title: Tumulus

text: At the Inner Niger Delta, in the Mali Lakes Region, there are two monumental tumuli constructed in the time period of the Trans-Saharan trade for the Sahelian kingdoms of West Africa. The El Oualadji monumental tumulus, which dates between 1030 AD and 1220 AD and has two human remains buried with horse remains and various items (e.g., horse harnesses, horse trappings with plaques and bells, bracelets, rings, beads, iron items), may have been, as highlighted by al-Bakri, the royal burial site of a king from the Ghana Empire. The Koï Gourrey monumental tumulus, which may date prior to 1326 AD and has over twenty human remains that were buried with various items (e.g., iron accessories, an abundant amount of copper bracelets, anklets and beads, an abundant amount of broken, but whole pottery, another set of distinct, intact, glazed pottery, a wooden-beaded bone necklace, a bird figurine, a lizard figurine, a crocodile figurine), and is situated within the Mali Empire.


title: Tumulus

text: The word kurgan is of Turkic origin, derives from Proto-Turkic *Kur- ("to erect (a building), to establish"). In Ukraine and Russia, there are royal kurgans of Varangian chieftains, such as the Black Grave in Ukrainian Chernihiv (excavated in the 19th century), Oleg's Grave in Russian Staraya Ladoga, and vast, intricate Rurik's Hill near Russian Novgorod. Other important kurgans are found in Ukraine and South Russia and are associated with much more ancient steppe peoples, notably the Scythians (e.g., Chortomlyk, Pazyryk) and early Indo-Europeans (e.g., Ipatovo kurgan) The steppe cultures found in Ukraine and South Russia naturally continue into Central Asia, in particular Kazakhstan.


title: Tumulus

text: It is constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asia and Eastern, Southeast, Western and Northern Europe during the 3rd millennium BC.


title: Tumulus

text: The earliest kurgans date to the 4th millennium BC in the Caucasus, and researchers associate these with the Indo-Europeans. Kurgans were built in the Eneolithic, Bronze, Iron, Antiquity and Middle Ages, with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia.


title: Tumulus

text: On the Anatolian peninsula, there are several sites where one can find the biggest specimens of these artificial mounds throughout the world. Three of these sites are especially important. Bin Tepeler (and other Lydian mounds of the Aegean inland), Phrygian mounds in Gordium (Central Anatolia), and the famous Commagene tumulus on the Mount Nemrut (Southeastern Anatolia).


title: Tumulus

text: This is the most important of the enumerated sites with the number of specimens it has and with the dimensions of certain among them. It is in the Aegean inland of Turkey. The site is called "Bin Tepeler" (a thousand mounds in Turkish) and it is in the northwest of Salihli district of Manisa province. The site is very close to the southern shoreline of Lake Marmara (Lake Gyges or Gygaea). Bin Tepeler is a Lydian necropolis that dates back to 7th and 6th centuries BC. These mounds are called "the pyramids of Anatolia", as a giant specimen among them is 355 metres in diameter, 1115 metres in perimeter and 69 metres high. According to Herodotus, this giant tumulus belongs to the famous Lydian King Alyattes who ruled between 619 and 560 BC. There is also another mound belonging to King Gyges. The Gyges mound was excavated but the burial chamber hasn't been found yet. In this site, there are 75 tumuli dating back to Lydian period that belong to the nobility. A large number of smaller artificial mounds can also be observed in the site. There are other Lydian tumuli sites around Eşme district of Uşak province. Certain mounds in these sites had been plundered by raiders in the late 1960s, and the Lydian treasures found in their burial chambers were smuggled to the United States, which later returned them to Turkish authorities after negotiations. These artifacts are now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Uşak.


title: Tumulus

text: Gordium (Gordion) was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Phrygia. Its ruins are in the immediate vicinity of Polatlı, near the Turkish capital Ankara. At this site, approximately 80–90 tumuli date back to the Phrygian, Persian and Hellenistic periods. Around 35 tumuli have been excavated so far, ranging in date from the 8th century BC to the 3rd or 2nd century BC. The biggest tumulus at the site is believed to have covered the burial of the famous Phrygian King Midas or that of his father. This mound, called Tumulus MM (for "Midas Mound"), was excavated in 1957 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania Museum, led by Rodney Young and his graduate students. Among the many fine bronze artifacts recovered from the wooden burial chamber were 170 bronze vessels, including numerous "omphalos bowls", and more than 180 bronze "Phrygian fibulae" (ancient safety pins). The wooden furniture found in the tomb is especially noteworthy, as wood seldom survives from archaeological contexts: the collection included nine tables, one of them elaborately carved and inlaid, and two ceremonial serving stands inlaid with religious symbols and geometric patterns. Important bronze and wooden artifacts were also found in other tumulus burials at the site.


title: Tumulus

text: The Mount Nemrut is 86 km in the east of Adıyaman province of Turkey. It is very close to Kahta district of the same province. The mountain has, at its peak, 3050 metres of height above the sea level. A tumulus that dates to the 1st century BC is at the peak of the mountain. This artificial mound has 150 metres of diameter and a height of 50 metres, which was originally 55 metres. It belongs to the Commagene King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene who ruled between 69 and 40 BC. This tumulus is made of broken stone pieces, which renders excavation attempts almost impossible. The tumulus is surrounded by ceremonial terraces in the east, west, and north. The east and west terraces have tremendous statues (reaching 8 to 10 meters of height) and bas reliefs of gods and goddesses from the Commagene pantheon where divine figures used to embody the Persian and Roman perceptions together.


title: Tumulus

text: A tumulus forms the center of the ancient megalithic structure of Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights. Rujm in Arabic can mean tumulus, cairn or stone heap. Near the western city limits of modern Jerusalem, 19 tumuli have been documented (Amiran, 1958). Though first noticed in the 1870s by early surveyors, the first one to be formally documented was Tumulus #2 in 1923 by William Foxwell Albright, and the most recent one (Tumulus #4) was excavated by Gabriel Barkay in 1983. The association of these tumuli with the Judean kings who ruled Jerusalem does not substantiate Biblical history since it is mere speculation. No inscriptions naming any specific Judean king have been excavated from a tumulus.


title: Tumulus

text: The Ahom kingdom in medieval Assam built octagonal tumuli called Maidams for their kings and high officials. The kings were buried in a hillock at Charaideo in Sibsagar district of Assam, whereas other Maidams are found scattered more widely.


title: Tumulus

text: The "damb" was a type of mound, or small stone structure, found in Balochistan, including the coastal areas of Makran.


title: Tumulus

text: Before the expansion of Shang and Zhou culture through the region, many hundreds of tumuli were also constructed by the "Baiyue" peoples of the Yangtze valley and southeastern China.


title: Tumulus

text: In Japan, powerful leaders built tumuli known as "kofun". The Kofun period of Japanese history takes its name from these burial mounds. The largest is Daisen-ryo Kofun, or more commonly Nintoku-ryo Kofun, with a length of 840 metres. In addition to other shapes, kofun include a keyhole shape, typically seen in Daisen Kofun. Foreign museums possess some grave goods.


title: Tumulus

text: The first burial mounds in Korea were dolmens, which contained material from cultures of the 1st millennium AD, such as bronze-ware, pottery, and other symbols of society elite. The most famous tumuli in Korea, dating around 300 AD, are those left behind by the Korean Baekje, Goguryeo (Kogyuro/Koguryo), Silla, and Gaya states and are clustered around ancient capital cities in modern-day Pyongyang, Ji'an, Jilin, Seoul, and Gyeongju. The Goguryeo tombs, shaped like pyramids, are famous for the well-preserved wall murals like the ones at Anak Tomb No.3, which depict the culture and artistry of the people. The base of the tomb of King Gwanggaeto is 85 meters on each side, half of the size of the Great Pyramids. Goguryeo Silla tombs are most noted for the fabulous offerings that have been excavated such as delicate golden crowns and glassware and beads that probably made their way to Korea via the Silk Road. Many indigenous Korean artifacts and culture were transmitted to the tomb builders of early Japan, such as horsetrappings, bronze mirrors, paintings and iron-ware.


title: Tumulus

text: Tumuli are one of the most prominent types of prehistoric monuments spread throughout northern and southern Albania. Some well-known local tumuli are:


title: Tumulus

text: More than 50 burial mounds were found in Kupres. Man from Kupres – the skeleton found in one of the tumuli is believed to be more than 3000 years old and it is kept in Gorica museum in Livno. Glasinac has many tumuli. During the Bronze and Iron Age it was a place of strong Glasinac culture, who buried their dead in tumulus.


title: Tumulus

text: On the territory of Bulgaria there are over 60,000 ancient Thracian mounds, of which only about 1,000 have been studied. There are also Roman and Thraco-Roman burial tombs. Those tumulus over ancient tombs, temples and sanctuaries are found throughout the whole territory of Bulgaria. Some of the world's most significant and famous being the Kazanlak and Sveshtari tombs, UNESCO World Heritage sites. Located near the ancient Thracian capital cities of Seuthopolis (of the Odrysian kingdom) and Daosdava or Helis (of the Getae), perhaps they represented royal burials. Other notable tumulus are Thracian tomb of Aleksandrovo, Thracian tomb Golyama Arsenalka, Thracian tomb Shushmanets, Thracian tomb Griffins, Thracian tomb Helvetia, Thracian tomb Ostrusha, Tomb of Seuthes III and the other tombs around Starosel, others contained offerings such as the Panagyurishte and Rogozen treasures. Some of the sites are located in the Valley of the Thracian Rulers. The mound of the Tomb of Seuthes III “Golyama Kosmatka” is among the largest mounds in Thrace, with a maximum height of 23 m. and a diameter of 130 m.


title: Tumulus

text: There are thousands of tumuli throughout all Croatia, built of stone (Croatian: "gomila", "gromila") in the karst areas (by the Adriatic Sea) or made of earth (Croatian: "humak") in the inland plains and hills. Most of these prehistoric structures were built in the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, from the middle Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age, by the Illyrians or their direct ancestors in the same place; the Liburnian inhumation of dead under tumuli was certainly inherited from the earlier times, as early as the Copper Age. Smaller tumuli were used as the burial mounds, while bigger (some up to 7 metres high with 60 metres long base) were the cenotaphs (empty tombs) and ritual places.


title: Tumulus

text: Some of the world's most prominent Tumuli, the Macedonian tombs and a cist-grave at Vergina include the tomb of Philip II (359–336 BC), father of Alexander the Great (336–323 BC), as well as the tomb of Alexander IV (323–309 BC), son of Alexander the Great. A very large tumulus has been discovered in Amphipolis. Known as the Kasta Tomb, the tomb's occupant is presently unknown. Also numerous Mycenaean Greek Tombs are in all essence Tumuli, notably Agamemnon's site in Mycenae, and other sites in Tiryns, near Olympia and Pylos, and mostly in the Peloponnese peninsula near Mycenaean sites and Bronze Age settlements. Moreover, in Central Greece there are numerous Tumuli, some excavated, others not. A notable one is in Marathon, serving as a burial for the ones who fell during battle.


title: Tumulus

text: As of October 2014 there are ongoing excavations at the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis, Macedonia, Greece with the tumulus having a perimeter of 497 meters. The tomb within is assessed to be an ancient Macedonian burial monument of the last quarter of the 4th century BC.


title: Tumulus

text: There are over 40,000 tumuli in the Great Hungarian Plain, the highest is Gödény-halom near the settlement of Békésszentandrás, in Békés county.


title: Tumulus

text: In the United Kingdom, barrows of a wide range of types were in widespread use for burying the dead from the late Neolithic until the end of the Bronze Age, 2900–800 BC. Square barrows were occasionally used in the Iron Age (800 BC-43 AD) in the east of England. The traditional round barrow experienced a brief resurgence following the Anglo-Saxon conquests, with the introduction of northern Germanic burial practices from continental Europe. These later barrows were often built near older Bronze Age barrows. They included a few instances of ship burial. Barrow burial fell out of use during the 7th century as a result of the spread of Christianity.


title: Tumulus

text: Early scholarly investigation of tumuli and theorising as to their origins was undertaken from the 17th century by antiquaries, notably John Aubrey, and William Stukeley. During the 19th century in England the excavation of tumuli was a popular pastime amongst the educated and wealthy upper classes, who became known as "barrow-diggers". This leisure activity played a key role in laying the foundations for the scientific study of the past in Britain but also resulted in untold damage to the sites.


title: Tumulus

text: During the early Middle Ages, Slavic tribesmen inhabiting what is now the Czech Republic used to bury their dead under barrows. This practice has been widespread in southern and eastern Bohemia and some neighbouring regions, like Upper Austria and Lusatia, which at that time have been also populated with Slavic people. There are no known Slavic barrows in the central part of the country (around Prague), nor are they found in Moravia. This has led some of the archaeologists to speculations about at least three distinct waves of Slavic settlers, who colonized Czech lands separately from each other, each wave bringing its customs with it (including burial rituals).


title: Tumulus

text: At places where barrows have been constructed, they are usually found in groups (10 to 100 together), often forming several clearly distinct lines going from the west to the east. Only a few of them have been studied scientifically so far; in them, both burials by fire (with burnt ashes) and unburned skeletons have been found, even on the same site. It seems that builders of the barrows have at some time switched from burials by fire to burying of unburned corpses; the reason for such change is unknown. The barrows date too far back in history (700 AD to 800 AD) to contain any Christian influences.


title: Tumulus

text: As Czech barrows usually served for burials of poor villagers, only a few objects are found in them except for cheap pottery. Only one Slavic barrow is known to have contained gold.


title: Tumulus

text: Most of the Czech burial barrows have been damaged or destroyed by intense agriculture in the densely populated region. Those that remain are usually in forests, especially at hilltops in remote places. Therefore, there is no general knowledge about burial barrows among Czech population.


title: Tumulus

text: The best Slavic barrow sites can be found near to Vitín, a small village close to České Budějovice. There are two groups of barrows close to Vitín, each containing about 80 barrows ordered in lines. Some of the barrows are as much as 2 metres high.


title: Tumulus

text: There are also some prehistoric burial barrows in Czech Republic, built by unknown people. Unlike Slavic barrows, they can be found all across the country, though they are scarce. Distinguishing them from Slavic ones is not an easy task for the unskilled eye. Perhaps the most famous of them forms the top of the Žuráň hill near Slavkov u Brna; it is from here that Napoleon commanded his forces during the Battle of Austerlitz.


title: Tumulus

text: "Hügelgrab" ("barrow", "burial mound" or "tumulus") sites in Germany dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age.


title: Tumulus

text: A tumulus can be found close to the Grianán of Aileach in County Donegal. It has been suggested by historians such as George Petrie, who surveyed the site in the early 19th century, that the tumulus may predate the ringfort of Aileach by many centuries possibly to the Neolithic age. Surrounding stones were laid horizontally, and converged towards the centre. The mound had been excavated in Petrie's time, but nothing explaining its meaning was discovered. It was subsequently destroyed, but its former position is marked by a heap of broken stones. Similar mounds can be found at The Hill of Tara and there are several prominent tumuli at Brú na Bóinne in County Meath.


title: Tumulus

text: Some large tumulus tombs can be found especially in the Etruscan culture, carved directly into the local limestone (tufa), and covered by a limestone dome and a layer of dirt and grass (see image to the right). From the outside, they resemble burial mounds.


title: Tumulus

text: The interior of these tumuli, however, is what makes them so unique. Most tombs have one central corridor, where sarcophagi and urns house the cremated remains of the deceased were found, and the various rooms to either side of the corridor which contain the deceased's various belongings.


title: Tumulus

text: Many tombs also hold paintings, or frescos, that in many cases represent the funeral, scenes of real life, or the afterlife. The most significant necropolises with tumulus tombs are Veio, Cerveteri, Vetulonia, and Populonia. The tumulus of Montopoli is relative of archaic center Colli della Città along paratiberina way in Tiber valley.


title: Tumulus

text: Smaller barrows are dated to the Villanova period (ninth-eighth centuries BC), but the biggest were used in the following centuries (from the seventh century afterwards) by the Etruscan aristocracy.


title: Tumulus

text: Burial mounds are the most numerous archaeological monuments in the Netherlands. In many places, these prehistoric graves are still clearly visible as low hills. The oldest tumuli ("grafheuvels") in the Netherlands were built near Apeldoorn about 5,000 years ago. Concentrations of tumuli from the Bronze Age are located on the Veluwe and Drenthe.


title: Tumulus

text: Early scholarly investigation of tumuli and hunebedden and theorising as to their origins was undertaken from the 17th century by notably Johan Picardt. Although many have disappeared over the centuries, some 3000 tumuli are known of which 636 are protected as Rijksmonument. The largest tumulus in the Netherlands is the grave of a king near Oss. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Drents Museum, and Huis van Hilde have findings from tumuli in their collections.


title: Tumulus

text: One of the densest manifestations of the megalithic phenomenon in Europe occurred in Portugal. In the north of the country there are more than 1000 late prehistoric barrows. They generally occur in clusters, forming a necropolis. The method of inhumation usually involves a dolmen. The tumuli, dated from c. 4450 to 1900 BC, are up to 3 metres high, with diameters from 6 to 30 metres. Most of them are mounds of earth and stones, but the more recent ones are composed largely or entirely of stones (cairns). In Portuguese, barrows are called , from the Latin , given to them by the Romans because of their shape, similar to the breast of a woman.


title: Tumulus

text: Burial mounds were in use from the Stone Age until the 11th century in Scandinavia and figure heavily in Norse paganism. In their original state they usually appear as small, man-made hillocks, though many examples have been damaged by ploughing or plundering so that little visible evidence remains.


title: Tumulus

text: The tumuli of Scandinavia is of a great variety of designs, depending on the cultural traditions of the era in which they were constructed. The tumuli tombs may contain single graves, collective graves and both inhumation and cremation was practiced, again depending on the era, but also on geography. Many tumuli in Scandinavia shows a continuation of use from Stone Age to Viking Age. In the Viking Age (and perhaps in earlier times as well) burning the deceased, was believed to transfer the person to Valhalla by the consuming force of fire. Archaeological finds testifies that the cremation fire could reach temperatures of up to 1500 °C. The remains were often covered with cobblestones and then a layer of gravel and sand and finally a thin layer of turf or placed in urns. The tumuli were used for ancestral worshipping, an important practice in Norse culture and many places shows continuation of use for millennia.


title: Tumulus

text: Denmark has about 20,000 preserved tumuli, with the oldest being around 5,000 years old. A great number of tumuli in Denmark has been destroyed in the course of history, ploughed down for agricultural fields or used for road or dyke constructions. Tumuli have been protected by law since 1937 and is officially supervised by the Danish Agency for Culture. Examples of tumuli in Denmark are:


title: Tumulus

text: Human settlement in L'Anse Amour dates back at least 7,500 years as evidenced by the burial mound of a Maritime Archaic boy. His body was wrapped in a shroud of bark or hide and placed face down with his head pointed to the west. The site was first excavated in the 1970s.


title: Tumulus

text: In the southern regions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, evidence of ancient mound builders was discovered by archaeologists, beginning with excavations by Henry Youle Hind in 1857.


title: Tumulus

text: In Southwestern British Columbia, several types of burial mounds are known from the Salishan region (Hill-Tout 1895).


title: Tumulus

text: Mound building was a central feature of the public architecture of many Native American and Mesoamerican cultures from Chile to Minnesota. Thousands of mounds in the United States have been destroyed as a result of farming, pot-hunting, amateur and professional archaeology, road-building and construction. Surviving mounds are still found in river valleys, especially along the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio Rivers, and as far west as Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma.


title: Tumulus

text: Mounds were used for burial, to support residential and religious structures, to represent a shared cosmology, and to unite and demarcate community. Common forms include conical mounds, ridge-top mounds, platform mounds, and animal effigy mounds, but there are many variations. Mound building in the USA is believed to date back to at least 3400 BC in the Southeast (see Watson Brake). The Adena and the Mississippian cultures are principally known for their mounds, as is the Hopewell tradition. The largest mound site north of Mexico is Cahokia Mounds, a vast World Heritage Site located just east of St. Louis, Missouri.


title: Tumulus

text: The Cerritos de Indios (Spanish for: "Indian Mounds" or "Indian Little Hills") are a collection of more than 3000 tumulus or earth mounds found mainly in the eastern region of Uruguay.


title: Tumulus

text: Of different sizes and shapes some of them date back to 5000–4000 years ago being among the oldest examples of tumulus building in the new world. It is still unknown to this day the name or the fate of the people group responsible for its construction as they disappeared long before the arrival of the first European explorers and left no written records.


title: Tumulus

text: It is believed that they were used for burial, as well for living and practicing agriculture in the flat marshlands and plains of eastern Uruguay.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: Jonathan Judah Isaac (born October 3, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season for the Florida State Seminoles.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: Isaac first attended Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida during his freshman and sophomore years. In his junior and senior years, he attended the International School of Broward in Hollywood, Florida. However, as a result of wanting to be reclassified as part of the high school class of 2016, Isaac also attended IMG Academy for what was considered to be a postgraduate year in 2016. As a senior in 2016, he averaged 17.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game while leading IMG Academy to a 21-10 overall record. In his high school career, he grew six inches from his freshman year to his senior year, going from a combo guard of sorts to the combo forward he is today. Isaac was selected to play in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit All-Star games. Isaac was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No.12 overall recruit and No.4 Small forward in the 2016 high school class. On July 5, 2015, Isaac confirmed that he was going to commit to Florida State after his senior year of high school ended.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: On February 5, 2016, he announced his intention of testing the possibility of entering the 2016 NBA draft as the first American postgraduate to jump directly from high school to the NBA draft since 2005. He was also considered a prospect that could have been taken in the middle or late first round had he committed to it. Four days after making that announcement, however, Isaac confirmed that he was not going to enter the 2016 draft after all and reaffirmed his intentions of playing with Florida State for the 2016–17 season.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: Before the 2016–17 season began, Isaac was considered a preseason watch for the Karl Malone Award. Isaac would record his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 100–71 win over Detroit on November 20. He'd earn the ACC Freshman of the Week award for his performances from November 15–21, 2016. On January 18, 2017, Isaac recorded 23 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high 7 blocks in a win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. On February 8, 2017, Isaac scored 21 points in a 95–71 victory against the NC State Wolfpack. Throughout the season, Isaac was considered a team leader alongside fellow prospects Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes, to the point where they at one point were considered the sixth-best team of the nation. As the second seed in the ACC tournament, Florida State beat Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals, but lost to Notre Dame in the semi-finals. His team then proceeded to the NCAA Tournament, where they were seeded 3rd in the West. They won their first-round game 86–80 against FGCU at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. However, they lost in the round of 32 in a blowout upset against 11th seeded Xavier, 91-66. Isaac scored just 25 points in two games In his NCAA Tournament career. At the conclusion of his freshman season, he was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team of 2017. In addition to that, Isaac announced his intention to forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft where he was projected as a lottery first round selection. He was the second player in Florida State's basketball history to leave as a one-and-done prospect, behind Malik Beasley in 2016.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: On June 22, 2017, Isaac was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. On December 28, he was ruled out with a right ankle sprain. On February 23, 2018, he was assigned to the Lakeland Magic of the NBA G League for rehabilitation purposes.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: In his second year in the league, Isaac became a starter for the Magic in 64 games, posting career high averages in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks per game. On January 31, 2019, he recorded a career-high 13 rebounds in a 107–100 win over the Indiana Pacers. On February 10, he matched his career-high of 5 blocks, to go along with 17 points and 2 steals in a 124–108 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On February 12, he scored a career-high 20 points in a 118–88 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: He improved on his previous career-high in scoring by posting 24 points in a 95–104 loss to the Toronto Raptors on October 28, 2019.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: On January 1, 2020, Isaac suffered a posterior lateral corner injury and a medial bone contusion in his left knee during a 122–101 win over the Washington Wizards and was expected to be sidelined for about eight to ten weeks. On August 2, Isaac suffered a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a 132–116 win over the Sacramento Kings hosted in the bubble. Isaac later underwent successful surgery on August 7 to repair his torn left ACL and meniscus and was expected to miss the remainder of 2019–20 season. On August 31, Magic team president Jeff Weltman confirmed Isaac would also miss the entire 2020–21 season with the injury.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: On March 15, 2022, Weltman announced that Isaac would miss the remainder of the 2021–22 season due to the injury. He had not yet played during the season. On March 22, Isaac suffered a minor injury to his right hamstring during his rehab and underwent a surgical procedure.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: Isaac is one of six children born to Jackie Allen. He has one older sister, two older brothers, and two younger brothers.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: Isaac is of Puerto Rican descent due to his maternal grandfather and is eligible to play for the Puerto Rican national team.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: In a July 31, 2020 game against the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Bubble, Isaac was the only player to stand during the US National Anthem. When asked about this decision after the game, he responded, "I believe that black lives matter. A lot went into my decision… It’s my thought that kneeling or wearing a ‘Black Lives Matter’ t-shirt don’t go hand in hand with supporting black lives." Isaac spoke at the ReAwaken America Tour on standing during the anthem and declining the COVID-19 vaccine.


title: Jonathan Isaac

text: On May 17, 2022, Isaac's first book "Why I Stand" was published. In the book, Isaac shares how his religion shaped his life and helped him overcome various struggles.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: Bruce Anthony Buffer (born May 21, 1957) is an American professional mixed martial arts ring announcer and the official octagon announcer for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, introduced on broadcasts as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon". Buffer's catchphrase is "It's time!", which he announces before the main event of the UFC. He is the half brother of boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is the President and CEO of their company, The Buffer Partnership. Buffer holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do and has fought as a kickboxer.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: Buffer first ventured into martial arts when he was thirteen years old and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studying judo and achieving the rank of green belt. He moved to Malibu, California with his family at the age of fifteen and befriended two of the students of Chuck Norris, who introduced him to Tang Soo Do, in which he holds a second degree black belt. He began kickboxing in his twenties but was forced to give the sport up at 32 after suffering his second concussion.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: In 1996, Buffer announced the preliminary fight on UFC 8, and later hosted all fights at UFC 10. In 1997 he appeared as himself on the Season 3 Episode 24 of the "Friends" sitcom, "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion". At the stage he convinced UFC owner Robert Myer to hire him as the full-time ring announcer, starting with UFC 13.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: Buffer uses catch phrases in his UFC announcing, and also has a signature move called the "Buffer 180", in which he motions directly across the Octagon before quickly spinning 180° and pointing to the corner being introduced. Buffer performs 45° and 90° turns before most "Buffer 180s", but reserves the "Buffer 180" for main events and co-main events. At UFC 100, after months of encouragement from Joe Rogan, Buffer performed a "Buffer 360" during his introduction of Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar. He also performed the "Buffer Bow" exclusively for Randy Couture and Anderson Silva, bending down as a knight would to a king in the accolade.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: Buffer has announced many other MMA promotions internationally including K-1 events and also the 2008 Joel Casamayor vs. Michael Katsidis boxing event on HBO. He also announces for the biannual ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) submission wrestling tournament.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: Buffer is a world-rated poker player on the professional circuit. He has appeared on ESPN's "World Series of Poker Main Event" show playing World Champion Chris Moneymaker at the televised table in 2007 and in 2005 made the Final Table of the World Poker Tour in the Season 3 Invitational at the Commerce Casino, where he placed 6th. He appeared on an MMA versus poker pro match during the sixth season of the NBC show "Poker After Dark" along with Strikeforce Fighter Dan Henderson and UFC Fighter Randy Couture. Buffer outlasted them as well as pros Erick Lindgren and Patrik Antonius to finish second, losing in heads-up play to Howard Lederer. At the World Series of Poker 2010 main event final table he was given the honor of starting the final table with the poker phrase "Shuffle up and deal!" As of September 2010, the Luxor Las Vegas has named their poker room after Bruce Buffer.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: In 2007 he appeared on the HBO comedy-drama series "Entourage", in the episode entitled "Gotcha!", announcing an exhibition fight for Chuck Liddell's charity. On March 20, 2012, he was featured on the Comedy Central show "Tosh.0". Buffer appeared as himself in the 2015 film "Hot Tub Time Machine 2".


title: Bruce Buffer

text: He also appeared as one of the fight fans alongside his brother Michael in the 2018 mystery comedy movie "Holmes & Watson".


title: Bruce Buffer

text: He was featured as an announcer pack in the multiplayer online battle arena game Smite and class-based first person shooter game Paladins both published by Hi-Rez Studios. He is also an unlockable player character in the fighting game EA Sports UFC 3.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: He provided announcing on the UFC-inspired song "It's Time" by American & Dutch DJs Steve Aoki and Laidback Luke.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: In October 2019 the gaming developer Relax Gaming released a new video slot machine with Buffer called "It's Time". The slot was developed with Buffer and the same company had earlier made a slot-game with Michael Buffer, Bruce's older brother.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: In the 13th episode of Hell's Kitchen season 19, Buffer made an appearance during the episode's challenge.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: Buffer is the official announcer for the PlayStation 5 exclusive videogame Destruction AllStars, which was developed by Lucid Games and released in February 2021.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: On September 13, 2021, Buffer announced for ESPN's Monday Night Football matchup, where the Las Vegas Raiders hosted the Baltimore Ravens at Allegiant Stadium.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: In July 2022, Buffer appeared in the stand-up comedy special "Infamous" as he introduced comedian Andrew Schulz.


title: Bruce Buffer

text: In 1989, Bruce was introduced to his half-brother, Michael Buffer, when their birth father contacted Michael after seeing him on television. In the mid-1990s, Bruce became Michael's agent/manager. The pair have since worked together to form a company and grow their business via licensing and appearances. The name of the company is The Buffer Partnership.


title: Frank Cali

text: Francesco Paolo Augusto "Frank" Cali (, ; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019), also known as "Franky Boy", was an American mobster and the eventual acting boss of the Gambino crime family. Law enforcement considered Cali to have been the Gambinos' "ambassador to Sicilian mobsters" and had linked him to the Inzerillo Mafia family from Palermo. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Lipton, he was "seen as a man of influence and power by organized crime members in Italy". Cali was shot and killed outside his home in Staten Island on March 13, 2019. At the time of his death, a number of media organizations described him as the "reputed" acting boss of the Gambino crime family.


title: Frank Cali

text: Cali was born on March 26, 1965, in New York City, to Augusto Cesare Calì and Agata Scimeca, both natives of Palermo, Sicily. His father ran a household goods store in Palermo and a video store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He had a clean police record in the United States, even though he was mentioned in the Pizza Connection investigation, when police discovered that he was a partner of Domenico Adamita, allied to Sicilian Mafia boss Gaetano Badalamenti.


title: Frank Cali

text: Frank Cali was the nephew-in-law of Sicilian mobster John Gambino, and had close ties to the once powerful Sicilian Mafia family led by Salvatore Inzerillo. Cali was also a great-nephew of Bonanno crime family mobsters Giovanni Bonventre and Vito Bonventre.


title: Frank Cali

text: As a young man, Cali bonded with Gambino mobster Jackie D'Amico, a lieutenant of Gambino boss John Gotti who operated a crew on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn. In January 1997, the FBI reported to Italian authorities that Cali had been "combined" into the Gambino family. Cali was promoted to acting capo when D'Amico became acting boss. Cali ran several import-export companies in Brooklyn, including Circus Fruits Wholesale in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.


title: Frank Cali

text: Cali also maintained ties with the Sicilian Mafia. He married Rosaria Inzerillo, a sister of Pietro Inzerillo and a relative of Gambino associate Frank Inzerillo, a member of the Palermitan Inzerillo family.


title: Frank Cali

text: In the early 1980s, after losing the Second Mafia War against the Corleonesi of Totò Riina, the Inzerillo family was forced to flee Sicily. Cali and old Palermo boss Filippo Casamento supported the return of the Inzerillos to Palermo, according to Italian authorities.


title: Frank Cali

text: According to the Italian Polizia di Stato (State Police), Cali was also a member of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. He was the contact for Sicilian mafiosi who traveled to New York to meet him, do business, and update him on Sicilian affairs. "He's our friend and he is everything over there", confided Sicilian mobster Gianni Nicchi to his boss Antonio Rotolo, after a trip in 2003. Nicchi is known to be one of Cali's "men of honor" who went back and forth between Palermo and the US for drug trafficking. Nicchi finally settled in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was known to employ high school students as drug runners.


title: Frank Cali

text: In early 2003, Cali and fellow captain Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria began extorting 'mob taxes' from Joseph Vollaro, the owner of a trucking and contracting company that was involved in building a NASCAR speedway on Staten Island. Vollaro was eventually forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars as tribute to D'Amico and Gambino boss Nicholas Corozzo. In 2004, to avoid prison time for a cocaine conviction, Vollaro began working with federal authorities as an informant. Vollaro's undercover work led to a massive indictment four years later.


title: Frank Cali

text: On February 8, 2008, Cali and 61 other New York Cosa Nostra associates were arrested and charged with federal racketeering charges. as part of Operation Old Bridge. Old Bridge terminated the drug trafficking between the Sicilian Mafia and the Gambino family. Prosecutors claimed that Cali acted as the Gambino "ambassador to the Sicilian mobsters" and as a liaison between D'Amico and the Sicilian connections to the Inzerillo family. Cali was charged with racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy along with D'Amico and DiMaria.


title: Frank Cali

text: On June 4, 2008, Cali pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort money from Vollaro. Cali was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Ten months later, on April 6, 2009, he was released from prison.


title: Frank Cali

text: Around 2009, Cali's uncle John Gambino was elevated to the family's ruling panel, according to court papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. The U.S. Justice Department demanded that Cali avoid all contact with Gambino, except for weddings or holiday celebrations approved in advance by Cali's probation officer.


title: Frank Cali

text: In October 2012, Cali was identified by New York crime reporter Jerry Capeci as the new underboss of the Gambino crime family. Brooklyn Federal prosecutors had also referred to him as underboss. Capeci has previously identified Domenico Cefalù, a member of the same Sicilian faction as Cali, as the current boss of the group. Though his status remained unclear, the promotion of both men follows a period in which John Gambino was a street boss within the family, showing that the Sicilian group has remained dominant in recent years. In July 2013, it was reported that Cali turned down the position of boss of the family.


title: Frank Cali

text: In August 2015, "New York Daily News" reported Cali had taken over as acting boss of the Gambino family. A September 29, 2018, report stated that Cali "infused the family with 'zips' — hoodlums from the old country — and bulked up its heroin and OxyContin business". A gangster in Italy was quoted as having stated that Cali "is everything over there" (New York). In March 2019, police investigating Cali's death publicly claimed that he had been "the acting boss" of the Gambino organized crime family.


title: Frank Cali

text: Cali died at Staten Island University Hospital on March 13, 2019, at the age of 53, after being shot at about 9:20 p.m. in front of his home on Hilltop Terrace in the Todt Hill area. He was buried six days later at Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp, Staten Island. This was the first murder of a New York crime boss since the 1985 assassination of Paul Castellano, who was also boss of the Gambino family. Surveillance video showed a pickup truck striking Cali's parked Cadillac, a subsequent confrontation between the driver and Cali, and then the shooting. Cali had tried to evade the killer by using his vehicle as a shield. He was hit ten times with bullets from a 9 mm handgun.


title: Frank Cali

text: On March 16, 24-year-old suspect Anthony Comello was arrested in Brick, New Jersey, by the New York Police Department and US Marshals, to face murder charges on Staten Island. Authorities originally believed the crime may have been related to a personal dispute (possibly a romantic matter) and not organized crime activity. On April 3, Comello was indicted and was being held in protective custody at an undisclosed New York City correctional facility. On May 10, Comello pleaded not guilty to murder and weapon possession charges, although he had initially confessed to the murder to police. One news report cited unnamed mob experts as stating that he "is almost certainly marked for death". Comello had already texted that his "family is marked".


title: Frank Cali

text: In July 2019, Comello's defense attorney stated that Comello had become obsessed with QAnon conspiracy theories, believing Cali was a member of a "deep state". Comello was convinced "he was enjoying the protection of President Trump himself" to handcuff Cali and place him under citizen's arrest, as Comello had attempted months earlier with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as well as California Member of Congress Maxine Waters. The reason why Cali was targeted was unclear, as no QAnon "drop" ever appeared to mention the Mafia.


title: Frank Cali

text: "The New York Times" reported that at his first court appearance, Comello "displayed symbols and phrases associated with QAnon scrawled on his hand in pen". The defense attorney sought to prove Comello "not guilty by reason of mental defect". In December 2019, Comello refused to take a psychiatric exam, and was warned by the judge that his refusal could jeopardize his right to use an insanity defense; the judge also denied a motion to suppress Comello's initial confession. In June 2020, Comello was found mentally unfit to stand trial.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: Endless is a visual album by American singer Frank Ocean. It was released on August 19, 2016, as an exclusive streaming-only video on Apple Music, and preceded the August 20 release of Ocean's second studio album "Blonde". "Endless" was later remastered and had a limited reissue in physical audio and visual formats on April 10, 2018.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: The album followed a period of controversy for Ocean, who was in a highly publicized battle with Def Jam Recordings, and it was the subject of widespread media discussion upon release. "Endless" was recorded in various studios across California, as well as in London, Miami, and Berlin, with production handled primarily by Ocean, Vegyn, Michael Uzowuru, and Troy Noka; Ocean previously collaborated with Noka on his debut mixtape, "Nostalgia, Ultra" (2011).


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: The film follows Ocean silently woodworking on a staircase while the audio plays. Music journalists have noted the album features a minimalist aesthetic with a loose musical structure and contains similar elements featured on "Blonde", including ambient pop, avant-soul, R&B, and trap. Thematically, "Endless" explores Ocean's status as a celebrity, love and heartbreak, and age. It also contains uncredited guest appearances from Sampha and Jazmine Sullivan.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: "Endless" received generally positive reception, with critics praising the musical content, namely its abstract structural compositions, although some were divided over the visual aspects, noting its length. Upon its re-release, it was positively reassessed, with praise directed toward its variety and since then became a cult favorite among Frank Ocean fans.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: On February 21, 2013, Ocean confirmed work begun for his second studio album, including tentative collaborations with Tyler, the Creator, Pharrell Williams, and Danger Mouse. Ocean also revealed it would be another concept album, and he was drawing influence from the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Ocean expressed an interest in collaborating with Tame Impala and stated an intention to record in Bora Bora. He also stated a desire to collaborate with Archy Marshall, better known as King Krule; however, Marshall stated in an interview with "Pitchfork" that the collaboration was not successful, saying: "Frank was at my house, yeah... He came down and he wanted me to do something for his record, but I don’t think he liked it."


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: In April 2014, Ocean stated his second album was nearly finished, and in June, "Billboard" reported the singer was working with Happy Perez, Charlie Gambetta and Kevin Ristro (whom he worked with on "Nostalgia, Ultra"), alongside Hit-Boy, Rodney Jerkins, and Danger Mouse. On November 29, 2014, Ocean released a snippet to "Memrise", a song rumored as the lead single from his new album, on Tumblr. The snippet received generally positive reception, with critics praising Ocean's musical experimentation and continued exploration of melancholic themes.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: On April 6, 2015, Ocean announced the follow-up to "Channel Orange" would be released in July, as well as a publication, although no further details were released. The album was ultimately not released in July, with no explanation given for its delay. The publication was rumored to be called "Boys Don't Cry", and was slated to feature "Memrise".


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: On July 2, 2016, he hinted at a possible second album on his website. It featured an image of a library card labeled "Boys Don't Cry" with numerous stamps, implying various due dates between July 2015 and November 2016. Ocean's brother, Ryan Breaux, further suggested a release in July 2016, with an Instagram caption of the image reading "BOYS DON'T CRY #JULY2016". On August 1, 2016, a live video hosted by Apple Music showing an empty hall was launched on the website boysdontcry.co. The website also featured a new "boysdontcry" graphic. The video marked the first update on the website since a "date due" post from July.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: On August 1, 2016, a video appeared that showed Frank Ocean woodworking and sporadically playing instrumentals on loop. That same day, many news outlets reported that August 5, 2016, could be the release date for "Boys Don't Cry". The video was revealed to be promotion for "Endless", a 45-minute-long visual album that began streaming on Apple Music on August 19, 2016. It was later confirmed that "Endless" is a different project than Ocean's second studio album. The assumed title "Boys Don't Cry" had been replaced with a new title. "Endless" was his final album with Def Jam Recordings, which fulfilled his recording contract.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: On April 24, 2017, Ocean aired a remix of "Slide on Me" featuring Young Thug on his radio show "Blonded Radio". On November 27, on Cyber Monday, Ocean released physical, remastered editions of "Endless", along with new merchandise.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: "Endless" received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 13 reviews.


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: In "The Guardian", Tim Jonze said Ocean mixed the pop with the avant-garde on "Endless", calling it "a rich, varied and – at times – challenging musical feast", however noting that "much of this album floats by hazily and with no clear direction". In a joint review of "Endless" and "Blonde" for "Q" magazine, Victoria Segal said "these records might not eclipse "Channel Orange", but they have their own mercurial gleam, mapping the spaces between people, reaching for a hazy intimacy that almost feels real." Ryan Dombal of "Pitchfork" wrote that "as a piece of filmed entertainment, "Endless" is painfully dull", however praised the "much more exciting" music, comparing it to a mixtape, and stating that it is "an intriguing peek into [Ocean's] process, and it contains some of the rawest vocal takes he's ever put out". For "Consequence of Sound", Nina Corcoran wrote that the video "wobbles between its highs and lows". She was ambivalent to the music's abstract nature, noting that "is filled with beauty, but it feels like a dream where you don’t remember much, even if you take a pen to paper as soon as you wake". In a mixed review for AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that the tracks "melt into one another", concluding that "it's a smartly ordered patchwork of mostly secondary material".


title: Endless (Frank Ocean album)

text: "Spin" magazine's Brian Josephs was more critical, believing it did not work as an album. "As a whole, "Endless" feels formless," Josephs wrote, "like pretty, curlicue-flaunting cursive with no adherence to notebook margins." Dan Caffrey of "The A.V. Club" stated that the album's concept "would be slightly fascinating", if the length didn't result in "the video becom[ing] a chore to sit through". He praised the album's opening tracks, however criticised the music overall as "undercooked ambience, half-finished verses, and robotic descriptions of Apple products".


title: Richard Masur

text: Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on "Rhoda" (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in the TV Miniseries "It" (1990), and Edward L. L. Moore on "Younger" (2016-2018).


title: Richard Masur

text: Richard Masur appeared in the 1976 made for TV movie “Having Babies”, playing the role of Adrienne Barbeau‘s husband.


title: Richard Masur

text: Masur was born in New York City to a high school counselor mother, Claire Masur, and Jesse Masur, his pharmacist father. He attended P.S. 28, Walt Whitman Junior High School, and Roosevelt High School in Yonkers. He is the brother of Judith Masur and the husband of Eileen Henry. Masur is Jewish.


title: Richard Masur

text: Masur studied acting at The Yale School of Drama and appeared on stage before acting in movies and television shows during the 1970s. He appeared on an episode of "The Waltons" as well as in an episode of "All in the Family" in late 1974 and had recurring roles in "Rhoda" from 1974 to 1978; "One Day at a Time" from 1975 to 1976; "Hot l Baltimore" in 1975; and the pilot to an NBC sitcom, "Bumpers", in 1977. In 1981, Masur played the role of a child molestor armed with a camera in the television film "Fallen Angel". His next project was the 1982 horror/sci-fi "The Thing", as the dog handler, Clark. The film has acquired a significant cult following in the years since its release, and Masur occasionally reunites with former "The Thing" cast members for Q&A panels at fan conventions.


title: Richard Masur

text: Masur played the father to Corey Haim's character in 1988's "License to Drive" and was part of the ensemble cast of the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's "It".


title: Richard Masur

text: Masur played the role of a character modeled after Jewish American spy Jonathan Pollard in the film "Les Patriotes (The Patriots)" (1994), by French director Éric Rochant.


title: Richard Masur

text: In January 2006, Masur began appearing as a recurring character on the soap opera "All My Children". He has also appeared in guest spots on many TV shows, including "M*A*S*H", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Hawaii Five-O", "Happy Days", "Picket Fences", "Matlock", "Murphy Brown", "Law & Order", "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World", and "Transparent".


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Sonic Unleashed is a 2008 platform video game in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series. The story follows Sonic as he attempts to restore the world after his nemesis Doctor Eggman shatters it with a powerful laser to unleash Dark Gaia, an ancient evil, while dealing with having become a "Werehog", a werewolf-like transformation, which he gains after coming into contact with the energy of Dark Gaia. Gameplay features two distinct styles, with each being played either during daytime or nighttime. Daytime stages incorporate Sonic's traditional platforming and trademark speed, with a combination of behind-the-back third-person viewpoints and 2D side-scroller platforming; gameplay seamlessly transitions between these two views. Night-time levels see Sonic transform into the Werehog; gameplay slows down to accommodate greater platform play, and involves combat against waves of enemies using the Werehog's brute strength.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: The game's development began in 2006 and lasted 18 months, after the creation of its game engine, the Hedgehog Engine. It was initially conceived as a sequel to "Sonic Adventure 2" (2001), but developer Sonic Team began to introduce enough new innovations that separated it from previous games, and it was renamed "Sonic World Adventure" in domestic markets. The Werehog gameplay was conceived to help introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the "Sonic" franchise to the series and is what influenced the use of "Unleashed" as a subtitle for western markets. The game's existence was first brought to light when Sega trademarked the "Unleashed" name in March 2008, and shortly after, images and a gameplay video were leaked. Three versions of the game were developed: one by Sonic Team for High Definition consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, one by Sonic Team and Dimps for Standard Definition consoles such as the Wii and PlayStation 2, and one by Gameloft for mobile phones. The game was released worldwide in 2008.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Public anticipation for "Sonic Unleashed" was high, as video game journalists saw it as a possible return to Sonic's platforming roots. While it was commercially successful, selling 2.45 million units, initial critical reception was mixed. Reviewers praised certain elements, such as the sense of speed in daylight stages and the graphics and audio that make up the environments, but criticized others, such as the Werehog game mechanic, as well as several gameplay and design concepts. Many felt "Unleashed" was not the game to reinvigorate the series. Over time, however, the reputation of "Sonic Unleashed" improved thanks to retrospective reviews. The game itself has since developed a cult following, with some even considering it to be one of the best games in the franchise. "Sonic Unleashed" was delisted from retailers in 2010, following Sega's decision to remove all "Sonic" games with below-average Metacritic scores from sale. Despite this, the PlayStation 3 version was relisted in April 2014 and added to PlayStation Now in March 2017, while the Xbox 360 version was relisted and made backward compatible for Xbox One in November 2018.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: "Sonic Unleashed" is a platform game in which the player controls the titular Sonic the Hedgehog in two modes: fast-paced levels that take place during daytime, showcasing and using Sonic's trademark speed as seen in previous games in the series, and slower, night-time levels, during which Sonic transforms into the Werehog, and gameplay switches to an action-based, brawler style of play, in which Sonic battles Gaia enemies (those created by the main enemy in the game, Dark Gaia). Each level takes place on a particular continent, each of which is based on a real-world location. In sections of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, the player may choose to advance the time of day in order to play as either Sonic or the Werehog; in the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions, time is advanced automatically.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Daytime levels focus on Sonic's speed, and to this extent, sees the player control Sonic through fast-moving stages containing both 2D and 3D styles of gameplay. 2D sections are reminiscent of the Mega Drive/Genesis-era Sonic games where the player controls Sonic in a side-scrolling fashion, while 3D sections see the camera placed behind Sonic so the player may move in all directions. In addition to moves available in past games, such as the Homing Attack, new moves are also introduced. For instance, a new sidestep feature known as the Quick Step is available, allowing Sonic to dodge left and right, and a Drift feature, which allows Sonic to make tighter turns without slowing down. The game also features a gameplay mechanic previously used in the "Sonic Rush" series called the Sonic Boost, which greatly increases Sonic's speed, allowing him to smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or even access different level paths. In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, an on-screen "Ring Energy" meter displays how much Boost is available. The amount of Boost remaining may be increased by collecting more rings, and is decreased by using the Boost. In contrast, the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game represent available Boost using bars, which may be added by performing "Action Chains", destroying multiple enemies in quick succession through the use of homing attacks, or by collecting rings. Japanese game company Dimps helped design some of the stages.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Night-time levels are slow-paced and action-oriented, while also featuring simple puzzle elements. Gameplay focuses on Sonic's new "Werehog" form, which gives him great strength and stretchable arms. As the Werehog, the player can cling to distant objects, move items around and perform combo attacks to defeat enemies and advance through the level. Collecting rings replenishes the Werehog's health, while a special move, Unleashed Mode, allows him to channel his energy into increasing the power of his attacks for a short time. Night-time levels are adjusted in the Wii version to allow greater use of the Wii Remote, such that players may control the arms of the Werehog by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in order to grab onto objects and proceed in the levels. The Wii version also expands upon the ratio of night-time levels to daytime, with more than three times as many night-time levels (twenty-five in all). After night-time levels are completed, Dark Gaia Points are gained, allowing access to bonus moves.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: In addition to these two gameplay types, "Sonic Unleashed" also features hubworlds, in which the player may reveal, as well as advance, the story of the game. Hubworlds operate differently depending on the version of the game being played; the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature fully interactive, explorable 3D hubworlds, similar to those in "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic Adventure", in which townspeople may be interacted with and side quests may be undertaken, in order to gain experience or unlock items, such as artwork, videos and music tracks. In contrast, the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions feature menu-based map systems, in which players simply click on areas to talk to townspeople and find information. Within both day and night-time levels are medals that Sonic may collect, two types of which exist: Sun and Moon. In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, collecting these medals allows the player to level up Sonic's Sun and Moon stats, and these must be increased to reach new stages in the game, with a certain number of Sun Medals for Hedgehog levels, and a certain number of Moon Medals for Werehog levels. Because only the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature playable hubworlds, these are also the only versions in which Sun and Moon Medals may be found by exploring the towns, talking to the citizens, and completing side quests. In the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions, Sun and Moon Medals are earned after completing stages and clearing their objectives. The medals are used to open up doors in Gaia gates, which can earn bonus content.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: In a cold open, Sonic is pursuing his nemesis, Doctor Eggman, bounding around a fleet of spaceships. After the defeat of several of his robots, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and corners Eggman on the main spaceship. However, Eggman traps the hedgehog using the energy field of a powerful new ray weapon called the Chaos Energy Cannon, which robs him of his Super Sonic power and removes the Chaos Emeralds out of him as well as their power, causing them to turn grey and useless. He then uses the Emeralds' energy to fire an enormous laser and unleash a powerful beast, Dark Gaia, from the center of the planet, which has devastating consequences, shattering the planet into seven pieces. In addition, the process has the unforeseen side-effect of transforming Sonic into a "Werehog" — a beast form that loses speed but gains greater strength and abilities — at night. Eggman ejects Sonic into space, who then lands safely onto the planet below thanks to a strange green shield.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: After landing along with the Emeralds, Sonic encounters a friendly creature who appears to suffer amnesia. Assuming he has caused it with his fall, Sonic decides to assist him in his quest to find out who he is, and the creature becomes a guide for the player; Sonic soon gives him the nickname Chip. Sonic's quest begins, and with the help of some old friends, such as Amy and Tails, he attempts to solve the crisis by traveling the world's continents, finding Gaia Temples that will restore the Emeralds' power, in order to return the world, and himself, to normal.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: After six out of the seven continents are returned to normal, Chip is able to regain his memory; he is in fact Dark Gaia's opposite, Light Gaia. Since the beginning of time, the two of them had been in a cycle where Dark Gaia would break the planet apart, and Light Gaia would put it back together. Chip was released along with Dark Gaia, but because both of them were released prematurely, he lost his memory, and Dark Gaia was broken apart. They are able to place the last Chaos Emerald in the shrine on the final continent at Eggman's new empire, "Eggmanland", but are interrupted by him; Sonic then defeats Eggman who is using a robot that utilizes Dark Gaia's power, the Egg Dragoon. During the battle, the three sink into the core of the Earth and encounter Dark Gaia. Eggman orders Dark Gaia to destroy Sonic, but it turns on him, knocking him away with one of its tentacles, and absorbs the power that turned Sonic into a Werehog, curing Sonic of lycanthropy.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Dark Gaia then attacks Sonic and Chip, but Chip protects Sonic and calls all of the Gaia temples together to form the Light Gaia Colossus and fight Dark Gaia. The Gaia Colossus seemingly destroys Dark Gaia, but Dark Gaia is not finished with them or the Earth yet, and consumes the entire world in darkness, becoming Perfect Dark Gaia in the process. Chip then gives the restored Chaos Emeralds to Sonic, allowing him to turn into Super Sonic and continue their fight, until he finally destroys it; Dark Gaia sinks back into the planet, but the battle takes its toll on Super Sonic. Chip saves Sonic by throwing him to the surface, before returning himself to the inside of the planet; he leaves behind his necklace and some parting words. Sonic places the necklace on his hand as a bracelet to remind him of their adventure together before speeding off with Tails, flying alongside him on the coastline in the Tornado plane.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Sonic Team began development of the game in 2006, after having begun work on the core technology, the Hedgehog Engine, in 2005. The title "Sonic Unleashed" was trademarked by Sega on March 12, 2008. Screenshots of cutscenes, artwork, and a video were leaked ten days later, with the title confirmed by Sega on April 3, 2008 with a small selection of screenshots and an updated video. The game was developed internally by Sonic Team in Japan. It was originally intended to be the third installment of the "Sonic Adventure" series and subsequently, at an early development stage, had the working title "Sonic World Adventure", complete with a work-in-progress logo. However, the development team began to introduce enough new innovations to separate it from the "Sonic Adventure" games, and so a new title, "Sonic Unleashed", was decided. It was then later revealed that the game's name in Japan would in fact remain "Sonic World Adventure" for its release there.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Sonic Team decided early on in the development process to reduce the number of characters present in the game, as well as to make Sonic the only playable character; this decision was taken to get more quality out of fewer characters. While it felt that these ideas combined with traditional "Sonic" gameplay was a good beginning, it also had to consider how to introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the "Sonic" franchise to the series, and so the concept of the Werehog was born, in addition to exploring its own mythology and ideas for the story. Director Yoshihisa Hashimoto felt from the outset that there would be both praise and criticism, but hoped that long-term "Sonic" fans would understand and empathise with the ideas and direction the team had taken. The game's human non-player characters were designed by Japanese artist team Gurihiru.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: In terms of technology, Hashimoto remarked that the visual style was born out of desire to see a global illumination solution used for the game's lighting — that is, light reflecting from one object in the scene onto others. To this extent, development on the renderer for this process began, and the final solution allowed the developers to use distributed rendering over hundreds of computers to calculate lighting for each ten- to twenty-kilometer action stage in around two or three days. Characters, enemies and objects are then lit at run-time with Sonic Team's "Light Field" technology to blend them in with the surrounding pre-calculated lighting. Because the game was being developed for two levels of hardware capability depending on the target platform, two development "silos" were set up to work on two separate builds of the game: one for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version utilizing the Hedgehog Engine, and one for the Wii and PlayStation 2 version, which instead utilizes a modified version of an existing, internal Sega engine. Hashimoto, who had never directed a "Sonic" game before, incorporated new features such as a "Quick Step" mechanic allowing players to dodge obstacles with the L and R triggers. Hashimoto sought to combine the best qualities of 2D and 3D "Sonic" gameplay and address the criticisms directed at previous 3D entries in the franchise. Additional code to dynamically adjust the speed of the game for different situations was used to properly balance its fast pace with traditional platforming elements.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: As well as the unique motion-based gameplay mechanics, the Wii version of the game also supports the GameCube controller, and also the option of using the Classic Controller. The daytime levels for the Wii were altered to accommodate the motion control-based boost mechanic, while night-time levels include a mostly behind-the-back view and different platforming styles and combat mechanics. Developer Dimps, who had past involvement in the "Sonic" franchise, was involved in the design of the daytime areas for these versions. In addition, overall, the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions have fewer daytime levels than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Initially, it was stated that "Unleashed" was to be intended solely as a single-player experience, and would not offer any multiplayer or online modes. This was cast into doubt when references to online modes were alluded to around E3 2008, but later interviews re-iterated that "Unleashed" would have no online modes at all. However, downloadable content, including additional levels, would remain a possibility after the game's release.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: "Sonic Unleashed" was released for PlayStation 2, Wii and Xbox 360 on November 18, 2008, in North America, and on November 27 and November 28, 2008, in Australia and Europe, respectively. The PlayStation 3 version was released a month later on December 9 in North America, on December 18 in Australia, and on December 19 in Europe. In Japan the Wii version was released on December 18, 2008, with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions releasing next year, on February 19, 2009.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: A demo version was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 8, 2008 and on the US and EU PlayStation Stores on December 18 and 24, 2008, respectively. The demo does not contain any of the Werehog stages. On March 12, 2009, Sega released "Sonic Unleashed"s first downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, consisting of four Chun-nan daytime stages and two night stages in addition to two new missions. Since then, more downloadable levels have been added: Spagonia, Holoska, Mazuri, Apotos, Shamar, Empire City and Adabat.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Speaking after the game's release, Sonic Team member and "Sonic and the Black Knight" producer and director Tetsu Katano remarked that although he did not feel the Werehog concept was a mistake, time and resources were a limiting factor in the game's production. He also remarked that the Werehog may reappear in future games, or possibly in a sequel to "Sonic Unleashed", should one be made.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Game developer Gameloft announced in May 2009 that it had secured a licensing agreement with Sega Europe Ltd. to produce Java versions of Sega properties, and that its first game would be a version of "Sonic Unleashed" for mobile phone platforms. It was released in June 2009 in Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. The mobile version of "Sonic Unleashed" is strictly a side-scroller reminiscent of the original Genesis games, featuring new level designs and character abilities.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: The game's soundtrack, "Planetary Pieces: Sonic World Adventure Original Soundtrack", was released as a three-disc set in Japan on January 28, 2009. The vocal theme track, "Endless Possibility" written by longtime Sonic game composer, Tomoya Ohtani features Jaret Reddick of the American rock band Bowling for Soup. The ending theme music for the game is a slow tempo ballad, "Dear My Friend", and features singer Brent Cash.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Initial anticipation when the first media for "Unleashed" was revealed was high, as the demonstration videos hinted at a possible return of Sonic to his traditional platforming roots, especially because of the series' declining quality in recent years, and a number of poorly received games in the franchise that preceded it, such as the 2006 game, "Sonic the Hedgehog".


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Critical reception to "Unleashed" was mixed, with Metacritic aggregate scores of 60 and 54 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively, and 66 out of 100 for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions. The added element of motion controls for the Werehog sections, as well as text-based hub worlds and better Werehog level design and camera system, were reasons cited for the higher review scores for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game, though a few review websites, such as 1UP, gave the Wii version a lower score than its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts. Nevertheless, the game was a commercial success and sold 2.45 million units combined making it Sega's third bestselling game during their last fiscal year period of 2008.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Positive elements of "Sonic Unleashed" remarked upon by reviews include the environments, such as the "postcard-perfect architecture", and the graphics, with stages looking "absolutely gorgeous" and being "very pretty and lovingly animated", with one reviewer comparing them to a playable Pixar film. Praise was given to the technical competence of Sega's new Hedgehog Engine as a whole on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with "bright cartoonish graphics that fly by without a stutter"; however, some complaints were raised about frame rate reduction when large numbers of enemies appeared during the Werehog sections. Although the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions do not use the Hedgehog Engine, graphics for these platforms were still praised for their high quality, with the game being nominated for Best Graphics Technology for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards. The soundtrack to the game was also praised as being an improvement on more recent installments in the series; use of an orchestral score, rather than rock as in more recent games, was appreciated.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: A generally negative reaction was given by critics to the Werehog concept and corresponding night-time sections, which contributed greatly to the lower than expected review scores. Some reviewers compared the Werehog sections to "God of War". Complaints stemmed from the game's change of speed, from high-speed daytime sections to the slower, night-time sections; the "pace-breaking combat levels" were described as "plodding", as well as "lethargic" and "combat-heavy". Further to the change of pace, the new style of gameplay that accompanies the night-time levels was widely criticized, involving "frustrating" platform elements and combat described as not "terribly interesting" and "boring", with "awkward" action sequences overall. Some reviewers felt that the Werehog as a concept did not mix well with the daylight areas and traditional "Sonic" gameplay; "GamePro"s review described them as "dreadfully out-of-place", while IGN stated that they have "nothing to do with Sonic whatsoever", feeling that the Werehog was "being slapped on" to the "Sonic" experience.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: In stark contrast to the Werehog sections, many reviewers found the daytime levels to be enjoyable, especially the "exhilarating" sense of speed they provide; with "the most satisfying gameplay of any Sonic title in years", the game "perfectly [captures] the feel of classic Sonic". Many also enjoyed the mixture of, and transition between, 2D and 3D sections. Indeed, many reviewers remarked that they would have appreciated the game more had it consisted solely of, and expanded upon, the daytime levels. GameSpot's review for the Xbox 360 version, however, argued that the controls were "unresponsive" in the daytime levels, and that most of them were "horribly designed", instead describing the Wii version as a "vastly superior experience", with its daytime levels praised for better control and design.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Aside from the criticism of Werehog levels, further aspects of the game were criticised, contributing to the mixed review scores. The quests that players must undertake in hub-towns were described as "inane" and "tedious", where "figuring out what happens next involves aimlessly wandering through towns and speaking to citizens, only to discover that most of them don't know what we're looking for". The story and overall tone of the game, including the new character Chip, were criticised, some remarking that it was too juvenile, or comparable to that of a Saturday morning cartoon.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: Archie Comics has made an adaptation of "Sonic Unleashed" featuring the opening cutscene and Sonic's transformation into the Werehog. A short CGI animated film was released to tie in with the game on November 17, 2008, "Sonic: Night of the Werehog". The film was produced by Marza Animation Planet, who also animated the cutscenes for "Unleashed" and were later involved in Paramount's live-action adaptation of the series.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: "Sonic Unleashed"s engine, the Hedgehog Engine, would later be refined for use with later games in the franchise, such as "Sonic Generations" (2011) and "Sonic Forces" (2017). The daytime gameplay style of "Unleashed" was re-used and expanded upon to become the defining gameplay of the franchise.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: To celebrate the "Sonic" franchise's 20th anniversary, Sega released "Sonic Generations", which re-made various stages and aspects from throughout the series. The console/PC versions of the game contain remakes of the "Rooftop Run" stage and the Egg Dragoon boss fight. The 2017 entry "Sonic Forces" also contains a re-imagined version of the Egg Dragoon boss.


title: Sonic Unleashed

text: On November 29, 2018, the Xbox 360 version of "Sonic Unleashed" was added to the list of backward-compatible games for the Xbox One, and was later extended to the Xbox Series X/S. This version later received a performance update on November 15, 2021, that increased the game's framerate to 60FPS when played on Series X/S.


title: Val (film)

text: Val is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Leo Scott and Ting Poo. It follows the life and career of actor Val Kilmer. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 7, 2021, and was released in a limited release on July 23, 2021, prior to digital streaming on Prime Video on August 6, by Amazon Studios.


title: Val (film)

text: The film follows the life and career of actor Val Kilmer, including footage of Kilmer shot by himself throughout his career, footage of his childhood, and home movies. The film showcases his battle with throat cancer and gives a behind the scenes view of his personal life, including the childhood death of his brother Wesley, his eight-year marriage to actress Joanne Whalley, and their children Mercedes and Jack.


title: Val (film)

text: Leo Scott initially began working as an editor with Harmony Korine on his short film "The Lotus Community Workshop", where he came across Val Kilmer's archive, digging through 800 hours of footage, with Ting Poo boarding the project later on. The footage, which Kilmer had shot for years, featured him growing up, attending school, auditioning, his career, and family. Previously the footage had sat in boxes for years, and once Kilmer was diagnosed with cancer and began losing his voice, it made him want to tell his story. The film is narrated by Kilmer's own words, through his son Jack Kilmer.


title: Val (film)

text: In May 2021, it was announced that Amazon Studios had acquired the US and Latin American rights for "Val".


title: Val (film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 7, 2021. It had a limited release in theaters on July 23, 2021, prior to digital streaming on Prime Video on August 6, 2021.


title: Val (film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 123 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "An absorbingly reflective documentary that benefits from its subject's self-chronicling, "Val" offers an intimate look at a unique life and career." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi (). They are known in colloquial English as lion dogs or foo dogs / fu dogs. The concept, which originated and became popular in Chinese Buddhism, features a pair of highly stylized lions—often one male with a ball which represents the material elements and one female with a cub—which represents the element of spirit, were thought to protect the building from harmful spiritual influences and harmful people that might be a threat. Used in imperial Chinese palaces and tombs, the lions subsequently spread to other parts of Asia including Japan (see komainu), Korea, Philippines, Tibet, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits. They are also used in other artistic contexts, for example on door-knockers, and in pottery. Pairs of guardian lion statues are still common and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local Chinatowns.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: The lions are usually depicted in pairs. When used as statuary the pair would consist of a male leaning his paw upon an embroidered ball (in imperial contexts, representing supremacy over the world) and a female restraining a playful cub that is on its back (representing nurture).


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Guardian lions are referred to in various ways depending on language and context. In Chinese they are traditionally called simply "shi" () meaning lion—the word "shi" itself is thought to be derived from the Persian word "šer". Lions were first presented to the Han court by emissaries from Central Asia and Persia, and were already popularly depicted as guardian figures by the sixth century AD. Today the guardian lions are more usually specified by reference to the medium or material, for example:


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: In English and several Western languages, the guardian lions are often referred by a multitude of names such as: "Fu Dogs", "Foo Dogs", "Fu Lions", "Fo Lions", and "Lion Dogs". The term ""Fo"" or ""Fu"" may be transliterations to the words () or (), which means "Buddha" or "prosperity" in Chinese, respectively. However, Chinese reference to the guardian lions are seldom prefixed with or , and more importantly never referred to as "dogs".


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Reference to guardian lions as dogs in Western cultures may be due to the Japanese reference to them as "Korean dogs" () due to their transmission from China through Korea into Japan. It may also be due to the misidentification of the guardian lion figures as representing certain Chinese dog breeds such as the Chow Chow () or Pekingese ().


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: The lions are traditionally carved from decorative stone, such as marble and granite or cast in bronze or iron. Because of the high cost of these materials and the labor required to produce them, private use of guardian lions was traditionally reserved for wealthy or elite families. Indeed, a traditional symbol of a family's wealth or social status was the placement of guardian lions in front of the family home. However, in modern times less expensive lions, mass-produced in concrete and resin, have become available and their use is therefore no longer restricted to the elite.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: The lions are always presented in pairs, a manifestation of yin and yang, the female representing yin and the male yang. The male lion has his right front paw on a type of cloth ball simply called an "embroidered ball" (), which is sometimes carved with a geometric pattern. The female is essentially identical, but has a cub under the left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female lion protects those dwelling inside (the living soul within), while the male guards the structure (the external material elements). Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". However, Japanese adaptations state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death. Other styles have both lions with a single large pearl in each of their partially opened mouths. The pearl is carved so that it can roll about in the lion's mouth but sized just large enough so that it can never be removed.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: According to feng shui, correct placement of the lions is important to ensure their beneficial effect. When looking at the entrance from outside the building, facing the lions, the male lion with the ball is on the right, and the female with the cub is on the left.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Chinese lions are intended to reflect the emotion of the animal as opposed to the reality of the lion. This is in distinct opposition to the which is a lifelike depiction of the animal. The claws, teeth and eyes of the Chinese lion represent power. Few if any muscles are visible in the Chinese lion whereas the English lion shows its power through its life-like characteristics rather than through stylized representation.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: With increased trade during the Han dynasty and cultural exchanges through the Silk road, lions were introduced into China from the ancient states of Central Asia by peoples of Sogdiana, Samarkand, and the Yuezhi () in the form of pelts and live tribute, along with stories about them from Buddhist priests and travelers of the time.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Several instances of lions as imperial tributes from Central Asia were recorded in the document "Book of the Later Han" () written from 25 to 220 CE. On one particular event, on the eleventh lunar month of 87 CE, "... an envoy from Parthia offered as tribute a lion and an ostrich" to the Han court. Indeed, the lion was associated by the Han Chinese to earlier venerated creatures of the ancient Chinese, most notably by the monk Huilin () who stated that "the mythic suan-ni () is actually the lion, coming from the Western Regions" ().


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: The Buddhist version of the Lion was originally introduced to Han China as the protector of dharma and these lions have been found in religious art as early as 208 BC. Gradually they were incorporated as guardians of the Chinese Imperial dharma. Lions seemed appropriately regal beasts to guard the emperor's gates and have been used as such since. There are various styles of guardian lions reflecting influences from different time periods, imperial dynasties, and regions of China. These styles vary in their artistic detail and adornment as well as in the depiction of the lions from fierce to serene.


title: Chinese guardian lions

text: Although the form of the Chinese guardian lion was quite varied during its early history in China, the appearance, pose, and accessories of the lions eventually became standardized and formalized during the Ming and Qing dynasties into more or less its present form.


title: B-segment

text: The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of total car sales in 2020 according to JATO Dynamics.


title: B-segment

text: The European segments are not based on size or weight criteria. In practice, B-segment cars have been described as having a length of approximately from up to , and may vary depending on the body styles, markets, and era. In some cases, the same car may be differently positioned depending on the market.


title: B-segment

text: The Euro NCAP vehicle class called "Supermini" also includes smaller A-segment cars alongside B-segment cars.


title: B-segment

text: In Britain, the term "supermini" is more widely used for B-segment hatchbacks. The term was developed in the 1970s as an informal categorisation, and by 1977 was used regularly by the British newspaper "The Times". By the mid-1980s, it had widespread use in Britain.


title: B-segment

text: In Germany, the term "small cars" () has been endorsed by the Federal Motor Transport Authority ("", KBA) equivalent to the B-segment. The segment accounts for 15.1 percent of total car registrations in the country in 2020.


title: B-segment

text: The term supermini, which precedes the B-segment term emerged in the UK in the 1970s, as car manufacturers sought a new design to surpass the influential Mini, launched in 1959, and journalists attempted to categorise such a vehicle. The car which is widely regarded as the first modern supermini is the Autobianchi A112, launched in 1969. It was later followed by the Fiat 127, Renault 5, VW Polo and Honda Civic, which are similar in concept and size.


title: B-segment

text: These supermini or B-segment cars were considered to feature better comfort and convenience, with the safety and surefootedness of the Mini’s front-wheel drive/transverse engine package. That meant the addition of a hatchback and folding rear seats. The oil crisis in the 1970s was also argued to increase supermini market share.


title: B-segment

text: In 1976, Ford launched the Ford Fiesta which became popular. The segment began to be more popular in the 1980s. By the mid-1980s, the term supermini had become established as a formal car classification term, eventually being adopted in European Commission classification as the B-segment.


title: B-segment

text: The 1990 Renault Clio and 1983 Fiat Uno were significant models in the supermini or the B-segment, being the recipients of the European Car of the Year award. The Clio replaced the long-running Renault 5, although the latter remained in production until 1996. In 1993, the Nissan Micra (K11), became the first Japanese car company to be receive the European Car of the Year award. In 1999, the Toyota Yaris received the European Car of the Year award, and was noted for its high roof which allowed for improved interior space. Another notable model is the Opel Corsa, which was the best-selling car in the world in the year 1998 thanks to its extensive international presence. It recorded a global sales of 910,839 units that year, in which 54 percent was contributed by its European sales. It took the world number one spot from the Toyota Corolla at 906,953 sales.


title: B-segment

text: Safety features have improved for the cars in the segment. In 1995, both petrol and diesel B-segment vehicles had only around 40 percent of the listed safety options installed (side impact bars, driver/passenger airbag, side airbag, ABS, electronic braking system, stability control), whereas by 2010 they were averaging over 90 percent. This represents a significant improvement in vehicle safety over the period, despite petrol and diesel B-segment vehicles averaging an inflation-adjusted price increase of 6 percent and 15 percent respectively.


title: B-segment

text: Studies from the European Union and JATO has found that the average maximum power output of B-segment vehicles has increased by 40 percent between 1995 and 2010, while the average overall vehicle weight only increased by around 20 percent in the same period. Fuel consumption has decreased by around 20 percent, and power-to-weight ratio has increased by 15 percent.


title: B-segment

text: Hatchbacks are the most popular body style for the segment. While the majority are equipped with five doors, many European-oriented hatchbacks are offered with both three-door and five-door versions, with 31 percent of European customers opting for three-door B-segment hatchbacks by 2007. This share decreased to 13 percent in 2016 due to shifts in market preferences, moving towards usability and practicality. As a result, by the late 2010s, a number of manufacturers had stopped offering three-door versions of its B-segment hatchback models in Europe.


title: B-segment

text: Other less common body styles currently available in the segment in Europe are saloons (example: Dacia Logan), estates (example: Dacia Logan MCV and Škoda Fabia Combi), and coupes/convertibles (example: Mini Cooper Cabrio/Convertible).


title: B-segment

text: In 2020 the fifteen highest selling B-segment cars in Europe were the Renault Clio, Peugeot 208, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Polo, Dacia Sandero, Ford Fiesta, Citroën C3, Mini, Renault Zoe, Skoda Fabia, Hyundai i20, Seat Ibiza, Audi A1 and Suzuki Swift.


title: B-segment

text: One of the first mass-market electric B-segment cars in Europe was the Renault Zoe, released in 2012. Global sales of the Zoe achieved the 50,000 unit milestone in June 2016, and 200,000 units by March 2020. Other manufacturers followed suit; Groupe PSA introduced the Peugeot e-208 and Opel Corsa-e in 2019, while Honda followed with the low-volume Honda e, and Mini with their Mini Electric.


title: B-segment

text: The B-segment is considered as the European equivalent to the subcompact category widely known in North America, the A0-class in China, and the supermini category for B-segment hatchbacks in Great Britain.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: Logan Hunter Sargeant (born December 31, 2000) is an American racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Carlin. He will compete for Williams Racing in the 2023 Formula One World Championship, having graduated from the Williams Driver Academy.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: Sargeant began his motorsport career in karting in 2008. In his first year, he competed in the Rotax Micro Max class in regional and national championships, finishing third in the Florida Winter Tour and the Rotax Max Challenge USA. Sargeant later moved to Europe, where he competed in the ROK Cup International Final, Trofeo Delle Industrie, and WSK Euro Series.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: In 2015, Sargeant won the CIK-FIA World KFJ Championship, becoming the first American to becoming the first American to win an FIA Karting World Championship title since Lake Speed in 1978. Sargeant secured his first senior karting title in the 2016 WSK Champions Cup, where he competed in the OK class.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: In the winter of 2016-17, Sargeant made his single-seater debut in the Formula 4 UAE Championship with Team Motopark. Although he did not win any races, he was on the podium in fifteen of the eighteen official races and finished second behind teammate Jonathan Aberdein. In 2017, Sargeant joined Carlin to run the F4 British Championship. Having won two races at Rockingham Motor Speedway and Silverstone, the American finished third in the standings behind his teammate Oscar Piastri and the dominant champion Jamie Caroline.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: In 2018, Sargeant made the full-time switch to the Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP. In the season opener at Paul Ricard he won his first race of his Eurocup career, and later in the season the American added victories at the Nürburgring and the season finale in Barcelona. With 218 points, Sargeant finished fourth behind Max Fewtrell, Christian Lundgaard and Ye Yifei. He also finished second behind Lundgaard in the rookie championship.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: In 2019, Sargeant returned to Carlin, this time in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. The American scored points on four occasions and finished 19th in the championship; his teammates, Felipe Drugovich and Teppei Natori, finished 16th and 24th respectively.


title: Logan Sargeant

text: For the 2020 season, Sargeant switched to Prema Racing, partnering Frederik Vesti and former British F4 rival Piastri. After three podiums, the American scored his first FIA F3 victory in the second feature race at Silverstone, as a result of which he also came into the lead of the championship. Sargeant's next win came in Belgium, where he won the sprint race. However, he only managed to score eight points in the final two rounds of the series. Sargeant finished third in the standings, one point behind runner-up Théo Pourchaire and only four points behind his teammate Piastri.