title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Other, later, ancient histories of the war exist, although often in fragmentary or summary form. Appian's account of the Third Punic War is especially valuable. Modern historians usually also take into account the writings of various Roman annalists, some contemporary; the Sicilian Greek Diodorus Siculus; the later Roman historians Livy (who relied heavily on Polybius), Plutarch and Dio Cassius. The classicist Adrian Goldsworthy states "Polybius' account is usually to be preferred when it differs with any of our other accounts". Other sources include coins, inscriptions, archaeological evidence and empirical evidence from reconstructions such as the trireme "Olympias".


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Carthage and Rome fought the 17-year long Second Punic War between 218 and 201 BC, which ended with a Roman victory. The peace treaty imposed on the Carthaginians stripped them of all of their overseas territories, and some of their African ones. An indemnity of 10,000 silver talents was to be paid over 50 years. Hostages were taken. Carthage was forbidden to possess war elephants and its fleet was restricted to 10 warships. It was prohibited from waging war outside Africa, and in Africa only with Rome's express permission. Many senior Carthaginians wanted to reject it, but Hannibal spoke strongly in its favour and it was accepted in spring 201 BC. Henceforth, it was clear that Carthage was politically subordinate to Rome.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: At the end of the war, the Roman ally Masinissa emerged as by far the most powerful ruler among the Numidians, the dominant indigenous people in North Africa west of Egypt. Over the following 50 years, he repeatedly took advantage of Carthage's inability to protect its possessions. Whenever Carthage petitioned Rome for redress, or permission to take military action, Rome backed its ally, Masinissa, and refused. Masinissa's seizures of and raids into Carthaginian territory became increasingly flagrant. In 151 BC, Carthage raised a large army commanded by Hasdrubal and, the treaty notwithstanding, counterattacked the Numidians. The campaign ended in disaster and the army surrendered; a large number of Carthaginians were subsequently massacred by the Numidians. Hasdrubal escaped to Carthage, where in an attempt to placate Rome he was condemned to death. Carthage had paid off its indemnity and was prospering economically, but was no military threat to Rome. Nevertheless, elements in the Roman Senate had long wished to destroy Carthage, and, using the illicit Carthaginian military action as a pretext, began preparing a punitive expedition. Carthaginian embassies attempted to negotiate with Rome, but when the large North African port city of Utica went over to Rome in 149 BC the Senate and the People's Assembly declared war.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: It was the long-standing Roman procedure to elect two men each year, known as consuls, to each lead an army. A large Roman army landed at Utica in 149 BC under both consuls for the year, Manius Manilius commanding the army and Lucius Censorius the fleet. The Carthaginians continued to attempt to appease Rome, and sent an embassy to Utica. The consuls demanded that they hand over all weaponry, and reluctantly the Carthaginians did so. Great convoys took enormous stocks of equipment from Carthage to Utica. Surviving records state that these included 200,000 sets of armour and 2,000 catapults. Their warships all sailed to Utica and were burnt in the harbour. Once Carthage was disarmed, the consuls made the further demand that the Carthaginians abandon their city and relocate away from the sea; Carthage would then be destroyed. The Carthaginians abandoned negotiations and prepared to defend their city.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: The city of Carthage itself was an unusually large city for the time, with a population estimated at 700,000. It was strongly fortified with walls of more than circumference. Defending the main approach from the land were three lines of defences, of which the strongest was a brick-built wall wide and high with a ditch in front of it. Built into this wall was a barracks capable of holding over 24,000 soldiers. The city had few reliable sources of ground water, but possessed a complex system to catch and channel rainwater and a large number of cisterns to store it.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: The Carthaginians raised a strong and enthusiastic force to garrison the city from their citizenry and by freeing all slaves willing to fight. They also formed a 30,000 strong field army, which was placed under Hasdrubal, freshly released from his condemned cell. This army was based at , south of the city. Appian gives the strength of the Roman army which landed in Africa as 84,000 soldiers; modern historians estimate it at 40,000–50,000 men, of whom 4,000 were cavalry.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: The Roman army moved to Carthage and twice attempted to scale the city walls, from the sea and the landward sides, being repulsed both times, before settling down for a Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War). Hasdrubal moved up his army and harassed the Roman supply lines and foraging parties. The Romans built two very large battering rams and partially broke down a section of the wall. They stormed the breach but fell into disorder while clambering through and were thrown back by the waiting Carthaginians. The Romans would have been in difficulty except for the actions of Scipio Aemilianus, who was serving with the 4th Legion as a tribunea middle-ranking military position. Rather than join the attack as ordered, Scipio held back and spaced his men along the partially demolished wall, and so was able to beat off the pursuing Carthaginians when the Romans in front of him fled back through the ranks of his unit.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Censorinus's camp was badly situated and by early summer was so pestiferous that it was moved to a healthier location. This, however, was not as defensible, and the Carthaginians inflicted losses on the Roman fleet with fireships. Separately, a night attack was launched against Manilius's camp; a dangerous outcome for the Romans was again averted by Scipio's prompt action. The Romans made repetitions of these attacks more difficult by building additional field fortifications.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: The Romans elected two new consuls in 148 BC, but only one of them was sent to Africa: Calpurnius Piso; Lucius Mancinius commanded the navy as his subordinate. He pulled back the close siege of Carthage to a looser blockade and attempted to mop up the other Carthaginian-supporting cities in the area; he failed. Meanwhile, Hasdrubal, commander of the Carthaginian field army, overthrew the civilian leadership of Carthage and took command himself. A Numidian chief came over to the Carthaginians with 800 cavalry. Carthage allied with Andriscus, a pretender to the Macedonian throne, who invaded Roman Macedonia, defeated a Roman army, had himself crowned King Philip VI, and sparked the Fourth Macedonian War.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Scipio intended to stand in the 147 BC elections for the post of ; this was a natural progression for him and at age 36 or 37 he was too young to stand as consul, for which the minimum age requirement was 41. But the public demand to appoint him as consul, and so allow him to take charge of the African war, was so strong that the Senate put aside the age requirements for all posts for the year. There was considerable political manoeuvring behind the scenes, much of which is opaque in the sources, and it is not known to what extent, if any, Scipio helped orchestrate this outcome. In any event, he secured sole command in Africa, the usual right to conscript enough men to make up the numbers of the forces there and the unusual entitlement to enrol volunteers.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Meanwhile, early in 147 BC Mancinius seized an unexpected opportunity to capture a sally port and forced 3,500 men into the city; 3,000 of whom were lightly-armed and armoured sailors. Mancinius sent messages asking for reinforcements. Sources have Scipio arriving at Utica that evening to take up his post. He sailed overnight for Carthage and arrived just in time to evacuate Mancinius's hard-pressed force as it was expelled by a Carthaginian counterattack.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Scipio moved the Roman's main camp back to near Carthage, closely observed by a Carthaginian detachment of 8,000. He made a speech demanding tighter discipline and dismissed those soldiers he considered ill-disciplined or poorly motivated. He then led a night march with a strong force that culminated in an assault against what the Romans considered to be a weak point in Carthage's main wall. A gate was seized and 4,000 Romans pushed into the city. Panicked in the dark, the Carthaginian defenders, after an initial fierce resistance, fled. However, Scipio decided that his position would be indefensible once the Carthaginians reorganised themselves in daylight, and so withdrew. Hasdrubal, horrified at the way the Carthaginian defences had collapsed, had Roman prisoners tortured to death on the walls, in view of the Roman army. He was reinforcing the will to resist in the Carthaginian citizens; from this point there could be no possibility of negotiation or even surrender. Some members of the city council denounced his actions and Hasdrubal had them too put to death and took full control of the city.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: The renewed close siege cut off landward entry to the city, but a tight seaward interdiction was all but impossible with the naval technology of the time. Frustrated at the amount of food being shipped into the city, Scipio started to build an immense mole to cut off access to the harbour. As work on this progressed, the Carthaginians responded by cutting a new channel from their harbour to the sea. They had built a new fleet of 50 triremesmedium-sized, manoeuvrable, oared warshipsand a large number of smaller ships since sacrificing their original fleet two years before. Once the channel was complete this sailed out, taking the Romans by surprise. A few days were necessary to trim the new-built ships and to train the new crews who had not been to sea for over two years and were out of the habit of operating together, and by the time the Carthaginians felt ready to give battle the Romans had concentrated their own naval forces. In the engagement which followed, the Carthaginians held their own, with their lighter craft proving difficult for the Roman ships to deal with. Breaking off the engagement, the Carthaginian triremes were covering the withdrawal of their lighter vessels when a collision blocked the new channel. With the Carthaginian ships pinned against the city's sea wall with no room to manoeuvre, the Romans sank or captured many of them before the blockage was cleared and the Carthaginian survivors were able to escape back into harbour.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: The Romans now attempted to advance against the Carthaginian defences in the harbour area. Carthaginians swam across the harbour at night and set fire to several siege engines and many legionaries panicked and fled. Scipio intercepted them in the dark; when they disregarded his orders to halt he had his mounted bodyguard attack them. Nevertheless, the Romans eventually gained control of the quay and constructed a brick wall as high as the city wall. This took months to complete, but once in place it enabled 4,000 Romans to fire onto the Carthaginian ramparts from short range.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Scipio's position as the Roman commander in Africa was extended for a year in 146 BC, and in the spring he launched the final assault. It came from the harbour area and Hasdrubal, expecting it, set fire to the nearby warehouses. Despite this, a Roman advance party broke through to the military harbour and captured it. The main assault force reached the city's main square, where the legions camped overnight. The next morning Scipio led 4,000 men to link up with the group at the military harbour; this group was delayed when they diverted to strip the gold from the Temple of Apollo. Scipio and his officers were helpless to prevent them and furious. The Carthaginians did not take advantage, having withdrawn to defensive positions.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Having regrouped, the Romans systematically worked their way through the residential part of the city, killing everyone they encountered and firing the buildings behind them. At times, the Romans progressed from rooftop to rooftop, to prevent missiles being hurled down on them. It took six more days to clear the city of resistance, and on the last day Scipio agreed to accept prisoners. The last holdouts, including 900 Roman deserters in Carthaginian service, fought on from the Temple of Eshmoun and burnt it down around themselves when all hope was gone. At this point, Hasdrubal surrendered to Scipio on the promise of his life and freedom. Hasdrubal's wife, watching from a rampart, then blessed Scipio, cursed her husband, and walked into the temple with her children, to burn to death.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: There were 50,000 Carthaginian prisoners, a small proportion of the pre-war population, who were sold into slavery. The site was cursed ("evocation") with the intention of preventing it ever being resettled; the notion that Roman forces then sowed the city with salt is a 19th-century invention. Many of the religious items and cult-statues which Carthage had pillaged from Sicilian cities and temples over the centuries were returned with great ceremony.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Scipio was awarded the "agnomen" "Africanus", as his adoptive grandfather had been. The formerly Carthaginian territories were annexed by Rome and reconstituted to become the Roman province of Africa with Utica as its capital. The province became a major source of grain and other foodstuffs. Numerous large Punic cities, such as those in Mauretania, were taken over by the Romans, although they were permitted to retain their Punic system of government. A century later, the site of Carthage was rebuilt as a Roman city by Julius Caesar, and would become one of the main cities of Roman Africa by the time of the Empire. The Punic language continued to be spoken in north Africa until the 7th century.


title: Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)

text: Rome still exists as the capital of Italy; the ruins of Carthage lie east of Tunis on the North African coast. A formal peace treaty was signed by Ugo Vetere and Chedli Klibi, the mayors of Rome and the modern city of Carthage, respectively, on 5 February 1985; 2,131 years after the war ended.


title: Stratified squamous epithelium

text: A stratified squamous epithelium consists of squamous (flattened) epithelial cells arranged in layers upon a basal membrane. Only one layer is in contact with the basement membrane; the other layers adhere to one another to maintain structural integrity. Although this epithelium is referred to as squamous, many cells within the layers may not be flattened; this is due to the convention of naming epithelia according to the cell type at the surface. In the deeper layers, the cells may be columnar or cuboidal. There are no intercellular spaces. This type of epithelium is well suited to areas in the body subject to constant abrasion, as the thickest layers can be sequentially sloughed off and replaced before the basement membrane is exposed. It forms the outermost layer of the skin and the inner lining of the mouth, esophagus and vagina.


title: Stratified squamous epithelium

text: In the epidermis of skin in mammals, reptiles, and birds, the layer of keratin in the outer layer of the stratified squamous epithelial surface is named the stratum corneum. Stratum corneum is made up of squamous cells which are keratinized and dead. These are shed periodically.


title: Stratified squamous epithelium

text: Non-keratinized surfaces must be kept moist by bodily secretions to prevent them from drying out. Cells of stratum corneum are sometimes without keratin and living.


title: Stratified squamous epithelium

text: Examples of non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium include some parts of the lining of oral cavity, pharynx, conjunctiva of eye, upper one-third esophagus, rectum, external female genitalia, and vagina.


title: Stratified squamous epithelium

text: Even non-keratinized surfaces, consisting as they do of keratinocytes, have a minor superficial keratinized layer of varying thickness, depending on the age of the epithelium and the damage it has experienced.


title: Stratified squamous epithelium

text: Keratinized surfaces "s are protected from absorption by keratin protein. Keratinized epithelium has keratin deposited on the surface which makes it impermeable and dry. Examples of keratinized stratified squamous epithelium include skin, the epidermis of the palm of the hand, and the sole of the foot, and the masticatory mucosa.


title: Warg

text: In the philologist and fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fiction, a warg is a particularly large and evil kind of wolf that could be ridden by orcs. He derived the name and characteristics of his wargs by combining meanings and myths from Old Norse and Old English. In Norse mythology, a "vargr" (anglicised as warg) is a wolf, especially the wolf Fenrir that destroyed the god Odin in the battle of Ragnarök, and the wolves Sköll and Hati who perpetually chase the Sun and Moon. In Old English, a "wearh" is an outcast who may be strangled to death.


title: Warg

text: Through Tolkien's influence, wargs have featured in fantasy books by authors including George R. R. Martin, and in media such as video games and role-playing games.


title: Warg

text: The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey states that Tolkien's spelling "warg" is a cross of Old Norse "vargr" and Old English "wearh". He notes that the words embody a shift in meaning from "wolf" to "outlaw": "vargr" carries both meanings, while "wearh" means "outcast" or "outlaw", but has lost the sense of "wolf".


title: Warg

text: In Old Norse, "vargr" is derived from the Proto-Germanic root reconstructed as "*wargaz", ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root reconstructed as "*werg̑ʰ-" "destroy". "Vargr" (compare modern Swedish "varg" "wolf") arose as a non-taboo name for "úlfr", the normal Old Norse term for "wolf".


title: Warg

text: Shippey adds that there is also an Old English verb, "awyrgan", meaning both "to condemn [an outcast]" and "to strangle [an outcast to death]"; he adds that a possible further sense is "to worry [a sheep], to bite to death". He writes that


title: Warg

text: In Norse mythology, wargs are in particular the mythological wolves Fenrir, Sköll and Hati. Sköll and Hati are wolves, one going after the Sun, the other after the Moon. Wolves served as mounts for more or less dangerous humanoid creatures. For instance, "Gunnr's horse" was a kenning for "wolf" on the Rök runestone. In the "Lay of Hyndla", the eponymous seeress rides a wolf. To Baldr's funeral, the jötunn Hyrrokkin arrived on a wolf.


title: Warg

text: The medievalist and Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns writes that Tolkien uses the fact that wolves were among the Norse god Odin's war beasts "in a particularly innovative way". Odin kept two wolves, Freki and Geri, their names both meaning "Greedy"; and in the final battle that destroys the world, Ragnarök, Odin is killed and eaten by the gigantic wolf Fenrir. Thus, Burns points out, wolves were both associates of Odin, and his mortal enemy. She argues that Tolkien made use of both relationships in "The Lord of the Rings". In her view, both the dark lord Sauron and the evil Wizard Saruman embody "attributes of a negative Odin". She points out that Saruman has wargs in his army, while Sauron uses "the likeness of a ravening wolf" for the enormous battering ram named Grond which destroys the main gate of Minas Tirith. On the other side, the benevolent Wizard Gandalf leads the fight against the wargs in "The Hobbit", using his ability to create fire, and understands their language. In "The Fellowship of the Ring", Gandalf again uses magic and fire to drive off a great wolf, "The Hound of Sauron", and his wolf-pack; Burns writes that the wolves' attempt "to devour Gandalf hints at Odin's fate", recalling the myth of Fenrir and Odin.


title: Warg

text: In J. R. R. Tolkien's books about Middle-earth, wargs are a malevolent wolf-like race. They are usually in league with the Orcs whom they permit to ride on their backs into battle, sharing any spoils. In "The Hobbit", they can speak: they plan their part in "a great goblin-raid" on the woodmen's villages.


title: Warg

text: Tolkien's wargs influenced the ten-year-old Rayner Unwin to write a positive review of "The Hobbit", with the words "Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who lived in his hobbit hole and "never" went for adventures, at last Gandalf the wizard and his dwarves persuaded him to go. He had a very ex[c]iting time fighting goblins and wargs." The review led his father, Stanley Unwin, to publish the book, still doubting its likely commercial success.


title: Warg

text: Peter Jackson's film adaptations of Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" extend the role of wargs as mounts for Orcs, battling the horse-riders of Rohan.


title: Warg

text: The critic Gregory Hartley treats wargs as "personified animals", along with the sentient eagles, giant spiders, Smaug the dragon, ravens and thrushes. Tolkien writes about their actions using verbs like "[to] plan" and "[to] guard", implying in Hartley's view that the monstrous wargs are "more than mere beasts", but he denies that they "possess autonomous wills". T. A. Leederman calls Tolkien's wargs "a species of semi-intelligent but evil-aligned mount wolves ... on whom the orcs rode into battle". He notes that they may have been derived, in the fiction, from First Age werewolves like Carcharoth, with their own "proto-language".


title: Warg

text: In George R. R. Martin's series of epic fantasy novels, "A Song of Ice and Fire", and the series' television adaptation, "Game of Thrones", Wargs are skinchangers who can enter the mind of a wolf (and in Bran Stark's case with Hodor, a person), see what they are seeing, and control their actions.


title: Warg

text: Similar Tolkien-based creatures appear in a number of fantasy video games, including "The Lord of the Rings Online", "Age of Conan", and "World of Warcraft", both as four-legged monsters, and as a race of anthropomorphic werewolves, the Worgen.


title: The Great War (Sabaton album)

text: The Great War is the ninth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton. It was released on 19 July 2019. It is the first studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson. Like many of Sabaton's albums, it is a concept album, this time about World War I, often known as the Great War. The songs cover multiple stories from the war, including those of Manfred von Richthofen, T.E. Lawrence, Alvin York, the Attack of the Dead Men, the Battle of Verdun, and others.


title: The Great War (Sabaton album)

text: The album's first single, "Fields of Verdun", was released on 3 May 2019. The album's next single, "The Red Baron" was released on 13 June. The title song, "Great War", was released as a single on 27 June. A music video for the track "82nd All the Way" was released on 20 July. A music video for "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", in which Indy Neidell plays the role of T. E. Lawrence, was filmed in the Tunisian desert in early September, and was released on 21 December. A live video and single for "The Attack of the Dead Men", recorded during a 13 March 2020 performance in Moscow that included Russian-language metal cover artist Radio Tapok singing the verses, were announced 8 May 2020 for a 10 July release.


title: The Great War (Sabaton album)

text: The album was released in four separate editions: the standard release, a history edition with contextual narration preceding each track, a soundtrack edition featuring instrumental orchestral versions of the songs, and a Sabaton History Patreon exclusive release containing narration by Indy Neidell.


title: The Great War (Sabaton album)

text: The recorded lyrics for "82nd All the Way" mistakenly attribute Sergeant Alvin York to the 338th Regiment rather than his actual assignment to the 328th Infantry Regiment. The band corrects the mistake during live performances of the song.


title: The Great War (Sabaton album)

text: "The Great War" garnered mostly positive reviews. "Metal Hammer"s Holly Wright gave it 4/5 stars, praising it as "a rip-roaring, riff-addled march towards victory, coaxing influences from folk and power metal that sounds remarkably upbeat for an account of bloodthirsty mass destruction." "The Guardian"s Dave Simpson rated the album 3/5 stars and said he preferred the History version, which precedes the songs with voiceovers describing the events the songs are about. "Loudwire" named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.


title: The Great War (Sabaton album)

text: On 18 July 2019, YouTube-based cover artist Radio Tapok released a Russian-language cover of "The Attack of the Dead Men" with Sabaton's assistance. Radio Tapok joined Sabaton on stage in Moscow the following spring during their Russian tour (cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after). The performance was recorded and produced as a single for a 10 July 2020 release.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water crossing is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be treated as a ford when the river is high and water covers the crossing.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than a bridge, and it can transport much more weight than a bridge, but it may become impassable after heavy rain or during flood conditions. A ford is therefore normally only suitable for very minor roads (and for paths intended for walkers and horse riders etc.). Most modern fords are usually shallow enough to be crossed by cars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known as "fording"). Fords may be accompanied by stepping stones for pedestrians.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: The United Kingdom has more than 2,000 fords, and most of them do not have any way of stopping vehicles from crossing when the water makes them impassable. According to The AA, many flood-related vehicle breakdowns are at fords.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: In New Zealand, fords are a normal part of roads, including, until 2010, along State Highway 1 on the South Island's east coast. In dry weather, drivers become aware of a ford by crunching across outwash detritus on the roadway. A bailey bridge may be built off the mainline of the road to carry emergency traffic during high water.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: At places where the water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submerged concrete floor. In such cases, a curb (kerb) is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles from slipping off, as the growth of algae will often make the slab very slippery. Fords may be also equipped with a post indicating the water depth, so that users may know if the water is too deep to attempt to cross. Some have an adjacent footbridge so that pedestrians may cross dryshod.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: Fords were sometimes the only way to cross, such as at the Milkhouse at Rock Creek in Washington, DC, but the regular use of this ford has been superseded by bridges. The crossing remained for "adventurous" drivers until 1996 when the National Park Service closed the ford to automobiles.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: A road running below the water level of a stream or river is often known as a "watersplash". It is a common name for a ford or stretch of wet road in some areas, and sometimes also used to describe tidal crossings. They have become a common feature in rallying courses. There are enthusiasts who seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: There are many old fords known as watersplashes in the United Kingdom. Examples are at Brockenhurst in Hampshire, Wookey in Somerset, and Swinbrook in Oxfordshire. Some of these are being replaced by bridges as these are a more reliable form of crossing in adverse weather conditions.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: The in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, is mentioned in the deeds of Dean Castle, which was gifted to the local people. The ford has had to be maintained as a property boundary feature, despite several cars a year being washed away.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: Some very spectacular watersplashes can be found in diverse locations. Australia has the Gulf Savannah, and others may be found in Canada, Italy, South Africa, and Finland. They are also found on some Tennessee backroads, where they are referred to as "underwater bridges".


title: Ford (crossing)

text: In Israel and part of the British areas under the mandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as "Irish bridge" in reference to the Anglo–Irish war.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: The names of many towns and villages are derived from the word 'ford'. Examples include Oxford (a ford where oxen crossed the river: see the Oxford coat of arms); Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire (the ford where harts cross or "deer crossing"); Ammanford (a ford on the River Amman); Staffort crossing the river Pfinz; and Stratford (a ford on a Roman street). Similarly, the German word "Furt" (as in Frankfurt, the ford of the Franks; Ochsenfurt, synonymous to Oxford; Schweinfurt, a ford where swine crossed the river; and Klagenfurt, literally "ford of complaints") and the Dutch "voorde" (as in Vilvoorde, Coevorden, Zandvoort, or Amersfoort) are cognates with the same meaning, all deriving from Proto-Indo-European "*pértus" 'crossing'. This is the source of Brythonic and Gaulish "ritus" (modern Welsh "rhyd"; the Welsh name of Oxford is "Rhydychen" "ford of oxen"), which underlies such names as Chambord (from Gaulish "*Camboritum" "ford at the bend") and Niort ("Novioritum" "new ford").


title: Ford (crossing)

text: Towns such as Maastricht, Dordrecht, and Utrecht also formed at fords. The endings , , and are derived from the Latin word "traiectum", meaning "crossing". Thus the name Utrecht, originally the Roman fort of Traiectum, is derived from "Uut Trecht", meaning "downstream crossing". The Afrikaans form was taken into South African English as drift and led to place names like Rorke's Drift and Velddrift. Similarly, in Slavic languages, the word brod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where a river can be crossed". Although today "brod" in the Serbo-Croatian means 'ship', Slavonski Brod in Croatia, as well as Makedonski Brod in North Macedonia and other place names containing "Brod" in Slavic countries, where "brod" is still the word for 'ford', are named after fords.


title: Ford (crossing)

text: In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack the enemy at any crossing points. Therefore, a ford was often a strategic military point with many famous battles fought at or near fords:


title: Corsage

text: A corsage is a small bouquet of flowers worn on a woman's dress or around her wrist for a formal occasion. They are typically given to her by her date. Today, corsages are most commonly seen at homecomings, proms, and similar formal events.


title: Corsage

text: In some countries, similar ornaments are worn by the mothers and grandmothers of the bride and groom at a wedding ceremony.


title: Corsage

text: Flowers worn by men are generally called buttonholes or boutonnières. At school events such as homecoming or prom, couples generally coordinate the corsage and boutonnière, signifying their connection, and distinguishing them from others. In some cases, young girls may wear a corsage to a father-daughter dance, and the father may also wear a boutonnière.


title: Corsage

text: Wearing flowers pinned to clothing dates as far back as Ancient Greece, when small bunches of fragrant flowers and herbs were worn at weddings to ward off evil spirits. During the 16th and 17th centuries, corsages and boutonnieres may have been a part of daily life to prevent disease and to ward off evil spirits, but over time, they became special-occasion pieces.


title: Corsage

text: The word "corsage" comes from the French term "bouquet de corsage", meaning a bouquet of flowers worn on upper part of the body ("corsage" meaning girdle, bodice in French), which was traditionally worn by women to weddings and funerals. Eventually, the term shortened to "corsage" in American English. In the early 19th century, corsages were regarded as a courting gift and were often given at formal dances. Traditionally, the gentleman would bring a gift of flowers for his date's parents and would select one of the flowers to give to his date, which would then be carried or attached to her clothing, usually on the front of the shoulder. During the 1950s, some corsages were made with fruit and would be seen on hats for decoration. As dress styles changed, pinning the corsage to the dress became impractical, and wrist corsages became the norm.


title: Corsage

text: Today's corsages are similar to those made in previous decades, though generally smaller. It is still customary for a male to give his female date a corsage when attending a formal dance, but they are also sometimes given to a daughter attending a formal event by her parents or worn by the mothers and grandmothers of the bride and groom at a wedding. Wives and any surviving mothers typically wear corsages at Anniversary celebrations; generally, the flowers are the same as what was used at the wedding, with ribbons indicating the milestone, (i.e. silver for 25th, red for 40th). Florists recommend that the flowers be complementary in color to the attire, and corsages and boutonnières should be coordinated to indicate that a couple is attending the event together. Corsages are often dried and pressed to be preserved as mementos.


title: Corsage

text: When attending a school formal or prom, providing a corsage for a prom date signifies consideration and generosity, as the corsage is meant to symbolize and honor the person wearing it. Corsages are usually worn around a prom date's wrist; alternatively, they may be pinned on her dress or a modified nosegay can be carried in her hand. The colors of the flowers are usually chosen to complement the dress or to add color to the couple, creating a unifying look. Prom couples may wish to go together to choose the flowers for a custom-made corsage or boutonnière. Traditionally, the male presents a corsage or nosegay to the female as a gift, while the female would provide the boutonnière and pin it on the male's shirt or jacket.


title: Corsage

text: Corsages can be made from a single flower or a small bunch of flowers, and a variety of flowers can be used. The following table shows some of the main flowers and accents used to create a custom-made corsage and that can be included in a nosegay and boutonnière.


title: Corsage

text: The style and design of a corsage may vary depending on the event. Younger generations tend to use wrist corsages, which may vary in style and size depending on the wearer. The more traditional option is a corsage pinned on the shoulder of a woman's dress. This style often gets confused with a boutonnière. The main difference is the size and the number of flowers used.


title: Corsage

text: If a wrist corsage is chosen for an event, it can be made using wire and floral tape or floral glue. The wire method is recommended for pin-on corsages because the wire will support the stems or flower bulbs. Glue can be added to hold the flowers together if the wire and tape are not sufficient.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua is a proposed heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC champion, Tyson Fury, and former WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO champion, Anthony Joshua. The fight has been dubbed as "the biggest fight in British boxing history".


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: As of November 2022, no agreement has been reached which secured a fight between the two heavyweights.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: After Fury defeated Deontay Wilder via seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) to capture the WBC and "Ring" heavyweight titles in February 2020, Wilder immediately activated a contractual rematch clause. The trilogy fight was initially scheduled to take place on 18 July, but after Wilder suffered an injury and due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the bout was postponed until October. At Wilder's request, the bout was again pushed back to 19 December. After Wilder's team again requested to push the date back into 2021, Fury announced in October that he was moving on from a proposed third fight, stating, "they asked me if I would agree to push it to December. I agreed to Dec. 19. Then they tried to change the date again into next year. I've been training. I'm ready. When they tried moving off Dec. 19 and pushing to next year, enough was enough. I've moved on." Following Fury's comments, Wilder released a video on social media, accusing Fury of cheating during their February fight. With team Fury insisting that the contractual rematch clause has expired and team Wilder insisting the opposite, both sides entered into a mediation process in an attempt to resolve the dispute. However, according to Fury's promoter, Bob Arum, Fury has insisted that he will not fight Wilder again due to the accusations of cheating.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. in a rematch in December 2019 to reclaim his unified heavyweight titles. Later that month, the WBO ordered Joshua to enter negotiations with their mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk. The following day, the IBF also ordered Joshua to face their mandatory challenger, Kubrat Pulev. Due to the IBF initially ordering Joshua to face Pulev in early 2019, before the rematch with Ruiz, it was determined that Pulev would be first in line with Usyk set to face the winner. After an original date in June was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joshua defeated Pulev via ninth-round TKO in December 2020. After the victory, Joshua was asked in the post-fight interview about the prospect of an undisputed fight with Fury, Joshua said, "I want a challenge. It's not about the opponent. It's about the legacy and the belt. Whoever's got the belt, I'd love to compete with him. If that is Tyson Fury, let it be Tyson Fury. It's no big deal." Fury released a video on social media in response to Joshua's comments, saying, "Well there you go everyone, Anthony Joshua just shit his self live on television. He got asked did he want the fight, and he went around the bushes and put his arse on the edge. I want the fight! I want the fight next! I'll knock him out inside three rounds! He's a big bum dosser. Can't wait to knock him out."


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: A two-fight deal between the two champions has been agreed in principle since June 2020, with the first fight having a 50–50 purse split and the rematch a 60–40 split in favour of the winner. In March 2021, it was reported that both teams had signed the contract, with the final details of a date and venue to be determined.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: On 17 May 2021, an announcement was made that the fight would take place on 14 August 2021 at a venue in Saudi Arabia. However, 24 hours after the announcement was made, a judge in a US court ruled that Deontay Wilder was entitled to exercise his option for a third fight with Fury on a date up to 15 September. This put the proposed bout between Joshua and Fury in jeopardy, as Wilder indicated that he was not prepared to stand aside to allow the British boxers to proceed. As a result of the difficulties in agreeing to the fight between Joshua and Fury, on 21 May the WBO gave the Joshua camp 48 hours to come to an agreement for the fight with Fury, or they would instead order a bout against their mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk. On 22 May, the WBO issued an instruction that Joshua would have to fight Usyk, with an agreement for the bout to be in place by 31 May. The following day, Fury announced that he had signed a contract for a third fight with Wilder, to be held in Las Vegas.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: Joshua and Usyk came to an agreement to stage their bout on 25 September 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Joshua suffered the second professional loss of his career when Usyk produced a dominant display to emerge the victor by unanimous decision, with Joshua's performance being labelled "a strange, almost hapless display". Conversely, two weeks later on 9 October at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Fury was victorious, knocking Wilder out in the eleventh round of their trilogy bout to retain his undefeated record, in a fight described as "an all-time epic heavyweight championship fight" and "the obvious fight of the year so far". Fury–Wilder III was later designated as "The Ring" magazine Fight of the Year 2021.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: With Fury having made his first successful defence of his WBC and "Ring" titles against Wilder, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman ordered Fury to face his mandatory challenger, WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte. The fight between Fury and Whyte took place on 23 April at Wembley Stadium in London, England in front of a record-breaking crowd of 94,000 fans; 4,000 more than the attendance of Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko which previously took place at the same venue in 2017, thus setting a new attendance record for a boxing match in Europe. Fury punctuated a dominant performance with a jab, right uppercut combination at the end of the sixth round of the bout to send Whyte sprawling to the canvas; the referee subsequently waved off the fight, declaring Fury the winner by sixth-round technical knockout, and still the undefeated WBC and "Ring" heavyweight champion.


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: Almost four months after Fury's triumphant return to the ring, he vacated "The Ring" title on 13 August. One week later in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 20 August, Joshua faced Usyk in a rematch of their first bout eleven months earlier, with the now-vacant "Ring" title on the line for the Usyk–Joshua II winner, in addition to Usyk's unified world titles. With Usyk outboxing Joshua again over the 12-round distance to win, this time via split decision, Joshua succumbed to a second consecutive defeat to bring his professional boxing record to 24–3. After the fight, Joshua threw the title belts out of the ring and started to walk out of the arena, before returning to give a bizarre and emotional speech. Shortly after, Joshua was recorded backstage responding to a bystander who had criticised him, yelling: "Who are you talking to? Who are you talking to? Shut your fucking mouth.”


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: In the aftermath of Usyk–Joshua II, an undisputed fight in the near future between the two undefeated heavyweight champions Fury and Usyk seemed likely, until on 2 September, Usyk issued a statement in Kyiv, Ukraine at a press conference, confirming that he refuses to face Fury in December 2022: "Fighting Tyson Fury in December is impossible. For two reasons. First, I have old injuries that need to be treated... Second, I just don’t want to box in December." Despite his stance on the potential fight with Fury, Usyk expressed interest in a trilogy fight against Joshua, saying, “If Fury floats away, then maybe we will agree on a third fight with Joshua.”


title: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

text: Fury reacted to these developments on 5 September by calling out Joshua, saying in a video message: "Anthony Joshua, I know you've just lost a fight to Usyk, and I know you're belt-less at the moment, and I'd like to give you an opportunity to fight me for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world and the lineal championship in the next few months." Joshua responded by accepting the challenge, stating he would be "ready in December". Fury announced that his side had offered Joshua 40% of a 60–40 purse split, which Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed on 7 September that they had accepted. On 13 September, after Joshua had entered the WBC heavyweight rankings at sixth place, it was announced by Joshua's promoters that his side had accepted the terms proposed by Fury's side for a Fury–Joshua fight on 3 December.


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Margaret Ann Whitton (November 30, 1949 – December 4, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actress.


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Whitton was born on Fort Meade, Maryland, a US Army base in the suburbs of Baltimore. She spent many of her formative years in Japan; her father was an Army colonel, and her mother was a nurse. The family eventually relocated to Haddonfield, New Jersey, and then to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Whitton started acting at Northeast High School. She made her Off-Broadway debut in 1973 with "Baby Goya", and her Broadway debut in 1982's "Steaming".


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Whitton did her primary film work between 1986 and 1993. Her most visible roles were that of socialite Vera Prescott in "The Secret of My Success" (1987), and spiteful baseball team owner Rachel Phelps in "Major League" (1989), and its sequel "Major League II" (1994). Whitton also appeared in "The Best of Times" (1986) and "The Man Without a Face" (1993). Her other film roles included parts in "National Lampoon Goes to the Movies" (1982), "Love Child" (1982) and "9½ Weeks" (1986).


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Whitton worked as a television actress, with appearances in the soap operas "One Life to Live" and "The Doctors". Her first prime time role was in the 1985 dramedy "Hometown". In 1989, Whitton played a divorcee in the short-lived comedy series "A Fine Romance". She later starred in the 1991 sitcom "Good & Evil", which was cancelled after six episodes.


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Whitton returned to the stage, appearing on Broadway in "And the Apple Doesn't Fall..." (1995), as Mac in Jeffrey Hatcher's "The Three Viewings" (1995), and in the original musical "Marlene" (1999).


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Distribution rights to her film "A Bird of the Air" were acquired by Freestyle Digital Media. It was based upon the novel "The Loop" by Joe Coomer and was adapted for film by Roger Towne. At the time of her death, Whitton served as president of Tashtego Films, an independent-film production company, co-founded with producer Steven Tabakin.


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Whitton was married to Bear, Stearns & Co. executive Warren Spector from 1993 until her death in 2016.


title: Margaret Whitton

text: Whitton died on December 4, 2016, four days after her 67th birthday, at her home in Florida after a brief battle with cancer.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is an action-adventure video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Namco Bandai Games. Announced in 2009 as "Enslaved", it was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2010. As a loose adaptation of the novel "Journey to the West", the game is set 150 years in a future post-apocalyptic world following a global war. Only remnants of humanity survive, along with the still active war machines left over from the conflict. The game's story follows Monkey who is forced to escort Trip home safely after they survive a ship crash. Players play as Monkey, who must combat enemies using his staff from a third-person perspective, engage in different platforming challenges and solve puzzles.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Initially pitched as a CGI film, the game's development began after the team's had halted the development of a sequel to "Heavenly Sword". "Life After People" inspired the game's setting, while the video game "Ico" inspired the dynamics between the two protagonists. Alex Garland was invited to write the game's story, but he became involved in the game's design to ensure the game was consistent throughout. Andy Serkis and Lindsey Shaw provided performance capture for the game, and Nitin Sawhney composed the game's soundtrack. The team used the Unreal Engine 3 game engine to power "Enslaved".


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: The game received generally positive reviews. Critics praised its graphics, world design, Serkis' performance and Garland's script, though the game drew criticisms for its gameplay and technical shortcomings. The game was a commercial failure. Sales failed to meet Namco Bandai's expectations. A single-player downloadable content, titled "Pigsy's Perfect 10", was released in November 2010. A complete version, featuring all downloadable content, was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3 on 25 October 2013. A sequel was planned but later cancelled due to the game's financial underperformance.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: The player takes the role of "Monkey" in a third-person perspective, using a variety of combat moves and platforming skills to overcome obstacles. In combat, Monkey uses a staff that doubles as a close-combat and long-range projectile weapon. The staff has two types of long-range ammunition in the form of power cylinders: orange cylinders used for blast damage and blue cylinders used for stunning foes. Monkey can also remain stationary and charge his staff to use the same stun attack. In the game, players encounter numerous mechs as enemies. Certain mechs can be used as weapons. Monkey can perform a finishing move on them when they are low on health, such as tearing the gun off a turret or throwing an explosive foe at other combat mechs. Monkey's other abilities include his force shield that can block a certain amount of damage before requiring a recharge, and the "Cloud" device that manifests as a hover board that can be used to glide across water or land at great speeds. When enemies are defeated, they drop tech orbs that can be used to upgrade Monkey's abilities. They allow the player to learn new moves and abilities for combat and devices, increase overall health and shields and the damage that can be inflicted on enemies. Orbs can be found littered across levels, sometimes hidden out of sight, requiring extra exploration at times. Another type of collectible players can amass is masks, which are also scattered across different levels.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: During the game Tripitaka, or "Trip", who must be escorted and protected as they travel, accompanies Monkey. He has a device attached to his head linked to Trip. This device, called a slave headband in the game, requires Monkey to keep Trip alive. Should she die he will as well. In some instances just going too far away from her can result in the same fate. Trip can help Monkey overcome obstacles at times by performing certain actions involving her technical skills like hacking into a computer. Players can command Trip to use her different skills. For instance, she can scan the surrounding area revealing hazards such as land mines or mechs on standby, and project a temporary hologram as a decoy to draw the enemy's attention away from Monkey. Players can also order Trip to hide behind covers or regroup with Monkey. Having no combat ability of her own, Trip is vulnerable in instances where she is attacked by enemies. Her only defense is an EMP blast, which she can use to temporarily stun enemies threatening her.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Other than combat, the gameplay focuses heavily on platforming where Monkey can scale and leap across the ruins throughout the game. Some areas and platforms will collapse shortly after use, requiring faster scaling before Monkey potentially falls to his death. Trip plays a part in the platforming sections of the gameplay, making some sections of platforming akin to puzzle-styled forms of gameplay. In other instances where Monkey can make jumps/climbs, Trip needs to be thrown to the other side or ride on his back. In some sections of the game Monkey and Trip are separated so the player cannot use her abilities.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: "Enslaved" is set 150 years in the future after a global war has ravaged the Earth, destroying most of the human race and leaving the world plagued by robots, known as "mechs", left over from the war. Mechs still follow their programming and seek to eradicate hostiles, now surviving humans.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: The game opens with the main character, Monkey (Andy Serkis), awakening in a containment cell aboard a slave ship. He escapes and accidentally causes the vessel to crash. He reaches Trip (Lindsey Shaw) leaving the ship using an escape pod, but she ejects the pod without allowing him to enter. When Monkey regains consciousness after landing, he discovers Trip has placed a slave headband on him, which forces him to follow her orders; a Termination Trigger will kill him if she dies. Trip explains she wants to return to her village, and she needs his help to get there. Monkey is angry but has no other choice. As they travel across New York City, glitches in the headband expose Monkey to visions of what appears to be life before the war. When they reach Trip's village, however, they discover it was attacked and is now overrun with mechs. After clearing the village of them, Monkey and Trip discover Trip's father is dead, along with a large amount of other villagers. Assuming there are no survivors, Trip refuses to remove Monkey's headband, explaining her intent to find and kill the person responsible.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Trip takes Monkey to meet a friend of her father's named Pigsy (Richard Ridings), who she believes can help them. Pigsy explains that a nearby mech base is building a 'Leviathan', an enormous and incredibly powerful giant mech. The three infiltrate the base, commandeer Leviathan, and steer it to the mysterious Pyramid, where the slaves are being held. Along the way, Trip apologises to Monkey for breaking their deal and deactivates the headband, but Monkey tells her to turn it back on, hinting they have developed a romantic relationship.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: When the Leviathan reaches Pyramid, they are confronted with several mechs. The Leviathan's main cannon fends them off for a while, but one eventually climbs aboard and tears the cannon off, forcing Monkey to destroy the mech himself. With the Leviathan now defenseless and surrounded, Pigsy announces that the only way for them to destroy the opposing mechs is for him to overload the engines. This would blow up the Leviathan and kill Pigsy in the process. Trip frantically tries to convince him not to, but Pigsy demands that Monkey take her away from the blast radius. Monkey and Trip get away just in time to watch the Leviathan explode, destroying all of Pyramid's mechs with it.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: In the epilogue, Monkey and Trip enter Pyramid and discover the slaves are under the control of a single individual. The man introduces himself as Pyramid (Serkis) and explains that he lived before the war, and that he offers the slaves solace from the cruel world by sharing with them his memories of a happier era. He believes he is saving them and pleads with Monkey and Trip not to take away what he has given them. Monkey recognises the memories as the visions he has been seeing with the headband on. Pyramid shows Monkey what he has giving the slaves through a mask. Monkey becomes enthralled with the images, but Trip violently disconnects and kills Pyramid, shutting down the system and freeing the slaves. The scene ends with Trip asking Monkey if she did the right thing, leaving those in the pyramid and their future unknown.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Set prior to the events of "Enslaved", Pigsy lives a solitary life in the scrap yard with his only companion, a small flying robot named "Truffles" who helps him scout scraps and provides advice in combat. Because of his loneliness, Pigsy decides to build himself a friend. This will require three key components that he and Truffles must find in the scrap yard populated by mechs. While Truffles helps throughout his search, Pigsy seems unappreciative and prioritises his new creation. As Pigsy retrieves the last component, Truffles is damaged and shuts down in the process. With his new friend nearly complete, Pigsy learns what his creation actually needs is a "heart" and inserts Truffles inside. When activated, however, his creation runs amok before being gathered up by a salvaging mech. Pigsy gives chase and fights his way into the main scrap collector. When he finally retrieves Truffles and escapes, Pigsy realises Truffles was his real friend the entire time. Being greatly damaged, however, Truffles shuts down permanently. Pigsy realises too late he took his only friend for granted and vows not to make the same mistake again.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: In August 2009, Namco Bandai announced they would be collaborating with Ninja Theory on a new video game project. The game, initially titled "Enslaved", was announced in September 2010 for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Their previous project was the PlayStation 3 exclusive game "Heavenly Sword". Tameem Antoniades acted as the game's director, actor Andy Serkis provided motion capture for the title, film director and producer Alex Garland served as the game's writer and designer, and Nitin Sawhney composed the game's score. Using only two-thirds of the budget of "Heavenly Sword", the game's development was completed on 3 September 2010, and the game's publisher confirmed it had been declared gold, indicating it was being prepared for duplication and release.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: After completing "Heavenly Sword", Ninja Theory intended to develop a sequel but contractual terms with Sony Computer Entertainment forced them to halt the game's production. The studio decided to leave the title and all the technologies built for it to Sony and seek external funding from another publisher for their next project. This would eventually become "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West", powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine. Initially, Ninja Theory pitched the game to several Hollywood studios as a CGI film, but they were not interested in backing the project. The company dedicated three months to creating promotional materials to convince publishers to sign the game. A number of publishers were shown a detailed design document and a two-minute CGI trailer and the team received enthusiastic responses from them. Initially, they signed a deal with Green Screen, but the firm dissolved a month later. Namco Bandai Games later agreed to publish the game.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Mike Ball, CTO of Ninja Theory, revealed that the initial idea for the game came from "Heavenly Sword", in particular, the relationship between the protagonist Nariko and her companion Kai. This relationship resonated with players, and the team wanted to repeat their success with a set of easily recognisable characters. During "Heavenly Swords" development, Antoniades researched the "wuxia" genre and read the novel "Journey to the West". He found the novel "epic" and compared it favourably to "The Lord of the Rings". However, "Enslaved" is only a loose adaptation of the novel, with its characters loosely based on the novel's characters. The team decided to shift away from the "wuxia" theme to science fiction as it was a genre many staff on the development team wanted to explore. As a result, mechs replaced demons, and technology replaced magic. Initially, the game was set in a foreign world. The animations created by Hayao Miyazaki, whose works often integrate nature with steampunk, inspired the team. However, after watching "Life After People", the team decided to set the game on Earth, one that was peaceful as nature reclaimed it after humanity's disappearance. A lot of colour, in particular red, was injected into the game's world to reflect this.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Antoniades wrote the game's early drafts. Andy Serkis was involved in the development of "Enslaved" from the beginning; Garland became involved six months later. Garland wrote the game's script and designed the cutscenes to ensure the transition between cutscene and gameplay was smooth. Garland agreed to collaborate with Ninja Theory as he was actively looking for a way to become involved in a video game production. The script itself was initially developed separately for a time, and then the gameplay developers joined to "mesh" both the story and gameplay. To achieve this a cinematologist was employed to teach editing, camera and film language techniques. These techniques and the use of music were used to make coherent transitions between cutscenes and gameplay.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: One of the more important aspects of the script was the characterisation and interaction. The 2001 PlayStation 2 game "Ico" inspired the characters' relationships. Chief of development Nina Kristensen described protagonists Monkey and Trip as opposites at first whose relationship evolves as they learn to rely on each other in the hostile setting. Serkis helped create the game's characters. Trip's design went through several iterations. She was designed initially to look like a queen and have a pale appearance, so she would look "gothic". "Tank Girl" and Kai from "Heavenly Sword" inspired the second iteration of her character. She wore a costume that features the face of a character and had tattoos, which the team felt gave the character more personality and attitude. They tried to apply blue paint to Trip's hair, but found it unsuitable as it made her "too science fiction and punk". The initial design was deemed too "aggressive", so the team modified her design to make her look more delicate and fragile. Monkey has several design features. He wears a face paint, a reference to his counterpart in the "Journey to the West" novel, and a reflection of the character's tribal nature. Scars were added to his face to increase his sex appeal, while a cloth sash was used to replace Monkey's tail. According to Serkis, Monkey behaved like a "gruff hobo" in the game as opposed to being mischievous like he is in the novel. Monkey's hair was once designed as white, inspired by a picture of an albino gorilla.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: According to Antoniades, Garland's initial script was very simple, and the dialogue was "reductive". This was part of Garland's intention to reduce the use of story exposition in favour of creating more drama in the script. The actors' body language and vocal cues delivered more of the game's information and plot than the direct use of cutscenes. Initial scripts featured two hours of the cutscene, but it was drastically cut and reduced to only one hour and 10 minutes. To facilitate this style of storytelling, Garland suggested that camera control be taken away from players during certain moments of the game, so they will be introduced to and become aware of the game's environments, which further help to clarify the game's story. This led to an internal debate within the company, with other gameplay designers fearing it would break the gameplay flow. This feature was kept in the game. Antoniades said in hindsight that such techniques "helped keep things exciting".


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Ninja Theory developed the gameplay to include more variety than their last projects, with the introduction of platforming sessions and puzzles. Players use different approaches to combat, such as stealth, to avoid combat altogether and use Trip's abilities to their advantage. According to Antoniades, the design choice behind this was to make portions of the gameplay more tactical, being at times "a puzzle game in disguise" outside the actual puzzle portions of gameplay. The combat itself had fewer combination-style attacks than most combat-heavy action games. It was more accessible and stream-lined while including the different abilities, equipment, enemy types, and scenarios requiring thought so as not to become too easy. Trip's involvement could not make her a "dead-weight" to the gameplay. Instead, her unique abilities are helpful, making her the "brains" while Monkey is the "brute". Some gameplay features were cut from the final game. For instance, a mechanic which allows players to break the circuitry of a mech in first-person by pressing buttons like a music game was cut because it was not well-implemented.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Serkis considered the use of motion capture to be akin to that in a film where it helps craft the story in a virtual world. The studio utilised motion capture in an effort to capture realistic human emotions. The technology itself was said to be advanced, even requiring a mathematician for the more complex portions of coding. Beyond facial animation, most of the motion capture was utilised prominently during the cutscenes as many of the actions within the gameplay itself were considered "physically impossible". Serkis felt that the motion capture also allowed for better dialogue performances since it allows the actors to immerse themselves in the story, become emotionally engaged, thus delivering better performances. Serkis and the performance capture team also used a physical theatre to deliver believable performances. Lindsey Shaw was selected from some 60 actresses to provide performance capture for Trip at a casting session held in Los Angeles.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Garland was also involved in the game's designs. He offered advice on the positioning of the game's camera to ensure that each battle scenes was more "impactful". The team modified Trip's idle pose in accordance with Garland's advice. Garland often challenged the game's design team. He demanded every object and environment detail featured in the game make sense within its world to ensure the title is consistent throughout. Garland questioned the placement of random items like forest paths and powered doors for their relevance. When the team chose to include random encounters with enemies, Garland insisted on adding story elements to ensure they flowed well with the game's narrative and that the combat encounter would be "a payoff". Antoniades described Garland as "intimidating" and found his approach to storytelling eye-opening. His high expectations caused the game's producers to fear the title would not ship on time. Because of Garland's extensive involvement in the game's design, he was credited as one of its co-designers.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Nitin Sawhney, who had collaborated with Ninja Theory on "Heavenly Sword", served as the game's composer. According to Sawhney, the soundtrack's main theme was primarily based on "journey, transition and resolution", which also reflects the two protagonists' dynamic relationship. Sawhney's said his second collaboration with Ninja Theory was more fluid and smooth as he had more materials like an early script and animation to use as references, while he composed the score.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Before the game's release, Namco Bandai made a playable demo available over the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on 21 September 2010. The demo features the first playable chapter of the game where Monkey escapes the crashing slave ship. Along with the standard edition of the game, various video game and general retailers offered exclusive extra content to those who pre-ordered it. In North America alone, there were five different versions from different retailers. EB Games Canada and GameStop offered a downloadable extra costume for Monkey called Ninja Monkey that came with "rare stun and plasma blast staff ammo". Walmart offered a "Classic Monkey" costume based on the original tale's protagonist and Best Buy offered a robot skin for Trip. Amazon offered the official soundtrack to the game while Target Corporation offered a miniature paperback comic.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: In the UK, other retailers and websites like Game and Play.com offered similar bonuses. HMV released the Talent Pack, which came in exclusive presentation packaging and included the official soundtrack and a copy of Garland's novel "The Tesseract". Across Europe, a Collector's Edition was also released that featured both the game's original soundtrack and a hardback art book. The game was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 5 and 8 October 2010 in North America and Europe. Namco Bandai released the game's Windows version on 25 October 2013. This version, also known as the Premium Edition, bundles the base game with the "Pigsy's Perfect 10" downloadable content (DLC) and several character skins. It was also available for purchase via PlayStation Network.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: "Pigsy's Perfect 10" is a downloadable expansion to "Enslaved". It is a prequel to the main story where players take control of the character Pigsy. It is a side-story rather than being directly linked so as to not interfere with events in "Enslaved". As well as the new chapters, the DLC also provides the option to display and play both the main game and the add-on in stereoscopic 3D. It uses the TriOviz for Games Technology which allows the game to display in three dimensions on 3D-HDTV set (via HDMI 1.3 or HDMI 1.4 connection) as well as on traditional 2D-HDTV sets with the Inficolor 3D glasses. The DLC was first released on both platforms on 23 November 2010. Several download codes for "Pigsy's Perfect 10" malfunctioned, prompting Namco Bandai to issue an apology and code replacements.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Since the player takes the role of Pigsy, the gameplay has also changed because he is a different character and build than Monkey. While Pigsy can still climb over terrain, he cannot scale buildings as fast or athletically. Instead, he utilises a mechanical grappling hand attached to his own to reach higher places and swing over obstacles and large gaps. In combat, without the same fighting skills as Monkey, Pigsy wields a long-ranged rifle and grenades instead. Stealth is also a preferable approach to gameplay, sometimes requiring avoiding combat altogether.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: According to review aggregator Metacritic, the console version of the game received positive reviews from critics, while the Windows version received mixed reviews. The game was nominated at the DICE Awards for Adventure Game of the Year. It was also nominated at the Ivor Novello Award in the Best Original Video Game Score category. Garland and Antoniades won Best Game at the UK Writers Guild Award.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Jim Sterling of "Destructoid" praised the "stunning" graphics, and found the game's colorful environments refreshing to look at. They liked the performance artists' work, which they described as "wonderful", singling out Serkis' acting as the best of the entire cast. "GameSpot"s Tom McShea strongly commended the game's cutscenes, calling them "superbly made", and praised the game's reliance on character movements to tell a story rather than using dialogue. Matthew Keast of GamesRadar applauded the game's world for being original and imaginative, though he thought the title needed more time before release for further polishing. "Eurogamer"s Ellie Gibson praised the game's soundtrack, describing it as "impressive" and praising it for further elevating the gameplay experiences. Justin McElroy of "Joystiq" however, noted that the game had several technical issues, such as a low frame rate and occasionally clunky controls. "IGN"s Arthur Gies called the game's graphics "beautiful" with unique and distinct character designs. However, he shared McElroy's concern, saying there were several graphical glitches that slightly undermine the experience. Andrew Reiner of "Game Informer" also criticized the game's lack of polish, citing texture hiccups and camera issues as key problems.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Sterling called the relationship between Trip and Monkey believable and complex, and called the game's cast one of the best of the year. They also applauded the game's writing and dialogue and the story for smoothly integrating different elements from comedy to tragedy to action. McElroy praised Garland's writing, and compared it favorably to "". He also liked the game's cast of characters and wanted to see more of them. McShea noted that the unlikely pairing of Trip and Monkey provided a great driving force for the story and enabled players to relate and connect to them. Reiner also praised the characters for being relatable, and commented on the protagonists' evolving relationship positively. Gibson called the game's opening hour clichéd and subpar, but he strongly praised Garland's script for avoiding needless exposition. Keast agreed, describing its approach to storytelling as "mature". Gies strongly praised the story for being believable and moving, noting that it was one of the best stories in any video game.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: The game's combat was viewed positively by Sterling. They felt it is simple and satisfying, though they found the dodge mechanic for Monkey useless and that it created minor annoyances. They singled out the "Cloud" device as one of his favorite gameplay systems, though they lamented that there are not many opportunities to use it. McShea found the combat basic, requiring players to be constantly mashing buttons, though he enjoyed it for being "brutal" and "satisfying". He commended the developers for adding platforming sessions, boss fights and puzzles into the game to break up its pacing. Keast commented that the combat is more "tactical" and "methodical", though he noted that it was not as complex as other titles like "God of War" or "". Gibson called the gameplay "solid", but she was disappointed by its lack of innovation and depth. Gies commented on the noticeable delay between players' input and in-game action. He felt the combat was not interesting and varied enough. Reiner agreed, writing that while the combat was visceral, it was neither deep nor interesting. Sterling, Reiner, Keast and Gibson were disappointed by the platforming sections' lack of challenges. Both Gibson and Keast criticised the game for handholding players excessively with different guides.


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Namco Bandai hoped they would sell over a million copies of "Enslaved". The publisher revealed in November 2010 that the game only sold 800,000 copies worldwide, but the figure was corrected to 460,000 in February 2011. By September 2011 sales of 730,000 had been achieved, but this was not considered substantial enough to warrant continuation of the franchise so a planned sequel was cancelled. Namco blamed the game's release in a crowded window as the key factor it is a commercial failure. In 2014, Tameem Antoniades stated, speaking of the game's poor sales "I'm not sure if the fantasy elements were a turn-off, the gameplay mix, or the lack of visibility. It was probably a mix of all three".


title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

text: Tameem Antoniades was asked in April 2017 in a Game Informer interview about what he would like to do with potential sequels for "", "Heavenly Sword", and "Enslaved", with a mutual understanding between him and the interviewer that Ninja Theory no longer owns the IPs for those games and such a sequel would be decided by the publishers. In regards to "Enslaved", he said the game was too similar to Guerrilla Games' 2017 video game "Horizon Zero Dawn" and that an "Enslaved" sequel would have to take a different direction.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Tangyuan () is a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into a ball that is served in a hot broth or syrup. They come in varying sizes, anything between a marble to a ping pong ball, and are sometimes stuffed with filling. Tangyuan is traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, but because its name is a homophone for union () and symbolizes togetherness and completeness, this dish is also served at weddings, family reunions, Chinese New Year, and the Dōngzhì (winter solstice) festival.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Tangyuan is traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of a lunar new year, which is the first full moon. The festival falls each year on a day in February in the International calendar. People eat Tangyuan for good luck and hopes of filling their life with sweetness and joy.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: The traditional filling for Tangyuan is made from sesame, peanuts, sugar and animal fat. The Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road enabled the exchange of goods and ideas. Sesame were imported from Central Asia during the Han Dyanasty (202-220BC), and peanuts entered the country from the Philippines during the Ming Dyansty (1368-1644).


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: The practice of eating Tangyuan has been around for over 2,000 years, and has had several names over the years. During the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, it was called "Yuanxiao" (derived from the Yuanxiao Festival) in northern China. This name translates to "first evening", where "yuan" means round or full, and "xiao" means night.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: People in southern China called the dish "Tangyuan" or "Tangtuan". In the Hakka and Cantonese varieties of Chinese, "Tangyuan" is pronounced as "tong rhen" or "tong jyun". The term tangtuan (Hakka: "tong ton", Cantonese: "tong tun") is not commonly used. Legend has it that during Yuan Shikai's rule from 1912 to 1916, he disliked the name "yuanxiao" () because it sounded identical to "remove Yuan" (); thus he gave orders to change the name to "Tangyuan". This new moniker directly translates to "round balls in soup" or "round dumplings in soup". Nowadays, "Tangyuan" refers to the southern style, whereas "Yuanxiao" refers to the northern style. The two are primarily differentiated by their method of preparation.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Tangyuan originates from southern China, whereas people in the north call the dish, Yuanxiao. Like Tangyuan, Yuanxiao is a glutinous rice balled stuffed with filling that's eaten during the Lantern Festival and other important gatherings. Although they look alike, they are two separate things. The fundamental difference lies in their making, fillings, cooking and storage.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: "Yuanxiao" has sweet and solid fillings and is served in a thick broth. The surface tends to be dry and soft and has a short shelf life. The process of making the dish begins with preparing the solid fillings that are then cut into small pieces. The filling is dipped into water then the dry glutinous rice flour repeatedly, until a round shape is achieved.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: "Tangyuan" can be stuffed with a variety of soft filling that are either sweet or salty, and is served in a thinner soup"." The texture is smooth and glutinous, and can be stored frozen for a long time. Tangyuan is made by wrapping the soft filling in a glutinous rice "dough" and shaping it into a ball. The southern variation is served in a broth that changes depending on the filling. Daikon radish and fish cake broth is used for savory fillings, or tong sui, which is "sugar water," for sweeter options.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, Tangyuan is traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year, and gatherings with family to celebrate. Its round shape and the bowls in which they are served in holds cultural and symbolic significance, symbolizing togetherness, unity, and reunion.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Tangyuan is a versatile dessert with a delicate taste and soft, chewy texture. While it can be served in its simplest form as a plain white ball of glutinous rice, it can also be stuffed, colored, fried, and boiled. The process of making Tangyuan is comparable to making dumplings: wrap the glutinous rice around the filling that is filled with lard oil and shape it into a ball with your hands. Tangyuan can either be sweet and savory, using more traditional fillings like black sesame. Sweet Tangyuan can be served in ginger-infused syrup, whereas savory Tangyuan are served in a clear soup broth. Unfilled Tangyuan are served as part of a sweet dessert soup known in Cantonese cuisine as tong sui (literally: "sugar water").


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: While tangyuan began as a traditional delicacy eaten during festivals, it has now evolved into a dessert that is consumed year-round. As it became more widespread, different renditions are introduced to the traditional Chinese Tangyuan to cater to consumers. New fillings, shapes, and coloring of the glutinous rice are introduced; chocolate and custard fillings are substituting traditional approaches.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: The most renowned varieties come from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province. However, they are traditionally eaten throughout China.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Tangyuan has also come to be associated with the Winter Solstice and Chinese New Year in various regions. Today, the food is eaten all year round. Mass-produced tangyuan is commonly found in the frozen food section of Asian supermarkets in China and overseas.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: As the Chinese dessert spread to other regions of Asia, a variety of renditions emerged from different cultures.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Yuanxiao is very similar to Tangyuan, and is often confused with each other and used interchangeably. Like Tangyuan, the dessert is a glutinous rice balled stuffed with filling that's eaten during the Lantern Festival and other important gatherings. Although they look alike, they are two separate things. The fundamental difference lies in their making, fillings, cooking and storage. Yuanxiao originates from northern China, and has sweet and solid fillings, like sesame and bean paste, and is served in a thick broth. The surface tends to be dry and soft and has a short shelf life.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: "Muah Chee" is another similar dish that originates from southern China. It is a steamed sticky dough made of glutinous flour that is cut into small pieces and coated with sugar and finely crushed roasted peanuts or toasted sesame.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: "Jiandui (Chinese: 煎䭔; pinyin: jiānduī)," or "Sesame Balls" is a variation of Tangyuan. It is made with glutinous rice flour, that is fried and coated with sesame seeds to achieve a crisp, chewy texture. The insides of the dessert is hollow and is stuffed with lotus paste, black sesame, or red bean paste.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: Japanese "Daifukumochi" is similar to Tangyuan. It was initially introduced from Southeast Asia during the Heian period, and is eaten during the New Year. The traditional Japanese dessert is mochi (glutinous rice) stuffed in sweet filling like anko, which is a sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans. While "Daifukumochi" is similar to Tangyuan, the preparation process is different. A process called wet milling is used to achieve its chewy texture, that is less soft than its Chinese counterpart.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: In Indonesia, an adapted version, called "Wedang Ronde" ("Wedang" in Javanese means "beverage", and "Ronde" means "round ball"), is a popular food eaten during cold temperatures. The round colored balls of glutinous rice can be filled with crushed peanuts and sugar, or left plain and is served in a sweetened, mild ginger broth often boiled in fragrant pandan leaves. Crushed, toasted peanuts, tapioca pearls, and slices of coconut can also be added.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: In Malaysia, "Buah Melaka" translated as Malaccan's fruit is a dessert mainly made of glutinous rice flour which is popular among Malay Malaysians. The green pandan colored ball is sprinkled with dry coconut shavings and filled with semi-liquefied sweet "Gula Melaka" or Malaccan's sugar, a type of molasses made from palm nectar. It is enjoyed throughout the tropical summer year and usually sold by Malay street's hawkers. It is usually enjoyed during teatime and breakfast. A good accompaniment is to drink with hot Darjeeling's tea. “Buah Melaka” is most likely originated from Chinese Peranakan Baba and Nyonya recipe from Malacca, hence the name.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: In Myanmar (Burma), "mont lone yay baw" (မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်) is a traditional festive dish, served during Thingyan, and filled with pieces of jaggery and served with coconut shavings.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: In the Philippines, "ginataang bilo-bilò" is also served in coconut milk, and sometimes local produce such as plantains ("sabà"), tapioca, and/or sweet potatoes are also added in. The traditional Chinese tangyuan though is usually called in Hokkien by Chinese Filipinos as "chiōng-uân-îⁿ" () or "siōng-guân-îⁿ" ().


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: In Thailand, "bua loi" (บัวลอย) is a sweet glutinous rice flour balls in the coconut milk or ginger syrup.


title: Tangyuan (food)

text: In southern Vietnam, a similar dish called "chè xôi nước", is served in a mild, sweet liquid flavored with grated ginger root. In northern Vietnam, "bánh trôi" (also called "bánh trôi nước") and "bánh chay" are analogous, with the latter being served with coconut milk.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in the city, marked the commencement of the first term of Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: "A New Birth of Freedom", a phrase from the Gettysburg Address, served as the inaugural theme to commemorate the 200-year anniversary of the birth year of President Abraham Lincoln. In his speeches to the crowds, Obama referred to ideals expressed by Lincoln about renewal, continuity, and national unity. Obama mentioned these ideals in his speech to stress the need for shared sacrifice and a new sense of responsibility to answer America's challenges at home and abroad.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: Obama and others paid homage to Lincoln in the form of tributes and references during several events, starting with a commemorative train tour from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2009. The inaugural events held in Washington from January 18 to 21, 2009, included concerts, a national day of community service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the swearing-in ceremony, luncheon and parade, inaugural balls, and the interfaith inaugural prayer service. The presidential oath as administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to Obama during his swearing-in ceremony on January 20 strayed slightly from the oath of office prescribed in the United States Constitution, which led to its re‑administration the next day.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: In addition to a larger than usual celebrity attendance, the Presidential Inaugural Committee increased its outreach to ordinary citizens to encourage greater participation in inaugural events compared with participation in recent past inaugurations. For the first time, the committee opened the entire length of the National Mall as the public viewing area for the swearing-in ceremony, breaking with the tradition of past inaugurations. Selected American citizens participated in the train tour and other inaugural events. A philanthropist organized a People's Inaugural Ball for disadvantaged people who otherwise could not afford to attend the inaugural festivities. Among the celebrations for the inauguration, the committee hosted a first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball with free or affordable tickets for ordinary citizens.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: By definition, the inauguration marked the formal culmination of the presidential transition of Barack Obama that began when he won the United States presidential election on November 4, 2008, and became the president-elect. In accordance with of the United States Constitution, Obama resigned from the United States Senate effective November 16, 2008. He was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 15, 2008. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 8, 2009.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: Obama, who originally campaigned using the slogan "Change We Can Believe In" and later "Change We Need", was widely celebrated as the first African American president of the United States and a symbol of change from his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush. Obama also represented a generational change as the first man elected president who was born in the 1960s. He inherited what Peter Orszag termed an "economic mess" that became known as the late-2000s financial crisis. Obama was 47 years, 169 days old on the day of taking the office, which makes him the fifth youngest person to be inaugurated to date.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The inauguration was planned primarily by two committees: the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Although the election was scheduled for November 4, 2008, the congressional committee began constructing the inaugural platform on September 24, 2008.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The swearing-in ceremony and the inaugural luncheon for President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden were planned by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, a committee composed of United States Senators Dianne Feinstein, committee chair, Bob Bennett and Harry Reid, and United States Representatives John Boehner, Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi. The committee is overseen by the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies chose the inaugural theme, "A New Birth of Freedom", a phrase from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address from the Civil War era. The theme, which was selected by the committee to mark the inaugural occasion and honor the 200th anniversary year of Lincoln's birth, expressed "Lincoln's hope that the sacrifice of those who died to preserve the United States would lead to 'a new birth of freedom' for the nation." In his reliance on the inaugural theme, Obama wanted "to give Americans reassurance that today, as in Lincoln's time, the country would find its way through any crisis".


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The congressional committee released the full schedule of the January 20 inaugural events on December 17, 2008. The inauguration schedule referred to the president‑elect as "Barack H. Obama", although Obama specified previously that he intended to use his full name for his swearing-in ceremony, including his middle name Hussein. Obama decided to use his full name "Barack Hussein Obama" to "follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement one way or the other" for the inaugural ceremony. During the election campaign, Obama's detractors tried to use his middle name to imply falsely that he was a Muslim.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The District of Columbia City Council passed legislation to enable bars and restaurants to stay open around‑the‑clock to provide hospitality services to the inaugural festivities attendees. After reaching an agreement with the congressional committee, District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty signed legislation to temporarily allow bars and restaurants to operate 24 hours during the weekend leading up to the inauguration, but with 4:00 am EST as the cut‑off for alcoholic beverage service. The Hotel Association of Metropolitan Washington agreed to pay for extended train service provided by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on January 19 to accommodate visitors attending inaugural events and workers providing support for those events.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee organized several other inauguration‑related events at the direction of the president‑elect and vice president‑elect of the United States, such as the train ride, concerts, parade, balls and prayer service. The co-chairs of the committee were William Daley, Penny Pritzker, John W. Rogers Jr., Patrick Ryan and Julianna Smoot.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: For the first time in history, the Presidential Inaugural Committee opened the full length of National Mall, which extends from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, as the public viewing area for the swearing-in ceremony. The presidential committee set aside a section of the mall close to the U.S. Capitol for people holding reserved tickets for the inaugural event. The committee directed the opening of the entire National Mall to make the event "'the most open and accessible in history,' allowing those who [could not] get the [reserved] tickets to the swearing-in ceremony on the Capitol grounds to fill the mall". To enable people in attendance to see and hear the swearing-in ceremony, the committee arranged for placement of JumboTrons at points along the entire mall.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: Despite criticism that such a large event could not be carbon-friendly, the presidential committee incorporated environment-friendly measures in its planning of the inaugural events. The environmental measures included the use of recyclable carpet for the platform, retrieval of recyclable items from outdoor areas after an event, and the use of recycled paper for invitations and inaugural ball tickets.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee attempted to raise more individual contributions in smaller dollar amounts compared with the second inauguration of George W. Bush in 2005. The 2009 contribution limit was set at $50,000 for donations by individuals, whereas individuals and companies were able to give a maximum of $250,000 apiece for the 2005 event. As of January 30, 2009, the presidential committee raised more than $53 million, with at least 458 people giving the committee-imposed maximum of $50,000, including celebrity donors such as George Soros, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx and George Lucas. Emphasizing a change from business as usual, the committee set stringent guidelines for campaign contributions, barring donations from corporations, political action committees, registered federal lobbyists, labor and trade unions, registered foreign agents and non-U.S. citizens. The committee did accept donations from people with active lobbying interests before the federal government, but not registered as federal lobbyists, such as Google executive Eric Schmidt and Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: Based on its fundraising efforts and crowd estimates for the Obama inauguration, the presidential committee set its budget at $160–$170 million for the inauguration, including about $45 million for the gala events. The federal government contributed about $49 million, including $1.2 million to cover the actual swearing-in ceremony. The District of Columbia and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia projected costs to provide support for inaugural events at more than $75 million alone for police, fire and medical services. To help fund the efforts, President George W. Bush declared a federal state of emergency as a precaution so that funds could be sought from Federal Emergency Management Agency.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: The Presidential Inaugural Committee and members of the 111th U.S. Congress distributed invitations and color-coded tickets to both dignitaries and ordinary citizens for the reserved sections on or near the U.S. Capitol grounds to view the swearing-in ceremony. Invitations and tickets were sent to ambassadors and chiefs of diplomatic missions to the United States and their spouses, but not to other representatives of foreign countries, and invitations were distributed to U.S. politicians and an array of dignitaries across the spectrum of business and industry. House and Senate congressional members distributed free tickets for the inaugural ceremony to the public by lottery or on a first‑come, first served basis because of overwhelming requests to attend the event.


title: First inauguration of Barack Obama

text: Because of high demand and limited availability of the reserved tickets, some people planned to offer their tickets for sale through ticket brokers, Internet auctions and classified listing services. Sales offers for tickets reached as high as $1,750 each for the reserved standing room section behind the Capitol Reflecting Pool, $5,500 each for the reserved standing room section in front of the Reflecting Pool and $20,000 each for the VIP section on the Capitol grounds. In one case, a former legislative aide to Representative Ted Poe was exposed by a prospective buyer after the former aide used Craigslist and e‑mail to offer five tickets to the buyer for $4,500.