title: Merry Brandybuck

text: Long before Bilbo Baggins left the Shire, Merry knew of the One Ring and its power of invisibility. He guarded Bag End after Bilbo's party, protecting Frodo from unwanted guests. Merry was a force behind "the Conspiracy" of Sam, Pippin, Fredegar Bolger and himself to help Frodo. He assembled the company's packs and brought ponies. His shortcut through the Old Forest distanced them from the Black Riders, the Nazgûl, for a time. In the Barrow-downs, he is given his sword, a dagger forged in the kingdom of Arthedain. Arriving at Bree, Merry was not celebrating in the "Prancing Pony" when Frodo put on the Ring; he was outside taking a solitary walk, and was nearly overcome by a Nazgûl. At Rivendell, he was seen studying maps and plotting their path. Elrond reluctantly admitted him and Pippin to the Company of the Ring.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: Halted at the entrance to Moria, Merry asked Gandalf the meaning of the door inscription "Speak, friend, and enter". When Gandalf, having unsuccessfully tried many door-opening spells, discovered the true interpretation, he said "Merry, of all people, was on the right track".


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: At Amon Hen, the Hill of Seeing, the Company hesitated in confusion, and scattered. Merry and Pippin were captured by a band of Saruman's Uruk-hai, despite Boromir's defence. Escaping with Pippin into Fangorn forest, they were rescued by the leader of the Ents, Treebeard, and given an Ent-draught to drink: it made them both grow unnaturally tall for hobbits. Accompanying Treebeard to the Entmoot and later to the wizard Saruman's fortress of Isengard, which the ents destroyed, they took up residence in a gate-house, meeting King Théoden of Rohan, and were reunited with the Fellowship.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: Merry swore allegiance to Théoden and became his esquire. Against Théoden's orders, he rode to Gondor with the King's niece Éowyn, who disguised herself as a common soldier. In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, while the leader of the Nazgûl was preoccupied with Éowyn, Merry stabbed him behind his knee. The Black Captain stumbled, enabling Éowyn to kill him. This fulfilled the prophecy that he would not be killed "by the hand of man," as it was a hobbit and a woman that ended his life. Éomer made Meriadoc a Knight of the Mark for his bravery.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: After the War of the Ring, Merry and Pippin returned home as the tallest of hobbits, only to find that Saruman had taken over the Shire. Merry and Pippin roused the hobbits to revolt. During the resulting Scouring of the Shire, Merry commanded the hobbit forces, and killed the leader of Saruman's "ruffians" at the Battle of Bywater. Sometime afterwards, Merry married Estella Bolger. Merry inherited the title Master of Buckland at the start of the Fourth Age. He became a historian of the Shire. At the age of 102, Merry returned to Rohan and Gondor with Pippin; they died in Gondor, and were laid to rest among the Kings of Gondor in Rath Dínen, then moved to lie next to Aragorn. His son succeeded him as Master of Buckland.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: When Merry first appeared in Tolkien's early drafts, his name was Drogo Took. He was later renamed Vigo, and the name Drogo reassigned to Frodo's father. After that, he was renamed Marmaduke, and finally Meriadoc Brandybuck.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: The name "Meriadoc" has sometimes been seen as an allusion to the nobleman Conan Meriadoc, legendary founder of the medieval House of Rohan in Brittany, since Tolkien's Meriadoc is closely associated with his fictional kingdom of Rohan. Tolkien however denied that the Breton name had any connection with his fictional kingdom.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: In the prefaces and appendices to "The Lord of the Rings", Tolkien employed the conceit that he was the modern translator of a unique manuscript, the "Red Book of Westmarch", and that his stories of Middle-earth derived from that. In this guise of translator, he maintained that the character's real name was not "Meriadoc Brandybuck", but rather "Kalimac Brandagamba". This was said to be an actual phonetic transcription of the name in Tolkien's invented language of Westron, which Tolkien pretended that he was transliterating to English. The nickname "Merry" then represented his actual nickname "Kali", meaning "handsome, happy", and "Meriadoc" served as a plausible name from which a nickname meaning "happy" could be derived.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: The critic Jane Chance Nitzsche discusses the role of Merry and his friend Pippin in illuminating the contrast between the "good and bad Germanic lords Theoden and Denethor". She writes that both leaders receive the allegiance of a hobbit, but very differently: Theoden, King of Rohan, treats Merry with love, which is reciprocated, whereas Denethor, Steward of Gondor, undervalues Pippin because he is small, and binds him with a harsh formal oath.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes that Tolkien uses the two hobbits and their low simple humour as foils for the much higher romance to which he was aspiring with the more heroic and kingly figures of Theoden, Denethor, and Aragorn: an unfamiliar and old-fashioned writing style that might otherwise, Shippey writes, have lost his readers entirely. He notes that Merry and Pippin serve, too, as guides to introduce the reader to seeing the various non-human characters, letting the reader know that an ent looks like an old tree stump or "almost like the figure of some gnarled old man". The two apparently minor hobbits have another role, Shippey writes: it is to remain of good courage when strong men start to doubt whether victory is possible, as when Merry encourages Theoden when even he seems to be succumbing to "horror and doubt".


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: Another purpose, writes the Tolkien critic Paul Kocher, is given by Tolkien himself, in the words of the wizard Gandalf: "the young hobbits ... were brought to Fangorn, and their coming was like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains." Kocher observes that Tolkien is describing Merry and Pippin's role in the same terms as he spells out Gollum's purpose and Gandalf's "reincarnation"; in Kocher's words, the "finger of Providence" can be glimpsed: "All are filling roles written for them by the same great playwright."


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: Julaire Andelin, in the "J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia", writes that prophecy in Middle-earth depended on characters' understanding of the Music of the Ainur, the divine plan for Arda, and was often ambiguous. Thus, Glorfindel's prophecy "not by the hand of man will [the Lord of the Nazgûl] fall" did not lead the Lord of the Nazgûl to suppose that he would die at the hands of a woman and a hobbit.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: Shippey states that the prophecy, and the Witch-king's surprise at finding Dernhelm to be a woman, parallel the witches' statement to Macbeth that he may "laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth" (Act 4, scene 1), and Macbeth's shock at learning that Macduff "was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripp'd" (as Macduff was born by Caesarean section: Act 5, scene 8). Thus, Shippey notes, despite Tolkien's stated dislike of Shakespeare's treatment of myth, he read "Macbeth" closely.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of "The Lord of the Rings", Merry was voiced by Simon Chandler.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: In the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of "The Return of the King", made for television, the character was voiced by the radio personality Casey Kasem.


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: He was portrayed by Sergey Shelgunov in the 1991 Russian television play "Khraniteli", and by Jarmo Hyttinen in the 1993 Finnish miniseries "Hobitit".


title: Merry Brandybuck

text: In Peter Jackson's 2001–2003 film trilogy adaptation of the books, Merry was portrayed by Dominic Monaghan as a cheerful prankster full of fun and practical jokes.


title: Lysander

text: Lysander (; ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played a key role in Sparta's domination of Greece for the next decade until his death at the Battle of Haliartus.


title: Lysander

text: Lysander's vision for Sparta differed from most Spartans; he wanted to overthrow the Athenian Empire and replace it with Spartan hegemony.


title: Lysander

text: Little is known of Lysander's early life. His year of birth is estimated at 454 BC. Some ancient authors record that his mother was a helot or slave. Lysander's father was Aristocritus, who was a member of the Spartan Heracleidae; that is, he claimed descent from Heracles but was not a member of a royal family. According to Plutarch, Lysander grew up in poverty and showed himself obedient, conformed to norms, and had a "manly spirit".


title: Lysander

text: It was custom in the Spartan upbringing for a young adult to be assigned as the "inspirer" ("eispnelas") or "lover" ("erastes") of an adolescent, and Lysander was matched in this role with the future king Agesilaus, the younger son of Archidamus II. Nothing is known of Lysander's actual career before he was elected, in 408, to Sparta's annual office of admiral, to conduct the long-running Peloponnesian War against Athens.


title: Lysander

text: From Sparta Lysander set out to gather ships at Rhodes, then sent for more from Chios, made his way through Cos and Miletus, and finally Ephesus, Sparta's main naval base in Ionia. His arrival was shortly followed by that of Cyrus, young son of the Persian king Darius, who had been appointed by his father as governor of the provinces of Asia Minor in response to an earlier Spartan embassy requesting increased aid in the war against Athens. Lysander promptly went to meet Cyrus at his headquarters in nearby Sardis, and with calculated deference made a deep impression on the young prince, developing with him a close friendship that was to have a decisive effect in the course of the war. Cyrus began funding Sparta's war effort on a large scale, and was encouraged to increase the pay of Lysander's crews from three to four obols, increasing their morale and Lysander's popularity among them. Once back in Ephesus, Lysander summoned a conference of influential oligarchs from all over the Greek cities in the Aegean, encouraged them to organize into political clubs ("hetaireiai"), and promised to put them in power in their respective cities in the event of Athens' defeat. In doing so, Lysander created in effect a network of clients who were loyal to him personally and contributed to Sparta's war effort with increased eagerness.


title: Lysander

text: As Lysander was fitting out his vessels at Ephesus, an Athenian fleet roughly the size of his own, led by the famous Alcibiades, set up anchor at the nearby port of Notium. At first, the Spartan was content to refuse battle and let his higher wages, funded by Cyrus, encourage desertions among the enemy crews. Eventually, however, one of the Athenian officers, despite orders to stay put, was drawn into a fight with an advance party of Peloponnesian ships. Lysander gave a timely order for his entire fleet to advance, and drove off the intruder before they had properly deployed for battle, inflicting modest losses. Alcibiades, who had been away on urgent business, returned upon hearing of this setback and again offered battle off Ephesus, but Lysander once more refused, and the Athenians had to withdraw.


title: Lysander

text: However, Lysander ceased to be the Spartan navarch after this victory and, in accordance with the Spartan law, was replaced by Callicratidas. Callicratidas' ability to continue the war at sea was neatly sabotaged when Lysander returned all the donated funds to Cyrus when he left office.


title: Lysander

text: After Callicratidas was defeated and killed at the battle of Arginusae (406), Cyrus and the oligarchic clubs which Lysander had sponsored all sent embassies to Sparta requesting the former admiral's return to command. The Spartan government consented, a sign of confidence in his ability and an endorsement of his policy of supporting oligarchies in the Greek cities. As Spartan law did not allow an admiral to hold office twice, Lysander was instead appointed the secretary ("epistoleus") or second-in-command to Callicratidas's eventual successor, Aracus, with the understanding that the latter would allow Lysander to take the lead. Making his base at Ephesus again, the Spartan began gathering and rebuilding the remnants of the Peloponnesian fleet in the Aegean, once again with the full cooperation of his Greek allies and Cyrus. In the meantime, Lysander visited Miletus, an ally of Sparta, and deceitfully massacred some leading democrats during a festival in early 405 to place his own adherents in power. In the summer, Lysander's principal benefactor, Cyrus, was summoned to the deathbed of his father, the King, and, before departing, took the extraordinary step of entrusting the Spartan with his entire treasury and with the revenues from the Persian-ruled cities under his administration.


title: Lysander

text: Lysander finally set sail with some 200 ships, and among his early actions, which are variously reported by the sources, was the enslavement of the population of Cedreae, an ally of Athens. He continued toward the Hellespont to threaten the route of grain transports to Athens from the Black Sea, forcing the Athenians to send their fleet, 180 ships, in pursuit. Lysander set up anchor at Lampsacus and plundered it, while the Athenians took up a position at Aegospotami in the opposing shore of the straits. For several days Lysander refused battle, studying the opponent's moves, until, during a moment of enemy carelessness, he surprised the Athenians and captured most of their vessels as they were still ashore and unmanned. The entire Athenian fleet was gone, and Sparta had finally won the Peloponnesian War.


title: Lysander

text: Now in full command of the seas, Lysander began touring the Aegean to receive the surrender of enemy strongholds, ordering all captured Athenian garrisons and cleruchs (colonists) home in order to overcrowd the city and hasten its surrender through famine. In many Greek cities, he installed ten-man governing boards (decarchies) whose members were selected from the oligarchic clubs he had sponsored earlier, supported and supervised by a Spartan harmost (military governor). Democrats and other opponents of his narrow oligarchies were often massacred or banished. In a propaganda gesture he restored places like Aegina, Melos and Scione to populations whom the Athenians had forcibly uprooted throughout the course of the war.


title: Lysander

text: Following an unsuccessful attempt to bring about Athens's surrender with a show of force off Attica in autumn 405, Lysander began establishing contacts with Athenian oligarchic exiles and sponsored their return to the city as one of the conditions for peace, which was finally concluded in spring 404. Lysander received the surrender of the last of Athens's allies, Samos, in the summer of 404, after which he went in person to Athens in response to an appeal by Athenian oligarchs. On the anniversary of the battle of Salamis, Lysander sailed into the Peiraeus, ordered the razing of Athens's city walls and the burning of its fleet, and sent for female flautists from the city to play music as the deed was carried out. He also oversaw a meeting of the Athenian assembly which effectively abolished Athens's democracy and replaced it with a governing board of thirty oligarchs (the Thirty Tyrants).


title: Lysander

text: After storming and seizing Samos, Lysander returned to Sparta. Alcibiades, the former Athenian leader, emerged after the Spartan victory at Aegospotami and took refuge in Phrygia, northwestern Asia Minor with Pharnabazus, its Persian satrap. He sought Persian assistance for the Athenians. However, the Spartans decided that Alcibiades must be removed and Lysander, with the help of Pharnabazus, arranged the assassination of Alcibiades.


title: Lysander

text: Lysander amassed a huge fortune from his victories against the Athenians and brought the riches home to Sparta. For centuries the possession of money was illegal in Lacedaemonia, but the newly minted navy required funds and Persia could not be trusted to maintain financial support. Roman historian Plutarch strongly condemns Lysander's introduction of money; despite being publicly held, he argues its mere presence corrupted rank-and-file Spartans who witnessed their government's newfound value for it. Corruption quickly followed; while general Gylippus ferried treasure home, he embezzled a great amount and was condemned to death in absentia.


title: Lysander

text: The Athenian general Thrasybulus, who had been exiled from Athens by the Spartans' puppet government, led the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government. In 403 BC, he commanded a small force of exiles that invaded Attica and, in successive battles, defeated first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchic government (which included Lysander) in the Battle of Munychia. The leader of the Thirty Tyrants, Critias, was killed in the battle.


title: Lysander

text: The Battle of Piraeus was then fought between Athenian exiles who had defeated the government of the Thirty Tyrants and occupied Piraeus and a Spartan force sent to combat them. In the battle, the Spartans defeated the exiles, despite their stiff resistance. Despite opposition from Lysander, after the battle Pausanias the Agiad King of Sparta, arranged a settlement between the two parties which allowed the re-establishment of democratic government in Athens.


title: Lysander

text: Lysander still had influence in Sparta despite his setbacks in Athens. He was able to persuade the Spartans to select Agesilaus II, his younger lover, as the new Eurypontid Spartan king following the death of Agis II, and to persuade the Spartans to support Cyrus the Younger in his unsuccessful rebellion against his older brother, Artaxerxes II of Persia.


title: Lysander

text: Hoping to restore the juntas of oligarchic partisans that he had put in place after the defeat of the Athenians in 404 BC, Lysander arranged for Agesilaus II, the Eurypontid Spartan king, to take command of the Greeks against Persia in 396 BC. The Spartans had been called on by the Ionians to assist them against the Persian King Artaxerxes II. Lysander was arguably hoping to receive command of the Spartan forces not joining the campaign. However, Agesilaus had become resentful of Lysander's power and influence. So Agesilaus frustrated the plans of his former mentor and left Lysander in command of the troops in the Hellespont, far from Sparta and mainland Greece.


title: Lysander

text: Back in Sparta by 395 BC, Lysander was instrumental in starting a war with Thebes and other Greek cities, which came to be known as the Corinthian War. The Spartans prepared to send out an army against this new alliance of Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos (with the backing of the Achaemenid Empire) and ordered Agesilaus to return to Greece. Agesilaus set out for Sparta with his troops, crossing the Hellespont and marching west through Thrace.


title: Lysander

text: The Spartans arranged for two armies, one under Lysander and the other under Pausanias of Sparta, to rendezvous at and attack the city of Haliartus in Boeotia. Lysander arrived before Pausanias and persuaded the city of Orchomenus to revolt from the Boeotian League. He then advanced to Haliartus with his troops. In the Battle of Haliartus, Lysander was killed after bringing his forces too near to the walls of the city.


title: Lysander

text: Following his death, an abortive scheme by Lysander to increase his power by making the Spartan kingships collective and that the Spartan king should not automatically be given the leadership of the army, was "discovered" by Agesilaus II. There is argument amongst historians as to whether this was an invention to discredit Lysander after his death. However, in the view of Nigel Kennell, the plot fits with what we know of Lysander.


title: Lysander

text: Lysander is one of the main protagonists of the history of Greece by Xenophon, a contemporary. For other (later) sources he remains an ambiguous figure. For instance, while the Roman biographer Cornelius Nepos charges him with "cruelty and perfidy", Lysander – according to Xenophon – nonetheless spared the population of captured Greek poleis such as Lampsacus.


title: Lysander

text: According to Duris of Samos, Lysander was the first Greek to whom the cities erected altars and sacrificed to him as to a god and the Samians voted that their festival of Hera should be called Lysandreia. He was also the first Greek who had songs of triumph written about him.


title: Coppélia

text: Coppélia (sometimes subtitled: La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter. Nuitter's libretto and mise-en-scène was based upon E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story "Der Sandmann" ("The Sandman"). In Greek, "κοπέλα" (or "κοπελιά" in some dialects) means "young woman". "Coppélia" premiered on 25 May 1870 at the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra, with the 16-year-old Giuseppina Bozzacchi in the principal role of Swanhilda and ballerina Eugénie Fiocre playing the part of Frantz "en travesti". The costumes were designed by Paul Lormier and Alfred Albert, the scenery by Charles-Antoine Cambon (Act I, scene 1; Act II, scene 1), and Édouard Desplechin and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (Act I, scene 2).


title: Coppélia

text: The ballet's first flush of success was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris (which also led to the early death of Giuseppina Bozzacchi, on her 17th birthday), but eventually it became the most-performed ballet at the Opéra.


title: Coppélia

text: Modern-day productions are traditionally derived from the revivals staged by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in the late 19th century. Petipa's choreography was documented in the Stepanov method of choreographic notation at the turn of the 20th century. These notations were later used to stage the St. Petersburg version for such companies as the Vic-Wells Ballet (precursor of today's Royal Ballet).


title: Coppélia

text: Dr. Coppélius is a doctor who has made a life-size dancing doll. It is so lifelike that Franz, a village youth, becomes infatuated with it and sets aside his heart's true desire, Swanhilda. She shows him his folly by dressing as the doll, pretending to make it come to life and ultimately saving him from an untimely end at the hands of the inventor.


title: Coppélia

text: The story begins during a town festival to celebrate the arrival of a new bell. The town crier announces that, when it arrives, anyone who becomes married will be awarded a special gift of money. Swanhilda and Franz plan to marry during the festival. However, Swanhilda becomes unhappy with Franz because he seems to be paying more attention to a girl named Coppélia, who sits motionless on the balcony of a nearby house. The house belongs to a mysterious and faintly diabolical inventor, Doctor Coppélius. Although Coppélia spends all of her time sitting motionless and reading, Franz is mesmerized by her beauty and is determined to attract her attention. Still upset with Franz, Swanhilda shakes an ear of wheat to her head: if it rattles, then she will know that Franz loves her. Upon doing this, however, she hears nothing. When she shakes it by Franz's head, he also hears nothing; but then he tells her that it rattles. However, she does not believe him and runs away heartbroken.


title: Coppélia

text: Later on, Dr. Coppelius leaves his house and is heckled by a group of boys. After shooing them away, he continues on without realizing that he has dropped his keys in the melée. Swanhilda finds the keys, which gives her the idea of learning more about Coppélia. She and her friends decide to enter Dr. Coppelius' house. Meanwhile, Franz develops his own plan to meet Coppélia, climbing a ladder to her balcony.


title: Coppélia

text: Swanhilda and her friends find themselves in a large room filled with people. However, the occupants aren't moving. The girls discover that, rather than people, these are life-size mechanical dolls. They quickly wind them up and watch them move. Swanhilda also finds Coppélia behind a curtain and discovers that she, too, is a doll.


title: Coppélia

text: Dr. Coppelius returns home to find the girls. He becomes angry with them, not only for trespassing but for also disturbing his workroom. He kicks them out and begins cleaning up the mess. However, upon noticing Franz at the window, Coppélius invites him in. The inventor wants to bring Coppélia to life but, to do that, he needs a human sacrifice. With a magic spell, he will take Franz's spirit and transfer it to Coppélia. After Dr. Coppelius proffers him some wine laced with sleeping powder, Franz begins to fall asleep. The inventor then readies his magic spell.


title: Coppélia

text: However, Dr. Coppelius did not expel all the girls: Swanhilda is still there, hidden behind a curtain. She dresses up in Coppélia's clothes and pretends that the doll has come to life. She wakes Franz and then winds up all the mechanical dolls to aid their escape. Dr. Coppelius becomes confused and then saddened when he finds a lifeless Coppélia behind the curtain.


title: Coppélia

text: Swanhilda and Franz are about to make their wedding vows when the angry Dr. Coppelius appears, claiming damages. Dismayed at having caused such an upset, Swanhilda offers Dr. Coppelius her dowry in return for his forgiveness. However, Franz tells Swanhilda to keep her dowry and offers to pay Dr. Coppelius instead. At that point, the mayor intervenes and gives Dr. Coppelius a bag of money, which placates him. Swanhilda and Franz are married and the entire town celebrates by dancing.


title: Coppélia

text: Doctor Coppelius is not unlike Hoffmann's sinister Herr Drosselmeyer in "The Nutcracker" or the macabre Svengali-like travelling magician of the same name in Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann".


title: Coppélia

text: The part of Franz was danced "en travesti" by Eugénie Fiocre, a convention that pleased the male members of the Jockey-Club de Paris and was retained in Paris until after World War II.


title: Coppélia

text: The festive wedding-day "divertissements" in the village square that occupy Act III are often deleted in modern danced versions.


title: Coppélia

text: Some influence on this story comes from travelling shows of the late 18th and early 19th centuries starring mechanical automata. This field of entertainment has been under-documented, but a recent survey of the field is contained in "The Mechanical Turk" by Tom Standage (2002).


title: Coppélia

text: A variation of the "Coppélia" story is contained in Jacques Offenbach's opera, "The Tales of Hoffmann", a fictional work about the same Hoffmann who wrote the story that inspired "Coppélia". The opera consists of a prologue, three fantastic tales in which Hoffmann is a participant, and an epilogue. In the first story, based on "Der Sandmann", Hoffmann falls in love with a mechanical doll, Olympia, but in this case, the story has a melancholy tinge as the doll was destroyed by Dr. Coppelius, who share the same name as Coppelius who wants Coppélia to come to life, after he didn't get a check from Spalanzani for Olympia's eyes.


title: Coppélia

text: In 1939, San Francisco Ballet produced a version of "Coppélia" choreographed by Willam Christensen which was the first American complete version of the ballet. It starred Willam Christensen as Franz, Earl Riggins as Dr. Coppelius, and Janet Reed as Swanhilda and was an instant hit.


title: Coppélia

text: In 1974, George Balanchine choreographed a version of "Coppélia" for the New York City Ballet. He was assisted by Alexandra Danilova, who had performed the title role many times during her dancing career. She staged the Petipa choreography for Act II. Balanchine created new choreography for Act III and for the mazurka, czardas and Franz's variation in Act I. Patricia McBride danced the role of Swanhilda the friendliest girl; Helgi Tomasson danced the role of Franz; Shaun O'Brian portrayed Dr. Coppélius.


title: Coppélia

text: From 2011 the Little Princess Ballet Academy (LPBA) has performed "Coppélia" in Second Life. The adaptation follows the original in three acts, but the mime parts are problematic to perform in Second Life and has been changed, together with some changes in the sequences. All parts are played by individual avatars.


title: Coppélia

text: In 2019 Jean-Christophe Maillot created a modernized version of "Coppélia" for the Monte Carlo Ballet Company"," calling it "Coppél-i-A". In it, Coppelia is an android with artificial intelligence. The original music was rewritten by Maillot's brother Bertrand Maillot to suit the dystopian theme.


title: Coppélia

text: A family feature film, Coppelia, was released in 2021, directed and written by Jeff Tudor, Steven De Beul and Ben Tesseur. The film has no dialogue and mixes live action dance with animation. It was inspired by choreographer Ted Brandsen's 2008 production created for Dutch National Ballet. In Brandsen's production, and in the film, Doctor Coppelius is updated from toymaker to cosmetic surgeon and Coppelia is a robot. The movie deals with issues such as the pressures of social media, the lure of superficial beauty and the importance of being yourself. The film stars ballerina, author and activist Michaela DePrince, Daniel Camargo, Vito Mazzeo, Darcey Bussell, Irek Mukahmedov, Sasha Mukahmedov, Jan Kooijman, Igone de Jongh and artists of Dutch National Ballet. Composer Maurizio Malagnini wrote the original score. The movie premiered at Annecy Festival 2021 and won the Golden Punt for Best Fiction Feature at the 40th Cambridge Film Festival.


title: Coppélia

text: Below is the résumé of scenes and dances taken from the theatre program of the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet. It is the Imperial Ballet's production as staged by Marius Petipa that serves as the basis for all modern-day productions.


title: Coppélia

text: "Coppélia" was featured in the Danish film "Ballerina", shown in two parts in the U.S. on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in 1966 and later released theatrically in Europe. Dancer Kirsten Simone played the lead. A version is included in the revue "Wake Up and Dream". It was performed by


title: Coppélia

text: "Coppélia's Casket" ("Kopperia no Hitsugi"), sung by the Japanese duo Ali Project, (Arika Takarano and Katakura Mikiya) is the title of the introductory song of Japanese anime "Noir", the story of two killers. "Coppélia's Casket" contains several references to the story of Coppélia, such as "People are tired of dancing dolls."


title: Coppélia

text: A movie, "The Fantastic World of Dr. Coppelius" / "El fantástico mundo del doctor Coppelius," released on 25 December 1968, In the U.S., was titled "Dr. Coppelius". The Spanish production, with the ballet company and orchestra of the Gran Teatro del Liceo of Barcelona, features Walter Slezak as Dr. Coppelius and Claudia Corday in the doll-comes-to-life role, Swanhilda / Coppelia.


title: Coppélia

text: A scene from the famous ballet film "The Red Shoes" shows Moira Shearer playing the fictional Victoria Page. Vicky is seen as Swanhilda in the scene in which she pretends to be Coppelia, and fools even Dr. Coppelius.


title: Coppélia

text: The ballet "Coppélia" and Giuseppina Bozzacchi's tragic fate are narrated in the novel "No Telling" (London: Vintage, 2004) by British author Adam Thorpe (*1956).


title: Coppélia

text: The second season of the anime series "Princess Tutu" (2002-2003), makes many references to "Coppélia", beginning with episode 15, "Kapitel des Junges: Coppelia". where one of the main characters begins trying to obtain a "pure heart" as a sacrifice to revive a monster Raven. The character Princess Tutu puts a stop to this by reminding the potential sacrifices that they really do not want to give up their hearts, in one instance stating that Swanhilda, though she pretended to be a doll, wanted to be able to laugh and cry as a real human with her fiancé.


title: Coppélia

text: The "" season one finale episodes, "Et in Arcadio Ego, Part I" and "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part II" feature a planet named Coppelius, the adoptive homeworld of a group of highly evolved synthetic lifeforms akin to the lifelike dolls fashioned in "Coppélia".


title: Coppélia

text: A family feature film, Coppelia, was released in 2021. Directed and written by Jeff Tudor, Steven De Beul and Ben Tesseur, the film mixes live action dance with animation. It was inspired by Ted Brandsen's 2008 production created for Dutch National Ballet, which updates Doctor Coppelius from toymaker to cosmetic surgeon. The film stars ballerina, author and activist Michaela DePrince, Daniel Camargo, Vito Mazzeo, Darcey Bussell, Irek Mukahmedov, Sasha Mukahmedov, Jan Kooijman, Igone de Jongh and artists of Dutch National Ballet. The movie premiered at Annecy Festival 2021 and won the Golden Punt for Best Fiction Feature at the 40th Cambridge Film Festival.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Thomas Quinn Jones (born August 19, 1978) is an American actor and a former American football running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Virginia. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals seventh overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in addition to the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs. He retired among the top 25 leading rushers in NFL history (currently 26th, after LeSean McCoy passed him), and a member of the 10,000 rushing yards club. In September 2019 he was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: In 2013, performing under the name Thomas Q. Jones due to the SAG-AFTRA's unique stage name requirements, he began an acting career. Among his credits are 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" and a recurring role in the "Luke Cage" series.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Thomas was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. His mother, Betty, worked the graveyard shift in a Virginia coal mine for nearly 20 years while raising seven children, including his younger brother, Julius Jones. While in Appalachia, Virginia, his father encouraged the children to learn five new words per day, and made them read the front page of the newspaper, before they could read the sports section. Jones credits his parents with instilling the ambition and strong work ethic that he is known for in professional football.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: While playing for Powell Valley High School in Big Stone Gap, he led the team to back-to-back state championships in 1994 and 1995. He still holds the VHSL record for the most rushing yards in a season with 3,319. He broke his late uncle's (Edd Clark) single-game rushing record in 1994 (462 yards against John I. Burton High School). He also tied for most career touchdowns (104) with Terry Kirby. Thomas was featured in the January 22 (1996) issue of "Sports Illustrated" section, "Faces in the Crowd".


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Jones attended the University of Virginia, and played for coach George Welsh's Virginia Cavaliers football team from 1996 to 1999. Through four years, he left his mark on the record books of both the team and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He ended his career at Virginia with eight conference and fifteen team records, including finishing as the Cavaliers' all-time rushing leader with 3,998 yards, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,389 yards set by Tiki Barber. His rushing total was the fourth highest in conference history. Jones also set the conference and school record for single season rushing (1,798 yards) and single season all-purpose offense (2,054 yards). While becoming the first player in ACC history to attain 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game, Jones set a single game school record with 331 all-purpose yards against the University at Buffalo. Setting an ACC record for 200-yard games, Jones finished with six 200-yard rushing performances. He finished his college career with 4,698 all-purpose yards, fourth all-time at Virginia.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: As a senior in 1999, Jones was voted as a consensus first-team All-American by The Associated Press, Football News, the Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp Foundation, and The Sporting News. Finishing 8th in balloting for the 1999 Heisman Trophy, he was the first ACC consensus All-American running back since 1978 (Ted Brown, NC State) and third in league history. Jones led the conference running backs and receiving yards, amassed four 200-yard games, and finished third in the nation in rushing (163.5 yards/game) and all-purpose yards (186.7 yards/game).


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: While successful on the field, Jones also focused in the classroom, earning his bachelor's degree in psychology in three years.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Thomas Jones was chosen by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft with the seventh overall selection. In his three years with Arizona he rushed for 1,264 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was injury-prone, however, and finished only one full season (2001) for the Cardinals. Up until the 2002 season he also was splitting time with running back Michael Pittman. Jones was traded in 2003 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Though not the featured back in Tampa Bay, Jones played an injury-free season, gained 627 yards, and scored three rushing touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: As a free agent in 2004, Jones received his opportunity to be a featured back, signing a multi-year contract with Chicago. In his first season with Chicago, he rushed for 948 yards and 7 touchdowns. After the season, Ron Turner took over as offensive coordinator and installed zone blocking schemes that utilized Jones's speed and ability to make quick decisions. Heading into the 2005 NFL season, Jones figured to return to sharing duty as the Bears used their top draft pick on running back Cedric Benson. However, a lengthy hold-out prevented Benson from pushing Jones for playing time. After starting the season with a poor performance against the Washington Redskins defense, Jones proceeded to recover with season statistics of 1,335 yards and 9 touchdowns. Jones amassed 61 first downs while averaging 4.3 yards per carry. A veteran with, at that time, six years league experience, Jones continued to see extended playing time to assist the offensive line with pass blocking for Rex Grossman. After the 2005 season, Jones fired his agent and hired Drew Rosenhaus in April 2006.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Jones did not participate in the Bears’ voluntary off season program in 2006, opting instead to work out on his own, leading to Benson lining up with the first team during workouts. On July 26, Jones injured his hamstring during a physical at the Bears' summer camp; Lovie Smith announced Jones would fall behind Cedric Benson on the depth chart. However, on August 4, Benson injured his shoulder after colliding with Brian Urlacher during a routine practice drill, and Jones returned to his featured back position.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: The Bears’ two-headed rushing attack showcased both players during the 2006 season. Benson, at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, acted as a straight-ahead runner, whereas Jones used his quicker 5-foot-10 and 215-pound frame to find holes in Chicago's zone-blocking scheme to get through the defense. During the regular season, Jones gained 1,210 yards and Benson amassed 647 yards; both averaged over four yards per carry. Jones had four 100-yard performances during the regular season and continued to see an increased role in the passing game as Benson had not yet mastered pass protection. That year, Thomas and his brother Julius became the first brother tandem in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: During the 2006 playoffs, Jones rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries en route to a 27–24 Bears’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks. The next week he rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in the NFC championship game against the New Orleans Saints, helping the Bears advance to the Super Bowl with a 39–14 win. Jones's 123 rushing yards against the Saints set a Bears postseason record. On a crucial drive late in the first half, after three stalled Bears drives ended in field goals, Jones ran the ball on every play of an eight-play, 69-yard drive and scored the Bears' first touchdown of the game.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Jones was one of three college teammates who reunited in Super Bowl XLI. Jones, his teammate John St. Clair, and Terrence Wilkins of the Indianapolis Colts were roommates at the University of Virginia. In Super Bowl XLI, Jones finished with 112 yards rushing and 18 yards receiving, including a 52-yard run that marked Chicago's longest run of the season. Though averaging 7.5 yards per carry in the game, the Bears only called 15 running plays in the 29–17 loss to Indianapolis.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: On March 5, 2007 the Bears traded Jones and their second-round pick (63rd overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft to the New York Jets in exchange for their second-round pick (from the Washington Redskins) (37th overall). Following the completion of the trade, the Jets signed Jones to a four-year, $25 million extension.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: In the 2007 season, Jones carried the ball 310 times for 1,119 yards, his third straight one-thousand yard season. Of note, Jones scored the first receiving touchdown of his career as well. However, he averaged a subpar 3.6 yards a carry, and scored only one rushing TD, as the Jets stumbled to a 4–12 finish.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Jones had his best season in 2008. Named the AFC's starting running back in the Pro Bowl, Jones scored 15 total touchdowns, including two via receptions, and rushed for 1,312 yards to lead the AFC.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: On October 18, 2009, in a game against the Buffalo Bills, Jones rushed for a Jets franchise record 210 yards and a touchdown, breaking the old mark set by Curtis Martin. However, the Jets lost 16–13 in overtime. On December 3, 2009, Jones reached 1,068 rushing yards for the 2009 season against the Buffalo Bills. This would mark the fifth consecutive season in which Jones has rushed for 1,000+ yards.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: On January 17, 2010, Jones converted a final minute 4th and 1 to lead the Jets to victory over the San Diego Chargers in a 2009 playoff game. The win ensured that the Jets would play the Indianapolis Colts in the 2009 AFC championship game.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: On March 1, 2010, the New York Jets announced that they would release Jones as of March 5, 2010 due to an upcoming contract bonus (all despite having a career-high season with 1,402 rushing yards) and talks with LaDainian Tomlinson. He was officially released on March 5.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: In week 15 against the St. Louis Rams, Jones ran for 62 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown. In this game he achieved the 10,000-yard rushing mark. He is only the 25th player in NFL history to do so.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Jones has said that he has decided to donate his brain to the Sports Legacy Institute, which studies the link between sports and brain trauma, for research upon his death. In January 2017, Jones stated that if he had to do it over, he would not play football due to the physical consequences.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: Jones is the owner of the production company Independently Major Entertainment Films (IME Films), which produced "A Violent Man" (2019) for Sony Pictures, in which he starred and directed by Matthew Berkowitz. He headlined the independent film "Runaway Island" (2015) alongside Lorraine Toussaint and Aisha Hinds. He appeared in "Straight Outta Compton" the 2015 feature film based on the lives and careers of hip-hop group N.W.A.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: In 2016, Jones produced and acted in a screen adaptation of the graphic novel "Loyalty," with Lucien Laviscount, and acted in the independent short film project, "Love and the Line," and the independent feature film "9 Rides," shot entirely using 4K video with an iPhone 6s.


title: Thomas Jones (American football)

text: In television, Jones is best known for his Marvel character "Comanche" on the Netflix series "Luke Cage". He guest starred in the BET Network series "Tales" and in Seasons 2 and 3 of the BET hit drama series "Being Mary Jane", in a multi-episode arc as "Brandon 'Cutty Buddy' Gibson," love interest to Gabrielle Union's title character. On the TV ONE comedy series "Born Again Virgin", Jones guest-starred as commercial pilot Vince, a love interest of the series lead played by Danielle Nicolet. He also appeared in featured roles in the Showtime series "Shameless" and IFC's "Comedy Bang! Bang!". Jones will be in a recurring role on the Starz series "P-Valley" (2020).


title: Nadia district

text: Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north.


title: Nadia district

text: Nadia district is highly influential in the cultural history of Bengal. The standard version of Bengali, developed in the 19th century, is based off the dialect spoken around Nadia. Known as the "Oxford of Bengal", Nabadwip made many contributions to Indian philosophy, such as the Navya-Nyaya system of logic and is the birthplace of the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The district is still largely agricultural.


title: Nadia district

text: "Nadia" is a shortened form of Nabadwip, the name for a historic city in the district. Nabadwip, literally "new island", was formerly an island created by alluvial deposits of the Ganga.


title: Nadia district

text: Nadia district is located in southern West Bengal, in the west-central Bengal region. The district is largely alluvial plain, formed by the constant shifting of the various rivers of the Ganges Delta. To the west of the district is the Bhagirathi (or Hooghly) river, which was once the main distributary of the Ganga towards the Bay of Bengal, and is still considered to be the continuation of the Ganga for Hindus. As the main flow of the Ganga flowed east into the Padma, the Bhagirathi largely dried up. Most of the rivers now flowing through Nadia now have little water in them. Nearly all the district has been converted into farmland.


title: Nadia district

text: Nadia district is home to many rivers. The Padma, now the main distributary of the Ganga, touches the district on its northeastern end.


title: Nadia district

text: The Jalangi, which flows from Murshidabad district, forms much of the northwestern border of the district with Murshidabad, before flowing south into Nadia district. Around Krishnanagar, it turns west and flows into the Bhagirathi near Nabadwip.


title: Nadia district

text: The Mathabhanga originates in the far northeast of the district and forms part of the border with Bangladesh. It then flows into Bangladesh until again forming part of the border enters the district again at Gede. At Maijdia, it splits into the Churni and Ichamati. The Churni flows southwest and merges with the Bhagirathi at Shibpur near Ranaghat. The Ichamati flows into Bangladesh near Mubarakpur and reenters India near Duttaphulia. It then flows south into North 24 Parganas district.


title: Nadia district

text: Nabadwip, an ancient town within Nadia district, is often referred to as the “Oxford of Bengal". Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Nabadwip. One of the Indian schools of logic (Tarka sastra) called Navya Nyaya system was developed in Nabadwip, which produced great logicians in the 15th century. Nabadwip was an important seat of political power and the capital of Bengal under Ballal Sen and later Lakshman Sen, kings of the Sena Empire, who ruled from 1159 to 1206. In 1202, Nabadwip was captured by Bakhtiyar Khilji. This victory paved the way for Muslim rule in Bengal. The British defeated Siraj ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal, at Palashi in this district. The 1859 revolt against European Indigo planters started from the village of Chaugacha in Krishnanagar, Nadia. Nadia is thought to have had trade relations with Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan.


title: Nadia district

text: Pre-independence Nadia had five subdivisions: Krishnagar sadar, Ranaghat, Kushtia, Meherpur and Chuadanga. Due to some cartographic error in 1947, large part of Nadia except Nabadwip initially were included into East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Due to protests rectification was made and on the night of August 17, 1947, Ranaghat, Krishnanagar, Shikarpur in Karimpur and Plassey were placed in India. Since then some parts of this district have been celebrating Independence day on August 17 and August 18.


title: Nadia district

text: The District of Nadia has its headquarter at Krishnanagar town. The British district of Nadia was formed in 1787. The present district of Nadia after partition was formed by Notification No.545-GA dated 23 February 1948. The District Administration is headed by the District Magistrate & District Collector, Nadia.


title: Nadia district

text: The district comprises four subdivisions: Krishnanagar Sadar, Kalyani, Ranaghat and Tehatta. Krishnanagar is the district headquarters. There are 19 police stations, 2 women's and 1 cyber crime police stations, 17 community development blocks, 11 municipalities, 187 gram panchayats (3114 sets) and 2639 villages in this district.


title: Nadia district

text: Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are 26 urban units: 9 municipalities and 15 census towns and two notified areas. Ranaghat, Aistala, Satigachha, Nasra and Cooper's Camp together forms Ranaghat urban agglomeration. Nabadwip, Char Maijdia and Char Brahmanagar forms Nabadwip UA. Chakdaha, Gopalpur and Parbbatipur forms Chakdaha UA. Krishnanagar and Badkulla together forms Krishnanagar UA. Birnagar, Phulia and Taherpur together forms Birnagar UA.


title: Nadia district

text: The district is divided into 17 assembly constituencies, which are part of four Lok Sabha constituencies.


title: Nadia district

text: According to the 2011 census Nadia district has a population of 5,167,600, roughly equal to the US state of Colorado. This gives it a ranking of 18th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.24%. Nadia has a sex ratio of 947 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75.58%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 29.93% and 2.72% of the population respectively. Bengali is the predominant language, spoken by 98.02% of the population.


title: Nadia district

text: As per the 2011 Census, Hinduism is the majority religion of the district, followed by 72.15% of the population. Hinduism became majority in the district after Independence, when Nadia became the destination for millions of refugees from East Pakistan, and from Bangladesh after 1971.


title: Nadia district

text: Over 90% of Muslims live in rural areas. Muslims are majority in Karimpur II (60.38%), Kaliganj (58.51%), Nakashipara (53.06%), and Chapra (59.72%) CD blocks. Muslims are a significant minority in Tehatta II (49.89%), Krishnanagar II (42.84%), and Nabadwip (38.20%).


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Dead Rising 4 is a 2016 action-adventure game developed by Capcom Vancouver and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on December 6, 2016 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. It is the fourth installment in the "Dead Rising" series. It was announced at Microsoft's E3 2016 press conference on June 13, 2016. It features the return of Frank West, and is set in a rebuilt Willamette, Colorado during the Winter holiday season.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: The game received mixed reviews from critics, praising the gameplay and the return of Frank West; however, a decline in overall quality and some technical problems were cited as negatives. A Microsoft Windows version for Steam was released in March 2017, published by Capcom. A PlayStation 4 version of the game, titled Dead Rising 4: Frank's Big Package, was released on December 5, 2017.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: "Dead Rising 4" is an action-adventure game with a goal to explore the environment and battle against hordes of the undead. Unlike its predecessors, the game does not feature a timer system or story co-op gameplay. As with the other games in the series, the game features an open world setting.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: The controls were designed to be more streamlined, with separate buttons for shooting and melee attacks. Any item can be picked up and used as a weapon, some being more efficient than others. Frank can level up with an experience system named Prestige Points (PP). Taking photographs from "Dead Rising" returns, with an added selfie and night vision mode. The camera is also used for finding clues during the missions.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Each region has a number of safe houses that must be free of zombies in order to unlock missions nearby. The safe houses can be leveled up by completing side missions, which in turn gives more stuff to buy. The zombies are not the only enemies in the game, because Frank will also face soldiers carrying rifles and shotguns.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: In September 2021, Frank West, a former photojournalist now working as a college professor, is approached by one of his students, Vicky "Vick" Chu, who convinces him to help her investigate a military compound, situated on the outskirts of Willamette, Colorado — the site of the first zombie outbreak. Once inside, they find out the compound is being used for zombie research, but are discovered and forced to flee, with Frank labelled a fugitive after he is falsely accused by the government.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Four months later in 2022, after Christmas, Frank is found by Brad Park, an agent of the ZDC, who convinces him to help investigate a new zombie outbreak in Willamette during the Black Friday sales, in exchange for the means to clear his name and having exclusive rights to the story, revealing Vick has already left to investigate the matter herself.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Just as they arrive at Willamette, Frank and Brad's helicopter is hit by a missile, forcing them to make a crash landing in the middle of the shopping mall. Upon confronting the zombies, they are discovered to be infected with a new, more aggressive strain of the parasite that previous treatments like Zombrex are ineffective against. Frank eventually discovers an elusive organization called "Obscuris" is in the city looking for a monstrous creature called "Calder", and reunites with Vick on a few occasions, but their opposing views prevent them from working together.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Frank manages to approach an Obscuris truck carrying Calder, but it drives off, leaving him to confront an Obscuris lieutenant. Upon investigating the laboratory of Dr. Russell Barnaby, the main scientist behind the zombie outbreak in Santa Cabeza, Central America, Frank learns that during his last days, Barnaby was developing ways to make zombies with their human intelligence intact before Carlito lured him to the Willamette Parkview Mall, resulting in his death. Calder was once a human Obscuris soldier enhanced with a military exoskeleton transformed by accident into an intelligent but violently psychotic zombie-like mutant, who downloaded Barnaby's data on a disk he always carries on his person. Frank finds himself having to confront Calder in order to retrieve it.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Frank later invades the base of Obscuris and faces the leader of the organization, Fontana - and the one responsible for bringing down the helicopter carrying him and Brad. Fontana reveals their group was not responsible for the outbreak. Instead they were hired by an unknown client to obtain Calder's data, seeking to use the research on intelligent zombies to make cheap labor for factories and plantations in developing countries. Their confrontation is interrupted by Calder, who kills Fontana. After rescuing several survivors from a group of psychotic survivalists, Frank pursues Calder down to the sewers, where he steals the disk and transfers the data to his camera. Vick appears with a gun, forces Frank to give her his camera, and flees after destroying the disk. Frank runs after her all the way to the shopping mall where they are intercepted by Calder, who destroys the camera, and the two work together to kill him.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: After the battle, Vick reveals to Frank she took the camera's SD card, containing all of the disk's data, and they reconcile, agreeing to share the credit for the story. Frank, Vick and Brad leave for the rooftop to be extracted via helicopter, but a massive horde of zombies pursue them on the way there. Brad and Vick make it to the helicopter, but Frank is grabbed as he is boarding and, unable to break free from their grip, sacrifices himself so Vick and Brad can escape.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: In this downloadable content released in April 2017, Frank, after falling from the helicopter, is half eaten by the zombies, but suddenly after all the zombies have gone away, the experimental wasps infect Frank, converting him into an evo zombie. This gives him new abilities like acid spit, pouncing, and roaring. After gaining all these new abilities, Frank begins eating humans as well as zombies. In the Willamette Mall, Frank is shot and taken to Barnaby's lab where he is given control of his body back, but loses all of his powers. Dr. Blackburne, the Obscuris scientist who treats Frank, tells him that the military plans to firebomb Willamette. The only way to survive is to get on the evacuation helicopter which would arrive shortly.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Blackburne also tells Frank he could regain all his powers by absorbing the wasps present in evo zombies. Frank asks about a cure, which Blackburne agrees to help him with if he gathers supplies for her. Blackburne later double crosses Frank, but he threatens her into continuing to cooperate. Blackburne explains she needs to get into Barnaby's lab but cannot due to high levels of radiation. Frank is eventually successfully cured back to a human and is able to escape with Blackburne in the evacuation helicopter.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: If Frank does not collect all special wasps during the game, Frank escapes alone with Blackburne and retires from journalism, spending the rest of life in fear of becoming a zombie again. If he does, Hammond and her team escape with them and Frank becomes famous again, writing a book about his experience as a zombie that becomes a bestseller, and exposes the government's involvement with Obscuris with Vick's help. If the player runs out of time during 'The Cases', the story ends in a failed rescue due to bombardment commanded by the United States Government to prevent the zombie outbreak from spreading throughout the state.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: In 2014, "Dead Rising 4" was originally conceived as a reboot of the "Dead Rising" series, which was being developed at Capcom Vancouver in partnership with Microsoft. The game, codenamed "Climber", was intended to be an Xbox One exclusive that was inspired by "The Last of Us". This original version of the game was scrapped by Capcom Japan in Summer 2014, leading to the project being rebooted with Frank West as the main character.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: In January 2016, Capcom Vancouver announced it was working on two new open world projects. The game was announced at the 2016 Microsoft E3 conference with a trailer and 12 minutes of gameplay.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Terence J. Rotolo did not return to voice Frank West, who was instead portrayed by Ty Olsson (credited in-game as Victor Nosslo). "Dead Rising" asset manager Trant Lee-Aimes stated, "We wanted to work with someone to provide a more grizzled, older take on Frank at this stage." This change proved controversial among some fans, leading them to petition the developer to restore Rotolo as West.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: The game was released worldwide on December 6, 2016. Microsoft also confirmed the game is a timed-exclusive on Windows 10 for 90 days and a year on Xbox One. On February 22, 2017, Capcom announced that "Dead Rising 4" would be released for Steam on March 14. The PlayStation 4 version, titled "Dead Rising 4: Frank's Big Package", was released on December 5, 2017.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: On January 30, 2017, a free downloadable update was released introducing two harder difficulty modes, Hard and Blackest Friday (in which enemies do more damage, weapons break faster, and food heals less), and five other in-game "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" costumes alongside Ryu and Akuma, such as the attires of Guile, M. Bison, Zangief, Cammy, and T. Hawk. On January 31, a timed demo released on Xbox One allowing players to experience both the single-player and multiplayer of "Dead Rising 4" for one hour, and enables players to carry across their progress to the full game. An update released on December 5 adding a new game mode called "Capcom Heroes", which allows Frank to don 17 new outfits based on Capcom's video game franchises, each with their own moveset.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: "Dead Rising 4" received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: "IGN"s Brandin Tyrrel liked the new Frank West and the game's take on Christmas consumerism, as well as the "detailed presentation and careful consideration that went into both the world and the story." Tyrrel felt Capcom had balanced the absurdity of the gameplay with intelligence and feeling, but specifically found the safehouses too simple and underwhelming, writing he "would've loved to see some sort of shelter defense system come into play." "Game Informer"s Jeff Cork similarly praised the gameplay, writing that Capcom Vancouver "infused the series with fresh ideas and some of the best action that it's had in a decade." Cork felt the storyline was a little rote, and was disappointed with the new and original but bland and generic "maniacs" (which serve as the game's bosses and replace the previous games' psychopaths) and lack of campaign co-op, but praised the new gameplay features such as the camera enhancements and the exo-suit, as well as the improvements to the map compared to "Dead Rising 3"s map. Conversely, "GamesRadar+"s Sam Prell wrote the "majority of Willamette is a sleepy, uninspiring blur", and felt the story lacked a satisfying final boss and too many objectives were repetitive. He acknowledged some players might not like the changes to Frank West's appearance and voice but wrote "he has the same smartass-with-a-heart-of-gold personality he's always had" and "is still worth cheering on." Prell felt the removal of the timer present in previous games was a "fantastic improvement" and wrote that together with the simplification of the game's bosses and save points, "Dead Rising 4" was a "more casual, easygoing entry than its older siblings", but ultimately believed it succeeds more than it fails.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Writing a less positive review, "Destructoid"s Chris Carter wrote that while he liked the game's comic book-like animations and campy tone, it felt like there "was a concerted amount of effort put into it". He disliked the new Frank West, who reminded him of a less-interesting Ash Williams, and he "straight up [did] not like that the timer is gone in the main mode". He felt the lack of story co-op and specific save points were understandable, but the removal of the timer system removed the tension, and felt it was "a sleazy move" that Capcom Vancouver were going to bring back the timer in the upcoming "Dead Rising 4: Frank Rising" paid DLC. Writing for "GameSpot", Scott Butterworth felt that "[f]or a game that's all about mindless zombie murder, the storytelling is remarkably adept", and Frank and Vick's relationship was nuanced and believable. Butterworth believed ""Dead Rising"s juxtaposition of slaughter and silliness makes for a memorable world", and summarized his review by writing that despite the series' zombie-slaughtering formula wearing a bit thin after all these years, the "surprisingly well-crafted story, [...] new combo weapons, and expansive open world elements [...] turn "Dead Rising 4" into an over-the-top piece of popcorn entertainment that captures the series' best elements." Jim Sterling favorably compared the goofiness of the gameplay to the "Saints Row" series. They recognized and sympathized with long-time "Dead Rising" players who were put off by the changes "Dead Rising 4" made, such as the removal of the timer system, the replacement of Frank West's voice actor and his new appearance, and the more comedic tone of the game, but could not help but find it "a damn fine, damn fun, damn "funny" game though."


title: Dead Rising 4

text: As of April 2017, the game had sold under a million copies, short of Capcom's expectation of two million.


title: Dead Rising 4

text: Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of "Zero Punctuation" ranked both the game and "Frank's Big Package" third on his list of the Five Worst Games of 2017, calling them "a stripped-down, tarted-up holiday special of a "Dead Rising" game with none of what makes "Dead Rising" good."


title: Dead Rising 4

text: A sequel to the game, titled "Dead Rising 5", was in development at Capcom Vancouver. The game was set between "Dead Rising 2" and "Dead Rising 3", and would have followed the adventures of Chuck and Katey Greene in Mexico. The project was canceled when Capcom Vancouver shut down in September 2018.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 1999 (with the winners between 1996 and 1998 awarded retroactively), and has been recognized as a major trophy by the league. It echoes the practice of the top European leagues in which the team with the best record is the champion. Since 2006, the Supporters' Shield winner has earned a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League if they are an American-based team.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: D.C. United and LA Galaxy, with four Supporters' Shields each, have won the most shields of any MLS team. Los Angeles FC are the 2022 holders of the Supporters' Shield, winning it for the second time.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: When Major League Soccer had its inaugural season in 1996, the league resembled its contemporary North American leagues. After the regular season, the campaign culminated with the MLS Cup Playoffs, en route to the postseason championship match, the MLS Cup. The club with the best regular season record received nothing more than the top seed in the playoffs.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: In 1997, soccer fan Nick Lawrus on a listserv proposed the notion of a "Supporters' Scudetto", as a result of the Tampa Bay Mutiny earning the best regular season record but failing to win the 1996 MLS Cup Final. A committee composed of members of all MLS teams' supporters changed the name to "Supporters' Shield" but, due to disagreements between members of the committee, the proposal failed to come to fruition.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: The following year, another group led by soccer enthusiast Sam Pierron tried to revive the idea by giving an award to the regular season champions. Since MLS refused to fund the idea, Pierron began fundraising to purchase a trophy with the help of supporters from various MLS clubs. Fundraising was boosted with donations from ESPN commentator Phil Schoen and MLS commissioner Doug Logan. In the end, nearly $3,000 was donated to commission the trophy, which was a chevron made by artist Paula Richardson out of sterling silver sheet metal, for $2,200.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: The process to create and purchase the Supporters' Shield was not completed until the tail end of the 1999 season. Although D.C. United were the first MLS club to win the award, the first-place finishes between 1996 and 1998 have all been awarded the honor retroactively, with their names included on the shield at the time of its creation.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: Throughout the early to mid-2000s, the Shield received little praise or recognition from MLS or the general public, as the league awarded the MLS Cup winner and runner-up with spots in continental tournaments.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: In February 2006, USSF decided that the Supporters' Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner would represent the United States in the CONCACAF Champions League, formerly the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. If the Supporters Shield winner also wins the MLS Cup, the team with the second highest regular season point total qualifies as well.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: When the Champions Cup became the CONCACAF Champions League, the United States Soccer Federation gave the Supporters' Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner both direct Group stage spots into the tournament.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: On eight occasions (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2017, and 2022) the winner of the Supporters' Shield also won the MLS Cup that same year. In 2011, the league announced that the Shield winner's opponent in the MLS Cup quarterfinals would be the lowest-seeded team remaining.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: As the Shield began to become more prized and grow in significance along with "supporter culture" growing throughout the league, the idea of creating a new Supporters' Shield began at the MLS Supporters Summit during the 2010 MLS Cup in Toronto. The idea continued to gain traction at the then recently formed Independent Supporters Council (ISC) the following two years in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. The Supporter's Shield Foundation was created out of the ISC meeting in Portland in 2012 with a mission to fund the creation of a new shield and to promote and manage the trophy going forward. The cost of the new Shield was quoted at $18,000 with a majority of the funds raised through the "I Support the Shield" scarf drive that culminated in the sale of 2000 supporter scarves.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: With the fund raising complete, in early 2013 the new Supporter's Shield was created. The new shield weighs and is made of sterling silver and stainless steel. The outside of the shield contains a Telstar soccer ball design while the middle of the shield pays homage to the chevron design of the original trophy. The middle of the trophy was designed to be expandable as its winners' names are added to it annually around the chevron. The newly designed shield was first awarded to the New York Red Bulls on the final day of the 2013 MLS season.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: On October 17, 2020, Major League Soccer announced that, following a decision made by the ISC, the Supporters' Shield would not be awarded at the end of the 2020 regular season, largely in part due to the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the league. In an official announcement, the Supporters' Shield Foundation stated, "After much consideration and discussion, the Supporters' Shield Foundation has decided to forego awarding the Supporters' Shield for the 2020 season. This is not an easy decision to make. With the inability for supporters to be in attendance and fill their stadiums with passion, however, we feel as though the current climate goes against the spirit of the Shield."


title: Supporters' Shield

text: This decision caused a great amount of backlash from the MLS community, and was criticized by several members of MLS clubs, including Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney (whose team was top of the Supporters' Shield standings at the time of the decision). Following these negative responses, on October 23 the Supporters' Shield Foundation announced they had reversed their original decision, and the Shield was reinstated for the 2020 season. The Philadelphia Union won the Supporters' Shield, but were unable to use the actual shield due to a delay in shipping from Los Angeles. A temporary replacement was fashioned from a repurposed Captain America shield with a vinyl cover by the Union's fabricator shop and lifted by the players.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: Fifteen different teams have won at least one Supporters' Shield, with the LA Galaxy and D.C. United level with the most wins at four each. Seven teams have gone on to win the MLS Cup after winning the Supporters' Shield, with both the Galaxy and D.C. achieving this double twice. While three teams have secured a Supporters' Shield and U.S. Open Cup double, no American team has won all three major domestic trophies (the Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup). However, in the 2017 season, Toronto FC managed the Canadian version of this achievement, lifting the Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup and Canadian Championship.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: Before 2006, Shield winners were not guaranteed a berth into CONCACAF competitions. Most regular season champions to earn berths into CONCACAF competitions typically earned them from earning a berth into the MLS Cup, or earning a berth due to the number of berths allocated to the United States for MLS. Most times, the United States was allocated two berths into the tournament, which went to the MLS Cup champion and runner-up.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: Since 2007, the Shield winner replaced the MLS Cup runner-up as the second American representative for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. In 2008, with the arrival of the newly formatted CONCACAF Champions League, the Shield winner, along with the MLS Cup winner both earned direct byes into the group stage of the Champions League.


title: Supporters' Shield

text: Toronto FC and Los Angeles FC are the only Shield winners to reach the final of a CONCACAF competition. However, as a Canadian team, Toronto FC qualified for the tournament by winning the Canadian Championship and not the Supporters' Shield. D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls hold the record for the earliest exit in a CONCACAF competition as the Shield winners, being eliminated from the group stage in the 2008–09 and 2014–15 editions of the Champions League, respectively.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Steven Gene Wold (né Leach, 19 March 1951), commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays mostly personalized guitars and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work. From the late 1960s, he worked as a musician and recording engineer in the US and Europe; he played bass in Shanti and was in a disco band called Crystal Grass as well as other bands. He also pursued other works, including producing an album for Modest Mouse. He achieved his breakthrough, initially in the UK, at the end of 2006 when he appeared on Jools Holland's annual "Hootenanny" as Seasick Steve. He has since released a number of commercially successful albums, including "I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left", "Man from Another Time", and "Sonic Soul Surfer".


title: Seasick Steve

text: The publicity about Wold at the time he first became successful in Britain, in the mid-2000s, suggested that he was then aged in his sixties, and emphasised his past as a hobo in Tennessee and Mississippi. In a 2008 interview in Memphis, Wold was quoted as stating: "I came down here as a young feller looking for the blues, but I didn't find them... Wasn't in Clarksdale but an hour before a big, old redneck policeman ran me right out of town again. That was how it was back then, and there were some places hereabouts you just didn't go if you were a hobo." By his own account, he would travel long distances by hopping freight trains, looking for work as a farm laborer or in other seasonal jobs. He claimed that he had worked at a carnival, as a cowboy and as a migrant worker. In a 2007 interview, he said: "I rode them <nowiki>[</nowiki>freight trains<nowiki>]</nowiki> for 14 years off and on..", adding "I've been married to this one girl for 25 years, so I’m a little bit settled down now..."


title: Seasick Steve

text: In 2016, an unauthorized biography by Matthew Wright presented evidence that parts of Wold's backstory may have been exaggerated. Wright drew on interviews with Wold's estranged eldest son as well as previously published material covering his career in music since the late 1960s, and commented that Wold was "retiring about facts of his own life".


title: Seasick Steve

text: Steve Wold was born in Oakland, California, as Steven Gene Leach, though his biographer suggests that he may have been adopted as a baby. He took the surname Wold in the early 1980s, from that of his second wife. In 2000, he gave his age as 50, though later publicity implied that he was older. Official birth records confirm his birth year as 1951.


title: Seasick Steve

text: When he was four years old, his parents split up and he continued to live with his mother. He claimed that as a child he was taught to play the guitar by K. C. Douglas, who worked at his grandfather's garage, and later realised that he had been taught the blues. Douglas wrote the song "Mercury Blues" and had played with Tommy Johnson in the early 1940s. His mother remarried, to a Korean War veteran who Wold characterized as abusive, and, at the age of about 13, Wold claimed that he left home following a violent confrontation with his stepfather.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold claimed to have lived rough and on the road in Tennessee, Mississippi and elsewhere, until at least the late 1960s. However, Wright's biography claims that Wold lived in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, for some time from 1965. He attended the Monterey Pop Festival, regularly saw bands such as The Grateful Dead perform in the area, and became acquainted with Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.


title: Seasick Steve

text: In about 1969, he toured clubs in the region as a backing musician with Lightnin' Hopkins. In 1970, as Steve Leach, he became the bass player in an innovative band, Shanti, who performed a fusion of Indian and rock music. Other band members included Zakir Hussain and Aashish Khan, and all the band members were adherents of Transcendental Meditation. In liner notes for a 2015 reissue of Shanti's only album, writer Richie Unterberger states that "bassist Steve Leach has reinvented himself as the blues musician Seasick Steve", and his participation in Shanti was confirmed by Seattle band the Tremens.


title: Seasick Steve

text: He left California in 1972 and moved to Paris, France, where he busked in the Métro. He occasionally returned to California where he married Victoria Johnson in 1974; they had two sons together but later divorced. Wold also spent time in the 1970s in Hawaii, and worked as a session musician and studio engineer, as well as in occasional manual jobs. He has claimed to have played with other musicians including Son House, John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Joni Mitchell around this time. In 1976, he worked with French producer Lee Hallyday and fronted the disco group Crystal Grass. Leach appeared on two Crystal Grass albums released by Philips Records in France, "Dance Up a Storm" and "Ocean Potion", the latter credited to Steve Leach with the Crystal Grass Orchestra. The group also released several singles including "You Can Be What You Dream". He also sang on the first album released by Mike Love's side project Celebration, a collaboration with members of the Paris-based band King Harvest.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Around 1980, Steve Leach returned to Europe. In 1982, he appeared as singer and guitarist on an album, "Women and Sports", by the band Clean, Athletic & Talented (C.A.T.), co-writing their single "I Love To Touch Young Girls". He met Elisabeth Wold in a blues bar in Oslo, Norway, and adopted her surname after she became his second wife. For a time in the early 1980s, he lived in London, and then with Elisabeth in Skelmersdale, England, which biographer Wright notes is the location of a major Transcendental Meditation movement center. He later claimed to have run a recording studio in Europe before selling it.


title: Seasick Steve

text: After returning to the US, he trained as a paramedic, before moving with his wife and their three sons from Nashville, Tennessee, to Olympia, near Seattle, in 1991. The move was partly motivated by Elisabeth Wold's desire to live in an area reminiscent of her native Norway, but also reflected the area's developing indie music scene. In Olympia, Wold established his own guitar store and recording studio, Moon Music. He was acquainted with Kurt Cobain, and began producing records by local musicians, including Kathleen Hanna and Fitz of Depression. Wold produced the 1996 debut album by Modest Mouse, "This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About", and recordings by the band P.E.Z. on which he played guitar. He also worked closely with a local band, the Tremens, and with them started to form a band, Dr Steel and the Forty-nines, with himself as singer and lead guitarist, but this fell through. A 2001 interview with the Tremens described Wold as a "Pacific Northwest music icon... who has put his recording stamp on some of the most influential bands to come out of Puget Sound."


title: Seasick Steve

text: In 2001, Wold closed Moon Music, after being involved in up to 50 albums made there. He said at the time: "I'm finished with America. I'm 50 years old now, and I've been watching greed play the main stage since I was a teenager. I just can't stand it anymore." With his wife and their sons, he moved to Notodden in Norway, home of the Notodden Blues Festival, and set up a studio, Juke Joint, with vintage equipment that he had acquired over the years. After Wold became ill on a boat trip between Norway and Denmark, he adopted the name "Seasick Steve" as a parallel to that of blues musician Homesick James, and started to form a band, Seasick Steve and the Level Devils.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold released his first album, entitled "Cheap", recorded with the Level Devils as his rhythm section, with Jo Husmo on stand-up bass and Kai Christoffersen on drums. His debut solo album, "Dog House Music" was released by Bronzerat Records on 26 November 2006, after he was championed by an old friend, Joe Cushley, DJ on the "Balling The Jack" blues show on London radio station Resonance FM.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold made his first UK television appearance on Jools Holland's annual "Hootenanny" BBC TV show on New Year's Eve 2006. He performed a live rendition of "Dog House Boogie" on the "Three String Trance Wonder" and the "Mississippi Drum Machine". After that show his popularity exploded in Britain, and he commented "I can't believe it, all of the sudden I'm like the cat's meow!"


title: Seasick Steve

text: He was well received in the UK, winning the 2007 MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act and going on to appear at major UK festivals such as Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury. In 2007 he played more UK festivals than any other artist. At that time, it was claimed in press coverage that he was 66 years old, though he was later demonstrated to be ten years younger.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold toured early in 2008, playing in various venues and festivals in the UK. He was joined on stage by drummer Dan Magnusson. KT Tunstall also dueted with Wold at the London Astoria in January 2008. Wold also played many other festivals throughout the world in 2008, including Fuji Rock in Japan, East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Australia, also in April 2008, and Roskilde in Denmark.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold's major-label debut, "I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left" was recorded with Dan Magnusson on drums, was released by Warner Music on 29 September 2008, and features Ruby Turner and Nick Cave's Grinderman.


title: Seasick Steve

text: He has toured the UK extensively since 2007 being supported by performers including Duke Garwood, Gemma Ray, Billie the Vision and the Dancers, Amy LaVere, Melody Nelson and Joe Gideon & The Shark. His tours in October 2008 and January 2009 were all sold out and included performances at the Royal Albert Hall, the Edinburgh Queen's Hall, the Grand Opera House in Belfast, the Apollo in Manchester, the City Hall in Newcastle and the London Hammersmith Apollo.


title: Seasick Steve

text: In 2009, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist, That same year, BBC Four broadcast a documentary of Wold visiting the southern USA entitled "Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home". On 21 January, Wold hosted "Folk America: Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers" at the Barbican in London, a show that was also televised and shown with the documentary on BBC Four as part of a series tracing American roots music.


title: Seasick Steve

text: In an interview with an Australian magazine, Wold attributed much of his unlikely success to his cheap and weather-beaten guitar, "The Trance Wonder" and reveals the guitar's mojo might come from supernatural sources.


title: Seasick Steve

text: I got it from Sherman, who is a friend of mine down in Mississippi, who had bought it down at a Goodwill store. When we were down there last time he says to me, 'I didn't tell you when you bought it off me, but that guitar used to be haunted'. I say, 'What are you talking about, Sherman?'. He says, 'There's 50 solid citizens here in Como who'll tell you this guitar is haunted. It's the darnedest thing – we'd leave it over in the potato barn and we'd come back in and it would be moved. You'd put it down somewhere and the next morning you'd come back and it would have moved. When you took that guitar the ghost in the barn left'. He told me this not very long ago and I said to him, 'Sherman! Why didn't you tell me this before?' and he said, 'Well the ghost was gone – I didn't want it around here no more!'


title: Seasick Steve

text: On 3 January 2010, Wold appeared on the popular BBC motoring show "Top Gear" as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car. A friend of Steve's had given him a guitar made with hubcaps off a Morris Minor (he owned one at the time), and he played it on air.


title: Seasick Steve

text: In February 2010, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist for the second consecutive year.


title: Seasick Steve

text: In 2010, Wold made numerous festival appearances throughout the summer, including the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, the main stage at V Festival, the main stage at the Hop Farm Festival and many more.


title: Seasick Steve

text: In February 2011, Wold signed to Play It Again Sam to release his new album with the exception of the US, where it will be released on Third Man Records. Subsequently, his new album "You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks" was released on his new labels and it was announced that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones had played on the new album, and performed alongside Wold to promote it. This caused some to believe that he will tour with Wold as a part of his backing band, joining his then-current drummer Dan. John Paul Jones did indeed appear onstage to play with Wold at the Isle of Wight 2011 festival and on the main stage of Rock Werchter 2011.


title: Seasick Steve

text: On 16 August 2014 he was the headline act at "Beautiful Days" in Honiton, Devon, and on the 24 August he headlined at 'Victorious Festival' in Southsea, Portsmouth, England.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Seasick Steve released his eighth album on 7 October 2016, called "Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground".


title: Seasick Steve

text: This is a normal guitar that resembles a GHI Guitar made in Japan in the 1960s. It has a 1950s Harmony pickup added with duct tape, and is tuned to G, G, and B (middle G is one octave higher than the bottom). He was given the guitar by a friend who had it nailed to his wall as a decoration, but at his gigs, he often tells the story that he bought it for US$75 in this condition from a man who later told him he only paid US$25 for it the day before, and claims to have vowed never to add another string, and that he would tour the world telling his story of how the seller ripped him off. A lot of the time he also adds, while picking up or putting away the guitar, that it is the "biggest piece of shit in the world, I swear." In a BBC interview Wold claimed that the guitar was found by a friend, just with the three strings on it, and he decided to keep it that way.


title: Seasick Steve

text: When on the TV show "Top Gear", presenter Jeremy Clarkson commented that Wold's car history of over 100 cars included a Morris Minor. Wold then presented a four-string guitar that his friend Davey Chivers had made out of two old hubcaps from a 1970 Minor 1000 named Cynthia joined back-to-back and his wife's broomstick. Wold then played it a little in the episode. Clarkson replied that it was the best use of a Morris Minor he had ever seen.


title: Seasick Steve

text: A similar guitar was made out of Hudson Terraplane hubcaps, one of them given to him by Jack White, referring to "Terraplane Blues" by Robert Johnson.


title: Seasick Steve

text: A small wooden box that is stomped upon, providing percussion. It is decorated with a Mississippi motorcycle registration plate ("MC33583"), and a small piece of carpet.


title: Seasick Steve

text: When asked about his nickname, Wold has said: "because it's just true: I always get seasick". When he was ill on a ferry from Norway to Copenhagen, later in his life, a friend began playfully using the name and, despite Wold not rising to it for a while, it stuck. When asked about his name on British Sunday morning television show "Something for the Weekend", he replied, "I just get sick on boats".


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold has five adult sons, and has married twice, marrying his second wife in the early 1980s. Wold has said that he has problems putting down roots in one place, and he and his wife have lived in 59 houses to date, including Norway and the United Kingdom.


title: Seasick Steve

text: Wold's son Didrik is an illustrator, and has designed his father's album artwork, merchandise, print ads, and websites. His youngest son, Paul Martin Wold, played drums on "Dog House Music" and first made a guest appearance with him on percussion at the Astoria in January 2008. He has since performed with Wold frequently, playing washboard, shakers, tambourine, floor tom and occasionally guitar. He also works as Steve's guitar tech. Paul Martin Wold, aka "Wishful Thinking", released his debut album "A Waste of Time Well Spent" on 2 November 2009, and showcased a selection from the album whilst touring the UK with his father.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an American-British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curling irons, a mousetrap, and steam pumps. Maxim laid claim to inventing the lightbulb.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim experimented with powered flight; his large aircraft designs were never successful. He designed a highly successful amusement ride called the "Captive Flying Machine" to fund his research while generating public interest in flight.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim moved from the United States to the United Kingdom at the age of 41, and remained an American citizen until he became a naturalised British subject in 1899, and received a knighthood in 1901.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim was born in Sangerville, Maine on 5 February 1840. He became an apprentice coachbuilder at the age of 14 and ten years later, took up a job at the machine works of his uncle, Levi Stephens, at Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He subsequently worked as an instrument-maker and as a draughtsman.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: (His early jobs in these areas led him to be often disappointed with workers when he ran his own companies later on in life.) Hiram called himself a Protestant.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim, a longtime sufferer of bronchitis, patented and manufactured a pocket menthol inhaler and a larger "Pipe of Peace", a steam inhaler using pine vapour, that he claimed could relieve asthma, tinnitus, hay fever and catarrh. After being criticised for applying his talents to quackery, he protested that "it will be seen that it is a very creditable thing to invent a killing machine, and nothing less than a disgrace to invent an apparatus to prevent human suffering".He also invented a curling iron, an apparatus for demagnetising watches, magno-electric machines, devices to prevent the rolling of ships, eyelet and riveting machines, aircraft artillery, an aerial torpedo gun, coffee substitutes, and various oil, steam, and gas engines.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: A large furniture factory had repeatedly burned down, and Maxim was consulted on how to prevent a recurrence. As a result, Maxim invented the first automatic fire sprinkler. It would douse the areas that were on fire, and it would report the fire to the fire station. Maxim was unable to sell the idea elsewhere, but when the patent expired the idea was used.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim developed and installed the first electric lights in a New York City building (the Equitable Life Building (New York City) at 120 Broadway) in the late 1870s. However, he was involved in several lengthy patent disputes with Thomas Edison over his claims to the lightbulb. One of these actions regarded the incandescent bulb, for which Maxim claimed that Edison was credited by means of his better understanding of patenting law. Maxim claimed that an employee of his had falsely patented the invention under his own name, and that Edison proved the employee's claim to be false, knowing that patent law would mean the invention would become public property, allowing Edison to manufacture the lightbulb without crediting Maxim as the true inventor.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim was reported to have said: "In 1882 I was in Vienna, where I met an American whom I had known in the States. He said: 'Hang your chemistry and electricity! If you want to make a pile of money, invent something that will enable these Europeans to cut each others' throats with greater facility.'"


title: Hiram Maxim

text: As a child, Maxim had been knocked over by a rifle's recoil, and this inspired him to use that recoil force to automatically operate a gun. Between 1883 and 1885 Maxim patented gas, recoil and blowback methods of operation. After moving to England, he settled in a large house formerly owned by Lord Thurlow in West Norwood where he developed his design for an automatic weapon, using an action that would close the breech and compress a spring, by storing the recoil energy released by a shot to prepare the gun for its next shot. He thoughtfully ran announcements in the local press warning that he would be experimenting with the gun in his garden and that neighbours should keep their windows open to avoid the danger of broken glass.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim founded an arms company with financial backing from Edward Vickers to produce his machine gun in Crayford, Kent, which later merged with Nordenfelt. Subsequently, part of the Barrow Shipbuilding Company purchase by Vickers Corporation in 1897, formed 'Vickers, Son & Maxim'. Their improved development of the Maxim gun design, the Vickers machine gun, after Maxim's resignation from the board in 1911 on his 71st birthday, was the standard British machine gun for many years. With arms sales led by Basil Zaharoff, variants of the Maxim gun were bought and used extensively by both sides during World War I.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: In his later years Maxim became profoundly deaf, as his hearing had been damaged by years of exposure to the noise of his guns.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Maxim's father had earlier conceived of a helicopter powered by two counter-rotating rotors, but was unable to find a powerful enough engine to build it. Hiram first sketched out plans for a helicopter in 1872, but when he built his first "flying machine" he chose to use wings. Before starting design work, he carried out a series of experiments on aerofoil sections and propeller design, at first using a wind tunnel and later building a whirling arm test rig. Construction started in 1889 of a craft with a wingspan that weighed 3.5 tons, powered by two lightweight naptha-fired steam engines driving two laminated pine propellers.


title: Hiram Maxim

text: Conceived of as a test rig, the machine ran on an length of rail track which Maxim laid down for the purpose at his home, Baldwyn's Park Mansion, Baldwyn's Park in Bexley. The initial intention was to prevent the machine from lifting off by using heavy cast-iron wheels, but after initial trials, Maxim concluded that this would not suffice, and so the machine was fitted with four wheeled outriggers which were restrained by wooden rails outside the central track. In trials in 1894, the machine lifted and was prevented from rising by the outriggers. During its test run, all the outriggers were engaged, showing that it had developed enough lift to take off, but in so doing, it pulled up the track; the tethered "flight" was aborted in time to prevent disaster. Maxim subsequently abandoned work on it but put his experience to work on fairground rides. He subsequently noted that a feasible flying machine would need better power-to-weight engines, such as a petrol combustion engine.