changes that were themselves unchanged in the 1831 fourth edition, the latter of which added family services, prayers, and devotional hymns. Greenwood also helmed a fifth edition in 1841. Over the course of his revisions, Greenwood introduced over 100 hymns to the psalter including those by Isaac Watts and Charles and John Wesley.
In the 1918 sixth edition, Brown removed almost all of Greenwood's additions. In the same edition, Brown introduced the Didache—a previously lost early Christian text rediscovered in 1900–to the prayer book, though Scovel believed this addition was never used during King's Chapel services. The 1925 seventh edition differed very little from the sixth, with minor alterations to language within the Communion service. Though not formally published, an "eighth edition" developed between 1955 and 1965 under minister Joseph Barth through the introduction of additional services such as the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. Barth and his services were likely influenced by his Catholic upbringing.
The latter forms remained in use through 1980, by which time the minister utilized the Common Lectionary. This lectionary would be formally integrated into the 1986 ninth edition, as would Evensong and several accreted services including midweek prayers. The entire psalter according to the King James Version with minor Revised Standard Version-based changes and more than 30 hymns were also included in this revision. Most of the 1662 prayer book's language was retained, but the revising committee made "modest changes" to remove male generic terms.
## Influence on non-Unitarian liturgies
While few ministers followed Lindsey in resigning from the Church of England, many shared his theology and considered his 1774 prayer book a modernization of the 1662 liturgy. Through the 19th century, new editions of Lindsey's prayer book and derivatives were printed, with the Athanasian Creed remaining their primary objection. With Lindsey's prayer book as inspiration, 15 liturgies based on the 1662 prayer book were published in England between 1792 and 1854 with similar Unitarian "modernizations". Peaston assessed these liturgies as "remarkable for the rationality of their thought, and the tediousness of their expression. They would seem indeed to have been in the tradition of John Locke."
John Wesley created his own revision of the 1662 prayer book in 1784 for American Methodists entitled The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America. Wesley, who considered the 1662 prayer book strong in its "solid, scriptural, rational Piety", is known to have been interested in producing a revised prayer book since 1736. Clarke, Lindsey, Jones, and Whiston are among the prayer book revisionists that Wesley explicitly named in his personal writings and Wesley was familiar with Lindsey through the Feathers Tavern Association. While Wesley never said whether he read Lindsey's prayer book, the 1784 Sunday Service contained many parallels with the 1774 revision, including omitting a confirmation rite.
After approving the 1785 liturgy, members of King's Chapel held a measure of expectation that other American Anglican congregations would follow their lead in issuing their own revised prayer books. So that the new Episcopal Church might have its own prayer book, its General Convention authorized a committee with broad powers. The Unitarians of King's Chapel hoped that the new prayer book would match their theology. William Smith of Maryland was the committee's most important member, with the similarly important William White also serving on the committee. The adoption of Freeman's liturgy at King Chapel spurred White to correspond with a Charles Miller. Here, White acknowledged the King's Chapel congregation's actions as irregular and defended Trinitarian orthodoxy but also admitted his own desires that the Episcopal Church's revised prayer book remove non-scriptural doctrines and creeds. The committee published their proposed prayer book on 1 April 1786. The text reflected English Deist influence and anticipated the "great outbreak of American Unitarianism" that came in 1815. This proposed prayer book removed the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, omitted the "He descended into hell" from the Apostles' Creed, and reduced praise to the Trinity. This text did not last and a more conservative prayer book revision was approved by the General Convention in 1789 and introduced in 1790.
## See also
- Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813
- Great Ejection
- Savoy Conference
|
60,364,795 |
2019 AFL Women's Grand Final
| 1,075,822,262 |
Grand final game in the AFL Women's league
|
[
"2019 AFL Women's season",
"AFL Women's Grand Finals",
"Adelaide Football Club",
"Australian rules football in South Australia",
"Carlton Football Club",
"March 2019 sports events in Australia",
"Sport in Adelaide"
] |
The 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at Adelaide Oval on 31 March 2019 to determine the premiers of the league's third season. Admission was free to the general public, and the match between and was contested before a crowd of 53,034 – which at that time was the record for a stand-alone women's sporting event in Australia. It was won by Adelaide, 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18), and Adelaide claimed its second premiership in three years. Its co-captain Erin Phillips was voted best on ground, despite suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the third quarter.
## Background
Two new teams, and , joined the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition in 2019, bringing the total number of teams to ten. The league retained a seven-round home-and-away season. This was achieved by splitting the competition into two conferences, with one of the new teams in each. Each team played four games against their fellow conference members and three "cross-over" matches against teams from the other conference. Conference membership was based on the final ladder positions of the 2018 season. As it turned out, the competition was unbalanced, with Conference A teams winning 14 of the 16 cross-over matches. The finals series was expanded to include preliminary finals for the first time. The two teams that finished the highest in each conference at the end of the home-and-away season qualified for the preliminary finals, with the team that finished highest in Conference A playing the team that finished second in Conference B and vice versa. The winners of these matches then played in the AFL Women's Grand Final.
After winning the 2017 AFL Women's Grand Final, the Crows finished a disappointing fifth in 2018. The Blues, which were also expected to perform well in 2018, did much worse, ultimately battling for the wooden spoon – and getting it. In 2019, both Adelaide and Carlton had new coaches – Matthew Clarke and Daniel Harford respectively. The Crows retained much of their team from 2017 and 2018, but lacked a ruckman after Rhiannon Metcalfe was sidelined for an ACL reconstruction and Jasmyn Hewett suffered an ankle injury. Former Opals basketball player Jess Foley was pressed into the ruck role at the last minute. The Crows went on to an impressive season, notching up seven games by an average of 40 points, and finishing on top of Conference A. Their only loss for the season was by a single point in the first round match against the , when they kicked an inaccurate 1.11. Carlton got off to a slow start, losing to North Melbourne in round one and then Adelaide in round two, before winning five of the last six games to finish on top of Conference B.
In their preliminary final, the Crows conducted a 66-point demolition of Geelong before a home crowd of 13,429 at the Adelaide Oval, not allowing the visitors to score until late in the final quarter. In an answer to critics of the women's game that complained about it being low scoring, the Crows outscored nine of the men's teams that weekend (including their own men's team, as well as reigning premiers ), despite the fact that AFLW only plays 15-minute quarters (instead of 20), and has less time on. The conference system ensured that Carlton, which finished at the top of Conference B, also hosted the preliminary finals. This was seen as disadvantaging Fremantle, which had won two more games than Carlton, and had a far better percentage (141.2 per cent compared with 99.6 per cent).
In the lead up to the preliminary final, an image of Carlton's star forward Tayla Harris demonstrating her on-field athleticism that was posted online by the Seven Network came under attack by misogynist internet trolls. Rather than suppressing their comments, Seven took the image down, resulting in a chorus of outrage. In the preliminary final, Harris went on to demonstrate her kicking style, slotting Carlton's first goal from 45 metres out. The Blues went on to win by 36 points, setting up a grand final clash with Adelaide.
## Venue
As the highest-ranked team across the two conferences, Adelaide won the right to host the grand final. The match was scheduled for Sunday, 31 March 2019 at Adelaide Oval, which AFLW Chief Executive Nicole Livingstone conceding this timeslot would clash with a men's game between and the . The AFLW considered a Saturday game, but getting the ground ready for a game later that afternoon meant that the Grand Final would have to start at 10:30 am (Adelaide time) to have the signage and advertising changed for the men's game, a proposition that was rejected outright by the clubs and Adelaide Oval management.
Admission was free to the general public, and the AFL hoped for a crowd of around 25,000. In the event, the crowd of 53,034 was the largest ever for an AFLW match, the fifth highest ever at Adelaide Oval, and a record for a stand-alone women's sporting event in Australia, surpassing a record set in 1920. Extra seating was hurriedly opened in the upper grandstands. The unanticipated large crowd put the city's public transport under strain. Its record as the highest women's sports crowd in Australian history was surpassed in March 2020 by the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Final, but as of 2020 retains the record for highest crowd at a women's football match.
## Teams
Teams were announced on 29 March 2019. Both clubs had unchanged lineups from the preliminary finals the week before:
## Match summary
The Blues started well, with Madison Prespakis scoring an early first goal off a 50-metre penalty on Adelaide co-captain Erin Phillips. The Crows were quick to respond with quick ball movement in the centre square from Foley to Ebony Marinoff to Anne Hatchard, who notched up their first score. A second 50-metre penalty gave Carlton another chance but was rushed through by Adelaide for a behind by Sarah Allan. The Crows were soon back on the attack, with Phillips marking just inside the 50-metre arc. Her kick fell short, but Irish recruit Ailish Considine put it through for a second goal. A third soon followed with Eloise Jones passing the ball to Hannah Martin for a goal from point-blank range. An attempt at the other end by Sarah Hosking resulted only in a behind, and yet another 50-metre penalty gave the Blues an opportunity on the siren, but the ball fell well short of the goal line.
At quarter time, Carlton felt they were dominating everywhere but on the scoreboard, but this feeling would soon pass. The second quarter opened with an Adelaide goal. An overhead mark in the centre by Jones was handed off to Phillips, who booted it forward to the advantage of Stevie-Lee Thompson, who marked it and sprinted towards the goal line. Thompson proved too fast for the Carlton defenders, who were caught too far out from goal, and a goal resulted. A couple of minutes later, Phillips earned a free kick from a high tackle by Sarah Hosking. One accurate kick later, and Phillips had ten goals for the season, and Adelaide, five for the match. A mark by Renee Forth off a delivery from Deni Varnhagen nearly made it six, but she missed, scoring only a behind.
The next opportunity came a few minutes later. A Carlton turnover saw Allan boot the ball forward to Chloe Scheer, who took a specky over the top of Blues defender Kerryn Harrington. She played on and delivered it to Danielle Ponter for an easy first goal. Soon after though, Scheer went down with a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury, and was out of the game. It did not halt Adelaide, as Ponter marked a delivery from Jones inside the goal square for her second. A third followed, bringing her to twelve for the season. Tayla Harris attempted to score one against the flow of play, but it was touched on the line by Allan. It fell to Carlton captain Bri Davey to put the Blues' second goal on the scoreboard. Jones had a free kick at goal after the siren that sailed through, and Adelaide took a forty-point lead into the half time break.
When play resumed after the long break, Harris started in the ruck, possibly in an attempt to get her into the game. This backfired, as she immediately collided with Davey, and went off clutching her knee. Thompson also hobbled off the ground, with an ankle injury. Both would return, but not for some time. Phillips marked a pass from Forth 40 metres out, and had her second goal of the match. Soon after, Phillips went down, clutching her knee, and had to be stretchered off the ground. The crowd gave her a standing ovation, and even the Carlton players looked upset. In the final quarter, the players had less to show for their efforts. Foley missed a shot from 35 metres out, scoring only a behind, as did Chloe Dalton at the other end. Hosking was awarded a free kick after being crunched in a tackle by Foley, but missed everything. A final effort by the Crows could not score before the final siren sounded.
### Best on Ground Medal
Phillips's injury cast a pall over the Crows' win. "It's an ACL," she confirmed, "something I have done before in my other leg. This was supposed to be the good leg." Despite only playing for three-quarters, Phillips, who had 18 disposals and two goals, was named best on ground, as she had been when Adelaide previously won the flag in 2017. The following night she won the AFLW Players' Association's Most Valuable Player award, which she had also previously won in 2017. On 2 April, she was awarded the AFLW best and fairest award for second time, having previously won it in 2017, and was named the captain of the 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team. Her Adelaide co-captain Chelsea Randall was named the vice captain, and Hatchard, Thompson and Marinoff were also part of the squad, as were Carlton's Prespakis, Harrington and Gabriella Pound.
## Scorecard
## Media coverage
The game was broadcast live on Channel Seven, Fox Footy, womens.afl and the AFLW Official App. ARIA Award winner Amy Shark performed songs from her debut album Love Monster. She said that the Tayla Harris photo incident made her more determined to perform, saying that "[J]ust being a female in music, I'll do anything I can to help highlight any other woman trying to make it in the professional world, no matter what that field is". The match was watched live by a television audience of 409,000.
|
73,686,804 |
Francis Slater Rebow
| 1,166,863,290 |
British Army officer and patron (1770–1845)
|
[
"1770 births",
"1845 deaths",
"British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars",
"Deputy Lieutenants of Essex",
"Military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars"
] |
General Francis Slater Rebow (born Francis Slater; 1770 – 7 October 1845) was a British Army officer and patron of the artist John Constable. Having joined the army in 1787, he served with the 60th Regiment of Foot in the West Indies, fighting at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Battle of Martinique and Invasion of Guadeloupe, being severely wounded in the latter. In 1796 he returned home, marrying the daughter of Isaac Martin Rebow and taking the Rebow surname as his own.
Rebow transferred to the 2nd Life Guards in 1797 and continued to serve in England until promoted to major-general in 1812. At the end of the year he was given command of the Household Cavalry Brigade going out to fight in the Peninsular War. Rebow spent some time at Lisbon before returning home in January 1813; he received no further military commands but by seniority was promoted to general in 1841.
Rebow first commissioned Constable, whose father he was a friend of, to paint a portrait of his daughter Mary Martin Rebow in 1812. Rebow stayed in contact with Constable and in 1816 had him return to his estate at Wivenhoe Park to paint two works including Wivenhoe Park, Essex, which helped pay for Constable's subsequent marriage.
## Early life
Francis Slater was born in 1770, the son of solicitor Richard Slater of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and his wife Catherine née Heaton. Slater had one brother, Gill, who became a midshipman in the Royal Navy, and a sister, Jane, who died the widow of a vicar in 1850.
## Military career
### West Indies Campaign
Slater joined the British Army as an ensign in the newly raised 4th Battalion, 60th Regiment of Foot, on 14 November 1787. Towards the end of the following year he travelled with his regiment to serve in the West Indies. While there Slater purchased his promotion to lieutenant on 14 October 1789 and captain on 18 September 1792. Subsequent to this the French Revolutionary Wars began, with the 60th still in the West Indies. Slater, in command of the battalion's Grenadier Company, took part in the British expedition that set out to capture French island possessions there.
Slater fought at the successful Battle of Martinique between February and March 1794, and on 1 April was present at the capture of Saint Lucia. The expedition moved in the same month to attack Guadeloupe in the Invasion of Guadeloupe. During the initial fighting Slater was seriously wounded through both of his thighs and by the beginning of 1796 he had returned to England.
### Return to England and marriage
In England Slater purchased his promotion to major, staying in the 60th, on 20 February and then on 22 March married Mary Hester Rebow (died 1834) in St Margaret's, Westminster. Rebow was the only child and heir of Colonel Isaac Martin Rebow of Wivenhoe Park; as part of the marriage Slater agreed to adjust his surname, becoming Francis Slater Rebow on 4 April by Royal Licence and taking the Rebow coat of arms as his own. In return he gained control of the Wivenhoe estate and received a large private income. The couple would go on to have three children together; a son who died in infancy, Mary Emma Rebow (died 1804), and Mary Martin Rebow (died 1842), the latter of whom married Sir Thomas Ormsby.
### Life Guards
Rebow exchanged his commission into the 2nd Life Guards on 16 March 1797, serving in the unit as a supernumerary major. Part of the Household Cavalry Brigade, the 2nd Life Guards were a predominantly ceremonial regiment that had last seen active service half a century before at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745.
Rebow was promoted to the rank of major and lieutenant-colonel on 25 September 1799. When the appointment was announced in The London Gazette on 1 October it mistakenly recorded Rebow as becoming the regiment's second major instead of major and lieutenant-colonel, and this was not noticed. As such Rebow was promoted to lieutenant-colonel a second time on 29 April 1802 with the understanding that he was still only a major. The mistake was recognised by the War Office on 25 September that year and Rebow's rank was corrected, listing him as a major and lieutenant-colonel with seniority from 1799.
Having continued to serve in the 2nd Life Guards, on 20 August 1807 Rebow purchased a lieutenant-colonelcy within the 1st Life Guards. This was also a supernumerary position. He was then promoted to brevet colonel on 25 October 1809, serving with the 1st Life Guards until 1 January 1812 when he was promoted to major-general.
### General officer
Rebow's first appointment as a general officer was to serve on the military staff of the Inland District. With the Napoleonic Wars ongoing, towards the end of the year the Prince Regent gave permission for the Household Cavalry Brigade to join General Lord Wellington's army in the Peninsular War. Command of the brigade was initially given to Major-General Terence O'Loghlin but he resigned under the grounds of ill health on 25 October. Rebow was chosen to take his place, assuming command on 28 November. The brigade contained squadrons from both regiments of Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards. Wellington had previously requested that no new generals be sent out from England because they were "useless and only served to keep out men who were useful"; according to military historian Sir John Fortescue he was "disgusted" when Rebow and another cavalry general, Brigadier-General Henry Fane, were ordered out anyway.
The Household Cavalry Brigade had arrived in the Iberian Peninsula on 23 November. Quartered in Lisbon, Rebow began to prepare his regiments for wartime service. Unused to this, the colonel in command of the 2nd Life Guards and several of his officers threatened to resign. Rebow subsequently requested a leave of absence in mid-January 1813; he returned to England and received no further military duties, retiring to live at Wivenhoe Park. His abruptly ended period of command made him the shortest tenured of any general under Wellington during the Napoleonic Wars. He subsequently became a magistrate and deputy lieutenant for Essex, and through seniority was promoted to lieutenant-general on 17 May 1825 and general on 23 November 1841. Rebow died at Wivenhoe Park on 7 October 1845, aged 75, having had what military historians Ron McGuigan and Robert Burnham describe as an "unremarkable career". He was buried in St Mary's, Colchester.
## Patron of Constable
Rebow is most commonly known for his patronage of the British artist John Constable rather than for his military endeavours. Rebow first contracted Constable, whose father he was a friend of, for a painting in September 1812. Rebow had him make a full-length portrait of his young daughter Mary Martin, for which Constable stayed at Wivenhoe between 6 and 22 September.
With the Napoleonic Wars over, in July 1816 Rebow had Constable return to Wivenhoe, and over the next two months the artist created two new works for him. These were Wivenhoe Park, Essex, and The Quarters, Alresford Hall, another property owned by Rebow. Both were complete by 17 September; the money from the commissions, as Rebow had intended, allowed Constable to marry his long-time sweetheart Maria Bicknell. Both pictures again focused on Rebow's daughter, who is pictured driving a donkey cart in the former, a painting that Rebow had Constable extend so that the full extent of Wivenhoe Park could be included. Constable wrote to Bicknell on 30 August describing the Rebows:
> I feel entirely comfortable with them, because I know them to be sincere people - and though of family and in the highest degree refined, they are not at all people of the world...
Constable stayed in contact with Rebow after this, returning to Wivenhoe in August 1817 where he made two drawings. In August 1819 Rebow corresponded with Constable about having the artist visit again to paint a group portrait of the Rebow family. While Constable intended to fulfil the engagement, Rebow evinced doubts that he would be able to find the time for the painting to be completed because of a busy social schedule, and as no such portrait survives or is recorded it is likely that Constable never visited Wivenhoe to begin it. Rebow is described by art historians Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams as a more sympathetic patron of Constable than others such as Richard Benyon De Beauvoir.
## Notes and citations
|
51,067,825 |
Hurricane Darby (2016)
| 1,165,746,319 |
Category 3 Pacific hurricane in 2016
|
[
"2016 Pacific hurricane season",
"2016 in Hawaii",
"Category 3 Pacific hurricanes",
"Hurricanes in Hawaii",
"July 2016 events in the United States",
"Tropical cyclones in 2016"
] |
Hurricane Darby was a strong tropical cyclone which affected Hawaii as a tropical storm. The fifth named storm of the busy 2016 Pacific hurricane season, Darby originated from a low pressure area that developed in the Eastern Pacific well southwest of Mexico during July 2016. It gained sufficient organization to be declared a tropical depression on July 11, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Darby the next day. Further intensification ensued, and Darby became a hurricane on July 13. Over the next three days, Darby slowly strengthened to Category 3 status on the Saffir–Simpson scale, becoming a major hurricane. Cool waters and dry air caused Darby to weaken over the next three days, although Darby managed to restrengthen slightly on July 21 before weakening once again as the storm neared Hawaii. Just after midnight on July 24 (UTC; 2:00 p.m. on July 23 HST), Darby made landfall on the Big Island. Darby weakened into a remnant low two days later.
Darby was the second tropical storm to make landfall in Hawaii in two years. Before landfall, tropical storm watches and warnings were issued for all of Hawaii, and were only discontinued after Darby weakened to a tropical depression on July 25. Over the period of July 23 to July 25, Darby brought heavy rain and widespread flash floods to the windward sides of the Hawaiian Islands, with storm rainfall totals exceeding 5 in (130 mm) on the Big Island and 7 in (180 mm) in Oahu. This resulted in some road closures, sewage spills, numerous flight cancellations, and minor property damage. Overall, no fatalities occurred during the passage of Darby.
## Meteorological history
In the first two weeks of July, a series of low pressure areas formed off the coast of Mexico. The fourth of these was spawned by a tropical wave several hundred miles south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico, first noted by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on July 9. Amid favorable conditions, convection associated with the low developed and increased in organization, and a tropical depression formed on the afternoon of July 11 centered 290 mi (470 km) south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Despite moving over sea surface temperatures of at least 82 °F (28 °C), moderate northeasterly wind shear hindered development; however, the depression soon obtained sufficient organization to be upgraded to a tropical storm and given the name Darby. On July 13, the shear decreased, and as a result Darby began to intensify quickly, strengthening into a hurricane 30 hours after becoming a tropical storm. At that time, Darby was located about 570 miles (920 km) south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.
Tracking steadily west-northwestward along the southern periphery of a subtropical ridge, Darby continued to intensify albeit at a slower rate due to its proximity to dry air. On July 15, Darby became a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Despite decreasing ocean temperatures, Darby intensified further to attain winds of 105 mph (169 km/h). Strengthening was no longer expected as Darby moved over sea temperatures of less than 79 °F (26 °C), but on July 16, Darby managed to develop an annular structure. Convection became more symmetric, outer rainbands dissipated, and the 25 mile-wide (35 km) eye became increasingly well defined. Darby reached its peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 958 mbar (958 hPa; 28.3 inHg). However, twelve hours later, Darby weakened back to a Category 2 hurricane as convection deteriorated. Embedded in cool sinking air and moving over decreasing sea surface temperatures, Darby began a gradual weakening trend, degrading to a Category 1 hurricane by July 18. Despite warming cloud tops, Darby exhibited a well-defined circulation and a ragged eye feature, remaining a minimal hurricane through the rest of the day. However, Darby finally weakened to a tropical storm on July 19. Darby continued to degrade as it crossed 140°W into the Central Pacific, and entered the jurisdiction of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) on July 20 with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h).
Soon after, Darby turned west-southwestwards as it continued to weaken, but the shear diminished slightly on July 21, allowing Darby to restrengthen to winds of 65 mph (105 km/h). The reprieve was short-lived, however, as an approaching upper-level low once again increased shear over the system the next day. Darby began to curve back to the west on July 23 as it approached a weakness in the aforementioned subtropical ridge, all the while weakening slowly. Just after 00:00 UTC on July 24 (2:00 p.m. HST on July 23), Darby made landfall on the Big Island near the village of Pahala in the Kaʻū District, with winds of 40 mph (64 km/h). This marked one of only six occurrences of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm intensity or higher making landfall on one of the major islands in the state of Hawaii since record keeping began in 1949. The others were an unnamed tropical storm in 1958, Hurricane Dot in 1959, Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Tropical Storm Iselle in 2014, and Tropical Storm Olivia in 2018. After crossing the Big Island, Darby began to accelerate northwestwards in earnest while maintaining as a minimal tropical storm. On July 25, Darby weakened into a depression, and degenerated into a remnant low on the next day 265 mi (426 km) west-northwest of Honolulu.
## Preparations and impact
As Darby approached Hawaii on July 21, a tropical storm watch was issued for Hawaii County and Maui County. These were modified to tropical storm warnings by noon the next day. A tropical storm watch was issued for Oahu late on July 22 as Darby continued to move closer to Hawaii, and was modified to a tropical storm warning the next morning. Eventually, after Darby made landfall in Kaʻū District in the afternoon of July 23, the tropical storm warning was extended to all islands in the state of Hawaii. The watches and warnings were gradually discontinued as Darby weakened and moved away from the islands, with none remaining by July 25.
In advance of the storm, Governor of Hawaii David Ige declared a state of emergency, calling for people to "follow emergency instructions, prepare for the storm and take steps to protect your families, employees and property". Flights to and from the region were delayed or cancelled; Island Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines waived change fees for affected customers. The Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association cancelled its championship due to be held on July 24. Both the Hawaii and Maui campuses of the Kamehameha Schools were closed over the weekend, and athletic events due to be held there were cancelled or postponed. In Hawaii County and Oahu, all state parks and campgrounds were closed until July 25; Maui and Kauai counties suffered partial closures instead.
Despite not being hit by a named storm in decades, the Big Island was directly hit twice in a three-year period with Tropical Storm Iselle making landfall 23 months prior to Darby, doing so in almost the exact location. Heavy rainfall occurred along the windward slopes within the range of 5 to 8 in (130 to 200 mm), peaking at 7.41 in (188 mm) near the Kawai Nui Marsh. Flash flooding occurred in the South Kohala, Kau, and Hamakua districts which forced the closure of numerous roads. However, Hilo, located between these heavily impacted districts, recorded a relatively modest 1.77 inches of rain on July 23 and 24. After passing over the Big Island, Darby proceeded northwestward via the Kauai Channel, while resulting in heavy rains over southern slope of Haleakala on Maui. These rains forced the closure of Highway 11, as well as parts of Interstate H-1 and the Kamehameha Highway. Island-wide, a peak 24-hour rainfall total, 8.51 in (215 mm), was measured in Wailuaiki. In Oahu, rainfall, sometimes at rates of 3 to 4 in (75 to 100 mm) per hour, caused flash flooding in several areas within the urban core of Honolulu and along windward slopes. A stream in Kalihi inundated several properties and spilled over a bridge located further downstream. Several sewage spills occurred on Oahu due to the heavy rain, including 42,000 gallons (160,000 litres) at the Kailua Wastewater Treatment Plant and 4,100 gallons (15,500 litres) from a private residence on Liliha Street. This resulted in the issuance of a brown water advisory. In all, peak storm totals on Oahu during the night of July 24 exceeded 7 in (180 mm), including 10.8 in (275 mm) in Kaneohe. Across the entire state of Hawaii, there was no loss of life during the passage of Tropical Storm Darby, and overall the islands experienced only minimal impacts from the storm.
## See also
- Weather of 2016
- Tropical cyclones in 2016
- List of Category 3 Pacific hurricanes
- Other tropical cyclones named Darby
- List of Hawaii hurricanes
- Hurricane Gil (1983) – moved just north of the Hawaiian Islands
- Hurricane Dalilia (1989) – missed the Hawaiian Islands to the south, but set a rainfall record for the month of July in Honolulu
- Tropical Storm Flossie (2013) – narrowly brushed the Hawaiian Islands, sparking the issuance of tropical storm warnings
|
14,289,009 |
HMS Active (1911)
| 1,114,917,435 |
Active-class scout cruiser
|
[
"1911 ships",
"Active-class cruisers",
"Ships built in Pembroke Dock",
"World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom"
] |
HMS Active was the name ship of her class of three scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1911, she was briefly assigned to several different units until the ship became the flotilla leader of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (DF) in 1914. When the First World War began in August of that year, the 2nd DF was assigned to the Grand Fleet where their primary task was to protect the fleet from submarines.
By the beginning of 1916, Active was assigned to the Grand Fleet and played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland later in the year. Shortly afterwards, she was briefly assigned as the flotilla leader of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla and escorted the main body of the Grand Fleet during the action of 19 August. By the end of the year, the ship was assigned to the Dover Patrol and was present during two battles with German destroyers, but was not engaged in either. Active was based in Ireland by the beginning of 1918, but was soon transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and based in Gibraltar for the rest of the war. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1919 and was sold for scrap the following year.
## Design and description
The Active-class ships were the last class of turbine-powered scout cruisers ordered by the Admiralty. These ships were intended to work with destroyer flotillas, leading their torpedo attacks and backing them up when attacked by other destroyers, although they quickly became less useful as destroyer speeds increased before the First World War. Active had a length between perpendiculars of 405 feet (123.4 m), a beam of 41 feet (12.5 m) and a draught of 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m). She displaced 3,340 long tons (3,394 t) at normal load and 3,945 long tons (4,008 t) at deep load. Her crew consisted of 289 officers and other ranks.
The main armament of the Active class consisted of ten breech-loading (BL) four-inch Mk VII guns. The forward pair of guns were mounted side by side on a platform on the forecastle, six were amidships, three on each broadside, and the two remaining guns were on the centreline of the quarterdeck, one ahead of the other. The guns fired their 31-pound (14 kg) shells to a range of about 11,400 yards (10,400 m). Her secondary armament was four quick-firing (QF) three-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) Vickers Mk I guns and two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. In 1918, two 4-inch guns were removed from Active and Fearless. A QF three-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun was added to Active in 1916.
As scout cruisers, the ships were only lightly protected to maximise their speed. They had a curved protective deck that was one inch (25 mm) thick on the slope and 0.5 inches (13 mm) on the flat. Their conning tower was protected by four inches of armour.
## Construction and career
Ordered as part of the 1910 Naval Programme, Active was the tenth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. She was laid down at Pembroke Dockyard's No. 5 Slipway on 27 July 1910 by Mrs. Mundy, wife of the dockyard's Captain-Superintendent, Captain Geoffrey Mundy and launched on 14 March 1911 by Lady Herbert, wife of Major-general Ivor Herbert, MP. Completed in December 1911, the ship was assigned to the 4th Battle Squadron of the First Fleet by 18 February 1913, but had been transferred to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron as of 18 June. She remained with the squadron for less than a year and was serving as the flotilla leader of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla by 18 March 1914.
At the beginning of World War I in August, Active and her flotilla were assigned to the Grand Fleet. On 1 September, a submarine was spotted inside Scapa Flow and the 2nd DF was detailed to hunt down the imaginary submarine while the rest of the Grand Fleet put to sea. When not escorting the capital ships of the Grand Fleet, the flotilla spent much time on anti-submarine patrol off the entrances to Scapa Flow. In mid-October, multiple reports of submarines in the Minch caused Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, to send Active and some of her destroyers there to hunt them down, but nothing was found. After their search was concluded, they joined a large part of the Grand Fleet at Lough Swilly, Ireland, on 22 October. Sometime between October 1915 and January 1916, the cruiser was relieved of her assignment with the 2nd DF and she was on detached service with the Grand Fleet in January.
By May, Active was attached to the Grand Fleet flagship, Iron Duke. She played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June as she was ordered to screen the left flank of the Grand Fleet as it approached the High Seas Fleet. After Jellicoe ordered the Fleet to deploy to port just before it encountered the German fleet, that placed her behind the battleships, unable to engage any German ships. She only fired eight 4-inch rounds during the entire battle.
Shortly afterwards, Active was assigned as the leader of the 4th DF, based at Immingham in the Humber. On the evening of 18 August, the Grand Fleet put to sea in response to a message deciphered by Room 40 that indicated that the High Seas Fleet would be leaving harbour that night. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland the following day, based on extensive reconnaissance conducted by Zeppelins and submarines. Active and eight of her destroyers were summoned to rendezvous with the main body of the Grand Fleet and met up with them the following afternoon, but they did not encounter the High Seas Fleet. The cruiser did not remain there long and was assigned to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla of the Dover Patrol by January 1917. Active was present, but was not engaged, when German destroyers attacked the Dover Patrol on the nights of 25/25 February and 20/21 April.
By January 1918 she was at Queenstown as the flagship of the Southern Division of the Coast of Ireland Station. Several months later, she deployed to the Mediterranean and was based in Gibraltar by April. She survived the war and was still in Gibraltar on 1 December 1918, although the ship was in reserve at Devonport by 1 February 1919. Active was sold for scrap on 21 April 1920.
|
53,302,129 |
Dorothy P. Rice
| 1,162,921,875 |
American health statistician
|
[
"1922 births",
"2017 deaths",
"American statisticians",
"Brooklyn College alumni",
"Fellows of the American Statistical Association",
"Health economists",
"Members of the National Academy of Medicine",
"People from Brooklyn",
"University of California, San Francisco faculty",
"University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni",
"Women statisticians"
] |
Dorothy P. Rice (June 11, 1922 – February 25, 2017) was an American health statistician whose work contributed to the creation of Medicare in the United States. Rice graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and began working with the US government soon after, but left the workforce to begin raising a child. Just over a decade later, she returned to government work with a position at the Social Security Administration, where she was one of the first scientists to study the economic cost of illness and exposed a lack of health insurance among the elderly.
Rice was later the director of the National Center for Health Statistics from 1976 to 1982, where she helped create the National Death Index. She finished her career at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was a Regents' lecturer and professor emeritus. During her time at the university, she co-authored a paper on the costs of smoking, which impacted ongoing legal negations between the US government and the US tobacco industry and contributed to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
## Early life
Rice was born Dorothy Pechman in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on June 11, 1922. Her father, Gershon, was a textile laborer, and her mother, the former Lena Schiff, was a homemaker. Both were immigrants from Poland. Raised in Brooklyn, she attended Brooklyn College for a year and a half. She took up an offer from her brother to finish her collegiate work in Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, something she credited with changing her life, after he received a \$2,000 fellowship that could support the both of them. While there, she majored in labor economics.
## Career
After graduating, Rice did not attend graduate school. Instead, she was determined to work for the federal government in Washington, D.C. Rice obtained employment at the Railroad Retirement Board and quickly moved up to the Department of Labor, as an assistant statistical clerk, and the War Production Board. Rice married Jim Rice in 1943 and left her job to be with him in Camp Grant, Illinois. Needing a job, she started assembling parts at a combined plumbing and munitions factory. It took a friend's word to get her husband transferred to Washington D.C., where he worked at Walter Reed General Hospital; she applied for and got a position with the War Labor Board.
After the Second World War, Rice got a job in the Hill–Burton program, but left the workforce in 1949 when her first child was born. She returned in 1960 after having two more children, but quickly contacted Louis Reed, her former boss, to move to a different job in the Social Security Administration in the Office of Research and Statistics. She worked under Ida Merriam, serving as the deputy assistant commissioner for Research. Her first task was analyzing the 1962 survey of the aged, the first time such a survey had been conducted. Rice was the first to publish about it, in a landmark 1964 paper on the number of US senior citizens who had health insurance. Rice found that only 8.5 million, or less than half of the total population, had it. Moreover, those that did not were more likely to be women and have lower incomes:
> ... the same factors making for more extensive use of hospital facilities among some segments of the aged population are associated also with lack of insurance protection for meeting such costs. The 8+1⁄2 million persons aged 65 and over with no health insurance of any kind include disproportionate numbers of the very old—particularly women—those in poor health, and those no longer engaged in full-time employment. These groups, who in the main have the lowest incomes, also spend more days in the hospital during the year than other aged persons. Thus the greater need for medical care at a time when income tends to drop—a chronic problem for older persons generally—is most acute for those with the least resources.
Rice's conclusions were a motivating factor in the creation of Medicare in the United States. In subsequent years, she began tabulating the economic costs of health, illness, and aging. She was among the first to link them in research; her papers included "Economic Costs of Cardiovascular Diseases" and the "Estimating the Costs of Illness." Scientists would later credit her with kindling the entire field of research. She was also the first to estimate the economic value of homemakers, who were predominantly women.
Rice left the Social Security office in 1976 to become the Director of the National Center for Health Statistics. Her proudest achievement during her tenure was the creation of the National Death Index, but her office's performance was heavily affected by job cuts during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1982, Rice became a Regents' lecturer at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she focused on the financial impact of smoking cigarettes. In 1998, Rice and several co-authors estimated that the United States as a whole paid out \$72.7 billion in healthcare costs related to smoking in 1993, with Medicaid alone paying out \$12.9 billion. These studies emerged at the same time as, and had an effect on, negotiations between the US government and tobacco companies that eventually resulted in a court settlement that cost the latter over \$200 billion.
Rice remained at UCSF as a professor emeritus until her death in 2017 at the age of 94, from complications after a fall resulted in a broken hip. Over the course of her career, Rice authored over 200 research articles, books, book chapters, and monographs.
## Awards
Rice was elected to the Institute of Medicine. She became a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1977. She received the Association for Health Services Presidential Award for Leadership and Contribution to Health Services Research. She also received the American Public Health Association Sedgwick Memorial Medal. In 2013, Rice received the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research. The New York Times said of her career that she was "a pioneering government economist and statistician whose research about the need of the aged for health insurance helped make the case for the passage of Medicare in 1965."
|
791,518 |
1979 Atlantic hurricane season
| 1,168,753,093 |
Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean
|
[
"1979 Atlantic hurricane season",
"Articles which contain graphical timelines"
] |
The 1979 Atlantic hurricane season was the first Atlantic hurricane season to include both male and female names on its list of tropical cyclone names. The season officially began on June 1, and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. It was slightly below average, with nine systems reaching tropical storm intensity. The first system, an unnumbered tropical depression, developed north of Puerto Rico on June 9. Two days later, Tropical Depression One formed and produced severe flooding in Jamaica, with 40 deaths and about \$27 million (1979 USD) in damage. Tropical Storm Ana caused minimal impact in the Lesser Antilles. Hurricane Bob spawned tornadoes and produced minor wind damage along the Gulf Coast of the United States, primarily in Louisiana, while the remnants caused flooding, especially in Indiana. Tropical Storm Claudette caused extensive flooding in Texas due to torrential rainfall, resulting in two deaths and about \$750 million in damage.
The most intense tropical cyclone of the season was Hurricane David. It moved across the Lesser Antilles in late August, with the worst hit islands being Dominica and Martinique. The storm then strengthened further and struck Dominican Republic as a Category 5 hurricane. David was the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclone to make landfall in that country since 1930. In Dominican Republic alone, the system caused approximately 1,000 deaths and \$1 billion in damage. Later, David brought wind damage, tornadoes, and flooding to portions of the East Coast of the United States. Overall, the storm resulted in 2,068 deaths and \$1.54 billion in damage. Hurricane Frederic brought destruction to the Gulf Coast of the United States, especially in Alabama and Mississippi.
Tropical Storm Elena brought flooding to the Greater Houston area, with five deaths and about \$10 million in damage. However, little impact was reported elsewhere. Hurricane Henri remained offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and disrupted efforts to stop the Ixtoc I oil spill. Henri also caused flooding in portions of Mexico. In mid and late-September, a tropical depression caused flooding in the Southern United States, especially Texas. Four deaths were reported, two in Texas and two in Kentucky. Toward the end of October, a brief hurricane force subtropical storm struck Newfoundland, but left little impact. Other than Tropical Depression One and the tropical depression that brought flooding to the Southern United States in mid and late-September, none of the other depressions caused significant effects of land. Collectively, the tropical cyclones of the season resulted in \$4.12 billion in damage and at least 2,136 deaths.
## Seasonal summary
The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1979. Although 26 tropical systems were observed, only 16 reached the level of tropical or subtropical depression, and nine of them reached tropical storm intensity, which is slightly below the 1950-2000 average of 9.6 named storms per season. Of the nine tropical storms, five of them strengthened into a hurricane, which is also slightly below average. Two of the five hurricanes became major hurricanes, which is Category 3 or greater on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Three tropical storms, one hurricane-strength subtropical storm, and three hurricanes made landfall during the season and caused at least 2,136 fatalities and \$4.12 billion. Despite its intensity, Tropical Depression One also resulted in damage and deaths due to severe flooding in Jamaica. The last storm of the season, an unnumbered tropical depression, dissipated on November 15, about 15 days before the official end of hurricane season on November 30.
Tropical cyclogenesis began in June, with three tropical depressions, one of which strengthened into Tropical Storm Ana. A total of four systems formed in the month of July, including Hurricane Bob and Tropical Storm Claudette. Activity briefly halted after Tropical Depression Six dissipated on August 6 and lasted until Hurricane David developed on August 25. There were four other tropical cyclones that month, including Hurricane Frederic and Tropical Storm Elena. In September, six systems developed, with the named storms of the month being hurricane Gloria and Henri. October was slightly less active, with four tropical cyclones, one of which was an unnamed subtropical storm. Two additional tropical depressions developed in November, the second of which dissipated on November 15.
The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 93. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity.
## Systems
### Tropical Depression One
A tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea situated south of Grand Cayman developed into a tropical depression on June 11. Tracking generally northward, the depression passed west of Jamaica. On June 12, the depression peaked with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) system, having never reached tropical storm status. The following day, it made landfall in Cuba. Early on June 14, the depression emerged into the western Atlantic Ocean and then moved parallel to the east coast of Florida for a few days. The depression made another landfall in South Carolina on June 16 and dissipated hours later.
The slow movement of the depression to the west of Jamaica resulted in torrential rainfall, peaking at 32 in (810 mm) in Friendship, a city in Westmoreland Parish. Throughout western Jamaica, about 1,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, while up to 40,000 people were rendered homeless. The city of New Market was submerged for at least six months. Crops, electricity, telephones, buildings, and railways also suffered damage during the disaster. There were 40 deaths and approximately \$27 million in damage. The depression also brought heavy precipitation to the Bahamas and Cuba. Along the East Coast of the United States, light rainfall, strong winds, and rough seas were observed. In South Carolina, a person went missing and was later presumed to have drowned after their boat was torn loose from its mooring.
### Tropical Storm Ana
A tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa and entered the Atlantic on June 14. It headed westward and after satellite imagery indicated a closed circulation, the wave was classified as a tropical depression on June 19, while located several hundred miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands. The system was the first tropical cyclone to develop east of the Lesser Antilles in June since the 1933 Trinidad hurricane.
A United States Air Force reconnaissance aircraft noted that the depression was strengthening and by early on June 22, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ana. Thereafter, the storm began tracking almost due westward toward the Lesser Antilles. Ana peaked with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h), before wind shear began detaching deep convection from the center, resulting in weakening. Early on June 23, the storm struck St. Lucia and then fell to tropical depression intensity upon entering the Caribbean Sea. Ana continued weakening and degenerated back into a tropical wave on June 24, while located between Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Despite directly crossing St. Lucia, only light rainfall occurred. In Dominica, rain fell for 15 hours and gusty winds were reported.
### Hurricane Bob
A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on July 9. Tracking in a general northward direction, favorable conditions allowed for quick strengthening. Less than a day after formation, the system reached tropical storm intensity, thus being named and becoming the first Atlantic tropical storm with a male name, followed by hurricane intensity on July 11. Shortly after strengthening into a hurricane, Bob reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h). At the same intensity, Bob made landfall west of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and rapidly weakened after moving inland. However, the resulting tropical depression persisted for several days as it paralleled the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. On July 16, the system emerged into the western Atlantic, where it was subsequently absorbed by a nearby low-pressure area.
Widespread offshore and coastal evacuations took place along the Gulf Coast of the United States in preparation for Hurricane Bob. Effects from the hurricane on the United States were mostly marginal and typical of a minimal hurricane. The cyclone produced a moderate storm surge, damaging some coastal installments and causing coastal inundation. Strong winds were also associated with Bob's landfall, though no stations observed winds of hurricane force. The winds downed trees and blew out windows, in addition to causing widespread power outages. Heavy rainfall was also reported in some locations, peaking at 7.16 in (182 mm) in Louisiana. Further inland, the torrential rains led to flooding in Indiana, resulting in more considerable damage as opposed to the coast. Bob also spawned eight tornadoes, with two causing significant damage. Overall, Bob was responsible for one death and \$20 million in damage.
### Tropical Storm Claudette
A tropical wave spawned a tropical depression east of the Lesser Antilles on July 16. It gradually strengthened into Tropical Storm Claudette on July 17 and crossed the northern Leeward Islands later that day. As the storm approached Puerto Rico early on July 18, it weakened back to a tropical depression. Claudette degenerated back into a tropical wave after crossing Puerto Rico. Late on July 18, the remnants struck the Dominican Republic and emerged into the Caribbean Sea on the following day. The system crossed western Cuba on July 21, shortly before reaching the Gulf of Mexico and regenerated into a tropical cyclone. By July 23, Claudette regained tropical storm intensity and turned northward. The storm made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border later that day. It eventually dissipated over West Virginia on July 29.
In the Lesser Antilles, the storm brought heavy rainfall and gusty winds to several islands. Minor flooding occurred in Saint Croix. Rainfall exceeding 10 inches (250 mm) in some areas of Puerto Rico led to widespread agricultural damage, flooded homes and streets. There was one fatality and approximately \$750,000 in damage. Up to 42 inches (1,100 mm) of rain fell in one day in Alvin, Texas, which is the record 24‐hour precipitation amount for any location in the United States. Within the state of Texas alone, hundreds of businesses and an estimated 15,000 homes sustained flood damage. Rice crops were also ruined. One drowning death was reported in the state. In Louisiana, extensive coastal flooding occurred, with miles of roads battered or destroyed in Cameron Parish, while several boats along the coast capsized. At Johnson Bayou, fishing camps and homes suffered damage or destruction. Further inland, other states experienced freshwater flooding, especially Indiana and Missouri. Overall, Claudette was responsible for two deaths and \$750 million in losses.
### Hurricane David
A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression at 12:00 UTC on August 25, while located about 870 mi (1,400 km) southeast of Cape Verde. Moving westward, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm David early the next day. Shortly after attaining hurricane status on August 27, David rapidly deepened. By 12:00 UTC the following day, it was a strong Category 4 hurricane. Thereafter, the storm oscillated in intensity while approaching the Lesser Antilles and struck Dominica late on August 29. with winds 145 mph (230 km/h). After entering the Caribbean Sea, further deepening occurred and at 18:00 UTC on August 30, David peaked with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h). Late on August 31, it curved northwestward and struck Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at the same intensity.
The storm rapidly weakened while crossing Hispaniola and was only a Category 1 hurricane upon emerging into the Windward Passage on September 1. Moving northwestward, David made landfall in the eastern tip of Cuba that day and briefly weakened to a tropical storm. However, after reaching the Atlantic, it re-strengthened into a Category 1. David then moved through the Bahamas and crossed Andros Island on September 2. Thereafter, the storm re-intensified into a Category 2 and made landfall near West Palm Beach, Florida late the next day. The hurricane remained barely inland and re-emerged into the Atlantic at Merritt Island early on September 4. Thereafter, the cyclone weakened slightly and made landfall in Blackbeard Island, Georgia later that day as a Category 1 hurricane. David headed north-northeastward and weakened to a tropical storm on September 5. While crossing the Mid-Atlantic states, the storm curved northeastward and accelerated, before becoming extratropical over New York late on September 6. The remnants of David persisted over New England and Atlantic Canada, before dissipating northeast of Newfoundland on September 8.
In Dominica, strong winds damaged or destroyed 80% of homes, leaving 75% of the island's population homeless. Agricultural was also severely impacted, with 75% of crops ruined, including a complete loss of bananas. There were 56 deaths and 180 injuries. Similar destruction occurred on Guadeloupe and Martinique, with hundreds left homeless and extensive damage to crops. Guadeloupe and Martinique also had \$50 million and \$100 million in damage, respectively. In Puerto Rico, flooding and high winds combined resulted in \$70 million in damage and seven fatalities, four from electrocution. Dominican Republic was lashed with very strong winds and torrential rains. Entire villages were destroyed and numerous others were left isolated because of damage or destruction to many roads. Thousands of houses were destroyed, leaving over 200,000 homeless in the aftermath of the hurricane. Additionally, nearly 70% of the country's crops were ruined. Overall, the storm caused at least 2,000 deaths and about \$1 billion in damage in Dominican Republic. Minimal impact occurred in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti. In Florida, strong winds left moderate damage, including a downed radio tower, snapping a crane, and deroofing buildings. There were also 10 tornadoes. Damage totaled approximately \$95 million. Other states along the East Coast of the United States experienced flooding and tornadoes. The latter was particularly severe in Virginia, with tornadoes causing one death, damaging 270 homes, and destroying three other homes. Throughout the United States, there were 15 deaths and about \$320 million in damage.
### Tropical Depression Eight
A tropical disturbance formed over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on August 24. By the following day, the disturbance developed into a tropical depression, operationally classified as the eight of the season. The depression entered the Bay of Campeche on August 25 and headed northward. Around 06:00 UTC the following day, the system peaked with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h). However, on August 28, a ridge of high pressure forced the system to move west-southwestward, causing it make landfall in a rural area of Tamaulipas later that day. The depression brought heavy rainfall to some areas of Mexico, with 18.94 in (481 mm) of precipitation observed in Santa María Xadani, Oaxaca. Rainfall extended northward into Texas, peaking at 4.86 in (123 mm) in McAllen.
### Hurricane Frederic
Satellite imagery and ship observations indicated that a tropical depression developed at 06:00 UTC on August 29, while located about 270 mi (430 km) south-southwest of the southernmost island of Cape Verde. By 12:00 UTC the next day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Frederic. Further intensification occurred, with the storm becoming a hurricane on September 1. However, outflow from Hurricane David caused Fredric to weaken back to a tropical storm early the following day. While moving across the northern Leeward Islands on September 4, bringing gusty winds and heavy rainfall to some islands. In Sint Maarten, a fishing boat sank, killing seven people. Strong winds were observed in the United States Virgin Islands. On Saint Thomas, the roofs of three large apartment buildings were blown off, leaving about 50 families homeless. Additionally, flooding destroyed four houses and impacted 50 others. Numerous houses on Saint Croix also suffered water damage.
Around midday on September 4, Frederic made landfall in Humacao, Puerto Rico with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). Flooding on the island forced over 6,000 people to flee their homes in search of shelter. Numerous roads were closed due to landslides and inundation. At least nine cities experienced flooding. After crossing Puerto Rico, Frederic briefly re-emerged into the Caribbean Sea, before making landfall near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) at 00:00 UTC on September 6. Minimal impact was reported in that country, though heavy rainfall, exceeding 24 in (610 mm) in some places, compounded damage inflicted by Hurricane David. Frederic weakened further while crossing Hispaniola. Later on September 6, the system briefly re-emerged into the Atlantic Ocean, but land interaction with the island weakened it to a tropical depression. The storm crossed the Windward Passage and then made landfall in southeastern Guantánamo Province of Cuba early on September 7. Due to the weak nature of Frederic, minimal impact was reported. It then moved along, or just offshore the southern coast of Cuba. While situated south of Matanzas Province early on September 9, the system re-strengthened into a tropical storm. Despite land interaction with Cuba, Frederic continued to intensify.
Shortly before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, Frederic re-intensified into a hurricane. During the next few days, the storm significantly, but not rapidly, strengthened while moving northwestward. At 12:00 UTC on September 12, Frederic attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 943 mbar (27.8 inHg). Early on the next day, the storm made landfall near Dauphin Island and then near the Alabama–Mississippi state line. The storm rapidly weakened and fell to tropical storm intensity by late on September 13. Frederic then accelerated northeastward and became extratropical over New York around 18:00 UTC the next day. The remnants persisted until dissipating over New Brunswick early on September 15. Frederic brought destruction to the Gulf Coast of the United States. In Alabama, storm surge up to 12 ft (3.7 m) and wind gusts as high as 145 mph (233 km/h) caused the destruction of nearly all buildings within 600 ft (180 m) of the coast. In the Mobile, nearly 90% of the city lost electricity. Extensive coastal damage was also reported in Mississippi, due to tides ranging from 6 to 12 ft (1.8 to 3.7 m) above normal. Hundreds of structures were severely impacted or destroyed. Throughout the United States, the storm caused five deaths and approximately \$1.7 billion in damage.
### Tropical Storm Elena
On August 27, a weak tropical wave crossed Florida and entered the Gulf of Mexico. Upon reaching the central Gulf of Mexico, ships, buoys, and satellite observations indicated that a tropical depression developed early on August 30, while located about halfway between the southeastern tip of Louisiana and the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. A reconnaissance aircraft flight confirmed the existence of a tropical depression. Late on August 30, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Elena. Early the next day, Elena peaked with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1,004 mbar (29.6 inHg).
Around 12:00 UTC on September 1, the storm made landfall near Matagorda, Texas with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). Elena rapidly weakened to a tropical depression about six hours later, before dissipating early on September 2. Due to the weak nature of the storm, impact was generally minor. In Texas, precipitation peaked at 10.28 in (261 mm) at Palacios Municipal Airport. Flooding occurred, with the worst impact in Harris County. Hundreds of cars were stalled or submerged in downtown Houston and 45 buses suffered water damage. Basements and the police station were also inundated. Elsewhere in the county, some homes and businesses were flooded. Elena caused five deaths and less than \$10 million in damage.
### Hurricane Gloria
A tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa and developed into a tropical depression by September 4. Under the influence of a trough in the westerlies, the depression northeastward and bypassed Cape Verde on September 5. At 12:00 UTC on the following day, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gloria, while moving west-northwestward at about 17 mph (27 km/h). After curving abruptly north-northwestward, Gloria became a hurricane early on September 7. A higher latitude frontal system and a high pressure area caused Gloria to decelerate and resulted in a westward motion beginning on September 9.
Gloria briefly weakened to a tropical storm late on September 10, but re-strengthened into a hurricane on the following day. Eventually, the hurricane turned northeastward and began to accelerate. At 1800 UTC on September 12, Gloria attained its peak intensity with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 975 mbar (28.8 inHg). The storm then began weakening and fell to Category 1 hurricane intensity on September 13. During that time, Gloria slowly began merging with a low pressure area that was located north of the Azores and lost tropical characteristics by September 15. Gloria was centered well north of Flores Island in the Azores, at the time.
### Hurricane Henri
A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression near the Yucatan Peninsula on September 15. It quickly entered the Gulf of Mexico and turned westward. As the depression was curving southwestward on September 16, it strengthened and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Henri. Thereafter, Henri decelerated and continued to intensify, becoming a hurricane on September 17. Later that day, as it was turning northwestward, the hurricane peaked with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 983 mbar (29.0 inHg). A nearby low pressure area caused Henri to move erratically. Henri began weakening due to land interaction with Mexico and it was downgraded back to a tropical storm on September 18.
By September 19, Henri doubled-back southeastward while weakening to a tropical depression. The depression lost much of its convection and curved northeastward on September 20, ahead of a cold front. Henri turned east-northeastward on September 23 and was absorbed by a frontal low pressure trough in the east-central Gulf of Mexico on the following day. This was a rare example of a storm entering the Gulf of Mexico and dissipating without making landfall. Henri disrupted cleanup efforts from the Ixtoc I oil spill by damaging a cap designed to stop oil from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Although it remained offshore, the storm brought heavy rainfall to Mexico, peaking at 19.59 inches (498 mm), forcing at least 2,000 people from their homes in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche.
### Mid-September Tropical Depression
This system formed as a non-tropical low within a pre-existing area of heavy thunderstorms along a stationary front on September 19 off the coast of Brownsville, Texas. The low appeared to the northwest of Tropical Storm Henri in the Gulf of Mexico and to the east of a cold-core low over Arizona and New Mexico. The low became a non-tropical gale center on September 20, while moving into southeast Texas. The cyclone continued northeastward and dissipating over Tennessee. Sources differ on the status of this storm, with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) initially considering it a tropical depression, while the National Climatic Data Center considered the system non-tropical and it is not included in the Atlantic hurricane best track.
The depression brought heavy rainfall to Texas, with 10 to 15 in (250 to 380 mm) of precipitation between Corpus Christi and southwestern Louisiana. Severe flooding occurred, especially in Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Nueces, and San Patricio counties. In Harris County alone, nearly 1,950 homes and hundreds of cars were flooded. Two deaths were reported in Texas, both from drowning. Portions of western Louisiana experienced 10 to 17 in (250 to 430 mm), resulting in severe flooding, with the worst impacted parishes being Allen, Calcasieu, and Rapides. Collectively, 1,400 homes, businesses, and schools were flooded in the three parishes, while 40,000 to 50,000 acres (16,000 to 20,000 ha) of crops were inundated. In Mississippi, locally strong winds caused minor damage. Flooding to a lesser extend was also reported in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. Two additional deaths occurred in Kentucky.
### October subtropical cyclone
A frontal wave formed about 200 mi (320 km) south-southwest of Bermuda in response to a short wave in the westerlies on October 23. After satellite imagery indicated that convection associated with the system was becoming increasingly concentrated, a subtropical depression developed 12:00 UTC. The subtropical depression moved rapidly north-northeastward and strengthened into a subtropical storm early on October 24, based on satellite imagery classification. Accelerating to a forward speed of 29 mph (47 km/h), the storm intensified further and peaked with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) – equivalent to a minimal Category 1 hurricane – at 18:00 UTC on October 24.
Early on October 25, the system attained its minimum barometric pressure of 980 mbar (29 inHg). The storm already began weakening and losing tropical characteristics after tracking away from the Gulf Stream. Shortly thereafter, the cyclone made landfall near Rose Blanche-Harbour le Cou, Newfoundland, with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). By the time it re-emerged into the Atlantic later on October 25, the system had transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. Rainfall spread across Atlantic Canada, peaking at 2.91 in (74 mm) on northeastern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
### Other systems
The first tropical depression of the season developed north of Puerto Rico on June 9. It headed northward without intensifying and dissipated near Bermuda on the following day. Tropical Depression One existed in June from June 11 to June 16. Another tropical depression developed north of Hispaniola on July 8. It headed northward and then curved northeastward, bypass during the process. By July 13, the depression dissipated while located well south of Newfoundland. A day after the previous tropical depression developed, another depression formed near 10th parallel in the eastern Atlantic on July 9. It headed due westward and dissipated on July 11. A tropical depression formed offshore of Georgia July 10. The system moved north of due east with slight intensification on July 11. It turned east, passing south of Bermuda early on the morning of July 13 while accelerating eastward, with the depression dissipating that afternoon. A tropical depression formed offshore western Africa on July 20. The system moved westward through Cape Verde as a weak system on July 22. The system turned west-northwest and by late on July 25, the depression began to weaken as it turned more to the north, and the system dissipated well to the east-southeast of Bermuda on July 26. Tropical Depression Six developed east of the Lesser Antilles on July 28. The depression moved to the northwest and bypassed Bermuda on August 4. The depression made landfall on the southeastern tip of Newfoundland on August 5 after passing southeast of Nova Scotia earlier that day. Tropical Depression Six became an extratropical cyclone while southeast of Labrador on August 6.
Tropical Depression Eight formed in the Bay of Campeche on August 25. Moving generally northwest, the depression moved into Mexico just south of the international border with the United States late on August 27. Early on the following day, it dissipated inland. In Brownsville, Texas, rainfall accumulations totaled to 2.83 inches (72 mm) on August 27, which was a record amount of precipitation for that date. The last tropical depression in August developed offshore of The Carolinas on August 29. The system quickly moved east-northeast between the East coast North America and Bermuda over the next couple days. The depression became a frontal wave southeast of Newfoundland on September 1, and dissipated soon afterward. Early in September, a tropical depression formed northeast of Cape Verde on September 1. The depression moved west-northwest before recurving sharply while located near the 40th meridian west on September 4. Steadily weakening thereafter over cool waters, the depression dissipated southeast of the Azores on September 6. A tropical depression formed near Cape Verde on September 16 and initially movied northwestward. Once it passed the 50th meridian west, the system turned northward and passed between Bermuda and the Azores. Turning northeast on September 20, the system became an extratropical cyclone, passing northwest of the Azores before dissipating on September 21. A tropical depression formed in the tropical north Atlantic east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21. The system moved northwest over the next few days, staying well east of the Leeward Islands, before dissipating on September 24.
Tropical Depression Fourteen formed on October 12 near Honduras and slowly moved to the northeast towards Cuba. The depression remained south of Cuba and turned back towards the Yucatan Peninsula. The depression made landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula on October 20 and dissipated shortly thereafter. Impact from the depression in this region is unknown. Toward the end of October, a tropical depression formed in the eastern tropical Atlantic on October 22. It moved northwest over the next six days, dissipating on October 28 to the southwest of the Azores. The last tropical depression in October developed near Panama on October 24. The depression initially moved northward toward Cuba, but eventually veered southwestward. By October 29, the depression made landfall in Nicaragua and dissipated several hours later. Impact from this system in Central America is unknown. A subtropical depression formed from an old weather front, or baroclinic zone, on November 6 near Puerto Rico. The depression moved northeastward but appeared to have made contact with the westerlies, as it turned off to the east-northeast. Ships that passed through the system recorded winds of 35-40 mph (55–65 km/h). Early on November 10, the system degenerated to a low pressure area, which soon dissipated. The final tropical depression of the season formed northeast of the Greater Antilles along a frontal zone on November 13. The depression completed a quick recurvature over the next couple days without significant changes in intensity. By November 15, the depression dissipated as a tropical cyclone.
## Storm names
Since 1953, the NHC and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used a naming list that contained only female names. Throughout the years, feminist groups criticized this practice, especially in the aftermath of hurricanes Eloise in 1975 and Belle in 1976. However, in May 1978, NOAA administrator Richard A. Frank announced a list with male and female names would be used in the eastern Pacific Ocean that year and in the Atlantic by 1979, after submitting a proposal to the World Meteorological Organization. Initially, male names were scheduled to be introduced in the 1981 season. Storms were named Ana, Bob, Claudette, David, Frederic and Henri for the first (and only, in the cases of David and Frederic) time in 1979. The name Elena was previously used in the 1965 season, and the name Gloria was used in 1976. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1985 season. Names that were not assigned are marked in .
### Retirement
In the spring of 1980, at the 2nd session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the names David and Frederic from its rotating name lists due to the deaths and damage they caused, and they will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They were replaced with Danny and Fabian for the 1985 season, respectively.
## Season effects
The following table lists all of the storms that have formed in the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s) (in parentheses), damages, and death totals. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 1979 USD.
## See also
- 1979 Pacific hurricane season
- 1979 Pacific typhoon season
- 1979 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1978–79, 1979–80
- Australian region cyclone seasons: 1978–79, 1979–80
- South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1978–79, 1979–80
- South Atlantic tropical cyclone
- Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone
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Folk metal
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Fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music
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[
"Folk metal",
"Heavy metal genres"
] |
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example, Dutch Heidevolk, Danish Sylvatica and Spanish Stone of Erech). It also sometimes features soft instrumentation influenced by folk rock.
The earliest folk metal bands were Skyclad from England and Cruachan from Ireland. Skyclad's debut album The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth was released in 1991 and would be considered a thrash metal album with some folk influences, unlike Cruachan’s early work which embraced the folk element as a defining part of their sound. It was not until 1994 and 1995 that other early contributors in the genre began to emerge from different regions of Europe and beyond. Among these early groups, the German band Subway to Sally spearheaded a different regional variation that over time became known as medieval metal. Despite their contributions, folk metal remained little known with few representatives during the 1990s. It was not until the early 2000s when the genre exploded into prominence, particularly in Finland with the efforts of such groups as Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Turisas, and Moonsorrow.
The music of folk metal is characterised by its diversity with bands known to perform different styles of both heavy metal music and folk music. A large variety of folk instruments are used in the genre with many bands consequently featuring six or more members in their regular line-ups. A few bands are also known to rely on keyboards to simulate the sound of folk instruments. Lyrics in the genre commonly deal with fantasy, mythology, paganism, history and nature.
## History
### Origins
The English band Skyclad was formed in 1990 after vocalist Martin Walkyier left his previous band, Sabbat. Skyclad began as a thrash metal band but added violins from session musician Mike Evans on several tracks from their debut album, The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth, an effort described by Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic as "ambitious" and "groundbreaking." The song "The Widdershins Jig" from the debut album has been acclaimed as "particularly significant" and "a certain first in the realms of Metal". With a full-time fiddler in their lineup, the band's second album feature a "now legendary folky jig style" and "more prominent inclusion of the fiddle playing lead lines and melodies normally associated with the lead guitar parts of most other rock bands."
Even with the departure of Martin Walkyier in 2001, Skyclad remains an active folk metal group today after nearly two decades since their formation. In contrast, the Portuguese band Moonspell had a brief tenure in the genre. Their first release was the 1994 Under the Moonspell EP with music that featured Lusitanian folk and Medieval influences. With the release of their debut album Wolfheart in the following year, the band made a transition into gothic metal and within a matter of years "quickly evolved into one of the major players of the European goth-metal scene."
Cruachan were formed in 1992 in Dublin, Ireland. From the outset their intention was to mix the native Irish folk music of their home country with the more extreme side of metal music. Their debut album Tuatha Na Gael was released in 1995 and was a full folk metal album from start to finish. In the Italian book “FOLK METAL, Dalle Origini Al Ragnarok”, a comprehensive history of the genre, Author Fabrizio Giosue credits Cruachan as being the very first real Folk Metal band. He acknowledges that Skyclad did have some folk parts in some songs before Cruachan however he goes on to say Cruachan used folk music as much as they used heavy metal music. Cruachan also used arrangements of known folk songs and melodies, Skyclad wrote folk "sounding" parts.
Spanish band Mägo de Oz was among early Folk Metal artists that were influenced by the Celtic folk music. The band introduced folk elements and instruments in their power metal-based music from their 1994 debut album. Another early contributor to folk metal is the Finnish group Amorphis. They formed in 1990 with their debut album, The Karelian Isthmus, following two years later. Their sophomore effort Tales from the Thousand Lakes was released in 1994 with "plenty of fascinating melodies and song structures that drew heavily from the traditional folk music of their native country." The album received a favorable reception from fans with "its content quickly being exalted across the Metal underground as perhaps the very pinnacle of atmospheric Death Metal achievement."
### Regional variations
In the years 1994 and 1995, several distinct variations on folk metal emerged from different regions.
#### Medieval metal
The German band Subway to Sally was formed in 1992 as a folk rock band, singing in English and incorporating Irish and Scottish influences in their music. With their second album MCMXCV released in 1995, the band adopted a "more traditional approach" and started singing in German. Taking Skyclad as an influence, Subway to Sally performs a blend of hard rock and heavy metal "enriched with medieval melodies enmeshed in the songs via bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, lute, mandoline, shalm [sic], fiddle and flute" and combined with "romantic-symbolic German-speaking poetry" in their lyrics. With chart success in their native Germany, they have since been credited as the band "that set off the wave of what is known as medieval rock."
This distinctly German phenomenon has been continued and expanded further by subsequent bands. Formed in 1996, the Berlin based In Extremo has also found chart success with their "medieval style stage garb and unashamed usage of such bizarre, sometimes hand made, instruments as the Scottish bagpipes." Another band that has experienced commercial success in Germany is the Bavarian outfit Schandmaul. Describing themselves as the "minstrels of today," the band employs a musical arsenal that includes the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, shawm, violin and mandolin.
#### Celtic metal
The Irish band Cruachan was formed in 1992 by guitarist Keith Fay with their first demo recording distributed in 1993. Drawing inspiration from Skyclad's first album, Fay set out to combine black metal with the folk music of Ireland. Their debut album Tuatha Na Gael was released in 1995 and the band has since been acclaimed as having "gone the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand" the genre of folk metal. Cruachan combination of Celtic music and heavy metal is known today as Celtic metal.
Parallel to Cruachan, the black metal act Primordial also released a demo recording in 1993 and "found themselves heralded as frontrunners in the burgeoning second-wave black metal movement." Irish music plays "a very big role" in Primordial but in "a dark and subtle way" through the chords and timings. The band has since "established themselves as one of the most unique sounding bands in the folk-meets-black metal field." Other early representatives of Celtic metal include the bands Geasa, Mägo de Oz and Waylander with both groups releasing a demo recording in 1995.
#### Oriental metal
The Israeli progressive metal band Orphaned Land was formed in 1991 and released the demo The Beloved's Cry in 1993, "immediately creating a media stir" that "quickly drew attention to their unorthodox style." The music of Orphaned Land "borrow[s] heavily from Middle Eastern music styles" with traditional elements coming from both Jewish and Arabic folk music. Acclaimed as "one of the world's most unique and trailblazing heavy metal bands," Orphaned Land's style of music has since been dubbed oriental metal.
Melechesh formed in Jerusalem in 1995, becoming "undoubtedly the first overtly anti-Christian band to exist in one of the holiest cities in the world." Melechesh began as a straightforward black metal act with their first foray into folk metal occurring on the title track of their 1996 EP The Siege of Lachish. Their subsequent albums saw the group straddling the boundaries between black, death, and thrash metal, with "impressive, tastefully rendered epics chock-full of superb riffs, Middle Eastern melodies, and vocal exchanges varying from a throaty midrange screech to chanting." Other oriental metal acts emerged thereafter with the band Distorted emerging in 1996 as the first female-fronted metal act from Israel.
Additional oriental metal bands emerged form the Middle East in the 2000s, such as Myrath from Tunisia, who mix Middle Eastern and Arabic melodies with power metal and progressive rock. The Kordz from Lebanon combine Middle Eastern instrumentation with politicized lyrics. Lazywall from Morocco and Andaz Uzzal from Algeria combine that region's traditional music forms with heavy metal. Egypt's Massive Scar Era includes several female members, who have reported harassment due to their participation in heavy metal music.
### Development
From the middle of the 1990s, other bands gradually emerged to combine heavy metal with folk music. Storm was a short lived Norwegian supergroup with Fenriz, Satyr and Kari Rueslåtten from the black metal groups Darkthrone, Satyricon and the doom metal band The 3rd and the Mortal respectively. Their only album Nordavind was released in 1995 with the use of keyboards to imitate the sound of folk instruments. The Germans Empyrium also relied on synthesizers and guitars to deliver their "dark folklore" black metal music with the release of their 1996 debut album A Wintersunset...
The year 1996 also saw the debut album of the "one-man black metal project of multi-instrumentalist Vratyas Vakyas" from Germany known as Falkenbach. Even though Falkenbach was formed as early as 1989, the band didn't get much attention until the debut, that includes epic music that is "rife with keyboards, Viking themes, and folk music tendencies," Falkenbach was effectively a merge of Viking metal with folk metal. They were joined in the next two years by other bands combining the two genres including Windir, Månegarm and Thyrfing.
Predating most folk metal groups, the Spanish band Mägo de Oz was formed as far back as 1989 with a self-titled debut album, released in 1994. With nine members in their lineup, including a violinist and flutist, the band has evolved over the years into a combination of power metal and Celtic flavored folk metal. They have experienced strong chart success in their native Spain as well as in South America and Mexico.
Slough Feg from Pennsylvania, United States also had an early formation dating back to 1990. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1996 and the band has pursued a "unique style of combining traditional/power metal with folk metal."
The Czech band Silent Stream of Godless Elegy had formed in 1995 as a doom metal band "laced with Pagan imagery and adventurous enough to include violins and cellos alongside the expected modern day arsenal." With the release of their second album Behind the Shadows in 1998, the band began to use "folklore influences" in their music.
### Explosion
The folk metal genre has dramatically expanded with the turn of the new millennium. At the forefront of this explosion, with a "revolutionary clash of tradition and amplification that set them apart", is a group from Finland known as Finntroll. The band was formed in 1997 with a demo recorded the following year and a debut album Midnattens widunder released in 1999. They have since developed a reputation for being "obsessed with all things trollish." Their lyrics are sung exclusively in Swedish instead of the Finnish language "apparently because this language was better to evoke the trollish spirit", even though the real reason for this lies in the band's original vocalist belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority. The music of Finntroll features a "real innovation" in the marriage of black metal music with a style of Finnish polka called humppa. Specifically, the band took from humppa "the alternate picking bass lines accompanied with the drumbeat, and the use of accordion." This unlikely mix of polka and extreme metal has received a mixed reception from critics. Andy Hinds of AllMusic laments the polka influence as undermining "the intended threat of a death metal band" while his colleague Alex Henderson praises the band for their "solid, consistently likable effort," declaring that Finntroll has set themselves apart from their peers "because of their emphasis on Finnish humppa" and "the humor and irony they bring to the table."
Finntroll's second album Jaktens tid was released in 2001 and became a chart success in their native Finland. Some of the songs on the album feature vocals performed by Jonne Järvelä of Korpiklaani, another band from Finland. While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music before turning metal. The roots of Korpiklaani can be traced back to a Sami folk music group under the name of Shamaani Duo, an "in house restaurant band" created in 1993. An album of folk music was released under this name before Jonne Järvelä relocated and formed a new band Shaman. The folk metal act Shaman was based on the folk music of Shamaani Duo. Two albums were released in 1999 and 2001 before Shaman changed their name to Korpiklaani. The change in name was accompanied by a change in the music. The traditional yoik vocals and the use of the Sámi language were dropped while the synthesizer was replaced with real folk instruments. Jonne Järvelä credits his work with Finntroll as the catalyst for the shift in emphasis from folk to metal.
While Korpiklaani used an assortment of traditional instruments to deliver their folk metal, Finntroll relies on keyboards for Finnish folk melodies played in the humppa style. The keyboards in Finntroll are performed by Henri Sorvali who also performs in Moonsorrow, another folk metal band from Finland that he formed with his cousin Ville Sorvali in 1995. They released two demos, the first in 1997 and another in 1999, before the 2001 debut album Suden Uni. Moonsorrow blends folk metal with Viking metal by incorporating "Finland's traditional folk music forms into elaborate symphonic arrangements typical of Viking metal outfits such as Bathory and Enslaved." The adoption of folk elements was "becoming all the rage" in Finland by this point and other folk metal bands from Finland that began to emerge in the early 2000s included Cadacross, Ensiferum and later on Turisas and Wintersun. Ensiferum notably found themselves at the top of the Finnish charts with their 2007 single "One More Magic Potion". Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow and Turisas have all experienced chart success in their native Finland as well.
There are also folk metal acts from the other nordic countries. Icelandic group Skálmöld is a notable example. The Norwegian act Glittertind was A-listed and played with the highest playing frequency on Norway's most popular radio channel NRK P1 with the song "Kvilelaus" (eng. Restless)" and performed the song on Lindmo when they released their first full-length as a full band. Other Norwegian acts include the aforementioned Storm and Windir as well as more recent groups such as Kampfar, Lumsk, Ásmegin and Trollfest. Bands from Sweden include the aforementioned Thyrfing and Månegarm along with other acts such as Otyg and Vintersorg. Folk metal bands from Denmark include Wuthering Heights, Svartsot, Huldre and the Faroe Islanders Týr.
Outside Scandinavia, other European nations have contributed to the growing genre. Groups from the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania includes Metsatöll, Raud-Ants, Skyforger and Varang Nord while representatives from Russia include Alkonost, Arkona and Butterfly Temple. More isolated examples across Europe include Dimmi Argus and Balkandji from Bulgaria, Equilibrium and Finsterforst from Germany, Dalriada from Hungary, Ithilien from Belgium, Cruadalach from the Czech Republic, Litvintroll from Belarus, Nightcreepers from France, Zaria from Slovenia, Mägo de Oz and Saurom from Spain, Elvenking from Italy and Eluveitie from Switzerland.
Folkearth is an international folk metal project with members from several different European countries. At its inception, the project consisted of 14 musicians from separate backgrounds in folk and metal music. With their second album By the Sword of My Father released in 2006, the project boasted the participation of 31 musicians.
Beyond the European continent, folk metal is relatively rare with only a few known acts including the aforementioned The Lord Weird Slough Feg and their fellow Americans Agalloch. The latter's music "made for a stark geographical anomaly, since its eclectic, avant-garde folk-metal was the sort of thing one would expect to emerge from Scandinavia -- not Portland, Oregon." Tuatha de Danann is another geographical anomaly with their Celtic metal from Brazil.
## Characteristics
### Music
The music of folk metal is a diverse collection with bands pursuing different subgenres of heavy metal music. While bands like Primordial and Finntroll perform black metal, other groups such as The Lord Weird Slough Feg ply their trade with a more traditional or power metal base. The German-Norwegian group Midnattsol blends the genre with gothic metal. Progressive tendencies can be found among some bands including Elvenking, Lumsk and Týr. Some bands are known to adopt more than one different styles of heavy metal. Orphaned Land combines folk metal with progressive and doom/death metal. The band formed in 1991, also combining Jewish, Arabic, and other West Asian influences while Ensiferum mix folk music on top of a power and death metal hybrid. A few groups are also known to incorporate the styles of other music genres outside of heavy metal. Examples include the punk rock in the music of Glittertind and the neofolk and post-rock tendencies of Agalloch.
The folk elements in the genre often reflect the ethnic background of the musicians as is the case for the Finnic folk music in Finntroll, Korpiklaani, and Metsatöll, the Baltic folk music in Skyforger, East Asian influences such as Chthonic's use of Taiwanese folk music or Tengger Cavalry's incorporation of Mongolian throat singing, or the Middle Eastern background of Orphaned Land. However, some bands defy the geographical and ethnical background, like Ymyrgar, who hail from Tunisia but chose to focus on Norse mythology.
Celtic music can be found among such Irish groups as Cruachan and Waylander as well as bands outside Ireland like Ithilien from Belgium, Eluveitie (although Switzerland can be considered a country with a Celtic history), and Tuatha de Danann (from Brazil, a country that has no cultural ties with the Celts whatsoever, despite the similarity of the country's name to an island in Irish myth). Folk music from multiple regions are employed by some groups like Elvenking, Ithilien and Ensiferum.
The genre also offers a variety of atmosphere and moods. A fun and cheerful nature is characteristic of groups like Finntroll and Korpiklaani. Both bands are also noted for playing music that one can dance to. In contrast, other acts such as Thyrfing and Primordial are known for their contemplative atmosphere. Lumsk offers a more mellow style while Agalloch are known for their "depressive ambient" sound.
An epic atmosphere is characteristic of some folk metal bands like Primordial, Moonsorrow, Turisas and the music project Folkearth. Groups like Ensiferum and Wintersun are known to have a melodious side while bands that favor a more blistering or brutal approach can be found in groups like Finntroll and Månegarm.
### Instruments
Folk metal feature the same typical instruments found in heavy metal music: guitars, bass, drums and vocalist. While a few folk metal groups like Tharaphita discard "any notion of utilising folk instrumentation" and "rely solely on traditional metal instruments," bands in the genre generally rely on folk instruments that range from the common to the exotic. Numerous folk metal acts include a dedicated violinist in their line up. This includes Skyclad, Subway to Sally, Schandmaul, Mägo de Oz, Ithilien, Silent Stream of Godless Elegy, Korpiklaani, Lumsk, Elvenking, Eluveitie and Tuatha de Danann. The tin whistle and flute can be found in such Celtic metal bands as Cruachan, Waylander, Ithilien and Eluveitie. The flute can also be found in other bands such as Metsatöll, Schandmaul and Morgenstern. Medieval bagpipes are used in bands like Folkstone and In Extremo. Some bands are also known to highlight more exotic instruments from their ethnic background or country, including Skyforger's use of the Latvian kokles, Metsatöll's use of the Estonian torupill, Korpiklaani's use of the Finnish kantele, Eluveitie and Ithilien's use of the hurdy-gurdy, and Orphaned Land's use of the oud and saz.
In the absence of folk instruments, other bands in the genre resort to using keyboards to replicate the sound of folk instruments. This includes the aforementioned Storm, Empyrium and Finntroll as well as other acts like Midnattsol. Bands that supplement a folk instrument like the violin with keyboards include Skyclad, Mägo de Oz, and Tuatha de Danann.
The large number of instruments that some bands rely on in recording their studio albums can be a hindrance for live performances. While Orphaned Land are able to perform onstage with twenty musicians in their homeland of Israel, they have to rely on a computer to replicate the roles of the guest musicians for concerts elsewhere. Some folk metal acts confine themselves to studio recordings and are not known to perform any live concerts. This includes Folkearth, and Falkenbach. Other folk metal bands expand their regular roster to include more musicians and consequently, it is not uncommon to find bands in the genre featuring six or more members in their line-up. Some of the sextets in the genre are Schandmaul, Cruachan, Korpiklaani, Turisas, and Midnattsol, while septets include Ithilien, Subway to Sally, In Extremo, and Lumsk. Both Silent Stream of Godless Elegy and Eluveitie boast eight members each while the line up of Mägo de Oz totals nine performers. Even when a band includes members dedicated to folk instruments, they might still rely on guest musicians to further enhance their sound. As an example, Lumsk added thirteen guest musicians to the band's seven members on their debut album Åsmund Frægdegjevar. At times, guest musicians are known to become full-fledged members of the band, as was the case in Skyforger and Turisas.
### Vocals
The diverse range of music styles and instruments is matched by a variety of vocal styles in the genre. From the "spine-chilling death shrieks" in Finntroll to the black metal rasps of Skyforger or Moonsorrow, there is no shortage of extreme vocals in folk metal. Other bands to feature extreme vocals include Cadacross, Ensiferum, Ithilien and Equilibrium. In contrast, bands like Mägo de Oz and Metsatöll are known to feature "clean" singing in line with their more traditional metal approach. Numerous other bands in the genre are known to feature both extreme vocals and clean singing. This includes Primordial, Turisas, Windir and Wintersun.
Traditional folk singing can also be found among some folk metal bands. The yoik vocals of Jonne Järvelä have been featured in varying degrees in the music of Shaman, Finntroll and Korpiklaani. Folk singing or folk-inspired singing can also be heard in the music of Equilibrium, Metsatöll, Skyforger and Orphaned Land. The music of Orphaned Land also features the use of chants and choirs, commonly encountered in the genre of folk metal. Bands that are known to use a choir include Arkona, Turisas, Lumsk and Eluveitie, while chants can be found in the music of Týr and Windir. Some bands like Falconer and Thyrfing are also known to feature "yo-ho-ho folk melodies" in their vocals to suit their Viking metal style.
Orphaned Land mostly uses English lyrics, but they are known to feature other languages as they "go well with the music and also sound more exotic and unique." Týr has also been known to use multiple languages in their music. Other bands in the genre are known to sing exclusively or almost entirely in their native language, including Mägo de Oz in Spanish, Moonsorrow in Finnish, Metsatöll in Estonian and Lumsk in Norwegian. Bands in the medieval metal subgenre also tend to sing largely or entirely in their German language, including Subway to Sally, Morgenstern and Letzte Instanz.
Lead female singers are not uncommon in the genre and can be found in Cruachan, Otyg, Lumsk, Arkona, Celtian and Midnattsol. Other groups like Orphaned Land and Elvenking have employed guest female vocalists in their music.
### Lyrics
Popular subjects in folk metal include paganism, nature, fantasy, mythology and history.
Folk metal has been associated with paganism ever since its inception, when Martin Walkyier left his former band Sabbat to form Skyclad, in part because the band "wasn't going to go far enough down the pagan, British way that we wanted to do it." Consequently, the lyrics of Skyclad have been known to deal with pagan matters. The band Cruachan was also founded by a self-described pagan, Keith Fay. For Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow, the label "pagan metal" is preferred "because that describes the ideological points in the music, but doesn’t say anything about the music itself." Other bands that also prefer to use the term "pagan metal" as a self-description include Cruachan, Eluveitie, Obtest and Skyforger. In contrast to bands with pagan themes, some folk metal bands such as Orphaned Land have themes of Abrahamic religion.
Nature is a strong influence to many folk metal bands. Groups such as Korpiklaani, Elvenking, Midnattsol and Vintersorg have all based lyrics on the subject. For the band Agalloch, nature is an embraced theme "because we are siding with what is essentially the victim in a relationship where humankind is a disease." All the members of Skyclad are supporters of "organisations like Greenpeace and others, for those are the ones who stand up and take on the battle" between "people who want to save the planet, and people who want to destroy it."
The pioneers of the genre Skyclad avoided fantasy lyrics because "there was already enough fantasy in the world, told to us by our politicians every day." Nonetheless, other folk metal bands have been known to feature fantasy themes in their lyrics including Ensiferum, Midnattsol and Cruachan. For Elvenking, fantasy themes are used "as a metaphor to cover deeper meanings." Similarly, the fantasy themes in Turisas belie the coverage of issues "that are deeper and have greater significance."
The Celtic metal subgenre is known to feature lyrics based on Celtic mythology. The history of the Celts is another popular source for the lyrics of Celtic metal bands like Cruachan, Eluveitie, Primordial and Mael Mórdha. Norse mythology can be found in the lyrics of such Scandinavian bands as Falkenbach, Týr, Finntroll and Mithotyn. Skyforger is known for featuring lyrics based on both the history and mythology of their Latvian culture. Other bands that have treated history to song include Falconer and Slechtvalk.
`Many National Socialist black metal (NSBM) bands like Nokturnal Mortum, or Russia's Temnozor and Kroda have been known to cross over into folk metal, a circumstance that Ciaran O'Hagan, the vocalist of Waylander, views as "an insult to people like myself who don’t hold with fascist ideals at all." He further suggests that the NSBM bands are playing folk metal "for all the wrong reasons." Due to the misappropriation of pagan symbols by Neo-Nazism, several folk metal bands have also been mistaken for being part of the NSBM scene. Consequently, such bands as Cruachan, Skyforger, Månegarm and Týr have had to disassociate themselves with Nazism, fascism or racism. Skyforger went as far as to add the words 'No Nazi Stuff Here!' on the back of their album covers. In April 2008, performers on the folk metal festival Paganfest were subject to accusations of being Nazis, racists and fascists from the German Antifa. Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow and Heri Joensen of Týr issued a joint video statement to refute these accusations, noting that "one of the biggest issues seems to be that we use ancient Scandinavian symbols in our imagery like the S in the Moonsorrow logo and the T in the Týr logo [even though] that is how the S and the T runes have been written for thousands of years." Moonsorrow has also issued a written statement in response to the controversy while Týr notes on their official website that they "got the idea for the rune logo" from the Black Sabbath album of the same name. On the other side of the political landscape, some folk metal bands have uttered explicit socialist sentiments. For example the aforementioned Glittertind made a leftist statement against neoliberalism in their album booklet when re-releasing the record Til Dovre Faller on Napalm Records in May 2009.`
The original folk metal band Skyclad was also known to deal with serious political subjects but through lyrics that were littered with puns and humor. Other bands have continued to feature fun and humorous lyrics. This includes Finntroll with their obsession on trolls. The lyrics of Korpiklaani also "focused on having a good time, drinking [and] partying." In a review of Turisas' The Varangian Way album, James Christopher Monger of Allmusic commented that some listeners might be put off by "the concept of grown men in pelts" singing such lyrics as "come with us to the south, write your name on our roll." Heri Joensen of Týr contends that a listener needs to be confident in his masculinity to listen to such traditional Faeroese lyrics as his own "young lads, happy lads, step upon the floor, dance merrily."
Unlike any other, the Belgian folk metal band Ithilien preferred to focus their lyrics on very personal subjects such as loss, perseverance or grief. The album Shaping the Soul is for example constructed based on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross model of the mourning process.
## See also
- Pagan metal
- Viking metal
- List of folk metal bands
|
661,055 |
Bobby Lowe
| 1,153,716,965 |
American baseball player, coach, and scout (1865–1951)
|
[
"1865 births",
"1951 deaths",
"19th-century baseball players",
"Baseball players from Pittsburgh",
"Boston Beaneaters players",
"Chicago Orphans players",
"Detroit Tigers managers",
"Detroit Tigers players",
"Eau Claire (minor league baseball) players",
"Grand Rapids Wolverines players",
"Major League Baseball player-managers",
"Major League Baseball second basemen",
"Michigan Wolverines baseball coaches",
"Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players",
"Milwaukee Creams players",
"Minor league baseball managers",
"Pittsburgh Pirates players",
"Sportspeople from Pittsburgh",
"Washington & Jefferson Presidents baseball coaches"
] |
Robert Lincoln Lowe (July 10, 1865 – December 8, 1951), nicknamed "Link", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and scout. He played for the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901), Chicago Cubs (1902–1903), Pittsburgh Pirates (1904), and Detroit Tigers (1904–1907). Lowe was the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, a feat which he accomplished in May 1894. He also tied or set Major League records with 17 total bases in a single game and six hits in a single game. Lowe was a versatile player who played at every position but was principally a second baseman. When he retired in 1907, his career fielding average of .953 at second base was the highest in Major League history.
Lowe also worked as a baseball manager, coach, and scout. He was the player-manager of the Detroit Tigers during the last half of the 1904 season. He was also a player-manager for the Grand Rapids Wolverines in 1908, and coached college baseball in 1907 for the University of Michigan and from 1909 to 1910 for Washington & Jefferson College. Lowe was a scout for the Detroit Tigers in 1911 and 1912.
## Early years
Lowe was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in July 1865, two months after the end of the American Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. His middle name "Lincoln" likely derives from the historic circumstances immediately preceding his birth. Lowe's father, Robert L. Lowe, was a Pennsylvania native and a railroad engineer. His mother, Jane (or Jennie) Lowe, was an immigrant from Ireland. At the time of the 1870 U.S. Census, at age five, he was living with his parents and four siblings Mary, Eliza (or Lida), John Charles, and Olive B., in Union Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, approximately 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, a township adjoining the city of New Castle. By 1880, Lowe's father had died, and at age 15 he was living with his mother and three siblings in Union Township.
## Amateur and minor league baseball
In 1881, Lowe was working as an "office devil" at the Newcastle Courant, a newspaper in New Castle, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1881, at age 16, he played in a baseball game between the printers and the doctors of New Castle. Charley Powers, who played minor league baseball, was working as a compositor at the Courant and was selected as the captain of the printers. Lowe pleaded for a place on the team, and Powers stationed him in right field. He later recalled that "the kid carried off the honors both in the field and at the bat. I saw at once that he was a born ballplayer."
In 1882, Lowe played with the Archie Reeds, an amateur baseball club in New Castle. He left his job with the Courant in 1883 and, at age 18, took a job as a machinist at Witherow & Co., the largest manufacturing establishment in New Castle. He was the sole support at the time for his mother and youngest sister, Olive, and gave up baseball for several years. Some accounts indicate he also played for Witherow's plant baseball team and for the Neshannocks of New Castle.
In 1886, Charley Powers organized a baseball club in New Castle and persuaded Lowe's employer to allow him to play with the club occasionally. He played catcher and third base for New Castle in 1886 and led the team in batting and baserunning.
Powers and Lowe both signed to play with the Eau Claire, Wisconsin team in the Northwestern League during the summer of 1887. Powers later recalled that the manager of the Eau Claire club, Abe Devine, ran a saloon and refused to use Lowe because he refused to patronize his saloon. Devine sent him back to New Castle, declaring, "That boy can't play ball," but brought him back to Eau Claire after the team's starting third baseman, Charlie Levis, was injured. Lowe was put into the lineup in a game against Milwaukee and drew cheers from the crowd for his defensive play at third base. In his first at-bat, he hit a long home run off Varney Anderson that "sailed far over the center field fence." He appeared in 108 games for Eau Claire in 1887, batting .294 with 47 extra-base hits, 61 stolen bases, 100 runs scored and 240 total bases. He also demonstrated his versatility in the field, playing 51 games in left field, 21 games at shortstop, 17 games in right field, 11 games at third base, 6 games as catcher, and 5 games in center field.
During the 1888 and 1889 baseball seasons, Lowe played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Creams of the Western Association. He hit .246 in 114 games in 1888, and hit .315 in 99 games in 1889.
## Major League Baseball
### Boston Beaneaters
After the 1889 baseball season, the Boston Beaneaters purchased Lowe from the Milwaukee Brewers for \$700 in a deal that has been described as "one of baseball's biggest bargains." He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Beaneaters on April 19, 1890, and remained with the Beaneaters for 12 years through 1901.
During his years in Boston, Lowe developed a reputation both as a hitter and a fielder. Listed at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 150 pounds (68 kg), he hit right-handed and was considered one of the best second basemen of the 19th century. He was one of only three (along with Kid Nichols and Herman Long) to play on all five of the Beaneaters teams that won pennants in the 1890s.
In 1891, Lowe tied a then major league record with six hits (four singles, a double, and a home run) in six at-bats. Having played mostly in the outfield in 1891 and 1892, he replaced Joe Quinn at second base in 1893 and was the Beaneaters' starting second baseman for eight straight years, from 1893 to 1900.
On May 30, 1894, Lowe became the first major-leaguer to hit four home runs in one game, including two home runs in the third inning. He accomplished the feat in front of a Decoration Day crowd of 8,500 spectators against Elton "Ice Box" Chamberlain of the Cincinnati Reds at Boston's Congress Street Grounds. The Boston Daily Globe reported on the game as follows:
> "Bobby Lowe broke all league records with four home runs in succession, and then tied the record for total bases by adding a single, making a total of 17 bases. The hitting of Lowe has never been surpassed in a game. His home runs were on line drives far over the fence, and would be good for four bases on an open prairie. The crowd cheered Bobby every time he came up, and when he responded with a home run even the visitors had to join in the good-natured smile."
After the game, fans "showered \$160 worth of silver on the plate for Lowe." In 1894, he led the National League with 613 at-bats and was among the leaders in fielding and particularly in batting, with 319 total bases (2nd in the league), 17 home runs (2nd in the league), 345 putouts as a second baseman (2nd in the league), 212 hits (4th in the league), 402 assists as a second baseman (4th in the league), and 158 runs scored (5th in the league).
He was part of a Beaneater infield that included Fred Tenney at first base, Lowe at second base, Herman Long at shortstop, and Jimmy Collins at third base, and has been rated by some as "the greatest infield of all time." John McGraw reportedly called Lowe and Long the greatest double-play combination he had seen.
In December 1895, the Boston Daily Globe published a lengthy biography of Lowe, whom the paper described as Boston's "quiet, unassuming but phenomenal second baseman." The Globe noted that the ease with which Lowe played the game led many to understate his value to the club:
> "For a grand player, Lowe is seldom given the credit often dished out to his inferiors. His work does not appeal to the bleachers and grandstand like the less natural and clumsy player who is often seen floundering around like a fish out of water, while the crowd enjoy the effort and go home to tell what great playing they saw. 'He is a hard worker,' you will hear them say. Bobby Lowe is not only a hard worker but a conscientious player and an artist of the first magnitude."
Lowe's annual salary while playing for Boston never exceeded \$3,000.
### Chicago Cubs
On December 16, 1901, Lowe was purchased by the Chicago Orphans from the Beaneaters. In April 1902, manager Frank Selee named him team captain. He played for the Orphans, renamed the Cubs later that season, for two years. He was the starting second baseman in 1902. Although his batting statistics declined that year (.248 batting average), his .956 fielding percentage, 328 putouts, and 412 assists each ranked second among National League second basemen. In 1903, he became a backup to Johnny Evers at second base, appearing in only 32 games for the Cubs. He was paid a salary of \$3,500 per year for his two years in Chicago.
### Detroit Tigers
On April 20, 1904, Lowe was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Cubs. He appeared in only one game for the Pirates before being sold to the Detroit Tigers on April 30. He was the Tigers' starting second baseman in 140 games that season. His .964 fielding percentage and 328 assists in 1904 were the second-highest among American League second basemen. Halfway through the season, he also became the manager. In 74 games as a player-manager, he led the Tigers to a 30-44 record. Despite solid fielding in 1904, Lowe's offensive output continued to decline as his batting average dropped to .207, 66 points below his career average of .273.
In 1905, Bill Armour took over as Tiger manager, and Lowe stayed on as a part-time player. He was a utility player for the next three seasons, playing all four infield positions and in the outfield. In August 1906, he sustained a broken nose and a fractured jaw after being struck by a foul tip from his own bat during a game in Philadelphia. After the injury, Lowe missed the remainder of the 1906 season and appeared in only 17 games (with 37 at-bats) in 1907, his final year in the major leagues. After that season, The Detroit News wrote that Lowe at age 42 "has not lost his batting eye nor his speed. His arm is just as good as ever and he is a much stronger ball player than many who held down regular jobs in the league this past season."
### Career statistics and legacy
In his 18-season career in Major League Baseball, Lowe batted .273, with 71 home runs, 989 runs batted in, 1,135 runs, 1,934 hits, 230 doubles, 85 triples, 303 stolen bases, and 474 bases on balls in 1,821 games played. At the time of his retirement, his career fielding average of .953 was the highest for a second baseman, and his totals of 3,336 putouts and 4,171 assists also ranked among the top ten of all-time among second baseman.
In 1911, Fred Tenney wrote a series of articles for The New York Times selecting the greatest player in baseball history at each position. Having picked Johnny Evers at second base, Tenney chose Lowe as the best utility player of all time. He wrote: "Lowe of Boston was one of those baseball phenomeons [sic] who could play any position on the team in first-class style."
In 1932, syndicated sportswriter Whitney Martin wrote a column arguing that Lowe ranked with Bobby Doerr, Joe Gordon, Nap Lajoie, and Eddie Collins as the greatest second basemen of all time. Martin argued that Lowe's accomplishments were overlooked because he played "at a time when the ball had more turtle in it than rabbit." He catalogued a number of Lowe's accomplishments to support the argument:
- Hit four home runs and a single in one game for 17 total bases.
- Batted over .300 from 1893 to 1897 "with the dead ball."
- Made six hits in six at-bats for 10 total bases in another game.
- Scored six runs in one game on May 3, 1895.
- Played 34 consecutive games without an error, accepting 165 chances.
Lowe also won a reputation as a gentleman in an era of rough play. Whitney Martin noted that, in his 18-year career, Lowe "never once was fined or thumbed out of a game." At the conclusion of his playing career, The Detroit News wrote: "Lowe was one of the greatest and is today one of the most popular ball players ever in the game. There is no better type of the gentleman in baseball and no one ever heard ought but words of praise for him."
In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame appointed a Veteran's Committee to consider candidates from baseball's early years. Lowe ranked 34th in the voting by the Veteran's Committee, trailing Nap Lajoie and Dan Brouthers by a half vote. Of the 33 players who finished ahead of him in the voting, 24 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and several players who finished behind Lowe in the voting (including Bobby Wallace, Jesse Burkett, Jake Beckley, Tommy McCarthy, Tim Keefe, and Candy Cummings) have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In the 2001 book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, writer Bill James ranked Lowe as the 56th greatest second baseman of all-time.
## Coaching career
In addition to his having been the manager of the Tigers for the last half of the 1904 season, Lowe also coached baseball at the college and minor league level. In 1907, he was hired as the baseball coach for the University of Michigan Wolverines baseball team. In April 1907, a newspaper reported: "Mr. Lowe is the idol of the students at the university and has received the highest possible praise from the college for the excellent manner in which he handles the team." Lowe led the Wolverines to a record of 11-4-1 in 1907.
After his career as a Major League player ended in 1907, Lowe was actively pursued by several minor league teams for coaching positions. He ultimately signed with Grand Rapids Wolverines of the Central League. In March 1908, Lowe expressed optimism that "there is more interest being taken in baseball in different league towns than ever before."
Lowe's final coaching position was as the baseball coach at Washington & Jefferson College in 1909 and 1910.
## Later years
After retiring as a player and coach, Lowe continued his affiliation with the game as a scout for the Detroit Tigers in the early 1910s. In February 1912, a syndicated newspaper story reported that Lowe had traveled 20,000 miles as a scout during the prior year, and noted that his itinerary "reads like a cross between a railroad guide and an atlas." Lowe's destinations in 1911 included Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Macon, Georgia, Yazoo City, Mississippi, Montgomery, Alabama, New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Hannibal, Missouri, Denver, Butte, Montana, Boise, Idaho, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Waterloo, Iowa, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Calgary, and Moose Jaw.
Lowe was married to Harriet Hughes, whose father operated the Leslie Hotel in New Castle. They had no children. After retiring from baseball, Lowe remained in Detroit. In 1920, he was living with his wife and was employed as a "dealer" in real estate. Later, he became an inspector for the City of Detroit Department of Public Works. In 1930, he was living with his wife at the Case De Vine Apartments and was employed as an inspector for the City of Detroit.
Lowe remained "a student and ardent patron of baseball." In 1922, he returned to Boston to play in a veterans baseball game to benefit Boston Children's Hospital. After Lou Gehrig hit four home runs in a game in 1932, Lowe, wearing his old Beaneaters uniform, posed for photographs with Gehrig. Lowe said, "I feel complimented to share the record with so grand a boy." He was 38 years older than Gehrig, but outlived him by 10 years. Two days before his 76th birthday, Lowe attended the 1941 All Star game in Briggs Stadium, Detroit.
In December 1951, Lowe died at his home in Detroit at the age of 86. He was posthumously inducted into the Lawrence County Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
## See also
- List of Major League Baseball player-managers
- List of Major League Baseball home run records
- List of Major League Baseball runs records
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball single-game runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball single-inning home run leaders
|
34,988,900 |
Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands
| 1,088,110,979 |
2 million acres of land managed by the US' BoLM
|
[
"1916 establishments in California",
"1916 establishments in Oregon",
"Bureau of Land Management areas in Oregon",
"Forests of Oregon",
"History of transportation in Oregon",
"Land use in Oregon",
"Protected areas of Benton County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Clackamas County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Columbia County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Coos County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Curry County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Douglas County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Jackson County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Josephine County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Klamath County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Lane County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Lincoln County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Linn County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Marion County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Multnomah County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Polk County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Tillamook County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Washington County, Oregon",
"Protected areas of Yamhill County, Oregon",
"United States federal public land legislation"
] |
The Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands (commonly known as O&C Lands), are approximately 2,600,000 acres (1,100,000 ha) of land located in eighteen counties of western Oregon. Originally granted to the Oregon & California Railroad to build a railroad between Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California, the land was reconveyed to the United States government by act of Congress in 1916 and is currently managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management.
Since 1916, the 18 counties where the O&C lands are located have received payments from the United States government at 50% share of timber revenue on those lands. Later as compensation for the loss of timber and tax revenue decreased the government added federal revenues. The governments of several of the counties have come to depend upon the O&C land revenue as an important source of income for schools and county services.
The most recent source of income from the lands, an extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, was last renewed in 2013 but at vastly reduced spending levels, leaving some counties scrambling to find new sources of funding. In late 2013, the United States House of Representatives was considering a bill that would resume the funding and increase timber harvests to provide additional income to the counties.
## Origin
As part of the U.S. government's desire to foster settlement and economic development in the western states, in July 1866, Congress passed the Oregon and California Railroad Act. This act made 3,700,000 acres (1,500,000 ha) of land available for any company that built a railroad from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco. The land was to be distributed by the state of Oregon in 12,800-acre (5,200 ha) land grants for each mile of track completed. Two companies, both of which named themselves the Oregon Central Railroad, began a competition to build the railroad, one on the west side of the Willamette River and one on the east side. The two lines would eventually merge and reorganize as the Oregon and California Railroad. In 1869, Congress changed how the grants were to be distributed, requiring the railroads to sell land along the line to settlers in 160-acre (65 ha) parcels at \$2.50 per acre. The land was distributed in a checkerboard pattern, with sections laid out for 20 miles (32 km) on either side of the rail corridor with the government retaining the alternate sections for future growth.
By 1872, the railroad had extended from Portland to Roseburg. Along the way, it created growth in Willamette Valley towns such as Canby, Aurora, and Harrisburg, which emerged as freight and passenger stations, and provided a commercial lifeline to the part of the river valley above Harrisburg where steamships were rarely able to travel. As the railroad made its way into the Umpqua Valley, new townsites such as Drain, Oakland, and Yoncalla were laid out.
## Land fraud
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the railroad was that it provided access to Oregon's vast forests for large-scale logging operations. But despite the large number of grants, it was difficult to sell to actual settlers because much of the land was not only heavily forested (chiefly in Douglas-fir and Western Hemlock), but rugged and remote; moreover, the railroads soon realized that the land was much more valuable if sold in larger plots to developers and timber companies. As a result, some individuals posed as settlers to purchase the land at the \$2.50 per acre rate and then promptly deeded them back to the railroad, which amassed the smaller plots into larger ones and resold them at a higher price to timber interests.
A scheme to circumvent the settler grants altogether soon emerged. A railroad official hired a surveyor and logger named Stephen A. Douglas Puter to round up people from Portland saloons, and then take them to the land office where they would register for an O&C parcel as a settler, and then promptly resell to the railroad for bundling with other plots and resale to the highest bidder, typically as much as \$40 an acre. In 1904, an investigation by The Oregonian uncovered the scandal, by which time it had grown to such a magnitude that the paper reported that more than 75% of the land sales had violated federal law.
Between 1904 and 1910, nearly a hundred people were indicted in connection with the fraud, including U.S. Senator John H. Mitchell, U.S. Representatives John N. Williamson and Binger Hermann, and U.S. Attorney John Hicklin Hall.
## Revestiture of lands
As the land fraud trials reached their conclusion, attention also turned to the Southern Pacific Railroad (which had acquired the O&C in 1887). Not only had the company violated the terms of the grant agreement, but in 1903, declared it was terminating land sales—in violation of the grant agreement—either as a hedge against future increases in land values or to retain the timber profits for itself.
A series of lawsuits between the State of Oregon, the United States government, and the railroads ensued. Another lawsuit was brought by Portland attorney and future U.S. Representative Walter Lafferty on behalf of 18 western Oregon counties, which sued to claim revenue from timber sales on the O&C lands. The cases worked their way up to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in 1915 in Oregon & California R. Co. v. United States that despite the violation of grant terms, the railroad had been built and the railroad company should be compensated. In 1916, Congress passed the Chamberlain–Ferris Act, which revested the remaining 2,800,000 acres of land to the United States government, and compensated the railroad at \$2.50 per acre from an account, the Oregon and California land grant fund, funded by timber sales from the land. Oregon counties affected by the revestiture of land were also to be compensated from the fund.
The Chamberlain–Ferris Act did not ease the financial trouble faced by many of the O&C counties; very little timber revenue was actually generated from the land, and many counties now had large percentages of their land owned by the federal government, denying them a source of property tax revenue. As these problems compounded into the 1920s, the 18 counties organized the Association of O&C Counties (AOCC) to give itself a voice in Washington, D.C. One of its cofounders, Douglas County district attorney and future U.S. Senator Guy Cordon, began lobbying Oregon's congressional delegation for relief. In 1926, a bill introduced by Oregon Senator Robert N. Stanfield, which became known as the Stanfield Act, was passed. This law provided that the U.S. government pay the counties in lieu of property taxes they would have received if the land were privately owned. But since the U.S. government was to be reimbursed from timber revenues, and since timber revenue remained low, very few payments were actually made to the counties, and Congress began to work on new legislation.
## The O&C Act
In 1937, Congress again sought to ensure federal funding for the 18 O&C counties. The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937 (), commonly referred as the O&C Act, directed the United States Department of the Interior to harvest timber from the O&C lands (as well as the Coos Bay Wagon Road Lands) on a sustained yield basis. The legislation returned 50 percent of timber sales receipts to the counties, and 25 percent to the U.S. Treasury to reimburse the federal government for payments made to the counties prior to establishment of the Act. The law specifically provided that the lands be managed, including reforestation and protection of watershed, to ensure a permanent source of timber, and therefore, revenue to the counties.
Under the O&C Act, the Department of the Interior under its General Land Office and later succeeded by the Bureau of Land Management, managed more than 44 billion board feet of standing inventory in 1937 into more than 60 billion board feet by the mid-1990s, and harvested more than 44 billion board feet over that time period. In 1951, the U.S. Treasury had been fully reimbursed, and the 25 percent of the revenue that had previously gone to the Treasury now reverted to the counties; in 1953, the counties opted to divert that money to maintenance of the land and roads, reforestation, as well as recreational facilities and other improvements. A 1970 GAO report contained an estimate that from its implementation through 1969, the counties had received a total of \$300 million as a result of the Act. The authors of the report also estimated that most counties received more from the government payments than they would have if the land had been held privately.
The O&C Act achieved what the previous legislation had failed to do: provide a stable revenue to the counties. This revenue became a vital part of the budgets of the O&C counties, paying for county-provided services such as law enforcement and corrections and health and social services. With this funding seemingly guaranteed, the counties kept other taxes much lower than other counties in the state, increasing their dependence on the timber payments. For example, the property tax in Curry County is 60 cents per \$1,000 of assessed value, far below the state average of \$2.81 per \$1000.
## Decline in timber revenue and revised Congressional action
In 1989, annual timber harvest revenue on federal forest land nationwide peaked at \$1.5 billion. Following that year, the impact of overharvesting and increased environmental concerns began to negatively impact timber sales on the O&C lands. In 1994, the federal Northwest Forest Plan was implemented. Designed to guide forest management of federal lands while protecting old-growth forest habitat for endangered species such as the Northern spotted owl, the plan restricted the land available for timber harvest. By 1998, revenue on federal forest lands fell to a third of the peak 1989 revenue, with areas in the Northwest particularly hard-hit.
To offset the effects of the loss of timber revenue, in 1993, President Bill Clinton proposed a 10-year program of payments, set at 85 percent of the average O&C Act payments from 1986 to 1990, and declining 3 percent annually. These "spotted owl" or "safety net" payments were passed by Congress as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 ().
With the payments set to expire in 2003, work began in 1999 to seek an extension to the payments. The O&C counties joined with other rural counties (including 15 of Oregon's other 18 counties) that also faced falling timber revenues to lobby Congress for another solution. In 2000, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (), which authorizes western counties, including the O&C counties, to receive federal payments to compensate for loss of timber revenue until 2006. Payments to O&C counties, which included O&C revenue as well as revenue on Forest Service land, averaged about \$250 million per year from 2000 to 2006. The act was extended for one year in 2007, and in 2008, a four-year extension was included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that phased out the program by 2012. The extension expired on September 30, 2011 and the final payment of just over \$40 million was delivered to the O&C counties in early 2012.
In late 2011, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley proposed legislation to extend the payments for another five years. The move was backed by Governor John Kitzhaber and the entire Oregon congressional delegation. Republican and Democratic members of Oregon's congressional delegation also proposed setting aside some of the federal land in Oregon as public trusts in which half would be designated for harvest to provide revenue for the counties, and half designated as a conservation area. President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 United States federal budget included \$294 million to extend the program for fiscal year 2013 with a plan to continue the payments for four more years, with the amount declining 10% each year.
In March 2012, the U.S. Senate added an amendment to the surface transportation bill that authorized a one-year extension to the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. Oregon counties would have received a total of \$102 million from the legislation in 2012, to be divided among all 33 counties that currently receive payments. In 2008, Oregon received \$250 million from the program. The full transportation bill, including the amendment, passed the Senate by a 74–22 vote, but the U.S. House of Representatives refused to vote on the Senate bill, instead passing a three-month extension to the current transportation bill that did not contain a county payments extension. In July 2012, the Secure Rural Schools Act renewal amendment was included in the transportation bill approved by Congress and signed by the President. This was widely expected to be the last renewal of the program, but in September 2013, Congress passed another one-year extension to the program, though again at reduced levels.
## Future of the O&C counties
With future revenue uncertain, several Oregon counties now face a severe financial crisis to pay for county services, including law enforcement, social services, justice and corrections systems, election services and road maintenance among others. With county services required by state law and bankruptcy not permitted, counties have considered merging to save costs, and explored new sources of revenue.
One of the hardest-hit counties, Curry County, introduced a ballot measure to add a 3% sales tax to pay for county services. Oregon is one of only five states in the United States with no county or state sales tax, and the tax has been voted down regularly by voters whenever it has been proposed (though some areas assess a gas tax, and two cities in tourist areas, Ashland and Yachats, assess a local tax on prepared food). In Josephine County, after a proposed property tax increase to pay for law enforcement was defeated in May 2012, the sheriff's office reduced its staff by 2/3 and released inmates from the county jail to reduce spending. Lane County released 96 prisoners from its prisons and laid off 40 law enforcement personnel to cut costs.
In 2012, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed a law to allow O&C counties to use timber funds previously reserved for road maintenance to pay for law enforcement patrols.
In late 2013, the House passed a forest management bill co-sponsored by Oregon Representatives Peter DeFazio, Greg Walden, and Kurt Schrader that would include increased timber harvests on O&C lands along with resumption of some Secure Rural Schools funding. President Obama has indicated he is likely to veto the bill.
|
658,106 |
Vervet monkey
| 1,171,079,611 |
Species of Old World monkey
|
[
"Chlorocebus",
"Fauna of Cape Verde",
"Fauna of East Africa",
"Mammals described in 1821",
"Mammals of Botswana",
"Mammals of Burundi",
"Mammals of Eswatini",
"Mammals of Ethiopia",
"Mammals of Kenya",
"Mammals of Malawi",
"Mammals of Mozambique",
"Mammals of Rwanda",
"Mammals of Somalia",
"Mammals of South Africa",
"Mammals of Tanzania",
"Mammals of Uganda",
"Mammals of Zambia",
"Mammals of Zimbabwe",
"Taxa named by Frédéric Cuvier"
] |
The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus. The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. These mostly herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in body length from about 40 cm (16 in) for females, to about 50 cm (20 in) for males.
In addition to behavioral research on natural populations, vervet monkeys serve as a nonhuman primate model for understanding genetic and social behaviors of humans. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social and dependent alcohol use. Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals, with males moving to other groups at the time of sexual maturity. Studies done on vervet monkeys involve their communication and alarm calls, specifically in regard to kin and group recognition, and particular predator sightings.
## Taxonomy
The vervet monkey was previously classified as Cercopithecus aethiops, now renamed 'grivet', and reclassified as Chlorocebus. The vervet and malbrouck have also been considered conspecific, or as subspecies of a widespread Ch. aethiops. The different taxa are distinguished by coat colour and other morphological characteristics. The characteristics of Ch. aethiops graduate into Ch. pygerythrus where their ranges meet, and thus deciding if the vervets commonly known to occur in Kenya are actually Ch. aethiops is difficult; animals in the same pack may be classified as one species or the other, and Ch. pygerythrus may also interbreed with Ch. tantalus where their ranges meet.
Colin Groves recognised the below five subspecies of vervet monkey in the third edition of Mammals of the World:
- Chlorocebus pygerythrus excubitor
- Ch. p. hilgerti from southern Kenya
- Ch. p. nesiotes
- Ch. p. pygerythrus from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
- Ch. p. rufoviridis from Mozambique and Uganda has a distinctly reddish-coloured back, which is darker towards the base of the tail.
Groves used Ch. p. hilgerti for all East African vervets except the insular subspecies Ch. p. excubitor and Ch. p. nesiotes. The name Ch. p. centralis has been suggested to have precedence, and that Ch. p. hilgerti should be restricted to the population of southern Ethiopia.
### Synonymy
Ch. p. pygerythrus, as Cercopithecus aethiops, was also formerly divided into four subspecies:
- C. a. pygerythrus, from South Africa (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and southern KwaZulu-Natal), and Lesotho; is said to have pale-colored limbs and white hands and feet (though the hands are also said to be black with a scattering of greyish hairs), and a greyish body colour with an olive sheen.
- C. a. cloetei, from northern KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, and northern South Africa; is darker, with greyish-brown speckles and dark feet.
- C. a. marjoriae, from southern Botswana and the North West Province of South Africa; is pale in colour (light ash-grey).
- C. a. ngamiensis, from north-eastern Botswana and the Okavango; has pale feet and a yellowish back and the tail is darker (especially towards the tip) than in other southern vervets.
These subspecies are no longer recognised and are synonymous with Ch. p. pygerythrus.
## Distribution and habitat
### Natural habitat
The vervet monkey ranges throughout much of Southern and East Africa, being found from Ethiopia and extreme southern South Sudan all the way down to South Africa. It is not found west of the East African Rift or the Luangwa River, where it is replaced by the closely related malbrouck (C. cynosuros) species. The vervet monkey inhabits savanna, riverine woodland, coastal forest, and mountains up to 4000 m (13,100 ft). They are adaptable and able to persist in secondary and/or highly fragmented vegetation, including cultivated areas, and sometimes are found living in both rural and urban environments. Annual home range size has been observed to be as high as 176 ha, with an average population density of 54.68 animals/km2.
### Introduced
Vervet monkeys that are naturalised (introduced by humans) are found in Cape Verde, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados. Dania Beach, Florida, is home to about 40 introduced vervets.
## Physical description
The vervet monkey very much resembles a gray langur, having a black face with a white fringe of hair, while its overall hair color is mostly grizzled-grey. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism; the males are larger in weight and body length and may be recognized by a turquoise-blue scrotum. Adult males weigh between 3.9 and 8.0 kg (8.6 and 17.6 lb), averaging 5.5 kg (12 lb), and have a body length between 420 and 600 mm (17 and 24 in), averaging 490 mm (19 in) from the top of the head to the base of the tail. Adult females weigh between 3.4 and 5.3 kg (7.5 and 11.7 lb) and average 4.1 kg (9.0 lb), and measure between 300 and 495 mm (11.8 and 19.5 in), averaging 426 mm (16.8 in).
## Behaviour
### Social behaviour
When males reach sexual maturity, they move to a neighboring group. Often, males move with a brother or peer, presumably for protection against aggression by males and females of the resident group. Groups that had previously transferred males show significantly less aggression upon the arrival of another male. In almost every case, males migrate to adjacent groups. This obviously increases benefits in regard to distance traveled, but also reduces the amount of genetic variance, increasing the likelihood of inbreeding.
Females remain in their groups throughout life. Separate dominance hierarchies are found for each sex. Male hierarchies are determined by age, tenure in the group, fighting abilities, and allies, while female hierarchies are dependent on maternal social status. A large proportion of interactions occurs between individuals that are similarly ranked and closely related. Between unrelated individuals, female competition exists for grooming members of high-ranking families, presumably to gain more access to resources. These observations suggest individual recognition is possible and enables discrimination of genetic relatedness and social status. Interactions between different groups are variable, ranging from highly aggressive to friendly. Furthermore, individuals seem to be able to recognise cross-group vocalisations, and identify from and to which monkey each call is intended, even if the call is made by a subadult male, which is likely to transfer groups. This suggests the members within a group are actively monitoring the activity of other groups, including the movement of individuals within a group.
Within groups, aggression is directed primarily at individuals that are lower on the hierarchy. Once an individual is three years or older, it is considerably more likely to be involved in conflict. Conflict often arises when one group member shows aggression toward a close relative of another. Further, both males and females may redirect aggression towards individuals in which both had close relatives that were previously involved in a conflict. This suggests complex recognition not only of individuals, but also of associations between individuals. This does not suggest recognition of other's individual kinship bonds is possible, but rather that discrimination of social relationships does occur.
### Alarm calls and offspring recognition
Vervet monkeys have four confirmed predators: leopards, eagles, pythons, and baboons. The sighting of each predator elicits an acoustically distinct alarm call. As infants, vervets learn to make the variety of calls from observation alone, without explicit tutelage. In experimentation with unreliable signalers, individuals became habituated to incorrect calls from a specific individual. Though the response was lessened for a specific predator, if an unreliable individual gives an alarm call for a different predator, group members respond as if the alarm caller is, in fact, reliable. This suggests vervet monkeys are able to recognize and to respond to not only the individual calling, but also to the semantics of what the individual is communicating. Vervet monkeys are thought to have up to 30 different alarm calls. In the wild, they have been seen giving a different call when seeing a human being approaching, leading researchers to believe that vervet monkeys may have a way of distinguishing between different land and flight predators.
Mothers can recognise their offspring by a scream alone. A juvenile scream elicits a reaction from all mothers, yet the juvenile's own mother has a shorter latency in looking in the direction of the scream, as well as an increased duration in her look. Further, mothers have been observed to help their offspring in conflict, yet rarely aid other juveniles. Other mothers evidently can determine to which mother the offspring belongs. Individuals have been observed to look towards the mother whose offspring is creating the scream.
### Kin relationships
Siblings likely provide the prevailing social relationships during development. Within social groups, mother-offspring and sibling interactive units are distinct groups. The sibling interactions are heavily supportive and friendly, but do have some competition. Contests primarily involve postweaning resource allocation by the common mother. For example, siblings have conflict over grooming time allocated by their mother. Offspring are usually not born in extremely close time proximity due to the interbirth period of the mother. This time can be reduced by use of an allomother. The clarity of the familial and sibships within a group may act as a form of alliance, which would come at relatively low cost in regards to grooming. Other alliances are shown through conflict with aggressive individuals that have acted against a closely related sibling.
Allomothering is the process when another individual besides the mother cares for an infant. In groups of vervet monkeys, infants are the target of a tremendous amount of attention. Days after an infant is born, every member of the group inspects the infant at least once by touching or sniffing. While all group members participate in infant caretaking, juvenile females that cannot yet menstruate are responsible for the majority of allomothering. The benefit is mutual for the mother and allomother. Mothers that use allomothers are able to shorten their interbirth periods, the time between successive births. At the same time, allomothers gain experience in rearing infants, and had more success in raising their own offspring. Juvenile females discriminate in preference for the infant they choose to allomother, and usually choose siblings or infants of high-ranking individuals. When a mother allows her juvenile daughter to become an allomother for a newborn sibling, the mother decreases her own investment in the infant, while increasing the chances of successful rearing of her immature daughter.
Grandmothers and grandchildren share one-quarter of their genes, so they should be more likely to form affiliative relationships than unrelated members in a group. Not only do infants approach their grandmothers more often than unrelated members, but they also prefer their grandmothers compared to other adult female kin, not including their own mothers. Additional research has shown grandmothers show no preference over the sex of their grandchild. Interest in the grandchild spurred from the rank of the grandmother within a group. Higher-ranking grandmothers showed more interest in caring for their grandchildren when compared to low-ranking grandmothers. The presence of grandmothers has been associated with a decrease in mortality of infants.
### Spite
Spiteful actions are extremely rare in the animal kingdom. Often, an indirect benefit is gained by the individual acting 'spitefully', or by a close relative of that individual. Vervet monkeys have been observed to destroy a competitor's food source rather than consume or steal it themselves. While energy is being lost on destroying the food, an advantage is obtained by the individual due to an increase in competitive gain. This would be pertinent for a male that could be displaced within his group by immigrating males.
### Reproduction
Female vervets do not have external signs indicating estrus, thus elaborate social behaviors involving reproduction do not occur. Typically, a female gives birth once a year, between September and February, after a gestation period around 165 days. Usually, only one infant is born at a time, though twins can occur rarely. A normal infant weighs 300–400 grams (11–14 oz).
## Ecology
### Diet
The vervet monkey eats a primarily herbivorous diet, living mostly on wild fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds, and seed pods. In agricultural areas, vervets become problem animals, as they raid bean, pea, young tobacco, vegetable, fruit, and grain crops. Animal foods of their diet include grasshoppers and termites. Raids of cattle egrets and weaver bird nests have been observed where the vervets eat the eggs and chicks.
A list of some natural food plants and part of the plant eaten, in South Africa:
- Acacia erioloba – seeds and pods
- Aloe spp – nectar (flowers)
- Celtis africana – fruit
- Colophospermum mopane – seeds
- Deinbollia oblongifolia – fruit
- Euphorbia ingens – fruit
- Euphorbia tirucalli – fruit
- Ficus abutilifolia – figs
- Ficus sur – figs
- Ficus sycomorus – figs
- Grewia caffra – fruit
- Harpephyllum caffrum – fruit
- Hyphaene coriacea – fruit
- Phoenix reclinata – fruit
- Protorhus longifolia – fruit
- Rhus chirindensis – fruit
- Sclerocarya birrea – fruit
- Strelitzia nicolai – soft parts of the flowers
- Ximenia caffra – fruit
- Ziziphus mucronata – fruit
### Relationship with humans
The monkeys are used for biomedical research. Many people living in close proximity to vervet colonies see them as pests, as they steal their food. Heavy fines in some areas discourage the killing of vervet monkeys.
Its status according to the IUCN is "least concern".
This species was known in ancient Egypt, including the Red Sea Mountains and the Nile Valley. From fresco artworks found in Akrotiri on the Mediterranean island of Santorini there is evidence that the vervet monkey was known to the inhabitants of this settlement around 2000 BC; this fact is most noted for evidence of early contact between Egypt and Akrotiri. Excavations dated to the end of the 1st century AD from Berenike, a Roman-Egyptian port-town on the Red Sea coast, demonstrate that vervet monkeys must have been kept as pets at that time.
## Gallery
|
1,590,796 |
Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)
| 1,171,836,915 |
2000 single by Mariah Carey
|
[
"1990s ballads",
"1999 songs",
"2000 singles",
"Columbia Records singles",
"Contemporary R&B ballads",
"Mariah Carey songs",
"Music videos directed by Sanaa Hamri",
"Pop ballads",
"Songs written by Diane Warren",
"Songs written by Mariah Carey",
"Sony Music singles"
] |
"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey for her seventh studio album Rainbow (1999). The song was written by Carey and Diane Warren, and produced by Carey and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was released as the fourth single from Rainbow and a double A-side with "Crybaby" on April 17, 2000, by Columbia Records. The song is a ballad, blending pop and R&B beats while incorporating its sound from several instruments including the violin, piano and organ. Lyrically, the song speaks of finding inner strength, and not allowing others to tear away your dreams.
The song was well received by critics, many of whom complimented the lyrics, as well as Carey's vocals. The song was not commercially successful due to its limited release and other factors. It was the center of a very public controversy between Carey and her label Sony Music, based on what she perceived to be weak promotion of the single. It peaked at number 40 in Belgium (Wallonia), number 45 in Italy and number 65 in the Netherlands. Stateside, due to Billboard rules at the time, it was not eligible to chart on the Hot 100, though it managed to reach number six on the Dance Club Songs.
Two music videos were filmed for "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)". Both feature personal videos left by five fans, re-telling their stories of pain and emotional abuse and how the song had inspired them. Additionally, a large screen is shown next to Carey throughout the video, playing other inspirational stories from famous athletes. The ending alternates in both videos, with one climaxing on the balcony overlooking the city, while the other by a large indoor window. The song was performed on Today and The View, as well as Carey's Rainbow World Tour (2000) and Charmbracelet World Tour (2002–2003).
## Background
According to Carey, writing "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" helped her get through rough emotional moments with her label's management, and even times when she felt overwhelmed by others. During the early stages of the album, Carey said she felt pressured to complete the Rainbow album as quickly as possible, due to the fact that it was the last album under her contract with Columbia. During troubled times for the singer, as well as her divorce from record executive Tommy Mottola, she claimed writing and singing the song helped her get through troubled times and hoped her listeners would get the same message out of it. Carey wrote it to become an anthem for fans and listeners who were going through difficult times in their life and could relate to the song. Additionally, during the taping of the Mariah Carey Homecoming Special, Carey told audience members that after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, she felt the song would help family members and friends of the victims during the tragedy, and hoped it would give them strength to get by the tragic event. For that reason, Carey included the song on the album, and campaigned for its radio release in mid-2000.
## Composition and lyrical content
"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" is a slow tempo song that blends pop and R&B beats. Additionally, it incorporates its sound from several instruments including the violin, piano and organ. The ballad is set in the signature of common time, with a slowly tempo of 51 beats per minute. It is written in the key of A major, with Carey's vocals spanning almost three octaves, from the low note of A<sub>2</sub> to the high note of F#<sub>5</sub>. The song was written by Carey and Diane Warren. Although there were no conflicts during the recording process, the pair had minor disagreements during the songwriting stages: Carey said that Warren liked to repeat lyrical phrases often. The second song that Carey and Warren wrote together was "There for Me" which was released as a B-side to the "Never Too Far/Hero Medley" charity single Carey recorded in late 2001. The song's protagonist details the struggles of dealing with people who put you down, and how to overcome these struggles through faith, courage, and the power of God. Carey explains in the song's lyrics how although people can try to make her feel down and depressed, no matter what happens, she can't let them win: "There's a light in me that shines brightly. They can try but they can't take that away from me."
## Label dispute
As with Butterfly two years prior, Rainbow became the center of a conflict in between Carey and her label. After Carey's divorce with Sony record official and Columbia CEO Tommy Mottola, the working relationship with Carey and her label deteriorated. After the first two singles from Rainbow were released, Carey was gearing up for a third single to be released. She intended for "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" to be the next single, as it held very personal lyrical content. However, after getting wind of her plan, Sony made it clear that the album needed a more up-beat and urban track to warm airwaves. These different opinions led to a very public feud in between them, as Carey began posting messages on her webpage during early and mid-2000, telling fans inside information on the scandal, as well as instructing them to request "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" on radio stations. One of the messages Carey left on her page read:
> "Basically, a lot of you know the political situation in my professional career is not positive. It's been really, really hard. I don't even know if this message is going to get to you because I don't know if they want you to hear this. I'm getting a lot of negative feedback from certain corporate people. But I am not willing to give up."
Carey's actions were given mixed reception, with critics and executives both commending her bold actions towards a song she felt needed to be heard, while others criticized her for publicizing the scandal further. Soon after, Sony involved themselves further, stripping Carey's webpage of any messages and began trying to reach an agreement with her. Fearing the loss of their label's highest seller, and the best-selling artist of the decade, Sony chose to release the song. Carey, initially content with the agreement, soon found out that the song had only been allowed a very limited and low-promotion release, not allowing the song to chart on the official US chart, and making international charting extremely difficult and unlikely.
## Critical reception
"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" was generally commended by contemporary music critics. In his review for Rainbow, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic named the song one of the album's top three picks. Danyel Smith from Entertainment Weekly called the song the "emotional center of the album" and wrote "There's a light in me/That shines brightly, she sings. The song (co-written with Diane Warren and co-produced with Jam and Lewis) resonates with new life experience—a kind of truth and uplift." Elysa Gardner, editor from the Los Angeles Times, called the song "earnestly passionate" and felt Carey sounded her "most impressive" on the song. Amy Linden from Vibe also reviewed the song positively, calling Carey's vocal performance in the song "emotional" and "graceful." Additionally, Linden wrote "It could very well be Carey's version of Nas' "Hate Me Now"; she makes it through all the trials and tribulations undaunted."
## Chart performance
The release of the song as a single was surrounded by conflict between Carey and Sony Music Entertainment. Due to Billboard rules at the time of the song's release, charting credit was not given to "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" but to "Crybaby", the song it shared a double A-side with. The song managed to chart on the dance single in the United States, reaching the top ten on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Due to the song's weak promotional release, it was not released together with "Crybaby" outside the United States, where it performed poorly due to its radio-only premiere. It charted for one week in Belgium (Wallonia), where it peaked at number forty on the official singles chart. Similarly in the Netherlands, "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" peaked at number sixty-five on the Dutch Singles Chart, however spending nine weeks fluctuating in the chart.
## Music videos and remixes
Two music videos were shot for "Can't Take That Away," both directed by Sanaa Hamri in New York City. The creation of the video involved some of Carey's fans: two weeks prior to filming, they were invited via her website to send in video clips of themselves, telling her of the hardships in their lives and how the song had inspired them to look at life differently, and had given them strength. A contest was held, and video clips from five fans were chosen for inclusion in the video. The clips were featured in the video's introduction, where Carey reacts to her fan's struggles which included personal insecurities, the problems of being part of a racial or social minority, and being victimized by verbal harassment.
The original edit of the music video begins with a message to those fans that sent in their videos; "Thank you to all those who chose to share their stories with the world." Subsequently, a personal message left by Carey is shown, reading "After every storm, if you look hard enough, a rainbow appears..." Five testimonials from fans are shown, each telling of their own personal problems and hardships. In her testimonial, the third girl says "I am fourteen years old, I'm a high school student, there is not one day that goes by that people don't make fun of me about my race. It is about self-confidence, don't be afraid to dream." After the last girl reads her message, Carey is shown lying on pillows on the floor of her sparse living room, watching television. As she tearfully sings, she watches as different empowering messages and events are shown on the screen. Towards the end of the musical bridge, Carey stands up from the floor and exits onto a large balcony overlooking the city. Rain begins to fall as Carey waves her arms and cries out singing the song's climax. Her depression is resolved when the rain stops and a rainbow forms, prompting her to smile.
The video was quickly pulled after its release because it contained technical errors. The clips of the people on Carey's television had their struggles captioned in dark text on a dark background, making it difficult to read. There were also continuity errors during the rainy balcony scene, as Carey's shirt would alternate between being soaking wet and dry. Consequently, a new music video was completed, which retained the clips of Carey's fans at the beginning but fixed the captions and replaced most of the interior shots of Carey with new footage. Carey, now in a new and more furnished apartment, does not go out into the rain but instead stays in her living room. She walks over to a large pair of windows aside a mural of large throw pillows and candles, singing and flailing her arms as she completes the song. As with the previous filming of the video, Carey's pain and sadness is resolved with a rainbow, shown at the end of the video.
Most remixes of "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" were released in the US only, although few were found in certain territories. David Morales produced the Morales club mix, which uses the song's original vocals with similar chord progressions to those of the original, and the Morales Triumphant mix, which contains re-recorded vocals and new lyrics which transform the song into a jazz-like mix with harmonica sections. A spoken introduction was also added, featuring Carey's spoken voice before the first verse.
## Live performances
Although "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" was never fully released as a single, Carey felt very strongly about the song and therefore promoted it through several live television and award show appearances. Carey's first live performance of the song was on The Today Show as part of a mini-concert which aired live on November 2, 1999, from Rockefeller Center in New York. Following the concert on The Today Show, Carey performed the song live at the 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, where she was presented as a featured performer. Carey further promoted "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" with a performance on VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross, where she also performed a mashup of "Heartbreaker" with Ross's "Love Hangover" which was added as a track on the single release. After the release of "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", the album's final single, Carey sang them both live on The View in mid-2000. On October 30, 1999, Carey filmed a private concert held at her old high school in Huntington, Long Island, where she taped a special for the Fox Broadcasting Company titled Mariah Carey Homecoming Special, which aired in December of that year. Aside from television performances, the song was part of the set-list on both the Rainbow World Tour, which coincided with the release and promotion of Rainbow, as well as the Charmbracelet World Tour in 2002–03. She has performed the song recently in her last two concerts in Marrakech, Morocco, and at the Mawazine Festival, and Monaco. The remix version was the opening number for her concerts in Australia during January 2013. Carey started performing the single for the first time after 5 years on her second concert residency placed in Las Vegas, The Butterfly Returns in 2018. She also performed it at her Caution World Tour in 2019, in its remixed version.
## Formats and track listings
- European CD single
1. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (radio edit)
2. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales club mix edit)
- European CD maxi-single
1. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (album version)
2. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales club mix)
3. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales Revival Triumphant mix)
4. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales instrumental)
- US and Japanese CD single
1. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)"
2. "Crybaby"
3. "Heartbreaker/Love Hangover"
- US CD maxi-single
1. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales club mix)
2. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales Revival Triumphant mix)
3. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales instrumental)
4. "Crybaby" (album version)
5. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (album version)
- Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme) EP
1. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (radio edit) – 4:03
2. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales club mix edit) – 3:58
3. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales club mix) – 7:37
4. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales Revival Triumphant mix) – 10:27
5. "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" (Morales instrumental) – 7:39
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the Rainbow liner notes.
- Mariah Carey – co-production, songwriting, vocals
- Diane Warren – songwriting
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – co-production
- Shockley – drums
- Merilee Klemp – oboe
- Mike Scott – guitar
- Daryl Skobba – cello
- Joshua Koestenbaum – cello
- Alice Preves – viola
- Tamas Strasser – viola
- Brenda Mickens – violin
- David Mickens – violin
- Elizabeth Sobieski – violin
- Elsa Nilsson – violin
- James Riccardo – violin
- John Kennedy – violin
- Michal Sobieski – violin
- Thomas Kornacker – violin
- Steve Hodge – mixing
- Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Release history
|
49,750,943 |
Emily Tinne
| 1,171,652,474 |
British collector of clothes (1886–1966)
|
[
"1886 births",
"1910s fashion",
"1920s fashion",
"1930s fashion",
"1966 deaths",
"British collectors",
"British people in colonial India",
"British schoolteachers",
"People from Aigburth",
"People from Kolkata"
] |
Emily Margaret Tinne (; 21 August 1886 – 12 March 1966) was a British collector of clothes. Raised by a Presbyterian missionary to India, Tinne attended boarding school in England. She trained and worked as a teacher before marrying a wealthy medical doctor in 1910, at which point she started buying clothes from department stores in Bold Street, Liverpool, as well as having bespoke items made by a local dress maker. Her collection, which has been donated to the National Museums Liverpool, contains over 700 items and is the largest from an individual owned by a museum in the United Kingdom. The clothes are of high quality, with many items still unworn in their original tissue paper and boxes, the price tags and delivery information still attached.
## Biography
Tinne was born Emily Margaret McCulloch on 21 August 1886 near Calcutta, India. Her father, William McCulloch, was a Presbyterian missionary and principal at a theological college in nearby Chinsurah, West Bengal. Her mother was a stern lady, and the family's lack of means and Presbyterian beliefs made for a frugal upbringing. Tinne had two brothers and a sister, and the four were sent to boarding school in 1893, when Tinne was about seven. During the school holidays, the children would live either with Tinne's maternal aunt in Sevenoaks, Kent or grandparents in Edinburgh. Her parents remained in India until the 1920s.
Tinne studied as a domestic science teacher at Edinburgh School of Cookery, between 1904 and 1906, then moved to Aigburth, Liverpool to live with her maternal uncle, William Brogden Patterson. There she found a teaching role at Liverpool Training School of Cookery & Technical College of Domestic Service, where she remained for three years until 1909. During this period Tinne became engaged to Philip Frederick Tinne, a general practitioner whose family had a history as profitable sugar merchants and ship owners. The couple married at the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Toxteth, Liverpool on 14 July 1910 and moved into a cottage in Aigburth. They had six children, Elspeth, John, Bertha, Helen, Alexine and Philip, along with another who died in infancy, and the growing family meant that they moved into a larger property in 1923 with an extension large enough for Philip's surgery at the rear of the house.
Tinne's husband inherited £161,830 from his father in 1925, equivalent to about £6 million in 2006. Tinne's sons were educated at Eton College, whilst her daughters went to local schools. The family also had at least seven servants and owned the first car in Liverpool.
## The Tinne collection of clothing
Tinne acquired a significant collection of clothes from shops in Bold Street, Liverpool shops and her local dressmaker. The collection comprised both off-the-rail items and bespoke outfits. She also made some clothes, including special outfits for her children's dance shows. The collection is held by National Museums Liverpool, donated in three stages by Emily Tinne's daughter, Alexine. Due to the sheer volume of items, Alexine would put out two tea chests per week, which would be collected by the museum. The collection includes more than 700 items, though many other items could not be accepted due to the low quality. The total collection included over 1000 items. The collection is the largest collection of an individual's clothing owned by a museum in the United Kingdom.
The collection consists of items created between 1900 and 1940 and includes day and evening dresses, coats, underwear and stockings, swimwear, shoes, hats and gloves, baby and children's clothes, but is deficient in the shoes and handbags that would usually accompany a wearable ensemble. In addition, the collection includes Tinne's limited selection of jewellery, her servants' clothes and also some soft furnishings. To provide context, Tinne's collection of fashion magazines and sewing patterns are also included in the collection.
Tinne bought multiple versions of the same item, often leaving them in the original tissue paper, with the original price labels and delivery dates. Many of the higher value items were never worn, possibly because Tinne did not attend functions which would allow them to be due to her husband's evening surgeries. Tinne's daughter, Alexine suggests that Emily may have purchased excess items or high value items that she did not want, to allow the shop assistants to gain commission. This view is backed up by the curator of the exhibition, Pauline Rushton, who describes Tinne's social work in organising widows' pensions or helping unmarried mothers. However, fashion author Linda Grant believes it was more likely that she just enjoyed shopping.
The vast majority of the collection is dated between 1910 and 1940. Few items exist from before her marriage, when she started shopping "almost every afternoon", nor from after the outbreak of World War II, when she appears to have taken on a "make do and mend" attitude, which remained until her death. The size of the collection caused strain between Emily and her husband, along with storage difficulties. The clothes were stored in tea chests and could be found in the couple's en-suite bathroom, the servants' quarters, and were even used to block off part of the cellar to secure other valuables.
|
58,453,794 |
HMS Prize
| 1,102,135,374 |
German schooner captured and refitted as a British Q ship during the First World War
|
[
"Q-ships of the Royal Navy",
"World War I naval ships of the United Kingdom"
] |
HMS Prize was a schooner converted to a Q ship during the First World War and commanded by Lieutenant William Sanders of the Royal Naval Reserve.
Originally a German vessel called Else, she was captured by the Royal Navy in the first days of the First World War. In April 1917 she was commissioned into the Royal Navy as a Q ship with the name HMS First Prize, later to be shortened to HMS Prize. During her first patrol, Prize was involved in an engagement with a U-boat, U-93 for which Sanders received the Victoria Cross while the rest of the crew were also awarded various medals. Prize was destroyed by a torpedo on 13 August 1917, with all crew lost.
## History
A steel-hulled three-masted schooner, Else was built in Groningen, Holland, by the firm E. V. Smit & Zoon in 1901 for a German ship owner. Displacing 277 tons, she had an overall length of 122 feet 6 inches (37.3 m) with a beam of 24 feet (7.3 m). Her draught was 10 feet 5 inches (3.2 m). Her home port was Leer, near Emden. On 4 August 1914, the day on which the United Kingdom declared war on Imperial Germany and entered the First World War, she was transiting the English Channel carrying a cargo of hides. Intercepted by HMS Diana, a small cruiser of the Royal Navy, Else's crew was taken prisoner and the ship sailed into Falmouth with a prize crew.
Else was sold a month later; her new owner was the Marine and Navigation Company, owned by William Garthwaite. She was renamed First Prize, on account of being the first ship captured by the Royal Navy during the war. Garthwaite's intention was to use her on the coastal trading routes.
Later on in the war, the Admiralty was looking for vessels suitable for fitting out as Q ships. These were merchant ships crewed by Royal Navy personnel and bearing hidden weaponry. When attacked by U-boats, a portion of the ship's crew (referred to as a panic party) would appear to evacuate the vessel, sometimes setting smoke fires to simulate damage. This would encourage its attacker to approach and when the U-boat was close enough, the Q ship's guns would become operational and open fire, hopefully destroying the submarine.
In November 1916, First Prize, berthed at Swansea, was identified as being a vessel suitable for Q ship service. She was accordingly requisitioned by the Royal Navy. Within weeks, Garthwaite had gifted the ship to the Royal Navy for service in the war. He also offered to fit her out for war service in return for an honorary commission in the Royal Navy, but this was declined.
## Service as a Q ship
First Prize underwent a refit at Ponsharden, near Falmouth. This included the fitting of two 12-pounder guns, at the bow and stern respectively. The gun at the bow was screened within a collapsible deckhouse while that at the stern was mounted such that it could be raised from the hold. Two Lewis guns and a machinegun were also fitted. The vessel's mode of propulsion was added to, with twin 50-horsepower (37 kW) diesel motors, manufactured by Kelvin Diesels, being fitted and for communications, a radio transmitter and receiver, not typical for sailing vessels of the time, was installed.
First Prize was formally commissioned into the Royal Navy on 25 April 1917, with a crew of 27, including its commander, Lieutenant William Sanders, a New Zealander serving in the Royal Naval Reserve. She departed for her first patrol the next day. In the evening of 30 April, near the Scillies in the Atlantic, First Prize was attacked by a U-boat, U-93 commanded by Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim. The Q ship was badly damaged by shellfire from the U-boat's deck guns. Sanders, having dispatched a panic party in a small boat thus giving the impression of a ship being abandoned, remained under cover with his men. Despite several of them being wounded, the crew remained hidden.
After 20 minutes of shelling, First Prize appeared to be sinking. The U-boat approached her port quarter, whereupon Sanders ordered the White Ensign hoisted and First Prize opened fire. Within a few minutes the submarine had received severe damage to her conning tower, with several crew members blown into the water. After moving away, the U-boat disappeared from sight in mist, and was believed by the crew of First Prize to have been sunk. The panic party, still in its boat, collected three survivors, including her captain, and brought them back to First Prize. The damage to the ship was serious, and the German prisoners assisted in repairs as it made for the Irish coast and received a tow as it approached Kinsale. Despite its damage, U-93 managed to struggle back to Sylt nine days later.
In the meantime, the damaged First Prize returned to her port of Milford Haven. The Admiralty had renamed her, and she was to now be known as HMS Prize. After Prize was repaired, she returned to sea in late May, conducting a second patrol off the northwest coast of Ireland for three weeks. On 12 June, she encountered UC-35 on the surface. The U-boat shelled Prize 30 times as it approached but once a wounded Sanders gave the order to return fire, it turned away. Prize only fired a few shots before the U-boat quickly submerged and got away.
Prize undertook another patrol in late June and early July. On 22 June, while at sea, various awards to the crew who fought in the action on 30 April was announced; Sanders was to receive the Victoria Cross while his lieutenant received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), two other officers the Distinguished Service Cross, and the rest of the crew the Distinguished Service Medal.
Prize embarked on her final patrol in early August 1917. Sailing into the Atlantic under a Swedish flag, the ship was accompanied by a British submarine, HMS D6. It was intended that D6 would submerge and observe Prize throughout the day. When an enemy ship was sighted, the crew of Prize would place discrete signals in the rigging to indicate the ship's position to the watching D6. The submarine would then attempt to move into a position where it could torpedo the approaching enemy. On 13 August 1917, a lookout spotted UB-48. Sanders opted to use the guns of Prize to shell the U-boat; UB-48 was undamaged and it submerged to evade the attack. Prize and D6 remained on station. Later that evening, UB-48, having worked its way into a suitable position, fired two torpedoes at Prize, one of which struck and destroyed the sailing ship. D6, still submerged, heard the explosion and at dawn it surfaced to investigate but found no trace of Prize or her crew.
|
43,025,502 |
The Boat Race 1984
| 1,148,424,299 | null |
[
"1984 in English sport",
"1984 in rowing",
"1984 sports events in London",
"March 1984 sports events in the United Kingdom",
"The Boat Race"
] |
The 130th Boat Race took place on 18 March 1984. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race was originally scheduled to take place the day before but the Cambridge boat struck a barge before the start and the race was postponed until the following day, making it the first Boat Race to be held on a Sunday. Oxford won by 3+3⁄4 lengths and both crews beat the existing course record.
Cambridge's Goldie won the reserve race, while Cambridge were victorious in the Women's Boat Race.
## Background
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having beaten Cambridge by 3+1⁄4 lengths in the previous year's race. However Cambridge held the overall lead, with 68 victories to Oxford's 60 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).
Originally scheduled to take place on Saturday 17 March, the Cambridge cox, Peter Hobson, steered their boat into a moored barge during the warmup, destroying the bow. The crew paddled to the side of the river where most were able to disembark, but some were forced to swim to safety. The race was postponed to the following day where Cambridge competed in a boat borrowed from the Amateur Rowing Association. It was the first Boat Race to be held on a Sunday in the history of the competition. The disagreement over the inclusion of Boris Rankov in Oxford's crew for the sixth time in the previous year's race had not been resolved. Rankov, however, had left the university after completing his studies so the dispute would have no impact on this year's race.
The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race.
## Crews
Oxford were pre-race favourites and their crew were an average of 11 pounds (5.0 kg) heavier than their Cambridge opponents. The race saw the return of five Blues for Oxford and four for Cambridge. Oxford's crew contained two Canadian brothers (the Evans twins, Mark and Michael), two Australians and an American cox, while Cambridge's predominantly British crew was completed by a Canadian and an American.
## Race
Oxford started from the Surrey station and despite rating higher, were slightly behind Cambridge after a minute. Aggressive steering from Hobson resulted in warnings from umpire Mike Sweeney, and by the mile post, Oxford held a two-second lead. A push by Oxford at Harrods saw them five seconds clear by Hammersmith Bridge and two lengths clear by Chiswick Steps. Nine seconds ahead by Barnes Bridge, Oxford passed the finishing post officially 12 seconds and 3+3⁄4 lengths ahead of Cambridge, in a time of 16 minutes 45 seconds, beating the previous best of 16 minutes 58 seconds recorded by Oxford in the 1976 race. This was Oxford's ninth consecutive victory, and their tenth in eleven years, and took the overall record to 68–61 in favour of Cambridge.
In the reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie beat Oxford's Isis by 2+3⁄4 lengths, while Cambridge won the 39th Women's Boat Race.
## Reaction
Cambridge cox Hobson reacted to the pre-race crash: "It was the worst nightmare in the world coming true." Regarding the race, the Cambridge number 5, John Garrett stated "the borrowed boat was better than ours but we weren't used to it." Oxford cox Seth Lesser said he was aware that his crew were setting a record-breaking pace: "I knew the record was on ... We made another burn at St Paul's School just to make sure."
As a result of Saturday's collision and the associated publicity, Sunday's race was viewed on British television by more than 12 million people.
|
1,983,131 |
Eilat Airport
| 1,133,349,985 |
Former airport of Eilat, Israel (1949—2019)
|
[
"1949 establishments in Israel",
"2019 disestablishments in Israel",
"Airports disestablished in 2019",
"Airports established in 1949",
"Airports in Israel",
"Buildings and structures in Eilat",
"Defunct airports in Israel"
] |
Eilat Airport (Hebrew: שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה אֵילַת, romanized: Namal HaTe'ufa Eilat; Arabic: مطار إيلات ), also known as J. Hozman Airport, was an airport located in Eilat, Israel. It was named after Arkia Airlines founder Yakov Hozman (Jacob Housman) and was located in the center of Eilat adjacent to Route 90 (The Arava Road). Due to its short runway and limited capacity it mainly handled domestic flights from Tel Aviv (Sde Dov Airport and to a lesser extent Ben Gurion Airport) and Haifa Airports, while Uvda International Airport, located some 60 km (40 mi) north of the city handled Eilat's international carriers.
The airport was expected to cease operations on October 27, 2018 with the opening of the new Ramon Airport. However, the opening of the new airport was delayed until January 21, 2019.
Following the inauguration of Ramon Airport located approximately 20 km north of the city, Eilat Airport ceased operations on March 18, 2019. The new, larger airport now handles all of Eilat's domestic and international flights as Uvda Airport also ceased receiving civilian traffic upon the opening of Ramon Airport.
## History
Eilat Airport was established in 1949 by the Israel Air Force, following the 1947–1949 Palestine war. During its early years, the airport aimed to establish a comprehensive set of connections to towns across the country, most notably with Tel Aviv and Haifa. Consequently, a regular route from Eilat to Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International Airport) was started. Soon after, a route to Haifa Airport became operational. In December 1950, following their establishment, Arkia Israel Airlines became the largest domestic operator at Eilat Airport, taking the position of the former companies Eilata and Aviron. To this day, they retain this position. Later, in 1964 the runway was expanded to 1500 m, and a passenger terminal was built. Five years later, the runway was further expanded increasing the length to 1900 m. In 1975, Eilat Airport started to attract Scandinavian airlines. The first international flight arrival to Eilat, of the Danish airline, Sterling Airlines landed in this year. Since then, many international routes have been established directly linking Eilat with Europe, however, the airport is still unable to handle landings of large aircraft which have to fly to Uvda International Airport.
In the 1994 Peace Agreement between Israel and Jordan it was decided that operations were supposed to be transferred from Eilat Airport to Aqaba Airport. The original plan was to rename Aqaba Airport as Aqaba-Eilat Peace International Airport. The agreement was never followed, however, and an agreement between the two countries in March 1997, stipulated that domestic flights would continue to use Eilat Airport, whilst no further action to move international flights took place.
In August 2005, a Katyusha rocket fired from Jordan landed near a taxi traveling just 15 yards (14 m) from the airport perimeter fence. On August 8, 2013, the Israeli Military instructed the airport to cancel all landings and departures after a security assessment. Militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula had fired rockets towards the city in recent years, but it was not immediately clear if that was the reason for the closure.
## Final years of service
During its latest period of service, Eilat Airport sustained peak loads concentrated into Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. On Thursdays and Sundays, flights were handled in a period of a few hours in the mornings and on Saturdays only the evening hours were used. Often there were days when 10,000 passengers on 120 flights were channeled through the 2,800 m<sup>2</sup> terminal, which counted as one of the highest peak loads worldwide in this category.
International passenger traffic decreased from magnitude of 20,000 a year in late 2000s to 5,000 a year in 2010s. Most international traffic to Eilat was handled by Ovda Airport instead, while Eilat Airport handled about 1.5 million domestic passengers per year. A little more than half of them flew to or from Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv (which itself was closed several months after the closing of Eilat Airport), while the rest flew mostly to Ben Gurion Airport, with smaller numbers to Haifa Airport.
Although the airport was capable of handling Boeing 767 aircraft, for large numbers of these aircraft, significant investment would have been needed. Consequently, the largest aircraft that regularly flew to the airport were Boeing 757. The main problem at the airport was the lack of ramp space, with just two parking positions for large aircraft. As a result, El Al operated regular shuttle flights to Ben Gurion International Airport carrying passengers from around the world on 757s and 737s.
The small size of the airport is perhaps best illustrated with the fact that a Boeing 757 could not taxi past another aircraft to parking positions. As a result, controllers were responsible not only for ensuring that valuable space was utilised, but also for ensuring that other aircraft were kept circling until larger aircraft were parked. Despite these limitations, the airport successfully handled ten to twenty times more traffic than airports of a comparable size. It is for this reason that plans to relocate the airport were so important in the short-term scale. In 2006, a NIS 5.5 million renovation programme of Eilat Airport's terminal and runway was undertaken, designed to sustain the airport until it was replaced.
## End of operations
Since the beginning of the 1990s, authorities in Eilat had considered relocating the airport out of the city limits. There were numerous reasons behind this idea, primarily the fact that safety would be improved as, in its current location, there is the chance of aircraft crashing into buildings in the city. Other reasons were the pure value of the land which the airport occupies, and the fact that the airport is dividing the city of Eilat into two parts with the hotels and tourist areas on one side, and the residential buildings on the other.
On 24 July 2011 the Israeli cabinet approved the construction of a new airport in Timna Valley, 18 km (11 mi) north of Eilat, next to Be'er Ora. Ramon Airport opened in 2019 and is named in memory of the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon (who died in 2003) and his son Assaf Ramon (who died in 2009 when his F-16 fighter jet crashed over the West Bank). It has a 3,600 m (11,800 ft) runway, longer than the runway in Eilat, which allows large aircraft to land.
## The site after closure of the airport
Following the inauguration of Ramon Airport, Eilat Airport ceased all operations on March 18, 2019. Its land, located in the heart of the city, was expected to be used for real estate development. All in all some 750,000 square metres (8,100,000 sq ft) of former airport land was to be redeveloped as part of larger plans to develop the city of Eilat. The focus of new development is planned to be on tourism. In addition to freeing up the land of the former airport itself, the closure also allowed for an end of height restriction laws affecting buildings in the vicinity. Plans called for 1,700 hotel beds and 1,920 housing units on former airport grounds. As Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv (which likewise occupied potentially high value real estate in a growing Israeli city) also shut down in 2019, Israel had two major projects of former airport land redevelopment going into the 2020s.
## Statistics
|
212,984 |
Basehead
| 1,171,362,906 |
American band
|
[
"1992 establishments in Washington, D.C.",
"Alternative rock groups from Washington, D.C.",
"American Christian rock groups",
"American hip hop groups",
"Christian hip hop groups",
"Musical groups established in 1992"
] |
Basehead, also known as dc Basehead and Basehead 2.0, is an American alternative rock group formed by Michael Ivey in 1992. Ivey serves as the group's songwriter and leader, performing vocals and various instruments. Basehead's 1992 debut album, Play with Toys, was recorded at Ivey's home with various studio musicians. Ivey formed a touring band for live performances, which contributed to Basehead's second album, Not in Kansas Anymore. The group's current lineup consists of Ivey, drummer Aaron Burroughs and bassist Brendan Ciotta.
Basehead has received praise for its distinctive sound and lyrics. The group's music incorporates elements of various genres, including blues, funk, hip hop and rock. The lyrics of Play with Toys and Not in Kansas Anymore focus on subjects such as alcohol and cannabis use, depression, philosophy, politics and relationships. Beginning with the 1996 release of Faith, the group's lyrics have focused primarily on Christian themes, which carried over to its albums In the Name of Jesus, dc Basehead and Rockalyptic Music.
## History
Basehead released its debut album, Play with Toys, in 1992 on the small independent label Emigre. Vocalist Michael Ivey recorded much of the album at his home on a four-track with various friends. The album received favorable reviews and frequent airplay on college radio. Rolling Stone reviewer Kevin Powell wrote that "Without being preachy, Basehead's unconventional style challenges listeners to get beyond their basic instincts and open their minds, search their souls." Assembling a five-member touring band, Ivey toured the United States and Europe, opening for the Beastie Boys, Stone Temple Pilots, and Ween. After College Music Journal featured Basehead on its cover, the group received attention from major labels, and signed with Imago Records, a former subsidiary of BMG the following year, releasing its second studio album, Not in Kansas Anymore. Rolling Stone reviewer Danyel Smith called the album "an alternative to the benign bullshit music that floods the chain stores and commercial radio waves." Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "Although it retains many of the same qualities of their critically acclaimed debut [...] there's nothing that has the same sense of discovery that made Play with Toys an interesting record."
In April 1994, Basehead recorded its third studio album, Faith, which retained the musical elements of previous albums, but featured lyrics focusing on religious themes. During this period, Ivey also formed a side project, Bastard Youth of Basehead, also known as B.Y.O.B., and founded I3Records, an imprint of Rykodisc Records focusing on alternative music aimed at and produced by African American musicians. In December 1994, Imago separated from BMG, and Faith was not released until two years later. The album's release problems resulted in the cancellation of a planned tour between Basehead and B.Y.O.B. Although some band members felt that they had not been given proper financial compensation for their work, Ivey stated that he took a smaller percentage of the songwriting credits than he was legally entitled to, and that the group's underpaid work would have "laid the groundwork" for future success if Faith did not have release problems.
In 1998, Basehead released its fourth studio album, In the Name of Jesus on the label Union of Vineyard Workers. In 2002 the group changed its name to dc Basehead, releasing their self-titled fifth album on November 19. Hamlin wrote that "the mastermind's [...] effective use of subtly shifting patterns inside a repeating framework, and his talented co-conspirators lift DC into distinction." Reforming as Basehead 2.0, the group released its sixth studio album, Rockalyptic Music in 2007.
## Music and lyrics
Basehead's musical style, which fuses elements of blues, funk, hip hop, pop, psychedelic, reggae, rock and rhythm and blues, is categorized as "black rock", "alternative funk", "alternative dance", "progressive rap", alternative hip hop and alternative rock. David Jeffries from Allmusic described Play with Toys as "slacker rap". According to Michael Ivey, "There are hip-hop elements in there, but if a hardcore hip-hop fan bought it, they might be disappointed". Ivey also stated that Basehead's music "doesn't have the expected samples and sounds." The lyrical themes of Play with Toys and Not in Kansas Anymore focus on diverse subjects, including alcohol and marijuana use, depression, philosophy, politics, racism, and relationship breakups. Francis Davis wrote that Ivey's lyrics "[subvert] both rock and gangsta-rap conventions." Basehead's albums and performances feature live instrumentation, which differentiates the group's sound from that of mainstream hip hop artists who rely solely on sampled instrumentation. On the group's albums, vocals and instruments are altered with studio techniques for effect. Ivey's vocals mix singing and rapping. According to Ivey, Basehead's former DJ, Citizen Cope, "doesn't play music. He makes sounds—[he's] an instrument in his own self. He might scratch certain words for a special effect."
In 1994, the group's lyrics shifted to Christian themes, starting with the album Faith. Andrew Hamlin describes the lyrics of Faith as having "caught Ivey mid-capitulation. He wanted Jesus in his life but he also wanted his beer, his pot, his television, and his lust." During the release of Faith, Ivey stated that Basehead's fourth studio album, In the Name of Jesus, would feature even more Christian-oriented lyrics than Faith. Regarding the lyrics of In the Name of Jesus, Hamlin writes that "chanting praises leaves the Basehead mastermind without his characteristic wit, and he lacks the energetic exhortations that often lift gospel performers above sameness in material." Regarding dc Basehead, Hamlin wrote that the album's lyrics were "miles in some direction or other from any stereotyped Christian rock bin."
During a performance in which the group received a request for early material, Ivey stated "I'm still trying to work it out—how to follow God and still give you the old shit" and introduced the group's Christian songs with self-deprecation, referring to the songs as "the new, reborn, love-God Basehead stuff." In a 1998 interview, Ivey stated "I'm kind of wary of the Church. I know there's this whole Christian music market, but I don't think, theology-wise, I'm in agreement with a whole lot of Christians. [...] In fact, I don't know whether I like even being called a Christian."
## Pop culture
Two Basehead songs, "Play with Toys" and "2000," were featured in the Union Wheels skateboarding video titled "Right to Skate", during the Alphonzo Rawls segment.
## Band members
- Michael Ivey — guitar, vocals
- Aaron Burroughs — drums
- Brendan Ciotta — bass
Former
- Bill Conway — bass
- Keith "Lazy K" Lofton — guitar
- Clarence "Citizen Cope" Greenwood — turntables, bass
- Brian Hendrix — drums
- Jay Nichols — drums
## Discography
- Play with Toys (1992)
- Not in Kansas Anymore (1993)
- Faith (1996)
- In the Name of Jesus (1998)
- dc Basehead (2002)
- Rockalyptic Music (2007)
|
51,037,775 |
Ben Edwards (American football)
| 1,159,725,501 |
American football player and coach (born 1992)
|
[
"1992 births",
"American football return specialists",
"American football wide receivers",
"High school football coaches in Virginia",
"High school lacrosse coaches in the United States",
"Living people",
"New York Giants players",
"People from Yorktown, Virginia",
"Players of American football from Newport News, Virginia",
"Richmond Spiders football players"
] |
Ben Edwards (born April 10, 1992) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played football and basketball at York High School in Yorktown, Virginia. He played college football at Richmond for four years. Edwards earned First-team All-CAA honors in 2012 after leading the CAA in receptions with 80. He was also named First-team All-CAA his senior year in 2013. After going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, Edwards remained unsigned until being signed by the New York Giants in May 2015. He played in two games for the Giants in 2015, catching one pass for nine yards. He spent the entire 2016 season on injured reserve and became a free agent afterwards.
## Early years
Edwards played high school football at York High School in Yorktown, Virginia. He earned Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Bay Rivers District during his junior year in 2008. He also garnered First-team All-District and All-Region accolades as both a quarterback and kick returner. Edwards earned Second-team All-District accolades as a punter as well. In late September 2009, he suffered a sprained ankle, which slowed him for several weeks. In late October 2009, he suffered a broken collarbone that caused him to miss two games. He played basketball at York High as well. He averaged 14.0 points and 5.4 assists per game in his junior year, garnering All-District honors.
He had scholarship offers from the University of Richmond, James Madison University and the College of William & Mary.
## College career
Edwards played wide receiver for the Richmond Spiders of the University of Richmond from 2010 to 2013.
He played in ten games, starting five of them, throughout his freshman season in 2010, catching nine passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. In 2011, he appeared in eleven games, of which he started ten, recording 44 receptions for 509 yards and six touchdowns. Edwards earned CAA All-Academic accolades the same year.
He started all eleven games in his junior year in 2012 and led the CAA in receptions with 80. He also totaled 852 yards receiving and three receiving touchdowns. Edwards rushed for 117 yards on sixteen attempts that same year as well. He garnered First-team All-CAA, First-team VaSID All-State, College Sports Madness Third-team All-CAA, CAA All-Academic and Touchdown Club of Richmond Division I National End/Wide Receiver of the Year honors in 2012.
He played in nine games his senior year in 2013, catching 74 passes for 706 yards and five touchdowns. Edwards also rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries while returning 12 punts for 124 yards. He earned First-team All-CAA, Second-team VaSID All-State, College Sports Madness Second-team All-CAA, CAA All-Academic and Touchdown Club of Richmond Division I National End/Wide Receiver of the Year accolades in 2013. He also garnered College Sports Madness Third-team All-CAA punt returner recognition in 2013. Edwards tore his ACL in a game against the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens on November 16, 2013, and underwent surgery for the injury ten days later. He majored in leadership at Richmond.
## Professional career
Edwards participated in Richmond's Pro Day on March 18, 2014, but did not run the 40-yard dash. He visited the New York Giants in April 2014. He was rated the 155th best wide receiver in the 2014 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com. Edwards had a tryout with the Cleveland Browns of the NFL on August 5, 2014. He worked as a recruiter at Fork Union Military Academy in 2014. He was also an assistant coach with Fork Union's postgraduate football team and varsity lacrosse team during the 2014–15 academic year. He participated in the Giants' three-day rookie minicamp in May 2015.
Edwards signed with the New York Giants on May 11, 2015, after a strong performance in rookie minicamp. He suffered a hamstring injury at the end of mandatory minicamp in June. He was waived/injured by the Giants on July 31. Edwards reverted to injured reserve on August 1, 2015. He was waived from the injured reserve list with an injury settlement on August 7, 2015. He then spent time as a wide receivers coach at York High School while recovering from his hamstring injury before being signed to the Giants' practice squad on November 18, 2015. Edwards was promoted to the active roster on December 24 after wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was suspended for one game. He made his NFL debut on December 27, 2015, against the Minnesota Vikings, catching one pass for nine yards on two targets while also returning a kickoff for twenty yards. He also played against the Philadelphia Eagles on January 3, 2016.
Edwards suffered a mild left knee sprain during voluntary workouts on April 27, 2016. He later returned to offseason workouts. He tore the ACL in his knee during practice on May 7 and was later ruled out for the season. Edwards was waived/injured by the team on May 9. He reverted to injured reserve the following day.
After spending the entire 2016 season on injured reserve, he was not offered a contract by the Giants, making him a free agent.
### Statistics
Source:
## Personal life
Edwards's father played football for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Ben's brother, Aaron, played as a quarterback for the Christopher Newport Captains football team.
|
22,746,959 |
Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran
| 1,126,204,680 |
Armenian churches
|
[
"Armenian Apostolic churches in Iran",
"Armenia–Iran relations",
"Buildings and structures in East Azerbaijan Province",
"Buildings and structures in West Azerbaijan Province",
"Christian monasteries established in the 14th century",
"Christian monasteries established in the 7th century",
"History of East Azerbaijan Province",
"History of West Azerbaijan Province",
"Tourist attractions in East Azerbaijan Province",
"Tourist attractions in West Azerbaijan Province",
"World Heritage Sites in Iran"
] |
The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, located in the West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan provinces in Iran, is an ensemble of three Armenian churches that were established during the period between the 7th and 14th centuries A.D. The edifices—the St. Thaddeus Monastery, the Saint Stepanos Monastery, and the Chapel of Dzordzor—have undergone many renovations. These sites were inscribed as cultural heritages in the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee on 8 July 2008 under the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The three churches lie in a total area of 129 hectares (320 acres) and were inscribed under UNESCO criteria (ii), (iii), and (vi) for their outstanding value in showcasing Armenian architectural and decorative traditions, for being a major centre for diffusion of Armenian culture in the region, and for being a place of pilgrimage of the apostle St. Thaddeus, a key figure in Armenian religious traditions. They represent the last vestiges of old Armenian culture in its southeastern periphery. The ensemble is in a good state of preservation.
## Location
The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran are located in the West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan provinces in Iran. The ensemble consists of three Armenian churches that were established during the period between the 7th and 14th centuries A.D. The edifices—the St. Thaddeus Monastery, the Saint Stepanos Monastery, and the Chapel of Dzordzor—have undergone many renovations. The three churches lie in a total area of 129 hectares (320 acres). The St. Thaddeus Monastery also known as "Kara Kelisa" or "Black Church" in West Azerbaijan province is about 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Maku. The Saint Stepanos Monastery is 17 kilometres (11 mi) to the west of Jolfa city, East Azarbaijan Province in northwest Iran.
## History
The Armenian people are native to Armenian Highlands which is also part of northwestern Iran—known as Iranian Azerbaijan. Armenia converted to Christianity in the early 4th century A.D. A portion of the region forms part of historical Armenia. Some of the oldest Armenian chapels, monasteries and churches in the world are located within this region of Iran, and the Iranian Azerbaijan region in general is home to the oldest churches in Iran.
According to unverified reports it is believed that St. Thaddeus was buried at the site of the St. Thaddeus Monastery in the 1st century A.D., and that St. Gregory was responsible for establishing a monastery here in the 4th century. However, there is recorded proof that St. Thaddeus Monastery dates to the 7th century. It was the second Armenian church to be built, following the Etchmiadzin Cathedral and was the seat of the diocese in the 10th century. It was destroyed in an earthquake in 1319 and was rebuilt due to the efforts of Bishop Zachariah in the 1320s.
During the reign of the Safavid dynasty in the 15th century, the monasteries were preserved. The monasteries were then deserted during the 16th and 17th centuries following a period of attacks by the Ottomans that prompted many Armenians to emigrate to central Iran. Once the Safavids reestablished themselves in the area, the monasteries were reoccupied and renovated. However, during the 18th century the area became a cauldron of conflicts for domination among the Russian, Ottoman, and Persian empires. When the Persians finally gained control, the monasteries were damaged. During the Qajar era, Armenians regained control over the monasteries and they were rebuilt. The existing St. Thaddeus Monastery was rebuilt in 1814 and refurbished in the 1970s.
Similarly, it is recorded that Saint Stepanos Monastery was first established in 649 A.D. and a new building constructed at the same location in the 10th century. It was a major Christian church during the history of Armenian independence and development. After it suffered damages due to earthquake, it was rebuilt by Bishop Zachariah in the 1320s. During the entire 14th century, it was the centre of influence in the region for Christian missionary work. This period marked the creation of literary manuscripts and paintings on religious themes. The monastery was rebuilt during the period from 1819 to 1825 and again became a center of religious activity. It was refurbished in the 1970s, and again during the period from 1983 to 2001.
The Dzordzor Chapel was built on the bank of the Makuchay River at Dzordzor by Bishop Zachariah in 1314 on very modest lines, making use of the vestiges of an earlier religious monument dated between the 10th and 12th centuries. During the period of Ottoman rule, some parts of the building were destroyed. Later, the chapel came under threat of submergence from a proposed dam and had to be shifted to a new location upstream.
### World heritage status
The three monasteries of the ensemble were inscribed on 2008 under UNESCO criteria (ii), (iii), and (vi) for their outstanding value in showcasing Armenian architectural and decorative traditions, for being a major centre for diffusion of Armenian culture in the region, and for being a place of pilgrimage of the apostle St. Thaddeus, a key figure in Armenian religious traditions. They represent the last vestiges of old Armenian culture in its southeastern periphery. The ensemble is in a good state of preservation.
## Architecture
The three monuments represent a blend of architectural styles from the Byzantine, Persian, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian, Persian, Muslim, and Armenian cultures.
### Saint Thaddeus Monastery
The Saint Thaddeus Monastery ensemble is in two zones, the first of which covers an area of 29.85 hectares (73.8 acres) and comprises four chapels and the monastery itself. A compound wall of 64 by 51 metres (210 ft × 167 ft) with towers at the corners encircles the main monastery complex. Adjoining this wall, residential quarters have been built for the monks. In the interior courtyard, the main religious structures are located in a space of 41.7 by 23.6 metres (137 ft × 77 ft). There is a large entrance that is built on four pillars. The main church—the so-called White Church—is built on a Greek cross plan. It has an umbrella-shaped dome and a bell tower. There is also a Black Church, the oldest part of the ensemble, which is also crowned by a dome. The exterior artwork consists of cut-stone fascia of different colours, an Armenian architectural art form. The ornamentation in the interior is a blend of Armenian and Persian themes. There are also three more chapels to the northeast of the main monastery.
The second zone is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away to the southeast of the monastery, occupies an area of 1.98 hectares (4.9 acres), and is the location of a fifth chapel, the Chapel of Sandokt. In one of the two cemeteries next to this chapel there is a sarcophagus.
### Saint Stepanos Monastery
The Saint Stepanos Monastery ensemble is in the gorge of the Araxe River, which borders Azerbaijan. The central zone of the monastery is in an area of 72.06 hectares (178.1 acres). The main chapel is located on a steep slope within an enclosed wall in an area of 48 by 72 metres (157 ft × 236 ft). There are also residences built for the monks next to the monastery. The length of the church, built in a Greek cross form, is 27 metres (89 ft) and its height is 25 metres (82 ft). A four-pillared entrance is topped by a bell tower built in two levels; the first level is rectangular in shape, and at the second level there are pillars supporting an umbrella-shaped dome. Built in the style of Armenian religious architecture, it has cut-stone fascia. Within the church there are paintings that are based on similar ones at the Echmiatsin Church, which is a blend of Christian and Islamic art forms.
Downstream of the monastery is an area of 10.85 hectares (26.8 acres) where the village, the cemetery, and an associated church are located. The village is destroyed except for the church, which is built in the form of a basilica, with four pillars supporting a cupola. The cemetery in the village has tombs dated to 16th century.
Upstream, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away, is the Chupan Chapel (Chupan meaning "shepherd"), located close to the town of Jolfa on the bank of the Araxe River in an area of 4.18 hectares (10.3 acres). It is well preserved and is built to a rectangular plan of 5.5 by 6.5 metres (18 ft × 21 ft). It has a dome that is supported over a tambour, but the rest of the structures next to the chapel are in ruins.
### Chapel of Dzordzor
The old Chapel of Dzordzor lies in the Makuchay River valley, occupying an area of 0.79 hectares (2.0 acres). What is present now is a remnant of the large monastery that once existed there, as the entire chapel has been shifted to a new location 600 metres (2,000 ft) away due to submergence resulting from a dam that was built on the river. Before the building was dismantled, detailed plans were made and the dismantled elements numbered so that they could be reassembled to the same design at the new site. Of 1500 stones used at the new site to rebuild the chapel with the dome, only 250 were new stones as all the numbered stones from the old site were able to be reassembled according plan. This reconstruction was carried out during the period 1987–88.
|
35,887,650 |
Blackwater (Game of Thrones)
| 1,172,842,367 | null |
[
"2012 American television episodes",
"Game of Thrones (season 2) episodes",
"Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form-winning works",
"Television episodes directed by Neil Marshall",
"Television episodes written by George R. R. Martin"
] |
"Blackwater" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the second season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 19th overall. The episode was directed by Neil Marshall, his directorial debut for the series, and written by George R. R. Martin, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels from which the series is adapted. It first aired on May 27, 2012.
The episode centers around the Battle of Blackwater Bay, in which the Lannister army, commanded by acting Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister, defends the city of King's Landing against a naval invasion by the Baratheon army, commanded by Stannis Baratheon, who seeks to take the Iron Throne for himself. Unlike all previous episodes, "Blackwater" does not feature the storylines of characters outside of King's Landing, making it the first episode of the series to take place entirely in one location. The episode achieved a viewership of 3.38 million during its initial airing in the United States.
"Blackwater" received acclaim from critics and audiences, with many praising the acting and visual effects in particular. At the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, the episode won the awards for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Drama Series (One-Hour) and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (One Hour). It was Peter Dinklage's choice to support his nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The episode was also the recipient of the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
## Plot
Davos leads Stannis's fleet into Blackwater Bay. Grand Maester Pycelle gives Cersei a poison to use should Stannis take the city. Outside the Red Keep, Bronn's carousing is soured by the Hound; their tension is interrupted by bells, indicating Stannis's fleet has been spotted. Varys brings Tyrion a map of the tunnels beneath King's Landing. King Joffrey leads his forces from the Red Keep and orders Sansa to kiss his sword, vowing to use it to kill Stannis. The noble ladies and children shelter at Maegor's Holdfast under Ser Ilyn Payne's watch. Cersei drunkenly mocks Sansa's innocence, warning she will be raped if the city falls.
Stannis's fleet is confronted by a single unmanned ship, which Davos realizes too late is a trap: the ship, rigged with explosive "wildfire", kills scores of Stannis's men, seemingly including Davos and his son Matthos. Stannis orders his surviving army to attack the vulnerable Mud Gate. The defenders are routed; Lancel, injured, retreats to the Holdfast. Set on edge by his childhood fear of fire and disgusted by Joffrey's cowardice, the Hound deserts his post and renounces his allegiance to the Lannisters. Stannis himself storms the battlements as his men employ a battering ram. Cersei nearly learns Shae's true origins, while Sansa realizes Ser Ilyn's orders: to kill her and Cersei if the city falls.
Cersei orders Lancel to bring Joffrey to safety; frightened, Joffrey orders Ser Mandon Moore to take command. Tyrion rouses the defenders and leads them through a tunnel from Varys's map, flanking the Baratheon army from behind. Lancel demands the king return to battle, causing Cersei to assault him and depart with Prince Tommen. Sansa rallies the panicked ladies but is convinced by Shae to flee to her quarters. The Hound, hiding in Sansa's quarters, offers to take her north, but she appears to refuse.
Tyrion's men defeat the surprised Baratheon forces before facing a larger group of Stannis's men. Tyrion is slashed across the face by Ser Mandon, who is killed by Tyrion's squire, Podrick Payne. On the Iron Throne, Cersei tells Tommen a story about "the mother lion and her little cub", referencing House Lannister and Cersei's relationship with her children. As Tyrion falls unconscious, he witnesses a surprise cavalry assault on Stannis’s army, led by Tyrion's father Tywin. Stannis unsuccessfully orders his men to stand their ground as he is dragged to safety. Cersei, about to give Tommen the poison, is startled by Tywin, who declares they have won.
## Production
The DVD and Blu-ray box sets of Game of Thrones's second season contain a 30-minute feature covering the production of the episode.
### Conception and development
"Blackwater" is the first episode of the series to take place in one location and does not feature plotlines from characters outside of King's Landing. The episode depicts the series's first large-scale war sequence: the confrontation between the Lannisters and the Baratheons towards which most of the season builds. Showrunners were concerned that adapting the full scale of the battle described in George R. R. Martin's A Clash of Kings would require a larger budget than the \$6 million HBO approved for the episode. As a cheaper alternative, early proposals suggested the battle take place mostly offscreen, with viewers experiencing it through the eyes of Cersei Lannister and Sansa Stark, receiving occasional updates from the battlefield as they sheltered in Maegor's Holdfast. However, executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were not satisfied with this idea, believing that it was important the battle be shown. Benioff and Weiss eventually convinced HBO to approve a \$2 million increase in the episode's budget as well as an extra week of filming in order to stage the battle onscreen. The final product cost about \$8 million to produce.
With their still-limited resources, producers decided not to stage the battle precisely as described in the novel but rather to scale it down. Producers decided to set the battle at night to make it easier to hide any production errors and to save money on special effects. Benioff and Weiss resisted pressure to stage the battle exclusively on land, which would avoid the difficulties of filming on water, because they considered the naval confrontation to be essential to the season's principal storyline. Benioff and Weiss opted to craft the battle scenes around characters familiar to the audience to keep the audience engaged while also avoiding expensive wide shots involving many extras. Benioff named Saving Private Ryan, Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, El Cid, and Zulu as influences on the episode's choreography.
### Writing
The episode was written by George R. R. Martin, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels on which the series is based. For the episode, Martin adapted material from chapters 58 to 63 (Sansa V, Davos III, Tyrion XIII, Sansa VI, Tyrion XIV, and Sansa VII) of his novel A Clash of Kings. Martin said that Benioff and Weiss gave him "the hardest episode of the season" to write, and that he was forced to weigh budget restrictions against the huge scope of the battle he described in the book.
### Filming
About a week before filming was set to begin, the episode's planned director had to leave the production because of a personal emergency, and a replacement had to be found quickly. Executive producer Bernadette Caulfield suggested they hire Neil Marshall for his experience as an action director. Marshall was aware of Game of Thrones and had unsuccessfully sought a directing role during the first season. Benioff and Weiss eventually settled on Marshall because of his work on Centurion and Dog Soldiers, where he created intensive action sequences on a limited budget. Marshall was asked to direct the episode just two days before he was scheduled to appear on set. Marshall avoided watching the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers because it was, according to him, "an obvious comparison"; instead, he studied films such as The Vikings and Kingdom of Heaven.
The indoor scenes were filmed in Croatia. For the battle, Benioff described the sequence's filming as "pretty much a month straight of night shoots" that were "tough on the crew". Marshall said that the battle's filming took place at a quarry near Belfast, Northern Ireland over the course of "very cold, rainy, muddy nights". Belfast's cold and wet climate was so harsh that weather machines were not needed to simulate the wind and rain, and Benioff insisted that the actors' exhaustion was not faked. For Stannis's fleet, the crew built a full-size battleship in the parking lot of the quarry, modeled after battleships used in the 14th century. It was the only physical ship the crew had for filming.
The episode contained more visual effects shots than any other episode up to that point. For the wildfire explosion, the special-effects department developed a catapult that fired bags of burning napalm, but they could not make the fire burn green, and Marshall was unsatisfied with the way it looked. The crew instead decided to color regular fire green in post-production. The final product was created by visual effects studio Pixomondo.
### Music
The song sung by the Lannister soldiers before the battle and played over the end credits, "The Rains of Castamere", was adapted from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by series composer Ramin Djawadi. The end credits version was performed by the American indie rock band The National and sung by their vocalist Matt Berninger. The song also appeared twice in the season two premiere "The North Remembers", in which Tyrion can be heard whistling the melody during a small council meeting, and is later played in the background as Cersei confronts Petyr Baelish.
According to the novels, the song is about Tywin Lannister's victory over vassals led by House Reyne of Castamere, who had rebelled against House Lannister, about 40 years before the events of the novels. The stanza of the song that was adapted for the series tells of the vassals' defiance-–"And who are you, the proud lord said / That I must bow so low?"–-and the subsequent obliteration of their houses: "But now the rains weep o'er his hall / With no one there to hear."
## Reception
### Ratings
On the night of its premiere, the episode achieved a viewership of 3.38 million for its initial airing at 9:00pm and an additional 0.83 million viewers for the rerun at 11:00pm. Viewer shares among the 18–49 demographic were 1.6 and 0.4 respectively. This represented a 13 percent decrease in viewership from the previous episode, "The Prince of Winterfell", which set a new series record for viewership figures. James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly attributed this to the premiere's coincidence with Memorial Day weekend, which often reduces television viewership by about 20 percent. In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 1.035 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week.
### Critical reception
"Blackwater" received critical acclaim and is generally cited as one of the best episodes of the series. Many reviewers used superlatives: for Time's reviewer, the episode was "possibly the best hour of TV" of the year, for Rolling Stone it was "the show's best episode yet", and Entertainment Weekly described it as "arguably the best battle sequence ever produced for television", surpassing those in HBO's World War II series Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
IGN'''s Matt Fowler gave the episode a perfect 10 out of 10, calling it a masterpiece. Alan Sepinwall, who reviewed the episode for HitFix, called it "an epic battle, and an intimate hour" and continued "but what ultimately made Blackwater so impressive wasn't the scope, but the focus". Ed Cumming's review for The Daily Telegraph praised the episode as "an emerald inferno, as lethal as it was beautiful to watch".
Commentators praised the battle's emotional impact and epic scale. Although much reduced compared to its description in A Clash of Kings, it still went beyond anything attempted by any other regular series, according to Emily St. James of The A.V. Club. Lena Headey's performance as the increasingly cynical, drunk, and desperate Queen Regent Cersei was particularly noted. Sean Collins of Rolling Stone commented that the episode "gave actress Lena Headey her finest hour on the show so far". Writing for The Guardian'', Sarah Hughes described the performances of both Headey and costar Peter Dinklage as "wonderful", going on to say of Headey's Cersei that she "displayed a terrifying strength" and that her final scene with Tommen was "gut-wrenching". The episode also received praise for its unsentimental depiction of warfare as a harrowing and costly enterprise, with VanDerWerff interpreting it as a critique of "the sorts of political systems that perpetuate it".
The episode's director, Neil Marshall, called the fan and critical reaction to the episode "overwhelming", adding that he's "never seen anything like it for a TV episode".
### Awards and nominations
|
5,646,680 |
Tropical Storm Kammuri (2002)
| 1,165,178,376 |
Pacific severe tropical storm in 2002
|
[
"2002 Pacific typhoon season",
"2002 disasters in China",
"Tropical cyclones in 2002",
"Typhoons in China",
"Typhoons in Hong Kong",
"Western Pacific severe tropical storms"
] |
Severe Tropical Storm Kammuri, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Lagalag, killed hundreds of people in the wake of a deadly flood season in China. The system developed from a large monsoonal system that persisted toward the end of July 2002 near the Philippines. On August 2, a tropical depression formed off the northwest coast of Luzon and moved west-northwestward. Late on August 3, it intensified into Tropical Storm Kammuri off the coast of Hong Kong. A weakening ridge turned the storm northward toward the coast of China. The storm made landfall with late on August 4, after reaching peak winds of 100 km/h (65 mph). The system dissipated over the mountainous coastline of eastern China and merged with a cold front on August 7.
High rainfall from Kammuri affected large portions of China, particularly in Guangdong Province where it moved ashore. In that province, over 100,000 people had to evacuate due to flooding and after 6,810 houses were destroyed. The floods damaged roads, railroads, and tunnels, and left power and water outages across the region. Rainfall was beneficial in alleviating drought conditions in Guangdong, although further inland the rains occurred after months of deadly flooding. In Hunan Province, the storm's remnants merged with a cold front, destroying 12,400 houses. Across its path, the floods damaged or destroyed 245,000 houses and destroyed 60 ha (150 acres) of crop fields. Kammuri caused 153 deaths, most of which were related to the remnants, and damage was estimated at \$509 million (¥4.219 billion yuan).
## Meteorological history
The origins of Kammuri are uncertain; they were possibly related to the monsoon trough that moved across the Philippines toward Guam. In late July, a large area of convection persisted in the Philippine Sea, organizing enough for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to initiate advisories on Tropical Depression Lagalag on August 1. Around that time, the system had several weak circulations, one of which persisted in the South China Sea; this center was located east of an area of thunderstorms due to moderate wind shear. Early on August 2, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) classified the system as a tropical depression to the north of Luzon. Shortly thereafter, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) followed suit by initiating advisories on Tropical Depression 17W, and the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) followed suit early on August 3. Initially, it moved generally to the west-northwest, owing to a mid-level ridge over eastern China. The convection became more concentrated, and the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Kammuri late on August 3, to the south of Hong Kong.
An upper-level low connected to a trough weakened the ridge over China, allowing Kammuri to move slowly northward. Continued wind shear initially prevented the thunderstorms from being located over the center, although the shear gradually decreased, allowing the convection to organize. Kammuri quickly intensified into a severe tropical storm; the JMA estimated peak 10-minute sustained winds of 100 km/h (65 mph) at 1800 UTC on August 4. The JTWC estimated the storm was weaker, with 1-minute winds of 95 km/h (60 mph). At around 2300 UTC on August 4, Kammuri made landfall east of Hong Kong in Guangdong Province, just east of Shanwei. An approaching mid-latitude storm caused it to accelerate over land. Kammuri quickly weakened to a tropical depression, and the JTWC discontinued advisories at 1200 UTC on August 5. The JMA continued tracking the system until Kammuri dissipated on August 7 over central China. The remnants were absorbed by a cold front.
## Preparations, impact, and aftermath
On August 3, when Kammuri was located about 390 km (240 mi) southeast of Hong Kong, the HKO issued Standby Signal No. 1, the first such signal for a storm that season. By that time, the outer rainbands had begun affecting the region. Kammuri dropped heavy rainfall in Hong Kong that reached 280 mm (11 in) in the town of Kwai Chung, most of which fell after the storm passed the region. The rains caused one landslide and damaged one road. Wind gusts in the city reached 99 km/h (62 mph), and sustained winds of 65 km/h (40 mph) were reported on Waglan Island. There, a storm surge of 0.49 m (1.6 ft) was also reported. In nearby Macau, outer rainbands delayed airplane flights, and there was some flooding.
In Guangdong Province where Kammuri made landfall, rainfall peaked at 275 mm (10.8 in) in Jieyang, and several other stations reported totals of over 100 mm (3.9 in). The rains caused flash flooding in the province, which destroyed 6,810 houses, leaving thousands homeless. At Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, officials delayed or canceled 56 flights because of the storm. Similarly, Shantou Waisha Airport was closed for four hours, which delayed or canceled 10 flights. Heavy damage was reported in three coastal cities. Two small electrical dams were destroyed by the storm, causing additional flooding. Widespread areas lost power or water, and floods damaged or destroyed roads, tunnels, and large areas of crop lands. The storm killed two people by electrocution in Shantou, and a landslide killed 10 people in Wuhua County. Another landslide disrupted rail traffic between the region and Beijing. About 100,000 people had to evacuate their houses in two cities. There were 27 deaths in the province, and damage was estimated at \$109 million (¥904 million yuan). After the storm, provincial officials coordinated the rescue effort for missing people. Despite the destruction, the rainfall from Kammuri helped alleviate drought conditions in the province. However, elsewhere in China, the rainfall occurred after months of heavy rainfall had killed 800 people.
Neighboring Fujian Province to Guangdong experienced heavier rainfall, peaking at 315 mm (12.4 in) in Quanzhou. Two stations in the city reported the highest daily total on record. In a six-hour period, a total of 104 mm (4.1 in) was recorded in Pingtan County. Wind gusts reached 79 km/h (49 mph) in Putian, Fujian. The province experienced river flooding due to the heavy rains; the Dazhang Stream crested at 34.62 m (113.6 ft) in Yongtai County, which was above "danger" flood levels. Damage in the province totaled \$131 million (¥1.085 billion yuan). There were 19 deaths in Fujian. Significant flooding from Kammuri occurred inland, related to the storm's remnants' merging with a cold front. Rainfall reached 147 mm (5.8 in) at a station in Jiangxi Province. In Hunan Province, the storms destroyed 12,400 houses, leaving over 10,000 people homeless. Also in the province, 14 reservoirs surpassed their capacity. A total of 107 people were killed in Hunan, and damage totaled \$322 million (¥2.665 billion yuan).
Across Guangdong, Fujian, and Hunan provinces, floods forced 394,000 people to evacuate, and there were 153 deaths. Overall, 72,000 houses were destroyed and 173,000 sustained damage. In the three provinces, the floods destroyed 60 ha (150 acres) and damaged 292,000 ha (720,000 acres) of crop fields. After the storm, thousands of soldiers in the People's Liberation Army placed sandbags and maintained dykes along Dongting Lake, and, by the end of August, most floods had receded nationwide.
While Kammuri was moving ashore, several ships offshore reported winds of over 74 km/h (40 mph). High rainfall totals spread as far east as Taiwan, where 591 mm (23.3 in) was reported in Taitung County; this was the station's highest daily total. Stations in Okinawa reported rainfall totals as high as 178 mm (7.0 in). The remnants of Kammuri spread across South Korea with rainfall.
## See also
- Other tropical cyclones named Kammuri
|
2,325,214 |
Double Allergic
| 1,132,288,069 | null |
[
"1996 albums",
"Polydor Records albums",
"Powderfinger albums"
] |
Double Allergic is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger. Released in Australia on 2 September 1996 Polydor, the album was produced by Tim Whitten and widely considered Powderfinger's mainstream breakthrough.
Four singles were released from the album: "Pick You Up", "D.A.F.", "Living Type" and "Take Me In". "Pick You Up" was the most successful single from the album, and Powderfinger's first moderate success, reaching \#23 on the ARIA charts. "D.A.F." also charted as a moderate success; it reached \#39 on the Australian music charts. Both "Living Type" and "Take Me In" did not chart officially, but "Living Type" was voted into the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1996.
Critics were generally favorable in their reviews of Double Allergic. It was praised by Allmusic reviewer Jonathan Lewis as "a cohesive and mature effort". It has also been certified platinum three times, with over 200,000 copies sold. Double Allergic was also nominated for five ARIA awards, with singles from the album nominated for an additional four, however, it won none of the awards it was nominated for.
## Recording and production
Double Allergic contained material that had been written by Powderfinger in 1995 and 1996. Prior to its release, guitarist Darren Middleton described it as "by far the best thing we've done", an analogy that would be often made when comparing the album to its predecessor, Parables for Wooden Ears. Middleton praised the album because the band knew how they wanted the record to sound before they began to record; he also described it as "the most concise continuation of who we are down on record".
Lead singer Bernard Fanning noted that another important element of the album was that there "was more space in the songs, it wasn't overcrowded". However, Fanning commented that Powderfinger had not intended to greatly change their sound in creating Double Allergic, instead, the change in sound came as a natural progression. the guitarist Ian Haug agreed, stating the music was "more melodic and sort of simpler", without "so many different time signatures and things". Rolling Stone author Tracey Grimson also commented on this, stating that "Powderfinger have become practical advocates of space" and lauding their acknowledgment that the "absence of sound can be lush, evocative". She noted that even in the "rockers" on the album songs—like "Pick You Up" and "Skinny Jean"—the band were still able to pull back and give the songs additional space.
Powderfinger spent less money producing Double Allergic than on their previous works. Previously, the band had worked with Tony Cohen, whom Fanning stated was expensive due to his success in the industry. For Double Allergic the band chose Tim Whitten, a less well known producer, and because the band knew what they intended to do as they entered the studio they managed to spend less despite the improved sound. Middleton commented on Whitten's capabilities in the recording studio, saying "He's what a band looks for in a producer/engineer, because he's got his own ideas", but stating that Whitten would also listen to and appreciate the band's ideas.
## Album and single releases
Double Allergic was released on 2 September 1996 in Australia on the Polydor record label. It entered the ARIA chart at \#7, and spent ten weeks in the top ten. Over 200,000 copies were sold, and the album is currently certified 3× platinum, asserting at least 210,000 sales. The album finished 1996 at \#44 on the ARIA end of year albums chart, and finished 1997 at \#53.
"Pick You Up", the first single, was released on 13 April 1996, and entered the ARIA singles chart at \#34. By its fifth week, on 30 June, it had reached its peak at \#23 – it spent a further seven weeks on the chart before dropping out. "Pick You Up" was described as having a "very professional sound". The song appeared at \#6 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996. "D.A.F.", the second single, was released on 5 August 1996. It spent four weeks on the ARIA chart, peaking at \#39. The title of the song was taken from its chord progression, in the words of the bass guitarist John Collins "because we were stupid". The song appeared at \#18 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996.
"Living Type" was the third single, released on 11 November 1996. The song peaked at \#42 on the ARIA charts and stayed in the top 50 for three weeks. "Living Type" was written by Fanning about the Manson Family cult, and came with an X-Files style music video. The song appeared at \#32 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996. The fourth single, "Take Me In", was released on 12 May 1997. It failed to chart, and was the least noted single from the album. Fanning wrote "Take Me In" as a response to hypocrisy by police, which he had read about in newspapers.
The album contains three secret tracks placed onto the twelfth track after silence that follows the track's primary song "(The Return of) The Electric Horseman". The first of these is called "Vladimir" which, according to Fanning is about a transvestite. The second song is called "SS" which refers to British cricket bat manufacturer Stuart Surridge, which is often known by those initials. The song refers in part to the bat itself, though mostly to cricket in general, with lyrics "Then we'll race like jets for the fading moon; Then we all fall down", which refers to running for the opposite crease following striking the ball, and then diving to the ground to secure the run. The third and final secret track is called "Come Away" which also appeared as a B-side for the single of "Pick You Up". In a first for the group, it had the guitarist Darren Middleton as lead vocalist, while a spoken sound sample at the end of the song is the bass guitarist John Collins' voice.
## Critical reception
Double Allergic was well received by Allmusic, with reviewer Jonathan Lewis claiming that Powderfinger "managed to successfully create an album of melodic pop songs coupled with noisy guitars". The album was summarised as "a cohesive and mature effort".
Sputnikmusic reviewer blueyxd, had mixed feelings about the album. The level of experimentation in the album was praised, with the reviewer stating that "the instrument playing and some of the unusual styles used" were beneficial. However, the main concern was that there wasn't enough experimentation, and that the album was rather "solid", thus earning it its score of 3.5.
Juice magazine reviewed Double Allergic positively, calling it a much more mature album than its predecessor, Parables for Wooden Ears. The "band's mellowing tone", compared to the "aggression" in past works, was also commended, with the review stating that "the result is an album filled with potential and character". The experimentation on "JC", "Glimpse" and "Oipic" was again praised, with comparisons to Motown drawn. The review summarised the album as "proof of a band maturing, streets ahead of anything they've previously recorded".
## Track listing
All music written and arranged by Powderfinger. All lyrics by Fanning, except "Boing Boing" lyrics by Fanning/Haug, "JC" & "Come Away" lyrics by Middleton, "Take Me In" & "(Return Of) The Electric Horseman" lyrics by Fanning/Middleton.
1. "Skinny Jean" – 3:57
2. "Turtle's Head" – 3:23
3. "Pick You Up" – 4:19
4. "D.A.F." – 3:30
5. "Boing Boing" – 3:37
6. "Give" – 2:28
7. "Oipic" – 4:09
8. "Living Type" – 3:25
9. "JC" – 2:50
10. "Glimpse" – 1:43
11. "Take Me In" – 2:51
12. "(Return of) The Electric Horseman" – 18:57 (actual track time 3:47)
- Hidden tracks (included in 18:57 track time):
- "Vladimir" – 4:47
- "SS" – 3:26
- "Come Away" – 3:55
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Accolades
|
30,046,818 |
The Churchill Machine Tool Company
| 1,153,753,233 |
British engineering company
|
[
"Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom",
"Engineering companies of the United Kingdom",
"Machine tool builders",
"Manufacturing companies based in Manchester"
] |
The Churchill Machine Tool Company Limited began as the manufacturing subsidiary of the machine tool importers Charles Churchill & Company Limited founded in the early 1900s by US-born Charles Churchill (1837–1916). Created out of the personal bankruptcy of Charles Churchill, the company developed to become one of the largest British importers of machine tools from the United States and a major manufacturer of such tools, initially under licence and later of its own development.
The original business importing American machine tools into Britain began with Charles Churchill as sole proprietor and later as a partnership with two others. It became a limited company in 1889. In 1906 a separate company, The Churchill Machine Tool Co Ltd, was established with the purpose of adapting tools imported by Charles Churchill & Co. The former expanded, producing American tools under licence and then manufactured tools of its own design, in particular precision surface grinders and similar engineering machinery. In 1918 The Churchill Machine Tool Co relocated its factories onto a single site at Broadheath, near Altrincham.
The two companies initially remained closely linked, with common a chairman and board members, including Arthur Chamberlain. In the early 1930s a series of board disagreements within Charles Churchill & Co led to Arthur Chamberlain resigning as chairman of that company. He remained chairman of The Churchill Machine Tool Co, and the two companies diverged. Charles Churchill & Co changed from a sales organisation to become a manufacturer. Thereafter, both companies manufactured machine tooling, and Charles Churchill & Co became a group of companies. By the 1960s significant rationalisation took place in British manufacturing, with companies merging or being taken over in an attempt to achieve benefits from economies of scale and pooled resources. The Churchill Machine Tool Co was taken over by the Birmingham Small Arms Company, which merged with Alfred Herbert Ltd, with production moving to Coventry. Coincidentally, Charles Churchill & Co was taken over by Tube Investments (TI).
The Churchill Machine Tool Co ceased trading in the early 1970s along with several other companies in the Alfred Herbert group, during a period of huge contraction of the manufacturing sector in Britain's economy. A part of the Charles Churchill & Co group became Matrix Churchill through a convoluted corporate process.
A company using The Churchill Machine Tool Co name still trades; but Charles Churchill & Co no longer exists.
## History
### Charles Churchill
Charles Churchill was born in the United States, in Hamden, Connecticut, on 8 July 1837. His father was Willis Churchill, described as "a mechanic of rare ability, original in the style of his goods and in his process of manufacture," who had been manufacturing brass surgical instruments at a time when such instruments were all imported to the United States. Willis Churchill founded a factory manufacturing auger drill bits which was so locally prominent that the area of Hamden in which it was situated was called Augerville.
Charles worked in his father's auger manufacturing business, but when Willis went to London in 1861 to supervise the installation of wire-covering machinery being exported by Thompson, Langdon & Co of New York City, Charles soon followed and, once there, spotted a business opportunity for himself as he saw the interest that the US-made equipment generated. By the time of his death his businesses had a presence in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and Newcastle-on-Tyne and was "a giant machine-importing business".
According to historian L. T. C. Rolt, the original installation was of machines for wire-braiding crinoline frames, and Charles simultaneously imported metal cutting machine tools to aid his friend Hiram Maxim who was developing a machine gun. This is a moot point: the Maxim gun was not developed for a further 20 years, and it is unlikely that Maxim was in England during the 1860s; however, the Gatling gun was patented in 1862. Rolt claimed that Charles Churchill & Co began trading in 1865 as importers of engineering tools and is thought to have imported the first examples of Morse tapered twist drills, self-centring drill chucks (manufactured by Cushman) and hand-held micrometers into the UK. According to Floud, he imported agricultural implements and other non-engineering items at this time. In its early years the company traded from 28 Wilson Street, Finsbury: sales catalogues were published certainly between 1876 and 1882 stating this address.
Charles Churchill & Co initially operated on Charles' own account rather than as a limited company. In his early period of operating in England he was active in patenting engineered items in conjunction with one of several other parties. The London Gazette shows several announcements for protection under the terms of the Patent Law Amendment Act of 1852 (see table below). Two of them were subsequently announced as voided by reason of non-payment for continuance. (To continue required that the applicant pay a stamp duty of £50 within three years subsequent to the application.)
Churchill's location is stated as being New York City for the 1865 applications (Buckingham was at Westmoreland House, Walworth Common, Surrey); for those of 1867 and 1868 he was in Norwood, Surrey, and states himself to be a merchant; still listing himself as a merchant, the 1869–70 applications show his summarised address as Darnley Crescent, Hackney, Middlesex; and thereafter as a merchant at Wilson Street, Finsbury. Willis Churchill, Clark and Gee were all shown as being of New York City; Tiffany was of Bennington, Vermont; Miller was of West Meriden, Connecticut; and Beach of Newark, New Jersey.
Charles Churchill, then living at 118 Cazenove Road, Stoke Newington, Middlesex, with offices at 21 Cross Street, Finsbury, trading as Charles Churchill & Co, was declared bankrupt by debtors' petition on 1 September 1887. He declared himself bankrupt rather than be declared so by someone to whom he owed money. The final dividend in bankruptcy was paid in 1889, and he was released from trusteeship on 29 April 1890. He had applied earlier for discharge but it had been refused on the grounds that he
> had omitted to keep such books of account as are usual and proper in the business carried on by him, and as sufficiently disclose his business transactions and financial position within three years immediately preceding his bankruptcy; had continued to trade after knowing himself to be insolvent; and had brought on his bankruptcy by rash and hazardous speculations.
Churchill fully tooled-up—that is, installed, assembled and made ready for productive use—the Gatling Gun factory that opened in Birmingham in 1889. This was despite being an undischarged bankrupt. He had formed a partnership with his son, Charles Henry Churchill, and in 1888 he obtained another partner when John William Wright Gabriel disposed of his family's interest in a drugs manufacturer, Gabriel and Troke, and joined the Churchills. This partnership may explain how he was able to complete the work in Birmingham despite his financial status. Despite the assertion by biographer David Jeremy that J W W Gabriel disposed of the drugs manufacturing interest, a notice in The London Gazette for 1885 shows his father, John Wild Gabriel, ending a partnership with Troke, and that Troke then formed a similar arrangement with another person.
### Early years as a limited company
In 1889 the partnership was transformed into a limited company, Charles Churchill & Co Ltd (company registration number 29931). There followed a period of exceptional growth, and in 1896 a dividend of 230% was paid on the company's share capital of £5,500.
In an interview in the US towards the end of 1896 Churchill explained that for the financial year ending 1 September 1896 sales were £110,000, and the order book value was £30,000. He attributed much of the exceptional growth of that year to the boom in bicycling and the consequent demand for automatic screw machines and similar machinery, and commented that he had placed orders for between 15 million and 18 million steel balls and that gas furnaces were selling well. He explained that there was little competition for the imported machinery – not even a manufacturer of chucks, as far as he was aware – because "English" firms seemed reluctant to even copy US designs, partly because of "the Englishman's desire to have and to embody his own ideas" and to what they perceived to be the high capital costs of setting up production given the price at which US machinery was sold there. A few years later he did just that.
He commented in 1901 that what he called the "hump", caused by the bicycling bubble, needed to be put into context: growth in the trade had been steady for the company both before and since that time.
This period of British-US engineering development has been the subject of analysis by economic historians. S B Saul, writing in 1960, determined that British engineering and its methods were advanced in spheres such as the manufacture of textile machinery but less so in that of light machine tools and the machinery of mass production. He argued that in these areas the response by British manufacturers to imports from the US "belatedly matured so their influence permeated back through the whole engineering trade and began a rejuvenation of old fossilised trades" in the 1890s. He broadly agreed with the contemporary opinion of Churchill that the adoption of US methods was slow in the light machine tools sector primarily because there was a perceived lack of demand and return on investment to excite the interest of British engineers. He viewed the cycle boom as the catalyst for growth in this area but pointed out that the heavy machine tool sector was one of those which had not been previously neglected by British engineers.
Economic historian Roderick Floud's analysis, in the 1970s, of relative imports and exports led him to the conclusion that it was "unlikely that the American share of the British market was rising significantly, until the 1890s ... [it rose to] a peak in 1899 before settling back to a period of less astonishing but still considerable growth to 1913." He also advanced a hypothesis, believing Saul's analysis to be "simplified", which placed a heavier emphasis on happenings in the US than in Britain: that the US import tariff of 45% on machinery and engineered products, which was the highest in the world until 1908, protected the development of the US industry in such products while it reached a maturity which enabled its prices to fall to a level that was highly competitive in the world market.
In March 1897 Charles Churchill & Co Ltd was put into voluntary liquidation to aid capital restructuring. This comprised an increase in authorised share capital to £50,000: £30,000 was fully subscribed, £10,000 allotted as goodwill for the old company and £10,000 retained for later issue. Within two years the company advertised with contact addresses at 2 – 10 Albert Street in Birmingham, 5 Cross Street in Manchester and 52 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, and its main office at 9 – 15 Leonard Street, Finsbury. By 1902 advertisements show the Manchester address as 2 Charlotte Street, Mosley Street and an additional office had opened at Albion Buildings, St James' Street, Newcastle. There were more than 30 employees at the London premises and 8 or 9 in Birmingham.
The capital restructuring also saw the addition of Herbert Chamberlain, brother of Joseph Chamberlain, to the board of directors. He was well connected in business terms as well as politically, having interests in Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) among other things. BSA had moved into producing bicycles and components after the end of the Crimean War, a product line it had an interest in before that event. Other members of the Chamberlain family were later involved in the company.
The new main office in Leonard Street opened around 1896 and comprised 12,474 square feet (1,159 m<sup>2</sup>) over four storeys, complete with internal hydraulic lifts, an external hydraulic crane and electric lighting; the company claimed in its press release that it had more than doubled its sales compared to any previous year and that it had sales lists for in excess of 100 US machinery manufacturers.
Examples of the agency agreements in place can be found from in the American Machinist of June 1897. They include: the Hamilton Machine Tool Company of Ohio (who were advertising a 16" sliding head drill); Baker Bros of Toledo, Ohio (advertising a combined sprocket turning and boring machine); Flather & Co, Nashua, N.H. (lathes); Warner & Swasey, Cleveland, Ohio (turret engine lathes); Chas. A. Strelinger & Co, Detroit (grinding and polishing machinery and pull countershafts by Builders' Iron Foundry, Providence, R.I.); and American Gas Furnace Co, New York (oil gas plants, gas blast furnaces and high pressure blowers). He had much to say about the correct manner of packing all of this equipment.
The American Machinist not only provided information on Churchill's business activities but in January 1901 announced he (and his wife and daughter) had returned to London after a visit to the US which was not for business but rather to see his ageing mother.
In 1907 the company was seeking to wind up the Aston Cantlow Mill Ball and Bearing Company Ltd. Indeed, that company was wound up on 17 January 1908, although the reasons for this are unclear. Charles Henry Prideaux was appointed to represent the company on the liquidation committee for Leitner Electrical Company Ltd in 1915.
### Expansion
In 1901 Churchill bought a factory in Griffin Court, Chapel Street, Salford, initially as a facility to tool up the imported machinery. It was not the first British company to do this, as Sharp, Stewart & Co had built American machinery under license since at least 1873.
As business improved in 1904 the enterprise moved to larger premises in Pendleton, where an annual rent of £90 was payable. On 1 January 1906, this operation became a limited company, The Churchill Machine Tool Co, with an authorised share capital of £50,000, split as £20,000 in ordinary shares of £1 and £30,000 in £5 preference shares. To accomplish the transfer of manufacturing operations, Charles Churchill & Co sold the Pendleton business to the new company for £15,000, of which £7,500 was in cash and a similar amount in £1 ordinary shares. The directors were Charles Churchill, J W W Gabriel, Walter Chamberlain and C H Churchill. Herbert Chamberlain had died in 1904.
In 1904 Charles Churchill & Co was engaged in an unusual commission. The Royal Navy's HMS Bellerophon was one of three ships being converted to serve at Devonport as floating workshops for the training of 200 or so engine-room artificers involving the removal of the conning tower and the deck roofed-in to form a workshop area. Bellerophon was renamed Indus III, and Churchill supplied some of her workshop equipment.
The Glasgow office address changed between February 1905 and March 1906 to 9 Wellington Street.
By June 1906 there were nearly 200 machine tools under construction at the factory, and in 1907 around £5,000 was spent on enlarging the premises, although a year-on-year drop in sales of 36% in 1908 demonstrated that all was not a smooth progression. Dividends had to be suspended for that year but were resumed in 1909.
By this time the company manufactured machine tools to its own design. Rapid expansion in the use of precision grinding machines after 1910, particularly in the developing car manufacturing industry, focussed the company's efforts on producing machines of this type. Many were of a revolutionary design due to the technical flair of Harry Hales Asbridge, who had joined the company from Charles Churchill & Co at its inception. A large plain grinding machine, with a 50-inch (130 cm) swing, built and installed in Sheffield, remained in service at least until the 1990s and was used primarily to grind the journals of large crankshafts.
Slater's Manchester, Salford & Suburban Directory of 1911 listed Charles Churchill & Co Ltd (manager Sydney H March) at 6 Oxford Street and 7 Lower Mosley Street, as "engineers and importers of American machinery and tools"; and also The Churchill Machine Tool Co Ltd as "engineers and manufacturers of machine and small tools" at 107 Frederick Road, Pendleton, the address of Charles Churchill & Co's works. The details were the same in the 1909 edition. Despite this, the register of members for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in every year between 1902 and 1915 shows Sydney Herbert March (AMIMechE, 1901, MIMechE, 1912) as being c/o Messrs Charles Churchill & Co, 2 Charlotte Street, Mosley Street, Manchester, and only from 1916 is he shown at the Oxford Street address referred to by Slater in 1909 and 1911.
As growth continued The Churchill Machine Tool Co's share capital was increased to £70,000, and in 1911 the four directors, who had not drawn a salary since its inception, were voted £25 each as remuneration. By 1913 the businesses had attained such a position with in-house manufacturing of grinding machinery that Charles Churchill was able to ignore a threat to withdraw from him, on the grounds of conflict of interest, the agency agreement with US company Brown & Sharpe which had been set up in 1872 before his bankruptcy.
The 1915 Post Office Directory for London listed Charles Churchill & Co Ltd trading from 9 – 15 Leonard Street EC (Finsbury) in various categories: under "Emery Wheel and Machinery Makers" as agents for Norton & Co of Worcester, Massachusetts; under "Engineers' Machine Tool Makers", "Merchants – American", "Merchants – General", "Toolmakers and Dealers" and under "Machinery Merchants". The address was shared with Carson James & Co Ltd, machine toolmakers, and The Churchill Machine Tool Co Ltd was also listed. The 1914 edition of the publication states Norton & Co was involved in "alundum and crystolon grinding wheels"; its appointment of Churchill as agents took place in 1910. In 1921, there was a US patent application for a lathe assigned to Churchill directors and in which James Carson living in London was cited as the inventor.
Charles Churchill suffered ill-health in his later years and retired from active involvement in the companies in 1915. His son, Charles Henry Churchill, assumed the responsibilities of chairman and managing director. Charles Churchill died on 14 or 15 February 1916; his last address was 321 Seven Sisters Road, Stoke Newington, London. His son, C H Churchill, had died six days earlier. W Chamberlain was appointed chairman, and Arthur Lyman Churchill, son of Charles, stepped up from head of the small tool grinding department to become managing director and, in 1920, chairman. Willis Clark Churchill, brother of Arthur, became a board member after 30 years of association with the business but died before the end of the war.
Demand for grinding machinery and specialist knowledge in the heat treatment of metals and other areas the company had developed was so high during the years of World War I that the government ordered other British manufacturers to produce Churchill designs. One specialist area was heat-treated blades used to cut the cables of sea mines. In April 1916 an increase in share capital to expand the factory further was authorised. During the war years the company was misled by a trade union such that it paid its male fitters, who were supervising female war workers, an increased wage of 48 shillings per week. The union told the company it was the rate paid for similar work at Armstrong Whitworth, when it was not.
A news item in an edition of American Machinist of that year suggests that the Churchill name had a certain cachet in the US, as it warned that:
> An imposter using the name 'Morris' has been falsely representing himself in this country as a representative of Charles Churchill & Co., London, England. His chief purpose has been to raise money under many of the guises to which such imposters usually resort. He judges his prospective victims and varies his story accordingly, Forewarned is forearmed.
The Churchill Machine Tool Co was a founder member of Associated British Machine Tool Makers Ltd (ABMTM) in 1917, an organisation that might be classed as a cartel but which was then perfectly. It was a joint-venture marketing company to develop export markets. Charles Churchill & Co continued to handle domestic sales. A further note of inter-company co-operation was informal Saturday afternoon exchange visits between local machine shops to aid the exchange of ideas and appreciate differences in development and working practice which lasted for a few years before 1923. Companies involved in this included Churchill, Mather & Platt, Hans Renold, John Hetherington, B & S Massey, British Westinghouse and Browett, Lindley & Co of Patricroft. In January 1919, Charles Churchill & Co bought a one-third share in Cornelius Redman & Sons Co Ltd, planer and lathe-makers at Pioneer Works between Parkinson Lane and Warley Road in Halifax, Yorkshire.
### Fallow years
In 1918 The Churchill Machine Tool Co bought 11.5 acres (4.7 ha) of land at Broadheath, near Altrincham, from the Earl of Stamford. By 1920 the company had relocated all its production to that site, which put it at the heart of a growing concentration of engineering businesses which included H.W. Kearns & Co, George Richards & Co, Luke & Spencer Ltd, Schaffer & Budenberg and Linotype. The single-storey factory covered 3 acres (1.2 ha), affording potential for further expansion. "It forms in fact easily the largest concern of this type in Great Britain", said American Machinist, and was under the charge of H H Asbridge with S H March as general manager. March's business address according to the Institute of Mechanical Engineers' register in 1922 was Albion Street, Gaythorn, Manchester, and Fred Garbutt Anderson, AMIMechE, was at the Oxford Street address; the address for Asbridge, who was MIMechE, was Broadheath.
In 1920 Charles Churchill & Co participated in a machine tool exhibition at the Olympia exhibition centre in London between 4 and 25 September involving many manufacturers and agents. A tabulated list published at the time showed the company's stationary exhibits comprised machines for boring and drilling, centring, planing, shaping, drop forging and gear hobbing, as well as upright, radial and sensitive drills, furnaces, centre and precision lathes, "tool/cutter grinders" and twist-drill machinery. In addition, it exhibited running examples of boring and turning mills, machines for broaching, gear cutting, thread milling, horizontal plain milling, universal milling and vertical milling, along with internal, surface and "cylinder/plain/universal" grinders, automatic and "capstan/turret" lathes. There are many notices before and subsequent to this of the company's participation in exhibitions reported in American Machinist.
The American Machinist reported in 1922 that The Churchill Machine Tool Co was "now almost the only specialist in precision grinding machines in Great Britain" and that the uses of the process in the railway industry for the production of axle journals were by that time accepted as best practice and that the usage of it for piston rods and cylinders was being established. A summary-box to the article says that:
> In Great Britain the grinding process is now being used extensively on passenger car axles (particularly the journals) [ie: passenger railway carriage axle bearing units], crosshead guide bars, links, piston rods, chilled rolls, granite rolls, brass rolls, rubber rolls, paper rolls, crankshafts, camshafts, piston rings, planer knives, ball race rings, aluminium pistons, lenses, plate glass edges, glass tubes. Experiments are being carried out on the grinding of cylinders for locomotive and other engines.
The Carborundum Company and Pratt & Whitney companies are referred to in the article, perhaps demonstrating that Churchill could not operate in isolation despite the "only specialist" status accorded to them early in the article. Supplying grinding machinery to railways, for use in new production and refurbishment of worn mechanisms, became an important new area of operations: post-war government sales of used machinery had flooded the domestic market for machine tools, but exports, initially to Indian railways and then elsewhere, went some way towards softening the blow, and the Churchill companies, whilst scarred, were able to ride out the worst of the post-war recession. Among the more unusual supplies made was a universal grinding machine used to grind the valves of trumpets for the Salvation Army.
An office opened at 35 Victoria Street, Bristol, where Lindsay Somerville AMIMechE worked for the company. Advertising indicates that there was an office in Leeds: the opening probably postdating Bristol possibly during 1918, as Bristol is listed in advertising without mention of the Leeds branch but citing all the other branches previously referred to.
The boards of directors were reconstituted in 1923. John Beresford Stuart Gabriel (b. 1 Aug 1888, Twickenham – d. 7 Jul 1979, Kenilworth), son of J W W Gabriel, had been assistant managing director of Charles Churchill & Co Ltd since 1920 and became joint managing director from 1923. In addition, Arthur Chamberlain (nephew of both Herbert and Walter) resigned his chairmanship of Kynoch Ltd and became chairman of both the Churchill companies in November, and H H Asbridge became a director of The Churchill Machine Tool Co. In March 1924 Greville Simpson Maginness followed Chamberlain from Kynoch to become managing director of The Churchill Machine Tool Co, and in that role he was over the years to expand the export markets for the business.
The emphasis on manufacturing, especially that done under licence, became even more apparent following the imposition of a 20% duty on imported machine tools and reduced demand, both triggered by the Great Depression. There was much innovation and many of these advances were pioneering techniques that are now universal, although from a trading perspective things were dire for the companies. In particular, The Churchill Machine Tool Co successfully harnessed the utility of hydraulics in many aspects of its machinery and developed a cambering mechanism for grinding rollers used in, for example, the paper industry. In 1932 H H Asbridge's "Hydrauto" bearing was introduced: this aided precision positioning of a workpiece with almost no intervening film of lubrication.
J W W Gabriel became sole managing director in 1932. The directors had been for some years working with the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co, of which Gabriel had been an employee before World War I, and in 1933 Cincinnati established an English subsidiary, with Gabriel as chairman. This worked with The Churchill Machine Tool Co in a joint manufacturing development project concerning precision grinders.
The machine tool company had a sales agent in Australia by 1932.
### Reorganisation
Chamberlain resigned as chairman of Charles Churchill & Co amid a series of board disagreements in 1934. He took control of The Churchill Machine Tool Co and, with Maginness as managing director, in December of that year embarked on a scheme to expand production and replace obsolete machinery, some of it over 20 years old, in an attempt to achieve an average output figure of £40,000 per month. However, there were difficulties in decision-making and wariness as the clouds of war loomed, most notably because of the company's contracts to supply a needy Soviet Union with machine tools, which had done much to assist it out of the depths of depression.
Francis Penny Burnage, son-in-law of Charles, became chairman of Charles Churchill & Co, and Gabriel continued to work for that company. They moved quickly to add manufacturing capacity to what would otherwise have been just a sales organisation: in December 1934 the company took over Cornelius Redman & Sons, renaming it Churchill-Redman Ltd. The facility was used initially to manufacture American machine tools under licence, rather as the machine tool company had started out in the early 1900s. A particularly notable example of its output was the licence granted in 1937 by Jones & Lamson of Springfield, Vermont, for the Fay automatic lathe. It was to become a pattern for Gabriel to orchestrate take-overs of other companies but not subsume them: they would have their own management team and retain a separate corporate identity.
Up to this point the Redman investment had not been a notable success: in the decade to 1934, despite an additional capital injection by Churchill, the business had made losses in half of the years, and in only one of the other years had it made any more than a modest profit. However, growth was steady after 1934, with profits of £23,000, £38,000, £54,000 and then a large jump to £139,000 in 1938. By 1939 the Redman operation alone employed 300 people, compared to around 30 in 1920. Motor industry expansion assisted in this growth, with Ford becoming a customer and Gabriel setting up a new machine tool division at Coventry Road, South Yardley, Birmingham, in 1938 to give easy access for the industry's centre, but rearmament was the most significant factor.
### Subsequent history: The Churchill Machine Tool Co
Despite manufacturing developments The Churchill Machine Tool Co experienced a lean period from 1921 to 1934, being unable to distribute a dividend on its ordinary share capital. The commencement of European rearmament from 1935 is given as the cause of a dramatic turnaround in fortunes. A dividend of 12% was paid in that year; in the following year it was quadrupled and there was a special dividend of 125%. An adjustment to the share capital was made, and in 1938 the dividend was 40%, with an additional scrip bonus of 33.3%. There was a subsequent fall in the yield to 30%, but in cash terms, allowing for capital restructuring, the payment remained the same.
The economic historians Roger Lloyd-Jones and Myrrdin Lewis have analysed the company's minute books to derive the following information on profits during the inter-war period:
A further example of how innovatory the company could be is apparent in 1936, when it introduced the first electronics for control of precision grinding machines, this being a timing device.
Although there is no evidence of industrial unrest targeted at Churchill's activities until the 1970s, there was concern about the possibility during the inter-war years, and the probability of none occurring at all is unlikely. The Economic League was established as a right-wing organisation, consisting mainly of employers, to counteract the rise in communist and socialist propaganda and its associated activities during the Great War. Support for the League was particularly strong among the engineering companies in the Manchester area. While workers in the cotton industries, for example, seemed not generally to take a great interest in the Communist Party, left-wing educational groups and shop-floor agitators, those in the engineering industry—perhaps mostly more intelligent—did do so, and the apparent threat to capitalism and private wealth was more evident to the employers of such people. Among the League's less publicised, more nefarious activities was that of intelligence gathering and the promotion of systematic blacklisting methods. It co-operated with the police and government, infiltrated left-wing groups and used information from disaffected ex-supporters of such groups in order to obtain information about what it considered to be dangerous elements and tendencies, and disseminated the knowledge obtained, usually in a confidential manner. The Churchill Machine Tool Co was one of several companies which during 1936–37 was a recipient of information concerning reports of meetings held by anti-capitalist groups, the past and current activities of particular workers and even the names of those specifically blacklisted. Others who received the information at this time included A V Roe, Ferranti, Metropolitan-Vickers and Fairey Aviation.
The company announced post-tax profits in 1949 of £119,909 (tax: £140,500); for 1950 the figures were £164,704 and £201,500, respectively. Total dividend for those years was 30%. By 1952 the net profit was £146,318 (tax: £347,000) and in 1953 the respective figures were £228,583 and £449,000. The dividend for both of these years was 20%, but in 1953 there was also a special distribution of 2d/share for capital profits of £17,810 from sale of investments.
The company self-published its history for its golden jubilee year of 1956: The story of The Churchill Machine Tool Co. Ltd.: a history of precision grinding.
In 1959 The Churchill Machine Tool Co entered into an agreement to export its products to the US-based company Lapointe Machine Co, a company for which in earlier years it had held the Great Britain agency.
In 1958 the chairman, Sir Greville Maginness, who was also chairman of Roneo Ltd, reported that the two businesses combined had a workforce of at least 1,227 people. He was deputy chairman of Tube Investments (TI) but had handed over the managing director's role at Churchill to E W Honnisette in 1953.
The company was bought by BSA in 1961 at a cost of £8.5 million and became known in legal terms as BSA-Churchill Machine Tools Ltd. In October 1962 H G Sturgeon, OBE, previously managing director at de Havilland Aircraft, was appointed to the same position at Churchill; he moved on in 1964 to become managing director of the BSA group's Motorcycle division. In 1966 Churchill merged in a joint-venture agreement with Alfred Herbert and became part of Herbert-BSA Ltd, the intention being that the combined concerns would gain benefits from rationalisation and symbiosis of their activities. The general expectation – held also by the Department of Trade and Industry and the stock market – of rewards from the venture did not materialise and BSA sold its entire holding in August 1971, writing off £6.9M as a consequence of the need to have cash in hand to address issues elsewhere in its activities.
The UK economy was contracting by the early 1970s, and engineering businesses were rationalising their operations on a scale which raised many comments in Parliament and elsewhere. The ratio of unemployment to vacancies in engineering and the allied trades at June 1970 was more or less 1:1, but by September 1971 it was 5:1, i.e.: five people unemployed in the sector for every job available. In 1972 the Churchill factory in Altrincham was closed, despite industrial action there and at Alfred Herbert's Coventry factory to stop this happening. There were representations against the closure from Altrincham council to the government, including a meeting in February 1972 when the council and its delegation of industry experts met the Minister for Trade and Industry and said
> It is anticipated that the proposals are basically to save the Alfred Herbert's Group ... Coventry does not really rank as a heavy Machine Tool manufacturing area. Alfred Herbert's have not really had substantial experience in grinders ... This would inevitably mean that there would be a difficulty in producing Churchill machines owing to the loss of expertise which could result in teething troubles of up to five years with the consequent loss of prestige orders and ultimately probably of Churchills itself. This could hardly achieve the object that they had in mind of increasing the workload at Edgwick [Coventry].
It was said in Parliament that 1,000 people were made redundant and that in Manchester 500 machine tool fitters were now chasing 10 jobs. Production moved to Coventry as the parent group, Herbert, faced losses of £4M, although Churchill had an order book of £2.25M that could provide sufficient work to keep its 1,100 workforce in jobs through to 1974. Order book value aside, it was also said in Parliament that Churchill had lost over £1M in the previous two years.
The Churchill Machine Tool Co was put into members' voluntary liquidation on 25 October 1973 with several other companies in the Herbert group. The company's name resurfaced only to be put into voluntary liquidation again on 15 March 1985. The winding-up resolutions on both these occasions occurred at meetings held at Canal Road, Coventry, although the appointed people were different.
A further revival of the company name took place: a company formed as Churchill Atlantic (Manchester) Co Ltd, company registration number 01469025, had been incorporated in 1979 and in 1999 was renamed The Churchill Machine Tool Co Ltd; two years later, in April 2001, it also failed and went into receivership. There is an Atlantic Street in Broadheath.
In 2011 the company name continued to be used: Retday Ltd, registration number 04186074, was incorporated in March 2001 and changed its name to The Churchill Machine Tool Co Ltd in June that year. It trades from Atlantic Works in Old Trafford, Manchester, and it uses the slogan "A century of precision grinding machinery".
Churchill Machine Tools (Coventry) Ltd (company registration 00087969) was liquidated in 1974. The significance of this company is uncertain but the low registration number indicates that the entity, even if not using the particular name, had existed for some considerable time: by the 1950s new companies were being issued numbers around the 00500000 region, and by the 2000s this had become a series starting around 01400000.
### Subsequent history: Charles Churchill & Co Ltd
In 1946 Churchill-Redman Ltd bought the Longfield foundry in Halifax to provide extra production capacity and leased a part of the Vickers Armstrong Admiralty works in Scotswood, Newcastle. It was intended that the Newcastle site concern itself with a range of lathes intended for the motor industry, Austin and Vauxhall in particular; the Halifax operation would focus on manufacture of Fay lathes which were still being licensed from the US.
The company worked on tight profit margins immediately post-war. A combination of a shortage of skilled labour, outdated batch production methods and increasing costs in materials and payroll were matched by rising overhead, a shortage of materials and issues of absenteeism. The result was that despite a booming order book Redman was struggling to fulfil its commitments to customers, and gross margins on lathes were as low as 2.16%. The company was by no means unique in facing these difficulties but there was much urging, agonising and recriminating, by Gabriel and A K McKay, the Redman managing director since at least 1936, regarding how to deal with the issues. Some of this, perhaps inevitably as the war-time command economy reverted, was aimed at the government.
Things did improve for Churchill-Redman and the sales rose dramatically from £200,000 in 1946 to £1M by 1955. This was in part because of innovative product development at the Halifax site which ultimately produced the CR P5 and P6 profiling lathes: the conclusion of this development is described by Jeremy as being a range of "fully automatic, multi-tool and profiling lathes. A lathe with an automatic feed and delivery heralded an automatic machine tool production line." The expansion of the motor vehicle industry once again was a significant factor, driving demand for machine tools much as the bicycling boom of the 1890s had done. In 1957 the Scotswood operation moved across the River Tyne to Blaydon, where a factory was built especially for the manufacturing purpose intended. Among other products from that site was the Vertimax lathe, which used a vertical spindle and was of interest to motor vehicle manufacturers. This particular design originated from James Anderson, a garage owner in Glasgow, during the war and whose business was brought into the Churchill group of companies. Churchill Gear Machines Ltd was part of the group, having been established in Blaydon since 1956: the cause of its origin and the nature of its products is uncertain.
In 1950 Charles Churchill & Co, the parent company, moved its offices from London to Birmingham and in 1955 increased its share capital to £1.26M. By the financial year ending March 1962 it reported a group net profit of £575,352 and a dividend of 22.5%. Exports were up 26% and there were hopes of the sector eventually amounting to 40% of total output. Fixed assets had increased significantly: the business had taken over Newcast Foundries Ltd, Halifax-based heavy lathe manufacturer Denhams Engineering Co Ltd and Churchill-Milnes; it had spent £2M of its own resources building extensions and plant improvements to more than double its manufacturing capability compared to that in 1951. Information regarding Churchill-Milnes is lacking but a business called Henry Milnes manufactured lathes in the Bradford area for many years and it may be that this was the target of a take-over.
A new company, Charles H. Churchill Ltd, was established in 1962 to act as a group-wide selling organisation. Charles Churchill (Canada) Ltd traded from Toronto as a sales agency for machine tools in 1953, and by 1959 had at least one additional outlet in the country.
In a diversification from the machine tool sector, the company had a subsidiary business manufacturing glass-fibre boats. For this purpose there was an application for an Industrial Development Certificate to build premises at Tiverton in 1961. When this certificate was refused, on grounds that were somewhat contentious, the company was encouraged to seek alternative sites in Devon, including at Ilfracombe, but instead opted to take a site on the Isle of Wight so that it could satisfy export orders. Ralph Gabriel, son of J B S Gabriel, had become managing director by 1964, with J B S Gabriel as chairman. Ralph Gabriel loaned his 34-foot (10 m) sloop, the Archiv, to the Ocean Youth Trust in 1968.
J B S Gabriel announced a 14% fall in net profits for the company for the trading period 1963–64 (net £505,000; tax £419,000; dividend retained at 22.5%). Despite this the group was among the biggest machine tool organisations in the world, employing 2,000 people and having sales of £14M.
The company celebrated its centenary by commissioning a book detailing its history from 1865 to 1965.
Faced with increasing competition from Japan and elsewhere, and the need to cut labour costs and invest heavily in order to counteract this, in 1966 J B S Gabriel recommended the group be taken over. TI made an offer to buy the company and its subsidiaries for the sterling equivalent of US\$30M and in 1967, as a TI company and with the Gabriels no longer involved, it announced an export order of gear processing machine tools to the USSR worth £1.8M.
In 1968 the Applied Research and Development Division of the company based in Daventry, demonstrated the first use of control tapes prepared by computer to control a lathe, a significant milestone in the development of CNC. This project was developed in conjunction with IBM.
In 1972 all production at Churchill-Redman in Halifax moved to Blaydon with the consequent loss of 350 jobs. This formed a part of TI's many rationalisation measures taken in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the closure was explained as being due to the desire for greater productivity and a recognition of the low sales generated at the site. A Churchill factory at Bedford which had been operating since 1967 was closed at this time.
Companies House has archived its information relating to the name changes asterisked and for the companies for which no detail is provided. It is notable that two of the companies listed—C Redman/Churchill-Redman and Charles Churchill Ltd (which has also lost its "and Co")—both acquired new registration numbers in March 1956.
## Recognition
Charles Churchill & Co was awarded The Queen's Award to Industry "for export achievement; and for technological innovation in machine tools by the Applied Research and Development Division, Churchill Gear Machines Ltd., and Churchill-Redman Ltd." in 1966.
The Churchill Machine Tool Co was awarded The Queen's Award to Industry "for export achievement and for technological innovation in air bearings in precision grinding machines" in 1969. Les Roberts, Sales Director between 1968 and 1971, wrote a highly critical account of the actions of the Alfred Herbert board of directors and their contribution by a wide range of decisions to the demise of the company. His comments include that the export award was a dubious pleasure:
> Whether this award benefited the company in any way was open to question. What it did was to occupied much management time, cost money to publicise, and caused friction between Alfred Herbert the parent company and Churchill Machine Tools. The reason being, that the Chairman of Alfred Herbert received a Knighthood but the MD of Churchill had no reward at all!
Among more obviously serious matters, Roberts pointed to the Herbert board's imposition of a rule that shop-floor employees, mostly if not all male, must wear pink uniforms as being typical of its distance from reality, fad-ism and tendency to make mountains of molehills.
## Notable staff
The Churchill Machine Tool Co staff included some distinguished names: Herbert (Harry) Hales Asbridge (d. 12 Jul 1946) is credited with numerous patents, assigned to the company, during his time working there and had been awarded the MBE for industry-related services during the period 1914–18.
Sir Greville Simpson Maginness (b. 1888 – d. 23 Nov 1961), Kt. 1947, KBE 1953 was a lead delegate for the employers at the first Conference of the ILO in Washington (1919), President of the Engineering and Allied Employers' National Federation (1944–46), President of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce from 1938 until his death and a member of the Engineering Advisory Council, Ministry of Supply (1946–61); he became President of the British Employers' Confederation, a forerunner of the CBI, in December 1946, when he was chairman and managing director of The Churchill Machine Tool Co Ltd.
The artist Richard Hamilton was a designer at Churchill Gear Machines Ltd between 1956 and 1962. Some of his work is included in the collection of the Tate Gallery.
|
56,534,753 |
Peter Matthews (artist)
| 1,168,132,973 |
English artist (1978)
|
[
"1978 births",
"21st-century English artists",
"Artists from Derby",
"Living people"
] |
Peter Matthews (born October, 1978) is an English artist who has developed a practice of creating drawings while immersed in the ocean and paintings created over days or weeks of being in solitude along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. He works with art materials hiked into the landscape, strapped about his person, hidden in caches along the coast and using found objects on the beach. Since 2007, his drawings made directly in the ocean record the movement of the ocean, the passage and experience of time and the live natural environment that he immerses himself into, often straddling a degree of vulnerability to his being in the process. His work is known as being produced as a lived experience while in nature alone, and he has worked in a diverse range of natural environments in México, Japan, Chile, Costa Rica, England, the U.S., Brazil and Taiwan. He has been identified as being part of a long English tradition of maritime art, whilst his abstract style has been compared to that of American expressionist Jasper Johns. His creative process has occasionally led him into danger, and has resulted in his receiving injuries. Matthews' work has been exhibited internationally, as well as being used to illustrate aspects of scientific research in marine biology.
## Background
Peter Mathews was born in Derby, England in 1978. He spent much of his youth exploring the countryside of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, particularly its woodlands, fields and along the River Trent. Matthews ascribes these early hikes to his attraction to solitude. In an interview with BBC News, he described his feeling of allure to the "mysterious and omnipresent call of the wild." As an artist, however, Matthews calls Cornwall his "ancestral" home. His maternal grandfather "sold fish in Leicester," says Matthews, "so I like to think it's in my roots," on working at sea . Although he personally rejects the description of environmental artist, he has also been called an "ocean based visual artist," and on one occasion even a "mystical waterman." His work, focussed on the sea as it is, has been identified as part of a long tradition of British artists' fascination with the maritime, which includes artists as Turner (Fishermen at Sea and Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth) and Constable (Seascape Study with Rain Clouds). Andrew Friend, a contemporary of Matthews,' also takes an immersive approach to his own seascapes.
Matthews' original inspiration for his way of working was a 2007 near-death experience. This occurred while he was surfing in the Pacific Ocean on Playa Zipolite in Oaxaca when the sea became increasingly rough and he became separated from his surfboard. He was eventually hit by a rogue wave; by then he was "floundering in the ocean with a gut-wrenching sense of fear, being completely at the mercy of the ocean," he later recalled.
## Technique
Matthews' has created his work in the earth's oceans, Cornwall, Hawaii, and Taiwan. In doing so, he can spend long periods—ranging from hours to days— floating or submerging in the ocean. He keeps his artistic media either cached in his hat or strapped to his wrists or ankles. This includes charcoal and gel pens, and the surfaces he draws on can range from paper to canvas sheeting, pinned to "old piece of plywood" which acts both as a drawing board and a floatation device. Working this way, it has been said, helps Matthews try and capture the state of suspension people feel while they are bobbing in the water. This method also allows him to explore—in his words—"the fluid midpoint between sea and land, thought and form." Matthews often enters the water at dawn and may stay immersed until nightfall, and effectively "lets the ocean do the work for him"; sometimes the work is left exposed to the elements and tides overnight in which the piece continues its natural development. Matthews has described himself as merely being the "instrument" by which the sea "draw[s] itself."
Matthews' work has itself encountered danger, having been buried on a beach by a mudslide (never to be found again) and on other occasions being swept away or sinking in the sea. Problems Matthews personally faces are those of his environment—he has suffered numbness, hypothermia and sunstroke, as well as receiving dog-, snake-, jellyfish- and insect-bites. As a result, his working method has been described "eccentric." To get himself in the mindset to create the piece entitled With the Forces of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Matthews constructed a speaker system out of a CD player and a tripod. He then played himself recordings of the sound of the Pacific Ocean over a period of days, floating in the Atlantic Ocean. On one occasion Matthews submerged himself to the ocean bed where he used waterproof ink on canvasses weighted down with rocks, whilst, when in California, he slept in the Californian desert and painted with "one of the blackest paints on Earth."
## Reception
Matthews has exhibited internationally since 2003 after graduating with an MA in Fine Art from the Nottingham Trent University, with sale prices in the Saatchi Gallery reaching thousands of pounds. He has exhibited large-scale paintings at the John Moores Painting Prize held at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool in 2018 and 2021. He has shown his work in group exhibitions with artists such as Richard Long, Anselm Kiefer, Giuseppe Penone, Ana Mendieta, Bill Viola, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and many others. Matthews has shown his art at numerous galleries, museums and institutions including the Drawing Center, New York; The North Carolina Museum of Contemporary Art; the National Maritime Museum, London; the Royal Academy of Arts, London; the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; the Künstlerforum Bonn, Bonn, Germany; the Saatchi Gallery, London, the James Cohan Gallery, New York and Mendes Wood DM in São Paulo, Brazil amongst others. He has lectured for university audiences (at, for instance, the University of California, San Diego), and was the artist-in-residence at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Matthews' style has been compared—in its "scratchy, abstract" nature—with the work of Cy Twombly and Jasper Johns, but with a greater degree of stream of consciousness, often bordering "the brilliant and the ridiculous." Other critic's comments have described his work as "mind-boggling oceanography with Native American mythology, plus a splash of quirky inventiveness," and as being "nervously textured." The University of California, San Diego has used Matthews work as an example of how popular interest in subjects such as marine biology and maritime history can be developed and encouraged.
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50,665,413 |
Hindi Medium
| 1,172,533,639 |
2017 film directed by Saket Chaudhary
|
[
"2010s Hindi-language films",
"2017 comedy-drama films",
"2017 films",
"Film controversies in India",
"Films about the education system in India",
"Films involved in plagiarism controversies",
"Films scored by Abhijit Vaghani",
"Films scored by Amar Mohile",
"Films scored by Guru Randhawa",
"Films scored by Rajat Nagpal",
"Films scored by Sachin–Jigar",
"Films set in Delhi",
"Indian comedy-drama films",
"Indian intellectual property law",
"T-Series (company) films",
"Works subject to a lawsuit"
] |
Hindi Medium (Hindi: हिंदी मीडियम) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Saket Chaudhary, and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Bhushan Kumar under their respective banners Maddock Films and T-Series. It stars Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Dishita Sehgal, Deepak Dobriyal and Amrita Singh. Set in Delhi, the plot centres on a couple's struggle to get their daughter admitted to a prestigious English-medium school in order to rise in society.
The idea for the film was created by Chaudhary and his co-writer Zeenat Lakhani during the development of his previous film Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014). It was shot in Chandni Chowk, Anand Lok, Karol Bagh, and Sangam Vihar. The film's soundtrack album was composed by the duo Sachin–Jigar, with lyrics by Priya Saraiya and Kumaar. The score was composed by Amar Mohile. Cinematography was handled by Laxman Utekar, and A. Sreekar Prasad edited the film.
Made on a production budget of crore, Hindi Medium released on 19 May 2017, and received a generally positive reception from the critics, with particular praise for the cast performances. The film grossed ₹3.22 billion (US\$47.08 million) at the worldwide box office (mostly from China), making it the 44th highest-grossing Indian film of all time. At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, it won Best Film, and Best Actor for Khan. A spiritual successor, Angrezi Medium was released theatrically on 13 March 2020.
## Plot
Raj Batra is a successful boutique owner who lives in the old delhi neighbourhood of Chandni Chowk with his wife Meeta Batra and his 5-year-old daughter, Pia Batra. The couple wants Pia to be admitted to a prestigious English-medium school in Delhi as they feel that this will enable her to become a part of the elite of society. They decide on Delhi Grammar School, which ranked the best in the city, but it requires that students must stay within a 3-km radius of the school. They move to a posh villa in Delhi's upscale Vasant Vihar neighbourhood and try to become more refined in their manner. A consultant, Saumya, despite her misgivings about them, tutors them in the answers to be given in the admission interview, but their limited knowledge of English means Pia's application is rejected.
Raj and Meeta learn from an employee that his daughter has been admitted through the RTE quota, a scheme that helps children from poor families to be admitted to prestigious schools. After a scam reveals that rich parents are gaming the quota to admit their children, they move to Bharat Nagar, a slum area, for a month and pretend to be poor. They strike a friendship with Shyam Prakash and Tulsi Prakash, who are hopeful that their son Mohan Prakash gets to study at Delhi Grammar School through the RTE quota. Shyam and Tulsi teach them to live like truly poor people, and Raj joins Shyam at work. However, while Pia eventually gets admission, Mohan's application is rejected.
Raj, Meeta & Pia return to Vasant Vihar. Raj and Meeta make a donation to the Bharat Nagar Government School, where Mohan studies, to renovate it and get new books. After watching their son become fluent in English, Shyam and Tulsi search for the identity of the anonymous donor to thank them. However, when he visits the donor's address in Vasant Vihar, Shyam finds out the truth about Raj pretending to be poor to enable Piaa's admission and leaves to tell Delhi Grammar School's principal Lodha Singhania of Raj's deceit.
Raj and Meeta rush to Delhi Grammar School to get there before Shyam but fail. Shyam, reaching there first, tries to find the principal's office but meets Pia instead, where Shyam endures an emotional moment with her and decides not to tell the principal, but Raaj reacts with guilt for what he has done. Finally, Raj goes to the principal and asks for Piaa's admission to be revoked, while telling the truth, but the principal rejects him. Raj gatecrashes the Annual Day function, gives a speech about English in India and education rights, and leaves, with no one clapping for him, except Meeta. On their way out, Raj & Meeta tell the principal of the Bharat Nagar Government School that they plan to admit Pia to his school to study with Mohan.
## Cast
Credits adapted from Bollywood Hungama:
- Irrfan Khan as Raj Batra
- Delzad Hiwale as young Raj
- Saba Qamar as Meeta Malhotra Batra
- Sanjana Sanghi as young Meeta
- Dishita Sehgal as Pia Batra
- Amrita Singh as Principal Lodha Singhania
- Deepak Dobriyal as Shyam Prakash
- Neelu Kohli as Geeta Malhotra
- Kiran Khoje as Sushila, Raaj & Meeta's house maid
- Rajeev Gupta as Batra Master, Raaj's father
- Sumit Gulati as Chhotu
- Mallika Dua as Dolly, a customer at Batra Fashion Studio
- Kulbir Kaur as Dolly's mother
- Charu Shankar as Maya
- Tillotama Shome as Saumya, a consultant
- Rajesh Sharma as MLA
- Taran Bajaj as Teashop owner, the man who settled Raaj & Meeta's house in Bharat Nagar
- Ankur Jain as news reader
- Swati Daas as Tulsi Prakash, Shyam's wife
- Neha Dhupia as Aarti Suri, Kabir's wife (special appearance)
- Sanjay Suri as Kabir Suri, Aarti's husband (special appearance)
- Angshuman Nandi as Mohan Prakash, Shyam & Tulsi's son
- Jason as Ayaan Suri, Kabir & Aarti's son
- Anurag Arora as Mr. Kumar, Hindi Teacher at Delhi Grammar School
- Jaspal Sharma as Raj's neighbor
- Ekta singh as Raj's neighbor
- Taniskaa Sanghvi as a student from Bharat Nagar Government School (Special Appearance in the song “Ek Jindari”)
- Guru Randhawa as himself (Special Appearance in the song “Suit Suit”)
- Arjun as himself (Special Appearance in the song “Suit Suit”)
## Production
Made on a production budget of crore, Hindi Medium was produced by Vijan of Maddock Films and Bhushan Kumar of T-Series. The film was directed by Chaudhary, his third after romantic comedy films Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006) and Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014). He came up with the idea of making a film about India's education system with his co-writer Zeenat Lakhani during the development of the latter film. They found the idea too extensive to include in Shaadi Ke Side Effects, so after its release, they decided to incorporate the idea into a separate film. Stating the reason to make Hindi Medium, Chaudhary said, "The subject is so relevant. We realised that today irrespective of the background of the parent, they still want to have the best education for the children."
Pre-production work began after the release of Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Chaudhary began working on the story at that time, and he chose Delhi as the film's key location. The production crew consisted primarily of people Chaudhary had worked with on Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Shaadi Ke Side Effects, with the exception of production designer Mustafa Stationwala—they are editor A. Sreekar Prasad; dialogue writer Amitosh Nagpal; and cinematographer Laxman Utekar. The score was composed by Amar Mohile.
On 29 May 2016, News18 reported the casting of Saba Qamar in the film, which marked her Bollywood debut. Khan had recommended the casting of Qamar to the makers of the film. He said, "When I saw her YouTube videos, I recommended her to the director and producer and they really liked her". Speaking about her role, Qamar said, "I play a person who didn't get an opportunity to fulfil her dreams so she comes up with a scheme about giving the daughter a life that she didn't have". Khan commented that he had accepted the role as it tackled the realistic subject of the challenges of obtaining a good education in India.
Qamar arrived in Mumbai from Pakistan in July 2016, and the film's principal photography began in the same month. The film was shot in Chandni Chowk, Anand Lok, Karol Bagh, and Sangam Vihar. The shooting was completed in October 2016. A song sequence was also filmed in Georgia. Qamar commented that she enjoyed working with Khan, and felt safe while shooting in Delhi. In the same interview with Pakistani newspaper Dawn, she commented that her experience wasn't affected by the nationalist far-right political party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's hostility towards Pakistan at the time.
## Soundtrack
Hindi Medium's soundtrack consists of two original compositions: "Hoor" and "Ek Jindari", which were produced by Sachin–Jigar. The songs were written by Priya Saraiya and Kumaar, whereas Atif Aslam and Taniskaa Sanghvi, rendered the vocals. In addition to the original tracks, the makers recreated two songs: "Suit Suit", written and sung by Guru Randhawa and Arjun and composed by Randhawa and Rajat Nagpal, and "Oh Ho Ho Ho", composed by Sukhbir and Abhijit Vaghani, sung by Sukhbir, rapped by Ikka Singh and written by Kumaar. The album rights of the film were acquired by T-Series, and it was released on 21 April 2017.
Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama, rated the album a 3 out of 5 stars. He said that "the music of Hindi Medium turns out to be better than expected", and praised the inclusion of recreations of "Suit Suit" and "Oh Ho Ho Ho" as they were previously popular Punjabi songs. V. Lakshmi of The Times of India in a positive review of the album said that, "by the time the album ends, the listeners are left humming the tunes!". Suanshu Khurana of The Indian Express highlighted the song "Hoor" as the best song on the album. The track "Ek Jindari" was remade as "Ek Zindagi" for the spiritual successor Angrezi Medium (2020), thereby retaining the original composition and vocals from the track.
## Release
The film was initially scheduled to release on 12 May 2017, but was pushed by a week back, thereby clashing with Half Girlfriend, scheduled for release on the same date. Hindi Medium was declared 'tax-free' in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
In February 2018, following the success of Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2017) in China, it was announced that Hindi Medium was to be released in China. Hindi Medium released in China on 4 April 2018 to coincide with the Qingming Festival. The film's Chinese title is 起跑线 (Qi Pao Xian), which means The Starting Line.
### Controversy
The makers of the Bengali film Ramdhanu (2014), directed by the duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, had launched a copyright case against Hindi Medium, claiming that the storyline was similar to their film. In response to this, Chaudhary said "We have researched our script over a year and it is based on original material. I would request everyone involved to not rush to a judgement without ascertaining the facts. And the facts can easily be confirmed by watching the film." Roy and Mukherjee later withdrew their case.
## Critical reception
Hindi Medium received a generally positive reception from critics, with particular praise for Khan's and Qamar's performances.
Rohit Bhatnagar of Deccan Chronicle called the film a "masterpiece" and praised Khan's and Qamar's acting. Rachit Gupta of Filmfare rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and said that it was a "refreshingly funny and brilliantly insightful film on parenting and education." Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India highlighted the script, and the comedic elements of the film as its strengths. Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times giving 3.5 stars out of 5 stars, commented that "Khan asks the viewers to take a stand against faulty Indian education system". Samrudhi Ghosh of India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars, praising Khan's and Qamar's performances, said "Hindi Medium may use over-dramatised events to make its message hit home, but in spite of its hiccups, the film is not bogged down because of the performances and the humour". Smrity Sharma of India.com rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, and wrote: "Decent story, humour, a few heart tugging moments and effortless performances by Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar and Deepak Dobriyal make the movie watchable." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express giving 2 out of 5 stars, praised Khan's acting however felt that the writing was "flat", and that some of the supporting characters were "more caricature than real".
Hindi Medium received a generally positive reception from critics outside of India. A reviewer for Time Out gave it 4 (out of 5) stars: "With all its merits, though, the film stumbles near the end with its overly sentimental conclusion." The reviewer concluded that "the film is one of the best Bollywood films". James Marsh of South China Morning Post rated it 3.5 stars out of 5 stars, calling it "a classical comedy of manners full of humour and playful performances". Sadaf Siddique of Dawn observed: "Chaudhary gets full marks for novelty, he fails to adequately flesh his ideas out".
Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave 2.5 stars out of 5, commenting "Despite its shortcomings, the film is never unwatchable and benefits enormously from a winning performance by Irrfan Khan who makes his every moment on screen count. From his hilarious wooing of a mother-daughter pair of potential customers at his shop in the film's first half to his earnest amends on discovering his conscience late into the final act, he has you eating out of his palm. For Irrfan alone, Hindi Medium may be worth a watch."
## Box office
The film emerged as a sleeper hit at the box office. Its worldwide gross was ₹1.09 billion (US\$16.74 million) by July 2017. Within three days of its April 2018 release in China, Hindi Medium crossed ₹1 billion (US\$14.62 million) at the Chinese box office, crossing the ₹2 billion (US\$29.24 million) mark worldwide, becoming Khan's highest-grossing Hindi film, surpassing his 2013 release The Lunchbox. By 16 April 2018, Hindi Medium had crossed the ₹3 billion (US\$43.87 million) mark worldwide, becoming one of the top 20 highest-grossing Indian films at the time.
### Domestic
Hindi Medium collected ₹28.1 million (US\$431,500.45) on its opening day. It released on the same day as the much bigger budget film, Half Girlfriend (2017), which earned ₹103 million (US\$1.58 million) on the first day. Gradually, the film turned to be more successful than the former. After one week, the film grossed ₹252 million (US\$3.87 million) at the box office. The film grossed ₹967 million (US\$14.85 million) during its lifetime run in Indian theatres. It was one of 2017's top ten most commercially successful Hindi films in India.
### Overseas
The film grossed ₹143 million (US\$2.2 million) overseas in 2017. Following its April 2018 release in China, the film crossed ₹2 billion (US\$29.24 million) overseas, becoming the seventh Indian film to cross the \$30 million mark at the overseas box office. It also surpassed the overseas gross of 2018's highest-grossing Indian film Padmaavat.
### China
On its opening day in China, on 4 April 2018, the film grossed ₹221 million (US\$3.23 million). Hindi Medium surpassed Dangal (2016) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) to have the second highest opening day for an Indian film in China, behind only Secret Superstar (2018). The film's opening three-day gross was ₹1.02 billion (US\$14.91 million).
The film's success is attributed to strong word-of-mouth, helped by a 9.1 rating at the Chinese ticketing website Maoyan, as well as Khan's recognition among Chinese audiences from international films such as Jurassic World, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Life of Pi. The film grossed ₹2.23 billion (US\$32.61 million) during its lifetime run at the Chinese box office. This made it the fourth highest-grossing Indian film in China (after Dangal, Secret Superstar and Bajrangi Bhaijaan), until it was surpassed by the 2019 release of Andhadhun (2018) in China.
## Awards
At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, the film garnered six nominations, winning for Best Film and Best Actor for Khan. Chaudhary won Best Director and Khan won for Best Actor at the 19th IIFA Awards. It received six nominations at the Zee Cine Awards.
## Sequel
After the success of Hindi Medium, a sequel to the film was planned. Regarding the success of the film, producer Vijan told Mid-Day, "The response we have got is phenomenal. The entire unit of Hindi Medium, including Irrfan and Saba, who look cool as a couple on-screen, should be repeated in a film. There is definitely scope for a sequel. We would certainly explore it." On 24 January 2018, Vijan confirmed the sequel to Times Now. He said, "We have just finished typing the second part", with "Just finishing touches are being put", however, "I think you will have to wait for an official announcement for that."
On 30 March 2019, it was announced that Kareena Kapoor has been added to the cast of the sequel to play the role of a police officer and filming will start from April. On 5 April, the sequel's title was announced as Angrezi Medium and filming began in Udaipur. This was completed in July. On 17 February 2020, the film's release date was changed to 13 March 2020 from the earlier release date of 20 March. This film marked Irrfan Khan's final film before his death on 29 April 2020.
## See also
- List of Bollywood films of 2017
|
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Praseodymium
| 1,166,194,835 | null |
[
"Chemical elements",
"Chemical elements with double hexagonal close-packed structure",
"Lanthanides",
"Praseodymium",
"Reducing agents"
] |
Praseodymium is a chemical element with the symbol Pr and the atomic number 59. It is the third member of the lanthanide series and is considered one of the rare-earth metals. It is a soft, silvery, malleable and ductile metal, valued for its magnetic, electrical, chemical, and optical properties. It is too reactive to be found in native form, and pure praseodymium metal slowly develops a green oxide coating when exposed to air.
Praseodymium always occurs naturally together with the other rare-earth metals. It is the sixth-most abundant rare-earth element and fourth-most abundant lanthanide, making up 9.1 parts per million of the Earth's crust, an abundance similar to that of boron. In 1841, Swedish chemist Carl Gustav Mosander extracted a rare-earth oxide residue he called didymium from a residue he called "lanthana", in turn separated from cerium salts. In 1885, the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach separated didymium into two elements that gave salts of different colours, which he named praseodymium and neodymium. The name praseodymium comes from the Ancient Greek πράσινος (prasinos), meaning 'leek-green', and δίδυμος (didymos) 'twin'.
Like most rare-earth elements, praseodymium most readily forms the +3 oxidation state, which is the only stable state in aqueous solution, although the +4 oxidation state is known in some solid compounds and, uniquely among the lanthanides, the +5 oxidation state is attainable in matrix-isolation conditions. The 0, +1, and +2 oxidation states are rarely found. Aqueous praseodymium ions are yellowish-green, and similarly, praseodymium results in various shades of yellow-green when incorporated into glasses. Many of praseodymium's industrial uses involve its ability to filter yellow light from light sources.
## Physical properties
Praseodymium is the third member of the lanthanide series, and a member of the rare-earth metals. In the periodic table, it appears between the lanthanides cerium to its left and neodymium to its right, and above the actinide protactinium. It is a ductile metal with a hardness comparable to that of silver. Praseodymium is calculated has a very large atomic radius; with a radius of 247 pm, barium, rubidium and caesium are larger. However, observationally, it is usually 185 pm. Praseodymium's 59 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Xe]4f<sup>3</sup>6s<sup>2</sup>; theoretically, all five outer electrons can act as valence electrons, but the use of all five requires extreme conditions and normally, praseodymium only gives up three or sometimes four electrons in its compounds.
Like most other metals in the lanthanide series, praseodymium usually only uses three electrons as valence electrons, as afterward the remaining 4f electrons are too strongly bound: this is because the 4f orbitals penetrate the most through the inert xenon core of electrons to the nucleus, followed by 5d and 6s, and this increases with higher ionic charge. Praseodymium nevertheless can continue losing a fourth and even occasionally a fifth valence electron because it comes very early in the lanthanide series, where the nuclear charge is still low enough and the 4f subshell energy high enough to allow the removal of further valence electrons. Thus, similarly to the other early trivalent lanthanides, praseodymium has a double hexagonal close-packed crystal structure at room temperature. At about 560 °C, it transitions to a face-centered cubic structure, and a body-centered cubic structure appears shortly before the melting point of 935 °C.
Praseodymium, like all of the lanthanides (except lanthanum, ytterbium, and lutetium, which have no unpaired 4f electrons), is paramagnetic at room temperature. Unlike some other rare-earth metals, which show antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures, praseodymium is paramagnetic at all temperatures above 1 K.
## Chemical properties
Praseodymium metal tarnishes slowly in air, forming a spalling green oxide layer like iron rust; a centimetre-sized sample of praseodymium metal corrodes completely in about a year. It burns readily at 150 °C to form praseodymium(III,IV) oxide, a nonstoichiometric compound approximating to Pr<sub>6</sub>O<sub>11</sub>:
12 Pr + 11 O<sub>2</sub> → 2 Pr<sub>6</sub>O<sub>11</sub>
This may be reduced to praseodymium(III) oxide (Pr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) with hydrogen gas. Praseodymium(IV) oxide, PrO<sub>2</sub>, is the most oxidised product of the combustion of praseodymium and can be obtained by either reaction of praseodymium metal with pure oxygen at 400 °C and 282 bar or by disproportionation of Pr<sub>6</sub>O<sub>11</sub> in boiling acetic acid. The reactivity of praseodymium conforms to periodic trends, as it is one of the first and thus one of the largest lanthanides. At 1000 °C, many praseodymium oxides with composition PrO<sub>2−x</sub> exist as disordered, nonstoichiometric phases with 0 \< x \< 0.25, but at 400–700 °C the oxide defects are instead ordered, creating phases of the general formula Pr<sub>n</sub>O<sub>2n−2</sub> with n = 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and ∞. These phases PrO<sub>y</sub> are sometimes labelled α and β′ (nonstoichiometric), β (y = 1.833), δ (1.818), ε (1.8), ζ (1.778), ι (1.714), θ, and σ.
Praseodymium is an electropositive element and reacts slowly with cold water and quite quickly with hot water to form praseodymium(III) hydroxide:
2 Pr (s) + 6 H<sub>2</sub>O (l) → 2 Pr(OH)<sub>3</sub> (aq) + 3 H<sub>2</sub> (g)
Praseodymium metal reacts with all the stable halogens to form trihalides:
2 Pr (s) + 3 F<sub>2</sub> (g) → 2 PrF<sub>3</sub> (s) [green]
2 Pr (s) + 3 Cl<sub>2</sub> (g) → 2 PrCl<sub>3</sub> (s) [green]
2 Pr (s) + 3 Br<sub>2</sub> (g) → 2 PrBr<sub>3</sub> (s) [green]
2 Pr (s) + 3 I<sub>2</sub> (g) → 2 PrI<sub>3</sub> (s)
The tetrafluoride, PrF<sub>4</sub>, is also known, and is produced by reacting a mixture of sodium fluoride and praseodymium(III) fluoride with fluorine gas, producing Na<sub>2</sub>PrF<sub>6</sub>, following which sodium fluoride is removed from the reaction mixture with liquid hydrogen fluoride. Additionally, praseodymium forms a bronze diiodide; like the diiodides of lanthanum, cerium, and gadolinium, it is a praseodymium(III) electride compound.
Praseodymium dissolves readily in dilute sulfuric acid to form solutions containing the chartreuse Pr<sup>3+</sup> ions, which exist as [Pr(H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>9</sub>]<sup>3+</sup> complexes:
2 Pr (s) + 3 H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> (aq) → 2 Pr<sup>3+</sup> (aq) + 3 SO<sup>2−</sup>
<sub>4</sub> (aq) + 3 H<sub>2</sub> (g)
Dissolving praseodymium(IV) compounds in water does not result in solutions containing the yellow Pr<sup>4+</sup> ions; because of the high positive standard reduction potential of the Pr<sup>4+</sup>/Pr<sup>3+</sup> couple at +3.2 V, these ions are unstable in aqueous solution, oxidising water and being reduced to Pr<sup>3+</sup>. The value for the Pr<sup>3+</sup>/Pr couple is −2.35 V. However, in highly basic aqueous media, Pr<sup>4+</sup> ions can be generated by oxidation with ozone.
Although praseodymium(V) in the bulk state is unknown, the existence of praseodymium in its +5 oxidation state (with the stable electron configuration of the preceding noble gas xenon) under noble-gas matrix isolation conditions was reported in 2016. The species assigned to the +5 state were identified as [PrO<sub>2</sub>]<sup>+</sup>, its O<sub>2</sub> and Ar adducts, and PrO<sub>2</sub>(η<sup>2</sup>-O<sub>2</sub>).
### Organopraseodymium compounds
Organopraseodymium compounds are very similar to those of the other lanthanides, as they all share an inability to undergo π backbonding. They are thus mostly restricted to the mostly ionic cyclopentadienides (isostructural with those of lanthanum) and the σ-bonded simple alkyls and aryls, some of which may be polymeric. The coordination chemistry of praseodymium is largely that of the large, electropositive Pr<sup>3+</sup> ion, and is thus largely similar to those of the other early lanthanides La<sup>3+</sup>, Ce<sup>3+</sup>, and Nd<sup>3+</sup>. For instance, like lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium, praseodymium nitrates form both 4:3 and 1:1 complexes with 18-crown-6, whereas the middle lanthanides from promethium to gadolinium can only form the 4:3 complex and the later lanthanides from terbium to lutetium cannot successfully coordinate to all the ligands. Such praseodymium complexes have high but uncertain coordination numbers and poorly defined stereochemistry, with exceptions resulting from exceptionally bulky ligands such as the tricoordinate [Pr{N(SiMe<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>}<sub>3</sub>]. There are also a few mixed oxides and fluorides involving praseodymium(IV), but it does not have an appreciable coordination chemistry in this oxidation state like its neighbour cerium. However, the first example of a molecular complex of praseodymium(IV) has recently been reported.
## Isotopes
Praseodymium has only one stable and naturally occurring isotope, <sup>141</sup>Pr. It is thus a mononuclidic and monoisotopic element, and its standard atomic weight can be determined with high precision as it is a constant of nature. This isotope has 82 neutrons, which is a magic number that confers additional stability. This isotope is produced in stars through the s- and r-processes (slow and rapid neutron capture, respectively). Thirty-eight other radioisotopes have been synthesized. All of these isotopes have half-lives under a day (and most under a minute), with the single exception of <sup>143</sup>Pr with a half-life of 13.6 days. Both <sup>143</sup>Pr and <sup>141</sup>Pr occur as fission products of uranium. The primary decay mode of isotopes lighter than <sup>141</sup>Pr is positron emission or electron capture to isotopes of cerium, while that of heavier isotopes is beta decay to isotopes of neodymium.
## History
In 1751, the Swedish mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt discovered a heavy mineral from the mine at Bastnäs, later named cerite. Thirty years later, the fifteen-year-old Wilhelm Hisinger, from the family owning the mine, sent a sample of it to Carl Scheele, who did not find any new elements within. In 1803, after Hisinger had become an ironmaster, he returned to the mineral with Jöns Jacob Berzelius and isolated a new oxide, which they named ceria after the dwarf planet Ceres, which had been discovered two years earlier. Ceria was simultaneously and independently isolated in Germany by Martin Heinrich Klaproth. Between 1839 and 1843, ceria was shown to be a mixture of oxides by the Swedish surgeon and chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander, who lived in the same house as Berzelius; he separated out two other oxides, which he named lanthana and didymia. He partially decomposed a sample of cerium nitrate by roasting it in air and then treating the resulting oxide with dilute nitric acid. The metals that formed these oxides were thus named lanthanum and didymium.
While lanthanum turned out to be a pure element, didymium was not and turned out to be only a mixture of all the stable early lanthanides from praseodymium to europium, as had been suspected by Marc Delafontaine after spectroscopic analysis, though he lacked the time to pursue its separation into its constituents. The heavy pair of samarium and europium were only removed in 1879 by Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran and it was not until 1885 that Carl Auer von Welsbach separated didymium into praseodymium and neodymium. Von Welsbach confirmed the separation by spectroscopic analysis, but the products were of relatively low purity. Since neodymium was a larger constituent of didymium than praseodymium, it kept the old name with disambiguation, while praseodymium was distinguished by the leek-green colour of its salts (Greek πρασιος, "leek green"). The composite nature of didymium had previously been suggested in 1882 by Bohuslav Brauner, who did not experimentally pursue its separation.
## Occurrence and production
Praseodymium is not particularly rare, despite it being in the rare-earth metals, making up 9.2 mg/kg of the Earth's crust. This value is between those of thorium (9.6 mg/kg) and samarium (7.05 mg/kg), and makes praseodymium the fourth-most abundant of the lanthanides, behind cerium (66.5 mg/kg), neodymium (41.5 mg/kg), and lanthanum (39 mg/kg); it is less abundant than the rare-earth elements yttrium (33 mg/kg) and scandium (22 mg/kg). Instead, praseodymium's classification as a rare-earth metal comes from its rarity relative to "common earths" such as lime and magnesia, the few known minerals containing it for which extraction is commercially viable, as well as the length and complexity of extraction. Although not particularly rare, praseodymium is never found as a dominant rare earth in praseodymium-bearing minerals. It is always preceded by cerium and lanthanum and usually also by neodymium.
The Pr<sup>3+</sup> ion is similar in size to the early lanthanides of the cerium group (those from lanthanum up to samarium and europium) that immediately follow in the periodic table, and hence it tends to occur along with them in phosphate, silicate and carbonate minerals, such as monazite (M<sup>III</sup>PO<sub>4</sub>) and bastnäsite (M<sup>III</sup>CO<sub>3</sub>F), where M refers to all the rare-earth metals except scandium and the radioactive promethium (mostly Ce, La, and Y, with somewhat less Nd and Pr). Bastnäsite is usually lacking in thorium and the heavy lanthanides, and the purification of the light lanthanides from it is less involved. The ore, after being crushed and ground, is first treated with hot concentrated sulfuric acid, evolving carbon dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, and silicon tetrafluoride. The product is then dried and leached with water, leaving the early lanthanide ions, including lanthanum, in solution.
The procedure for monazite, which usually contains all the rare earth, as well as thorium, is more involved. Monazite, because of its magnetic properties, can be separated by repeated electromagnetic separation. After separation, it is treated with hot concentrated sulfuric acid to produce water-soluble sulfates of rare earth. The acidic filtrates are partially neutralized with sodium hydroxide to pH 3–4, during which thorium precipitates as hydroxide and is removed. The solution is treated with ammonium oxalate to convert rare earth to their insoluble oxalates, the oxalates are converted to oxides by annealing, and the oxides are dissolved in nitric acid. This last step excludes one of the main components, cerium, whose oxide is insoluble in HNO<sub>3</sub>. Care must be taken when handling some of the residues as they contain <sup>228</sup>Ra, the daughter of <sup>232</sup>Th, which is a strong gamma emitter.
Praseodymium may then be separated from the other lanthanides via ion-exchange chromatography, or by using a solvent such as tributyl phosphate where the solubility of Ln<sup>3+</sup> increases as the atomic number increases. If ion-exchange chromatography is used, the mixture of lanthanides is loaded into one column of cation-exchange resin and Cu<sup>2+</sup> or Zn<sup>2+</sup> or Fe<sup>3+</sup> is loaded into the other. An aqueous solution of a complexing agent, known as the eluant (usually triammonium edtate), is passed through the columns, and Ln<sup>3+</sup> is displaced from the first column and redeposited in a compact band at the top of the column before being re-displaced by NH<sup>+</sup>
<sub>4</sub>. The Gibbs free energy of formation for Ln(edta·H) complexes increases along with the lanthanides by about one quarter from Ce<sup>3+</sup> to Lu<sup>3+</sup>, so that the Ln<sup>3+</sup> cations descend the development column in a band and are fractionated repeatedly, eluting from heaviest to lightest. They are then precipitated as their insoluble oxalates, burned to form the oxides, and then reduced to metals.
## Applications
Leo Moser (not to be confused with the mathematician of the same name), son of Ludwig Moser, founder of the Moser Glassworks in what is now Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, investigated the use of praseodymium in glass coloration in the late 1920s, yielding a yellow-green glass given the name "Prasemit". However, at that time far cheaper colorants could give a similar color, so Prasemit was not popular, few pieces were made, and examples are now extremely rare. Moser also blended praseodymium with neodymium to produce "Heliolite" glass ("Heliolit" in German), which was more widely accepted. The first enduring commercial use of purified praseodymium, which continues today, is in the form of a yellow-orange "Praseodymium Yellow" stain for ceramics, which is a solid solution in the zircon lattice. This stain has no hint of green in it; by contrast, at sufficiently high loadings, praseodymium glass is distinctly green rather than pure yellow.
Like many other lanthanides, praseodymium's shielded f-orbitals allow for long excited state lifetimes and high luminescence yields. Pr<sup>3+</sup> as a dopant ion therefore sees many applications in optics and photonics. These include DPSS-lasers, single-mode fiber optical amplifiers, fiber lasers, upconverting nanoparticles as well as activators in red, green, blue, and ultraviolet phosphors. Silicate crystals doped with praseodymium ions have also been used to slow a light pulse down to a few hundred meters per second.
As the lanthanides are so similar, praseodymium can substitute for most other lanthanides without significant loss of function, and indeed many applications such as mischmetal and ferrocerium alloys involve variable mixes of several lanthanides, including small quantities of praseodymium. The following more modern applications involve praseodymium specifically or at least praseodymium in a small subset of the lanthanides:
- In combination with neodymium, another rare-earth element, praseodymium is used to create high-power magnets notable for their strength and durability. In general, most alloys of the cerium-group rare earths (lanthanum through samarium) with 3d transition metals give extremely stable magnets that are often used in small equipment, such as motors, printers, watches, headphones, loudspeakers, and magnetic storage.
- Praseodymium–nickel intermetallic (PrNi<sub>5</sub>) has such a strong magnetocaloric effect that it has allowed scientists to approach within one thousandth of a degree of absolute zero.
- As an alloying agent with magnesium to create high-strength metals that are used in aircraft engines; yttrium and neodymium are also viable substitutes.
- Praseodymium is present in the rare-earth mixture whose fluoride forms the core of carbon arc lights, which are used in the motion picture industry for studio lighting and projector lights.
- Praseodymium compounds give glasses, enamels and ceramics a yellow color.
- Praseodymium is a component of didymium glass, which is used to make certain types of welder's and glass blower's goggles.
- Praseodymium oxide in solid solution with ceria or ceria-zirconia has been used as an oxidation catalyst.
Due to its role in permanent magnets used for wind turbines, it has been argued that praseodymium will be one of the main objects of geopolitical competition in a world running on renewable energy. However, this perspective has been criticized for failing to recognize that most wind turbines do not use permanent magnets and for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production.
## Biological role and precautions
The early lanthanides have been found to be essential to some methanotrophic bacteria living in volcanic mudpots, such as Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium are about equally effective. Praseodymium is otherwise not known to have a biological role in any other organisms, but it is not very toxic either. Intravenous injection of rare earths into animals has been known to impair liver function, but the main side effects from inhalation of rare-earth oxides in humans come from radioactive thorium and uranium impurities.
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7,095,239 |
French ironclad Richelieu
| 1,099,534,586 |
French Navy's wooden-hulled central battery ironclad
|
[
"1873 ships",
"Ironclad warships of the French Navy",
"Maritime incidents in December 1880",
"Scuttled vessels",
"Ship fires",
"Ships built in France",
"Shipwrecks of France"
] |
The French ironclad Richelieu was a wooden-hulled central battery ironclad built for the French Navy in the early 1870s. She was named after the 17th century statesman Cardinal de Richelieu. The ship was the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron for most of her career. Richelieu caught on fire in Toulon in 1880 and was scuttled to prevent her magazines from exploding. She was salvaged and, after being repaired, resumed her role as flagship. In 1886, however, the ship was placed in reserve and was eventually condemned in 1901. While being towed to the ship breakers in Amsterdam in 1911, Richelieu was caught in a storm in the Bay of Biscay and had to be cast loose from her tugboat. Nevertheless, the ship survived the storm and was recovered near the Scilly Isles from where she was towed to her final destination.
## Design and description
Richelieu was designed by Henri Dupuy de Lôme as an improved version of the Océan-class ironclads. As a central battery ironclad she had her armament concentrated amidships. Like most ironclads of her era she was equipped with a plough-shaped ram that projected 10 feet (3.0 m) from her hull. Her crew numbered around 750 officers and men. The metacentric height of the ship was very low, a little above 1.5 feet (0.5 m).
The ship measured 101.7 meters (333 ft 8 in) overall, with a beam of 17.4 meters (57 ft 1 in). Richelieu had a maximum draft of 8.5 meters (27 ft 11 in) and displaced 8,984 metric tons (8,842 long tons).
### Propulsion
Richelieu was given two propellers by Henri Dupuy de Lôme to make her more maneuverable for ramming. She had two Indret 3-cylinder horizontal return connecting rod compound steam engines, each driving a single propeller. Her engines were powered by eight oval boilers. On sea trials the engines produced 4,600 indicated horsepower (3,400 kW) and Richelieu reached 13.2 knots (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph). She carried 640 metric tons (630 long tons) of coal which allowed her to steam for approximately 3,300 nautical miles (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Richelieu was initially square rigged with three masts, then cut down to a schooner rig.
### Armament
Richelieu's intermediate armament of four 240-millimeter (9.4 in) guns was mounted in barbettes on the upper deck, one gun at each corner of the battery, with her six 274-millimeter (10.8 in) guns on the battery deck below the barbettes. One 240-millimeter gun was mounted in the forecastle as a chase gun. The ship's secondary armament consisted of ten 120-millimeter (4.7 in) guns. These were later replaced by six 138-millimeter (5.4 in) guns.
The 18-caliber 274-millimeter Modéle 1870 gun fired an armor-piercing, 476.2-pound (216.0 kg) shell while the gun itself weighed 22.84 long tons (23.21 t). The gun fired its shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,424 ft/s (434 m/s) and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 14.3 inches (360 mm) of wrought iron armour at the muzzle. The armor-piercing shell of the 19-caliber 240-millmeter Modele 1870 gun weighed 317.5 pounds (144.0 kg) while the gun itself weighed 15.41 long tons (15.66 t). It had a muzzle velocity of 1,624 ft/s (495 m/s) and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 14.4 inches (366 mm) of wrought iron armor at the muzzle. The 138-millimeter gun was 21 calibers long and weighed 2.63 long tons (2.67 t). It fired a 61.7-pound (28.0 kg) explosive shell that had a muzzle velocity of 1,529 ft/s (466 m/s). The guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells.
At some point the ship received eight, and then later ten more, 37-millimeter (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns. They fired a shell weighing about 500 g (1.1 lb) at a muzzle velocity of about 610 m/s (2,000 ft/s) to a range of about 3,200 meters (3,500 yd). They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute. The hull was not recessed to enable any of the guns on the battery deck to fire forward or aft. However, the guns mounted in the barbettes sponsoned out over the sides of the hull did have some ability to fire fore and aft. Late in the ship's career four above-water 356-millimeter (14.0 in) torpedo tubes were added.
### Armor
Richelieu had a complete 220-millimeter (8.7 in) wrought iron waterline belt. The sides and the transverse bulkheads of the battery itself were armored with 160 millimeters (6.3 in) of wrought iron. The barbettes were unarmored, but the deck was protected by 10 mm (0.4 in) of armor.
## Service
Richelieu was laid down at Toulon in 1869 and launched on 3 December 1873. While the exact reason for such prolonged construction time is not known, it was probably due to financial pressures caused by slashing of French Navy's budget which was cut after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 coupled with the outdated work practices of the French dockyards at the time, which were not suitable for the Industrial Age. The ship began her sea trials on 12 April 1875, but did not begin her service with the Mediterranean Squadron, of which she became flagship, until 10 February 1876. She was placed in reserve on 3 December 1879.
While in Toulon harbor on 29 December 1880, Richelieu caught fire and had to be scuttled to prevent her magazines from exploding. The ship capsized to port in 10.75 meters (35.3 ft) of water; she lay on her barbettes almost at a 90° angle. In order to salvage her, all accessible guns, ammunition, masts, armor and movable decks were removed and the equivalent weight was placed in the ship's holds to lower her center of gravity. A sheer hulk was moved to her port side and cables were connected to Sibylle on the other side of Richelieu. 360 empty casks and 34 cubic meters (1,200 cu ft) of cork were attached to the starboard side to prevent the ship from rolling too far the other way. After an hour and a half of lifting, Richelieu had been righted to a 45° angle; a subsequent effort completed the job.
Richelieu was repaired and returned to service as the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron on 8 October 1881 where she remained until 1886. The squadron made port visits in Tangiers and Lisbon in 1884 before sailing to Brest and Cherbourg for exercises. In 1885 Richelieu tested Bullivant torpedo nets, but they reduced her speed to a maximum of 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) and as a result were not considered successful. The ship was placed back in reserve in 1886 and became flagship of the Reserve Squadron on 8 September 1892, which, despite its name, consisted of ships in commission. The squadron conducted exercises from June to August 1892 in French waters. Richelieu was condemned on 5 March 1900, but was not immediately sold. After having been sold to Dutch ship breakers, Richelieu departed Toulon on 28 January 1911. She was under tow in the Bay of Biscay, having left the Mediterranean for the first time in her existence, when a storm caused the tugboat to cast her loose. The ship remained afloat, however, and was subsequently recovered near the Scilly Isles, or drifted on to rocks in the Scilly Isles, and towed to Amsterdam where she was broken up.
## See also
- List of large sailing vessels
|
5,817,627 |
Antiparallelogram
| 1,169,852,930 |
Polygon with four crossed edges of two lengths
|
[
"Types of quadrilaterals"
] |
In geometry, an antiparallelogram is a type of self-crossing quadrilateral. Like a parallelogram, an antiparallelogram has two opposite pairs of equal-length sides, but these pairs of sides are not in general parallel. Instead, each pair of sides is antiparallel with respect to the other, with sides in the longer pair crossing each other as in a scissors mechanism. Whereas a parallelogram's opposite angles are equal and oriented the same way, an antiparallelogram's are equal but oppositely oriented. Antiparallelograms are also called contraparallelograms or crossed parallelograms.
Antiparallelograms occur as the vertex figures of certain nonconvex uniform polyhedra. In the theory of four-bar linkages, the linkages with the form of an antiparallelogram are also called butterfly linkages or bow-tie linkages, and are used in the design of non-circular gears. In celestial mechanics, they occur in certain families of solutions to the 4-body problem.
Every antiparallelogram has an axis of symmetry, with all four vertices on a circle. It can be formed from an isosceles trapezoid by adding the two diagonals and removing two parallel sides. The signed area of every antiparallelogram is zero.
## Geometric properties
An antiparallelogram is a special case of a crossed quadrilateral, with two pairs of equal-length edges. In general, crossed quadrilaterals can have unequal edges. A special form of the antiparallelogram is a crossed rectangle, in which two opposite edges are parallel. Every antiparallelogram is a cyclic quadrilateral, meaning that its four vertices all lie on a single circle. Additionally, the four extended sides of any antiparallelogram are the bitangents of two circles, making antiparallelograms closely related to the tangential quadrilaterals, ex-tangential quadrilaterals, and kites (which are both tangential and ex-tangential).
Every antiparallelogram has an axis of symmetry through its crossing point. Because of this symmetry, it has two pairs of equal angles and two pairs of equal sides. The four midpoints of its sides lie on a line perpendicular to the axis of symmetry; that is, for this kind of quadrilateral, the Varignon parallelogram is a degenerate quadrilateral of area zero, consisting of four collinear points. The convex hull of an antiparallelogram is an isosceles trapezoid, and every antiparallelogram may be formed from an isosceles trapezoid (or its special cases, the rectangles and squares) by replacing two parallel sides by the two diagonals of the trapezoid.
Because an antiparallelogram forms two congruent triangular regions of the plane, but loops around those two regions in opposite directions, its signed area is the difference between the regions' areas and is therefore zero. The polygon's unsigned area (the total area it surrounds) is the sum, rather than the difference, of these areas. For an antiparallelogram with two parallel diagonals of lengths $p$ and $q$, separated by height $h$, this sum is $hpq/(p+q)$. It follows from applying the triangle inequality to these two triangular regions that the crossing pair of edges in an antiparallelogram must always be longer than the two uncrossed edges.
## Applications
### In polyhedra
Several nonconvex uniform polyhedra, including the tetrahemihexahedron, cubohemioctahedron, octahemioctahedron, small rhombihexahedron, small icosihemidodecahedron, and small dodecahemidodecahedron, have antiparallelograms as their vertex figures, the cross-sections formed by slicing the polyhedron by a plane that passes near a vertex, perpendicularly to the axis between the vertex and the center.
One form of a non-uniform but flexible polyhedron, the Bricard octahedron, can be constructed as a bipyramid over an antiparallelogram.
### Four-bar linkages
The antiparallelogram has been used as a form of four-bar linkage, in which four rigid beams of fixed length (the four sides of the antiparallelogram) may rotate with respect to each other at joints placed at the four vertices of the antiparallelogram. In this context it is also called a butterfly or bow-tie linkage. As a linkage, it has a point of instability in which it can be converted into a parallelogram and vice versa, but either of these linkages can be braced to prevent this instability.
For both the parallelogram and antiparallelogram linkages, if one of the long (crossed) edges of the linkage is fixed as a base, the free joints move on equal circles, but in a parallelogram they move in the same direction with equal velocities while in the antiparallelogram they move in opposite directions with unequal velocities. As James Watt discovered, if an antiparallelogram has its long side fixed in this way, the midpoint of the unfixed long edge will trace out a lemniscate or figure eight curve. For the antiparallelogram formed by the sides and diagonals of a square, it is the lemniscate of Bernoulli.
The antiparallelogram with its long side fixed is a variant of Watt's linkage. An antiparallelogram is an important feature in the design of Hart's inversor, a linkage that (like the Peaucellier–Lipkin linkage) can convert rotary motion to straight-line motion. An antiparallelogram-shaped linkage can also be used to connect the two axles of a four-wheeled vehicle, decreasing the turning radius of the vehicle relative to a suspension that only allows one axle to turn. A pair of nested antiparallelograms was used in a linkage defined by Alfred Kempe as part of Kempe's Universality Theorem stating that any algebraic curve may be traced out by the joints of a suitably defined linkage. Kempe called the nested-antiparallelogram linkage a "multiplicator", as it could be used to multiply an angle by an integer. Used in the other direction, to divide angles, it can be used for angle trisection (although not as a straightedge and compass construction). Kempe's original constructions using this linkage overlooked the parallelogram-antiparallelogram instability, but bracing the linkages fixes his proof of the universality theorem.
### Gear design
Suppose that one of the short (uncrossed) edges of an antiparallelogram linkage is fixed in place, and the remaining linkage moves freely. By the symmetry of antiparallelograms, each of the two line segments from an endpoint of the fixed edge to the crossing point is congruent to a reflected line segment from the crossing point to the moving short segment, from which it follows that the two segments from the fixed edge have the same total length as a single long edge. Because the moving crossing point maintains constant total distance to the two endpoints of the fixed segment, it traces out an ellipse that has the fixed edge's endpoints as its foci. Symmetrically, the other moving short edge of the antiparallelogram has as its endpoints the foci of another moving ellipse, formed from the first one by reflection across a tangent line through the crossing point. This construction of ellipses from the motion of an antiparallelogram can be used in the design of elliptical gears that convert uniform rotation into non-uniform rotation or vice versa.
### Celestial mechanics
In the n-body problem, the study of the motions of point masses under Newton's law of universal gravitation, an important role is played by central configurations, solutions to the n-body problem in which all of the bodies rotate around some central point as if they were rigidly connected to each other. For instance, for three bodies, there are five solutions of this type, given by the five Lagrangian points. For four bodies, with two pairs of the bodies having equal masses (but with the ratio between the masses of the two pairs varying continuously), numerical evidence indicates that there exists a continuous family of central configurations, related to each other by the motion of an antiparallelogram linkage.
|
34,744,352 |
Collateral Damage (Millennium)
| 1,145,608,299 | null |
[
"1999 American television episodes",
"Millennium (season 3) episodes"
] |
"Collateral Damage" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the crime-thriller television series Millennium. It premiered on the Fox network on January 22, 1999. The episode was written by Michael R. Perry, and directed by Thomas J. Wright. "Collateral Damage" featured guest appearances by O'Quinn, Jacinda Barrett, James Marsters, and radio host Art Bell as himself. Bell's radio show Coast to Coast AM was among Perry's inspirations for the script.
In this episode, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) and Emma Hollis (Klea Scott) investigate the kidnapping of the daughter of Millennium Group member Peter Watts (Terry O'Quinn), which may be connected to the testing of a pathogen during the Gulf War. The episode was well-received critically, with the guest acting seen as particularly strong, and was viewed by approximately 5.6 million households during its initial broadcast.
## Plot
Leaving a bowling alley, student Taylor Watts (Jacinda Barrett) is abducted by two men. As she is dragged into a car, her dropped purse shows that her father is Millennium Group member Peter Watts (Terry O'Quinn). Watts is then seen briefing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on the kidnapping, as a witness describes one abductor, who was wearing a mask like those issued to U.S. troops in the Gulf War. FBI agent Emma Hollis (Klea Scott) remarks to the agents that Watts failed to mention of the Millennium Group or those opposed to it in his briefing, and that her partner Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), who has been investigating the Group, is absent.
On an examining table, one of the kidnappers, Eric Swan (James Marsters), strips Taylor, harshly washes her with a course brush, and photographs her. The picture is sent to Watts, who is seen looking at it while supervising the crime scene. Black is also at the scene, and experiences a vision of Operation Desert Storm. Evidence is found of military-style tyre and boot tracks; these lead the FBI to an address where they find the second kidnapper murdered—Black and Watts clash over whether the Group or Swan are responsible. Back in the examination room, Swan exposes Taylor to a substance contained in a canister.
Black tracks the history of the second kidnapper, finding that he was involved in a military medical group; Swan's name is also associated with this group. As Black is investigating, Watts approaches him, showing him a second photograph of Taylor, now looking sickly, beside the canister. Watts believes she has less than two days to live. Meanwhile, Hollis has discovered that Swan frequently called Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM radio show under a pseudonym to discuss conspiracy theories about Gulf War syndrome. Bell invites Black onto the show to speak to a listening Swan; the two realise that Black's wife was killed by a pathogen Swan was ordered to test on his troops during the Gulf War—an order which came from a group outside of the Army.
At his hideout, Swan retrieves an antidote for the pathogen; meanwhile, Hollis has managed to discover his location. Black and Hollis arrive to find that Watts and Group members have trained a sniper upon the building; Watts speaks to Swan over the phone and agrees to release information confirming the Millennium Group's role in the biological tests. However, during this time, Taylor has freed herself and taken Swan's antidote; she ambushes him and breaks his neck. After she returns home, she asks her father if Swan was right about Group's involvement; he does not answer.
## Production
"Collateral Damage" is the fourth episode of Millennium to have been written by Michael R. Perry, who had previously penned the second season episode "The Mikado", as well as "...Thirteen Years Later" and "Omertà" earlier in the third season. Perry would go on to contribute one more script before the series' end. The episode was directed by Thomas J. Wright, who helmed a total of twenty-six episodes across all three seasons. Wright would also go on to direct "Millennium", the series' crossover episode with its sister show The X-Files.
Perry was inspired to write the episode due to his interest in conspiracy theory literature, which he finds interesting but does not believe in. The Coast to Coast AM radio show featured in the episode also served as an inspiration, and its host Art Bell agreed to appear as himself. Guest star James Marsters was cast immediately after his audition for the role of Eric Swan, and although several of Millennium's crew were fans of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which Marsters had a recurring role, Perry recalled none of them recognizing the actor during his audition due to the strength of his performance.
This episode marked a change in the presentation of Black's "flashback" visions, a hallmark of the series. Previously they had been depicted with a series of rapid and vague images; director Wright felt that it would be beneficial to slow these down and linger on imagery for longer, "so we could see a little more of what was happening".
## Broadcast and reception
"Collateral Damage" was first broadcast on the Fox network on January 22, 1999. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 5.77 during its original broadcast, meaning that 5.77 percent of households in the United States viewed the episode. This represented approximately 5.6 million households.
"Collateral Damage" received positive reviews from critics. The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff rated the episode a "B". VanDerWerff felt that the episode began with a formulaic and "manipulative" attempt to shock the audience with the kidnapping of a young woman, but quickly moved past this to introduce more interesting elements, particularly the nature of the relationship between Watts and Black. VanDerWerff highlighted the acting of Marsters, finding that he succeeded in making character of Swan into a sympathetic and complex one rather than a simple villain. Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated "Collateral Damage" five stars out of five. Shearman called the episode "magnificent", highlighting its in-depth take on the morality of both Black and Watts when faced with the issue of defending either their beliefs or their families. He also praised the guest acting in the episode, and felt that Perry's script was the first to adequately address questions raised by the series rather than simply asking more.
|
16,288,830 |
Lee Sweatt
| 1,170,421,265 |
American ice hockey player (born 1985)
|
[
"1985 births",
"American men's ice hockey defensemen",
"Chicago Steel players",
"Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey players",
"Dinamo Riga players",
"EC Red Bull Salzburg players",
"HC TPS players",
"Ice hockey players from Illinois",
"Living people",
"Manitoba Moose players",
"San Antonio Rampage players",
"Sportspeople from Kane County, Illinois",
"Undrafted National Hockey League players",
"Vancouver Canucks players"
] |
Walter Lee Sweatt (born August 13, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Sweatt played four years of professional hockey in Europe and North America. Sweatt played three games in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2011, before retiring to work in the financial industry. His younger brother, Bill, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
After a one-year stint with the Junior A Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), Sweatt played four seasons in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) with the Colorado College Tigers. During his senior year with Colorado, he served as team captain and received All-WCHA Third Team honors. Graduating with a degree in mathematical economics, he was named the WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year in 2007.
Undrafted by an NHL team, Sweatt played in Europe for four seasons with TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga, Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League and EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League. After winning the Pekka Rautakallio trophy as the SM-liiga's best defenseman and the Kanada-malja as league champions with TPS in 2010, he returned to North America, signing with the Vancouver Canucks. He played the subsequent season with the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, while also debuting in the NHL with the Canucks. In July 2011, he signed with the Senators.
Sweatt has also played inline hockey at the international level, competing for the United States' national team at seven consecutive IIHF InLine Hockey World Championships from 2002 to 2009. At the 2008 tournament, he earned the Best Defenseman award. He has also played for the United States national select team on two occasions, once in 2007 and another at the 2009 Deutschland Cup.
## Playing career
Sweatt played junior in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Chicago Steel before joining the college ranks for the Colorado College Tigers. He recorded 16 points over 37 games as a freshman in 2003–04. The following season, he improved to a college career-high 27 points while helping Colorado to a MacNaughton Cup as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season champions (shared with the Denver Pioneers). Serving as team captain in his senior year, he scored a career-high 9 goals, while adding 15 assists for 24 points. In addition to being his team's leading defenseman in scoring, Sweatt was named to the All-WCHA Third Team.
He joined the American Hockey League (AHL) immediately after completing his senior season with Colorado, signing an amateur tryout contract with the San Antonio Rampage on March 22, 2007. Appearing in 11 games for the remainder of the 2006-07 AHL season, he registered 1 assist. Also in 2007, Sweatt debuted with the United States' national select team in international competition.
Undrafted and unsigned by an NHL team, Sweatt joined Finnish club TPS of the SM-liiga for the 2007–08 season. Competing in his first full professional season, he recorded 15 goals and 33 points over 56 games, second in team scoring to Teemu Laine. Spending the 2008–09 season with EC Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Hockey League, Sweatt scored 36 points over 52 games, second among team defensemen to Mario Scalzo.
In the off-season, he signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with Latvian club Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League on July 13, 2009. He took a break from club play in November 2009, making his second appearance with the United States' national select team for the Deutschland Cup. Returning to Dinamo, Sweatt was released from his KHL contract after a slow start to the 2009–10 season, recording 7 points in 37 games. Sweatt returned to TPS on January 18, 2010, and completed the regular season with 16 points in 21 SM-liiga games. In the playoffs, he added 13 points over 15 games, helping TPS win the Kanada-malja as league champions. For his efforts, he was named to the SM-liiga All-Star Team and also won the Pekka Rautakallio trophy as the league's best defenseman.
Returning to North America, Sweatt signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on May 31, 2010. Nearly three months later, the Canucks also signed Sweatt's brother, Bill, from Colorado College. Following the pre-season, the Canucks assigned both Sweatt brothers to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Joining the Moose, Lee and Bill became the first pair of brothers in the team's history to play for the club at the same time. After recording 14 points in 41 AHL games, the Canucks recalled him on January 23, 2011. Filling in for injured defenseman Alex Edler, he made his NHL debut three days later against the Nashville Predators. He scored his first NHL goal that night, a game-winner in the third period against goaltender Pekka Rinne; the Canucks won the game 2–1. The following shift, he blocked a shot from Predators defenseman Shea Weber with his foot; a post-game X-ray diagnosed him with severe bruising. After resting the foot over the All-Star break, he played in two more games for the Canucks, before being reassigned to the Moose. On the morning of his scheduled flight back to Manitoba, he blocked another shot during a Canucks practice, breaking his foot. Sweatt was consequently retained on the NHL team's roster and placed on the long-term injured reserve list (injured players are not eligible to be sent down to the minors). Unable to skate on his injured foot until mid-June, Sweatt was sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Set to become a restricted free agent in the off-season, Sweatt did not receive a qualifying offer from the Canucks, making him an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2011. Ten days into his free agency, he signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators. However, on August 12, 2011, Sweatt retired prior to playing for the Senators organization.
### Inline hockey
Sweatt began playing inline hockey at the age of eight in order to improve his skating for ice hockey. He began competing in the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championships with the United States national team in 2002. Playing seven straight years in the annual tournament, Sweatt won two gold (2004, 2006), one silver (2009) and two bronze medals (2003, 2005). At the 2008 IIHF InLine World Championships in Slovakia, Sweatt was named the tournament's Best Defenseman. He registered four goals and four assists in six games, ranking ninth among tournament defensemen in scoring, as the United States finished fourth in the competition, losing to Germany in the bronze medal game.
## Playing style
Sweatt is known as an offensive defenseman, possessing a good shot and a tendency to join plays deep in the opposing zone. He has played the role of powerplay "quarterback" on teams throughout his career – controlling the play by either passing or shooting the puck. Defensively, he is known to play aggressively, hitting opposing players. Due to his offensive capabilities at a comparatively small size for a defenseman at 5 feet and 9 inches, he has been compared to former NHL player Brian Rafalski.
## Personal life
Sweatt was born in Elburn, Illinois, a village west of Chicago. He played minor hockey with his younger brother Bill Sweatt, in Highland Park, Illinois. In addition to hockey, Sweatt played football as a child, following after his father.
While enrolled at the Colorado College, Sweatt maintained a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 while majoring in mathematical economics, qualifying for the WCHA All-Academic Team as a sophomore, junior and senior hockey player (freshmen are not eligible for the distinction). In his junior year, he was honored as a co-recipient of the Paul Markovich Award as the Colorado College Tigers' top student-athlete. He also received WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year honors after graduating with a 3.8 GPA in 2007.
In an interview with CBC Sports, Sweatt explained the reason for his retirement. Sweatt intends to work as a financial advisor and expects to make more money than if he were playing in the AHL. "I didn't need to prove myself all over again. I didn't want to be a bubble guy again. I didn't want to be the guy in the still living the dream at age 30 and sacrificing my goals outside the game."
## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs
### International (InLine)
## Awards
|
54,552,208 |
Watch (Billie Eilish song)
| 1,149,351,229 |
2017 single by Billie Eilish
|
[
"2010s ballads",
"2017 singles",
"2017 songs",
"Billie Eilish songs",
"Interscope Records singles",
"Pop ballads",
"Song recordings produced by Finneas O'Connell",
"Songs written by Finneas O'Connell"
] |
"Watch" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut EP Don't Smile at Me (2017). Written and produced by Eilish's brother Finneas O'Connell, the song was released for digital download and streaming through Darkroom and Interscope Records on June 29, 2017, as the third single from the EP.
A pop ballad, the lyrics of "Watch" address Eilish leaving a toxic relationship. The song received platinum certifications in the United States, Australia and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively. A music video for the track was released on September 18, 2017, and was directed by Megan Park. In the visual, Eilish sets the remnants of a toxic relationship on fire and dumps her former lover. "Watch" was performed live by Eilish during her 2019 When We All Fall Asleep Tour.
## Background and composition
"Watch" was released on June 30, 2017, as the third single on Eilish's debut EP Don't Smile at Me. The track was written and produced by Eilish's brother, Finneas O'Connell. Mastering and mixing was handled by the studio personnel, John Greenham and Rob Kinelski, respectively. The song was originally titled "Watch & Burn", before becoming two separate tracks, one being "Watch" and the other being "&Burn", a collaboration with Vince Staples.
According to sheet music published by Hal Leonard Music Publishing at Musicnotes.com, "Watch" has a moderately fast tempo of 80–84 beats per minute (BPM) and is played in the key of C Major, while Eilish's vocals range from G<sub>3</sub> to C<sub>5</sub>. The song was described as a pop ballad by music critics. The song starts with the strike of a match and continues throughout the song as its main beat. In the lyrics, Eilish writes a missive to her former lover, saying she is leaving their toxic relationship behind: "If we were meant to be, we would have been by now/See what you wanna see, but all I see is him right now." As the chorus comes in, Eilish sings about not wanting to be in the relationship anymore: "I'll sit and watch your car burn/With the fire that you started in me/But you never came back to ask it out." Finneas later explained in an interview with Pitchfork saying: "This is me just lighting a bunch of matches in the bathroom. It became the snare essentially for [the] song. There were all these references to starting a fire and that’s a more inventive way to use a sound than to just be like, 'Yeah, we’re gonna start with the sound of the waves rolling in or something.'"
## Reception
"Watch" was met with critical acclaim from music critics. Insider's Claudia Willen wrote that the song "provided a mere glimpse of the greatness to come in Eilish's career." Nicole Almeida of Atwood Magazine commended the production, which she described as "meticulous" and "amazing". Avery Stone of Vice described the chorus as "sweeping". It was ranked number 28 by NME's Sam Moore, who compared it to Lorde's compositions and affirmed it was a "stepping stone towards bigger and better things". The track has been awarded several certifications; including double platinum in Australia, and platinum in Canada and the United States by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), Music Canada (MC), and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), respectively.
## Promotion
A music video for "Watch" was released on September 18, 2017, and directed by Canadian actress Megan Park. In the video, Eilish sets the remnants of a toxic relationship on fire and dumps her former lover. The singer stated in an interview with Vice that Park came up with her sitting in a bedroom during the video: "You see that room is right across from the ladder where I'm burning. And I get up and I walk over to the other 'ladder.' who represents the old me, who's hurt and heartbroken by this boy, and can't do anything without thinking about this person. And the new me is kind of over it. So I go up to the old me like, 'Screw you, I'm going to light you on fire now.'" In March 2018, Eilish and Finneas performed an acoustic version of "Watch". The track was also performed live during Eilish's North American 1 by 1 tour. It was also included on the setlist of her When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019).
## Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Don't Smile at Me.
- Billie Eilish – vocals
- Finneas O'Connell – producer, songwriter
- John Greenham – mastering engineer, studio personnel
- Rob Kinelski – mixer, studio personnel
## Certifications
|
8,836,029 |
Hurricane Ignacio (2003)
| 1,169,038,806 |
Category 2 Pacific hurricane in 2003
|
[
"2003 Pacific hurricane season",
"2003 in Mexico",
"Category 2 Pacific hurricanes",
"Hurricanes and tropical depressions of the Gulf of California",
"Pacific hurricanes in Mexico",
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] |
Hurricane Ignacio was the latest-forming first hurricane of a Pacific hurricane season since reliable satellite observation began in 1966. The ninth tropical storm of the 2003 Pacific hurricane season, Ignacio developed out of a tropical wave on August 22 a short distance off the coast of Mexico. It was initially predicted to track out to sea and remain a weak tropical storm, though it unexpectedly organized rapidly to attain peak winds of 105 mph (169 km/h) on August 24 while located a short distance southeast of southern Baja California Sur. Land interaction weakened Ignacio to an 80 mph (130 km/h) hurricane by the time it made landfall near La Paz, and it dissipated on August 27 in the central Baja California peninsula.
The hurricane produced heavy rainfall across Baja California Sur, which resulted in flooding. Statewide, four people were killed, and damage was estimated at \$21.2 million. Resort areas near the coast experienced minor effects, though further inland the damage was more severe. The impact of Ignacio was compounded by flooding from Hurricane Marty a month later, with damage from the two hurricanes totaling about \$1 billion (2003 US).
## Meteorological history
A tropical wave exited the coast of Africa on August 6. It moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean without development, and entered the eastern Pacific Ocean on August 16 after crossing Central America. Cloudiness and convection gradually increased along the wave axis and organized into a distinct area of disturbed weather on August 20 while located a short distance south of Manzanillo, Mexico. It slowly became better organized as it moved northwestward in an area favorable for continued development. With light vertical wind shear and warm water temperatures, the convection concentrated around a developing low-level circulation, and on August 22 it organized enough for the National Hurricane Center to classify it as Tropical Depression Nine-E while it was located about 115 miles (185 km) west of the Mexico mainland or about 220 miles (350 km) southeast of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. With an anticyclone located over the southwestern United States and a ridge extending southward into northwestern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center initially predicted the depression to track generally west-northwestward out to sea and reach peak winds of 50 mph (80 km/h).
The tropical depression moved slowly northwestward, with the slow motion persisting for its entire lifetime due to the storm being embedded within the weakness of a mid-level ridge to its north. Shortly after forming, the storm was located in a marginally favorable environment, with westerly wind shear and dry air approaching the depression and leaving the center of circulation exposed from the convection. However, the wind shear subsequently decreased, and early on August 23 the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Ignacio. The storm quickly organized and developed well-defined banding features and very well-organized upper-level outflow, and by late on August 23 a warm spot formed in the center of the convection. The warm spot organized into an intermittent eye feature. Early on August 24, Ignacio attained hurricane status, the latest formation of the first hurricane of a season recorded in the East Pacific since reliable satellite observation began in 1966.
Hurricane Ignacio continued to quickly intensify after becoming a hurricane, and reached peak winds of 105 mph (169 km/h) later on August 24 while located within 30 miles (48 km)/h) off the coast of Baja California Sur. Upon reaching peak strength, the hurricane possessed a 12 miles (19 km) wide eye surrounded by very deep convection. The National Hurricane Center predicted it to attain major hurricane status and potentially reach significantly higher winds if the center remained over open water. However, it turned to the northwest and paralleled the Baja California Peninsula a short distance offshore, resulting in a steady weakening trend due to its interaction with the high terrain. On August 25 Ignacio made landfall just east of La Paz with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). It rapidly weakened over land, first deteriorating to a tropical storm 12 hours after landfall and later to a tropical depression about a day after moving ashore. Ignacio continued northwestward across the peninsula, and dissipated on August 28 while located in northwestern Baja California Sur.
## Preparations
Coinciding with the issuance of the first advisory on Ignacio, the government of Mexico issued a tropical storm watch from Santa Fe to La Paz, with the watch upgraded to a warning nine hours later. The warning was extended on both coasts from Bahia Magdalena to San Evaristo the next day. About 48 hours before Ignacio made landfall, a hurricane warning was issued from Santa Fe to La Paz, and 21 hours later extended to Bahia Magdalena and San Evaristo. The government of Mexico also issued a tropical storm warning for the mainland from Atlata to Topolobampo in the state of Sinaloa.
The Civil Protection agency for the state of Baja California Sur ordered for the evacuation for 10,000 residents in flood-prone areas near La Paz. Officials also moved 700 people in areas near rivers to shelters in Los Cabos. 32 emergency shelters were set up in and around La Paz. Residents near the coast placed sandbags to protect their houses from potential flooding, and also stocked up on hurricane supplies. Police authorities were stationed in areas around Los Cabos to guard against price gouging. Officials closed many schools and businesses throughout the area, and also shut down the area's primary airport in La Paz. About 500 people in Sinaloa were evacuated, as well.
## Impact
Prior to developing, the precursor tropical disturbance dropped heavy rainfall and produced gusty winds, primarily from Zihuatanejo in the state of Guerrero to Manzanillo in the state of Colima. The slow motion of Ignacio produced heavy rainfall across the southern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, including a peak 24‐hour total of 7.25 inches (184 mm) in Ciudad Constitución. The National Hurricane Center warned of rainfall totals of up to 20 inches (510 mm) in some localized areas, which did verify in Los Cabos. Ignacio produced strong waves which hit the eastern Baja California coastline. Swells of 10 feet (3.0 m) in height in La Paz closed the city's small port.
Hurricane-force winds blew down trees, signs, and power lines in and around La Paz, while closer to the beach the hurricane destroyed multiple beach huts. Rough surf in the harbor of La Paz sunk one fishing vessel and grounded four others. Efforts by the Mexican Navy prevented an additional vessel and two cruise ships from being grounded. In Cabo San Lucas, effects were minimal, amounting to light winds and rain of less than 2 inches (51 mm). The passage of the hurricane left citizens in Todos Santos without power for around 24 hours. Heavy rainfall caused severe inland flooding, destroying bridges and multiple mudslides, some of which blocked roads. Flash flooding in desert inland areas washed out roads, causing the Mexican government to restrict traffic through much of the peninsula for up to a week after the storm. Many roads remained impassable for a month after the hurricane. The closed roads and the airport in La Paz and southern Baja California left some tourists stranded. The rainfall was welcome in some desert areas, where the moderate precipitation filled reservoirs. Two rescue workers died when they were swept away by the floodwaters. Six municipalities in Baja California were declared disaster areas, and by four days after landfall, the Mexican government prepared emergency funds to meet the immediate needs of the affected citizens. Due to the storm's slow movement, rainfall was high and the resulting flooding was severe, and Ignacio was responsible for approximately US\$21.2 million of damage. Two rescue workers drowned in the flood waters brought by the storm and some 10,000 people were evacuated to shelters. Statewide, four people were killed, 1,198 homes were damaged, 4,146 ha (10,240 acres) of crops were destroyed, and one school was also destroyed.
Heavy rainfall was also reported in Sinaloa on the Mexican mainland. The remnants of Ignacio produced thunderstorm activity in high terrain areas of central interior California. Over 300 lightning strikes from the remnant moisture was recorded in a one-hour period. The lightning caused 14 forest fires in Merced County, resulting in a loss of power to over 3,500 customers in and around the Atwater area.
Just a month after Ignacio, Hurricane Marty passed through the area, causing additional damage to areas hit by Ignacio. The combined damage from the two hurricanes totaled about \$1 billion (2003 USD, \$1.1 billion 2006 USD), and the effects from the two storms left at least 50,000 homeless.
## See also
- List of Pacific hurricanes
- List of Baja California hurricanes
- Timeline of the 2003 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Olaf (2021) – Impacted Baja California in 2021
|
4,800 |
Babylon 5
| 1,173,610,309 |
American space opera television series (1994–1998)
|
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"1993 American television series debuts",
"1998 American television series endings",
"American adventure television series",
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"Fictional space stations",
"First-run syndicated television programs in the United States",
"Hugo Award-winning television series",
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"Television series about extraterrestrial life",
"Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios",
"Television series created by J. Michael Straczynski",
"Television series set in the 23rd century",
"Television shows adapted into comics",
"Television shows adapted into novels",
"Television shows filmed in Los Angeles"
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Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Television. After the successful airing of a test pilot movie on February 22, 1993, Babylon 5: The Gathering, Warner Bros. commissioned the series for production in May 1993 as part of its Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN). The show premiered in the US on January 26, 1994, and ran for five 22-episode seasons.
The series follows the human military staff and alien diplomats stationed on a space station, Babylon 5, built in the aftermath of several major inter-species wars as a neutral ground for galactic diplomacy and trade. Major plotlines included intra-race intrigue and upheaval, inter-race wars and their aftermaths, and embroilment in a millennial cyclic conflict between ancient races. The human characters, in particular, become pivotal to the resistance against Earth's descent into totalitarianism.
Many episodes focused on the effect of wider events on individual characters, with episodes containing themes such as personal change, loss, oppression, corruption and redemption.
Unusual at the time of its airing, Babylon 5 was conceived as a "novel for television" with a pre-planned five-year story arc, each episode envisioned as a "chapter". Whereas contemporary television shows tended to maintain the overall status quo, confining conflicts to individual episodes, Babylon 5 featured story arcs which spanned multiple episodes and even seasons, effecting permanent changes to the series universe. Tie-in novels, comic books, and short stories were also developed to play a significant canonical part in the overall story.
Straczynski announced plans for a reboot of the series in September 2021 in conjunction with Warner Bros. Television. An animated feature-length, direct-to-video film, Babylon 5: The Road Home, was released in August 2023.
## Setting
The main Babylon 5 story arc occurs between the years 2257 and 2262. The show depicts a future where Earth has a unified Earth government and has gained the technology for faster-than-light travel using 'jump gates', a kind of wormhole technology allowing transport through the alternate dimension of hyperspace. The Colonies within the Solar System and beyond make up the Earth Alliance, which has established contact with other spacefaring species. Ten years before the series is set, Earth barely escaped destruction by the technologically superior Minbari, who sought revenge after an Earth starship unwittingly killed their leader during first contact, only for them to unexpectedly surrender on the brink of victory. Earth has since established peaceful relationships with them and the Earth Alliance has become a significant and generally respected power within the galactic community.
Among the other species are the imperialist Centauri; the Narn, who only recently gained independence from the Centauri empire; and the mysterious, powerful Vorlons. Several dozen less powerful species from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds also have diplomatic contact with the major races, including the Drazi, Brakiri, Vree, Markab, and pak'ma'ra. An ancient and secretive race, the Shadows, unknown to humans but documented in many other races' religious texts, malevolently influence events to bring chaos and war among the known species.
The Babylon 5 space station is located in the Epsilon Eridani system, at the fifth Lagrangian point of the fictional planet Epsilon III and its moon. It is an O'Neill cylinder 5 miles (8.0 km) long and 0.5–1.0 mile (0.80–1.61 km) in diameter. The station is the last of its line; the first three stations were all destroyed during construction, while Babylon 4 was completed but mysteriously vanished shortly after being made operational. It contains living areas which accommodate various alien species, providing differing atmospheres and gravities. Human visitors to the alien sectors are shown using breathing equipment and other measures to tolerate the conditions.
## Cast
### Regular cast
Babylon 5 featured an ensemble cast which changed over the course of the show's run:
- Michael O'Hare as Commander (later Ambassador) Jeffrey Sinclair (season 1; guest seasons 2–3): The first commander of Babylon 5, later appointed Earth's ambassador to Minbar.
- Bruce Boxleitner as Captain (later President) John Sheridan (seasons 2–5): Sinclair's replacement on Babylon 5 after his reassignment and a central figure of several prophecies within the Shadow war. Becomes president of the newly formed Interstellar Alliance in season 5.
- Claudia Christian as Lt. Commander (later promoted to Commander) Susan Ivanova (seasons 1–4, guest season 5): Second in command of Babylon 5.
- Jerry Doyle as Michael Garibaldi: Babylon 5's Chief of Security for seasons 1-4; leads the covert intelligence arm of the Interstellar Alliance in season 5.
- Mira Furlan as Delenn: The Minbari ambassador to Babylon 5. Born Minbari, she uses a special artifact at the start of the second season to become a Minbari-human hybrid, and later marries Captain Sheridan.
- Richard Biggs as Doctor Stephen Franklin: Babylon 5's chief medical officer.
- Andrea Thompson as Talia Winters (season 1–2): A commercial Psi-Corps telepath who works aboard the station.
- Stephen Furst as Vir Cotto: Diplomatic aide to Centauri Ambassador Londo Mollari.
- Bill Mumy as Lennier: Diplomatic aide to Minbari Ambassador Delenn.
- Tracy Scoggins as Captain Elizabeth Lochley (season 5): Babylon 5's station commander following Ivanova's departure and Sheridan's resignation.
- Jason Carter as Marcus Cole (seasons 3–4): A Ranger, one of a group of covert agents who fight against the Shadows.
- Caitlin Brown (season 1, guest season 5) and Mary Kay Adams (season 2) as Na'Toth: Diplomatic aide to Narn Ambassador G'Kar.
- Robert Rusler as Warren Keffer (season 2): Commander of the Zeta Wing, one of Babylon 5's small fighter wings.
- Jeff Conaway as Zack Allan (guest season 2, main seasons 3–5): A sergeant in the Babylon 5 security force, replaces Garibaldi as Chief of Security by season 5.
- Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander (original TV movie, guest seasons 2–3, main seasons 4–5): A commercial Psi-Corps telepath who takes over for Talia when she leaves the station.
- Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar: The Narn ambassador to Babylon 5.
- Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari: The Centauri ambassador to Babylon 5.
### Recurring guests
- Wayne Alexander as Lorien: An alien of unknown origin that comes to Sheridan's aid after a critical moment in the Shadow War
- Ardwight Chamberlain (voice) /Jeffery Willerth (in the encounter-suit) as Kosh Naranek, the Vorlon ambassador to Babylon 5
- Tim Choate as Zathras, an alien of unknown origins that is central to the disappearance of Babylon 4
- Joshua Cox as Lt. David Corwin, a technician in Babylon 5's Command and Control center
- David L. Crowley as Ofc. Lou Welch, a member of the Babylon 5 security staff
- Robin Atkin Downes as Byron, a rogue telepath
- William Forward as Lord Antono Refa, a colleague of Ambassador Mollari who has his own designs on the Centauri throne.
- Robert Foxworth as General William Hague, the officer overseeing military operations related to Babylon 5
- Denise Gentile as Lise Hampton, a former romantic interest for Michael Garibaldi during his time on the Mars colony
- Melissa Gilbert as Anna Sheridan, Captain Sheridan's wife. The first appearance of Anna Sheridan was portrayed by Beth Toussaint in a recorded message.
- Lenore Kasdorf as a reporter for the Interstellar News (ISN) network
- Walter Koenig as Alfred Bester, a senior officer of Psi-Corps
- Wortham Krimmer as Centauri Emperor Cartagia
- Damian London as Regent Virini, a member of the Centauri court under Emperor Cartagia
- Leigh McCloskey as Thomas
- Marjorie Monaghan as Number One / Tessa Holloran, the leader of the Mars resistance
- Julia Nickson-Soul as Catherine Sakai, a commercial explorer and Commander Sinclair's love interest
- Jim Norton as Ombuds Wellington, a judge aboard Babylon 5
- John Schuck as Draal (younger), Delenn's teacher and friend from Minbar that becomes part of the Great Machine buried within Epsilon III
- Louis Turenne as Brother Theo, the leader of a group of Roman Catholic monks living aboard Babylon 5.
- John Vickery as Neroon, a member of the Minbari warrior caste that replaced Delenn on the Grey Council following her transformation
- Ed Wasser as Morden, a human agent working for the Shadows
- Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as William Edgars, a business leader based on the Mars colony
In addition, several other actors filled more than one minor role on the series. Kim Strauss played the Drazi Ambassador in four episodes, as well as nine other characters in ten more episodes. Some actors had difficulty dealing with the application of prosthetics required to play some of the alien characters. The producers therefore used the same group of people (as many as 12) in various mid-level speaking roles, taking full head and body casts from each. The group came to be unofficially known by the production as the "Babylon 5 Alien Rep Group."
## Synopsis
The five seasons of the series each correspond to one fictional sequential year in the period 2258–2262. Each season shares its title with an episode that is central to that season's plot.
### Pilot film (1993)
In the pilot film, Babylon 5: The Gathering, the Vorlon ambassador Kosh is nearly killed by an assassin shortly after arriving at the station. Jeffrey Sinclair, the commander of Babylon 5, is named as the prime suspect, but is proven to have been framed.
### Season 1: Signs and Portents (1994)
Commander Sinclair, a hero of the Minbari war, is troubled by his inability to remember events of the war's last day. Though supported by Minbari ambassador Delenn, who is secretly a member of the Minbari ruling Grey Council, other Minbari remain distrustful of him. The Narn ambassador G'Kar continually presses for concessions from their former overlords the Centauri Republic. Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari finds a new ally in the enigmatic Mr. Morden to strike back at the Narn. Meanwhile, xenophobic groups on Earth challenge humanity's tolerance of aliens. This tension culminates in the assassination of Earth's President Santiago, who favored such contact.
### Season 2: The Coming of Shadows (1994–1995)
Sinclair is transferred to be ambassador to Minbar, and General Hague assigns captain John Sheridan command of the station. Hague and Sheridan believe now-president Clark conspired in Santiago's death but have no proof. Clark gradually moves Earth in an isolationist direction and takes steps to install a totalitarian government. When the aging Centauri Emperor Turhan dies, Mollari and his ally Lord Refa install Turhan's unstable nephew Cartagia as emperor and force a war against the Narn. Aided by Mr. Morden's "associates" the Shadows, the Centauri decimate the Narn. The war ends with a planetary bombardment of the Narn homeworld, followed by the enslavement of the surviving Narns. Delenn and Vorlon ambassador Kosh request Sheridan's help to fight against their ancient foe, the Shadows.
### Season 3: Point of No Return (1995–1996)
Sheridan and Delenn establish a "conspiracy of light" to fight the influence of the Shadows. When Clark declares martial law, Sheridan declares Babylon 5's independence from the Earth government. Mollari realizes his deal with Mr. Morden has become dangerous but is unable to end it. As the Shadows cause conflict and chaos throughout the galaxy, Sheridan confronts Kosh and successfully convinces the Vorlons to provide military assistance. In retaliation for Vorlon intervention, the Shadows assassinate Kosh. Sinclair travels back in time a thousand years to aid the Minbari in the previous Shadow War, becoming the legendary Minbari religious leader Valen. Sheridan discovers vulnerabilities in the Shadow vessels and learns to predict their objectives, leading to the first major military defeat of the Shadows. Despite Kosh's warnings, Sheridan confronts the Shadows on their homeworld Z'ha'dum. He crashes a spacecraft packed with nuclear weapons into the planet, seemingly dying in the explosion.
### Season 4: No Surrender, No Retreat (1996–1997)
Sheridan is rescued from Z'ha'dum by the mysterious Lorien. With the Shadows in retreat, the Vorlons begin destroying any planet allied with or influenced by the Shadows. Mollari overthrows the mad emperor Cartagia with the aid of G'Kar in exchange for the liberation of the Narn from Centauri rule. Mollari betrays the Shadows in order to save the Centauri homeworld from the Vorlons. Sheridan realizes the Vorlons and Shadows have used the younger races in a proxy war, and convinces both sides to permanently end their conflict and to leave the younger races alone in peace. Sheridan next refocuses on returning democracy to Earth. He forges a new Interstellar Alliance along with the Minbari, Centauri, and Narn governments. With their help, Sheridan is able to win the Earth civil war and forces President Clark out of office. Sheridan is forced to resign from the Earth military, but is named president of the Interstellar Alliance.
### Season 5: The Wheel of Fire (1998)
An ex-lover of Sheridan's, Elizabeth Lockley, is assigned to command the station, A group of rogue human telepaths take sanctuary on the station, seeking Sheridan's aid to escape the control of Psi Corps, the autocratic Earth agency that oversees telepaths. The Interstellar Alliance refuses to grant them a planet of their own, and they are eventually expelled from the station. Meanwhile, the Drakh, former supporters of the Shadows, seek revenge for the Shadows' defeat. They infiltrate the Centauri government and orchestrate attacks against other Alliance members. Mollari attempts to purge the alien manipulation of his government but is too late. After a devastating attack by Alliance forces on Centauri Prime, Mollari is installed as emperor, but under Drakh control. He then withdraws the Centauri from the Interstellar Alliance. Twenty years later, Sheridan has a last reunion with his friends before leaving to join Lorien and the older races "beyond the rim".
### Spin-offs and television movies
The original show spawned a multimedia franchise of spin-offs consisting of a miniseries, five television movies, twenty-two novels, two tabletop games (an RPG and a wargame), and various other media such as technical books, comics, and trading cards.
## Production
### Origin
Having worked on a number of television science fiction shows which had regularly gone over budget, Straczynski concluded that a lack of long-term planning was to blame, and set about looking at ways in which a series could be done responsibly. Taking note of the lessons of mainstream television, which brought stories to a centralized location such as a hospital, police station, or law office, he decided that instead of "[going] in search of new worlds, building them anew each week", a fixed space station setting would keep costs at a reasonable level. A fan of sagas such as the Foundation series, Childhood's End, The Lord of the Rings, Dune and the Lensman series, Straczynski wondered why no one had done a television series with the same epic sweep, and concurrently with the first idea started developing the concept for a vastly ambitious epic covering massive battles and other universe-changing events. Realizing that both the fixed-locale series and the epic could be done in a single series, he began to sketch the initial outline of what would become Babylon 5.
Straczynski set five goals for Babylon 5. He said that the show "would have to be good science fiction". It would also have to be good television, "and rarely are SF shows both good SF \*and\* good TV; there're [sic] generally one or the other." It would have to do for science fiction television what Hill Street Blues had done for police dramas, by taking an adult approach to the subject. It would have to be reasonably budgeted, and "it would have to look unlike anything ever seen before on TV, presenting individual stories against a much broader canvas." He further stressed that his approach was "to take [science fiction] seriously, to build characters for grown-ups, to incorporate real science but keep the characters at the center of the story." Some of the staples of television science fiction were also out of the question (the show would have "no kids or cute robots"). The idea was not to present a perfect utopian future, but one with greed and homelessness; one where characters grow, develop, live, and die; one where not everything was the same at the end of the day's events. Citing Mark Twain as an influence, Straczynski said he wanted the show to be a mirror to the real world and to covertly teach.
Following production on Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Straczynski approached John Copeland and Doug Netter, who had also been involved with Captain Power and showed him the bible and pilot script for his show, and both were impressed with his ideas. They were able to secure an order for the pilot from Warner Bros. who were looking at the time to get programming for a planned broadcast network. Warner Bros. had remained skeptical about the show even after greenlighting the pilot. According to Straczynski, Warner Bros. had three main concerns: that American attention spans were too short for a series-long narrative to work, that it would be difficult to sell the show into syndication as the syndicate networks would air the episodes out of order, and that no other science-fiction television show outside of Star Trek had gone more than three seasons before being canceled. Straczynski had proved out that the syndication fear was incorrect, since syndicate stations told him they show their shows in episode order to track broadcasts for royalties; however, he could not assure Warner Bros. about the attention span or premature cancellation concerns, but still set out to show Warner Bros. they were wrong.
### Writing
Straczynski wrote 92 of the 110 episodes of Babylon 5, including all 44 episodes in the third and fourth seasons, a feat never before accomplished in American television. Other writers to have contributed scripts to the show include Peter David, Neil Gaiman, Kathryn M. Drennan, Lawrence G. DiTillio, D. C. Fontana, and David Gerrold. Harlan Ellison, a creative consultant on the show, received story credits for two episodes. Each writer was informed of the overarching storyline, enabling the show to be produced consistently under-budget. The rules of production were strict; scripts were written six episodes in advance, and changes could not be made once production had started.
With not all cast members being hired for every episode of a season, the five-year plot length caused some planning difficulties. If a critical scene involving an actor not hired for every episode had to be moved, that actor had to be paid for work on an extra episode. It was sometimes necessary to adjust the plotline to accommodate external influences, an example being the "trap door" that was written for every character: in the event of that actor's unexpected departure from the series, the character could be written out with minimal impact on the storyline. Straczynski stated, "As a writer, doing a long-term story, it'd be dangerous and short-sighted for me to construct the story without trap doors for every single character. ... That was one of the big risks going into a long-term storyline which I considered long in advance;..." This device was eventually used to facilitate the departures of Claudia Christian and Andrea Thompson from the series.
Straczynski purposely went light on elements of the five-year narrative during the first season as he felt the audience would not be ready for the full narrative at that time, but he still managed to drop in some scenes that would be critical to the future narrative. This also made it challenging for the actors to understand their motivations without knowing where their characters were going; Straczynski said "I didn't want to tell them too much, because that risks having them play the result, rather than the process." He recalled that Peter Jurasik had asked him about the context of Londo's premonition, shown partially in "Midnight on the Firing Line", of himself and G'Kar choking each other to death, but Straczynski had to be coy about it. The full death scene was shown in context in "War Without End - Part 2" near the end of the third season.
During production of the fourth season, the Prime Time Entertainment Network, which Warner Bros. opted to use for Babylon 5, was shut down, leaving the planned fifth season in doubt. Unwilling to short-change fans of the show, Straczynski began preparing modifications to the fourth season that would allow him to conclude his overall arc should a fifth season not be greenlit, which ultimately became the direction the fourth season took. Straczynski identified three primary narrative threads which would require resolution: the Shadow war, Earth's slide into a dictatorship, and a series of sub-threads which branched off from those. Estimating they would still take around 27 episodes to resolve without having the season feel rushed, the solution came when the TNT network commissioned two Babylon 5 television films. Several hours of material was thus able to be moved into the films, including a three-episode arc which would deal with the background to the Earth–Minbari War, and a sub-thread which would have set up the sequel series, Crusade. Further standalone episodes and plot-threads were dropped from season four, which could be inserted into Crusade, or the fifth season, were it to be given the greenlight. The intended series finale, "Sleeping in Light", was filmed during season four as a precaution against cancellation. When word came that TNT had picked up Babylon 5, this was moved to the end of season five and replaced with a newly filmed season four finale, "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars".
### Costume
Ann Bruice Aling was costume designer for the show, after production designer John Iacovelli suggested her for the position, having previously worked with her on a number of film and theatrical productions.
With the variety of costumes required she compared Babylon 5 to "eclectic theatre", with fewer rules about period, line, shape and textures having to be adhered to. Preferring natural materials whenever possible, such as ostrich leather in the Narn body armor, Bruice combined and layered fabrics as diverse as rayon and silk with brocades from the 1930s and '40s to give the clothing the appearance of having evolved within different cultures.
With an interest in costume history, she initially worked closely with Straczynski to get a sense of the historical perspective of the major alien races, "so I knew if they were a peaceful people or a warring people, cold climate etc. and then I would interpret what kind of sensibility that called for." Collaborating with other departments to establish co-ordinated visual themes for each race, a broad palette of colors was developed with Iacovelli, which he referred to as "spicy brights". These warm shades of gray and secondary colors, such as certain blues for the Minbari, would often be included when designing both the costumes and relevant sets. As the main characters evolved, Bruice referred back to Straczynski and producer John Copeland who she viewed as "surprisingly more accessible to me as advisors than other producers and directors", so the costumes could reflect these changes. Ambassador Londo Mollari's purple coat became dark blue and more tailored while his waistcoats became less patterned and brightly colored as Bruice felt "Londo has evolved in my mind from a buffoonish character to one who has become more serious and darker."
Normally there were three changes of costume for the primary actors; one for on set, one for the stunt double and one on standby in case of "coffee spills". For human civilians, garments were generally purchased off-the-rack and altered in various ways, such as removing lapels from jackets and shirts while rearranging closures, to suggest future fashions. For some of the main female characters a more couture approach was taken, as in the suits worn by Talia Winters, which Bruice described as being designed and fitted to within "an inch of their life". Costumes for the destitute residents of downbelow would be distressed through a combination of bleaching, sanding, dipping in dye baths and having stage blood added.
Like many of the crew on the show, members of the costume department made onscreen cameos. During the season 4 episode "Atonement", the tailors and costume supervisor appeared as the Minbari women fitting Zack Allan for his new uniform as the recently promoted head of security. His complaints, and the subsequent stabbing of him with a needle by costume supervisor Kim Holly, was a light-hearted reference to the previous security uniforms, a design carried over from the pilot movie, which was difficult to work with and wear due to the combination of leather and wool.
### Prosthetic makeup and animatronics
While the original pilot film featured some aliens which were puppets and animatronics, the decision was made early on in the show's production to portray most alien species as humanoid in appearance. Barring isolated appearances, fully computer-generated aliens were discounted as an idea due to the "massive rendering power" required. Long-term use of puppets and animatronics was also discounted, as Straczynski believed they would not be able to convey "real emotion" without an actor inside.
### Visuals
In anticipation of the emerging HDTV standard, rather than the usual 4:3 format, the series was shot in 16:9, with the image cropped to 4:3 for initial television transmissions. It was one of the first television shows to use computer technology in creating visual effects, rather than models and miniatures, primarily out of budgetary concerns; Straczynski estimated that each of their episodes cost to make, compared to the cost of each episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The visual effects were achieved using Amiga-based Video Toasters at first, and later Pentium, Macintosh, and Alpha-based systems using LightWave 3D. The effects sequences were designed to simulate Newtonian physics, with particular emphasis on the effects of inertia on the motion of spacecraft.
Foundation Imaging provided the special effects for the pilot film (for which it won an Emmy) and the first three seasons of the show, led by Ron Thornton. After co-executive producer Douglas Netter and producer John Copeland approached Straczynski with the idea of producing the effects in-house, Straczynski agreed to replace Foundation, for season 4 and 5, once a new team had been established by Netter Digital, and an equal level of quality was assured, by using similar technology and a number of former Foundation employees. The Emmy-winning alien make-up was provided by Optic Nerve Studios.
### Music and scoring
Christopher Franke composed and scored the musical soundtrack for all five years of the show when Stewart Copeland, who worked on the original telefilm, was unable to return for the first season due to recording and touring commitments.
Initially concerned composing for an episodic television show could become "annoying because of the repetition", Franke found the evolving characters and story of Babylon 5 afforded him the opportunity to continually take new directions. Given creative freedom by the producers, Franke also orchestrated and mixed all the music, which one reviewer described as having "added another dimension of mystery, suspense, and excitement to the show, with an easily distinguishable character that separates 'Babylon 5 from other sci-fi television entries of the era."
With his recording studio in the same building as his home located in the Hollywood Hills, Franke would attend creative meetings before scoring the on average 25 minutes of music for each episode. Using the "acoustic dirt produced by live instruments and the ability to play so well between two semitones" and the "frequency range, dynamics and control" provided by synthesizers, he described his approach "as experimental friendly as possible without leaving the happy marriage between the orchestral and electronic sounds".
Using Cubase software through an electronic keyboard, or for more complex pieces a light pen and graphics tablet, he would begin by developing the melodic content round which the ambient components and transitions were added. Using playbacks with digital samples of the appropriate instruments, such as a group of violins, he would decide which tracks to produce electronically or record acoustically.
Scores for the acoustic tracks were emailed to his Berlin scoring stage, and would require from four musicians to the full orchestra, with a maximum of 24 present at any one time. One of three conductors would also be required for any score that involved more than six musicians. Franke would direct recording sessions via six fiber optic digital telephone lines to transmit and receive video, music and the SMPTE timecode. The final edit and mixing of the tracks would take place in his Los Angeles studio.
A total of 24 episode and three television film soundtracks were released under Franke's record label, Sonic Images Records, between 1995 and 2001. These contain the musical scores in the same chronological order as they played in the corresponding episodes, or television films. Three compilation albums were also produced, containing extensively re-orchestrated and remixed musical passages taken from throughout the series to create more elaborate suites. In 2007 his soundtrack for The Lost Tales was released under the Varèse Sarabande record label.
### Broadcast history
Warner Bros. slotted the show to premiere on its nascent Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN). As original content from another studio, it was somewhat anomalous in a stable of syndicated content from Warner Bros. and the cause of some friction between Straczynski's company and Warner Bros.
The pilot film, The Gathering, premiered on February 22, 1993, with strong viewing figures, achieving a 9.7 in the Nielsen national syndication rankings. The regular series initially aired from January 26, 1994 through November 25, 1998, first on PTEN, then in first-run syndication, debuting with a 6.8 rating/10 share. Figures dipped in its second week, and while it posted a solid 5.0 rating/8 share, with an increase in several major markets, ratings for the first season continued to fall, to a low of 3.4 during reruns. Ratings remained low-to-middling throughout the first four seasons, but Babylon 5 scored well with the demographics required to attract the leading national sponsors and saved up to \$300,000 per episode by shooting off the studio lot, therefore remaining profitable. The fifth season, which aired on cable network TNT, had ratings about 1.0% lower than seasons two through four.
In the United Kingdom, the show aired every week on Channel 4 without a break, with the result that the last four or five episodes of the early seasons screened in the UK before the US. Babylon 5 was one of the better-rated US television shows on Channel 4, and achieved high audience Appreciation Indexes, with the season 4 episode "Endgame" achieving the rare feat of beating the prime-time soap operas for first position.
Straczynski stated that PTEN only required the show to be profitable for the network to remain in production, and said that while this was the case for its first four seasons, on paper it was always losing money; he also remarked in a 2019 interview that in terms of contractual profit definition the show remained about in the red on paper, and stated that he had therefore never made any profits on Babylon 5. The entire series cost an estimated \$90 million for 110 episodes.
Babylon 5 successfully completed its five-year story arc on November 25, 1998, after five seasons and 109 aired episodes, when TNT aired the 110th (epilogue) episode "Sleeping in Light," which had been filmed as the Season 4 finale, when Babylon 5 was under threat of ending production at that point. After a fifth season was assured, a new Season 4 finale was used so that "Sleeping in Light" could remain as the series finale.
### Remastered version
In November 2020 a remastered version of the show in 4:3 format was released to the iTunes Store and Amazon Prime Video. This version uses the original negatives for filmed elements, and algorithmically upscales the digitally created elements to HD resolution with fewer visual artifacts, for a more visually consistent presentation. In January 2021, it was made available for streaming on HBO Max. In February 2023, HBO's license expired and streaming rights were acquired by the free streaming service Tubi.
## Themes
Throughout its run, Babylon 5 found ways to portray themes relevant to modern and historical social issues. It marked several firsts in television science fiction, such as the exploration of the political and social landscapes of the first human colonies, their interactions with Earth, and the underlying tensions. Babylon 5 was also one of the first television science fiction shows to denotatively refer to a same-sex relationship. In the show, sexual orientation is as much of an issue as "being left-handed or right-handed". Unrequited love is explored as a source of pain for the characters, though not all the relationships end unhappily.
### Order vs. chaos; authoritarianism vs. free will
The clash between order and chaos, and the people caught in between, plays an important role in Babylon 5. The conflict between two unimaginably powerful older races, the Vorlons and the Shadows, is represented as a battle between competing ideologies, each seeking to turn the humans and the other younger races to their beliefs. The Vorlons represent an authoritarian philosophy of unquestioning obedience. Vorlon characters frequently ask, "who are you?" focusing on identity as a catalyst for shaping personal goals; the intention is not to solicit a correct answer, but to "tear down the artifices we construct around ourselves until we're left facing ourselves, not our roles." The Shadows represent another authoritarian philosophy cloaked in a disguise of evolution through fire, of fomenting conflict in order to promote evolutionary progress. Characters affiliated with the Shadows repeatedly ask, "what do you want?" emphasising personal desire and ambition, using it to shape identity, encouraging conflict between groups who choose to serve their own glory or profit. The representation of order and chaos was informed by the Babylonian myth that the universe was born in the conflict between both. The climax of this conflict comes with the younger races' exposing of the Vorlons' and the Shadows' "true faces" and the rejection of both philosophies, heralding the dawn of a new age without their interference.
The notion that the war was about "killing your parents" is echoed in the portrayal of the civil war between the human colonies and Earth. Deliberately dealing in historical and political metaphor, with particular emphasis upon McCarthyism and the HUAC, the Earth Alliance becomes increasingly authoritarian, eventually sliding into a dictatorship. The show examines the impositions on civil liberties under the pretext of greater defense against outside threats which aid its rise, and the self-delusion of a populace which believes its moral superiority will never allow a dictatorship to come to power, until it is too late. The successful rebellion led by the Babylon 5 station results in the restoration of a democratic government and true autonomy for Mars and the colonies.
### War and peace
The Babylon 5 universe portrays numerous armed conflicts on an interstellar scale, including the Dilgar war, Narn-Centauri conflict, Minbari civil war, Drakh War, Interstellar Alliance-Centauri war, and the Great Burn. The story begins in the aftermath of a war which brought the human race to the brink of extinction, caused by a misunderstanding during a first contact with the Minbari. Babylon 5 is built to foster peace through diplomacy, described as the "last, best hope for peace" in the opening credits monologue during its first three seasons. Wars between separate alien civilizations are featured. The conflict between the Narn and the Centauri is followed from its beginnings as a minor territorial dispute amplified by historical animosity, through to its end, in which weapons of mass destruction are employed to subjugate and enslave a planet. The war is an attempt to portray a more sobering kind of conflict than usually seen on science fiction television. Informed by the events of the first Gulf War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Soviet invasion of Prague, the intent was to recreate these moments when "the world held its breath" and the emotional core of the conflict was the disbelief that the situation could have occurred at all, and the desperation to find a way to bring it to an end. By the start of the third season, the opening monolog had changed to say that the hope for peace had "failed" and the Babylon 5 station had become the "last, best hope for victory", indicating that while peace is ostensibly a laudable goal, it can also mean a capitulation to an enemy intent on committing horrendous acts and that "peace is a byproduct of victory against those who do not want peace."
The Shadow War also features prominently in the show, wherein the Shadows work to instigate conflict between other races to promote technological and cultural advancement, opposed by the Vorlons who are attempting to impose their own authoritarian philosophy of obedience. The gradual discovery of the scheme and the rebellion against it underpin the first three seasons, but also as a wider metaphor for competing forces of order and chaos. In that respect, Straczynski stated he presented Earth's descent into a dictatorship as its own "shadow war". In ending the Shadow War before the conclusion of the series, the show was able to more fully explore its aftermath, and it is this "war at home" which forms the bulk of the remaining two seasons. The struggle for independence between Mars and Earth culminates with a civil war between the human colonies (led by the Babylon 5 station) and the home planet. Choosing Mars as both the spark for the civil war, and the staging ground for its dramatic conclusion, enabled the viewer to understand the conflict more fully than had it involved an anonymous colony orbiting a distant star. The conflict, and the reasons behind it, were informed by Nazism, McCarthyism and the breakup of Yugoslavia, and the destruction of the state also served as partial inspiration for the Minbari civil war.
The post-war landscape has its roots in the Reconstruction. The attempt to resolve the issues of the American Civil War after the conflict had ended, and this struggle for survival in a changed world was also informed by works such as Alas, Babylon, a novel dealing with the after-effects of a nuclear war on a small American town. The show expresses that the end of these wars is not an end to war itself. Events shown hundreds of years into the show's future tell of wars which will once again bring the human race to the edge of annihilation, demonstrating that humanity will not change, and the best that can be hoped for after it falls is that it climbs a little higher each time, until it can one day "take [its] place among the stars, teaching those who follow."
### Religion
Many of Earth's contemporary religions are shown to still exist, with the main human characters often having religious convictions. Among those specifically identified are the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity (including the Jesuits), Judaism, and the fictional Foundationism (which developed after first contact with alien races). Alien beliefs in the show range from the Centauri's Bacchanalian-influenced religions, of which there are up to seventy different denominations, to the more pantheistic as with the Narn and Minbari religions. In the show's third season, a community of Cistercian monks takes up residence on the Babylon 5 station, in order to learn what other races call God, and to come to a better understanding of the different religions through study at close quarters.
References to both human and alien religion is often subtle and brief, but can also form the main theme of an episode. The first season episode "The Parliament of Dreams" is a conventional "showcase" for religion, in which each species on the Babylon 5 station has an opportunity to demonstrate its beliefs (humanity's are presented as being numerous and varied), while "Passing Through Gethsemane" focuses on a specific position of Roman Catholic beliefs, as well as concepts of justice, vengeance, and biblical forgiveness. Other treatments have been more contentious, such as the David Gerrold-scripted "Believers", in which alien parents would rather see their son die than undergo a life-saving operation because their religious beliefs forbid it.
When religion is an integral part of an episode, various characters express differing view points. In the episode "Soul Hunter", where the concept of an immortal soul is touched upon, and whether after death it is destroyed, reincarnated, or simply does not exist. The character arguing the latter, Doctor Stephen Franklin, often appears in the more spiritual storylines as his scientific rationality is used to create dramatic conflict. Undercurrents of religions such as Buddhism have been viewed by some in various episode scripts, and while identifying himself as an atheist, Straczynski believes that passages of dialog can take on distinct meanings to viewers of differing faiths, and that the show ultimately expresses ideas which cross religious boundaries.
### Addiction
Substance abuse and its impact on human personalities also features in the Babylon 5 storyline. Garibaldi is a relapsing-remitting alcoholic, who practices complete abstinence throughout most of the series until the middle of season five, only recovering at the end of the season. Zack Allan, his eventual replacement as chief of security, was given a second chance by Garibaldi after overcoming his own addiction to an unspecified drug. Dr. Stephen Franklin develops an addiction to injectable stimulant drugs while trying to cope with the chronic stress and work overload in Medlab, and takes a leave of absence from his position to recover. Executive Officer Susan Ivanova mentions that her father became an alcoholic after her mother's suicide. Captain Elizabeth Lochley tells Garibaldi that her father was an alcoholic, and that she is a recovering alcoholic herself.
## Influences
Babylon 5 draws upon a number of cultural, historical, political and religious influences to inform and illustrate its characters and storylines. Straczynski has stated that there was no intent to wholly represent any particular period of history or preceding work of fiction, but has acknowledged their influence on the series, inasmuch as it uses similar well established storytelling structures, such as the hero's journey.
There are a number of specific literary references. Several episodes take their titles from Shakespearean monologs, and at least one character quotes Shakespeare directly. The Psi-Cop Alfred Bester was named after the science fiction author of the same name, as his work influenced the autocratic Psi Corps organization the character represents.
There are a number of references to the legend of King Arthur, with ships named Excalibur appearing in the main series and the Crusade spin-off, and a character in "A Late Delivery from Avalon" claiming to possess the sword itself. Straczynski links the incident which sparked the Earth-Minbari war, in which actions are misinterpreted during a tense situation, to a sequence in Le Morte d'Arthur, in which a standoff between two armies turns violent when innocent actions are misinterpreted as hostile.
The series also references contemporary and ancient history. The Centauri are in part modeled on the Roman empire. Emperor Cartagia believes himself to be a god, a deliberate reference to Caligula. His eventual assassination leads to the ascension of Londo and eventually Vir, both unlikely candidates for the throne, similar to Claudius' improbable ascension after Caligula was assassinated. The series also references the novel I, Claudius by Robert Graves when Cartagia jokes that he has cured a man of his cough after having him beheaded, something also done by Caligula. In the episode "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dhum," Sheridan ponders Winston Churchill's Coventry dilemma, of whether or not to act on covertly gathered intelligence during a war. Lives would be saved, but at the risk of revealing to the enemy that their intentions are known, which may be far more damaging in the long term. The swearing in of Vice President Morgan Clark invokes the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, being deliberately staged to mirror the scene aboard Air Force One when Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President.
Although Straczynski is a professed atheist, Babylon 5 refers to the Christian faith in a number of places. Several episodes have titles which refer to the Christian faith, such as "Passing Through Gethsemane", "A Voice in the Wilderness," and "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," the latter being a line from the gospel song "There's no Hiding Place Down Here." The monks led by Brother Theo who, in the episode "Convictions," take up residence on Babylon 5, belong to the Dominican Order, a Roman Catholic mendicant Order.
## Use of the Internet
The show employed Internet marketing to create a buzz among online readers far in advance of the airing of the pilot episode, with Straczynski participating in online communities on USENET (in the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated newsgroup), and the GEnie and CompuServe systems before the Web came together as it exists today. The station's location, in "grid epsilon" at coordinates of 470/18/22, was a reference to GEnie ("grid epsilon" = "GE") and the original forum's address on the system's bulletin boards (page 470, category 18, topic 22).
Also during this time, Warner Bros. executive Jim Moloshok created and distributed electronic trading cards to help advertise the series. In 1995, Warner Bros. started the Official Babylon 5 Website on the now defunct Pathfinder portal. In September 1995, they hired series fan Troy Rutter to take over the site and move it to its own domain name, and to oversee the Keyword B5 area on America Online.
## Reception
In 2004 and 2007, TV Guide ranked Babylon 5 \#13 and \#16 on its list of the top cult shows ever.
### Awards
Awards presented to Babylon 5 include:
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects, 1993 (The Gathering)
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series , 1994 (episode, "The Parliament of Dreams")
- Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation, 1996 (episode, "The Coming of Shadows")
- Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation, 1997 (episode, "Severed Dreams")
- Saturn Award: Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series, 1998
- Space Frontier Foundation Award: Vision of the Future, 1994
- Space Frontier Foundation Award: Vision of the Future, 1996
- E Pluribus Unum Award: (Presented By American Cinema Association), 1997
- Nebula Award Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, 1998.
Nominated Awards include:
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Series, 1995 (episode, "Acts of Sacrifice")
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series, 1995 (episode, "The Geometry of Shadows")
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Cinematography for a Series, 1995 (episode, "The Geometry Of Shadows")
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Cinematography for a Series, 1996
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Makeup for a Series, 1997 (episode, "The Summoning")
- Emmy Award: Outstanding Makeup for a Series, 1998 (television movie, In The Beginning)
### Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Paramount plagiarism controversy
Straczynski indicated that Paramount Television was aware of his concept as early as 1989, when he attempted to sell the show to the studio, and provided them with the series bible, pilot script, artwork, lengthy character background histories, and plot synopses for 22 "or so planned episodes taken from the overall course of the planned series".
Paramount declined to produce Babylon 5, but later announced Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was in development, two months after Warner Bros. announced its plans for Babylon 5. Unlike previous Star Trek shows, Deep Space Nine was based on a space station, and had themes similar to those of Babylon 5, which drew some to compare it with Babylon 5. Straczynski stated that, even though he was confident that Deep Space Nine producer/creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller had not seen this material, he suspected that Paramount executives used his bible and scripts to steer development of Deep Space Nine. Straczynski and Warner did not file suit against Paramount, largely because he believed it would negatively affect both TV series. He argued the same when confronted by claims that the lack of legal action was proof that his allegation was unfounded. According to a 2017 interview with Patricia Tallman, there was a legal case and an out-of-court settlement with Paramount.
### Influence and legacy
Generally viewed as having "launched the new era of television CGI visual effects", Babylon 5 received multiple awards during its initial run, including two consecutive Hugo Awards for best dramatic presentation, and continues to regularly feature prominently in various polls and listings highlighting top-rated science fiction series.
Babylon 5 has been praised for its depth and complexity against a backdrop of contemporary shows which largely lacked long-term consequences, with plots typically being resolved in the course of a single episode, occasionally two. Straczynski was deeply involved in scriptwriting, writing 92 of 110 teleplays, a greater proportion than some of his contemporaries. Reviewers rated the quality of writing on a widely varying scale, identifying both eloquent soliloquies and dialogue that felt "stilted and theatrical."
Straczynski has claimed that the multi-year story arc, now a feature of most mainstream televised drama, is the lasting legacy of the series. He stated that both Ronald D. Moore and Damon Lindelof used the 5-year narrative structure of Babylon 5 as blueprints for their respective shows, Battlestar Galactica and Lost. He also claims Babylon 5 was the first series to be shot in the 16:9 aspect ratio, and to use 5.1 channel sound mixes. It was an early example of widespread use of CGI rather than models for space scenes, which allowed for more freedom and larger scale in creating said scenes. While praised at the time, due to budgetary and mastering issues these sequences are considered to have aged poorly.
A recurring theme among reviewers is that the series was more than the sum of its parts: while variously criticizing the writing, directing, acting and effects, particularly by comparison to current television productions, reviewers praised the consistency of plotting over the series' run, transcending the quality of its individual elements. Many retrospectives, while criticizing virtually every individual aspect of the production, have praised the series as a whole for its narrative cohesion and contribution to serialized television. Producer John Copeland said: "You're not really tuning in to watch the visual effects," instead, people are watching a two-decades-old show because "the storytelling does hold up" and "you wanna spend more time with the characters."
DC began publishing Babylon 5 comics in 1994, with stories (initially written by Straczynski) that closely tied in with events depicted in the show, with events in the comics eventually being referenced onscreen in the actual television series. The franchise continued to expand into short stories, RPGs, and novels, with the Technomage trilogy of books being the last to be published in 2001, shortly after the spin-off television series, Crusade, was canceled. Excepting movie rights, which are retained by Straczynski, all production rights for the franchise are owned by Warner Bros.
## Media franchise
In November 1994, DC began publishing monthly Babylon 5 comics. A number of short stories and novels were also produced between 1995 and 2001. Additional books were published by the gaming companies Chameleon Eclectic and Mongoose Publishing, to support their desk-top strategy and role-playing games.
Three TV films were released by Turner Network Television (TNT) in 1998, after funding a fifth season of Babylon 5, following the demise of the Prime Time Entertainment Network the previous year. In addition to In the Beginning, Thirdspace, and The River of Souls, they released a re-edited special edition of the original 1993 tv film, The Gathering. In 1999, a fifth tv film was also produced, A Call to Arms, which acted as a pilot movie for the spin-off series Crusade, which TNT canceled after 13 episodes had been filmed.
Dell Publishing started publication of a series of Babylon 5 novels in 1995, which were ostensibly considered canon within the TV series' continuity, nominally supervised by Straczynski, with later novels in the line being more directly based upon Straczynski's own notes and story outlines. In 1997, Del Rey obtained the publication license from Warner Bros., and proceeded to release a number of original trilogies directly scenarized by Straczynski, as well as novelizations of three of the TNT telefilms (In the Beginning, Thirdspace, and A Call to Arms). All of the Del Rey novels are considered completely canonical within the filmic Babylon 5 universe.
In 2000, the Sci-Fi Channel purchased the rights to rerun the Babylon 5 series, and premiered a new telefilm, The Legend of the Rangers in 2002, which failed to be picked up as a series. In 2007, the first in a planned anthology of straight-to-DVD short stories entitled The Lost Tales, was released by Warner Home Video, but no others were produced, due to funding issues.
Straczynski announced a Babylon 5 film at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, but stated in 2016 that it had been delayed while he completed other productions. In 2018 Straczynski stated that although he possesses the movie rights, he believed that neither a film nor television series revival would happen while Warner Bros. retained the intellectual property for the TV series, believing that Warner Bros would insist on handling production, and that other studios would be hesitant to produce a film without also having the rights to the TV series.
### Reboot
A reboot of Babylon 5 was announced in September 2021. The reboot is being produced by Straczynski through Studio JMS, and developed by Warner Bros. Television for The CW. As of May 2022, despite several changes at The CW due to numerous cancellations of other shows resulting from the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the project was still in active development. However, it was later put on hold amidst the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
### Direct-to-video animated film
Straczynski revealed in May 2023 that he had been working in secret with Warner Bros. Animation to produce Babylon 5: The Road Home, a full-length animated film. Most of the main surviving cast members will voice their characters in the film, including Boxleitner, Christian, Jurasik, Mumy, Scoggins and Tallman. Other voice actors, replacing roles of those that had died, include Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffery Sinclair, Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado as G'Kar, and Rebecca Riedy as Delenn. The film is scheduled to premiere at Comic-Con in July 2023, and will be available on streaming services on August 15, 2023. Physical media releases are also planned.
## Home media
In July 1995, Warner Home Video began distributing Babylon 5 VHS video tapes under its Beyond Vision label in the UK. Beginning with the original telefilm, The Gathering, these were PAL tapes, showing video in the same 4:3 aspect ratio as the initial television broadcasts. By the release of Season 2, tapes included closed captioning of dialogue and Dolby Surround sound. Columbia House began distributing NTSC tapes, via mail order in 1997, followed by repackaged collector's editions and three-tape boxed sets in 1999, by which time the original pilot telefilm had been replaced by the re-edited TNT special edition. Additional movie and complete season boxed-sets were also released by Warner Bros. until 2000.
Image Entertainment released Babylon 5 laserdiscs between December 1998 and September 1999. Produced on double-sided 12-inch Pioneer discs, each contained two episodes displayed in the 4:3 broadcast aspect-ratio, with Dolby Surround audio and closed captioning for the dialogue. Starting with two TNT telefilms, In the Beginning and the re-edited special edition of The Gathering, Seasons 1 and 5 were released simultaneously over a six-month period. Seasons 2 and 4 followed, but with the decision to halt production due to a drop in sales, precipitated by rumors of a pending DVD release, only the first twelve episodes of Season 2 and the first six episodes of Season 4 were ultimately released.
In November 2001, Warner Home Video began distributing Babylon 5 DVDs with a two-movie set containing the re-edited TNT special edition of The Gathering and In The Beginning. The telefilms were later individually released in region 2 in April 2002, though some markets received the original version of The Gathering in identical packaging.
DVD boxed sets of the individual seasons, each containing six discs, began being released in October 2002. Each included a printed booklet containing episode summaries, with each disc containing audio options for German, French, and English, plus subtitles in a wider range of languages, including Arabic and Dutch. Video was digitally remastered from higher resolution PAL broadcast masters and displayed in anamorphic widescreen with remastered and remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Disc 1 of each set contained an introduction to the season by Straczynski, while disc 6 included featurettes containing interviews with various production staff, as well as information on the fictional universe, and a gag reel. Three episodes in each season also contained commentary from either Straczynski, members of the main cast, and/or the episode director.
Since its initial release, a number of repackaged DVD boxed sets have been produced for various regional markets. With slightly altered cover art, they included no additional content, but the discs were more securely stored in slimline cases, rather than the early "book" format, with hard plastic pages used during the original release of the first three seasons.
On July 19, 2023, Warner announced that Babylon 5 would be released on Blu-ray on December 5, 2023, for the show’s 30th anniversary.
### Mastering problems
While the series was in pre-production, studios were looking at ways for their existing shows to make the transition from the then-standard 4:3 aspect ratio to the widescreen formats that would accompany the next generation of televisions. After visiting Warner Bros., which was stretching the horizontal interval for an episode of Lois & Clark, producer John Copeland convinced them to allow Babylon 5 to be shot on Super 35mm film stock. "The idea being that we would telecine to 4:3 for the original broadcast of the series. But what it also gave us was a negative that had been shot for the new 16×9 widescreen-format televisions that we knew were on the horizon."
Though the CG scenes, and those containing live action combined with digital elements, could have been created in a suitable widescreen format, a cost-saving decision was taken to produce them in the 4:3 aspect ratio. When those images were prepared for widescreen release, the top and bottom of the images were simply cropped, and the remaining image 'blown up' to match the dimensions of the live action footage, noticeably reducing the image quality. The scenes containing live action ready to be composited with matte paintings, CG animation, etc., were delivered on tape already telecined to the 4:3 aspect-ratio, and contained a high level of grain, which resulted in further image noise being present when enlarged and stretched for widescreen.
For the purely live-action scenes, rather than using the film negatives, according to Copeland, "Warners had even forgotten that they had those. They used PAL versions and converted them to NTSC for the US market. They actually didn't go back and retransfer the shows." With the resulting aliasing, and the progressive scan transfer of the video to DVD, this has created a number of visual flaws throughout the widescreen release. In particular, quality has been noted to drop significantly in composite shots.
In 2020 a new remastered version was created (as detailed above) which restored the original picture quality and repaired the damage to the CGI scenes, although this also involved reverting to the original 4:3 aspect ratio. The negatives were scanned at ultra HD quality and then down converted to HD and upscaling programs were used to enhance the CGI to HD at the same time.
## See also
- Babylon 5's use of the Internet
- rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
- The Be Five
- The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
- Babylon 5 (franchise)
|
48,494,125 |
Misery (Gwen Stefani song)
| 1,160,852,816 | null |
[
"2016 singles",
"2016 songs",
"Electropop songs",
"Gwen Stefani songs",
"Interscope Records singles",
"Music videos directed by Sophie Muller",
"Song recordings produced by Mattman & Robin",
"Songs written by Gwen Stefani",
"Songs written by Julia Michaels",
"Songs written by Justin Tranter",
"Songs written by Mattias Larsson",
"Songs written by Robin Fredriksson"
] |
"Misery" is a song recorded by American singer Gwen Stefani for her third solo studio album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016). Initially released as a promotional single, it became the record's third and final single on May 23, 2016, when it was sent to hot adult contemporary radio. Stefani co-wrote the song with Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, Mattias Larsson, and Robin Frediksson, with the latter two serving as the producers. An electropop song, "Misery" uses digital hand clapping and an upbeat samba to produce a futuristic-sounding melody. The lyrics describe a lover who has recently started a relationship and is confused over what to think about it. Several critics drew comparisons between these lyrics to Stefani's personal and romantic life with her boyfriend, Blake Shelton.
"Misery" received a mixed response from contemporary music critics. Generally, some reviewers found the track to be a standout track among those on This Is What the Truth Feels Like for sounding "effortless", while others claimed that it was not on a par with Stefani's previously released material. In the United States, it missed entering the Billboard Hot 100, and instead debuted and peaked at number eleven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 extension chart. Elsewhere, it peaked in the lower regions of charts in Australia, France, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. A remix EP featuring three different remixes of the song was made available as a digital download on June 24, 2016.
Two accompanying music videos were created for "Misery": The former featured hand drawn illustrations and was directed by Zack Sekuler, while the latter live-action version was directed by the singer's long-time collaborator Sophie Muller. It was filmed at the vacated Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, and features Stefani performing the song while she wears various outfits in the abandoned premises. The video was well-received, especially for Stefani's multiple costume changes. Makeup artist Gregory Arlt and hairstylist Danilo won the Best Hair & Make Up award at the 2016 Ibiza Music Video Awards for their contributions to the video. The singer performed "Misery" live on various occasions, including on television and during her This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour in 2016.
## Concept and release
Immediately following the completion of "Make Me Like You", Stefani wrote "Misery" with Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, Mattias Larsson, and Robin Frediksson; however, unlike the recording sessions for her previous albums, the songwriting process was significantly shorter, which she opined was because everything should be simple. "Misery" was recorded by Mattias Larsson and Robin Frediksson of Mattman & Robin at Wolf Cousins Studios and Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and at Interscope Studios in Santa Monica, California. Additional recording was handled by Juan Carlos Torrado and Noah Passovoy, while Serban Ghenea mixed the audio at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In November 2015, Stefani reported "Misery" was the second single from her third studio album This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016); however, "Make Me Like You" was released instead. The singer revealed via Twitter that it would actually be serviced as a "buzz" single, followed by her teasing a ten-second snippet of the finalized recording. Interscope Records released the song for digital consumption on March 11, 2016, before it was released to hot adult contemporary radio on May 23, 2016, as the album's third single. On April 22 of the same year, Interscope issued a digital EP and included three remixes of "Misery" created by disc jockeys Lincoln Jesser, Steven Redant, and Division 4 accompanied by Matt Consola.
## Composition and lyrics
"Misery" is an electropop song that lasts three minutes and twenty-six seconds. The upbeat composition is accompanied by a samba and heavy percussion, which was compared to the material on No Doubt's 2012 studio album, Push and Shove, by Sarah Grant from Rolling Stone. As described by Dee Lockett of Vulture, "Misery" contains: "some synths, a funky bassline, and well-placed hand claps to disguise the pain." Leoni Cooper of NME stated that "Misery" has "future-disco beats", and "captures the highs and lows of being "gobsmacked in love," using the metaphor that "a love is as irresistible as drugs." Nicki Gostin, writing for the New York Daily News, questioned the song's subject matter, stating "it's not clear who she's crooning about — ex Gavin Rossdale or new love Blake Shelton." Alexis Rhiannon of Bustle claimed that the song "give[s] an inside look to a painful past relationship."
Lyrically, "Misery" details the feelings one receives following a new relationship. Stefani sings: "Hurry up, come see me / Put me out of my misery", which shows the singer debating whether she wants to relive the pain or experience the pleasure. Elsewhere, she compares her boyfriend to medications: "You're like drugs to me / You're like drugs to me", and warns him that their newfound relationship is becoming a bit much: "You're in so much trouble / Yeah, you're in so much trouble". Additionally, she requests that the lover should come visit her: "You're at the door / I'm thinking things I never thought before / Like what your love would taste like / Give me more". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine noted that Stefani's ex-husband Gavin Rossdale was not the track's subject, despite the misleading use of the word "Misery".
## Critical reception
Upon its release, "Misery" received a mixed to positive response from music critics. Thomas Hall of The Japan Times described "Misery" as "the type of anthem that could possibly provide Stefani with her comeback hit." Slant Magazine's Cinquemani called the track a "standout" on the parent album, and Mashable's Emily Blake agreed, challenging the listener to "try not to get hooked". Nicholaus James Jodlowski of Reporter magazine claimed: "[...] you're immediately drawn into Gwen's voice. You can hear classic Gwen but a new side of her as well." Similarly, Emilee Lindner of fuseTV complimented the singer for her "bouncy" vocals. Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone applauded the song's lyrics for being "addictive" and "catchy". Regarding the same subject matter, Lucas Villa from AXS praised Stefani for: "continu[ing] her streak of solid pop tunes by turning her confessional lyrics into completely delectable hooks". He further stated that "if this is misery, sign us up for more of it please." However, Amanda Bell of MTV News was confused by the lyrical meaning, finding it to be less "straightforward" than the lyrics of her previous single "Make Me Like You".
Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt dubbed the single as a "come-on disguised as [a] caution". She also appreciated that it was ready to be played in clubs. A group of critics from PopMatters reviewed the recording in their "Singles Going Steady" column, with the site's consensus reading: "'Misery' isn't a total misfire, but it's formulaic diva-pop effervescence does little to convince you that music's mainstream was missing Stefani." Chris Conaton from the publication enjoyed the single and its "big ass chorus [with] a strong hook", but Chris Ingalls disliked that it was "not breaking any new ground". Ingalls, however, congratulated it for being a "well-produced pop/dance song". Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound found the track to "lack an identifiable tone or feeling", but felt its overall sound was "effortless". At the end of the year, Entertainment Weekly placed "Misery" at number 36 on their 100 Best Songs of 2016 list.
## Chart performance
Issued as a promotional single seven days before the release of This Is What the Truth Feels Like, "Misery" entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which serves as an extension to the Billboard Hot 100, at number eleven. It entered the Digital Songs component chart as the forty-fifth most purchased download for the week ending April 2, 2016. Outside the United States, it peaked at lower positions on various charts. In Australia, the single debuted and peaked at number 74, becoming the third consecutive entry from the parent album. The track entered at number 177 on the UK Singles Chart, and at number 83 on the UK Download component chart. "Misery" did not peak on the Canadian Hot 100, but managed to take number 42 on the Canadian Digital Songs chart for the week ending April 2. It also appeared on the record charts in both France and Scotland, peaking at numbers 127 and 72, respectively. As of October 2016, "Misery" has sold 9,796 copies in France.
When announced as the album's third official single in April 2016, "Misery" was shopped to hot adult contemporary radio, starting on May 23 of the same year. The track debuted at number 38 on the Adult Top 40 for the week ending July 2, 2016, becoming her tenth entry as a solo artist on the chart. On July 30, the single reached a new peak at number 34, her second lowest entry on the chart, behind 2005's "Luxurious" with American rapper Slim Thug. It received 404 radio plays that week, reaching an audience of approximately 1.040 million in the United States. The following week of August 6, "Misery" lost 16 points total for overall radio adds, but increased its audience to 1.104 million; it lasted six weeks on the chart, departing in its final position at number 38.
## Music video
### Background and development
Alongside the release of "Misery" as a promotional single, a lyric video featuring hand-drawn illustrations by Stefani was released on March 10, 2016. It displays handwritten lyrics by Stefani on graph paper, index cards, and post-it notes; it also features several photos of her during a photo shoot for This Is What the Truth Feels Like. That particular version of the video was directed by Zack Sekuler while production was handled by Jared Shelton. The music video for "Misery" was shot in spring 2016 in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California. It was filmed at the Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building, which has been vacant since its closure in January 1992. Due to the large scale video project that was created for "Make Me Like You", the singer wanted to create a more traditional visual for "Misery", that shared the same artistic vision but was visually different. In an interview with Gary Graff of Music Connection, she spoke of the video's production:
> With Misery we had the luxury of doing a two-day shoot, which is totally luxurious these days. And we got to do what we love the most, which is just fashion and making beautiful images, and not having any rules. It was very much on the fly. We went downtown to the abandoned Sears building; it’s all destroyed and creepy in there. We were there for two days and it was like an art project.
It was directed by Sophie Muller, who had previously directed various videos for Stefani, including those for "Don't Speak" (1996), "Cool" (2005), and "Spark the Fire" (2014), while the video's production was handled by Grant Jue of Wondros.
### Synopsis
The video opens with Stefani standing behind a counter in an abandoned and faintly-lit warehouse. Her attire consists of a golden outfit and spiked crown, reminiscent of that of Lady Liberty. Various scenes of Stefani in a black wardrobe intertwine with other scenes in the video. The singer then wears a garden-inspired sheer dress and a "flower crown", as darkened shots of her face also are shown among a trio of background dancers. As the song's pre-chorus commences, Stefani is shown in a Gothic, black dress, sitting on a metallic silver couch, where she pretends to faint. For the remainder of the chorus, she wears a red, flowing dress and activates a smoke machine, which slowly starts to flow towards the singer.
The second verse shows her in the garden dress, as she continually rides an elevator through the warehouse; in a separate scene, the background dancers also ride the elevator. In front of a flower wallpaper, Stefani wears a fluffy, pink dress as she gracefully falls to floor. The next chorus shows Stefani in a black bob wig, "walk[ing] effortlessly down some stairs in patent leather, thigh-high stilettos." The song's bridge shows Stefani wearing a black and white leotard with thigh-high silver boots, sitting on a stool. A black horse appears alongside Stefani who is in a black and white-striped dress, before she slowly runs away from it. The song's final chorus has Stefani riding a bicycle through a brightly-lit parking garage, before she returns to the smoke machine and, once again, falls to the ground. As the song concludes, the screen fades to black.
### Reception
The video for "Misery" premiered on Stefani's Vevo account on May 31, 2016. On the same night, it was distributed to iTunes as a paid download in the United States. Outside North America, the video was available for preorder in several countries starting May 11, but was not officially released until May 31, 2016. A majority of critics praised the video for creating glamorous and fashionable surroundings. Bustle's May Sofi ranked the nine outfits the singer wore during the video and listed her pink tulle frock at number one. The publication's consensus on their decision reads: "This adorable pink frock is not only super wearable, it's also pretty on-trend. The pale pink tulle gives off a ballerina-chic vibe, and we all know how popular that style has been as of late." The site listed the "floral co-ords" look in the bottom position, but still claimed that the outfit was "probably the most costume-like of [them] all." Seija Rankin of E! Online stated: "Contrary to the song's title, this tune and the corresponding video is not actually miserable at all; it's quite upbeat."
Madison Vain of Entertainment Weekly applauded the visual, calling it "gorgeous" and a "high-fashion affair", while Nate Scott from the USA Today praised the video and exclaimed: "Good lord, this video. Who is the art director? Come take my life over and make everything this beautiful." Entertainment Tonight's Antoinette Bueno praised Stefani for pulling off her fashion, despite the outfits being difficult to achieve successfully. The editors of Vogue, and columnist Patricia Garcia, were also appreciative of them. In her review, she called the outfits "eye-catching" and "quirky", in addition to the video as a whole which she felt was "stunning". Grant, writing for Rolling Stone, compared Stefani's portrayal in the video to that of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, and commented positively that it fits Stefani's catalog well. At the 2016 Ibiza Music Video Festival held in the city of the same name, makeup artist Gregory Arlt and hairstylist Danilo won the award for Best Hair & Make Up.
## Live performances
Stefani performed the track live during various public appearances. She performed it during her headlining tours, including the MasterCard Priceless Surprises Presents Tour (2015–16) and This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour (2016). During the former promotional tour, "Misery" was only performed at the final show in Tokyo, Japan, before performances of "Cool" and "Make Me Like You". The choreography and costumes continued into these succeeding performances. During the rendition, Stefani wore "red track pants" and a "red sequined cage top" that revealed a black bra underneath. The promotional lyric video for "Misery" appeared as part of a backdrop for the performance, while an accompanying band provided live instrumentation. For the version on her This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour, she wore a red corset designed by The Blonds, Mariel Haenn, and Rob Zangardi. The performance included the same visuals from her show in Tokyo, and contained similar choreography.
Outside her promotional concert tours, Stefani sang "Misery" on numerous television programs. Its first televised performance occurred on Saturday Night Live, where her No Doubt bandmates Stephen Bradley and Gabrial McNair accompanied her. Her attire consisted of torn jeans and a high-waisted top, which is comparable to her clothing on previous performances. On the April 19, 2016, episode of The Voice, the song was sung live by the singer, who created an Indian-inspired atmosphere. Backup singers and dancers, in addition to a "psychedelic lighting scheme", joined Stefani as she sang it in front a live audience. At the end of the performance, her boyfriend Shelton welcomed her with a standing ovation and continuous applause. The single's most recent performance occurred on July 15, 2016, during Today, where she also sang her singles "Make Me Like You", "Hollaback Girl", and "The Sweet Escape".
## Track listing
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of This Is What the Truth Feels Like, Interscope Records.
Recording
- Recorded at Wolf Cousins Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Maratone Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; and Interscope Studios, Santa Monica, California
Personnel
- Gwen Stefani – lead vocals, songwriting
- Robin Fredriksson – songwriting
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- John Hanes – mixing engineer
- Mattias Larsson – songwriting
- Julia Michaels – songwriting
- Mattman & Robin – production
- Phil Seaford – assistant mixing engineer
- Justin Tranter – songwriting
## Charts
## Release history
|
39,692,491 |
Milutin Bojić
| 1,125,410,570 |
Serbian playwright and poet
|
[
"1892 births",
"1917 deaths",
"20th-century deaths from tuberculosis",
"Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery",
"Serbian World War I poets",
"Serbian male poets",
"Serbian military personnel of World War I",
"Tuberculosis deaths in Greece",
"Writers from Belgrade"
] |
Milutin Bojić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милутин Бојић; – ) was a Serbian war poet, theatre critic, playwright, and soldier.
A native of Belgrade, he began writing poetry at an early age and published a number of literary reviews under a pseudonym while he was still a teenager. He rose to prominence during the Balkan Wars, writing about his experiences in territories newly retaken from the Ottoman Empire. The outbreak of World War I interrupted Bojić's studies at the University of Belgrade and forced him to postpone marrying his girlfriend, Radmila Todorović. The couple was separated in the chaos of war, and Bojić left Belgrade with his family and relocated to Niš, where he worked as a military censor and wrote articles for a local newspaper to pay his family's bills. In October 1915, the Serbian Army was overwhelmed by a combined Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian and German invasion and forced to retreat to neutral Greece via Albania. Bojić and his younger brother joined the exodus, marching for several weeks through Kosovo, Montenegro, and northern Albania, where they were finally reunited with Bojić's fiancée. Bojić was not allowed to accompany his brother and fiancée on a ship destined for Italy because he was of fighting age, and had to continue marching to Greece without them.
In early 1916, Bojić reached the Greek island of Corfu, where he was recruited to work for Serbian military intelligence. That summer, he was transferred to Thessaloniki, where he continued working for the military. In August, he was granted leave and sailed to France, where he reunited with his fiancée and his brother. Bojić returned to Greece several weeks later and was diagnosed with tuberculosis in September the following year. Owing to the political connections of his patrons, he managed to find care at an exclusive military hospital in Thessaloniki, but by late October his condition worsened. He died in early November at the age of 25. He was initially buried at the Allied military cemetery at Zeitenlik, but in 1922, his siblings had his remains relocated to Belgrade, where they were reburied beside those of his parents.
Bojić's popularity grew exponentially following his death. Many of his poems received widespread critical acclaim for their portrayal of the Serbian Army's retreat during the winter of 1915–16 and its stay on Corfu, where thousands of soldiers succumbed to disease and exhaustion and were buried at sea. Bojić's work remained popular in Yugoslavia for much of the 20th century, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest Serbian poets of the Romantic period.
## Life and career
### Family
Milutin Bojić was born in Belgrade on , the eldest child of Jovan and Sofia Bojić ('' Bogojević). Bojić grew up at the very entrance of what is now Palilula. His father's family was originally from Herzegovina. Following the First Serbian Uprising, Bojić's great-grandfather fled his ancestral homeland and settled in the Austro-Hungarian city of Semlin (modern Zemun) to escape Ottoman persecution. Bojić's father and grandfather were born in Semlin, and were good-standing members of the town's fledgling Serb community. In 1875, Bojić's father was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. Shortly afterwards, he entered into an argument with a high-ranking Hungarian officer, insulted him, then fled to the Serbian capital to escape punishment. He attended trade school in Belgrade and became a successful shoemaker.
Bojić's matrilineal line traces its origins to the town of Tetovo, in what is now the northern part of North Macedonia. His mother's family had fled the town in 1690 as part of the Great Serb Migration and settled in Bečkerek (modern Zrenjanin). Bojić's maternal grandfather, Jovan, had lived in the border town of Pančevo since he was a child, married and started a family there. Much like Bojić's father, he was a successful shoemaker, and in 1890 he offered to marry his only daughter to him. After initial disagreement over the price of the dowry, Bogojević gave the marriage his blessing and Bojić's parents were soon married.
At the time of Bojić's birth, his parents were living in a small flat at No. 4 Sremska Street, situated just above his father's shop in Belgrade's Stari Grad. Over the next decade, they had four more children – Jelica (b. 1894), Danica (b. 1896), Radivoje (b. 1900) and Dragoljub (b. 1905). All of their children survived to adulthood. When Bojić was a child, he and his family were frequently visited by his mother's cousin Jovan Sremac, the brother of humourist Stevan Sremac. Jovan is said to have greatly influenced the young Bojić, having introduced him to Serbian folk tales and medieval legends at an early age.
### Education and first publications
Bojić began attending the Terazije Elementary School in 1898, and finished with excellent grades. He likely began writing poetry between the ages of eight and ten, and this caught the attention of some of his teachers. Jovan Dravić, who taught Serbian in Bojić's school, wrote: "One of my pupils has been writing poetry since his first year of elementary school. His father, a shoemaker on Sremska Street, is very proud of his son's work. He keeps his poems locked away in a safe as great treasures, convinced that they are of immense value and proof of his son's brilliant future."
In 1902, the Bojićes moved into a small house on Hilandarska Street. That autumn, Bojić enrolled into Belgrade's Secondary School No. 2, which taught children from the ages of ten to eighteen. Over the next several years, Bojić distinguished himself as an excellent student. In 1907, he was recognized as the best student in his school, and was exempt from final examinations. By this time, Bojić's poems started appearing in his school's periodical. He also began writing literary reviews for Jovan Skerlić and Milan Grol's Daily News (Dnevni list), and became the paper's youngest contributor. All of Bojić's contributions there were written under a pseudonym because he feared he would not be taken seriously if his true age was uncovered. Bojić also authored articles in the newspapers Artwork (Delo), Wreath (Venac) and The Serbian Literary Gazette (Srpski književni glasnik). In 1908, during the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bojić penned his first stage play, titled "The Blind Despot" (Slepi despot). It was meant to be the first play of a trilogy titled "The Despot's Crown" (Despotova kruna). Bojić shared the play with his friend Radoslav Vesnić, who then showed it to Rista Odović, the director of the National Theatre in Belgrade.
By the end of his secondary school studies, Bojić was elected chairman of his school's literary club. Upon turning eighteen, in May 1910, he was deemed unfit to serve in the Serbian Army and excused from mandatory service. After graduation, in the autumn of 1910, he enrolled in the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Philosophy, where he studied the works of Immanuel Kant, as well as German, Italian and South Slavic literature with varying rates of success. Shortly after entering the university, Bojić began contributing theatrical reviews to Pijemont, an ultra-nationalist daily strongly opposed to the Prime Minister of Serbia, Nikola Pašić, and his People's Radical Party (Serbian: Narodna radikalna stranka; NRS). Pijemont was also the quasi-official paper of the secret organization Unification or Death (better known as the Black Hand), which played an important role in Serbian political life between 1903 and 1914.
Milutin K. Dragutinović was one of Bojić's greatest influences during his teenage years. Dragutinović was one of Bojić's former secondary school teachers, as well as a literary critic and member of the National Theatre's artistic committee. He advised Bojić to continue writing poetry and dramatic verse. In 1911, Bojić shared the first draft of a stage play titled "Chains" (Lanci) with Dragutinović, who encouraged him to submit it to a competition held by the Literary Committee of the National Theatre in Belgrade. Bojić's play was one of forty-two works that were submitted. A number of prominent writers took part in the competition, including Ivo Vojnović, Branislav Nušić, Aleksa Šantić, and Svetozar Ćorović. "Chains" was rejected as being too "naïve" and "full of youthful exaggerations", and the prize went to another contestant. In May, Bojić's father died suddenly of a heart attack, aged 56.
### Rise to prominence and coverage of the Balkan Wars
Despite his busy schedule, during his university years Bojić spent many of his nights in cafés and bars, mingling with other artists in Skadarlija, Belgrade's Bohemian quarter. He was extremely popular among the writers and artists of his generation.
During this time, many of Belgrade's merchant elite became art patrons. Bojić's patrons were Ljuba Jovanović-Patak and his wife Simka, who used their power and influence to publicize his works. During the Balkan Wars, Bojić accompanied the Serbian Army as a war reporter and wrote several travelogues about his experiences in Kosovo and Macedonia. The expulsion of the Turks, who had occupied much of the Balkans for 500 years, seemed to fill Bojić with optimism about the future. Helena Malířová, a Czech volunteer nurse with the 17th Reserve Hospital of the Serbian Army's 7th Regiment, recalled: "His spirit was in constant opposition to everything; at the same time he was an enthusiast. He was bursting with desires, and he drank the sap of life through his senses." Historian Mihailo Đorđević writes:
> [Bojić] was an impulsive young man. From rare photographs and the testimony of his contemporaries emerges [...] a figure of medium stature, with slightly drooped shoulders, thick brown hair, and a pale oval face. His eyebrows were dark, and one of them was almost always raised, giving his face an expression of intense irony. His eyes burned with constant passion, and his lips were full and sensuous. There was also something young and vulnerable in his smile. He smiled often, and his conversation was reputed to be brilliant.
As the wars raged, Bojić wrote a historical drama titled "The King's Autumn" (Kraljeva jesen), which received considerable praise from Skerlić. The drama premiered at the National Theatre in October 1913. Another one of Bojić's works, "Ms. Olga" (Gospođa Olga) premiered soon after. In early 1914, publishing magnate Svetislav Cvijanović printed Bojić's first poetry collection, consisting of 48 works.
### Outbreak of World War I and retreat to Corfu
At the outbreak of World War I, Bojić was in his final year at the University of Belgrade and had gotten engaged to his girlfriend, Radmila Todorović. The war put a stop to his education, and Bojić decided to postpone the marriage until peace was restored. He remained employed at Pijemont until 1915, when he left Belgrade with his family, never to return. While Todorović remained in the city, the Bojićes moved to the town of Aranđelovac in the Serbian interior. Shortly after, they moved to Niš as it was further from the frontlines. There, Bojić worked as a military censor. He wrote articles for the Niš Gazette (Niški glasnik) to pay his family's bills. In early February 1915, Bojić's mother died of cancer, leaving him to take care of his younger siblings.
Bojić devoted most of his creative energy to the completion of an epic poem titled Cain, which was published just before the combined Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian and German invasion of Serbia in October 1915. A deeply patriotic work, Cain compares Bulgaria's impending attack on Serbia to the Biblical story of Cain jealously murdering his brother Abel. Upon capturing Niš, the Bulgarians burned every copy of the poem, and the only one that survived was the one that Bojić carried with him out of the city. Upon leaving Niš, Bojić and his brother Radivoje joined the Serbian Army in its retreat to the Adriatic coast. Their sisters and infant brother went to live with a cousin in occupied Kraljevo. The Bojić brothers' journey took them through Kuršumlija, Mitrovica, Pristina, Prizren, Đakovica, Dečani and Peć, from where they continued to Andrijevica and Podgorica. The two intended to join retreating Montenegrin Army columns and head on to Scutari, where they hoped that Allied ships would evacuate them and other Serbian troops to Italy.
The Serbs quickly realized that they had no hope of being evacuated at Scutari due to the Austro-Hungarian naval presence off the northern Albanian coast, and the Serbian and Montenegrin military leaderships elected to retreat further into the Albanian interior rather than surrender. The Serbs and Montenegrins marched south, first to Durrës and then to Vlorë. From there, they intended to meet up with a French expeditionary force that was to evacuate them to the Greek island of Corfu. Thousands of soldiers either died of hunger or succumbed to the cold. Many were ambushed by hostile Albanian tribesmen and killed while traversing the countryside. While marching through the wilderness, Bojić began writing a poetry anthology titled "Songs of Pain and Pride" (Pesme bola i ponosa), which would comprise some of his best known works. He also started working on a new drama in verse titled "The Marriage of Uroš" (Uroševa ženidba).
Stojan Živadinović, a friend who accompanied Bojić on the difficult journey, recalled:
> He was dressed in a strange way. A šajkača was pulled to the front of his head and almost completely covered his forehead. His eyebrows were hardly visible. Under its weight, the ears seemed to have collapsed. He wore a kind of long, black coat, covered in mud and held in place by a string. He used another piece of string for a belt, and from it hung a pot for boiling water, a tea strainer, a canteen, and other useful things. He walked slightly bent forward, followed everywhere by the noise of the things clashing at his waist.
The occupation of Serbia by the Central Powers pained Bojić far more than the everyday struggles of the exodus itself. He is said to have slept very little, telling Živadinović: "You don't realize what you are missing by sleeping. In circumstances like these, the entire soul must be kept constantly awake. Whole centuries have never painted such a vast fresco. Never has death been so greedy, nor heroes so indifferent to it." In December 1915, Bojić reached Shëngjin with the others and reunited with his fiancée. Živadinović recalled: "I shall never forget the day that we saw the sea. Only then did Bojić begin to speak about the future. He was making plans for a vast novel in verse, for comedies, dramas, tragedies, all intended to bring the great events of our history back to life." Upon reaching the coast, Bojić was told that he could not board the ship to Italy because he was of fighting age. His fiancée was allowed to board and his fifteen-year-old brother was judged to be too young for military service and granted passage as well. Unable to go with them, Bojić and his companions continued down the length of the Albanian coast until they reached Corfu, where the Allies had sent ships to transport the remnants of the Serbian Army to the Greek mainland.
Upon reaching Corfu, thousands of Serb troops began showing symptoms of typhus and had to be quarantined on the island of Vido, where 11,000 died over the span of two months. Seven thousand of these had to be buried at sea because there was not enough space for their remains to be interred on land; corpses were simply piled onto barges and tossed overboard. Bojić was appalled by the suffering. "Our church bells toll dead instead of hours," he wrote. Witnessing the disposal of bodies inspired Bojić to write the poem "The Blue Tomb" (Plava Grobnica), which Đorđević describes as "Bojić's best ... a masterpiece of Serbian patriotic poetry." Shortly after arriving at Corfu, Bojić was recruited to work for Serbian military intelligence. In mid-1916, he was transferred to Thessaloniki.
### Last years and death
Upon reaching Thessaloniki, Bojić spent much of his spare time reading the works of French authors and writing poetry. In August 1916, he received a month's leave and sailed for France, where his fiancée and brother had gone to escape from the war, shortly after landing in Italy. Bojić spent the month with his fiancée in Nice. Upon returning to Greece, Bojić resumed his army service, and continued writing poetry. "Songs of Pain and Pride" was first published in Thessaloniki in mid-1917. Nearly every copy of the anthology was destroyed in the Great Fire of Thessaloniki, in August 1917. The only copy that survived was one sent by Bojić to his fiancée in France and this became the basis for the post-war edition.
In September 1917, Bojić was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Owing to the influence of his old patron, Ljuba Jovanović-Patak, he was admitted to a military hospital in central Thessaloniki which tended exclusively to Serbian Army officers, where Jovanović's wife often visited him. Bojić continued writing poetry, and as his condition deteriorated, his poems began to take a melancholy tone. Nevertheless, he remained optimistic that he would recover from his illness and see his family again. One month before his death, he sent his fiancée and brother a telegram assuring them that he was "... only slightly ill" and promised they would be reunited. Bojić died of tuberculosis on . Even a few hours before his death, he appeared convinced of his survival. According to a fellow patient, Bojić "... died choking in half-sleep from a fit of coughing that destroyed the tissues of his lungs." He was buried at the Zeitenlik military cemetery in Thessaloniki. His family was shocked by the news of his death, particularly his brother and fiancée, who believed him to be on the road to recovery. In 1922, Bojić's remains were exhumed and transferred to Belgrade's New Cemetery, where they were reburied beside those of his parents.
All of Bojić's siblings survived the war; his brother Radivoje became a diplomat and worked in the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs until the Axis invasion of the country in April 1941, when he left Yugoslavia with his family and emigrated to the West. Bojić's youngest brother, Dragoljub, spent the rest of his life in Belgrade and became a high school geography teacher. His sister Jelica married and lived in Belgrade until her death in 1942. His youngest sister, Danica, died single in 1952. Bojić's fiancée Radmila remained loyal to him and never married after his death; she returned to Serbia after the war and died in Belgrade in 1971.
## Influences, themes and legacy
While at the University of Belgrade, Bojić studied The Bible in his free time and read the works of Victor Hugo, Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Baudelaire, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Sigmund Freud, among others. Đorđević notes that Bojić's early poems reflect the degree to which he was influenced by the "exalted sensuality" of Baudelaire's works. He contends that Baudelaire's influence on Bojić's early work is "rather unfortunate", as by striving to imitate Baudelaire's style, Bojić failed to achieve originality and instead merely used Baudelaire as a "crutch in the absence of spontaneous emotion".
As he matured, Bojić was influenced by the works of Irish writer Oscar Wilde, particularly the play Salome, which was being performed at the National Theatre in Belgrade during Bojić's university years. The play influenced Bojić to such an extent that he later composed a poem of the same name. According to Đorđević, Bojić was "thrilled by the beauty of Wilde's descriptions", and reading his work inspired Bojić to use Biblical rhythm and accentuation. Đorđević notes that the archaic phrase "thou art" only appears in Bojić's poems after he began reading Wilde. Wilde's influence can also be observed in Bojić's lyric plays, especially "The King's Autumn". Bojić was also inspired by French playwright Edmond Rostand, whose play L'Aiglon was Bojić's "dramatic ideal incarnate". Rostand's influence is most clearly felt in "The Marriage of Uroš", where Bojić paid homage to Rostand by writing the entire drama in verse, a style that was considered obsolete at the time. Serbian history and medieval legends had the greatest influence on Bojić's plays; Đorđević notes that "all Bojić's dramas, published or not, are inspired by Serbian medieval motifs".
The Balkan Wars inspired Bojić to write his first patriotic poetry, where he attempted to emulate Hugo's rhetorical verse. By 1914, much of Bojić's poetry revolved around patriotic themes, and by 1917 this theme had overtaken all others. In his last months, the only non-patriotic poems that Bojić wrote were about the love he felt towards his fiancée. The historian John K. Cox opines that Bojić's "personal suffering ... [embodied] Serbian history at the crossroads of greatness and disaster."
Cox considers Bojić the most famous of the many Serbian artists and writers who perished during World War I. Đorđević contends that Bojić achieved more during his short career than a number of other writers and poets who led far longer lives. He writes that Bojić's influence on Serbian literature would have been even greater had he survived the war, and praises him as "one of the great poets of the 20th century".
In May 2014, the inaugural Milutin Bojić Prize was awarded to a student from Čačak by the Milutin Bojić Library, a Belgrade-based learning institution dedicated exclusively to studies on Bojić's life and work. The Library is funded by the Serbian Ministry of Culture, and operates an extensive online database known as the Milutin Bojić Virtual Library. In August 2014, researchers discovered the original manuscript of The Blue Tomb in the Library's archives. The faded manuscript was immediately given to experts at the National Library of Serbia, who went about restoring it so as to prevent further decay.
## Works
- Pesme, a collection of poems, 1914.
- Kain, a poem, 1915.
- Pesme bola i ponosa, a collection of poems, 1917.
- Lanci, drama, 1910.
- Kraljeva jesen, drama, 1913.
- Gospođa Olga, drama, 1913-1914.
- Uroševa ženidba, drama, 1915.
- Sabrana dela Milutina Bojića I-IV, Collected works of Milutin Bojić I-IV'', 1978.
## See also
- Vladislav Petković Dis
- Miloš Crnjanski
- Dušan Vasiljev
- Ljubomir Micić
- Proka Jovkić
- Rastko Petrović
- Stanislav Vinaver
- Branislav Milosavljević
|
20,167,042 |
Parc Cwm long cairn
| 1,161,733,842 |
Burial chamber in Wales
|
[
"1869 archaeological discoveries",
"Buildings and structures completed in the 4th millennium BC",
"Buildings and structures in Swansea",
"Cadw",
"Cairns (stone mounds)",
"Gower Peninsula",
"Megalithic monuments in Wales",
"Monuments and memorials in Swansea",
"Prehistoric burials in Wales",
"Prehistoric sites in Swansea",
"Tumuli in Wales"
] |
Parc Cwm long cairn (Welsh: carn hir Parc Cwm), also known as Parc le Breos burial chamber (siambr gladdu Parc le Breos), is a partly restored Neolithic chambered tomb, identified in 1937 as a Severn-Cotswold type of chambered long barrow. The cromlech, a megalithic burial chamber, was built around 5850 years before present (BP), during the early Neolithic. It is about seven 1⁄2 miles (12 km) west south–west of Swansea, Wales, in what is now known as Coed y Parc Cwm at Parc le Breos, on the Gower Peninsula.
A trapezoidal cairn of rubble – the upper part of the cromlech and its earth covering now removed – about 72 feet (22 m) long by 43 feet (13 m) (at its widest), is revetted by a low dry-stone wall. A bell-shaped, south-facing forecourt, formed by the wall, leads to a central passageway lined with limestone slabs set on end. Human remains had been placed in the two pairs of stone chambers that lead from the passageway. Corpses may have been placed in nearby caves until they decomposed, when the bones were moved to the tomb.
The cromlech was discovered in 1869 by workmen digging for road stone. An excavation later that year revealed human bones (now known to have belonged to at least 40 people), animal remains, and Neolithic pottery. Samples from the site show the tomb to have been in use for between 300 and 800 years. North-West European lifestyles changed around 6000 BP, from the nomadic lives of the hunter-gatherer, to a settled life of agricultural farming: the Neolithic Revolution. However, analysis of the human remains found at Parc Cwm long cairn show the people interred in the cromlech continued to be either hunter-gatherers or herders, rather than agricultural farmers.
Parc Cwm long cairn lies in a former medieval deer park, established in the 1220s CE by the Marcher Lord of Gower as Parc le Breos – an enclosed area of about 2,000 acres (810 ha), now mainly farmland. The cromlech is on the floor of a dry narrow limestone gorge containing about 500 acres (2.0 km<sup>2</sup>) of woodland. Free pedestrian access is via an asphalt track leading from the park's entrance, which has free parking for 12–15 cars about 250 yards (230 m) from the site. Parc Cwm long cairn is maintained by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment division.
## History
From the end of the last ice age (between 12,000 and 10,000 BP) Mesolithic hunter-gatherers began to migrate northwards from Central Europe; the area that would become known as Wales was free of glaciers by about 10,250 BP. At that time sea levels were much lower than today, and the shallower parts of what is now the North Sea were dry land. The east coast of present-day England and the coasts of present-day Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands were connected by the former landmass known as Doggerland, forming the British Peninsula on the European mainland. The post-glacial rise in sea level separated Wales and Ireland, forming the Irish Sea. Doggerland was submerged by the North Sea and, by 8000 BP, the British Peninsula had become an island. By the beginning of the Neolithic (6,000 BP) sea levels in the Bristol Channel were still about 33 feet (10 m) lower than today. Historian John Davies has theorised that the story of Cantre'r Gwaelod's drowning, and tales in the Mabinogion of the water between Wales and Ireland being narrower and shallower, may be distant folk memories of that time. The warmer climate caused major changes to the flora and fauna of Great Britain, and encouraged the growth of dense forest that covered 80–90% of the island.
Human lifestyles in North-West Europe changed around 6000 BP; from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) nomadic lives of hunting and gathering, to the Neolithic (New Stone Age) agrarian life of agriculture and settlement. John Davies notes that such a transformation cannot have been developed by the people living in North-West Europe independently, as neither the grain necessary for crops nor the animals suitable for domestication are indigenous to the area. Recent genetic studies conclude that these cultural changes were introduced to Britain by farmers migrating from the European mainland. They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land, developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production, and used a similar tradition of long barrow construction that began in continental Europe during the 7th millennium BP – the free standing megalithic structures supporting a sloping capstone (known as dolmens), common across Atlantic Europe that were, according to John Davies, "the first substantial, permanent constructions of man". Such massive constructions would have needed a large labour force (up to 200 men) suggestive of large communities nearby. However, in his contribution to History of Wales, 25,000 BC AD 2000, archaeologist Joshua Pollard notes that not all Neolithic communities were part of the simultaneous "marked transformations in material culture, ideology and technical practices" known as the Neolithic Revolution.
## Severn-Cotswold tombs
The cromlech at Parc le Breos Cwm is one of 120–30 sites identified as belonging to the category of long barrow tomb known as the Severn-Cotswold or Cotswold-Severn group. Excavations show these tombs to have been built on sites that had already "gained some significance". Archaeologist Julian Thomas theorises that these sites may have been "very long-lived woodland clearances" that had become landmarks and meeting-places.
Constructed during the Neolithic, cairns in the Severn-Cotswold tradition share several characteristics: an elongated trapezoidal (or wedge) shape up to 328 feet (100 m) long; a cairn (a mound of deliberately placed stones or rocks erected as a memorial or marker); a revetment (retaining wall) of carefully constructed dry-stone walling that also defines a horned forecourt at the widest end; huge capstones supported by orthostats; and a chamber (or chambers) in which human remains were placed, accessible after the cairn was completed by way of a gallery (passageway). Diverse internal transept chamber plans exist within the group. The earlier tombs contained multiple chambers set laterally, or pairs of transept chambers leading from a central passageway; the later, terminally chambered tombs, contained a single chamber.
As the name implies, Severn-Cotswold cairns are concentrated mainly to the east of the River Severn, in and around the Cotswolds, in present-day England. However, similar Severn-Cotswold type structures have been identified in south east Wales – between Brecon, Gower and Gwent – and in Capel Garmon (near Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, north Wales), Wayland's Smithy (Oxfordshire, England) and Avebury (Wiltshire, England). As well as monuments to house and to honour their departed ancestors, these cromlechs may have been communal and ceremonial sites where, according to archaeologist Francis Pryor, people met "to socialise, to meet new partners, to acquire fresh livestock and to exchange ceremonial gifts".
Parc Cwm long cairn is one of six chambered tombs discovered on Gower and one of 17 in what is commonly known as Glamorgan. Severn-Cotswold cairns are the oldest surviving examples of architecture in Great Britain – Parc Cwm long cairn was built about 1,500 to 1,300 years before either Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt was completed.
## Features
The megalithic cromlech at Parc le Breos Cwm, known as Parc Cwm long cairn (carn hir Parc Cwm), is a Severn-Cotswold type chambered tomb, built around 5850 BP (during the early Neolithic) in what is now known as Gower – about eight miles (13 km) west of Swansea, Wales, and about 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) north of the Bristol Channel. Alternative names include Parc le Breos burial chamber (siambr gladdu Parc le Breos), the Long Cairn and the Giant's Grave.
The cromlech consists of a north–south aligned long mound of locally obtained rocks and cobbles, mainly of limestone, revetted by two coursed, dry-stone kerbs of "a fine standard". The inner wall was built using a heavier stone. Trapezoid-shaped and about 72 feet (22 m) long, the cromlech tapers from 43 feet (13 m) wide at its southern entrance to about 20 feet (6 m) at its northern end. The wall at the front, right section, is missing or has collapsed, and the rubble has tumbled out leaving a previously covered orthostat exposed.
At the entrance to the tomb the kerbs sweep inwards to form a pair of deep protrusions, or horns, forming a narrow bell-shaped forecourt. A straight central passageway (or gallery), 21 feet (6 m) long by 3 feet (1 m) wide, orientated north–south, leads from the forecourt into the cairn. Each side of the passageway is lined with thin limestone slabs known as orthostats, placed on end and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) high with a coursed dry-stone infill between the slabs. Two pairs of rectangular transept chambers lead from the passageway, averaging 5+1⁄2 feet (1.6 m), east–west, by 3+1⁄4 feet (1.0 m); or "6 ft by 2 ft", according to Archaeologia Cambrensis in 1886. Each, except the south west chamber, has shallow limestone sillstones at its entrance.
Archaeologist R J C Atkinson believed that (unusually among cairns in the Severn-Cotswold tradition) Parc Cwm long cairn had been built beside a stream that now flows underground. He noted that the stones on the eastern side had "marked signs of erosion and rounding by silt-laden flood-water".
Originally, the transept chambers would have been covered with one large (or several smaller) capstones, enclosing the chambers containing human remains. The earth covering and the upper part of the cromlech have been removed, leaving the passageway and lateral chambers fully exposed. There is no record of a capstone having been discovered.
## Excavation
Workmen digging for road stone discovered the site in 1869. John Lubbock and Hussey Vivian excavated it that year, believing it to be a round barrow. The excavation revealed human bones that were "much broken and in no regular arrangement", animal remains ("deer and swine's teeth"), and sherds of "plain Western Neolithic pottery". The bones, initially thought to heve been disturbed by repeated access or subsequent interments, were at first thought to be from 20 to 24 individuals, all of whom except three were adults. Archaeologists Alasdair Whittle and Michael Wysocki note that such estimates were commonly based on the "numbers of skulls or mandibles", and recent analysis has shown the bones to be from at least 40 individuals. Following the excavation, most of the human remains were reburied in clay pots beneath their original contexts, some are held in the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, England – with the animal and pottery remains – and the whereabouts of the remainder are unrecorded.
An excavation led by Professor Glyn Daniel in 1937 identified the site as a chambered long barrow. However, more recently, long barrows have been defined as having long earthen mounds with wooden internal structures, whereas chambered tombs, while also being covered by a long mound, have internal chambers built of stone. No long barrows with wooden internal structures have been identified in southeast Wales, perhaps because long barrows were usually built where there was no suitable stone.
At Parc Cwm long cairn a variety of mortuary practices was evident and the deliberate ordering of skeletal parts noticeable. Whittle and Wysocki (1998) note cremated human remains were placed only in the front, right (south–east) chamber, where females and males, and all age ranges were represented. The south–east chamber was also unusual in that it contained nearly three times as many individuals as in each of the other chambers, which contained the remains of all representative groups except younger children and infants. At the forecourt entrance Atkinson recorded finds, deposited in groups, including: flint debitage, lithic cores and a bladelet (burnt and unburnt); a leaf-shaped arrowhead (burnt); pieces of quartz; pieces of stalactite (now missing); sherds of Neolithic pottery; and cremated bone fragments. Atkinson speculated that the stalactite originated from Cat Hole cave, which (along with Tooth Hole cave) Whittle and Wysocki note as a possible source of the quartz too.
Following the excavation led by R J C Atkinson in 1960, the cromlech was placed under the guardianship of the then Ministry of Public Building and Works and, in 1961, was partly restored. Atkinson made "minimal" excavation records, and no report of it was published until Whittle and Wysocki's detailed report in 1998. In it, they suggest that corpses may have been placed in caves near the cromlech until they decomposed, when the bones were moved to the tomb; a process known as excarnation.
## Analysis
Few human remains survive in Great Britain from the early Neolithic (c. 6400–c. 5850 BP), although they are comparatively well preserved in the Black Mountains (Mynydd Du), Gower and the Vale of Glamorgan (Bro Morgannwg) where up to 50 individuals have been interred – men, women and children – in each cromlech.
The skeletal remains of over 40 individuals were recovered from the cromlech at Parc le Breos Cwm, some of which showed evidence of weathering and of biting and gnawing by animals. This suggests the corpses lay exposed to decompose and were interred in the burial chambers defleshed, as parcels of bone. Skeletal remains from the passageway were part–articulated, showing no sign of animal scavenging, suggesting they were placed in the cromlech as fleshed corpses. Whittle and Wysocki note that among the human remains are the bones of "8 dogs, a cat, a red deer, pig, sheep and cattle". They speculate that the two caves near the cromlech were used as depositories for the corpses prior to decomposition, and that when the bones were collected from the caves for reinterment others already lying in the cave were unwittingly gathered too.
Radiocarbon dated samples from the cromlech show the tomb was accessed by many generations over a period of 300–800 years, and that the human bones are the disarticulated remains (i.e., not complete skeletons) of at least 40 individuals: male and female adults, adolescents, children, and infants. One of the red deer bones has been radiocarbon dated to between 2750 BP and 2150 BP, showing that at least some of the bones entered long after the site had been deserted.
### Lifestyle indicators
Examination of the bones from which stature could be estimated, indicate that the male mortuary population were "big men" – the 1869 report notes males of "gigantic proportions" – whereas the females were "short and gracile". Pollard notes that males analysed from Parc Cwm long cairn were "particularly robust" when compared to females.
Prior to the publication of Whittle and Wysocki's 1998 report, bones and teeth of the mortuary population of Parc Cwm long cairn were re-examined for indications of lifestyle and diet.
Musculoskeletal analysis showed significant gender lifestyle variation. Greater leg muscle development was found in males of the Parc Cwm cromlech, possibly the result of hunting or herding, confirming the sexual dimorphism found in previous analyses of the remains. In contrast, no such variation was noticeable in the remains found during excavations from other nearby sites, for example the Tinkinswood burial chamber, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The variation in musculoskeletal stress markers may indicate a mobile lifestyle for at least some of the males analysed.
Evidence obtained from stable isotope analysis shows plant foods, including cereals, formed only a small proportion of their dietary protein. The majority derived from animals – i.e., meat, and milk or blood – and contained none from marine sources.
Remains of human teeth were analysed for evidence of arrested development and decay. Arrested development implies periods of nutritional shortage, which could indicate failed harvests. Decay implies either periods of food shortage, or a diet consisting of high proportions of carbohydrate or softer cooked meat, or both. Dental analyses showed no sign of periods of decay or arrested development, even where there was "considerable wear", indicating a lifestyle that was not dependent on farming cereals. The 1887 bone report notes the "good condition of the teeth". Whittle and Wysocki noted the "slight" presence of tartar, and that only one tooth had been lost before death, a mandibular incisor.
Whittle and Wysocki conclude, from the skeletal and dental analyses, that the lifestyles of the people who were to be interred in the cromlech either continued to be one of hunting and gathering or, more likely, a pastoral life of herding, rather than one of agrarian-based farming.
## Cathole Cave
The Cathole Cave, Cat Hole Cave or Cathole Rock Cave, is a steep limestone outcrop, about 200 yards (180 m) north of the cromlech along the Parc le Breos Cwm valley and near the top of the gorge, about 50 feet (15 m) from the valley floor. The cave is a deep triangular fissure penetrating the hillside and narrowing towards the top. It has two entrances, with a natural platform outside the larger of the two.
The cave was used as a shelter by bands of Mesolithic hunters and as a Neolithic ossuary. During the first excavation of the cave in 1864, finds were made only from the Mesolithic to medieval periods. In his "The Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society vol.25 (1959), pp. 260–69", archaeologist Charles McBurney notes that "In the Post Glacial period the cave was much used by Mesolithic hunters"; a conclusion confirmed by John Campbell's excavation of 1977.
A 1984 excavation by Aldhouse-Green revealed the earliest finds from the cave, two tanged points that may date to c. 28,000 BP, an interglacial period during the Late Pleistocene roughly contemporaneous with the Red Lady of Paviland. The "lady" was discovered in a cave between Port Eynon and Rhossili, about eight miles (13 km) west of Cathole Cave, and has been radiocarbon dated to c. 29,000 BP, the oldest known human burial in Great Britain.
Rock art from the Upper Paleolithic, thought to represent a reindeer, was discovered on the back wall of Cathole Cave in September 2010. The engraving, measuring approximately 15 x 11 cm, has been radiocarbon dated to 14,505 ± 560 BP. According to George Nash, the archeologist who made the discovery, it is "the oldest rock art in the British Isles, if not north-western Europe".
Late glacial tool finds from the Upper Palaeolithic date to c. 12,000 BP: flint blades known as Cheddar points; smaller bladelets known as Cresswell points; scrapers; burins or lithic flakes; flint and bone awls; and a bone needle. Flint rarely occurs in Wales other than in drifts, or as small pebbles on beaches. Flint tools would therefore have to have been brought to Gower from other areas, such as those now known as southern or eastern England, or Antrim, either as finished tools or as incomplete, or unworked, nodules. Remains of red fox, Arctic fox, brown bear, tundra vole, and possibly reindeer, were found at the same level as the Upper Palaeolithic tools, providing evidence of the climate c. 12,000 BP. Other animal remains excavated during the 19th century, which may predate the Late glacial finds, include mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, red deer and giant deer.
Several finds date to the Bronze Age, including a bronze socketed axe, two human skeletons, and sherds of pottery from burial urns and other vessels.
## Llethryd Tooth Cave
An excavation of the Llethryd Tooth Cave, or Tooth Hole cave, a Bronze Age ossuary site at a cave about 1,500 yards (1.4 km) north, north west of the cromlech, was carried out by D. P. Webley and J. Harvey in 1962. It revealed the disarticulated remains of six people, dated to the Early Bronze Age or Beaker culture. Other contemporary finds, now held at the Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales, Cardiff, include collared urn pottery, flaked knives, a scraper, flint flakes, a bone spatula, a needle and bead, and animal bones – the remains of domesticated animals, including cat and dog. Whittle and Wysocki note that this period of occupation may be "significant", with respect to Parc Cwm long cairn, as it is "broadly contemporary with the secondary use of the tomb".
## Location
The Neolithic cromlech at Parc le Breos is about seven 1⁄2 miles (12 km) west south–west of Swansea, Wales, near the centre of Gower, midway between the villages of Llanrhidian and Bishopston. Its nearest village is Parkmill, a small rural settlement about one mile (1.5 km) to the south–east.
Parc Cwm long cairn lies on the floor of a dry, narrow, limestone gorge, at an elevation of about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, less than 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) from the south coast of Gower. It is in about 500 acres (200 ha) of woodland called Coed y Parc, the remnants of a former medieval deer park (Parc le Breos) from which the cromlech derives its alternative name: Parc le Breos burial chamber. Established as an enclosed area of about 2,000 acres (810 ha) by John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Gower, in about 1221–32 CE, the park is now mainly farmland. A 19th-century hunting lodge about 1,200 yards (1.1 km) north–east of Parc Cwm long cairn has been converted into a hotel and pony trekking (horse riding) centre called Parc le Breos.
Coed y Parc is owned and managed by Natural Resources Wales. The site is open to the public free of charge and has parking for 12–15 cars about 750 feet (230 m) away. Facing the car park on the opposite side of the lane, a kissing gate allows wheelchair access to a level asphalt track running past the cromlech down the length of the gorge, passing within about 10 feet (3.0 m) of the cairn. Parc Cwm long cairn is maintained by Cadw (English: to keep), the Welsh Government's historic environment division.
## See also
- 4th millennium BC
- 5th millennium BC
- Bioarchaeology
- Britons (historic)
- Cove (standing stones)
- Forensic archaeology
- Knapping
- List of Cadw (Welsh Heritage) Properties
- Palaeopathology
- Passage grave
- Prehistoric archaeology
- Prehistory
- Tumulus
- Welsh placenames
|
1,024,379 |
Pointer (dog breed)
| 1,098,071,275 |
An English breed of gundog
|
[
"Dog breeds originating in England",
"FCI breeds",
"Gundogs",
"Pointers"
] |
The Pointer, sometimes called the English Pointer, is a medium-sized breed of pointing dog developed in England. Pointers are used to find game for hunters, and are considered by gundog enthusiasts to be one of the finest breeds of its type; however, unlike most other hunting breeds, its purpose is to point, not retrieve game.
The popular belief is that the Pointer descends from the Old Spanish Pointer that was brought to England from Spain with returning soldiers at the beginning of the 18th century. Once in England, they were crossed with local dog breeds to improve the breed's hunting abilities.
## Etymology
The Pointer takes its name from the stance it adopts when it detects the scent of game, "pointing" at the hidden game as a visible signal to the hunter that it has found something and where it is; the breed is sometimes called the English Pointer to differentiate it from other pointing dog breeds. The term "bird dog" is usually used to describe all pointing dogs and setters, but in the United States the term is often used to describe the Pointer breed, particularly south of the Mason–Dixon line.
## History
There has been much debate among dog historians about the ancestry of the Pointer. The most commonly held position is that the breed descends from Old Spanish Pointers that were imported into England. The popular belief is that Spanish Pointers were first introduced to England in 1713 by soldiers returning from Spain after the Peace of Utrecht. In his Cynographia Britannica, published in 1800, Sydenham Edwards states that the "Spanish Pointer was introduced to this country [England] by a Portugal Merchant, at a very modern period, and was first used by a reduced Baron, of the name of Bichell, who lived in Norfolk, and could shoot flying".
Other early sources suggest Portuguese Pointers, Italian Braccos or French pointers were the foundation of the English breed. In 1902, Victorian era sportsman William Arkwright produced the book The pointer and his predecessors often considered one of the best early histories of the Pointer for which he expended considerable time and money searching continental archives. In the book he notes that he did not find any truly convincing evidence of Spanish Pointers being the foundation stock of the Pointer but still concludes on the basis of all evidence that it is the most likely history. It is noteworthy that in those days dog breeds did not exist as they are known in more modern times, and that a more general pointing type of dog (typically a short haired, hound-like, air-scenting dog with regional variations of appearance that was used for indicating the location of game birds) was known in all of these countries.
A second less commonly held belief is a form of Pointer that was present in England, much earlier than the introduction of the Spanish Pointer, and that they were used from medieval times to indicate the location of hares which were subsequently coursed by greyhounds or caught by hawks; it is held that these dogs were subsequently heavily influenced by the introduction of imported European pointer blood.
The earliest recorded mentions of Pointers in England date from the early 18th century. John Gay mentions Pointers being used to hunt partridge in his 1713 poem Rural sports, and Peter Tillemans produced a painting of the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull's kennel of pointers in 1725.
A compendium of sources state that in England early Pointers were crossed with other breeds to impart certain desirable traits, including setters, bloodhounds and foxhounds, with some mention of Bull Terriers and bulldogs. Early Pointers were comparatively heavy, ponderous dogs able to hold a steady point whilst the hunter readied his gun. With the steady improvement of firearms throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, faster and more agile dogs were sought so Greyhounds were increasingly introduced to add speed. The introduction of Greyhound blood resulted in the modern Pointer being a much finer dog with a comparatively tucked-up loin, tighter lips and low-set tail, more akin to that of the Greyhound than European pointer breeds.
The Pointer's breed standard was formally adopted in 1936 and has subsequently remained largely unchanged.
## Description
### Appearance
The Pointer is a medium-sized, athletic breed that is built for both endurance and speed. They typically stand between 53 and 71 centimetres (21 and 28 in) with bitches being shorter than dogs. The breed standard of The Kennel Club states that dogs should stand 64 to 69 centimetres (25 to 27 in) and bitches 61 to 66 centimetres (24 to 26 in). The breed usually weighs between 20 and 34 kilograms (45 and 75 lb), with dogs weighing 25 to 34 kilograms (55 to 75 lb) and bitches 20 to 29 kilograms (45 to 65 lb). The Pointer has a very distinctive head with a slightly dished face and elevated nose, a raised brow, and wide nostrils, their ears are hanging and lie close to the face, are high set, medium-sized, and slightly pointed. The breed standard describes them as having a long, muscular, slightly arched neck; long, sloping shoulders that are well laid back; a chest wide enough for plenty of heart; straight and firm forelegs with good bone; muscular hindquarters; oval shaped feet; and a medium-length tail that is thick at the root. Their coat is short haired, fine, hard, smooth and evenly distributed; they are usually bi-coloured, white with lemon, orange, liver or black coloured patches, whilst rare tri-coloured and self-coloured dogs are also known. The Pointer's short and fine coat makes the breed well suited to working on grouse moors during the summer months but makes them particularly susceptible to feeling cold during wet and cold weather.
When compared to images of pointers from the 19th century the modern breed is a much finer dog, reflecting inclusion of greyhound blood. As with many British gundog breeds, stark differences have emerged between Pointers bred for the purpose of field work and those bred for conformation shows which accent certain features of the breed, such as narrower chests, exaggerated facial features, straighter shoulders, a less natural movement and less muscle than those bred for use as gundogs.
### Character
The Pointer is an adaptable, obedient, even-tempered breed; field lines in particular can be extremely active. Compared to other gundog breeds, the Pointer is more aloof and reserved with a lower need for human companionship, perhaps reflecting the blood of the reserved greyhound in its ancestry.
## Popularity and use in field sports
When hunting, the Pointer quarters in front of the hunter systematically with its head high scenting the air upwind, when a dog detects hidden game it halts suddenly with its nose pointing to the game so the hunter can prepare to shoot, when ready the hunter commands the pointer to flush the game to be shot.
Many writers consider the Pointer to be the ultimate pointing dog breed because of its sensitive nose, big stylish movements and flashy pointing stance. The Pointer is the most popular pointing dog breed used by sporting estates in the United Kingdom and commercial shooting preserves in the United States, they are also the most popular and successful pointing breed used in pointing dog trials in both countries.
When compared to many of the continental European pointing dog breeds, a classically trained Pointer is usually only used to point and flush walked up game before it is shot, and if required specialist retrievers are used to retrieve the game once shot; the European breeds which are often termed "hunt-point-retrievers" or "versatile gundogs" point game and retrieve it once shot. Additionally, compared to the European pointing breeds the Pointer is typically faster when working and quarters further in search for game.
The Pointer is also used by falconers and austringers in falconry to locate the game to be flushed for the falcon or hawk to dispatch.
## Health
The Pointer is considered a generally healthy breed with a life expectancy of 13–14 years, The Kennel Club does not recommend any genetic or screening tests be conducted for the breed. Known inherited conditions that have been found in the breed include hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, patella luxation, hereditary sensory neuropathy, spinal muscle atrophy, X-linked cerebellar ataxia and deafness. The breed has minor predispositions to hypothyroidism, demodicosis, cataracts, retinal dysplasia and corneal dystrophy.
## See also
- Judy, awarded the Dickin Medal
|
488,509 |
HMS Hercules (1910)
| 1,136,831,311 |
1910 Colossus-class battleship of the Royal Navy
|
[
"1910 ships",
"Colossus-class battleships (1910)",
"Ships built by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company",
"Ships built on the River Tyne",
"World War I battleships of the United Kingdom"
] |
HMS Hercules was the second and last of the two Colossus-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy at the end of the first decade of the 20th century. She spent her whole career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets, often serving as a flagship. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. The ship was deemed obsolete after the war and was reduced to reserve. Hercules was sold for scrap in 1921 and broken up the following year.
## Design and description
The design of the Colossus class was derived from that of the earlier HMS Neptune with redistributed armour and more powerful torpedoes. Hercules had an overall length of 545 feet 9 inches (166.3 m), a beam of 85 feet 2 inches (26.0 m), and a normal draught of 27 feet (8.2 m). She displaced 20,030 long tons (20,350 t) at normal load and 23,266 long tons (23,639 t) at deep load. In 1911 her crew numbered 778 officers and ratings and 791 in July 1916.
Hercules was powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam from eighteen Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at 25,000 shp (19,000 kW) and were intended to give the ship a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). During her full-power, eight-hour sea trials on 2–3 March 1911, she reached a top speed of 21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph) from 28,922 shp (21,567 kW) in a moderate storm. The Colossus-class ships carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 6,680 nautical miles (12,370 km; 7,690 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
### Armament and armour
The Colossus class was equipped with ten breech-loading (BL) 12-inch (305 mm) Mark XI guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, three along the centreline and the remaining two as wing turrets. The centreline turrets were designated 'A', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear, and the port and starboard wing turrets were 'P' and 'Q' respectively. The wing turrets were staggered "en echelon" so all five turrets could shoot on the broadside, although in practice the blast damage to the superstructure and boats made this impractical except in an emergency. The ability to fire all ten 12" guns in broadside equaled the all centerline arrangement of the contemporary US battleships, but the centerline arrangement was less problematic to the superstructure.
The secondary armament consisted of sixteen BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mark VII guns. Ten of these were mounted in the forward superstructure and six in the aft superstructure in single mounts. Four 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm)) saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 18 torpedoes were provided.
They had a waterline belt of Krupp cemented armour that was 11 inches (279 mm) thick between the fore and aftmost barbettes that did not cover the full length of the ships. Above this was a strake of 8 inches (203 mm) armour. The forward oblique 4-inch bulkheads connected the forward barbette to the side armour. Similarly, the aft bulkhead connected them to the rearmost barbette, although it was 8 inches thick. The three centreline barbettes were protected by armour 10 inches (254 mm) thick above the main deck and thinned to 4 inches below it. The wing barbettes were similar except that they had 11 inches of armour on their outer faces. The gun turrets had 11-inch faces and sides with 3-inch (76 mm) roofs.
The three armoured decks ranged in thickness from 1.5 to 4 inches (38 to 102 mm) with the greater thicknesses outside the central armoured citadel. The front and sides of the conning tower were protected by 11-inch plates, although the rear and roof were 8 inches and 3 inches thick respectively. The torpedo control tower aft had 3-inch sides and a 2-inch roof. In an effort to reduce weight, the Colossus-class ships reverted to the inadequate underwater protection scheme of HMS Dreadnought and their anti-torpedo bulkheads only protected the shell rooms and magazines, although they had a maximum thickness of 3 inches.
#### Modifications
Sometime in 1912, the compass platform was extended forward to accommodate a rangefinder. In 1913–1914, a small rangefinder was added to the roof of 'X' turret and gun shields were fitted to the 4-inch guns in the forward superstructure. After the start of the war in August 1914, a pair of 3-inch anti-aircraft (AA) guns were added. A fire-control director was installed on a rear extension of the compass platform by December 1915. Approximately 50 long tons (51 t) of additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Around the same time, four 4-inch guns were removed from the aft superstructure. By April 1917, Hercules was equipped with single 4-inch and 3-inch AA guns and the forward group of 4-inch guns had been enclosed in casemates. The stern torpedo tube was removed in 1917–1918 and a high-angle rangefinder was fitted on the spotting top in 1918.
## Construction and career
Hercules, named after the mythic demigod Hercules, was the fifth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was ordered on 1 June 1909 and laid down at Palmers at their shipyard in Jarrow on 30 July. She was launched on 10 May 1910 and completed in August 1911 at the cost of £1,661,240, including her armament. The ship was commissioned on 4 July for trials with a partial crew. Hercules recommissioned with a full crew on 31 July and was assigned as the flagship of the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet. On 19 December Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe assumed command of the division, which was renamed the 2nd Battle Squadron (BS) on 1 May 1912. The ship participated in the Parliamentary Naval Review on 9 July at Spithead and was refitted at Portsmouth in November–December. During this time, Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender, Bt relieved Jellicoe as commander of the 2nd BS. Hercules was relieved as the squadron's flagship on 7 March 1913 and became a private ship in the squadron. On 22 March she collided with and damaged SS Mary Parkes of Glasgow in Portland Harbour during a gale, suffering only minor damage herself. In May, the ship was transferred to the 1st Battle Squadron.
### World War I
Between 17 and 20 July 1914, Hercules took part in a test mobilisation and fleet review as part of the British response to the July Crisis. Arriving in Portland on 25 July, she was ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to Scapa Flow four days later to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the Imperial German Navy. In August 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Jellicoe. Most of it was briefly based (22 October to 3 November) at Lough Swilly, Ireland, while the defences at Scapa were strengthened. On the evening of 22 November 1914, the Grand Fleet conducted a fruitless sweep in the southern half of the North Sea; Hercules stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. The fleet was back in port in Scapa Flow by 27 November. The 1st Battle Squadron cruised north-west of the Shetland Islands and conducted gunnery practice on 8–12 December. Four days later, the Grand Fleet sortied during the German raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, but failed to make contact with the High Seas Fleet. Hercules and the rest of the Grand Fleet conducted another sweep of the North Sea on 25–27 December.
Jellicoe's ships, including Hercules, conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January 1915 west of the Orkneys and Shetlands. On the evening of 23 January, the bulk of the Grand Fleet sailed in support of Beatty's battlecruisers, but Hercules and the rest of the fleet did not participate in the ensuing Battle of Dogger Bank the following day. On 7–10 March, the Grand Fleet conducted a sweep in the northern North Sea, during which it conducted training manoeuvres. Another such cruise took place on 16–19 March. On 11 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a patrol in the central North Sea and returned to port on 14 April; another patrol in the area took place on 17–19 April, followed by gunnery drills off Shetland on 20–21 April.
The Grand Fleet conducted sweeps into the central North Sea on 17–19 May and 29–31 May without encountering any German vessels. During 11–14 June, the fleet conducted gunnery practice and battle exercises west of Shetland and more training off Shetland beginning on 11 July. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, conducted another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later, Hercules participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November.
On 19 March 1916 the ship completed repairs to her turbines, which had kept her at Scapa for nearly six weeks. On the night of 25 March, Hercules and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support Beatty's battlecruisers and other light forces raiding the German Zeppelin base at Tondern. By the time the Grand Fleet approached the area on 26 March, the British and German forces had already disengaged and a strong gale threatened the light craft, so the fleet was ordered to return to base. On 21 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a demonstration off Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the Imperial Russian Navy relaid its defensive minefields in the Baltic Sea. The fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 24 April and refuelled before proceeding south in response to intelligence reports that the Germans were about to launch a raid on Lowestoft, but only arrived in the area after the Germans had withdrawn. On 2–4 May, the fleet conducted another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea.
#### Battle of Jutland
In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, and supporting ships, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers. The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.
On 31 May, Hercules, now under the command of Captain Lewis Clinton-Baker, was the twenty-third ship (or second from the rear) from the head of the battle line after deployment as part of the 6th Division of the 1st BS. During the first stage of the general engagement, the ship was straddled by five shells fired by a German dreadnought at 18:16. Shortly afterward, she fired at the crippled light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden around 18:20. Hercules engaged a German dreadnought beginning at 18:25 with seven or eight salvos of her own. The poor visibility greatly hampered her return fire and was a problem for the entire battle. At 19:12, the ship opened fire at the battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz, and probably scored two hits. One of her high-explosive (HE) shells penetrated through the upper superstructure and caused minor splinter damage. The second HE shell burst on hitting the upper hull armour, which dished in the armour plates and caused moderate flooding. About five to ten minutes later, she engaged several German destroyer flotillas with a few salvos from her main armament without result. Hercules was then forced to turn away to avoid several torpedoes, one of which was believed to have passed very close. Marlborough, flagship of the division, was hit by a torpedo and forced to reduce speed, which caused the division to fall behind the main body of the Grand Fleet. They did not rejoin until the afternoon of 1 June, as the fleet was headed for home. Hercules received no damage and fired a total of 98 twelve-inch shells (82 HE, 4 armour-piercing, capped, and 12 common pointed, capped) and 15 shells from her four-inch guns during the battle.
#### Subsequent activity
After the battle, the ship was transferred to the 4th BS and became the flagship of its commander, Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee. The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. During this foray, Hercules carried out the first test of a towed kite balloon (without observers). Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions.
On 24 April 1918, Hercules were ordered north to Orkney to support the dreadnought Agincourt and the 2nd Cruiser Squadron when the High Seas Fleet sortied north for the last time to intercept a convoy to Norway. They enforced strict wireless silence during the operation, which prevented Room 40 cryptanalysts from warning the new commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Beatty. The British only learned of the operation after an accident aboard the battlecruiser SMS Moltke forced her to break radio silence to inform the German commander of her condition. The British ships were not able to reach the High Seas Fleet before it turned back for Germany. The ship was present at Rosyth, Scotland, when the German fleet surrendered on 21 November. On 3 December, she was detached to take the Allied Naval Armistice Commission to Kiel, Germany, returning to Rosyth on 20 December. Hercules was reduced to reserve in February 1919 at Rosyth and listed for disposal in October 1921. On 8 November, she was sold to the Slough Trading Co. and was resold to a German company in September 1922. The ship departed Rosyth, under tow, for Kiel in October and was subsequently broken up.
## Museum holdings
The National Maritime Museum's collection includes several paintings of Hercules by William Lionel Wyllie and the Imperial War Museums' collection includes a builders' model of Hercules, made by Palmers in 1910.
|
24,527,380 |
DJ Hero 2
| 1,159,082,529 |
2010 video game
|
[
"2010 video games",
"Activision games",
"Guitar Hero",
"Karaoke video games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"PlayStation 3 games",
"Turntable video games",
"Video games based on musicians",
"Video games developed in the United Kingdom",
"Wii games",
"Xbox 360 games"
] |
DJ Hero 2 is a rhythm video game and a sequel to DJ Hero, a spinoff of the Guitar Hero series. DJ Hero 2 uses a special turntable-controller, the same as introduced in DJ Hero, to simulate turntablism, the act of creating a new musical work from one or more previously recorded songs using record players and sound effect generators. The game is developed by FreeStyleGames and is published by Activision, and was released worldwide in October 2010.
Similar to DJ Hero, players in DJ Hero 2 follow specific actions on the turntable controller in time to marked scrolling indicators on the game's screen, earning points for correctly performing actions in time. The game includes a new freestyle mode, giving the player the chance to freely crossfade between tracks, scratch a section of a mix, or add sample effects during marked sections. The game features 83 mixes on disc comprising over 100 different songs, with further mixes available as downloadable content. Most mixes have been assembled by FreeStyleGames, but other professional DJs, including David Guetta, deadmau5, DJ Qbert, Tiësto and RZA, have provided both their mixing skills and character avatar for the game. Players can challenge these mixes at any time in a Quickplay mode, progress through them in the single-player Empire mode, or play cooperatively or competitively with a second user in offline and online game modes. A third player can also participate through singing the mix' vocals.
DJ Hero 2 was well received by critics, receiving praise for maintaining and improving upon the core elements of the first game, and for a soundtrack featuring a wide selection of genres. However, sales for the title were low, failing to reach similar numbers as DJ Hero from the previous year. In conjunction with poor sales from the Guitar Hero franchise, Activision announced the cancellation of further development in February 2011, leaving DJ Hero 2 as the final multi-platform iteration of the DJ Hero franchise.
## Gameplay
DJ Hero 2 follows from its predecessor in simulating the performance of a disc jockey mixing one or two songs using a special turntable controller. The controller, the same unit as shipped previously with DJ Hero, includes a rotatable turntable to use for recording scratching, three "stream" buttons to match notes from the two music tracks and an effects track, and a slider to control the crossfade between tracks. These actions are presented to the players through on-screen notation that scrolls in time with the music. Players score points by performing the actions correctly, but are not penalized otherwise. By successfully completing a consecutive set of actions, the player can increase their scoring multiplier up to 4x; the multiplier returns to 1x should they miss any actions. Certain marked sections, when played correctly, fill a "Euphoria" (the "Star Power" for this game) meter which can be unleashed using another button on the controller and will temporarily double the scoring. The player can also earn the ability to rewind a song by a few seconds by playing a long string of consecutive notes. They can rewind the song by quickly spinning the turntable in reverse; the rewind effect can be used to either correct a mistake or further boost one's scoring.
Small changes have been made in the turntable playback within DJ Hero 2: freestyle effects samples, previously based on game-wide preselected "effect packs", are mix-specific, and the game does not penalize the player for small variations in fast scratching sections as long as it follows the general beat of the song. Specially marked freestyle sections, previously limited to only added sample effects over the track, allow the player to freely mix between the two tracks, use their own scratch effects, or add effects hits while within these sections. The display for these freestyle sections shows marks where switching between the tracks would achieve a strong audio effect, and the player is graded on how well they hit these markers after the end of each mix.
In addition to using a turntable, players have the option to sing or rap to the mixes' lyrics, similar to vocal parts in current Guitar Hero or Rock Band games using a compatible microphone controller from most previous rhythm games. The game will score vocals based on the matching of pitch, beat and rhythm.
DJ Hero 2' features an improved single-player career mode called "Empire". Empire provides more structure for the player to proceed through the game than the simple set lists used in DJ Hero. Through Empire mode, the player works though a number of pre-determined setlists and boss battles (as described below) with the celebrity avatars and fictional DJ's at one of six different venues, earning stars that unlock additional venues to play at. Completing certain setlists or battles unlock new characters, outfits for those characters, and virtual turntable decks for the player. Five of these decks are "power decks" that slightly change the scoring mechanism or play style of the game; one increases the maximum multiple to 5x, while another one increases the rate that notes are displayed but increases the base scoring system.
The primary focus of DJ Hero 2 has been the social aspects, according to FreeStyleGames' creative director Jamie Jackson; as such, many of the games' new modes feature multiplayer considerations. The game supports the "Party Play" mode introduced in Guitar Hero 5, allowing players to jump into a song, alter the difficulty during gameplay, change between turntable and vocals, and leave at any time, while the game continues to run in a jukebox mode. Several new competitive modes engage two DJ players against each other; some modes have both DJs performing alongside each other but with competitive edges such as a "Checkpoint" race where each DJ attempts to earn the best score within a section of a song. DJ Battles see two DJ's performing call-and-response style along with open freestyle sections. The online mode includes a simple role-playing video game mechanic whereby participating and winning battles with other players earns the player DJ Points that lead to level increases and additional perks.
The game does not include "DJ vs Guitar" mode that was featured in DJ Hero, where a second player could use a compatible guitar controller to play alongside the DJ player.
## Development
DJ Hero 2 was officially announced in June 2010 for release in the last quarter of 2010. Prior to the game's announcement, Activision revealed a month before the game's release that it is actively seeking artists for downloadable content and a sequel to the game. David Guetta has stated that he was set to work on the game's sequel, to arrive late in 2010. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated that despite low sales of DJ Hero, they are committed to continuing the series, with the sequel due in 2010. The sequel, DJ Hero 2, was further confirmed during an Activision investors report for 2009, citing it as one of only 2 major Guitar Hero titles to be expected from Activision in 2010, with an expected late-2010 release date.
Work on DJ Hero 2 started some months after the first game was completed, as the development team had endured heavy working hours to meet the release deadline. FreeStyleGames' creative director Jamie Jackson said that DJ Hero 2 took about seven months to complete. While they were able to easily build on the existing framework for DJ Hero, FreeStyleGames wanted to do more than just include new mixes, and sought to include additional features such as the Battle Mixes into the game. Many of the game's new features are a result of feedback from players, including the game's social modes and improvements in the game's interface to provide a cleaner look and instantaneous visual feedback to the player. The team also worked at improving the game's graphics; the appearance of DJ Hero's graffiti-based menus gave the impression of being a hip-hop game, but FreeStyleGames wanted to distance DJ Hero 2 from that. They also wanted to clean up the gameplay's interface, providing better feedback to the player and making it easily to tell when they were winning or losing. While DJ Hero 2 does not use Kinect or PlayStation Move motion-sensing technology, Jackson had not ruled them out for a future iteration of the game.
Another step to move the game from the apparent hip-hop nature was through its song selection. Jackson felt the first game was weighted too heavily to the genre, with about 60% of the songs being hip-hop. The songs in DJ Hero 2 represent a wider variety of music, including dance, drum and bass, and techno, along with some contributions from hip-hop. Jackson noted that they were able to work better with artists and publishers for DJ Hero 2, after the successful launch of the first game; with artists and publishers now knowing what to expect, "there is more understanding, so it has opened the doors to us in terms of getting more popular music", according to Jackson. However, licensing for such music remained a difficult barrier. Mixes for DJ Hero 2 are made first through computer-aided mixing of the two song tracks combined with effects noises, with simultaneous authoring of the gameplay markers. Noise for the scratching sections are filled in by recording the sounds of the tracks actually scratched on a DJ deck.
Usher contributed his song "OMG" featuring will.i.am for DJ Hero 2, which he and will.i.am performed live at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Usher had previously been approached by Kotick before the release of DJ Hero for future projects for Activision. Usher found, after following the success of DJ Hero, that the game was "very interesting" as a means of connecting younger gamers to music such as his that they would not be able to experience live at a club, leading to his desire to be a part of the sequel.
FreeStyleGames found that by selecting mix artists such as Deadmau5 and Tiësto who are more widely known than some artists in the first game, they were able to give DJ Hero 2 a different feel, embracing the theatrics of these artists. FreeStyleGames had tried to include Tiësto within the first game, but could not do it within the deadline, but instead was used as part of the first game's promotion, and later would be used as Activision's "ambassador" for the game to Europe. Furthermore, the game's soundtrack has been selected to include more dance and pop tracks taken from European artists to make the game more Euro-friendly.
## Promotion
A demo for DJ Hero 2 was released to the PlayStation network and the Xbox Live on September 7, 2010. The demo contains four mixes, two of which were playable: Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes - "Don’t Cha" vs. Pitbull - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" and Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance" vs. deadmau5 - "Ghosts N Stuff". The mix Estelle featuring Kanye West - "American Boy" vs. Chic - "Good Times" was used as a tutorial and the mix MSTRKRFT featuring N.O.R.E. - "Bounce" (Beat Juggle) could be heard in the menu background.
A viral browser game, DJ Hero 2 Mix 2Gether, was released on October 17, 2010. The viral game was made by digital agency fish in a bottle and features a cut down version of the full game product. Three mixes are included in the viral and are all playable: Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance" vs. Deadmau5 - "Ghosts N Stuff", Blakroc featuring Pharoahe Monch and RZA - "Dollaz and Sense" and Tiësto and Sneaky Sound System - "I Will Be Here" vs. Tiësto - "Speed Rail". Unique to the viral game is a "Create A Mix" mode which allows players to create their own mixes, share them and challenge friends through email, Twitter, facebook and Myspace.
DJ Hero 2 was sold with various promotional items. Within Europe and select stores in North America, players that purchased the game in one of two bundle packages (either with one or two turntable controllers) received the predecessor DJ Hero free. Other North American stores offered carrying cases for the turntables, MP3 versions of selected mixes, or redemption codes for in-game customization options.
## Post-release
A glitch was observed by players on Xbox 360 where, if they were playing while online and had exactly 100 friends attached to their account, the game would freeze and/or they would be unable to play online. Activision issued a patch to correct this a few days after release.
The music video for Tiësto's "Speed Rail" is composed only of footage from DJ Hero 2 including the Tiësto avatar.
## Soundtrack
DJ Hero 2's setlist includes 83 mashups from nearly 100 songs from about 85 different artists. Game Informer stated that the game's soundtrack still strongly represents the genre of hip-hop, but adds more elements from electronica, pop, and dance. David Guetta, Deadmau5, DJ Qbert, Tiësto and RZA are playable avatars within the game and they will help create mixes for the game. Most of the in-game scratching was performed by former World DMC Champion DJ Blakey, and some by Joe Lenzie of Sigma.
DJ Hero 2 supports downloadable content in the form of new mixes that can be purchased from the consoles' respective online stores. In addition, through an additional free add-on released in November 2010, players will be able to purchase existing downloadable content from the first game to use within DJ Hero 2. Activision's February 2011 decision to shutter their Guitar Hero development initially stated that no further downloadable content will be forthcoming for the title, but due to "continued support" from their fanbase, Activision has since decided it will continue to release downloadable content for the game through at least March and April 2011 with packs that were in the works prior to the closure of Guitar Hero.
## Reception
DJ Hero 2 was well received by critics, who felt the game was a significant improvement in both gameplay, presentation, and song selection from its predecessor. Michael Brown of 1UP.com noted while there was very little overall change to the gameplay, "it's the minor tweaks that make it a definite improvement over the original". Keza MacDonald of Eurogamer believed that DJ Hero 2 was "much slicker, clearer and more tasteful" with changes in presentation and interface that quickly allows the players to jump into the game. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica called the title "the best kind of sequel" as it retained the best features of DJ Hero and added further improvements atop of those. Matt Wales of IGN noted that the early difficulty levels of the game were much more suited to beginners "to make for a more convincing DJing experience, without sacrificing that all-important accessibility".
Critics praised the new freestyle features into gameplay, citing the overuse of the Flavor Flav default sample in the first game. MacDonald favored how FreeStyleGames transformed the limited freestyle sections of the first game into "an integral part" of the sequel. Matt Helgeson of Game Informer stated that the nature of DJ Hero 2's freestyling made him feel that he was "helping craft the mix, not just hitting buttons in time". While the addition of new multiplayer modes was well-received, many felt the vocal track addition did not work out well. Chris Watters of GameSpot noted that "the singing evaluation doesn't feel as slick as in other games", and unless the player knows the music from both tracks of a mix, singing the back-and-forth mix "isn't all that fun". Helgeson commented that attempting to sing lyrics from two separate songs "feels like playing karaoke game in the grips of a seizure".
Reviewers found the soundtrack to provide a wider range of genres, moving away from hip-hop and into house and dance genres, to appeal to more players. Helgeson considered that the mixes were "uniformly great", and balanced popular artists with skilled DJ mixers. MacDonald stated the soundtrack was "faultless" and that while featuring a large number of songs from the club scene, the soundtrack is "still a powerful draw if you don't know or even like the music". Official Xbox Magazine UK's Mike Channell believed the "mashups also feel even more playful this time around", creating new interpretations of the lyrics of songs through the mixing. Cian Hassett of PALGN called the setlist "the most incredible fusion of contrasting genres known to man". Some critics commented that they felt the first game's track list was better; Damien Hatfield of IGN felt there was "more variety" in the original game's mix and better representation within certain genres, while Brown favored DJ Hero's set for "how it mixed together frequently disparate tracks" and that many mixes in the sequel favored too much of one song in the mix.
The NPD Group's North American sales estimates for DJ Hero 2 during its launch month were 59,000 units. Combined sales in North America of DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock were below one million in 2010, 63% below the total sales of Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, and Band Hero from 2009. As a result of faltering sales for its Guitar Hero series, Activision shuttered its Guitar Hero division, cancelling at least one planned game for 2011. The closure also affects the DJ Hero series, as Activision has stated that they do not expect to publish a music game during 2011.
## See also
- Guitar Hero
- DJ Hero
|
40,617,007 |
Ouw Peh Tjoa
| 1,152,162,823 | null |
[
"1930s Mandarin-language films",
"1930s lost films",
"Dutch East Indies films",
"Films based on the Legend of the White Snake",
"Films directed by The Teng Chun",
"Indonesian black-and-white films",
"Indonesian-language films",
"Lost Indonesian films"
] |
Ouw Peh Tjoa (Chinese: 水淹金山; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: O͘ Pe̍h Chôa; Hokkien for Black and White Snakes), also known by the Malay-language title Doea Siloeman Oeler Poeti en Item (meaning Two Snakes, One White and One Black), is a 1934 film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). It was directed and produced by The Teng Chun. Adapted from Legend of the White Snake, a Chinese folktale, it follows a magical snake who passes as a human but ultimately dies. The film, now possibly lost, was followed by one sequel, Anaknja Siloeman Oeler Poeti, in 1936.
## Plot
After meditating for several hundred years, a magical white snake transforms into a beautiful woman. Her competitor, a black snake, does likewise. The two compete for the love of a man named Khouw Han Boen. Ultimately Khouw agrees to marry the (former) white snake, but when her true identity is revealed he attempts to cancel their wedding. The snake-woman, crying, tells Khouw's boss that they are to be married, and ultimately Khouw is guilted into marrying her.
As time passes, Khouw sees his wife occasionally transform into a snake. She is always, however, able to convince him otherwise. He falls further in love with her, and their marriage is a happy one. After several months he is accosted by a priest, Hoat Hae Sian Soe, who then leads an attempt to kill the snake-woman. She escapes, pursued by the priests.
The priests catch the snake and prepare to kill her, but are stopped by the goddess Kwan Im, who tells the stunned pursuers that the snake is pregnant and thus must not be killed. A month after the snake gives birth, the priests return. The snake-woman gives her child to Khouw and then surrenders herself to her fate. She is captured in a magical jar and brought away.
## Production
Ouw Peh Tjoa was directed and produced by The Teng Chun for his company, Cino Motion Pictures. Since releasing Sam Pek Eng Tay in 1931, based on the legend of the Butterfly Lovers, The Teng Chun had released a series of films based on Chinese legends and folktales, including Pat Bie To (Eight Beautiful Women; 1932) and Pat Kiam Hiap (Eight Swordsmen; 1933). These stories were selected because the peranakan Chinese in the Indies were unable to understand Mandarin and Cantonese imports from China, but wanted to see films based on Chinese mythology. Overall, The Teng Chun's films emphasised the martial art silat and were generally profitable, allowing him to dominate the industry.
The cast of this black-and-white film is unrecorded. The dialogue, captured by the film's director-cum-producer, was in Malay. The snakes used in the production of this film came from The Teng Chun's personal zoo.
## Release and reception
According to The, in a 1970s interview, Ouw Peh Tjoa was released in 1934. Newspaper advertisements show the film being screened by February 1935. The film mostly targeted ethnic Chinese audiences. Advertising material, however, emphasised the use of spoken Malay and described the film as "full of astonishments and all forms of magic fights"; through these action sequences, Ouw Peh Tjoa proved popular among native audiences. The film was exported to Singapore, part of the Straits Settlements, where there was a large ethnic Chinese population.
The success of Ouw Peh Tjoa allowed The Teng Chun to import new equipment for his studio (renamed Java Industrial Film), which he used in his future productions. The film was followed in 1936 by a sequel, Anaknja Siloeman Oeler Poeti (Child of the White Snake). The Teng Chun continued releasing films based on Chinese legends until 1937, a year after Albert Balink's Pareh changed domestic perceptions of profitable film storylines. The's later films adapted stories closer to the native populace of the Indies and focussing on events that could happen in day-to-day life. Through 1940 and 1941 Java Industrial Films was the most productive studio in the Indies, until it was shut down during the Japanese occupation which began in March 1942.
Screenings of Ouw Peh Tjoa continued until at least 1953. The film is now likely lost. Movies were then shot on flammable nitrate film, and after a fire destroyed much of Produksi Film Negara's warehouse in 1952, old films shot on nitrate were deliberately destroyed. As such, the American visual anthropologist Karl G. Heider writes that all Indonesian films from before 1950 are lost. However, JB Kristanto's Katalog Film Indonesia (Indonesian Film Catalogue) records several as having survived at Sinematek Indonesia's archives, and Biran writes that several Japanese propaganda films have survived at the Netherlands Government Information Service.
## Explanatory notes
|
60,421,687 |
Sooryavanshi
| 1,173,836,050 |
2021 Indian Hindi-language action film
|
[
"1993 Bombay bombings",
"2020s Hindi-language films",
"2020s chase films",
"2020s masala films",
"Cop Universe",
"Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police",
"Film spin-offs",
"Films about Islamic terrorism in India",
"Films about arms trafficking",
"Films about bomb disposal",
"Films about identity theft",
"Films about jihadism",
"Films about organised crime in India",
"Films about suicide",
"Films based on the 2008 Mumbai attacks",
"Films directed by Rohit Shetty",
"Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic",
"Films set in Mumbai",
"Films shot in Bangkok",
"Films shot in Goa",
"Films shot in Mumbai",
"Indian action films",
"Indian films about revenge",
"Indian police films",
"Islamic terrorism in fiction",
"Reliance Entertainment films"
] |
Sooryavanshi is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Picturez, Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films. The fourth installment of Shetty's Cop Universe, it stars Akshay Kumar in the title role as ATS chief DCP Veer Sooryavanshi opposite Katrina Kaif, with Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh also returning as Singham and Simmba. Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, Nikitin Dheer, Sikandar Kher, Abhimanyu Singh and Kumud Mishra play the antagonists while Jaaved Jaaferi, Vivan Bhatena and Niharica Raizada in supporting roles.
Kumar's character was announced towards the end of Simmba (2018) that served as a character introduction.
Sooryavanshi initially locked to release on 24 March 2020 and then 2021, it was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic in India. After several delays, it finally released theatrically on 5 November 2021 coinciding with Diwali. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and went on to become the highest grossing Hindi film of 2021 and 47th highest grossing Indian film of all time with a gross of ₹294.91 crore after the COVID-19 pandemic.
## Plot
During the 1993 Mumbai blasts, Veer "Surya" Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar) loses his parents where he becomes motivated to become an ATS officer. Years later, Bilal Ahmed (Kumud Mishra), the blasts' mastermind seeks refuge with dreaded terrorist Omar Hafeez (Jackie Shroff) at POK, as they begin planning more such attacks. Omar's son Riyaaz Hafeez (Abhimanyu Singh) has formed a sleeper cell network consisting of 40 terrorists who pose as Indians, aiming to conduct more bombings after the 26/11 attacks. Surya is now the DCP and ATS chief where he plans an operation in Jaisalmer, and manages to kidnap Riyaaz who was hiding his identity.
Joint CP and Surya's senior officer Kabir Shroff (Jaaved Jaaferi), who was the only person able to fully solve the case, reveals about a full ton of RDX which was brought to India, of which 400 kgs were used during the 1993 bombings and the remnant 600 kgs are still buried somewhere in the country. Surya plans to catch the sleeper cell's remaining members. He also tries to reconcile with his estranged wife Dr. Ria Gupta (Katrina Kaif), with whom he parted ways due to a misunderstanding, but to no avail. Surya comes across Islamic priest Kader Usmani (Gulshan Grover), who is in fact a terrorist and Bilal's aide. Usmani meets Bilal, whose residence in Sawantwadi houses the wanted 600 kgs of RDX. They remove the buried RDX and prepare for the next bombings. Bilal reaches Mumbai with the help of taxi driver John Mascarenhas (Sikandar Kher) who left for Bangkok.
Surya catches Bilal, who confesses that he undertook the bombings as an act of vengeance for his family being killed in communal riots and shoots himself to death. Later, John is apprehended in Bangkok after a long chase between him and Surya, who learns that the bombs were being made by another member of the sleeper cell. Usmani and John are arrested; Surya plans to pretend to torture Usmani's daughters to make him confess. Usmani finally reveals that Riyaaz will meet him at his aide Rafique's residence. A suicidal bomb planted there kills Usmani, whose elder daughter helps in identifying the bombmaker Mukhtar Ansari (Nikitin Dheer), who is hiding in Shivgarh. Surya sends Inspector Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh) to arrest him.
Simmba tells Surya that 7 bombs are to be planted at 7 locations in Mumbai. Riyaaz escapes, and it is revealed that the ATS's headquarters would also be bombed. Surya and his team enlist NSG's help to safely extradite the bombs via helicopters and the bombings get botched. However, Riyaaz and his team use Ria as a suicide bomber to attack the ATS headquarters keeping Surya, Simmba and the other cops as hostages. Surya's friend DCP Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn) arrives and they defuse the bomb wrapped around Ria while killing all the terrorists. They capture Mukhtar, Riyaaz and his younger brother Raza (Mrunal Jain) who taunt Singham, Simmba, and Surya that they have been in India as sleeper cells for many years, carrying several attacks in Mumbai, and that the police cannot harm them. Enraged, Singham, Simmba and Surya shoot them to death, thus bringing peace in Mumbai.
## Cast
## Production
### Development
Sooryavanshi was announced in December 2018 through post-credit scenes of Simmba. The first look posters featuring Akshay Kumar were unveiled in March 2019. Unlike earlier entries in the series, Sooryavanshi is not based on any existing work, but is an original story. The scripting of the film began in Goa in 2019.
### Filming
Miscellaneous work of the film commenced in February 2019 in Mumbai, where the film's teaser was shot. Shetty began filming early in the morning and were done in a couple of hours before leaving for Goa to complete the scripting stages. Principal photography commenced in Mumbai on 6 May 2019 and was planned to be shot in Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad and Thailand. In June 2019, the recreated version of 'Tip Tip Barsa Paani' was shot in Mumbai, where choreographer Farah Khan had choreographed the song. Another schedule was shot in Hyderabad, where it was a month long schedule and majority of action sequences were filmed. The second schedule took place in Bangkok. The shooting wrapped up on 30 November 2019 in Hyderabad. The film's last schedule wrapped in December 2019 in Mumbai.
### Casting
Akshay Kumar was finalized as the main lead and it was announced during end credits of Simmba, conceiving the idea for the "Cop Universe". Shetty stated, "In Simmba, Ajay Devgn made a special appearance in his Bajirao Singham avatar, while Ranveer Singh too played a cop. Now in Sooryavanshi, both Ranveer and Ajay will be making an appearance and it will not be surprising if they reprise their respective roles from Simmba and Singham". Jacqueline Fernandez was rumored to be the female lead opposite Kumar in the film, however later in March 2019 it was confirmed that Katrina Kaif was finalised as the female lead.
## Music
The music of the film is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Lijo George – DJ Chetas and JAM8 while lyrics are written by Rashmi Virag, Shabbir Ahmed, Anand Bakshi, Tanishk Bagchi and Prem Dhawan. The song "Aila Re Aillaa" is a recreation of the eponymous song from the 2010 film Khatta Meetha. The song "Najaa" is a remake of the 2017 Punjabi song of the same name, originally created by Pav Dharia. The song "Tip Tip Barsa Pani" is a remake of the eponymous song from the film Mohra, originally composed by Viju Shah and features the vocals of original singers Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan. The song "Hum Hindustani" was released on 22 March 2022 under Saregama; it was adapted from the eponymous song originally composed by Usha Khanna and written by Prem Dhawan.
## Release
### Theatrical
Initially announced as an Eid 2020 release, the film was rescheduled to 27 March 2020. Later, in February 2020, the makers decided to release it on 24 March 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in India caused it to be postponed. In June 2020, Reliance Entertainment confirmed that Sooryavanshi will finally hit cinemas on Diwali, that is 13 November 2020, but due to theatre guidelines owing to the continuity of pandemic, the film was again put on hold as stated by the makers. In October 2020, the release was postponed to a later date, possibly between January and March 2021. In February 2021, sources confirmed that makers of Sooryavanshi have fixed 2 April 2021 as its new release date but that again failed to get materialized, because of night curfew or partial lockdown impose in Maharashtra announced by its government. After a delay of more than one year, it was declared on 14 March 2021 that the film will finally release theatrically on 30 April 2021. As of April 2021, the release date of film had been postponed indefinitely due to rise in COVID-19 cases and lockdown in Maharashtra. On 15 of October 2021, it was announced that it will be released theatrically on 5 November 2021, coinciding with Diwali.
### Home media
The film's satellite and digital rights were purchased by Zee Network and Netflix respectively, the latter for ₹100 crore (US\$13 million), and was premiered on 3 December 2021.
## Reception
### Critical response
Archika Khurana from The Times of India gave 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Rohit Shetty has tactfully expanded his Cop Universe over the years – keeping the audience engaged and die-hard fans of the genre on the edge. After the Singham series (headlined by Ajay Devgn) and then Simbaa (starring Ranveer Singh), now storms in, Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar), amidst much fanfare, drama, and blaring theatrics. Sooryavanshi's character was subtly announced towards the end of Simmba. The film has all the elements, attitude, style, showmanship and heavy-duty star power expected of a Rohit Shetty offering."
Anuj Kumar from The Hindu equated the film with a pandemic. He opined that the film "planted seeds of suspicion against a particular community". However, he praised the action sequences and performances of the cast. He summed up the film as, "Deepawali cracker that lights up the sky but covers the soul with soot." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5 stars out of 5 on Twitter and called "Fantastic" made for mass action entertainment. Writing on the website Bollywood Hungama, he further stated that: "SOORYAVANSHI has it all: stars, scale, action and entertainment. Rohit Shetty presents a Blockbuster package this Diwali."
Umesh Punwani from Koimoi gave 2 stars out of 5 and stated, "Sooryavanshi boils down to be a badly done spoof of multiple Rohit Shetty (and other similar templates) movies." Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express gave 2 stars and called, "It is only when the trio of Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn come together, the Rohit Shetty movie gives us what it promises, three for the price of one."
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in gave 2 out of 5 stars and said, "The gist of the 145-minute movie is contained in the extended climactic action sequence." Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times said, "Sooryavanshi isn't driven by a great script neither does it have any extraordinary suspense that could bring nail-biting moments. Yet, it keeps you on the edge for the sheer joy of watching that over-the-top action." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5 stars rating and wrote, "Akshay's gait is stunt in itself: a cross between a model in the middle of catwalk and a superhero about to take flight. Just like Simmba had provided a glimpse of what was to come in the next instalment, Sooryavanshi indicates what the future might hold for the Rohit Shetty cop universe."
Himesh Mankad of Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Sooryavanshi has its share of flaws, but also has enough going in its favor to entertain the audience on the big screen. It's a vehicle driven by Akshay Kumar, who gets support from Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh in the finale, resulting in a Diwali Dhamaka. It's unlike any Rohit Shetty film to date, rather, among his aesthetically sound directorial, which just deserved a little better writing and editing." Pradeep Menon from Firstpost gave the film 3 out of 5 stars rating and wrote, "Sooryavanshi doubles and triples down on its Hindu-Muslim unity message every instance it gets. It is not always done with nuance or understanding of complex religious dynamics, but the intentions are clear. This is a filmmaker reacting to the times he is living in. Keeping all of that aside, Sooryavanshi is a competent action film that sticks to lane, and delivers at least as much over-the-top entertainment as it promises."
Joginder Tuteja from Rediff.com gave the film 4.5 stars out of 5 and stated, "Sooryavanshi isn't the kind of masala entertainment that many film-makers have tried to force feed the audience. It is pure big screen entertainment, something that truly works right through its near two and a half hour duration. It's remarkable to notice how there is no dull moment in this two-and-a-half hour film, showing yet again that a long movie can work if made with conviction and loads of exciting sequences, just like Manmohan Desai used to do in his films with one highlight every 10 minutes." Deccan Herald gave a rating of 2.5/5 and said, "The best part of Sooryavanshi is when Simmba Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh) and Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn) join Veer Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar) in a high-octane clash against terrorists. The final 15-20 minutes is fun as the trio revels in slick action and whacky comedy."
Among international critics, Devika Girish of The New York Times criticized the film for uncritical jingoism and said "'Sooryavanshi' is weighed down by such endless, didactic soapboxing, while the rest of this erratic film devotes itself to juvenile jokes [...] and sultry songs that offer the film's female lead, Katrina Kaif, her only meaningful screen time."
According to Indian publication The Quint, Sooryavanshi "criminalises normal Muslim behaviour" and associates "things that a large number of Indian Muslims feel, say or do in their daily life" with terrorists. Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub said that the movie stoked "Islamophobic tropes" and compared the film to propaganda films from Nazi Germany.
### Box office
Sooryavanshi earned ₹26.29 crore (US\$3.3 million) at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹23.85 crore (US\$3.0 million). On the third day, the film collected ₹26.94 crore (US\$3.4 million), taking total weekend domestic collection to ₹77.08 crore (US\$9.7 million).
As of 20 December 2021, the film grossed ₹233.33 crore (US\$29 million) in India and ₹61.58 crore (US\$7.7 million) overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of ₹318 crore (US\$40 million). It emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year.
## Impact
The film was the first major release post COVID-19 pandemic era, which revived the exhibition sector for Hindi cinema. Earlier, few films including Akshay Kumar's other film Bell Bottom got limited release, though it did almost ₹30 crore but failed to revive. Sooryavanshi proved to be the ice breaker for the box office business in Bollywood. Director Rohit Shetty said after the success of the film:
> We fought for almost 19 months, where everyone told me my decision was wrong. Even till Thursday a lot of people were like, ‘He has gone mad, nobody is going to come to theatres.’ But there was a belief that they would come. We analysed a lot of things – the Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, how schools and malls started opening up, and how people started going back to work.When all of this was happening, I knew people would come to the theatres. Someone had to take the first step. I knew I had to take the risk and now I think it was worth taking. It was not just about me but the livelihood of all those connected to the theatrical business.
|
3,676,471 |
History of the National Hockey League
| 1,170,000,637 |
History of the NHL
|
[
"Articles which contain graphical timelines",
"History of ice hockey",
"History of sport in Canada",
"National Hockey League history"
] |
The history of the National Hockey League begins with the end of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA), in 1917. After unsuccessfully attempting to resolve disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, executives of the three other NHA franchises suspended the NHA, and formed the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Livingstone team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas. The NHL's first quarter-century saw the league compete against two rival major leagues—the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and Western Canada Hockey League—for players and the Stanley Cup. The NHL first expanded into the United States in 1924 with the founding of the Boston Bruins, and by 1926 consisted of ten teams in Ontario, Quebec, the Great Lakes region, and the Northeastern United States. At the same time, the NHL emerged as the only major league and the sole competitor for the Stanley Cup; in 1947, the NHL completed a deal with the Stanley Cup trustees to gain full control of the Cup. The NHL's footprint spread across Canada as Foster Hewitt's radio broadcasts were heard coast-to-coast starting in 1933.
The Great Depression and World War II reduced the league to six teams, later known as the "Original Six", by 1942. Maurice Richard became the first player to score 50 goals in a season in 1944–45, and ten years later, Richard was suspended for assaulting a linesman, leading to the Richard Riot. Gordie Howe made his debut in 1946, and retired 35 seasons later as the NHL's all-time leader in goals and points. "China Clipper" Larry Kwong becomes the first non-white player in the league, breaking the NHL colour barrier in 1948, when he played for the New York Rangers. Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's black colour barrier when he suited up for the Bruins in 1958. In 1959, Jacques Plante became the first goaltender to regularly use a mask for protection.
The Original Six era ended in 1967 when the NHL doubled in size by adding six new expansion teams. The six existing teams were formed into the newly created East Division, while the expansion teams were formed into the West Division. The NHL continued to expand, adding another six teams, to total 18 by 1974. This continued expansion was partially brought about by the NHL's attempts to compete with the World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 until 1979 and sought to compete with the NHL for markets and players. Bobby Hull was the most famous player to defect to the rival league, signing a \$2.75 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets. The NHL became involved in international play in the mid-1970s, starting with the Summit Series in 1972 which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players in the Soviet Union, which was won by Canada with four wins, three losses, and a tie. Eventually, Soviet-Bloc players streamed into the NHL with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989.
When the WHA ceased operations in 1979, the NHL absorbed four of the league's teams, which brought the NHL to 21 teams, a figure that remained constant until the San Jose Sharks were added as an expansion franchise in 1991. Since then, the league has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 32 today as the NHL spread its footprint across the United States. The league has withstood major labour conflicts in 1994–95 and 2004–05, the latter of which saw the entire 2004–05 NHL season canceled, the first time in North American history that a league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal. Mario Lemieux overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma to finish his NHL career with over 1,700 points and two Stanley Cup championships. Increased use of defence-focused systems helped cause scoring to fall in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL's talent pool had been diluted by 1990s expansion. In 1998, the NHL began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime, hoping to reduce the number of tie games; after the 2004–05 lockout, it eliminated the tie altogether, introducing the shootout to ensure that each game has a winner.
## Background and founding
The first attempts to regulate competitive ice hockey matches came in the late 1880s. Before then, teams competed in tournaments and infrequent challenge contests that prevailed in the Canadian sports world at the time. In 1887, four clubs from Montreal formed the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) and developed a structured schedule. In 1892, Lord Stanley donated the Stanley Cup to be symbolic of the Canadian championship and appointed Philip Dansken Ross and Sheriff John Sweetland as its trustees. It was awarded to the AHAC champion Montreal Hockey Club and thereafter awarded to the league champions, or to any pre-approved team that won it in a challenge. In 1904, the International Hockey League (IHL), based around Lake Michigan, was created as the first fully professional league, which lasted for two seasons. In recruiting players, the IHL caused an "Athletic War" that drained amateur clubs of top players, most noticeably in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). In the 1905–06 season, the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) was formed, which mixed paid and amateur players in its rosters, which led to the demise of the IHL. Bidding wars for players led many ECAHA teams to lose money, and it eventually folded on November 25, 1909. As a result of the dissolution of the ECAHA, two leagues were formed—the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) and the National Hockey Association (NHA). Since the NHA's owners were notable, wealthy businessmen, the CHA did not complete a season, as the NHA easily recruited the top players, and interest in the CHA teams faded. By 1914, the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) league was launched and the NHA champion would play off each season against the PCHA champion for the Stanley Cup, ending the challenge era.
The National Hockey League came into existence with the suspension of the NHA in 1917. After unsuccessfully resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, executives of the three other NHA franchises—the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators—suspended the NHA, and formed the NHL, replacing Livingstone's team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas. While new, the NHL was a continuation of the NHA. The NHL adopted the NHA's constitution, its rules, playing with six men to a side rather than the then-traditional seven and the NHA's split-season schedule. The owners originally intended the NHL to only operate for one season. However, the NHA was suspended permanently in 1918 and ceased to be an organisation in 1920. In 1921, the NHA championship trophy O'Brien Cup was adopted as the championship trophy of the NHL.
## 1917–1942: Founding
### Early years
One of the NHL's first superstars was the prolific goal-scorer Joe Malone, who scored 44 goals in 20 games in the NHL's first season, of which five were netted on the NHL's opening night. He also set the record for the most goals in a game that season, with seven. Six games into the season, the Montreal Wanderers were forced to permanently withdraw from the league, as a fire left them without an arena. In the 1918–19 season, the Montreal Canadiens faced the Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA for the Stanley Cup amid the Spanish influenza pandemic. The series was called off after five games when numerous players became ill; one, Joe Hall of the Canadiens, died a few weeks later.
During the early 1920s, the NHL faced competition for players from two other major leagues: the PCHA and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). As a result, ice hockey players were among the best paid athletes in North America. By the mid-1920s, the NHL emerged as the sole major league in North America; the PCHA and WCHL merged in 1924, only to disband two years later. The Victoria Cougars are the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup, having defeated the Canadiens in 1925, and lost to the Montreal Maroons in 1926, respectively. The NHL continued to expand, adding the Maroons and its first American team, the Boston Bruins in 1924, getting up to 10 teams by 1926. Defence dominated the NHL, and in the 1928–29 season, Canadiens goaltender George Hainsworth set what remains a league record with 22 shutouts in 44 games. In response, the NHL began to allow forward passing in the offensive zone, which caused the offense to increase by approximately 2.5 times; to stem the tide, the NHL introduced the offside rule, which prevents offensive players from entering the opponent's zone before the puck crosses the "blue line".
Livingstone continued to press claims in court throughout the 1920s, going as far as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, England. In early 1927, the Toronto franchise was sold to Conn Smythe, who renamed it to the Maple Leafs, and successfully promised to win the Stanley Cup in five years. He built the Maple Leaf Gardens, which included radio broadcaster Foster Hewitt's famous broadcast booth, affectionately referred to as a "gondola". On December 13, 1933, Eddie Shore charged Ace Bailey causing a severe skull fracture, following what Shore thought was a check from Bailey, but was actually made by King Clancy. Despite the grim prognosis (newspapers printed his obituary), Bailey survived, but did not play another game. The Maple Leafs hosted the Ace Bailey All-Star Benefit Game, which raised over \$20,000 for Bailey and his family.
### Great Depression
While Conn Smythe was able to successfully build a new arena, numerous other teams experienced financial difficulties. With the folding of the Philadelphia Quakers (originally the Pittsburgh Pirates) and the St. Louis Eagles (originally the Ottawa Senators), the NHL was reduced to eight teams starting in the 1935–36 season. The Montreal Canadiens narrowly escaped a move to Cleveland, Ohio, before a syndicate of Montreal businessmen bought the team. Montreal's financial troubles forced them to sell popular player Howie Morenz. When Morenz scored against the Canadiens on the last day of the 1935 season, Montreal fans voiced their opinion, giving him a standing ovation. Morenz was eventually re-acquired by Montreal, and on January 28, 1937, Morenz's skate became caught in the ice during a play. He suffered a broken leg in four places, and died on March 8 of a coronary embolism; 50,000 people filed past Morenz's casket at centre ice of the Montreal Forum to pay their last respects. A benefit game held in November 1937 raised \$20,000 for Morenz's family as the NHL All-Stars defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–5.
In the mid-1930s, Chicago Black Hawks owner and staunch American nationalist Frederic McLaughlin commanded his general manager to compile a team of only American players; at the time, Taffy Abel was the only American-born player who was a regular player in the league. With eight out of 14 players Americans, the Black Hawks won only 14 of 48 games. In the playoffs, however, the Hawks upset the Canadiens, New York Americans, and the Maple Leafs to become the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup despite a losing regular-season record. In the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, the heavily favoured Toronto Maple Leafs were facing an upset, having fallen 3–0 in the seven-game series to the fifth-place Detroit Red Wings. Toronto rebounded, and won the next four games to capture the Stanley Cup, becoming the first of four teams in the NHL to come back from a 3–0 series deficit and the only team to accomplish that in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Prior to the 1938–39 season, the Montreal Maroons folded due to financial difficulties, while the New York Americans suffered a similar fate prior to the 1942–43 season. With the league reduced to six teams, the "Original Six" era began. The league was nearly reduced to five teams before the following season, as World War II had ravaged the rosters of many teams to such an extent that teams battled each other for players. With only five returning players from the previous season, New York Rangers general manager Lester Patrick suggested suspending his team's play for the duration of the war but was persuaded otherwise.
## 1942–1967: Original Six
### Post-war period
In February 1943, league President Frank Calder collapsed during a meeting, dying shortly after. Red Dutton agreed to take over as president after receiving assurances from the league that the Brooklyn franchise he had operated would resume play after the war. When the other team owners reneged on this promise in 1946, Dutton resigned as league president. With Dutton's recommendation, Clarence Campbell was named president of the NHL in 1946. He remained in that role until his retirement in 1977. For the first 21 years of his presidency, the same six teams (located in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, and Toronto) competed for the Stanley Cup and that period has been called the "golden age of hockey". The NHL featured increasingly intense rivalries coupled with rule innovations that opened up the game. The first official All-Star Game took place at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on October 13, 1947, to raise money for the newly created NHL Pension Society. The NHL All-Stars defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and raised C\$25,000 for the pension fund.
The 1940s Canadiens were led by the "Punch line" of Elmer Lach, Toe Blake and Maurice "Rocket" Richard. In 1944–45, Lach, Richard and Blake finished first, second and third in the NHL's scoring race with 80, 73 and 67 points respectively. It was Richard who became the focus of the media and fans as he attempted to score 50 goals in a 50-game season, a feat no other player had accomplished in league history. Richard scored his 50th goal in Boston at 17:45 of the third period of Montreal's final game of the season. On March 13, 1948, Larry Kwong, the "China Clipper", becomes the first non-white player in the NHL, breaking the colour barrier. He suited up for the New York Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. In March 1955, Richard was suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, after he received a match penalty for slashing Boston's Hal Laycoe then punching a linesman who attempted to intervene. The suspension touched off a wave of anger towards league president Clarence Campbell, who was warned not to attend a scheduled game in Montreal after receiving numerous death threats, mainly from French-Canadians accusing him of anti-French bias. Campbell dismissed the warnings, and attended the March 17 game as planned. His presence at the game was perceived by many fans as a provocation and he was booed and pelted with eggs and fruit. An hour into the game, a fan lobbed a tear-gas bomb in Campbell's direction, and firefighters decided to clear the building. Fans leaving the game and a growing mob of angry demonstrators rioted outside of the Montreal Forum, which became known as l'affaire Richard, or the Richard Riot. Richard became the first player to score 500 career goals on October 19, 1957. He retired in 1960 as an eight-time Stanley Cup champion, as well as the NHL's all-time leading scorer with 544 goals.
In the fall of 1951, Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe watched special television feeds of games in an attempt to determine whether it would be a suitable medium for broadcasting hockey games. Television already had its detractors within the NHL, especially in Campbell. In 1952, even though only 10% of Canadians owned a television set, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) began televising games. On November 1, 1952, Hockey Night in Canada was first broadcast on television, with Foster Hewitt calling the action between the Leafs and Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens. The broadcasts quickly became the highest-rated show on Canadian television. Campbell feared televised hockey would cause people to stop attending games in person, but Smythe felt the opposite. CBS first broadcast hockey games in the United States in the 1956–57 season as an experiment. Amazed with the initial popularity of the broadcasts, it inaugurated a 21-game package of games the following year. The NHL itself adapted to be viewer-friendly. In 1949, the league mandated that the ice surface be painted white to make the puck easier to see. On January 18, 1958, Willie O'Ree joined the Bruins as an injury call-up for a game in Montreal. In doing so he became the first black player in the NHL.
Clint Benedict was the first goaltender to wear facial protection, donning it in 1930 to protect a broken nose. He quickly abandoned his mask as its design interfered with his vision. Twenty-nine years later, on November 1, 1959, in a game against New York Rangers Jacques Plante made the goaltender mask a permanent fixture in hockey. The first players' union was formed February 12, 1957, by Red Wings player Ted Lindsay who had sat on the board of the NHL's Pension Society since 1952. Lindsay and his fellow players were upset by the league's refusal to let them view the books related to the pension fund. The league claimed that it could not contribute more than it did but the players on the Pension Committee suspected otherwise. The idea quickly gained popularity and when the union's founding was announced publicly, nearly every NHL player had signed up. Led by Alan Eagleson, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) was formed in 1967 and it quickly received acceptance from the owners.
### Dynasties
The Original Six era was a period of dynasties. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup five times between 1944–45 and 1950–51. In the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals, the Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens four games to one in the only final in NHL history when all games were decided in overtime. Beginning in 1948–49, the Red Wings won seven consecutive regular season titles, a feat that no other team has accomplished. During that time, the Wings won four Stanley Cups. It was during the 1952 Stanley Cup Finals that the Legend of the Octopus was created. Brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano brought a dead octopus to the Detroit Olympia for the fourth game of the finals. They hoped that the octopus would inspire Detroit to an eighth game victory. Detroit went on to defeat Montreal 3–0 and the tradition was born. The Red Wings faced the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive seasons between 1954 and 1956. Detroit won the first two match-ups, but Montreal captured the 1956 Stanley Cup, ending one dynasty and starting another. The Canadiens won five consecutive championships between 1956 and 1960, a feat no other team has duplicated. The Original Six era ended with the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals between the two-time defending champion Canadiens, and the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs finished the era by winning the Cup four times between 1962 and 1967, their 1967 championship is the last Maple Leafs title to date. The Chicago Blackhawks, who won in 1961, are the only other team to win the Stanley Cup during this period.
## 1967–1992: Expansion era
### Expansion years
In 1963, Rangers governor William Jennings introduced to his peers the idea of expanding the league to the American West Coast by adding two new teams for the 1964–65 season. While the governors did not agree to the proposal, the topic of expansion came up every time the owners met from then on out. In 1965, it was decided to expand by six teams, doubling the size of the NHL. In February 1966, the governors met and decided to award franchises to Los Angeles, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Oakland and St. Louis. The league rejected bids from Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver. In Canada, there was widespread outrage over the denial of an expansion team to Vancouver in 1967; three years later, the NHL awarded a franchise to Vancouver, which formerly played in the Western Hockey League, for the 1970–71 season, along with the Buffalo Sabres.
On January 13, 1968, North Stars' rookie Bill Masterton became the first, and to date, only player to die as a result of injuries suffered during an NHL game. Early in a game against Oakland, Masterton was checked hard by two players causing him to flip over backwards and land on his head. Masterton was rushed to hospital with massive head injuries, and died there two days later. The National Hockey League Writers Association presented the league with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy later in the season. Following Masterton's death, players slowly began wearing helmets, and starting in the 1979–80 season, the league mandated all players entering the league wear them.
In the 1968–69 season, third-year defenceman Bobby Orr scored 21 goals to set an NHL record for goals by a defenceman en route to winning his first of eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the league's top defenceman. At the same time, Orr's teammate, Phil Esposito, became the first player in league history to score 100 points in a season, finishing with 126 points. A gifted scorer, Orr revolutionized defencemen's impact on the offensive part of the game, as blue-liners began to be judged on how well they created goals in addition to how well they prevented them. Orr twice won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, the only defenceman in NHL history to do so. Chronic knee problems plagued Orr throughout his career; he played 12 seasons in the NHL before injuries forced his retirement in 1978. Orr finished with 270 goals and 915 points in 657 games, and he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league Most Valuable Player thrice.
For the 1970–71 NHL season, two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the West Division. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Black Hawks in seven games in the finals.
The 1970s were associated with aggressive, and often violent play. Known as the "Broad Street Bullies", the Philadelphia Flyers are the most famous example of this mindset. The Flyers established league records for penalty minutes—Dave "the Hammer" Schultz' total of 472 in 1974–75 remains a league record. They captured the 1974 Stanley Cup, becoming the first expansion team to win the league championship.
### WHA competition and merger
In 1972, the NHL faced competition from the newly formed World Hockey Association (WHA). The WHA lured many players away from the NHL. The WHA's biggest coup was to lure Bobby Hull from the Black Hawks to play for the Winnipeg Jets. He signed a \$2.75 million contract, and lent instant credibility to the new league. After Hull signed, several other players quickly followed suit and the NHL suddenly found itself in a war for talent. By the time the 1972–73 WHA season began, 67 players had switched from the NHL to the WHA. The NHL also found itself competing with the WHA for markets. Initially, the league had no intention to expand past 14 teams, but the threat the WHA represented caused the league to change its plans. The league hastily announced the creation of the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames as 1972 expansion teams. Following the 1972–73 season, the NHL announced it was further expanding to 18-teams for the 1974–75 season, adding the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals. In just eight years, the NHL had tripled in size to 18 teams.
By 1976, both leagues were dealing with serious financial problems. The St. Louis Blues were on the verge of bankruptcy. Talk of a merger between the NHL and the WHA was growing. In 1976, for the first time in four decades, the NHL approved franchise relocations; the Scouts moved after just two years in Kansas City to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies, while the California Golden Seals became the Cleveland Barons. Two years later, after failed overtures about merging the Barons with Washington and Vancouver, the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, reducing the NHL to 17 teams for 1978–79.
The move towards a merger picked up in 1977 when John Ziegler succeeded Clarence Campbell as NHL president. The WHA folded following the 1978–79 season, while the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL as expansion teams, which brought the league up to 21 teams, until 1991. The merger brought Gordie Howe back to the NHL for one final season in 1979–80, during which he brought his NHL career total to 801 goals and 1,850 points. It was also the last season for the Atlanta Flames. The team averaged only 9,800 fans in attendance and lost over \$2 million. They were sold for a record \$16 million, and relocated north to become the Calgary Flames in 1980–81. Two years later, the Rockies were sold for \$30 million, and left Denver to become the New Jersey Devils for the 1982–83 season.
### More dynasties
Although the league expanded from six to 21 teams, dynasties still prevailed in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens won four consecutive Stanley Cups starting in 1975-76. In 1980, the New York Islanders won their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups. The Islanders dominated both the regular season and the playoffs with the likes of Billy Smith, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, and Bryan Trottier. In 1981, Bossy became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games since Maurice Richard accomplished that feat in 1945.
In 1982–83, the Edmonton Oilers had the best record. The Oilers were led by Wayne Gretzky, who remained with the Oilers when they joined the NHL in 1979. He scored 137 points in 1979–80 and won the first of nine Hart Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player. Over the next several seasons, Gretzky established new highs in goals scored in a season, with 92 in the 1981–82 season; in assists, with 163 in the 1985–86; and in total points, with 215 in 1985–86. Gretzky also set the record for scoring 50 goals in the fewest games, achieving the mark in 39 games. The Islanders and Oilers met in the Finals as New York swept Edmonton for their last Stanley Cup. The following season, the Oilers and Islanders met again in the playoffs. The Oilers won the rematch in five games, marking the start of another dynasty.
Led by Gretzky and Mark Messier, the Oilers won five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990. On August 9, 1988, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, in financial trouble, traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky's trade to the Kings popularized ice hockey in the United States. With the Kings, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's record for the most career points. Mario Lemieux led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cups in 1990–91 and 1991–92. A gifted forward, he won six Art Ross Trophies as the league's leading scorer and he scored 199 points in 1988–89, becoming the second highest single-season point scorer behind Gretzky. Lemieux's career was plagued by health issues, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and he retired in 1997. In 2000, he returned and finished his NHL career in 2006 with more than 1,700 points.
### Fall of the Iron Curtain
The NHL became first involved in international play in the mid-1970s, starting with the Summit Series in 1972 which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players in the Soviet Union. With the eight-game series tied at three wins apiece and a tie, Paul Henderson scooped up a rebound and put it past Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak with 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game to score the series-winning goal.
While European-born players were a part of the NHL since its founding, it was still rare to see them in the NHL until 1980, although the WHA employed a number of them. Börje Salming was the first European star in the NHL and Finns Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen helped lead the Oilers dynasty of the 1980s. The WHA opened the door, and players slowly joined the NHL, but those behind the Iron Curtain were restricted from following suit. In 1980, Peter Šťastný, his wife, and his brother Anton secretly fled Czechoslovakia with the aid of Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut. The Šťastnýs' defection made international headlines, and contributed to the first wave of Europeans' entrance into the NHL. Hoping that they would one day be permitted to play in the NHL, teams drafted Soviet players in the 1980s, 27 in all by the 1988 draft; however, defection was the only way such players could play in the NHL. Shortly before the end of the 1988–89 regular season, Flames general manager Cliff Fletcher announced that he had reached an agreement with Soviet authorities that allowed Sergei Pryakhin to play in North America. It was the first time a member of the Soviet national team was permitted to leave the Soviet Union. Shortly after, Soviet players began to flood into the NHL. Teams anticipated that there would be an influx of Soviet players in the 1990s, as 18 Soviets were selected in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.
## 1992–present: Modern era
### Southward expansion (1992-2000)
The 21-team era ended in 1990, when the league revealed ambitious plans to double league revenues from \$400 million within a decade and bring the NHL to 28 franchises during that period. The NHL quickly announced three new teams: The San Jose Sharks, who began play in the 1991–92 season, and the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, who followed a year later. The Lightning made NHL history when goaltender Manon Rhéaume played a period of an exhibition game, September 23, 1992. In doing so, Rhéaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game. One year later, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers began play as the NHL's 25th and 26th franchises respectively. The two new franchises were granted as part of the NHL's attempts at regaining a network television presence by expanding throughout the American south. The NHL's southward push continued in 1993 as the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas, to become the Dallas Stars.
In 1994, the players were locked out by the owners because of a lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 1994–95 NHL lockout lasted 104 days and resulted in the season's being shortened from a planned 84 games to 48. The owners insisted on a salary cap, changes to free agency and arbitration in the hopes of limiting escalating salaries, the union instead proposed a luxury tax system. Just as the entire season seemed to be lost, an 11th-hour deal was agreed on. The owners failed to achieve a full salary cap but the deal was initially hailed as a win for the owners. The deal was not enough to save two teams in Canada's smallest NHL markets. The revenue disparity between large and small market teams, exacerbated by the falling value of the Canadian Dollar, forced the Quebec Nordiques to move to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995; the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the Coyotes, the next year. The Hartford Whalers followed, moving to Greensboro, NC and becoming the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. The NHL continued its expansion into cities in the Southern United States. In 1998, the Nashville Predators joined the league, followed by the Atlanta Thrashers the following year. To further market their players, the NHL decided to have its players play in the Winter Olympics, starting in 1998, at the Nagano Games. In 2000, the league added two franchises, boosting the total number to 30. The NHL returned to Minnesota with the Wild and added the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio.
### 2004–05 lockout
By 2004, the owners were claiming that player salaries had grown far faster than revenues, and that the league as a whole lost over US\$300 million in 2002–03. As a result, on September 15, 2004, Gary Bettman announced that the owners again locked the players out before the start of the 2004–05 season. On February 16, 2005, Bettman announced the cancellation of the entire season. As with the 1994–95 lockout, the owners were again demanding a salary cap, which the players were unwilling to consider until the season was on the verge of being lost. The season's cancellation led to a revolt within the union. NHLPA president Trevor Linden and senior director Ted Saskin took charge of negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow. By early July, the two sides had agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement. The deal featured a hard salary cap, linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues and a 24% rollback on salaries.
### 21st century
Hoping to reduce the number of tie games during the regular season, the NHL decided that beginning in the 1999–2000 season, in any game tied after regulation time, both teams would be guaranteed one point, while the team that won in overtime would earn a second point. The Edmonton Oilers hosted the NHL's first regular season outdoor hockey game, the Heritage Classic on November 22, 2003. The game against the Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium before a then-record crowd of 57,167 fans who endured temperatures as low as −18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit). In the 2005–06 season, the NHL eliminated tie games, as the shootout was introduced to decide all regular season games tied after the five-minute overtime period. The shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005, as the league attempted to open the game up after the lockout. One of the most controversial changes was the league's zero-tolerance policy on obstruction penalties. The league hoped that the game could be opened up if it cracked down on "clutching and grabbing". The tighter regulations have met with numerous complaints about the legitimacy of some calls, that players are diving to draw penalties, and that officials are not calling enough penalties. The changes initially led to a sharp increase in scoring. Teams combined to score 6.1 goals per game in 2005–06, more than a full goal per game higher than in the 2003–04 season. This represented the highest increase in offence since 1929–30. However, scoring has rapidly declined since, approaching pre-lockout totals in 2007–08.
In the 2005–06 season, rookies Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby began their careers. In their first three seasons, they each won both the Art Ross and Hart trophies; Crosby in 2007, and Ovechkin in 2008. The success of the Heritage Classic led to the scheduling of more outdoor games. The Sabres hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout before a crowd of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The second Winter Classic was held January 1, 2009, at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. The third NHL Winter Classic was held in Fenway Park on January 1, 2010, between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The home team Bruins won.
Two clubs still experienced financial problems, however. The Phoenix Coyotes eventually filed for bankruptcy in May 2009. The league then took control over the team later that year in order to stabilize the club's operations, with the hopes of eventually reselling it to a new owner who would be committed to stay in the Phoenix market. The league did not find a satisfactory buyer for the Coyotes until 2013. The financially struggling Atlanta Thrashers were eventually sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, who then relocated the team to Winnipeg, a stark reversal of the league's Southward expansion more than a decade earlier.
The NHL again entered lockout in 2012, cancelling the first 526 games, about 43% of the season, until at least December 30, 2012. Just after 5 am on January 6, 2013, after approximately 16 continuous hours of negotiating, the NHL and the player's union reached a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout. The first games of the season were held on January 19. In 2017, the league expanded again to Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Vegas Golden Knights. In 2018, the league approved another expansion team in Seattle, Washington, the Seattle Kraken, which began play in 2021.
On May 26, 2020, the NHL declared that 2019–20 regular season (which had been suspended after March 11) would be prematurely terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the league subsequently announced on July 1 that the season would end with a 24-team playoff tournament to be held behind closed doors in Toronto and Edmonton from August 1.
## Timeline
Note: colours of bars indicate primary colour of that franchise's dark jersey during those seasons.
## See also
- History of organizational changes in the NHL
- List of NHL seasons
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I'm the Greatest
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1973 song by Ringo Starr
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[
"1973 songs",
"John Lennon songs",
"Ringo Starr songs",
"Song recordings produced by Richard Perry",
"Songs about the Beatles",
"Songs written by John Lennon"
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"I'm the Greatest" is a song written by English musician John Lennon that was released as the opening track of the 1973 album Ringo by Ringo Starr. With Starr, Lennon and George Harrison appearing on the track, it marks the only time that three former Beatles recorded together between the band's break-up in 1970 and Lennon's death in 1980. Lennon wrote the song in December 1970 as a wry comment on his rise to fame, and later tailored the lyrics for Starr to sing. Named after one of Muhammad Ali's catchphrases, the song partly evokes the stage-show concept of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Recording for "I'm the Greatest" took place in Los Angeles in March 1973, during a period when tensions among the former Beatles had eased. News of Starr, Lennon and Harrison working together led to heightened speculation in the press that the band might re-form. The presence on the recording of bassist Klaus Voormann, as a supposed stand-in for Paul McCartney, created a line-up that the press had dubbed the Ladders since 1971. The song was produced by Richard Perry and also includes musical contributions from Billy Preston, a keyboard player whose close links to the Beatles led to him being recognised as a Fifth Beatle.
Some commentators consider "I'm the Greatest" to be one of Starr's signature tunes. In his contemporaneous review for Rolling Stone, Ben Gerson praised it as a song on which "a stunning alchemy occurs"; author Peter Doggett likens the track to a "lost gem" from the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. "I'm the Greatest" was later included on Starr's compilations Blast from Your Past (1975) and Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr (2007). Starr has often performed it in concert with his All-Starr Band, whose second album, Live from Montreux (1993), opens with the song. A version from the 1973 recording session with Lennon on lead vocals appeared on the 1998 box set John Lennon Anthology.
## Background and inspiration
The Beatles broke up in April 1970, having achieved an unprecedented level of international fame for a musical act, and after helping to inspire many of the musical and cultural changes of the 1960s. In the eyes of the media and the public, the band members were divided into two factions: John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, all of whom had opted to engage the services of Allen Klein to manage the group's Apple organisation in 1969; and Paul McCartney, whose isolationist stance had been interpreted as the reason for the break-up. On 28 December 1970, a week after learning that McCartney intended to sue his bandmates in the British High Court, Lennon began writing "I'm the Greatest". He was inspired to write the song after watching the first UK television broadcast of the Beatles' 1964 film A Hard Day's Night.
Through much of 1970, Lennon had undergone primal therapy with Arthur Janov, a process that unearthed in him long-suppressed feelings of resentment and inadequacy relating to his childhood. For Lennon, according to author Peter Doggett, viewing the Beatles' film in this context "felt like a postcard from a previous century: there he was, acting out the role that had become his life". He set about writing "I'm the Greatest" as a sarcastic comment on his past. Lennon took the song's title from a catchphrase adopted by boxer Muhammad Ali, whom the Beatles had met in February 1964, shortly before filming A Hard Day's Night.
Working at his home studio at Tittenhurst Park, Lennon taped demos of the new composition and also of "Make Love Not War", a song he recorded formally as "Mind Games" in 1973. In July 1971, towards the end of the recording sessions for his Imagine album, Lennon taped another demo of "I'm the Greatest". He then put the composition aside until early 1973, when Starr approached his three former bandmates for songs to record for his first pop solo album, Ringo. In response, Lennon tailored the track to suit Starr's perspective. Lennon later said that, although the song title was a well-known saying of Ali's, he did not feel he could sing it himself without attracting controversy, whereas "people wouldn't get upset" if the statement came from Starr. Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, assisted in completing the lyrics, by contributing lines about Starr's wife and children.
## Composition
According to author and critic Bob Woffinden, in "I'm the Greatest", Lennon captures principal events in Starr's life "in affectionate terms". Woffinden adds that, by the early 1970s, Starr's perspective on the Beatles represented a more balanced view than any of his former bandmates'; he attributes this outlook to Starr's direction of the 1972 T. Rex concert documentary Born to Boogie, which allowed him to see at first hand the adulation afforded the band's leader, Marc Bolan. Lennon's lyrics remained partly autobiographical, however. He sings of growing up in Liverpool, his teenage years, falling in love for the first time, and "my wife and kids" in the present. In each case, he receives affirmation of his greatness – from his mother, his teenage peers, his lover, and his family. As part of what authors Ben Urish and Kenneth Bielen describe as the song's "sardonic take on the Beatles' experience", Lennon compares the international success of the band to "the greatest show on Earth" yet qualifies the claim with "For what it was worth".
The song is in a moderate rock tempo and in 4/4 time throughout. The musical key over the verses and two middle eight (or bridge) sections is B major, with frequent use of seventh chords. In the second bridge, the line "Yes, my name is Billy Shears" recalls Starr's alter-ego from the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – specifically, the character named at the end of the album's title song and under which Starr sings the ensuing track, "With a Little Help from My Friends". In "I'm the Greatest", this section ends with a reference to Starr's age in early 1973: "Now I'm only thirty-two / And all I wanna do, is boogaloo ..." The word "boogaloo" was a pet phrase of Bolan, whose use of the term had inspired Starr to write "Back Off Boogaloo" in 1971.
In the chord sequence over the closing section – comprising a descending C-B-B-A pattern followed by a return to C using the same chords – the song quotes from the main hook of Harrison's track "I Dig Love", which Starr had played on three years before. On his version of "I'm the Greatest", Starr extemporises over this section, building on Ali's boastful claim. He concludes by declaring himself to be "the greatest – in this world, in the next world, and in any world!"
## Recording
### Basic track
The sessions for Ringo coincided with a spirit of reconciliation among the four ex-Beatles. This was partly due to Starr, Lennon and Harrison's decision to sever their business ties with Allen Klein, whose control of Apple had been the cause of bitter division between them and McCartney. Klaus Voormann, a friend of the Beatles since their early years in Hamburg, also cites a willingness on the part of all the album's contributors to help Starr fully establish himself as a solo artist. With Richard Perry as his producer, Starr recorded the rhythm track for "I'm the Greatest" at Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles on 13 March 1973. Lennon played on the session, as did Harrison, who was in Los Angeles for meetings relating to two upcoming Beatles compilations, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, and to produce a new album by Ravi Shankar. Hearing that Starr and Lennon were working together, Harrison phoned the studio and asked Perry if he could attend. Lennon said, "Hell yes ... Tell him to get down here right away and help me finish [writing] this bridge."
The session for "I'm the Greatest" marked the first time that three former members of the Beatles had recorded together since the band's break-up. Perry later recalled the instinctive approach evident in the way the musicians worked together following Harrison's arrival; he described the atmosphere as "magic". The line-up on the basic track was Starr on drums, Lennon on piano and singing a guide vocal, Harrison on electric guitar, and Voormann on bass guitar.
Outtakes from the session, which later appeared on bootleg compilations, document the development of the song's rhythm track. While identifying this period as an artistic "malaise" for Lennon, following the failure of his and Ono's 1972 album Some Time in New York City, Urish and Bielen comment on the confidence he exhibits when directing the rehearsals. The line-up of musicians on "I'm the Greatest" matched that of a band rumoured to be known as the Ladders. According to reports in the UK music press in early 1971, such a group was to be a new incarnation of the Beatles, with Voormann replacing McCartney.
### Overdubs
Starr subsequently recorded a lead vocal for the track, although part of Lennon's singing was retained, creating an occasional harmony beside Starr's vocal. Other overdubs included contributions from keyboardist Billy Preston, who was often referred to as a "Fifth Beatle" due to his close association with the band. In addition, Perry overdubbed the sound of an audience applauding Starr's mention of Billy Shears, providing a further quote from the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper"/"With a Little Help from My Friends" medley. Harrison added more lead guitar parts, creating a guitar arrangement that author Simon Leng views as a "summary" of some his best-known contributions to the Beatles' work. These include, in Leng's description, "stabbing 'Get Back' rhythms" and "Help!"-style arpeggios, as well as a slide guitar solo that provides "an unexpected twist to the melody".
The press soon learned of the March 1973 collaboration, leading to heightened rumours regarding a full Beatles reunion, particularly in the UK. That same month, Starr announced that any such reunion was "absolutely out of the question". In October, by which point he had separated from Ono, Lennon told Chris Charlesworth of Melody Maker that the four ex-Beatles were "closer now than we have been for a long time" and there was "always a chance" of a temporary reunion. He added that McCartney would probably have played on "I'm the Greatest" also, had he been in Los Angeles at the time. Recognising the importance of the session with Lennon and Harrison, Starr decided to record McCartney's contribution to Ringo, "Six O'Clock", in London, to ensure that McCartney also appeared on the album.
## Release
Apple Records issued Ringo on 2 November 1973 with "I'm the Greatest" sequenced as the opening track. Combined with the closing song, "You and Me (Babe)", written by Harrison and Mal Evans, "I'm the Greatest" provided the album with a loose concept in the form of a stage show. The same theme was reflected in the painting used for the LP cover, which showed the album title spelt out in bright lights on a theatre stage, and Voormann, Ono, Lennon, Harrison and Perry among the characters along the front row of the theatre's balcony. Among his lithographs appearing in the LP booklet, Voormann represented "I'm the Greatest" with an image of Starr as a statue, with his fist raised, towering high above an open space filled with minuscule figures. Recalling the release in 1981, Woffinden said the lithograph reflected the album's "quintessentially Ringo" quality, whereby Starr's gifts were revealed in his ability to unite his supposedly more talented colleagues.
Helped by the speculation surrounding Starr's collaborations with his former bandmates, and by the interest generated by the two Beatles compilations, Ringo was a commercial success, overshadowing Lennon's concurrently released Mind Games. Acknowledging Starr's achievement, Lennon sent him a telegram that read: "Congratulations. How dare you? And please write me a hit song." Lennon pushed for "I'm the Greatest" to be issued as the third single off the album in the United States, but "Oh My My", written by Starr and Vini Poncia, was chosen instead.
"I'm the Greatest" appeared on Starr's Apple compilation album Blast from Your Past (1975), sequenced as the final track. The song was also included on his career-spanning compilation Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr, released in 2007. A version with Lennon's lead vocals appeared on the 1998 box set John Lennon Anthology. This track was a composite of various takes from the 13 March session for the song.
## Critical reception and legacy
Writing in Rolling Stone, Ben Gershon remarked on the aptness of Starr's role as the catalyst for a conciliatory musical statement from the ex-Beatles. He highlighted "I'm the Greatest" as one of the album's three "most wonderful songs" and the track on which "a stunning alchemy occurs" due to the presence of Harrison and Lennon. Although less impressed with Ringo, Alan Betrock of Phonograph Record wrote that the song heralded Lennon's comeback as a writer, saying that after his recent overtly political work, "the gum chewing proverbial tongue-in-cheek rocker has returned with more of the old genius – and Ringo handles the song quite well." In his review for the NME, Charles Shaar Murray found that Lennon's composition "verges uncomfortably on self parody" with Starr left as "the butt of the joke, as he's the poor sod who's actually singing it". Amid his criticism of the lyrics, Shaar Murray said that the return of Billy Shears "complete with canned applause" suggested an attempt to "plug the musical holes in the album with large handfuls of charm and nostalgia".
"I'm the Greatest" is the only recording to feature the line-up known as the Ladders. Until Harrison's tribute to Lennon after the latter's murder in December 1980, "All Those Years Ago", and the surviving Beatles' reunion for their 1995 Anthology project, it was also the only song to feature more than two former members of the band after the group's break-up in 1970. In their 1975 book The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler said that together Lennon, Harrison, Starr, Voormann and Preston constituted what had been considered "the New Beatles" around the time of the break-up. With regard to "I'm the Greatest", they added: "Not surprisingly, it is the most Beatlesque cut on the album, with economical bass figures, jangling guitar arpeggios (and a wicked little flashback to 'Sgt Pepper' therein)." Peter Doggett writes that whereas Lennon's 1970 version had reflected his emotional pain and bitterness, once given to Starr the song became "a sardonic tribute to the Beatles" that "sounded like a lost gem from the Abbey Road sessions". While identifying Harrison's guitar arrangement as the main reason for its Beatle sound, Simon Leng cites "I'm the Greatest" as "the most compelling example" of the transformative effect that Harrison's contributions had on a Lennon or McCartney song.
"I'm the Greatest" is featured in Andrew Grant Jackson's book Still the Greatest: The Essential Solo Beatles Songs, where the author deems it to be the track that signalled the end of Starr's self-styled "album block". Writing in MusicHound Rock, Gary Pig Gold identifies it as Starr's "theme song" as a solo artist, typifying both his propensity for nostalgia and the all-star collaborations suggested by his "with a little help from his friends" approach. Gold also considers the song to be one of Lennon's "best, most sarcastic creations ever". In the 2005 publication NME Originals: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980, Paul Moody included "I'm the Greatest" among the "ten solo gems" from Starr's career, describing it as a "Lennon-penned tribute to self-love" on which Harrison "weighs in with an electrifying lead guitar break". Music critic Tim Riley pairs the track with the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" as Starr's signature songs, while Ben Urish and Kenneth Bielen describe it as "a sequel of sorts" to "With a Little Help from My Friends", adding: "though not a monumental work, its humor and sense of fun recapture some of the true joy at the core of much of The Beatles' best work."
Starr has performed "I'm the Greatest" in concert on several of his tours with the All-Starr Band. It was the opening song throughout their 1992 North American and European tours, the last of which included a return to Liverpool for Starr's first concert in the city of his birth since the Beatles had played there in December 1965. A live version from this European tour, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on 13 July 1992, appeared as the opening track of his album Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Volume 2: Live from Montreux. Backed by the Roundheads, Starr played the song during his 2005 TV concert appearance for Soundstage, a performance that was released two years later on the album Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage and on DVD in 2009.
## Personnel
According to authors Harry Castleman and Walter Podrazik:
- Ringo Starr – vocals, drums, percussion
- John Lennon – piano, backing vocal
- George Harrison – electric guitars, slide guitar
- Billy Preston – organ, electric piano
- Klaus Voormann – bass
|
1,300,258 |
Ontario Highway 6
| 1,159,965,065 |
Ontario provincial highway
|
[
"Ontario provincial highways",
"Roads in Hamilton, Ontario",
"Roads in Wellington County, Ontario",
"Transport in Grey County",
"Transport in Guelph",
"Transport in Owen Sound"
] |
King's Highway 6, commonly referred to as Highway 6, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It crosses a distance of 480 km (300 mi) between Port Dover, on the northern shore of Lake Erie, and Espanola, on the northern shore of Lake Huron, before ending at the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17) in McKerrow.
Highway 6 was one of several routes established when Ontario first introduced a highway network on February 26, 1920, following several pioneer wagon trails. The original designation, not numbered until 1925, connected Port Dover with Owen Sound via Hamilton and Guelph. When the Department of Highways (DHO) took over the Department of Northern Development (DND) in 1937, Highway 6 was extended north through the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory. In 1980, the entire length of Highway 68 on Manitoulin Island and north to Highway 17 became a northern extension of Highway 6. Small modifications were made to the route of Highway 6 in 1997, but it was largely untouched by provincial downloading.
Highway 6 is one of two highways in Ontario (the other being Highway 33) broken into two segments by a ferry. The Chi-Cheemaun ferry serves automobile traffic, connecting Tobermory with South Baymouth between May and October.
## Route description
### Port Dover to Hamilton
Highway 6 begins at Saint Patrick Street in the community of Port Dover, and stretches northward as a two-lane, undivided highway. The road travels into Haldimand County, through communities such as Jarvis and Hagersville, and the traffic flow increases. At Caledonia, the road bypasses the former Highway 6 section (Argyle Street) that passes the town centre of Caledonia and is routed outside the urban area Caledonia. This Caledonia Bypass was opened in 1983, and is a two-lane undivided freeway. The bypass terminates at Green's Road on the north side of Caledonia and Highway 6 proceeds eastbound on Green's Road for approximately 500 metres to Argyle St. North. Highway 6 then turns north on a four-lane undivided alignment for 5 km. Much of the old alignment north to near Rymal Road remains provincially maintained as unsigned Highway 7273. In Hamilton, Highway 6 now uses a new alignment from Highway 403 to south of the Hamilton Airport, connecting with the southerly leg to Caledonia and Port Dover. The new alignment opened as an undivided two-lane freeway in November 2004; it is expected to expand to a full 4-lane divided highway, and to extend to past Caledonia, by some time in the 2010s. As the road meets Highway 403, Highway 6 merges with Highway 403, and there is a concurrency for 17 kilometres within Hamilton. The concurrency ends at the Highway 6 junction, at the Hamilton/Burlington boundary, near the Royal Botanical Gardens where Highway 6 turns northward.
### Hamilton to Guelph
Though most of the route is five lanes — two travel lanes in each direction, plus one centre lane for left turns — the section in Wellington County from Puslinch to Morriston has remained two lanes because of its route through several small towns and a lack of available property for widening; this area therefore suffers from significant congestion. A new alignment, connecting to the Hanlon Expressway at Highway 401, is being considered to bypass this troubled section. The section where Highway 6 is concurrent with Highway 401 has the highest AADT (Annual Average Daily Traffic), at 85,000 automobiles per day in 2002. High travel speeds in the five-lane section, and typical flow varies between 100 and 120 km/h (62 and 75 mph).
The section of Highway 6 between Highway 403 in Hamilton and Clappison's Corners (the intersection at Hwy 5 West) was converted in 2009 to a controlled access freeway with an interchange at York Road. The interchange opened on May 23, 2009, and simultaneously, the intersection where Northcliffe/Plains Road met Highway 6 was closed permanently. (A new service road was built on either side to connect Plains Road and various other residential streets to the York Road interchange.) This section of Highway 6 has two southbound lanes and three northbound, the extra lane being for trucks climbing the steep escarpment, as well as high mast lighting and a full concrete median barrier.
In Guelph, the road travels along the full length of the Hanlon Expressway - a 4-lane, controlled access and divided highway with mostly signalized level intersections. The Ministry of Transportation is presently investigating the possibility of changing these intersections into grade-separated interchanges. For 4 km Highway 6 is concurrent with Highway 7, from the Wellington Street interchange north to where the Hanlon Expressway ends at Woodlawn Road. At Woodlawn, Highway 7 turns west onto Woodlawn Road, while Highway 6 turns east onto Woodlawn Road. Following Woodlawn, Highway 6 then turns north onto Woolwich Street, leaving the city of Guelph.
### Guelph to Owen Sound
As Highway 6 leaves Guelph and heads northwards through Wellington County, it narrows to two lanes and passes through farmland. The route meanders northward for 17 kilometres (11 mi) before entering Fergus, where it meets County Road 18 and County Road 19. North of Fergus, Highway 6 winds northwest for another 17 kilometres into Arthur meeting County Road 109 (former Highway 9) just south of the town. After exiting Arthur, the route continues northwest for 22 kilometres (14 mi) before entering Mount Forest and meeting an intersection with Highway 89.
The route enters Grey County as it curves and meanders northward into farmland. It progresses north for another 22 kilometres to Durham, where it intersects Highway 4. It continues for another 31 kilometres (19 mi) to Chatsworth, where it meets Highway 10 and travels northward concurrent with Highway 10 for 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) into Owen Sound. There it encounters an intersection, where Highway 10 ends; from here, Highway 26 continues runs north and then east to Collingwood and Barrie, while Ontario Highway 21 travels east and then south towards Sarnia. Highway 6 turns west onto Highway 21, forming the only wrong-way concurrency in Ontario (Highway 6 westbound traffic is labelled as going north, while Highway 21 westbound traffic is labelled as travelling south). The two routes pass through downtown Owen Sound and onwards into Springmount, where they disembark from one-another; Highway 21 continues west, while Highway 6 turns north into the Bruce Peninsula.
### Owen Sound to Tobermory
At Springmount, Highway 6 ends its concurrency with Highway 21, and continues northwards into the Bruce Peninsula. The road remains as a two-lane highway for its full length up to Tobermory. Highway 6 spans 110 kilometres (68 mi) across the peninsula. It passes through communities such as Shallow Lake, Hepworth, Wiarton, and Ferndale. It is named Berford Street in Wiarton, and 10th Street in Owen Sound. Along the road, Bruce Peninsula National Park can be found. At Tobermory, the highway travels along Carlton Road and Front Street, where motorists must queue for the Chi-Cheemaun ferry to continue onwards to Manitoulin Island. The journey by ferry traverses waters of both Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, and takes approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. The ferry service is not available from mid-October to early May.
### South Baymouth to McKerrow
The Chi-Cheemaun ferry docks at South Baymouth, and Highway 6 continues as a two-lane highway. Highway 6 is both the main means of connection between Manitoulin Island and the rest of Ontario and the major highway on Manitoulin Island. Highway 540 and Highway 542 on Manitoulin Island link back to Highway 6. The section from South Baymouth to the Highway 542 junction has the least traffic on a given day, with an average of 610 vehicles passing as measured in 2010.
Highway 6 continues north, passing through communities such as Manitowaning, Sheguiandah, and Little Current. At Little Current, Highway 6 crosses the North Channel by the Little Current Swing Bridge, which swings open for 15 minutes of each daylight hour in the summer to allow boats to pass through the channel. As of 2021, studies by the MTO have proposed replacing the aging structure with a two-lane crossing.
After crossing the North Channel, Highway 6 climbs through the La Cloche Mountains near Whitefish Falls. Eventually, it arrives in Baldwin, north of Espanola, ending at Highway 17 in the community of McKerrow, 117 kilometres (73 mi) from South Baymouth.
## History
### Wagon trails
Prior to the establishment of Ontario's provincial highway network in 1920, the route that would become Highway 6 was composed of several early wagon trails created during the early settlement of what was then known as Upper Canada. These trails carved through an otherwise barren wilderness, connecting distant townsites: the Hamilton–Dover Plank Road between Port Dover and Hamilton, the Brock Road between Hamilton and Guelph, and the Garafraxa Road between Guelph and Sydenham (renamed to Owen Sound in 1851) — were opened in the 1830s and 1840s. Further north, the Southwest Diagonal and the Centre Road were built through the Bruce Peninsula in the 1840s and 1920s, respectively.
In 1837, Charles Rankin was hired by the Canada Company to survey a line between Guelph and a new town site on the southern shore of Georgian Bay known as Sydenham. The Canada Company was formed by several British investors to purchase, open, and settle the Huron Tract, a vast wilderness stretching from Guelph north to Georgian Bay and west to Lake Huron. Rankin's line crossed too many natural obstacles, a result of the tendency to build roads that were straight rather than following the natural topography. Consequently, a new line was surveyed in 1840 by the company's own surveyor, John McDonald, and construction along this new route began. Around the same time, the Van Norman Company constructed a plank road between Port Dover and Hamilton known as both the Hamilton Plank Road and the Dover Road. By 1848, the 119 km (74 mi) Garafraxa Road between Guelph and Sydenham was completed.
The remaining section between Hamilton and Guelph, known as the Brock Road, was constructed between 1848 and 1850 over the Guelph and Dundas wagon road. The wagon road, merely a trail through the forest, was cleared by the Canada Company in the 1820s to connect the fledgling town of Guelph with the established harbour at Hamilton, thus encouraging settlers to venture inland.
Further north, the Southwest Diagonal was surveyed in 1842 by Charles Rankin to provide a short route from the Sydenham townsite to the Hepworth townsite. This route passed through a large swamp and as a result remained an unimproved one lane trail into the 1920s. The Centre Road, the spine of the Bruce Peninsula, was built by the Department of Northern Development in the early 1920s, providing access to communities north of Wiarton. The route followed a telegraph line between Lion's Head and Tobermory and opened up a large area previously accessible only by water.
The latter two would not be incorporated into the original route of Highway 6.
### Provincial highway
When Ontario's Department of Public Highways first established a network of provincial highways on February 26, 1920 to be eligible for federal funding, it included the Hamilton and Dover Plank Road, the Brock Road and the Garafraxa Road. These roads were assumed from the various counties that held jurisdiction over them – Norfolk, Haldimand, Wentworth, Wellington and Grey – throughout June, July and August 1920.
Within Wentworth County, the construction of the Clappison Cut through the Niagara Escarpment was underway by 1921, with the aim of bypassing the winding old route that is known today as Old Guelph Road. The new route, which travelled straight along the boundary between East and West Flamboro, was assumed on January 12, 1921. The province and the City of Hamilton also constructed several new bridges across Cootes Paradise to create a new northwest entrance into Hamilton. The new entrance, connecting the Toronto–Hamilton Highway (later Highway 2) with the incomplete route up the escarpment to Clappison's Corners, was ceremonially opened by the Minister of Public Works and Highways, Frank Campbell Biggs, on August 23, 1922. The Clappison Cut was completed and paved in 1924.
Highway 5 and Highway 6 travelled concurrently from Highway 8 (Main Street) in downtown Hamilton to Clappison's Corners when route numbers were assigned in 1925. Highway 5 was 127.4 kilometres (79.2 mi) long at this time. This situation was short lived however, as Highway 5 was redirected west from Clappison's Corners to Peters Corners to meet Highway 8 on May 25, 1927. Highway 6, in turn, assumed the route of Highway 5 south to Jarvis. The route was extended further west in 1930, when the newly-renamed Department of Highways (DHO) assumed the road from Highway 8 at Peters Corners to Highway 24 west of St. George, as well as the Governor's Road between Highway 24 and Highway 2 at Paris. The 19.0 kilometres (11.8 mi) road between Highway 8 and Highway 24, through Beverley and South Dumfries was designated on June 18, while the 6.8-kilometre (4.2 mi) section of the Governor's Road, along the boundary between South Dumfries and Brantford Township, was designated several months later on September 24. These two segments were connected by a concurrency with Highway 24. This brought the length of the route to 114.3 kilometres (71.0 mi), including the approximately 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi) of Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue between Jane Street and Sibley Avenue, within the Toronto city limits.
`Below the escarpment, the highway followed what is now the Old Guelph Road, meandering into Hamilton.`
South of Hamilton, the road to Jarvis was numbered as Highway 5 when route numbers were assigned in the middle of 1925. Highway 5 and Highway 6 travelled concurrently from downtown Hamilton to Clappison's Corners. However, on May 25, 1927, several route numbers were revised, including Highways 5 and 6. Highway 5 was redirected west from Clappison's Corners to Peter's Corners to meet Highway 8. Highway 6, in turn, assumed the route of Highway 5 south to Jarvis. Exactly two weeks prior, on May 11, the Department of Public Highways had assumed the road between Jarvis and Port Dover; this also became a section of Highway 6, establishing its southern terminus for the next seven decades.
North of the escarpment to Highway 401, Highway 6 follows the same route that it did in 1920, the Brock Road. North of Highway 401, which didn't exist before the 1950s, the route continued through Guelph along what is now Gordon Street, Norfolk Street and Woolwich Street. This section has since been replaced by the Hanlon Expressway, built throughout the 1970s.
North of Guelph to Owen Sound, the route also follows the same route as it did in 1920, with some small deviations. The section from Fergus north towards Arthur followed the route was of the old Fergus and Arthur Road Company. A "cheap attempt" at paving had been made in the 1920s. The section was straightened, widened and paved with asphalt-based "penetration pavement" in 1930.
On April 1, 1937, the Department of Northern Development was absorbed into the Department of Highways, which subsequently took over many development roads as provincial highways. Most of the northern sections of Highway 6 were included amongst these. Highway 68 was designated from Little Current north to Espanola on August 11, 1937. Two weeks later, on August 25, Highway 6 was designated in Bruce County, from Wiarton north to Tobermory. The section within Grey County was designated several months later on November 3. The lone remaining section of what would eventually become today's Highway 6, across Manitoulin Island, was not designated until December 7, 1955. The entirety of Highway 68 eventually became part of Highway 6 in the early to mid- 1980.
### Expressways and bypasses
Longwoods Road extension
Under the leadership of Thomas B. McQuesten, who would soon introduce the freeway to Ontario, a new grand entrance to Hamilton was planned. It would cross the Desjardins Canal and terminate at a traffic circle, with Highway 2 continuing east and Highway 6 north. This new road, known as the Longwoods Road Extension, was built partially as a depression-relief project in the early 1930s. Upon completion in 1932, Highway 2 and Highway 6 were routed off the Old Guelph Road onto the new route into Hamilton. This configuration remained until the construction of Highway 403 during the early 1960s, which was built over the Longwoods Road Extension.
Mount Hope Bypass
Due to the narrow spacing of buildings in the village of Mount Hope, a bypass of the village was built in the mid- to late 1950s. The original route is now known as Homestead Drive. The bypass opened on April 26, 1957, at which point the old routing was decommissioned. It was subsequently bypassed, when the new Highway 6 opened to the southwest of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, on November 26, 2004.
Hanlon Expressway
With the rapid suburban expansion of Guelph in the 1950s and 1960s, a revised transportation plan was conceived to handle the increasing traffic load. The Guelph Area Transportation Study was completed in 1967, and recommended a new controlled-access highway to allow through-traffic on Highway 6 to bypass the city. Route planning, engineering and design began on October 2, 1967 and was subsequently completed in 1969. Construction began between Waterloo Avenue and Stone Road in 1970; this section opened on June 28, 1972. The next section, from Stone Road to Clair Road, opened in October 1973. Work on the northern section from Waterloo Avenue to Woodlawn Road began in August 1974. It and the final section south to Highway 401 were opened on November 7, 1975.
Initially, the 15.4-kilometre-long (9.6 mi) road featured no interchanges. However, the MTO has long-intended to upgrade the route to a freeway. Construction of the Wellington Avenue interchange began in October 1998; it opened in July 2001. On April 30, 2012, construction began on the Laird Road interchange. It partially opened on the week of November 11, 2013, and was fully opened on November 29, 2013, in a public ceremony attended by local officials as well as Guelph MPP Liz Sandals.
Caledonia Bypass
In 1976, a corridor study was completed on Highway 6 between Port Dover and Hamilton, indicating a need for a bypass of Caledonia due to the aging multi-span bridge over the Grand River, to improve capacity to the developing areas of Nanticoke near Lake Erie, and to reduce the high-volume of truck traffic passing through the town. Construction began in late 1979 on structures to cross the Grand River and to carry rail lines and three crossroads over the bypass. The bypass was completed in the fall of 1983. The old route through Caledonia is now known as Argyle Street.
### Downloading and changes since
On April 1, 1997, Highway 6 was decommissioned south of Hepworth to Highway 21. The entire length of Highway 70 was subsequently renumbered Highway 6 to rectify the discontinuity. On the same day, the section between the southern terminus at former Highway 24 to the west side of the Lynn River. These reduced the length of Highway 6 from 488.5 kilometres (303.5 mi) to 472.4 kilometres (293.5 mi).
A new 9.7-kilometre-long (6.0 mi) segment of Highway 6 was opened to the southwest of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in 2004. This building of this route had been planned since the construction of the Caledonia Bypass in 1983. However, concrete plans were not announced until January 1993. However, it had already drawn criticism due to an old-growth forest located in the path of the route. The planned highway would cost a projected \$100 million. However, these plans never came to fruition, and by 1997 a new, shorter route was in the planning stages. Construction of the \$33 million route was announced on May 26, 2000 by Transportation Minister David Turnbull, and began in July 2003.
The new route was opened on November 26, 2004. The section through Hamilton at the time followed Upper James Street through the Claremont Access onto the one-way pairings of Wellington Street and Victoria Avenue then Main Street and King Street. It turned north on Dundurn Street and crossed Cootes Paradise via York Boulevard before turning onto Plains Road and meeting the current route at the now-closed intersection. The responsibility for this routing was subsequently transferred to the City of Hamilton.
In early 2002, it was announced that the section of Highway 6 north of Hamilton, from Highway 403 north to beyond Highway 5, would be widened to a five lane freeway. This work began in 2006, widening and dividing the highway up the Clappison Cut. The York Road interchange opened on May 23, 2009, following completion of this work. The Plains Road/Northcliffe Avenue intersection was closed the night before and a new section of Plains Road opened on the same day as the interchange. Highway 6 now features an additional northbound truck-climbing lane as a result of this \$34 million project.
## Future
Three sections of Highway 6 are undergoing planning as of 2022.
- Highway 6 South (from Upper James Street south of Mt. Hope to Highway 403) is proposed four-laning around John C. Munro Airport that is undergoing preliminary design as of February 17, 2022
- The Morriston Bypass (from Maddaugh Road, south of Puslinch, to Highway 401 west of Morriston) is a proposed new two or four lane alignment of Highway 6 currently in early works construction.
- The Hanlon Expressway Mid-Block Interchange project will result in a new interchange between Wellington County Road 34 and Maltby Road, as well as the removal of the existing intersections between the Hanlon Expressway and those two roads. A design–build contract for this work was awarded in February 2022.
## Major intersections
|
43,521,883 |
Cyclone Alibera
| 1,142,061,984 |
South-West Indian tropical cyclone in 1989
|
[
"Cyclones in Madagascar",
"South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclones"
] |
Tropical Cyclone Alibera was the second longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record in the south-west Indian Ocean, with a duration of 22 days. It formed on December 16, 1989, well to the northeast of Madagascar. For several days, it meandered southwestward while gradually intensifying. On December 20, Alibera intensified to tropical cyclone status with 10‐minute maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph), or the equivalent of a minimal hurricane. That day, the Météo-France office in Réunion (MFR) estimated 10‐minute winds of 140 km/h (87 mph), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), an unofficial warning agency for the region, estimated peak 1‐minute winds of 250 km/h (160 mph). After drifting erratically for several days, the storm began a steady southwest motion on December 29 as a greatly weakened system. On January 1, Alibera struck southeastern Madagascar near Mananjary, having re-intensified to just below tropical cyclone status. It weakened over land but again restrengthened upon reaching open waters on January 3. The storm turned to the southeast, then to the southwest, and finally back to the southeast, dissipating on January 5.
Early in its duration, Alibera produced gusty winds in the Seychelles. Upon moving ashore in Madagascar, the cyclone lashed coastal cities with heavy rainfall and up to 250-km/h (150-mph) wind gusts. In Mananjary, nearly every building was damaged or destroyed, and locals considered it the worst storm since 1925. Across the region, the cyclone destroyed large areas of crops, thousands of houses, and several roads and bridges. Alibera killed 46 people and left 55,346 people homeless. After the storm, the Malagasy government requested for international assistance.
## Meteorological history
The first named storm of the season, Tropical Cyclone Alibera, formed on December 16 about halfway between Tromelin Island and Diego Garcia as a tropical disturbance. It originated from the Intertropical Convergence Zone and initially consisted of a spiral area of thunderstorms. The system moved erratically, first to the southwest, then to the southeast, and later curving back to the west, steered by a ridge to the southeast. On December 18, the Météo-France office in Réunion (MFR) estimated that the system attained winds of 65 km/h (40 mph), making it a moderate tropical storm. The MFR is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. As a result, the Mauritius Meteorological Service named the storm Alibera. Also on December 18, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), a joint United States Navy and Air Force task force issuing cyclone warnings for the region, assessed that the storm had winds equivalent to a minimal hurricane in a post-storm analysis. While the storm was active, however, the JTWC did not begin advisories until the following day.
Alibera quickly intensified, attaining tropical cyclone status on December 20 while southwest of Agaléga. Although the MFR estimated 10‐minute winds of 140 km/h (87 mph) that day, the JTWC assessed that the storm was vastly stronger, estimating peak 1‐minute winds of 250 km/h (160 mph). This is equivalent to a super typhoon, which made Alibera tied for the strongest cyclone in the southern hemisphere that season, along with Cyclone Alex in the Australian basin. On December 21, Alibera turned sharply to the south and slowly weakened. On the next day, the storm curved to an eastward drift as a downgraded severe tropical storm, its path influenced by ridges to the east and west. It maintained its intensity for the next several days, turning back to the south on December 24 and slowly recurving to the west. However, the movement was erratic, and the storm executed four small loops. Although the MFR had forecasting difficulties during this time, the storm remained far enough to the north of the Mascarene Islands to limit rainfall warnings.
On December 29, Alibera began a steady track to the southwest after the ridge weakened, and briefly deteriorated to minimal tropical storm status. However, it re-intensified to just shy of tropical cyclone status on January 1. Shortly thereafter, Alibera made landfall north of Mananjary in southeastern Madagascar, at 3 a.m. local time on New Year's Day, with 10‐minute winds of 115 km/h (71 mph). The storm quickly weakened over land, but again restrengthened upon reaching the Mozambique Channel on January 3. This was short-lived, as Alibera weakened back to tropical depression status by January 5. The storm moved to the southeast, turned to the southwest, and finally back to the southeast before dissipating on January 7, having been swept into the westerlies.
Alibera was the second longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the basin since the start of satellite imagery, with a duration of 22 days. Only Cyclone Georgette in 1968 lasted longer at 24 days. After Alibera, the only storm to approach Alibera's duration was Cyclone Leon–Eline in 2000, which lasted 21 days in the basin (29 days overall).
## Impact and aftermath
Before Alibera affected Madagascar, it produced winds of tropical cyclone force in the Seychelles. On Tromelin Island, Alibera produced sustained winds of 83 km/h (52 mph) with gusts to 124 km/h (77 mph).
In Mananjary where the cyclone moved ashore, Alibera produced gusts of 250 km/h (160 mph). There, nearly every building was damaged or destroyed, including hospitals, government offices, and schools. About 80% of houses were destroyed. The cyclone shut down the city's water system, disrupted access to the ocean, cut communications, and blocked or damaged most roads. There were 15 deaths in Mananjary alone. The storm damage in Mananjary prevented ships from delivering supplies. Residents in the region considered the storm to be the worst since 1925.
Elsewhere in southern Madagascar, the cyclone damaged about 70% of the buildings in Nosy Varika and 15% of Ivohibe. In the former town, many schools and houses were destroyed, leaving thousands homeless, and 4,230 houses were destroyed in Vohipeno. Strong winds damaged walls and roofs in several other towns in Fianarantsoa Province. The offshore island of Île Sainte-Marie sustained heavy damage. Across Fianarantsoa Province, Alibera destroyed 33,065 ha (81,710 acres) of rice, corn, coffee, bananas, and vegetables, although most of the damage was to the rice crop. The cyclone also wrecked about 10,000 ha (25,000 acres) of cotton and tobacco fields in Ihosy, and downed many trees along its path. Areas in southeastern Madagascar experienced heavy rainfall, which flooded rivers and canals in Fianarantsoa Province. Across the region, 23 roads were cut or damaged, totaling 19.5 km (12.1 mi) of roads in need of repairs. This included a 500 m (1,600 ft) portion of a mountain road that was destroyed, as well as a damaged section of Route nationale 7. In Vohipeno, the floods destroyed 13 bridges, and a bridge was damaged in Ifanadiana. The cyclone also cut a portion of the Fianarantsoa-Côte Est railway, thus disrupting regional economic activity. Across Madagascar, Alibera killed 46 people and left 55,346 homeless.
On January 18, the Malagasy government issued an appeal to the international community for assistance. The Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator provided \$15,000 (USD) in emergency funding to purchase immediate supplies. The United States sent \$20,000 to rebuild schools and hospitals. Other countries donated \$135,000 in supplies or cash, including \$82,000 from Japan and \$23,000 from the United Kingdom. In Mananjary, the local government provided 300 kg (660 lb) of rice to affected families, while the national government provided other relief goods to the city after roads were cleared. After the storm, a school in Farafangana housed 900 locals who were left homeless. Existing food supplies were sufficient to feed affected residents after the storm passed.
## See also
- Cyclone Gretelle – Powerful cyclone that struck a similar part of Madagascar in 1997
|
1,364,521 |
Mount Waesche
| 1,169,943,738 |
Volcano in Antarctica
|
[
"Executive Committee Range",
"Inactive volcanoes",
"Polygenetic shield volcanoes",
"Shield volcanoes of Antarctica",
"Volcanoes of Marie Byrd Land"
] |
Mount Waesche is a mountain of volcanic origin at the southern end of the Executive Committee Range in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. It is 3,292 metres (10,801 ft) high, and stands 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Mount Sidley, the highest volcano in Antarctica. The mountain lies southwest of the Chang Peak caldera and is largely covered with snow and glaciers, but there are rock exposures on the southern and southwestern slopes.
The volcano may have been active as late as the Holocene, with tephra layers recovered from ice cores possibly originating from Mount Waesche. Seismic activity has been recorded both from the volcano and from an area south of it and might reflect ongoing volcanic activity.
## Name and research history
It was discovered by the United States Antarctic Service expedition on a flight on December 15, 1940, and named for Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche, United States Coast Guard, member of the Antarctic Service Executive Committee. Field studies took place in 1999-2000 and 2018-2019.
## Geography and geomorphology
Mount Waesche lies in Marie Byrd Land, one of the most inaccessible areas of Antarctica. It is one of 18 volcanoes in that region, which were active from the Oligocene to recent times. The origin of volcanic activity there has been correlated to the activity of a mantle plume underneath the crust. The region also includes the highest volcano in Antarctica, Mount Sidley, which reaches 4,191 metres (13,750 ft) height. There may be as many as 138 volcanoes buried underneath the ice.
The volcano is 3,292 metres (10,801 ft) high. It is a double volcano, with the north-northeasterly Chang Peak caldera and the south-southwesterly Mount Waesche proper. The Chang Peak caldera is 10 by 6 kilometres (6.2 mi × 3.7 mi) wide and the largest in Marie Byrd Land; Mount Waesche rises almost 500 metres (1,600 ft) over and lies on the rim of the caldera. Mount Waesche is the more conspicuous peak and lava flows crop out on its southern and southwestern flank, while a 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide caldera lies at its summit. On the northern side of Chang Peak caldera lies a 2,920 metres (9,580 ft) high outcrop, and it and another outcrop consist of pumice and vitrophyre. Both volcanoes appear to be mainly formed by lava. At least five parasitic vents lie on the volcano, with several aligned on radial fissure vents; they are cinder cones and scoria cones and have erupted cinder, lava and volcanic bombs. A 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) long large radial dyke projects from Mount Waesche and is the only part of the edifice where hyaloclastic tuff crops out. The Bennet Saddle separates Mount Waesche from Mount Sidley 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the northeast.
Mount Waesche is largely covered with snow and features several alpine glaciers as well as a blue-ice area within the West Antarctic Ice Sheet; this blue-ice area has an extent of 8 by 10 kilometres (5.0 mi × 6.2 mi) and a number of tephra layers crop out from the ice. Most of these tephra layers come from Mount Waesche, but some originate at Mount Takahe and Mount Berlin and their age ranges from 118,000 years to Holocene. Two particularly conspicuous tephra layers from Mount Waesche are known as the "Great Wall" and "Yellow Wall".
The volcano emerges through and is surrounded by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet reaches an elevation of about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level at Mount Waesche and flows southward towards the Ross Ice Shelf. Blue ice is found in some areas. Glacial activity has altered the volcano, generating glacial striae and roches moutonnees on the older volcanic rocks and frost shattering landforms and solifluction ridges. Glacial drift lies on the ice-free southwestern flank. In turn, glacial moraines have been overrun by lava flows. Two sets of moraines formed by volcanic debris – one containing ice, the other without – lie on the southern and southwestern flank, reaching heights of 120 metres (390 ft) and lengths of about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). Surface exposure dating has indicated that they belong to an ice highstand that occurred about 10,000 years ago and that the volcanic rocks were probably extracted from underneath the ice. However, large parts of the volcano are exposed on its southwestern flank and apart from glacial erosion aeolian erosion has taken place on the volcano.
## Geology
Mount Waesche is part of the Executive Committee Range, which from north to south includes Mount Hampton, Mount Cumming with the parasitic vent Annexstad Peak, Mount Hartigan, Mount Sidley with Doumani Peak and Chang Peak-Mount Waesche. These mountains are all volcanic and feature ice-filled calderas, and many are paired volcanoes. Volcanic activity appears to be moving southward at a rate of 0.7 centimetres per year (0.28 in/year). Seismic activity recorded in 2010 and 2011 south of Mount Waesche may indicate ongoing magmatic activity south of the youngest volcano. Chang Peak and Mount Waesche appear to be located outside of the Executive Committee Range volcanic lineament.
The volcano erupted comendite, hawaiite and mugearite, with the former found at Chang Peak and the latter two at Mount Waesche proper; the parasitic cones have erupted a mugearite-benmoreite succession. The occurrence of rhyolite has also been reported. There appear to be two groups of volcanic rocks at Mount Waesche. Phenocrysts at Chang Peak include aenigmatite, alkali feldspar, ilmenite and quartz and at Mount Waesche olivine, plagioclase and titanaugite. Granulite and pyroxenite xenoliths have also been found. Despite their proximity, Mount Sidley and Mount Waesche have erupted distinctly different rocks. Unusually for volcanoes in Marie Byrd Land, the chemistry of volcanic rocks at Mount Waesche appears to have changed over time. The total volume of rocks is about 160 cubic kilometres (38 cu mi).
## Eruption history
The development of Mount Waesche began in the Pliocene, and Plio-Pleistocene tephra layers found in the Southern Pacific Ocean may originate at Mount Waesche. It appears that volcanism in the Executive Committee Range moved southwards over time, beginning at Mount Hampton and eventually arriving at Mount Waesche which is the young volcanic centre of the range. Chang Peak grew first, 1.6 million years ago or between 2.0–1.1 million years ago, while Mount Waesche formed within or about 1 million years ago; the youngest rocks at Waesche are less than 100,000 years old whereas there is no evidence of recent activity at Chang Peak. Argon-argon dating on rocks that today form moraines has yielded ages of about 200,000 years to over 500,000 years. One flank vent has been dated to be 170,000 years old and some rocks are too young to be dated by potassium-argon dating. A major pulse of lava flow emissions appears to have occurred 200,000-100,000 years ago and an older episode 500,000-300,000 years ago.
The volcano was active during the Holocene and may be a source of tephra found in ice cores. A layer of volcanic ash was identified in the region through radar data and is about 8,000 years old; it probably originated at Mount Waesche. The volcano today is considered to be "probably active" or "possibly active". A magmatic system may exist 55 kilometres (34 mi) south of Mount Waesche at 25–40 kilometres (16–25 mi) depth below the ice. Present-day seismic activity has been recorded at Mount Waesche, but it might be either volcanic/tectonic or caused by ice movement. Future eruptions are unlikely to have any impact beyond the surroundings of the volcano.
## See also
- List of volcanoes in Antarctica
|
43,577,045 |
Miss Rosa
| 1,163,867,127 |
Fictional character in Orange is the New Black
|
[
"Female characters in television",
"Fictional Hispanic and Latino American people",
"Fictional bank robbers",
"Fictional characters with cancer",
"Fictional inmates in American federal prisons",
"Fictional murderers",
"Fictional prison escapees",
"Fictional professional thieves",
"Fictional suicides",
"Orange Is the New Black characters",
"Television characters introduced in 2013"
] |
Rosa "Miss Rosa" Cisneros is a fictional character from the Netflix dramedy series Orange Is the New Black, played by Barbara Rosenblat. The character made her first screen appearance during the premiere episode titled "I Wasn't Ready", which aired on July 11, 2013. Stephanie Andujar portrayed "Young Rosa" in flashback sequences. Rosenblat originally auditioned for another character but producers asked her to portray Miss Rosa. The character is a cancer sufferer who is incarcerated in Litchfield federal prison because she committed armed bank robberies. Rosenblat did not want to shave her head for the role and a make-up artist was hired to fit a prosthetic appliance to her head creating the character's baldness. The application process took three hours, meaning that the actress had to arrive on set earlier than other cast members. Initially there was no character biography created for Miss Rosa; it was Rosenblat who gave the character a Hispanic background and accent.
The show decided to increase Miss Rosa's role during the second season; creating a backstory episode in which she was revealed to be a daring bank robber surrounded by tragedy. Other storylines include forming friendships with Lorna Morello (Yael Stone) and Yusef (Ben Konigsberg), growing animosity with the show's villain Yvonne "Vee" Parker (Lorraine Toussaint). The show remained focused on developing Miss Rosa's cancer storyline and her illness progressed to terminal stages. She was used to close the second season finale where she is told she has weeks to live. She escapes Litchfield in a stolen prison van and murders Vee with it. In the first episode of the third season, it is revealed that Miss Rosa commits suicide by driving the van into a quarry.
Critical reception of the character has generally been positive. Various critics praised the character for being the second season's break out role. Jayme Deerwester from USA Today called for Rosenblat to be handed an Emmy Award, while Arielle Calderon of BuzzFeed and Elizabeth Freda from E! Online labelled her as one of the show's best characters. But Kate Zernike of The New York Times criticized the character's fake accent and Vogue magazine's John Powers thought that she had a "clumsy" backstory.
## Development
### Creation and casting
The character was created for the pilot episode of the show. At the time the character did not have a surname and there was no characterization. Barbara Rosenblat attended auditions for Orange Is the New Black in New York. She originally read for the part of Galina "Red" Reznikov which was later awarded to Kate Mulgrew. Later she was asked to play Miss Rosa after she impressed the casting director. Rosenblat asked her agent for more details about the character but the only information supplied was that Miss Rosa suffers from an unknown form of cancer. Little was known because only the first episode had been planned. Alongside dialogue acquired from the audition, the actress had the creative freedom to develop Miss Rosa's image and persona.
### Characterization
Miss Rosa has a unique Hispanic accent which Rosenblat created and puts on. She drew inspiration from her scripts and costume. When she first placed a wig cap and looked in the mirror she began to envision how her character should sound. Though it was not until she filmed later episodes that she made a decision. Rosenblat told Anna Silman from Vulture that it was a scene involving Miss Rosa and Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), in which she states "I could have been the jefa". Rosenblat said that the Spanish word made her realize that her character is Hispanic and her dialect is indicative of something Latin.
Miss Rosa is a complex character and as she is developed she became more humanized. Though suffering from cancer, she does not let this define her or limit what she can do. Rosenblat said that she styled Miss Rosa to be a self-absorbed woman who had spent a long time incarcerated in Litchfield prison. The actress also wanted to play her as "classy and centered".
### Cancer
Miss Rosa suffers from cancer but refuses to let her illness define her. Rosenblat believed that her character's attitude resonated with viewers and she received letters of thanks from the audience and later recalled that one such letter, from a 16-year-old viewer, meant a lot to her. Her storyline helped him understand elements of his grandmother's cancer he could not grasp. Rosenblat said that these such stories relating to Miss Rosa left her "touched and moved".
Miss Rosa undertakes chemotherapy to treat her cancer, which leaves her bald. Rosenblat did not shave her head for the role because she worried about other roles. She had to wear a silicone "appliance" on her head and neck. Each morning on set makeup artist Josh Turri made up the appliance onto her. The process would take approximately three hours and Turri added false beauty marks, eyebrows and small veins to complete Miss Rosa's look. Rosenblat described him as "utterly brilliant and a perfectionist ... so you got this entirely organic sense that I was utterly bald and suffering [from] cancer." While on set fellow actors and crew members incorrectly assumed she had shaved her head. The weather during filming also affected Miss Rosa's costumer. During warm weather crew shielded Rosenblat from the sun with umbrellas because the heat would cause the make up to crack. Other breaches were caused by perspiration and Turri would drain water from underneath the prosthetics prior to repairing it. At the end of each shoot it took Rosenblat 45 minutes to remove the appliance.
Rosenblat also recalled that while filming an episode directed by Jodie Foster, she plucked her nipple hair. Foster was on set to talk over the logistics of how she wanted it portrayed through Miss Rosa. During season two Miss Rosa needs life-saving surgery, but inmate counselor Sam Healy (Michael J. Harney) informs her that officials at the Department of Corrections are not willing to fund the operation. Instead she is forced to continue with chemotherapy, which for her is essentially a death sentence.
### Character expansion
Miss Rosa played a minor role throughout the first season. Rosenblat had admitted that she only appeared sporadically and did not get to portray much. But the actress was eager to return for the show's second season. But during the second season the role was expanded which surprised Rosenblat. The actress told a reporter from Indiewire, "I learned where Miss Rosa is from I learned why she's in prison. You're going to learn a lot about her, a lot that I was desperate to know, and it helps." In March 2014, series creator Jenji Kohan told Jessie Katz of The Hollywood Reporter that viewers would be introduced to Miss Rosa's backstory. When the writers had planned a backstory episode for the character, Rosenblat was delighted. But the development left her unsure how Miss Rosa's story would fit into main storyline of Orange Is the New Black.
The episode "Appropriately Sized Pots" features a young Rosa. She is involved with a gang who commit bank robberies. It soon transpires that each time Rosa participates in a robbery, someone close to her dies. During her first heist, her boyfriend Marco (Alfredo De Quesada) is shot and killed by a security guard. In a later robbery her new lover Andy (Andhy Méndez) suffers a heart attack. Left with the only other gang member Don (Edvin Ortega), Rosa continues her crime spree. But she becomes obsessed with the thrill of money and raids a bank she did not check out and is apprehended for her crimes. Actress Stephanie Andujar played the character during flashback scenes. She watched Rosenblat's performance of the character so that she could portray her similarly.
During the season Miss Rosa has several encounters with Season 2's main antagonist, Yvonne "Vee" Parker (Lorraine Toussaint). Rosenblat told Taylor Cole Miller of The Huffington Post that she recalled thinking that the storyline would not have a happy ending and felt that there was a bigger story to come from it. Another storyline sees the character undergoing chemotherapy sessions at a hospital. Rosenblat told radio host Ira Wood that Miss Rosa meets a cancer stricken teenager Yusef (Ben Konigsberg) who thinks she is an "old git", but he gains respect for her when he learns that she was a bank robber. The dialogue featured in the story was Rosenblatt's favourite from the entire show.
Rosenblat was given the storyline that ties up the second season. The scenes feature Miss Rosa being told that she is going to die from her cancer. Fellow inmate and prison van driver Lorna Morello (Yael Stone) feels sorry for her and exits the van urging Miss Rosa to escape. The final scene features Miss Rosa driving away when she notices Vee also making an escape from prison. Recalling an earlier altercation with Vee, Miss Rosa careens the vehicle at Vee killing her instantly. Rosenblat told Silman that she joyfully screamed in the bathroom for five minutes when she learned of her character's actions. She added "After all this effort to get rid of this woman, just evil incarnate, you know, and then I stroll along in my van. [In Miss Rosa voice] 'So rude, that one.' Amazing. That final scene was really great." During the scene Miss Rosa morphs into her younger incarnation as she becomes free once again. Rosenblat recalled the logistics of filming having to swap backwards and forth with Andujar to create the same position behind the wheel.
## Storylines
In the pilot episode, Miss Rosa meets new inmate Piper Chapman and offers her some advice. She reveals that she is suffering from cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. Miss Rosa is told that she needs an operation to improve her chances of survival. However the DOC refuse to fund the operation and she is told that she needs to keep having chemotherapy. The outcome of which means she is likely to die. She then reminisces about her past as bank robber in which all the men she kissed during heists ended up dead. She details her life to a fellow cancer patient Yusef and they bond. He decides to help her regain the adrenaline rush felt from robbery and they steal a nurse's purse. Miss Rosa is delighted to learn that Yusef has gone into remission but is sad to say goodbye. She returns to her cell and informs good friend Anita DeMarco (Lin Tucci) that she is dying before smelling the money she stole from the nurse.
Vee approaches Miss Rosa claiming to remember her and tries to recruit her. But she is not interested and tells Vee that she is a rude woman. Vee and Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren (Uzo Aduba) later force Rosa to move out of the canteen and ruin her meal. Morello becomes concerned for Rosa during a hurricane which leaves Litchfield without power. Miss Rosa attends a hospital appointment and is told she only has weeks to live. The prison guard seems unfazed that she will die in prison. When a prison lockdown occurs Morello uses the opportunity to help Miss Rosa escape. She takes the offer and escapes from prison and on the way spots Vee. Recalling how Vee had treated her, Miss Rosa deliberately runs Vee down and kills her. She then drives off, laughing, toward her implied death in the quarry ahead. Her death is confirmed in the following episode when a guard reveals that she "(drove their) outdated crap into a quarry".
## Reception
Anna Silman from Vulture described Miss Rosa as a "no-nonsense bank robber evolved from being a bit player to becoming one of season two's most fascinating breakout roles." She also praised the role for being "rich and unusual". Arielle Calderon of BuzzFeed named the character as "one of the Season 2’s new fan favorites". Elizabeth Freda from E! Online ranked Miss Rosa as the third best character from season two. The character's backstory was her favourite. She said that a "cursed bank robber" sounded corny, but worked well. Hilary Busis of Entertainment Weekly described the character as a forgettable non-entity during the first season. She also praised Stephanie Andujar's performance as Young Rosa and called for her own spin-off series to be created. Kimberley Potts of Yahoo! TV voted Miss Rosa's backstory as the second best one of the entire show. Vogue magazine's John Powers criticized it, however, writing, "bald Miss Rosa is never again as interesting after clumsy, overlong flashbacks to her criminal career."
The Huffington Post's Miller described Rosa as "the husky-voiced, curmudgeonly, terminal cancer patient who comes up for air just long enough to pluck a "tit hair" or knock off a bank." Jenee Osterheldt from The Kansas City Star said that "if there’s one thing that sticks out about her character, it’s that husky and seductive voice that steals every conversation. You want to hear her speak, to cling to her words and let her paint the picture." Anita Li writing for Mashable praised the character's friendship with Yusef stating "despite the depressing circumstances of their meeting, the pair's chemistry is entertaining for viewers to watch."
ScreenCrush's Britt Hayes said that Miss Rosa and Vee's stories dominated the second season, but that she was disappointed that the two stories collided to form the series finale. She felt that it was both comical and absurd. Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast opined that the scene in which Miss Rosa learns she is dying was handled phenomenally. He also said that she deserved an award for killing Vee. Kate Zernike of The New York Times criticized the character's accent, believing it sounded more Russian. However, she thought Miss Rosa's last scene was both brilliant and exhilarating. Perri Nemiroff from Screen Rant praised the ending because it was emotional. She described Morello offering her freedom as an "especially moving season-ending thrill". She summed up Miss Rosa as being a kind person and branded it all more "gratifying" when she killed Vee. Entertainment Weekly readers voted Miss Rosa killing Vee as the "most shocking moment" of season two. Jayme Deerwester of USA Today said that Miss Rosa provided the best moments of season two, and that Rosenblatt deserved an Emmy Award. Dana Piccoli from AfterEllen.com said Miss Rosa was a character with the ability to "beguile me and break my heart". She called the scene with Rosa sniffing the stolen money as "euphoric". Lauren Hoffman of Cosmopolitan found that Miss Rosa's cancer struggle was "almost ignorable" during the first season, but viewers later saw her true self and her branded her refusal to care as her strength.
|
9,766,583 |
Chinese cruiser Yangwei
| 1,163,955,160 |
Chinese Tsukushi-class cruiser
|
[
"1881 ships",
"Chaoyong-class cruisers",
"Cruisers of the Beiyang Fleet",
"First Sino-Japanese War cruisers of China",
"Naval ships of China",
"Ships built on the River Tyne",
"Shipwrecks in the Yellow Sea",
"Shipwrecks of China",
"Sino-French War naval ships",
"Tsukushi-class cruisers"
] |
Yangwei (Chinese: 揚威; pinyin: Yangwei; Wade–Giles: Yang-wei; lit. 'Show of Force') was a cruiser built for the Imperial Chinese Navy. She was built by Charles Mitchell & Company in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, from a design by Sir George Wightwick Rendel which had already been used on the Chilean Navy vessel Arturo Prat (later the Imperial Japanese Navy's Tsukushi). Two ships were ordered by the Chinese, the Yangwei and the Chaoyong. Both would serve together throughout their careers, assigned to the Beiyang Fleet and based in Taku during the summer, and Chemulpo, Korea, in the winter.
Yangwei did not see any action during the Sino-French War, but in the First Sino-Japanese War, she was in the Chinese line at the Battle of Yalu River on 17 September 1894. She was set alight by combined fire from the Japanese fleet, and drifted south out of the battle until running aground on a reef. She was subsequently destroyed by a spar torpedo from a boat of the Japanese cruiser Chiyoda.
## Design
The design for Yangwei was advertised by its designer, British naval architect Sir George Wightwick Rendel, as an example of a low-cost cruiser able to withstand larger ironclad warships. The design was later seen as an intermediate concept between his flat-iron gunboats and the protected cruiser. In theory, the ship would rely on its small size and higher speed, along with a higher muzzle velocity main battery to attack larger, less maneuverable ships.
Yangwei's basic design was initially used on the Chilean Navy vessel Arturo Prat, which preceded it in construction, although several changes were made, including increasing the number of steam boilers from four to six. Both Yangwei and her sister ship, the Chaoyong shared the same design, and were built by British shipbuilder Charles Mitchell on the River Tyne near Newcastle Upon Tyne. Mitchell had worked alongside Rendel, and was building Arturo Prat. Yangwei measured 220 feet (67 m) long overall, with a beam of 32 ft (9.8 m) and an average draft of 15.5 ft (4.7 m). The ships were manned by 140 crew. The most significant difference between the two ships was the power output of their reciprocating engines; while Yangwei had an output of 2,580 indicated horsepower (1,920 kilowatts), Chaoyong's engine supplied 2,677 ihp (1,996 kW). This meant that while Yangwei could achieve a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), the Chaoyong could go faster at 16.8 kn (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph).
They both were constructed out of 0.75 inches (1.9 cm) steel with waterproof bulkhead 3.5 ft (1.1 m) below the waterline, a single smokestack, and twin masts, which could also be used for sails. The prow was reinforced for ramming. They had a number of technical innovations, including hydraulic steering systems and electrical incandescent light fixtures. The main armaments were breech-loading Armstrong 254 mm (10.0 in) cannons, one on the bow and one on the stern, mounted in stationary gun shields. These shields were added for weather proofing reasons, but restricted the angle of fire that could be taken, as well as the elevation they could fire at. Yangwei also had four 5.1 inches (130 mm) inch guns, (two to each side), two 57 mm (2.2 in) long guns, four 11 mm (0.43 in) Gatling guns, four 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns, two 4-barrelled Nordenfeldt guns, as well as two torpedo tubes. Both ships were equipped with two pinnaces, which were each armed with spar torpedoes.
## Career
Chinese diplomat Li Hongzhang was made aware of Rendel's designs, and following the start of the construction on Arturo Prat, an order was placed on behalf of the Imperial Chinese Navy for two ships of the same type. Yangwei was laid down on 15 January 1880, and launched on 29 January 1881. Yangwei was subsequently worked up, and was announced as completed on 14 July that year. They were completed ahead of Arturo Prat, who instead would enter service as the Imperial Japanese Navy's Tsukushi after Chile cancelled the order following the end of the War of the Pacific.
Commanded by American soldier of fortune Captain Philo Norton McGiffin and his British chief engineer Purvis the two Chinese manned cruisers sailed out of the Tyne River on 9 August, and stopped in Plymouth Sound two days later where Admiral Ding Ruchang joined them to take command of the ships for the journey to China. Following their arrival on 20 October in Hong Kong, they toured Canton (now Guangzhou) and Shanghai, before travelling to the Taku Forts. Chaoyong was boarded by Hongzhang, and the two cruisers took the diplomat to inspect the dredging of the port at Taku (now the Port of Tianjin). Both ships were assigned to the Beiyang Fleet in the north, and Ruchang was placed in command.
On 23 June 1884, Yangwei was present alongside Chaoyong, as well as the corvette Yangwu and the sloop Kangji, when the Chinese vessels met their French Navy counterparts. The French ships dwarfed their Chinese counterparts, and following a discussion between the leaders of each fleet, the French put on a firing demonstration. Afterwards, the Chinese fleet broke up with Yang-Wu headed to Fuzhou, and the two cruisers sailed back to Taku. The Sino-French War broke out shortly afterwards, although Yangwei saw no action, there was speculation that the two cruisers might be sent to break the French blockade of Formosa (Taiwan). She and Chaoyong were sent south to Shanghai in November, but were then brought back north after concerns were raised about growing Japanese influences in Korea.
### Battle of Yalu River
Following the war, Chaoyong and Yangwei continued to operate together. They operated out of Taku, but since the water froze over during winter, they would spend that part of the year in the Korean port of Chemulpo (now Incheon). During the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Yangwei remained with the fleet and was supporting troop transports when they made contact with a Japanese fleet on the morning of 17 September.
As the Japanese fleet moved in, the Chinese fleet moved away from anchor and attempted for form up in a line. However, the manoeuvre was botched and Yangwei was one of four ships which ended up behind the others. This was due to a lack of maintenance over the years; with their equipment out of date they could barely make 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph). Orders had been given for the ships to operate in pairs, with Yangwei and Chaoyong teamed together. This battle plan was alien to the premise of their design, inherent in the lack of armour for ships about to fight in the line of battle.
At a distance of 3,000 yd (2,700 m), the Japanese fleet targeted the Chaoyong and Yangwei. Within a few minutes, fires broke out on both ships, which quickly engulfed the central superstructures with its numerous wooden partitions covered with thick layers of flammable varnish applied over the years. Yangwei fought no more, and eventually beached on a reef several miles south with the loss of the majority of her crew. The morning following the battle, she was destroyed by a spar torpedo from a boat of the Japanese cruiser Chiyoda. The Japanese fleet had kept their distance, only sending in their smaller boats to investigate, fearing a counterattack by the Chinese using torpedoes.
|
65,624,239 |
Yaanga
| 1,145,615,770 |
Former Tongva village in Los Angeles, California
|
[
"Former Native American populated places in California",
"History of Los Angeles",
"Native Americans in Los Angeles",
"Tongva populated places"
] |
Yaanga was a large Tongva (or Kizh) village originally located near what is now downtown Los Angeles, just west of the Los Angeles River and beneath U.S. Route 101. People from the village were recorded as Yabit in missionary records although were known as Yaangavit, Yavitam, or Yavitem among the people. It is unclear what the exact population of Yaanga was prior to colonization, although it was recorded as the largest and most influential village in the region.
Yaangavit were treated as slave laborers during the Mission period by Franciscan padres to construct and work at San Gabriel Mission and Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles Asistencia and forced laborers for the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers to construct and expand Los Angeles. The colonizers' dependency on Yaanga for forced labor is thought to be a reason for its ability to survive longer than most Indigenous villages in the region. However, after the founding of Pueblo de Los Ángeles in 1781, Yaanga increasingly "began to look more like a refugee camp than a traditional community," and following relentless pressure on the inhabitants to assimilate, the community was eventually dispersed.
The original village seems to have only remained intact until about 1813. After being forcibly relocated several times, eventually eastward across the Los Angeles River, it was razed to the ground by the Los Angeles City Council under American occupation in 1847. Buried intact deposits from Yaanga have been found throughout downtown Los Angeles, such as in the vicinity of Alameda Street, Bella Union Hotel, Union Station, Plaza Church, and the Metropolitan Water District Headquarters.
## Etymology
Yaanga (alternative spellings: Yangna or iyáangaʼ, written as "Yang-Na" in Spanish), was described in contemporary sources as being a Tongva word meaning "place of the poison oak."
## Location
The original exact site of Yaanga is unclear because the village was evicted, forcibly relocated, destroyed and is now covered by downtown Los Angeles. However, it is known to have existed near downtown Los Angeles, just west of the Los Angeles River, and beneath U.S. Route 101. One article located the original village site of Yaanga "about 1.4 miles southwest of the current N. Broadway Street at the Los Angeles River [and] in the neighborhood of Los Angeles Street between the current Plaza south towards Temple Street... [which] would have placed the village in close proximity to the pueblo’s earliest plaza and church. The [Los Angeles] pueblo was established immediately adjacent to Yaanga in 1781 in the area north of the current Los Angeles Plaza Church."
Some historians position Yaanga as located slightly south of Los Angeles Plaza (Los Angeles Plaza Park), near or underneath where the Bella Union Hotel was located (now Fletcher Bowron Square). One historian concludes that "it is highly unlikely that Yaanga would have been located east of the present course of Alameda Street (i.e. beneath Union Station) because these areas would have periodically scoured during flood stages of the Los Angeles River, and higher, drier ground could be found farther west."
Several records within the English translations of the early era ayuntamiento or village council held relate that the council formally apportioned a triangular site for use by the Yaanga natives for their village, as well as subsequent attempts by Juan Domingo against this village. The date upon which the site was dedicated for use by Tongva natives is not given in the council translations, but the apportionment took place within fifteen years following the 1825 flood. More than one history of Los Angeles makes claims that in the westward shift of the river in the flood of 1815, the river destroyed both the Natives' village as well as the recently established second pueblo settlement, including the pueblo chapel. The plaza of the second pueblo settlement was located on the north side of Aliso Street a short distance west of El AliSo, the aged totem/signal tree of the Tongva Nation. The river continued to flow westward to Ballona Flats for a ten year period which lasted until the great flood of spring 1825. The river shifted eastward and cut against the hillside beyond/above which Boyle Heights eventually was settled. The now-empty riverbed of the ten year interregnum was utilized to form a northern passage by which the citizens could easily ford the river north of the juncture of the creek which still combines the drainages of Arroyo de Los Posas and Canada de Los Abilas within the broad valley north of present Boyle Heights.
The triangular site of 'Yaanga' was the remainder of the southeast portion of the plaza of the second settlement. The juncture of the original Aliso Street with the new route to the northeast, which followed the empty riverbed, was at the second settlement plaza. The reason why pueblo inhabitants abandoned the first settlement site to the northwest may have been due to destruction and fear resulting from two great earthquakes that occurred ten days apart in December 1812. The third (present) site of the Los Angeles Pueblo was then arrived at following the flood of 1815.
### Excavations
In 1962, Bernice Johnston noted that "...some characteristic items were unearthed during the building of Union Station in 1939, and considerably more... when the historic Bella Union Hotel was built [1870] [between Main and Los Angeles streets north of Commercial]."
In 1992, Joan Brown indicated archaeological materials were found in the vicinity of Union Station:
> Previous archaeological studies conducted at and near Union Station indicate that buried intact prehistoric and historic deposits exist in-situ beneath and in the vicinity of Union Station. The extent of the archaeological deposits is unknown at this time. Union Station was constructed on three to twenty feet of fill dirt placed over the original Los Angeles Chinatown. Chinatown, in turn, had been built over the remains of an Indian village, tentatively identified as the village of Yangna.
Excavations at the Metropolitan Water District Headquarters in 1999 revealed "a protohistoric cemetery associated with Yabit." It has been reported that excavations near the Plaza Church have "recovered beads and other artifacts used during the period of mission recruitment."
## History
### Before the mission period
Yaanga was recorded to be one of the most powerful villages in the region. The people who were from Yaanga referred to themselves as Yaangavit. People from the village were recorded as Yabit in missionary records although were known as Yaangavit, Yavitam, or Yavitem among the people.
At the center of the village was a large sycamore tree referred to by the Spanish and later settlers as El Aliso, which is believed to have started growing in the late fifteenth century as part of an extensive riparian forest that "thrived alongside the Los Angeles River and the region's inland wetlands" until around 1825, following a large flood which destroyed most of the trees (although El Aliso went on to survive until 1891). The massive tree was a gathering place for the local people and was so significant that the Tongva reportedly measured distances in relation to it "and traders from as far away as present-day Yuma knew the tree as a landmark." By the mid-eighteenth century, "the mighty sycamore stood at the center" of Yaanga. In 1769, the Portolà expedition reached Yaanga. Father Juan Crespí recorded his first interaction with an expedition camp of Yaangavit on August 2:
> As soon as we arrived about eight heathen from a good village came to visit us; they live in this delightful place among the trees on the River. They presented us with some baskets of pinole made from the seeds of sage and other grasses. Their chief brought some strings of beads made of shells, and they threw us three handfuls of them. Some of the old men were smoking pipes well made of baked clay and they puffed at us three mouthfuls of smoke. We gave them a little tobacco and glass beads, and they went away well pleased.
>
> On August 3rd, 1769, Crespí reached the village and described his interaction as follows: As they drew near us they began to howl like Wolves; they greeted us and wished to give us seeds, but as we had nothing at hand in which to carry them we did not accept them. Seeing this, they threw some handfuls of them on the ground and the rest in the air.
### Mission period
With the founding of Mission San Gabriel in 1771, the Spanish began to the refer to Yaangavit as "Gabrieleños." Mission records indicated that about 179 Yaangavit were baptized at San Gabriel, the highest of any Tongva village, and 1 at San Fernando Mission.
The first town of Los Angeles was built next to Yaanga along the Los Angeles River by missionaries and Indian neophytes, or baptized converts, in 1781. It was called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola). Yaanga was used as a reference point by the pobladores (founders) of Los Angeles in the establishment of the pueblo. After the arrival of the colonizers, Yaanga soon ceased to function as it had for thousands of years.
In 1781, tensions emerged between the founders of Los Angeles and the Franciscan padres at Mission San Gabriel over who would have control over newly converted Christian villagers. Felipe de Neve, one of the founder of Los Angeles, traveled to Yaanga to select children for conversion to Christianity with the intent of transplanting villagers from the Mission to the secular pueblo, only having them "return to the missions periodically for religious instruction." Neve "personally acted as padrino, or godfather, at twelve of the baptisms" and renamed one couple Felipe and Phelipa Theresa de Neve and remarried them "in the eyes of the church." In 1784, a sister mission, the Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles Asistencia was founded at Yaanga as well.
Yaangavit were treated as slave laborers by Franciscan padres to construct and work at San Gabriel Mission and Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles Asistencia and forced laborers for the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers to construct and expand Los Angeles. In 1803, Yaanga's population was reported to be 200. As the demand for "Indian labor" grew, the village became more of a place for refugees of surrounding villages destroyed or otherwise depleted from colonization. Historian William David Estrada states that during this time the village attracted people from local villages, "from the islands, as well as laborers from Missions San Diego and San Luis Rey and beyond... this symbiotic interdependency may have helped Yaanga survive longer than most rancherías."
### Evictions and forced relocations
The original village of Yaanga is believed to have only remained intact until 1813 "when the final two baptisms of Yaanga residents (of the more than 200 recorded in Mission San Gabriel registers, 1771–1813) were noted." Researchers state that the villagers regrouped south of the original village site as early as the 1820s, at a location referred to be local residents as the Ranchería de los Poblanos. In the 1820s, immigrants from France came to Los Angeles in small numbers and settled around the Commercial and Alameda streets, close to the original village site of Yaanga. The ayuntamiunto (city council) passed new laws in Los Angeles which forced Indigenous peoples to work or be arrested. They conducted sweeps for "drunken Indians" which filled the city jails with Tongva villagers.
The Ranchería de los Poblanos was recorded to be in close proximity to the Nicoleños, who had previously been relocated in similar fashion in 1835. However, in 1836, Los Angeles residents complained about Indians bathing in the local canal, which prompted the forced relocation of the regrouped Yaangavit to a new site on flood-prone land. This new ranchería site is believed to have existed less than 10 years.
German sailor and immigrant Juan Domingo [Johann Gröningen], who lived in Los Angeles, submitted petitions to evict the Yaangavit and obtain the land that was allotted to them. Researchers note that Domingo did not wait to be approved though "and without permission built a fence across one of the rancherías that was adjacent to his own property." Three representatives of the relocated villages by the names of Gabriel, Juan José, and Gandiel submitted a petition protesting the illegal actions of Domingo on April 27, 1838, and asked that Domingo "be forced to remove his fence so they could build their homes." The City Council required Domingo to take down the fence."
However, in December 1845, Domingo purchased all of the land allotted to the villagers for \$200, taking advantage of Pío Pico's need for additional monies and the general lack of respect for native title. As a result, the villagers were again forcibly relocated to a site called Pueblito, east across the Los Angeles River in what is now Boyle Heights, placing a divide between Mexican Los Angeles and the nearest Indigenous community. It was recorded by historian Kelly Lytle Hernández that "Native men, women, and children continued to live (not just work) in the city. On Saturday Nights, they even held parties, danced, and gambled at the removed Yaanga village and also at the plaza at the center of town." In response, the Californios continued to attempt to control the villagers lives, issuing Alta California Governor Pico a petition in 1846 stating: "We ask that the Indians be placed under strict police surveillance or the persons for whom the Indians work give [the Indians] quarter at the employer's rancho." This was despite the local economy's heavy dependence on Indian labor.
### Elimination
During the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), the U.S. military invaded and occupied Los Angeles on August 13, 1846. Under American occupation, elimination became a core principle of governance and was a point of agreement between Anglo-Americans and Mexican citizens in Los Angeles. On a cold fall evening in 1847, the Pueblito site, which the Yaangavit had been relocated to only two years earlier, was razed to the ground. The Native inhabitants were dispersed into scattered smaller communities: others moved into the city to live nearer their employers. This was reportedly approved by the Los Angeles City Council and largely displaced the final generation of Yaangavit into the Calle de los Negros ("place of the dark ones") district.
Following its destruction, a series of armed raids were launched in the city's outskirts. These raids were state-sanctioned by Anglo-American Governor Peter Hardeman Burnett, who stated "that a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected." The U.S. federal government subsidized these armed raids by paying bounties to vigilantes who killed "Indians." Disease also took a great toll among Natives in Los Angeles, which led to a massive population decline in the city between 1848 and 1880.
In 1852, Hugo Reid identified the historical locations of several villages in the Los Angeles Basin area, including Yaanga, prior to Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization. Reid published his research in 24 weekly installments from February to August 1852 for the Los Angeles Star. In 1859, in the wake of increasing criminalization and absorption into the city's burgeoning convict labor system, the county grand jury declared "stringent vagrant laws should be enacted and enforced compelling such persons ['Indians'] to obtain an honest livelihood or seek their old homes in the mountains." This declaration ignored Reid's research, which stated that most Tongva villages, including Yaanga, "were located in the basin, along its rivers and on its shoreline, stretching from the deserts and to the sea." Only a few villages led by tomyaars (chiefs) were "in the mountains, where Chengiichngech's avengers, serpents, and bears lived," as described by Lytle Hernández. However, "the grand jury dismissed the depths of Indigenous claims to life, land, and sovereignty in the region and, instead, chose to frame Indigenous peoples as drunks and vagrants loitering in Los Angeles."
## See also
- Achooykomenga (the site of Mission San Fernando)
- Acjacheme (the site of Mission San Juan Capistrano)
- Hahamongna
- Puhú
- Puvunga
- Toviscanga (the site of Mission San Gabriel)
|
23,472,025 |
Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together
| 1,168,510,564 | null |
[
"2008 American television episodes",
"Phineas and Ferb episodes"
] |
"Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" is the 22nd broadcast episode of the American animated television series Phineas and Ferb. It originally aired on Disney Channel in the United States on March 8, 2008. The plot concerns an attempt by Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher to reform the band Love Händel for their parents' wedding anniversary.
The story was written by Bobby Gaylor and Martin Olson, and storyboarded by Chris Headrick and Chong Lee. It was directed by series co-creator Dan Povenmire. The episode's central characters, the members of Love Händel, are parodies of three of the production staff, Gaylor, Povenmire, and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Jaret Reddick, Carlos Alazraqui, and Steve Zahn guest starred as Love Händel members Danny, Bobbi Fabulous and Sherman/Swampy, respectively.
"Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" was well received and is considered a fan favorite. It has been referred to by the Phineas and Ferb co-creators as one of their favorite episodes in several different interviews. The episode garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the song "Ain't Got Rhythm" in the category "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics."
## Plot
Phineas and Ferb's parents, Linda and Lawrence, are arguing over something Lawrence has forgotten. Linda goes out alone for the afternoon, leaving Lawrence confused; then Candace informs him that today is his wedding anniversary. Lawrence goes to the garage to search for a gift and discovers an old album by Love Händel: he explains to the children that he and Linda shared their first kiss at the band's farewell concert. Lawrence despairs of recapturing the moment, but Candace, Phineas, and Ferb watch a Where Are They Now?-type special about Love Händel, and decide to reform the band. Candace tries to keep Linda away from the house while Phineas and Ferb are looking for the members of the band.
Meanwhile, Perry breaks into Dr. Doofenshmirtz's hideout, only to discover that he is only putting a birthday party for his 16-year-old daughter Vanessa. Doofenshmirtz explains that he has been trying to give out the best birthday parties for her, but failed for some reasons, as she felt so extremely unhappy about her birthdays all her life (this was evident of several birthday photos that Doofenshmirtz shows to Perry in his wallet). Seeing this, Perry agrees to set aside his rivalry and help Doofenshmirtz prepare for the party.
Phineas and Ferb set out to convince the members of Love Händel - lead singer Danny, bassist Bobbi Fabulous, and drummer Swampy (whose real name is Sherman) - to reform. Danny alone agrees immediately, with a song; the other two need convincing, through song as well. At the same time, Isabella and the Fireside Girls are starting the stage building. Lawrence, at the same time, tries to cater a small dinner and hires a singing telegram; unfortunately, the dinner catches fire, and Lawrence's hastily planned evening goes up in smoke. Phineas and Ferb arrive and assure Lawrence that all is well, explaining that the band has agreed to reform. Meanwhile, Candace continues keeping Linda away from the house by taking her to the mall to try on some dresses.
Doofenshmirtz, back at his lair, ties Perry to a giant firecracker rocket, explaining that he will end the party with fireworks and explode Perry at the same time. When Vanessa arrives, however, she hates the "girly" theme Doofenshmirtz has chosen and sits down to mope at a table, fearing that this would embarrass her in front of her arriving goth friends. At Phineas and Ferb's house, Love Händel's rehearsal descends into infighting; sure that no one will want to hear them anymore, the band are again on the verging of breaking up when they hear the roar of the crowd. Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz mopes of failing another attempt of giving Vanessa a good party, so he decides to ignite Perry's rocket to cheer himself up, but Perry frees himself and a fight ensues, during which Doofenshmirtz becomes tied to the rocket by accident instead. At the same moment, the band begins to play; Candace and Linda arrive home. Linda reunites with her husband, and eventually kiss, thanks to some motivation from Ferb, who yells to Lawrence to kiss her.
The explosion as Doofenshmirtz's firecracker rocket launches leaves the lair filthy and partly destroyed; the creepy look thrills Vanessa's arriving goth friends (including her boyfriend Johnny), who find it to be cool. Touched by this, Vanessa happily thanks both her father for getting one birthday party right for her and Perry for helping her father out. As the rocket ascends, Doofenshmirtz is himself cursing Perry, as usual, but pauses to notice Love Handel singing below. The band finish their song just as Doofenshmirtz's rocket explodes with a heart-shaped flare. The episode ends with Love Handel singing "Music Makes Us Better" and with everyone (including Doofenshmirtz, who has survived the explosion unscathed) dancing.
## Production
"Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" was written by Bobby Gaylor and Martin Olson, with storyboards by Chris Headrick and Chong Lee. Series co-creator Dan Povenmire directed the episode. Povenmire and Headrick had previously collaborated on a direct-to-video Looney Tunes short entitled Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Each member of Love Händel was inspired by a member of the production team, who had previously been musicians themselves. Danny was named after and based on Povenmire, Bobbi Fabulous on Gaylor, and Swampy on co-creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Povenmire and Marsh each played in different bands in Los Angeles for over a decade. Gaylor was a spoken word performer who played pop and rock music; he recorded an album titled Fuzzatronic Dreams.
As well as the show's regular voice actor cast members, "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" featured guest stars in the roles of the three band members. Jaret Reddick (the leader of the Grammy-nominated band Bowling for Soup, who also perform the show's regular, Emmy-nominated theme song), Carlos Alazraqui, and Steve Zahn portrayed each of the bandmates (Reddick as Danny, Alazraqui as Bobbi and Zahn as Swampy respectively).
## Reception
The episode received critical acclaim from critics and fans. Newsarama reporter Steve Fritz called the episode a fan favorite. Fritz praised it for demonstrating "incredible ways to play within the walls of [the show's] formula, constantly coming up with refreshingly different plot lines."
The episode was also popular among the production staff: Povenmire named it as his and Marsh's favorite, citing the quality of the songs, the "sort of touching" ending, and the "really good feel" of the story. In April 2009, Marsh cited "Rollercoaster" as his favorite, tying "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" in second place with "The Chronicles of Meap".
One of the episode's songs, "Ain't Got Rhythm", was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics" later in 2008. The nomination credited Danny Jacob, Marsh, Povenmire, Olson, and Robert Hughes for the song. This was the series' second Emmy nomination for songwriting.
### Further appearances
Love Händel made a cameo appearance in the season two episode "Thaddeus and Thor". In this episode, Doofenshmirtz sings about his childhood to the tune of the song "Snuck Your Way into My Heart", then introduces the band to finish the song. He then gloats to Perry about having the band appear in his "back story". Three songs featured in the episode ("Ain't Got Rhythm," "Fabulous," and "You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart") are available on the self-entitled Phineas and Ferb soundtrack. "Danny's Story" and "Music Make Us Better" are not included. "Ain't Got Rhythm" was voted \#8 on Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown, a viewer-voted countdown of the best songs from the first season of the show. The band also was seen in "Just Passing Through" as well as "Hip Hip Parade", and also sung two songs for "Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You!": "Bouncin' Around the World" and "The Ballad of Klimpaloon", the latter only available on the soundtrack. They also made an appearance in the "Carpe Diem" song in "Rollercoaster: The Musical!"
|
3,508,497 |
Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
| 1,173,657,376 |
Fictional character in Kingdom Hearts
|
[
"Characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura",
"Fictional characters who can manipulate light",
"Fictional explorers in video games",
"Fictional knights in video games",
"Fictional members of secret societies",
"Fictional swordfighters in video games",
"Kingdom Hearts original characters",
"Male characters in video games",
"Square Enix protagonists",
"Video game bosses",
"Video game characters introduced in 2004",
"Video game characters introduced in 2005",
"Video game characters who can move at superhuman speeds",
"Video game characters who can teleport",
"Video game characters who use magic"
] |
Roxas (Japanese: ロクサス, Hepburn: Rokusasu) is a character from Square Enix's video game franchise Kingdom Hearts, who first appears as a cameo during the final scenes of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and makes his first full appearance in Kingdom Hearts II. He is a "Nobody" who was born from the series' main character Sora after he briefly lost his heart during the events of the first game. Kingdom Hearts II reveals that he is a member of Organization XIII, a group of Nobodies who need him for his ability to wield the Keyblade, a weapon that allows him to capture hearts. As a member of the organization, Roxas bears the title "Key of Destiny" (めぐりあう鍵, Meguriau Kagi, lit. "Serendipitous Key"). He is also the protagonist of the video game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, which revolves around his origins. He is voiced by Kōki Uchiyama in Japanese and Jesse McCartney in English.
Director Tetsuya Nomura has stated that Roxas is an important character in the series, and that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was created to elaborate upon his backstory. Since his introduction in Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas has received positive critical response from video game publications, with most of them focusing on his development in 358/2 Days. Various merchandise based on him has been produced.
## Creation and development
After his cameo at the end of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the series' director, Tetsuya Nomura, was questioned about the character, However, he refrained from revealing too much about him and said he would become an important, playable character for the franchise. The developers wrote Roxas' story in Kingdom Hearts II to add mixed feelings to the game in a short time frame. After receiving a positive fan response to Roxas' scenario, Nomura concluded that it was well-executed. He also stated that Roxas' merging with Sora in the game was one of the most memorable scenes in the series for him. Nomura later commented that Roxas was one of the first characters created for Organization XIII and was always intended to be its 13th member. The meaning of Roxas' name was meant to be revealed in a scene in Kingdom Hearts II that shows the letters in the word "Sora" rearranged with the "X" added to expand the connection between the characters. However, this scene was omitted since Nomura found it difficult to implement time-wise. Since his debut in Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas has been voiced in Japanese by Kōki Uchiyama and in English by Jesse McCartney.
After the release of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Nomura wanted to expand Roxas' role in the series to explain the events between his birth and his disappearance from Organization XIII. For Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the staff thought that Roxas' role as a member of the group would be a suitable theme for the plot. Roxas was chosen as the game's protagonist since the staff thought that having a main character other than Sora would help to introduce gamers to the series' first Nintendo DS title. Co-director Tomohiro Hasegawa explained that Roxas was originally shorter, and the staff decided he should grow taller as the game continued to develop. Nomura wanted to portray Roxas' activities differently from Sora's, since Sora is on a journey around the world while Roxas always returns to Organization XIII after each mission. The staff constructed Roxas' interactions with the Disney characters differently from Sora's, as the Organization was meant to be secret in the game's story. Nomura told the writers that he wanted Roxas to learn something from each of his missions or have something to think about. Nomura later clarified that Roxas' personality was different from the one portrayed in Kingdom Hearts II, as he does not actively attempt to come into contact with other characters. With Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Nomura wanted to reveal why Roxas left Organization XIII, and although he found it to be sad story, he considered Zack Fair's ending in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII to be more tragic. Nomura felt Roxas' last words in the game were also its most significant, as he wanted them to connect to Kingdom Hearts II's first scene, which is actually the same scene. Uchiyama expressed sadness when the game's development ended, as he would not play the character for a long time.
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix's secret ending features a character named Ventus who strongly resembles Roxas, and Nomura commented that, despite their similarities, Roxas and Ventus are not the same character. He also said that when playing Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, players will be able to distinguish Roxas from Ventus. In another interview, Nomura implied that both characters are related, specifically to Sora, but he wanted fans to imagine reasons for such a connection. He also stated that in Kingdom Hearts III, there is a possibility of Roxas being revived despite Sora being alive at the same time, which will be explained by the fact that Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody, Ansem and Xemnas, exist at the same time as he does. Originally, Roxas was not meant to return, but positive response to his character led to his inclusion.
## Characteristics
Roxas is a boy with blue eyes and spiky blond hair. Due to his nature as a Nobody, he is an "empty shell" of series protagonist Sora, created after he sacrifices his heart and becomes a Heartless during the events of Kingdom Hearts. As a result, despite his teenage appearance, Roxas is one day short of a year old when he rejoins Sora in Kingdom Hearts II. As a civilian, he wears a white jacket over a black jacket as well as white trousers. As a member of Organization XIII, he wears a hooded black coat that covers most of his body. His weapon is the Keyblade known as the Kingdom Key (キングダムチェーン, Kingudamu Chēn, Kingdom Chain), which resembles a classic skeleton key with a long silver keychain extending from the hilt and a Mickey Mouse token on the end of it. However, the player can modify it during Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days using the game's panel system. Roxas gains the ability to dual-wield Keyblades after leaving the Organization, and exclusively uses the weapon's Oathkeeper (約束のお守り, Yakusoku no Omamori, lit. "Promise's Charm") and Oblivion (過ぎ去りし思い出, Sugisarishi Omoide, lit. "Passing Memories") forms for each.
Roxas' personality changes significantly across the series because when he is first introduced, he has fake memories that make him believe he is a common teenager, and spends most of his time with his friends. After learning that he is Sora's Nobody and remembering his past, Roxas gives up his existence so that Sora can continue to exist, but still expresses happiness for his fate. During his time in the Organization, Roxas develops a calm personality as a result of having no memories of a previous life, unlike other Nobodies.
## Appearances
Roxas first appeared in Another Side, Another Story, a bonus trailer found in Kingdom Hearts, and in the ending of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, he is introduced as a boy living in a computer simulation of a city called Twilight Town. Unaware of the virtual nature of the city, Roxas begins to dream about the adventures of Sora, the series' protagonist. He later encounters Axel, a member of Organization XIII who is under orders to extract him from the simulation, and Naminé, a Nobody who informs him he is Sora's other half. Shortly after meeting DiZ, the creator of the virtual world, Roxas learns the true nature of Twilight Town, and that DiZ altered his memory and personality to mislead his pursuers from the Organization until he can merge with Sora. DiZ leads Roxas to an old mansion where he rejoins with a sleeping Sora, allowing him to awaken. Sora later learns that Roxas is his Nobody, born during the events of the first game after he briefly became a Heartless, and was inducted into the Organization for his ability to capture hearts with the Keyblade. However, Roxas later betrayed the Organization and encountered one of Sora's friends, Riku, who captured him to restore Sora. Roxas makes two appearances near the end of the game, first in a mental battle with Sora in a cutscene, and second alongside Naminé, who has merged with her other self, Kairi. In the re-released version, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Roxas' fight against Sora is expanded, making him a boss character. The battle was meant to be interactive in Kingdom Hearts II, but time constraints imposed from creating fights for the other Organization XIII members prevented its inclusion. With the opportunity to include the fight, Nomura's team worked hard to make it entertaining for players. Additional scenes about Roxas' past were included in the game to add to the mystery around him.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, a prequel to Kingdom Hearts II, reveals Roxas' life with Organization XIII. Unlike the other Organization members, he lacks memories of his previous life. During his time in the Organization, he is placed under Axel's watch, and the two become friends. After Axel is sent to Castle Oblivion, Roxas is partnered with Xion, the Organization's 14th member and another Keyblade wielder, whom he befriends. Roxas reacts to the restoration of Sora's memories and starts questioning why he uses the Keyblade, causing him to start doubting the Organization's motives. When he discovers that Xion is a replica created by Xemnas from Sora's memories, he is compelled to defect from Organization XIII to find answers and meet Sora. After doing so, he encounters Xion, who Xemnas has repurposed to absorb him so that she can become a complete replica; however, the fight ends with Xion's defeat, and she entrusts Roxas with freeing the hearts the Organization captured. While on his way to face Xemnas, Riku confronts him and knocks him unconscious to help DiZ and Naminé wake Sora.
A virtual representation of Roxas appears as a boss in the mobile phone game Kingdom Hearts Coded, in which he confronts a virtual representation of Sora. He later appears in the ending as one of the people connected to Sora's heart who may return one day. He makes a cameo appearance at the end of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, where he is shown with Xion and Axel eating sea-salt ice cream in Twilight Town, as well as in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, where he contacts both Axel and Sora through dreams. He also appears in Shiro Amano's manga and Tomoko Kanemaki's novels, where he reprises his role from the video games. The book Kingdom Hearts: Another Report includes a novel called Roxas–Somewhere in Time that retells Roxas' days in the Organization, with the exception of his befriending Xion.
In Kingdom Hearts III, as Sora tries to stop the revived Xion from killing Lea, Roxas says her name through Sora, causing Xion to stop. Ienzo, Vexen, and Demyx later revive him through Vexen's Replica Program just in time to save Xion from being killed by Xemnas in the Keyblade Graveyard. He fights alongside Sora and Xion in Lea's place to defeat Saïx before joining the other Guardians of Light in defeating Master Xehanort and closing Kingdom Hearts, after which he and Xion join Lea on the Twilight Town clock tower. They are joined by Isa (formerly Saïx), Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and eat ice cream together. They are then brought to Destiny Islands to celebrate their victory with the others, where Roxas races with Riku and Terra on the beach.
Roxas also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit. In a collaboration between Square Enix and Japanese fashion brand SuperGroupies, his image was used to create clothing.
## Reception
Roxas has been featured in various types of merchandise produced by Square Enix. An action figure was released as part of the Play Arts action figures series; Other items include a plush, keychains and replicas of his necklace.
Roxas' character has received a positive critical response from both fans and video game publications. During February 2010, Roxas was twenty-eighth in a Famitsu poll featuring the most popular video game characters from Japan. In another poll, Roxas was voted the second most popular Kingdom Hearts character with his fight against Sora ranked as the best scene from the series. His fighting sequences from the first game's secret ending were called one of the best video game cinematic moments by GameSpy.
While reviewing Kingdom Hearts II Jeff Haynes of IGN said that Roxas was a "likable kid". Ron Fahey of Eurogamer had a similar view, calling him a "likeable enough young chap who just happens to be troubled by memories and visions of people he doesn't even know". His playable position in the game was regarded as a transitional arc, being used to introduce the gameplay to players who are new to the franchise. Cavin Smith of PSX Extreme also called Roxas a likable character and stated that the revelation regarding his existence in Kingdom Hearts II is "a shocker of a revelation for any RPG!" The New York Times liked the fact that the player controls Roxas in Kingdom Hearts II's introduction instead of the protagonist Sora, avoiding the continuation of Sora's search for his friends. Additionally, the reviewer found the switch from Roxas' story to Sora's after a few hours "a little jarring". Andrew Reiner from Game Informer emphasizes his role as a "troubled boy," calling his story arc "an amazing chain of events," particularly noting that the revelation of his nature as a Nobody creates a "devilish yet remarkable plot twist" which may impact the player in a way that he "may not want Sora back". On the other hand, UGO Networks commented that due to the game's initial focus on Roxas, gamers would have to wait until playing as Sora to experience the most exciting parts of the title. Alexa Ray Corriea commented that the first hours of the game were the most boring not only due to the common activities in Twilight Town but also because Roxas lacks the appeal that makes Sora an entertaining character.
Before Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was released, 1UP.com featured Roxas at the top of their "Why You Should Care About Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days" feature, calling him "The darling of fanfiction and doujinshi writers everywhere," and commenting on what he does during his only year within Organization XIII. Roxas' role as protagonist was described by G4TV as an attempt to "satiate the ravenous fanboy" due to the explanation from his background. While reviewing 358/2 Days, PALGN's Adam Ghiggino praised Roxas' development saying that even gamers who did not like his character in Kingdom Hearts II would care about him as "he evolves from a self-described 'zombie' to a strong-willed and interesting character". Ghiggino especially noted his relationship with Xion and Axel, which he found charming despite the fact that they repeatedly meet at the top of a clock tower in many scenes. A similar response appeared in Game Informer, which commented that although such scenes were "dull", Roxas' relation with Xion and Axel was appealing and the game's ending would make up for such moments. GamesRadar also commented that Roxas "starts off like a zombie, but rapidly develops a personality" during the title and joked about the numerous times he eats ice cream. His growth during the game was also picked as one of the most enjoyable elements of the title. IGN agreed, calling Roxas' friendship "heart-aching". On the other hand, 1UP.com mentioned that although Roxas' relationship with Xion and Axel is appealing, some of his first missions feel like "lonely, sad affairs". His maneuvers in the game were praised by GameSpot for being easy to learn despite how complex they look, while IGN liked the variation between them.
Due to his resemblance to Ventus, video game publications initially thought that Roxas would be one of the protagonists from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. However, when it was revealed that the two were different, publications still discussed how similar they were and if there was a connection between them. Bob Muir from Destructoid noted that in Birth by Sleep Ventus was the most important character by fans due to his similarities with Roxas. Den of Geek enjoyed Roxas' return in Kingdom Hearts III.
In regards to 358/Days, Rachelle Alexis Cates Joplin from College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences regarded Roxas' role, alongisde Axel's and Xion's about how the Nobodies can actually develop emotions as the they spend time together on a friendly relationship. Roxas' presence is noted of being so strong that Axel eventually betrays the Organization in Kingdom Hearts II to stop him from merging back with Sora and have him continue with his life. In "Comparative Analysis of Storytelling Technique in Kingdom Hearts II (2005) and Persona 3 Portable (2009)", and Shazwin Bt. Sahmir and Norlela Ismail from University Teknologi Mara, Roxas is seen as a less conventional character than the other written in the franchise as a result of how the teen wants to continue living and is forced to merge with Sora and stop exisiting in order to let the protagonist continue his journey and fight Organization XIII. While Sora does not undergo a notable character arc despite the game being a sequel, there are still signs of Roxas having underogone one himself. Ending the article: "In the end, after confronting Sora in his Heart Station, he gives in to the truth and become one with his true self."
|
38,596,801 |
Valor por Tamaulipas
| 1,170,658,355 |
News page on Facebook about Tamaulipas, Mexico
|
[
"2012 establishments in Mexico",
"Facebook pages",
"Human rights in Mexico",
"Internet vigilantism",
"Internet-based activism",
"Investigative journalism",
"Organizations established in 2012",
"Works about Mexican drug cartels"
] |
Valor por Tamaulipas ("Courage for Tamaulipas") is a Facebook page that covers security updates in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It was founded by an anonymous user on 1 January 2012, and its goal is to share information with other social media users on drug-related violence and risk situations all across the state. With over 515,000 likes on Facebook, Valor por Tamaulipas routinely posts messages and photos of crime scenes on its page. In a country where many journalists have been assassinated for writing about drug trafficking and organized crime, the page survives under anonymity, but it has not been immune to threats.
In early 2013, a Mexican drug trafficking organization issued fliers offering a reward of \$600,000 pesos (US\$46,000) for anyone that could give out information to locate the administrator of Valor por Tamaulipas or any of his family members. The administrator, however, openly defied the criminal organization's threat through Facebook. His wife and children reportedly fled to the United States after the threats for security reasons, but the citizen journalist stated on the Facebook page that he had decided to stay in Mexico and continue updating at Valor por Tamaulipas. In December 2014, however, the administrator announced his retirement from social media.
## History
The Facebook page Valor por Tamaulipas ("Courage for Tamaulipas") was created by an anonymous user on 1 January 2012 after getting his inspiration from other websites that anonymously reported the drug violence in Mexico. The page regularly posts messages and photos of crime scenes; its goal is to report on drug-related violence and situations of risk in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It frequently posts messages and photos of the criminal activities in the state, including but not limited to law enforcement in action, photos of alleged criminals, vehicles of reported extortionists, abandoned vehicles left on the roadside, roadblocks, arsons, oil theft activities, drug traffickers on the job, and the like.
Given the high levels of drug-related activities in northern Mexico and in Tamaulipas, many Facebook users also check Valor por Tamaulipas to verify if there is a shootout in their area, to know in what part of a highway a carjacking took place, or to see if someone is reported missing. The information found at Valor por Tamaulipas is shared by Internet users themselves; the administrator, on the other hand, was active almost all hours during the day and throughout the whole week. Most of the Mexican mainstream media outlets play down the violence because they fear reprisals from the country's criminal organizations. Given the censorship, Valor por Tamaulipas was a popular outlet for crime watchdogs concerned with the violence in Tamaulipas. According to crime journalist James Barger from InSight Crime, the information in Valor por Tamaulipas is "spotty, sometimes unreliable, but often the only source of what [is] happening". Several Internet users in Mexico, the United States, and in other countries around the world have shown their support for Valor por Tamaulipas' work and have followed their reports on Facebook and/or Twitter.
The page had over 210,000 likes on Facebook in April 2013; on Twitter, Valor por Tamaulipas had approximately 24,400 followers.
### Background
The state of Tamaulipas is home to two transnational criminal organizations – the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas – who fight for control of the smuggling routes along the Texan border. This border area is a major route for human trafficking, arms smuggling, and for the international narcotics trade. The Gulf Cartel, according to the United States Department of State, started in the 1930s as a bootlegging gang and later transformed into a full-fledged drug trafficking organization in the 1980s. Los Zetas, on the other hand, were formed in the late 1990s and early 2000s by former soldiers of the Mexican Army who were hired by the imprisoned Osiel Cárdenas Guillén to become the Gulf Cartel's new muscle. In an apparent power struggle, however, Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel broke relations in early 2010 and went to war in the state of Tamaulipas and its bordering states, prompting daily shootouts, kidnappings, and mass slayings.
Mexico is among the most dangerous countries on the planet in which to practice journalism, particularly on the topics of organized crime and drug trafficking. Since 2000, nearly 100 journalists have been kidnapped or killed throughout the country; many of the killings, however, remain unsolved and unpunished. The high levels of violence and attacks on the press have forced many local media outlets to downplay their coverage. As a result, many people have turned to social media outlets like Valor por Tamaulipas to see hourly updates on the security atmosphere in their areas. But social media reporting carries its own risks too; in September 2011, journalist and blogger María Elizabeth Macías Castro was decapitated by Los Zetas for posting their organized crime activities in her personal blog. That same month, two alleged Twitter users were killed and hanged on a bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas for denouncing on Twitter.
In January 2013, Tamaulipas state had a homicide rate of 36 per every 100,000 people; kidnappings and extortion were also widespread.
## Organized crime threats
In June 2012, the Gulf Cartel allegedly created a Facebook page called Anti Valor por Tamaulipas ("Anti-Courage for Tamaulipas"), which intended to counter the goals of the page. It stated that the information spread by Valor por Tamaulipas "[was] not a benefit to the community." In early 2013, Anti Valor por Tamaulipas had approximately 11,244 likes on Facebook.
Through several fliers issued in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, a drug trafficking organization offered a \$600,000 peso (roughly US\$46,000) reward to anyone that could give them information on the whereabouts of the administrator of Valor por Tamaulipas, or to identify any of his family members, whether they are his parents, brothers and sisters, children or wife. The flier included the phone number (834)-104-7370, which has the area code of Tamaulipas. The administrator responded by saying that "[he was] not playing at being a hero, [and was] doing what [he had] to do as a citizen." He also thanked the visitors who contributed to the page and gave him support throughout the project, and asked the Mexican Armed Forces to continue their fight against organized crime. The administrator said, too, that he would continue to his crime reporting at Valor por Tamaulipas even if that might cost him his life. On its page the administrator stated that after hearing about the threat, his wife and children left to the United States for security reasons. He also asked his visitors to refrain from using their personal Facebook or Twitter accounts when uploading information to the page since that could put them at risk. He believes that the Mexican criminal organization known as Los Zetas or state officials working for them are probably responsible for this threat.
On 20 February 2013, a video was released on the web depicting a supposed collaborator of Valor por Tamaulipas, kneeling down and with his hands in his pockets. Beside him was a masked, camouflaged man with a firearm. The supposed collaborator said calmly, "Please refrain from publishing any information – if not, this is the price you will pay." After the kneeling man warned Internet users against collaborating with Valor por Tamaulipas, the gunman pulled the trigger and shot him in the head, apparently killing the man. The administrator of Valor por Tamaulipas responded by posting a message on Facebook and saying that he will not take a stance on the authenticity of the video, but stated that he does not recognize the man. Notinfomex blog website reported that the Gulf Cartel was behind the video, but the information and authenticity have not been officially confirmed.
In April 2013, Proceso magazine received information from supposed informants from the Office of the General Prosecutor in Tamaulipas who indicated that the state governor Egidio Torre Cantú wanted to close the page by discrediting it with false reports. The governor, the report said, was concerned that Valor por Tamaulipas "had become a news reference that showed Mexico and the world that it was organized crime, not him, who controlled the state."
On 22 May 2013, Valor por Tamaulipas released a video sent to the page by an alleged organized crime group. In the video, a man and a woman are interrogated by alleged drug traffickers and ask the administrator to close the page and reveal his true identity. The couple was presented as supposed family members of the administrator; however, he later indicated that they were not his family, and that the criminal organization had either confused them or simply targeted a random family to pressure to administrator to close the page. Valor por Tamaulipas responded by sending a message to the authorities in Tamaulipas and blamed them for the death of a person who died of a cardiac arrest after the couple was kidnapped; the administrator also accused the Tamaulipas authorities of protecting Los Zetas drug cartel.
## Closure and renewal
Early in the morning of 1 April 2013, the Facebook and Twitter accounts of Valor por Tamaulipas were shut down unexpectedly and without any explanation. A new page with the same name was created by other administrators, who said that they did not know what had happened to the original administrator but that they wanted to continue his work nonetheless. This raised concerns about who was actually working behind the scenes to keep the page running. Another page run by other users and with a similar name, Responsabilidad por Tamaulipas ("Responsibility for Tamaulipas"), posted on their page that Valor por Tamaulipas had only closed temporarily in order to improve the page and protect the administrator. They advised online users to ignore websites that posed as the original page.
About a week later, the original page of Valor por Tamaulipas reopened, but the administrator issued a communiqué in which he indicated that the page was going to close permanently after 8 days. On Facebook the administrator explained that he could not continue collaborating at Valor por Tamaulipas because of his inability to properly manage the page. "In my case, organized crime won, but it has defeated me and not society; it has defeated me and my family, but it has not defeated that thousands of contributors who trusted this page and reported despite their fears", the administrator said. He also talked about his experience and the lessons he learned as head of the page, and then thanked those who supported and trusted him for over a year. The administrator concluded by asking his followers to forgive him.
In the eight days following the announcement, the page operated as it normally did. After reconsidering several times, the administrator decided to keep maintaining the page, and thanked the media and his followers for supporting him. He concluded by saying, "I am not sure if keeping this page will benefit the people of goodwill ... only God will know if I was irresponsible or stubborn in doing so ... On another note, I confess that it has been an honor and pleasure to continue collaborating and working as a team with all of you. Thank you, people of goodwill from Tamaulipas. I owe it all to you."
## Block, reopen, and further threats
On 9 June 2014, the Facebook page was blocked for a month for uploading gun-related posts, which is considered a violation of Facebook's policies. In order to continue his reporting, the admin posted on his Twitter and Google accounts.
On 15 October 2014, the former co-admin of the sister page Responsabilidad for Tamaulipas, María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio (also known by her Twitter account @Miut3 and Felina), was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by alleged organized crime members. She had a strong follower-base on Twitter and was known for posting about risk situations, shootouts, and information about criminal groups from Tamaulipas. Her captors allegedly posted several tweets on her profile, prompting shocking reactions on social media. The first tweet revealed her identity and profession as a doctor, and ended by saying that her "life had come to an end". Two minutes later, another tweet asked others to not make the mistakes she did (of posting about organized crime). The third tweet warned Valor por Tamaulipas and two other Twitter users, @Bandolera7 and @civilarmado_mx, of posting about risk situations. The fourth and final tweet said the following: "Close your accounts, don't risk your families the way I did, I ask you all for forgiveness," and included two photos of her. One of them showed her alive, and the second one showed her corpse splattered in blood. Twitter later deactivated the account but the photos had already leaked across social media.
Valor por Tamaulipas confirmed her death on its Facebook page and lamented the incident. The admin stated that @Miut3 was a collaborator at Valor por Tamaulipas and former admin at Responsabilidad por Tamaulipas. It was unknown if her murder was linked to her activities on social media or to her profession as a doctor; one version suggested that she was kidnapped by organized crime after a son of an alleged drug lord died of medical complications, and that her captors discovered her identity when they took her phone and decided to threaten the rest of the online community. Valor por Tamaulipas does not believe this version, however. The admin said he had reasons to believe that @Miut3 was targeted for her online activities. Valor por Tamaulipas stated that @Miut3 was threatened by Twitter user @garzalaura142 a week before she was killed; the admin indicated that the threats used similar wordings and that that was "no coincidence".
## Admin's retirement and new management
On 29 November 2014, the admin of the page announced his retirement on Facebook. He stated that he was leaving the page for personal reasons, but that Valor por Tamaulipas would continue under new management. That person, he said, had some relationship with law enforcement. The admin believes that this would be of benefit for the cyber community because it would allow for citizen reports to reach law enforcement directly. The admin also announced that the pages Responsabilidad, Fortaleza, and Valor por la Huasteca would go under new management too. The new management would be composed of people who he deemed trustworthy given their long history of support or because they had suffered a loss as a result of the violence. In a closing statement, he bid farewell by thanking God for bringing happiness to his personal and professional life. In the comment section of the Facebook post, many people thanked the admin for his support. Some of them, however, expressed their concerned with the new administration given his/her relationship with the government.
## Sister page and similar projects
Valor por Tamaulipas has a sister page called Esperanza por Tamaulipas ("Hope for Tamaulipas"), which uploads pictures of people who have been kidnapped or are reported as disappeared in the state. The page has a list of more than 120 people who have disappeared between 2010 and 2012. Other projects like Valor por Michoacán SDR ("Courage for Michoacán – Risk Situations"), which reported about the drug-related violence and role of the self-defense groups in Michoacán since 2013, have many followers and likes on Twitter (@ValorMichoacan) and Facebook (/ValorPorMichoacan).
## Acronyms used in page
Valor por Tamaulipas uses several acronyms in posts on Facebook and Twitter:
## See also
- Mexican Drug War
- List of journalists killed in Mexico
|
26,178,848 |
Effects of Hurricane Floyd in New York
| 1,172,623,253 | null |
[
"1999 in New York (state)",
"Effects of hurricanes in the United States",
"Hurricane Floyd",
"Hurricanes in New York (state)"
] |
The effects of Hurricane Floyd in New York included two deaths and millions of dollars in damage. Hurricane Floyd, once a large and powerful Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in North Carolina and moved northward along the East Coast, making landfall on Long Island as a tropical storm. The threat of the hurricane prompted schools in New York City to close for the first time since 1996, and 20 shelters were opened. Floyd produced flooding rainfall and gusty winds throughout the state, from the southern Hudson Valley to the Lake Champlain area. The flood waters damaged multiple roads and forced residents to evacuate from certain locations. Strong winds left as many as 100,000 people without power and brought down a high number of trees due to the saturated ground. In the aftermath of the storm, 15 counties in eastern New York were declared eligible for state or federal assistance. Damage throughout the state totaled \$31.987 million.
## Background and preparations
Floyd's origins are traced back to a westward-moving tropical wave that developed into a tropical depression on September 7, 1999, while centered 1,000 mi (1,600 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. The system moved west-northwestward, and intensified into a tropical storm on September 8. Continuing to intensify, Floyd attained hurricane strength on September 10. The hurricane ultimately peaked as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale as it struck the Bahamas. The storm turned northwestward and soon northward, brushing the coast of Florida and the southeast United States. On September 16, Floyd made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in North Carolina, and moved northeastward along the Eastern Seaboard. It passed through the Mid-Atlantic States as it deteriorated into a tropical storm, and lost its tropical identity over southern Maine.
In advance of the storm, starting on September 15, tropical cyclone watches and warnings were issued for much of the Eastern Seaboard, including portions of New York. These warnings were discontinued by September 19. New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urged private businesses to close early and ordered non-emergency city workers to return home between 12 pm and 3 pm on September 17. For the first time since 1996, in an "almost unprecedented" decision, schools in the city were closed due to the hurricane's threat. On September 16, 20 shelters were opened, able to accommodate as many as 70,000 people. Lawrence Reuter, president of New York City Transit, reported that in an effort to prevent flooding, storm drains were cleared and other precautions were taken. People were urged to remove loose objects that could be blown around by high winds. By September 16, city officials had distributed 50,000 brochures on preparing for the storm. Suffolk County Executive Robert J. Gaffney advised residents of Fire Island to evacuate before the storm made leaving by ferry impossible, and in Long Beach, officials readied emergency vehicles. Also, 4,000 sandbags were given out there in anticipation of high storm tides.
## Impact
Tropical Storm Floyd made landfall on western Long Island as it moved northward. The heaviest rainfall associated with the storm was concentrated in the southeastern section of the state. Several meteorological elements worked to enhance the moisture from the cyclone. Rainfall totals exceeding 6 in (150 mm) were common, with as much as 12 in (300 mm) reported locally in the Catskills. At Cairo, 12.21 in (310 mm) of rain fell. The precipitation, combined with that of Hurricane Dennis earlier in the month, helped to alleviate persistent drought conditions. Floyd also produced gusty winds, reaching 54 mph (87 km/h) at Stewart International Airport, worsened by a pressure gradient between the storm and an area of high pressure over the Ohio Valley.
Floyd's rainfall resulted in deadly and extensive flooding that killed two people in New York. Heavy flooding was reported along numerous creeks, including the Esopus, Catskill, and Schoharie. In the Albany area, the Normanskill rose to extremely high levels, and the resultant flood waters damaged nearby buildings. The Coeymans Creek in Selkirk overflowed and forced 20 families to leave their homes. The main rivers typically remained within their banks. Many roads, including U.S. Route 20 in Guilderland, were flooded or washed out, and seven families had to be evacuated along NY 32 in Menands. Further south, the Saw Mill and Bronx rivers both overflowed, and caused urban flooding. A dam on a mill pond broke near Lake Placid, leading to flooding along the Chubb River.
The strong winds, combined with saturated ground from the rainfall, brought down trees in widespread areas of the Hudson Valley and Capital District. Many of the trees would not have otherwise fallen in drier conditions. Some of the downed trees fell on structures. In a narrow swath in the Wolf Pond Valley of Warren County, where wind gusts are estimated to have reached 80 mph (130 km/h), hundreds of trees were blown down. At the storm's worst, power outages affected over 100,000 people region-wide, and some individuals remained without power for a week. At the Albany International Airport, the storm forced the cancellation of flights, and throughout the region schools were closed. Several boats sustained damage along the shore of Lake Champlain. Throughout Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties, initial cost estimates were \$14.6 million, although that figure represents only a portion of the actual monetary damage. The storm also caused about \$2 million in property damage in Essex County.
## Aftermath
Following the storm, three New York counties were declared eligible for individual assistance, eight for individual and public assistance, and four for public assistance. The initial deadline to apply for state or federal assistance was set for November 17, although it was extended a month due to a steady flow of applications. Three disaster recovery centers were opened to provide information to residents affected by the storm. The three centers, located in Rockland, Putnam, and Westchester counties, closed in late October.
## See also
- List of New York hurricanes
- Effects of Hurricane Floyd in Pennsylvania
- Effects of Hurricane Floyd in New England
|
43,063,063 |
Development of Mother 3
| 1,170,940,913 |
Development of Mother 3
|
[
"Development of specific video games",
"Mother (video game series)"
] |
The development of Mother 3, a role-playing video game from Nintendo, spanned a total of twelve years between 1994 and 2006 with a three year gap in between, and spanned four consoles and multiple delays. Following the commercial success of its predecessor, Mother 2 (EarthBound outside Japan), Mother series creator Shigesato Itoi was given the previous game's development team.
Inspired by Super Mario 64, the team set out to create a 3D game that ultimately exceeded the capabilities of the platform. Along the way, the team changed its console focus from the Super Famicom to the Nintendo 64 and its 64DD peripheral, for which the game was expected to be a 1998 launch game. Upon the commercial failure of the 64DD, the game was converted to cartridge plus expansion disk. Itoi developed the game's concept during Mother 2's development and built a 12-chapter story with player-characters that rotated between chapters. Having been a producer during Mother 2, Itoi served as a scriptwriter during Mother 3's development.
A North American version was announced as EarthBound 64, but did not materialize when the 60 percent-complete Japanese release was canceled in August 2000 in reprioritization leading up to Project Dolphin (the code name of the GameCube). At the time, the game was estimated to need another two years of work.
After multiple years and failed petitions, Mother 3 was reannounced for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 within a Japanese television commercial for Mother 1+2, a port of Mother and Mother 2 to the Advance. The game kept its original story and received a graphical overhaul in a pixelated style similar to Mother 2. The game's themes included human psychology, renewal, and fungibility on the morality spectrum. Its music was composed by Shogo Sakai, and retained the quirky style of series composers Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka. Mother 3 was released on April 20, 2006 in Japan, whereupon it became a bestseller. It has not been released outside Japan.
## Nintendo 64
Mother 3 was originally developed for the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) beginning in 1994. Shigeru Miyamoto, head of Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development and Mother 3 producer, said that Mother 3 was "a commercial decision", since Mother 2 (EarthBound outside Japan) had sold well. By this point, Mother series creator Shigesato Itoi had worked on the series' earlier games and Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1 and was experienced at pitching video games, so Miyamoto provided a team willingly. The Mother 2 development team carried over to the new game's development, though several people left and the team grew in size. They forwent the usual prototyping phase and went straight into development expecting to create something unprecedented. Itoi said he wanted to make the game like a Hollywood film. In September 1994, he predicted that Mother 3's development would end around 1996 with a release on Nintendo's then-upcoming console. The team was inspired by Super Mario 64 and decided that they too could creatively flourish by making a 3D open world. Their early technical specifications exceeded the capabilities and memory limits of the platform. About halfway through development, the team attempted to scale back its large scope and changed its target from cartridge to the 64DD peripheral. At E3 in June 1997, Miyamoto speculated that Mother 3 would be one of the four games for the then-expected 1998 launch of the Japan-only peripheral.
The EarthBound fan community anticipated a sequel, and a North American release of Mother 3 was announced as EarthBound 64. Nintendo displayed a playable version of the game at its Space World 1999 trade show, where IGN described the development's progress as "very far along" and half complete. Having followed a period of media silence, the announcement there of its conversion from 64DD disk to 256 megabit cartridge plus mission expansion disk was taken by IGN as a sign of further delay or cancellation of the 64DD altogether. In April 2000, IGN estimated the game's development as "safe to assume that the game is nearing its final stages of completion". The company struggled to find a firm release date, and was expected to release in Japan before a North American version would be considered. At the time, the 64DD was only released in Japan. Nintendo did not show the game at the 2000 Electronic Entertainment Expo, though IGN expected to see a finished version of the game at Space World 2000. Mother producer Satoru Iwata canceled the game altogether prior to Space World 2000, as announced by Itoi on August 20.
Iwata clarified that the franchise was not abandoned but that the game would no longer be developed for the Nintendo 64, and Miyamoto added that it was not due to project complications or development hell, but to resources needed for Project Dolphin (the GameCube). Some of the artists had been on the project for over three years. They estimated the project to be about 60 percent complete at the time of cancellation—the basics were complete and only programming was left. About 30 percent of the final product was completed. Itoi estimated that it would have taken an additional two years to finish properly, and Iwata said that the game might have been finished by 2000 had the scope been reduced two years earlier. Miyamoto was involved in other work and spent little time on-site with the project, and Iwata too was distracted by bankruptcy concerns at HAL Labs and was off-site in 1999 due to circumstances that required travel. Iwata was also hospitalized during production for stress-related reasons. The team intended to have the game finished by the end of 1999 and knew they had to reconsider their priorities when they missed the milestone. They said that the Mother 3 supervisors had wanted to cancel the project since 1999, but later changed sides and said that cancellation would be wasteful. They discussed bringing the game to their forthcoming GameCube, which Miyamoto said would have solved some of the Nintendo 64's hardware issues. Miyamoto and Iwata also discussed releasing the game on the Game Boy Advance, but realized that it would take "just as much time" with 40 to 50 staff members to make such a game. In retrospect, Iwata wondered out loud in an interview why the game needed to be in 3D when Itoi's "greatest talent lies in words" and thought that the energy poured into making a 3D game might have been a poor choice. He said he was "genuinely ashamed", and acknowledged that they were both "caught up in the 3D obsession and felt obligated" at the time. At the time of its cancellation, Itoi predicted that Mother 3 would remain a story that only the game's staff would know, though he also expressed an interest in making the story into a novel or kamishibai if he had the time. Miyamoto was still interested in bringing the game to fruition.
### Design
Itoi conceived the premise of Mother 3 towards the end of Mother 2's production. He called another person on the project to describe a "detective story where the city was the main character". He envisioned a hack, small-time, womanizing private investigator who would become engrossed in a big murder case, and the story would unfold from a young female clerk at a flower shop who would slowly recall parts of a story consequential to the plot. Thus, the city would appear to grow. This idea of a "single place changing over time" was central to Mother 3. He saw previous RPGs as "road movies" with little reason for the hero to backtrack to previous areas, and instead wanted the player to see the town gossip grow dynamically. Miyamoto and Itoi compared this type of progression to the story of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The game was enough of a departure from the series that the development team questioned whether fans would consider it part of the series.
Itoi originally intended the game to have 12 chapters with varied game mechanics; for example, one with classic role-playing game mechanics and another as just cutscenes. He conceptualized the process as designing 3D "puppets" that could then be easily moved around the "stage". In actuality, each custom scene required special programming. The player-character changed between each chapter—a concept they first attempted in their previous game—so as to see multiple characters grow. As development wore on, Itoi offered to compromise by replacing full chapters with sequences of still images and text. They cut the total chapters to seven or nine by the time it was canceled. Itoi described the story as "normal" for its first half, leading up to a "triple-play twist". One of the game's themes was the reckless appearance and "uncomfortable beauty" of chimera—multiple creatures fused into one—which was the idea behind the metallic and wooden Mother 3 logo. Itoi has said of his role in the Mother series that he wanted to be more of a team member and scriptwriter and less of a manager in Mother 3's development. He saw himself as simultaneously making the game he wanted to play and setting traps for the player, and as making a game Nintendo could not.
The Mother 3 logo was made from a fusion of metal and trees, which Itoi interpreted as an "uncomfortable beauty" from two materials that were impossible to fuse. This is also a theme in his only novel. The chimeras theme informed the game's original subtitle: "Forest of the Chimeras". Itoi compared the reckless appearance of chimeras to the mutilated toys of Sid from Toy Story. The subtitle eventually became "The End of the Pig King" before the game was canceled and the final release has no subtitle because Itoi did not want to lead the player's interpretation.
The game was set to continue 10 years after the first Mother. The player-character, Flint, was a cowboy in the vein of Clint Eastwood with two boys, Lucca and Klaus (later becoming Lucas and Claus), and a dog, Boney. The game was to include over 10 playable characters and span 10 years in its story based around the Pig army, which attempts to use "primitive machinery ... to enslave mankind". At Space World 1999, IGN sampled environments including a hovercraft in a desert canyon, a snake dungeon, a cutscene with a bullet train, a town with non-player characters, and a mine cart scene, through themes including fantasy, the medieval, and science fiction. Physical contact with an enemy in the overworld triggered a turn-based battle scene shown in the first-person (similar to EarthBound). The battles had psychedelic backgrounds and a circular menu that included a command to "get up" if the player was knocked down in a real-time sequence. Attacks could be timed with the in-game music for stronger effects. The developers also planned multiple routes for advancing through the game and unforeseen complications from minor actions, such as a monster finding food dropped in the forest. The game was set to include features such as synching the game's time with the real time, but those features required the 64DD. Mother 3 was set to run between 40 and 60 hours in length.
### Reception
In its review of the Space World 1999 demo, IGN found the mine cart scene—where Lucca and Klaus outrun a collapsing cave in a minecart—to be its "most impressive" sequence. They added that it "might be one of the most impressive cutscenes on the N64 yet". IGN said that the controls were intuitive, the sound "well orchestrated and memorable", the 3D game engine "strong", and the battle system "confusing". They wrote that the game would be highly original, but were not able to tell the degree to which the story or characters would interact. IGN compared the multi-character aspect of the narrative to the Japan-only Super Famicom RPG Live A Live. Famitsu readers ranked the game as one of their top ten most anticipated towards the end of 1999.
## Game Boy Advance
Three years later, a Japanese Mother 1+2 television advertisement included a slide announcing a future release of Mother 3. While working on the compilation that would port Mother and Mother 2 to the Game Boy Advance, Itoi predicted further pressure to release Mother 3 and decided, based on encouragement from several failed fan petitions, to release the game. Itoi had earlier assumed that restarting the project was impossible, and said that his final effort to finish the game to be more like a "prayer" than like "vengeance". Other than the graphical changes required for a release on the Advance, the game was to keep its original story. Brownie Brown staff assisted in the game's development, and Itoi worked with them on individual pacing issues.
Itoi chose to use the pixelated style of Mother 2 for Mother 3 because he was uninterested in computer graphics trends. He said that it was only coincidentally related to the resurgence of interest in retrogaming. The series' games were written in the hiragana alphabet instead of in kanji (Chinese characters) so as to remain accessible to young children. Itoi described the world as governed by "might equals right" and its power struggle as "macho". The antagonist, Porky, was designed as a "symbol of humankind". Itoi associated the game's view of evil to the "fun and games" on the spectrum of "pranks" to "crimes", and likened its tone to the lyrics of the song "Reunion" by Kazuko Matsuo, where the subject falls in love with someone the world finds evil. Itoi compared how the characters come to realize their psychic powers with menstruation, and added that human physiology was "one of his themes". As such, players sweat when learning an ability, based on Itoi's belief of how physical struggle facilitates growth. He also included characters like the Magypsies and Duster (who has a bad leg) to show the value of having friends with different qualities. Some environments were added to serve specific purposes. For example, Osohe Castle was meant to show the scale of time and Tantane Island was designed to reflect the player's worst nightmares as similar to Mother 2's "hallucinatory city", Moonside. Another of his themes is the duality of the seriousness and lightheartedness of games, which is why he added a serious death scene to the first chapter. Parts of the game reference outside media such as Kiki's Delivery Service, a film by Studio Ghibli, a company for which Itoi had written film taglines and had voiced the father in My Neighbor Totoro.
Itoi wrote the game's ending while overseas in Saipan before Mother 3 was canceled. His Nintendo 64 version was darker, "dirtier", and more upsetting, though the final version changed little in concept. The Nintendo 64 version was to be more vague and left to the player's imagination through its sparse dialogue. Itoi attributed the change in tone to his own growth and the character composition of the new development team. He said that he had not been changed by fans. Itoi always planned for the two brothers to fight each other, though he did not write the ending until after production had already begun, a process he compared with Hayao Miyazaki's. Itoi processed each line individually as he wrote the final scene, and later reflected on its moral content that bad people sometimes need even more help than the good people. He said that the one line that makes him most emotional is, "You must be tired". Itoi said that the ending's renewal theme reflected his worldview of appreciating our time on Earth in light of the planet's inevitable end. Much of the rest of the script was written after-hours at a local hotel where they would continue their work.
By July 2004, the game was about 60 percent finished and was set for a late 2005 release in Japan. The game was released on April 20, 2006 in Japan for the Game Boy Advance, whereupon it became a bestseller. A limited edition Deluxe Box Set was produced with a special edition Game Boy Micro and Franklin Badge pin. It did not receive a North American release on the basis that it would not sell well. Digital Trends wrote that the game's emphasis on "magical transgender gurus" might have also affected the decision.
### Music
All of the game's music was composed by Shogo Sakai. Itoi saw Sakai as competing with Mother 2 composer Keiichi Suzuki for his fans. Itoi had to choose a composer from the development team who understood the series and could work full-time on the project, including other development duties. Thus, he could not choose Suzuki, who was outside the project, or Hirokazu Tanaka, who had become the president of Creatures. Sakai also understood the game's story intimately and named the Magypsies after musical terms. He worked to make the music feel similar to previous entries in the series.
There are 250 tracks in the game's sound player. Itoi did not have a favorite of Sakai's work. He noted that the final track, "Love Theme", was added towards the end of the development cycle. While the ending was incomplete, Itoi planned to use the Pigmask theme, but they decided to add a new song to better reflect their intentions in December 2005. The game's soundtrack was released on compact disc on November 2, 2006. Kyle Miller of RPGFan wrote that the game retained the quirkiness of the previous soundtracks in the series though switching composers. He found the second half of the album, which included reinterpreted "classics" from the series, to be its strongest.
|
23,598,215 |
Quarter Pony
| 1,087,800,423 |
American breed of horse
|
[
"Horse breeds",
"Horse breeds originating in the United States"
] |
The Quarter Pony is a breed of pony that is similar to the American Quarter Horse. It stands up to high and was developed from American Quarter Horse foundation bloodstock. The breed was originally developed from Quarter Horses that did not meet the American Quarter Horse Association's height requirement. It is bred to look like a small Quarter Horse, although the various registries also allow crosses with other breeds, including Paint horse, Appaloosa and Pony of the Americas, all stock types. It is one of the most versatile horse breeds there are. There are three registries for the Quarter Pony, all with slightly different registration requirements. The first registry was begun in 1964, and two more were started in the 1970s. The breed is used today in a variety of Western and English riding disciplines.
## Characteristics
The Quarter Pony is bred to be an American Quarter Horse built on a smaller scale. Breeders focus most on the height and conformation of the breed, and insist that their ponies display Quarter Horse-type characteristics and stand between high. Depending on the registry, the Quarter Pony may come in any color or combination or colors, including pinto patterns such as tobiano and overo and spotted Appaloosa patterns. In the early years of the breed, only solid colors were allowed. The breed averages high, however, some breeders are working to breed taller animals between high. The breed has a short, broad head with small ears and wide-set eyes, set on a slightly arched neck. The shoulders are sloping, the withers sharp, the chest broad and deep. The back is short and the hindquarters broad and deep.
Quarter Ponies are often used in western riding activities as mounts for children because of their small size, and calm, even temperament. Larger ponies are more suitable for adult riders and sometimes used for rodeo events such as steer wrestling.
The Quarter Pony is recognized by several different breed registries that each have different requirements. The American Quarter Pony Association requires that, although parentage may be unknown, the pony must have conformation that is desirable for breeding and be easily recognizable as having Quarter Pony or Quarter Horse breeding. pinto, leopard complex (Appaloosa), and white horses are not eligible for registration, nor are gaited ponies. The National Quarter Pony Association requires that stallions be registered with the AQHA before they can be registered with the NQPA. Mares must have one parent registered with the AQHA, be registered with the AQHA themselves, or go through a special registration process. Geldings simply have to be of Quarter Horse type to be eligible for registration. Horses with Pinto or Appaloosa markings, or with excessive white, are not eligible for registration. The International Quarter Pony Association allows Pinto and Appaloosa markings, and simply requires that ponies be of Quarter-type conformation and good disposition for registry. Any type of pony meeting these requirements may be registered through the hardship registration program, which includes a special inspection. However, if ponies have a parent registered with an approved breed registry (approved breeds include the Quarter Pony, Quarter Horse, Paint horse, Appaloosa and Pony of the Americas), they are automatically eligible for registration, with no inspection required. Crosses with gaited breeds are not accepted for registration.
## History
The Quarter Pony was originally developed from horses that did not meet the American Quarter Horse Association's original height requirement of high. This height requirement was later removed, but the Quarter Pony breed continued. Breeders and registries encourage known bloodlines from Quarter Horses, but these are not required by all registries.
The American Quarter Pony Association was begun in 1964 with the ideals of a registry which would register small horses and ponies of western type, whose breeding could be unknown but which were desirable for breeding purposes. Crossbred and purebred animals are eligible for registration, as are animals registered with other registries that meet the entry requirements. In 1975, the National Quarter Pony Association was begun to preserve the smaller, stockier type Quarter Horse when breeding trends were leaning towards taller, leaner animals. The AQPA now registers horses in several foreign countries, as well as all US states and Canadian provinces. The International Quarter Pony Association, begun in the 1970s, also registers Quarter Ponies, and is a worldwide association for ponies of Quarter Horse type. The Quarter Pony Association is an association affiliated with the International Quarter Pony Association, with the goal of promoting the Quarter Pony. In 2005, the IQPA and the QPA became one organization, with the IQPA acting as the registry and the QPA as the membership branch. As of 2005, there were an estimated 3,000 Quarter Ponies registered with all registering organizations. Registries say that registrations of adult animals outnumber those for foals every year, as many owners wait until the pony is old enough to be shown under saddle before registering them.
|
11,391,448 |
1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
| 1,172,290,727 |
First season with 14 or more losses without wins or ties.
|
[
"1976 National Football League season by team",
"1976 in sports in Florida",
"20th century in Tampa, Florida",
"National Football League winless seasons",
"Tampa Bay Buccaneers seasons"
] |
The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL). The Buccaneers' played their home games at Tampa Stadium and their inaugural head coach was John McKay. The Buccaneers gained infamy as the first team to play an entire 14-game season without winning or tying a single game (including five games where they never even scored). It remains one of only four winless seasons since the merger. The Buccaneers did not score until their third game and did not score a touchdown until their fourth. They lost by more than a touchdown eleven times. Colorful, maverick former USC coach McKay, whose wisecracking remarks occasionally agitated fans and the league, led the team. The only bright spot was future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Lee Roy Selmon, who made his rookie debut in an injury-plagued season.
The expansion draft was largely made up of aging veterans, giving the Buccaneers little basis for success. The lack of medical information provided on players in the expansion draft contributed heavily to the team's problems, as they finished the season with 17 players on injured reserve. They were last in the league in points scored, touchdowns, and rushing touchdowns. After a 19-point fourth-quarter performance brought them within striking distance of a victory in week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs, they were blown out of every game the rest of the season. Subsequent expansion teams were given a more generous allotment of draft picks and expansion draft opportunities, in part to avoid a repeat of the Buccaneers' difficulties.
This was the only season in which the Buccaneers were not members of the NFC. Instead, they played in the AFC's West Division, after which they switched conferences with their expansion brethren, the Seattle Seahawks, who took their spot in the AFC West per the NFL's plan to have the two teams play all of the other teams in their first two seasons. From 1977 to 2001, the Buccaneers represented the NFC Central, which was otherwise filled with teams from the Great Lakes region (Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings). Since 2002, both teams have played in the NFC, with the Buccaneers in the South and the Seahawks in the West.
## John McKay
Owner Hugh Culverhouse, encouraged by recommendations from Vice President of Operations Ron Wolf and Alabama coaching legend Bear Bryant, chose John McKay, winner of four national championships with the USC Trojans, as the first Buccaneer head coach. Aided by a string of great tailbacks, including Heisman Trophy winners O. J. Simpson and Mike Garrett, McKay was credited with popularizing the I formation. Other candidates considered included Hank Stram, Ara Parseghian, and Joe Paterno. McKay was reportedly offered a five-year contract worth \$750,000, plus cars, insurance, and real estate, and turned down an offer from the Seattle Seahawks and a counter-offer from USC to take the job. Critical of the NFL, he had turned down offers from professional teams in the past. McKay cited NCAA cutbacks in finances and recruiting as motivations for leaving the college ranks, saying simply that it was "time to try something else". McKay's only promise was that he would beat what he called "Pittsburgh's timetable", referencing the fact that it took the Steelers 41 years to win their first championship. Coach McKay would prove to be somewhat correct as Tampa Bay won the NFC's Central Division in 1979, the team's fourth year of existence, though it would take the team 27 seasons to win its first of two championships, which was won in the 2002 season. Their second championship came 18 years later in Super Bowl LV.
### McKay quotes
McKay had a natural sense of humor that helped him to cope with the pressures of the long losing streak, and it was not unusual for his press conferences to resemble comedy routines. While this may have helped cope with the on-field frustrations, it also served to mask how difficult the experience was for him, a situation his son Rich compared to "taking off in a jet airplane and finding out that neither engine works."
- On hearing about kicker Pete Rajecki's nervousness at playing in front of McKay: "That's unfortunate, as I plan on attending all the games".
- At a postgame press conference: "You guys don't know the difference between a football and a bunch of bananas."
- At the following week's press conference, after a member of the media left a case of bananas at his door: "You guys don't know the difference between a football and a Mercedes-Benz."
- On John Brodie's comment that Steve Spurrier throws one of three passes into the ground: "That's OK, we'll just get shorter receivers."
- "We've determined that we can't win at home and we can't win on the road. What we need is a neutral site."
- "Well we didn't block, but we made up for it by not tackling."
- "We can't stop a pass or a run. Otherwise, we're in great shape."
- When asked how he compared coaching in Tampa to coaching at USC: "It's a three-hour time difference."
- "Mr. Culverhouse has been a great owner. He hasn't come to the dressing room yet to give me any suggestions. Well, I need some advice. I called the Baltimore owner, but he was busy".
- To players planning on staying in Tampa over the offseason: "Stop by my office tomorrow and pick up some fake noses and mustaches so no one recognizes your sorry asses".
- "We'll be back. Maybe not in this century, but we'll be back."
Additionally, assistant coach Dennis Fryzel, when the team was penalized for having 12 players on the field, asked a referee, "Which one was it?" And after injured guard Ira Gordon suffered a neck injury and was sent by McKay to get an X-ray to see what was wrong, Gordon reportedly told McKay, "Coach, I got the x-ray, but I don't feel any better".
### McKay's comments on coaching in the NFL
> I don't know what this pro football mystique is. I've gone to the pro camps. They throw the ball, they catch the ball. Many of them are ex-USC players. I'm not amazed at what they do. I've watched the pros play. They run traps, they pitch the ball, they sweep. What else is there?
> - John McKay, Sports Illustrated
Coach McKay had won four national championships while coaching at USC, and he never hesitated to express his lack of awe at the NFL. He earned enemies in the league with his dismissive comments and nonchalant attitude. The league liked to promote the games as having life-or-death significance, and were undercut by a coach who would make statements such as, "You draw Xs and Os on a blackboard and that's not so difficult. I can even do it with my left hand". Such statements made the Buccaneers' road more difficult, as a feeling grew around the league that McKay was a newcomer who needed to be taught a lesson. Linebacker Richard "Batman" Wood echoed those sentiments: "It was a brand-new organization. Who cared about us? They wanted to devastate us, beat us in the ground. And with coach McKay coming from college, they wanted to maybe even play us a little harder." Examples given of opponents using McKay's comments as an excuse to run up the score included the reverse that Denver ran late in a 48–13 victory, and the timeout that Chuck Fairbanks called at the end of the Patriots game to enable Steve Grogan to break the NFL record of season rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. One sports analyst had predicted that McKay's lucrative contract would encourage opposing coaches to run up the score on the Buccaneers, to be able to demonstrate to their team owners that they were deserving of similar money.
Fed up with the attitude that he had to prove himself in the NFL, McKay once drunkenly needled Don Shula by saying, "I think pro coaches should have to prove themselves by winning four national championships in the colleges". He later admitted to having ruffled some feathers in the NFL, but said, "it wasn't as if they didn't deserve it".
## Other winless teams
Five previous teams finished with a winless and tieless season record, mostly during World War II: the 1934 Cincinnati Reds at 0–8, the 1942 Detroit Lions at 0–11, the 1943 Chicago Cardinals at 0–10, and the 1944 Brooklyn Tigers and Chicago Cardinals/Pittsburgh Steelers at 0–10 (the Cardinals and Steelers merged for the 1944 season and are commonly referred to as Card-Pitt, or, derisively, as the "carpet").
The 0–14 record was matched by the 1980 New Orleans Saints, who won their penultimate game to end the season 1–15. The 1981 Baltimore Colts then won their opener and closer, but lost every game in between to equal the Buccaneers' and Saints' 14-game single-season losing streak. The 1982 Colts were winless in a strike-shortened season, but did get a tie in one game. The 1990 New England Patriots had a 1–1 record when several of the players sexually harassed a female reporter. The fallout from the scandal contributed to the team finishing 0–14 in its remaining games. The 2013 Houston Texans also managed to match the Buccaneers' single-season losing streak after starting 2–0. the 2016 Cleveland Browns lost their first 14 games — or eighteen consecutive if an 0–4 preseason be added — to match the Buccaneers' single season streak. The Browns managed to avoid becoming the NFL's second 0–16 team by winning their penultimate game against the San Diego Chargers, but would not be so lucky in the next season when they did compile a 0–16 record.
The Buccaneers' record for consecutive games lost in a single season has been surpassed four times: by the 2001 Carolina Panthers and the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars, who both lost fifteen consecutive games after winning their opener and by the 2008 Detroit Lions, and the 2017 Cleveland Browns, the latter two being the only winless teams in a 16-game schedule. Thirteen NFL teams since the 1976 Buccaneers have lost 15 or 16 games in a season, but the Buccaneersʼ 26-game losing streak from 1976 to 1977 still stands as the longest in modern NFL history. The aforementioned Jacksonville Jaguars have come closest to equalling the Buccaneersʼ losing streak, suffering 20 consecutive losses between their second game of 2020 until finally winning the sixth game of their 2021 season.
## Offseason
The Buccaneers signed their first-ever free agents in January: former Birmingham Americans and Nebraska guard Tom Alward, Denver Broncos and Notre Dame defensive end Pete Duranko, and Chicago Bears wide receiver Wayne Wheeler. Having not selected a quarterback in the veteran allocation draft, they addressed that need in their first-ever trade, a deal to get local favorite Steve Spurrier from the San Francisco 49ers. The former Heisman Trophy winner was obtained for a second-round draft choice and two of the veteran draftees, Bruce Elia and Willie McGee. An earlier attempt to obtain a quarterback failed when the team sent a future draft pick to the Saints for backup quarterback Larry Cipa, only to waive him when he failed his physical. The Buccaneers also used a third-round pick to obtain defensive back Mike Washington from the Baltimore Colts.
### Coaching staff
Ron Wolf, who had been the Oakland Raiders' Director of Player Personnel since 1963 and was credited with much of their success, was hired as Vice President of Operations. Los Angeles Rams general manager Don Klosterman and former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Hank Stram were early candidates for the job; but Klosterman withdrew, and Stram was interested in a combined coach/general manager position. Wolf was directly responsible for the drafting of 20 of the Raiders' 22 starters, and his effectiveness at scouting talent was believed to be a major reason for the Raiders' being one of the few teams not to belong to a scouting combine. The Buccaneers quickly developed a Raiders flavor, choosing to hire a scouting staff rather than rely on the computerized scouting reports that almost all other teams were using, and hiring Raiders business manager Ken LaRue to serve in the same capacity. One of Wolf's responsibilities was to assist in the hiring of a head coach. Wolf persuaded Culverhouse that it would be better for any prospect to gain a year of experience and knowledge in his present job, rather than be named at expansion time, when there was little or no advantage to having a coach in place.
Wolf named Tom Bass director of player personnel. Bass had previously served as head of scouting and defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, the only team apart from the Buccaneers and Raiders that still maintained a human scouting staff instead of using the computerized services, and the team on whose model the Buccaneers' expansion strategy was patterned. Bass was Paul Brown's first coaching hire with the expansion Bengals, and previously had been an assistant under Sid Gillman with the San Diego Chargers, and with Don Coryell at San Diego State. Former McKay assistant and Utah State head coach Phil Krueger was added to the staff, joined shortly thereafter by USC assistants Wayne Fontes and Willie Brown, as defensive backs and receivers coaches, respectively. Dennis Fryzel, the last University of Tampa head coach, was added to handle special teams. Denver Broncos assistant Jerry Frei was hired as offensive line coach, becoming McKay's first assistant hired from the professional ranks, and was followed by former New York Jets defensive coordinator Dick Voris, hired initially as defensive line coach. Abe Gibron, former head coach of the Chicago Bears and college teammate of McKay at Purdue, was brought on board as a defensive assistant. The staff was completed with the addition of Atlanta Falcons assistant and former Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills head coach John Rauch as offensive coordinator. Tampa resident Harry Smith, a trainer with experience working with local college athletes such as John Matuszak and Gary Huff, became the team's strength and conditioning coach.
### Expansion Draft
The list of available players was released only 72 hours before the draft, and included many medical rejects who did not even report to training camp. McKay initially felt that the draft included a higher-than-expected level of talent, joking that "they're in their late 30s. I couldn't be happier". At the time, the NFL allowed existing teams to protect all except three players on their active rosters, leaving very meager options for expansion brethren Buccaneers and Seahawks. While the expansion draft did not include many well-known starters, it included several players who had notoriety with previous professional and college teams:
- Larry Ball and Doug Swift of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins team. Swift was left unprotected by the Dolphins, and the Buccaneers drafted him, unaware of the previous day's newspaper report that Swift had been accepted into medical school and would be retiring from football.
- Joe Blahak, who played for the 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers National Championship team and caught an interception in their Orange Bowl win over Alabama.
- Former USC tailbacks Anthony Davis and Manfred Moore. Davis did not report immediately, as he was still under contract to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
- Starting San Diego Chargers guard Ira Gordon.
- Howard Fest, a member of the Cincinnati Bengals 1968 expansion team.
- Harold Hart, the Oakland Raiders running back who had led the AFC in kick returns the previous season.
- Vince Kendrick, the former Florida Gators fullback who had been left unprotected by the Atlanta Falcons due to a knee injury.
- Johnny McKay, former USC wide receiver and son of coach McKay. McKay and Anthony Davis also both played with the Southern California Sun of the World Football League before joining the NFL.
- Dave Pear, who would become the first Buccaneer selected as an All-Pro and would later win a Super Bowl ring with Oakland before retiring and becoming an anti-NFL activist over the league's treatment of injured and disabled former players.
- Pat Toomay, the Buffalo Bills' defensive line MVP and former Dallas Cowboy, who he believed was placed on the expansion list as a form of blackballing due to the publication of his novel The Crunch, noting in a 2014 Sports Illustrated article that the novel "was the kind of thing you write AFTER you retire, not while you're still playing".
- Mike Current and Ken Stone, who would go on to have productive careers with the Dolphins and Cardinals, respectively.
- Mark Cotney and Dave Reavis, who went on to become key starters for the Buccaneers. Cotney said in 2014 that the 1976 team taught him the most of any Bucs team in the 9 years he was a starter at safety, because "we had eight or nine guys that year who belonged in the NFL...you still had to find a way to go out there and bust your ass."
### NFL Draft
The 1976 NFL Draft was considered to be the worst draft class in many years, with only eight high-quality prospects, as compared to the normal 27 or 28. The popularity of the wishbone offense among college teams left the draft devoid of quarterback prospects: indeed the 1976 quarterback draft class is retrospectively viewed as amongst the worst of all time. A drawing held the previous December gave the Buccaneers the rights to the first overall selection.
#### Draft trades
As an expansion team, the Buccaneers were given two extra picks in each of the 2nd–5th rounds. Their second 2nd-round pick was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for quarterback Steve Spurrier. Their first 3rd-round pick was traded to Baltimore for cornerback Mike Washington. Their first 4th-round pick and last 5th-round picks were traded to the Los Angeles Rams for linebacker Jim Peterson. Their 8th-round pick was traded to the New York Jets for linebacker Steve Reese.
#### Draft selections
With the first selection in the draft, the Buccaneers picked Lee Roy Selmon, considered to be the best defensive tackle in Oklahoma history and described as "one of the greatest defensive linemen I have ever watched" by coach McKay. Shortly thereafter, with their second pick of the second round, they took his brother Dewey. The two, who were the two leading tacklers on the 1975 Oklahoma Sooners football team, were the third pair of brothers in NFL history to go to the same team in the same draft. They became the only pair of brothers to play for the same NFL team at the same time until Lyle Blackwood joined his brother Glenn on the Miami Dolphins' roster in 1981. The move prompted brother Lucious Selmon to offer to come out of retirement if Tampa Bay would obtain his NFL rights. The Buccaneers spent their first second-round pick on Florida fullback Jimmy DuBose, and took Colorado offensive tackle Steve Young in the third round. Later-round picks who made the team included defensive back Curtis Jordan, quarterback Parnell Dickinson, and running back George Ragsdale. Carl Roaches, later a Pro Bowl return man for the Houston Oilers, and Tommy West, later the head coach at Clemson and the University of Memphis, were selected by the Buccaneers but did not make the roster.
## Preseason
The Buccaneers' first training camp began on July 6, at the team's training facility near Tampa International Airport, with a crew from NFL Films on hand to film the proceedings. Chicago Bears quarterback and Tampa native Gary Huff showed up to taunt the receivers. McKay noted that many of the players were out of shape, and expressed surprise at players who he felt were not taking advantage of a big opportunity. Ron Wolf, after seeing the team's players in action, admitted disappointment at his own efforts in assembling the team. Defensive coordinator Abe Gibron, who promised to be honest with each player about his performance and told one that he had a chance of making the team, but that "You're built like Tarzan, but you run like Jane", assessed the defense as having the makings of a great front four. The team's smallest, and perhaps fastest, player was Carl Roaches, who at 5'61⁄2" and 165 pounds, could run the 100-yard dash in 9.5 seconds. The team's strongest player was fitness fanatic Dave Pear, who could bench press 10 repetitions at 400 pounds. McKay was unimpressed with the candidates at backup quarterback, saying of one injured contender, "his hand is still bad, but his passing is worse". Middle linebacker soon proved to be a position for which there were no quality candidates in camp. Running back George Ragsdale impressed the coaches, but broke his wrist in training camp. Essex Johnson, the Cincinnati Bengals' all-time leading rusher and one of three remaining original Bengals, was obtained for "undisclosed considerations".
The (as McKay liked to point out, undefeated) team made their game debut against the Los Angeles Rams in an exhibition at the Los Angeles Coliseum on July 31, losing 26-3. McKay called the players' performance "unaggressive, uninspiring, lethargic, and unacceptable", and cut 15 players one day prior to the following Tuesday's cutdown date. McKay was pleased with the following week's improved performance against the Green Bay Packers, a 10–6 loss in which a late interception of a Parnell Dickinson pass prevented a likely Buccaneer victory. After the Packers referred to them as the "Tampa Buccaneers", the Buccaneers threatened to introduce the "Green Packers" at their next meeting. The Buccaneers' first victory came in a 17–3 preseason win over the favored Atlanta Falcons, in which they scored on runs by Steve Spurrier and Essex Johnson, and a Mirro Roder field goal. Although the win had no official significance, it raised optimism among fans, particularly due to the team's defensive performance. McKay himself was puzzled, unsure whether the win was due to a superior performance by Tampa Bay, or a lack of effort by the Falcons. Their home debut came in a 28–21 loss to the Miami Dolphins, in front of a crowd of 71,718, a crowd which Dolphins owner Joe Robbie said proved his longtime prediction that a Bay Area team would be a success.
The late preseason saw a wave of signings of players cut by other teams, particularly the Bengals and Colts. Signees included Isaac Hagins, Danny Reece, Dave Green, and Jack Novak, with Ira Gordon and camp standout Jim Cagle among those waived to make roster space for them. Running back Charlie Davis was also obtained via trade. The moves left the team with nine former Bengals on their roster, a situation they expected, as they knew that Bengals owner Paul Brown had more young talent than he would be able to keep on his team. Linebacker Richard Wood was obtained from the New York Jets for a future draft choice, with injury-plagued running back Harold Hart placed on injured reserve to make roster space for him. Wood was the final roster addition of the preseason, and became the fifth ex-USC player on the roster.
## Regular season
According to coach McKay, the team's progress was set back as they spent the preseason trying to find out which veterans would develop into regulars, but found that the younger players were better. This meant that the team started over from the beginning as the regular season began. The tone for the season seemed to be set as the team got lost in the Houston Astrodome when leaving the locker room to take the field for their opening game. They spent 20 minutes trying to find their way out, and barely made it to the field in time for the opening kickoff. The team started out with solid defensive play, ranking in the top 10 until injuries began to set in. They began to wear out as the Buccaneers' offensive ineptitude meant that the defense spent a lot of time on the field, over 100 plays in some games. Receiver Johnny McKay pointed out the tendency of the offense to feel pressured after a three-and-out possession, with the result that they would press even harder the next time, quickly going three-and-out again. Coach McKay said early on that controlling the ball for 40 percent of the game, as they were, was not long enough to win. Placekicker Mirro Roder was cut after missing three field goals in the first two games, in both of which the Buccaneers were shut out, giving their offense the nickname "Zero Gang", which stuck with them through a total of eleven shutouts before their first victory as a franchise.
Roder was not replaced, with punter Dave Green taking over his duties. Rick Jennings spent the shortest amount of time with the club of all players that season; picked up on waivers from the Raiders on a Tuesday, he was released the same Thursday. New uniforms had to be ordered for the team when it was discovered that the fans could not tell the players apart because the numerals on the white uniforms could not be seen from the stands. Many local Miami Dolphins fans were angered when the NFL upheld the Buccaneers' demand that Dolphin games not be broadcast in the Tampa Bay area on days that the Buccaneers play at home. The timing of the decision led to the firing of Director of Administration Curt Mosher after the season.
The team failed to throw a touchdown pass in any of their first five games, three of which were shutout losses. Offensive coordinator John Rauch walked out on the team during the week 5 game against Cincinnati, and gave 'personal differences' as the reason for his resignation. His duties were taken over by McKay, who pointed to the increased effectiveness of the team's "simpler" offense, saying that they were no longer "trying to do all the things people said you have to do in this league". On a strange NFL weekend in which O. J. Simpson was ejected from a game for fighting, the Chicago Bears lost a game due to a referee's inadvertent whistle, and Minnesota Vikings receiver Sammy White fumbled away a touchdown due to starting his celebration before entering the end zone, McKay launched an obscenity-filled tirade against Denver Broncos coach John Ralston after a blowout loss. McKay admitted that his feelings dated back to their college rivalry, when McKay coached at USC and Ralston coached at Stanford University, but pointed to specific plays such as a reverse and a last-minute punt return as evidence that Ralston was trying to run up the score. Third-string running back Manfred Moore caught a lucky break when, waived after the week 13 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was picked up by the Oakland Raiders as an injury replacement for ex-Buccaneer Rick Jennings. He wound up going from an 0–13 team to the eventual Super Bowl champion. Players began to meet for postgame parties at Steve Spurrier's house, in order to avoid having to show their faces in public. According to defensive end Pat Toomay, "By the time we got to the last game of the season, we had so many injuries that we didn't feel we had much of a chance. Everybody was so sick of the season that they showed up packed and ready to get out of town. It looked like a bunch of Okies fleeing the dust bowl." McKay said that the week 4 game against the Baltimore Colts summed up the season: "On one play I looked up and one of our guys was getting kicked out of the game, and two more were getting carried off".
The team did not score a touchdown until cornerback Danny Reece returned a fumble 44 yards in the fourth game. Running back Louis Carter threw their first touchdown pass in an "Expansion Bowl" loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which the two teams combined for 310 yards in penalties. They were outscored 412–125, allowed 6.7 yards per play, and allowed an average of 183 rushing yards per game.
Several factors contributed to the Buccaneers' record. One was the stinginess of owner Culverhouse, who went so far as to lease the team jet from McCulloch (the chainsaw manufacturer) Airlines. At times Culverhouse had to pay for fuel with his own credit card, because of McCulloch's financial difficulties. The offense was able to move the ball freely at times, but had difficulty getting the ball into the end zone. McKay and Spurrier had a difficult relationship, with Spurrier at times taking public potshots at McKay. Frustrated by the lack of quality receivers, Spurrier criticized McKay for playing his own son Johnny ahead of receivers Spurrier considered more capable. Coach McKay, for his part, questioned (rightly, according to Spurrier himself) Spurrier's drive, although he publicly defended Spurrier by terming fans who booed him "idiots". Spurrier was not the only player angered over the younger McKay's retention, and Pat Toomay later alleged that Spurrier would throw passes over the middle to McKay in an attempt to get him injured, but that McKay made no effort to catch them. Injuries were a large factor. Only five Buccaneers started all 14 games, and neither of the team's projected starting running backs, Harold Hart and Vince Kendrick, ever played a regular-season down for the team. The defense, who played the equivalent of two seasons in one due to the inability of the offense to mount sustained drives, was hit particularly hard by injuries. Toward the end of the year, the roster became so thin that the team signed undersized ex-USC linebacker Jimmie "Psycho" Sims straight off the streets. With no time to learn the system, Sims was simply instructed to blitz on every down. Finally, the losing was in part by design: McKay was determined to give experience to young players who he felt could help the team in the future, rather than obtain veterans who might help the team win a few games in the short run, but who would no longer be around by the time the team would develop into a championship contender.
The 2008 NFL Network program "10 Worst Teams of All Time" (produced prior to the Lions' winless season) recognized the 1976 Buccaneers as the worst NFL team ever, although it is disputed whether their record was not deceptive, as they were decimated by injuries and were a play away from victory several times. There is some opinion that the 1976 team was not even the worst in Buccaneers history, with the 2–14 1986 squad deserving of that distinction.
The last remaining active member of the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers was defensive back Curtis Jordan, who retired after the 1986 season.
### Schedule
## Personnel
### Coaching staff
## Standings
## Game summaries
### Week 1: at Houston Oilers
The Buccaneers, making their NFL debut against the Houston Oilers, averaged less than two yards per offensive play. They were unable to score despite being given good field position by two Oiler fumbles. Steve Spurrier completed 8 of 21 passes for 36 yards, and starting running backs Jimmy DuBose and Louis Carter rushed for 12 yards on 15 carries. Despite being outgained 169 to 8 by the second quarter, they were only behind 7–0 and missed a chance to tie the score when Lee McGriff dropped a Spurrier pass in the end zone. A later drive ended when Spurrier overthrew John McKay, Jr., instead hitting defender C.L. Whittington. A third chance to tie the score was lost when Mark Cotney dropped an interception of a Dan Pastorini pass with a clear path to the end zone. Whittington gave the Buccaneers the ball on the Oiler 11-yard line by fumbling a punt, but then killed the Buccaneers' scoring chances by intercepting another Spurrier pass. Ronnie Coleman ran 25 times for 142 yards for the Oilers. McKay expressed concern over the team's offense after the defeat, and responded to a reporter's taunt of "I thought you said you were going to win some games?" by saying, "Houston has been in the league 6,000 years and still hasn't won a championship. The Bucs will be heard from". It was a day with a bad beginning, middle, and ending for the Buccaneers. The day began with the Buccaneers getting lost in the maze-like Astrodome interior, and ended with the team's charter plane bouncing and rolling before righting itself on landing. In addition, starting tackle Dave Reavis was injured during pregame warmups and was lost for the season.
### Week 2: vs San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers got 16 first downs, compared to 5 for the Buccaneers. Chargers players and coaches praised the Buccaneers' defense, who held them to 9 points until the final three minutes of the game, saying that they played the equivalent of five-quarters. Three Tampa Bay quarterbacks completed a combined 3 of 8 passes for −4 yards. Buccaneers receiver Bob Moore said, "We're at rock bottom now...but if we start pointing a finger, we'll go 0–14". The Chargers finished with 325 yards of offense to the Buccaneers' 125. Inconsistent blocking was blamed for the offensive problems, a situation that was not helped by the injury to tackle Dave Reavis. Mercury Morris, who had been picked up on waivers by the Chargers from the Miami Dolphins after the Buccaneers' preseason game against the Dolphins, commented that the difference in Buccaneers' offensive line protection between the two games was like watching two different teams. The Buccaneers' lack of speed was also noticeable. The loss marked the first time since 1961 that a professional football team was shut out in the first two games of the season, when the Oakland Raiders were shut out by the same two teams in the same order.
### Week 3: vs Buffalo Bills
The Buccaneers scored their first points, but were not able to score enough to win, despite statistically outperforming the Buffalo Bills in most phases of the game. The Buccaneers had only three Dave Green field goals to show for seven possessions inside the Bills' 22-yard line. O. J. Simpson, who would rush for a season total of 1,503 yards, was held to only 39 yards on twenty carries. The Bills, the highest-scoring team in recent years, were 1 of 12 in third-down conversions, and were surpassed in yardage, first downs, rushing average, and number of total plays. Buffalo took the lead on Bob Chandler's 58-yard reception of a tipped pass. The Buccaneers' 338 yards of offense, a great improvement over their previous two games, coincided with coach McKay's relenting to Steve Spurrier's demands that he be able to call his own plays. Spurrier suffered a bone chip in his throwing hand that made his status questionable for the next week's game.
### Week 4: at Baltimore Colts
After taking a 3–0 lead against one of the league's better teams on a Dave Green field goal, the Buccaneers were overwhelmed by the Baltimore Colts in a disastrous second quarter. A Danny Reece interception of a Bert Jones pass was called back due to a roughing-the-passer penalty, and another was dropped by Richard Wood. Cornerback Mike Washington was thrown out of the game for fighting. Cal Peterson and Lee Roy Selmon went out with knee injuries. Film of the game appeared to indicate that the injury to Selmon was intentional. The Colts followed with 9 points in each of the next two-quarters. The Buccaneers finally scored their first two touchdowns of the year, a fumble return by Danny Reece and a 1-yard Charlie Davis run. The Colts set team records with eight sacks, and with 124 penalty yards. They outgained Tampa Bay 458 yards to 89 and 31 first downs to 6. The Buccaneers were only able to complete four passes; wide receiver Lee McGriff was their leading passer with a 39-yard completion. Said McKay afterward, "Field position hurt us badly, dropped passes hurt us badly, no blocking hurt us badly, injuries hurt us badly, and penalties hurt us badly. Otherwise, it was a perfect afternoon."
### Week 5: at Cincinnati Bengals
With four defensive starters out with injuries, the Buccaneers spotted the Cincinnati Bengals a 14–0 first-quarter lead. The defense came together for the last three-quarters, with the only points coming from Tommy Casanova's 25-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Ken Anderson, the AFC's leading passer, was held to 98 yards passing. Lacking healthy linebackers, the Buccaneers abandoned their 3–4 defense in favor of a 4–3. The Buccaneers held a 191–174 yardage advantage over the AFC Central-leading Bengals in the final 45 minutes. The Bengals declined to hand out game balls to any of their players after the win.
### Week 6: vs Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Mike Curtis blocked a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime, guaranteeing a Seahawk victory in what was billed as the "expansion bowl" meeting between two winless, first-year teams. The Buccaneers outgained the Seahawks, 285 yards to 253, but the officials outgained both, with 310 yards in penalties. The 35 penalties (accepted, 41 were thrown by the officials) were two short of the 25-year-old league record. Each team was penalized for holding eight times. Defensive tackle Pat Toomay complained that "the officials made us look like a bunch of idiots". Dan Ryczek was the only Buccaneer lineman not to be called for holding. Tampa Bay running back Louis Carter, stuffed at the goal line, threw the ball to Morris Owens, who dived into the end zone for the first Buccaneer passing touchdown. A tackle by Seahawk punter Rick Engles prevented a touchdown return by Danny Reece that would have won the game for the Buccaneers. An earlier field goal try was blocked by Lyle Blackwood. The game ended with Dave Brown being helped from the field after being hit in the eye by the final penalty flag.
### Week 7: vs Miami Dolphins
A blocked field goal and extra-point attempt provided the margin of victory for the Miami Dolphins. Ex-Dolphin receiver Morris Owens came back to haunt his old team with three touchdown catches. Starting quarterback Parnell Dickinson threw the first, then was replaced by recently acquired quarterback Terry Hanratty after injuring his ankle. When Hanratty proved ineffective, Steve Spurrier, who had not practiced during the week due to a swollen knee, came off the bench to throw the final two touchdowns. It took a final-minute, 29-yard Garo Yepremian field goal to clinch the game for the Dolphins, whose pass defense had been decimated by injuries. 192 of the Buccaneers' 334 total yards came through the air. McKay would later point to this game as the high point of the Buccaneers' season. Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti saw it differently, calling the narrow victory "a disgrace" and "the low point in Miami Dolphins' history".
### Week 8: vs Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs credited their defense with the win after holding the Buccaneers to 14 yards rushing. The Buccaneers managed only 2 first downs and 34 yards of total offense before exploding for three touchdowns in the final ten minutes. The Buccaneers were mistake-prone and ineffective throughout the first three-quarters. Ken Stone was penalized for roughing on a missed field goal in the first quarter, with the result that the Chiefs got a second chance to kick it. The special teams allowed Henry Marshall to return a punt 59 yards, setting up the Chiefs' second touchdown. They got 14 first downs and 162 yards in the final 15 minutes, scoring on an Essex Johnson run and passes from Steve Spurrier to Johnny McKay and Jack Novak. Coach McKay felt that the difference was that the team did not begin giving effort until the fourth quarter. McKay also felt that the Chiefs left themselves vulnerable by trying to run up the score. Bert Cooper, filling in at linebacker for an injured Steve Reese, was consistently exploited in the passing game. McKay later threatened to fire players who he felt were giving a slack effort, specifically referring to a Chiefs kickoff that rolled all the way to the 4-yard line, with no Buccaneers trying to recover it. Spectators booed the team, and one threw a dead bird at Spurrier as he returned to the locker room after the game. Buccaneer defenders found some consolation in having held the AFC's top offensive team to only 13 points. Defensive end Council Rudolph played, despite the death of his father the previous evening.
### Week 9: at Denver Broncos
With the score tied 10–10, Buccaneer linebacker Cal Peterson suffered a career-ending injury untouched when his knee gave out while running in an interception for what would have been a touchdown. Lee Roy Selmon also suffered a season-ending knee injury. After taking a 13–10 lead on a Dave Green field goal, the injury-riddled Buccaneers were doomed by an 181⁄2 minute span in which the Broncos scored 38 points. Coach McKay accused Broncos coach John Ralston of running up the score and stormed off of the field, refusing to shake hands with him after the game. He later referred to Ralston as a "horse's ass" and said, "I don't like any part of him. His day is coming". Ralston responded by pointing out that most of the Broncos points came on fumble recoveries and interceptions. McKay later revealed his thoughts on the team's likely high draft position, saying "This team needs a catalyst. Ricky Bell can run through a wall".
### Week 10: at New York Jets
In what was according to coach Lou Holtz a prearranged move, New York Jets rookie quarterback Richard Todd was replaced by Joe Namath late in the first quarter. Namath responded with a passing display that gave the Jets a 24–0 halftime lead. Saying that his players were "polite" to Namath, coach McKay compared the Buccaneers to a junior-high team, and said that the only thing they did better than the Jets was to be the first team on the field after halftime. Clark Gaines rushed for 103 yards for the Jets. The Buccaneers' three quarterbacks combined for 171 yards passing, more than the Jets' quarterbacks, but the Buccaneers failed to score for the fourth time in the season. As the score rose, the press box announcer began calling out records set during the game, which included the Jets' first shutout in Shea Stadium. This was considered to be the Buccaneers' last good chance to win a game, with their four final opponents all in playoff contention. The Jets' 34 points were nearly a third of their season total of 110 after ten games, and a fifth of their season total of 169.
### Week 11: vs Cleveland Browns
Strong first-half play left the Buccaneers tied 7–7 with the Cleveland Browns at halftime, but they failed to maintain the intensity for the second half of the game. A screen pass from Steve Spurrier to Essex Johnson caught the blitzing Cleveland linebackers out of position for a 13-yard touchdown. The solid blocking of the first half gave way to the Cleveland rush in the second half, and Spurrier was replaced with Parnell Dickinson in the fourth quarter. Dickinson wound up leaving the game with a season-ending knee injury on a play in which he threw an interception to Terry Brown. Two Browns players were ejected for fighting, in a game in which several Buccaneers complained of cheap shots being taken. Dave Pear said, "If I had a gun, I would have shot them both in the head", of two Cleveland players who tried to take out his knees.
### Week 12: at Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders, with an NFL-best 11–1 record, scored three touchdowns before the Buccaneers got their third first down. Mark van Eeghen scored on two 1-yard runs. A 2-yard Ed Williams touchdown run tied the score at 7–7 after the Buccaneers recovered a fumble at the Oakland 14-yard line in the first quarter. A Dave Green field goal made the score 21–10 at halftime, but Ken Stabler threw for two third-quarter touchdowns for the Raiders. Steve Spurrier finished the Buccaneers' scoring with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Morris Owens. Dewey Selmon suffered a serious knee injury, the Buccaneers' 14th of the season, on the first play of the game.
### Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers
John McKay gave ex-Steelers quarterback Terry Hanratty the start against his former team, saying that Hanratty's familiarity with the Steelers' schemes made him the best choice. "I don't know if I'm doing him a favor or not", said McKay, who compared the game to Custer's last stand. Hanratty was pulled in favor of Steve Spurrier in the second half. McKay later told reporters critical of Hanratty's performance, "You guys should take a Sunday off and play behind our offensive line. They just poured in on us." Rocky Bleier ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns, and Terry Bradshaw completed two touchdown passes to Lynn Swann. Franco Harris, with 55 yards rushing, became the fourth player both to rush for 5,000 yards in four seasons, and to gain 1,000 yards four or more times. The Steelers jumped out to a quick 21–0 lead, helped by two early Tampa Bay turnovers deep in their own territory. Pittsburgh players, some of whom could still remember having gone 0–13 after winning their opener in 1969, described the game as "strange", but declined to comment on the Buccaneers' play. The Buccaneers managed only 85 yards of offense against a Steeler team that needed the win to maintain their playoff chances.
This game had the distinction of being what is believed to be the largest points spread in NFL history, as Pittsburgh was favored by 24. This record was surpassed in 2013 when the Denver Broncos were favored in a 28-point spread against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though the Broncos won the game, they did not cover (winning only 35–19) leaving Pittsburgh with the largest point spread covered by a favourite. This was the only game in NFL history in which a favorite has covered a spread of more than 20 points until the Dallas Cowboys covered as 22 point favorites against the Miami Dolphins in 2019.
### Week 14: vs New England Patriots
Two fumbles deep in New England Patriots territory overcame a stubborn Buccaneer effort. The Patriots' 260 rushing yards stood for years as the most allowed in a game by the Buccaneers, while their total of four pass completions remains the least by a Tampa Bay opponent. New England came from behind twice on Andy Johnson touchdown runs, and took the lead for good on Sam Hunt's 58-yard return of a Steve Spurrier interception. Johnson's first touchdown run was a 69-yarder that set a club record. Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan set an NFL record with four seconds left, rushing for his 12th touchdown of the year. The Buccaneers also set an NFL record, by becoming the only team to go winless in a 14-game season.
## Awards and records
- Steve Spurrier and Pat Toomay were named offensive and defensive MVPs, respectively.
- Dave Pear was named team MVP by area sportswriters
- Morris Owens' three touchdowns against Miami on October 24 stood for nine years as the team record, and is still second-place all-time (both for touchdowns and points scored in a single game).
- The defense allowed 933 plays, the lowest until the 1998 team allowed 925.
- The 321 passing attempts and 180 completions are both the least ever allowed by the Buccaneers.
|
40,199,989 |
Bangerz
| 1,173,596,905 |
2013 studio album by Miley Cyrus
|
[
"2013 albums",
"Albums produced by Cirkut",
"Albums produced by Dr. Luke",
"Albums produced by Mike Will Made It",
"Albums produced by Pharrell Williams",
"Albums produced by Rock City",
"Albums produced by will.i.am",
"Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios",
"Contemporary R&B albums by American artists",
"Miley Cyrus albums",
"RCA Records albums"
] |
Bangerz is the fourth studio album by American singer Miley Cyrus, released on September 30, 2013, by RCA Records. Opting to re-establish her musical career instead of focusing on her acting career as originally planned, Cyrus began planning the project in mid 2012. Work continued into 2013 when she signed with RCA Records. Described by Cyrus as "dirty south hip-hop", Bangerz represents a musical departure from her previous work, which she had grown to feel "disconnected" from. As executive producers, Cyrus and Mike Will Made It collaborated with hip hop producers including Pharrell Williams, Oren Yoel, Rami Samir Afuni, Dr. Luke, and Michael McHenry. Their efforts resulted in a primarily pop and R&B record, with lyrical themes that revolve largely around romance. It features guest vocals from several new partners, including pop singer Britney Spears and rappers Big Sean, French Montana, Future, Ludacris, and Nelly. Cyrus co-wrote twelve out of sixteen tracks.
Upon its release, Bangerz received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its overall production and originality, as well as the evolution of Cyrus' public persona. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 270,000 copies. In doing so, it became Cyrus' fifth number-one album, including earlier soundtracks in which she performed as her character Hannah Montana. It was the third-highest opening week for a female artist in 2013 behind Beyoncé's self-titled album and Katy Perry's Prism, and was later certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after moving three million album-equivalent units. The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, marking Cyrus' first career Grammy nomination.
"We Can't Stop" was released as the lead single from Bangerz on June 3, 2013, and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. The second single "Wrecking Ball" was released on August 25, 2013, and became Cyrus' first number-one single in the United States. Its accompanying music video was the fastest video to reach 100 million views on Vevo until being beaten by Adele's "Hello" music video in 2015. The "Wrecking Ball" music video also won Cyrus the award for "Video of the Year" at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. "Adore You" was released as the third single from the record on December 17, 2013, and was certified 2× Platinum in the US. Promotional efforts for Bangerz continued to associate Cyrus with an increasingly provocative image, an effort first begun with her third record, Can't Be Tamed (2010). She garnered widespread media attention through a controversial performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and was later the host and musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live. Cyrus further promoted the album with her fourth concert tour, the Bangerz Tour.
## Background and production
In 2012, Cyrus announced plans to focus on her film career, effectively putting her musical endeavors on a hiatus. That year, she appeared in the films LOL and So Undercover. She was also confirmed as a primary voice actress in the feature film Hotel Transylvania, but was fired from the project due to a scandal involving her licking a suggestive cake. This fallout ended up serving her well to coordinate a musical comeback. In January 2013, Cyrus signed a recording contract with RCA Records. In March, she confirmed that her fourth studio album would be released by the end of 2013. Cyrus stated that she "started over" as an artist after terminating the services of her previous professional connections, who she felt "would have [been] scared" by her evolving public image. In a later interview, she elaborated that she recognizes Bangerz to be her official debut record, deprecating her earlier projects released during the production of Hannah Montana. While recording the then-untitled album, Cyrus intended to produce a "very adult and sexy and believable" final product, and was "having fun making music [for] the first time in her career." She said the album was influenced by Motown Sound. Musical acts which inspired the album included OneRepublic and Timbaland.
She described the music as "dirty south hip-hop" and combining the genres of hip-hop and country, which she felt was a "good hybrid". To achieve this sound, Cyrus worked with various hip hop producers including Mike Will Made It, Mac Miller, Pharrell Williams, and Tyler, the Creator in cities including Atlanta, Georgia. They helped her to incorporate hip hop music elements into the project, which Cyrus acknowledged resulted in a "really different sound". Cyrus further commented that her project would "shut everyone up", and later compared the record to Bad (1987) by Michael Jackson, in that "people still are listening to [it] because it's so fucking dope" and "[wants] people to listen to [her] album like that." She also expressed her desire to "set a new standard for pop music". Producer Sean Garrett called the record "fun [and] exciting", and stated that a collaboration that Cyrus recorded with Britney Spears would appear on the final track listing. Mike Will Made It explained that the title for the album was decided upon after realizing that "whole album was bangers".
## Release and artwork
On August 6, 2013, after reaching 13 million followers on Twitter, Cyrus tweeted that the record would be titled Bangerz. Its cover sleeve and images were shot by British photographer Tyrone Lebon; several unused pictures from the photo shoot surfaced online on June 5, 2014. On August 24, 2013, Cyrus unveiled the album artworks for the standard and deluxe versions of the album; both depict a blonde Cyrus wearing a short black coat with the title "Bangerz" stylized in fluorescent neon lighting in front of palm trees. It was described as being reminiscent of the 1980s television series Miami Vice and an unexpected choice given her recent influence by hip hop culture. Later on August 25, Bangerz was made available for pre-order through the iTunes Store. She later confirmed that it would be released on October 4, 2013, in the United States. After her music video for the track "Wrecking Ball" broke the Vevo record for the most views in the first twenty-four hours of its release, Cyrus revealed the track listing for Bangerz through Twitter on September 10.
On September 18, 2013, Cyrus unveiled four additional covers for the physical version of the deluxe record, which were sporadically distributed across international retailers and voted on by fans to determine the official cover to be printed for future pressings. Two of the covers display Cyrus dressed in alternate outfits, one with a black jacket and another with a white bra and checkered black pants. The third version depicts a close-up of Cyrus surrounded by roses, while the fourth version highlights a topless Cyrus covering her chest. The topless cover is featured for an online-exclusive edition of the record and is also the primary visual for the vinyl pressings, released on November 26 through Cyrus' online store. It was compared to her music video for "Wrecking Ball", which also showcased an unclothed Cyrus, while the others were deemed conservative by comparison. A page of stickers is packaged with the deluxe version of the album. On October 15, it was announced through Cyrus' Facebook profile that the original deluxe artwork would remain the official cover. The record is additionally marked with the Parental Advisory label, affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to identify explicit content. On September 29, 30-second snippets of each track on Bangerz were made available through AllMusic. The following day, the full record was made available for streaming through the iTunes Store and iTunes Radio. On April 22, 2017, the album was rereleased on vinyl for Record Store Day.
## Composition
### Music and lyrics
Bangerz is primarily a pop and R&B record, which also integrates elements of hip hop, synth-pop and country music. During an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on October 10, host Ellen DeGeneres asked Cyrus if the record was inspired by her relationship with Liam Hemsworth, to which she replied "the whole album is a story of that and I think it says that starting with "Adore You" and ending with "Someone Else" ..... I think I knew more intuitively where my life was going than I actually thought I did at the time."
### Songs and lyrical content
The record opens with "Adore You", a pop and R&B ballad, which lyrically addresses a lover through lyrics including "We were meant to be/In holy matrimony". Nick Catucci from Entertainment Weekly opined that the track allowed Cyrus to showcase her vocal abilities. "We Can't Stop" is a midtempo pop, and R&B with influences from EDM and hip hop song that lyrically discusses the events of a house party. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times calling the song "the calmest, most clear-eyed rebel yell since Janet Jackson's 'Control'." Catucci described "SMS (Bangerz)" as a "merry rap-off" with pop singer Britney Spears, who appears as a guest vocalist in the second verse. "4x4" features hip hop recording artist Nelly, and lyrically discusses the story of a "female rebel" looking to find bail for her romantic partner. Subtle country music elements are present throughout the song. "My Darlin'" features Future; Cyrus' vocal abilities were complimented, though were deemed to be overpowered by a "sea of blinking synths and unthawed crooning". "Wrecking Ball" is a synthpop ballad speaking of a failed relationship.
The seventh track "Love Money Party" features Big Sean, and incorporates a "grimy, haunted-house beat". Jason Lipshutz from Billboard noted that Cyrus appeared more comfortable with rapping in the recording, compared to an earlier performance on the Mike Will Made It single "23". "#GetItRight" is a "stylish breeze" that sees the inclusion of "whistling [...] and a chopped guitar lick". It was described as being reminiscent of "Twisted" by Usher and "Kickin' In" by Adam Lambert, all three of which were produced by Pharrell Williams. Cyrus stated that "Drive" was inspired by "needing to leave someone but not really wanting to completely cut yourself off from the relationship." The track was described as "a sad-Kanye-esque track" and her comments were assumed to reference her engagement to Hemsworth by the media. The tenth track "FU" features French Montana, and according to Catucci, blends "starry Adele-style sass and a French Montana verse into expertly inlaid dubstep wub-wubs". He went on to describe "Do My Thang" as a "ripping dance track", while Lipshutz recognized influences from "gooey synthesizers and snapping percussion". "Maybe You're Right" incorporates drum instrumentation with "hints of gospel influence", and was also questioned to be addressing Hemsworth. The thirteenth and final track "Someone Else" combines hip hop and synthpop styles, and lyrically discusses Cyrus' evolving public image.
## Singles
"We Can't Stop" was released as the lead single from Bangerz on June 3, 2013. It received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent towards its production and lyrics. The song peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, tying it with "Party in the U.S.A." as Cyrus' highest-peaking single in the country at the time. Internationally, it enjoyed varying success across Europe and Oceania, and peaked at number one in New Zealand. The accompanying music video was released on June 19, 2013, and was noted for depicting an increasingly provocative Cyrus, an effort begun with her third record Can't Be Tamed (2010). With 10.7 million views in its first day, the clip briefly held the Vevo record for the most views in 24 hours, before being surpassed by "Best Song Ever" by One Direction. It was also the fastest video to reach 100 million views, having done so in 37 days.
"Wrecking Ball" was released as the album's second single on August 25, 2013. The song peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cyrus' first single to do so in the United States. It additionally peaked within the top-twenty of several international singles charts, and reached at number 2 in Australia and New Zealand. The accompanying music video was released on September 9, 2013, and garnered significant media attention for showcasing a nude Cyrus. With 19.3 million views, it broke the Vevo record for the most views in 24 hours, and additionally became the fastest video to reach 100 million views, having done so in 6 days. The first-day viewing record was later surpassed by the visuals for "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj in August 2014, which received 19.6 million views, upon its premiere. On December 4, 2013, "Wrecking Ball" returned to the peak position of the Billboard Hot 100 with assistance from online streaming of a viral Chatroulette parody video, and consequently became the largest gap between number-one sittings in Billboard history. On the same month, the music videos for "Wrecking Ball" and "We Can't Stop" were announced as the first and second most-viewed videos on Vevo in 2013, respectively.
"Adore You" was released as the third and final single from Bangerz; it was serviced to contemporary hit radio stations on December 17, 2013. It received generally favorable reviews, with critics appreciating its mid-tempo production, although they criticized the use of Auto-Tune in its vocals. The accompanying music video was leaked on the evening of December 25, and was officially premiered on the morning of December 26. The clip depicts Cyrus suggestively posing in a bed and a bathtub, and is interspersed with night vision footage that appears to simulate a sex tape. Prior to being officially released as a single, the song debuted at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100; it peaked at number 21. The remix for "Adore You", was produced by Cedric Gervais, and premiered online on February 13, 2014; it was officially released on Beatport through his label Spinnin' Records on March 3.
## Promotion
Cyrus first performed "We Can't Stop" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 26, 2013, and on Good Morning America the following day. In August 2013, she became the subject of widespread media attention and public scrutiny following a controversial performance and duet with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in New York City. The performance began with Cyrus performing "We Can't Stop" in bear-themed attire. Halfway through the act, Cyrus stripped down to a skin-colored two-piece outfit as Thicke joined her on state to perform "Blurred Lines". Cyrus subsequently touched Thicke's crotch area with a giant foam finger and twerked against his crotch. An article published in The Hollywood Reporter described the performance as "crass" and "reminiscent of a bad acid trip". Media attention of the performance largely overshadowed the attention that was given to other major events of the night, such as the reunion of NSYNC and performances by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. The performance was described by XXL critic B. J. Steiner as a "trainwreck in the classic sense of the word as the audience reaction seemed to be a mix of confusion, dismay and horror in a cocktail of embarrassment", while the BBC said Cyrus stole the show with a "raunchy performance". The performance generated 306,100 tweets per minute on Twitter, breaking the record for the most tweeted-about event in the history of the social network; the previous record, held by the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show featuring Beyoncé, generated 268,000 tweets per minute. According to Forbes, Cyrus' performance resulted in a gain of over 213,000 Twitter followers, 226,000 likes on Facebook, and 90,000 downloads of her new promotional single, "Wrecking Ball", within days of the controversial performance. This amounted to a total 112% increase in Cyrus' social media activity.
In September 2013, Cyrus sang "We Can't Stop" on Schlag den Raab in Germany (September 7), Le Grand Journal in France (September 9), and Alan Carr: Chatty Man in England (September 13). On September 21, she performed twice at iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, in the afternoon at festival village and in the evening at MGM Grand Garden Arena. During both shows she sang "We Can't Stop" and, for the first time, "Wrecking Ball". Despite generating media attention for a provocative wardrobe, the performance was considered to be "fairly tame considering the VMAs." On October 5, Cyrus served as the host and musical guest during an episode of Saturday Night Live. She appeared in several sketches, including a parody of "We Can't Stop" titled "We Did Stop (The Government)", referencing the federal government shutdown, and performed an acoustic version of "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball". The following Monday, Cyrus performed both singles on Today as part of their Toyota Concert Series. She held an album signing on October 8 at Planet Hollywood in Times Square, and also appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen DeGeneres Show later that month, also singing both singles there.
Bangerz was additionally promoted through the documentary Miley: The Movement, which premiered through MTV on October 2; it covered the production of the project and the lead-up to its release. In November, Cyrus traveled to Europe again to sing both "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards in Amsterdam on November 10; she garnered media attention for smoking a joint of marijuana on-stage while accepting the Best Video Award for the latter single. During her trip, she also performed "Wrecking Ball" on Wetten, dass..? in Germany (November 9), BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in London (November 12), and the 2013 Bambi Awards in Germany (November 14). On November 17, she performed "Wrecking Ball" on The X Factor in London. After being criticized for delivering a lackluster vocal performance, Cyrus was placed under "vocal rest" by her doctors in preparation of the Bangerz Tour. On November 24, Cyrus performed "Wrecking Ball" at the 2013 American Music Awards; a digitally animated cat projected on the screen behind her lip-synced the lyrics alongside Cyrus. In December, she performed at Jingle Ball concerts in Los Angeles (KIIS-FM Jingle Ball), Saint Paul, Atlanta, New York City, Washington, D.C., Tampa and Sunrise. She was expected to perform in Boston during the series, although her flight from New York City was cancelled due to Winter Storm Electra and was therefore unable to attend.
Cyrus also performed "#GetItRight" and "Wrecking Ball" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest in Times Square on December 31; she had previously been expected to perform at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach with Pharrell Williams. On January 25, 2014, Cyrus sang "#GetItRight" during Clive Davis' party the evening before the 56th Annual Grammy Awards; after an unenthusiastic response from the audience, she performed a cover version of "Jolene" by Dolly Parton which received a more favorable reception. An episode of MTV Unplugged starring Cyrus premiered through MTV on January 29. She performed acoustic versions of "Adore You", "SMS (Bangerz)", "4x4", "Wrecking Ball", "#GetItRight", "Drive", "Do My Thang", and "Rooting for My Baby". Cyrus also performed a cover version of "Jolene", while Madonna appeared as a surprise guest that evening to sing a medley of Cyrus "We Can't Stop" and her own "Don't Tell Me". An uncensored version of the special was released online on February 6, and included an additional cover version of "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" by the Arctic Monkeys. Cyrus performed "Wrecking Ball" during the 2014 World Music Awards in Monte-Carlo on May 27. Cyrus participated in the Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium in London on June 21, where she sang "SMS (Bangerz)", "4x4", "Love Money Party", "Wrecking Ball", "We Can't Stop" and "Party In The USA".
## Tour
During her appearance on Today on October 7, Cyrus first mentioned her intentions to tour in 2014. On October 26, she made a surprise appearance on another episode of Saturday Night Live to officially announce the Bangerz Tour. It was promoted by the American entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment, which was reported to be paying Cyrus \$500,000 per presentation. The first leg of the tour visited North America and was originally scheduled to include thirty-eight shows, for which Swedish duo Icona Pop and American recording artist Sky Ferreira were announced as its opening acts.
Tickets for the North American leg became available for purchase on November 16; it began at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver on February 14, 2014, and was originally planned conclude on April 24 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. However, several showings were postponed after Cyrus experienced an allergic reaction to medication on April 15. The rescheduled North American dates saw the inclusion of two additional performances; they began on August 1 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, and concluded on August 14 at the United Center in Chicago. The second leg of the tour visited Europe and included eighteen shows, for which tickets became available for purchase on December 13. It began on May 6 at The O2 Arena in London, and concluded on June 22 at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. The two-hour television special Miley Cyrus: Bangerz Tour was filmed during Cyrus' performances in Spain and Portugal, and was broadcast on July 6 on NBC in the United States. The tour resumed on August 1 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale and concluded on October 23 at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia.
## Critical reception
Bangerz received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 21 reviews. Writing for AllMusic, Heather Phares provided a favorable review, opining that it "accomplishes [the] mission" of "[selling] Cyrus as an independent woman", further commenting that the incorporation of several genres within the project "introduces Miley as an A-list pop star." Jason Lipshutz of Billboard complimented the album for being "fiercely individual", but stated that the "dramatic breakup songs" became repetitive. Lipshutz stated that the album is "neither the best nor worst pop album" released in 2013, and stated power ballad songs like "Wrecking Ball" would increase her career longevity. Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly described Bangerz as being "utterly fresh" and a "pop blitz from a hip hop blue print", and stated that Cyrus had visibly transitioned from her former persona established by the Disney Channel.
Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times noted that the album favored a "grittier, hip-hop-inspired vibe" instead of the "glossy electro-pop" from her previous material, and further opined that "We Can't Stop" "still astounds; it might be the calmest, most clear-eyed rebel yell since Janet Jackson's 'Control.' An album beyond its years." Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan complimented the album's "wide-ranging production", labeling it a "Rihanna-meets-Gaga-meets-Pink-meets-Britney party grenade of a record". Writing for Fact, Tom Lea provided a more mixed review of Bangerz, calling it a "hot mess of country, Southern hip-hop and more", but concluded that the record contained "more—ahem—bangers than clangers." Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian shared a similar sentiment, but also concluded that the overall record held "more hits than misses". John Murphy of MusicOMH described the tracks as being "rather run of the mill material", but nonetheless complimented Cyrus' promotional efforts for making the record "one of the most anticipated pop albums of the year". Caitlin White from Consequence of Sound praised the album saying that "though gawky and unwieldy, this is a portrait of a woman with fierce, interesting instincts".
Kitty Empire from The Observer was more negative of Bangerz, stating that the project "feels stitched together in the dark, and the attention-seeking begins to grate." Elysa Gardner for USA Today described the record's composition as "mediocre" and consisting of "competent, mostly generic tunes". Jessica Hopper from Spin was also more negative of the record, remarking that it is a "precise album that flits between bombastic and turgid" and "is very fun".
## Accolades
On his list of the ten best albums of 2013, Nick Catucci from Entertainment Weekly placed Bangerz third, complimenting Cyrus' ability for "cutting-edge rap [...], a soulful voice capable of showstoppers [...], and an underappreciated emotional directness". The Guardian ranked Bangerz thirty-fourth on their list of the forty best albums, commenting that it "[winds] people up for commercial, rather than transgressive, ends" despite initially commenting that "the attention-seeking begins to grate". Rolling Stone placed Bangerz at number twenty-seven on their list of the fifty best albums, writing that Cyrus "[brought] depth and vulnerability to one hell of a party [...] amid all the foam-finger hub-hub". Ann Powers from NPR ranked the record tenth on her list of ten records, suggesting that it "should earn her entry into every celebration of pop this year", while the Associated Press ranked it ninth for being "banging". Joey Guerra from Houston Chronicle listed Bangerz as the fourth-best record of the year, calling it a "fun, feisty pop album that produced two of the year's biggest, best singles" and summarizing that "with one flick of her tongue, Cyrus easily outdoes recent fare from Gaga, Katy and Britney." FACT Magazine ranked Bangerz forty-ninth on their list of the fifty best albums of 2013, stating that "in a year where few albums from pop music’s big names lived up to potential (step forward Gaga, Britney and Jay-Z), Miley Cyrus undoubtedly ruled the roost".
Billboard listed Bangerz at number ninety-one on their list of the 100 best albums of the 2010s pointing that "with this pivotal album release, Cyrus took control of her public persona, surprising less with her provocative antics than with her constant artistic evolution." Consequence of Sound ranked Bangerz twentieth on their list of the 25 best pop albums of the 2010s.
### Awards
### Year-end lists
### Decade-end lists
## Commercial performance
In the United States on the issue dated October 16, Bangerz debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 270,000 copies. In doing so, Cyrus attained her fifth non-consecutive number-one album in the country. The figure includes her first and second studio albums Meet Miley Cyrus (2007) and Breakout (2008), in addition to the soundtracks Hannah Montana (2006) and Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), in which Cyrus was credited as her former titular character Hannah Montana. Furthermore, the record sold 168,000 more copies than her previous effort Can't Be Tamed (2010), and became the best-selling debut week for a female artist in 2013 at that point. Three weeks later, this feat was surpassed by Katy Perry after her fourth studio album Prism (2013) debuted at number one with first-week sales of 286,000 copies. In December, both women were surpassed by Beyoncé after her fifth studio album Beyoncé (2013) was unexpectedly released on the iTunes Store and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with three-day sales of 617,000 copies. During its second week of release, Bangerz dropped to number two with sales of 72,000 copies, and dropped to number four in its third week after moving 53,000 units. As of February 2014, Bangerz has sold one million copies in the United States, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On June 20, 2018, the album was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA denoting 3 million album-equivalent units. It also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, where it was eventually certified double platinum, and entered the Top 100 Mexico chart at number three.
Bangerz charted moderately throughout Europe. In the United Kingdom, the record and her track "Wrecking Ball" both debuted at number one on their respective charts in the same week, making Cyrus the first artist of 2013 to achieve a "chart double" in the country. The album was later recognized with a silver certification. It also reached the peak position in Ireland, Norway, and Scotland. Furthermore, it respectively debuted at numbers two and three in Spain and Italy. The album peaked at number four on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 and the Swedish Sverigetopplistan. It also debuted at number four on the Portuguese Albums Chart. The album also reached number six on the Dutch MegaCharts, number seven on the Swiss Music Charts, number eight on the Hungarian MAHASZ, and number three on the Danish Hitlisten and number nine on both the French Albums Chart and the German Media Control Charts. In Belgium, the record respectively peaked at numbers eight and nineteen in Flanders and Wallonia. The album reached number 23 on The Official Finnish Charts, and debuted at number 45 on the Polish ZPAV. In South America, Bangerz charted at number one on the Argentinian CAPIF chart and the Brazilian ABPD chart. The record experienced similar success in Oceania, where it debuted in the peak position of the Australian ARIA Charts and reached number two in New Zealand. In the latter country, it was certified gold.
## Impact and legacy
Bangerz and its promotional events have been largely credited with establishing a sexually provocative image for Cyrus. Zack O'Malley Greenburg from Forbes noted that her performances, music videos, and public behavior received "plenty of condemnation along with all the attention" in the lead-up to the record; he suggested that this was intentionally done so "[parents will] never again buy any products related to Cyrus–or her former alter-ego, tween sensation Hannah Montana." John Murphy from MusicOMH stated that Cyrus' performance at the MTV Video Music Awards became "the seismic event that ensured we'd never recall 2013 without thinking of her", further opining that the anticipation it built for Bangerz made it "impossible not to admire her PR operation."
Andrew Unterberger of Billboard felt that Bangerz developed the maturing image for Cyrus that her third album Can't Be Tamed (2010) failed to accomplish. He suggested that she had "no true backup plan" for creating a new public persona in 2010, and stated that she "now feels firmly in control of her music and her image" in 2013. Marlow Stern from The Daily Beast shared a similar sentiment, stating that Cyrus "is completely in control of what she’s doing" after her recent controversies, which he described as "pure artistic calculation born out of mild desperation", and has successfully done "just about anything to gain our attention". Zack O'Malley Greenburg of Forbes commented that despite widespread criticism of "chasing YouTube views and record sales at the expense of her image", the "new Cyrus" appears "marketable as ever." Writing for Glamour, Mickey Woods compared the promotional "era" for Bangerz to those of Britney Spears' and Christina Aguilera's third and fourth studio albums Britney (2001) and Stripped (2002), respectively, in that "both albums by these legends were wildly experimental", adding that Cyrus' project "will probably be retrospectively deemed iconic, maybe even classic." Mark Jacobs of V likened the album to Control (1986) by Janet Jackson, in that Cyrus was "an artist coming into her own" in a fashion similar to Jackson.
Patrick Ryan of USA Today commented that Cyrus' collaborations with Mike Will Made It contributed to his new-found prominence, stating that Mike Will Made It's position as an executive producer has helped him "[jump] to the forefront as an interesting character [...] in an era where a lot of producers have fallen behind the scenes again". From a commercial standpoint, however, Suzanne Cowie of Babble suggested that Cyrus' opening-week sales figures and subsequent decline supported the idea that the studio album format is reaching its end, having used her example to exemplify that "consumers are only interested in the single". She further opined that they do not "[have] the time to sit and listen through to an album in its entirety", and credited the rise of digital downloads with promoting a less engaging listening process, where consumers "[have not] connected in any way with the band/singer and their hopes for the record."
In December 2013 MTV named Cyrus as their Best Artist of 2013, for which criteria including Bangerz's sales were taken into consideration. James Montgomery from MTV News elaborated on the network's decision that Cyrus "[declared] her independence and [dominated] the pop-culture landscape", adding that "she schooled—and shocked—us all in 2013, and did so on her own terms." In early December 2013, Cyrus was listed in the top ten finalists for Time Person of the Year, the only enterteiner in the list, though she lost to Pope Francis; she was also listed on Barbara Walters' "Most Fascinating People of the Year". Billboard staff called Cyrus the "Most Talked About Pop Star" of 2013, and also recognized the controversial evolution of her career as the "Top Music Moment" of the year, elaborating that she was a "maelstrom that expanded and grazed nearly every aspect of pop culture in 2013." Cyrus was also the most-searched person of the year on Google, with Leah Chernikoff of Elle writing that "most folks, even famous ones, only strike Internet gold like that once in a lifetime (or maybe once a year), but Cyrus hit it again—and again—in 2013."
## Track listing
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Bangerz.
Notes
- signifies a co-producer
- signifies a vocal producer
- signifies an additional producer
Sampling credits
- "We Can't Stop" contains a portion of the composition "La Di Da Di", written by Douglas Davis and Ricky Walters.
- "My Darlin'" contains a portion of the composition "Stand by Me", written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Ben E. King.
- "SMS (Bangerz)" contains a portion of the composition "Push It", written by Hurby Azor and Ray Davies.
## Credits and personnel
Management
- Miley Cyrus – executive producer
- Mike Will Made It – executive producer
Vocals
- Miley Cyrus – lead vocals, background vocals
- Britney Spears – featured vocals
- Nelly – rap, featured vocals
- Future – rap, featured vocals
- Big Sean – rap, featured vocals
- French Montana – rap, featured vocals
- Ludacris – rap, featured vocals
Production
- Miley Cyrus – songwriter
- Oren Yoel – songwriter, producer
- Mike Will Made It – songwriter, producer
- Rock City – songwriter, vocal producer
- Doug E. Fresh – songwriter
- Slick Rick – songwriter
- P-Nasty – songwriter, co-producer
- Marz – songwriter, producer
- Sean Tallman – recording
- Sean Garrett – songwriter
- Pharrell Williams – songwriter, producer
- Nelly – songwriter
- Future – songwriter
- Jeremih – songwriter
- Jerry Leiber – songwriter
- Mike Stoller – songwriter
- Ben E. King – songwriter
- Tyler Sam Johnson – songwriter, additional producer
- Dr. Luke – songwriter, producer, programming
- Maaureen AnneMcDonald – songwriter
- Stephan Moccio – songwriter
- Sacha Skarbek – songwriter
- Sven Heidinga – engineer
- Big Sean – songwriter
- French Montana – songwriter
- Rami Samir Afuni – songwriter, producer
- Michael McHenry – songwriter, producer
- Ryan Buendia – songwriter
- Mike Caffrey – engineer
- Kyle Edwards – songwriter, producer
- Samuel Jean – songwriter
- Andrew Colleman – arrangement, recording, digital editing
- Jean Baptiste – songwriter
- Cameron Ochs – songwriter
- Phil Allen – engineer
- John Shanks – songwriter
- Todd Robinson – recording assistant
- Asia Bryant – songwriter
- Jacob Dennis – recording assistant
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Chris Galland – mixing assistant
- Rene Toledo, Jr. – recording assistant
- Delbert Bowers – mixing assistant
- Doron Dina – recording assistant
- Chris O'Brian – engineering
- Chris "Tek" O'Ryan – sound engineering
Instrumentation
- Paul Dateh – instrumentation
- David Richard Campbell – string arrangement, conductor
- Rudy Stein – cello
- Steve Richards – cello
- Suzie Katayama – cello
- Steven Wolf – drum
- Dr. Luke – instrumentation
- Cirkut – instrumentation
- Stephan Moccio – piano
- Andrew Duckles – viola
- Darrin McCann – viola
- Alyssa Park – violin
- Charlie Bisharat – violin
- Grace Oh – violin
- Joel Pargman – violin
- John Wittenberg – violin
- Kevin Connolly – violin
- Sara Parkins – violin
- Songa Lee – violin
- Chad Hugo – guitar, whistle
- Chris Cab – guitar
Credits adapted from Bangerz liner notes.
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Monthly charts
### Year-end charts
### Decade-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
## See also
- List of number-one albums of 2013 (Australia)
- List of number-one albums of 2013 (Canada)
- List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s
- List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2013
|
52,877,798 |
34th Battalion (New Zealand)
| 1,173,394,524 | null |
[
"Infantry battalions of New Zealand in World War II",
"Military units and formations disestablished in 1944",
"Military units and formations established in 1940"
] |
The 34th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War. Formed in Fiji in late 1940, it saw service in the Pacific against the Japanese.
The 34th Battalion was initially used for garrison duties on Fiji and New Caledonia before being committed to the fighting in the Solomon Islands, briefly seeing combat against the Japanese in the Treasury Islands in late 1943. Returned to New Zealand in mid-1944 and was disbanded later that year as part of a partial demobilisation of New Zealand forces. Many of its personnel returned to civilian employment while others were sent to Italy as reinforcements for the New Zealand 2nd Division. The battalion was awarded three battle honours for its service during the war.
## History
### Formation
Anticipating the entry of the Japanese Empire into the Second World War, in September 1940 the New Zealand Military Forces raised the 8th Infantry Brigade Group for garrison duty in Fiji. Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, it had been considered by the British Overseas Defence Committee that New Zealand would assume responsibility for the defence of Fiji, which was incapable of defending itself, in the event of war. The brigade group, made up of the 29th and 30th Battalions, arrived in Fiji in early November 1940. Shortly after the brigade group landed in Fiji, a further contingent of reinforcements arrived on 22 November 1940. It was intended that these would be distributed amongst the existing battalions. However, on arrival at Suva, Brigadier William Cunningham, the brigade commander, directed that a new battalion be formed from the reinforcements. This was to be the basis of the 34th Battalion.
Originally designated simply as Training Battalion, it was under the command of Major Francis Voelcker. The battalion was based at Samambula Camp where it would undergo training for the next several months. In May 1941, the bulk of the battalion's personnel returned to New Zealand and onwards to the Middle East to join the 2nd New Zealand Division. Fourteen soldiers volunteered for duty as coast watchers in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and consequently left the battalion. Some others, including Voelcker who had been promoted to lieutenant colonel, remained in Fiji to form the cadre around which the battalion was to be reformed with newly arrived personnel. The battalion, now known as Reserve Battalion, resumed training and garrison duty. Many personnel had only received minimal military training in New Zealand before being shipped to Fiji and much time had to be spent on the basics of warfare and tactics.
Towards the end of 1941 the likelihood of hostilities commencing in the Pacific increased, so the battalion began work on defence emplacements in their sector along the coast. Coincidentally manning their defence emplacements on a training exercise when news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour reached Fiji, extra supplies of ammunition were immediately handed out and the battalion remained on action stations for three days before being stood down. Training was stepped up in preparation for action against the Japanese and in late December 1941, the battalion was formally designated 34th Battalion. By now it was up to full strength having received a draft of reinforcements from New Zealand.
To supplement the defences of Fiji, the brigade group was reinforced from New Zealand with the 14th Brigade. The 34th Battalion continued performing garrison duties and carrying out training exercises until, with the United States now taking responsibility for the defence of Fiji, it was relieved by American forces in July 1942. At this time, the 34th Battalion returned to New Zealand on board the SS President Coolidge. It arrived in Auckland on 6 July and its personnel went on leave before reassembling at Manurewa in early August.
By this stage of the war, the New Zealand government had authorised the raising of the 3rd Division for service in the Pacific against the Japanese. To be formed in New Zealand, the division was based around the recently returned 8th and 14th Brigades, and the battalions making up these formations, and commanded by Major General Harold Barrowclough. Barrowclough set about organising the new division and implemented training programs to prepare his new command for fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific. However, at the request of Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, commander of the South Pacific Area of Operations, the 34th Battalion was selected in October 1942 to garrison Tonga. The move was to replace American forces that had moved to Guadalcanal. The battalion was withdrawn from divisional exercises in the Waikato region of the North Island and shipped to Tonga's main island of Tongatapu aboard the SS President Jackson. Now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Eyre, the battalion remained here under American control for a period of five months.
### Solomon Islands
In the meantime, the rest of the 3rd Division had been progressively sent to New Caledonia where it underwent further combat training. The 34th Battalion, its duties on Tongatapu at an end, joined the division in March 1943. In July 1943, Barrowclough informed the New Zealand government that it was ready for combat duties, so in early September 1943, it moved to Guadalcanal for a combat role as part of the Solomon Islands campaign. However along the way, the troops stopped briefly at Port Vila in the New Hebrides to carry practice amphibious operations with landing craft before continuing onto Guadalcanal. Arriving off their destination on 14 September, the battalion was landed the same day. Jungle training remained the focus of the battalion although they also took the opportunity to work with Valentine tanks.
The following month, the 8th Brigade participated in the Battle of the Treasury Islands. This involved landings to secure the Treasury Islands from the Japanese in order to conduct future operations on Bougainville. It was to be the first opposed amphibious landing carried out by New Zealand troops since the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. The 34th Battalion was tasked with securing Stirling Island, which military intelligence believed to be unoccupied, while at around the same time the 29th and 36th Battalions would land on Mono Island to deal with the Japanese garrison. To assist the efforts on Mono Island, one company of 34th Battalion was detached to form part of Logan Force, commanded by Major Logan, formerly of 34th Battalion. This was a small battle group, which also included a section of machine gun troops, to provide security for American construction and technical personnel that would be landed at Soanotalu, on the north coast of Mono Island, to establish a radar station.
Prior to the landing, the battalion's training intensity was stepped up, including more practice landings, and on 27 October, at 6:25 am, the 34th Battalion landed on Stirling Island at two beaches, designated Purple 2 and Purple 3. As expected, the landing was unopposed. The initial landing involved two companies, one at each beach. These secured the perimeter of landing zones before a third company landed and moved into the interior of the island to confirm the absence of Japanese. With the island secure, a platoon moved over to nearby Mono Island to assist 36th Battalion in manning the perimeter it had established on that island. In the meantime, while the Japanese were not physically on the island, they still carried out bombing raids at the landing zones. On 29 October, the battalion detached another company to assist 29th Battalion and two days later a further company was sent to Mono Island to replace one of the hard pressed 36th Battalion's which in turn took over that company's positions on Stirling Island for a rest.
On Mono Island, the main landing along the south coast had been achieved with relative ease, with few casualties although they had to fend off some attacks that night. However, Logan Force which had landed as planned at Soanotalu, on the opposite side of the island to 29th and 36th Battalions, experienced some difficulty. Initially unopposed, a defensive perimeter had been established and the American technicians got to work. Over the next three days, some contact had been made with Japanese soldiers, which had evaded the New Zealanders to the south, looking to escape the island by seizing a barge. During the evening of 1 November, a party of 80 Japanese, began attacking Logan Force. A small group of six soldiers from 34th Battalion plus three Americans held a blockhouse throughout the night and by dawn, over 50 Japanese had been killed for the loss of five men. By early November, Japanese resistance had largely been overcome although patrols still made contact with small parties of Japanese and on 12 November, Mono Island was considered to be secure. By this stage, the battalion had reassembled on Mono Island. There were still isolated Japanese that needed to be captured or killed and patrols were ongoing well into January 1944. By this stage, the battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. Reidy, taking over from Eyre who was now too old for active service and had returned to New Zealand.
### Disbandment
In early January 1944, in order to rectify a shortage of labour in the primary production sector of the country's economy, the New Zealand government, in consultation with the United States and the United Kingdom, decided that it was necessary to release manpower from the military back into the civilian workforce. After some debate, it was decided that this manpower would come from the 3rd Division, while the 2nd New Zealand Division, which was fighting in Italy, would be allowed to remain intact.
Accordingly, the 3rd Division received orders to begin repatriating personnel back to New Zealand in April 1944 and shortly afterwards a first group of 1,800 soldiers from the division left the Pacific Theatre of Operations. Returning to Noumea in May, the battalion spent time here. There was little training and drafts of personnel began shipping back to New Zealand the following month. At the time, it was understood that this was simply a furlough and most were expected to return to military service, if not 34th Battalion, in due course. However, by the time those soldiers returning from furlough had assembled at Papakura Military Camp, it had been officially announced that the 3rd Division was to be disbanded and the 34th Battalion ceased to exist on 20 October 1944. Of the 1,949 men who are listed on the battalion's nominal roll the 34th Battalion lost four men killed in action, one died of wounds received in action, while two others died on active service.
## Honours
Two gallantry medals were awarded to personnel of the battalion; one officer received the American Legion of Merit while another soldier received the Military Medal, both for the operation with Logan Force on Mono Island during the Battle of the Treasury Islands. Four more personnel were mentioned in despatches. For its service in the war, the 34th Battalion received three battle honours: "Solomons", "Treasury Islands", and "South Pacific 1942–44". These honours were not perpetuated.
## Commanding officers
The following officers commanded the 34th Battalion during the war:
- Lieutenant Colonel Francis W. Voelcker (November 1940–June 1942);
- Lieutenant Colonel John A. M. Clachan (June–August 1942);
- Lieutenant Colonel Richard J. Eyre (August 1942 –December 1943);
- Lieutenant Colonel J. M. Reidy (December 1943–January 1945).
|
4,024,902 |
Reverberation (album)
| 1,139,009,566 | null |
[
"1990 albums",
"Echo & the Bunnymen albums",
"Sire Records albums",
"Warner Music Group albums"
] |
Reverberation is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released amidst a line-up change for the group, due to the departure of vocalist Ian McCulloch and the death of drummer Pete de Freitas. The remaining members, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson, were joined by ex-St. Vitus Dance singer Noel Burke, keyboard player Jake Brockman and drummer Damon Reece. The album was produced by former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick at Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England, and had a more pronounced psychedelic sound than the group's previous releases.
Following the album's December 1990 release, critical reviews were not favourable; critics noted Burke to be a poor replacement for McCulloch, who they believed was an indispensable aspect of the band. After Reverberation failed to chart, the band were dropped by WEA Records and, after two independently released singles, they disbanded in 1993.
## Background and recording
During August and September 1987, Echo & the Bunnymen co-headlined a tour of the United States with New Order. Despite the tour passing without incident, the performances were deemed to be of poor quality. Although American audiences were apparently satisfied by the shows, when the group returned to the United Kingdom for an autumn tour the British music press and audiences were not as enthusiastic. Shortly thereafter the band announced plans to record a self-produced album of "savage rock" when there was more free time. The group toured the UK and the US again in early 1988. These concerts were more positively received than their tour the previous year, with guitarist Will Sergeant being singled out for praise – BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel said, "Will Sergeant was superb, moving in a trice from squalls of angry sound to playing with such care and subtlety that there were whispered asides from his guitar that I would have sworn only he and I had heard." In March 1988, the band released a cover version of The Doors' song "People Are Strange". However, this failed to impress critics; music paper Melody Maker called it a "rancid effort" and Q said the band had "thrown in the towel".
Following a Japanese tour in April 1988, lead singer Ian McCulloch announced the band would split up. Following the announcement, McCulloch returned to the United Kingdom to visit his father who had just suffered two heart attacks and who died just before McCulloch was able to visit him. After five months of speculation as to whether the split was genuine, McCulloch met with the other members of the band in September 1988 and, despite attempts to change his mind, told them he was leaving. McCulloch later said claimed "The last days of The Bunnymen consisted of a bunch of people who were more interested in changing oil in their cars than rock 'n' roll. That pissed me off. I was doing every sodding interview, writing sodding every song." Having been persuaded by Rob Dickins at WEA that the band could still be a success in the United States, Sergeant told McCulloch that he and the other two band members, bassist Les Pattinson and drummer Pete de Freitas, planned to continue. After a failed attempt to record with The B-52's singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, the band advertised for a full-time replacement.
While McCulloch was recording his debut solo album, Candleland (1989), Echo & the Bunnymen promoted long-time touring keyboard player Jake Brockman to a full-time band member position. In April 1989, after listening to an album by the defunct band St. Vitus Dance which had been recommended by Geoff Davies of Probe Records in Liverpool, Sergeant felt that the band's singer Noel Burke would work well within the context of the band's sound. After a meeting with the band and being reassured that they did not want a McCulloch clone, Burke agreed to join. However, tragedy struck when on 14 June 1989 de Freitas died in a motorcycle accident on his way to the band's first rehearsal. The band recruited Damon Reece, a friend of Brockman, as drummer in de Freitas's place and began rehearsals. The new line-up played their first string of performances in mid-March 1990 with a mixture of old and new material. McCulloch allegedly described this incarnation of the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen" but later attributed the comment to the former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Sergeant later said that keeping the name was "down to wanting to take a bitter swipe at [McCulloch]".
The new line-up entered Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England in mid-May 1990 to record the new album with producer Geoff Emerick, who had previously been the engineer for several albums by The Beatles. While recording the album Emerick would sit on the stairs outside the studio so that he could "listen to the mix properly". Emerick employed the use of instruments such as sitars and tabla as well as backwards guitar loops. The album contained many of Sergeant's favoured psychedelic influences.
## Release, reception and aftermath
"Enlighten Me", released in October 1990, was the only single to be released from Reverberation. The single fared badly on the UK Singles Chart only reaching number ninety-six, although it reached number eight on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. The album's release followed in December 1990, and Echo & the Bunnymen immediately went on a seventeen-date tour that focused on the United Kingdom and Ireland. The tour received good reviews, with Melody Maker describing the band as "an object lesson in how to survive and prosper". However, the reviews of the album were not as good. Awarding the album two and a half stars out of five, Tim DiGravina, who reviewed the album for AllMusic, said, "Echo & the Bunnymen doesn't exist without the distinctive voice of Ian McCulloch". Although he added that the album would have been a "great debut" had the band decided to record under a different name. Bob Mack, reviewing the album for Entertainment Weekly was more forceful in putting the album down. He described the sound of the album as "hopelessly in thrall to the brand of pale pseudo-psychedelia [the band] helped popularise during the past decade". He went on to describe Burke and most of the songs as "nondescript". He finished his review by saying "this is a turkey best left to be gobbled up by the band's relatives, close friends, and diehard fans".
Failing to make the UK Albums Chart, Reverberation was the poorest performing Echo & the Bunnymen album at that time. Echo & the Bunnymen were dropped by WEA Records in early 1991. After touring East Asia, the band launched their own label, Euphoric Records, in October 1991 with the release of their self-produced single "Prove Me Wrong". The release of another single, "Inside Me, Inside You", followed in March 1992. With neither of the singles released on Euphoric reaching the UK Singles Chart, the band undertook an extensive tour of the United States before finally disbanding in early 1993.
## Track listing
All tracks written by Noel Burke, Will Sergeant, Les Pattinson, Jake Brockman & Damon Reece.
1. "Gone, Gone, Gone" – 4:13
2. "Enlighten Me" – 5:01
3. "Cut & Dried" – 3:47
4. "King of Your Castle" – 4:36
5. "Devilment" – 4:44
6. "Thick Skinned World" – 4:18
7. "Freaks Dwell" – 3:51
8. "Senseless" – 4:55
9. "Flaming Red" – 5:33
10. "False Goodbyes" – 5:40
## Personnel
Echo & the Bunnymen
- Noel Burke – vocals, guitar, piano
- Will Sergeant – guitar, loops, autoharp
- Les Pattinson – bass
- Jake Brockman – mellotron, farfisa
- Damon Reece – drums, percussion
with:
- Shanker Ganguly – harmonium
- Punita Gupta – sitar
- John Leach – dulcimer
- John Mayer – tambura
- Adam Peters – cello, piano
- Esmail Sheikh – dholak
- Gurdev Singh – tar shahanai
Technical
- Geoff Emerick – producer
- Will Gosling – engineer
- Adrian Moore – assistant engineer
- Paul Apted – assistant engineer
|
77,305 |
Flea
| 1,165,898,451 |
Insects of the order Siphonaptera
|
[
"Extant Middle Jurassic first appearances",
"Fleas",
"Hematophages",
"Insect vectors of human pathogens",
"Insects in culture",
"Parasites of cats",
"Parasites of dogs",
"Veterinary entomology"
] |
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about 3 millimetres (1⁄8 inch) long, are usually brown, and have bodies that are "flattened" sideways or narrow, enabling them to move through their hosts' fur or feathers. They lack wings; their hind legs are extremely well adapted for jumping. Their claws keep them from being dislodged, and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. They can leap 50 times their body length, a feat second only to jumps made by another group of insects, the superfamily of froghoppers. Flea larvae are worm-like, with no limbs; they have chewing mouthparts and feed on organic debris left on their hosts' skin.
Genetic evidence indicates that fleas are a specialised lineage of parasitic scorpionflies (Mecoptera) sensu lato, most closely related to the family Nannochoristidae. The earliest known fleas lived in the Middle Jurassic; modern-looking forms appeared in the Cenozoic. Fleas probably originated on mammals first and expanded their reach to birds. Each species of flea specializes, more or less, on one species of host: many species of flea never breed on any other host; some are less selective. Some families of fleas are exclusive to a single host group; for example, the Malacopsyllidae are found only on armadillos, the Ischnopsyllidae only on bats, and the Chimaeropsyllidae only on elephant shrews.
The oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, is a vector of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes bubonic plague. The disease was spread to humans by rodents, such as the black rat, which were bitten by infected fleas. Major outbreaks included the Plague of Justinian, about 540, and the Black Death, about 1350, each of which killed a sizeable fraction of the world's people.
Fleas appear in human culture in such diverse forms as flea circuses; poems, such as John Donne's erotic "The Flea"; works of music, such as those by Modest Mussorgsky; and a film by Charlie Chaplin.
## Morphology and behavior
Fleas are wingless insects, 1.5 to 3.3 millimetres (1⁄16 to 1⁄8 inch) long, that are agile, usually dark colored (for example, the reddish-brown of the cat flea), with a proboscis, or stylet, adapted to feeding by piercing the skin and sucking their host's blood through their epipharynx. Flea legs end in strong claws that are adapted to grasp a host.
Unlike other insects, fleas do not possess compound eyes but instead only have simple eyespots with a single biconvex lens; some species lack eyes altogether. Their bodies are laterally compressed, permitting easy movement through the hairs or feathers on the host's body. The flea body is covered with hard plates called sclerites. These sclerites are covered with many hairs and short spines directed backward, which also assist its movements on the host. The tough body is able to withstand great pressure, likely an adaptation to survive attempts to eliminate them by scratching.
Fleas lay tiny, white, oval eggs. The larvae are small and pale, have bristles covering their worm-like bodies, lack eyes, and have mouth parts adapted to chewing. The larvae feed on organic matter, especially the feces of mature fleas, which contain dried blood. Adults feed only on fresh blood.
### Jumping
Their legs are long, the hind pair well adapted for jumping; a flea can jump vertically up to 18 cm (7 in) and horizontally up to 33 cm (13 in), making the flea one of the best jumpers of all known animals (relative to body size), second only to the froghopper. A flea can jump 60 times its length in height and 110 times its length in distance (vertically up to 7 inches and horizontally 13 inches). That's equivalent to a 1.8 m (6 ft) adult human jumping 54.9 m (180 ft) vertically and 100.6 m (330 ft) horizontally. Rarely do fleas jump from dog to dog. Most flea infestations come from newly developed fleas from the pet's environment. The flea jump is so rapid and forceful that it exceeds the capabilities of muscle, and instead of relying on direct muscle power, fleas store muscle energy in a pad of the elastic protein named resilin before releasing it rapidly (like a human using a bow and arrow). Immediately before the jump, muscles contract and deform the resilin pad, slowly storing energy which can then be released extremely rapidly to power leg extension for propulsion. To prevent premature release of energy or motions of the leg, the flea employs a "catch mechanism". Early in the jump, the tendon of the primary jumping muscle passes slightly behind the coxa-trochanter joint, generating a torque which holds the joint closed with the leg close to the body. To trigger jumping, another muscle pulls the tendon forward until it passes the joint axis, generating the opposite torque to extend the leg and power the jump by release of stored energy. The actual take off has been shown by high-speed video to be from the tibiae and tarsi rather than from the trochantera (knees).
## Life cycle and development
Fleas are holometabolous insects, going through the four lifecycle stages of egg, larva, pupa, and imago (adult). In most species, neither female nor male fleas are fully mature when they first emerge but must feed on blood before they become capable of reproduction. The first blood meal triggers the maturation of the ovaries in females and the dissolution of the testicular plug in males, and copulation soon follows. Some species breed all year round while others synchronise their activities with their hosts' life cycles or with local environmental factors and climatic conditions. Flea populations consist of roughly 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae, and 5% adults.
### Egg
The number of eggs laid depends on species, with batch sizes ranging from two to several dozen. The total number of eggs produced in a female's lifetime (fecundity) varies from around one hundred to several thousand. In some species, the flea lives in the host's nest or burrow and the eggs are deposited on the substrate, but in others, the eggs are laid on the host itself and can easily fall off onto the ground. Because of this, areas where the host rests and sleeps become one of the primary habitats of eggs and developing larvae. The eggs take around two days to two weeks to hatch.
### Larva
Flea larvae emerge from the eggs to feed on any available organic material such as dead insects, faeces, conspecific eggs, and vegetable matter. In laboratory studies, some dietary diversity seems necessary for proper larval development. Blood-only diets allow only 12% of larvae to mature, whereas blood and yeast or dog chow diets allow almost all larvae to mature. Another study also showed that 90% of larvae matured into adults when the diet included nonviable eggs. They are blind and avoid sunlight, keeping to dark, humid places such as sand or soil, cracks and crevices, under carpets and in bedding. The entire larval stage lasts between four and 18 days.
### Pupa
Given an adequate supply of food, larvae pupate and weave silken cocoons after three larval stages. Within the cocoon, the larva molts for a final time and undergoes metamorphosis into the adult form. This can take just four days, but may take much longer under adverse conditions, and there follows a variable-length stage during which the pre-emergent adult awaits a suitable opportunity to emerge. Trigger factors for emergence include vibrations (including sound), heat (in warm-blooded hosts), and increased levels of carbon dioxide, all of which may indicate the presence of a suitable host. Large numbers of pre-emergent fleas may be present in otherwise flea-free environments, and the introduction of a suitable host may trigger a mass emergence.
### Adult
Once the flea reaches adulthood, its primary goal is to find blood and then to reproduce. Female fleas can lay 5000 or more eggs over their life, permitting rapid increase in numbers. Generally speaking, an adult flea only lives for 2 or 3 months. Without a host to provide a blood meal, a flea's life can be as short as a few days. Under ideal conditions of temperature, food supply, and humidity, adult fleas can live for up to a year and a half. Completely developed adult fleas can live for several months without eating, so long as they do not emerge from their puparia. Optimum temperatures for the flea's life cycle are 21 °C to 30 °C (70 °F to 85 °F) and optimum humidity is 70%.
Adult female rabbit fleas, Spilopsyllus cuniculi, can detect the changing levels of cortisol and corticosterone hormones in the rabbit's blood that indicate it is getting close to giving birth. This triggers sexual maturity in the fleas and they start producing eggs. As soon as the baby rabbits are born, the fleas make their way down to them and once on board they start feeding, mating, and laying eggs. After 12 days, the adult fleas make their way back to the mother. They complete this mini-migration every time she gives birth.
## Taxonomy and phylogeny
### History
Between 1735 and 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus first classified insects, doing so on the basis of their wing structure. One of the seven orders into which he divided them was "Aptera", meaning wingless, a group in which as well as fleas, he included spiders, woodlice and myriapods. It wasn't until 1810 that the French zoologist Pierre André Latreille reclassified the insects on the basis of their mouthparts as well as their wings, splitting Aptera into Thysanura (silverfish), Anoplura (sucking lice) and Siphonaptera (fleas), at the same time separating off the arachnids and crustaceans into their own subphyla. The group's name, Siphonaptera, is zoological Latin from the Greek siphon (a tube) and aptera (wingless).
### External phylogeny
It was historically unclear whether the Siphonaptera are sister to the Mecoptera (scorpionflies and allies), or are inside that clade, making "Mecoptera" paraphyletic. The earlier suggestion that the Siphonaptera are sister to the Boreidae (snow scorpionflies) is not supported. A 2020 genetic study recovered Siphonaptera within Mecoptera, with strong support, as the sister group to Nannochoristidae, a small, relictual group of mecopterans native to the Southern Hemisphere. Fleas and nannochoristids share several similarities with each other that are not shared with other mecopterans, including similar mouthparts as well as a similar sperm pump organisation.
Relationships of Siphonaptera per Tihelka et al. 2020.
### Fossil history
Fleas likely descended from fluid feeding insects that probably fed on plants. Fossils of large, wingless stem-group fleas with siphonate (sucking) mouthparts from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous have been found in northeastern China and Russia, belonging to the families Saurophthiridae and Pseudopulicidae, as well as Tarwinia from the Early Cretaceous of Australia. Most flea families formed after the end of the Cretaceous (in the Paleogene and onwards). Modern fleas probably arose in the southern continental area of Gondwana, and migrated rapidly northwards from there. They most likely evolved with mammal hosts, only later moving to birds.
Siphonaptera is a relatively small order of insects: members of the order undergo complete metamorphosis and are secondarily wingless (their ancestors had wings which modern forms have lost). In 2005, Medvedev listed 2005 species in 242 genera, and despite subsequent descriptions of new species, bringing the total up to around 2500 species, this is the most complete database available. The order is divided into four infraorders and eighteen families. Some families are exclusive to a single host group; these include the Malacopsyllidae (armadillos), Ischnopsyllidae (bats) and Chimaeropsyllidae (elephant shrews).
Many of the known species are little studied. Some 600 species (a quarter of the total) are known from single records. Over 94% of species are associated with mammalian hosts, and only about 3% of species can be considered to be specific parasites of birds. The fleas on birds are thought to have originated from mammalian fleas; at least sixteen separate groups of fleas switched to avian hosts during the evolutionary history of the Siphonaptera. Occurrences of fleas on reptiles is accidental, and fleas have been known to feed on the hemolymph (bloodlike body fluid) of ticks.
### Internal phylogeny
Flea phylogeny was long neglected, the discovery of homologies with the parts of other insects being made difficult by their extreme specialization. Whiting and colleagues prepared a detailed molecular phylogeny in 2008, with the basic structure shown in the cladogram. The Hectopsyllidae, including the harmful chigoe flea or jigger, is sister to the rest of the Siphonaptera.
## Taxonomy
As of 2023, there are 21 recognized families within the order Siphonaptera, 3 of which are extinct. In addition, some researchers have suggested that the subfamily Stenoponiinae should be elevated to its own family (Stenoponiidae).
- Ancistropsyllidae Toumanoff & Fuller, 1947
- Ceratophyllidae Dampf, 1908
- Chimaeropsyllidae Ewing & I. Fox, 1943
- Coptopsyllidae Wagner, 1928
- Ctenophthalmidae Rothschild, 1915
- Hystrichopsyllidae Tiraboschi, 1904
- Ischnopsyllidae Wahlgren, 1907
- Leptopsyllidae Rothschild & Jordan, 1915
- Lycopsyllidae Baker, 1905
- Malacopsyllidae Baker, 1905
- Pseudopulicidae† Gao, Shih & Ren, 2012
- Pulicidae Billberg, 1820
- Pygiopsyllidae Wagner, 1939
- Rhopalopsyllidae Oudemans, 1909
- Saurophthiridae† Ponomarenko, 1986
- Stephanocircidae Wagner, 1928
- Stivaliidae Mardon, 1978
- Tarwiniidae† Huang, Engel, Cai & Nel, 2013
- Tungidae Fox, 1925
- Vermipsyllidae Wagner, 1889
- Xiphiopsyllidae Wagner, 1939
## Relationship with host
Fleas feed on a wide variety of warm-blooded vertebrates including dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, rats, mice, birds, and sometimes humans. Fleas normally specialise in one host species or group of species, but can often feed but not reproduce on other species. Ceratophyllus gallinae affects poultry as well as wild birds. As well as the degree of relatedness of a potential host to the flea's original host, it has been shown that avian fleas that exploit a range of hosts, only parasitise species with low immune responses. In general, host specificity decreases as the size of the host species decreases. Another factor is the opportunities available to the flea to change host species; this is smaller in colonially nesting birds, where the flea may never encounter another species, than it is in solitary nesting birds. A large, long-lived host provides a stable environment that favours host-specific parasites.
Although there are species named dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis Curtis, 1826) and cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis), fleas are not always strictly species-specific. A study in Virginia examined 244 fleas from 29 dogs: all were cat fleas. Dog fleas had not been found in Virginia in more than 70 years, and may not even occur in the US, so a flea found on a dog is likely a cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis).
One theory of human hairlessness is that the loss of hair helped humans to reduce their burden of fleas and other ectoparasites.
### Direct effects of bites
In many species, fleas are principally a nuisance to their hosts, causing an itching sensation which in turn causes the host to try to remove the pest by biting, pecking or scratching. Fleas are not simply a source of annoyance, however. Flea bites cause a slightly raised, swollen, irritating nodule to form on the epidermis at the site of each bite, with a single puncture point at the centre, like a mosquito bite. This can lead to an eczematous itchy skin disease called flea allergy dermatitis, which is common in many host species, including dogs and cats. The bites often appear in clusters or lines of two bites, and can remain itchy and inflamed for up to several weeks afterwards. Fleas can lead to secondary hair loss as a result of frequent scratching and biting by the animal. They can also cause anemia in extreme cases.
### As a vector
Fleas are vectors for viral, bacterial and rickettsial diseases of humans and other animals, as well as of protozoan and helminth parasites. Bacterial diseases carried by fleas include murine or endemic typhus and bubonic plague. Fleas can transmit Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia felis, Bartonella henselae, and the myxomatosis virus. They can carry Hymenolepiasis tapeworms and Trypanosome protozoans. The chigoe flea or jigger (Tunga penetrans) causes the disease tungiasis, a major public health problem around the world. Fleas that specialize as parasites on specific mammals may use other mammals as hosts; thus, humans may be bitten by cat and dog fleas.
## Relationship with humans
### In literature and art
Fleas have appeared in poetry, literature, music and art; these include Robert Hooke's drawing of a flea under the microscope in his pioneering book Micrographia published in 1665, poems by Donne and Jonathan Swift, works of music by Giorgio Federico Ghedini and Modest Mussorgsky, a play by Georges Feydeau, a film by Charlie Chaplin, and paintings by artists such as Giuseppe Crespi, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, and Georges de La Tour.
John Donne's erotic metaphysical poem "The Flea", published in 1633 after his death, uses the conceit of a flea, which has sucked blood from the male speaker and his female lover, as an extended metaphor for their sexual relationship. The speaker tries to convince a lady to sleep with him, arguing that if the mingling of their blood in the flea is innocent, then sex would be also.
The comic poem Siphonaptera was written in 1915 by the mathematician Augustus De Morgan, It describes an infinite chain of parasitism made of ever larger and ever smaller fleas.
### Flea circuses
Flea circuses provided entertainment to nineteenth century audiences. These circuses, extremely popular in Europe from 1830 onwards, featured fleas dressed as humans or towing miniature carts, chariots, rollers or cannon. These devices were originally made by watchmakers or jewellers to show off their skill at miniaturization. A ringmaster called a "professor" accompanied their performance with a rapid circus patter.
### Carriers of plague
Oriental rat fleas, Xenopsylla cheopis, can carry the coccobacillus Yersinia pestis. The infected fleas feed on rodent vectors of this bacterium, such as the black rat, Rattus rattus, and then infect human populations with the plague, as has happened repeatedly from ancient times, as in the Plague of Justinian in 541–542. Outbreaks killed up to 200 million people across Europe between 1346 and 1671. The Black Death pandemic between 1346 and 1353 likely killed over a third of the population of Europe.
Because fleas carry plague, they have seen service as a biological weapon. During World War II, the Japanese army dropped fleas infested with Y. pestis in China. The bubonic and septicaemic plagues are the most probable form of the plague that would spread as a result of a bioterrorism attack that used fleas as a vector.
### The Rothschild Collection
The banker Charles Rothschild devoted much of his time to entomology, creating a large collection of fleas now in the Rothschild Collection at the Natural History Museum, London. He discovered and named the plague vector flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, also known as the oriental rat flea, in 1903. Using what was probably the world's most complete collection of fleas of about 260,000 specimens (representing some 73% of the 2,587 species and subspecies so far described), he described around 500 species and subspecies of Siphonaptera. He was followed in this interest by his daughter Miriam Rothschild, who helped to catalogue his enormous collection of the insects in seven volumes.
### Flea treatments
Fleas have a significant economic impact. In America alone, approximately \$2.8 billion is spent annually on flea-related veterinary bills and another \$1.6 billion annually for flea treatment with pet groomers. Four billion dollars is spent annually for prescription flea treatment and \$348 million for flea pest control.
## See also
- Chigger
- Louse
|
8,470,910 |
I Drink Your Blood
| 1,172,464,189 |
1971 American exploitation horror film by David E. Durston
|
[
"1970s American films",
"1970s English-language films",
"1970s exploitation films",
"1971 films",
"1971 horror films",
"1971 independent films",
"American exploitation films",
"American independent films",
"American splatter films",
"Censored films",
"Cultural depictions of Charles Manson",
"Films about Satanism",
"Films about cults",
"Films about hallucinogens",
"Films about viral outbreaks",
"Films directed by David E. Durston",
"Films shot in New York (state)",
"Hippie films",
"Rabies in popular culture"
] |
I Drink Your Blood is a 1971 American exploitation horror film written and directed by David E. Durston, produced by Jerry Gross, and starring Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury, Jadine Wong, and Lynn Lowry. The film centers on a small town that is overrun by rabies-infected members of a Satanic hippie cult after a revenge plot goes horribly wrong.
The story was inspired by reports of an incident in a mountain village in Iran in which a pack of rabid wolves attacked a schoolhouse, infecting people with rabies. Further inspiration came from coverage of the trial of Charles Manson. Principal photography took place in Sharon Springs, New York over eight weeks, with the cast consisting of mostly unknown and amateur actors.
I Drink Your Blood was marketed and released as a double feature with Del Tenney's previously-unreleased 1964 film Zombies, which Gross had acquired and retitled I Eat Your Skin. I Drink Your Blood was one of the first films to receive an X-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America based on violence rather than on nudity. Since its initial release, the film has received generally mixed-to-positive reviews; some critics praised Chowdhury's performance and the film's ability to shock, while others have criticized its explicit violence. I Drink Your Blood has garnered a cult following and is widely cited as a classic exploitation film.
A remake, which was to be produced by and star Sybil Danning with Durston returning as director, was announced in 2009, but was cancelled after Durston's death the following year.
## Plot
Horace Bones, the leader of a Manson-like cult of hippies, conducts a Satanic ritual in the woods. Local girl Sylvia, who had befriended cult member Andy, secretly observes the ritual. Sylvia is seen by cult member Molly and flees, but is caught and raped by several of the cultists. Sylvia emerges from the woods the next morning, beaten and traumatized. She is found by her younger brother Pete and Mildred, who runs the local bakery. They return Sylvia home to her grandfather, Doc Banner. Mildred seeks help from her boyfriend Roger Davis, leader of a construction crew working on a nearby dam. The cult members' van breaks down, forcing them to remain in the town. They buy pies from Mildred, who explains that, as most of the town is deserted and awaiting demolition, they can stay in any vacant building they wish.
Learning of the assault on Sylvia, Banner confronts the cult, but they assault him and force him to take LSD. Horace initially wants to kill Banner, however, Pete and cult member Sue-Lin intervene and Banner is released. Enraged by the incident, Pete takes a shotgun to get revenge but encounters and kills a rabid dog. Pete takes some of the dead dog's blood, then injects it into meat pies at the bakery and sells them to the cult members. After eating the contaminated pies, the cultists begin to showing signs of infection and lapse into violent behavior.
One of the cultists panics and runs into the night. She is picked up by construction workers sent by Roger to investigate. She parties with the group and has sex with some of them, before showing signs of infection. Molly also absconds with Carrie, another cult member. Two construction workers investigate the house occupied by the cultists, and Horace kills them.
Andy and Sylvia, who have made peace, are discovered at the Banner house by Pete, who admits what he has done. Meanwhile, Banner has reported the potential rabies epidemic and is joined by Dr. Oakes, the town doctor. Banner, Oakes, and Roger soon discover that the entire construction crew is infected with rabies, and are pursued by the mob until they reach a water-filled quarry, which frightens the attackers off.
Molly and Carrie emerge from the woods and are taken in by a concerned homeowner. Carrie soon begins showing signs of being infected and attacks the homeowner with a knife.
Andy helps Sylvia and Pete escape after they discover Banner dead in the barn, impaled on a pitchfork. They encounter Molly, who commits suicide after learning that she has rabies. Horace encounters Sue-Lin, but she escapes his attempt to kill her by committing suicide via immolation. Horace and Sue-Lin loyalist Rollo engage in a fight, allowing Andy, Sylvia, and Pete to escape. Rollo soon gains the upper hand and impales Horace with a sword. Andy, Sylvia, and Pete encounter Mildred, who has barricaded herself in the bakery. As Mildred opens the barricade, Andy is killed by one of the rabid construction workers. Sylvia and Pete retreat with Mildred to the basement, with one of the rabid townsfolk managing to get through, where he is subsequently killed by Mildred. The group leaves the bakery to escape in Mildred's car, but crowds of the rabid cultists and the townsfolk converge on them, overturning the car. Oakes arrives with reinforcements and guns down the infected. Mildred, Sylvia, and Pete then emerge from the car, shaken but otherwise unharmed.
## Cast
## Production
### Development
I Drink Your Blood was written and directed by David E. Durston. Development for the film began in 1970 when Durston was contacted by Jerry Gross, the CEO of Cinemation Industries and a producer of exploitation films. Gross asked Durston to write and direct a low-budget horror film. Durston had previously directed several sexploitation films and ABC's financially successful TV series Tales of Tomorrow (1951-1953). As Durston later recalled, "[Gross] said he wanted to make the most graphic horror film ever produced, but he didn't want any vampires, man-made monsters, werewolves, mad doctors, or little people". Gross had been impressed by Durston's work in Tales of Tomorrow and made a deal with Durston that if he came up with a good idea, he would double his previous writing and directing contract with the Guilds.
For a period of three weeks, Durston struggled to come up with a proper storyline for the film until reading a newspaper article on an incident involving a mountain village in Iran. According to Durston, the article described an incident where a pack of rabid wolves attacked a schoolhouse occupied by 18 to 19 children and two teachers. Fascinated by the idea, Durston contacted a doctor who was an authority on the disease and had visited the village. He was shown 8mm footage that the doctor had taken during his work at the village of the infected children locked in cages and foaming at the mouth. Durston later recalled: "It made the hair on the back of my head elevate. I had never seen anything so horrible, yet so real, in my life". Inspired by the experience, and feeling that a film about a rabies epidemic had never been done before, Durston wrote a story outline that centered on a small town overrun with a rabies epidemic. Durston pitched the idea to Gross, who liked the concept and immediately greenlit the project.
The development of the script took eight weeks, with Durston making frequent additions and revisions in later drafts over an additional five-week period. Further inspiration for the film came from coverage of the trial of Charles Manson. Using the high publicity generated from the trial, Durston rewrote the script, creating the character Horace Bones, a Manson-like leader of a Satanic cult of hippies that terrorizes the town. According to Durston, the character Horace Bones created a real threat to the town as well as adding scenes that genuinely shocked the audience. Impressed with the film's script, Gross authorized Durston to begin pre-production.
### Casting
Due to the film's relatively low budget, the film's cast was mostly composed of unknown and amateur actors. The film was distinctive for its multi-ethnic cast, with members of the Satanic gang portrayed by black, white, Chinese and Indian actors. For the film's major villain, Horace Bones, actor and Indian dancer Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury was cast. Several critics have cited Bhaskar's performance as Horace Bones as being one of the film's major assets. Bhaskar would later star in Durston's next film Blue Sextet, and would provide audio commentary in Grindhouse Releasing, and MTI Home Video's release of the film in 2003 before his death on August 4 that same year. Arlene Farber and Lynn Lowry were also cast in the film in uncredited roles, with Lowry making her screen debut in the film. Both actresses would go on to star in major motion pictures. Farber, Gross' wife, had starred in several of her husband's previous films, and later starred as Angie Boca in William Friedkin's critically acclaimed 1971 film The French Connection and the 1974 made-for-television film All the Kind Strangers. Lowry would eventually star in such films as George A. Romero's The Crazies, Radley Metzger's Score, David Cronenberg's Shivers and Paul Schrader's remake of Cat People.
### Filming
Principal photography for I Drink Your Blood commenced later that year and was shot on location during a period of eight consecutive weeks in Sharon Springs, New York. By the time of the production, Sharon Springs, once famous as a summer spa town, had largely become a ghost town and the producers were allowed to use the abandoned hotels as locations. Durston became friends with the town sheriff, who helped the crew during filming. Durston later cast him in a bit role as the sheriff seen in the film's climax.
One of the town's locations used in the film was the Roosevelt, an old hotel that was scheduled for demolition within the next couple of months. The crew paid the town \$300 for use of the hotel, which, according to Durston, they practically tore down themselves. Due in part to the film's relatively low budget, most of the film's effects and stunts were practical and the cast performed their own stunts. For scenes involving rats, trained rats were brought in, while dead rats were purchased from a local medical center and painted to match the color of the trained rats. Several of the trained rats featured in the film would later be used in the 1971 horror film Willard and its 1972 sequel Ben. During the course of filming, tensions between the town locals and the film's cast and crew mounted because of the locals' uncertainty and misunderstandings with the film's director. After one incident in which the locals witnessed Durston attempting to motivate actress Iris Brooks for an emotional scene, they contacted the town sheriff, insisting that Durston was abusing the cast and crew and should be arrested or replaced with another director. Nonetheless, Durston remained the film's director throughout the duration of filming.
## Release
I Drink Your Blood was marketed and released as a double feature with Del Tenney's 1964 film Zombies, which had been retitled I Eat Your Skin by Gross after he had acquired it. The double feature was marketed a year after the trial and conviction of Charles Manson and his accomplices, Manson having been an inspiration for the character of Horace Bones, with producer Gross wanting to cash in on the public's recent fascination with the case. As a part of his deal with Gross, Durston did not receive a percentage of the film's profits, but was paid double his established directing salary. Although the film was marketed under the now-infamous title I Drink Your Blood, Durston had originally intended to release the film under the title Phobia or Hydro-Phobia. However, during the film's marketing, Gross changed the film's name to its current title; Gross had not consulted or informed Durston of the change before releasing the film under the title, which bears no real connection to the actual film. It premiered in Los Angeles on May 7, 1971. Durston had originally intended for the film to play only in drive-ins. Gross, however, without informing Durston, had the film screened at the first class Warner Brothers Theatre in Broadway.
### Censorship
I Drink Your Blood was one of the first films to receive an X-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America based on violence rather than nudity. Several scenes needed to be altered to qualify the film for an "R", so the producer distributed the original film, asking that each projectionist censor the film as they saw fit for their market. However, BoxOffice magazine reported in January 1971 that the Code and Ratings Appeals Board re-rated the film R "after hearing an appeal at which time the film's distributor...agreed to make certain cuts and insert additional footage at the request of the MPAA".
### Home video
I Drink Your Blood was released on VHS by Cinemation Industries on July 20, 2004. Bob Murawski of Grindhouse Releasing sought out Durston, and the two collaborated on the official release of I Drink Your Blood on DVD in North America through Murawski's Box Office Spectaculars distribution company, which continues to hold the worldwide rights to the film. In an interview with U.K. website SexGoreMutants, Murawski announced that the company's release of the film would feature several never-before-seen sequences that producer Gross had cut from the film before its completion, as well as the film's original ending which was deemed "too violent and downbeat". A director's cut of the film was released on DVD on November 9, 2004, and again on October 31, 2006, by MTI Home Video and Grindhouse Releasing, respectively. These cuts included scenes and material that was cut from the film during its theatrical release. The film's original cut was released on DVD by Cheezy Flicks on October 25, 2005. On September 23, 2016, Grindhouse announced that they would be releasing the film for the first time on HD Blu-ray on November 22, later that year. The release added new audio commentary and interviews with the film's cast and crew, the original theatrical trailer and radio spots. The release also included the fully restored feature films I Eat Your Skin and Blue Sextet.
## Reception
I Drink Your Blood has received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with some critics praising its ability to shock as well as Bhaskar's performance as Horace Bones, while other critics have critiqued the film's explicit violence.
Bill Landis and Michelle Clifford in their book Sleazoid Express: A Mind-twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square called it "the pinnacle of the blood horror movie", praising Bhaskar's performances as well as the film's direction, violence, and soundtrack. Authors Tom Milne and Paul Willemen in their book Encyclopedia of Horror Movies wrote that "as the film now stands what looks like it might have been a raw, ferocious thriller has become a frustrating exercise in splicing, incessantly building up to scenes of bone-crushing horror and violence which never actually happen". Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times praised the film, calling it "a tour de force of a caliber not equaled since the similar The Night of the Living Dead". Cavett Binion from The New York Times gave the film a positive review, calling the film "an intense and well-made Exploitation item". Scott Weinberg from DVD Talk wrote that the film is "Energetic, sloppy and entirely watchable... [It is] true-blue camp all the way. Plus it's vicious, violent, and frequently fall-down funny".
Author and film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film a mixed review, awarding it 2/4 stars. Donald Guarisco from AllMovie gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the film's thin characterizations, inconsistent acting, and dialogue. However, Guarisco also stated that the film manages to overcome its flaws through the delivery of its premise, summarizing, "In the end, I Drink Your Blood is too demented and rough-edged for the casual viewer, but it will delight horror fans with a sweet tooth for schlock". TV Guide awarded the film 1/5 stars, with the reviewer stating that although the film was "surprisingly well made", it was also bizarre and gross. The Blockbuster Entertainment Guide gave the film 2/4 stars, calling it "demented".
## Legacy
I Drink Your Blood has gained a cult following over the years and is now considered a classic exploitation film. It bears some resemblance to several later films, including David Cronenberg's Rabid (1976) and George Romero's The Crazies (1973), which starred I Drink Your Blood actress Lynn Lowry and was remade in 2010. Both films share a similar premise to Durston's film, which has been noted by authors Jonathan Rigby and Stephen Thrower.
I Drink Your Blood has been screened in multiple film festivals over the years in celebration of the film. It was screened at the Northwest Horror Show in Vancouver on April 23, 2019. The screening of the film was then followed by a Q&A with actress Lynn Lowry. On May 25, later that year, it was screened at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which was then followed by a Q&A with Lowry. On October 26, 2008, the film was screened at the Night Visions Film Festival as a part of its "Maximum Halloween" program. It was later screened at the Moolah Theatre & Lounge as a part of the "Late Nite Grindhouse" on September 16 and 17 in 2016. In 2016, as a part of the company's promotion of their upcoming Blu-ray release of the film, Grindhouse Releasing screened the film at multiple film festivals from September 23 to December 3.
### Cancelled remake
On September 17, 2009, it was announced that Durston planned to remake the film, which would be produced by, and star, Sybil Danning. In an interview with Fangoria, Durston stated that he had not originally thought about remaking the film: "I wasn't thinking about a remake until these offers started coming through. I turned all of them down, because their budgets were too small. I decided that if I Drink Your Blood would be remade, it should be better than the original, so that people really had something to see if they went to see it again." Durston further explained that the remake would retain most of the elements from the original film, though its violence would be "updated". While admitting that he would not be directing the film, Durston stated that he had already begun the process of writing the film's script. However, the project was cancelled before production could begin following Durston's death in 2010 at the age of 88.
## See also
- List of films featuring hallucinogens
|
180,733 |
Jack Charlton
| 1,171,315,775 |
English footballer and manager (1935–2020)
|
[
"1935 births",
"1966 FIFA World Cup players",
"1970 FIFA World Cup players",
"1990 FIFA World Cup managers",
"1994 FIFA World Cup managers",
"2020 deaths",
"20th-century British Army personnel",
"British Life Guards soldiers",
"Deaths from lymphoma",
"Deputy Lieutenants of Northumberland",
"England men's international footballers",
"English Football Hall of Fame inductees",
"English Football League managers",
"English Football League players",
"English Football League representative players",
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"English expatriate football managers",
"English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland",
"English football managers",
"English male non-fiction writers",
"English men's footballers",
"English miners",
"English socialists",
"FIFA World Cup-winning players",
"Footballers from Ashington",
"Leeds United F.C. players",
"Men's association football central defenders",
"Middlesbrough F.C. managers",
"Newcastle United F.C. managers",
"Officers of the Order of the British Empire",
"People with acquired Irish citizenship",
"Republic of Ireland national football team managers",
"Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers",
"UEFA Euro 1968 players",
"UEFA Euro 1988 managers"
] |
John Charlton OBE DL (8 May 1935 – 10 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 1996 achieving two World Cup and one European Championship appearances. He spent his entire club career with Leeds United from 1950 to 1973, helping the club to the Second Division title (1963–64), First Division title (1968–69), FA Cup (1972), League Cup (1968), Charity Shield (1969), Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1968 and 1971), as well as one other promotion from the Second Division (1955–56) and five second-place finishes in the First Division, two FA Cup final defeats and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final defeat. His 629 league and 762 total competitive appearances are club records. He was the elder brother of former Manchester United forward Bobby Charlton, who was also one of his teammates in England's World Cup final victory. In 2006, Leeds United supporters voted Charlton into the club's greatest XI.
Called up to the England team days before his 30th birthday, Charlton went on to score six goals in 35 international games and to appear in two World Cups and one European Championship. He played in the World Cup final victory over West Germany in 1966, and also helped England to finish third in Euro 1968 and to win four British Home Championship tournaments. He was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1967.
After retiring as a player he worked as a manager, and led Middlesbrough to the Second Division title in 1973–74, winning the Manager of the Year award in his first season as a manager. He kept Boro as a stable top-flight club before he resigned in April 1977. He took charge of Sheffield Wednesday in October 1977, and led the club to promotion out of the Third Division in 1979–80. He left the Owls in May 1983, and went on to serve Middlesbrough as caretaker-manager at the end of the 1983–84 season. He worked as Newcastle United manager for the 1984–85 season. He took charge of the Republic of Ireland national team in February 1986, and led them to their first World Cup in 1990, where they reached the quarter-finals. He also led the nation to successful qualification to Euro 1988 and the 1994 World Cup. He resigned in January 1996 and went into retirement. He was married to Pat Kemp and they had three children.
## Early life
Born into a footballing family in Ashington, Northumberland, on 8 May 1935, Charlton was initially overshadowed by his younger brother Bobby, who was taken on by Manchester United while Jack was doing his national service with the Household Cavalry. His uncles were Jack Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn (Leeds United and Chesterfield), Jim Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford Park Avenue) and Stan Milburn (Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale), and legendary Newcastle United and England footballer Jackie Milburn was his mother's cousin.
The economy of the village of Ashington was based entirely on coal mining, and though his family had a strong footballing pedigree, his father was a miner. The eldest of four brothers – Bobby, Gordon and Tommy – the tight finances of the family meant that all four siblings shared the same bed. His father, Bob, had no interest in football, but his mother, Cissie, played football with her children and later coached the local school's team. As a teenager she took them to watch Ashington and Newcastle United play, and Charlton remained a lifelong Newcastle supporter.
At the age of 15 he was offered a trial at Leeds United, where his uncle Jim played at left-back, but turned it down and instead joined his father in the mines. He worked in the mines for a short time but handed in his notice after finding out just how difficult and unpleasant it was to work deep underground. He applied to join the police and reconsidered the offer from Leeds United. His trial game for Leeds clashed with his police interview, and Charlton chose to play in the game; the trial was a success and he joined the ground staff at Elland Road.
> "This part of the world produced its fair share of footballers, and nobody was particularly impressed if a lad went away to play professional football. In fact we never used to say going away to play football, we just used to say 'going away'."
## Club career
Charlton played for Leeds United's youth team in the Northern Intermediate League and then for the third team in the Yorkshire League; playing in the physically demanding Yorkshire League at the age of 16 impressed the club's management, and he was soon promoted to the reserve team. Charlton was given his first professional contract when he turned 17. He made his debut on 25 April 1953 against Doncaster Rovers, taking John Charles' place at centre-half after Charles was moved up to centre-forward. It was the final Second Division game of the 1952–53 season, and ended in a 1–1 draw. He then had to serve two years' national service with the Household Cavalry, and captained the Horse Guards to victory in the Cavalry Cup in Hanover. His national service limited his contribution to Leeds, and he made only one appearance in the 1954–55 season.
Charlton returned to the first team in September 1955, and kept his place for the rest of the 1955–56 season, helping Leeds win promotion into the First Division after finishing second to Sheffield Wednesday. He was dropped in the second half of the 1956–57 campaign, partly due to his habit of partying late at night and losing focus on his football. He regained his place in the 1957–58 season, and stopped his partying lifestyle as he settled down to married life. In October 1957 he was picked to represent the English Football League in a game against the League of Ireland.
Leeds struggled after Raich Carter left the club in 1958, and Willis Edwards and then Bill Lambton took charge in the 1958–59 season as Leeds finished nine points above the relegation zone. Jack Taylor was appointed manager, and failed to keep Leeds out of the relegation zone by the end of the 1959–60 campaign. During this time Charlton began taking his coaching badges, and took part in the Football Association's coaching courses at Lilleshall.
Leeds finished just five points above the Second Division relegation zone in the 1960–61 season and Taylor resigned; his replacement, Don Revie, was promoted from the United first team, and initially he was not fond of Charlton. Revie played Charlton up front at the start of the 1961–62 season, but he soon moved him back to centre-half after he proved ineffective as a centre-forward. He became frustrated and difficult to manage, feeling in limbo playing for a club seemingly going nowhere whilst his younger brother was enjoying great success at Manchester United. Revie told Charlton that he was prepared to let him go in 1962, but never actually transfer listed him. Liverpool manager Bill Shankly failed to meet the £30,000 Leeds demanded for Charlton and though Manchester United manager Matt Busby was initially willing to pay the fee he eventually decided to instead try an untested youngster at centre-half. During these discussions Charlton refused to sign a new contract at Leeds, but felt frustrated by Busby's hesitance and so signed a new contract with Leeds whilst making a promise to Revie to be more professional in his approach.
The 1962–63 season was the beginning of a new era for Leeds United as Revie began to mould the team and the club into his own liking. In a game against Swansea Town in September, Revie dropped many senior players and played Charlton in a young new defensive line-up: Gary Sprake (goalkeeper), Paul Reaney (right-back), Norman Hunter and Charlton (centre-back), and Rod Johnson (left-back). With the exception of Johnson, this defensive line-up would remain consistent for much of the rest of the decade. Charlton took charge of the defence that day, and insisted upon a zonal marking system; Revie agreed to allow Charlton to become the key organiser in defence. Aided by new midfield signing Johnny Giles, Leeds put in a strong promotion challenge and finished fifth, before securing promotion as champions in the 1963–64 campaign, topping the table two points ahead of Sunderland. Other players that began to make their mark on the first team included Billy Bremner, Paul Madeley and Peter Lorimer.
Leeds made an immediate impact on their first season back in the top flight, however the team gained a reputation for rough play, and Charlton said in his autobiography that "the way we achieved that success made me feel uncomfortable". They went 25 games unbeaten before losing to Manchester United at Elland Road – their title race meant that the two clubs built up an intense rivalry. Leeds needed a win in their final game of the season to secure the title but could only manage a 3–3 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's – Charlton scored the equalising goal on 86 minutes but they could not push on for a winner. They gained some measure of revenge over Man United by beating them 1–0 in the replay of the FA Cup semi-finals. Leeds met Liverpool in the final at Wembley, and the game went into extra-time after a goalless draw. Roger Hunt opened the scoring three minutes into extra-time, but seven minutes later Charlton headed on a cross for Bremner to volley into the net for the equaliser; with seven minutes left Ian St John scored for Liverpool to win the game 2–1.
United again competed for honours in the 1965–66 season, finishing second to Liverpool in the league and reaching the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was the club's first season in European competition, and they beat Italian side Torino, East German club SC Leipzig, Spanish club Valencia and Hungarian outfit Újpest, before they were beaten 3–1 by Spanish side Real Zaragoza at Elland Road in a tiebreaker game following a 2–2 aggregate draw. Charlton caused controversy against Valencia after he and defender Vidagany began fighting after Vidagany kicked Charlton in an off-the-ball incident; Charlton never actually struck the Spaniard, who hid behind his teammates.
The 1966–67 season proved frustrating for United, despite the introduction of another club great in the form of Eddie Gray. Leeds finished fourth, five points behind champions Manchester United, and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals after defeat to Chelsea. They made progress in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, beating DWS (Netherlands), Valencia, Bologna (Italy) and Kilmarnock (Scotland) to reach the final, where they were beaten 2–0 on aggregate by Yugoslavian outfit Dinamo Zagreb. At the end of the season he was named as the Footballer of the Year, succeeding his brother who had won the award the previous year. During the award ceremony he told a number of amusing stories and won a standing ovation from the crowd; this started him on a successful sideline as an after-dinner speaker.
Charlton developed a new ploy for the 1967–68 season by standing next to the goalkeeper during corners to prevent him from coming out to collect the ball; this created havoc for opposition defences and is still a frequently used tactic in the modern era. However, for the second successive season Leeds finished fourth and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals, this time losing 1–0 to Everton at Old Trafford. They finally won major honours by beating Arsenal 1–0 in the final of the League Cup; Terry Cooper scored the only goal of the game despite allegations that Charlton pushed goalkeeper Jim Furnell in the build-up to the goal. Leeds then went on to lift the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup after beating CA Spora Luxembourg, FK Partizan (Yugoslavia), Hibernian (Scotland), Rangers (Scotland) and Dundee (Scotland) to reach the final with Hungarian club Ferencvárosi. They won 1–0 at Elland Road and drew 0–0 in Budapest to claim their first European trophy.
Charlton helped Leeds to their first ever Football League title in 1968–69, as they lost just two games to finish six points clear of second-place Liverpool. They secured the title with a goalless draw at Anfield on 28 April, and Charlton later recalled the Liverpool supporters affectionately called him "big dirty giraffe" and that manager Bill Shankly went into the Leeds dressing room after the match to tell them they were "worthy champions".
United opened the 1969–70 campaign by winning the Charity Shield with a 2–1 win over Manchester City, and went on to face realistic possibility of winning the treble – the league, FA Cup and European Cup. However they missed out on all three trophies as the games built up towards the end of the season, and the league title was the first to slip out of their hands as Everton went on to build an insurmountable lead. They then bowed out of the European Cup after a 3–1 aggregate defeat to Celtic, including a 2–1 loss at Hampden Park in front of a UEFA record crowd of 136,505. They took two replays to overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals (Bremner scored the only goal in 300 minutes of football), but lost 2–1 in the replayed final to Chelsea after the original 2–2 draw, in which Charlton opened the scoring. Charlton took responsibility for Peter Osgood's goal in the replay as he was distracted from marking duties as he was trying to get revenge on a Chelsea player who had kicked him.
Charlton caused controversy early in the 1970–71 season as in an October appearance on the Tyne Tees football programme, he said he'd once had a "little black book" of names of players whom he intended to hurt or exact some form of revenge upon during his playing days. He was tried by the Football Association and was found not guilty of any wrongdoing after arguing that the press had misquoted him. He admitted that though he never actually had a book of names he had a short list of names in his head of players who had made nasty tackles on him and that he intended to put in a hard but fair challenge on those players if he got the opportunity in the course of a game. Leeds ended the season in second place yet again, as Arsenal overtook them with a late series of 1–0 wins despite Leeds beating Arsenal in the penultimate game of the season after Charlton scored the winning goal. The final tally of 64 points was a record high for a second-placed team. In the last ever season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup they beat Sarpsborg FK (Norway), Dynamo Dresden (Germany), Sparta Prague (Czechoslovakia), Vitória (Portugal) and Liverpool to secure a place in the final against Italian club Juventus. They drew 2–2 at the Stadio Olimpico and 1–1 at Elland Road to win the cup on the away goals rule. They had the opportunity to win the cup permanently, but lost 2–1 to Barcelona at Camp Nou in the trophy play-off game.
Leeds finished second in the 1971–72 season for the third successive time, this time ending up just one point behind champions Derby County after losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on the final day of the season. However Charlton managed to complete his list of domestic honours as Leeds beat Arsenal 1–0 in the FA Cup final; he kept Charlie George to a very quiet game as Leeds successfully defended their slender lead.
Charlton was limited to 25 appearances in the 1972–73 campaign and suffered an injury in the FA Cup semi-final against Wolves which ended his season. After failing to regain his fitness for the final, he announced his retirement. Madeley played in his place but Gordon McQueen had been signed as his long-term replacement. He played his testimonial against Celtic, and was given £28,000 of the £40,000 matchday takings.
## International career
With Charlton approaching his 30th birthday, he was called up by Alf Ramsey to play for England against Scotland at Wembley on 10 April 1965. The game ended 2–2 despite England being forced to end the game with nine men after picking up two injuries; he assisted his brother Bobby for England's first goal. Ramsey later said that he picked Charlton to play alongside Bobby Moore as he was a conservative player able to provide cover to the more skilful Moore, who could get caught out if he made a rare mistake. The defence remained relatively constant in the build up to the 1966 FIFA World Cup: Gordon Banks (goalkeeper), Ray Wilson (left-back), Charlton and Moore (centre-backs), and George Cohen (right-back). After playing in a 1–0 win over Hungary the following month, Charlton joined England for a tour of Europe as they drew 1–1 with Yugoslavia and beat West Germany 1–0 and Sweden 2–1. He played in a 0–0 draw with Wales and a 2–1 win over Northern Ireland to help England win the British Home Championship, though sandwiched between these two games was a 3–2 defeat to Austria – the first of only two occasions he was on the losing side in an England shirt. He played all nine England games in 1965, the final one being a 2–0 win over Spain at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
England opened the year of 1966 on 5 January with a 1–1 draw with Poland at Goodison Park; Ramsey's managerial ability was demonstrated during the game as the equalising goal came from Bobby Moore, who was allowed to surge forward as Charlton covered the gap he left behind in defence. Charlton played in six of the next seven international victories as England prepared for the World Cup. The run started with impressive victories over West Germany and then Scotland in front of 133,000 fans at Hampden Park. He scored his first international goal with a deflected shot on 26 June, as England recorded a 3–0 victory over Finland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. He missed the match against Norway but returned to action with a headed goal in a 2–0 win over Denmark at Idrætsparken.
England drew 0–0 in their opening group game of the World Cup against Uruguay after the South Americans came to play for a draw. They then beat Mexico 2–0 after a "tremendous goal" from Bobby Charlton opened up the game shortly before the half-time whistle. England beat France 2–0 in the final group game, with Charlton assisting Roger Hunt after heading the ball onto the post. England eliminated Argentina in the quarter finals with a 1–0 win – their efforts were greatly aided after Argentine centre-half Antonio Rattín was sent off for dissent, after which Argentina stopped attacking the ball and concentrated of holding out for a draw with their aggressive defending. England's opponents in the semi-finals were Portugal, who had giant centre-forward José Torres to compete with Charlton for aerial balls. Late in the game Charlton gave away a penalty by sticking out a hand to stop Torres from scoring; Eusébio scored the penalty but was largely contained by Nobby Stiles, and England won the game 2–1 after two goals from Bobby Charlton.
West Germany awaited in the final at Wembley, and they took the lead through Helmut Haller on 12 minutes; Charlton felt that he could have blocked the shot but at the time he believed that Banks had it covered, though it was Wilson who was at fault for allowing Haller the chance to shoot. England came back and took the lead, but with only a few minutes left in the game Charlton gave away a free kick after fouling Uwe Seeler whilst competing for an aerial ball; Wolfgang Weber scored the equalising goal from a goalmouth scramble created from the free kick. Geoff Hurst scored two goals in extra-time to win the game 4–2.
After the World Cup England lost the annual Home Championship to Scotland after a 3–2 defeat in April 1967, Charlton scored for the second successive international game running after also finding the net against Wales the previous November. He injured his foot during the game as he broke two sesamoid bones in his big toe. As his career went on he began to miss England games with niggling injuries so as to avoid friendly games in favour of playing important matches for Leeds; Brian Labone would take his place in the England team during Charlton's absences. He was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 1968, but did not feature in either of England's games. He won five caps in 1969, helping England to a memorable 5–0 win over France and scoring in a 1–0 win over Portugal from a corner taken by his brother Bobby.
In mid-1970, Ramsey named Charlton in his squad of 22 for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. However, he favoured Labone over Charlton and only picked Charlton for his 35th and final England game in the 1–0 group win over Czechoslovakia at the Estadio Jalisco. England lost in the quarter finals to West Germany, and on the flight home, Charlton asked Ramsey not to consider him for international duty again. He had agonised over how to break the news to Ramsey, and eventually said: "Great times ... absolute privilege ... getting older ... slowing down ... not sure I am up to it any more ... time to step down." Ramsey listened, then agreed with him: "Yes, I had reached that conclusion myself."
## Managerial career
### Middlesbrough
Charlton was offered the job as manager of Second Division club Middlesbrough on his 38th birthday in 1973. He declined to be interviewed for the position, and instead handed the club a list of responsibilities he expected to take, which if agreed to would give him total control of the running of the club. He refused a contract, and would never sign a contract throughout his managerial career. He took a salary of £10,000 a year despite the chairman being willing to pay a lot more; his only stipulations were a gentleman's agreement that he would not be sacked, assurances that he would have no interference from the board in team affairs, and three days off a week for fishing and shooting. He decided to first repaint Ayresome Park and to publicise the upcoming league campaign so as to generate higher attendance figures.
Charlton took advice from Celtic manager Jock Stein, who allowed him to sign right-sided midfielder Bobby Murdoch on a free transfer. Besides Murdoch the club already had ten players who Charlton moulded into a championship winning side: Jim Platt (goalkeeper), John Craggs (right-back), Stuart Boam and Willie Maddren (centre-backs), Frank Spraggon (left-back), David Armstrong (left midfield), Graeme Souness (central midfield), Alan Foggon (attacking midfield), John Hickton and David Mills (forwards). Some of these players were already settled at the club and in their positions, whilst Charlton had to work with some of the other players. He moved Souness from left midfield to central midfield to compensate for his lack of pace and coached him to play the ball forward rather than side to side as was his instinct. Foggon was played in a new role which Charlton created to break the offside trap set by opposition defenders, an extremely fast player he was instructed to run behind defenders and latch on to the long ball to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Middlesbrough secured promotion with seven games still to play of the 1973–74 season, and Charlton actually told his team to settle for a point away at Luton Town so they could win the title at home but his players ignored his instruction to concede a goal and the title was secured with a 1–0 win at Kenilworth Road. They won the title by a 15-point margin (at the time only two points were awarded for a win); in contrast promoted Carlisle United (3rd) finished only 15 points ahead of Crystal Palace (20th), who were relegated. He was named Manager of the Year, the first time that a manager outside of the top-flight had been given such an honour.
He continued to manage and change every aspect of the club, and took the decision to disassemble the club's scouting network to instead focus on local talent in Northumberland and Durham. His only major new signing of the 1974–75 season was Terry Cooper, a former Leeds United teammate. They adapted well to the First Division, finishing in seventh place, but would have finished fourth and qualified for Europe had Derby County not scored a last second goal against them on the last day of the season.
Building for the 1975–76 campaign he signed Phil Boersma from Liverpool to replace Murdoch, but Boersma never settled at the club and was frequently injured. They finished in 13th place, and went on to win the Anglo-Scottish Cup with a 1–0 win over Fulham. They also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup, and took a 1–0 lead over Manchester City into the second leg at Maine Road, where they were soundly beaten 4–0. However teams had begun to learn how to combat Charlton's attack strategy and left their centre-backs on the outside of the penalty box to neutralise the threat of Foggon. Despite the team's steady progress the club's board voted to sack Charlton in July 1976 after becoming increasingly concerned that he was overstepping his authority in negotiating business deals on behalf of the club and choosing the club's strip. However, the club chairman overruled the decision and Charlton remained in charge.
With Hickton coming to the end of his career Charlton tried to sign David Cross as a replacement but refused to go above £80,000 and Cross instead went to West Ham United for £120,000. Middlesbrough finished the 1976–77 campaign in 12th place and Charlton left the club at the end of the season on the belief that four years was an optimum time with one group of players and that he had reached his peak with them – he later regretted his decision and stated that he could have led the club to a league title if he had stayed and signed two more top quality players. He applied for the job of England manager after Don Revie quit the role and after Brian Clough was ruled out by the Football Association but did not receive a reply to his application, and he vowed never to apply for another job again and instead wait until he was approached.
### Sheffield Wednesday
In October 1977, he replaced Len Ashurst as manager at Sheffield Wednesday, who were then bottom of the Third Division. He appointed as his assistant Maurice Setters, who had experience managing at that level but had effectively ruled himself out of another management job after taking Doncaster Rovers to court for unfair dismissal. The two agreed that while the standard of football in the division was low the work rates were high and so the best way to make progress would be to play long balls into the opposition penalty area whilst recruiting big defenders to avoid being caught out by opposition teams with similar tactics. He took the "Owls" to mid-table safety with a 14th-place finish in the 1977–78 season, though they did suffer embarrassment by being knocked out of the FA Cup by Northern Premier League side Wigan Athletic.
His priority in summer 1978 was to find a target man for Tommy Tynan to play alongside and he found it in Andrew McCulloch, who arrived from Brentford for a £70,000 fee. He signed Terry Curran as a winger but eventually moved him up front to play alongside McCulloch. He sold goalkeeper Chris Turner to Sunderland and replaced him with the bigger Bob Bolder. He further raised the average height of the team by signing uncompromising centre-half Mick Pickering from Southampton. The team failed to advance in the league, finishing the 1978–79 season again in 14th spot. They did make their mark on the FA Cup in the Third Round by taking eventual winners Arsenal to four replays before they eventually succumbed to a 2–0 defeat.
Charlton's major acquisition for the 1979–80 campaign was signing Yugoslavia international midfielder Ante Miročević for a £200,0000 fee from FK Budućnost Podgorica. Miročević proved unable to handle the British winter but otherwise added flair to the team in fairer weather. Wednesday went on to secure promotion with a third-place finish and Curran finished as the division's top-scorer.
As the 1980–81 season came around Wednesday had young talent such as Mark Smith, Kevin Taylor, Peter Shirtliff and Mel Sterland breaking into the first team. The club were comfortable in the Second Division, finishing in tenth position.
Wednesday pushed for promotion in the 1981–82 season but ended just one place and one point outside the promotion places and would have actually been promoted under the old two points for a win system that was replaced by the three points for a win system at the beginning of the campaign.
In building for the 1982–83 campaign, Charlton signed experienced defender Mick Lyons from Everton and by Christmas Wednesday were top of the table. The club had a limited squad and successful cup runs took their toll, as did injuries to McCulloch and Brian Hornsby as they drifted down to sixth place by the close of the season. They reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 to Brighton & Hove Albion at Highbury with key defender Ian Bailey out with a broken leg sustained the previous week. Charlton announced his departure from Hillsborough in May 1983 despite pleas from the directors for him to stay.
In March 1984, Malcolm Allison left Middlesbrough and Charlton agreed to manage the club until the end of the 1983–84 to help steer the club away from the Second Division relegation zone. He was unpaid except for expenses and only took the job as a favour to his friend Mike McCullagh, who was the club's chairman. Middlesbrough ended the season in 17th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
### Newcastle United
Charlton was appointed manager of Newcastle United in June 1984 after being persuaded to take the job by Jackie Milburn. Arthur Cox had left the club after leading the "Magpies" to the First Division and key player Kevin Keegan announced his retirement. His first action was to release Terry McDermott from his contract, who refused to agree to Charlton's offer of a new contract. He had little money to spend in preparation for the 1984–85 season, though he did have young talents in Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley. He signed midfielder Gary Megson and big striker George Reilly. The "Toon" finished safely in 14th place, and a teenage Paul Gascoigne was on the verge of breaking into the first team.
Charlton resigned at the end of pre-season training for the 1985–86 campaign after fans at St James' Park started calling for his dismissal after the club failed to secure the signing of Eric Gates, who instead joined Lawrie McMenemy at Sunderland.
### Republic of Ireland
Charlton was approached by the FAI to manage the Republic of Ireland in December 1985. His first game in charge was on 26 March 1986 against Wales at Lansdowne Road which ended in a 1–0 defeat. In May 1986, Ireland won the Iceland Triangular Tournament at Laugardalsvöllur, in Iceland's capital of Reykjavík, with a 2–1 victory over Iceland and a 1–0 win over Czechoslovakia. By this time Charlton had developed his tactics, which were based on the traditional British 4–4–2 system, as opposed to the continental approach of using deep-lying midfielders, as he noted that most of the Ireland international players plied their trade in England. Crucially he instructed all members of his team to pressure opposition players and in particular force ball-playing defenders into mistakes.
#### Euro 1988
Qualification for Euro 1988 meant winning a group containing Belgium, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Scotland. The campaign opened with Belgium at the Heysel Stadium, and though Ireland contained danger man Nico Claesen, they had to settle for a 2–2 draw after conceding twice from corner-kicks; Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady scored the goals for Ireland. They then dominated Scotland at Lansdowne Road, but failed to find the net and instead drew 0–0. In the return fixture at Hampden Park Mark Lawrenson scored an early goal and another clean sheet won the Irish their first win of qualification. The campaign faltered with a 2–1 loss in Bulgaria, though Charlton was furious with referee Carlos Silva Valente as he felt that both of Lachezar Tanev's goals should not have counted as Nasko Sirakov allegedly pushed Mick McCarthy in the build-up to the first and he felt that Sirakov was outside the penalty box when he was fouled by Kevin Moran – Valente instead gave a penalty. They picked up another point after a 0–0 draw with Belgium in Dublin. Despite not particularly impressing, Ireland then picked up six points with two victories over Luxembourg. They ended the campaign with a 2–0 home win over Bulgaria, Paul McGrath and Kevin Moran the scorers, though Liam Brady (an ever-present in qualification) picked up a two match suspension after lashing out late in the game after being repeatedly kicked by Bulgarian midfielder Ayan Sadakov. Despite the victory the Irish had to rely on a favour from the Scots in order to qualify, who duly obliged with a 1–0 victory, courtesy of Gary Mackay – a substitute earning his first cap – in Sofia to keep Bulgaria one point behind Ireland in the table.
The build up to Euro 1988 in West Germany was far from ideal, as key player Mark Lawrenson was forced to retire after injuring his Achilles tendon, Liam Brady picked up a serious knee injury and Mark Kelly was also injured. The first match of the tournament was against England at the Neckarstadion, and Charlton reasoned that the threat posed by English wingers Chris Waddle and John Barnes could be nullified by allowing the English defence to feel comfortable on the ball without allowing them a pass; this made the build-up play slow and containable. His game-plan worked and Ireland claimed a 1–0 win after Ray Houghton secured an early lead. He then compensated for a series of injuries by playing Ronnie Whelan and Kevin Sheedy in central midfield, and was rewarded with a great performance and a good point in a 1–1 draw with the Soviet Union at the Niedersachsenstadion, Whelan scoring the goal. To qualify they only needed a point against the Netherlands at the Parkstadion, and Charlton devised a time-wasting plan with goalkeeper Packie Bonner that he was forced to abandon after referee Horst Brummeier was less than impressed. Ireland lost the game 1–0 after Wim Kieft scored an 82nd-minute goal. England and Ireland were eliminated while Netherlands and the Soviet Union qualified – both teams would go on to contest the final, which the Dutch won 2–0.
#### 1990 World Cup
Qualification for the 1990 World Cup required Charlton to mastermind a top two finish in a group consisting of Spain, Hungary, Northern Ireland and Malta. The campaign started on hostile ground at Belfast's Windsor Park, and he had stand-in goalkeeper Gerry Peyton to thank for the point gained from a goalless draw with Northern Ireland. A series of injuries left only a skeleton squad to face Spain at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, leaving a recall for defender David O'Leary, and Ireland were well beaten 2–0. They then left Budapest's Népstadion with a point from another goalless draw, though they were criticised for not taking all two points after dominating the game. The next four fixtures would be played at Lansdowne Road, and all four games ended in victory. First they beat Spain 1–0 after an own goal from Míchel, then they overcame Malta and Hungary with 2–0 wins, before beating Northern Ireland 3–0. Qualification for Ireland's first World Cup was assured at the Ta' Qali National Stadium after John Aldridge scored both goals in another 2–0 victory.
Ireland's group opponents in Italia '90 were England, Egypt and the Netherlands. Charlton felt that England's four-man midfield of Waddle, Barnes, Bryan Robson and Paul Gascoigne did not offer enough protection to the back four, and he was proved correct when Kevin Sheedy cancelled out Gary Lineker's opener to secure a 1–1 draw in the group opener at the Stadio Sant'Elia. A poor performance against a negative Egyptian side at the Stadio La Favorita meant that neither side scored a goal in a dour draw. They ended the group with a 1–1 draw with the Dutch, Niall Quinn cancelling out Ruud Gullit's opener in the 71st minute, after which both sides settled for a stalemate as a draw meant that both qualified ahead of Egypt. Ireland then defeated Romania in the Second Round match at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris which went to penalties after a 0–0 draw, before the whole team had a meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
One of the most iconic moments from Ireland's unexpected success in Italia 90, (the 1990 FIFA World Cup), took place at Walkinstown roundabout, Dublin on 25 June 1990 after Ireland beat Romania on penalties. Crowds emerged from the nearby public houses of the Kestrel and Cherry Tree and invaded the roundabout to celebrate the win. Amateur footage of the joyous scenes became synonymous with Ireland's success that year and epitomised the sense of hope which prevailed throughout the country, especially after a decade of economic recession. After Charlton passed away in 2020, fans gathered at the roundabout to recreate the moment and pay their respects to the past manager.
Ireland eventually went out to the host country, Italy, 1–0 in the quarter-finals at the Stadio Olimpico. A lapse of concentration meant that Italy's Salvatore Schillaci scored on 38 minutes, and Ireland failed to build up enough chances to find the equalising goal. After returning to Dublin over 500,000 people turned out to welcome the team back.
#### Euro 1992 qualifying
Qualification for Euro 92 in Sweden left Ireland facing a group of England, Poland and Turkey. They opened in style with a 5–0 home win over the Turks and then drew 1–1 home and away with the English; Ireland were the better team than England in both encounters and Charlton said that they "twice let them off the hook" after Houghton missed easy chances in both games. A 0–0 draw at home with Poland followed, and they were then leading 3–1 in the return fixture in Poznań but conceded two late goals to end the match at 3–3. Ireland beat Turkey 3–1 in Istanbul despite the intimidating atmosphere of the İnönü Stadium, but were denied a place in the tournament as England scored a late equalizing goal in Poland to secure the point that would take them above Ireland in the group.
#### 1994 World Cup
To qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the US, Ireland had to finish first or second in a seven team group of Spain, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Albania. Lithuania, Latvia and Albania proved to be little threat to the Irish, and both home and away fixtures against these three teams earned Ireland the maximum two points. The two most difficult fixtures – Denmark and Spain away – ended in goalless draws, and John Aldridge had a goal disallowed for offside against the Spanish which even Spain manager Javier Clemente said should have stood. Ireland then beat Northern Ireland 3–0 at home before settling for a 1–1 draw with Denmark. The qualification campaign was then derailed in the opening 26 minutes of the home tie with Spain as the Spanish took a three-goal lead; the game ended 3–1, with John Sheridan's late consolation eventually proving crucial at the end of the campaign. The final game was in Belfast against Northern Ireland during a tense period of The Troubles. Jimmy Quinn put Northern Ireland into the lead on 74 minutes, but four minutes later Alan McLoughlin scored the equalising goal to allow the Republic of Ireland to secure second place in the group due to their superior goals scored tally over Denmark. When Quinn scored Northern Ireland assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl shouted "Up yours!" to his counterpart Maurice Setters (Charlton's assistant); in response to this Charlton approached Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham at the final whistle and told him "Up yours too, Billy".
In the build up to the World Cup Charlton gave out first caps to Gary Kelly, Phil Babb and Jason McAteer; he had difficulty convincing McAteer to join Ireland as he first had to turn down an approach by the FA to play for the England under-21s. He scheduled difficult matches before the tournament and Ireland picked up positive results by beating both the Netherlands and Germany away from home. Ireland opened the group stage of the tournament by beating Italy 1–0 at the Giants Stadium, Ray Houghton scoring the winning goal on 11 minutes. They then fell to a 2–1 defeat to Mexico at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, during which Charlton had a pitch-side argument with an official who was preventing substitute John Aldridge (who went on to score the consolation goal) from taking the pitch minutes after his teammate Tommy Coyne had left the pitch and sat down on the bench. For his arguing, Charlton was suspended by FIFA for the final group game against Norway, and had to watch from the commentary box as Ireland qualified with a 0–0 draw. They faced the Netherlands in the Round of 16; Dennis Bergkamp put the Dutch ahead on 11 minutes after Marc Overmars took advantage of a mistake by Terry Phelan, and Wim Jonk scored the second and final goal of the game from 30 yards after Packie Bonner fluffed an otherwise routine save. For his achievements Charlton was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1994 by Lord Mayor Tomás Mac Giolla, the first Englishman to be given the honour since 1854.
#### Euro 1996 qualifying
Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 96, despite a strong start to the group, when they won their opening three games, including a 4–0 win against Northern Ireland. The Republic's next game was also against Northern Ireland, although the result was a 1–1 draw. From that point onwards the Republic stuttered badly as injuries struck down key players Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, John Sheridan and Steve Staunton. After beating the highly fancied Portugal, the Irish then endured an embarrassing 0–0 draw to Liechtenstein (this was Liechtenstein's only point in their ten matches), before losing twice to Austria, on both occasions by three goals to one. Although they defeated Latvia, Ireland needed to beat Portugal in Lisbon to qualify outright, but lost 3–0. They finished second in the group, ahead of Northern Ireland on goal difference, but as the worst performing runners-up they had to win a play-off game at Anfield against the Netherlands; Ireland lost 2–0 after a brace from Patrick Kluivert. Charlton resigned shortly after the game.
> "In my heart of hearts, I knew I'd wrung as much as I could out of the squad I'd got – that some of my older players had given me all they had to give."
## Personal life
Charlton married Pat Kemp on 6 January 1958, and his brother Bobby acted as his best man. They had three children: John (born in January 1959), Deborah (born 1961) and Peter, who was born just after Charlton senior played in the 1966 World Cup final. During the 1960s he ran two clothes shops in Leeds, and he also later operated the club shop at Elland Road. Charlton was a keen amateur fisherman and took part in field sports. Politically, Charlton was a socialist. He was a founding supporter of the Anti-Nazi League. Along with his wife, he was a supporter of the UK miners' strike of 1984-85, and lent two of his cars to striking miners for travelling to pickets. He appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1972 and 1996, and chose to take with him The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the Encyclopaedia of How to Survive, a spyglass, and a fishing rod. Charlton was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1973 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1974 Birthday Honours. In 1996, he was awarded honorary Irish citizenship. The honour amounts to full Irish citizenship; it is the highest honour the Irish state gives and is rarely granted. In 1994, he was made a Freeman of the city of Dublin, and was given an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) by the University of Limerick on 9 September 1994. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad in 2020. In 1997, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northumberland. Charlton was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game. There is a life-size statue of him at Cork Airport in Ireland, representing him sitting in his fishing gear and displaying a salmon. On 4 December 2019, he was made a Freeman of the City of Leeds along with the other members of the Revie team of the 1960s and 1970s, but was unable to attend the ceremony.
He revealed in his 1996 autobiography that he had a strained relationship with his brother Bobby. Jack felt Bobby began to drift away from the Charlton family following his marriage to Norma, who did not get along with their mother. Bobby did not see his mother after 1992 until her death on 25 March 1996 as a result of the feud, though he and Norma did attend her funeral. Though the two brothers remained distant, Jack presented Bobby with his BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award on 14 December 2008.
### Death
Charlton died at his home in Ashington Northumberland on 10 July 2020 at the age of 85 after suffering from lymphoma and dementia. The following day his former club Leeds United won 1-0 over Swansea City with a last minute winner; the goalscorer Pablo Hernández dedicated his goal to Charlton.
On 20 July, ten days after his death, Irish fans gathered at Walkinstown roundabout in Dublin to recreate the highwater mark of Ireland's success at the 1990 World Cup under Charlton and to pay their respects. Put 'Em Under Pressure, the official song of the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 campaign, (which features soundbites of Charlton uttering the eponymous phrase) was played at 12:30pm synchronously with all national radio stations to remember the man who had led Ireland to their first-ever major tournament at Euro '88, as well as two World Cups in Italy (1990) and USA (1994).
Charlton became the 12th player from the 1966 FIFA World Cup squad to die, after Bobby Moore (1993), Alan Ball (2007), John Connelly (2012), Ron Springett (2015), Gerry Byrne (2015), Jimmy Armfield (2018), Ray Wilson (2018), Gordon Banks (2019), Martin Peters (2019), Peter Bonetti (2020) and Norman Hunter (2020).
## Career statistics
### Club
### International
Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Charlton goal.
### As a manager
## Honours
### Player
Leeds United
- Football League First Division: 1968–69
- Football League Second Division: 1963–64
- FA Cup: 1971–72
- Football League Cup: 1967–68
- FA Charity Shield: 1969
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1967–68, 1970–71
England
- British Home Championship: 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69
- FIFA World Cup: 1966
- UEFA European Championship third place: 1968
Individual
- FWA Footballer of the Year: 1967
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2005
- PFA Team of the Century (1907–1976): 2007
### Manager
Middlesbrough
- Football League Second Division: 1973–74
- Anglo-Scottish Cup: 1975–76
Sheffield Wednesday
- Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1979–80
Republic of Ireland
- Iceland Triangular Tournament: 1986
Individual
- English Manager of the Year winner: 1974
- Philips Sports Manager of the Year: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993
## See also
- Put 'Em Under Pressure, the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy.
|
28,687,180 |
Norah Head Light
| 1,170,269,777 |
Lighthouse in New South Wales, Australia
|
[
"1903 establishments in Australia",
"Lighthouse museums",
"Lighthouses completed in 1903",
"Lighthouses in New South Wales",
"Museums in New South Wales"
] |
Norah Head Light is an active lighthouse located at Norah Head, a headland on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia, close to Toukley. It is the last lighthouse of the James Barnet style to be built, and the last staffed lighthouse constructed in New South Wales.
Officially displayed for the first time in 1903, the original vaporized kerosene burner was upgraded in 1923, electrified in 1961 and automated and demanned in 1994, after more than 90 years of being staffed. It celebrated its centenary in 2003.
The concrete block tower is 27.5 metres (90 ft) high, topped by a bluestone gallery. On top of the gallery is the original Chance Bros. lantern. This lantern holds the original housing of the Chance Bros. 1st order bivalve dioptric Fresnel lens. Other important structures include the chief lightkeeper's cottage and assistant keeper's duplex, and a flag house.
## History
Calls for construction of a lighthouse at Norah Head (then "Bungaree Noragh Point") were made as early as 1861 due to many wrecks occurring in the area. A notable supporter in the end of the 19th century was local landholder Edward Hargraves from Noraville. However, these efforts were fruitless for many years. The first formal recommendation to construct the lighthouse was made by the Newcastle Marine Board, just prior to its abolition, in 1897.
The lighthouse was designed in a style similar to the style of James Barnet, by his successor Charles Assinder Harding, who also designed Cape Byron Light and Point Perpendicular Light. It is the last to be designed in this style.
Construction commenced in 1901, undertaken by day labour. Materials were brought by boat and unloaded on a wharf constructed at Cabbage Tree Harbour for that purpose. It was officially lit on 15 November 1903, two years after Cape Byron Light. The first keepers were N. H. Williams as chief keeper, with N. Hanson and S. Kells as assistant keepers.
The cost of the tower and cottages was nearly £24,000, £19,000 for the construction of the tower and £5,000 for the optical apparatus, a Chance Bros. 1st order bivalve dioptric Fresnel lens with 700 prisms
The original light source was a vaporized kerosene burner and mantle generating a light intensity of 438,000 cd, visible for 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi). The original mechanism was a grandfather clock-type mechanism with the counterweights going down a 100 feet (30 m) central column. The weights went down gradually as the light turned and had to be wound every half an hour. The light revolved every 10 seconds, and was floating in a mercury bath of more than 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg) to lessen the friction. The high speed of rotation made operating the light while it was active very difficult.
On 13 April 1923 the light source was upgraded to a Ford-Schmidt kerosene burner with an intensity of 700,000 candlepower. It was changed to revolve every thirty seconds in 1928, to ease the operation. The stables originally constructed at the complex were converted to a garage in 1960.
On 28 March 1961 the light was electrified, with mains electricity as the power source, and an intensity of 1,000,000 cd. The drive was replaced with a 0.3 amp electric motor. At the same time the staff was cut from three lightkeepers to two.
The light was automated and demanned in 1994. It was one of the last stations in Australia to be demanned, after over 90 years of being staffed.
The current light source is a 1000 Watt 120 Volt tungsten-halogen lamp, which flashes white every 15 seconds(Fl.W. 15s) and can be seen for 26 nautical miles (48 km; 30 mi). It also shows fixed red (F.R.) and green (F.G.) lights for coastal shipping.
The lighthouse celebrated its centenary on 15 November 2003, and the lighthouse appeared on the cover of the Wyong Shire Council annual report for 2003.
## Structures
The lighthouse is a 27.5 metres (90 ft) tower, made from concrete blocks. The concrete blocks were made on the ground using a local aggregate, lifted and cemented into position and finally cement rendered inside and out with deep ashlar coursing, and painted white. This technique was used in the period to reduce the cost of construction.
On the inside of the tower, there are 96 steps leading to the gallery in 4 stages, the first 3 of the same grade and the last stage a bit steeper and narrower. The staircase is made of concrete with slate treads and cast iron and brass balustrade.
On top of the tower is a bluestone gallery and balcony with gunmetal railings. The gallery has a painted cast-iron floor grate with a cast-iron stair leading to the outdoor gallery. The lantern room is atop this gallery, made of metal and glass, encircled and protected by perspex and aluminium panels. It has a decorative iron catwalk encircling the glass to allow for cleaning. The lantern house is the original 3,700 millimetres (150 in) Chance Bros. cast-iron-and-copper lantern house, one of about 21 known to exist in Australia.
On the ground floor there is an entrance door made of cedar set with sidelights and fanlight, with an etching on the door glass saying Olim Periculum Nunc Salus, Latin for "Once Perilous, Now Safe". Above the door is the writing "•A1903D•", stating the year of official lighting. There is also a "ghost door" on the outside which was planned but never completed.
The first floor comprises an entry hallway and two rooms. The hallway is set with tessellated tiles and still has the original desk for the visitor's book. Of the two rooms, one was the report room used for administrative work, record keeping and logbooks. It is currently used as a radio room. The second room housed a spare mantle holder. It currently houses the electrical controls, including the sensors responsible for starting the light. It also houses the backup batteries, backup diesel generator and fuel tank, as well as a small workshop.
The accommodations in the complex consist of a lightkeepers cottage with garden and Assistant Keeper's duplex, both constructed from concrete blocks, unpainted from construction, and originally having "Marseilles pattern" terracotta tile roofs. The keeper's cottage includes an open verandah on three sides, with cast-iron posts and curved timber beams. The hipped roof is still the original terracotta tiles and one chimney remains. As for the duplex, circa 1970 the roof was replaced with concrete tiles and the chimneys have been demolished.
Also constructed were a small fuel store, workshop, paint store and earth closet near the keeper's cottage, and two fuel stores with earth closet and sink for the assistant cottages. All were constructed in the same form, from unpainted concrete blocks and the same terracotta tile roofs. All still remain in the complex, pretty much intact.
As of 2017, one of the cottages is occupied by a resident keeper and another two are available for overnight accommodations.
Another structure at the complex is a small signal house, which was constructed as a flag house for the timber flagstaff, both constructed with the original structures in 1903. The flag house was constructed to match the lighthouse, from precast concrete blocks, rendered walls, with the same plinth and deep ashlar coursing. The roof is made of concrete in a shallow hipped form, in contrast to the concrete dome proposed in the original drawings. The flag locker now houses maritime signal flags. The timber flagstaff was removed at an unknown date, and what remains of it are a concrete and steel base, a concrete apron, and four concrete and iron anchor points.
A stable was also constructed at the premises from the same concrete blocks with Marseilles pattern terracotta tiles. In 1960, as the stables were being converted to a garage, the roof tiles were replaced with concrete tiles. Three timber doors to the former stable, tack and carriage rooms remain.
Also at the complex are underground fresh water tanks and sealed off condensation water tank beneath the tower.
About 100 metres (330 ft) up the hill there used to be a weather station, a mother station for Montague Island in the south and South Solitary Island in the north. Reports used to be collected and sent to the Weather Bureau in Sydney. This is all done electronically now.
## Site operation
The light is operated by Transport for NSW, while the lighthouse reserve is managed by the New South Wales Department of Lands since 1997. Until 2013 the tours and accommodations were managed by the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve Trust, a government appointed trust "Dedicated to the preservation, conservation and management of the Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve." Since 2013 they are managed by the government appointed Norah Head Lighthouse Trust.
## Visiting
The lighthouse is on a narrow strip of land that separates the sea from Tuggerah Lake. The site is accessible and the lighthouse is open for guided tours every day of the year except Anzac Day and Christmas Day. Two cottages are available for overnight staying, housing eight people each. It is also available for weddings.
## See also
- List of lighthouses in Australia
|
5,718,849 |
Adam Stansfield
| 1,172,066,963 |
English footballer (1978–2010)
|
[
"1978 births",
"2010 deaths",
"Cullompton Rangers F.C. players",
"Deaths from cancer in England",
"Deaths from colorectal cancer",
"Elmore F.C. players",
"England men's semi-pro international footballers",
"English Football League players",
"English men's footballers",
"Exeter City F.C. players",
"Footballers from Devon",
"Footballers from Plymouth, Devon",
"Hereford United F.C. players",
"Men's association football forwards",
"National League (English football) players",
"Yeovil Town F.C. players"
] |
Adam Stansfield (10 September 1978 – 10 August 2010) was an English professional footballer who played as a striker. He competed professionally for Yeovil Town, Hereford United and Exeter City, and won promotion from the Football Conference to The Football League with all three teams.
Having played for three counties as a child, Stansfield began his career in non-league with Cullompton Rangers and Elmore, and had unsuccessful trials at league teams. At the age of 23, he signed his first professional contract with Yeovil Town, after impressing their manager Gary Johnson in a match against them. In his first season, he helped them win the FA Trophy, scoring in the 2002 final. The following season, Yeovil won the Conference and promotion into The Football League, although Stansfield was ruled out with a broken leg in the first game. In 2004, he transferred to Hereford United, where he won promotion to The Football League via the 2006 play-offs, and repeated the feat with Exeter City two years later. He also helped Exeter earn promotion into League One in 2009. At international level, Stansfield played five matches and scored one goal for England's national semi-professional team, winning the 2005 Four Nations Tournament.
Stansfield was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in April 2010. He returned to training after surgery and chemotherapy, but died on 10 August that year. A foundation in his name was posthumously set up by his family to provide sporting opportunities and raise awareness of colorectal cancer. He has posthumously been featured on a Flybe airliner livery and a local currency banknote in Exeter.
## Early and personal life
Stansfield was born in Plymouth, Devon, as the third of four children, and supported Nottingham Forest. On 2 June 2001 he married Marie, with whom he had three sons. By the 2019–20 season, his son Jay was scoring regularly for Fulham's Under 18 team, and in 2022 joined Exeter on loan from the Craven Cottage side, wearing number 9, the shirt number synonymous with his father's legacy at the club. He made his debut as a substitute during Exeter's 1-0 victory over MK Dons. Devon journalist Gary Andrews remembered Stansfield senior as a man who would spend time with his family after matches while speaking to fans and the press. He wrote that "I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam on a regular basis... I say pleasure, because his answers were thoughtful and intelligent and he came across as a man who was delighted to be back home with his friends and family".
## Career
### Early career
Stansfield's first club was Evesham Colts under-10s. He played at county level for Worcestershire, Leicestershire and Devon. When his family settled back in Devon he joined Twyford Spartans, scoring 84 goals in 54 matches. He played in Tiverton Town's youth team as a left back before reverting to being a striker at his first senior club, non-League side Cullompton Rangers. He later moved to Elmore, where he attracted trials from Exeter City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Torquay United, all of which were unsuccessful. His siblings joined the Royal Air Force and he thought of joining them, but continued searching for a breakthrough in professional football.
### Yeovil Town
In October 2001, Stansfield's performances for Elmore impressed Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson to sign him. He made his debut in the Conference on 9 November, playing the entirety of a 3–0 loss away to Southport. His first goal came on 1 December, concluding a 3–1 victory at Northwich Victoria. His first season at Huish Park was a success, finishing as the top scorer with 16 goals, eight of which came in the club's victorious FA Trophy run. He scored twice in a fourth round replay at Doncaster Rovers, as Yeovil came from 0–3 down for an eventual 5–4 victory. In the final on 12 May he scored the second goal of a 2–0 win over Stevenage Borough at the Villa Park, Birmingham.
On the first day of the following season, Stansfield was substituted through injury after 16 minutes of an eventual 2–2 home draw with Gravesend & Northfleet to be replaced by Abdoulai Demba. It was later confirmed to be a break of the tibia and fibula. He missed the remainder of the season, in which Yeovil won the Conference to be promoted to The Football League for the first time.
He recovered to feature in the next campaign, making his league debut on 16 August 2003. In that match, Yeovil's first in The Football League, he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Kirk Jackson in a 3–0 win against Carlisle United. His first of six goals in the Third Division season came on 6 September, opening a 2–0 home win over Swansea City. He was given a rare start in that match as first-choice forward Kevin Gall was away with Wales under-21.
### Hereford United
On 14 June 2004, Stansfield returned to the Conference with Hereford United, signed by Graham Turner to replace their previous season's top scorer Steve Guinan, who had been sold to Cheltenham Town. He scored 20 goals across the season, including two on 25 March 2005 in a 6–0 win at Farnborough Town. In that match, he came on in the 77th minute for Daniel Carey-Bertram, who had also scored two. Hereford reached the promotion play-offs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Stevenage. In the following season they won promotion by the play-offs, with Stansfield starting in the final on 20 May 2006 at the Walkers Stadium in Leicester, a 3–2 extra-time victory over Halifax Town.
### Exeter City
On 12 June 2006, with his contract expired, Stansfield decided to remain in the Conference, joining Exeter City. He told local radio that his aim was not to achieve promotion or reach a certain tally of goals, but to influence the club's younger players.
He scored nine times in 40 league games in his first season, including two in a 2–1 home win over relegated Southport on 28 April 2007 in order to seal a play-off place. Eleven days later, in the second leg of the play-off semi-final away to Oxford United, he scored a goal which took the match to extra time and eventually a penalty shootout which his side won. In the final on 20 May at Wembley Stadium, he came on as a 36th-minute substitute for goalscorer Lee Phillips in a 1–2 loss to Morecambe.
On 26 April 2008, Stansfield scored in Exeter's 4–4 draw at Burton Albion which qualified them for that season's play-offs. He started in the final, whereby the team returned to The Football League for the first time in five years with a 1–0 Wembley win over Cambridge United.
He scored 10 goals in 37 league games as they won a second consecutive promotion into League One in the 2008–09 season. This included consecutive braces on 27 September and 4 October, in wins over Macclesfield Town (4–1 away) and Gillingham (3–0 home). The following campaign, despite never having previously played at as high a level, he was a regular starter for Exeter in League One, scoring eight goals in a season curtailed by his cancer diagnosis.
### International career
Stansfield earned five caps and scored one goal for the England national semi-professional team. He featured in the 2002 edition of the Four Nations Tournament, and made his debut in England's opening match, a 1–1 draw with Wales at York Street in Boston on 14 May. Stansfield was injured in the first half of the last match, a 2–0 win against Scotland at Rockingham Road in Kettering on 18 May, while Wales won the title. In 2005, while back in the Conference with Hereford, he was again called up for the tournament by manager Paul Fairclough. Stansfield played in two matches as England won the tournament with three wins.
## Illness and death
Stansfield suffered from persistent abdominal pain in the early part of 2010, and was admitted to hospital for tests at the end of March. On 8 April 2010, Exeter City confirmed to the media that he had been diagnosed with a form of colorectal cancer. Manager Paul Tisdale told local news programme BBC Spotlight that "there's little good on this subject... but if there's someone who can deal with it and meet it head on with real purpose, Adam's the man".
Later that month, Stansfield underwent surgery to remove part of his colon. Club vice-chairman Julian Tagg reported that the operation was successful, and that Stansfield appeared happy and was making jokes. He joined the Exeter squad for the first day of pre-season training in July, appearing weak from chemotherapy. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 10 August in Exeter, with his death being announced shortly after Exeter's loss to Ipswich Town in the League Cup.
As a mark of respect, Dagenham & Redbridge postponed the game Exeter were due to play against them at Victoria Road four days after his death. Exeter retired his shirt number 9 for nine seasons. His son, Jay Stansfield, wore the number 9 shirt for Exeter City, when he was on loan from Fulham in the 2022-23 season.
Stansfield's body was taken from St James Park to his funeral service at Exeter Cathedral on 25 August, attended by over 1,000 mourners. A private family service was held later.
### Posthumous recognition
At his funeral, Stansfield's widow Marie had an idea to set up the Adam Stansfield Foundation, which by the fourth anniversary of his death had raised over £150,000. It works in offering children football in Devon, Somerset and Herefordshire, the three counties in which he played professionally, as well as increasing opportunities for the disabled to take part in the sport. The foundation also aims to increase awareness of bowel cancer.
Stansfield continues to be remembered by fans of his former teams. On 9 August 2014, as Exeter started the new season against Portsmouth, a giant flag resembling his club shirt was displayed by the crowd. Hereford, the phoenix club of Hereford United, gave a minute's applause to Stansfield in the ninth minute – his number for the Bulls – in the 2016 FA Vase Final. Exeter and Yeovil agreed that on their meeting at St James Park on 8 August 2015, there would be a minute's applause in the seventh minute and ninth, for the numbers he wore at each club. Earlier the same day, there was also a match between the two clubs' supporters in Topsham, Devon, to raise funds for his foundation.
In March 2011, Elmore named their new stand at Horsdon Park after Stansfield, ahead of a game against Hengrove Athletic. The match attracted over 100 fans, ahead of a usual average of 35. From 2011 to 2015, an aeroplane belonging to Flybe bore an image of Stansfield, with other aeroplanes belonging to the company featuring such former footballers as George Best and Kevin Keegan. In 2015, Stansfield was featured on £5 Exeter Pound notes in the city. In recognition of his achievements at Exeter City, Stansfield was in 2017 inducted into the Exeter City Hall of Fame alongside Sidney Thomas, Graham Rees and Peter Hatch. In 2018 Exeter City named their new stand the Stagecoach Adam Stansfield Stand.
## Career statistics
## Honours
Yeovil Town
- FA Trophy: 2001–02
- Football Conference: 2002–03
Hereford United
- Conference National play-offs: 2006
Exeter City
- Conference National play-offs: 2008
England semi-professional
- Four Nations Tournament: 2005
|
36,387,686 |
All in the Family (Body of Proof)
| 1,126,889,001 | null |
[
"2011 American television episodes",
"Body of Proof episodes"
] |
"All in the Family" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American medical drama Body of Proof. It was originally broadcast in the United States on ABC on 3 May 2011. The episode was directed by John Polson and written by Sam Humphrey.
In this episode, Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) and Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop) investigate when a stay at home father is found by his wife Jen (Molly Price), stabbed to death at their house. With the help of Detectives Bud Morris (John Carroll Lynch) and Samantha Baker (Sonja Sohn) they investigate, with all the evidence pointing towards the victims son, Mike (Jake O'Connor). Whilst the case is on-going, Megan receives flashbacks to her childhood. Meanwhile, Kate Murphy (Jeri Ryan) is asked by Megan's lawyer ex-husband Todd Fleming (Jeffrey Nordling) to help him with a case.
The episode received positive reviews, and was watched by 10.20 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, on the Tuesday night it aired in the United States. Critics called the episode both "dishearting" and "engaging" saying that "these characters and this episode was a winner for Body of Proof". They also praised the partnership between Kate and Curtis Brumfield (Windell Middlebrooks), calling the scenes "hysterical" and "funny".
## Plot
Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) and Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop) arrive at the scene of Ed Russell (David Shumbris), a stay at home father, who is found by his wife Jen (Molly Price) stabbed to death at their house, whilst their baby daughter Sophie is at home. When Detective Bud Morris (John Carroll Lynch) goes to tell Ed's son Mike (Jake O'Connor) about his father's death, Megan stops him, telling Bud to let his mother tell him. Megan has a flashback to when she was younger, focussing on when a young Megan (Madeline Milne) receives the news of her father's death from a policeman, as the police did not know where her mother, Joan (Joanna Cassidy), was at the time. Jen admits that she cleaned up some footprints; she thought they were Mike's. The attack on Ed was personal and after Detective Samantha Baker (Sonja Sohn) concludes that the attack on Ed was personal after she finds evidence to suggest Mike did indeed kill his father, such as negative emails. Mike protests his innocence, and Ethan Gross (Geoffrey Arend) finds evidence which makes Mike innocent. Throughout the day, Megan tries to rebuild her relationship with Lacey (Mary Mouser), carpooling Lacey and her friends, Sarah (Teresa Celentano) and Betsy (Anna Friedman).
Megan's lawyer ex-husband Todd (Jeffrey Nordling) arrives at Megan's work, needing forensic testing for evidence that his client Manny Santos (Carlos Apostle), is a juvenile. Kate Murphy (Jeri Ryan) greets him, and she asks Curtis Brumfield (Windell Middlebrooks) to help examine him. Curtis finds evidence which suggests Manny has received recent trauma to ribs and other body parts, suggesting that he's being abused. Curtis explains to Todd that Manny is a juvenile, but he will not be able to be released back to his former home, as he is being abused there. Meanwhile, the evidence for the murderer fits a partial match to Mike, so Megan concludes that Ed is not Mike's father. She goes to visit Jen; however she slams the door in her face. Megan walks into her house and finds Mike's real father Tim (Timothy Devlin), holding Ed's and Jen's baby daughter hostage. Tim takes Jen into the garden when the police arrive, so Bud shoots him in the leg and arrests him and Jen is reunited with Sophie and Mike.
## Production
"All in the Family" was written by Sam Humphrey and directed by John Polson, most known for founding Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival, which first took place in Australia. Daniel Licht who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for the episode. Actress Molly Price – best known for her role in Third Watch as Faith Yokas – guest starred in the episode as Jen Russell. Although Joanna Cassidy, who plays Megan's mother Joan Hunt, does not appear, she is mentioned in flashback scenes. These flashback scenes show a young Megan, played by child actress Madeline Milne. Recurring cast members Jeffrey Nordling and Mary Mouser returned in this episode, with this being Mouser's first appearance since season one's fourth episode "Talking Heads" and Nordling's first appearance since seasons one's first episode, "Pilot".
"All in the Family", along with the eight episode's from Body of Proof's first season, were released on a two-disc DVD set in the United States on September 20, 2011. The sets included brief audio commentaries from various crew and cast members for several episode's, a preview of season 2 and a 10-minute "featurette" on the making of the show, with commentaries from the medical consultants who helped with the script, as well as a "Contaminated Evidence" blooper reel.
## Reception
### Ratings
In its original American broadcast on 3 May 2011, "All in the Family" was seen by 10.20 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. Among viewers between ages 18 and 49, it received a 2.0 rating/9 share. This means that it was seen by 2 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This episode achieved a much lower number of viewers than the previous episode, "Society Hill", but a higher number than subsequent episode "Buried Secrets". Body of Proof came fifth in the ratings on Tuesday night, it was outperformed by two episodes of CBS's NCIS and an episode of The Good Wife and NBC's The Voice. "All in the Family" was watched by 1.73 million viewers upon its airing on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.
### Critical response
This episode received positive reviews. Christine Orlando from TV Fanatic said she found the episode both "dishearting" and "engaging", as well as later adding that it was "sad" and "frightening" when Jake O'Connor was accused of murdering his father. Writing about the final scene which shows Megan enter the Russell's house, she said that she wanted to "smack" Megan for doing so, saying "What was she thinking? She knew Scanlon had committed the murder and that Jen was acting strangely when she wouldn't let her in. Yet, she went back to find the door open and walked right in. Megan's intelligent enough to know that something wasn't right but she's unarmed and untrained to handle the situation. For some reason she seemed incapable of making the smart decision to wait for the real police". Orlando said of the flashback scenes that she hopes in future episodes they "delve deeper" into Megan's father's death, saying that it was "certainly a turning point for the character and I'd love to know more". She said it was "nice" to see scenes between Peter and Megan and said of the carpooling storyline, "Snacks for carpool didn't seem like a bad idea but they could have used a couple of healthier options to go with the chocolate". Of Curtis and Kate's examining Manny Santos, she said that their expressions were "hysterical" and "funny" when they decided whether Manny was a juvenile, adding that it gave "a much needed moment of comic relief in an otherwise heavy episode". She finished in saying that the episode "grabbed her attention", finishing, "These engaging characters and this episode was a winner for Body of Proof". In the carpooling storyline it featured Tastykake's products, a line of snack foods based in Philadelphia. Such products which were mentioned were Krimpets and KandyKakes, with the ABC saying they were the "best".
|
44,171,381 |
Ince Blundell Hall
| 1,147,813,238 |
Former country house in Merseyside, England
|
[
"Country houses in Merseyside",
"Georgian architecture in England",
"Grade II* listed buildings in Merseyside",
"Grade II* listed houses"
] |
Ince Blundell Hall is a former country house near the village of Ince Blundell, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. It was built between 1720 and 1750 for Robert Blundell, the lord of the manor, and was designed by Henry Sephton, a local mason-architect. Robert's son, Henry, was a collector of paintings and antiquities, and he built impressive structures in the grounds of the hall in which to house them. In the 19th century the estate passed to the Weld family. Thomas Weld Blundell modernised and expanded the house, and built an adjoining chapel. In the 1960s the house and estate were sold again, and have since been run as a nursing home by the Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus.
The hall is Georgian in style, and consists of a main block with a service block linked at a right-angle to its rear. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II\* listed building. Some of the buildings associated with the hall are also designated at this grade; these are the Pantheon and the Garden Temple, both of which were built by Henry Blundell for his collection of statues, the chapel, and a building known as the Old Hall. In the garden and grounds of the hall are nine structures listed at Grade II; these include the stables, a monument, a sundial, gateways and a lodge, and the base of a medieval wayside cross.
## History
The manor of Ince Blundell was held by the Blundell family from the 12th century. The first documentation of the name of Blundell at the site is that of Richard Blundell in 1212. Following the Reformation the Blundells retained their Catholic faith and suffered from the consequent disadvantages and dangers. Nevertheless, by legal transactions and advantageous marriages the Blundell family acquired more possessions; by the end of the 18th century they held 15 manors together with other property, some of it as far away as Liverpool and Preston.
The present house was built by Robert Blundell (1700–73) who inherited the estate in 1711. Building began in about 1720, and it was finished by 1750. The house was designed by Henry Sephton, who was the "leading mason-architect in the area" at that time. In 1761 Robert Blundell moved from the house to Liverpool, and the estate passed to his eldest son, Henry (1724–1810). Henry then started to extend the house by adding what he described as "a large body of offices" at right-angles to the main block, and he did this "without the help of a Wyat (sic) or any architect". In the grounds he designed and built a stable block and greenhouses, created a kitchen garden, and landscaped the park, which included a lake and a ha-ha. He built a wall around the perimeter of the estate, and designed one, and possibly two, of the gateways.
Henry Blundell was a collector, first of paintings and later of statues and antiquities, the collection amounting to over 500 items. In order to house them at Ince Blundell, he constructed a series of buildings in the grounds of the hall. Initially he kept his collection in a series of greenhouses, but in about 1790–92 he built the Garden Temple, a building in Classical style. This was followed in about 1802–05 by a more impressive building, the Pantheon, its design based on the Pantheon in Rome. When Henry died in 1810, the hall passed to his son, Charles. He died childless in 1837, and the estate passed to Thomas Weld, a cousin. He took the name of Thomas Weld Blundell, and restored, refurnished and redecorated the hall. In the mid-19th century a large bay window was added to the west side of the Drawing Room, and a new Dining Room was built at the east end. Ceilings were raised, and interior decoration was carried out by the firm of Crace. Weld Blundell added a new vestibule to connect the Gallery, the Dining Room, and the Pantheon. The portico of the Pantheon became the new main entrance to the hall, and the Pantheon itself the reception hall. What had been the original chapel became the organ loft of a new large two-storey chapel designed by J. J. Scoles.
During the Second World War the hall, its buildings and park were used by the War Office and the Admiralty, and additional buildings were erected. Five parachute bombs fell near the hall, one of them blowing out all the windows in the garden front. By 1960 the estate was "seriously dilapidated", and it was decided to sell the hall and the surrounding land. The farms went to the sitting tenants, and the chapel, which had been used as a parish church since 1947, was given to the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The hall was bought by the Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus, who adapted it for use as a nursing home. It was officially opened as such on 27 May 1961 by the Rt Revd John Heenan, who was at that time the Archbishop of Liverpool. Much work had to be done to make the building fit for its new purpose, including making it weather-proof, installing central heating, a lift, and a washbasin in each bedroom. A new entrance was created at the back of the hall, with access for wheelchairs. The former Gallery was converted into a chapel for the use of staff and residents. Henry Blundell's wing is used partly to provide services for the hall, and partly by the sisters as a convent. The sisters and staff of the hall continue to provide nursing and other care for the elderly.
## Architecture
### Exterior
Ince Blundell Hall is in Georgian style. It is constructed in brick with sandstone dressings, and has an L-shaped plan. The main block faces southeast; it is in two storeys with an attic, and has a front of nine bays. Richard Pollard and Nikolaus Pevsner describe the front as being in late English Baroque style, and consider that it was "evidently inspired" by the front of Buckingham Palace, London. Between the upper storey and the attic is an entablature with a cornice and a panelled parapet. The central three bays project forward, the lower storeys are flanked by pairs of giant pilasters, and at the sides of the central doorway are giant columns. There are more pilasters at the ends of the building, and in the central three bays of the attic. All the pilasters and columns are Corinthian in style. The windows are sashes and are surrounded by architraves. The ground floor windows in the central bays have segmental heads with keystones, and those in the outer bays have friezes and pediments carried on consoles. Below the upper floor windows are panelled aprons and consoles. The central doorway has a segmental head and a keystone carved with the Blundell arms. At the corners of the front are quoins.
To the right of the main block is a 19th-century single-storey wing with five bays, the central three of which are canted. Behind is a single-storey block, linking the main block to the service block, which is at right angles to the rear. The service block is Henry Blundell's "offices", and is in Palladian style. It faces southwest, is in two storeys, and has a seven-bay front, plus a three-storey three-bay pavilion to the right. The central three bays of the service block project forward under a pediment. Above the central porch is a Diocletian window. There is a clock in the gable, and over the pediment is a cupola carried on Tuscan columns. The windows are sashes with wedge lintels. The central bay of the pavilion is round-headed and recessed, and its windows are a mixture of Diocletian, tripartite, and oculi.
### Interior
When the house was first built, the main entrance was through the centre of the southeast face, which led into an entrance hall. Following the alterations carried out by Weld Blundell in the 19th century, the portico of the Pantheon became the new main entrance. When the house was converted into a nursing home, a new entrance was created at the rear. At the time the Weld Blundell family moved from the house, the entrance hall was used as a Library, the Drawing Room was to the left, and a Billiard Room to the right. To the right of this was the Dining Room, and behind it was the Gallery. The Billiard Room has become the Music Room, the former Library is a lounge for the residents, and the former Gallery is the chapel for the staff and residents.
The interior of the house has retained much of the decoration carried out by Crace. The ceiling contains Rococo plasterwork dating from about 1750 depicting symbols relating to music and hunting, together with representations of learning and cultivation. On the walls are paintings by Crace. Pollard and Pevsner refer to these as being "delicately pretty Raphaelesque decoration". The former Entrance Hall is "small, simple and sober", and the Staircase Hall behind it is "not a grand space at all". The Dining Room, also decorated by Crace, contains oak panelling on the walls, and painted panels in the ceiling. The oak fireplace replaces the original marble fireplace that was removed when the Weld Blundell family left the house. There is also a scheme of Crace decoration in the former Gallery.
## Associated structures
### Pantheon
The Pantheon is at the angle between the main block and the service block. It is built in stone with a lead dome and has a circular plan. On the southeast side is an Ionic portico with four columns, a frieze, and a cornice. On the exterior are niches and panels with reliefs. Inside is an Ionic pilastrade, a frieze decorated with triglyphs and roundels, and niches for statues, four of which are in the shape of Venetian windows. The interior of the dome is coffered, and it has a central glazed oculus, which is the only source of lighting for the building.
### Garden Temple
The Garden Temple, which is in the form of a temple, stands in the grounds to the south of the hall. It was probably designed by William Everard, and it was restored in about 2000. The building is mainly in stuccoed brick with stone dressings, and has a hipped roof. On the front is a Tuscan portico with four columns, reliefs, and busts, and in the pediment is a mask. The frieze contains a Latin inscription, which translates as "In this place it is summer and winter all year round", referring to the fact that the building was heated by air from external fireplaces. Behind the portico is a three-bay palistrade, and a central entrance flanked by niches and with a relief above. Inside there are recesses for statues, two in the shape of Venetian windows. Some Roman masks and relief panels have been set into the walls.
### Old Hall
Despite its name, this was not the previous hall, as the present hall was built on the site of the older hall. Its original purpose is unknown, and in the 19th century it was used for drying hops. The building stands in the grounds to the southwest of the hall. It is in brick with stone dressings, and has a roof partly of stone-slate and partly of slate. The building has three storeys and a front of five irregular bays. The windows are mullioned, and the entrances have quoins and large lintels with slight Tudor arches.
### Church of the Holy Family
The church is at right angles to the north end of the service block. It was originally the family chapel, and has since been used as a Roman Catholic parish church. It was built in 1858–60 and designed by J. J. Scoles. The church is in brick with stone dressings and has a slate roof. The exterior is relatively plain, but the interior is elaborately decorated, some of which may have been executed by Crace; there are also paintings by Gebhard Flatz.
### Stables
The stables are in the grounds to the southwest of the hall. They were built in about 1800–14, and are in brick with stone dressings and a hipped slate roof. The stables are in two storeys and have a nine-bay front, the central three bays projecting forward under a pedimented gable. In the centre is a recessed round-headed entrance with angle pilasters, an archivolt, and a keystone. Above this is a Diocletian window. Elsewhere the windows in the ground floor are sashes with wedge lintels, and those in the upper storey are oculi. There are more round-headed recesses in the end bays, and a 20th-century garage to the north.
### Garden structures
In the garden to the south of the main block is a monument in the form of a marble Tuscan column on a stone plinth. It carries an eagle, and dates from the early 19th century. To the southwest of the hall is a sundial dated 1741. This consists of a stone baluster, and its metal plate is missing. Further to the southwest is an octagonal structure built into the wall of the kitchen garden. It is in stuccoed brick with a slate roof, and has a round-headed entrance and a keystone decorated with an acanthus. This flanked by recesses, and there are more recesses inside. Also within the grounds of the hall is the base of a medieval wayside cross, which is a scheduled monument.
### Gates and lodge
The most impressive entrance to the grounds is the Lion Gate on the A565 road to the south of the hall. It was designed by Henry Blundell in the 1770s, its Baroque style design copied from a gateway in the background of one of his paintings, the Marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne by Sebastiano Ricci. The gate is constructed in sandstone and consists of a central round-arched entrance and two flat-headed pedestrian entrances. The central entrance is in Doric style with columns, and an entablature with a triglyph frieze including bucrania and rosettes. On the top is a broken pediment containing a cartouche and an urn decorated with ram's heads and festoons. The pedestrian entrances have rusticated surrounds. Above one is a statue of a lion, and above the other is a lioness. The entrances contain cast iron gates. The East Gate dates from the 1770s, and was probably also designed by Henry Blundell. It has a round-headed central entrance and flat-headed pedestrian entrances, and is simpler than the Lion Gate. The central entrance is flanked by Ionic pilasters, there is a fluted frieze with a decorated central panel, and a pediment. Above the pedestrian entrances are tented caps decorated with festoons and rosettes.
The West Lodge, also on the A565 road, is to the north of the Lion Gate. Dating from the middle of the 19th century it is in French Renaissance style, built in brick with stone dressings and a slate roof. The lodge has three bays, the central lodge with two storeys, and the outer lodges with one storey and attics. The central bay is flanked by pilasters, and has a round-headed entrance with archivolts, a keystone, and decorated spandrels. The windows are round-headed sashes; there is a pair above the entrance, and one in each of the outer bays. In the attics are dormers with ball finials. The outer bays have hipped roofs, the central bay has a pyramidal roof, and all have spike finials. The simplest entrance is the Northeast Gate, dating from the 1770s, consisting of a pair of gate piers with later gates. The rusticated piers are in stone and have moulded caps and flattened ball finials.
## Appraisal
Ince Blundell Hall is described by Pollard and Pevsner as a "splendid Georgian house", although they consider Blundell's service block is "a rather plodding Palladian affair". The hall was designated a Grade II\* listed building on 11 October 1968. Grade II\* is the middle of the three grades of listing and is applied to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Also listed at this grade are the Pantheon, the Garden Temple, the Old Hall, and the Church of the Holy Family, along with the park and garden surrounding the hall. Other structures are listed at Grade II, the lowest grade, which is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". These are the stables, the column carrying an eagle, the sundial, the octagonal structure, the Lion Gate, the East Gate, the West Lodge, the Northeast Gate, and the base of the wayside cross.
## See also
- Grade II\* listed buildings in Merseyside
- Listed buildings in Ince Blundell
|
37,685,011 |
Trent Milton
| 1,156,911,415 |
Australian paralympian
|
[
"1972 births",
"Amputee category Paralympic competitors",
"Australian male snowboarders",
"Living people",
"Paralympic snowboarders for Australia",
"Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Paralympics",
"Sportsmen from New South Wales",
"Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales"
] |
Trent Milton (born 4 May 1972) is an Australian Paralympic snowboarder who, at the age of 41, competed for Australia at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. An active surfer, snowboarder, stand up paddle boarder, motorcross and mountain biker, he took up Para-snowboarding after a motorcycle accident that cost him his lower right leg. He made his international debut after just 18 months. After his first season resulted in fifth and sixth-place finishes, he was ranked 20th in the world. He finished 20th in the Men's Para-Snowboard Cross at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi.
## Personal
Trent Milton was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, on 4 May 1972. He currently lives in Lake Cathie, New South Wales. On 5 March 2011, a motorcycle accident on the way home from work in Port Macquarie tore off his right leg. It also led to a brain injury. Doctors considered amputating both his arms – his right arm hung by a thread – but managed to save both, which they fastened back together with steel plates. He developed post-traumatic amnesia, and spent a year in recovery.
Prior to the accident, he was an active surfer, snowboarder, stand up paddle boarder, motorcross and mountain biker. He took up Para-snowboarding to maintain the active lifestyle that he had prior to his accident. Milton said: "I want the relationship back with my body that I had pre-injury". He stressed that the goal of competing at the Winter Paralympics played a major role in his rehabilitation.
## Skiing
Milton had been a professional snowboarder from age 16 to 32. With the introduction of snowboarding to the Winter Paralympics program, he set the goal of participating at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. With the assistance of Australian Paralympic snowboard coach Peter Higgins, he made his international debut after just 18 months. His first season resulted in fifth and sixth-place finishes, giving him a ranking of 20th in the world. He was forced to withdraw from the Paralympic Test Event in Sochi in 2013 due to flu. At age 41, he was the oldest Australian competitor at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. He finished 20th in the Men's Para-Snowboard Cross.
|
53,063,910 |
Ezra Weston II
| 1,153,646,931 |
Shipbuilder and merchant
|
[
"1772 births",
"1842 deaths",
"American boat builders",
"Businesspeople from Massachusetts",
"People from Duxbury, Massachusetts"
] |
Ezra Weston II (November 30, 1772 – August 15, 1842), also known as King Caesar, was a prominent shipbuilder and merchant who operated a large maritime industry based in Duxbury and Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Ezra Weston I, began small scale shipbuilding operations in Duxbury in 1763 and eventually came to be known as "King Caesar" for his success in business. Ezra Weston II, his only son, inherited the nickname when Ezra I died in 1822.
Weston initially served as a clerk in his father's firm and was made a partner in 1798. When his father died, Ezra Weston II became sole owner of the firm and continued to increase its scope of shipbuilding and international trade. In 1841, Weston launched his largest vessel, the Ship Hope, at the time the largest merchant vessel in New England. U.S. Senator Daniel Webster, during a speech in Saratoga Springs, New York, made the claim that Weston was "the largest ship owner, probably, in the United States." In the same year, an agent of the insurance firm Lloyd's of London made the same assertion. Although these claims are difficult to support, evidence shows that the Weston firm was the largest mercantile operation on the South Shore of Massachusetts in the early 19th century and one of the largest in New England.
From 1809 to his death in 1842, Weston resided in a Federal mansion known as the King Caesar House, which still stands and is operated as a museum by the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society.
## Early life
Weston was the son of Ezra Weston I and Salumith Wadworth Weston. His father began building small vessels on the shore of Powder Point in Duxbury in 1764 and the modest firm, "E. Weston," soon came to encompass merchant trade. Ezra Weston II began working for his father in the 1790s in a clerical capacity, mostly in the counting rooms on his father's Duxbury wharf but also on voyages as supercargo, maintaining records of trading activities abroad. By that time, "E. Weston" was a rapidly expanding maritime operation focused mainly on the Grand Banks fishery and also operated vessels engaged transatlantic trade. Ezra Weston II became a partner in 1798 and the firm was renamed "E. Weston & Son."
In 1793, Weston married Jerusha Bradford, daughter of Col. Gamaliel Bradford and Sarah Alden Bradford, both of Duxbury. Well educated and a lively socialite, Jerusha was a descendant of Plymouth Colony governor William Bradford and other Pilgrim settlers.
In 1803, Ezra I earned the nickname, "King Caesar", partly due to his ambitious character, but also due to his victory in a local political conflict that year involving the construction of the first Bluefish River Bridge in Duxbury. Ezra I succeeded in pushing the expensive project through town meeting, much to the consternation of his opponents. When Ezra I died in 1822, the nickname passed to Ezra Weston II.
## Shipbuilder and merchant
"E. Weston & Son" became a diverse operation which included a large ropewalk on Weston's property on Powder Point. The 1,000 foot long structure produced cordage for Weston vessels and became a lucrative component of the enterprise as the Westons supplied rigging to all of Duxbury's major shipbuilders as well as shipyards in Boston. In 1812, the Westons built a sailcloth mill in the Millbrook section of Duxbury. They owned a blacksmith shop and tar kiln and employed a large workforce of carpenters, laborers, stevedores and mariners. Thus the Westons were able to supply virtually all their own raw material needed to build sailing vessels. The Westons built numerous smaller vessels, including schooners for fishing and coastal trade. However, Weston's best known vessels were large brigs and ships which traded primarily in the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
When his father died in 1822, Ezra II inherited the firm and it returned to its earlier name of "E. Weston." He also inherited his father's nickname of "King Caesar." Ezra II dramatically increased the scope of the firm's activities after his father's death. As evidenced by a sharp increase in shipbuilding and international trade, Ezra II had more ambitious goals, a broader vision for the firm, and the managerial skills to achieve success. Weston transferred much of the firm's administrative and financial activities to Boston over the course of the early 1820s, representing one of the first major operational changes after his father's death. The firm first occupied counting rooms on Boston's Long Wharf. When Commercial Wharf was completed in 1835, it became home to some of Boston's most successful firms. The Weston firm occupied offices on Commercial Wharf from 1835 until the firm closed in 1857. The firm continued to operate a shipyard, mill, ropewalk, and wharf in Duxbury; however, the fleet increasingly used Boston as their home port, particularly as Weston built larger vessels that were unable to return to Duxbury after their launch.
Weston also expanded the firm's operations by hiring a talented, young master carpenter, Samuel Hall, to superintend his shipyard. Hall built some of the finest vessels in the Weston fleet and helped the Weston firm earn its reputation. He oversaw the Weston shipyard for ten years until, in 1837, he established his own shipyard in East Boston. Hall went on to build famous clipperships including the Surprise.
In 1834, Weston established a large shipyard on the Bluefish River in Duxbury known as the Ten Acre Yard. The largest vessels of the Weston fleet were built there, and it had the capacity for the simultaneous construction of two vessels. When Samuel Hall left Weston's employment, a local master carpenter named Samuel Cushing took over as superintendent of the Ten Acre Yard and built vessels there until the yard ceased operation in 1843.
By the 1830s, the Weston firm was shipping large cargoes of cotton from ports in the southern United States, including New Orleans and Mobile to the textile mills in Liverpool, England. The largest ships of the Weston fleet, launched in the late 1830s and early 1840s, were specifically designed to ship cotton.
Weston died in 1842 and his three sons, Gershom Bradford Weston, Alden Bradford Weston, and Ezra Weston IV, inherited the firm as equal partners. They renamed it "E. Weston & Sons." The brothers ceased shipbuilding immediately but continued to operate the remaining vessels of the Weston fleet in merchant trade for 15 years. As the vessels aged, they gradually sold them off, typically to owners of whaling fleets. Several Weston vessels served for decades as whalers operating out of New Bedford. The firm ceased operation on December 31, 1857.
## Notable vessels built
`Weston vessels were known for their superior quality and durability. Several earned notoriety while owned by either Weston, or later, under the ownership of other merchants.`
While owned by Weston, the brig Smyrna, launched in 1825, was the first United States vessel to enter the Black Sea under a special permit from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The ship Lagoda, launched in 1826 and sold by Weston to a whaling merchant, became one of the most successful in the New Bedford, Massachusetts whaling fleet. A half-scale model of the Lagoda is today featured in the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The brig Messenger, launched in 1834, was also sold to a whaling merchant and, in 1862, became part of the infamous Stone Fleet sunk in Charleston Harbor by the United States Navy in hopes of obstructing the Confederate port during the Civil War. The ship Oneco, Weston's second largest vessel launched in 1839 became the only Weston ship to circumnavigate the globe from 1850 to 1852. The ship Hope, launched in 1841, was at the time the largest merchant vessel built in New England and on her maiden voyage shipped a record-breaking cargo of cotton from New Orleans to Liverpool, England.
During the firm's heyday from the mid-1820s to 1841, Weston typically launched two or three vessels per year. Over the course of three generations, the Weston firm built or purchased approximately 110 sailing vessels.
## King Caesar House
`The Federal style house built for Ezra Weston II and his family was completed in 1809. Several Duxbury shipbuilders built large new homes in the wake of the Embargo Act of 1807 which severely impacted maritime industries in New England and caused widespread unemployment. According to tradition, with shipyards inactive, many ship carpenters sought alternative work and merchants such as Ezra Weston gave them employment in building elegant new houses.`
When Weston died, the King Caesar House passed to his son, Alden B. Weston (1805–1880). The Weston family fortune was spent rapidly by Alden's two brothers and he consequently lived frugally. Alden Weston married at age 55 but did not have any children. His wife predeceased him and Alden Weston died alone in the King Caesar House in 1880.
King Caesar's grandchildren, the sons and daughters of Gershom B. Weston, then inherited the house which by that time was in disrepair. They soon sold it to Frederick Bradford Knapp, former Superintendent of Buildings at Harvard College, in 1886. Knapp established the Powder Point School for Boys, a preparatory school, and converted Ezra Weston's farm into athletic fields and the outbuildings into classrooms and gymnasiums. The King Caesar House was designated as the headmaster's house. The Powder Point School for Boys ceased operation in 1926 and the Knapp family sold the property in 1937.
The King Caesar House passed to Dr. Hermon Carey Bumpus, former director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Bumpus extensively restored the house which had fallen into some disrepair after the Knapps died. In 1945, Elizabeth Weber-Fulop, an accomplished Austrian painter, purchased the house. Finally, in 1965, the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society purchased the King Caesar House and converted it into a museum dedicated to Duxbury's maritime era. The King Caesar House museum is located at 120 King Caesar Road in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
## Marriage and family
Ezra and Jerusha Bradford Weston had six children, only three of whom survived to adulthood. The children were:
1. Maria Weston (1794–1804)
2. Ezra Weston (1796–1805)
3. Gershom Bradford Weston (1799–1869). One of three sons to inherit the firm. At a young age he sailed on his father's ships. At 28 he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He served as an unofficial local recruiter for the Union during the American Civil War.
4. Jerusha Bradford Weston (1802–1804)
5. Alden Bradford Weston (1805–1880). One of three sons to inherit the firm. Of the three, Alden was the most heavily involved in managing the fleet with his father. Beginning in 1825, Alden was made head clerk of the Boston counting rooms and had charge of much of the firm's record-keeping from that time forward. Alden inherited the King Caesar House.
6. Ezra Weston (1809–1852). One of the three sons to inherit the firm. Served as City Marshal of Boston 1837–1839. Interested in horticulture and music.
|
39,753,305 |
Lakewood station
| 1,147,557,753 |
Commuter train station in Lakewood, Washington
|
[
"2008 establishments in Washington (state)",
"Lakewood, Washington",
"Railway stations in Pierce County, Washington",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 2012",
"Sounder commuter rail stations"
] |
Lakewood station is a commuter rail station in Lakewood, Washington, United States. It is the terminus of the S Line of the Sounder commuter rail network, operated by Sound Transit in the Seattle metropolitan area. The station, located along Pacific Highway Southwest, includes a 620-stall parking garage and several bus bays served by Intercity Transit and Sound Transit Express. Lakewood station was originally scheduled to open in 2002 as part of a Sounder extension, but plans were delayed due to funding issues and the state government's work on the Point Defiance Bypass project. Construction on the \$33 million station and garage began in March 2007 and it opened for use by buses on September 18, 2008. Sounder service to Lakewood began in October 2012 and the pedestrian bridge opened a few months later.
## Description
Lakewood station is located along Pacific Highway near its intersection with 47th Avenue Southwest, to the east of central Lakewood. The station consists of a single side platform along the double-tracked Point Defiance Bypass, and an adjacent bus station with six bays. A four-story parking garage with 620 parking spaces is north of the bus station and includes a pedestrian bridge over the tracks to Kendrick Street Southwest, near St. Clare Hospital. The garage also has 18 covered parking spaces for bicycles.
The station was designed by Hewitt Architects and includes one piece of public art commissioned by Sound Transit, Transpire, a cast bronze sculpture by Mark Calderon that depicts a campfire with intertwined spires. The original design of the sculpture attracted controversy for being phallic in nature, which conflicted with the city's stance against prostitution and sex businesses that had historically operated along Pacific Highway.
## History
A commuter rail line serving Pierce County was first considered in the late 1980s by Metro Transit, but were limited to proposals that terminated in Tacoma. The regional transit plan published in 1993 initially excluded Lakewood, but a new regional transit authority (which would later become Sound Transit) added the city to its commuter rail studies in late 1993. The Lakewood–Seattle commuter rail line was included in a 1995 ballot measure, along with a feasibility study for an extension to DuPont, but it was defeated by suburban voters. The transit plan returned on the November 1996 ballot and was passed by voters, allocating \$9 million in funding to the Lakewood commuter rail station.
The Lakewood segment of the commuter rail system was originally scheduled to open in 2002, shortly after the start of service from Tacoma to Seattle in 2000. Insufficient sales tax revenue, increased construction costs, design changes requested by Tacoma officials, and the state government's delays in planning the Point Defiance Bypass moved the projected opening date to 2007 and later 2012. Lakewood's city government selected a site on Pacific Highway Southwest near Bridgeport Way as its preferred location for the commuter rail station in 1998, and it was adopted by Sound Transit after the completion of an environmental assessment in 2002. Sound Transit's preferred design included a 1,000-stall surface park and ride lot, but Lakewood's concerns about pedestrian safety and impacts to potential development led to the addition of a parking garage, costing up to \$7 million more.
Construction of Lakewood station's bus bays and parking garage began on March 26, 2007, under the direction of contractor PCL Construction, who were awarded the \$18.8 million construction contract in February. Major construction was completed in June 2008 and the \$33 million station opened for use by bus passengers on September 21, 2008. The station was initially served by Sound Transit Express routes to Tacoma and Seattle, as well as local routes operated by Pierce Transit and Intercity Transit. Construction of the Lakewood segment, which included new street crossings and signals, began in March 2010 and reached substantial completion by December; work on the Tacoma segment, which included a new overpass over Pacific Avenue near Tacoma Dome Station, was completed in March 2012 and testing along the 8-mile (13 km) extension began in August. Sounder service to Lakewood began on October 8, 2012, marking the completion of the original 82-mile (132 km) network, and was preceded by a ribbon-cutting celebration and inaugural rides to and from Tacoma Dome Station two days prior. The pedestrian bridge to Kendrick Street was completed in July 2013. As part of the state's construction of the Point Defiance Bypass, a second track was built in 2016 through Lakewood station to allow Amtrak trains to bypass Sounder trains at the platform.
In 2016, voters approved the Sound Transit 3 package, which included an extension of Sounder from Lakewood to Tillicum and DuPont that is scheduled to open in 2045.
## Services
The S Line has 13 daily round-trips between Pierce County and Seattle, of which eight terminate at Lakewood station. Late morning, early afternoon, and reverse-peak trains do not serve Lakewood, with the exception of a mid-day train added in 2016. Sounder trains travel from Lakewood to Tacoma in 21 minutes and to Seattle in 76 minutes. Lakewood station is also served by Sound Transit Express routes connecting to Puyallup station, DuPont, Tacoma, and Seattle. Intercity Transit operates buses between Tacoma and Olympia that stop at the station.
|
69,551,615 |
Bowery Savings Bank Building (130 Bowery)
| 1,163,868,130 |
Historic bank building in Manhattan, New York
|
[
"1895 establishments in New York City",
"Bank buildings in Manhattan",
"Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City",
"Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City",
"Bowery",
"Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan",
"Commercial buildings completed in 1895",
"Commercial buildings in Manhattan",
"McKim, Mead & White buildings",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"New York City interior landmarks",
"Stanford White buildings"
] |
The Bowery Savings Bank Building, also known as 130 Bowery, is an event venue and former bank building in the Little Italy and Chinatown neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Constructed for the defunct Bowery Savings Bank from 1893 to 1895, it occupies an "L"-shaped site bounded by Bowery to the east, Grand Street to the south, and Elizabeth Street to the west. The Bowery Savings Bank Building was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. Since 2002, it has hosted an event venue called Capitale. The building's facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building's basement is clad with a granite water table, while the superstructure is clad with Indiana limestone. The exterior features Corinthian columns and sculpted pediments by Frederic MacMonnies. The main entrance is through a triumphal arch on the relatively narrow Bowery elevation, which is designed to resemble a Corinthian temple. The Grand Street and Elizabeth Street elevations contain Corinthian pilasters, and there is a secondary entrance portico on Grand Street. The interior was designed to give the impression of a Roman temple, with a waiting room to the east and a banking room to the west. Both spaces are decorated with mosaic-tile floors and marble colonnades, and the banking room also features a double-height coffered ceiling with a square skylight. A bank vault and offices for the president and secretary were to the west of the banking room, while a director's room was placed above the waiting room.
The Bowery Savings Bank was founded in 1834, occupying a house at 128 Bowery; this structure was replaced with a larger building in 1853. The bank acquired additional land through the late 19th century and announced plans for a new headquarters in 1891. Construction on the banking room commenced in May 1893, and the banking hall opened in June 1894. The waiting room was built as part of a second phase that was completed in 1895. The building remained relatively unchanged in the 20th century as the Bowery Savings Bank continued to expand. The Bowery Savings Bank's successor company, Greenpoint Bank, sold the building to Jeffrey Wu in 2000. The Capitale event venue opened in October 2002, and the building was placed for sale in 2019.
## Site
The Bowery Savings Bank Building is on 130 Bowery, in the Little Italy and Chinatown neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The "L"-shaped building is bounded by Bowery to the east, Grand Street to the south, and Elizabeth Street to the west. It wraps around the Bowery Bank of New York Building at 124 Bowery, which occupies the northwest corner of Bowery and Grand Street. It consists of two primary sections: an eastern portion on Bowery, measuring 50 feet (15 m) wide and 100 feet (30 m) deep, and a western portion on Grand and Elizabeth Streets, measuring 100 by 100 feet. This gives the site a total depth of 200 feet (61 m) between Bowery and Elizabeth Street. The site covers 15,002 square feet (1,393.7 m<sup>2</sup>). Because of the street grid of the surrounding neighborhood, none of the building's sides are parallel.
The current building is the third to be built for the Bowery Savings Bank on the same site. It was built on an assemblage of six land lots: two on Bowery and four on Elizabeth and Grand Streets. The lot at 128 Bowery was previously occupied by the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank, which had been founded in 1830 and later became the Bowery Savings Bank's first building on the site. This structure had been torn down to make way for the Bowery Savings Bank's second building, which opened in 1853. The four lots on Elizabeth and Grand Streets had contained houses until 1893.
## Architecture
The Bowery Savings Bank Building was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White and was built between 1893 and 1895. It was one of three major bank buildings that White designed during the 1890s recession, the others being the New York Life Building at 346 Broadway and the State Savings Bank of Detroit. The building is designed in the Classical Revival and Beaux-Arts styles. According to architectural historian Leland M. Roth, the building was "designed to stimulate and elevate", similarly to McKim, Mead & White's designs for the Boston Public Library and the World's Columbian Exposition.
### Facade
The building's facade is split into two sections: the Bowery elevation and the connected Grand Street and Elizabeth Street elevations. The exterior features Corinthian columns and sculpted pediments by Frederic MacMonnies. According to Stanford White's descendants, the building's exterior "invoked the authority of ancient Rome" with its design details, including porticos on Bowery and on Grand Street. Wrought iron grilles are also placed in front of numerous windows and doors. The building's basement is clad with a granite water table, while the superstructure is clad with Indiana limestone. In addition, the roof is largely covered with Roman tile, except above the banking room, where there is a glass skylight with metal ribs.
#### Bowery
The main entrance is through the relatively narrow Bowery elevation. The facade consists of a triumphal arch, which in turn is surrounded by a frame that is designed like a Corinthian temple. The spandrels of the arch contain roundel motifs, while the arch's keystone is a console bracket. The entrance is recessed within the arch, accessed by a set of steps leading up from Bowery. The space under the arch contains mosaic floors and a coffered ceiling, while the entrance itself is via two small doors. The steps are flanked by a pair of Corinthian columns and flat pilasters. Iron lamps and bronze signs are also placed next to the entrance.
Above the columns and pilasters is an architrave with acroteria. The center of the architrave contains a tablet surrounded by floral motifs; the words "The Bowery Savings Bank" are inscribed on the tablet in capital letters. The architrave is topped by a triangular pediment with a sculpture by MacMonnies. The pediment depicts a clock flanked by two figures, each accompanied by a lion. The figures, depicting a man and woman, represent the concepts of time and industry. The attic of the Bowery elevation rises above the pediment. There are three anthemion-shaped acroteria on the attic: one on either end of the facade and one directly above the center of the pediment. In addition, the attic is decorated with lions' masks and antefixes.
#### Grand Street and Elizabeth Street
The Grand Street and Elizabeth Street elevations are connected, but the decorations on both elevations do not wrap around the corner. According to architectural critic Russell Sturgis, this was done not only to give the impression of an "applied facade" but also to hide the fact that the two streets met at an obtuse angle. Both elevations contain Corinthian pilasters, which divide either elevation into five bays. Except for the center bay on Grand Street, each bay contains a large aedicular window at ground level, above which is a plaque or a smaller window. The windows are covered by metal grilles, and a cornice runs above the attic on both elevations.
The center bay on Grand Street contains a secondary doorway, which has iron lamps and bronze signs. Above the secondary entrance on Grand Street is a slightly projecting portico, which is similar in design to the pediment over the Bowery entrance. The portico is supported by four columns, which are directly in front of the pilasters on the Grand Street elevation. MacMonnies designed a similar pedimental sculpture for the Grand Street portico. The pediment on Grand Street contains two female figures with lions, in contrast to the Bowery pediment. One of the women is depicted placing a laurel of garlands over her lion's head, while the other woman is depicted placing ribbons on her lion.
### Interior
The interior was intended to give the impression of a Roman temple. The "L"-shaped space consists of a waiting room to the east and a banking room to the west. The banking room features a double-height coffered ceiling with a square skylight, supported by double-height Corinthian columns. Marble is used extensively in the teller's counters, walls, and mosaic floors. In addition, White employed stairs and skylights made of cast iron. The skylights allowed natural light into the building, while cast-iron registers and radiators, integrated with the rest of the bank's design, respectively provided hot air and hot water. The basement contained a restaurant, an electric plant, and boilers, in addition to heavyweight safes.
After the building was converted into an event venue in 2002, a VIP seating area with a fireplace was placed one story above the main banking room. In addition, several spaces next to the banking room, including the former vault, were converted into private party rooms.
#### Waiting room
Because the Bowery Savings Bank was mostly intended for working-class clients, White designed a waiting room on the narrower eastern section of the plot. The rectangular space measures 45 by 83 feet (14 by 25 m) and contains two colonnades of six columns each, which divide the northern and southern sides of the room into five bays. The colonnades separated the main section of the room from "aisles" to the north and south. Because the layout resembled that of a basilica, the space was nicknamed "the Chapel". The waiting room was used mainly by customers who were withdrawing money, since the process for withdrawals was extremely laborious. Above the waiting room was a directors' room.
The waiting room's floor is made of mosaic tiles. The floor largely consists of gray and white tesserae, although there are marble floor slabs between the columns on the north and south walls. The floor is surrounded by red, orange, yellow, and black tesserae, which are arranged in classical-style check, meander, and wave patterns. Two revolving doors lead from the Bowery entrance on the east; originally, men used the northern door and women used the southern door. Both sets of revolving doors are made of sheet metal and are flanked by Corinthian pilasters with brass capitals. A railing formerly divided the room into a northern section for men and a southern section for women.
The columns on the north and south walls rest on white-marble pedestals and are made of black-veined marble, which has been repainted. The columns contain Ionic capitals. In the center three bays on the north and south walls, there were seating areas with railings. The walls are wainscoted in marble, above which are panels decorated with fretwork and floral motifs. The southern wall contains an elevator, which was installed after the building's completion but harmonizes with the original design. The ceiling is divided into panels and is also decorated with fretwork and floral motifs. The central bay includes cast-iron ceiling grilles, which originally concealed a skylight that abutted the second-story committee and trustees' rooms. Each of the grilles is made of cast iron and consists of a meander-patterned border, a central rosette, and a glazed panel that conceals a cast-iron grid. Hanging from the center of the ceiling, in each bay, are cylindrical brass fixtures with indirect lighting; these fixtures were designed in 1980 by the Rambusch Decorating Company.
#### Banking room
The banking room was designed to maximize space usage on the irregular lot. The central portion of the banking room surrounded by two-story-tall Corinthian columns. The columns are arranged in a square layout of five by five bays. Although the bays are of equal width on the west and east walls, the center bay on the north and south walls is slightly wider than the other bays. The south wall is parallel to Grand Street, but, because of the 98-degree angle between Grand and Elizabeth Streets, there is a triangular aisle on the west wall next to Elizabeth Street. As planned, the columns were to be made of "Mycenean marble". The columns are similar in design to those in the waiting room, but the pedestals are made of Siena marble. Each of the columns is aligned with a double-height Corinthian pilaster on the room's outer walls.
The banking room's mosaic-tile floors are similar in design to those in the waiting room. Between the double-height columns are rectangular floor panels with red, yellow, and black tesserae arranged in an ornate pattern. The walls are largely made of gypsum plaster, although the lower section of the wall includes a Siena-marble dado. There are mahogany doors on the eastern wall, which lead to other rooms. At ground level, the western and southern walls contain aedicular windows, each of which is flanked by Ionic pilasters and is topped by an architrave and a triangular pediment. Above are molded grotesque-like frames, which surround windows or marble panels. The northern and eastern walls contain aedicular blind openings on ground level and marble panels above. The northern two bays of the eastern wall originally contained windows, which have since been covered. Above the upper windows and panels is an architrave decorated with swags in high relief.
The banking room's northern aisle contains a travertine stairway to the basement. Directly above is a cast-iron staircase to the second floor, held up by three stylized Corinthian columns. The second-floor stairway contains an ornate steel-and-brass balustrade decorated with semicircle motifs, as well as marble treads. The second-floor staircase leads to a cast-iron balcony with a wooden floor. On the south wall is the entrance vestibule from Grand Street, which contains a white marble floor and gray-marble walls. The Grand Street entrance is flanked by Ionic pilasters, which support a small porch.
The middle of the banking room had a Siena-marble teller's desk measuring 8 feet (2.4 m) high. It was shaped like a "U", with a men's counter to the north, a women's counter to the south, and a cashiers' window to the east. Behind the tellers' desk was a raised platform with a steel bank vault and the president's and secretary's rooms. The eastern face of the bank vault contains sunken panels above a meander motif, and the vault contains doors to its north and south. A clock, preserved from the previous building on the same site, is installed atop the bank vault. The president's and secretary's rooms were separated from the main banking room by glazed partitions made of mahogany, although most of the partitions have since been removed. Mahogany panels also surround a cloakroom to the west of the vault, as well as a restroom in the west aisle.
The center of the ceiling contains a pyramidal skeletal-steel skylight measuring 50 by 50 feet (15 m × 15 m) across. This skylight rises 60 feet (18 m) above the banking floor. The skylight contains two layers of glass; the outer layer contains a heavy grid of ribs and is covered with opaque panels. When the building was constructed, the Bowery Savings Bank's directors had suggested including a dome atop the banking hall, but such a dome would have been very dimly lit, so the skylight was installed instead. The skylight is surrounded by a coved ceiling with deep coffers, similar to those in the Basilica of Constantine in Rome. The room is illuminated by uplights on the coved ceiling, as well as on the capitals of the pilasters on the outer walls. The Grand Street entrance contains a rectangular ceiling with three rectangular panels, each containing a rosette with an acanthus motif. The remainder of the ceiling is generally made of gypsum plaster. The ceiling originally contained spiked lanterns, most of which have been removed.
## History
### Original structures
The Bowery Savings Bank opened on June 2, 1834, in a three-story house at 128 Bowery, receiving \$2,020 from fifty customers on its first day. The site had been occupied by the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank; at first, the two banks shared the building, operating at different times of day. By 1836, the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank relocated next door to 124 Bowery. The Bowery bank had \$3 million in deposits by 1850, when the bank hired its first paid employees. By then, increasing business prompted the Bowery Savings Bank to purchase an adjacent lot on 130 Bowery in January 1852. The Bowery bank's trustees hired the firm of Thomas & Son to design an Italianate structure at 128 and 130 Bowery, the bank's second building on the site. Work on the edifice commenced in May 1852, and it opened in March 1853. The second building included a "U"-shaped tellers' counter, a ceiling skylight, and basement vaults.
The bank bought further land lots in 1856, 1864, and 1865. The Bowery Savings Bank's deposits continued to grow in the late 19th century, from \$6.5 million in 1863 to about \$83 million by 1903. Technological advances during this time prompted the bank to upgrade its headquarters. The first expansion, in 1856, was built with an iron frame, which the bank officials believed would be resistant to burglaries and conflagrations. A ventilation system was installed in 1865, and the banking hall's ceiling was raised in the late 1870s. In addition, the bank implemented a new bookkeeping system in 1879, grouping depositors' ledgers into sections overseen by different bookkeepers.
By the 1870s, there were many savings banks on the surrounding segment of Bowery. Many of lower Manhattan's savings banks were moving uptown during that time, as many of their depositors had started relocating northward. Contravening this trend, the Bowery Savings Bank's officials said in 1876 that it would continue to serve the surrounding community, and bank officials began planning to expand the existing building instead. By 1884, the bank had an "L"-shaped frontage on Grand and Elizabeth Streets and on Bowery. The bank's second building was overcrowded by the early 1890s.
### Replacement
In November 1891, the Bowery Savings Bank's trustees paid \$155,500 for three 25-by-100-foot (7.6 by 30.5 m) land lots at 222 to 226 Grand Street. Shortly after, the trustees announced that they would build a new bank structure on Grand Street; the bank's charter required that the new building include an entrance from Bowery. The trustees invited Charles W. Clinton, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, George B. Post, Napoleon LeBrun, and McKim, Mead & White to participate in an architectural design competition for the site. The bank also organized a subcommittee, which went to six savings bank buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn to gain inspiration for the new building's design. The subcommittee then outlined their requirements for the competition, which called for a banking room to the west and a waiting room to the east. The five participating architects submitted their design proposals to the bank in September 1892. Architectural professor William Robert Ware reviewed all of the entries and recommended that the bank use McKim, Mead & White's design; the details of the other four proposals are unknown.
Work on the western part of the site began in May 1893, following the expiration of existing leases. The bank's existing building initially continued to operate as normal during this time, although a gallery was added within the old building. A temporary partition separated the new banking hall from the older structure on Bowery. The houses on the western part of the site, along Grand and Elizabeth Streets, had been demolished by July 1893, and excavations for the foundation and cellar had commenced. The New York Times estimated that the new building would cost \$500,000. The Bowery Savings Bank rented safe-deposit boxes while the new banking room was being constructed. In addition, the bank's directors met in the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank at 124 Bowery during the new building's construction.
The new banking room on Grand and Elizabeth Streets was in operation by June 1894. At this point, the bank had just over 100,000 depositors. According to a book about the Bowery Savings Bank, "Particular pride was taken in the enormous vaults, which were constructed with protective ingenuity beyond that applied to any similar storage facilities in the world." The older building was then demolished, and the waiting room and directors' room were constructed on the eastern part of the site. The eastern section of the building opened in January 1895. The waiting room's decorations were still being completed at the end of that year, at which point the bank had spent \$570,000 on the new building.
### Use as bank
In the 25 years after the new bank building opened, the Bowery Savings Bank continued to expand due to the rapid population growth of the Lower East Side. Although the bank had 140,000 accounts by 1904, it had only four tellers, two draft clerks, and an information clerk. Customers could create a new account or deposit money relatively easily, since male and female customers used the same window for either task. On the other hand, the process of withdrawing money was much more complex, and customers frequently had to wait in the "Chapel" for two or three hours. In addition, each savings bank in New York was mostly limited to one location until 1923, when the state legislature passed a law allowing savings banks to construct branches. By World War I, many of the area's residents had relocated northward, leaving the bank "too far downtown to continue the fullest exercise of its functions", but the bank was still unable to relocate from the Bowery neighborhood or open a branch.
The Bowery Savings Bank had wanted to open a branch in Midtown Manhattan since the early 20th century. The bank decided to construct a new structure at 110 East 42nd Street in 1920, and construction of the new branch began in 1921. Taking advantage of an exemption in New York state law, the bank acquired the Universal Savings Bank in lower Manhattan, which then relocated to 42nd Street. By the time the 42nd Street branch opened in 1923, there were 155,000 people with accounts at the Bowery Savings Bank, of which 5,600 were at the 42nd Street branch. In June 1923, the bank moved \$202 million of deposits (equal to \$ billion in ) from the original branch to the new branch, using 14 armored cars guarded by 100 heavily armed policemen. The bank retained its original offices on Bowery. Even though lower Manhattan was losing population, the "Old Bowery" continued to grow, and the older branch's deposits increased from \$100 million in 1910 to \$250 million in 1930.
The Bowery Savings Bank installed safe-deposit boxes in its Bowery branch in April 1930. The bank had introduced safe-deposit boxes at its 42nd Street branch the previous year, and the boxes were highly popular with that branch's customers. A new chromium-steel vault, with a 17-short-ton (15-long-ton; 15 t) door and space for 10,000 safe-deposit boxes, was constructed at the Bowery branch. The addition also included coupon and conference rooms. By the bank's centenary in 1934, the surrounding neighborhood had devolved into a "dingy resort of the city's poorest derelicts", although the bank still held tens of millions of dollars in deposits. The bank started selling life insurance in 1942. To attract customers, the Bowery Savings Bank placed weighing scales in the building for its patrons. The building also hosted events in the mid-20th century, including meetings of the East Side Chamber of Commerce, training programs for schoolchildren, and art exhibitions.
As the Bowery Savings Bank continued to grow, the 130 Bowery building remained the bank's main branch. By 1972, the bank had over \$3 billion in deposits at ten branches. Although the surrounding neighborhood had been part of Little Italy during the mid-20th century, the area's Chinese population was expanding by the 1970s. During this time, bank officials said they were "very pleased" with the Bowery branch, due to the growth in the number of Chinese depositors. The Bowery Savings Bank was acquired by H. F. Ahmanson & Co. in 1987, two years after it nearly went bankrupt. Greenpoint Bank took over the banking spaces in 1995 after having bought many of Ahmanson's branches. The building continued to host events such as an exhibit of historic photographs.
### Use as event venue
In 2000, Greenpoint Bank sold the Bowery Savings Bank Building to food importer and developer Jeffrey Wu. The former bank's records were relocated to Lake Success, New York. Subsequently, Wu hired architect Anthony J. Moralishvili to design plans for converting the building into a catering hall. Wu also negotiated with potential catering-hall operators, including Cipriani S.A. Nightclub manager Margaret Millard announced in January 2002 that she wanted to turn the building into an event venue called Capitale, named as an allusion to the bank's history. Millard had not yet formally leased the building from Wu, who supported the plans and had spent the previous year renovating the structure. Millard also wanted to obtain a cabaret license, which would allow customers to dance at private events in the building, but residents of Chinatown and Little Italy expressed concern that the building would function as a nightclub. Manhattan Community Board 2 asked the New York State Liquor Authority to deny the venue a liquor license, but the authority granted the license anyway.
Seth Greenberg, who later became Capitale's general manager, leased the building and renovated it into an event space. The project cost \$4 million or \$5 million; the interior of the building remained relatively intact during this time. Prior to the venue's opening, Greenberg said of the building's location on Bowery: "I think that the fact that we're here will make us sort of an anchor for other places to follow". Capitale opened in late 2002 and quickly became popular among celebrities. Among the venue's early guests were Donald Trump, Justin Timberlake, David Blaine, and Dan Aykroyd. Capitale's business mainly consisted of private events, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. The building also hosted events by performers Alicia Keys, Chris Rock, and Kanye West and the band Maroon 5. In addition, after its conversion to an event venue, the building was used as a filming location for the TV series Gossip Girl, Gotham, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
A lis pendens was filed against the building in 2011 because the owners had failed to repay a \$3.5 million loan on the building. Paramount Realty and Atelier WM placed 130 Bowery for sale in early 2019. Paramount and Atelier considered marketing the building for sale without any tenants, but a spokesperson for Capitale contested this move, saying their lease did not expire until 2032. The sellers did not specify an asking price, but Wendy Maitland of Atelier reported that the building might be sold for more than \$50 million. The Capitale event space inside the building closed indefinitely during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The building's owners sought to sell it for \$35 million in March 2022, and they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2022 after defaulting on their \$12 million loan.
## Impact
White's choice of a Roman classical style set a trend for bank buildings, first in New York, then across the United States. The structure was one of the first bank buildings in the nation with natural ventilation and marble surfaces that could be cleaned easily. Henry Hope Reed Jr. wrote of the building in 1984: "It was claimed, on the basis of the monumental portico and lofty interior banking hall, that this was the first truly splendid bank building in New York City." Christopher Gray of The New York Times wrote in 2010: "The bank as a work of architecture went from the merely big to the colossal with the Bowery Savings Bank of 1895." New York University architecture professor Lance Jay Brown said the building "still stands as a marker of a pivotal moment in the history of American architecture".
The building's design also had a positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood. Sandee Brawarsky of The New York Times said in 2000 that the Bowery Savings Bank Building was "a monumental temple of a bank near Grand Street that gives the Bowery a bit of grandeur". Fred Ferretti of the Times described the building as "a sort of fortress on the Bowery", denoting the eastern end of Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood. Other authors wrote that the structure also served as the "architectural anchor" of Bowery in the 20th century, when the corridor was a skid row.
Critics praised the building's details as well. Mimi Sheraton of the Times said: "One can only imagine the awe with which these refugees from the slums of Naples and Canton and the shtetls of Poland and Russia entered this magnificent cathedral of a bank with its marble, brass and mosaics, to deposit small savings proudly." After the building was converted into Capitale, John Mariani of Esquire magazine wrote: "With its sixty-foot ceilings, humbling Corinthian columns, and Tiffany-style skylight, the building lives up to its landmark status." Nick Paumgarten of The New Yorker characterized the interior in 2003 as having "nearly an acre of marble", with potted palm trees, while Time Out magazine called the banking room the "most jaw-dropping venue for a meal" in New York City.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the exterior of the 130 Bowery branch as a city landmark in 1966. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1980. The LPC hosted public hearings in June 1993 to determine whether to designate the Bowery Savings Bank Building's interior as a city landmark, along with those of four banks in Brooklyn and another bank in Manhattan. The original banking room's interior was designated a New York City landmark on August 23, 1994. The building was added in 2013 to the Bowery Historic District, an NRHP district, after local residents had advocated for the historic district's creation for more than a year.
## See also
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street
|
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Ikaruga
| 1,170,850,840 |
2001 shoot 'em up video game
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[
"2001 video games",
"Android (operating system) games",
"Arcade video games",
"Atari games",
"Bullet hell video games",
"Cooperative video games",
"Dreamcast games",
"Entertainment Software Publishing games",
"GameCube games",
"Infogrames games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"NESiCAxLive games",
"Nicalis games",
"Nintendo Switch games",
"PlayStation 4 games",
"Treasure (company) games",
"Vertically scrolling shooters",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Windows games",
"Xbox 360 Live Arcade games"
] |
Ikaruga (Japanese: 斑鳩, lit. 'Japanese Grosbeak') is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It is the spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun (1998) and was originally released in Japanese arcades in December 2001. The story follows a rebel pilot named Shinra as he battles an enemy nation using a specially designed fighter called the Ikaruga which can flip between two polarities, black and white. This polarity mechanism is the game's key feature and the foundation for its stage and enemy design. All enemies and bullets in the game are either black or white. Bullets which are the same color as the player are absorbed while the others will kill the player. The game features both single-player and cooperative modes.
Development on Ikaruga began during director Hiroshi Iuchi's off-hours while Treasure was busy developing Sin and Punishment (2000). Titled "Project RS2", the game began as a sequel to Radiant Silvergun, and borrows many elements from it as well as the polarity mechanism from Treasure's Silhouette Mirage (1997). During the game's prototype stages, the player's ammo was limited. The bullet absorption mechanism was used as a means to refill ammo, however, this was found to be weak as it created too many breaks in the action. In tradition with Treasure's game design philosophy, Ikaruga was intentionally crafted to challenge the conventions of standard game design and develop a new type of shooting game. All together, five Treasure staff worked on Ikaruga, as well as three support staff from G.rev.
Upon its initial release in Japanese arcades, reception was mixed. Treasure staff explained this was due to players expecting a more standard shooter offering but instead being greeted with a different game system that featured more puzzle-like elements rather than the twitch gameplay of bullet-dodging. In 2002, Ikaruga was ported to the Dreamcast in Japan and began to grow a cult following from import gamers worldwide. It was later released in the West in 2003 on the GameCube, receiving positive reviews. Critics praised the graphics as well as the art and sound design. Some criticism was directed towards its difficulty. Most critics felt the unique game design choices were innovative, while some believed they stifled many of the classic shooter elements. Ikaruga was later ported to the Xbox 360, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. In retrospect, Ikaruga is regarded by critics as one of the best games ever made, especially in the shoot 'em up genre, and one of Treasure's greatest works.
## Gameplay
Ikaruga is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up. The game features five stages, three levels of difficulty, and supports single-player or two-player cooperative modes. The player pilots the Ikaruga fighter, moving to avoid obstacles and other danger. A key gameplay feature to Ikaruga is its polarity system. The player can press a button at any time to switch the polarity of their ship between black and white. When white, the ship will absorb white bullets fired by enemies and store their power until released with a special attack. However, if the ship is white and hit by black bullets, it will be destroyed. The opposite is true when the ship is black. Enemy fighters also have black and white polarities. If the player ship is white and the enemy is black, the player's bullets will do twice the damage than if their ship was black. If an enemy is destroyed with the same polarity as the player, the ship will expel energy which can be absorbed or, if the player changes polarities too quickly, present a fatal danger.
Ikaruga does not feature any pick-ups or power-ups, instead, the player can only rely on their standard firing weapon and a homing laser. Absorbed bullets contribute to building the player's homing laser attack. The power of the attack increases one level for every 10 enemy bullets absorbed. Each level is equal to one laser, with a maximum of 12 which can be stored. A homing laser is 10 times more powerful than a standard shot. The game's scoring system is based upon chaining attacks to earn bonuses. Destroying three enemy fighters of the same color in a row will earn the player a chain bonus. The player will earn 100 points for their first chain bonus, and double the amount for each bonus thereafter. These bonuses can be multiplied up to a maximum of 25,600, but if interrupted by destroying an enemy out of order, the bonus will be reset.
Home console ports of Ikaruga feature additional gameplay modes apart from the standard arcade mode. Modes are available that allow players to practice single stages they have unlocked at normal or slow speeds. A challenge mode is available which logs players' scores and compares them to others worldwide. If certain conditions are met, a prototype mode is unlocked which limits the number of bullets the player has. Bullets must be absorbed to keep ammo in stock. In an alternative way to play the standard game called "Bullet Eater", the player does not fire any shots and instead navigates through all the stages by absorbing bullets.
## Synopsis
Many years ago on the island nation of Horai, leader of the nation, Tenro Horai, discovered the Ubusunagami Okinokai (lit. The Power of The Gods). This energy emanated from an object she dug up from deep underground granted her unimaginable powers. Soon after, Tenro and her followers, who call themselves "The Divine Ones", began conquering nations one after another. "The Divine Ones" carried out these conquests in "The name of peace".
A freedom federation known as The Tenkaku emerged to challenge Horai. Using fighter planes called Hitekkai, they fought with the hope of freeing the world from the Horai's grips, but their efforts were in vain, as they were no match for The Horai and were almost completely wiped out. Miraculously, however, one young man survived the battle. His name is Shinra (森羅).
Shot down near a remote village, inhabited by elderly people who were exiled by the Horai's conquests, Shinra was rescued from the wreckage and was nursed back to health. Shinra pledged to defeat the Horai, and the villagers entrusted him with a fighter plane designed by former engineering genius Amanai with the help of Kazamori and the village leader, called The Ikaruga.
Hidden in a secret underground bunker and launched via the transportation device called "The Sword of Acala", Ikaruga is the first fighter to be built with both energy polarities, and is capable of successfully switching between the two.
In the two-player game, Shinra is accompanied by Kagari (篝), a mercenary of the Horai defeated by Shinra. After Shinra spared her life, she decided to fight against Horai alongside the resistance. Her ship, The Ginkei, was modified by the people of Ikaruga to give it the ability to switch between the two polarities, like the Ikaruga.
## Development
Development of Ikaruga began while Treasure's Sin and Punishment (2000) was still in development. Ikaruga was self-funded (and later self-published). Since company resources were allocated for Sin and Punishment, director Hiroshi Iuchi worked on Ikaruga at home on his spare time and developed a prototype with help from programmer Atsutomo Nakagawa. Ikaruga shares basic shooter gameplay elements with an earlier Treasure shooter, Radiant Silvergun (1998). Additionally, the polarity elements are similar to those in their earlier game Silhouette Mirage (1997). Another source of inspiration was the defense system in Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru (1997) for the Sega Saturn. Iuchi reused sprites from Radiant Silvergun so he could finish the prototype quickly. A unique feature to the original design was a limited ammo supply. The player's stock was replenished by absorbing enemy bullets. This mechanism was seen as weak since it created gaps in the action when no bullets could be fired. Gameplay ideas in the prototype version were later included in a special bonus mode in the final game. After further testing and consultation between team members, the final gameplay system was implemented.
Ikaruga has been described as a spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun. Originally, Radiant Silvergun was intended to be a trilogy, and Ikaruga began development as a direct sequel, codenamed "Project RS-2". The concept theme for Radiant Silvergun was “World”, and for Ikaruga it was “Will”. In keeping with Treasure's game design philosophy, Ikaruga was intentionally designed to challenge the conventions of standard game design and develop a new type of shooting game. The game's difficulty lies in the puzzle-like elements of changing polarities rather than bullet-dodging. Unlike Radiant Silvergun, the scoring system was not tied to gameplay. In this way, the game was designed to appeal to both players who play for score and those who did not. In the beginning, the stages were designed with the combo system in mind, however this made the optimal route too obvious. Instead, the team redesigned the stages and enemies so it would be more difficult for player to determine the route for the most optimal score. The game's pacing follows a "mountain" and "valley" approach, in which the music and action will peak, followed by a melancholy atmosphere, only to build up tempo again. By the time development was finished, 5 Treasure staff had worked on the game, as well as 3 support staff from G.rev which was raising funds to develop its own shooter, Border Down (2003).
## Release
Ikaruga was targeted to Treasure's core fanbase, as pleasing them was the team's first priority. Although the game was primarily being developed for the Sega NAOMI arcade platform, it was standard for NAOMI games to be ported to the Dreamcast, and so the development team had this in mind. The NAOMI version was bug checked on a Dreamcast, so porting was very easy. Ikaruga was first released in arcades in Japan on 20 December 2001. A Dreamcast port was released exclusively in Japan on 5 September 2002. Although not yet published in the West, Ikaruga began to garner a cult following in North America among import gamers.
On August 15, 2002, it was announced that Infogrames' Japanese division had picked up the publishing rights to a GameCube version of the game and would release the title in January 2003 under the Atari brand name. The game was released in Japan on January 16, 2003. Initially, Infogrames' North American and European divisions had no plans to release the title nationwide, but on January 28, 2003, it was announced that Infogrames would publish the GameCube version in those territories as well, with representatives at the publisher citing the popularity of the title in Japan and a growing fan base around the world. The game was released in North America on April 15, and in Europe on May 9, branded under the Atari label as in Japan.
On 12 September 2007, Microsoft announced they were planning on releasing Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360. It was released on 9 April 2008, and included new features such as leaderboards, achievements, and the ability to record and replay playthroughs. Treasure later released Ikaruga on the arcade distribution platform, NESiCAxLive, on 8 August 2013. In October 2013, Treasure placed the title into the Steam Greenlight process to bring the game (based on the Xbox 360 version) to Microsoft Windows, with hopes to bring their other titles to the platform later. The game was released on Steam on 18 February 2014. It was also published by Nicalis for the Nintendo Switch on 29 May 2018, supporting both horizontal and vertical screen orientations. In June 2018, Ikaruga was also released on the PlayStation 4. On 22 November 2019, Nicalis announced that physical copies were in production for both the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4.
## Reception and legacy
Initial reception of Ikaruga in Japan was mixed. Players praised the visuals and music, but opinions were divided on the gameplay system. Director Hiroshi Iuchi noted that players would tell him “this isn’t an arcade game...make it more thrilling and fast-paced.” Both Iuchi and producer Masoto Maegawa stated that this mixed reception was due to players expecting a more standard shooter offering. They both felt Ikaruga was a brand new type of shooter and that bringing variety was important to the growth of game centers. In February 2002, Game Machine listed the game as being the fifth most popular arcade game in Japan at the time. The original Dreamcast port of Ikaruga was well received by Greg Kasavin of GameSpot. He praised the game for its visuals, sound, and challenging difficulty. He also praised the game for bringing back a dead genre to the forefront, saying "Ikaruga takes 20 years of great ideas in game design and somehow manages to put an entirely new spin on them...for the sake of making a game that's both familiar and utterly unique."
The GameCube release received generally favorable reviews by western critics. The visuals, art design, and sound were universally praised and some criticism was directed towards the game's short length. Critics agreed that Ikaruga's game design was "innovative", "clever", and "unique". The difficulty was both highlighted for being inviting to old-school shooter fans, but was also criticized for building a barrier to genre newcomers. Tyrone Rodriguez of IGN called it "a shooter-fan's shooter," and Corbie Dillard of Nintendo Life stated "if you're a shooter fan, you absolutely must own at least one version of this masterpiece." IGN listed Ikaruga as their Game of the Month for April 2003, while GameSpot named it the best GameCube title of that month. Reception of the Xbox 360 and Windows ports was similar to the GameCube version. Topher Cantler of Destructoid gave Ikaruga a perfect score and dubbed it a "work of art". Although most critics still agreed that Ikaruga's unique game design was a positive characteristic, Simon Parkin of Eurogamer offered a counterpoint that its fresh design is also its weakness, in that it stifles many of the other elements that define shoot 'em ups and morph it into something different and "inscrutable." Reviews of the Switch port were also positive.
Ikaruga continues to be one of the most revered shooters of all time. The Xbox 360, Windows, and Switch ports have received positive reviews. IGN voted Ikaruga the 3rd greatest 2D shooter of all time. Adam Smith of Rock, Paper, Shotgun called Ikaruga one of Treasure's greatest works and "one of the most perfect games [he] ever played." Kurt Kalata of Hardcore Gaming 101 shared similar sentiments, calling it one of Treasure's most popular games, and "one of the most remarkable shooters of all time." In 2020, Slant ranked Ikaruga 92nd on its 100 Best Video Games of All Time. They praised the unique polarity gameplay saying it "stylishly revitalizes the genre"
The Dreamcast and GameCube versions sold 33,860 physical units in Japan. The Xbox Live Arcade version sold 137,088 digital units on the Xbox 360, as of 2011. The PC version has sold 128,543 digital units on Steam, as of 1 July 2018.
|
102,193 |
Nonmetal (chemistry)
| 1,172,209,831 |
Chemical element that mostly lacks the characteristics of a metal
|
[
"Nonmetals",
"Periodic table"
] |
A nonmetal is a chemical element that, in the broadest sense of the term, has a relatively low density and high electronegativity; they range from colorless gases (like hydrogen) to shiny solids (like carbon, as graphite). They are usually poor conductors of heat and electricity, and brittle or crumbly when solid due to their electrons having low mobility. In contrast, metals are good conductors and most are easily flattened into sheets and drawn into wires since their electrons are generally free-moving. Nonmetal atoms tend to attract electrons in chemical reactions and to form acidic compounds.
Two nonmetals, hydrogen and helium, make up about 99% of ordinary matter in the observable universe by mass. Five nonmetallic elements, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and silicon, make up most of the Earth's crust, atmosphere, oceans and biosphere.
The distinctive properties of nonmetallic elements allow for specific applications that often cannot be fulfilled by metallic elements alone. Living organisms are composed almost entirely of the nonmetals hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Nonmetallic elements are important to industries ranging from electronics and energy storage to agriculture and chemical production.
While the term non-metallic dates from as far back as 1566, there is no widely agreed precise definition of a nonmetal. Some elements have a marked mixture of metallic and nonmetallic properties, and which of these borderline cases are counted as nonmetals varies depending on the classification criteria used. Generally, from 14 to 23 elements are recognized as nonmetals.
## Definition and applicable elements
A nonmetal is a chemical element that, in the broadest sense of the term, has a relatively low density and high electronegativity. More generally they are deemed to lack a preponderance of metallic properties such as: luster or shininess; the capacity to be flattened into a sheet or drawn into a wire; good thermal and electrical conductivity; and the capacity to form a basic (rather than acidic) oxide. Since there is no rigorous definition of a nonmetal, some variation exists among sources as to which elements are classified as such. The decisions involved depend on which property or properties are regarded as most indicative of nonmetallic or metallic character.
Although Steudel, in 2020, recognized twenty-three elements as nonmetals, any such list is open to challenge. The fourteen elements that are almost always recognized as nonmetals are hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur; the highly reactive halogens fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine; and the noble gases helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, as listed in Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. While carbon, phosphorus and selenium were included as nonmetals, it had earlier been reported that these three elements were instead sometimes counted as metalloids. The elements commonly recognized as metalloids (boron; silicon and germanium; arsenic and antimony; and tellurium) are sometimes counted as an intermediate class between the metals and the nonmetals when the criteria used to distinguish between metals and nonmetals are inconclusive. At other times they are counted as nonmetals in light of their predominately nonmetallic (weakly acidic) chemistry.
Of the 118 known elements, no more than about 20% are regarded as nonmetals. The status of a few elements is less certain. Astatine, the fifth halogen, is often ignored on account of its rarity and intense radioactivity; theory and experimental evidence suggest it is a metal. The superheavy elements copernicium (element 112), flerovium (114), and oganesson (118) may turn out to be nonmetals. As of August 2023 their status has not been confirmed.
## General properties
Properties noted in this section refer to the elements in their most stable forms in ambient conditions
### Physical
About half of nonmetallic elements are gases; most of the rest are shiny solids. Bromine, the only liquid, is so volatile that it is usually topped by a layer of its fumes; sulfur is the only colored solid nonmetal. The fluid nonmetals have very low densities, melting points, and boiling points, and are poor conductors of heat and electricity. The solid elements have low densities, are brittle or crumbly with low mechanical and structural strength, and are poor to good conductors.
The physical differences between metals and nonmetals arise from internal and external atomic forces. Internally, the positive charge arising from the protons in an atom's nucleus acts to hold the atom's outer electrons in place. Externally, the same electrons are subject to attractive forces from the protons in nearby atoms. When the external forces are greater than, or equal to, the internal force, the outer electrons are expected to become free to move between atoms, and metallic properties are predicted. Otherwise nonmetallic properties are expected.
Those nonmetals existing as discrete atoms (xenon, for example) or molecules (oxygen, sulfur, and bromine, for example) have low melting and boiling points, and many are gases at room temperature, since they are held together by weak London dispersion forces acting between their atoms or molecules. Nonmetals that form giant structures, such as chains of up to 1,000 atoms (selenium), sheets (carbon as graphite, for example), or three-dimensional lattices (silicon, for example), have higher melting and boiling points, and are all solids, as it takes more energy to overcome their stronger covalent bonds. Those closer to the left side of the periodic table, or further down a column, often have some weak metallic interactions between their molecules, chains, or layers, consistent with their proximity to the metals; this occurs in boron, carbon, phosphorus, arsenic, selenium, antimony, tellurium and iodine.
Nonmetallic elements are either shiny, colored, or colorless. The shiny appearance of boron, graphitic carbon, silicon, black phosphorus, germanium, arsenic, selenium, antimony, tellurium, and iodine is a result of their structures featuring varying degrees of delocalized (free-moving) electrons that scatter incoming visible light. The colored nonmetals (sulfur, fluorine, chlorine, bromine) absorb some colors (wavelengths) and transmit the complementary or opposite colors. In the case of chlorine, for example, Elliot writes that its "familiar yellow-green colour...is due to a broad region of absorption in the violet and blue regions of the spectrum".
For the colorless nonmetals (hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and the noble gases), their electrons are held sufficiently strongly such that no absorption happens in the visible part of the spectrum, and all visible light is transmitted.
The electrical and thermal conductivities of nonmetals and the brittle nature of the solids are likewise related to their internal arrangements. Whereas good conductivity and plasticity (malleability, ductility) are ordinarily associated with the presence of free-moving and uniformly distributed electrons in metals the electrons in nonmetals typically lack such mobility. Among the nonmetallic elements, good electrical and thermal conductivity is seen only in carbon, arsenic, and antimony. Good thermal conductivity otherwise occurs only in boron, silicon, phosphorus, and germanium; such conductivity is transmitted though vibrations of the crystalline lattices of these elements. Moderate electrical conductivity is evidenced in boron, silicon, phosphorus, germanium, selenium, tellurium, and iodine. Plasticity occurs under limited circumstances in carbon, as exfoliated (expanded) graphite and as carbon nanotube wire; phosphorus as white phosphorus (soft as wax, pliable and can be cut with a knife, at room temperature); sulfur as plastic sulfur; and selenium as selenium wires, drawn from the molten form.
### Chemical
Nonmetals have relatively high values of electronegativity and tend to form acidic compounds. For example, the solid nonmetals (including metalloids) react with nitric acid to form either an acid, or an oxide that has acidic properties predominating.
They tend to gain or share electrons when they react, unlike metals which tend to donate electrons. Given the stability of the electron configurations of the noble gases (which have full outer shells), nonmetals generally gain enough electrons to give them the electron configuration of the following noble gas, whereas metals tend to lose electrons sufficient to leave them with the electron configuration of the preceding noble gas. For nonmetallic elements this tendency is summarized in the duet and octet rules of thumb (and for metals there is a less rigorously predictive 18-electron rule).
Nonmetals further mostly have higher ionization energies, electron affinities, and standard reduction potentials than metals. In general, the higher these values are (including electronegativity) the more nonmetallic the element is.
The chemical differences between metals and nonmetals largely arise from the attractive force between the positive nuclear charge of an individual atom and its negatively charged outer electrons. From left to right across each period of the periodic table the nuclear charge increases as the number of protons in the atomic nucleus increases. There is an associated reduction in atomic radius as the increasing nuclear charge draws the outer electrons closer to the core. In metals, the effect of the nuclear charge is generally weaker than for nonmetallic elements. In bonding, metals therefore tend to lose electrons, and form positively charged or polarized atoms or ions whereas nonmetals tend to gain those same electrons due to their stronger nuclear charge, and form negatively charged ions or polarized atoms.
The number of compounds formed by nonmetals is vast. The first 10 places in a "top 20" table of elements most frequently encountered in 895,501,834 compounds, as listed in the Chemical Abstracts Service register for November 2, 2021, were occupied by nonmetals. Hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen were collectively found in the majority (80%) of compounds. Silicon, a metalloid, was in 11th place. The highest rated metal, with an occurrence frequency of 0.14%, was iron, in 12th place. A few examples of nonmetal compounds are: boric acid (H
<sub>3</sub>BO
<sub>3</sub>), used in ceramic glazes; selenocysteine (C
<sub>3</sub>H
<sub>7</sub>NO
<sub>2</sub>Se), the 21st amino acid of life; phosphorus sesquisulfide (P<sub>4</sub>S<sub>3</sub>), in strike anywhere matches; and teflon ((C
<sub>2</sub>F
<sub>4</sub>)<sub>n</sub>), as used in non-stick coatings for pans and other cookware.
### Complications
Complicating the chemistry of the nonmetals are the anomalies seen in the first row of each periodic table block. These anomalies are prominent in hydrogen, boron (whether as a nonmetal or metalloid), carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and fluorine. In later rows they manifest as secondary periodicity or non-uniform periodic trends going down most of the p-block groups, and unusual oxidation states in the heavier nonmetals.
#### First row anomaly
Starting with hydrogen, the first row anomaly largely arises from the electron configurations of the elements concerned. Hydrogen is noted for the different ways it forms bonds. It most commonly forms covalent bonds. It can lose its single electron in aqueous solution, leaving behind a bare proton with tremendous polarizing power. This consequently attaches itself to the lone electron pair of an oxygen atom in a water molecule, thereby forming the basis of acid-base chemistry. A hydrogen atom in a molecule can form a second, weaker, bond with an atom or group of atoms in another molecule. According to Cressey such bonding, "helps give snowflakes their hexagonal symmetry, binds DNA into a double helix; shapes the three-dimensional forms of proteins; and even raises water's boiling point high enough to make a decent cup of tea."
Hydrogen and helium, and boron to neon, have unusually small atomic radii. This occurs because the 1s and 2p subshells have no inner analogues (that is, there is no zero shell and no 1p subshell), and they therefore experience no electron repulsion effects, unlike the 3p, 4p, and 5p subshells of heavier elements. Ionization energies and electronegativities among these elements are consequently higher than would otherwise be expected, having regard to periodic trends. The small atomic radii of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen facilitate the formation of double or triple bonds.
While it would normally be expected that hydrogen and helium, on electron configuration consistency grounds, would be located atop the s-block elements, the first row anomaly in these two elements is strong enough to warrant alternative placements. Hydrogen is occasionally positioned over fluorine, in group 17, rather than over lithium in group 1. Helium is regularly positioned over neon, in group 18, rather than over beryllium in group 2.
#### Secondary periodicity
Immediately after the first row of d-block metals, scandium to zinc, the 3d electrons in the p-block elements—that is, gallium (a metal), germanium, arsenic, selenium, and bromine—are not as effective at shielding the increased positive nuclear charge. A similar effect accompanies the appearance of fourteen f-block metals between barium and lutetium, ultimately resulting in smaller than expected atomic radii for the elements from hafnium (Hf) onwards. The net result, especially for the group 13–15 elements, is that there is an alternation in some periodic trends going down groups 13 to 17.
#### Unusual oxidation states
The larger atomic radii of the heavier group 15–18 nonmetals enable higher bulk coordination numbers, and result in lower electronegativity values that better tolerate higher positive charges. The elements involved are thereby able to exhibit oxidation states other than the lowest for their group (that is, 3, 2, 1, or 0), for example in phosphorus pentachloride (PCl<sub>5</sub>), sulfur hexafluoride (SF<sub>6</sub>), iodine heptafluoride (IF<sub>7</sub>), and xenon difluoride (XeF<sub>2</sub>).
## Subclasses
Approaches to classifying nonmetals may involve from as few as two subclasses to up to six or seven. For example, the Encyclopædia Britannica periodic table recognizes noble gases, halogens, and other nonmetals, and splits the elements commonly recognized as metalloids between "other metals" and "other nonmetals". The Royal Society of Chemistry periodic table instead uses a different color for each of its eight main groups, and nonmetals can be found in seven of these.
From right to left in periodic table terms, three or four kinds of nonmetals are more or less commonly discerned. These are:
- the relatively inert noble gases;
- a set of chemically strong halogen elements—fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine—sometimes referred to as nonmetal halogens or halogen nonmetals (the term used here) or stable halogens;
- a set of unclassified nonmetals, including elements such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, with no widely recognized collective name; and
- the chemically weak nonmetallic metalloids sometimes considered to be nonmetals and sometimes not.
Since the metalloids occupy "frontier territory", where metals meet nonmetals, their treatment varies from author to author. Some consider them separate from both metals and nonmetals; some regard them as nonmetals or as a sub-class of nonmetals. Other authors count some of them as metals, for example arsenic and antimony, due to their similarities to heavy metals. Metalloids are here treated as nonmetals in light of their chemical behavior, and for comparative purposes.
Aside from the metalloids, some boundary fuzziness and overlapping (as occurs with classification schemes generally), can be discerned among the other nonmetal subclasses. Carbon, phosphorus, selenium, and iodine border the metalloids and show some metallic character, as does hydrogen. Among the noble gases, radon is the most metallic and begins to show some cationic behavior, which is unusual for a nonmetal.
### Noble gases
Six nonmetals are classified as noble gases: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and the radioactive radon. In conventional periodic tables they occupy the rightmost column. They are called noble gases in light of their characteristically very low chemical reactivity.
They have very similar properties, with all of them being colorless, odorless, and nonflammable. With their closed outer electron shells the noble gases have feeble interatomic forces of attraction, resulting in very low melting and boiling points. That is why they are all gases under standard conditions, even those with atomic masses larger than many normally solid elements.
Chemically, the noble gases have relatively high ionization energies, nil or negative electron affinities, and high to very high electronegativities. Compounds of the noble gases number in the hundreds, and the list continues to grow, with most of these involving oxygen or fluorine combining with either krypton, xenon or radon.
In periodic table terms, an analogy can be drawn between the noble gases and noble metals (such as platinum and gold) which are similarly reluctant to combine with other elements. As a further example, xenon, in the +8 oxidation state, forms a pale yellow explosive oxide, XeO<sub>4</sub>, while osmium, another noble metal, forms a yellow, strongly oxidizing oxide, OsO<sub>4</sub>. There are parallels, too, in the formulas of the oxyfluorides: XeO<sub>2</sub>F<sub>4</sub> and OsO<sub>2</sub>F<sub>4</sub>, and XeO<sub>3</sub>F<sub>2</sub> and OsO<sub>3</sub>F<sub>2</sub>.
About 10<sup>15</sup> tonnes of noble gases are present in the Earth's atmosphere. Additionally, natural gas is found to be as much as 7% Helium. Radon diffuses out of rocks, where it is formed during the natural decay sequence of uranium and thorium. The Earth's core may contain about 10<sup>13</sup> tons of xenon, in the form of stable XeFe<sub>3</sub> and XeNi<sub>3</sub> intermetallic compounds. This may explain why "studies of the Earth's atmosphere have shown that more than 90% of the expected amount of Xe is depleted."
### Halogen nonmetals
While the halogen nonmetals are markedly reactive and corrosive elements, they can be found in such mundane compounds as toothpaste (NaF); ordinary table salt (NaCl); swimming pool disinfectant (NaBr); or food supplements (KI). The word "halogen" means "salt former".
Physically, fluorine and chlorine are pale yellow and yellowish green gases; bromine is a reddish-brown liquid (usually topped by a layer of its fumes); and iodine, under white light, is a metallic-looking solid. Electrically, the first three are insulators while iodine is a semiconductor (along its planes).
Chemically, they have high ionization energies, electron affinities, and electronegativity values, and are mostly relatively strong oxidizing agents. Manifestations of this status include their corrosive nature. All four exhibit a tendency to form predominately ionic compounds with metals whereas the remaining nonmetals, bar oxygen, tend to form predominately covalent compounds with metals. The reactive and strongly electronegative nature of the halogen nonmetals represents the epitome of nonmetallic character.
In periodic table terms, the counterparts of the highly nonmetallic halogens in group 17 are the highly reactive alkali metals, such as sodium and potassium, in group 1. Most of the alkali metals, as if in imitation of the halogen nonmetals, are known to form –1 anions (something that rarely occurs among metals).
The halogen nonmetals are found in salt-related minerals. Fluorine occurs in fluorite (CaF<sub>2</sub>), a widespread mineral. Chlorine, bromine, and iodine are found in brines. Exceptionally, a 2012 study reported the presence of 0.04% native fluorine (F
<sub>2</sub>) by weight in antozonite, attributing these inclusions as a result of radiation from the presence of tiny amounts of uranium.
### Metalloids
The six elements more commonly recognized as metalloids are boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, and tellurium, each having a metallic appearance. On a standard periodic table, they occupy a diagonal area in the p-block extending from boron, at the upper left, to tellurium, at lower right, along the dividing line between metals and nonmetals shown on some tables.
They are brittle and poor-to-good conductors of heat and electricity. Boron, silicon, germanium, and tellurium are semiconductors. Arsenic and antimony have the electronic structures of semimetals, although both have less stable semiconducting forms.
Chemically, the metalloids generally behave like (weak) nonmetals. Among the nonmetallic elements they tend to have the lowest ionization energies, electron affinities, and electronegativity values, and are relatively weak oxidizing agents. They further demonstrate a tendency to form alloys with metals.
In periodic-table terms, to the left of the weakly nonmetallic metalloids are an indeterminate set of weakly metallic metals (such as tin, lead and bismuth) sometimes referred to as post-transition metals. Dingle explains the situation this way:
> ... with 'no-doubt' metals on the far left of the table, and no-doubt non-metals on the far right ... the gap between the two extremes is bridged first by the poor (post-transition) metals, and then by the metalloids—which, perhaps by the same token, might collectively be renamed the 'poor non-metals'.
The metalloids tend to be found in forms combined with oxygen, sulfur, or (in the case of tellurium) gold or silver. Boron is found in boron-oxygen borate minerals, including in volcanic spring waters. Silicon occurs in the silicon-oxygen mineral silica (sand). Germanium, arsenic, and antimony are mainly found as components of sulfide ores. Tellurium occurs in telluride minerals of gold or silver. Native forms of arsenic, antimony, and tellurium have been reported.
### Unclassified nonmetals
After the nonmetallic elements are classified as either noble gases, halogens, or metalloids, the remaining seven nonmetals are hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and selenium. In their most stable forms, three are colorless gases (H, N, O); three have a metal-like appearance (C, P, Se); and one is yellow (S). Electrically, graphitic carbon is a semimetal along its planes and a semiconductor in a direction perpendicular to its planes; phosphorus and selenium are semiconductors; and hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur are insulators.
These elements are generally regarded as being too diverse to merit a collective classification, and have been referred to as other nonmetals, or more plainly as nonmetals, located between the metalloids and the halogens. Consequently, their chemistry tends to be taught disparately, according to their four respective periodic table groups. For example: hydrogen in group 1; the group 14 nonmetals (carbon, and possibly silicon and germanium); the group 15 nonmetals (nitrogen, phosphorus, and possibly arsenic and antimony); and the group 16 nonmetals (oxygen, sulfur, selenium, and possibly tellurium). Other subdivisions are possible according to the individual preferences of authors.
Hydrogen, in particular, behaves in some respects like a metal and in others like a nonmetal. Like a metal, it can (first) lose its single electron; it can stand in for alkali metals in typical alkali metal structures; and is capable of forming alloy-like hydrides, featuring metallic bonding, with some transition metals. On the other hand, it is an insulating diatomic gas, like a typical nonmetal, and in chemical reactions has a tendency to eventually attain the electron configuration of helium. It does this by way of forming a covalent or ionic bond or, if it has lost its electron, attaching itself to a lone pair of electrons.
Some or all of these nonmetals nevertheless have several shared properties. Most of them, being less reactive than the halogens, can occur naturally in the environment. They have prominent biological and geochemical roles. While their physical and chemical character is "moderately non-metallic", on a net basis, all of them have corrosive aspects. Hydrogen can corrode metals. Carbon corrosion can occur in fuel cells. Acid rain is caused by dissolved nitrogen or sulfur. Oxygen corrodes iron via rust. White phosphorus, the most unstable form, ignites in air and produces phosphoric acid residue. Untreated selenium in soils can give rise to corrosive hydrogen selenide gas. When combined with metals, the unclassified nonmetals can form high hardness (interstitial or refractory) compounds, on account of their relatively small atomic radii and sufficiently low ionization energies. They show a tendency to bond to themselves, especially in solid compounds. Diagonal periodic table relationships among these nonmetals echo similar relationships among the metalloids.
In periodic-table terms, a geographic analogy is seen between the unclassified nonmetals and transition metals. The unclassified nonmetals occupy territory between the strongly nonmetallic halogens, on the right, and the weakly nonmetallic metalloids, on the left. The transition metals occupy territory, between the "virulent and violent" metals on the left of the periodic table, and the "calm and contented" metals to the right and form a "transitional bridge" between the two.
Unclassified nonmetals typically occur in elemental forms (oxygen, sulfur) or are found in association with either of these two elements:
- Hydrogen occurs in the world's oceans as a component of water, and in natural gas as a component of methane and hydrogen sulfide.
- Carbon occurs in limestone, dolomite, and marble, as carbonates. Less well known is carbon as graphite, which mainly occurs in metamorphic silicate rocks, as a result of the compression and heating of sedimentary carbon compounds.
- Oxygen is found in the atmosphere; in the oceans as a component of water; and in the crust as oxide minerals.
- Phosphorus minerals are widespread, usually as phosphorus-oxygen phosphates.
- Elemental sulfur can be found in or near hot springs and volcanic regions in many parts of the world; sulfur minerals are widespread, usually as sulfides or oxygen-sulfur sulfates.
- Selenium occurs in metal sulfide ores, where it partially replaces the sulfur; elemental selenium is occasionally found.
## Allotropes
Most nonmetallic elements exist in allotropic forms. Carbon, for example, occurs as graphite, diamond, and other forms. Such allotropes may exhibit physical properties that are more metallic or less nonmetallic.
Among the halogen nonmetals, and unclassified nonmetals:
- Iodine is known in a semiconducting amorphous form.
- Graphite, the standard state of carbon, is a fairly good electrical conductor. The diamond allotrope of carbon is clearly nonmetallic, being translucent and an extremely poor electrical conductor. Carbon is known in several other allotropic forms, including semiconducting buckminsterfullerene, and amorphous and paracrystalline (mixed amorphous and crystalline) varieties.
- Nitrogen can form gaseous tetranitrogen (N<sub>4</sub>), an unstable polyatomic molecule with a lifetime of about one microsecond.
- Oxygen is a diatomic molecule in its standard state; it also exists as ozone (O<sub>3</sub>), an unstable nonmetallic allotrope with an "indoors" half-life of around half an hour, compared to about three days in ambient air at 20 °C.
- Phosphorus, uniquely, exists in several allotropic forms that are more stable than its standard state as white phosphorus (P<sub>4</sub>). The white, red, and black allotropes are probably the best known; the first is an insulator; the latter two are semiconductors. Phosphorus also exists as diphosphorus (P<sub>2</sub>), an unstable diatomic allotrope.
- Sulfur has more allotropes than any other element. Amorphous sulfur, a metastable mixture of such allotropes, is noted for its elasticity.
- Selenium has several nonmetallic allotropes, all of which are much less electrically conducting than its standard state of gray "metallic" selenium.
All the elements most commonly recognized as metalloids form allotropes:
- Boron is known in several crystalline and amorphous forms.
- Silicon can form crystalline (diamond-like); amorphous; and orthorhombic Si<sub>24</sub> allotropes.
- At a pressure of about 10–11 GPa, germanium transforms to a metallic phase with the same tetragonal structure as tin.
- Arsenic and antimony form several well-known allotropes (yellow, grey, and black).
- Tellurium is known in crystalline and amorphous forms.
Other allotropic forms of nonmetallic elements are known, either under pressure or in monolayers. Under sufficiently high pressures, at least half of the nonmetallic elements that are semiconductors or insulators, starting with phosphorus at 1.7 GPa, have been observed to form metallic allotropes. Single layer two-dimensional forms of nonmetals include borophene (boron), graphene (carbon), silicene (silicon), phosphorene (phosphorus), germanene (germanium), arsenene (arsenic), antimonene (antimony), and tellurene (tellurium), collectively referred to as xenes.
## Prevalence and access
### Abundance
Hydrogen and helium are estimated to make up approximately 99% of all ordinary matter in the universe and over 99.9% of its atoms. Oxygen is thought to be the next most abundant element, at about 0.1%. Less than five per cent of the universe is believed to be made of ordinary matter, represented by stars, planets, and living beings. The balance is hypothesized to be made of dark energy and dark matter, both of which are currently poorly understood.
Five nonmetals—namely hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and silicon—constitute the bulk of the Earth's crust, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biomass, in the quantities shown in the table.
### Extraction
Nonmetals, and metalloids, are extracted in their raw forms from:
- brine—chlorine, bromine, iodine;
- liquid air—nitrogen, oxygen, neon, argon, krypton, xenon;
- minerals—boron (borate minerals); carbon (coal; diamond; graphite); fluorine (fluorite); silicon (silica); phosphorus (phosphates); antimony (stibnite, tetrahedrite); iodine (in sodium iodate and sodium iodide);
- natural gas—hydrogen, helium, sulfur; and
- ores, as processing byproducts—germanium (zinc ores); arsenic (copper and lead ores); selenium, tellurium (copper ores); and radon (uranium-bearing ores).
### Cost
Day to day costs will vary depending on purity, quantity, market conditions, and supplier surcharges.
Based on the available literature as of April 2023, the cited costs of most nonmetals are less than the \$US0.74 per gram cost of silver. The exceptions are boron, phosphorus, germanium, xenon, and radon (notionally):
- Boron costs around \$25 per gram for 99.7% pure polycrystalline chunks with a particle size of about 1 cm. Earlier, in 1997, boron was quoted at \$280 per gram for polycrystalline 4-to-6-mm-diameter rods of 99.999% purity, about 10 times the then \$28.35 per gram cost of gold.
- In 2020, phosphorus in its most-stable black form could "cost up to \$1,000 per gram", more than 15 times the cost of gold, whereas ordinary red phosphorus, in 2017, was priced at about \$3.40 per kilogram. Researchers hoped to be able to reduce the cost of black phosphorus to as low as \$1 per gram.
- Germanium and xenon cost about \$1.30 and \$7.60 per gram.
- Up to 2013, radon was available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology for \$1,636 per 0.2 ml unit of issue, equivalent to about \$86,000,000 per gram, with no indication of a discount for bulk quantities.
## Uses
The distinctive properties of nonmetallic elements allow for specific applications that often cannot be fulfilled by metallic elements alone. Living organisms are composed almost entirely of the nonmetals hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Nonmetallic elements are important to industries ranging from electronics and energy storage to agriculture and chemical production, for example:
- Carbon fibers possess high strength and low weight, making them ideal for applications in aerospace, sports equipment, and automotive industries. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, has exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity, making it valuable for electronic devices, energy storage, and composite materialss.
- Nitrogen is a key component in the production of fertilizers, which enhance crop growth and agricultural productivity. Its low temperature properties make it useful for cryogenic applications, such as preserving biological samples and freezing food.
- In life support, oxygen is vital for human respiration, and it is used in medical settings to assist patients with respiratory difficulties. It supports combustion and is used in various industrial processes, such as metal smelting and waste incineration.
- In semiconductors, silicon is the backbone of the electronics industry. It is used to manufacture computer chips, solar cells, and various electronic components. Silicon dioxide (silica) is used in the production of glass, ceramics, and optical fibers, enabling applications in windows, lenses, and communication networks.
- Sulfur is used in the production of sulfuric acid, one of the most widely used industrial chemicals. It is also used in the synthesis of various organic compounds. Sulfur compounds are crucial in the vulcanization process, which imparts strength and elasticity to rubber products.
Shared uses of different subsets of the nonmetals encompass their presence in, or specific uses in the fields of air replacements (inert); dyestuffs; flame retardants or extinguishers; household accoutrements; lasers and lighting; mineral acids; plug-in hybrid vehicles; and welding gases. To the extent that metalloids show metallic character, they have speciality uses extending to (for example) oxide glasses and alloying components.
## History, background, and taxonomy
### Discovery
Most nonmetals were discovered in the 18th and 19th centuries. Before then, carbon, sulfur, and antimony were known in antiquity; arsenic was discovered during the Middle Ages (by Albertus Magnus); and Hennig Brand isolated phosphorus from urine in 1669. Helium (1868) holds the distinction of being the only element not first discovered on Earth. Radon is the most recently discovered nonmetal, being found only at the end of the 19th century.
Chemistry- or physics-based techniques used in the isolation efforts were spectroscopy, fractional distillation, radiation detection, electrolysis, ore acidification, displacement reactions, combustion, and heating; a few nonmetals occurred naturally as free elements:
- Of the noble gases, helium was detected via its yellow line in the coronal spectrum of the sun, and later by observing the bubbles escaping from uranite UO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in acid. Neon through xenon were obtained via fractional distillation of air. Radon was first observed emanating from compounds of thorium, three years after Henri Becquerel's discovery of radiation in 1896.
- The halogen nonmetals were obtained from their halides via either electrolysis, adding an acid, or displacement. Some chemists died as a result of their experiments trying to isolate fluorine.
- Among the unclassified nonmetals, carbon was known (or produced) as charcoal, soot, graphite, and diamond; nitrogen was observed in air from which oxygen had been removed; oxygen was obtained by heating mercurous oxide; phosphorus was liberated by heating ammonium sodium hydrogen phosphate (Na(NH<sub>4</sub>)HPO<sub>4</sub>), as found in urine; sulfur occurred naturally as a free element; and selenium was detected as a residue in sulfuric acid.
- Most of the elements commonly recognized as metalloids were isolated by heating their oxides (boron, silicon, arsenic, tellurium) or a sulfide (germanium). Antimony was known in its native form, as well as being attainable by heating its sulfide.
### Origin of the concept
The distinction between metals and nonmetals arose, in a convoluted manner, from a crude recognition of different kinds of matter, namely pure substances, mixtures, compounds and elements. Thus, matter could be divided into pure substances (such as salt, bicarb of soda, or sulfur) and mixtures (aqua regia, gunpowder, or bronze, for example); and pure substances eventually could be distinguished as compounds and elements. "Metallic" elements then seemed to have broadly distinguishable attributes that other elements did not, such as their ability to conduct heat or for their "earths" (oxides) to form basic solutions in water, for example as occurred with quicklime (CaO).
### Use of the term
The term nonmetallic dates from as far back as 1566. In a medical treatise published that year, Loys de L'Aunay (a French doctor) described the different properties of plant substances from metallic and "non-metallic" land.
In early chemistry, Wilhelm Homberg (a German natural philosopher) referred to "non-metallic" sulfur in Des Essais de Chimie (1708). He questioned the five-fold division of all matter into sulfur, mercury, salt, water, and earth, as postulated by Étienne de Clave [fr] (1641) in the New Philosophical Light of True Principles and Elements of Nature. Homberg's approach represented "an important move toward the modern concept of an element".
Lavoisier, in his "revolutionary" 1789 work Traité élémentaire de chimie, published the first modern list of chemical elements, in which he distinguished between gases, metals, nonmetals, and earths (heat resistant oxides). In its first seventeen years, Lavoisier's work was republished in twenty-three editions in six languages, and "carried ... [his] new chemistry all over Europe and America."
### Suggested distinguishing criteria
In 1809, Humphry Davy's discovery of sodium and potassium "annihilated" the line of demarcation between metals and nonmetals. Before then, metals had been distinguished on the basis of their ponderousness or relatively high densities. Sodium and potassium, on the other hand, floated on water and yet were clearly metals on the basis of their chemical behaviour.
From as early as 1811, different properties—physical, chemical, and electron related—have been used in attempts to refine the distinction between metals and nonmetals. The accompanying table sets out 22 such properties, ordered by type and date of discovery.
Probably the most well-known property is that the electrical conductivity of a metal increases when temperature falls, whereas that of a nonmetal rises. However, this does not follow for plutonium, carbon, arsenic, and antimony. The electrical conductivity of plutonium is increased when this metal is heated within a temperature range of –175 to +125 °C. The electrical conductivity of carbon, despite being widely regarded as a nonmetal, is likewise increased when heated. Arsenic and antimony are sometimes classified as nonmetals, yet act similarly to carbon.
Kneen et al. suggested that the nonmetals could be distinguished once a [single] criterion for metallicity had been chosen, adding that, "many arbitrary classifications are possible, most of which, if chosen reasonably, would be similar but not necessarily identical." Emsley noted that, "No single property ... can be used to classify all the elements as either metals or nonmetals." Jones added that "classes are usually defined by more than two attributes".
Johnson suggested that physical properties can best indicate the metallic or nonmetallic properties of an element, with the proviso that other properties will be needed in ambiguous cases. He observed that all gaseous or nonconducting elements are nonmetals; solid nonmetals are hard and brittle or soft and crumbly, whereas metals are usually malleable and ductile; and nonmetal oxides are acidic.
According to Hein and Arena, nonmetals have relatively low densities and high electronegativity; the accompanying table bears this out. Nonmetallic elements occupy the top left quadrant, where densities are relatively low and electronegativity values relatively high. The other three quadrants are occupied by metals. Some authors further divide the elements into metals, metalloids, and nonmetals, although Oderberg argues that anything not a metal is, by rules of categorization, a nonmetal.
### Development of subclasses
A basic taxonomy of nonmetals was set out in 1844, by Alphonse Dupasquier, a French doctor, pharmacist and chemist. To facilitate the study of nonmetals, he wrote:
They will be divided into four groups or sections, as in the following:
: Organogens O, N, H, C
: Sulphuroids S, Se, P
: Chloroides F, Cl, Br, I
: Boroids B, Si.
An echo of Dupasquier's fourfold classification is seen in the modern subclasses. The organogens and sulphuroids represent the set of unclassified nonmetals. The chloroide nonmetals came to be independently referred to as halogens. The boroid nonmetals were expanded into the metalloids, starting from as early as 1864. The noble gases, as a discrete grouping, were counted among the nonmetals from as early as 1900.
### Comparison
Some properties of metals, metalloids, unclassified nonmetals, halogen nonmetals, and noble gases are summarized in the following table. Physical properties apply to elements in their most stable forms under ambient conditions, and are listed in loose order of ease of determination. Chemical properties are listed from general to descriptive, and then to specific. The dashed line around the metalloids denotes that, depending on the author, the elements involved may or may not be recognized as a distinct class or subclass of elements. Metals are included as a reference point.
Most properties show a left-to-right progression in metallic-to-nonmetallic character or average values. The periodic table can thus be indicatively divided into metals and nonmetals, with more or less distinct gradations seen among the nonmetals.
## See also
- CHON (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen)
- List of nonmetal monographs
- Metallization pressure
- Nonmetal (astrophysics)
- Nonmetal (physics)
- Period 1 elements (hydrogen, helium)
- Properties of nonmetals (and metalloids) by group
|
652,424 |
Jetpac
| 1,171,304,994 |
1983 arcade-style shooter video game
|
[
"1983 video games",
"BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games",
"Europe-exclusive video games",
"Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners",
"Microsoft franchises",
"Rare (company) games",
"Science fiction video games",
"Shooter games",
"Single-player video games",
"VIC-20 games",
"Video games about extraterrestrial life",
"Video games developed in the United Kingdom",
"ZX Spectrum games"
] |
Jetpac is a shooter video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game and released for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20 in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1984. It is the first game to be released by Ultimate Play the Game, the company which later became Rare. The game follows Jetman as he must rebuild his rocket in order to explore different planets, while simultaneously defending against hostile aliens. It was written by Ultimate co-founder Chris Stamper with graphics designed by his brother, Tim Stamper. Reviewers praised Jetpac's presentation and gameplay, and it won "Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards in 1983.
Jetpac has since been included in as an unlockable minigame in 1999's Donkey Kong 64 and part of the 2015 compilation Rare Replay. It was later included in a game compilation on the ZX Spectrum Vega. It spawned two direct sequels and a 2007 remake, Jetpac Refuelled, which was released for the Xbox Live Arcade service.
## Gameplay
The game world is presented in a horizontal wraparound and consists of three platforms which Jetman can manoeuvre onto. Jetman must assemble his rocket (which spawns in pieces scattered around the map), and then fill it with fuel before taking off to the next planet, where the procedure is broadly repeated with alternate procedures. In addition, the player has to defend themselves from the planet's aliens, and for bonus points collect valuable resources which occasionally fall from above.
After the first level, the rocket stays assembled and just requires refuelling. However, every four levels, the rocket resets (giving the player an extra life) and the replacement has to be built before it can be refuelled for takeoff. Each new model has a new design with a higher number written on it, although the core gameplay remains unchanged. The enemies change forms each level (cycling back to the first after eight levels) and each alien has a different pattern of movement which means they can be dealt with in a different manner.
## Development
Ultimate Play the Game was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, along with Tim's wife, Carol, from their headquarters in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1982. They began producing multiple video games for the ZX Spectrum throughout the early 1980s. The company were known for their reluctance to reveal details about their operations and then-upcoming projects. Little was known about their development process except that they used to work in "separate teams"; one team would work on development whilst the other would concentrate on other aspects such as sound or graphics. While developing Jetpac, the Stamper brothers closely studied the burgeoning Japanese gaming market and had started to practice developing games for their then-upcoming console, the Famicom, later predicting that the ZX Spectrum had a limited lifespan.
Jetpac was one of the few Spectrum games also available in a ROM format for use with the Interface 2, allowing "instantaneous" loading of the game when the normal method of cassette loading took minutes. The game was also able to run on the 16K version of the Spectrum.
## Reception
The game sold 300,000 copies for the ZX Spectrum and generated £1 million in revenue for Ultimate Play the Game, which enabled the Stamper brothers to gain a foothold in the early video gaming market.
The game was critically acclaimed. Crash praised the graphics and presentation, citing that they were of "the highest standard" and added that it was "difficult to find any real faults" with the game. CVG similarly praised the graphics, stating that the presentation was "superb" and the gameplay was considered addictive. In a retrospective review, Chris Wilkins of Eurogamer noted that the colourful graphics and sound effects were advanced for the time, but what truly made for a "faultless" experience was its simple gameplay.
ZX Computing praised the game's playability and replay value, stating that Jetpac was "a very well put together piece of software". The game was number one in the first Spectrum sales chart published by CVG. The ZX Spectrum version was voted number 73 in the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time in 1993 and was voted the 14th best game of all time by the readers of Retro Gamer for an article that was scheduled to be in a special Your Sinclair tribute issue. The game won the title "Game of the Year" at the 1983 Golden Joystick Awards.
## Legacy
After the game's release, Jetpac was parodied in a long-running Crash comic strip named Lunar Jetman. The strip, designed by John Richardson, lasted from July 1984 to October 1991 and gained popular reception from readers. To develop the comic, photographs had to be processed manually on a photomechanical tone and then transferred to paper, being fully colorized in the late 1980s.
Jetpac was followed by two sequels: Lunar Jetman (1983) and Solar Jetman (1990). The latter, however, was not released for the ZX Spectrum due to disappointing sales of the original NES version, although a version for the Commodore 64 was finished but never released.
Since its release, Jetpac has been included in a number of other games developed by Rare. The game is playable in Donkey Kong 64, where it could be unlocked to play in Cranky Kong's laboratory after obtaining 15 Banana Medals. Beating Cranky Kong's high score rewards the player with the Rareware Coin, which is necessary to beat the game. The game was retained in the April 2015 Virtual Console re-release of Donkey Kong 64 on the Wii U, despite the property being technically owned by Microsoft. An enhanced remake of Jetpac, entitled Jetpac Refuelled, was released on the Xbox Live Arcade in March 2007. Microsoft's E3 2015 press conference unveiled the compilation title Rare Replay, which has a selection of thirty games from Rare's lifetime game library, including the original Jetpac and its two sequels and remake, making the Jetman series the most represented in the collection.
|
52,696,901 |
I Made It (Fantasia song)
| 1,122,376,795 | null |
[
"2016 songs",
"Fantasia Barrino songs",
"Gospel songs",
"RCA Records singles"
] |
"I Made It" is a song recorded by American singer Fantasia, featuring American singer-songwriter Tye Tribbett. It was written and produced by Tribbett and David Outing for Fantasia's fifth studio album, The Definition Of... (2016). Tribett developed it in collaboration with Fantasia, blending her personal testimony and his experiences with God into the lyrics. Fantasia described it as a highly personal song, explaining that it was about refusing to let people control her and moving forward from her past struggles. "I Made It" is an uptempo gospel record and its lyrics revolve around an appreciation for God and faith.
"I Made It" received generally positive reviews from music critics who praised its composition and Fantasia's performance. The song was nominated for the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award in the BET Awards 2017, but lost Lecrae's 2016 song "Can't Stop Me Now (Destination)". It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart. Fantasia promoted "I Made It" on Good Morning America and Tribbett's show Joyful Noise, and the performances were met with positive feedback.
## Concept and development
Tye Tribbett and David Outing wrote and produced "I Made It" for Fantasia's fifth studio album, The Definition Of... (2016). Prior to the album's release, Fantasia previewed the song on Periscope; in the video, she incorrectly reported that she handled the songwriting by herself. Tribbett explained his collaboration with Fantasia to The Christian Post, saying: "We've been talking about working together for a minute. So when the opportunity came it was kind of like a no brainer". He said that he instantly agreed to work with Fantasia after receiving a phone call to write a song for her album. Fantasia had contacted Tribbett at the suggestion of music executive Ron Fair.
Prior to the writing process, Tribbett had requested to "do it on [his] terms" and "maintain the integrity of his message" by creating an inspirational gospel record. He used Fantasia's testimony, as well as his own experiences with God, as inspiration for the lyrics. He described "I Made It" as the result of a close connection between Fantasia and himself: "I basically just combined testimonies between her and myself when I wrote the song and it resonated so richly with her, her audience and with everybody." Fantasia said that she "was able to release everything I was carrying" through the song. She recorded "I Made It" at the Motown Gospel Studio in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Tribbett appeared on the song courtesy of Tye Tribbett Worldwide, LLC and Motown Gospel. Fantasia's vocals were arranged by Tribbett and Fair and engineered by Fair and Pat Thrall at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. Fair and Dan Higgins handled the horns and strings, where were engineered by Frank Wolf.
## Composition and lyrics
"I Made It" is a gospel song that lasts five-minute, 40-second. Instrumentation is provided by piano, organ, vibraphone, glockenspiel, harmonica, and a guitar. They were played by Tribbett, Fair, Paul Jackson, Jr., and Frank Brunot.
Fantasia told Us Weekly that the lyrics revolve around "how I don't let people talk about me like they used to [and] I control how I feel". She said the song was based on her attempted suicide and demanding relationships with her family. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Fantasia said the following about its message: "I wanted people to know that I've been through the rain, I've been broken into pieces, I had a daughter at such a young age. There were times people would say, 'That's it for her,' but that didn't happen." Rito P. Asilo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote that "I Made It" represents how Fantasia has reconciled with her feelings of "heartbreak, betrayal, and the character-forming pain of rejection and failure".
"I Made It" opens with Fantasia's testimony: "Listen, I done made it through the storm and the rain / So much heartache, pressure, so much pain / I been broken in two pieces, maybe more / And some nights I made my bed right on the floor." The lyrics contain direct references to Christianity, which includes Fantasia singing: "Thank you for never leaving me Lord Jesus!". She expresses her gratitude through the lyrics: "You're the only one that never left me when everyone else just didn't care, you're the only one that really loved me. I made it. I made it through the storm." She describes having a close relationship with God and her faith by singing: "I got to say thank you Lord for keeping me, for grace and mercy. I thank you, because I made it!" According to Devin Lazerine of Rap-Up, Fantasia "triumphantly" expresses the song's message through her vocals on lyrics such as "I made it I made it, y’all! Still standing."
## Reception
The critical response to "I Made It" was largely positive. It received a nomination for the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award in the BET Awards 2017, losing to Lecrae's 2016 song "Can't Stop Me Now (Destination)". The Boombox's Amber McKynzie praised Fantasia for sharing her life experiences through the song, and Christian Today's Czarina Ong described "I Made It" as a "victory song" and a "song of success". As part of their album review, an EEWMagazineOnline contributor wrote that the song represents how Fantasia has become: "[a] defiant and determined singer [who] is now playing by her own rules and refusing to be defined by the times, others' expectations, or genres". Citing it as an album highlight, Chuck Arnold of Entertainment Weekly commended the track as a "spiritual turn-up". He wrote that it sounds like a closing number for the musical The Color Purple, and cited it as a reason Fantasia should further pursue gospel music. On the other hand, AllMusic's Andy Kellman criticized "I Made It" as an example of the album's uneven sound.
"I Made It" debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart on September 10, 2016. It reached a peak position of number 15 on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart, and remained on the charts for 24 consecutive weeks.
## Live performances
Fantasia promoted "I Made It" through live performances. She first performed it during the first in a series of live concerts Broadcast by the cable TV channel BET on July 28. Billboards Lauren Craddock praised Fantasia for "embrac[ing] her gospel background". Fantasia sang "I Made It" on Good Morning America on July 25, 2016. Tribbett praised the performance on his Instagram account, writing: "What an honor to bring glory to GOD on such a platform." Reviewers from Rap-Up and EEWMagazineOnline wrote that Fantasia was "powerful" and "outstanding". On October 16, 2016, Fantasia performed the song for the first time live with Tribbett on his BET gospel music show Joyful Noise. A preview was released through BET four days prior to the broadcast. Christine Thomasos of The Christian Post praised Fantasia and Tribbett's performance as a "powerful duet".
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Definition Of... , 19 Recordings, RCA.
Management
- ASCAP/Everything Fresh Entertainment
- BMI/DO3 Productions
- Tye Tribbett appears courtesy of Tye Tribbett Worldwide, LLC/Motown Gospel
Recording locations
- Recorded at LLC/Motown Gospel Studio (Brentwood)
- Engineered at Record Plant (Los Angeles)
Personnel'
- Songwriting –Tye Tribbett, David Outing
- Production –Tye Tribbett, David Outing
- Vocal arrangement –Tye Tribbett, Ron Fair
- Piano –Tye Tribbett
- Organ, Vibes, Glockenspiel, Harmonica & Additional Piano –Ron Fair
- Guitar –Paul Jackson, Jr.
- Bass guitar –Frank Brunot
- Strings arranged & conducted by –Ron Fair
- Horns arranged by –Dan Higgins
- Choirmaster –Tim Davis
- Vocal engineer –Ron Fair, Pat Thrall
- Strings & horns engineered by –Frank Wolf
## Charts
|
10,870,000 |
Many-banded krait
| 1,137,017,020 |
A venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia
|
[
"Bungarus",
"Reptiles described in 1861",
"Reptiles of Laos",
"Reptiles of Myanmar",
"Reptiles of Taiwan",
"Reptiles of Thailand",
"Snakes of Asia",
"Snakes of China",
"Snakes of Vietnam",
"Taxa named by Edward Blyth",
"Venomous snakes"
] |
The many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is a venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia. The species was first described by the scientist Edward Blyth in 1861. Averaging 1 to 1.5 m (3.5 to 5 ft) in length, it is a black or bluish-black snake with many white bands across its body. The many-banded krait mostly inhabits marshy areas throughout its geographical distribution, though it does occur in other habitat types.
## Taxonomy
Zoologist and pharmacist Edward Blyth described the many-banded krait as a new species in 1861, noting that it had many more bands than the banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus). It still bears its original name Bungarus multicinctus. The generic name is a Latinisation of Telugu baṅgāru, "krait." The specific name multicinctus is derived from the Latin multi-, combining form of multus, "much, many", and Latin cinctus, past participle of cingere, "to encircle"—as in a "band". The common name "krait" is from Hindi (करैत karait), which is perhaps ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word (काल kāla), which means "black". It is also called as "கட்டுவிரியன்" in Tamil, a common name given to the genus Bungarus.
This species has two subspecies, the nominate Bungarus multicinctus multicinctus, and Bungarus multicinctus wanghaotingi.
American herpetologist Clifford H. Pope described Bungarus wanghaotingi in 1928 from a specimen from southwestern Yunnan Province collected in November, 1926 by a Walter Granger. Naming it for zoological artist Mr. Wang Hao-t'ing, of Beijing, he distinguished it from B. multicinctus by its more numerous dorsal bands and from B. candidus by its higher ventral scale count. This taxon is also found in Myanmar, in Kachin State, Rakhine State and Sagaing Division. Herpetologist Alan Leviton and colleagues suspect there are further undescribed taxa within the species complex.
Mao et al. (1983) showed that this species, Bungarus multicinctus was slightly distinct from the other members of its genus and was immunologically more similar to Laticauda, terrestrial Australian elapids, and true sea snakes than it is to Elapsoidea sundevalli (Sundevall's garter snake), Naja naja (Indan cobra) or two Micrurus species (New World or American coral snakes). Minton (1981), Schwaner et al. and Cadle & Gorman (1981) all suggested similar things to Mao et al. (1983) based on immunological data. The many-banded krait was more similar to the Australian elapids, Laticauda and true sea snakes than they were to numerous elapids they were compared to.
A 2016 genetic analysis showed that the many-banded krait is the sister taxon to the Malayan krait (Bungarus candidus), with the two arising from a lineage that gave rise to the greater black krait (Bungarus niger).
## Description
The many-banded krait is a medium to large sized species of snake, averaging 1 to 1.5 m (3.5 to 5 ft) in length, with maximum lengths reaching 1.85 m (6.1 ft). Its body is slender and moderately compressed. The scales of this species are smooth and glossy, with a noticeably distinct vertebral ridge. The colour of the snake is black to dark bluish-black with approximately 21–30 white or creamy white cross bands along the entire length of its upper body. More banding is seen in longer than average sized specimens. The tail is short and pointed, that is also black in colour with alternating white cross bands, of which there are 7–11. The belly of the snake is usually white in colour, but could be an off white or creamy white. The head is primarily black in colour, is broad and oval in shape, but flat and slightly distinct from the body. The eyes are small and black in colour. The pupils are black in colour, thus making them hardly noticeable as they blend in with the rest of the eyes. This species has large nostrils. The fangs are small, fixed and are located in the anterior of the upper jaw. Juveniles of this species usually have whitish blotches on the lower side of their heads.
### Scalation
The number and arrangement of scales on a snake's body are a key element of identification to species level. The many-banded krait has 15 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, and an undivided anal scale. Males have 200 to 231 ventral scales and 43 to 54 undivided subcaudal scales, while females have 198 to 227 ventral scales and 37 to 55 subcaudal scales.
## Distribution and habitat
This species is found throughout Taiwan (including the Archipelagos of Matsu and Kinmen), Hong Kong, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and northern Vietnam. It may also be found in Thailand.
In China, kraits with white cross-bands were assumed to be the many-banded krait, however a 2017 genetic study found that most museum specimens classified thus were actually the Malayan krait, and that true many-banded kraits were restricted to southern China (Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Hainan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Guangxi). The study authors raised the possibility that other specimens tagged as many-banded kraits from Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar may also be Malayan kraits.
Although it can be found in elevations up to about 1,500 m (4,900 ft), it is far more commonly found in humid lowland areas, and most often observed in subtropical, marshy regions of its range. It is also frequently found in shrublands, woodlands, agricultural fields, and mangroves, often adjacent to water, such as rivers, streams, rice paddies, and ditches. It may also sometimes be found in villages and suburban areas. It is able to survive in other habitats also.
## Behaviour and diet
The snake is nocturnal, and may be more defensive at night. It is, however, a timid and placid species of snake. In the daytime, it hides under stones or in holes. The snake appears from April and retreats into hibernation in November. It is considered to be more defensive than the banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus), thrashing about as it is handled.
Unlike other Bungarus species, who are primarily snake-eaters, the many-banded krait usually feeds on fish, but it is also preys on other species of snakes, including members of its own species. This species also feeds on rodents, eels, frogs, and occasionally lizards.
### Reproduction
There is limited information on the reproductive habits of this snake. Like many elapids, many-banded kraits are oviparous. Mating occurs between the months of August and September. Females usually deposit 3–15 eggs, although up to 20 eggs can be produced. The eggs are deposited in late spring or early summer, usually in the month of June. Eggs usually hatch about a month and a half later. The hatchlings are around 25 centimetres (9.8 in) in length.
The oldest recorded many-banded krait was a captive specimen that lived 13.7 years.
## Venom and toxins
The venom of the many-banded krait consists of both pre- and postsynaptic neurotoxins (known as α-bungarotoxins and β-bungarotoxins, among others). By weight, almost half of the protein content of the venom is composed of β-bungarotoxins.
The average venom yield from specimens kept on snake farms is about 4.6 mg—19.4 mg per bite. The venom is highly toxic with values of 0.09 mg/kg—0.108 mg/kg SC, 0.113 mg/kg IV and 0.08 mg/kg IP on mice. Based on numerous (MLD) studies on mice dating back to 1943, the many-banded krait is among the most venomous land snakes in the world. To & Tin (1943) reported 0.07 mg/kg (IV), Lee et al (1962) reported 0.16 mg/kg (SC), Fischer and Kabara (1967) list 0.2 mg/kg (IP), Lee and Tseng (1969) list 0.16 mg/kg (SC), Kocholaty et al (1971) listed 0.07 mg/kg (IV) and 0.08 mg/kg (IP), Minton (1974) listed 0.07 mg/kg (IV) and 0.08 mg/kg (IP), which are identical MLD values Kocholaty et al had reported in 1971 for the IV and IP routes, Minton further listed 0.19 mg/kg (SC).
α-Bungarotoxin is important for neuromuscular histology, it is known to bind irreversibly to receptors of the neuromuscular junction, and can be labelled with fluorescent proteins such as green fluorescent protein or the rhodamine dye tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate.
### Clinical symptoms
The local symptoms of victims bitten by the many-banded krait are usually neither serious swelling nor pain; the victims merely feel slightly itchy and numb. Systemic symptoms occur, in general, one to six hours after being bitten by this snake. Symptoms may include bilateral ptosis, diplopia, discomfort in the chest, general ache, weak feeling in limbs, ataxia, glossolysis, loss of voice, dysphagia, tunnel vision, and difficulty breathing. In case of serious bite, suppression of breathing may occur, leading to death. Hyponatremia is also seen, but less commonly.
Estimated mortality rates associated with untreated bites from this species vary between studies from 25–35% to 70–100%. During the Vietnam War, American soldiers referred to the many-banded krait as the "two-step snake," in the mistaken belief that its venom was lethal enough to kill within two steps.
The many-banded krait gathered worldwide attention after a juvenile individual bit Joe Slowinski on 11 September 2001 in Myanmar. He died the following day, 29 hours after being bitten.
|
25,591,271 |
2010 ACC Championship Game
| 1,129,914,819 | null |
[
"2010 Atlantic Coast Conference football season",
"2010 in sports in North Carolina",
"ACC Championship Game",
"December 2010 sports events in the United States",
"Florida State Seminoles football games",
"Virginia Tech Hokies football games"
] |
The 2010 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida State Seminoles. The game, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2010 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech defeated Florida State, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 44–33. Until 2021, this was the last ACC championship game won by the Coastal Division.
The Virginia Tech Hokies were selected to represent the Coastal Division by virtue of an undefeated (8–0) record in conference play and a 10–2 record overall. Representing the Atlantic Division was Florida State, which had a 9–3 record (6–2 ACC). The game was a rematch of the inaugural ACC Championship Game, won 27–22 by Florida State in 2005.
The game was held at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 4, 2010. Charlotte was chosen after poor attendance at the game's previous locations (Tampa, Florida and Jacksonville, Florida) led conference officials to seek a location closer to the conference's geographic center. The 2010 championship was the first to be played in Charlotte, and the game will return to the city in 2011.
The 2010 game began slowly, as Florida State scored only a field goal on its opening possession and Virginia Tech was held scoreless on its first try. On the second play of Florida State's second possession, Virginia Tech defender Jeron Gouveia-Winslow intercepted a pass by Florida state quarterback E. J. Manuel and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Hokies a 7–3 lead. They did not relinquish the advantage the rest of the game. The teams traded field goals and touchdowns through the remainder of the first and second quarters and entered halftime with Tech leading 21–17. In the third quarter, Tech scored 14 points to Florida State's seven, establishing the winning margin. In the final quarter, each team scored nine points, and the Hokies won with the most points ever scored by one team in an ACC championship game. In recognition of his winning performance, Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor was named the game's most valuable player.
By winning, Virginia Tech earned a spot in the 2011 Orange Bowl football game, and Florida State was selected for the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl. Several players that participated in the 2010 ACC Championship Game were picked in the 2011 NFL Draft.
## Selection process
The ACC Championship Game matches the winners of the Coastal and Atlantic divisions of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the early 2000s, the league underwent an expansion to add three former Big East members: Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004, and Boston College in 2005. With the addition of a twelfth team, the ACC was allowed to hold a conference championship game under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules.
The inaugural 2005 game featured a Florida State win over Virginia Tech, 27–22. In 2006, two different teams made their first appearances in the game, which was held in Jacksonville, Florida. Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech, 9–6. 2007 featured one championship-game veteran and one team new to the championship as Virginia Tech faced off against Boston College. The game resulted in a 30–16 Virginia Tech victory. The 2008 game saw a rematch of the previous year, as Virginia Tech again defeated Boston College, 30–12. In 2009, Georgia Tech defeated newcomer Clemson, 39–34.
### Site selection
Before the 2007 game, cities other than Jacksonville (site of the 2007 ACC Championship Game) presented their plans to be the site of the 2008 ACC Championship Game. After poor attendance in the ACC Championship Game at Jacksonville for the second straight year, ACC officials and representatives of the conference's member schools elected not to extend the Gator Bowl Association's contract to manage and host the game for another year. On December 12, less than two weeks after Jacksonville had hosted the 2007 ACC Championship Game, the ACC announced that Tampa, Florida would host the game in 2008 and 2009 and Charlotte, North Carolina would host the game in 2010 and 2011.
The cities were chosen based on bids presented to the ACC and its member schools. Each city requested and was granted a two-year contract. Tampa was chosen as the site of the 2008 game because Charlotte was scheduled to hold the annual convention of the Association for Career and Technical Education at the same time as the game, and adequate hotel space would not be ready in time for the two events. Because of this, Charlotte's two-year span of hosting the game was pushed back to 2010.
### Team selection
Before the beginning of the 2010 college football season, the annual poll by media members who cover ACC football predicted Florida State would win the Atlantic Division and Virginia Tech would win the Coastal Division. Florida State received 78 of a possible 98 first-place votes in its division, while Virginia Tech received 62. In a vote to predict the ACC champion, Virginia Tech received 50 votes from 98 possible. Florida State received 26 votes, and all other teams received a combined 20.
Immediately after the preseason poll, however, speculation began as to whether regular-season parity would render the prediction irrelevant. Before the 2010 season, the poll had predicted the ACC winner correctly only once in the championship game era. In the Coastal Division, this speculation was groundless, as Virginia Tech's undefeated season rendered any other winner impossible. In the Atlantic Division, the situation was much different. As late as the second week of November, four of the six division teams were in contention for the division title. These candidates were whittled to three with two weeks remaining in the regular season, then to two in the final week. During that week, NC State traveled to Maryland. If NC State had won, it would have been the Atlantic Division winner by virtue of a tie-breaking win against Florida State. Instead, NC State lost 38–31, and Florida State earned a bid to the championship game.
#### Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Hokies entered the 2010 season after a 2009 campaign that saw the team finish 10–3, including a season-ending win in the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl against the Tennessee Volunteers. Because of that season-ending victory and the Hokies' general good performance during the 2009 season, Virginia Tech was ranked No. 10 in preseason national polling. The Hokies' first game of the season was a nationally televised contest against then-No. 3 Boise State at FedExField near Washington, D.C. Because the game was the first of the season to feature two top-10 teams, it received large amounts of media coverage. During the game, Virginia Tech fell behind 17–0 in the first quarter, but rallied to take a 21–20 lead early in the third quarter. The two teams traded the lead, alternating scoring drives until Boise State scored a touchdown with 1:06 remaining. Virginia Tech was unable to reply one final time, and Boise State earned a 33–30 victory.
The close loss discouraged the Virginia Tech players, who then had only five days to prepare for their next opponent, lightly regarded James Madison University. At Lane Stadium, Virginia Tech's home field, James Madison upset the heavily favored Hokies, 21–16. The loss was only the second time in college football history that a team ranked nationally was defeated by a team from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. In the wake of the loss, Virginia Tech fell from No. 13 to out of the polls entirely.
Following the loss, seniors on the football team held a players-only meeting in an effort to rally the team. Players later recalled that meeting as the turning point in the team's season. The next week, Virginia Tech earned its first win of the season, a 49–27 victory over East Carolina in Lane Stadium. The Hokies followed that by traveling to Boston College for a 19–0 win, their first shutout since 2006.
The two victories were the start of a winning streak that saw the Hokies complete the regular season without another loss. Following Boston College, they defeated No. 23 NC State in its home stadium, 41–30. They defeated nonconference opponent Central Michigan, then beat conference opponent Wake Forest and re-entered the polls at No. 25. Their position in the polls climbed with each opponent they defeated. They beat Duke as the No. 25 team, Georgia Tech as the No. 23 team, North Carolina as the No. 20 team and No. 23 Miami as the No. 16 team. The Miami victory clinched Tech the division championship and a slot in the ACC championship game, but the Hokies still won their final previously scheduled game, the annual Commonwealth Cup rivalry against Virginia.
#### Florida State
Florida State began 2010 after a 7–6 record in 2009 that ended with a 33–21 win against West Virginia in the 2010 Gator Bowl. Florida State also began the year under a new head coach. Bobby Bowden, who retired after 57 years as a head coach, 34 at Florida State and 33 consecutive winning seasons, was replaced by Jimbo Fisher. Immediately before the 2010 season began, Bowden claimed he had been pushed out as head coach, causing a stir before Florida State's first game.
For its opening game, Florida State faced the lightly regarded Samford Bulldogs and defeated them 59–6. In its second game, No. 17 Florida State faced a tougher challenge as it traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to play the No. 10-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The Seminoles were defeated 47–17, in their third-worst loss since 1991. Florida State rebounded from the loss to defeat Brigham Young University, 34–10, then opened the ACC season by defeating Wake Forest, Virginia, in-state rival Miami and Boston College in succession.
On October 28, Florida State traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to play NC State. Despite leading 21–7 at halftime, Florida State allowed NC State to rally and win the game, 28–24. NC State's win gave it a one-game lead and a tiebreaker against the Seminoles in the Atlantic Division . The following week, Florida State again lost, this time to North Carolina, a Coastal Division opponent. The same week, NC State lost to Clemson, bringing Florida State even with NC State in the divisional standings. NC State still held the tiebreaker, however.
With three weeks remaining in the regular season and two other Atlantic Division teams also with one loss, there were 120 possible scenarios for the four tied teams. On Nov 13, Florida State defeated Clemson 16–13, eliminating one of the four tied teams from contention for the divisional championship. The following week, Florida State defeated Maryland, 30–16, eliminating another contender. The divisional championship came down to the final week. Because Florida State was playing nonconference rival Florida, the division was decided by the matchup between NC State and Maryland. Hours after Florida State defeated Florida 31–7, NC State lost to Maryland, giving Florida State the Atlantic Division championship and a bid to the ACC Championship Game.
## Pregame buildup
Following the last week of regularly scheduled conference games, both teams moved up in the national college football polls. Florida State, which had been ranked No. 22 in the BCS Poll, No. 22 in the AP Poll, and No. 21 in the Coaches' Poll, rose to No. 21 in the BCS, No. 20 in the AP Poll, and No. 20 in the Coaches' Poll. Virginia Tech, which had been ranked 16th in the BCS, 13th in the AP Poll and 14th in the Coaches' Poll before the final week of the regular season, climbed to 15th in the BCS, 11th in the AP Poll and 11th in the Coaches' Poll. Spread bettors predicted Virginia Tech would win the game. Various betting organizations favored the Hokies by four or 4.5 points. The matchup was a repeat of the inaugural ACC Championship game, and according to observers, the Seminoles' presence appeared to mark a resurgence for Florida State, which performed below expectations in the final years of Bowden's tenure. For Virginia Tech, there were hopes of breaking a trend of losing to Florida State. Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer was 1–8 against Florida State, and the Hokies overall were 11–22–1 against the Seminoles.
### Attendance concerns
After two years of poor attendance at ACC championship games in Tampa, Florida, organizers hoped moving the game to Charlotte, closer to the geographic center of the conference, would result in improved ticket sales. That hypothesis was borne out as early public sales approached 28,000 tickets before the participating teams were officially announced. After the announcement, each school sold its allotment of 10,000 tickets, and the more than 50,000 publicly available tickets were purchased at a rapid pace. ACC officials and Charlotte boosters each said they were satisfied with the pace and quantity of ticket sales.
### Florida State offense
During the 2010 season, Florida State senior quarterback Christian Ponder completed 62.2 percent of his passes for a total of 2,038 yards, and Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher called him "one of the great Florida State quarterbacks of all time." Despite this endorsement, Ponder's participation in the ACC Championship was in doubt because of injured elbow fascia sustained in the Seminoles' game against Boston College. The issue remained in doubt until the day of the ACC Championship, when coach Fisher announced that sophomore quarterback E. J. Manuel, who had led the Seminoles against Clemson was given the start.
Protecting both quarterbacks was a strong offensive line anchored by All-American guard Rodney Hudson, a two-time winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, a four-time recipient of all-conference honors and a finalist for the Outland Trophy. Hudson and the offensive line also protected Florida State's running backs. Foremost among these was sophomore Chris Thompson, who led the team with 687 rushing yards. Thompson was predicted to start the ACC Championship game because of his performance in the regular season and because fellow running backs Ty Jones and Jermaine Thomas were injured. Taken together, Florida State's offense was 52nd in total offense, accumulating 391 yards per game.
### Virginia Tech offense
Virginia Tech's offense was centered on quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was named ACC Player of the Year on December 1. Taylor threw 20 touchdown passes, had only four interceptions and completed 60.2 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 613 yards, a figure that included several "game-changing" runs. Alongside Taylor, the Hokies boasted three strong running backs: David Wilson, Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. Wilson had 573 rushing yards, 509 return yards, 165 receiving yards and nine touchdowns despite being an underclassman. The Hokies led the ACC in scoring, averaging 34.8 points per game, and were 38th in the nation in total offense (409 yards per game).
### Florida State defense
Virginia Tech's offensive line was particularly concerned with containing Florida State sophomore defensive end Brandon Jenkins, who was tied for third in the nation in sacks (12) and 15th in tackles for loss (18.5). On the other half of the defensive line, defensive end Markus White recorded seven sacks during the regular season. In total, Florida State's defense was No. 1 in college football in terms of sacks (43) and 15th in tackles for loss (7.2 per game). Florida State placed a priority on containing Tyrod Taylor and preventing him from scrambling for extra yardage. The Seminoles were 39th nationally in total defense, allowing an average of 341 yards per game.
### Virginia Tech defense
Virginia Tech's defense was less statistically successful in 2010 than it had been in previous years, but the Hokies still led the nation in turnover margin, forcing 16 more turnovers than they gave away. Sophomore cornerback Jayron Hosley, a first-team All-ACC selection, led the nation in interceptions with eight, while Davon Morgan and Rashad Carmichael each had four. Tech's defense ranked 10th in the red zone, seven spots ahead of the Seminoles' defense in that respect. In total defense, the Hokies were 42nd, permitting an average of 349 yards per game. In scoring defense, Tech was third in the ACC, permitting 17.9 points per game.
## Game summary
The 2010 ACC Championship Game kicked off on December 4, 2010 at 7:52 pm EST at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. At kickoff, the weather was overcast with light rain and a temperature of 36 °F (2 °C), "dreary and chilly", according to The Associated Press. The wind was from the east at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h). The number of tickets sold was 72,379, slightly less than capacity, and despite the chilly temperatures, early turnstile figures reported more than 60,000 people in attendance. The game was televised in the United States by ESPN, and Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Heather Cox were the announcers. The game also appeared on ESPN 3D, and was broadcast on that channel by Joe Tessitore, Tim Brown and Ray Bentley. Approximately 3.047 million people watched the game, earning the broadcast a Nielsen rating of 1.8. That figure was the second-lowest ever for an ACC Championship Game, but 13% more than the previous year's rating of 1.6, the record low. The game's referee was Brad Allen, the umpire was Jim Hyson and the lineman was Art Hardin.
### First quarter
Virginia Tech won the ceremonial pregame coin toss to determine first possession and decided to kick off to Florida State. Kickoff returner Lonnie Pryor mishandled the football, but quickly recovered the loose ball and carried it to the Florida State 33-yard line, where the Seminoles began their first offensive drive. On the first play of the game, quarterback E. J. Manuel completed a 29-yard pass to wide receiver Taiwan Easterling, driving the Seminoles into Virginia Tech's defensive half. A short rush and a subsequent 12-yard pass gave Florida State a first down near the Virginia Tech 20-yard line. Short rushes pushed Florida State's offense inside the Virginia Tech red zone, but the Seminoles were unable to gain another first down. Placekicker Dustin Hopkins came on the field and kicked a 32-yard field goal, giving Florida State a 3–0 lead with 11:43 remaining in the quarter.
Virginia Tech's first possession began at its 20-yard line after a touchback. The Hokies advanced the ball into Florida State with a series of rushing plays, then lost yardage and punted from their 47-yard line. Florida State recovered the kick at its 15-yard line and began its second possession. On the second play of the drive, Seminoles quarterback attempted a pass, but the ball was intercepted by Virginia Tech defender Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, who ran it 24 yards into the end zone for Virginia Tech's first touchdown. The score gave Tech a 7–3 lead with 8:54 remaining in the quarter.
Florida State received the post-score kickoff, then went three-and-out. Virginia Tech recovered the kick at its 35-yard line, and began a drive that needed only three plays to score a touchdown. The key effort was a 51-yard sprint by running back Darren Evans, which advanced the ball to the Florida State 9-yard line. The score and extra point pushed Tech's lead to 14–3 with 4:37 remaining. Florida State responded with a quick touchdown drive of its own. From its 32-yard line, the Seminoles needed only six plays, three of them passes from E. J. Manuel, to reach the end zone. The score with 1:52 remaining trimmed Tech's lead to 14–10 at the 1:52 mark. As the quarter came to an end, Virginia Tech received the post-score kickoff and advanced the ball to its 22-yard line before the final seconds ticked off the clock and the first quarter ended with Tech leading 14–10.
### Second quarter
The second quarter began with Virginia Tech in possession of the ball and facing a third and nine at its 22-yard line. On the first play of the quarter, Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Danny Coale for a first down at the 50-yard line. Tech continued to advance down the field, and eight plays later, Taylor completed a 19-yard pass to Jarret Boykin for the Hokies' third touchdown of the game. The drive consumed 13 plays and covered 91 yards in 6:25, and Tech gained a 21–10 lead with 10:28 remaining before halftime.
Following the touchdown, Virginia Tech kicked the ball off to Florida State, and after a short return, the Seminoles' offense took the field at their 22-yard line. Florida State then embarked upon a 10-play, 78-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown with 5:40 remaining in the quarter. During the drive, Florida State converted two third downs and Manuel completed passes of 12 yards, 14 yards and 25 yards.
Tech's Jayron Hosley returned Florida State's subsequent kickoff to the Tech 35-yard line, where the Hokies' offense returned to the field. Tech advanced the ball with short rushes, gaining two first downs via quarterback sneaks from Taylor. The Hokies advanced as far as the Florida State 44-yard line, but Florida State sacked Taylor twice, denying the Hokies another first down. Tech ran down the clock, then punted with 42 seconds remaining in the first half. Rather than attempt to score in the final seconds, Florida State kneeled on the ball and let the first half end with Tech leading, 21–17.
### Third quarter
Because Florida State received the ball to begin the game, Virginia Tech received the ball to begin the second half. Running back David Wilson returned the opening kickoff to the Tech 21-yard line, and the Hokies' offense began the first drive of the second half. The first play of the quarter was a 14-yard pass from Taylor to Coale, beginning a seven-play, 67-yard drive resulting in a touchdown. The culminating play of the drive was a 45-yard pass from Taylor to Coale for the touchdown, which extended Tech's lead to 11 points, 28–17, at the 11:24 mark of the quarter.
After the kickoff, Florida State went three-and-out and punted back to Virginia Tech. The Hokies began their second possession of the quarter at their 39-yard line and started the drive with five consecutive running plays, advancing 28 yards in the process. Tech then switched to its passing offense, throwing four consecutive passes. Three were complete, and the final one, a 21-yard toss from Taylor to Wilson, ended with the running back carrying the ball into the end zone. The score capped a nine-play, 61-yard drive that grew the Hokies' advantage to 18 points, 35–17.
Florida State's offense returned to the field with 4:35 remaining and needing to score rapidly in order to make up the 18-point deficit, the game's largest. The Seminoles began their drive with their passing offense, trying three passes in four plays. Quarterback Manuel completed two of those three pass attempts, gaining 37 yards and advancing deep into Virginia Tech territory. A pass interference penalty against Virginia Tech advanced the Seminoles to the Tech 11-yard line, and three rushing plays later, running back Ty Jones crossed the goal line for a touchdown. The score came with 1:40 remaining in the quarter and brought the score to 35–24.
Florida State kicked off following the score, and Tech's offense began work from its 18-yard line. Though quarterback Taylor was sacked on the first play of the drive, the Hokies recovered the lost yardage and gained a first down with the final play of the quarter. With one quarter remaining in the game, Tech held a 35–24 lead.
### Fourth quarter
Virginia Tech began the quarter with a first down at its 29-yard line. After Williams carried the ball for a four-yard gain, Taylor completed a 14-yard pass to Andre Smith for a first down at the Tech 47-yard line. Two plays gained only one yard, then Taylor completed a 46-yard throw to Coale for a first down at the Florida State 6-yard line. Three plays later, Taylor ran five yards into the end zone, finishing an 11-play, 82-yard drive that spanned two quarters. Tech increased its margin to 41–24, but as Virginia Tech attempted the extra point, Florida State's Nigel Bradham disrupted and blocked the kick. Bradham scooped up the loose ball and returned it the length of the field to the opposite end zone for an unusual defensive two-point conversion.
The conversion brought the score to 41–26 with 11:29 remaining in the game. Florida State received the post-touchdown kickoff, then benefited from a 10-yard holding penalty against Virginia Tech. Three subsequent plays failed to gain another first down, however, and on fourth down, a pass by Manuel was intercepted by Virginia Tech's Davon Morgan and returned to the Florida State 34-yard line. With 9:29 remaining, Virginia Tech's offense entered the game. The Hokies went three-and-out, but capitalized on the good starting field position by kicking a 43-yard field goal that increased their lead to 44–26.
Florida State's offense began work from its 36-yard line, but ran four plays without gaining a first down and turned the ball over on downs. Virginia Tech, whose offense began at the Florida State 45-yard line, proceeded to run down the clock. In eight plays, Tech advanced 21 yards and drained 3:22, then turned the ball over on downs at the Seminole 26-yard line. Florida State's offense entered the game one final time and conducted a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard pass from Manuel to running back Chris Thompson for a touchdown. The score and subsequent extra point made the score 44–33, but only seven seconds remained in the game. The Seminoles attempted an onside kick in an attempt to have another opportunity for offense, but the Hokies recovered the kick and proceeded to run out the final seconds, earning a 44–33 victory.
## Statistical summary
In recognition of his performance as the game's winning quarterback, Tyrod Taylor was named the game's most valuable player. He completed 18 of his 28 pass attempts for 263 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns gave him 23 for the season, setting a Virginia Tech single-season mark. The three touchdowns also tied the record for the most in an ACC Championship Game. Taylor also carried the ball 11 times for 24 yards and one touchdown. Taylor's MVP award was his second, and he became the first player to win the honor multiple times. On the opposite side of the ball, Florida State quarterback E. J. Manuel had a better completion percentage, completing 23 of his 31 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown. He also ran the ball 11 times for nine yards.
Virginia Tech wide receiver Danny Coale's 143 receiving yards were a career-high and set a championship-game record. Many of those receiving yards came on third down and were a reason why Tech converted 13 of its 17 third-down opportunities, setting another championship-game record. Florida State's leading receiver was wide receiver Taiwan Easterling, who had six catches for 79 yards. Close behind was wide receiver Willie Haulstead, who had three receptions for 73 yards. All of Haulstead's receptions came in the first half, setting a record for receiving yards in an ACC Championship Game half.
On the ground, Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans led all rushers with 69 yards on six carries. In total, Virginia Tech had 179 rushing yards; three players had more rushing yards than the leading rusher on Florida State, running back Ty Jones, who had 24 yards. Jones also had three rushing touchdowns, becoming the first Florida State player to rush for three touchdowns since October 4, 2008. He also was the second player ever to rush for three touchdowns in an ACC Championship Game.
Among defensive players, Florida State safety Nick Moody had 12 tackles, the most in the game. Virginia Tech's leading defensive player was safety Eddie Whitley, who had nine tackles and two pass breakups. Tech's Davon Morgan and Jeron Gouveia-Winslow were responsible for the only turnovers in the game; each had one interception. Gouveia-Winslow's 24-yard interception return for a touchdown was the second such score in an ACC Championship Game. On the opposite side of the ball, Nigel Bradham's defensive two-point conversion was only the fifth in all of college football during the 2010 season. Florida State received no penalties during the game, and Virginia Tech received only four. The four penalties were the fewest in an ACC Championship Game.
## Postgame effects
Virginia Tech's win in the ACC Championship Game, its first against Florida State in postseason play, brought it to an 11–2 record, while Florida State's loss dropped it to a 9–4 record. Virginia Tech became the first team in college football history to win 11 consecutive games after losing its first two of the season, and it was the first team in conference history to defeat nine different ACC teams in one season. Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer became only the second coach in ACC history to win four conference titles in seven years. The first to do so was Florida State's Bobby Bowden. Both teams' standings in the national polls were affected by the game. In the BCS poll, the Seminoles fell from 21st to out of the poll, while Virginia Tech rose from 15th to 13th. In the AP Poll, Tech rose to 12th, while Florida State fell to 23rd.
As a reward for winning the ACC Championship, the Hokies received a position in the 2011 Orange Bowl, a Bowl Championship Series game. Virginia Tech's opponent in that game was the Stanford Cardinal, from the Pac-12 Conference. In that game, a blowout in favor of the Cardinal, Stanford defeated Virginia Tech 40–12. Florida State, meanwhile, was selected to participate in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl against South Carolina. In that game, held New Year's Eve, the Seminoles defeated South Carolina, 26–17.
Several players from each team participated in all-star games following their teams' respective bowl games. Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor and center Beau Warren played in the East–West Shrine Game, Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder and offensive lineman Rodney Hudson played in the 2011 Senior Bowl. In that game, Ponder, who had been held out of the ACC Championship Game and underwent elbow surgery, guided the South team to victory by throwing two touchdown passes. The two games were a final chance to impress National Football League scouts before the 2011 NFL Draft, which began April 28.
Florida State had three players selected in the draft, including Ponder, who was taken with the 12th overall selection, making him the first participant from the 2010 ACC Championship Game to be picked. Florida State's two other selections were offensive lineman Rodney Hudson (55th overall) and defensive end Markus White (224th). Virginia Tech likewise had three players selected: Ryan Williams (38th), Rashad Carmichael (127th), and Tyrod Taylor (180th).
|
19,446 |
Magnetic resonance imaging
| 1,172,699,558 |
Medical imaging technique
|
[
"1973 introductions",
"20th-century inventions",
"American inventions",
"Articles containing video clips",
"Biomagnetics",
"Cryogenics",
"Discovery and invention controversies",
"Magnetic resonance imaging",
"Radiology"
] |
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves to generate images of the organs in the body. MRI does not involve X-rays or the use of ionizing radiation, which distinguishes it from computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. MRI is a medical application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) which can also be used for imaging in other NMR applications, such as NMR spectroscopy.
MRI is widely used in hospitals and clinics for medical diagnosis, staging and follow-up of disease. Compared to CT, MRI provides better contrast in images of soft tissues, e.g. in the brain or abdomen. However, it may be perceived as less comfortable by patients, due to the usually longer and louder measurements with the subject in a long, confining tube, though "Open" MRI designs mostly relieve this. Additionally, implants and other non-removable metal in the body can pose a risk and may exclude some patients from undergoing an MRI examination safely.
MRI was originally called NMRI (nuclear magnetic resonance imaging), but "nuclear" was dropped to avoid negative associations. Certain atomic nuclei are able to absorb radio frequency (RF) energy when placed in an external magnetic field; the resultant evolving spin polarization can induce a RF signal in a radio frequency coil and thereby be detected. In clinical and research MRI, hydrogen atoms are most often used to generate a macroscopic polarization that is detected by antennas close to the subject being examined. Hydrogen atoms are naturally abundant in humans and other biological organisms, particularly in water and fat. For this reason, most MRI scans essentially map the location of water and fat in the body. Pulses of radio waves excite the nuclear spin energy transition, and magnetic field gradients localize the polarization in space. By varying the parameters of the pulse sequence, different contrasts may be generated between tissues based on the relaxation properties of the hydrogen atoms therein.
Since its development in the 1970s and 1980s, MRI has proven to be a versatile imaging technique. While MRI is most prominently used in diagnostic medicine and biomedical research, it also may be used to form images of non-living objects, such as mummies. Diffusion MRI and functional MRI extend the utility of MRI to capture neuronal tracts and blood flow respectively in the nervous system, in addition to detailed spatial images. The sustained increase in demand for MRI within health systems has led to concerns about cost effectiveness and overdiagnosis.
## Mechanism
### Construction and physics
In most medical applications, hydrogen nuclei, which consist solely of a proton, that are in tissues create a signal that is processed to form an image of the body in terms of the density of those nuclei in a specific region. Given that the protons are affected by fields from other atoms to which they are bonded, it is possible to separate responses from hydrogen in specific compounds. To perform a study, the person is positioned within an MRI scanner that forms a strong magnetic field around the area to be imaged. First, energy from an oscillating magnetic field is temporarily applied to the patient at the appropriate resonance frequency. Scanning with X and Y gradient coils causes a selected region of the patient to experience the exact magnetic field required for the energy to be absorbed. The atoms are excited by a RF pulse and the resultant signal is measured by a receiving coil. The RF signal may be processed to deduce position information by looking at the changes in RF level and phase caused by varying the local magnetic field using gradient coils. As these coils are rapidly switched during the excitation and response to perform a moving line scan, they create the characteristic repetitive noise of an MRI scan as the windings move slightly due to magnetostriction. The contrast between different tissues is determined by the rate at which excited atoms return to the equilibrium state. Exogenous contrast agents may be given to the person to make the image clearer.
The major components of an MRI scanner are the main magnet, which polarizes the sample, the shim coils for correcting shifts in the homogeneity of the main magnetic field, the gradient system which is used to localize the region to be scanned and the RF system, which excites the sample and detects the resulting NMR signal. The whole system is controlled by one or more computers.
MRI requires a magnetic field that is both strong and uniform to a few parts per million across the scan volume. The field strength of the magnet is measured in teslas – and while the majority of systems operate at 1.5 T, commercial systems are available between 0.2 and 7 T. Whole-body MRI systems for research application operate in e.g. 9.4T, 10.5T, 11.7T. Even higher field whole-body MRI systems e.g. 14 T and beyond are in conceptual proposal or in engineering design. Most clinical magnets are superconducting magnets, which require liquid helium to keep them at low temperatures. Lower field strengths can be achieved with permanent magnets, which are often used in "open" MRI scanners for claustrophobic patients. Lower field strengths are also used in a portable MRI scanner approved by the FDA in 2020. Recently, MRI has been demonstrated also at ultra-low fields, i.e., in the microtesla-to-millitesla range, where sufficient signal quality is made possible by prepolarization (on the order of 10–100 mT) and by measuring the Larmor precession fields at about 100 microtesla with highly sensitive superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs).
### T1 and T2
Each tissue returns to its equilibrium state after excitation by the independent relaxation processes of T1 (spin-lattice; that is, magnetization in the same direction as the static magnetic field) and T2 (spin-spin; transverse to the static magnetic field).
To create a T1-weighted image, magnetization is allowed to recover before measuring the MR signal by changing the repetition time (TR). This image weighting is useful for assessing the cerebral cortex, identifying fatty tissue, characterizing focal liver lesions, and in general, obtaining morphological information, as well as for post-contrast imaging.
To create a T2-weighted image, magnetization is allowed to decay before measuring the MR signal by changing the echo time (TE). This image weighting is useful for detecting edema and inflammation, revealing white matter lesions, and assessing zonal anatomy in the prostate and uterus.
The standard display of MR images is to represent fluid characteristics in black-and-white images, where different tissues turn out as follows:
## Diagnostics
### Usage by organ or system
MRI has a wide range of applications in medical diagnosis and more than 25,000 scanners are estimated to be in use worldwide. MRI affects diagnosis and treatment in many specialties although the effect on improved health outcomes is disputed in certain cases.
MRI is the investigation of choice in the preoperative staging of rectal and prostate cancer and has a role in the diagnosis, staging, and follow-up of other tumors, as well as for determining areas of tissue for sampling in biobanking.
#### Neuroimaging
MRI is the investigative tool of choice for neurological cancers over CT, as it offers better visualization of the posterior cranial fossa, containing the brainstem and the cerebellum. The contrast provided between grey and white matter makes MRI the best choice for many conditions of the central nervous system, including demyelinating diseases, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, infectious diseases, Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. Since many images are taken milliseconds apart, it shows how the brain responds to different stimuli, enabling researchers to study both the functional and structural brain abnormalities in psychological disorders. MRI also is used in guided stereotactic surgery and radiosurgery for treatment of intracranial tumors, arteriovenous malformations, and other surgically treatable conditions using a device known as the N-localizer. New tools that implement artificial intelligence in healthcare have demonstrated higher image quality and morphometric analysis in neuroimaging with the application of a denoising system.
The record for the highest spatial resolution of a whole intact brain (postmortem) is 100 microns, from Massachusetts General Hospital. The data was published in NATURE on 30 October 2019.
#### Cardiovascular
Cardiac MRI is complementary to other imaging techniques, such as echocardiography, cardiac CT, and nuclear medicine. It can be used to assess the structure and the function of the heart. Its applications include assessment of myocardial ischemia and viability, cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, iron overload, vascular diseases, and congenital heart disease.
#### Musculoskeletal
Applications in the musculoskeletal system include spinal imaging, assessment of joint disease, and soft tissue tumors. Also, MRI techniques can be used for diagnostic imaging of systemic muscle diseases including genetic muscle diseases.
Swallowing movement of throat and oesophagus can cause motion artifact over the imaged spine. Therefore, a saturation pulse applied over this region the throat and oesophagus can help to avoid this artifact. Motion artifact arising due to pumping of the heart can be reduced by timing the MRI pulse according to heart cycles. Blood vessels flow artifacts can be reduced by applying saturation pulses above and below the region of interest.
#### Liver and gastrointestinal
Hepatobiliary MR is used to detect and characterize lesions of the liver, pancreas, and bile ducts. Focal or diffuse disorders of the liver may be evaluated using diffusion-weighted, opposed-phase imaging and dynamic contrast enhancement sequences. Extracellular contrast agents are used widely in liver MRI, and newer hepatobiliary contrast agents also provide the opportunity to perform functional biliary imaging. Anatomical imaging of the bile ducts is achieved by using a heavily T2-weighted sequence in magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Functional imaging of the pancreas is performed following administration of secretin. MR enterography provides non-invasive assessment of inflammatory bowel disease and small bowel tumors. MR-colonography may play a role in the detection of large polyps in patients at increased risk of colorectal cancer.
#### Angiography
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) generates pictures of the arteries to evaluate them for stenosis (abnormal narrowing) or aneurysms (vessel wall dilatations, at risk of rupture). MRA is often used to evaluate the arteries of the neck and brain, the thoracic and abdominal aorta, the renal arteries, and the legs (called a "run-off"). A variety of techniques can be used to generate the pictures, such as administration of a paramagnetic contrast agent (gadolinium) or using a technique known as "flow-related enhancement" (e.g., 2D and 3D time-of-flight sequences), where most of the signal on an image is due to blood that recently moved into that plane (see also FLASH MRI).
Techniques involving phase accumulation (known as phase contrast angiography) can also be used to generate flow velocity maps easily and accurately. Magnetic resonance venography (MRV) is a similar procedure that is used to image veins. In this method, the tissue is now excited inferiorly, while the signal is gathered in the plane immediately superior to the excitation plane—thus imaging the venous blood that recently moved from the excited plane.
## Contrast agents
MRI for imaging anatomical structures or blood flow do not require contrast agents since the varying properties of the tissues or blood provide natural contrasts. However, for more specific types of imaging, exogenous contrast agents may be given intravenously, orally, or intra-articularly. Most contrast agents are either paramagnetic (e.g.: gadolinium, manganese, europium), and are used to shorten T1 in the tissue they accumulate in, or super-paramagnetic (SPIONs), and are used to shorten T2 and T2\* in healthy tissue reducing its signal intensity (negative contrast agents). The most commonly used intravenous contrast agents are based on chelates of gadolinium, which is highly paramagnetic. In general, these agents have proved safer than the iodinated contrast agents used in X-ray radiography or CT. Anaphylactoid reactions are rare, occurring in approx. 0.03–0.1%. Of particular interest is the lower incidence of nephrotoxicity, compared with iodinated agents, when given at usual doses—this has made contrast-enhanced MRI scanning an option for patients with renal impairment, who would otherwise not be able to undergo contrast-enhanced CT.
Gadolinium-based contrast reagents are typically octadentate complexes of gadolinium(III). The complex is very stable (log K \> 20) so that, in use, the concentration of the un-complexed Gd<sup>3+</sup> ions should be below the toxicity limit. The 9th place in the metal ion's coordination sphere is occupied by a water molecule which exchanges rapidly with water molecules in the reagent molecule's immediate environment, affecting the magnetic resonance relaxation time. For details see MRI contrast agent.
In December 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States announced in a drug safety communication that new warnings were to be included on all gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). The FDA also called for increased patient education and requiring gadolinium contrast vendors to conduct additional animal and clinical studies to assess the safety of these agents. Although gadolinium agents have proved useful for patients with kidney impairment, in patients with severe kidney failure requiring dialysis there is a risk of a rare but serious illness, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, which may be linked to the use of certain gadolinium-containing agents. The most frequently linked is gadodiamide, but other agents have been linked too. Although a causal link has not been definitively established, current guidelines in the United States are that dialysis patients should only receive gadolinium agents where essential and that dialysis should be performed as soon as possible after the scan to remove the agent from the body promptly.
In Europe, where more gadolinium-containing agents are available, a classification of agents according to potential risks has been released. In 2008, a new contrast agent named gadoxetate, brand name Eovist (US) or Primovist (EU), was approved for diagnostic use: This has the theoretical benefit of a dual excretion path.
## Sequences
An MRI sequence is a particular setting of radiofrequency pulses and gradients, resulting in a particular image appearance. The T1 and T2 weighting can also be described as MRI sequences.
## Other specialized configurations
### Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is used to measure the levels of different metabolites in body tissues, which can be achieved through a variety of single voxel or imaging-based techniques. The MR signal produces a spectrum of resonances that corresponds to different molecular arrangements of the isotope being "excited". This signature is used to diagnose certain metabolic disorders, especially those affecting the brain, and to provide information on tumor metabolism.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) combines both spectroscopic and imaging methods to produce spatially localized spectra from within the sample or patient. The spatial resolution is much lower (limited by the available SNR), but the spectra in each voxel contains information about many metabolites. Because the available signal is used to encode spatial and spectral information, MRSI requires high SNR achievable only at higher field strengths (3 T and above). The high procurement and maintenance costs of MRI with extremely high field strengths inhibit their popularity. However, recent compressed sensing-based software algorithms (e.g., SAMV) have been proposed to achieve super-resolution without requiring such high field strengths.
### Real-time MRI
Real-time MRI refers to the continuous imaging of moving objects (such as the heart) in real time. One of the many different strategies developed since the early 2000s is based on radial FLASH MRI, and iterative reconstruction. This gives a temporal resolution of 20–30 ms for images with an in-plane resolution of 1.5–2.0 mm. Balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) imaging has a better image contrast between the blood pool and myocardium than the FLASH MRI, yet it will produce severe banding artifact when the B0 inhomogeneity is strong. Real-time MRI is likely to add important information on diseases of the heart and the joints, and in many cases may make MRI examinations easier and more comfortable for patients, especially for the patients who cannot hold their breathings or who have arrhythmia.
### Interventional MRI
The lack of harmful effects on the patient and the operator make MRI well-suited for interventional radiology, where the images produced by an MRI scanner guide minimally invasive procedures. Such procedures use no ferromagnetic instruments.
A specialized growing subset of interventional MRI is intraoperative MRI, in which an MRI is used in surgery. Some specialized MRI systems allow imaging concurrent with the surgical procedure. More typically, the surgical procedure is temporarily interrupted so that MRI can assess the success of the procedure or guide subsequent surgical work.
### Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound
In guided therapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) beams are focused on a tissue, that are controlled using MR thermal imaging. Due to the high energy at the focus, the temperature rises to above 65 °C (150 °F) which completely destroys the tissue. This technology can achieve precise ablation of diseased tissue. MR imaging provides a three-dimensional view of the target tissue, allowing for the precise focusing of ultrasound energy. The MR imaging provides quantitative, real-time, thermal images of the treated area. This allows the physician to ensure that the temperature generated during each cycle of ultrasound energy is sufficient to cause thermal ablation within the desired tissue and if not, to adapt the parameters to ensure effective treatment.
### Multinuclear imaging
Hydrogen has the most frequently imaged nucleus in MRI because it is present in biological tissues in great abundance, and because its high gyromagnetic ratio gives a strong signal. However, any nucleus with a net nuclear spin could potentially be imaged with MRI. Such nuclei include helium-3, lithium-7, carbon-13, fluorine-19, oxygen-17, sodium-23, phosphorus-31 and xenon-129. <sup>23</sup>Na and <sup>31</sup>P are naturally abundant in the body, so they can be imaged directly. Gaseous isotopes such as <sup>3</sup>He or <sup>129</sup>Xe must be hyperpolarized and then inhaled as their nuclear density is too low to yield a useful signal under normal conditions. <sup>17</sup>O and <sup>19</sup>F can be administered in sufficient quantities in liquid form (e.g. <sup>17</sup>O-water) that hyperpolarization is not a necessity. Using helium or xenon has the advantage of reduced background noise, and therefore increased contrast for the image itself, because these elements are not normally present in biological tissues.
Moreover, the nucleus of any atom that has a net nuclear spin and that is bonded to a hydrogen atom could potentially be imaged via heteronuclear magnetization transfer MRI that would image the high-gyromagnetic-ratio hydrogen nucleus instead of the low-gyromagnetic-ratio nucleus that is bonded to the hydrogen atom. In principle, heteronuclear magnetization transfer MRI could be used to detect the presence or absence of specific chemical bonds.
Multinuclear imaging is primarily a research technique at present. However, potential applications include functional imaging and imaging of organs poorly seen on <sup>1</sup>H MRI (e.g., lungs and bones) or as alternative contrast agents. Inhaled hyperpolarized <sup>3</sup>He can be used to image the distribution of air spaces within the lungs. Injectable solutions containing <sup>13</sup>C or stabilized bubbles of hyperpolarized <sup>129</sup>Xe have been studied as contrast agents for angiography and perfusion imaging. <sup>31</sup>P can potentially provide information on bone density and structure, as well as functional imaging of the brain. Multinuclear imaging holds the potential to chart the distribution of lithium in the human brain, this element finding use as an important drug for those with conditions such as bipolar disorder.
### Molecular imaging by MRI
MRI has the advantages of having very high spatial resolution and is very adept at morphological imaging and functional imaging. MRI does have several disadvantages though. First, MRI has a sensitivity of around 10<sup>−3</sup> mol/L to 10<sup>−5</sup> mol/L, which, compared to other types of imaging, can be very limiting. This problem stems from the fact that the population difference between the nuclear spin states is very small at room temperature. For example, at 1.5 teslas, a typical field strength for clinical MRI, the difference between high and low energy states is approximately 9 molecules per 2 million. Improvements to increase MR sensitivity include increasing magnetic field strength and hyperpolarization via optical pumping or dynamic nuclear polarization. There are also a variety of signal amplification schemes based on chemical exchange that increase sensitivity.
To achieve molecular imaging of disease biomarkers using MRI, targeted MRI contrast agents with high specificity and high relaxivity (sensitivity) are required. To date, many studies have been devoted to developing targeted-MRI contrast agents to achieve molecular imaging by MRI. Commonly, peptides, antibodies, or small ligands, and small protein domains, such as HER-2 affibodies, have been applied to achieve targeting. To enhance the sensitivity of the contrast agents, these targeting moieties are usually linked to high payload MRI contrast agents or MRI contrast agents with high relaxivities. A new class of gene targeting MR contrast agents has been introduced to show gene action of unique mRNA and gene transcription factor proteins. These new contrast agents can trace cells with unique mRNA, microRNA and virus; tissue response to inflammation in living brains. The MR reports change in gene expression with positive correlation to TaqMan analysis, optical and electron microscopy.
### Parallel MRI
It takes time to gather MRI data using sequential applications of magnetic field gradients. Even for the most streamlined of MRI sequences, there are physical and physiologic limits to the rate of gradient switching. Parallel MRI circumvents these limits by gathering some portion of the data simultaneously, rather than in a traditional sequential fashion. This is accomplished using arrays of radiofrequency (RF) detector coils, each with a different 'view' of the body. A reduced set of gradient steps is applied, and the remaining spatial information is filled in by combining signals from various coils, based on their known spatial sensitivity patterns. The resulting acceleration is limited by the number of coils and by the signal to noise ratio (which decreases with increasing acceleration), but two- to four-fold accelerations may commonly be achieved with suitable coil array configurations, and substantially higher accelerations have been demonstrated with specialized coil arrays. Parallel MRI may be used with most MRI sequences.
After a number of early suggestions for using arrays of detectors to accelerate imaging went largely unremarked in the MRI field, parallel imaging saw widespread development and application following the introduction of the SiMultaneous Acquisition of Spatial Harmonics (SMASH) technique in 1996–7. The SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) and Generalized Autocalibrating Partially Parallel Acquisitions (GRAPPA) techniques are the parallel imaging methods in most common use today. The advent of parallel MRI resulted in extensive research and development in image reconstruction and RF coil design, as well as in a rapid expansion of the number of receiver channels available on commercial MR systems. Parallel MRI is now used routinely for MRI examinations in a wide range of body areas and clinical or research applications.
### Quantitative MRI
Most MRI focuses on qualitative interpretation of MR data by acquiring spatial maps of relative variations in signal strength which are "weighted" by certain parameters. Quantitative methods instead attempt to determine spatial maps of accurate tissue relaxometry parameter values or magnetic field, or to measure the size of certain spatial features.
Examples of quantitative MRI methods are:
- T1-mapping (notably used in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging)
- T2-mapping
- Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM)
- Quantitative fluid flow MRI (i.e. some cerebrospinal fluid flow MRI)
- Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE)
Quantitative MRI aims to increase the reproducibility of MR images and interpretations, but has historically require longer scan times.
Quantitative MRI (or qMRI) sometimes more specifically refers to multi-parametric quantitative MRI, the mapping of multiple tissue relaxometry parameters in a single imaging session. Efforts to make multi-parametric quantitative MRI faster have produced sequences which map multiple parameters simultaneously, either by building separate encoding methods for each parameter into the sequence, or by fitting MR signal evolution to a multi-parameter model.
### Hyperpolarized gas MRI
Traditional MRI generates poor images of lung tissue because there are fewer water molecules with protons that can be excited by the magnetic field. Using hyperpolarized gas an MRI scan can identify ventilation defects in the lungs. Before the scan, a patient is asked to inhale hyperpolarized xenon mixed with a buffer gas of helium or nitrogen. The resulting lung images are much higher quality than with tranditional MRI.
## Safety
MRI is, in general, a safe technique, although injuries may occur as a result of failed safety procedures or human error. Contraindications to MRI include most cochlear implants and cardiac pacemakers, shrapnel, and metallic foreign bodies in the eyes. Magnetic resonance imaging in pregnancy appears to be safe, at least during the second and third trimesters if done without contrast agents. Since MRI does not use any ionizing radiation, its use is generally favored in preference to CT when either modality could yield the same information. Some patients experience claustrophobia and may require sedation or shorter MRI protocols. Amplitude and rapid switching of gradient coils during image acquisition may cause peripheral nerve stimulation.
MRI uses powerful magnets and can therefore cause magnetic materials to move at great speeds, posing a projectile risk, and may cause fatal accidents. However, as millions of MRIs are performed globally each year, fatalities are extremely rare.
MRI machines can produce loud noise, up to 120 dB(A). This can cause hearing loss and tinnitus, so appropriate hearing protection is essential for anyone inside the MRI scanner room during the examination.
### Overuse
Medical societies issue guidelines for when physicians should use MRI on patients and recommend against overuse. MRI can detect health problems or confirm a diagnosis, but medical societies often recommend that MRI not be the first procedure for creating a plan to diagnose or manage a patient's complaint. A common case is to use MRI to seek a cause of low back pain; the American College of Physicians, for example, recommends against this procedure as unlikely to result in a positive outcome for the patient.
## Artifacts
An MRI artifact is a visual artifact, that is, an anomaly during visual representation. Many different artifacts can occur during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), some affecting the diagnostic quality, while others may be confused with pathology. Artifacts can be classified as patient-related, signal processing-dependent and hardware (machine)-related.
## Non-medical use
MRI is used industrially mainly for routine analysis of chemicals. The nuclear magnetic resonance technique is also used, for example, to measure the ratio between water and fat in foods, monitoring of flow of corrosive fluids in pipes, or to study molecular structures such as catalysts.
Being non-invasive and non-damaging, MRI can be used to study the anatomy of plants, their water transportation processes and water balance. It is also applied to veterinary radiology for diagnostic purposes. Outside this, its use in zoology is limited due to the high cost; but it can be used on many species.
In palaeontology it is used to examine the structure of fossils.
Forensic imaging provides graphic documentation of an autopsy, which manual autopsy does not. CT scanning provides quick whole-body imaging of skeletal and parenchymal alterations, whereas MR imaging gives better representation of soft tissue pathology. But MRI is more expensive, and more time-consuming to utilize. Moreover, the quality of MR imaging deteriorates below 10 °C.
## History
In 1971 at Stony Brook University, Paul Lauterbur applied magnetic field gradients in all three dimensions and a back-projection technique to create NMR images. He published the first images of two tubes of water in 1973 in the journal Nature, followed by the picture of a living animal, a clam, and in 1974 by the image of the thoracic cavity of a mouse. Lauterbur called his imaging method zeugmatography, a term which was replaced by (N)MR imaging. In the late 1970s, physicists Peter Mansfield and Paul Lauterbur developed MRI-related techniques, like the echo-planar imaging (EPI) technique.
Advances in semiconductor technology were crucial to the development of practical MRI, which requires a large amount of computational power. This was made possible by the rapidly increasing number of transistors on a single integrated circuit chip. Mansfield and Lauterbur were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their "discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging".
## See also
- Amplified magnetic resonance imaging
- Electron paramagnetic resonance
- High-definition fiber tracking
- High-resolution computed tomography
- History of neuroimaging
- International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
- Jemris
- List of neuroimaging software
- Magnetic immunoassay
- Magnetic particle imaging
- Magnetic resonance elastography
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (journal)
- Magnetic resonance microscopy
- Nobel Prize controversies – Physiology or medicine
- Rabi cycle
- Robinson oscillator
- Sodium MRI
- Virtopsy
|
28,554,350 |
Doo-Wops & Hooligans
| 1,171,652,879 |
2010 studio album by Bruno Mars
|
[
"2010 debut albums",
"Albums produced by Jeff Bhasker",
"Albums produced by Needlz",
"Albums produced by Supa Dups",
"Albums produced by the Smeezingtons",
"Atlantic Records albums",
"Bruno Mars albums",
"Elektra Records albums",
"Reggae albums by American artists"
] |
Doo-Wops & Hooligans is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on October 4, 2010, by Atlantic and Elektra Records and was made available to listen before its official release on September 24, 2010. After the release of the EP It's Better If You Don't Understand, Mars's writing and production team, the Smeezingtons, began working on the album with Needlz, Supa Dups and Jeff Bhasker as producers. The album title was chosen to reflect simplicity and appeal to males and females.
Doo-Wops & Hooligans draws on a variety of influences. Lyrically, the album visualizes carefree optimism along with failed relationships, pain and loneliness. Doo-Wops & Hooligans received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the album's similarity to the work of American artists Michael Jackson and Jason Mraz, although others felt that the album tried too hard to appeal to all groups. About.com's Bill Lamb and Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen called Doo-Wops & Hooligans one of the year's best debut albums.
Doo-Wops & Hooligans topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), nine-times platinum by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) and six-times by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of 2020, the album has sold over 15 million copies globally. The first two singles, "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade" were successful internationally, topping the charts in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Subsequent singles "The Lazy Song", which topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Denmark, and "Marry You" reached the top ten in over ten countries. "Talking to the Moon" and "Count On Me" had a limited release.
At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011, "Just the Way You Are" received a Grammy Award in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category. Doo-Wops & Hooligans received five nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the single "Grenade". It was promoted primarily through the Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour (2010–2012) and a co-headline tour with Janelle Monáe, called Hooligans in Wondaland Tour (2011), along with a number of television appearances.
## Background and development
After the release of the hit singles "Nothin' on You" and "Billionaire", the Smeezingtons (a songwriting and record-producing trio consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine) were asked to begin working on Mars's debut album, having a six-month deadline. "The demand changed", leaving them with one month to finish the album. While establishing himself as a composer and artist, Mars worked with several artists and spent long periods of time in the recording studio "figuring out the production and the writing process"; he believed that "it was training for me to put out my own album." In early September 2010, Doo-Wops & Hooligans was being mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios.
Mars said about the album title, "I have records that women are going to relate to and men are going to relate to. So doo-wops are for the girls, and hooligans are for the guys." He elaborated in several interviews: "I grew up listening to my dad, who loved doo-wop music"; those sounds are "straight to the point" and simple; they rely on a "beautiful melody and voice", representing his romantic side. Due to his youth, he also liked to party (indicating his hooligan side). Mars said in an MTV News interview that he had completed his debut album. His debut EP, It's Better If You Don't Understand, released earlier in the year, provided "a little taste of what's in store".
In addition to writing the lyrics, the Smeezingtons produced the album with songwriters and other producers. Among them were Needlz and Khalil Walton, who helped compose "Just the Way You Are" by exchanging files. Mars said that the single took him months to create, even though he was only trying to tell a story and it was nothing "deep or poetic". "The Lazy Song", the fifth track, was inspired by a lack of ideas for songs and a disinclination to work. "Marry You", according to Lawrence, was drawn from a spontaneous marriage in Las Vegas. The bonus track, "Somewhere in Brooklyn", was inspired by Mars's father and New York. In the song, a female character is in Brooklyn and the singer is trying to find her.
## Composition
Doo-Wops & Hooligans is primarily a pop, reggae pop and R&B album, also having soul, reggae and rock influences. The album was compared to works by Michael Jackson and Jason Mraz. "Just the Way You Are", "Marry You" and "Runaway Baby" are uptempo songs; the former is an optimistic ballad, with yearning falsetto vocals influenced by U2. "Marry You" is a pop song about a spontaneous marriage idea, and "Runaway Baby" has a funky pop-rock and soul beat. "Marry You" is reminiscent of Coldplay, and "Runaway Baby" evokes Little Richard. "The Lazy Song", another uptempo song, is a reggae track described as an anthem "to sloth" and a "surf stoner's" borrowing from Sugar Ray. The second single, "Grenade", is a darker song with a masochistic message channeling Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana", Kanye West's production and Shakira's style.
One of the album's promotional singles, "Liquor Store Blues", is a reggae track fusing Michael Jackson with Bedouin Soundclash; the single "Count On Me" is a friendship anthem which channels Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's "Over the Rainbow". The third track, "Our First Time", has been compared to the work of Boyz II Men, Al B. Sure!, D'Angelo and Sade. and is a reggae and R&B song. "Talking to the Moon" is a power ballad expressing the singer's pain and loneliness, primarily in the chorus. The last track, "The Other Side", features B.o.B and Cee-Lo Green. It has been called the album's highlight, with its most experimental and complex production. "Somewhere in Brooklyn", which was only released in Germany as a promotional single, was included as a bonus track on several Doo-Wops & Hooligans editions.
## Singles
"Just the Way You Are" was released digitally as the album's lead single in various countries on July 20, 2010. The song was critically acclaimed, with reviewers praising its piano balladry and romantic lyrics. It topped the charts in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and reached the top ten in several other countries. "Just the Way You Are" received a Grammy Award in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.
"Grenade", the album's second single, had been premiered as its second (and last) promotional single on September 28, 2010, before its stand-alone release in October 2010. It was also well received by critics, most of whom praised Mars's vocals. The single surpassed "Just the Way You Are"'s success, topping the charts in nearly every country where it was released. The song was his third number-one on the Hot 100. In 2012, "Grenade" received three Grammy nominations at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
"The Lazy Song", was issued as the album's third single on February 15, 2011. It received mixed reviews. Some critics though it had a laid-back groove; others called it "filler", with empty lyrics which were an embarrassment to the album. The song topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Denmark, reached the top five in the US, Austria, Canada and New Zealand. Its music video was a single, long shot of Mars playing with five monkeys. An alternate video features Leonard Nimoy on his lazy daily routine.
"Talking to the Moon" was released as a single only in Brazil after it appeared on the 2011 soundtrack of the Brazilian telenovela, Insensato Coração (Irrational Heart). The song topped the Billboard Brasil Hot Pop & Popular and the Brasil Hot 100 Airplay charts. It spent nine weeks at number one on the latter chart, and topped the former chart for 22 weeks. The song received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its slow pace and lyrics but criticized its overwhelming production.
"Marry You" was not released as a single in the United States, despite considerable airplay on mainstream and adult top-40 radio stations. However, it was first released in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2011, via digital download. The song was praised for its "instantly hummable melody and a sing-songy chorus", reminiscent of 1960s pop. It reached the top ten in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
"Count On Me" was announced as the sixth single, with a radio release date of November 7, 2011, in Australia. The song reached the top ten in Austria, Portugal and Spain, and the top twenty in Australia and New Zealand. It was praised for its arrangement and "uplifting" vibe, and compared with "Over The Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.
## Release and promotion
The release of Doo-Wops & Hooligans was announced on August 25, 2010, with T-shirts, a screen-printed poster autographed and hand-numbered by Mars and photos of the singer included in the first 500 preorders. Its cover art was released five days later. The track listing, which included three of the four songs from Mars's EP, was announced by Atlantic Records on September 9. The album's standard edition was released in the US on October 4, 2010. A deluxe edition was also released, which included a remix of "Just the Way You Are" featuring Lupe Fiasco and "Somewhere in Brooklyn" (originally from It's Better If You Don't Understand) and the music videos of "Just the Way You Are" and "The Other Side". Other versions were released, culminating in the Japanese Platinum Edition.
On September 21, 2010, "Liquor Store Blues" featuring Damian Marley (the first of three promotional singles) was released in various countries. Three days later, the album was made available to listen before its official release on Myspace. "Grenade" was released as the second promotional single on September 28, 2010, via iTunes. The third promotional single, "Somewhere in Brooklyn", was released in Germany on January 4, 2011. "Runaway Baby" was performed at several shows, including The X Factor, the 54th Annual Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show. The performances were praised by several critics, and the song charted in the US, New Zealand and the UK.
To promote the album, Mars gave several performances. The first, with his four-piece band, was at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on August 25, 2010. In early October he performed "Just The Way You Are" and a medley of "Nothing On You" and "Grenade" for the first time on national television on Saturday Night Live, and received a positive critical reaction. This was followed by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a Billboard Tastemakers video session and Mars's debut performance of "The Lazy Song" on Kidd Kraddick's radio show. Atlantic Records allowed the musical television series Glee to cover "Just the Way You Are" and "Marry You" in November 2010, and Mars sang "Grenade" on the Late Show with David Letterman that month. An acoustic version of "Just the Way You Are" was performed at the Grammy Nominations concert in December 2010 for the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Mars began the fall leg of Maroon 5's Palm Trees & Power Lines Tour, opening shows with OneRepublic, on October 6, 2010, in Santa Barbara, California. He then supported Travie McCoy on his European tour from mid-October to early November. The album was promoted by the Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour, Mars's first headlining concert tour, which started on November 16 in San Francisco. Its second leg, from January to March 2011, consisted of concerts in Europe and was followed by dates in Asia and Oceania. Dates for the former tour in Europe, the Caribbean and South America were added. Mars concluded the tour on January 28, 2012, in Florianópolis, Brazil. In early 2011, a co-headline tour with Janelle Monáe, called Hooligans in Wondaland Tour, was announced. The concert tour was performed in North America in May and June 2011.
On October 2, 2020, Atlantic Records announced they would be celebrating the tenth anniversary of Doo-Wops & Hooligans. The music videos of the album were remastered in 4K Ultra HD, and six brand new lyric videos were released. The label also made Doo-Wops & Hooligans merchandise available for purchase for a limited time on Mars's official webstore. Moreover, the album will be made available in a limited yellow vinyl edition, exclusively via Walmart, on November 27, 2020. Several Atlantic Records' artists covered songs from the album as part of its tenth anniversary.
## Critical reception
Doo-Wops & Hooligans was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 61, based on 13 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave Doo-Wops & Hooligans 4.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave Doo-Wops & Hooligans a B+ grade. Greenblatt praised Mars's "instant-access melodies", "creamy" productions and "sly snatches of dance-floor swagger", but said that some of the album's musical styles did not suit the singer. Alex Young of Consequence called Doo-Wops & Hooligans "fulfilling [with] very few holes", giving the album a B− grade but calling Mars's vocals "gold". The Daily Telegraph's Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski wrote that the album had a "bundle of top-drawer melodies, making commercial success all but a certainty" and gave it four stars out of five. Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone called it "the year's finest debut" with "10 near-perfect" tracks, and gave the album three-and-a-half start out of five. According to Rosen, its songs "deliver pleasure without pretension". Rosen and The Boston Globe's Ken Capobianco praised Mars's vocal performance and talent for composing melodies. Although Capobianco found the debut album "promising", he was disappointed by its lack of self-revelation. Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post called it "effortlessly tuneful" and a good start to a "durable career". The New York Times's Jon Caramanica described Doo-Wops & Hooligans as a "fantastically polyglot record that shows him to be a careful study across a range of pop songcraft" and praised its range of influences.
In a mixed review, Tim Sendra of AllMusic praised most of the songs for their "laid-back groove" but found that the quality dropped when Mars "turns up the volume and boosts the tempo". Sendra gave the album three stars out of five, calling it "an uneven debut ... [that] doesn't tap into his potential as a writer or a producer". Scott Kara of The New Zealand Herald enjoyed the album's first two tracks, but wrote that the rest could have had more "potency" and rated Doo-Wops & Hooligans three out of five. Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times wrote that the record is "full of the kind of catchy modern pop that is impossible to dislike or dislodge ... most of the tunes are cocktail bangers hot enough to melt ice." According to The Independent's Andy Gill, the album "seeks too hard to display Mars' multifaceted talents".
Eric Henderson criticized Doo-Wops & Hooligans in Slant Magazine, saying that it "manages to wear out its welcome about halfway through" and calling it an attempt to "please just about everybody." He gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of 5. With the same rating, Jamie Milton of musicOMH wrote that it "involves throwing everything into the fire", "a contrast taken too far". Milton called it (in common with other debut albums) "opportunistic ... regardless of any forthcoming trends in pop, there's a song on the album pitched to take grasp of it all." A Q reviewer who gave the album two out of five stars wrote, "Mostly, he has little to say." The Guardian's Alexis Petridis also gave it two out of five stars due to Mars's "saccharine sound" and poor lyrical composition. According to Petridis, the album should have been more "groundbreaking". The Scotsman and Mike Diver of the BBC said that Mars could have made an album for mass appreciation. The Scotsman reviewer wished that Mars had recorded something more "sophisticated"; Diver said that the album is not suitable for "anyone with life and love experience beyond passing notes around at the back of class".
### Accolades
The album's lead single, "Just The Way You Are", received the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance award at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011 and received the Top Radio Song award at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. Doo-Wops & Hooligans was nominated for the International Album of the Year award at the 2011 Danish GAFFA Awards, Best Album Pop Rock International at the 2012 Swiss Music Awards, and received two nominations (Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year) at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. The album's second single, "Grenade", received three nominations (Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance) for the 2012 Grammys. Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen and Bill Lamb of About.com called the album one of the year's best debuts. Lamb praised Mars's vocals and most of the melodies as "surefire", calling Mars a "creative artist" and saying that on his next album the singer could "stretch the horizons further and deliver truly memorable songs". Rosen described the songs as "near-perfect", "mov[ing] from power ballads to bedroom anthems ... Call it bubblegum that eats like a meal." In November 2013, the Doo-Wops & Hooligans artwork designed by Nick Bilardello was 31st on Complex' "50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years". Susan Cheng wrote that Mars would have an enduring career, as "depicted in the path left behind by a black jet on the cover" of the album, whose "sunny hues convey a sense of self-confidence and the singer's outlook on the road ahead ... the silhouette in the lower right, presumably a representation of Bruno Mars, reveals humility in the wake of so much success."
## Commercial performance
Doo-Wops & Hooligans debuted (and peaked) at number three on the Billboard 200, with sales of 55,000 on its October 13, 2010, issue date in the United States. It topped Billboard's Top Catalog Albums chart; it remained at number one for 11 weeks, surpassing Bob Marley and the Wailers’ compilation album Legend (1984) for the most weeks at number one in 2013. The album had the second-longest stretch at number one for a male artist, behind Michael Jackson’s 2003 greatest-hits album Number Ones (19 weeks). During the week of February 5, 2014 (after Mars's Grammy appearance and performance at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show), sales of Doo-Wops & Hooligans increased by 303% and it rebounded to number 19 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and sold 2,626,000 million copies in the United States by July 2017. As of January 6, 2021, Doo-Wops & Hooligans spent 500 weeks on the Billboard 200, becoming the ninth title to reach the aforementioned weeks. Doo-Wops & Hooligans is also the longest-running debut album on the aforementioned chart. According to the RIAA, the album was the ninth highest certified album of the 2010s decade.
In Canada, it debuted at number six. After fluctuating on the chart, the album reached number one four months later on February 5, 2011. It has been certified triple platinum by Music Canada. The album debuted at number five, peaked at number two and was certified ten times platinum in New Zealand. It debuted at number seven in Australia, peaked at number two and was certified quadruple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 280,000 copies.
Doo-Wops & Hooligans debuted in the United Kingdom at number 79 on October 24, 2010, with first-week sales of 6,775 imported copies. On its first chart week of 2011, it replaced Rihanna's Loud at number one and spent another week atop the chart. Doo-Wops & Hooligans was 2011's second million-selling album in the UK. It was the year's third-bestselling album, with sales of 1.2 million copies. As of November 2016, the album sold 1,712,854 copies and in 2018 it was certified sixtuple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It debuted atop the Irish and Scottish album charts and it was certified four times platinum by the Irish Recording Music Association (IRMA).
In the Philippines, Doo-Wops & Hooligans received a double-diamond certification from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) in 2014 for sales of 300,000 copies and is the country's seventh-best-selling album. It topped the charts in Flanders, Croatia, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The album sold 500,000 copies in Germany (its European high), and was certified quintuple gold by the BVMI. It reached the top 10 in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, and was certified four times platinum by IFPI Denmark. By 2021, Doo-Wops & Hooligans had sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.
## Track listing
- Co-producer
## Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Doo-Wops & Hooligans.
Technical and composing credits
- The Smeezingtons – executive producer, production
- Bruno Mars – vocals, instruments
- Ari Levine – instruments, mixing, engineer
- Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee – drums, production, arranger, programmer
- Mitchun "Kahn" Chin – keys, guitar, bass
- Brody Brown – instruments
- Needlz – production
- Jeff Bhasker – production
- Damian Marley – rapping
- B.o.B – rapping
- CeeLo Green – vocals
- DJ Dizzy (Jash Negandhi) – scratching
Creative credits
- Nicki Bilardello – art direction, design
- Katie Robinson – marketing director
- Michelle Piza – packaging manager
Recording personnel
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Christian Plata – mixing assistant
- Erik Madrid – mixing assistant
- Graham Marsh – engineer
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
### Decade-end charts
### All-time charts
## Certifications
## Release history
## See also
- List of best-selling albums in the Philippines
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