title: New York Philharmonic

text: The year 1928 marked the New York Philharmonic's last and most important merger: with the New York Symphony Society. The Symphony had been quite innovative in its 50 years prior to the merger. It made its first domestic tour in 1882, introduced educational concerts for young people in 1891, and gave the premieres of works such as Gershwin's Concerto in F and Holst's "Egdon Heath". The merger of these two venerable institutions consolidated extraordinary financial and musical resources. Of the new Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York, Clarence Hungerford Mackay, chairman of the Philharmonic Society, will be chairman. President Harry H. Flagler, of the Symphony Society, will be president of the merger. At the first joint board meeting in 1928, the chairman, Clarence Mackay, expressed the opinion that "with the forces of the two Societies now united... the Philharmonic-Symphony Society could build up the greatest orchestra in this country if not in the world."


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Of course, the merger had ramifications for the musicians of both orchestras. Winthrop Sargeant, a violinist with the Symphony Society and later a writer for "The New Yorker", recalled the merger as "a sort of surgical operation in which twenty musicians were removed from the Philharmonic and their places taken by a small surviving band of twenty legionnaires from the New York Symphony. This operation was performed by Arturo Toscanini himself. Fifty-seventh Street wallowed in panic and recrimination." Toscanini, who had guest-conducted for several seasons, became the sole conductor and in 1930 led the group on a European tour that brought immediate international fame to the orchestra. Toscanini remained music director until the spring of 1936, then returned several times as a guest conductor until 1945.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: That same year nationwide radio broadcasts began. The orchestra was first heard on CBS directly from Carnegie Hall. To broadcast the Sunday afternoon concerts, CBS paid $15,000 for the entire season. The radio broadcasts continued without interruption for 38 years. A legend in his own time, Toscanini would prove to be a tough act to follow as the country headed into war.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: After an unsuccessful attempt to hire the German conductor, Wilhelm Furtwängler, the English conductor John Barbirolli and the Polish conductor Artur Rodziński were joint replacements for Toscanini in 1936. The following year Barbirolli was given the full conductorship, a post he held until the spring of 1941. In December, 1942, Bruno Walter was offered the music directorship, but declined, citing his age (he was 67 years old). In 1943, Rodziński, who had conducted the orchestra's centennial concert at Carnegie Hall in the preceding year, was appointed musical director. He had also conducted the Sunday afternoon radio broadcast when CBS listeners around the country heard the announcer break in on Arthur Rubinstein's performance of Brahms's Second Piano Concerto to update them about the attack on Pearl Harbor. (The initial word of the attack was forwarded by CBS News Correspondent John Charles Daly on his own show before the Philharmonic broadcast.) Soon after the United States entered World War II, Aaron Copland wrote "A Lincoln Portrait" for the Philharmonic at the request of conductor Andre Kostelanetz as a tribute to and expression of the "magnificent spirit of our country."


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Artur Rodziński, Bruno Walter, and Sir Thomas Beecham made a series of recordings with the Philharmonic for Columbia Records during the 1940s. Many of the sessions were held in Liederkranz Hall, on East 58th Street in New York City, a building formerly belonging to a German cultural and musical society, and used as a recording studio by Columbia Records. Sony Records later digitally remastered the Beecham recordings for reissue on CD.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In February, 1947, Artur Rodziński resigned; Bruno Walter was once again approached, and this time he accepted the position but only if the title was reduced to "Music Adviser"; he resigned in 1949. Leopold Stokowski and Dimitri Mitropoulos were appointed co-principal conductors in 1949, with Mitropoulos becoming musical director in 1951. Mitropoulos, known for championing new composers and obscure operas-in-concert, pioneered in other ways; adding live Philharmonic performances between movies at the Roxy Theatre and taking Edward R. Murrow and the "See It Now" television audience on a behind-the-scenes tour of the orchestra. Mitropoulos made a series of recordings for Columbia Records, mostly in mono; near the end of his tenure, he recorded excerpts from Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet" in stereo. In 1957, Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein served together as Principal Conductors until, in the course of the season, Bernstein was appointed music director, becoming the first American-born-and-trained conductor to head the Philharmonic.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Leonard Bernstein, who had made his historic, unrehearsed and spectacularly successful debut with the Philharmonic in 1943, was music director for 11 seasons, a time of significant change and growth. Two television series were initiated on CBS: the "Young People's Concerts" and "Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic". The former program, launched in 1958, made television history, winning every award in the field of educational television. Bernstein continued the orchestra's recordings with Columbia Records until he retired as music director in 1969. Although Bernstein made a few recordings for Columbia after 1969, most of his later recordings were for Deutsche Grammophon. Sony has digitally remastered Bernstein's numerous Columbia recordings and released them on CD as a part of its extensive "Bernstein Century" series. Although the Philharmonic performed primarily in Carnegie Hall until 1962, Bernstein preferred to record in the Manhattan Center. His later recordings were made in Philharmonic Hall. In 1960, the centennial of the birth of Gustav Mahler, Bernstein and the Philharmonic began a historic cycle of recordings of eight of Mahler's nine symphonies for Columbia Records. (Symphony No. 8 was recorded by Bernstein with the London Symphony.) In 1962 Bernstein caused controversy with his comments before a performance by Glenn Gould of the First Piano Concerto of Johannes Brahms.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Bernstein, a lifelong advocate of living composers, oversaw the beginning of the orchestra's largest commissioning project, resulting in the creation of 109 new works for orchestra. In September 1962, the Philharmonic commissioned Aaron Copland to write a new work, "Connotations for Orchestra", for the opening concert of the new Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The move to Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center brought about an expansion of concerts into the spring and summer. Among the many series that have taken place during the off-season have been the French-American and Stravinsky Festivals (1960s), Pierre Boulez's "Rug Concerts" in the 1970s, and composer, Jacob Druckman's Horizon's Festivals in the 1980s.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The orchestra celebrated its 125th birthday on December 7, 1967 with a concert attended by over 200 soloists, conductors, and composers who had previously appeared with the orchestra. The concert was followed by a reception at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 1971, Pierre Boulez became the first Frenchman to hold the post of Philharmonic music director. Boulez's years with the orchestra were notable for expanded repertoire and innovative concert approaches, such as the "Prospective Encounters" which explored new works along with the composer in alternative venues. During his tenure, the Philharmonic inaugurated the "Live From Lincoln Center" television series in 1976, and the orchestra continues to appear on the Emmy Award-winning program to the present day. Boulez made a series of quadraphonic recordings for Columbia, including an extensive series of the orchestral music of Maurice Ravel.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Members of the New York Philharmonic string section are heard on the 1971 John Lennon album "Imagine", credited as '"The Flux Fiddlers".


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Zubin Mehta, then one of the youngest of a new generation of internationally known conductors, became music director in 1978. His tenure was the longest in Philharmonic history, lasting until 1991. Throughout his time on the podium, Mehta showed a strong commitment to contemporary music, presenting 52 works for the first time. In 1980 the Philharmonic, always known as a touring orchestra, embarked on a European tour marking the 50th anniversary of Toscanini's trip to Europe.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Kurt Masur, who had been conducting the Philharmonic frequently since his debut in 1981, became music director in 1991. Notable aspects of his tenure included a series of free Memorial Day Concerts at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and annual concert tours abroad, including the orchestra's first trip to mainland China. He presided over the 150th Anniversary celebrations during the 1992–1993 season. His tenure concluded in 2002, and he was named music director emeritus of the Philharmonic.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 2000, Lorin Maazel made a guest-conducting appearance with the New York Philharmonic in two weeks of subscription concerts after an absence of over twenty years, which was met with a positive reaction from the orchestra musicians. This engagement led to his appointment in January 2001 as the orchestra's next music director. He assumed the post in September 2002, 60 years after making his debut with the orchestra at the age of twelve at Lewisohn Stadium. In his first subscription week he led the world premiere of John Adams' "On the Transmigration of Souls" commissioned in memory of those who died on September 11, 2001. Maazel concluded his tenure as the Philharmonic's music director at the end of the 2008/09 season.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 2003, due to ongoing concerns with the acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall, there was a proposal to move the New York Philharmonic back to Carnegie Hall and merge the two organizations, but this proposal did not come to fruition.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The Philharmonic performed in Pyongyang at the invitation of the North Korean government on February 26, 2008. The event was the first significant cultural visit to the country from the United States since the end of the Korean War. The concert was held at East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, with a program including the national anthems of both North Korea ("Aegukka") and the United States ("The Star-Spangled Banner"), the Prelude to Act III of "Lohengrin" by Richard Wagner, Antonín Dvořák's "Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"", George Gershwin's "An American in Paris", Georges Bizet's "Farandole", Leonard Bernstein's "Overture to Candide", and the popular Korean folk song "Arirang". The Dvořák, Gershwin, and Bernstein works were each originally premiered by the New York Philharmonic.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The visit was anticipated as an opportunity to broaden relations with one of the world's most isolated nations. The U.S. State Department viewed the invitation as a potential softening of anti-U.S. propaganda. In response to initial criticism of performing a concert limited to the privileged elite, the New York Philharmonic arranged for the concert to be broadcast live on North Korean television and radio. It was additionally broadcast live on CNN and CNN International. It was also shown on South Korea's Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation to the entire nation of the Republic of Korea (ROK).


title: New York Philharmonic

text: On July 18, 2007, the Philharmonic named Alan Gilbert as its next music director, effective with the 2009/10 season, with an initial contract of five years. On May 5, 2010, the New York Philharmonic performed its 15,000th concert, a milestone unmatched by any other symphony orchestra in the world. In October 2012, the orchestra extended Gilbert's contract through the 2016/17 season. In February 2015, the orchestra announced the scheduled conclusion of Gilbert's tenure its music director after the close of the 2016/17 season.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In January 2016, the orchestra announced the appointment of Jaap van Zweden as its next music director, effective with the 2018/19 season, with an initial contract of five years. van Zweden is scheduled to serve as music director designate for the 2017/18 season. In September 2021, van Zweden stated his intention to stand down as the orchestra's music director at the close of the 2023–2024 season.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The current president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the orchestra is Deborah Borda. Borda had previously held the same posts, as well as the post of managing director, with the orchestra. Borda is scheduled to stand down as the orchestra's president and CEO on 30 June 2023. In June 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Gary Ginstling as its next president and CEO, effective 1 July 2023. Ginstling is scheduled to take the title of executive director with the orchestra in the autumn of 2022.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the orchestra was unable to give live concerts in David Geffen Hall as of March 2020. Renovation of David Geffen Hall commenced during the pandemic, with a scheduled reopening of the renovated hall at the start of the 2022–2023 season. The orchestra performed concerts at other New York City venues during the 2021-2022 season, including Alice Tully Hall, the Rose Theater, and Carnegie Hall.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In November 2022, the orchestra was made up of a majority of women—45 women and 44 men—for the first time in its history.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence was established in 2005 in recognition of the fifteenth anniversary of Bernstein's death. He/she gives an annual lecture series and is also featured in NYP events. Conductor Charles Zachary Bornstein was the first Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence, serving from 2005 through 2008. James M. Keller held the position during the 2008–09 season, and American baritone Thomas Hampson was appointed to the post in July 2009. The current holder of the position is Michael Beckerman, Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair and Collegiate Professor of Music at New York University.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Alan Gilbert introduced the position of a Marie-Josée Kravis composer in residence, which is a three-year appointment.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The New York Philharmonic Archives documents the history of the Philharmonic through visual and ephemeral history and printed music collections. The collection dates back to the beginning of the Philharmonic's history in 1842. The Archives are sponsored by the Leon Levy Foundation and are located at Lincoln Center.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In recent years, the Archives has undertaken a digitization project to digitize all of its materials between 1943 and 1970 in a digital archive called "The International Era, 1943–1970."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Marc Lamont Hill (born December 17, 1978) is an American academic, author, activist, and television personality. He is a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Hill is the host of "UpFront" on Al Jazeera English. Previously he was the syndicated television show "Our World with Black Enterprise" and hosts the online Internet-based HuffPost Live. He is also a BET News correspondent, and a former political commentator for CNN and Fox News. Hill also hosts "VH1 Live!" and reunion shows for "Basketball Wives". In November 2018, Hill was fired from his position as a commentator for CNN after remarks before the U.N. on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict that were alleged to be antisemitic.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Hill was born and raised in Philadelphia. When he was 14, Hill met future NBA star Kobe Bryant at a basketball summer camp, and the two became close friends and remained so until Bryant's death. After graduating from Carver High School, a public school in Philadelphia, Hill attended Morehouse College, a private liberal arts college, but says he spent his time "hanging out and getting in trouble", and dropped out of Morehouse when he was a freshman. He finished his undergraduate studies at Temple University, where he received his B.S. in education and Spanish in 2000. He later earned both an MA and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: From 2005 to 2009, Hill was a professor of urban education and American studies at Temple University. In the fall of 2009, Hill joined the faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University as an associate professor of education. He left Teachers College in 2014 to join the faculty at Morehouse College as Distinguished Professor of African American Studies. In May 2017, it was announced that he was re-joining the faculty of Temple University as the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Hill worked as a political contributor for the Fox News Channel from 2007 until 2009, when he was fired. During this time, he appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor", "Huckabee", and "Hannity". Prior to Fox, Hill was a commentator on CNN and MSNBC, as well as Court TV, where he was a weekly contributor to the "Star Jones" talk show. In August 2010, he replaced Ed Gordon as host of the syndicated television show "Our World with Black Enterprise". In May 2012, he joined "Huffington Post" as a host of HuffPost Live. In January 2021, Hill was named as the host of "UpFront" on Al Jazeera English, as the permanent replacement for Mehdi Hasan. In March of the same year he was announced as anchor for "Black News Tonight", a primetime show on the Black News Channel which would launch the following month.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Hill is a founding board member of My5th, a non-profit organization aiming to educate youth about their legal rights and responsibilities. In 2001, he started a literacy project that uses hip-hop culture to increase school engagement and reading skills among high-school students. He also organizes and teaches adult literacy courses for high school dropouts in Philadelphia and Camden. Hill also works with the ACLU Drug Reform Project, focusing on drug informant policy. Hill was named one of America's top 30 black leaders under the age of 30 by "Ebony" magazine.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: In addition, Hill works with African American and Latino youth. Hill publicly argued for the release of Genarlow Wilson and Shaquanda Cotton. In the Cotton case, Hill organized an internet letter writing campaign. Hill urged the public to write to District Attorney David McDade to express concerns about his desire to appeal the court's decision to void the sentence of Genarlow Wilson. In May 2013, an article by Hill for Ebony.com entitled "Why Aren't We Fighting for CeCe McDonald?" won the GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Digital Journalism Article."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: On June 12, 2010, Hill alleged that while driving his car, he was unlawfully stopped by two Philadelphia police officers, one of whom was highly regarded at the time—Officer Richard DeCoatsworth. Hill, represented by his brother, attorney Leonard Hill, filed a civil lawsuit on October 12, 2010, against the City of Philadelphia and four police officers, including DeCoatsworth.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Hill expressed support for the Green Party in the 2016 US presidential election. Of candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, he stated: "I would rather have Trump be president for four years and build a real left-wing movement that can get us what we deserve as a people, than to let Hillary be president and we stay locked in the same space where we don't get what we want."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: On November 28, 2018, while speaking in a meeting at the UN marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Hill said: "We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: The Anti-Defamation League alleged that the phrase "river to the sea" is code, often used by Hamas, for the destruction of Israel.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: In November 2018, Hill rejected this characterization, saying this was a "call for justice" referring to the existing borders of the Palestinian territories on the Mediterranean Sea (Gaza) and Jordan River (West Bank). Hill replied, "I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things." He also said that the "river to the sea" phrase dates to the early 20th century and "has never been the exclusive province of a particular ideological camp", adding "[t]he idea that this is a Hamas phrase is simply untrue." On December 1, 2018, Hill said that "we must reject anti-Semitism in any form or fashion" and apologized "for the reception of my message". Hill wrote in "The Philadelphia Inquirer": "justice will come through a single bi-national democratic state that encompasses Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Following his comments about Israel before the U.N., Hill's contract with CNN was terminated by the network. This was confirmed on November 29, 2018, when a CNN spokesperson announced that "Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: The firing provoked strongly opposing opinions. The move was criticized by pro-Palestinian activists, who accused the network of caving to pressure from pro-Israeli groups. Aymann Ismail of "Slate" magazine said the decision set a "dangerous precedent" which was "another step toward recasting all speech about Israel’s brutality as anti-Semitism". Glenn Greenwald remarked that Hill's firing "is a major defeat for the right to advocate for Palestinian rights, to freely critique the Israeli government, and for the ability of journalism and public discourse in the U.S. generally to accommodate dissent." Bentley Addison of "The Forward" argued that advocating for Palestine is not necessarily anti-Semitic but said that "The fact that Hill used the rhetoric of groups that are violently anti-Semitic is a real problem, and the fact that he seems to advocate violent resistance against Israel should give pause to every supporter of a peaceful outcome to the conflict."


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: The board of trustees of Temple University, Hill's employer, condemned Hill's words saying they included what "many regard as promoting violence", and in regards to the phrase "from the river to the sea" used by Hill, the trustees said that they are "widely perceived as language that threatens the existence of the State of Israel" that "has been used by anti-Israel terror groups". Furthermore, the trustees said that Hill's words were criticized as "virulent anti-Semitism" and "hate speech". However, as Hill was not representing the school and that as a "private individual is entitled to the same Constitutional protection of any other citizen, and that he has through subsequent statements expressly rejected anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic violence", the trustees decided not to dismiss nor discipline Hill.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: After a meeting with Louis Farrakhan in 2016, Hill said on Instagram: "Been blessed to spend the last day with Minister Louis Farrakhan. An amazing time of learning, listening, laughing, and even head nodding to music. God is Great." The photograph of Hill with Louis Farrakhan, long accused of antisemitism, resurfaced in October 2018. Lamont Hill said at this time that although he disagreed with Farrakhan on some issues, "I will not allow that to be an excuse for allowing dishonest media or poorly intentioned observers to create unnecessary division" adding he would "not be told who to speak to, sit with, or engage." He said he was unaware the image was being used for commercial purposes by the Nation of Islam website and would ask for it to be removed as it was inconsistent with "my values and my professional standards". He said that he did now believe Farrakhan to be an antisemite and was utterly opposed to Farrakhan's then-recent comparison of Jews to termites.


title: Marc Lamont Hill

text: Appearing on "The Breakfast Club" radio program in December 2018, Hill said that, while he does not agree with Farrakhan on all issues:For some reason, if you meet with Minister Farrakhan and you don’t throw him away wholesale, then you’re castigated in a way that doesn’t happen with anybody else. Why is only one set of people untouchable? And why does every black leader have to ritually denounce Farrakhan in order to sustain a position? That doesn’t happen to anyone else.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Immortal Beloved is a 1994 biographical film written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini and Johanna ter Steege. The film narrates the life of composer Ludwig van Beethoven (played by Oldman) in flashbacks while it follows Beethoven's secretary and first biographer Anton Schindler's (Krabbé) quest to ascertain the true identity of the "Unsterbliche Geliebte" (Immortal Beloved) addressed in three letters found in the late composer's private papers. Schindler journeys throughout the Austrian Empire interviewing women who might be potential candidates, as well as through Beethoven's own tumultuous life.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: When Ludwig van Beethoven dies, his assistant and close friend Schindler deals with his last will and testament. It reads that his estate, music and affairs will be left to his "immortal beloved," but there remains a question as to who is Beethoven's "immortal beloved," an unnamed woman mentioned in one of his letters. Schindler embarks on a quest to find out and meets the women who he knew had played a part in Ludwig's life.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Schindler first meets with Giulietta Giucciardi, who became a piano student of Beethoven's when she was a wealthy, young unmarried woman and fell in love with him. Despite Giulietta's father disapproving, she intends to marry Beethoven. She attempts to prove to her father that, despite rumors to the contrary, Beethoven can still play music himself, and hides with him while the composer plays the piano forte, believing he is alone. When he discovers Giulietta and her father, he is furious, feeling betrayed. He cuts ties with her and storms out. She calls after him to apologize, and only then realizes that Beethoven is deaf.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Schindler next meets Anna-Marie Erdödy, who took Beethoven in after becoming outraged with the audience mocking him at a poor performance, as the composer, now completely deaf, had become unable to properly conduct the orchestra. Anna-Marie's young son is killed during Napoleon's attack on Vienna and Beethoven comforts her in her grief, leading to a love affair, but she denies being his "immortal beloved."


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Schindler's investigation brings him back to Beethoven's own family, recounting his disapproval of his brother marrying Johanna Reiss, the daughter of Anton Van Reiss, a prosperous Viennese upholsterer, even attempting to have her arrested at one point. After his brother's death, Beethoven is able to seize custody of his nephew Karl. Even though the boy is indifferent to music, his uncle becomes obsessed with making him a composer, neglecting his own career, which suffers.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Karl grows into a teenager, having spent hours daily practicing the piano. Beethoven is convinced that Karl will be a great success as a composer, but Karl knows he has no talent and, pushed to his breaking point by his uncle, attempts suicide. He survives but tells Beethoven he never wants to see him again.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Schindler discovers that Beethoven's great love was Johanna, and that Karl, conceived before her marriage, is actually his son, not his nephew. They had intended to elope, but Beethoven was delayed and wrote the "immortal beloved" letter to Johanna to let her know. However, Johanna never received it and, believing Beethoven had abandoned her, left and married his brother instead. Both feeling betrayed, their love grew to hate. Johanna tells Schindler that when she saw the performance of his ninth symphony, she was moved to forgive him and ultimately made peace with him on his deathbed, where he gave her a signed letter, giving her custody over Karl.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Schindler gives Johanna the letter to the "Immortal Beloved" in which she finally reads what happened that night they were supposed to meet. Shocked to find out how an unfortunate event and misunderstanding has kept them apart, she visits Beethoven's grave.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: After Beethoven's death in 1827, a three-part letter was found among his private papers addressed to a woman whom he called "immortal beloved". Written in the summer of 1812 from the spa town of Teplice, the letter has generated a great deal of speculation and debate among scholars and writers as to her identity. Among the candidates, then and now, are Giulietta Guicciardi, Thérèse von Brunsvik, Josephine Brunsvik, Antonie Brentano, and Anna-Marie Erdödy, some of whom are portrayed in the film.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: The film's writer and director, Bernard Rose, though not a historian, claimed that he had successfully identified the addressed woman as Beethoven's sister-in-law Johanna (Reiss) van Beethoven, a claim no scholar on Beethoven has endorsed. The film also implies that Karl, Beethoven's nephew, was in reality the couple's son. Biographer Gail S. Altman disputed Rose's claim in a book devoted specifically to the question of the woman's identity and Beethoven's relationships in general.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Reviews for "Immortal Beloved" were mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 57% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus states: "A contrived romantic mystery and ponderous pacing make "Immortal Beloved" a not-so-joyful ode to Ludwig van Beethoven, despite Gary Oldman's best efforts to inject some passion into proceedings." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: Emanuel Levy gave the film a "C" rating, calling it a "speculative chronicle" that lacks the "vibrant energy and charm" of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart biopic "Amadeus" (1984). He praised the "wonderfully recorded and inventively used" Beethoven compositions as well as the casting of Oldman, who he felt was "the perfect actor to portray the arrogant, irascible musician". Roger Ebert was highly complimentary of the film. He gave it 3½ stars out of four, stating in his review: ""Immortal Beloved" has clearly been made by people who feel Beethoven directly in their hearts". He asserted that Oldman "at first seems an unlikely choice...then we see that he is right". Janet Maslin also offered a positive review, stating: "thanks to its hugely effective use of Beethoven's most thrilling, tumultuous music, this film exerts much the same hypnotic power". She praised the performance of Oldman, writing that "he captures Beethoven as a believably brilliant figure struggling with his deafness and other demons".


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: MSN Movies, in a 2011 publication, wrote: "Oldman's performance is unimpeachable. He dives deep into the role with powerful passion and makes the audience feel the pain of the genius as he loses his hearing and fails to shape his nephew into a similarly talented musician. In the year of '[Forrest] Gump', Oldman was overlooked for a well-deserved Oscar nomination." Also that year Josh Winning of "Total Film" named Oldman's portrayal of Beethoven as one of the five best performances of his career, saying: "Immersing himself fully into the role of the German composer, Oldman is here damn near unrecognisable. The fact that he remains silent for the first 20 minutes of the film while simultaneously emoting for England is a small triumph in itself."


title: Immortal Beloved (1994 film)

text: The movie debuted strongly and was a modest success, generating $9,914,409 in a domestic-only release.


title: Benefit (album)

text: Benefit is the third studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in April 1970. It was the first Tull album to include pianist and organist John Evan – though he was not yet considered a permanent member of the group – and the last to include bass guitarist Glenn Cornick, who was fired from the band upon completion of touring for the album. It was recorded at Morgan Studios, the same studio where the band recorded its previous album "Stand Up"; however, they experimented with more advanced recording techniques.


title: Benefit (album)

text: Frontman Ian Anderson said that he considers "Benefit" to be a much darker album than "Stand Up", owing to the pressures of an extensive U.S. tour and frustration with the music business.


title: Benefit (album)

text: Guitarist Martin Barre said that "Benefit" was a lot easier to make than previous albums, as the success of "Stand Up" allowed the musicians more artistic latitude.


title: Benefit (album)

text: Bassist Glenn Cornick stated that the band's intention was to capture a more "live" feeling as "I felt the last one sounded like a group of session musicians performing various songs. It was pretty cold."


title: Benefit (album)

text: "Benefit" incorporated studio techniques such as reverse recording (flute and piano tracks on "With You There to Help Me"), and manipulating the tape speed (guitar on "Play in Time"). In a 1970 interview Anderson noted that the addition of keyboardist John Evan had changed the band's style: "John has added a new dimension musically and I can write more freely now. In fact anything is possible with him at the keyboard".


title: Benefit (album)

text: Ian Anderson said that "Benefit" was a "guitar riff" album, recorded in a year in which artists like Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin were becoming more riff-oriented. Anderson also noted that "Benefit" is "a rather dark and stark album and, although it has a few songs on it that are rather okay, I don't think it has the breadth, variety or detail that "Stand Up" has. But it was an evolution in terms of the band playing as 'a band.'" Overall, Anderson considered the album "a natural part of the group's evolution".


title: Benefit (album)

text: According to Martin Barre "To Cry You a Song" was a response to Blind Faith's "Had to Cry Today", "although you couldn't compare the two; nothing was stolen ... The riff crossed over the bar in a couple of places and Ian and I each played guitars on the backing tracks. It was more or less live in the studio with a couple of overdubs and a solo. Ian played my Gibson SG and I played a Les Paul on it."


title: Benefit (album)

text: The UK and the US release are different. The US version (with flute) of "Teacher" was placed on side two of the album, and the track "Alive and Well and Living In" was excluded. In the UK, "Teacher" was the B-side of the non-album single "The Witch's Promise", and was without a flute.


title: Benefit (album)

text: In 2013, the Collector's Edition of "Benefit" was released. It contains bonus tracks mixed by Steven Wilson, a disc with mono and stereo mixes of rare and previously unreleased versions of tracks and singles and an audio-only DVD that includes a surround sound mix of the original album. The Collector's Edition also includes a booklet featuring an 8,000-word essay written by Martin Webb, as well as interviews with band members and a selection of photos, some previously unseen.


title: Benefit (album)

text: For the 50th anniversary of the album, an enhanced edition was released in 2021, consisting of four CDs and two DVDs.


title: Benefit (album)

text: Critics were generally unimpressed with "Benefit" upon its release. "Rolling Stone" called the album "lame and dumb". "Disc and Music Echo" was also unimpressed but recognized the band's quality: "This album doesn't advance by such a drastic leap as "Stand Up" did from "This Was". It's more like the Jethro Tull we've seen and heard for the past year. It seems to be a remarkably long album, and shows what an exciting group this is. Exciting because they can have quite long guitar breaks and still retain a very tight and together sound". "The Village Voice" critic Robert Christgau appreciated the riffs around which all the songs were constructed, but wasn't impressed by the lyrics that he judged hard to recall.


title: Benefit (album)

text: AllMusic and "Record Collector"'s much-later reviews were more positive in accepting the album's style. Bruce Eder stated that: "Most of the songs on "Benefit" display pleasant, delectably folk-like melodies attached to downbeat, slightly gloomy, but dazzlingly complex lyrics, with Barre's guitar adding enough wattage to keep the hard rock listeners very interested. 'To Cry You a Song', 'Son', and 'For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me' all defined Tull's future sound: Barre's amp cranked up to ten (especially on 'Son'), coming in above Anderson's acoustic strumming, a few unexpected changes in tempo, and Anderson spouting lyrics filled with dense, seemingly profound imagery and statements." "Record Collector" reviewer, analysing the Collector's Edition of 2013, praised the Steven Wilson remix and wrote: ""Benefit" forms the perfect bridge between the rolling, tumbling Tull of old and the tightly braided riffs and prickly lyrics presented by "Aqualung"." Paul Stump, in his "History of Progressive Rock", said that "Benefit" "maintained the invention (and sales) of its predecessor, once again teasing unexpected emotional reflexes from time-honoured voicings and rhythms to signpost something that, if not a wholly new kind of pop song, at least offered the listener new bearings in his or her search."


title: Muhammad Khashoggi

text: Muhammad Khaled Khashoggi () (1889–1978), also spelled as Mohamed Khaled Khashoggi, was a Saudi medical doctor. He was King Abdulaziz Al Saud's personal doctor.


title: Muhammad Khashoggi

text: Khashoggi's remote Turkish ancestors made the Hajj from Kayseri to Mecca some four centuries earlier and decided to stay. Their family surname means "spoon maker" in Turkish. He was married to Samiha Ahmed (Setti) and had six children, Adnan Khashoggi, Samira Khashoggi, Essam Khashoggi, Adil Khashoggi, Assia Khashoggi, and Soheir Khashoggi. His grandchildren include Dodi Fayed, Jamal Khashoggi, Emad Khashoggi, and Nabila Khashoggi.


title: Muhammad Khashoggi

text: Khashoggi emigrated from Medina along with his family and brother Abdullah Khashoggi, who was working as a Muhtasib, during the Siege of Medina in 1918 whereupon they settled in Damascus. Later on, he studied medicine in Damascus and became a surgeon. He then went to Paris to study radiation therapy, then to Mecca to open his private clinic.


title: Muhammad Khashoggi

text: He moved to Riyadh to work at the Ministry of Health where he brought in Egyptian doctors to work in Saudi Arabia. In the 1970s, he went to live in Beirut, Lebanon, but left shortly afterwards for London in 1974 after the emergence of the Lebanese Civil War. Eventually, he went back to Riyadh where he died while undergoing surgery. He was buried in Medina.


Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a side-scrolling beat 'em-up video game based on the American streaming television series "Cobra Kai" (in turn based on the film franchise "The Karate Kid"). Developed by Flux Games and published by GameMill Entertainment in North America and Maximum Games in Europe, it was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 27, 2020, and for Microsoft Windows on January 5, 2021. The Nintendo Switch version was released in Europe on November 24, 2020. Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Jacob Bertrand, and Gianni DeCenzo reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz, and Demetri Alexopoulos respectively, while the rest of the other characters are voiced by different actors. A sequel developed by Flux Games and published GameMill Entertainment titled Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising was released on November 8, 2022 for Microsoft Windows via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.


title: Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues

text: Hawk and Demetri are in the principal's office for the complete chaos that happened all over the valley, while arguing over who's telling the truth over how it all started. The principal tells them that they're both gonna get suspended unless they can make their story make sense, and to tell it all the way from the beginning.


text: Hawk starts his story by saying that it all started at the Mini-Golf & Arcade where Miguel got a note and thought it was from Sam telling him to meet her for a date, but it turned out to be a gang of thugs. After Miguel beat up the thugs, they drive away and a map flies out of their car, which Miguel shows to Johnny. Johnny and Miguel conclude that it might be Daniel trying to get revenge for his trauma in high school. They go to Smitty's Diner where they find Kyler. He was following instructions from an unidentified martial artist, saying to come to the diner if he wants revenge on Miguel. Their next destination is the mall because Miyagi-Do was using it as their next meeting spot where they might be preparing another trap, so they go to investigate. They defeat Demetri and a thug name Shawn. Afterwards, a mall cop shows up and captures Shawn, but everyone else manages to escape. They later head to the All-Valley Tournament campus after receiving a falsified tournament invitation. Upon arrival, Cobra Kai defeats Xander and Robby. Their next destination is Weinberg TV Studios where they find Johnny's step father, Sid. They learn that he partnered up with Miyagi-Do to make a movie. They then go to the high school, where they defeat Sam.


text: Their next destination is Oaks on the Beach Club, where they find Trey and get information that he was under instructions by the same martial artist to pass out falsified tournament fliers. Cobra Kai's next destination is the Beach Bonfire where they find Yasmine, who is upset at Cobra Kai for showing up at her party uninvited. They find out that the same martial artist had the All Valley Tournament sponsor her party and only requested for her to appear, prompting them to conclude that Miyagi-do is behind it. The next place they go to is 5th Avenue Bar, where they find Armand and get information on what he's up to with Miyagi-Do, but he tells them that he came to the bar for a business meeting with a buyer to tell him that he wanted to buy the strip mall because he had plans for true karate, but he missed his deal and blames Cobra Kai for it. Cobra Kai heads to the Valley Fest, concluding Daniel was the mastermind and promptly defeat him.


text: Hawk closes the story by telling the principal that there was an anonymous tip that said that Daniel was the one behind it all because he couldn't get over his traumas from high school, but Cobra Kai put an end to him and Miyagi-Do. Kreese became the president of the All Valley Karate Committee and helped Johnny get back on track and let him run the dojo as long as he agreed to abide by Kreese's rules in showing no mercy, a claim which Demetri objects to.


text: Demetri starts his story by saying that it all started at the Mini-Golf & Arcade where Sam got a note and thought it was from Miguel telling her to meet him for a date, but it turned out to be a gang of thugs. After Sam beat up the thugs, they drive away and a map flies out of their car, which Sam shows to Daniel. Daniel and Sam conclude that it might be Johnny trying to get revenge for losing to Daniel in the tournament. They go to Smitty's Diner where they find Kyler. He was following instructions from an unidentified martial artist, saying to come to the diner if he wants to get back with Sam. They go to LaRusso Auto where they meet dealership rival Tom Cole, learning that was bribed by a local martial artist to trash the dealership and relocate the cars. Their next destination is the mall because Cobra Kai was using it as their next meeting spot where they might be preparing another trap, so they go to investigate. They defeat Hawk and a thug name Shawn. Afterwards, a mall cop shows up and captures Shawn, but everyone else manages to escape. They later head to the All-Valley Tournament campus after receiving a falsified tournament invitation. Upon arrival, Miyagi-Do defeats Xander and Miguel. Their next destination is Weinberg TV Studios where they find Johnny's step father, Sid. They learn that he partnered up with Cobra Kai to make a movie. They then go to the high school, where they defeat Tory.


text: Their next destination is Oaks on the Beach Club, where they find Trey and get information that he was under instructions by the same martial artist to pass out falsified tournament fliers. Miyagi-Do's next destination is the Beach Bonfire where they find Yasmine, who is upset at Miyagi-Do for showing up at her party uninvited. They find out that the same martial artist had the All Valley Tournament sponsor her party and only requested for her to appear, prompting them to conclude that Cobra Kai is behind it. The next place they go to is 5th Avenue Bar, where they find Armand and get information on what he's up to with Cobra Kai, but he tells them that he came to the bar for a business meeting with a buyer to tell him that he wanted to buy the strip mall because he had plans for true karate, but he missed his deal and blames Miyagi-Do for it. Miyagi-Do heads to the Valley Fest, concluding Johnny was the mastermind and promptly defeat him.


text: Demetri closes the story by telling the principal that there was an anonymous tip that said that Johnny was behind it all because he couldn't get over losing the tournament to Daniel. With Johnny apparently ousted, Cobra Kai turned into something else with Kreese as president of the All Valley Karate Committee with new rules for the tournament. Miyagi-Do stood it's ground as one of the valley's best dojos, a claim which Hawk objects to.


text: Daniel and Johnny blame each other for starting this whole mess until Kreese shows up and admits that he was the one who caused the mess and pitted Daniel and Johnny against each other. They decide to team up and fight Kreese together. After they beat Kreese up, Johnny puts him in a head lock with Kreese asking him if he would really do that to his sensei and tells Johnny that he always rooted for him, but Johnny didn't believe Kreese because he only cares about himself. As Johnny plans to finish off Kreese, Daniel tells him not to do it because that would make him no better, so Johnny decides to let Kreese go and they tell him to leave and never come back.


text: Daniel and Johnny were both surprised at how Kreese used their history to turn them against each other like that and surprised that Kreese is still as evil as he always was. Daniel and Johnny decide to call a truce and make sure that this doesn't happen again. The principal doesn't believe one word that Hawk and Demetri are saying. They tell him that it's all true, but the principal tells them that everything's a mess and their best explanation being a retired mastermind veteran with a penchant for chaos sounds more like something out of a book. They keep telling him that it really happened, so he decides to give them detention where they can write their tale on paper. He jokingly says that their delusion would make a good TV show or a video game.


text: The game was announced in August 2020. A trailer for the game was released in the same month. The game was in the middle of its alpha phase when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and forced the developers to begin working remotely. The developers have cited games that served as inspiration, including "" and "The Combatribes" for combat mechanics, "Overwatch" and "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" for skill upgrades, and "Streets of Rage", "River City Girls" and "Final Fight" for level pacing and enemy design. The dodge move was also added late in development as the parry system was very badly rated by testers. The game features an entirely original soundtrack from the composers of the TV series, Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson. An official soundtrack album was released digitally on the same day the game was released.


text: On Metacritic, the Nintendo Switch version of "Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues" has a score of 63% based on eight reviews, the PlayStation 4 version has a score of 67% based on eleven reviews, and the Xbox One version has a score of 60% based on seven reviews, all indicating "mixed or average" reviews.


title: Let's Go Crazy

text: "Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album "Purple Rain". It was the opening track on both the album and the film "Purple Rain". "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince's second number-one hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100, and also topped the two component charts, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts, as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The B-side was the lyrically controversial "Erotic City". In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with "Take Me with U".


title: Let's Go Crazy

text: Common to much of Prince's writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil. The extended "Special Dance Mix" of the song was performed in a slightly edited version in the film "Purple Rain". It contains a longer instrumental section in the middle that includes a chugging guitar riff, an atonal piano solo and some muddled samples of the spoken word intro. This version was originally going to be used on the album but when "Take Me With U" was added to the track list, it was edited down to its current length.


title: Let's Go Crazy

text: Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart at number 39 and rose to number 25 by the week of May 14, 2016. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 964,403 digital copies in the United States.


title: Let's Go Crazy

text: The song was also notable for opening with a funeral-like organ solo with Prince giving the "eulogy" for "this thing called life." The introduction's words are overlapped with each other on the single version. The song climaxes with a distinctive drum machine pattern and then features a heavy guitar outro leads, electronic drums, bass and whirring synthesizers and a climatic drum outro. The song's percussion was programmed with a Linn LM-1 drum machine, an instrument frequently used in many of Prince's songs. The song is also known for its two guitar solos both performed by Prince.


title: Let's Go Crazy

text: In 2007, Stephanie Lenz, a writer and editor from Gallitzin, Pennsylvania made a home video of her 13-month-old son dancing to "Let's Go Crazy" and posted a 29-second video on the video-sharing site YouTube. Four months after the video was originally uploaded, Universal Music Group, which owned the copyrights to the song, ordered YouTube to remove the video enforcing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Lenz notified YouTube immediately that her video was within the scope of fair use, and demanded that it be restored. YouTube complied after six weeks—not two weeks, as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—to see whether Universal planned to sue Lenz for infringement. Lenz then sued Universal Music in California for her legal costs, claiming the music company had acted in bad faith by ordering removal of a video that represented fair use of the song.


title: Let's Go Crazy

text: Later in August 2008, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, of San Jose, California, ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material. In 2015 the court affirmed the holding that Universal was required to consider fair use before sending its initial takedown request.


title: ASLAV

text: The Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) is an eight-wheeled amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle of the LAV II family used by the Australian Army. It was built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, and developed from the U.S. Marine Corps' LAV-25 and Canadian Army's Bison armoured fighting vehicles.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV is a highly mobile, eight-wheel drive, amphibious armoured fighting vehicle that can be deployed by land, sea or air (in Royal Australian Air Force C-130s or C-17s). It is fitted with GPS, an intra-vehicular navigation system and a radio harness capable of supporting HF, VHF, UHF and digital radios.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV is capable of speeds of and has a maximum range in excess of . The eight-wheel drive provides excellent cross-country mobility and redundancy, the vehicle is capable of operation with only four working wheels, and can continue to operate with eight punctured tyres through the use of solid-core run-flat tyres. It is fully amphibious and is driven in the water by permanent shrouded propellers located at the rear of the hull at speeds of up to .


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV fleet comprises a number of specialist purpose designed variants built in three distinct hull configurations.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV Type I is the most numerous type; it is a turreted vehicle derived from the LAV-25 and comes in only one variant.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV Type II has no turret and greater internal capacity and is derived from the Canadian Bison Armoured Personnel Carrier. The ASLAV Type II has a crew of two (commander and driver) and is armed with a pintle mounted M2 12.7 mm machine gun. In a number of vehicles, the standard machine gun pintle mount was replaced by a Kongsberg Protector remote weapon station (RWS), which can accommodate either a 12.7 mm machine gun or a Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher. Using a common hull design installed with interchangeable Mission Role Installation Kits (MRIKs), it can be converted into any one of four variants.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV Type III has no turret and is used by members of the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for repair and recovery. The ASLAV Type III has a crew of two (commander and driver) and usually carries a third mechanic, it is armed with a pintle mounted FN MAG 58 7.62 mm machine gun, although some have been fitted with the Kongsberg Protector RWS. The ASLAV Type III comes in two variants utilising two specialist MRIKs.


title: ASLAV

text: The acquisition of the ASLAV family of vehicles for the Australian Army was managed by Defence Materiel Organisation under the multi-phased LAND 112 project. The vehicles were similar to those considered by the Australian Army to replace its M113 armoured personnel carriers in the early 1980s under Project Waler.


title: ASLAV

text: In April 1989, the Australian Army purchased 15 ex-United States Marine Corps LAV-25 vehicles at a cost of A$28.4 million under LAND 112 Phase 1. These vehicles were purchased to trial the Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicle (WAFV) concept in northern Australia. The trials were conducted by the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in 1990–1991, with the subsequent report endorsing the WAFV concept, and the Army determined that the LAV was the best vehicle to fulfil the intended role of armoured reconnaissance and surveillance.


title: ASLAV

text: In December 1992, Defence contracted the Canadian Commercial Corporation to supply 97 improved ASLAV Phase 2 vehicles under LAND 112 Phase 2 at a cost of A$123.84 million. These 97 vehicles were built in Canada by Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada with final fitting occurring in Australia by Tenix Defence. The first vehicles were completed in 1994. In June 1995, the scope was broadened to include replacements for the Phase 1 vehicles. In total 113 vehicles were purchased under Phase 2, with all vehicles being delivered to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Darwin and the School of Armour at Puckapunyal over the period 1995–1997.


title: ASLAV

text: In December 1997 the Australian government approved the acquisition of an additional 150 vehicles, later amended to 144. Under LAND 1112 Phase 3, the initial contract with the Canadian Commercial Corporation was amended at a cost of A$286.37 million for an additional 144 new built improved Phase 3 ASLAVs, an upgrade of the Phase 2 fleet to Phase 3 standard and the provision of supporting ancillary equipment. The Phase 3 vehicles had enhanced offensive capabilities and crew protection, including new electric turret drives, improved thermal sights, integrated laser range finder, a second generation drive line and new suspension components.


title: ASLAV

text: In the preparations for deployment to Iraq in 2003, 10 ASLAV Type IIs and Type IIIs were fitted with the Kongsberg Protector RWS; in total 59 systems were acquired from Kongsberg for A$17.9 million and fitted to vehicles operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. Further upgrades to crew protection for vehicles deployed to Iraq occurred with the fitting of bar armour and internal spall liners to better withstand blasts, small-arms hits and fragmentation.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV is to be replaced in Australian Army service by the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle under LAND 400 Phase 2, with deliveries expected from 2020.


title: ASLAV

text: In the Australian Army, the ASLAV equips the Cavalry Squadrons of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. A Cavalry Squadron comprises a headquarters element, an echelon and three sabre troops of six ASLAVs. Each troop is further broken down into two patrols each comprising two ASLAV-25s and one ASLAV-PC.


title: ASLAV

text: The ASLAV equips two squadrons from each of the Australian Army's Armoured Cavalry Regiments, the 1st Armoured Regiment in Adelaide, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Townsville, and the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) in Brisbane, as well as the School of Armour at Puckapunyal.


title: ASLAV

text: On 21 September 1999, C Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment deployed 22 ASLAVs into Dili aboard HMAS Tobruk as a part of International Force East Timor, a further seven ASLAVs being deployed later to East Timor as a part of the commitment. The vehicles were used for a variety of tasks including convoy escort, surveillance, reconnaissance, communications, search, vehicle check points and force presence.


title: ASLAV

text: From 2003 to 2009, the Australian Army deployed ASLAVs to Iraq with its commitment to the Iraq War. The vehicles were used as a part of the SECDET rotations in Baghdad, as well as AMTG and the subsequent OBG(W) rotations in Dhi Qar Governorate. In 13 April 2004, the first Australian engagement of the ASLAV's 25 mm main armament against enemy elements occurred when an ASLAV from SECDET engaged an enemy mortar base plate that was in the process of firing mortars into the Baghdad Green Zone.


title: ASLAV

text: From 2006 to 2013 the Australian Army deployed ASLAVs to Afghanistan with its commitment to the War in Afghanistan. Predominantly deployed to Urozgan Province, the vehicles were used as part of Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF) and Mentoring Task Force (MTF) rotations as well as supporting Special Forces Task Group (SFTG) rotations.


title: Tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's singles

text: Germany's Alexander Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee in the final, 6–3, 6–1, to win the gold medal in Men's Singles tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was both countries' first medals at the event since 2000, and Germany's first victory. In the bronze medal match, Spain's Pablo Carreño Busta defeated Serbia's Novak Djokovic, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3. En route to his bronze medal, Carreño Busta defeated both top 2 ranked players - ROC's Daniil Medvedev and Djokovic.


text: Andy Murray was the two-time reigning gold medalist, but withdrew before his first-round match due to a quadriceps strain.


text: World No. 1-ranked Djokovic was attempting to win the fourth of five components of a potential Golden Slam (and the third man to do so after Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal), having already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon Championships that year, but he lost to Zverev in the semifinals.


text: The medals for the competition were presented by Nenad Lalović, IOC Executive Board Member; Serbia; and the medalists' bouquets were presented by David Haggerty, ITF President; United States.


text: This was the 16th (medal) appearance of the men's singles tennis event. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics where tennis has been on the program: from 1896 to 1924 and then from 1988 to the current program. Demonstration events were held in 1968 and 1984.


text: Novak Djokovic was the favourite entering the tournament having won three consecutive Grand Slam titles earlier in the year. Top players not present, along with two-time defending champion Andy Murray, included Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Matteo Berrettini, Dominic Thiem, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Stan Wawrinka.


text: Egypt made its men's singles debut. France made its 15th appearance, most among all nations, having missed only the 1904 event.


text: Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) can enter up to four players. Nations had been limited to four players in the event since the 2000 Games. Qualification for the men's singles is primarily through the ATP ranking list of 7 June 2021. An additional restriction is that players had to have been part of a nominated team for three Davis Cup events between 2017 and 2020 (with some exceptions). There are 64 quota places available for men's singles.


text: There are six places available through continental qualification: four through continental tournaments (two in the 2019 Pan American Games, one in the 2018 Asian Games, and one in the 2019 African Games) and two through continent-restricted world ranking (one each for Europe and Oceania, which must come from NOCs with no other qualified competitors). The four continental tournament places take precedence over the world ranking, so the winners (João Menezes, Marcelo Tomás Barrios Vera, Denis Istomin, and Mohamed Safwat) are not counted toward the 56 (but are counted toward the four-per-nation limit).


text: One place is guaranteed to the host nation. If Japan earns a place through the world ranking, the host guarantee is not used and a 57th place is added to the ranking.


text: In an unusual career accomplishment qualification process, one spot is reserved for a former Olympic or Grand Slam champion that has not qualified through the current world rankings. The player must have won an Olympic gold medal or a Grand Slam singles final, be within the top 300 ranked players, and be from a nation that has not already qualified four players. If multiple players meet those criteria, the one with the most titles qualifies; if still tied, the highest ranked player qualifies. If no players meet those criteria, an additional place (57th or 58th) is added to the ranking. For the 2020 Games, this 'career wild card' quota was initially held by reigning double Olympic champion and three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray, but he was given a direct entry after several players withdrew. However he withdrew before he was due to play his first round match due to an injury.


text: The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze medal match. Matches were best-of-3 sets. A tiebreak was played in all sets reaching 6–6, including the last set of a match.


text: In a change from previous Olympics editions, the men’s final was played over three rather than five sets, for compensation to players who are competing in the later stages in all three categories: singles, doubles and mixed.


text: The competition is held over nine days from 24 July to 1 August. Times given are the start of tennis sessions, though the men's singles shares courts with other tennis events.


title: Cotton duck

text: Cotton duck (from , "linen canvas"), also simply duck, sometimes duck cloth or duck canvas, is a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric. Duck canvas is more tightly woven than plain canvas. There is also linen duck, which is less often used.


title: Cotton duck

text: Cotton duck is used in a wide range of applications, from sneakers to painting canvases to tents to sandbags.


title: Cotton duck

text: Cotton duck strips were the origin of duck tape, recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as having been in use since 1899 (see duct tape).


title: Cotton duck

text: Duck is classified according to weight in a numerical system, with grade 1 the heaviest and grade 12 the lightest variety. Besides this, traditional names exist, which are rarely used today.


title: Cotton duck

text: The classification system used today dates from the 1920s. A numbered duck classification system was put into effect by the Cotton Duck Association and the United States Department of Commerce when discrepancies came about with various specifications and qualities of material. In a technical paper titled "Development of the Standard Numbered Cotton Duck Specification", the Department's National Bureau of Standards established a set of specifications acceptable to manufacturer and consumer.


title: Cotton duck

text: According to the Department of Commerce, "The number of the duck is based on the following computation: Number of Duck = 19 − (Weight per linear yard 22 inches wide in ounces)." This numbering system is used to describe the various weights of duck cloth, based on the weight of a piece. Weights below 19 ounces are called numbered duck. Those above 19 ounces are called naught duck. The grade of numbered duck refers to the number of ounces subtracted from 19 for a 36-by-22-inch piece of fabric. For example, a piece of  8 numbered duck with dimensions of 36 by 22 inches weighs (19 − 8 = 11).


title: Cotton duck

text: Numbered duck is nominally made in weights from 1 to 12, but numbers 7, 9, and 11 are no longer used. Some typical uses of various grades (with weights in ounces) are:


title: Cotton duck

text: There is often confusion when it comes to matching up weights and the correct number duck classification. The table below accurately represents the weight and number duck classification per square yard instead of linear yard 22 inches wide.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager. He directed plays in London and New York. He also spent two years as racing manager for Stirling Moss and Peter Collins.


title: Peter Yates

text: In the 1950s he started in the film industry doing odd jobs such as dubbing foreign films and editing documentaries. He eventually became a leading assistant director.


title: Peter Yates

text: He was an assistant director to Mark Robson on "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (1958), Terence Young on "Serious Charge" (1959) with Cliff Richard, Terry Bishop on "Cover Girl Killer" (1959), Guy Hamilton on "A Touch of Larceny" (1960), Jack Cardiff on "Sons and Lovers" (1960), Tony Richardson on "The Entertainer" (1960) and "A Taste of Honey" (1961), J. Lee Thompson on "The Guns of Navarone" (1961) and José Quintero on "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (1961).).


title: Peter Yates

text: Through the influence of Richardson, he directed Albee's "The American Dream" and "The Death of Bessie Smith" at London's Royal Court Theatre.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates' first feature as director was "Summer Holiday" (1963), a "lightweight" vehicle for Cliff Richard. It was the second most popular movie at the British box office in 1963.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates had seen the original Royal Court production of N.F. Simpson's play "One Way Pendulum" and got the job of making the film version released in 1964. It was produced by Michael Deeley. The movie was not widely seen.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates' third feature as director was the heist film "Robbery" (1967), a fictionalised version of the Great Train Robbery of 1963 starring Stanley Baker and produced by Deeley.


title: Peter Yates

text: "Robbery" was a critical success in the US and led to an offer to direct "Bullitt" (1968), of which Bruce Weber has written, "Mr. Yates's reputation probably rests most securely on "Bullitt" (1968), his first American film – and indeed, on one particular scene, an extended car chase that instantly became a classic."


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates later said, "In Hollywood back then, everyone knew a British director couldn't do action, so I think the studio had another motive in letting me come over. I think the reason they let McQueen bring me in was because if they let him have his way, they'd get him out of the studio – and out of their hair – for a while."


title: Peter Yates

text: "Bullitt" was a huge success. Yates signed a contract with the Mirisch Company to make four films over seven years.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates followed "Bullitt" with a romantic comedy, "John and Mary" (1969) with Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow. "I like to change the kind of stories I do," said Yates. "If you're not careful, you get pigeonholed and sooner or later someone better will come along."


title: Peter Yates

text: In 1970, Yates said he would make "Don Quixote" with Richard Burton but the project stalled. Instead he did a war film with Peter O'Toole produced by Deeley, "Murphy's War" (1971).


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates did another heist film, "The Hot Rock" (1972), based on a novel by Donald Westlake starring Robert Redford from a William Goldman script. After this he was going to make "The Leatherstocking Saga" and Jonathan Schwartz's "Almost Home" but neither was made.


title: Peter Yates

text: In 1972 he signed a four picture deal with Paramount which was to start with "Deadly Edge" from a Westlake novel.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates stayed with crime with "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973) starring Robert Mitchum. He then did two comedies: "For Pete's Sake" (1974) with Barbra Streisand, and "Mother, Jugs & Speed" (1976); he produced the latter along with writer Tom Mankiewicz.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates had a big commercial success with the adventure film "The Deep" (1977), where Mankiewicz did some uncredited writing.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates used his clout from "The Deep" to raise finance for "Breaking Away" (1979), written by Steve Tesich, whose play "The Passing Game", Yates had directed in New York. Yates produced and directed the film. "Breaking Away" was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Film for Yates. It led to a short-lived TV series that Yates also produced.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates also produced and directed "The Dresser" (1983), an adaptation of the Ronald Harwood stage play. The film received seven BAFTA and five Oscar nominations, including the BAFTA Award for Best Film and for Best Direction and the Academy Award for Best Film and for Best Director for Yates. "The Dresser" was also entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.


title: Peter Yates

text: "I'm ambitious in my own way," said Yates around this time. "I don't crave power. I really wouldn't want to trade places with anyone, not even Steven Spielberg. Look at what power can do to a gifted director like Robert Altman. It isn't necessarily healthy. I just want to make the movies that I want to make and, if by chance a few of them should turn out to be important or influential or successful, well, that would be an accident, wouldn't it?"


title: Peter Yates

text: Following "The Dresser", Yates next four directorial efforts proved to be unsuccessful at the box office: "Eleni" (1985), written by Tesich; "Suspect" (1987), a thriller with Cher and Dennis Quaid; "The House on Carroll Street" (1988), which he also produced; and "An Innocent Man" (1989) with Tom Selleck.


title: Peter Yates

text: He made "Year of the Comet" (1992), which was a flop despite being based on a William Goldman script, and "Roommates" (1995). He was an executive producer on "Needful Things" (1992).


title: Peter Yates

text: In 1997 Yates returned to London. "The work was starting to close down," he admitted. "Firstly, you're supposed to be under 30, if possible. Secondly, I prefer to develop my own projects... There were a lot of teenage films around, which I wasn't right for and didn't feel connected to, and special-effects films of a kind I didn't know enough about. You have to be brought up in a computer-literate generation."


title: Peter Yates

text: He made "Curtain Call" (1998) with Michael Caine then made a television film of Don Quixote in 2000, with John Lithgow in the title role of the Cervantes novel.


title: Peter Yates

text: Yates has two distinct styles: one used for his thriller, action, and drama projects—which frequently reflects on the principal character's state of alienation with a humanistic perspective—and another expressive and sentimental style which focuses on the moral dilemmas of the characters, predominantly seen in his coming-of-age and other dramatic films.


title: Peter Yates

text: "I think there's probably some truth in the theory that I prefer heroes who fight against adversity and make it through from being the underdog to winning," said Yates.


title: Conspiracy

text: A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agreement secret from the public or from other people affected by it. In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of people united in the goal of usurping, altering or overthrowing an established political power. Depending on the circumstances, a conspiracy may also be a crime, or a civil wrong. The term generally implies wrongdoing or illegality on the part of the conspirators, as people would not need to conspire to engage in activities that were lawful and ethical, or to which no one would object.


title: Conspiracy

text: There are some coordinated activities that people engage in with secrecy that are not generally thought of as conspiracies. For example, intelligence agencies such as the American CIA and the British MI6 necessarily make plans in secret to spy on suspected enemies of their respective countries, but this kind of activity is generally not considered to be a conspiracy so long as their goal is to fulfill their official functions, and not something like improperly enriching themselves. Similarly, the coaches of competing sports teams routinely meet behind closed doors to plan game strategies and specific plays designed to defeat their opponents, but this activity is not considered a conspiracy because this is considered a legitimate part of the sport. Furthermore, a conspiracy must be engaged in knowingly. The continuation of social traditions that work to the advantage of certain groups and to the disadvantage of certain other groups, though possibly unethical, is not a conspiracy if participants in the practice are not carrying it forward for the purpose of perpetuating this advantage.


title: Conspiracy

text: On the other hand, if the intent of carrying out a conspiracy exists, then there is a conspiracy even if the details are never agreed to aloud by the participants. CIA covert operations, for instance, are by their very nature hard to prove definitively but research into the agency's work, as well as revelations by former CIA employees, has suggested several cases where the agency tried to influence events. During the Cold War, the United States tried to covertly change other nations' governments 66 times, succeeding in 26 cases.


title: Conspiracy

text: A "conspiracy theory" is a belief that a conspiracy has actually been decisive in producing a political event of which the theorists strongly disapprove. Political scientist Michael Barkun has described conspiracy theories as relying on the view that the universe is governed by design, and embody three principles: nothing happens by accident, nothing is as it seems, and everything is connected. Another common feature is that conspiracy theories evolve to incorporate whatever evidence exists against them, so that they become, as Barkun writes, a closed system that is unfalsifiable, and therefore "a matter of faith rather than proof."


title: Conspiracy

text: "Conspiracy" comes from the Latin word "conspiratio". While "conspiratio" can mean "plot" or "conspiracy", it can also translated as "unity" and "agreement", in the context of a group. "Conspiratio" comes from "conspiro" which, while still meaning "conspiracy" in the modern sense, also means "I sing in unison", as "con"- means "with" or "together", and "spiro" means "I breathe", literally meaning "I breathe together with others".


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande. The song was released by Republic Records on October 23, 2020, as the lead single from Grande's sixth studio album of the same name. The song was written by Grande, Angelina Barrett, Brian Vincent Bates, Nija Charles, James Jarvis, Tommy Brown, London on da Track, and Mr. Franks, and produced by the last three.


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" is a midtempo song blending pop and R&B over trap beats, plucked guitar, and violin. Its lyrics see Grande extend romantic overtures to her love interest. The song was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who embraced its breezy and mellow sound. The song's music video, directed by Dave Meyers, accompanied the song's release, and depicts Grande as the President of the United States. A live performance music video of "Positions" was released on July 22, 2021. It received a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" debuted atop the US "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming Grande's fifth US number-one single and her third consecutive number-one debut of 2020, following "Stuck with U" and "Rain on Me". It extended her records as the first artist to have five number-one debut singles on the chart and for having all the lead singles of each of her albums debut within the top-10 of the chart. It also debuted at number one on the "Billboard" Global 200 and "Billboard" Global Excl. U.S., making "Positions" the first song to simultaneously debut atop both charts and the Hot 100. Elsewhere, the song topped the charts in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, giving Grande her seventh number one in the UK. It also peaked in the top 10 of the charts in 30 other countries. "Positions" has also received sales certifications globally.


title: Positions (song)

text: On October 14, 2020, Grande took to Twitter to announce that her upcoming album was set to be released that same month. On October 17, she posted a slow-motion teaser video of her typing out the word "positions" on a keyboard. The teaser was followed-up by a countdown launched on her website. She posted the cover art and revealed the release date of the song on October 23. Later that day, she posted a snippet of the song to her social media. "Positions" was released for digital download and streaming on October 23, and was serviced to contemporary hit radio stations in the United States four days later.


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" is a midtempo pop–R&B song with elements of trap. Lyrically, the song is about Grande describing her dedication to her lover and her willingness to try new things for him. Annie Zaleski of "The A.V. Club" wrote that the song is "a tune about settling down while preserving your sense of self". Other lyrics, such as the chorus, in which she sings, "Switchin' the positions for you/Cookin' in the kitchen and I’m in the bedroom" include sexual innuendos. "Rolling Stone"s Brittany Spanos referred to the track as a "straightforward plea to get down and dirty any time, any place". It has been speculated that the song was written about Grande's husband, Dalton Gomez. Others suspected that one of the song's lyrics ("I'm just hopin' I don't repeat history") was a veiled reference to her ex-boyfriend Pete Davidson, due to a pause in between the syllables in "repeat". The song's instrumentation features pizzicato guitar plucking, violin, trap drums, and the sound of crickets chirping. It was described by Dani Blum of "Pitchfork" as a "slinky sex jam" which "drape[d] [Ariana's] harmonies over hazy synths". "The Observer"s Kate Hutchinson compared the song's composition to that of Craig David's 2000 single "7 Days".


title: Positions (song)

text: In a review for "The Guardian", Alexis Petridis described "Positions" as "low-key, if hooky and melodically strong pop-R&B". Hannah Mylrea of "NME" wrote that the song is a "bold introduction to [Grande's] next musical era" despite not being a "balls-to-the-wall pop belter", and described its sound as "breezy" and "mellow", bolstered by strings and early "Justin Timberlake–style" acoustic guitar.


title: Positions (song)

text: Writing for Vulture, Craig Jenkins labeled the song "delightfully simple" and as "sparse" as Grande's previous songs "Best Mistake" (2014) and "Knew Better" (2016), and found it reminiscent of Justin Bieber's 2020 album, "Changes," and Mariah Carey's work in the late 1990s. Jenkins added that "Positions" "swings like rap music but it’s also light, breezy, and short", which he identified as a cause for its success on the charts. Bobby Olivier of "Spin" called the song a "radio-friendly earworm". "Idolator"s Mike Wass dubbed the song as the singer's best lead single to date, with an "instantly catchy" chorus. Wass stated that the "slick", "streaming-friendly", R&B-pop tune "worms its way into your consciousness and simply refuses to leave".


title: Positions (song)

text: "Insider" writer, Callie Ahlgrim, stated that song is "unassuming" and the "effervescent energy is even more effective within the context of" the rest of the album's tracklist. Another writer, Courteney Larocca, went on to say that the song "made complete sense as the lead single" and that "it doesn't wear itself out or become grating over time". According to Joan Summers of "Jezebel", the song sounded "familiar", writing, "Sonically, she has also journeyed back down an excessively well-trodden path...It’s fine! I don’t mind any of it. Really, though, I swear I have heard this song before. Haven’t I heard this song before?" "Positions" was named the "weakest" song on "Positions" by Mary Siroky of "Consequence of Sound", who referred to it as a "perfectly adequate mid-tempo offering that doesn't rise above the stacked pack". Sputnikmusic called the song's beat "unrecognizable" among the rest of the songs on the album.


title: Positions (song)

text: "Billboard" staff described "Positions" as a "slinky R&B jam" and ranked it as the 21st best song of 2020 stating, "In "Positions", Grande confidently sings about wanting to go “from the kitchen to the bedroom,” owning that women are in fact multidimensional, they further stated "Positions" will forever be remembered for making a statement and providing some levity during a heated moment—one of many in 2020."


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" debuted at number-one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, for the week ending November 7, 2020, becoming Grande's fifth number one single in the United States, and third consecutive number one debut in the nation. The song debuted at the top slot on the Streaming Songs chart with 35.3 million U.S. streams and debuted at number two on the Digital Songs chart with 34,000 digital downloads sold in its first week. With the debut of "Positions", Grande further extended her record for the most number one debuts in history with five, while also becoming the first artist to have their first five number one singles all debut at the top. Grande also became the first artist to have the most singles debut at number one in a single calendar year, with three, following her singles "Stuck with U" with Justin Bieber and "Rain on Me" with Lady Gaga. This also made Grande the first artist since Drake to have three number one singles in a single calendar year, but the first woman to do so since Rihanna and Katy Perry did in 2010. "Positions" was also the tenth song to debut at number one in 2020, aiding 2020 in extending its record as the calendar year with the most songs that debuted at number one. "Positions" debuted at the summit of "Billboard"'s Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, becoming the first song to simultaneously debut atop both "Billboard" Global charts. In addition, Grande became the first US-born artist to top the Global Excl. US survey.


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" fell one spot to number two in its second week, with over 25.6 million on-demand streams, allowing it to spend a second week atop the Streaming Songs chart. The track was also the Hot 100's top Airplay gainer of the week, with over 27.5 million audience impressions (up 40% from the previous week). With "34+35" debuting at number eight that same week, Grande was the chart's only artist with multiple songs within the top ten. "Positions" spent a total of 17 weeks within the top 10 of the "Billboard" Hot 100, tying with "Thank U, Next" as Grande's longest-running top 10 single in the United States.


title: Positions (song)

text: "Positions" peaked at number one on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart in December 2020, becoming Grande's seventh number one single and seventeenth top ten single. It remained at number one for seven consecutive weeks, becoming Grande's longest running number one single on the pop airplay chart, surpassing "7 Rings" which topped the chart for six weeks in 2019. It posted the longest reign for a solo song by a woman in nearly eight years, since Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" which also topped the chart for seven weeks in 2013. After spending seven consecutive weeks at number one, "Positions" was dethroned by Grande's own "34+35", making Grande the first artist to replace herself at number one as the only act credited on both tracks. On April 6, 2021, "Positions" was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for moving 2 million units in the United States.


title: Positions (song)

text: In Canada, "Positions" entered the Canadian Hot 100 chart at the top position on the issue dated November 7, 2020, becoming Grande's fifth number one single in the country. Additionally, the track debuted at number two on the Canadian Digital Songs Sales chart. Its certified Triple Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for moving over 240,000 units in Canada.


title: Positions (song)

text: In the United Kingdom, "Positions" debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart on October 30, 2020, for the week ending date November 5, 2020, becoming Grande's seventh number-one song in Britain. The track garnered over 61,000 digital downloads sold, including 7.6 million streams within its first week of release. With all seven of Grande's number-one singles debuting at the top of the UK Singles Chart, Grande's record of the most number-one single debuts by a female artist was extended, surpassing Madonna, Britney Spears, Rihanna and Cheryl Cole, all of whom have five chart-topping debuts. With seven number-one singles each, Grande joined Elton John, George Michael, Jess Glynne, Justin Bieber, Kylie Minogue, McFly, Michael Jackson, Robbie Williams, Sam Smith, Tinie Tempah, U2, and Beyoncé as one of the artists tied for the ninth-most number-ones on the UK Singles Chart.


title: Positions (song)

text: In its second week on the chart, "Positions" remained at the number one spot. The same week, parent album "Positions" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart making Grande score a "Official Chart Double". This was the second time Grande achieved this feat; her previous album "Thank U, Next" and its singles "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" and "7 Rings" respectively achieved this record in 2019. It remained at number one for a third consecutive week, clocking up over 44,000 chart sales, including 5.4 million streams, becoming Grande's third longest running number one single in the country. "Positions" remained at number one on the UK Singles Chart for the fourth consecutive week earning 44,600 chart sales, including 5.6 million streams, tying with "7 Rings" as Grande's second longest running number one single in the country. It also became the longest running number one single by the female artist released in 2020, surpassing "WAP". It remained at number one for a fifth consecutive week, becoming the third longest-running number one single of 2020 and Grande's second longest running number one single in the country, surpassing "7 Rings". After spending six consecutive weeks at the pole position, it earned Grande her longest running number one single in the United Kingdom, tying with "Thank U, Next", while simultaneously becoming the second longest running number one single of 2020, tying with "Head & Heart" and "Rockstar". On April 9, 2021, "Positions" was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for moving 600,000 units in the United Kingdom.


title: Positions (song)

text: In Ireland, "Positions" debuted atop the Irish Singles Chart, becoming Grande's seventh number one single in the country. It was the most streamed and downloaded song of the week dated October 30, 2020, with the song racking up 760,000 streams in its debut week. With this feat, Grande tied with Lady Gaga and Calvin Harris as the artist with the sixth-most number one singles on the Irish Singles Chart. Furthermore, Grande also surpassed the record for the amount of number one singles since 2010 for a female artist, surpassing Rihanna. It also remained at the top spot for three consecutive weeks.


title: Positions (song)

text: In Australia, "Positions" debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart dated November 2, 2020, becoming Grande's fourth number one single in the country. "Positions" was also Grande's third top-three entry for 2020 after charting earlier in the year with "Stuck with U" and "Rain on Me". It remained at number one for two consecutive weeks. Its certified Double Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for moving over 140,000 units in Australia.


title: Positions (song)

text: In New Zealand "Positions" debuted at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart, becoming Grande's sixth number one single in the country. It was also Grande's second number one single for 2020 after charting earlier in the year with "Stuck with U". Its certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for moving over 30,000 units in the New Zealand.


title: Positions (song)

text: The accompanying music video for "Positions" was released along with the song on October 23, 2020. The video was directed by Dave Meyers, and depicts Grande as the President of the United States. The concept for the video was conceived by Grande's husband, Dalton Gomez. Many of the video's scenes were filmed at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. The video received over one million views on YouTube within an hour of its release. On October 26, a behind-the-scenes video was posted to Grande's YouTube channel.


title: Positions (song)

text: The song's music video sees Grande fulfilling various presidential and domestic tasks, including overseeing a Cabinet meeting, signing executive orders in the Oval Office, giving a medal to postal workers (a response to the 2020 United States Postal Service crisis), walking dogs on the South Lawn, and preparing food in a White House kitchen. Throughout the video, she wears a number of outfits reminiscent of former First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It features cameos from frequent collaborators Tayla Parx and Victoria Monét, as well as Grande's mother, Joan. Critics noted a connection between the video's theme and the final United States presidential debate of 2020, which took place hours before the release of the video. The following people also made cameos in the video; Darrion Gallegos, Joan Grande, Josh Liu, Misha Lambert, Nija Charles, Paula Ayotte, Taya Shawki, Tayla Parx, Tyler Ford and Victoria Monét


title: Positions (song)

text: In "Billboard"s staff picks of the 25 best music videos of 2020, the one for "Positions" was placed at number 6, with Christine Werthman commenting that "less than two weeks before Election Day, Grande allowed us to fantasize about a new, incredibly well-dressed regime in the White House in her scene-switching music video", writing that "Grande takes charge and shows strength in every setting". "Vogue" named the music video one of the most stylish of 2020. "Idolator" ranked "Positions" music video as the 22nd best music video of 2020, stating that it "somehow walks the line between old-fashioned and forward-thinking." The music video has currently surpassed 440 million views on YouTube and has also exceeded 1 billion streams on Spotify.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: German immigrant Oscar F. Mayer (1859–1955), born in Kösingen, Germany, began working at a meat market in Detroit, Michigan, and later in Chicago, Illinois. In 1883, Mayer and his brother Gottfried leased the Kolling Meat Market on the near-northside of Chicago. The Mayer brothers sold bratwurst, liverwurst, and weißwurst, which were popular in the predominantly German neighborhoods around their Chicago meat market.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: As the meat market's popularity grew, it expanded its storefront and participated in sponsoring local events including the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. By 1900, the company had 43 employees and Chicago-wide delivery service. In 1904, Oscar Mayer began branding its meats to capitalize on their popularity, beginning an industry-wide trend. Early company specialties were "Old World" sausages and Westphalian hams, soon followed by bacon and wieners. In 1906, Oscar Mayer & Co. volunteered to join the newly created federal meat inspection program. In 1919, the company made its first major expansion, with the purchase of a processing plant in Madison, Wisconsin. The plant was a profitable, efficient operation, and in 1957 Madison became the corporate headquarters.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: For nearly a century, Oscar Mayer remained an independent company owned primarily by descendants of the Mayer brothers who started it. In 1981, Oscar Mayer stockholders elected to sell the company to General Foods. Four years later, Philip Morris acquired General Foods, and in 1989 merged General Foods with the newly acquired Kraft Foods transforming it into Kraft General foods. Shares of Kraft Foods were first offered to the public via an initial public offering in 2001. Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris) spun off remaining shares of Kraft Foods to Altria shareholders in 2007.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: On November 4, 2015, owner Kraft Heinz announced it would move the Oscar Mayer headquarters and the company's U.S. meats business from Madison to Chicago. The company also announced plans to consolidate its production facilities during the two following years, resulting in the shutdown of seven North American manufacturing facilities: Fullerton, California, San Leandro, California, Federalsburg, Maryland, St. Marys, Ontario, Campbell, New York, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and Madison.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: In August 2017," Bloomberg Businessweek" reported that the company planned to spend $10 million to reinvent the hot dog for a more health-conscious consumer. According to company research, this new strategy could increase sales of their hot dogs by 6%.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: Oscar Mayer had several advertisements on TV involving young children, including the Oscar Mayer Wiener ad in 1963. The commercial shows a young girl leading a group of children, singing about what they would get if they "were an Oscar Mayer wiener". It was written by Richard D. Trentlage.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: A 1973 TV commercial featured four-year-old Andy Lambros holding a fishing rod and sandwich while singing, "My bologna has a first name, it's 'O-S-C-A-R'...". It became one of the longest-running TV commercials in the country.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: Oscar Mayer is known for its Wienermobile, which has toured the United States for over 80 years. The first Wienermobile was created in 1936.


title: Oscar Mayer

text: In 2019, Oscar Mayers started sponsoring Ryan Newman in the NASCAR cup series in the number 6 Roush Fenway Racing car.


title: Ice Castles

text: Ice Castles is a 1978 American romantic drama film directed by Donald Wrye and starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson. It is the story of Lexie Winston, a young figure skater, and her rise and fall from super stardom. Tragedy strikes when, following a freak accident, Lexie loses her sight, leaving her to hide away in the privacy of her own despair. She eventually perseveres and begins competing in figure skating again.