pageid
int64 1.39k
74.6M
| title
stringlengths 2
102
| revid
int64 962M
1.17B
| description
stringlengths 4
100
⌀ | categories
listlengths 0
61
| markdown
stringlengths 1.23k
15.9k
| sections
listlengths 0
33
| token
int64 258
3k
| __index_level_0__
int64 0
44.8k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2,382,275 |
Shadowrun (1993 video game)
| 1,152,675,992 |
1993 video game
|
[
"1993 video games",
"Action role-playing video games",
"Beam Software games",
"Cyberpunk video games",
"Shadowrun video games",
"Single-player video games",
"Super Nintendo Entertainment System games",
"Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games",
"Video games about dragons",
"Video games based on novels",
"Video games developed in Australia",
"Video games set in Seattle",
"Video games set in the 2050s",
"Video games with isometric graphics"
] |
Shadowrun is a cyberpunk-fantasy action role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, adapted from the tabletop role-playing game Shadowrun by FASA. The video game was developed by Australian company Beam Software and first released in 1993 by Data East.
The game is loosely based on the novel Never Deal with a Dragon by Shadowrun co-creator Robert N. Charrette and set in the year 2050. The player takes on the role of Jake Armitage, a man suffering from amnesia after having been critically wounded by assassins. The plot then follows Jake as he attempts to uncover his own identity and the identity of the mysterious figure who wants him dead, and eventually complete his mission. Harebrained Schemes' 2013 Shadowrun Returns links the stories of this game and of Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis.
A project to adapt Shadowrun for the Super NES had a turbulent history between 1989 and 1993, including having been halted in mid-development before being resumed in late 1992 under a tight deadline. Its eventual lead designer was Paul Kidd, creator of Beam Software's 1992 Nightshade, elements and a feel of which he then carried on to Shadowrun. The game was a critical success, winning a number of industry awards, but was a commercial failure nevertheless. It was retrospectively acclaimed by several publications as an "ahead of its time" milestone in the history of the role-playing genre for the consoles and credited for having pioneered film noir style in video games.
## Gameplay
Shadowrun is an action role-playing game (RPG) that combines the statistical factor of the original tabletop game (with minor changes) with real-time gameplay. The player is given direct control over the protagonist Jake and moves him around using the directional pad within the game's isometrically displayed world. A cursor system allows the player to scroll a pointer across the screen and perform various actions that include opening doors and passageways, examining and picking up objects, engaging in conversation with non-player characters (NPCs), and utilizing firearms and magic commands while in combat.
In interacting with other characters, Shadowrun allows the player to gain information using a bank of terms. Whenever Jake hears a new and unusual term, this word is highlighted and is then added to the bank that he can use; from that point on, when speaking with NPCs, Jake is able to ask them about this new word; only in this manner can a player progress with the game. As the title of the game implies, Jake is described as a "shadowrunner", a mercenary type of character common within the Shadowrun world. The player is given the option to hire other shadowrunners as henchmen with "nuyen", the game's currency that can also be used to purchase guns and certain key items scattered throughout various locations.
Combat within Shadowrun often requires sharp reflexes, as practically every screen contains hidden assassins who, from random locations, open fire on Jake; the player may retreat or must otherwise immediately find the source of the attack and respond. Enemies typically drop nuyen, while at the same time, Jake builds up "karma". If the player retires to a bed to restore health and save one's progress, karma can be allocated into different attributes, skills, and magical powers.
At certain points in the game, Shadowrun allows the player to enter cyberspace. Using an item called a "cyberdeck", Jake is able to hack into computers to retrieve information, as well as gain more nuyen. During such scenes, the gameplay switches to a top-down perspective while an icon of Jake moves through cyberspace, fights intrusion programs, and retrieves data. If Jake dies in cyberspace, he dies in the outside world as well.
While the setting and a lot of gameplay elements are taken from the original pen and paper variant, certain gameplay elements have been modified. One example is that the "Condition Monitor" has been replaced with a more traditional hit points system, and the removal of the "Essence" mechanic, which decreases when cyberware is installed. This would reduce a character's ability to use magic as the installation of cyberware is making one less alive, thus less in tune with magic.
## Plot
Shadowrun is an adaptation of the FASA tabletop role-playing game of the same name. The storyline of the video game is loosely based on the first Shadowrun novel, Never Deal with a Dragon, written by Robert N. Charrette. The narrative opens in Seattle, Washington in the year 2050, where the protagonist Jake Armitage is shown being gunned down in the street. A shapeshifting vulpine figure rushes to his side and is seen casting a spell over Jake before leaving hastily as the medics arrive on the scene. Jake awakens in a morgue with complete memory loss. Soon, he is approached by the "Dog", a shamanistic totem who gives him a warning before vanishing.
The rest of the story is spent investigating the events leading to Jake's shooting, learning the identity of the shapeshifter who saved him, as well the person who ordered his assassination, a mysterious crime lord named "Drake". Most of the information is found by piecing together snippets of data found by hacking various protected computer systems. Along the way, he has encounters with gangs, criminals, and magically awakened creatures while under constant threat of attack from contract killers. Jake also discovers and develops his own latent magical abilities. Apart from his totem spirit, his only allies are the hired services of shadowrunners. It is eventually revealed that Jake is a data courier who was carrying a program in a computer built inside his brain. The program was designed to destroy a malevolent artificial intelligence, which the Aneki Corporation is trying to protect. The company is being aided by Drake, who turns out to be a dragon and the mastermind behind the plot.
## Development
The work to develop an adaptation of Shadowrun for the Super NES by the Australian developer Beam Software began when Adam Lanceman, part of the company's management team, acquired the license for FASA's 1989 tabletop RPG. The project was initially headed by Gregg Barnett until he abruptly left Beam midway through the game's development to start Perfect Entertainment in the United Kingdom. The game's production was halted by Beam, but eventually resumed before its set deadline.
Having been hired by Beam's parent company Melbourne House, fantasy and sci-fi writer Paul Kidd quickly took Barnett's place as lead designer. According to Kidd, the given timeframe for finishing Shadowrun for publisher Data East was very short, forcing the team to complete production in a tumultuous five and a half to six months. An avid role-player, Kidd was already familiar with the Shadowrun license, but had to utilize the storyline that his predecessor had already gotten approved. Aspects of Beam's earlier action-adventure game Nightshade, of which Kidd was the writer, director and lead designer, were used as a basis for Shadowrun; specific film noir components such as "dark cityscapes, dialogue-heavy exchanges, and touches of humor" were adapted directly from the former to the latter. To coincide with the last of these qualities, Kidd and programmer Jeff Kamenek altered the original "serious" tone of Shadowrun by replacing portions of the script and artwork with more comedic elements. According to Kidd, "we made improvements and changes, but the basic concepts were pretty much the same [as in Nightshade]."
The ROM image of the first version of Shadowrun contains a much more crude script, with more sexual suggestive and violent phrases. For example, one line is changed from "morgue guys" to "chop shop guys". The game's distributor favored the less serious version for retail release, sparking indignation and conflict among Kidd and other members of Beam's staff. Kidd recalled: "Beam Software was a madhouse, a cesspit of bad karma and evil vibes. The war was reaching shooting level; old school creators who just wanted to make good games were being crushed down by a wave of managerial bull. It was no longer a 'creative partnership' in any way; it was 'us' and 'them'. People were feeling creatively and emotionally divorced from their projects." Shadowrun was ultimately completed by its deadline. Kidd credits this to the staffers abstaining from company meetings and workshops, and continually keeping management away from the designers.
Shadowrun was released in North America and Japan by Data East. In PAL regions, it was self-published by Beam Software as Laser Beam Entertainment. The 1994 Japanese version has a significantly longer introduction sequence than the English version of the game and also has a vertically uncompressed Shadowrun logo on the title screen. Other than that, it uses the same script as the North American and PAL editions, just with Japanese subtitles.
## Reception
The game was met with a positive critical reception and good reviews. Shadowrun was given a number of awards from various publications, including the title of the Best RPG of the Year by VideoGames, Electronic Games, and Game Informer, and was a runner-up for it in GamePro (behind Secret of Mana). The game was given the second place Nintendo Power Award in the category "Most Innovative (Super NES)" (it was also nominated in the category "For Challenge"), Nintendo Power describing it as "one of the best sci-fi games ever". However, the game sold poorly, partly because of low shipping numbers.
Shadowrun has been positively recounted in many retrospective lists and articles. It was listed it as the 34th best Super NES game by Super Play in 1996, as well as the 48th best game on any Nintendo platform by Nintendo Power in 1997. Ranking it as the 77th top Super NES game in 2011, IGN commented that while Shadowrun "didn't quite get away from all the common RPG stereotypes" it was still "a milestone for the introduction of film noir style into the gaming industry, though, so we can forgive the game for only being 90% groundbreaking." The game was also cited as an important milestone in the use of film noir style in video games by Game Informer, according to which "Shadowrun's moody music and dark streets set the somber tone for this RPG's prying conversations and self-reflective narrative." Game Informer also ranked Shadowrun as 125th place on their list of best video games of all time in 2009. IGN Australia listed Shadowrun among their favourite Australian video games in 2010, writing it was "without question, one of the best underexposed classics of the SNES era" because it presented players with "a mature narrative, strong characters and a dystopian backdrop" blended with traditional RPG elements in an "irresistible" way. That same year, 1UP.com included Shadowrun on their list of 15 games "ahead of their time" for its use of a keyword dialogue system, common to PC games but foreign to console games of the time. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Shadowrun 9th on their "The GamesMaster SNES Top 10."
In 2002, GameSpot included it on the list of video games that should be remade and compared this "groundbreaking RPG" that was "truly ahead of its time" to the more recent Planescape: Torment. A remake of the game was also requested by Sam Bandah of X360, who called it "rather excellent", a "little-known classic" and "a cyberpunk RPG classic begging to return", and stated: "Shadowrun would be a perfect game to remake as a Mass Effect-style RPG – perhaps with the conversation system of the sadly much-maligned Alpha Protocol." In 2012, GamesRadar ranked this "one incredibly unique, noir-style story" as the third top "cult-classic franchise" that should be rebooted similar to how X-COM was.
## Legacy
Two co-licensed role-playing video games of the same name were released around the same time by different developers and publishers: the 1994 North America-exclusive Sega Genesis title by BlueSky Software and Sega, and the 1995 Japan-exclusive Sega Mega-CD title by Group SNE and Compile. The storyline and gameplay of the Super NES Shadowrun are completely different from these two games. In 2007, FASA Studio and Microsoft Studios released a multiplayer first-person shooter adaptation of the franchise for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows.
The 1998 PC RPG Alien Earth was declared a spiritual sequel to Shadowrun by Beam Software (which developed both games), with producer David Giles saying he hoped to "Keep the original's gameplay RPG/combat/adventure elements that people liked, but up the graphic side of it."
In 2012, Harebrained Schemes announced that it would be producing a new Shadowrun role-playing video game, Shadowrun Returns, to be funded through Kickstarter. As a result of the Kickstarter appeal reaching a 1.5 million dollar target, Shadowrun's original creator and FASA Corporation's founder Jordan Weisman announced that the game would now feature an additional storyline tying in the new game with both the Super NES and Sega Genesis versions. This extra content was initially made available only to backers, becoming generally available some time after release. The protagonist of the Super NES game, Jake Armitage, is featured in Shadowrun Returns as both part of the game's main plotline and as an NPC that the player can hire to accompany them on various missions.
|
[
"## Gameplay",
"## Plot",
"## Development",
"## Reception",
"## Legacy"
] | 2,759 | 19,805 |
54,787,346 |
East Redmond, Washington
| 1,043,400,780 | null |
[
"Former municipalities in Washington (state)",
"Towns in King County, Washington"
] |
East Redmond was a short-lived town in King County, Washington that existed from 1956 to 1965. The town, then located to the east of Redmond in the Seattle metropolitan area, was formed as a result of a land use dispute between neighbors. East Redmond, with a population of fewer than 400 people, was found to have not met the state's minimum population requirement for incorporation and was dis-incorporated by a decision of the Washington Supreme Court in 1965.
## History
The King County government entered into an agreement with the Dincov family in 1954 to operate a gravel mine on their East Redmond property for use in constructing Interstate 405. The Dincovs' neighbors, in opposition to the gravel mine, proposed to form an incorporated town in order to halt operations. A special election was held on August 14, 1956, and 108 residents voted in favor of incorporating East Redmond as a fourth-class town, while 67 opposed. The town's government passed an ordinance that prohibited the county's gravel mine operations, leading King County to seek a restraining order against the town. East Redmond officials threatened to arrest county employees violating the ordinance, and the requested temporary restraining order was denied by a Superior Court judge. The county was eventually denied an injunction that removed the town from interfering with the mine, due to expired and lapsed permits.
In February 1957, the King County Board of Commissioners received a petition signed by Snoqualmie Valley residents asking for the dis-incorporation of East Redmond. The petition concerned the maintenance of Novelty Hill Road, which ran through East Redmond towards the Snoqualmie Valley, which would be too expensive for East Redmond to maintain; the petition also alleged that the town had created a speed trap on the road. Another petition was presented to the town council that month, signed by 125 of its 375 residents hoping to trigger a dis-incorporation election. The election was called off after a ruling by a Superior Court judge after the discovery of signatures that did not match voter registrations, as well as withdrawn signatures, which reduced the number of petitioners to below the majority of registered of voters. Residents of the Novelty Hill Road area unsuccessfully attempted to secede from East Redmond through a special election in May 1957; The Seattle Times reported that some residents had voted in favor of staying in East Redmond in order to be eligible to vote for dis-incorporation at a later date. A petition to dis-incorporate a majority of the town was certified in June, and the county scheduled a vote on the matter in October. East Redmond voted 164 to 24 to dis-incorporate three-fourths of the town, leaving only 50 residents and 0.87 square miles (2.3 km<sup>2</sup>). The town annexed 350 acres (140 ha; 0.55 sq mi) the following month, including the Dincov gravel mine, to extend the city's boundaries to Lake Sammamish.
In March 1962, King County Prosecutor Charles O. Carroll filed a court action on the request of a Superior Court judge and 42 East Redmond residents that challenged the validity of East Redmond's fourth-class status. Two years later, on March 10, 1964, the Superior Court ruled that the incorporation was invalid for several reasons: the incorporated town was 4.5 square miles (12 km<sup>2</sup>), but state law limited fourth-class towns to a size of one square mile (2.6 km<sup>2</sup>); the town did not meet the minimum population of 300 required for the status; and the incorporation vote had taken place outside of the proposed town, in neighboring Redmond. East Redmond's government, then conducting a regular election, appealed to the State Supreme Court, who heard the case in early 1965. The State Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's decision on July 1, 1965, declaring that the town was illegally incorporated and thus invalid.
East Redmond became the second town in King County history to be dis-incorporated, following Ravensdale in the 1920s. The area remains unincorporated, as part of the Union Hill-Novelty Hill census-designated place.
## Geography
At the time of its incorporation, East Redmond had a total size of 4.5 square miles (12 km<sup>2</sup>); it was three times larger than the neighboring town of Redmond. By the end of 1957, the town shrunk to just over one square mile (2.6 km<sup>2</sup>), due to residents voting to dis-incorporate.
## Demographics
The 1960 census counted a population of 203 people in East Redmond.
At the time of its dis-incorporation, the population of East Redmond had declined to 185. An unofficial population count by the Washington Secretary of State in 1956 estimated that the town had 516 residents, but after the 1957 dis-incorporation vote, the town's population was reduced to 225 by 1958. The town was the smallest incorporated place in King County for most of its existence.
## Government
The town operated under a council–manager government, with a town manager and honorary mayor chosen from the five-member elected town council. East Redmond was the only fourth-class town to operate under the government, whilst others used a mayor–council government.
## See also
- Elberton, Washington, another Washington town which was dis-incorporated in the 1960s
|
[
"## History",
"## Geography",
"## Demographics",
"## Government",
"## See also"
] | 1,166 | 2,786 |
17,302,068 |
Bristol County Jail
| 1,168,911,760 | null |
[
"1828 establishments in Rhode Island",
"Buildings and structures in Bristol, Rhode Island",
"Defunct prisons in Rhode Island",
"Government buildings completed in 1828",
"Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island",
"History museums in Rhode Island",
"Jails in Rhode Island",
"Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island",
"Museums in Bristol County, Rhode Island",
"National Register of Historic Places in Bristol County, Rhode Island",
"Prison museums in the United States"
] |
Bristol County Jail is a historic jail at 48 Court Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, and home to the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society.
The jail was built on the site of a previous jail house dating to 1792 and salvaged materials were used extensively in the new construction. The present Bristol County Jail consists of a 36.5-foot-wide (11.1 m) by 46.4-foot-long (14.1 m) center hallway in a 2+1⁄2-story stone structure topped with a gable roof. The jail accommodated both the inmates and the jailer's family. The first floor is believed to have been the family's parlor, dining room and kitchen on the west side and the east side the jailer's reception room, office and storage room. The second floor housed the family's bedrooms and the inmates' cells, with low, medium and maximum security cells. The maximum security cells in the southeast portion of the jail had no heat, light or sanitary facilities and were enclosed by 2-foot (0.61 m) exterior stone walls and built atop thick floor timbers supported by 2-foot-thick (0.61 m) solid brick wall and further supported by a fieldstone wall from the cellar.
In 1859, a rectangular 20-foot-wide (6.1 m) by 43.2-foot-long (13.2 m) two-story rear addition was added to common southeast wall of the jail. Made of cut granite blocks and topped with a flat roof, the addition added five cells on each of its two levels. The jail was discontinued by the State of Rhode Island in June 1957 and the Bristol Historical Society (later the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society) leased the property following a fire at the Rogers Free Library. The Bristol Historical Society removed partitions in the first floor and added new access points as part of its renovations, including the removal of the internal east chimney. However, the building retains much of its unaltered interior features, and the jail cells are used by the Society as a public exhibit. The Bristol County Jail was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and currently serves as the Historical Society headquarters.
## Design
The current Bristol County Jail was constructed in 1828 to replace a previous jail erected on the same site in 1792. The new structure was a 36.5-foot-wide (11.1 m) by 46.4-foot-long (14.1 m) 2+1⁄2-story stone structure topped with a gable roof. According to the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society the stone came from the ballast of Bristol ships. Material from the original jail was used in the new structure, including the clapboards which were split and reused as laths. The new jail and was constructed for a cost of \$3,900. The front facade is five bays wide and faces north on Court Street. The facade originally featured a recessed Greek Revival entrance that was replaced with a newer door and extended by a Victorian hood. At the time of its National Register of Historic Places nomination in 1973, all the windows except one on the second story were changed from the twelve-over-eight and twelve-over twelve sashes to the two-over-two Victorian sash. In 1959, the Bristol Historical Society removed the internal east chimney on the first floor as part of renovations.
The 1828 construction features a central hall with three rooms on the east and west sides of roughly symmetrical construction with chimneys at the intersection of the front and middle rooms. The first floor chimneys were flanked by doors allowing access to the other rooms and storage on the other side. The layout and usage of the jail is not known for certain, but it is believed that the rooms to the west were used by the jailer and his family. The first room as a parlor, the middle as the dining room and the rear room as the kitchen. As part of the renovations in 1959, the Society changed the parlor to a research room, the dining room into a library and added a door to the stairway from the kitchen. The front research room and library retain the original fireplaces, pine floorboards and closets, but the connecting passage between the two rooms were changed to a bathroom. The east side of the jail is believed to have been used by the jailer for his occupational duties, with the front room as a public reception room and the middle room as his office. The rear room in the back may have been used for record or other storage. After leasing the property, the Society removed the partitions in the rooms that separated the rooms from each other.
The second floor is arranged differently from the first floor, with the rooms above the front parlor and reception room believed to have been the bedroom for the jailer and his family. The west room is described as "quite elegant in its simplicity with its original wainscot and cornice of run mouldings". The middle room may have been a low-security cell; evidence of this comes from the two windows which have iron bar markings in the granite sills. Also, the NRHP nomination states that the room, 13.2 feet (4.0 m) wide by 20.6 feet (6.3 m) long, may have been divided into two cells. The rear allows access to a small hallway and to the attic, but this was described as being a later modification.
The east front bedroom is divided in two with a partition, giving the eastern side of the building four rooms on the second floor, with the two middle rooms being used as medium-security cells. The maximum security cells were located in the back of the building, in the south-east corner. These cells are constructed of wood and walled in by stone walls and iron doors. The maximum security cells had no heat, light or bathrooms; air was only able to flow into the room through a slit in the stone wall and a peep hole in the iron door. Underneath the cells were two courses of 8 inches (0.20 m) by 8 inches (0.20 m) timbers superimposed on top of one another. These timbers are believed to have been sourced from the original 1792 jail. The timbers are supported by a 24-inch-thick (0.61 m) brick wall and by a fieldstone wall in the cellar. The exterior stone walls are 21 inches (0.53 m) thick on the front and west exterior, but are 24 inches (0.61 m) for the walls that support the maximum security cells. As part of the alterations made by the Society, the solid brick wall was removed and is now supported by steel beams.
The third floor is a single, unpartitioned room that was likely used for storage. The cellar of the jail has a chimney on the west that has several ovens, including a beehive oven, and was not partitioned except for the fieldstone foundation required to support the cells in the southeast corner.
In 1859, a rectangular 20-foot-wide (6.1 m) by 43.2-foot-long (13.2 m) two-story rear addition was added to the jail. Made of cut granite blocks and topped with a flat roof, the addition added five cells on each level and two hallways with a cast iron staircase on the left hand side. The addition was not in perfect alignment with the original common wall, and protrudes east. Access is gained from the original center hallway and heading outside to the additions' front door, a second access point from within the original building is a steel door on the common wall. The inside of the new cell block has a wood plank corridor and iron railings with tall windows, opposite the cells, that face south.
## Bristol Historical and Preservation Society
Founded in 1936, the Bristol Historical Society is committed to saving, collecting, and promoting historical research and interest in southern New England, with a specific focus on the town of Bristol. Originally, the Bristol Historical Society was located in the Rogers Free Library, but a fire destroyed a part of the collections on July 27, 1957. The jail, which had been abandoned by the state in June of the same year, was selected by the Society as its new home and leased from the state. In 1972, the Bristol Historical Society was renamed to the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society to reflect its preservation interests. In 1973, the Society purchased the Bristol County Jail from the state. The Society restored the jail cells through a matching grant from the National Park Service and opened the cells as a public exhibit.
## Importance
The Bristol County Jail was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The jail is significant as a relatively unaltered historic jail that was important to the 18th-century Bristol County. It is also significant in that it currently serves as the home of the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society. The Society also houses its library and collections in the jail and runs a small museum shop from the building.
## See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County, Rhode Island
- List of Registered Historic Places in Rhode Island
|
[
"## Design",
"## Bristol Historical and Preservation Society",
"## Importance",
"## See also"
] | 1,885 | 22,479 |
2,821,476 |
Pennsylvania Route 132
| 1,158,313,610 |
State highway in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, US
|
[
"State highways in Pennsylvania",
"Transportation in Bucks County, Pennsylvania"
] |
Pennsylvania Route 132 (PA 132) is a state highway in southeast Pennsylvania. The route, which is signed east–west, runs northwest to southeast through Bucks County in suburban Philadelphia from PA 611 in Warrington southeast to Interstate 95 (I-95) in Bensalem. PA 132 is a commercial route lined with shopping centers throughout much of its 15-mile (24 km) length. It is named Street Road and is five lanes wide for much of its length. The route was also designated as the Armed Forces and Veterans Memorial Highway in 2005. From west to east, PA 132 intersects PA 263 and PA 332 in Warminster; PA 232 in Southampton; PA 532 in Feasterville; and U.S. Route 1 (US 1), the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276), PA 513, and US 13 in Bensalem. Street Road was included in William Penn's survey plans and completed by 1737. The road was paved by 1911 and received the PA 132 designation between US 611 (now PA 611) and US 13 by 1927. The route was widened into a multilane highway and extended east from US 13 to I-95 by 1970. An interchange with the eastbound direction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 2010.
## Route description
PA 132 begins at an intersection with PA 611 (Easton Road) in the community of Neshaminy in Warrington Township, heading to the southeast on Street Road, a roadway that alternates between a four-lane divided highway and an undivided five-lane road including a center left-turn lane. West of PA 611, Street Road continues northwest as State Route 3001 (SR 3001), an unsigned quadrant route, to Lower State Road. From its western terminus, the route heads through commercial areas before crossing the Little Neshaminy Creek and entering residential areas. At the Valley Road intersection, the road crosses into Warminster Township and continues through suburban development as West Street Road. PA 132 enters commercial areas as it comes to a junction with PA 263 (York Road). Farther southeast, the road intersects Mearns Road. After crossing the New Hope Railroad at-grade about 300 feet (91 m) north of that railroad meeting the terminus of SEPTA's Warminster Line, the route passes through industrial and business areas before intersecting PA 332 (Jacksonville Road).
Past the PA 332 junction, the road continues through a mix of homes and businesses as East Street Road. The route passes northeast of the historic home Craven Hall and the John Fitch Steamboat Museum after intersecting Newtown Road. Upon crossing Davisville Road, PA 132 enters Upper Southampton Township and intersects Maple Avenue as it heads past more businesses as Street Road. The road has a junction with PA 232 (Second Street Pike) in the community of Southampton before passing over the Newtown Rail Trail and reaching an intersection with Churchville Road/Knowles Avenue. After running through wooded residential areas, the road crosses into Lower Southampton Township at the Stump Road junction and passes under Norfolk Southern's Morrisville Line before intersecting Buck Road.
Street Road continues past a mix of residential and commercial development as it comes to an intersection with PA 532 (Bustleton Pike) in the community of Feasterville. After the PA 532 junction, the road heads past several businesses before turning south-southeast near more suburban development. PA 132 curves southeast again and crosses Philmont Avenue prior to entering Bensalem Township. Upon entering Bensalem Township, the route passes over SEPTA's West Trenton Line and intersects Trevose Road as it enters commercial areas in the community of Trevose. After a bridge over CSX's Trenton Subdivision railroad line, PA 132 crosses under the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276) immediately before an intersection with Old Lincoln Highway, becoming a divided highway.
A short distance later, the road reaches a partial cloverleaf interchange with US 1 (Lincoln Highway) before turning south. After the US 1 interchange, the route comes to a ramp that provides access to and from the eastbound Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276). PA 132 continues south-southeast past more businesses, becoming an undivided road again past the Richlieu Road intersection and passing two entrances to Parx Casino and Racing and the Bucks County Visitor Center to the northeast of the road. The road gains a center left-turn lane and heads past more commercial development, crossing Mechanicsville Road and Knights Road before coming to the PA 513 (Hulmeville Road) intersection. Farther southeast, PA 132 reaches a partial cloverleaf interchange with US 13 (Bristol Pike) before ending at a diamond interchange with I-95 just north of the Eddington station along SEPTA's Trenton Line that follows Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line. Past I-95, Street Road becomes SR 2007, passing over the Northeast Corridor as it continues southeast to State Road near the Delaware River.
In 2016, PA 132 had an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 54,000 vehicles between Trevose Road/Old Street Road and Old Lincoln Highway to a low of 25,000 vehicles between Maple Avenue and Knowles Avenue/Churchville Road. The entire length of PA 132 is part of the National Highway System.
## History
Street Road was originally surveyed in the late 17th century, with the road being included in the original survey plans of William Penn for the Province of Pennsylvania. For much of its history it has been known as "the Street road". It was called this because, contrary to present usage where "street" is a synonym for road, the original use of the word "street" was a paved road. The entire length of the road was completed by 1737. Street Road became a paved road by 1911; at the time, the route was not defined as a legislative route. By 1927, PA 132 was designated onto part of Street Road, running from US 611 (now PA 611) in Warrington Township southeast to US 13 in Bensalem Township.
In February 1950, two traffic signals were installed along the road in Bensalem. Street lights were installed along the stretch of PA 132 in Bensalem in December 1952. In August 1956, Bensalem police chief William Riempp urged for the stretch of Street Road through the township to be completely reconstructed as it was one of the most dangerous roads in the state. The state widened the portion of PA 132 through Upper Southampton and Lower Southampton townships from 22 feet (6.7 m) to 24 feet (7.3 m) in 1956; this widening was called a "useless waste of public funds" by the Lower Southampton Township planning commission as the road was not anticipated to handle increasing traffic volumes. The portion of Street Road between US 1 and US 13 in Bensalem Township was repaved in mid-1957; however the shoulders were not repaved, resulting in a drop between the travel lanes and the shoulder. In August 1958, the Pennsylvania Department of Highways (PDH) considered reducing the speed limit on the two-lane stretch of PA 132 between Davisville Road and Gravel Hill Road in Upper Southampton Township in order to make the road safer.
On January 9, 1960, the PDH awarded a contract worth \$1,488,493 to James D. Morrisey, Inc. to upgrade the section of PA 132 between Neshaminy and Warminster to a four-lane divided highway. In November 1961, the portion of Street Road southeast of US 13 was closed to allow for construction of I-95 (Delaware Expressway), which would include an interchange with Street Road; this interchange was planned to be completed in 1962. In January 1962, a proposal was made to split PA 132 onto separate roadways through Feasterville, with the westbound direction using Irving Place a block north of Street Road. In January 1963, plans were made to widen the entire length of PA 132 to 80 feet (24 m) with a median strip, with a portion in Feasterville to be widened to 71 feet (22 m). The widening was originally planned to be completed in 1965. By March of that year, the widening project was shelved as the state felt they should receive federal funds to fund the project. With the widening shelved, businesses from Feasterville and Southampton along with State Senator Marvin Keller led a push to get the portion of Street Road through the two communities paved, which was in disrepair and saw a lot of accidents.
In May 1965, construction began to widen the portion of PA 132 between US 1 and US 13 in Bensalem to a four-lane divided highway. On August 27, 1965, a 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of new concrete pavement along PA 132 in Bensalem was completed, with work then to begin on rebuilding the original roadway to make it a divided highway. The widening of Street Road into a divided highway between US 1 and US 13 was completed in December 1965. The proposed widening of PA 132 in Feasterville drew concerns from residents who feared they would lose their homes. In July 1967, the state made plans to add left turn lanes at PA 132's intersections with US 611 in Warrington and PA 263 in Warminster in order to reduce crashes. In 1969, work was underway in widening Street Road between PA 263 and PA 332 in Warminster. The widening of PA 132 into a divided highway was completed in 1970. As a result of this improvement, a portion of the road was relocated east of Feasterville, with the former alignment becoming Old Street Road. Also by this time, the route was extended southeast to an interchange with I-95.
In May 1971, plans were announced to install a traffic signal at PA 132 and Mechanicsville Road in Bensalem Township, an intersection that saw many accidents. Plans were discussed in September 1975 to reconstruct PA 132 to handle increasing traffic volumes, with work projected to begin between 1977 and 1980. On November 22, 1976, Warminster Township supervisors voted against building sidewalks and curbs on a portion of Street Road in the township in order to not burden taxpayers.
In 2005, a bill was introduced into the Pennsylvania General Assembly designating the entire length of PA 132 as the Armed Forces and Veterans Memorial Highway; this bill was signed into law by Governor Ed Rendell on October 27, 2006. On May 28, 2007, PA 132 was officially named the Armed Forces and Veterans Memorial Highway in a ceremony held in Warminster, with State Representative Kathy Watson in attendance. On November 22, 2010, a ramp with access to and from the eastbound Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bensalem Township opened, intended to provide improved access to Parx Casino and Racing and reduce congestion at the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange with US 1. The intersection of PA 132 and Knights Road in Bensalem Township was ranked by Time magazine as the most dangerous intersection in the United States from 2003 until 2012.
In 2018, construction began on rebuilding the interchange with US 1 as part of a reconstruction and widening project along that highway. As part of this project, the US 1 interchange with PA 132 was rebuilt to include traffic signals and turn lanes at the intersections between PA 132 and the ramps, while also adding a ramp from eastbound PA 132 to southbound US 1. In addition, left-turn lanes were also added at the intersection between PA 132 and the ramp to and from the eastbound Pennsylvania Turnpike. Construction was completed in 2022.
## Major intersections
## See also
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Major intersections",
"## See also"
] | 2,501 | 19,876 |
10,570,768 |
Charles M. Loring
| 1,131,402,038 |
American businessperson, miller and publicist
|
[
"1833 births",
"1922 deaths",
"19th-century American businesspeople",
"American chief executives",
"Businesspeople from Minneapolis",
"Businesspeople from Portland, Maine",
"History of Riverside, California",
"Minneapolis City Council members",
"People from Riverside, California"
] |
Charles Morgridge Loring (November 13, 1833 – March 18, 1922) was an American businessman, miller and publicist. Raised in Maine to be a sea captain, Loring instead became a civic leader in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he was a wealthy flour miller and in Riverside, California where he helped to build the first city hall. He was a popular and generous man who enjoyed many friendships and business associations.
Loring is remembered as the influential commissioner and president of the first Minneapolis park board. Considered the "Father of the Park System" in Minneapolis, Loring encouraged the city to work with Horace Cleveland, one of the first landscape architects, and park superintendents William W. Berry and Theodore Wirth. The city built what has been called, "the best-located, best-financed, best-designed, and best-maintained public open space in America."
## Family and early life
Loring's grandfather was a respected teacher in Portland, Maine known as Master Loring, a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of Hingham, Massachusetts. Charles himself was a fifth great grandson of Hingham immigrant Deacon Thomas Loring. His mother was Sarah Wiley, a relative of Parson Wiley, a noted clergyman. His father Captain Horace Loring, a seaman who once visited the West Indies, took the young Loring on voyages as far from home as Cuba to prepare him for a life as a sea captain. But Loring disliked the ocean and the isolation and moved to Chicago in 1856 where he worked as a wheat speculator for B. P. Hutchinson and became a successful grain trader.
Loring never enjoyed perfect health, and when he fell ill in Chicago and moved on doctor's advice to Minneapolis, his friend Loren Fletcher helped him become manager of the supply store for Dorilus Morrison's lumber business. Loring and Emily S. Crosman married in 1855. They had one daughter, Eva Maria, and one son, Albert C. Loring who managed businesses for his father. Emily Loring died on March 13, 1894. Loring remarried on November 28, 1895, to Florence Barton, daughter of A. B. Barton of Minneapolis.
Florence Loring participated in civic affairs and was a quilter whose Crazy Quilt is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Lorings constructed the Florence Barton Loring Shelter in 1906 to protect children, lost animals and the city's draft horses. Known at different times as the Minneapolis Humane Society, the Animal Rescue League, and the Animal Humane Society of Hennepin County, today's Animal Humane Society (AHS) was located there near Loring Park for 40 years. Florence Loring also built a home for nurses near the hospital in Riverside, California where the Lorings lived in winter.
## Flour milling
Minneapolis was founded at Saint Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi River, because of the potential for energy created by falling, flowing water. Loring understood the city's geography—its waterfalls, lakes and river banks—and was able to use these unique aspects of his new home to slowly build his fortune.
In 1861, Loring joined Fletcher in L. Fletcher & Co., a general store specializing in supplies for lumbermen on Nicollet Avenue across from Minneapolis City Hall where they prospered for fifteen years. They joined with W. F. Cahill to convert the municipal waterworks building into a flour mill run on hydropower, the smallest in the Mississippi west bank milling district. With George Hineline they added three limestone stories and operated it as the W. F. Cahill & Co. Holly mill. During this period, Loring served in the city government, first as road supervisor and in 1872 as a Minneapolis City Council member from the Fifth Ward in the Near North community.
The group sold the Holly mill in 1872 to W. H. and F. S. Hinkle and purchased the Galaxy mill from W. P. Ankeny. In 1873 Fletcher and Loring also became principal owners of the Minnetonka Mills Company near Lake Minnetonka, in production between 1881 and 1886. Loring supervised his milling interests until 1880, when his son A. C. Loring took responsibility for their management. The Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company led by John Martin purchased the Galaxy mill and beginning in 1891 operated nine mills in Minneapolis. By the early 1900s and until the Great Depression, Washburn-Crosby which became General Mills, Pillsbury-Washburn, and Northwestern which became part of Standard Milling Company were an oligopoly, holding 97% of the Minneapolis flour market.
## Electricity and rail
Through his business associations, Loring contributed to major advances in the infrastructure of Minneapolis, to supply electricity, as a director of a railroad, and as chief executive of the North American Telegraph Company. In 1881 with William D. Washburn, Joel Bean Bassett, Sumner W. Farnham, James A. Lovejoy and Otis Arkwright Pray, Fletcher and Loring co-founded the Minnesota Electric Light and Electric Motive Power Company, later the Minnesota Brush Electric Company. The group ran lines to bars and businesses on Washington Avenue and supplied them from the first hydroelectric central power plant in the U.S., thirteen years before the Niagara Falls plant went on line in 1894. In 1883 with Washburn, Martin, H. T. Welles, Thomas Lowry, George R. Newell, Anthony Kelly, Clinton Morrison, J. K. Sidle, W. W. Eastman, William D. Hale, Charles A. Pillsbury and Charles J. Martin, Loring incorporated the Minneapolis Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway Company known as the Soo Line Railroad.
## Other associations
Loring also owned real estate and was a director of Syndicate Insurance Co., the Minnesota Title Insurance Co. and the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co. which eventually became part of today's Wells Fargo. The first Minnesota Flower Show was held July 4, 1863 and was organized by Loring who was a member of the Minnesota Horticultural Society. He co-founded the Minnesota Homœopathic Medical College which opened in 1886. Loring acted as president of the Minneapolis Board of Trade in 1875 and from 1886 to 1890 served as president of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, renamed the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.
Loring cofounded the Morgan Machine Co. in Rochester, New York. He served as president of the Minnesota Forestry Association, the National Park and Outdoor Association, the Lakewood Cemetery Association, and the Sons of Maine and as vice president of the National Board of Trade.
## Park board
Despite opposition from the Knights of Labor who eventually became supporters, on January 23, 1883, the Minneapolis Board of Trade passed resolutions to secure legislation to create a Board of Park Commissioners, and the city ratified a Park Act on April 3, 1883. Loring was the natural choice and was appointed the commission's first president. He was reelected each term and served until 1890 when he insisted on resigning because a property in which he held financial interest was under park board consideration.
### Horace Cleveland
Horace Cleveland made his "crowning achievement" in Minneapolis at the end of his career, in part thanks to "kindred spirits." William Watts Folwell who was the founding president of the University of Minnesota, and Berry and Loring, both from Maine, were all united in their love for nature. The system Cleveland created is characterized by the use of indigenous plants in their natural environment and by the linking of open spaces and landmarks across distance with boulevards and parkways. Cleveland had thought about linked public open spaces as early as 1855.
During Loring's tenure, Cleveland designed the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway and the Chain of Lakes. In his history of the Minneapolis park system, Loring describes how green space was preserved around every Minneapolis lake. Many donations and acquisitions of property came early enough that the land was affordable. In 1872 for example, the city thought William S. King's price of \$50,000 was too high for the 250 acres (1.0 km<sup>2</sup>) of land around Lake Harriet. Thirty years later it would have sold for \$2,000,000.
### Minnehaha Park
Minnehaha Falls received pilgrimages from fans of Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha by the 1870s. At the same time, business people wanted to harness its power. In 1884 Loring advocated a Minnesota state park at Minnehaha Falls, a goal the state tried and failed to achieve. In 1888, Cleveland presented The Aesthetic Development of the United Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts and convinced the city to preserve the waterfall and to build a city park there. In the 1890s, Cleveland's Minnehaha Park was annexed to Minneapolis and completed the Grand Rounds. Today Minnehaha Park sees 850,000 visitors each year. Named by Folwell, the 52-mile (83 km) Grand Rounds circles from Northeast, Minneapolis to Theodore Wirth Park, to the Chain of Lakes and follows the Mississippi River upstream past Minnehaha Falls to downtown.
### Theodore Wirth
At the 1889 meeting of the American Park and Outdoor Art Association, held in Minneapolis, Loring read Cleveland's The Influence of Parks on the Character of Children. In 1905 Loring learned of Theodore Wirth and recruited him as park superintendent. Wirth met with Minneapolis neighborhoods to extend Cleveland's work from landmark geographical features to every street. He wrapped "sixty miles of picturesque parkways around the City like an emerald ribbon." Wirth planned a playground within the reach of most children and canopies of trees throughout the city. Each home is within six blocks of a park and as of the U.S. Census in 2000, there are 770 square feet (72 m<sup>2</sup>) of parkland for each resident.
Minneapolis park assets as of 2004 included the following. 144 of the parks were in place when Wirth retired in 1935.
## City of Riverside
In 1889 in his winter home in Riverside, California, Loring constructed an office block with a 1,000-seat theater on the first floor that hosted performers such as W.C. Fields and Sarah Bernhardt. At various times known as the Loring Opera House, Loring Theatre, Fox Riverside, and Golden State Theatre, the theater was destroyed by fire in 1990. The office building was leased to the city for use as its first City Hall, library, jail and municipal courts.
## Legacies
Formerly Central Park, Loring Park in the Central community is 35 acres (14 ha) designed by Cleveland on the site of the Joseph Johnson farm. It was dedicated May 5, 1883 and renamed for Loring in or near his final year as park board president. Loring Lake, formerly Johnson Lake, was also named for Loring as is the Loring Stage House, originally Loring's office.
In California, Loring Drive in Huntington Park and Loring's building in Riverside bore his name. In Minneapolis, the Loring Elementary School in the Camden community, the Loring Nicollet Alternative School in the Stevens Square neighborhood, the Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown as well as other businesses carry his name. The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board's Charles M. Loring Award is named in his memory. The Camp Fire Girls planted a spruce tree in his memory on the south shore of Lake Harriet.
Loring died at his home in Minneapolis at the age of 88. He is buried in Lakewood Cemetery which he helped to create near Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis. The City of Riverside declared April 17, 1923 Loring Day and dedicated a plaque to him, inscribed with this memorial:
## See also
- History of Minneapolis, Minnesota
|
[
"## Family and early life",
"## Flour milling",
"## Electricity and rail",
"## Other associations",
"## Park board",
"### Horace Cleveland",
"### Minnehaha Park",
"### Theodore Wirth",
"## City of Riverside",
"## Legacies",
"## See also"
] | 2,516 | 8,091 |
34,001,078 |
When Christmas Comes
| 1,154,243,188 | null |
[
"2010 songs",
"2010s ballads",
"2011 singles",
"2011 songs",
"American Christmas songs",
"John Legend songs",
"Male–female vocal duets",
"Mariah Carey songs",
"Songs written by James Poyser",
"Songs written by Mariah Carey",
"Soul ballads"
] |
"When Christmas Comes" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album/thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with James Poyser. A soul song with influences of R&B, the lyrics are about giving the gift of love. In November 2011, Carey re-recorded the song as duet with John Legend, which was later released as a single. Both versions of the track were a hit in South Korea, with the duet debuting at number one with sales in excess of 80,000 copies. The song's accompanying music video features Carey and Legend at a hosting a Christmas house party. It has been performed by Carey at her ABC 2010 Christmas special and during her 2014 Beacon Theatre residency All I Want for Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy and Festivity in December 2014.
## Background and composition
"When Christmas Comes" was written and produced by Mariah Carey and James Poyser for the former's second Christmas album/thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010). Her vocals were recorded by Brian Garten at Guardian Angel Studios in Bel Air, Westlake Recording Studios and Hensons Studios, both located in Los Angeles, and Germano Studios in New York City. Carey performed her own background vocals along with Melonie Daniels, Sharlotte Gibson and Nicki Richards. The music for the song was recorded by Garten and Kevin Guarnieri; Alex Evans played the drums, while John "Jubu" Smith played the guitar. On November 7, 2011, Carey revealed that she would be releasing "When Christmas Comes" as a duet with John Legend. The duet was released in the United States on November 21 and the United Kingdom on November 28.
It as an R&B and soul song with a "simple groove" that lasts for a duration of four minutes and forty-six seconds. The single release version with Legend lasts for additional second. The instrumental consists of horns, including the trumpet performed by Rick Baptist and Greg Adams, and the trombone by Nick Lane. Other brass instruments include Dan Higgins on the sax and flute. In addition to being a producer, Poyser performs the keyboard. Lyrically, the song is about "giving the gift of love", as Carey and Legend harmonize the lyrics "And me and you gon' have ourselves a holiday/ And we don't need nobody else to celebrate/ And we're gon' kiss our worries and our cares away/ I can't wait/ Because this Christmas time, get together / It's gonna be so nice, better than ever/ And baby you’re the one, special treasure." Prior to the final chorus, the pair freelance the a portion of the lyrics from "Jingle Bells". As noted by Scott Shelter of PopCrush, "listeners are treated to notes from the upper reaches of Mariah’s five-octave range, which she rarely shows off anymore." In an interview for Vevo, Carey stated that she felt that Legend was the "perfect choice" to re-create the song as a duet with, and that his "soulful" creative decisions "took it up several notches".
## Critical reception
Mike Diver for BBC was complimentary of "When Christmas Comes", writing although the effect is "less instant" compared to the first single, "Oh Santa!", it fits in well with the rest of the album and is "perfectly formed". The Village Voice writer Rich Juzwiak thought that the use of a full band was a "retread" of the songs Carey recorded for her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). Of the duet, Shelter described it as "sultry", awarded it four stars out of a possible five, and labelled it as being superior to the original version with vocals solely by Carey included on the album.
## Commercial performance
The original version of "When Christmas Comes" debuted and peaked at number 100 in South Korea, on the chart dated November 14, 2010. The single version with Legend debuted at number one on South Korean Download chart on November 27, 2011, with sales of 81,624. The following week, it fell to number eight with 32,952 copies sold. It sold a further 18,947 and 13,339 copies in its third and fourth weeks, respectively. Despite debuting atop Download chart with 81,624 copies sold, it peaked at number two on the Digital chart. In the United States, the duet debuted at number twenty-five on the Adult R&B Songs chart, and climbed to number seventeen the following week. It dropped one position to number eighteen in its third week, but resurged to a peak of number fifteen the week after on January 7, 2012. "When Christmas Comes" debuted at number seventy on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming the "Hot Shot Debut" for the week dated December 17, 2011, and the first song from Merry Christmas II You to enter the chart. It is Carey's fifty-third entry overall. The track peaked at number fifty-seven on the Japan Hot 100 in 2012.
## Promotion
An accompanying music video directed by Sanaa Hamri for "When Christmas Comes" was filmed at Carey's Los Angeles home and features Carey and Legend throwing a celebratory Christmas house party, which includes a cameo by Nick Cannon. It features footage from the film A Charlie Brown Christmas. On November 15, Carey posted images of the video shoot on her website, one of which shows the two singers sitting at piano. It premiered on December 13, 2011. Carey has performed the track live on her ABC Christmas Special in December 2010, and at her annual Beacon Theatre residency called All I Want for Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy and Festivity every December. Legend joined Carey on stage to perform the track at one of the December 2016 concerts.
## Track listings
\*; Digital download (2010 album version)
1. "When Christmas Comes" –
\*; Digital download (2011 single release)
1. "When Christmas Comes" with John Legend –
## Charts
### Weekly charts
#### Original version
#### Duet with John Legend
## Release history
|
[
"## Background and composition",
"## Critical reception",
"## Commercial performance",
"## Promotion",
"## Track listings",
"## Charts",
"### Weekly charts",
"#### Original version",
"#### Duet with John Legend",
"## Release history"
] | 1,311 | 19,650 |
25,427,977 |
Battle of Richmond, Louisiana
| 1,172,636,465 |
Battle of the American Civil War
|
[
"1863 in Louisiana",
"Battles of the American Civil War in Louisiana",
"Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War",
"June 1863 events",
"Madison Parish, Louisiana",
"Union victories of the American Civil War",
"Vicksburg campaign"
] |
The Battle of Richmond was fought on June 15, 1863, near Richmond, Louisiana, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Major General John George Walker's division of Confederate troops, known as Walker's Greyhounds had attacked Union forces in the Battle of Milliken's Bend and the Battle of Lake Providence earlier that month in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the Confederate troops besieged in Vicksburg, Mississippi. While both of Walker's strikes were failures and the Confederates withdrew to Richmond, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant still viewed the presence of Walker's men at Richmond to be a threat. On June 14, the Mississippi Marine Brigade and the infantry brigade of Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower were sent to attack the Confederates at Richmond.
The next morning, the two Union brigades joined forces. Confederate scouts greatly overestimated the Union strength, informing Walker that the Union had 7,000 or 8,000 men. Having at most 3,000 men, Walker deployed the 18th Texas Infantry Regiment and Edgar's Texas Battery in a forward position, with the rest of his force behind Roundaway Bayou and its single bridge. The Union advance was led by the Mississippi Marine Brigade and the 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment. An attack by the 18th Texas Infantry drove in the Union skirmishers, but the Confederates were eventually forced to withdraw behind Roundaway Bayou. An hour-long artillery duel followed. After Walker learned that his supply wagons and ambulances were safely out of the area, he ordered his men to burn the bridge and withdraw. Union troops burned the town of Richmond, but did not pursue Walker's men, who withdrew to Delhi. Walker's men continued to operate in the area until July. Vicksburg surrendered on July 4.
## Background
During the American Civil War, control of the Mississippi River was a major strategic concern. One of the keys to controlling the river was the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The town of Richmond, Louisiana, lay along the Confederate supply line bringing food from the west to Vicksburg. This supply line was cut by Union troops commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant during the Vicksburg campaign. On May 18, Grant's forced reached Vicksburg and began the Siege of Vicksburg. Confederate president Jefferson Davis urged Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith, the commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department (which was in charge of the territory west of the Mississippi River), to use some of his troops to attack Union positions in Louisiana and reduce the pressure on Vicksburg.
The Trans-Mississippi effort to reduce pressure on Vicksburg was led by Major General Richard Taylor and primarily utilized the division of Major General John George Walker, which was commonly known as Walker's Greyhounds. Walker's men were repulsed on June 7 in the Battle of Milliken's Bend, and two other Confederate thrusts, an abortive expedition to Young's Point, and the Battle of Lake Providence, accomplished little. Walker's men camped at Richmond after the attacks. One of Walker's three brigades was still returning from a movement down the Ouachita River, and the other two were greatly reduced in strength by disease. According to historian Richard Lowe, Walker had only about 1,500 Confederates in the area, but historian Ed Bearss rejects this figure, instead suggesting that Walker had about 3,000 men. Grant viewed the presence of the Confederates at Richmond to be a threat, and on June 14 sent 1,200 men from Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower's infantry brigade and 1,300 men of the Mississippi Marine Brigade on a strike against the Confederate position.
## Battle
Mower's brigade was coming from Duckport, Louisiana, while the Mississippi Marine Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Alfred W. Ellet, was moving from Milliken's Bend. The two forces met at a road junction on the morning of June 15, where they were observed by Confederate pickets. The Confederate scouts over-estimated the Union strength, and informed Walker that he was facing 7,000 or 8,000 Union soldiers. Walker responded by deploying the 18th Texas Infantry Regiment and Edgar's Texas Battery 1 mile (1.6 km) closer to the Union advance, sending the divisional supply wagons and ambulances towards Monroe, Louisiana, and positioned the rest of his force behind Roundaway Bayou, where it covered the sole bridge across the bayou to the town of Richmond. The 18th Texas Infantry was positioned in a ditch with its right flank on Walnut Bayou. The position was strong, but was susceptible to being outflanked on the left.
Ellet's brigade, accompanied by the 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment, led the Union advance. The Union troops encountered Confederate fire, and a request was sent to Mower to bring up artillery. The 18th Texas Infantry charged, and drove in the Union skirmishers, but met the main Union line and was forced to withdraw. Aware that the Union forces outnumbered his forced and worried that he would be outflanked, the commander of the 18th Texas Infantry ordered his men to withdraw across the bayou. The Union batteries were brought up, and Edgar's battery and the Union artillery engaged in an artillery duel for an hour, delaying the Union advance. Mower grew impatient and sent most of his brigade to the right, but found that the bayou could not be crossed. Walker learned that his wagons were safely out of the area, so he ordered his men to retreat from the bayou and burn the bridge. The Union infantry was halted at the burned bridge, but a cavalry force waded the bayou and while pursuing captured roughly 25 Confederate stragglers. The Union forces rebuilt the bridge and entered Richmond, burning the town to the ground.
## Aftermath
Mower's brigade suffered casualties of one killed and eight wounded, while Ellet's brigade had another three men wounded. Walker lost five men killed and 25 captured. Mower and Ellet did not pursue the Confederates to Monroe, and instead withdrew from the area: Ellet back to Milliken's Bend, and Mower to Young's Point via Milliken's Bend. Ellet's men were back at Milliken's Bend by that night, while Mower's men returned to their camps on June 16. Walker's men withdrew to Delhi, Louisiana, and were joined by the brigade of Brigadier General James Camp Tappan along the way. After recuperating at Delhi for several days, Walker's men undertook a campaign against a series of cotton plantations leased by Union businessmen. The Confederate forces disrupted a number of these plantations, and captured hundreds of African American plantation workers, who were returned to slavery. Other Confederate troops captured a small Union camp in the Battle of Goodrich's Landing on June 29, but were driven off the next day. Vicksburg surrendered on July 4. On July 11, Walker began shifting his men to Monroe; they were soon ordered into south Louisiana.
|
[
"## Background",
"## Battle",
"## Aftermath"
] | 1,471 | 3,132 |
26,982,908 |
Hypsibema missouriensis
| 1,172,236,172 |
Extinct species of dinosaur
|
[
"Campanian species extinctions",
"Campanian species first appearances",
"Fossil taxa described in 1945",
"Hadrosaurs",
"Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of North America",
"Paleontology in Missouri",
"Symbols of Missouri"
] |
Hypsibema missouriensis (/ˌhɪpsɪˈbiːmə mɪˌzʊəriˈɛnsɪs/; originally Neosaurus missouriensis, first renamed to Parrosaurus missouriensis, also spelled Hypsibema missouriense) is a species of plant-eating dinosaur in the genus Hypsibema, and the state dinosaur of the U.S. state Missouri. One of the few official state dinosaurs, bones of the species were discovered in 1942, at what later became known as the Chronister Dinosaur Site near Glen Allen, Missouri. The remains of Hypsibema missouriensis at the site, which marked the first known discovery of dinosaur remains in Missouri, are the only ones to have ever been found. Although first thought to be a sauropod, later study determined that it was a hadrosaur, or "duck-billed" dinosaur, whose snouts bear likeness to ducks' bills. Some of the species' bones found at the Chronister Dinosaur Site are housed in Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution.
## Characteristics
The species is estimated to have had around 1,000 small teeth, weighed 3–4 short tons (2.7–3.6 t) (or around as much as an elephant today), stood 10 feet (3.0 m) tall at its back, and stretched about 30–35 feet (9.1–10.7 m) from head to tail. H. missouriensis lived in what is now southeast Missouri during the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period. It was not a carnivorous species; however, its teeth were more serrated than other hadrosaurs, an indicator that the vegetation of Missouri at the time was very coarse or tough.
Paleontologist Charles Whitney Gilmore and geologist Dan R. Stewart described the caudal vertebrae retrieved from Missouri in a 1945 Journal of Paleontology report, writing, "Caudal vertebrae amphicoelus; centra longer than wide; ends having concave central areas decorated with radiating ridges and depressions surrounded by a flattened peripheral border; chevron facets only on posterior ends." Of the thirteen adult tail bones, twelve appeared to be consecutive, and the smallest centrum was 69 millimetres (2.7 in) long.
## Discovery and History
Remains of Hypsibema missouriensis were first discovered in Bollinger County, Missouri by members of the Chronister family while they were digging a cistern, and were subsequently collected by Stewart, later nicknamed "Dinosaur Dan." In 1942, Stewart, of the Missouri Geological Survey, had been examining clay near Glen Allen when he came upon a boy who led him to the family at work digging. According to Stewart, property owner Lulu Chronister had found several "unusual" bones while digging and had saved them. They had been found about 8 feet (2.4 m) deep in the Chronisters' well, which had an overall depth of 24 feet (7.3 m), "imbedded in a black plastic clay." Stewart reported his discovery to the Smithsonian Institution, which bought the remains—thirteen vertebrae of a dinosaur's tail—from Chronister for US\$50, which was later used to purchase a cow. Two other bones, of unknown type, were also recovered from the site, while one additional vertebrae had been given by Lulu Chronister to a friend. At the Smithsonian, the bones were analyzed but the species from which they originated was incorrectly identified.
The site where the bones were found was largely untouched by paleontologists until around the 1970s and 1990s, when excavations restarted. Remains of other dinosaurs, fish, turtles, and plants have also been found, including teeth belonging to a member of the Tyrannosauroidea. Bone fragments of a dromaeosaur have also been unearthed in this area. Other parts of H. missouriensis, including dental remains and part of a jaw, have also been found. The variety of faunal remnants found at the Chronister site suggest that a large body of water once existed close to the area.
### Geology of the dig site
One paleontologist from St. Louis currently working at the dig site said it was "pretty much a miracle" that dinosaur bones were found in Missouri, because the state's soft soil has resulted in the deterioration of most prehistoric remains. However, some of the remains found have been damaged by erosion and other processes. While much of Missouri lies upon rocks from the Paleozoic or Precambrian eras, the Chronister site is situated over Mesozoic rock. Stewart, who found the bones after being assigned to study the origins of clay in the southeastern portion of the Ozarks, was able to conclude that part of the region lies upon deposits from the Upper Cretaceous period, although much of the sediment from that time period has eroded away.
The Chronister family dug the well (which they ultimately abandoned after it was unable to provide enough water) just southwest of their farmhouse, atop a body of limestone. The farmhouse was located near the bottom of a steep valley, sitting atop the remains of a terrace. The layer of clay in which the bones were found was described by Stewart as being 9 feet (2.7 m) thick, situated below 7 feet (2.1 m) of yellow-brown clay and gravel at the surface, and above a dense mass of limestone. Previous interpretations of the site concluded the site to be a minor deposit of clay in a sinkhole; however, aquatic taxa recovered from the deposit, such as the turtle Trionyx, suggest a coastal plain lacustrine environment.
Though this deposit is late Cretaceous in age, several varieties of paleozoic sediments were found associated with the bone-bearing clays; material from the middle Ordovician Plattin and Kimmswick Limestones, late Ordovician Maquoketa formation, early Silurian Bainbridge Group limestones, as well as early Devonian Bailey Formation limestones have all been recognized by geologists studying the deposit. These sediments are similar both in composition and age to the sediments found in both the Marble Hill and Glen Allen structures and are, most likely, tectonically related. Late Cretaceous leaf impressions have been found in laminated Cretaceous clays in the Marble Hill structure, but no vertebrate material has been recovered.
### Identification
Gilmore, at the Smithsonian, along with Stewart, first described the species as a sauropod in the January 1945 issue of the Journal of Paleontology, a classification made in error and without positive evidence. Gilmore only deemed the species a sauropod by process of elimination; when he was left with the possibilities of Hadrosauridae and Sauropoda, he dismissed the former, saying, "The more elongate centra of the Chronister specimen, with the possible exception of Hypsibema crassicauda Cope, and the presence of chevron facets only on the posterior end appear sufficient to show that these vertebral centra do not pertain to a member of the Hadrosauridae."
The species, first called Neosaurus missouriensis, was renamed to Parrosaurus missouriensis later that year by Gilmore and Stewart because the name "Neosaurus" was preoccupied. However, Gilmore died soon after, and the bones were left untouched for several decades.
Parrosaurus missouriensis was once again moved in 1979, to the genus Hypsibema, this time by Donald Baird and John R. Horner. In the late 1970s, Bruce L. Stinchcomb, a geologist, traveled to the Chronister site after reading about Gilmore's report in the 1950s. He was able to purchase the property from a member of the Chronister family, and in the 1980s, test excavations were performed by Stinchcomb, David Parris, and Barbara Grandstaff, leading them to conclude that H. missouriensis was actually a hadrosaur rather than a sauropod. Thomas Holtz has suggested reverting to Parrosaurus for this species. In 2018, some paleontologists decided that Parrosaurus was indeed a valid genus of dinosaur.
### New remains
In 2011, remains of a juvenile were found by palaeontologist Guy Darrough at an undisclosed location. in 2016 and 2017, four new specimens of Hypsibema missouriensis were found. They were excavated by both him and staff from the Field Museum of Natural History like Peter Makovicky, before the adults went to the Field Museum while the juvenile went to the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center in Ste. Genevieve where Darrough works as curator, where a new exhibit will display it.
## State dinosaur designation
On January 21, 2004, a bill was introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives by State Representatives Rod Jetton and Jason Crowell. Jetton had originally proposed the hadrosaur as the state dinosaur, but was not specific enough, so the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee settled on Hypsibema missouriensis. The bill was then sent to the 92nd Missouri General Assembly. It passed the Missouri House of Representatives on March 8, 2004, with a vote of 147–4, the Missouri Senate on May 14, 2004, with a vote of 34–0, and was approved by then-governor Bob Holden on July 9, 2004. The bill, House Bill 1209, went into effect August 28, 2004. Missouri became the sixth U.S. state to have designated an official state dinosaur, following Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Wyoming, as well as the District of Columbia.
## Local impact
In 2005, representatives from Bollinger County businesses and local government officials met in an effort to generate more revenue, and came up with a dinosaur-centered tourism campaign. Some businesses contributed to the creation of a billboard along Interstate 55 that would advertise, "Bollinger County, Home of the Missouri Dinosaur." The Bollinger County Museum of Natural History, which displays some of the bones found, has said their exhibit on the species has attracted tourists from other parts of the United States, and the museum says the designation of H. missouriensis as the state dinosaur resulted in a tripling of visitors.
In March 2008, construction on a full-size model of a H. missouriensis was completed and placed on display at the museum. Jetton, then Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, sponsored a dinner event for state legislators to celebrate the completion of the exhibit on March 7, 2008. The two-year project was directed by Darrough, who was also in charge of excavations at the Chronister excavation site, and is the only permanent museum exhibit to feature the species. At the opening of the exhibit, Jetton mentioned that he hoped the dig site would become part of a state park one day. Currently, excavation is being conducted by the Missouri Ozark Dinosaur Project. The site has been covered to prevent water from flowing over dig material. The Chronister dig site near Glen Allen, currently under private ownership by Stinchcomb, is the only location in Missouri where dinosaur bones have been found, other than a tarsus found in Perryville.
## See also
- Timeline of hadrosaur research
|
[
"## Characteristics",
"## Discovery and History",
"### Geology of the dig site",
"### Identification",
"### New remains",
"## State dinosaur designation",
"## Local impact",
"## See also"
] | 2,415 | 13,842 |
40,713,466 |
Lucas Bros. Moving Co.
| 1,149,139,528 |
American adult animated television series
|
[
"2010s American adult animated television series",
"2010s American animated comedy television series",
"2010s American black cartoons",
"2010s American black sitcoms",
"2010s American surreal comedy television series",
"2010s American workplace comedy television series",
"2013 American television series debuts",
"2015 American television series endings",
"American adult animated comedy television series",
"American animated sitcoms",
"American flash adult animated television series",
"Animated television series about brothers",
"Animated television series about twins",
"English-language television shows",
"FXX original programming",
"Fox Broadcasting Company original programming",
"Television series by 20th Century Fox Television",
"Television series by Fox Television Animation"
] |
Lucas Bros. Moving Co. is an American adult animated television series created by The Lucas Brothers. It originally premiered on Fox on November 23, 2013 as part of Animation Domination High-Def, and was renewed for two additional seasons on FXX. The show was cancelled on June 4, 2015.
The series features the twins as work-shy animated counterparts of themselves, running a moving company out of their van. The series is loosely based on the creators' experiences as cable television installers.
## Plot
The series revolves around identical twin brothers Kenny and Keef Lucas (voiced by real-life identical twin brothers Kenny and Keith Lucas, respectively), who run a moving company called "Lucas Bros Moving Co" in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, out of their van after receiving it from their dead uncle. The two are shown to frequently consume marijuana, emitting a calm demeanor throughout the various escapades caused at their job. Scrawny and indolent, their customers are often apprehensive towards their weaknesses, but the brothers like to remind themselves "that's why God made two of them."
## Production
Lucas Bros. Moving Co. is an animated television series created by twins Kenny and Keith Lucas of "The Lucas Brothers", a Brooklyn-based comedy duo. The series, featuring the voices of the twins as their animated counterparts, originally had them working as installers for a cable company, a job which the Lucas brothers occupied in real life. This idea was scrapped according to Keith, who felt the premise too close to that of The Cleveland Show, another animated series aired by Fox. Kenny insisted that "moving was just more Brooklyn", a sentiment which Keith echoed, thinking that "it would be funny if we were movers because we've never moved a thing in our lives and we're so fucking weak and we hate physical labor". Keith complemented the nature of the premise, finding it to be flexible with any character or setting.
Commenting on the writing process, Keith called it "awesome", citing crew members Nick Weidenfeld, Dave Jeser, and Matt Silverstein as giving them guidance. Kenny urged to "trust the process and not get ahead of yourself", while Keith recommended being patient with breaking scenes down part by part; he also called it similar to their stand-up routines, although the structure of the show made for more comfort.
Commenting on their inspirations, the brothers recognized themselves as animation fans, with Keith mentioning Clone High as one of their favorite series, along with King of the Hill and The Life & Times of Tim. Summing Lucas Bros. as an equation, the two called it "Bill & Ted plus Workaholics plus The Wire (minus the bleakness)." In the United States, the series is rated TV-14. Some jokes have been rejected by the network for content, with the brothers naming a parody of Clay Davis's character from The Wire's elongated pronunciation of the word "shit" as an example of this.
## Broadcast and reception
The series premiered on November 23, 2013, on Fox, preceding the premiere of Golan the Insatiable; both series were broadcast as part of the network's late-night animation block, Animation Domination High-Def. The duo stated around the time of the premiere that the series was picked up for six additional episodes. Fox announced in April 2014 that the Animation Domination High-Def block would cease broadcast on June 28, 2014, though its programs will continue on digital platforms. In June 2014, the brothers announced a second and third season, following their film debut in 22 Jump Street. These seasons, bringing the total number of episodes to 18, aired on FXX, starting on October 26, 2014 with a sneak peek of the second season premiere.
Mike Hale of The New York Times found the differences between the protagonists and the creators more significant than their similarities. He acknowledged the duo as having "an industriousness completely alien to their fictional counterparts," while calling the protagonists' disinclined nature as perhaps either a "sly" joke about "the travails of young black men trying to earn an honest buck" or the characters' consumption of marijuana. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media cited the latter point as a probable source of concern among parents having their children watch the series. While she regarded the emptiness of the protagonists' adventures as "surprisingly amusing" in a similar vein to Seinfeld, Ashby ultimately called it "mindless entertainment", stating "there are no subtle themes nor any clever satire to be had here."
Writing for Media Life Magazine, Tom Conroy felt the stoner comedy played to the series' strengths—a rarity, he felt, among comedians relying on such humor while under the influence themselves. While he dubbed the twins' humor "as lazy and aimless" as their animated counterparts at times, he concluded that "its genial vibe makes it a pleasant way to burn off a quarter hour." Reviewing both the series and Golan the Insatiable, Erik Adams of The A.V. Club felt the "horizons" of Lucas Bros. were broader than that of Golan, given that its "slacker vibe so readily goes with the surreal flow." Adams stated the show resembled Adventure Time if the aforementioned series' creative staff were allowed to joke about marijuana, but concluded that the series' humor invoked no more than "a moony grin".
## Episodes
### Season 1 (2013–14)
### Season 2 (2014–2015)
## Explanatory notes
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Broadcast and reception",
"## Episodes",
"### Season 1 (2013–14)",
"### Season 2 (2014–2015)",
"## Explanatory notes"
] | 1,134 | 11,970 |
61,952,052 |
Let's Fall in Love for the Night
| 1,128,439,304 |
2018 single by Finneas
|
[
"2018 singles",
"2018 songs",
"Song recordings produced by Finneas O'Connell",
"Songs written by Finneas O'Connell"
] |
"Let's Fall in Love for the Night" is a song by American singer-songwriter Finneas from his debut extended play (EP), Blood Harmony (2019). It was released by OYOY as the lead single from the EP on October 19, 2018. A pop track, the song's lyrics are about a boy dreaming about being with a girl he has never met and wanting to be with her in another world. In August 2020, Finneas released a different version of the track, titled "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)", on the deluxe version of the EP, on August 7, 2020. Music critics have compared it to the work of Frank Sinatra.
Commercially, "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" peaked at number 17 and 24 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs and Rock Airplay charts, respectively. It has received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Music Canada (MC) and ARIA. A music video for the track was uploaded to Finneas' YouTube channel on March 19, 2020 and was directed by Sam Bennett. In it, Finneas goes from playing the ukulele on a rooftop in Los Angeles to performing choreography with several dancers. Finneas toured the United States throughout October 2019, with his tour including performances of the track.
## Background and development
"Let's Fall in Love for the Night" was released as the lead single on Finneas' debut extended play (EP), Blood Harmony, for digital download and streaming through his record label OYOY on October 19, 2018. The track was written and produced by Finneas. The song was inspired by a brief encounter Finneas had with a girl while touring Japan to Osaka with his sister Billie Eilish. He told Billboard in February 2020: "I was FaceTiming a girl I’d never met every day and knowing there was nothing I could really do about it. I wrote this song about the day I would fantasize having with her." Finneas mentioned that it was about "a million degrees" in Japan and he would play the song's chords at the end of the day. The chorus would come first, then the first verse. The second verse was revealed by Finneas to have been created at a different date.
On August 7, 2020, Finneas released a different version of the track, title "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)". Critical commentary said it was inspired by American singer Frank Sinatra, and similar artists who sang jazz during the 1940s and 1950s. Finneas explained in a statement when he originally produced the track, it took him down two different directions. One was inspired of the rhythms by Outkast, and the other was by the British virtual band Gorillaz. He goes on to say "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)" was inspired by vinyls he listened to when he was younger. He wanted to make a lullaby version that sounded like it was from the 1940s. Ben Kaye of Consequence of Sound commented that the instrumentation features "childlike piano notes echoing alongside Finneas' smooth vocals", while Kate Brayden of Hot Press and Claire Shaffer of Rolling Stone mention Finneas sings over a "marimba and snap tracks".
## Composition
"Let's Fall in Love for the Night" has been described as a pop track in press reviews. The song reflects Finneas' love of romantic songs. It is about a girl he has never met in person and how he finds comfort by dreaming that they can be together in an alternate universe, but only temporarily. Finneas stated in an interview with Billboard that he loves pop tracks so much and doesn't put a ton of pressure on himself as an artist to always have to write "the most commercial feeling thing", and only wants to write songs that he would love to listen to. "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" starts with Finneas' "gentle whispered sweet nothings" vocals, then continues "into the heart of traditional song splendor". According to NME, Finneas' vocals within the song seem to be "flitting between falsetto flutters and something approaching a rap". Nicole Almeida of Atwood Magazine defined the track as an "acoustic-guitar led song", and compared it to "Start of Something New" from the High School Musical soundtrack.
## Reception
Callie Ahlgrim from Insider described the song as "irresistibly confident" and has a "cheerful ode to having a fling". American Songwriter's Paul Zollo praised the song, describing it as "championing aching melody and essential song craft", and called it "[r]omantic, sensual, tuneful, heartfelt, soulful and compellingly conversational". He concluded that it was "another perfect song for modern times". Will Richards, writing for NME, commended the singers vocals, saying it had "decent results on both ends". Starr Bowenbank, writing for Billboard magazine, commented that "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" is a "testament to [Finneas'] songwriting talent".
"Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)" also received mainly positive reviews from music critics. Shaffer viewed the song as an "original one-night-stand" and that it "strips it down to its bare essentials, turning it into modern lounge music", while Brayden also described it as a stripped-down track and takes "its bare essentials for a modern lounge atmosphere". Kaye commented that the song feels like "[Finneas] [is] rehearsing the song in a jazz club before the doors open and the smoke rushes in." Craig Sjodin writing for ABC News Radio depicted it gives "the tune more of an old-timey feel".
"Let's Fall in Love for the Night" debuted at number 34 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart during the week of February 15, 2020. It later rose to number 17 on the Alternative Songs chart during the week of April 17, 2020. The track also peaked at number 24 on the US Rock Airplay chart during the week of April 17. It has received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada (MC). The song was nominated for Best Alternative at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards.
## Promotion
The music video for "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" was released to Finneas' YouTube channel on March 19, 2020 and received its broadcast on MTV Live, MTVU, MTV International, and the Viacom Times Square Billboards. The music video was directed by Sam Bennett and choreographed by Monika Felice Smith. The visual was shot in one take. It begins with Finneas sitting on a perch playing the ukulele on the rooftop of a building to looking at the Los Angeles skyline. As Finneas continues singing, he is joined by a crew of dancers who perform choreography with him as he gracefully dances throughout the crowd. Finneas ends up sitting back on his perch, crooning the outro of the song as he looks at the camera and laughs. According to MTV, Finneas told them that the hardest part of filming the visual was the beginning scene, in which he sits on a little perch and strums his ukulele, then runs behind the camera to get to the other side of it, only to have to re-enter the frame looking like he did not even sweat slightly while sprinting.
The music video was positively received by critics. Madeline Roth writing for MTV described that the video for "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" is "finally here for [our] viewing pleasure". The staff of The Howard Stern Show commended the choreography, and described it as "slick". Ahlgrim dubbed the visual as a "carefully choreographed dance number", noting that it opens with Finneas floating around a rooftop at dusk, smiling at the camera and fidgeting with his suit jacket, and described him as "deeply charming".
Finneas toured throughout the United States during October 2019, in support of Blood Harmony. "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" was one of the tracks he performed from the EP during the tour. On February 3, 2020, he played the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was joined by a live band. In April 2020, Finneas performed an acoustic version of "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" during a 50 minute livestream for Verizon Communications and One World: Together At Home, respectively.
## Charts
## Certifications
## Release history
|
[
"## Background and development",
"## Composition",
"## Reception",
"## Promotion",
"## Charts",
"## Certifications",
"## Release history"
] | 1,812 | 32,704 |
34,379,528 |
North Carolina Highway 2A
| 1,030,045,071 |
Former highway in North Carolina
|
[
"Bannered and suffixed highways in North Carolina",
"Transportation in Moore County, North Carolina"
] |
North Carolina Highway 2A (NC 2A) was a state highway located in southern Moore County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway traveled from an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1), now May Street, northward through portions of Manly and Southern Pines to an intersection with NC 22 (now US 1). The highway was first listed as part of the Moore County road system by at least 1930. The route was improved to a paved surface by 1936. NC 2A was numbered sometime between 1945 and 1949. By 1952, it was cancelled and Highway 2 was designated over the route. It has since been numbered Secondary Road 2029 (SR 2029).
## Route description
In 1951, NC 2A started at an at-grade intersection with US 1 (North May Street) in the southern portion of the community of Manly. From there, the highway ran northwesterly across the Seaboard Air Line Railroad to an intersection with a primitive trail (now Clark Street) in Southern Pines. The roadway continued northwestward to a bridge over a small, unnamed creek (now nonexistent). Turning slightly westward, the road proceeded to its northern terminus, an intersection with NC 2 (now an interchange with US 1).
## History
By 1930, a highway in the location of NC 2A was added to the Moore County Highway System as a class C road, a county highway of the lowest importance. The entire length of the route was graded with an earthen surface, as was much of the highway system. During the mid-1930s, the route was designated as a primary county highway. The route was shifted slightly northerly and had been extended to approximately 0.9 miles (1.4 km) in length, as well as being improved to an asphalt surface. Between then and 1938, the route's southern terminus was shifted southward and the entire length of the highway was resurfaced as bituminous. Between 1945 and 1949, NC 2A was designated along Yadkin Road as a connector route between NC 2 and US 1. During that same period the route was also slightly straightened near its southern terminus. By 1952, NC 2A was decommissioned and replaced by NC 2. The road was shortened to 0.74 miles (1.19 km) in length, and its entire length was paved. NC 2's route was replaced by NC 22. By the next year, Yadkin Road has been shifted to its current location. Before 1972, NC 2 was rerouted away from Yadkin Road and the route had been designated as SR 2029.
## Major intersections
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Major intersections"
] | 587 | 22,196 |
43,652,869 |
The Boat Race 1912
| 1,167,090,175 | null |
[
"1912 in English sport",
"1912 in rowing",
"1912 sports events in London",
"April 1912 sports events",
"March 1912 sports events",
"The Boat Race"
] |
The 69th Boat Race took place on 30 March 1912 with a re-row on 1 April. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race. Umpired by former Cambridge rower Frederick I. Pitman, this year's race ended with Cambridge sinking and Oxford waterlogged. Pitman declared the result as "No Race" and in the subsequent re-row on the following Monday, the race was won by Oxford by six lengths. Oxford's fourth consecutive victory took the overall record in the event to 38–30 in their favour.
## 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"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken 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; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by 3+3⁄4 lengths. Oxford, however, held the overall lead with 37 victories to Cambridge's 30 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).
Oxford's coaches were G. C. Bourne who had rowed for the university in the 1882 and 1883 races, Harcourt Gilbey Gold (Dark Blue president for the 1900 race and four-time Blue), and W. F. C. Holland who had rowed for Oxford four times between 1887 and 1890. Cambridge were coached by John Houghton Gibbon who rowed for the Light Blues in the 1899 and 1900 races. For the ninth year the umpire was old Etonian Frederick I. Pitman who rowed for Cambridge in the 1884, 1885 and 1886 races.
Author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater noted that the Dark Blue crew was "by no means so quick in the water, but they possessed greater ease of movement". Despite being struck by influenza, the training was never really hampered. Conversely, Cambridge suffered "misfortune after misfortune". They persisted with D. C. Collins at stroke "in spite of his inexperience" but he was replaced by Sidney Swann. F. E. Hellyer was selected to row at number seven yet was forced to depart, suffering from influenza; his replacement in L. S. Lloyd was considered "far too light". C. F. Burnand was also forced to leave the crew through illness. Despite this, upon arrival at Putney, the Light Blues "made astonishing improvement", and it was "only on account of their weight" that Oxford went into the race as favourites.
## Crews
The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 5.875 lb (78.7 kg), 7.625 pounds (3.5 kg) per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge saw five competitors return to the boat, including R. W. M. Arbuthnot at stroke, rowing in his fourth consecutive race. Oxford's crew also contained five participants with Boat Race experience, including Robert Bourne who was making his fourth appearance in the event. Seven of the Oxford crew were educated at Eton College. Three participants in the race were registered as non-British: Oxford's Charles Littlejohn was Australian while Cambridge's cox C. A. Skinner hailed from South Africa and their number two D. C. Collins came from New Zealand.
## Race
Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge. In very rough conditions, Pitman started the race at 11:43 a.m., with both coxes initially steering their crews away from each other. The Light Blues started better before Oxford passed them to lead after the first minute, their cox Henry Bensley Wells opposite the Cambridge stroke Swann. By the end of Fulham wall, the Dark Blues were clear of Cambridge but both crews had taken on board a large volume of water. Bensley-Wells steered his boat close to the shore for shelter, moving out only to pass below the centre arch of Hammersmith Bridge before heading back towards the shore once again. Following discussion with his stroke Robert Bourne, Bensley-Wells steered into the shore whereupon the crew disembarked to empty their vessel of the river water. After getting back onto the river, the Oxford boat was approached by the umpire's launch and informed by Pitman that Cambridge had sunk off Harrods Furniture Depository and that he was declaring "No Race". Despite this, Oxford finished the course and paddled to Mortlake. Prior to this year's event, there had been one sinking in the history of the race: Cambridge sank in the 1859 race. Author Gordon Ross described the aborted race as "a fiasco of some magnitude", while Drinkwater called it "the greatest fiasco in the history of the race." With the agreement of the Port of London Authority, it was agreed to hold a re-row the following Monday.
According to Bensley-Wells "the weather on the Monday was again bad ... the wind was even stronger but ... had changed direction slightly." Oxford again won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge. Pitman got the race under way at 12:40 p.m. The Dark Blues made a better start and took advantage of the shelter once again provided by the Middlesex side of the river. Although out-rating the Dark Blues by up to six strokes per second, Cambridge could not overhaul the deficit and when Oxford passed the Crab Tree pub, Bensley-Wells made for "the shortest way home" and steered over towards the Surrey station in water that "looked to be fairly good." Oxford passed the finishing post with a lead of six lengths in a time of 22 minutes 5 seconds. It was the largest winning margin since the 1903 race and the slowest winning time since the 1901 race. The victory took the overall record in the event to 38–30 in Oxford's favour.
|
[
"## Background",
"## Crews",
"## Race"
] | 1,348 | 31,983 |
4,968,358 |
1972 World Snooker Championship
| 1,155,501,924 | null |
[
"1972 in English sport",
"1972 in snooker",
"Sports competitions in Birmingham, West Midlands",
"World Snooker Championships"
] |
The 1972 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between March 1971 and 26 February 1972, as an edition of the World Snooker Championship. The final was played at Selly Park British Legion from 21 to 26 February. Alex Higgins won his first world title, defeating defending champion John Spencer 37–31 in the final. Higgins also made the highest known of the tournament, 133. In all, he won six matches to secure the title, including a 31–30 victory over Rex Williams in the semi-final after Williams had missed an attempt to a . Higgins became the first qualifier to win the World Championship, and, aged 22, the youngest champion until Stephen Hendry in 1990. Higgins's win led to increased interest in snooker from the media and sponsors.
The tournament ran from March 1971 to February 1972, with matches at various venues. Spectators at the final were seated on wooden boards placed atop beer barrels. On the first evening of the final, the was conducted with reduced light provided by a mobile generator, as the normal power supply was interrupted due to the miners' strike.
## Background
The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker. The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India. Professional English billiards player and billiard hall manager Joe Davis noticed the increasing popularity of snooker compared to billiards in the 1920s, and with Birmingham-based billiards equipment manager Bill Camkin, persuaded the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) to recognise an official professional snooker championship in the 1926–27 season. In 1927, the final of the first professional snooker championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament by beating Tom Dennis in the final. The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until 1935, but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.
In 1952, the, following a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the BACC about the distribution of income from the world championship, the PBPA members established an alternative competition known as the World Professional Match-play Championship, the editions of which are now recognised as world championships, while only Horace Lindrum and Clark McConachy entered for the BACC's 1952 World Snooker Championship. The World Professional Match-play Championship continued until 1957, after which there were no world championship matches until professional Rex Williams gained agreement from the BACC that the world championship would be staged on a challenge basis, with defending champion Pulman featuring in the first match. Pulman retained the title in several challenges from 1964 to 1968. Pulman had been touring snooker clubs as promotional work for the tobacco brand John Player, and the company had sponsored his 1968 match against Eddie Charlton. The good attendances for the championship match led to John Player deciding to sponsor the 1969 World Snooker Championship as a knock-out format tournament, using their "Players No. 6" brand. The 1969 championship is regarded as the first of the modern snooker era, and was won by John Spencer, who defeated Gary Owen 37–24 in the final.
The 1972 championship was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, which was the renamed PBPA. The draw for players entering the competition was made in February 1971. There was an entry fee of £100 per player, with the intention that the winner would receive 60% of the combined entry fees, and the runner-up 40%, with gate receipts after expenses also going to players. There was no sponsor for the tournament, and the prize money was by arrangement with individual promoters; The defending champion was Spencer, who had won the 1971 World Snooker Championship (which was actually held in 1970) in Australia. The tournament ran from March 1971 to February 1972.
## Tournament summary
### Qualifying and first round
The qualifying competition contained eight players of which two qualifiers joined other entrants in the competition proper. Those in the qualifying section included Alex Higgins, and four former amateur champions, Ron Gross, Maurice Parkin, Pat Houlihan and Geoff Thompson. In the first qualifying round, over 21 frames, two matches were played at the Brentham Club, Ealing. John Dunning led Houlihan 9-5 but won only by a single frame, 11-10. Higgins compiled a 103 break in the seventh frame against Gross, and reached a winning score at 11–4. It ended 16–5 after . Graham Miles eliminated Bernard Bennett at the Castle Club, Southampton, and made a 115 break in the 21st frame, making it 15–6. Parkin won in a against Thompson at Barnsley Conservative Club.
In the second qualifying round, playing at Ecclesfield Ex-Servicemen's Club, Sheffield, Higgins took ten consecutive frames while defeating Parkin 11–3. Dunning eliminated Miles 11–5 at the Selly Park British Legion.
There were two matches played in the first round of the main competition. Higgins eliminated Jackie Rea 19–11 at the Ecclesfield Ex-Servicemen's Club. He compiled a 103 break in the third session and a 133 during the fourth session. Rea complimented Higgins on the performance, saying that "He does everything wrong. And yet he knocks such a lot in". John Pulman took a 6–2 lead against Dunning, and went on to win 19–7. Fred Davis was due to play Kingsley Kennerley, but proceeded by walkover when Kennerley withdrew due to illness.
### Quarter-finals and semi-finals
Spencer eliminated Davis 31–21. Williams defeated the 1970 champion Reardon 25–23 in a match held across five different venues in Scotland. Reardon trailed 20–22 before winning the following three frames, after which Williams won three frames in succession to secure victory. Owen was expected to face Taylor, but withdrew after emigrating to Australia. His place in the draw was given to Charlton by the WPBSA. Charlton, who arrived from Australia on the first morning of his match against Taylor, won 31–25. Pulman took a 2–0 lead against Higgins, but was 2–3 behind before finishing their first day the odd frame ahead at 4–3. Higgins led 12–8 after the second day, and 19–14 at the close of day three. The penultimate day ended with Higgins 28–19 up, and although Pulman won the first two frames on the concluding day, Higgins secured victory at 31–23.
Spencer had embarked on a tour of Canada between the quarter-finals and semi-finals. He won 37–32 against Charlton, in the semi-final played at the Co-op Hall, Bolton, from 10 to 14 January. The players agreed on a £750 side bet to be paid by the losing player to the winner.
Williams took nine consecutive frames to establish a 12–6 lead against Higgins. Higgins next took the lead at 26–25. The match went to a deciding frame, and Williams was 28 points to 14 ahead when he missed an attempt to pot a blue ball from its spot into a middle pocket. Higgins compiled a break of 32, and then, following some safety play, potted the green ball to clinch victory. Williams later commented "That blue could have changed the direction of both our careers."
On the day before the start of the Championship final, Spencer and Higgins contested the final of the Spring Park Drive 2000 event, which Spencer won 4–3.
### Final
The final was played at the Selly Park British Legion, Birmingham, from 21 to 26 February, refereed by Jim Thorpe. Historian Dominic Sandbrook wrote in 2019 that the tournament had been "organized in conditions of laughable amateurishness" and that the final was played under "risibly ramshackle conditions". Spectators at the final were seated on wooden boards placed atop beer barrels. There was a miners' strike in progress at the same time as the final, and on the first evening of play, without normal power, the session was conducted with reduced light provided by a mobile generator.
Before the match started, Spencer was generally expected to win. The first session finished with the players tied at 3–3. In the eighth frame, Higgins made a break of 35, but Spencer then compiled a 101 break to take the frame. The first day ended with the score 6–6. Spencer made his century break of the match, 109, in the 16th frame, and the third session concluded with the players again level, at 9–9, while the fourth session saw Spencer go 13–11 ahead. Day three closed with the score 18–18 at the half-way point of the match, and the players were still tied, now at 21–21, following the next session. Higgins then won six consecutive frames to make it 27–21. On day five, Spencer was stuck in a lift due to a power cut, and the match started ten minutes late. Higgins took the first frame of the ninth session, but lost four of the next five, leaving him 29–25 ahead. Both players won three frames in the tenth session. On the last day, Higgins clinched the 61st frame with a break of 40. Spencer then produced his third century break of the match, 123, in the 62nd frame, and added the next two frames to his tally with breaks over 50 in each. Higgins made a break of 82 in the 66th frame, which left him leading at 35–31. He took the opening frame of the concluding session by 62 points to 38, then compiled breaks of 94 and 46 to win the last frame he needed by 140 points to 0 to secure a 37–31 victory. Spencer made three century breaks during the final, while the highest break by Higgins was the 94 in the decisive frame. The trophy was presented to Higgins by Pulman.
Higgins, who was required to win two qualifying matches to reach the tournament proper, became the first qualifier to win the world snooker championship. The win made him the youngest champion, at the age of , until Stephen Hendry won the title in 1990. He received £480 prize money for the match, while Spencer received £320, in addition to their earnings from previous rounds. Higgins also received 6,000 cigarettes from the sponsors. The final attracted little press attention; the match report in The Times ran to only 90 words. Shortly afterwards, however, there was increasing interest, particularly in Higgins, from news media. In March he was the subject of a profile in the Sunday People, and a documentary titled Hurricane Higgins was broadcast on ITV in September 1972.
Gordon Burn described Higgins's play on the Thursday evening of the final, during which Higgins won all six frames, as "snooker which, in its insolence, its exuberance, its confidence and its danger, few of those present have ever seen before". Journalist Donald Trelford wrote of Higgins that "This thin, pale, hollow-cheeked ex-jockey was something new to the game, cutting through its genteel pretensions like a swordsman." Snooker historian Clive Everton told Trelford that after Higgins's victory, "snooker was never the same again". Promotions company West and Nally, believing that the emergence of Higgins represented a commercial opportunity, organised a further Park Drive 2000 event. Park Drive sponsored the 1973 World Snooker Championship providing £8,000 in prize money. The 1973 Championship was staged as fortnight-long event rather than a much longer tournament like the 1972 Championship had been, and for the first time, part of the final was televised by the BBC.
## Main draw
Results are shown below. Winning players are denoted in bold.
## Qualifying
Results are shown below. Winning players are denoted in bold.
## Known century breaks
The known century breaks made at the qualifying and main tournament were as follows.
- 133, 115, 104, 103, four other century breaks – Alex Higgins
- 124 – Eddie Charlton
- 123, 109, 101 – John Spencer
- 115 – Graham Miles
|
[
"## Background",
"## Tournament summary",
"### Qualifying and first round",
"### Quarter-finals and semi-finals",
"### Final",
"## Main draw",
"## Qualifying",
"## Known century breaks"
] | 2,644 | 17,314 |
33,029,160 |
Cobi Crispin
| 1,157,409,265 |
Australian wheelchair basketball player (born 1988)
|
[
"1988 births",
"Australian women's wheelchair basketball players",
"Forwards (basketball)",
"Living people",
"Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics",
"Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics",
"Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia",
"Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball",
"Paralympic silver medalists for Australia",
"Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Australia",
"Sportspeople from Mackay, Queensland",
"Sportswomen from Queensland",
"Victorian Institute of Sport alumni",
"Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics",
"Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics"
] |
Cobi Crispin (born 22 December 1988) is a 4 point wheelchair basketball forward from Western Australia. She began playing wheelchair basketball in 2003 when she was 17 years old. The Victorian Institute of Sport and Direct Athlete Support (DAS) program have provided assistance to enable her to play. She played club basketball in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) for the Victorian Dandenong Rangers in 2012 after having previously played for the Western Stars. In 2015 she began playing for the Minecraft Comets. She played for the University of Alabama in the United States in 2013–15.
Crispin made her Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team debut in 2006, competing in the Joseph F. Lyttle World Basketball Challenge that year, and participated in Paralympic qualification in 2007. She remained on the team and was part of the bronze medal-winning Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. At the 2010 IWBF World Championships in Birmingham England, her team finished fourth. The following year, she was captain of the 2011 Under 25 (U25) Women's Wheelchair Basketball team at the 2011 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, and earned a silver medal. Also in 2012, she participated in Paralympic qualifying, and went on to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics where her team finished second.
## Personal life
Cobi Crispin was born in Mackay, Queensland, on 22 December 1988, the daughter of Alan and Cathy Crispin. She has three brothers. She was born missing a femur. She moved to Melbourne, Victoria as a result of switching wheelchair basketball club sides to play with the Dandenong Rangers, and now lives in Ashburton, Victoria. Other sports she has had interest in include hockey, swimming and touch football. Her role models are Paralympic wheelchair basketball players Liesl Tesch and Alison Mosely. She was educated at St Patrick's College, Mackay, and as of 2012 attended Deakin University.
## Basketball
Crispin's wheelchair basketball classification is 4.0 point player, and she plays forward. She has played the sport since 2003, when she was 17 years old. In 2009, she was an Aspire to be a Champion grant recipient. In 2010, she had a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport, which provides "provide assistance with specialist coaching, sport science, sports medicine, physical preparation and education and career development services as well as training & competition expenses". In 2010/11 and 2011/12, the Australian Sports Commission gave her A\$17,000 grants through the Direct Athlete Support (DAS) program, a scheme which provides direct financial support to elite athletes. She received \$5,571 in 2009/10 and \$10,000 in 2012/13.
### National team
Crispin's first national team appearance was in 2006. She was selected to participate in a national team training camp in 2010, and was member of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The Gliders defeated Japan 53–47 to win the bronze medal.
#### 2012 Paralympics
In October 2011, Crispin was named to the senior national squad that would compete at the Asia/Oceania Championships 2011 in Goyang, South Korea, a qualifying tournament for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, with the top two teams qualifying. The Gliders lost to Japan twice in the qualifying rounds, but made the finals on percentage, and fought their way back from being seven points down at quarter time to defeat China in the gold medal match, 45–44.
In the first game of the 2012 Paralympics tournament against Brazil, which her team won 52–50, she played 32:34 minutes. She scored 18 points against the Brazil women's national wheelchair basketball team, and had seven rebounds. In the team's third game of pool play, where they lost to Canada 50–57, she played 29:43 minutes and scored 12 points. In the team's fourth game of pool play against the Netherlands women's national wheelchair basketball team that her team won 58–49, she played 25:09 minutes, and scored ten points. In her team's quarterfinal 62–37 victory over Mexico women's national wheelchair basketball team, she played 17:08 minutes, and scored twelve points. Her team met the United States women's national wheelchair basketball team in the semifinals, where Australia won 40-39 and she played 24:37 minutes, and scored six points. In the gold medal game against the Germany women's national wheelchair basketball team, she played 29:40 minutes. While her team lost 44-58 and was awarded a silver medal, she scored six points, and had five rebounds.
#### Other competitions
In 2006, Crispin was named the Northern Challenge Most Valuable Player. Organised by the Sporting Wheelies, this competition beings together teams from across northern Queensland. She was also on the squad that competed at the Joseph F. Lyttle World Basketball Challenge that year. In 2007, she played with the national team that the competed in the Asia Oceania Qualification tournament, and the silver medal-winning team that competed at the Osaka Cup. She also played with the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Osaka Cup-winning teams. In 2010, she was part of the fourth place-finishing Australian national squad that competed at the IWBF World Championships, in Birmingham, England.
Crispin was co-captain of the Under 25 (U25) team that competed at the 2011 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, and finished second. She was the team's top scorer in all but last two matches in the tournament, when as reporter Pat Koopman stated, "the opposition concentrated on nullifying her influence" on the games."
In 2013 Crispin began playing for the University of Alabama, and won the Jessica Staley Impact Award and the Stephanie Wheeler Performance Award for 2013-14. The Alabama team of which she was part went through the season undefeated by women's teams, and defeated the University of Illinois 58-52 to win the 2015 national championship on 28 February 2015.
### Club basketball
In 2008, Crispin was named one of Australia's Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) All-Star Five. She played her club basketball for WNWBL's Western Stars. In the second round of the 2008 season, the Western Stars defeated the Hills Hornets 52-44. Playing for the Stars, wearing number 5, she scored 14 points in her team's victory. She switched to the Dandenong Rangers for the 2011 season. In her debut game, she scored 28 points and 16 rebounds against her old team. The Rangers went on to win the 2011 WNWBL title, defeating the Sydney Uni Flames 62-59, in a match in which Crispin scored 16 points and was named to the league's All-Star 5. She was with the Rangers again for the 2012 season, in which was named the 2012 WNWBL MVP of the Final Series after scoring 28 points in the Rangers' Championship win against the Stacks Goudkamp Bears. In 2015 she joined the Minecraft Comets.
|
[
"## Personal life",
"## Basketball",
"### National team",
"#### 2012 Paralympics",
"#### Other competitions",
"### Club basketball"
] | 1,617 | 16,514 |
47,233,182 |
Typhoon Halola
| 1,171,923,712 |
Pacific typhoon in 2015
|
[
"2015 Pacific hurricane season",
"2015 Pacific typhoon season",
"Eastern Pacific tropical storms",
"Tropical cyclones in 2015",
"Typhoons",
"Typhoons in Japan"
] |
Typhoon Halola, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Goring, was a small but long-lived tropical cyclone in July 2015 that traveled 7,640 km (4,750 mi) across the Pacific Ocean. The fifth named storm of the 2015 Pacific hurricane season, Halola originated from a Western Pacific monsoon trough that had expanded into the Central Pacific by July 5. Over the next several days, the system waxed and waned due to changes in wind shear before organizing into a tropical depression on July 10 while well southwest of Hawaii. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Halola on the next day as it traveled westward. Halola crossed the International Date Line on July 13 and entered the Western Pacific, where it was immediately recognized as a severe tropical storm. The storm further strengthened into a typhoon over the next day before encountering strong wind shear on July 16, upon which it quickly weakened into a tropical depression as it passed south of Wake Island. However, the shear relaxed on July 19, allowing Halola to reintensify. On July 21, Halola regained typhoon status and later peaked with 10-minute sustained winds of 150 km/h (93 mph) and a minimum pressure of 955 hPa (mbar; 28.20 inHg). From July 23 onward, increasing wind shear and dry air caused Halola to weaken slowly. The system fell below typhoon intensity on July 25 as it began to recurve northwards. Halola made landfall over Kyushu on July 26 as a tropical storm and dissipated in the Tsushima Strait shortly after.
The typhoon initially posed a significant threat to Wake Island, prompting the evacuation of all personnel from the military base spanning the atoll; however, no damage resulted from its passage. Heavy rains and strong winds buffeted the Ryukyu Islands, with record rainfall observed in Tokunoshima. Flooding and landslides forced the evacuation of several thousand people. Damage was relatively limited, though the sugarcane crop sustained ¥154 million (US\$1.24 million) in damage. Two people were injured in Kyushu.
## Meteorological history
Typhoon Halola's origins can be traced to a Western Pacific monsoon trough that spawned a weak low-level circulation on July 3. The trough expanded eastward into the Central Pacific by July 5, bringing the circulation with it. The trough would later cause the development of two more tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific: Ela and Iune. On July 6, the aforementioned circulation began to increase in organization. It then began to break away from the trough and drift northward on the next day as deep convection increased. Development temporarily halted late on July 7 after an upper-level anticyclone traveled northward, away from the center, causing easterly wind shear to affect the system. Late on July 9, all that remained was a swirl of clouds. The shear then relaxed and allowed the exposed low-level circulation to be covered by deep convection. The system continued to organize, developing into a tropical depression on July 10 at 06:00 UTC, while located approximately 1,650 km (1,030 mi) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Slow strengthening continued over the next couple of days, with the nascent depression being upgraded to Tropical Storm Halola by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center at 00:00 UTC on July 11. A ridge to the north of the storm steered it generally westwards, though the weakening of this ridge on July 12 by an upper-level trough allowed Halola's motion to gain a northward component. The trough also inflicted slight northwesterly shear over Halola, causing Halola's 1-minute sustained winds to level off at 95 km/h (59 mph). On July 13 at 00:00 UTC, Halola crossed the International Date Line and entered the Western Pacific, falling under the purview of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which immediately recognized it as a severe tropical storm.
Once in the Western Pacific, Halola began to intensify quickly, developing a small 15 km (9.3 mi) wide eye and good outflow channels. As a result, the JMA assessed Halola to have strengthened into a typhoon at 00:00 UTC on July 14. Although the eye feature quickly disappeared, convection continued to deepen and Halola reached its initial peak intensity at 06:00 UTC with 10-minute sustained winds of 130 km/h (81 mph). The US-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) simultaneously judged Halola to have 1-minute sustained winds of 155 km/h (96 mph), equivalent to Category 2 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Soon after, an increase in wind shear and a decrease in outflow led to a weakening trend. The system fell below typhoon status at 06:00 UTC on July 15 as it approached Wake Island. Convection became sheared to the east of the low-level circulation center as Halola passed south of Wake Island on July 16, reflecting the disorganized state of the system. Amid the unfavorable upper-level environment, Halola weakened into a tropical depression on July 17, a status it would retain for the next two days. As the system tracked steadily westwards under the influence of a strong ridge, it was met with dry air that further limited thunderstorm activity through July 18.
On July 19, the environment surrounding Halola began to improve. Wind shear decreased and the storm moved west-northwestwards into an area of moister air. As a result, the system began to consolidate once again, reintensifying to a tropical storm at 18:00 UTC. An eye feature became visible on microwave satellite imagery as Halola passed over waters with surface temperatures near 30 °C (86 °F). Quick strengthening followed, with the system reaching severe tropical storm status at 06:00 UTC on July 20 and typhoon status 18 hours later. The eye contracted to a diameter of 9 km (5.6 mi) as the storm strengthened, eventually reaching peak intensity at 18:00 UTC on July 21 with 10-minute sustained winds of 150 km/h (93 mph) and a minimum pressure of 955 hPa (mbar; 28.20 inHg). Over the next 12 hours, Halola weakened slightly as its eye collapsed and reformed. Halola remained a well-organized and compact system through July 22 despite worsening outflow, with the JTWC assessing that it had once again attained 1-minute sustained winds of 155 km/h (96 mph) at 12:00 UTC.
On July 23, Halola began to weaken gradually as wind shear increased once again and dry air began to impinge on the system. The typhoon entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) just before 08:00 UTC and PAGASA assigned it the local name Goring; the storm remained northeast of the Philippines and exited the PAR the next day. Dry air completely encircled the circulation by the end of July 24, causing Halola's convection to slowly dissipate. The system weakened below typhoon status on July 25 as it began to curve northwards. During this time, Halola crossed over the Ryukyu Islands, passing just northeast of Okinawa Island and landing a direct hit on the Amami Islands. On July 26, Halola made landfall as a tropical storm over Saikai, Nagasaki at 09:30 UTC and Sasebo, Nagasaki at 10:00 UTC. Land interaction quickly took its toll on the cyclone, and Halola was last noted by the JMA a couple hours later as it dissipated just north of Kyushu. This ended Halola's 16-day, 7,640 km (4,750 mi) long track across the Pacific Ocean.
## Impact
### Wake Island
Typhoon Halola was the first significant threat to Wake Island since Hurricane Ioke in 2006, which caused tremendous damage and forced the closure of the island for three months. The Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness (TCCOR) level was raised to 3—indicating winds of 93 km/h (58 mph) or higher were possible within 48 hours—by 2:00 p.m. local time on July 14. That day, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from the Hawaii Air National Guard was used to evacuate 125 Department of Defense personnel deployed on Wake Island due to the threat of storm surge. The evacuees were brought to Anderson Air Force Base on Guam. The TCCOR was raised to level 2—indicating winds of 93 km/h (58 mph) or higher were expected within 48 hours—on July 15. Warnings were discontinued as the storm weakened and moved away from the island the following day.
Members of the 36th Contingency Response Group and the 353d Special Operations Group were parachuted onto the island on July 18 to conduct damage assessments and clear the airfield of debris. Little, if any, damage was incurred according to their assessments. The airfield was re-opened on July 20 and personnel resumed normal operations.
### Japan and South Korea
On July 22, Sasebo Naval Base was placed on alert for possible effects from the approaching typhoon. TCCOR 3 was raised for all United States military bases in Okinawa the next morning. This was subsequently extended on July 24 to cover Sasebo and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni while the bases on Okinawa were placed under TCCOR 2. Additionally, TCCOR 4—indicating winds of 93 km/h (58 mph) were possible within 72 hours—was raised for Camp Walker and Chinhae Naval Base in South Korea. During the evening of July 24, TCCOR 1—indicating winds of 93 km/h (58 mph) were expected within 12 hours—was issued for the Okinawa bases. Sasebo Naval Base entered TCCOR 1 late on July 25. Following the storm's degradation into a depression on July 26, all TCCOR levels were dropped or reduced. More than 100 flights to and from Naha Airport were cancelled, affecting approximately 16,000 passengers, with All Nippon Airways comprising the majority of affected flights. Eight flights to and from Kumejima were also canceled. 23 highway bus services by 16 operators were suspended. The JMA warned residents across Kyushu to be on alert for flooding.
Owing to the typhoon's northward turn, Okinawa was largely spared. Sustained winds at Kadena Air Base reached 48 km/h (30 mph), with gusts reaching 69 km/h (43 mph). East of Okinawa in the Daitō Islands, sustained winds reached 114 km/h (71 mph) on Minamidaitōjima with a gust of 157 km/h (98 mph); both values were the highest in relation to the storm on land. Similar winds were recorded on Amami Ōshima, situated between Okinawa and Kyushu. Torrential rains affected portions of the archipelago, with Isen, Tokunoshima, receiving record-breaking accumulations. Twenty-four-hour totals reached 444 mm (17.5 in), including 114.5 mm (4.51 in) in one hour and 258.5 mm (10.18 in) in three hours; all three values were record amounts since the station began observations in 1977 and considered a 1-in-50 year event. Rainfall reached 109 mm (4.3 in) on Okinoerabujima. Ironically, Halola helped suppress rainfall across the majority of mainland Japan by severing a plume of moisture previously bringing several days of heavy rain. Most areas across western Japan received modest rainfall from the dissipating storm.
Throughout the Daitō Islands, sugarcane farms were significantly affected by Typhoon Halola, resulting in ¥154 million (US\$1.24 million) in damage. The heavy rains on Tokunoshima prompted the evacuation of 7,500 residents and flooding damaged 90 homes. Multiple landslides were reported on the island. Power outages took place on Kitadaitōjima and Minamidaitō. A landslide in Kunigami forced the closure of National Route 331. In mainland Japan, one person was injured in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, after falling from a roof, while another person in Nagasaki hit their head after falling from a ladder. In Akita Prefecture, Honshu, river levees along the Sainai River were breached by heavy rain brought on by the combination of a weather front and the remnants of Halola. In response to the effects of Halola as well as Typhoon Nangka which struck Japan ten days earlier, the Cabinet of Japan activated additional financial support for affected areas through the Catastrophic Disasters Act.
## See also
- Weather of 2015
- Tropical cyclones in 2015
- List of Eastern Pacific tropical storms
- List of strong typhoons
- Typhoon Oliwa (1997)
- Typhoon Paka (1997)
- Hurricane Ioke (2006)
|
[
"## Meteorological history",
"## Impact",
"### Wake Island",
"### Japan and South Korea",
"## See also"
] | 2,786 | 20,101 |
10,728,931 |
Triple Crown (snooker)
| 1,166,934,273 |
Series of professional snooker tournaments
|
[
"Lists of snooker players",
"Masters (snooker)",
"Snooker professional competitions",
"Snooker terminology",
"Snooker tours and series",
"UK Championship (snooker)",
"World Snooker Championships"
] |
The Triple Crown in professional snooker refers to winning the sport's three longest-running and most prestigious tournaments: the World Snooker Championship (first held in 1927 and staged as a knockout tournament continuously since 1969), the invitational Masters (held annually since 1975), and the UK Championship (held annually since 1977). In January 2020, the three tournaments were formally named the Triple Crown Series.
Any player who has won all three Triple Crown tournaments at least once over the course of their career is said to have won a "career Triple Crown", and they gain the right to wear an embroidered crown on their waistcoat to reflect the achievement. As of 2023, eleven players have won a career Triple Crown: Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Stephen Hendry, Alex Higgins, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, and Mark Williams. O'Sullivan has won the most Triple Crown titles, with 21; Hendry has won 18 and Davis 15.
Davis, Hendry and Williams are the only three players to have won all three Triple Crown events in a single season (Davis in 1987–88, Hendry in both 1989–90 and 1995–96, and Williams in 2002–03). Hendry is the only player to have accomplished this feat twice.
## History
In 1969, the World Snooker Championship became a single elimination tournament, replacing the previous challenge format; this change marks the start of professional snooker's "modern era". Six years later, a non-ranking invitational event, the Masters, was introduced; there were 10 competitors in the inaugural Masters in 1975, later increasing to 16 players. When John Spencer won the 1975 Masters tournament, he became the first person to win two Triple Crown events, having won the world championships in 1969 and 1971. The following year, Ray Reardon won both the Masters and World Championship in the same season.
In 1977, the UK Championship was created. Originally restricted to British residents and passport holders, the tournament was opened to all professionals in 1984 and also became a ranking event. Patsy Fagan won the 1977 UK Championship, in his only Triple Crown final. In the 1980–81 season, Steve Davis won both the UK Championship and the World Championship, and was the first player to complete the career Triple Crown when he won the Masters the following season. Davis was also the first player to complete the season Triple Crown, winning all three events in the 1987–88 season.
The Triple Crown events are sometimes referred to as the "big three BBC events", due to them having been broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation since inception. They are also sometimes called "snooker's majors", or the "big three" events. However, some have questioned the status of the Triple Crown events, arguing that the World Championship is snooker's only major tournament. John Higgins has described the Tour Championship, first held in 2019, as "far bigger than the UK [Championship]".
Triple Crown events are considered the most prestigious snooker titles, and have historically offered the most prize money. However, the total prize money for other events, such as the China Open, has exceeded that of the UK Championship and Masters in recent years. From the 2020 Masters onward, players who have completed the Triple Crown are eligible to have a gold crown embroidered on their playing waistcoats in recognition of the achievement.
## Career Triple Crown winners
Eleven players have completed a career Triple Crown: Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Alex Higgins, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, and Judd Trump. Only Davis, Hendry and Williams have won all three Triple Crown events in the same season. Hendry is the only player to have achieved the feat twice, in the 1989–90 and 1995–96 seasons.
On winning the 1999 Masters, Higgins held all three Triple Crown titles at the same time but his victories spanned two separate seasons. O'Sullivan came close to holding all three titles at once, making the final of all three events in 2014; he won the Masters and UK titles that year but not the World title, despite being the defending champion for the second successive year. Only O'Sullivan and Hendry have managed to successfully defend all three Triple Crown events. In 2013, Robertson became the first player from outside the United Kingdom to complete the career Triple Crown.
Following his win in the 2018 UK Championship, O'Sullivan surpassed Hendry's previous record of 18 Triple Crown titles, and has now won 21. Trump is the latest player to have achieved a career Triple Crown, winning both the Masters and World Championship in the 2018–19 season after having already won the UK Championship in 2011.
Sources: World Championship; UK Championship; Masters.
### One win away from Triple Crown
Of those still active on the main professional tour (as of 2023), five players have won two of the three Triple Crown events, leaving them one away from completing a career Triple Crown. Jimmy White, Matthew Stevens, Ding Junhui and Mark Allen have all won the Masters and UK Championship at least once, but all four players need to win the World Championship to complete their Triple Crown. Stuart Bingham has a World title and a Masters title, but is yet to win the UK Championship for his career Triple Crown.
Seven former professional players—Peter Ebdon, John Parrott, Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Dennis Taylor, Doug Mountjoy and Cliff Thorburn—won two of the three Triple Crown events before their retirement. Ebdon and Parrott both won UK and World titles, and Parrott reached the final of the Masters on three occasions between 1989 and 1992 but never won the title. Reardon, Spencer, Taylor and Thorburn won the World Championship and Masters tournaments during their careers, but not the UK Championship. Mountjoy came close to winning the World Championship in 1981, only to lose to Steve Davis in the final.
## Tournament winners
A list of all winners of the three Triple Crown events is shown below by season:
Sources: UK Championship; Masters; World Championship.
## See also
- List of snooker players by number of ranking titles
|
[
"## History",
"## Career Triple Crown winners",
"### One win away from Triple Crown",
"## Tournament winners",
"## See also"
] | 1,338 | 4,847 |
71,452,301 |
Curriculum for Wales (2022–present)
| 1,173,699,601 |
National curriculum being introduced
|
[
"2022 establishments in Wales",
"Curricula",
"Education in Wales"
] |
The Curriculum for Wales is the curriculum which is being introduced in state-funded education in Wales for pupils aged three to sixteen years. The curriculum's rollout began in 2022. As of September 2023, it is statutorily required for all pupils apart from those in school years 9, 10 and 11. The curriculum has been developed based on a report commissioned in 2014. Amongst other changes, it gives schools greater autonomy over what they teach children. Views on the curriculum have been varied.
## History
In 2014, the Welsh Government commissioned Graham Donaldson, a professor at the University of Glasgow who had worked on reforms to education in Scotland, to conduct a report on reforming the curriculum in Wales. The following year he recommended a variety of changes, including greater emphasis on computer skills, giving schools more control over what they taught and creating more of a sense of natural progression through school. A few months later the Welsh Education Minister promised that the report would be implemented in full within eight years. Although the curriculum was initially planned to begin being taught in 2021, it was later delayed until 2022.
The new system was planned to be introduced first for children in primary school and their first year of secondary school before being rolled out further as that age cohort progressed towards the end of their schooling, meaning that some students would still be using the old system until 2026. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic schools were allowed to delay teaching the new curriculum in the first and second years of secondary school until 2023. The legal basis for the new curriculum was established with the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021.
## Instruction
The curriculum applies to all learners aged from three to sixteen in maintained or funded non-maintained nursery education. The new curriculum is designed to include more emphasis on skills, experiences and areas such as "digital skills, adaptability and creativity" as well as knowledge. The curriculum groups education into six "Areas of Learning and Experience", with the intention of helping teachers draw links between subjects and teach topics in a broad way, though traditional subjects will still be taught. Within a basic framework of goals and learning areas, it give schools freedom to develop their own curriculum to suit the needs of their pupils. Instruction is grouped into six different areas:
- Languages, Literacy and Communication
- Mathematics and Numeracy
- Science and Technology
- Health and Well-being
- Humanities
- Expressive Arts
The only specific subjects which all schools are obliged to teach are the English and Welsh languages along with:
- Literacy, numeracy and digital competence
- Religion, values and ethics
- Relationships and sexuality education
Other changes include a greater emphasis on the history of Wales and ethnic minority groups, which reports by Estyn in previous years suggested had often been poor, and the removal of parents' right to opt out their children from sex education classes.
## Assessment and progression
One of Donaldson's initial recommendations for the new curriculum was that school should be made into more of a single "journey" for a child, rather than the way he argued pupils and teachers had previously seen the process as a series of shorter chunks. This could include, for instance, more cooperation between primary and secondary schools. The key stages into which a child's time at school were previously broken are replaced with "progression steps" with guidance of what level pupils are expected to reach at different ages. These take place at age five, eight, eleven, fourteen and sixteen years old. The standardised literary and numeracy tests which seven- to fourteen-year-old children had taken annually since 2013 were replaced in 2021 with personalised online assessments.
### GCSEs
GCSE-aged students will be enrolled on the new curriculum in 2025 and 2026. The intention is that school-leaving exams will be reformed to reflect the new structure. Multiple qualifications in English, maths and science will be merged into one for each subject. New GCSEs will be created in subjects such as "engineering and manufacturing" and "film and digital media".
## Response
Surveys of teachers suggested that they broadly supported the changes being introduced. Journalists from the news website Wales Online spoke in 2022 to teachers and students at Crickhowell High School which had been using the new curriculum for several years. The children interviewed felt that the way the curriculum linked subjects together made their studies feel more relevant to them and improved their understanding. The staff also praised the new structure. The headteacher said that in her view,
> Everything we do now we try to pull subjects together. I think it makes learners more confident and more aware of individual skills ... We went from a knowledge-based curriculum to a more interactive new curriculum. It's a structure that changes school ethos and culture ... Students now feel they have better relationships with their teachers and are more interactive with their learning. That's not to say they just want to do easy things. It's raised aspirations and expectations. What we need in 2022 is vastly different from what we needed 10 years ago.
Terry Mackie, an expert in Welsh education, criticised the draft of the curriculum published in 2019 as being overly vague, excessively focused on cultural issues and based on little research. He also noted the negative effect a similar curriculum introduced in Scotland had on results. There were also concerns that grouping subjects into faculties could lead to a "dumbing down" of instruction and suggestions that the requirement for schools to develop their own curriculum was an unhelpful distraction. Many teachers and schools believed that they were inadequately prepared to implement the new curriculum, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The parents' group Public Child Protection Wales took legal action against the Welsh government over plans to make sex education compulsory at schools arguing that parents were being "denied their time-honoured right" to choose whether their children were taught the subject. Their attempt to have the introduction of the new relationships and sex (RSE) curriculum temporarily stopped until the completion of a judicial review into the subject was declined by High Court Justice Tipples on the grounds that "there is nothing in the claimants' evidence that any of the three children to whom RSE will be taught in the 2022/23 academic year will suffer any harm, yet alone any irreparable harm". The group lost the judicial review on the new curriculum, which they saw as biased, with Justice Steyn stating that "teaching should be neutral from a religious perspective, but it is not required to be value neutral".
## See also
- Education in Wales
- Education of Welsh History
- Welsh-medium education
- Education in the United Kingdom
### Other UK curricula
- National Curriculum for England – England
- Northern Ireland Curriculum – Northern Ireland
- Curriculum for excellence – Scotland
|
[
"## History",
"## Instruction",
"## Assessment and progression",
"### GCSEs",
"## Response",
"## See also",
"### Other UK curricula"
] | 1,387 | 2,263 |
68,453,383 |
Territorial Air Force (New Zealand)
| 1,165,258,103 |
Volunteer air force
|
[
"Military units and formations established in 1930",
"Reserve air forces",
"Units and formations of the Royal New Zealand Air Force"
] |
The Territorial Air Force, or TAF, is a reserve air force that operates in New Zealand. The service traces its lineage back to a 1919 report that proposed an air force for the country manned by part-time volunteers, with the first recruits arriving in 1923. However, it was not until 1930 that the Territorial Air Force was formally constituted. The pilots had all previously served with the Royal Air Force, many in the First World War. Structurally, the force consisted of a wing of four squadrons, each allocated to one of the major cities of the country, with major sites at Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington. The Territorial Air Force suffered from a lack of equipment, particularly aircraft, throughout its existence. Initially, it relied on aircraft operated by the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, including obsolete examples that had been provided as part of the Imperial Gift, until a batch of second-hand Blackburn Baffin were purchased to provide both training and combat service. The Territorial Air Force was absorbed into the Royal New Zealand Air Force with the start of the Second World War. At the end of the war, an expanded network was originally envisaged, but the revived version of 1948 retained its structure of four squadrons. The TAF's flying squadron lasted only another nine years before the force was reduced to providing non-flying personnel like air traffic controllers and band members.
## History
The roots of the New Zealand Territorial Air Force lay with a report written by Group Captain Bettington of the Royal Air Force written in June 1919. The report was pessimistic about the possibility of a long-lasting peace after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, despite the imminent Treaty of Versailles. It envisaged a Territorial Air Force of 174 officers and 1,060 other ranks, to be built up over eight years. The force was to consist of volunteers who would work part-time in the Territorial Air Force, mirroring the existing Territorial Force of the New Zealand Military Forces, supported by a smaller nucleus of full-time officers who would form the complementary New Zealand Permanent Air Force. However, it was not until 1923 that the first 72 officers were recruited. All had previously served in the First World War with the Royal Air Force and started to receive their refresher training in 1924. By 1927, this had increased to 101. However, insufficient available aircraft meant that actual flying time was limited and within two years the force had diminished to nonviable levels.
### Initial incarnation
What was required was a more formal structure and, in August 1930, the Territorial Air Force, or TAF, was formed, based on squadrons of aircraft led by permanent staff. It was not until 1934 that the first aircraft dedicated to the Territorial Air Force were made available, initially transferred from New Zealand Permanent Air Force stocks. It was also in 1934 that the Permanent Air Force was renamed the Royal New Zealand Air Force or RNZAF, although the TAF remained in the New Zealand Air Force. Despite this, the TAF remained essentially a paper force until the arrival of twelve second-hand aircraft from Britain in 1937. These aircraft were based at the aerodrome outside Wellington, and were accompanied by an additional three that acted as spares. The choice of second-hand examples was for financial prudence, although low hour airframes were chosen to ensure the aircraft could operate for a reasonable time in service.
Expansion then was rapid. In the run up to the Second World War, the Air Board utilised the Territorial Air Force as a channel to increase the intake of pilots, particularly taking those already involved in civil aviation and members of aero clubs. An Auckland Territorial Squadron based at Hobsonville was founded in June 1938 and the first aircraft arrived at Wigram to serve the unit at Christchurch in the following September. By March 1939, the TAF included 18 officers and 96 airmen based in Wellington, 17 and 92 respectively in Christchurch and 20 and 77 based in Auckland. A fourth squadron, at Dunedin, was authorised at the same time but did not yet exist. With the declaration of war on Germany by the United Kingdom, which due to an existing treaty meant that New Zealand was also at war, the Territorial Air Force was fully mobilised. The Auckland and Christchurch squadrons started training almost immediately, the latter particularly including anti-submarine warfare in its regime. The Wellington Squadron moved to a new aerodrome at Blenheim three days later to do the same. Discussions were had in April 1939 about expanding this further. Instead, the units was absorbed into the regular air force, the RNZAF, and the personnel moved to active roles.
### Post-war revival
Towards the end of the war, the future of the Territorial Air Force was discussed and, in 1945, Air Commodore Arthur Neville produced a report recommending a large network of Territorial Air Force stations across the country. In December 1948, the TAF was revived with four squadrons of training aircraft, based at Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Wellington. The squadrons were later equipped with fighters which also performed ground attack duties. In 1952, a fifth squadron, numbered six, was added, equipped for maritime reconnaissance. Increasing financial pressure, and the reduction in the need for defence spending, meant that the flying squadrons of the TAF were disbanded on 31 July 1957.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force retained a reserve unit after the TAF flying squadrons were disbanded. One key responsibility was to provide the musicians that formed the Air Force Band, a service that the TAF had performed since 1935 apart from a hiatus between 1940 and 1945. In 1982, the report of the Naval Board of the Defence Council for the period 1 April 1981 to 31 March 1982 wrote that "as in previous years the Territorial Air Force continued to provide for Air Traffic Control appointments and to man the RNZAF’s band." It also spoke of non-regular force squadrons that were to be established at each RNZAF base, which were never actually formed. In 1984, RNZAF reserve personnel included 201 territorial members, each of which served 7 weeks and 20 days a year. The band was one of only three military bands that were retained in 2012.
## Organisation
The New Zealand Territorial Air Force was constructed after the model of the Royal Air Force. The service consisted of squadrons each of twelve aircraft, subdivided into flights, supported by a pool of spares. As the primary role of the force was refresher training, an extensive programme was developed to provide a wide range of skills. Staff were given instruction in flying duties, theory of flight, rigging and aircraft-engines. They were also trained in the use of radios and weapons, including Lewis and Vickers machine guns.
The operational headquarters of the TAF was initially Wellington, although Christchurch soon became the hub for operations. The first recruits were trained alongside the Permanent Air Force, but part-time while travelling in from home. Ground crews who provided service or maintenance, non-commissioned officers and other ranks were trained independently at Christchurch Technical College.
As constituted in August 1930, the Territorial Air Force was a wing of four squadrons, each led by a permanent officer. A squadron was allocated to one of the major cities in New Zealand, with staff allocated generally to the one closest to where they lived. Ranks were changed to reflect practice in the Royal Air Force, rather than using the Army as a model. The initial strength was sixty officers from the previous incarnation and six cadets from aero clubs. Training took place at the Hobsonville and Wigram Aerodromes, although this was still restricted to pilots. By 1936, Hobsonville had sufficient facilities, including an engine repair shop, to provide the support needed by the fleet. Permanent maintenance staff, two non-commissioned officers, four fitters and four riggers, arrived in February 1939, shortly before the TAF was absorbed into the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Despite recommendations for further expansion, the 1948 incarnation of the Territorial Air Force was similarly based on a wing of initially four squadrons. Each squadron consisted of typically twelve aircraft.
## Aircraft
The first aircraft used by the Territorial Air Force were operated by the New Zealand Permanent Air Force. These included ex-Royal Air Force Airco DH.4s and DH.9 bombers and Bristol F.2 Fighters, that had served in the First World War and formed part of the Imperial Gift, as well as Avro 504K trainers.
## See also
- North American P-51 Mustang in New Zealand service
- Short Sunderland in New Zealand service
|
[
"## History",
"### Initial incarnation",
"### Post-war revival",
"## Organisation",
"## Aircraft",
"## See also"
] | 1,851 | 25,099 |
57,298,647 |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown
| 1,160,965,160 |
2018 children's book by Jeff Kinney
|
[
"2018 American novels",
"2018 children's books",
"Amulet Books books",
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid",
"Novels by Jeff Kinney"
] |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown is the 13th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. It was published on October 30, 2018. The story takes place soon after the events of The Getaway, in the winter and centers on a snowball fight in protagonist Greg Heffley's neighborhood. The Meltdown was advertised through a live book tour by Kinney. Upon release, the novel sold several hundred thousand copies and received positive reviews from critics.
## Plot
On a hot day in January, Greg worries about climate change and how it will impact his life in the future. When he forgets about a social studies assignment, his mother punishes him by not allowing him to watch television or play video games. Greg is unable to play outside due to a rivalry between groups on his street: those who live on the straight Lower Surrey Street or the slanted Upper Surrey Street. The day after, his family unsuccessfully searches for their pet pig, which they acquired during the events of The Long Haul, who had escaped from obedience school.
Greg is frustrated at school when his classmates are unsanitary, and struggles with the cold weather. While walking to school, Greg is stopped by the Safety Patrol, an authoritative organization of only female students. The students begin rioting at the school when they fear that they will be snowed in overnight, and are dismissed early. Greg and his friend Rowley take the bus of the rival Whirley Street, and are mistakenly blamed for having thrown a snowball at the bus driver. The two are kicked off the bus and dropped off near the woods, where they accidentally wander into the camp of the Mingo Kids, a savage group who live in the woods. However, Greg and Rowley are saved when they come across Greg's father.
The next morning, Greg meets with Rowley and builds a snow fort, indirectly starting a snowball fight among the Upper Surrey Street kids. They agree to team up after being ambushed by the Lower Surrey Street residents, and build a single gigantic fort, enjoying early success but slowly being demoralized as the Lower Surrey Street kids begin besieging the wall. A Lower Surrey Street spy lures many Upper Surrey Street defenders away from the fort, allowing the Lower Surrey Street kids to destroy it, but the long-resentful school Safety Patrol begin to attack the various Surrey Street kids. The Whirley Street kids get involved, but they as well as the Surrey Street and Safety Patrol kids band together against the attacking Mingo Kids. Tired of the violence, Greg and Rowley attempt to hide in the remains of the snow fort, but when a delayed snowplow arrives and drives through the remains of the fight, everyone agrees to stop fighting. Days later, the weather begins to clear up. Greg is glad that he survived the snowball fight.
## Development
According to Kinney, The Meltdown is a "war book." While writing the conflict of a snowstorm, he attempted to keep it authentic to what children could experience in real life. Kinney acknowledged the presence of political elements to the story: "It was definitely hard not to think about [them]. I’m not making specific commentary, but the elements are all there."
## Release
Multiple advertising campaigns were run for The Meltdown. Kinney ran a book tour entitled Wimpy Kid Live: The Meltdown Show, visiting the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Finland, and Canada. To keep the performances varied, the tour focused on a wheel that Kinney would spin, which is able to land on one of 10 activities. In total, 7,000 tickets were sold for the show. Abrams Books, an imprint of Amulet and the publishers of The Meltdown, helped advertise this promotion through sponsored social media posts, while Kinney handed out autographs from a bus themed after the book. The success of The Meltdown Show led Kinney to host another book tour for the following series installment, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball.
## Reception
National Geographic Kids praised The Meltdown for its comedy and fast pacing. Carrie R. Wheadon of Common Sense Media enjoyed the snowball fight climax, but found the rest of the book "less cohesive and engaging."
### Sales
USA Today reported The Meltdown as the sixth bestselling book of 2018, and the 65th bestselling of 2019. In The Meltdown's first week, over 234,000 copies were sold. It had 743,309 sales by December 6, 2018. By March 2019, The Meltdown had sold 2 million copies worldwide.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Development",
"## Release",
"## Reception",
"### Sales"
] | 965 | 19,002 |
66,284,709 |
Radio Quarantine Kolkata
| 1,150,459,921 |
Indian community radio and podcast
|
[
"2020 podcast debuts",
"Educational podcasts",
"Radio stations established in 2020",
"Radio stations in Kolkata"
] |
Radio Quarantine or Radio Quarantine Kolkata (abbreviated as RQK) is an Indian internet-based community radio and podcast. It was founded on 25 March 2020 by a group of professors, directors and PhD students in response to social isolation protocols imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
## History
Radio Quarantine was launched on 25 March 2020 in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal. It was founded by a group of professors, directors and PhD students in response to social isolation protocols following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The group was formed after the Government of West Bengal had announced that a lockdown in the state was to be imposed, and its launch coincided with the sudden imposition of the national lockdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which had been ordered a day before on 24 March. The station began operation as a community radio run from studio setups at homes, with 10 administrators for technical and editorial oversight.
The broadcasts were hosted on the free-of-cost radio streaming platform ZenoRadio and went live at 4 pm on 25 March. The inaugural programme on the station was a 30-minute reading session by Sujaan Mukherjee, a researcher on the urban history of Kolkata at Jadavpur University. The station began as a 24/7 service with a mixture of pre-recorded original programmes and repeat programmes at other times, gathering around 5,000 listeners within the first nine days of its launch.
On May Day, Radio Quarantine held a collaboration with the Udichi Shilpi Goshti, the largest cultural organisation in Bangladesh; the station hosted a show featuring revolutionary songs and commemorated the 1886 Haymarket massacre by chronicling its history. It featured a show with a series of interviews on women workers from West Bengal and Bangladesh; the first half included interviews with domestic workers from West Bengal who described their loss of livelihood due to lack of regulations or a labour union to represent them in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the second half of the show featured an interview with Taslima Akhter, the president of a Bangladeshi solidarity group for garment workers, who spoke about their exploitation and how the pandemic had made the situation worse by forcing workers to either starve or risk infection. Kasturi Basu, one of the administrators, states that the idea for collaborating with Bangladeshi individuals on May Day had come about during their planning of shows for the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on 7 May 2020. On Tagore's birth anniversary, the station aired a show called Bangladesher Hriday Hote () that featured interviews with individuals like the novelist Azizul Huq, biographer Jatin Sarkar, sociologist Anupam Sen and Moinul Abedin, the son of Zainul Abedin who had chronicled the 1943 Bengal famine through his paintings.
On 19 May 2020, the station hosted programmes narrating and discussing the Bengali Language Movement in the Barak Valley of Assam. The station also organised a memorial on 20 May 2020 to commemorate the death of Bengali journalist and freedom fighter Kamal Lohani, who was the founder of the Free Bengal Radio Station and had died of COVID-19. It stopped airing shows for a few weeks following the landfall of Cyclone Amphan and resumed streaming after electricity and connectivity were restored in Kolkata.
The radio station had produced over 350 episodes by the end of August and gathered an international audience. The relaxation of the lockdown led to less original programming being broadcast by the station, and by September, it had begun producing original programming in the form of podcasts with six to ten episodes per month.
## Format and shows
Radio Quarantine Kolkata is a 24x7 live internet radio hosted on ZenoFM and broadcasts a wide range of music from its collection. The radio broadcasts segments with interviews and news bulletins. The target audience consists of Bengalis including its international diaspora, attracting listeners from places like London and the United States.
During the pandemic, the station ran various programs and episodes throughout the day, featuring original programmes between 5 pm and 2 am. Its daily shows ended with a music segment hosted by the writer Sudipto Sanyal called Songs of Comfort for Hypochondriac and Pining Lovers, which featured an eclectic collection of Indian and International songs and continued till 2 am at night. Sanyal, who goes by the pseudonym RJ Bishakto Chochchori, continues to host the music segment every Saturday from around midnight onwards. The segment includes and has included music from Brazilian rock, Venezuelan folk, Bollywood songs, Palestinian reggae, Japanese pop, Habibi funk, Vietnamese hip hop and American jazz and hip hop, among others. The show has a focus on a variety of music from Brazil, and Sanyal describes it as a place for "football, jazz, music and resistance".
One of the popular segments of the station was Quarantine Diaries, which featured a daily news summary and included analysis of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act and the associated National Register of Citizens amid the pandemic. Darshana Mitra, a professor at the National Institute of Juridicial Science, is associated with the segment. The singer and oral historian Moushumi Bhowmik hosted a segment which documented regional and cultural histories across Bengal, including those from Purulia to Sylhet to the Sundarbans, and occasionally featured interviews with various folk singers. Kankan Bhattacharyya hosted a show called Asamayer Katha, Samayer Gaan (). It also included shows related to health advice which featured medical professionals.
The station also broadcast reading sessions through home recordings from participants, including monologues, poetry and short story readings, and had a children's segment. Recorded performances were crowdsourced from listener contributors, which were accepted based on a day's specified criterion and included experiences of individuals isolated in their homes. Some of these were gathered from minors and were aired on the children's segment. The children's segment was allotted an hour slot, which was occasionally hosted by a teacher based in the country of Norway. It involved short story readings, poem recitals and music.
Around September 2020, new original programmes were shifted to a podcast featuring six to ten episodes per month. The episodes include educational content related to science and technology in simplified language for the understanding of untrained adults and children. Other episodes relate to political, social and philosophical questions, including episodes on The Plague by Albert Camus, on Plague and Quarantine by Rajinder Singh Bedi and on Shada Prithibi () by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.
The original programmes from the radio and the podcast are hosted on and archived across platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.
|
[
"## History",
"## Format and shows"
] | 1,395 | 27,580 |
36,674 |
Glycerius
| 1,167,182,722 |
Western Roman emperor from 473 to 474
|
[
"5th-century Western Roman emperors",
"5th-century bishops in Pannonia",
"5th-century deaths",
"Bishops of Split",
"Comites domesticorum",
"Romans from unknown gentes",
"Year of birth unknown",
"Year of death unknown"
] |
Glycerius () was Roman emperor of the West from 473 to 474. He served as comes domesticorum (commander of the palace guard) during the reign of Olybrius (r. 472), until Olybrius died in November 472. After a four-month interregnum, Glycerius was proclaimed as emperor in March 473 by Gundobad, the magister militum (master of soldiers) and power behind the throne. Very few of the events of his reign are known other than that an attempted invasion of Italy by the Visigoths was repelled by local commanders, diverting them to Gaul. Glycerius also prevented an invasion by the Ostrogoths through diplomacy, including a gift of 2,000 solidi.
Glycerius was not recognized by the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I (r. 457–474), who instead nominated Julius Nepos (r. 474–475/480) as Western Emperor and sent him with an army to invade the Western Empire. Glycerius was without allies because Gundobad had abandoned him, and therefore was forced to abdicate on 24 June 474, and was succeeded by Nepos. He was appointed Bishop of Salona, which position he held until his death. He died, possibly in 480, and a nearly contemporaneous source blames him for the assassination of Nepos, but the records for this event are muddled.
## Life
### Background
The historian Penny MacGeorge states the summary that "almost nothing is known of Glycerius". Glycerius was born in Dalmatia. His family is unknown, and may not have been aristocratic. He rose to the office of comes domesticorum (commander of the palace guard), and likely served as such during the reign of Western Roman Emperor Olybrius (r. 472). The Germanic magister militum (master of soldiers) Ricimer had deposed the Western Roman Emperor Majorian (r. 457–461) in 461, and thereafter installed a series of Western Roman emperors as puppets: Libius Severus (r. 461–465), Anthemius (r. 467–472), and Olybrius, enthroned in July 472, after Ricimer overthrew Anthemius. Ricimer died on 18 August 472, forty days after deposing Anthemius, and was succeeded as magister militum and kingmaker by his Burgundian nephew Gundobad. Olybrius died shortly thereafter, on 2 November 472, and an interregnum ensued for nearly four months, before Gundobad convinced Glycerius to assume the throne, and proclaimed him as emperor at Ravenna: the Fasti vindobonenses, a record of consular years, states that it was on 5 March 473, however, the Paschale campanum, also a consular record, asserts it was on the 3rd.
### Reign
Few events of Glycerius' reign are known. Glycerius is known from a few fragmented references in what historian Ralph Mathisen calls "jejune chronicles", such as the Annales of Marcellinus Comes, the Gallic Chronicle of 511, and the Chronicle of Saragossa, as well as some small references provided by the 6th-century writer Jordanes and the bishop Ennodius. Under Glycerius, invasions by both the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths were repelled, through a mixture of diplomatic and military activities. The Visigoths and Ostrogoths were Germanic groups that were settled in Gallia Aquitania, and Pannonia Prima and Valeria, respectively, as foederati. In 473, the Visigothic king Euric (r. 466–484) ordered an invasion of Italy, but his commander, Vincentius, was killed by the Comites (regional commanders) Alla and Sindila. After Vincentius was killed, Euric chose instead to invade Gaul, occupying both Arles and Marseilles. The Ostrogothic king Videmir (r. 469–474) proposed to invade Italy, but Glycerius was able to dissuade Videmir through the gift of 2,000 solidi (high-value gold coins), and diverted them from Italy to Gaul, where surrounding groups, described by Jordanes as "various peoples", later attacked them. Mathisen comments that these actions to defend the empire may be the reason that Glycerius receives a generally favorable reception in Roman and Byzantine sources. The 9th-century historian Theophanes describes him only as a "not despicable man", but Ennodius, the bishop of Pavia, describes him more thoroughly in his Vita St. Epiphanius:
> After Olybrius, Glycerius ascended to the rule. With regard to whom I summarize, in my desire for brevity, the numerous things he did for the well being of many people. For, when the blessed man [Bishop Epiphanius of Pavia] interceded, he pardoned the injury done to his mother by some men under his authority.
Mathisten states that the aforementioned injuries to Glycerius' mother may have been in reaction to his bribery of Videmir, but remarks that "such measures were a regular part of imperial policy", and speculates that the attackers may have been soldiers, explaining their lack of punishment. Glycerius seems to have primarily reigned in northern Italy, as all the coins found from his reign but one were minted in either Ravenna or Milan. The only law enacted by Glycerius which has survived was dated 11 March 473, and issued to Himilco, the Praetorian prefect of Italy, and later reissued to the Praetorian prefects of Illyricum, the East, and Gaul, regarding simony (the selling of church offices). It was adopted not just by the prefects of Italy and Gaul, who were a part of the Western Roman Empire, but also by the prefects of Illyricum and the East, despite the fact that he did not have the authority to issue laws to them. The law was designed to grant Glycerius the support of the clergy, but would likely also have appealed to the senatorial class, who were concerned about increasingly violent elections, as well as the use of church funds by clergy for personal reasons. This law was also the last known one issued by a Western Roman emperor.
It is possible that Glycerius attempted reconciliation with the Eastern Roman Empire, evidenced by the fact that Glycerius did not nominate a consul for 474, and instead accepted the eastern consul, the infant Emperor Leo II (r. 473–474). Despite this, the Eastern Roman Emperor, Leo I (r. 457–474), refused to recognize Glycerius as emperor because he was merely a puppet of Gundobad. Emperor Leo instead chose to recognize one of his own men, Julius Nepos (r. 474–475/480), and sent him with a fleet to invade the Western Empire. The 7th-century historian John of Antioch states that Leo made the decision to remove Glycerius after hearing that he had assumed the throne of the Western Roman Empire, but Mathisen comments that Leo must have hesitated for some time, as the actual invasion was delayed by the onset of winter, and Julius Nepos was forced to wait until the beginning of spring to launch his invasion.
Glycerius was without allies, as Gundobad seemingly abandoned him, leaving him with no option but to surrender. After Nepos landed at Ostia in June 474, Glycerius abdicated on 24 June 474, in Ravenna, and Nepos assumed the throne. The historian John Michael O'Flynn states that the "circumstances surrounding this speedy overthrow are obscure and, at first sight, puzzling", noting that while the forces of Nepos were likely small, Gundobad made no moves to counter them, but rather "disappeared entirely from the Italian scene." He speculates that, while Gundobad could have put up stiff resistance, rather than attempting to oppose the imperial legitimacy of Leo, he accepted Leo's authority to reject Glycerius as an imperial colleague and to install one of his own choosing. Additionally, Glycerius seems to never have attracted the favor of the Roman Senate or the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, which would make the decision to back him, and therefore alienate both, far less palatable for Gundobad. Notably, as king of Burgundy, Gundobad (r. 473/474–516) enjoyed warm relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, which he served as a foederatus (treaty subject). Mathisen suggests the alternatives that Gundobad was attempting to raise further troops in Gaul, or that he left to ensure he received his inheritance after the death of his father, King Gondioc (r. 437–473).
### Later life
After being deposed, Glycerius was promptly ordained as Bishop of Salona. According to the 5th-century Byzantine historian Malchus, Glycerius had some part in organizing the assassination of Julius Nepos in 480, after Nepos had been forced to flee Italy and was ruling in exile in Dalmatia, although the historical records for the assassination are muddled. Glycerius died sometime after 474, possibly in 480. He has sometimes been identified with a Glycerius who was Archbishop of Milan by King Odoacer (r. 476–493), but this is likely incorrect. The source for the promotion of Glycerius to archbishop is an obscure line written by Ennodius, in which he praises an archbishop named Glycerius, among other archbishops of Milan, however, this section seems to have been either corrupted or added later, to identify the archbishop Glycerius with the emperor Glycerius.
|
[
"## Life",
"### Background",
"### Reign",
"### Later life"
] | 2,085 | 43,173 |
25,336,483 |
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter
| 1,150,705,444 |
Guide book to the fictional universe of Harry Potter
|
[
"2001 books",
"Works based on Harry Potter"
] |
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts is a guide to the fictional Harry Potter universe, written by David Colbert. It explores the references to history, legends, and literature in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Colbert conceived the idea for The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter while quizzing his nephew and nieces about the mythological references in the novels. He later wrote the book while teaching a seminar on self-publishing to graduate students at the University of North Carolina. The book was published in March 2001, without approval from Rowling, and has since received positive reviews from critics. An updated version of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter was published in 2004 by Berkley Books.
## Content
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter explores the references to history, legends, and literature in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. David Colbert, the author of the book, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Harry Potter novels "are [...] literary treasure hunts for [Rowling's] readers. What seem like funny-sounding names and places and excursions into fantasy all have a basis in either history, myth or legend." He added, however, that he thinks Rowling has been able to turn these elements into her own, and concluded: "A couple of times, every generation, some writer gets it exactly right and really makes it their own, and J.K. Rowling has done that."
The 220-pages-long book features 53 chapters. Colbert writes about the connections between Rowling's novels and folklore, Greek mythology, and the cultures of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, and the Aztec. For example, he explains that Rowling got the name for the character Draco Malfoy from the Latin word for dragon, draco. One of the connections to folklore that Colbert find the most fascinating is the name of the evil wizard family The Malfoys. They are named after the Latin word for "evil-doer", maleficus, which was used in medieval times to describe witches. In addition, there is a chapter in the book that explains the origins of the names of the spells featured in the Harry Potter series.
Colbert explains in the introduction of the book that one of the reasons he enjoys reading Rowling is because of these references that she hides in the novels. He comments that he believes she may have inserted them into the books to encourage readers to learn more about mythology and folklore; "As [Rowling] said when somebody asked her in a chat about the source of one of the unforgivable curses [featured in the books], she said, 'Look it up, a little investigation is good for a person.'"
## Background
Colbert received the idea for The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter during the summer of 2000, when his young nephew and nieces spent their vacation at his home in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. During the first half of the children's vacation, Colbert noticed their excitement for the novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was about to be released in bookstores. When his nephew and nieces received the book, they read it for the remainder of their vacation with him.
Colbert, a historian and former head writer on the television quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, became interested in the books and bought the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, to see what the story was about. As he was reading, he began to notice mythological references in the book. He commented: "I almost laughed out loud when I came across the three-headed dog [Fluffy]. I instantly knew it was a reference to Cerberus, the threeheaded beast which Ancient Greeks believed guarded the gates to the Underworld." Inspired by this, Colbert continued to search the book for more references and noticed that most characters' names are based on their personality and every magic creature is a reference to mythology and folklore.
Excited about his discoveries, Colbert began quizzing his nephew and nieces about the references featured in the books. He started by asking them if they knew who Fluffy was based on, and when revealing that the answer was Cerberus, they "gave him a blank stare". Soon, however, the children thought it was "cool that their hero, Harry, was encountering some of the creatures of mythology." Colbert felt that knowing the origins of Rowling's character and creatures increased "the books' magic tenfold" and made the Harry Potter universe seem more lifelike. Feeling that he wanted to share this with others, Colbert spent a year researching the references in the novels and collected his discoveries for a guidebook to the magical world of Harry Potter.
## Publication and reception
Colbert wrote The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter while teaching a seminar on self-publishing to graduate students at the University of North Carolina. He had it self-published in March 2001 and hired a company to take care of accounting, marketing, promotion, and selling. Colbert has never met Rowling and the book has not been approved by her or Warner Brothers (the owner of the film rights to the Harry Potter novels). He was given permission to publish it as long as he noted on the cover that it had not been approved by Rowling.
The book has been met with positive reactions from critics. Margie Thomson of The New Zealand Herald commented that "it's interesting, although light, and should keep smart-alecky kids and the truly curious happy and occupied for some time." The Sacramento Bee's Judy Green was also positive, saying that it "comes across as smart fun just begging for a trivia game. It's a great way to spend time with Harry while waiting for the next novel." The Times' Sarah Johnson said "this irresistibly dippable book gently draws children into the joys of works of reference and is also a glorious tribute to Rowling's work."
Despite the book not having been approved by Rowling, Marti Davis of The Knoxville News-Sentinel suspected that she "would definitely approve of the wonderfully researched book which traces many of the characters, creatures and terms used in Rowling's book to classic literature and ancient history." The Birmingham Post's Jayne Howarth added that the book is "fun to dip in and out of while reading the Potter stories and it illustrates just how clever these pieces of literature are."
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter has been praised for teaching children about literature and history. Theresa Tighe of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch commented that "grown-ups might like Colbert's book, too, because it painlessly exposes youngsters to Shakespeare, Chaucer, Ovid, Flaubert and more." In addition, Candice Nguyen of The Oakland Tribune said "parents may actually appreciate this book more when they realize that their children are receiving subtle history lessons while they read Harry Potter books and actually enjoying it." The Sunday Tasmanian noted that "understanding the derivatives of language, both made up and actual such as the French, can only enrich the vocabulary of children."
Following the success of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, Colbert released the book The Magical Worlds of The Lord of the Rings: The Amazing Myths, Legends and Facts Behind the Masterpiece—a guide to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels—in late 2002. An updated version of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter was published in 2004 by Berkley Books, just before the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released. Colbert wrote and published The Magical Worlds of Narnia in 2005, a guide to the fictional Narnia universe.
|
[
"## Content",
"## Background",
"## Publication and reception"
] | 1,551 | 37,278 |
13,982,958 |
Mork Goes Erk
| 1,091,160,718 | null |
[
"1979 American television episodes",
"Human Potential Movement",
"New Age in popular culture",
"Parodies",
"Personal development",
"Werner Erhard"
] |
"Mork Goes Erk" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of Mork & Mindy. The episode first premiered on ABC on February 8, 1979. "Mork Goes Erk" was later released on VHS on January 1, 1998 as part of a two-episode special which also included "Mork's First Christmas," and on DVD on September 7, 2004 as part of the "Mork & Mindy - The Complete First Season" DVD boxed set.
In the episode, David Letterman portrayed a self-help group leader by the name of "Ellsworth" offering ERK or Ellsworth Revitalization Konditioning. Mork (Robin Williams) and Mindy (Pam Dawber) attend one of Ellsworth's trainings at the suggestion of their friend Susan (Morgan Fairchild), where they endure Ellsworth's authoritarian brand of group therapy. Mork points out hypocrisy in Ellsworth's teachings, and exposes him as a fraud. The episode has been called a parody of the Erhard Seminars Training or "est" course. The episode received mostly positive reviews, and was highlighted as one of the season's best episodes, along with "Mork's First Christmas" and "Mork's Mixed Emotions". David Letterman's performance as "Ellsworth" also received good reviews.
## Plot
At the beginning of the episode, Mork, Mindy and Bickley (Tom Poston) are all sitting around feeling depressed. Mindy has just learned that Mork's supervisor Orson has arranged for Mork to be transferred to another planet, and Bickley is suffering from writer's block. Their friend Susan comes by to visit, and suggests that they all go and attend a seminar on Ellsworth's Revitalization Konditioning. As the guests arrive at the seminar, Ellsworth nervously asks Susan if all of the attendees' checks are in order. He then lays out the rules for the duration of the training, which includes no leaving and no consumption of alcohol. When Bickley hears this, he promptly gets up to leave the seminar.
The attendants of the seminar are then given Ellsworth's harsh version of reality, which has been compared to the tenets of Erhard Seminars Training. Ellsworth preaches a belief in self-adoration, which he says will get rid of emotional highs and lows. Ellsworth centers this goal around the notion of "finding our own space." He utilizes an authoritarian style of control within the group, as a therapeutic method to solve problems. The other attendees at the seminar are shown to be passive consumers looking for any way to fix their personal issues. However, Mork, with his trademark causing of difficulty, begins to question the foundation of the rules of the course, as well as the nature of the philosophical material that Ellsworth has put forth, by pointing out hypocrisy among Ellsworth's own contradictory statements. In the end, Mork wins out over the Ellsworth philosophy by instead calling to mind universal humanistic moral values. Ellsworth dismisses Mork's victory over his methodology, exclaiming: "I've got my Rolls-Royce!" Mork wins a moral victory-and Ellworth, it turns out, has had his Rolls-Royce stolen.
## Cultural references
In a 1982 article in the journal Theory & Society, Lewis & Clark College sociology professor Robert Goldman compared and contrasted Letterman's "Ellsworth" character and his training program to that of Werner Erhard's course Erhard Seminars Training. Goldman noted that the episode spent time: "lampooning Werner Erhard and est-like commercial pop psychologies." However, Goldman went on to note that the inherent problem with "Ellsworth Revitalization Konditioning" was not the training - but Ellsworth himself.
Ellsworth is seen as a parody of consumerism: "As the self-help entrepreneur, Ellsworth is portrayed as a walking collection of lifestyle-status points and sign-values...Conspicuous consumption and commodity fetishism define his personality." Goldman explained that the Mork and Mindy episode succeeded in distinguishing between criticism of the Ellsworth training, and criticism of Ellsworth, citing Ellsworth's character traits of: "tyranny, selfishness, open greed, and flaunting of the accoutrements of his vulgar money-making."
## Reception
TV Guide's 2005 book TV Guide: The Ultimate Resource to Television Programs on DVD highlighted "Mork Goes Erk" as one of three "Classic Episodes" of the first season, including "Mork's First Christmas", and "Mork's Mixed Emotions". Matthew Tobey of Allmovie wrote that the episode was most notable because of David Letterman's appearance before he became more well known. Donald Liebenson of Amazon.com also cited David Letterman's performance as: "an abusive EST-like guru" as one of the more memorable parts of the Season One DVD boxed set, but thought that the highlight of the season was the episode "Mork's Mixed Emotions." The Dallas Morning News also praised Letterman's performance as a "shady motivational speaker," commenting that the episode was a way for Letterman to hone his "smarminess" before his later work on Late Show with David Letterman. Jonathan Boudreaux of tvdvdreviews.com described Letterman as "a flakey EST-like guru," and called the episode itself "disjointed."
## See also
- est and The Forum in popular culture
- Human Potential Movement
- Large Group Awareness Training
- New age
- Parody
- Parody religion
- Pseudophilosophy
- Self-help
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Cultural references",
"## Reception",
"## See also"
] | 1,169 | 26,128 |
64,184,125 |
Ipswich Street line
| 1,166,966,974 |
Former streetcar line in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts
|
[
"Streetcars in the Boston area"
] |
The Ipswich Street line was a streetcar line in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. The line ran on Boylston Street and Ipswich Street in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood, and on Brookline Avenue through what is now the Longwood Medical Area to Brookline Village.
First proposed in the mid-1890s to aid development of the newly created Fenway–Kenmore area, the line opened in July 1900. Service initially ran between Park Street station and Cypress Street Carhouse; service was extended west to Chestnut Hill later in 1900. The east end of the route was cut back to Massachusetts station in 1925. The next year, the Ipswich Street line and the Huntington Avenue line swapped western terminals, with Ipswich Street service again running to Cypress Street. The west end of service was cut back to Brookline Village in 1932, and cut further to a short Audubon Road–Massachusetts shuttle in mid-1933. The shuttle was abandoned entirely in July 1934.
As streetcar service was cut back, it was replaced by bus routes. MBTA bus routes 55 and 60 are direct descendants of the Ipswich Street line, while route 65 (the descendant of a Huntington Avenue branch) also runs along part of the former line.
## History
### Streetcar line
In the 1890s, the West End Street Railway rapidly electrified its existing horsecar system. The speedier electric streetcars also allowed expansion into suburbs like Brookline and Brighton; new lines were built on Beacon Street in 1888–89 and on Commonwealth Avenue in 1894–96. The 1890s also saw the filling of the Back Bay Fens north of the Muddy River for new development. In 1895, a group of Brookline businessmen proposed a street car line from Newton Centre to downtown Boston independent of the West End. The line was to run southeast from Newton Centre on Cypress Street and Jackson Street, east to Brookline on Boylston Street (the Worcester Turnpike), and around Brookline Village on Cypress Street, School Street, and Aspinwall Avenue. It was to then run northeast on Brookline Avenue and the new western section of Boylston Street through the newly filled Fens, then use Newbury Street and Arlington Street to reach the Tremont Street subway. This routing was to avoid all West End-owned tracks, allowing the new line to use the city-owned subway even if the West End would not grant trackage rights over its surface lines. The West End's counterproposal called for an extension from Reservoir on Chestnut Hill Avenue and Boylston Street.
In 1897, the West End proposed to extend its line on Boylston Street westward from Massachusetts Avenue through the newly developing area. Objections were raised over the portion through the Fens parkland: the tracks would impede public access to the recently landscaped park, and the arch bridge over the Muddy River was in poor condition. A compromise was soon worked out where the line would divert north along Ispwich Street, parallel to the Boston and Albany Railroad mainline, thus avoiding the park entrance and the deficient bridge. The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) – successor to the West End – began construction of the line in early 1899. By midyear, it was largely complete except for gaps where the city was laying water mains.
Service on the line as far west as Longwood Avenue began on July 23, 1900. The full route opened around the end of the month; streetcars ran from the Cypress Street carhouse on existing tracks on Cypress Street and Boylston Street, on new tracks northeast on Brookline Avenue and east on Boylston Street and Ipswich Street, then east on existing tracks on Boylston Street to the subway. The same week, the BERy also opened a branch of the Huntington Avenue line from Brookline Village to (with through service to Allston); the two routes shared a short section of track in Brookline Village. The line was extended west on Boylston Street from Cypress Street to Chestnut Hill Avenue on September 29, 1900, and to the Newton line at Chestnut Hill on November 19. On May 5, 1903, the Boston and Worcester Street Railway (B&W) began operations. It initially terminated at Chestnut Hill, but was extended over BERy tracks on Boylston Street and Huntington Avenue to Park Square on July 6.
By 1907, regular service on the Ipswich Street line ran between Chestnut Hill and , with short turns running between Longwood Avenue and Park Street. Cypress Street Carhouse–Park Street trips were made to move streetcars in and out of the carhouse. In 1912, the BERy opened a transfer station at Brookline Village, simplifying transfers between the Ispwich Street line and the Huntington Avenue line's branches. The line was diverted into the new surface transfer station at Massachusetts station on November 28, 1919, where transfers could be made within fare control to the Massachusetts Avenue streetcar line and the Boylston Street subway.
On June 13, 1925, the Ipswich Street line was cut back from Park Street to Massachusetts. It was the last service to run on Boylston Street between Copley Square and Massachusetts; a Bowdoin Square–Fenway bus route ran in its stead. In March 1926, the Huntington Avenue and Ipswich lines swapped western terminals, with Ipswich Street cars running to Cypress Street. This change restored a one-seat ride from Chestnut Hill to downtown Boston, which had been lost from the 1925 change.
As construction of the Worcester Turnpike progressed eastward, the B&W was replaced by buses on June 11, 1932. That November, the Ipswich Street line was cut back to Brookline Village; the Huntington Avenue line took over the Cypress Street branch until 1934, and buses operated between to Chestnut Hill. In March 1933, the Ipswich Street line was further cut to a shuttle service, with two Type 5 streetcars running between Audubon Road and Massachusetts; a replacement bus route began operation on Brookline Avenue. On July 14, 1934, the shuttle service was converted to buses, ending streetcar service on the Ipswich Street line.
### Bus routes
In 1940–41, the BERy reassigned the public route numbers used for its services; those numbers have remained relatively consistent since. The BERy was replaced in 1947 by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which was in return replaced by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in 1964. Three MBTA bus routes are the descendants of the Ipswich Street line:
#### 55
The original bus route that replaced the Aududon Road shuttle followed largely the same route; instead of reversing at Audubon Road, it looped on Kilmarnock Street, Queensbury Street, and Jersey Street through a residential area. It was assigned route number 55 in 1941. From September 1962 to June 1963, inbound buses ran via Brookline Avenue and Kenmore Square. The Massachusetts surface station was closed in January 1963 for construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension, and buses looped via Burbank Street and Hemenway Street. The loop was changed to use Gloucester Street and Newbury Street around 1967; in December 1968, the loop was extended to Fairfield Street to better reach the new Prudential Center. It was extended again to Copley Square in December 1976. Weekday trips were extended to (with a loop around Boston Common) in 1982. Outbound trips were rerouted over Huntington Avenue in June 1998.
A 2018–19 MBTA review of its bus system found that route 55 was little used outside peak hours due to low frequency, unreliable service, and proximity to the Green Line. No short-term changes were recommended. The route has been temporarily cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. Service east of Copley was suspended on March 17, 2020. Weekday midday service was suspended on August 31, 2020, followed by weekday evening service that December. All service was suspended in March 2021, though midday service resumed that June. The name of the western terminal was simplified to "Fenway" in June 2023. The MBTA continues to operate the route as 55 Fenway–Copley station.
In May 2022, the MBTA released a draft plan for a systemwide network redesign. The draft called for the 55 to be extended to Kendall/MIT station via Massachusetts Avenue, and to Longwood Medical Area via Brookline Avenue. The portion east of Massachusetts Avenue and the loop in the Fenway–Kenmore area would be cut. A revised proposal in November 2022 called for the 55 to be kept as a Fenway–Kenmore – Copley route.
#### 60
When the Chestnut Hill streetcar service was discontinued in November 1932, replacement buses operated between Chestnut Hill and Brookline Village. The mid-1933 changes added a Brookline Village– route on Brookline Avenue; it was through-routed with the Chestnut Hill route around 1934. When Cypress Street service via the Huntington Avenue line ended on June 10, 1934, a Cypress Street–Kenmore route was added. A loop on High Street, Highland Road, Jamaica Road, Pond Avenue, and Chestnut Street was added in 1935. In 1941, the Cypress Street route was assigned number 58, and the Chestnut Hill route became number 60. The loop of the Cypress Street was cut in 1942, but resumed postwar.
The Riverside Line opened in July 1959, and the bus routes were realigned to connect with it. Some route 60 trips had their inbound terminal cut back to Brookline Hills station, and all Cypress Street trips were cut to Brookline Hills as route 60A. A new route 58 operated between Brookline Village and Kenmore. Residents objected to buses looping on narrow streets in Brookline Hills; the routes were changed to terminate at Brookline Village by September 1960. The MTA discontinued free transfers on October 28, 1961, with many routes extended or through-routes to avoid double fares. The Chestnut Hill and Cypress Street routes were re-extended to Kenmore Square, with the Cypress Street route renumbered back to 58.
The two routes were combined as route 60 in September 1969; buses ran on Chestnut Street and High Street except at rush hour, when route 60A ran on the former route 58 alignment. Route 60A was discontinued in December 1985 (thus ending service on the Cypress Street loop), with route 60 operating via Cypress and High at all times. In December 2006, the outer terminal was extended slightly to the Chestnut Hill Mall. The MBTA continues to operate the route as 60 Chestnut Hill–Kenmore station. The 2018–19 review found that the route was largely sound, but suffered from poor reliability and inconsistent scheduled headways. A short curtailment of the outer end to a stop at the new Chestnut Hill Square development was recommended, which would allow for increased frequency. The MBTA ultimately did not shorten the route in order to keep service to the mall, though the new stop was to be pursued.
The May 2022 draft network plan called for route 60 to be extended to Newton Centre via Langely Road, with increased frequency. The November 2022 draft network plan called for route 60 to maintain its existing routing.
#### 65
Streetcar service on Washington Street between Brookline Village and was originally a branch of the Huntington Avenue line, running to via Beacon Street. The line was shortened to Lake Street–Brookline Village on February 6, 1922 and was converted to bus in 1926. In mid-1928, the west end of the route was realigned onto Washington Street to Brighton Center – a routing that had been proposed as a streetcar line in the 1890s. The former tracks on Washington Street were removed in 1940. The route was assigned number 65 in 1941. Saturday service was discontinued in March 1953 and restored in September 1979. The route was extended to Kenmore in October 1961 upon the discontinuance of free transfers, running on Brookline Avenue along with routes 58 and 60.
The MBTA continues to operate the route as 65 Brighton Center–Kenmore station. The 2018–19 review found that the route suffered from poor reliability, high crowding at peak hours, and a lack of Sunday service. Unlike other crosstown routes, peak-hour demand is largely unidirectional. The inner terminal was proposed to be changed to , with buses running on Longwood Avenue, Huntington Avenue, and Ruggles Street (an alignment already used by the ). The change would provide an Orange Line and add additional service to the Longwood Medical Area. However, the MBTA opted to delay the proposal pending further review of the system.
The May 2022 draft network plan called for route 65 to become an extension of route , forming a high-frequency Oak Square– route. The portion of the route on Brookline Avenue north of the Fenway would be discontinued, though other routes would continue to serve that section. The November 2022 draft network plan called for route 65 to run between Brighton Center and Ruggles, with route 15 still terminating at Ruggles.
|
[
"## History",
"### Streetcar line",
"### Bus routes",
"#### 55",
"#### 60",
"#### 65"
] | 2,832 | 26,177 |
2,794,190 |
Brad Hennessey
| 1,163,467,548 |
American baseball player (born 1980)
|
[
"1980 births",
"Baseball players from Toledo, Ohio",
"Corpus Christi Hooks players",
"Fresno Grizzlies players",
"Hagerstown Suns players",
"Living people",
"Major League Baseball pitchers",
"Norwich Navigators players",
"Oklahoma City RedHawks players",
"Rochester Red Wings players",
"Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players",
"San Francisco Giants players",
"Youngstown State Penguins baseball players"
] |
Brad Martin Hennessey (born February 7, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants. He stands 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighs 185 pounds (84 kg). He played for the Giants from 2004 to 2008 and threw five pitches: a fastball, a slider, a changeup, a curveball, and a cutter.
Hennessey attended Youngstown State University and set several school records during his tenure with the team. In 2001, he was selected by the Giants in the first round of the draft. He did not pitch in 2002 because of surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor from his back. In 2004, he reached the major leagues for the first time. He spent much of the 2005 season in the major leagues, making 21 starts and posting a 4.64 earned run average (ERA). In 2006, Hennessey spent time both in the Giants' starting rotation and the bullpen. He became a relief pitcher full-time in 2007, spending the entire season in the majors and closing for the Giants part of the time. After posting a 7.81 ERA with the Giants in 2008, Hennessey was outrighted to the minors; he refused the assignment and became a free agent. He attempted to pitch for the Baltimore Orioles in 2009 but was unable due to injury. Hennessey then spent parts of 2010 and 2011 in the minor leagues.
## Early life
Hennessey was born on February 7, 1980, in Toledo, Ohio. In 1997, he graduated from Whitmer High School, where he was named a USA Today honorable mention All-American and won All-Ohio honors for his baseball playing. He went to Youngstown State University, where he played shortstop and pitched until his senior year, when he converted exclusively to pitching. As a senior, he had a 6–5 record and a 4.06 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games while setting school single-season records for innings pitched (88+2⁄3) and strikeouts (126). That year, he was named the Mid-Continent Conference co-Pitcher of the Year.
## Professional career
### Minor leagues (part 1)
Hennessey was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round (21st overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. He began his career with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Single-A short season Northwest League, where he had a 1–0 record, a 2.38 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 34 innings pitched in nine starts. That year, Salem-Keizer won the Northwest League championship. While pitching in an instructional league later that year, Hennessey began experiencing soreness that was initially attributed to a muscle strain but turned out to be a non-cancerous tumor in his back. He had it removed in February 2002, but it grew back later that season, and he missed the entire year while undergoing a second surgery.
Hennessey began 2003 in extended spring training but pitched for the Hagerstown Suns of the Single-A South Atlantic League from June 14 to the end of the season. With Hagerstown, Hennessey had a 3–9 record, a 4.21 ERA, 44 strikeouts, one complete game, and 79+1⁄3 innings pitched in 15 starts. He began the 2004 season with the Norwich Navigators of the Double-A Eastern League, where he had a 5–5 record, a 3.56 ERA, 55 strikeouts, and 101 innings pitched in 18 starts. On July 14, he was promoted to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In 5 starts with Fresno, he had a 4–1 record, a 2.02 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and 35+2⁄3 innings pitched.
### Major leagues
#### 2004
Following an injury to Jerome Williams in 2004, Hennessey was called up to join the Giants' starting rotation. He made his debut on August 7 against Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs, who was looking for his 300th win. Hennessey allowed four runs in 4+2⁄3 innings and took the loss in the 8–4 defeat, becoming the first pitcher to lose his debut to a pitcher who won his 300th game since 1901, when Cy Young defeated John McPherson. In his next start, against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 13, he allowed four unearned runs in five innings, got his first career hit (against Brian Powell), and earned his first career win in a 16–6 victory. After another start, he was sent to Fresno on August 18 when Wayne Franklin returned from the disabled list, but he was called up on August 28 when David Aardsma was demoted. On September 16, he threw a season-high seven shutout innings in a 4–0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Hennessey finished the season with a 2–2 record, a 4.98 ERA, 25 strikeouts, and 34+1⁄3 innings pitched in seven starts.
#### 2005
Hennessey began 2005 in the minors. He was called up to make a start on May 1, and he gave up three runs over seven innings while earning the win in an 8–3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. After the game, he was returned to Fresno to make room for Jeremy Accardo on the roster, but he was called up on May 12 to replace the injured Jason Schmidt in the rotation. He made four starts on this stint; after he gave up six runs in two innings in a 6–5 loss to the Phillies on June 2, he was replaced in the rotation by Jeff Fassero and returned to Fresno. On July 9, he was called up to rejoin the Giants' rotation as Kirk Rueter was demoted to the bullpen. Facing the St. Louis Cardinals that day, he pitched seven shutout innings and earned the win in the Giants' 2–0 victory. For the rest of the year, he remained in the Giants' rotation. In a start against the Brewers on July 28, Hennessey pitched 7 shutout innings, striking out seven and allowing only three hits, and won the game 3–0. The three runs came on a home run by Hennessey himself against Víctor Santos. He allowed one run over a career-high 7+2⁄3 innings on September 21 and hit a home run against John Patterson as he defeated the Washington Nationals 5–1. He ended up making 21 starts for the Giants, tallying a 5–8 record, a 4.64 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 52 walks in 118+1⁄3 innings pitched. With Fresno, he had a 4–2 record, a 5.19 ERA, 46 strikeouts, 22 walks, and 67+2⁄3 innings pitched.
#### 2006
Kevin Correia and the newly acquired Jamey Wright competed for the Giants' fifth starting job with Hennessey in 2006; Hennessey struggled and began the season with the Grizzlies as Wright won the job. Hennessey was called up on April 16 due to an injury to Noah Lowry. After posting a 2–1 record and a 3.33 ERA, he was sent to the bullpen upon Lowry's return to the starting rotation on May 9, though Hennessey was frequently called upon to make spot starts. He got his first career save on June 5, pitching the final four innings of the Giants' 14–2 victory over the Florida Marlins. On August 11, Giants' manager Felipe Alou announced that Hennessey would replace the struggling Wright in the rotation. In his first start since rejoining the rotation on August 14, he threw 5+2⁄3 shutout innings, earning the win in a 1–0 victory over the San Diego Padres. He posted an 8.62 ERA over his next four starts and returned to the bullpen when Lowry returned from an injury in September, though he made one more start before the end of the year. In 34 games (12 starts), Hennessey had a 5–6 record, a 4.26 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and 42 walks in 99+1⁄3 innings pitched.
#### 2007
Hennessey spent the entire 2007 season in the bullpen for the Giants. At the beginning of June, he was named the closer by Giants' manager Bruce Bochy after Armando Benítez was traded. From June 30 to August 31, he converted saves in 14 straight save opportunities, the longest streak by a Giant since Robb Nen had a 28-save streak in 2000; overall, Hennessey converted 17 out of 19 saves from May 30 to August 31. Afterwards, he converted only two out of five opportunities before Brian Wilson took over the closer role. In 2007, he went 4–5 and had a 3.42 ERA and 19 saves (out of 24 opportunities).
#### 2008
On January 18, 2008, the Giants and Hennessey avoided arbitration and agreed to a \$1.6 million, one-year deal. After he posted a 12.94 in his first 11 games of the season, he got sent down to the minors on May 6 to make room for Billy Sadler. Used as a starter at Fresno, Hennessey posted a 7–10 record, a 4.83 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 37 walks, and 132+1⁄3 innings pitched in 21 starts. He was called back up when rosters expanded on September 1. After initially pitching out of the bullpen, he was moved to the rotation to replace Correia. On September 15, he threw the only complete game of his career, allowing three runs in eight innings in a 3–1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. In 17 games (four starts), he had a 1–2 record, a 7.81 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and 15 walks in 40+1⁄3 innings pitched. He was outrighted to the minors in October, but he refused the assignment and became a free agent.
### Minor leagues (part 2)
Hennessey signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles on November 17, 2008. Spencer Fordin of MLB.com wrote that Hennessey was "consistently hyped as a favorite to break camp in the rotation" for the Orioles. However, an elbow injury kept Hennessey from making any appearances with the Orioles or their affiliates. On June 1, 2009, Hennessey was released.
On March 2, 2010, Hennessey signed with the Minnesota Twins. He spent the 2010 season with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League, posting a 1–3 record, a 7.76 ERA, 13 strikeouts, and eight walks in 26+2⁄3 innings. After 14 games (one start), Hennessey was released on August 5.
The Houston Astros signed Hennessey to a minor league contract on May 31, 2011. He played for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks of the Texas League and the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League. His four games with Corpus Christi were all relief appearances; he had an 0–1 record and a 1.80 ERA. In seven games (six starts) with Oklahoma City, he had an 0–3 record, an 11.45 ERA, 10 strikeouts, and five walks in 22 innings pitched. On August 1, Hennessey was released by the Astros.
## Pitching Style
Hennessey threw five pitches: a fastball, a slider, a changeup, a curveball, and a cutter. The fastball was Hennessey's main pitch; he threw it over 60% of the time in the majors. He did not throw it very hard, averaging speeds under 90 mph in 2007 and 2008. His slider was his secondary pitch, and his changeup was his third most-used pitch. Hennessey rarely used the cutter except for in 2006, when he threw it 10.1% of the time. Henessey often was plagued by a big inning, displaying a tendency to allow several runs in an inning during his starts.
## Personal life
Hennessey married a nurse, Erin Bullard, on December 14, 2002. The couple has two children: Emma (born April 18, 2003) and Colin Jacob (born October 26, 2006). Hennessey participated in numerous charitable events during his tenure with the Giants.
|
[
"## Early life",
"## Professional career",
"### Minor leagues (part 1)",
"### Major leagues",
"#### 2004",
"#### 2005",
"#### 2006",
"#### 2007",
"#### 2008",
"### Minor leagues (part 2)",
"## Pitching Style",
"## Personal life"
] | 2,773 | 17,162 |
31,277,297 |
Church Street station (MBTA)
| 1,155,328,886 |
Under-construction railway station in New Bedford, Massachusetts, US
|
[
"MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Bristol County, Massachusetts",
"New Bedford, Massachusetts",
"Railway stations scheduled to open in 2023",
"Under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail stations"
] |
Church Street station is an under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail station located in northern New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. It is planned to open in 2023 as part of the first phase of the South Coast Rail project. The station will have a single side platform on the east side of the New Bedford Subdivision, along with a park and ride lot.
The former Acushnet station, located slightly to the north of the modern station site, was served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and several predecessors until around the 1930s. A site near Kings Highway in northern New Bedford was announced as a potential South Coast Rail station in 2009. Originally to be on the west side of the tracks, the planned station was moved to the east side and renamed North New Bedford in 2019. A construction contract was issued in 2020; that year, the station was again renamed as Church Street.
## Station design
The station will be located west of Church Street approximately 1⁄3 mile (0.5 km) south of Tarkiln Hill Road in northern New Bedford, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of downtown New Bedford and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Acushnet Center. It will have an 800-foot (240 m)-long accessible high-level side platform on the east side of the New Bedford Subdivision, which will have one track plus a freight siding at the station location. A 182-foot (55 m)-long canopy will cover part of the platform to provide shelter for passengers. The parking lot between the platform and Church Street will have 354 parking spaces, 22 bicycle spaces, a kiss-and-ride area, and a bus stop for Southeastern Regional Transit Authority route 8.
## History
### Acushnet station
The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad opened between its namesake cities in July 1840, completing a rail route between Boston and New Bedford. Acushnet station, located at Tarkiln Hill Road north of downtown New Bedford, served the eponymous town to the east. The station was located on the east side of the tracks on the north side of the street, with a freight house on the west side of the tracks. Service was later consolidated under the New Bedford Railroad (1873), Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad (1876), Old Colony Railroad (1879), and finally the New Haven Railroad (1893).
Passenger service on the line continued until September 5, 1958. However, most local stops including Acushnet were discontinued by the 1930s; by the end of service, trains ran nonstop from New Bedford to Taunton. The line continued to be used for freight service by the New Haven and its successors Penn Central and Conrail, then finally as the CSX New Bedford Subdivision. The former station building, moved northeast to Church Street, has been reused as a private residence.
### South Coast Rail
In September 2008, MassDOT released 18 potential station sites for South Coast Rail, including a King's Highway station in New Bedford (at or near the former Acushnet station site). A 2009 corridor plan called for the station to be located south of Kings Highway/Tarkiln Hill Road, with the existing strip mall and industrial sites around the station area replaced by mixed-use transit-oriented development. On June 11, 2010, the state took ownership of the New Bedford Subdivision and several other CSX lines as part of a sale agreement. By 2013, plans called for the station to be on the west side of the tracks at the site, sharing parking with an existing movie theater.
In 2017, the project was re-evaluated due to cost issues. The new proposal called for King's Highway station to be part of the first phase. In 2019, the planned site was moved across the tracks due to drainage and land acquisition issues, with the name changed to "North New Bedford" for clarity. A footbridge may be later constructed to provide access from the west side of the tracks, as 40% of the expected ridership is from the west. In 2020, the planned name was changed to "Church Street".
A former industrial building at 387 Church Street was demolished in 2020 to make room for the station and its parking lot. The MBTA awarded a \$403.5-million contract for the Middleborough Secondary and New Bedford Secondary portions of the project, including Church Street station, on August 24, 2020; construction was expected to begin later in 2020 and take 37 months. The line is expected to open in late 2023. The station was 16% complete by February 2022, with 46% of platform foundations complete. The contract was 53% complete by August 2022.
|
[
"## Station design",
"## History",
"### Acushnet station",
"### South Coast Rail"
] | 1,012 | 14,838 |
24,059,923 |
Action of 26 July 1806
| 1,035,897,465 |
Minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars
|
[
"Conflicts in 1806",
"July 1806 events",
"Naval battles involving the Netherlands",
"Naval battles involving the United Kingdom",
"Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars"
] |
The action of 26 July 1806 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought off the southern coast of the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. During the battle, a small British squadron attacked and defeated a Dutch force defending a valuable convoy, which was also captured. The British force—consisting of the frigate HMS Greyhound and brig-sloop HMS Harrier under the command of Captain Edward Elphinstone—was initially wary of the Dutch, mistaking the Dutch East Indiaman merchant ship Victoria for a ship of the line. Closer observation revealed the identity of the Dutch vessels the following day and Elphinstone led his frigate against the leading Dutch warship Pallas while Harrier engaged the merchant vessels and forced them to surrender. Only the corvette William escaped, taking no part in the engagement.
The battle was the first in a series of actions by the Royal Navy squadron based at Madras with the intention of eliminating the Dutch squadron maintained at Java. Greyhound had been sent to the Java Sea and the Molucca Islands to reconnoitre the Dutch ports in preparation for a raid on Java by a larger force under Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew later in the year. Elphinstone's success was followed by a second frigate action by Captain Peter Rainier in which the Dutch ship Maria Riggersbergen was captured. In November 1806, Admiral Pellew led the main body of his squadron against the capital of the Dutch East Indies at Batavia and a year later eliminated the last vessels of the Dutch East Indies squadron at Griessie.
## Background
The Dutch squadron in the Dutch East Indies was a constant threat to the British system of trade routes during the Napoleonic Wars. The Dutch—under the guise of the Kingdom of Holland and ruled by the French Emperor Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte—had joined the war against Britain following the end of the Peace of Amiens in 1803. Although the primary function of the Dutch East Indies squadron was the suppression of piracy, their presence threatened British shipping in the Malacca Straits, in particular the lucrative trade with China. At the start of every year, the "China Fleet"—a large convoy of British East Indiamen merchant ships—sailed from Canton and passed through the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait on their journey to the Indian Ocean and eventually to Britain. Worth millions of pounds, these convoys were vital to the British economy, but they faced considerable danger in passing through waters that were within easy reach of the Dutch ports in Java.
In 1804, a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles Linois used Batavia on Java as a base to attack the China Fleet, although the attempt ended in failure at the Battle of Pulo Aura. Java presented a clear threat to British maritime interests in the South China Sea, but the British squadron based in the Indian Ocean was too weak in 1805 to consider operations so far from its main base at Madras while Linois remained active. By the start of 1806, Linois had sailed into the Atlantic and an expeditionary force had seized the Dutch base at the Cape of Good Hope, securing the western Indian Ocean and providing reinforcements that allowed Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew to begin operations against the Dutch forces in the East Indies.
Pellew's first action, during the spring of 1806, was to deploy several frigates to the Java Sea with instructions to reconnoitre the Dutch squadron and its main port at Batavia. The first British ship to reach the Java Sea was the 32-gun frigate HMS Greyhound under Captain Edward Elphinstone, which arrived in July 1806. In company with the brig-sloop HMS Harrier under Commander Edward Troubridge, the two vessels cruised in search of Dutch activity in the area. On 4 June they successfully destroyed the armed brig Christian Elizabeth at Manado and two days later captured the Belgica at Tidore.
During the evening of 25 July, lookouts spotted four sails passing through the Selayar Strait that separates Selayar Island from the southern tip of Celebes. These four vessels were a Dutch convoy from the Molucca Islands, consisting of: The Dutch national frigate Pallas, of 36 guns, under Captain N. S. Aalbers; Dutch East India Company corvette William, of twenty 24-pounder guns and 110 men, under Captain P. Feteris; Dutch East Indiaman Victoria (or in some sources Vittoria), of about 800 tons burthen (bm), under Captain Klaas Kenkin and Dutch East Indiaman Batavier, of some 500 tons (bm) under Captain William De Val.
## Battle
On observing the Dutch ships, Elphinstone immediately gave chase. Aalbers responded by forming his ships in a line of battle and retaining close formation as the convoy passed the Celebes coast close to the small Dutch trading posts at Borthean and Balacomba. At 21:00, Aalbers ordered his force to anchor 7 nmi (8.1 mi; 13 km) offshore and prepare for the British attack. Elphinstone was cautious however as Victoria was a particularly large ship, with two decks and the appearance of a ship of the line. Aware that such a large vessel could easily destroy his frigate Elphinstone halted his advance and Greyhound and Harrier stopped to observe the Dutch convoy during the night, maintaining a position 2 nmi (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) to windward of Aalbers' force.
At dawn, lookouts on Greyhound were able to establish that Victoria was a large merchant ship rather than a warship and Elphinstone was encouraged to resume the attack. Aalbers sailed shortly afterwards, his ships tacking away from the shore in line of battle ready for the British advance. In doing so, Pallas drew ahead of the next ship in line, creating a gap through which the British attack could be directed. At 05:00, Elphinstone raised French colours in an effort to confuse the Dutch officers and indicated that he wished to speak with the Dutch commander. Aalbers was not fooled, and when Elphinstone opened fire on Pallas at close range at 05:30, the Dutch frigate replied immediately. With the frigates engaged, Harrier cut between Pallas and Victoria, Troubridge discharging his carronades into Victoria and ordering his crew to fire muskets at the deck of Pallas. In response, Victoria and Batavier pulled out of the line to engage Harrier, which continued its fire against Pallas, while William, bringing up the rear of the Dutch line, pulled out completely and sailed for the coast.
Elphinstone rapidly took advantage of the confusion Harrier's attack had created, passing Aalbers' bow and raking his ship. Elphinstone then threw his sails back, halting his ship and allowing Greyhound to maintain a position across Pallas' bow from which he could inflict severe damage on the Dutch frigate without coming under fire himself. As the damage and casualties mounted on Pallas, Harrier joined the attack. Gunfire from the Dutch ship gradually slackened, and finally stopped at 06:10, the Dutch flag was struck from the mast and Pallas surrendered with over 40 casualties from a crew of 250 (including 50 local recruits). Throughout the engagement, Victoria and Batavier had kept up a constant but inefficient fire on Harrier, Troubridge waiting until the Dutch flagship surrendered before counterattacking.
With Troubridge in pursuit, the Dutch merchant ships were unable to escape Harrier, and at 06:30 Victoria surrendered. Sending a boat to take possession, Troubridge immediately turned away towards Batavier. Elphinstone too was sailing towards the isolated merchant vessel and at 06:40 Captain De Val surrendered rather than fight the superior British force. William successfully escaped in the aftermath of the battle, rapidly outdistancing a weak chase from the battered Harrier. All three captured ships were taken over by prize crews and brought to Port Cornwallis on South Andaman Island. Casualties on Pallas were heavy, with eight men killed outright and 32 wounded, including Aalbers and three of his lieutenants. Six of the wounded later died, including the Dutch captain. There were also four men killed on the East Indiamen and seven wounded, one of whom died later. British losses by contrast were light, with one man killed and eight wounded on Greyhound and just three wounded on Harrier.
## Aftermath
The prizes were sold in India. The Royal Navy took Pallas into service as HMS Celebes. However, it sold her in 1807.
Elphinstone did not long survive his victory: he was ordered back to Britain in early 1807 and took passage on Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge's flagship HMS Blenheim. He was presumed drowned in February 1807 along with the entire crew, when Blenheim disappeared during a hurricane in the western Indian Ocean.
For Pellew, the victory was an encouraging sign of the weakness of the Dutch squadron. In October, Captain Peter Rainier seized another Dutch frigate from Batavia harbour itself and the following month Admiral Pellew led a large scale raid on the port that eliminated most of the Dutch East Indies squadron. Two ships of the line escaped Pellew's attack, but they were old and in a poor state of repair, and so were unable to defend themselves when Pellew discovered and destroyed them at Griessie in 1807.
|
[
"## Background",
"## Battle",
"## Aftermath"
] | 2,004 | 25,882 |
1,458,343 |
1930 Atlantic hurricane season
| 1,154,031,940 |
Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean
|
[
"1930 meteorology",
"1930 natural disasters",
"1930s Atlantic hurricane seasons",
"Articles which contain graphical timelines"
] |
The 1930 Atlantic hurricane season was the second least active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of tropical storms formed, only behind 1914, with only three systems reaching tropical storm intensity. Of those three, two reached hurricane status, both of which also became major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher storms on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The first system developed in the central Atlantic Ocean on August 21. Later that month, a second storm, the Dominican Republic hurricane, formed on August 29. It peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph (250 km/h). The third and final storm dissipated on October 21.
Due to the lack of systems that developed, only one tropical cyclone, the second hurricane, managed to make landfall during the season. It severely impacted areas of the Greater Antilles, particularly the Dominican Republic, where an estimated 2,000 to 8,000 people died, before making subsequent landfalls on Cuba and the U.S. states of Florida and North Carolina, with less severe effects.
The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 50, below the 1921–1930 average of 76.6. 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. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here.
## Timeline
## Systems
### Hurricane One
The first hurricane of the season was first noted in the central Atlantic Ocean on August 21. Slowly intensifying, the system initially moved towards the west. On August 22, a steamship in the vicinity sustained some structural damage. After attaining hurricane strength on August 24, the system turned northwestward, and reached Category 3 intensity on August 25 with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) as it grazed Bermuda. Recurving to the northeast, the French transatlantic ocean liner SS Paris encountered the hurricane while it was a Category 2 hurricane. A large wave struck the ship, shattering glass on the vessel and injuring 40 passengers. Although still a Category 2 hurricane, the system became extratropical shortly after on August 28. The extratropical storm was tracked due east towards the Azores for a few days while gradually weakening before abruptly turning to the north and dissipating.
### Hurricane Two
The Dominican Republic Hurricane of 1930
A tropical depression developed well east of the Lesser Antilles on August 29. Initially drifting westward, the storm gradually intensified and became a tropical storm early the next day. By August 31, the system strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. The next day, the hurricane entered the Caribbean Sea, passing the island of Dominica as a Category 2 hurricane. Continuing to intensify, the storm further intensified into a Category 3 hurricane on September 2 and then to a Category 4 the following day. Around 18:00 UTC on September 3, the hurricane peaked with winds of 155 mph (250 km/h), observed by a ship. Simultaneously, the storm made landfall near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The mountainous terrain of Hispaniola rapidly weakened the system to a tropical storm early on September 4. Moving westward over the Caribbean Sea, the storm failed to re-strengthen before making landfall in western Cuba with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) around midday on September 6. Thereafter, the system entered the Gulf of Mexico and curved northeastward. At 09:00 UTC on September 9, the storm again made landfall near Bradenton, Florida, with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h). Later that day, the storm weakened to a tropical depression while crossing Florida. Upon emerging into the Atlantic Ocean on the next day, the system re-intensified into a tropical storm. While located offshore South Carolina, the storm re-attained hurricane status early on September 12. The hurricane then brushed the Outer Banks of North Carolina before heading out to sea. The storm further strengthened to Category 2 intensity while heading eastward, but later weakened to a tropical storm early on September 16. The following day, the storm deteriorated further to a tropical depression, and late on September 17, the cyclone dissipated southwest of the Azores.
While crossing the Lesser Antilles, the hurricane brought powerful winds and heavy rainfall to the islands. On Dominica, crops suffered severe damage. All vessels at the harbor sank, killing two people. Winds on Puerto Rico left mostly minor damage to plantations, and rainfall was generally "beneficial". In the Dominican Republic, three districts of Santo Domingo were destroyed, with half of the city leveled by the hurricane. Damages in the city were an estimated \$50 million (1930 USD). The Red Cross estimated 2,000 people perished in the city, with an additional 8,000 injured. Historians estimate the hurricane left between 2,000 and 8,000 fatalities. Haiti experienced crop damage due to the storm. In Florida, "damaging" rainfall was observed over southeastern Hillsborough County, with 8 to 9 in (200 to 230 mm) measured. Press reports indicated damage to highways and bridges, and crops were inundated. Damage reached approximately \$75,000. After passing the Outer Banks of North Carolina as re-intensifying hurricane, power outages occurred across the region. Buildings at Cape Lookout were severely damaged.
### Tropical Storm Three
The final storm of the season developed in the Bay of Campeche on October 18 at the tail end of a frontal boundary. Although cool-air advection was occurring off the United States coast, warm air around the system allowed the tropical storm to intensify. Moving to the northeast, the system reached peak intensity as a high-end tropical storm with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h). Ultimately, the cool-air advection eventually took a toll on the storm, causing it to quickly weaken. By 06:00 UTC on October 21, the storm dissipated.
## See also
- 1900–1950 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons
- 1930s Australian region cyclone seasons
|
[
"## Timeline",
"## Systems",
"### Hurricane One",
"### Hurricane Two",
"### Tropical Storm Three",
"## See also"
] | 1,339 | 36,109 |
30,111,005 |
Tina Green
| 1,150,842,961 |
British businesswoman
|
[
"1949 births",
"20th-century British businesspeople",
"20th-century British businesswomen",
"21st-century British businesspeople",
"21st-century British businesswomen",
"British women in business",
"Businesspeople from London",
"English billionaires",
"English businesspeople in fashion",
"English businesspeople in retailing",
"English expatriates in Monaco",
"English expatriates in South Africa",
"English interior designers",
"Female billionaires",
"Living people",
"Wives of knights"
] |
Cristina Stuart Green, Lady Green (née Paine, formerly Palos; born August 1949), known as Tina Green, is an English businesswoman and interior designer. Green is the director of Taveta, the majority owner of Taveta Investments Ltd, the parent company of the Arcadia Group, of which her husband, Sir Philip Green, is chairman. The Arcadia Group owned the clothing retail chains Topshop and Topman, as well as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, and Wallis. Taveta owned British Homes Stores (BHS) before its 2015 sale. BHS was placed into administration in 2016, and the Arcadia Group was placed into administration in 2020. Green formed the interior design company Green & Mingarelli with the Italian designer Pietro Mingarelli.
Green was the recipient of a £1.2 billion dividend payment from the Arcadia Group in 2005, a record payment in British corporate history. In 2005 The Times stated that she was "for tax reasons the legal owner" of her and her husband's estimated wealth of £4.9 billion. In 2020, the couple's wealth was estimated at £930 million by the Sunday Times Rich List and at \$2.4 billion by The World's Billionaires list published by Forbes in 2021. Green has a close financial relationship with the businessman Richard Caring. She is a resident of Monaco.
## Early life and career
Cristina Stuart Paine was born in London in August 1949. Her father was a wine merchant, his business led to long periods living abroad and Green spent her childhood in Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. Green did not finish school and described herself as "trained in nothing" but has said that she loves to "work and to graft". Green met Robert "Bobby" Palos, a South African jazz drummer in Hong Kong when she was 17 and he was 31. They married a year later in 1967 after travelling around Australia and Japan. Green initially worked in the diamond industry and subsequently moved to South Africa with Palos and the couple opened a fashion boutique in Johannesburg. Green and Palos had two children, Stasha (born 1972) and Brett (born 1974). Green's daughter, Stasha, subsequently described her mother's early career as having involved being "a diamond dealer, the first female DJ in Johannesburg [and] a go-go dancer" as well as dancing with The Beach Boys. Green and Palos later took their fashion boutique to London. Green described herself as more driven to succeed in business than Palos, and after 20 years together the couple divorced. They remained friends after their divorce and Green and Palos's second wife were at his bedside when he died.
She met businessman Philip Green in 1985 and described him as "Just an ordinary person with a seriously strong work ethic" who was a "a colourful character" who had "zero money". They married in 1990. The couple have two children, Chloe (born 1991) and Brandon (born 1993). Green designed clothing for her husband's clothing shops, including Lewis's and Owen Owen, and subsequently helped design the layout of the stores. Green's fashion boutique in London's Knightsbridge district, Harabels, closed in 1992.
Green, her husband Philip, and their children moved to Monaco in 1998, having previously lived on Avenue Road in London's St John's Wood district. Philip Green has said that the move was for health reasons. Tina Green said in a 2005 interview that the couple moved from St John's Wood to Monaco after Philip was the victim of a mugging by three men with a sword.
Green has organised several large parties for her husband Philip's 50th, 55th and 60th birthday parties. Philip's 50th birthday party took place in Cyprus and cost an estimated £5 million. The party featured performances from Earth, Wind & Fire, and the singers Tom Jones and Rod Stewart. His 55th birthday party was held in the Maldives at a cost of £20 million, with performances from Jennifer Lopez and George Michael. His 60th was held at the Rosewood Mayakoba resort in Mexico featuring performances from The Beach Boys, Robbie Williams and Stevie Wonder.
In 2012 Green ordered the superyacht Lionheart from the shipbuilders Benetti at an estimated cost of £100 million. Green was appointed treasurer to the private charitable foundation of Charlene, Princess of Monaco, in 2017.
In 2000, she bought £25 million of shares in the British retail company Marks & Spencer shortly before it was announced that Philip Green was considering a takeover of the company. Green was described as the "for tax reasons the legal owner" of her and her husband's estimated wealth of £4.9 billion by The Times in 2005. In 2020, the couple's wealth was estimated at £930 million by the Sunday Times Rich List and at \$2.4 billion by The World's Billionaires list published by Forbes in 2021. Philip and Tina Green's net worth at its peak in 2007 was estimated to be £4.9 billion by the Sunday Times Rich List, it had declined to an estimated £930 million by 2020. Green has spoken of the British public's perceived resentment of her wealth saying in a 2005 interview that she thought that " ... unfortunately, in this country [the United Kingdom] there's a lot of jealousy. No one likes a winner, they just want the bad news. I just find it very sad". In a 2012 interview Green said that it had been " ... really scary. It scares me. Yes. Because it's been so ... difficult".
## Taveta and the Arcadia Group
Green is the director of Taveta Ltd which is the majority owner of Taveta Investments Ltd. Taveta Investments Ltd is the parent company of the Arcadia Group, of which Green's husband, Philip, is the chairman. Taveta Investments acquired the Arcadia Group for £770 million in 2004, by 2018 the group owned the clothing store chains of Topshop and Topman as well as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, and Wallis. In 2005 Tina Green was the recipient of a £1.2 billion dividend from Arcadia, the largest dividend in British corporate history. Green notably paid no British income tax on the dividend due to her residency in the tax haven of Monaco. The dividend was paid for by a loan taken out by Arcadia, cutting Arcadia's corporation tax as interest charges on the loan were offset against profits.
In August 2010 Philip Green said that "My wife's not a tax exile – my family do not live in the United Kingdom, it's somewhat different. We do pay all our tax in Britain. I think we have paid over the last five years some £300-400m in taxes on profits that have been made on our company". Philip Green has jocularly referred to his wife's income as "housekeeping money". In 2016 Green said that she or her family had controlling stakes in 11 companies, the majority of which were based in Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. Green said that the locations were chosen as they had strong regulatory and professional corporate regimes.
The British Home Stores (BHS) group was acquired by Taveta for £200 million in 2000. It was subsequently sold in 2015 for £1, and went into administration in 2016. BHS had a deficit in its pension schemes of £571 million at the time of its 2016 collapse and 11,000 jobs were put at risk. The shareholders of BHS including the Green family were the recipients of £580 million from the group during their tenure.
In 2016, Philip Green agreed to appear before a work and pensions select committee of the British House of Commons on condition that his wife was not called before the committee. As the largest shareholder of the Arcadia Group, in 2019 Green put £100 million over three years into the group's two pension schemes in a deal arranged with the Pensions Regulator. In 2019 Tina Green put £50 million into the Arcadia Group in exchange for rent reductions on clothing stores rented by the group from landlords. The Arcadia Group went into administration in November 2020. The group had struggled with several years of declining sales and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. It was seen as having suffered from underinvestment in comparison to other retail companies and having failed to make as successful transition to online retail as its corporate rivals.
### UK Uncut protests
In 2010 the Greens became the subject of protests from the activist group UK Uncut for their alleged avoidance of corporate taxation. At the time of the protests the Conservative government under Prime Minister David Cameron was imposing austerity through cuts to government expenditure. The protestors claimed that the cuts could be avoided if corporate tax avoidance was eradicated. Philip Green had been appointed by Cameron as an advisor to the government on efficiency. The UK Uncut campaigners staged a sit-in at Arcadia's flagship London Topshop store in Oxford Street and glued themselves to the windows of Topshop in Brighton on 4 December 2010. The protestors also targeted Barclays, Boots, HSBC, and Vodafone stores.
## Green & Mingarelli
Green formed the interior design company Green & Mingarelli with the Italian furniture designer Pietro Mingarelli, having met him on a yacht. The pair work up to 15 hour days when working on designs. The company has created interiors for private residences and yachts. Green's interior design work is noted for her extensive use of black and white. The company restored and designed the interior of a mews house in London's Belgravia district "almost entirely" in black and white.
Green extensively uses Lalique glass in her interior designs and helped create a homewear range for Lalique Maison in 2014. Mark Harrison, writing in The Times, described Green's Lalique range as "rather lovely; ornate, but not vulgar; terribly grand" and a "harmonious, genteel, upmarket non-riot of off-white, ebony, crystal and gold". Green herself described her Lalique work as "obviously high end, and obviously expensive". Green & Mingarelli came to the attention of the owner of Lalique, Silvio Denz, due to their extensive use of Lalique glass in the decoration of the 68.5m motor yacht Silver Angel, which led to their homeware commission. In their Lalique collection a sideboard was priced at €30,000 and a mirror at €10,000.
## Financial link with Richard Caring
Green has been linked financially to the British businessman Richard Caring, a close friend and business partner of her husband Philip Green. It was revealed in the Swiss Leaks that Green held the "vast majority of [Caring's] cash assets" on trust for him in her bank account with HSBC in Monaco. Green provided £23.5 million to Caring to help him purchase the restaurant chains Belgo and Strada from Luke Johnson. Green gifted the Silver Angel motor yacht, worth an estimated £25 million to Caring in 2017. In 2009 Caring had told the Evening Standard newspaper that he had just acquired the yacht but it was revealed in the Pandora Papers leak that it had been held in Green's name from 2009 to 2017. Silver Angel was decorated by Green's company, Green & Mingarelli in tones of white, cream and black. When Philip Green first saw the interior of the yacht he is said to have remarked to his wife "Are these the only fucking colours you can do? It's the same colour as our boat".
|
[
"## Early life and career",
"## Taveta and the Arcadia Group",
"### UK Uncut protests",
"## Green & Mingarelli",
"## Financial link with Richard Caring"
] | 2,461 | 2,701 |
16,722,898 |
Milwaukee Avenue Historic District
| 1,169,254,111 |
Historic district in Minnesota, United States
|
[
"Geography of Minneapolis",
"Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota",
"Houses in Minneapolis",
"Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota",
"National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis"
] |
The Milwaukee Avenue Historic District is a historic district in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. The district comprises two city blocks of small homes on quarter-sized lots. These houses were built between 1884 and 1890 by William Ragan, a Minneapolis real estate speculator. Built for lower-income residents, the houses had deteriorated in condition by the end of World War II, and by the 1970s, were planned for demolition. A group of residents and concerned citizens fought to save the houses, eventually leading to their inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and the federal protection and rehabilitation that comes with the designation. Today, the houses sit along a bike- and pedestrian-friendly mall on which motor traffic is prohibited.
## Early history
During the late 19th century, the population of Minneapolis was growing rapidly, increasing 351 percent from 1880 to 1890. With the number of people moving into the city, lower-cost housing was needed for immigrants who were new to Minnesota. The street had originally been platted as an alley between 22nd and 23rd Avenues South, but William Ragan developed it as a street and labeled it 221⁄2 Avenue. The houses were situated close together on narrow lots, with very narrow side yards and no front yards. This almost gives the impression of rowhouses. Most of the houses were built with brick veneer on timber frames, and they have uniform-sized roof slopes, modified flat arch windows, and open front porches.
The street kept its '1⁄2' until 1906, when petitioners asked the Minneapolis City Council to change the street's name to Woodland Avenue because they said the '1⁄2' made them feel like they lived in an alley. For an unknown reason, the street's name was not changed to Woodland Avenue, but to Milwaukee Avenue. The Avenue's proximity to the Milwaukee Short Line Railroad has been suggested as a cause.
## Deterioration and restoration
By the time World War II was over, the houses on Milwaukee Avenue were falling into disrepair. They had been neglected throughout the Great Depression and wartime. In 1959, the City of Minneapolis presented a plan for the Seward neighborhood, which listed the houses on Milwaukee Avenue in 'deteriorated' condition, meaning they had no indoor plumbing or were severely battered.
In many other neighborhoods, the city had renewed and thus gentrified areas without public hearings, because residents of those neighborhoods were low-income renters. In Milwaukee Avenue's case, however, the residents were of medium income, and seasoned protesters, since many had protested the Vietnam War. By 1970, the City of Minneapolis planned to raze the Milwaukee Avenue houses using funds from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program.
The residents of Milwaukee Avenue and the surrounding Seward neighborhood formed the Seward West Project Area Committee (PAC) in order to try to save the Milwaukee Avenue homes. They argued that the houses had significant historic value and needed to be preserved. The City argued that the houses were legally nonconforming, and rehabilitating them would cost more than just building new houses.
The City furthered its plan of renewing the area and took no heed of the PAC. In response, the PAC secretly submitted an application to the National Register of Historic Places for the Milwaukee Avenue district. It was approved on May 2, 1974, by Secretary of the Interior Rogers CB Morton. This meant that the city could not alter or destroy the houses using federal funds without a public hearing.
Nine of Milwaukee Avenue's houses had to be destroyed due to their decrepit conditions and a tenth was moved elsewhere. In the spaces where these houses once stood, townhomes were built, mirroring the style of the original houses. The rest of the houses got new indoor plumbing, new basements, improved woodwork and porches added on. Additionally, a pedestrian mall was built down the center of Milwaukee Avenue to replace a one-way street. The Avenue is now bike and pedestrian friendly, and cars are prohibited.
## Milwaukee Avenue today
Milwaukee Avenue still stands today. In 2007, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Milwaukee Avenue's rehabilitation, self-guided walking tours of eight of the houses were offered to the public.
The houses were featured on local CBS station WCCO-TV's Finding Minnesota series in 2005. The two-minute video segment about the avenue featured interviews with a resident of Milwaukee Avenue, as well as Bob Roscoe, an activist who led the fight to save Milwaukee Avenue.
|
[
"## Early history",
"## Deterioration and restoration",
"## Milwaukee Avenue today"
] | 928 | 2,559 |
56,124,198 |
Paper Brigade
| 1,146,475,356 |
1940s resistance organisation in Vilna
|
[
"Archives in Lithuania",
"History of YIVO",
"Jewish resistance during the Holocaust",
"Vilna Ghetto"
] |
The Paper Brigade was the name given to a group of residents of the Vilna Ghetto who hid a large cache of Jewish cultural items from YIVO (the Yiddish Scientific Institute), saving them from destruction or theft by Nazi Germany. Established in 1942 and led by Abraham Sutzkever and Shmerke Kaczerginski, the group smuggled books, paintings and sculptures past Nazi guards and hid them in various locations in and around the Ghetto. After the Ghetto's liquidation, surviving members of the group fled to join the Jewish partisans, eventually returning to Vilna following its liberation by Soviet forces. Recovered works were used to establish the Vilna Jewish Museum and then smuggled to the United States, where YIVO had re-established itself during the 1940s. Caches of hidden material continued to be discovered in Vilna into the early 1990s. Despite losses during both the Nazi and Soviet eras, 30–40 percent of the YIVO archive was preserved, which now represents "the largest collection of material about Jewish life in Eastern Europe that exists in the world".
## YIVO and the Brigade
Prior to the Second World War, the city of Vilna was a hub of Jewish activity and learning, to the point where it was nicknamed the "Jerusalem of Lithuania". Seen as the central melting pot of Jewish tradition and Yiddish culture, the city was the home of YIVO, an organisation established in 1925 to preserve and promote Yiddish culture. Based in the Pohulanka district, YIVO maintained an extensive archive of Yiddish language works and other books relating to Jewish culture and history in its headquarters. With the capture of Vilna by Soviet forces on 19 September 1939, the organisation was (in sequence) taken over by Soviet forces, with Moyshe Lerer installed as leader, allowed to exist independently under Lithuanian supervision, and then finally absorbed by the Soviet-sponsored Institute of Lithuanian Studies in June 1940. Despite these changes, the YIVO collection remained intact, and was in some respects expanded by the inclusion of books whose owners were fleeing the war. With the launch of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Nazi forces advanced into Soviet-occupied territory, capturing Vilna—and by extension, the YIVO archives—on 24 June.
Shortly thereafter Dr. Johannes Pohl, a representative of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR)—the Nazi organisation tasked with stealing or destroying Jewish cultural property—arrived in Vilna to examine the archives. He ordered that Vilna be made a central collection point for the region, incorporating not only the archives of YIVO and other Vilna institutions but private collections from Kaunas, Šiauliai, Marijampolė, Valozhyn and other towns. The Nazis then established a sorting office in 1942 to go through the resulting material, selecting high-quality items to be shipped to the Institute for Study of the Jewish Question: the remainder were to be pulped. ERR orders stated that a maximum of 30 percent of works could be deemed of high quality and saved. To ensure that the right works were selected, Jewish Ghetto inmates, largely people with some involvement with YIVO, were selected to do the sorting work. Labourers included Zelig Kalmanovich, Uma Olkenicki, Abraham Sutzkever, Shmerke Kaczerginski and Khaykel Lunski.
The concept of destroying the YIVO archives and associated material was profoundly traumatising to the labourers; in his diaries, Herman Kruk wrote that they were "in tears. ... YIVO is dying. Its mass grave is the paper mill". Nicknamed the "Paper Brigade" the labourers, led by Sutzkever and Kaczerginski, began sabotaging the ERR's plans. The Brigade initially engaged in passive resistance by simply refusing to work, reading aloud from the books rather than destroying them—Kaczerginski and Sutzkever later published volumes of poetry that they had written instead of doing the actual sorting work. From there, they accelerated to smuggling the works to safety. Some books were smuggled on their person when they returned home each night from the sorting office, and hidden in caches within houses, bunkers and secret compartments within the Ghetto; others were handed off to trustworthy non-Jews outside the Ghetto, such as the librarian Ona Šimaitė, or hidden in the attic of the YIVO building, which also served as a transit point for weapons for armed resistance. Military manuals, largely Russian, were also identified and smuggled to Jewish partisans within the Vilna Ghetto. With the liquidation of the Ghetto in September 1943, the immediate work of the Paper Brigade came to an end. Many members were killed by the Nazis, but both Sutzkever and Kaczerginski managed to escape, hiding with the Jewish partisans.
## Cache recovery
After Vilna was captured from the Nazis on 13 July 1944, Sutzkever returned to the city in the company of Justas Paleckis. Quickly joined by Kaczerginski and Abba Kovner, the group opened a Jewish Museum on 26 July and began enlisting anyone available to hunt for the hidden caches. Initial results were mixed: the YIVO building had been destroyed by bombing, and the largest cache in the Vilna Ghetto had been discovered by the German forces shortly before their retreat and burnt. Many other repositories survived, and locals who had been given works to hide by Jewish residents quickly arrived to return them. Early discoveries included the handwritten diaries of Theodor Herzl, a sculpture of David by Mark Antokolsky, and letters by Sholem Aleichem, I. L. Peretz and many others. Their work proceeded rapidly, and with much enthusiasm from the surviving Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. Sutzkever's return to Russia in 1944, followed by Kovner's move to Palestine, left Kaczerginski in charge of the museum and recovery project.
Although the Museum was theoretically supported by Lithuanian and Soviet authorities, they provided few resources, assigning the organisers no budget and only giving them a burnt out former Ghetto building as a headquarters. Following the end of the war in 1945, it became clear that the volunteers' work was incompatible with the priorities of Soviet authorities, who burnt 30 tons of YIVO materials and, having demanded that any publicly displayed books be reviewed by a censor, simply refused to return any submitted works. Accordingly, Kaczerginski and the others prepared to smuggle the collection yet again—this time to the United States, where YIVO had established a new headquarters. Volunteers took the books across the border to Poland, enlisting the help of Bricha contacts to move them into non-Soviet Europe. From there much of the material went to New York; Sutzkever held on to some of it, which was later given to the National Library of Israel.
The Museum was finally shut down by the KGB in 1949; some of the remaining material was destroyed, while the remainder was moved to the Lithuanian Central State Archives, the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, and the Lithuanian National Library. Following the end of the Soviet Union, YIVO successfully negotiated with the Lithuanian government to produce copies of approximately 100,000 pages of this material. A further archive, containing 150,000 documents, was discovered in 1991 having been hidden in a church by Antanas Ulpis. In total, it is estimated the Brigade saved 30–40 percent of the YIVO archives. Additional works – those confiscated, rather than hidden by the Brigade – were discovered in 1954 in the building of a former bank in Vienna, and returned to YIVO.
## See also
- Jewish literature
- David Fishman
|
[
"## YIVO and the Brigade",
"## Cache recovery",
"## See also"
] | 1,631 | 24,676 |
29,148,654 |
The Swarm (roller coaster)
| 1,168,555,400 |
Roller coaster at Thorpe Park
|
[
"Roller coasters in the United Kingdom",
"Roller coasters operated by Merlin Entertainments",
"Thorpe Park roller coasters"
] |
The Swarm is a steel roller coaster located at Thorpe Park in the United Kingdom. The Swarm was the world's second Wing Coaster model designed by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and the first one located in the United Kingdom. Construction commenced in May 2011, and the coaster opened on 15 March 2012. From 2013 until 2015, the last two rows of each train faced backwards, while the first five rows faced forward. This was restored to the original configuration for safety reasons in 2016.
The 2,543-foot-long (775 m) ride stands 127 feet (39 m) tall and features four inversions along with a heavily-banked left turn. Riders experience speeds of up to 59 mph (95 km/h) and 4.5 times the force of gravity. A marketing campaign for the ride dubbed LC12 - The End is Coming began eleven months before The Swarm opened to the public. It has generally been well-received, ranking highly amongst other winged roller coaster designs.
## History
In 2010, planning for The Swarm began behind closed doors. The ride was codenamed Project LC12 in the early process of its planning and construction. On 31 January 2011, Thorpe Park submitted a planning application for their 2012 ride to the Runnymede Borough Council. The website gave further information about the new ride's theme, that of an apocalyptic battle.
At the time of the ride's announcement construction was already underway. The track for The Swarm was complete by 18 November 2011. Clearance testing started almost immediately; the first operational test run was completed on 17 January 2012.
On 15 March 2012, The Swarm officially opened to the public. In January 2013, Thorpe Park announced that the last two rows on The Swarm would be rotated to face backwards for 2013, a first for a Wing Coaster. The park's tag line for this experience is 'THE SWARM- Brave It Backwards'. The park additionally announced that they were adding a damaged, mangled billboard, which the train travels through. In 2016 the seats were returned to all facing forwards.
## Characteristics
### Location
The Swarm is located on a reclaimed island adjacent to the Stealth roller coaster, with parts of the ride being built over water. A bridge links the core of Thorpe Park to an island which hosts the roller coaster station, merchandise outlet, a games zone and toilet buildings.
### Trains
The Swarm features two 28-seat Bolliger & Mabillard Wing Coaster trains. Each train is made up of seven rows of four seats each. One pair of seats in each row is located on either side of the ride's track and slightly lower than the track, as with all Wing Coasters. The trains are themed to resemble alien-like drones (the ride's eponymous "Swarm"), with a number of red LED lights placed across the train.
### Theme
The area is designed to appear as if it has been partially destroyed by the Swarm. The ride recreates the experience of flying through a crash scene and features a partially destroyed church, crashed aeroplane, upturned ambulance, half-submerged fire engine and a damaged helicopter. This is due to a swarm of semi-organic machines, mechanical creatures which you are invited to ride the wings of.
## Ride experience
The roller coaster begins in the station, which is built to look like a partially destroyed church with an upturned police trailer housing the ride operators, and climbs up a 38.7-metre (127 ft) chain lift hill. Upon reaching the top of the lift hill, the track twists 180 degrees anticlockwise, so that riders are upside down, before plunging down the world's first dive drop element. The train then proceeds to dive under the wing of a wrecked plane and into a zero-g roll 30.6 metres (100 ft) above the ground before passing narrowly through a themed billboard, immediately following which the on-ride photo is taken. It then enters an inclined loop 23 metres (75 ft) in height. The ride continues into a turnaround featuring a wrecked helicopter with slow-spinning rotor blades in the centre. At this point riders on the right hand side of the train experience a near miss with the water surrounding the helicopter. This is followed by a corkscrew, which passes through the inclined loop. Upon leaving the corkscrew, the train curves past a crashed fire engine with water and fire effects and proceeds through a keyhole: a partly destroyed church tower. The ride then flies over the station and enters into a last inline twist before a mid-course brake run. Following this, the train makes a banked left-hand turn (which despite being directly after a brake run, can generate strong forces for riders on the rear-right of the train) into the final brakes. The train then goes back into the station. The ride previously featured an on-ride video camera, filming riders and allowing the purchase of a DVD afterwards; this was removed sometime in 2016.
## Marketing
In late April 2011, Thorpe Park began an advertising campaign for LC12 consisting of "The end is coming" posters in the park and a teaser website, LC12.net. The LC12.net website featured a brief description hinting at the possible theme of the ride alongside a countdown until 1 August 2011. As the date of the ride's announcement approached, Thorpe Park released a video via Facebook stating that "WAR is coming".
On 25 January 2012, it was reported that an incident occurred when testing The Swarm. Limbs of test dummies were broken off when the ride passed an object that was located too close to the track.
In March 2012, Thorpe Park announced it had contracted the band You Me at Six to create the world's first roller coaster single for the launch of The Swarm. The song, "The Swarm", was released on iTunes on 18 March 2012, a few days after the opening of the roller coaster. The song entered the UK Singles Charts at number 23.
## Reception
The Swarm received mixed responses in its opening season. The park declared the attraction a commercial disappointment in its following years, after disappointing guest attendance to the park; this partially led to the brief "Brave it backwards" feature in 2013. Blogger Nick Sim of "Theme Park Tourist" praised the attraction, saying that it packs "a number of incredible elements into its compact circuit". Sim stated the ride had "fallen just short of our sky-high expectations" mainly because of "its short ride time". He rated the ride 4 out of 5. Joanna Churchill of the Daily Mirror gave a review of the backwards ride, stating that it is "a whole new adrenaline-pumped experience that is simply not for the faint-hearted". Churchill stated that her "blood pressure and heart rate went through the roof", but "there was barely time to process what was happening before we were back on terra firma".
In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, The Swarm debuted at position 68 out of the 365 roller coasters in the poll. When compared with other Wing Coasters debuting in the 2012 poll, The Swarm performed fairly well; X-Flight at Six Flags Great America ranked 58, Wild Eagle at Dollywood ranked 87, and Raptor at Gardaland ranked 113. It did not place in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards in 2012, 2013 and 2014, but made its first appearance in 2015 ranked at 30.
Despite the positive reviews, however, The Swarm failed to increase attendance. Park gate figures fell by 200,000 following the addition of the coaster. The park itself, as well as many others, have blamed the park's branding from 2009 to 2012 as the issue.
## See also
- 2012 in amusement parks
- Merlin Entertainments
|
[
"## History",
"## Characteristics",
"### Location",
"### Trains",
"### Theme",
"## Ride experience",
"## Marketing",
"## Reception",
"## See also"
] | 1,647 | 19,589 |
153,432 |
Mario Party 4
| 1,173,907,201 |
2002 video game
|
[
"2002 video games",
"D.I.C.E. Award for Family Game of the Year winners",
"GameCube games",
"GameCube-only games",
"Mario Party",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"Party video games",
"Video games about size change",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games set in amusement parks"
] |
Mario Party 4 is a 2002 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The game is the fourth installment in the Mario Party series and is the first game in the series to be released for the GameCube. Like the previous games in the series, it features eight playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Donkey Kong, Princess Daisy, and Waluigi from the Mario franchise, who can be directed as characters on 6 themed game boards. The objective is to earn as many stars as possible, which are obtained by purchase from a single predefined space on the game board. Each character's movement is determined by a roll of a die, with a roll from each player forming a single turn. Each turn is followed by a minigame in which characters compete for coins they can use to purchase items and stars.
Mario Party 4 was met with mixed reception, with some complaints regarding a lack of originality and slow pacing during games. It won the Family Game of the Year award at the Interactive Achievement Awards of 2003. The game was followed by Mario Party 5 in 2003.
## Gameplay
Mario Party 4 is based on an interactive board game played by 4 characters from the Mario franchise, which are controlled either by the player or the game's artificial intelligence. The game features 8 playable characters, although they do not have any different gameplay attributes from each other (save for favouring certain items when controlled by the AI). Players can arrange their characters into opposing pairs, or play independently in a battle royale. As with most board games, each participant takes turns in rolling a dice block (1 to 10) to determine the number of spaces moved on the board. There are 60 minigames, one of which follows each round of four turns, which yields a coin prize for the winner. Twenty coins are required to purchase a star, with the victor being the character with the most stars at the end of the game. The length of a game can vary as the predetermined number of minigames is adjustable in multiples of 5 (min.10 max.50). Stars are usually attained by purchase at the specific space on the board where it is set, with the star location changing to another space after every acquisition. Three extra stars can be obtained if "Bonus mode" is switched on, with a star each awarded to the player with the most minigames won, most coins collected, and most happening spaces visited. This mode also contains hidden blocks, which will grant either coins or a star when located and hit.
Mario Party 4 features 6 boards, 5 of which take their name from a secondary Mario character, such as Goomba. The boards are themed to correspond with their titular character, and contain specialised features to reflect this such as the roulette wheel in the casino-based "Goomba's Greedy Gala". The on-board characters follow a set route, although this becomes optional when arriving at a junction. The boards also contain multiple "Events", which are generic stations placed on every board. These include "Lottery Shops", where money is gambled on item prizes, and "Boo Houses", where Boo is paid to steal either coins or a star from an opponent. The majority of spaces on the boards are denoted by either blue or red circles, with blue granting coins and red deducting them. Alternative spaces are also available, such as "happening spaces", which trigger an event exclusive to the current board. "Mushroom Spaces" grant the user either a "Mega" or "Mini" Mushroom—"Mega Mushrooms" extend the movement range while "Mini Mushrooms" curtail it. Additionally, giant characters will bypass "Events" and stars while reduced characters can access special areas on the board via pipes. Multiple other items can be bought from on-board shops, such as "Swap Cards", which exchanges items between 2 players.
The minigames in Mario Party 4 are short, unrelated events with a specified objective that the players must attempt to meet to earn coins as a reward. Minigames are unlocked during the main "Party Mode", although they can be played outside of the game board context in "Minigame Mode". This allows the player to either freely play minigames; select which minigames they want, and control conditions for victory in a match, such as the "3-win-match"; or play 2 vs. 2 minigames to claim a space on a tic-tac-toe board. Minigames are split into 7 categories: "4-player", "1 vs 3", "2 vs 2", "Battle", "Bowser", "Story", etc.. The first 3 occur randomly after each set of turns during a party, while "Battle" can only be triggered by landing on the corresponding space on the board. Unlike regular minigames, the players must contribute their money and then compete to reclaim it or earn more by winning the minigame. There are also rarer groups of minigames, such as the Bowser minigames requiring the loser to forfeit items or coins and the minigames, which can only be accessed by characters reduced by the "Mini Mushroom". A set of minigames that cannot be played during normal conditions are located in the "Extra room", featuring Thwomp and Whomp.
The game features a loose plot in that the player must progress through Story Mode to earn presents from the eponymous characters of the pertaining boards. These are presents that had been brought to the player's birthday party in the game, which must be completed by earning the most stars in a board game and subsequently defeating the present giver in a special one-on-one Story minigame. This is all contained within the "Party Cube", which grants the wishes of its users; the story's climax comes in the form of Bowser, who wishes to disrupt the party with his own board, hosted by Koopa Kid. Also, unlike its predecessor, Princess Daisy and Waluigi are now playable in Story Mode.
## Development
Mario Party 4, like all the games in the Mario Party series through Mario Party 8, was developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo. The game was first announced in a 2002 Nintendo press conference in Tokyo, with the announcements made by Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata. It was targeted as part of the 2002 roster of Nintendo games, which they rated as their "biggest year" for software at the time. Nintendo presented a playable demonstration of the game at E3 2002, featuring a limited set of minigames. The game featured voice acting from Charles Martinet (Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi), Jen Taylor (Peach, Daisy, and Toad), and Kazumi Totaka (Yoshi), all three of whom worked on the previous games in the Mario franchise.
Mario Party 4's character designs marked the finalization of a refresh of the Mario franchise's art direction, which began as early as Luigi's Mansion in 2001 to replace the stocky and cartoonish 3D designs of the Nintendo 64 era. Character design elements such as Wario's clothing, Peach and Daisy's dresses, and Daisy's physical appearance were finalized in Mario Party 4, and have remained largely unchanged since.
## Reception
Mario Party 4 received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.
GameSpot's Ryan Davis praised the game's minigame format, although he noted that "players who have already exhausted themselves on previous Mario Party titles may not find enough here to draw them back again". Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell acknowledged the variety and thematic features of the boards, but thought they were too large, resulting in a "glacial pace" when coupled with the on-board animations. Despite this, IGN praised the boards for the thematic features on each one, which helped to "ease the tediousness". The game's controls were lauded for their compatibility with the minigames and simplicity, with most minigames requiring simple actions and button presses.
The game's multiplayer was praised by reviewers, especially in comparison to the single-player Story Mode. The multiplayer element was noted for appealing to a diverse demographic for its party game qualities and being an "'everybody' title". Conversely, Story Mode was criticised for exacerbating issues relating to pace, which was already remarked as having "snail's pace". Additionally, the game's artificial intelligence was bemoaned for contributing an imbalance in the game, with the random availability of quality items giving players an unfair advantage. The "reversal of fortune" space, which initiates a minigame by which the victor would receive another player's stars or coins, was criticised for similar reasons, as it potentially penalises players who do well in the game. The minigames were mainly met with a positive reaction, with critics praising their simplicity. The grouping feature in the minigames were also welcomed for contributing a new dynamic of gameplay, although Bramwell commented that "it might seem a little odd to gang up with your competitors in some cases".
Most reviewers noted the game's graphical improvement from its predecessors, with the minigames' visual style in particular receiving praise. Although IGN remarked that the game was graphically a "huge improvement since we last saw the franchise", they proceeded to comment that "It's a mixed bag of good and bad". GameSpot complained that the character animations appear "a bit lifeless" and that the boards were not aesthetically pleasing. The game's audio was met with an ambivalent reaction, with critics enjoying the music but complaining about the "annoying" character catchphrases. While not memorable, the music was lauded for fitting the game's whimsical nature.
Gaming websites The Game of Nerds and The Gamer ranked Mario Party 4 the best entry in the series. Lifewire called it the best Mario Party game of the four released on the GameCube. Den of Geek agreed, and also viewed it as the 4th best game in the Mario Party series, citing its minigames as why.
### Sales and accolades
Mario Party 4 won "Family Game of the Year" during the AIAS' 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. It was nominated for GameSpot's annual "Best Party Game on GameCube" award, which went to Super Monkey Ball 2.
The game sold 1,100,000 units from its release to December 27, 2007, in North America, and an additional 902,827 copies in Japan, bringing its overall sales to 2,000,000.
|
[
"## Gameplay",
"## Development",
"## Reception",
"### Sales and accolades"
] | 2,219 | 8,295 |
35,085,761 |
Paradox (horse)
| 1,040,710,743 |
British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
|
[
"1882 racehorse births",
"1890 racehorse deaths",
"2000 Guineas winners",
"Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom",
"Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom",
"Thoroughbred family 1-s"
] |
Paradox (1882–1890) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from October 1884 until October 1885 he ran eight times and won six races. Despite running only twice in 1884, he proved himself to be one of the best two-year-olds of his generation by winning the Dewhurst Plate. In the following year he won five of his six races including the 2,000 Guineas, the Grand Prix de Paris, the Sussex Stakes and the Champion Stakes. His only defeat came when he was narrowly beaten by Melton in The Derby.
The final phase of the colt's racing career was marked by controversy and recrimination following his withdrawal from the Cambridgeshire Handicap in the autumn of 1885 and he was retired from racing in 1886. Paradox had little opportunity to establish himself at stud, dying in 1890 at the age of eight.
## Background
Paradox was a strongly-built bay horse bred by the Graham brothers at the Yardley Stud near Birmingham. He was sired by the 2,000 Guineas runner-up Sterling out of Casuistry, an undistinguished racehorse who had been sold cheaply at the end of her racing career by Lord Rosebery. Casuistry became an important broodmare, being the direct female ancestor of notable thoroughbreds such as Humorist, Royal Palace and Spend a Buck. As a yearling Paradox was bought for 700 guineas by the trainer John Porter on behalf of his associate, Captain Bowling. Porter trained the colt at his stable at Kingsclere.
## Racing career
### 1884: two-year-old season
Until 1946 there was no requirement for British racehorses to be named and, in 1884, the horse who would become known as Paradox raced as "bay colt by Sterling- Casuistry" or, simply, "the Casuistry colt". He was slow to mature but, by late 1884, he had begun to show signs of promise. After watching him run in a trial gallop, the Duke of Westminster paid £6,000 (equivalent to £ today) for the colt. By way of comparison, the 1884 Epsom Derby carried prize money of £4,600. By the time he appeared on a racecourse his performances in training and purchase price meant that he had acquired a considerable reputation and, despite making his debut in the Middle Park Plate, the season's most important races for two-year-olds, he was made joint-favourite at odds of 9/4. The inexperienced Casuistry colt showed "a little temper" at the start and, after racing with the leaders in the early stages, he became unbalanced and lost his position on the downhill section of the course. He finished strongly to dead-heat for third place behind Melton and the French colt Xaintrailes, but the Duke was highly displeased by the performance and offered the colt for sale. He was bought by William Broderick Cloete, a South African-born businessman who had made his fortune in Mexican coal-mining. At the next Newmarket meeting, on his first start for his new owner, the Casuistry colt ran in the Dewhurst Plate and started the 2/1 second favourite behind Xaintrailles. He took an early lead and pulled away in "grand style" to record a three length win from the filly Cora. The Dewhurst was regarded as the year's most important two-year-old race after the Middle Park Plate, and the colt's win established him as one of the best horses of his generation, with bookmakers making him one of the favourites for the following year's Derby. Shortly afterwards it was reported that an offer of £10,000 for the colt had been turned down.
### 1885: three-year-old season
#### Spring
Over the winter the Casuistry colt was given the name "Paradox" (misreported as "Paragon" in some sources) and, by early 1885, was clear favourite for both the 2,000 Guineas and The Derby. When he reappeared in the 2,000 Guineas over one mile at Newmarket on 6 May he was considered virtually unbeatable and, with only six other colts turning out to oppose him, he started at odds of 1/3. Ridden by Fred Archer, Paradox started well and moved into the lead with three furlongs to travel. Most of his opponents were soon struggling, but an unnamed "bay colt by Kisber out of Chopette" (later named Crafton) emerged as a serious challenger. Archer had to use his spurs on Paradox and the favourite drifted across the course under pressure before prevailing by a head after a "brilliant and exciting" race. It was only after some animated discussion that Crafton's connections decided not to lodge an objection against the winner for causing interference in the closing stages.
#### Summer
Despite his win in the Guineas, Paradox was passed over by Archer, who chose to ride Melton in the Derby. At Epsom on 3 June Paradox, ridden by Fred Webb, was made the 4/1 second favourite in a field of twelve runners, with Melton starting the 15/8 favourite. Webb was given the ride despite "scurrilous" rumours concerning his honesty. The race took place in fine weather before a reportedly "enormous" crowd that included the Prince and Princess of Wales. Paradox took the lead two furlongs from the finish and was immediately challenged by Archer on Melton; from that point on the two had the race between them. Melton made gradual but relentless progress to catch Paradox "in the last stride" and win by a head in a "desperate finish", with Archer riding one of his strongest races. After the race Cloete expressed his satisfaction with Webb's performance and rewarded the jockey with a gift of £100. Irish writer Oscar Wilde was reported to have observed "I understand that Milton's Paradise Lost is being revived and will appear in Derby Week and will be published under the title Paradox Lost by Melton."
Paradox was never beaten again. Eleven days after his defeat at Epsom he was sent to Longchamp to contest the Grand Prix de Paris, the most important and valuable race in France. The start of the race was delayed for half an hour as the authorities struggled to clear spectators from the course. Ridden once again by Archer, Paradox was restrained in the early stages before making steady progress and turning into the straight in second place. Paradox overtook the leader Reluisant halfway down the straight and won "[w]ith the greatest ease" at odds of 1/3. His success was greeted enthusiastically by the travelling British supporters but there were hisses and hoots from the French contingent and the raising of the Union Jack after the race led to what was described as an "unfavourable demonstration". Paradox returned to England and ran the one mile Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on 29 July. The winners of major races were assigned additional weight in the race and Paradox carried twelve pounds extra as a result of his success in France. Archer sent him to the front two furlongs from the finish and he won comfortably by three quarters of a length from Royal Hampton.
#### Autumn
Later in the year Paradox was campaigned at Newmarket and entered in three races; his main target was expected to be the Cambridgeshire Handicap at the end of October. He was assigned a weight of 124 pounds and was strongly supported in the betting. Some time before the race, however, Cloete arrived in England from Mexico and had a disagreement with Porter that resulted in the withdrawal of Paradox from the Cambridgeshire, causing a "terrible rumpus" among the betting public. It was rumoured that Cloete was furious that he had not been kept informed of the trainer's plans and had missed the chance to bet on Paradox at long odds. It was also suggested that he was upset by accusations that Paradox had never been an intended runner and had been left in the race in an attempt to manipulate the betting market. An exacerbating factor in the affair was that there had been a delay between Cloete privately announcing that the horse would not run and the official withdrawal, during which period heavy gambling continued, with some individuals apparently profiting from inside knowledge. Cloete removed Paradox, and all of his other horses, from Porter's stable and sent them to be trained by Richard Marsh at Lordship Farm.
At the first October meeting Paradox ran the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs, with Archer riding at his lowest weight of 120 pounds. Running in wet, difficult conditions, Paradox took the lead in the closing stages and won from Duke of Richmond and the filly Aveline. His victory was received in silence by the spectators, although there were none of the open displays of hostility towards Cloete that been feared following the controversy arising from the colt's withdrawal from the Cambridgeshire. At the next Newmarket meeting, when the Cambridgeshire was run, Cloete rerouted his colt to the Free Handicap. Paradox won, despite conceding thirty-four pounds to Aveline, but his "brilliant" success was again met with silence from the crowd and Cloete was greeted "without a word of congratulation or the semblance of a note of enthusiasm". Paradox remained in training as a four-year-old with his entries including the Ascot Gold Cup, but he did not run again and was retired to stud.
## Stud career
Paradox began his stud career, during which he became increasingly bad-tempered and difficult to manage, at a fee of 30 guineas. He showed some promise as a stallion, siring several winners including Red Ensign (Prince of Wales's Stakes), Unicorne (Stewards' Cup) and Alconbury (Hansa Preis), and his stud fee had risen to 100 guineas by 1890 when he died of a twisted intestine at the age of eight. His daughter Thankful Blossom was the ancestor of Bull Lea, an American stallion referred to as "one of the great sires in American Thoroughbred history",.
## Pedigree
- Paradox was inbred 3 × 4 to Birdcatcher, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and the fourth generations of his pedigree. He was also inbred 4 × 4 to Touchstone.
|
[
"## Background",
"## Racing career",
"### 1884: two-year-old season",
"### 1885: three-year-old season",
"#### Spring",
"#### Summer",
"#### Autumn",
"## Stud career",
"## Pedigree"
] | 2,211 | 23,772 |
25,400,521 |
Christmas Scandal
| 1,152,047,518 | null |
[
"2009 American television episodes",
"American Christmas television episodes",
"Parks and Recreation (season 2) episodes",
"Television episodes directed by Randall Einhorn",
"Television episodes written by Michael Schur"
] |
"Christmas Scandal" is the 12th episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the eighteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on December 10, 2009. In the episode, a meeting with a disgraced councilman puts Leslie in the middle of a sex scandal that forces her to hide from the press.
The episode was written by series co-creator Michael Schur and was directed by Randall Einhorn. "Christmas Scandal" marked the last of a string of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K. as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend.
According to Nielsen Media Research, "Christmas Scandal" was seen by 5.62 million households, the highest viewership of the season. The episode received generally positive reviews, although some commentators felt the central story risked becoming too busy and chaotic.
## Plot
The parks department performs in the annual Pawnee City Government Follies that riffs local politics, including one sketch that skewers Councilman Bill Dexhart (Kevin Symons), who was recently discovered to be involved in many bizarre sex scandals. Leslie (Amy Poehler) is later asked to meet Dexhart at a restaurant, where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate about another bizarre sex scandal that has not been made public. After assuring Dexhart that it was merely a coincidence, Leslie discovers that the local tabloid, The Pawnee Sun, has taken pictures of their meeting and is reporting that Leslie is Dexhart's new mistress.
The speculation about Dexhart and Leslie quickly spins out of control, upsetting Leslie because it is distracting her from overseeing the Christmas village that she set up in Lot 48. Ron (Nick Offerman) decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff. Everyone is amazed how much Leslie does by herself each day and the entire group struggles to complete their tasks. Leslie has lunch with Dave (Louis C.K.), who reveals that his unit in the US Army Reserve has been called up to active duty in San Diego for a year to eighteen months, and he invites Leslie to join him since he has fallen in love with her. Leslie confides to Ann (Rashida Jones) that she is considering the move, as the treatment of her in the media has soured her on Pawnee.
The local show "Pawnee Today" digs up an old video of Leslie shaking hands with Dexhart and overanalyzes every aspect of the short clip. Ann brings Dexhart to her home, where Ann and Leslie demand he clear Leslie's name. Dexhart refuses because the fake scandal is so docile compared to his real transgressions that it is actually positive press for him. Soon after, Ann is horrified to discover that a news crew secretly followed Dexhart to her home and took a photograph of the meeting, resulting in speculation that Ann is Leslie's lesbian lover in a three-way relationship with Dexhart. A furious Leslie schedules an appearance on "Pawnee Today" to clear her name once and for all. On the show, host Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins) surprises Leslie by bringing out Dexhart, who tries to prove their affair by claiming that Leslie has a mole on her buttocks. To finally end the scandal, Leslie pulls down her pants on live television and moons Callamezzo. Since there is no mole, Dexhart is forced to admit that he fabricated the sex scandal.
Over dinner, Leslie tells Dave that she will not move to San Diego with him, as her life is in Pawnee. Dave, although sad, understands her choice and the two split up amicably. At Pawnee's tree lighting ceremony, Leslie is congratulated by everyone, including Leslie's mother Marlene, who is proud that her daughter successfully fought off the media. Leslie returns to work the next day much to Ron's immense relief, as he could barely handle just a portion of her daily duties. Everyone is visibly glad that Leslie is back.
In a B plot, April (Aubrey Plaza) asks Andy (Chris Pratt) what to get her gay boyfriend for Christmas. All of Andy's ideas are well-meaning but dumb, although it seems that April is just happy to talk with him. To thank Andy, she gets him a Reggie Wayne jersey for Christmas. Meanwhile, Mark (Paul Schneider) tells Tom (Aziz Ansari) that he intends to get Ann a new computer bag for Christmas, but Tom tells him that he should get diamonds. In the end, he gives her the computer bag after all while Ann gives him Pacers tickets. He then gives her a second gift, telling her she does not have to go to the game, to which Ann happily accepts.
## Production
"Christmas Scandal" was written by series co-founder Michael Schur and directed by Randall Einhorn. The episode featured the last of a string of guest performances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who reprised his recurring role as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend. Louis C.K. left the show to devote more time to his own upcoming series, Louie, which was to air in early 2010. Louis C.K. was widely praised for his brief stint on the show, where he adopts a deadpan, technical tone of voice far different from his usual comedy persona. Matt Fowler of IGN said, "Louis C.K., known for being a raucous, raunchy comic, is almost frightening in his ability to play against his stage persona and give us a wonderfully caring, and deadpan, character".
"Christmas Scandal" also featured Kevin Symons as Pawnee Councilman Bill Dexhart. Dexhart was previously introduced in "Practice Date", where his sex scandals served as a parody of the real-life 2009 scandal of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who publicly admitted to a long-time extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman. Jay Jackson also reprised his prior role as Perd Hapley, a Pawnee television news reporter. "Christmas Scandal" is the first episode to feature the former Pawnee pit location serving a legitimate town purpose. Filling a giant construction pit and turning it into a park had been a central plot-point of Parks and Recreation throughout the first season and the first half of the second season. The pit was filled in the episode "Kaboom", and the space is turned into the town's Winter Wonderland Christmas village in "Christmas Scandal". The Christmas village scenes were filmed in the same location as the past pit scenes in Van Nuys, a district of Los Angeles, California. During one scene, Ron expresses concern about dangerous raccoons at the Christmas village. This is a reference to a running gag, established from the series, that Pawnee has a terrible raccoon infestation problem.
## Cultural references
When April seeks gift ideas for her "gay boyfriend", Andy suggests a DVD of Brokeback Mountain, a 2005 film about a romance between two men in the American West. As a gift, Andy receives a jersey for Reggie Wayne, the wide receiver of the Indianapolis Colts. While discussing gifts, Tom tells Mark all women love diamonds, "even the super left-wing chicks who saw Blood Diamond", a 2006 film about diamonds mined in African war zones.
## Reception
In its original American broadcast on December 10, 2009, "Christmas Scandal" was seen by 5.62 million households, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the highest rating of the season, and a 10 percent increase in viewership from the previous episode, "Tom's Divorce". "Christmas Scandal" drew a 2.3 rating/6 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. Commentators said NBC may have been received a boost in the ratings due to the lack of competition from repeats on ABC on December 10; NBC shows The Office, Community, 30 Rock and The Jay Leno Show also saw rating jumps that night.
The episode received generally positive reviews. The A.V. Club writer Leonard Pierce said the story in "Christmas Scandal" was so busy that it risked running awry, but was kept together by a number of strong comedic moments and subplots. Pierce particularly enjoyed watching the parks department scrambling to do Leslie's work, and the chemistry between both April and Andy, and Leslie and Dave. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger, said he "thoroughly enjoyed" the episode, especially the subplot of the parks department employees realizing how much work Leslie does due to her absence. However, he said way the sex scandal consumed the entire town and local media countered the central conceit of the series, "that Leslie treats her mundane, small-town civil service job as if it were a high-stakes national politics job, while everyone else sees their world for what it is". Matt Fowler of IGN said the episode was "a sweet and clever way to celebrate the holiday season", but that the media frenzy in "Christmas Scandal" was "a little out of place in an episode filled with a ton of subtler, character-building moments". Fowler said the parks department employees splitting up to do Leslie's work was "a great element" that helped develop Leslie's character.
## DVD release
"Christmas Scandal", along with the other 23 second-season episodes of Parks and Recreation, was released on a four-disc DVD set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Cultural references",
"## Reception",
"## DVD release"
] | 1,953 | 12,987 |
23,940,734 |
Rudy Kay
| 1,143,191,229 |
Canadian professional wrestler
|
[
"1942 births",
"2008 deaths",
"Canadian male professional wrestlers",
"Deaths from sepsis",
"Professional wrestlers from New Brunswick"
] |
Jean-Louis Cormier (June 24, 1942 – May 25, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Rudy Kay. Cormier competed primarily in Canada and often formed a tag team with his brothers; together, they are known as the Cormier wrestling family. He also worked behind the scenes, operating both the Eastern Sports Association (ESA) and its television program, International Wrestling. Kay held seven championships while wrestling for the ESA: five tag team titles while wrestling alongside his older brother Yvon; the short-lived Taped Fist Championship; as well as the promotion's most prestigious singles title, the North American Heavyweight Championship.
## Career
Cormier competed in boxing as a teenager. He was then trained for a professional wrestling career by Yvon, who was known professionally as The Beast, and another wrestler named Dutchie the Spinner. During his early career, Cormier used the ring name Rudy LaBelle while touring Australia with The Beast. Back in North America, he was given the ring name Rudy Kay by a promoter who thought that Cormier looked almost identical to a retired wrestler who had used the name.
In 1969, Cormier and Al Zinck formed the Eastern Sports Association (ESA), which promoted a television program named International Wrestling (IW). Several years later, Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, operated by Emile Dupré, took over the time slot from IW. In the ESA, the four Cormier brothers (Yvon; Leonce, who wrestled as Leo Burke; Jean-Louis, who used the ring name Rudy Kay; and Romeo, who was inspired by Jean-Louis to create the moniker Bobby Kay) often aligned with each other in feuds. The opponent would face one brother, and then move on to face the rest in succession. Jean-Louis also wrestled on occasional trips to Australia with his brother The Beast.
Cormier won his first title on July 29, 1969 when he teamed with The Beast to win the ESA International Tag Team Championship. They defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) to win the title but soon dropped it to Jos and Paul LeDuc. They won the title back later that summer in a rematch and held it until the end of the 1969 ESA season. Two years later, they regained the championship with a victory over Eric Pomeroy and Fred Sweetan. Their final reign together began on October 28, 1975 with a win over Bob Brown and The Patriot. Once again, the brothers held the title until the end of the ESA wrestling season.
On November 18 that year, Rudy Kay also won the IW North American Heavyweight Championship by defeating Bob Brown. He was stripped of the title, however, because the ESA operated only during the summer months and the season ended without notice. He was unable to fulfill his obligation to defend it within 30 days. The ESA, which promoted shows until 1976, operated during the summer because the venues were used for ice hockey during the other months. The following year, he won the vacant ESA Taped Fist Championship with a victory over Mad Dog Martel. When the ESA closed in 1977, the title became part of Romeo Cormier (Bobby Kay)'s Trans-Canada Wrestling (TCW). TCW closed later the same year, and the Taped Fist Championship was retired. His final championship win came in September 1976; he teamed with The Beast again and defeated The Mercenaries (Mad Dog Martel and Frenchy Martin) to win the ESA Maritimes Tag Team Championship. Later that month, Martel and Martin regained the title in a rematch. Cormier retired as a professional wrestler in 1982.
## Retirement
After retiring from wrestling, Cormier took a job with Federal Express, which he held for five years. He also underwent knee surgery to fix problems resulting from his wrestling career. Cormier had a wife, Claudette, and four children: daughters Monique and Michelle, and sons Jamie and Jason. On May 25, 2008, Cormier died of sepsis in Moncton, New Brunswick.
## Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley Club
\* Men’s Wrestling Award (2009) as part of The Cormier Family
- Eastern Sports Association
\* ESA International Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with The Beast
\* ESA Maritimes Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Beast
\* ESA Taped Fist Championship (1 time)
\* IW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
|
[
"## Career",
"## Retirement",
"## Championships and accomplishments"
] | 946 | 28,052 |
5,477,445 |
Hodj 'n' Podj
| 1,121,753,325 |
1995 video game
|
[
"1995 video games",
"Classic Mac OS games",
"Digital tabletop games",
"Fantasy video games",
"Minigame compilations",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"Puzzle video games",
"Steve Meretzky games",
"Video games developed in the United States",
"Virgin Interactive games",
"Windows games"
] |
Hodj 'n' Podj is a 1995 computer board game and minigame compilation developed by Boffo Games and published by Media Vision and Virgin Interactive. It was designed by Steve Meretzky, previously known for adventure games such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Hodj 'n' Podj features 19 minigames based on peg solitaire, Pac-Man, Battleship and other games. These may be played separately or within an overarching fairy tale story, which follows the suitors Hodj and Podj in their attempts to rescue two princesses.
Meretzky conceived Hodj 'n' Podj in the late 1980s, as a way to revive simpler games that had become hard to obtain. It began production in 1994, and was the first product developed by Meretzky's company Boffo Games. Production was troubled, thanks to a \$100 million securities fraud scandal at Media Vision, which led to the project's sale to Virgin. During development, Boffo discovered that Hodj 'n' Podj appealed to a wider demographic than Meretzky's past work, and Meretzky has since cited it as an early casual game.
Selling 40,000 to 50,000 units, Hodj 'n' Podj was commercially unsuccessful. Reviewers found the game simplistic but enjoyable, although Computer Gaming World criticized its reuse of minigames from titles like the Dr. Brain series. Retrospectively, Meretzky has called Hodj 'n' Podj a career turning point that led him toward casual game development, and an inspiration for his subsequent work with WorldWinner and Playdom. In 2009, he reported that Hodj 'n' Podj continued to receive as many fan letters as all of his other games combined.
## Gameplay and plot
Hodj 'n' Podj is a computer board game and minigame compilation for one to two players. It is set in a fairy tale world, in the kingdom of Po-Poree, whose twin princesses Mish and Mosh have been kidnapped by the villainous Salmagundi. The player controls the suitor Hodj, and races the competing suitor Podj—controlled by the computer or a second player—to rescue the princesses first. Each turn, a spinner randomly determines the distances Hodj and Podj may travel across the game board.
The board features 19 important locations, each of which contains a minigame that the player completes to earn items or information necessary to rescue the princesses. These include Battlefish, inspired by Battleship; Pack Rat, inspired by Pac-Man; Garfunkel, inspired by Simon; and a peg solitaire game called Peggleboz. All 19 minigames may also be played in "stand-alone mode", without the board game elements. Once one player locates the princesses, they must take them to the center of the board to win. During the journey, the opposing player or computer may intervene and steal the princesses by succeeding in a competitive minigame.
## Development and release
After spending several years as a contractor for Legend Entertainment, designer Steve Meretzky started the company Boffo Games with two of his friends in 1994. Discussions about this venture had begun in 1993, but the final decision was made after Media Vision, an American electronics manufacturer, offered the group a lucrative multi-game contract in January 1994. As a result, the developer was founded in February. Hodj 'n' Podj became Boffo's first project under Media Vision, which acted as its publisher. It was the highest-budget production of Meretzky's career at that time (later surpassed by The Space Bar), and was the first project on which he acted only as a designer, rather than as a designer and programmer. According to Boffo co-founder Mike Dornbrook, the Hodj 'n' Podj concept was chosen in order to meet a difficult deadline proposed by Media Vision, which wanted Boffo's first title finished by August 1994. The simplicity of Hodj 'n' Podj made it viable in this timeframe, in part because its segmented structure allowed numerous programmers to develop different sections of the game simultaneously. Its completion date was ultimately set for September 30.
Following the closure of his employer Infocom, Meretzky had conceived Hodj 'n' Podj in summer 1989, five or more years before the project began. His initial goal was to revive "all those fun, simple games which had pretty much disappeared" at the time. To increase its value, he believed it needed a structure that tied together its minigames; and this inspired its storyline and board game motif. Its story was written in the style of Fractured Fairy Tales, from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Meretzky later noted that other companies beat him to reviving these games in the years between Hodj 'n' Podj's conception and release, and saw success without using any overarching structures. However, he still felt "very happy creatively" with the final design of his project.
As production of Hodj 'n' Podj progressed, the team "began to suspect that it was going to appeal to a very different gaming audience", according to Meretzky. They discovered that an unexpected number of female players, families and non-gamers reacted with praise toward the game, compared to Meretzky's past projects. In a post-release letter to Computer Gaming World, Meretzky wrote, "[F]or the first time, I have designed a game which my 4-year-old daughter and my 70-year-old mother both enjoy." He has retrospectively called Hodj 'n' Podj an example of a casual game.
On May 10, after three months of development, reports broke that Media Vision was being scrutinized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It became public that the company had engaged in a \$100 million securities fraud, which Meretzky later called "kind of a mini-Enron". Media Vision filed for bankruptcy in July, but Boffo was able to proceed with Hodj 'n' Podj during the publisher's dissolution because much of its funding had come as a down payment. Ultimately, the bankruptcy estate opted to give Boffo enough money to complete the game and then liquidate the final product, as this would be more profitable than canceling it mid-development. It was finished around the second week of October 1994, below its expected budget. Following bids from companies such as BMG Interactive and Ocean Software, Hodj 'n' Podj was purchased at auction by Virgin Interactive, alongside the titles The Daedalus Encounter and Rivers of Dawn. The United States bankruptcy court overseeing Media Vision's case delayed the final sale of Hodj 'n' Podj to December. Virgin obtained the game on the 9th, a point deemed too late in the holiday shopping season to justify a launch. In addition, none of the game's packaging had been created. As a result, the game missed 1994.
Hodj 'n' Podj ultimately debuted in March 1995. Dornbrook explained that Virgin had pushed its release back from January to avoid a conflict with the launch of its game The 11th Hour, which was ultimately delayed. Boffo's title was released with what Meretzky considered "a half-hearted marketing effort" by Virgin. Dornbrook remarked that it "was really launched with no marketing support", as a result of corporate restructuring at the publisher; and that the game's "PR was actually done completely by us." Like other games of the time, Hodj 'n' Podj was sold through traditional retail channels, which Meretzky later believed to be a mistake. He argued in 2009, "The [retail] channel evolved and eventually perfected the art of selling hardcore games to a hardcore audience, but it was horribly inadequate for selling any other type of game or reaching any other demographic."
## Reception
Hodj 'n' Podj sold between 40,000 and 50,000 copies, which Meretzky later called "a disappointing number even in the much smaller games market of the time." Despite its low sales, it went on to surpass all of his other games in its number of fan letters. By 2009, he still received as many fan letters about Hodj 'n' Podj as the rest of his games put together. He said in 2005 that Hodj 'n' Podj was his only game that he could play for enjoyment, and that he continued to "play [it] with my kids every now and then."
Ann M. Marcus of Electronic Entertainment summarized Hodj 'n' Podj as "charming", and considered it an "exquisitely illustrated, hilariously funny medieval romp". Despite some "minor quibbles," she considered the game "a true delight." The reviewer for Next Generation wrote that it "won't appeal to those hungry for action", but that it was ideal "for laid back fun on a rainy afternoon." In Entertainment Weekly, Bob Strauss summarized, "This impeccable British production is one of those rare CD-ROMs that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults—and its simple menu-driven interface guarantees that you'll keep it on your hard drive long after your other software has vanished."
William R. Trotter of PC Gamer US wrote, "Don't expect too much from this game. It breaks no new ground, pushes no 'envelopes,' and veteran gamers will no doubt be bored by parts of it." However, he argued that players who "accept Hodj 'n' Podj in the spirit in which it is offered" will derive "considerable delight in playing it — especially if you have kids." Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai found the game's use of traditional games "downright baffling", given their presence in past compilations, as well as in Sam & Max: Hit the Road and the Dr. Brain series. Although he enjoyed the game's graphics and humor, he summarized, "You've seen all the puzzles before, often done better than they're done here. How jazzed can you get about Life or Solitaire, anyway?"
### Legacy
A sequel to Hodj 'n' Podj was commissioned by Virgin Interactive before the first game's release, and development began in late 1994, funded by Boffo Games' earlier payment from Media Vision. The project was canceled after Virgin's restructuring in early 1995. According to Mike Dornbrook, an offer for the sequel was made later in 1995 by Sanctuary Woods.
In August 2000, Steve Meretzky joined WorldWinner as a game designer. Among the draws of the job, in his view, was that it allowed him to create games "very reminiscent of the kind of games in Hodj 'n' Podj". He has cited the game as a career turning point, which led him away from adventure games and toward the casual game market. While working at Playdom on the role-playing game Sorority Life, he took direct inspiration from Hodj 'n' Podj's implementation of minigames into an overarching structure. Sorority Life was a success, which Meretzky saw as proof that Hodj 'n' Podj's commercial failure was caused by marketing and distribution factors rather than design flaws.
|
[
"## Gameplay and plot",
"## Development and release",
"## Reception",
"### Legacy"
] | 2,354 | 4,368 |
19,953,930 |
Tang Da Wu
| 1,150,247,174 |
Singaporean artist (born 1943)
|
[
"1946 births",
"Alumni of Birmingham City University",
"Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London",
"Living people",
"Singaporean artists",
"Singaporean installation artists",
"Singaporean painters",
"Singaporean people of Chinese descent",
"Singaporean performance artists",
"Singaporean sculptors"
] |
Tang Da Wu (Chinese: 唐大雾; pinyin: Táng Dàwù, ; born 1943) is a Singaporean artist who works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art and performance art. Educated at Birmingham Polytechnic and Goldsmiths' College, University of London, Tang gave his first solo exhibition, consisting of drawings and paintings, in 1970 at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He began engaging in performance art upon returning to Singapore in 1979 following his undergraduate studies.
In 1988, Tang founded The Artists Village. The first art colony to be established in Singapore, it aimed to encourage artists to create experimental art. Members of the Village were among the first contemporary artists in Singapore, and also among the first to begin practising installation art and performance art. There, Tang mentored younger artists and informed them about artistic developments in other parts of the world. He also organized exhibitions and symposia at the Village, and arranged for it to collaborate with the National Museum Art Gallery and the National Arts Council's 1992 Singapore Festival of the Arts.
In January 1994, the National Arts Council (NAC) stopped funding unscripted performance art following a controversial performance by Josef Ng that was regarded as obscene by many members of the public. From that time, Tang and other performance artists mostly practised their art abroad, although some performances were presented in Singapore as dance or theatre. For his originality and influence in performance art in Southeast Asia, among other things, Tang won the Arts and Culture Prize in 1999 at the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes. The NAC eventually reversed its no-funding rule on performance art in September 2003. Tang was one of four artists who represented Singapore at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Tang's work is part of the collection of the Singapore Art Museum, Queensland Art Gallery and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Tang has expressed concern about environmental and social issues through his art, such as the works They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink (1989) and Tiger's Whip (1991). He believes in the potential of the individual and collective to effect social changes, and his art deals with national and cultural identities. Tang has participated in numerous community and public art projects, workshops and performances.
## Education and personal life
Tang Da Wu was born Thang Kian Hiong in Singapore in 1943, the eldest of four sons. His second brother Thang Kiang How is himself a visual artist based in Singapore. His father was a journalist with the Chinese daily newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh He studied at a Chinese-medium school, but disliked English and mathematics and was often scolded by his teachers. He preferred playing after school with neighbourhood children and learned to speak Malay and Chinese from them. He also enjoyed drawing, and gained confidence when his secondary school paintings were accepted in art competitions.
In 1968, Tang was awarded a diploma in youth and community works from the National Youth Leadership Institute. Two years later, in 1970, his first solo exhibition of drawings and paintings sponsored by the Singapore Art Society was staged at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Subsequently, he went to the United Kingdom to study, majoring in sculpture. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), with first class honours, from the School of Fine Art, Birmingham Polytechnic, in 1974. While abroad he changed his name to Da Wu, which is Mandarin for "big mist". Tang later returned to the UK and attended advanced courses at the Saint Martins School of Art. He received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in 1985 from Goldsmiths' College, University of London, and a doctorate in 1988.
Tang is married to an Englishwoman, Hazel McIntosh. They have a son, Ben Zai, known professionally as Zai Tang, who is a sound artist living in the UK.
## Career
### Early career and founding of The Artists Village
Returning to Singapore in 1979 after completing his undergraduate studies, Tang engaged in performance art, works of art that are composed of actions performed by the artist at a certain place and time. The following year, he staged a work of installation art called Earthworks at the National Museum Art Gallery. This comprised two works, The Product of the Sun and Me and The Product of the Rain and Me, which were made up of dishes of earth, lumps of soil, and pieces of soiled and water-stained linen which he had hung in gullies at Ang Mo Kio, a construction site in the process of being turned into a public housing estate. Installation art uses sculptural materials, and sometimes other media such as sound, video and performance, to modify the way a particular space is experienced.
In 1988, Tang founded The Artists Village, originally located at 61B Lorong Gambas in rural Ulu Sembawang, in the north part of Singapore. The first art colony to be established in Singapore, its goal was to inspire artists to create experimental art. Tang described the Artists Village as:
> ... [an] alternative venue dedicated to the promotion and encouragement of experimental and alternative arts in Singapore. It endeavors to establish an open space for artists to mature at their own pace, and to provide a conducive environment which allows them to experiment, experience and exchange ideas.
T.K. Sabapathy noted: "The Village was a beacon, and Da Wu both a catalyst and mentor." Among the artists who moved to the Village were Ahmad Mashadi, Faizal Fadil, Amanda Heng, Ho Soon Yeen, Lim Poh Teck, Tang Mun Kit, Wong Shih Yaw, Juliana Yasin and Zai Kuning. They were among the first contemporary artists in Singapore, and also among the first to begin practising installation art and performance art. Tang mentored younger artists and exposed them to artistic developments in other parts of the world. He also organized exhibitions and symposia at the Village, and arranged for collaborations with the National Museum Art Gallery and the National Arts Council's 1992 Singapore Festival of the Arts. Although The Artists Village lost its original site in 1990 due to land development, it was registered as a non-profit society in February 1992 and now stages events in various public spaces.
### Difficulties with performance art
In January 1994, artist Josef Ng cut off his pubic hair with his back to the audience during a performance protesting the media's coverage of gay issues. The event was reported by The New Paper, and the resulting public outcry over its perceived obscenity led the National Arts Council (NAC) to cease funding unscripted performance art. After that, Tang and other performance artists practised their art mostly abroad, although some performances were presented in Singapore as dance or theatre. Interviewed in August 2001, T. Sasitharan, co-director of the Practice Performing Arts School, said that a review of the NAC's policy was "long overdue" and noted that although Tang had received the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 1999, "the art form he practises is de facto banned in Singapore". The NAC eventually reversed its no-funding rule on performance art in September 2003.
In August 1995, the President of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong visited Singapore Art '95, an exhibition and sale of artworks by Singapore artists. Tang wore a black jacket emblazoned on the back with "Don't give money to the arts" in yellow and handed a note to the President that read, "I am an artist. I am important." Although Tang was prevented from speaking to the President by an aide-de-camp, he later told the media he wished to tell the President that artists are important and that public money funded the "wrong kind of art", art that was too commercial and had no taste.
### Recent activities
Tang was the subject of one episode of artist Ho Tzu Nyen's documentary television series 4x4 Episodes of Singapore Art, which was broadcast on Arts Central (present-day Okto channel) in October 2005. He was also one of the four artists representing Singapore at the 2007 Venice Biennale. He presented an installation, Untitled, consisting of two beds positioned upright, the trunks of plantain trees, a portable ancestral altar, a handmade album of drawings and photographs, and other found objects. Drawings of people and faces were strapped to the beds and wrapped around the tree trunks. The installation was accompanied by a recording by Tang's son, Zai Tang, of sounds captured in Venice during a single day. The work was described by the National Arts Council as suggestive of "the restlessness, rootlessness, spiritual wandering and emotional estrangement that mark the travelling life". In 2007, a work by Tang consisting of ink paintings around a well, and representing the erosion of village communities by urban development, was acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery for its Gallery of Modern Art. From January to June 2016, Tang presented Earth Work 1979 at the National Gallery Singapore, a re-staging of his 1979 exhibition, the first recorded instance of Singapore land art. The exhibition includes "Gully Curtains", where Tang placed large pieces of fabric between gullies and let the rain and sun mark the fabric. His work Tiger's Whip (1991) is also displayed at the National Gallery's DBS Singapore Gallery. In 2017, Tang started the performance-art group Station House Da Opera, comprising more than 60 art educators, students, and fellow local artists.
Known for his reticence, Tang remains an enigmatic person. In an August 2008 interview with the Straits Times, fellow artist Vincent Leow said of Tang: "He's a very hands-on person, very improvisational and has good ideas. But he doesn't really talk much. You can't really tell who he is."
## Art
Tang has expressed concern about environmental and social issues through his art, such as the works They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink (1989), Under the Table All Going One Direction (1992) and Tiger's Whip, also known as I Want My Penis Back (1991). He first presented the latter work, an installation and performance piece, in 1991 in Singapore's Chinatown. It consisted of ten life-sized tigers made from wire mesh covered with white linen. Tang, wearing a sleeveless white garment, would perform amidst them as poacher, tiger, and man consuming the tiger's penis.
A modified version of the work was further developed as an installation during the two-week A Sculpture Seminar organised by Tang in 1991 to discuss ideas about sculpture, with many artists from The Artists Village participating. Tang brought one of the tigers from his earlier performances of Tiger's Whip as a teaching tool, and participants contributed their thoughts on its form and structure. This process led to the creation of the final form of the installation, collaboratively developed and exhibited during A Sculpture Seminar, as a single tiger pouncing on a rocking chair, with a trail of red fabric akin to a stream of blood. In February 1995, the Museum chose Tiger's Whip to represent Singapore at the Africus International Biennale in Johannesburg, South Africa. Another of Tang's works in the Singapore Art Museum is an untitled sculpture often called Axe (1991), which is an axe with a plant growing out of its wooden handle. It is regarded as an early example of found object art in Singapore.
A focus of Tang's art is the theme of national and cultural identities, I Was Born Japanese (1995) being an example. Tang notes that he has had four nationalities. He was issued with a Japanese birth certificate as he was born during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. He became a British national after World War II, a Malaysian citizen when Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, and a Singaporean citizen when Singapore gained full independence in 1965. While living in the UK he was conscious of his Chinese identity, but later on he took the view that he might not be fully Chinese since China had been occupied by the Mongols and Manchurians: "I'm not sure if I'm 100% Chinese blood. I'm sure my ancestor has got mixture of Mongolian and even Thai and Miao people [sic]. We are all mixed, and this is true. But I always like to think that there is only one race in the world. We are all one human race." Another of Tang's performances, Jantung Pisang – Heart of a Tree, Heart of a People, centres around the banana tree. He was inspired by the fact that the banana is used widely in Southeast Asia as an offering to bring blessings, but is also feared as it is associated with ghosts and spirits. He also sees banana trees as a reminder of the lack of democracy in certain parts of the world: "Democracy in many Asian countries and Third World countries is as shallow as the roots of a banana tree. We need to deepen [democracy]."
Tang has participated in numerous community and public art projects, workshops and performances, as he believes in the potential of the individual and collective to effect social changes. He has said: "An artist should introduce to others what he sees and learns of something. His works should provoke thoughts, not to please the eyes or to entertain, much less for decoration."
## Awards
Tang received a Singapore International Foundation art grant to participate in the International Art Symposium in Meiho, Japan, in October 1994. In March the following year, he received a trophy and S\$20,000 from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation. For his originality and influence in performance art in Southeast Asia, among other contributions, Tang won the Arts and Culture Prize in 1999 at the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes which were established by Fukuoka and Yokatopia Foundation to honour outstanding work of individuals or organizations to preserve and create the unique and diverse culture of Asia.
## Major exhibitions and performances
Some of the information in the table above was obtained from .
|
[
"## Education and personal life",
"## Career",
"### Early career and founding of The Artists Village",
"### Difficulties with performance art",
"### Recent activities",
"## Art",
"## Awards",
"## Major exhibitions and performances"
] | 2,957 | 20,625 |
29,410,030 |
Hurricane Shary
| 1,171,667,859 |
Category 1 Atlantic hurricane in 2010
|
[
"2010 Atlantic hurricane season",
"2010 in Bermuda",
"Category 1 Atlantic hurricanes",
"Hurricanes in Bermuda",
"Tropical cyclones in 2010"
] |
Hurricane Shary was a short-lived tropical cyclone that stayed over the open waters of the North Atlantic in late October 2010. The eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurricane of the unusually active 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, Shary originated from a weak area of convection over the Central Atlantic and became a tropical storm on October 28. Initially not expected to exceed wind speeds of 50 mph (85 km/h), Shary defied predictions and became a minimal hurricane on October 30, passing well east of Bermuda. Unfavorable conditions subsequently impacted the storm, and Shary quickly began to lose tropical characteristics. Later that day, Shary degenerated into a post-tropical cyclone, and the final advisory by the National Hurricane Center was issued.
The storm brushed Bermuda with light rain, and wind gusts reached no more than 35 mph (55 km/h) as it made its closest point of approach to the territory.
## Meteorological history
In late October 2010, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to monitor a weak area of disorganized weather along the southern periphery of a frontal system, associated with a broad surface trough east-northeast of Puerto Rico. Supported by an upper-level low retrograding to its southwest, the system generated clusters of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, otherwise known as convection. The activity gradually enhanced as environmental conditions within its encounter became more favorable over time. Around 1200 UTC October 28, satellite imagery showed what appeared to be the formation of a surface low within the trough. Shower and thunderstorm activity accordingly intensified, and the NHC assessed a high chance for tropical or subtropical development. At the time, the center of circulation remained poor; however, it became better defined later that day, with a stable amount of corresponding convection. Although the upper low had remained adjacent, it was located well to the southwest of the system's small wind radius, an atypical structure for a subtropical cyclone. The system was therefore operationally designated as Tropical Storm Shary at 0000 UTC October 29, though post-season analysis revealed a tropical depression had formed by 1800 UTC October 28, about 520 mi (830 km) south-southeast of Bermuda. At the time of classification, the agency noted that Shary would be a relatively short-lived tropical cyclone due to a merge with a cold front forecast to occur within the following 48 hours.
Steered northwestward between the upper low and a mid-level ridge to its northeast, Shary's cloud pattern became less distorted as it continued to separate itself from the upper low. Although the center remained partially exposed, convection steadily deepened within the western semicircle over the course of the next morning. However, as the upper low dropped to the south, northerly shear increased over the system, shifting the inner-core convection south of the center. Following a significant decrease in Shary's forward speed, dry air began to wrap into the eastern and northeastern quadrants of the storm, resulting in some convective erosion. As the upper low retained little to no further influence, the storm re-curved to the north, expected to restrengthen only slightly in response to marginally improving conditions aloft. However, several forecast models showed Shary becoming a hurricane within 36 hours, which at the time the NHC regarded as "highly unlikely given the very strong shear and cool sea surface temperatures forecast". Nevertheless, data from a Hurricane Hunters flight revealed a drop in minimum central pressure and an increase in maximum wind speeds; convection re-fired later that day, quickly expanding over the eastern side of the cyclone. During the overnight hours, thunderstorm activity further amplified and deepened symmetrically near the center, supported by the development of a small eye feature as noted on microwave images. Although Dvorak classifications were far from supporting such an intensity, the system was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) on October 30 — an occurrence which specialists described as a case of a small hurricane that would not have been observed before the availability of microwave satellite imagery. Upon reaching this intensity, Shary was entrenched in a deep, southwesterly mid-latitude flow, resulting in an accelerated motion toward the northeast.
Located just east of a strong cold front, the minimal hurricane continued to speed over progressively cooler waters. Shary gradually began to lose its convective symmetry, though the small eye remained distinguishable in microwave images. Within hours, rapid interaction with the front had begun to occur, suggesting the storm was entering an extratropical transition. Data from cyclone phase space diagrams indicated Shary had become post-tropical about 530 miles (885 km) south-southeast of Cape Race, and the NHC discontinued advisories. Later on that day, the extratropical remnants of Hurricane Shary were completely absorbed by the same neighboring system.
## Preparations and impact
Immediately following the first advisory on Shary on October 28, the Government of Bermuda issued a tropical storm warning for the entire island. JetBlue canceled flights from the United States to Bermuda in response to the storm. The Causeway, a low-lying bridge that connects St. David's Island to the mainland, was scheduled to shut down at 7:00 p.m. local time on October 29; several football cancellations were made as a result. Ferry service between Hamilton Parish and St. George's Island was temporarily suspended. Local officials urged residents to secure their boats as a safety precaution. The tropical storm warning was canceled during the evening of October 29, as Shary no longer posed a threat to Bermuda.
Since Shary turned away from Bermuda before directly striking the island, its effects were limited. Only 0.54 in (14 mm) of rain fell during the storm's passage, and winds gusted to 35 mph (55 km/h).
## See also
- List of Category 1 Atlantic hurricanes
- List of Bermuda hurricanes
- Hurricane Fay (2014)
- Hurricane Nicole (2016)
|
[
"## Meteorological history",
"## Preparations and impact",
"## See also"
] | 1,240 | 22,941 |
21,220,861 |
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
| 1,130,035,701 |
British invasion of Martinique during the Napoleonic Wars
|
[
"19th century in Martinique",
"Battles involving France",
"Battles involving the United Kingdom",
"Battles of the Napoleonic Wars",
"Conflicts in 1809",
"February 1809 events",
"Invasions by the United Kingdom",
"Invasions of Martinique",
"January 1809 events"
] |
The invasion of Martinique was a successful British amphibious operation against the French colony of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the West Indies campaign of 1804–1810 of the Napoleonic Wars. Martinique, like the nearby island of Guadeloupe, was a major threat to Britain's trade in the West Indies, providing a sheltered base from which privateers and French Navy warships could raid British merchant shipping and disrupt the trade routes that maintained the economy of the United Kingdom. Both islands also provided a focus for larger-scale French operations in the region and in the autumn of 1808, following the Spanish alliance with Britain, the Admiralty decided to order a British squadron to neutralise the threat, beginning with Martinique.
The British mustered a large expeditionary force under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Lieutenant-General George Beckwith, commanding 29 ships and 10,000 men – almost four times the number of French regular troops garrisoning Martinique. Landing in force on both the southern and northern coasts of the island, British troops pushed inland, defeating French regulars in the central highlands and routing colonial militia units in the south of the island. By 9 February, the entire island was in British hands except Fort Desaix, a powerful fortification intended to protect the island capital of Fort-de-France, which had been bypassed during the British advance. In a siege lasting 15 days, the Fort was constantly bombarded, with the French garrison suffering 200 casualties before finally surrendering.
The capture of the island was a significant blow to France's power in the region, eliminating an important naval base from their control and denying safe harbours to French shipping in the West Indies. The consequences of losing Martinique were so severe that the French Navy dispatched a naval squadron to reinforce the garrison during the invasion. Arriving much too late to affect the outcome, these reinforcements were intercepted off the islands and scattered during the action of 14–17 April 1809; half the force failed to return to France. With Martinique occupied, British attention in the region turned to Guadeloupe, which was captured the following year.
## Background
During the Napoleonic Wars, the British Royal Navy was charged with limiting the passage and operations of the French Navy, French merchant ships and French privateers. To achieve this objective, the Royal Navy imposed a system of blockades on French ports, especially the major naval bases at Toulon and Brest. This stranglehold on French movement off their own coastline seriously affected the French colonies, including those in the West Indies, as their produce could not reach France and supplies and reinforcements could not reach them without the risk of British interception and seizure. These islands provided excellent bases for French ships to raid the British trade routes through the Caribbean Sea: in previous conflicts, the British had countered the threat posed by French West Indian colonies by seizing them through force, such as Martinique, which had been previously captured by armed invasion in 1762 and 1794. An attempt in 1780 was defeated by a French battle squadron at the Battle of Martinique. By 1808 there were no French squadrons at sea: any that left port were eliminated or driven back in a series of battles, culminating at the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The fleet that was destroyed at Trafalgar had visited Martinique the year before and was the last full-scale French fleet to visit the Caribbean for the rest of the war.
With the bulk of the French Navy confined to port, the British were able to strike directly at French colonies, although their reach was limited by the significant resources required in blockading the French coast and so the size and quality of operations varied widely. In 1804, Haiti fell to a nationalist uprising supported by the Royal Navy, and in 1806 British forces secured most of the northern coast of South America from its Dutch owners. In 1807 the Danish West Indies were invaded and in 1808 Spain changed sides and allied with Britain, while Cayenne fell to an improvised force under Captain James Lucas Yeo in January 1809. The damage done to the Martinique economy during this period was severe, as British frigates raided coastal towns and shipping, and merchant vessels were prevented from trading Martinique's produce with France or allied islands. Disaffection grew on the island, especially among the recently emancipated black majority, and during the summer of 1808 the island's governor, Vice-amiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, sent urgent messages back to France requesting supplies and reinforcements. Some of these messages were intercepted by British ships and the low morale on Martinique was brought to the attention of the Admiralty, who ordered their commander on the West Indian Station, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, to raise an expeditionary force from the ships and garrisons available to him and invade the island.
During the winter of 1808–1809, Cochrane gathered his forces off Carlisle Bay, Barbados, accumulating 29 ships and 10,000 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-General George Beckwith. Landings were planned on the island's southern and northern coasts, with the forces ordered to converge on the capital Fort-de-France. The soldiers would be supported and supplied by the Royal Navy force, which would shadow their advance offshore. Beckwith's army was more than twice the size of the French garrison, half of which was composed of an untrained and irregular black militia which could not be relied on in combat. News of the poor state of Martinique's defences also reached France during the autumn of 1808. Attempts were made to despatch reinforcements and urgently needed food supplies, but on 30 October 1808 Circe captured the 16-gun French Curieux class brig Palinure. The British then captured the frigate Thétis in the Bay of Biscay at the action of 10 November 1808. Another relief attempt was destroyed in December off the Leeward Islands and HMS Aimable captured the corvette Iris, carrying flour to Martinique, off the Dutch coast on 2 January 1809. Only the frigate Amphitrite, whose stores and reinforcements were insignificant compared to the forces under Cochrane and Beckwith, managed to reach Martinique.
## Invasion
Cochrane's fleet sailed from Carlisle Bay on 28 January, arriving off Martinique early on 30 January. The force was then divided, one squadron anchoring off Sainte-Luce on the southern coast and another off Le Robert on the northern. The invasion began the same morning, 3,000 soldiers going ashore at Sainte-Luce under the command of Major-General Frederick Maitland, supervised by Captain William Charles Fahie, while 6,500 landed at Le Robert under Major-General Sir George Prevost, supervised by Captain Philip Beaver. Beckwith remained on Cochrane's flagship HMS Neptune, to direct the campaign from offshore. A third force, under a Major Henderson and consisting entirely of 600 soldiers from the Royal York Rangers, landed at Cape Salomon near Les Anses-d'Arlet on the southwestern peninsula to secure the entrance to Fort-de-France Bay.
During the first day of the invasion, the two main forces made rapid progress inland, the militia troops sent against them retreating and deserting without offering resistance. Serious opposition to the British advance did not begin until 1 February, when French defenders on the heights of Desfourneaux and Surirey were attacked by Prevost's troops, under the direct command of Brigadier-General Daniel Hoghton. Fighting was fierce throughout the next two days, as the outnumbered French used the fortified high ground to hold back a series of frontal assaults. The British lost 84 killed and 334 wounded to French losses of over 700 casualties, and by 3 February the French had been forced back, withdrawing to Fort Desaix near the capital. Progress was also made at Cape Salomon, where the appearance of British troops panicked the French defenders into burning the naval brig Carnation and retreating to the small island, Ilot aux Ramiers, offshore. Henderson's men, assisted by a naval brigade under Captain George Cockburn, set up batteries on the coast and by 4 February had bombarded the island into surrender, opening the principal harbour of Martinique to naval attack.
A small naval squadron, consisting of HMS Aeolus, HMS Cleopatra and the brig HMS Recruit, advanced into Fort-de-France Bay on 5 February. This advance spread panic among the French militia defending the bay and Amphitrite and the other shipping anchored there were set on fire and destroyed, while the forts in the southern part of the island were abandoned. On 8 February, Maitland's force, which had not yet fired a shot, arrived on the western side of Fort Desaix and laid siege to it. Minor detachments spread across the remainder of the island: Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Barnes captured Saint-Pierre and another force occupied Fort-de-France and seized the corvette Diligente in the harbour. By 10 February, when Prevost's force linked up with Maitland's, Fort Desaix was the only remaining point of resistance.
For nine days, the British soldiers and sailors of the expeditionary force constructed gun batteries and trenches around the fort, bringing ashore large quantities of supplies and equipment in readiness for a lengthy siege. At 16:30 on 19 February the preparations were complete and the bombardment began, 14 heavy cannon and 28 mortars beginning a continuous attack on the fort which lasted for the next four days. French casualties in the overcrowded fort were severe, with 200 men killed or wounded. British casualties were minimal, with five killed and 11 wounded, principally in an explosion in an ammunition tent manned by sailors from HMS Amaranthe. At 12:00 on 23 February, Villaret de Joyeuse's trumpeter was sent to the British camp with a message proposing surrender terms. These were unacceptable to Beckwith and the bombardment resumed at 22:00, continuing until 09:00 the following morning when three white flags were raised over the fort and the French admiral surrendered unconditionally. The bombardment had cracked the roof of the fort's magazine, and there were fears that further shelling might have ignited the gunpowder and destroyed the building completely.
## Aftermath
With the surrender of Fort Desaix, British forces solidified their occupation of the island of Martinique. The remaining shipping and military supplies were seized and the regular soldiers of the garrison taken as prisoners of war. The militia were disbanded and Martinique became a British colony, remaining under British command until the restoration of the French monarchy in 1814, when it was returned to French control. British losses in the campaign were heavy, with 97 killed, 365 wounded and 18 missing. French total losses are uncertain but the garrison suffered at least 900 casualties, principally in the fighting in the central highlands on 1 and 2 February and during the siege of Fort Desaix. Upon his return to France, Villaret's conduct was condemned by an inquiry council; he requested in vain a Court-martial to clear his name, and lived in disgrace for two years.
In Britain, both Houses of Parliament voted their thanks to Cochrane and Beckwith, who immediately began planning the invasion of Guadeloupe, executed in January 1810. Financial and professional rewards were provided for the junior officers and enlisted men and in 1816 the battle honour Martinique was awarded to the ships and regiments involved, with the date 1809 added in 1909 to distinguish the campaign from the earlier operations of 1762 and 1794. Four decades later the operation was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal and the Military General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. In France, the defeat was the subject of a court martial in December 1809, at which Villaret de Joyeuse and a number of his subordinates were stripped of their commissions, honours, and ranks for inadequately preparing for invasion, in particular for failing properly to strengthen and disperse the magazine at Fort Desaix.
There was a subsequent French effort to reach Martinique, launched in February 1809 before news of the British invasion had reached Europe. Three ships of the line and two disarmed frigates were sent with soldiers and supplies towards the island, but learned of Villaret de Joyeuse's surrender in late March and instead took shelter in the Îles des Saintes, blockaded by Cochrane's squadron. On 14 April, Cochrane seized the Saintes and the French fled, the three ships of the line drawing away Cochrane's forces so that the frigates could slip away and reach Guadeloupe. During the ensuing Action of 14–17 April 1809, the French flagship D'Hautpoul was chased down and captured, but two ships of the line escaped and the frigates reached Guadeloupe, although neither would ever return to France.
## British order of battle
|
[
"## Background",
"## Invasion",
"## Aftermath",
"## British order of battle"
] | 2,750 | 3,299 |
15,465,618 |
Pilot (Breaking Bad)
| 1,171,264,943 |
Series premiere of American drama Breaking Bad
|
[
"2008 American television episodes",
"American television series premieres",
"Breaking Bad (season 1) episodes",
"Television episodes directed by Vince Gilligan",
"Television episodes written by Vince Gilligan"
] |
"Pilot" (titled "Breaking Bad" on DVD and Blu-ray releases) is the series premiere of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad. The episode was directed and written by series creator and showrunner Vince Gilligan. It first aired on AMC on January 20, 2008.
In the episode, chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Keeping it a secret from his pregnant wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) and their teenage son Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), he decides that he wants to spend his last years saving money for his family. After going on a drug bust with his brother-in-law and DEA agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), Walt spots his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and later blackmails him into helping him cook methamphetamine in an RV.
The pilot received various nominations at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, with Cranston winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Gilligan earning a nomination for Outstanding Directing.
## Plot
Walter "Walt" White is a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, living with his pregnant wife, Skyler, and their teenage son Walter Jr., who has cerebral palsy. Walt is heavily dissatisfied with his life, feeling overqualified and underpaid as a high school teacher, struggling to make ends meet, resenting his humiliating part-time job at a car wash and failing to satisfy his wife.
During Walt's 50th birthday party, his brother-in-law Hank Schrader, a DEA agent, proudly shows the guests a news report detailing his latest drug bust, in which \$700,000 of illegal drug money was confiscated. Walt appears curious and Hank offers to take him on a ride-along to a bust. Meanwhile, Skyler talks to her sister Marie Schrader, Hank's wife, about her pregnancy.
The next day, Walt collapses at the car wash and is taken to the hospital, where he is told that he has developed inoperable lung cancer and has, at best, two years to live. He opts to keep the news from his family. Returning to work, Walt lashes out at his boss Bogdan Wolynetz and storms out. He sits alone at home and ponders the news of his impending death.
Walt takes the offer to go on the ride-along with Hank and his partner Steven Gomez as they raid a meth lab. As DEA agents clear out the house, Walt observes Jesse Pinkman, a former student of his, sneaking out and fleeing. Later that night, Walt tracks down and blackmails Jesse into helping him produce crystal meth. After Walt steals chemistry supplies from the high school, he asks Jesse to purchase an RV to use as their meth lab.
The pair drive the RV into the desert and begin to cook. Due to Walt's expertise in chemistry, Jesse claims their crystal meth is the purest he has ever seen. Jesse drives back to show the product to his distributor, Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina, but encounters Krazy-8's cousin, Emilio Koyama, who believes Jesse set him up during the drug bust. To prove his loyalty, Jesse rides with them to the RV, where they meet Walt. Emilio recognizes Walt from the bust, leading him and Krazy-8 to hold the two at gunpoint and causing Jesse to accidentally knock himself out. To save his life, Walt offers to show them how he makes meth. During the cook, Emilio flicks away a cigarette that causes a brush fire. Walt synthesizes phosphine gas with red phosphorus, killing Emilio and Krazy-8.
Hearing sirens, Walt attempts to flee but drives the RV into a ditch. He stumbles out and records a video message to his family (which is shown at the beginning of the episode) before unsuccessfully trying to shoot himself. He then realizes that the sirens are not the police but are from fire trucks responding to the fire. Walt and Jesse drive back, leaving the RV with Emilio and Krazy-8's bodies at Jesse's home. Walt returns home, meeting his wife's troubled queries with new sexual vigor, making her ask "Walt, is that you?".
## Production
Breaking Bad was created by television writer Vince Gilligan, with the crux of the series being the protagonist's journey into an antagonist. Noting how television shows usually kept their main character in the same state to prolong the series, Gilligan said he wanted to make a show serving as a "fundamental drive" towards change. He added that his goal with Walter White was to turn him "from Mr. Chips into Scarface." The concept of Walt as a meth dealer came to fruition when Gilligan was talking with fellow writer Thomas Schnauz, and they joked regarding their unemployment that the solution was to drive around cooking meth in an RV.
Gilligan cast Bryan Cranston for the role of Walter White based on having worked with him in "Drive", an episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files, where Gilligan worked as a writer. Cranston played an anti-Semite with a terminal illness who took Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) hostage. Gilligan said the character had to be simultaneously loathsome and sympathetic, and that only Cranston could play the part. AMC officials were wary of casting Cranston, due to him being mostly known for his comedic role as Hal on the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, and offered the role to John Cusack and Matthew Broderick, who both turned it down. After seeing Cranston in the X-Files episode, the executives were convinced to cast him. For his role, Cranston met frequently with a chemistry teacher to learn about the subject, gained fifteen pounds to reflect the character's personal decline, and had his hair dyed brown to mask his natural red highlights.
Various actors auditioned for the role of Jesse Pinkman, including Reid Scott, Colin Hanks, and Penn Badgley. However, the audition of Aaron Paul for the character, which he himself said was "awful", caught the attention of Gilligan and casting director Dawn Steinberg. When Sony Pictures Television refused to hire Paul on the basis that he didn't look like a meth dealer, Gilligan told them that he wouldn't make the show if Paul wasn't picked for the role. For the role of Hank Schrader, Gilligan spoke with an actual DEA agent to learn more information on the character. Dean Norris, who had a history of being typecast as law enforcement and military-type characters, stated that, "I guess you have a certain look, it's kind of an authoritative law enforcement-type look, and that look is certainly the first thing that people cast you with before you get a chance to do some acting."
The script was originally set in Riverside, California, but at the suggestion of Sony, which was producing the pilot, Albuquerque was chosen for production due to the favorable financial conditions offered by the state of New Mexico. Filming for the episode began on March 6, 2007, concluding after several weeks on March 21.
## Reception
### Critical response
Barry Garron from The Hollywood Reporter praised the premiere for its suspense, and Jonathan Storm from The Philadelphia Inquirer found it unpredictable. Meanwhile, Robert Bianco of USA Today focused on Bryan Cranston's performance, which he said was "riveting and remarkable", and The A.V. Club journalist Donna Bowman wrote a positive review, giving the episode a grade rating of an "A−", and citing Cranston's "mesmerizing", "nihilistic", and "hulking yet impotent" performance along with lauding Vince Gilligan's screenplay. Furthermore, the Chicago Tribune television critic Maureen Ryan complimented Cranston's role, and noted the premiere as a "slam dunk" compared to the two following episodes. After the series concluded, The Ringer ranked "Pilot" 6th out of all 62 Breaking Bad episodes, where Alison Harman noted that "the addictive hook of the pilot helped power viewers through the couple of seasons it took for Breaking Bad to hit its stride".
### Ratings and accolades
In 2013, Gilligan recalled the viewership for the episode being below a million viewers due to a football game that aired at the same time. However, The Hollywood Reporter revealed later in the same year that the pilot had been watched by 1.41 million people instead.
Vulture.com ranked the episode 10th-best overall in the series.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Reception",
"### Critical response",
"### Ratings and accolades"
] | 1,764 | 23,184 |
472,555 |
Barrow-wight
| 1,171,212,950 |
Undead monster in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
|
[
"Fictional undead",
"Middle-earth monsters",
"Middle-earth races"
] |
Barrow-wights are wraith-like creatures in J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth. In The Lord of the Rings, the four hobbits are trapped by a barrow-wight, and are lucky to escape with their lives; but they gain ancient swords of Westernesse for their quest.
Tolkien derived the idea of barrow-wights from Norse mythology, where heroes of several Sagas battle undead beings known as draugrs. Scholars have noted a resemblance, too, between the breaking of the barrow-wight's spell and the final battle in Beowulf, where the dragon's barrow is entered and the treasure released from its spell. Barrow-wights do not appear in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, but they do feature in computer games based on Tolkien's Middle-earth.
## Origins
A barrow is a burial mound, such as was used in Neolithic times. A wight, from Old English: wiht, is a person or other sentient being.
There are tales of wights, called vǣttr or draugr, undead grave-spirits with bodies, in Norse mythology. In Norway, country people in places such as Eidanger considered that the dead went on living in their tombs as vetter or protective spirits, and up to modern times continued to offer sacrifices on the grave-mounds.
Tolkien stated in his "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" that "barrow-wight" was an "invented name", rather than one like "orc" that existed in Old English. He explained further in a lecture on Beowulf that orcneas ("hell-corpses"), the evil monsters born of Cain and leading to the monster Grendel, meant:
> that terrible northern imagination to which I have ventured to give the name 'barrow-wights'. The 'undead'. Those dreadful creatures that inhabit tombs and mounds. They are not living: they have left humanity, but they are 'undead'. With superhuman strength and malice they can strangle men and rend them. Glámr in the story of Grettir the strong is a well-known example.
However, the term was used by Andrew Lang in his 1891 Essays in Little, where he wrote "In the graves where treasures were hoarded the Barrowwights dwelt, ghosts that were sentinels over the gold." Eiríkr Magnússon and William Morris used it, too, in their 1869 translation of Grettis saga, which features a fight with the "barrow-wight" or "barrow-dweller", Kárr:
> Everything in their way was kicked out of place, the barrow-wight setting on with hideous eagerness; Grettir gave back before him for a long time, till at last it came to this, that he saw it would not do to hoard his strength any more; now neither spared the other, and they were brought to where the horse-bones were, and thereabout they wrestled long. And now one, now the other, fell on his knee; but the end of the strife was, that the barrow-dweller fell over on his back with huge din.
The Grettis Saga further links the defeat of the barrow-wight to the recovery of an ancient treasure, which comes to the sight of the heir of the house to which it had once belonged:
> Grettir ... cast down on the table all the treasure he had taken in the barrow; but one matter there was thereof, on which he must needs keep his eyes; this was a short sword, so good a weapon, that a better, he said, he had never seen; and this he gave up the last of all. Thorfinn was blithe to see that sword, for it was an heirloom of his house, and had never yet gone out of his kin.
>
> "Whence came these treasures to thine hand?" said Thorfinn.
The Grettis Saga calls the undead monsters Glámr and Kárr haugbúar ("mound-dwellers", singular haugbúi; a similar term is draugr). It influenced Tolkien's barrow-wights, whether directly from the Old Norse or by way of Magnússon and Morris's translation.
Barrow-wights have appeared in Scandinavian literature in the modern era, for instance in the Swedish poet Carl Michael Bellman's 1791 song no. 32 Träd fram du Nattens Gud ("Step forth, thou god of night"), whose second stanza runs (translated):
> > Your quilt covers everything... Look at Flora's gardens! Here the most beautiful heights flee, there dark Barrow-wights (griftevårdar)
> >
> > ` stand on black hills; `
> >
> > and under owls' crying moles, snakes, and martens
> >
> > ` leave their chambers.`
Both the barrow-wight and the character Tom Bombadil first appeared in Tolkien's writings in his poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, published in the Oxford Magazine of 15 February 1934.
## Lord of the Rings narrative
Evil spirits were sent to the Barrow-downs by the Witch-king of Angmar to prevent the restoration of the destroyed Dúnedain kingdom of Cardolan, one of three remnants of the Dunedain Kingdom of Arnor. They animated the dead bones of the Dúnedain, as well as older bones of Edain from the First Age, which still were buried there.
After leaving Tom Bombadil, Frodo Baggins and company are trapped in the Barrow-downs, and nearly killed by a barrow-wight:
> Suddenly he saw, towering ominous before him and leaning slightly towards one another like the pillars of a headless door, two huge standing stones... He had passed between them almost before he was aware: and even as he did so darkness seemed to fall round him.
Frodo manages to resist the wight's spell; looking about, he sees the other hobbits dressed in grave-goods, in thin white clothes with gold circlets and chains, swords and shields around them, and a sword lying across their necks. He seizes a small sword and cuts off the wight's hand. When the wight extinguishes the dim light in the cavern, Frodo calls for Tom Bombadil, who expels the wight from the barrow, rescues the hobbits, and recovers the wight's treasure-hoard, which included ancient Númenórean swords. Frodo sees the separated hand continuing to wriggle by itself.
The cairn was that of the last prince of Cardolan; Merry's exclamation on waking from his trance confirms this, as he names Carn Dûm, capital of the Witch-Kingdom of Angmar, continually at war with the Númenórean realms (and as Bombadil later explains):
> Of course, I remember! The men of Carn Dûm came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! The spear in my heart!
Bombadil arms the hobbits from the barrow-wight's hoard with what become known as barrow-blades:
> For each of the hobbits he chose a dagger, long, leaf-shaped, and keen, of marvellous workmanship, damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold. They gleamed as he drew them from their black sheaths, wrought of some strange metal, light and strong, and set with many fiery stones. Whether by some virtue in these sheaths or because of the spell that lay on the mound, the blades seemed untouched by time, unrusted, sharp, glittering in the sun.
When, much later, Pippin offers his service to the Steward of Gondor, Denethor, the old man examines his sword and asks "Whence came this? ... Many, many years lie on it. Surely this is a blade wrought by our own kindred in the North in the deep past?"
## Significance
The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey comments that it is a "great moment" when Merry awakens in the barrow from the wight's spell and "remembers only a death not his own". He observes that Merry has taken on the warrior's personality, not that of the wight, since Tom recalls the dead with affection. That leaves, Shippey writes, the question of who or what the wight was as a mystery. The deathly-white robes, the writhing hand, the hobbits arrayed for death, give the thrill of fantasy, but this is given solidity by being tied into a wider history which is at least hinted at.
The literature scholar Patrick Callahan notes that the whole Bombadil episode seems disconnected from the rest of the story, but that the barrow-wight story resembles the final fight in Beowulf, when the king, now old, goes out to do battle with the barrow-dragon. He dies, but the funeral-barrow's treasure is recovered and the curse on it is broken, just as with the barrow-wight's. Callahan observes, too, that the barrow-wight belongs to "the class of revenants, or 'walking dead'", as in the Grettis saga which Tolkien knew.
## In contemporary media
Peter Jackson omitted barrow-wights from his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The humanities scholar Brian Rosebury argues that the removal is acceptable to reduce running time, because the episode does not fundamentally change the story. On the other hand, the Tolkien scholar John D. Rateliff notes that, since the Hobbits failed to acquire ancient blades from the barrow-wight's hoard, they awkwardly receive their swords from their travel-companion Aragorn on Weathertop as the party is threatened with imminent attack; he coincidentally happens to be carrying four Hobbit-sized swords with him, despite only expecting to meet Frodo and Sam.
Despite their omission from the film trilogy, Barrow-wights appear in games such as The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. A barrow-wight features in the low-budget 1991 Russian adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, Khraniteli.
|
[
"## Origins",
"## Lord of the Rings narrative",
"## Significance",
"## In contemporary media"
] | 2,145 | 25,415 |
12,599,348 |
Longtail butterfly ray
| 1,129,920,096 |
Species of cartilaginous fish
|
[
"Fish described in 1804",
"Gymnura",
"Taxonomy articles created by Polbot"
] |
The longtail butterfly ray (Gymnura poecilura) is a species of butterfly ray, family Gymnuridae, native to the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea to southern Japan and western Indonesia. Growing up to 92 cm (36 in) across, this ray has a lozenge-shaped pectoral fin disc about twice as wide as long, colored brown to gray above with many small, light spots. The spiracles behind its eyes have smooth rims. This species can be identified by its tail, which is about as long as the snout-to-vent distance, lacks fins, and bears nine to twelve each of alternating black and white bands.
Bottom-dwelling in nature, the longtail butterfly ray frequents sandy or muddy habitats in coastal waters shallower than 30 m (98 ft). Its diet consists of bony fishes, molluscs, and crustaceans. This species gives birth to live young; the developing embryos are nourished first by yolk and later by histotroph ("uterine milk") supplied by its mother. There is no defined breeding season, and females bear litters of up to seven pups. Used for its meat, the longtail butterfly ray is often caught by artisanal and commercial fisheries.
## Taxonomy and phylogeny
The longtail butterfly ray was originally described as Raja poecilura by English zoologist George Shaw, in his 1804 General Zoology or Systematic Natural History. He did not designate a type specimen as his account was based on an illustration by Scottish naturalist Patrick Russell, published a year earlier in Descriptions and Figures of Two Hundred Fishes Collected at Vizagapatam on the Coast of Coromandel. The specific epithet poecilura is derived from the Greek poikilos ("of many colors") and oura ("tail"). Later authors moved this species to the genus Gymnura.
Further research is needed to determine whether the isolated longtail butterfly rays in French Polynesia are in fact the same species as those from the rest of its range. Phylogenetic studies based on morphology and mitochondrial DNA indicate that the longtail butterfly ray is closely related to the zonetail butterfly ray (G. zonura), which shares much of its range in the Indo-Pacific. Another name for the longtail butterfly ray is variegated butterfly ray.
## Description
The pectoral fin disc of the longtail butterfly ray has the lozenge shape characteristic of its family, measuring around twice as wide as long. The leading margin of the disc is gently sinuous, the trailing margin is convex, and the outer corners are mildly angular. The snout is short and broad, with a tiny protruding tip. The medium-sized eyes have larger, smooth-rimmed spiracles behind. The nostrils are positioned close to the mouth; between them is a short and broad curtain of skin with a smooth margin. The large mouth forms a transverse curve and contains over 50 tooth rows in each jaw, increasing in number with age; the teeth are small, narrow, and pointed. There are five pairs of short gill slits on the underside of the disc. The pelvic fins are small and rounded.
The thread-like tail lacks dorsal or caudal fins, though there are low ridges along its length above and below. Its length is about equal to the distance between the snout tip and the vent, distinguishing this species from other butterfly rays that have shorter tails. Sometimes there is a small stinging spine (very rarely two) on the upper surface of the tail near the base. The skin is devoid of dermal denticles. This species is brown to greenish brown to gray above, with many small pale spots and sometimes also a smattering of dark dots. The tail has nine to twelve black bands alternating with white bands, which often have a small, dorsally positioned dark spot within. The underside is white, darkening at the edges of the fins. The longtail butterfly ray attains a maximum width of 92 cm (36 in).
## Distribution and habitat
The most widespread member of its family in the Indo-Pacific, the longtail butterfly ray is found from the Red Sea and Somalia, westward across India and Sri Lanka, to China and southern Japan, the Philippines, and the western islands of Indonesia (including Borneo, Sumatra, and Java). It has also been reported from French Polynesia (see taxonomic note above). It is fairly common in some areas. This bottom-dwelling species inhabits coastal waters at depths of 10–30 m (33–98 ft), preferring sandy or muddy bottoms. It does not appear to migrate seasonally.
## Biology and ecology
The longtail butterfly ray feeds on bony fishes, in particular ponyfishes of the genus Leiognathus, as well as molluscs and crustaceans. It is not known to shoal in large numbers. Known parasites of this ray include the nematode Hysterothylacium poecilurai and the tapeworm Acanthobothrium micracantha. Like other butterfly rays, this species is viviparous with the young sustained initially by yolk, and later by histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. Adult females have two functional ovaries and uteruses. Reproductive activity proceeds throughout the year, with a peak from April to October. The gestation period is unknown, though it is possible that females bear more than one litter per year. The litter size is at least seven pups and is not correlated with female size. The newborns measure 20–26 cm (7.9–10.2 in) across and look like stingless miniatures of the adult; siblings may differ from each other in color. Males and females mature sexually at roughly 45 and 41 cm (18 and 16 in) across respectively.
## Human interactions
The longtail butterfly ray is widely caught for meat and as bycatch in artisanal and commercial fisheries, including in India, Thailand, and Indonesia. It is taken using bottom trawls, bottom-set gillnets, and to a lesser degree trammel nets and other fishing gear. Though specific population and catch data are lacking, the longtail butterfly ray is thought to be susceptible to overfishing due to its low reproductive rate and the fact that pregnant females often abort their young when captured. Given the high intensity of fishing pressure across most of its range, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Vulnerable.
|
[
"## Taxonomy and phylogeny",
"## Description",
"## Distribution and habitat",
"## Biology and ecology",
"## Human interactions"
] | 1,356 | 4,156 |
4,857,394 |
Paul London and Brian Kendrick
| 1,153,497,460 |
Professional wrestling tag team
|
[
"Independent promotions teams and stables",
"WWE World Tag Team Champions",
"WWE teams and stables"
] |
Paul London and Brian Kendrick were an American professional wrestling tag team for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). They are former WWE Tag Team Champions and World Tag Team Champions. Their 2006-2007 reign as WWE Tag Team Champions was the longest in the title's history until their record was broken by The New Day on July 20, 2016.
They first began teaming together in 2003 as a part of WWE, but Kendrick left the company shortly thereafter. When he returned in mid-2005, he and London reunited as a tag team. In May 2006 the duo won the WWE Tag Team Championship from MNM; it was Kendrick's first title victory with the company, and London's third. Their reign was the longest since WWE created the title in 2002, and they became the fourth longest-reigning tag team champions in the company's history, finally dropping the titles to Deuce 'n Domino in April 2007.
Later in 2007, London and Kendrick were drafted from SmackDown to the Raw brand, where they briefly held the World Tag Team Championship. They would continue to work together until Kendrick was drafted back to SmackDown in the 2008 supplemental draft, thus disbanding the team until 2010, when they reunited in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla following their releases from WWE. They have since competed together on the independent circuit on several occasions, notably winning the ICW Tag Team Championship as The Hooligans.
## History
### Name
The team never had an official team name, but were just referred to as "the tag team of London and Kendrick." In 2006 London and Kendrick put the tag team name "The Hooliganz" on their wrestling attires and tried to convince the WWE management to start calling the team by that name, but were unsuccessful in their attempts. They would eventually use a slightly modified version of that name, The Hooligans, on the independent circuit.
### Beginnings
Prior to teaming together on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s SmackDown! brand, both Paul London and Brian "Spanky" Kendrick along with Daniel Bryan were students at Shawn Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy, under the tutelage of Rudy Boy Gonzalez. From there they both went on to Ring of Honor, where they occasionally competed against each other and as a team.
### World Wrestling Entertainment
#### Formation (2003–2004)
In late 2002, Kendrick was hired by WWE, and in July 2003 London joined the company as well. Once in WWE together, and both on the SmackDown! brand, London and Kendrick began teaming together. They became a mainstay on SmackDown (WWE brand)'s sister show Velocity until Kendrick left the company in February 2004.
#### WWE Tag Team Champions (2005-2007)
Kendrick returned in mid-2005, using his real name, and in September 2005 London and Kendrick reformed as a tag team. Upon reuniting the team began competing in matching shorts and vests as well as wearing theatrical masks to the ring. Subsequently, they were quickly elevated into the WWE Tag Team Championship picture, receiving a non-title match against WWE Tag Team Champions MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) on the February 10, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, which London and Kendrick lost. On the April 7, 2006 episode of SmackDown! London and Kendrick once again faced MNM, this time picking up a win in a non-title match. London and Kendrick continued their winning streak against the champions, earning singles victories for Kendrick and London over Nitro and Mercury respectively, leading to a title match at Judgment Day, where London and Kendrick won their first WWE Tag Team Championship as a team (London's second WWE Tag Team Title reign and Kendrick's first championship in WWE).
Their first main competition for the titles came when K. C. James and Idol Stevens defeated London and Kendrick in a non-title match, in early August, igniting a storyline feud between the two teams. During the rivalry, WWE Diva Ashley Massaro began accompanying London and Kendrick to the ring, acting as a valet to the team while combating the actions of James and Stevens' manager Michelle McCool.
On October 14, 2006 they became the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions of all time, surpassing MNM's previous record reign of 145 days. The record stood until it was broken by The New Day in July 2016. The team began a losing streak to the team of William Regal and Dave Taylor, with Regal defeating both London and Kendrick in singles matches and losing a non-title tag team match to the pair on the December 8 episode of SmackDown!.
A scheduled title match between the two teams at Armageddon was changed at the event to a four-way ladder match, also involving The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) and MNM. In the match London and Kendrick were able to retrieve the belts to retain their championship. When a regular tag team rematch was signed with Regal and Taylor two weeks later, London and Kendrick were successful in defeating them. On the February 16 episode of SmackDown!, General manager Theodore Long scheduled another ladder match between the teams of London and Kendrick, Regal and Taylor, MNM, and The Hardys for the WWE Tag Team Championship at February's pay-per-view event No Way Out, but WWE's official website announced the match had changed to pit The Hardys and Chris Benoit against MNM and MVP, while London and Kendrick faced rookie team Deuce 'n Domino (Deuce and Domino) in a separate match; they were booked to successfully retain the titles against Deuce 'n Domino. Their almost year-long reign came to an end when they were defeated by Deuce 'n Domino for the title on the April 20, 2007 episode of SmackDown! in Milan, Italy. London picked up an injury, resulting in Kendrick challenging Deuce 'n Domino in singles matches, losing to Deuce, but defeating Domino. London returned on the May 11 episode of SmackDown!, defeating Domino in a singles match. London and Kendrick then unsuccessfully attempted to regain the Tag Team Championship, losing to Deuce 'n Domino in a triple threat match also involving Regal and Taylor, and in a standard tag team match two weeks later.
#### World Tag Team Championship pursuit (2007-2008)
London and Kendrick were drafted to Raw as the first picks in the WWE Supplemental Draft on June 17, 2007 and were successful on their Raw debut, defeating The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) via a Sliced Bread \#2 performed on Haas. On the September 3 episode of Raw, London and Kendrick defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team once again to earn a World Tag Team Championship match at Unforgiven against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, in which they lost. Two days later, they defeated Cade and Murdoch for the title at a house show in South Africa. Three days later, at another house show, Cade and Murdoch regained the title in a rematch.
Near the end of 2007, London suffered a foot injury and was unable to compete, and Kendrick was mainly used as a singles wrestler on Raw where he lost to the likes of Umaga and Mr. Kennedy. London made his return on February 4 in a loss to Santino Marella and Carlito. London and Kendrick returned as a tag team on the March 17 episode of Raw in a loss to Umaga when Kendrick walked out on London. The two reunited on Raw on March 31 with commentator Jim Ross explaining the two worked out their differences, and they got a win against the then-World Tag Team Champions, Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly. On April 14, they lost a number one contendership match to the team of Carlito and Marella. They competed sporadically on Raw in the following months, defeating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, before receiving a World Tag Team title shot against Holly and Rhodes on the May 26 episode of Raw. They lost when Holly pinned London following an Alabama slam.
#### Split and aftermath (2008)
The team came to an end in June 2008, when Kendrick was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2008 Supplemental Draft, while London stayed on Raw. He made his return to the brand on the July 18, 2008 airing of SmackDown as a heel, with new ring attire defeating Jimmy Wang Yang with the help of his new bodyguard, Ezekiel Jackson. Kendrick was later given the name "The Brian Kendrick".
London was utilized sparingly during the next few months, making his only television appearance in a loss to Lance Cade on the July 21 episode of Raw. London was subsequently released from his WWE contract on November 7, 2008. On July 31, 2009, Kendrick was also released.
### Independent circuit (2010–2014)
Going into 2010, the team made occasional reunions on the independent circuit. On January 30 the team completed at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's part of the aptly titled WrestleReunion 4 show. They defeated the PWG World Tag Team Champions Generation Me (Jeremy and Max) in a non-title match in their first match back together.
On March 27, London and Kendrick made an appearance in Dragon Gate USA, where Kendrick had already appeared in singles competition. However, their run as a tag team in the company was short-lived due to losing a Pinfall Loser Leaves Company match to Jimmy Jacobs and Jack Evans and as a result Kendrick, who tapped out to Jacobs, was forced to leave the company for good. They reunited once again on October 4, 2012, at the first Family Wrestling Entertainment's PPV, Back 2 Brooklyn. They, along with Jay Lethal, defeated the team of The Young Bucks and Petey Williams. London and Kendrick defeated The Young Bucks when they wrestled again on October 6, 2012, at the House of Hardcore's first show. On June 23, 2013, London and Kendrick were defeated by The Young Buck at House of Hardcore 2. London and Kendrick were defeated at PWG's Ten by Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano.
In 2014, London and Kendrick traveled to Scotland to compete for Insane Championship Wrestling. On October 15, the pair won the ICW Tag Team Championship by defeating The New Age Kliq (BT Gunn and Chris Renfrew) at Helter Skelter. On November 2, 2014, they lost the title to Polo Promotions (Mark Coffey and Jackie Polo) In Glasgow, Scotland. In 2014, Kendrick returned to WWE, thus separating with London.
## Championships and accomplishments
- Insane Championship Wrestling
- ICW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Tag Team of the Year (2007)
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time)
|
[
"## History",
"### Name",
"### Beginnings",
"### World Wrestling Entertainment",
"#### Formation (2003–2004)",
"#### WWE Tag Team Champions (2005-2007)",
"#### World Tag Team Championship pursuit (2007-2008)",
"#### Split and aftermath (2008)",
"### Independent circuit (2010–2014)",
"## Championships and accomplishments"
] | 2,294 | 16,649 |
13,033,940 |
Call the Shots
| 1,162,444,973 |
2007 single by Girls Aloud
|
[
"2000s ballads",
"2007 singles",
"2007 songs",
"Fascination Records singles",
"Girls Aloud songs",
"Song recordings produced by Xenomania",
"Songs about heartache",
"Songs written by Brian Higgins (producer)",
"Songs written by Lisa Cowling",
"Songs written by Miranda Cooper",
"Songs written by Tim Powell (producer)"
] |
"Call the Shots" is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud from their fourth studio album, Tangled Up (2007). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, with inspiration from an article about the advance of women in business, and Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Lisa Cowling, and Giselle Somerville also received songwriting credits. Polydor Records originally intended to release it the lead single for The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits (2006); however, "Something Kinda Ooooh" was selected instead. In September 2007, "Call the Shots" leaked online, and on 26 November of the same year, it was released as the second single from Tangled Up through Fascination Records, a week after the album's release.
The song was produced by Xenomania. In 2008, the song won the award for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize, an annual prize awarded by a panel of judges organised by music website Popjustice to the singer(s) of the best British pop single of the past year. "Call the Shots" proved to be commercially successful upon its release, charting at number three on the UK Singles Chart, continuing the band's string of hits by becoming their sixteenth consecutive single to chart within the top ten, and being later certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. The song also peaked at number nine on the Irish Singles Chart.
The accompanying music video was directed by Sean de Sparengo, and features the girls in purple dresses performing on Malibu Beach at night with flames and white fabric surrounding them. Each member of the band is also shown other locations, following several story lines. "Call the Shots" was promoted through numerous live appearances, including a high-profile performance on The X Factor, and has since been performed on three of Girls Aloud's subsequent concert tours. Several artists and bands including Coldplay and Mark Morriss have covered the song.
## Background
The first part of "Call the Shots" to be composed was the instrumentation, which was done by Xenomania in 2005. The lyrics of the song were written in 2006, when songwriter Miranda Cooper was "inspired by an article she read on something called (coincidentally) the Miranda Complex, named after the ambitious lawyer in Sex and the City, about how women are earning more than men and pushing ahead." Polydor Records originally intended to release it as a single for The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits (2006) the same year, but was deemed "too downbeat, when a greatest hits single needs to be a celebration." Nicola Roberts, Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding and Kimberley Walsh recorded vocals for the song in London, England, while Nadine Coyle recorded her vocals in Los Angeles. Cole deemed the song her favourite from Tangled Up, adding that it gave her "goosebumps".
## Release
An early version of "Call the Shots" leaked online in September 2007. On 16 November 2007, Tangled Up was released, with "Call the Shots" being released for digital download on 26 November 2007, through Polydor Records, while it was also made available on two different CD single formats the same day. The first disc includes a live cover version of Amy Winehouse's 2007 single "Rehab", as performed on the BBC Radio 1 programme Jo Whiley's Live Lounge. The second CD format features an original composition titled "Blow Your Cover", co-written by Girls Aloud with Xenomania. The Tony Lamenza remix of "Call the Shots" was intended for inclusion on the CD single at first; however, the Xenomania club mix was selected instead. The Tony Lamenza remix was included on the Singles Box Set, released in 2009.
## Composition
The sheet music to "Call the Shots" is written in the key of D major, setting a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. Unlike previous singles released by the band, the song follows the verse–chorus form. The lyrics are concerned with the ending of a relationship, and opens with a repetitive melody followed by Coyle singing, "Static tone on the phone, I'll be breaking again / Must be something better babe". As the chorus begins, the five members of the group trade lines and sing, "Just 'cause you're raising the bet and call the shots now on me / It really doesn't faze me how you spend your time", with Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stating that "only anterograde amnesia could wipe [this part] from your brain". During the middle-eight, Roberts sings lyrics that were the inspiration for Girls Aloud's autobiography Dreams that Glitter – Our Story, released in 2008: "I've seen life burn bright, seen it shimmer / Then fade like starlight to a glimmer, oh no / I've seen life flow by like a river / So full of twilight, dreams that glitter". Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy said that the instrumentation of "Call the Shots" was based on 1990s dance productions, and added that it incorporated "oohs" and "ah ah ahs" that "reverberate around an infectious chorus," while John Lucas of Allmusic wrote that the song showcased a more mature side from Girls Aloud.
## Reception
### Critical response
Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy rated the song four out of five stars, writing that it is "more tasteful" than few of Girls Aloud's previous releases. Daily Star journalist Kim Dawson said "Call the Shots" is one of the band's best singles, while another reviewer for the same newspaper deemed the song "classy electronic Euro-pop with real edge." Jennie McNulty of Marie Claire said that the song "has a wonderfully ambient feel, echoing an arty electro band", while Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that Tangled Up "begins disappointingly" with "Call the Shots" as the opening track because the song's structure is "a bit commonplace" compared to Girls Aloud's previous singles such as "Biology" (2005). On the countdown of the top singles of 2007, Digital Spy placed "Call the Shots" at number 17, commenting that the band had not lost "their knack for making supremely catchy pop hits." In 2008, the song won the Popjustice £20 Music Prize – Girls Aloud's fourth win. Popjustice writer Peter Robinson deemed it as the "greatest pop song of the 21st century."
### Chart performance
Following the availability of "Call the Shots" due to the release of Tangled Up, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number nine. The following week, "Call the Shots" rose six places to peak at number three. It managed to stay at number three the following week, but slipped to number five in its fourth week. Through the Christmas week chart, the single managed to stay in the top ten, returning to its debut position of number nine. "Call the Shots" was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. On the chart issue of 22 November 2007, the song debuted at number 44 in Ireland, reaching a new peak at number 9 the following week. It attained the same peak on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. Following Sarah Harding's death in September 2021, the song had a resurgence in popularity with streams and sales increasing by 333%.
## Music video
The accompanying music video for "Call the Shots" was directed by Sean de Sparengo and filmed in October 2007. The video features the girls in purple dresses performing on Malibu Beach at night with flames and white fabric surrounding them. The girls are also shown in different locations with individual story lines. Cole is seen looking out of a sunny window after an argument with her boyfriend. Walsh is sat in front of a mirror, putting on make-up; her boyfriend comes to get her and they hug, though she appears to be sad. Coyle is seated on a couch, flipping through photographs featuring her and a man. She takes a lighter to the photos and sets them alight. Roberts is lying down by a swimming pool, running her fingers through the water. A young man walks up to her with a bouquet of flowers and tosses them into the water. Harding watches her boyfriend (Adam Karst) in the shower and goes through his phone. The video premiered on 17 October 2007.
## Live performances and covers
Girls Aloud first performed "Call the Shots" at a charity ball in aid of children's charity UNICEF on 10 November 2007. The band also performed the song on The X Factor on 17 November 2007, on The Paul O'Grady Show on 21 November 2007, on This Morning on 27 November 2007, and on Top of the Pops on 25 December 2007. "Call the Shots" was performed on 2008's Tangled Up Tour, and, later that year, at The Girls Aloud Party TV special held by ITV1, and at the V Festival. For 2009's Out of Control Tour, the band began the performance on a smaller, specially-constructed stage in the centre of the arena, and flew back to the main stage before it ended. The same year, Bloc Party covered the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. In 2013, the song was performed during the second act of the Ten: The Hits Tour. "Call the Shots" was also covered by several artists and bands such as Coldplay, David Jordan, Fyfe Dangerfield, Malcolm Middleton, and Mark Morriss.
## Formats and track listings
- CD single – Part 1
1. "Call the Shots" – 3:44
2. "Rehab" (Live Lounge cover) (Winehouse) – 3:42
- CD single – Part 2 and Digital download
1. "Call the Shots" – 3:44
2. "Call the Shots" (Xenomania club mix) – 4:50
3. "Blow Your Cover" (Girls Aloud, Cooper, Higgins, Jody Lei, Xenomania) – 3:27
4. "Call the Shots" (video) – 3:43
- The Singles Boxset
1. "Call the Shots" – 3:44
2. "Rehab" (Live Lounge cover) – 3:42
3. "Call the Shots" (Xenomania club mix) – 4:50
4. "Blow Your Cover" – 3:27
5. "Call the Shots" (Tony Lamezma's Sniper mix) – 7:22
6. "Call the Shots" (Tony Lamezma's radio edit) – 3:29
7. "Call the Shots" (video) – 3:43
## Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Tangled Up.
- Guitar – Nick Coler, Owen Parker
- Keyboard – Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Matt Gray, Tim Powell, Toby Scott
- Mastering – Dick Beetham for 360 Mastering
- Mixing – Jeremy Wheatley
- Production – Brian Higgins, Xenomania
- Programming – Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Matt Gray, Tim Powell, Toby Scott
- Songwriting – Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Lisa Cowling, Giselle Somerville
- Vocals – Girls Aloud
- Published by Warner/Chappell Music and Xenomania Music
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
|
[
"## Background",
"## Release",
"## Composition",
"## Reception",
"### Critical response",
"### Chart performance",
"## Music video",
"## Live performances and covers",
"## Formats and track listings",
"## Credits and personnel",
"## Charts",
"### Weekly charts",
"### Year-end charts",
"## Certifications",
"## Release history"
] | 2,431 | 27,968 |
1,530,414 |
M-75 (Michigan highway)
| 1,167,106,468 |
State highway in Michigan, United States
|
[
"State highways in Michigan",
"Transportation in Charlevoix County, Michigan"
] |
M-75 is a 11.768-mile-long (18.939 km) segment of state trunkline highway located in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. This highway serves as a loop off US Highway 131 (US 131), providing access to Boyne City. The highway happens to be geographically close to Interstate 75 (I-75), but they are not related.
## Route description
M-75 begins in downtown Boyne Falls at an intersection with US 131. It follows Mill Street northwesterly out of town, passing to the north of a lake and the Boyne Mountain Airport. The airport property ends at the intersection with C-48 west of Boyne Falls. M-75 runs parallel to the Boyne River until it turns west near the Boyne City Municipal Airport to enter the community of Boyne City on East Division Street. Two blocks further west, it meets C-73/East Jordan Road next to the Maple Lawn Cemetery. Next to the cemetery, the highway follows Boyne Avenue northwesterly into downtown. The trunkline turns north on East Street to cross the Boyne River and then turns east on State Street passing Rotary Park on the way out of town. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) measures the average annual daily traffic (AADT) in traffic surveys. AADT is a measure of the average traffic levels for a section of roadway on any given day of the year. The southern segment of M-75 carried 6,500 vehicles daily in the 2007 survey. Of these vehicles, commercial traffic was measured at 280 trucks.
East of Boyne City, M-75 turns northward and runs in that direction until turning again to follow the south shore of Walloon Lake. There it follows North Shore Drive into the town of Walloon Lake. M-75 ends at an intersection with US 131. The roadway continues eastward as C-81/Springvale Road. This northern segment carried 4,100 vehicles and 170 trucks in 2007. Neither segment is listed on the National Highway System, a system of strategically important highways.
## History
In 1919, the trunkline running through Boyne City was originally labeled M-57. In 1927, the entire highway was renumbered, and since this change, the trunkline has carried the M-75 moniker. The M-75 designation was left unaltered when US 27 between Gaylord and Indian River was converted to a freeway; this freeway was redesignated as I-75 in 1962. Some states, such as California, do not allow two highways in their state to carry the same highway number, which is not the case in Michigan. A reconstruction project in 1966 bypassed some sharp curves in the roadway and straightened sections between Boyne City and Walloon Lake. As of 2008, the highway remains unaltered since the reconstruction.
## Major intersections
## See also
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Major intersections",
"## See also"
] | 613 | 12,695 |
29,093,548 |
Hydnellum ferrugineum
| 1,143,717,541 |
Species of fungus
|
[
"Fungi described in 1815",
"Fungi of Africa",
"Fungi of Asia",
"Fungi of Europe",
"Fungi of North America",
"Hydnellum",
"Inedible fungi",
"Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries"
] |
Hydnellum ferrugineum, commonly known as the mealy tooth or the reddish-brown corky spine fungus, is a species of tooth fungus in the family Bankeraceae. A widely distributed species, it is found in north Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The fungus fruits on the ground singly or in clusters in conifer forest, usually in poor (low nutrient) or sandy soil. Fruit bodies are somewhat top-shaped, measuring 3–10 cm (1–4 in) in diameter. Their velvety surfaces, initially white to pink, sometimes exude drops of red liquid. The lower surface of the fruit body features white to reddish-brown spines up to 6 mm long. Mature fruit bodies become dark reddish brown in color, and are then difficult to distinguish from other similar Hydnellum species. H. ferrugineum forms a mat of mycelia in the humus and upper soil where it grows. The presence of the fungus changes the characteristics of the soil, making it more podzolized.
## Taxonomy
The species was originally described scientifically by Elias Magnus Fries, who named it Hydnum ferrugineum in 1815. Its taxonomic history includes transfers to the genera Calodon by Petter Karsten in 1881, and Phaeodon by Joseph Schröter in 1888. It was assigned its current binomial name by Karsten when he transferred it to its current genus, Hydnellum, in 1879.
In 1964, Canadian mycologist Kenneth A. Harrison described a hydnoid fungus found with Pinus resinosa in Michigan and Pinus banksiana in Nova Scotia. The fungus, which Harrison named Hydnellum pineticola, is considered to be synonymous with Hydnellum ferrugineum by the nomenclatural database Index Fungorum. Harrison noted "The attempts to recognize European species in North American collections has only increased the confusion in this country, and until someone has worked critically in the field on both continents, it is better to make a recognizable grouping of our own population as that to guess that they may be the same as those that grow in Europe." Other taxa considered synonymous with H. ferrugineum are Pierre Bulliard's 1791 Hydnum hybridum (including later synonyms Calodon hybridus (Bull.) Lindau, and Hydnellum hybridum (Bull.) Banker); Louis Secretan's Hydnum carbunculus (1833); and Howard James Banker's 1906 Hydnellum sanguinarium. Banker explained the difficulty in identifying old Hydnellum specimens: "A considerable number of collections have had to be set aside, as in the dried state, with no notes on the fresh characters, it was impossible to decide with any degree of satisfaction whether the plants represented H. sanguinarium, H. concrescens, H. scrobiculatum, or some undescribed form."
Common names given to the species include the "reddish-brown corky spine fungus", and the British Mycological Society-sanctioned name "mealy fungus". The specific epithet ferrugineum is Latin for "rust-colored".
## Description
The fruit bodies of Hydnellum ferrugineum are more or less top-shaped with caps that are 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) in diameter. They are at first convex, then pulvinate (cushion-shaped), later flattening or becoming slightly depressed in the center. The cap surface of young fruit bodies is uneven, with a velvety to felted texture, and a whitish to pink color. It sometimes exudes blood-red drops of fluid in the depressions. The surface later becomes flesh-colored to dark reddish brown, but with wavy margin remaining whitish. The lower surface of the fruit body bears the hymenium, the fertile spore-bearing tissue. It comprises a dense arrangement of white to reddish brown spines up to 6 mm long, hanging vertically downwards. The stout stipe measures 1–6 cm (0.4–2.4 in) long by 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) thick, and is the same color as the cap. Fruit bodies have a "distinctly mealy" odor (similar to the smell of freshly ground flour), but are inedible.
The flesh is reddish or purplish-brown with white flecks. Initially spongy and soft, it becomes tough and corky as the fruit body matures. In the stipe, the flesh can become blackish in age. Like other Hydnellum species, fruit body tissue is made of generative hyphae that do not expand. This slows the growth of the fruit body, often enabling it to persist for several months. The fungus employs an indeterminate growth pattern, in which the fruit body formation begins from a vertical column of hyphae that eventually expand at the top to form the cap. Any solid objects encountered during growth, such as grass or twigs, can be enveloped by the expanding fruit body. Similarly, closely neighboring caps can fuse together during growth.
The broadly ellipsoid to roughly spherical spores are 5.5–7.5 by 4.5–5.5 μm. Their surfaces are covered with small rounded bumps. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are narrowly club-shaped, four-spored, and measure 25–30 by 6–7.5 μm. The hyphae of the flesh are brownish with thin walls, and measure 4–6 μm; hyphae in the spines are thin-walled, septate, and sometimes branched, measuring 3.5–4.5 μm. The hyphae do not have clamp connections.
### Similar species
Hydnellum peckii is similar in appearance, but has an acrid taste, and clamp connections in its hyphae. Hydnellum spongiosipes is readily confused with H. ferrugineum, and several authors have historically considered the two species to be the same; molecular studies, however, indicate that the two fungi are closely related, but distinct. In contrast with H. ferrugineum, H. spongiosipes has a darker cap when young, darker flesh, and occurs in deciduous woods. Old fruit bodies of H. ferrugineum can be confused with those of Hydnellum concrescens.
## Habitat and distribution
Hydnellum ferrugineum is found mainly in coniferous woodland, often near pines, but occasionally with spruce. Fruit bodies have a preference for sandy soil with low levels of organic matter and nutrients, and grow singly or in clusters. They are more likely to be found in older-growth forests. The fungus occurs in North America, including Mexico. It is widespread but generally uncommon throughout Europe, although there may be local areas where it is common. In Britain, H. ferrugineum is provisionally classified as endangered, and is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; it was included as one of 14 species considered in the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan for stipitate hydnoid fungi (i.e., hydnoid fungi with a cap and stipe) in 2004. The fungus is protected in Montenegro. It has been collected in India and North Africa.
The fungus forms a tough mat of mycelia in the humus and upper soil of pine forests. This mycelial mat grows larger with old trees, and can cover an area of several square meters. These areas generally lack dwarf shrubs and promote the vigorous growth of mosses; reindeer lichens often occur in the center of large mats. The presence of the fungus changes the nature of the soil, resulting in a thinner humus layer, decreased groundwater penetration, decreased soil pH, and increases in the level of root respiration as well as the quantity of roots. The fungus also decreases the organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations. Soil with the mycelium becomes more podzolized than the surrounding soil. Similar to some other Hydnellum species, H. ferrugineum is sensitive to the increased nitrogen deposition resulting from clear-cutting, a forestry practice used in some areas of Europe. The fungus forms an unusual type of mycorrhiza with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in which the ectomycorrhiza appears normal at the leading edge of the mycelial mat, but leaves behind dead and atrophied roots at the trailing edge, showing saprophytic tendencies.
## Bioactive compounds
Hydnellum ferrugineum fruit bodies contain the pigments hydnuferrigin (dark violet) and hydnuferruginin (yellow), as well as small amounts of the polyphenol compound atromentin. Hydnuferrigin has a chemical structure that closely resembles that of thelephoric acid, a pigment found in other species of Hydnellum and Hydnum, and they may originate from a common precursor compound.
|
[
"## Taxonomy",
"## Description",
"### Similar species",
"## Habitat and distribution",
"## Bioactive compounds"
] | 1,905 | 1,960 |
34,001,428 |
Regional Holiday Music
| 1,146,656,213 | null |
[
"2011 American television episodes",
"American Christmas television episodes",
"Community (season 3) episodes",
"Musical television episodes"
] |
"Regional Holiday Music" is the tenth episode and mid-season finale of the third season of the American television series Community, and 59th overall episode of the series. It was originally broadcast on December 8, 2011 on NBC and is the final episode before the show went on hiatus during the 2011–12 midseason. The Christmas-themed episode is a musical featuring original songs performed by cast members. After Greendale's glee club members become incapacitated, the study group is asked to join. Despite their dislike of the club, each of them is lured into joining after their vulnerabilities are exploited.
The episode was directed by Tristram Shapeero and written by Steve Basilone and Annie Mebane. The musical format, along with other more subtle elements in the episode is a parody of the Fox television series Glee. Creator Dan Harmon is known to dislike Glee and the series has satirized aspects of the musical TV series in previous episodes. The premise of "Regional Holiday Music" also draws on an event in season 2's "Paradigms of Human Memory" (Community's "clip show") and provides closure to it. Taran Killam guest-starred as the glee club instructor.
The episode received mostly positive reviews, with many critics disagreeing with NBC's decision to bench the series. Critics praised the episode's high-concept satire and character-driven moments. Opinion was divided on the quality of the original songs. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Regional Holiday Music" was seen by an estimated 3.6 million viewers, a drop from the previous week.
## Plot
While meeting in the cafeteria, the study group reveal their plans for Christmas. Some are spending time away, disappointing Abed (Danny Pudi), who had wished to spend the holidays with the group, even renting the critically reviled Inspector Spacetime holiday special to watch with them. Their conversation is interrupted by a performance by the obnoxious Greendale glee club. Midway through, Chang (Ken Jeong) stops them with a cease and desist order from ASCAP—tipped off by Jeff (Joel McHale)—for performing copyrighted music without permission. The glee club members suffer a nervous breakdown and are taken to the hospital.
The glee club instructor, Cory "Mr. Rad" Radison (Taran Killam), invites the study group to join and perform the Christmas pageant but is rebuffed promptly due to their collective dislike for the club. However, through a series of events performed as songs, the members of the group are lured into joining the club one by one.
1. "Glee": Mr. Rad manages to convince Abed to join the club by tapping into Abed's desire to spend Christmas with the group.
2. "Christmas Infiltration": Troy (Donald Glover) is next to join when Abed creates a scenario where he can infiltrate the glee club for the Jehovah's Witnesses. Troy then raps about going undercover to make it seem like he accepts Christmas.
3. "Baby Boomer Santa": Troy and Abed exploit Pierce's (Chevy Chase) baby boomer narcissism using mixed musical styles associated with each of the decades Pierce has lived through.
4. "Teach Me How to Understand Christmas": Before this song, Annie (Alison Brie) catches the glee club virus after being cornered by Troy, Abed, and Mr. Rad. She then dresses up in a sexy Santa outfit to seduce Jeff.
5. "Happy Birthday Jesus": Pierce invites a children's choir to sing to Shirley about how the public school system has thrown out the meaning of Christmas (the birth of Jesus) during its celebrations. Unable to resist her religious fervor, Shirley springs into song, proclaiming "Happy Birthday Jesus!"
With Britta (Gillian Jacobs) the only non-glee club member left, she seeks out Jeff, only to find that Annie successfully turned him, and he in turn manages to sway Britta.
As they are backstage preparing for the Christmas pageant, Mr. Rad tells Abed of his plans to take the group to "Regionals" and many further glee competitions. As Abed had only made the group join to brighten up Christmas, he decides to sabotage the pageant so that Mr. Rad cannot take them to Regionals. While the group performs "Planet Christmas" on stage, he asks Britta (who was originally cast as the mute tree) to replace him as the Mouse King. She does and ruins the pageant with her poor singing and badly improvised lyrics and choreography. Despite Mr. Rad's objections, Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) and the audience supportively agree to "let Britta sing her awkward song" in the spirit of inclusion. Mr. Rad becomes enraged at the idea and inadvertently reveals that he killed the previous glee club members when they did not live up to his expectations, then runs off. Abed regretfully concedes that "forcing things to be bright just makes the darkness underneath it even darker."
Back at the apartment, Abed is watching the Inspector Spacetime holiday special alone. The rest of the group arrive, singing "The First Noel", and announce that after a dark year, they have cancelled their plans in order to spend the holidays with him. The episode ends with the group watching Inspector Spacetime together.
## Production
"Regional Holiday Music" was written by Steve Basilone and Annie Mebane, both their debut writing credits for the series. It was directed by Tristram Shapeero, his seventh directing credit. The music for the episode was composed by series composer Ludwig Göransson, with lyrics by the writing staff.
The episode took six days to shoot, which Danny Pudi said is one of the longest for a single episode.
Taran Killam, a cast member of Saturday Night Live, guest starred as glee club instructor Cory Radison. Killam previously worked with Community executive producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan in the pilot of Nobody's Watching. The show was not picked up.
Series creator Dan Harmon has long been known to dislike Glee. Community has parodied the musical television series in previous episodes. In "Modern Warfare", the show referenced Glee's lack of original music. In "Paradigms of Human Memory", the study group fills in for the glee club members who died in a bus crash, though they sing a song with no real lyrics. These events are brought up during "Regional Holiday Music", which also reveals the true reason behind the crash.
Following the footsteps of season 2's "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas", Abed spends the episode trying to get the group to embrace the holiday spirit during Christmas.
## Cultural references
"Regional Holiday Music" is a satire-at-large of the television series Glee. The audio transitions for this episode mimic the a cappella audio transitions featured in Glee, whilst the glee club instructor Cory Radison ("Mr. Rad") shares many similarities to Will Schuester ("Mr. Schue"). The episode also makes reference to the concept of "Regionals", which would be confusing to people who haven't watched the show. Unlike most songs on Glee, the music on "Regional Holiday Music" is entirely original.
Jeff remarks in a scene that not liking the glee club does not make the group bullies, in reference to Glee creator Ryan Murphy's criticism of musicians who don't want their music on the show. When Mr. Rad reveals that he killed previous glee club members, he shouts "Look, Kings of Leon!" to distract the audience before escaping. Kings of Leon had previously clashed with Murphy over permission to use their songs on Glee.
The song "Glee" speaks about the namesake series' characters' tendency to sing their feelings instead of "making a face." While performing "Baby Boomer Santa", Troy and Abed recreate musical styles from the 1940s to 1980s, including performing "Dancing in the Dark" and Troy impersonating Bob Dylan. The episode continues the show's recurring spoof of the British television series Doctor Who through Inspector Spacetime, while also making a nod to the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. While the group discusses their Christmas plans, Annie reveals she will spend time with her bubbe (the Yiddish word for grandmother), which Troy confuses for "boobie" (breast). The scene where Britta discovers that Jeff has been turned is a spoof of the ending of the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
In the end tag, the heads of the Dean (Jim Rash), Chang (Ken Jeong), Magnitude (Luke Youngblood), Starburns (Dino Stamatopoulos) and Leonard (Richard Erdman) are superimposed on ornaments as they perform a version of "Carol of the Bells" using their names and a few recurring lines.
## Reception
### Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Regional Holiday Music" was viewed by an estimated 3.6 million households, with a Nielsen rating/share of 1.5/4 in the 18–49 demographic. It finished fourth in its 8 pm time slot among broadcast networks and was outperformed by CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which was seen by 14.4 million households; Fox reality show The X Factor, which was seen by 9.9 million households; and a special holiday episode of ABC reality show Wipeout, which was seen by 6.6 million households. The episode outperformed a repeat airing of The Vampire Diaries on The CW, which was seen by 1.2 million households. Community was NBC's lowest performing show of the night in the demographic despite The Office, Parks and Recreation and Whitney all slipping to season lows.
### Reviews
"Regional Holiday Music" received mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom pleaded for the show to return. BuddyTV placed it \#17 in its list of 50 best TV episodes of 2011, calling the songs the "best original songs TV has heard in a long time".
Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode an 'A', saying "Community is going away for a while, but it's going away with an episode that reminds me why I love the show so much. This is a very personal thing—since humor's subjective like that—but for me, this was the funniest episode since the clip show... I laughed myself silly at this one, to the point where I was devolving into hiccups at certain scenes, and I'm glad we get to go out on an episode like this, one that plays around with form and makes me laugh." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix also praised the Glee-spoofing, saying "'Regional Holiday Music' was the logical, clever, funny endpoint to it." Sean Gandert of Paste said, "As with its best theme-episodes, the show bridged the gap between high-concept parody and character-based comedy." TV Fanatic's Leigh Raines gave the episode a 4/5 rating, saying while the show "definitely went out with a bang, it didn't totally blow my socks off... While there were a few moments that upped the ick factor, overall this episode fell on the positive side." She praised Troy and Abed's rap performance, but called the scene where Annie seduces Jeff "creepy". Robert Canning of IGN said it was a "great" episode, but "faltered just a bit" at the end: "Abed's realization that his attempts to brighten the holiday only made things darker, as Jeff had previously suggested, fit the character well enough, but the study group's follow-up felt a bit forced and holiday hokey. Of course, that could well have been the point."
Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com gave the episode a bad review, calling the original songs "terrible". She remarked, "fans merit a better episode, better commentary, and better parody of the subject at hand." Nonetheless, she praised the episode's ending and asked, "Who cares that the story was a bit weak this time around? It's the last episode we have before the dreaded undetermined hiatus gets underway, and it's Christmas. Let's just cherish the episode for what it is..." Sean Campbell said although he enjoyed the episode's concept, "the execution left much to be desired" and that the quality of the songs "varied from okay to bad".
The Atlantic's Kevin Fallon compared "Regional Holiday Music" to Glee's own 2011 Christmas episode "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" which aired on December 13. Fallon said "Regional Holiday Music" "relentlessly exposed Glee's most repetitive cliches" and "couldn't have invented better illustrations of Glee's cringe-inducing, everyone-is-loved-as-long-as-they-sing-a-song motif." However, on a final note, he highlighted the two shows' similarities, explaining how both shows stick to their bold delivery and heartwarming moments.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Cultural references",
"## Reception",
"### Ratings",
"### Reviews"
] | 2,674 | 6,990 |
10,765,681 |
Delaware Route 24
| 1,159,226,488 |
State highway in Sussex County, Delaware, United States
|
[
"State highways in Delaware",
"Transportation in Sussex County, Delaware"
] |
Delaware Route 24 (DE 24) is a state highway located in Sussex County, Delaware. The route runs from Maryland Route 348 (MD 348) at the Maryland border east of Sharptown, Maryland, east to an intersection with DE 1 in Midway, between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Along the way, DE 24 passes through Laurel, Millsboro, and Long Neck. DE 24 intersects U.S. Route 13 (US 13) in Laurel, US 113/DE 20 and DE 30 in Millsboro, and DE 5 and DE 23 in Long Neck. DE 24 features an alternate route, DE 24 Alternate (DE 24 Alt.), that runs to the north of the route from US 113 in Stockley to DE 24 near Midway. DE 24 was built as a state highway throughout the 1920s, with completion of the entire route by 1931. DE 24 was assigned onto its current alignment by 1936. DE 24 Alt. was designated by 2006.
## Route description
DE 24 begins at the Maryland border, where the road continues west into that state as MD 348. From the state line the route heads east on two-lane undivided Sharptown Road. The road heads through agricultural areas with some woods and homes, crossing Cod Creek before curving to the northeast and crossing Tussocky Branch. DE 24 runs to the south of Laurel Airport and passes homes, crossing Little Creek to the north of Horseys Pond before it enters the town of Laurel. At this point, the route turns north onto West Street and runs through residential areas. DE 24 curves east and becomes West Market Street, crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade as it continues into the downtown area of Laurel. At the Central Avenue junction, the route becomes East Market Street and runs southeast, bending east onto East 4th Street and heading through areas of homes to the south of Records Pond. At the eastern edge of Laurel, DE 24 comes to an intersection with US 13.
Past Laurel, DE 24 heads east on Laurel Road through farmland with some woodland and homes, crossing James Branch. The route then passes to the north of Trap Pond State Park, with Trap Pond Road heading south to provide access to the state park. The road continues east through a mix of farms and woods with occasional residences, reaching an intersection with Millsboro Highway in Mission. Here, DE 24 turns north onto Millsboro Highway, with the road running northeast. Farther along, residential development increases as the road crosses into the town of Millsboro. At this point the road name becomes Laurel Road as it passes homes and reaches an intersection with US 113/DE 20. Past this intersection, DE 24 turns north-northeast on Washington Street. The two routes split into a one-way pair that heads north, following Main Street eastbound and Washington Street westbound. The road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line at-grade. The one-way pair heads through the downtown area of Millsboro, rejoining along two-way Main Street and crossing Indian River to the east of Millsboro Pond. A short distance later, the route comes to an intersection with the southern terminus of DE 30.
Past the DE 30 intersection, DE 24 heads northeast on John J. Williams Highway, soon curving to the east. The road runs through farmland with some woods and homes, passing through a Mountaire Farms chicken plant and briefly gaining a center left-turn lane. The route continues through rural areas as a two-lane road and crosses Swan Creek and Warwick Gut, bending to the northeast and passing northwest of the Nanticoke Indian Museum before coming to an intersection with DE 5 northwest of Oak Orchard. At this point DE 5 turns northeast to form a concurrency with DE 24. The road heads north through residential and commercial development with some fields as it enters the Long Neck area, where it intersects DE 23. Here, DE 5 splits from DE 24 by turning northwest onto DE 23, and DE 24 continues north through a mix of farms, woods, and residential neighborhoods, crossing Guinea Creek and passing the Baywood Greens golf course. The road runs through Angola and passes east of Burton Pond before it curves to the northeast, crossing Love Creek on the Eugene D. Bookhammer Bridge. The route continues northeast, widening to four lanes at the Mulberry Knoll Road intersection, and intersects DE 1D/DE 24 Alt. Here, DE 1D turns northeast to join DE 24 and the two routes pass homes and businesses as a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane. DE 24/DE 1D becomes a four-lane undivided road and then a divided highway as it comes to its end at an intersection with DE 1 in Midway, located between the cities of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
The section of DE 24 east of US 113 serves as part of a primary hurricane evacuation route from the Oak Orchard and Long Neck areas to points inland while the section of DE 24 between US 13 and Millsboro Highway serves as part of a secondary hurricane evacuation route from the coastal areas. The portions of the route between Townsend Street and Delaware Avenue in Laurel and Christ Church Road and Trap Pond Road east of Laurel are designated as part of the Nanticoke Heritage Byway, a Delaware Byway. DE 24 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 34,023 vehicles at the DE 30 intersection to a low of 1,681 vehicles at the intersection with Dickerson Road west of Laurel.
## History
By 1920, what is now DE 24 existed as a state highway between Mission and Phillips Hill, with the remainder of the route existing as an unimproved county road. At this time the road was under contract as a state highway between Laurel and Pepper and from Phillips Hill to east of Millsboro. The sections under contract were completed by 1924 and the remainder of present-day DE 24 was proposed as a state highway a year later. Completion of these final segments occurred by 1931. DE 24 was assigned to its current alignment between the Maryland border west of Laurel and DE 14 (now DE 1) in Midway by 1936. In 1940, a new bridge was built over Love Creek as part of improving the route east of Millsboro for traffic heading to the beaches in the summer.
On April 16, 2018, the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) unveiled plans to widen DE 24 to four lanes between the Love Creek bridge and DE 1 along with adding left turn lanes and improving intersections. This project is planned in order to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion along the road. Construction on the first phase between Mulberry Knoll Road and DE 1 began on March 3, 2020 and was completed in early 2022. Construction on the second phase between the Love Creek bridge and Mulberry Knoll Road began in March 2022; construction is scheduled to be finished in 2024.
A two-lane bypass of DE 24 is being built to the north of Millsboro, running from the intersection of US 113 and DE 20, which will be converted to an interchange, east across Millsboro Pond, DE 30, and Hollyville Road to an intersection with DE 24 east of Millsboro. The bypass is being built to reduce congestion on the section of DE 24 through Millsboro. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 31, 2023, with Governor John Carney, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, DelDOT secretary Nicole Majeski, and local officials in attendance. Construction of the Millsboro bypass is planned to be completed in the early part of 2025.
## Major intersections
## Delaware Route 24 Alternate
Delaware Route 24 Alternate (DE 24 Alt.) is an alternate route of DE 24 between US 113 in Stockley and DE 24 in Midway. The route heads east from US 113 on two-lane undivided Speedway Road, passing to the north of Georgetown Speedway. DE 24 Alt. reaches a roundabout with Zoar Road/Bethesda Road and heads southeast onto Zoar Road, passing through agricultural areas with some woods and homes and crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line. The road continues east through more areas of farms, woods, and residences, turning north and east before crossing DE 30 in Zoar. The route heads east-northeast through more rural areas, turning north onto Hollyville Road. DE 24 Alt. turns northeast and comes to a junction with DE 5 in Hollyville. The road continues east as Hollymount Road and intersects DE 23 in Hollymount. Here, DE 24 Alt. turns north to join DE 23 on Beaver Dam Road and the two routes continue through agricultural and wooded areas with residential developments, curving to the northeast and crossing Bundicks Branch. In Five Points the road intersects DE 1D, with DE 23 turning to the north and DE 24 Alt. continuing northeast along with DE 1D on Plantation Road, which soon becomes a divided highway. The two routes curve southeast immediately to the south of the intersection between US 9/DE 404 and DE 1 and head through a mix of farmland and residential development as an undivided road. Finally, the road reaches an intersection with DE 24 where DE 24 Alt. ends and DE 1D turns northeast to join DE 24. DE 24 Alt. was designated by 2006.
Major intersections
## See also
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Major intersections",
"## Delaware Route 24 Alternate",
"## See also"
] | 2,017 | 7,677 |
41,060,650 |
The Carpet from Bagdad
| 1,167,783,260 |
1915 film
|
[
"1910s American films",
"1910s English-language films",
"1915 adventure films",
"1915 films",
"1915 lost films",
"American black-and-white films",
"American silent feature films",
"English-language adventure films",
"Films based on American novels",
"Films directed by Colin Campbell",
"Films set in the Middle East",
"Lost American adventure films",
"Selig Polyscope Company films",
"Silent American adventure films"
] |
The Carpet from Bagdad is a 1915 American silent adventure film directed by Colin Campbell and based on Harold MacGrath's 1911 eponymous novel. In the story, Horace Wadsworth (played by Guy Oliver), one of a gang of criminals also planning a bank robbery in New York, steals the titular prayer rug from its Baghdad mosque. He sells the carpet to antique dealer George Jones (Wheeler Oakman) to fund the robbery scheme. But the theft places both men and Fortune Chedsoye (Kathlyn Williams), the innocent daughter of another conspirator, in danger from the carpet's guardian.
Marketing for the film included a media tour of part of the set and an invitation-only screening sponsored by the publisher of MacGrath's book. The Carpet from Bagdad was released on May 3, 1915 to mostly positive reviews. Many praised the tinted desert scenes and realistic Middle East imagery, although some felt the scenery overshadowed the characters. The film is now mostly lost, although one badly damaged reel was salvaged from the RMS Lusitania in 1982.
## Plot
Horace Wadsworth, disinherited brother of New York banker Arthur Wadsworth, joins a gang of international criminals. He plots to rob his brother's bank by constructing a tunnel from the nearby home of antique dealer George Jones, who is currently on a trip to Cairo to purchase antique rugs. Horace follows him there, and, learning of the Sacred Carpet of Bagdad, joins the caravan of its sworn guardian, Mohamed. Meanwhile, Horace's confederates Major Callahan and Mrs. Chedsoye arrive in Cairo along with Mrs. Chedsoye's daughter, Fortune, who is unaware of her mother's illicit activities.
When the criminals meet with Jones in Cairo, Jones becomes enamored of Fortune. Horace steals the Sacred Carpet from Mohamed's mosque and sells it to Jones to fund the robbery plan. Fortune, becoming suspicious of her mother and the surrounding events, steals the prayer rug from Jones and hides it in her mother's effects. Unable to locate the stolen carpet, Mohamed kidnaps Horace, Jones, and Fortune. Meanwhile, Mrs. Chedsoye and Major Callahan return to New York, where a fourth member of the conspiracy, Wallace, has acquired forged paperwork to gain access to the Jones residence.
The captives escape from Mohamed's planned torture and flee to Damascus. Horace immediately returns to New York to rejoin his compatriots. Fortune and Jones, who have fallen in love, also travel back to New York. Once there, Jones learns of the forgery, and returns home to confront the gang, who still have the Sacred Carpet and who have completed their tunnel into the vaults of Arthur Wadsworth's bank. Sympathetic to Horace after their shared experiences, Jones offers the robbers a two-hour lead before he notifies the police, but keeps the prayer rug. Meanwhile, Mohamed resigns himself to the loss of the carpet.
## Cast
- Kathlyn Williams as Fortune Chedsoye
- Wheeler Oakman as George P.A. Jones
- Guy Oliver as Horace Wadsworth
- Eugenie Besserer as Mrs. Chedsoye
- Frank Clark as Major Callahan
- Charles Clary as Mohamed
- Harry Lonsdale as Arthur Wadsworth
- Fred Huntley as Wallace
## Production and marketing
The Carpet from Bagdad is a film adaptation of Harold MacGrath's 1911 novel of the same name. MacGrath was a well-traveled, successful author of over a dozen novels. Stories with Asian settings were in vogue at the time, and both The Carpet from Bagdad and the Selig Polyscope Company's previous adaptation of MacGrath's work, the popular serial The Adventures of Kathlyn, are set in part in the Near East.
Director Colin Campbell was concerned with the film's realism. He had sets constructed to represent the streets of Cairo, Baghdad, and Damascus, and used animals from the Selig Zoo. Scenes set in the Arabian and Sahara Deserts were filmed in the deserts of California. The Arab characters' clothing was genuine, and the actors portraying those roles were required to remain dressed in-character throughout the several days of desert filming to ensure they would appear more natural in the imported garments. Much of the film, including the desert scenes, was hand tinted. Production costs exceeded \$35,000, the equivalent of over \$ in present-day terms.
William Selig aggressively promoted his studio and its films. One such promotion, a March 1915 media tour of the unfinished Selig Zoo, allowed reporters a visit to The Carpet from Bagdad'''s bazaar set. This was the first film distributed by V-L-S-E, a conglomerate created by Vitagraph Studios, Lubin Manufacturing Company, Selig Polyscope Company, and Essanay Studios. The film was also screened in a special invitation-only showing at the art gallery of the Bobbs-Merrill Company, publisher of MacGrath's novel, an early example of a sponsored exhibition of a feature film in a location other than a theater.
## Reception
The Carpet from Bagdad was released on May 3, 1915, to generally positive reviews. Variety described it as a more interesting film than its title might imply, with "perfect direction and faultless acting". Peter Milne of Motion Picture News approved of Campbell's attention to detail and realism. The Moving Picture World's James McQuade praised the film's acting and special effects. Although he believed an unfilmed Cairo scene made Mohamed's motivations easier to understand in the novel, he considered the film a "close second" to Campbell's 1914 The Spoilers. Clarence Caine's review in Motography also compared The Carpet from Bagdad favorably to The Spoilers, but he viewed the film's color as its best feature, especially the closing scene of a desert sunset. Several newspaper reviews also complimented the tinted desert scenes, with New Zealand's The Levin Chronicle describing the film as "a gem of the cinematographer's art" for its use of color. The Chicago Daily Tribune offered a more mixed opinion on the film; reviewer Kitty Kelly found it difficult to care about characters "overshadowed by environment", and considered the 35-year-old Williams unconvincing as an ingenue.
Despite the acclaim from many contemporary reviewers, modern scholars of the silent film era would not consider The Carpet from Bagdad a masterpiece, according to the British Film Institute's Clyde Jeavons.
## Partial rediscovery
Like many films from the silent era, The Carpet from Bagdad was believed completely lost, but in 1982 an Oceaneering International diving expedition salvaged a number of artifacts from the wreck of the RMS Lusitania, including one reel of film. With the assistance of BBC technical advisor Laurie Ward, the BFI National Archive was able to recover images from several feet of the film, sufficient to identify the title, but not to restore any of the film to projectable condition. Although there was a theater on Lusitania, this print of The Carpet from Bagdad'' was probably being taken to London as a film distributor's preview, as was the case for several other films known to have been on board.
## See also
- List of incomplete or partially lost films
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Cast",
"## Production and marketing",
"## Reception",
"## Partial rediscovery",
"## See also"
] | 1,517 | 43,035 |
24,632,310 |
Entoloma austroprunicolor
| 1,136,154,155 |
Species of fungus
|
[
"Entolomataceae",
"Fungi described in 2007",
"Fungi native to Australia",
"Taxa named by Machiel Noordeloos"
] |
Entoloma austroprunicolor is a species of agaric fungus in the family Entolomataceae. Described as new to science in 2007, it is found in Tasmania, where it fruits on the ground of wet sclerophyll forests in late spring to early winter (usually between January and March). The fruit bodies (mushrooms) have reddish-purple caps measuring up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter supported by whitish stipes measuring 3–7.5 cm (1.2–3.0 in) long by 0.2–0.6 cm (0.1–0.2 in) thick. On the cap underside, the crowded gills are initially white before turning pink as the spores mature.
## Taxonomy
The species was first formally described in 2007 by Australian mycologist Genevieve Gates and Dutch mycologist Machiel Noordeloos, from collections made in Tasmania, Australia. The specific epithet austroprunicolor is derived from the Latin prefix austro-, meaning "southern", and the Latin word prunicolor, meaning "plum-coloured". The type collection was made in January 2002 at Kermandie Falls, near Geeveston in southern Tasmania. The species was discovered as a result of intensive field research, conducted by Gates and David Ratkowsky, which began in 1998. Realizing that many Tasmanian Entolomataceae species were undescribed, they and their collaborators published a series of papers documenting the new fungi.
Within the genus Entoloma, the fungus is classified in the subgenus Leptonia, section Cyanula because of its overall habit, clampless hyphae, and abundant granules of pigment. Noordeloos and Gates place it in the stirps (a grouping of related species within a genus) Austroprunicolor, characterized by mushrooms with a violaceous pink or blue cap that contrasts with a pallid, whitish, polished stipe.
## Description
The cap measures 1 to 5 cm (0.4–2 in) in diameter, and is convex or umbonate (having a central rounded elevation resembling a nipple). It is bluish-purple when young before reddening to a reddish-purple and eventually fading to a more purplish-grey colour. The cap surface texture is initially fibrillose (made of loose fibers) to velutinous (made of short, fine "hairs" that form a velvety surface), and then breaks up into small radially arranged fibrillose squamules (small scales) as it matures. The cap margin curves downward. Gills are closely crowded together, up to 6 mm broad, and have an adnate attachment to the stipe. They are white initially before becoming tinged with pink from the developing spores. The thin cylindrical stipe measures 3–7.5 cm (1.2–3.0 in) long and 0.2–0.6 cm (0.1–0.2 in) wide with a slightly thicker base. It is dry and brittle, hollow, and white or nearly white. The flesh is purple in the cap, and white in the stipe. The smell and taste are indistinct, although the latter has been described as peppery or radish-like. Its edibility is unknown.
The spore print is pink, and the spores measure 10–13 by 6–9 μm. They are heterodiametric (with different diameters in different directions), possessing between 6 and 8 pronounced angles. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are four-spored, lack clamps, and measure 33–40 by 9–14 μm. Located on the gill edge, the thin-walled, inconspicuous cheilocystidia measure 20–30 by 5–9 μm and have shapes ranging from irregular cylinders to narrow clubs to flasks. The cap cuticle is arranged in the form of a cutis (with bent-over hyphae that run parallel to the cap surface) to a trichoderm (where the outermost hyphae emerge roughly parallel, perpendicular to the cap surface), comprising cylindrical to inflated hyphae that are up to 20 μm wide. The cap tissue is made of narrow cylindrical hyphae that are 4.5–9 μm in diameter. They contain granules that have a purple-brown pigment. The stipe cuticle is made of loosely arranged, cylindrical hyphae measuring 2–7 μm. Clamp connections are absent from the hyphae.
### Similar species
Entoloma austroprunicolor resembles the European species E. queletii, but the cap of the latter species fades to an ochre colour, and it has a white fibrillose stipe. Microscopically, its gill edges have well-differentiated cheilocystidia.
## Habitat and distribution
Entoloma austroprunicolor is a commonly occurring mushroom of wet sclerophyll forests in Tasmania. Fruiting occurs from late spring to early winter, with most fruit bodies recorded between the months of January to March. In a study of the distribution of mushroom species in this area, it was found to occur only in mature or uncut forests.
## See also
- List of Entoloma species
|
[
"## Taxonomy",
"## Description",
"### Similar species",
"## Habitat and distribution",
"## See also"
] | 1,129 | 27,216 |
21,919,084 |
Dutch Ulrich
| 1,173,384,317 |
Czech-American baseball player (1899-1929)
|
[
"1899 births",
"1929 deaths",
"20th-century deaths from tuberculosis",
"American people of Bohemian descent",
"American people of Czech descent",
"Baltimore Orioles (International League) players",
"Baseball players from Baltimore",
"Burials at Bohemian National Cemetery (Baltimore)",
"Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States",
"Major League Baseball pitchers",
"Moline Plowboys players",
"People from Mödling District",
"Philadelphia Phillies players",
"Quebec Bulldogs (baseball) players",
"Tuberculosis deaths in Maryland",
"Waterbury Brasscos players"
] |
Frank W. "Dutch" Ulrich (November 18, 1899 – February 11, 1929) was a Czech-American professional baseball player who played three seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1925 through 1927. In 1927, he had the seventh-best earned run average (ERA) in the National League (NL). He batted and threw right-handed.
Born to Czech immigrants in Austria, Ulrich and his family eventually moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he got his start in pitching with the Baltimore Orioles, a minor league team. He pitched for several more minor league teams from 1922 through 1924 before the NL's Philadelphia Phillies added him to their roster in 1925. Ulrich appeared in 21 games for them that year, posting a 3–3 record and a 3.03 ERA. In 1926, he tied for fourth in the NL with 45 games pitched. He would emerge as one of Philadelphia's best pitchers in 1927, only posting an 8–11 record but finishing among the NL's ERA leaders despite the fact that his team lost 103 games. Ulrich would not have the chance to build off this success in 1928, as he was stricken with tuberculosis. The disease killed him in 1929 at the age of 29. In his three-season career, Ulrich had a 19–27 record, a 3.48 ERA, 123 strikeouts, 89 walks, and 452 hits allowed in 406 innings pitched.
## Early life
František (Franz) Ulrich was born in Wiener Neudorf, Austria, the third child to Czech migrants Václav Ulrich from Horní Lhota and Josefa Sedláková from Čermná. His father died when he was less than a year old so his family returned to Bohemia before eventually moving to Baltimore, Maryland. Upon coming to the United States, Ulrich americanized his name to the more common "Frank" and gained the nickname "Dutch."
## Minor league career
Uhlrich started his baseball career with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. A pitcher, he struggled with locating where he threw the ball, leading to his eventual release. In 1920, he appeared in 38 games as a catcher with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. He batted .277 with 31 hits, four of which were doubles and three of which were triples. Thereafter, he served mainly as a pitcher.
In 1922, Uhlrich pitched 14 games for the Moline Plowboys of the Class B Three-I League. He had a 6–5 record and a 4.19 earned run average (ERA), allowing 96 hits in 86 innings pitched. The following year, he pitched one game for the Quebec Bulldogs of the Class B Eastern Canada League, though an exact record of how he fared is unavailable. In the fall of 1923, he pitched for Brooks' All-Stars, a Baltimore-based team in a semipro industrial league. Recently acquired catcher Walt Lerian, who became good friends with Ulrich, noticed that the pitcher's velocity, location, and control were the best of all the ballplayers he had caught in semipro ball that year.
Uhlrich appeared in 35 games in 1924 as a starting pitcher for the Waterbury Brasscos of the Class A Eastern League, posting a 17–13 record. Uhlrich ranked among the Eastern League leaders with 17 wins (tied with Kent Greenfield and Moose Fuller for seventh), a 2.87 ERA (sixth), and 276 innings pitched (ninth). Baseball historian Frank Russo indicates that Uhlrich played for the Waynesboro Villagers of the Blue Ridge League sometime before 1925; if he did, Baseball-Reference.com does not have statistics from his tenure with the Villagers.
## Philadelphia Phillies
### 1925
In 1925, the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League added Ulrich to their roster. He made his major league debut with them on April 18, pitching a scoreless inning and striking out a batter in a 14–13 victory over the Boston Braves. He served as a relief pitcher in the first part of the season, not pitching more than 3+1⁄3 innings in a game through July. On June 30, he relieved Huck Betts to start the ninth inning of a game in which the Phillies trailed the Brooklyn Robins by a score of 9–7. Philadelphia tied the game in the bottom of the inning, and Ulrich, after pitching a scoreless ninth, threw a scoreless 10th. Milt Stock led off the 11th inning with a double against Ulrich but was retired in an unusual double play. Zack Wheat hit the ball back to Ulrich, and Stock was caught in a rundown between second and third. Amidst the confusion, Wheat tried to go to second base and was retired with Stock still active on the basepaths; Stock was then retired trying to go to third. Ulrich finished his third scoreless inning of work and was credited with his first major league win when Jimmie Wilson hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the inning. After July 15, Ulrich was sent back to Waterbury, where he won six of seven decisions and posted a 1.00 ERA in 63 innings of work.
In September, Ulrich rejoined the Phillies and was added to their starting rotation. He pitched 10 innings in his first start back on September 4, giving up six runs in a 6–5 loss to the New York Giants. After that, he did not complete another start until the second game of an October 3 doubleheader, when he gave up nine hits but no runs in a 3–0 victory over the Giants, his first major league shutout. In 21 games (four starts), he had a 3–3 record, a 3.05 ERA, 29 strikeouts, 12 walks, and 73 hits allowed in 65 innings pitched. Though his winning percentage was just .500, this was the closest he would ever come to having a winning season in the major leagues.
### 1926
Ulrich began 1926 as a relief pitcher but was used as a starter during the season as well. Many of his starts came from June 24 through July 22; after starting the year with an 0–5 record, he got his first win on June 28, holding Brooklyn to four runs in a complete game, 9–4 victory. He had a 4–3 record and a 3.55 ERA during this stretch. After being used more in relief in August, he served exclusively as a starter in September. His record was 4–12 through August 24, but Ulrich then won four games in a row. On September 1, he held the Braves to four hits in his only shutout of the season, a 3–0 triumph. He held the Cincinnati Reds to six hits and one run in a complete game, 5–1 victory on September 25. In 1926, Ulrich had an 8–13 record, a 4.08 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 37 walks, and 178 hits allowed in 147+2⁄3 innings pitched. He made 45 appearances for the Phillies in 1926, tied with Jakie May for the fourth-highest total among NL pitchers (behind Jack Scott's 50 and Claude Willoughby's and Pete Donohue's 47). However, his 13 losses tied him with sixth other pitchers for 10th in the league.
### 1927
As he had in 1926, Ulrich began 1927 as a relief pitcher. He only pitched three times in April and May. Though he made three starts from May 28 through June 9 and a fourth start on July 3, the rest of his appearances through July 20 all came in relief. Beginning with a start on July 22, 14 of his final 16 outings were starts. On August 5, Ulrich entered a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with one out in the seventh inning, runners on second and third base, and the Pirates down by only two runs after already scoring three times in the inning. He got future Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler to hit into a double play which scored a run but ended the inning. In the ninth, with Philadelphia up 9–6, Ulrich allowed a couple of singles, and the Pirates loaded the bases with one out. Future Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner hit into a fielder's choice to score a run, and Cuyler came to bat again. This time, Ulrich struck him out, preserving the 9–7 victory. In the first game of an August 13 doubleheader, he threw his only shutout of the season, against Boston once again in a 7–0 victory. He had back-to-back one-run complete games on August 22 and 27. In the first, he held the St. Louis Cardinals to four hits but suffered the loss, as future Hall of Famer Jesse Haines threw a shutout. In the latter, which was the first game of a doubleheader, he allowed seven hits and was the benefit of two runs as he defeated the Chicago Cubs by a score of 2–1. From August 5 through September 5, though his record was only 3–4, he posted a 1.14 ERA. This brought his ERA for the season down to 2.64; it was still under three until his final game of the season, the second game of a doubleheader against Boston on October 1, when he gave up eight runs in eight innings in an 8–6 loss. In 32 games (18 starts), he had an 8–11 record, 42 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 201 hits allowed in 193+1⁄3 innings pitched. He finished seventh in the NL with a 3.17 ERA despite pitching for a Phillies team that lost 103 games. Ulrich's 4.6 Wins Above Replacement figure was eighth among NL pitchers, his walks plus hits per innings pitched figure of 1.247 ranked 10th, his 1.862 walks per nine innings pitched ranked ninth, and he did not commit an error on the mound all season. After the season, he finished 23rd in the vote for the NL Most Valuable Player Award voting.
## Illness and death
In 1928, the Phillies signed Lerian to catch for them. Ulrich and Lerian would never play together in the major leagues, however, because the pitcher missed the 1928 season with an illness contracted in February. Newspaper reports correctly identified it as double pneumonia, but this was on top of tuberculosis. Ulrich kept it a secret from the general public that he was consumptive. The illness kept him confined to Franklin Square Hospital for several weeks, but later in the year, he was able to begin training in hopes of recovering enough to pitch again in 1929. His condition relapsed slightly that autumn, and in January 1929, it began to rapidly deteriorate. On February 11, 1929, Uhlrich died in Baltimore at the age of 29. Though newspaper articles said he had died of pneumonia and pleurisy, tuberculosis and cardiac exhaustion were the actual causes, according to the death certificate. Ulrich is buried at the Bohemian National Cemetery in Baltimore.
In his three-season career, Ulrich had a 19–27 record, a 3.48 ERA, 123 strikeouts, 89 walks, and 452 hits allowed in 406 innings pitched.
|
[
"## Early life",
"## Minor league career",
"## Philadelphia Phillies",
"### 1925",
"### 1926",
"### 1927",
"## Illness and death"
] | 2,456 | 29,823 |
7,009,461 |
The Coup (The Office)
| 1,146,018,768 | null |
[
"2006 American television episodes",
"The Office (American season 3) episodes"
] |
"The Coup" is the third episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's thirty-first episode overall. It first aired on October 5, 2006, on NBC in the United States.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) becomes unimpressed with how Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is controlling his branch, so Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) tries to take his job and an office power play ensues. Meanwhile, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) conducts a lunchtime fashion show, and the Stamford branch plays Call of Duty as a team-building exercise, something Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) does not do well in.
The episode was written by co-executive producer Paul Lieberstein and directed by executive producer Greg Daniels. Several cast members noted that the episode contained Shakespearean elements, such as Angela Martin's similarities with the Macbeth character Lady Macbeth. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was viewed by 4.1% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. Critical reception was largely mixed, with several reviewers criticizing Jim's Stamford storyline.
## Plot
Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) berates Michael Scott (Steve Carell) when she discovers that he calls the entire office into the conference room every Monday to watch a movie. Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) prods Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) to ask Jan to give him Michael's job. After her awkward meeting with Dwight, where he declares he can be a better boss than Michael, Jan calls Michael and demands he get his branch under control.
The Stamford branch plays Call of Duty under the guise of a team-building exercise. New to the game, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) plays poorly and draws the ire of his teammates. As he leaves for home, Jim pretends to toss a grenade at Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones), who responds by creating a pretend explosion with paper clips. Karen longingly watches Jim leave.
Meanwhile, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) decides to revamp her wardrobe after her separation from Roy Anderson and ordered some new clothes. When Pam's clothes are shipped to the office, Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) insists that Pam perform a lunchtime fashion show to show off a new blouse. When it draws unwanted attention, Pam concludes that it is too revealing.
Michael leads Dwight to believe that he has been given control of the branch before revealing the ruse. Dwight begs for his job and for Michael's forgiveness while Angela and the rest of the office watch. Dwight offers to do Michael's laundry for a year. When it appears that Michael is on the verge of firing Dwight, Michael insists that they "hug it out, bitch." Dwight quickly returns to being Michael's loyal right-hand man, but Michael is still resentful, and forces Dwight to stand atop a box in the middle of the office, wearing a sign that says "LIAR"—and then promise to do Michael's laundry for a year.
## Production
"The Coup" was written by co-executive producer Paul Lieberstein, who plays series regular Toby Flenderson, and was directed by executive producer and series creator Greg Daniels. Several cast members believed the episode contains Shakespearean themes, in particular elements of the Macbeth character Lady Macbeth in Angela's storyline. Lady Macbeth was depicted as an ambitious woman who "exerted an evil influence over her husband," characteristics that fit with Angela attempting to push her lover, Dwight, into power. In her weekly blog for TV Guide, actress Kate Flannery previewed the episode, "Behind every great man is a pushy woman. Or in this case, a pushy, short, judgmental blonde named Angela. It's the ultimate Adam-and-Eve saga. Angela is about to push the apple in Dwight's face as she persuades him to try to take Michael's place at Dunder Mifflin."
In preparation for some episode scenes, Rashida Jones "took some serious Call of Duty" lessons from the writers, as they all played the online game. In the DVD audio commentary, Rainn Wilson stated that he was happy that the series could "have the nuanced stuff and then the really broad stuff"; he referred specifically to Michael confronting Dwight in this episode as well as to the season's twenty-third episode "Beach Games", where "people are running around in inflatable outfits bashing each other." Also in the audio commentary, Jones suggested that Dwight's punishment – being forced to wear a "liar" sign and stand silently on some boxes in the middle of the office – was reminiscent of the iconic photo of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.
The season three DVD contains a number of deleted scenes that were edited from the episode. These include Creed revealing that he sleeps under his desk four nights a week, Dwight and Angela flirting in the break room after he tries to persuade her to join Movie Monday, Dwight responding to Angela's initial suggestions that he should push Michael out by saying "Michael has the best sales figures in the company's history—I'll never come close to his numbers", Michael becoming suspicious when Pam interrupts to tell him that he has a phone call, Pam responding to Kevin's unwanted attention to her neckline, and Creed reacting to having Dwight as the new boss.
## Reception
"The Coup" first aired on October 5, 2006, in the United States on NBC. It received a Nielsen rating of 4.1/11. This means that it was seen by 4.1% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode placed as the 24th most-watched episode for the week in that demographic.
The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. IGN columnist Brian Zoromski rated "The Coup" 7.8/10, indicating it as a "good" episode. He felt that after the "brilliant" episode from the previous week, "The Coup" was "somewhat anticlimactic, as Jim doesn't interact at all with the Scranton branch and the Pam-Jim storyline is pretty much ignored." Despite his disappointment with Jim's storyline, Zoromski commented that the "best moments of the episode were the completely random ones, such as Dwight knowing that Jan wears blouses from Liz Claiborne and earrings from Ann Taylor." AOLTV's Michael Sciannamea was also unhappy with Jim's scenes, writing that they were "beginning to grate on [him]. Is every branch office at Dunder Mifflin filled with crazies? How then does the company stay in business? I think it would have been funnier if Jim ended up in an office where it's nothing but work and no play at all. The Call of Duty bits didn't do much for me."
Kath Skerry of Give Me My Remote called Dwight's groveling "hilarious," but was unsure about Jim and Karen's ending scene, explaining that it "was adorable. Too adorable. And I’m not quite ready to handle the fact that I’m not HATING the idea of Jim and Karen. I feel like I’m betraying Pam. I’m still a JAM shipper all the way, but it’s nice to see Jim smile again." Skerry concluded that "there were some seriously funny, laugh out loud moments tonight, but I don’t think this episode is going to make my favorites list. But even when The Office isn’t at its best, it’s still hands down the best comedy on TV." Television Without Pity graded the episode with an A−. In the audio commentary, Wilson noted that "The Coup" is "not a fan favorite," though it was submitted for an Emmy Award. For his work on this episode, Paul Lieberstein was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay – Episodic Comedy.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Reception"
] | 1,705 | 33,670 |
50,690,935 |
Italian cruiser Confienza
| 1,168,464,969 |
Torpedo cruiser of the Italian Royal Navy
|
[
"1889 ships",
"Goito-class cruisers",
"Ships built in La Spezia"
] |
Confienza was the last of four Goito-class torpedo cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. She was armed with a variety of light guns and five 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo tubes, and was capable of a top speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). The ship was built in the late 1880s, with her keel laying in September 1887 at the Arsenale di La Spezia; she was completed in April 1890 and thereafter entered service with the Italian fleet. Confienza had a short and uneventful career; she spent her time in Italian waters and did not see any action. Stricken from the naval register in August 1901, she was thereafter broken up for scrap.
## Design
Confienza was 73.4 meters (241 ft) long overall and had a beam of 8.05 m (26.4 ft) and an average draft of 3.04 m (10.0 ft). She displaced 756 long tons (768 t) normally. Her propulsion system consisted of two double-expansion steam engines each driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by four coal-fired locomotive boilers. Confienza was slightly slower than her three sister ships, with a top speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) from 1,962 indicated horsepower (1,463 kW); the other members of her class were a knot faster. Confienza had a cruising radius of 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She had a crew of between 105 and 121.
The primary armament for Confienza was five 14 in (356 mm) torpedo tubes. She carried a heavier gun armament than her sisters, and was the only vessel of the class to carry a medium-caliber weapon, a single 4.7-inch (120 mm) 32-caliber (cal.) gun mounted on the bow. She also carried a light gun battery for defense against torpedo boats. This consisted of six 57 mm (2.2 in) 40-cal. guns and two 37 mm (1.5 in) 20-cal. guns, all mounted singly. The ship was protected with an armored deck that was 1.5 in (38 mm) thick.
## Service history
The keel for Confienza was laid down at the Arsenale di La Spezia in September 1887, the last member of her class to begin construction. She was launched on 28 July 1889, and fitting-out work was completed on 11 April 1890. She then began her sea trials, which concluded in June. On 1 October, she was stationed in Taranto along with the ironclads Affondatore and Ancona, the protected cruisers Liguria, Umbria, and Etruria, the torpedo cruisers Montebello and Monzambano, and several other vessels. She remained there through 1894. Later in 1894, the ship was assigned to the Third Division of the Italian fleet, along with the ironclad San Martino and the newly commissioned protected cruiser Liguria. The following year, Confienza was stationed in the 2nd Maritime Department, split between Taranto and Naples, along with most of the torpedo cruisers in the Italian fleet. These included her sister ships Monzambano, Montebello, and Goito, the eight Partenope-class cruisers, and Tripoli.
The ship was stationed in Naples in 1900, along with the old ironclads Regina Maria Pia, Castelfidardo, and Affondatore, the armored cruiser Marco Polo, the other three Goito-class cruisers, Tripoli, and the two new Agordat-classs. Confienza's career was the shortest of the members of her class, having spent just over a decade in service before she was stricken from the naval register on 26 August 1901 and broken up for scrap.
|
[
"## Design",
"## Service history"
] | 855 | 21,834 |
2,642,237 |
Federalist No. 7
| 1,173,075,306 |
Federalist Paper by Alexander Hamilton
|
[
"1787 essays",
"1787 in American law",
"1787 in the United States",
"Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton"
] |
Federalist No. 7, titled "The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States", is a political essay by Alexander Hamilton and the seventh of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in the Independent Journal on November 17, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. It is one of two essays by Hamilton advocating political union to prevent the states from going to war with one another. Federalist No. 7 continues the argument that was developed in Federalist No. 6.
Federalist No. 7 provides several examples of disputes that Hamilton argues will cause war between the states if they do not unify under a federalist government. It presents arguments for why territorial disputes, commercial policy, public debt, and violation of private contracts would cause war between the states. Though such a war is no longer recognized as a significant possibility in the 21st century, Federalist No. 7 describes many economic issues that have continued relevance to interstate commerce.
## Background and publication
Federalist No. 7 was written by Alexander Hamilton. Like all of the Federalist Papers, it was published under the pseudonym Publius in New York newspapers to explain the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and persuade New York to ratify it. It was first published in the Independent Journal on November 17, 1787, followed by the Daily Advertiser on November 19 and the New-York Packet on November 20. Federalist No. 7 directly continues the argument of Federalist No. 6 regarding the likelihood of war between the states.
## Summary
Hamilton begins by stating his belief that the states will engage in war if they are not unified. He then provides examples of what may cause such wars. First, he describes territorial disputes as the most common cause of war. He says that the undeveloped territory to the west would likely be contested, and that previous territorial disputes between the states had already demonstrated the willingness of states to oppose one another over territory.
Second, Hamilton suggests commerce as a cause of war. He warns that the states would have competing economic interests, and that some states are in more advantageous positions to impose duties on the others. Third, he identifies the states' collective public debt as a point of dispute. The states have been unable to agree on apportionment or whether the debts are urgent, and Hamilton speculates that any agreement would be unfair to some states. Finally, he says that states may cause conflict by passing laws in violation of private contracts. Hamilton concludes that without union, the states will eventually fall under the influence of European nations and go to war with one another.
## Analysis
Federalist No. 7 presented arguments in favor of a federal government by describing potential sources of conflict between the states. Hamilton believed that the states were susceptible to the same types of conflict as any nation, and that this risk necessitated the creation of a strong federal government to resolve disputes between the states. This federal government would ensure that the same rules of commerce were applied equally to all of the states. Hamilton warned of the risk that should the states fail to unify, foreign nations would seek to gain influence over the states by turning them against one another. Hamilton's argument followed that of John Jay in earlier essays, who argued that the American people were naturally connected under a shared identity. Federalist No. 7 may be read as highlighting the danger of such a connection. In Hamilton's view, this shared identity would exacerbate tensions if there is no federal government.
Hamilton believed that the Articles of Confederation were unable to resolve disputes over western territory. This had already become a point of contention between the states by the time Hamilton wrote Federalist No. 7, and it was accompanied by other territorial disputes between the states, including disputes over the Wyoming Valley and the Vermont Republic. When these disputes were resolved in court, the decision often favored one state over another, causing animosity.
Hamilton believed that a centralized commercial policy was necessary to ensure that commerce and duties were uniform between the states and that no state could implement a trade policy that harmed another state. While it was commonly held that mutual economic interests would prevent conflict, Hamilton countered that the economic policies of one state may negatively affect other states, prompting conflict between them. Of particular concern to Hamilton was that certain states, such as New York, held a geographic advantage that allowed them disproportionate control over interstate trade and engage in practices such as tax exportation. The proposed constitution included a Commerce Clause to address these concerns, giving power over interstate and foreign commerce to the United States Congress. In line with Hamilton's concerns, a common interpretation of this clause is that it effectively created a free-trade zone between the states to prevent them from engaging in trade wars. Advocates of deregulatory policies, such as constitutional law professor Michael Greve and economics professor Daniel L. Smith, have proposed that federalism promotes economic competition between the states to the benefit of the citizens.
The United States accumulated significant public debt during the Revolutionary War. There was disagreement as to who was responsible for paying the debt, and the Articles of Confederation had no mechanism to compel payment by the states. The proposed constitution authorized Congress to pay debts, and it included an Engagements Clause that affirmed the validity of previously accumulated debts. Hamilton also described the "violation of private contracts" between citizens of separate states as a potential source of conflict.
Hamilton described the states as naturally seeking war if there was no moderating centralized government; this description is derived from the ideas of Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes argued that humanity without government existed in a hypothetical state of nature, in which each person is threatened by everyone else they met. The solution proposed by Hobbes was the "Leviathan state" that could exercise any powers necessary to guarantee security. Likewise, Hamilton's description of the states' political relations being defined by geography is reminiscent of Montesquieu's belief that the fate of a nation is determined by "geography and climate".
## Aftermath
The system of federalism implemented by the constitution allowed the states to maintain their own independent economies in addition to the national economy, particularly after the ratification of the Tenth Amendment. Economic competition between the states has remained common throughout American history, though the focus shifted from tariffs to subsidies, federal government spending, and benefits for businesses. States also frequently collaborate when developing commerce policies to gain mutual benefit. Tax exportation has also become a common practice in domestic American commerce. The dispute over the American frontier was resolved as the states agreed to cede their western territories to the federal government, eventually allowing for the creation of new states. In the 21st century, war between the states is no longer considered a likely possibility.
|
[
"## Background and publication",
"## Summary",
"## Analysis",
"## Aftermath"
] | 1,371 | 13,550 |
684,051 |
Guilty Gear Isuka
| 1,151,648,082 |
2003 2D fighting video game
|
[
"2003 video games",
"2D fighting games",
"505 Games games",
"Arc System Works games",
"Arcade video games",
"Fighting games",
"Guilty Gear games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"PlayStation 2 games",
"Sammy games",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games scored by Daisuke Ishiwatari",
"Windows games",
"Xbox games"
] |
is a 2D fighting video game developed by Arc System Works and published by Sammy Corporation. Announced by Arc in September, it was released on December 17, 2003, in Japanese arcades as the sixth installment of the Guilty Gear series. Later, the game was ported for a release on the PlayStation 2 (PS2), Xbox, and Windows in Japan. The PS2 version was brought to North America by Sammy, and, in Europe, the home console version was released by 505 Game Street and the PC version by Zoo Digital Publishing.
While the gameplay remained almost the same as in previous titles, the game introduced a four-player battle mode, and the PS2 version included new features to the series, including a scrolling adventure, a customization mode, and two new characters. Guilty Gear Isuka received mixed critical reviews. It was praised for its visual, music and customization features. However, although some aspects of the new gameplay—such as the two fighting planes and the turn button—were praised as original, their implementation was criticized. The removal of features present in previous titles was also not well received by critics.
## Gameplay
### Combat system
The basic gameplay system of Guilty Gear Isuka is like the other games in the series. The game uses a four attack button configuration that consists of punch, kick, slash, and high slash. Unlike previous games, it features a "turn" button, since a character does not automatically turn around if its opponent moves to the other side of the screen. Each character (or team) starts a fight with at least a "soul"; when a character life bar is emptied, its life is filled while the player lost a soul. If the life is depleted when the player has no souls, it is defeated. It also features previous installments features like the tension gauge, which allows the player to perform super moves, and the burst gauge, which allows the player to break combinations and super moves.
### Modes
The game introduces a four-player option in Versus Mode, giving a player four characters who can fight two-on-two, three-on-one or everyone-for-themselves. There are two fighting planes, one in the foreground and the other behind it.
Another innovation was Boost Mode: a two-player, side-scrolling, arcade-style beat 'em up mode not included in the arcade version, in which a player fights enemy waves to accumulate items, health and experience. For the Xbox, this mode was adapted for online play with Xbox Live, supporting up to 16 players. Experience points from Boost Mode can be used in the new Robo-Ky II Factory mode, in which a player can customize a robot named Robo-Ky II by teaching him moves, combos, or one of 65 special attacks from other characters. In addition to the attacks, other aspects such as jump height, offense, defense, recovery time, tension, and speed can be improved.
The game also features other modes: Color Edit, a palette swap editor that allows the player to customize nearly every aspect of the characters, including buckles and hair; Training, in which a player can practice with (and against) computer-controlled opponents and Arcade, similar to the survival mode featured in other fighting games.
### Playable characters
Guilty Gear Isuka features twenty playable characters in its arcade version: Anji Mito, Axl Low, Baiken, Bridget, Chipp Zanuff, Dizzy, Eddie, Faust, I-No, Jam Kuradoberi, Johnny, Ky Kiske, May, Millia Rage, Potemkin, Slayer, Sol Badguy, Testament, Venom, and Zappa. Three characters were added to the PlayStation 2 edition: A.B.A, Robo-Ky, and Robo-Ky II.
## Development and release
In September 2003, Sammy Corporation announced that a new game dubbed Guilty Gear X Series The Newest Version would be featured at the Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association (JAMMA) arcade show; at the show, the company revealed that Guilty Gear Isuka would be the game's name. "In Guilty Gear Isuka we want to satisfy existing fighter fans with new content and never-before-seen innovations. We also want to reach out to mainstream fans to show them that, right now, the envelope in fighting games is also being pushed in two dimensions", declared Tim Pivnicny, senior VP of Sammy Studios, Inc. A PlayStation 2 version of the game was announced to be in development on March 3, 2004. An August 24 announcement said that the game would be compatible with Xbox.
Guilty Gear Isuka was released in Japan on December 17, 2003, by Sammy for the Atomiswave arcade cabinets, followed by the PlayStation 2 version on July 29, 2004. An Xbox version was released by Arc System Works on December 16, 2004, and Sourcenext released the game for Windows on November 25, 2005. In North America, Guilty Gear Isuka was released by Sammy for PlayStation 2 on November 2, 2004. In Europe, 505 Games Street released it on June 16, 2005, for PlayStation 2, and the PC version was released on April 7, 2006, by Zoo Digital Publishing (now Zushi Games). In 2007, the game was made compatible with Xbox 360. DotEmu also released Guilty Gear Isuka on its DRM-free shop in April 2011. On January 16, 2014, the game was released on the Steam digital distribution platform for Windows PCs. In 2020, a homebrew conversion was released for the Dreamcast.
## Reception
Guilty Gear Isuka was the 176th-bestselling Japanese title in 2004, with 74,270 copies sold for PlayStation 2 as of December 26. It was "Best Fighting Game" at the Best of E3 2004 Awards from IGN, and was nominated for "Best Sequel Fighting" at the 2004 National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers (NAVGTR) Awards, which went to Dead or Alive Ultimate. The game received mixed reviews from critics, with a score of 76% at GameRankings and 73/100 at Metacritic. Allgame's Damian Francis gave the game three-and-a-half stars out of five; Famitsu's four reviewers scored it 7, 7, 6, and 7 (out of 10) respectively, with a total score of 27 out of 40.
Although the introduction of two planes and the turning button were considered good ideas in theory, both features were heavily criticized by reviewers. Jeremy Dunham of IGN, Manny LaMancha of GamePro and Benjamin Turner of GameSpy felt it difficult to fight one-on-one when a player can start a cat-and-mouse game, while GameSpot's Greg Kasavin and Brian Gee of Game Revolution found the features to cause "chaos". Turner said it deprived the player of the ability "to have a normal Guilty Gear X2-style match", and Dunham said the computer reacted faster. David Smith of 1UP.com called it an "irrational control scheme". The perceived poor execution of its new features led GameSpy to give it a special "It Sounded Good on Paper" award.
Conversely, other additions received more positive feedback. Dunham called the Boost and Factory modes "intriguing distractions", while Turner praised the latter for "much depth and nuance", unreached by other games. Kasavin said the Boost Mode gets boring quickly due to the lack of an objective; though Kasavin declared that the Factory Mode "is quite possibly the most interesting part of the gameplay", he criticized how it depends on playing "a mindless side-scroller over and over." The new backgrounds were commended by Dunham, Kasavin and Smith, with the latter saying that Sammy should have saved them for a better game.
The maintenance of aspects from previous titles, including its animation and soundtrack, was praised by Kasavin, Turner, and Gee. Its soundtrack was said to be "the best score in the franchise so far" by Dunham, and was rated among video game soundtracks which "never got the recognition they truly deserve" by Siliconera. LaMancha, however, criticized a lack of improvement of its animation and music compared to its gameplay. The removal of other features from previous titles was criticized: Dunham and Kasavin complained about the lack of a story mode, while Joe Juba of Game Informer said the series had a "magic" until Isuka, criticizing the new additions and the absence of a traditional arcade mode. Isuka was well-rated on balance, but considered inferior to the previous Guilty Gear X2 \#Reload.
## Other media
### Music
, composed by Daisuke Ishiwatari, Tetsuya Ohuchi and Yoshihiro Kusano, arranged by Ohuchi and Kusano, was released on CD by Team Entertainment on April 21, 2004. An additional edition was released on iTunes on November 23, 2005; it contains six more tracks, totalizing 26 tracks.
It was well received by critics; Don Kotowski and Harry of Square Enix Music Online rated it 8 out of 10. Kotowski said Ishiwatari is the mainstream in the soundtrack, while Ohuchi and Kusano "somewhat disappoint", qualifying it as "a great album" in overall. Harry said the only thing bad about this album is its "too short" length. Writing for the same site, a reviewer dubbed GoldfishX rated it 7 out of 10, citing "it lacks the depth of previous entries in the series."
### Books
Ichijinsha released two Guilty Gear Isuka manga adaptations under its DNA Media Comics line. The first one, titled , is a yonkoma series released on February 25, 2004. The other series is an anthology titled , which was released on March 25 of the same year. Subsequently, on March 30, was released by Enterbrain. It is an encyclopedia compiled by Monthly Arcadia, an Enterbrain magazine, which was released along with a DVD with commentaries on the game features. Two guidebooks were released by SoftBank Creative; and were published on August 9, and on September 6, 2004, respectively.
|
[
"## Gameplay",
"### Combat system",
"### Modes",
"### Playable characters",
"## Development and release",
"## Reception",
"## Other media",
"### Music",
"### Books"
] | 2,158 | 44,403 |
2,526,133 |
Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
| 1,173,188,439 | null |
[
"1991 American television episodes",
"Emmy Award-winning episodes",
"Television episodes set in hell",
"The Simpsons (season 2) episodes"
] |
"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The 26th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets an illegal cable hookup. Despite the family's enjoyment of the new channels, Lisa suspects they are stealing cable. Her suspicions are confirmed by Reverend Lovejoy and she protests by no longer watching television. Homer invites his friends to watch a cable-TV boxing match, but Lisa's protest persuades him to cut the cable when the fight ends.
The episode was written by freelance writer Steve Pepoon and directed by Rich Moore. It is based on the Eighth Commandment ("Thou shalt not steal"). The episode marks the debut of Troy McClure, who was voiced by Phil Hartman and based on the typical "washed up" Hollywood actor. The character Drederick Tatum, one of the boxers in the boxing match Homer and his friends watch, also makes his first appearance on the show in this episode.
In its original broadcast, "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" received a Nielsen rating of 15.2, finishing 25th the week it aired.
It received favorable reviews from critics and became the second episode of The Simpsons to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour).
## Plot
After seeing Ned Flanders reject an offer from a crooked cable man for a \$50 illegal cable hookup, Homer chases after the cable man and takes the offer. The Simpsons like the new channels and spend hours watching them. However, Lisa is suspicious about the cable hookup, and after a Sunday school lesson about the existence and nature of Hell, she fears that Homer is violating the Eighth of the Ten Commandments — "Thou shalt not steal" — and will go to Hell when he dies.
After seeing other examples of common thievery everywhere, Lisa visits Reverend Lovejoy. He dissuades Lisa from reporting her father's illegal cable hookup to the police since the Fifth Commandment states one must "honor thy father and thy mother", but instead advises her to lead by example and refuse to watch programs via the cable hookup. Marge pleads with Homer to either cut the cable or pay for it, but he refuses. However, after the cable man offers to sell him a stolen car stereo and attempts to break into Ned's house, Homer barricades his windows in fear. Bart one evening discovers a porn channel called "Top Hat Entertainment" and despite fear of punishment from Homer who unfortunately spots him watching it, Homer lets Bart off with a warning telling him not to watch the channel again. Bart pretends to agree to this and behind Homer's back charges the neighborhood children 50 cents to watch the cable porn channel, but just as it begins Homer catches him and sends him to his room as punishment.
Homer invites his co-workers and bar buddies to watch Drederick Tatum fight for the World Heavyweight Championship during a cable-TV boxing match. Unfortunately for Homer, Mr. Burns also finds out and decides to attend the gathering to watch the match. When Lisa announces she will boycott the screening, Homer banishes her to the lawn, where she is joined by Marge and Maggie. Eventually Homer's conscience bothers him and he begrudgingly chooses not to watch the fight, dragging Bart outside with him. When his friends leave, Homer hesitantly cuts the cable hookup over Bart's objections. However, it ends up being a hollow victory on Lisa’s part as Homer ends up cutting off power to his neighborhood while trying to find the right wire to cut the cable.
## Production
"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" was written by freelance writer Steve Pepoon and directed by Rich Moore. It was originally going to be named "Homer vs. the 8th Commandment", but the writers decided to include Lisa in the title because they wanted the cast to feel as if all their characters were equally represented on the show. The episode is based on the Eighth Commandment ("thou shall not steal"), which is one of the Ten Commandments. The Simpsons writer Al Jean said that "whenever people come up to me and say that The Simpsons is just sort of this outrageous show that has no moral center, I always point them to this [episode], where Homer gets an illegal cable hook-up (which many people have done in real life) and suffers enormous consequences."
The Simpsons writer Mike Reiss feels that episodes such as "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" are his favorite episodes to write because they have a "solid theme or an issue" (in this case, religion and theft), that one can "discuss endlessly and just have it present itself in so many different ways". Producer Jeff Martin said the writers tried to use a "very strict construction of the Eighth Commandment," considering cable theft to be "essentially a victimless crime". "Homer vs. the 8th Commandment" was produced at a time when illegal cable hookups were becoming commonplace in many homes. This episode later inspired the season four episode "Homer the Heretic", in which Homer stops going to church on Sundays. Based on the Fourth Commandment, "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy", that episode originated when Jean commented to Reiss, "We had a lot of luck with Homer stealing cable, so maybe we could look to other commandments?"
The episode marks the debut appearance of the character Troy McClure, voiced by Phil Hartman. McClure was based on the typical "washed up" Hollywood actor, and B movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure served as inspiration for his name and certain character aspects. According to show creator Matt Groening, Hartman was cast in the role due to his ability to pull "the maximum amount of humor" out of any line he was given. McClure's visual appearance is similar to that of Hartman himself. McClure became a recurring character on the show after "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment", but was retired in 1998 after Hartman's death. In addition to McClure, Hartman also provided the voice of the cable guy. The character Drederick Tatum, one of the boxers in the boxing match Homer and his friends watch, also makes his first appearance on the show in this episode. His physical appearance was based on the American boxer Mike Tyson, and he was named after a real boxer Simpsons writer George Meyer had seen.
## Cultural references
The opening scene with Moses on Mount Sinai parodies the 1956 film The Ten Commandments. The scene in which Homer fakes getting hit by the cable man's truck resembles a scene in Alfred Hitchcock's film North by Northwest. Drederick Tatum is based on Mike Tyson. In a joke about Mr. Burns' age, Burns recalls watching a bare-knuckle match between Gentleman Jim Corbett and "an Eskimo fellow". The films that are watched by the family on the new cable are Jaws, Die Hard, and Wall Street. One of the X-rated films Bart and his friends watch on cable is called Broadcast Nudes. The title parodies Broadcast News, which was written by Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks. Towards the end of the episode, Bart mentions Atlanta Braves Baseball in reference to their frequent appearances on TBS from 1977 to 2007. He also mentions Joe Franklin.
## Reception
In its original broadcast, "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" finished 25th in ratings for the week of February 4–10, 1991 with a Nielsen rating of 15.2, and was viewed in approximately 14 million homes. It did better than the show's season average rank of 32nd, and was the highest rated program on Fox that week. The episode finished second in its timeslot to The Cosby Show, which aired at the same time on NBC and had a Nielsen rating of 16.8.
In The Gospel According to The Simpsons, Mark I. Pinsky writes that the episode has "the structure of an exquisitely crafted twenty-two minute sermon". DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson felt that "[The episode] helped establish the show's reputation as a master lampooner of pop culture. The introduction of cable into the home allowed [the writers] to mock many different movies and other media outlets, and this helped make the episode very entertaining. It also worked in many other ways and offered a fine show."
Writing for Maclean's magazine, Jaime J. Weinman described "Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment" as "the first truly great episode — the one that established The Simpsons as the funniest and most multi-layered sitcom around. The story of Homer stealing cable was an excuse for dozens of parodies of early 90s cable TV, but it was also a story about Homer and his daughter and an examination of how we rationalize little acts of theft in our daily lives."
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode a "skilful demonstration of a moral dilemma that must have plagued millions since the inception of cable TV". Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, wrote that "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" is "one of the many demonstrations that while [The Simpsons] may have pushed the censorship envelope for its day, it remained moral to its core. The running satire of cable programs is also quite amusing." The episode won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour). It was the second episode of the show to win the award. It was also nominated in the "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special" category.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Cultural references",
"## Reception"
] | 2,058 | 25,103 |
9,014,804 |
Phyllis' Wedding
| 1,167,798,026 | null |
[
"2007 American television episodes",
"Television episodes about weddings",
"The Office (American season 3) episodes"
] |
"Phyllis' Wedding" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 44th overall. It first aired on February 8, 2007, on NBC. The episode was written by staff writer Caroline Williams and directed by Ken Whittingham. Actors Creed Bratton, Rashida Jones, and Bobby Ray Shafer guest star.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, the office attends Phyllis Lapin's (Phyllis Smith) wedding to Bob Vance (Shafer), and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) becomes upset with how many similarities there are between her canceled wedding and Phyllis'. Meanwhile, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) embarrasses the bride and groom, and Pam reconnects with her ex-fiancé Roy Anderson (David Denman).
Brian Baumgartner's character appears as a drum player in the episode, forcing the actor to take lessons for the instrument and rely on a stunt musician. According to Nielsen Media Research, an estimated 8.8 million viewers watched the episode at the time of broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics, as some reviewers found Michael's actions unrealistic and cartoonish. "Phyllis' Wedding" won a NAACP Image Award for Whittingham's directional work and received a nomination from the Writers Guild of America.
## Plot
Phyllis Lapin (Phyllis Smith) has asked Michael Scott (Steve Carell) to push her father's wheelchair down the aisle at her wedding, a role that she gave him to secure six weeks off for her honeymoon. Michael is eager to participate, seeing himself in a "father of the bride" role, but is upset when Phyllis' father "upstages" him by walking the last few steps down the aisle under his own power.
Goaded by Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) hunts down wedding crashers. He ousts Phyllis' Uncle Al (George Ives), who fails to pass Dwight's questioning due to dementia. When Uncle Al is reported missing over the PA, Dwight realizes his mistake.
Michael makes several crude attempts to recapture the limelight, culminating with an overlong toast at the wedding banquet in which he impugns Phyllis' chastity. Outraged, Phyllis' husband Bob Vance (Bobby Ray Shafer) throws him out of the reception hall. Dwight does not let him re-enter, taking satisfaction in being able to eject a real wedding crasher. Michael finds company with Uncle Al, and eventually confesses that he is sorry for his behavior and worried that it may have sullied Phyllis' day, although Uncle Al is only able to respond with aloof statements.
Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) is upset that many details of Phyllis' wedding, from the invitations to the wedding gown, were copied from her own canceled wedding, and is further rankled when her ex-fiancé Roy Anderson (David Denman) fails to recognize any of these details. Roy expresses regret over his lack of involvement in their wedding plans and pays "Scrantonicity", the Kevin Malone-led (Brian Baumgartner) wedding band to play their song, "You Were Meant for Me". Touched by the gesture, Pam dances with him, and they leave together. Jim, who was flirting with Pam earlier in the reception, takes consolation in his relationship with Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones). When Phyllis leaves the reception hall with Bob Vance, Michael apologizes to her and she thanks him for finding Uncle Al. The newlyweds ride off in a Vance Refrigeration van.
## Production
"Phyllis' Wedding" was written by staff writer Caroline Williams and directed by Ken Whittingham, his fifth such credit for the series. Recurring guest stars Creed Bratton, Rashida Jones, and Bobby Ray Shafer appeared in the episode. The episode is the first of the series to revolve around a wedding. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Baumgartner described the episode, "Michael plays a very important role in that wedding. He is to walk Phyllis' dad down the aisle by pushing him in a wheelchair, which in his mind is him walking Phyllis down the aisle, a very important position of authority. Of course, Phyllis has asked him to do this only so she can get six weeks of vacation time. But for him it's a place of honor, and from there, things don't go quite the way that he hopes."
The episode features Kevin Malone playing the drums in a band, which had been an idea circulated since the first season, when allusions to him being in a Steve Miller tribute band were written; the scenes had to be removed from the series due to issues negotiating with the singer. The crew later decided to have Kevin be in a Police tribute band called Scrantonicity because he "talks so low, and has very little expression, and there is no band that sings higher and with more expression than the Police." While Kevin was always intended to be the band's lead singer, executive producer Greg Daniels approached Baumgartner about possibly playing an instrument, but the actor replied he could not play anything. Daniels and Baumgartner then discussed instruments that would be "funny" to play and brought up harmonicas, saxophones, and drums. They ultimately decided on the latter because they deemed a "drumming lead singer [to] be the funniest choice," regardless of the fact that the actor had "absolutely no drumming experience, and it's a difficult instrument." Baumgartner took some drum lessons, but found filming of the episode to be "the hardest thing that I've ever done artistically." He was aided by a stunt musician who hid behind a curtain near the band.
## Reception
"Phyllis' Wedding" first aired on February 8, 2007, in the United States on NBC. According to Nielsen Media Research, an estimated 8.8 million viewers watched the episode, and it earned a 4.4/11 ratings share among adults aged 18 to 49. In other words, it was seen by 4.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.
AOL TV's Jay Black called the episode "amazing", partly because he believed the out-of-office setting made Michael's "social awkwardness and emotional neediness a lot more enjoyable." Black observed that the "main romantic plotline had some nice movement tonight as well," and praised the Pam-Roy and Jim-Karen storylines in particular for their realism. Writing for IGN, Brian Zoromski rated "Phyllis' Wedding" with 7 out of 10, an indication of a "good" episode. He asserted that the episode contained some "great moments" such as Jim's altoid prank on Dwight and Michael's conversation with Phyllis' uncle with dementia. In contrast to Black however, Zoromski believed Michael's "over-the-top cartoonishness" actions stretched "the believability of the show's" illusion as reality, especially because they occurred outside of the office.
Give Me My Remote's Kath Skerry speculated that after several episodes of a "semi-normal" Michael, the writers "were aching to bring back cringe worthy Michael." She criticized the decision, calling his behavior "borderline ridiculous (and not in a good way). It just seems implausible that someone could be so very clueless that they would act like that in public." Skerry however did find high points, such as the opening sequence and any scene with Dwight and Angela. Television Without Pity graded the episode with an "A".
Entertainment Weekly columnist Abby West praised Smith for "again proving how sly her seemingly diffident character really is" by manipulating Michael. West also noted that she ended up "feel[ing] a little sorry" for Michael after the episode, due to the revelations learned from his childhood. Carell later recalled that many fans "hated" Michael for disrupting Phyllis' wedding. For his work in the episode, Whittingham won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. Along with two other Office episodes, for her work on this episode, Caroline Williams was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay – Episodic Comedy.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Reception"
] | 1,783 | 12,536 |
1,565,914 |
Rhode Island Route 99
| 1,159,690,645 |
State highway in Providence County, Rhode Island, US
|
[
"Cumberland, Rhode Island",
"Freeways in the United States",
"Lincoln, Rhode Island",
"Numbered routes in Rhode Island",
"Transportation in Providence County, Rhode Island",
"Woonsocket, Rhode Island"
] |
Route 99, also known as the Woonsocket Industrial Highway, is a numbered state highway running 2.9 miles (4.7 km) in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a nominally north–south freeway for its entire length. Route 99 serves Manville and the Highland Industrial Park, providing freeway access to the city of Woonsocket from Interstate 295 and Rhode Island Route 146, the latter of which bypasses the city. The southern terminus of Route 99 is at a partial interchange with I-295 and Route 146 in Lincoln. The freeway has one interchange in Manville, a village in Lincoln, before terminating at an at-grade intersection with Rhode Island Route 122 in Woonsocket.
Originally conceived as a freeway linking Route 146 and Interstate 295 with Interstate 495 in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Route 99 was constructed primarily to provide freeway access to Woonsocket and the developing Highland Industrial Park. Although originally proposed to serve Downtown Woonsocket, an alternate routing that terminated at Route 122 and ran closer to the Woonsocket–Cumberland border was later constructed by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). The four-lane freeway began construction in 1987 and was completed in 1993. RIDOT has long-range plans to extend Route 99 north to Route 114 in Downtown Woonsocket, but plans for a northerly extension to I-495 have been abandoned.
## Route description
Route 99 begins at a partial interchange with I-295 and Route 146 in Lincoln; the route is only accessible from I-295 and Route 146 north, and the mainline of Route 99 south defaults onto Route 146 south with no direct access to Route 146 north. The exit for Route 99 off Route 146 north is accessed via a collector road that also serves Interstate 295 from Route 146.
Route 99 north diverges from Route 146 north and heads in an almost due north direction. The freeway has its only interchange with Sayles Hill Road, an unnumbered road that is used to access the village of Manville and Route 126 (Old River Road). Sayles Hill Road is also used to access Route 146 north, which has no direct freeway connection with Route 99 south.
After the Sayles Hill Road interchange, Route 99 begins to head in a northeastern direction, passing to the west of the densely populated village of Manville and the St. James Cemetery. Route 99 passes over Route 126 (Old River Road), Railroad Street, and the Providence and Worcester Railroad on a single-span bridge before crossing over the Blackstone River into the town of Cumberland. The freeway passes over 2nd Avenue before entering the city of Woonsocket shortly before its northern terminus at a traffic signal with Route 122 (Mendon Road). The road continues northward as Highland Corporate Drive, an unnumbered route that enters the Highland Industrial Park.
## History
The origins of Route 99 date back to 1959, when the Rhode Island Department of Public Works (RIDPW) began planning studies for a freeway linking I-95 in Pawtucket with the city of Woonsocket. The freeway was planned in addition to Route 146, the Louisquisset Expressway, to serve the cities and towns of northern Providence County. In 1964, \$535,000 (1964 USD) was allocated for further planning studies, but the proposed freeway was ultimately dropped by RIDPW. In 1968, plans for a freeway were revived when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works proposed the construction of a "Woonsocket Connector" linking Woonsocket with Bellingham, Massachusetts and I-495 on a route similar to that of Massachusetts Route 126.
In 1971, RIDOT again began studies on a new freeway to Woonsocket, this time to connect the city's developing industrial parks to Route 146, I-295, and the rest of the Providence metropolitan area. Four different alignments were proposed for the new route, each beginning near the intersection of Route 146 and I-295 and ending near Downtown Woonsocket. The first proposal began the freeway at the intersection of Route 146 and Route 104 in North Smithfield, north of I-295. The freeway would have taken a northeast route to the downtown area. The second proposal began the freeway near the intersection of Route 146 and Route 146A in North Smithfield; this route would have also taken a northeastern route to the border between Woonsocket and the town of Cumberland. The third proposal called for a similar route to the Cumberland border, but had the freeway beginning at the intersection of Route 146 and Sayles Hill Road in the North Smithfield business district. Finally, the fourth alignment called for the freeway to begin just north of the Route 146 and I-295 interchange in Lincoln, with a northern route heading to either Downtown Woonsocket or the Cumberland–Woonsocket border. RIDOT eventually constructed the fourth alignment, with the freeway beginning north of the I-295 interchange and proceeding north to the border between Woonsocket and Cumberland. The route was assigned the number "Route 325" by RIDOT.
RIDOT conducted further planning and environmental studies in the 1970s, proposing to construct the four-lane freeway with a dual carriageway and a 65-foot (20 m) landscaped median. The freeway would be constructed over a 400-foot (122 m) right-of-way, running through mostly undeveloped land in the Blackstone River Valley. RIDOT planned to construct the highway first as a two-lane freeway to be upgraded at a later date.
Further environmental studies in the late 1980s altered the plans for the construction of the Woonsocket Industrial Highway; after studies indicated that the freeway, as originally planned, would interfere with the water supply for the city of Woonsocket, RIDOT revised the proposal, removing the large median and reducing the right-of-way. The freeway was instead planned with a 150-foot (46 m) right-of-way and concrete barriers to separate the opposing traffic lanes. The plan to open the highway as a two-lane freeway was also abandoned; instead, all four lanes would be constructed at one time. In the 1980s, the planned Route 325 was also renumbered to Route 99. Construction on Route 99 began in 1987. The project, which included the construction of a four-lane bridge over the Providence and Worcester Railroad and the Blackstone River and new collector/distributor roads on Route 146 between I-295 and Route 99, was completed in 1993.
## Future
The proposal to extend the Woonsocket freeway north to I-495 in Bellingham was placed on RIDOT long-range planning studies in 1971, resurrecting the proposal made by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works in the 1960s. Throughout the 1980s, RIDOT planned the alignment or Route 99 to allow for a northern extension of the freeway beyond Route 122. In 1977, however, RIDOT officially abandoned plans for an extension north to Bellingham, Massachusetts and I-495, instead opting for a shorter route that would extend the freeway north to Route 114 (Diamond Hill Road) in northern Woonsocket. The freeway extension remains on RIDOT's long-term plans.
In 2009, RIDOT announced that it would begin resurfacing and repaving the collector/distributor roads serving I-295 and Route 99 from Route 146. Resurfacing the most deteriorated portions of the roads began in March 2009, with a complete repaving scheduled for June 2009. Repaving was later rescheduled for August 2009, but has since been postponed until September.
## Exit list
Exits were unnumbered until November 2017, when they were added as part of a project to convert exits in the state to mileage-based exit numbers, a federal highway standard
## See also
- Rhode Island Route 403
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Future",
"## Exit list",
"## See also"
] | 1,659 | 13,887 |
22,621,714 |
You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home
| 1,143,981,356 |
2009 song by Miley Cyrus
|
[
"2009 songs",
"American country music songs",
"American pop rock songs",
"Hannah Montana songs",
"Songs written by Martin Johnson (musician)",
"Songs written by Taylor Swift",
"Walt Disney Records singles"
] |
"You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" is a country pop song written for the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song is performed by Hannah Montana, a character Miley Cyrus portrays in the film. The song was written by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and American singer Martin Johnson. A karaoke version of the song is available in the soundtrack's karaoke series. The song is musically country pop and pop rock. Lyrically, the track is about staying grounded and going back to one's roots.
The song received critical success for its use in the film. "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" was met with average-to-low commercial outcomes for Cyrus in several countries, compared to those of her previous efforts as Montana. It reached its highest international peak in the Canadian Hot 100, at number thirty-six. The song was qualified for gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and received a music video to coincide with the home release of Hannah Montana: The Movie.
## Development
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift became involved with Hannah Montana: The Movie when filmmakers emailed her specifically to request the use of her music in the film. Swift agreed to make a cameo appearance in the film to sing "Crazier" as well as to co-write a song with Boys Like Girls lead singer Martin Johnson. In an interview with MTV, Johnson described working with Swift:
> "She's awesome. She's one of the most talented songwriters to work with, if not, the best. For such a young girl, she's so creative and spot-on. She knows the audience, she truly understands the kind of pop music that is from the heart and done in a tasteful way. She knows ways to make things pop and also make you feel it at the same time. We wrote a bunch of songs together and it was a lot of fun."
"You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" is used as the closing number of Hannah Montana: The Movie. In the film, Cyrus performs as popstar Hannah Montana onstage at an outdoor fundraiser to save her hometown's treasured park from developers. More than 2,000 extras were used to film the scene.
## Composition
"You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home", according to AllMusic, embodies the album's theme of merging country and pop music. It is set in common time with a fast rock tempo of 160 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of E♭ major. Cyrus' vocals span one octave, from B♭<sub>3</sub> to B<sub>4</sub>. The song has the following chord progression, E♭5—D5—E♭5. Like the film, the lyrics discuss importance of one's roots. Warren Truitt of About.com believed it conveyed "the sentiment that even pop stars find safe haven in their home town". The first few lyrics of the song's chorus are almost identical to the opening verse in Hilary Duff's song "So Yesterday", which was released in 2003.
## Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from critics. Simon Weaving of Screenwize.com said the film's conflicts are "mostly expressed in the simple, sugared lyrics of a series of pop hits that seamlessly find their way into the story—including 'The Best of Both Worlds' and 'You'll Always Find a Way Back Home'." James Plath of Dvdtown.com described the song as being "integrated pretty well into the narrative". Peter Canavese of Grouncho Reviews said "the story makes way for [...] 'You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home'", which would attract "the film's target audience of pre-teen girls". Warren of Truitt of About.com listed the song as the third best song by Hannah Montana. The song was included on the short list for Best Original Song at the 82nd Academy Awards.
## Chart performance
The song made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number eighty-seven on the week ending April 11, 2009. "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" fell one spot to number eighty-eight in the following week, but on the week ending May 2, 2009 it reached its peak on the Hot 100 at number eighty-one due to digital downloads that placed it at number fifty-two on Hot Digital Songs. In the Canadian Hot 100, "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" debuted at eighty-eight on the week ending April 11, 2009 and reached its peak at number seventy-six on the week ending May 2, 2009.
## Music video
A promotional music video for "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" was filmed in correlation to the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack. The video, part of a series of promotional videos titled The Miley Sessions, was released in March 2009 on Disney.com and features Cyrus singing in a vacant recording studio.
An excerpt from Hannah Montana: The Movie premiered as the song's music video in August 2009 on Disney Channel to promote the home release of the film. The video begins with Cyrus and her backup dancers atop a stage in a crowded outdoor concert. Cyrus is dressed as Hannah Montana and is wearing a business suit. As Cyrus begins singing, she and the dancers engage in intricate choreography. The video then transitions to a clip from Hannah Montana: The Movie in which Cyrus' character is getting down from a private airplane. The video continues to alternate between Cyrus performing and more film clips; scenes include Stewart taking off her Hannah Montana wig and interacting with Travis Body, her love interest in the film, portrayed by actor Lucas Till. Midway through the video, Cyrus and her dancers exit the stage through a back door and instantly enter sporting western clothing with Cyrus in a western teal button up shirt, a checkered red and white table cloth with purple ruffles pettiskirt or a petticoat, and cowboy boots. Meanwhile, as the video ends, it shows that Miley wakes up and realizes (after the earlier events from the film) it's just a dream, with Jackson's car driving through the road, and the video ends.
## Charts
## Certification
|
[
"## Development",
"## Composition",
"## Critical reception",
"## Chart performance",
"## Music video",
"## Charts",
"## Certification"
] | 1,272 | 8,695 |
15,798,494 |
Here with Me (MercyMe song)
| 1,145,820,020 | null |
[
"2000s ballads",
"2004 singles",
"2004 songs",
"Curb Records singles",
"MercyMe songs",
"Songs written by Bart Millard",
"Songs written by Dan Muckala",
"Songs written by Pete Kipley"
] |
"Here with Me" is a song by Christian rock band MercyMe. Written and composed by the band, as well as Peter Kipely, Dan Muckala, and Brad Russell, "Here with Me" is a ballad with a musical style influenced by worship, pop, and rock music; the overall sound has been compared to that of alternative rock band Coldplay. "Here with Me" lyrically discusses the omnipresence of God.
Released as the lead single from MercyMe's 2004 album, Undone, "Here with Me" attained positive critical reception and peaked at No. 1 on multiple Christian radio chart formats; it also peaked inside the top 40 on several mainstream radio formats. It ranked No. 16 on the 2000s decade-end Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts. The song appeared on WOW Hits 2005.
## Background and production
"Here with Me" was written and composed by MercyMe, Dan Muckala, Brad Russell, and Peter Kipley. It was recorded at several locations: Blueberry Hill, Sound Stage, Abbey Road Studios, The Indigo Room, Maximedia, Luminous Sound, and The Schwoodio. Recording was handled by F. Reid Shippen, Mike O'Connor, and Steve Bishir; the strings on the song were arranged by Rob Mathes and recorded by Simon Rhodes at Abbey Road Studios. "Here with Me" was mixed by Shippen and produced by Kipley, while the mastering for the song was handled by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound.
## Composition
"Here with Me" is a ballad with a length of four minutes and nine seconds. It is set in common time in the key of B major (Mixolydian mode), with a moderate tempo of eighty-four beats per minute and a vocal range spanning from B<sub>3</sub>-G<sub>5</sub>. The musical vibe of "Here with Me" has been compared to that of Coldplay and Robbie Williams. The song has influences from pop, rock, and worship. It features a musical crescendo that has been described as similar to "I Can Only Imagine". The lyrical content of the song has been described as having a devotional bent, and conveys a theme of God's omnipresence and holiness. "Here with Me" also attempts to comprehend the mystery of God's love.
## Reception
### Critical reception
"Here with Me" received generally positive reviews from critics. Johnny Joftus of Allmusic commented, "...the lush 'Here With Me' might be a Robbie Williams pop gem were it not for its devotional bent." David McCreary of CCM Magazine opined on his review of Undone, "One surefire hit is 'Here With Me,' the album’s first single ... A captivating piano-driven ballad, the song vividly conveys the wonder of God’s omnipresence and holiness and features a rousing crescendo rivaling that of 'Imagine'." Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today International commented that the song was "worshipful", also opining that it "struggle[s] with comprehending the mystery and enormity of God's love."
### Chart performance
"Here with Me" debuted at No. 40 on the Hot Christian Songs chart for the week of April 3, 2004. The song advanced to No. 10 in its sixth chart week, and to No. 5 in its eighth chart week, holding that spot for three consecutive weeks. In its sixteenth chart week, "Here with Me" advanced to its peak of No. 1, holding that spot for eleven consecutive weeks. It dropped to No. 2 in its twenty-seventh chart week, holding that spot for two weeks before returning to No. 1 for two more weeks. "Here with Me" dropped to No. 3 in its thirty-first chart week, and spent a further eight weeks on the chart before dropping out. In all, "Here with Me" spent thirty-nine weeks on the Hot Christian Songs chart, thirteen of them at No. 1. On the Adult Contemporary chart, "Here with Me" debuted at No. 24 for the chart week of May 15, 2004. "Here with Me" advanced to No. 19 in its sixth chart week, holding that spot for three consecutive weeks. In its nineteenth chart week, it advanced to its peak of No. 12, and spent a further seven weeks on the chart before dropping out. In all, "Here with Me" spent twenty-six weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart.
On the Adult Top 40 chart, "Here with Me" debuted at No. 38 for the chart week of August 28, 2004. It spent an additional week on the chart before dropping out, after spending two weeks on the chart. "Here with Me" also peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Christian AC chart (spending ten weeks at No. 1), the Radio & Records Christian AC chart (spending seven weeks at No. 1), and the Radio & Records Inspo chart (spending five weeks at No. 1), as well as peaking at No. 2 on the Radio & Records Christian CHR chart. "Here with Me" ranked No. 4 on the 2004 year-end Hot Christian Singles and Tracks Titles and Hot Christian Adult Contemporary Titles charts, as well as No. 19 on the year-end Adult Contemporary Singles and Tracks chart. Additionally, it ranked No. 16 on both the 2000s decade-end Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts.
## Formats and track listing
US promotional single (INO)
1. "Here with Me" – 3:58
2. "Here with Me (Light Remix)" – 3:58
3. "Here with Me (Vocal Intro Remix) – 3:49
4. "Here with Me (Hot Remix)" – 3:58
US promotional single (INO/Curb)
1. "Here with Me" - 3:58
## Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
[
"## Background and production",
"## Composition",
"## Reception",
"### Critical reception",
"### Chart performance",
"## Formats and track listing",
"## Charts"
] | 1,275 | 34,287 |
42,653,585 |
Saint Peter of Alcantara Parish Church (Pakil)
| 1,171,853,658 | null |
[
"1588 establishments in the Spanish Empire",
"Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo",
"Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines",
"Roman Catholic churches in Laguna (province)",
"Roman Catholic shrines in the Philippines",
"Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines"
] |
The St. Peter of Alcantara Parish Church (Filipino: Parokya ni San Pedro Alcantara), designated as the Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba, is a Roman Catholic church in Pakil, Laguna, Philippines. It enshrines the Our Lady of Turumba painting.
## History
The first Catholic community in Pakil was organized by Fray Pedro Bautista (later canonized as San Pedro de Bautista) as a visita of Paete in 1588. It was separated from Paete in 1676. Father Francisco de Barajas, a priest from Santa Ana de Sapa Church in Manila, was named as the first parish priest on May 12, 1676. The first church was constructed of bamboo, nipa and other light materials, by volunteers under the patronage of Peter of Alcantara.
In 1684, the government, through Governor General Gabriel Curuscalegui, approved the collection of a tribute for five years for the sole purpose of constructing a stone church. The foundation was laid in 1732 during the term of Father Fernando Haro, but it burned down in 1739. It was begun again, and the construction of the church finished in 1767 with the addition of a tower in 1777. The image of Our Lady of Turumba was unveiled in 1788. In 1840, Father Joaquin de Coria repaired the church, but because of a fire in 1851 which ravaged most of the town, Father Juan de Llanera fixed the damages to the church the following year. Father Juan de Dios de Villayos rebuilt the church roof and bell tower after it was damaged by an earthquake in 1881, and the church was rebuilt again in 1883 by Father Paulino Camba. Damaged by the earthquake of 1937, it was repaired again by Father Federico Diaz Pines with the help of the Confederation of United Catholics (Kapisanang Unidad Catolica). During World War II, the church suffered damage and was later renovated. A major repair was done from 1980 to 1984, when a story of the bell tower was rebuilt and the ceiling was renovated under the Parish Council of the Laity.
### Affiliation with St. Mary Major in Rome
The Chancery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo confirmed that the diocese received a letter from Santos Cardinal Abril, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. The letter conferred a Spiritual Bond of Affinity between the basilica and the church of Pakil.
## Architecture
The church forms a cruciform and has a measurement of 162 by 36 feet (49 by 11 m). It is constructed in the Corinthian and Ionic architectural orders. Its facade has classical Corinthian columns and cornices across a floral stone relief. The church's side entrance is elaborately designed which is typical of churches in Laguna. To one side of the facade is a belfry housing four small bells and one huge bell.
The main retablo is painted in white and has a pantheon of 14 saints housed in an elaborately carved niche with the Archangel Michael towering above. There are two smaller retablos on either side. Father Ronald Reagan constructed an altar marble consecrated by Archbishop Alejandro Olalia in 1959 where the image of the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores was enshrined. A pulpit and a large painting depicting the concept of Heaven, Earth, Hell, and Judicium Finale (Final Judgement), created by Jose Dans, a 19th-century artist from Paete, can also be found. A life-sized figure of a crucified Christ is found in a smaller retablo near the church entrance. The church's Stations of the Cross were made by local artists.
Inside the church, there are original century-old images and church ornaments. Adjoining the church are a convent, sacristy, adoration room/chapel, and an ecclesiastical museum in honor of the Our Lady of Turumba. The museum contains clothes, perfumes, jewelry, and other historic memorabilia. The original oil painting, found by fishermen, can also be found inside the chapel.
## Our Lady of Turumba
The Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba (Our Lady of Sorrows of Turumba) is a 9 by 11 inches (23 by 28 cm) oil on canvas painting of the Virgin Mary. It is a replica of Nuestra Señora de las Antiguas, which was found by fishermen on September 15, 1788 after a storm. It was found floating in Laguna de Bay on the bank of the Matamig River and its presence began the devotion of Our Lady by the church. The Turumba Festival in honor of the Our Lady of Sorrows is the "largest and longest religious celebration in the country". It consists of seven Turumba novenas, or lupi, for seven months commemorating the seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary.
## In popular culture
Pakil church served as filming location for the Regal Entertainment film series Shake, Rattle & Roll 11 starring Maja Salvador in the episode 'Diablo' in 2009 film and ABS-CBN television series Juan dela Cruz starring Coco Martin and the show's follow-up series My Little Juan. In 1983, the celebration of Turumba was featured in the film Turumba by Kidlat Tahimik.
|
[
"## History",
"### Affiliation with St. Mary Major in Rome",
"## Architecture",
"## Our Lady of Turumba",
"## In popular culture"
] | 1,149 | 19,899 |
43,170,524 |
Canberra MRT station
| 1,165,952,864 |
Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore
|
[
"Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations",
"Railway stations in Singapore opened in 2019",
"Sembawang"
] |
Canberra MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North South line, located along Canberra Link at the junction with Canberra Way in Sembawang, Singapore. It is the second infill station on the MRT network (after Dover MRT station), and the first in Singapore with a platform linked directly to an overhead bridge at the same level. With several green features included in the station during construction, it was also the first MRT station to be awarded Platinum for the Building and Construction Authority's Green Mark for Transit Stations, as a result of the construction team's efforts to integrate landscaping and using eco-friendly materials in the construction of the station.
The station was announced following a successful feasibility study conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) after the idea of a new MRT station between the Sembawang and Yishun MRT stations was raised in the 2013 Land Transport Master Plan. Construction started in April 2015, and it opened on 2 November 2019. The mall opposite the station, Canberra Plaza, opened on 18 December 2020.
## History
### Planning
The North South line, Singapore's first MRT line, opened in stages in 1987. The stations from Yew Tee to Sembawang were later opened in 1996 as part of the Woodlands Extension, with missing station codes NS6 and NS12 reserved for future stations along the line.
Both the Land Transport Master Plan 2013 (launched by then-Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew in October) and the Draft Master Plan 2013 (unveiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority during a public exhibition in November) mentioned the possible addition of a new MRT station between Sembawang and Yishun stations. After a year of review, the Draft Master Plan 2013 was officially gazetted to become the Master Plan 2014 in June of that year.
Between January 2013 and June 2014, in response to these master plans, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) started feasibility studies for a new station between Sembawang and Yishun stations in tandem with developments in the northern part of Singapore. Minister Lui concluded that the station could be built, and on 1 August that year, Canberra station was officially announced by the LTA.
### Construction
The estimated cost for the entire station was . On 27 April 2015, LTA awarded Contract 158 to China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Singapore Branch) for the design and construction of Canberra Station at a contract sum of S\$90 million (US\$ million).
Heavy construction work began on 26 March 2016, following the fatal Pasir Ris rail accident on 22 March where two SMRT maintenance workers were killed by an incoming train while performing maintenance on the tracks. This tragedy shined a spotlight on the need for safety for all rail operations involving workers working close to an operational line. As a result of the accident, LTA and SMRT implemented several measures to improve safety such as limiting major work to non-service hours, sheltering the tracks with a temporary enclosure during the roof's construction and creating a full-scale mock-up of the station structure and roof to determine the safest method of construction.
By September 2017, the station was 40% complete, with its deep foundation works in place and construction proceeding to the next stage where platform slabs were cast. By May 2018, the station was 55% complete, with most of its roof structure in place. Between 18 and 20 May 2019, a 72-metre long (236 ft) rail crossover track was constructed at the northern end of Canberra station to connect the two tracks. The crossover track was built partly to reduce the impact of future rail disruption, such as the power outage that occurred on 7 July 2015, by allowing trains to switch to the unaffected track using the crossover.
During a visit to the station's construction site on 20 May 2019, Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan announced that the station would open on 2 November that year. A day before its opening, the station has an official opening ceremony by Khaw.
## Station details
Canberra station is located in the eastern part of Sembawang, next to the residential town of Yishun and near Sungei Simpang Kiri river. An estimated 17,000 households are expected to benefit from the station. The station takes its name from Canberra Link, the road beside which it is located. This road is named after Canberra, the capital of Australia. The station serves the North South line, and is situated between the Sembawang and Yishun stations. The official station code is NS12.
The station is linked to Canberra Plaza, a three-story shopping mall project by the HDB as part of a mixed-use transit-oriented development, via an elevated sheltered footbridge built across Canberra Link.
DP Architects and KTP Consultants (the latter of which is now a subsidiary of Surbana Jurong) designed the station with a nautical theme; thus, the station is shaped like a ship when viewed from the outside. This design was inspired by Sembawang's historical role as a British naval base. The station's roof is modelled after wind blades to convey the speed of Singapore's public transportation. The sides of the station were constructed using glass rather than concrete to allow natural light to enter. Louvers were installed to provide ventilation. For the construction team's efforts to integrate landscaping and the use of eco-friendly materials, the station was awarded a Platinum certification under the Building and Construction Authority's new Green Mark scheme for transit stations. Canberra station is the first MRT station to attain such a rating.
The artwork in the station, Symbiosis, was painted by Singaporean artist Tan Zi Xi. It aims to emphasise the symbiotic relationship between flora and fauna. Residents and stakeholders from the nearby Sembawang Group Representation Constituency contributed to the artwork by drawing imaginative plants and animals after a workshop that involved a nature walk. Tan developed her drawings further to suit the lively design of the station.
The station has five entrances. Four of these are connected by covered pathways to a pair of bus stops, two passenger drop off and pick-up points and parking for over 500 bicycles. The fifth is a sheltered footbridge built across Canberra Link which allows passengers to bypass the concourse level and access the Marina South Pier-bound (city-bound) platform directly.
|
[
"## History",
"### Planning",
"### Construction",
"## Station details"
] | 1,341 | 2,803 |
3,825,831 |
New York State Route 335
| 1,075,830,985 |
North–south state highway in New York, U.S.
|
[
"State highways in New York (state)",
"Transportation in Albany County, New York"
] |
New York State Route 335 (NY 335) is a north–south state highway located within the town of Bethlehem in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It extends for 1.77 miles (2.85 km) from an intersection with Feura Bush Road near the hamlet of Delmar to a junction with NY 443 in the hamlet of Elsmere. The two-lane route, named Elsmere Avenue, also has an intersection with NY 32 about halfway through the route. NY 335 was assigned to its current alignment in the 1930s.
## Route description
NY 335 begins at an intersection with Feura Bush Road southeast of the hamlet of Delmar in the town of Bethlehem. Although Feura Bush Road is now NY 910A, an unsigned reference route, it was once part of NY 32. From Feura Bush Road, NY 335 heads northward as a two-lane street named Elsmere Avenue, passing several housing tracts in an otherwise open area of the town. After a half-mile (0.8 km), the route meets the Delmar Bypass, a four-lane divided highway carrying NY 32 through Bethlehem. Past the bypass, NY 335 traverses dense residential neighborhoods on its way to the hamlet of Elsmere, one of several communities located along NY 443.
In Elsmere, the route runs along the east side of Bethlehem Cemetery on its way to a junction with Kenwood Avenue, a local east–west street that becomes NY 140 at a junction less than 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west in the adjacent hamlet of Delmar. Continuing on, NY 335 serves two more blocks of homes before passing under an overpass that once carried a Delaware and Hudson Railway line. The abandoned overpass serves as a divider between the residential section of the community and Elsmere's central business district, where NY 335 ends at a junction with NY 443 (Delaware Avenue) one block north of the old railroad bridge.
## History
On May 11, 1914, the state of New York awarded a contract to rebuild Elsmere Avenue to state highway standards. The project cost \$18,489 (equivalent to \$ in 2023), and the reconstructed road was added to the state highway system on October 27, 1914, as unsigned State Highway 1184. It did not receive a posted designation until the 1930s, when it was designated NY 335. At the time, the route connected to NY 32 at Feura Bush Road. In 1959, the state of New York developed plans for the Delmar Bypass, which would intersect NY 335 a short distance north of Feura Bush Road. The Bethlehem Central Board of Education had called for a grade-separated interchange between the highway and NY 335 to ensure the safety of school buses on the latter road, a major bus route; however, the junction was ultimately built as an at-grade intersection.
The Delmar Bypass was opened in December 1963, connecting Elm Avenue in the west to U.S. Route 9W in the east. The state did not add traffic lights to any of the four intersections on the bypass as a late 1963 study indicated that the signals were unnecessary. In mid-January 1964, the Bethlehem Town Board pushed the state to add traffic lights to every intersection in the wake of several accidents and near-misses at the crossings. This request was eventually granted. The Delmar Bypass did not have a signed route number until the 1970s when NY 32 was realigned to follow the highway. As a result, NY 335 no longer connected to a signed route at its south end.
## Major intersections
## See also
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Major intersections",
"## See also"
] | 783 | 34,610 |
28,464,886 |
Kaki Bukit MRT station
| 1,170,155,419 |
Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore
|
[
"Bedok",
"Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations",
"Railway stations in Singapore opened in 2017"
] |
Kaki Bukit MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Downtown line (DTL). Situated in Kaki Bukit, Singapore, it is located along Kaki Bukit Avenue 1. The station serves the vicinity's residential and industrial developments, including Kaki Bukit Techpark and TechView.
The station was first announced in August 2010 when the DTL Stage 3 stations were revealed. The station opened on 21 October 2017. Designed by Ong & Ong, Kaki Bukit station features an artwork Welcome to Kaki Bukit by Hans Tan.
## History
The station was first announced on 20 August 2010 when the 16 stations of the 21-kilometre (13 mi) Downtown line Stage 3 (DTL3) from the River Valley (now Fort Canning) to Expo stations were unveiled. The line segment was expected to be completed in 2017. The contract for the construction of Kaki Bukit station was awarded to China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited for in June 2011. Construction of the station and the tunnels commenced in July that year and was targeted to be completed in 2017.
A segment of Kaki Bukit Avenue 1 from Jalan Tenaga to Jalan Damai was closed from 28 August 2011 to April 2016 to facilitate the station's construction. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) widened Jalan Tenaga and Jalan Damai to accommodate the diverted traffic. The road segment reopened on 24 April 2016.
On 31 May 2017, the LTA announced that the station, together with the rest of DTL3, would be opened on 21 October that year. Passengers were offered a preview of the station along with the other Downtown Line 3 (DTL 3) stations at the DTL 3 Open House on 15 October.
## Details
Kaki Bukit station serves the DTL and is between the Ubi and Bedok North stations. The official station code is DT28. Being part of the DTL, the station is operated by SBS Transit. The station is situated along Kaki Bukit Avenue 1 near the junction with Jalan Damai. Kaki Bukit station has two entrances serving the industrial developments of Kaki Bukit, including Eunos Techpark, Kaki Bukit Techpark and TechView, and public residential blocks along Bedok Reservoir Road, Jalan Damai and Jalan Tenaga.
The station has three underground levels. Designed by Ong&Ong, the station is supported by granite columns, with a link bridge connecting the two entrances. The exterior of the entrances utilises glass and aluminium panels. The station is wheelchair-accessible. A tactile system, consisting of tiles with rounded or elongated raised studs, guides visually impaired commuters through the station, with dedicated routes that connect the station entrances to the platforms or between the lines. Wider fare gates allow easier access for wheelchair users into the station.
### Artwork
Welcome to Kaki Bukit by Hans Tan is displayed at this station as part of the Art-in-Transit programme, a public art showcase which integrates artworks into the MRT network. The artwork is a video installation depicting the various people of Kaki Bukit writing "Welcome to Kaki Bukit" in Singapore's four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. It intends to reflect the dual "personality" of Kaki Bukit through the involvement of workers and residents.
The artist initially had difficulty coming up with a concept for the station artwork due to Kaki Bukit's lack of rich history and its nature as an industrial area. With the station's location between the residential and industrial developments of Kaki Bukit, Tan decided the work should "bridge" the area's "split personality". The work was installed on the platform near the escalators that lead up to the concourse, with its well-ventilated enclosure integrated with information signage in the station. The greeting is split across three screens, with "Welcome" written by residents and "Kaki Bukit" written by workers, with "to" by the artist himself to symbolise how his work and the station brought the two sides together. The videos are played in random sequences that would not have all three change simultaneously.
|
[
"## History",
"## Details",
"### Artwork"
] | 895 | 31,816 |
33,957,593 |
Tui Manu'a Matelita
| 1,172,139,179 | null |
[
"1872 births",
"1895 deaths",
"19th-century women rulers",
"Protestant monarchs",
"Samoan people of British descent",
"Tui Manua"
] |
Tui Manu'a Matelita, born Margaret Young, and also known as Makelita, Matelika or Lika (31 December 1872 – 29 October 1895) was the Tui Manu'a (paramount chief or queen) of Manu'a, a group of islands in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands (present day American Samoa), from 1891 to 1895. During her tenure, she served largely a ceremonial role at her residence on Ta'ū where she received British writer Robert Louis Stevenson. Matelita never married because she would not marry any of the eligible native chieftains and no other men were regarded as having the proper rank to marry her. She died of illness in 1895, although later reports claimed she died by a more violent means. She was buried in the Tui Manu'a Graves Monument.
## Life
She was born on 31 December 1872. Her parents were Arthur Paʻu Young and Amipelia. Her father's heritage was half-Samoan and half-white; her grandfather was either a British or American surnamed Young and her grandmother was a Samoan woman of Fasito'o (located in the western Samoan Islands). On her mother's side, Matelita was a descendant of Tui Manu'a Taliutafa Tupolo, son of Tui Manu'a Moaatoa, of the anoalo class, the lineal descendants of the Tui Manu'a line.
The family resided in the main two villages of 'o Lumā and Sī'ufaga, on Ta'ū, the main island of the Manu'a group, where her father was a trader. The family lived in a two-story stone house in the center of the two villages near the Protestant Christian church.
### Reign
After the death of Tui Manu'a Alalamua, the paramount title was left vacant and disputed. An election took place in the faletolu, the council which traditionally decided on the next Tui Manu'a. The two candidates were Matelita and Taofi, a son of Tui Manu'a Tauveve. The anoalo led by Arthur Paʻu Young weighed in in favor of Matelita. The decision was not accepted initially by the main line of the Tui Manu'a, but Taofi conceded to Matelita and she became the new paramount chief of the group, ascending to the title on 1 July 1891. She was crowned in a traditional ceremony consisting of feasting, offering of food, kava drinking in the days before and after 13 July 1891.
During her tenure, she primarily filled a ceremonial role and resided on the main island of Ta'ū. In 1895, she gave a speech consecrating a new church. Contemporary and posthumous European and American accounts of her life portray her as a mere figurehead and as a white queen of the South Seas. Matelita never married because she would not marry any of the eligible native chieftains and no other men were regarded as having the proper rank to marry her.
### Meeting Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson, a British writer and expatriate in Samoa, visited Matelita and the islands of the Manu'a group in 1894 aboard HMS Curacoa (1878). During his two-day sojourn on the island, he stayed in a guest house belonging to the queen and was served the traditional kava drink. He described how Matelita had little to do and was not able to travel outside the capital village of Ta'ū. In a later letter written to Henry James, Stevenson stated:
> The three islands of Manu'a are independent, and are ruled over by a little slip of a half-caste girl about twenty, who sits all day in a pink gown, in a little white European house with about a quarter of an acre of roses in front of it, looking at the palm-trees on the village street, and listening to the surf. This, so far as I could discover, was all she had to do. "This is a very dull place," she said. It appears she could go to no other village for fear of raising the jealousy of her own people in the capital. And as for going about "tapatafaoing," as we say here, its cost was too enormous. A strong able-bodied native must walk in front of her and blow the conch shell continuously from the moment she leaves one house until the moment she enters another.
## Death and legacy
Matelita fell ill in September 1895 and died peacefully in her sleep, after the illness, on 29 October 1895. Later sources claimed she died after a kerosene lamp overturned causing her mosquito net to catch fire while she slept. This is not supported by contemporary sources of the Protestant missionaries which stated she died of illness. A son of her predecessor Alalamua, Elisala was elected as her successor to the title Tui Manu'a in 1899. After Elisala's death, the title was abolished by the United States, which had earlier incorporated the islands as a part of American Samoa. Matelita's brother Chris Taliutafa Young unsuccessfully attempted to claim the Tui Manu'a in 1924.
After her death, she was buried next to some of the preceding Tui Manu'a title holders and eventually her successor Elisala after his death. A marble monument was built over her final resting place. The 6–7 ft (1.8–2.1 m) tombstone, which is the most visible monument in the royal burial ground that is delineated by a stone enclosure, consisted of a round column on a square base. The inscriptions on the base memorializes, in both the English and Samoan language, the life of the Tui Manu'a including the words: These are my last words to you all, "May you live in peace". This grave site known as the Tui Manu'a Graves Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
American anthropologist Margaret Mead, who conducted research in Samoa between 1925 and 1926, was given the name Makelita by locals in her memory. During a local marriage ceremony, Mead also wore a dress woven by the late queen.
## See also
- Fa'amatai
|
[
"## Life",
"### Reign",
"### Meeting Robert Louis Stevenson",
"## Death and legacy",
"## See also"
] | 1,330 | 22,175 |
51,264,361 |
AM2R
| 1,169,222,339 |
Fan-made video game
|
[
"2016 video games",
"Action-adventure games",
"Fan games",
"GameMaker Studio games",
"Metroidvania games",
"Science fiction video games",
"Side-scrolling video games",
"Single-player video games",
"Unauthorized video games",
"Unofficial adaptations",
"Video game remakes",
"Video games developed in Argentina",
"Video games featuring female protagonists",
"Video games set on fictional planets",
"Windows games",
"Windows-only freeware games",
"Windows-only games"
] |
AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) is an action-adventure game developed by Argentinian programmer Milton Guasti (also known as DoctorM64) and released on August 6, 2016, Metroid'''s 30th anniversary. It was originally released for Windows. It is an unofficial remake of the 1991 Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus in the style of Metroid: Zero Mission (2004). As in the original Metroid II, players control bounty hunter Samus Aran, who aims to eradicate the parasitic Metroids. AM2R adds several features, including new graphics and music, new areas and bosses, altered controls, and a map system.
The game received positive reviews, particularly for its improved visuals. It was nominated for The Game Awards 2016, but was later dropped from the nominee list without notice. Shortly after release, Nintendo sent DMCA notices to websites hosting AM2R, and download links were removed. Though Guasti planned to continue working on the game privately, in September 2016, he ended development after receiving a DMCA takedown request. Nintendo released an official Metroid II remake, Metroid: Samus Returns, in 2017.
## Gameplay
AM2R is an enhanced remake of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus, which follows Samus Aran on her quest to eradicate the parasitic Metroid species from SR388, their home world. The remake is done in the style of Metroid: Zero Mission, adding a map system, new areas, mini-bosses, upgrades originally introduced in Super Metroid, redone graphics and music, an updated artificial intelligence for enemies, and a log system similar to Metroid Prime. Logs give the player more information on Metroids, enemies and the game world after the player has encountered certain enemies or arrived in new areas. The game's controls are less "floaty" than those of the original and feature new abilities such as wall jumping and grabbing onto ledges, being more in line with the gameplay the series has employed since Super Metroid.
The Metroids the player fights have four main evolutionary stages – Alpha, Gamma, Zeta, and Omega – which have been altered compared to their Metroid II counterparts, including new techniques used in battle; Alpha is the least altered, having only been given a new dodge move, while Omega has been altered the most, having been changed to earth-bound enemies that trap the player. The player confronts these Metroid bosses often and has to defeat 55 of them. Among the newly added bosses are non-Metroid enemies such as a moving statue or a Torizo statue.
## Development
AM2R was developed by Milton Guasti under the pseudonym DoctorM64 over the course of about ten years, although with several periods of no work done on the game. Guasti wanted to recreate the fast gameplay of Metroid: Zero Mission and the "atmosphere and solitude" of Super Metroid. After having finished Metroid II for the first time, he imagined it to be "cool" to play the game with modern gameplay, an in-game mini-map rather than with a physical map on one's lap, and the Omega Metroids as tall as the screen. As Guasti was not a programmer at the time, he used a trial-and-error method to modify a platforming game engine by Martin Piecyk within the game creation system GameMaker, with learning being his main motivation for working on the game.
At first the remake followed the original Metroid II's map layout and already existing sprites from Metroid: Zero Mission and Super Metroid. As Guasti kept working on the game engine and polished each ability, he felt that AM2R started to seem more and more authentic. After the game had been made public, several artists contacted Guasti and volunteered to create original art for the game; the Metroid evolutions were redesigned, and new enemies and areas unrelated to other Metroid games were added. He remade the music himself while waiting for customers in his recording studio. The added log system was designed to deliver narrative in a non-intrusive way.
Because so much was changed in AM2R compared to the original Metroid II – with color, a larger screen, "less claustrophobic" caves, and new gameplay controls – Guasti was faced with the challenge of recreating the original's feeling of danger within a more modern style. Metroid II featured "tight-quarters combat", while AM2R's greater amount of screen space and mobility meant that the Metroids' behavior had to be changed. They were made more agile and aggressive, with the intent that players would have to use all tools available to them to defeat them. The scale of the rooms throughout the game world also had to be changed, with some landmarks being redesigned to make better use of the larger screen; some, however, were kept similar in size to their Metroid II counterparts. While the game's first areas were made colorful and accurate to their counterparts in Metroid II, later areas were expanded and introduced new elements, featuring progressively darker caves, tighter passages, and Metroids found in more dangerous locations. This, along with increasingly darker and menacing music, was to recreate the feeling of Metroid II, which Guasti described as "being lost in a dark, mysterious cave without knowing what's ahead".
In the latter parts of the game's development, the largest challenge was to coordinate Guasti's and his collaborators' work; when Guasti started working as a programmer, he learned about project management and applied it to AM2R, but still found it challenging to have deadlines and keep people motivated, as everyone was working on the game free in their spare time. In late 2014, the project was ported to the newer version of GameMaker Studio, which enabled improved loading times and performance, but required the complete rewriting of some features and changes to the designs of some levels. This move also made bugs faster to fix and new builds easier to make, leaving the development progress in a more expedient and productive state. Later in the same year, the developers worked on improving the visuals, giving the fourth area a new graphics tile set intended to give it more personality.
## Release
Guasti released a first demo in late 2011 and another in early 2013. The full game was released free following a countdown through its website on August 6, 2016, coinciding with the Metroid series' 30th anniversary. Updated versions with further improvements and features were planned, but shortly after the first release, Nintendo sent DMCA notices to websites hosting it. The download links on the game's website were removed on August 7, but Guasti said that he planned to work on the game privately. He said he understood Nintendo's need to protect its intellectual properties and encouraged AM2R players to buy the official Nintendo eShop release of Metroid II.
On September 2, Guasti received a DMCA takedown request from Nintendo and announced that he had ended development. He released the soundtrack later that month, including several tracks intended for the unfinished version 1.2 update. Development of the game was continued by people from the Metroid fan community, including bug fixes, new enemies and story elements, and additional game modes such as New Game+ and a "Randomizer", which shuffles the locations of power-ups.
Nintendo released an official remake of Metroid II, Metroid: Samus Returns, in 2017. A year after the release of AM2R, Guasti was hired by Moon Studios to design levels for Ori and the Will of the Wisps. He also announced a project made in Unity 3D. Other members of the AM2R team formed SquidShock Studios and began work on an original Metroidvania, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, using hand-drawn art and inspired by games like Hollow Knight and Okami.
## Reception
Mike Fahey, writing for Kotaku, called the game brilliant and compared the gameplay, graphics, and music favorably to their Metroid II counterparts. Siliconera's Ishaan found the game impressive and said that it stands out from other fan-made remakes. Sam Machkovech at Ars Technica said that the game would be a delight to people who liked Zero Mission, and that its quality and amount of polish put it on par with Nintendo's games. Zack Furniss of Destructoid liked the game to the point that he thought Nintendo should use some ideas from it in future Metroid titles. Jonathan Holmes, also at Destructoid, said that AM2R does a good job at filling the "void" left by Nintendo's lack of new 2D Metroid games, calling it "even more of an extensive re-imagining than Metroid: Zero Mission was to Metroid 1". Gonçalo Lopes at Nintendo Life said that the game was a great way to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary and a dream come true for Metroid fans, and that he imagined people would be willing to pay money for it if sold on Nintendo's eShop. Matthew Castle at Nintendo Gamer called it an example of how to do a remake right. Tom Sykes at PC Gamer praised AM2R as a "great game in its own right" regardless of whether one had played Metroid II prior or not. NF Magazine's Tony Ponce initially worried that the game would lose the "eerie charm" of Metroid II, but found it to be able to keep a high-tension feeling, as well as including new things for longtime fans of the original.
Furniss found that the gameplay changes compared to the original Metroid II, such as the ability to grab onto ledges, all felt natural, and called the user interface "sleek". He liked the log system, calling it one of the biggest additions, and enjoyed how the opening added more story content while not being "overdone", instead feeling like the opening to Super Metroid. Holmes commended the boss battles, calling them "arguably" the best across all 2D Metroid games. Ponce found the precise win conditions for Metroid battles annoying considering how often they are fought, but similarly thought that the new non-Metroid bosses were among the most exciting and challenging in all 2D games in the series. His favorite new gameplay elements were the "gimmicks" such as the player-operated tunneling drill machine and the walker robot minigame.
Machkovech said that the game looks "phenomenal" and that its "beautiful, easily discernible sprites" and 60-frames-per-second animations made it look modern despite the 320×240 resolution. He particularly enjoyed the game's color palette, saying that it made AM2R feel like a completely new game. Furniss called the game "gorgeous", praising the colors and the increased graphical detail. Alec Meer at Rock, Paper, Shotgun said that the game looked lovely, and that it was a large improvement over the Game Boy version's green screen. Jeffrey Matulef, writing for Eurogamer, found it impressive how closely the game resembled Super Metroid visually. Fahey noted the soundtrack in particular as being of high quality, and Lopes called the music "fantastic".
The game was nominated for The Game Awards 2016 in the "Best Fan Creation" category, but was removed from the nomination page without notice alongside the fan game Pokémon Uranium. The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley explained that AM2R and Pokémon Uranium were not legally cleared by Nintendo to be included in the event.
## See also
- Full Screen Mario
- Sonic P-06''
|
[
"## Gameplay",
"## Development",
"## Release",
"## Reception",
"## See also"
] | 2,409 | 13,366 |
64,583,602 |
Jahaad Proctor
| 1,157,132,124 |
American basketball player
|
[
"1997 births",
"American expatriate basketball people in Finland",
"American men's basketball players",
"Basketball players from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania",
"High Point Panthers men's basketball players",
"Iona Gaels men's basketball players",
"Living people",
"Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players",
"Shooting guards",
"Vilpas Vikings players"
] |
Jahaad Proctor (born August 14, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Kirchheim Knights of the German ProA. He attended Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania and became the program's all-time leading scorer. Proctor began his college basketball career playing for the Iona Gaels but transferred after his freshman season to play for the High Point Panthers. Proctor developed into an All-Big South performer at High Point and averaged 19.5 points per game as a junior. Proctor transferred to play for the Purdue Boilermakers as a graduate transfer, averaging 9.0 points per game. He signed with the Vilpas Vikings in July 2020.
## Early life and high school career
Proctor grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, playing baseball, football, and basketball, but he decided to focus on basketball in seventh grade. At the time, he was not as fast or as athletic as some of his competitors in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) play, but he could shoot and score because he practiced frequently. As a freshman at Susquehanna Township High School, Proctor stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m). He scored 50 points in a game during his freshman season. Proctor transferred to Harrisburg High School as a sophomore, where his father was an assistant coach, and grew to 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m). He posted 13.5 points per game as a sophomore. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a junior, leading the team to the Mid-Penn's Commonwealth Division championship and a spot in the District 3-AAAA playoffs.
As a senior, Proctor averaged 24.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He scored at least 40 points in three games and led the Cougars to the state quarterfinals and a 22–9 record. Proctor scored 1,739 points in three seasons at Harrisburg, becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. He became the first player in school history to earn three All-State selections, and the third to receive first team honors, which he did as a senior. Proctor initially signed with Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball over offers from several other Patriot League and Ivy League programs in November 2014, but reopened his recruitment after Holy Cross coach Milan Brown was fired. He committed to play college basketball for Iona during his initial visit, choosing the Gaels over Manhattan and Robert Morris.
## College career
On December 1, 2015, Proctor scored a freshman season-high 20 points in a 101–77 win over Fairfield. As a freshman, he averaged 5.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He made four starts, helping Iona win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. However, Proctor found it difficult to connect with the coaching staff and opted to transfer to High Point in large part because of another Harrisburg player on the roster.
Proctor scored a sophomore season-high 29 points in an 80–59 win against Charleston Southern on January 6, 2018. Proctor averaged 16.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game as a redshirt sophomore. He was named to the Second Team All-Big South. On December 17, 2018, Proctor scored a career-high 35 points with nine assists and five steals as High Point beat NCAA Division III team NC Wesleyan 90–85 in overtime. As a junior at High Point, Proctor averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Proctor shot 31.8 percent from three-point range, owing largely to his playing through a shoulder injury, but he improved his shooting at the end of the season because he discovered a rehabilitation technique. Proctor earned Second Team All-Big South honors and was named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. After the season he decided to transfer to Purdue as a graduate transfer, choosing the Boilermakers due to strong impressions from strength and conditioning personnel, business professors and other athletes in his field of study.
Proctor helped to replace the departing Purdue backcourt members Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline. In his first game for Purdue, Proctor scored a season-high 26 points and collected five rebounds in a 79–57 win against Green Bay. Proctor posted 16 points, four rebounds, four steals, and an assist on December 4, 2019, in a 69–40 upset of fifth-ranked Virginia. He averaged 9.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as a redshirt senior. The season was cancelled prior to the Big Ten Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Purdue finished 16–15 overall and 9–11 in the Big Ten Conference.
## Professional career
On July 16, 2020, Proctor signed with Vilpas Vikings of the Finnish Korisliiga. In his debut for Vilpas on October 14, he had 18 points and four rebounds in a 78–76 loss to Lahti Basketball. In 2021, Proctor signed with the Kirchheim Knights of the German ProA.
## Career statistics
### College
\|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2015–16 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Iona \| 32 \|\| 5 \|\| 15.2 \|\| .459 \|\| .283 \|\| .706 \|\| 2.0 \|\| 1.1 \|\| .4 \|\| .1 \|\| 5.1 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2016–17 \| style="text-align:left;"\| High Point \| style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"\| Redshirt \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2017–18 \| style="text-align:left;"\| High Point \| 25 \|\| 23 \|\| 31.9 \|\| .432 \|\| .382 \|\| .784 \|\| 3.6 \|\| 3.0 \|\| 1.0 \|\| .3 \|\| 16.4 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2018–19 \| style="text-align:left;"\| High Point \| 31 \|\| 31 \|\| 34.6 \|\| .464 \|\| .331 \|\| .771 \|\| 3.8 \|\| 3.3 \|\| 1.3 \|\| .4 \|\| 19.5 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2019–20 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Purdue \| 31 \|\| 18 \|\| 25.6 \|\| .402 \|\| .318 \|\| .812 \|\| 2.3 \|\| 1.7 \|\| 1.0 \|\| .1 \|\| 9.0 \|- class="sortbottom" \| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\| Career \| 119 \|\| 77 \|\| 26.5 \|\| .441 \|\| .338 \|\| .776 \|\| 2.9 \|\| 2.2 \|\| .9 \|\| .2 \|\| 12.2
## Personal life
Proctor is the son of Joseph and Tracy Proctor. His father is a math teacher at William Penn Senior High School in York, Pennsylvania and a baggage handler for Delta Air Lines at Harrisburg International Airport. Proctor's name is derived from "jahad", the Arabic word for warrior. His sister Sabre played basketball at North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook. Proctor has a daughter, Jolene, born in November 2014. He has her footprints tattooed on his calf, a tattoo of a lion on his right arm and the words "Dream" and "Believe" tattooed on the top and bottom of his wrist.
|
[
"## Early life and high school career",
"## College career",
"## Professional career",
"## Career statistics",
"### College",
"## Personal life"
] | 1,756 | 18,879 |
6,962,962 |
Sicklefin weasel shark
| 1,134,114,464 |
Species of shark
|
[
"Fish described in 1852",
"Fish of Sri Lanka",
"Fish of the Red Sea",
"Hemigaleus",
"Marine fauna of Southeast Asia",
"Palk Strait",
"Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker",
"Vulnerable fauna of Asia",
"Vulnerable fish"
] |
The sicklefin weasel shark (Hemigaleus microstoma) is an uncommon species of ground shark in the family Hemigaleidae. It is native to southern India, southern China, and parts of Southeast Asia, living in shallow waters down to a depth of 170 m (560 ft). This lightly built shark is characterized by its very short mouth, broad upper teeth with serrations only on the trailing edge, and strongly sickle-shaped fins with obvious white tips on the two dorsal fins. It is light grey or bronze in colour, often with small white blotches on its sides; it reaches a maximum known length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft).
Spending most of its time close to the sea floor, the sicklefin weasel shark is a specialist predator of cephalopods. Its reproductive mode is viviparous, in which the unborn young form a placental connection to their mother. Females probably give birth twice a year, with each litter consisting of two to four pups. The sicklefin weasel shark is widely caught by artisanal fisheries and used for meat, fins, and fishmeal; its low natural abundance and reproductive rate mean that it cannot sustain much fishing pressure. Given that fishing activity is intense throughout its range, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as vulnerable.
## Taxonomy
Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker described the sicklefin weasel shark in 1852. He gave it the specific epithet microstoma, from the Greek mikros ("small") and stoma ("mouth"), and placed it in a new genus, Hemigaleus. His account was based on two females from Jakarta, Indonesia, measuring 63 and 70 cm (25 and 28 in) long. This species was once thought to occur off Australia, but that population is now recognised as a distinct species, H. australiensis. Yuanting Chu's 1960 description of Negogaleus brachygnathus from Chinese waters is probably of the same species as H. microstoma. Albert William Herre's 1929 description of Hemigaleus machlani from the Philippines, though lacking in detail, is also consistent with being of this species.
## Description
The sicklefin weasel shark is a slender-bodied species reaching 1.1 m (3.6 ft) in length. The snout is fairly long and rounded, with the nostrils preceded by short flaps of skin. The large, oval eyes are equipped with nictitating membranes and are followed by minute spiracles. The mouth forms a very short, wide arch and conceals the teeth when closed. Moderately long furrows are present at the corners of the mouth. It has 25–34 upper and 37–43 lower tooth rows; the upper teeth are broad and angled with a smooth leading edge and strongly serrated trailing edge, while the lower teeth are narrow, erect, and smooth-edged. The five pairs of gill slits are short.
The fins are strongly falcate (sickle-shaped), particularly the dorsal fins, pelvic fins, and lower caudal fin lobe. The pectoral fins are narrow and pointed. The first dorsal fin is positioned about halfway between the pectoral and pelvic fins. The second dorsal fin is about two-thirds as tall as the first and is positioned slightly ahead of the anal fin. The anal fin is smaller than the second dorsal fin. The dorsal surface of the caudal peduncle bears a crescent-shaped notch at the caudal fin origin. The asymmetrical caudal fin has a well-developed lower lobe and a long upper lobe with a ventral notch near the tip. The dermal denticles are small and overlapping; each has five horizontal ridges leading to marginal teeth. This species is light grey or bronze above, often with small white spots on the sides, and pale below. The dorsal fins are tipped in white, which is especially obvious on the second dorsal as the remainder of fin is mostly dark.
## Distribution and habitat
The sicklefin weasel shark is found off southern India and Sri Lanka, as well as from southern China and Taiwan to Java and Borneo. It may also occur around the Philippines and in the Red Sea, though specimens from these regions need to be compared taxonomically with those from its confirmed range. It does not seem to be very common naturally. This species inhabits continental and insular shelves from inshore waters to at least a depth of 170 m (560 ft), and usually swims close to the sea floor.
## Biology and ecology
The diet of the sicklefin weasel shark is composed almost entirely of cephalopods, though crustaceans and echinoderms may be infrequently eaten. Its small mouth and short gill slits may be adaptations for capturing cephalopods by suction, while its weak jaws and small teeth reflect a diet of mostly soft-bodied prey. This species is viviparous, wherein the developing embryos are sustained to term through a placental connection formed from the depleted yolk sac. Females likely produce two litters per year, implying a gestation period under six months. Between two and four pups are born at a time (average 3.3); newborns measure roughly 45 cm (18 in) long. Males mature sexually around 74–75 cm (29–30 in) long, while females mature around 75–78 cm (30–31 in) long.
## Human interactions
The sicklefin weasel shark is not dangerous to humans. It is caught by artisanal fishers throughout its range, mostly in drifting and bottom gillnets, but also in bottom trawls and on longlines. The meat is eaten, the fins are used in shark fin soup, and the offal is processed into fishmeal. However, the small size of this shark limits its economic value. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the sicklefin weasel shark as vulnerable, noting that it is naturally uncommon and resides in heavily fished regions. In addition, compared to the related Australian weasel shark, it is less productive, thus less resilient to withstand fishing pressure.
|
[
"## Taxonomy",
"## Description",
"## Distribution and habitat",
"## Biology and ecology",
"## Human interactions"
] | 1,303 | 3,267 |
48,560,066 |
Beurre Maître d'Hôtel
| 1,090,878,128 |
Type of compound butter
|
[
"Butter",
"Condiments"
] |
Beurre maître d'hôtel, also referred to as maître d'hôtel butter, is a type of compound butter (French: "beurre composé") of French origin, prepared with butter, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It is a savory butter that is used on meats such as steak (including the sauce for Chateaubriand steak), fish, vegetables and other foods. It may be used in place of a sauce, and can significantly enhance a dish's flavor. Some variations with a sweet flavor exist. It is usually served cold as sliced disks on foods, and is sometimes served as a side condiment.
## Etymology
The name of beurre maître d'hôtel is derived from the manner in which it was commonly prepared from scratch by a restaurant's maître d'hôtel at diners' tables. It is also referred to as maître d'hôtel butter.
## Preparation
Beurre maître d'hôtel is a savory butter prepared by mixing softened butter with very finely minced parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. A ratio of around 1.5 tablespoons of parsley to two ounces of butter may be used. Additional ingredients may include shallot and Worcestershire sauce. Vinegar is sometimes used, although its inclusion is rare. Cayenne pepper has also been used. After mixing, it is typically rolled in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chilled to harden.
## Uses
Beurre maître d'hôtel is usually served cold as sliced disks atop various foods, and sometimes as a side condiment. It is used on grilled meats such as steak and fish, and also on eggs, vegetables, potatoes and breads. Some variations exist, including a few sweet versions that include sugar, which may be used on dishes such as pancakes. When used as a topping, it is typically added just before the dish is served. It has also been served melted atop dishes, whereby it is placed atop foods during the last few minutes of cooking. It may be used in the place of a sauce, and a small amount can significantly add to a dish's overall flavor.
### In Chateaubriand sauce
Beurre maître d'hôtel is used as an ingredient in Chateaubriand sauce, which is sometimes used in the preparation of Chateaubriand steak. The butter is used in the last stage of the sauce's preparation, whereby after the sauce is strained, it is finished with beurre maître d'hôtel. Chopped tarragon may also be added to the sauce during this last preparation stage.
## See also
- French cuisine
- List of condiments
- Steak sauce
|
[
"## Etymology",
"## Preparation",
"## Uses",
"### In Chateaubriand sauce",
"## See also"
] | 551 | 13,170 |
73,492,960 |
Maggie Savoy
| 1,164,705,322 |
American newspaper editor (1917–1970)
|
[
"1917 births",
"1970 deaths",
"American women journalists",
"People from Des Moines, Iowa",
"University of Southern California alumni",
"Women's page journalists"
] |
Margaret Ann Savoy Pitts Bellows (née Case; February 14, 1917 – December 19, 1970) was an American newspaper editor. She was the women's editor for the Phoenix Gazette between 1947 and 1959, and then spent five years at The Arizona Republic. She moved to New York City in 1964 following her third marriage, to fellow journalist Jim Bellows, and wrote for the Associated Press, before joining United Press International to write on its urban beat. After moving to Los Angeles in 1967, she became the women's editor for the Los Angeles Times, writing for Section IV until it was renamed as the View in July 1970, where she profiled women including Joan Didion, Maya Angelou and Nancy Reagan.
Savoy worked to expand the focus of the women's page of newspapers, writing about social and environmental issues at a time when this was uncommon. She wrote columns on rape helplines, domestic violence, the death penalty and welfare. In 1963, she worked with Marie Anderson to survey editors nationally on the content of women's pages and the conditions for women's editors, finding that women's editors received less pay and support. She was an outspoken feminist, often profiling leaders of the women's liberation movement, including Elizabeth Duncan Koontz and Aileen Hernandez. Fellow editor Dorothy Roe described Savoy as "one of the two or three ablest women's editors in the country".
## Early life
Savoy was born Margaret Ann Case on February 14, 1917, in Des Moines, Iowa. Her father was Andrew Case, her mother was a teacher and encyclopedia salesperson and she had one brother, Robert. Her family were relatively well-off and she attended Fillmore Elementary School in Cedar Rapids before the family moved to Des Moines, Omaha, Nebraska, and Phoenix, Arizona. She often visited her uncle in New York by herself while growing up. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with an honors degree in journalism in 1940, where she had been a member of Phi Beta Kappa. The day after graduation, she married her classmate William Savoy. Her first job was in publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, before working for comedian Red Skelton and then opening a public relations company in Phoenix.
## Career
Savoy began working as the women's editor for the Phoenix Gazette in 1947, where she wrote the column 'Around Town'. The newspaper owner, Eugene C. Pulliam, was famously conservative but he respected Savoy's liberal views. She spent ten years at the paper before joining The Arizona Republic in 1959 as the women's editor, which had a daily circulation over 100,000. She was at the Republic until 1964, writing the daily 'Savoy Faire' column. At the time, the women's page of newspapers were focused on society and the home, primarily featuring social events, wedding announcements and fashion, but there was a push to cover the women's liberation movement and other political issues. As the women's editor, Savoy often also served as a fashion reporter, covering local seamstresses and designer fashion shows. However, throughout her career, Savoy wrote about social issues such as racism, sexism and economic inequality. Pulliam, who also owned the Republic, hired J. Edward Murray as the paper's managing editor in 1960 and he shared Savoy's liberal views, providing friendship and support. Murray wrote that she used her column to "stir a social conscience in the movers and shakers", which won her the first award granted by the Arizona Newspaper Association for best women's section.
Savoy pressed for the wedding announcements of African-Americans to be included in the paper at a time when this was rare and wrote stories on rape helplines, domestic violence and pay disparities. She was also interested in environmental issues, working with local leaders to establish the Valley Beautiful Committee in early 1963 after the response to one of her columns, which raised money for subterranean power lines and to protect green spaces, and advocated for Camelback Mountain to remain clear of proposed housing. She also wrote columns about poverty, women's labor issues, health, finance and fashion for career women. In 1959, an interview she conducted with Casey Stengel, manager for the New York Yankees, received national coverage through an Associated Press (AP) wire report after he protested at her taking down his words verbatim. This attention led to her being awarded "Arizona Newspaper Woman of the Year" by the Arizona Federation of Press Women and a Penney-Missouri Award. She also received an award from the National Federation of Press Women and the Catherine L. O'Brien journalism award.
She became involved with national industry organizations, attending the first meeting of women's editors held by the American Press Institute in 1959. Working with the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) and Marie Anderson, a women's editor at the Miami Herald, she surveyed women's editors and their managing editors in 1963 on the content of women's pages in newspapers, discovering that women's issues received fewer column inches and that women's editors were lower paid and often excluded from meetings. The report was presented to the APME through a talk entitled "What Does Your Women's Editor Think of You?", which included eleven areas for improvement including training and support. Savoy replicated the presentation at the Penney-Missouri awards workshops in March 1963. A follow-up survey six years later, titled "How is it going in the women's departments? Or what has happened since Anderson-Savoy?" showed little progress had been made.
In 1964, she moved to New York City to be with Jim Bellows and began writing for the AP, although issues with her supervisor led to her leaving in November 1965. She began working for United Press International (UPI), focusing on cities; the appointment was announced in a full page article in Editor & Publisher as "the first woman at a wire service to cover an urban beat". Savoy relocated to Los Angeles in 1967, when Bellows was hired by the Los Angeles Times as associate editor for soft news, but continued writing for UPI, travelling around the country for her stories and giving speeches to local societies about urban development. She was quickly approached by the L.A. Times about joining the paper to reform their women's section as the society editor. She wrote memos to the editor-in-chief, Nick Boddie Williams, explaining that she intended the women's section, referred to as Section IV, to cover issues such as abortion, welfare, public housing and capital punishment. Williams had told her husband that he hoped to cover controversial topics and Savoy was hired, although she eventually convinced them to change her title to women's editor. As couples were unable to work together at the paper, a typical rule at the time, Savoy's hiring was seen to be controversial.
While at the L.A. Times, Savoy wrote personal columns, news stories and profiles on women including Marilyn Lewis, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Joan Didion, Clare Boothe Luce, Maya Angelou and Nancy Reagan. Her news stories covered topics such as the death penalty, women on welfare, drug addiction and inner-city schools. At the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she was one of the reporters to be tear-gassed by the police. In 1969 and 1970, she wrote about the women's liberation movement in a number of profiles on Elizabeth Duncan Koontz, director of the United States Women's Bureau, Jo Ann Evansgardner, an activist of the National Organization for Women (NOW), and Aileen Hernandez, president of NOW. Savoy was a strong supporter of the women's movement, describing herself as "a bra-wearing, dues paying member of women's liberation". She wrote an article for the Bulletin of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1970 where she criticized editors for their coverage of women's liberation and declared that "women are second-class citizens". She was listed as one of the "Reporters You Can Trust" published by the feminist organization KNOW, Inc.
In July 1970, her section of the L.A. Times was renamed as View, which was intended to expand the coverage to features about the LA region. She wrote her final newspaper column on November 29, 1970. Following her death, Jean Sharley Taylor took over as the editor of the section.
## Personal life
Savoy was married to her first husband for a decade and the couple had one son together, William, before their divorce in 1950. The following year she married J. W. Pitts III, a vice president of Valley National Bank, until his death in a car accident in May 1963. She had met Bellows, then an editor at the New York Herald Tribune, in January 1961 while covering a fashion show in New York City. The two began an affair shortly before her second husband's death and a few months later, he left his pregnant wife and two children for Savoy. His wife initially refused a divorce but when it was finalized, they married in May 1964 with Jimmy Breslin serving as the best man. The judge who officiated the wedding commented on her surnames, as there were more than would fit on the marriage form.
## Death and legacy
Savoy was diagnosed with uterine cancer seven months after her marriage to Bellows, which went into remission following chemotherapy. She was then diagnosed with esophageal cancer on July 28, 1970, and told that she had only months to live. She wrote a draft of a book about her experiences of cancer, composed primarily of her diary entries, which was published as a column with UPI. She died on December 19, 1970, at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. She left \$30,000 to the Salvation Army's Youth and Family Center in South Phoenix, which was increased to \$100,000 through a fundraiser by her friends and colleagues. On February 10, 1971, the Arizona Senate passed a unanimous resolution to honor Savoy, sponsored by Cloves Campbell Sr., Howard S. Baldwin, James A. Mack and Bob Stump.
An award in her honor was created by the Los Angeles Women in Communication following her death, given for community service. She was described by fellow editor Dorothy Roe as "one of the two or three ablest women's editors in the country" and by Pulliam as "one of the greatest". Despite this, she is not mentioned in the history of The Arizona Republic or in Privileged Son, Dennis McDougal's history of the L.A. Times. Bellows wrote a book about her in 1971 titled, Anyone Who Enters Here Must Celebrate Maggie, which included her columns and writing, as well as messages from her friends and colleagues. Among those who contributed letters were Luce, Angelou, and Ray Bradbury.
|
[
"## Early life",
"## Career",
"## Personal life",
"## Death and legacy"
] | 2,267 | 4,804 |
47,645,694 |
French ironclad Revanche
| 1,131,203,850 |
Provence-class ship
|
[
"1863 ships",
"Provence-class ironclads",
"Ships built in France"
] |
The French ironclad Revanche was one of 10 Provence-class armored frigates built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) during the 1860s. Commissioned in 1867, she was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron (Escadre du Nord). The ironclad played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, blockading the North Sea coast of Prussia. Revanche was placed in reserve after the war, but was reactivated in 1875, sometimes serving as a flagship. Assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée), she suffered a boiler explosion in 1877 that required extensive repairs and did not return to service until late 1878. The ship was decommissioned in 1883 and served in second-line duties, including service as a guard ship in 1892–1893, until she was stricken in early 1893 and subsequently scrapped.
## Design and description
The Provence class was designed as an enlarged version of the Gloire-class ironclads with thicker armor, more powerful guns, and better seakeeping qualities. The ships had an overall length of 82.9 meters (272 ft), a beam of 17.06 meters (56 ft), and a draft of 8.4 meters (27 ft 7 in) at deep load. They displaced 5,810 metric tons (5,720 long tons). Their crew numbered 579–594 officers and enlisted men.
When the French discovered that the British ironclad Warrior had reached 14.3 knots (26.5 km/h; 16.5 mph) during her sea trials, they decided to add an extra cylinder to the engine of the five ships still under construction, including Revanche, in an attempt to achieve 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph). She had a single three-cylinder horizontal-return connecting-rod steam engine that drove the propeller shaft, using steam provided by eight boilers. The engine was rated at 1,000 nominal horsepower or 3,200 metric horsepower (2,400 kW). The Provence class carried enough coal to allow them to steam for 2,410 nautical miles (4,460 km; 2,770 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). They were fitted with a three-masted barque rig that had a sail area of 1,960 square meters (21,100 sq ft).
### Armament and protection
The main battery of the Provence-class ships was intended to be thirty 164.7-millimeter (6.5 in) Modèle 1858–60 rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns, but this was changed to a mixed armament of four 240-millimeter (9.4 in) Modèle 1864 RMLs and six 194-millimeter (7.6 in) Modèle 1864 smoothbore muzzle-loading guns on the gundeck. Positioned on the quarterdeck and the forecastle were another 194 mm smoothbore and six 164.7 mm Modèle 1858 RMLs, at least some of which served as chase guns. Shortly after commissioning, Revanche's gundeck armament was probably changed to eight 240 mm Modèle 1864 RMLs.
From the upper deck down to below the waterline, the sides of the ships were completely armored with 150 mm (5.9 in) of wrought iron, backed by 750 mm (29.5 in) of wood. The sides of the battery itself were protected with 110 mm (4.3 in) of armor that was backed by 610 mm (24 in) of wood. The conning tower's sides consisted of 100-millimeter (3.9 in) armor plates.
## Construction and service
Revanche (Revenge) was ordered on 16 November 1860 from the Arsenal de Toulon, laid down in March 1861 and launched on 28 December 1865. She was commissioned for trials on 16 April 1867, and was definitively commissioned (armement définitif) on 1 May under the command of Captain (Capitaine de vaisseau) Bernard Jauréguiberry. By 1870 the ship was assigned to the Northern Squadron and Captain Laurent Lejeune was in command.
When the Franco-Prussian War began on 19 July 1870, the French had lost track of a squadron of four Prussian ironclads so the Mediterranean Squadron, including Revanche, was deployed to Oran, French Algeria, to intercept them in case they attempted to interdict the troop convoys between French North Africa and Metropolitan France. When they received word that the Prussian ships had returned to Germany, the squadron sailed to Brest to prepare to blockade the coast of Prussia. Revanche was assigned to Vice Admiral Léon Martin Fourichon's squadron that was tasked to blockade German ports in the Heligoland Bight. It departed Brest on 8 August and arrived off the British-owned island of Heligoland three days later. The neutral British denied the French permission to re-coal there and the ships were forced to perform it at sea under dangerous conditions. Bad weather and a series of storms beginning in late August prevented the squadron from coaling and the ships were forced to return to France in early September. By then the Prussians were besieging Paris and many of the trained gunners aboard the squadron's ships were transferred to defend the city. The squadron resumed the blockade with reduced crews until December when smaller ships took it over.
Revanche was reduced to reserve in Toulon on 20 March 1871 and was reactivated for service with the Mediterranean Squadron on 12 November 1875 where she became the flagship of Vice Admiral (vice-amiral) Pierre-Gustave Roze. On 20 March 1877 at Villefranche-sur-Mer there was a boiler explosion aboard the ship that killed 26 men and wounded 60 crewmen. Revanche returned to Toulon for repairs and was placed in reserve on 16 May. The ship conducted sea trials on 5 February 1878 and returned to active service on 20 October. She was decommissioned and condemned in 1883 and served as an annex in 1889–1891 to Provençal, the station ship at Toulon. Revanche then became the guard ship of the mobile defenses of Algiers, French Algeria, until she was stricken from the navy list on 10 January 1893 and subsequently scrapped.
|
[
"## Design and description",
"### Armament and protection",
"## Construction and service"
] | 1,393 | 15,052 |
1,937,543 |
Demons (Star Trek: Enterprise)
| 1,172,117,000 | null |
[
"2005 American television episodes",
"Mars in television",
"Star Trek: Enterprise (season 4) episodes",
"Television episodes set on the Moon"
] |
"Demons" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 6, 2005, on UPN. The episode was written by showrunner Manny Coto and directed by LeVar Burton. "Demons" is the first part of a two part story, concluding with "Terra Prime".
Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In this episode, the crew returns to Earth to participate in a conference to set up a trade coalition of alien races. While there, they discover a plot involving a xenophobic human organisation called "Terra Prime".
Peter Weller, who later appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), guest-starred as John Frederick Paxton, and other guest stars included Harry Groener, who had previously appeared in episodes of both The Next Generation and Voyager. Filming of the episode overlapped with that of several other episodes, and sets included both the standing sets and an alleyway on the Paramount lot which was previously used in the Deep Space Nine episode "Little Green Men". The critical response to the episode was mostly positive with one reviewer stating that the two-parter posed similar ideological questions to those seen in The Original Series.
## Plot
Enterprise returns to Earth in order to attend the formation of a "Coalition of Planets". Nathan Samuels, a United Earth government minister, gives a speech, but he fails to mention the contribution they made to get the aliens to work collaboratively. A woman, later identified as Susan Khouri, staggers over to T'Pol and produces a vial containing a hair follicle, before collapsing and dying from a phaser wound. Back on board Enterprise, Doctor Phlox examines the hair's DNA, learning it is from the child of Commander T'Pol and Commander Tucker, but T'Pol denies ever being pregnant.
Captain Archer meets with Samuels, who is concerned that news of the child will stir xenophobic sentiment. Lieutenant Reed is ordered by Archer to liaise with Harris of Section 31. He is informed that Khouri was a member of Terra Prime, an anti-alien movement. Meanwhile, in the Terra Prime headquarters on the Moon, John Frederick Paxton and Doctor Mercer discuss the child. After Mercer leaves, Paxton sends for Daniel Greaves and tells him to deal with Mercer. On Earth, Archer tells Samuels that he knows that the minister was a former member of Terra Prime and convinces him to provide a case file on Khouri. Meanwhile, Ensign Mayweather gives his reporter ex-girlfriend, Gannet Brooks, a tour of the ship.
On the Moon, Paxton watches footage of Colonel Phillip Green ("The Savage Curtain"). Greaves enters and updates Paxton on the status of the child, and Paxton injects himself in the neck with an unknown substance. Phlox then reports that Khouri's body contained traces of a substance used in a zero-gravity mining facility. T'Pol and Tucker volunteer for an away mission to the Moon. Disguised as miners, they are quickly detained after Brooks apparently leaks details of the mission. Paxton reveals that the entire complex is a warp capable ship, and the vessel travels to Mars where it takes control of the verteron array, which normally protects the Earth from comets. He uses the array to fire a warning shot and issue an ultimatum — that all non-humans must immediately leave Earth.
## Production
### Writing and casting
Showrunner and writer Manny Coto explained that the "demons" in the episode refers to the demons of intolerance that humanity must defeat before they can form the United Federation of Planets. Colonel Philip Green (the leading villain of World War III in the Star Trek universe) was originally intended to appear earlier in the season in the episode "Borderland" but the episode was instead re-written to feature Arik Soong after The Next Generation actor Brent Spiner became available; Green's appearance was one of several included in season four which linked Enterprise to The Original Series, which included the Mirror Universe and Gorn in "In a Mirror, Darkly", Organians in "Observer Effect" and the Orions in "Borderland" and "Bound".
Peter Weller was cast in the role of John Frederick Paxton. Weller had previously appeared in other science fiction productions, including as the main character in the film RoboCop (1987). He also played Chuck Taggart in the television series Odyssey 5, which had been created by Manny Coto. Weller said of the plot of the episode: "The great thing about the whole Star Trek legacy is that they... metaphorize, they allegorize and they narrate what's going on the planet today". He would later go on to gain a role in the film Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). This was the third Star Trek appearance of Harry Groener, who played Nathan Samuels. He had previously portrayed Tam Elbrum in The Next Generation episode "Tin Man" and the Magistrate in the Voyager episode "Sacred Ground". Eric Pierpoint returned as Harris, whom he had previously played earlier in the season in the episode "Affliction". Game show host Tom Bergeron made a cameo in the episode as a Coridan Ambassador. He had previously appeared as D'Marr in the first-season episode "Oasis".
### Filming
The episode was directed by former Star Trek: The Next Generation actor LeVar Burton, his second of the season, and his ninth and final for the series. Filming began on February 4, 2005, and completed on February 14. The first day of shooting overlapped with the filming for the previous episode, "In a Mirror, Darkly". The first day was spent filming scenes involving Mayweather and Brooks, while the second day overlapped with a reshoot of the conclusion of the episode "Bound" and inserts for "Affliction" and "Divergence". The following three days were spent on the standing sets such as the bridge and sickbay, before moving onto the standing cave sets on stage 9. These had previously been painted white for use in "The Aenar", and were repainted grey to represent the tunnels on the Moon for "Demons".
The only exterior location used was an alleyway on the Paramount lot near the soundstages. The alley had previously been used as a location in the Deep Space Nine episode "Little Green Men". Production moved to the Paramount Theatre on the final day of filming, which hosted the season premieres. It was used to portray the Assembly Hall of Starfleet Command. The footage of Colonel Green was shot later, with a green screen placed on the monitor during the filming with Weller.
## Reception
"Demons" was first aired in the United States on UPN on May 6, 2005. It received a 2/4% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by two percent of all households, and 4 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase of the overall audience share compared to the previous episode aired.
IGN gave the episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime" a combined rating of four out of five. Michelle Erica Green at TrekNation described the episode as a "riveting hour of television". She thought that the episode posed the same types of ideological questions that The Original Series did on occasion and caused her to look forward to the following episode. Jamahl Epsicokhan at his website Jammer's Reviews gave the episode a score of three out of four, saying that it was a "pretty good story [told] in an exceptionally average way". Jay Garmon, whilst compiling a list of the best episodes of Enterprise for TechRepublic, listed "Demons" and "Terra Prime" as the third best. He thought that Peter Weller "stole the show", and that it created a "solid conclusion" to the show, despite the following episode, "These Are the Voyages..."
In 2012, TechRepublic included "Demons"/"Terra Prime" on its list of the five best episodes of Enterprise.
In a 2015 interview with some of the show's cast with SyFy, this episode was a recommended favorite of theirs, and they suggested that the combination of "Demons" and "Terra Prime" was alternate finale for Enterprise.
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter said this and "Terra Prime" were the 94th best episode of all Star Trek television (over 700 episodes), noting how it had a lot of drama and praised its themes of inclusiveness and optimism.
## Home media release
"Demons" was released on home media in the United States on November 1, 2005, as part of the season four DVD box set of Enterprise. The Blu-ray edition was released on April 1, 2014.
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"### Writing and casting",
"### Filming",
"## Reception",
"## Home media release"
] | 1,857 | 9,036 |
62,957,743 |
Tum Hi Aana
| 1,173,624,633 |
2018 Hindi ballad song
|
[
"2010s ballads",
"2019 songs",
"Film songs in Hindi",
"Indian songs",
"Jubin Nautiyal songs",
"Pop ballads",
"Songs written for films"
] |
Tum Hi Aana () is an Indian Hindi-language song from the soundtrack of the Indian feature film, Marjaavaan (2019). The pop ballad was released by major Indian label T-Series on 3 October 2019 as a single from the soundtrack. It was composed by Payal Dev, written by Kunaal Verma, and sung by Jubin Nautiyal. The melody of the song occurred to Dev, while she was working on a different track.
The song received positive reviews from film critics, the majority of whom complimented its composition. The song peaked at number one and two on the Official Charts Company Asian Music Charts and The Times of India Mirchi Top 20 Chart, respectively. The music video features Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria reprising their characters in Marjaavaan.
## Background and composition
Indian music composer Payal Dev described her composition for "Tum Hi Aana" as follows:
> While working on another single, this melody came to my mind and I recorded on my phone. It so happened, that I, Jubin and Kunaal, were in a music sitting of another single and I made them hear the melody I had recorded.
After recording the melody, Kunal Verma instantly wrote "some lines", claimed Dev. The singer Jubin Nautiyal, who was also present, "instantly loved it and accepted to record a scratch of the song". Nautiyal said that the record label T-Series also loved the song. "Tum Hi Aana" was suggested to the director Milap Zaveri by the director of T-Series, Bhushan Kumar, when the latter was narrating the script of Marjaavaan. Furthermore, Zaveri said, "Bhushan Kumar made me listen to the scratch and I was immediately sold on it. I couldn't have asked for a better song to describe the situation". "Tum Hi Aana" was written by Verma and performed by Nautiyal.
Dev originally composed the song as a "romantic" track, but had to change the composition due to the film's romantic and sad theme. The lyrics were also altered to suit the theme. Dev used multiple instruments for her composition, including the sarangi, flute, piano, and mouth organ, "to give it the right amount of emotions". The song was called a pop ballad in press reviews. Milap Zaveri described the song as being "all about emotions, passion and heartbreak". The director compared the song with other tracks, saying "It's on the lines of "Bekhayali" and "Galliyan" from the films Kabir Singh and Ek Villain, respectively".
## Release and reception
The single version of "Tum Hi Aana" was released on 3 October 2019, for digital download by the record label Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited (T-Series). The happy, sad, and duet versions were all released on 27 November 2019 through the aforementioned label.
"Tum Hi Aana" was met with positive reviews from film critics. The staff of Asian News International wrote that the song will "tug your heartstrings as it is all about emotions and heartbreak". Abhishek Singh, writing for The Indian Express, expressed that the song "can be a bit much with how sad it is" but in the verdict, he wrote "[the song] is worth listening to at least once. If you’re into it, you’ll probably end up having it on repeat". Devarsi Ghosh of Scroll.in said that the song is "fabulous" and praised Nautiyal, stating that: "It is undoubtedly the best composition Nautiyal has sung till date". The staff of The Times of India praised the song, writing that it will "make you teary-eyed for sure". The staff from Koimoi praised the composer, "Dev has done the music composition really well and the symphony at the back mixed with flutes tunes is absolutely mellow to the ears".
Times Now's Gaurang Chauhan claimed that, "The melodious tune and Jubin's soothing voice will instantly transport you back to the good old days of the 90s". The staff of Indian magazine Outlook cited the song for having "won acclaim and popularity" for Dev. News18's staff wrote, "The soulful romantic number Tum Hi Aana is a tear-jerker, to say the least". Rafat Sami from the Glamsham regarded, "Verma's lyrics, though filmy, touch the heart and are simple and relatable". Keyur Seta of Cinestaan believed that the song is "Motif" throughout Marjaavaan. DJ Munks from BizAsia wrote that, " [the song] does have a very deeply moving and soulful instrumentation that makes this a gorgeous melody to listen to".
## Music video
The music video was released on 2 October 2019 to YouTube. Zoya (Tara Sutaria) plays a mute character alongside Raghu (Sidharth Malhotra) in Marjaavaan, a goon who falls in love with her. Within the film Raghu is a loyal goon to the local thug Narayan Anna (Nassar), who orders Raghu to kill Zoya, not knowing that Raghu loves her because she was an eyewitness of a crime that Narayan Anna's son Vishnu Riteish Deshmukh committed. In the music video for "Tum Hi Aana", Raghu is sentenced to jail for murdering Zoya and reminisces about his dead lover. Two days after its release, "Tum Hi Aana" crossed over 14 million views on YouTube. Within a few weeks, the song had received over 50 million views on YouTube.
## Commercial performance
"Tum Hi Aana" debuted and peaked at number one on the Official Charts Company Asian Music Charts and spent a total of 30 weeks on the chart. The song reached number two on The Times of India Mirchi Top 20, where it spent a total of nine weeks on the chart.
## Charts
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from YouTube.
- Jubin Nautiyal – lead vocals
- Payal Dev – music
- Kunal Verma – lyrics
- Aditya Dev – music producer
## Track listings
## Release history
|
[
"## Background and composition",
"## Release and reception",
"## Music video",
"## Commercial performance",
"## Charts",
"## Credits and personnel",
"## Track listings",
"## Release history"
] | 1,325 | 11,216 |
36,181,212 |
Liquorice (song)
| 1,129,739,020 | null |
[
"2011 songs",
"2012 singles",
"Acid house songs",
"Azealia Banks songs",
"Interscope Records singles",
"Polydor Records singles",
"Songs written by Azealia Banks"
] |
"Liquorice" is a song by American rapper Azealia Banks, taken from her debut extended play (EP) titled 1991 (2012). The song was released onto Banks' Tumblr account on December 18, 2011, and was later released for digital download on December 4, 2012. Built around Lone's song "Pineapple Crush", "Liquorice" is an acid house track that incorporates synthesizers in its composition. Lyrically, the song contains wordplay from Harlem, Banks' origin, and is inspired by interracial dating. A music video for the single was directed by Rankin and was released in June 2012.
"Liquorice" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who praised the use of "Pineapple Crush" on the song and deemed it catchy. The single charted at number 73 on the Flemish Ultratip of Belgium in July 2012. In support of the song and 1991, Banks included "Liquorice" on the set list for her Mermaid Ball tour and performed the song at BBC's Radio 1's Hackney Weekend in 2012 and the 2013 Glastonbury Festival.
## Composition
"Liquorice" was described as an acid house track by Dart Chris from Exclaim! magazine. The song is built around "Pineapple Crush", a house song produced by British electronic musician Lone, who also produced "Liquorice". The track features synthesizers in its instrumentation. Michael Cragg from The Guardian described Banks' vocals on the track as "playfully aggressive, featherlight and brilliantly smutty." According to Banks, the song was partly inspired by American producer Diplo.
Lyrically, "Liquorice" contains "Harlem-street-slang-derived wordplay", which comes from Banks' origin, Harlem (for example: "skrilla" means "money", and "ye" stands for "cocaine"). The song is also inspired by interracial dating; Banks explained: "I date lots of white guys. It's still seen as slightly taboo in African American culture, but I thought, 'Let me put this in your face and tell it how it is.'"
## Release and reception
Banks posted "Liquorice" onto her Tumblr on December 18, 2011. It was released as a digital download single on December 4, 2012. The single debuted at number 73 on the Flemish Ultratip chart of Belgium on July 7, 2012.
Dan Weiss from Boston Phoenix named "Liquorice" a "genuinely 1991-sounding" song, while Sarah Murphy from Exclaim! deemed it "undeniably catchy."
Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork Media named "Liquorice" the "Best New Track" following its release; he praised the use of "Pineapple Crush" on the song, commenting: "Lone's bright tones and winding sense of melody meshes well with Banks' light, airy vocals, while Azealia spits quick over 'Pineapple Crush''s breakbeat rhythmic pattern without losing a handle on the beat, unleashing clever rhymes [...] without breaking a sweat." In a mixed review, Alex Macpherson from Fact wrote that Banks "feels slightly overwhelmed by its broad synth brushstrokes."
## Music video
The music video for "Liquorice" was released on June 14, 2012. The video was directed by Rankin and styled by Nicola Formichetti. The visual sees Banks as a cowgirl riding through the desert on horseback. Becky Bain from Idolator wrote: "Azealia sports bull horns, wields a baseball bat, seductively licks a Popsicle and takes a mouthful of a hot dog." Robin Murray from Clash deemed the video for the song as "lavish."
## Live performances
In June 2012, Banks included "Liquorice" on the set list for her first headlining concert tour, Mermaid Ball, in support of 1991 and Banks' mixtape Fantasea. On June 24, 2012, Banks performed "Liquorice" at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend. The song was also included on Banks' set list at Glastonbury Festival 2013.
## Track listing
Digital download
1. "Liquorice" – 3:16
## Charts
|
[
"## Composition",
"## Release and reception",
"## Music video",
"## Live performances",
"## Track listing",
"## Charts"
] | 930 | 32,439 |
2,211,455 |
Someday (I Will Understand)
| 1,158,603,685 |
2005 single by Britney Spears
|
[
"2000s ballads",
"2005 singles",
"Black-and-white music videos",
"Britney Spears songs",
"Jive Records singles",
"Music videos directed by Michael Haussman",
"Pop ballads",
"Song recordings produced by Guy Sigsworth",
"Songs written by Britney Spears"
] |
"Someday (I Will Understand)" is a song by American singer Britney Spears. It was written by Spears and produced by Guy Sigsworth. The song was released on August 18, 2005, by Jive Records as the sole single from Spears' first extended play, Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (2005), outside the United States. In July 2004, Spears announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, later revealing she would be taking another career break to start a family. Spears wrote the song two weeks before knowing she was pregnant with her first child, Sean Preston Federline. A pop ballad, its lyrics refer to a feeling of empowerment as a pregnant woman. A remixed version of the song was included on the 2005 remix compilation, B in the Mix: The Remixes.
"Someday (I Will Understand)" has received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. The song reached the top ten in Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland and also charted in a number of European countries. An accompanying music video, directed by Michael Haussman, premiered on the finale of Spears' reality show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic (2005). Entirely shot in black-and-white, the music video features Spears as a pregnant woman and follows her reflecting along with the songs lyrics in a large empty house.
## Background
In July 2004, Spears announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement. In October 2004, the singer announced she would be taking another career break to start a family. Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.
"Someday (I Will Understand)" was composed by Spears on the piano at her house, two weeks before she learned of her pregnancy with Sean Preston. She explained the song came "like a prophecy... when you're pregnant, you're empowered". It was produced by Guy Sigsworth, who previously worked with the singer on "Everytime" (2004). Spears recorded her vocals for the song at Conway Studios in Los Angeles, California, and at Frou Frou Central in London. The piano was played by Spears herself, while all other instruments (including the drums) and mixing were done by Sigsworth. Background vocals for the song were provided by Kate Havnevik.
## Critical response
"Someday (I Will Understand)" initially received mixed reviews from music critics. While reviewing Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, Mike McGuirk of Rhapsody noted, "Britney now sings about either the husband or the kid." Gil Kaufman of MTV called the song a "horrible Britney ballad with the black-and-white video that began her descent into madness." Leo Ebersole of the Chicago Tribune considered it "a fictional piece", while another reviewer from the same newspaper noted that "as a matter of fact, the song is more or less a lesson in Britney history." Becky Bain of Idolator praised the track, stating that "Britney goes genuine for this ode to her unborn baby." Kurt Kirton of About.com said that "And Then We Kiss" and other remixes of songs like "Toxic" and "Someday (I Will Understand)" on the remix album B in the Mix: The Remixes "hold their own". IGN writer Spence D. noted the Hi-Bias Signature Radio Remix "reverberates with all the clichés that often stifle the music that rustles through the late night/early morning club scenes around the world." Rolling Stone contributor Barry Walters gave the song's remix a negative review, saying that "nothing can rescue Spears' freakishly sappy flop single "Someday (I Will Understand)". Bradley Stern also of MTV, however, praised the Leama & Moor Remix, saying it "transforms the tearjerker of a ballad into a full-on trance anthem. Big beats, stuttering vocals – it's heartbreak on the dance floor."
Over the years following its release, attitude toward the song began to change for the positive. Ten years after its release, a reviewer for AXS called the song "serene" and the "most sincere single of her career." A writer for MuuMuse said that while the song was not career-defining, it was "interesting, and certainly personal."
## Commercial performance
On September 1, 2005, "Someday (I Will Understand)" debuted at number 46 on the Swedish Singles Chart. It peaked at number 10 the following week. In Switzerland, the song debuted at number eight on the week of September 4, 2005. On September 9, 2005, the song debuted in the Danish Singles Chart at number 11. The following week, it peaked at the eight position. "Someday (I Will Understand)" also reached the top 20 in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Finland and Norway and charted in Austria and the Netherlands. "Someday (I Will Understand)" has sold 60,000 paid digital downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
## Music video
The music video for "Someday (I Will Understand)" was directed by Michael Haussman. Spears commented that he "[did] a great job capturing the song, the essence and the emotion" and added that the video had "a different feeling" from any of her previous videos. It was shot entirely in black-and-white. Spears asserted that her life had "come full circle" and implied that in the process she underwent changes in her soul and body, as shown in the video. It premiered on June 14, 2005, during the fifth and last episode of Spears's reality show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, titled "Veil of Secrecy". The music video features a pregnant Spears lying in bed and walking around a house while singing to her unborn child. She also gazes through the window at the Roman sculptures in the garden.
Hayley Butler of Jam! said "the video is a far cry from the snake handling, sweating and skimpy Britney videos of the past. Dressed in a classy silk dress, she runs through gardens, lies in bed and walks through the grass, all with a burgeoning belly." John Mitchell of MTV included the video on the list "Beyonce, Britney And Madonna: What To Expect When You're Expecting — Music Video Edition" in 2011. Despite praising the track, Idolator blogger Becky Bain stated that "at this point she still looks like a teenager herself, so it's a little disconcerting seeing her with that huge belly, singing about motherhood."
## Track listings
- European CD single
1. "Someday (I Will Understand)" – 3:37
2. "Someday (I Will Understand)" (Hi-Bias Signature Radio Remix) – 3:46
- European limited edition maxi single
1. "Someday (I Will Understand)" – 3:37
2. "Someday (I Will Understand)" (Instrumental) – 3:37
3. "Someday (I Will Understand)" (Hi-Bias Signature Radio Remix) – 3:46
4. "Someday (I Will Understand)" (Leama and Andy Moor Remix) – 9:18
- Japanese maxi single
1. "Someday (I Will Understand)" – 3:37
2. "Chaotic" – 3:33
3. "Mona Lisa" – 3:25
4. "Over to You Now" – 3:42
5. "Someday (I Will Understand)" (Hi-Bias Remix) – 3:46
## Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the Britney & Kevin: Chaotic DVD liner notes.
- Britney Spears – lead vocals, songwriting, piano
- Guy Sigsworth – production
- Sean McGhee – mixing, engineering, programming
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Kate Havnevik – background vocals
## Charts
## Release history
|
[
"## Background",
"## Critical response",
"## Commercial performance",
"## Music video",
"## Track listings",
"## Credits and personnel",
"## Charts",
"## Release history"
] | 1,775 | 8,250 |
18,258,915 |
Tree: A Life Story
| 1,130,622,250 |
2004 book by David Suzuki
|
[
"2004 non-fiction books",
"Books by David Suzuki",
"Individual pine trees",
"Popular science books"
] |
Tree: A Life Story (or Tree: A Biography in Australia) is a Canadian non-fiction book written by David Suzuki and Wayne Grady, and illustrated by Robert Bateman. The book profiles the life of a Douglas-fir tree, from seed to maturity to death. The story provides ecological context by describing interactions with other lifeforms in the forest and historical context through parallels with world events that occur during the tree's 700 years of life. Digressions from the biographical narrative, scattered throughout the book, provide background into related topics, such as the history of botany.
Suzuki was inspired to write a biography of a tree when he noticed a Douglas-fir with an uncharacteristic curve in its trunk and speculated what caused it to grow into that shape. Suzuki studied the topic with the help of a research assistant and solicited Grady to help write the book. Vancouver publishers Greystone Books released the book in September 2004. In the Canadian market, it peaked at number three in the Maclean's and the National Post's non-fiction best seller lists and was nominated for several awards. In February 2005 it was published in Australia by Allen & Unwin. The premise and writing were well received by critics. While several reviewers found that the authors succeeded in using accessible language, others found it too technical.
## Background
Inspiration for the book came from a Douglas-fir tree with a curve in its trunk. While sitting by the tree, at his home on Quadra Island, near Vancouver, David Suzuki realized that even though his family had played on it for years, he did not know how old it was or how its uncharacteristic curve had developed. Suzuki, a science writer and broadcaster, and former zoologist, speculated that the soil might have slid when the tree was young or that another plant might have blocked the sunlight. He thought that the tree must have endured much hardship throughout its life and made a connection between biographies of people and the story of this tree's life. It also reminded him of an idea he had for a children's book about interconnectivity of life, especially within plants. Along with a research assistant, he studied the topic. Suzuki started to write a draft but a busy schedule interfered so he sought a collaborator. Science writer and former Harrowsmith editor Wayne Grady agreed to participate. Suzuki provided the research, framework, and some original writing and Grady did most of the writing. Together, Grady in Ontario and Suzuki in Vancouver, went through five drafts. Wildlife artist Robert Bateman was brought into the project through social connections between the wives of Bateman and Suzuki. In creating the book, their intention was to illustrate the complexity and interconnectivity of this ecosystem by focusing on one tree's role over time.
## Synopsis
The book consists of five chapters: "Birth", "Taking Root", "Growth", "Maturity", and "Death". The book opens with acknowledgments and an introduction, and closes with selected references and an index. In the introduction, Suzuki describes the tree at his home and the series of ideas and events that led to the writing of the book. Along with the narrative of the tree's life, the book includes digressions into related topics, such as the history of botany and animal life in the forest. The tree written about in the book is not any specific Douglas-fir, but rather a generic one.
The first chapter, "Birth", begins with lightning starting a forest fire. The heat dries the Douglas-fir cones enough for their scales to spread and release winged seeds. Rain water transports one seed to a sunlit area with well-drained soil. Rodents and insectivores, whose food stashes were destroyed in the fire, eat truffles, which survived underground, and leave feces containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil. Following one dormant winter stage, the seed begins to germinate.
In the second chapter, "Taking Root", the embryonic root emerges through a small opening in the seed coat and through cell division, aided by plant hormones, it grows downward. Water and nutrients enter the root by osmosis and are transported to the seedling. A symbiotic relationship develops between the roots and the truffles. The roots give its extra sugars to the truffles, which it uses for energy, and the truffles assist the roots' uptake of water and nutrients. From excess starches and nutrients gathered by the root, a stem similar to the root but surrounded with thin, grayish bark, grows upwards. As the starch reserves are exhausted, its first needles sprout and photosynthesis begins. The tree anchors itself with a deep taproot and a web of roots begin to grow laterally. Some roots develop symbiotic relationships with near-by red alders which excel at nitrogen-fixation but lack the storage capacity that the Douglas-fir can offer. In early April of every year, a new layer grows between the bark and wood. As this new layer takes over transportation of fluids throughout the tree, last year's layer of cells die and form a ring in the wood.
After about 20 years, the tree begins to develop fertile cones. Buds form where auxins accumulate; these become either new needles or cones. The buds remain undifferentiated until July and continue to develop throughout the fall and winter. The next year, some buds will open in mid-May exposing a new set of needles. The cone buds on the lower end of the tree while other buds burst open in April releasing a mist of pollen. The cones at the top of the tree open their scales for wind-borne pollen to enter. Within the cone, the pollen fertilizes a seed which is released in September. The quantity and quality of seed production varies year-to-year but a particularly effective crop is produced about every 10 years. Less than 0.1% of seeds survive Douglas squirrels, dark-eyed juncos, and other seed-eating animals.
Over the centuries, the tree grows thicker and taller as successive rings develop around its trunk and new buds grow on the branches. The tree becomes part of an old growth forest with a shaded and damp understory of broadleaf trees, shrubs, and ferns. In the canopy, a mat of dead needles and lichen accumulate on the wide upper branches. Exposed to light, air, and rain, the needles decompose and the mat becomes colonized by insects, fungus, and new plants.
In the opening of the final chapter, "Death", the tree is 550 years old and stands 80 meters (260 feet) tall. Under the weight of too much snow accumulating on the canopy mat, a branch breaks off. Stresses from a long winter with a dry summer weaken the tree's immune system. The exposed area where the branch broke becomes infected with insects and fungus. Insect larvae eat the buds and the fungus spreads into the middle of the tree and down to the roots. With its vascular tissue system compromised, the tree diverts nutrients elsewhere, resulting in needles turning orange on the abandoned branches. Death takes years to occur as successive parts are slowly starved of nutrients. As a snag, it becomes home to a succession of animals, like woodpeckers, owls, squirrels, and bats. Eventually the roots rot enough that a rainstorm blows it down. Mosses and fungi grow on the deadfall, followed by colonies of termites, ants, and mites, which all help decompose the remaining wood.
## Genre and style
Tree is a popular science book, intended to profile the life of single tree using terminology targeted at a general audience. The narrative provides ecological context, describing animals and plants that interact with the tree, as well as historical context. Parallels to the tree's age are made with historical events, like the tree taking root as empirical science was taking root in Europe during the life of 13th century philosopher Roger Bacon. The book is most commonly described, and marketed, as a "biography". One reviewer grouped it with the 2005 book The Golden Spruce as part of a new genre: an "arbobiography".
The book is written in the third person, omniscient, style. Grady's writing moderates Suzuki's characteristic rhetoric to create writing that is accessible, with a tone described as "a breezy casualness that welcomes the reader". According to Suzuki, making the book accessible required telling the story from a human perspective, including some anthropomorphism of biological processes.
## Publication
The book was published by Greystone Books, an imprint of Douglas & McIntyre based in Vancouver that specializes in nature, travel, and sports topics. They published the hardcover version of Tree in September 2004. The book is small, measuring only 19×14 cm (7.6×5.4 inches) with 190 pages. Suzuki and Grady promoted it through media interviews and book signing events across Canada. In February 2005, Allen & Unwin published it in Australia as Tree: A Biography. The Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic released the audio book in April 2006. Greystone Books published the trade paperback in February 2007.
## Reception
In the Canadian market, the hardcover edition peaked at number three in the Maclean's and the National Post's non-fiction best seller lists. The magazine Science & Spirit published an excerpt in the January–February 2005 edition. It was nominated for the 2004 Canadian Science Writers' Association's Science in Society Journalism Award for 'General Audience Book', the 2005 B.C. Booksellers' Choice Award and the 2006 Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries' Annual Litereature Award for best 'General Interest' book. The French translation by Dominique Fortier was nominated for the 2006 Governor General's Awards for best English to French translation.
The premise of a biography for a tree was well received. The writing was called engaging, lyrical, and compelling. Robert Wiersema wrote, "Tree is science writing at its finest. It's sweeping but focused, keenly aware of both the minutiae and the big picture. ... Although some of the concepts are complex, the writing is always accessible ... Scientific matters are explained in layman's terms, and the text never bogs down or bottlenecks." However, some reviewers found the language too technical. In the Montreal Gazette, Bronwyn Chester wrote that the scientific language "dilut[es] our feeling and concern for this tree through too much information". Robert Bateman's black and white illustrations, while skilled, were said to add little to the narrative.
|
[
"## Background",
"## Synopsis",
"## Genre and style",
"## Publication",
"## Reception"
] | 2,173 | 6,432 |
1,156,274 |
Give It Up (Bonnie Raitt album)
| 1,152,531,824 | null |
[
"1972 albums",
"Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna",
"Bonnie Raitt albums",
"Warner Records albums"
] |
Give It Up is the second studio album by American musician Bonnie Raitt. Released in 1972 by Warner Bros. Records, Give It Up is an amalgamation of various genres, including folk, blues, R&B, and soft rock. Seven of the ten tracks on the album are covers, and the tracks range from soft sentimental ballads to fast-paced folk rock pieces. Lyrically, Give It Up revolves around Raitt's femininity, relationships, and being comfortable with herself. Raitt recorded the album at Bearsville Studios with producer Michael Cuscuna.
Give It Up was Raitt's first album to reach the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it peaked at number 138. The initial reception was positive, as critics liked the vocals and the musicianship throughout the album. Contemporary reviews are also positive, with some critics calling Give It Up a stand-out album within Raitt's discography. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked Give It Up at number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
## Composition
Give It Up was recorded in June 1972 at Bearsville Studios in New York, with producer Michael Cuscuna. It is an amalgamation of several music genres, including folk, blues, R&B, and soft rock. The ten tracks on the album are a mix of soft sentimental ballads and fast-paced folk rock pieces. Some of the faster tracks are accompanied by brass instrumentation, which is played in the style of a New Orleans brass band. This sound is demonstrated on the opening track "Give It Up or Let Me Go". It begins with an acoustic guitar, but then transitions into an explosive sound of a brass band, reminiscent of Dixieland music. Give It Up features many guest musicians, most of which were from the area around Woodstock, New York. Among these are future politician John Hall, multi-instrumentalist Freebo, and blues singer Paul Butterfield. Overall, Give It Up has a smoother, more polished sound than its predecessor Bonnie Raitt.
Raitt wrote three songs for the album. The other seven songs are covers of songs by musicians like Chris Smither, Jackson Browne, and Joel Zoss. Lyrically, Give It Up revolves around Raitt's femininity, relationships, and being comfortable with herself. According to biographer Mark Bego, Raitt sounds more confident while singing on this album when compared to her vocal performance on Bonnie Raitt. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote: "Raitt can be earthy and sexy, but she balances it with an inviting sensuality that makes the record glow". Raitt herself would later criticize the vocals, stating: "I sound like Mickey Mouse!"
## Release and reception
Give It Up was released in September 1972 by Warner Bros. Records. It sold moderately well, and was Raitt's first album to reach the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it peaked at number 138. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1985, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies. The song "Too Long at the Fair" was released as a promotional single to radio stations, although it did not reach any music charts.
Give It Up received positive reviews upon release. A critic for Billboard magazine wrote: "Bonnie Raitt is presented in her second album for the label and it should be a big one. Her unique vocal treatments and guitar style on 'Stayed [sic] Too Long at the Fair' and the title song should do a lot to sell the album." Record World described Give It Up as "an exceptional effort. The choice of material, from the self-penned numbers to a stunning Jackson Browne tune, is excellent and the musicianship and production could hardly be better." Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau also praised the album, writing that "the best thing about Bonnie Raitt is her singing, and the best thing about Give It Up is that she sings great from beginning to end; in doing so, she successfully handles a far greater range of styles and material than on her first album and has produced a more interesting and satisfying record in the process." Landau highlighted the three original songs, and called "Love Has No Pride" the perfect summation of Raitt's musical abilities.
Retrospective appraisals have also been positive. In The New Rolling Stone Record Guide, critic Bart Testa wrote: "Give It Up [comes] closest to perfecting her approach: she [mingles] her blues resources with a variety of contemporary and folk-oriented songs, coming up with classics in 'Been Too Long at the Fair' and Eric Kaz's 'Love Has No Pride'." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted how singers like Sheryl Crow and Shelby Lynne were likely inspired by Give It Up, and ultimately described it as "one of the great Southern California records." In a review published for Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau commended Raitt's maturity and intelligence in both her style of play as well as her lyrics. Christgau later ranked Give It Up at number 31 on his decade-end list of the best albums of the 1970s.
In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked Give It Up at number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, calling it "gorgeous folksy blues".
## Track listing
## Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 1972 release. Each number denotes which track features the musician and instrument.
### Musicians
- Bonnie Raitt – lead vocals, steel guitar (1, 3), acoustic guitar (2, 4-8, 10), backing vocals (3, 7), 12-string guitar (6), electric rhythm guitar (9), acoustic piano (10)
- Jack Viertel – steel guitar (1)
- T.J. Tindall – electric guitar (3, 7)
- Kal David – electric guitar (4)
- Lou Terriciano – acoustic piano (1, 8)
- Mark Jordan – acoustic piano (3), vibraphone (3), electric piano (7)
- Merl Saunders – acoustic piano (4)
- Dave Holland – acoustic bass (1, 2, 8)
- Chris Parker – drums (1, 4, 8)
- Wells Kelly – congas (2, 3, 9), drums (3, 6, 7, 9), cowbell (3, 7), backing vocals (3)
- Dennis Whitted – drums (5)
- Eric Kaz – vibraphone (2), acoustic piano (6), horn arrangement (9)
- Peter Ecklund – cornet (1, 3)
- Amos Garrett – trombone (1)
- Freebo – tuba (1), 12-string rhythm guitar (2), fretless bass (3-7, 9, 10), backing vocals (3)
- John Payne – tenor saxophone (2), clarinet (8), soprano saxophone (9), sax solo (9)
- Marty Grebb – tenor saxophone (4), alto saxophone (9)
- Terry Eaton – tenor saxophone (9)
- Gene Boris Stashuk – cello (6)
- Paul Butterfield – harmonica (7)
- John Hall – backing vocals (3), electric guitar (6, 9), "steel drum" guitar (9)
- Jackie Lomax – backing vocals (3)
- Tim Moore – backing vocals (7)
### Production
- Producer, liner Notes – Michael Cuscuna
- Engineer – Kendall Pacios
- Remixing – Nick Jameson and Kendall Pacios
- Mastering – Lee Hulko
- Art Direction – Ed Thrasher
- Photography – Michael Dobo
## Charts and certifications
|
[
"## Composition",
"## Release and reception",
"## Track listing",
"## Personnel",
"### Musicians",
"### Production",
"## Charts and certifications"
] | 1,703 | 1,167 |
1,364,451 |
Mount Morning
| 1,167,772,555 |
Volcano in Victoria Land, Antarctica
|
[
"Central volcanoes",
"Hillary Coast",
"Pleistocene shield volcanoes",
"Polygenetic shield volcanoes",
"Scott Coast",
"Shield volcanoes of Antarctica",
"Volcanoes of Victoria Land",
"Volcanoes of the Ross Dependency"
] |
Mount Morning is a shield volcano at the foot of the Transantarctic Mountains in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It lies 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Ross Island. Mount Morning rises to an elevation of 2,723 metres (8,934 ft) and is almost entirely mantled with snow and ice. A 4.1 by 4.9 kilometres (2.5 mi × 3.0 mi) wide summit caldera lies at the top of the volcano and several ice-free ridges such as Hurricane Ridge and Riviera Ridge emanate from the summit. A number of parasitic vents mainly in the form of cinder cones dot the mountain.
The volcano was initially active during the Miocene and erupted in two separate stages with a hiatus in between. The older stage has a different chemical composition than the recent one and is heavily eroded by glaciers. The most recent parasitic vents were active about 20,000 years ago and the volcano could erupt again.
## Geography and geomorphology
Mount Morning lies in Victoria Land, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Ross Island and at the foot of the Transantarctic Mountains. The Koettlitz Glacier runs along the northwestern foot of Mount Morning and separates it from the Royal Society Range 25 kilometres (16 mi) away. Mount Discovery lies next to Mount Morning and is separated from it by the Discovery Glacier. The volcano was originally described in the early to middle 20th century, before more detailed analyses took place in the 1970s, 1980s and 2000s.
The volcano rises to 2,723 metres (8,934 ft) above sea level and is capped by a 4.1 by 4.9 kilometres (2.5 mi × 3.0 mi) wide caldera that may be the source of a glacier at its northeastern end. Mount Morning has been defined as a 30 by 36 kilometres (19 mi × 22 mi) large shield volcano that consists of a central volcano overlying an older volcanic complex. With a volume of 1,785 cubic kilometres (428 cu mi) it is one of the largest volcanoes in the region. Fissure vents have produced at least 185 parasitic vents on the slopes of Mount Morning. They are cinder cones, fissure ridges, lava domes and volcanic necks, and their diameters range from a few metres to a few hundred metres. Many of the vents form alignments, some cone craters overlap or the vents themselves have linear shapes. These linear patterns define northeast–southwest trends, with a minor northwest–southeast alignment. Lava flows emanate from cones and make up the present-day surface of the volcano.
Mount Morning is almost entirely covered with snow and ice except where it is ablated by southerly winds. Outcrops of volcanic rocks form the north-northeastern Riviera Ridge and northeastern Hurricane Ridge on the northern flank, Mason Spur on the southern flank and on Helms Bluff on the eastern flank. Gandalf Ridge is a promontory formed by northward-tilted debris and penetrated by Dikes. It is located at the foot of Hurricane Ridge, and Pinnacle Valley is located on the Riviera Ridge. Dikes, lava domes, lava flows and pyroclastic deposits are found in outcrops. Mason Spur also contains breccias from pillow lavas, while Gandalf Ridge features a diamictite and a cross-cutting fault. Mason Spurr was considered by Martin et al. 2021 to be a separate volcano from Mount Morning.
Owing to the lack of running water, the main edifice (unlike Mason Spur) is uneroded and parasitic vents have a young appearance. Glacial erosion has eroded some parts of the volcano, leaving volcanic necks in Pinnacle Valley, has etched glacial striations into exposed volcanic rocks and deposited glacial till. The Vereyken Glacier descends the northeastern slopes of Mount Morning between Hurricane Ridge and Riviera Ridge. Moraines occur on these two ridges and moraines dating to the Wisconsin glaciation have been reported. Glaciers descending from Mount Morning feed the Koettlitz Glacier. Several lakes are found on the volcano and at its foot, including Lake Morning at the end of the Riviera Ridge and Lake Discovery at the foot of the Hurricane and Gandalf ridges.
## Geology
The West Antarctic Rift is a major geological feature in Antarctica and one of Earth's largest continental rifts. It is a region of active crustal extension and spreading, which may be ongoing today. Volcanic activity occurs at the rift and includes the McMurdo Volcanic Group, a 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) long chain of volcanoes in Victoria Land. This volcanic group has erupted alkaline lavas during the course of the Cenozoic. It is subdivided into three provinces, the Hallett, the Melbourne and the Erebus province; Mount Morning is the southernmost volcano of the Erebus province.
Mount Morning rises from a Paleozoic basement, the Koettlitz Group which crops out close to Gandalf Ridge in the form of granite and metasedimentary rocks. Based on rocks erupted by Mount Morning, the crust appears to be thin and has a calc-alkaline composition. Tectonic sutures in this basement may have allowed magma to ascend to the surface in the Mount Morning region.
### Composition
Basanite is the dominant rock of outcrops, with phonolite less common and picrobasalt and tephrite rare. Outcrops of older rocks include mugearite, rhyolite and trachyte. Textures range from porphyritic to seriate. Various phenocrysts are found within the volcanic rocks, including aegirine, augite, clinopyroxene, alkali feldspar, kaersutite, nepheline, olivine, plagioclase, quartz and sanidine. Aegirine, aenigmatite, amphibole, augite, clinopyroxene, alkali feldspar, glass, iron oxide-titanium oxide, nepheline, plagioclase and quartz make up the groundmass. The volcanic rocks contain xenoliths consisting of syenite and of rocks from older stages of Mount Morning activity. Spinel peridotite and less commonly clinopyroxenite, dunite, harzburgite, lherzolite, norite, pyroxenite and websterite have been reported as xenoliths.
The early volcanic rocks of Mount Morning are comparable to mildly alkaline rocks from Mount Melbourne, while the more alkaline late volcanic rocks resemble these from Mount Erebus. The older rocks define the "Mason Spurr lineage" while the younger ones are referred to as the "Riviera Ridge lineage". Basaltic rocks are concentrated on the lower slopes, while phonolite is mainly found in the upper sector of Mount Morning. The composition changes between the early and late volcanic activity of Mount Morning may be due to alteration in crustal magma processes.
## Eruption history
Mount Morning has been active during the Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene. Argon-argon dating and potassium-argon dating have been used to infer the duration of volcanic activity at Mount Morning. Gandalf Ridge has yielded ages of 18.7±0.3-15.5±0.5 million years, Pinnacle Valley 15.2±0.2-13.0±0.3 million years, Mason Spur 12.8±0.4-11.4±0.2 million years, rocks below the summit of 6.13±0.20-\~1.00 million years and 4.51±0.31-0.02 million years on other formations. Some of these eruptions may have deposited volcanic ash over the McMurdo Sound area and in the Transantarctic Mountains. Even older activity at Mount Morning may be recorded in volcanic deposits from Cape Roberts which go back to 24.1 million years ago. This is a long lifespan for a volcano by Antarctic standards, and may be due to tectonic factors that kept magma generation focused on Mount Morning for a long time. Loading by glaciers may have influenced volcanic activity at Mount Morning.
Volcanic activity has been subdivided into two phases separated by a hiatus, an early phase lasting between 11.4±0.2-18.7±0.3 million years ago and a late phase from 6.13±0.02 million years ago to almost present-day. These phases are also known as the phase I or the Mason Spur Lineage, and as the phase II or the Riviera Ridge Lineage. The early phase produced mildly alkaline volcanic rocks, the late phase which makes up most of the outcrops strongly alkaline rocks. The early phase has produced ignimbrites from a caldera at Mason Spur, an otherwise rare type of volcanoes in Antarctica. The older rocks have undergone significant glaciation, while the younger ones are largely uneroded and make up the present-day edifice. Volcanic activity mostly occurred under the atmosphere, with the exception of some lavas that may have been erupted in a subaqueous environment and hyaloclastites which have been used to infer that glaciers existed there 15.4 million years ago. Volcanic activity was focused along geologic lineaments on Mount Morning, which were reused during more recent eruptions.
Eruptions took place at Mount Morning about 20,000 years ago, forming well-preserved cinder cones. In the 1960s thermal anomalies were observed at Gandalf Ridge, implying that the volcano may still be active, although ground surveys did not detect fumarolic activity. Thus, Mount Morning was considered dormant by Martin, Cooper and Dunlap 2010 and might be the source of tephra layers found in the area.
## History and name
The volcano was discovered by the Discovery Expedition in 1901-1904 and named after a relief ship that took part in the expedition.
## See also
- Barlow Rocks
- List of volcanoes in Antarctica
|
[
"## Geography and geomorphology",
"## Geology",
"### Composition",
"## Eruption history",
"## History and name",
"## See also"
] | 2,112 | 7,566 |
3,492,334 |
Hurricane Carrie
| 1,165,454,328 |
Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1957
|
[
"1957 Atlantic hurricane season",
"1957 meteorology",
"Cape Verde hurricanes",
"Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes",
"Hurricanes in the Azores"
] |
Hurricane Carrie was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 1957 Atlantic hurricane season. The third named storm and second hurricane of the year, Carrie formed from an easterly tropical wave off the western coast of Africa on September 2, a type of tropical cyclogenesis typical of Cape Verde-type hurricanes. Moving to the west, the storm gradually intensified, reaching hurricane strength on September 5. Carrie intensified further, before reaching peak intensity on September 8 as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) in the open Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane curved northwards and fluctuated in intensity as it neared Bermuda on September 14. However, Carrie passed well north of the island and turned to the northeast towards Europe. Weakening as it reached higher latitudes, the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 23, prior to affecting areas of the British Isles, and subsequently dissipated on September 28.
Due to its distance away from any major land masses, Carrie caused relatively minor damage along its path. On September 16, the hurricane passed well north of Bermuda, causing minimal damage despite its intensity at the time, though hurricane reconnaissance flights in the area were postponed due to damage sustained by one of the aircraft. As it was transitioning to an extratropical cyclone southwest of the Azores, the German ship Pamir encountered the storm and capsized on September 21, resulting in the deaths of 80 crew members on board. As an extratropical storm, Carrie brought strong storm surge and heavy rain to the British Isles, which claimed three lives. The hurricane's long duration and path in open water also helped it attain a number of Atlantic hurricane records.
## Meteorological history
In early September, a trough was identified along the western coast of Africa. Moving towards the west as a result of a strong Azores High, the disturbance passed over Cape Verde on September 2. Observations from weather stations evidenced cyclonic rotation in the region. An airplane belonging to Panair do Brasil passed within the vicinity of the vorticity and as a result reported the formation of a tropical storm. In HURDAT—the official database listing all known Atlantic tropical cyclones since 1851—the system was listed to have reached tropical depression intensity at 0600 UTC that day.
The depression continued to steadily intensify as it moved westwards, later reaching the equivalent of a modern-day Category 1 hurricane by 0600 UTC on September 5. On September 6, the ship African Star encountered the hurricane 700 mi (1,100 km) west of Cape Verde. Reported winds of 92 mph (148 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1001 mbar (hPa; 29.56 inHg) confirmed the existence of the tropical cyclone. A Weather Bureau forecaster remarked that the hurricane was in a "blind spot" at the time due to its location outside of shipping lanes and Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance missions. Throughout the day, the hurricane intensified, reaching major hurricane intensity by 0000 UTC on September 7. Shortly after, a United States Air Force reconnaissance flight headed for Bermuda was diverted to observe the hurricane. The flight reported a well-defined eye measuring 20 mi (32 km) across and a minimum pressure of 945 mbar (hPa; 27.91 inHg), the lowest measured in relation to the hurricane. At the time, Carrie had maximum sustained winds of 135 mph (217 km/h), equivalent to a modern-day Category 4 hurricane. Further strengthening ensued, and the hurricane peaked in intensity on September 8 with winds of 140 mph (230 km/h).
After reaching peak intensity on September 8, Carrie began to gradually weaken due to a decreasing pressure gradient caused by a trough that had cut through the Azores High. By September 11, the hurricane had degenerated into a Category 1 hurricane. A reconnaissance flight reported a minimum pressure of 984 mbar (hPa; 29.06 inHg). At the same time, Carrie began to slowly curve towards the north in response to the trough. The storm later began to slowly reintensify, reattaining major hurricane strength by 1200 UTC on September 13. The restrengthening of the subtropical ridge on September 14 caused the hurricane to quickly curve towards the northwest. National Hurricane Research Project (NHRP) observers described the hurricane as "one of the most perfectly formed hurricanes they had seen." Carrie began to steadily weaken again beginning on September 15. As it passed north of Bermuda the following day, weather radar imagery from the island indicated that the hurricane had an ill-defined structure, with its eye having expanded to 40–70 mi (64–113 km) in diameter. However, as it curved and accelerated eastward in response to a second trough of low pressure, Carrie maintained hurricane intensity up until September 23, when it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. The remnant system continued eastwards until it dissipated over Ireland by 1800 UTC on September 28.
## Preparations, impact, and records
### Preparations and impact
After reports confirmed the existence of a hurricane in the eastern Atlantic, the Weather Bureau warned shipping lanes in the storm's path. Small craft warnings were issued for offshore areas from Block Island, Rhode Island south to Savannah, Georgia on September 7 due to the threat of rough seas. After Carrie stalled on September 11, the Weather Bureau gave Florida a slight chance of being affected by the storm, but the possibilities of the storm affecting the peninsula decreased after the hurricane curved northwards. After the storm was forecast to potentially impact Bermuda, schools were closed in preparation for Carrie, while vessels were warned of the oncoming hurricane. Most planes in Kindley Air Force Base on the island were evacuated, with the remaining planes weighted down by sandbags. After passing Bermuda, the storm was forecast to strike Nova Scotia, but instead Carrie curved towards the northeast.
As the U.S. Air Force was maintaining continuous reconnaissance of the hurricane using converted Boeing B-50 Superfortresses, one of the planes lost an engine and was forced to fly back to West Palm Beach, Florida for repairs. Four other undamaged aircraft were called back to West Palm Beach, including a crippled ship, while two other B-50s were held at Bermuda. Passing well north of the island on September 16, effects of Carrie on Bermuda were minimal, with peak gusts reaching only 35 mph (56 km/h).
The German barque Pamir, en route from Buenos Aires to Hamburg, Germany, encountered the hurricane southwest of the Azores on September 21 while carrying barley cargo. The ship sank due to the effects of Carrie, and 80 people out of the 86 crew members on board the ship perished. The final message received from the Pamir was a distress call and indicated that the ship had lost all of its sails and had been listing at a 45° angle. A search and rescue operation ensued after the loss of the ship was reported, involving the U.S. Air Force and Navy, as well as the British Air Force and Navy. Other ships from Canada and Portugal were also involved in the search. All associated groups were inconclusive in their findings, with no sign of debris left from the ship. However, two lifeboats and a raft were found, but they were empty. As an extratropical storm, Carrie impacted the Azores, though damages, if any, remain unknown. The extratropical remnants of Carrie later struck the British Isles on September 24 and 25, causing strong winds, waves, and severe flooding. Winds from the system were estimated at 50 mph (80 km/h). The strong waves caused extensive property damage and killed three.
### Records
Lasting as a hurricane for 20.75 days, Carrie was at the time tied for second in terms of longest-existing Atlantic tropical cyclones, alongside the ninth hurricane of the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season and behind the 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane. Due to the hurricane's long duration, the Weather Bureau office in San Juan, Puerto Rico issued 62 advisories on the storm, which was at the time the most ever issued in association with an Atlantic hurricane. Carrie's long duration and distance from any land masses also contributed to its record travel distance of 6,000 mi (9,700 km). Hurricane reconnaissance flights throughout Carrie's existence traveled further east than any previous flight due to the storm's location far from any land masses. The initial flight on September 7 covered 3,700 mi (6,000 km) and lasted for nearly 17 hours.
## See also
- List of Atlantic hurricanes
- List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes
- Tropical Storm Carrie (1972) – another Atlantic system with the same name
- Hurricane Lorenzo (2019) – another long-lived major hurricane over the open Atlantic
|
[
"## Meteorological history",
"## Preparations, impact, and records",
"### Preparations and impact",
"### Records",
"## See also"
] | 1,830 | 7,959 |
23,087,373 |
Jordan Schroeder
| 1,163,891,434 |
American ice hockey player
|
[
"1990 births",
"American men's ice hockey centers",
"American people of German descent",
"Chicago Wolves players",
"Cleveland Monsters players",
"Columbus Blue Jackets players",
"Ice hockey people from Dakota County, Minnesota",
"Ice hockey players from Minnesota",
"Iowa Wild players",
"Jokerit players",
"Living people",
"Manitoba Moose players",
"Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players",
"Minnesota Wild players",
"National Hockey League first-round draft picks",
"People from Lakeville, Minnesota",
"People from Prior Lake, Minnesota",
"Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players",
"SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players",
"Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players",
"Utica Comets players",
"Vancouver Canucks draft picks",
"Vancouver Canucks players"
] |
Jordan John Schroeder (born September 29, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey center who currently plays for SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL).
Born and raised in Minnesota, Schroeder spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program before he joined the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for two seasons, being named WCHA Rookie of the Year in 2009. He has also played for the American national junior ice hockey team and appeared in three World Junior Championships, where he set records for most career assists and points by an American. Schroeder was ranked as the fifth best North American skater heading into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, and was drafted 22nd overall by the Vancouver Canucks after concerns about his size led to several teams to pass on him. Schroeder then spent several years playing with the Canucks minor league affiliates in the American Hockey League (AHL) before joining the Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2013. He played parts of two seasons with the Canucks, who decided not to re-sign Schroeder in 2014; he then joined the Minnesota Wild.
## Personal life
Jordan grew up in Prior Lake, Minnesota, to John and Deb Schroeder, and moved to nearby Lakeville, a suburb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, when he was thirteen. John played several sports, including basketball, football and baseball while Deb was a gymnast and a cross-country runner. Schroeder is the oldest of three siblings; brother Zach is two years younger and sister Elly is six years younger; both of them also play hockey. He first played hockey at the age of four; his first organized team was called the Lakeville Ponys which was intended as a learn to skate program but at the recommendation of his coach Scott Cummings, he was moved up to the Mite program because his skill level was far ahead of the other kids his age. Schroeder spent two years at St. Thomas Academy in suburban Mendota Heights, Minnesota, before graduating with high honors from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He accelerated his high school education in order to play NCAA hockey a year early and took courses online from Brigham Young University to do so. Schroeder signed a letter of intent to join the University of Minnesota in November 2007. He enrolled at the school in the fall of 2008, majoring in business and marketing education. In 2010, his final year at the school, Schroeder was named to the WCHA All-Academic team, the result of a 3.0 grade average over the previous two semesters.
## Playing career
### Amateur career
Schroeder played high school hockey for St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, where he played alongside Anders Lee. He helped the St. Thomas Cadets reach the Minnesota Class 1A hockey tournament in both 2005 and 2006, winning the high school championship in 2006. In 2006, he joined the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP), located in Ann Arbor, where he spent two seasons. In his final season with the USNTDP, Schroeder led the team in scoring with 21 goals and 53 points in 55 games. Schroeder joined the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), a team he grew up wanting to play for, in 2008–09. Upon joining the Golden Gophers, Schroeder was the youngest player on the team. He scored 13 goals and 32 assists in 32 games in his freshman year, the second highest total on the team, and was named WCHA Rookie of the Year. Schroeder was one of the top-ranked prospects for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, ranked fifth overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and was selected twenty-second overall by the Vancouver Canucks. His drop in the draft has been attributed to his small stature and his play at the end of the 2009 World Junior Championships.
Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, it was reported that Schroeder intended to leave the University of Minnesota and join the Everett Silvertips, a team in the major junior Western Hockey League. This was denied by Schroeder, who wanted to spend at least another year with the Golden Gophers. The Golden Gophers finished the season with a losing record, the first time they had done so in more than 10 years, and lost in the first round of the playoffs, the second time in the past 33 years that had happened. Schroeder finished with 9 goals and 28 points in 37 games, tied for the team lead in points, the lowest for the team's leading scorer since 1962.
### Professional career
On March 17, 2010, Schroeder signed a contract with the Canucks and was assigned to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Similar to other National Hockey League entry-level contracts, Schroeder's contract was for three years; he would make US\$900,000 per year while in the NHL, or \$65,000 to \$70,000 per year to play in the minor leagues, with a signing bonus of \$270,000. In his first professional game on March 21, 2010, against the Grand Rapids Griffins, Schroeder scored two goals, including the game-winning goal, as the Moose defeated the Griffins, 4–0. He played eleven games in the regular season for the Moose and scored four goals and five assists as the team advanced to the playoffs. In the third game of the opening-round playoff series against the Hamilton Bulldogs on April 19, 2010, Schroeder scored his first professional hat trick (three goals in a game), and the first hat trick by a Moose player during the season, as the Moose won their first game of the playoffs, 7–2. Schroeder played in all six of the Moose's playoff games and registered three goals and three assists. As he was signed after the NHL trade deadline, Schroeder was not eligible to join the Canucks for the NHL playoffs.
After attending his first professional training camp with the Canucks, he was reassigned to the Moose on September 27, 2011. Playing the first game of the season on October 8 against the Peoria Rivermen, Schroeder recorded three assists in a 4–3 win. Two months later, during a game against the Oklahoma City Barons on December 10, Schroeder was involved in a collision of several players and left the game with a high ankle sprain. Fourth on the team in scoring at the time of the injury, with five goals and eight assists, Schroeder missed 16 games and returned to the Moose on January 20, 2011 against the Abbotsford Heat. He finished his professional rookie season with 28 points (10 goals and 18 assists) over 61 games, while adding 6 points (1 goal and 5 assists) in 11 post-season games.
During the off-season, the Moose franchise was relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland due to the Winnipeg Jets' return to the NHL, forcing the team out of the Winnipeg market. As a result, the Canucks began a new AHL affiliation, moving Schroeder to the Chicago Wolves for the 2011–12 season. He scored his first goal with the Wolves on October 14, 2011, in a 4–2 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. He finished the 2011-12 season third on the Wolves with 21 goals and 44 points.
The 2012–13 NHL lockout ensured that Schroeder started the 2012-13 season with the Wolves. Schroeder played in 30 games with the Wolves, scoring nine goals and ten assists. When the lockout ended in January 2013 he was initially sent back to Chicago, but after the Canucks played two games he was recalled to join the team. He made his NHL debut January 23, 2013 against the Calgary Flames. Schroeder recorded his first point, an assist, on January 25 against the Anaheim Ducks, his second NHL game. He then scored the winning shootout goal in his sixth game, the Canucks 2–1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on February 1. In his ninth game, February 9 against Calgary, Schroeder scored his first two goals in the NHL; both came against Leland Irving, with the first one being the game winning goal.
Schroeder spent the summer prior to the 2013–14 season recovering from shoulder surgery. He then fractured his left ankle in the Canucks first preseason game of the year. By mid-October Schroeder returned to the Canucks; however he only played three games before once again fracturing his left ankle; surgery was required after this injury, keeping him out until January 2014. Prior to rejoining the Canucks, Schroeder played two games with their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, recording one assist. He would ultimately play 25 games with Vancouver during the season, recording six points. As a result, the Canucks did not tender Schroeder a qualifying offer when the season ended, making him an unrestricted free agent. He was then signed to a two-year, two-way contract by the Minnesota Wild on July 11.
At the completion of his contract following the 2016–17 season, Schroeder as a restricted free agent was not to be tendered a new contract with the Wild. Approaching his free agent status, Schroeder was traded by the Wild to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Dante Salituro on June 23, 2017. He was later signed by the Blue Jackets to avoid free agency with a two-year contract on June 27, 2017. In the 2017–18 season, Schroeder appeared in 21 games with the Blue Jackets for 1 goal and 1 assist. In clearing waivers throughout the season, he was also assigned to add a veteran presence with AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, posting 36 points in 48 games.
On June 27, 2018, Schroeder was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goaltender Jean-Francois Berube. Schroeder played out the 2018–19 season, exclusively with the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. He led the team in scoring with 19 goals and 45 points in 62 games.
As an impending free agent from the Blackhawks, Schroeder opted to sign his first contract abroad, agreeing to a one-year contract with Russian outfit, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL, on May 17, 2019.
It was announced on May 6, 2020 that Schroeder has signed a two-year contract with the Helsinki based KHL team Jokerit.
Schroeder played two seasons with Jokerit before the team withdrew from the KHL during the 2021–22 season due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a free agent in the off-season, Schroeder moved to the Swiss National League, in signing a two-year contract with SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers on May 6, 2022.
## International play
Schroeder debuted with the American junior national team internationally at the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships in Finland. He helped the United States to a silver medal as he finished third in tournament scoring with 11 points, behind American teammates Colin Wilson and James van Riemsdyk.
The following year, Schroeder was named to the under-20 team, the youngest on the team at 17, for the 2008 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic. He finished second in team scoring and tied for fourth in the tournament behind van Riemsdyk with one goal and seven assists for eight points in seven games. Three months later, Schroeder made his second U18 tournament appearance. Named the player of the game in the American's match against Sweden, he recorded five points in seven games as the Americans earned a bronze medal.
At the 2009 World Junior Championships in Canada, Schroeder established the American record for most career assists at the tournament with 15. The youngest player on the team, Schroeder was named the player of the game in a match against the Czech Republic, and led the Americans in scoring with 11 points.
On December 23, 2009, Schroeder was named to the American team for the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, his third straight appearance at the World Junior Championships. The only player on the American team to play in two previous World Junior tournaments, Schroeder was also the first player from the University of Minnesota to participate in three tournaments. In a quarter-final match against Finland Schroeder notched three assists, including his 26th career point in the tournament, which surpassed Jeremy Roenick for the highest career total for an American. His 20 career assists was the third highest total in the history of the tournament. In the gold-medal game against Canada, Schroeder led the American team in shots on goal with six, scoring a goal on one of them. He finished with three goals and five assists in seven games as the Americans won the gold medal.
## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs
### International
## Awards
### NCAA
### Minnesota Golden Gophers team awards
### International
|
[
"## Personal life",
"## Playing career",
"### Amateur career",
"### Professional career",
"## International play",
"## Career statistics",
"### Regular season and playoffs",
"### International",
"## Awards",
"### NCAA",
"### Minnesota Golden Gophers team awards",
"### International"
] | 2,772 | 25,068 |
3,319,963 |
Hell Is Other Robots
| 1,172,252,285 | null |
[
"1999 American television episodes",
"Dance animation",
"Fiction about the Devil",
"Futurama (season 1) episodes",
"Musical television episodes",
"Religion in science fiction",
"Television episodes about drugs",
"Television episodes set in hell",
"Works based on the Faust legend"
] |
"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 18, 1999. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore. Guest stars in this episode include the Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan Castellaneta voicing the Robot Devil.
The episode is one of the first to focus heavily on Bender. In the episode, he develops an addiction to electricity. When this addiction becomes problematic, Bender joins the Temple of Robotology, but after Fry and Leela tempt Bender with alcohol and prostitutes, he quits the Temple of Robotology and is visited by the Robot Devil for sinning, and Bender is sent to Robot Hell. Finally Fry and Leela come to rescue him, and the three escape.
The episode introduces the Robot Devil, Reverend Lionel Preacherbot and the religion of the Temple of Robotology, a spoof on the Church of Scientology. The episode received positive reviews, and was one of four featured on the DVD boxed set of Matt Groening's favorite episodes: "Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection".
## Plot
After a Beastie Boys concert, Bender attends a party with his old friend, Fender, a giant guitar amp. At the party, Bender and the other robots abuse electricity by "jacking on," and Bender develops an addiction. After receiving a near-lethal dose from an electrical storm, Bender realizes he has a problem and searches for help. He joins the Temple of Robotology, accepting the doctrine of eternal damnation in Robot Hell should he sin. After baptizing him in oil, the Reverend Lionel Preacherbot welds the symbol of Robotology to Bender's case. As Bender begins to annoy his co-workers with his new religion, Fry and Leela decide they want the "old Bender" back. They fake a delivery to Atlantic City, New Jersey and tempt Bender with alcohol, prostitutes and easy targets for theft. He eventually succumbs, rips off the Robotology symbol and throws it away, causing it to beep ominously.
While seducing three female robots in his Trump Trapezoid room, Bender is interrupted by a knock at his room door. He opens the door and is knocked unconscious. He awakens to see the Robot Devil and finds himself in Robot Hell. The Robot Devil reminds Bender that he agreed to be punished for sinning when he joined Robotology. After discovering Bender is missing, Fry and Leela track him down using Nibbler's sense of smell. They eventually find the entrance to Robot Hell in an abandoned amusement park. A musical number starts as the Robot Devil begins detailing Bender's punishment. As the song ends, Fry and Leela arrive and try to reason with the Robot Devil on Bender's behalf.
The Robot Devil tells them that the only way to win back Bender's soul is to beat him in a fiddle-playing contest, as required under the "Fairness in Hell Act of 2275". The Robot Devil goes first, playing Antonio Bazzini's "La Ronde des Lutins". Leela responds, having experience in playing the drums, but after a few notes it is clear Leela's fiddle-playing is pathetic, so she assaults the Robot Devil with the fiddle instead. As Fry, Leela, and Bender flee the Robot Devil's clutches, Bender steals the wings off a flying torture robot, attaches them to his back, and airlifts Fry and Leela to safety. Leela drops the heavy golden fiddle onto the Robot Devil's head, making them light enough to escape. Bender promises to never be too good or too evil, but to remain as he was before joining the Temple of Robotology. Over the closing credits, a remix of the show's theme song plays instead of the original version.
## Production
"Hell Is Other Robots" lampoons drug addiction and religious conversion. In the DVD commentary for the episode, David X. Cohen, Matt Groening and Eric Kaplan all agreed that they felt comfortable enough with each of the Futurama characters to begin to take them in new and strange directions. Cohen noted that Bender's addiction is a perfect example of something they could do with a robot character which they could not get away with had it been a human character. One person at the studio refused to work on this episode because they did not agree with the portrayal of some of the religious content. Cohen also noted that the writing team had begun to loosen up during this episode, which gave it a feel similar to the series' later episodes. Kaplan claimed that before editing, there was enough material to make a three-part episode.
Cohen and Ken Keeler traveled to New York to work with the Beastie Boys for their role. They waited three days for the Beastie Boys to call and say they were willing to record but eventually gave up and returned to the studios in Los Angeles. The audio tracks were recorded later. Adam "MCA" Yauch was unavailable at the time of the recording so only Adam "King Adrock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond voice themselves in the episode, with Horovitz also voicing Yauch. The Beastie Boys perform three songs in the episode: their 1998 hit single "Intergalactic", "Super Disco Breakin", and a brief a cappella version of "Sabotage". It was initially requested that they perform "Fight for Your Right" but they declined. The episode also contains Futurama's first original musical number. The lyrics to "Welcome to Robot Hell" were written by Kaplan and Keeler and the music was written by Keeler and Christopher Tyng. When praised for his performance in the audio commentary, John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender, noted that the most difficult part of the performance was singing in a lower octave rather than keeping up with the song's fast pace.
## Themes
This episode is one of very few that focuses on the religious aspects of the Futurama universe. In most episodes, it is indicated that the Planet Express crew, along with most beings in the year 3000, are "remarkably unreligious". It introduces two of the religious figures of Futurama, The Robot Devil and Reverend Lionel Preacherbot, both of whom make appearances in later episodes. Preacherbot, who speaks in a manner typical of inner-city African-American pastor stereotypes, converts Bender to the religion Robotology. This leads to a series of events that are similar in many ways to the experiences of real world religious converts. Mark Pinsky states that the episode has a "double-edged portrayal of religion" as it portrays both an improvement in Bender's character but also some of the "less pleasant characteristics of the newly pious". The Robot Devil is introduced after Bender's fallback into sin. Pinsky writes in The Gospel According to The Simpsons, that while explaining to Bender his claim on his soul, the Robot Devil uses logic similar to that used by many Southern Baptists: "Bender tried to plead his case, without success. 'You agreed to this when you joined our religion,' the devil replies, in logic any Southern Baptist would recognize. 'You sin, you go to robot hell – for all eternity.'" By the end of the episode, Bender has returned to his old ways and states that he will no longer try to be either too good or too bad, a parody and contradiction of the Book of Revelation statement that one should not be lukewarm in his faith.
## Cultural references
This episode contains a large amount of religious parody, with references to many religiously themed works of fiction. The episode's title is itself a parody of the famous line "Hell is other people" from Jean-Paul Sartre's one act play No Exit, though the episode has no other resemblance to the play. The punishments in Robot Hell are similar to the levels and rationale which are portrayed in Dante's The Divine Comedy, specifically the Inferno. The "Fairness in Hell Act", where the damned may engage in a fiddle battle to save his soul and win a solid gold fiddle, is taken directly from The Charlie Daniels Band song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". Jokes poking fun at New Jersey are included because writer Cohen and actor DiMaggio both grew up there.
The Temple of Robotology is a spoof of the Church of Scientology, and according to series creator Groening he received a call from the Church of Scientology concerned about the use of a similar name. Groening's The Simpsons had previously parodied elements of Scientology in the season nine episode "The Joy of Sect". In a review of the episode, TV Squad later posed the question: "Is the Temple of Robotology a poke at the Church of Scientology?" When TV Squad asked actor Billy West about this, he jokingly sidestepped the issue.
## Reception
"Hell Is Other Robots" is one of four episodes featured in the DVD boxed set Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection, Groening's favorite episodes from the first four seasons. The DVD includes audio commentary from Groening and DiMaggio, as well as a full-length animatic of the episode. In an article on the DVD release, Winston-Salem Journal described "Hell Is Other Robots" as one of Futurama's best episodes. Dan Castellaneta's performance as the Robot Devil in this episode and "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" was described as a "bravura appearance". In a review of Futurama's first-season DVD release, the South Wales Echo highlighted the episode along with "Fear of a Bot Planet" as "crazy episodes" of the series. Brian Cortis of The Age gave the episode a rating of three stars out of four.
Writing in The Observer after Futurama's debut in the United States but before it aired in the United Kingdom, Andrew Collins wrote favorably of the series and highlighted "Hell Is Other Robots" and "Love's Labors Lost in Space". He noted that the jokes "come thick and fast". John G. Nettles of PopMatters wrote: "'Hell is Other Robots' is a terrific introduction to Bender and Futurama's irreverent humor, sly social satire, and damn catchy musical numbers." TV Squad wrote that the series' funnier material appears in "Robot Hell – after Bender is 'born again' in the Temple of Robotology." David Johnson of DVD Verdict described "Hell Is Other Robots" as "not one of my favorites", criticizing the episode for focusing a large amount on the character of Bender. Johnson concluded his review by rating the episode a "B". The episode led to a Dark Horse Comics book, Futurama Pop-Out People: Hell Is Other Robots.
## See also
- List of fictional religions
- Religion in Futurama
|
[
"## Plot",
"## Production",
"## Themes",
"## Cultural references",
"## Reception",
"## See also"
] | 2,212 | 41,893 |
54,449,164 |
Impeachment March
| 1,137,646,666 |
Series of 2017 protests advocating for the impeachment of United States president Donald Trump
|
[
"2017 in American politics",
"2017 protests",
"July 2017 events in the United States",
"Protests against Donald Trump",
"Protests in the United States"
] |
The Impeachment March, sometimes referred to as the "Impeach Trump" protest, was a series of rallies against the president of the United States, Donald Trump, held nationwide on July 2–4, 2017, advocating that Congress begin the impeachment process against him.
Events took place in more than 40 cities throughout the United States and in Mérida, Mexico. Organizers accused President Trump of violating the United States Constitution, specifically the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause, and claimed he committed obstruction of justice by dismissing Sally Yates and James Comey. They also cited Trump's alleged interference with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's review of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and his travel ban issue as reasons for his impeachment.
The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, though three people were arrested in Philadelphia. Many featured speeches by politicians and local activities, and some attracted counter-protesters who wanted to show their support for Trump. Events were organized by various organizations, including affiliates of the Indivisible movement.
## Motivation and planning
Organizers of the march felt that President Trump was in violation of the United States Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause and Domestic Emoluments Clause, and that he had committed obstruction of justice by dismissing Sally Yates and James Comey. Organizers also cited Trump's alleged interference with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's review of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, and his issue of a travel ban, as reasons for his removal from office. The event organizer for the Los Angeles march, Tudor Popescu, felt that it was important "to call for a government that is accountable to the people". One of the overall organizers of the march, Stephanie Tatro, also stated that it was important to support politicians who had already started calling for Trump's impeachment.
Organizers in Austin, Texas, expected counter-protesters. Marchers in Davenport, Iowa, also planned for their march to reach out to Congress members, Cheri Bustos and Dave Loebsack. Denver organizers stressed that the march was also about better government representation. Organizers in Palm Beach, Florida spent around two weeks planning the local demonstration. The protest planned for Portland, Oregon, at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, close to the Waterfront Blues Festival, was unexpectedly cancelled with no reasons given for the cancellation at the time. The Facebook page created to plan and organize the march was deleted without explanation and Portland was not listed on the official march website.
## Locations
Between 30 and 45 cities held peaceful protests, though a couple of events saw minor altercations. In Amarillo, Texas, demonstrators gathered outside city hall, then marched from downtown to the local office of U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, a Republican representing Texas's 13th congressional district. The event was organized by Rusty Tomlinson and the High Plains Circle of Non-Violence, and finished with a die-in in support of the "99% of Americans either victimized or exploited by the Trump Regime". The protest in Ann Arbor, Michigan was organized by the group Stop Trump Ann Arbor, and drew an estimated 100–150 demonstrators. They gathered at The Diag on the University of Michigan campus and marched to Liberty Plaza. In Atlanta, around 50 protesters marched from Piedmont Park to Centennial Olympic Park.
More than 100 people gathered at the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin for the march, and a smaller group came to support the president. The demonstration was organized by Sharyn Richardson with assistance from Karan Barnett Shirk, and sponsored by Donna Howard, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 48th District. It was held one day after a pro-Trump rally at Wooldridge Square Park, called the "1776 Freedom March". The impeachment march at the Capitol became tense, with heated exchanges and counter-protesters carrying bullhorn sirens. Counter-protestors were able to "match the impeachment rally", according to KWQC-TV. Al Green, a U.S. Representative from Texas's 9th congressional district who was the first to call for Trump's impeachment back in May, was among the featured speakers. He also led the Pledge of Allegiance and sang "God Bless America". The Austin Police Department reportedly received one report of assault, but no arrests were made.
Buffalo, New York's protest was organized by the Western New York Peace Center as part of a National Day of Action. Around 125 demonstrators gathered at Lafayette Square, then marched to Niagara Square before returning to their starting location. The protest in Chicago drew about 50 demonstrators, who gathered at Federal Plaza. Diana Dalnes was named an organizer of the local event. The event in Cleveland was organized by a local affiliate of the Indivisible movement, called IndivisibleCLE; Suzy Scullin of Lakewood, Ohio was also named a march organizer. For the protest in Davenport, which was supported by Rock Island County Indivisible, demonstrators marched across the Rock Island Centennial Bridge to Schweibert Park in Rock Island, Illinois. 30 marchers were later photographed as a group to send to Cheri Bustos and Dave Loebsack in Congress to encourage them to impeach the president.
The demonstration in Denver was held at Civic Center Park and attracted nearly 200 participants. In Detroit, around 50 protestors gathered at Philip A. Hart Plaza. The event was organized by Adriene Avripas, head of the Metro-Detroit Political Action Network, with support from organizers of the national campaign. In New Orleans, demonstrators gathered at Duncan Plaza. About 250–300 protesters demonstrated in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, gathering outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle and along Eighth Avenue by Central Park. Police reportedly removed several Trump supporters from the rally.
In Palm Beach, about 100 protesters marched to Mar-a-Lago. The demonstration was organized by United Against Trump Pence and Pop Up Protest South Florida. Following the protesters was a smaller group of Trump supporters, some attending as part of Zone 6 of the 3 Percenters. A 50-person "March for Donald Trump" was held in Philadelphia in opposition to the impeachment rally, which attracted around 150 participants. Trump protesters gathered at People's Plaza near the Liberty Bell, while supporters gathered at The Irish Memorial and made their way to Logan Circle. Demonstrations were monitored by the Philadelphia Police Department with support from officials of the National Park Service, the Philadelphia County Sheriff's Office, SEPTA, and the United States Department of Homeland Security. The marches were peaceful, but an altercation between the rival groups occurred outside a bar, and three anti-Trump demonstrators were arrested. David Love was named an organizer of the Philadelphia impeachment march. An estimated 100–150 protesters attended a demonstration in Seattle, gathering at Seattle Center before marching along 2nd Avenue. The protest was organized by Gina Merchan.
### California
California saw demonstrations in Escondido, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Ana. The San Diego Free Press endorsed the Escondido and San Diego protests.
The Escondido demonstration was held near the Westfield North County shopping mall. Thousands of protesters turned out for the march in downtown Los Angeles, which was one of the largest impeachment demonstrations in the U.S. More than 12,000 people had expressed interest in attending, on the event's Facebook page, and organizers funded the demonstration through crowdsourcing. Representative Brad Sherman spoke to the marchers who gathered in Pershing Square, then made their way to Fletcher Bowron Square. In his speech, Sherman compared Trump to Richard Nixon, commented on Trump's alleged abuse of power and impulsive decisions, and also mentioned James Comey's testimony. Marchers also carried a black coffin, covered in red, white, and blue decorations with a sign that read, "The Presidency 1789–2017". There was a small counter-protest, with about four dozen Trump supporters standing outside police headquarters. The supporters were "unconcerned about allegations that Trump tried to thwart an FBI investigation", according to The Times of Israel. The march remained peaceful, and no arrests were made.There were hundreds of people gathered at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The rally was peaceful, although there were counter-protesters. Police estimated that there were around 2,000 protesters at the San Diego march, which was held outside the San Diego County Administration Center at Waterfront Park and also attracted a smaller group of Trump supporters. Lori Saldaña spoke at the event, as did representatives from Border Angels and the San Diego Young Muslim Democrats. The march was also in protest of Doug Manchester, who was Trump's nominee to be United States Ambassador to the Bahamas. There was a counter-protest with around 150 people wearing helmets and riot gear; police officers worked to keep the two groups separated.
Thousands of protesters attended the San Francisco march, which was organized by Progressive Democrats of America, among other groups. Participants gathered to hear speeches at Justin Herman Plaza, along the Embarcadero, then made their way to Fisherman's Wharf. Around 300 people protested in Santa Ana, gathering at Sasscer Park and marching around the Civic Center. Indivisible-39 was represented at the event, and there were reportedly no counter-protesters. The event was organized by Natasha Salgado and featured speakers representing the Garden Grove Unified School District, Indivisible OC, and Pantsuit Nation. Later, police estimated there were as many as 700 attendees in Santa Ana, with no incidents.
## See also
- Legal challenges to the Trump travel ban
- Reactions to Executive Order 13769
- The Case for Impeachment (2017)
- Trump: The Kremlin Candidate? (2017)
|
[
"## Motivation and planning",
"## Locations",
"### California",
"## See also"
] | 2,001 | 20,081 |
47,155,961 |
Ross Island Penal Colony
| 1,166,752,605 |
Former Andaman Islands convict settlement
|
[
"1858 establishments in British India",
"1945 disestablishments in India",
"Buildings and structures in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands",
"Defunct prisons in India",
"History of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands",
"Penal labour",
"Prison islands"
] |
Ross Island Penal Colony was a convict settlement that was established in 1858 in the remote Andaman Islands by the British colonial government in India, primarily to jail a large number of prisoners from the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Indian Mutiny. With the establishment of the penal colony at Ross Island, the British administration made it the administrative headquarters for the entire group of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and built bungalows and other facilities on the site. This colony was meant as "manageable models of colonial governance and rehabilitation". The Chief Commissioner's residence was located at the highest point on the island. Over time, several other islands including Chatham and Viper were used for the penal colony.
The penal colony became infamous as "Kalapani" or "black water" for the brutalities inflicted by the British authorities on the political prisoners from India, and most of whom had died by 1860 due to illness and torture suffered during the initial stages of the clearance of the forest to establish the colony. In later years the colony experimented for a short time with civilizing the indigenous people of Andamans. The penal colony was used as an experimental station for various methods of torture and medical tests. During World War II, the island was invaded by the Japanese army, forcing the British to evacuate. The administrative buildings were destroyed but the penal colony remained. After the Allied forces reoccupied the island the penal colony was disbanded on 7 October 1945.
## Geography
Ross Island (now known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island), one of the islands chosen for establishing the penal colony, is located near the entrance to the harbour at Port Blair in South Andamans. It is a small island which has a circumference of one mile (1.6 km) only. The penal colonies were initially located on Ross, Chatham and Viper Islands. Viper Island was meant for the most dangerous prisoners. By 1871, it included Perseverance Point, Hopetown, Command Point, Mount Harriet, South Point, Aberdeen, Haddo, Navy Bay and Port Mouat, twelve stations in all. Once called "Paris of the East" for its exciting social life and tropical forests, the island was devastated by the invading army of the Japanese and also by an earthquake which had struck the island in 1941, and it now appears more like a "jungle-clad Lost City."
## History
The earliest known effort to establish a penal colony was by Archibald Blair who found the remoteness of the island as ideal for such a colony. But his initiative failed to go beyond 1796 as malaria prevented it. The First War of Indian Independence in 1857 rekindled the interest of the British Administration in India to establish a penal colony in the Andaman Islands for political prisoners.
The first group of 200 prisoners were transported under the control of Dr James Pattison Walker from Calcutta. Deportees included many prominent leaders of the Wahabi movement (an Islamic "reform movement") and the subsequent revolution. The prisoners landed at the Andaman Islands on 10 March 1858. Walker soon put the convicts on the arduous task of clearing the dense forest of Ross Island, building their own shelters and other buildings, and laying roads. The prisoners were chained and collared around the neck with identity tags, and were in a poor state of health. In the beginning there were no basic amenities. During the rainy season they had to live in tents. In November 1858 temporary barrack-type huts with walls made of mats and with leaking thatched roofs provided accommodation for about 1,000 prisoners.
At one stage, of the 8,000 prisoners who had been transported to the islands under the penal project, 3,500 had died due to sickness. Sir Robert Napier, who came to Port Blair to investigate, found the conditions "beyond comprehension" as there was no food, clothing and shelter provided to the convicts. However, Ross Island was comparatively a better place than in the earlier initial years as Colonel RC Tytler and his wife Harriet had improved the facilities for the community. Tytler had been posted as Superintendent of the Convict Settlement, also known as the "British gulag", from April 1862 to February 1864. He tried to improve the conditions at the camp, where the death rate of the prisoners was 700 per year. At that time the doctors at the camp reported that only 45 prisoners out of the 10,000 were considered medically fit.
According to reports in the 1870s, intense rain, malaria, pneumonia and dysentery caused many deaths. During this time the authorities also embarked on testing of pharmaceutical drugs like quinine (cinchona alkaloid) by forcibly feeding it to 10,000 prisoners which resulted in severe side effects such as nausea, diarrhea and depression; as result the prisoners started injuring each other so that authorities would hang them. Instead, a new system of "flogging and a reduced diet" was introduced and they were made to sleep in a kind of "trellis-work cage". The prisoners also faced hardships from the indigenous tribes, who tortured and killed them while working in the field, and also attacked the colony.
In 1891, there were 12,197 convicts who had been exported from British India. Some of the convicts who were freed were engaged in agriculture, and those who were forced to do service were given monetary compensation of US\$25 per month. However, even then escape from the penal colony was impossible and any escapee who tried was killed.
At the beginning of World War I in 1914, Dr. Robert Heindl of Germany had noted that the 15,000 political prisoners at the penal colony could create an undesirable revolution and therefore their release in one stage, following capture of the island by a German ship by bombardment, was risky. He suggested that after due care and adequate security had been put in place the convicts of the penal colony could be shifted to the mainland in small boats.
From the time of its establishment in 1858 till it was disbanded on 7 October 1945, the penal colony was administered by 24 Chief Commissioners. This deserted fortress is now a tourist attraction.
## Notable events
Four days after their first landing on the island, one of the convicts, Narain, who had been convicted for sedition, tried to escape but was caught and shot dead. Another prisoner, Naringun Singh, who was a deserter, committed suicide by hanging. When 81 out of the 288 inmates tried to escape they were savagely attacked by the aboriginal people of Andamans which made them turn back to the prison camp seeking medical help. However, all of them were summarily put to death by hanging in one single day. JP Grant, President in Council in Calcutta complained to the higher authorities, but Walker was not reprimanded; instead, he put the convicts at the Penal Colony into an "iron collar" to prevent them from escape. Finally, on 3 October 1859 he was removed from the penal settlement as he had suggested branding the convicts on their forearms with information of the crime and sentence that they had been given.
On 23 April 1858, out of the 91 escapees one person who was saved by the Andamanese people was Dudnath Tiwari, a political prisoner. He was absorbed into the aboriginal culture, married two of their girls, and learned their language. However, when the Andamanese were on the verge of mounting a massive attack on the penal colony on 16 May 1859, he ran away and secretly conveyed this information to the Superintendent. The aboriginals attacked the camp with bows and arrows but were completely routed by the superior weapons of the British. This battle came to be known as the "Battle of Aberdeen", the first initiative by the local tribals who did not like the British officers or the convicts. This resulted in change of approach by the British to handle the local people: steps were initiated to seek peace with them and a British officer was appointed to look after their welfare.
A notable incident that occurred was the assassination of Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India who had visited the islands on an inspection tour. He had visited the Ross Island penal settlement. The attack on Lord Mayo was carried out by Sher Ali, one of the convicts of the penal colony who was on a sick leave; the assassination was carried out while Mayo was returning after a pleasant trip to Mount Harriet on the evening of 8 February 1872. Another political prisoner who suffered the longest period of 47 years of incarceration was Musai Singh who was released for good behavior in July 1907 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of India's First War of Independence in 1857.
Fazal Haq Khairabadi, a renowned poet and intellectual in the Mughal court, a friend of Urdu poet Ghalib and a mentor of David Ochterlony, was accused of inflaming the Muslims of Delhi to wage "jihad" against the British Raj during the First War of Independence. He refused to plead not guilty and seek amnesty, and was thus transported to the penal colony. He was at the penal colony from 8 October 1859 till his death in 1861. His son made efforts to have his father released but could only take part in his father's funeral at Port Blair. One of the notable actions Khairabadi did while in the penal colony was to write on the details of the First War of Independence and his experience of the "Kalapani", using charcoal sticks and rags of cloth; these were later published in Arabic as Al-Surat-ul Hindia and Al-Fitnat-ul-Hindia.
Ross Island Penal Colony was the inspiration for Rura Penthe, the penal colony island in the 1954 Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
|
[
"## Geography",
"## History",
"## Notable events"
] | 2,063 | 36,701 |
7,056,810 |
Oklahoma State Highway 32
| 1,135,060,223 |
Highway in Oklahoma
|
[
"State highways in Oklahoma",
"Transportation in Jefferson County, Oklahoma",
"Transportation in Love County, Oklahoma",
"Transportation in Marshall County, Oklahoma"
] |
State Highway 32 (SH-32 or OK-32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The highway runs from west to east across the southern part of the state, just north of the Red River. The route begins at US-81 in Ryan and ends at US-70 in Kingston, a length of 77.3 miles (124.4 km).
SH-32 was first added to the state highway system at the end of 1934; none of the highway as created is part of the present-day SH-32 (having been encroached upon by US-70). SH-32 is also linked with SH-199—part of SH-32 was spun off to create SH-199 in 1938.
## Route description
SH-32 begins at US-81 in Ryan, where it follows the street grid, heading in a northeast direction. As the route leaves Ryan, it turns onto a due east course. It is 17 miles (27 km) until the next town, Grady. SH-32 turns to the southeast to serve this town. Six more miles (10 km) from Grady, SH-32 meets another highway for the first time, SH-89. At the junction, SH-32 turns south, overlapping SH-89 for six miles (10 km). While concurrent, the two highways pass through the unincorporated community of Petersburg, then turn to the west. The two routes divide at Courtney, where SH-89 heads south towards the Red River and Texas.
SH-32 continues east from Courtney, crossing over Mud Creek, then passing through unincorporated Rubottom. East of Rubottom, the highway comes to the intersection with SH-76. The next unincorporated community SH-32 passes through is Turner. Eight miles (13 km) east of the SH-76 junction, at Dunbar, SH-32 serves as the northern terminus of SH-96, which serves Burneyville.
Nine miles (14 km) east of Burneyville, SH-32 has an interchange with I-35 outside Marietta, the seat of Love County. Soon after passing I-35, SH-32 forms a brief concurrency with US-77, and passes through Marietta. East of town, the route comes to a junction with SH-77S (one of SH-77S's four termini). SH-32 continues east, following the curve of Lake Texoma's shoreline, passing through Lebanon. The highway then intersects with SH-99C.
Five miles (8 km) east of SH-99C, SH-32 crosses US-377/SH-99. Two miles (3 km) further east, SH-32 acts as the southern endpoint of SH-70F. Two miles (3 km) after that, SH-32 ends at US-70 in Kingston.
## History
State Highway 32 was commissioned on December 12, 1934. As originally created, the route ran from SH-14 (present-day US-183) in Davidson to Waurika, passing through the towns of Grandfield, Devol, and Randlett and the counties of Tillman, Cotton, and Jefferson. SH-32 was extended to cover approximately the west half of its present-day route on June 16, 1936; the route's new eastern terminus was US-77 in Marietta. On March 29, 1937, the highway was expanded even further east to end at US-70 in Madill. This extension was split off to form SH-199 on October 13, 1938.
Meanwhile, changes were occurring in the eastern part of Jefferson County. The portion of highway from Ryan east to the Love County line was removed from the highway system on December 31, 1937. As a result, SH-32 was discontiguous; one section stretched from Davidson to Ryan, while another began at a spur ending at the Jefferson–Love county line and continued east from there. The portion of SH-32 concurrent with US-81 between Waurika and Ryan, once necessary to connect to the now-decommissioned road, was removed on February 24, 1938. Both of these sections of road were reinstated as part of SH-32 on February 29, 1944.
Changes in the routing of US-70 in the 1930s and 1940s resulted in the western part of SH-32 becoming concurrent with the U.S. highway through southwest Oklahoma during the late-1930s. US-70 as first designated in Oklahoma crossed into the state north of Burkburnett, Texas and intersected SH-32 in Randlett; continuing north of SH-32, the U.S. highway turned east, running through Walters. In Comanche, US-70 turned south along US-81 and followed it until reaching the present-day US-70 routing in Waurika. Between Randlett and Waurika, SH-32 provided a much more direct route. On May 6, 1936, US-70 was realigned to follow SH-32 between these two cities. On March 3, 1945, US-70 was realigned again. This brought the highway into Oklahoma much earlier, crossing the Red River much further west, in effect bypassing Wichita Falls, Texas. As a result of the realignment, US-70 intersected SH-32 at its western terminus in Davidson and followed it all the way to Waurika. The westernmost 64 miles (103 km) of SH-32 (as measured along the present-day US-70 alignment) were concurrent with US-70.
SH-32 was resumed its expansion to the east on September 16, 1946. On that date, the highway's eastern terminus was set at its present location at US-70 in Kingston. Much of this extension reclaimed for SH-32 the stretch of road lost by the creation of SH-199. At this time, SH-32 was at its zenith; stretching from Davidson to Kingston, the route covered a total of 152 miles (245 km) along present-day roads. However, the westernmost 64 miles (103 km) of SH-32 still overlapped US-70.
On September 6, 1966, after over twenty years of cosignage, SH-32 was truncated to its current western terminus in Ryan. Everything west of Waurika was now solely US-70. After the truncation of 1966, SH-32 had the same route that it does today.
## Junction list
|
[
"## Route description",
"## History",
"## Junction list"
] | 1,360 | 28,484 |
4,279,136 |
Saturn in fiction
| 1,172,329,559 |
Depictions of the planet
|
[
"Fiction about gas giants",
"Fiction set on Saturn"
] |
Saturn has made appearances in fiction since the 1752 novel Micromégas by Voltaire. In the earliest depictions, it was portrayed as having a solid surface rather than its actual gaseous composition. In many of these works, the planet is inhabited by aliens that are usually portrayed as being more advanced than humans. In modern science fiction, the Saturnian atmosphere sometimes hosts floating settlements. The planet is occasionally visited by humans and its rings are sometimes mined for resources.
The moons of Saturn have been depicted in a large number of stories, especially Titan with its Earth-like environment suggesting the possibility of colonization by humans and alien lifeforms living there. A recurring theme has been depicting Titanian lifeforms as slug-like.
## Saturn
### Early depictions – solid
For a long time, Saturn was incorrectly believed to be a solid planet capable of hosting life on its surface. The earliest depiction of Saturn in fiction was in the 1752 novel Micromégas by Voltaire, wherein an alien from Sirius visits the planet and meets one of its inhabitants before both travel to Earth. The inhabitants of Saturn have been portrayed in several different works since then, such as in Humphry Davy's 1830 novel Consolations in Travel and the anonymously published 1873 novel A Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Paul Aermont among the Planets. They are occasionally portrayed as warlike yet benevolent, as in the 1935 short story "The Fall of Mercury" by Leslie F. Stone where they aid humanity in a war against Mercury and the 1933 short story "The Men without Shadows" by Stanton A. Coblentz where they come to Earth as conquerors in order to turn it into a utopia. In other works, they are evil, such as in Clifton B. Kruse's 1935 short story "Menace from Saturn" and its 1936 sequel "The Drums". In the 1890 novel The Auroraphone by Cyrus Cole Saturnians face a robot uprising, and in the 1900 novel The Kite Trust by Lebbeus H. Rogers they built the Egyptian pyramids.
Saturnians are typically depicted as more advanced than the people of Earth, including in the 1886 novel A Romance of Two Worlds by Marie Corelli and the 1894 novel A Journey in Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV; in both stories they resolve theological questions. Exceptions to this general trend include the 1886 novel Aleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds by W. S. Lach-Szyrma where the planet's ecosphere is dominated by fungi and invertebrates and the 1901 novel A Honeymoon in Space by George Griffith where it is populated by seaweed, reptiles, and primitive humanoids. Saturn is also sometimes portrayed as devoid of life, as in the 1936 short story "Mad Robot" by Raymond Z. Gallun. Humanity takes refuge on Saturn in the 1935 short story "Earth Rehabilitators, Consolidated" by Henry J. Kostkos, and the first crewed voyage to Saturn by humans is depicted in the 1941 short story "Man of the Stars" by Sam Moskowitz.
### Later depictions – gaseous
Once it was established that Saturn is a gaseous planet, most works depicting such an environment were instead set on Jupiter. Nevertheless, Saturn remains a popular setting in modern science fiction for several reasons including its atmosphere being abundant with sought-after helium-3 and its magnetosphere not producing as intense radiation as that of Jupiter. Humans live in floating cities in Saturn's atmosphere in the 1976 novel Floating Worlds by Cecelia Holland and the 1991 novel The Clouds of Saturn by Michael McCollum. A voyage into the atmosphere is depicted in the 1985 short story "Dreadsong" by Roger Zelazny, and aliens are depicted as living in the atmosphere in the 1997 novel Saturn Rukh by Robert L. Forward. In the 1996–1999 The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, Saturn is a place where biological spaceships are created. Both Saturn and its largest moon Titan are visited in Ben Bova's Grand Tour series in the 2003 novel Saturn and the 2006 novel Titan, respectively.
In cinema, Saturn is visited by means of a recovered alien spacecraft in the 1968 film The Bamboo Saucer, serves as the destination for a nature reserve containing post-apocalyptic Earth's remaining plant life in the 1972 film Silent Running, and is devoured by Galactus in the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The planet has also been featured in several comic books; the DC hero Jemm is from Saturn, and the evil Kronans in Marvel's Thor comics have a base there. Saturn appears as a major location in the role-playing games Jovian Chronicles, Transhuman Space, and Eclipse Phase, as well as the video games System Shock and Dead Space 2.
### Rings
The rings of Saturn are mined for resources in several works; they are a source of ice in Isaac Asimov's 1952 short story "The Martian Way" and the 1981 short story "The Iceworm Special" by Joe Martino, and provide raw material for a weapon in the 1935 short story "Menace from Saturn" by Clifton B. Kruse. One of the rings is painted red by a religious group in the 1977 short story "Equinoctial" by John Varley, while another faction seeks to undo the colour change. In Asimov's 1986 novel Foundation and Earth, the rings allow for positive identification of the Solar System in the far future. Owing to the aesthetic appearance of the rings, the vicinity of Saturn is a popular setting for spacecraft in visual media.
## Moons
Saturn's moons, especially Titan, have generally received more attention from writers than the planet itself. The satellite system hides a large circular sentient artificial world in John Varley's 1979–1984 Gaea trilogy that begins with the novel Titan.
### Titan
As a comparatively Earth-like world, Titan has attracted attention from writers as a place that could be colonized by humans and inhabited by extraterrestrial life. Early depictions of native inhabitants of the moon appear in the form of giant protozoa in Bob Olsen's 1932 short story "Captain Brink of the Space Marines" and enormous thinking spiders in Edwin K. Sloat's 1932 short story "Loot of the Void". Stanley G. Weinbaum's 1935 short story "Flight on Titan" features telepathic threadworms, the first appearance of what would later become a recurring image of Titanian life as similar to terrestrial slugs. The 1941 novel Sojarr of Titan by Manly Wade Wellman tells the tale of a human child who grows up orphaned on Titan, inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan books.
Titan became more popular as a setting for science fiction stories in the 1950s as advances in planetary science revealed the harsh conditions of Mars and Venus. The 1951 novel The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein tells the story of an alien invasion by parasitic mind-controlling "slugs" from Titan that can be defeated only by a plague from the jungles of Venus, and slug-like aliens from Titan exert indirect influence on humans on Earth by having them play games in the 1963 novel The Game-Players of Titan by Philip K. Dick. The colonization of Titan is depicted in the 1954 novel Trouble on Titan by Alan E. Nourse, the 1961 short story "Saturn Rising" by Arthur C. Clarke depicts efforts to attract tourists to the moon, and the 1975 novel Imperial Earth by Clarke portrays a clone who lives on a Titan colony and journeys to Earth. The 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut is a satire wherein humans are manipulated into journeying to Titan to aid a Tralfamadorian stranded there, and the moon is inhabited by an alien lifeform who travelled to the Solar System to communicate with the Sun in the 1977 novel If the Stars are Gods by Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund.
The flybys of the Saturnian system by the Voyager probes in 1980 and 1981 revealed that Titan's atmosphere—already known to be thick and methane-rich—was opaque, preventing any observations of (or indeed, from) the surface. Following this, science fiction writers' interest waned, and Titan was more often portrayed as one location among many in the outer Solar System rather than being the primary focus. The terraforming of Titan appears as a background element in stories such as Kim Stanley Robinson's 1985 novel The Memory of Whiteness and his 1996 novel Blue Mars, while a previously terraformed Titan that has reverted to its natural state appears in Stephen Baxter's 1994 novel Ring. A voyage to Titan is portrayed in the 1997 hard science fiction novel Titan by Baxter.
### Other moons
Tethys is inhabited by intelligent life in the 1934 short story "A Matter of Size" by Harry Bates. Rhea is colonized by humans in the 1956 novel The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. The 1954 novel The Secret of Saturn's Rings by Donald A. Wollheim and the 1958 novel Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn by Isaac Asimov are both set partially on Mimas. Iapetus is the site of an alien artefact in Arthur C. Clarke's 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey (the film version from the same year instead uses Jupiter), a voyage to the moon is depicted in Poul Anderson's 1981 short story "The Saturn Game", and first contact with an alien species happens there in the 1986 novel Saturnalia by Grant Callin. In the 2005 novel Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds, Janus is revealed to be an alien spacecraft. Following the discovery of liquid water beneath the surface of Enceladus, the moon featured in the 2016 short story "The Water Walls of Enceladus" by Mercurio D. Rivera.
## See also
- Sun in fiction
|
[
"## Saturn",
"### Early depictions – solid",
"### Later depictions – gaseous",
"### Rings",
"## Moons",
"### Titan",
"### Other moons",
"## See also"
] | 2,137 | 14,715 |
51,312,488 |
What U Workin' With?
| 1,121,705,451 | null |
[
"2016 songs",
"Gwen Stefani songs",
"Justin Timberlake songs",
"Song recordings produced by Ilya Salmanzadeh",
"Song recordings produced by Justin Timberlake",
"Song recordings produced by Max Martin",
"Songs written by Ilya Salmanzadeh",
"Songs written by Justin Timberlake",
"Songs written by Max Martin",
"Songs written by Peter Svensson",
"Songs written by Savan Kotecha",
"Songs written for animated films",
"Trolls (franchise)"
] |
"What U Workin' With?" is a song recorded by American singers Gwen Stefani and Justin Timberlake for the official soundtrack to the 2016 film Trolls. Timberlake co-wrote and co-produced the track with Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh with additional writing from Savan Kotecha and Peter Svensson. The song was first announced on August 22, 2016, with Stefani's appearance being a secret. An urban and dance song, the lyrics talk about having a good time and standing out amongst a crowd.
The track was favorably reviewed by several contemporary music critics; although many found Stefani's contribution to be unexpected, they agreed her role was enjoyable. Commercially, "What U Workin' With?" peaked at number eight on Billboard's Kid Digital Songs component chart, where it lasted for three non-consecutive weeks.
## Background and release
The track listing for Trolls was released by Justin Timberlake through Instagram on August 22, 2016, where he unveiled the names of thirteen tracks for the album. Additionally, "What U Workin' With?" was first revealed, although Gwen Stefani's role on the track had remained a secret. In addition, he claimed that the record was "almost ready" and that preorders would be announced in the near future. The release of the soundtrack was fronted by Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!", which was made available as a digital download on May 6, 2016, while the album in its entirety was released on September 23 of the same year. "What U Workin' With?" was written by Timberlake, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Savan Kotecha, and Peter Svensson, while the production was handled by the former three. On December 30, 2016, Stefani hosted a "dance party" at her home before uploading videos of herself and boyfriend Blake Shelton dancing along to "What You Workin' With?" during the event to her Snapchat and Musical.ly accounts.
## Composition and recording
An urban and dance song, it marks Stefani and Timberlake's first collaboration since the 2001 charity single "What's Going On". During the recording process, Timberlake spoke cheerfully of the sessions and stated: "I have always envisioned bringing the two worlds of film and music together for one epic event [and] couldn't be more excited that they will collide in DreamWork's Trolls." Regarding the music itself, Stefani sings about standing out and remaining original as her verses lead up to the chorus; she leads, "This is the moment when everybody's in the light / So what you working with?".
## Reception
Christina Lee from Idolator called it "as assertive" as Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (2005), which she considered a good thing, while Kayleigh Hughes from Bustle described it as "super cool". Additionally, Allison Bowsher from Much claimed that the artists, including Stefani and Timberlake, within the soundtrack created "awesome music". Jonathan Hamard from Aficia compared the track to Stefani's 2004 song "Rich Girl" and the material on her third studio album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016). He felt her role in Trolls was a good move and claimed that Stefani's verses came off as cool and unpretentious. Similarly, Nadia N. from Virgin Radio saw the release as unexpected but praised the dancing qualities of the track.
"What U Workin' With?" debuted on Billboard's Kid Digital Songs component chart on October 15, 2016 at number eight; it entered simultaneously with the duo's other collaboration, "Hair Up", which debuted at number 14. It dropped off the following week, but re-entered during the week of November 26, 2016, where it was ranked at number ten. It spent a total of three weeks on the Kid Digital Songs chart, leaving at number fifteen on December 3, 2016.
## Charts
|
[
"## Background and release",
"## Composition and recording",
"## Reception",
"## Charts"
] | 831 | 14,708 |
1,300,990 |
Jumping Flash!
| 1,160,927,233 |
1995 video game
|
[
"1995 video games",
"3D platform games",
"Exact games",
"MuuMuu games",
"PlayStation (console) games",
"PlayStation (console)-only games",
"Single-player video games",
"Sony Interactive Entertainment games",
"Video games about rabbits and hares",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games scored by Takeo Miratsu"
] |
is a platform video game developed by Exact and Ultra and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was released on 28 April 1995 in Japan, 29 September 1995 in PAL territories and 2 November 1995 in North America. It was re-released through the PlayStation Network store on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable in 2007, in 2012 on PlayStation Vita and again in 2022 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Presented in a first-person perspective, the game follows a robotic rabbit named "Robbit" as he searches for missing jet pods scattered by the game's astrophysicist antagonist character Baron Aloha. Robbit must explore each section of Crater Planet to retrieve all of the jet pods, stop Aloha and save the world from being destroyed. The game was designed as a technology demonstrator for the PlayStation console and was revealed in early 1994 under the provisional title of "Spring Man". Jumping Flash! utilizes much of the game engine used in Geograph Seal, an earlier game by Exact for the Sharp X68000 home computer.
Jumping Flash! has been described as an ancestor of, as well as an early showcase for, 3D graphics in console gaming. It was generally well received by critics, who praised its graphics and unique 3D platforming gameplay, but it was eventually overshadowed by later 3D platformers of the fifth console generation. Jumping Flash! spawned two sequels: Jumping Flash! 2 and Robbit Mon Dieu. It received positive reviews at the time of release, and made an appearance in Next Generation's "Top 100 Games of All Time" just one year after. The game was described as the third-most underrated video game of all time by Matt Casamassina of IGN in 2007. It holds the Guinness World Record as the "first platform video game in true 3D".
## Gameplay
Jumping Flash! is presented in a first-person perspective. The player assumes the role of Robbit, a robotic rabbit, and can freely move Robbit in three-dimensional space and can rotate the camera in any direction. The top part of the screen shows the remaining time, the player's score, and a character named Kumagoro—Robbit's sidekick artificial intelligence who offers the player warnings and hints. The top left corner of the screen shows the collected power-ups; the top right corner contains the radar showing the locations of objects including enemies, power-ups, jet pods and enemy projectiles. The bottom shows a health meter on the sides and the number of remaining lives in the centre. The player starts the game with three lives; a new life is granted once one million points are earned.
The core of the gameplay is focused on the player's ability to make Robbit jump. Robbit can jump up to three times in mid-air, which allows him to reach extreme heights. Unlike other platform games that continue to face horizontally when the player jumps, in Jumping Flash! the camera tilts downwards when a double-jump or triple-jump is performed to allow the player to see Robbit's shadow and easily plan a landing spot. The player has the ability to shoot a low-powered laser beam at a target indicator in the middle of the screen. The player can find and use fireworks for Robbit to damage enemies. These include cherry bombs, rockets, Roman candles and spinners.
Each level has a time limit of ten minutes, which ends the game if it is exceeded. Losing all lives is presented with a choice to continue or return to the title screen. Power-ups scattered across each world, presented as picture frames, include carrots that extend Robbit's health, extra lives, time-outs that stop the clock and freeze the level's dynamics for a few seconds, hourglasses that extend the player's time, and power pills that make Robbit invincible for a short period of time. Enemies in the game vary from anthropomorphic versions of creatures to robots and plants.
The game is composed of six worlds with three levels each, totalling to 18 main levels. The objective of the main levels in each world is to collect four jet pods. Each final level of a world consists of a boss fight. The level designs vary from snow-capped mountains to carnivals. While most of the levels are large, outdoor excursions, two are enclosed within a narrow interior. The game features hidden bonus levels, which are triggered when secret entrances are found. Bonus levels consist of blocks with balloons in them; popping the balloons yields either coins or power-ups. A time attack mode is available for any level the player has completed.
## Plot
The game begins on Crater Planet and revolves around the story of an insane astrophysicist, Baron Aloha. Planning to make a large profit from his evil ingenuity, Aloha removes giant pieces of land from the planet using machines to turn them into private resorts. Aloha removes and hides the twelve jet pods that propel each world. Witnessing the destruction, the residents of Crater Planet call for help, and in response the Universal City Hall dispatches one of their agents, a mechanical rabbit named Robbit. Robbit is ordered to explore each world to retrieve the jet pods, stop Aloha, and save Crater Planet from destruction. At the end of the game, Aloha flees to his home, Little Muu, and vows revenge on Robbit.
Throughout the game, Aloha surrounds himself with creatures called MuuMuus that appear as small, white, five-limbed creatures with miniature palm trees on their heads. Many of the game's full motion videos feature the MuuMuus in an izakaya tavern, recounting their defeat at the hands of Robbit.
## Development and release
Jumping Flash! was developed by Japanese developers Exact (Excellent Application Create Team) and Ultra. Japan Studio assisted on development. The game was first revealed in early 1994 under the provisional title "Spring Man" as a technology demonstration for the upcoming PlayStation console. Sony Computer Entertainment hoped Jumping Flash! would be remembered as the first appearance of a new "platform star" with the same longevity as Sonic the Hedgehog or Mario. The game uses the same engine and shares similar gameplay traits with Geograph Seal, a 3D platform game released for the Sharp X68000 home computer the previous year by Exact. After seeing Geograph Seal and realising the potential in their game design, Sony's director of entertainment in Japan, Koji Tada, paired Exact with Ultra to develop a new game for the upcoming PlayStation console. Tada replaced Hiroyuki Saegusa as director of the game, although he had kept all key Exact staff to work on the project.
The initial development was split into two phases. Exact developed the game engine and its gameplay; Ultra designed the story and 3D cutscenes, and created characters such as the mechanical rabbit protagonist, Robbit. Ultra felt they needed to depart from the "stereotypical science fiction vibe" that included the usual "space ranger" or double agent protagonists. To create a sense of individuality among platform games, the developers implemented a dynamic camera that would automatically pan down towards the shadow of Robbit on the ground during large jumps, allowing players to carefully line up their landings. Jumping Flash! was considered the first game of the platform genre to be developed with full 3D computer graphics. The music for Jumping Flash! was composed by Japanese video games and anime music composer Takeo Miratsu. Many of the tracks, along with tracks from Jumping Flash! 2, were included on the Jumping Flash! 2 Original Soundtrack album, which Miratsu also composed.
## Reception and legacy
The game received generally positive reviews upon release. Critics mainly praised its unique innovation, advanced graphics, gameplay and clean textures. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it their "Game of the Month" award, citing the outstanding graphics and particularly the innovative 3D gameplay. They described the style as "cutesy" but not off-putting. "Major Mike" of GamePro said that despite the game appearing "strange", it had action, strategy, and some humour. Next Generation said that "[many] of the boundaries have been redefined in a big way", contrasting it with side-scrolling platformers with a first-person perspective and explorable 3D environments. They called it "simply superb" and gave it a "Revolutionary" five-star rating. Computer and Video Games magazine called it "one of the most innovative and entertaining games seen" and "the first true 3D platformer."
Maximum stated that Jumping Flash! was one of the most "imaginative, playable, enjoyable" and original titles seen on the fifth generation of video game consoles. They criticised its length and lack of difficulty, expressing that it could have been one of the "greatest games ever" if it was longer and more difficult, and questioned whether it was "a really worthwhile" purchase. Game Revolution called the graphics "mind blowing" and the game itself "totally unique", but criticised the overall length and ease of play. IGN's 1996 review similarly disapproved the difficulty, stating that despite the small worlds and easy difficulty, it is "a great, genre-pushing game", also saying it is an essential for all PlayStation owners. In 1996, Next Generation listed it as number 86 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying it had created the genre of 3D platforming. They particularly praised "the vertigo inducing sense of height as Robbit leaps from platform to platform". In a 2007 review, Greg Miller of IGN condemned the graphics as "dated", having "jagged edges" and "muddled" colours, and said every aspect of the game is "weak" and that it had not stood "the test of time". In a retrospective review, Andrew Yoon of Engadget praised the gameplay and innovation, saying the "grainy" and "antiquated" graphics did no harm to the vibrant atmosphere of the game.
Speaking in 2007, Rob Fahey of Eurogamer stated that Jumping Flash! was arguably one of the most important ancestors of any 3D platform game, as well as asserting that the game would always have a part in videogaming history. Albert Kim of Entertainment Weekly stated that the game provided perhaps the most euphoric sensation of video gaming at the time and described the first-person perspective as "hypnotic". Maddy Thorson, the creator of the indie video game TowerFall, praised the game, saying "something about the sensation of leaping through 3D space captured my childhood imagination".
1UP.com cited its first-person platforming as a precursor to Mirror's Edge, despite suggesting that the jumping remained "woefully out of place" in the platform genre. In 2007, Matt Casamassina of IGN ranked Jumping Flash! as the third-most underrated video game of all time. After release, co-developer Ultra renamed themselves "Muu Muu", after the creatures featured in the game.
## Sequels and spin-off
Due to its popularity, Sony produced two sequels to Jumping Flash!, including one spin-off. A direct sequel, Jumping Flash! 2—also developed by Exact—was released worldwide for the PlayStation the following year; it continued the story of Robbit and the subsequent rise and fall of Baron Aloha. The game received positive reviews upon release, with critics particularly praising its updated features. Robbit Mon Dieu was released in Japan for the PlayStation in 1999. It was met with mixed reviews. Exact merged with SCEI in 2000. Both Jumping Flash! and Jumping Flash! 2 were re-released via the PlayStation Network in 2007 and 2009, respectively. A loose spin-off titled Pocket MuuMuu was released in Japan for the PocketStation in 1999 before Exact's closure.
|
[
"## Gameplay",
"## Plot",
"## Development and release",
"## Reception and legacy",
"## Sequels and spin-off"
] | 2,463 | 44,220 |
3,353,359 |
Wurlitzer electronic piano
| 1,143,687,367 |
Mid-1950s – mid-1980s electric piano
|
[
"Electric pianos",
"Wurlitzer"
] |
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to the Rhodes piano, though the sound is different.
The instrument was invented by Benjamin Miessner, who had worked on various types of electric pianos since the early 1930s. The first Wurlitzer was manufactured in 1954, and production continued until 1983. Originally, the piano was designed to be used in the classroom, and several dedicated teacher and student instruments were manufactured. However, it was adapted for more conventional live performances, including stage models with attachable legs and console models with built-in frames. The stage instrument was used by several popular artists, including Ray Charles, Joe Zawinul and Supertramp. Several electronic keyboards include an emulation of the Wurlitzer.
As the Wurlitzer is an electromechanical instrument, it can need occasional maintenance, such as re-tuning and replacing broken reeds. However, the action and performance of the instrument has meant it is stable enough to be used for years.
## Sound
The official name of the instrument is the Wurlitzer Electronic Piano. However, the sound is generated electromechanically by striking a metal reed with a felt hammer, using conventional piano action. This induces an electrical current in an electrostatic pickup system running at 170 V DC.
Most Wurlitzer pianos are 64-note instruments whose keyboard range is from A an octave above the lowest note of a standard 88-note piano to the C an octave below its top note. The instrument is fitted with a mechanical sustain pedal. It has one, two or four internal speakers (depending on the model), but can also be connected to an external amplifier.
Compared to the Rhodes piano, the sound from a Wurlitzer is sharper and closer to a sawtooth wave, while the Rhodes' is closer to a sine wave. This gives the Wurlitzer a sharper and punchier tone. When played gently the sound can be sweet and vibraphone-like, sounding similar to the Rhodes; while becoming more aggressive with harder playing, producing a characteristic slightly overdriven tone usually described as a "bark".
Over time, particularly with aggressive playing, the reeds on a Wurlitzer will suffer metal fatigue and break. Additionally, any debris between the reed and the pickup can cause a short circuit and produce a burst of distortion.
## History
Inventor Benjamin Miessner designed an amplified conventional upright piano in the early 1930s by taking an acoustic baby grand and installing an electrostatic pickup system in it. He first demonstrated the instrument in 1932. Four years later, he demonstrated the piano at the NAMM Show in Chicago. By 1940, Miessner had licensed a patent for his piano design that was used in several electric piano models across the US.
In the early 1950s, Meissner invented a new type of electric piano, substituting strings with struck quarter-inch (6.5 mm) steel reeds. This allowed a much smaller instrument to be manufactured, as it did not need the space to support tension-loaded strings as found on acoustic piano. The reed assembly was designed carefully in order to produce the best set of harmonics when a hammer struck a reed. The lack of acoustic noise meant it could be played quietly using headphones.
The improved model was co-developed in Chicago by Paul Renard and Howard Holman for Wurlitzer. The first model, the 100 was announced in August 1954 at a trade show in Chicago, with production beginning later that year. The 110 and 111 models were introduced shortly afterwards, with the 112 appearing the following year. Early models were built in a small factory in Corinth, Mississippi.
In May 1956, Wurlitzer opened a new 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m<sup>2</sup>) factory in Corinth dedicated to making electric pianos. Various models continued to be produced here until 1964, when it expanded to an additional plant in DeKalb, Illinois. Production later expanded to Logan, Utah. In the late 1970s, costs were cut in order to increase profitability, as musicians started to use digital synthesizers instead of the Wurlitzer. The last model, the 200A, was discontinued by 1983. In total, around 120,000 instruments were produced. The Corinth factory finally closed in October 1988. Baldwin, who had bought Wurlitzer the previous year, demanded that all of the plant's records, including designs for the electric pianos, were destroyed.
The Wurlitzer was popular with bar bands and amateur musicians, as it allowed pianists to use the same instrument at each gig, instead of having to use whatever instrument happened to be available at the venue. Its relative portability meant it was also a suitable instrument for practice or songwriting.
Wurlitzer published trade advertisements featuring celebrities such as Count Basie, Marian McPartland and Frederick Dvonch. Steve Allen featured in several Wurlitzer advertisements and recorded a series of promotional albums for the company.
## Models
Most Wurlitzer electric pianos are portable, and have removable legs and a sustain pedal attached via a Bowden cable; console, "grand" and "spinet" models were also produced with a permanently attached pedal. The early models' sustain pedals attached through the right side of the instrument, with the pedal eventually being connected directly under the unit in 1956, beginning with the model 112A.
### Portable models
The earliest versions were the "100" series; these had a case made from painted fibreboard and were fitted with a single loudspeaker mounted in the rear of the case. The 120 was introduced in 1956 with a lighter cabinet, an improved reed system, electromagnetic shielding, and, via an uncommon optional external "tone cabinet" called the 920, a tremolo effect.
The 140 was introduced in 1962. It now included an onboard tremolo, which was incorrectly labelled "vibrato" on the control panel. It had a fixed rate but adjustable depth. Models produced until the early 1960s used vacuum tube circuitry exclusively; the 140 was the first with a transistor amplifier. The model 145 had a tube amplifier and was produced concurrently with the 140. The 145B, the final portable tube model, was phased out in late 1965, while the 140B continued. Around 8,000 140Bs were manufactured. There was a solid-state classroom variant, the 146B, later renamed the 146.
In 1968, the plastic-lidded 200 was introduced, replacing the earlier wooden models. It was a much lighter instrument (56 pounds (25 kg) without the legs or pedal) with a 30 watt amplifier and two loudspeakers facing the player. This helped cut costs as the case could be moulded instead of having to be sawn and joined together. The 200 featured a different keyboard action to earlier models, and a reworked tremolo effect. The instrument's top was hinged at the back, which made it easy to service and repair. It became the most popular Wurlitzer model, with around 88,000 produced. The 200 was available in black, dark "Forest Green", red or beige.
This model was updated as the 200A in 1974 and continued in production into 1983. It featured an improved shield over the reed and pickups to reduce mains hum, which had been a problem with the 200. The last version to be introduced was the 200B in 1978. It was externally identical to the 200A but was designed to be powered by a pair of high-voltage batteries and had no internal amplifier or speakers, in order to reduce hum from the instrument.
### Console models
One important role for the Wurlitzer piano was as a student instrument in schools and colleges, and non-portable console versions were made for this purpose. The teacher had a headphone and microphone to be able to listen into each student individually and talk to them without others hearing. All students listened to each of their instruments through headphones. Up to 24 individual student instruments could be connected together. According to former Wurlitzer employee Bill Fuller, 75% of all universities used Wurlitzer piano labs in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and some facilities were still in operation as late as 2000.
Most student models resemble a beige or light green Model 200 mounted on a matching pedestal containing a loudspeaker, headphone niche and sustain pedal. There is no tremolo (although earlier models simply have the facility disabled). Some of these models were given the designation 206/206A. Rarer than the student models are the teacher consoles such as 205V and 207, featuring multiple monitor/mute switches and, in some cases the facility to add a large illuminated display panel ("Key Note Visualizer") operated via the keyboard. Standalone classroom consoles were the 214/215 series, and home/stage consoles were the 203, 203W and 210. An unusual, angular version was the 300, only available in Europe around early 1973.
#### 106P
A rare version, and the only known model not to have 64 keys is the 106P (P for "Pupil"), a 44-note classroom model with a plastic case, no controls, one loudspeaker and no sustain pedal. The 106P was available as a set of eight on a folding frame, forming a portable keyboard lab. They were attached by a cable to a full-size teacher piano with controls to feature each pupil piano. This model appears to date from the early 1970s and was available in orange or beige. Page McConnell, of the rock band Phish, has played a customized 106P with an additional vibration circuit.
### Other models
Since production began, small numbers of wood-cased spinet-style instruments were made for domestic use. The model 700 was the same amplifier and action as the portable 120, and featured a 12-inch (300 mm) internal speaker that emphasized bass frequencies better. The longer-keyed model 720 was the spinet version of the 145 tube model.
The 200A had a domestic sister model 270 called the "Butterfly Baby Grand", a semicircular, walnut finish wooden-cased piano with twin quadrant-shaped lids angled above horizontally mounted 8" loudspeakers.
## Maintenance
The most common maintenance and service task on a Wurlitzer is replacing broken reeds. In order to sound the correct pitch, each reed has a blob of solder on the end, which must be filed off to produce the right weight. Reeds have elongated screw holes, which allows fine tuning by moving it backwards and forwards in the assembly before fastening. It is still possible to buy spare reeds, or take them from another instrument that has broken. A further issue is debris between a reed and the pickup causing distortion or pops. The easiest way to fix this is to repeatedly press each key in order to dislodge the dirt. Failing that, a more comprehensive solution is to open the instrument up and spray compressed air at the affected area.
In contrast, Wurlitzer purposefully over-engineered the piano action, as it was designed to resemble that of an acoustic piano to help teaching. Unlike the hammers on a Rhodes, which can develop unwanted grooves from over-hitting, the action on a Wurlitzer has been seen to operate well into the 21st century.
## Clones
The Wurlitzer is emulated in several modern digital keyboards, though its electromechanical sound production is difficult to emulate in a synthesized instrument. The Korg SV1 has been critically praised for its accurate emulation of a Wurlitzer. The Nord Stage includes the emulation of a Wurlitzer.
In 2012, Arturia released the Wurlitzer V, a Virtual Studio Technology (VST) software emulation of the original instrument. Apple's Logic Pro X includes an emulation of a Wurlitzer 200A.
## Key releases
## Notable users
Jazz pianist Sun Ra may have been the first to release recordings using the instrument, on 1956 singles later compiled on his album Angels and Demons at Play. Ray Charles began playing a Wurlitzer, as he preferred to take a portable instrument with him instead of using whatever piano was at a venue; his 1959 hit What'd I Say featured the model 120 prominently. Joe Zawinul borrowed Charles' Wurlitzer for a gig backing Dinah Washington, and liked the instrument enough to buy his own model. He played a model 140B on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," his 1966 hit with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Spooner Oldham used a 140B Wurlitzer on Aretha Franklin's 1967 single "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", playing a riff that runs through the whole song, while Earl Van Dyke played one on Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". The Small Faces used a 140B Wurlitzer on "Lazy Sunday".
The instrument was used extensively by British band Supertramp in the 1970s, in songs such as "The Logical Song", "Goodbye Stranger" and "Dreamer". Queen's John Deacon played a Wurlitzer on their hit "You're My Best Friend", and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright played one on "Money". Part of the iconic sound of the early Carpenters' hits was Richard Carpenter's Wurlitzer electronic piano.
Eddie Van Halen played a Wurlitzer through an MXR flanger and Marshall amplifier on "And the Cradle Will Rock..." on Van Halen's 1980 album Women and Children First. Norah Jones has regularly used a Wurlitzer on stage. Her preferred model is a 206 (a student version of the 200) repainted in a deep-red finish.
|
[
"## Sound",
"## History",
"## Models",
"### Portable models",
"### Console models",
"#### 106P",
"### Other models",
"## Maintenance",
"## Clones",
"## Key releases",
"## Notable users"
] | 2,940 | 35,150 |
14,105,833 |
Francis Birch (geophysicist)
| 1,170,972,051 |
American geophysicist
|
[
"1903 births",
"1992 deaths",
"American geophysicists",
"Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts",
"Deaths from prostate cancer",
"Fellows of the American Physical Society",
"Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni",
"Harvard University faculty",
"Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel",
"Manhattan Project people",
"Members of the American Philosophical Society",
"Military personnel from Washington, D.C.",
"National Medal of Science laureates",
"Penrose Medal winners",
"People associated with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki",
"Presidents of the Geological Society of America",
"Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society",
"Scientists from Washington, D.C."
] |
Albert Francis Birch (August 22, 1903 – January 30, 1992) was an American geophysicist. He is considered one of the founders of solid Earth geophysics. He is also known for his part in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
During World War II, Birch participated in the Manhattan Project, working on the design and development of the gun-type nuclear weapon known as Little Boy. He oversaw its manufacture, and went to Tinian to supervise its assembly and loading into Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress tasked with dropping the bomb.
A graduate of Harvard University, Birch began working on geophysics as a research assistant. He subsequently spent his entire career at Harvard working in the field, becoming an Associate Professor of Geology in 1943, a professor in 1946, and Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology in 1949, and professor emeritus in 1974.
Birch published over 100 papers. He developed what is now known as the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state in 1947. In 1952 he demonstrated that Earth's mantle is chiefly composed of silicate minerals, with an inner and outer core of molten iron. In two 1961 papers on compressional wave velocities, he established what is now called Birch's law.
## Early life
Birch was born in Washington, D.C., on August 22, 1903, the son of George Albert Birch, who was involved in banking and real estate, and Mary Hemmick Birch, a church choir singer and soloist at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. He had three younger brothers: David, who became a banker; John, who became a diplomat; and Robert, who became a songwriter. He was educated at Washington, D.C., schools, and Western High School, where he joined the High School Cadets in 1916.
In 1920 Birch entered Harvard University on a scholarship. While there he served in Harvard's Reserve Officers' Training Corps Field Artillery Battalion. He graduated magna cum laude in 1924, and received his Bachelor of Science (S.B.) degree in electrical engineering.
Birch went to work in the Engineering Department of the New York Telephone Company. He applied for and received an American Field Service Fellowship in 1926, which he used to travel to Strasbourg, and study at the University of Strasbourg's Institut de Physique under the tutelage of Pierre Weiss. There, he wrote or co-wrote four papers, in French, on topics such as the paramagnetic properties of potassium cyanide, and the magnetic moment of Cu++ ions.
On returning to the United States in 1928, Birch went back to Harvard to pursue physics. He was awarded his Master of Arts (A.M.) degree in 1929, and then commenced work on his 1932 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree under the supervision of Percy Bridgman, who would receive the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1946. For his thesis, Birch measured the vapor-liquid critical point of mercury. He determined this as 1460±20 °C and 1640±50 kg/cm<sup>2</sup>, results he published in 1932 in the Physical Review.
Around this time, there was an increased interest in geophysics at Harvard University, and Reginald Aldworth Daly established a Committee for Experimental Geology and Geophysics that included Bridgman, astronomer Harlow Shapley, geologists Louis Caryl Graton and D. H. McLaughlin and chemist G. P. Baxter. William Zisman, another one of Bridgman's Ph.D. students, was hired as the committee's research associate, but, having little interest in the study of rocks, he resigned in 1932. The position was then offered to Birch, who had little interest or experience in geology either, but with the advent of the Great Depression, jobs were hard to find, and he accepted.
On July 15, 1933, Birch married Barbara Channing, a Bryn Mawr College alumna, and a collateral descendant of the theologian William Ellery Channing. They had three children: Anne Campaspe, Francis (Frank) Sylvanus and Mary Narcissa. Frank later became a professor of geophysics at the University of New Hampshire.
## World War II
In 1942, during World War II, Birch took a leave of absence from Harvard, in order to work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory, which was developing radar. He worked on the proximity fuze, a radar-triggered fuze that would explode a shell in the proximity of a target. The following year he accepted a commission in the United States Navy as a lieutenant commander, and was posted to the Bureau of Ships in Washington, D.C.
Later that year he was assigned to the Manhattan Project, and moved with his family to Los Alamos, New Mexico. There he joined the Los Alamos Laboratory's Ordnance (O) Division, which was under the command of another Naval officer, Captain William S. Parsons. Initially the goal of the O Division was to design a gun-type nuclear weapon known as Thin Man. This proved to be impractical due to contamination of the reactor-bred plutonium with plutonium-240, and in February 1944, the Division switched its attention to the development of the Little Boy, a smaller device using uranium-235. Birch used unenriched uranium to create scale models and later full-scale mock-ups of the device.
Birch supervised the manufacture of the Little Boy, and went to Tinian to supervise its assembly and loading it onto Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress tasked with dropping the bomb. He devised the 'double plug' system that allowed for actually arming the bomb after Enola Gay took off so that if it crashed, there would not be a nuclear explosion. He was awarded the Legion of Merit. His citation read:
> for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States in connection with the development of the greatest military weapon of all time, the atomic bomb. His initial assignment was the instrumentation of laboratory and field tests. He carried out this assignment in such outstanding fashion that he was placed in charge of the engineering and development of the first atomic bomb. He carried out this assignment with outstanding judgment and skill, and finally, went with the bomb to the advanced base where he insured, by his care and leadership, that the bomb was adequately prepared in every respect. Commander Birch's engineering ability, understanding of all principles involved, professional skill and devotion to duty throughout the development and delivery of the atomic bomb were outstanding and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Birch was promoted to commander and released from the Navy in 1945.
## Post-war
Birch returned to Harvard after the war ended, having been promoted to Associate Professor of Geology in 1943 while he was away. He would remain at Harvard for the rest of his career, becoming a professor in 1946, and Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology in 1949, and professor emeritus in 1974. Professor Birch published over 100 papers. He served as president of The Geological Society of America in 1964 and was awarded their Penrose Medal in 1969.
In 1947, he adapted the isothermal Murnaghan equation of state, which had been developed for infinitesimal strain, for Eulerian finite strain, developing what is now known as the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state.
Albert Francis Birch is known for his experimental work on the properties of Earth-forming minerals at high pressure and temperature, in 1952 he published a well-known paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research, where he demonstrated that the mantle is chiefly composed of silicate minerals, the upper and lower mantle are separated by a thin transition zone associated with silicate phase transitions, and the inner and outer core are alloys of crystalline and molten iron. His conclusions are still accepted as correct today. The most famous portion of the paper, however, is a humorous footnote he included in the introduction:
> Unwary readers should take warning that ordinary language undergoes modification to a high-pressure form when applied to the interior of the Earth. A few examples of equivalents follow:
In 1961, Birch published two papers on compressional wave velocities establishing a linear relation of the compressional wave velocity V<sub>p</sub> of rocks and minerals of a constant average atomic weight $\bar{ M}$ with density $\rho$ as:
This relationship became known as Birch's law. Birch was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1942, the National Academy of Sciences in 1950, the American Philosophical Society in 1955, and served as the president of the Geological Society of America in 1963 and 1964. He received numerous honors in his career, including the Geological Society of America's Arthur L. Day Medal on 1950 and Penrose Medal in 1969, the American Geophysical Union's William Bowie Medal in 1960, the National Medal of Science from President Lyndon Johnson in 1967, the Vetlesen Prize (shared with Sir Edward Bullard) in 1968, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1973, and the International Association for the Advancement of High Pressure Research's Bridgman Award in 1983. Since 1992, the American Geophysical Union's Tectonophysics section has sponsored a Francis Birch Lecture, given at its annual meeting by a noted researcher in this field.
Birch died of prostate cancer at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 30, 1992. He was survived by wife Barbara, his three children and his three brothers. His papers are in the Harvard University Archives.
|
[
"## Early life",
"## World War II",
"## Post-war"
] | 2,064 | 15,956 |
40,011,958 |
Experimental pop
| 1,166,498,920 |
Pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries
|
[
"20th-century music genres",
"Avant-garde music",
"Experimental music genres",
"Experimental pop",
"Pop music genres",
"Progressive music"
] |
Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, aleatoric music, or eclecticism into pop contexts. Often, the compositional process involves the use of electronic production effects to manipulate sounds and arrangements, and the composer may draw the listener's attention specifically with both timbre and tonality, though not always simultaneously.
Experimental pop music developed concurrently with experimental jazz as a new kind of avant-garde, with many younger musicians embracing the practice of making studio recordings along the fringes of popular music. In the early 1960s, it was common for producers, songwriters, and engineers to freely experiment with musical form, orchestration, unnatural reverb, and other sound effects, and by the late 1960s, highly experimental pop music, or sounds that expanded the idea of the typical popular song, was positively received by young audiences.
## Characteristics
Author Bill Martin states that while the term "experimental pop" may sound "seemingly oxymoronic", it is possible to identify three criteria for characterizing its music:
- It is rooted in existing popular forms
- It experiments with or stretches the use of these popular forms
- It attempts to draw the audience of those forms toward these new developments, in the manner of the avant-garde
Some tendencies among artists include the incorporation of experimental techniques such as musique concrète, aleatoric music, or eclecticism into pop contexts. Often, the compositional process involves the use of electronic production effects to manipulate sounds and arrangements. According to musicologist Leigh Landy, experimental pop settings combine sound-based work and note-based work, though not always simultaneously. Composer Nico Muhly described the world of experimental pop as "celebrations of sonic juxtapositions".
## History
### Origins (1950s–1960s)
Martin writes that experimental pop developed at roughly the same time as experimental jazz, and that it emerged as "a new kind of avant-garde" made possible by the historical and material circumstances of its time. In the pop and rock music of the early 1960s, it was common for producers, songwriters, and engineers to freely experiment with musical form, orchestration, unnatural reverb, and other sound effects. Some of the best known examples are Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and Joe Meek's use of homemade electronic sound effects for acts like the Tornados. According to author Mark Brend, Meek's I Hear a New World (1960) predates better-known experimental pop by several years, whereas musicologist Leigh Landy names the American composer Frank Zappa as one of the first experimental pop musicians.
Musician David Grubbs writes that many younger musicians "moved out of [John] Cage's shadow by taking to a different extreme and embracing the practice of making studio recordings of works along the fringes of popular music". Grubbs further explains that some of the most prominent avant-garde musicians who formed rock bands in the mid 1960s were the Welsh John Cale (later of the Velvet Underground) and the American Joseph Byrd (later of the United States of America), who both went on to create albums of experimental pop music. However, a "gulf" would still exist between experimental composers and "out-there" pop musicians, partly due to the role of the recording studio. Regarding this, composer Robert Ashley is quoted in 1966;
> We can't be popular musicians, where the fairly exciting things happen. [...] The one thing I like about popular music is that they record it. They record it, record it, record it, record it! The astute producer cuts out the magic from the different tapes (laughter) and puts them in a certain order and gets a whole piece. It's very beautiful, because it's really aural magic. [...] We have to invent social situations to allow that magic to happen.
Music historian Lorenzo Candalaria described American rock band the Beach Boys as "one of the most experimental and innovative groups of the 1960s." Co-founder and leader Brian Wilson wrote and produced songs for the group that ranged from massive hits to obscure experimental pop compositions. Their 1966 single "Good Vibrations", also produced and co-written by Wilson, topped record charts internationally, subsequently proliferating a wave of pop experimentation with its rush of riff changes, echo chamber effects, and intricate harmonies. It was followed by Smiley Smile (1967), an album of stripped-down recordings. In 2003, Stylus Magazine wrote that the album "embrace[d] the listener with a drugged out sincerity; a feat never accomplished by the more pretentious and heavy-handed psychedelia of that era. It is for this reason Smiley Smile flows so well with the more experimental pop of today".
In the view of artist Duggie Fields, the Syd Barret-led incarnation of Pink Floyd exemplified experimental pop. The group found their initial success playing at the UFO Club in London, an underground venue whose objective was to provide an outlet for experimental pop groups. According to The New York Times, Barrett and his subsequent solo albums "became a touchstone for experimental pop musicians".
By the late 1960s, highly experimental pop music, or sounds that expanded the idea of the typical popular song, was positively received by young audiences, which cultural essayist Gerald Lyn Early credits to bands like Cream, Traffic, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and "of course", the Beatles. Drummer John Densmore believed that the Doors were on the cutting edge of experimental pop music until he listened to the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), which he described as "[seeming] to have done it all". Martin wrote that, along with the Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967), the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper "opened a space" for experimental pop which would be later filled by Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, and the Who's Tommy (1968). Prior to Sgt. Pepper, Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher were Los Angeles-based songwriters and producers who were interested in classical music and the avant-garde. Later cited as fixtures of sunshine pop, they worked together to create their debut studio album, Present Tense (1968). It was credited to Sagittarius, a studio group referred to as an "experimental pop band" by The A.V. Club'''s Noel Murray.
### 1970s–1980s
Author Pascal Bussy wrote that German krautrock groups such as Can and Kraftwerk successfully bridged the gap between experimental and pop music in the 1970s, while according to The New York Times, Kraftwerk refined an "experimental pop sensibility" on albums such as Radio-Activity (1976) and Trans-Europe Express (1977). Writer Owen Hatherley located a "literary-experimental pop tradition" running throughout the United Kingdom during the 1970s and 1980s. Embodied by artists such as Roxy Music, the Smiths, the Associates, and Pet Shop Boys, this tradition "balanced sexuality and literacy, ostentatious performance and austere rectitude, raging ambition and class resentment, translating it into records balancing experimentation with populist cohesion."
The 1970s work of ex-Roxy Music member musician Brian Eno is cited by Leigh Landy as an archetypal example of a pop musician who "applied developments from the experimental sector while creating their own experimental pop sector." Following his departure from Roxy Music in 1973, Eno began releasing a series of solo albums where he simultaneously developed his ambient, pop, and electronic styles. In the belief of pop musician Scott Miller, they were the era's "most successful" experimental pop artists, explaining that the key to Eno's success "appears to have been making a science out of decision points (see 'Oblique Strategies') rather than being willfully weird or different at the usual unexamined decision points"
Eno's album Before and After Science (1977), according to Joshua Pickard of publication Nooga, was "experimental pop lucidity [...] the culmination of sound that Eno had been working on since the release of Here Come the Warm Jets in 1973." Members of Roxy Music, Free, Fairport Convention, Can and Cluster feature on the record as session musicians in addition to Phil Collins, who performs drums on one track. Collins' own debut solo single "In the Air Tonight" (1981) was described by Gary Mills of The Quietus as being "at the vanguard of experimental pop" when it was released. He further called it "a rock oddity classic" which was influenced by "the unconventional studio predilections of Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel". Landy noted the tendency of experimental pop artists such as Eno and David Byrne to build tracks around existing recordings, effectively fusing different styles, a technique used on the duo's 1981 album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.
The New York Times' Will Hermes names Laurie Anderson an experimental pop pioneer whose signature song "O Superman" (1981) was a "left-field new wave hit" that "conflated maternal succor with the psychology of the modern corporate state using electronically processed verse." Writing for The Guardian, Jason Cowley described British singer-songwriter Kate Bush as "an artist superbly articulate in the language of experimental pop music". Paste Magazine credited My Bloody Valentine's 1988 album Isn't Anything with showcasing an experimental pop aesthetic, which drew on "harsh, swirling guitar tones and beautifully dissonant distortion," that would eventually develop into the genre known as shoegazing. Martin suggested that hip hop music, particularly released by artists such as Public Enemy and KRS-One, emerged as a new form of experimental pop, seeing a renewed merger of artistic and political innovation.
### 1990s–2000s
Icelandic singer Björk, who began her solo career in the 1990s, has been called "the queen of experimental pop" by The Guardian'''s Michael Cragg.
The record label Hippos in Tanks, founded by Barron Machat in 2010, was associated with Internet age experimental pop that drew on disparate sources such as new wave, avant-garde noise, R&B, and techno. The label released projects by artists such as James Ferraro, Autre Ne Veut, Laurel Halo, Hype Williams, and Arca.
|
[
"## Characteristics",
"## History",
"### Origins (1950s–1960s)",
"### 1970s–1980s",
"### 1990s–2000s"
] | 2,176 | 2,234 |
55,402,634 |
Noi doi
| 1,055,719,236 | null |
[
"2017 singles",
"2017 songs",
"Alexandra Stan songs",
"Romanian songs",
"Songs written by Alexandra Stan"
] |
"Noi doi" (Romanian: "Us Both"; stylized as "Noi 2") is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her fourth studio album, Mami (2018). It was digitally released on 8 August 2017 through Alexandra Stan Records. The track was written and produced by Stan herself, with additional writing from Chriss JustUs, and production by Cristian Tarcea, Alex Parker and Laurențiu Popescu. "Noi doi" is Stan's first single as a lead artist to be entirely written and performed in Romanian. Lyrically, it features the singer asking her love interest to spend time at the beach with her. "Noi doi" received praise from a music critic for its summery style and Stan's vocal delivery. An accompanying music video was uploaded onto Stan's official YouTube channel simultaneously with the single's release. Shot by Bogdan Păun, it features Stan and two other women on a yacht. Commercially, the song peaked at number 80 in Romania.
## Background and composition
"Noi doi" was written and produced by Stan herself, with additional writing from Chriss JustUs, and production by Cristian Tarcea, Alex Parker and Laurențiu Popescu. It was mixed and mastered by Tarcea at the Thrace Music Studio in Constanța, Romania. "Noi doi" is Stan's first single as a lead artist to be written and performed completely in Romanian. She had previously sang Romanian lyrics when featured on Hi-Q's "Mor de dor" (2010), Trupa Zero's "Inimă de gheață" (2014), Dorian's "Motive" (2015) and Criss Blaziny's "Au gust zilele" (2016). The single was made available for digital download on 8 August 2017 by Alexandra Stan Records, and was the second one to be released under Stan's own label after "Boy Oh Boy".
The lyrics of "Noi doi", when translated to English, feature an invitation to a love interest: "Baby/ Would you do me a favor/ If you come to the sea/ We would be both under the sun/ Under the sun, both of us". Regarding this, Stan said in a press release: "I am the child of the sea, I feed myself with the sun, I love the energy of the water and I think that's what sea means: happiness, fun, where the stress disappears and also the ideal place to start relationships".
## Reception
Jonathan Currinn, writing for CelebMix, praised Stan's "relaxed and confident" vocal delivery in Romanian, and called the song a "summer relaxing anthem" and "Romanian pop music at its best". He labelled "Noi doi" a great follow-up to "Boy Oh Boy", while comparing it to Stan's previous singles "Vanilla Chocolat" (2014) and "Écoute" (2016). Commercially, "Noi doi" debuted at number 84 on Romania's Airplay 100 chart for the week ending 24 September 2017, moving to its peak position at number 80 the next week.
## Music video and promotion
Stan delivered an acoustic performance of "Noi doi" for Romanian radio station Kiss FM on 15 August 2017. An accompanying music video for the song was shot by Bogdan Păun from video production company NGM Creative and uploaded onto the singer's YouTube account on 8 August 2017. Alexandru Mureșan acted as the director of photography, while hair styling, make-up and styling were handled by Alex Ifimov and Anca Stăruială. The clip mainly portrays Stan and two other women riding the waves on a yacht. Fellow scenes also show the singer parading around with a blow-up banana at a beach, performing to the song in front of a blue car, and residing at what appears to be a circus with the two fellow women.
According to an editor from Antena 1, the visual sees "a gang of playful girls, having fun, with Stan as the captain of the group." Currinn praised the video for relating to the song well, while describing it as "very cheeky and totally brings out [...] Stan's flirtatious side." Writing for his own website, he speculated that a scene portraying the singer and the two fellow women pulling a towel from a man's waist could feature Stan's real-life boyfriend Bogdan Stăruială.
## Track listing
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the official music video.
Technical and songwriting credits
- Alexandra Stan – lead vocals, composer, producer
- Chriss JustUs – composer
- Alex Parker – producer
- Thrace Music Studio – recording studio
- Laurențiu Popescu – producer
- Cristian Tarcea – producer, mixing, mastering
Visual credits
- Alex Ifimov – hair styling, make-up, styling
- Alexandru Mureșan – director of photography
- Bogdan Păun – director
- Anca Stăruială – styling
## Charts
## Release history
|
[
"## Background and composition",
"## Reception",
"## Music video and promotion",
"## Track listing",
"## Credits and personnel",
"## Charts",
"## Release history"
] | 1,067 | 34,757 |
43,194,510 |
Monica (song)
| 1,111,546,099 |
1968 song by the Kinks
|
[
"1968 songs",
"Calypso songs",
"Song recordings produced by Ray Davies",
"Songs about prostitutes",
"Songs written by Ray Davies",
"The Kinks songs"
] |
"Monica" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks from their sixth studio album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968). Written and sung by Ray Davies, the song was recorded sometime between late 1967 and May 1968. The song features congas and a syncopated rhythm, indicating Davies's continued interest in calypso music. Its lyrics are a serenade for a prostitute and were partly inspired by Dylan Thomas's radio drama, Under Milk Wood (1954), though Davies kept the lyrics deliberately subtle to avoid a radio ban. Retrospective commentators have disputed the song's level of thematic cohesion with the others on Village Green.
## Background and composition
Ray Davies composed "Monica" as a love song, sung as a serenade to a prostitute. Its lyrics are deliberately subtle, never directly referencing her profession, something that arose out of Davies' desire to avoid a ban by BBC Radio. The song's narrator claims Monica for himself, but sings that while she is a prostitute her love cannot be bought. Davies may have been inspired by the prostitute character Polly Garter from Under Milk Wood, a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The drama began to influence Davies's songwriting in late 1966, and he later directly referenced Garter in his composition "Polly", probably recorded around March 1968. Under Milk Wood's format of exploring characters in a small Welsh town later served as Davies's broader inspiration for the Kinks' 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. Author Mark Doyle suggests that in addition to Garter, the woman addressed in "Monica" may have been inspired by fellow Under Milk Wood character, Gossamer Beynon, the local school teacher whom all the men in town desire. Author Thomas M. Kitts writes that in "Monica", Davies uses a typical trick of Thomas whereby a single word in a stock phrase is altered – in particular, Davies changes the phrase "morning to midnight" into "morning to moonshine".
Musically, "Monica" is an example of calypso music, a genre Davies first explored in his 1965 song "I'm on an Island". Author Johnny Rogan suggests Davies often used calypso as a contrast against his more serious songwriting and compares its "Acapulco-style beat" to another of his songs on Village Green, "Starstruck". Kitts thinks the calypso rhythm is meant to suggest that the song takes place in the narrator's fantasy and emphasise that he actually only possesses Monica in his mind. Author Ken Rayes describes the song's arrangement as "celebratory" in its incorporation of Caribbean rhythms, jazz tempo changes and a playful vocal from Davies suggesting a schoolboy-like innocence.
## Recording and release
The Kinks recorded "Monica" sometime between late 1967 and May 1968, during a period when the band recorded numerous songs without initially knowing when or in what format they would be released. Recording took place in Pye Studio 2, one of two basement studios at Pye Records' London offices. Davies produced the song, while Pye's in-house engineer Alan "Mac" MacKenzie operated the four-track mixing console. The song features a syncopated backing track, including an acoustic guitar, congas and organ. Bass guitar does not appear until the second verse.
"Monica" was among the songs Davies selected for the aborted US album Four More Respected Gentlemen, originally planned for a late 1968 release. While sessions for Village Green continued through the summer of 1968, the Kinks performed the song for BBC Radio on 1 and 9 July 1968. Davies planned to include "Monica" on the original twelve-track edition of Village Green and he kept the song on the album when he decided to expand it to fifteen tracks, though he changed the planned sequence from the first to the second side of the LP. Pye released Village Green in the UK on 22 November 1968, with "Monica" sequenced as the penultimate track. In his preview of the album for New Musical Express magazine, critic Keith Altham wrote that "Monica" is an example of "the beauty of [Ray Davies]" in that "you are never quite sure when to take him seriously".
Among retrospective commentators, Miller considers "Monica" "the flimsiest thing" on the album, and Morgan Enos of Billboard placed it last in his ranking of the songs. Rogan considers the song and "Starstruck" to be "distinctly un-Village Green compositions", while Kitts counters that it fits into the album with its theme of escapism through obsession, something he thinks is also heard on "Starstruck" and "Phenomenal Cat". Kitts and Miller each consider the song one of the album's several character studies.
|
[
"## Background and composition",
"## Recording and release"
] | 1,011 | 3,820 |
60,511,367 |
Future (song)
| 1,173,050,569 | null |
[
"2019 songs",
"American reggae songs",
"Dancehall songs",
"Madame X (Madonna)",
"Madonna songs",
"Music controversies",
"Quavo songs",
"Song recordings produced by Diplo",
"Song recordings produced by Madonna",
"Songs written by Diplo",
"Songs written by Madonna",
"Songs written by Quavo",
"Songs written by Starrah"
] |
"Future" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna and American rapper Quavo, from her fourteenth studio album Madame X (2019). The track was written by Madonna, Diplo, Quavo and Starrah, and was produced by the former two. "Future" was released as the second promotional single from the album on May 17, 2019, by Interscope Records. Musically it was described as a roots reggae and hip hop song, while lyrically it deals about looking to what is ahead, celebrating the present and also contemplating the past.
"Future" received positive to mixed reviews from music critics; some deemed it catchy while others felt it was not memorable enough. The track also had a moderate commercial reception, reaching the top 30 in Hungary and peaking at number 50 in Scotland. Madonna performed the song during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest finale, causing controversy as it featured two dancers with Palestinian and Israeli flags on their costumes; this was seen as a political statement for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Later, the singer included "Future" on her 2019−20 Madame X Tour.
## Background and composition
In 2017, Madonna relocated to Lisbon, Portugal seeking a top football academy for her son David, who wanted to become a professional association football player. While living in the city, she began meeting artists, painters and musicians, who would invite her to "living room sessions". In these sessions, they would bring food, sit around the table and musicians would start playing instruments, singing fado and samba music. Finding herself "connected through music", the singer decided to create an album; "I found my tribe [in Lisbon] and a magical world of incredible musicians that reinforced my belief that music across the world is truly all connected and is the soul of the universe". On April 15, 2019, Madonna revealed Madame X as the album's title. For the album, she worked with longtime collaborator Mirwais, who had previously worked on her albums Music (2000), American Life (2003) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), as well as Mike Dean, who was a producer on Rebel Heart (2015), and Diplo.
"Future" was written by Madonna alongside Diplo, Quavo and Starrah, and was produced by the former two. It has been described as a roots reggae, hip hop, and electro-ragga song, heavily influenced by dancehall. Lyrically, according to the singer, it is about "the world that we live in today and the future of our civilization". It begins with Madonna singing "You ain't woke" with vocals heavily worked by Auto-Tune, and a "slight, perhaps unconscious but audible white-person" Jamaican accent. During the chorus, she sings: "Not everyone can come into the future/Not everyone that’s here is gonna last", in a "hopeful" tone about shedding any recent negativity. Then, Quavo raps while reflecting on his current status and looking forward to what is to come: "My life is gold/I drip in ice/I see the signs/Just free your mind/Welcome to the future, it's a culture ride". The song includes a lyrical nod to Madonna's 2000 single "Don't Tell Me", with the line "Don't tell me to stop/'cause you said so". "Future" was released as the second promotional single from Madame X on May 17, 2019.
## Reception
"Future" received positive to mixed reviews from music critics. Asian News International noted that Madonna and Quavo's voices "blend together perfectly", while also commented that "with its catchy lyrics and upbeat tune, ["Future"] is sure to make way into playlists". The Irish Times' Louise Bruton called "Future" a "sun-kissed call for progress". Trey Alston from MTV was positive, calling it a "surprising, ecstatic new record", and praised the "surprisingly funky" collaboration between Madonna and Quavo. Nick Smith from MusicOMH complimented the song as being "dark and trippy", also pointing out "Diplo's fingerprints all over it". Paul Nolan from Hot Press was also positive, deeming it an album standout. Ben Beaumont-Thomas from The Guardian commented that the track was "her go at pop's next big trend, roots reggae", calling it "catchy and full-bodied". However, he criticized Diplo for "shamelessly ripping off" the brass from Outkast's "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" (1998). Another positive review came from Gay Times's Daniel Megarry, who said he had "grown to love it", and commented that its "reggae-tinged beats and optimistic lyrics" would help sell the track.
Michael Arceneaux of NBC News considered Quavo's appearance as "surprising". Alfred Soto from City Pages wrote that the track "unfurls as listeners might expect", and selected it as one of the "OK to pretty good songs" on Madame X. Mike Wass from Idolator felt it was a deviation from Madonna's usual dance pop. Nonetheless, he praised its "important message". In a further review, Wass called it a "dancehall-lite collaboration [...] no less subtle in its messaging or execution", but criticized the singer's heavy use of autotune. Variety's Jeremy Helligar criticized its lyrics for being "cliché" and said that they "go low when [Madonna] should be aiming higher". Kitty Empire of The Observer criticized the lack of chemistry between Madonna and Quavo, an opinion that was shared by New York's Craig Jenkins and the New York Post's Chuck Arnold. On a more negative review, Rich Juzwiak from Pitchfork said that "[Madonna] warbles through Auto-Tune and adopts a contemporary hip-hop posture that ends up just sounding like a flat sort of honking out of her nose. It’s not so much that she’s riffing on hip-hop that’s the problem [...] it’s that she’s being smarmy as she does it". Nicholas Hautman from Us Weekly, dismissed "Future" as "forgettable" and one of Madame X's "filler" tracks. On a similar note, Jonny Coleman from The Hollywood Reporter also deemed it forgettable and said it sounded like a "Rihanna leftover".
"Future" debuted at number 40 on the foreign language songs chart in China, later reaching its peak at number 20. On 24 May 2019, the track debuted at its peak of number 50 Scotland. Also in Hungary, "Future" peaked at number 30. The track peaked at numbers 16 and 33, on the French Digital and UK Download charts, respectively. It also reached number 20 on the Euro Digital Songs chart, compiled by Billboard.
## Live performances
On April 9, 2019, it was announced by local promoters Live Nation Israel that Madonna would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 finale, stating she would "perform two songs, including a new song from her upcoming album". However, on May 14, Eurovision's executive supervisor Jon Ola said they hadn't confirmed the singer's appearance as there was no "signed contract". The appearance was officially confirmed two days before the finale. Madonna performed "Future", along with her 1989 single "Like a Prayer", during the event, held on Tel Aviv on May 18. For the performance, Madonna was joined by Quavo and wore a black cape and eyepatch with the letter X while several dancers, who wore gas masks, fell to the ground. Halfway through, Madonna sang a fragment of her song "Dark Ballet". Also featured on the performance, were two dancers with Palestinian and Israeli flags on their backs holding each other. It ended with the phrase "Wake Up" being projected on a black screen, before Madonna fell backwards off the stage, hand-in-hand with Quavo.
The performance caused controversy, as it was seen as a political statement for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Eurovision organizers said that part of the performance was not an approved part of the act; the European Broadcasting Union released a statement saying Eurovision was a non-political event and that Madonna had been made aware. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), along with other artists such as Roger Waters and Brian Eno, had previously called for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest in support of Palestine, and even urged Madonna not to perform. Madonna said that she was never going to "stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda", to which the PACBI responded; "artwashing Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinians for a million dollars must be among the most immoral political agendas". Later, the Kan Israel Broadcasting Corporation sued Live Nation over the performance, claiming the singer's representatives had violated the terms of their agreement and "reneged on financial promises". CNN's Holly Thomas expressed that Madonna "didn't do or say much besides create an obtuse spectacle against the backdrop of a frankly terrible song" and "offered her audience no meaningful education of the conflict she alluded to". In addition to the controversy, the singer was criticized for her vocal performance; Netherlands announcer Emma Wortelboer quipped she was “thankful for Madonna’s autotune” during the results segment of the competition. One day later, a video of the performance was uploaded to the singer's official YouTube account, this time her vocals were edited.
Madonna included "Future" in the setlist for her 2019−20 Madame X Tour. She played the piano, flanked by a pair of "robotic but sinuous" dancers with red lights on their eyes, while images of "urban and environmental destruction" and the word "warning" were projected on the video screen. Paper's Bradley Stern described the performance as "a more muted piano piece", compared to the "medieval-meets-post-apocalyptic moment on Eurovision".
## Credits and personnel
- Madonna – writer, vocals, producer
- patsmusicrop BMI
- Diplo – writer, producer
- Quavo – writer, vocals
- Starrah – writer
Credits and personnel adapted from the Madame X album liner notes.
## Charts
## Release history
|
[
"## Background and composition",
"## Reception",
"## Live performances",
"## Credits and personnel",
"## Charts",
"## Release history"
] | 2,122 | 19,480 |
4,163,127 |
Global Buddhist Network
| 1,170,575,248 |
Thai online television channel
|
[
"2002 establishments in Thailand",
"2016 disestablishments in Thailand",
"Buddhist media",
"Buddhist television",
"Streaming television",
"Television channels and stations disestablished in 2016",
"Television channels and stations established in 2002",
"Television stations in Thailand"
] |
The Global Buddhist Network (GBN), previously known as the Dhammakaya Media Channel (DMC) is a Thai online television channel concerned with Buddhism. The channel's taglines were "The secrets of life revealed" and "The only one", but these were later replaced by "Channel for the path to the cessation of suffering and attainment of Dhamma". The channel features many types of programs with Buddhist content, and has programs in several languages.
The channel started in 2002, as a means to reach remote provinces in Thailand. Controversially, the channel made international headlines in 2012 when it featured a teaching on the afterlife of Steve Jobs. On 26 December 2016, Thai authorities withdrew the permit for the satellite channel permanently, during the legal investigations into the temple by the Thai junta. In April 2017, it was reported, however, that the channel's programming had continued, but broadcast through the Internet only. In its online format, the channel has been renamed Global Buddhist Network.
## Background
DMC started in 2002. The channel was owned by the Dhamma Research for Environment Foundation, part of the temple Wat Phra Dhammakaya. The channel was founded to provide an alternative to the many distractions that surround people in modern life, which lure "people into doing immoral things", as stated by Phra Somsak Piyasilo, spokesperson of the organization. The channel originated from an initiative in 2001 when people living in the far provinces of Thailand wanted to listen to the teachings of the temple. The temple therefore provided live teachings through a thousand public telephone lines, through which people could follow the activities. The telephone lines had many restrictions in use, and the temple started to broadcast through a satellite television channel instead. Later, in 2005, the temple developed an online counterpart to the channel.
The channel is managed by Phra Maha Nopon Puññajayo, who supervises a team of thirty volunteers. Previously, it was known by the pun 'the Dhamma satellite' (Thai: จานดาวธรรม). The channel was one of the first widely spread satellite channels in Thailand, described as a form of "positive television" (Thai: สื่อสีขาว, lit. 'white media'). The channel's taglines were "The secrets of life revealed" and "The only one". Although the channel broadcasts over thirty different programs, the soap operas with Buddhist content have been most awarded: in 2008, the channel received an award from the Society for Positive Television in Thailand, and in 2010, it received an award from the National Anti-Corruption Commission—both were given for the edifying effects of the channel's soap operas. However, a more general award was also given by the House of Representatives in 2010.
In 2016, the channel was ordered to shut down and its permit eventually withdrawn permanently when the junta cracked down on Wat Phra Dhammakaya during the Klongchan controversy. The channel was later revived in a new digital format, called GBN, short for Global Buddhist Network, which can only be accessed through the Internet.
## Programming and availability
The main focus of the channel, as described by the temple, is moral education. It has programs for people of different ages. It broadcasts guided meditations, talks, preaching, songs, documentaries, dramas, live events and cartoons twenty-four hours a day. Songs played on the channel are often parody versions of popular songs, in diverse genres, with Buddhist content. They explain Buddhist customs and pay homage to important teachers. The programming is aimed at different age groups and diverse communities: e.g. there is a cartoon series about the Jātaka tales for children. The most popular program is a broadcast of a teaching called Fan Nai Fan, which also includes a guided meditation. Before the 2016 crackdown by the Thai junta, the channel could be watched or listened to for free through satellite television, Internet, cable and radio. In 2005, it was reported that DMC had a hundred thousand viewers. In 2016, the satellite channel could be received in all continents in the world, except for South America. The channel has programs in Thai, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Mongolian and Japanese, and other's Etc. language.
The channel was also broadcast in public places like temples, hotels and prisons. It sought cooperation with other Buddhist countries as well: the temple has assisted with establishing a Sri Lankan television channel with Buddhist content called Shraddha TV, for which it has made content available for free and hired Sri Lankans to help translate. For some programs Burmese Abhidhamma teachers were consulted.
## Steve Jobs episode
In 2012, the temple broadcast a talk by Luang Por Dhammajayo, the then abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, about what happened to Steve Jobs after his death. The talk came as a response to a software engineer of Apple who had sent a letter with questions to the abbot. Luang Por Dhammajayo described how Steve Jobs looked like in heaven. He said that Jobs had been reborn as a deva (heavenly being) living close to his former offices, as a result of the karma of having given knowledge to people. He was a deva with a creative, but angry temperament. The talk was much criticized, and the abbot was accused of pretending to have attained an advanced meditative state and of attempting to outshine other temples. The temple answered the critics, saying that the talk was meant to illustrate principles of karma, not to defame Jobs, nor to fake an advanced state.
Critics such as Phra Paisal Visalo and religion scholar Surapot Taweesak pressed the Supreme Sangha Council, who leads the monastic community in Thailand, to investigate further as to whether Luang Por Dhammajayo had fraudulent intentions. Surapot, known for his libertarian views on separation of religion and state, was criticized by sociologist Kengkit Kitirianglap and others, however, for abandoning his libertarian position. With regard to the teaching about Steve Jobs, Kengkit argued that the state, of which the council is part, should not get involved in what is "true Buddhism" and what is not. Surapot replied that urging the council to crack down on Luang Por Dhammajayo does not go against democratic principles, because the monastic discipline applies to all monks equally.
## Shutdown
In 2014, Wat Phra Dhammakaya came under scrutiny under the new military junta and in 2015 was implicated in the Klongchan controversy. 11.37 billion baht (\$3.6M, €2.9M or £2.6M, as of April 2018) was allegedly embezzled from the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, in which a portion totaling over one billion baht was found to have been given to the temple via public donations. The investigations resulted in several failed raids on the temple and the channel was ordered to shut down for thirty days, authorities citing that the channel was used to mobilize people to resist a possible arrest of the former abbot, as people had done during the first raid. The temple appealed to a higher court, denying the accusations and stating that insufficient evidence had been provided. The temple further described the shutdown as an infringement of human rights.
The channel's broadcast permit was permanently withdrawn the same month, on 26 December. Critics compared the shutdown with the military crackdown during the 1992 Black May protest, news outlet Bangkok Post criticizing the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission for "operating outside the courts and justice system". The online channel was still available. Despite the channel being shut down, Thai Rath and other main media outlets have continued to broadcast the temple's ceremonies. The temple has stated that the number of people joining ceremonies has increased since the shutdown, people showing sympathy with the temple and the satellite channel.
## Revival and aftermath
On 24 April 2017, a host of the Inside Thailand program on Spring News noticed a revival of the Dhammakaya Media Channel through a new digital format, called GBN, short for Global Buddhist Network. The new tagline of the channel was "Channel for the path to the cessation of suffering and attainment of Dhamma". The channel could be received through the Internet only, and featured very similar contents as before, although the temple's spokesperson assured there would be no further attempts at mobilizing people. Thus, the channel continued in online formats only, through a website and a separate online broadcast. As of 2017, the website ranked 674th of all Thai websites on the Alexa ranking.
The closing down of DMC was not the last time that the junta decided to impose sanctions against a media outlet. In March 2017, the junta closed down Voice TV for seven days, after the channel criticized the martial law imposed on Wat Phra Dhammakaya during the junta's crackdown. And in August the same year, Peace TV was also closed down for a month, the junta citing "it broke the rules of the NCPO". Some reports related this to a policy of removing former PM Thaksin's influence, a policy which has also been connected with Wat Phra Dhammakaya.
## See also
- The Buddhist (TV channel)
- Shraddha TV
- Lord Buddha TV
|
[
"## Background",
"## Programming and availability",
"## Steve Jobs episode",
"## Shutdown",
"## Revival and aftermath",
"## See also"
] | 1,976 | 4,212 |
7,886,717 |
Joseph Sonnabend
| 1,161,615,417 |
South African physician (1933–2021)
|
[
"1933 births",
"2021 deaths",
"20th-century South African LGBT people",
"20th-century South African physicians",
"American infectious disease physicians",
"HIV/AIDS activists",
"HIV/AIDS researchers",
"LGBT physicians",
"South African Jews",
"South African LGBT scientists",
"South African expatriates in the United Kingdom",
"South African expatriates in the United States"
] |
Joseph Adolph Sonnabend (6 January 1933 – 24 January 2021) was a South African physician, scientist and HIV/AIDS researcher, notable for pioneering community-based research, the propagation of safe sex to prevent infection, and an early multifactorial model of AIDS.
As one of the first physicians to notice among his gay male patients the immune deficiency that would later be named AIDS, during the 1980s and 1990s he treated many hundreds of HIV-positive people. During the height of the AIDS crisis, Sonnabend helped create several AIDS organisations, including the AIDS Medical Foundation (now amfAR), the nonprofit Community Research Initiative (now ACRIA), which pioneered community-based research, and the PWA Health Group, the first and largest formally recognised buyers' club.
Sonnabend became controversial for advocating that gay men change their sexual behaviors to avoid sexually-transmitted infections, rather than to just have fewer sexual partners, as advocated by Gay Men's Health Crisis and other gay community organizations and for hypothesizing a multi-factorial model of causation, including for a period of time after discovery of HIV. He was widely respected as a pioneering and compassionate clinician and researcher.
## Background
Sonnabend was born on 6 January 1933 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His mother was a physician and his father a sociologist. Both parents were Jewish immigrants from Europe.
He trained in infectious diseases at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. During the 1960s he conducted research at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, where he worked under Alick Isaacs, a pioneer of interferon research.
In the early 1970s Sonnabend moved to New York City to be an associate professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. After losing his interferon research grant he worked at Kings County Hospital Center and as Director of Continuing Medical Education at the Bureau of VD Control for the New York City Department of Health. In 1978 he started a private clinic for sexually transmitted infections in Greenwich Village, for which he was renowned.
Sonnabend died on 24 January 2021 at Wellington Hospital in London, as a result of complications arising from a heart attack he had suffered three weeks earlier.
## Early AIDS work
Sonnabend was one of the first physicians to notice among his gay male patients the immune deficiency that would later be named AIDS. His background in microbiology, virology, infectious diseases and prior experience of working with immunocompromised transplant patients helped him to conduct some of the earliest research into AIDS, often at his own expense, independently of government agencies that were slow to respond to the epidemic, In 1983 he was founding editor of one of the first AIDS journals, AIDS Research (renamed AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses in 1986, after Sonnabend was fired from the journal).
### Multifactorial model of AIDS
Prior to the identification of HIV as the cause of AIDS in 1984, Sonnabend's investigations led him to propose that AIDS among gay men might be caused by multiple factors including Epstein–Barr virus and repeated exposure to cytomegalovirus and semen. This suggestion conflicted with the view that a single agent was likely responsible, which Sonnabend did not rule out.
Sonnabend's "multifactorial model" led him to argue from very early in the emerging pandemic that frequent unprotected anal sex increased the risk of what would come to be known as AIDS. This was the inspiration for How to Have Sex in an Epidemic, a booklet written under Sonnabend's guidance in 1983 by two of his patients, Michael Callen and Richard Berkowitz, in which this model is described. At the time, attempts to change sexual behaviour and the recommendation of condoms for gay sex met with criticism from many prominent gay community figures. Later, Sonnabend's advice regarding condoms would be accepted as fundamental to HIV prevention.
### Role in founding AIDS organisations
To help fund his research and that of other scientists—and because the CDC were dismissive of his expertise and uninterested in his assistance—Sonnabend contacted his friend Mathilde Krim to ask for help to fund his research. With Krim and others they established the AIDS Medical Foundation (AMF) in 1983. This organisation would later become amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, one of the world's leading nonprofit supporters of HIV/AIDS research, prevention and advocacy.
A pioneer of community-based research in the absence of effective government efforts, Sonnabend also helped to establish the nonprofit Community Research Initiative (CRI, later renamed CRIA, then ACRIA) in New York in 1987. One of CRI's early achievements was a trial that contributed to the approval of inhaled pentamidine for preventing Pneumocystis pneumonia, a common AIDS-related infection. Sonnabend served as medical director of CRI/CRIA until 1996.
Sonnabend was particularly concerned by the ethical issues around the AIDS crisis, winning the Nellie Westerman Prize for Research in Ethics with his co-authors in 1983 for the article "Confidentiality, Informed Consent and Untoward Social Consequences in Research on a 'New Killer Disease' (AIDS)" in the journal Clinical Research. He has written about how the AIDS crisis required a "more intimate" kind of practice; Dr Krim described that "he's the only doctor I know who goes to every funeral".
This concern led him to found the PWA Health Group with Michael Callen and Thomas Hannan in 1986. This non-profit organisation was the first and largest formally recognised AIDS buyers' club, which aimed to widen access to promising AIDS therapies not yet approved by the FDA; the PWA Health Group went on to become an important source of AIDS treatment education and advocacy. In 2000, PWA Health Group merged with Direct Aids Alternative Information Resources (DAAIR), but the combined organisation closed in 2003 and was superseded in July of the following year by the New York Buyers' Club.
## Controversies
As a revered physician, Sonnabend was renowned for protecting and promoting patients' rights. He did not shy away from criticising the scientific establishment when he felt it was failing to put patients' interests first. He often disagreed with mainstream opinion on AIDS.
### Views on AIDS treatment and causation
In the late 1980s, Sonnabend became a prominent critic of the use of AZT monotherapy to treat asymptomatic, HIV-positive people, which he thought was based on insufficient clinical evidence. Nevertheless, he did prescribe the drug in short courses for people with indications of elevated interferon, which he believed might play an important role in pathogenesis and could be controlled by AZT. In 2006 he expressed his view that high doses of AZT had "killed thousands" during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Until the late 1990s Sonnabend continued to assert that the issue of AIDS causation "remained open" and that many factors might be involved. This led some researchers and activists to associate him with "AIDS denialists" who deny that HIV has any role in AIDS—a charge that Sonnabend denied:
> I was kind of surprised to find myself on the outside. I had rather thought that I represented a kind of academic caution that I took for granted to be the norm. I always believed my criticisms were reasonable and not radical.
His unconventional views on the causes and treatment of AIDS led to accusations of malpractice; he says he was shunned by mainstream scientists and refused funding.
Sonnabend became an early advocate for combination antiretroviral therapy, which he prescribed to numerous patients. However he strongly disagreed with early US guidelines that recommended treating people during the initial stages of HIV infection (known as "hit early, hit hard").
The effects of modern medication helped to change Sonnabend's views on AIDS causation, leading him to assert that, "the evidence now strongly supports a role for HIV." Nevertheless, he still disagreed with the scientific consensus, and maintained that people infected with HIV only develop AIDS if exposed to cofactors such as other viruses and bacteria. He suggested that in many people HIV lies dormant without provoking a sufficient immune response to generate a positive antibody test result (seroconversion).
### Other controversial views
In the 1980s, Sonnabend criticised activists who he believed were overplaying the threat of a heterosexual AIDS epidemic in America, causing a rift that led to his resignation from AMF. He also suggested that much of the funding for fighting AIDS in Africa has been misspent:
> There's a place for AIDS drugs and prevention campaigns, but it's not the only answer. We need to roll out clean water and proper sanitation. Do something about nutrition. Put in some basic health infrastructure. Develop effective drugs for malaria and TB, and get them to everyone who needs them.
## Assessments of Sonnabend's career
Despite his unconventional and often controversial opinions, mainstream AIDS researchers have in recent years become less critical of Sonnabend, recognising his devotion as a physician and patients' champion. According to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:
> He is one of the true soldiers in the war against HIV. He is a model for a real translation of care to the patient. In terms of the controversy surrounding his work, I think, in general, at the end of the day, most would agree that his contributions have been positive. He is an outstanding man.
In 2005, he retired from medical practice and moved to London. On World AIDS Day that year, he was awarded a Red Ribbon Leadership Award from the National HIV/AIDS Partnership. In 2000, he was recognised as an inaugural Award of Courage Honoree by amfAR:
> Joseph Sonnabend, M.D., made Olympian contributions to the fight against AIDS during years when this was a lonely and thankless endeavor. He designed community-based clinical trials when there were few precedents for such research, and he displayed ethical and professional leadership in virtually every other AIDS-related field of action.
## Personal life
Sonnabend was gay, although he fathered two sons in his twenties and was at one time married.
His sister, Yolanda Sonnabend, was a stage designer and artist. His relationship with her was documented in the 2015 film Some Kind of Love.
He composed music throughout his life, and discussed his music on the radio programme Outlook on the BBC World Service in 2018.
|
[
"## Background",
"## Early AIDS work",
"### Multifactorial model of AIDS",
"### Role in founding AIDS organisations",
"## Controversies",
"### Views on AIDS treatment and causation",
"### Other controversial views",
"## Assessments of Sonnabend's career",
"## Personal life"
] | 2,227 | 19,363 |
3,532,785 |
Estoy Aquí
| 1,171,626,340 | null |
[
"1995 singles",
"1995 songs",
"Music videos directed by Simon Brand",
"Shakira songs",
"Songs written by Luis Fernando Ochoa",
"Songs written by Shakira",
"Sony Music singles",
"Spanish-language songs"
] |
"Estoy Aquí" (English: "I'm Here") is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, taken from her third studio album Pies Descalzos (1995). It was released in 1995 by Sony Music and Columbia Records as the lead single from the album. The song was written and produced by Shakira and Luis Fernando Ochoa. "Estoy Aquí" is a Latin pop song that lyrically discusses a willingness to correct a failed relationship.
Upon its release, "Estoy Aquí" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who recognized it as a stand-out track from Pies Descalzos. Additionally, it became Shakira's first recording to attain commercial success outside her native Colombia. The song peaked at numbers 1 and 2 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs and Latin Songs component charts. Its performance aided its parent album in becoming her breakthrough record, which eventually attained platinum certifications in Brazil, Colombia, and the United States. Its accompanying music video depicts Shakira performing the track, where she is often pictured with her guitar.
A Portuguese-language translation of the track titled "Estou Aqui" appeared on Shakira's first remix album The Remixes in 1997. An English-language version, "I Am Here", was leaked to the internet in 2011. The song has additionally been performed during six of the seven concert tours Shakira has held to date.
## Background and composition
Shakira released her first major-label studio album Pies Descalzos in 1995 by Sony Music and Columbia Records. Assuming a prominent position in its production, she co-wrote and co-produced each of the eleven tracks included on the record. Serviced as the lead single from the project in 1996, "Estoy Aquí" saw additional songwriting and production from Luis Fernando Ochoa. The track is heavily influenced by Latin pop elements, and makes use of prominent guitar instrumentation. Lyrically, it states a desire to amend a failed relationship. In English, the lyrics "lo que nos pasó no repetirá jamás" and "Estoy aquí queriéndote, ahogándome" translate to "what happened to us will never be repeated" and "I'm here wanting you, drowning", respectively. After attaining success with the original Spanish-language version, "Estoy Aquí" was re-recorded in Portuguese as "Estou Aqui" for Shakira's 1997 remix album The Remixes. An English-language version "I'm Here" was leaked in early-2011, but was not made available for digital download.
## Reception
Upon its release, "Estoy Aquí" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who recognized it as a stand-out track from Pies Descalzos. Carlos Quintana of About.com complimented the track for featuring a "vibrant dancing flavor", and placed it among his personal favorites from the record. Similarly, Jose F. Promis from Allmusic praised it for serving as an "infectious and melodic" opening track, going on to select the song as an album highlight. The song received a nomination for Pop Song of the Year at the 1997 Lo Nuestro Awards, but lost to "Experiencia Religiosa" by Enrique Iglesias.
"Estoy Aquí" became Shakira's first recording to attain commercial success. The song peaked at numbers 1 and 2 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs and Latin Songs component charts. Its commercial performance aided its parent album in becoming her breakthrough record, which eventually attained platinum certifications in Brazil, and the United States. Pies Descalzos was also awarded the "Diamond Prism" award in Colombia.
In 1996, "Estoy Aquí" was included in the reissue of Pies Descalzos, titled Colección de Oro. In 2002, it was featured as the opening track for Shakira's first greatest hits album Grandes Éxitos.
## Music video
"Estoy Aquí" became the first track by Shakira to receive an accompanying music video, which was directed by Simon Brand. The setting depicts a barn during the various weather seasons, and shows Shakira performing the song, accompanied with a guitar in most scenes. The clip was met with a favorable response from her label Sony Music, and was also met with commercial success. Consequentially, executives decided to place additional emphasis on promoting Pies Descalzos if it were to exceed sales of 50,000 copies. John Lannert from Billboard positively noted that her voice and appearance "jumps out at you". In Colombia, it was recognized as the "Best Video" at the Asociación Colombiana de Periodistas del Espectáculo (ACPE) Awards. After the huge success of the single in Latin America and Spain, Shakira filmed an alternate music video for the song, directed by French photographer and filmmaker Christophe Gstalder, this music video was used to promote the song in European countries and was marketed as "Estoy Aquí (European Mix)". This alternate music video depicts Shakira playing the guitar and dancing, posing seductively behind an aquarium and setting her guitar on fire. This alternate video also has the English version called "I Am Here" but was never released. However, the clip appeared on a French television interview Star Story.
## Live performances
Shakira has performed "Estoy Aquí" during six of her seven concert tours thus far. She first performed the track in Mexico City during her Tour Pies Descalzos, which ran from 1996 through 1997. It was also included during the Tour Anfibio and Tour of the Mongoose, held in support of her second and third studio albums Dónde Están los Ladrones? and Laundry Service, respectively. The song was additionally performed during the Oral Fixation Tour, which became her largest tour to date. In place of its inclusion in The Sun Comes Out World Tour, "Estoy Aquí" was performed in Rio de Janeiro as part of Rock in Rio in 2011. Later in 2018 the song served as an opening song for her El Dorado World Tour.
In August 1999, Shakira sang "Estoy Aquí" during an episode of MTV Unplugged in New York City. In February 2000, the performance was included in the live album of the event. At the 12th Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in 2011, Mexican singer-songwriter Aleks Syntek performed a live cover of the song as part of the Latin Grammys tribute to Shakira, where she was honored Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.
## Cover versions
Mexican singer-songwriter Carla Morrison released an acoustic version of the song on February 4, 2022.
## Track listings
CD single
1. "Estoy Aquí"
2. "Te Espero Sentada"
CD single - Brazil version
1. "Estou Aqui"
Remix EP
1. "Estoy Aquí" (The Love & House Mix)
2. "Estoy Aquí" (The Love & House Radio Edit)
3. "Estoy Aquí" (Extended Club Mix)
4. "Estoy Aquí" (The Radio Edit)
5. "Estoy Aquí" (Meme's Timbalero Dub)
6. "Estoy Aquí" (The Love & Tears Mix)
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## See also
- List of Billboard Latin Pop Airplay number ones of 1996
|
[
"## Background and composition",
"## Reception",
"## Music video",
"## Live performances",
"## Cover versions",
"## Track listings",
"## Charts",
"### Weekly charts",
"### Year-end charts",
"## See also"
] | 1,560 | 11,745 |
4,529,062 |
Time Gal
| 1,169,495,352 |
1992 interactive movie video game
|
[
"1985 video games",
"Android (operating system) games",
"Arcade video games",
"Full motion video based games",
"IOS games",
"Interactive movie video games",
"LaserDisc video games",
"MSX games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"PlayStation (console) games",
"Science fantasy video games",
"Sega CD games",
"Sega Saturn games",
"Sharp X1 games",
"Taito arcade games",
"Taito games",
"Telenet Japan games",
"Toei Animation video game projects",
"Video games about dinosaurs",
"Video games about time travel",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games featuring female protagonists"
] |
is an interactive movie video game developed and published by Taito and Toei Company, and originally released as a laserdisc game in Japan for the arcades in 1985. It is an action game which uses full motion video (FMV) to display the on-screen action. The player must correctly choose the on-screen character's actions to progress the story. The pre-recorded animation for the game was produced by Toei Animation.
The game is set in a fictional future where time travel is possible. The protagonist, Reika, travels to different time periods in search of a criminal, Luda, from her time. After successfully tracking down Luda, Reika prevents his plans to alter the past. Time Gal was inspired by the success of earlier laserdisc video games that used pre-recorded animation, including Dragon's Lair (1983) and the previous Taito/Toei collaboration Ninja Hayate (1984), while Reika's character design bears similarities to the anime characters Lum (from Urusei Yatsura) and Yuri (from Dirty Pair).
The game was later ported to the Sega CD for a worldwide release, and also to the LaserActive in Japan. The Sega CD version received a generally favorable reception from critics.
## Gameplay
Time Gal is an interactive movie game that uses pre-recorded animation rather than sprites to display the on-screen action. Gameplay is divided into levels, referred to as time periods. The game begins in 3001 AD with the theft of a time travel device. The thief, Luda, steals the device to take over the world by changing history. Reika, the protagonist also known as Time Gal, uses her own time travel device to pursue him; she travels to different time periods, such as 70,000,000 BC, 44 BC, 1588 AD, and 2010 AD, in search of Luda. Each time period is a scenario that presents a series of threats that must be avoided or confronted. Successfully navigating the sequences allows the player to progress to another period.
The player uses a joystick and button to input commands, though home versions use a game controller with a directional pad. As the game progresses, visual cues—highlighted portions of the background or foreground—will appear on the screen to help survive the dangers that occur throughout the stage; more difficult settings omit the visual cues. Depending on the location of the cue, the player will input one of four directions (up, down, left and right) or an attack (shoot the target with a laser gun). Inputting the correct command will either avoid or neutralize the threats and progress the game, while incorrect choices result in the character's death. Reika dying too many times results in a game over. Specific moments in the game involve Reika stopping time. During these moments, players are presented with a list of three options and have seven seconds to choose the one which will save the character.
## Development
The game uses LaserDisc technology to stream pre-recorded animation, which was produced by Japanese studio Toei Animation. The game features raster graphics on a CRT monitor and amplified monaural sound. Mike Toole and Jeff Kapalka noted similarities between Reika's visual character design and Lum from Urusei Yatsura as well as Yuri from Dirty Pair; they speculated that the anime characters provided inspiration for Reika. Several factors prevented an overseas release: a decline in the popularity of laserdisc arcade games in the mid-80s, the expensive price of laserdisc technology, and difficulty to translate. In the original Japanese release, Reika is voiced by Yuriko Yamamoto.
## Release
Since its original release to the arcades in Japan in 1985, Time Gal has been ported to different home formats. It was first released exclusively in Japan by Nippon Victor on the Video High Density format. The release of Sega CD console in 1991 spawned numerous games that took advantage of the CD technology to introduce interactive FMVs. Among the new titles, Time Gal was one of several older laserdisc-based games that were ported to the system. Renovation Products acquired the rights to publish Time Gal on the Sega CD, with Wolf Team handling development. They released it, along with similar games, as part of their "Action-Reaction" series. It was first released in Japan in November 1992, and in North America and Europe the next year. A Macintosh version was also released in Japan in 1994.
American press coverage of the Japanese release prompted video game enthusiasts to contact Renovations about a Western release. The number of requests persuaded Renovation's president, Hide Irie, to announce a release in the USA. In addition to being dubbed in English, a few death scenes in the US version were censored. The Sega CD version uses a smaller color palette than the original, includes a video gallery that requires passwords to view each level's animation sequences, and features new opening and ending themes by Shinji Tamura and Motoi Sakuraba, respectively. Time Gal was ported to the PlayStation in 1996 as a compilation with Ninja Hayate, another laserdisc arcade game developed by Taito. This release lacks the Sega CD version's additional content but features a more accurate reproduction of the animation. The compilation was also released on the Sega Saturn the following year. The game can also be played on the Pioneer LaserActive via the Sega Mega-LD module. The LaserActive version is the rarest home release of Time Gal, as well as one of the most expensive on the system among collectors.
On April 1, 2017, Taito Classics announced that they would release several of their older games onto mobile devices, with Time Gal being its first release. The game was later released in Japan on April 5, 2017. A navigational function and a gallery of the game's original concept art are available for purchase as microtransactions.
## Reception
GamePro magazine noted that "Japanese players ate it up" when it first released in Japanese arcades. However, GameSetWatch's Todd Ciolek believed it was released too late in the life of LaserDisc games, and that players "were getting tired" of the genre's gameplay. He further commented that, despite its gameplay, it was unique and charming. GamePro's reviewer referred to the arcade game as a "lost, laserdisc treasure", and was enthusiastic about its Sega CD release. He called the death sequences "hilarious" and felt they reduced the tediousness of dying. MEGA magazine rated the Sega CD version the number five CD game, commenting that though it lacked difficulty, it was a good showcase of the system. Prior to its Sega CD release, Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the use of CD technology and felt it would be followed by titles with similar gameplay.
Critics praised Time Gal's visuals. GameFan magazine, in praising Wolf Team's port of the game, complimented the Sega CD version's graphics and short load times. GamePro said the animation is "great, with bright, vivid colors, and fast-paced, exciting movement" and praised the "funny gameplay" and "nonstop action". Chris Bieniek of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment criticized the story as "nonsensical" and said that while the unlockable video gallery is a nice feature, it effectively eliminates any replay value, which compounds the easiness of the game to give it very low longevity. He nonetheless recommended Time Gal, based chiefly on the gameplay: "Though you never really feel like you're in control of Time Gal's movements, the zany action has an undeniable appeal that takes up a lot of the slack." Shawn Sackenheim of AllGame complimented the animation, calling it "high quality", but criticized the Sega CD graphics, calling them "downgraded". He commented that, though Time Gal offered a good thrill, it lacked replay value. Ciolek echoed similar statements, saying it is more enjoyable to watch than to play. He further commented that the game is frustrating and rigid when compared to more contemporary standards. Electronic Gaming Monthly's group of reviewers praised the Sega CD version's graphics quality. Three of the four reviewers lauded the gameplay, specifically the challenge and format. The other reviewer stated he didn't care for this type of game, referring to the gameplay as "nothing more than memorizing".
## Legacy
IGN's Levi Buchanan listed interactive movie games like Time Gal as one of the reasons behind the Sega CD's commercial failure, citing them as a waste of the system's capabilities. In describing the cinematic gameplay in the 2009 action game Ninja Blade, producer Masanori Takeuchi attributed the quick time event game mechanic featured in his title to laserdisc games like Dragon's Lair and Time Gal.
Todd Ciolek referred to the protagonist as one of the first human heroines in the industry. He further added that Reika was an appealing lead character that Taito could have easily turned into a mascot and featured in other games and media. The character was later included in Alfa System's shooting game Castle of Shikigami III—Taito published the arcade version in Japan. In the game, Reika features attacks and personality similar to her original debut as well as an updated visual design. Reika's also appeared in the 2011 Elevator Action remake Elevator Action Deluxe as one part of downloadable content.
In July 2023, a sequel titled Time Gal Re:Birth was revealed to be included as a bonus downloadable content pack for the Taito LD Game Collection. It will follow a new character named Luna, who is sent on a mission to stop the villain Luda as well as Reika. The collection will also include an HD remaster of the original game as part of the base game.
|
[
"## Gameplay",
"## Development",
"## Release",
"## Reception",
"## Legacy"
] | 2,004 | 2,632 |
9,866,289 |
John Balchen
| 1,123,881,558 |
Royal Navy admiral
|
[
"1670 births",
"1744 deaths",
"British military personnel of the Nine Years' War",
"British military personnel of the War of the Quadruple Alliance",
"British naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession",
"Deaths due to shipwreck at sea",
"Knights Bachelor",
"Military personnel from Surrey",
"People from Godalming",
"Royal Navy admirals",
"Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession"
] |
Admiral of the White Sir John Balchen (2 February 1670 – 4 October 1744), sometimes written as Balchin, was an officer of the British Royal Navy with a long and distinguished career during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In the course of his service at sea, Balchen saw action in numerous battles against the French and Spanish navies across 60 years and three separate wars. He was twice captured by the French in action, both times being exonerated and commended for the defence of his ships against overwhelming odds.
Balchen died in the shipwreck of the 100-gun first-rate HMS Victory off the Casquets in the Channel Islands during operations to deter French blockading of Spanish and Portuguese ports during the War of the Austrian Succession. A capable and efficient officer, Balchen never found the wealth and prestige fellow officers secured in other commissions, a fact which remained a source of frustration to him until his elevation to knighthood shortly before his death.
## Nine Years' War
Balchen was born in February 1670, the only surviving child of John Balchen, gentleman, and his wife, Ann Edspur. Home educated, Balchen took a commission in the Royal Navy aged 15 and, seven years later, gained promotion to lieutenant. For most of this period Balchen was stationed in the West Indies and, during his service there, was lucky in his health; the West Indies command was considered very dangerous during this period, mortality rates amongst sailors stationed there being very high due to malaria and yellow fever. The high death rate led to rapid promotion for those who survived, and Balchen was made Post Captain at the relatively young age of 27 during the Nine Years' War. Balchen had spent the war aboard HMS Dragon and HMS Cambridge under Admiral John Neville, who was impressed enough with his subordinate to give him command of the prize ship HMS Virgin, the safe conduct of which to England earned him the step to captain.
## War of the Spanish Succession
As with the majority of the Royal Navy, Balchen was placed in reserve at the war's conclusion and returned to England to await further deployment. Whilst there, he married Susannah Apreece, daughter of an army colonel. The marriage produced six children, two of whom survived into adulthood; Frances, who later married Temple West (Vice Admiral Temple West) and George, who followed his father into the Navy. In 1701, Balchen was again at sea, commanding the small fireships HMS Firebrand and then HMS Vulcan with Sir George Rooke's fleet off the Spanish coast at the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession. He was probably engaged during the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702, where Rooke's fleet captured a Spanish treasure fleet and was instrumental in the capture of the 56-gun Modéré, which he went on to briefly command as HMS Modéré.
In 1703, Balchen was transferred to the 44-gun frigate HMS Adventure in the North Sea. This was an area of great importance to the British war effort due to the convoys carrying naval supplies from Scandinavia, which crossed it regularly. The commission, however, yielded few opportunities in the way of prize money. The next year, he was transferred to the 54-gun HMS Chester, with which he was dispatched to the West African Coast, a region considered almost as fatal as the West Indies. Surviving once again, Balchen remained in the Chester and was attached to the convoys bound for Portugal and Virginia.
Balchen suffered his first defeat on 10 October 1707. Leaving the safety of Portsmouth harbour, his convoy was ambushed by a French squadron under Forbin and Duguay-Trouin, in what became the Battle at the Lizard. Although the dozen French warships were larger and stronger than the convoy escorts, Balchen took his ship into battle with the other warship captains. This action allowed the merchant convoy time to disperse and escape. The ensuing battle was one-sided, with the French warships battering three English ships into submission over several hours, including Balchen's command, which had been boarded by three French ships of the line. One British warship escaped, but HMS Devonshire exploded with the loss of nearly 900 lives. The French captured just 15 merchant ships from the hundreds in the convoy, as most made English ports before their pursuers could catch them.
Briefly a prisoner in France, Balchen, as an officer, was allowed to return to England on parole, where a court martial exonerated him for the loss of his ship and commended him for a brave defence. In 1709, he was formally exchanged for a French officer and returned to naval service, receiving command of the newly built 60-gun HMS Gloucester in August. Leaving Spithead on his first cruise in October, he had been at sea for just a few hours when Duguay-Trouin again appeared with a squadron of five ships of the line. Unable to outrun his opponents, Balchen engaged the 74-gun flagship Lis before being forced to surrender after being dismasted and threatened with boarding.
Balchen was exchanged almost immediately and the court martial, once again, exonerated him from all blame for the loss of his ship. He was rewarded for his bravery with command of HMS Colchester in 1710, in which, on 9 November, Balchen secured his first prize, a 20-gun French privateer which he outran in a gale. In 1712 and 1713, Balchen was in the Mediterranean under Sir John Jennings and returned home in 1713 for a period of unemployment on shore. With the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1715, Balchen was returned to sea in the 40-gun frigate HMS Diamond, which he used in the suppression of piracy in the West Indies until 1716. The same year, he received the shore position commanding the guardship HMS Orford in the Medway.
## War of the Quadruple Alliance
In 1718, war once again broke out and experienced officers were immediately given sea postings, Balchen in the 80-gun HMS Shrewsbury in the fleet of Sir George Byng. Arriving in the Mediterranean, Vice-Admiral Charles Cornewall made Shrewsbury his flagship and Balchen his flag captain, a position which remained until December of that year. In July 1718, Shrewsbury had been engaged at the Battle of Cape Passaro, at which a Spanish fleet had been comprehensively defeated; Balchen's first great naval action and his first major victory.
In May 1719, Balchen was given command of the 70-gun HMS Monmouth under Sir John Norris, and served in the Baltic and North Seas until 1722. In 1722, Balchen took over the guardship HMS Ipswich at Spithead and, in 1726, returned to the Monmouth for further service in the Baltic under Norris and Sir Charles Wager. In 1727 Balchen was part of a mission to resupply besieged Gibraltar, although, by the time the fleet arrived, the siege had been broken. In 1728, Balchen received promotion to Rear-Admiral. In 1731, after a period in command of the 60-gun HMS Dreadnought, Balchen took over the 80-gun HMS Princess Amelia and commanded her in support of a Spanish landing at Livorno. Balchen returned in December and, in 1734, was promoted to Vice-Admiral, spending the next five years at his estates in England.
## War of the Austrian Succession
At the outbreak of the War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain in 1739, Balchen commanded a squadron of seven ships off the Spanish Atlantic Coast. Tasked with intercepting Spanish convoys, Balchen was almost caught by a superior Spanish squadron, which forced him to withdraw deeper into the Atlantic. For several weeks, this provoked rumours in Britain that his force had been destroyed, until he got word to the Admiralty of his hurried retreat. During the next two years, Balchen spent most of his time on convoy duty and came to resent younger and more active officers who made substantial fortunes from prize money, like Edward Vernon. He confided to a friend in 1741:
> "[We] have Nobody spoke of Now but Mr. Virnon; he has all the Glory, and success pursues him. The West Indie people will be so Rich there wont be Roome for them to purchase Lands; whilst I am forced to drudge from place to place for Nothing." [Sic]
## Loss of the Victory
In March 1743 Balchen received the command of the Greenwich Naval Hospital and an annual pension of £600, . Balchen chafed at being forced to remain ashore and was not pleased when he was forcibly retired in April 1744, aged 74. Two months later, however, Balchen was recalled up to the Admiralty. A fleet of 25 British and Dutch ships had been raised in a hurry to rescue a British squadron and convoy under Sir Charles Hardy, which had been trapped in the Tagus by a French Brest squadron. Due to a shortage of officers of sufficient experience and seniority to command a fleet of this kind, Balchen was called up at short notice and rewarded with a knighthood.
Balchen's fleet was successful in driving off the French, who retired in the face of his superior fleet without firing a shot, and Hardy's convoy was escorted safely to Gibraltar. On the way to the Portuguese Coast, Balchen finally made his fortune in prize money, capturing six heavily laden French West Indiamen. On his return journey however, the fleet was sailing through the Western Approaches in early October when it was hit by a violent storm. Scattered across the Channel, they one by one returned to England in a battered and leaking condition until, a few days later, only HMS Victory was missing. Victory, Balchen's flagship, was, at the time, one of the largest ships in the world, holding a broadside of 100 guns. She was also very new, having been completed less than seven years before.
Frigates were dispatched across the English Channel to search for the missing battleship, which was last seen on the horizon on 4 October. Captain Thomas Grenville of the frigate HMS Falkland landed at Guernsey in the Channel Islands to reprovision and there heard from locals that wreckage and part of a topmast had washed up on the island's shores. Further investigation proved that the wreckage had indeed come from the Victory, which was believed to have run into the Casquets, a group of rocks nearby. Other wreckage was washed up on Jersey and Alderney, whose inhabitants had heard distress guns the night before the wreck but were unable to provide aid in the severe storm. Of the 1,150 sailors aboard Victory, none was ever recovered. In 2008, the wreck of Victory was found approximately 100 km (62 miles) from the Casquets.
## Legacy
Balchen's death was met with national mourning in Britain, where he was regarded as an expert and veteran commander of great talent in seamanship, tactics and ship construction. He was also very popular with sailors below decks, having fought for them in the Admiralty over issues such as allowing volunteer seamen to transfer ship when their captain did the same and giving trustworthy sailors shore visiting privileges. His widow was allowed a pension of £500 a year following her husband's death and the consequent end of his income whilst his son George received a promotion to post captain. George, however, did not long outlive his father, dying of illness in Barbados the following year, aged only 28. His daughter, Frances, married British naval officer Temple West, best known for his role as second-in-command to Admiral John Byng in the Battle of Minorca (1756).
A large memorial to Balchen's memory was raised in Westminster Abbey, sculpted by Peter Scheemakers where it can still be seen. The relief commemorates Balchen's career, that of his son and also the men lost on the Victory in 1744 who have no other permanent memorial. Balchen is remembered in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "a hard-working, thoroughgoing professional, recognised for his readiness to accept duty whenever and wherever required."
## In popular media
Actor Charles Gray was cast as Adm. Balchen in the TV series, Longitude in 2000.
## Other sources
|
[
"## Nine Years' War",
"## War of the Spanish Succession",
"## War of the Quadruple Alliance",
"## War of the Austrian Succession",
"## Loss of the Victory",
"## Legacy",
"## In popular media",
"## Other sources"
] | 2,586 | 14,062 |
55,607,425 |
Asafo Aumua
| 1,173,139,173 | null |
[
"1997 births",
"Hurricanes (rugby union) players",
"Living people",
"New Zealand international rugby union players",
"New Zealand rugby union players",
"New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent",
"Rugby union hookers",
"Rugby union players from Lower Hutt",
"Wellington rugby union players"
] |
Asafo Junior Aumua (/aʊˈmuːə/; born 5 May 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for New Zealand franchise Hurricanes and the New Zealand national team. In his youth, he was selected to play in the 2016 and 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championships for New Zealand.
Aumua represents the Wellington provincial team and made his professional debut for the union in 2016 at the age of 19. He spent two seasons at the Bunnings NPC side, before earning a place in the Hurricanes 2018 Super Rugby squad. He won a championship with Wellington in 2017 and was named NZRU Age Grade Player of the Year. He has scored 38 career tries in all competitions. Aumua made his senior international debut for New Zealand in November 2017 at the age of 20, becoming one of the youngest players to represent New Zealand. He played in the 2017 northern end-of-year tour.
## Early life
Asafo Junior Aumua was born on 5 May 1997 in Wellington, the son of Tautua and Lisa Aumua. The Aumua family are of Samoan descent. Growing up in Naenae, he attended Naenae Intermediate School and St. Patrick's College Silverstream. While at secondary school, Aumua was chosen to play for Silverstream first XV at the age of fifteen. He spent three years representing the side, winning two regional sevens titles and was a part of two unbeaten runs through the round robin of the WelTec premiership. In rugby sevens, Aumua was named player of the tournament at the Marist College event, and joined the New Zealand Marist sevens squad for their tour of Samoa. He primarily played hooker, but also played second five-eighth, prop, and number 8 at first XV level.
After his last year at Silverstream, Aumua was enrolled into the 26-man New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia. He was involved in a 24-point victory over Australian Schoolboys, where he scored a try that was recognized by Green and Gold Rugby journalist Nic Darveniza as try of the match, extending New Zealand's lead in the second half. Aumua was one of six Wellington players to represent New Zealand at the World Rugby Under 20 Championships in Manchester in June 2016. The following year, he was named to travel to Tbilisi, in his second Under 20 World Championship campaign. New Zealand won their sixth title after defeating England 64–17 in a record score in a final, scoring ten tries to three. Aumua scored a hat-trick, including one solo try in which he beat no less than six defenders. He became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a final.
## Professional career
### 2016–18
During the 2016 season, at 19 years old, he made his first professional team debut when he came on as a reserve forward during the opening match against Hawke's Bay at McLean Park. Representing the Wellington under-19 team in Taupō, Aumua was ordered back after Leni Apisai failed concussion protocols in preparation against Northland. He scored three tries in the fixture, making him just the fourth hooker to register a hat-trick in the competition's history. Aumua was the side's leading try-scorer with six in 10 games.
His performance at national age grade level in 2017 impressed Wellington head coach Chris Gibbes ahead of the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup, and he was subsequently renamed in the squad for their upcoming season. Aumua started well for Wellington, scoring three tries through the first three games of the competition. His scoring ability was noted after beating outside back defender George Bridge for a 60 metres (66 yards) solo try. It saw Aumua place fourth-equal in the overall leading try-scorers with fellow front rower and teammate, Alex Fidow on seven tries each.
Following his 2017 provincial campaign, Aumua was called up into the All Blacks for the 2017 end of year tour despite the fact that he had not even made his Super Rugby debut. He debuted for New Zealand alongside Matt Duffie and Tim Perry against the Barbarian F.C. in November 2017, replacing Nathan Harris off the bench in the 67th minute. Aumua was denied a potential try due to a forward pass from Hurricanes team-mate Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, but the All Blacks still managed to beat the Barbarians 31–22. He also replaced Harris off the bench 10 days later in a midweek game against a French XV selection, helping New Zealand win 28–23. Because neither of those fixtures was tests, Aumua would still await his test debut.
Aumua made his debut for the Hurricanes, against the Canterbury-based side the Crusaders, on 10 March 2018 during round 4 of the 2018 Super Rugby season. Aumua replaced Ricky Riccitelli in the second half of the match, with the Hurricanes winning against the Crusaders 29–19. Aumua performed well in all four of his 2018 Super Rugby appearances but was ruled out for the rest of the 2018 Super Rugby season due to a fractured wrist sustained against the Sharks during a narrow 38–37 victory in April 2018. Aumua's rehabilitation period was scheduled for 12 weeks.
Following a wrist injury, Aumua appeared in Wellington's 31-man squad announcement after head coach Chris Gibbes released their premiership side in August 2018. He made his return to play for Wellington in week one of the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup competition against Otago. At seasons-end Aumua appeared in their away semi-final, against Auckland and was re-called to the New Zealand squad to prepare for Japan in November for the 2018 end of year tour. Aumua's re-call to the All Blacks unfortunately saw him fail to make the field, with Hurricanes Captain, Dane Coles, returning from injury.
### 2019–21
Aumua rejoined the Hurricanes squad for their upcoming season after head coach John Plumtree named his inclusion during the 2019 Super Rugby side announcement in October 2018. He made his first appearance of 2019 against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato on 15 March. Aumua picked up a concussion in the last minute of the Chiefs match and was rested for a week. Dane Coles' ongoing run of injuries saw Aumua start in most games of the Super Rugby season, with Coles eventually returning to captain the team in the playoffs.
Aumua played well throughout early 2019, displacing Nathan Harris from the New Zealand squad for the 2019 Rugby Championship. Aumua, however, failed to make his test debut during the competition, with the form of Liam Coltman proving too strong. This saw Aumua as one of five players to be dropped, on 1 August, following a test against South Africa. After being released from international duties, Aumua missed the first-round match against Tasman but returned as one of four changes that were named to play against Hawke's Bay in Napier for the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup. He scored a brace against Waikato to help secure Wellington a home semi-final with a bonus-point win.
Aumua impressed in the inaugural game of the 2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa season after showcasing big tackles and charge downs. In round two, he scored the Hurricanes only try of the game against the Crusaders after an offload from Ngani Laumape to put Aumua in with just ten minutes to go to draw the game at 25 points each. With Dane Coles suffering a minor injury, made way for Aumua to make his first start in the competition against the Highlanders. In August, New Zealand Rugby and the Hurricanes secured a contract extension for Aumua through until 2023.
After the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, it was confirmed an historic one-off North versus South match was to be played in Wellington with no fans. Aumua was selected to take part in the fixture, starting at hooker. The match was classed as a trail for players to be selected in the New Zealand international side. He was recalled into the side by new head coach Ian Foster in a 35-man squad. Before being assembled for international duties, Aumua among other national players played in the Mitre 10 Cup prior to travelling. He played in two matches for Wellington in the first two weeks of the competition. After missing the first test in Auckland, Aumua traveled to Australia for the 2020 Tri Nations Series. He made his first test appearance against Australia along with Akira Ioane, Cullen Grace, and Will Jordan.
## Statistics
Updated: 5 June 2022 Source: Asafo J Aumua Rugby History
### List of international test tries
Updated: 5 June 2022 Source: Asafo J Aumua Statsguru
|
[
"## Early life",
"## Professional career",
"### 2016–18",
"### 2019–21",
"## Statistics",
"### List of international test tries"
] | 1,924 | 28,411 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.