title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The style of the furnishings of the room and the modernity of the town visible through the arched window set the panels in a contemporary 15th century setting. The interiors have been cited as one of the first representations of medieval "bourgeois domestic culture". Borchert sees this familiar setting as a device to allow 15th century viewers to connect with the panel and so reinforce the conceit that the two saints are apparitions occupying the same space and time as the donor or observer. Yet a number of features in the interior suggest that it is not a secular domestic space, most obviously the cool and austere surfaces, the domed windows and stone columns.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The four panels are most obviously connected by the floor tiling and vanishing point. Shadows falling on the tiling at the lower right hand corner of each panel can only have been cast by the moulding on the frames, that is from an area outside of the pictorial space.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The figures in the panels on the lower register are positioned within uniform niches. The outer panels show the donors Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut, kneeling and gazing into the distance with their hands clasped together in veneration. The inner panels contain paintings of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. They are rendered in grisaille giving the illusion of sculpture. As with most of the other panels on these wings, they are lit from the right. Shadows thrown by the figures establish depth and bring realism to both the faux statues and their painted niches.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: Each saint stands on a stone plinth inscribed with his name. John the Baptist, the son of the priest Zechariah (not to be confused with the prophet of the same name shown on the upper register), holds a lamb in his left arm and is turned towards Joost Vijdt. His right hand is raised and his finger extended to point towards the lamb, a gesture that implies that he is reciting the Agnus Dei. John the Evangelist holds a chalice, a reference to the early medieval tradition that he had ability with cures; he could drink poison from a cup without ill effects.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The donors are painted life size, and thus to a much larger scale than the saints; this is most noticeable in the relative sizes of their heads and hands. Their bright and warmly colored clothes contrast sharply with the grey of the lifeless saints. Van Eyck brings a high degree of realism to his portrayal of the Vijdts; his study of the ailing couple in old age is unflinching and far from flattering. Details that reveal their aging include Joost's watering eyes, wrinkled hands, warts, bald head and stubble streaked with gray. The folds of both figures' skin are meticulously detailed, as are their protruding veins and fingernails. They are generally thought to be among the final panels completed for the altarpiece, and are so dated to 1431 or the early months of 1432.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: Jodocus (known as Joos) Vijd was a wealthy merchant and came from a family that had been influential in Ghent for several generations. His father, Vijd Nikolaas (d. 1412), had been close to Louis II of Flanders. Jodocus was one of the most senior and politically powerful citizens of Ghent. He was titled "Seigneur" of Pamele and Ledeberg, and in a difficult and rebellious political climate, became one of the Duke of Burgundy Philip the Good's most trusted local councilmen. Around 1398 Jodocus married Lysbette Borluut, also from an established city family.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The couple died childless. Their endowment to the church and the commissioning the unprecedentedly monumental altarpiece were intended, primarily, to secure a legacy. But, according to Borchert, also to "secure his position in the hereafter" and, important to such an ambitious politician, demonstrate his social prestige, revealing, Borchert believes, a desire to "show off and ... outstrip by far all other endowments to St John's, if not each and every other church and monastery in Ghent."


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: Ghent prospered through the early 15th century, and a number of local councilors sought to establish a sense of independence from Burgundian rule. Philip was in financial difficulty, and asked the city for revenue, a burden many city councilors felt unreasonable and could ill afford, financially or politically. The situation became tense, and because there was division within the council over the burden, this led to a mistrust that meant council membership was dangerous and precarious. During a power play in 1432 a number of councilors were murdered, seemingly for their loyalty to Philip. Tensions came to with head in a 1433 revolt, which ended with the beheading of the councilors who had acted as ringleaders.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: Throughout Vijd stayed loyal to Philip. His position as warden at St. John the Baptist's church (now Saint Bavo Cathedral) reflects this; the church was favoured by the Burgundians for official ceremonies held in Ghent. On the day of the altarpiece's consecration, 6 May 1432, Philip's and Isabella of Portugal's son was baptised there, indicating Vijd's status at the time.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: As warden ("kerkmeester") of St. John's, Vijd between 1410 and 1420 not only financed the construction of the principal chapel's bay, but endowed a new chapel off the choir, which took his family name and was regularly to hold masses in his and his ancestors' memory. It was for this new chapel that he commissioned Hubert van Eyck to create an unusually large and complex polyptych altarpiece. He was recorded as donor on an inscription on the original, now lost, frame. The chapel was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, whose traditional attribute is the Lamb of God, a symbol of Christ.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The first significant restoration was carried out in 1550 by the painters Lancelot Blondeel and Jan van Scorel, following the earlier and poorly executed cleaning by Jan van Scorel, that led to damage to the predella. The 1550 undertaking was performed with a care and reverence that a contemporary account writes of "such love that they kissed that skilful work in art in many places". The predella was destroyed by fire in the 16th century. Comprising a strip of small square panels and executed in water based paints, it showed hell or limbo with Christ arriving to redeem those about to be saved. During the Protestant Reformation the piece was moved out of the chapel to prevent damage in the "Beeldenstorm", first to the attic and later to the town hall, where it remained for two decades. In 1662 the Ghent painter Antoon van den Heuvel was commissioned to clean the Ghent Altarpiece.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The altarpiece has been moved several times over the centuries. Art historian Noah Charney describes the altarpiece as one of the more coveted and desired pieces of art, the victim of 13 crimes since its installation, and seven thefts. After the French Revolution the altarpiece was among a number of art works plundered in today's Belgium and taken to Paris where they were exhibited at the Louvre. It was returned to Ghent in 1815 after the French defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The painting's wings (not including the Adam and Eve panels) were pawned in 1815 by the Diocese of Ghent for the equivalent of £240. When the diocese failed to redeem them, many of them were sold by the dealer Nieuwenhuys in 1816 to the English collector Edward Solly for £4,000 in Berlin. They were sold in 1821 to the King of Prussia, Frederick William III for £16,000, an enormous sum at the time, and for many decades they were exhibited in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. The panels still in Ghent were damaged by fire in 1822, and the separately hinged Adam and Eve panels sent to a museum in Brussels.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: During World War I, other panels were taken from the cathedral by German forces. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and its subsequent reparations transfers, in 1920 Germany returned the pilfered panels, along with the original panels that had been legitimately bought by Solly, to help compensate for other German "acts of destruction" during the war. The Germans "bitterly resented the loss of the panels". In 1934, "The Just Judges" and "Saint John the Baptist" panels were stolen. The panel of "Saint John the Baptist" was returned by the thief as a goodwill gesture, but the "Just Judges" panel is still missing. Albert Camus in "The Fall" imagines it is kept by the protagonist, Clamence, in his Amsterdam apartment.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: In 1940, at the start of another invasion by Germany, a decision was made in Belgium to send the altarpiece to the Vatican to keep it safe during World War II. The painting was "en route" to the Vatican, but still in France, when Italy declared war as an Axis power alongside Germany. The painting was stored in a museum in Pau for the duration of the war, with French, Belgian and German military representatives signing an agreement which required the consent of all three before the masterpiece could be moved. In 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered the painting to be seized and brought to Germany to be stored in the Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. The seizure, led by senior museum administrator Ernst Buchner and aided by officials in France, was ostensibly to protect the altarpiece from war. After Allied air raids made the castle too dangerous for the painting, it was stored in the Altaussee salt mines, which greatly damaged the paint and varnish. Belgian and French authorities protested the seizing of the painting, and the head of the German army's Art Protection Unit was dismissed after he disagreed with the seizure. Following the war, in 1945, the altarpiece was recovered by the Allied group Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program and returned to Belgium in a ceremony presided over by Belgian royalty at the Royal Palace of Brussels, where the 17 panels were displayed for the press. French officials were not invited as the Vichy government had allowed the Germans to remove the painting.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The Belgian art restorer Jef Van der Veken produced a copy of 'The Just Judges', as part of an overall restoration effort.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: In addition to war damage, the panels were threatened during outbreaks of iconoclasm, and have suffered fire damage.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: Another restoration began in 1950–51, due to damage sustained during the altarpiece's stay in the Austrian mines during WWII. In this period newly developed restoration technology, such as x-ray, was applied to the panels.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: A program of restoration at the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent began in October 2012. With a budget of €2.2 million, the project was carried out by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). Only the panels being worked on were in the museum at any one time, with the others remained on display in the cathedral. At the museum the public could see the work in progress from behind a glass screen.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The eight outer panels were restored between 2012 and 2016; some 70% of the outer panels' surface had been overpainted in the 16th century, a subtle discovery made possible by advances in imaging techniques during the 2010s. Mathematician Ingrid Daubechies and a group of collaborators developed new mathematical techniques to both reverse the effects of aging and untangle and remove the effects of past ill-fated conservation efforts. Using highly precise photographs and X-rays of the panels as well as various filtering methods, the team of mathematicians found a way to automatically detect the cracks caused by aging. They were able to decipher the apparent text of the polyptych, which was attributed to Thomas Aquinas.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: Restoration of the five lower panels took three years, was completed in January 2020, and they were returned to St Bavo's Cathedral. The uncovering of the original face of the Lamb of God was a notable change; the original Lamb has unusually humanoid features, with forward-facing eyes that appear to look directly at the viewer of the panel.


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The search for the stolen altarpiece near the end of World War II is a major plot point of the 2014 film "The Monuments Men".


title: Ghent Altarpiece

text: The burning of the twelfth panel "Just Judges" is part of the plot of the 2022 book The Omega Factor by "Steve Berry (novelist)".


title: YoungBoy Never Broke Again discography

text: The discography of American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again consists of four studio albums, one compilation album, 25 mixtapes (including six collaborative mixtapes), three extended plays, and 91 singles (including twenty one as a featured artist).


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Diabetes insipidus (DI), recently renamed to Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency (AVP-D) and Arginine Vasopressin Resistance (AVP-R), is a condition characterized by large amounts of dilute urine and increased thirst. The amount of urine produced can be nearly 20 liters per day. Reduction of fluid has little effect on the concentration of the urine. Complications may include dehydration or seizures.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: There are four types of DI, each with a different set of causes. Central DI (CDI) is due to a lack of the hormone vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone). This can be due to injury to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland or genetics. Nephrogenic DI (NDI) occurs when the kidneys do not respond properly to vasopressin. Dipsogenic DI is a result of excessive fluid intake due to damage to the hypothalamic thirst mechanism. It occurs more often in those with certain psychiatric disorders or on certain medications. Gestational DI occurs only during pregnancy. Diagnosis is often based on urine tests, blood tests and the fluid deprivation test. Diabetes insipidus is unrelated to diabetes mellitus and the conditions have a distinct mechanism, though both can result in the production of large amounts of urine.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Treatment involves drinking sufficient fluids to prevent dehydration. Other treatments depend on the type. In central and gestational DI, treatment is with desmopressin. Nephrogenic DI may be treated by addressing the underlying cause or by the use of a thiazide, aspirin or ibuprofen. The number of new cases of diabetes insipidus each year is 3 in 100,000. Central DI usually starts between the ages of 10 and 20 and occurs in males and females equally. Nephrogenic DI can begin at any age. The term "diabetes" is derived from the Greek word meaning siphon.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Excessive urination and extreme thirst and increased fluid intake (especially for cold water and sometimes ice or ice water) are typical for DI. The symptoms of excessive urination and extreme thirst are similar to what is seen in untreated diabetes mellitus, with the distinction that the urine does not contain glucose. Blurred vision is a rarity. Signs of dehydration may also appear in some individuals, since the body cannot conserve much (if any) of the water it takes in.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Extreme urination continues throughout the day and the night. In children, DI can interfere with appetite, eating, weight gain and growth, as well. They may present with fever, vomiting or diarrhea. Adults with untreated DI may remain healthy for decades as long as enough water is consumed to offset the urinary losses. However, there is a continuous risk of dehydration and loss of potassium that may lead to hypokalemia.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Central (or "Neurogenic") DI has many possible causes. According to the literature, the principal causes of central DI and their oft-cited approximate frequencies are as follows:


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is due to the inability of the kidney to respond normally to vasopressin.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Dipsogenic DI or primary polydipsia results from excessive intake of fluids as opposed to deficiency of arginine vasopressin. It may be due to a defect or damage to the thirst mechanism, located in the hypothalamus, or due to mental illness. Treatment with desmopressin may lead to water intoxication.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Gestational DI occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period. During pregnancy, women produce vasopressinase in the placenta, which breaks down antidiuretic hormone (ADH). Gestational DI is thought to occur with excessive production and/or impaired clearance of vasopressinase.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Most cases of gestational DI can be treated with desmopressin (DDAVP), but not vasopressin. In rare cases, however, an abnormality in the thirst mechanism causes gestational DI, and desmopressin should not be used.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Diabetes insipidus is also associated with some serious diseases of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, HELLP syndrome and acute fatty liver of pregnancy. These cause DI by impairing hepatic clearance of circulating vasopressinase. It is important to consider these diseases if a woman presents with diabetes insipidus in pregnancy, because their treatments require delivery of the baby before the disease will improve. Failure to treat these diseases promptly can lead to maternal or perinatal mortality.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Electrolyte and volume homeostasis is a complex mechanism that balances the body's requirements for blood pressure and the main electrolytes sodium and potassium. In general, electrolyte regulation precedes volume regulation. When the volume is severely depleted, however, the body will retain water at the expense of deranging electrolyte levels.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: The regulation of urine production occurs in the hypothalamus, which produces ADH in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei. After synthesis, the hormone is transported in neurosecretory granules down the axon of the hypothalamic neuron to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, where it is stored for later release. In addition, the hypothalamus regulates the sensation of thirst in the ventromedial nucleus by sensing increases in serum osmolarity and relaying this information to the cortex.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Neurogenic/central DI results from a lack of ADH; occasionally it can present with decreased thirst as regulation of thirst and ADH production occur in close proximity in the hypothalamus. It is encountered as a result of hypoxic encephalopathy, neurosurgery, autoimmunity or cancer, or sometimes without an underlying cause (idiopathic).


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: The main effector organ for fluid homeostasis is the kidney. ADH acts by increasing water permeability in the collecting ducts and distal convoluted tubules; specifically, it acts on proteins called aquaporins and more specifically aquaporin 2 in the following cascade. When released, ADH binds to V2 G-protein coupled receptors within the distal convoluted tubules, increasing cyclic AMP, which couples with protein kinase A, stimulating translocation of the aquaporin 2 channel stored in the cytoplasm of the distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts into the apical membrane. These transcribed channels allow water into the collecting duct cells. The increase in permeability allows for reabsorption of water into the bloodstream, thus concentrating the urine.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Nephrogenic DI results from lack of aquaporin channels in the distal collecting duct (decreased surface expression and transcription). It is seen in lithium toxicity, hypercalcemia, hypokalemia, or release of ureteral obstruction. Therefore, a lack of ADH prevents water reabsorption and the osmolarity of the blood increases. With increased osmolarity, the osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect this change and stimulate thirst. With increased thirst, the person now experiences a polydipsia and polyuria cycle.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Hereditary forms of diabetes insipidus account for less than 10% of the cases of diabetes insipidus seen in clinical practice.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: To distinguish DI from other causes of excess urination, blood glucose levels, bicarbonate levels, and calcium levels need to be tested. Measurement of blood electrolytes can reveal a high sodium level (hypernatremia as dehydration develops). Urinalysis demonstrates a dilute urine with a low specific gravity. Urine osmolarity and electrolyte levels are typically low.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: A fluid deprivation test is another way of distinguishing DI from other causes of excessive urination. If there is no change in fluid loss, giving desmopressin can determine if DI is caused by:


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: This test measures the changes in body weight, urine output, and urine composition when fluids are withheld to induce dehydration. The body's normal response to dehydration is to conserve water by concentrating the urine. Those with DI continue to urinate large amounts of dilute urine in spite of water deprivation. In primary polydipsia, the urine osmolality should increase and stabilize at above 280 mOsm/kg with fluid restriction, while a stabilization at a lower level indicates diabetes insipidus. Stabilization in this test means, more specifically, when the increase in urine osmolality is less than 30 Osm/kg per hour for at least three hours. Sometimes measuring blood levels of ADH toward the end of this test is also necessary, but is more time-consuming to perform.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: To distinguish between the main forms, desmopressin stimulation is also used; desmopressin can be taken by injection, a nasal spray, or a tablet. While taking desmopressin, a person should drink fluids or water only when thirsty and not at other times, as this can lead to sudden fluid accumulation in the central nervous system. If desmopressin reduces urine output and increases urine osmolarity, the hypothalamic production of ADH is deficient, and the kidney responds normally to exogenous vasopressin (desmopressin). If the DI is due to kidney pathology, desmopressin does not change either urine output or osmolarity (since the endogenous vasopressin levels are already high).


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Whilst diabetes insipidus usually occurs with polydipsia, it can also rarely occur not only in the absence of polydipsia but in the presence of its opposite, adipsia (or hypodipsia). "Adipsic diabetes insipidus" is recognised as a marked absence of thirst even in response to hyperosmolality. In some cases of adipsic DI, the person may also fail to respond to desmopressin.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: If central DI is suspected, testing of other hormones of the pituitary, as well as magnetic resonance imaging, particularly a pituitary MRI, is necessary to discover if a disease process (such as a prolactinoma, or histiocytosis, syphilis, tuberculosis or other tumor or granuloma) is affecting pituitary function. Most people with this form have either experienced past head trauma or have stopped ADH production for an unknown reason.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Treatment involves drinking sufficient fluids to prevent dehydration. Other treatments depend on the type. In central and gestational DI treatment is with desmopressin. Nephrogenic DI may be treated by addressing the underlying cause or the use of a thiazide, aspirin, or ibuprofen.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Central DI and gestational DI respond to desmopressin which is given as intranasal or oral tablets. Carbamazepine, an anticonvulsive medication, has also had some success in this type of DI. Also, gestational DI tends to abate on its own four to six weeks following labor, though some women may develop it again in subsequent pregnancies. In dipsogenic DI, desmopressin is not usually an option.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Desmopressin will be ineffective in nephrogenic DI which is treated by reversing the underlying cause (if possible) and replacing the free water deficit. A thiazide diuretic, such as chlorthalidone or hydrochlorothiazide, can be used to create mild hypovolemia which encourages salt and water uptake in proximal tubule and thus improve nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Amiloride has additional benefit of blocking Na uptake. Thiazide diuretics are sometimes combined with amiloride to prevent hypokalemia caused by the thiazides. It seems paradoxical to treat an extreme diuresis with a diuretic, and the exact mechanism of action is unknown but the thiazide diuretics will decrease distal convoluted tubule reabsorption of sodium and water, thereby causing diuresis. This decreases plasma volume, thus lowering the glomerular filtration rate and enhancing the absorption of sodium and water in the proximal nephron. Less fluid reaches the distal nephron, so overall fluid conservation is obtained.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: Lithium-induced nephrogenic DI may be effectively managed with the administration of amiloride, a potassium-sparing diuretic often used in conjunction with thiazide or loop diuretics. Clinicians have been aware of lithium toxicity for many years, and traditionally have administered thiazide diuretics for lithium-induced polyuria and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. However, amiloride has recently been shown to be a successful treatment for this condition.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: The word "diabetes" ( or ) comes from Latin , which in turn comes from , which literally means "a passer through; a siphon". Ancient Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia (fl. in the first century CE) used that word, with the intended meaning "excessive discharge of urine", as the name for the disease. Ultimately, the word comes from Greek (), meaning "to pass through", which is composed of - ("dia"-), meaning "through" and (), meaning "to go". The word "diabetes" is first recorded in English, in the form "diabete", in a medical text written around 1425.


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: "Insipidus" comes from Latin language (tasteless), from Latin: "in-" "not" + "tasty" from "sapere" "have a taste"—the full meaning is "lacking flavor or zest; not tasty". Application of this name to DI arose from the fact that diabetes insipidus does not cause glycosuria (excretion of glucose into the urine).


title: Diabetes insipidus

text: In a large survey conducted amongst patients with central diabetes insipidus, the majority were in favor of changing the disease's name to "vasopressin deficiency" to avoid confusion with diabetes mellitus.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: To Live and Die in L.A. is a 1985 American neo-noir action crime thriller film directed and co-written by William Friedkin and based on the 1984 novel by former U.S. Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, who co-wrote the screenplay with Friedkin. The film features William Petersen, Willem Dafoe and John Pankow among others. Wang Chung composed and performed the original music soundtrack. The film tells the story of the lengths to which two Secret Service agents go to arrest a counterfeiter.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: After a terrorist assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, Richard Chance and Jimmy Hart are United States Secret Service agents assigned as counterfeiting investigators in its Los Angeles field office. Chance has a reputation for reckless, impulsive behavior and, unbeknownst to his superiors in the Service is also corrupt, while Hart is three days away from retirement. Alone, Hart stakes out a warehouse in the desert thought to be a print house of counterfeiter and artist Eric "Rick" Masters. After Masters and Jack, his bodyguard, kill Hart, Chance explains to his new partner, John Vukovich, that he will take Masters down no matter what.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The two agents attempt to get information on Masters by putting one of his criminal associates, attorney Max Waxman, under surveillance. Vukovich falls asleep on watch, and consequently they fail to catch Masters in the act of murdering Waxman who had crossed him. While Vukovich wants to go by the book, Chance becomes increasingly reckless and unethical in his efforts to catch Masters. Chance relies on his sexual-extortion relationship with parolee/informant Ruth for information, while Vukovich meets privately with Masters' associates, including attorney Bob Grimes whom he attempts to turn. Grimes, acknowledging a potential conflict of interest that could ruin his legal practice, agrees to set up a meeting between his client and the two agents posing as doctors from Palm Springs interested in Masters' counterfeiting services. Masters is reluctant to work with them, but ultimately agrees to print them $1 million worth of fake bills.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: In turn, Masters demands $30,000 in front money, which is three times the authorized agency limit for buy money. To get the cash, Chance persuades Vukovich to aid him in robbing Thomas Ling, a man whom Ruth previously told Chance is bringing in $50,000 cash to purchase stolen diamonds. Chance and Vukovich intercept Ling at Union Station and seize the cash in an industrial area under Vincent Thomas Bridge. Ling's cover people follow them and while observing the robbery, open fire and accidentally kill Ling. Chance and Vukovich try to evade them through the streets, freeways and even one of the flood control channels, before a final escape by going the wrong way on the freeway. The next day, the end of their daily briefing includes an FBI bulletin that Ling was its undercover agent, kidnapped, robbed and murdered while on a sting operation. Only a generic description of the assailants and their vehicle is given. While Chance and Vukovich did not kill Ling, Vukovich is nonetheless consumed by guilt, while Chance is apathetic and focused solely on getting Masters. Unable to persuade Chance to come clean about their role in Ling's death, Vukovich meets with Grimes, who advises him to turn himself in and testify against Chance in exchange for a lighter sentence. Vukovich refuses to implicate his partner. Chance sets up the buy with Masters, who seems to hint he is aware of the heist.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Chance and Vukovich meet with Masters for the exchange. After inspecting the counterfeit million, the agents attempt to arrest Masters and Jack, but Jack pulls a shotgun. Jack and Chance fatally shoot each other, and Masters escapes. Vukovich gives chase, going to a warehouse a previous informant had told him about. By the time he arrives, Masters has set fire to everything inside, destroying all evidence. Vukovich confronts Masters and during a brief struggle, Masters asks Vukovich why he did not take Grimes' advice to turn his partner in, revealing that Grimes was working on Masters' behalf all along. While Vukovich is stunned at the revelation, Masters grabs a board and knocks him unconscious. Masters then covers Vukovich with shredded paper and is about to set him on fire when Vukovich comes round and shoots Masters. Masters drops his lighter and accidentally sets himself ablaze. Vukovich shoots the burning man, continuing to pull the trigger of his empty gun as Masters burns alive.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Dressed more casually, Vukovich visits Ruth as she packs up to leave L.A. He mentions Chance's death, suggesting she had known all along that Ling was FBI and she had played Chance. He knows Chance left her with the remaining cash, the agency now wants back, but Ruth says she needed it to pay debts. Vukovich declares that Ruth is now working for him, turning into the same "whatever it takes" agent that his partner was, and stopping her efforts to escape her shady life.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Director William Friedkin was given Gerald Petievich's novel in manuscript form and found it very authentic. The filmmaker was also fascinated by the "absolutely surrealistic nature" of the job of a Secret Service agent outside Washington, D.C. When the film deal was announced, Petievich was investigated by a rival for a pending office promotion, and felt "a lot of resentment against me for making the movie" and "some animosity against me in the Secret Service" existed, exacerbated by the agent in the Los Angeles field office who suddenly resigned a few weeks after initiating the investigation. SLM Productions, a tribunal of financiers, worked with Friedkin on a ten-picture, $100 million deal with 20th Century Fox but when the studio was purchased by Rupert Murdoch, one of the financiers pulled the deal and took it to MGM.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Friedkin had a $6 million budget to work with while the cast and crew worked for relatively low salaries. As a result, he realized that the film would have no movie stars in it. William Petersen was acting in Canada when asked to fly to New York City and meet with the director. Half a page into his reading, Friedkin told him he had the part. The actor was drawn to the character of Chance as someone who had a badge and a gun and how it not only made him above the law, but also "above life and death in his head". The actor found the experience of being this character and making the film "amazing" and "intoxicating". He called fellow Chicago actor John Pankow and brought him to Friedkin's apartment the day after being cast as Chance, recommending him for the role of Vukovich. The director agreed on the spot.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Former Secret Service agent and author Gerald Petievich, who wrote the book the film is based on, appears in a cameo as a fellow Secret Service agent.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The basic plot, characters, and much of the dialogue of the film is drawn from Petievich's novel, but Friedkin added the opening terrorist sequence, the car chase, and clearer, earlier focus on the showdown between Chance and Masters. Petievich said that Friedkin wrote a number of scenes but when there was a new scene or a story in need to be changed, he wrote it. The director admits that Petievich created the characters and situations and that he used a lot of dialogue but that he wrote the screenplay, not Petievich.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The director wanted to make an independent film and collaborate with people who could work fast, like cinematographer Robby Müller and his handpicked crew who were non-union members. Friedkin shot everything on location and worked quickly, often using the first take to give a sense of immediacy. He did not like to rehearse but would create situations where the actors thought they were rehearsing a scene when actually they were shooting a take. Friedkin did this just in case he got something he could use. To this end, he let scenes play out and allowed the actors to stay in character and improvise. For example, during the scene where Chance visits Ruthie at the bar where she works, Friedkin allowed Petersen and actress Darlanne Fluegel to devise their own blocking and told Müller, "Just shoot them. Try and keep them in the frame. If they're not in the frame, they're not in the movie. That's their problem."


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The shot of Petersen running along the top of the dividers between the terminal's moving sidewalk at the Los Angeles International Airport got the filmmakers into trouble with the airport police. The airport had prohibited this action, mainly for Petersen's safety, as they felt that their insurance would not have covered him had he hurt himself. The actor told Friedkin that they should do the stunt anyway so the director proposed that they treat it like a rehearsal but have the cameras rolling and shoot the scene, angering airport officials.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The counterfeiting montage looks authentic because Friedkin consulted actual counterfeiters who had done time. The "consultant" actually did the scenes that do not show actor Willem Dafoe on camera to give this sequence more authenticity even though the actor learned how to print money. Over one million dollars of counterfeit money was produced but with three deliberate errors so that it could not be used outside the film. The filmmakers burned most of the fake money but some leaked out, was used, and linked back to the production. The son of one of the crew members tried to use some of the prop money to buy candy at a local store and was caught. Three FBI agents from Washington, D.C. interviewed 12–15 crew members including Friedkin, who screened the workprint for them. He offered to show the film to the Secretary of the Treasury and take out anything that was a danger to national security. That was the last he heard from the government.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The wrong-way car chase on a Los Angeles freeway sequence was one of the last things shot in the film and it took six weeks to shoot. At this point, Friedkin was working with a very stripped-down crew. He came up with the idea of staging the chase against the flow of traffic on February 25, 1963 when he was driving home from a wedding in Chicago. He fell asleep at the wheel and woke up in the wrong lane with oncoming traffic heading straight for him. He swerved back to his side of the road and for the next 20 years wondered how he was going to use it in a film. He told stunt coordinator Buddy Joe Hooker that if they could come up with a chase better than the one in "The French Connection" then it would be in the film. If not, he would not use it. Petersen did a lot of his own driving during this sequence and actor John Pankow's stressed-out reactions were real. Three weekends were spent on sections of the Terminal Island Freeway near Wilmington, California that were closed for four hours at a time to allow the crew to stage the chaotic chase. With delays, the film ran a reported $1 million over budget.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Adding to the chaotic feeling of the chase, Friedkin staged it so that the freeway traffic flow was reversed. That is that the normal traffic in the scene has the drivers driving on their left in the left hand lanes (as in Britain) while the cars driving against the flow were driving on their right (as would be usual in North America).


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: In reference to a sex sequence between William Petersen and Darlanne Fluegel, director William Friedkin revealed to have told the actors to "make it as real as possible. Make it real".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: As early as the day he cast Petersen, Friedkin thought about killing off Chance towards the end of the film, but according to editor Bud Smith, Vukovich was supposed to be the one who was killed. The climactic scene in which Chance is killed was not very well received by MGM executives, who found it to be too negative. To satisfy the studio heads, he shot a second ending, in which Chance survives the shotgun blast and, presumably as an internal punishment, he and Vukovich are transferred to a remote Secret Service station in Alaska, and watch their boss Thomas Bateman being interviewed on television. Friedkin previewed the alternate ending and kept the original.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: "To Live and Die in L.A." premiered in the United States on November 1, 1985 in 1,135 screens where it grossed $3.6 million on its opening weekend behind "Death Wish 3". It went on to make $17.3 million in the United States and Canada, well above its $6 million budget.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 85% from 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With coke fiends, car chases, and Wang Chung galore, "To Live and Die in L.A." is perhaps the ultimate '80s action/thriller."


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Roger Ebert, film critic for the "Chicago Sun-Times", gave the film four out of four stars and wrote that "the movie is also first-rate. The direction is the key. Friedkin has made some good movies...and some bad ones. This is his comeback, showing the depth and skill of the early pictures". He went on to praise Petersen, "a Chicago stage actor who comes across as tough, wiry and smart. He has some of the qualities of a Steve McQueen".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Critic Janet Maslin was dismissive of the film, and wrote "Today, in the dazzling, superficial style that Mr. Friedkin has so thoroughly mastered, it's the car chases and shootouts and eye-catching settings that are truly the heart of the matter".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: David Ansen, critic for "Newsweek", wrote "Shot with gritty flamboyance by Robby Muller, cast with a fine eye for fresh, tough-guy faces, "To Live and Die in L.A." may be fake savage, but it's fun".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The staff at "Variety" gave the film a mixed review and wrote that it was over the top: ""To Live and Die in L.A." looks like a rich man's "Miami Vice". William Friedkin's evident attempt to fashion a West Coast equivalent of his 1971] "The French Connection" is engrossing and diverting enough on a moment-to-moment basis but is overtooled...Friedkin keeps dialog to a minimum, but what conversation there is proves wildly overloaded with streetwise obscenities, so much so that it becomes something of a joke".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: In his scathing review for the "Washington Post", Paul Attanasio wrote ""To Live and Die in L.A." will live briefly and die quickly in L.A., where God hath no wrath like a studio executive with bad grosses. Then again, perhaps it's unfair to hold this overheated and recklessly violent movie to the high standard established by "Starsky and Hutch"".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Movie historian Leonard Maltin seemed to agree with Attanasio, giving "TLADILA" 1.5 stars out of a possible four: "Try to imagine "Miami Vice" on the West Coast...here you have it. This picture is so gritty that it's hard to root for anybody -- since the good guys are as foul-mouthed, avaricious, and sadistic as the bad guys! For a crack Secret Service agent and a master counterfeiter, both Dafoe and Petersen act pretty dumb; Friedkin delivers one of the most spectacular car chases since his own "French Connection", along with a galvanizing score by Wang Chung, but even that's not enough to counteract the bad taste this film leaves behind."


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Jay Scott, in his review for "The Globe and Mail", wrote "Pity poor Los Angeles: first the San Andreas fault and now this. The thing about it is, "To Live and Die in L.A.", for all its amorality and downright immorality, is a cracker-jack thriller, tense and exciting and unpredictable, and more grimy fun than any moralist will want it to be".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: "Time" criticized its "brutal, bloated car-chase sequence pilfered from Friedkin's nifty "The French Connection"", and called it "a fetid movie hybrid: Miami Vile".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Almost two decades later, a review in "The Digital Fix" called the film "A sun-bleached study in corruption and soul-destroying brutality, this film by the notoriously erratic but sometimes brilliant William Friedkin is nasty, cynical and incredibly good." The film was voted as the 19th best film set in Los Angeles in the last 25 years by a group of "Los Angeles Times" writers and editors with two criteria: "The movie had to communicate some inherent truth about the L.A. experience, and only one film per director was allowed on the list".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: Although criticized at the time for the lack of accomplished celebrities in its cast, many of the actors have become established stars, most notably Willem Dafoe, William Petersen, John Pankow, Jane Leeves, and John Turturro.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: According to Friedkin, the main reason he chose Wang Chung to compose the soundtrack was because the band "stands out from the rest of contemporary music ... What they finally recorded has not only enhanced the film, it has given it a deeper, more powerful dimension". He wanted them to compose the score for his film after listening to the band's previous album, "Points on the Curve". He was so taken with the album that he took one of the songs straight off the album, "Wait", and used it as part of the soundtrack. "Wait" plays at the end credits of the film. Every song on the soundtrack, excluding the title song and "Wait", was written and recorded within a two-week period. Only after Wang Chung saw a rough cut of the film did they produce the title song.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: An original motion picture soundtrack was released on September 30, 1985, by Geffen Records. The album contained eight tracks. The album's title song, "To Live and Die in L.A.", (with a music video also directed by Friedkin), made it on the "Billboard" Hot 100 where it peaked at #41 in the United States.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: A DVD was released by MGM Home Entertainment on December 2, 2003. The DVD contains a new restored wide-screen transfer, an audio commentary featuring director Friedkin where he relates stories about the making of the movie, a half-hour documentary featuring the main characters, a deleted scene showing a distraught Vukovich bothering his soon-to-be ex-wife at her apartment, and the alternate ending Friedkin refused to use, in which the two Secret Service partners survive but are transferred to Alaska while their supervisor Bateman is promoted and takes credit for stopping Masters. On February 2, 2010, the film was released on Blu-ray not containing all of the previous special features that were included on the DVD release.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: On November 21, 2016, Arrow Video released a Region B Blu-ray edition with the old features and new features with the composer, stunt co-ordinator, William Petersen, Debra Feuer and Dwier Brown. On November 22, 2016, Shout Factory released a Collector's Edition, restoring the original DVD's special features and adding new ones.


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: The car chase featured in the film has consistently been ranked among the best car chase sequences on film, often appearing alongside "The French Connection" (another Friedkin directed film), "The Seven-Ups", "The Blues Brothers", "Ronin" and "Bullitt".


title: To Live and Die in L.A. (film)

text: In 2015 William Friedkin announced plans to develop a TV series based on the movie for WGN America. The show is still in development as of July, 2021.


title: Juggernaut

text: A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath.


title: Juggernaut

text: The figurative use of the word is analogous to figurative uses of steamroller or battering ram to mean something overwhelming. Its ground in social behavior is similar to that of bandwagon, but with overtones of devotional sacrifice. Its British English meaning of a large heavy truck or articulated lorry dates from the second half of the twentieth century.


title: Juggernaut

text: The word is derived from the Sanskrit/Odia (Devanagari , Odia ) "world-lord", combining ("world") and ("lord"), which is one of the names of Krishna found in the Sanskrit epics.


title: Juggernaut

text: The English loanword "juggernaut" in the sense of "a huge wagon bearing an image of a Hindu god" is from the seventeenth century, inspired by the Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Odisha (Orissa), which has the "Ratha Yatra" ("chariot procession"), an annual procession of chariots carrying the "murtis" (Deities) of "Jagannātha", Subhadrā, and Balabhadra.


title: Juggernaut

text: The first European description of this festival is found in a thirteenth-century account by the Late Medieval Franciscan monk and missionary Odoric of Pordenone, who describes Hindus, as a religious sacrifice, casting themselves under the wheels of these huge chariots and being crushed to death. Odoric's description was later taken up and elaborated upon in the popular fourteenth-century "Travels of John Mandeville". Others have suggested more prosaically that the deaths, if any, were accidental and caused by the press of the crowd and the general commotion.


title: Juggernaut

text: Many speakers and writers apply the term to a large machine, or collectively to a team or group of people working together (such as a highly successful sports team or corporation), or even a growing political movement led by a charismatic leader—and it often bears an association with being crushingly destructive towards all obstacles.


title: Juggernaut

text: The figurative sense of the English word, as a merciless, destructive, and unstoppable force, became common in the mid-nineteenth century. Mary Shelley used the term in her novel "The Last Man", published in 1826, to describe the plague: "like Juggernaut, she proceeds crushing out the being of all who strew the high road of life". Charles Dickens used the term in "The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit", published in 1844, to describe the love-lorn sentiments of Mr. Augustus Moddle, the 'youngest gentleman' at Mrs. Todgers's: "He often informed Mrs. Togders that the sun had set upon him; that the billows had rolled over him; that the Car of Juggernaut had crushed him; and also that the deadly Upass tree of Java had blighted him." Robert Louis Stevenson used the term in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", published in 1886, when describing how the out-of-control character Hyde, after running into a child, 'trampled over her body like some damned Juggernaut'.


title: Juggernaut

text: Other notable writers to have used the word this way range from H. G. Wells and Longfellow to Joe Klein. Bill Wilson in "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" of Alcoholics Anonymous describes "self-sufficiency" in society at large as being a "bone-crushing juggernaut whose final achievement is ruin". To the contrary, Mark Twain (autobiography, vol 2), describes Juggernaut as the kindest of gods. Any pretensions to rank or caste do not exist within its temple.


title: Juggernaut

text: Juggernaut (Cain Marko) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in "X-Men" #12 (July 1965) as an adversary of the eponymous superhero team. He possesses superhuman strength and durability, and is virtually immune to most physical attacks; his helmet also protects him from mental attacks.


title: Juggernaut

text: In the future wars depicted in John Shirley's "Eclipse Trilogy", the contending armies use ""Jaegernauts"" - large rolling war machines that can destroy entire city blocks, high rises and other large buildings.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: Zavion Michael Davenport (September 24, 1985August 20, 2020), better known by the stage name Chi Chi DeVayne, was an American drag queen and reality television personality who came to international attention on the eighth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" and on the third season of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars". DeVayne began her drag career in her native Shreveport, Louisiana, where she was known locally prior to her 2016 debut on "Drag Race". Following her time on the show, DeVayne embarked on a number of domestic and international tours, and she was featured on several web series about drag. Davenport was diagnosed with scleroderma in 2018 and, two years later, he died following a bout of pneumonia he contracted after a hospital stay for scleroderma-related kidney failure.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: Zavion Michael Davenport was born on September 24, 1985, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Alberteen Wyandon and Zan Davenport III. He had a sister, Brittany; a brother, DaRico Wyandon; and two half-brothers, Zachary and Zamien Willis.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: As a child, Davenport took classes in ballet and in West African and modern dance. He described parts of his upbringing as rough: he carried a gun, got into trouble, and joined gangs. In an interview on "RuPaul's Drag Race", he said, "Girl, I've seen people shot. I've smelled, like, the smell of brains. When I tell you I come from the streets, I'm not kidding." Davenport attended Fair Park High School, where he was a drum major in the marching band. After graduating in 2003, he began performing in drag on the local nightlife scene. Prior to appearing on "Drag Race", Davenport worked two nine-to-five jobs to support himself.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: DeVayne's first name, Chi Chi, was inspired by the character Chi-Chi Rodriguez from "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar", and the surname DeVayne came from the DeVayne drag family of Shreveport. Her drag mothers were Kourtni DeVayne and Lady Phat Kat. DeVayne enjoyed using different shades of purple makeup. In her early days as a drag entertainer, she was a regular performer at the Central Station nightclub in Shreveport, where she became known for her backflips.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: DeVayne competed on the eighth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race", which began airing on March 7, 2016. "HuffPost"s James Michael Nichols said she "was the dark horse [of the] season, walking through the doors in the first episode in a dress literally made out of garbage bags". The BBC called her lip sync to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", through which she eliminated fellow contestant Thorgy Thor, "iconic in "Drag Race" history". "Out" dubbed the performance one of the series' best lip syncs. DeVayne made it to the top four but was eliminated before Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls; Bob the Drag Queen won the crown. DeVayne said of the experience: "It changed everything in my life. Everything has turned in a different direction. Before, I was just like, 'What's a good job that I could get here in town, working in a factory?'. It's crazy."


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: DeVayne was interviewed on RuPaul's podcast "" in 2016. The next year, she toured with A Drag Queen Christmas, and she was subsequently a cast member of several international live shows featuring "Drag Race" contestants. In March 2018, she was a part of Max Emerson's series "Drag Babies", which was hosted by Bob the Drag Queen. She served as a drag mentor alongside Peppermint and Shuga Cain. DeVayne then appeared on the third season of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars", which premiered on January 25, 2018. She was eliminated in the fourth episode, originally placing seventh, but she ultimately finished eighth after Morgan McMichaels returned to the competition. DeVayne credited her experience on "Drag Race" with helping her heal from some of the difficulties of her past.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: Davenport was openly gay. In 2018, he was diagnosed with scleroderma, an autoimmune condition. He reported that the disease had caused him to lose weight and had reduced his capacity to dance in early 2020. On July 17 of that year, he was rushed to the hospital with hypertension and scleroderma-related kidney failure. This prompted fans and fellow "Drag Race" contestants to initiate fundraising efforts for his medical bills. Two days later, he posted an update on social media, saying, "I let it go too long without going to the doctor, and these are the consequences". He also expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support from fans and colleagues, and he stated that he was undergoing dialysis treatment. Four weeks later, Davenport was readmitted to the hospital with pneumonia. During that time, he made his final social media post, a video asking fans to keep him in their prayers and promising to "be back soon". He died on August 20, 2020, at the age of 34.


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: Celebrities including Padma Lakshmi, Ross Mathews and Miss Coco Peru paid tribute to DeVayne. Many fellow "Drag Race" contestants also expressed condolences; these included Aja, Alexis Mateo, Alexis Michelle, Aquaria, BeBe Zahara Benet, Bianca Del Rio, Cheryl Hole, Detox, Farrah Moan, Heidi N Closet, India Ferrah, Jaida Essence Hall, Kennedy Davenport, Monét X Change, Nina Bo'nina Brown, Ongina, Pandora Boxx, Peppermint, Priyanka, Roxxxy Andrews, Shea Couleé, Tatianna, Trinity the Tuck, Trixie Mattel and The Vivienne. In a memorial post, GLAAD called DeVayne "an incredible performer and such a bright light".


title: Chi Chi DeVayne

text: The finale episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race" season 13—the first to air after DeVayne's death—contained a tribute segment wherein RuPaul and several former contestants shared memories of DeVayne's life and work. In 2022, director Stephen Dunn announced that DeVayne was meant to play the character Bussy on "Queer as Folk", but she was replaced by Armand Fields after she died. Dunn stated that he set the series in New Orleans due to his longtime friendship with DeVayne.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam, sold under the brand name Keppra among others, is a medication used to treat epilepsy. It is used for partial-onset, myoclonic, or tonic–clonic seizures and is taken either by mouth as an immediate or extended release formulation or by injection into a vein.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Common side effects of levetiracetam include sleepiness, dizziness, feeling tired, and aggression. Severe side effects may include psychosis, suicide, and allergic reactions such as Stevens–Johnson syndrome or anaphylaxis. It is unclear if levetiracetam is safe for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Levetiracetam is the S-enantiomer of etiracetam. Its mechanism of action is not yet clear.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam was approved for medical use in the United States in 1999 and is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the 92nd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 7million prescriptions.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam is effective as single-drug treatment for newly diagnosed focal epilepsy in adults. It reduces focal seizures by 50% or more as an add-on medication.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam is effective for treatment of generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy. It has been approved in the United States as add-on treatment for myoclonic, and tonic-clonic seizures. Levetiracetam has been approved in the European Union as a monotherapy treatment for epilepsy in the case of partial seizures or as an adjunctive therapy for partial, myoclonic, and tonic-clonic seizures.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Based on low-quality evidence, levetiracetam is about as effective as phenytoin for prevention of early seizures after traumatic brain injury. It may be effective for prevention of seizures associated with subarachnoid hemorrhages.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam has not been found to be useful for treatment of neuropathic pain, nor for treatment of essential tremors. Levetiracetam has not been found to be useful for treating autism, but is an effective treatment for partial, myoclonic, or tonic-clonic seizures associated with autism spectrum disorder.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Studies in female pregnant rats have shown minor fetal skeletal abnormalities when given maximum recommended human doses of levetiracetam orally throughout pregnancy and lactation.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Studies were conducted to look for increased adverse effects in the elderly population as compared to younger patients. One such study published in Epilepsy Research showed no significant increase in incidence of adverse symptoms experienced by young or elderly patients with central nervous system (CNS) disorders.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam may be safely used with caution in children over the age of four. However, it has not been determined whether it can be safely given to children under the age of four.


title: Levetiracetam

text: The most common adverse effects of levetiracetam treatment include CNS effects such as somnolence, decreased energy, headache, dizziness, mood swings and coordination difficulties. These adverse effects are most pronounced in the first month of therapy. About 4% of patients dropped out of pre-approval clinical trials due to these side effects.


title: Levetiracetam

text: About 13% of people taking levetiracetam experience adverse neuropsychiatric symptoms, which are usually mild. These include agitation, hostility, apathy, anxiety, emotional lability, and depression. Serious psychiatric adverse side effects that are reversed by drug discontinuation occur in about 1%. These include hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, or psychosis. These occurred mostly within the first month of therapy, but they could develop at any time during treatment.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Although rare, Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), which appears as a painful spreading rash with redness and blistering and/or peeling skin, have been reported in patients treated with levetiracetam. The incidence of SJS following exposure to anti-epileptics such as levetiracetam is about 1 in 3,000.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam should not be used in people who have previously shown hypersensitivity to levetiracetam or any of the inactive ingredients in the tablet or oral solution. Such hypersensitivity reactions include, but are not limited to, unexplained rash with redness or blistered skin, difficulty breathing, and tightness in the chest or airways.


title: Levetiracetam

text: In a study, the incidence of decreased bone mineral density of patients on levetiracetam was significantly higher than those for other epileptic medications.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam, along with other anti-epileptic drugs, can increase the risk of suicidal behavior or thoughts. People taking levetiracetam should be monitored closely for signs of worsening depression, suicidal thoughts or tendencies, or any altered emotional or behavioral states.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Kidney impairment decreases the rate of elimination of levetiracetam from the body. Individuals with reduced kidney function may require dose adjustments. Kidney function can be estimated from the rate of creatinine clearance.


title: Levetiracetam

text: No significant pharmacokinetic interactions were observed between levetiracetam or its major metabolite and concomitant medications. The pharmacokinetic profile of levetiracetam is not influenced by phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, carbamazepine, valproic acid, lamotrigine, gabapentin, digoxin, ethinylestradiol, or warfarin.


title: Levetiracetam

text: The exact mechanism by which levetiracetam acts to treat epilepsy is unknown. Levetiracetam does not exhibit pharmacologic actions similar to that of classical anticonvulsants. It does not inhibit voltage-dependent Na+ channels, does not affect GABAergic transmission, and does not bind to GABAergic or glutamatergic receptors. However, the drug binds to SV2A, a synaptic vesicle glycoprotein, and inhibits presynaptic calcium channels, reducing neurotransmitter release and acting as a neuromodulator. This is believed to impede impulse conduction across synapses.


title: Levetiracetam

text: The absorption of levetiracetam tablets and oral solution is rapid and essentially complete. The bioavailability of levetiracetam is close to 100 percent, and the effect of food on absorption is minor.


title: Levetiracetam

text: The volume of distribution of levetiracetam is similar to total body water. Levetiracetam modestly binds to plasma proteins (less than 10%).


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam does not undergo extensive metabolism, and the metabolites formed are not active and do not exert pharmacological activity. Metabolism of levetiracetam is not by liver cytochrome P450 enzymes, but through other metabolic pathways such as hydrolysis and hydroxylation.


title: Levetiracetam

text: In persons with normal kidney function, levetiracetam is eliminated from the body primarily by the kidneys with about 66 percent of the original drug passed unchanged into urine. The plasma half-life of levetiracetam in adults is about 6 to 8 hours although the mean CSF half life of approx. 24 hours better reflects levels at site of action.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam is available as regular and extended release oral formulations and as intravenous formulations.


title: Levetiracetam

text: The immediate release tablet has been available as a generic in the United States since 2008, and in the UK since 2011. The patent for the extended release tablet will expire in 2028.


title: Levetiracetam

text: In 2015, Aprecia's 3D-printed orally disintegrating tablet form of the drug was approved by the FDA, under the trade name Spritam. Some have said that the drug has been improved by 3D printing, as the formula used now has improved disintegration properties.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam is a Schedule 4 substance in Australia under the Poisons Standard (February 2020). A Schedule 4 substance is classified as "Prescription Only Medicine, or Prescription Animal Remedy – Substances, the use or supply of which should be by or on the order of persons permitted by State or Territory legislation to prescribe and should be available from a pharmacist on prescription."


title: Levetiracetam

text: Under Japanese law, levetiracetam and other racetams cannot be brought into the country except for personal use by a traveler for whom it has been prescribed. Travelers who plan to bring more than a month's worth must apply for an import certificate, known as a .


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam is being looked at in psychiatric and neurologic conditions such as Tourette syndrome, and anxiety disorder. However, its most serious adverse effects are behavioral, and its benefit-risk ratio in these conditions is not well understood.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Levetiracetam is being tested as a drug to reduce hyperactivity in the hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease.


title: Levetiracetam

text: Additionally, Levetiracetam has been experimentally shown to reduce Levodopa-induced dyskinesia, a type of movement disorder, or dyskinesia associated with the use of Levodopa, a medication used to treat Parkinson's disease.


title: Philosophical razor

text: In philosophy, a razor is a principle or rule of thumb that allows one to eliminate ("shave off") unlikely explanations for a phenomenon, or avoid unnecessary actions.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: Calvin Bassey (, born 31 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a centre-back for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Nigeria national team.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: Bassey is a product of Leicester City's youth system but didn't make a senior appearance for the club before joining Rangers on a free transfer in July 2020. He made 65 appearances over two seasons for Rangers and won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup. In July 2022, he signed for Dutch club Ajax, with Rangers receiving the highest transfer fee in their history.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: Bassey was born in Italy but has represented Nigeria at international level since making his debut in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Ghana in March 2022.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: Bassey joined Leicester City at the age of 15 after a successful trial and progressed through the club's youth ranks, with regular appearances for the clubs' under-18 and under-23 sides.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: On 6 June 2020, Bassey signed a pre-contract with Rangers, with him due to officially join the club with the opening of the summer transfer window in July. On 9 August 2020, he made his professional debut for Rangers in a Scottish Premiership match versus St Mirren as a substitute in a 3–0 win.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: Bassey was a key figure for Rangers during their run to the 2022 UEFA Europa League Final, which they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: In July 2022, it was confirmed by Rangers that Bassey had been sold to Ajax for a club record fee of around £20 million. On his debut for the club in the 2022 Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch Super Cup) on 31 July 2022, he received a direct red card 15 minutes after coming on as a substitute.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: In 2021, Bassey committed his international future to Nigeria when he accepted a call up for their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He debuted with Nigeria in a 0–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Ghana on 25 March 2022.


title: Calvin Bassey

text: Calvin Bassey is the brother of English rapper Y.cb, real name Matthew Bassey, who makes music under UK drill group 7th.


title: Postal 2

text: Postal 2 is a 2003 first-person shooter developed by Running with Scissors. It is the sequel to the 1997 game "Postal" and was released for Microsoft Windows in April 2003, macOS in April 2004 and Linux in April 2005. "Postal 2", as well as its predecessor, have received notoriety for their high levels of violence, stereotyping, and black comedy. Unlike the first game, "Postal 2" is played from a first-person perspective.


title: Postal 2

text: Set in the fictional town of Paradise, based on the real-world Bisbee, "Postal 2" follows the life of "The Postal Dude", who must carry out mundane tasks throughout an in-game week, with the player deciding how violently or passively he will react to various situations. The player navigates the open world to carry out his chores, with player choice having an effect on the setting.


title: Postal 2

text: The game received a mixed reception from critics upon its release. The game has received several expansion packs, and in December 2003, a multiplayer expansion was released, titled "Postal 2: Share the Pain". The game remains continually updated, with a new expansion pack titled "Paradise Lost" released in April 2015.


title: Postal 2

text: The game received attention for its violent gameplay, and was responsible for multiple controversies. The game was followed by a sequel, "Postal III", in December 2011.


title: Postal 2

text: In "Postal 2", the player takes on the role of the Postal Dude, a tall and thin red-headed man with a goatee, sunglasses, a black leather trench coat, and a T-shirt with a grey alien's face printed on it. Postal Dude lives in a dilapidated caravan trailer on land behind a house in the small town of Paradise, Arizona, with his nagging wife, who is identified in the credits as simply "The Bitch". The game's levels are split into days of the week starting Monday and finishing Friday.


title: Postal 2

text: At the beginning of each day, Postal Dude is given several tasks to accomplish, such as "get milk", "confess sins", and other seemingly mundane tasks. The objective of "Postal 2" is to finish all of the tasks throughout the week, and the player can accomplish these tasks in any way they wish, be it as peacefully and civilly as possible, or as violently and chaotically as possible. It is possible, if occasionally difficult, to complete most tasks without engaging in battle, or at least, harming or killing other characters, as evidenced by the game's tagline: "Remember, it's only as violent as you are!" The daily tasks can be accomplished in any order the player desires, and the game also includes one task that is activated only when Postal Dude urinates, in which the player is tasked with getting treatment for gonorrhea after Postal Dude discovers he has the infection.


title: Postal 2

text: Throughout the course of the game, Postal Dude must put up with being provoked by other characters on a regular basis. He is given the finger, mugged, attacked by various groups of protesters, and is harassed by an obnoxious convenience store owner/terrorist and his patrons who cut before Postal Dude in the "money line". During the game, Postal Dude also encounters a marching band, a murderous toy mascot named Krotchy, the Paradise Police Department and its SWAT team, overzealous ATF agents, the National Guard, an eccentric religious cult, cannibalistic butcher shop workers, fanatical al-Qaeda terrorists, and former child actor Gary Coleman, among many others.


title: Postal 2

text: By Friday afternoon, the final day in the game, the apocalypse occurs and societal collapse soon follows, with all law and order breaking down. Cats begin to fall out of a darkly-colored sky, and almost everyone in town becomes heavily armed, with random gun battles breaking out in the streets. Despite this, Postal Dude returns home to his trailer as normal, where he then gets into an argument with his wife, who demands that Postal Dude explain why he never picked up the "rocky road" she asked for at the beginning of the game. "Postal 2" then ends with a gunshot being heard, before being kicked to the end credits.


title: Postal 2

text: One of the major concepts of "Postal 2" is that it is meant to be a "living world", a simulation of a tongue-in-cheek off-kilter town. Game characters live out their lives completely separate from the actions of Dude—walking around town, buying and selling merchandise, and even engaging in random shootouts with each other and the police.


title: Postal 2

text: The town features many cars but they are all "useless exploding props", according to Dude, and cannot be driven, although they can be blown up and sent flying into the air. In addition to cats and dogs, other animals present are elephants; these animals can be shot or set on fire—or simply annoyed by the player walking into them—causing them to trumpet with rage and attack anyone within stomping distance. A peculiar feature is the ability to pick up cats as an inventory item. When used, Postal Dude shoves the barrel of the currently equipped firearm into the cat's anus (cats can only be used while equipped with a shotgun or assault rifle) as a "silencer". Every time a shot is fired, the cat meows in apparent agony, and the gunshot is muffled. After nine shots, the cat has run out of lives and it will fly from the end of the weapon. Most dogs have the ability to befriend the Dude if he feeds them a continual supply of dog biscuits or feeds them any other food (pizza, donuts, fast food). Once a canine's loyalty has been earned, the dog will attack anyone who attacks the Dude, or alternatively, anyone whom the Dude attacks. Dogs will also chase and kill cats, and play fetch with the Dude's inventory items and severed heads. There were also going to be cows included in the game, but they were left unimplemented. They did appear in "Apocalypse Weekend" and the "A Week in Paradise" modification.


title: Postal 2

text: The game also features a cameo by Gary Coleman, acting as himself, who appears early on as the objective of one of the game's tasks (travel to the local shopping mall to get Gary's autograph). The player can choose to fight and kill Coleman or simply have the book signed peacefully (after enduring a long line-up). The Dude twice mistakes Coleman as having starred in "What's Happening!!" and "The Facts of Life", when he actually starred in "Diff'rent Strokes". Regardless of the Dude's actions, the police storm the building in an attempt to arrest Gary Coleman and a gunfight ensues which invariably results in Coleman's apparent demise, with or without the player's help. Later on in the game he can also be seen in the Police Station, when the player escapes from his cell he also frees everyone else—including Coleman, who can be seen running alongside Krotchy. Coleman apparently survives as he can be seen in the "" expansion, bandaged up in the hospital (various evil Gary Coleman clones also serve as recurring enemies during Postal Dude's constant hallucinations).


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2" became Linux Game Publishing's fastest selling game in its first month, and contributed greatly to the continuing profitability of the company.


title: Postal 2

text: An updated edition of the game, entitled "Postal 2: Share the Pain", included a multiplayer mode. The Macintosh and Linux versions of "Postal 2" shipped only as "Postal 2: Share the Pain".


title: Postal 2

text: "Share The Pain" received an average score of 59 out of 100 based on 10 reviews on review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend" is an expansion pack to "Postal 2" released by Running with Scissors on August 1, 2004 for Microsoft Windows, and September 28, 2005 for the Mac OS X and Linux versions. "Apocalypse Weekend" expands the reaches of Paradise with new maps and missions, set on Saturday and Sunday, adds new weapons and foes, and raises the gore and violence to an even greater level. It was later included in both the "Postal Fudge Pack" and "Postal X: 10th Anniversary" compilations alongside "Share the Pain" and several fan produced mods, including "A Week in Paradise" which allows content from "Apocalypse Weekend" to appear in the original game as well as allowing the expansions levels to be played as part of the original five-day campaign.


title: Postal 2

text: "Apocalypse Weekend" begins Saturday morning, with the Postal Dude waking up in the hospital, his head bandaged from a near-fatal gunshot wound. While the "Postal 2" ending leaves it ambiguous as to whether or not the Dude shot his wife or if his wife shot him, after he wakes up in the hospital he finds a card from his wife saying that she is leaving him. It was later revealed on the official website that the Dude shot himself due to his wife nagging him. The Dude's ultimate goal is to recover his trailer and his dog Champ, and to this end, escapes from the hospital.


title: Postal 2

text: With the exception of the zombies that appear later in the game, it would appear the madness depicted at the end of Friday on the previous game has petered out. The Dude proceeds through several missions including assignments from his former employers, Running with Scissors, encounters with mad cow tourette zombies, as well as confrontations with terrorists and the military. Periodically, the Dude's head wound causes him to enter a nether realm where he is attacked by Gary Coleman clones. Throughout the weekend, the Dude fights off hordes of zombies, Taliban and the National Guard until he finally faces a zombified Mike Jaret, an employee of Running with Scissors. Once the Dude destroys it, he leaves Paradise in his car with his dog and his trailer while Paradise explodes due to a massive nuclear warhead he "borrowed" to destroy a rival video game development and publishing company. The Dude's last words of the game are "I regret nothing".


title: Postal 2

text: While gameplay is similar to its parent "Postal 2", "Apocalypse Weekend" is not as open-ended. The gameplay is more linear in design, with the player mostly forced to follow a certain path to complete the game—typical of most first-person shooter games. In addition, the player cannot play as a pacifist and is forced to kill animals and zombies in order to progress in the game. Unlike the main game, "Apocalypse Weekend" also includes several "boss monster" encounters. All normal cats are also replaced with "dervish cats", which spin in a manner similar to that of Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil, attacking any nearby character when agitated. Dervish cats can also be collected and, in addition to muffling guns, can be thrown at NPCs to attack them.


title: Postal 2

text: "Apocalypse Weekend" received an average score of 45 out of 100 based on 4 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2: Corkscrew Rules!" () is an official spin-off and expansion to "Postal 2", developed by Avalon Style Entertainment, and released in 2005 by Akella. The plot concerns a man called Corkscrew (), who wakes up to find that his penis has somehow been amputated and goes on a mission to find it. The game was released only in Russia and Japan (under the title "ポスタル2 ロシアより愛をこめて" which translates to "From Russia with Love"). In 2017, an English version of the game was made available for free through the Steam Workshop.


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2: Paradise Lost" is an extension for "Postal 2", announced for Steam at E3 2014 with a teaser trailer. It was released on April 17, 2015.


title: Postal 2

text: "Paradise Lost" takes place 11 years after "Apocalypse Weekend", the Postal Dude awakens from his 11-year radioactive-induced coma, the same amount of time between "Postal 2" release and the release of "Paradise Lost", only to find his dog Champ is missing and has to go back to his home town of Paradise, which is now a post-apocalyptic wasteland. "Paradise Lost" also retcons "Postal III" as it was revealed that the events of that game were just a nightmare that the Postal Dude had during his coma.


title: Postal 2

text: Returning to Paradise, Dude allies with factions whom he had encountered in the previous games, including RWS, Al-Qaeda and the Kosher Mad Cow Tourettes Zombies. They attempt to help him find Champ. Near the end of the game, Dude has to go to Hell and battle Champ and his now-ex-wife, who has turned into a demon. Returning to Earth, he finds out that all the factions have gone to war and gives himself a choice: return to each faction and defeat its leader or leave the town. Eventually, he and Champ leave Paradise for the last time.


title: Postal 2

text: "Paradise Lost" includes various characters based on real people, including former child actor Gary Coleman, a returning character from "Postal 2" as well as Canadian actor Zack Ward who had previously depicted the Postal Dude in the 2007 Postal film. Former tech journalist and media personality Milo Yiannopoulos also had a less prominent role in the game as an NPC able to be found at the 'Fire in the Hole' club from Thursday onwards. All three of these characters were played by their real life counterparts - Coleman's dialogue was re-purposed from "Postal 2" due to his death five years earlier.


title: Postal 2

text: On November 13, 2006, RWS Released a compilation of "Postal - Classic and Uncut", "Postal 2: Share the Pain", "Apocalypse Weekend", "A Week in Paradise", and "Eternal Damnation", along with extra content (Postal Babes and video clips from "their cutting room floor") as the "Postal Fudge Pack" on a 3-way hybrid DVD for Windows, Linux, and the Mac. Recent copies of the Fudge Pack also include a Steam key for "Postal", "Postal 2 Complete" and "Postal III".


title: Postal 2

text: The "Postal X: 10th Anniversary" edition contains all the content from the "Postal: Fudge Pack" as well as introducing new content such as a cereal box, "A Very Postal Christmas", "Music to Go Postal By", and previews for both "Postal III" and the "Postal film".


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2 Complete" is an online compilation containing "Postal 2: Share the Pain" and its expansion "Apocalypse Weekend" which is available from both the Desura platform for Linux, Mac and Windows and from GOG.com for Windows. The Linux version available from Desura was newly updated for its release on the digital distribution platform. The pack was made available through Steam on November 2, 2012, after successfully getting Greenlit by the community.


title: Postal 2

text: In November 2017, Running with Scissors released "Postal XX: 20th Anniversary", a compilation of all Postal titles (including Postal III) and the "Postal" film.


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2: Eternal Damnation" is a total conversion of "Postal 2" by Resurrection-Studios, released as a free download in 2005 and in the "Postal Fudge Pack" a year later. The plot concerns a man called John Murray, who is in a mental asylum after having killed a man who tried to hurt his girlfriend. Murray is also seen in "Postal 2: Paradise Lost" as an Easter egg.


title: Postal 2

text: In 2004, the Office of Film and Literature Classification banned "Postal 2" in New Zealand, citing high levels of violent content and animal violence. Distribution or purchase for personal use is a criminal offense, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $50,000. In Australia, the game was banned by the Australian Classification Board in October 2005, but the ban was eventually lifted in October 2013. In Sweden, the Chancellor of Justice took the local distributor of the game to court. He was prosecuted with "illegal depiction of violence", a crime falling under the Swedish freedom-of-speech act. The court dismissed the case on December 12, 2006. In May 2016, the game was removed from the German version of Steam, likely due to its content.


title: Postal 2

text: Regarding his views on the subject, Linux and Macintosh developer Ryan C. Gordon, who ported the game to those platforms, stated that he feels that the game holds a mirror to the worst aspects of modern society, saying in an interview that the game is a "brilliant caricature of our mangled, disconnected, fast-food society, disguised as a collection of dirty jokes and ultraviolence." Michael Simms, founder of Linux Game Publishing, also at one point commented on the matter, stating that "although I wasn't a fan of the gameplay in "Postal 2", I loved the message that the company was trying to put out. Because you can play "Postal 2" in the most violent and graphic way, but you can also play it without hurting a single person. I don't know anyone who's played it like that, but I like that the people who made "Postal" are saying you can get through this game without any violence."


title: Postal 2

text: In January 2008, three nineteen-year-olds were arrested following a three-week-long arson and theft spree in Gaston County, North Carolina. Their crimes were apparently inspired by actions that could be carried out in "Postal 2".


title: Postal 2

text: "Postal 2" received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Some of the game's better reviews came from "PC Gamer" and "Game Informer". On the other end of the spectrum, "GMR" and "Computer Gaming World" ("CGW") both gave "Postal 2" scores of zero, with "CGW" deriding "Postal 2" as "the worst product ever foisted upon consumers." In response, negative quotes from "Computer Gaming World"'s review ended up being proudly displayed on the box art of the "Postal Fudge Pack". CNN journalist Marc Saltzman wrote that the game was "more offensive than fun" and concluded that "it simply goes too far, too often, and offers little else."


title: Postal 2

text: "GameSpot" criticized the game's loading times, graphics and gameplay, and the gore was called "surprisingly subdued" in comparison to contemporary games like "". In a middling review for "IGN", author Ivan Sulic disliked the game's crude and childish humour, and dismissed the setting of Paradise as "bland". "Eurogamer" similarly attacked the game for being immature. Ivan Deez from IGN says that Postal Dude has a "sick mind", when referring to the source of some of the errands he has to complete. Macdonald and Rocha from Canada.com describe Postal Dude as a man whose "raison d'être was to eliminate anyone - man, woman and child - with a dizzying arsenal of weapons", but at the same time as "a misunderstood and ostracized man who takes his revenge on the world with a killing spree."


title: Postal 2

text: Although acknowledged as an adaptation of the first "Postal" game, the 2007 film adaptation of the same title directed by Uwe Boll borrows many elements from "Postal 2", including the Krotchy doll, the trailer park, the cat silencer, The Lucky Ganesh convenience store, the terrorists, and Uncle Dave and his compound, among others. Gary Coleman was not involved in this film; instead Verne Troyer, appearing as himself, fulfilled Coleman's function in the movie.


title: Postal 2

text: In 2013, Boll announced the second "Postal" film. On August 28, 2013, Boll announced he was funding production of "Postal 2" through Kickstarter, but the project was cancelled in October 2013.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The Three Caballeros is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945 and in the United Kingdom in March 1945. It was the 7th Walt Disney animated feature film, and it marks the 10th anniversary of Donald Duck and plots an adventure through parts of Latin America, combining live-action and animation. This is the second of the six package films released by Walt Disney Productions in the 1940s, following "Saludos Amigos" (1942). It is also notable for being one of the first feature-length films to incorporate traditional animation with live-action actors.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The film is plotted as a series of self-contained segments, strung together by the device of Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends. Several Latin American stars of the period appear, including singers Aurora Miranda (sister of Carmen Miranda) and Dora Luz, as well as singer and dancer Carmen Molina.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The film was produced as part of the studio's goodwill message for Latin America. The film stars Donald Duck, who in the course of the film is joined by old friend José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from "Saludos Amigos", who represents Brazil, and later becomes friends with a pistol-packing rooster named Panchito Pistoles, who represents Mexico.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The film, celebrating Donald Duck's 10th anniversary, consists of seven segments, each connected by a common theme. In the film, it is Donald Duck's birthday (namely Friday the 13th), and he receives three presents from friends in Latin America. The first present is a film projector, which shows him a documentary about birds called . The first segment of the documentary tells the story of Pablo, a penguin seeking the warm weather of Equatorial South America. The next segment details some of the odd birds of Latin America. During this part documentary, he learns about the Aracuan Bird, who received his name because of his eccentric song. The documentary then shifts to the perspective of a man narrating a story from his childhood, where he discovers and befriends a donkey with the wings of a condor in Uruguay.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The next present is a book given to Donald by José. This book tells of Bahia (spelled "Baía" in the film), which is one of Brazil's 26 states. José shrinks them both down so that they can enter the book. Donald and José meet up with several of the locals, who dance a lively samba, and Donald ends up pining for one girl Yaya, the cookie seller, but fails and gets jealous of another man. After the journey, Donald and José leave the book.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: Upon returning, Donald realizes that he is too small to open his third present. José shows Donald how to use "black magic" to return himself to the proper size. After opening the present, he meets Panchito, a native of Mexico. The trio take the name "The Three Caballeros" and have a short celebration. Panchito then presents Donald's next present, a . Panchito tells Donald of the tradition behind the piñata. José and Panchito then blindfold Donald, and have him attempt to break open the piñata, eventually revealing many surprises. The celebration draws to a close when Donald is fired away by firecrackers in the shape of a ferocious toy bull (with which the firecrackers are lit by José with his cigar).


title: The Three Caballeros

text: Throughout the film, the Aracuan Bird appears at random moments. He usually taunts everyone with his madcap antics, sometimes stealing José's cigar and trying to make José jealous. His most famous gag is when he re-routes a train that Donald and José are riding on by drawing new tracks, causing the train to disassemble.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: This segment is narrated by Sterling Holloway, reproducing images of the penguins of in Antarctica. In the segment, a penguin named Pablo is so fed up with the freezing conditions of the South Pole that he decides to leave his home for warmer climates, navigating the long coast of Chile (including the Juan Fernández Islands and Viña del Mar), passing by Lima (the capital of Peru) and Quito (the capital of Ecuador) before landing on the Galápagos Islands.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: This segment, with adult narration provided by Fred Shields, involves the adventures of a little boy from Uruguay and a winged donkey, who goes by the name of Burrito (which is Spanish for "little donkey").


title: The Three Caballeros

text: This segment involves a pop-up book trip through the Brazilian state of Bahia (spelled Baía in the film), as Donald and José meet up with some of the locals who dance a samba and Donald pining for one of the women, portrayed by singer Aurora Miranda.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: This is the story of a group of Mexican children who celebrated Christmas by re-enacting the journey of Mary, the mother of Jesus and Saint Joseph searching for room at the inn. meant "inn", or "shelter", and their parents told them "no " at each house until they came to one where they were offered shelter in a stable. This leads to festivities including the breaking of the , which in turn leads to Donald Duck trying to break his "own" as well.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: Panchito gives Donald and José a tour of Mexico City and the country of Mexico on a flying sarape, or magic carpet. Several Mexican dances and songs are learned here. A key point to what happens later is that Donald is pining for some more ladies again, tries to hound down every single one he sees, and gain return affections, but once more he fails every time and ends up kissing José while blindfolded.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The skies of Mexico City result in Donald falling in love with singer Dora Luz. The lyrics in the song itself play parts in the scenarios as to what is happening as well. Then several imagined kisses lead to Donald going into the "Love is a drug" scene. Donald constantly envisions sugar rush colors, flowers, and Panchito and José popping in at the worst moments, making chaos. The scene changes after Donald manages to dance with Carmen Molina from the state of Oaxaca, from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The two dance and sing the song . Carmen begins by singing the song, with Donald "quacking" out the rest of the chorus with her. The "drunkenness" slows down for a second after Donald multiplied himself while dancing, but speeds up again when Carmen reappears dressed in a Charro's outfit and uses a horsewhip as a conductor's baton to make cacti appear in many different forms while dancing to , a trademark song of the Mexican Revolution. This scene is notable for providing the masterful combination of live-action and cartoon animation, as well as animation among the cacti.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The scene is interrupted when Panchito and José suddenly spice things up for the finale of the movie, and Donald ends up battling the same toy bull with wheels on its legs the day before from earlier. The catch is that it is now loaded with fireworks and other explosives, following with a fireworks finale with the words "The End" exploding from the fireworks, first in Spanish (), in the colors of the flag of Mexico, then the second in Portuguese (), in the colors of the flag of Brazil, and finally in English, in the colors of the flag of the United States ("The End").


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945, and in the United Kingdom in March of that year.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: "The Three Caballeros" was re-released to theaters on April 15, 1977. For this re-issue, the film was edited significantly and re-released in featurette form at 41 minutes, to accompany a re-issue of "Never a Dull Moment".


title: The Three Caballeros

text: For the film's television premiere, "The Three Caballeros" aired as the ninth episode of the first season of ABC's "Disneyland" television series. Edited, shortened, and re-titled "A Present for Donald" for this December 22, 1954, broadcast and subsequent re-runs, Donald receives gifts from his friends for Christmas, instead of for his birthday as in the original.


title: The Three Caballeros

text: "The Three Caballeros" received mixed reviews upon its original release. Most critics were relatively perplexed by the "technological razzle-dazzle" of the film, thinking that, in contrast to the previous feature films up to this time, "it displayed more flash than substance, more technique than artistry." Bosley Crowther for one wrote in "The New York Times", "Dizzy Disney and his playmates have let their technical talents run wild." Other reviewers were taken aback by the sexual dynamics of the film, particularly the idea of Donald Duck lusting towards flesh-and-blood women. As Wolcott Gibbs put it in a negative review of the film for "The New Yorker", such a concept "is one of those things that might disconcert less squeamish authorities than the Hays office. It might even be said that a sequence involving the duck, the young lady, and a long alley of animated cactus plants would probably be considered suggestive in a less innocent medium."


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The film holds an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 reviews, with an average score of 6.50/10. The site's consensus reads, "One of Disney's more abstract creations, "The Three Caballeros" is a dazzling, colorful picture that shows the company at an artistic acme."


title: The Three Caballeros

text: The film returned rentals to RKO by 1951 of $3,355,000 with $1,595,000 being generated in the U.S. and Canada. The film generated in excess of $700,000 in Mexico.


title: Nerva–Antonine dynasty

text: The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised 7 Roman emperors who ruled from 96 to 192 AD: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (180–192). The first five of these are commonly known as the "Five Good Emperors".