title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: After receiving copies of the work from the RCM in London, Patrick Meadows made printed playing editions of the "Nonet", "Piano Quintet" and "Piano Trio". The works were performed in Meadows's regular chamber music festival on the island of Majorca, and were well received by the public as well as the performers. The first modern performances of some of these works were done in the early 1990s by the Boston, Massachusetts-based Coleridge Ensemble, led by William Thomas of Phillips Academy, Andover. This group subsequently made world premiere recordings of the "Nonet", "Fantasiestücke" for string quartet and "Six Negro Folksongs" for piano trio, which were released in 1998 by Afka Records. Thomas, a champion of lost works by black composers, also revived Coleridge's "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast" in a performance commemorating the composition's 100th anniversary with the Cambridge Community Chorus at Harvard's Sanders Theatre in the spring of 1998.


title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: In 2006, Meadows finished engraving the first edition of Coleridge-Taylor's "Symphony in A minor". Meadows has also transcribed from the RCM manuscript the "Haytian Dances", a work virtually identical to the "Noveletten" but with a fifth movement inserted by Coleridge-Taylor, based on the Scherzo of the symphony. This work is for string orchestra, tambourine and triangle.


title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: Coleridge-Taylor's only large-scale operatic work, "Thelma", was long believed to have been lost. As recently as 1995, Geoffrey Self in his biography of Coleridge-Taylor, "The Hiawatha Man", stated that the manuscript of "Thelma" had not been located, and that the piece may have been destroyed by its creator. While researching for a PhD on the life and music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Catherine Carr unearthed the manuscripts of "Thelma" in the British Library. She assembled a libretto and catalogued the opera in her thesis, presenting a first critical examination of the work by a thorough investigation of the discovered manuscripts (including copious typeset examples). The work subsequently appeared as such on the catalogue of the British Library.


title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: "Thelma" is a saga of deceit, magic, retribution and the triumph of love over wickedness. The composer followed Richard Wagner's manner in eschewing the established "numbers" opera format, preferring to blend recitative, aria and ensemble into a seamless whole. It is possible that he had read Marie Corelli's 1887 "Nordic" novel "Thelma" (it appears that the name "Thelma" may have been created by Corelli for her heroine). Coleridge-Taylor composed "Thelma" between 1907 and 1909; it is alternatively entitled "The Amulet".


title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: The full score and vocal score in the British Library are both in the composer's hand – the full score is unbound but complete (save that the vocal parts do not have the words after the first few folios) but the vocal score is bound (in three volumes) and complete with words. Patrick Meadows and Lionel Harrison prepared a type-set full score, vocal score and libretto (the librettist is uncredited and may be Coleridge-Taylor himself). As to the heroine of the title, the composer changed her name to "Freda" in both full and vocal scores (although in the full score he occasionally forgets himself and writes "Thelma" instead of "Freda"). Perhaps Coleridge-Taylor changed the name of his heroine (and might have changed the name of the opera, had it been produced) to avoid creating the assumption that his work was a treatment of Corelli's then very popular novel. Since that precaution is scarcely necessary today, Meadows and Harrison decided to revert to the original "Thelma".


title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: There are minor discrepancies between the full score and the vocal score (the occasional passage occurring in different keys in the two, for example), but nothing that would inhibit the production of a complete, staged performance.


title: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

text: "Thelma" received its world première in Croydon's Ashcroft Theatre in February 2012, the centenary year of the composer's death, performed by Surrey Opera, using an edition prepared by Stephen Anthony Brown. It was conducted by Jonathan Butcher, directed by Christopher Cowell and designed by Bridget Kimak. Joanna Weeks sang the title role, with Alberto Sousa as Eric and Håkan Vramsmo as Carl.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was attributed to its original layout design, whose streets radiated from the shoreline like the spokes of a wagon wheel, and to its central location on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is the headquarters of the Regional District of Nanaimo.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo is served by the coast-spanning Island Highway, the Island Rail Corridor, the BC Ferries system, and a local airport.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Indigenous peoples of the area that is now known as Nanaimo are the Snuneymuxw. An anglicised spelling and pronunciation of that word gave the city its current name.


title: Nanaimo

text: The first Europeans known to reach Nanaimo Harbour were members of the 1791 Spanish voyage of Juan Carrasco, under the command of Francisco de Eliza. They gave it the name "Bocas de Winthuysen" after naval officer Francisco Javier Winthuysen y Pineda. When the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established a settlement here in 1852, they named it Colvile Town after HBC governor Andrew Colvile. In 1858 it was renamed as Nanaimo, after the local indigenous people. The city has been called "The Harbour City" since the lead-up to Expo 86.


title: Nanaimo

text: The HBC attempted to start a coal mine at Port Rupert but the project had been unsuccessful. In 1850 Snuneymuxw Chief Che-wich-i-kan, commonly known as "Coal Tyee", brought samples of coal to Victoria. A company clerk was dispatched and eventually the governor James Douglas visited the future site of Nanaimo.


title: Nanaimo

text: While open to selling coal, the Snuneymuxw wished to retain control of it and retain the exclusive right to mine it. Chief Wun-wun-shum offered to sell coal for five barrels in exchange for one blanket. The HBC representative Joseph William McKay deemed this "impertinent". The Snuneymuxw retained their rights to the resource for a while, but gradually lost them due to other tribes and miners from the failed Port Rupert project.


title: Nanaimo

text: On 27 November 1854, 24 coal miners and their families from England arrived at the settlement aboard the "Beaver" and "Recovery". They had travelled seven months on the ship "Princess Royal" arriving at Esquimalt two days earlier. They transferred to the two smaller vessels for the trip to Colvile Town. They were greeted by Joseph William McKay and 21 Scottish miners.


title: Nanaimo

text: During World War I, the provincial government established an Internment camp for Ukrainian detainees, many of them local, at a Provincial jail in Nanaimo. It operated from September 1914 to September 1915.


title: Nanaimo

text: In the 1940s, lumber supplanted coal as the main business. Minetown Days have been celebrated in the neighbouring community of Lantzville to highlight some of the locale's history.


title: Nanaimo

text: In the late nineteenth century, numerous immigrants came from China and settled here. What was known as the first Chinatown in Nanaimo was founded during the gold rush years of the 1860s; it was the third largest in British Columbia. In 1884, because of mounting racial tensions related to the Dunsmuir coal company's hiring of Chinese strikebreakers, the company helped move Chinatown to a location outside city limits.


title: Nanaimo

text: In 1908, when two Chinese entrepreneurs bought the site and tried to raise rents, the community and 4,000 shareholders from across Canada combined forces and bought a site for the third Chinatown, at a new location focused on Pine Street. That third Chinatown burned down on 30 September 1960 but it was by then mostly derelict and abandoned. A fourth Chinatown, also called Lower Chinatown or "new town", boomed for a while in the 1920s on Machleary Street.


title: Nanaimo

text: Located on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Nanaimo is about north-west of Victoria, and west of Vancouver, separated by the Strait of Georgia, and linked to Vancouver via the Horseshoe Bay BC Ferries terminal in West Vancouver and the Duke Point terminal to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Tsawwassen. As the site of the main ferry terminal, Nanaimo is the gateway to many other destinations both on the northern part of the island—Tofino, Comox Valley, Parksville, Campbell River, Port Alberni, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park—and off its coast—Newcastle Island, Protection Island, Gabriola Island, Valdes Island, and many other of the Gulf Islands.


title: Nanaimo

text: Buttertubs Marsh is a bird sanctuary located in the middle of the city. The marsh covers approximately . Within this is the "Buttertubs Marsh Conservation Area", owned by the Nature Trust of British Columbia.


title: Nanaimo

text: Like much of coastal British Columbia, Nanaimo experiences a temperate climate with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. Due to its relatively dry summers, the Köppen climate classification places it at the northernmost limits of the "Csb" or warm-summer Mediterranean zone. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha, place it firmly in the Oceanic zone ("Do").


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo is usually shielded from the Aleutian Low's influence by the mountains of central Vancouver Island, so that summers are unusually dry for its latitude and location—though summer drying as a trend is found in the immediate lee of the coastal ranges as far north as Skagway, Alaska.


title: Nanaimo

text: Heavy snowfall does occasionally occur during winter, with a record daily total of on 12 February 1975, but the mean maximum cover is only .


title: Nanaimo

text: The highest temperature ever recorded in Nanaimo was on 16 July 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 30 December 1968.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo is served by two airports: Nanaimo Airport (YCD) with services to Vancouver (YVR), Toronto (YYZ), and Calgary (YYC) and Nanaimo Harbour Water Aerodrome with services to Vancouver Harbour, Vancouver Airport (YVR South Terminal), and Sechelt;. Nanaimo also has three BC Ferry terminals located at Departure Bay, Duke Point, and downtown. The downtown terminal services Gabriola Island while Departure Bay and Duke Point service Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen respectively. A private passenger ferry operates between Nanaimo Harbour and Protection Island. A seasonal passenger ferry operates between Swy-a-Lana Lagoon and Saysutshun (Newcastle Island Marine) Park.


title: Nanaimo

text: Highways 1, 19, and 19A traverse the city. Bus service in the city is provided by Nanaimo Regional Transit.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Island Rail Corridor passes through Nanaimo and has a base of operations and yard in the downtown waterfront area.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Nanaimo Port Authority operates the inner Harbour Basin marina providing mooring for smaller vessels and the W. E. Mills Landing and Marina providing mooring for larger vessels. The Port Authority also operates two terminal facilities one at Assembly Wharf (near the downtown core) and the second at Duke Point for cargo operations. In 2011 the Authority completed the addition of a $22 million cruise ship terminal at Assembly Wharf capable of handling large cruise ships including providing Canada Border Services Agency clearance.


title: Nanaimo

text: In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Nanaimo had a population of 99,863 living in 43,164 of its 45,138 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 90,504. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


title: Nanaimo

text: At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Nanaimo CMA had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


title: Nanaimo

text: In Nanaimo, there are 40,885 private dwellings, 39,165 which are occupied by usual residents (95.8% occupancy rate). The median value of these dwellings are $359,760, which is higher than the national median at $341,556. The average (after-tax) household income in Nanaimo is $48,469, lower than the national median at $54,089. The median individual income is $34,702, which is also lower than the national median ($38,977). The unemployment rate was 7.7%.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo's population is predominately Anglophone. As of the 2016 census 86.7% of residents claimed English as their mother tongue. Other common first languages were Chinese Languages (2.0%), French (1.3%), German (1.2%) and Punjabi (1.0%).


title: Nanaimo

text: The original economic driver was coal mining; however, the forestry industry supplanted it in the early 1960s with the building of the MacMillan Bloedel pulp mill at Harmac in 1958, named after Harvey MacMillan. Today the pulp mill is owned by the employees and local investors and injects well over half a million dollars a day into the local economy. The largest employer is the provincial government. The service, retail and tourism industries are also big contributors to the local economy.


title: Nanaimo

text: Technological development on Nanaimo has been growing with companies such as "Inuktun" and the establishment of government-funded Innovation Island as a site to help Nanaimo-based technological start ups by giving them access to tools, education and venture capital.


title: Nanaimo

text: The average sale price of houses in Nanaimo for 2011 was approximately $350,000. A recent surge of higher-density real estate development, centred in the Old City / Downtown area, as well as construction of a city-funded waterfront conference centre, has proven controversial. Proponents of these developments argue that they will bolster the city's economy, while critics worry that they will block waterfront views and increase traffic congestion. Concerns have also been raised about the waterfront conference centre's construction running over its proposed budget. Nanaimo has also been experiencing job growth in the technology sector.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo is served by one newspaper: the "Nanaimo News Bulletin" (33,000 copies twice a week—audited), which is owned by Black Press. "The Harbour City Star", also owned by publisher Black Press, was closed in 2016. On 29 January 2016, the 141-year-old "Nanaimo Daily News", shut down. Nanaimo also hosts a bureau for CIVI-DT (CTV 2 Victoria, cable channel 12) and a satellite office for CHEK-DT (Independent, cable channel 6).


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo is also served by the Jim Pattison Group's CHWF-FM (The Wolf) and CKWV-FM (The Wave), as well as CHLY-FM, an independent community campus radio station and Vista Radio's CKAY-FM (Coast FM). CBC Radio One is heard over CBU from Vancouver, with CBU-FM (CBC Music) and CBCV-FM available as HD Radio signals.


title: Nanaimo

text: In the House of Commons of Canada, Nanaimo is represented by Lisa Marie Barron of the NDP, representing the riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith since the 2021 election. The city was split into two separate ridings, Nanaimo—Cowichan (Jean Crowder, New Democratic Party), which includes South Nanaimo and Cassidy, and Nanaimo—Alberni (James Lunney, Independent elected as a Conservative), which includes North Nanaimo and Lantzville, until the 2012 federal electoral redistribution.


title: Nanaimo

text: In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Nanaimo is represented by the ridings of Nanaimo (Sheila Malcolmson, BC NDP), Nanaimo-North Cowichan (Doug Routley, BC NDP) and Parksville-Qualicum (Adam Walker, BC NDP). Leonard Krog resigned in 2018 to accept the position of Mayor of Nanaimo. In response, Sheila Malcolmson resigned from federal politics and successfully ran for the vacated position.


title: Nanaimo

text: The most well-known mayor Nanaimo ever had was Frank J. Ney, who instigated Nanaimo's well-known bathtub races, which he regularly attended dressed as a pirate. There is a statue to commemorate Ney—dressed in his pirate costume—at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon, which is on the Nanaimo waterfront. Ney was also an MLA for the Social Credit party while he was also mayor. An elementary school has been named in his honour.


title: Nanaimo

text: Mark Bate became Nanaimo's first mayor in 1875. He served an additional 15 one-year terms as mayor (1875–1879, 1881–1886, 1888–1889, and 1898–1900).


title: Nanaimo

text: The city's planning department has steadily produced enough municipal data to warrant a "Time" magazine article on open-government. Nanaimo has been dubbed "the capital of Google Earth". Working directly with Google, the city fed it a wealth of information about its buildings, property lines, utilities and streets. The result is earth.nanaimo.ca, a wealth of city data viewed through the Google Earth 3D mapping program. Their Open Data Catalogue is available at data.nanaimo.ca.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo has over 30 elementary and secondary schools, most of which are public and are operated by School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith.


title: Nanaimo

text: Aspengrove School is a JrK-grade 12 Independent (private) school accredited as an International Baccalaureate World School and offers the IB Primary Years, IB Middle Years and IB Diploma programme and received a 10 out of 10 by the IB Organization (IBO) in 2011.


title: Nanaimo

text: The "Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique" operates two Francophone schools, "École Océane" primary school and the "École secondaire de Nanaimo".


title: Nanaimo

text: The main campus of Vancouver Island University is located in Nanaimo, which brings many international students, mostly East Asian, to the city.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Pacific Biological Station, located on the north shore of Departure Bay, was established in 1908. It is the oldest fisheries research centre on the Pacific coast. Operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the station forms a network with eight other scientific facilities.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Nanaimo Art Gallery is a public art museum located downtown at 150 Commercial Street. In addition to contemporary exhibitions by local, national and international artists, the Gallery operates Art Lab which offers year-round art-based programs for learners of all ages. The Gallery also holds a collection of artwork, operates The Gallery Store, which features work by local artists and artisans, and runs Artists in the Schools, a program that operates across three school districts.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Nanaimo Museum is a public historical museum located downtown on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation at 100 Museum Way.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Vancouver Island Military Museum is a public military historical museum located at 100 Cameron Road.


title: Nanaimo

text: The Nanaimo bar, which is a no-bake cookie bar with custard filling, is a Canadian dessert named after Nanaimo.


title: Nanaimo

text: Nanaimo hosts the annual Nanaimo Marine Festival. Part of the festival includes the bathtub race. The race starts in the Nanaimo Harbour downtown, goes around Entrance Island, north-west to Winchelsea Islands by Nanoose Bay and finish in Departure Bay back in Nanaimo. Until the 1990s the race alternated between racing from Nanaimo to Vancouver and from Vancouver to Nanaimo.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Manos: The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American no-budget horror film with Harold P. Warren as writer, director, producer, and star. The plot has a family lost on a vacation road trip through the Texas desert. They become stranded at the lodge of a polygynous pagan cult led by the Master who decides their fate.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Warren was an insurance and fertilizer salesman from El Paso, Texas, who made the film as a result of a bet with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. Most of the remaining cast and crew had little or no background in filmmaking. The theatrical debut was poorly received, playing only at the Capri Theater in El Paso and some drive-ins around West Texas and New Mexico.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: "Manos" remained obscure until featured in a 1993 episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", a television series based on mocking B movies. This developed its cult reputation as one of the . The film has been criticized for continuous deficiencies in editing, continuity, audiovisual synchronization, pacing, and acting, as well as several inexplicable and disconnected scenes, such as a nameless couple repeatedly shown kissing in a distant car and the Master's wives breaking into catfights. Its "MST3K" appearance resulted in several DVD releases of the original film and three of the "MST3K" episode. The original 16 mm workprint was discovered in California in 2011, from which a new, remastered version of the film was released on Blu-ray by Synapse Films on October 13, 2015.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The film was followed by a prequel, "Manos: The Rise of Torgo" (2018), and a sequel, "Manos Returns" (2018).


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: While on vacation near El Paso, Texas, Michael, Margaret, their young daughter Debbie, and their dog, Peppy, drive through the desert in search of the Valley Lodge. Margaret insists they are lost, and Michael claims they are not. They are stopped by a local deputy for a broken taillight, and released because Michael asks him for mercy on their "first vacation". After long shots of driving through farmland and the desert, intercut with scenes of two unidentified teenagers kissing in a car and being caught by the deputies, the family finally reaches a house. The bizarre, satyr-like Torgo, is caretaker "while the Master is away". Michael and Margaret apprehensively ask Torgo for directions to the Valley Lodge, which Torgo denies knowing. Frustrated, Michael asks Torgo to let him and his family stay the night, despite objections from both Torgo and Margaret.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Inside the house, Michael and Margaret find a disturbing painting of the Mastera dark, malevolent-looking man and a black dog with glowing eyes. An ominous howl frightens Margaret, and Peppy breaks away from Debbie and runs outside. Michael investigates with a flashlight and revolver from his car, and he finds Peppy lying dead on the ground. Michael buries the dog in the desert and goes back to the house. Meanwhile, Torgo reveals his sudden attraction to Margaret and wants to keep her, defying the Master's desire to marry her. Torgo spends the next few minutes trying to grope her shoulder. Margaret threatens to tell Michael of Torgo's advances, but Torgo convinces her not to say anything by promising to protect her. Michael returns and is unable to start the car. Torgo tells them there is no phone in the house, so the family reluctantly decides to stay the night.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: After another scene of Torgo peeping in on Margaret changing clothes, Michael and Margaret find Debbie is gone and go to look for her. Debbie returns, holding the leash of the big black dog from the painting. Following Debbie, Michael and Margaret stumble upon the Master and his wives, sleeping around a blazing fire. The wives are dressed in diaphanous nightgowns, the Master in a robe with two red hands on it. Margaret and Debbie run back to the house to get their things and escape. As Michael runs behind them, Torgo appears and uses a stick to knock him out and then ties him to a pole. The Master awakens and summons his wives, telling them that Michael must be sacrificed to the deity Manos, and Margaret and Debbie will become his new wives. He leaves.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The other wives argue with each other about whether Debbie should become a wife or be sacrificed as well. This turns into a catfight, where the wives tumble around in the dirt. The Master returns and breaks up the fight, and he decides to sacrifice Torgo and his first wife instead. Meanwhile, Michael wakes up and unties himself, going back to the house to collect Margaret and Debbie. The family leaves the house and runs off into the desert to escape. The Master summons Torgo and hypnotizes him, ordering the wives to kill him. Two of the wives attempt to kill Torgo by slapping and lightly shaking him, until he falls to the ground, apparently dead. However, he then regains consciousness and stands up. The Master severs and burns Torgo's left hand. Torgo runs off into the darkness with his stump of a wrist in flames, and the Master sacrifices his first wife.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: As Michael, Margaret and Debbie run through the desert, Margaret falls and says she can't go any farther. A rattlesnake is shown to appear in front of them and Michael shoots it, the noise attracting the attention of the deputies, who think the noises come from Mexico and leave it at that. Margaret convinces Michael to return to the house, as the cult would never think to look for them there. They go back and find the Master and his dog waiting for them. The Master initially steps slowly towards them but is somehow not in the shot when Michael pointlessly fires his remaining bullets into the wall.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The film then cuts to another pair of travelers, two women starting their vacation. They drive through a rainstorm, searching for shelter, and find the Master's house. The entranced Michael greets them, telling them "I take care of the place while The Master is away." Margaret and Debbie have become wives of the Master, and all are asleep.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Warren was very active in the theater scene in El Paso, Texas, and he once appeared as a walk-on for the television series "Route 66", where he met screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. While chatting with Silliphant in a local coffee shop, Warren claimed that it was not difficult to make a horror film, and he bet Silliphant that he could make an entire film on his own. After placing the bet, Warren began the first outline of his script on a napkin, right inside the coffee shop.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Warren financed it with a substantial but insufficient amount of cash, . He hired a group of actors from a local theater, many of whom he had worked with before, and a modeling agency. Instead of any wages, Warren promised the cast and crew a share of profit.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In mid-1966, it was filmed with the working titles "The Lodge of Sins" and "Fingers of Fate". It was shot mainly on the ranch of Colbert Coldwell, a lawyer who shared an office floor with Warren and who later became a judge in El Paso County. Most equipment was rented, so Warren hurriedly maximized the number of shots before the rental deadline. The 16 mm Bell & Howell camera is wound by hand with up to 32 seconds of footage, creating many unresolved editing problems. Rather than using location sync sound recording, all sound effects and dialogue were overdubbed in post-production by few people, including Warren, Tom Neyman, Reynolds, Jennings, and Warren's wife, Norma. Later during production, Warren renamed the film "Manos: The Hands of Fate". Warren's small crew became so bemused by his amateurishness and irascibility that they derisively called the film "Mangos: The Cans of Fruit" behind his back.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: During filming, Warren said that presenting Diane Mahree as the Texas Beauty Queen would generate good publicity for his movie. He signed her to a regional West Texas beauty pageant that would lead to Miss Texas and then to the Miss America pageant, but he neglected to tell her about it until she was accepted as an entrant. She complied and appeared onstage as a finalist. She later asserted that Warren urged her to remove her top for filming the window-peeping scene where Torgo observes her before declaring his love but, when she refused, he quickly backpedaled by claiming the suggestion was a test. Warren contracted with a modeling agency to provide the actresses who would play the Master's wives, including Joyce Molleur. She broke her foot early in production, so Warren retained her by rewriting the script to include a young couple kissing in a car on the side of the road, who are seemingly completely irrelevant to the plot.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Warren shot night-for-night scenes, because many of the cast and crew also held day jobs. In many of the night scenes, the lights attracted swarms of moths in view of the camera. In the scene in which the police investigate Mike's gunfire, the lights could cover only a few feet forward, so the police stood there to feign a search and leave without any scenery or a panning shot.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Post-production efforts were minimal, though Warren promised crew members that any problems in the film would be fixed in later editing. For example, the clapperboard is momentarily visible. The entire nine-minute opening sequence, which consists of the main characters driving around looking for their hotel with minimal dialogue or plot, was the result of such neglect. Warren had likely intended to include opening credits over these shots, but either forgot or lacked the post-production budget.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: John Reynolds, who played Torgo, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun on October 16, 1966, one month before the premiere. He was 25 years old and this was his only film appearance.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The film premiered at the Capri Theater in Warren's hometown of El Paso, Texas on November 15, 1966, as a benefit for the local cerebral palsy fund. Warren rented a searchlight in the sky, and for the cast to be delivered by limousine, to enhance the Hollywood feel. The single limousine delivered one group, then drove around the block for another. Jackey Neyman-Jones, the seven year old who played Debbie, wept in disappointment at the premiere, particularly when hearing a woman's dubbed voice instead of her own. Mahree laughed throughout the screening at the film's ridiculousness.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Following the premiere, Warren thought "Manos" was the worst film ever made, but was proud of it, and he suggested that its audio might be re-dubbed into a passable comedy. The film was briefly distributed by Emerson Film Enterprises, with a brief theatrical run at the Capri Theater, and at various drive-in theaters in West Texas and New Mexico, including Las Cruces. The only compensation was Jackey Neyman's bicycle and her family dog's 50 pounds of dog food. Official box office figures are unknown, if they ever existed. Warren won his bet against Stirling Silliphant, proving that he was capable of creating an entire film.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The majority of the cast and crew never appeared in another film, though Mahree had a successful modeling career as Diane Adelson. Warren pitched another script he had written called "Wild Desert Bikers", and then pitched its novelization, but with the failure of "Manos", there was no interest.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Following few local screenings, "Manos" was almost entirely forgotten. When Jackey Neyman attended the University of California, Berkeley, her friends could not find a copy. A 1981 newspaper article by cinematographer Bob Guidry's ex-wife Pat Ellis Taylor reports the film may have appeared on a local television station and that it was "listed at the bottom of a page in a film catalogue for rent for $20". The film re-surfaced through a 16 mm print, presumably from this television package, which was introduced into the home video collecting market by a number of public domain film suppliers. One of these suppliers was ultimately the one that offered the film to Comedy Central. It was in a box of films sent to Frank Conniff in 1992, when he chose "Manos" as one of the films to be shown on "Mystery Science Theater 3000".


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The day after premiere, Betty Pierce, the film reviewer of the "El Paso Herald-Post" described it as a "brave experiment". She criticized some elements, such as the "hero" Torgo being "massaged to death" by the Master's wives and Margaret's claim of "it's getting dark" with a bright midday sun.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In 2005, Dan Neil of the "Los Angeles Times" explained the film's appeal: "After screening "Manos" for probably the 10th time, I've concluded it has to do with intimacy. Because it is such a pure slice of Warren's brain – he wrote, directed, produced and starred, and brooked no collaboration – "Manos" amounts to the man's cinematically transfigured subconscious." "Manos" buff Bobby Thompson said, "It's like a train wreck; you just can't take your eyes off it."


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 0% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 2.56/10. The book "Hollywood's Most Wanted" lists "Manos" as the #2 in the list of "The Worst Movies Ever Made", following "Plan 9 from Outer Space". "Entertainment Weekly" proclaimed "Manos" "The Worst Movie Ever Made". The scene in which the seven-year-old Debbie becomes a wife of the Master, played by her real father, was included in a list of "The Most Disgusting Things We've Ever Seen" by the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" crew.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: For several years, the film was the lowest-rated movie on IMDb. As of September 2022, it ranks as the second lowest movie of all time on the site.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: On January 30, 1993, the film was featured on the fourth season finale of the Comedy Central series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", a show about a crew held captive in outer space by two mad scientists, and forced to watch bad movies. "Manos" was far worse than the usual fare, with the long uneventful drive used by the hosts to sarcastically repeat its title numerous times, in lieu of any action to heckle. The host robots eventually sobbed at the film defeating even their attempts at making it interesting. The mad scientists apologized and admitted the film was abysmal beyond their limits for torture. Torgo made a cameo in later episodes.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Selection of "Manos" for the show is credited to Frank Conniff, who also played TV's Frank. Conniff was generally in charge of pre-screening and selecting films sent to them by Comedy Central, the show's network at the time, and "Manos" was a random tape that he had pulled from a recent batch they had been sent. He felt the movie "seemed like it was maybe a crime against humanity, but you couldn’t be sure" and "has an atmosphere, a vibe" that made it appropriate for the show. The "Manos" episode has been described as one of the best of the "MST3K" series by "Entertainment Weekly" and "CraveOnline", and the "MST3K" episode is credited with bringing to light the otherwise obscure film, even though it led to the film being considered one of the worst films made at user polls at the Internet Movie Database. Kevin Murphy later declared, "I hate this movie. I think I hate this movie more than any other film we ever did at "RiffTrax" or "Mystery Science Theater". Even more than the Coleman Francis movies. There's something about this movie that just makes my skin crawl." During a Q&A session at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International, a question was put to the cast and writers of "MST3K" about any film they passed on that was worse than "Manos", and many cited the film "Child Bride".


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: "Manos" has also been riffed on by "RiffTrax", a later project of "MST3K" alumni Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, during a live show on August 16, 2012, a live event that was simulcast in film theaters across the United States. While Nelson and Murphy were part of the cast when "MST3K" riffed on "Manos", neither their fellow RiffTrax star Bill Corbett nor their writers were involved in the original episode; the riffing was all new jokes, using a cleaner print of the original "Manos", allowing them to joke about things not obvious in the original television episode.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The "MST3K" episode featuring the film was released on DVD in 2001, and in the "Mystery Science Theater 3000 Essentials" collection in 2004.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Four comedy stage adaptations of the film have been made. The first was given in Portland, Oregon in early 2006. The second, a musical titled "Manos: Rock Opera of Fate", was launched in October 2007. The third, a puppet musical titled "Manos – The Hands of Felt", was performed by Puppet This in Seattle in April 2011. After raising funds with a Kickstarter campaign in May 2013, "Manos – The Hands of Felt" was performed again in Seattle by Vox Fabuli Puppets in August 2013 and filmed for DVD release. The fourth was in Portland, Oregon in April 2013.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In March 2015, the murderers on the "Elementary" episode "T-Bone And The Iceman" used the physical features of Torgo (portrayed by John Reynolds) to compose a fake facial composite to get the NYPD off their trail. It worked until they were caught, due to the character of Dr. Joan Watson having recognized Torgo's features from the film. The film's editor, James Sullivan, is the namesake of one of the characters in the episode.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In 2011, the original 16mm workprint of "Manos: The Hands of Fate" was discovered by Ben Solovey, a Florida State film school graduate, in a collection of 16 mm films. Solovey announced his intention to preserve and restore "Manos" for a Blu-ray release. His Kickstarter campaign raised $48,000, nearly five times the initial goal. A 90% finished print was premiered at the El Paso Plaza Theatre, near the original premiere in 1966. The new restoration premiered on Blu-ray on October 13, 2015, with an unrestored version ("Grindhouse") as one of the bonus features.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In general, any work first published in the United States before March 1989 required a copyright notice, or the work was not copyrighted. "Manos: The Hands of Fate" is in the public domain because director Harold Warren failed to include a copyright notice in the film. When news broke of Solovey's restoration, the son of Harold Warren, Joe Warren, started exploring the possibility that the film was not in the public domain, seeking to prevent others from profiting from his father's work. Warren discovered in 2013 that the script had been copyrighted and registered in the Library of Congress, and he believes that this copyright also applies to the film. No precedent exists for this case so the legal status of the film is uncertain. Solovey applied copyright on his restored version, an action that Warren believes is unenforceable, though has not sought any legal action against Solovey. Warren obtained pending publication of a trademark on the phrase "Manos: The Hands of Fate", which could have impacted the various fanworks if the United States Patent and Trademark Office finalized approval. However, the trademark filing has since been abandoned as of December 6, 2018, for a "failure to respond or late response".


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Shout! Factory released a special edition with both the "MST3K" and uncut versions called "Manos y Manos". A DVD of the original was published by Alpha Video, which also released original versions of other "MST3K" films such as "Teenagers from Outer Space" and "Eegah".


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In 2010, writer and director Rupert Talbot Munch, Sr. began work on "Manos: The Search for Valley Lodge". Tom Neyman (in a cameo reprising his role as the Master), his daughter Jackey Neyman-Jones (reprising her role as Debbie), Diane Mahree (reprising the role of Margaret), and Bernie Rosenblum (who played a teenage boy in the original film) were involved in initial filming. Others engaged to appear included World Wrestling Entertainment star Gene Snitsky, former WWE diva and Playboy centerfold Maria Kanellis, and UFC fighter Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo. Munch was to play Torgo.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In 2013, Neyman-Jones left the project after disagreements with Munch, and by the end of 2014, the project was reportedly canceled.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: In 2013, a project began for a prequel titled "Manos: The Rise of Torgo". David Roy (producer of the 2014 film "Cheeseballs") was announced as the writer and director, and cast members were to include Neyman-Jones (playing Manos, the evil deity). It was released on Amazon Prime streaming in 2018.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: Jackey Neyman-Jones, who played Debbie in the original film, launched a Kickstarter campaign in February 2016 to make a sequel titled "Manos Returns". According to Neyman-Jones, the sequel was not to be a recreation of "Manos" but instead a "tongue-in-cheek" setting within the "Manos" storyline; Neyman-Jones described the planned product as being both funny and scary, similar to "Cabin in the Woods" or "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: The Kickstarter goal of $24,000 was reached on February 24, 2016. It stars Neyman-Jones, reprising her role as Debbie, her father Tom Neyman, reprising his role as the Master, and Diane Mahree reprising her role as Margaret. Neyman-Jones and director Tonjia Atomic shot the film in western Oregon in the summer of 2016. The film had its world premiere screening at Crypticon Seattle on May 4, 2018. "Manos Returns" was published on Amazon Prime in May 2020.


title: Manos: The Hands of Fate

text: A video game based on the film for iOS was released in 2012 by FreakZone Games. A Microsoft Windows port and an Android port were later released.


title: Nebula Award

text: The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. They were first given in 1966 at a ceremony created for the awards, and are given in four categories for different lengths of literary works. A fifth category for film and television episode scripts was given 1974–78 and 2000–09, and a sixth category for game writing was begun in 2018. In 2019 SFWA announced that two awards that were previously run under the same rules but not considered Nebula awards—the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction and the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation—were to be considered official Nebula awards. The rules governing the Nebula Awards have changed several times during the awards' history, most recently in 2010. The SFWA Nebula Conference, at which the awards are announced and presented, is held each spring in the United States. Locations vary from year to year.


title: Nebula Award

text: The Nebula Awards are one of the best known and most prestigious science fiction and fantasy awards and together with the Hugo Awards have been called "the most important of the American science fiction awards". Winning works have been published in special collections, and winners and nominees are often noted as such on the books' covers. SFWA identifies the awards by the year of publication, that is, the year prior to the year in which the award is given.


title: Nebula Award

text: The Nebula Awards are given annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for the best science fiction or fantasy fiction published during the previous year. To be eligible for consideration works must be published in English in the United States. Works published in English elsewhere in the world are also eligible provided they are released on either a website or in an electronic edition. The awards are not limited to American citizens or members of SFWA. Works translated into English are also eligible.


title: Nebula Award

text: There are no written rules as to which works qualify as science fiction or fantasy, and the decision of eligibility in that regard is left up to the nominators and voters, rather than to SFWA.


title: Nebula Award

text: The winner receives a trophy but no cash prize; the trophy is a transparent block with an embedded glitter spiral nebula and gemstones cut to resemble planets. The trophy itself was designed for the first awards by J. A. Lawrence, based on a sketch by Kate Wilhelm, and has remained the same ever since.


title: Nebula Award

text: Nebula Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the SFWA. Works are nominated each year between November 15 and February 15 by published authors who are members of the organization, with the six works that receive the most nominations forming the final ballot. Additional nominees are possible in the case of ties. Members then vote on the ballot throughout March, and the final results are presented at the Nebula Awards ceremony in May. Authors are not permitted to nominate their own works, though they can decline nominations. Ties in the final vote are broken, if possible, by the number of nominations the works received.


title: Nebula Award

text: The first Nebulas were given in 1966, for works published in 1965. The idea for such an award, funded by the sales of anthologies collecting the winning works, was proposed by SFWA secretary-treasurer Lloyd Biggle, Jr. in 1965. The idea was based on the Edgar Awards, presented by the Mystery Writers of America, and the idea to have a ceremony at which to present them was prompted by the Edgar and Hugo Awards. The initial ceremony consisted of four literary awards, for Novels, Novellas, Novelettes, and Short Stories, which have been presented every year since. A Script award was also presented from 1974 to 1978 under the names Best Dramatic Presentation and Best Dramatic Writing and again from 2000 through 2009 as Best Script, but after 2009 it was again removed and replaced by SFWA with the Ray Bradbury Award. In 2018, a new Game Writing category was added, for writing in video and tabletop games.


title: Nebula Award

text: Prior to 2009, the Nebula Awards employed a rolling eligibility system. Each work was eligible to qualify for the ballot for one year following its date of publication. As a consequence of rolling eligibility, there was the possibility for works to be nominated in the calendar year after their publication and then be awarded in the calendar year after that. Works were added to a preliminary list for the year if they had ten or more nominations, which were then voted on to create the final ballot. In 1970, the option was added for voters to select "no award" if they felt that no nominated work was worthy of winning; this happened in 1971 in the Short Story category and in 1977 in the Script category.


title: Nebula Award

text: Beginning in 1980 the eligibility year for nominations was set to the calendar year, rather than December–November as initially conceived, and the SFWA organizing panel was allowed to add an additional work. Authors were also allowed to use the mass-market paperback publication of their books as the beginning of their nomination period, rather than the initial hardback publication. As a consequence of the combination of this rule and the rolling eligibility, the 2007 awards, despite nominally being for works published in 2006, instead were all given to works initially published in 2005. Beginning with the 2010 awards, the rolling eligibility system and paperback publication exemption were replaced with the current rules.


title: Nebula Award

text: Beside the Nebulas, several other awards and honors are presented at the Nebula Awards ceremony, though not necessarily every year. Two of them are annual literary awards voted by SFWA members on the Nebula ballot: the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book, inaugurated 2006, and the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, which replaced the Best Script award in 2010. The others are the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award since 1975 for "lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy", the Author Emeritus since 1995 for contributions to the field, the Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. Award for service to SFWA, and the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award since 2009 for significant impact on speculative fiction. All four are discretionary but a Grand Master, selected by the officers and past presidents, has been named every year for more than a decade. The Solstice Award may be presented posthumously (where only living writers may be named Grand Master or Author Emeritus); in all, twelve have been awarded in five years to 2013. The Andre Norton Award and Ray Bradbury Award were previously annual literary awards on the Nebula ballot but not considered full award categories, but in 2020 both were added as official categories and their full names changed to be "Nebula Awards".


title: Nebula Award

text: The Nebula Awards have been described as one of "the most important of the American science fiction awards" and "the science-fiction and fantasy equivalent" of the Emmy Awards. Along with the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award is also considered one of the premier awards in science fiction, with Laura Miller of "Salon" terming it "science fiction's most prestigious award", and Justine Larbalestier, in "The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction" (2002), referring to it and the Hugo Award as "the best known and most prestigious of the science fiction awards". Brian Aldiss, in his book "", claimed that the Nebula Award provided "more literary judgment" while the Hugo was a barometer of reader popularity, rather than artistic merit, though he did note that the winners of the two awards often overlapped. David Langford and Peter Nicholls stated in "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" (2012) that the two awards were often given to the same works, and noted that some critics felt that the Nebula selection reflected "political as much as literary ability" as it did not seem to focus as much on literary talent over popularity as expected.


title: Nebula Award

text: Several people within the publishing industry have said that winning or being nominated for a Nebula Award has effects on the author's career and the sales of that work. Spider Robinson in 1992, as quoted in "Science Fiction Culture" (2000), said that publishers "pay careful attention" to who wins a Nebula Award. Literary agent Richard Curtis said in his 1996 "Mastering the Business of Writing" that having the term Nebula Award on the cover, even as a nominee, was a "powerful inducement" to science fiction fans to buy a novel, and Gahan Wilson, in "First World Fantasy Awards" (1977), claimed that noting that a book had won the Nebula Award on the cover "demonstrably" increased sales for that novel.


title: Nebula Award

text: The "Nebula Winners" series, renamed the "Nebula Awards Showcase" series in 1999, is published annually by SFWA and edited by a variety of SFWA members. It was started in 1966 as a collection of short story winners and nominees for that year, and has continued every year since. The contents of each year's collection is at the discretion of its editor. The sales of these anthologies were intended to pay for presenting the awards themselves.


title: Nebula Award

text: The anthology "The Best of the Nebulas" (1989), edited by Ben Bova, collected winners of Nebula awards from 1966 through 1986 officially selected by SFWA members. The unofficial anthology "Nebula Award Winning Novellas" (1994), edited by Martin H. Greenberg, contained ten stories which had won the novella award between 1970 and 1989.


title: Mike Williams (wide receiver, born 1994)

text: Michael K. Williams (born October 4, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, and was drafted by the Chargers seventh overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.


text: Williams attended Lake Marion High School & Technology Center in Santee, South Carolina, where he played on the football team. He had 66 receptions for 1,296 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior, and he had 60 receptions for 1,395 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior. Williams was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit. He committed to Clemson University to play college football.


text: Williams played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2013, making three starts. He finished with 20 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Williams returned as a starter his sophomore year in 2014. He finished the year with 57 receptions for 1,030 yards and six touchdowns.


text: In 2015, in the first game of the season against the Wofford Terriers, Williams fractured a bone in his neck after colliding with the goal post just as he was catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Deshaun Watson on his team's first offensive series of the game. He sat out the rest of the season and received redshirt status.


text: In 2016 as a redshirt junior, Williams returned to his starting role and started all 15 games for Clemson, recording team highs in receptions (98), yards (1,361), and touchdowns (11). He caught touchdown passes in 9 games (including 3 against rival South Carolina) and had over 100 yards receiving in 5 games. In the National Championship Game against Alabama, Williams caught eight passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. Williams completed his bachelor's degree in sociology in December 2016.


text: On January 10, 2017, hours after Clemson defeated Alabama 35–31 for the national championship, Williams announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.


text: Coming out of Clemson, Williams was considered a top prospect and projected as a first round pick by the majority of draft experts and analysts. He attended the NFL Combine, but only performed the bench, vertical, and broad jump. He performed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash at Clemson's Pro Day and also ran positional drills. Williams was ranked the best wide receiver in the draft by ESPN, the second best wide receiver by Pro Football Focus, the third best wide receiver by "Sports Illustrated", and NFLDraftScout.com ranked him the third best wide receiver in the draft.


text: The Los Angeles Chargers selected Williams in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the second wide receiver selected (No. 5, Corey Davis) in the draft.


text: On May 11, 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers signed Williams to a fully guaranteed four-year, $19.74 million contract with a signing bonus of $12.50 million.


text: Williams participated in rookie minicamp, but missed organized team activities and was expected to miss the start of training camp due to a mild herniated disc in his lower back. On July 30, 2017, it was announced by head coach Anthony Lynn that Williams was expected to miss the entire training camp due to his back injury.


text: He was inactive for the first six games of the regular season and made his professional regular season debut in Week 6. He made his first career reception on a 15-yard pass by quarterback Philip Rivers in the fourth quarter of their 17–16 victory at the Oakland Raiders, before being tackled by safety Karl Joseph. On November 19, 2017, Williams caught a season-high five passes for 38-yard during a 54–24 victory against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11. Williams was sidelined for the Chargers' Week 13 win against the Cleveland Browns after sustaining a knee injury in the first quarter of their 28–6 victory at the Dallas Cowboys the previous week. He finished his rookie season in with 11 receptions for 95 yards in ten games and one start.


text: In Week 2, Williams recorded his first professional touchdown in the 31–20 victory over the Buffalo Bills. The following week, against the Los Angeles Rams, he had four receptions for 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In Week 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Williams had his best game of the season as he caught 7 passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, plus rushing for 19 yards for a touchdown. He also caught a late go-ahead two-point conversion with four seconds left in a 29–28 victory despite being down 14–28 with five minutes left. For his performance in Week 15, Williams was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. He finished the 2018 season with 43 receptions for 664 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns.


text: In Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers, Williams caught three passes for a season-high 111 yards in the 26–11 win. This was Williams' first game with at least 100 receiving yards of the season.


text: In Week 13 against the Denver Broncos, Williams caught five passes for 117 yards in the 23–20 loss. Overall, in the 2019 season, Williams recorded 49 receptions for 1,001 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.


text: In Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints on "Monday Night Football", Williams recorded five catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns during the 30–27 overtime loss.


text: In Week 16 against the Denver Broncos, Williams recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Drew Lock on a Hail-Mary attempt with no time left in the game to secure a 19–16 win for the Chargers.


text: Williams had a breakout season in 2021, setting career highs in receptions (76), targets (129), and yards (1,146) while scoring nine touchdowns. He showed rapport with ascending Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, particularly to start the season, totaling six receiving touchdowns and 471 receiving yards in the Chargers' first five games.


title: Herald

text: A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms.


title: Herald

text: Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to convey messages or proclamations—in this sense being the predecessors of modern diplomats. In the Hundred Years' War, French heralds challenged King Henry V to fight. During the Battle of Agincourt, the English herald and the French herald, Montjoie, watched the battle together from a nearby hill; both agreed that the English were the victors, and Montjoie provided King Henry V, who thus earned the right to name the battle, with the name of the nearby castle.


title: Herald

text: Like other officers of arms, a herald would often wear a surcoat, called a tabard, decorated with the coat of arms of his master. It was possibly due to their role in managing the tournaments of the Late Middle Ages that heralds came to be associated with the regulation of the knights' coats of arms. Heralds have been employed by kings and large landowners, principally as messengers and ambassadors. Heralds were required to organise, announce and referee the contestants at a tournament. This practice of heraldry became increasingly important and further regulated over the years, and in several countries around the world it is still overseen by heralds. In the United Kingdom heralds are still called upon at times to read proclamations publicly; for which they still wear tabards emblazoned with the royal coat of arms.


title: Herald

text: There are active official heralds today in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and the Republic of South Africa. In England and Scotland most heralds are full-time employees of the sovereign and are called "Heralds of Arms in Ordinary". Temporary appointments can be made of "Heralds of Arms Extraordinary". These are often appointed for a specific major state occasions, such as a coronation. The Canadian Heraldic Authority has created the position of "Herald of Arms Emeritus" with which to honor long-serving or distinguished heraldists. In Scotland, some Scottish clan chiefs, the heads of great noble houses, still appoint private officers of arms to handle cases of heraldic or genealogical importance of clan members, although these are usually pursuivants.


title: Herald

text: In addition, many orders of chivalry have heralds attached to them. These heralds may have some heraldic duties but are more often merely ceremonial in nature. Heralds which were primarily ceremonial in nature, especially after the decline of chivalry, were also appointed in various nations for specific events such as a coronation as additions to the pageantry of these occasions. In the Netherlands, heralds are appointed for the Dutch monarch's inauguration where they wore their tabards until 1948; these heralds proclaim the inauguration ceremony to have been completed to those inside and outside the Nieuwe Kerk.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: Christina Aguilera is the debut studio album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on August 24, 1999, by RCA Records. After recording "Reflection", the theme song for the 1998 Disney film "Mulan", RCA laid the foundation for the album immediately and started presenting Aguilera with tracks for her debut album, which they originally decided would have a January 1999 release. Its music incorporates dance-pop and teen pop genres, with a few songs featuring strong elements from soul and contemporary R&B. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers, including David Frank, Ron Fair, Guy Roche, Robin Thicke, Matthew Wilder and Aaron Zigman.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: The album received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising Aguilera's vocal performance and technique It was later included on the List of 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" 200 with first-week sales of 253,000 copies. The album was certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over nine million copies in the US and is one of the best-selling female albums. It remains Aguilera's best-selling album, with sales of over 14 million copies worldwide. The album earned Aguilera the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: The album spawned four hit singles; "Genie in a Bottle" peaked atop the record charts in 21 countries, including the US "Billboard" Hot 100, while two subsequent singles, "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", also topped the chart and "I Turn to You" reached number three. Furthermore, Aguilera embarked on her debut headlining concert tour in 2000.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: Christina Aguilera approached record label RCA Records, then having financial difficulties, and was told to contact Disney. After being given the opportunity to record the theme to the 1998 film "Mulan" named "Reflection" it was reported she had gained a record deal with RCA with Aguilera saying "I landed a record deal simultaneously as I landed the "Mulan" soundtrack. I had just turned seventeen years old, and during the same week, I just landed both. I recorded the "Mulan" soundtrack first and then a few months later I was out in L.A. recording the record for about six months". When asked about the song and Aguilera, RCA executive Ron Fair commented,


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: She is a badass genius of singing. She was put on this earth to sing, and I've worked with a lot of singers. ... When Aguilera met with us, she didn't care that she was auditioning for a record deal; she got into a performance zone that you see in artist much more mature than she is.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: After she was asked to hit a musical note required for "Reflection", she thought that the song could be the gateway into an album deal. Aguilera spent hours recording a cover of Whitney Houston's "Run to You", which included the note she was asked to hit. After successfully hitting the note, which she called "the note that changed my life", she was given the opportunity to record the song. To record the song, she flew to Los Angeles for roughly a week. Despite growing increasingly exhausted during the recording sessions, when she heard that a 90-piece orchestra would be arriving to record the instrumental she begged to stay and witness the event. She later called the experience "amazing". Due to the success around the recording of "Reflection", RCA wished for Aguilera to record and release an album by September 1998 to maintain the "hype" surrounding her at that time. The label laid the foundation for the album immediately and started presenting Aguilera with tracks for her debut album, which they later decided would have a January 1999 release. "Reflection" was written and produced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, whom later co-wrote with Aguilera "We're a Miracle".


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Christina Aguilera" was recorded between 1998 and 1999, with Ron Fair serving as the album's executive producer. The label reportedly spent $1 million on writers, producers and voice lessons. According to Fair, "She was very much a raw talent, so building a collection of songs that would become her first album was a time-consuming process. We wanted to find the ones that could knock the door down and put her up there." The album was built around pop songs, which was against Aguilera's will, since she wanted a more R&B album. She further explained during an interview for "The Washington Post": "I was held back a lot from doing more R&B ad-libbing. They clearly wanted to make a fresh-sounding young pop record and that's not always the direction I wanted to go in. Sometimes they didn't get it, didn't want to hear me out because of my age, and that was a little bit frustrating. Since all the success, it's a little easier to get my opinions across."


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: One of the first producers of the album was Guy Roche, who produced two tracks ("What a Girl Wants" and "I Turn to You") and co-wrote one of them ("What a Girl Wants"), along with Shelly Peiken. "What a Girl Wants" was later re-recorded for its single release, replacing the "lighter" version for a more "funky" R&B version. Peiken also re-wrote with Roche the single version for the track "Come on Over", first produced by Johan Aberg, Paul Rein and Aaron Zigman. According to herself, "We're going to give it more of an edge, R&B it up a little, maybe rock it out a little, give it a lot of different new directions and get it out there." Peiken co-wrote "Don't Make Me Love You", "Too Beautiful for Words", and "Dreamy Eyes", but those songs—though recorded—were scrapped, as the album only had space for twelve tracks.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: Aguilera also recorded a cover of All-4-One's song "I Turn to You", written by Diane Warren who also wrote "Somebody's Somebody". Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers (who would eventually break into the scene as the producers who launched Rihanna's career) wrote and produced two tracks ("Love for All Seasons" and "Love Will Find a Way") Travon Potts & Brock Walsh wrote and produced "Blessed", while the then up-and-coming Robin Thicke co-wrote and co-produced "When You Put Your Hands on Me". Franne Golde (who previously worked with Whitney Houston) also wrote a song for Aguilera titled "So Emotional" which was originally written for Selena's album, but unfortunately she died at the age of 23. The track's producer, Ron Harris, revealed that Aguilera in-between recordings "was only listening to Mariah Carey and Brandy, putting on her walk man and practicing their riffs and runs, before she did her ad-libs. At the final stages, producer and songwriter David Frank presented a song called "Genie in a Bottle", which Aguilera almost didn't record, "because there were a lot of other artists out there that were after this song, so we had to fight a little bit to get it", she claimed. With Heather Holley, Aguilera also co-wrote along with producers Heather Holley and Rob Hoffman a track called "I Will Be", which she said was inspired by Mariah Carey's "Vanishing". The duo also wrote and produced the album's final track "Obvious", and "I Come Undone", which was ultimately not officially released.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Christina Aguilera" is a dance-pop and teen pop record; it mainly consists of teen pop songs. Beth Johnson of "Entertainment Weekly" compared the album's musical styles to those of Tiffany and Whitney Houston. The record opens with "Genie in a Bottle", which uses sexual references to talk about self-respect. "Billboard" editor Kenneth Partridge wrote that the song features "32nd-note bass-drum pattern that mimics the heart palpitations of a teenager in lust." "What a Girl Wants" is a hybrid of teen pop and R&B which lyrically "[reveals] an independent, strong woman who knows what she wants from a relationship, both sexually and emotionally." The cover version of All-4-One's ballad "I Turn to You" is a soul-influenced track. On the song, Aguilera thanks someone for their "faith, strength, support, commitment and tenderness".


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "So Emotional", "Love for All Seasons" and "Somebody's Somebody" incorporate strong elements of R&B and soul. "So Emotional" is a midtempo gospel-inspired number talking about a man who has got Aguilera "on the ropes". "Love for All Seasons" is a pop track which is musically similar to Carey's "Always Be My Baby" (1996), while "Somebody's Somebody", in which Aguilera sings about being secure in one's arms, features drums snap, bass pops, and a gospel organ in the bridge. Aguilera sings about a woman longing to reveal her true self on "Reflection", which Partridge characterized it as the song that "sums up the album". "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" is deemed the most "sexual" track on "Christina Aguilera", a hip hop-influenced song; the radio mix of the song, released in 2000 as a single, features a rap verse written by Aguilera herself.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "When You Put Your Hands on Me", an R&B song co-written by Robin Thicke, addresses the alchemy of sex: "I just know / when you put your hands on me / I feel sexy / and my body turns to gold." "Blessed" features elements of gospel, while "Love Will Find a Way" features an R&B groove and was compared to Carey's songs "Emotions" (1991) and "Dreamlover" (1993). On the final song, "Obvious", Aguilera wonders whether her confusion about her life is apparent to everyone.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Christina Aguilera" was released on August 24, 1999, in the United States by RCA Records. Aguilera made many appearances on television shows in order to promote the album, such as "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "TRL". Additionally, she performed "Genie in a Bottle" at the 1999 Teen Choice Awards. In December 1999, a full-length home video titled "Genie Gets Her Wish" was released. The video includes interviews with her from backstage, in the studio and on the road, also featuring Aguilera's rendition of Mel Torme's Yuletide classic "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)". Later on, in 2000, Aguilera performed at the Super Bowl XXXIV as a halftime performer. Aguilera also attended the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, where she and Fred Durst performed together. Aguilera performed "Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", wearing a tight ruby red outfit with black and red streaks in her hair, and near the end, Durst walked onstage and performed part of his band Limp Bizkit's song "Livin' It Up" with Aguilera. After eliciting charged reactions from his fans, Durst stated: "I already told you guys before, I did it all for the nookie, man." Aguilera denied Durst's statement, saying Durst "got no nookie". During late 2000, Aguilera traveled to Brazil to promote the album, where she did many interviews and performances on Brazilian television, including "Domingão do Faustão", "Programa Raul Gil" and "Planeta Xuxa".


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: On April 28, 2000, Aguilera announced her first tour, titled Christina Aguilera in Concert, which commenced on July 31, 2000, and went on to visit 37 cities, with a total of 81 shows. The tour was sponsored by Sears and Levi's. Aguilera released a statement about the tour, saying: "Headlining my own tour means creative control and a high-energy, let-loose show. It's designed with my band and dancers to be a visually exciting mix of my big hits and some special surprises", adding: "Plus, my sponsors, Sears and Levi's, are giving fans lots of ways to get involved with the tour, like exclusive CDs and posters, a chance to win a backstage pass to hang with me and a cause-related program called 'Come On Over and Do Something' that was created specifically for the tour." About the tour's setlist, she claimed: "I'll be doing songs from my debut album. But I've changed so much from doing that at 17, so we'll put a whole new twist on things from my album. ... There will be a lot of blues and soul inflections, which is what I've wanted to do more of for a long time." One feature of the shows she described involved getting the crowd excited with her hit "What a Girl Wants" and then switching to a piano-and-vocal-only song by her idol, blues legend Etta James.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: In August 2019, Aguilera announced the re-release of "Christina Aguilera" in order to commemorate its 20th anniversary. The album was reissued on cassette and picture disc on October 4, while its double-disc special edition (originally released in October 2000) had been made available for digital download and streaming on August 23. Furthermore, the orange-colored vinyl edition was released exclusively at Urban Outfitters on August 23.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Genie in a Bottle" was the lead single of the album, released on May 11, 1999. The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the song for being pleasant, sweet, the album's best moment and her signature track. It became one of Aguilera's highest-charting singles, getting certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song became an overnight hit and Aguilera's first number-one single. It topped the charts for five consecutive weeks on "Billboard" Hot 100 due to strong physical CD sales and airplay, having the longest stay at number one of 1999. The single made airplay history, becoming one of the most successful airplay-only singles and topped the charts weeks before its accompanying music video was made. It also topped the charts in eight countries, while it charted within the top five in every country it was released in. Its music video was a success, becoming a staple on MTV's Total Request Live and featuring Aguilera enjoying some fun and sexual tension at a beach bonfire. The song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. A version of the song in Spanish, entitled "Genio Atrapado", was recorded and included in some editions of "Christina Aguilera" and later on her Spanish-language album "Mi Reflejo". It peaked at number 13 on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs chart, and received a Latin Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1st Latin Grammy Awards.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "What a Girl Wants" was released as the second single. Instead of the slower version, Aguilera insisted that a more upbeat mix, with an R&B edge, needed to be created to be released as a single. Released on October 29, 1999, to radio stations, the song received positive reviews from critics, with most praising her vocals on the track, comparing them to those of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. "What a Girl Wants" peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on January 15, 2000, staying atop the chart for two weeks. It ended the chart reign of Santana's "Smooth" and became Aguilera's second number-one single. The single also topped the charts in New Zealand and Spain, while peaking at number three in the United Kingdom, at number five in Australia and reaching the top 20 in most countries it charted in. The song was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards held on February 21, 2001. A Spanish version entitled "Una Mujer" was also recorded and included on "Mi Reflejo".


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "I Turn to You" was serviced to US radio on March 28, 2000, as the third single. It received mixed reviews from critics, who recognized that the track allowed Aguilera's vocals to soar and shine, but called it a cliché ballad. However, the single peaked at number three on the "Billboard" Hot 100 for four weeks, becoming Aguilera's third consecutive top-three hit. The single also reached the top ten in Canada, the top 20 in other three countries, including the UK, and the top 40 elsewhere. The music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, and features Aguilera singing in front of a microphone before walking in the rain with an umbrella, and on a rooftop. The video's storyline follows a young woman getting into an accident, with her mother worriedly waiting for word on where she is at the late hour. A Spanish version entitled "Por Siempre Tu" was released and included on "Mi Reflejo". It peaked at number six on the Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming Aguilera's first top-ten Spanish single.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: On May 27, 2000, during an interview with "Jam! Canoe" Stephanie McGrath, Aguilera revealed plans to release at least two more singles from her debut–"Come On Over (All I Want Is You)" as soon as "I Turn to You" "runs its toll", and "So Emotional" that fall. "So Emotional" indeed had a simple music video, which was made available through Aguilera's Vevo account in 2009, showing her in a casual outfit recording the song in the studio. However, the song was never released as a single. "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)" was, indeed, chosen as the fourth single. For the song's release, Aguilera claimed: "We're going to head back in the studio, give it more of an edge, R&B it up a little, maybe rock it out a little, give it a lot of different new directions and get it out there." The reworked version, entitled "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", features more hip hop and dance elements as well as "edgy" and "sexual" lyrics, even a rap by Aguilera. It was released on July 11, 2000, as the album's fourth and final single. The song's new version received mixed reviews, with some criticizing the fact that the track "was more like an album track than a hit", but praised the catchy chorus. However, the song was a success on the charts, becoming Aguilera's third number-one hit on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, spending four weeks at the top, from October 8 to November 4, 2000. It spent 21 weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100, was ranked at number 38 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 year-end chart of 2000, and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA. It was also a success internationally, reaching the top ten in countries including Australia, Canada and the UK. Its music video was considered "bright and colorful", with green, white, and gold backgrounds juxtaposed against a dance choreography. Its Spanish version, entitled "Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)", became a number-one hit on the Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming her first Spanish chart-topper.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Christina Aguilera" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised the songwriting and the "clean and uncluttered" production on the project. He eventually commended on Aguilera's vocals, writing that "she not only has charisma, she can actually sing, bringing conviction to these love and heartbreak songs." Although calling it "a frustratingly erratic album", Beth Johnson wrote that "Christina still makes a credible bid to be the late-summer soundtrack to romantic rebound." Sputnikmusic editor Amanda Murray wrote that "Christina Aguilera" "is an album that is highly representative of the better aspects of the teen pop movement of the late 90s." A reviewer writing for "Q" said the album "shows off her pretty, but powerful vocals to surprisingly impressive effect." Ann Powers on behalf of "The New York Times" agreed, writing "Beyond its sleek design, this album hints at a real singer's emergence. She has striking vocal power and range, if not a clue about expressing individuality."


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: Barry Walters from "Rolling Stone" criticized the album's theme, calling it "bubble-brained", writing that they "give Aguilera little substance to spin into gold." Robert Christgau said, "like LeAnn and unlike Britney, Christina already has 'adult' grit and phrasing down pat, and so threatens to join Gloria, Mariah, Celine, and LeAnn herself in the endless parade of Diane Warren-fueled divas-by-fiat hitting high notes and signifying less than nothing." Julene Snyder of Sonicnet wrote that "Aguilera has an instinctive grasp of the insipid state of the pop/dance music scene, especially as it relates to her peers." On behalf of "PopMatters", Nikki Tranter said "there are lots of 'oohs' and plenty of 'ahhs' and just enough 'I wants' and 'you likes' to keep the kids happy." Partridge deemed the project "quite listenable"; however, he said the lyrics "tell us precious little about the girl on the cover."


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Christina Aguilera" has also been noted as Aguilera's launch into stardom and has earned her numerous awards and achievements. Aguilera was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2000 for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the latter being for "Genie in a Bottle". She won the former. Jason Lipshutz of "Billboard" cited her Grammy win as one of her "10 Biggest Career Moments", describing it as "the battle for teen pop supremacy" as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were both nominated for the Best New Artist prize. Aguilera told the audience at the ceremony that she did not have a speech prepared for the event because she didn't think she would win. Aguilera has since taken home four more Grammys, for the songs "Lady Marmalade", "Beautiful", "Ain't No Other Man", and "Say Something (A Great Big World song)" respectively.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: Aguilera also received a Grammy nomination in 2001 for "What a Girl Wants" in the "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" category, and according to "Time" magazine, "both of which helped catapult the album to the top of the charts". Aguilera's Grammy Award nominations, two back to back number-one singles, magazine gossip, and merchandise released under her name made her the "It girl", according to "People".


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Genie in a Bottle", the album's lead single, reached number one and Aguilera became the third female artist in 1999 to top the Hot 100 chart with her debut single, behind Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" and Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love". The success of the follow-up single, "What a Girl Wants" solidified Aguilera as a strong musical force and earned her several accolades, including five MTV Video Music Awards nominations. With the album's fourth single, "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", Aguilera managed to have three number-one singles for the same album and four top-ten singles, an achievement she only did with her first album.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: In the United States, "Christina Aguilera" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 with first-week sales of 252,800 copies, beating Puff Daddy's "Forever". In its second week, it fell to number two, selling 218,000 copies. The album was certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for exceeding shipments of eight million copies. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 8,300,000 copies in the US as of August 2019 and, according to the RIAA, is among the most certified albums of all time. Meanwhile, BMG Music calculated that "Christina Aguilera" has sold an additional 935,000 units through BMG Music Clubs. The album also peaked atop the Canadian Albums Chart. In July 2001, Music Canada certified it sextuple platinum for exceeding sales of over 600,000 units in Canada.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: In the United Kingdom, "Christina Aguilera" debuted at number 21 on October 30, 1999, falling to number 31 the following week. Initially, it stayed inside the top 40 for only two weeks. However, it re-entered the top 40 on February 26, 2000, at number 33, before climbing to number 14 the following week, which became its peak position. The album stayed on the UK Albums Chart for a total of 26 weeks. It was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales of one million copies in Europe. In Australia, the album debuted at number 31 on February 20, 2000, initially peaking at number 26 two weeks later and exiting the ARIA album chart after 15 weeks. However, it re-entered the chart at number 25 on October 29, and two weeks later reached a new peak of number 21, spending 13 further weeks on the chart, bringing a total to 28. It was later certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for 70,000 sales in 2000. In New Zealand, the album debuted at number 38 on October 31, 1999, and later climbed to number 27, before re-entering twice: on November 28 and February 13, 2000. After the latter re-entry, the album peaked at number five on March 26. It re-entered six additional times and was certified platinum by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ), selling over 15,000 copies. In Brazil, "Christina Aguilera" has sold 80,000 copies. It remains Aguilera's best-selling album with sales of over 14 million copies worldwide.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: "Christina Aguilera" has played an important role on Aguilera's legacy and the entertainment industry. In March 2000, Lori Majewski, entertainment director at "Teen People" magazine, stated that "If people want to know why Christina is going to be around a decade from now, the answer is very clear: It's pure talent", Majewski said. "When you hear this girl open her mouth, everyone is astounded. I've seen her sing many times, and every time, I'm impressed, but the people who are hearing it for the first time can't even believe it." In an article about the "2013 Most Influential People in the World", in which Aguilera appeared, Canadian singer Celine Dion stated: "I remember she broke onto the scene at the turn of the millennium, ... so I got to watch a lot of her TV appearances, especially on the award shows. I remember thinking, this girl's got it all and then some! Unbelievable voice, great dancer and so very beautiful." The album was included on the List of 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: The album has been noted to have a "powerful legacy". In 2014, "Billboard" writer Kenneth Partridge called Aguilera a "soul diva working within record-label constraints" and that while he found that the "teen-queen sold truckloads of records ("Christina Aguilera" yielded an astounding three number-one singles), in those early years, she struggled to assert her personality". He added that Aguilera would later do this in her follow-up album "Stripped". He went on to praise the album saying that it is "a solid set of Top 40 pop songs, and even its deep cuts remain quite listenable". In an interview with Kelly Clarkson, Aguilera herself has stated that "Authenticity is very important to [her] with [her] music". She went on to say that she "always wanted to a be a truth-seeker, and [she] found that that was really important to my fans too".


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: AllMusic noted that "Genie in a Bottle" incredibly hit number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 before a music video was even released. "Genie in a Bottle" was listed at number 38 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s, About.com placed it at number two on her "Top 10 Songs", while AOL Radio ranked it at number one, calling it her "signature song". While listing the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", "Rolling Stone" placed Aguilera at number 52, picking "Genie in a Bottle" as one of her "key tracks", writing that "Even in her teen-pop days, she was modeling her dramatic, melismatic technique on old-school soul heroines like Etta James". The song was also covered by contestants of many popular talent shows such as "American Idol", "The X Factor" and "The Voice". "What a Girl Wants" inspired the title of the 2000 romantic comedy film "What Women Want", having the track on its soundtrack and on a scene. It also inspired the title of the 2003 comedy film of the same name. American singer Lady Gaga has called Aguilera's cover of "I Turn to You" an inspiration, as she stated: "When I was 15, I was singing 'I Turn to You' at the top of my lungs trying to hit all her notes. So she was an inspiration to me to have a wider vocal range."


title: Christina Aguilera (album)

text: Note: Pressings after the single release of "What a Girl Wants" replace the original 3:52 album version with the 3:35 remix from the music video. The insert does not reflect these changes, with the original lyrics and 3:52 track time still listed. When the album was officially re-released in 2000 to include the new radio version of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", the "What a Girl Wants" lyrics and track time remained unchanged in the booklet, despite still using the newer video mix.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: Valonia ventricosa, also known as bubble algae, sea grape or sailor's eyeballs is a species of algae found in oceans throughout the world in tropical and subtropical regions, within the phylum Chlorophyta. It is one of the largest known unicellular organisms, if not the largest.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: "Valonia ventricosa" has a coenocytic structure with multiple nuclei and chloroplasts. This organism possesses a large central vacuole which is multilobular in structure (lobules radiating from a central spheroid region).


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: The entire cell contains several cytoplasmic domains with each domain having a nucleus and a few chloroplasts. Cytoplasmic domains are interconnected by cytoplasmic "bridges" that are supported by microtubules. The peripheral cytoplasm (whose membrane is overlaid by the cell wall), is only about 40 nm thick.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: They appear in tidal zones of tropical and subtropical areas, like the Caribbean, north through Florida, south to Brazil, and in the Indo-Pacific. Overall, they inhabit every ocean throughout the world, often living in coral rubble.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: The single-cell organism has forms ranging from spherical to ovoid, and the color varies from grass green to dark green, although in water they may appear to be silver, teal, or even blackish. This is determined by the quantity of chloroplasts of the specimen. The surface of the cell shines like glass when clean due to being extremely smooth with no texture.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: "Valonia ventricosa" is among the largest known single-celled organisms. Its thallus consists of a thin-walled, tough, multinucleate cell with a diameter that ranges typically from although it may achieve a diameter of up to in rarer cases. The "bubble" alga is attached by rhizoids to the substrate fibers.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: Reproduction occurs by segregative cell division, where the multinucleate parent cell makes child cells, and individual rhizoids form new bubbles, which become separate from the parent cell.


title: Valonia ventricosa

text: "Valonia ventricosa" has been studied particularly because the cells are so unusually large that they provide a convenient subject for studying the transfer of water and water-soluble molecules across biological membranes. It was concluded that the properties of permeability in both osmosis and diffusion were identical, and that urea and formaldehyde molecules did not require any kind of postulated water-filled pores in the membrane to move through it. In studying the cellulose lattice, and its orientation in biological structures, "Valonia ventricosa" has undergone extensive X-ray analytical procedures. It has also been studied for its electrical properties, due to its unusually high electrical potential relative to the seawater that surrounds it.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: OFI Crete Football Club (, "Club of Fans of Heraklion 1925"), is a Greek professional football club based in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. It is a part of the OFI multi sports club. Outside Greece, the club is generally known as OFI Crete FC, however, "Crete" is not actually part of the club's official title. The team competes in the Super League, the top division of the Greek football league system, and hosts home games at the Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium in Heraklion, Crete.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: OFI is the Cretan club with the most continuous appearances in the Greek first division. It has won one Greek Cup (1986–87) and one Balkans Cup, while they have competed seven times in UEFA competitions.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: The club was founded in the autumn of 1925 by a group of Cretan athletes exercising at the same gym in Heraklion. They registered a new sports club under the name Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou (acronym OFI) which means "Heraklion Sports Club". The club's official scope was to participate at all kinds of athletic events and exhibitions. During the first OFI's years, the club's founders made up the majority of the members.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: The years preceding World War II were a very difficult period not only for Crete, but for Greece in general. Thus, it was extremely difficult for OFI to travel and participate in national football tournaments. As a result, OFI was limited to matches around the island of Crete and particularly with other football clubs based in Heraklion. Strangely enough, these local matches were more frequent in comparison to the official ones of former periods. Even though official documentation does not exist, elderly fans of OFI believe that the team played around 400 matches before the Germans finally occupied Crete.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: During occupation of Crete in World War II competitions were suspended and players signed up to fight, resulting in the deaths of many players. In the first period after WW2 the football tournament restarted in Greece with a single Championship, the "First Division", in which only major football clubs from Athens and Thessaloniki participated, including a few teams which qualified through preliminary rounds. However, it was almost impossible for a team coming from the province to take part in it.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: This situation arose because the Hellenic Football Federation structured a system in which football teams from around the country had to play many preliminary rounds before proceeding to the national championship. As a result, even though OFI was the top football team in Crete, they could not qualify to the national tournament.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: After 1956, the system in Greece changed slightly. Advantages were that in some seasons the preliminary rounds were organized in groups of a few teams, where the champions of each group were promoted directly to the championship of the same season's First Division. One of those seasons was in 1957–58. OFI played preliminary games in a group of 4 teams, where they finished in first place. Thus, OFI, for the first time in its history, participated in the Greek National Championship. However, the team could not stand the frequent trips around Greece and finished in last position. Up to 1962, when the official 2nd Division Championship was organized, OFI tried again many times, but unsuccessfully, to take part in the competition of the 1st Division again.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: In 1962–63 the official Greek 2nd division league was set up for first time. OFI was one of the teams that participated in the league and completed the season in 9th position. In 1963–64 and 1964–65, OFI finished in 3rd and 5th position respectively.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: In 1965–66, OFI were the champions of the 2nd Division of Greek football and only one step away from promotion to the official 1st National Division of Greek football.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: Yet, the Hellenic Football Federation decided that even the champions of the 2nd Division had to play preliminary games in order to be promoted.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: OFI lost in the play-off matches and remained in the 2nd Division. In 1966–67 the disappointment was huge, even though OFI ended in 3rd position. Everyone on the island of Crete was feeling that the moment where they could see the pride of their island in the top league was very close.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: In 1967–68, OFI finished in 2nd position and went into play-off games with the bottom team of the 1st division. The final match of the play-offs was to take place in the city of Chania, on 26 June 1968. OFI, with the help of 10,000 Cretans thrashed the team from the 1st division with a 3–0 win and made the dreams of thousands of supporters come true. OFI was an official member of the 1st National Division.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: OFI's debut in the national 1st division was very difficult. "Omilos" ended the first round in 15th position. It was a very difficult task to remain in the league. However, in the 2nd round the Cretans played magnificently and finally finished in 12th place. In the next season OFI had already gained the experience of playing in the top league of Greek football. The "Snakes" finished in 13th place, but the strange thing was that OFI remained unbeaten in almost all of their home games in Heraklion. Only two teams managed to survive and leave Crete with an away win. Thus, even if OFI was not a feared opponent, all the other teams were anxious when taking the trip to the island of Crete.


title: OFI Crete F.C.

text: 1970–71 was the worst season the team from Heraklion ever had in the 1st Division. OFI ended in 17th position and was relegated for the last time in their history to the 2nd division. The whole season was a tragedy for the Cretans. OFI had to meet "old friends" from the 2nd division again and start battling again in order to be promoted for a second time.