title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad

text: It featured special appearances from stars of film, television, and theatre, including Scherer (Station Announcer/Adult Patch), Stephen J. Anderson (Diesel 10), Zackary Arthur (Young Burnett), Alexander Bello (Lily and Patch's son), Kimberly J. Brown (Stacy Jones), Chelsea Davis (Mutt), Lucas Davis (The Previous Mr. Conductor), Alice Fearn (Storyteller/Adult Lily), Jake Ryan Flynn (Patch), Irene Gallin (Young Tasha/Clarabel), Michael I. Haber (Newspaper Delivery Boy), Jessa Halterman (Lily's Mother), Logan Hart (Bertie), Alex Haynes (Thomas), Theresa Jett (Passenger), Richard Kind (P.T. Boomer), Victoria Kingswood (Lily), Miriam-Teak Lee (Lady), Killian Thomas Lefevre (Toby), Noel MacNeal (Edward), Tim Mahendran (Harold), Amy Matthews (Lady Hatt), John McGowan (Mr. C. Junior), Blake Merriman (George), Harper Miles (Annie), Colin Mochrie (Burnett Stone), Michael Moore (Splatter), Katie Nail (Station Master), Angelisse Perez (Dodge), Jonah Platt (Mr. Conductor), Rob Rackstraw (James), Kyle Roberts (Percy), John Scott-Richardson (Billy Twofeathers), Carolyn Smith (Lily and Patch's daughter), Keith Wickham (Sir Topham Hatt/Gordon) and J. Paul Zimmerman (Henry). Nick Cartell served as script narrator.


title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad

text: Irene Gallin, Logan Hart, Jessa Halterman and Victoria Kingswood opened the presentation with a performance of "Thomas' Anthem" and later on performed "He's a Really Useful Engine". Dayna Manning performed a new version of "I Know How The Moon Must Feel" during its respective scene in the presentation. Arun Blair-Mangat and Miriam-Teak Lee performed a cover of "Some Things Never Leave You", as did Eric Scherer and Katie Nail with "Shining Time". Scherer also performed "Summer Sunday" during the scene where Mr. Conductor calls Mr. C. Junior. Three songs from the original series that were not heard in the original film were covered in this version: Connor Warren Smith, Jake Ryan Flynn and Alexander Bello performed "It's Great to be an Engine" during the scene where Mr. C. Junior and Lily arrive in the Island of Sodor following their flight over the Magic Railroad; Eric Scherer and Katie Nail performed "Night Train" during the scene where Thomas and Percy come to the realization about the Magic Railroad's existence; and Bradley Dean and Alice Fearn performed "The Island Song" after the climatic chase scene. Cut and extended sequences, particularly those featuring P.T. Boomer, were restored for this reading. Edward and George the Steamroller, two characters from the franchise who did not appear in the original scripts and 2000 film, were incorporated into this version. Edward is portrayed here as the train who takes Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt on their holiday, thus explaining his absence from the film.


title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad

text: The presentation concluded with a performance of "The Locomotion" by members of the Off-Broadway and West End companies of "". 100% of the donations collected prior to and during the presentation went directly to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.


title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad

text: On July 1, 2000, it was reported that Destination Films began development on a sequel, but it was quietly cancelled.


title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad

text: HiT said that its theatrical division would be piloted by a Thomas film. Originally targeted for a late 2010 release, in September 2009 this was revised to Spring 2011. As of January 2011, the release date had been pushed back further, to 2012. The initial draft of the script was written by Josh Klausner, who has also said that the film would be set around the times of World War II; Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi also helped write the script. On June 8, 2011, it was announced that "9" director Shane Acker would direct the live-action adaptation of "The Adventures of Thomas", with Weta Digital designing the film's visual effects.


title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad

text: On October 6, 2020, it was announced that Marc Forster would be directing a new theatrical live-action/animated "Thomas & Friends" movie. According to Mattel Films Schedule release, the film is titled "Thomas & Friends: The Movie".


title: Amerie

text: Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and she also studied dance from an early age and performed in talent contests. After her high school graduation, her family settled down in Virginia while she began to attend Georgetown University, from which she later graduated with a degree in English and Fine Arts. While living in Washington, D.C., she met producer Rich Harrison, who worked with such performers as Mary J. Blige, and began developing demos with her. This led to a deal with Rise Entertainment and, in turn, major-label Columbia Records.


title: Amerie

text: Rogers was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, to a Korean mother named Mi Suk and an African American father, Charles Rogers. A few months after she was born, the Rogers family moved to South Korea, where Amerie lived for three years. Her father was a chief warrant officer in the U.S. military, so the family lived in many different places, including Alaska, Texas, Virginia and Germany. She has a younger sister, Angela Rogers, who is now her lawyer.


title: Amerie

text: Amerie has described her parents as conservative, protective, traditional Christians. Growing up, she and her sister were forbidden to leave the house or use the phone on school days. The singer enrolled at Georgetown University to study literature, and was in Navy ROTC: "My dad didn't force me into it or anything. I joined so I could afford an education." She quit ROTC after her sophomore year and graduated with a B.A. in English and a Fine Arts minor in design.


title: Amerie

text: While studying at Georgetown, Amerie befriended a Washington, D.C. club promoter who eventually put her in touch with producer Rich Harrison. During an interview with Maxim Magazine, Amerie said she agreed to meet up with Rich at a public location because she did not know Rich. The chosen location was a McDonald's parking lot, where Rich played his tracks and Amerie sang along. Instantly they knew it was something special.


title: Amerie

text: Harrison, who had just worked on Mary J. Blige's albums "Mary" and "No More Drama", began recording and developing demos with Amerie. This led to her first record deal with Columbia Records. According to Amerie, she and Harrison immediately hit it off. In a 2002 Interview with Hip Online, she said: "For some reason we had a very special chemistry. When we would work together something great would happen."


title: Amerie

text: Amerie recorded the chorus for the 2001 single "Rule", performed by Nas. The single peaked at number 67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in the United States. She recorded a song with Detroit rapper Royce da 5'9", titled "Life", the third and final single from his album "Rock City (Version 2.0)". In 2002, her debut single, "Why Don't We Fall in Love", was released and peaked at number 23 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts. The song was an urban top 20 hit in Australia and reached the top 40 in the UK.


title: Amerie

text: Amerie's debut album, "All I Have" (produced and co-written in its entirety by Rich Harrison), was released in 2002 to generally positive reviews. It peaked at number nine on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 selling 89,000 copies in its first week of release; the album has since been certified gold by the RIAA and had sold 657,000 copies by 2009, according to Nielsen SoundScan. To promote the album, Amerie went on tour with Usher and Nas—on the former's Evolution 8701 Tour—and with rapper Nelly. The second and final single from "All I Have" was "Talkin' to Me", a top 20 entry on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, although it peaked outside the top 40 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Amerie

text: In 2003, Amerie won the Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist and was also nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album ("All I Have") and Best R&B Soul Single – Female ("Why Don't We Fall in Love"). She received a BET Award nomination for Best Female R&B Artist and an Image Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist. Amerie lent her vocals to the LL Cool J song "Paradise", which reached number 14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and became the singer's second top 40 Hot 100 entry. She was featured on DJ Kayslay's "Too Much for Me", on his 2003 album "The Streetsweeper Vol. 1", which peaked at number 53 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Amerie appeared on Bow Wow's third album, "Unleashed", singing the hook on the song "To My Mama". She was also featured on the Rodney Jerkins-produced track "When I Think of You" from the soundtrack to the Jessica Alba dance film "Honey".


title: Amerie

text: Amerie gained additional recognition from her first acting role, in the 2004 film "First Daughter" (directed by Forest Whitaker), in which she starred alongside Katie Holmes. Also in 2004, she began working on her second album, "Touch". As with "All I Have", the album was co-written and produced by friend Rich Harrison, who contributed seven new tracks to the record; additional production came from Lil Jon, Bryce Wilson, Red Spyda, and Dre & Vidal. Unlike her first album, Amerie co-wrote every track but one, "Come with Me", which Harrison wrote. She assumed more creative control over the visual imagery accompanying the album, such as videos and artwork—"I feel like when you do a record, you have a vision in your mind and you want to carry it across and it doesn't end with the studio", she has said.


title: Amerie

text: In 2005, Amerie released the album's lead single, "1 Thing". The dance-pop song, which sampled The Meters's 1970s funk recording "Oh, Calcutta!", became Amerie's biggest hit to date. In the United States, it reached number eight on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The RIAA certified the single gold. The song was a top five hit in the UK, where it became one of the year's best-selling singles, and attained top ten and top twenty positions across Continental Europe.


title: Amerie

text: "Touch" was released in 2005 and peaked at number five on the "Billboard" 200, selling 124,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold by the RIAA, having sold 406,000 copies in the United States as of 2009. The album's title track, "Touch", was released as the second single and peaked at number 95 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the United States, although it was a top 20 entry in the UK. A third single, "Talkin' About", was released in America only; an official music video was planned but eventually scrapped. Later in 2005, Amerie was featured alongside Fat Joe on "I Don't Care", the lead single from Ricky Martin's album "Life". The single entered the top 20 in several European countries and Australia.


title: Amerie

text: The success of "1 Thing" and "Touch" led to two Grammy Award nominations for Amerie in 2006: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for "1 Thing"), and Best Contemporary R&B Album (for "Touch"). "1 Thing" earned nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards—for Best Female Video and Best Choreography—and Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards— for Best R&B/Soul Single, Solo; R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year; Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video; and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut. At the 2005 "VIBE" Awards, Amerie won Club Banger of the Year for her hit. "1 Thing" was adapted into a variety of remixes by rappers such as Eve, Fabolous, and Jay-Z. In 2009, "1 Thing" was sixth on "The Root"s list of Top 10 Hip-Hop/R&B Songs of the 2000s.


title: Amerie

text: In 2006, Amerie returned to the studio to work on her third album, "Because I Love It", with producers such as The Buchanans, One Up, and Mike Caren. The album was her first not to feature writing and production from producer Rich Harrison. She cited music of the 1980s as a major influence on the album, saying "I love 80s music period! That's why I did "Because I Love It", since it had mostly R&B, soul, and 80s new wave. When I said I wanted to do that in 2006, people were like, 'what?!' [...] but I love it."


title: Amerie

text: "Because I Love It"'s first single, "Take Control", (co-produced by Mike Caren and co-written by Cee-Lo Green), became a top 10 hit in the UK in 2007. "Because I Love It" was released in 2007 in Europe, Asia, and Australasia and reached the top 20 in the UK, where the album's second single, "Gotta Work", peaked at number 21. The album has been certified silver by the BPI. During 2007, the impending U.S. release of "Because I Love It" made "Blender" magazine's list of "25 Reasons to Love '07". The official release date was delayed several times and the singles "Take Control" and "Gotta Work" were given little promotion (with the former peaking at number 66 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart). Amerie spoke of her difficulties with Columbia Records in a late 2007 interview, stating that the label was not promoting "Because I Love It" adequately.


title: Amerie

text: In 2008, Amerie announced she had signed a label/production deal through the Island Def Jam Music Group, which allowed her to release her music under her own label, Feenix Rising. Later that year, Columbia Records released the compilation album "Playlist: The Very Best of Amerie"; in 2009, the label released a second compilation album, "Best 15 Things", in Japan only.


title: Amerie

text: Amerie described her fourth album, "In Love & War", as "a fusion of hip-hop, soul, and rock" with elements of music of the 1970s, and "a direct extension of my first album ["All I Have"]". The album's lead single, "Why R U", reached number 55 on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the U.S. "Heard 'Em All", which featured rapper Lil Wayne, peaked at number 81 on the same chart; it did, however, enter the top 10 on the Korean pop charts. With little radio support—the third single, "Pretty Brown" (featuring Trey Songz), was released only two weeks before the album—and hindered by distribution problems, "In Love & War" peaked at number 46 on the "Billboard" 200 and at number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.


title: Amerie

text: In 2010, Amerie announced that she had changed the spelling of her stage name to Ameriie, explaining: "I operate on vibes and intuition, and I believe everything is energy; the vibration of the double I is right for me. Slightly different spelling, completely same pronunciation!" Later that year, she premiered a new song titled "Outside Your Body".


title: Amerie

text: In 2011, it was reported that Amerie was in the studio working on her fifth studio album, titled "Cymatika Vol. 1". The album's title is based on the word "cymatics", the study of visible sound and vibration. The production lineup consisted of Riley Urick, The Buchanans, and Andre Harris (of Dre & Vidal), among others; Amerie said that she may reunite with Rich Harrison for the project but that it would be "a matter of when and in what way." "Cymatika Vol. 1" was also to include special guest appearances from Drunken Tiger's Tiger JK and Tasha Reid. According to Amerie, "Cymatika" would explore freedom, androgyny, and the New world order, and was influenced by trance music, electronica, house music, and New wave music. Second and third volumes of "Cymatika" were planned.


title: Amerie

text: In 2012, Amerie announced a forthcoming "mini-LP" titled "The Prelude". In 2013, she stated that she had been working on a new project, "Because I Love It Vol. II", a follow-up to her 2007 album. She said this album, "BILI", stemmed from songs that did not fit sonically or thematically onto "Cymatika"—"songs that are heavy in percussion, but have a very aggressive, soulful element to them. They don't exist in any one time, or sound of the moment". "BILI" and "Cymatika" were both slated for release in 2015. A single, "What I Want" (which samples "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band), was released from "BILI" in 2014. Later in 2014, she premiered the track "Mustang" and announced a UK tour for 2015. In 2015, Amerie collaborated with producer Rich Harrison on a new single, "Out Loud".


title: Amerie

text: In 2016, Amerie appeared on the radio show The Breakfast Club, 105.1 and announced an EP titled "Drive", a second untitled EP due later in the year, and that she was still at work on her album "Cymatika" (which was to be part of a trilogy). "Drive" was initially released on the streaming service SoundCloud and accumulated more than 100,000 streams within its first three days of release. It was named one of the best R&B albums of 2016 by "Rolling Stone". In 2017, she released the single "REDRUM", which was to be part of an upcoming album titled "MA3".


title: Amerie

text: In 2018, Amerie simultaneously released two albums, "4AM Mulholland" and "After 4AM"; this was her first full-length album release since 2009 and her second independent (following "Drive"). She toured the album in 2019.


title: Amerie

text: Since the start of her career, Amerie has been heavily involved within the creative process of her music, receiving not only writing credits but production and instrumentation credits as well. Amerie is a soprano.


title: Amerie

text: In an interview with Myplay.com, she described her early process of recording music: "I used to record songs that I wrote by using two different tape recorders and two separate tapes. I would start by recording myself on the first tape, singing the song down from top to finish. Then, I would play it back, while singing the harmonies and recording them on the second tape. I'd just keep repeating the process, going back and forth between tapes until I had a final version of the full song on one tape, with stacked harmonies, backgrounds and everything!".


title: Amerie

text: Amerie listed diverse musical influences in a 2014 interview, including the musical "Grease", Motown era soul music, late 1960s rock and roll, Heavy metal music, 1980s pop music and new wave music, music of Germany, Korean traditional music, R&B, and hip hop music. She cited film score as an inspiration, describing them as "that very surround-sound, immersive experience".


title: Amerie

text: While she almost exclusively releases English-language songs, Amerie has recorded with Korean artists such as 4minute on "Heard 'em All", a performance of which aired on KBS and Mnet.


title: Amerie

text: In 2003, Amerie was the presenter of the BET teen/youth lifestyle series "The Center", which she also helped to develop. In 2004, Amerie earned her first acting role, portraying the role of Mia Thompson, a college student who rooms with the president's daughter, in the film "First Daughter", alongside Katie Holmes.


title: Amerie

text: In 2014, Amerie launched a YouTube video blog titled "Books Beauty Ameriie" and said that she was writing two novels, one young adult and one fantasy.


title: Amerie

text: In 2017, Amerie published an anthology book via Bloomsbury Publishing titled "Because You Love to Hate Me" and a sci-fi trilogy novel series.


title: Amerie

text: In 2019, Amerie started her own Book Club, "Amerie's Book Club" where she highlights diverse and unique perspectives and voices.


title: Amerie

text: In 2019, Amerie performed on tour with other artist such as Ashanti, Keri Hilson, and Monica for the Femme It Forward movement.


title: Amerie

text: In 2004, Amerie began dating her manager, Sony Music executive Lenny Nicholson. On February 27, 2010, it was officially announced that Amerie and Nicholson were engaged, and the couple married on June 25, 2011, in an oceanfront ceremony in Anguilla. She now goes by Amerie Nicholson or Amerie Rogers Nicholson. On May 15, 2018, the couple welcomed their first child, a son.


title: Triptych

text: A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective "τρίπτυχον" ""triptukhon"" ("three-fold"), from "tri", i.e., "three" and "ptysso", i.e., "to fold" or "ptyx", i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry.


title: Triptych

text: Beyond its association with art, the term is sometimes used more generally to connote anything with three parts, particularly if integrated into a single unit.


title: Triptych

text: The triptych form appears in early Christian art, and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches to the Celtic churches in the west. During the Byzantine period, triptychs were often used for private devotional use, along with other relics such as icons. Renaissance painters such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form. Sculptors also used it. Triptych forms also allow ease of transport.


title: Triptych

text: From the Gothic period onward, both in Europe and elsewhere, altarpieces in churches and cathedrals were often in triptych form. One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is Llandaff Cathedral. The Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, contains two examples by Rubens, and Notre Dame de Paris is another example of the use of triptych in architecture. The form is echoed by the structure of many ecclesiastical stained glass windows.


title: Triptych

text: The triptych form's transportability was exploited during World War Two when a private citizens' committee in the United States commissioned painters and sculptors to create portable three-panel hinged altarpieces for use by Christian and Jewish U.S. troops for religious services. By the end of the war, 70 artists had created 460 triptychs. Among the most prolific were Violet Oakley, Nina Barr Wheeler, and Hildreth Meiere.


title: Triptych

text: The triptych format has been used in non-Christian faiths, including, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. For example: the triptych "Hilje-j-Sherif" displayed at the National Museum of Oriental Art, Rome, Italy, and a page of the "Qur'an" at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, Turkey, exemplify Ottoman religious art adapting the motif. Likewise, Tibetan Buddhists have used it in traditional altars.


title: Triptych

text: Although strongly identified as a religious altarpiece form, triptychs outside that context have been created, some of the best-known examples being works by Max Beckmann and Francis Bacon. When Bacon's 1969 triptych, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud", was sold in 2013 for $142.4 million, it was the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction at that time. That record was broken in May 2015 by $179.4 million for Pablo Picasso's 1955 painting "Les Femmes d’Alger".


title: Triptych

text: A photographic triptych is a common style used in modern commercial artwork. The photographs are usually arranged with a plain border between them. The work may consist of separate images that are variants on a theme, or may be one larger image split into three.


title: Mali national football team

text: The Mali national football team (French: " Équipe de football du Mali ") represents Mali in men's international football and is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The team's nickname is Les Aigles. They represent both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).


title: Mali national football team

text: While Mali is a major youth football power in both Africa and the world, they have never qualified for any senior FIFA World Cup finals in history. They have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations on 12 occasions.


title: Mali national football team

text: Mali were suspended by FIFA on 17 March 2017 due to 'government interference' with the national football association, namely dissolving its executive committee. However, the side was re-instated by FIFA on 29 April after the executive committee was re-introduced by the Malian government.


title: Mali national football team

text: Mali reached the 1972 African Nations Cup final, but lost 3–2 to Congo. They failed to qualify for the finals again until 1994 when they reached the semi-finals, an achievement repeated in 2002, 2004, 2012 and 2013.


title: Mali national football team

text: They played their first World Cup qualifier in the year 2000. As part of the CAF's qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup, Mali lost in the preliminary round to Libya. Two years later, the country hosted the 2002 African Cup of Nations.


title: Mali national football team

text: Mali's under-23's team managed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. The team coached by Cheick Kone managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament before losing to Italy.


title: Mali national football team

text: In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Mali beat Guinea-Bissau in the preliminaries. In the resulting second round, Mali finished fifth in its group. On 27 March 2005, riots broke out in Bamako after Mali lost a World Cup qualifier to Togo, 2–1 on a last minute goal.


title: Mali national football team

text: In the 2010 African Nations Cup, Mali made football headlines for coming back from losing 4–0 with eleven minutes left to level 4–4 with Angola. It is considered to be one of the best comebacks in recent memory, alongside Sweden's famous comeback against Germany in a 2014 World Cup qualifier with a same scoreline.


title: Mali national football team

text: The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.


title: Mali national football team

text: Mali have never won the Africa Cup of Nations; their best result at the tournament was runners-up in 1972. Mali have qualified for the tournament twelve times in total, finishing as runners-up once, third twice, and fourth three times. Prior to 2008, each time Mali qualified, they reached the knockout stage having only qualified four times before then.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or emergent from the surface. Leaves are round, with a radial notch in "Nymphaea" and "Nuphar", but fully circular in "Victoria" and "Euryale".


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Water lilies are a well-studied clade of plants because their large flowers with multiple unspecialized parts were initially considered to represent the floral pattern of the earliest flowering plants, and later genetic studies confirmed their evolutionary position as basal angiosperms. Analyses of floral morphology and molecular characteristics and comparisons with a sister taxon, the family Cabombaceae, indicate, however, that the flowers of extant water lilies with the most floral parts are more derived than the genera with fewer floral parts. Genera with more floral parts, "Nuphar", "Nymphaea", "Victoria", have a beetle pollination syndrome, while genera with fewer parts are pollinated by flies or bees, or are self- or wind-pollinated. Thus, the large number of relatively unspecialized floral organs in the Nymphaeaceae is not an ancestral condition for the clade.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The Nymphaeaceae are aquatic, rhizomatous herbs. The family is further characterized by scattered vascular bundles in the stems, and frequent presence of latex, usually with distinct, stellate-branched sclereids projecting into the air canals. Hairs are simple, usually producing mucilage (slime).


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Leaves are alternate and spiral, opposite or occasionally whorled, simple, peltate or nearly so, entire to toothed or dissected, short to long petiolate, with blade submerged, floating or emergent, with palmate to pinnate venation. Stipules are either present or absent. Surface leaves are absent during winter, and therefore the gases in the rhizome lacunae access equilibrium with the gases of the sediment water. The leftover of internal pressure is embodied by the constant streams of bubbles that outbreak when rising leaves are ruptured in the spring.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Flowers are solitary, bisexual, radial, with a long pedicel and usually floating or raised above the surface of the water, with girdling vascular bundles in receptacle. Some species are protogynous and primarily cross-pollinated, but because male and female stages overlap during the second day of flowering, and because it is self-compatible, self-fertilization is possible. Female and male parts of the flower are usually active at different times, to facilitate cross-pollination, although this is just one of several reproductive strategies used by these plants.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: There are 4–12 sepals, which are distinct to connate, imbricate, and often petallike. Petals lacking or 8 to numerous, inconspicuous to showy, often intergrading with stamens. Stamens are 3 to numerous, the innermost sometimes represented by staminodes. Filaments are distinct, free or adnate to petaloid staminodes, slender and well differentiated from anthers to laminar and poorly differentiated from anthers; pollen grains usually monosulcate or lacking apertures. Carpels are 3 to numerous, distinct or connate.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The fruit is an aggregate of nuts, a berry, or an irregularly dehiscent fleshy spongy capsule. Seeds are often arillate, more or less lacking endosperm.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Nymphaeaceae has been investigated systematically for decades because botanists considered their floral morphology to represent one of the earliest groups of angiosperms. Modern genetic analyses by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group researchers has confirmed its basal position among flowering plants. In addition, the Nymphaeaceae are more genetically diverse and geographically dispersed than other basal angiosperms. Nymphaeaceae is placed in the order Nymphaeales, which is the second diverging group of angiosperms after "Amborella" in the most widely accepted flowering plant classification system, APG IV system.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Nymphaeaceae is a small family of three to six genera: "Barclaya", "Euryale", "Nuphar", "Nymphaea", "Ondinea", and "Victoria". The genus "Barclaya" is sometimes given rank as its own family, Barclayaceae, on the basis of an extended perianth tube (combined sepals and petals) arising from the top of the ovary and by stamens that are joined in the base. However, molecular phylogenetic work includes it in Nymphaeaceae. The genus "Ondinea" has recently been shown to be a morphologically aberrant species of "Nymphaea", and is now included in this genus. The genera "Euryale", of far east Asia, and "Victoria", from South America, are closely related despite their geographic distance, but their relationship toward "Nymphaea" need further studies.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The sacred lotus was once thought to be a water lily, but is now recognized to be a highly modified eudicot in its own family Nelumbonaceae of the order Proteales.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Several fossil species are known, including Cretaceous representatives of "Nymphaea", as well as fossil genera such as "Jaguariba" from the Cretaceous of Brazil and "Notonuphar" from the Eocene of Antarctica.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The beautiful nature of water lilies has led to their widespread use as ornamental plants. The Mexican waterlily, native to the Gulf Coast of North America, is planted throughout the continent. It has escaped from cultivation and become invasive in some areas, such as California's San Joaquin Valley. It can infest slow-moving bodies of water and is difficult to eradicate. Populations can be controlled by cutting top growth. Herbicides can also be used to control populations using glyphosate and fluridone.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The water lily is the national flower of Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Emblem of Bangladesh contains a lily floating on water. It is also the birth flower for the month of July.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The Nymphaeaceae, which is also called (Nilufar Abi in Persian), can be seen in many reliefs of the Achaemenid period (552 BC) such as the statue of Anahita in the Persepolis. Lotus flower was included in Kaveh the blacksmith's Derafsh and later as the flag of the Sasanian Empire Derafsh Kaviani. Today, it is known as the symbol of Iranians Solar Hijri Calendar.


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: Lily pads, also known as "Seeblätter", are a charge in Northern European heraldry, often coloured red (gules), and appear on the flag of Friesland and the coat of arms of Denmark (in the latter case often replaced by red hearts).


title: Nymphaeaceae

text: The water lily has a special place in Sangam literature and Tamil poetics, where it is considered symbolic of the grief of separation; it is considered to evoke imagery of the sunset, the seashore, and the shark.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: The Jeep Wrangler (TJ) is the second generation of the Jeep Wrangler off-road and sport utility vehicle. Introduced in 1996 as a 1997 model, the TJ reintroduced the circular headlights the classic Jeep models had been known for. For the 2004 model year, the long-wheelbase "Unlimited" model was introduced.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: In 1990, development of a successor to the YJ began in Chrysler's "Jeep-Truck Engineering Pre-Program" department under Bob Sheaves and TJ program director, Craig Winn. Mules based on the YJ were built from 1990 to 1993, when formal approval was given for the TJ development program at a $260 million budget. From 1991 to 1992, designers worked at the new Chrysler Technical Center, building on various design proposals. In late 1992, Michael Santoro's TJ proposal was chosen by Tom Gale, Lee Iacocca, and executive management. In May 1993, now with engineering and supplier input, Santoro's final Wrangler production design was frozen at 32 months ahead of initial assembly. Verification prototypes using production bodies were built from early 1994 and tested through late 1995. As YJ production ceased in December 1995, the last pre-production TJ examples were assembled, with start of series of production in January 1996.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: Unveiled on January 2, 1996, at the 1996 Detroit Auto Show as an early 1997 model year introduction (1996 model year skipped), the TJ was an evolutionary update. It later arrived in Jeep showrooms in April 1996, after 6 years of overall investment and 36 month production development phase.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: Instead of leaf springs, this updated Wrangler featured a modern coil-spring suspension, front and rear, based on that of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, for better ride and handling, and a return to the classic CJ's round headlamps. The engine is the same 4.0 L AMC 242 Straight-6 used in the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee. A 2.5 L AMC 150 Inline-4 engine was available on entry-level models until 2002. The 2.4 L DOHC 4-cylinder engine previously used on the Chrysler PT Cruiser replaced it for 2003.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: In 1998 (MY1999), the fuel tank became standard at capacity. There were some changes between the 2002 and 2003 years. From 1996 to 2002, the side door mirrors were black metal framed mirrors; and from 2003 to 2006 they were plastic molded mirrors. The fit of hard and soft tops is slightly different, and the fabric and colors available changed from 2001 to 2003. In 2002 (MY2003), the 3-speed automatic transmission was replaced with a 4-speed automatic with overdrive. The overdrive can be turned off with a dash switch. The radio bezels went from a rectangle in 2002 to a rounded-edged rectangle for 2003. The sound bar inside was changed to sound pods. The interior seats also changed design, going from a rounder model to one with a distinct separation between back and headrest areas. The standard skid plate was also revised for 2003 to make room for the Rubicon's bigger NV241OR transfer case. The change from the 30/32RH to the 42RLE also gained an additional skid plate.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: This version of the Wrangler is also notable for being the last production vehicle to use AMC-related parts. The AMC Straight-4 engine was retired after the 2002 model year, and both the AMC Straight-6 engine and the door handles (the latter of which first appeared on AMC vehicles in the 1968 model year) were retired along with this generation in 2006. Like the YJ Wrangler, the TJ Wrangler used both the AMC passenger car door handles as well as the larger door handles off the AMC-built Jeep CJ for higher-end models.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: A right hand drive version of the TJ was available for export markets, and was also offered for sale to U.S. rural route postal carriers. The version offered to U.S. postal carriers was only available with an automatic transmission.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: In April 2004 – after a hiatus of 18 years – Jeep reintroduced a longer wheelbase (LWB) version, virtually identical to the 103.5 in wheelbase of its Jeep CJ-6 and CJ-8 Scrambler predecessors, and called it the Wrangler Unlimited.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: The 2004½ Wrangler Unlimited (or LJ) was the first introduction of the Jeep Unlimited nameplate. The longer frame has one extra crossmember and overall, the Unlimited is some 15 inches longer than a standard TJ, offering 2 inches more rear-seat legroom, and 13 inches more cargo space length. The TJ Unlimited has nearly double the towing capacity of its shorter wheelbase sibling, partly due to the increased wheelbase (3500 lbs LJ vs 2000 lbs TJ).<br>


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: For the 2005 model year, Jeep released the Rubicon Unlimited, combining the same wheelbase of the standard Unlimited, but sharing the drivetrain of its shorter Rubicon sibling including such features as front and rear Dana 44 axles with the Rock-Trac NV241 four-wheel-drive system, diamond plate rocker guards, 245/75R16 Goodyear MT/R tires, a six-speed manual or the optional 4 speed automatic transmission, as well as some minor comfort and convenience features not available on other Wrangler models.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: Starting in 2006, Automotive Industries Ltd. (AIL), an Israeli automaker and major supplier of the Israeli Security Forces, began delivery of their 2nd generation of "Storm" military jeeps, manufactured under licence from Chrysler, to the Israel Defense Forces. The M-242 Storm Mark II, known in the field as the "Storm Commander" was now based on the Jeep Wrangler (TJ). The new model incorporated a number of significant changes – both in regard to its predecessor, as well as compared to its Wrangler basis. Perhaps the most obvious change is the addition of dual passenger doors, making the Storm II the first five-door Jeep Wrangler derivative.<br>


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: The AIL Storm II had a vehicle length of , and an extended wheelbase of — almost the same as that of the JK Wrangler Unlimited: .


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: For the 2003 model year, the Jeep Wrangler TJ received a mid-cycle restyling. On the exterior, there were new wheel designs to choose from, as well as new exterior decals. Under the hood, a new 2.4L "Power-Tech" Inline Four-Cylinder (I4) gas engine from the Jeep Liberty KJ producing 147 horsepower and 165 lb. ft. of torque replaced the 2.5L Inline Four-Cylinder (I4) gas engine that was shared with the Jeep Cherokee (XJ). A new off-road focused Rubicon model was introduced, The Ultradrive 42RLE automatic transmission became the sole automatic transmission regardless of engine choice. On the interior, a new steering wheel derived from the Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ) was added, and interior switch gear was also revised. All audio systems were redesigned, and the standard audio system was now an A/M-F/M stereo radio with a cassette player (a single-disc CD player was also available, and a six-disc, in-dash CD changer replaced the previous remotely-mounted unit). A standard four-speaker audio system and optional seven-speaker premium audio system with a front center console-mounted subwoofer and amplifier were both available. Sirius Satellite Radio became available for the first time on the Wrangler. The seats were redesigned with new fabrics and improved comfort. The key was also redesigned with a new round head.


title: Jeep Wrangler (TJ)

text: 2006 was the final model year for the Jeep Wrangler TJ and Jeep Wrangler TJ Unlimited before being replaced by the all-new, third-generation Jeep Wrangler (JK) and Jeep Wrangler (JK) Unlimited. For 2006, two new special edition models were offered for the regular-wheelbase Wrangler TJ: a 65TH Anniversary Edition and the Golden Eagle Edition, both paying tribute to Jeep's heritage (the Golden Eagle was an option package for the Jeep CJ-7, and the 65TH Anniversary Edition celebrated 65 years of production for the Jeep brand). The 4.0L "Power-Tech" Inline Six-Cylinder (I6) engine became standard equipment on all Wrangler TJ models, as the 2.4L "Power-Tech" Inline Four-Cylinder (I4) gas engine was dropped, and all Wrangler TJ models now featured the Chrysler NSG370 transmission (manual transmission) as standard equipment, as the five-speed manual transmission was dropped in 2005. The all-new 2007 Jeep Wrangler (JK) and first-ever Jeep Wrangler (JK) Unlimited were introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan in January 2006.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: The photic sneeze reflex (also known as Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) syndrome or photoptarmosis, of the combining form from Ancient Greek φῶς, "phōs", "light" and πταρμός, "ptarmós", "sneeze", colloquially sun sneezing or photosneezia) is an inherited and congenital autosomal dominant reflex condition that causes sneezing in response to numerous stimuli, such as looking at bright lights or periocular (surrounding the eyeball) injection. The condition affects 18–35% of the world's population, but its exact mechanism of action is not well understood.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: The photic sneeze reflex manifests itself in the form of uncontrollable sneezing in response to a stimulus which would not produce a sneeze in people without the trait. The sneezes generally occur in bursts of 1 to 10 sneezes, followed by a refractory period that can be as long as 24 hours.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: A photic sneeze results from exposure to a bright light and is the most common manifestation of the photic sneeze reflex. This reflex seems to be caused by a change in light intensity rather than by a specific wavelength of light.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: A survey conducted by the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that 67% of respondents who identified as photic sneezers were female and 94% were Caucasian. The study also found that photic sneezing was significantly more common in people with a deviated nasal septum.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Even less well understood than photic sneezing is sneezing in response to periocular injection, the trait appears to be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. During surgeries in and around the eye, such as corneal transplant surgery, the patient often requires injection of a local anesthetic into the eye. In patients who show the photic sneeze reflex, an injection into the eye, such as that undergone in a retrobulbar or peribulbar block, can often elicit a sneeze from the patient. During these procedures, the patient may be sedated prior to the periocular injection. The patient begins to sneeze just as the needle is inserted into the eye, often resulting in the anesthesiologist having to remove the needle before injecting the local anesthetic.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: A condition called gustatory rhinitis can cause some individuals to sneeze after eating, particularly after the consumption of spicy foods. Stomach fullness is another example of a stimulus that can cause uncontrollable sneezing. Those who exhibit this symptom or disorder, called snatiation, undergo uncontrollable fits of 3–15 sneezes immediately after eating large meals that completely fill the stomach, regardless of the type of food eaten. Snatiation is not believed to be an allergic reaction of any kind.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Sneezing generally does not present any particular risks to the individual, and is usually more an annoyance than a risk of injury. The fits of sneezing brought about by the photic sneeze reflex can, however, have dangerous implications during certain scenarios and activities, such as operating a vehicle, or while undergoing operations (dental, optical) and having bright lights directed towards the patient's face.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: A fit of sneezing while operating a vehicle can cause the operator to lose control of that vehicle, resulting in injury to the person, and damage to the vehicle and/or surroundings. In particular, photic sneezing poses a considerable risk to pilots, due to the frequent presence of bright sunlight and the precise reactions needed to successfully control the aircraft. For the pilot of a fighter aircraft, if an uncontrollable fit of sneezing were to occur during aerial combat, the pilot could be incapacitated when his or her situational awareness needs to be greatest. A plane landing on an aircraft carrier or shoreline also requires precise movements and quick reflexes. The reflection of the sun from surrounding water has a high probability of producing at least one photic sneeze for pilots who have the reflex. Any amount of sneezing while attempting to land could cause the pilot to lose control, potentially resulting in disaster.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Uncontrollable fits of sneezing are common in patients under propofol sedation who undergo periocular or retrobulbar injection.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: There is much debate about the true cause and mechanism of the sneezing fits brought about by the photic sneeze reflex. Sneezing occurs in response to irritation in the nasal cavity, which results in an afferent nerve fiber signal propagating through the ophthalmic and maxillary branches of the trigeminal nerve to the trigeminal nerve nuclei in the brainstem. The signal is interpreted in the trigeminal nerve nuclei, and an efferent nerve fiber signal goes to different parts of the body, such as mucous glands and the thoracic diaphragm, thus producing a sneeze. The most obvious difference between a normal sneeze and a photic sneeze is the stimulus: normal sneezes occur due to irritation in the nasal cavity, while the photic sneeze can result from a wide variety of stimuli. Some theories are below. There is also a genetic factor that increases the probability of photic sneeze reflex. The C allele on the rs10427255 SNP is particularly implicated in this although the mechanism is unknown by which this gene increases the probability of this response.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Stimulation of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve may enhance the irritability of the maxillary branch, resulting in an increased probability of sneezing. This is similar to the mechanism by which photophobia develops by persistent light exposure relaying signals through the optic nerve and trigeminal nerve to produce increased sensitivity in the ophthalmic branch. If this increased sensitivity occurred in the maxillary branch instead of the ophthalmic branch, a sneeze could result instead of photophobia.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: The parasympathetic nervous system has many neighboring fibers that respond to different stimuli. When one stimulus activates multiple nerve fibers of the parasympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic generalization is occurring. There is a possibility that sensory input from the eyes could travel to the neurons in the cortex that interpret such signals, but neighboring neurons which are involved in sneezing are also activated, due to the generalization. This could lead to a sneeze in response to a stimulus other than nasal irritation.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: When the trigeminal nerve is directly stimulated, there is the possibility that increased light sensitivity in the ocular nerve could result. An example of directly stimulating would be plucking an eyebrow or pulling hair. In many people who show the photic sneeze reflex, even this direct stimulation can lead to a photic sneeze which is why we find it easier to sneeze while looking at a bright light.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Uncontrollable sneezing during a periocular injection while sedated by propofol is likely caused by the drug. Propofol has been shown to temporarily suppress inhibitory neurons in the brainstem, which is also where the trigeminal nucleus – the "sneeze center" of the brain – lies. This chain of events leads to increased sensitivity to stimulation and reduced threshold for involuntary responses. In this hypersensitive state, the periocular injection stimulates the ophthalmic and/or maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, which results in summation in the trigeminal nuclei. This summation can lead to a sneeze in the unconscious patient.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: A small-scale study comprising a Caucasian family from Spain done by "Sevillano et al." in July 2016 revealed that prominent corneal nerves might be associated with the photic sneeze reflex.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: While this phenomenon is poorly understood, recent research has shown that antihistamines being used to treat rhinitis due to seasonal allergies may also reduce the occurrence of photic sneezes in people affected by both conditions.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Those affected by photic sneezing may find relief by shielding their eyes and/or faces with hats, scarves, and sunglasses, or by applying transverse pressure on the philtrum with their finger.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: The photic sneeze effect is a genetic tendency to begin sneezing, sometimes many times consecutively (due to naso-ocular reflex), when suddenly exposed to bright light. This condition tends to occur more severely after one has emerged into the light after spending time in a dark environment. Although the syndrome is thought to affect about 18–35% of the human population, it is relatively harmless and not widely studied.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: The photic sneeze effect has been documented for many centuries. The Greek philosopher Aristotle was one of the first to contemplate this strange phenomenon in 350 BCE, exploring why looking at the sun causes a person to sneeze in The Book of Problems: "Why does the heat of the sun provoke sneezing?" He hypothesized that the sun's heat caused sweating inside the nose, which triggered a sneeze in order to remove the moisture. In the 17th century, English philosopher Francis Bacon disproved Aristotle's hypothesis by facing the sun with his eyes closed, which did not elicit the ordinary sneeze response. Bacon therefore guessed that the eyes played a vital part in triggering photic sneezing. He assumed that looking at the sun's light made the eyes water, and then that moisture proceeded to seep into the nose and irritate it, causing a sneeze. Although plausible, scientists later determined this hypothesis to also be incorrect because sun-induced sneezing occurs too quickly after sunlight exposure; watering of the eyes is a slower process, so it could not play a vital part in triggering the reflex.


title: Photic sneeze reflex

text: Today, scientific attention has mainly focused on a hypothesis proposed in 1964 by Henry Everett, who was the first to call light-induced sneezing "The Photic Sneeze Effect". In some places, this condition is also referred to as "pepper on the sun", due to the similar reaction experienced when inhaling pepper particles. Since the nervous system transmits signals at an extremely fast pace, Dr. Everett hypothesized that the syndrome was linked to the human nervous system, and was perhaps caused by the confusion of nerve signals. The genetic basis of photic sneezing still remains unclear, and single genes for this condition have not been found and studied. However, the condition often occurs within families, and it has been suggested that light-induced sneezing is a heritable, autosomal-dominant trait. A 2010 study demonstrated a correlation between photic sneezing and a single-nucleotide polymorphism on chromosome 2.


title: Johnny Simmons

text: Johnny Simmons (born November 28, 1986) is an American former actor. He is known for his roles as Dylan Baxter in "Evan Almighty" (2007), Chip Dove in "Jennifer's Body" (2009), "Young Neil" Nordegraf in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010), Brad Hayes in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012), serial killer Adam "Balloon Man" Kemper in "Elementary" (2012), Peter Newmans in "The Late Bloomer" (2016), and Shane in "Girlboss" (2017).


title: Johnny Simmons

text: Simmons was born on November 28, 1986, in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Dallas, Texas. He attended Nathan Adams Elementary School and T. C. Marsh Middle School for his early education. In 2005, he graduated from W. T. White High School.


title: Johnny Simmons

text: Simmons landed his first feature film role in the 2007 comedy "Evan Almighty". He portrayed Dylan Baxter, the oldest of the three sons of Steve Carell's Evan Baxter and Lauren Graham's Joan Baxter. He then starred in a number of films, including the 2009 children's comedy "Hotel for Dogs", opposite Jake T. Austin and Emma Roberts. Also in 2009, Simmons starred in the black comedy horror film "Jennifer's Body" as Chip Dove, the boyfriend of Amanda Seyfried's character, Anita "Needy" Lesnicki. In 2010, he starred in the comedy film "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", portraying Young Neil, a 20-year-old bass guitarist and fan of the fictional band Sex Bob-omb. In 2011, he was cast in a supporting role for the Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum led comedy "21 Jump Street" (2012). The film opened at South by Southwest on March 12, and was released theatrically on March 16, 2012.


title: Johnny Simmons

text: Also in 2012, Simmons co-starred as the closeted quarterback Brad Hayes, alongside Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller, in the teen drama "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". The film is an adaptation of the Stephen Chbosky novel of the same name. In February 2013, he was cast in The CW's television drama film "Blink". In 2013, he made a cameo appearance in the music video for Drake's single "Hold On, We're Going Home". That same year, Simmons joined the comedy film "Frank and Cindy" as GJ Erchternkamp, alongside Rene Russo and Oliver Platt. Also that same year, he starred in the short film "Whiplash", excerpted from a screenplay by Damien Chazelle, the complete version of which became an Academy Award-winning feature-length film of the same name. In 2014, he starred as Jack London in the Discovery Channel miniseries "Klondike", the channel's first scripted series, which detailed the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. In 2015, he co-starred as Jeff Jansen in the thriller film "The Stanford Prison Experiment", and in 2016, had the lead role in four films, the border-set thriller "Transpecos", the comedy-musical "Dreamland", the baseball drama "The Phenom", and Kevin Pollak's comedy "The Late Bloomer".


title: Shakya

text: Shakya (Pāḷi: ; ) was an ancient eastern sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), also known as the Shakya Republic. The Shakyas were on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Gangetic plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region.


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas lived along the foothills of the Himālaya mountains, with their neighbours to the west and south being the kingdom of Kosala, their neighbours to the east across the Rohiṇī river being the related Koliya tribe, while on the north-east they bordered on the Mallakas of Kusinārā. To the north, the territory of the Shakyas stretched into the Himālayas until the forested regions of the mountains, which formed their northern border.


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas' name was derived from the Sanskrit root () ( (), more rarely () or ()) meaning "to be able," "worthy," "possible," or "practicable." The name of the Shakyas was also derived from the name of the or tree, which Bryan Levman has identified with either the teak or sāla tree, which is ultimately related to word (), meaning ‘branch,’ and was connected to the Shakyas' practice of worshipping the or tree.


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas were an eastern sub-Himalayan ethnic group on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Gangetic plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region. The Shakyas were of ‘mixed origin’ () of Indo-Aryan and Munda descent, with the former group forming a minority.


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas were closely related to their eastern neighbours, the Koliya tribe, with whom they intermarried.


title: Shakya

text: By the sixth century BCE, the Shakyas, the Koliyas, Moriyas, and Mallakas lived between the territories of the Kauśalyas to the west and the Licchavikas and Vaidehas to the east, thus separating the Vajjika League from the Kosala kingdom. By that time, the Shakya republic had become a vassal state of the larger Kingdom of Kosala.


title: Shakya

text: During the fifth century itself, one of the members of the ruling aristocratic oligarchy of the Shakyas was Suddhodana. Suddhodana was married to the princess Māyā, who was the daughter of a Koliya noble, and the son of Suddhodana and Māyā was Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha and founder of Buddhism.


title: Shakya

text: During the life of the Buddha, an armed feud opposed the Shakyas and the Koliyas concerning the waters of the river Rohiṇī, which formed the boundary between the two states and whose water was needed by both of them to irrigate their crops. The intervention of the Buddha finally put an end to these hostilities.


title: Shakya

text: After the death of the Buddha, the Shakyas claimed a share of his relics from the Mallakas of Kusinārā on the grounds that he had been a Shakya.


title: Shakya

text: Shortly after the Buddha's death, the Kauśalya king Viḍūḍabha, who had overthrown his father Pasenadi, invaded the Shakya and Koliya republics, seeking to conquer their territories because they had once been part of Kosala. Viḍūḍabha finally triumphed over the Shakyas and Koliyas and annexed their state after a long war with massive loss of lives on both sides. Details of this war were exaggerated by later Buddhist accounts, which claimed that Viḍūḍabha exterminated the Shakyas in retaliation for having given in marriage to his father the slave girl who became Viḍūḍabha's mother. In actuality, Viḍūḍabha's invasion of Shakya might instead have had similar motivations to the conquest of the Vajjika League by Viḍūḍabha's relative, the Māgadhī king Ajātasattu, who, because he was the son of a Vajjika princess, was therefore interested in the territory of his mother's homeland. The result of the Kauśalya invasion was that the Shakyas and Koliyas merely lost political importance after being annexed into Viḍūḍabha's kingdom. The Shakyas nevertheless soon disappeared as an ethnic group after their annexation, having become absorbed into the population of Kosala, with only a few displaced families maintaining the Shakya identity afterwards. The Koliyas likewise disappeared as a polity and as a tribe soon after their annexation.


title: Shakya

text: The massive life losses incurred by Kosala during its conquest of Shakya and Koliya weakened it significantly enough that it was itself was soon annexed by its eastern neighbour, the kingdom of Magadha, and its king Viḍūḍabha was defeated and killed by the Māgadhī king Ajātasattu.


title: Shakya

text: The heads of the Sakya clans of the formed an Assembly, and they held the title of s. The position of was hereditary, and after a 's death was passed to his eldest son, who while he was living held the title of ("Viceroy").


title: Shakya

text: The political system of the Sakyas was identical to that of the Koliyas, and like the Koliyas and the other s, the Assembly met in a santhāgāra, the main of which was located at Kapilavatthu, although at least one other Sakya santhāgāra also existed at Cātuma. The judicial and legislative functions of the Assembly of the Sakyas were not distinctly separated, and it met to discuss important issues concerning public affairs, such as war, peace, and alliances. The Sakya Assembly deliberated on important issues, and it had a simple voting system through either raising hands or the use of wooden chips.


title: Shakya

text: Similarly to the other s, the Sakya Assembly met rarely and it instead had an inner and smaller Council which met more often to administer the republic in the name of the Assembly. The members of the Council, titled s, formed a college which was directly in charge of public affairs of the republic.


title: Shakya

text: The head of the Sakya republic was an elected chief, which was a position of first among equals similar to Roman consuls and Greek archons, and whose incumbent had the title of . The was in charge of administering the republic with the help of the Council.


title: Shakya

text: When sessions of the Assembly were held, the s gathered in the santhāgāra; while four s were posted in the four corners or sides of the hall so as to clearly and easily hear the speeches made by the s; and the consul took his appointed seat and put forward the matters to be discussed once the Assembly was ready.


title: Shakya

text: During the session, the members of the Assembly expressed their views, which the four s would record. The Assembly was then adjourned, after which the recorders compared their notes, and all the s came back and waited for the recorders' decision.


title: Shakya

text: The society of the Shakyas and Koliyas was a stratified one within which were present at least the aristocratic, land-owning, attendant, labourer, and serf classes. Landholders held the title of s, literally meaning "enjoyers (of the right to own land)," and used in the sense of "headmen." The lower classes of Shakya society consisted of servants, in Pāli called s (meaning "labourers") and s (meaning "serfs"), who performed the labour in the farms.


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas lived in what scholars presently call the Greater Magadha cultural area, which was located in the eastern Gangetic plain to the east of the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā rivers. Like the other eastern groups of the Greater Magadha region, the Shakyas were ("of mixed origin"), and therefore did not subscribe to the social organisation consisting of s, s, s, and s; non-Indo-Aryan indigenous clans were instead given the status of s, that is of slaves or servants, while the Indo-Aryan clans and the indigenous clans who collaborated with them held the status of s. Thus, the populations of Greater Magadha did not subscribe to the supremacy of the s of the peoples of , that is the Aryan homeland, and s were instead the highest class in the societies of Greater Magadha.


title: Shakya

text: Vedic literature therefore considered the populations of Greater Magadha as existing outside of the limits of , with the grouping the Vaidehas, Māgadhīs, Licchavikas, and Mallakas, who were the neighbours of the Shakyas, as being "non-Aryan" and born from mixed caste marriages, and the s requiring visitors to these lands to perform purificatory sacrifices as expiation.


title: Shakya

text: This negative view of the peoples of the Greater Magadha region by the Vedic peoples extended to the Shakyas, as recorded in the , according to which the s described the Shakyas as "fierce, rough-spoken, touchy and violent," and accused them of not honouring, respecting, esteeming, revering or paying homage to the s owing to their "menial origin."


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas were an Indo-Aryan people under the linguistic influence of Munda languages, as attested by many of their villages having non-Indo-Aryan names, and the name of the founder of their clan, which has been recorded in the Sanskrit form and the Pali form , being of Munda origin.


title: Shakya

text: Since they lived in the Greater Magadha cultural area, the Shakyas followed non-Vedic religious customs which drastically differed from the Brahmanical tradition, and even by the time of the Buddha, Brahmanism and the s had not acquired religious or cultural preponderance in the Greater Magadha area to which Shakya belonged.


title: Shakya

text: It was in this non-Vedic cultural environment that movements existed, with one of them, Buddhism, having been founded by the Shakya Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha.


title: Shakya

text: The Shakyas worshipped the Sun-god, whom they considered their ancestor, hence why the Shakya clan claimed to be of the ( in Sanskrit) , and of the Sūryavaṃśa ("Solar dynasty").


title: Shakya

text: The Shakya clan claimed descent from the Sun-god via his descendant, named (in Pāli) and (in Sanskrit), and whose eight twin sons and daughters who were married to each other had founded the capital city of the Shakyas and were the tribe's ancestors. This was an origin myth of the ruling status of the families of the Shakya clan, who had the right to be represented in the , were often related to each other, and possessed adjacent areas of land, thus establishing kinship, which itself helped form rights of landownership, and, therefore, of political authority.


title: Shakya

text: This myth was also a foundation myth of the city which, as the residence of the ruling families of the clan, the city, which was the centre of political and economic activity, was associated with that clan's (territory), and was equated with the whole itself.


title: Shakya

text: The myth of the Shakyas' ancestors being four pairs of married twin siblings was a myth which traced the origins of the ruling Shakya families to a common ancestor, and was also a myth of an early human utopia where humans were born as couples.


title: Shakya

text: The important role of the Sāl tree in the life of the Buddha according to the Buddhist texts, as well as his representation as a Bodhi tree and his Enlightenment occurring under one such tree, suggest that the Shakyas practised tree worship, a custom likely derived from Munda religious customs of worshipping sacred groves, and the important role in their traditions of the Sāl tree, whose flowering marks the beginning of their New Year and Flower Feast festivals: the Santal tribe worship the Sāl tree and gather to make communal decisions under them Sāl trees.


title: Shakya

text: The importance of the tree spirits called s and s in Pali (s and s in Sanskrit) in early Buddhist texts is an attestation of the worship of these beings done at s. The worship of s and s, which was of pre-Indo-Aryan autochthonous origin, was prevalent in the Greater Magadha region.


title: Shakya

text: The king Mucalinda, who in Buddhist mythology protected the Buddha during a storm under a mucalinda tree, was a both snake- and a tree-deity, thus alluding to the practice of serpent worship among the Shakyas, which originated from among the pre-Indo-Aryan Tibeto-Burman populations of northern South Asia.


title: Shakya

text: Another reflection of non-Indo-Aryan cultural practices of the Shakyas was the practice of sibling marriages among their ruling clans, which was forbidden among peoples, and was a practice of social demarcation and of maintaining power within a smaller sub-group of the Shakya clan, and was therefore not permitted among the lower classes of the Shakya.


title: Shakya

text: The cremation rituals of the Shakyas which were performed for the funeral of the Buddha as described by Buddhist texts involved wrapping his body in 500 layers of cloth, placing it in an iron vat full of oil as a mark of honour, and then covering it with another iron pot before being cremated. These rites originated from the pre-Indo-Aryan autochthonous populations of the eastern Gangetic plains, as were the practices such as honouring the Buddha's body with singing, dancing, and music, as well as placing his bones in a golden urn, the veneration of these remains and their burial in a round which possessed a central mast, flags, pennants, and parasols at a public crossroads, which were rituals that were performed by the pre-Indo-Aryan populations for their greater rulers.


title: Shakya

text: Scholars such as Michael Witzel and Christopher I. Beckwith have equated the Shakyas with central Asian Iranic nomads who were called Scythians by the Greeks, s by the Achaemenid Persians, and by the Indo-Aryans. These scholars have suggested that the people of the Buddha were Saka soldiers who arrived into South Asia in the army of Darius I when he conquered the Indus Valley, and saw in Scytho-Saka nomadism the origin of the wandering asceticism of the Buddha. The scholar Bryan Levman however criticised this hypothesis for resting on slim to no evidence, and maintains that the Shakyas were a population native to the north-east Gangetic plain who were unrelated to the Iranic Sakas.


title: Shakya

text: The Buddha was given the epithet of the "Sage of the Shakyas," in Pali and in Sanskrit, by his followers.


title: Shakya

text: The functioning of the proceedings of Sakka's heaven in Buddhist cosmology are modelled on those of the Shakya santhāgāra.


title: Shakya

text: Tharu people of Tarai region of India and Nepal claim descent from Sakya. Significant population of Newars of Kathmandu valley in Nepal use the surname Shakya and also claim to be the descendants of the Shakya clan with titles such as Śākyavamsa (of the Shakya lineage) having been used in the past.


title: Shakya

text: According to "Hmannan Yazawin", first published in 1823, the legendary king Abhiyaza, who founded the Tagaung Kingdom and the Burmese monarchy belonged to the same Shakya clan of the Buddha. He migrated to present-day Burma after the annexation of the Shakya kingdom by Kosala. The earlier Burmese accounts stated that he was a descendant of Pyusawhti, son of a solar spirit and a dragon princess.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The is a dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP). The fourth iteration, entitled is a larger model that launched in Japan on November 21, 2009, and worldwide beginning in March 2010. Development of the DSi began in late 2006, and the handheld was unveiled during an October 2008 Nintendo conference in Tokyo. Consumer demand convinced Nintendo to produce a slimmer handheld with larger screens than the DS Lite. Consequently, Nintendo removed the Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridge slot to improve portability without sacrificing durability.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: While the DSi's design is similar to that of the DS Lite, it features two digital cameras, supports internal and external content storage, and connects to an online store called the Nintendo DSi Shop. Nintendo stated that families often share DS and DS Lite consoles. Its new functionality was intended to facilitate personalization, so as to encourage each member of a household to purchase a DSi. The handheld supports exclusive physical media in addition to DS games with DSi-specific features and standard DS titles. The only exception to its backward compatibility are earlier DS games that required the GBA slot. Nintendo had sold over 41 million DSi and DSi XL units combined. They were succeeded by the Nintendo 3DS.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Reviews of the Nintendo DSi were generally positive; IGN and "bit-tech" decried the console's lack of exclusive software and removal of the GBA cartridge slot, though its added functionality caused many journalists to recommend it to those who had not purchased a previous DS model. Numerous critics were disappointed with the limited resolution of DSi's cameras, though others such as Ars Technica and GameSpot agreed they were adequate for the handheld's display. CNET and "PCWorld" considered the DSi Shop to be the most important buying incentive for current DS owners. Some critics believed the DSi XL was not an essential upgrade. "GamePro" and "Wired UK", on the other hand, praised the DSi XL's larger screens for improving the gameplay experience and revitalizing older DS games.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Development of the Nintendo DSi started at the end of 2006. It was the first time Masato Kuwahara of Nintendo's Development Engineering Department served as a hardware project leader. Work went at a quick pace to meet deadlines; his team had to devise a theme for the new DS in time for a late December presentation, and by February 2007, most specifications for a chipset had to be completed. Kuwahara reported that his team had difficulty determining the potential market for the handheld during the design process; he said of their goal, "We have to be able to sell the console on its own [without games at launch]. It also has to be able to meld into the already-existing DS market." The console's digital cameras were considered early in development: Nintendo president and Chief Executive Officer Satoru Iwata described the touchscreen as the Nintendo DS's sense of touch, and the microphone as its "ears"; a co-worker suggested that it should have "eyes". Kuwahara's team originally wanted one camera with a swivel mechanism, but this was abandoned due to concerns of reliability, cost, and the need of a thicker console. Owing to consumer demand, Nintendo also improved the handhelds' volume and audio quality and made it slimmer with larger screens compared to the Nintendo DS Lite. However, to improve portability without sacrificing durability, the GBA cartridge slot present on earlier models was removed. To compensate, Nintendo continued to support the DS Lite as long as there was consumer demand for it.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi's size was changed midway through development, delaying its release. Its original design included two DS game card slots, because of demand from both fan communities and Nintendo employees, which consequently made it larger. When the console's designs were unveiled to Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development producers in October 2007, it was met with lukewarm reception due to its size. However, Iwata and Kuwahara's own hopes resulted in the creation of a prototype. A quick hands-on investigation led them to abandon the dual-slot design, which made the DSi approximately slimmer. Ever since the handheld's in-company unveiling, its internal designs were finished along with assembly and durability specifications. Iwata described having to resize the console so close to manufacturing as being essentially the same as making another handheld.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Yui Ehara, designer of the DS Lite and DSi's original casing, had to redesign the revised case. He advocated changing the six speaker apertures, as their circular perforations were redundant to the rest of the handheld's interface. He believed that this alteration also signaled a clearer distinction between the DSi and its predecessors while keeping the unit "neat" and "simple". Ehara hoped the DSi's added features would not interfere with his desired iconic image of the Nintendo DS product line: two rectangles, one on top of the other, with each half containing another rectangle inside. This model was publicly revealed at the October 2008 Nintendo Conference in Tokyo, along with its Japanese price and release date. While the DS product line's worldwide yearly sales figures consistently surpassed those of its primary market rival, Sony's PlayStation Portable, demand for it in Japan was decreasing; Nintendo's launch of the DSi was intended to stimulate sales. The company was less concerned with releasing the DSi in other territories, where DS Lite market demand remained high.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Development of a large DS Lite model in 2007 eventually led to the DSi XL. Nintendo had designed a large DS Lite model with screens, compared to the standard screens; development of this new handheld advanced far enough that it could have begun mass production. However, Iwata placed the project on hold due to consumer demand for the DS Lite and Wii. He later pitched the idea of simultaneously releasing large and small versions of the DSi instead, but Nintendo's hardware team was incapable of developing two models concurrently. After finishing work on the DSi, Kuwahara started the DSi XL project and became project leader. The DSi XL, a DSi model with screens, was announced on October 29, 2009. Various names for it were considered, including "DSi Comfort", "DSi Executive", "DSi Premium", "DSi Living", and "DSi Deka" (Japanese for "large"). "Mario" creator Shigeru Miyamoto insisted on "DSi Deka". The handheld has an improved viewing angle over its predecessor, which allows onlookers to see the screen's contents more easily. This feature was absent from the large DS Lite model due to cost issues at the time, which also limited LCD screen size. The cost of LCD screens is determined by how many pieces are cut from a single large glass sheet. To keep these costs within a certain threshold, Nintendo set a screen size limit of approximately , which was later increased to .


title: Nintendo DSi

text: On November 1, 2008, the DSi was released in Japan; on April 2, 2009, in Australia and New Zealand, and on April 3 in Europe, all with a black and white casing. It launched in the United States and Canada on April 5, alongside the game "Rhythm Heaven". It was the first DS console to launch with multiple colors in North America—black and blue. iQue released a Chinese DSi model in black and white, with a pre-installed version of "Nintendogs", in December 2009; the "Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun" reported that the Chinese and Korean models featured improved security, to combat piracy. On April 15, 2010, the DSi was launched in South Korea in white, black, blue, and pink, alongside the game "MapleStory DS". "MapleStory DS" was also bundled with a red limited-edition DSi, which had characters from the game printed around its external camera. Other countries the DSi was released in include Brazil, Russia, and Turkey.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Nintendo had shipped 200,000 units for the DSi's Japanese launch, and during its first two days on sale, over 170,000 units were sold—the remaining units were either unclaimed pre-orders or reserved for sale on Culture Day. By the end of the month, the DSi sold 535,000 units, in comparison to 550,000 DS Lites sold in its launch month. In the two-day launch period, Europe and North American sales totaled 600,000 units combined. North American first week sales almost doubled the DS Lite's 226,000 units by selling 435,000. In the UK, the console totaled 92,000 sales within two days of release, which GfK/Chart-Track data showed to be the fourth-best opening weekend ever in the region—higher than previous records set by other DS iterations.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: DSi launch events were held on the western and eastern coasts of the United States. Nintendo sponsored an official launch event at the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles and the Nintendo World Store in New York City. The LA midnight launch party featured several events, including merchandise handouts, signings and art galleries from iam8bit, parkour demonstrations, and performances by Gym Class Heroes. Hundreds attended and over 150 stayed until midnight to purchase a unit at GameStop. A human-sized Lego DSi by artist Sean Kenney was on display at the Nintendo World Store.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The Nintendo DSi XL was released in Japan on November 21, 2009, in bronze, burgundy, and white. The former two colors were available for its European launch on March 5, 2010, and its North American launch on March 28. The console launched in Australia on April 15, 2010, in bronze and burgundy. The DSi XL was released in other countries including Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey. Over 100,500 units were sold during the console's first two days on sale in Japan, and 141,000 units were sold during its first three days in the United States.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The 2011 release of the Nintendo 3DS, the successor to the Nintendo DS series of handhelds, was announced on March 23, 2010, to preempt impending news leaks by the Japanese press and to attract potential attendees to the Electronic Entertainment Expo. According to industry analysts, the timing drew attention from the North American launch of the DSi XL. M2 Research senior analyst Billy Pigeon argued the "XL is old news ... in Japan – and Nintendo is a very Japan-centric organization. This is just the corporate parent in Japan maybe not acting in the best interest of Nintendo of America." Iwata dismissed any significant impact when speaking to concerned investors, "those who are eager to buy Nintendo 3DS right after the announcement generally tend to react quickly to anything new on the market, and those who are purchasing a Nintendo DS today tend to react relatively slowly."


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Nintendo targeted a wider demographic profile with the first Nintendo DS (2004) than it had with the Game Boy line. Comparing 2008 life-to-date DS and DS Lite sales to the best-selling game console, Sony's PlayStation 2, showed potential in further expanding the Nintendo DS gaming population—particularly in Europe and the United States. To further promote the product line while expanding its gaming population, Nintendo created the DSi. Iwata has said that families often share DS and DS Lite consoles, so to encourage each family member to buy an individual handheld, Nintendo added personalization features to the DSi.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The "i" in DSi symbolizes both an individual person (I) and the handheld's cameras (eyes); the former meaning contrasts with the "i"'s in Wii, which represent players gathering together. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé said, "If Wii was about gaming for the masses, then think of DSi as creativity for the masses." Iwata has said that the DSi is meant to be a first camera for children, and a social networking device for adults. In response to media commentary following the DSi's announcement, Iwata insisted that its new audio and camera capabilities are not meant to compete with mobile phones, the iPod, or the PSP. He explained their role in the marketplace:


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi helped maintain strong sales for Nintendo's handheld product line. The DSi accounted for 40 percent of its product line's 2009 UK sales and frequently topped weekly sales charts in Japan during its first year of availability. In the United States, the console's initial three-month sales surpassed those of the DS, DS Lite, and Wii. Average weekly sales of the Wii and Nintendo DS declined slightly in March; Nintendo DS hardware sales stabilized at over 200,000 units for seven months after the DSi's April launch, while Wii sales diminished. Gamasutra estimated that, in October 2009 and February 2010, 50 percent of Nintendo DS unit sales were DSi consoles. In an October 2009 interview, Fils-Aimé announced that the DSi had sold 2.2 million units in the United States. He said, "If you give the consumer great value in terms of what they pay, they're willing to spend, and we say [that] based on the experience of launching the DSi". The United States had its highest yearly DS sales in 2009 with 11.22 million units sold. The DSi and DSi XL accounted for 16.88 million of the 27.11 million units sold worldwide of its product line for Nintendo's 2009 fiscal year beginning April 1, 2009 and ending March 31, 2010.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: In Gamasutra's United States hardware sales estimate for July 2010, the DSi and DSi XL each outsold the DS Lite. The website reported DSi sales of approximately 300,000 units in July 2009 and February 2010, which remains consistent for July 2010 if combined with DSi XL sales. As a result, the average price consumers were spending on the Nintendo DS hardware family rose to over $165 (in 2004 dollars, $ adjusted for inflation as of 2010), which is over $15 more than the November 2004 launch price of the original Nintendo DS. Nintendo made its first DSi price cuts in Europe on June 18, 2010, for DSi and DSi XL consoles in Japan on June 19, and in North America on September 12. The DSi and DSi XL accounted for 14.66 million of the 17.52 million units sold worldwide of its product line in fiscal year 2010.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: In a United States hardware sales estimate for July 2011 by Gamasutra following the DS Lite's price drop a month earlier, about 60 to 70 percent of approximately 290,000 DS units sold were DSi and DSi XL consoles. Lackluster 3DS sales forced Nintendo to drop its price to match the DSi XL in the United States on August 12. Japan and Europe had similar price reductions. Gamasutra speculated potential DS buyers in the United States opted for the 3DS as a result; DS sales for August 2011 decreased by 45 percent, while it combined with 3DS sales remained steady compared to the previous month. Nintendo made its second DSi and DSi XL price cuts in North America on May 20, 2012. Gamasutra called these price cuts the DS product line's "final send-off" and expects "by this time next year its contributions to the market will be minuscule. After Christmas, Nintendo will effectively be a single-handheld system company, putting all of portable software efforts into the Nintendo 3DS."


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The Nintendo DSi's design is similar to that of the second DS iteration, the Nintendo DS Lite. It is approximately 12 percent shorter () than the Nintendo DS Lite when closed, but slightly wider and lighter. The DSi has two TFT-LCD screens— larger than those of previous models—that are capable of displaying 262,144 colors. The touch sensitive lower screen accepts input from the included stylus. The handheld features four lettered buttons (X, Y, A, B), a directional pad, and Start, Select, and Power buttons. Two shoulder buttons, a game card slot, and a power cable input are placed under the console's hinge. The included AC adapter (WAP-002) is not compatible with any previous DS model.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Unlike previous models, the handheld has two VGA (0.3-megapixel) digital cameras. The first is on the internal hinge and points toward the user; the second is on the outer casing and faces away from the user. The SD card slot is also new, set behind a cover on the right side. While the DS Lite used a switch, the DSi, like the original Nintendo DS, features a button to power on or off. The button has extra functions and unlike the original's power button, it is located on the bottom-left side of the touchscreen. Brightness and volume controls are on the left side; five brightness settings—one more than on the DS Lite—are available. The headset port is on the bottom.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi has a matte surface to hide fingerprints. It is available in numerous colors, but color selection varies by region. For example, lime green is exclusive to Japan, while red is available in Europe and North America. North America also received a different shade of blue. Numerous special-edition models and bundles have been released, including those for "", "", and the 2009 Black Friday shopping day.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi has more RAM and a faster CPU than the DS Lite. Developers reported the console has a native mode, which runs software specifically designed for its hardware, access to the system's extra processing and memory resources. The inclusion of a codec integrated circuit (a microchip) amplifies sound signals and converts them from digital to analog. This increases audio output, and depending on the mode, higher audio quality. Unused space on the motherboard was removed; the CPU was relocated, and the battery housing was expanded.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The camera's resolution is two-and-a-half times higher than the handheld's screens. However, their resolution is considerably lower than contemporaneous digital cameras and mobile phones. This was done to help keep their price reasonable and to maintain a preferable response time for viewing photos in quick session, particularity since numerous applications will use them.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The Nintendo DSi XL features larger screens, and a greater overall size, than the original DSi. It is the fourth DS model, the first to be available as a pure size variation. Iwata said that cost restraints had, until then, limited the screen size and multiplayer aspects of portable game consoles, and that the DSi XL offers "an improved view angle on the screens", which makes it the first "portable system that can be enjoyed with people surrounding the gamer." He argued that this introduces a new method of playing portable video games, wherein those "surrounding the game player can also join in one way or the other to the gameplay." While the original DSi was specifically designed for individual use, Iwata suggested that DSi XL buyers give the console a "steady place on a table in the living room," so that it might be shared by multiple household members.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi XL is the longest, widest and heaviest DS model. The console features two wide-viewing-angle LCD screens with the same resolution as the smaller model. It has improved battery life over the DSi on all brightness settings; for example, batteries last 13–17 hours at the dimmest setting. The handheld is outfitted with identical speakers contained in larger speaker enclosures, enabling them to produce louder sound. The hinges stop the screen at 120° in addition to the original DSi's position of 155° to allow easier table-top viewing. The DSi XL is bundled with two longer styli, one of which is thicker, rounded, and pen-like, and does not fit inside the unit.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi XL has a matte surface, and the exterior of its top panel is coated with a gloss finish. It is available in eight two-toned colors, varying by region such as white, green, red, yellow, and pink. Two special-edition models were released: those for "LovePlus+" and the 25th anniversary of "Super Mario Bros." Flipnote Studio and the Nintendo DSi Browser come pre-installed with the DSi XL, alongside other, region-specific software.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Like the Wii, the DSi has upgradeable firmware, and features a menu interface that displays applications as selectable icons. The seven primary icons represent the game card software, "Nintendo DSi Camera", "Nintendo DSi Sound", "Nintendo DSi Shop", "DS Download Play", "PictoChat", and "system settings"; additional applications may be downloaded from the DSi Shop. Icons are set in a single-row grid navigable with the stylus or D-pad, and may be re-arranged via drag-and-drop. The power button can either soft reset the console, returning it to the main menu, or shut it down. Game cards may be hot swapped when the console is set to the main menu, allowing players to switch game cards without shutting down.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The DSi has more extensive multimedia features than previous models; AAC audio files from other devices, pictures, and downloadable software can be stored to an SD card. The latter two do not need external storage and can be stored internally. Before taking a photograph, users may modify the viewfinder's live image with ten "lens" options. Images captured can be uploaded to the Wii's Photo Channel, and, for consoles with the 1.4 firmware update or greater, to the social networking website Facebook.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The built-in sound player has voice recording and music playback functionality. Voice recordings can be edited with audio filters and manipulated through pitch and playback. Users may save and modify up to 18 ten-second sound clips. These clips cannot be exported to an SD card. Users can play music from SD cards with visualizations displayed on the upper screen. AAC audio with .mp4, .m4a, or .3gp filename extensions are supported, but non-AAC formats, including MP3, are not supported. Sounds like drum beats and the classic "Mario" jumping noises can be added with button presses. Playing music also has its own set of manipulation options similar to those used for voice recordings, as well as a group of audio filters. Using headphones, music can be played when the case is closed. Users may export photos, sounds, and Internet settings to a 3DS.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The Nintendo DSi connects to the Internet via either its built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi or a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector; both methods grant access to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. The DSi supports WEP, WPA (AES/TKIP), and WPA2 (AES/TKIP) wireless encryption; only software with built-in support can use the latter two encryption types, as they were not supported by the DS and DS Lite. Up to six wireless Internet connection profiles can be saved; using the traditional setup method, the first three profiles support WEP encryption, while the remaining three are selectable under a more advanced option, which supports WPA encryption. Under this advanced option, users may access the Wi-Fi Protected Setup method and configure proxy settings. The DSi can automatically detect Nintendo Zone service areas thus preventing the need to manually setup Wi-Fi connections. The service offers demos of upcoming and currently available games, access to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and DSi Shop, and may have location-specific content.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: All DS games are compatible with the DSi, except those that require the GBA slot. Because of its absence, the DSi is not backward compatible with GBA Game Paks or with accessories that require the GBA slot, such as the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak and the guitar grip. "DSi-enhanced" game cards contain DSi-exclusive features, but can still be used with earlier models; "DSi-exclusive" game cards cannot. The DSi is Nintendo's first region-locked handheld; it prevents using certain software released for another region. Due to regional differences in Internet services and parental controls, DSi-specific software is region locked. However, cartridge software compatible with previous models, Internet browsing, and photo sharing are not locked. Homebrew flash cards designed for previous DS models are incompatible with the DSi, but new cards capable of running DS software on a DSi were available.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Like the Wii, the DSi could connect to an online store. The store, called the DSi Shop, allowed users to download DSiWare games and applications, which were paid for with a Nintendo Points Prepaid Card (previously known as Wii Points Prepaid Card). Application prices followed a three-tiered pricing scheme. The service launched with the DSi Browser, a free web browser developed by Opera Software and Nintendo. A DSiWare trial campaign, whose expiration date varied by region, formerly offered 1,000 free Nintendo Points to each DSi that accesses the DSi Shop. Over 500 downloadable games were available, varying by region. Purchased DSiWare on DSi or DSi XL consoles cannot be transferred between units unless that console is repaired or replaced by Nintendo. Most DSiWare can be transferred to a 3DS, however saved data cannot. Nintendo Points became irredeemable on September 30, 2016, and the Nintendo DSi Shop was shut down on March 31, 2017.


title: Nintendo DSi

text: The Nintendo DSi received generally positive reviews. Critics praised many of the console's changes to the DS Lite's aesthetic and functionality, but complained that it launched with insufficient exclusive software. IGN's Craig Harris noted that the DSi-exclusive software library and DSi Shop were lacking in content even after five months on the Japanese market. Jeff Bakalar of CNET said that owners of the original DS should consider buying a DSi, but that its only incentive for DS Lite owners was the DSi Shop. "PCWorld" New Zealand's Jan Birkeland shared Bakalar's opinion, but believed that it was too early to judge the quality of DSi Shop software. Many critics were disappointed by the removal of the GBA cartridge slot, but some of them, such as "PCWorld"s Darren Gladstone, "Bit-tech"s Joe Martin, and IGN's Harris and Lowe, believed that it was a reasonable exchange for SD card support and the DSi Shop. However, Bakalar stated, "We'd gladly give up the 4 millimeters [of reduced thickness] to be able to play any Game Boy Advance game."


title: Nintendo DSi

text: Most reviewers criticized the quality of its cameras, particularly due to their resolution in comparison to contemporaneous mobile phones. They considered them sufficient for the DSi's screens, however. Harris and Lowe believed that the camera's only use was to take "silly pictures of yourself and others". They complained about the difficulty of taking photographs in low-light environments, and said that low-light images were tinged green or blue. Opinions on the DSi's photograph-editing tools were varied: "Bit-tech"s Martin and Reid considered them to be a gimmick, but Bakalar and Cliff Edwards of "BusinessWeek" thought otherwise. Edwards said that the camera's use in gameplay was a new opportunity for developers; Martin did not think that the concept would be widely adopted, as he believed it to be "a gimmick that would alienate [...] DS Lite owners". Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell speculated that the DSi follows Game & Watch and Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi's philosophy of using dated technology developers are familiar with to introduce new game design concepts that are inexpensive enough for mass production at a profit. He argued its features are designed to "briefly entertain" early adopters while encouraging "developers to consider it as an alternative [of the DS Lite]" to build an attractive game library for the long term.